Legoland’s main target market is families with young children

The families would enjoy a great day out while having fun with there children. The young children will have lots to do as the park is really based around them. Legoland has over 50 fantastic rides and attractions. Families with older children would not prefer Legoland, as they would not gave a fun day compared to, if they went to Thorpe Park. Thorpe Park is a thrill park and would excite them a lot more then Legoland. This is mainly because this is not the age group Legoland has targeted. Only one or two rides would attract the older children compared to nearly all the rides at Thorpe Park. Thorpe Park mainly attracts people from the age of 12 upwards as it is a thrill-seeking park. Young couples again would not have such a great time here purely because the park does not appeal to them. However they can enjoy some rides and have photos as most rides have ride photography. But Thorpe Park would be a better option, as they would enjoy themselves a lot more, with better thrill seeking rides. Legoland's nearest competitor would have to be Thorpe Park but they are two totally different parks as Legoland is aimed at 3-12 year olds where as Thorpe Parks target market is teenagers and adults. Thorpe Park is basically a thrill park as all the rides are quite intense. Some of the intense rides are the Colossus, Nemesis Inferno, Quantum, Detonator and Rumba rapids. The prices between Thorpe Park and Legoland are quite similar but a 14 year old for example would much prefer spend there money at Thorpe Park as it is better value for money for over 12's. Thorpe Park Legoland Adults- à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½26.00 Adults- à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½22.95 Children- à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½19.50 Children- à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½19.95 Seniors- à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½17.00 Seniors- à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½16.95 Legoland is a unique park because it is the only park that offers something for younger children in the Royal Borough and is probably the best known in the UK. The closest family park to Legoland is Beavers Park inside the Pleasure Beach at Blackpool and also Paulton Park in New Forest. Paulton's Park is situated in a beautiful parkland setting of 140 acres with colourful gardens, sweeping lawns and a horseshoe shaped lake. It is a place full of fun, action and excitement. There are a variety of things to see and do for all ages. There are 40 different rides and attractions, fast and slow, wet and dry. Some of the features on offer are the Family Roller Coaster, Raging River Ride, Tiny Tots Town, Kids Kingdom, Clock Maze and there are many more. There are not a lot of comparisons between Legoland and Paulton Park. Paulton Park has fewer rides then Legoland though, but only by a few. Paulton Park is not advertised as much as Legoland and Paulton Park is not well known as Legoland in the UK. Legoland has also a better catchment area then Paulton Park. Legoland is very close to London, the capital of England also only 12 miles away from Heathrow airport. Also Legoland has many attractions nearby as it is situated in Windsor, which is a very popular tourist attraction. Paulton Parks catchment area is Bournemouth, Southampton and Brighton. Poulton Park is not commercialised enough. There are not a lot of improvements needed for Legoland as it is a very successful company and appeals to there target market very well. They are probably the best family park in the UK. To increase visitor figures they could build a couple more rides that would attract more teenagers. Maybe a thrill ride, this will attract a much wider range of people to Legoland. They could also make more rides to expand the park and make their customers day longer and more special. NEW FOREST LOCATION The New Forest is situated in the Southern part of England. A superb family holiday destination, flanked by the sea-faring cities of Portsmouth, Southampton and the town of Poole. New Forest extends to the South coast and the Isle of Wight. The New Forest has 93,000 acres of woodland and open-land brimming with wildlife. It is the largest un-enclosed area in Southern England, with ponies, donkeys, cattle, pigs, deer's and more roaming freely. There are a lot of activities that you can take up when you're at New Forest; the activities include horse riding, camping, walking, cycling and water sports. New Forest was set aside as a special place over nine centuries ago by William the conqueror. When you enter New Forest today, it appears that you're going backwards in time. The landscape is unique and traditions exist here that are unchanged since medieval times. New Forest is well known as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The catchment area for New Forest is quite good with a few major towns and cities nearby. Major towns and cities within two hours of New Forest are Bournemouth, Southampton, Brighton, Windsor, Bristol, Dover and London. The District has a resident population of 171,000, distributed between six main centres and many small villages. As in most rural communities there is considerable concern to maintain the unique quality of life, including not only the attractiveness of the area but also local services. Populations: Bournemouth- 163,444 One-Hour Drive of New Forest Southampton- 217,445 Brighton- 247,817 One and a Half Hour Drive of New Forest Bristol- 380,615 Windsor- 133,626 Two-Hour Drive of New Forest London- 7,172,091 Dover- 104, 566 Visitor Breakdown Millions enjoy the New Forest each year. The majority of visits are by local people within the district, this is approximately 10 million a year by the locals. A further 3.5 million are day visits from further afield and 2.5 million are visits by people staying overnight in the area. They come primarily for fresh air, recreation and peace and quiet. The New Forest also has many features and attractions for visitors. I think New Forest is suited to every age group. Some of the top attractions include Paulton's Park, Art sway, New Forest Cider Farm, Setley Ridge Vineyard, Cal Shot Castle and possibly one of the most popular reasons for visiting New Forest is the beautiful wildlife. Paulton Park is a place full of fun, action and excitement. Children would just love it here, with lots to do. It is very similar to that of Legoland in Windsor. There are 40 different rides and attractions, fast and slow, wet and dry. Some of the features on offer are the Family Roller Coaster, Raging River Ride, Tiny Tots Town, Kids Kingdom, Clock Maze and there are many more. Art Sway attracts many visitors who are interested in the modern day art designs and paintings. New Forest Cider Farm and Setley Ridge Vineyard are the ideal places to buy and experience how and where wine is grown, produced and bottled. The main target here is at the adults, it gives them a chance to buy and taste freshly brewed alcohol. Whilst on your visit to New Forest there is a great chance to visit one of Henry VIII's monuments, the Cal Shot Castle. Visitors have the chance to get right up close with the animals, as there are wild ponies and goats roaming free in the wild. The forest offers a number of centres with different animals on show, with Europe's largest gathering of multi-specied otters and owls. There are two beautiful sites you can visit they are Wildlife Park and also Longdown Activity Farm. There are a lot of activities that you can take up when you're at New Forest; the activities include horse riding, camping, walking, cycling and water sports. ACCESS Visitors can come to New Forest by car, rail and sea. By Road The road links for New Forest are excellent with the M3 and M27 providing access from London and the South East. If you are travelling from the Midlands you have the benefit of the M40 and A34. By Rail You can get to the New Forest from all over the country by train. There are over 130 stopping trains a day at Brockenhurst, which is on the mainline from London Waterloo, this is a one and a half hour journey. By sea Wightlink Ferries operate frequent services from the Isle of Wight to Lymington. P&O European Ferries operate services from Le Havre, Cherbourg and Bilbao. Brittany Ferries run services from Caen, St Malo and Santander. By Air The major London airports, Gatwick and Heathrow, are less than 100 miles away. Just outside New Forest there are Southampton and Bournemouth International Airports. These are easily accessible via good rail and coach connections.

Democracy Essay

Professional politicians, if by nothing else than by a simple Darwinian processes, are very good at perceiving such things, and give the people exactly want: age government deficits. For example, in every present and past democracy, the people always claim that they want politicians who will not accept bribes, when in fact this is the farthest thing from the truth.What the people really want, as they repeatedly demonstrate from the voting, is politicians who will spending huge amounts of money on multi-media campaigns to win votes, who will spend massive amounts of time coming to their towns to speak to the local rotary club or school (for a fee), and who will spend massive amounts of time influencing legislation to win government contracts for local businesses. There are, of course, many other robbers with democracy. In all known democracies, the media flourishes.Science has not yet found a solution to this problem. In a democracy, you will Incessantly be subjected to hearing the Id eas, speculation, and bizarre prognostications of everyone around you. The media multiplies this problem a thousands. TRIAL BY JURY: When one Is accused by the state of a crime, the second scariest thought you can have Is that you will be tried by a Jury of your peers. The only thing scarier than this Is to be tried a Jury of your peers.The only thing scarier than a democratically elected government which allows Its citizens to own sophisticated weaponry Is a democratically elected government which goes NOT allow Its colleens to own sophisticated weaponry. Democracy – Essay 3 By Vienna POLLS: One way in which the media attempts to tell people what to think is by again, you will understand it. Fortunately, the results of these polls invariably conflict with each other and with reality, so that prolonged exposure builds up immunities.People who live in a democracy, since they believe they have some influence over the law, tend to extrapolate this into the belief that the law me ans whatever they want it to mean. (The media probably plays a role in this, though we LAWYERS: They come with litigation. Experiments show that when the population of incessantly be subjected to hearing the ideas, speculation, and bizarre thousands. When one is accused by the state of a crime, the second scariest thought you can have is that you will be tried by a Jury of your peers. The only thing scarier than this is to be tried WITHOUT a Jury of your peers. WEAPONRY: The only thing scarier than a democratically elected government which allows its citizens to own sophisticated weaponry is a democratically elected government which does NOT allow its citizens to own sophisticated weaponry.

Good afternoon friends Essay

The theme of Vicki L. Sears â€Å"Grace† can be seen in the relationship that develops between two of the characters, Billie Jim and Paul. Billie is an orphan who gets along with his sister and is adopted by Paul and his wife. Billie displays a desire to trust and accept their new parents while sister remains suspicious. Vickie Sears illustrate that although children suffer abuse and neglect, there is hope that they can learn to trust and build self-esteem. Billie Jim is a silent child who relies on his sister to protect him. Paul and his wife come to get them but Billie is hiding in a tree to escape from some of the bigger boys. His sister steps in and fights the older boys to get Billie down. She describes him as a â€Å"sissy†. Billie has to use the bathroom, but instead of asking their new parents he pinches his sister. Paul takes him to the restroom and his sisters concern gives us an understanding into prior abuse and possible reasons for Billie Jim’s reserved behavior. Although Paul would never hurt Billie Jim intentionally at the  end of the story he does. His death not only means an end to their relationship, but also an end to their secure home and protection. Billie loses the starring role along with the friend he has made, and is back into his uncertain life led by corrupt adults. â€Å"The Lesson† by Toni Cade Bambara is when Toni attended college and come of age as a writer. Bambara was at the head of radical politics, the feminist movement, and African American culture in Harlem when it was the 60’s. Her writing uncovers the differences forced on  African Americans of that time which America avoided and could not interfere. The story is a window for the reader into Bambara’s reality as much as it is a lesson for the immature woman Sylvia the main character. â€Å"The Lesson† is a first person narrative told by a young, poor, black girl growing up in Harlem in an undetermined time period known as â€Å"Back in the days when everyone was old and stupid or young and foolish, Sugar and I were the only ones just right†. Going by the prices some can accept it was sometime in the early seventies. The story is about a trip started by a local woman, who is the only educated person in the neighborhood and has taken it upon herself to uncover the unthankful children of the neighborhood to the world outside of their worried community. The last stop is FAO Schwartz in Manhattan, where the toys of white children cost more than all of the children’s household yearly incomes combined and the lesson is almost lost on the children. The story closes by making plans to spend the left over cab fare change they stole from Miss Moore. At the last second Sylvia turns on her friend and goes off alone to think of the events of the day. The story’s theme focuses on education and the need for education as the results of knowledge. It proves how learning can lead to grief but that the grief is necessary for helpful change. The author also studies different types of pride and purposes of leadership and the various ways people show respect or disrespect for each other. Underlying the entire story is the concept of economic difference between whites and blacks in the United States.

