Transport Economics of Ktmb Essay Example for Free

Transport Economics of Ktmb Essay Introduction Generally, transportation is the safe, efficient, reliable, and sustainable movement of persons and goods by over time and space. Several available types of transportation are used widely in the real life, which including railroads, buses, air, automobile, truck and, etc. In addition, the value-added activities, for example, door-to-door service, for transportation is essential to the elderly or disabled. No one can doubt the important of transportation to the economy, for instance; an excellent transportation spurs economic development by giving mobility to production factors, which permits scale economics and increase efficiency. Whats more, it also enlarges the area that consumers and industries can draw on for resources and products. KTM Komuter in Malaysia is a well-known transportation company, because it earns its great reputation by the profound history, advanced management, and all. The following parts will focus on the background, the success and limitation, the role and importance of the KTM Komuter to the economy. It was on June 1, 1885 where the first train in Malaysia to take its schedule during British colonial era. Previously it was known as the Federated Malay States Railways (FMSR) and the Malayan Railway Administration (MRA). Keretapi Tanah Melayu acquired its current name in 1962. 30 years later, which was on 1992, the company was corporatize but remains wholly owned by the Malaysian government. During the times, fares offered by KTMB are generally reasonable, but the low frequency of the intercity trains does make them competitive with other modes of transportation. However, KTMB has made numerous changes that lead to its current success. Until recently, the turnaround effort to steer KTMB back on track with reasonable profit or at the very least self-sustainable to cover its operating cost has been way too long overdue. Over the years, many of that turnaround effort have been proven failure. In KTMBs latest publicly available financial statement as at December 2009, it was reported that the company managed to rake in net profits of between RM9mil and RM15mil from 1993 to 1995.

Persuasion Techniques In Advertisement Media Media Essay

Persuasion Techniques In Advertisement Media Media Essay Introduction The main theme of this paper is to discuss the topic of persuasion in the media through the usage of several examples to explain some of the techniques used to perform this function. Persuasion is one of the many different types of communication that exist, and the best way to begin to define the persuasive communication is primarily giving a definition of what communication is. A quite widespread definition about what communication is would be to say that communication is the action or process where there is an exchange of information of any kind between two or more individuals. Also, it is important to understand that this process is dynamic, transactional, it affects both the sender of the message, and who listen to it and receive it. Persuasive communication is outside our consciousness, since it influences us and manipulates more than what we usually realize. We often hear about the power of specific communicators. We also know that those who control information are very powerfu l. When we talk about the power public speaking, we are only recognizing what experts have known for years, we recognize that communication that influences others is a powerful weapon. The main problem is that the persuasive communication is a tool that can be used for good or bad purposes, to change behaviors, but in one way or another it is important to recognize that it is a powerful tool. For this reason, although the communication fulfils different functions, the purpose is this paper is to show how in the media through the marketing advertisements, we can also use persuasion as a tool to persuade the audience into buying a product. Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) Slim Fast In this ad for Slim Fast, the target audience is middle class females who are in a stage of their lives in which they have a successful career. Women are very aware of their weight usually more than men do. Also inside their main audience target, the ad appeals minority females in their 30 and older since this is the time when most start to achieve success climbing the career ladder and at the same time most already have family making it more difficult to take care of their bodies since time is now limited and there is no much room for exercise. The quick and easy answer is Slim Fast. Therefore, the ad shows that a woman in her 30s can have a healthy and thin body because she uses the Slim Fast product. Even the name is persuasive, Slim-Fast, this implies not much work, for people in a hurry to lose weight. In the ad they used as spokesperson a celebrity, a person women could identify with and the before and after pictures are always very effective to persuade audience this is a trusted product. This audience is all about success, and to represent a person who is being successful in life, we must be thin. Not being able to take good care of your body, especially for women in the professional work environment could be seen as a failure. The ad utilizes strategies from the Elaboration Likelihood Model(ELM) to persuade its audience. First the ad uses visual elements to motivate the usage of mental processes to motivate audience to accept the persuasive message. The ad makes good use of the analysis results to understand the audience in order to come up with the ad