Is Genetic Engineering Ethically Right Philosophy Essay

Is Genetic Engineering Ethically Right Philosophy Essay Is genetic engineering ethically right? Ethics are standards of right and wrong, good and bad. Ethics is the system of moral principles. They influence how people make decisions and guide their lives. Ethics are concerned with what you must to do to fulfill your moral duty. There are two aspects to ethics which are being able to determine what is right or wrong, good or bad and Committing to doing what is right and good. Furthermore being ethical is more than understanding what is the right thing to do therefore you should avoid wrong and bad. Genetic engineering was discovered in 1970. It involves changing the genetic material form organisms. It often involves taking a gene from one organism and inserting it into the genetic structure of another organism. It gives the power to change many aspects of nature and could result in a lot of life saving treatment. Genetic engineering is also known as genetic modification or genetic manipulation. There are several areas of genetic engineering for example genetic engineering of animals, crops, embryos, human cells and cloning. Cloning a human performed by taking genetic materials from one or more human and genetically engineering them into the genes of another human, the first mammal to be cloned is Dolly the sheep. Researchers grow some cells from the organism to be cloned, and remove the nucleus from an unfertilized egg cell. They then take one of the cultured cells and implant it in its entirety into the coating around the egg. Then electroshock the egg to cause the two cells to fuse, and implant the new embryo into a surrogate mother. When the baby is born, two genetically identical individuals of different ages and with different birth parents will exist, therefore the original human will have been cloned. Cloning can be useful if there was a situation a couple has one child and they become infertile and cannot have any more children. Cloning would help them to have a second child but it will a younger twin of the child they already have. Moreover if child is lost soon after birth or in a tragic accid ent they could have their baby or child back by cloning them but it would be like a twin unique individuals they will not have the same characteristics. There are small group of people that support cloning. Supporters of cloning that cloning is unethical than growing a plant from a cutting or giving birth to identical twins, both of which involve two separate and distinct organisms with identical genomes. Since identical twins have the exact same genome, but still grow up with different personalities, clones are raised in entirely different time periods and social backgrounds will be entirely individual despite identical genes. Therefore for the supporters cloning is just another scientific topic and they assume it will become a reproductive choice, and those who wish to clone then selves must have the rights to do. Finally the large majority of people argue that cloning humans is both unnatural and unethical. For instance the cloned child wouldnt have a genetic mother or father it would have a single nuclear donor. For instance if a man cloned himself that child would be a new category of relationship to him as his clone, the child cannot be his son or his twin brother therefore the child would face lots of problems when growing up, other childrens at school will have parents but this child wouldnt. Many religions such as Hindu and Islam also object to cloning, they claim that it is playing God. Genetic engineering of animals includes manipulation of genes in animals of any species. Genetic engineering of animals could have been taking place for thousands of years as humans have chosen which characteristics they like in an animal and its appearance. They have performed this in the form of selective breeding they have then breed these animals in a variety of ways. There are three types of genetic engineering that can be used on animals, these are Xenografting- this is performed by using the human DNA to supplement an animal or vice versa and example if this is animal valves and tissue been used in humans. The human body accepts pig valves and hearts this is because the scientists believe that the DNA of pig heart valves was similar enough to humans and that they were interchangeable under some circumstances. They are hoping to make pigs grow human hearts that were coded by the DNA from humans which has not yet reached for clinical trials. If this was successful many of the pe ople lives can be saved using the pigs heart therefore the clients no longer need to wait for human heart. Cloning of animal using the DNA of one animal to another animal with the identical genetic information an example of this is Dolly the sheep. This is done by inserting the DNA of one animal into