Power Resources Theory Analysis

Power Resources Theory Analysis Paul Pierson stated, albeit thought provoking, that the world of affluent democracies, the welfare states is at the centre of political discussion and social conflict (2001, p. 1). In many European welfare states the recent economic downturn has led to thousands of people demonstrating against cut to social programmes, wages and pensions. There has also been demonstration and protest in Greece, Spain and Portugal nations hits particularly hard by the crisis which started happening after European banks lost billions of dollars they had invested in the US subprime mortgage market which collapsed back in 2008. Recently, in France and the United Kingdom, there has been widespread social unrest as a result of government efforts to introduce significant changes to social policy. In fact in Britain, the parliaments passage of the bills to cut government spending in education have provoked sharp conflict and mass demonstration by the students. Historically, the welfare states which first emerged in England was founded through voluntary contribution before the allowance system was devised and so unemployment relief was funded by involuntary contributions commonly known as taxes. At the dawn of the new era, which is often refers to as the golden age (the post world period from 1945-1975) there has been major expansion of social programmes across the world of affluent democracies. During this period, all seems well. The people to be benefited from social programmes were few and the taxpayers available to finance them are available. Therefore taxpayers money is enough to maintain the welfare states and thus provides significant benefit to the few in needs of social cover. As welfare programme expanded, the numbers changed. The new politics of the welfares state is to be dominated by reforms; this period often called the era of austerity began in the mid 1970s. The welfares state, as espoused above, thrives on the taxes paid by the working class. The welfare system is a complex of government-funded programs including pensions, health-care subsidies, transfer payments and unemployment insurance (Manzi 2010, p. 32). According to Power Resource Theory (PRT), the generosity of the welfare state is a function of its working class (Rothstein, Samanni Teorell, 2010). The welfare system represents the majority of government spending in most modern, advanced nation (Manzi 2010, p. 32). Closely associated with the work of Walter Korpi, the power resource theory places emphasis on comparative and quantitative studies of the relationship between social policy and labour movement (OConnor Olsen 1998, p. 3). It thus enables the ordering of the welfare states of Scandinavia, Western Europe and North America according to the salient characteristics and their impact on social inequality (Ibid, p. 3). This short piece will explain how the power resource th eory of the welfare state explains the differences in European welfare states. The paper is organised in four parts. The first part, which is this section, is the introduction. The second section explains the power resources theory of the  welfare state. Scholars have attempted to explain the waves of reforms that have led to dramatic increase in government spending particularly from the late 1950s to the mid 1970s. This section focuses on the power resource theory device, among others, to explain this development. The third section is an examination of how the power resource theory explains the differences in the coordinated social policy of Western European countries. Beginning after the golden age, there has been a tremendous increase and improvement of the social programmes of Western European countries. These countries are today, the hallmark of European welfare states. The last section concludes the paper. 2.0 Power Resource Theory of the Welfare State The contemporary studies of the modern welfare state came of age in the 1970s (Myles and Quadagno 2002, p. 34). Across the industrialised nations, there were outpourings of competing theoretical accounts of the origins, development, character and impacts of modern welfare states (OConnor Olsen 1998, p. 3). One of the major theories that stand-out during this period was the power resource theory which highlights the differences in the welfare states on the basis of certain characteristics that many of these other theories tend to ignore. Power resource theory essentially posits that working-class mobilization is a critical determinant of the public provision of social welfare or, more specifically, the extents to which public welfare system redistribute income and labor-markets risks (Pontusson and Kwon 2006, p. 1). As a reaction to the dominant structural functionalist approach, associated with the work of pre eminent macro sociologist Emile Durkheim and Talcott Parsons, that the idea of welfare state follow from a functional logic of modernisation and industrialisation and that of Marxist-Leninist schools that the welfare state should be understood as a merely functional requisite for the reproduction of capitalist exploitation; the power resource theory puts forward two important issues. According to Rothstein, Samanni, and Teorell power resource scholars were the first to point out the variation in things like coverage, extension and generosity among existing welfare states and that variation needed to be explained (2010, p. 6-7) Second, citing (Korpi, 1974, 1983) power resource theorists introduced the important of political mobilisation based on social class as an explanation for this variation (Rothstein, Samanni, and Teorell 2010, p. 7). The power resource approach focuses not only on the direct but also on the indirect consequences of power, indirect consequences mediated through various alternative strategies and actions available to holder of power resources (OConnor and Olsen 1998, p. vii).Workers Union is argued to be the key to the ability of workers to assert their interests in politics. Therefore, Power resource theorist maintained that without politics there was nothing compelling rich nations to commit resources to the development of a welfare state (OConnor and Olsen 1998, p. 7). Although recent arguments by power resource theorists are been informed by the partisan effects of the displacement of trade unions by left parties, the extents of the effectiveness of working-class mobilization has much more impact in effecting government policies. According to Myles and Quadagno (2002, p.38) power resource theory and a plethora of later studies in this tradition (Korpi  1989; Palme  1990; KangasÃ⠀šÃ‚  1991; among many others) supported the conclusion that major differences in welfare state spending and entitlements among the capitalist democracies could be explained by the relative success of left parties, particularly Social Democratic parties, aligned with strong trade unions in shaping the democratic class struggle. Essentially, power resource theory indicates that the working class union is a very important tool that effect government policies towards development of social programmes. The workers union are therefore seen as the driver of the extents to which social justice is grounded in the state, this union is the underpinning active actor that tends to keep the welfare state. In this sense, labour union could be argued as the most organise voice for average citizens on essential matters. They played an absolutely essential role in constructing the system of social provisions that has developed into the welfare state system. As OConnor and Olsen (1998, p. 11) note, the distribution of power resources between collectives or classes and the changes in this distribution are of crucial importance for societal processes and social change. Therefore, this approach assumes bounded rationality in the sense that actors not only attempt to do as well as they can under the structural position in which t hey find themselves, but also to change the structures to their long term advantage (OConnor and Olsen 1998, p. vii). Despite that class and class conflict constitute the central role of Marxs work, Marxism tended to ignore or depreciate the role of workers in the creation of social programmes and largely fails to acknowledge significant variation in the growth and development of these welfare states (Ibid 1998, p. 7). In the light of above, the strength of organise labour is an important factor towards the creation and effectiveness of a welfare state. Democratic struggles is related to the pattern of struggles between competing interest in the state, that is to say public provision of social welfare is the object of democratic class struggle. Therefore, the balance of power between the classes, particular between the employers and economically well endowed categories and employees relying primarily on labor power is a major determinant of the extent of public welfare provision and also the extent to which public welfare provision redistributes risks and income (Korpi, 2006). This is why Huber and Stephens (2001, p. 1) submit that the dominant government in the welfare state that a given country had will determine the extents of its generosity, the structure of its transfer payments, and the type and volume of services it offered. However, this is not to say that the structure of decision making i n such government does not influence the development of the welfare states. 3.0 How the power resource theory explains the differences in the coordinated social policy of Western European countries. It is inevitable to ignore the fact that the decline in social union will have consequential effect on social provisions in the welfare state. This decline or the strength of the labour unions varies from state to state within the European Union. It might be tempting to attempt at comparing the labour unions of these wealthy European states, however the fact is that the capacity of the labour union in each of these state to pressurise the government in effecting improved social programmes varies in degree. This variation is directly related to the number of labour union, since the number of organise labour will implicates government income receive from taxation. For instance, the German labour union will be stronger because of their population strength compare to that of Switzerland more so national labour unions are influenced by the ideals of the party in power. In the social-democratic welfare states for instance, the citizen criterion predominate whereas, the liberal welfare stat e is characterized by a strong emphasis on mean-tested programs, and the conservative welfare state is distinguish by its variety of class and status-based social insurance schemes (OConnor Olsen 1998, p. 13). In this regard, the working class are instrumental to, and are the base of the welfare state thus power resource approach explains the extents of the effect of trade unions on effecting government policies. It also explains labour strength as influenced by the favorability of the nature of party in government. Therefore, the differences in the coordinated social policy of Western European countries is a consequence of the extent to which the labour unions of each of these countries can push for social programs which abinitio defines the welfare state. This is to define power as an attributes (capacity or means) of actors (individual or collectivities) which enable them to reward or punish other actors (Korpi 1998, p.42). Particularly, in this case, where power is conceived as a relational concept between the labour union and government, the attributes of actors become power resources only among two or more interdependent actors who have at least some interests in the attribute of the other actors (Ibid, p.42).Certainly, workers combined to fight for their rights particularly on issues which rank top of the union priority list today such as better wages, shorter hours, safe working conditions and the right to bargain collectively. The capacity and willingness of the masses to protest has the potential to influence the nature of the welfare state. The extent to which mass protest is used as a weapon by the labour union will determine the extent to which the government will initiate social security programmes. This may be argue as something of a clash between citizenship and capitalism which has meant that social issue is increasingly overtaking the importance of market economy this 21st century. Protest doesnt has to be violent but the people must leave their work, factories, schools, homes etc to facilitate mass protests relegating to the background such factors like business (trade) that capitalism thrives on. However, it must also be stated that mass protest is illegal in all the countries of the world. It is illegal in the sense that the people needs a permit to organize protest and laws guiding the issuance of permits varies from countries to countries even within the European Union. Although some states a re more relaxed in issuing permits than the other, all in all, it is illegal to stage a rally without a permit, even with a permit, it is illegal to use a mega phone in some cases. The changes in the population composition from largely dominated by working class to that dominated by retiree has meant increase in social and welfare payments by the state. In essence, the number of taxpaying citizen has decrease significantly over the last three decades in most, if not all Western European countries. In this light, population composition has direct effect on the nature of the labour movement. In the context of power resource theory, the composition of the population will have effects of power classes. In a situation where the population of these countries are ageing particularly those of Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, the degree at which the labour union can effectively influence social policy is significantly affected. An ageing population will create a likely situation of large number of economically well endowed and at the same time large number of retiree who will rely on pensions. Situation such as this will lead to an increase social spending and reduce tax payers. In fact this has caused mass protests in France recently when the government increased the retirement age so as to reduce the spending on social programmes such as pension. It is part of the fallout of recent financial crisis, and moreover most of these countries are running a deficit budgets since they are spending more than they could afford to maintain the welfare state. Therefore, there is the need for these countries to cut back on social spending. This variation will create differences in the welfare state, as tax payers are going down in ageing populations, hence ageing populations in these country are creating new social risks that are not well addressed by existing social programmes. Increasingly, therefore, social programmes reforms are been linked to austerity measures. Although, most of these countries have been seen to be cutting on social programmes, what is particularly striking is how resilience the welfare state has been after this period of austerity and protest. Espen Andersen drew attention to welfare state variable capacity to reduce peoples reliance upon the market through the provision of public alternatives which allow them to maintain a normal and socially acceptable standard of living (Korpi 1998, p. 12). Korpi seeks to explain this scenario as decommodification or protection from the total dependent on the labour market for surviva which highlight the distinction between weak and strong welfare states (Ibid, p. 12). 4.0 Conclusion The trend nowadays is that most of the European nations are increasingly reducing the reliance of the people on social programmes. Although, most government will agree that there is a need for government to support the people which they serve, the issue however is around the level of support that welfare state is going to provide to protect the individuals. The whole welfare model should be based on getting people that relies on the welfare state back to work and not to leave them excluded from mainstream society. The dependant of more people depends on welfare state transfers and fewer people paying taxes to support the welfare state, budget deficit ballooned and government moved to control and then reduced deficits by cutting entitlements (Huber and Stephens 2001, p. 2). Paul Pierson (2001) has argued that the new politics of the welfare state will be dominated by reforms. This is the case now. Several of these countries are increasingly reforming the welfare state so as to meet with the reality on ground, a reality of low number of tax payers compare to the number of people that relies on the social benefits. Birth rate and life expectancy varies in these countries and this variation will create differences in the welfare state, as tax payers are going down and the populations are ageing. The welfare state is been reforming while at the same time these state are aiming to drive down their budget deficits so as to have a sustainable welfare state.