strategy. In the ELM model the ad used the peripheral route by the celebrity endorsement since it is a way to connect the audience with the product since it helps the receiver think about something that the person is familiar wit h(after all weight lost, is a Fact of Life-TV show where the celebrity being used in this ad became popular back in the early 80s, period when the target audience where in their late teens) and to rely on audience lack of capability to achieve the goal to reduce weight. Lastly self-esteem is effectively appealed by this same route since by gaining audience emotional involvement to demonstrate if the actress selected was able to do it, the audience can do it too. Social Judgment Theory In this advertisement for Mercedes-Benz, the target audience is upper middle class individuals who are coming up in the professional ladder. Young executives like to demonstrate in the way they dress, what they eat, and more important what they drive, that they are successful people. For most people cars make a social status statement, and what better statement to show everybody how successful we are, by getting a Mercedes-Benz. The biggest challenge for many people in getting such a prestigious car is the cost, and in the ad, they already give the solution; raise expectations, but not the payments. The persuasive message is why settling for less if now you can get a Mercedes-Benz for an affordable price. This ad uses subliminal persuasion since in the picture the car is driving up, or heading up. In other words, once again, we see the message about moving up the professional ladder. In addition in the picture the cars wheels are in motion, another subliminal message of the always m oving and fast-paced on how people judge individuals who are working towards achieving their goals. It is interesting to see in the picture the lack of color to give the impression of a classical and somewhat elegant item. This advertisement utilizes strategies from the Social Judgment Theory to persuade its audience. My interpretation of the use of this theory in the ad, is that when people receive the nonverbal message, they immediately judge the ad message based on how they view and measure being successful, and to be able to own this car, will give them the prestige they view as representation of the success they are experiencing in their personal and professional lives. The message was crafted keeping in mind an audience who has a high ego-involvement based on their values and views of how they measure success and this enable a high level of acceptance/agreement with the message. Professionals in their social networks and affiliations usually will agree with the majority opinion more often than not, and in this type of groups most of them own or wish they could own a Mercedes-Benz. This is a result of high ego-involvement, or taking on the groups views/judgments as ones own. Subliminal Co-Creation Theories In this lipstick ad, the target audience is women-young adults in their 20s 30s who are not afraid to express themselves. They want to look sexy, they want to feel sexy for the opposite sex, and they are looking for company and what better than using a red lipstick. Young adults are always looking for action, are not afraid of risks, and in this ad we see two nice looking adults who are not afraid to demonstrate to each other how they are feeling and what they want. The persuasive approach is very graphic and it is used by having beautiful women with white complexion to highlight the redness of her bold, shiny lips. The use of sex appeal, and color, is part of the persuasion process to convince audience it is ok to be beautiful and this lipstick will give them the lips theyve always wanted and it would drive men crazy. The subliminal approach continues with the way she is using the lipstick (girls mouth open while using the lipstick) and the man kissing her, suggesting that she feels sexy wearing the lipstick and it could lead for more than just a kiss. The Co-creation process is clearly used in this ad since it leads audience to co-create what is going on or what is about to happen with the couple in the picture. Once again this is a very effective approach to appeal to the main audience this ad is targeting since they are in their prime age and are interested to attract the opposite sex. The picture is not complete since we cannot see where th ey are, are they dressed or not dressed? or what their eyes look like, giving audience the opportunity to imagine different scenarios where the action is taking place; her apartment, his house, or at a club. The co-creation process is used by omitting information in the picture which helps audience co-create their own unique scenario with the expectation that this will help persuade potential buyers to get the product since once we co-create a unique scenario it can have a more effective appeal to me as an individual. Compliance Gaining Theory Kama Sutra Condoms In this ad for Kama Sutra condoms, the target audience is adults in their 20s to 30s who are self-confidents and are very clear of what they want and are not afraid to ask for it. Men self esteem many times is measured by the capability to satisfy women, and the ad provides an answer to this dilemma. This ad persuades men with the message that they not just will have sex but they will be able to enjoy it more because they would achieve to experience it for much longer by using this condom. In the other hand Women are also persuaded with this ad, since the message is that not only they will have safe-sex by getting protection, but it will not limit their capability to be