Ms. Onika Maraj s Personality Essay - 1603 Words

The subject of this psychobiography is Ms. Onika Maraj or more commonly known as Nicki Minaj. Nicki Minaj is a Rapper and Singer who was born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago on December 8, 1982. Nicki Minaj had a tumultuous childhood moving from Saint James to Queens New York at a young age. Along with the difficult move early on in her childhood she also suffered the effects of having a parent addicted to drugs and alcohol. This coupled with his anger issues lead to her suffering the devastating loss of her childhood home and possessions. She however, would overcome that and continue on in life to achieve the success she has today. In order to hone her skills Nicki Minaj would spend much time dedicating herself to her craft in an effort to reach success. Nicki Minaj’s personality can be best characterized through the sex and gender theoretical perspective. This theoretical perspective states that men and women’s personalities tend to differ from one another at various points based on how women and men are treated in society. This theoretical perspective discusses how men and women’s behavior differ and how this behavioral difference can be attributed to how society views the sexes. Sex and gender has had a large impact on society as a whole which in turn has had an impact on Nicki Minaj’s personality. This has effected how Nicki Minaj views herself as a whole and also has put into perspective how society views her which allows her to be more aware of herself. Working in

Born Globals and International Business †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Born Globals and International Business. Answer: Introduction Unilever Plc. is the most popular traditional consumer goods company in United Kingdom. The organization was established in the year 1930 through merging of Dutch margarine producing company Margarine Unie and British soap maker Lever Brother. It has wide range of product portfolio including the products like food, beverages, personal care products and cleaning agents. Being the oldest consumer goods organization, it offers its products to around 190 countries. The organization has owned more than 400 brands with turnover of over 50 billion Euros in the year 2016 (Unilever.com 2018). As per the company survey of 2012, Unilever is the largest consumer goods company in the world as per its measure of revenue. The organization is also the largest producer of food spread like margarine in the world. Unilever has an estimated 49.6% market share in the global grocery market (Moore 2016). As per the above figure, Unilever has gained highest market share of 35% in its personal care product category (Unilever.com 2018). The research and development facilities of the organization are available in the countries like Netherlands, United Kingdom, India, China and United States. However, the organization is facing tough competition from its international competitors like Nestle, Protector and Gambler and many more. On the other hand, the organization is also facing tough competition from the local competitors like Danone, PepsiCo, Henkel and many more. Fast Moving Consumer Goods Industry includes the household products that the consumers buy during their shopping in the supermarket and in other shop. Fast moving entails the product items, which are fast to leave the shelves and likely to be high in quantity but low in cost. This industry is growing at a fast speed in United Kingdom. Moreover, the FMCG industry of United Kingdom has an overall value of over $570.1/369.17 billion (Fainshmidt, Smith and Judge 2016). It is particularly a fast-paced industry and it is continuously evolving. The industry is also extremely valuable in terms of getting help from the government fund. As per Telegraph Jobs (2015), Food industry has received more than 11 million worth of investment from the government funding of United Kingdom in the food technology. Apart from that, the industry also has huge contribution in the economic development of United Kingdom. The total export value of UK FMCG industry is almost 18 billion. The industry has an estima ted market size of 101.5 billion. In 2016, the industry has contributed 9.65% to the total GDP of the United Kingdom (Casson, Porter and Wadeson 2016). The industry has a tough competition among the major and leading market players of this industry are like Unilever, LOreal, Cadbury and many more. The industry is also significant for reducing the unemployment rate of the country. Over the years, almost 400,000 individuals have got employed in this industry, which is also indirectly contributing to the economic development of United Kingdom (Bhawsar and Chattopadhyay 2015). This study will assess the international success of the Unilever. Moreover, the study will critical analyze Porters diamond model for assessing the international success of the organization. The model has four components like factor condition, demand condition, firm strategy, structure and rivalry and related and supporting industry. These four factors assess the national competitiveness of a country and company, which have direct impact on its international success. National performance of any sector is certainly associated with the structure and strategies of the organizations in the sector. Competition acts an important role to foster innovation and ensure up gradation of competitive advantage. According to Andersson, Dellestrand and Pedersen (2014), domestic competition is always more direct and affects more earlier on the organization than the steps taken by the foreign competitors. Hence, such national rivalry acts as stimulus on organization for higher level of innovation and efficiency. Such innovation ultimately helps the organizations