the foetus of the same species. There are befits on it has great potential as a money making industry and also in producing genetically identical animals for testing and reproduce and clone for example cloning the best cows that produce the most milk or meat this can be quick and cheap for farmers. Finally manipulation this is the changing of animal DNA. An example of this is when scientists had a successful attempt where they genetically engineered a pig to produce human insulin that can be used to treat diabetes, this is very beneficial to humans and it is being used medically to treat type one diabetes. Another type of genetic engineering is genetic modification of embryo also known as designer baby. In genetic engineering ethical issues involved. Ethics Xenografting deals with both human and animal there are ethics involved with both groups. Xenografting gives animals human DNA and human animals DNA. This can question people because an animal cannot contain human DNA as it would not be an animal if it did. Furthermore animals are a step down from human in the food chart therefore if a chicken contain human DNA human might not want to eat something that has the same DNA. What are the current and potential benefits that make genetic engineering of animals worth while? How does the chemical based genetic modification differ from the age old process of selective breeding? Should companies be allowed to patent the genetic modification of an animal? If not, what steps can they take to protect their research? There are endless amounts of questions involved in genetic engineering in general but I think the decisions are particularly jarring with animals because they are very similar to humans; more so than plants. Are humans ready to handle a future where their bloodlines may include animal genes from someone who got a pig/human heart transplant? For genetic engineering of animals to be useful and practical humans must come to grips with coming into contact with animals that contain human genes and vice versa. There may be humans with pig hearts in the very near future. There are also risks associated with any kind of genetic engineering, but if society can agree with it on a basic level it will lead to a lot of good. There is a huge amount of money invested already and even more waiting for a chance. Genetic engineering is the thing of the future. Religious beliefs may be tested, genetic engineering of animals may not be part of the future, but in some form genetic engineering as a whole will have a profound impact on our future. Once genetic engineering of animals is accepted a big issue is the relationship between science and money. Genetic engineering is advancing thanks to the large amounts of green given by corporations who see it as an investment. If they can increase milk production in cows or make animal/human organs that are not susceptible to rejection they will be rich. This kind of research and development has potential as a money making device, a research tool, and in medicine. Conflicts Between Industry and Medicine The battle is between private investments and other money, government and private, looking to advance the science. On one hand genetic engineering of animals has great promise. It could solve the shortage of organs which kills thousands of people each year as they wait in line for an organ they may receive too late. This is something that has great promise as an investment and an asset to society. There are other more short termed money making research projects that debase the scientific community and hurt the welfare of society. These are things associated seldom with the medical field but more often with production. For example the use BGH (Bovine Growth Hormone) in cows to increase their milk production. This was not an medical concern and it has few benefits, except for cutting down on grazing land, but enough milk was already being produced. These production minded projects taint the medical promise of genetic engineering and turn it into a dangerous money making scheme. There a re many risks associated w ith genetic engineering. It is a field that is not completely understood and there are many risks involved; disease (both for one generation or genetically based), infection from animal genes, and a restriction of the genetic base (like inbreeding) with more to come. Genetic engineering will be a part of our future and DNA from non-human animals has already been useful. Soon this explosive new industry will find its limits within societys morals. Cloning Cloning in animals can be accomplished by inserting the DNA of one animal into the fetus of the same specie along with a vector which gets cleans out the DNA already in the embryo. Sometimes the vector does not get rid of the original DNA of the fetus or the fetus does not adopt the new DNA. It took 277 attempts for the scientists to clone Dolly