Current Recession Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Current Recession - Essay Example Most of the countries depend on the resources and facilities from other neighboring countries. But this downfall has stopped exchange among the continents. Recession has created an impact on the banking sector, financial institutions and other credit related industries. Recession has occurred in the past also, but was not so severe like the present recession. The financial crisis started in America and then prevailed to the other countries. This in turn affected the development in all the countries. Though the previous recessions has incurred loss and lead to unemployment, this time it has been more than the previous recession. There is a dramatic increase in the unemployment rate and this has lead to the increase in debts. Financial stability has gone down which left many companies at a sad state. Financial policies should suit the current recession and must help in improving the financial crisis. Government has taken measures to improve the financial situation.(Nigam 2009). As the financial industries were the worst hit by recession, the companies which were depending on those financial services went down immediately. Economic depression has been prevailing from the downfall and it is still in the improvement state. Although most of the financial concerns tried to overcome the During this recession, many new policies and strategies were introduced by the government to improve the situation of the industries as well as the economy. Established concerns and the ones with a better financial background only survive the recession. Other small and financially not so strong companies had to wind up their business.(Burgan 2002). As they could not bear the recession and its effects, many people were pushed out of their job. Out of the various policies, only some could help in improving the current situation. One among them is Keynesian policy, which mainly concentrated on the economic status. Keynes introduced a system which had a simple and basic strategy.

Advertising- the seven sins of memory Essay Example for Free

Advertising- the seven sins of memory Essay INTRODUCTION As if effective marketing communication were not hard enough to achieve, even if we succeed in getting our message attended to and processed, and a positive intention formed, the very nature of memory may step in and upset everything. Memory distortion and plain old forgetting are unfortunate facts of life. The important question, however, is: can we do anything about it? As with most things, if we are to have any hope of dealing with memory problems and their impact upon advertising and other marketing communications, we must first understand what is going on. In this paper we will be looking at what Daniel Schacter (2001) has called the seven sins of memory: transcience, absent-mindedness, blocking, misattribution, suggestibility, bias and persistence. Most of what Schacter is dealing with involves declarative memory and not procedural memory, and as a result is highly dependent upon activity in the hippocampus. Although other brain structures are involved in mediating declarative memory, the hippocampus is critical, especially for tasks emphasising the representational as opposed to temporal properties of declarative memory. The hippocampus is always active in encoding new information for declarative memory. Nondeclarative emotional memory is also involved here, especially in the cases of bias and persistence, which means activity in the amygdala as well. There is compelling evidence that the amygdala is critical to emotional learning and memory (cf. Griffiths 1997). Imperfections in memory have obvious implications for the successful processing of advertising. Even if a positive intention is formed as a result of exposure to an advert, if a memory malfunction interferes with that intention, the advertising will be ineffective. The problems associated with these seven sins of memory, and what advertisers can do about it, are discussed below. THE SIN OF TRANSIENCE Forgetting that naturally occurs over time may be thought of as transcience. While the memory of what one did yesterday may be all but perfect, over time those memories tend to become more a generic description of what one expects to happen under those circumstances rather than what actually did happen. †¢Advertising implication: The sin of transience implies that what people recall from advertising is much more likely to reflect a generic description of what is expected about a brand rather than the specific benefits that are part of the message. This has clear implications for interpreting recall measures of advertising messages. But, more importantly, it also suggests that the specific content of marketing communication should be consistent with, or carefully integrated with, prior understandings of the brand. A recent advert for Reynolds Wrap illustrates this can be done with a headline Sticky Foods Wont Stic spelled out in cheese on a pan of lasagne, with a portion cut out of the corner cutting off the last letter of stick, revealing the aluminium foil, clean, beneath. Transcience increases with age. While older adults those over 50 years of age have the same ability to remember in the short term as younger people, over time, memory of specific detail deteriorates more rap idly. As a result, older adults tend to rely upon a general sense of knowing rather than specific recall. The problem of memory transience can be mediated by more elaborative encoding, essentially by stimulating the lower left frontal cortex. One popular way of trying to encourage more elaborate encoding is by using visual imagery mnemonics to facilitate memory. In fact, this idea goes back to the early Greeks. Unfortunately for marketing communication, not only does using visual mnemonics require a great deal of concentration and effort (and there is no easy way to encourage such effort), but for most people there is really very little evidence of general memory improvement using such techniques. †¢Advertising implication: However, one way to encourage more elaborative encoding to help reduce transcience is to relate information the target audience is interested in remembering with something they already know. In advertising, this could be encouraged with questions in the copy to stimulate elaboration: for example, in a recent advert for the Dodge Caravan with the headline What Idiot Coined the Phrase Stay at Home Mom? THE SIN OF ABSENT-MINDEDNESS When one fails to pay proper attention to something and as a result does not encode it properly, or when the information is actually in memory, but overlooked when needed to be retrieved, one experiences the sin of absent-mindedness. Absent-mindedness manifests itself both in failing to  remember past experiences as well as in failing to remember to do something in the future. Both, of course, can prove troublesome for marketing communication. Also, the fact that absentmindedness is more likely for routine experiences that do not in and of themselves require elaborative encoding (e.g. exposure to advertising) adds to the problem. Unfortunately, routine behaviour (which certainly includes such things as reading magazines and watching television) is associated with low levels of prefrontal cortex activity in the left inferior area, which makes it difficult to form vivid memories. Such automatic or superficial levels of encoding can also lead to something known as change blindness (Si mons Levin 1998), where people fail to detect changes over time, because of an inability to recall details. This has obvious implications for the introduction of new benefits over time in advertising campaigns, or for repositioning. Memories for past experiences may be classified as either recollections or familiarity. Recalling specific details from memory (e.g. remembering specific benefit claims from an advert) is defined as recollection. Familiarity is when one has a sense of simply being aware of something without recalling specific details (e.g. remembering seeing an advert, but not particular content). This difference is important, because when there is divided attention during exposure, there is a significant effect upon recollection, but little or no effect upon familiarity (cf. studies by Craik et al. 1996). †¢Advertising implication: Because one is more likely to pay partial attention rather than full attention to advertising, familiarity with advertising is more likely than recollection of specifics from the advertisement. This underscores the importance of maintaining a consistent look and feel over time (Percy et al. 2001), encouraging familiarity, and utilising imagery that will elicit a positive benefit (associated with the brand) even at low or even sub-cognitive levels of attention. Additionally, too much exposure, especially massed exposure, could lead to lower levels of specific recollection (as we understand from as long ago as Ebbinghaus 1885). Spaced exposures generally result in better memory, a finding demonstrated in Strongs simulations (1974) of various media schedules based upon Zielskes work, and more recently in fMRI studies conducted by Wagner et al. (1998). Remembering to do something in the future (e.g. buying an advertised brand the next time you are shopping) is described by psychologists as  prospective memory. Einstein and McDaniel (1990, 1997 with Shaw) have offered a useful way of looking at this idea of prospective memory, distinguishing between what they call event-based prospective memory, where we want to remember to do something at a specific event, and time-based prospective memory, when one wishes to remember to do something at a specific time in the future. An example of event-based prospective memory would be wanting to buy a new brand the next time you are at the store. An example of time-based prospective memory would be making sure you are home at 3p.m. to meet the delivery man. Why people experience prospective memory failure is that they are usually so preoccupied with other things in their lives that when the event occurs, or the time arrives when it is necessary to remember to do something, the correct associations in memory are not activated. †¢Advertising implication: Prospective memory failure may be minimised in advertising by using distinctive cues that are unlikely to be associated with other long-term memories (especially for competitive brands). It is important to establish links in memory with the appropriate category need in such a way that when a purchase or usage occasion occurs, it will trigger a memory of the intention to act. This is especially true for recognition-driven brand awareness, which means for most package goods products. In the store point-of-purchase material as well as packaging must be both sufficiently informative to trigger the stored memory of an intention to buy, and be distinctive enough to minimise confusion with other brand memories. Shoppers are almost always in a hurry and preoccupied with other things when they are in a store, and this may get in the way of attending to the appropriate prospective memory cue. This is just the sort of thing that goes on when a salesman creates a distraction, hoping you will forget all about your initial good intentions not to be influenced by his pitch, as we know from the literature on compliant behaviour (cf. Cialdini 2001). THE SIN OF BLOCKING We are all familiar with the sin of blocking, that all-too-familiar experience of recognising someone but not being able to remember their name. According to Schacter (2001), blocking is not the same thing as absent-mindedness or transience. In the case of blocking, the memory has been encoded and stored, unlike absent-mindedness. In fact, an appropriate  retrieval cue could be in place, but the association is just not made. Unlike transience, with blocking, the information is still in memory, but remains just out of reach when required. Because blocking generally occurs when trying to remember names, it potentially can be a problem for brand names. Blocking seems to originate in the left temporal pole, where there is a breakdown in the link made between the characteristics associated with something and the name by which it is known. The reason people often have trouble remembering someones name is that a persons name tends to be isolated in memory from any conceptual knowledge about that person and, as a result, difficult to retrieve. Most models of name retrieval hold that activation of phonological representations in memory occur only after activation of conceptual and visual representations. This is why it is easier to recall something about a person than to recall their name. It is also what can lead to remembering something about a product without being able to recall the brand name. Interestingly, names that are most likely to be blocked are familiar ones which have not recently been encountered (Burke et al. 1991. †¢Advertising implication: Brand names that are not well integrated or related to obvious associations with category need will be highly susceptible to blocking. If there are no logical and immediate links in memory between a brand name and the category need, there is the risk of occasional blocking. Arbitrary or more abstract brand names will be blocked more often than descriptive brand names, even when those names are equally familiar to people (cf. Brdant Valentine 1998). Brand names such as Vitalegs (a herbal gel that relieves tired legs) and Soft Scrub (a cleanser that enables you to clean without harsh scratching) illustrate good descriptive brand names that are less likely to be susceptible to blocking. To minimise blocking, it is necessary to suppress the retrieval of recently encountered information that is related to a recall cue so that the mind is not cluttered with irrelevancies that could interfere with the desired memory. †¢Advertising implication: When a brand possesses identical or similar benefits as the leading brand in its category, it will be that much harder to build an association for those benefits with the brand because of learned interference from