Jonathon Livingston Seagull Essay

1. The fictional book, Jonathon Livingston Seagull written by Richard Bach, sold over a million copies during its debut in 1970 and stayed on The New York Times Top Ten list for 38 weeks in a row. The story focuses on Jonathon the seagull’s passion for flying and his belief that there is more to life than scavenging for food. Bach explores the idea that there is more to this life than what meets the eye and the extreme satisfaction you receive when doing something you are great at and have a passion for. 2. The setting of this story takes place on some sea shore where thousands of seagulls live. The sea shore setting described in the book really helps to paint a picture of what Jonathon and this flock of seagulls experienced daily, â€Å"It was morning, and the new sun sparkled gold across the ripples of a gentle sea.†(Bach pg 3) 3. Jonathon Livingston Seagull is the protagonist in this story with his strong drive and persistence to be different from the flock and to be his own seagull. The antagonists in the story are the Elders of the flocks of seagulls because they are very closed mined leaders and they force Jonathon and other seagulls to be outcast from society and ban them to a life of isolation and despair. Chiang was an Elder Gull that taught Jonathon very specialized flying techniques and improved his skills and taught him things about life. When Jonathon was outcast from the gull community everyone in the community thought that Jonathon was a reckless and irresponsible seagull, so when Jonathon finally returned to the community and everyone saw how amazing his flying skills were they changed their minds and many of them asked to be taught by Jonathon himself which was breaking the gull community law, This is an example of foil characters. â€Å"His thought was triumph. Terminal velocity! A seagull at two hundred and fourteen miles per hours! It was a breakthrough, the greatest single moment in the history of the flock, and in that moment a new age opened for Jonathon Gull.† (pg 16-17) 4. The plot of this story is a traditional plot type. The story ends with the last words of his Jonathon’s teacher, â€Å"Keep working on love.† Through his teachings, Jonathan understands that the spirit cannot be really free without the ability to forgive, and that the way to progress leads for him, at least through becoming a teacher, not just through working hard as a student. So, if any seagull believes that it is free to do what it wants to, it becomes Jonathan the seagull, for whom, possibilities were endless. Every law is an illusion. Once we become conscious of this, our existence gets a new meaning. a. The biggest conflict was Jonathon going against the norm of the seagull community and ultimately getting expelled from the community for his irresponsible acts. â€Å"For his reckless irresponsibility†, â€Å"Violating the dignity and tradition of the Gull family.† (pg 24) b. The situation at the end where Jonathon returned to the breakfast seagull flock was significant because it demonstrated forgiveness and compassion. These gulls hated Jonathon and wanted nothing to do with him and yet he still had the courage to forgive them and even teach them how to fly like he does. â€Å"You have to practice to see the real gull, the good in every one of them, and help them to see it in themselves.†(pg 89) 5. -This book was definitely one of the more inspiring books that made me think out of the box that I have read in quite some time. For example, I really liked one of the messages that implied that if you want to have a fulfilling happy meaningful life you need to stop following the crowd and make your own path even if there are consequences. If you find something that you are good at and enjoy doing stick with it and master it and watch how it will shape you life. -This story uplifted my spirits and motivated my behavior change in several ways. For example, Jonathon Livingston Seagull is a great example to me because not only does he go against the norm and try to learn everything about his passion in life, he also learns forgiveness and compassion for the other seagulls of the community and wants to teach them how to live a wonderful life. I have noticed in my life that I am most happy when I have found something that I love to do and also when I am helping others find that same thing or serving them in some manner and I think Jonathon mastered this aspect of true charity. â€Å"You have to practice to see the real gull, the good in every one of them, and help them to see it in themselves.†(pg 89) 6. In conclusions the book had both strong and weak contributing factors. The strong factors were that it had a very unique, interesting story line that kept the reader interested enough to keep reading. Bach also used implied messages of inspiration and important values in this life which in my opinion was very cool and had a strong plot. Some of the weak factors were that the book almost needed to be read straight through in one sitting to really get the message and make sense. It was not very challenging to read which could be good and bad. The setting was not very descriptive, it basically just took place either in the air or on the sea shore. I think the proper age group for this book would be late high school students and college students and even young adults. Richard Bach impacted me by creating a plot and story line that delivers a messages that anything is possible in life as long as you want it enough and practice at it thus, I am now interested in making some changes in my life. Works Cited Back, Richard. Jonathon Livingston Seagull. New York: Scribner, 1970.

Characteristic of Good Co-Worker Essay

When you work at a company, your colleagues obviously constitute an important factor that conduce to an interesting or horrible job. As far as I’m concerned, a great colleague is an enthusiastic, responsible, and friendly person. To begin with, I believe that an enthusiastic worker will not only accomplish his or her tasks quickly but also be able to foster other people who collaborate with him or her . This is because when I was previously working in a software development team, one of my teammates always showed zeal for our projects. He agreed to do every tasks that team leader gave to. In addition, he normally finished the tasks earlier than other co-workers. This resulted in that other people in the team including me were encouraged by his great enthusiasm. We tried our best to work and complete our tasks as soon as possible. Our projects, therefore, were usually accomplished before deadline. Secondly, how do you work with irresponsible co-workers? My brother, who work in a bank, usually complains about his colleagues. Since they usually leave their position during working hours for personal activities, they don’t fulfill their tasks, hence my brother have to help them to carry out their ones. Consequently, for me, being responsible is always considered to be a vital trait that every co-workers needs to possess. Last but not least, friendly co-workers will create a friendly and comfortable working atmosphere that can increase the interest of employees in their job. For example, I was pressurized greatly into doing my projects one year ago. However, by communicating with friendly colleagues, I felt more relaxed and was able to perform the project completely. Furthermore, since we are friendly people, our team are capable of collaborating more efficiently. Thus, our projects are usually finished quickly. In conclusion, although I have not had many chances to work with various people yet, there may be more other characteristics to define a great colleague. However, I believe that a person who possesses enthusiastic, responsible and friendly qualities is definitely a great colleague.

Environment assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Environment - Assignment Example Soft energy sources are more sustainable however, as they rely on inexhaustible sources of power compared to hard energy. Once established, soft energy sources are more environment friendly as they do not rely on the burning of fossil fuels or produce deadly by-products like oil-fed engines and nuclear power plants. Soft energy development looks at energy efficiency and utilizes less power as those produced from hard energy sources. To reduce energy use from conventional sources on the property, the first step is to insulate my house to improve heating and lessen the need for heaters. The next step is to install solar power cells on the roof of the house for electricity. A solar water heater (NREL) will also be installed to heat water. Larger insulated windows will be installed in strategic areas of the house to reduce the need for the use of electric light sources during daytime as the windows will serve brighten the interiors of the house. A study of the direction of prevailing winds will be done and some tree will be cut down to clear wind channels in the forest towards windmills which I will construct near the house. These windmills can power generators and can be set-up to pump water from water wells. I will set aside an area where I can cut down trees to use for fuel in the winter months to power the heater and for cooking. Cut down trees will be replanted. Construction of dams have associated environmental impacts such as loss of farm lands, loss of vegetation and biodiversity, sanitation and solid waste disposal, air, water and noise pollution, and impact on river ecology (Byaruhanga et al.). In order to minimize these effects, safeguards and mitigation measures must be applied during the construction phase. Some mitigating measures which could be undertaken during construction is the replanting of vegetation in other areas to minimize vegetation loss; avoidance of environmentally critical

Career Portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Career Portfolio - Essay Example After graduation, my goal is to secure a job in the field of human resource management while looking into the possibility of further studies for specialization in the field. Before I go back to China, I would like to be able to gain both work experience and academic knowledge here in the UK. Cameron (2009) presented a model to guide aspirants of successful careers that is founded on positive thinking. The first step is knowing oneself and that includes one’s skills, strengths and weaknesses. Once that is achieved, the aspirant searches for potential employers whose organization will benefit from the aspirant’s skills. Next is being able to present oneself professionally with evidence of such skills. In time, the aspirant will gain more knowledge and experience and he will be able to present himself successfully. I believe that Cameron’s model will be able to help me chart my career and this career portfolio assignment is a good start. It will comprise the first s tep of knowing myself through self-analysis by reflecting on my own skills, strengths and weaknesses. This assignment will also plan out my strategy in finding potential employers and how I can present myself professionally to them to increase my chances of being accepted for internship. Industry/Sector analysis Knowing about the industry one wants to join entails careful study and analysis. Human resource management (HRM) is the field I want to specialize in someday and this portion will highlight what HRM is all about. HRM has been ascribed an essential role in achieving the goals of organizations. Its rise had important implications on the recognition of workers. The competencies of employees have been given more notice in recruitment and selection as well as in training and development (Van Marrewijk & Timmers, 2003). Its strategic position as a sounding board for top management and facilitator and change agent in the restructuring and transformation processes of the company is equally balanced with its role as an important partner for employees. â€Å"Thus, the HRM function positions itself in two ways: as the architect of new organizational structures and work systems, and as coach in management development processes and companion of employees in turnaround processes† (Van Marrewijk & Timmers, 2003, p.174) HRM is also in charge of performance appraisals of the people working for the organization. Stone (2002) defines it as a vital tool for strategy execution by â€Å"providing a dynamic link to employee recruitment, selection, training and development, career planning, compensation and benefits, safety and health and industrial relations† (p.264). Further, Stone explains: It signals to managers and employees what is really important; it provides ways to measure what is important; it fixes accountability for behaviour and results; and it helps in improving performance. Finally, performance appraisal is necessary to defend the organisation ag ainst individuals who legally challenge the validity of management decisions relating to promotions, transfers, salary changes ,and, termination (p. 264) Being aware of people’s needs and skills, HRM goes beyond the appraisals and attempt to develop them professionally. Employee development has been identified as key to improving overall organizational effectiveness. Jacobs and Washington (2003) have defined it as thus: Employee development refers to an integrated set of planned programs, provided over a period of time, to help assure that all individuals have the competence

