Author: chris

Privatization and Change in Economic Policy in the post 1989 Era.
The post 1989 era saw the emergence of capitalism in Eastern Europe. Most socialist governments in Europe reformed their economic and political policy. The need to develop a global economy in these states saw the countries align to the western concepts of economic policy. There were reactions about the emergency of capitalist economies Eastern Europe. There were several readjustments which had to be adopted by many States such as Poland, Germany and Hungary. In these states the governments had taken up factors of production from private persons. The governments owned property which it redistributed to the people. The rapid change to capitalism was, therefore, expected to elicit the reactions that it raised.
In the socialist governments, the government plans for its people. The factors of production are in the hands of the State. The state makes decisions regarding investments. This means that individual autonomy in making investment decisions is not promoted in socialist regimes. The state exercises power over its subjects. The socialist governments were undemocratic. East Germany which exercised socialism exercised absolute power over its subjects (Moralia, 33). It is the resentment that so people migrate from East Germany to West Germany after the collapse of the Berlin Wall. The death of socialism in East Germany could be associated to the undemocratic ideals. The need to construct a democratic society was one of the reasons why there was opposition to socialism in East Germany (Moralia, 35).
Poland was on the countries that charted a new political ideology after 1989 in order to develop a global economy. The political decision to move from socialism changed the economic discourse of the country (Pozniak 3). The move to capitalism saw the privatization of enterprises owned by the government, allowing of free trade and the elimination of subsidies (Pozniak 4).
The coming in of capitalization resulted into privatization of property. The property and factors of production being in the hands of private individuals meant that the government lost control on factors of production. This was intended to revitalize the economy of most states. The move from a controlled market to a liberal economy was part of the reforms in the post 1989 era. The 1989 economic revolution led to the advent of capitalism. The conflict between socialism and capitalism saw the emergence of capitalism. There were prepositions that socialism which embraced democratic ideals would have been better than capitalism (Trumpets, 43).
However, the socialist governments were criticized by opponents claiming that it promoted totalitarian governance. The governments in essence controlled every aspect of people lives. Socialist governments were built on communism ideologies. They were believed to be autocratic and powerful and thus imposing things on the subjects. West and East Germany practiced socialism. This scenario is presented by case of Friedman family who laments the top down approach to decision making. The government even after giving back land they still had quotas (5). The government determined the quantities that the farmers could plant. Government influence on the people was high. Decisions were made by a few people according to Werner’s case. Five people made decisions for thousands of people in East Germany. The socialism in East Germany destroyed the solidarity and good neighborliness among the people. The cooperatives formed lacked democracy. There was no opportunity to associate voluntarily. The coercive associations led to dictatorship.
The move to capitalism meant that states moved from heavy industrialization and focused on the technological and service industry. The move from socialism had many effects including increasing unemployment (Pozniak 117). The number of unemployed youths increased in the most countries that had embraced capitalism. Under socialism there was nothing like unemployment. These were the realities that people had to live with under socialism.
The proponents of capitalism and, therefore, the privatization of property were of the view that privatization of state owned enterprises had profound benefits and should, therefore, be speeded up in the implementation of the economic policy. They believed that the strategy of wealth accumulation which was the main agenda of privatizing government’s enterprise was the best way of ensuring economic success of the state. The capitalization agenda, therefore, got support from the people who believed that with globalization, it was the best way of promoting economic property.
Those opposed to privatization have claimed that it may not be possible to ensure equality during the rapid privatization of the resources that are in the hands of the government. Those opposed to privatization claimed that it would not lead to increased productivity. The efficiency of managements would not be improved by the rapid privatization agenda. Equality that had been achieved under the socialist regime could not be achieved in the post socialist era. Inequality was a representation of capitalism (Pozniak 119). Most people found capitalism a bad thing. Even in places where socialist governments were considered undemocratic and, therefore, bad missed socialism when capitalism took shape (Friedman 236).
The transformation of the economy was not without criticism. The move to a liberal economy was going to have far reaching implications on the people and the governance style. This is why there were even proposals of drawing beneficial elements of the different economic approaches. Increased globalization in post 1989 led to increased pressure on states to adopt capitalism.

1. What is business marketing and what distinguishes business products from consumer products?

2. Discuss how businesses measure online success.

3. Briefly describe the four major categories of customers in business marketing.

Give examples of companies or organizations in each category.

4. Name and briefly describe five of the major differences between business and consumer marketing.

Chapter 8 – Segmenting and Targeting Markets

1. What is psychographic segmentation?

2. Discuss why marketers use it as the basis for segmenting markets.

3. What is usage-rate segmentation? What is the 80/20 principle, and how does it apply to usage-rate segmentation?

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View the Video: Numi Tea

http://www.cengage.com/marketing/book_content/9781133190110_lamb/videos/ch08.html

1. Jen Mullin, the vice president of Marketing for Numi Organic Tea, describes their typical customer as a female, college-educated tea lover, possibly an “eco-mom.” What type of market segmentation has she used to identify this customer group?
Geographic segmentation
Demographic segmentation
Ethnic segmentation
Psychographic segmentation

2. Another way Numi Organic Tea identifies potential customers is through what they want from the product; they are looking for organic, fair-trade, premium quality tea, according to the video. What type of market segmentation is used to identify customers in this way?
Geographic segmentation
Demographic segmentation
Benefit segmentation
Usage-rate segmentation

3. Mullin talks about ___________________ the Numi brand, developing a specific marketing mix that will influence potential customers’ overall perception of the brand, by targeting natural health food stores, university coffee shops, and fine dining establishments.
Segmenting
Satisficing
Optimizing
Positioning

4. Which of the following is the least likely targeting strategy that Numi Tea would select to market their products?
Undifferentiated targeting
Concentrated targeting
Multisegment targeting

Chapter 9 – Marketing Research

Callaway Golf Co.