advertising for the leading brand. This again suggests the need to have copy (and packaging as well as other marketing communication) unique to a brand in order to avoid multiple connections in  memory that could minimise or override the desired brand-related memory. Certain retrieval inhibitions that lead to blocking can be released if we encounter a sufficiently powerful cue (e.g. nondeclarative emotional memories) that helps us re-experience something in the same way in which it was initially experienced. Appropriate triggers in advertising or other marketing communication that elicit the correct emotional memories may help overcome retrieval inhibitions, and release positive memories for a brand. A wonderful advert for Nestls Toll House chocolate chips showing a mother with a pan of chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven with a little girl looking on in anticipation perfectly illustrates this point. THE SIN OF MISATTRIBUTION If one correctly remembers something learned, but attributes it to the wrong source, this is misattribution. Often referred to as unconscioustransference, it causes real problems with eyewitness identification. The problem stems from a strong sense of general familiarity, coupled with an absence of specific recollection. While the consequences of misattribution in advertising are obviously not as serious as they are with eyewitness identification, it can nevertheless cause marketers real problems. †¢Advertising implication: Avoiding misattribution requires more than simply retrieving appropriate benefits from memory. The benefit must be linked together in memory in such a way that you make the correct association of the brand with its benefit claim. This linking process is known as memory binding. All of the important brandbenefit associations in advertising must be bound together by the receiver into a unifying whole at the time of encoding. When advertising for different brands is visually or verbally similar, this memory binding is unlikely to occur, leading to memory conjunction error. Memory conjunction errors occur because people misattribute strong familiarity with similar (even if not identical) things from more than one source as coming from a single source; brand advertising in our case. Interestingly, a strong visualverbal congruence can help minimise misattribution (cf. Schacter et al. 1999). A recent series of adverts for Good Humor-Breyers uses the exact format and headline (Less fat, fewer calories, no guilt) for three brands: Popsicle, Breyers and Klondike. This would seem to almost encourage misattribution. THE SIN OF SUGGESTIBILITY Suggestibility in memory occurs because one tends to include information that has been learned from an outside source as something personally experienced. This information may come from any external source, including advertising or other marketing communication. While suggestibility is similar to the sin of misattribution, misattribution does not require suggestions from outside sources. But when the two combine, it is quite possible for us to develop memories of something which in fact never occurred. †¢Advertising implication: Interestingly, while suggestibility may be a sin of memory, in the world of marketing communication this sin may often become a blessing. For example, suggestive questions may produce memory distortions by creating source memory problems. As a result, advertising that utilises questions that remind people of a favourable brand association could occasion a memory for that positive experience, even if it never occurred, e.g.: Remember how easy it is to remove those nasty stains when you use our brand? Schacter has suggested that if you embellish a fake memory with vivid mental images it should make it look and feel like a true memory. This is based upon work done by Hyman and Pentland (1996) in successfully creating false childhood memories via suggestion, simply by asking subjects about things that never occurred. One of the important conclusions they drew from their work is that these false memories produce vivid visual images. †¢Advertising implication: The application to advertising is obvious. If a suggested favourable experience with a brand is reinforced with a strong visual image of such an experience, it should help seed a memory of a positive experience. In an extension of these ideas, we know that one of the best ways to elicit early childhood memories is to ask someone to visualise themselves as children. While there is no evidence that anyone can remember anything much earlier than about two years of age, because the areas of the brain needed for episodic memory are not fully mature until that age, with suggestive visualisation techniques one can create false memories for events going back almost to birth (cf. Spanos et al. 1999). The key here, as in all suggestibility, is expectancy. If one is instructed to expect something, and it seems plausible, it is possible to create rather strong false memories. †¢Advertising implication: It is very difficult to  suggest a false memory for something that runs counter to a recent or strong existing memory. If you dont like a brand, advertising is not likely to create a false memory that you do; nor should you try. But if a brand is one of a set of brands used by the receiver, it is certainly possible to suggest more positive experiences with that brand. And if it is a brand they have not used, if the advertising can relate it to a posit ive experience from childhood, it is quite possible to suggest positive memories for the benefit, and then link it to the brand. THE SIN OF BIAS The sin of bias reflects how current understandings, beliefs and feelings have the ability to distort how one interprets new experiences and the memory of them. Biases that are associated with memory of past experiences will greatly influence how one perceives and understands new information or situations. Schacter talks about five major types of bias: consistency, change, hindsight, egocentric and stereotypical biases. Gazzaniga (1998) has identified something in the left brain that he calls an interpreter that continuously draws upon peoples experiences and understanding of things in order to provide some stability to their psychological world. This would seem to be the neurological source of biases, and utilises such things as inferences, rationalisations and generalisations in relating the past with the present, enabling people to justify their present attitudes with past experiences and feelings. The left brain interpreter, however, is mediated by systems in the right brain that are more attuned to actual representations of what is going on in the world around us. Consistency and change bias Consistency bias reflects a tendency to behave (or believe) today in a fashion consistent with how one remembers similar previous experiences. When this happens, current experiences and feelings are filtered through and made to match memories of those past experiences and feelings. Because memories are not exact, people tend to infer their past beliefs, attitudes and feelings from what they are experiencing today. †¢Advertising implication: This suggests that for people who hold current positive attitudes toward a brand, advertising could imply they are of long standing. For brand switchers who include a particular brand in their purchase set, advertising  could imply a long standing preference for that brand: You know you have always liked this brand, why not buy more? Something similar occurs with change bias, where one remembers something being worse than it actually was, making what they feel now an improvement by comparison. Both consistency and change bias can occur beca use they help reduce cognitive dissonance, even when someone is not really aware of the source of the inconsistency they are trying to manage (Lieberman et al. 2000). Hindsight bias Hindsight bias is that familiar feeling that one has always known something would happen after becoming aware of the outcome. One is reconstructing the past to make it consistent with the present. The key here seems to be an activation of general knowledge. The new information is integrated with other general knowledge in semantic memory, and is not distinguished as such in making judgements. There is evidence that this selective recall is a function of the general knowledge that influences perception and comprehension, and a vulnerability to misattribution. †¢Advertising implication: Hindsight bias would seem to indicate that when exposed to advertising or other marketing communication one will recall benefit claims that are not actually made, but which would have been expected to be there because of the claims that actually were made. Work by Carli (1999) tends to support this idea. Recent adverts for Infusium 23 set up a beforeafter case, but leave out the before picture, wit h the headline You really think I would let them publish the before picture? This clever execution encourages hindsight bias as you imagine the before hair problem. Egocentric bias The self plays an important role in ones ongoing mental life, and is at the root of egocentric bias. When encoding new information by relating it to the self, memory for that information will be better than other types of encoding. This is because people are more likely to value their own understanding of things, among other reasons because the self-concept plays a key role in regulating mental activity. As Taylor (1989) and her colleagues have pointed out, individuals do not see themselves objectively. †¢Advertising implication: The implication is obvious: include personal references in advertising and other marketing communication. Moreover, given  our tendency to see ourselves in a positive light, it follows that memories related to ourselves will be seen in a self-enhancing light. This suggests that copy asking people to remember a situation in a positive light should encourage an egocentric memory bias, e.g.: remember when you . In the same way, egocentric bias can resul t from exaggerating the difficulty of past experiences: remember how hard it was to . This idea is well illustrated in a campaign for National Rails Senior Railcard, where a dated-looking picture of a young child is featured, with headlines like Remember what it was like to go somewhere for the first time and Remember how it felt just to let yourself go. THE SIN OF PERSISTENCE Research has shown that emotionally charged experiences are better remembered than less emotional occasions. The sin of persistence involves remembering things you wish you would forget, and it is strongly associated with ones emotional experiences. †¢Advertising implication: Emotionally-charged information automatically attracts attention; and even in the briefest exposure, the emotional significance of it will be retrieved from nondeclarative emotional memory, and evaluated as to how that information will be encoded. Understanding the emotional associations generated by specific advertising is critical. Because people are more likely to remember the central focus of emotionally arousing information rather than peripheral details, it is essential to tie the brand in marketing communication to the appropriate emotion. Otherwise, it will become peripheral to the information conveyed (a problem with a lot of highly entertaining advertising). There is evidence that persistence thri ves in negative emotional situations such as disappointment, sadness and regret. Ones memory of traumatic experiences is persistent, and while these unwanted memories may occur in any of the senses, visual memories are by far the most common. Research reported by Ochsner (2000) supports this idea. He found that when people recognise a positive visual image they tend to just say it is familiar to them. But when they recognise negative visual images, people relate detailed, specific memories of what they thought and felt when they were originally exposed to the picture. †¢Advertising implication: All of this underscores the importance of the visual images in advertising and other forms of marketing communication. Because persistence thrives in a negative emotional climate,  if advertising illustrates disappointment or problems dealing with a situation, which is resolved by using the brand, this should tap into any persistent memories of product dissatisfaction (always assuming such dissatisfaction). It also suggests that for appropriate product categories (especially those reflecting high-involvement informational decisions such as medical or other insurance, financial planning, and so forth) visual reminders of past problems which could be avoided with a brand should be an effective strategy. Such a strategy should also be equally effective in situations where there is strong psychological risk involved, e.g. reminding young people of a social disaster which would never occur if they used our brand. The root of much of this kind of activity is centred within the amygdala, the source of nondeclarative emotional memory. It is the amygdala that regulates memory storage, and can release hormones that can force us to remember an experience vividly (LeDoux 1996). And as we have already noted, this response by the amygdala is much more likely to occur for negative than positive experience. †¢Advertising implication: For appropriate product categories, it could make sense to create situations in advertising that suggest possible threats to the receivers wellbeing. This threat may then well intrude upon active memory when thinking about the category, with our brand linked to avoiding the trouble. This is well illustrated in a recent advert for Imitrex, an ethical drug for migraine, that uses the headline I cant let a migraine call the shots thats why I use Imitrex. SUMMARY Schacter has provided us with an extremely useful framework for looking at memory problems: his seven sins of memory. Each of these imperfections (in his words) has the potential for interfering with the successful processing of advertising and other marketing communication. Recent work in neurobiology, utilising the recent technology of fMRIs (functional magnetic resonance