Definition of autism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Definition of autism - Essay Example et al., 2004). Clinicians and researchers have achieved consensus on the validity of autism as a diagnostic category and many features central to its definition. It is somewhat surprising and very encouraging to note that, as greater consensus has been achieved on the definition of strictly defined autism, an interesting and helpful discussion on issues of broader phenotype or potential variants of autism has begun. Today, there is a broad agreement that autism is a developmental disorder, and autism and associated disorders in the spectrum represent the behavioural manifestations of underlying dysfunction in the functioning of the central nervous system (Minshew, N.J. and Williams, D.L., 2007). Within this, it can also be included that sustained educational and behavioural interventions are useful and constitute the core treatment of such condition (Klin, A., Jones, W., Schultz, R., Volkmar, F., and Cohen, D., 2002). In 1943, Kanner's seminal clinical description of 11 children with "autistic disturbances of affective contact" has endured till date. His description of autism was grounded in data and theory of child development. Children those are normal exhibit marked interest in social interaction from early in life (Kanner, L., 1946). Kanner suggested that early infantile autism is an inborn, constitutional disorder in which children are born lacking the typical motivation for social interac tion and affective comments. He used the model of inborn errors of metabolism to explain that individuals with autism are born without the biological preconditions for psychologically metabolizing the social world. The term autism was borrowed from Bleuler who first used autism to describe idiosyncratic, self-centered thinking (Bleuler, M., 1979). Kanner used this term to suggest that autistic children too live in their own world. It represents a failure of development and fantasy is impoverished if present at all (Kanner, L., 1951). In addition to the remarkable social failure, the one of the other features that may be present in such individuals is profound disturbance of communication to the extent that some of them may be mute (Nacewicz, B.M. et al., 2006). The language disturbance in others may be marked by echolalia and literalness as well as a fascinating difficulty with acquiring the use of the first person, personal pronoun, "I." These children, therefore, refer to themselves in the third person, "he" or by first name. Another intriguing feature is the children's unusual responses to intimate environment. This can be exemplified by unresponsiveness to parents, yet over-sensitiveness to the small changes in daily routine or simply environmental sounds. The three prime criteria enumerated by Kanner still hold good, and they are to date used to define autism. These are unusual social isolation, resistance to change, and dysfunction in communication (Landa, R.J., Holman, K.C., and Garrett-Mayer, E., 2007). It has now been recognised that parental behaviour as such plays no role in pathogenesis of autism. It is now known that children with autism are found in families of all social classes, and more recent data and rigorous research have failed to demonstrate association with social classes (Stone, W.L., McMahon,

The impact of Multi-Tasking on Performance Research Paper

The impact of Multi-Tasking on Performance - Research Paper Example The objective of this research is the term multitasking has been commonly used in business and project management to describe the act of putting one’s focus on more than one projects at a given time. Multitasking is taken by many as a survival tactic that some adopt to cope with the flood of information going their way. Generally, multitasking is a skill everyone has to have as life can impose on an individual numerous things needing their attention. Project management is no different from these real- life situations. Actually project managers are at times considered to be the key individuals who considering the amount of time they have to dedicate to multiple projects in their firms and their employees. Human beings have always possessed the ability to multitask and attend to a number of things at once, since the ancient times. However, the phenomenon of multitasking has without a doubt reached a new level with the introduction and innovation of technology. Although many face ts of an individual’s networked life have remained untouched by scientific research, there is enough evidence from scientific studies on how the brain manages multitasking; and basically, a lot of this evidence indicates that the brain does not have enough capacity to effectively manage and cope with more than one task. As it follows, when one thinks that they are multitasking just because they can burn a cd and listen to music at the same time they are wrong, because all they are really doing toggling among these tasks other than processing them simultaneously. (Adcock, et al.,2008). The toggling of actions or the switching of one’s attention between tasks occurs in the area of the brain located behind the forehead and it is referred to as the Brodmann’s area in the anterior prefrontal cortex of the brain. According to functional magnetic resonance imaging done by Grafman and

Elements Of The Service Marketing Mix Marketing Essay

