Edgar Allan Poe’s “Ligeia” Essay

Though there is no mention of race or slavery in Edgar Allan Poe’s â€Å"Ligeia,† the story is suffused with the symbolic interaction of light and dark, white and black, pallor and pigment. In a situation so fully charged with the symbolics of race, and in a story written in antebellum America by an author raised in Virginia, the lack of any mention of slavery is enough to indicate that this story, despite its studied silence on the matter, has something to tell us about the psychology of racialism in the United States. In the conflict between Ligeia and Rowena—though it takes place almost out of sight, at the edge of the real and of vision—Poe sets up Ligeia as the dark lady and Rowena as the fair one. The reader might expect this to play out as either an abolitionist or racist affirmation of equality or racial supremacy. The situation is complicated, however, by the presence and perceptions of the narrator, who is outside of the highly charged color scheme. Poe positions the reader as an observer of racialist dynamics, rather than as a racialized participant, to allow the reader a view of how a passive, dominant white class depends on, and is crippled by its dependency on, a black underclass that stands for everything it lacks and fears. The dichotomy of black and white emerges relatively late in the story, only after Ligeia has died and the narrator has taken Rowena as his new wife, but the coloring of Ligeia is present from the start. Among her other sublime attributes, the narrator writes that â€Å"She came and departed as a shadow† (111). However, she is also very pale. She has a â€Å"lofty and pale forehead –it was faultless† and â€Å"skin rivalling the purest ivory† (111). Her whiteness, though, is framed by â€Å"the raven-black, the glossy, the luxuriant and naturally-curling tresses† (111). Her eyes, the windows of the soul, are also â€Å"the most brilliant of black, and, far over them, hung jetty lashes of great length. The brows, slightly irregular in outline, had the same tint† (111). While her skin is very white, every other feature of Ligeia is exceedingly black. In her shadowiness, Poe depicts her very being as dark. Ligeia’s white skin might be attributed to Poe’s desire as an artist to keep this story from being overtly racialized or didactic or scandalous. His presentation of intense blackness as the frame of intense whiteness, however, is actually a better representation of race in America than a simple schematization of white versus black. Over against the â€Å"one drop† rule that determined a person to be â€Å"black† if they had any black ancestors, the reader determines Ligeia to be â€Å"white† based on one attribute against many dark ones. In fact, Ligeia’s blackness is more than skin (or hair) deep. She is a mystery even to her lover, the narrator, who associates her with the religious mysteries of ancient civilizations. Like the African slaves brought to America, she has a connection to a cultural past that is lost to the narrator and which can only play on his fancy. Her family, which he does not know the paternal name of, â€Å"is of a remotely ancient date. † Musing on his ignorance of his beloved’s family name—which must seem a little unusual to any reader—he wonders why this is: â€Å"was it a test of my strength of affection, that I should institute no inquiries upon this point? or was it rather a caprice of my own –a wildly romantic offering on the shrine of the most passionate devotion? † (111). The proposed solutions ironically obscure the possibility of repression, that he does not know because he does not want to know, that he is afraid to know. The narrator can only imagine that he does not know her name because he loves her so much. The narrator’s conspicuous forgetting begins to trace the mechanism by which Americans repress blackness, and the dependence of whiteness on a black contrast, for the sake of keeping whiteness unquestioned as a positive attribute. Part of the narrator’s madness, though, is that he continues to fixate on the blackness in Ligeia as the symbol of depth and plenitude. Through this obsession with blackness in what is supposed to be a white face, Poe uses â€Å"Ligeia† to pose an inquiry into American racialism that escapes from traditional dualisms of good versus bad into an examination of the psychological mechanisms that make such a debate possible. At the same time that the depth of Ligeia’s learning provides a viable historical representation of the white slave-holder’s ignorance of African cultures, it also comes to assume sublime proportions that simultaneously remove that knowledge from history. Using the fetishization of Orienal cultures as a model, the narrator transports Ligeia’s difference into a realm beyond the earthly. The same mechanism was applied to blackness in America: when whites could not fathom the difference between European cultures and African cultures, they wound up believing that blacks and blackness were unfathomable. This set the stage for blackness to be aligned with other things white European culture did not understand—with animals, for example, or sexual appetite. The narrator’s visible obsession with Ligeia’s blackness as a symbol for his inability to comprehend her exposes the way in which American culture could both deify African culture as more authentic and denigrate it as more base. For the narrator, of course, this dissonance takes the form of his love for Ligeia. He cites Bacon on beauty: â€Å"’There is no exquisite beauty,’ says Bacon, Lord Verulam, speaking truly of all the forms and genera of beauty, ‘without some strangeness in the proportion’† (). The narrator agrees that there is something strange about Ligeia but he cannot find it. Each individual part, it seems, is perfectly wrought. The strangeness, though, is as Bacon would have it: in the proportion of all these perfections to each other. Metaphorically, the perfection of the white and black face is the perfection of a racially segregated society viewed from within the heavily repressed white perspective. The concepts used all make sense by themselves: that Africans have different cultures, blackness and whiteness are beautiful in their own ways, some things are beyond human understanding—but the particular way they are connected in a slave-holding society has more than a little â€Å"strangeness in the proportion. † Poe’s presentation of the narrator’s consciousness directs the reader to precisely this perspective, focusing not any individual part but on the framing of the whole, because it is here that the psychological dependence of whiteness on misappropriated conceptions of Africanism functions. The narrator’s repression of blackness into a transcendental white worldview—in which blackness only exists at the fringes to serve whiteness and make it more beautiful, both literally and metaphorically—results logically in the death of Ligeia and her replacement by a very white English girl of known parentage but not much depth of soul. The Lady Rowena is â€Å"fair-haired and blue-eyed,† a perfect Aryan, in contrast to Ligeia’s dark hair and eyes, and her family, like the economic system of chattel slavery, is enthralled to a â€Å"thirst of gold. † When the narrator describes their wedding his memory catches more on the blackness of their surroundings than on the European whiteness of his bride. â€Å"I have said that I minutely remember the details of the chamber—yet I am sadly forgetful on topics of deep moment,† like Ligeia’s parentage or the wedding itself (). The details he remembers include a â€Å"bridal couch—of an Indian model, and low, and sculptured of solid ebony†¦a gigantic sarcophagus of black granite†¦[and a tapestry with] patterns of the most jetty black† (111). The blackness that he has banished from the person of his bride he has recreated in their surroundings. The composition of black and white is by now recognizable to the reader: the alabaster centerpiece that was Ligeia’s face is now the person of Rowena, and the black hair and eyes of Ligeia are the room and its contents. The tableau that was beautiful when contained within the frame of Ligeia’s face becomes, when extrapolated onto the greater scale of the mansion or estate, somber and terrifying. Blackness looms everywhere in the bridal room. By being marginalized, blackness also comes to surround whiteness and threaten it. The climax of the story comes from just such an incursion of blackness into the white center. Ligeia seemingly poisons Rowena from beyond the grave and uses her body as a medium for return. From the narrator’s earlier adulation of Ligeia, it seems that he might be happy with this turn of events, but he has enough of his wits about him to be terrified that a ghost has returned to life. His terror also has a deeper cause. The displacement of blackness that has guided the story’s logic thus far means that the narrator is at last implicated in authorizing a racial economy. In the black room (with black curtains) Ligeia has supplated Rowena—and now Ligeia really is a dark figure, bearing with her the real abyss of death—the only place for whiteness to flee is into the face and person of the narrator. Throughout the story, however, the narrator has been fully invested in a white moderate-centrist repression of race, as seen in his convenient forgettings and fetishizations of Ligeia. Furthermore, the version of blackness that he has set up is dangerous to whiteness; blackness holds such an anxious sway over his mind that he sees it everywhere, and now it everywhere threatens to engulf him. The anxiety that invigorates the finale differs from the immediate horror of â€Å"Ligeia,† the transgression of the natural order through the return of the dead, in that here the horror is not within the story as an object of narration but surrounding the story as the ground on which it stands. For the reader, the immediate shock is Ligeia’s reanimation, but at the subconscious level this is enacted through reader response as the experience of the text stepping beyond its boundaries and into the real, the objective correlative of a corpse stepping beyond the boundary of death back into life. The doubling of conscious and unconscious horror in the story’s climax gives it affective power in that the reader is now fully identified with the narrator: as the text reaches its unholy apotheosis in moving beyond itself, the next target in the spread of the imaginary blackness is the reader. This movement might provoke a strong reaction formation—the condemnation of the work as unliterary or obscene—or, in a more tolerant reading, a shudder. All of the above explication of how darkness forms an invasive dialectical presence in â€Å"Ligeia† allows us to expand an interpretation of the work from the formal interplay of light and dark to the real, instantiated, and historical discourse of domination and slavery. On this ground, the message of â€Å"Ligeia† about slavery is as tangled as the rendering of color. Ligeia, the dark lady, seems to dominate the narrator from the beginning of the tale, and in her return via the corpus of Rowena she exerts power not only over another person—one marked as fair, as white—she demonstrates her mastery over life and death itself. Ligeia’s empowerment seems paradoxically at odds with aligning this story with the historical circumstances of slavery: black African slaves were legally considered chattel, moveable property, and had all the same rights that cattle or the like would have, that is, virtually none. If we remember, though, that as a tale of the grotesque—an imaginative exaggeration that partakes of the inversions and reinvestments of the subconscious—â€Å" Ligeia† does not disclose its truths at the level of literal or represented but in the language of (bad) dreams. What correlates the play of power in â€Å"Ligeia† with the logic of slavery is that the very idea of total domination—or rather, since we are dealing in inversions, the total subjugation of the narrator—can operate so freely in the story. The historical domination of the white slave owning class is represented here in its inverted form as the grotesquely hyperbolic empowerment of blackness through occultation. Ligeia’s transcendent power does not correspond to the real configuration of social forces in 1830s America, which was already being marked by ambivalence toward the national sin, but to the idealized racial superiority that white ideology purported to itself—though it could not, ever, live up to its own fantasy of itself either in terms of exacting submission or conversion of the â€Å"heathens†Ã¢â‚¬â€and to the equally idealized mystery of blackness empowered through an assumed (and constructed by apathy) opacity. The form of domination operating in the story is evidenced largely by the formal construction of the narrator’s discourse. Instead of pronouncing at the outset his obsession with Ligeia, the narrator demonstrates his relationship of submission/domination by overwhelming the reader with intricate, over-detailed descriptions of Ligeia. The narrator is dominated by his own telling, by discourse itself, and the telling is fully possessed by the body and soul of Ligeia. Rather than willfully presenting her domination over the narrator, and thus exposing herself to revolt or to a failure to live up to the role of â€Å"master,† Ligeia’s domination is represented through the narrator’s willed submission. His total submission—undemanded, uncoerced, almost unasked for—attributes to Ligeia a total form of power that the master cannot arrogate to himself but which exists exclusively in the mind of the imagined slave. The countercurrent of this is that the story is told by the slave though discourse is supposed to be the exclusive domain of the master. Yet the thrall is narrator is truly what the master class of a slave-owning society requires to receive the adulation is craves, and is in keeping with the logic of slavery. The slave class exists to labor on behalf of the master class; the final step in establishing an absolute and horrific slavery is for the labor of discourse to become the burden of the slave. Poe’s story works through a mounting intensity of the motifs of white and black, starting small and growing to a climax in which blackness appears everywhere. Through this progression, Poe’s story shows that even though a white perspective gets to tell the story of â€Å"Ligeia† and of U. S. history, it is not safe from a backlash. To the contrary, in trying to secure itself absolutely from blackness, the whiteness of the American mythology has invented a racialized other that it cannot escape. The black fear that haunts the narrator and the American reader assumes the massive proportions of the problem of racial chattel slavery itself. Beyond the scale of the actual ambivalences of the play between owner and slave is the nightmarish dimension of absolutes that the ideology of such a society demands. The model for this absolutism is, of course, the dichotomy between life and death: a clear transition that is irreversible. The horror of the American mind, which must reconcile an absolute division between master and slave with a contingent division between classes that are actually interpenetrating, is brought into the light of representation in Poe’s horrific tale of the risen dead.