from the skin cell of a six year old. This shows some of the shortcomings of cloning that are likely to change with time. Currently scientists have trouble cloning embryos without miscarriages. The embryos that do take to the new DNA also have a greater likelihood of mutations. An additional problem stems from the fact that the cells come from other animals. Dollys DNA came from a six year old lamb. Now some of the worries, based on chromosome tests of Dollys cells, relate to the fact that while Dolly is only one year old some of her chromosomes have mutations that are common in much older sheep. This means that while Dolly is only one year old she may also have cha racteristics or cells that are seven years old. There are also questions about whether or not the cloned animals will be fertile. Dolly is almost old enough to reproduce now and this will be one test of whether or not cloned animals can be fertile. However, scientists will still want to look at a larger sample size before they decide whether or not cloned animals are infertile. There have been other instances where animals have been successfully cloned. Cloning has great potential as a money making industry and also in producing genetically identical animals for testing. Much of the cloning research in animals thus far has been focused on cattle. There would be great demand for a technology that could reproduce the best cows (produce the most milk, or meat, etc.) quickly and cheaply. Gene Manipulation Thus far the scientists have had bad results trying to manipulate animal genes. There have been good results but many of the studies are still pending. One successful attempt has been the engineering of a pig to produce human insulin that can be used to treat diabetes. Research is also being conducted at both Dartmouth and Duke University over using pigs hearts that have enough human characteristics to keep from being rejected by humans. These pigs would be used for heart and valve transplants. Some of the problems are the difficulty involved with doctoring the genes of a higher level organism and the differences that still exist between humans and animals. Even once pig hearts can be used in humans they will still have a different circulatory system and life expectancy to contend with among other problems. Manipulation-The changing of animal DNA. Genehis means that science can engineer farm animals to grow faster, have healthier meat and flesh, and be less able to feel the pain and suffering often associated with the conditions present in modern factory farms.   Genetically engineered animals are also created to help medical researchers in their quest to find cures for genetic disease, like breast cancer.  Ã‚  Finally, endangered animal species can be cloned, thus helping wildlife management in its goals of preserving wild populations of the earths biological diversity, and by ensuring that endangered animals genetic information will not be lost when the last of the species dies.   This use of modern technology is not without its drawbacks or its critics.  Ã‚  By genetically engineering farm and research animals, critics argue, we may be undoing what nature has worked to create over millions of years.  Ã‚  Natural animals are specifically adapted to a given environment and when science manipulates the genes of a few species in the ecosystem, the entire balance of the ecosystem might fall completely apart causing an unknown number of natural animal species to grow ever extinct.  Others argue that animals should possess, at a bare minimum, the right to be free of genetic manipulation or a reduction in their natural abilities.   Despite this debate, the law in both the United States and in Europe, tends to support genetic engineering research and development by allowing genetically engineered animals to be patented.  Ã‚  Patents give scientists a monopoly over their genetically engineered animal species, something before unheard of in modern economic systems.  Typically, animals could be owned, but never entire species.   Regardless, we must not wait and see what the effects genetic engineering animals will have on the earth.  Ã‚  We must form educated opinions, lobby for government regulation, and hope that whatever direction that bioengineering takes us, is a positive step towards decreased animal suffering, increased environmental sustainability, and an overall compassionate regard for the earth and its precious life. http://www.animallaw.info/topics/tabbed%20topic%20page/spusgenengin.htm The ethical issue of cloning humans has been a debatable topic, for example the controversy over Dolly, the first cloned mammal. Supporters of cloning argue that it is no more unnatural than binary fission, the process by which bacteria reproduce to produce identical copies of themselves; they go on to state that cloning is no more unethical than growing a plant from a cutting or giving