imaging) and PET scans (positron emission tomography), has shown us that our earlier understanding of memories as snapshots stored away in the mind ready to be recalled is not how the brain works. Memories for objects and experiences are decomposed into a number of different parts and those parts are stored in various areas of the brain, waiting to be reassembled and remembered. This underscores why memories are rarely  perfect, and why they can be potentially unreliable. As this discussion makes clear, effective communication faces a number of formidable hurdles in memory. However, forewarned with this knowledg e, we are in a better position to avoid or at least minimise some of these potential problems. To help advertising communication overcome the seven sins of memory, advertisers should: †¢ensure the message is carefully integrated with how a brand is understood (transcience) †¢encourage elaboration of points the target is interested in remembering (transcience) †¢use personal references, especially to positive memories (bias) †¢imply current positive brand attitudes are of long standing (bias) †¢tie brands to appropriate emotions (blocking, persistence) †¢use distinctive cues not likely to be associated with other longterm memories (absent-mindedness) †¢create a unique brandbenefit claim link (misattribution) †¢establish links in memory to appropriate category need (absentmindedness) †¢make sure those links are well integrated with obvious associations to the category need (blocking) †¢ensure a consistent look and feel over time to encourage familiarity (absent-mindedness) †¢use strong visual images to create or reinforce positive memories associated with the brand (suggestibility) †¢utilise reminders of past problems that could be avoided or solved by the brand (persistence). If these points are considered in the creation of advertising executions, one is well on the way to avoiding, or at least minimising, problems inherent in how memory works. REFERENCES Brdant, S. Valentine, T. (1998) Descriptiveness and proper name retrieval. Memory, 6, pp. 199206. Burke, A., Mackay, D.G., Worthley, J.S. E. Wade (1991) On the tip of the tongue: what causes word failure in young and older adults? Journal of Memory and Language, 30, pp. 237246. Carli, I.L.L. (1999) Cognitive reconstruction, hindsight, and reactions to victims and perpetrators. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, pp. 966979. Cialdini, R. (2001) Influence: Science and Practice (4th edn). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Craik, F.I.M., Govoni, R., Naveh-Benjamin, M. Anderson, N.D. (1996) The effects of divided attention on encoding and retrieval processes in human memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 125, pp. 159180. Ebbinghaus, H. (1885/1964) Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology. New York: Dover. Einstein, G.O. McDaniel, M.A. (1990) Normal  aging and prospective memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 16, pp. 7 17726. Einstein, G.O., McDaniel, M.A. Shaw, P. (1997) Aging and prospective memory: the influence of increased task demands at encoding and retrieval. Psychology and Aging, 12, pp. 479488. Gazzaniga, M.S. (1998) The split brain revisited. Scientific American, 279, pp. 5055. Griffiths, R.E. (1997) What Emotions Really Are. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Hyman, I.E. Jr. Pentland, J. (1996) The role of mental imagery in the creation of false childhood memories. Journal of Memory and Language, 35, pp. 101117. LeDoux, J.E. (1996) The Emotional Brain. New York: Simon and Schuster. Lieberman, M.D., Ochsner, K.N., Gilbert, D.T. Schacter, D.L. (2000) Do amnesiacs exhibit cognitive dissonance reduction? The role of explicit memory and attention in attitude change. Psychological Science. Ochsner, K.N. (2000) Are affective events richly recalled or simply familiar? The experience and process of recognizing feelings past. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 124, pp. 242261. Percy, L., Rossiter, J.R. Elliott R. (2001) Strategic Advertising Management. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Schacter, D.L. (2001) The Seven Sins of Memory: How the Mind Forgets and Remembers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Schacter, D.L., Israel, L. Racine, C. (1999) Suppressing false recognition: the distinctiveness heuristic. Journal of Memory and Language, 40, pp. 124. Simons, D.J. Levin, D.T. (1998) Failure to detect changes to people during realworld interactions. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 4, pp. 501506. Spanos, N.P., Burgess, C.A., Burgess, M.F., Samuels, C. Blois, W.O. (1999) Creating false memories of infancy with hypnotic and non-hypnotic procedures. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 13, pp. 201218. Strong, E.C. (1974) The use of field experiment al observations in estimating advertising recall. Journal of Marketing Research, 11, pp. 369378. Taylor, S.E. (1989) Positive Illusions. New York: Basic Books. Wagner, A.D., Schacter, D.L., Rolfe, M., Koutstaal, W., Maril, A., Dale, A.M., Rosen, B.R. Buckner, R.L. (1998) Building memories: remembering and forgetting of verbal experiences as predicted by brain activity. Science, 281, pp. 11881191.

The Specialist And Inbound Tour Operators

The Specialist And Inbound Tour Operators Mass Market tour operators have dominated in the outbound market for years, with the rise of holidays abroad becoming more and more popular since the end of the Second World War. Thomas Cook, Thomson and First Choice are examples of mass market tour operators. Thomson and First Choice belong to TUI, these are known as mass market tour operators as they sell/sold holidays that appealed to the majority of holiday makers. Some of the larger mass market tour operators have diversified in now offering more specialised products such as safari and skiing. TUI (www.tui-group.com/en/company/sectors/tuitravel) TUI AG is the largest travel group in the world; Thomson belongs to TUI and is a travel agency as well as having its own airline. First Choice is another travel agent that has its own airline, which belongs to TUI. TUI travel was formed in 2007, with the merger of TUI; their existing distribution, tour operators, air-lines and destination groups; with First Choice Holidays Plc. TUI AG is separated into three sectors: TUI Travel TUI Hotels Resorts TUI Cruises TUI also has a shipping container department. TUI travel is the majority shareholder of the company and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. They operate in 180 countries worldwide, making TUI the leading tour operator within Europe; to become this they provide a wide and varied service for over 30million customers. TUI is a British based company, with their head office in Crawley, West Sussex, not too far from Gatwick Airport; one of the UKs busiest international airports. TUI has over 200 different brands to over, over 140 aircraft and 3,500 retail shops across Europe, employing approximately 50,000 employees. TUI is separated in too four sectors of business, covering all 200 plus brands, these are: Mainstream Specialist Activity Accommodation and Destinations The mainstream sector is the largest of the four sectors in size, operating profit and the number of employees. The 3,500 retail outlets through-out Europe, providing over 25million customers per year, with package, self-package, sun and beach holidays. This sector operates over 140 aircraft to a wide variety of destination through-out the year, incorporating a large number of high street retail stores. The Specialist and Emerging Markets sector includes 40 specialist tour operator companies, providing and selling tour destinations to a smaller demographic, this sector is becoming more popular as people are starting to spread away from the usual package beach holiday. Specialist travel and emerging markets are places such as tours in North America, Europe and further afield such as China and Russia, the emerging markets that have not been popular in the past due to inaccessibility. This sector also provides escorted tours to the Galapagos, around-the-world trips and student gap years to Australia for example. The Activity sector is designed in providing customers that are seeking adventure or active holidays unique tours or packages to suit them. These specialised tour operators operate in the marine, adventure, ski, student and sporting segments, for example hiking in Kilimanjaro, polar expeditions, skiing in Canada and chartering yachts in the Caribbean. The Accommodation and Destination sector provides on and offline accommodation and destination services worldwide; selling accommodation directly to the customers through online hotel booking sites, such as Laterooms.com; Hotelpedia.com and Asiarooms.com. It also provides accommodation, transfers, excursions and a destination agencies portfolio to tour operators, travel agents, cruise lines and other corporate customers. Thomas Cook is another example of a mass market tour operator. As with TUI, Thomas Cook has travel agencies, airlines, hotels and tour operator; Club 18-30. In 2007, Thomas Cook merged with MyTravel; this was to cut costs; a predicted  £75million per year saving; and to combat competition from the low-cost airlines and web-based travel agents, that are on the rise in where customers are buying their holidays from. All tour operators that offer air inclusive packages are required by law to have an Air Travel Organisers Licence (ATOL). This protects customers from losing their money and/or being stranded abroad if something was to happen to the flights. ATOL is managed by the Civil Aviation Authority (www.caa.co.uk) Specialist Tour Operators Specialist tour operators cater for niche market holidays, they specialise in particular destinations and/or in a particular product. For example Journey Latin America specialises in the particular destination of Latin America (www.journeylatinamerica.co.uk) and Active Diving specialise in Scuba Diving holidays around the world (www.activediving.co.uk). Journey Latin America (www.journeylatinamerica.co.uk) specialises in holidays to Latin America; some of the destinations they include are: Antarctica Argentina Belize Chile Cuba Caribbean El Salvador The Galapagos Islands The Falkland Islands Guyana Peru Mexico Nicaragua Venezuela They provide a wide variety of different types of holidays for a wide range of different markets. The types of holidays available are: Tailor-Made Tours Small Group Tours Value Active Beach Wildlife Expedition Honeymoon Responsible Family Learn to (learning a new skill) Cruise JourneyLatinAmerica markets to everyone, with holidays suitable for low-budgets to the higher budgets, family holidays to romantic honeymoons. Wildlife holidays with JourneyLatinAmerica offers the traveller a vast array of wildlife and birdlife to see, from giant tortoises to llamas to sloths and penguins, all depending which country has been chosen to go to, there is the added advantage of there being the largest rainforest, driest desert to the longest mountain range and biggest river within the territories of the holidays available. There is plently of advantages of travelling with a smaller, specialised tour operator, the service is more personal and the smaller operators tend to have more of a passion for the area they specialise in. Smaller operators are experts in their destination, enabling them to give first-hand advice and recommendations to the holiday maker. They also have more care towards to the places, the people and the environment and try to minimise the negative effects of the holiday. Inbound Tour Operators Not only is there tour operators for outbound tourists, either specialised or/and mass market; there is also many tour operators for inbound tourists, specialised and/or mass market. These tour operators specialise and cater for inbound tourists to the UK from many different countries. They provide tours and holidays in many different languages and for different budgets. One example of an inbound tour operator is British Tours. British Tours (www.britishtours.com) specialise in tours of Britain. They provide tours to all size groups, from private groups up to 7 persons by car with their own guide; to larger groups by mini-bus or coach, with own guide. All prices are per car not per person. Tours are available in most languages, at an extra cost; including French, German, Spanish, Russian, Italian, Japanese and Chinese. Tours are suited to individual travellers, families, people with special interest, people with special needs and anyone who wants the freedom to travel at their own pace with their guide to help and inform. The tours of Britain cover the main tourist attractions and sites; the more famous to the lesser known authentic tourist sites; all with guide that are local to the area with a vast knowledge and interest of the particular site. Some of these tours are Stonehenge at Dawn, Legal London, Harry Potter and Englands Gardens. British Tours offer private day tours leaving London as well as personally guided tours of Scotland, Wales and England, special interest tailor-made tours. They also provide European destination tours, such as Paris, Normandy Beaches by private plane and private bus tours of Rome and Italy. British tours work with 100s of travel agents worldwide, as well as many UK companies for sightseeing, ground-handling, interpreting and corporate entertainment within the UK. British Tours is a member of the London Tourist Board, the British Incoming Tour Operators Association, The Society of the Golden Keys and the American Society of Travel Agents. An example of a tour and costs with British Tours: Harry Potter Tour includes the locations where the Harry Potter films have been made, including London, Oxford and Gloucester. Oxford and Gloucester tour only (not including the London sights) for up to 7 people taking roughly 10 hours to complete would cost  £655 per car; price includes private car and guide, collection and return to hotel; anywhere in London; entrance and meals are not included in the price. These tours are also available in most languages.