Callaway Golf Co. has long been a leader in women’s golf equipment, but it wanted to expand its lead in this growing sector of the market. While Callaway’s technical people knew what could be done with design, they did not know exactly what women wanted in their clubs. Callaway management decided what it needed to do was to bring the technicians and women golfers together. Beginning about three years ago, Callaway sent a team of researchers, designers, and golf pros out to visit with 40 women golfers of various abilities in locations from California to Florida. In selecting the golfers to study, Callaway decided to focus on women who were just beginning to play, as well as, experienced, competitive golfers who wanted to own the latest equipment. Callaway management felt that these two extreme groups of golfers had been overlooked by golf club manufacturers.

Further, Callaway felt that if enough could be learned about these two groups, then the company would also learn enough to serve the rest of the women golfer market. Basically, the research team observed the women playing golf and listened to their comments and concerns. The information gathered by this research team was built into every aspect of the design of a new golf club, including the feel of the club, the length of the club shaft and size of the club head, and the weight of the club. When prototypes of the new clubs were completed, they were sent to the women golfers to get their feedback. That feedback was then used to refine the club design. This process went on until the women said the new clubs greatly enhanced their game. The entire process from original prototype to final product took a little less than one year.

1. Refer to Callaway Golf Co. The type of research gathered by the Callaway Golf research team would be called:

a. secondary

b. developmental

c. descriptive

d. subjective

e. focus group

2. Refer to Callaway Golf Co. When Callaway researchers asked questions like “What bothers you the most about your irons?” What type of questions were they asking?

a. Scaled response

b. Close-ended

c. Dichotomous

d. Open-ended

e. Multiple answer

3. Refer to Callaway Golf Co. When Callaway researchers asked questions like “Now that you have played with the new club, how likely would you say you would be to buy it?” they asked golfers to respond on the following scale:

1 = would definitely not buy it 2 = would probably not buy it 3 = might or might not buy it 4 = would probably buy it 5 = would definitely buy it. What type of question is this?

a. Scaled response

b. Limited response

c. Dichotomous

d. Open-ended

e. Multiple answer

4. Refer to Callaway Golf Co. Callaway used its contacts at golf courses around the country to find the 40 women for its study. The 40 women would most likely be called a _____ sample.

a. systematic

b. convenience

c. cluster

d. stratified

e. random

5. What is marketing research? Name and briefly describe the three functional roles of marketing research.

6. List in order the seven steps of the marketing research process.

7. Name two advantages and two disadvantages of using primary data. Also name two advantages and two disadvantages of using secondary data.

Chapter 10 – Product Concepts

1. What is a universal product code (UPC)? How does the use of UPCs benefit retailers?

2. Name and describe the two labeling forms.

3. What purposes does branding serve?

4. Universal product codes (UPCs) can perform all the following functions EXCEPT:

a. allow scanners to match codes with brand names, package sizes, and prices.

b. print product and price information on cash register tapes.

c. assist retailers in preparing records of customer purchases.

d. allow retailers to accurately track sales and control inventories.

e. provide the detailed nutritional information required by the FDA.

Diabetes is a disease falling under the category of chronic diseases, and it is prevalent among people of all age groups. The most common type of diabetes is type-two that called diabetes mellitus. Type 2 diabetes is one of the leading killer-diseases in the world. This paper presents a review of literature based diabetes mellitus, especially the oral manifestations of diabetes. Oral manifestations are the signs and symptoms within the oral cavity, and these symptoms are observed to be predominant among the patients suffering from diabetes mellitus. The aim of conducting the review of literature on oral manifestations of diabetes is to increase the society’s awareness of these symptoms. With the awareness, people who observe the symptoms can go for checkups and begin treatment if they are found to be diabetic. The review finds that diabetes patients have oral manifestations such as periodontitis, dysfunction of the salivary glands, loss of sensitivity to taste, fungal and bacterial oral infections, slow healing of oral wounds, loss of neuro-sensitivity, and tooth loss/decay.

