The Nobel Prize in Chemistry

In 2014, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Eric Betzig and William Moerner who, working separately, laid the foundation for SMLM. In essence, this method relies on the possibility to turn the fluorescence of individual molecules on and off. Scientists image the same area multiple times, allowing only a few interspersed molecules to glow each time. By superimposing these images, a dense super-image can be resolved at the nanolevel. With the development of this technique, Betzig and Moerner were able to overcome Abbe's diffraction limit, allowing for the production of high resolution images that, before SMLM, had not been possible. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, Ernst Abbe and Lord Rayleigh formulated what is commonly known as the â€Å"diffraction limit† for microscopy. Roughly speaking, this limit states that it is impossible to resolve two elements of a structure that are closer to each other than about half the wavelength (?) in the lateral (x, y) plane and even further apart in the longitudinal (z) plane. Another consequence of the same diffraction limit is that it is not possible to focus a laser beam to a spot of smaller dimension than about ?/2. In the case of light (optical) microscopy, an important tool for the imaging of biological structures, this means that two objects within a distance between 400/2 = 200 nm (far blue) and 700/2 = 350 nm (far red) cannot be resolved. Although this is no real limitation for electron microscopy, in which the wavelength is orders of magnitude smaller, this method is very difficult to use on living cells. For instance, the length-scale of the E. coli cell is about 1,000 nm (1 ?m) which is larger than, but of similar magnitude, as the diffraction limit. This explains why, prior to the development of SMLM, it was difficult to image details of the internal structures of living bacteria. Perhaps this may be the reason why bacteria are considered to be â€Å"primitive† organisms with little internal structure. With single-molecule localization, more precise structures of bacteria and other small-scale entities, e.g. individual viruses, can be resolved.In SMLM, the photochemical properties of fluorescent proteins are exploited to induce a weakly emissive or non-emissive â€Å"dark† state. From the dark state, very small populations of fluorophores are returned to an emissive state by shining a weak light pulse that activates only a fraction of the fluorophores present. These fluorophores are excited and detected by glowing until they are bleached, at which point the procedure is repeated on a new subgroup of fluorophores. In order to be identified, however, the emission profile must exhibit minimal overlap in each image. The centroid position of each identified molecule is statistically fitted, often to a Gaussian function, and with a level of precision scaling with the number of detected photons. By imaging and fitting single emitters to a sub-diffraction limited area over thousands of single images, enough data is generated to create a composite reconstruction of all identified emitters. Single-molecule localization is a broad category consisting of specific techniques, such as STORM, PALM, and GSDIM, that operate using the conceptually similar procedure outlined above. The main difference between these types is the exact fluorophore chemistry used to turn the fluorescence of individual molecules on and off. The real breakthrough in single-molecule localization occurred in 2006, when Betzig and colleagues coupled fluorescent proteins to the membrane enveloping the lysosome, the cell's recycling station. By activating only a fraction of the proteins at a time and superimposing the individual images, Betzig ended up with a super-resolution image of the lysosome membrane. Its resolution was far better than Abbe's diffraction limit of 0.2 ?m, a barrier that previous microscopy techniques could not bypass. Since the ground-breaking discovery, SMLM has allowed organelles and single molecules to be resolved with an order of magnitude better resolution (with a localization accuracy of about 10 nm), in multiple color channels, and in 2D as well as 3D. Single-molecule microscopy allows quantification of the number of proteins within biological assemblies and characterization of protein spatial distribution, permitting the determination of protein stoichiometry and distribution in signaling complexes. For instance, for the ?2 adrenergic receptors, SMLM was used to show that the receptors are partially organized in mini-clusters only in cardiomyocytes but not in any other cell lines, and that these oligomers are not lipid raft related but rather depend on actin cytoskeleton integrity. Most importantly, the results of this study were different from those obtained from a similar report which used near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM), demonstrating the better precision of SMLM over other techniques. An additional important aspect of SMLM is that it can be used with other imaging techniques to elucidate receptor complex structures. In one study by Nan et al. (2013), the powerful sensitivity of FRET imaging to detect receptor proximity was combined with the capability of SMLM to obtain direct visualization of receptor oligomers in studying RAF, a strategic protein involved in RAS signaling. By means of cluster analysis, Nan and colleagues were able to show how RAF exists between an inactive monomeric state in the cytosol and a multimeric condition at the cell membrane when activated. The results from single-molecule localization confirmed the importance of dimer and oligomer formation in RAF signaling, even though the precise biological role of these different multimeric states is yet to be determined.The better definition of biological structures in the nanometer range as a result of SMLM has had most relevance in the field of neuroscience, where the morphology of neurons composed of dendritic spines and synapses is not suitable for confocal microscopy. For example, Dani et al. (2010) used single-molecule microscopy to image presynaptic and postsynaptic scaffolding proteins in the glomeruli of the mouse olfactory bulb to show distinct punctate patterns that were not resolved by conventional fluorescence imaging. Lastly, the high resolution of SMLM has enabled a deeper understanding of chromosome organization and genome mapping. Wang et al. (2011) determined the distribution of nucleoid-associated proteins in live E. coli cells, while Baday et al. (2012) were able to label 91 out of a total of 107 reference sites on a 180 kb human BAC gene with a 100 bp resolution. DNA mapping with such resolution offers the potential to uncover genetic variance and to facilitate medical diagnosis in genetic diseases. Nonetheless, there are a few challenges that come with single-molecule microscopy, namely errors in detection efficiency and localization uncertainty. Since using fluorescent proteins as labels involves the complications associated with protein expression, errors in this step (e.g. misfolding, incomplete maturation, etc.) can lead to the production of label molecules that are not fluorescent. This can directly affect counting studies, as the number of counted molecules can be underestimated. However, it is possible to use the obtained count (after correcting for blinking artifacts) for the counting. In one study that involved identification of protein complex stoichiometry by counting photobleaching steps, Renz et al. (2012) accounted for errors in detection efficiency using a binomial model, which was found to provide accurate results. Incorporating detection efficiency into a model for the ratio between monomers and dimers can also rectify efficiency errors. In terms of localization uncertainty, each photon from the emitter molecule provides a sample of the point spread function (PSF) from the molecule. Based on these samples, single molecule localization algorithms provide an estimate for the position of the fluorescent molecule. This estimate is prone to uncertainties, especially due to limited sampling (i.e. the limited number of photons obtained from the molecule). By ensuring that the imaged molecules within a frame are spatially separated enough so that the localization algorithms can correctly identify them, however, it is possible to minimize the effect of localization uncertainty on counting measures. Despite its potential shortcomings, single-molecule localization enables high resolution imaging on the scale of nanometers, which defies Abbe's diffraction limit of 0.2 ?m. SMLM has been used to elucidate specific cell structures, as in Betzig's visualization of the lysosome membrane, and receptor complexes, as in the case of RAF. The technique has also been used to refute results of similar studies that used different imaging protocols, as shown when determining the specific location of ?2 adrenergic receptors. Overall, SMLM has ushered in a new era of high resolution imaging that not only allows for accurate insight into individual cell and protein structure, but also enables identification of abnormalities in cellular processes that ultimately manifest as genetic diseases.