Analysis of Biochemical Compounds in ‘gynura Procumbens’

Analysis of Biochemical Compounds in ‘gynura Procumbens’ Extraction of Biochemical Compounds in ‘gynura Procumbens’ Using 3 Mixture Design and Gcms Name : Syazliana Syamira Binti Hashim NOVEMBER 2014 Gynura procumbens or known locally in Malaysia as ‘Sambung Nyawa’ or in chinese, it is called ‘Nan Hui Ye’ is a plant that was found in South East Asia usually inThailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.This plant belongs to the Asteraceae Family.It is a famous traditional herb in South East Asia for the treatment of diabetic, high cholesterol level, cancer, high blood pressure, kidney discomfort and inflammation.The present study aims to study the antidiabetic activity of Gynura procumbens leaves to manage diabetes and to study the potential toxicity for many of the biochemical compounds in this plant leaves by using the three mixture design and analysis by CGMS technique. In a mixture experiment, the independent factors are proportions of different components of a blend. The fact that the properties of the different factors must sum to 100% complicates the design as well as the analysis of mixture experiments.In this work,a mixture design will be applied to optimize solvent mixtures for selective extraction of biochemical compounds from Gynura procumbens leaves.Pressurized solvent extractions(PSE) will be performed at 313K and 20MPa,using homogeneous,ethanol(EtOH) and O solvent mixtures.The operating conditions to extract biochemical compounds from Gynura procumbens leaves will be optimized.The ranges of extraction temperatures and pressures are 25 60 and 8 – 25MPa, respectively.GC coupled with MS detection will be used to characterize the extracts. Introduction The modern lifestyle has become a major threat to the health of people around the world.There are many cases that involve arteriosclerosis, obesity, diabetes mellitus and cancers and these diseases remind us about our unhealthy lifestyles and thus give rise in circulatory system diseases such as hypertension, pre-hypertension and heart disease in developed countries (Johnson and Turner, 2005; Kearney et al., 2005). From the previous time,plants have often been used to cure human diseases (Stepp and Moerman,2001; Yesilada, 2005).Today,with the arising threat of intractable diseases,a research is to focus on the finding bioactive molecules from plants(Amos et al.,2003; Fatehi et al.,2005).The one such plant is ‘Sambung Nyawa’ or its scientific name is Gynura procumbens is a member of the Asteraceae family(Wiart,2002). Gynura procumbens is commonly used as a traditional medicinal plant in Malaysia to treat many diseases. Recently, the use of herbal medicines for complementary treatments of some diseases has been popular and researchers have shown that these herbs are commonly used by cancer patients to manage their diseases (Riboli and Norat, 2003; Van Duijnhoven et al., 2009). Pharmacologic studies also have proved that Gynura procumbens possesses anti-herpes simplex virus, (Nawawi et al.,1999), anti-ulcerogenic activities (Mahmood et al., 2010) anti-inflammatory (Iskander et al.,2002), and anticancer properties(Agustina et al.,2006). Problem Statement : Gynura procumbens had been given attention in the pharmacology of antidiabetic medicinal plants probably because of its solid evidences and efficiency in the traditional management of diabetes mellitus.But in contrast,the scientific reports on the antidiabetic activity of this plant had their own conflicts and inconsistent.For example,Zhang and Tan had reported that 95% ethanol extract improved glucose tolerance in STZ-induced diabetic rats, but not in normal rats(Zhang and Tan).These authors also reported that its aqueous extract to exert significant anti hyperglycemic action in STZ-induced diabetic rats.But after that,Akowuah et al., on the contrary indicated its glucose lowering effect in normal rats(Akowuah et al.,2001).In the most recent study, the extract of Gynura procumbens was reported to generate significant elevation in the fasting blood glucose(FBG) levels of normal rats but a decrease in diabetic rats(Hassan et al.,2010). Eventhough Gynura procumbens is useful in the treatment of many ailments,however there is a little toxicological information that is available regarding to the safety due to the repeated exposure.Thus,a study need to be conducted to improve these reports and give more useful informations about its widespread uses.Therefore,the present research is to study the antidiabetic activity of Gynura procumbens leaves to manage diabetes and also to study the potential toxicity for many of the biochemical compounds in Gynura procumbens leaves. Objectives : To study the antidiabetic activity of Gynura procumbens leaves to manage diabetes. To study the potential toxicity for many of the biochemical compounds in Gynura procumbens leaves. 2.0 Literature Review 2.1 General Overview of Gynura procumbens Gynura procumbens that is well-known in South East Asia has traditionally been used to cure rash, eruptive fevers, kidney disease, constipation, migraines, diabetes mellitus, hypertension and cancer(Perry,1980).Recently, pharmacological studies have state that this plant has anti-hyperglycaemic(Akowuah et al.,2001; Akowuah et al.,2002),anti-hyperlipidaemic(Zhang and Tan,2000),anti-inflammatory(Iskander et al.,2002) and blood hypertension reduction capabilities(Lam et al.,1998; Kim et al.,2006). The advantages of the traditional use of Gynura procumbens leaves have been supported the isolation and identification of several possible active chemical constituents from this herb, including flavonoids, tannins, saponins and terpenoids(Akowuah et al.,2002).Gynura procumbens is usually used as a traditional medicinal plant in Malaysia to cure many ailments. It is an annual ever- green shrub with a fleshy stem and purple tint.In Malaysia,this plant is called as ‘Sambung nyawa’, and it is commonly used in South-East Asia,especially in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. In spite of the various uses over long time periods, little toxicological information is available regarding safety following repeated exposure to Gynura procumbens. Currently, Malaysian authorities are paying more attention to the safety and potential toxicity of botanicals, including medical plants and edible materials. Therefore,the objective of the present study was to provide scientific data on the safety of Gynura procumbens, that focus on the acute and 90days (13weeks) sub-chronic toxicity of a methanol extract that was orally administered to Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. Gynura procumbens has recently received particular attention in the pharmacology of antidiabetic medicinal plants,probably because of its admitted empirical evidence and efficiency in the traditional management of diabetes mellitus.Besides that, these study designs are not targeted at natural product discovery or production of standardized herbal forms. Satisfactory research on medicinal plants beyond screening for biological activity should be conducted with the objective to systematically standardize and possess them into natural products or dosage forms which should effectively complement or supplement existing conventional measures(Ali et al.,2012). 2.2 Current Research of Gynura procumbens There is currently a good deal of research interest to utilize plant compounds against human diseases, that includes hypertension. The present study investigated the effects of different extracts and fractions from leaves of Gynura procumbens on rat atrial contraction in vitro. Isolated left and right atria were mounted in a 20-ml organ bath and they were allowed to equilibrate for 15 minutes before the application of the extracts or fractions. The extracts ( methanol extract (ME) and petroleum-ether extract (PE) ) and the fractions (chloroform fraction(CHL), ethyl-acetate fraction (EA), n-butanol fraction (NB) and water fraction (WA) of the methanol extract) were tested at three concentrations (0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 mg/ml), with a b-adrenergic agonist (isoprenaline) as a control. All the data on the contraction responses were log-transformed and had been analyzed. When exposed to the different extracts, both atria tended to exhibit greater contractive responses with the NB whereas cardiac contractions had a tendency to be reduced with most other extracts. For a given extract, the contraction responses were particularly greater at 0.5 mg/ml for the right atrium and at 1 mg/ml for the left atrium. For the further analysis is to focus on the NB fraction revealed that positive inotropism was greater in left atria exposed to highly-concentrated F2 and F3 sub-fractions. Taken together,the results suggest that NB extracts and fractions from the Gynura procumbens-leaf methanol extract have positive inotropic activities and, hence, can be considered as an alternative or traditional medicine against increased blood pressure in humans or can be used in strategies aimed at finding antihypertensive biomolecules from an accessible source. In each of these studies, the approach was not bioassay directed, an approach basis to the discovery of novel natural products from their natural sources and or to increase their standardization preparation to formulate into dosage forms for human usage after clinical trials. In summary, there is little analysis on the importance of the different extracts and fractions of Gynura procumbens on heart tissues. Therefore, the present study examined the effects of Gynura procumbens leaves extracts and fractions of the active extract on the contraction of left and right atria (LA and RA, respectively) isolated from Sprague Dawley (SD) rats with the aim of exploring the possibilities of its standardization or industrial scaling up for natural products against hypertension. 