Introduction
One of the diseases that have become major public health concerns is Diabetes. Type two of Diabetes, called Diabetes mellitus, has become a common problem among many people. The cause of diabetes mellitus is the failure of the body system to secrete insulin. There are two circumstances that can lead to diabetes mellitus. First, there can be under-secretion of insulin. Secondly, there can be a total failure of the body to secrete insulin. Consequently, the metabolic disease results due to the failure of the body to regulate its sugar, hence diabetes mellitus is a condition of hyperglycemia, meaning that there is excess sugar in the blood (Shelesh and Swarnlata , 2010).Although diabetes is a disease that affects the entire human population, its prevalence is higher among the older generation that the younger generations. Due to the first rate at which the prevalence of diabetes grows, the World Health Organization has declared diabetes as a global disaster or a pandemic disease, meaning that there is need for the world to act swiftly towards reducing the disease in manageable ways. It is a disease that has a lot of complications, and to understand how to contain it properly, it is important to understand its symptoms clearly. The complications of the disease, according to Baldwin (2010), are both micro and macro vascular.
There is a growing association of diabetes with many oral complications, especially Diabetes mellitus. The oral cavity, especially the soft-tissues in the cavity, suffers from various inflammatory ailments because of diabetes. The problem, however, as Baldwin (2010) notes, is that there are low levels of awareness about the association between Diabetes mellitus and oral cavity diseases. Research has revealed that among the complications that are associated with diabetes, periodontal diseases are the sixth most serious complications that arise from diabetes. It is, therefore, important to understand the how diabetes manifests through the oral cavity, and the diseases within the oral cavity that can offer an indication that one suffers from diabetes. Knowing the symptoms can make a patient report for a diabetes diagnosis.
Review of Literature
Research has established that there are various diseases affecting the soft tissues of the oral cavity which are associated with diabetes mellitus. People with diabetes mellitus also suffer from gingivitis. Gingivitis is a dysfunction of the salivary glands that alters the composition of saliva and the sensitivity of the mouth to taste. Patients with diabetes mellitus have also shown symptoms of suffering from bacterial and fungal diseases within the oral cavity. People with diabetes mellitus also report having mucosal wounds that delay to heal. The oral cavity of the patients also loses its neuro-sensitivity, and the diabetes patients also show signs of tooth loss and dental carries.
Current research indicates that the prevalence rates for periodontitis have grown. According to Paul (2011), Periodontitis refers to a disorder affecting the periodontal tissues. It also affects the gingivae, and its initiation is a bacteria. The bacterium releases the toxins that cause the inflammation of the periodontal tissues. As the gingival inflammation grows, there is the formation of the gingival pocket due to the detachment of gingivae from the surface of the tooth.
Research and the medical community have not explained the proper relationship between periodontitis and diabetes, although diabetes patients continue showing symptoms of periodontitis. Patients with both type 1 and 2 of diabetes have shown that there is the increasing prevalence of periodontitis among them, according to Kuo and Kang (2010). However, medical research has not yet exploited fully how diabetes or hyperglycemia/hypoglycemia induces periodontitis. Theory, however, has proposed that when a patient suffers from diabetes, there are changes that happen on the collagen statue. In addition, there are changes in the immune system of the patient due to diabetes, and such changes are imagined to be linked to periodontitis, especially the wounds in the oral cavity that take long time before healing. Theory also suggests that the accumulation of the end-products of glycation in the oral cavity explain why diabetes patients suffer from periodontitis in high prevalence (Kuo and Kang, 2010). When an individual suffers from hyperglycemia, there is the continuous production of the cytokines that are pro-inflammatory, for example the prostaglandin which causes inflammations within the oral cavity. Apart from research linking diabetes to be the cause of periodontitis, research has also shown that when the periodontal conditions worsen, the patients’ hyperglycemic condition or diabetes also worsens. Kuo and Kang (2010) also find that among patients with diabetes, there a risk of contracting periodontitis is three times higher than it is among people without diabetes.
Apart from periodontitis, patients with diabetes also register high rates of salivary dysfunction. Saliva has a major role to play in keeping the oral cavity healthy. It means that any disease that affects the production of saliva undermines the health of the oral cavity. Negrato and Tazia (2010) is a longitudinal experimental study that investigates the relationship between diabetes and salivary dysfunction. The study finds that patients with diabetes do not have the normal way of producing the right volumes of saliva as the glands that produce saliva are inhibited in such patients. The glands that are responsible for the secretion of saliva, according to Negrato and Tazia (2010), include the parotid, sub-lingual, and sub-mandibular glands. The researchers diagnosed patients with diabetes and had a separate group of non-diabetic patients. Their findings proved that among the diabetic patients, the rate of production of saliva were generally lower than the non-diabetic patients. The research indicated that the patients with poorly controlled diabetes had their parotid glands and the other glands responsible for secreting saliva compromised (Negrato and Tazia, 2010). The researchers also observed that among the diabetes patients, there were high complains about drying oral cavities and they needed to drink a lot of liquids to keep their oral cavities wet. Negrato and Tazia (2010) explain that due to the constant dryness of the oral cavity, the soft tissues of the mouth become irritated and the irritation causes swelling and pain within the oral cavity.
Furthermore, studies on patients with diabetes have found that the patients’ taste becomes dysfunctional. One of the causes of taste dysfunction in diabetes patients is the problem with the secretion of saliva. However, according to Chomkhakhai et al (2010), there are metabolic and endocrine diseases whose prevalence increases among the diabetic patients. The diseases also explain why diabetes patients experience altered taste dysfunction. Also, the study by Chomkhakhai et al (2010) reports that patients with poorly controlled diabetes have higher chances of suffering from taste dysfunction compared to the general population of no-diabetic people. Furthermore, Chomkhakhai et al (2010) finds that when the patient experiences taste disturbance, his glycaemic control is inhibited, and the inhibition causes the patient’s low ability to keep good diet.
There are also fungal and bacterial infections of the oral cavity that occur because of diabetes. An example of a fungal infection of the oral cavity is oral candidosis, which is caused by fungi called Candida albicans (Chomkhakhai et al, 2010). There are various predisposing factors that are believed to cause the fungal infection, for example, cigarette smoking and xerostomia. However, any endocrine and metabolic diseases within the body can also cause oral candidosis. Oral thrash is another fungal infection that is prevalent among the diabetic patients. The thrush is characterized by the presence of white thrush in the oral cavity, and when the white thrush is wiped, there is bleeding of the cavity (Chomkhakhai et al, 2010).
Another oral manifestation of diabetes is poor healing of the wounds in the oral cavity. Previously, the paper has explained the predisposing factors and infections that cause inflammations and wounds in the oral cavity. According to Kuo and Kang (2010), however, patients with diabetes register extremely long periods for their oral wounds to heal. Kuo and Kang (2010) explain that the immune system of the people with diabetes is compromised. In addition, the oral cavity does not perform its functions normally, for example, the secretion of saliva by the oral cavity is compromised. Inhibition of saliva-production causes irritation, swelling, and cracking of the cavity due to dryness, and such factors explain why it is not easy for the wounds to heal fast. Chomkhakhai (2010) explains that doctors must be aware about the complication of delayed healing of the oral wounds among diabetes patients. Consequently, when they perform surgeries on the oral cavity, they expect the process to be a complex one. Other factors that explain the delayed healing of the oral wounds in diabetes patients include reduced flow of blood in the body of a diabetes patient, high levels of stress and depression, and vascularization (Kuo and Kang, 2010).
Finally, the diabetes patients also report symptoms such as the disorder of neuro-sensory within the oral cavity, tooth loss, and dental carries. The neuro-sensory disorder involves numbness of the oral cavity, meaning that the patient becomes less sensitive to heat. The patient can take extremely hot substances without sensing the heat, and such excessive heat causes burning of the inner mouth tissues. Patients with uncontrolled diabetes show the Burning Mouth Syndrome (BMS), and its underlying cause has been established to be diabetic neuropathy, according to Kuo and Kang (2010). The researchers also explain that it’s a popular fact that the diabetic patients are highly predisposed to oral diseases that cause tooth decay and loss. These diseases can develop due to dysfunction of the salivary glands. Also the sensory and periodontal diseases among diabetes patients can explain the problems of tooth loss and decay. However, Kuo and Kang (2010) explain that research has not exploited fully the relationship between diabetes and tooth decay/loss, and that the oral health complications could explain the problems of tooth decay and loss more than diabetes. On the other hand, Kuo and Kang explain that research has shown that the reduction of saliva among patients with diabetes mellitus leads to the problems of tooth decay and loss. Diabetes patients who suffer from xerostomia are commonly affected by tooth decay and loss.
Methods and procedures
a) Topic Selection
I selected my topic through Google search. Using the search engine, I located various topics in the area of diabetes. I brainstormed to choose the topic of diabetes and its oral manifestations. I considered performing research in this area so that I could develop findings that could explain some of the oral manifestations of diabetes. I considered the topic important because people who suffer from the oral complications could use them as symptoms of uncontrolled diabetes. Such people could go to hospitals for medical check-ups and if they are found positive (with diabetes), they can begin treatment. I conducted further search and found that there was a lot of recent literature and studies that have been performed in this area.
b) Source Search and Selection
I performed a careful search of research studies on the topic of the oral manifestations of diabetes. I managed to locate 123 studies. However, using the criterion of recency of the studies I selected six of the studies that I used to perform the literature review. The requirement was that the studies that I would use had to be within a recency period of five years. I also selected the studies on the basis of their perceived depth with which they explained the oral manifestations of diabetes.
c) Libraries and Search Engines
I used the PubMed database to conduct my research. The reason for selecting the database was that I found many studies on the topic through the database compared to other databases. In addition, the database was available at the PMI online library, making it easy to use for my research.
d) Search Terms
I used a number of search terms to conduct the search. The terms included diabetes, types of diabetes, diabetes mellitus, diabetes inspidus, oral, periodontitis, complications, and fungal, etc. I located 5,640 articles using the general search terms. However, I used Boolean strings as the filters for narrowing down my search. While narrowing down, I combined the terms diabetes and oral manifestations: “Oral manifestations of diabetes” as the new phrase for narrowing down to the preferred articles.
e) Age of sources
I used sources that were under the age of five years. Consequently, I selected the studies that were conducted after 2010. I considered this age as important because I could find the most recent and fresh findings made on my research question.