Vivian Bearing: a Tragic Heroine That Triumph

Vivian Bearing: A Tragic Heroine that Triumph Margaret Edison’s play Wit is about Vivian Bearing, a professor of seventeenth century poetry, specializing in John Donne. She is a strong willed intellectual being treated for ovarian cancer. Vivian lives a very secluded life and avoids human emotional contact. Just like any tragic hero, Vivian has flaws that prevent her from human kindness, which leads to her downfall. Her treatment of cancer causes her to realize that she needs emotional connection, which she has missed her whole life.Although her flaws are her intellect and wit that cause her an inability to connect emotionally with people around her, she becomes noble because she begins to express her emotions and accept kindness. Vivian Bearing has lived an intellectual rather than emotional life. As a child, education was very important to her family. On her fifth birthday which she recalls as her best birthday she read a book (Edson 41). She would rather read a book than ha ve a party, cake or even having friends over.Reading a book during her birthday is very ironic because she claims this to be her best birthday which is really unique, because this is horrible as any standard for a fifth birthday. Most five year olds want a party and cake. Vivian takes the book and she reads its spine intently. Reading a book attentively on her birthday proves Vivian’s obsession with learning and expanding her horizons. She is only interested in learning, not worried about connecting with people her own age or even her family. While she is reading her book, her father sits on his chair â€Å"disinterested but tolerant† (Edson 41).Since her father does not pay any attention to her, Vivian is emotionally detached from her father. She only knows education and learning. She never mentions receiving any affection as a child. This is the only time she mentions her childhood. One can only assume that because of this the character’s own remote personalit y reflects that of her father’s. It is very likely that she never received the gentle touch of affection from her dad, the way she probably would have from her mother, if the mother had been in the picture.We know that her mother died at the age of forty, but other than that, nothing else is either mentioned or displayed regarding her. Vivian’s intellect and crave for knowledge continues to prevent her from human emotional connections. We meet Vivian as a student in a flashback. Her scholarship was her consuming and unrelenting passion, blinding her to other concerns of life like making friends. Despite being advised by her professor to enjoy life, she resorts to withdrawing into the library instead of going out (Edson 15).Her toughness and strictness towards her education blinds her treatment of humanity. She remains lonely and uses her education to cover her need for showing and needing emotional attachment. She does not enjoy her college life like most students do. Her intellect refuses her to show a need of emotional connection with students her own age. Her emotional detachment is apparent when she is told that she has ovarian cancer. Instead of crying and being afraid of death, she begins to analyze and think. â€Å"Must read something about cancer. Must get some books, articles.Assemble a bibliography,† she explains (Edson 8). The character’s excessive need for knowledge, which can be perceived as her tragic flaw, causes her to be oblivious to the reality of her diagnosis. Vivian is consumed with learning that she is unable to grasp with the reality that she has a disease that is slowly killing her. Her need for knowledge can be seen as a flaw because this prevents her from becoming psychologically attached to anything or anyone. Vivian thrives on knowledge and her ability to learn and understand things and uses her intellect to avoid human contact.The character’s addiction to intellect has shut down her need for any h uman emotions. Vivian’s wit appears as rude and uncaring when she uses her wit to push people away. Vivian’s smart remarks to everything cause people around her and also people that meet her to be unable to create a relationship with Vivian. When Vivian is diagnosed with ovarian cancer, Dr. Kelekian uses the word â€Å"insidious† and defines it as â€Å"undetectable† (Edson 8). Vivian is unable to control her witty comments and could not resist the urge and decides to tell him the correct definition saying â€Å"treacherous†. Dr.Kelekian has a negative attitude towards her because of these corrections. Instead of treating her cancer, he decides to use her as research. Dr. Kelekian is unable to feel any compassion for her because she is rude. Vivian’s wittiness also appears as being uncaring. She is not liked very much by others, due to her unkindness. Previously, when a student asked for an extension on his paper, Professor Bearing rejects h is request with a heartless comment. â€Å"Don’t tell me, your grandmother died† (Edson 63). Then she goes on to say, â€Å"Do what you will, but the paper is due when it is due† (Edson 63).Instead of showing some sentiment for the student, she is inconsiderate and cold-hearted towards him. She is so evil towards the student that no other student is able to feel comfortable around her and even speak to her as a person. She terrorizes her students inconsiderately and dispassionately. Vivian Bearing uses her wittiness to push people away so she does create an emotional attachment. Being put in hospital causes Vivian to reflect on her life and to realize how much she needs kindness. She even admits to craving kindness.She wants Susie to come see her to the point where she creates an emergency (Edson 64). She begins as an intellect, witty professor who is lonely, but now she is thirsty for a drop of kindness. Vivian’s hunger for kindness becomes apparent when she allows her nurse to call her â€Å"sweetheart† (Edson 64) or â€Å"honey†(Edson 65). These are words Vivian has never been referred to in her life and she is comfortable with them. She realizes that it is acceptable to allow people to treat her like a person and be kind to her. Vivian starts to open up and shows her emotions without any problem or hesitation.At the end of the play when Vivian is lying in her deathbed, alone, shivering scared, and in pain, E. M. comes to her side. When her college professor Ashford comes to visit her, she asks Vivian if she wanted her to recite Donne, she replies â€Å"nooooo† (Edson 79). Vivian is finally realizing that her need for intellect and wit is not what she needs because she has received kindness. The emotional part of life is what she needs and not the complicated poems by Donne. As her time draws to a close, a sea change begins to work in the way Vivian thinks about life.As mentioned in the above paragraphs, Vivi an has devoted her life to education and it is only through suffering that she learns that being extremely smart is not enough. It takes our heroine fifty years, and an insidious cancer to realize that it does not matter in the end how much you know since knowledge cannot possibly comfort you in death. Vivian says this line in the play â€Å"And death shall be no more, death thou shalt die â€Å"(Edson 72-73). By these words she learns that â€Å"death is nothing but a breath, a comma that separates life from life everlasting†, Vivian’s last breath was nothing but a comma† and she has now moved on where she will live not by her knowledge, but by her heart. Though her body has died, her soul is awakened. Before Vivian’s final moments of life, she receives the attention and affection that she never had. She dies with a sense of peacefulness. Vivian Bearing is a very intellectual and witty individual who is dedicated to her love for knowledge. But because s he is consumed by her incredible love for knowledge she lives a secluded life. Her downfall is that she is incapable of showing any emotions to another person.The play did not leave the audience with a sense of sadness or remorse, but with hope and respect for Vivian Bearing. She lived the final eight months of her life in extreme pain so doctors could gain more knowledge for future cancer patients. In the process, she learns that life is about humanity. This is what brings the audience to believe that this individual is a tragic hero who triumph and leaves one not with a sense of pity but one of empathy for her suffering. Work Cited Edson, Margaret. Wit. Oxford: Faber & Faber, 1999. Print.

Modern World: Things Fall Apart

â€Å" We cannot leave the matter in his hands because he doesn’t not understand our customs, just as we do not understand his. We say he is foolish because he does not know our ways, and perhaps he says we are foolish because we do not know his. Let him go away† (*1). This quote shows the major theme of the book which is change vs tradition. The quote shows the theme perfectly; basically it shows the ignorance of most of the Umuofia clan and their fear of the white peoples culture taking over theirs. They are dealing with the question of whether change should be privileged over tradition.The people of Umuofia want a little change but at the same time they have fear of completely losing their way of life, the people are divided on the subject at hand at what the right and wrong thing to do is, and how much is to much change. When the first white men was seen there was controversy already. The man was seen in Abame, the elders immediately went to see their oracle out of fear. The oracle told the elders that â€Å" the strange man would break their clan and spread destruction among them† (*2). So the people killed the white men immediately out of fear.Then a few weeks later out of revenge three white men went to the Abame market and shot everyone except the people that weren't there. The Abame people were foolish they should have known â€Å" Never kill a man who says nothing† ( * 3). But regardless of why the shooting happened at the Abame market the gossip had started and the fear had set in for the white men. After the Abame incident, other white people began to show. The white missionaries went to Umuofia and had begun building churches there and began getting converts.Not everyone was fond of the new religion though, but the leaders of the clan were not scarred because they believed that the weird faith would not last. Missionaries also arrived in the village of Mbanta. The missionaries begun telling the people of the villages abo ut the new religion â€Å" We have been sent by this great God to ask you to leave your wicked ways and false gods and turn to Him so that you may be saved when you die† (*4). The missionaries started to have the people of the villages question their religion and culture, and to make them think am I just worshiping false gods of wood and stone?Is all the rituals and killing and destroying innocent children actually right? Many questions began to stir. One person in particular who was captivated by the new religion was Nwoye, Okonkwo’s son. Nwoye became one of the first converts, but because of this change with his life that meant that he was no longer part of Okonkwo’s life or ever be considered his son. Even though this hurt Nwoye, he felt a relief in his life, so he thought that he could find other people within his new religion that would love him more then his father ever had.As the missionaries kept on spreading the word of their new religion and changing p eoples life’s, they decided to ask for some land to build their church. So the clan decided to give them as much land somewhere as they wanted. The missionaries were very happy that they were getting the land, but what they didn’t know was the land they were getting was called the â€Å"evil forest† because it was alive with sinister forces and was evil. The â€Å" evil forest† was where the clan had buried everyone that died from evil diseases.There was a so called curse that was set on the forest, so the people of Mbanta expected the missionaries to all be dead within four days. Not knowing of the curse the missionaries begun immediately clearing out the forest and building their church, and as each day went by and no one was dying the people of Mbanta were questioned about why the curse wasn't working on the white men. The church in Mbanta kept getting stronger and stronger as each day passed and was getting more converts. Okonkwo remained angered at t he new changes in Mbanto, â€Å" until the abominable gang was chased out of the village with whips there would be no peace† (*5).Although some did not mind the changes â€Å" It is not our custom to fight for our gods, let us not presume to do so now† (*6). Although everyone had their own opinions of the matter at hand, the assembly out of fear decided to exclude the christians from the privileges and life of the clan. Even though the new faith had only a few converts at first, the christians quickly grew and had became a small community and they were not going to be easily shut down. After the seven years of Okonkwo living in Mbanta, he was finally able to go back to Umuofia after being exiled.Although things had been changing in Mbanta, Okonkwo was unaware that Umuofia had also been changing. He still expected to just go back and have everything still be the same, even though that was the total opposite. The new church was not the only thing that had changed since h e was gone in Umuofia; the white men also brought a new government to the village. The men of power were no longer the high titled men, chief priests, and the elders, the men of power were now the District of Commissioner, and the court messengers.The District Commissioner had become the head of the government in Umuofia who judged cases ignorantly, then there were the court messengers who guarded the new prison, which was filled with citizens who would not listen to the white man’s laws. Okonkwo was very confused about what has happened to the village he once had some power over. â€Å" What is it that has happened to our people? Why have they lost the power to fight (*7)? † Okonkwo was so flabbergasted about how his once perfectly traditional south african village had changed into a government controlled christian village.So many things were changing, not only did the white men bring a new religion, and a new government, but they also brought trading to the village, which helped the village have more of a money flow and schools were beginning to be built. The clan had become barely recognizable to Okonkwo anymore, it was falling apart in his eyes. The village had not only begun to fall apart in Okonkwo’s eyes but in others soon to follow too. On the annual worship of the earth goddess day, one of the egwugwu’s masks were accidentally torn off by Enoch, which was one of the greatest crimes a man could commit.Enoch showed everyone that that the egwugwu’s were merely men impersonating spirits, therefore Enoch had basically killed an ancestral spirit. From Enoch doing that he helped the missionaries falsify the Umuofia's religion and show that it was all superstition, but he also re-sparked the conflict between the christian church and the clan. That was the last straw for the clan with dealing with the christians, â€Å" Tell him to go back to his house and leave us alone†¦ But this shrine which he built must be destroye d. We shall no longer allow it in our midst† (*8).The clan came in agreement to burns down the church; which makes Okonkwo very happy for once. The men in Umuofia finally begun to take back the village that was once theirs, so the next few days the men were armed and stayed aware. As the men were on cloud nine thinking things might end up going back to the traditional ways, they forgot to remember that their was still a government. The district commissioner was at a tour when the clan decided to burn down the church and not follow the laws. But when the District Commissioner did come back from his tour, Mr.Smith, who was the head missionary ,immediately caught the Commissioner up on what had happened while he was away. After finding out what had happened the Commissioner got his messenger to round up the leaders of Umuofia for a meeting. When all six leaders, including Okonkwo, met up at the commissioners headquarters they were asked what had happened, before they even had a c hance to explain what had happened then they were immediately arrested. â€Å" I have brought you here because you joined together to molest others, to burn people’s houses and their place of worship† (*8).The six leaders were fined with two hundred bags of cowries and were sentenced to prison and would not be released until they paid the fine, and if they choose not to they would be taken to Umuru to be hung. Thankfully each one of the leaders paid the fine, and were set free. Okonkwo was so incredible angered when he was let out of the prison. Later that night when he went back to his hut he could barley even sleep. All he could think about was revenge, and how no matter what he was not going to back out of his plan.The next morning he went to the meeting place, which was the marketplace where he was going to meet Obierika. â€Å" All our gods are weeping. Idemili is weeping, Ogwugwu is weeping, Agbala is weeping, and all the others. Our dead fathers are weeping bec ause of the shameful sacrilege they are suffering and the abomination we have all seen with our eyes† (*9). Okonkwo decided that enough was enough he was not going to stand by and watch his clan fall apart any longer. â€Å" We must root out this evil. And if our brothers take the side of evil we must root them out too.And we must do it now. We must bale this water now that it is only ankle deep†¦ † (*10). And that is exactly what Okonkwo did. He stood by his word, and he did what he felt was right. He shot and killed a messenger at the market place, where every person witnessed with their own eyes. Shortly after this the District Commissioner arrived at Okonkwo’s compound to retrieve him to be killed because of the sin he had just committed, but the commissioner along with a few other people had realized he was to late the deed had been already done.Okonkwo was found hanging dead on a tree behind his compound; he committed suicide. When Okonkwo was found de ad Obierika turned to the District Commissioner and said, â€Å" That man was one of the greatest men in Umuofia. You drove him to kill himself; and now he will be buried like a dog† (*11). So rather then wait to be killed and humiliated, Okonkwo took matters into his own hands and killed himself. In the book Things fall apart the main character Okonkwo ended up both losing and winning at the end.He lost in the sense of the new religion, and government, and basically just the overall change ended up winning over tradition. Which was what he feared all along. But in a sense he won because the last thing he did before he died was something he completely believed was the right thing to do, so he never gave up or stopped trying, even though he knows that he did all that he could and tried. But In the end it was just unbearable for him to live any longer with all that had changed in his village, so he did what he wanted to do, which was killing the messenger, then he killed himsel f.He killed himself because he understood that since he killed the messenger he was then going to be killed for the sin he had committed. But he he didn't want to be killed by someone else and be made as an example, and he didn’t want to give the satisfaction to the District Of Commissioner by letting himself get killed by him. So in the end he just gave up and realized their was nothing else he could do about the situation at hand. â€Å"The world has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination with others† (* 11).That shows that no matter that people will always see things differently, what is good or bad or what is right or what is wrong. No matter what, the world will never be agreeing on the matter at hand, there will always be fighting and arguing as long as their is something to be argued about. So in the end through all the fighting and heartache Okonkwo’s death symbolized the tradition dyeing out and change taking over.