to gain success in international market. Likewise, Unilever faces tough competition from the competitors like McVitie's, Hovis, Kingsmill Bakery, Cadbury, Nails Inc. and many more. Carney et al. (2017) pointed out that lot of competitions and lot of rivalries from these competitors keeps Unilever on its toes. Hence, the organization tries to beat these competitions through continually developing more quali ty and innovative products and services. Such innovative and high quality products and service helps the organization to gain success both in domestic market as well as international market. Harzing and Giroud (2014) pointed out that constant pressure from UK competition triggers Unilever to develop competitive products and offer them at competitive price for staying competitive overall. Moreover, Unilever has adopted advanced technology to meet the level of standard in the consumer goods used by the customers in developed countries. On the other hand, Beaudreau (2016) opined that the cultural aspects play an important role in deciding upon the level international success of business. For example, Unilever follows collaborative organizational culture in United Kingdom, where the success of the organization comes through teamwork of the employees. Hence, in UK, the organization follows flat organizational structure for getting more outcomes from the employees for leading to organizational success. However, USA business culture is somewhat individualistic, where the success of the organization comes through individual effort of the employees. Hence, the degree of country r isk for USA causes from the teamwork culture and flat organizational structure of UK. In USA, Unilever follows functional organizational structure for supervising the individual effort of the employees towards leading organizational success. According to Carayannis, Sindakis and Walter (2015), firm strategy is extremely significant for creating competitive advantage in domestic as well as international market through increasing production and development of technological innovation. In case of Unilever, the organization has made a partnership strategy with UK government for increasing the production of sanitary soaps for preventing diseases and saving lives of people. Such government support and government partnership has enabled the company to get sell more numbers of sanitary soaps to both domestic as well as international market. On the other hand, Lazzarini (2015) opined that the success of international business is largely dependent on the way organizations are developed, organized and managed. Unilever follows cost leadership strategy for gaining market leadership both in domestic as well as international market. Factor Endowments Factor condition includes the factors, which can be exploited by the organization in particular nation. In case of international business, factor conditions indicate various kinds of resources, which may or may not be presented in domestic country of the organization. These factor conditions are like physical resources, human resources, knowledge resources and infrastructure and capital resources. The factor conditions can also be distinguished as basic factors and advanced factors. According to Bbel (2017), basic factors comprise natural resources like climate, oil, minerals and others, where the mobility of the resources is quite low. These resources can never revolve into real value creation exclusive of the invention of advanced factors. On the other hand, Wonglimpiyarat (2015) opined that advanced factors are highly sophisticated, which are research capabilities, human resources and many more. While considering the national competitiveness of Unilever, it can be seen that the or ganization has access to large pool of highly skilled employees. Such high qualified and highly skills employees continuously contribute to the research and development area of the organization towards fostering innovation. Hence, the organization is always engaged in fostering innovative quality consumer goods meeting the unique needs of the customers. Such strong innovation capability has facilitated the organization to gain success both in domestic as well as international market. Slvell (2015) pointed out that United Kingdom is full of rare minerals and oils, which can be effectively exploited in production of different types of cosmetics products. Moreover, with high level of technological equipments and technological standard, Unilever can effectively exploit such natural resources to produce innovative quality cosmetic products. Hence, the technological standard and high skill employees build the national competitiveness of Unilever, which in turn contributes in international competitiveness through unique product quality. On the other hand, Czinkota (2016) opined that China has rich mineral resources, which can be exploited for producing several consumer goods. However, with lack of advanced technological equipments and technological standards, Unilever is not capable of producing unique quality cosmetic goods in Chinas production house. Lack of technological standard seems to have high degree of country risk for Unilever in China market. According to Rahman et al. (2015), the success of technological innovation is highly dependent on the technological skills of the employees. Such employees having high level of technological skills can operate the advanced technological equipments in better way. Hence, they can perfectly contribute in the development of innovative products using advanced technological equipments. Likewise, Unilever has wide access to large pool of employees having high level of technological skills. Hence, such employees having high level of technological skills can operate advanced technological equipments for