Standardization of Knowledge Management Annotated Bibliography

Standardization of Knowledge Management - Annotated Bibliography Example The main purpose of this research is to identify and provide critically relevant examples of the role of biomedical ontologies in the data integration, decision support, and knowledge management. The author has primarily explained the importance of standardization of biomedical ontologies and their role in knowledge management with the support of a number of published pieces of literature. The methodology used in this research article is the survey and review of published kinds of literature and operational systems. The strength of the research is that it has followed a functional perspective in the methodology. This statement is confirmed by the fact that the cases of usage of ontologies in operational systems have been included in the research. Some examples of these are the inclusion of ontologies like SNOMED CT, LOINC, FMA, the Gene Ontology, RxNorm, UMLS etc. On the other side, adding to the strength of the research, recent research articles are referred to as well. This provides relevant scientific support to the survey findings. The finding of the research confirms the importance of ontologies in biomedical research. The use of ontologies as a key input towards knowledge management is reiterated in the survey. This indicates the local application of the survey findings with relevance to knowledge management. The conclusions have provided scope for further research on the application of standardized ontologies in knowledge management. However, one weakness that pertains to the research is that the inclusion criteria for the literature included in the survey have not been mentioned. However, the wide range of references included justifies this.

Microeconomics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Microeconomics - Assignment Example These goods are traded in the market where the buyer and seller first agree on a price level and then the buyer acquires the good. Thus, consumers have to pay for the good in order to acquire its benefits. Cars and cell phones are examples. In contrast, a public good is one that is available for all and does not necessarily need to be acquired by paying for it. For example, street lights or a light house benefit all instead of one person. The increase in the number of public goods by the government helps it to cut across the system of class disparity and allows everyone to benefit from them without actually paying for the goods. The government thus produces public goods to increase the social welfare of the society. Ans 3) Private goods are paid for by the consumers in order to get ownership of the good. Thus, only the person buying it acquires all the benefits. However, the free rider concept comes into play when one entity such as the government is responsible for providing all the benefits that are equally shared by the people. An example of this can be bridges and roads that are used by everyone while the government builds them. Ans 4) The optimal quantity of pollution can never be zero because any production activity in the economy makes pollution an unavoidable spillover effect. For instance, a car manufacturing company will cause air pollution and for an economy that is operating on a free market basis with no government intervention, even though the cost of the pollution will not be borne by the company, it will be a byproduct of that production process. Thus at any point, the optimal quantity of pollution can never be zero unless all forms of economic activity are halted (Mankiw, 2002). Ans 5) Increasing the gas tax would have a number of adverse effects. Firstly, the cost of other goods will increase with the increase in gas tax. The automobile, aviation and shipping industry rely heavily on gas and will raise their prices in accordance to the increas e in tax so that the costs can be covered. In addition to this, the purchase of automobiles will decrease since the gas tax would result in a higher cost of the car for the consumer. Secondly, the demand for gasoline is considered to be inelastic in the short run. This means that the gas consumption would not decrease with an increase in gas prices. Therefore, an increased gas tax would be a further strain on the costs of manufacturers and consumers. Also, this increase would be reflected on specifically the lower and middle income groups that own fewer vehicles than the higher income group. People in rural and remote areas depend on public transportation and thus a high gas tax would be unfair to the low income groups (O’Sullivan & Sheffrin, 2005). Ans 6) Pollution is defined as damage or harm caused to the environment that we live in. A pollution tax will thus reduce pollution by making large and small organizations to take responsibility for the pollution their economic ac tivities cause. The revenue from these taxes can be used to take measures to eliminate the pollutants that are responsible for harming the environment. For instance, a carbon emission tax can allow the government to invest in projects that reduces industry pollution such as CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage). Moreover, a pollution tax will balance the pollution costs that many organizations may not incorporate in their production proces