Discussion
The literature review shows that there are several oral complications that are linked to diabetes. The strength of the review is that it is based on empirical experimental studies that were conducted with diabetes patients. The experiments also had control groups of non-diabetic patients, meaning that the findings of the experiments were accurate. As the literature review indicates, patients with diabetes show oral complications, for example, wounds in the oral cavity, periodontitis, tooth decay and tooth loss, among the other complications discussed in the literature review. However, the weakness of the findings is that some of the oral complications lack a direct explanation in diabetes. Tooth decay and tooth loss, for example, are oral complications that lack their direct explanation in diabetes. However, it is observed, through the experimental studies, that diabetic patients show these oral complications. If they are not directly related to diabetes because they are not caused by metabolic failures of the body, then this is an area that requires research. The question that the student develops out of it is: Why do diabetes patients show complications of tooth decay and tooth loss?
In my opinion, previous studies have succeeded in finding the oral manifestations of diabetes. They have attempted to explain how diabetes, especially diabetes mellitus, causes these complications. Kuo and Kang (2010), for example, find that there is delayed healing of oral wounds among patients with diabetes. The researchers also find that since the production of saliva is inhibited in the patients, they suffer vascularization, and they have high stress levels with low immunity, these are the factors that explain why their oral wounds delay to heal. However, the previous studies have not given sufficient explanation for tooth decay and loss. Kuo and Kang (2010) have suggested that the conditions in the oral cavity and not diabetes itself may explain the problems of tooth decay and loss. There is need for additional research to find the exact cause of tooth decay and loss among diabetes patients.
Conclusion
Diabetes patients are at risk of suffering from various oral cavity complications. The literature review has shown that the oral complications among diabetes patients include periodontal diseases, salivary dysfunction, delayed healing of oral wounds, bleeding of the soft tissues, loss of neuro-sensitivity of the oral cavity, fungal and bacterial infections, and tooth loss and decay. Previous research has focused on type 2 diabetes (diabetes mellitus) because it is the most common type of diabetes all over the world: many diabetes patients suffer from diabetes mellitus. Although the oral health complications are common among diabetes patients, not all the complications have a direct relationship with diabetes mellitus. Lack of good sugar regulation cannot explain, for example, why the patients’ teeth decay. This suggests that not enough research has been done, and there is the need for further research to explain why the diabetes mellitus patients experience tooth loss and decay. It is not enough to guess that the factors in the oral cavity are the causes of these complications.

This survey was carried out to analyze the quality of relationship and the impact it had on work productivity. This survey was carried out by a group of 30 employees drawn from various companies who voluntarily took part on the exercise. The group which took part in the survey, 70% was married and the other percentage was still single.
In the survey, we found out that 20% percent of the married employees argued with their spouses and children at home because they didn’t have enough time to spend with their families. They argued that the period spent at work was longer than the one they spent together with their families. According to Andy Core (n.d), people spend the least average of eight hours per day, and as such, they should be happy at the workplace. However, with family relationships strained, productivity is bound to reduce as one ponders on such issues at work.
To add to the above claims, 10% of the total employees had arguments with their co workers due to stress the have at their homes. This is because they find that the best place to bring about their arguments is at the work place. Reason being, they believe it is the one which is affecting their relationship at home.
In their article, Better Health Channel (2012), say that workplace conflicts resulting from personality clashes are rarely productive. This is because they tend to develop into hate and dislike with time. This can be sued to support the fact that maintaining healthy workplace relationships translates directly to increased productivity at work and possibly, at home.
According to Harter et al (2003), satisfying the basic human needs at the workplace promotes the well-being of the employees. This wellbeing is dependent on performance and they complement each other in a workplace that is healthy both finically and psychologically.
To quote Williams (2010), “D. G. Myers, in The Pursuit of Happiness, says that compared to employees who are depressed or unhappy, happy employees have lower medical costs, work far more efficiently and have less absenteeism.”
When people are happy at work, they have happy and quality relationships amongst themselves. This translates to more productivity at the workplace. In general it is clear according to this survey that the work productivity of any firm is determined by the relationship of the employees both at work and also at their homes.