Tiffany & Co Marketing Plan

MARKETING PLAN I. Executive summary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦3 A. History of Tiffany & Co†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 II. Current marketing situation †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7 A. Market overview†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 i. Market demographics and needs†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 ii. Market t rends and target market growth†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 10 B. SWOT analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦11 i. Strengths †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 11 ii. Weaknesses†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 2 iii. Opportunities†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 12 iv. Threats†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦13 C. Competitive and industry analysis †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦14 D. Product overview†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 17 E. Keys to success and critical issues†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦20. III. Environmental analysis †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦23 A. Macroenvironmental factors †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦23 B. Microenvironmental factors †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 24 C. Competitive strategy †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 24 IV. Marketing Strategy†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦25 A. Mission†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦25 B. Marketing objectives†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦25 C. Financial objectives†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦26 D. Target market†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 27 E. Positioning†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦27 V. Marketing Mix†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 28 A. Product †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 28 B. Pricing †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 30 C. Promotion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 1 D. Channel †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦32 E. Service †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦34 VI. Marketing research †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦35 VII. Financials †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦37 A. Sales/revenue forecast†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 37 B. Expense budget†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦39 C. Break-even analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦40 D. Profit and loss analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 41 VIII. References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 42 I. Executive summary A. History of the company The 1830s in New York City were a time of dynamic growth, extravagant tastes and golden opportunity for anyone with a little capital and an abundance of imagination. In 1837, New York became the proving ground for twenty-five-year-old Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young, who opened a â€Å"stationery and fancy goods† store with a $1,000 advance from Tiffany's father. On their way to the new emporium at 259 Broadway, fashionable ladies in silks, satins, and beribboned bonnets faced a gauntlet of narrow streets teeming with horses and carriages and the hurly-burly of city life. At Tiffany & Co. they discovered a newly emerging â€Å"American style† that departed from the European design aesthetic, which was rooted in religious and ceremonial patterns and the Victorian era’s mannered opulence. The young entrepreneurs were inspired by the natural world, which they interpreted in exquisite patterns of simplicity, harmony and clarity. These became the hallmarks of Tiffany design, first in silver hollowware and flatware, and later in jewelry. Tiffany first achieved international recognition at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1867. The company was awarded the grand prize for silver craftsmanship, the first time that an American design house had been so honored by a foreign jury. Tiffany was the first American company to employ the 925/1000 standard of silver purity. Largely through the efforts of Charles Lewis Tiffany, this ratio was adopted by the United States Congress as the American sterling silver standard. The silver studio of Tiffany & Co. was the first American school of design and, as one observer remarked, â€Å"a teacher of art progress. Apprentices were encouraged to observe and sketch nature, and to explore the vast collections of sketches and artwork assembled by Edward C. Moore, the head of the studio. By 1870 Tiffany & Co. had become America's premier purveyor of jewels and timepieces as well as luxury table, personal, and household accessories. At the turn of the 20th century the company had more than one thousand employees and branches in London, Paris, and Geneva. In 1878 Tiffany acquired on e of the world's largest and finest fancy yellow diamonds from the Kimberley diamond mines in South Africa. Under the guidance of Tiffany's eminent gemologist, Dr. George Frederick Kunz, the diamond was cut from 287. 42 carats to 128. 54 carats with 82 facets (most brilliant-cut diamonds have only 58), which gave the stone its legendary fire and brilliance. Designated the Tiffany Diamond, the stone became an exemplar of Tiffany craftsmanship. In 1886 Tiffany introduced the engagement ring as we know it today—the Tiffany ® Setting— an innovation that lifts the diamond above the band with six platinum prongs, allowing a more complete return of light from the stone and maximizing its brilliance. Today the Tiffany Setting continues as one of the most popular engagement ring styles and shining symbol of the jeweler’s diamond authority. During New York’s Gilded Age, Tiffany was prospering as never before. At the same time, the world had embarked on the Age of Expositions, the era of show-stopping extravaganzas that took place in the last decades of the 19th century and into the 20th in Paris, Chicago, Buffalo and St. Louis. At every venue, Tiffany won the highest honors and recognition as the undisputed leader in the world of jewels. The company’s exhibit at the 1889 Paris fair was heralded as â€Å"the most extraordinary collection of jewels ever produced by an American jewelry house. † Tiffany produced an equally praiseworthy collection for the 1900 Paris fair, along with magnificent silver pieces based on Native American pottery and basket designs. The unprecedented commendation and number of awards bestowed on the jeweler led to Tiffany’s appointment as Imperial Jeweler and Royal Jeweler to the crowned heads of Europe, as well as the Ottoman Emperor and the Czar and Czarina of Russia. With the death of Charles Lewis Tiffany in 1902, Louis Comfort Tiffany, the founder’s son, became Tiffany’s first Director of Design. An entire floor of Tiffany & Co. was devoted to merchandise crafted in the Tiffany Studios, Louis Comfort Tiffany’s atelier. His position as America’s leading designer was well established by 1882, when President Chester Arthur invited him to redecorate the White House. By 1900 the younger Tiffany was a world leader in the Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts movements. The famed artist created a remarkable range of designs, from technically brilliant leaded lass to colorful Tiffany favrile glass, and enameled and painterly jewels based on American plants and flowers. Throughout the jeweler’s history, the most prominent members of American society were frequent Tiffany customers. Vanderbilts, Astors, Whitneys and Havemeyers, as well as J. P. Morgan, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Paul Mellon, commissioned Tiffany to produce gold and silver services. Admirers of Lillian Russell ordered a sterling silver bicycle. President Lincoln purchased a seed pearl necklace for his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln. And a young Franklin Roosevelt purchased a Tiffany engagement ring in 1904. As the twentieth century progressed, Tiffany designs captured the spirit of the times, from the extravagance of the 1920s to the modernism of the 1930s and the aerodynamic age of the 1940s and 1950s. Tiffany china set the stage for White House dinners and Tiffany jewels accented the elegant clothes of the world’s most glamorous women, including Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Babe Paley and Diana Vreeland. Very often world-renowned jeweler Jean Schlumberger created their jewelry. Hired in 1956 by then Tiffany chairman Walter Hoving, Schlumberger’s lavish, nature-inspired jewels remain the pride of