producing innovative products for the customers. In this way, such technically skilled and advanced employees contribute in the national competitiveness of the organization. Such national competitiveness ultimately builds the ground for the international success of Unilever. On the other hand, Zander, McDougall-Covin and Rose (2015) opined that the strong linguistic ability of the workforce of United Kingdom also supports the international competitive advantage of the Unilever. The employees from United Kingdom having high level of linguistic ability can effectively work in the global branches of Unilever and contribute to the success of the organization. Demand Conditions In demand condition, if the local market for a product and service is larger and the products and services are more demanding at foreign market, then local organizations put more emphasis for improvement of products than those of foreign companies. It ultimately increases the global competitiveness of the local exporting organizations. According to Chinta, Cheung and Capar (2015), a more demanding home market leads to innovation, growth and improvement of quality of the products of an organization. Likewise, Unilever take the advantages of strong home demand for creating national competitive advantage that leads to its ultimate international competitive advantage. With increasing population of United Kingdom, the organization is recognizing huge demand of consumer goods for meeting the daily needs of the customers. Moreover, Appiah-Adu, Okpattah and Amoako (2018) opined that Unilever is enjoying high level of economies of scale with huge products of consumer goods for meeting huge de mands of UK customers. Such strong economies of scale facilitate the organization to initiate cost leadership strategy for gaining high level of competitive advantage in domestic market. It ultimately facilitates in making strong financial strength, which ultimately helps in getting international success. According to Bai, Holmstrm-Lind and Johanson (2018), factor condition defines a nation or country having sophisticated homebuyers, who have aware and high demand for advanced, innovative and high quality products. Moreover, such demand for advanced, innovative and high quality products leads an organization create such innovative, advanced and unique quality products. In case of United Kingdom, the nation of Unilever, the people are having highly sophisticated lifestyle. They always demand for highly quality and innovative consumer goods for enhancing their quality of life. Hence, such demand of consumers has encouraged Unilever to create high quality, advanced and innovative consumer goods. In this way, such innovation has led to high level of national competitiveness of Unilever, which in turn has built the ground for international success through offering product uniqueness. As per Sarkiunaite and Rocke (2015), demand condition in home market provides key driver of growth, improvement of quality and innovation. It is the premise that a strong domestic market simulates an organization from being start up to slightly expanded to larger organization. With the modernization of society, the people of United Kingdom are now highly conscious about their health security. They are more inclined towards sustainable living for more healthy life. In this way, huge demand for healthy products in domestic market has encouraged Unilever to produce innovative healthy and well being products. Now, the organization offers more than 400 health and well-being products not only in their domestic market, but also such products are widely accepted in international markets. On the other hand, Wonglimpiyarat (2015) opined that increasing demand for sustainable living and environmental concern has encouraged Unilever to produce Ayurvedic skin care products. Such products have gai ned huge in the international market like India. In this way, strong home demand of UK customers for innovative quality products has led to innovation in Unilever. Such innovation has built the ground of international success for Unilever. Related and Supporting Industries The presence of related and supporting industry is sometimes extremely significant for the growth of an organization. The strength of national competitiveness tends to be related with cluster of industry. According to Harzing and Giroud (2014), organizations enjoy more innovative inputs and cost effectiveness, when their local organizations are competitive enough. Such related and supporting industries drive the success level of the organizations. They can assist from each others know how for generating innovative product ideas. Furthermore, Andersson, Dellestrand and Pedersen (2014) opined that related and supporting industry can encourage each other through producing complementary products. Likewise, the related and supporting industry of UK benefit Unilever to foster competitive advantage in domestic market. As per Slvell (2015), the growth of related companies like McVitie's, Hovis, Kingsmill Bakery, Cadbury, Nails Inc. always facilitate Unilever to get innovative product ideas, as these companies sale related FMCG product like Unilever. Such related companies help each other from exchanging unique product ideas. Hence, the organization is highly capable of getting unique ideas to produce innovative FMCG products even in international markets. In this way, the growth of related and supporting industries is directly linked with the international success of Unilever. Harzing and Giroud (2014) pointed out that the effect of related and supporting industries is strengthened, when the suppliers of an organization themselves are strong global competitors. Such suppliers can supply unique raw materials to the organizations for producing innovative quality