birth to identical twins, both of which involve two separate and distinct organisms with identical genomes. Since identical twins have the exact same genome, but still grow up with different personalities, clones raised in entirely different time periods and social contexts will be entirely individual despite identical genes. In this view, cloning is just another scientific topic and will become just another reproductive option, and those who wish to research cloning or to be cloned should not be stopped. There is a small group of people who oppose cloning or at least stop on it for the time being for practical, not moral or ethical, reasons. These people argue that cloning is ethically acceptable, but practically unsound because of the resultant decrease in the genetic diversity of the human gene pool. They also advise more extensive experiments on the effects of cloning on animals before human beings are cloned. Finally, a large majority of people argue that cloning humans is both unnatural and unethical. They cite fears that include: peoples individuality being impaired or ruined due to cloning technologies; aggressor nations creating armies of cloned soldiers to assault other nations; overpopulation due to sudden ease of reproduction; depletion of the human gene pool; and a number of concerns about the moral status of clones. Some go so far as to postulate a stratified society divided into the cloned and the uncloned, and fears about eugenics or of reserving cloning technology to the genetically desirable generally surface. Many religions also object to cloning, again by claiming that it is playing God. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/intro_1.shtml http://www.sbctc.edu/public/trustees/what_are_ethics.pdf ******** http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/aqa_pre_2011/evolution/reproductionrev6.shtml http://library.thinkquest.org genetically modified animals ethics read on it http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3078015/ https://govhs.org/vhsweb/Gallery.nsf/Files/Genetic+Engineering,+a+group+project/$file/animal.html http://www.humancloning.org/benefits.php

1980-1990 Essay -- Essays Papers

1980-1990 The United States had many significant events occur during this 1980’s. In 1980, Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter ran against one another for President. A few months later, Reagan won 43 to 35 million votes over Carter (Bondi 464). This began the "Reagan restoration" period, which was supposed to help get Americans to cut down on abortion, violence and racism (Bondi XI). One year later in 1981 President Reagan was shot in the chest in an "attempted assassination" (Bondi 673). In 1986, the Challenger Shuttle exploded seventy-three seconds after it took off, killing all of the astronauts on board. This explosion delayed the next trip to outer space until the "Discovery Orbit" in 1988 (Bondi 718,736). Finally, in 1988 George Bush and Dan Quale ran against each other for President resulting in a 47 to 40 Bush victory (Bondi 736) Furthermore, throughout the 1980’s, there were several world events that made a mark in history. On July 29, 1981, Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married in Great Britain on a warm summer day in front of millions of viewers around the world. This glorious day was "formally declared a holiday throughout Great Britain (Burrows 432). Also, during this time period women were demanding to have a larger and more respected role in society. On June 9, 1983, Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of Britain, was reelected to an even higher position in the House of Commons. She was granted this position mainly due to her outstanding leadership skills during the Falklands War of 1982 (Burrows 443). Lastly, on November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall was torn apart by those who wanted to integrate "the two Germanies." This allowed the Germans to finally be able to travel "through Hungary and into Australia (Burr... ... in the 1980’s. The University joined the Midwest Collegiate Conference in 1988-89 in hopes to gain a bid to the NCAA games. In 1989, Flyers’ head basketball coach for more than two decades, Don Donoher, was fired from his position. Soon after that, on April 19,1989, the University hired the highly respected, Jim O’Brian (Schweikart). Cathy Song was an amazing poet of the 1980’s. She often uses her own life experiences in her writing. One of her best works was "Picture Bride." This poem is about a twenty-three year old Korean woman who chose to leave home on her own and move to a foreign country with nothing but a picture of the man she has longed to be with. This poem coincides with the 1980’s era due to the fact that it exemplifies how the women of this decade are starting to become very independent and are willing to try and experience new things for themselves.