Reply2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reply2 - Essay Example For example, Adolescents Training and Learning to Avoid Steroids (ATLAS) has received numerous awards for delaying the age of drinking and reducing alcohol abuse, as well as reducing the number of substance-related consequences and experiences (Goldberg et al., 2000). In essence, ATLAS provides adolescents with healthy sports nutrition, which provide a strength-building alternative to illegal drugs, alcohol, and other harmful substances. I would like to add that community health nurses integrate community knowledge and involvement concerning a population on three levels: clinical understanding of the illness experience of individual patients, personal understanding, and the families in the population (Hebda & Czar, 2013). The community health nurses communicate the illness and health experiences of individuals and families in vulnerable populations, and educate members of the target community to express their health issues. Most importantly, the nurses pass down their knowledge from health studies to individuals and vulnerable groups through advocacy, programs, and other interventions. Sex education, birth control, conflict resolution, and anger management programs are very important. In most schools, they fall under the peer counselor’s office. Perhaps high schools and education bodies should consult community health nurses while developing their guidance and counselling models. According to Border & Drury (1992), school counselling interventions considerably influence student’s personal and educational development. The idea of consulting CDC. American Association and the Florida government is brilliant. This will ensure that the programs and interventions are synced with statewide efforts to prevent substance abuse, violence, and pregnancy in high school students. Goldberg, L. et al. (2000). The adolescents training and learning to avoid steroids program: Preventing use and promoting health behaviors. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent

To what extent, if any, do the interests of strategy practitioners and Essay

To what extent, if any, do the interests of strategy practitioners and academic strategists coincide - Essay Example It gives emphasis on freedom, security, social justice, and protection of the environment and non can be achieved on the basis solely of the market forces. The strategies applied in the economic development are facilitated by a free market and it fosters efficient allocation of factors of production, the strategy practitioner usually adopts the nation principal institutional instrument of collective action (Strategic Studies, 2007). Strategy practitioners incorporate their knowledge into production as the practical means of achievement and the government takes the responsibility in mediating the interests and making policies that are based on the agreement that involves in countries leading particular social groups that are committed to development. The nature of strategies arises from the needs and opportunity in organizing efforts to raise living standards. There is a high correlation between the academic strategists and strategy practitioners particularly in the achievement of major political objectives. The society is viewed as civil society and a nation, and the society agree on national development strategy contributed by the academic strategists wherein it gives a strong and lively nation. ... In developing a strategy, there is planning applied in early stages of the establishment. Despite the limitations of the market, general planning is indicative and plans become specific in dealing with the industries that are viewed in the moment as strategic. The strategy persists in global capitalism rather a national competition strategy. The development of strategy is the result of collective decision making process. It pursues alternatives that are capable of steering it towards development. The nature in strategic development arises on the needs and opportunity in raising its living standards and with the correlation between the development and achievement of major objectives.In the development of strategies, it involves entrepreneurs, bureaucrats, and workers. Strategy with program regarded as means by which the actors have incomplete information and have limited rationality that appraise the alternatives and make choices. Strategies are series of decision being carried out in well defined manner and it enables the terms in the assessment of alternatives. The strategy takes three principles such as its consideration to the strong games only, it gives emphasis on the alternatives available to the opponents, and it allows the opponent to make moves in response. Strategists begin by diagnosing the situation and in searching all the alternatives, however they cannot pursue every alternative but within the framework it appears to be more promising and satisfactory. The academic strategists have no illusion as to optimization and they know that they have limited time in making decisions. Interest of Strategy P 3 In the implementation of defined strategy, it use all means available such as by writing laws, adopting economic policies, and they

Knowledge Management and Innovation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Knowledge Management and Innovation - Essay Example 855). This piece of research work critically examines the knowledge sharing theoretical models developed by Nonaka and Takeuchi to elucidate how this model has been implemented in a typical industry to apply KM to the innovation of a product. This paper compares and contrasts knowledge transfer models based on relevant literatures and empirical evidences. Knowledge Management and Innovation In the contemporary business contexts where markets, products, competition, technology, laws and consumers are rapidly changing, continuous innovation and effective practice of KM to support innovation has become a major source of competitive advantage (Aramburu, Saenz and Rivera, 2006, p. 157). Nonaka and Takeuchi (2005, p. 1-5), both are widely renowned as KM gurus, argued that Japanese companies remained as enigma for most Western business experts and they gave a new explanation of what made Japanese companies highly successful. ... ased on this explanation, the three major components of KM are creating the knowledge, sharing it and using the created or shared knowledge for organizational purposes. Some literatures have considered more components such as knowledge identification, knowledge collection, knowledge organizing, knowledge dissemination, knowledge evaluation and knowledge adoption or implementation (Mehrabani and Shajari, 2012, p. 166). Forster (2005) described that knowledge management is a generic term that includes certain process by which employees’ experience, knowledge, skills etc are gathered, shared and utilized and then converted to a system of collective organizational learning so as to improve organizational performance. Nonaka and Takeuchi perceived knowledge as a profound instrument that has effectually increased organization’s capability to implement right action from the evidences of Japanese companies. Knowledge has been categorized in to two; tacit and explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge is one that is embedded in a person through the forms of experience, knowledge, skill, talent, wisdom etc and this can be attained from imitation and practice. Explicit knowledge is information stored in documents or database (Lee, Leong, Hew and Ooi, 2013, p. 850). Literatures in the field of KM have clearly illustrated the profound impact of knowledge management on innovation. Most firms in contemporary business contexts find innovation as their grand strategy due to that consumers expect regular changes and advances in products (Pearce and Robinson, 2004, p. 207). Innovation is not merely an idea, but rather, it is the conversion of idea in to business functionality by establishing the idea in to reality (Endsley, 2010, p. 1). Many literatures including Boghani (2007), Lee et al

Lab research 5.10 Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Research 5.10 - Lab Report Example Practical research will be used in this study. This type of research is the most effective type of research for it ensures that all aspects of the study are carried out. The advantage of this research is that the researcher has the ability to relate directly with the people in the area and this assists in getting more content for the research. This research is different from theoretical research since the researcher would just get information from people that have carried out extensive research on the region and as common with secondary research, it is open to bias and thus not a reliable source of information. Carrying out primary research provides critical information that secondary research may leave out (Chipev 85). Moreover, practical research addresses the issues facing the particular place at the time while secondary research may have outdated and unreliable research. The importance of carrying out this research is that very few people focus on animals in this region. Many people in the contemporary world either focus on plants and for those that pay attention to animals they focus on animals in dry lands and tropical regions (Chipev 103). Rarely do people research animals in the Antarctic region. Another reason for carrying out research in this region is that the researchers have the ability to offer the information that they acquire to the general public and environmentalists. The consequent of this is having people visiting the region and assisting in better conservation of the species. The length of the research is another issue that ought to receive concentration. An aspect that comes with this issue is the competency of the researcher. There are some researchers that are very poor at carrying out the required activities since they are not always after vital information but go out for the adventure while others just participate to earn money. Carrying out research on an animal is an activity that ought to take a considerable time. The

My topic is aging Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

My topic is aging - Essay Example Wrinkles on outward body appearance often indicate the arrival of old age in life forms. However, old age can be considered stunning since the process occurs in every person in the most genuine manner. Old age can be regarded beautiful if most populace expend these moments of their lives enjoying life with little or nothing to contemplate (Soozeqsh 1). Aging is beautiful given that the moment persons get born they immediately commence the aging progression. The process is innate, and little can be done to stop it (Soozeqsh 1). Old age is beautiful given that it brings value to every aspect of existence since it assists the young live accordingly. Aging of the houses in certain circumstances may be considered beautiful, especially in the case where the house has aesthetic value relevant to a certain period in human existence. These houses offer a constant reminder to the present generation of the yester years of their parents or relative lives. In certain circumstances, death of certain citizens sounds more of a legendary death than a normal death. Examples of such people are Jimi Hendrix and Marilyn Monroe deaths that are viewed as legendary deaths. However, destruction of certain boroughs through various activities such as warfare and erosion make a place appear older than it should be since it loses current structures that are related to it. Weathering also makes places to look older since the properties and structure in such a region are damaged or

Law (International Business) - Problem Question Essay

Law (International Business) - Problem Question - Essay Example In the case of Shipping Corporation of India Ltd v Gamlen Chemical Co (A/Asia) Pty Ltd (1980)147CLR 142 (High Court of Australia, 1980), the facts of the case was that the carrier – Shipping Corporation of India Ltd was contracted to transport goods to Gamlen from Sydney in Australia. During the ship’s passage it encountered heavy weather and rough seas in Australian waters. On arrival the goods were found to be in damaged. The shipper sued the carrier for breach of article 3(2) of the Hague-Visby Rules which requires that the goods be carefully loaded, handed, cared for and discharged. The court of Australia found that the damage to the goods was the result of a combination of factors involving perils at sea and improper stowage. Therefore the carrier was not allowed to invoke the Article 4 exceptions which allows for perils at sea. This was due to the carrier’s failure to exercise due diligence which was considered to be a concurrent or dominant cause of the da mage sustained. The carrier could not therefore deny responsibility for the losses suffered by the shipper in circumstances where the carrier’s failure to exercise due diligence was one of the causes of the losses incurred.