2.3 Functions of Gynura procumbens In South-East Asia, this plant is widely distributed and has often been used to treat diseases. In Indonesia, leaves of the Compositae family are routinely used for treatment in kidney diseases, eruptive fevers, rash, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and hyperlipidemia(Perry,1980). In Thailand, where this plant is empirically used against topical inflammation, rheumatism, and viral ailments, Iskander and colleagues have reported the anti-inflammatory actions of its extracts(Iskander et al.,2002). Recently, pharmacological investigations in Singapore have shown that extracts of Gynura procumbens reduced serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats(Zhang and Tan,2000). In Malaysia, evidence exists that Gynura procumbens has antidiabetic properties(Akowuah et al.,2001; Bohari et al.,2006). In this country, the currency of hypertension is high, but the levels of awareness, control, and treatment are still low(Rampal et al.,2008).This species has been used as a traditional medicine to treat inflammation, cancer, rheumatism, and viral infections. Among the various ethnobotanical practices of this plant, the application as a poultice for diverse skin diseases was found to be a universal usage in many countries (Perry, 1980). The leaves of this plant are not toxic(Rosidah et al., 2009). Gynura procumbensfrom Asteraceae family has been used as a traditional remedy for various skin diseases in certain areas of Southeast Asia(Junoh et al.,2011). 2.4 Related Diseases There were many attempts to control increased blood pressure that have been used as strategies to control arterial hypertension(Collins et al.,1990; Lang et al.,2001). Eventhough the treatment of arterial hypertension has been shown to be quite efficacious in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity (Collins et al.,1990), hypertension control at the population level has been generally considered as not enough yet. In the United Kingdom, for instance, 94% of hypertensive patients still have their blood pressure higher than the normal(Colhoun et al.,1998), whereas in the United States, there is only 27% had a normal blood pressure following treatment(Burt et al.,1995). This intractability of hypertension has not changed, and recently there is a noticeable increase in hypertension cases(Kearney et al.,2004); about 26% of adults worldwide in 972 million are known to have hypertension(Kearney et al.,2005). Current optimism based on pharmacological therapy, which consists of developing drug formulations, is severely impeded by drug interactions, dose dependence, and adverse effects such as the possibility of depression. All in all,it is clear that the development of alternative strategies complementary to existing control methods is needed. 2.5 Acute and Sub-chronic Toxicity The Gynura procumbens methanol extract was suspended in 1% (w/v) carboxylmethylcellulose (CMC) and it was administered orally (1250, 2500, and 5000 mg/kg) in single doses to both female and males rats (n = 10; 5 males and 5 females). The rats need to fast overnight due to dosing. The general behaviour of the rat was continuously monitored for 1 hour after dosing, periodically during the first 24 hour (with special attention given during the first 4 hour), and daily thereafter for a total of 14 days. All animals were humanely killed by inhalation after 14 days.The selected vital organs were excised, weighed, and macroscopically examined(Ghosh,1984). Healthy rats of both sexes were randomly assigned to control and treatment groups (n = 10; 5 males and 5 females). The Gynura procumbens methanol extract was suspended in 1% CMC and administered orally on a daily basis for 90 days (13 weeks) at doses of 125, 250, or 500mg/kg. Based on the report by Suharmiati (2003), traditional healers typically prescribe seven leaves each day for an adult, which is equivalent to a 125 mg/day dose. Therefore, doses ranging from of 125–500mg/(kg day) were selected as the tested doses. All rats were anesthetized under inhalation at the end of 13 weeks. Blood samples were collected via cardiac puncture into non-heparinized and EDTA containing tubes for biochemical and haematological analyses, respectively (Winarto, 2003; Petterino and Argentino-Storino, 2006). After cardiac puncture, the rats were killed by clavicle dislocation.Those vital organs were excised, weighed, and macroscopically examined and then they were fixed in 10% formalin for hi stopathological study. 2.6 Diabetes Mellitus Diabetes causes oxidative stress through the autooxidation of glucose, protein glycation and lipid peroxidation; and as a consequence, structural and functional alterations occur in the lungs of diabetics, as well as other organs like the heart, brain, eyes and kidneys. There is growing, well-established evidence regarding such changes in diabetic lungs(Gulay et al.,2014). Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus, contributing not only to the development, but also to the progression of diabetes and its related complications. The immunosuppressive and antioxidant effects of resveratrol in attenuating the increased oxidative stress due to responses of ÃŽ ²-cells to leukocyte activation have been implicated in the prevention of type 1 diabetes mellitus. Resveratrol affords advantageous effects by decreasing the oxidative injury and the recruitment of the nutritive precapillary arterioles in the context of disease states associated with insulin re sistance, such as metabolic syndrome, pre-diabetes, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Globally, more than 366 million individuals currently live with diabetes mellitus, with this figure expected to rise to 552 million by 2030 (Whiting et al., 2011). The World Health Organization estimates that around 1.1 million deaths occur per year as a result of the disease (World Health Organization, 2011). There are around 2.9 million individuals in England currently have diagnosed with diabetes, a currency of 4.5% (NHS The Information Centre, 2011). Projections for England estimate that by 2030 over 4.5 million people will be living with diabetes (APHO, 2011). The number of individuals that are living with diabetes means that if there was found to be an excess in mortality caused by the disease, this could result in a large number of premature deaths. The relation between diabetes and increased all-cause death, particularly from cardiovascular disease (CVD) and renal disease, is well recognized. C There is a limited amount of evidence relating to diabetes and respiratory disease mortality (Dawson et al., 2008;De Marco et al., 1999andMurugan and Sharma, 2008).Current evidence suggests a biological link between inflammation, reduced levels of adiponectin within the body and the development of diabetes and respiratory disease (Sevenoaks Stockley, 2006). De Marco et al. concluded that these may be caused by differences in the severity of diabetes or differing in national treatment cultures (De Marco et al., 1999). Therefore, research is required that further explores the relation between diabetes and mortality from cancer and respiratory disease. Current research indicates that, for mortality from a number of causes, it may be diabetes-related comorbidities that increase an individuals risk of death rather than the diabetes itself. ( Mohammadi et al., 2007) Morbidity and mortality of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is closely related to development of cardiovascular disease (Haffner et al.,1998). Although the manifestations and complications of diabetes mellitus have been extensively studied, the knowledge regarding the effects of diabetes on bone mineral metabolism is still limited and inconsistent. Since Albright and Reifenstein(Anwar et al.,2008)first reported the occurrence of osteoporosis in patients with poorly controlled diabetes in 1948, many authors have attempted to describe alterations of bone mineralization in diabetic subjects by using various techniques and biochemical markers(Asbun and Villareal,2006). The types of diabetes caused by other conditions or found in increased frequency with other conditions (imply an etiologie relationship) be considered a third subclass of diabetes mellitus that is the diabetes that associated with certain conditions and syndromes. This subclass has been divided according to the known or suspected etiologie relationships.The class gestational diabetes has been restricted to women in whom glucose intolerance develops or is discovered during pregnancy (National Diabetes Data Group,1979).