Product Costing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Product Costing - Essay Example This implies that, the cost of a finished unit in inventory will include direct materials and labor, and both fixed and variable manufacturing overheads. It is notable that, absorption costing is the most preferred method for external reporting as per the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Absorption costing is fundamental in tracing the variable costs of production and the fixed costs attributed to the production of the product (Riahi, 2001). It is imperative to note that, absorption costing is dissimilar from the other costing methods since it takes into account fixed manufacturing overhead (the counting expenses ) such as factory rent, utilities and amortization (Riahi, 2001). Absorption costing forms three different types of costing, which include job order costing, process and ABC costing. Job order costing Considering the job order costing, the costs are assigned to the product in Batches or lots (Avis & Killick, 2009). Job order method is used in companies that o ffer bespoke or distinctive products or services. It is common in service industries that, serve customers with inimitable needs. Such services may include tracing of the number of hours spent on each individual client’s account (Avis & Killick, 2009). Fundamentally, the manufacturing cost categories include direct materials, direct labor and manufacturing overhead. All these jobs are counted as inventory until the good or product is sold. It is essential to note that, the job order cost system requires the manufacturing costs recorded in a document called the job cost sheet. This sheet provides a detailed record of the cost incurred to complete a specific job. Consider the following illustrations that, indicates how three kinds of manufacturing costs are allotted in a job order cost system. Direct materials job cost sheet Direct Labor manufacturing overhead Fixed overhead rate It is noticeable that, direct materials and direct labor costs are allotted to jobs differently tha n manufacturing overhead costs. For instance, the direct costs, requires keeping of track of the costs of specific jobs with a set of records referred to as the source documents. Essentially a source document is a hard copy document similar to the receipt issued after payment (Horngren, Datar & Rajan, 2012). However most companies use paperless system where information is stored in electronic databases. On the other hand, manufacturing overhead comprises of the costs that cannot be directly traced to particular jobs. It is imperative to note that, on assigning these jobs, accountants should use a predetermined overhead rate based on some secondary allotment measure and cost driver. The material requisition form refers to the form that lists the quantity and cost of the direct materials used in a particular job. This is normally done before materials are used on a job. The fundamental purpose of this form is control the physical outflow of materials from inventory and into production . Similarly, a direct labor time tickets refers to a source document that shows how much time a laborer spends on a range of jobs per week. On the other hand, job cost sheet is a document that gives a summary of all the costs incurred on a specific job. Process costing Process costing refers to a costing method where all costs are

Expansion of an Irish College IBAT into Mexico Essay

Expansion of an Irish College IBAT into Mexico - Essay Example Strategic and operational management are linked with each other. Strategic management aims to provide direction, guidance and boundaries of operational management (Steiner, 1997, p.4). Therefore Strategic planning is the process of developing and maintaining a strategic fit in between the organizations capabilities and goals along with the changing marketing opportunities (Kotler, 2008, p.34). The project report is about the expansion of an Irish Collage ‘IBAT’ in Mexico. Thus for this reason PESTEL analysis is carried out to understand the macro environment of Mexico, along with an analysis is conducted upon the education sector of Mexico. When a brand move into a new place it has to face cultural difference which needs to be tackle properly and for which human resource team needs to work effectively so that the business and the employees can adapt to the new culture and environment. Thus IBAT can take the opportunity of the growing education sector of Mexico and add to its advantage. Macro Environment The Macro environment consists of framework, PESTEL. The PESTEL framework aims to categories the environmental influences into six main types which include political, economical factors, social, technological factors, environmental and legal factors. It is essential for mangers to understand the key drivers of change and also the impact of these factors on market, industries and also on individual organization (Johnson, 2008, p.65). Political factors: The basis of Mexican politics lies in the context of modernizing the elements. With the above context certain ongoing trends have appeared in the recent years such as modernization of politics and anchoring of democracy. Regional politics is widely dominated by the local entrenched strongmen who often tend to represent families who have been powerful during the colonial times (Klepak, 2008, p.3). But the country faces some political risk which is based on many possibilities. The first and foremost risk arises from terrorism and drug violence, corruption, congressional Stalemate and Guerrilla activity and sabotage. Therefore, the above factors may put an immense risk on the political condition of Mexico (Schtulmann, 2010). Economical factors: Mexico is ranked as an upper middle income country by the World Bank. In Mexico poverty is widespread, about 44% of the Mexican population lives below the poverty line. The economy of Mexico grew by 5% in 2010 after a recession experienced by the Mexican in 2009 during the phase of global economic crisis. The country’s tax revenue as a percentage of GDP was about 17.5% during the recession which was recorded the lowest among the OECD members. Mexico is among the popular tourist destinations across the globe. It has attracted about 21.3 million tourists in 2010 and has become the tenth most popular tourist destination. Thus tourism has contributed to the economy of the country and has recorded about $11.8billion (US State Department, 20 11). Social Factors: Mexico is one of the most populous Spanish countries in the world. About 76% of the Mexican people live in the urban area. The population of Mexico City is about 22million making it one of the largest concentration of population in Western Hemisphere. Mexico has been able to made significant changes in education sector and the literacy rates over the past few decade have decreased drastically. According to a report of World Bank, enrollment at the primary level is universal and more amounts of children are completing their primary education. Technological Factors: The future of Mexican population depends largely on the utilization of knowledge so that the country is able to meet the economic,