Gun Laws Essay

The Second Amendment in the United States Constitution gives people the right to keep and bear arms. The Second Amendment has been interpreted in many ways, and its limitations and what it controls have been questioned. The question that arises over and over again is that will stricter gun laws make the United States safer or more perilous. The answer is clear. With lack of gun control and that black market guns are at almost every street corner whether you think it or not. Guns are a very dangerous weapons, and the United States has to create stricter laws in order to operate and obtain them in order to protect the public. Stricter gun laws would improve the criminal justice system. For example, a national registry which contained finger printing and gun information would allow for the bullets at a crime scene to be traced back to the owner. The only way to get guns off the streets is for Government to take action and for laws to be put down. The goal for stricter gun laws is simple. It is to make it harder for dangerous people to get their hands on guns, improving the safety of guns, and regulating the sales of guns at gun shows and on the streets. The debate over gun control has continued for many years. In 1939 there was an important case, United States vs. Miller, which dealt with the Second Amendment. In this case the supreme court was asked to decide whether or not the Second Amendment protected Miller’s right to not register a sawed off shotgun. A sawed off shotgun is a shotgun with a shorter barrel therefore it shoots out less accurately but more spread out with the same power as a regular shotgun. They are very dangerous especially in smaller places. During that time the Supreme Court believed that the Second Amendment protected those who had weapons for military use only. As a result the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment did not protect Miller’s right to own a sawed off shotgun because he did not have it for military purposes. Gun control opponents deny that federal policies keep firearms out of the hands of high-risk persons; rather, they argue, controls often create burdens for law- abiding citizens and infringe upon constitutional rights provided by the Second Amendment. Some argue further that widespread gun ownership is one of the best deterrents to crime as well as to potential tyranny, whether by gangs or by government. They may also criticize the notion of enhancing federal, as opposed to state, police powers. So what these gun lovers want to do is defend their homes from those they feel threaten them and use guns for protection. The NRA also says over and over again that it will cost tax payers millions if the number of gun sales drop. Is there really a price for saving lives?

Free Essays on Psychology Report

During Expedition One a range of psychological measures, informal observation, crew discussion and other means were used to collect information about crew psychological issues. The overall goal of the psychological studies was to gain insight into crew individual and group issues that may be relevant to a human mission to Mars or other prolonged human spaceflight. Another goal was to gather information relevant to improved functioning for future MDRS crews. Most of the comments below relate to Phases III and IV, when the majority of data collection took place, but some is relevant to the entire mission. Along with specifically psychological measures, the crew psychologist was also involved in human factors studies. These are covered in a separate Human Factors report. Major psychology research findings from ExOne will be reported in future publications once data can be properly analysed. The purpose of the current document is to summarise the measures used, impressions regarding outcomes of the studies and recommendations/implications for the future. Formal Measures - Social Psychological Measures All crew members completed a questionnaire entitled "Personal and Group Functioning Survey". This instrument was developed by social psychologists Dr Kate Reynolds & Dr Rachael Eggins at the School of Psychology, Australian National University. It is based on an extensive literature and research on issues of group identity and goal alignment conducted by the Social Psychology Research Unit at ANU. It aims to help determine the extent to which crew members on ExOne identified with ExOne overall as well as with it's subgroups such as Field Science and Mission Systems. In turn it aims to measure the degree to which crewmembers aligned their personal goals with the overall ExOne group and it's subgroups. Crewmembers in Phases III and IV completed the questionnaire three times each week. The data will be analysed back at ANU and results... Free Essays on Psychology Report Free Essays on Psychology Report During Expedition One a range of psychological measures, informal observation, crew discussion and other means were used to collect information about crew psychological issues. The overall goal of the psychological studies was to gain insight into crew individual and group issues that may be relevant to a human mission to Mars or other prolonged human spaceflight. Another goal was to gather information relevant to improved functioning for future MDRS crews. Most of the comments below relate to Phases III and IV, when the majority of data collection took place, but some is relevant to the entire mission. Along with specifically psychological measures, the crew psychologist was also involved in human factors studies. These are covered in a separate Human Factors report. Major psychology research findings from ExOne will be reported in future publications once data can be properly analysed. The purpose of the current document is to summarise the measures used, impressions regarding outcomes of the studies and recommendations/implications for the future. Formal Measures - Social Psychological Measures All crew members completed a questionnaire entitled "Personal and Group Functioning Survey". This instrument was developed by social psychologists Dr Kate Reynolds & Dr Rachael Eggins at the School of Psychology, Australian National University. It is based on an extensive literature and research on issues of group identity and goal alignment conducted by the Social Psychology Research Unit at ANU. It aims to help determine the extent to which crew members on ExOne identified with ExOne overall as well as with it's subgroups such as Field Science and Mission Systems. In turn it aims to measure the degree to which crewmembers aligned their personal goals with the overall ExOne group and it's subgroups. Crewmembers in Phases III and IV completed the questionnaire three times each week. The data will be analysed back at ANU and results...