Tiffany & Co. Throughout Tiffany’s history, the United States and foreign governments have called upon the company to create special commissions. Among them are the Congressional Medal of Honor, the United States’ highest military award; and the 1885 redesign of the Great Seal of the United States, which can be seen on official government documents as well as on the one-dollar bill. Business and professional organizations have also called on Tiffany design expertise through Tiffany Business Sales. The most famous of these commissions is the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the National Football League Super Bowl Championship. Tiffany has had the distinction of creating this original and well-known design since the first Super Bowl in 1967. The legendary style of Tiffany design is perhaps best represented by the annual Blue Book Collection, featuring Tiffany’s and the world’s most spectacular and glamorous jewels. Initially published in 1845, the Tiffany Blue Book was the first such catalogue to be distributed in the U. S. Today’s version showcases the elite of diamonds and colored gemstones in custom-designed settings, crafted with time-honored jewelry techniques and inspired by jewels in the Tiffany & Co. Archives. Over the past two centuries, Tiffany has built an international reputation as a premier jeweler and the ultimate source of gifts for life's most cherished occasions. Whether it's a milestone in the life of a company or a family, or an individual's crowning achievement, Tiffany gifts wrapped in the signature Tiffany Blue Box ® symbolize the rich heritage and unparalleled reputation Tiffany & Co. has enjoyed as one of America's great institutions. II. Current marketing situation A. Market overview i. Market demographics and needs Official estimates put the population of Kazakhstan at 15. million as of 1 July 2008, of which 47% is rural and 53% urban population. The 2008 population estimate is 4. 8% higher than the population reported in the last census from January 1999 (slightly less than 15 million). Kazakhstan underwent significant urbanization during the first 50 years of the Soviet era, as the share of rural population declined from more than 90% in the 1920s to less than 50% si nce the 1970s [pic] Next table summarizes information about Kazakhstani market and gives more detailed understanding of current market situation. Year (January)  Ã‚   |Population (‘000)  Ã‚   | |Opportunities |Threats | |Currently isn’t widely presented |Logistics problems | |Integration in lower priced segments |Threat of fakes | | |Luxury niche is under threat of crisis | | |Low brand awareness | | | | Strengths 1. Customer service. Operating by its mission statement to be the world’s most respected retailer, Tiffany focuses heavily on customer service. New employees complete six to eight weeks of training in knowledge, skills, and product training. They must also pass a written test before they are allowed to meet with customers. Once in the field, sales representatives work for two years to complete a rigorous certification process. According to John Peterson, senior vice president of corporate sales, the process helps the company uphold its unique tradi tion and culture. 2. Unique quality. Tiffany also places extreme value on the quality of its products, paying attention to every detail of the Tiffany experience. Charles Lewis Tiffany began this practice with his original selection of the blue color for Tiffany boxes, shopping bags, and catalogs. Tiffany focused on the final, and often neglected, step in brand positioning: giving customers something symbolizing Tiffany quality, commitment, consistency, respect, and reputation long after they have walked out of the store. According to Denise Meyer, creative director of Frenchman Marketing, an advertising agency that specializes in jewelry marketing, â€Å"Tiffany wants you to forget the product and remember where it came from†. 3. Recognition. As one of the world’s most recognizable brand symbols, Tiffany takes all of its blue box’s components, from the quality of the blue paper to the way the ribbon is tied, very seriously. Because the blue box represents the Tiffany experience, the company even sends their employees to a class to perfect the art of tying the white satin ribbon so the box lays flat. According to James Mansur, principal of Mansur Design, a retail branding consultancy in New York, â€Å"[The blue box] represents refinement, luxury, elegance, good taste, quality, and it confers status on both the person who gives it and the person who receives it†. Weaknesses 1. Brand positioning problem Tiffany & co is positioned as luxury brand, for people with high income. However tiffany introduces middle cost items, which is part of company strategy. But people can’t realize that tiffany’s jewellery becomes more affordable and think that starting price for tiffany rings is 3000$, while really it is only 900$. The same positioning problem can occur in Kazakhstan. In order to prevent this company should inform Kazakhstan populating about their prices by means of advertizing, PR and other activities. Opportunities 1. Currently isn’t widely presented All over the Kazakhstan there is only one Tiffany store, located in Almaty. This store is a franchise. Assortment is not great, and silver products care absolutely not presented. Also very poor assortment of yellow gold. . Integration in lower priced segments Tiffany adopts new strategy, in order to attract new customers. Appearance of 100$ and below items in tiffany products lit will attract new customers, for whom brand name is important. So in strong competition with well-known brands like Bvldary, Cartier and Chopard Tiffany offers luxury goods for affordable prices. Threats 1. Logistics problems Tiffany & Co is American company and jewelers should be transported from US. Almaty franchise transports goods from US. However, because of big distance orders may come not in time, or breakage rate may be high. Also during transportation goods may be stolen. 2. Threat of fakes In Kazakhstan patents and copyrights are almost not important, so in case of good promotion and increased brand awareness faces from China could be easily broad to the market and brand reputation will be damaged 3. Luxury niche is under threat of crisis Nowadays financial crisis is on the peak and people suffer from lack of money , so they will rather prefer to save money than to spend them on luxury goods 4. Low brand awareness Besides Tiffany & Co is extremely popular in the west in Kazakhstan brand awareness is very low, and a lot of funds should be spend for advertizing B. Competitive and industry analysis Competitors: Signet Group (SIG) is the world's largest specialty jewelry retailer in terms of sales, with $3. 3 billion of revenue in 2008; the company is based in the United Kingdom and operates 1,959 stores in the U. K. and the U. S. , including Kay Jewelers and Jared The Galleria of Jewelry chains in the United States. Signet Group exceeds Tiffany's in revenu e and size; however the company currently lacks a presence in Asia. Tiffany, on the other hand, is in a good position to take advantage of new wealth developing in Asia due to the fact it already has stores in that region. †¢ Zale (ZLC) specializes in diamond jewelry and operates mostly mall-based stores as well as mall kiosks only in North America. It lacks an international presence, however makes up for it through volume in North America: The company has 2,135 locations throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Both Zale and Tiffany sell low-priced jewelry, but Zale only extends to moderately-priced pieces while Tiffany seeks to maintain a â€Å"high-low† approach by selling $200 pieces next to $50,000 ones. †¢ Blue Nile (NILE) is the largest online-only retailer of certified diamonds and fine jewelry. The company's 2008 sales were much smaller than Tiffany's. The fact that the company sells its goods exclusively online makes it available to a wider audience than Tiffany's, whose goods must be purchased through its own stores. Company |Net Sales (mm) | |Increase in store sales |9-10% | |Increase in Direct Marketing Sales |10% | |Expense growth |13% | |Advertising expense |6% | In terms of financial objectives for the full year 2009, Tiffany &Co are now projecting sales growth of approximately 15% which includes comparable store sales increasing 9-10% in the US and in the high single digits internationally on a constant exchange rate basis. For the fourth quarter, that implies a mid single digit comp increase in the US, strong comp growth in the European and Asia/Pacific regions and a modest increase in total Japan sales. Tiffany now half way through the all important November/December holiday selling season, although the vast majority of sales activity is still