Individual property rights on Canadian Indian reserves Essay

Individual property rights on Canadian Indian reserves - Essay Example The aim of this review is to allow for all of this by critically reviewing the article in question, including facts and arguments that are presented by the author, counter arguments from others, as well as any and all other key and related issues in this regards. This is what will be dissertated in the following. The first thing to make note of is the actual title of this article, which is Individual Property Rights on Canadian Indian Reserves; from the title alone, we are able to get a rather detailed idea of what the article itself is going to be about. The title overtly specifies the topic as well as the main idea that is going to be represented within the article, and not only does the title itself rouse interest and create a wanting to read further on, but as well it does more than merely imply the subject, as we are told directly from the title of the article alone that we are going to be learning about the individual property rights in regards to the Canadian Indian reserves. ... Once we begin into the article, we can see that the main idea is basically stated within the first paragraph, as the first sentence of the entire article reads "Many Indian reserves in Canada, particularly but not only in the three prairie provinces, have no formalized individual property rights" (Alcantara & Flanagan, 2002: 5). Clearly, from this alone we can get at least a remote grasp on the matter of the article, as we can see that the authors are stating that most of the Indian reserves in Canada do not have any formalized individual property rights, and obviously this is - and in the future will be even more - incredibly problematic. The authors use various factual experiences and instances of different people in order to express the main point of their article, and the placement of their main idea creates much interest, because it compels you to wonder more about the individual property rights in regards to the Canadian Indian reserves, as well as the solutions - if any - whic h exist in this regards. One of the most poignant facts that the authors state within the first couple pages of the article is that of how "According to Joe v. Findlay (1981, 122 DLR 3d 377), interest in reserve land is held in common by the band as a whole and not by individual members (Nicola Band et al v Trans-Can Displays et al 2000 BCSC 1209, para 127). An individual can gain an interest in the land only under the procedures described in sections 20-29 of the Indian Act". (Alcantara & Flanagan, 2002: 5). Another one of the most major points that the authors make in this article is about how although the people living on the Canadian Indian reserves

Cyber Network Security, Threats, Risk and Its Prevention Dissertation

Cyber Network Security, Threats, Risk and Its Prevention - Dissertation Example The rapid change in technology has significant effects in the everyday lives of human influencing all the aspects of life such as medicine, commerce, education, and security. Information technology too seems to influence the lives of individuals similarly since it has brought improvements in the individual lives, in the family lives, in education, career, democracy and freedom and every other aspect of life where information is needed. During the 1990s, the entire world could be seen to be developed around the telecommunicated networks of computers incorporating the use of information systems and technology. The power of information is largely responsible in contributing to the spheres of human activities. Be it genetic engineering or the development of software, the information technology is enabling the progress across every field of advancement across the world (Castells, 1999, p.2). However, considering the topic of information technology, the concern for security also arises to which it can be stated that the technology has both a good side as well as a bad side to it. While IT may be used for the purpose of promotion and stability of security, on the other hand, the system can also be misused that threatens the system and its use. The positive uses of the IT come in the way it can be used to distribute and exchange ideas and strategies for security, to draw together support for harmony missions and security programs, and to put into practice and organize security plans and operations. It is crucial in every operation of the government of any country, spreading its functions from intelligence collection to command and control. Even targeting terrorists and implementation of controls over borders can be achieved through the use of IT (Denning, 2003, p.1). However the negative side of the IT reflects on its misuse and the effects of the cyber crimes that have significant concerns in every organization across the world. Information technology can be easily at tacked and taken advantage of that in turn threatens the issues of stability and security. Computers and communication systems may be jammed by any individual or groups working against goodness making use of bombs, missiles, and electromagnetic weapons. Moreover the use of media that is another part of the IT can be done by such harmful people to spread rumours and lies across a nation, or attack computer systems purposefully to steal undisclosed information or damaging data and systems (Denning, 2003, p.1). Thus technology can be said to have both its good and bad side. It is in this regard that the ethical issues are also needed to be taken into consideration. The values of ethics are considered to create a balance and serve as a platform supporting the codes of practice in businesses, medicine, national security, and other related fields. Throughout the world and in the developing countries, governments, defence industries, and organizations associated with finance, power, and te lecommunications are increasingly made targets to such cyber attacks from criminals and nation states seeking economic or military advantages. The number of attacks is now so large and their sophistication so enhanced, that many organizations are encountering difficulties in determining the threats and vulnerabilities that pose the greatest threats and risks and how they might

Life Coaching Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 9750 words

Life Coaching - Essay Example " or "You need to be like person X" or "You have to be born with a silver spoon in my mouth to be able to achieve this". Dryden (et al, 2002) quoted the meaning of coaching as "the art of facilitating the performance, learning and development of another," and that it "does not offer any quick fixes to achieve personal image, magic away personal difficulties but emphasize that sustained effort and commitment [] for a successful outcome to life challenges and difficulties." It was only when after I met my first coach Mike Ducket, did I learn for the first time that I can I achieve my goals only if I could help others achieve theirs. Like Mike, I came from a Sales and Marketing background which already instils into a person to listen and question in order to be able to close deals. After all, if one did not listen to the customer and asked the right questions, "You will leave with nothing," (Weakest link BBC Anne Robinson). Oatway (2004) noted how Life coaching have become a practical alternative to searching solutions in times of crisis. She talked to several Life coach clients all over England and came face-to-face with regular mothers, teenagers, young executives, a 53-year old woman and her mother, among a variety of clients who swore to the improvement and positive effect coaching have done to them. However, it wasn't until I started on this course that I understood that there are different levels of listening. In fact, I had the impression that this course was all about listening and questioning! But so much like life teaching, one learns to have a direction on where one is headed to before one can create change within the self, and later, others. Taken from the early forms of transportation, that is "stagecoach," or "rail coach," the word 'coach' literally means to transport someone from one place to another, similar to coaching that it seems people are using both to help them move forward or create change (Starr, 2003). My Dream for Coaching in England Coaching, for me is the new goal I have embraced. I personally believe it should replace religion curriculum in schools because I am convinced that life coaching or the Coaching Magic taught early in schools may direct a lot of people so that they would not be left wandering around aimlessly in life. They would have a clear view and idea of where they currently are, and where they want to go. We would have a world of thinkers and I believe crime would be down to an all time low because people would be too busy achieving their own personal goals. Unwanted teenage pregnancy or pregnancy just to get a house from the council would be unheard of as the O in TGROW would be in play. Nine out of ten times we would come first in sporting events because all sports people would develop their inner coach. There are various reasons why a person or an individual may need a coach. It has become a more friendly and trendy way than dealing with clinical psychologists and the like. Kolberg (et al, 2003) noted that the various reasons why individuals approach coaches may be as follows: Coaching the leader who is new to the job. Leaders are not born but are made. When a person who is previously made to lead one kind of organisation was transferred to another which is entirely new to his perspective,

Gas Pipeline Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gas Pipeline - Essay Example The ability of suppliers to supply gas have been drastically reduced resulted in a shift in the supply curve to the left as can be seen on graph 2 below. This resulted in the equilibrium point moving left from E1 to a new point E2 on the graph on the intersection point of the supply and demand curves . Another fact that can be derived from the above graph is that a small shift in the supply of gas will result in a larger shift in price. The reason for this is that gas is not a luxury but a essential product for most people and businesses, and this is indicated on the graph by a much steeper demand curve than normal, meaning the demand curve for gas is less elastic. Even so a increase in price will result in a marginal decrease in demand as people restrict driving for essential reasons only, such as going to work to conserve gas. It would not have resulted in a shift of the demand curve as there was nothing really forcing a increase or decrease in the demand for gas, except the increase in price. Additionally the drop in gas supply and the resulting increase in price would also have effected many other market contributors. The distribution of products onto the market is done by a transport system, and a large part of this system is fueled by gas, such as trucks and delivery vans. The suppliers of these products would have paid more to be able to distribute their products to shops and malls, so the price of these commodities would have also gone up, negatively influencing their demand. The above can be seen as the behavior of a open market influenced by buyers and sellers naturally driving the market towards a equilibrium. When prices are above the equilibrium point and there is a surplus of goods, it will cause market prices to fall (Mankiw, Gregory, 2004). In the above case study we had a price below the equilibrium point as there was a decrease in supply, causing market prices to rise. Cited Page 1. Pump Price Graphs. ArizonaGasPrices.com. 2003 - 2006. Accessed 29 March 2006. www.ArizonaGasPrices.com/retail_price_chart.aspx 2. Arizona Gas Prices. Gas Price Comparisons. Accessed 29 March 2006 http://www.arizonagasprices.com/ 3. Mankiw, Gregory. Principles of Economics.

Do Only What You Feel Like Doing as a Today's Philosophy of Life Research Paper

Do Only What You Feel Like Doing as a Today's Philosophy of Life - Research Paper Example People seem to be so eager to have more, that they even forget about their own lives and concentrate primarily on satisfying their material needs. It's not only about ensuring a comfortable life anymore, but it's also about luxury we are talking now, and about making things so easy, by introducing technology everywhere, that we even forget that this means "easy" and we get to think it has always been the same. Men have always had this tendency towards exaggerating, mostly when it comes to getting rich or powerful and there have always been philosophers who noticed it. Plato was one of them. He insisted on the idea that man should be moderate, should balance his desires. Moderation doesn't mean repression, but it means that you shouldn't satisfy only one need, one desire, in the detriment of other needs. The philosopher convinced that virtue is all that is relevant for happiness, is also convinced that the soul is immortal and that it comes from a world different from the material wor ld where we live with our bodies. And in the Greek philosopher's view, we should cultivate virtue and reason rather than desires that belong to the material world. According to Plato, there are two possible ideas for man's life: one which means that the ultimate purpose of life is a pleasure and the other one according to which the purpose of life is that of Good. Everyone knows that our life here is not eternal, that at a certain point, sooner or later, at a younger or older age we are going to die. So our life here ends. And then comes the question: what happens after that? When it comes to a question like that, people's opinions differ.  Some think this is all, others consider that the end of this life means the beginning of a new life, of a life beyond our senses and beyond materiality.