Elements Of The Service Marketing Mix Marketing Essay Marketing mix is the key concept in the marketing task. It is the strategy used to perform marketing functions. Marketing mix according to De Aze is the planned package of elements which will support the organization in reaching its target markets and specific objectives. Marketing mix helps to position the library or information service very firmly in the perceptions of their communities served the wider community for the public library, academic community for the academic library or the clients and customers for the business or specialist information service. Marketing mix needs more properly to be termed marketing mixes, to encourage librarians and information managers to perceive the value of different marketing mixes for specific market segments or groups of users. These are inter-related, interdependent, and also a combination of many factors. C:UsersAjayDownloads69e6aa0beac8f353cdcc2768df8d9bdb_LARGE.png Product: As seen in the goods-service continuum, your product can have both tangible and intangible aspects, and is the thing you offer to satisfy your customers wants and needs. Within this element, you need to consider such things as your product range; its quality and design; its features and the benefits it offers; sizing and packaging; and any add-on guarantees and customer service offerings. Price: Sound pricing decisions are crucial to a successful business and should be considered at both long-term strategic and short-term tactical levels. Within this element of the mix you should consider list price and discount price; terms and conditions of payment; and the price sensitivity of your market. Worth remembering is the connection of price to your position in the marketing specifically that only one operator in any market can be the cheapest. Jostling between competitors for this position is rarely wise. Promotion: This is the element of the marketing mix that most people mean when they talk about marketing. But jumping straight into decisions about what promotional tools to use without considering their relationship to the rest of the mix can be a sure-fire way to waste money. There are many different promotional techniques, each with their own strengths but essentially they can be broken down into four broad categories: Advertising; Public Relations; Sales Promotions; and Direct Selling. These techniques are used to communicate the specific benefits of your product to your customers. Place: Marketers love models that explain the way they work; they love it even more when elements of each model begin with the same letter hence the use of the word Place to describe distribution channels. Your choice of such channels is important, as is the variety of channels you use. For example, a common issue for businesses beginning to trade on-line is how that will affect their off-line business, for example selling directly through the web could alienate retail outlets that have been the mainstay of your business in the past. People: The impact that your people can have on your marketing cannot be underestimated. At its most obvious, this element covers your front line sales and customer service staff who will have a direct impact on how your product is perceived. You need to consider the knowledge and skills of your staff; their motivation and investment in supporting your brand. Any element of the marketing mix will also have its impact on other elements of your business, but the people element is one where the importance of regarding marketing as an integral part of the way you do business is crystal clear. Process: The process part of the mix is about being easy to do business with. If youve ever become frustrated at call centers that cant answer your questions, or annoyed when you cant buy something in a shop because the computerized till doesnt recognize that it exists, even when you can see it on the shelves, youll know how important this element can be. The more high contact your product, and the more intangible, the more important it is to get your processes right. Remember to look at this from your customers point of view. The process problems that are most annoying to a customer are those that are designed for the providers convenience, not the customer. Physical Evidence: When you sell tangible goods, you can offer your customer the chance to try before they buy, or at least see, touch or smell. With services, unless you offer a free trial, your customer will often be buying on trust. And to help them do so you need to provide as much evidence of the quality you will be providing as possible. So physical evidence refers to all the tangible, visible touch points that your customer will encounter before they buy, from your reception area and signage, to your staffs clothing and they images you include in you corporate brochure. 7ps service marketing mix in mc Donalds After segmenting the market, finding the target segment and positioning itself, each company needs to come up with an offer. The 7 Ps used by McDonalds are: Product   Product is the physical product or service offered to the consumer. Product includes certain aspects such as packaging, guarantee, looks etc. This includes both the tangible and the non tangible aspects of the product and service. McDonalds has intentionally kept its product depth and product width limited. McDonalds studied the behaviour of the Indian customer and provided a totally different menu as compared to its International offering. It dropped ham, beef and mutton burgers from the menu. India is the only country where McDonalds serve vegetarian menu. Even the sauce and cheese used in India are 100% vegetarian. McDonalds continuously innovates its products according to the changing preferences and tastes of its customers. The recente xample is the introduction of the Chicken Maharaja Mac. McDonalds bring with it a globally reputed brand, world class food quality and excellent customer specific product features.   