Nissan Report Essay Example for Free

Nissan Report Essay Company Overview Established in Yokohama, Kanagawa in 1933, Nissan Motors Co. Ltd currently manufactures vehicles in 20 countries and areas around the world, including Japan. Global unit sales in fiscal 2009 totalled 3.515 million vehicles. In addition to vehicles, Nissan also develops, manufactures and markets marine equipment. Nissan has a portfolio of two brands, NISSAN and INFINITI, worldwide. NISSAN vehicles are marketed in all major market worldwide. INFINITI was launched as a luxury car brand in North America in 1989. The INFINITI brand has since expanded to Middle East, Korea and Europe, and will continue to enter into new markets globally. Nissan builds high-quality cars that are safe and have the bold design and innovative technology to satisfy our customers’ needs. Vision Nissan: Enriching People’s Lives Mission statement Nissan provides unique and innovative automotive products and services that deliver superior measurable values to all stakeholders* in alliance with Renault. Long term goal Nissan wants to continue its quest to optimize product development and deliver highly innovative technology. Today, in various countries and regions around the world, they enjoy a stellar reputation for creating truly innovative vehicles and service programs. Short term goal The world is changing, and Nissan is adapting with it. Their short term goals are to harness the power thats inside Nissan to prepare solutions that their customers will want and value, now and in the years to come. Solutions such as: electric and fuel cell vehicles that are attractive, fun-to-drive cars with the appealing benefit of zero emissions; global entry cars that make mobility more accessible and affordable for all; and Innovative technological advances that are good for the environment, enhance safety, improve dynamic performance or provide greater life-on-board satisfaction. Organisational structure Nissan places high value on transparency, both internally and externally, in its corporate management. They focus consistently on the implementation of efficient management for the purpose of achieving clear and quantifiable commitments. In line with this principle, and in accordance with Japan’s Company Law and its related regulations, the Board of Directors has decided on the Internal Control Systems to pursue these goals and on its own basic policy. The board continually monitors the implementation status of these systems and the policy, making adjustments and improvements as necessary. One board member has also been assigned to oversee the Internal Control Systems as a whole. Nissan has adopted a system under which the Board of Statutory Auditors oversees the Board of Directors. The Statutory Auditors attend board and other key meetings, and also carry out interviews with board members to audit their activities. The Statutory Auditors regularly receive reports on the results of inspections and plans for future audits from independent accounting auditors, as well as exchange information to confirm these reports. The Statutory Auditors also receive regular reports from the Japan Internal Audit Office, making use of this information for their own audits. The organisational structure could also be explained with the help of the following diagram Here the Board of Directors overlooks the working of the CEO and President who is Carlos Ghosn. The CEO overlooks the working of the branch managers in various locations. Each branch manager handles a groups o VP marketing, VP production, VP finance, VP Public Relations, and VP Human Resource. Organisational Behaviour Nissan is deploying various activities under the banner of Blue Citizenship, which encapsulates their desire to preserve the blue Earth and to be a corporate citizen in harmonious coexistence with people and society. Those activities range from such global issues as the environment to contributing to communities, promoting diversity and making personal mobility available to as many people as possible. SUSTAINABILITY Nissan Green Program The history of Nissan taking environmental measures goes as far back as 1947. Since 1992, abiding to our environmental philosophy Symbiosis of People, Vehicle, and Nature, we have as an enterprise, been accelerating the activities pertaining to the said philosophy. At present we are promoting our mid-term environmental plan Nissan Green Program 2010, identifying the 3 crucial issues, and setting the ultimate goals of reducing CO2 emissions, cleaner (conservation of the atmosphere/water/earth) emissions, and resource circulation (the promoting of the 3 Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle). We are furthering our measures to achieve these goals. The 4 optimums, Nissan’s Powertrain Road Map In order to steadily reduce CO2 emissions, Nissan sees the total contribution of providing truthfully effective technology at an affordable price to its clients, while at the same time swiftly propagating these technologies, as crucial. That said, we believe the 4 optimums Investment in the optimum technology that fits the market needs, at the opportune moment, at the best value for the clients, as the basis of technology investment. Based on these 4 optimums, we will not only ultimately heighten the engine efficiency of petrol motor vehicles, but also proceed with the development and  investment of electrical vehicles which are zero-emission vehicles. Measures for a zero-emission vehicle For vehicle manufacturers, the best long-term policy that both creates demand and protects the environment, is to created a zero-emission vehicle that has no negative effects toward the environment. The Renault-Nissan Alliance sees the propagation and investment in electrical vehicles, which are zero-emission vehicles, as central to the corporate strategy, and committed to become a leader through electrical vehicles. The electrical vehicles that are being developed in Nissan will be introduced in the United States, Europe as well as in Japan in FY2010. By FY2012, there are plans to globally merchandise them. Lithium-ion Batteries Nissan had, at an early stage, taken interest in the development of motors, batteries, and inverters which are key technologies for electrical vehicles. Aiming to achieve the goals set forth in the Nissan Green Program 2010, we are striving to strengthen the developmental measures we have been taking up to this point. Additionally, we are working to develop technology for further practicability, and taking efforts in reducing their costs. In 2007, we established the Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (AESC) that deals with the production and sales of compact lithium-ion batteries. The batteries that are to be developed will be used within electrical vehicles, as well as hybrid vehicles and fuel cell vehicles. Quality At Nissan, we believe that the quality of our products allows us to build a relationship of mutual trust with our customers and is the foundation for continual growth. Product quality is far more than just the performance of Nissan vehicles. It means everything related to our car that brings satisfaction to our customers, from the moment of seeing and touching a Nissan car in the showroom to the support given by the sales staff and the post-purchase driving experience. Nissan quality also extends to after-sales inspections and repairs. We will continue to evaluate and improve all areas of our operations in order to provide the products and services that will constantly give satisfaction to our customers. Safety Shield Nissan aims to halve the number of fatal and serious injuries from accidents involving Nissan vehicles in Japan by 2015 compared with 1995. Based on analysis of real-world accidents, Nissan has been working progressively to design and engineer safer vehicles. Safety shield is an approach to provide continuous support against dangerous situations, by activating various barriers according to the circumstances, from normal driving to post-accident. We are advancing development based on even more sophisticated and proactive safety policy. PARTNERSHIP Yokohama mobility â€Å"Project ZERO† In March 2009, the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Yokohama City saw an agreement over the 5-year -plan, the `Yokohama Mobility Project Zero, which aims to realize the environment model city that is promoted by Yokohama City. In order to reduce CO2 emissions, this partnership will see cooperation in disseminating eco-drive, in addition to testing guidance routes that will contribute to reducing traffic, as well as propagating electrical cars. Additionally, Nissan is in works with Tokyo University in developing a joint industry-university research concerning vehicle transport that aims for the symbiosis of urban space and nature. In terms of the evaluation and the release of information concerning this times planned items, we are, in cooperation with Tokyo University, also furthering them. Yokohama City is planned to be one of the first markets where Nissans electrical vehicles will be supplied, similarly to the various regions throughout the world that have similar partnership agreements with the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Partnership regarding zero-emission mobility From January 2008, aiming for the realistic propagation of electrical vehicles, the Renault-Nissan Alliance concluded on the 40 cases (as of December 2009) of Partnership regarding zero-emission mobility along with governmental sectors, municipal sectors and other sectors. With this, we are working to prepare the social infrastructure such as by installing chargers, as well as taking into consideration benefit measures in times of purchasing the zero-emission vehicles. Through the cooperation with our partners throughout the world, we are contributing to a vehicle society that is both  people-friendly and considerate of the environment. Sky Project In Sky Project, which has been implemented since October 2006 in partnership with non-automobile industries and in cooperation with government agencies, Nissan, with the participation of customers, has been working to reduce the number of traffic accidents and alleviate traffic congestion by using intelligent transportation system (ITS). While providing information to cut the number of encounter head accidents and reduce driving speed in school zones and other areas, we investigate the potentiality for the alleviation of traffic congestion, realized through daily use of ITS, to improve effectiveness of energy use and reduce CO2 emissions. In Beijing, China, we have been implementing Star Wings, a project to develop new transportation information system, in cooperation with Beijing Traffic Information Center (BTIC), in order to alleviate traffic congestion and improve traffic conditions in Beijing and China. Wind power Beginning in 2007, Nissan became an active Y-green partner when it harnessed wind-power for use in its facilities in Japan. The company, through its Yokohma plant facility and the new Global Headquarters, seeks to utilize green energy in its facilities and implement local green energy for local consumption. Since November 2005, Nissan Motor Manufacturing Ltd. (UK) has been using a wind-power facility at its Sunderland plant. Addressing the key issues of Nissan Green Program 2010, the company is reducing C02 emissions by utilizing wind derived power in its facilities worldwide. ACCESSIBILITY BUI-2 (Best usability interior-2) BUI-2 (Best Usability Interior-2) is a concept car, whose interior has been created with a focus to design the way people feel so that all the elements can smoothly appeal to people as they engage in cars. For Nissan, three types of design interface design, colour and material design, and sensitivity quality design are broadly defined as interaction design. Through various research activities, we are making efforts to realize even more convenient and attractive interior designs. Lifecare vehicles (LVs) Nissan lifecare vehicles (LVs) help bring mobility to the elderly or those with physical disabilities. We regard LVs as an essential part of our line-up of cars rather than specialty vehicles, and we are enhancing the products and services available to them. As of the end of January 2009, in Japan there were 401 certified dealerships with LVs on display and advisory staff with expert knowledge of the vehicles, and a total of 5,520 LV advisors. There are dealerships in every prefecture of the country meeting the needs of customers and offering the chance to test-drive these vehicles. Since 2003, we have also been carrying out an annual campaign of LV trial rides for people who have only limited opportunities to get out and about, so that they too can experience the joy of mobility. COMMUNITY Corporate citizenship activities distinctive of Nissan Nissan endeavours to fulfil its role as a corporate citizen toward the realization of a sustainable society, while providing attractive products and services globally, under the vision of enriching peoples lives. We are thus advancing corporate citizenship activities in fields centered on three priority areas support for education, environmentally friendliness, and humanitarian assistance in order to contribute to the sustainability of society. We share our vision globally with Nissan employees around the world and strive to strengthen our relations with local communities by conducting activities responsive to the circumstances and needs of each country and region. Corporate citizenship in education field (Japan) Nissans corporate citizenship initiatives have been always focusing on Cultivating Future Generation. In education field, we have many programs such as Nissan Childrens Storybook and Picture Book Grand Prix with its long history, and Nissan Joyful Picture Book and Storybook Exhibition, and in addition, we started the new programs such as Nissan Monozukuri Caravan and Nissan Design Waku-Waku Studio, which utilize Nissans strength for those original programs. Organisational culture The diversity of Nissan’s employees is the driving force enabling them to meet the varied needs of their customers and to maintain sustainable growth. The employees create greater value by sharing their knowledge, based on their individual experiences and different ways of thinking, in response to the various challenges they all face. For these reasons, Nissan have made diversity a corporate strategy and strive to create an environment where all their employees—who numbered 169,298 at Nissan and its affiliates as of March 2010—can extend their individual talents to the fullest. SUPPORTING CAREER DESIGN Continually Improving Human-Resource Systems A company’s employees are its most important resource. So that both Nissan and its employees can reach their full potential, they constantly work to improve our human-resource systems. The evaluation-based remuneration system used to accurately gauge employee contributions is structured in a way that motivates them to set and achieve high goals. An employee’s salary is determined through a combination of performance evaluations, which measure how well the employee achieved certain goals (commitments), and competency evaluations, which measure such intangible variables as technical skill, knowledge and attitude. Support for Self-Designed Careers Nissan believes that employees should â€Å"design their own careers† and actively assists their efforts to do so. Employees in Japan meet with their supervisors twice a year to discuss their performance and competency evaluations, as well as to express their ideas on how to proceed in their career path. Employees in Japan also have the chance to take on the challenge of a new position through the Shift Career System (SCS) and the Open Entry System (OES). The SCS enables employees to apply for positions in other departments and work areas that interest them regardless of whether there is a position immediately available. The OES allows them to apply for all openly advertised positions. Around 250 employees applied for approximately 100 open posts during fiscal 2009, and roughly 80 of them were successful in getting the positions they applied for. Fostering Specialized