Case Study The Vermont Teddy Bear Co Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case Study The Vermont Teddy Bear Co - Essay Example This study will carry out an environmental scanning basically to assess the elements having profound bearing on the Vermont Teddy Bear Co. Accordingly, a SWOT analysis has been conducted to identify the strategic factors (external and internal both) which will determine the future of the company (Wheelen, 2006, p. 9). While considering opportunities in external factors, on top of the list is the bear grams. Despite the huge toy market, Vermont Teddy Bear Company has remained a front runner in this field. As pointed out by the Wheelen and Hunger "Bear-Grams were personalized teddy bears that were delivered directly to recipients as gifts for holidays and special occasions. Bear-Grams were gift-boxed in unique containers complete with air holes for the bear"(2006, Case 22-9). This reflects the exclusivity and distinctiveness of the product. The second factor considered is the distribution method. After having experimented various methods, the company concluded that the direct marketing strategy of Bear-Grams was the most profitable. Methods of distribution used were the company owned retail stores, direct mail catalogs, and licensing and wholesale agreements. In order to expand its product line and cut costs, the company went into offshore sourcing.

Child and Adolescent Obesity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Child and Adolescent Obesity - Essay Example After discussing the causes underlying rising obesity, the authors refer to the outcomes of obesity in children's current and future social and biological life. They further relate the enhanced obesity with certain psychological disorders in a children's life. Thus, the book is a broad in scope and draws a classical outlook to childhood obesity by referring to its causes and consequences in terms of physical and societal problems, and probable steps to be undertaken for prevention and management. The book signifies the complexness of the subject and therefore proves to be a valuable and informative guide for everyone associated with childhood obesity. Susan has based this book upon the idea of fighting back the ever-rising monster of childhood obesity. She presents important statistics arousing concerns for the Americans as 'the fattest generation' and pinpoints the negative impact it has on health of children. Susan views and projects several adverse consequences of obesity on health and social lives children including inferiority complex and investigates various causes underlying it. She regards unhealthy eating habits and "couch potato" attitudes as the major factors causing obesity. She is of the view that physical activities seem to be severely diminishing in the society leading to an inactive lifestyle: The lifestyle of most U. S. ... S. children today is far more sedentary than that of kids who grew up a few decades ago. The reasons are many and include sprawling suburbs; cutbacks in school physical education programs; work schedules that prevent many parents from being available to supervise after-school play; the lure of the passive entertainment provided by television, computers, and video games (118). She propounds several ways to overcome obesity and informs parents and families of effective programs undertaken for this purpose. She regards reduction in non-physical activities as the essence of this fight-back: "a key initial goal for many families might be reducing the time kids (and adults) spend watching TV, sitting at the computer, and playing video games each week and substituting other, more active ways to have fun" (119). JOURNAL ARTICLES Subrahmanyam, Kaveri, et al. The Impact Of Home Computer Use On Children's Activities And Development. Children And Computer Technology. 10.2 (2000): 123-144. Subrahmanyam's article investigates into the possible impacts of increased computer use among the American children. In the beginning of the article, he raises concerns about the increased access of US kids to the home computers and notes the arguments raised by the proponents of enhanced computer use among children. After that, he proposes probable harmful impingements of home computer use among children. He also relates enhanced computer usage to the minimization of healthful physical activities on the part of the children and uses several studies and evidences supporting his argument. He says: It appears that greater access to home computers may actually be increasing children's total "screen time," that is, time spent using a computer, playing video games, and watching

Standardized STATE testing and stress and anxiety in elementary school Research Paper

Standardized STATE testing and stress and anxiety in elementary school children in 3rd-5th grades - Research Paper Example This paper is going to give an in-depth analysis of test anxiety and how it can be controlled. The use of standardized testing in the education sector has become ever-present (Cassady, 2010). As significant as examinations are in the life of students, test anxiety among elementary students seems to have been disregarded. The demands for students to perform well in examinations are a reality. The TAKS test produce stress and anxiety on many children resulting to emotional tension. Pressure and demand is placed on students to perform and achieve higher scores in their examinations. This calls for the need of counselors to implement interventions to help reduce stress and anxiety (Putwain and William, 2008). Researchers in the fields of education and psychology have described test anxiety as a relatively stable personality trait. In advanced and critical cases it generates devastating psychological and behavioral responses. Cassady (2010) and Putwain and William (2008) agree that elementary students show signs and symptoms of test anxiety. Test anxiety has many effects on the cognitive abilities, behavior, emotions and health of the child as explained by BNET (2010), Carter et al. (2008) and Cassady (2010). The elementary students can be equipped with tools to enable them to deal with test anxiety as cited by Cassidy et al. (2002), Walsh and Murphy (2003) and Putwain and William (2008). Carter et al. (2008), BNET, (2010) and Cassidy et al. (2010), state that the test anxiety affects the performance of the students. Cassidy et al. (2002) and Lohaus and Klein- Hessling (2003) concur that the children at the elementary level can be taught relaxation tools to handle test anxiety. Students in the elementary level experience tension and apprehension before and during an examination (Cassady, 2010). This state can be described as anxiety which