Porphyria’s Lover Essay -- English Literature Essays

Porphyria’s Lover The finest woks of Browning endeavor to explain the mechanics of human psychology. The motions of love, hate, passion, instinct, violence, desire, poverty, violence, and sex and sensuousness are raised from the dead in his poetry with a striking virility and some are even introduced with a remarkable brilliance. Thanks to the changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution, so many people living in such close quarters, poverty, violence, and sex became part of everyday life. The absence of family and community ties meant newfound personal independence; it also meant the loss of a social safety net. The mid-nineteenth century also saw the rapid growth of newspapers, which functioned not as the current-events journals of today but as scandal sheets, filled with stories of violence and carnality. Hurrying pedestrians, bustling shops, and brand-new goods filled the streets, and individuals had to take in millions of separate perceptions a minute. The resulting over stimulation led, according to many theorists, to a sort of numbness. Notably many writers now felt that in order to provoke an emotional reaction they had to compete with the turmoils and excitements of everyday life had to shock their audience in ever more novel and sensational ways. Thus violence also became a sort of aesthetic choice for many creative people. Browning can be charged of also employing violence as a tool for evoking aesthetic brilliance but this is only at the superficial level. Because when it comes to the use of violence in his poems we find them as close to reality as reality itself. His poems show us the human passions in flesh and blood and he was not going to be one who denied the presence of violence as a potent human passion or one who presented it as something out of proportion just to create sensation. His incorporation of violence with other human passions was real just and fully understandable. Many of Browning's more disturbing poems, including "Porphyria's Lover" and "My Last Duchess," reflect this notion. In his poem â€Å"Porphyria’s Lover† we find Browning at his best. The poem is a love poem†¦ but has a lot more to offer than just the bright sunny side of love. For Browning love was a passion, which had its destructive side as well. But this did not in anyway lessen or tarnish its reputation as being the purest emotion. In fact the destruction... ...God has not said a word!" (59-60). Browning presents the viewpoint of a speaker educated in the divine workings of an ultimate force, yet the long-stifled yearnings of an unjustly socialized man color the intensity of the situation. In Browning's dramatic monologue, God's hand of judgment shifts away from the murderer himself and onto the culture that first inhibited the speaker's rational thought. Browning's characterization of a nameless speaker in "Porphyria's Lover" forms an unexpectedly conclusive response towards the sensual numbness of Victorian society. While the suggested insanity of the speaker would traditionally indicate the narrator's unreliability in a moral sense, Browning constructs the isolated scene such that the lover's emotional internalization is not only understandable, but divinely justified. The musings and actions of this unreliable narrator serve to illustrate the consequence of society's confines in a shockingly violent release. Through naturally flowing language, this poetic account of burning emotion within a setting of tranquil domesticity presents the all-consuming power of human sensuality in its bleakest attempt to override social structures. Porphyria’s Lover Essay -- English Literature Essays Porphyria’s Lover The finest woks of Browning endeavor to explain the mechanics of human psychology. The motions of love, hate, passion, instinct, violence, desire, poverty, violence, and sex and sensuousness are raised from the dead in his poetry with a striking virility and some are even introduced with a remarkable brilliance. Thanks to the changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution, so many people living in such close quarters, poverty, violence, and sex became part of everyday life. The absence of family and community ties meant newfound personal independence; it also meant the loss of a social safety net. The mid-nineteenth century also saw the rapid growth of newspapers, which functioned not as the current-events journals of today but as scandal sheets, filled with stories of violence and carnality. Hurrying pedestrians, bustling shops, and brand-new goods filled the streets, and individuals had to take in millions of separate perceptions a minute. The resulting over stimulation led, according to many theorists, to a sort of numbness. Notably many writers now felt that in order to provoke an emotional reaction they had to compete with the turmoils and excitements of everyday life had to shock their audience in ever more novel and sensational ways. Thus violence also became a sort of aesthetic choice for many creative people. Browning can be charged of also employing violence as a tool for evoking aesthetic brilliance but this is only at the superficial level. Because when it comes to the use of violence in his poems we find them as close to reality as reality itself. His poems show us the human passions in flesh and blood and he was not going to be one who denied the presence of violence as a potent human passion or one who presented it as something out of proportion just to create sensation. His incorporation of violence with other human passions was real just and fully understandable. Many of Browning's more disturbing poems, including "Porphyria's Lover" and "My Last Duchess," reflect this notion. In his poem â€Å"Porphyria’s Lover† we find Browning at his best. The poem is a love poem†¦ but has a lot more to offer than just the bright sunny side of love. For Browning love was a passion, which had its destructive side as well. But this did not in anyway lessen or tarnish its reputation as being the purest emotion. In fact the destruction... ...God has not said a word!" (59-60). Browning presents the viewpoint of a speaker educated in the divine workings of an ultimate force, yet the long-stifled yearnings of an unjustly socialized man color the intensity of the situation. In Browning's dramatic monologue, God's hand of judgment shifts away from the murderer himself and onto the culture that first inhibited the speaker's rational thought. Browning's characterization of a nameless speaker in "Porphyria's Lover" forms an unexpectedly conclusive response towards the sensual numbness of Victorian society. While the suggested insanity of the speaker would traditionally indicate the narrator's unreliability in a moral sense, Browning constructs the isolated scene such that the lover's emotional internalization is not only understandable, but divinely justified. The musings and actions of this unreliable narrator serve to illustrate the consequence of society's confines in a shockingly violent release. Through naturally flowing language, this poetic account of burning emotion within a setting of tranquil domesticity presents the all-consuming power of human sensuality in its bleakest attempt to override social structures.

An Investigation Into the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Among Veterans Essay

Introduction There are numerous issues facing American veterans returning home from war, both past and present. They are taught how to transform themselves into different people who are better adept at performing under severe war-zone stressors. They are prepared physically and sometimes mentally for what they will be entering into on foreign territory but not often enough for the challenge of re-entering civilian life. Soldiers are falling through the cracks in our system upon returning home, shown through an increase in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse among veterans. Two theories that I will be exploring in this paper are Conflict Theory and Phenomenology Theory. There is more conflict everyday over what our troops should be doing and why. Any doubt of following the path to become a soldier is critiqued as going against the protection of our country, yet once they come out the other end of this journey the supported soldier is gone and in its place is either the glorified hero or sympathized victim. The phenomena of PTSD can create confusion for everyone involved. There is rarely a great understanding of a soldier’s mind and how it interprets their experiences into reactions after war. These experiences have a real effect on their lives and how they care and handle themselves after war. The way society has constructed what a soldier should represent does not include asking for help and makes them appear weak when if they show vulnerability. This issue is important because even today with easier access to treatment, many veterans today won’t or can’t seek out help. To many it is easier to turn to substance abuse to self-medicate and erase confusion from past experiences. Book Examination In the book Fields of Combat, stories are told of how soldiers are trained to kill and understand that to be a true soldier you must accept you own death. Author Erin Finley describes what it is like for soldiers who came home and developed PTSD, and puts their experiences into a social and cultural perspective. She paints a portrait of PTSD to reveal to readers that there is no comprehensive way to understand or experience it. â€Å"As an anthropologist, I find the web of tangled arguments over PTSD fascinating because these conflicts are in many ways about the nature of war-related suffering itself† (Finley, 2011). She describes how to understand PTSD, we must listen to the experience and concerns of the veterans before we can begin to help them. Theory Exploration The Conflict Theory can be applied to many aspects of a veteran’s life, the individual, their families, communities, and organizations around them. These troops return home without knowing how to integrate back into society. The families who should be overjoyed about the safe return of one of their members are displaced without having proper resources to help their loved ones mental health. They are not given the same stress and trauma training the soldiers is given, nor do they know of the experiences causing change in the soldier. There is not often enough knowledge available to the family of what it will be like for the family to have a soldier return home and can be caught off guard by what the soldier will experience upon return. Communities are affected by having one of their members experiencing side effects of war form attempting to re-enter the work force to social events and even the death of such troops of veterans. There is much debate about how war is handled in t he United States. It is generally agreed upon that protection of American citizens is of importance, but from there on out there is little agreement among groups. When thinking about this debate I cannot help but recall driving up to an intersection in my hometown and seeing picketers on either side of the street. Pro-war protesters held signs on one hand that said â€Å"FREEDOM IS NOT FREE† while anti-war protesters fought back with signs that reminded drivers of the ever-growing death toll of soldiers and civilians. Each side questioning the motives behind the other, from wasting America’s resources to question one’s loyalty to America. While these groups have different interests about sending our troops off to war, they should be able to come together when the troops return in order to offer services to help return to a life as normal as possible. From a Marxist view, veterans can be seen as an exploitation of the government by using the troops to their advantage and profit. While the troops are deployed the government basically owns them, but when they return they must often fend for their own mental and physical well-being. Capitalism has created a class division in this case. The bourgeoisie of our government sit back passively and brush off the symptoms of PTSD as a common experience expected after war. The most common symptoms of PTSD for veterans are thoughts of suicide, domestic violence, substance abuse and panic attacks. These symptoms would cause concern from anyone else but they are brushed under the rug for veterans because it is simply assumed that war experiences will have these kid of severe affects on those exposed. To critique the theory that a small elite group is responsible for deploying troops, we must acknowledge that many groups with similar interests come together to enable war to take place. Propaganda is imposed among society from interest groups on either side of the fence on war. Troops do not simply decide to pack up and head overseas to kill people, nor are they currently forced into deployment; it is their choice to enlist. The people in higher government position who can declare war do not just wake up in that position, they are elected there by the people of this country knowing, for the most part, what views they stand behind. This theory is consistent with social works ethics because it represents the working class and wants to bring consciousness to those who hold power and how we can reduce conflict, ignorance, and inequality. Article Examination