Instruments Of The Orchestra :: essays research papers

Instruments of the Orchestra Strings: The viola is an important member of the orchestra, but is not often heard by itself. Because it is bigger than the violin, with longer strings, it makes a rich, warm sound that is lower in pitch. In contrast to the viola the violin is the smallest member of the string family. Because its strings are the shortest, it produces the highest sound. The viola is a little heavier, and its shape is slightly different, too. But it is still played on the violist’s left arm, just like the violin. Unlike the viola, the violins play in two different groups: with the first violins playing the highest-pitched part and the second violins playing the second highest. Both the viola and the violin are placed to rest on one shoulder, and held in its place by the chin and the left hand. You have to hold the bow in your right hand, and draw it across the strings. Pitches can be change in two ways: by drawing the bow across different strings, and by pressing on the strings with the fingers of his left hand. The viola plays a beautiful â€Å"middle† part in the orchestra’s harmony. The violas can be hard to pick out when the whole orchestra is playing, but you would really miss the violas if they weren’t there! In the other hand the violin has stayed pretty much the same ever since the 1500s. That’s almost 500 years! The modern violin has four strings, but the earliest ones had only three. Fiddlers played them on the streets, which hoped that people passing by would like their tunes and toss them a few pennies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Viola  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Violin Woodwinds: The bassoon is a double-reed woodwind instrument. It has almost 8 feet of wooden tubing, bent into a narrow U-shape. The reed is secured in a curved metal tube. Bassoons are the largest woodwind instruments in the orchestra - except for the contrabassoons, which are much bigger and plays a whole octave, lower than the bassoon! In contrast to the bassoon, you can hear the smooth, velvety sound of the clarinet in the orchestras, military bands, and in jazz groups. Clarinets are made of wood or molded plastic, and can be found in the different range of notes. The standard â€Å"B-flat† clarinet is a little more than two feet long. An orchestra also often includes an â€Å"E-flat† clarinet, which is smaller and plays a higher range of notes, and a bass clarinet, which plays an octave lower.

Scarlet Letter :: essays research papers

Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses Nature to symbolize both the negative and positive character traits which set the mood of the novel. By doing this, Hawthorne steps out of the traditional Romantic ideals, putting The Scarlet Letter into an her genre. I will call it post- Romanticism. Traditional Romantic writings only portray the positive side of human nature. They show the positive effects of individualism, the soul and freedom as only being positive. By comparing the imagery of nat e in relationship to the characters, we see the positive and negative, which is not a traditional Romantic theme. Hawthorne uses many different negative variations of plant imagery to illustrate his ideas. First of all, living plant life, portraying the torturing of Dimmesdale by Chillingworth, remains evident throughout the novel. For example, when Chillingwo h went to the forest to gather herbs he â€Å"dug up roots and plucked off twigs from the forest trees†(1511) which symbolizes how Chillingworth was â€Å"plucking† the life out of Dimmesdale limb by limb. Also, Hawthorne describes grass as pure and without weeds o kill the grass; however, â€Å"when poor Mr. Dimmesdale was thinking of his grave, he questioned with himself whether the grass would ever grow on it, because an accursed thing must there be buried†(1495). Dimmesdale feels himself dammed. It can not be a ued that Chillingworth is doing anything positive. From the beginning, when he first sees Hester, he had only selfish and hedonistic reasons for â€Å"helping† Dimmesdale. â€Å"It Irks me, nevertheless, that the partner of her iniquity should not, at least, s nd on the scaffold by her side, But he will be known! - he will be known! - he will be known!†(1455). When Dimmesdale dies Chillingworth has no one to torment with his evil schemes. â€Å"All his strength and energy- all his vital and intellectual force- emed at once to desert him; insomuch that he positively withered up, shriveled away, and almost vanished from mortal sight, like a uprooted weed that lies wilting in the sun†(1552). During Chillingworth and Dimmesdale’s covert discussion about â€Å"the powers of nature call[ing] so earnestly for the confession of sin,[and discussing] that these black weeds have sprung up out of a buried heart, to make manifest an unspoken crime†(1 9) illustrates the idea of weeds filling the heart with sin and guilt. Moreover, â€Å"the black flower of civilized society†(1448) refers to the Puritans harsh attitude towards sinners as they view Hester’s punishment.

Operating Systems :: essays research papers

Retail system management can be an exhausting and daunting task. However, successfully evaluating the efficiency of an organization’s operating system is necessary to ensure a smooth and efficient operating stance for any venturing company. In this example, I will discuss the evaluation of RadioShack’s current operating system—Windows 98.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It seems unbelievable to imagine a company with a reputation for embracing technology to be found running archaic operating systems like Windows 98, but it is true. An e-commerce relic operates Radioshack’s entire point-of-sale and backroom functions. However, if you take into consideration the size of Radioshack’s organization numbering over 8000 stores, it becomes clear as to their motives. An operating system upgrade would be expensive, time-consuming, and risky. In spite of any potential benefits gained, RadioShack has opted to not fix what is not broke.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  RadioShack, as mentioned previously, utilizes Microsoft Windows 98 on all store terminals. Consequently, there are a myriad of applications necessary to maintain store accounting, inventory, and appearance. These applications include an internally developed program call Tag Wizard, an inventory control program, an enterprise solution named ACRWin and RadioShack Online. All of these components are essential to contributing and maintaining the store’s profitability. One element in the decision to not upgrade operating systems is the potential incompatibility of these programs with a newer system. Even one hour of downtime nationwide incurred by such an upgrade could potentially cripple RadioShack's profitability.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Despite this risky conclusion, RadioShack could benefit from the investment of newer technology in a variety of ways.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First, a newer operating system can deliver better access to input and output devices. With barcode scanners, inventory guns, computer demonstrators, and order processes all running as separate entities, a system such as Windows 2000 could integrate the entire package. The days of using one terminal to enter a customer sale, and yet another to create merchandise tags and still yet another to reconcile inventory could be over.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Secondly, an improvement in controlled access to files is needed and a new operating system could deliver this function. Currently, when a RadioShack user logs in to an ACRWin terminal, they have free and complete access to all information. Windows 98 and ACRWin’s inability to mesh with each other allows a user to create the same transaction as a manager. This creates an unacceptable problem. There is little security provided from an unruly employee.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lastly, RadioShack’s current operating system lacks adequate error detection and response.

Psychological Inquiry Essay

Discuss the role of the researcher in psychological inquiry, referring to at least two of Heuristic and hermeneutics.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The role of the researcher in psychological inquiry has traditionally focused on the manner and means of developing valid and reliable general knowledge about the human realm.   The researcher is concerned with working out a step-by-step method that, if he will follow properly, would assure the correctness of his findings.   The researcher should include using a statistical analysis method that infers the general characteristics of a population by examining only a limited number of its members.   Then, implicit in this kind of psychological inquiry is that the researcher should apply its generalized knowledge in particular situations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In addition, the researcher should produce valid and reliable general knowledge.   The logic of practice inquiry assumed in this move is that the psychological inquiry consists of determining which set of therapeutic techniques work with the kind of client being treated.   As well be developed, the researcher should based not on a general to specific logic, but on a contextualized dialogic between a particular researcher and a particular client.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the main, psychology has held that psychological inquiry should consist of applying the knowledge that is generated by research inquiries. Psychological research, following models of research developed for the physical and biological sciences, aims at discovering the consistent and regular relations that hold across human behaviors, thoughts and feelings. It produces generalized knowledge claims in a logical form: ‘If a person is a member of a category (e.g. phobic), then he/she will likely respond in a specific manner to an environmental event (e.g. cognitive restructuring).’ This understanding of the researchers` role simply involves determining the category of which the client is an instance (diagnosis) and then utilizing those research-established techniques that have been found to produce the desired outcome for this kind of client.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This traditional role of researcher – the application of research-developed general knowledge to specific situations- misdescribes the way researchers actually work with the research. Researchers work in particular situations with a particular study.   Practice inquiry role of the researcher, is for the most part, carried out without conscious deliberation about what should be done. The researcher should have the role of an ongoing conversation.   When researchers` non-deliberative   activities appear not to advance the study toward their goals, researchers engage in practical problem-solving.   Researchers` performances are informed by their practical knowledge rather than by research-generated generalized knowledge.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Researchers consistently report (e.g. Marten & Heimberg, 1995; Stiles, 1992) that they rarely look to generalized research findings in determining what they do with the inquiry.   Instead, their actions draw on their own experiences, their discussions with other researchers, and clinically based literature.   The gap between the traditional model of application and psychological practice has been problematic, if not embarrassing, for the discipline.   The discipline’s call that researchers limit their therapeutic actions to empirically validated sets of techniques (Nathan & Goran, 1998) continues the traditional model of application.   An alternate direction for psychology is inquiry that actually researchers` activity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Two basic philosophical responses, the heuristics and hermeneutics, were proposed to the notion that there can be no certain knowledge. French postmodernists such as Deleuze and Gutari (1987) and Foucault (1979) are heuristics.   