satisfied. The picture shows a good-looking people which also appeals to audience by sending this message that good-looking people know how to have fun. I believe sexually explicit pictures attract attention, are interesting and engaging, and direct processing resources toward the sexual stimulus and this lead to a p ositive attitude towards the product. This advertisement utilizes strategies from the Compliance Gaining Theory to persuade its audience. The persuasive message is very interpersonal by clearly establishing the promise that the people who use this product are rewarded. The product clearly sends this message by writing in big letters right in the front package: long last. There are different elements of this theory used in this ad, since also I can see the debt factor playing in the persuasive message, since most men feel like they owe women the pleasure of sex. In addition, self-feeling is very evident since using this product will make both feel very good by having a long and fulfilling time. The esteem element is also played in the ad since the ad establishes that by using it, the partners will be satisfied. In summary both female and male audience will be positively influenced by this ad by appealing to their self-gratification. CONCLUSION We can see how in the media and in particular advertising, the process of persuasion is critical in order to achieve success through the process to convince the audience to acquire certain products, either goods or services. To achieve persuasion, advertising media uses different methods and strategies to present a product or service as something necessary for the consumer. We are surrounded by advertising everywhere. Posters in the subway, clothing brands, advertisements on television, making us feel we are constantly being targeted by persuasion messages which are impossible to get rid of it. Advertising is executed by people and, therefore, is subject to the same virtues and their same defects but, what is very important is to acknowledge that it is a powerful communication tool. For that reason, it is important to learn more about the different persuasion strategies that are used in the media in order to determine when we are being targeted to get something that really we do not need or convince us to change our principles.

Effects of Changing Accounting Standards on Commercial Bank

Effects of Changing Accounting Standards on Commercial Bank Proposed Research Topic: IAS 39 and IFRS 9: the effects of changing accounting standards for financial instruments on the financial assets management of a commercial bank in Chong Qing Background: In 2008, a catastrophic financial crisis ignited by the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings soon had a full scale break-out and dragged the world from prosperous growth to excruciating abyss of stagnation, even recession. People in business and academic community took a great number of serious discussions striving to find the causes of the financial crisis. It is widely agreed that the lack of transparency in banks and investment houses which increased their risks is one of the major driving forces of the crisis(Compton, 2012). It is argued by Rohde(2011) that the abuse of financial instruments is to blame for the lack of transparency. Accountancy, as a practical subject meant to make organizations more transparent via clear and correct financial reports therefore is closely linked to the solution to the financial crisis. One year after the crisis, world leaders declared that improvements in financial report were needed at the G20 summits.à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ Chan, 2010) In 2009, in response to the demand for improved financial reports, the new IFRS 9 was published as the replacement for IAS 39 to serve the purpose of regulating accountancy for financial instruments(IFRS, 2009; Chan, 2010). Some noticeable changes were made by IASBà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ international accounting standards boardà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° to the new standards, particularly the classification of financial assets. IAS classify financial assets into 4 measurement groups, which is considered by Chan(2010) as one of the its drawbacks resulting in unnecessary complexity and internal inconsistency. However, according to IFRS 9, the number of categories is largely simplified and is cut down from 4 to 2: amortize cost and fair value. Currently, business organizations can choose which standards they would like to apply because the mandatory effective date of IFRS was canceled already(IFRS, 2009). What effects could the differences between the 2 standards exert on banks’a management of financia l assets remains unknown. It has not been sufficiently studied in accounting literature yet. Although some studies are made with regard to IAS or IFRS as a whole, none of them are specifically on IFRS 9, let alone its effects on financial assets management. A study as this one is hence needed to fill in this gap. One of the main features of international accounting standards regardless of IAS9, IFRS 9, or their earlier predecessors is the steady status of fair value measurement. Despite that a lot of measurement categories are added to or removed from in amendments occurred since the establishment of one universal international accounting standards system, fair value measurement seems to stand unshakably in the center of measurement for financial instruments. Thus, this paper will mainly focus on fair value to discuss whether or not it is changed in the new standards and what influence those changes