In the book, David Grossman tells readers how soldiers killing patterns have changed over time. During previous wars years ago soldiers were more reluctant to kill and fired their weapons more as a warning instead of a kill shot. The Army has since taken steps to increase the percentage of shorts fired to be directed at the actually enemy. Since it was shown to have be easier to get soldiers to kill from a distance instead of up close, machines were provided to allow for distance physically and mentally. The soldiers are basically be dehumanized to be better weapons to the government. He refers to this as Acquired Violence Immune Deficiency, where people have such a fear of what they are experience that their brain reverts to classical and operant condition, which the government has replaced by weakening the part of the soldier that does not want to kill and inserting the actions they prefer. Theory Exploration This action represents yet another way that higher ups are using soldiers as their own material resource, in context to the Conflict Theory. The exploitive subordination of soldiers allows the government to profit by actually influencing how the soldiers think. The government understands that changing the social behavior of a soldier will lead to more power over them and their actions. This theory would show clear winners being the government who benefits from soldiers subordination and the soldiers who suffer. In contrast, you cannot presume that every action the ruling government takes over soldiers is for their benefit alone. The actions, while not always moral, are taken to protect the entire country. Treatment is provided for returning soldiers, even if it is not know or easily accessible to all. The emphasis is not solely social control but consensus and conformity. To go to war is a decision made by different group, not only elites, and a general agreement must be reached before actions are taken with soldiers or deployment. Soldiers are not forced into employment; they conform to the position because their attitudes, beliefs and behaviors are similar to those around them in the Army. Article Examination In the article by David Zucchino, it tells about a soldier who opened fire from his home without warning because he felt he was under attack. This event took place after he received inadequate treatment for PTSD after being diagnosed at â€Å"high risk† for the disease. He was sent to a prison that did not offer him any further treatment for PTSD since they were not affiliated with the military. He is one of the many veterans that has not being given proper treatment after being diagnosed to be at rick for PTSD and ending up in civilian prison where they cannot access further help. He is now left in prison where his symptoms and condition will only worsen. Theory Exploration From the Phenomenology standpoint we would look at expectations of his experience to understand and describe this phenomena. Looking at what appears to be instead of reality, his subjective experiences show emotions he is not fully aware of. His actions, like those of other veterans, stem directly from past and present sensory experiences and cannot defined the same way for each person. The appearance of returning veterans is seen as this joyous moment where they step off a plane in to the loving arms of family and are then forgotten about by most of the culture. Families and communities are left to deal with the veteran’s actions without knowing the driving forces behind their appearance of their actions. The government sees what it wants to see and transfers that to the public. We are shown this ideal soldier who is deployed to protect us and comes home a hero, which our consciousness retained as a singular memory of a soldier. That is what society wants to believe about war because our consciousness does not want to identify killing, death, and destruction with our freedom or it would not be as easy to ship off members of our own community to their impending death. Once they return they are given a pat on the back for a job well done and turned over with the intention of re-entering a community as a normal member once again. We define the content of our consciousness as making this place, America, better by using an object, the soldier, to do so. â€Å"Central Prison has done a good job of treating Eisenhauer’s physical wounds† (Zucchino, 2012). We treat what we can see, but leave what we do not understand unattended. In this theory we can only see one side of the situation at a time, and we are stuck on this glorified soldier but cannot combine with him the vulnerability and confusion he returns home with. In critique to this theory, there are things outside of our memory and consciousness that do exist. Just because we cannot fully grasp what is happening to these veterans does not mean that it is not happening. They are sent essentially sent to another world to deal with hardships and are thrown back into reality without being reprogrammed. There are not always theoretical structures that will allow us to understand the phenomena of what the veterans will go through. References Carter, A. C., Capone , C., & Eaton Short, E. (2011). Co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorders in veteran populations. Journal of Dual Diagnosis, 7(4), 285-299. Finley, E. P. (2011). Fields of combat: Understanding PTSD among veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Grossman, D. (2009). On killing: The psychological cost of learning to kill in war and society. New York: Back Bay Books. Levinson, N. (2012). What really happened to america’s soldier, The Nation. Retrieved November 20, 2012 from http://www.thenation.com/article/168652/what-has-really-happened-americas-soldiers# Litz, B., & Orsillo, S. M. (2010). Iraq war clinician guide . (pp. 21-32). Department of Veteran Affairs. Retrieved December 1, 2012 from http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/manuals/manual-pdf/iwcg/iraq_clinician_guide_ch_3.pdf Stecker, T. (2011). 5 Survivors: Personal stories of healing from PTSD and traumatic events. Center City: Hazelden Foundation. Zucchino, D. (2012, June 24). Accused soldier is a prisoner to ptsd; believing he was under attack by insurgents, he started firing from his home. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on December 1, 2012 from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.uvm.edu/docview/1021854523/13AE8FF837D23A623BE/7?accountid=14679

Indian Book Retail Industry Essay

The Indian book retail industry is estimated to be over Rs 3,000 crore, out of which organised retail accounts for only 7 per cent.The industry is expected to grow by approximately 15 per cent a year.Book retail contributes only about 1 per cent to the overall retail industry. Text and curriculum books account for about 50 per cent of the sales. Second-hand books are also a big chunk of the book retail market. In the past few years, several large format book store chains have come up, such as Landmark, Crossword and Om Book Shop etc . More than 75 per cent stores of these large chains are in top eight cities. These Organized Book retailers are focusing on improved customer experience. Many book stores have also introduced coffee shops and provide a library-like atmosphere where customers can sit and read, while sipping coffee. Besides this online channel is also significant with players like Flipkart, Indiaplaza, Infibeam etc. With the printed word considered an endangered species in much of a rapidly digitizing world, India now represents one of the best book markets in the world. â€Å"There has definitely been a huge jump in the size of the industry in terms of book sales and the number of books being published,† said Mita Kapur, the founder of Siyahi, a literary agency, who says the number of books published in English is growing by 30 percent a year. Vikrant Mathur, associate director of Nielsen Book, India, said the volume of book sales grew by 45 percent during the first half of 2011. For the entire year, Nielsen, a global information provider, documented English-language book sales of 3.28 billion rupees – about $62 million – from more than 12 million books sold. And that is probably only a fraction of true total sales, since Nielsen only measures about 35 percent of the total market. â€Å"Where physical books are concerned India right now is a very, very big market,† said Priyanka Malhotra, director of Full Circle Publications. â€Å"There is a whole younger generation coming up from BPOs who are starting to read in English, which is where a lot of new demand is coming from.† Online retail have also spurred growth in the industry. To summarize India’s book retail industry is broadly divided into 3 sectors : 1. Organized 2. Unorganized 3. Online The organized sector has big names such as : crosswords, OM book shop , landmark etc to name a few. On the other hand unorganized sector is huge and highly fragmented, with shops spanning from local book stores to road side book shanties to red light book sellers etc. This sector is also filled with piracy and pirated copies of original books (which is a serious threat to the sales of organized sector) Online sector is the newest of them all and has just started to takeoff in sales since last 3-4 years. The major advantage of such a format is the wide variety of offerings under one roof and ease of access for the users. Thus this is the fastest growing sector among all of them. The prominent players in this category are Flipkart.com, Infibeam.com etc. Unorganized sector (Golden book depot) Golden book depot is a typical book store among many in the unorganized sector of the india book retail industry. This store is loacated in the vicinity of our target organized sector store ( OM book shop) i.e. Ber Sarai ( adjacent to IIT) in south Delhi. As can be seen in the photograph, this is a small shop , almost 1/10th of the size of om book shop and most of the products are available behind the counter, with only magazine stand placed just outside the store. As magazines as a category has most no of impulse purchase. On an average around 50-70 customers come to this book store, and this tore has a footfall conversion of over 85% which is very high as compared to the organized sector (OM book shop) . The reason for this behavior is that most of the products in these kind of shops are behind the counter and it doesn’t provide the luxury to the customer to stroll around and search and read a book as in the case of organized sector. Therefore almost all of the customers coming to these shops like golden book depot are aware of what they want and demand that directly from the shop keeper who then searches the book in the shop and hands over to the customer. Besides having a smaller area , less variety of books and behind the counter selling, the sales (in terms of no. of books sold) is still higher in golden book depot as compared to OM book shop . The reason for that being : 1. Availability of educational books , i.e. educational course materials and  competitive exam preparation books. These books constitute the majority of the portion of these book shops in unorganized sector. These kind of books , especially course materials for various courses such as MBA, B.Tech, BCA etc . are not available at book stores like OM book shop. As they (Organized) focus more on selling of novels and leisure read books. 2. Many of the popular shops in unorganized sector offer a facility to bring the old books and exchange them with the new books at a discounted rate or return the old books at a discounted rate in form of cash return. This is a major reason why price conscious middle class Indian customers prefer unorganized sector over organized sector. 