They counseled that people resist the constriction of possibilities that inheres in the belief in certain knowledge.   The awareness that knowledge is uncertain provides a release form the restraining power of culturally imposed norms clothed as necessary, natural or universal knowledge (Bernstein, 1992).   The end of epistemology makes it possible for people to destabilize and subvert culturally dominant forces and thereby gain power over their own self-formation.   The concern of the heuristics was a prescription of how to live in a world without certainties (McGowan, 1991). The hermeneutics involved a shift from instruction about how to live without certainty. That is, how     people practically deal with the world and others to accomplish everyday tasks and achieve their goals, even though their knowledge is not certain.   Because of the postmodern rejection of the notion that true knowledge can be methodologically generated, the study of researcher inquiry becomes essential.   If the research inquiry does not produce trustworthy knowledge, the notion that practice should consist of application of this knowledge to a particular situations is undercut.   The philosophical study of how people inquire about what to do focuses on the everyday activities in which people are engaged and not specifically on inquiry in psychological practice.   The two most important philosophers to study people’s everyday inquiry are Heidegger and Gadamer. Heidegger’s Being and Time (1962) was pivotal in bringing Continental philosophy’s attention to everyday inquiry.   Gadamer, who was a student of Heidegger, extended Heidegger’s position to include the study of how everyday understanding takes place.   I am particularly interested in what Gadamer`s hermeneutics to understanding how psychological researchers determine what to say and do. Gadamer mistrusted experimental science, as he understood it.   Weinsheimer (1985) points out that Gadamer`s view of science is of the pre-1960s variety, and that ‘some of his characterizations of the methods of natural science are now no longer tenable’ (p. 20).   Gadamer`s heritage was the continental hermeneutic tradition that reached back to Schleiermacher.     Ã‚  Gadamer advanced from a hermeneutic of text interpretation to a philosophical hermeneutics, that is, a general theory of how people understand and how this understanding informs action. Demonstrate your knowledge of Freud, Jung, Hillman and the philosophical commitments of depth psychology. The term depth psychology is the container for a number of psychologies that concern themselves with the unconscious. Though its existence was known and utilized by mesmerists and hypnotists (Meissner, 2000), the unconscious gained its first scientific foothold in modern times with Freud. However, the psyche recovered its greater depths in Jungian psychology and Hillman’s (1975) archetypal psychology, In all, the rational, intentional human mind, waking consciousness, or gift of reason, is only one player in a much larger field of consciousness. These depth psychologists believe that the ego consciousness, our daytime â€Å"I,† is not the master of the psychological house. They feel this was proven early on by the word association tests (Jung, 1910, 1970), where the individual, after an initial ease with associating words with given prompts, would begin to take extra long for some responses, draw blanks, give answers that rhymed. The unexpected or what went wrong, when taken together would often exhibit a thematic quality, be connected to returning emotions, memories, repressed instincts, which came to be known as the complexes. The word association tests demonstrated that in spite of our intentions, something other, not known to the daytime â€Å"I,† could interfere and participate in our behavior. Over the years, the metaphoric characters and the inner dramas of the complexes led psychologists to call their approach to the psyche a â€Å"poetic basis of mind† (Hillman, 1975, p. xi). Since the appearance of Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams in 1900, the existence of the unconscious has held as a psychological fact. The exact nature of what is in the unconscious is what distinguishes the different depths of the depth psychologies. For Freud, the unconscious contained various forms of instinct and memory in the form of complexes, a personal unconscious that had emotional and somatic/physical attributes. For Jung (1959), that personal unconscious rested upon an even deeper layer, the collective unconscious or the objective psyche, which was far more ancient than an individual lifetime and contained the primordial images, the archetypes. The archetypes featured not only emotional and somatic attributes, but also spiritual and worldly attributes that appeared in vision, dream and synchronicity. Synchronicity is Jung’s word for the meaningful coincidences that are part and parcel of deep psychological experience. For Jung, the objective psyche also contained a guiding, organizing center, the Self, very much like the Hindu Parusha, the God Within. Hillman (1975) wished to keep psychology free from the dogmatism of Jung’s Self. He said that our psychological depths do contain archetypes, but they are best served by an understanding that respects their full autonomy. In other words, for Hillman, the depths are polycentric and if there is a Self, we honor it best by not dictating how it should behave. Hillman pushes archetypal theory to its fullest stature. For him, an archetype and a God, in the classic (e.g., Grecian or polytheistic) sense of the word, are the same. Additionally, he prefers the word soul to the words personal or collective unconscious. Hillman amplified the term â€Å"soul† by using these related words: â€Å"mind, spirit, heart, life, warmth, humanness, personality, individuality, intentionality, essence, innermost purpose, emotion, quality, virtue, morality, sin, wisdom, death, God† (Hillman, 1964, p. 44). Jungian idea of the collective unconscious as the â€Å"most serviceable in the creation of an ecopsychology† (p. 302). Today we call this theory Gala. Earth itself is a living being and through our becoming conscious, she becomes conscious: â€Å"the collective unconscious, at its deepest level, shelters the compacted ecological intelligence of our species, the source from which culture finally unfolds as the self-conscious reflection of nature’s own steadily emergent mindlikeness† (p. 301). Evaluate heuristic and hermeneutics. The heuristic psychology was based on a quite simple idea. The theory was designed to explain the prevalence of cognitive biases in reasoning tasks and the puzzling fact that logical competence demonstrated on one task often failed to be exhibited on another (Evans, 1989). The heuristicanalytic theory proposed that two kinds of cognitive process were involved: heuristic processes, which generated selective representations of problem content, and analytic processes, which derived inferences or judgments from these representations. Biases were accounted for by the proposal that logically relevant information might be omitted or logically irrelevant information included at the heuristic stage. Since analytic reasoning could be applied only to these heuristically formed representations, biases could result. In the revised theory, the heuristic-analytic terminology is retained, with an attempt to define more precisely the nature of the interaction between the two processes and to assist in the generation of experimental predictions about particular reasoning tasks. At the same time, assumptions about dual systems are kept to a minimum. The present account draws heavily on the theory of hypothetical thinking put forward by Evans, Over, and Handley (2003) in an attempt to gain greater understanding of how the analytic (or explicit) system works and how it interacts with the heuristic (or implicit) system. Evans, Over, and Handley (2003) were attempting to advance in more specific terms the idea proposed by Evans and Over (1996) that the analytic system is involved whenever hypothetical thought is required. Hypothetical thinking involves the imagination of possibilities that go beyond the representation of factual knowledge about the world. Examples include hypothesis testing, forecasting, consequential decision making, and (on certain assumptions) deductive reasoning. The relevance principle concerns the generation of mental models and hypotheses by the heuristic system. It refers to the powerful tendency to contextualize all problems with reference to prior knowledge elicited by contextual cues and the current goals that are being pursued. This has been described as the fundamental computational bias by Stanovich (1999), although the term bias should certainly not be taken here in a pejorative sense. Given the notorious frame problem of artificial intelligence, we might describe the fundamental computational bias in computers as the failure to contextualize problems. What Stanovich (1999) is getting at is the fact that we need, in a modern technological society, to be capable also of abstract, decontextualized reasoning, which he believes the analytic system can achieve. Note that the relevance principle contrasts with the principle of truth in the mental model theory (Johnson-Laird & Byrne, 2002), in which it is proposed that people represent only true possibilities. By default, I assume that people represent what is believable or plausible (true is too strong a term) but also that this default can be altered according to context. Our attention can easily be focused on hypotheses that are improbable (buying health insurance to cover emergencies on a particular vacation) or most improbable (thinking about the consequences of life being discovered on Mars). The heuristic-analytic theory does not offer an original or profound solution to the problem of how relevant knowledge is delivered by the heuristic system. However, in our proposals about mental representations, we have drawn on the notion that implicatures may be added to our mental models (Evans & Over, 2004). The discipline called hermeneutics has been thriving for more than 300 years. Hermeneutics has played an increasingly influential role in what PoIkinghorne (1983) calls the â€Å"long debate† in modern times over the proper mode of inquiry in the human sciences. Should they emulate the methods of the natural sciences or develop their own distinctive approach? Are human beings different in kind from objects in the natural world: Are they requiring such a different approach? Hermeneutics as a self-conscious procedure arose in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, concerned mainly with the interpretation of the bible and classic texts. Even though these works were consulted for important insights or truths concerning human life, reflective interpretation was often felt to be required because, as the modern world dawned, they seemed to be products of quite different and somewhat alien cultures of the past. Also, the Reformation had, in many quarters, undermined the Church’s exclusive authority to interohmpret the Bible. Friedrich Schliermacher (1768-1834) broadened the scope of hermeneutics and clarified the role of the famous â€Å"hermeneutic circle,† according to which our understanding of any part of a text, work of art, or individual life is shaped by our initial or assumed understanding of the whole of it, at the same time that our understanding of that whole is continually revised by our encounter with and modified understanding of its parts. Some hermeneutic philosophers (Heidegger, 1962; Gadamer, 1989; Guignon, 1983; Taylor, 1989), sometimes termed ontological hermeneutics, might contribute to a more plausible picture of the world and the place of humans in it that would be open to religious claims and meanings. Also, I will suggest a few key ways in which such an ontology calls for a revised understanding of the aims and methods of the social sciences, including psychology. Finally, I suggest that a hermeneutic perspective gives us insights into what might be the most fruitful kind of interaction between psychology and religion. Some view them as essentially in conflict, of course, while others avoid such conflict by sealing them off from another in separate spheres. Neither approach is very helpful, obviously, to religiously inclined psychologists who want to draw in their work on possibly valid ideas from each realm. At this point, the alternative of seeking an intellectually and spiritually sound â€Å"integration† of religion and psychology beckons. From a hermeneutic standpoint, much of the spirit of this approach seems right on target, but still the idea or theory of integrating these fields seems flawed in important ways that call for rethinking the nature of their interchange. Wilhelm Dilthey (1833-1911) expanded Schliermacher’s ideas into a general theory of interpretation for the human sciences. A strictly naturalistic view of inquiry in the human sciences began to harden with the publication of John Stuart Mill’s influential System of Logic in 1843, which presented a philosophical and logical foundation for empiricism and advocated the use of natural science methods in the study of human phenomenon as the only cure for what Mill thought of as the â€Å"backward state of the moral sciences.