have on a bank’s financial assets management, which can better our understanding in the relationship between accounting standards and practical management. This paper is helpful not only to expand the accounting literature, but also to improve bankers’ assets management in precaution of the risk of another financial crisis. In a word, my research is worth doing academically and pract ically. The purpose of my paper is to identify the effects of changing financial standards on the assets management of a bank by interviewing its managers and examining its financial conditions before and after its accounting policy shifted from IAS 39 to IFRS 9. To achieve that, I set 3 research objectives. Firstly, my paper aims to find out the difference between IAS 39 and IFRS 9, particularly the changes made to the fair value measurement. Secondly, my paper tries to identify the effects of adopting IFRS 9 on Chong qing Bank’s financial assets management in replacement for IAS 39. Thirdly, my paper will make critical comment on whether those effects are positive or negative comparing with previous years when IAS was applied in the hope of providing some useful experience to other banks. Literature review: The number of existing researches on the new IFRS 9 is extremely limited and can hardly be found for it was published just 4 years ago as an incomplete demo to be tested and improved, awaiting continuous amendments. It takes time before it is as applicable as IAS 9, when a great amount of researches then can be expected due to mass usage of IFRS in business institutes. Fortunately, there are a number of studies on the IFRS as a whole and IAS No. 39. Carmona Trombetta(2008) got a panorama overview on IFRS and IAS, and proceeded to explain the difficulty of world-wide adoption of those standards owing to nature of highly diverse conditions in different individual countries, which leads to a conclusion that rule based standards are probably more acceptable than principles based ones to widespread a universal standards system across the world. Despite the insightful discovery they made, they did not focus enough attention on the obvious differences between IFRS and IAS. To the contrary, what they try to emphasize is the similarities instead of differences between those two standards. As a supplementary to the previous accounting literature, Wang(2010) made a thorough comparison between the two standards and noted the difference of classifications for financial assets which is covered by IAS 39 and IFRS 9 that matters a lot to financial assets management. However, she was one step away from getting the full picture, but stopped at that point and did not make further explorations concerning the effects of the differences in standards on banking management, which leaves her research unfortunately incomprehensive. The study on this topic has 2 dimensions: regulations, and the objectives those regulations exert effects on. Neglecting either of them would flaw the whole study. Armstrong and his collegues (2010) contributed to the literature by examining the objectives of accounting regulations. They studied business institutes’ reaction to the adoption of IFRS in Europe, which can made a worthy comparison with Chong qing companies that my paper is about to study. Morris and Sellon(1991) are among those first to focus on the relationship between accounting standards and financial assets management. They noted that a bank’s true assets (Morris and Sellon, 1991) can be best reflected by fair value based accounting practice. Their pioneering work was seconded by Barth(1994) who argues that accounting based on fair is helpful to improve a bank’s management by clarifying the true value of financial assets to the top management. He took a critical strep and brought accounting standard on to the managerial level. Although having laid down the fundamental base for my study, both of their researches share a fatal flaw of being too outdated. The world has witnessed too many tremendous changes including the financial crisis to fit in their theory’s framework developed in the early 1990s. Their theory fails to be applied to lately i nvented financial instruments, particularly financial derivatives. More researches close to today’s reality are needed, which is another justification for the rationale of my research. Methodology and methods: I intend to conduct an interpretive, inductive, empirical and qualitative research on this topic. The method adopted is cases study carried out via techniques including observing the company and taking interviews. Chong qing Bank in Chong qing is selected as the case study company for it is one of the first to answer IASB’s call to adopt IFRS. Given the geographic limitations and the cost to fly to Chong qing, semi-structured telephone interviews will be held to managers of Chong qing Bank Limited containing questions on their thoughts before and after IAS 39 was replaced by IFRS 39. Information about the company is to be thoroughly observed, particularly its capital adequacy ratio before and after IFRS was adopted, which can reflect its financial assets management in the period of changing accounting policy to a certain extent. The entire data collect by my case study and interviews is original primary data, except capital adequacy ratio, which is secondary data since it can be found in the company’s annual reports. Most of the data are qualitative as they are questions regarding people’s attitudes, beliefs, thoughts that cannot be quantified. However, the capital adequacy ratio is quantitative. The way my research is done is to acquire knowledge by making empirical