3. Perception in the minds of Indian customers that these small shops will offer the same product at cheaper rate than the organized sector shops, which have flashy interiors and huge shop floor. This perception is true also upto some extent as these shopkeepers in these small shops have the control over their margins and not guided by any company policy ( as in the case of OM book shop) that means these shop keepers can even squeeze their margins from around 10% to as low as 1-2% to attract or retain a customer by offering them the cheapest bargain. Organized sector (OM BOOK SHOP ) About Om Book Shop Retailer and Publishing House: Om Book Shop is a part of Om Books International, a leading English language trade publisher in the subcontinent, and is a prominent player in the Indian book industries. The book retailing chain has a significant presence across the Delhi-NCR region. Besides stocking books, movies, magazines and CD ROMs, Om Book Shop is also a major distributor of books of many leading international imprints. OBI began publishing in 1993. Collection: With a strong focus on children books and coffee-table books, the store has a diverse collection including books on Lifestyle, Nature and Wildlife, Fashion, Bollywood, Heritage and Culture, Management, Health & Fitness, Cookery, Architecture and Interiors, pictorial books for children etc. Children section is a major thrust area for the company and OBI publishes children’s titles under the Om Kids imprint: illustrated classics, mythology, folk tales, encyclopaedias etc. Loyalty programs and other salient features: Other salient features Om Book Shop currently holds about 50 thousand registered customers with the Om Book Privilege Loyalty Programme which offers points, discounts & other offers to its loyal customers. OBS aims to popularize the Gift -a- book idea across its stores and delivers services like Dial-a-book which allows the customers to shop from their homes; and the efficient and helpful staffs in the book stores assists them in finding the right book or the right gift for the right occasion. Overview: Product, Category and Store Product Category: ‘Books’ Retail Format: Category Specialists Customer segments: In terms of demographics, the Om Book shop customer can be a child/adult from any age group, gender, income class (reasonably well off) etc. Store: Om Book Shop is located in DLF Promenade Mall in Vasant Kunj. The store is located on the 2nd floor of the mall and the floor plan is provided in Figure1. The store is strategically located in a way that it falls on one of the 2 ways to the food court and movie theatre. Figure 1: Floor Plan of Om Book Store STORE PHILOSOPHY * Layout * Ambience/dà ©cor * Sale program * Loyalty Store layout structure Om book store has a very functional and efficient physical layout. Mall sq. foot area is very expensive so there seems to be an effort on part of the book store to utilize as much area as possible. Hence the layout may be a bit crammed for some customers. The bird’s eye view of the layout is as follows: The front view of the store is a transparent glass window through which a passerby can easily see into the store. The poster’s on display from the  front view are only of â€Å"OM publisher’s† in different categories like kids books, cook books, and biography (Amir Khan’s â€Å"I’ll Do it My Way†. The most popular and eye-catchy book categories are positioned near the entrance of the store. The largest selling categories, Children’s books, Fiction, and New Arrivals are placed in shelves that a customer encounters as soon as he enters the store. These sections also have the largest impulse buy and are therefore kept at the forefront. Om book’s self published books in the kids category is displayed in big piles on the ground straight in the line of path of a customer who walks into the store. Since the child often runs about choosing his/her own story books and activity (colouring/mask) books and heavily influencing the purchase decision of the parent so the children books of the OM publisher has been strategically kept within reach of the child on the ground to woo the him/her. Other publications in the same Children’s category have been kept on the shelf and in â€Å"sideway† display to decrease their exposure to the child/parent. Om Publication’s in any other category when placed on the shelf have been given a frontal full display to encourage sales. Management books being the next most popular category, they have been placed right after the popular categories when comparing in terms of â€Å"distance from entrance†. Categories pertaining to work or hobby like gardening, travelling, cooking etc / or specific topics of interest like astrology, philosophy, poetry, etc have been grouped towards the end of the store, furthest away from the entrance. This is because these categories can usually not create impulse purchase and so every customer need not pass through these segments/aisles. People who do buy these books are targeted shoppers and will anyhow walk to the back end of the shop to pick up his/her book. These categories are not as popular as the others and have loyal customer following. The impulse buy accessories are lined along the passage on either side from the entrance to the cash counter. It is further seen that the counter is placed at the other end from the entrance to ensure that a customer has to walk through all the impulse purchase offerings before he/she can buy the book. The products on offer in this so called â€Å"impulse accessory† shopping segment are: pens (parker and waterman), magazines, cookbooks, horoscope books, key rings, bookmarks, marble-paper/wrapping paper, and bestsellers in each category. It can further be noticed that the best seller section just prior to the cash  counter is dedicated solely to Om publication. Additional aspects of the Store Layout The layout is no doubt very functional keeping in mind the profit maximization philosophy of the store and the main agenda of pushing its own publication to the shopper. However the spacing of shelves is crammed with little walking space, hardly any sitting space (only 2-3 stools), and only 1 book stand. The entire focus is on 1 product offering i.e. books. Unlike competitors in the organised sector like Landmark, it is not focussing on the entire shopping experience, (no coffee, no other items on offer like stationary etc, no sitting space). Store Ambience and Decor The bookshelves were made of engineered wood like particle wood. This created a unique and rich traditional effect. Plastic or metal bookshelves were not used since they do not look expensive and give a modern feel, which was not something the book store wanted. Furthermore the particle wood was coloured a light shade of brown to give a bright and roomy/spacious look to the store. However the bookshelves were placed too close and for a particular section of customers who prefer the comforts of abundant seating arrangement, coffee facility, and walking space (as provided by Landmark), the sheer functional design of the store might be interpreted as a crammed. This might not work well for a particular segment of customers whose involvement with the shopping experience is as high as, if not higher than the involvement with the product itself. Furthermore the store works on the philosophy that it will focus on selling books alone and not encourage customers to spend hours just reading in the store. This is unlike some of its contemporaries like Landmark that encourage customers to sit and read inside the store. Hence at OM book stores some customers may complain that the staff hover close to them and make them feel uncomfortable if they stay too long. The store plays light and slow English instrumental music to suit the taste of the higher-strata of people who usually visit the Promenade Mall and create a relaxed atmosphere in the store. Instrumental music is  played since a song with wordings would disturb the concentration of a customer reading the epilogue/back-cover of a book. This gives a contemporary feel to the store. Store Sale Programs The store’s maximum profit comes from its Children’s section. Hence the sale period coincides with the summer and winter vacation in schools in Delhi. December to Mid-January and May to June are the respective winter and summer sales. The store is also receptive to mall trends in sale. Since almost every other shop in the mall had a sale in July, so the store too announced a sale to cash in on the increased footfall to the mall during the sale-period. There was no Flat Sale offer. Discount amounts were graded on the basis of demand. Books with high demand had low sale; New Arrival, Top 20 Fiction/Non-Fiction, general Fiction, and bestsellers had only 10% discount. The store felt that irrespective of the price these books would sell and so gave negligible discount on them. However on the kids section the discount was higher, around 20%, and even higher discounts on children’s books published in-house by Om Publications. This is because the store believes that parents during the sale period buy in bulk and a higher sale would induce them to buy more and yet it would not affect your margins. Furthermore parents are price conscious when buying for little kids since the books cannot be added to a collection later on and mostly become irrelevant in a short time after the child has outgrown them. The sale on OM publication was the highest because they already had the highest margins on it due to the absence of a middleman, and therefore could easily afford a large discount on those books. By touting the large discounts they aim to attract consumers to their publication and yet make the largest profit on the same sales. The books with the largest discounts (say more than 50%) were displayed in piles on the floor. This was due to the belief that even if the books weren’t displayed at eye-level, even then the mammoth sale amount would encourage the shoppers to make the effort of bending down to pick up the book. To publicise the sale big red stickers were pasted on the glass walls of the store which can be viewed by the casual shopper passing by the store. Inside the store the discount for each section was  mentioned separately through stickers and pointers. Store Loyalty Program A book is generally a product category where the consumer’s involvement with the product (i.e. the book itself) is much higher than his involvement with the store. Even if a person might have store preferences, yet his/her loyalty lies with the book and not with the store. Hence a consumer would not really care much as to whether he bought his/her book at OM Book stores or at Landmark, which is a stones throwaway. Thus in order to boost retention of loyal customers Om book stores has come up with a loyalty program, a privilege card holder concept which is as follows: * 1 point for every Rs.10 purchase. * Minimum points for redemption are 500 points. * 1 point equals Rs 1 reduction in bill amount. 60-70% of walk-in customers were privilege card holders and the store already has 4500 privilege card holders. The scheme is a moderate success. Store Timings | 11 A.M to 10 P.M ( For Mall)11 A.M to 8 P.M ( For standalone shop not the store we studied)| Working days| All 7 Days of the week| Peak days| Saturday and Sunday| Peak hours| Evenings post 6:00 pm| Staff| 10-12 members including the manager. Manager stands behind the counter at one of the two cash registers. He is accompanied by 2 staff members whose work is to: 1. Use the second cash register for quick transactions during peak hour to prevent long queuing period 2. To get a book for a customer if he/she directly comes to the counter and asks for a specific book.| Floor Staff responsibilities| * Taking care of the specific three to four sections assigned to them. * keeping a track of inventory * Filling the requisition form for the replenishing of stock * Guiding the customers if required * Sticking the barcode behind each new book before placing them on the shelf.| Shifts| There are no shifts; each staff member works throughout the day from 11:00 AM -8:00pm (fixed) and from  8:00pm-10:00pm (variable) depending on the rush. Hence post 8:00 pm the retained staff is paid on overtime basis.| Showrooms (strategic positioning)| NCR – 5 in malls and 2 stand aloneMumbai – 1 stand aloneThe store we studied was in the Promenade mall beside DT cinemas movie ticket counter on the 2nd floor.| Revenues| 1.5 to 2 Lakhs on weekdays3 to3.5 Lakhs on weekendsChildren, Fiction – highest selling category (80% of sales)| CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR The product category is such that it involves Limited-Decision Making by the customers. The reasons for purchase of a book from the store can be: * Buying for self- Leisure * Buying for self Knowledge * Buying for Others- Regular * Buying for Others- Situational The greater the motivation to make an optimal decision, the more likely an attribute-based choice will be made. Thus, attribute-based processing is more likely for an expensive book purchase than it is for an inexpensive magazine. The easier it is to access complete attribute-by-brand information, the more likely attribute-based processing will be used. A variety of situations influence which choice approach is most likely. A book bought with the intention of a gift purchase is assigned more importance than a purchase for oneself. Thus, gift purchases would be more likely to produce attribute-based decision processes. Time pressure is a major determinant of choice process used, with increasing time pressures producing more use of attitude-based decisions. Thus, we can identify 3 major clusters of customers that visit Om Book Shop. Category I: DEDICATED READER This is the kind of person who feels complete with a book in his hand. For him, the behaviour is governed by his choices alone and it is solely his decision. He is always trying to find the time to get back to his book. He is convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more. His primary information search happens within the store only. Category II: LITERATE GOOD CITIZEN This is the kind of person who usually buys a book after reading it review by a critic or an expert. Such a person does more information search before coming to the store. For our respondent group, the most dominant sources for this information were reviews and Bestseller lists published in newspapers, magazines or online blogs and sites likes Amazon.com. Category III: FAD READER This is the kind of person who only reads the popular books/ latest bestsellers so he can be up to date on what other people are talking about and be seen by others as someone who is well read. He often reads for the social credit he can get out of it. His primary information search is more through his friend circle or his group of colleagues from whom he might hear the latest ‘fads’ in terms of books. Such a person could also go in for information search in popular newspapers/magazines or the shares on social media websites.