Pathophysiology of Late Onset Alzheimer's Disease Research Paper

Pathophysiology of Late Onset Alzheimer's Disease - Research Paper Example Alzheimer’s is normally classified into three different groups; Early onset, Late onset and familial. This paper analyses the dimensions of late onset Alzheimer’s. Pathophysiology of "Late Onset" Alzheimer's Disease It is estimated that more than 4.5 million people in America alone experiencing Alzheimer’s currently. Doraiswamy et al, (2009) have mentioned that Alzheimer’s can occur even at the age of forties or fifties (Doraiswamy et al, 2009, xvii). However, about 90% of the Alzheimer’s disease patients are victims of "Late Onset" Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's victims of more than 65 years of age are normally included in the category of Late Onset" Alzheimer's. Only 10% of Alzheimer's victims are below the age of 65. Normally people below the age of 65 suffers Alzheimer’s because of Down syndrome. This type of Alzheimer’s is known as Early onset Alzheimer’s. On the other hand, "Late Onset" Alzheimer's disease is caused by hereditar y and environmental factors. A third type of Alzheimer’s is known as Familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD). In the case of FAD patients, the disease is caused by family history or hereditary. ... It has the ability to recollect everything in the distant memory while facing problems in recollecting information stored in the recent memory. Bonda et al. (2010) pointed out the imbalances between mitochondrial fission and fusion of cell proliferation as the reason for Alzheimer’s. â€Å"Specifically, the dynamic balance of fission and fusion in AD is greatly shifted toward fission, and, as a result, affected neurons contain abnormal mitochondria that are unable to meet the metabolic demands of the cell†(p.181). It should be noted that fission is the process of breaking of cells whereas fusion is the process of combining cells. Both fission and fusion are necessary body mechanisms to maintain good memory. However, in the case of patients with Alzheimer’s fission mechanism occurs more while fusion mechanism occurs less. As a result of that cell proliferation procedures will be troubled and the communication though neurons become defective. It should be noted tha t neurons are responsible for sending instructions from the brain to different parts of body. This communication process may become defective because of the imbalances in fusion and fission. Risk Factors Advanced age is the primary risk factor for AD; risk doubles every 5 years after the age of 65. Additional risk factors include having a first-degree relative with AD; Down syndrome; head trauma; certain environmental exposures, including metals, infection, and toxins; decreased estrogen levels; and mutations in the APP, PSEN1, PSEN2, or APOE genes. Cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular risk factors (e.g., hypertension, obesity, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance), depression, and certain lifestyle choices (e.g.,

Anemia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Anemia - Essay Example The body may also fail to generate red blood cells to lead to the shortage in the body. Alternatively, the rate of degeneration of red blood cells may be higher than the rate of regeneration to identify shortage into anemia. Anemia also exists in different forms and examples are â€Å"iron deficiency anemia,† â€Å"vitamin deficiency anemia,† â€Å"anemia caused by underlying diseases,† and anemia that results from hereditary diseases (Women’s Health, 2012, p. 1). Symptoms exist that indicate possible existence of anemia and examples include â€Å"fatigue, weakness, dizziness, headache, low body temperature, pale skin, and shortness of breath† (Women’s Health, 2012, p. 1). Existing tests for the condition are limited to physical examination on the symptoms and treatments such as blood transfusion, suppression of the immune system, facilitated generation of red blood cells, and consumption of necessary supplements exist. The treatments focus o n each cause of the condition. In severe conditions, anemia can lead to cardiac arrest (Chem,

Article Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Article Analysis - Essay Example In business, threat of substitutes always can negatively impact sales and profit when there are alternative gaming options (mobile games) at a lower price. Lower price increases demand along the law of demand. If PC game availability increased during a period where demand for old EA games is low, it would lead to an EA game surplus and the company would not be able to offset the costs of manufacture when consumers are not demanding these products. At the same time, lower-priced mobile games are more attractive to consumers when referencing the law of demand and it is likely that many consumer segments would turn toward mobile gaming as an alternative. As a result, sales and revenues would decline and profit would be reduced as EA attempted to offset production costs for increasing supply of PC games that are not selling. Marketing theory indicates that consumers are drawn to innovations such as the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Even though demand is less than expected for these innovative products, as a matter of high pricing, consumers are not interested in older consoles such as the PS3. The PS3 and the Xbox 360 are entering a decline stage along the product life cycle which will, long-term, increase sales of the new gaming consoles. It is likely when price declines on the new consoles that consumers will begin demanding these new innovations in higher

What somthing happend to me in childhood that i will never forget Essay

What somthing happend to me in childhood that i will never forget - Essay Example At the time we had one game – a Sherlock Holmes mystery game. By modern standards this game would be considered boring, but the shock of being able to interact with the computer made it fascinating. Looking back I marvel at how enthralled I became at even some of the smallest features. For instance, Microsoft Office and the ability to type out a Word document I found thrilling. Even more exciting was finally getting the Internet established and typing in a few commands. I remember one of the first searches was for NFL quarterback Dan Marino. Pages upon pages of results appeared. The effect was like of walking out of a desert and finally discovering abundant land and water on the other side. Over the next few months I became increasingly interested in the machine, learning how to navigate my way around Windows and fix errors that emerged. At the time it felt like just a passing hobby, but now that I look back I recognize this was a moment that would profoundly change the way I interacted with the