observations and finding empirical evidences rather than establishing pure theoretical framework on a predetermined hypothesis. All the 3 research objectives listed before are about making empirical observations. Therefor the case study method is very suitable to serve my research objectives. As claimed by Robson(2002), case study is ‘A strategy for doing research which involves an empirical investigation’. The reason I employ the technique of interview is that interviews are very useful to collect empirical information. It is an empirical research method. A semi-structured interview by telephone would allow me to explore unexpected issues by holding relatively casual conversation consisted of not fully predetermined questions, and to build personal rapport with the interviewees that might be helpful to make some in-depth findings. In a word, the empirical, interpretive nature of my study that requir es original primary data and close observations determines the research methods I chose. Content analysis will be used on the main data analyzing tool to measure the frequency of certain key words and notions respondents mentioned in interviews. The data collected is not generalizable because they are predominantly qualitative information of a single individual company without statistical representativeness. But the data is of legitimate validity and reliability since they are authentically collected from a company in its practical daily operations. If anyone is to repeat my research on the same company, the out-come would be of no difference. Potential difficulties I can anticipate in this research are mainly geographically related. The location of me, namely UK, is too far away from the objective in Chong qing I am about to observe. This limitation is likely to cause a series of difficulties including the hardship of getting contact with the informants and inaccuracy of observations which are not made in person directly. Another difficulty is the willing of managers to receiving my interviews. In order to get a sufficient number of respondents, I plan to set certain incentive prizes for answering my questions. The research will mainly be funded by myself, though I will not give up the opportunity of being sponsored by the university. Application for research funds will be submitted to Royal Holloway before the research begins. However, those difficulties above can be overcome and minimalized as long as my research is well designed. Flying to Chong qing is reserved as the last resort if things get out of my control. The t ime scale of my research is 3months. The detailed time table is listed below: Timetable: Prepare the interview questions by 1 March Complete literature review by 10 April Conduct interviews by 10 May Complete data analysis by 12 May Give presentation on 23 June Complete the final dissertation by 20 June Reference: Armstrong, C, Barth, M, Jagolinzer, A, Riedl, E 2010, Market Reaction to the Adoption of IFRS in Europe, Accounting Review, 85, 1, pp. 31-61, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 1 January 2014. Barth, M. E.,1994, ‘Fair value accounting: Evidence from investment securities and the market valuation of banks’, Accounting Review, pp.1-25. Carmona, S, Trombetta, M., 2008, On the global acceptance of IAS/IFRS accounting standards: The logic and implications of the principles-based system, Journal Of Accounting Public Policy, 27, 6, pp. 455-461, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 1 January 2014. Chan, S., 2010, ‘From IAS 39 to IFRS 9: more than just a name change’, the official website of Chong qing institute of certified public accountants, Available at:http://www.hkicpa.org.hk/file/media/section2_become_a_hk_cpa/recog-oversea-bodies/useful-article/name-change.pdf [Accessed: 20 DEC 2013]. Compton, J., 2012, ‘Libor scandal: at the root of all financial crises is a lack of transparency’, The Telegraph, available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/9366972/Libor-scandal-at-the-root-of-all-financial-crises-is-a-lack-of-transparency.html [Accessed: 20 DEC 2013]. IFRS, 2009, IFRS 9: Financial Instruments (replacement of IAS 39), the official website of the IFRS Foundation and the IASB. Available at: http://www.ifrs.org/current-projects/iasb-projects/financial-instruments-a-replacement-of-ias-39-financial-instruments-recognitio/Pages/financial-instruments-replacement-of-ias-39.aspx [Accessed: 20 DEC 2013]. Robson, C., 2002, Real world research: A resource for social scientists and practitioner-researchers (Vol. 2). Oxford: Blackwell. Moody, D., 2002, Empirical research methods, the official website of IT University of Copenhagen. Available at: http://www.itu.dk/~oladjones/semester%203/advanced%20it%20mgt%20and%20software%20engineering/project/materials/what%20is%20empirical%20research1.pdf [Accessed: 20 DEC 2013]. Morris, C. S., SellonJr, G. H., 1991, ‘Market value accounting for banks: pros and cons.’, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Economic Review, 76, pp.5-19. Rohde, L 2011, Lessons from the Last Financial Crisis and the Future Role of Institutional Investors, OECD Journal: Financial Market Trends, 2011, 1, pp. 77-82, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 1 January 2014. Wang, Z., 2010, ‘A comparative study of the difference between IAS 39 and IFRS 9: interpreting the classification and measurement of financial assets.’ Finance and Accounting Monthly, 2010, 16(548), pp.51-53.( In Chinese) Source available at: http://www.ckyk.cn/periodical/previous_detail-JOLQNON0.shtml; Full text available at: http://www.docin.com/p-226160490.html [Accessed: 20 DEC 2013].