The Multi-Ethnic People of Rus’
The “Primary Chronicle”, also known as the “Tale of Bygone Years”, is one of the oldest information sources on the early history of Russians. It dates back to the twelfth century written by one of the monks based at the Kievan Monastery. His views borrow from a Christian perspective as seen in the references to the Genesis book of the bible that explains the origins of human beings. As such, this article intends to analyze this document as it relates to Russian history.
Based on the arguments presented in the article, it is correct to claim that the Rus came from a group of people known as the Slavs. To prove this, the author gives several accounts of the lineage and tribal groupings that resulted into the people known as the Rus. The different tribal groupings experienced peace as well as war between one another and sought mergers and alliances to outdo each other on the battlefield. One such alliance resulted in the people of Rus.
For several years, the Slavs and the Danube were neighbors. The Slavs were scattered all across the countryside in several groups. These groups were assigned names based on the locations they chose to settle. For example, there were the Moravians at Moravia. These tribes, despite the separation, preserved their traditions and customs over the course of time. The Polianians had a function marriage system and were peaceful due to the values promoted by their customs and traditions. On the other hand, Derevlians, were beasts with no civilization. They never married and were always in celebrations. Their practices displayed paganism as they had not heard about the law of God. When the Varangians drove the Slavs, Chuds, Merians, Ves and the Krivichians from their settlements, theses groups decided to form their own government. However, the lacked laws and as such fought amongst themselves for supremacy. To escpae this, the Slavs, Chuds and Krivichians offered the Varangian Russes their own land in return for stable governance and leadership. They coexisted in the town of Novgorod which later came to be known as the land of the Rus’.
The thesis statement advances the claims that the Rus’ are a major part of the Russian history. The multi-ethnicity displayed by the large number of tribal groupings in Russia at the time and the resultant alliances between them and their cultures and tradition, is a clear indication that the origin of Russia can be confusing at times. However, the article used in this analysis manages to explain these alliances with the view of identifying the origins of the Russian people.
As said before, it is evident that alliances and mergers created along tribal lines were responsible for the creation of the Rus’ people. The wars between the Chuds, Slavs and others driven out of their homes by the Varangians resulted in the formation of a political alliance between the Slavs, Chuds and Kirichians and Varangians that later formed what we know as the Rus’. This was achieved through peaceful coexistence enforced by the government system and laws of the Varangians.
In conclusion, the evidence presented in this article clearly identifies the origin of the Russian people as being the product of several political and social alliances between various and numerous tribes existing at the time.

Company’s Competitive Capabilities
The internal analysis of the Armour presents it as a strong company that enjoys excessive momentum in the market. The firm enjoys low production costs, excellent products, significant brand image/recognition as well as a growth expansion room. This section will examine internal factors that affect Armour’s operation in the market. Internal analysis comprises of both Strength and weaknesses of the company inclusive of the core competencies. The company is operating in an industries with competitive rivals like Nike.
Strengths of the Company
Armour Company enjoys the following strengths compared to their close rival (Nike):
• Technology and innovation: The two factors are the main forces that drives Armour towards rapid growth and market expansion.
• Recognized brands: the products of the company are based on the tag, “wear HeatGear when it is hot, ColdGear when it is cold and AllseasonGear between the extremes” .This tag is unique to the company’s brands and products in the market. It complements the complex technology used in the products with a simple language easily understood by users.
• Strong brand Image and product performance: The two factors drives the Company as an established, respected and recognized brand name.
• Brand’s promotion: Armour have attractive clothing designs that are easily sold to the buyers.
• Increased revenue: The global recognized brand increased the stock market sales to $100 million in common shares.
The strengths of Armour has been facilitated with effective core competencies value inherited f0orm the company founders. The following are the core values enjoyed by the company:
• The CEO and Founder, Kevin Plank was an active athlete hence he understands the type of sports apparel a professional athlete looks for in the market. The core competencies Armour have over its competitors are professionalism, practical, athletic, and performance in managing the marketing campaigns.