McDonalds Indian Menu: Vegetarian McVeggie McAlooTikki Paneer Salsa Wrap McCurry Pan Pizza McPuff   Non vegetarian Chicken Maharaja Mac McChicken Burger Shahi Chicken McCurry Wrap Chicken Mexican Fillet-O-Fish Chicken McNuggets   Price   Pricing includes the list price, the discount functions available, the financing options available etc. It should also take into the consideration the probable reaction from the competitor to the pricing strategy. This is the most important part of the marketing mix as this is the only part which generates revenue. All the other three are expenses incurred. The price must take into consideration the appropriate demand-supply equation. McDonalds came up with a very catchy punch line Aap ke zamane mein ,baap ke zamane ke daam. This was to attract the middle and lower class consumers and the effect can clearly be seen in the consumer base McDonalds has now. McDonalds has certain value pricing and bundling strategies such as happy meal, combo meal, family meal and happy price menu to increase overall sales volumes. Place   The place mainly consists of the distribution channels. It is important so that the product is available to the customer at the right place, at the right time and in the right quantity. Nearly 50% of U.S.A is within a 3 minute drive from a McDonalds outlet. There is a certain degree of fun and happiness that a customer feels each time he dines at McDonalds. There are certain value propositions that McDonalds offer to its customers based on their needs. McDonalds offers hygienic environment, good ambience and great service. Now McDonalds have also started giving internet facility at their centers and they have been playing music through radio instead of the normal music. There are certain dedicated areas for children where they can play while their parents can have some quality time together. Promotion The various promotion channels being used by McDonalds to effectively communicate the product information are given above. A clear understanding of the customer value helps decide whether the cost of promotion is worth spending. There are three main objectives of advertising for McDonalds are to make people aware of an item, feel positive about it and remember it. The right message has to be communicated to the right audience through the right media. McDonalds does its promotion through television, hoardings and bus shelters. They use print ads and the television programmers are also an important marketing medium for promotion. Some of the most famous marketing campaigns of McDonalds are:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   You deserve a break today, so get up and get away- To McDonalds   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Aap ke zamane mein ,baap ke zamane ke daam.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Food, Folks, and Fun Im loving it. People   McDonalds understands the value of both its employees and its customers. It understands the fact that a happy employee can serve well and result in a happy customer. McDonald continuously does Internal Marketing. This is important as it must precede external marketing. This includes hiring, training and motivating able employees. This way they serve customers well and the final result is a happy customer. The level of importance has changed to be in the following order (the more important people are at the top): 1. Customers 2. Front line employees 3. Middle level managers 4. Front line managers Processes   McDonalds worldwide is well known for the high degree of respect for the local customs and culture. McDonalds has developed a menu especially for India with vegetarian selections to suit Indian tastes and preferences. Keeping in line with this, McDonalds does not offer any beef or pork items in India. In the last decade it has introduced some vegetarian and non-vegetarian products with local flavors that have appealed to the Indian palate. There have been continuous efforts to enhance variety in the menu by developing more such products. It is completely transparent and visible to the customers, allowing them to judge hygiene standards where the process takes place. The customers are even invited to check the ingredients used in the food. McDonalds has also re-engineered its operations repeatedly in its 11 years in India to address the special requirements of a vegetarian menu. Vegetable products are 100% vegetarian, i.e. They are prepared separately, using dedicated equipment and utensils. Only pure vegetarian oil is used as a cooking medium. Cheese and sauces are completely vegetarian and egg less. Separation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food products is maintained throughout the various stages of procurement, cooking and serving. Food manufacturing transparent to customers across the counter. Training to the licensees about how to operate the franchise. Invented the most efficient cooking equipment with use of latest technology. New methods of food packaging and distribution are followed Physical evidence   The physical appearance affects not only the impression outsiders have of a business but also the way that business functions. McDonalds focuses on clean and hygienic interiors of its out lets at the same time they are attractive. It maintains a proper decorum at its joints. Staff members dress in McDonalds Dress code with Green shirts, Blue trousers, Black caps and Customized Ronald McDonalds tie. Building maintenance and visible cues are provided by the golden arches, the trademarks and the logos in the premises. The delivery scooters also add to the physicality of the company. 