Professional Wrestling Proposal :: essays papers

Professional Wrestling Proposal Part I:Interest and Motivation The topic I have chosen to write about is the world of professional wrestling. There are many reasons as to why this subject has interested me. One major reason is that I grew up watching pro-wrestling on television. As a child, I was fascinated with the spectacle of the wrestling matches and wondered at the wrestlers themselves. At that age, I took wrestling for what it was. It was a full-contact gladiator sport filled with exaggerated and extravagant wrestlers, cocky commentators, and interesting "one-of-a kind" personalities which added up to a high entertainment value. As I got older and more aware of the sport, I did not just see it as another part of sports entertainment but also as a multi-million dollar business which catered to a wide audience. I began to wonder what was it that made this popular genere work and how it was able to attract the crowds of people, young and old. I also wanted to know the history of pro-wrestling. How did it get started and how it became a part of the American culture? As a fan for several of my childhood years, I now wanted to know the real deal behind wrestling. The professional wrestling sport is a very secretive business. It is on a "what you see is what you get" basis. Many of the fans take the sport for face value and enjoy it for what it is, even if many of them are uninformed on the inside workings of it all. Although many books have been published about wrestling, a high number of them are as cryptic and secretive as the business itself. That is why I am motivated to go into an in-depth research to answer and unravel the questions of the professional wrestling world.  Professional Wrestling. Part II: Knowledge and Preconceptions. After being exposed to professional wrestling for quite sometime, I became somewhat knowledgeable of the sport. I became familiar with most of the wrestling superstars it produced, notably Hulk Hogan which many consider the icon of pro- wrestling. I was also mindful of the wrestling maneuvers and techniques that were used. Although I knew all this, it was all common knowledge. Through personal experience, the people I know who are fans of the sport only know this basic ideology of its premise. I feel that one major reason for the scarce information on pro- wrestling is due to the lack of media coverage. Wrestling is infamous for blurring the lines between true sport and pure entertainment. Many major news, magazines, and articles rarely cover the wrestling world because of

1920s in The Great Gatsby Essay example -- essays research papers

Written during and regarding the 1920s, ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald is both a representation of this distinctive social and historical context, and a construction of the composer’s experience of this era. Beliefs and practises of the present also play a crucial role in shaping the text, in particular changing the way in which literary techniques are interpreted. The present-day responder is powerfully influenced by their personal experiences, some of which essentially strengthen Fitzgerald’s themes, while others compete, establishing contemporary interpretations of the novel. Dubbed the ‘roaring 20s’, because of the massive rise in America’s economy, this social and historical context is widely remembered for its impressive parties and sensationalist attitude. However, Fitzgerald also conveys a more sinister side to this culture through numerous affairs, poverty and a rampage of organised crime. By exposing this moral downfall, Fitzgerald reveals to the responder his value of the American dream and his belief of its decline. As a writer, Fitzgerald was always very much concerned with the present times, consequently, his writing style and plot reflects his own experiences of this era. So similar were the lives of Fitzgerald’s characters to his own that he once commented, â€Å"sometimes I don't know whether Zelda (his wife) and I are real or whether we are characters in one of my novels†. In 1924, Fitzgerald was affected by Zelda’s brief affair with a young French pilot, provoking him to lock her in their house. A construction of this experience can be seen in the way Fitzgerald depicts the 1290s context. For example in ‘The Great Gatsby’, there are numerous affairs and at one point, Mr Wilson locks up his wife to pre... ...der an intense image of the pretence that he believed the upper-class felt during the 1920s. In literature, the rose is usually a symbol of beauty and love, however Fitzgerald makes the comment that in reality, the 1920s are not entirely the wonderful era they are portrayed to be. While the issue of materialism is still very relevant in a modern-day context, the force behind it is quite different. Materialism is less a result of society’s search for love and happiness in an unethical culture, rather, high wages and relatively inexpensive commodities mean that modern, upper-class society obliges to the world of consumerism simply because it can. Through his remarkable use of techniques and style, Fitzgerald has created a realistic construction of his experience of the 1920s which is also heavily shaped by the present-day responder’s own beliefs and practices.