Interpersonal communication in Action -Paper option #1 Self and Others
Communication concepts developed in the readings and discussions
From this reading, it is clear that interpersonal communication is important for communications. Interpersonal communication is effective for people to understand you. In addition, people need good interpersonal communication to understand others. After reading these texts, I found out that there are several ways through which people can acquire good interpersonal skills needed for effective communication. One of the ways is through the learning process. Secondly people can acquire good interpersonal skills through regular practice.
One of the most important things in interpersonal communication is self-awareness. Although interpersonal communication means that there is a need to be two or more people in the communication, it is significant to begin interpersonal communication by assessing one’s self. One of the concepts from this text is that, for effective interpersonal skills, one need to be aware of who they are and what they like in their communication. Understanding oneself helps people identify the action required to act effectively in different communication situations (Socha and Margaret 71). As people become aware of themselves, they become aware of their behaviours and can manage their ability to adapt to their behaviours and the changing environments. There are several areas that people need to understand for effective self – awareness. One of the areas is understanding one’s personality. Another communication concept is that in order to have effective interpersonal skills; people need to understand their unique traits and characteristics of their personality. Understanding these unique traits is helpful in finding situations in which people can adapt their communication skills. In addition, understanding personality traits will help one avoid situations that will lead to too much stress. Making decisions that will help in avoiding a stressful situation needs understanding of one’s self. In interpersonal communication, understanding oneself requires an analysis of self-values. In most cases, values are attached to emotions.
Another key concept is that in order to understand oneself; it is also important to understand your behaviours. In many cases, behaviours are likely to be repeated and are automatic. Many people would like to possess the habits that help them interact with others effectively. It is, therefore, significant to identify at least a few habits from your character that is a deterrent in the communication effectiveness. Furthermore, one should establish the needs in communication. In addition, one should also establish their personal needs.
Many people need feedback in their interpersonal communication. The authors in this reading have explained feedback as a significant factor in communication. It is, therefore, expected that whenever people are engaged in any communications, they must get feedback. For this to happen one should design their communication strategies to enable them get instant or timely feedback. One should implement a process with their counterparts that give them feedback. In addition, there is a need to create motivations for feedback.
How the insights from these readings apply to me as an interpersonal communicator
As seen in the text, understanding self also includes acknowledging one’s feelings. Many people are quick to have feelings such as anger, fear, happiness or surprise. These feelings always impact on interpersonal communication. As a result, they impact on one’s thoughts and actions during interpersonal communication. Therefore, ones should be able to understand their emotions as a fundamental basis for their interpersonal communication. Once people become aware of their personal experiences, it is easy to know what is happening in their interpersonal communication and how they should interact with communication.
Interpersonal communication is necessary for the daily activities of human beings. It is impossible for any person to live without communicating to others either directly or indirectly. Interpersonal Communications start by making contact with others; the simple vision of others is by itself a form of interpersonal communication. Without interpersonal communication, it would be hard for human beings to live in this world.
The third insights from this reading relate to the common misconceptions that I held in interpersonal communication. In most cases I assumed that most people understand my messages even though they never understood at all. This misconception meant that I was frustrated in some cases during communication. As a result, I have decided to ensure that the intended meaning is understood as much as possible. In many cases people engage in too much talk and mistake it for effective communication. There were some incidences that I found myself engaged to this kind of talk. In some cases, people may be involved in shouting and talking louder than expected instead of clarifies their messaging. However, after reading this text, I found out that excessive is not important in the interpersonal communication sine it helps nothing. If you find out that the other partner does not understand your message, it is advisable that you try different ways of expressing the message. Sometimes it is even better to remain silent than to talk. Interpersonal communication is not all about talk but sometimes involve non-verbal cues.
Another interesting misconception I had about interpersonal communication is that, any communication problem could be solved if we communicate with each other. However, after reading this text, I found out that I was misleading myself. In fact, in this text, the author suggests that sometimes people need to take some time out of the situation as a solution to the communication problem. In most case, disconnections and lack of understanding of communication can lead to high-intensity emotions. These emotion’s include, anger and sadness that might make the situation even worse than expected.
Interpersonal communication should conform to the generally accepted definition of communication which is acting on information. In most cases when people receive information, they act by saying something or by doing something about the information they receive.in addition people may think about information presented to them. Interpersonal communication should make sense out of the world and share some sense with others. Everyone should strive to create meaning through the use of both verbal and nonverbal communication cues. Interpersonal communication will only be effective if we took time to listen, observe, touch, taste and smell our surrounding based on the information presented to us. In the modern world interpersonal communication, encompasses other aspects of technology such as media, emails, books, magazines and other technology based forms of communication. Furthermore, interpersonal communication should be distinctive in nature. It should involve mutual influence for the purpose of managing human relationships.
Another key insight that I have learned from this text is that, interpersonal communication is not only defined by the number of people involved in the communication but also how effective is the communication process. Since the technology has changed how people communicate in the modern world, it is significant to analyze the quality of our communication. The quality of interpersonal communication is analyzed by how we treat other people in our communications(Dailey 127). It is significant to treat other people as unique human beings. Due to changes in technology, people are using electronic communication, online communication platforms such as emails, social media platforms and video conferencing as their regular form of interpersonal communication. It is important to understand how to use different strategies for different people on these new forms of communication.
Personal and voluntary relationship with others
One of the mistakes that I realized that I always engage myself in is t by treating other people during communication as objects and to respond to their roles rather than their unique personality. It is important to separate individual roles and personal characters when having interpersonal communication.
One of the effective ways in interpersonal communications is creating relationships. It is significant to create relationships with the person you communicate with. Once we engage in interpersonal communication, we initiate relationships with people who are interested in our conversations. People also use interpersonal communication to end relationships (West and Lynn 201). If, for instance, you find someone disgusting people may use interpersonal communication skills to show the other person their dissatisfaction in the conversation.
One of the principles of interpersonal communication I find interesting is that it is irreversible. Once you say something to another person, it is difficult to reverse the information. Interpersonal communication can be complex for some people since it involves certain rules and regulation that govern each form of communication. People can only modify their statements but cannot reverse the information sent. For instance in a conversations one is likely to hear statements like “I did not mean this or that”. It is sometimes difficult to erase the earlier statement since communication has some physical property. It is difficult or undo the interpersonal communication. People and events around interpersonal communication always shape the events and experiences around the partners in communication. People do not understand that once we communicate with one another there is an element of thinking. People usually take some seconds to reflect and think about what is being communicated by the other person.
My personal and voluntary relationship with other people in the society has showed me how important interpersonal communication. In most case, the simple thing I do around when I am with friend has turned out to be negative. In most cases, some of the people have misinterpreted my messages due to my relationship with them. However, others like my close friend often find it easy to communicate with me. I found out in most communication involving people with certain roles such as waiters in hotels, interpersonal communication has always been difficult. Although, the message is sometimes sent in the conversation, it is not always received the way it is supposed to be received. For example, in one incidence I asked a waiter to give me a glass of water but, instead handed me in a rude manner. This reason being my little connection with him and the relationship I had with him. The effectiveness of my relationship is seen by the way people receive my messages. If the message is received in simple and clear manner, without anger, fear or humiliation, I consider this to be an effective and efficient communication relationship.

You did not tell me which chapters you are writing on. Without knowing the chapters, I am not able to make some comments based on the chapters. You were asked to choose chapters from either Adler et al or Aitken and Aitken. You should have cited both the text book by Adler et al (2012) and Course manual by Aitken and Aitken (2002) for these are the main sources in this course. Your Chapters should also be chosen from one of these two sources.

You should have defined and analyzed interpersonal theories, concepts or competencies we have learned in this course by either examining your own intrapersonal communication or the communication competencies of others. You should have used primary sources (i.e. self-analysis, text, interview, case study etc) and to analyze and comment upon the interpersonal dynamics that are evident in your analysis. You should have used the ideas below:
Paper Option #1
– Self and Others: Select two readings from the chapters and articles we’ve explored and examine how the insights you gain from these readings can be applied to understanding yourself as an interpersonal communicator.