ahead of company in the next several weeks. C. Target Markets: 1) Women Aged 34- 54 years old 2). Middle-High income, upper class in KZ –$2000 and more 3). Status-oriented- Business women 4). Discerning customers who appreciate the finer things in life and the emotional pleasure of owning the best there is. ). Women, knowing that mostly men will be making the purchases. Rings start at relativ ely affordable level ($1000) and go up to over a million dollars. It is known that about 39% of sales are outside the United States. There are stores in Brazil, Europe, Australia and Asia. Stores are located in larger cities while the catalog and internet cater to non-urban customers. D. Positioning People who pay much attention to the fashion world may know that Tiffany& Co is one of top three jewelry producers in the world. Among those fashionable and exquisite ornaments, tiffany rings are undoubtedly the one that gains more attention than any other ones. When divided by function and occasion, tiffany rings can be divided into three major categories that are tiffany celebration rings, engagement rings and wedding rings. Each kind of them has its own unique and irreplaceable functions. All the tiffany rings are beautifully crafted pieces of remarkable elegance. Tiffany & Co rings are unequaled in quality, with close attention to detail. I. Marketing Mix A. Product. Tiffany and Co. ’s offerings include diamonds, gemstones, necklaces, pendants, rings, bracelets, charms, brooches and earrings. In addition to the classic items, Tiffany and Co. collection reflects unique items like their elegant decorative keys, jeweled boxes, heart-shaped lockets, letters of the alphabet and crosses. Also for men, Tiffany and Co. has a range of rings, watches, necklaces and money clips. Among those fashionable ornaments, tiffany rings are undoubtedly the one that gains more attention than any other ones. When divided by function and occasion, tiffany rings can be divided into three major categories that are tiffany celebration rings, engagement rings and wedding rings. Each kind of them has its own unique and irreplaceable functions. To take celebration rings as an example, there are so many important occasions and moments in one's life to celebrate. To capture and keep down these rare and important moments and occasions is so important for every person. Therefore, Tiffany celebration rings are just specially designed and prepared for you these people to come. [pic] Tiffany engagement rings are perfect for those young lovers who are to be engaged. Also it will make the whole ceremony full of joy and happiness and give off the flavor of luxuriance and magnificence. [pic]Tiffany wedding rings are the necessity for every bride and groom who are dreaming of a grand and luxurious wedding ceremony. Tiffany wedding rings are particularly distinctive, with designs ranging from classic solitaires to elaborate multi-stone arrangements. Each ring is accompanied by detailed certification as proof of its superior quality. It is true that tiffany rings are perfect for every occasion. It is prized for its quality, sophistication, and beauty. The four Cs of diamond quality have the greatest effect on the stone’s price: Carat: The weight of a diamond is measured in carats. The more carats, the heavier the stone, and the more expensive it is. Color . A diamond’s color grade is a key quality evaluation, but often misleading. This is because the ideal engagement diamond is characterized by a lack of color. Diamonds can be laboratory treated to reduce their color. At the Tiffany Gemological Laboratory, the color of each diamond is determined by comparing it to authenticated â€Å"master diamonds. Clarity: A diamond’s clarity rating has a direct effect on a diamond’s beauty and price. The clearer a diamond is, the more expensive it will be. Cut: The cut and shape of the diamond affects its price depending on the difficulty involved. Emerald and princess cuts are among the least expensive because they follow the crystalline shape of the stone, while heart-shaped, pear, and oval cuts are more expensive. Tiffany diamonds are always cut for beauty, not size. Other Factors in Engagement Ring Cost: Metal: Yellow gold is the most common choice for engagement rings, and it is in the mid-range for prices. Silver is less expensive, while high-grade karats of yellow and white gold are pricier. Platinum, titanium and tungsten are generally more expensive. Design: Simple solitaires are often the least expensive design because they lack elaborate side stones or other embellishments. More intricate rings, such as Celtic patterns, bridal sets, or three stone rings are more costly. B. Pricing. Today, tiffany settings are one of the most popular choices for ring settings. Company offers different ring designs, including channel set bands and minimal setting diamond bands that emphasize the stones.. Three stone engagement rings are increasingly popular, and Tiffany engagement rings often use fancy shapes such as ovals, hearts, pears, and tapered baguettes for exquisite arrangements. Rings | Price ranges | |Sterling silver rings | $100 -$1000 | |Gold rings |$250 – over $ 5000 | |Platinum rings |$250 – over $ 5000 | |One carat diamond ring |$95,00-$35,000 | |White gold rings |$500 –over $5000 | Every ring is unique, each with its own precise gemological cha racteristics, pricing will vary. All rings meet Tiffany’s strict quality requirements and Tiffany engagement ring prices are offered: C. [Promotion. Tiffany & Co periodically conducts product promotional events and regularly advertises, primarily in newspapers and magazines.. In Fiscal 2007, 2006 and 2005, company spent approximately $174 million, $162  million and $137  million, respectively, on worldwide advertising, which includes costs for media, production, catalogs, promotional events and other related items. Public Relations (promotional)  activity is a significant aspect of Registrant’s business. Management believes that Tiffany’s image is enhanced by a program of charity sponsorships, grants and merchandise donations. For example, Tiffany & Co. serves as the Awards Sponsor of the inaugural Pasadena Marathon organization presented by Kaiser Permanente. The organization's mission is to promote an enhanced quality of life for those who work, live, or attend school in the Pasadena area. Thus, company offers financial and logistical support to local civic and charitable agencies. In addition ,in support of its mission to preserve the natural heritage that distinguishes great urban centers, The Tiffany & Co. Foundation announced grants on September 25, 2008 to three organizations—Hermann Park Conservancy in Houston, Parkways Foundation in Chicago, and The Vizcayans in Miami—for the restoration of parks and gardens in their individual cities, totaling $2,750,000. These grants expand the Foundation’s urban parks program that originated with support for New York City’s parks Donations are also made to The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, a private foundation organized to support the charitable organizations with efforts concentrated in environmental conservation and support for the decorative arts. Tiffany also engages in a program of retail promotions and media activities to maintain consumer awareness of the Company and its products. Each year, Tiffany publishes its well-known Blue Book which showcases jewelry and other merchandise. Registrant considers these and other promotional efforts important in maintaining Tiffany’s image. D. Channel of distribution. The Company operates in three segments: Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe. Americas includes sales in TIFFANY & CO. stores in the United States, Canada and Latin/South America. Tiffany distributes a selection of its products in the United States and Canada through its Websites at www. tiffany. com and www. tiffany. ca. Tiffany also distributes catalogs of selected merchandise to its list of customers in the United States and to mailing lists rented from third parties. In addition, Business account holders may make gift purchases through the Company’s website at http://business. tiffany. com . Price allowances are given to eligible business account holders for certain purchases on the Tiffany for Business website. Moreover, products and services are marketed through a sales organization, through advertising in newspapers and business periodicals and through the publication of special catalogs. The retail sales in Asia-Pacific region consists of sales transacted in TIFFANY & CO. locations in Japan, China, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, Singapore, Macau and Malaysia. The Company does business in Japan through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Tiffany & Co. Japan, Inc. The Company offers a selection