7ps service marketing mix in Pizza Hut After segmenting the market, finding the target segment and positioning itself, each company needs to come up with an offer. The 7 Ps used by Pizza Hut are: PRODUCT Worldwide and in India, Pizza Hut has come to become synonymous with the best pizzas under one roof. This is because at Pizza Hut the belief is that every pizza has its own magic, thus making it a destination product which everyone seeks. It is this belief that has ignited the passion to create, innovate and serve the finest product the industry has to offer, while setting standards for others to strive to replicate. Pizza Hut is committed to providing uncompromising product quality, offering customers the highest value for money and giving service that is warm, friendly and personal. A critical factor in Pizza Huts success has been its unique dining experience. Crewmembers at Pizza Hut strive each day to provide customer mania the kind of service that ensures that every visit of the customer is a memorable one. Over the years Pizza Hut has also developed and successfully introduced a range of products especially suited to the Indian palate. These products like Chicken Tikka, Spicy Korma, Spicy Paneer and the Masala and Tandoori pizzas have been a tremendous success. What has also given Pizza Hut a competitive edge is that in addition to an extensive range of internationally renowned pizzas like The Italian, the proprietary Pan Pizza and Stuffed Crust, in India the menu offers the option of a complete meal. It includes appetizers, a Salad Bar where the customers can make their own fresh salads, a range of soups, pastas and desserts PRICE In the past, Pizza Hut has successfully used the high/low pricing strategy when setting the retail price of its products. The high/low retail pricing strategy allows Pizza Hut to charge a price that is above the competition, but also promote frequent sales to lower the price below them. Both Pizza Hut and the beverage Mountain Dew are Pepsi subsidiaries, bundle pricing will be used.. Pizza Hut will be able to sell two products together at a single price to suggest a good value. Different groups of customers are willing to pay different prices for the same product. Pizza Hut can sell The Extreme to the customers who will pay the higher price to be the first to buy and also to the bargain hunters Finally, this strategy will emphasize product and service quality. Pizza Hut sets a high initial price for its products to send a signal to customers that its products are quality and the service is excellent. PROMOTION The objectives of promotion are to introduce a new product, stimulate demand, change the short-term behavior of the customers, and encourage repeat or greater usage by current customers. Pizza hut uses many promotional strategies. The main promotion is a coupon to purchase. This promotion is also distributed mainly by mail (VIP members), but also by fliers on college campuses around the country in order to reach the target market. They are using billboards on main stream places to get there customer. They are also distributing door to door brochures to capture more and more customers. Pizza huts also using marketing techniques. These are the strategies Pizza hut is using for its marketing. Pizza huts trys to attract the younger generation as their main market segment. Apart from this Pizza Hut is using intense marketing strategies they are also giving ads in magazines. Advertising camping will creates awareness of the products in our target markets. PEOPLE Here the job design is not the most difficult task to do. Also there is no specific requirement for recruiting process. After talking one of the employees in Pizza Hut, we came to know the criteria of selection. The girl was from west India, she was only 10th passed out. After this we it was confirmed that there is no proper requirement of the educational background. The only factor they were considering on the communication skills, how they communicate with the customers. Since the communication is the most important factor between the customer and employee because the whole process is depended on giving the orders for food. For this the Management conducted the training process for the new employees. The Training is given for total 5 days. Out of 5 days, they have 3 days for kitchen training and other 2 days in the main dining, that is, how to take orders and basically how to communicate with customers and make them happy by their services. PROCESS The design of the process of the pizza hut is very efficient .pizza hut do not follow any kind of hierarchy , all the employee is at the same level ,pizza hut has a very prescribe and well known process by adopting various technology software which help them to upgrade their supply management and also manage their crowd of customer efficiently. PHYSICAL EVIDENCE The ambience of the pizza hut is good enough to catch up the people .they provide a very good dining experience with high quality of atmosphere in terms of their physical evidence. And pizza hut always try to upgrade with changing environment and modernization is key of success of the pizza hut.