Answer quiestuions About E-Commerce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Answer quiestuions About E-Commerce - Essay Example In addition, the model allows the consumer to access a variety of goods and services like news, email services, music downloads and many more. The model is classified into three. First, the virtual merchant is a retail store that provides the customer an opportunity to shop online at any time. Second, Click and Bricks represent an online alternative channel for distributing goods of a physically existing company (Manzoor, 2010). Catalog merchant represents an online form of a catalog conveyed directly through the mail. Represent a business model that provides news and entertainment to customers. They include sports sites, newspapers, and all the other sites that provide information to customers. The revenue models used include Affiliate, subscription, and advertising. In Business-to-Business E-commerce, the businessmen make significant sales to their fellow businesspersons. The type is larger than Business-to-Consumer (B2C) E-commerce when measured in monetary terms (Manzoor, 2010). The companies buy a bigger volume of goods compared to individuals. They have enormous monetary resources and the products are mainly meant for resale. Represent a situation where a firm develops an online digital market where buyers and sellers trade with indirect inputs. The intermediary charges a fee for creating a forum where the buyer and the seller meet. An e-commerce allows consumers to trade with one another directly. An intermediary facilitates the online transactions by creating a platform where the consumer can make trade exchanges. The consumer relies on the services of the intermediary to make the sale (Manzoor, 2010). The consumer has the responsibility to make the product ready for sale. The intermediary facilitate the sale of the product by providing a search engine, display, and the method that the product would be paid. The website has very attractive photos of the product that lure the customer to make a purchase. Second, it

Economic Distribution in the U.S. ,Why The Rich get richer Term Paper

Economic Distribution in the U.S. ,Why The Rich get richer - Term Paper Example This brings us to the basic question, and incidentally the title of this essay, why the rich get Richer? This paper strives to offer a basic understanding of the economic distribution of income and wealth in America and the reasons for such discrepancies, which further widen the gap between the rich and the poor, making the rich – richer in the process and at the same time, pushing the poor towards stark poverty. During the early 1980s era, several economists as well as researchers initiated reports concerning the average wages of American workers, and pointed out the fact that their wages were stagnant ever since the early 1970s and that the allocation of their earnings was, in fact, becoming more and more unequal, thereby widening the gap between the rich and the poor. Several explanations and suggestions were offered for such an occurrence. However one of the most significant of them was that the reason behind such a turn of events was the unemployment reallocation in the industrial composition of the country or the deindustrialization of the United States away from manufacturing industries to service oriented ones. It was believed that the average earnings of the workers in the service industry were relatively lower than that in the manufacturing industry. The repercussion of such a transformation with respect to the breadwinners belonging to the ‘middle – class’ hous eholds was evident, and the news of the steadily deteriorating American middle class, made headlines across the nation creating a great furore. Further apprehensions over mounting income disparity surfaced in the mid - 1980s with the publication of several books, reports and researches on the topic, which fuelled the anxiety that Americans were now facing an escalating disproportion of outlooks in accomplishing a stable middle class existence. The Economist stated that the gap between the rich and the poor is larger in the United States as

Toyota Motors Internal Business Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Toyota Motors Internal Business - Research Paper Example From this paper it is clear that Toyota Motor Company supplies its cars to the U.S., East Africa and Japan, but faces intense competition it is endeavor to expand its market to countries such as China.This study highlights that  the market system is a system that allows individuals and firms to make their own decisions about who gets what and the means used to get it. While the market system deals with individual decisions, the government deals with collective decisions. In the United States, the market system and the government make decisions concerning the economy. The U.S. economy is made up of individual people, social institutions and business and labor organizations. The United States constitution is the basis of the United States’ legal system. The U.S. legal system gives the freedom to own private property. The law gives U.S. citizens a right to own property and use it in the lawful manner they choose. The market system affects the distribution and sales of Toyota ve hicles because the decision of using them is made by people and organizations that may want the products. The U.S. government does not control the individual buying and using the vehicle. It is the duty of the Toyota Motor Company to convince its customers of the benefits of using the products as opposed to other related products. It is the duty of Toyota Motor Company to offer the vehicles that the customers might need at prices that they are willing to pay and which it can afford to sell. The Motor Company price will determine who will be able to purchase the products. Political risks in a country may be instituted by the political decisions in regard to the expected outcome and value of any given economic action. Macroeconomic and socials policies are the key effects of political risks. In the U.S., political risk can be caused by government participation in private enterprise. A financial crisis may also be the possible source for a political risk in a country. For instance, in 2009 investors in the US were concerned about political risk after the government played a great and controversial role in private enterprise due to the economic problems that were experienced at the time (Graybow, 2009). Toyota Motor company’s products are luxuries and not basic needs. Therefore, in case of a political risk the demand for its products will reduce. To avoid losses in situations of political risks the company should consider broadening its markets. When one market is affected by the problem, it can utilize time on other markets as it waits for the affected country to revert to stability. The Toyota management should ensure that it does not rely on one market. In case there is a political risk in one country its sales and other operations will not be paralyzed when it adopts this strategy. Preparing strategies in advance will make the company more prepared to tackle political risks in the future. Toyota motors code of conduct includes observing local laws, respecting societal norms and company ethics, engaging in fair corporate activities and complying with the expectations of its stakeholders. In raising individual awareness of compliance, Toyota promotes initiatives through corporate ethics committee and other internal organizations. They always check activities to enhance compliance with their codes. The Toyota code of conduct describes the values to be observed by the people of the global Toyota organization. The codes are aimed at creating a harmonious

The analysis of art in history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The analysis of art in history - Essay Example The phenomenon is pretty well universal on pots: black frequently appears at the points where a need for strengthening on an analogous metal vessel might be expected. Although the practice of using black and red in what critics might describe as structural contexts was carried over into red-lines, it did not survive long there. It occurs on some of the earliest pottery, but its use on vessels made in this technique tends to be confined to lettering and subsidiary features such as streaks of blood, urine, black eyes, or cocks' combs. We might suppose that these were added in copper to silver vessels decorated in 'gold-figure'. The use of copper on vessels which had a substantial bronze component would not have affected their value, whereas its use on vessels made of precious metal had to be restrained (as it was, judging by their ceramic counterparts); for to over-use it would have been tantamount to advertising the fact that their value was not equal to their weight; the ancients (Pa pathanasopoulos 54). Another object selected for analysis is Three Mycenaean Terracotta One-Handled Cups. These cups dated back a. 1400-1300 BC. They belong to Mycenaean culture and represents a traditional type of pottery used by the civilization. The interrelationships of form and color in pottery had a long tradition behind them. They were, however, part of a continuum which can be observed over centuries, and certainly beyond the Roman period. The 'essential unity' of the most common kind of fine pottery, the tableware that is 'generally red in color and with a fine clay coating known variously as a glaze. In reality, while technical details of the potter's craft may well have passed from one centre to another, the vessels that were made will usually have evoked the plate made locally for rich households or sanctuaries. Gold- and silversmiths' designs, moulds, and plaster casts probably played a major role. The use of red on pots was probably but a gesture in the direction of gold, for the vessels i n question would never have appeared side-by-side in a context where close comparisons could be made. In the case of Mycenaean pottery, fine red tableware will probably have been made for people who had only heard about gold vessels, or who only saw them from a distance at festivals (Mycenaean 20-21). In contrast to the Cycladic Terracotta, red colors reveal in the cups. The characteristic forms of pottery after Alexander's conquests were rather different from those that had existed before. The mould-made, handle-less bowls decorated in relief that became the norm, doubtless reflected Near Eastern dining practices. The characteristic color of local mould-made pottery continued to be black: one category of bowls 'are covered with the black glaze familiar from Attic pottery of earlier periods (Mycenaean 21). The main difference is unique ornament and geometric figures in pottery: there are geometric ornaments on the jug. The cups are ornamented with geometric ornaments and circles. These ornaments represent unique cultural meaning of each civilization and their perception of the world around them. The pottery did not play a sacred role but is found in boreal places. Both examples allow to say that economic aspect

An act of courage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

An act of courage - Essay Example o researchers on behaviors working closely with the police administration, the results obtained have more to tell regarding the manner in which some families conduct themselves. According to Natasha, in the article Where are the Men?, results indicate that most of the children involved in crimes and drug trafficking are the ones brought up by single mothers. Additionally, another group of the children affected by this syndrome come from families where the father is inactive in playing the role of shaping his children in learning good morals and in become self reliant. Fatherless homes suffer from invasion from any outsider since the father figure is absent in such families. There is no complete love that children should draw from both parents. The mother is therefore left with a big burden that she cannot bear on her own. Later in life, I learnt that my first cousin, Johnson, engaged in drug and substance abuse due to lack a sound father in his life figure to emulate. Johnson had been reared by an industrious mother who would try her best in providing for her family. The cousin, by the name Johnson, cleared his junior school and instead of proceeding with studies, he opted to start his own business in the city. His initial business was a small shop selling clothing. The business succeeded and within four months he had registered a significant profit. Everyone in the family got amazed at the outstanding work of Johnson. After another three months, the performance of Johnson’s business started dropping, something that shocked everyone who had hope on him. The question on everyone’s mind was, "what could be wrong?" The poor performance was as a result of lack of sound business skills. Johnson did not know the concept of saving or even reinvesting. He used to spend almost every sale he makes. Johnson’s mother approached Johnson’s father requesting him to have a talk with the son, hoping that he would sustain the business. Shockingly, instead of addressing