The Marketing of Jamiroquai Essay Example

The Marketing of Jamiroquai Essay Example The Marketing of Jamiroquai Essay The Marketing of Jamiroquai Essay Sony Music International, whose head office is based in New York, comprises sixty different affiliate companies world-wide, one of which is Sony Music UK. Sony Music UK became a pure record company in 1965, with two of its main objectives being to discover and market UK artists, and to penetrate the UK market using international artists. The organization became increasingly popular and successful throughout the 1970s and 1980s and is now one of the most powerful record companies in the world, and generates more annual revenue than any of its competitors, as illustrated by the bar chart below However, despite its strength and success, Sony Music has recently suffered from a major decrease in turnover and profits, as illustrated in the graphs on the following page. This is the result of a drastic change in the singles market; the UK sales of singles have plummeted, with figures for singles sales currently being the lowest on record for the past 25 years. Unfortunately, this trend does not appear to be changing; singles sales in 2002 totaled less than  £100 million in the first time since 1994, down 13.7% on 2001. Jamiroquai In 1991, Sony Music decided to launch the sub-label Soho Square. Jamiroquai, a multi-cultural English band led by singer Jason Kay was formed a year later in 1992. They released a song called When You Gonna Learn? on the independent London-based label Acid Jazz which generated a lot of attention, and were immediately inundated with offers from numerous record companies. Soho Square offered Kay an eight-album contract for  £1.3 million in 1992, but were not interested in signing the rest of his band. Kay accepted, but decided to keep his original band and pay them himself. Since 1992, Jamiroquai has continued to be Soho Squares most important and profitable artist. The band has a very distinctive musical sound which is not easily categorized and best described as a fusion of disco, jazz, funk and soul, and has consequently allowed them to attract a multi-racial fan-base. The bands image is very strong; their name incorporates the words Jam (as in a musical jam session) and Iroquis, the name of an indigenous American-Indian tribe who value the environment highly, which reflects both the bands love of music and their concern for the environment. Jamiroquais debut album on Soho Square, Emergency on Planet Earth, released in 1993, went straight to number one, and made them the top-selling English band of that year. Since then, Jamiroquai have continued to be very successful, selling a total of 16 million albums worldwide, having a dozen Top 30 chart hits, and winning numerous awards. Although Jamiroquais importance to Sony Music as a whole is not great, Jamiroquai is Soho Squares most successful act, and is a high priority to the sub-label as the band has allowed Soho Square to achieve its objective of successfully breaking an unknown UK band. Also, the fact that Kay is signed to Sony Music for 8 albums, a figure much higher than the US average 4 album contract offered to other artists, it is clear that Sony Music has long-term aspirations for the band. One of Sony Musics main objectives for Jamiroquai is to exploit its past marketing experience to allow Jamiroquai to break and conquer the US market. Sony Music, as the largest record company in the industry, has a wide variety of tools and resources available, in particular its extensive network of contacts within the music media, which, if managed effectively, can help to meet this objective. Sony Musics Environment Sony Music recognises the importance of managing its micro-environment in order to ensure efficiency and success in its marketing campaigns, as well the importance of interacting with and adapting to its macro-environment in order to preserve its competitive advantage and remain ahead of its competitors. Sony Musics Micro-Environment The company The process of setting up a marketing campaign for the band is carried out by Sony Music as follows: Management will set objectives stating desired single and album sales and other strategies for Jamiroquai, and will communicate these to the rest of the company. It is then up to the marketing department to work with other departments, such as Research and Development, to assess how to attract its target audience. Suppliers The company is responsible for all of its own supplies; it is self-sufficient in that it owns its artist and produces its own CDs and other forms of media (e.g. LPs and DVDs). Marketing Intermediaries Sony Musics marketing intermediaries comprise the following: Resellers- The number of reseller mediums available to Sony Music have increased dramatically in the past decade, with CDs being sold at specialist music stores, online companies, supermarkets and music mega-stores such as HMV and Tower Records. Physical Distribution Firms- Instead of working with external firms, Sony Music UK has its own warehouse located in Aylesbury, where all CDs and other forms of media are stored and shipped, allowing the organisation to keep costs down. Marketing Services Agencies- Sony Music is able to reduce its marketing costs by arranging the vast majority of its marketing itself. In Sony Music, it is not only the Marketing Department that is responsible for marketing, but also the Press and Public