products for fostering competitive advantage in the competitive market. On the other hand, Sharma, Davcik and Pillai (2016) opined that related and supporting industries offer cost efficient inputs and also contribute in upgrading process of an organization. In this way, such suppliers stimulate other companies in the chain of innovation. Likewise, the competitive global suppliers of Unilever facilitate it to avail unique raw material towards producing innovative FMCG products. Czinkota (2016) stated that the growth of Palm oil, sugar producing companies and many more in United Kingdom has ultimately help Unilever to get unique quality palm oil, sugar and many other things to produce innovative food products and personal care products. Such innovative help the organization to gain competitive edge both in domestic as well as international market. On the other hand, Bai, Holmstrm-Lind and Johanson (2018) opined that the international success of Unilever is highly dependent on the ability of suppliers to supply cost effective raw materials. It facilitates the organization to operate low cost production strategy for gaining competitive advantage both in domestic as well as international market. Conclusion While concluding the study, it can be said that Unilever is highly successful both in its domestic market as well as in international market. It is the largest consumer goods company in the world, while measuring it as per its revenue. Having a reach to more than 130 countries, the organization has a market share of 49.6% in the global grocery market. The FMCG industry of United Kingdom is continuously evolving over the years. There is a tough competition in FMCG industry among the major marker players like Unilever, Cadbury, LOreal and many more. The international success of Unilever is largely dependent on its national competitiveness. Porter diamond model has best assessed the national competiveness of Unilever in respect to its home market United Kingdom, which has huge impact on its international success. Firms strategy, structure and rivalry play an important role in the national competitiveness of organizations. Domestic competitions directly influence the organizations and encourage them to make innovation in their products. Likewise, the direct domestic competition of Unilever has encouraged it to foster innovation and products innovative consumer goods. In this way, such innovation in domestic market has ultimately led to international success of the organization through unique competitive advantage. On the other hand, factor conditions define different types of physical resources, knowledge resources, infrastructure and capital resources that may or may not be available in domestic market. As per this factor, the basic factors such as oil and natural resources are actually turn into real value with the help of natural resources like human resources, knowledge resources and others. Similarly, Unilever get wide access to highly skilled and knowledgeable employees in the market of United Kingdom. The dedication and expertise knowledge of these human resources has fostered innovative product ideas of Unilever. Hence, such innovative product ideas help the organization to gain competitive advantage and organizational success both in domestic as well as international market. As per demand condition, the size of local market decides upon on the level of competitive advantage for the organization. In case of Unilever, the organization always recognizes huge demand of FMCG products with the growing population of United Kingdom. Such mass production gives the organization an opportunity to gain high level of economies of scale. Moreover, with the help of high economies of scale, the organization has become able to initiate cost leadership strategy for gaining competitive advantage in its domestic market. Such competitive gain is also directly associated with the international success of the organization. On the other hand, the sophisticated and high quality homegrown demand of UK customers has encouraged Unilever to produce innovative FMCG products. The organization is also successful in its international market through offering such innovative products. Apart from that, the national competitiveness of Unilever is largely dependent on the competiveness of re lated and supporting industry. Moreover, the related and supporting industry of Unilever helps it to exchange innovative ideas for producing innovative quality products leading to success in both domestic as well as international market. Reference List Andersson, U., Dellestrand, H. and Pedersen, T., 2014. The contribution of local environments to competence creation in multinational enterprises.Long range planning,47(1-2), pp.87-99. Appiah-Adu, K., Okpattah, B. and Amoako, G.K., 2018. Building Capability for Organizational Success: An Emerging Market Perspective.Journal of African Business,19(1), pp.86-104. Bai, W., Holmstrm-Lind, C. and Johanson, M., 2018. Leveraging networks, capabilities and opportunities for international success: A study on returnee entrepreneurial ventures. Scandinavian Journal of Management,34(1), pp.51-62. Beaudreau, B.C., 2016. Competitive and comparative advantage: Towards a unified theory of international trade.International Economic Journal,30(1), pp.1-18. Bhawsar, P. and Chattopadhyay, U., 2015. Competitiveness: review, reflections and directions.Global Business Review,16(4), pp.665-679. Bbel, I., 2017. On Strategy Competitiveness: 10 Recipes for Analytical Success.Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal,27(4), pp.433-435. Carayannis, E.G., Sindakis, S. and Walter, C., 2015. Business model innovation as lever of organizational sustainability.The Journal of Technology Transfer,40(1), pp.85-104. Carney, M., Duran, P., van Essen, M. and Shapiro, D., 2017. Family firms, internationalization, and national competitiveness: Does family firm prevalence matter?.Journal of Family Business Strategy,8(3), pp.123-136. Casson, M., Porter, L. and Wadeson, N., 2016. Internalization theory: An unfinished agenda.International Business Review,25(6), pp.1223-1234. Chinta, R., Cheung, M.S. and Capar, N., 2015. Double Whammy or Double Advantage:Foreignness and Newness as Determinants of Success in International Business. Journal of Management and Strategy,6(1), p.76. Czinkota, M.R., 2016. The Honorable Merchant and Customer Trust: Key Dimensions for International Business Success.Thunderbird International Business Review,58(3), pp.191-198. Fainshmidt, S., Smith, A. and Judge, W.Q., 2016. National Competitiveness and Porter's Diamond Model: The Role of MNE Penetration and Governance Quality.Global Strategy Journal,6(2), pp.81-104. Harzing, A.W. and Giroud, A., 2014. The competitive advantage of nations: An application to academia.Journal of Informetrics,8(1), pp.29-42. Lazzarini, S.G., 2015. Strategizing by the government: Can industrial policy create firm?level competitive advantage?.Strategic Management Journal,36(1), pp.97-112. Moore, J. 2016.Tesco vs Unilever: The Retail Rumble in the Jungle sponsored by Brexit. [online] The Independent. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/tesco-vs-unilever-the-retail-rumble-in-the-jungle-sponsored-by-brexit-a7359016.html [Accessed 10 Mar. 2018]. Moore, J. 2016.Tesco vs Unilever: The Retail Rumble in the Jungle sponsored by Brexit. [online] The Independent. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/tesco-vs-unilever-the-retail-rumble-in-the-jungle-sponsored-by-brexit-a7359016.html [Accessed 10 Mar. 2018]. Rahman, S.A., Amran, A., Ahmad, N.H. and Taghizadeh, S.K., 2015. Supporting entrepreneurial business success at the base of pyramid through entrepreneurial competencies. Management decision,53(6), pp.1203-1223. Sarkiunaite, I. and Rocke, D., 2015. The expatriate experience: the factors of international assignment success.Transformations in Business Economics,34(1), pp.20-47. Sharma, P., Davcik, N.S. and Pillai, K.G., 2016. Product innovation as a mediator in the impact of RD expenditure and brand equity on marketing performance.Journal of Business Research,69(12), pp.5662-5669. Slvell, ., 2015. The Competitive Advantage of Nations 25 yearsopening up new perspectives on competitiveness.Competitiveness Review,25(5), pp.471-481. Telegraph Jobs. 2015.FMCG Industry | Telegraph Jobs Careers Advice. [online] Available at: https://jobs.telegraph.co.uk/article/fmcg-industry/ [Accessed 10 Mar. 2018]. Unilever.com. 2018.Unilever.com. [online] Available at: https://www.unilever.com/ [Accessed 10 Mar. 2018]. Wonglimpiyarat, J., 2015. New economics of innovation: Strategies to support high-tech SMEs.The Journal of High Technology Management Research,26(2), pp.186-195. Zander, I., McDougall-Covin, P. and Rose, E.L., 2015. Born globals and international business: Evolution of a field of research.Journal of International Business Studies,46(1), pp.27-35.

Nutrition Is The Science That Deals With Food And How The Body Uses It

Nutrition is the science that deals with food and how the body uses it. All living things need food to live. The food supplies energy, which people need to perform certain actions. Food also provides substances that the body needs to build and repair its tissues and to regulate its organs and organ systems. Food provides certain chemical substances needed in order for a person to maintain good health. These chemical substances are called nutrients. Nutrients can perform three important functions. They provide materials for building, repairing, or maintaining body tissues. They help regulate body processes. They serve as fuel to provide energy. The body needs energy to maintain all its functions. People who do not get enough nutrients are sometimes lazy and are unwilling to work. The foods we eat contain thousands of different chemicals. Our body, however, only needs only a few dozen of these chemicals in order to stay healthy. These are the nutrients that the body needs. Nutrients are divided into six main groups. They are (1)water, (2)carbohydrates, (3)fats, (4)proteins, (5)minerals, (6)vitamins. Water, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are called macronutrients. Since macro means large, the body needs these four nutrients in large amounts. Minerals and vitamins are called micronutrients (because micro means small). The body needs only small amounts of these nutrients. Water is the most important nutrient. Our bodies can survive without other nutrients for several weeks, but we can only go without water for about one week. Water is needed in great amounts because the body consists largely of water. Between 50 and 75 percent of a normal person's body weight is made up of water. The body needs water to carry out all of its life processes. Watery solutions help dissolve other nutrients and carry them to all of the tissues. The body also needs water to carry away waste products and to cool itself. Adults should drink about 2 1/2 quarts of water every day. The carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are needed because they have nutrients which provide energy. Carbohydrates include all sugars and starches. They are the main source of energy for living things. There are two types of carbohydrates, simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates include sugars and have a simple molecular structure. Complex carbohydrates include starches and have a larger and more complicated molecular structure. The structure consists of many simple carbohydrates linked together. Fats are a highly concentrated source of energy. All fats are composed of an alcohol