of TIFFANY & CO. erchandise for purchase in Japan and Australia through its Websites at www. tiffany. co. jp and www. tiffany. com/au. Selected TIFFANY & CO. merchandise is sold to independent distributors for resale in Asia-Pacific markets, predom inantly in the Middle Eastern region. As for Europe , retail sales consists of sales transacted in TIFFANY & CO. stores in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain and Ireland. The Company offers a selection of TIFFANY & CO. merchandise for purchase in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland through its Website at www. tiffany. com/uk International Retail The following tables set locations operated by Tiffany & Co | | | |  | |Europe |  |  |   |  | |   | |Austria: Vienna |  | |Italy: Milan |  |  | |France: Paris, Galeries Lafayette |  |  |Italy: Rome |  | | |France: Paris, Printemps Department Store |  |  |Switzerland: Zurich |  | | |France: Paris, Rue de la Paix |  |  |United Kingdom: London, Harrods |  | | |Germany: Frankfurt   |  |United Kingdom: London, Old Bond Street |  | | |Germany: Hamburg |  |  |United Kingdom: London, Royal Exchange |  | | |Germany: Munich |  |  |United Kingd om: London, Selfridges |  | | |Italy: Bologna |  |  |United Kingdom: London, Sloane Street |  | | |Italy: Florence |  |  | | | | |   | | | | | |  | |Canada and Central/South America |  |  |   |  | |   | |Canada: Toronto |  |  |Mexico: Mexico City, Palacio Store, Perisur |  | |Canada: Vancouver |  |  |Mexico: Mexico City, Palacio Store, Polanco |  | |Brazil: Sao Paulo, Jardins |  |  |Mexico: Monterrey, Palacio Store |  | |Brazil: Sao Paulo, Iguatemi Shopping Center |  |  |Mexico: Puebla, Palacio Store |  | |Mexico: Mexico City, Masaryk |  |  |Mexico: Santa Fe | | Asia-Pacific Excluding Japan |   |  |  | |Australia: Brisbane |  |  | |Australia: Melbourne |  |  | |Australia: Sydney |  |  | |China: Beijing, The Peninsula Palace Hotel |  |  | |China: Beijing, Oriental Plaza   |  | |China: Shanghai, Jiu Guang City Plaza |  |  | |China: Shanghai, Plaza 66 |  |  | |China: Tianjin |  |  | |Hon g Kong: Elements |  |  | |Hong Kong: Hong Kong International Airport |  |  | |Hong Kong: International Finance Center |  |  | |Hong Kong: The Landmark Center |  |  | |Hong Kong: Pacific Place |  |  | |Hong Kong: The Peninsula Hotel |  |  | |Hong Kong: Sogo Department Store |  |  | |Korea: Busan, Lotte Department Store |  |  | |Korea: Seoul, Galleria Luxury Hall East Dept. Store |  |  | |   |  |  | |Korea: Seoul, Hyundai Department Store |  |  | |Korea: Seoul, Hyundai Coex Department Store |  |  | |Korea: Seoul, Lotte Downtown Department Store |  |  | |Korea: Seoul, Lotte World |  |  | |Korea: Seoul, Shinsegae Main |  |  | |Macau: The Venetian Resort |  |  | |Macau: Wynn Resort |  |  | |Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur, KLCC |  |  | |Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur, Pavillion |  |  | |Singapore: Changi Airport |  |  | |Singapore: Ngee Ann City |  |  | |Singapore: Raffles Hotel |  |  | |Taiwan: Kaohsiung, Hanshin Department Store |  |  | |Taiwan: Taichung, Sogo Department Store |  |  | |Taiwan: Taipei, The Regent Hotel |  |  | |Taiwan: Taipei, Sogo Department Store |  |  | |Taiwan: Taipei, Taipei Financial Center | | | E. Service [pic] Customer service is a company's most effective tool, therefore, they strive to keep customers happy. Tiffany representatives are available for telephone and email support twenty-four hours a day. There are numerous informative FAQs and articles on their website. Email customer service. Any customer who has question or assistance can complete the special form. They can find this form in the web site of company. Jewelry care. Professional cleanings are recommended as often as once a year. For this reason company encourage customers to bring their Tiffany & Co. jewelry back to us for professional servicing. Company staff is knowledgeable and experienced in all aspects of jewelry care: cleaning gemstones, restringing pearls and repairing clasps and earring backs. Due to the fact that our items are bought over the Internet, cannot be tried on ahead of time and are bought site unseen, company have developed the following return and exchange policy for customer service purposes. For Returns: All returns must be postmarked within 7 days of delivery and must be in resalable conditions. Buyer is responsible for the shipping charges to return. The $9. 99 shipping fee and a 15% restocking fee will be deducted from the refund amount For Exchanges: Exchanges are only allowed for the items which are defective or damaged upon receipt or the items do not fit and are not subject to a restocking fee. Items must be returned within 15 days of delivery and the customer is responsible for shipping charges to return. All items can only exchange for equal price replacement Tiffany also arranges to have items resized. All purchases through Tiffany& Co. s website include a 30 day, full refund, satisfaction guarantee. II. Marketing Research Going into Kazakhstany market is a market development for company Tiffany, so managers of Tiffany need information in order to introduce products and services that create value in the mind of the customer. But the perception of value is a subjective one, and what customers value this year may be quite different from what they value next year. As such, the attributes that create value cannot simply be deducted from common knowledge. Rather, data must be collected and analyzed. The goal of marketing research is to provide the facts and direction that managers need to make their more important marketing decisions. In order to screen the market, our group made a standard test research, we created the questionnaire, that helps to identify if the population of Kazakhstan is ready to buy Tiffany products, sum of money, that people want to pay and finally the product mix, that will be appropriate in this country. The questionnaire has the following form: ? ! 1. . ( ) 2. ?) 18-24 b) 25-32 ?) 33-39 d) 40-46 e) 46 3. : ?) $1000 b) $1000 $2,500 ?) $2,500 ? 4. ? Tiffany? . , 5. ? 6. ?) $100-$250 b) $250-$500 ?) $1,000-$5,000 d) ? 7. - . , , 8. Tiffany? , , 9. a) ? b) ? c) ? d) ? 10. Tiffany? ?) b) c) ? 11. Tiffany? a) , b) , c) d) , ? , ! Our group made a research, 50 random respondents have answered questionnaire, and after the survey we received following results: 27% of respondents doesn’t know anything about Tiffany 48% are ready to buy Tiffany products, bu t have never done it before 18% know about Tiffany and already have use its production % are not interested in Tiffany products III. Financials A. Sales/revenue forecast(s): By territory: |   |  |Years Ended January  31, |  | |(in thousands) |  | |   | | |Net sales: |  |   | |   |  |   | |   |  |$ | By Products:    |  |   |  | |(in thousands) |  | |   | | |Net sales: |  |   | |   |  |   | |   |  |$ |  | | | | |2| | | | |,| | | | |8| | | | |5| | | | 9| | | | |,| | | | |9| | | | |9| | | | |7| |(in thousands) |  | |   | | |Expenses: |   |   |  |  |  | |   |   | | |(in thousands, except per share amounts) | |   | | |Net sales |   |$ | |   |   |   | |   |   |   | |   |   |   | |   |   |   | |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | |Net Income |   |$ |220,022 |   |   |$ |323,478 |   |   |$ |272,897 |   |   |   | | References: 1. Kotler P. (2003) Marketing Management. 11th edition. New Jersey, Pearson education Inc. 2. www. Gazeta. kz, (02. 01. 09),  «  ». [Online]. Available from: http://www. gazeta. kz/art. asp? aid=124611 [Accessed June 21  209] 3. , (03. 02. 09),  «  ». [Online] Available from: http://www. rosbalt. u/2009/02/03/614987. html [Accessed June 21 2009] 4. Tiffany , â€Å"Shareholder information† [Online] Available from: http://investor. tiffany. com/faq. cfm? SH_No_JavaScript=yes [Accessed June 21 2009] 5. www. Murman. ru,(05. 02. 09)  «  » [Online] Available from: http://business. murman. ru/research/33/473/? id=108 [Accessed June 21 2009] 6. Export. by,  «  », [Online] Available from: http://export. by/? act=s_docs=view=1615=by_country=58=archive=64 [Accessed June 21 2009] 7. http://www. tiffanyandcofoundation. org/news/article/08%20Urban%20Parks%20Program. spx – Tiffany & CO foundation 8. http://sec. edgar-online. com/tiffany œco/10-k-annual-report/2006/03/31/Section3. aspx -Annual report of Tiffany & Co 9. http://www. tiffany. com/ – the main website 10. http://online-jewelry-review. toptenreviews. com/tiffany-amp-co-review. html – Online Jewelry Review ———————– [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] World Wide Scale Increase the number of loyal users Attract new customers Different loyalty programs Make the products more affordable The price range starts from $100 Discounts, Coupons Tiffany’s lamp Charles Lewis Tiffany First Tiffany Store Tiffany Store in Tokio Wedding Rings Bvlgari rings Cartier rings