Part One: You should have explained the communication concepts developed in the readings and discussions;

Part Two: You should have described and assess how the insights from these readings apply to you as an interpersonal communicator; and

Part Three: You should have analyzed your close personal and voluntary relationship with another and consider how the key insights can be applied to the way that you relate interpersonally. You should have used concrete examples from one or more of your personal relationships to describe how you relate and evaluate the effectiveness of your relationship. You should have focused on the relationship and its dynamics instead of on individual communication behaviours

Electronic Health Records Presentation
Paper details

Consider the following scenario:
•In the second week of your internship, the CIO approaches you and asks you to research electronic health records (EHRs). She says, “I must give a presentation at a staff meeting next week, and I’d like you to complete the research and create the slides and notes for me. The presentation must focus on EHRs, which our organization is considering implementing. Please be thorough with the speaker notes.”

The CIO adds that you must consider the effect of this technology on health care as well as the privacy and security implications of adopting the EHRs. Describe the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules as well as the reasons those rules do or do not apply to this type of technology. These constraints are a major consideration for the staff when selecting new technology.

Develop a 5- to 7-slide Microsoft® PowerPoint® slide presentation that includes the information the CIO requested in the scenario.

List major points in the slides. Include detailed explanations in the speaker notes that correlate to each point.

Include videos, audio, photos, diagrams, or graphs as appropriate.

Include at least two references to support your presentation.

Identifying Study Designs
Find an article in a social science journal that reports
the results of actual research. (Be sure it is
not an article that only reviews and summarizes
other research.) Answer the following questions
about the article and the research.
1. List the author(s), title of article, journal,
month and year of publication, and pages.
2. Did the researcher(s) begin with at least one
hypothesis? If so, write one hypothesis and
identify the independent and dependent
variables. If there was no hypothesis, but
there was a research question, write it down.
3. Identify the main purpose(s) of this study
as exploratory, descriptive, explanatory,
or applied.
4. Describe the population and the sample in
this study. Is the population a cohort?
5. If this study used only one or a few cases or
analyzed the cases as a whole rather than by
focusing on variables, then it might be a case
study. If you believe it is a case study, give
support for this conclusion and skip Questions
6–9. If it’s not a case study, skip this
question and answer the rest.
6. How many times were data collected in this
study?
7. If data were collected more than once, how
many samples were selected?
8. Did the researchers try to control or manipulate
the independent variable in some way?
9. Did the researchers use a case, crosssectional,
panel, trend, or cohort study
design? If so, which one? Give support for
your answer.
10. Was the design useful for the researcher’s
purposes and goals or would another design
have been better? Give support for your answer