Apex Investment Essay

AccessLine’s initial financing came in the form of strategic alliances. In 1989, McCaw Cellular Communication invested in AccessLine, providing a considerable amount of their intial capital. This funding secured the strategic partnership between AccessLine and McCaw Cellular. This launched further alliances between AccessLine and other phone company carriers, in which AccessLine granted them an exclusive franchise in the market for a set fee. The carriers were permitted to market AccessLine’s service under their own company name. AccessLine also developed partnerships with equipment manufacturers such as Stratus Computer and Motorola, also providing them with a franchise in exchange for funding. However AccessLine’s growth prompted the need for larger investments. Thus, in 1994, AccessLine diversified their financing to professional equity investors. Providing funding worth $15. 5 million, AccessLine’s CFO Bill Stuart, and Morgan Stanley’s Bill Brady executed the transaction, involving the private placement from five investors. Such a strategy was chosen due to AccessLine’s lack of capital in the initial stages of AccessLine’s establishment. AccessLine was not lacking in management or technology and thus was not in need of a venture capitalist in its early stages to control the company or provide the company with expertise or administration. Private investors, such as McCaw Cellular Communications, were more appropriate for AccessLine in that they provided the necessary funding without coercing AccessLine to forsake control of the company. McCaw also provided both clientele and investments. AccessLine’s lack of experience from mergers and acquisitions forced them to eventually turn to venture capitalists in 1994, a time when their strategy had changed. The venture capitalists could help in evaluating a target company through their experience in purchasing and selling businesses. The funds from Apex Investment Partners would serve beneficially for AccessLine because of their vast knowledge and experience in the industry. George Middlemas and Rick Bolander, both of whom had joined Apex in the early 90’s, had had previous experiences working in the telecommunications industry and racked up an extensive list of contacts in the industry. Thus, Apex would eventually prove to be a profitable investment for AccessLine.

Food Allergies

Food allergy is a reaction from the response of the immune system. It is a reaction to fight the harmful ingredient in the food. Food allergies vary between infants, children, and adults. The sign and symptoms for food allergies can show reactions that are minor to severe. Treatment for food allergies depend on the signs and symptoms. In infants and young children, they have reactions to milk or soy milk if they are allergic to it. Allergies to milk or soy formula (a milk substitute made from soybeans) sometimes occur in infants and young children. These early allergies sometimes do not involve the usual hives or asthma but rather can cause symptoms resembling infantile colic, and perhaps blood in the stool, or poor growth† (Stoppler). The reaction of food allergy in infants is monitored to see if there are any changes in the infants’ diet. The symptoms for children and adults are somewhat similar but with a different pattern.According to Stoppler: In adults, the most co mmon foods that cause allergic reactions are shellfish, such as shrimp, crayfish, lobster, and crab; nuts from trees, such as walnuts; fish; eggs; and peanuts, a legume that is one of the chief foods that cause serious anaphylactic reactions. In children, the most common foods that cause allergic reactions are eggs, milk, peanuts, and fruits, particularly tomatoes and strawberries. Children sometimes outgrow their allergies, but adults usually do not lose theirs. Food allergies happen when the body takes in food with an ingredient that the body cannot handle. It occurs when the body mistakes an ingredient in food – usually a protein – as harmful and creates a defense system (antibodies) to fight it. Food allergy symptoms develop when the antibodies are battling the â€Å"invading† food† (WebMD, Feb 2009). Some people form allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, milk, eggs, soy products, wheat and other products. Food allergies can be mistake for food intolerance. Food intolerance is a response by the digestive system. â€Å"It occurs when something in a food irritates a person’s digestive system or when a person is unable to properly digest or breakdown, the food.Intolerance to lactose, which is found in milk and other dairy products, is the most common food intolerance† (WebMD, Feb 2009). Food intolerance somewhat resembles to food allergies. â€Å"Food intolerance, however, is far more prevalent, occurs in a variety of diseases, and is triggered by several different mechanisms that are distinct from the immunological reaction responsible for food allergy† (Stoppler). Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening reaction for food allergies. â€Å"Anaphylaxis is a severe, whole-body allergic reaction to a chemical that has become an allergen† (MedlinePlus).The signs and symptoms for food allergies vary from minor to severe reactions. It also depends on how much food was consumed for it to trigger the reacti on and time. â€Å"All of the symptoms of food allergy occur within few minutes to an hour of eating† (Stoppler). Some symptoms are rashes, hives, nausea, stomach pain, diarrhea, itchy skin, shortness of breath, chest pain, swelling of the airways to the lungs, and anaphylaxis. The allergic reaction occurs in various ways. â€Å"A food allergy can initially be experienced as an itching in the mouth and difficulty swallowing and breathing.Then, during digestion of the food in the stomach and intestines, symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain can start. Incidentally, the gastrointestinal symptoms of food allergy are those that are most often confused with the symptoms of different types of food intolerance† (Stoppler). The symptoms for food intolerance are nausea, stomach pain, gas, cramps, or bloating, vomiting, heartburn, diarrhea, headaches, irritability, and/or nervousness. One of the severe reactions is anaphylaxis. It is a life-threatening type of allergic reaction. Anaphylactic reactions are severe even when they start off with mild symptoms, such as a tingling in the mouth and throat or discomfort in the abdomen. They can be fatal if not treated quickly† (Stoppler). The symptoms occur from within seconds or minutes. The symptoms are abdominal pain or cramping, abnormal (high-pitched) breathing sounds, anxiety, confusion, cough, diarrhea, difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing, fainting, light-headedness, dizziness, hives, itchiness, nasal congestion, nausea, vomiting, palpitations, skin redness, slurred speech, and wheezing.The signs for anaphylaxis are abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia), fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema), hives, low blood pressure, mental confusion, rapid pulse, skin that is blue from lack of oxygen or pale from shock, swelling (angioedema) in the throat that may be severe enough to block the airway, swelling of the eyes and/or eyes, weakness, and wheezing. Treatment for food allergie s are based on the signs and symptoms if the reaction is mild or severe. One needs to start with avoiding the food that triggers the allergen.If the food is avoided, the allergic reaction is avoided. â€Å"Avoiding the offending allergen in the diet is the primary treatment of food allergy. Once a food to which the patient is sensitive has been identified, the food must be removed from the diet† (Stoppler). For those who have mild allergies, nonprescription antihistamine could possibly control the symptoms. If nonprescription antihistamine doesn’t work then a prescribed antihistamine may need to be taken. For severe reactions, one could be treated in the emergency room or be treated by an epinephrine shot.According to WebMD, â€Å"Food Allergies-Treatment Overview†: If you have a severe allergic reaction, your initial treatment may be done in an emergency room or by emergency personnel. You will be given a shot of epinephrine to stop the further release of hista mine and to relax the muscles that help you breathe. You will then be prescribed an allergy kit that contains a syringe of epinephrine and antihistamine tablets. Epinephrine is administered through an auto-injector. It is also known as EpiPen. It is also a treatment to anaphylaxis.According to Stoppler: These individuals also always should carry a syringe of adrenaline (epinephrine [EpiPen]), obtained by prescription from their doctors, and be prepared to self-administer it if they think they are developing an allergic reaction. They then should immediately seek medical help by either calling the rescue squad or having themselves transported to an emergency room. Food allergies can be rated mild to severe in reaction. The reactions can be similar in children and adults but it depends on the time and what food was eaten and how much of it was eaten. Signs and symptoms vary from each person.Food allergies can be mistaken sometimes for food intolerance, food poisoning, and toxic reacti ons. The treatment as well depends on the severity of the reaction if it is a mild reaction to a severe reaction.Works Cited â€Å"Anaphylaxis. † MedlinePlus. 02 May 2010. Web. 22 Oct 2010. <http://www. nlm. nih. gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000817. htm>. â€Å"Food Allergies-Treatment Overview. † WebMD. 09 Mar 2009. Web. 1 Nov 2010. <http://www. webmd. com/allergies/tc/food-allergies-treatment-overview>. â€Å"Is It a Food Allergy or Intolerance? † WebMD. 05 Feb 2009. Web. 22 Oct 2010.