† However, Dilthey argued forcefully that we simply do not understand our objects in the â€Å"human studies† or â€Å"human sciences† (Geisteswissenschaften) by subsuming them under general laws. â€Å"We explain nature; man we must understand† (Dilthey, 195.8, p. 144). Rather, in these disciplines we need â€Å"to forge new models for the interpretation of human phenomena †¦ derived from the character of lived experience itself †¦ to be based on categories of ‘meaning’ instead of ‘power,’ history instead of mathematics† (Palmer, 1969, p. 103).1 In these fields, according to Dilthey, we immediately grasp the meaning or import of a work of art or historical event in terms of categories of significance, purpose, or value, through a combined exercise of all our powers of cognitive reflection, empathy, and moral imagination. At the start of the twentieth century, a major transformation in hermeneutic thought took place, reflecting the growing awareness that devising rules for interpreting humans is impossible and that the whole fascination with method is a byproduct of the very scientism being called in question. The result was a shift from seeing hermeneutics as primarily epistemological or methodological, where the aim is developing an art or technique of interpretation, to today’s ontological hermeneutics, which aims to clarify the being of the entities that interpret and understand, namely, ourselves (Richardson, Powers, & Guignon, 1999). An essential part of this transformation involves becoming clear that the aspiration to pristine, a historical standards for understanding, or truly an Archimedean point for discriminating knowledge from illusion and error, is not only unattainable but reflects, in part, questionable and, in a moral or spiritual sense, somewhat inauthentic motives or goals for humans. I hope to suggest some possible reasons for this claim and provide glimpses of an ontological hermeneutic alternative to scientism, dogmatism, and relativism in the remainder of this article, in line with the effort by some leading thinkers and theologians today to â€Å"steer a course between Enlightenment foundationalism and postmodern relativism† (Browning, 2004). References Aziz, R. ( 1990). C. G. Jung’s psvchalogv of religion and syn-chronicity. Albany: SUNY. Coppin, J.(2005)The art of inquiry a depth psychological perspective. Evans. J. ST. B. T., & OVER, D. E. (1996). Rationality and reasoning. Hove, U.K.: Psychology Press. Evans, J. ST. B. T., & OVER, D. E. (1989). Explicit representations in hypothetical thinking. Behavioral & Brain Sciences, 22, 763-764. Evans, J. ST. B. T., OVER, D. E., & HANDLEY, S. J. (2003). A theory of hypothetical thinking. In D. Hardman & L. Maachi (Eds.), Thinking: Psychological perspectives on reasoning, judgement and decision making (pp. 3-22). Chichester, U.K.: Wiley. Frankel. R. (1998). The adolescent psyche: Jungian ami Winnicottian perspectives. New York: Roulledge. Freud. S. (1900/1965). The interpretation of dreams: trans. James Strachey. New York: Avon Books. Gadamer, H. G. (1975). Truth and method. (J. Weinsheimer & D. G. Marshall, Trans.) (Rev. ed.). New York: Continuum. (Original work published 1960) Goertzel. V., & Goertzel, M. G. (1962). Cradles of eminence. Boston: Little, Brown. Hawke, C. (2000). Jung and the postmodern: The interpretation of realities. London: Routledge. Heidegger, M. (1990). Nietzsche (Vois 3 & 4). New York: Harpe rCollins.Hillman, J. (1964). Suicide and the soul. New York: Harper & Row. Hillman, J. (1975). Re-visioning psychology. New York: Harper Colophon Books. Hillman, J. (1983). The bad mother: An archetypal approach. Spring, I, 165-181. Hillman, J. (1996). The soul’s code: In search of character and calling. New York: Random House. Hillman, J. (1999). The force of character and the lasting life. New York: Random House. Jung, C. G. (1910). The association method. American Journal of Psychology, 31, 219- 269. Jung, C. G. (1959). Symbols of transformation. Collected Works (Vol. 5). Princeton, NJ: Bollingen Foundation. Jung, C. G. (1965). Memories, dreams, reflections. New York: Vintage.Jung, C. G. (1970) Collected Works. 18 vols. Princeton, NJ: Bollingen Foundation. Moustakas, C. (1990)Heuristic research design, methodology and applications. Newberry Park,CA: Sage Publications Stanovich, K. E. ( 1999). Who is Rational? Studies of Individual Differences in Reasoning. Mahway, NJ: Erlbaum.   

Why Do You Think This Strategy Became Less Viable in the 1990’s?

Chapter 12 – The Strategy of International Business Key Points of the chapter Strategy – is the actions managers take to attain the goals of the business (usually to maximize value for the shareholders/stakeholders). Value Chain – The operations of the firm compose the value chain which are the series of value creating activities that occur to create value. These actions include sales, production, IT, accounting etc. These activities are divided into support and primary activities. Primary Activities – Design, creation and delivery of the product. They are: 1. R&D 2. Production 3. Marketing 4. Sales Support Activities – Inputs that allow the primary activities to occur 1. Information Systems 2. Logistics 3. Human Resources Global Expansion Practices 1. Expand the market for your domestic products by selling internationally (Export) †¢ Requires a company to tap into their core competencies 2. Move production to the most efficient countries to realize location economies †¢ Some countries have a comparative advantage of production †¢ Transportation costs and trade barriers must not be an issue †¢ Location Economies is the value created by finding the most competitive place to produce product, therefore adding value i. Competitive can mean cheapest or best †¢ Creates a global value web as opposed to a value chain 3. Serve expanded markets from a single location, while recovering experience effects †¢ Experience curve: Systematic reductions in production costs that occur over the life of a product i. A products production costs decline each time the cumulative output doubles †¢ Learning Effects – Costs savings through learning by doing †¢ Economies of Scale – Reduce costs by creating a large volume of product, the larger your market, the more opportunity for this you receive. 4. Learn from foreign operations to increase your value Mature multinationals who already have operations in foreign markets can learn from their operations in order to create value for those specific customers. Pressures for Cost Reduction Managers can be forced to create value by reducing costs. This can be done through: †¢ Mass-produce a standard product †¢ Outsource certain functions †¢ Tends to occur in highly commoditized products (Chemicals, sugar, gas, steel) Pressures for local Responsiveness Arise because of: †¢ Difference in consumer tastes and preferences †¢ Infrastructure †¢ Accepted Business practices Distribution channels – May require a change in marketing strategy †¢ Host government demands International Expansion Strategies Global Expansion Strategy Focus †¢ Reaping cost reduction benefits through: †¢ Economies of Scale †¢ Learning effects †¢ Locations economies †¢ Low Cost on a Global Scale Method †¢ R&D, Production and Marketing activities are concentrated in a few favorable locations †¢ Try not to customize their products/marketing strategy †¢ Use aggressive pricing When to use it †¢ Strong pressures for cost reductions †¢ Minimal demand for localization Localization Strategy Focus †¢ Increase profitability by customizing goods to match tastes and preferences in international markets Method †¢ Increase the value of the product in the local market †¢ Duplication of functions †¢ Smaller production runs †¢ Still need to be as efficient as possible When to use it †¢ When cost pressures are not high †¢ When local tastes differ dramatically †¢ When you have fewer competitors Transnational Strategy Focus †¢ Multidirectional transfer of core competencies and skills †¢ Leveraging subsidy skills Try to achieve low costs through location economies, economies of scale and learning effects while differentiating their products for the local market. †¢ Very difficult to accomplish Method †¢ Redesign products to use the same components and produce them in one location †¢ Use assembly plants in key markets to assemble the more market specific final product When to use it †¢ When cu stomization and cost reduction pressures are high †¢ When managers have to balance the divergent pressures International Strategy Focus †¢ Taking products from your local country and without much customization, selling them in other markets. Method †¢ Centralize product development functions †¢ Tend to establish manufacturing and marketing functions in each major country or geographic region in which they do business. †¢ Increases costs but there are no cost pressures so that isn’t an issue †¢ May decide to do some minor customization of the marketing strategy When to use it †¢ Low cost pressures †¢ Low need for local responsiveness †¢ Selling products that serve universal needs †¢ Do not have many competitors Chapter Questions Q2: What are the risks that Wal-Mart Faces when entering other retail markets? How can the risks be mitigated? Economic Risks/Exposure Likelihood that economic mismanagement will cause drastic changes in a country’s business environment that hurt the profit and other goals of a particular business enterprise. †¢ Increase in inflation can hurt profits †¢ Recession †¢ Loss of confidence in the market and loans Legal Risks If Wal-Mart decides to enter a market where the legal system fails to provide adequate safeguards in the case of contract violations or to protect property rights they are opening themselves up to legal risks. Could affect the ability to participate in long term contracts and joint ventures Cross Cultural Literacy Risk: As experienced in this case, Wal-Mart suffered from cross cultural illiteracy, where they were ill informed about the practices of another culture which caused them to make bad decisions. Mitigation Strategy: Wal-Mart needs an adaptation strategy, which allows them to negotiate properly for the market, know the appropriate pay systems, set up the right organization, etc. They can do this by hiring local citizens, or a consultant. Transaction Exposure Risk: Extent to which foreign exchange values affect the income from individual transactions. Translation Exposure Risk: Impact of currency exchange rates on the reported financial statements. Mitigation Strategy: Lead strategy where you collect the foreign receivables early. Lag strategy, involves delaying payables if the currency is expected to appreciate. Political Risks Depending on where Wal-Mart is choosing to expand to, political forces that ould cause a drastic change in the country’s business environment could adversely affect the profit and other goals of a business enterprise. †¢ Strikes †¢ Demonstrations †¢ Terrorism †¢ Violent Conflict †¢ Enactment of unfavorable business laws CT 5 – Reread the management