Communications Character Conflict Essay Essay Example for Free

Communications Character Conflict Essay Essay â€Å"I can’t believe you, all your gifts, all your powers, and you.. you squander them for your own personal gain. (Hal Stewart) ‘Yes! (Megamind) ‘No! I’m the villain! † this is the main conflict between characters’ Megamind and Hal Stewart in the hit motion picture Megamind. Megamind defeats the cities beloved super hero â€Å"Metro Man†, they had been enemies since grade school and Megamind has always been the bad guy causing trouble and Metro Man was always saving the day and the people from the evils of Megeminds treachery. But soon after this deafeat Megamind realizes he misses the way things used to be, there was no more excitement and rush of being the villain in an epic good vs. evil battle. So, Megamind has devised a way that he can give any normal human being all the gifts and powers that Metro Man himself possessed. He settles on a young man named Hal Stewart, a cameraman for a news station, which he filmed the news girl who he claimed to be in love with, but everyone thought she was with Metro Man because he was always saving her. So Megamind gives Hal all the super powers, and gives him a new identity of â€Å"Titan†. However, to Megminds Dismay, Hal starts abusing his powers and begins stealing from banks, and using his powers to get equipment, video games etc.. This is a great example of unproductive conflict. Instead of creating a new evil versus good scenario with Hal or â€Å"Titan†, Hal just commandeers the whole city and puts them all at his mercy. It has many negative impacts the two characters, their relationship, and the situation. The aggression between them and the situation in general becomes increases greatly and turns even hostile because of the flaws in their communication. Megamind has certain qualities about the way he communicates that it often gets him into trouble. In fact pretty much every idea he comes up with in the process, he always seems to get either seriously injured, or suffers in some other way, all because of his communicational handicap. Some of the functions of communication Megamind uses, is he begins a relationship with a character named Hal Stewart to achieve a specific goal premeditated so he could accomplish what he wished to have done. What he wanted done was to turn Hal into a super hero and give him all the powers that the late Metro Man possessed, so that he could resume his role as the villain once again, since he defeated the last super hero he longed for the epic battle of â€Å"Good vs. Evil. † First of all, Hal isn’t the brightest pick to turn someone into a super hero, but Megamind is determined he is the perfect pick after a misunderstood first impression of Hal. Megaminds best friend even shows in many ways, he does not approve of Hal as being the one who has the traits of being a good super hero, most of the ways non verbal. Megamind even changes his own identity as Hal’s â€Å"Space Dad†, for the purpose of guiding Hal into fulfilling his destiny as the city’s new found super hero â€Å"Titan†. So Megamind actually is affecting the situation and their relationship as two different important character’s in Hal’s life and will play play big parts in his decisions. Hal Stewart, aka â€Å"Titan† aka â€Å"Cameraman†, is a very interesting character because of how he expresses his own communicational traits, it is entertaining. His perception of what a â€Å"super hero† means, and what sort of privileges or advantages he believes comes with being â€Å"Titan† are affected by the culture he lives in. Some of his expectations, the most important towards the story and the one that makes the most dramatic influence is; the super hero always gets the girl. This thinking of Hal’s is a mindlessness perception and also selective perception of how he sees a super hero. Obviously he does not get the girl he claims he’s in love with, because the thing he is mindlessness about is that just because you can fly and have huge muscles doesn’t mean you will always get girl, its about what’s underneath, not on the surface, which I believe is the lesson â€Å"Life† is trying to teach him. Another misperception he has is what should be accomplished with the incredible new â€Å"gifts† that he has recently required. Instead of catching bad guys, and making sure justice stands within the city and her people, Hal actually robs banks, and other equipment, video games etc.. nd is determined that the powers mean â€Å"get rich, and get rich quick†. These are all things that Megamind does not anticipate before hand and turns into being the exact opposite of what he wanted, all because Hal’s misunderstanding, and the communicational barriers of Megamind. Although, there isn’t a whole lot of competent communicati on going on with Megamind and Hal, in the end he still gets an incredibly large amount accomplished. The things that were bigger then even his beloved epic good vs. evil battles. He grew in more important ways, he grew as a specimen, and became a happier person, which ultimately should be eternal goal of communication and the functions and steps that are not only necessary and basically impossible to accomplish anything without them, competent or incompetent, things still move forward and things get done. In the end Megamind finds his true purpose and a higher purpose, along the way falling in love and discovering a more meaningful life all thanks to communication, and the culture which helps him perceive and judge.