called glycerol and substances called fatty acids. A fatty acid consists of a long chain of carbon atoms. There are three types of fatty acids. They are saturated, monounsaturated, and polysaturated. This is a chart that describes the amount of fat per serving. The bold words can be found on many food products in the supermarket. Fat free: less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving Saturated fat free: less than 0.5 grams of saturated fat per serving, and the level of trans fatty acids does not exceed 1% of total fat Low fat: 3 gram or less per serving and, if the serving is 30 grams or less or 2 tablespoons or less, per 50 grams of the food Low saturated fat: 1 grams or less per serving and not more than 15% of calories from saturated fatty acids Reduced or Less fat: at least 25% less per serving than compared food Proteins serve as one of the main building materials for the body. Skin, cartilage, muscle, and hair are made up largely of proteins. Protein also contains enzymes which speed up chemical reactions. Cells could not function without these enzymes. Proteins also serve as hormones (chemical messengers) and as antibodies (disease fighting chemicals). Proteins are large, complex molecules made up of smaller units called amino acids. The body must have a sufficient supply of twenty amino acids. It can produce eleven of them in sufficient amounts. The nine others are called essential amino acids. The body cannot make these amino acids. They must come from food. The best sources of protein are cheese, eggs, lean meat, fish, and milk. The proteins in these foods are called complete proteins. They are called this because they contain adequate amounts of all the essential amino acids. Cereal grains, legumes (plants of the pea family),

Free Essays on Sudden Infant Death

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome SIDS is the most common death in the postneonatal period. This means that infants between the ages of one month to one year’s old are diagnosed with SIDS. SIDS is a syndrome that stands for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and is defined as a sudden death of an infant that is unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including an autopsy, examination of the scene of death, and a review of the clinical history. The cause or causes of SIDS vary. The triple risk model proposed by Filiano and Kinney suggest that SIDS represents an intersection of factors. These factors include vulnerable infant possessing intrinsic abnormalities in cardiorespiratory control, a critical period of development of homeostatic control mechanisms, and exogenous stressors. Another part of the triple risk model is that when vulnerable infants are subjected to stressors at times when normal defense mechanisms are structurally, functionally, and developmentally deficient. (emedicine.com/ped/topic.htm} Studies have shown that in a number of cases dealing with SIDS evidence of delayed development of the brain stem has been demonstrated as well reductions in the degree of myelination in specific brain regions. Some infants with SIDS have been noted to have fewer acetylcholine-binding receptors in the arcuate nucleus. This nerve cell is critical to the integration of cardiorespiratory and arousal responses. (emedicine.com/ped/topic.htm} There are a numerous amount of symptoms for infants including blood-tinged discharge from the nose or mouth, signs of livor mortis and rigor mortis. Accidental head entrapment, source of heating carbon monoxide, minor inflammatory changes within the tracheobronchial tree, or signs of passive congestion of the organs may all be contributors to the symptoms of SIDS. SIDS has demonstrated a higher rate among African-American infants than white infants. These racial... Free Essays on Sudden Infant Death Free Essays on Sudden Infant Death Sudden Infant Death Syndrome SIDS is the most common death in the postneonatal period. This means that infants between the ages of one month to one year’s old are diagnosed with SIDS. SIDS is a syndrome that stands for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and is defined as a sudden death of an infant that is unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including an autopsy, examination of the scene of death, and a review of the clinical history. The cause or causes of SIDS vary. The triple risk model proposed by Filiano and Kinney suggest that SIDS represents an intersection of factors. These factors include vulnerable infant possessing intrinsic abnormalities in cardiorespiratory control, a critical period of development of homeostatic control mechanisms, and exogenous stressors. Another part of the triple risk model is that when vulnerable infants are subjected to stressors at times when normal defense mechanisms are structurally, functionally, and developmentally deficient. (emedicine.com/ped/topic.htm} Studies have shown that in a number of cases dealing with SIDS evidence of delayed development of the brain stem has been demonstrated as well reductions in the degree of myelination in specific brain regions. Some infants with SIDS have been noted to have fewer acetylcholine-binding receptors in the arcuate nucleus. This nerve cell is critical to the integration of cardiorespiratory and arousal responses. (emedicine.com/ped/topic.htm} There are a numerous amount of symptoms for infants including blood-tinged discharge from the nose or mouth, signs of livor mortis and rigor mortis. Accidental head entrapment, source of heating carbon monoxide, minor inflammatory changes within the tracheobronchial tree, or signs of passive congestion of the organs may all be contributors to the symptoms of SIDS. SIDS has demonstrated a higher rate among African-American infants than white infants. These racial...