Eulogy For My Grandfather Speech or Presentation

Eulogy For My Grandfather - Speech or Presentation Example My grandfather was born in the United States and was rightly named John for in him I have seen a gracious (behindthename.com) man not only to his children and grandchildren but to every person he encountered. When he was two years old, his parents brought him back to Poland where I came from and stayed there for the rest of his life touching lives in the small things he could do. As I was growing up, I witnessed him give away his personal possessions like clothes, shoes and even food to the needy saying they need them more than he does. Grandfather John was not wealthy but had a decent job delivering goods and foods from stores to hotels and restaurants which provided for the family's needs and food on the table. With this kind of job, he sometimes comes home with food provided by generous people who somehow knew his need or were just simply glad for his goodness and services. He always shared his blessings with the whole family and did not hide them away from any of us. Instead, he prioritized others before attending to his own need and this is what drew me even closer to him.When he was growing old, his affections to his family and most especially to me, have grown fonder and sweeter so that he reminds me of James Garfield who said, â€Å"If wrinkles must be written on our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should never grow old.†. Truly, he has shown this through his life and proven that growing old is not as dim and dismal as Matthew Arnold pictured in his poem "Growing Old".... If to the poet growing old is golden days declined (Arnold), to my grandfather they are turning to diamonds (antithesis). If to the former it is to weep and feel the fullness of the past (Arnold), to the latter it is to brighten up and face what miracles the coming years would bring (antithesis, parallelism). If to one it is to spend long days in weary pain (Arnold), to the other it is to enjoy every moment for life is short (antithesis, parallelism). Grandfather always has been in good spirits, always happy and wanting to share his jokes to anyone who would listen to him, brightening their days and giving a piece of advice when needed. For me, he has always been a great help as a counselor in times when I needed to make decisions that seemed confusing or simply too great for me to consider. And as I look back to those special days I spent with him, what I remember most is the cup of tea he usually prepares for me which is very sweet yet I drank it all up to my grandfather’s c ontentment who said the tea will sweeten my heart (personification) and bring out good things from me. I guess it did and I will never forget how the tea tasted but more so, I will never forget the man whose simple ways are even sweeter, encouraging me to emulate him and be good to everyone I meet, serving them the cup of tea that I have been drinking to the fill of my heart (metaphor). When my grandfather turned fifty, his leg was amputated because of gangrene and two years later, his other leg was also removed. I expected him to change in his attitude but his condition seemed to have never mattered to him because he has always been the cheerful and joyful grandfather I have always known. He never became

Systems Maintenance Essay Example for Free

Systems Maintenance Essay Onsite help desk will be located at the head Office. It will provide help desk support to all of their branches via a toll-free number and/or website. When a problem has occurred at a franchisee, the franchisee staff needs to log a call through to their helpdesk over phone or website. The help desk will try to troubleshoot over phone first and if that does not fix the problem, subsequently they will organize for a technician to attend ASAP. In addition to that there will a full time technician at the web server location at the head office providing 247 support. User support will be provided in number of methods, such as online documentation and troubleshooting, a help desk, technical support, end user satisfaction, resolving service request quickly and seamlessly, increase productivities, online document, online enquiry facilities, online transaction facilities and others. A. User Documentation a. User guide The user guide would feature all the roles of the system users and the various functionalities they possess for the successful operation and use of the system. A business process-oriented manual The business process oriented model would collate all the business processes that the equipment tracking system holds and ensures rightful use of them for exploiting the system. c. Security policies for the equipment tracking system The security issues are the primary issues which an organization must take care to protect their data which is king to any organization. In particular as the system implements payment system, security is very much required as that would ensure safe communication with financial information. The following are the identified issues and their correct implementation process: 1. Login/Access Issues: Every customer would be asked to sign up with the company before any services are provided. That would ensure safety of transactions made with the company. It could be similar to Pay Pal, where a person can get verified by giving his Credit card number. 2. Back up: Periodic backups can be taken of the database in magnetic tapes so that data remains safe and is not lost. The saved data also ensures continuity of business and good recoverability options. 3. Antivirus software: The system needs to be protected against all vulnerabilities and threats like viruses. Good anti-virus software would ensure that the system is well protected and operations will not halt for any external threat. 4. Access control: This ensures that everyone is not allowed to access all information and all business functions. Access control is a mechanism which creates views for every type of user. Views are used for giving a user a specific access area outside which nothing is available. Such as an accounts officer should not be able to view reports of the profits in the business which is meant for the owners and higher management. B. Evaluation 1. Critical Appraisal The database designed is a fully automated system for the equipment tracking system. It follows all the CRUD properties and ensure better handling the users and the roles. 2. Strengths of each stage All information is stored and retrieved in the RDBMS tool created for the system. 3. Weaknesses of each stage The cost of maintaining the system is a little overhead for the organization. The backups and support issues may pose a problem. C. Conclusion The equipment tracking system’s fundamental goal was to manage the inventory and ascertain at any point of time the availability of the equipments to be allocated to departments. Another intention is to check the various calculations of the firm based on their earnings and profit in the long run. Content should be maintained and produced for scan-ability. Engineering principles were a necessity in the complexity/diversity surrounding online activity. Legal and ethical issues are vital to security conscious users. Further work can be in the form of a web based system to spread its operation and functionality over the internet to increase its usability, acceptance, workability and many other factors. The systems development model based on the web technologies would make sure that the complete supply chain of the business is managed thoroughly by the system and would take care of the process of getting the products to their warehouse to ultimately selling to the customers (Laudon, 2003). Online order tracking options can be implemented to reinforce visual symbols such as â€Å"Best Buys†, â€Å"Add to Basket† and instructions to â€Å"proceed to Basket and Checkout† which are reminders of physical store environments, providing familiarity to customers. (Weick, 2001). References / Bibliography Barry Mawer (2000). Systems Maintenance, vol 32, pp 12. Booch, Grady (2003). Object-Oriented Analysis and Design with Applications, 2nd Edition, Addison-Wesley Professional.