By Rachel Glendenning Essays

By Rachel Glendenning Essays By Rachel Glendenning Essay By Rachel Glendenning Essay It was a calm night in the lonely moor surrounding moon fleet village. The water from the sea was lapping the shore, as the rounded moon shone gracefully upon the dunes. That the mild gusts of the summer wind blew unpleasantly around our toasty bodies causing them to feel colder with every blast of air combined with sun dried sand blown at us. Moon fleet was silent and still and visibly there were only two traces of light coming from the sleeping village, both of which came from candles, but in very different circumstances. One gave light to some of my fellow men and companions, as they walked silently up to the old Mohone vault within the graveyard. To prepare the storage vault for its new contents how ever small tonights collection was going to be, but was sure to keep us wealthy enough.But on the other hand, the second candle was called Maskews march. Grace Maskew placed the candle on her windowsill so that she could warn all boats that came to close, in bad weather and when the b lanket of darkness covered us, that land was near. The adrenalin pumped through my whole body filling it with fear and excitement. A strange buzz of which I cannot really describe fully, as our boat became adrift and the salty spray splashed off the bow of the boat up on to our anxious faces. We all jumped enthusiastically in to the boat causing it to rock violently and sink a little with all of the extra weight. David blocks face lit up as he grabbed an ore and lowered it in to the water on his fathers orders. He whispered earnestly of how he was so excited as it was his first time, just like a child losing a tooth for the first time.The order came from the head of the Ketch to start to row, so with every back breaking stoke we were pulled a little closer to the mother ship, as I called it, to collect her gear. The ores rotated very shallowly at first, and then with each stroke became deeper and deeper as the boat left the shore and travelled in to the ocean. A splash, my heart pou nded, it was louder than the splash of an ore. I scanned the shoreline, yet I could not see anything, I couldnt picture what else could make such a noise except hefty sized boat entering the shallow water of the embankment behind a small hill, not visible to sight from such an angle that we were.We all sat as though all of our bodies were paralysed, not been able to move a muscle through fear. We were in the middle, caught half way between the shore and the gigantic ship of which we gained our fortune. All was silent as tiny slits scanned the shoreline from end to end, like looking at a beaming smile that stretched from ear to ear. I couldnt see anything, but my mind was going mad. I could not see a boat in the water, but my head felt like it was going crazy, what would happen to my daughter and wife if I were to be caught.I would be hanged, why do I deal in such a filthy business. Elzevier spoke wisely, you should be afraid of what you cannot see, but if you cannot see anything why are you afraid. This puzzle fused our imagination, the puzzle of which one could not figure yet use to re-build our confidence. So we could take several more splashes of the ores beating the water so that the mother ship was along side us.These ores were lifted, as the bow was tied to the port bow of the ship, so that the ores could be rapped against the side of the ship alerting the foreigners that we were waiting. Seconds passed, before the foreigners faces appeared over the top of the ship. They tried to communicate with us, though no one could understand them. We all smiled innocently, and David Blocks face went white, though I could not tell whether it was because he felt ill, or ill with excitement or just because the light from the moon shone upon his pasty face, with skin of his mother, causing it to look white.The foreigners passed the goods down as we grabbed them and loaded them in to the Ketch, making sure that we were not to sink the boat. Barrels of ale, boxes of toba cco and fine silks of which any man could only wish to give to his wife or close female friend were loaded on to our boat. Which felt a lot heavier and it felt as though water would start spilling over the top at any moment, but it did not. So with a final farewell and friendly handshake with the captain,Elzevier and us gave a solemn wave good-bye to the men of the great cargo ship as we again pushed away from the great floating structure. We thought that it would be a quick journey to shore, but the time it took, seemed like an eternity. No one could have felt prouder that night than Elzevier Block, his sons eyes sparkling in the moon light, his brown hair shining like gold in the moon light and his wide noticeable smile soon to be shattered under the same moon light.We all quietened down as we started to approach the long stretch of coastline, so that not a sound could be heard apart from the soft stroke of the rotating ores.Abruptly I heard some one call out , what is that coming towards us, it is so close and look at the speed it is approaching us!Its certainly not one of ours, Block added.We rose to our feet panic stricken and dumbfounded. Mens faces could be seen as clear as if it was day, their little beady eyes looking straight at us and the gleam of their swards glinting in the moonlight. They were approaching at a tremendous speed, so fast, getting so close.Maskew, whispered Elzevier Block, with no feeling and no surprise within the tone of his voice.Get down David, dont stay on the boat, a conflict is about to take place, and you should not be a part of it. He said, with a lot more feeling, strength and power within his tone.The revenue boat drew closer, and swards were drawn on both parties. Once again I felt anxious, once again, I was fighting for my life. David listen to your father, he speaks wise words and he is a man to be taken notice of! I quickly spurted out, before our boat was swamped with unwanted folks. The ketch sunk lower with every p erson that jumped aboard. Soon water was to be spilling over the top. It was really every man for him self, yet every man believed to protect young David. Maybe Maskew wanted Block to come to him, but from the corner of my eye I saw Maskew walk to the front of his boat, kiss his fingers and place them on the title name of his ship, the elector schooner. Hatred in his eyes and a sward in his other hand, his long coat draping over the bow of the boat and long drawn out face and scrawny hair facing towards the very strong, menacing looking Elzevier. The glance of a sward caught my tearful eye, as I turned and sliced one if the oppositions through the thorax area.Blood trickled down the blade of my sward, and so fell down my upper arm area, as a blade caught the top part of my arm. I turned to see little David crouched in the top of the boat covered in a range of different blood stained silks, eyes fixed on his father and Maskew. Of whom I turned to see was walking slowly and sturdily t owards Maskew. The sound of clanging steel and raised voices echoed around as lights from Moon fleet village began to appear because of the disturbance. I flung my sward at a person approaching me at high speed, without taking my eyes off the two men now aboard the elector schooner. I had been using swards since a very young age and so was surprisingly good at using them, for play or battle; its all the same to me.Water started to come up to my ankles; David rose to his feet so that he could try to escape the blood died water. I again looked at Elzevier who was in a major hand-to-hand battle with Maskew. He was younger than Elzevier, yet more skilled at hand-to-hand combat. With a flick of his wrist Maskew flung Elzeviers sward through the air. It landed right in front of young Davids feet who then saw his father tripped to the ground, with a blade held to his heart. I can get you right through here, when I want to, I heard Maskew say. Elzeviers eyes towards the sky full of fear and still looking hopeful,You can kill me now, but never pierce my stone heart. Elzevier said looking Maskew in the eyes, you will never get me where it really hurts.He then looked toward his son whose tears fell in to the water as his father whispered the three words every human on the planet could only whisper to a loved one just before being put to death. Before I saw the sward raised up in to the air, David gave a learch towards the boat weaving between fighting men, I ran after him, as the ketch started to raise its stern in to the air. Maskew dropped his sward as David tried to clamber aboard the ship.Block screamed NO DAVID!But it got to him to late. Maskew had pulled back his coat to reveal a silver butted revolver. He pointed it at David as the youngster gathered speed coming towards him. Elzevier tried to get to his feet, but was to slow. I reached out to David to catch him but I was too late, the almighty bang had already occurred and the bullet travelled towards David who w as powerless towards it. It all happened so fast; the bullet had pierced young Davids heart and as he fell in to the water, I felt a sharp pain in my side. I looked down, to see gouts of blood coming from the lower part of my abdomen. The very same bullet that passed straight through the young boy also passed straight through me. The last sights I saw from the ketch was the strong powerful Maskew looking down at David with the sternest and most pleased of looks on his face and pistol still in the same position of what it was when the shot was fired. And Elzevier Block diving in to the water to grab his son for hope he was still alive.I knew I could get you right where it hurt, and from your eyes I can see I have succeeded. Said Maskew. As I fell in to the salty water, and the boat disappeared under the sea with all the goods causing me to be dragged under. With only enough energy for me to kick my way back to the surface and cling on to a piece of drift wood, to fall unconscious bec ause of the suffering and pain my side was giving me. I drifted unconsciously to the shore where I was found a day later, half dead, drained of blood and suffering from sever hypothermia.