focus on the evolution of strategy at Procter and Gamble, then answer these questions: a) What strategy was P&G pursuing when it first entered foreign markets in the period up until the early 1990s? b) Why do you think this strategy became less viable in 1990s. In the pre-1990’s era P&G found their international expansion through the use of a localization strategy. They did develop many of their products in Cincinnati, but they relied on their semi-autonomous subsidiaries to manufacture, market and customize many of their products for the local markets their served. This model started to show signs of strain when many of the trade barriers that existed, specifically between European countries were lifted. This created an increase in competition, and for P&G exposed their now unnecessary duplication of assets and processes. Also the creation of the â€Å"big box† retailers (such as Wal-Mart and Tesco) were causing the competitive factors driven by purchasing power to put pressures on lowering P&G’s prices even further. Due to the increase in competition and the changing market conditions P&G closed some of their local plants and asked their subsidiaries to exploit as much economies of scale as possible in their production lines. They also asked their local centers to create and use global brands whenever possible to try and reduce marketing costs. While these cost avings were effective, they were still not enough and P&G then reorganized the company to be a pure Transnational Strategy, with more control occurring in the regional centers than ever before and using as little local responsiveness as possible to reach their customers so they could compete on price as much as possible. The benefits of the transnational strategy include: †¢ Cost reduction †¢ Reducing duplication of ass ets †¢ Creating global brands †¢ Manufacturing in places that have a comparative advantage in the production of that product †¢ Increase market share by beating your competitors prices Risks †¢ Very difficult to implement & manage †¢ Organizational Structures have to be very complex and it can lead to o Performance ambiguity o Confusion over corporate goals o Culture issues †¢ High coordination needs that are both formal and informal Chapter 13 – The Organization of International Business Key Points of the Chapter Organizational Architecture: the totality of a firm’s organization, organizational culture and people. These three areas must be addressed for a company to be successful in the global market place. The architecture must match the strategy of the firm. Organizational structure: Formal division of the organization, the location of the decision making (centralize vs. decentralized) and the establishment of intergrating mechanisms to coordinate the activities of subunits. Control Systems are metrics used to measure the performance of subunits and make judgments about how well managers are running those subunits. Incentives are the divides used to reward appropriate managerial behavior. Incentrives are very closely tied to performance metrics. Processes are the manner in which decisions are made and work is performed within the organization. Organizational Culture refers to the norms and values systems that the employees of an organization share. Organizations are societies of individuals who come together to perform collective tasks. [pic] Organizational Structure 1) Vertical Differentiation – location of decision making a) Centralized – When the decisions are made by upper management Pros: †¢ Can facilitate coordination †¢ Ensure decisions are consistent with organizational objectives †¢ Give top level manager the means to bring about changes (authority) †¢ Avoid duplication of activities ) Decentralized – Local managers make the decisions †¢ Top management can become overburdened when decision making authority is centralized, which can result in poor decisions. †¢ Motivational research favors decentralization, people are more likely to give more to their jobs when they have a greater degree of individual freedom and control over their work. †¢ More rapid response †¢ Can result in better decisions because the people with the best information are the ones making the decisions. †¢ Can increase control, making the management more autonomous and therefore accountable. Frequently it makes sense to centralize some decisions and to decentralize others, depending on the type of decisions and the firm’s strategy. 2) Horizontal Differentiation – formal organization structure Decision is made on functions, type of business or geographical area. †¢ International Division – When a single division runs all the international activities. Facilitates the international strategy. †¢ Worldwide area structure – World is divided into geographic areas, each division has its own value creation activities. Facilitates local responsiveness. Difficult to transfer core competencies. Worldwide product divisional structure – Each division has its own value creation activities organized around the products they produce. Headquarters retain responsibility for the overall strategic development and financial control. Gives opportunities to consolidate the value chain creation of different subunits. Can require a lack of local respon siveness. †¢ Global Matrix Structure – Tries to solve the issue Bartlett and Ghoshal have argued where a company needs to be price competitive and locally responsive by creating a matrix where decisions are made by both product and regional managers. It is very difficult to pull off a global matrix structure as it creates conflict for the employees having two bosses with two different goals. In light of these problems many firms that pursue a transnational strategy have tried to build flexible matrix structures based on enterprisewide management knowledge networks and a shared dual culture. 3) Integrating Mechanism – mechanisms for coordinating subunits †¢ The need for integrating mechanisms changes with the strategy, the company is using: Lowest – Localization strategy Highest – Global and Transnational †¢ Very important in firms trying to transfer core competencies between units †¢ Very important in firms trying to recover economies of scale and learning experience with a web like value â€Å"chain† Questions CT2 – Discuss the statement â€Å"An understanding of the causes and consequences of performance ambiguity is central to issue of organizational design in multinational firms. † Performance Ambiguity exists when the causes of a subunit’s poor performance are not clear. This is not uncommon when a subunit’s performance is partly dependent on the performance of other subunits; when there is high interdependence between different subunits. In firms not pursuing a localization strategy, certain degrees of performance ambiguity are going to exist. In an international strategy, integration is required to facilitate the transfer of core competencies and skills. The success of a foreign operation is partly dependent on the quality of the competencies transferred from the home country, therefore these firms must design an organizational strategy with enough integrating mechanisms to achieve this. In firms pursuing a global standardization strategy they need to recover location and experience curve economies, making many of the firms processes interdependent. This will require even greater controls and integrating mechanisms and make the decisions more complex and the decision tradeoffs more substantial (i. e. save money on this product or spend money to make it easy to sell the product). Firms with the highest level of performance ambiguity are transnational firms. The multidirectional transfer of competencies requires significant interdependence and lots of join decision making, making the performance ambiguity very high. This means the control costs are going to be highest in transnational firms and that many of the costs recovered by the transnational strategy are lost to creating the expensive control systems that must exist to facilitate the strategy. Another byproduct of this strategy is that global and transnational firms need to do more than use only output controls of objective performance metrics such as profits, productivity and market share in order to control their subsidiaries. These firms must look into cultural controls, encouraging managers to want to assume he norms and value systems and use those values to solve problems between the interdependent units and avoid finger pointing based on the output results. CT5 – If a firm is changing its strategy from an international to a transnational strategy what are the most important challenges it is likely to face in implementing this change? How can the firm overcome these challenges? While becoming a multinational firm does not require a strategy change, in order to compete in the global economy and be the best at what you do, organizational change may become a requirement. First the company must decide their strategy and then they must develop an appropriate organizational structure to complement those goals. A transnational strategy focuses on the simultaneous attainment of location and experience curve economies, local responsiveness and global learning. This firm may want to look into a matrix structure where managers from regional and product areas come together to make decisions that will benefit both points of view. They need to implement control systems that will allow them to work with their globally dispersed value chain and to transfer core competencies and therefore will likely be more culturally driven then output driven. Decisions should be made at both a centralized and decentralized level depending on what the company needs to transfer between units and what specifically about the product needs to be locally responsive (e. . branding/marketing). There needs to be a mix of informal and formal integrating mechanisms which can be found in the decision matrix and via informal networking tools (e. g. Twitter). Finally there needs to be strong culture cultivation to keep all the units on the same page which can be accomplished by a strong leadership with good vision and a willingness to participate in the dissemination of that vision. According to the text the three basic principals for performing organizational change include: 1) Unfreeze the corporation through shock therapy Incremental changes are not necessarily enough †¢ People can easily reject or avoid incremental change †¢ In this case the announcement of a dramatically different structural organization to facilitate the new goals †¢ Senior managers must lead the way in the changes and the unfreezing process 2) Move the org to a new state through proactive change in the architecture †¢ Reassigning the responsibilities in the new organization †¢ Changing the control systems to be less output based and more culturally based †¢ Letting people go who are unwilling to change †¢ The changes must be done quickly Involving the employees from the beginning will get their buy in and will makes the changes better received. 