The Concept of Luxury Brands Essay Example for Free

The Concept of Luxury Brands Essay Paper about the Definition and Categorization of Luxury Products and Brands consisting of a Taxonomy of Luxury and a Handbook for the Creation of Luxury Products and Brands This paper defines both luxury products and brands and also distinguishes similar concepts such as premium and masstige and differentiates between major types of luxury products and brands such as accessible vs. exceptional luxury products and connoisseur vs. Star brands. In that way, it should create a better understanding of what actually constitutes luxury products and brands, and thus should be useful for both researchers and managers within the field of luxury brand management. As luxury is constantly on the move, this paper will be constantly up-dated. Therefore, please feel free to send me your feedback and ideas. The latest publication can be foundhere and previous publications below. According to its objectives, the paper is split into the following two major components: Taxonomy of Luxury: The tasks of distinguishing between luxury and non-luxury and of categorizing luxury into different types reminds one of the work of taxonomists, who try to order organisms into groups based on their similarities and differences. The classification of organisms is not that simple, not only because of their vast variety, but also because boundaries between species are diffuse. However, similarly to the taxonomy of organisms, the taxonomy of luxury should provide a definition of luxury products and luxury brands that, for any products and brands, allows one to decide as best as possible if they are part of what is meant by these terms. In addition, the taxonomy should give an overview of the major types of luxury products and brands, as well as of similar concepts. Handbook for the Creation of Luxury Products and Brands: For mankind, classification had to be carried out from the very beginning, because the accurate identification of food, predators, mates, fuel, building materials etc. was crucial to survival. This demonstrates that classification also leads to a better understanding about the objects of investigation. Besides their value in the classification of luxury, the characteristics of luxury products and brands thus also help to develop an understanding about how they are actually created. As this is a distinctive area of application, the explanations about their characteristics are consolidated in a separate part of the paper, which should serve as a handbook for the creation of luxury products and brands. PART I LUXONOMY The task of distinguishing between luxury and non-luxury and of categorizing luxury into different types is reminiscent of the job of taxonomists, who try to order organisms into groups based on their similarities and differences (Stace 1991, p. 5). Taxonomy is more generally used today for classifications of any types of objects of investigation, including, for instance, shopper motivations (Westbrook and Black 1985), vehicles (Pirotte and Massart 2004, p. 2) and luxury consumers (Han et al. 2010, p. 16). This part of the paper presents a taxonomy of luxury particularly for use within the field of luxury brand management. Starting from a basic definition of luxury, it distinguishes between the major understandings of luxury put forth by different areas of research, defines luxury products and brands and gives an overview of the major types of luxury products and brands and also of similar concepts. The definitions of luxury products and luxury brands should allow one to decide as best as possible, for any products and brands, if they are part of what is meant by these terms. 1. The Basic Definition of Luxury 1. 1. The Necessity-Luxury Continuum Despite confusions, researchers across all disciplines share a basic understanding of luxury. To begin with, luxury is defined as something that is more than necessary (e. g. by Bearden and Etzel 1982, p. 184; Muhlmann 1975, p. 69; Reith and Meyer 2003, p. 10; Sombart 1922, p. 85). In contrast to necessity, some authors also characterize luxury by non-necessity and superfluity (e. g. by De Barnier et al. 2006, p. 5; Dubois et al. 2001, p. 15; Csaba 2008, p. 3; Geerts and Veg 2010, p. 2; Jackel and Kochhan 2000, p. 75). The distinction between necessity and luxury is based on the availability or exclusivity of resources. While necessities are possessed by virtually everyone, luxuries are available exclusively to only a few people or at least only on rare occasions (Bearden and Etzel 1982, p. 184). Bearden and Etzel (1982, p. 186) imagined the necessity-luxury dimension as a continuum ranging from absolute necessity to absolute luxury. Accordingly, they developed a six-point Likert scale ranging from a necessity for everyone’ to a luxury for everyone in order to measure the luxuriousness of a number of product categories (see also Kemp 1998, p.594). Today however, people spend the biggest portion of their income on goods that satisfy more than their necessary or basic human needs, but most of these goods might still not be considered a luxury. Therefore, Chaudhuri (1998, p. 158 et seqq. ) criticized the necessity-luxury continuum produced by Bearden and Etzel (1982) and measured necessity and luxury as two separate variables on a seven-point agree/disagree scale (This product is a luxury [necessity] for me. ) No significant relationships were found among these variables (p.163), which supports the approach of these authors. However, there were goods with low ratings on both variables such as cornflakes, frozen dinners, and potato chips, indicating the need for another category of ordinary goods. Bearden and Etzel (1982, p. 186) actually already considered this category, as they defined luxuries as not needed for ordinary, day-to-day living. ’ Instead of subsuming ordinary goods into the necessity category, the scale can also be extended to the necessity-ordinary-luxury scale, which might be more intuitive for today’s consumers. In very old lexica, luxury is defined as anything that is more than necessary (e. g. Brockhaus 1846, p. 179). After the increase in the standard of living over many social classes in the late 19th century, the definition was further narrowed by luxury being also that which is more than ordinary (e. g. Meyers 1890, p. 1035). Since then, most lexica share the notion of luxury as anything that is more than necessary and ordinary (e. g. Meyers 1995, p. 189). However, not everything that is neither necessary nor ordinary is a luxury. For instance, most people rarely have moths in their wardrobe, but still do not consider this extraordinary occurrence a luxury. This demonstrates that the characterization of luxury as non-necessary and superfluous can be misleading because luxury is always meant to satisfy some human needs and desires (Berry 1994, p. 4 et seqq. ; Geerts and Veg 2010, p. 2; Giacalone 2006, p. 34; Goody 2006, p. 341). Accordingly, luxury is also associated with dream (e. g. by Seringhaus 2002, p. 5; Dubois and Paternault 1995, p. 69). While necessary and ordinary goods are also desirable (or required), a study by Kemp (1998, p. 599; 603) points out an essential difference: similar items [are] more likely to be perceived as a luxury if they [produce] a positive effect for the recipient than if they [relieve] a state of discomfort [†¦ so that luxuries are†¦] positive instead of negative reinforcements. Therefore, Kemp (1998, p. 592) compares the necessity-luxury continuum with the hierarchy of needs produced by Maslow (1970), which ranges from basic physiological needs such as hunger (necessities) up to needs of self-actualization (luxuries). These facts demonstrate that the luxuriousness of any resource is not only based on its availability, but also on peoples’ desire for it. Accordingly, the basic definition of luxury may be summarized as follows: Luxury is anything that is desirable and more than necessary and ordinary. | Luxury usually refers to single items, in which case it is described as qualitative luxury. In contrast, quantitative luxury refers to the profusion of an excessive amount of resources, which are not necessarily luxurious. For instance, this includes lighting a cigar with a handful of matches (Sombart 1922, p.86). 1. 2. The Relativity of Luxury The decision of what is desirable and more than necessary and ordinary is relative and depends on the perspective (Buttner et al. 2006, p. 9; Jackel and Kochhan 2000, p. 75; Kapferer 2008, p. 96; Nyeck 2004, p. 1; Sombart 1922, p. 85; Valtin 2004, p. 20 et seqq. ). The relativity of luxury splits into a regional, temporal, economic, cultural and situational relativity, which is illustrated in figure 1 and explained below. Regional relativity refers to the classification of resources on the necessity-luxury continuum depending on their local availability. Some goods are widely available and worth very little in some regions, but acquire luxury status by virtue of their rarity in another environment (Merki 2002, p. 85; Reith and Meyer 2003, p. 10). For instance, in the 19th century, kola nuts could be freely collected in the forests of West Africa and became a luxury in Europe, where they were used for kola biscuits and kola wine (Goody 2006, p. 347). In addition, a sunny day at the beach might be considered a luxury in most parts of Europe, while it is almost an everyday experience for people living in Miami. Temporal relativity refers to changes in the perception of the luxuriousness of resources over time, which are based on changes in their availability and desirability (Fuehrer 2008, p. 214; Kisabaka 2001, p. 119 et seqq. ; Matsuyama 2002, p. 1038). The major causes of these changes are technological progress and societal trends (see also Konig 2002, p. 118). Technological progress is also the main reason for the decreasing relevance of the regional relativity of luxury goods. For instance, modern production methods enabled the development from luxury kola to mass-marketed Coca-Cola (Goody 2006, p.348). There are many other examples of the metamorphosis of luxury goods into mass market commodities such as butter, chocolate, coffee, spices, sugar, and tea (Reith and Meyer 2003, p. 10). This process runs especially fast for technical products, as exemplified by TVs, PCs, and mobile phones. However, this process can also run in the opposite direction, as seen with some historically ordinary resources, such as clean air, silence and space, which have become increasingly rare, at least in some regions (see also Koschel 2005, p. 41). Temporal relativity represents the particular character of luxury as being not stable and constantly changing over time (Kapferer 2008, p. 96; see also Jackel and Kochhan 2000, p. 89; Mortelmans 2005, p. 504). Economic relativity refers to differences in peoples’ perceptions of luxuriousness depending on their access to resources (Kapferer 2008, p. 96; Kisabaka 2001, p. 121; Meffert and Lasslop 2003, p. 4; Vickers and Renand 2003, p. 461). While mostpeople consider a watch costing 50â‚ ¬ as an ordinary item, there are some who see it as a luxury, and still others who would not even regard a watch costing 5,000â‚ ¬ as a luxury. Economic relativity also refers to differences among countries with varying states of economic development. For instance, cars are generally considered as ordinary goods in Western Europe, but remain a luxury in developing countries (Christodoulides et al. 2009, p. 397; Matsuyama 2002, p. 1038). Culutural relativity: In any cultural context, luxury refers to something that exceeds necessity and ordinariness. However, in contrast to the previous categories, cultural relativity does not refer to the availability, but to the desirability of resources to people depending on their culture. The same resource might be considered luxurious in one culture, but just ordinary or even useless and undesirable in another culture (Kapferer and Bastien 2009b, p. 314; Kemp 1998, p. 604; Kisabaka 2001, p. 121 et seqq. ). For instance, champagne can be considered as a luxury in European countries, but generally is not desired in Islamic societies. The same is true for a Lamborghini from the perspective of someone from a secluded Amazon tribe (Berthon et al. 2009, p. 49). However, Mortelmans (2005, p. 497) argues that every social group can be said to have its own luxury. There are culture-specific symbols of good taste and luxury, which are determined by the elite of any cultural group or subculture and are used for social distinction (Bourdieu 1994, p. 64 et seqq. ; Fuehrer 2008, p. 135 et seqq. ; Merki 2002, p. 90; Reith and Meyer 2003, p. 24). While gold teeth grills are considered a luxury in the hip-hop scene, the majority of people do not find them desirable. The preferences of luxury are rooted to a great extent in cultural values (Kemp 1998, p. 596; Sombart 1922, p.87), which differ by demographic variables such as gender, age, and education (see studies by Hudders and Pandelaere 2009, p. 6 et seqq. ; Jackel and Kochhan 2000, p. 75). However, the members of a cultural group also differ in their knowledge of the symbols of luxury (Kisabaka 2001, p. 121). These facts demonstrate that there are also differences in the perception of luxury among the members of a cultural group. Therefore, Berthon et al. (2009, p. 47) state that luxury has an intensely individual component as well: what might be luxury to one person will be commonplace, or perhaps even irrelevant and valueless, to another. As the culture-specific symbols of luxury are a result of social learning, it must also be possible to influence peoples’ ideas of luxury using marketing measures (Jackel and Kochhan 2000, p. 81). For instance, De Beers managed to position diamonds as a symbol of love and luxury. Situational relativity implies that the same resource could be differently classified as necessary, ordinary or luxurious depending on the circumstances. For instance, ordinary food might become luxurious if a person has not eaten it for a long time, and any luxury food could be considered ordinary after eating it for several days (Kemp 1998, p.598). 1. 3. General Perspective for the Definition of Luxury These types of relativity can be used as follows to determine a general perspective from which luxury should be defined, particularly with regard to the requirements within the field of luxury brand management: Regional relativity: Due to the globalization of business, especially of the luxury industry, luxury should be defined from a global perspective, which leads to the omission of regional specialties from the definition of luxury for the sake of a broad international coverage. Temporal relativity: The definition of luxury should refer to the present. Economic relativity: Luxury should not be defined from the perspective of the very poor or the very rich, but of the entire society of developed regions. Despite the differences in the notion of luxury between the poor and the rich, Kemp (1998, p. 596) found that to a large extent, a gross-societal consensus exists concerning the classification of goods as either luxury or non-luxury. Culutural relativity: The desirability of resources and the appearance of luxury are determined by the upper class, which also includes the relatively homogeneous segment of the global elite (Vickers and Renand 2003, p.461). Consequently, hip hop-style gold teeth grills cannot be considered luxuries (as long as they are not adopted by the upper class). Basically, luxury appeals to everyone, if defined as something that is desirable and more than necessary and ordinary from his or her perspective. However, studies on the attitudes towards luxury usually refer to luxury as determined by the upper class. Consequently, the attitudes of respondents range from admiration to rejection (Reich 2005, p. 33), which often reflects their general opinion of the societal system. Besides that, the upper class also consists of different segments, which means that a variety of luxury tastes and lifestyles exists. Situational relativity: Finally, the definition of luxury should generally not consider any temporary or individual circumstances, but should be restricted to normal conditions. Accordingly, the basic definition of luxury may be complemented as follows: Luxury is anything that is desirable and which exceeds necessity and ordinariness. As a general rule, this is defined from a global perspective, for the present and for normal conditions. While the exclusivity of resources is evaluated by the entire society, the desirability of resources and the appearance of luxury are determined by the upper class. | Based on that, table 1 exemplifies some of the many resources that can be differentiated from luxury. Accordingly, theextended basic definition limits the scope of luxury from almost anything to a more reasonable level and therefore already helps to dissolve a large part of the controversies about its definition. Table 1: Examples of Non-Luxury Items| Example of Non-Luxury| Type of Relativity| Explanation|. Clean air| Regional relativity| A luxury in Jakarta, but not from the perspective of most people| Color TV| Temporal relativity| A luxury in the 1950’s, but not from today’s perspective| VW Polo| Economic relativity| A luxury for a student, but not from a gross-societal perspective| Gold teeth grill| Cultural relativity| A luxury in the hip-hop scene, but not from the perspective of the upper class| McDonald’s Hamburger| Situational relativity| Might be a luxury after a strict diet, but not under normal circumstances|. However, there are two limitations: First of all, the necessity-luxury continuum indicates that all luxuries are not equally luxurious, which means that there is also a hierarchical relativity. Consequently, it seems reasonable to distinguish different levels of luxury (see Kisabaka 2001, p. 120 et seq. ; and section 8. 