Skills Helping employees develop specialized skills over the medium to long term is vital for a company to achieve sustainable growth. They introduced the Nissan Expert Leader System as a means of strengthening and fostering further development of specialized skills in a wide range of technical and nontechnical areas like purchasing and accounting. In fiscal 2009, the system’s fourth year, they focused on 91 fields of specialization, designating 42 employees as Expert Leaders and 2 management-level employees as Nissan Fellows. The Expert Leaders and Fellows make use of their specialized knowledge to contribute to Nissan’s business endeavours overall. In addition to sharing their knowledge with others via our corporate intranet and other communication tools, they contribute to the fostering of the next generation of experts by passing on their specialized skills in seminars and training courses. CREATING A CULTURE FOR LEARNING A Variety of Learning Opportunities As an organization that continues to grow through constant learning, Nissan supports employees’ personal growth with a proactive, systematic approach to human-resource development. The act of learning is one in which people stretch themselves to develop skills that create value. They believe that a corporate culture of learning cannot exist without the motivation to take part in this value creation. The Learning Navigation system on their intranet is one means of providing employees with opportunities for learning. This system lets employees search for information whenever they wish to develop specialized skills, receive training in management techniques, participate in e-learning programs or take distance-learning courses. The site is updated regularly to provide information our employees need to increase their skills and build their careers, meeting their growing thirst for knowledge. Management Institute The Nissan Learning Center Management Institute in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, was established with the aim of cultivating human resources with  the specialized skills and leadership qualities needed for future development. The institute contributes to the ongoing creation of Nissan value through a number of programs, including human-resource development seminars, which provide leadership training to pass on the company’s accumulated experience and knowledge to the next generation; cultural diversity workshops; and our Consortium Program, in which they invite other global companies to take part in cross-industry exchange. Moreover, the leaders of our business activities around the world who have taken part in such programs as our Nissan Way Workshops are now active in educating fellow employees in the Nissan Way—the crystallization of experience and knowledge gained through our company’s revival—demonstrating our commitment to promoting a corporate cult ure of learning. Global Training Centers With the globalization of production systems, manufacturers must ensure that all of their manufacturing sites maintain consistent standards of quality. Nissan established Global Training Centers (GTCs) at its Oppama and Yokohama Plants in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, and at its Sunderland Plant in the United Kingdom to educate trainers who share their knowledge at Nissan plants around the world. Trainees selected from among all employees at Nissan’s production facilities worldwide are brought to the GTCs to take part in the company’s Master Trainer Program. Upon finishing the program they are certified as Master Trainers and charged with instructing other employees at Regional Training Centers using a globally standardized curriculum and materials. As of the end of March 2010, 466 Master Trainers were hard at work passing on their technical skills to local employees at Nissan plants worldwide. Nissan’s accumulated know-how has been put into audio-visual form as an educational tool, available in five different languages, for global-standards training at GTCs. They also conduct â€Å"Nissan DNA† training seminars for all management-level employees at our production sites, working to strengthen skills that contribute to improved quality and lower costs and to foster the human resources that can carry out more efficient management of production operations. INTERNAL COMMUNICATION Employee Surveys Nissan carries out surveys to get employee input and suggestions for improvements, using the results to help improve the company’s management quality and employee motivation. From the results of these surveys, they identify the strengths of the company as a whole and those of individual divisions, as well as areas for improvement. They then work to make improvements that will lead to the creation of a better work environment for our employees and to continued growth for the company. The results of these efforts are analyzed for the company as a whole and for each region and department. Based on these analyses, each level of management formulates and carries out action plans tailored to specific needs. Enhancing Communication Tools Nissan introduced a corporate intranet system called WIN (Workforce Integration @ Nissan) in 2005 as a tool to promote communication and information sharing. Since then they have continued to update the system with new technologies while encouraging employees to make active use of this tool for internal communication and collaborative activities. They have expanded the WIN network beyond Japan, North America and Europe to include other markets and our major business partners. They also use internal newsletters and in-house video broadcasts to provide a variety of information to be shared by all employees at Nissan production sites around the world with no difference in time. Employee-Executive Exchange Nissan holds opinion-exchange meetings involving executives and employees as a means of building trust through clear communication between these two groups, as well as among employees themselves. These meetings, held at Nissan’s corporate headquarters in Japan as well as the company’s business offices in China, North America and other parts of the world, give executives a venue for informing employees of the current situation of the company and delivering management messages. They also provide employees with opportunities to ask questions and voice their concerns in a direct and open manner. They plan to continue these meetings as an important channel for active communication. Ethical Issues Global Educational Activities to Promote Compliance As a means of fostering compliance awareness throughout the company, Nissan has established groups and placed officers in charge of promoting compliance policy in each region where it operates. We place special emphasis on education to ensure that all employees have a correct understanding of the Code of Conduct and, as a result, make fair, transparent judgments in the course of their duties. To ensure full understanding of the code in Japan, all employees, including executives, take an elearning or video training course based on the Japanese version of the Nissan Code of Conduct—â€Å"Our Promises,† instituted in April 2004—after which they sign an agreement to abide by it. The revised parts of the code in fiscal 2010 were in response to legal amendments and retained all employees since fiscal 2010 to further strengthen the spirit of compliance within the company. Education programs to promote compliance are held regularly for all employees in North America, and a set of universal guidelines has been drawn up for each country in Europe. Compliance-related training is also being carried out in the General Overseas Markets based on guidelines that take into account conditions in each of those countries. Moreover, all group-affiliated companies have introduced their own codes based on the Nissan Code of Conduct. Additionally, they have created sets of internal regulations covering the global prevention of insider trading and the management of personal information. Nissan seeks to heighten awareness of compliance companywide through such measures as well as various education and training programs. Our Stance against Discrimination and Harassment Item 6 of Nissan’s Global Code of Conduct, â€Å"Value Diversity and Provide Equal Opportunity,† is our requirement to accept value and respect the diversity  to be found among our employees, business partners, customers and communities where we do business, and to reject discrimination and harassment in all their forms, no matter how minor they may be. Nissan executives and employees must respect the human rights of others, and may not discriminate against nor harass others based on race, nationality, gender, religion, physical capability, age, and place of origin or other reason; nor may they allow such a situation to go unchecked if discovered. We also work to ensure that all employees, both male and female, can work in an environment free from sexual and other forms of harassment. PEST analysis PEST analysis is a useful strategic tool for understanding market growth or decline, business position, potential and direction for operations. The use of PEST analysis can be seen effective for business and strategic planning, marketing planning, business and product development and research reports. PEST also ensures that company’s performance is aligned positively with the powerful forces of change that are affecting business environment. PEST is useful when a company decides to enter its business operation into new markets and new countries. The use of PEST, in this case helps to break free of unconscious assumptions, and help to effectively adapt to the realities of the new environment. Looking at the current condition of Japan, it is difficult to mention anything about its political, economical, technological or sociocultural since there is no stability in the country at the moment, due to the natural disaster crises they are facing. SWOT Analysis Strength: 1) Global Brand: According to business Week Global Brand Scorecard Nissan is the fastest growing automotive brand. Nissan’s brand equity was valued at $3,108 million in 2006. Some of the company’s passenger car models include Maxima, Sentra, Altima, Versa, Z Roadstar and Z Coupe. Some of its truck models are Quest, Armada, Pathfinder, Murand and Xterra. Brand strength provides competitive advantage that can offset the increasing competition. Over the last five years company has establish the global brand by focusing on the brand pyramid and dynamics that caters the silky design, the vibrant experience, the interplay between serenity and driving pleasure has reached a high level of alignment and consistency. That makes it easier to communicate about the brand and specific features of its model. 2) Renault-Nissan Alliance: The alliance has provided advantages to both companies. They can move into new markets faster and with lower costs because they dont have to build new plants. (Renault builds cars in Nissans Mexico plants and Nissan uses Renaults Brazil plant and distribution networks) The companies are collaborating on building common platforms, components and engines, and each company leads engine design in their area of expertiseRenault in diesel and Nissan in gasoline. And they have increased purchasing power because they buy components for six million cars not three as will be in the case of Nissan alone. The alliance has so far boosted the profitability, market capitalization and sales in 192 countries for both partners. CEO and president of Renault to his titles in 2005, says hell rely on the strengths of two distinct work forces: French innovation in concept stages and Japanese dedication to process in manufacturing. 3) Most fuel efficient car: Nissan is known to m ake the most fuel efficient cars over the years and this has become one of its major strengths in the competitive market. Due to its fuel efficient car, the demand for them has also increased over the past few years. Weakness: 1) Product Innovation time lag: Nissan launched two new or redesigned vehicles, in comparison to 14 in the three previous years. Nissan has misjudged its model strategy in the United States over the past few years. Like the other Japanese automakers, the company was a relative late-comer to the countrys high-profit margin and high-volume pick-up markets. Nissans late entry meant that it has suffered from the decline in the sector as a result of rising fuel prices in Japan, While Toyota and Nissan have been well placed to benefit from a shift in emphasis in Japan market towards compact sales as a result of the Scion and Civic models respectively, Nissan at the moment has no competitive offering in this segment. However, there  are a number of new models that should reinvigorate the companys fortunes in the United States, including the Sentra and Altima mid-size sedans, as well as its luxury-brand Infiniti G35 sedan. The company also desperately needs new offering in key segments in the European market. The Almera C-segment hatchback and Primera D-segment sedan are hopelessly outmoded and largely ignored by European buyers, although the new Note small multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) should provide Nissan with a sales success in Europe. 2) Lack of Diesel Technology: In the Japanese market, diesel accounts for only 0.4% of vehicles sold (Rowley, 2006). In contrast, diesel is very popular and its share in overall sales has been increasing. In the year ending 1st January 2006 the number of diesel cars sold increased by 7.5%. Some analysts believe that the diesel market will account for more than 80% of total vehicle sales in Europe by the end of 2008. Diesel technology has been improving significantly over the past decade reducing emissions, fuel consumption and cost. As Nissan’s home country has a low demand for diesel engines, Nissan lacks the technology and experience to produce diesel engines of comparative quality. Opportunity: 1) Asia market: Lower penetration coupled with strong rise in income levels, led to continuous jumps in car sales in markets like china and India. In fact china, followed by India is estimated to be major growth driver in the next decade. Hence it is necessary for global player to be present in these countries. Therefore all global players either have products for these markets or planning to develop products to enter into these markets. In India in year 2004-05 domestic sales of car and utility vehicles has crossed the 1 million mark. 2) Relocate its manufacturing unit to reduce cost: The Japanese car maker has stepped up their policy of producing where demand exists. Car making is an industry situated at a forefront of globalization and major player is accelerating their cross border activities. Manufacturing units in America and Europe have huge capacities in line with their vast domestic automobile  output. While this offered them the benefits of scale, the continuous sluggish growth in their local market and their inflationary increase in production cost, especially wage cost. Adoption of cost reduction measure became imperative for players to survive. China, India and Thailand have been regarded as the Low Cost Production bases with their unique offering to the outsourcers. Low cost country will provide them the global clientele and technology and also have synergetic operation. Area of opportunity for India lies in the products which have high level of design and engineering requirements, low level of auto mation and significant assembly requirement. 3) Renault-Nissan Purchasing Organization (RNPO): The RNPO, which was established in 2001 in the early stages of the alliance, was one of the key ways in which Renault-Nissan would combine their resources to create a more efficient organization. Currently Nissan and Renault share 60% of the same part and raw material suppliers. This has led Nissan to achieve greater purchasing power and has served to reduce costs and reduce the bargaining power of suppliers. There still remains significant opportunity through the RNPO to decrease costs and provide increased competitive advantage. Threats: 1) Cross-Cultural Disharmony: As Nissan and Renault become further integrated with one another, the risk of cross-cultural disharmony increases. If disharmony occurs then, as occurred at DaimlerChrysler, overall company performance may be reduced and the current strengths that the Alliance provides may become instabilities. Nissan is currently working to reduce the likelihood through its Business Way program but corporate and national culture takes a long time to change. 