3) Refreeze the org in its new state †¢ This step can take longer †¢ It requires culture es tablishment while the old one is dismantled †¢ Re-socialization of employee behaviors †¢ Hiring policies must change †¢ Control systems must be tested and be consistent with the new culture and ignore the old one †¢ The upper management must be diligent and not allow the old pressure to creep up Chapter 14 – Entry Strategy and Strategic Alliances Key Chapter Points Two Major Ideas: 1) The decision of which foreign markets to enter, when to enter them and on what scale 2) The choice of entry mode Which Market (Recap of chapter 2) The attractiveness of a country as a potential market depends on balancing the benefits, costs and risks associated with doing business in that country †¢ Long Run economic benefits of a function of size of the market, present wealth, likelihood of future wealth †¢ Future economic growth, which is a function of a free market system and the country’s capacity for wealth. †¢ Riskier in politically and economical ly unstable countries †¢ What kind of value the firm can create for consumers in that market Timing of Entry Early entry – when a firm enters a foreign market before others do First movers advantage †¢ Pre-empt rivals †¢ Gain market share †¢ Establish a strong brand Creating switching costs to tie your buyers to you †¢ Set the price so you can cut prices when competitors arrive First movers disadvantage †¢ Pioneering costs, from the foreign business system being so different that time and expense must be sacrificed to learn the ropes †¢ Business failure if the firm makes mistakes based on bad knowledge †¢ Promotion of a new product or idea Late Entry – When a firm enters a foreign market after other firms do †¢ Can watch what your competitors do, and learn from their mistakes †¢ Can ride the coattails of their marketing and promotion †¢ Don’t need to educate your customers Scale of entry †¢ Large scale Requires significant resource commitment which can lead to strategy commitments, where you can’t get out of the deal without suffering significant consequences o It does create a presence and instills belief that you are committed to your product and customers †¢ Small Scale o Allows a firm to learn the market without exposing the firm to risks o Way to gather information o Lack of commitment may make it harder to attract customers Entry Modes Exporting Advantages †¢ Avoids substantial costs of establish manufacturing operations in another country †¢ May help the firm achieve experience curve, location economies and economies of scale Disadvantages It may be cheaper to produce abroad †¢ High transportation costs on shipping could make it uneconomical to export †¢ Tariff barriers may prohibit your exporting, making it uneconomical, and the threat of tariff barriers can make it risky †¢ Delegates of the company that perform the sales, marketing, se rvice may work for other competitors and therefore will not have your best interests in mind Turnkey Projects – The contractor agrees to handle every detail of the project for a foreign clients, including the training of operational personnel. At the end the client is handed the â€Å"key† to a fully functional plant. Typically in complex production businesses. Advantages The know how is a valuable asset and you can earn returns on that knowledge †¢ Useful when FDI is limited †¢ Can be less risky than traditional FDI Disadvantages †¢ No long term interest in that country †¢ May create a competitor out of the creator of your factory †¢ Could be selling your comparative advantage Licensing – The licensor grants the rights to intangible property to another entity for a specified period, and in return, he licensor receives a royalty fee from the licensee. Advantages †¢ Licensee puts up most of the capital †¢ Good for firms lacking capital †¢ Prohibited from direct investment in a foreign market Disadvantages (3 serious ones) Does not give tight control over manufacturing, marketing, strategy, etc. that si required for realizing the experience curve and location economies. †¢ Limits a firms ability to share wealth amongst various divisions, and therefore limits a coordinated international strategy †¢ Giving away your comparative advantage Franchising – a specialized form of licensing in which the franchiser sells the IP, but also the franchisee needs to follow those specific rules the franchisor sets out. Advantages †¢ Firm is relieved of many of the costs and risks †¢ Good for firms lacking capital †¢ Good when you are prohibited from FDI in that country †¢ Allows you to build a global presence quickly Disadvantage Great for services, but perhaps not manufacturing †¢ Limits a firms ability to share wealth amongst various divisions, and therefore limits a coordina ted international strategy †¢ There are different definitions of quality, safety, etc. in different places making it difficult to maintain your image across other countries Joint Ventures – Establishing a firm that is jointly owned by two or more otherwise independent firms, it’s popular mode of entry into foreign markets. Advantages †¢ Get to benefit from the local firm’s knowledge of the host country culture, norms, language, political situation, etc. †¢ Provide the local knowhow to a new country †¢ Share the risks with another company Sometime political factors make it impossible not to partner with a local firm Disadvantages †¢ Risking giving away your comparative advantage to a potential competitor †¢ The firm doesn’t have tight control over local operations, making it difficult for companies needing to transfer a culture †¢ Shared ownership can lead to conflicts between the two corporations, which can be exacerbate d by the fact that the two firms are from different nations. Wholly Owned Subsidiary – The firm owns 100% of the stock in the project. Can be done through a Greenfield venture, where you build a factory from scratch or via acquisition of an existing enterprise. Advantages †¢ Protect your knowledge Tight control †¢ Required to gain experience and locations economies †¢ Can engage in global strategic behaviors Disadvantages †¢ High costs and risks †¢ Culture transfer can be difficult, especially in terms of an acquisition Chapter Questions Tesco Q2 – How does Tesco create value in its international operations? Tesco creates value by offering something that the market is lacking: a well run competitive grocery store. They enter emerging markets with growth potential and few competitors. They then acquire or partner with current enterprises in that country in order to ensure that the value they are creating will work for that particular consumer. Tesco researches their potential partners carefully, and they pick a solid chain with some stores and they build off of that known base. They bring to the table their core competencies, but they don’t remove the local managers who have the knowledge of the customer. Finally they have the capital and the retailing know-how to bring their moderately successful firms into a globally back force. This value is created out of successfully leveraging the joint venture strategy, where both firms bring something useful to the table and both are given the opportunity to be successful with their knowledge. Grocery stores are part service and part goods firms. Tesco’s strengths exist in both, but they are leveraging their service and management know-how transfer through the use of the joint venture. We know that value creation is measured by the difference between the converted inputs that create the cost of a product and how much the consumer is willing to pay for that product. More specifically in this case it is the amount consumers are willing to pay for the goods inside of the Tesco subsidiary. Porter states that it is important for the firm to decide where it wants to be strategically positioned in terms of cost effectiveness, and differentiation. Tesco wants to be a low cost provider of all the goods a consumer would purchase at a grocery store. They compete through their value chain by gaining purchasing power through expansion, and by leveraging their values skills in foreign markets. CT 5 – A small Canadian firm that has developed some valuable new medical products using its unique biotechnology know-how is trying to decide how best to serve the EU. Establishing a manufacturing firm outside of Canada is not outside of the firm’s reach, but it will be a stretch. Which of the following options would you recommend and why? a) Manufacture the product at home and let foreign sales agents handle the marketing. b) Manufacture the product at home and set up wholly own subsidiaries in Europe to handle marketing c) Enter into an alliance with a large European pharmaceutical firm. The product would be manuf in Europe y the 50/50 joint venture and marketed by the European firm. As stated in the text, if the firm’s core competency is the based on control over proprietary technological know-how, it should avoid licensing and joint-venture arrangements if possible to minimize the risks of losing control over that technology (option C). While the strategic alliance will allow for entry into the foreign market, I don’t feel that the EU is such a different type of market that it would be impossible to find someone in the US who they could hire to help them understand that market. The partnership can give competitors low cost access to the new technology and markets. Wholly owned subsidiaries for marketing would allow for the marketing to be owned by the firm and therefore reduce the risks associated with using the local sales agents that may serve their own interests in lieu of the firm’s. However, I suggest that the core competency of the firm is not their marketing skills, but rather their technological know-how. This means that they would be choosing to take on major risks and expenses in order to transfer a non core competency and therefore find themselves at risk of failure. Going back to the Lincoln electric case, we saw how selecting a mode of entry strategy on something other than your comparative can lead to significant issues. Exporting (option a) allows for the firm to realize location economies, experience curve economies while suffering from high transport costs, trade barriers and problems with local marketing agents. In this instance, the cost of shipping medical instruments is typically quite low, and the trade barriers between Canada and EU are nonexistent. However, they may find the local sales agents to be at odds with other competitors making it difficult to distribute the product. Despite this drawback however, I feel that the financial risks associated with option b and the dangers of losing their core competency in option c I would use the less risky option a. Chapter 15 – Exporting, Importing and Counter Trade Key Chapter Points Chapter Questions CT3 – An alternative to using letter of credit is export credit insurance. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using the credit insurance rather than a letter of credit for exporting: a) A luxury yacht from California to Canada b) Machine tools from New York to the Ukraine A letter of credit, abbreviated as L/C is: †¢ Issued by the bank at the request of the importer †¢ States the bank will pay a specified sum of money to a beneficiary, normally the exporter, on presentation of particular, specified documents †¢ Charge a percentage to the importer as a fee for the service †¢ May require the importer to do some type of deposit †¢ It is a financial contract †¢ Allows for the banks to determine the creditworthiness of your trade partner, so no relationship must exist for the trade to take place Export Credit Insurance: Sometimes exporters who require a letter of credit from an importer will lose their business to another exporter who doesn’t require all the additional work †¢ Thus when the importer is in a str ong bargaining position and able to play competing suppliers against each other, an exporter may have to forgo a letter of credit. †¢ This exposes the exporter to risk †¢ The exporter can protect themselves against that risk through the us of exporter insurance †¢ The FCIA provides coverage against commercial and political risks. Losses due to commercial risk result from the buyers insolvency or payment default. a) Because the competition for selling this product is somewhat high I would expect the buyer to have more power than the seller and therefore I could see them asking the seller to forgo the letter of credit. If that is the case export credit insurance will be the likely route to manage the trade. However, if the seller can get the buyer to comply the letter of credit between the reputable Canadian bank and the US bank will be a good asset to leverage if possible. b) Because of the nature of the transaction, the letter of credit may be the best solution. This way the seller can insure that the buyer is credit worthy and the bank will take care of the relationship needs so the buyer and seller do not have to create a relationship. My only concern would be that of the Ukrainian bank and whether you can trust their banking system. It may be more prudent to use the exporter insurance again to guard against the ever present political and economic risks in that country. ———————– Structure Incentives & controls Processes Culture People