Relations Departments, ensuring that publicity and advertising for all artists are maximised. Financial Intermediaries- Being a multi-billion pound organisation, Sony Music does not rely as heavily on financial intermediaries as other organizations, but its recent decline in profits could change this trend in the near future. Customers Sony Musics products are targeted to specific consumer markets, but although market research is carried out via Sony Music mailing lists, and a recently-launched Sony Student Website which aims to gain information from the student population, the market research aimed specifically at Jamiroquai fans is limited, with it being more focused on a range of Sony Music artists. Competition Sony Music faces fierce competition from others within the music industry, namely the other members of the Big Five: EMI, Universal, Warner Bros and BMG. With Sony Musics current profit and turnover dives, it is essential that the company remains aware of its competitors plans and marketing strategies. Sony Music tries to position Jamiroquai in its consumers minds as a band that transcends an array of music and racial boundaries, and sees this as its main source of competitive advantage. The organisation aims to maintain its success, like all other record companies, via its Artists and Repertoire Department which is constantly on the look-out for new talent and which also tries to persuade artists signed to other labels to sign to Sony Music. Publics The two publics that most affect Sony Music are: Media Publics- The media can have a negative effect on Jamiroquais album and single sales. Sony Music try to control this by setting up publicity stunts that they believe will help boost sales, and by maintaining good relationships with editors of publications and heads of music at radio stations, to ensure that Jamiroquai gets the best ratings, reviews and airplay possible. General Public- Sony Music understands the importance of keeping Jamiroquais image as consumer-friendly as possible, and does this by changing the bands image where necessary. For example, when trying to break Jamiroquai in the USA, Sony Music decided to change the lyrics on the bands Return of the Space Cowboy album to suit the American populations views on cannabis: Cheeba Cheeba (slang for cannabis) was changed to Freeba Freeba Gotta get high was changed to Gotta get sly Sony Musics Macro-Environment Economic Environment It is expected that by 2010, the Asian Tigers, India and China, will have a combined GDP of 28%, which is 10% higher than the predicted GDP of USA, and of Western Europe and Japan. These developing markets represent potential markets, as their standards of living, wealth and demand for technological goods are all on the increase. Demographic Environment The UK, like the majority of developed countries, has an ageing population; it is predicted that 38% of the population will be over 50 years old in 2031. This older generation will be likely to spend a significant percentage of their income on leisure activities (including music). It is therefore wise for Sony Music to investigate targeting this audience. Another trend is increasing European integration, leading to the creation of the Euro-consumer. Sony Music has the advantage of Jamiroquais multi-racial and multi-cultural band appealing to the diverse inhabitants of EU member states, and should maintain this image to attract more of these new Euro-consumers. Cultural Environment Celebrities and music groups have a considerable effect on peoples attitudes and appearance. Kays strong and unique image (he is famous for his flamboyant hats and his collection of fast cars) means that Jamiroquai is distinctive and easily-recognisable. However his numerous violent outbursts and bad behaviour have also caused him to be regarded negatively by many, as his behaviour goes against the moral beliefs and values of the general public (Reference: Page A1). Political and Natural Environment The growth of public interest groups have proven beneficial to Jamiroquai, as Kays much-publicised support for the environment has gained him many supporters. Jamiroquai recently performed a benefit concert for Friends of the Earth and played a short set near the Danish Embassy in protest at whale culling around the Faroe Islands. Technological Environment Technology has had a big impact on the music industry, its biggest threat to date being music-swapping software, as companies such as Napster have caused significant dents in Sony Musics profit margins because of the fact that their 51 million users do not want to buy music that they can obtain for free on the Internet. There have been ongoing legal battles between Sony Music and Napster, with a resolution yet to found. Fortunately, success was found by Sony Music with MP3.com: joining forces, the Big Five record companies (Sony Music, EMI, Universal, Warner Bros and BMG) deluged MP3.com with lawsuits charging the company with enabling Internet piracy, with the result being MP3.com paying Sony Music $20 million. Sony Music also introduced a revolutionary idea to try and combat music-swapping software: the production of non-copiable CDs which cannot be uploaded onto the Internet or burnt onto other CDs. This idea has been met with mixed reviews, as many consumers have turned against Sony Music for doing so. Also, it has been rumoured that Taiwanese companies are secretly developing hardware to read these CDs.