Guccis Marketing Strategy

Guccis Marketing Strategy Critically contrast the key elements of Guccis marketing strategy to its closest competitor. Justify why you have chosen this company as Guccis closest competitor. Guccis focus on Heritage, craftsmanship and philanthropy: Prada a close competitor. With over 7,000 direct employees across the world, I believe we should all see ourselves as custodians of the Gucci brand—a brand that was here before all of us and one that will survive all of us. The long lasting values of the brand ultimately inform and guide every decision we make and they also inspire all of us along the way. -Patrizio di Marco: President and CEO, Gucci (Interbrand, 2009a) Renowned for its Italian craftsmanship, Gucci was founded in 1921 in Florence. ‘Over 90 years Gucci has built a heritage of exclusivity, attention over quality and style, the Made in Italy label, innovation and craftsmanship (PPR, 2010b, pp 46) and is one of the ‘worlds most desired luxury fashion brands (Nielsen Company, 2007). The Brand was highly successful in the 1950s as it became the status brand for Hollywood film stars and European royalty. However, by 1980s Gucci lost its appeal and significant losses were made in the business (Jackson and Haird, 2003). Domenico de Soles financial acumen and Tom Fords creativity transformed Gucci as a successful brand in the 1990s. In 1999 Pinault-Printemps-Redoute purchased the controlling stake and owned Gucci. With the departure of Tom Ford and De Sole, Frida Gianini took the control in 2005. Globalisation helps the evolving luxury market to expand. Factors like growing consumer expectations, clear brand positioning, pursuit for authenticity, exclusivity, differentiation contribute to intensify the competition between luxury brands with high ‘aspirational values (Baker and Sterenberg, 2003). Gucci is among the top 10 luxury brands considering brand value in the latest survey by Interbrand. In the array of luxury market Gucci competes with brands like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Hermes, Prada, Burberry, Ferragamo, Dior, Dolce Gabbana, Versace, etc. Interbrand Leading Luxury Brands 2009 Rankings: The top 15 Luxury Brands. (Interbrand, 2009d) 2009 Rank 2008 Rank 2007 Rank Brand Country of Origin Sector 2008 Brand Value ($m) 2009 Brand Value ($m) Change in Brand Value in 2008 Change in Brand Valuein 2009 16 16 17 France Luxury 21,602 21,120 6% -2% 41 45 46 Italy Luxury 8,254 8,182 7% -1% 59 60 58 France Luxury 6,355 6,040 9% -5% 70 76 73 France Luxury 4,575 4,598 8% 1% 87 91 94 Italy Luxury 3,585 3,530 9% -2% 98 New United Kingdom Luxury 3,095 New* 99 New United States Luxury 3,094 New* Interbrand Best Global Brands rankings. (Interbrand, 2009d). In order to sustain in the competitive luxury market and define a clear brand positioning and maintain it, brands adopt innovative marketing strategies. The Marketing mix tools like the traditional 4 Ps: product, price, promotion and place along with recently added people, process and physical evidence propel the decisions in direction of the market success. Brands need to provide right product, at right price, in right place and at right promotion in order to match the consumer needs and demands. Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Hermes, Chanel, Prada are in close competition. In order to create an emotional attachment between brands and consumers, brands try to convey an image and personality that customer aspires to. Louis Vuitton has been a ‘byword for stylish elegance and sophistication (Louis vuitton, 2009). Gucci is perceived as smart, sexy, modern whereas Prada has an image of modern, trendy yet sophisticated. Chanel is very classic and elegant. Also, Chanel and Louis Vuitton were founded in France and Gucci and Prada in Italy. According to the Interbrand survey for Italys most valuable brands Gucci Ranked first (6,388 million euro) followed by Prada (2,775 million euro). Guccis pricing strategy in 1993 positioned itself below Hermes and Chanel and at par with Prada and Louis Vuitton (Kwak, 2001). Gucci and Pradas product lines include leather goods, ready-to-wear, jewellery, footwear, silks, timepieces, eyewear, skincare, home decor and fragrances. Louis Vuitton has the categories which Gucci has, although Louis Vuitton indulges even in writing instruments and textiles besides Chanel extends into sport accessories .Gucci products are sold in 283 directly operated stores at end of 2009 and in selected ‘departmental stores as well as specialist stores (PPR, 2010b). Intending to accelerate the growth of brand, Prada stated to double the number of directly operating stores in 2007. Considering Guccis 2009 