Max and Inflection Points of Chi-Square Distribution

Max and Inflection Points of Chi-Square Distribution Mathematical statistics uses techniques from various branches of math to prove definitively that statements regarding statistics are true. We will see how to use calculus to determine the values mentioned above of both the maximum value of the chi-square distribution, which corresponds to its mode, as well as find the inflection points of the distribution.   Before doing this, we will discuss the features of maxima and inflection points in general. We will also examine a method to calculate a maximum the inflection points. How to Calculate a Mode with Calculus For a discrete set of data, the mode is the most frequently occurring value. On a histogram of the data, this would be represented by the highest bar. Once we know the highest bar, we look at the data value that corresponds to the base for this bar. This is the mode for our data set.   The same idea is used in working with a continuous distribution. This time to find the mode, we look for the highest peak in the distribution. For a graph of this distribution, the height of the peak is a y value. This y value is called a maximum for our graph because the value is greater than any other y value. The mode is the value along the horizontal axis that corresponds to this maximum y-value.   Although we can simply look at a graph of a distribution to find the mode, there are some problems with this method. Our accuracy is only as good as our graph, and we are likely to have to estimate. Also, there may be difficulties in graphing our function. An alternate method that requires no graphing is to use calculus. The method we will use is as follows: Start with the probability density function f (x) for our distribution.  Calculate the first and second derivatives of this function: f (x) and f (x)Set this first derivative equal to zero f (x) 0.Solve for x.Plug the value(s) from the previous step into the second derivative and evaluate. If the result is negative, then we have a local maximum at the value x.Evaluate our function f (x) at all of the points x from the previous step.  Evaluate the probability density function on any endpoints of its support. So if the function has domain given by the closed interval [a,b], then evaluate the function at the endpoints a and b.The largest value in steps 6 and 7 will be the absolute maximum of the function. The x value where this maximum occurs is the mode of the distribution. Mode of the Chi-Square Distribution Now we go through the steps above to calculate the mode of the chi-square distribution with r degrees of freedom. We start with the probability density function f(x) that is displayed in the image in this article. f (x) K xr/2-1e-x/2 Here K is a constant that involves the gamma function and a power of 2. We do not need to know the specifics (however we can refer to the formula in the image for these). The first derivative of this function is given by using the product rule as well as the chain rule: f ( x ) K (r/2 - 1)xr/2-2e-x/2 - (K / 2) xr/2-1e-x/2 We set this derivative equal to zero, and factor the expression on the right-hand side: 0 K  xr/2-1e-x/2  [(r/2 - 1)x-1 - 1/2] Since the constant K, the exponential function and xr/2-1   are all nonzero, we can divide both sides of the equation by these expressions.   We then have: 0 (r/2 - 1)x-1 - 1/2 Multiply both sides of the equation by 2: 0 (r - 2)x-1 - 1 Thus 1 (r - 2)x-1 and we conclude by having x r - 2. This is the point along the horizontal axis where the mode occurs.   It indicates the x value of the peak of our chi-square distribution. How to Find an Inflection Point with Calculus Another feature of a curve deals with the way that it curves. Portions of a curve can be concave up, like an upper case U. Curves can also be concave down, and shaped like an   intersection symbol ∠©. Where the curve changes from concave down to concave up, or vice versa we have an inflection point. The second derivative of a function detects the concavity of the graph of the function. If the second derivative is positive, then the curve is concave up. If the second derivative is negative, then the curve is concave down. When the second derivative is equal to zero and the graph of the function changes concavity, we have an inflection point. In order to find the inflection points of a graph we: Calculate the second derivative of our function f (x).Set this second derivative equal to zero.Solve the equation from the previous step for x. Inflection Points for the Chi-Square Distribution Now we see how to work through the above steps for the chi-square distribution. We begin by differentiating. From the above work, we saw that the first derivative for our function is: f (x) K (r / 2 - 1) xr/2-2e-x/2 - (K / 2) xr/2-1e-x/2 We differentiate again, using the product rule twice. We have: f ( x ) K (r / 2 - 1) (r / 2 - 2)xr/2-3e-x/2 - (K / 2)(r / 2 - 1)xr/2-2e-x/2 (K / 4) xr/2-1e-x/2 - (K / 2)(r / 2 - 1) xr/2-2e-x/2 We set this equal to zero and divide both sides by Ke-x/2 0 (r/2 - 1)(r/2 - 2)xr/2-3 - (1 / 2)(r/2 - 1)xr/2-2 (1/ 4) xr/2-1 - (1/ 2)(r/2 - 1) xr/2-2 By combining like terms we have: (r/2 - 1)(r/2 - 2)xr/2-3 - (r/2 - 1)xr/2-2 (1/ 4) xr/2-1 Multiply both sides by 4x3 - r/2, this gives us: 0 (r - 2)(r - 4) - (2r - 4)x x2. The quadratic formula can now be used to solve for x. x [(2r - 4) /- [(2r - 4)2 - 4  (r - 2)(r - 4) ]1/2]/2 We expand the terms that are taken to the 1/2 power and see the following: (4r2 -16r 16) - 4 (r2 -6r 8) 8r - 16 4(2r - 4) This means that: x [(2r - 4) /- [(4(2r - 4) ]1/2]/2 (r - 2) /- [2r - 4]1/2 From this we see that there are two inflection points. Moreover, these points are symmetric about the mode of the distribution as (r - 2) is halfway between the two inflection points. Conclusion We see how both of these features are related to the number of degrees of freedom. We can use this information to help in the sketching of a chi-square distribution. We can also compare this distribution with others, such as the normal distribution. We can see that the inflection points for a chi-square distribution occur in different places than the inflection points for the normal distribution.

Symbolism and Metaphor in Poetry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Symbolism and Metaphor in Poetry - Essay Example â€Å"Black granite† symbolizes the hard and unbreakable nature of the poet. In the second stanza of the poem Facing It by Yusef K. (1988), â€Å"My clouded reflection eyes me like a bird of prey† is symbolism in simile form. Here the poet symbolizes how bad and shameful he feels when he recalls the past suffering days that are not worth remembering. â€Å"Light† has been used to express hope for a good future. The poet also says â€Å"The profile of night slanted against morning†. Night here symbolizes the bad past which highly depends on a brighter future which is symbolized by morning. â€Å"I’m a window† is another instance of metaphor in the poem Facing It by Yusef K. (1988). Window is used to show that by looking at the poet, people remember the past. â€Å"Smoke†has also been used in the fourth stanza to imply faded and unclear letters. This shows that he is desperate in his options.â€Å"Red bird’swings† is used in the fifth stanza to symbolize a plane. â€Å"Black mirror† has also been used in the sixth stanza of the poem as a symbol of a reflection of the hard times in the past. From the use of symbolism and metaphor in the poem Facing It by Yusef K. (1988), different themes are clearly brought out. The theme of hope and expectation is brought out when the poet says he is â€Å"depending on the light to make a difference†. He hopes morning will come and he will make changes where he can. The theme of racism is also evident. â€Å"A white vet’s image floats† is used to symbolize that the white are highly rated to the extent of using plane than the blacks who only deal with stones as shown by â€Å"My black face fades hiding inside the black granite†. It is clear that the black are viewed as people with no abilities to do anything substantial. In conclusion, symbolism and metaphor are essential aspects of poetry as explained by Timpane J. Watts M. & San Francisco State

Herman Miller and Local Produce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Herman Miller and Local Produce - Essay Example Local produce good for everyone: This is a fact that Herman Miller considers very strongly. For instance Miller and a team of experts have looked beyond their immediate markets to other local but promising markets i. e the Chinese markets. They have noticed that the Chinese do not patronize global goods but are in love with their local produce like many other Asian countries. Thus Miller is creating some designs which are very specific to that marketplace and in other to achieve this; they will have to hire a few local people to guide the company towards achieving a perfect local design/produce that suits the need of the local market. Analysis According to (Google books, 2010) Herman Miller uses outside resources to drive innovations. They outsource their creative work to a network of award winning independent designers. Miller states boldly that when talents are drawn from a variety of sources, innovation thrives faster. This is what walker refers to as â€Å" a fresh perspective o n existing or emerging problems† In expanding into Malaysia, the company will require the flexibility of working alongside other designers in Malaysia and sharing profits with them. This will help them conquer the indigenous Malaysian market.