The American Dream as Reflected in Richard Rodriguez’s Hunger of Memory: the Education of Richard Rodriguez
The American dream is a reflection of the ideal life that each individual in America should live. The dream guides each individual on the ideals that contribute to the achievement of the desired American society. According to the American dream, the three values of freedom, equality, and opportunity are important, and each individual who lives in the American society has the personal responsibility of exercising the values (Stuttgart 17). The objective of the American dream, according to Stuttgart (19), is to ensure that every person, irrespective of his tribe, nationality, race, or religion, lives a life of happiness. The American dream also encourages the idea that people who come from other cultures can get ‘absorbed’ into the American society without their loss of their original cultures.
It is within the perspective of cultural absorption that the student analyzes the reflection of the American dream in Rodriguez’s Hunger of Memory. Rodriguez’s book (autobiography) considers the cultural aspect of language as the most critical aspect of entering the American society. In reality, there is a lose connection between the American dream and what happens in the system of education. Rodriguez must accept with a lot of difficulty that for him to integrate into the American society and its education system, he must learn English. Yet according to the American dream, people should integrate into the American culture without losing their original cultural identities. The ideal situation, therefore, should that the education system should enable Rodriguez communicate and learn in his original language (Spanish) but this is not the case because the education system of America is not bilingual it uses English only.
Rodriguez experiences many difficulties while integrating into the American system of education. In his childhood memories, Rodriguez shows that he is intimate about his first language of Spanish. However, Spanish is not the public or official language in America yet for him to use his American education to find a job in future, he must learn English. Danahay (294) describes Hunger of Memory as “A eulogy of lost intimacy embodied in his Spanish speaking childhood.” Such description points towards the fact that Rodriguez regrets about his loss of contact with his Spanish culture as a result of his experience in the American education. Since Rodriguez has been immersed into English, he insists on using Spanish as a language of communicating with his family at home. Since Rodriguez has given the Spanish language less preference in public communication he fails to see the richness and the good literatures of the Spanish culture. In reality, therefore, there is no realization of the American dream in Rodriguez’s education because the American system of education does not treat the Spanish culture equally with the American culture.
The consequence of Rodriguez’s choice to put the Spanish language to the periphery is not good on his culture. Danahay (295) analyzes that Rodriguez lacks “the ability and intelligence to communicate beyond the sensibilities of the personal interactions of family life.” Danahay criticizes the American dream in that it detaches Rodriguez from the realities of his culture. He can only use the Spanish language for narrating about his family and communicating within his family. In other words, the American dream has eliminated the development of Spanish culture in Rodriguez. The narrator has a narrow perception of his culture and language because of the limited use of Spanish for communication within the American education (Danahay 296).
There is an idea that the American dream fails to appreciate. The culture of an individual is embedded in his language. If the American dream offers equal opportunities for cultural development irrespective of one’s nationality, this statement should be reflected in Rodriguez’s cultural growth. The American experience creates a lot of confusion in Rodriguez. The narrator, for example, does not appreciate his personal image as a Mexican.
The experience he has gained through the American education has given him an inferior attitude towards his race. He expresses his dissatisfaction with his appearance when he says: “I wanted to forget I had a body because I had a brown body,” (Rodriguez 126). Such utterance shows that the American culture has affected Rodriguez to believe that he is less human because he is not white.
There is racist ideology in the American education system and its culture. The reader wonder, for example, that why does Rodriguez have to say that he prefers forgetting he had a body? It means that he was racially segregated within the education system so that he considered himself inferior. This is not the way to achieve the American dream: when people of other cultures are made to feel that it is superior to be “White” than “Brown.”
Rodriguez’s book shows several instances where there are assimilation challenges. The American culture holds the other cultures in contempt in the process of assimilating people from the other cultures. In Hunger of Memory, Rodriguez shows that he at odds with himself and his Spanish culture. He does not celebrate his Spanish ideology. He narrates: “I am the only one in the family whose face is severely cut to the line of ancient Indian ancestors (the ancestors of the Spanish). My profile suggests one of those beak-nosed Mayan sculptures- the eagle like face,” (Rodriguez 115). Such expressions show the hatred that Rodriguez has gained as an influence of the American culture. Why would the narrator talk about his appearance with such contempt and anger if America’s education and culture aim to achieve the ideals of the American dream? The book suggests that in practice, the American dream is not being realized when people from other cultures integrate into the American culture.
Through Rodriguez’s experience in the American culture, he associates his brown skin with bad things. Language and knowledge (education) play important roles in Rodriguez’s understanding of the metaphor of self (Marquez 134). The awareness that he gains, while experiencing the American culture, links his brown skin with ideas like hard labor, strong muscles, low academic achievement, and poverty. Some of these ideas are the very ones that the American dream intends to eliminate.
The American dream desires a society where each individual irrespective of his origin is free from poverty and ignorance (Stuttgart 19). However, to achieve these dreams, the American culture and education system should not characterize other cultures as poor and describe their people as low intellectual achievers. Such descriptions demean the ability of Americans of other cultures to contribute to the achievement of the American dream.
The American education system widens the cultural differences between the Mexicans and Americans because Rodriguez gains better understanding of the differences while receiving the American education. As a young adult, Rodriguez attends education at Stanford. He comes to understand the Mexican-American oppressions that are connected to social classes in a very clear manner. He performs manual labor at the construction site and it is here that he comes to understand the class oppressions that the Americans direct towards the Mexicans. During the summer’s sun, he identifies his hands and faces as looking like those of the Mexican laborers. During this time, he understood the clear differences between Mexicans and Americans, and that Mexicans were the poor laborer referred to as los pobres (Rodriguez 138). However, the American education does not help Rodriguez because it only alienates him from his people. The American education gives Rodriguez “Different attitude of the mind and imagination of himself,” (Rodriquez 138).
However, Rodriguez’s intellectual development changes his feeling about his body image. This, however, happens later, and the reader may not credit the change towards the American education or the culture. Rodriguez repossesses his body through long-distance running (Jeffrey 126). Rodriguez, according to Rosaura (160), considered the sport (long-distance running) a thing of the middle class.
Rodriguez narrates how, in his thirties, he gains the body that he lacked when in his youthful stages of growth. Rodriguez (136-137) narrates, “(His) stomach lipped tight by muscle. The shoulders rounded by chin-ups, the arms veined.” He continues narrating that it is the kind of body that he can clothe in the “double-breasted Italian suit and custom-made English shoes that have become the reassuring reminders of public success,” (Rodriguez 137). However, it is critical to consider the stage when he gains the better understanding of self-image and starts appreciating his Mexican looks. It is in his thirties, and we can conclude that it is his sense of maturity that gives him the new feeling that is totally different from the feeling he had while receiving the American education (Alarcon 149).
Even though Rodriguez’s perception of his body image changes as his intellectual development occurs in his thirties, the detachment from the realities of his Mexican culture and people is persistent. Since the American culture is full of class oppression directed towards the Mexicans, he rejects “The duality of his working class origins, and instead chooses to embrace the middle class manners,” (Alarcon 52). It means that Rodriguez has lost touch with his culture and he lacks identity with his working class people. He befits the description of a brainwashed individual who has refused to accept his culture and people. He has chosen to live in the class system that is encouraged by the American culture, and this shows that the culture and education of America do not assist the foreigners towards the realization of the American dream. The implication is that with the class feelings of racial superiority, people like Rodriguez feel embarrassed to identify with their own cultures. By extension, the implication is that Rodriguez’s American education experience has made him identify with the middle class than the working class where the majority of the Mexican people are.
The American dream is like utopia. Religion has an important role in promoting the American dream that is not realized in reality. However, there is a conflict of religion. Rodriguez was raised in the Catholic religion, and his religion encouraged him not to dream about utopia (Rodriguez 37). However, the American culture and education has Protestantism as the dominant religion. The religion, unlike his catholic religion, encourages utopia. As Rodriguez (45) narrates, in the catholic religion, AIDS signifies a fall. He narrates that AIDS signals the men “who aspired the mock-angelic settled for a shirt of hair and they are forced to face penance, martyrdom, and death,” (45). In his narration, Rodriguez’s sculpted body he has at the beginning of the story is compared to the dead martyred body of a victim of AIDS. In the new culture of Protestantism, body-building is not celebrated because it is, “A parody of labor, a useless accumulation of the laborer’s bulk and strength. The American culture disregards the gym, and it has a connection with the Protestant ideologies. Rodriguez, due to his American cultural influence, describes the gym as, “A closet of privacy and exhibition gallery,” and he says that, “The gym is nothing if it does not lead to transcendence, where homosexuals can move from auto-sexuality to non-sexuality,” (Rodriguez 39). Such descriptions of the gym in the American culture are meant to discourage people from exercising so that they do not build muscles like the Mexicans.
In conclusion, Rodriguez’s Hunger of Memory does not reflect the American dream. The dream emphasizes that all people, irrespective of their cultures, have the same opportunities for personal development. Also, the American dream recognizes respect for other cultures as people from different origins get assimilated into the American culture. The aim of the dream is to emancipate everyone from poverty and ignorance. However, in Hunger of Memory, the reader confronts a situation where Rodriguez gains a negative attitude towards his culture and people. He hates his brown skin and he does not want to imagine that he is human because he is brown. In addition, Rodriguez reduces his use of Spanish language to communication at home because the American education trains him to use English for official and public communication. It means that languages do not have the same opportunities as the American dream purports. Also, Rodriguez gains strong hatred against his people, associating them with hard labor and poverty, yet poverty is the thing that the American dream wants to eliminate. However, as Rodriguez moves from poverty and changes to middle-class, he should segregate his people as he does- he rejects any identity with the working class. Consequently, the life of Rodriguez does not reflect the achievement of the American dream.