revenue breakdown by geographical area, maximum revenue was from Asia- Pacific region while Europe which includes fashion forward London, Paris and Milan contribute almost equal to Japan. Breakdown of 2009 revenue by product category Breakdown of 2009 revenue by geographical area(PPR- Gucci: Gucci Group ,2010a) Gucci Chanel Prada Louis Vuitton Year of establishment 1921 1909 1913 1854 Country of origin Italy France Italy France Known for Leather goods Fashion and perfumes Leather goods Leather goods and Luggage bags Current Designer Frida Giannini Karl Lagerfeld Miuccia Prada Marc Jacob Product categories Ready-to-wear, canvas and leather goods, bags, footwear, fine jewellery, fragrances, eyewear, watches, travel and business bags, home dà ©cor , etc. Ready-to-wear, fragrances, make-up skincare, eyewear, hats, leather goods, sports accessories, fine jewellery, etc. Ready-to-wear, Nylon bags, leather goods, footwear, Fine jewellery, eyewear, fragrances, travel and luggage bags, Prada phones, etc Ready-to-wear, leather goods, travel bags, footwear, bags, eyewear, watches, writing instruments, home goods, textiles, city guides ,etc. Ad campaign theme Forever now , Spring Summer 2010 Spring Summer 2010= First Spring and lookbook Spring Summer 2010 Store locations Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Middle East, North America, South America. Has 283 Directly operated stores. Asia, Europe, Middle East, North America, South America, Oceania. Asia, Middle East, Far east, Europe, North America, South America. Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Middle East, North America, South America. Comparison of brands on basic criteria. Louis Vuitton and Chanels brand image differentiates them from Italian brands like Gucci and Prada which target towards a similar target market which is modern and fashion conscious. Gucci and Prada indulge into similar product lines and pricing levels getting them into closer competition. In 1990s during revamping the brand image of Gucci an important decision made was to develop a strategy expressing Gucci has changed. ‘Brand communication plays a vital role in redrawing the image (Jackson and Shaw, 2006). During the recession competitor brands are trying to be more distinctive. Chairman and CEO Gucci, Patrizio di Marco and his team adopted the strategy to strengthen and fine tune its positioning in the luxury goods market by focusing on its heritage and craftsmanship stressing on balanced brand equity in marketing and communication (PPR, 2010b). It also included cost cutting, adjustments to pricing, global store designs concept and structure simplification. As per Interbrands report 2009b, among global luxury brands, Prada spends highest in marketing and advertising and continued to invest more in social and cultural initiatives, brand extensions and communication. Important factors that help in building brand image. (Moore and Britwistle, 2005) Image no.1 : Louis vuitton spring summer 2010 Image no.2: Prada Lookbook 2010. (The Fashion time Magazine, 2010) (AMO, 2010) Image no.3 : Chanel Spring Summer 2010 Image no.4 : Gucci Spring Summer 2010 ad Ad campaign. campaign. (Bang Jaslyn, 2010) (Gucci, 2010a) Advertising which is guided by current market scenario and competitive environment, helps in communicating and building brand image as it creates powerful image and message to gain customers attention (Jackson and Shaw, 2009, pp.161). Luxury brands communicate their values and aura to the consumers to prove experience through images that operate on aesthetic and expressionist level (Salzer-Mà ¶rling and Strannegard, 2004). Visually stimulating Guccis Spring summer 2010 campaign focuses on sensuality with modernity and Pradas Lookbook 2010 displays uniqueness and creativity. Guccis Ad campaign ‘Forever now launched in 2010 depicts the importance of connecting past and present. The campaign uses images from 1950s focuses on heritage and craftsmanship. Gucci focusing on tradition introduced an Artisan Corner an event where houses skilled artists will travel to Guccis VIP stores where the craftsmanship will be brought to customers sight. Similarly, Pradas film ad campaign 2010 titled ‘First Spring shot by Chinese artist in Shanghai depicts the tension between the straight and gay tensions of silent intimacy (James, 2010). However, the black and white effect of the video takes us into flashback and it depicts that anything is possible in timeless and dreamlike realm. Louis Vuittons ad campaign is inspired from new age traveller, while Chanels countryside rural chic look ad campaign displays beauty and elegance. Image no. 5 : Guccis ‘Forever now ad campaign 2010(Gucci ,2010b) Image no. 