4. 1). In addition, even though the extended basic definition limits the scope of luxury, it still covers a wide variety of resources such as musical talent, self-determination or Daikin air conditioning systems, which are not relevant within the field of luxury brand management research. Therefore, the scope of luxury will be limited further in the following chapter by differentiating the understandings of luxury by area of research. 2. The Major Understandings of Luxury The literature analysis suggests differentiating luxury definitions by area of research into three main categories, which will be explained below. 3. 1. The Philosophical-sociological Understanding of Luxury The proponents of a philosophical-sociological understanding of luxury concentrate mainly on the evolution of attitudes towards luxury and its societal benefits (e. g. Berry 1994; Mandeville 1724; Sombart 1922, p. 86 et seqq.) and on the changes in the appearance of luxury and preferences for luxury (e. g. Dohrn-van Rossum 2002; Fuehrer 2008, p. 185 et seqq. ; Koschel 2005 and Reitzle 2001, p. 26 et seqq. ). According to these research objectives, this understanding represents the broadest scope of luxury that can be referred to as luxuries or luxury resources. Examples include musical talent, time, and true love (see also Sombart 1922, p. 85). Luxuries are defined as follows: Luxuries correspond to the philosophical-sociological understanding and the broadest scope of luxury, comprising all resources which are desirable and exceed what is necessary and ordinary. | 2. 2. The Micro-economic Understanding of Luxury The proponents of a micro-economic understanding of luxury investigate the relationships between price and the demand for luxury (e. g. Chaudhuri 1998; Kemp 1998; Lipsey 1975, p. 107 et seqq. ; Poll 1980, p. 38), as well as between income and the demand for luxury (e. g. Deaton and Muellbauer 1980; Lancaster 1971, p. 68; Poll 1980, p. 30). There are also some researchers who focus on the moderating sociological effects (e. g. Bearden and Etzel 1982, Leibenstein 1950, Veblen 1899) and on the benefits of the luxury goods industry for the economy (e.g. Thomas 2007, p. 53 et seqq. ). In light of its research objectives, the micro-economic understanding of luxury represents a middle scope that is limited to goods that are suitable for exchange on the market. In microeconomics the term luxury goods was established for that and mainly refers to entire product categories (see Meffert and Lasslop 2003, p. 4; Reich 2005, p. 36). The marketability of micro-economic luxury represents its major difference from the philosophical-sociological understanding of luxury. According to Chaudhuri (1998, p.162), product categories such as barbecue and golf equipment are (still) regarded as luxury goods. The definition of luxury goods can be summarized as follows: Luxury goods correspond to the micro-economic understanding and the middle scope of luxury, comprising all goods which exceed what is necessary and ordinary, and are suitable for exchange on the market. | Luxury goods are distinguished from necessary or ordinary goods by consequence-related measures; thus the luxuriousness of any good is not determined by its characteristics, but by peoples’ reaction (changes in demand) to exogenous stimuli. These measures include price and income elasticity of demand (Poll 1980, p. 29). 2. 3. The Managerial Understanding of Luxury 2. 3. 1. Areas of Research The proponents of a managerial understanding of luxury focus on the development of business and in particular, on marketing strategy guidance for a relatively small group of luxury product manufacturers. The areas of research can be categorized into studies focusing on luxury brands (including products and industry segments) and on studies which rather focus on their consumers. The first group includes image analyses about luxury brands (e. g. Matthiesen and Phau 2005, Wong and Zaichkowsky 1999) and studies about the luxury brand identity (e. g. Dubois and Czellar 2002, Heine 2009a, 2010a,b, Heine and Trommsdorff 2010a). The existing studies about luxury consumer behavior focus on the characteristics of luxury consumers, their consumption preferences and on environmental influences affecting luxury consumption. Studies about luxury consumer characteristics cover consumers’ purchasing motives (e. g. Tsai 2005), attitudes (e. g. Dubois et al. 2005), values (e. g. Dubois and Duquesne 1993, Heine 2010a, Sukhdial et al.1995) and demographics (e. g. Dubois and Duquesne 1993). Results of these studies serve as a basis for the segmentation of luxury consumers (e. g. Dubois et al. 2005). Additionally, there are studies focusing on luxury consumer preferences (e. g. Nia and Zaichkowsky 2000, about country-of-origin preferences) and studies about environmental influences on luxury consumption incorporating the impact of reference groups (e. g. Bearden and Etzel 1982; Wiedmann et al. 2007), culture (e. g. Casaburi 2010), product types (e. g. social/private by Bearden and Etzel 1982) and situational factors (e. g.Dubois and Laurent 1996). On top of that, there is a growing interest in the phenomenon of counterfeit luxury products (e. g. Perez et al. 2010, Phan et al. 2010, Phan and Lu 2008, Phau and Teah 2008, 2009, Phau et al. 2009, Wilcox et al. 2009). 2. 3. 2. Scope of Luxury The managerial understanding represents the smallest scope of luxury. The major difference separating it from the micro-economic perspective is that the managerial understanding of luxury does not usually refer to entire product categories, but only to the best products of a category, or to products with certain characteristics. Accordingly, products that fall within the managerial scope of luxury should be referred to as luxury products. The broad definition of luxury products can be summarized as follows: Luxury products correspond to the managerial understanding and the smallest scope of luxury, comprising all products which exceed what is necessary and ordinary compared to the other products of their category. | The definition of luxury brands is closely linked to the definition of luxury products and usually refers to specific associations about their products’ characteristics. Accordingly, the broad definition of luxury brands is summarized as follows: Luxury brands are associated with products which exceed what is necessary and ordinary compared to the other products of their category. | These definitions allow one to state some typical examples of luxury products and brands including Louis Vuitton bags and Rolls-Royce automobiles. For the sake of simplicity, the luxury product business will be referred to as the luxury industry. The managerial scope of luxury becomes even clearer in comparison with the other understandings of luxury. This is not a horizontal differentiation (such as dog, cat and bird), but a vertical differentiation (such as dog, animal, living being), which refers to the relation between terms of different levels of abstraction (Eckes 1991, p. 120). As demonstrated in figure 1, luxury products constitute a subset of luxury goods, which, in turn, form a subset of luxuries. This means that the characteristics of luxuries also apply, to a large extent, to luxury products (see also Hoffmann 1986, p. 31 et seqq. ). 2. 3. 3. Limiting the Scope of Luxury. Despite its small scope in comparison to luxuries, the definition of luxury products still covers a wide variety of different products. Therefore, and according to the basic idea of definition by reduction sentences, the scope of luxury products is further limited by differentiating the major luxury market segments as follows: Luxury Products, Services and Real Estate: The managerial luxury understanding usually refers to movable assets (products in the classical sense), as the luxury industry was and is characterized by craftsmanship and engineering (Belz 1994, p.648; Berthon et al. 2009, p. 50). Beyond that, luxury services and luxury real estate form distinct luxury segments. Marketing knowledge about products offers a basis for other luxury segments, but still needs to be adapted to their specific characteristics. Branded vs. Unbranded Luxury Products: Unbranded luxury products are usually made on commission by craftsmen. Because of the high relevance of brands in the luxury segment, this paper considers only branded luxury products (see Kisabaka 2001, p.104; Vigneron and Johnson 2004, p. 486). Private vs. Public Luxury Products: Instead of public luxuries such as altar pieces or national monuments, the term luxury products usually refers to private luxury, which is owned by a person or a private organization (Sombart 1922, p. 86; see also McKinsey 1990, p. 13). B2B vs. B2C Luxury Products: B2C luxury products, also referred to as personal luxury products, are marketed to end consumers and can be used by a person to enhance his or her personal life (Sombart 1922, p.86; Reith and Meyer 2003, p. 10; Valtin 2004, p. 186). In contrast to that, there is a distinct B2B luxury segment, which includes luxury-specialized suppliers to luxury brands. One such supplier is Peter Bock, a manufacturer of nibs for luxury fountain pens. Founder-independent vs. Founder-dependent Luxury Products: This paper considers only founder-independent luxury products, which means that the existence of brands and the manufacturing of products should not depend on the life of their creators. The manufacturers of luxury products should possess a distinct brand personality and at least the capacity for infinite business operation. Although an artist could become a brand, these requirements are not fulfilled as he or she may only create founder-dependent products. Compared to other products, the luxury art market follows very specific rules and therefore forms a distinct luxury segment. The same is true for other industry segments such as (star) architect offices and the relatively complex and fast-changing market of (fashion) designer products. Uni-regional vs. Multi-regional Luxury Products: This paper disregards uni-regional luxury products, which are only available in specific regions. For instance, shopping in the KaDeWe is only possible in Berlin and spending the night in Le Bristol is only possible in Paris. However, many uni-regional luxury brands have the potential to become global. For instance, the luxury group Hilton developed the New York-based Waldorf Astoria into a global luxury hotel chain. Contemporary Luxury Products vs. Luxury Antiquities: With reference to temporal relativity (see above), only new products are considered. Luxury antiquities (including antique cars) form a distinct luxury segment. Accordingly, the broad definition of luxury products may be complemented as follows: Luxury products correspond to the managerial understanding and the smallest scope of luxury not comprising services or real estate, but products which exceed what is necessary and ordinary compared to the other products of their category. These products are branded, founder-independent, multi-regional, contemporary and possessed or used by a person to enhance his or her personal life. | Differentiating between the various understandings of luxury and major luxury market segments helps to further limit the scope of luxury in the area of management studies. Based on that, table 1 exemplifies some of the many luxuries that can be differentiated from luxury products. However, this is still not enough to distinguish clearly between ordinary and luxury products. Therefore, the broad definition of luxury products needs to be specified further, which will be addressed in the subsequent chapter. 3. Luxury Products 3. 1. The Definition of Luxury Products Although the term luxury products is broadly defined and therefore basically comprehensible (see previous section), it still needs to be operationalized because it is not yet clear which products are actually more than necessary and ordinary compared to the other products of their category. The broad definition of luxury products can be modified and further specified by an operational definition. For this purpose, adequate indicators for a term need to be determined. According to the dimensional analysis, it was decided to operationalize luxury products by their characteristics. The operationalization relies on a literature analysis and an empirical study (as outlined in the paper). The results suggest that consumers perceive that luxury products have six major characteristics including price, quality, aesthetics, rarity, extraordinariness and symbolism. These constitutive characteristics and their typical sub-categories are explained in detail in one of the following chapters. In that way, the operationalization helps to decide for most products if they are part of what is meant by the term luxury product (see also Kromrey 2009, p. 110). The definition of luxury products can be summarized as follows: Luxury products have more than necessary and ordinary characteristics compared to other products of their category, which include their relatively high level of price, quality, aesthetics, rarity, extraordinariness, and symbolic meaning. | Comparative terms such as luxury rely on continuous characteristics (as explained in the paper). Therefore, the major characteristics of luxury products can be considered as dimensions ranging from a minimum level that is also necessary for non-luxury products to a maximum level that corresponds to the highest form of luxury. As these major characteristics must apply to virtually all luxury products at least to some degree, they are therefore referred to as constitutive characteristics. Although luxury products require a relatively high rating for all of the major characteristics, there still exists a wide range of possible ratings within the luxury segment. According to the principles of the prototype theory, luxury products therefore differ in the degree to which they are qualified as representatives of their category. The luxuriousness of a product increases when the level of at least one of these characteristics increases. Not surprisingly, the luxury level therefore is one of the major means of differentiation for luxury products and brands (Esteve and Hieu-Dess 2005). The characteristics of luxury products are not independent of each other.