Sanitation and Plagues of Elizabeth?s England :: essays research papers fc

In Elizabethan times, living conditions of an everyday townsman was quite indecent. Elizabethan’s lived in houses that were extremely close to one another, which made it quite easy to disregard such a necessity to keep the streets and living surroundings clean. People threw all of the waste outside of their windows, which included, their feces, dead cats and dogs, and also kitchen waste. Eventually, when it would rain, the rain would wash all of the rancid waste into local waters. There were â€Å"regulations against people washing clothes in or near waters used for drink, or against washing the entrails of beasts after slaughter†(Rowse 156). â€Å"†¦it is evident from innumerable documents how frequently they were broken† (Rowse 156). As long as people lived in small groups, isolated from each other, there were not many incidents of widespread disease. But as civilization progressed, people began clustering into cities. As the cities grew and became crowded, they also became the nesting places of water-borne, insect-borne, and skin-to-skin infectious diseases. The Elizabethans shared communal water, handled unwashed food, stepped in excrement from casual discharge of manure, and used urine for dyes, bleaches, and ev en treatment of wounds. As A.L. Rowse mentions, â€Å"many of the citizens possessed chamber pots, usually made of tin, or close stools.† The close stools were put in the cockloft, the sleeping quarters of the Elizabethans. This would obviously reek of horrible odors and force the townsmen to dump them as soon as possible into the slimy cobblestone streets. Many rats and rodents flocked to the littered streets, finding morsels of anything that would satisfy their hunger. This is where the transportation of the plague would come to play. As the rodents feasted on the waste, the plague-infested fleas would jump to the nearest passerby. â€Å"The most devastating to England was the bubonic plague. Also known as, â€Å""The Black Death", because of the black spots it produced on the skin. A terrible killer was loose across Europe, and medieval medicine had nothing to combat it†(Rice). London was afflicted over a dozen times during the 1500’s (Miller and Orr)†. Winters were usually mild, allowing the rats and rodents, which carried fleas to stay active throughout the winter months. â€Å"Typhus fever is another disease born of bad sanitation. It is also known as, "jail fever" or "ship fever," because it was so common among men held captive in such putrid surroundings. The disease was highly contagious and usually transmitted through human feces and lice that infested the unclean bodies of the Elizabethans.

When Growth Stalls – 1 Page Review

Introduction It's offering advice for avoiding growth stalls, drawing from practices currently in use at large, high-growth companies to foresee possible stalls and head them off. Article gives four categories which regarded as main reason for growth stalls. A premium position backfires, innovation management breaks down, core business is abandoned prematurely and company lacks a strong talent bench. The key point is that all of the most common causes of growth stalls are not come from external force. It’s from management’s failure. Thus it’s knowable and preventable.To spot the sign of growth stalls, they suggest us to use diagnostic self-test they developed. It’s the asking, what company’s senior managers have seen in their markets, in their competitors, in their own internal practice that might be alert of impending stall. To prevent the growth stalls, they recommend us to make strategic assumptions explicit and carry forward it relevance and acc uracy. Thus, agility for reacting to changes of circumstance will be improved. Four practices are required to carry out that process. First, commission a core-belief identification squad which consisted with employees who are less stick to current orthodoxies.Second, conduct teams which develop visions of your company’s future five years hence. Third, appoint a shadow cabinet. Lastly, ask a venture capitalist to sit in on strategy reviews and probe for weakness. Authors’ insist that on the strategy agenda, guarding against growth stalls should be at the top. And firm should renew their competence in strategy in this point. Limitation and defect The authors’ thrust is reasonable theoretically. In intellectual approach, it’s appropriate and fresh idea. However, since theories are based on consequences, it entertains a doubt to rationalize theories in results.Consequently, it’s conflict against real-business situation. First of all, there are a lot of brands who are maintaining their market leadership although they undergoing four critical causes of growth stall. In real business area, there are bunch of brands which take their competitive advantage as product differentiation therefore don’t care their rivals although they’ve got cost leadership. Harley Davidson or John Galliano will be the typical cases. Both of brands even don’t care about customers’ preference. Rather than that, they make customer to be attracted by their brands by customer themselves.Particularly in the luxury good market, brands do not try to stick their concept as contemporary or trendy. They