6: Pradas 2010 ad campaign ‘First Spring. (Fashioning.com, 2010) Prada attempts to spread a social message to reduce tensions between straight and gay people. Also, Prada signed PETAs campaign in 2007 to ban cruelty against animals and eliminate fur usage from fashion. Gucci and UNICEF partnership began in 2005, since then Gucci consistently support education and healthcare programmes for orphans and HIV/AIDS affected children. Gucci embraces philanthropy taking new initiatives and ad campaigns to support the partnership like specially designed accessories collection, White Tattoo Heart collection (2008) featuring Rihanna in its campaign, Book ‘ Snowman in Africa, fundraising event with Madonna, ‘Gucci for UNICEF Baboushka bag etc. Professor John Fernie said ‘Alliance between charity n business is the perfect way to build brand awareness and establish brand credibility and ultimately boost profits, (McDougall, 2006). As metioned on philanthrpohy section of Guccis official website, Gucci in collaboration with the Film Foundation h as made travelling screening movie of the restored movies to save the treasures in cinemas called ‘Cinema Visionaries. Proceeding in 2010, to increase online presence and reach online customers, brands are delving into digital communication. Brand affiliation is aided by the application of appropriate functionality tools (Okonkwo, 2007). Focusing on innovation Gucci launched lifestyle application for iPhone and iPod touch. Guccis application offers access to products, fashion shows, playlists, city guides, news, ability to compose own music etc. Prada launched Prada phones in collaboration with LG in 2007. The LG designed Prada phone incorporates features like video player, high pixel camera and MP3 player. Chanel also has application on iPhone which shows Chanels runway collections. Image No. 7: Gucci application for iPhone. Image No. 8: LG designed Prada Phone. (Gucci news, 2010) (Mossesgeld, 2007) Luxury atmosphere, aesthetics and appealing luxury stores reflect the brand personality and spread the brand message into the subconscious and psychological levels on a consumer mind (Okonkwo, 2007). Following the strategic concept of global store design by Creative Director Frida Giannini ,Gucci is renovating its stores to embrace the luxurious experience of shopping which complements the brands heritage and exclusivity. In October, 2009 Gucci launched a travelling sneaker store in New York which will later move to London and Tokyo in spring 2010. Similarly proving its exclusiveness, Prada took a radical approach towards the store architecture through Prada Epicenter which communicates a distinct identity into customers mind which is in quest for something new. Image no. 9: Gucci Sloane street, London Store renovated under the Global store design concept. (WallPaper, 2010) Image no.10: Prada Epicenter (Herzog de Muron,2003). [Accessed on 14 November 2009] With Economic downturn, it is highly important for brands to provide distinctive experience to consumers. Brands are striving to create a brand image congruent to the customers image (Aaker and Biehl, 1993) and meet customer needs and demands. Gucci has adopted the strategy to be true to its long lasting values and expand its presence, tune its brand image and positioning by emphasising on the rich 90 years history, heritage and core essence of the brand into its marketing and brand communication coinciding with ‘modernity and aspirational values (Gucci, 2010a). Brands like Prada are using tactful strategies focusing on parameters like timeless, authenticity, social values and culture. Louis Vuitton differentiates its customers through its brand image, brand values in terms of turnover and advertising. Chanel though is close to Gucci considering turnover it targets a more elegant, sophisticated target. Hence, Prada is the closest competitor to Gucci by comparing them on brand c ommunication like advertising, philanthropy and an attempt to standout in the terms of store designs. REFERANCES : Aaker, D. (1991), Managing Brand Equity, The Free Press, New York, NY. Aaker, D. and Biehl A. (1993), Brand Equity and Advertising, Lawrence Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ. Baker, M., Foy,A,( 2003) Business and Management Research. United Kingdom : Westburn Publishers Ltd. Baker, M., Sterenberg, G. ( 2003) Managing global brands to meet consumer expectations. ESOMAR ,Global Cross-Industry Forum, Research International Qualitatif, December 2003. Barnes James G. (2003) Establishing meaningful customer relationships: why some companies and brands mean more to their customers. Managing Service quality, Vol. 13(3) pp. 178-186. Campbell, C. , Falk, P. (1997) : The Shopping Experience . London: Sage Publications, pp : 67-73, 166-72. Chadha, R. , Husband, P. (2006) The cult of the Luxury Brand- Inside Asias Love Affair with Luxury. London Nicolas Brealey International , pp.25-63, 149, 178, 267-77,280. Crask, M.R., Laskey, H.A. ( 1990), A positioning-based decision model for selecting advertising messages,Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 30 No.4, pp.32-8. 