Historical Reference Essay

â€Å"A favorite theory of mine to wit, that no occurrence is sole and solitary, but is merely a repetition of a thing which has happened before, and perhaps often†(Twain). This quote from a famous writer, Mark Twain, talks about how he believes that history can and does repeat itself. Mark is saying that everything takes place for a reason and has occurred sometime before in history. This idea of history repeating itself is present throughout the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. The book is about a dystopian society where firemen actually light fires to burn precious books. In this society, the majority of the people believe that books are worthless and that every book should be burnt to ashes. The people of this society do not think for themselves and in many cases hardly think at all. Throughout Fahrenheit 451 many events occur that have also occurred sometime in our society, which parallels the theme of history repeating itself between the book and our society. While book burning is usually associated with Nazi Germany, its roots actually extend far back into the ancient times. For example in 212 BC, the Chinese emperor Shih Huang Ti burned all the books in his kingdom so that history might begin with him (Freedom to Read). In 460 AD Omar the caliph ordered for over 200,000 volumes in the library of Alexandria to be burnt in a vast bonfire (Mullins). Then in 1933 in Nazi Germany, enormous bonfires spread across Berlin burning thousands of books (Schwartz). â€Å"Do you ever read any of the books you burn?† He laughed. That’s against the law! Oh. Of course† (Bradbury 8). This quote from Fahrenheit 451 shows that in this society books are never in any circumstances read. These illustrations indicate how book burning is not a onetime thing and that it first started with government restriction. Likewise in Fahrenheit 451 before the books are burned to ashes, the leaders in the government restrict or censor certain material, which is also shown throughout many instances in history. Nowadays many popular books are deemed unhealthy for children to read that adults in the past read various times (Freedom to Read). Books like Huckleberry Fin and Harry Potter are banned in schools libraries (Mullins). In Fahrenheit 451 the government bands books to try and make everyone of every race pleased. â€Å"We read the books and then burn them afraid they would be found† (Bradbury 152). In medieval France the King never allowed for books to be read, unless he said that they could (Mullins). Also in 1720 the Church of England banned Robinson Crusoe and discouraged its members from reading it (Mullins). These examples show that throughout many times in history, restriction on books existed and may have lead to other actions such as war. Besides book banning and burning, Fahrenheit 451 also shows that war can and does repeat itself over and over again. In the BC time period Plato the famous philosopher said, â€Å"Only the dead have seen the end of the war† (Plato), which justifies that war, was present thousands of years ago. â€Å"And it looks like we’re doing the same thing, over and over again† (Bradbury163). War in our country started with The French and Indian War, the American Revolution, then the Civil War, then the World Wars, and many more (Moore). In fact nowadays we cannot stop seeming to try and fight in wars in other countries, which leads to unnecessary deaths of our soldiers. A war is always going on somewhere because humans can never seem to just get along (Moore). Over and over again, war attempts to solve problems throughout history and that is why war can be considered a historical recurrence. It is very apparent that historic recurrence is going to happen through war, book banning, and book burning. History proves over and over again that we can hardly solve any problems without war. Book banning and burnings have happened since early times when leaders like kings and popes want control over their followers. History is bound to repeat itself and we as humans may not recognize it, but regardless it will happen. As a famous quote says â€Å"Smart people learn from their mistakes, but the real sharp ones learn from the mistakes of others† (Mull). History can repeat itself in many ways seen, and unseen to people. It is what people learn from it that can help us not make the same mistakes again in the future.

International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

International Business - Essay Example 264). The barriers to international investment and trade have decreased, and there exists enormous markets for goods and services. Companies from different nations are investing into many countries at an unprecedented scale, and the competition is increasing and becoming intense. The mangers now need to understand the competition from an international perspective, and consider how globalization is affecting their companies’ abilities to compete with other companies, and the strategies they need to adopt so as to exploit the unfolding opportunities and deal with any competitive barrier (Hill & Jones 2007, p. 264). Historical background to globalization of production and markets The past half of the 20th century has resulted into dramatic lowering of barriers to international investment and trade. For example, the average tariff rate on goods manufactured and traded between advanced nations continues to decrease from 40% to 4 %. Similarly, governments have removed regulations th at prohibit foreign companies from entering into domestic markets or establishing production facilities or acquiring domestic companies. The two developments have resulted into an increase in the volume of the foreign direct investment and international trade. The volume of the world goods continues to grow faster than the world economy since 1950. From the year 1970-2005, the volume of world merchandise traded throughout the world continues to surpass the expansion of world production. Additionally, between the year 1992- 2005, the world trade value increased by 140%, the world output by 40% and the total flow of foreign direct investment globally increased by over 500%. These trends have resulted into the globalization of production and the globalization of markets (Hill & Jones 2007, p. 265). Globalization of Production Globalization of production is the tendency by many companies to source goods and services from different countries around the world so as to benefit from the exi sting differences in the quality and the cost of factors of production such as energy, land, capital and labor. Through globalization of markets, companies reduce risks and cost and compete effectively with other companies (Weng Feng Xiang 2009, p. 9). Companies establish globally organized production system so as to integrate production activities across many countries. Globally organized production also refers to global commodity chains and is of two types: Produce driven chain and Buyer driven chain. The Producer-driven chain is responsible for coordination of production networks across countries as in the production of computers. Buyer driven chains comprise of large footwear and clothing manufacturers and large retailers. Companies establish the chains in low wage economies to produce low-cost goods that have brands to represent the manufacture or retailer. A good example of a buyer driven chain in the world is the Nike Company (Needle 2010, p.19). The globalization of producti on increases as companies take advantage of decreasing barriers to international investment and trade to disperse crucial aspects of their production process throughout the world. For example, foreign companies built 30% of the Boeing Company commercial jet aircrafts (777). The Boeing Company is pushing the outsourcing of its jet airliner 777 model further to foreign companies (65%), 35% to three Japanese companies and 20% to Singapore, Italy and the United Kingdom. The reason behind outsourcing by