2) Rising Commodity Prices: Due to the economic expansion of China, changes in commodity prices could affect the costs incurred by Nissan. Over the past 12 months, the price of steel used in car production has risen by nearly 30% (London Metal Exchange, 2006). Nissan has taken steps to reduce the effect of rising steel prices; in 2000, Nissan began using hot dip zinc coated steel and converted to less expensive steel in 2002, which saved about $16 million per year (Nissan Motor Co., 2004). This however, has done little to  reduce the upward pressure on vehicle costs and prices. As this increase in cost has been passed on to the consumer, demand for new vehicles has reduced. This threatens Nissans viability in the region. 3) Market saturation: With overall industry sales number stagnant, if not declining in key economies term, the overall automobile industry has been significantly impacted. Due to overall market saturation, the individual company new product development strategy towards market expansion is changing from iterative year on year model changes to drastic innovation. The emergence of SUV market few years back is an evidence of how product and market innovation has changed the very composition of US auto market. Marketing Strategies TARGET MARKET Nissan’s target market will be the low-level income group and middle class. Whereas Infiniti’s target market is people looking for luxury, great driving experience with unparallel appeal. With constant awareness and education about Nissan affordability and safety features, different type of group could be acquired resulting in increase of brand loyal consumers. People are more aware and therefore, they are constantly more particular when deciding which car to purchase. With strategic advertisement, consumers can be attracted with its latest features and a new image Nissan will provide to owners. NISSAN TARGET MARKET: GEOGRAPHIC SEGMENT The major concern of Nissan is to capture all the district headquarters of the country resulting in its coverage of almost all over the country. NISSAN TARGET MARKET: PSYCHOGRAPHICS With new image Nissan will provide to its buyers, owners will feel more confident and proud considering that Nissan is an international organization with strong background resulting driving Nissan a status symbol. Also safety and comfort are big factors of considerations in a consumers mind so Nissan by focusing on these factors will attract safety and comfort conscious people. Seeing its potential, consumers will most likely shift to Nissan. NISSAN TARGET MARKET: DEMOGRAPHICS Primary Target market belongs to middle class, upper middle class and low earning income people in society, falling in income bracket of below $ 2500. Also the target will be people from 25 60year old who are major automobile buyers. DISTRIBUTION STRATEGIES Basically there are two types of distribution channels available: Direct distribution and In-direct distribution PROMOTION STRATEGIES Promotion is one of the most important factors of marketing; it is done to affect the consumer behaviour in order to achieve sales and increase product image. In promotion the major task is to make consumers aware of the product and to attract consumer towards the product by highlighting the advantages of the product. Also it keeps consumers aware and well informed about product’s features and improvements. ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH An extensive market research will be conducted to have better idea about consumers’ perception about Nissan and its competitors. For this purpose Nissan will acquire services of marketing and research agencies to better analyze market environment. This will enable Nissan to learn about the consumers’ behaviour, how they perceive us and compare with the competitor. The media of the advertising a product is always chosen after the market environment research to get knowledge that if the target audience is interested in that mode of advertisement or not. ADVERTISING To advertise the product better and create awareness about product; Nissan will use different advertisement methods to approach the consumers. The diversity of advertisement channels will help in reaching the masses of different mindsets. Following Advertisement methods will be used: †¢ Nisan will use print and electronic media to introduce the product to consumers. †¢ Special events will be sponsored by Nissan. †¢ Use of Billboards, flex signs etc for massive introduction of car’s launch. †¢ Special road shows and displays will be set at dealers outlets. †¢ Prize contest will be conducted to attract people towards the car. Financial Review Net sales For fiscal year 2009, consolidated net revenues decreased 10.9%, to  ¥7.517 trillion, which reflected the strong yen offsetting the increase in sales volume. Operating profit Consolidated operating profit totalled  ¥311.6 billion, compared to a negative  ¥137.9 billion in fiscal year 2008. Net income Net non-operating expenses increased  ¥69.1 billion to  ¥103.9 billion from  ¥34.8 billion in fiscal 2008. Net income reached  ¥42.4 billion, an increase of  ¥276.1 billion from fiscal year 2008. Major competitors In Asia the 3 big of the automobile industry is Nissan, Toyota and Honda. But Nissan Motors major competitor is Toyota Motor Corporation. Toyota, much larger than Nissan and possessing deeper financial pockets, was better positioned to sustain the losses incurred from the global economic downturn. Consequently, Nissan entered its ninth decade of operation facing formidable obstacles. The first financial decline came in 1991, when the companys consolidated operating profit plummeted 64.3 percent to  ¥125 billion (US$886 million). Six months later, Nissan registered its first pretax loss since becoming a publicly traded company in 1951 ¥14.2 billion during the first half of 1992. The losses mounted in the next two years, growing to  ¥108.1 billion in 1993 and  ¥202.4 billion by 1994, or nearly US$2 billion. To arrest the precipitous drop in company profits, Nissans management introduced various cost-cutting measuressuch as reducing its materials and manufacturing costswhich sav ed the company roughly US$1.5 billion in 1993, with an additional US$1.2 billion savings realized in 1994. Nissan also became the first Japanese company to close a plant in Japan since World War II and cut nearly 12,000 workers in Japan, Spain, and the United States from its payroll. Nissan also was staggering under a debt load that reached as high as US$32 billion and threatened to bankrupt the company. Only intervention from Nissans lead lender, Industrial Bank of Japan, kept the company afloat. There were some positive signs in the early 1990s to inspire hope for the future. Nissans 1993 sales increased nearly 20 percent, vaulting the car maker past Honda Motor Co., Ltd. to reclaim the number two ranking in import sales to the all-important U.S. market. Much of this gain was attributable to robust sales of the Nissan Altima, a replacement for its Stanza model, which was introduced in 1992 and marketed in the United States as a small luxury sedan priced under $13,000. To the joy of Nissans management, however, the Altima typically was purchased with various options added on, giving the company an additional $2,000 to $3,000  per car. Nissan also was encouraged by strong sales of its Quest minivan, which was introduced in the United States in 1992 and had been developed jointly with Ford Motor, which marketed its own version, the Ford Windstar. Nissans losses continued through the fiscal year ending in March 1996, cumulating to US$3.2 billion over a four-year span. The companys return to profitability in fiscal 1997 came about in part because of the cost-cutting program and in part from the yens dramatic depreciation against the dollar. Despite the return to the black, Nissan remained a troubled company. From its 1972 peak of 34 percent, the companys share of the Japanese auto market had fallen to 20 percent by early 1997. Competition from the more financially stable Toyota and Honda played a factor in this decline, but Nissan also hurt itself by failing to keep pace with changing consumer tastes both in Japan and in overseas markets. For example, Nissan was behind its rivals in adding minivans and sport utility vehicles to its product line-up, having for years dismissed these sectors as passing fads. Meanwhile, minivans, sport utility vehicles, and station wagons accounted for half of all passenger car sales in Japan by early 1997, up from just more than ten percent in 1990. In the U.S. market, the Altima lost ground to two midsized rivals, the Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry, because Nissans model was smaller and thus less desirable. In the luxury car sector, Toyotas Lexus line became the hot brand in the United States, triumphing over the Infiniti. Because of these and other factors, Nissan returned to the red for fiscal years 1998 and 1999. Although the losses were not as large as earlier in the decade, the companys continued sky-high debt loadwhich stood at US$19.7 billion in late 1998did not bode well for Nissans future. Business Strategies, Keeping Competitive Edge 1) Product Strategy To secure our profitability and sustainable growth based on our future product line up plan, in our product strategy developing process, we are monitoring the impacts of some different types of risk scenarios such as global market changes and demand deteriorations to our future profitability (COP) based on our plan. 1. Drastic decline of total global demand, past examples as reference case. 2. A demand shift between vehicle segments drastically faster than our assumptions in our mid-term planning. 3. A demand shift from the matured markets to the emerging markets drastically faster than our assumptions in our mid-term planning. We periodically monitor the impact of these scenarios to secure our future profitability and sustainable growth, and also update our future line-up plans periodically based on the results. To improve the robustness of our product line up against these risks, we take following countermeasures as our main direction when planning our product strategy. Expand availability of individual products across markets to mitigate the risk of single market demand fluctuations. Increase volume and efficiency per product through a consolidation and rationalization of the portfolio to lower the breakeven point and thereby reduce the profit risk of global Total Industry Volume declines. Prepare a more balanced product portfolio meeting needs in a broader range of markets and segments reducing reliance on specific large markets. 2) Quality of Products Services Nissan is working on the corporate task named â€Å"Quality Leadership† which aims for achieving top level quality by FY2012. In this project, actions are carried out with numerical targets for following 4 areas. 1. Perceived quality attractiveness: Customers’ impression on vehicle’s quality when customer looks it at a dealer’s show room 2. Product quality: Quality of product itself based on the experiences as an owner of the vehicle 3. Sales service quality: Quality related to behaviour or attitude of sales staff or quality of service when inspection and maintenance 4. Quality of management: internal management quality to improve employees’ motivation which supports above 3 qualities For example, target of â€Å"Product quality† is to become top level at Most Influential Indicator (MII) of each region. In order to achieve the target, it is broken down to internal indicators by model which correlate with MII. Progress of all quality improvement activities are monitored with those  internal indicators. All the actions are taken based on rotating PDCA cycle, such as, the progress of activities are monthly reviewed by â€Å"Quality Committee† chaired by EVP and necessary actions are decided. Total picture of â€Å"Quality Leadership† on global base is monitored and discussed at the Global Quality Meeting chaired by COO annually. 2 years passed since this project started and it is going well. We are confident that we can achieve the target by FY2012. With respect to new model project, in order to achieve the quality target of each project, milestone meetings set at each key process of design, preparation for production and production, confirm key check points, such as achievement of quality targets, adoption of measures to prevent recurrence of past problem, adoption of measures for potential risks related to new technology / new mechanism / design change. Commercial production can be started after confirmation at â€Å"SOP (Start of Production) Judgment Meeting†, which confirms all issues are solved and quality target can be achieved. Final decision that the model can be sold is made at â€Å"Delivery Judgment Meeting†, after confirmation of quality of commercial production and preparedness for service / maintenance. As described above, Nissan is implementing thorough quality check before new model launch. Nissan is progressing quality improvement activities also after launch by gathering quality information from markets and prompt deployment of countermeasures. In case of occurrence of safety or compliance issues, necessary actions such as recall are implemented with close cooperation with market side team based on the decision by independent process from management. Occurred incidents are deeply investigated, analyzed and feed backed to models on the way of production or development for prevention of recurrence In addition to above described activities, such as quality assurance at new model project and quality improvement activities on daily basis, the â€Å"Quality Risk Management† framework has been newly developed from FY2009.  This is the high level system to ensure successful quality management for on-going and future projects. This includes assessment of quality related risks, evaluation of risk level, assignment of responsible person based on the level and to clarify organization for follow up. These processes are implemented at â€Å"Quality Risk Management Committee† chaired by EVP twice a year. 3) Compliance and Reputation As described above, Nissan produced the Nissan Global Code of Conduct for all employees of the Nissan group worldwide. To ensure thorough understanding of the code, training and education program such as e-learning is improved and compliant situation is monitored by Global Compliance Committee. Nissan has also adopted the internal whistle blowing system (Easy Voice System). This allows any employees to submit opinions, questions, requests or suspected compliance issue directly to Nissan’s management. Additionally, Nissan created sets of internal regulations covering the Global Prevention of Insider Trading and the management of personal information. Nissan keeps effort to prevent reputation risk to the company by continuous implementation of such measures as various education and training programs. Conclusion As the automobile industry is booming, It is necessary to keep up with the competition. The only way to compete with the competitors is to come out with innovative technology, fuel efficient cars, and luxury looking yet affordable cars. Nissan has not only concentrated on making cars but also provided their support to various stakeholders. Its working has benefited the environment by taking many environmental initiatives such as starting the Nissan Green Program 2010. The company also has worked towards effectively and efficiently developing their employees in terms of specialisation, or giving them a work-life balance. In line with its vision of Enriching People’s Lives, Nissan’s desire is to provide attractive products and services to customers worldwide while at the same time fulfilling its responsibility as a corporate citizen to help realize a sustainable society.