Stomach Cancer Essays

Stomach Cancer Essays Stomach Cancer Essay Stomach Cancer Essay The human body is a complex system that has to be fully understood by us. It houses all the systems necessary for life. Each system works dependently with each other to sustain life. To acquire optimum body functioning, there should be a healthy relationship between the systems in our body.   Stomach, being part of the digestive system, holds a critical role in our body.   Like all the other organs in the human body, several alterations have been recorded that are considered threat to the human health. One of these is stomach cancer or otherwise known as gastric cancer. In order to understand what gastric is, it is imperative to determine first the anatomical and physiological structure of the stomach. This paper seeks to answer the following questions: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What is a stomach? 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What is stomach cancer? 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What causes stomach cancer? 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Is stomach cancer caused by an individual’s genetic make up? 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Is stomach cancer caused by an individual’s environmental factors? 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How is stomach cancer diagnosed? 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What are the current treatments for stomach cancer? 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To which gender is stomach cancer most prevalent? 9.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To which race is stomach cancer most prevalent? The stomach is an expandable sack located mostly under the left lung, between the muscular diaphragm which pushes up the lung, and the coiled small intestine. The stomach is closed by important organs in the abdomen. To the right of the stomach is the liver, to its lower left is the spleen, and underneath it is the pancreas. The esophagus enters the stomach at the gastro-esophageal junction, while the small intestine exits it at the lowermost antrum. The front of the stomach rests on the abdominal wall, and lower parts of it also contact the upper left kidney and transverse colon. The important areas of the stomach itself are the greater curvature, the lesser curvature, the fundus and the cardia. The stomach has a delicate inner lining, made up of columnar epithelial cells, and acid secreting cells called parietal cells. The chemicals that protect this lining are called prostaglandins. The stomach has an impressive blood supply, mainly from the celiac artery which comes off of the main artery, the aorta. There is also venous drainage of blood to the spleen and liver. A secondary drainage system, called the lymph system, filters the blood in normally pea-sized lymph nodes. These are connected to lymphatics in other abdominal areas by lymph channels. Lymph nodes are full of white blood cells that help purify the blood serum; lymph nodes often enlarge when they detect spread of diseases. The point is that the stomachs rich blood supply and many drainage paths can act as conduits for spread of infections or cancers. The main purpose for the stomach is digestion of foods. Digestive process begins with the saliva in the mouth. In our diet, the stomach activates Vitamin B12, secretes hydrochloric acid to break down food, and churns the food into pulp. It can also directly absorb substances like alcohol and caffeine. The stomach is susceptible to an increase in the concentration of hydrochloric acid brought on by stress, certain foods, and the effects of tobacco smoke. While the stomach is normally protected against its own acid by an inner membrane, breakdown of this membrane leads to inflammation of the stomach, called gastritis.   An area that loses its membrane is also at risk to get an actual hole, called an ulcer. An ulcer may be shallow, and heal quickly, or it may be very deep and even perforate the outer stomach wall. Perforation is a surgical emergency. Fortunately, there are many medications now available which help reduce stomach acid concentration such as   Zantac, Pepcid and Tagame t, helping ulcers heal and preventing formation of new ones. Also, soothing protectants such as Carafate and even artificial prostaglandins can be given. These medications are often given preventively when the body is under great stress, such as after major surgery. While most stomach problems are minor ones, such as a mild virus or indigestion, occasionally serious disease strikes the stomach. The stomach is composed of various cells, which are intricately combined together into tissues which form the organ. These cells divide to produce new ones, and grow very rapidly during womb life, early childhood and puberty. In adulthood, new cells are produced only to replace those that die of old age, injury or disease. Normally, division of cells is under very tight control. This control is exerted by the genes inside each cell, which are housed in long clumps forming chromosomes, which are visible under a light microscope. The genes themselves are made up of DNA, the master genetic code material. If the genes are damaged, say by chemicals or radiation, the control over cell division may be lost in one particular cell. Ultimately, cancer is considered a disease of the DNA. Stomach cancer starts in a single lung cell. That cell starts dividing haphazardly, making millions and billions of copies of itself. It takes up the nourishment needed by other cells, depriving them so the can cer can continue to grow. Quickly growing cells can clump up to form a tumor. A tumor simply means a swelling; it can be caused by inflammation or infection. A benign tumor only grows in its local area it cannot spread and is not cancer. By contrast, a tumor which can spread to other body areas is called malignant and this is cancer. The process of cancer spread to other areas is called metastasis, so only malignant tumors such as cancer can metastasize. Theoretically, cancer can spread to any area of the body, and it often grows better in its area of spread than in its area of origin. It is this capacity for spread that makes cancer so dangerous. If not treated successfully, it ultimately kills by debility, anemia, infection, and compromise of normal body functions. The body is made up of many types of cells. Normally, cells grow, divide and die.  Sometimes, cells mutate and begin to grow and divide more quickly than normal cells.  Rather than dying, these abnormal cells clump together to form tumors. If these tumors are cancerous they can invade and kill your bodys healthy tissues. From these tumors, cancer cells can spread and form new tumors in other parts of the body. By contrast, benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body. Stomach cancer, also called gastric cancer is the growth of cancer cells in the lining and wall of the stomach. There are 85% cases of gastric cancer which are   adenocarcinomas that occur in the lining of the stomach. Approximately 40% of cases develop in the lower part of the stomach (pylorus); 40% develop in the middle part (body); and 15% develop in the upper part (cardia). In about 10% of cases, cancer develops in more than one part of the organ. Stomach cancer can spread or metastasize to the esophagus or the small intestine, and can extend through the stomach wall to nearby lymph nodes and organs such as liver, pancreas, and colon. It also can metastasize to other parts of the body specifically the lungs, ovaries, bones. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2006, about 22,280 new cases of gastric cancer will be diagnosed in the United States and that about 11,430 people will die of the disease. Most people diagnosed with stomach cancer are in their 60s and 70s. The majority of these people who are diagnosed with gastric cancer are more than the age of 65.   Stomach cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Carcinoma of the stomach is the most common form of gastric neoplasm and accounts for about 2.6% of all cancer deaths (Cancer Facts and Figures, 1991). Stomach cancer has decreased 5-fold in the U.S.A. over the past 50 years. It is more common in males, extremely rare in children, and the average patient is 55 years old. The cause of stomach cancer is unknown, but there are certain predisposing factors recognized. Genetic factors seem to be important, since gastric cancer is more common in persons with blood group A. Geographic of environmental factors appear to be important since gastric cancer is common in Japan, China, Chile and Iceland. The incidence rate in Japan is one of the highest in the world. There are studies that showed that Japanese immigrants to the United States have an incidence rate comparable to that of other Americans. Genetic or hereditary risk factors include hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer (HNPCC) syndrome and Li-Fraumeni syndrome which are conditions that result in a predisposition to cancer. People with type A blood also have an increased risk for stomach cancer. Medical conditions that increase the risk for the disease include pernicious anemia which results from a vitamin B-12 deficiency, chronic inflammation of the stomach or otherwise known as atrophic gastritis and intestinal polyps. The most important environmental factors in the cause of gastric cancer are (1) salt added to food; (2) food additives such as nitrates, in pickled or salted foods such as bacon; and (3) food factors in water and vegetables such as Vitamin C. Dietary salt enhances the conversion of nitrates to carcinogenic nitrosamines in the stomach. Salt is also caustic to the stomach and can cause chronic atrophic gastritis. Finally, hypertonic salt solutions delay gastric emptying. Delayed emptying increases the time during which carcinogenic nitrosamines can exert their effects on the stomach mucosa. The metabolism of nitrates and nitrites is very complex. Nitrates interact with amino acids in the stomach to form nitrosamines. The conversion of those carcinogenic nitrosamines is enhanced at a low PH by iodides and thiocyanates. Nitrates are thought to be active only when converted to nitrites and to cause stomach cancer once atrophic gastritis has occurred. Stomach cancer usually begins in the glands of the stomach mucosa. Approximately, 50% of all gastric cancers develop in the prepyloric antrum. Atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia are strongly linked to the development of gastric cancer. Insufficient acid secretion by the atrophic mucosa creates a relatively alkaline environment that permits bacteria to multiply and act on nitrates. The resulting increase in nitrosamines damages the DNA of mucosal cells further, promoting metaplasia and neoplasia. Duodenal reflux may also contribute to intestinal metaplasia. The reflux contains caustic bile salts to destroy the mucosal barrier that normally protects the stomach. There are three general forms of gastric carcinoma. Ulcerating carcinoma is the most common type and must be differentiated from a benign gastric ulcer. Polypoid carcinoma appears as a cauliflowerlike mass protruding into the lumen and may arise from an adenomatous polyp. Infiltrating carcinoma may penetrate the entire thickness of the stomach wall and is responsible for the inflexible â€Å"leather bottle stomach† or otherwise known as linitis plastica. The clinical manifestations of stomach cancer come in stages. The early stage is generally asymptomatic of produce vague symptoms such as loss of appetite, malaise and indigestion. Later manifestations of gastric cancer include unexplained weight loss, upper abdominal pain, vomiting, change in bowel habits and anemia caused by persistent occult bleeding. The prognosis is poor because symptoms do not occur until the tumor has penetrated the muscle layers of the stomach, spread to surrounding tissues and entered the draining lymph nodes and veins, causing distant metastases. Generally the first manifestations of carcinoma are caused by distant metastases. There are a range of choices by which stomach cancer is diagnosed. The choice of diagnostic tests depends on the clinical manifestation at the time of presentation. Most symptoms suggest a problem in the upper gastrointestinal tract. Direct endoscopic visualization and biopsy usually establish the diagnosis. Another definitive technique is microscopic examination of exfoliated cells obtained by lavage during endoscopy- an examination using a flexible viewing tube. Endoscopy is the best diagnostic procedure because it allows a doctor to view the stomach directly; to check for Helicobacter pylori-the bacterium that may play a role in stomach cancer; and to obtain tissue samples for examination under a microscope. The noncancerous stomach polyps are removed using endoscopy. If carcinoma is confined to the stomach, surgery is usually performed to try to cure it. Most or all of the stomach and nearby lymph nodes are removed. The prognosis is good if the cancer has not penetrated the stomach wall too deeply. In the United States, the results of surgery are often poor because most people have extensive cancer by the time a diagnosis is made. In Japan, where cancers are detected earlier by mass screening using endoscopy, the results of the surgery are better. If the carcinoma has spread beyond the stomach, the goal of treatment is to ease the symptoms and prolong life. Thus, chemotherapy and radiation therapy may relieve symptoms. Sometimes, surgery is used to relieve symptoms. For instance is when the passage of food is obstructed at the far end of the trunk, and out the right or left gastric artery. The bleeding site is identified by arteriography, after which a vasopressin infusion is started. Newer experimental methods include electrocuagulation, photocoagulation and application of polymers. At times when conservative methods fail, surgery may be the only method of treatment even though these patients are critically ill and poor surgical risks. The most effective surgical procedure is total gastrectomy, since these erosions are multiple or diffuse and tend to bleed again. The following data show the rate of incidence of cancers in the United States that have been evident not just for those who are whites, but also among the blacks, either female or male.   Please click this cancer.org/docroot/stt/stt_0.asp and attach them to the paper. I made it right like this coz it is difficult to paste the maps, graphs etc. to this order. From this site, you can download the maps and graphs which will show the incidence of gastric cancer not just in the US but worldwide. Indeed, there are several factors that predispose the onset of stomach cancer. Whether these factors are genetically based or have been caused by environmental factors, it is critical to be well-educated about stomach cancer. One could not directly conclude whether stomach cancer is caused by genetics or by the environment. In fact, studies have shown that all these factors can cause stomach cancer to an individual and may even worsen the condition, as the case there may be. Having enough knowledge as well as making the right treatment choices can make the difference of life or death. Understanding the causes and treatments of stomach cancer will help a person be conscious of his health. Through awareness, the whole population will get rid of the factors that might cause this cancer. By doing so, the incidence of stomach cancer will be lowered down and that good and sound health will already be acquired by the population, regardless of gender, race or socio-economic conditions.