How to create a hop farm Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

How to create a hop farm - Research Paper Example The most essential ingredient to aid the process of brewing beer are hops. These are as important as malt. Apart from adding to the overall taste and the aroma of the beer, hops have a large number of anti-bacterial properties and aid the production of clearer beer by eliminating many unwanted proteins. According to Simmonds (2007), â€Å"Hops have a powerful, agreeable odor and biter taste; they appear to consist of an acid, ethereal oil, an aromatic resin, wax, extractive and a bitter principal called lupulin.† Apart from this, they also are utilized as a diuretic in herbal medicine and allow brewer’s yeast to perform its function by acting like an antibiotic and preventing the growth of other dominating undesirable microorganisms. Dried female fruit called ‘strobiles’ of a plant that is a kind of climbing herb and belonging to the family Moraceae or scientifically known as Humulus lupulus are called hops. These are perennial plants that are pretty tough and hardy the hop vines called ‘bines’ can reach a height of even twenty-five feet to even fifty feet and weigh nearly twenty pounds. Hops need a relatively moderate climate and during the initial stages of growth need a good quantity of sun for at least six to eight hours to attain a good height. They are grown from foot long root-cuttings commonly referred to as ‘rhizomes’ and these are easily available in the market and can even be ordered online. These rhizomes are those of the female plant and need to be planted around four inches below the soil leaving a gap of around one and a half to three feet between each rhizome with all the exposed buds facing the soil surface. Generally, it is sensible and highly recommended to grow them in a South facing area. Just like all other plants of its kind, these plants need very well aerated nutritious soil with a good drainage. Rhizome-based cultivation always results in very fast root growth and therefore

Benefits of Waiting to Go To College after High School Research Paper

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Management of Information Systems Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

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Processed Food Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Processed Food - Essay Example In addition to this, their taste is almost always consistent. If we look at the process of manufacturing processed food, it can be divided into three basic processes. First is the raw material processing, which brings out the food in the form that is eaten. This is followed by packaging and finally transportation or logistics. Even though it sounds harmless, the process of manufacturing ready to eat meals has negative affects not only on the health of the consumers, but also on the environment. In the following essay, the use and production procedure of hamburger would be analyzed. The essay will show how producing a hamburger is accompanied by various processes which prove to be detrimental to the environment. Cheese is one of the condiments which always accompany a hamburger. Hardly any hamburger is eaten without cheese in it. Hilmar Cheese, a cheese production factory from California, has been in the business for over 20 years. As a result of its manufacturing process, the company has been constantly polluting both land and water. Approximately 2.5 million gallons of wastewater is discharged by the company every day. This water contains poisonous compounds like arsenic, barium compounds, nitrogen and other salts. Such elements are fatal to humans and animals. In addition to this, waste water from factories and production plants leads to two very serious types of pollutions, namely Barium pollution and arsenic pollution. The next component of a hamburger to be analyzed is the hamburger bun. These buns are made from wheat. With resources like land being limited, the same piece of land is irrigated repeatedly and its nutrition is exhausted. Over farming eventually leads to desertification. Since the same piece of land is irrigated repeatedly, it leads to over irrigation. This in turn leads to salinization. The farm land thus, gets covered with layers of salt. Most of the farming done

Letter from a Birmingham Jail Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Letter from a Birmingham Jail - Essay Example King gave bits and pieces of the letter to his attorneys to take back to movement’s head office, where Reverend Walker started putting together and editing the legendary jigsaw puzzle. Martin Luther King's letter is a statement put out by eight white Birmingham clergymen on April 12, 1963, known as "A Call for Unity". King composed this letter in reply to that statement. The clergymen concurred that social unfairness existed in the United States, but argued that the fight against racial discrimination should be fought only in the courts, and not in the streets. The clergymen condemned Martin Luther King, referring to King as an interloper who creates problems in the streets of Birmingham. In reply to this, Martin Luther King referred to his principle that all states, as well as communities, were interconnected. King wrote that injustice in any place is a threat to justice in every place. People are caught in an unavoidable system of mutuality, tied in one garment of fortune. A ccording to King, whatever concerns a person directly, concerns everybody indirectly. He said this to prove to the clergymen that anybody who resides inside the United States cannot be taken as an outsider. Martin Luther wanted to show his regrets about the protests that were taking place in Birmingham. He, however, felt that the African American people had no choice but to protest due to the way they were being oppressed by the whites. The clergymen, nevertheless, condemned the massive tension caused by the protests. In reply to this, Martin Luther King affirmed that he plus his fellow protestors were using peaceful actions so as to create tension that would put pressure on the wider society to face the matter head on. The protestors hoped to cause tension (King, 462). They hoped to create a non-violent tension that would lead to the development. This is as written down in King’s letter. King wanted to inform the clergymen that without peaceful forceful actions, proper civil rights could never be attained. The clergymen also condemned the timing of the protests. King, however, wanted to show the clergymen that they had waited long enough for these God given rights. Opposing the clergymen’s statement that the protest was against the law, King argued that not only was civil defiance justified in the face of undeserved laws but that everybody has a moral task of disobeying unfair laws. Luther’s letter contains the famous statement that stated inequality at any situation is a threat to impartiality everywhere (King, 462). Some of the various topics that King was trying to convey are: direct actions, civil rights as well as discrimination. According to King, direct action is a just form of political activism which seeks to remedy political, social as well as economic ills. Direct action is often urgent and challenging. It can contain such activities as workplace occupations, strikes, sit-ins, guerrilla warfare, and demonstrations among others (King, 462). Direct actions are sometimes a form of civil defiance and can contain illegal actions, but it is for the good of a society. King also wanted to show to people that racial discrimination is an ill-mannered culture and that everybody deserved to be treated equally. Finally, Martin Luther King was against deprivation of civil rights to the American citizens especially the African Ameri