Individual report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Individual report - Essay Example any chooses to pursue one of the two types of the competitive advantage that is either via lower cost than its competitors then it can command greater section of the market and customers. The generic strategy gives a reflection of the choices that can be made by the company regarding the type of the competitive advantage and the scope of the market There are mainly three levels of international strategies that the Xiao mi Company uses namely corporate strategy, functional strategies and even business strategies. All these strategies focus on the international markets where they use cost leadership as the effective market strategies that they can use to explore and acquire greater market niche for their smart phones. The international strategies of the Xiao mi in the essence tries to define the business domain in which the firm can operate through recruiting foreign people, improving the R&D division and even through analysis of the factors that influence strong operation systems (Bruce, 2008). To meet the international standards, it is very important for the Xiao mi Company to answer quite different the many questions that form the major components of the business domain. These divergent answers should reflect the different corporate strengths and weaknesses and even different way that Xiao mi can use to assess different oppor tunities and threats that may be produced by the global economics and even the political environment. This theory tries to explain how Xiao mi can intensify their business activities in the foreign markets. In this set of model Xiao mi first gained a lot of experience from the domestic markets before they decide to move to the international markets to do international businesses of selling the smart phones making a gross sale of about 5 billion. Xiao Mi Company started their foreign operation by forming the agreement with the foreign intermediate or agents who are geographically in close countries to make people be aware of their products

Analysis of three different health systems Assignment

Analysis of three different health systems - Assignment Example The similarities and differences are based on the different economic capabilities of the two countries and the population size. This paper is based on  a comparative overview of the American health care system, the Japanese health care system, and the Australian health care system. The differences between the three health care systems are analyzed as well as the evaluation of the systems in terms of equity, efficiency, and effectiveness. The necessary reforms to the health care systems are also discussed in the paper. The healthcare system in the United States comprises of both the private insurers and the public health system that covers the low-income families and the elderly (Emanuel, 2014). Many Americans receive insurance coverage via the employer-sponsored private insurance with most of the services being provided by private insurers. The Medicaid program serves the disabled and poor families. Different states in the country are also required to cover the medical expenses of low-income pregnant women, the elderly, children, and the disabled (Gillies, 2003). States can also expand their eligibility, but the Medicare program is a universal healthcare program that covers people aged over 65 years. The children whose families do not qualify for the Medicare program and do not make enough to buy the private health insurance are covered in the State Children Health Insurance Program (Levine, 2009). A separate health program is also available for the veterans in the United States. The health benefits in the US vary based on the insurance type. The program comprises of both the inpatient and outpatient hospital care and a home visit by the physicians. Other services also include dental care, preventive care, and the use of prescription drugs. The employer-sponsored plans accept patients at the same cost and are underwritten based on the weight, age, smoking status, and health history of the patient. The Medicaid program covers