Heart Disease In Women Health And Social Care Essay

Heart Disease In Women Health And Social Care Essay Heart disease is one of the leading causes of mortality in women across the world Rollini. In the United States, cardiovascular disease Carey, specifically coronary heart disease, is the leading cause of death among both men and women [nih coronary heart disease, Rollini]. Death from a cardiac-related event is more common than death from all forms of cancer combined. However, even though more women than men die from coronary heart disease [Carey], heart disease itself is still commonly considered to be a male disease. Historically, medicine has utilized the man as the standard, even when treating women [xhyheri]. Therefore, there is the likelihood that it is under-diagnosed in women. This is because women suffer symptoms and respond to diagnostic testing differently than do men. Women also experience outcomes that are different than those men experience following intervention. Heart disease is a term that is frequently used interchangeably with the term cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease commonly refers to those conditions that involve blocked or narrowed blood vessels that can subsequently lead to heart attack, stroke, or angina. There are other heart conditions that can affect the hearts muscle, beating rhythm, or valves, such as infections, that are also thought of as heart disease [mayoclinic]. Much of heart disease can be treated or prevented by making healthy lifestyle choices, such as a healthy diet, exercise, not smoking, and watching how much one drinks. As of present, few studies specifically examine heart disease in women. Women in fact represent less that 30% of study population in the majority of clinical trials [Rollini]. The research that has been conducted has indicated that women are less likely to be diagnosed or treated as well as men [xhyheri]. Additionally, studies have indicated that women react differently to drugs typically prescribed to cardiovascular disease. Additional research involving women, along with gender-specific analysis is needed. This would include the incorporation of more women into cardiac trials as well as into observiational studies, and the usage of statistical techniques that enable testing for certain sex interactions and provide information about differences in response to treatment that are sex-specific. Heart disease in women Heart disease is the foremost cause of morbidity and mortality in women. However it is often under-recognized by both patients and providers, as women believe that the major killer and therefore the disease they need to be on the lookout for is cancer. Additionally, heart disease is still in large part considered a male disease, and the main emphasis in heart disease research and clinical practice has gnereally focused on men (Stranges). However, a major shift has occurred recently, with greater recognition of the clinical significance of cardiovascular disease in women [1,5 in Stranges]. The realization of the importance of cardiovascular disease in women has also been accompanied by a growing awareness of differences in risk factors, treatment, preventative strategies, and prognosis of the disease [1, 5, 12-15 in Stranges] between the genders. Some cardio-metabolic risk factors are either unique or more prominent in women than they are in men [5]. For instance, preeclampsia is lined to an increased risk of various cardiovascular outcomes later on in life [17]. Additionally such conditions as autoimmune diseases and depression can contribute in a disproportionate way to cardiovascular risk in women [5, stranges]. The prevalence of a number of traditional risk factors are also different for women than they are for men. For example, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus is greater among women in the U.S., primarily as a result of a decrease of level of physical activity as well as a difference in longevity between the genders [2, 5,18 in Stranges]. In fact, type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance are recognized as very strong risk factors for cardiovascular disease in women [19]. Additionally, type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance may increase the risk of recurrent cardiovascular events following the first acute myocardial infarction, particularly in women [20 stranges]. Hypertension also tends to be higher in older women, which contributes to the greater morbidity and mortality in women from stroke than in men [2, 21 Stranges]. Additionally, atrial fibrillation is a primary risk factor for ischemic stroke in women [5, 21], which has led to the development of management guidelines designed to prevent stroke in women [22]. Epidemiology Heart disease is one of the leading causes of mortality across the world. In the United States, a woman dies from a heart related episode every minute [Rollini], and despite declining trends seen in many countries over the past 40 years in both men and women, cardiovascular disease is still the leading cause of mortality in both men and women [1-3 stranges]. Cardiovascular disease in fact is the cause of a greater number of deaths than all other chronic conditions combined, including cancer, neurodegenerative and respiratory diseases, and accidents [2]. Approximately 1 in every 3 women (34.9%) in the U.S. has some kind of cardiovascular disease. The percentage for men is slightly higher at 37.6% [zhang]. Approximately 1 in every 2.7 women will die of a cardiovascular disease; this is compared with approximately 1 out of every 4.6 women who will die of cancer [1 in zhang] Although age-adjusted mortality rates of cardiovascular disease are higher in men than in women, the total number of cardiovascular disease related deaths has been consistently higher in women than in men for the past two decades, primarily due to a longer life expectancy as well as a larger proportion of elderly women [1,2 stranges]. Additionally, in the United States more hospitalizations occur for heart failure and stroke in women as compared to men [2] Recent evidence indicates an increasing trend in coronary heart disease mortality in younger women. In U.S. women ages 35 44 years of age, coronary heart disease mortality rates have increased an average of 1.3% each year since 1997 [4]. These trends are most likely driven in part by the obesity and diabetes problem in the U.S., but other contributors include a decrease in physical activity and an increase in the prevalence of hypertension [4]. The escalation in prevalence of large scale cardiovascular disease risk factors in younger adults, primarily hypertension and obesity, as well as the leveling off or possible reversal of cardiovascular mortality trends is happening in the U.S. as well as in areas around the world, including the Mediterranean and Asia. These regions are classically associated with healthier dietary choices and lifestyles (6 -11 stranges] Specific to the disease burden and the specific aspects of cardiobascvular disease in women, the American Heart Association developed evidence-based guidelines specifically for women [12 15 stranges]. The most recent update of these guidelines was published in 2011 [12] and represented a major contribution to the field of cardiovascular disease management. The focus of the guideline shifted from evidence based to effectiveness based, and considered both harms/costs and benefits of preventive intervention [12]. This shift indicates a major evolution from the guidelines revised in 2007, which were based mainly on the clinical benefits of intervention for cardiovascular disease prevention in women [15]. Additionally, the 2011 guidelines introduced ideal cardiovascular health as the lowest risk category, meaning that the presence of ideal levels of cardiovascular risk factors and adoption of a healthy lifestyle is most likely to be associated with favorable outcomes and a nicer quality of life, as well as increased longevity [50]. However, only a very small percentage of U.S. women will be classified as being at ideal cardiovascular health [51]. Differences in short term prognosis and clinical presentation between men and women are evident with cardiovascular disease. Especially in younger women, higher fatality rates have been seen during the 30 days first following an acute cardiovascular event, as compared with younger men [31, 32 stranges]. There has also been an ongoing debate on the reasons cardiovascular disease is managed differently in men and women [33-35], although there has been an improvement in the quality of care and in outcomes for women in recent years who have been hospitalized for cardiovascular disease [36 stranges]. There is some belief that gender disparities are the result of lower awareness of cardiobascular disease risk in women, as well as a delay in emergency services access. However, the gender gap has been reduced over time [37 stranges]. There is still work to be done, though, since very few clinical trials publish results that are sorted by sex. Additionally, researchers frequently utilize historical data in comparing clinical characteristics and treatment in both men and women, and many early trials had an upper cutoff age of 65 years, which excluded many women, since women develop cardiovascular disease on average ten years later than do men. Also of concern is that the demographics of the U.S. and in fact the world are changing, which will mean that practitioners must consider a greater diversity of patients. Added to the well-known classifications of race and geographic origin as well as ethnic origin, there are other facets of diversity that must be considered. These include age, language, literacy, disability, socioeconomic status, religious affiliation, occupational status, and culture. Not only do these factors affect how cardiovascular disease presents and progresses, they also often affect the level of care the individual receives. A report done by the Institute of medicine states that differences in treatment in women do exist even when controlling for such factors as comorbidities and insurance status [52 from mosca]. Pervasive disparities in the treatment of cardiovascular problems are a serious public health issue in the U.S. in spite of the marked declines in mortality that have been observed on a national scale over hthe past several decades. These disparities in particular have an adverse impact on the clinical outcomes and quality of life for African American and Hispanic women, a fact which must be recognized by practitioners. Care that is sensitive to cultural difference includes the revision of healcare delivery to meet the specific needs of a patient population that is incredibly diverse. Tehrefore diversity in this context of healthcare means that all individuals must receive equitable care, regardless of any barriers that may exist [57=59 mosca]. The main cause of these barriers to equitable care includes lack of understanding about patients health beliefs, cultural values, and frequently the inability to communicate symptoms accurately in what to many of these women is a foreign language [53-55 mosca] General guidelines for diagnosis and treatment apply across all groups of women; however, it is important to note that risk factors such as hypertension are more prevalent in African American women. Also, diabetes mellitus is more prevalent in Hispanic women [6 from Mosca]. Most notably, the most coronary heart death rates and the greatest overall cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality occur in Aftrican American women. This means that mortality from cardiovascular events in these women is more similar to those seen in men than those seen in other groupings of women. This simply underscores tat need for greater preventative efforts in some groupings of women as well as a different approach taken to diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease, an approach more tailored to each specific grouping. Deaths from cardiovascular disease have decreased in all groupings of women. However, Hispanics have the lowest percentage of deaths from cardiovascular events (21.7%) as comared with non-Hispanics (26.3%) [62 mosca]. Hispanics also have a longer life expectancy at 83.1 years compared with the 80.4 year life expectancy for non-Hispanic white women and the 76.2 years for non-Hispanic black women [63 mosca]. This means that cardiovascular complications due to age are a greater consideration for Hispanic women. Age is not only a consideration for Hispanic women, however. The life continuum of women frequently reflects different events that are approached with different levels of stress both physical and mental than those that affect men. These events include such conditions as pregnancy. Therefore, it is important to consider all facets of diversity when practitioners care for women with cardiovascular disease, to avoid a disparity in care [64-66 mosca]. Etiology Cardiovascular disease is largely caused by risk factors such as unhealthy lifestyle choices. Many of the causes for most forms of cardiovascular disease can be treated or prevented by making healthy lifestyle changes. These causes include: Pathophysiology of heart disease It is of utmost importance for the practitioner to recognize that womens hearts are different from mens hearts. Whiel this area of study is somewhat new, it is known that women have smaller herats as well as smaller arteries than men. Researchers from Columbia University and NY Presbyterian also believe that women have a different internal rhythmicity to the pace of their hearts, which in general causes the heart of a woman to beat faster than the heart of a man. The researchers also belive that a womans heart may take longer to relax following each beat. Additinoally, some surgeons have hypothesized that the reason that women have a 50% higher chance of dying during heart surgery as compared to men may be related to a fundamental difference in the way a womans heart works. These differences may also be linked to the fact that women are more likely than are men to die after their first myocardial infarction [Ricciotti]. Approximately 25% of men die in the first year following their f irst myocardial infarctino, compared with 38% of women [Krupa online]. Women are also approsimately twice as likely to experience a second myocardial infarction within 6 years of the first. Additionally, women are approximately twice as likely to die following bypass surgery. From Ricciotti online Heart disease itself therefore affects the hearts of women in different ways than it does men. Following a heart attack, a womans heart is more likely to sustain its systolic function effectively. C. Noel Bairey Merz, the Director of the Womens Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Heart institute, has suggested that this reflects that cardiovascular disease affects the microvasculature in women, while in men it affects the microvasculature [Krupa]. Conventional research has indicated that the most prevalent form of cardiovascular disease is coronary artery disease, where plaques narrow or block the major arteries of the heart, which in turn cuts off the supply of oxygen to the heart. The duration and severity of the impairment determines the severity of the acute event unstable angina or myocardial infarction can result. This ultimately affecst the hearts ability to pump blood correctly. However, Bairey Merz found that womens hearts were much less likely than were mens to lose the ability to pump blood following a myocardial infarction. Additionally, women were much less likely to present with coronary artery disease that was obstructive. This led Bairey Merz to conclude that in women the oxygen deprivation to the heart and the ensuing damage is more likely to happen when the small blood vessels become dysfunctional, as opposed to the major arteries [Krupa-online]. Bairey Merz further believes this is a major reason why women are misdiagnosed