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Unknown ( 2009) From Prada to Zara: is the global recession out of fashion. Strategic Direction, Vol. 25(3), pp 9-11. IMAGE REFERANCES : Image no.1 : The Fashion Time magazine (2010)Louis vuitton spring summer 2010- Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2010 ad campaigb :Lara Stone by Steven [Online Image]. Available from http://www.thefashiontime.com/2009/12/louis-vuitton-springsummer-2010-ad-campaign-lara-stone-by-steven-meisel/> [Accessed on 12th March 2010] Image no.2: AMO (2010) Prada Lookbook 2010- PRADA- The Spring/ Summer 2010 Lookbook [Online Image]. Available from http://www.prada.com/> [Accessed on 10th March 2010] Image no.3 : Jaslyn Bang (2010) Chanel Spring Summer 2010-Chanel Spring/Summer 2010 Ad campaign [Online Image].4th Jan 2010.Available from http://www.plussixfive.com/2010/01/04/chanel-springsummer-2010-ad-campaign/> [Accessed on 16th March 2010] Image no.4 : Gucci (2010a) Gucci Spring Summer 2010 ad campaign- Ad campaign Spring Summer 10 [Online Image]. 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Assessing The Rights Of Children

Assessing The Rights Of Children In general, all around the world Children do not have the right to make major decisions in their life. Most of the decisions that affect the children are made by their parents or guardians such as teachers, social workers etcSo because of this lack of decision making, children are sometimes abused and exploited for the benefit of their guardians. And as a result, the child is both mentally and psychologically harmed. For this reason governmental and nongovernmental organizations and their expertise are trying to overcome this crucial society problem by making laws that protect the children from being harmed by their guardians and the society they are living in. Furthermore, these organizations make sure that childrens get the basic necessities like, education, food, shelter etc†¦ In a sufficient and proper way. There are some international and local children rights that are drafted by international governmental and nongovernmental organization who work toward the benefits and safeties of the children. So we would be discussing who should be considered as a child and what laws exist to protect these children. Then, well briefly describe what Islam says about the rights of children and role of parenting. And finally, we are going to introduce some of the major local and international organizations working on this area and our groups practical part which we created awareness we about the children rights and the role of parenting through surveys and meeting with students . What are children rights? As any human being childrens have rights. And these rights are nothing but human rights with some special protection and care given to the young ones (children). These rights are the right to associate with both biological parents, human identity as well as the basic needs such as shelter, water, food, education, criminal laws appropriate to their age and health care .Children rights are very large and respective to each society. However, most society agrees that we should allow children to be free from being mentally, emotionally and physically abused. Who is a Child? A child is a young person especially between infancy and youth (Merriam Webster , 2010). However, this is a very general and vague definition .The question may arise, how old should the person be to reach youth or in other word what is the range of infancy and who is youth. For these questions there is no specific answer because each and every country has their own ways of considering someone as an adult or not. I think it would be easy to define adult than a child. And this would help us understand the child which is just the opposite of being adult. Adult is the age that someone can legally vote, marry or sometimes can buy alcohols, be charged with crime as the adult age. However, this can vary from country to country. For instance child labor in Syria, Bangladesh or Paraguay is minimum 12 whereas most other countries set 14 to 16 years old. And In USA the figure is completely different. A person to legally work should be minimum 18 years old and 15-17 can only work if they have permission