Dermatoglyphic Patterns with Rampant Caries

Dermatoglyphic Patterns with Rampant Caries A Twin City Study Correlating the Dermatoglyphic patterns with Rampant Caries and Early Childhood Caries Abstract : Background and Aim : This study was undertaken to investigate and analyze the correlation between dermatoglyphic pattern and caries prevalence in young children in twin cities of Pune and Mumbai. Materials and methods : Two centers were selected in Pune and Mumbai . A total of 300 patients (150 patients in each center) were included in this study. The mean age ranged from 3-5 years. The samples were divided into two groups; Group I: Caries and Group II: caries-free groups.Group I was further divided into children with early childhood caries and children with rampant caries Dental caries were detected clinically using mouth mirror and probe(only to remove debris not probed into the fissures) in daylight or suitable light source. Fingerprints were obtained by the conventional ink method .Statistical analysis using the students t-test was used to determine mean values and gender differences in the findings using SPSS version 11.0 Results : The evaluation and comparison of patterns in children with caries and caries-free children in both right and left hands showed increase in the number of whorls in children with rampant caries as compared to children with early childhood caries. However , this was not statistically significant. Conclusion : The present study showed a definite variation in dermatoglyphics between the ECC ; rampant caries and caries-free group .However the rampant caries group showed more number of whorls as compared to the earl childhood caries group but they were statistically insignificant .Dermatoglyphics has proven to be an extremely useful, non-invasive and cost-effective tool for preliminary investigations into conditions with a suspected genetic base like dental caries. Keywords : Dermatoglyphics , rampant caries , early childhood caries. INTRODUCTION : The word dermatoglyphics comes from two Greek words (derma, skin and glyphe, carve) and refers to the friction ridge formations which appear on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet .(1) Dermatoglyphics is the scientific study of fingerprints. Since each person’s fingerprints are unique, we can understand one’s innate potential, personality, and preferences by analyzing dermatoglyphics. Dermatoglyphic patterns are highly variable from person to person, while genetic aberrations generally produce consistent phenotypes. A twin-city survey was conducted in Mumbai and Pune reviewing a total of 300 children. Twin citiesare a special case of twocitiesor urban centres that are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time, losing most of their mutual buffer zone.Cities twinned by proximity do not necessarily match demographically, economically, or politically . The main focus of dermatoglyphic study is in the papillary ridges, the small markings that make up your fingerprints and exist on all primates skin. The formation of these papillary ridges occurs during a short window of development (2), and is influenced by a combination of genetics and the environment in utero. Being affected by the environment at such a time means thatmonozygotic twinswould have different dermatoglyphic markings .(3,4,5) The ridges do not change over post-natal life, which lends itself into forensic uses. The twin city survey was undertaken to evaluate the fingerprint patterns of children with dental caries ( Study groups-rampant caries versus early childhood caries ) and caries free individual (control group). Materials and Methods : Two centers were selected in Pune and Mumbai . A total of 300 patients (150 patients in each center) were included in this study. The mean age ranged from 3-5 years The samples were divided into two groups; Group I: Caries and Group II: caries-free groups.Group I was further divided into children with early childhood caries and children with rampant caries. Dental caries were detected clinically using mouth mirror and probe(only to remove debris not probed into the fissures)6 in daylight or suitable light source. Finger and palm prints were recorded using the ink method described by Cummins and Midlo.1The hands of the children included in this study were washed with soap and water to remove dirt and oil from the ridged skin and blot dried to improve the quality of the prints . Statistical analysis using the students t-test was used to determine mean values in the findings using SPSS version 11.0 Recording Interpretation of Dermatoglyphic patterns : Fingerprints : The fingerprints of all subjects were recorded using black duplicating ink ,the fingers were uniformly pressed on the ink pad after which the digits were pressed firmly against the white paper by the operator to avoid bias . The fingerprints obtained were checked for their clarity with a magnifying glass (Ãâ€"2) . INTERPRETATION OF HANDPRINTS The handprints were observed in a sequential manner under a magnifying glass with Ãâ€"2 power, from the left hand 4 th digit until the thumb followed by the thumb of right hand until the 4 th digit. This study included qualitative analysis that is the fingertip patterns (Loops, whorls,arches) The frequency of true patterns of loops, whorls, and arches was counted on the fingertips of all the 10 digits of children in all the groups. They were assessed for increase or decrease in mean frequencies. QUALITATIVE DERMATOGLYPHIC ANALYSIS Type of dermatoglyphic pattern Different types of dermal patterns were identified .(7) A loop is recognized as a series of ridges that enter the pattern area on one side of digit, recurves abruptly and leaves the pattern area on the same side. A single triradius is present, which is located laterally on the fingertip, where the loop is closed. If the ridge opens on ulnar side it is called as ulnar loop and if it opens toward the radial side it is called as radial loop. A whorl differs from the loop in the aspect of concentric arrangement of ridges, with two or more triradii in the latter. A whorl may be spiral, symmetrical, double looped, central-pocketed or accidental, depending upon the internal structure of the whorl pattern. In all the dermatoglyphic patterns seen, arches show the simplest ridge pattern, which is formed by the succession of one or more parallel ridges, which cross the finger from one side to the other without recurving. These patterns usually do not show the presence of triradii, except when the tented arch is present that will have a triradii point near its midline. RESULTS : Statistical results were obtained by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Post-Hoc Tukey’s correction for multiple group comparisons . The average no. of loops did not differ significantly between ECC and Rampant caries group (P-value>0.05). The average no. of loops is significantly higher in control group compared to ECC and Rampant caries group (P-value0.05). The average no. of whorls is significantly higher in ECC and Rampant caries group compared to Control group (P-value0.05 for all). Table 1) The intergroup comparison of finger print pattern. Values are Mean  ± Standard Deviation. P-values by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Post-Hoc Tukey’s correction for multiple group comparisons. P-value Figure 1 The intergroup distribution of finger print pattern (Right+Left). DISCUSSION : Widespread interest in epidermal ridges developed only in the last several decades when it became apparent that many patients with chromosomal aberrations had unusual ridge formations 10. Dermatoglyphic patterns make good material for genetic studies, because unlike stature, intelligence, and body weight, they are not significantly influenced by age or by postnatal environmental factors. 8,9,10 Dermatoglyphics have the advantage of remaining stable throughout life and therefore can be compared among individuals of different ages. The basis of considering dermatoglyphic pattern as genetic marker for dental caries is that the epithelium of finger buds as well as enamel which is the most susceptible dental tissue to dental caries have ectodermal origin and both develop at the same time of IU life.12 In this study , the evaluation and comparison of patterns in children with caries and caries-free children in both right and left hands showed increase in the number of whorls in children with rampant caries as compared to children with early childhood caries. However , this was not statistically significant. These results were substantiated by Atasu et al. who found an increased frequency of ulnar loops in caries-free children and an increased frequency of whorls in children with dental caries. The majority of whorl patterns in the control group were spiral while the caries group showed spiral, central pocket and double loop . Arches were least common patterns in both the groups.13,14 A definite correlation in the dermatoglyphic patterns between children with caries and caries-free children can be seen in this study. Thus, recording the dermatoglyphic patterns of children at an early age, during their first dental visit will be handy in predicting whether the child belongs to the high risk group or the low risk group and thereby can aid in planning a definitive preventive and treatment strategies. CONCLUSION : The dermatoglyphic patterns may be utilized effectively to study the genetic basis of dental caries. In a developing country like India , it might prove to be a non invasive , inexpensive and effective tool for screening . These patterns may represent the genetic make up of an individual and therefore it suggests an individual s predisposition to certain diseases . Since dermatoglyphics is still an counterfactual and imprecise science at the present time, it requires further extensive research to ascertain the significance of these variations in the dermatoglyphic features of children with dental caries . REFERENCES : Schaumann B, Alter M. Dermatolglyphics in Medical Disorders. New York, Heidel Berg, Berlin: Springer-Verlage; 1976. p. 14-75 Uchida JA, Solton HC. Evaluation of dermatoglyphics in medical genetics. Pediatr Clin North Am 1963;10:409-22. Pons J. Genetics of the A-B ridge count on the human palm. Ann Hum Genet 1964;27:273-7. 8. Venkatesh E, Bagewadi A, Keluskar V,Shetti A. Palmar dermatoglyphics in oralleukoplakia and oral squamous cell carcinoma patients. Journal of IndianAcademy of Oral Medicine and Radiology 2008;20:94-9. Hirsch W, Schweichel JU. Morphological evidence concerning the problem of skin ridge formation. J Ment defic research 1973;17:58-72. Penrose LS. Fingerprints, palms and chromosomes. 1963;197:933-8. Cummins. Revised methods of interpretation and formulation of palmar dermatoglyphics. Am J Phy Anthr 1929;12:415-502 Cummins. Study of error in interpretation and formulation of palmar dermatoglyphics. Am J Phy Anthr 1928;11:501-21 Okajima M. Development of dermal ridges in the fetus. J Med Genet 1975;12:243-50. Carter CO. Genetics of common disorders. Brit Med Bull 1969;25:2-57 Matsunaga E. Hereditary factors in congenital malformations. Igakunoayumi 1977;103:910-5 11. Verbov J. Clinical signifi cance and genetics of epidermal ridges-A review of dermatoglyphics. J Invest Dermatol 1970;54:261-71. 12. Madan N, Rathnam A, Bajaj N. Palmistry: A tool for dental caries prediction Indian J Dent Res 2011;22:213-8. 13. Atasu M. Dermatoglyphic fi ndings in dental caries: A preliminary report. J Clin Pediatr Dent 1998;22:147-9. 14. Ahmed RH, Mohammed I. Aref, Rania M Hassan and Noura R Mohammed. Dermatoglyphic study on patients with dental caries restored with dental fi llings and its correlation to apoptosis induced by dental fi llings. Nat Sci 2010;8:54-7.