persists their own color. (From research by Custo Barcelona in 2010) Moreover, Asahi Breweries, who’ve got competitive advantage by abandoning core product prematurely and urgently replace it to new product, can be refuter of articles theory too. (Information from Harvard Business School in 1994) Secondly, there are too many restrict ions to absorb their tools in real business. Appling self-test to foresee a stall is not that easy as they insist because it’s unclear to define the fundamental reason of the phenomenon.It can be caused by the economic recession of whole industry, fed in the customer’s preference, where product lifecycle is, or maybe it can be signal of stall. We can’t confirm fundamentally where the drawback is started. Besides utilize four practices which assist to make strategic assumption is more complicated. We can certain that cost of adopting these practices will be high, but can’t confidence how effective it will be work. Efficiency of those practices will be different from each company’s organization, corporate culture and so on. Therefore sometimes it can be aggravate of the risk.In addition, inviting a venture capitalist can be more risky than their effectiveness. Finding faithful and influent VC who is assured to not leak the restricted information abou t corporation will be huge task to solve. Anyway, to reform this thrust, I’d suggest not pass over externalities. They’ve too many weighted in management problem. More fundamental causes will be arises in external environment, such as, threat of substitutes or technological changes. Then, mention about difference between industry and concrete supplementation for their tools which demonstrate its actual effect in really business will be required.

Continuation Speech

HI, my name is Chapin Bengal and I would like to thank you all for coming to our 8th grade Continuation Ceremony. I am honored to be presenting to you tonight as one of the valedictorians of the 8th grade class at Homestead Peak. When I transferred to Minter Middle School in 6th grade, I was very apprehensive about starting a new school where I didn't know anyone. However, there was no need for me to be worried. All of the students and staff welcomed me and made me feel as if I had always been a part of the community. Throughout the past three years we have all formed close reindeer's and created many memories.Whether It was normal classes or various fieldwork expeditions, we all formed a bond through these experiences that Is irreplaceable. As a class we have worked hard to prepare ourselves for high school. We all have accomplishments to be proud of, such as 2,000 hours of community service. We have worked hard to exemplify our community traits and keep our grades up. Even though s ome of us may be going to different high schools or even moving out of state, we will always be connected. I would like to thank my peers for giving me great middle school experience.We wouldn't be where we are today without the help from our teachers and families. As an expeditionary learning school we do a lot of hands on activities. I would like to thank our teachers for helping us learn a lot and making it fun at the same time. They are the ones who organized activities like the Tenth Mountain Division hut trips and The Civil War Reenactment. Both of these experiences have taught me about important lessons in greater depth than I would have learned In a classroom. I am extremely grateful to have had these opportunities.I know that the teachers work above and beyond the normal work day to make these opportunities possible for us. We are grateful and appreciate their time and dedication. Our parents also deserve our thanks and recognition. Many of us take the life our parents have given to us for granted. Few of us realize the sacrifices they have made to get us to this point. Therefore, I would like to thank our parents who have supported all of our endeavors. The following quote from Abraham Lincoln reminds me that each day brings a new opportunity and it is our responsibility to make the most of every single day.Abraham Lincoln said â€Å"In the end, It Is not the years In your life that count. It Is the life In your years. † Every single one of us has the potential to do great things. If we do not strive for excellence we will never reach our full potential. With determination and hard work we can all accomplish great things. Every day is a gift, not something to be wasted. I know that as a class we will continue to support each other through our high school years. I have greatly enjoyed these three years and It is due to the amazing students and staff here at Homestead Peak. Thank you! Continuation SpeechBy chaplaincies friendships and created ma ny memories. Whether it was normal classes or various fieldwork expeditions, we all formed a bond through these experiences that is a great middle school experience. We wouldn't be where we are today without the have learned in a classroom. I am extremely grateful to have had these opportunities. Make the most of every single day. Abraham Lincoln said â€Å"In the end, it is not the years in your life that count. It is the life in your years. † Every single one of us has the three years and it is due to the amazing students and staff here at Homestead Peak.