from their guardians only. Marriage is one of the major things that separate adults from children. A married person is usually considered as an adult. Because he/she is going to become a guardian of their children and they should be able to take care of their families. In many countries the age of marriage varies. For instance, in many African countries, such as Mali, Niger and Mozambique, over 50% of girls are married before they turn 18. In Yemen, 64% of girls are married before 18, and in Bangladesh, 81% of girls marry before 18. (Nour, 2006) Another interesting issue that most people consider themselves as an adult is the age to vote and decide who should lead or being able to run for election. In most countries around the world the legal age to vote is 18 however in some countries like Australia and Germany the legal age to vote can be only 16.This shows that a 16 years old in Germany is considered as an adult while in Italy the minimum age to vote to elect a senator is 25 and in Liechtenstein, a person to vote should be 30 years old or above. Also, in different religions scripture there are differences on who is a child or who should be considered as an adult. In Jews, a 13 years old kid is considered as an adult and is able to attended ceremonies and parties. On the other hand in most of the time Islam considers someone who is above 15 as an adult. In short, there is no specific exact age of considering someone a child. However, in each country they have some part of the society that are considered as a child .So with respect to each country there are some right given to the child prior to the age of adolescence. Historical background of the rights of childrens law So far there is no specific point where we can say the history of children rights started, however for the past 50 years and so the rights of the children are becoming clearer and separated from the other general human rights. Universal Declaration of Human rights is considered as the basis for all the international legal children rights. The 1923 declaration of rights of children drafted by Englantyne Jeeb and Dorothy Buxton in London, England in 1919 is appreciated by league of Nation and adopted by the united nation in 1946, and then considered as the Convention on the rights of the Child. The first legally binding international body that incorporates with civil, cultural, political, social and economical rights is the Convention on the rights of the Child monitored by the Committee on the rights of the child. It is human right treaty with 190 ratifications. Only the two countries which didnt sign for this treaty are the United States and Somalia. Somali didnt sign because of the internal problems its currently facing and United Sates didnt sign because of some contradicting rules like childrens rights to inheritance in same-sex marriages and particular rights for youth. The CRC have four major principles. This principles are the principle of non discrimination, the best interests of the child, the right to life, survival and development, Considering the views of the child in decisions which affect them (according to their age and maturity). Childrens rights law is defined as the point where the law intersects with a childs life. That includes juvenile delinquency, due process for children involved in the criminal justice system, appropriate representation, and effective rehabilitative services; care and protection for children in state care; ensuring education for all children regardless of their origin, race, gender, disabilities, or abilities, and; health care and advocacy. (Ahearn, 2007) Children rights can be categorized in to three major categories as Provision, Protection and Participation. Or depending on the child right information network (CNN) we can categorize children rights in to two major categories as Economic, social and cultural rights and the second as Environmental, cultural and developmental rights (Freeman, 2000) Provision is the right to live a standard living, get a proper health care, education and be able to enjoy a child life. This includes being able to have a playing place and recreation places. This helps the child to grow healthy, confident and happy in his life. They will learn how to treat people well, how to care for people and help their society in the future. Protection: Children have the right to be protected from abuse, exploitation, discrimination and neglect. This includes offering the child a safe place to sleep, live and play. The last category is Participation. A child should be offered a place in the society. They should be able to participate in community programs, youth voice activities and decision makings.