or suffer adverse heart events, beause practitioners typically look for the patterns of cardiovascular disease progression that are present in men as opposed to searching for patterns that are present in women. The Womens Ischemic Syndrome Evaluation (WISE) study concurred and has indicated that women may experience chest pain and abnormal stress testing even when there is no critical, flow limiting lesion (>50% luminal stenosis in a coronary artery) present in one of the major arteries. In this study, 60% of women who underwent coronary angiography did not have a lesion present. Even without experiencing critical blood flow problems, women in the study without lesions experienced persistent symptoms. The persistence of the symptoms, combined with abnormal stress testing results was therefore attributed to endothelial dysfunction and disease affecting the microvasculature. A number of factors may contribute to endothelial dysfunction and disease affecting the microvasculature. Hypertension, LDL cholesterol, diabetes, the chemicals in tobacco, circulating vasoactive amines, and infections can all contribute. Women are not beyond danger regarding plaque and disruption of forward blood flow in the arteries, however. This is primarily because women have smaller coronary arteries than do men, even after correcting for total body surface area [7 Kusnoor]. Therefore, anything that affects flow may prove to be critical. Additionally, women are two times more likely than men to have plaque erosion with subsequent blood clot formation [8 kusnoor]. From Kusnoor online bookmarked Risk Factors From Schenk-Gustaffsen Risk factors for heart disease are roughly the same for both sexes; however, gender specific differences are present (Rollini). There are some unique risk factors that exist for women; older age at presentation is a major risk factor, as women are more likely to suffer from comorbities, including diabetes and hypertension. Given the fact that 6 out of every 10 deaths [schenk] from cardiovascular disease in women can be prevented, it is extremely important to understand the risk factors associated with the disease in women. According to the InterHeart study [2 schenck] there are nine factors that are responsible for 90% of all cardiovascular disease cases. These factors are: Smoking Stress Dyslipidemia Diabetes Hypertension Obesity Poor diet, particularly one that does not include sufficient intake of fruits and vegetables Physical inactivity Consumption of alcohol in excess The same cardiovascular risk factors have been used in risk calculations for the past 40 years, despire increasing knowledge regarding gender differences and the disease. Ridker et al [schenck, find ref] suggested in 2007 to use the Reynolds scoring system for women. This suggestion is based on a 10 year study of data from the Womens Health Study for cardiovascular events in 25,558 women, all over 45 years of age. The conclusion was that this scoring system predicted cardiovascular disease risk in women better than classical scoring systems. Modifiable Diabetes mellitus is one of the most important risk factors, and coronary heart disease mortality is 3 5 times higher in those women who are diabetic as compared to those who are not diabetic. In contrast, the risk is only 2 3 times higher in men who are diabetic. Women also have a 3 5 times higher chance than men of developing cardiovascular disease to begin with [30 schenck]. Higher glucose levels as well as insulin resistance serve to counter the protective effects of estrogen, which places women at this higher risk [Johnson]. Cardiovascular events are the primary cause of death, particularly in type II diabetes. The Nurses Health Study indicated that coronary heart disease mortality in women who have diabetes was 8.7 times higher than non-diabetics [31 schenck]. An additional danger is that women who are diabetic develop cardiovascular disease earlier, at approximately the same age men do. Why this is the case is currently unknown [33]. Diabetes is largely preventable or well- controlled through making healthy dietary and fitness decisions, sometimes in tandem with medication. Cigarette smoking is a very significant risk factors for coronary heart disease in women. Smoking in women prompts more negative cardiovascular and lung consequences than does smoking in men. One potential reason for this may be that the dimensions of the coronary arteries and the lungs are smaller in women than in men; therefore, a woman smoking the same amount as a man would do more damage to her body. Women who are less than 55 years of age have 7 times increase in risk attributable to smoking than do men, and the increase in risk depends on dose. It is undisputable that smoking predisposes the individual to atherosclerosis [24, 25 schenck]. The Nurses Health Study, which examined more than 120,000 haelthy nurses, indicated that only 4 5 cigarettes a day nearly doubled the risk, and 20 cigarettes a day compounded the risk 6 times [26 schenck]. Smoking has declined a bit in men; however smoking in women has not declined at the same rate, particularly in younger women. This can lea d to significant vascular problems later on in life. Further, individuals who are routinely exposed to second hand smoke see a 25% increase in the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Therefore, it is not simply direct smoking that causes the problem. Additionally, smoking combined with other factors such as use of contraceptives containing estrogen multiplies risk for cardiovascular events and for clot formation [ROllini]. Hormonal contraception is in fact contraindicated for women over 35 years of age who smoke as a result of the multiplied risk. Refraining from smoking lessens the risk of developing heart disease and helps reduce potential cardiovascular risk factors. Alcohol consumption poses a risk for the development of cardiovascular disease. A moderate intake may be protective to the heart, but too much alcohol is harmful [45, 46 schenck]. The type of alcohol consumed is not as crucial as are the drinking patterns. Low to moderate daily intake may be protective, whereas conversely binge drinking can be harmful to the heart. If a patient has already experienced a first myocardial infarction, it is not necessarily a bad thing to continue drinking moderately. However, it is also not necessarily recommended that patients start drinking in search of the protective benefits of alcohol consumption following a first myocardial infarction [schenck]. Light to moderate drinking is defined as defined as one standard drink for women per day and two per day for men. The difference exists because men and women metabolize alcohol differently; specifically women metabolize slower than do men. A standard drink is defined as 12 grams of alcohol; this is equival ent to 15 cl of wine. It is well established that there is an association between LDL cholesterol and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Individuals who reduce their LDL cholesterol also reduce their risk for cardiovascular disease. Further, this reduction in combination with raising their HDL cholesterol serves to further reduce risk. A study conducted by the Lipid Research Clinic indicated that low HDL cholesterol in women was the most significant predictor of death from ischemic heart disease [12 schenck]. It has been shown that having low HDL levels affects women more than it does men [16 schenck], so it is important that practitioners encourage the reversal of low HDL. Hypertension is also a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. A meta-analysis that included data from more than 1 million adults ages 40 69 indicated that an increase of 20 mmHg systolic or 10 mmHg diastolic in an individuals normal blood pressure doubles the mortality from coronary heart disease [22 schenck]. There is a 3 times increase in coronary heart disease as well as stroke in women with >185 mmHg systolic when compared to women who are less than 135 mmHg systolic [23 schenck]. The way hypertension is treated is currently the same in both emn and women. Most of the time, pharmacotherapy and lifestyle changes is the preferred treatment. A sedentary lifestyle and obesity pose a significant risk as well. Obesity is more common in women (35.5% ) than in men (32.2%), and 27% of women are obese [1 schenck]. People who are active and regularly exercise their heart muscle are at a much lower risk of developing heart disease. In particular, obese women are more likely to also have metabolic conditions such as polycystic ovarian syndrome or Syndrome X than are lean women, which multiplies risk [Johnson]. Exercise and physical fitness play a big role, and lack of physical activity is a major risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease. One study found that less fit individuals experiences a 4.7 times increased risk of stroke and myocardial infarction, independent of other risk factors [37 schenck]. The beneficial effects of exercise are not as great in women as they are in men; women experience smaller increases in HDL resulting from similar exercises as men [38 schenck]. The Nurses Health Study has indicated though, that two aspects are particularly beneficial to women, namely that brisk walking delivered the same benefits as did vigorous exercise, and women who had previously been sedentary experienced benefits that were similar to those who had exercised earlier in life. This means that it is better to exercise late than to never do so. The recommended amount of exercise is 30 minutes of exercise daily. Diet. A poor diet is a major risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease. The Mediterranean diet has been shown to have beneficial effects on alleviating cardiovascular disease risk. The diet has a high proportion of fruits and vegetables, and has a positive impact on total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, blood pressure, and myocardial infarction [47 schenck]. One study of 600 men and women who were randomized into either a group using the Mediterranean diet or a control group indicated that after 27 months a marked difference was found in mortality and morbidity for cardiovascular disease as well as total mortality in favor of the Mediterranean diet [48 schenck]. The mechanisms behind this are multiple, with the recommendation that diet always be combined with other changes to lifestyle, such as exercise or medication. The effects are likely the same in women as in men, but there has not been much gender specific research into why the Mediterranean diet proves beneficial [49, 50 schenck] Depression serves as a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease, particularly if the patient is also taking antidepressant medication. Mood in general is a risk factor, particularly if the individual experiences a high level of stress on a consistent basis. As compared to other risk factors, psychosocial variables are much more difficult to define or to measure objectively. Nonetheless, there are several different aspects within the broad definition of psychosocial factors that are currently associated with increased risk of myocardial infarction. These aspects include work and family stress, lack of control, low socioeconomic status, negative life events, and a poor social support system. These aspects, along with depression, affect the risk of ischemic heart disease as well as the prognosis. There are several studies that show a clear correlation between stress and cardiovascular disease. One study indicated that family stress including marital stress increases t he risk of ischemic heart disease [41 schenck]. Another study indicated that work stresses as well as home stresses were more common in those patients who had suffered a myocardial infarction, and that stress represented 30% of the individuals total risk [42 schenck]. Where depression is involved, it has been found that both women and men tend to get more depressed following myocardial infarction [43, 44 schenck]. This increases the risk of a second myocardial infarction. It is important to note regarding depression that more women experience depression than men, and it is therefore a more important risk factor in women. Recent evidence indicates that sleep deprivation and disturbances may be associated with cardiovascular disease, particularly in women [23 stranges]. Three independent studies have indicated an association between increased hypertension and sleep deprivation. This phenomenom occurred only in women [24 26 stranges]. These findings are particularly significant because sleep disturbances and deprivation are more common in women than in men in both developed as well as developing countries [27, 28 stranges] Non-modifiable Genetics. Congenital heart disease is something the individual is born with. However, an individual may also have a genetic predisposition to develop certain cardiovascular problems, as seen through examining family history of heart disease. In the latter, a predisposition does not mean the individual is guaranteed to develop the specific cardiovascular problem they are predisposed to; healthy lifestyle choices such as eating well, not using alcohol to excess, not smoking, and exercising regularly can go a long way toward fighting genetic predisposition. It is interesting to note that simply having a family history of the disease can lead to stress and disruption in mood for some individuals, both risk factors for cardiovascular disease. In one study that examined data collected from 60 women and 31 men who averaged 21.4 years of age it was found that a family history impacts stress responsivity, which can contribute to future heightened cardiovascular disease risk [wright]. Menopause poses a risk for coronary heart disease in women because the reduced production of estrogen leads to worsening of coagulation, vasculature, and the lipid profile. Early menopause in particular is a known risk factor; results of a study utilizing the Womens Ischemic Syndrome Evaluation (WISE) indicate that estrogen deficiency poses a very strong risk factor for coronary heart disease [8, from Rollini] Endothelial dysfunction frequently occurs post-menopause. Its detection can precede more overt diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. One study indicated [13 Rollini] of women without hypertension development of endothelial dysfunction was linked with hypertension. Over the next four years. Another study indicated [14 Rollini] and examining a cohort ofeuglycemic women who were not obese, marked endothelial dysfunction at the baseline was linked with development of diabetes. Also over the next four years. Further, in postmenopausal women with hypertension changes in endothelial function that occur as a result of antihypertensives may be used to identify women who have a better prognosis [15 Rollini]. Metabolic syndrome is a complicated condition that involves hypertension, low HDL levels, elevated LDL levels, abdominal obesity, insulin resistance and elevated triglycerides. Metabolic syndrome has a marked roll in increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, particularly in menopausal women. Further, there is a strong link between metabolic syndrome and depression. Depression is a commonly known risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Age. As women advance in age, they are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, and in particular it is more likely that women will have one or more comorbidity associated with cardiovascular disease risk, such as diabetes or obesity. Kidney disease increases the risk of cardiovascular disease in women more than men. Resting heart rate is an independent risk factor for patients who have known cardiovascular disease as well as for those with acute myocardial infarction [133-135, 136-140]. Women possess a lower resting sympathetic output than do men, but after an uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction, women have greater sympathe