Nursing Theorist Grid Essay Example for Free

Nursing Theorist Grid Essay 1. Theorist Selected: Florence Nightingale born on 5/12/1820, a writer, a philosopher, a theorist, a â€Å"reformer, a statistician, an administrator, a researcher† (Attewell, 1998), an educator, and a nurse leader. 2. Description of key points of the theory: Nightingale was one of the first theorist to connect the environment with the patient’s well being. Nightingale believed a persons health depended on their environment and that patients will be compliant to treatment because they wanted to be cared for and be healthy. Nightingale believed (as cited by Alligood, 2010, p. 101), â€Å"that the person was a holistic individual and thus had a spiritual dimension. She believed nursing was a spiritual calling, and with that belief she assumed that nurses could help those clients who were in spiritual distress.† She believed that the way the home, community or hospital room was kept affected the patient’s healing process. She created â€Å"13 cannons: Ventilation and warmth, light, cleanliness of rooms and walls, health of houses, noise, bed and bedding, personal cleanliness, variety, chattering hopes and advices, taking food, what food, petty management and observation of the sick† (Alligood, 2010, p.101-102) that help aid in the care of the patient and the environment to help promote good health. She also believed that nurses should be caring in nature and want to care for the ill and not for personal gain. Nightingale promoted a well balanced diet to help the patient with the healing process. 3. Theory’s historical background: Nightingale developed her passion young in life. Cook wrote (as cited by Selanders, 2010) â€Å"She records in her diary an interaction with God at age 16 when He â€Å"called her to His service†. Nightingale clarified (as cited by Alligood, 2010, p.98), â€Å"nursing knowledge is distinct from medical knowledge.† Nursing focuses on the patient and the environment to promote health where medicine focuses on disease process and medicinal use for health. In 1854-60 Nightingale cared for the wounded soldiers in the Crimean War with â€Å"emphasis on hygiene† (Attewell, 1998). During her time in the Crimean war she persuaded the education of army soldiers and doctors, which then lead to an opening of a pathology lab. She was an advocate for nursing education and clinical experience. â€Å"In 1860 founded 1st program to educate nurses in St. Thomas Hospital in London† (Alligood, 2010, p.98). In 1882 she wrote 2 articles â€Å"nurses, training of†, â€Å"nursing the sick†, they were in reference to how nursing school should be training. Let us not forget how she help analyze data she collected. â€Å"Statistics were a vital component of Nightingale’s systemic approach to health care† (McDonald, 2010). Complete the following grid based on the selected theorist information. Define each term according to the selected theorist. Explain how the selected theorist’s approach to each element of the metaparadigm applies to the following: Nursing practice Nursing education Nursing research Term Definition Applied to Nursing Practice Applied to Nursing Education Applied to Nursing Research Person According to Alligood (2010, p98), â€Å"most of Nightingale’s writings refer to the person as the one who is receiving care, she did believe that the person is a dynamic and complex being†. The one whose health is affected by the environment. The patient allows the nurse to provide care and help promote a healthier environment. McDonald noted (as cited by Hegge, 2013) â€Å"Nightingale realized that working-class women needed education to become competent nurses, so she began designing educational elements that would later be used in the Nightingale School of Nursing.† Nightingale’s research and data collection was done for the benefit of the patient. Creating evidence based practices. Health According to Alligood (2010, p 98) Nightingale wrote, â€Å"Health is not only to be well, but to be able to use well every power we have.†Ã‚  Nightingale created the 13 canons to help promote health. Getting patients back to their functioning status before they fell ill. Nightingale promoted patient health education, especially in the young women so her children could be healthy. Nightingale statistical expertise help make changes to improve a patients care and overall health. Nursing Whall noted (as cited by Alligood, 2010, p. 99)â€Å"Nightingale saw nursing as the â€Å"science of environmental management.† Nightingale set four steps for nursing process: observation of patient’s health status, identification what needs changing in the environment, implementation of nursing care plan, reassessment of patient’s health status with documentation of all steps. Nightingale advocated for nursing education. Schools taught nurses how to observe a patient, how to alter the environment and implement changes. We report back to the physician from our assessments and reassessments. Nightingale had the hospital collecting data report data such as mortality and length of stay. The data was analyzed and then changes in practices were implemented. Environment Selanders stated (as cited by Alligood, 2010, p98) that â€Å"environment can be defined as anything that can be manipulated to place a patient in the best  possible condition for nature to act†. Placing the patient in the appropriate environment. For example, Creating a pleasant, calm, soothing and quiet environment in a nursery so babies can rest and stay healthy without distress. Schools created to help educate the future nurses. In those teachings were the â€Å"how to change, alter, or improve the patient’s immediate environment. Nightingale’s collected statistics on the environment in which the soldiers dwelled in and analyzed it creating changes. Reference: Alligood, M.R. (2010). Nursing theory: Utilization application (4th ed.). Maryland Heights, MO: Mosby Elsevier. pgs 98. Retreived from the UOP ebook collection. Attewell, A. (1998). Florence nightingale (1820-1910). Prospects, 28(1), 151-166. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02737786. Retrieved from the UOP online library Selanders, L. C. (2010, March). The Power of Environmental Adaptation: Florence Nightingale’s Original Theory for Nursing Practice. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 28(1), 81-88. doi:10.1177/0898010109360257. Retrieved from the UOP online library Hegge, M. (2013, July). Nightingale’s Environmental Theory. Nursing Science Quarterly, 26(3), 211-219. doi:10.1177/0894318413489255. Retrieved from the UOP online library McDonald, L. (2010, March). Florence Nightingale Passionate Statistician. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 28(1), 92-98. doi:10.1177/0898010109358769. Retrieved from the UOP online library

Emotional Ability or Emotional Intelligence Essay Example for Free

Emotional Ability or Emotional Intelligence Essay Emotional ability or emotional intelligence is the ability to assess, identify and control the emotions of oneself. It is also the ability to recognize the impact of your own emotions upon your behavior and be aware of the emotions of others around you (Rosete, Ciracohhi, 2001). This is not always an easy task. It is a skill you have to work at constantly. Combine these sentences to make a direct comment. Since the brain tends to go into fight or flight mode quickly and easily, we have to figure out a strategy on how to think before we react. Reacting is instinctual and a way to combat an instinctual reaction is to hone your awareness of your own emotional state (Rosete, Ciracohhi, 2001). Knowing what events may trigger an emotional response will help you to be able to manage a reaction, manage your responses and move from being reactive to proactive. Several years ago I worked at a social service agency and had trouble with my supervisor. She was a chronic and consistent micromanager and always interrupted my tasks to assign another task that was menial and mundane. She would give me a project to work on and then check in on me constantly to see how it was going and how far along I had come. It drove me insane! I became so unnerved and agitated at her behavior that she provoked me to shut down and I became completely defiant. One task she gave me was so completely unnecessary that I flatly refused. I was stressed and highly emotional. I told her that task was a time waster and Im not going to do that task or anything else until she treated me with respect and stop micro managing me. I was angry, shaking and crying. She immediately went to HR and told them I was defiant, angry and verbally abusive. I knew that wasnt the case: I had just had enough. I agree to mediation with someone from the HR department whom I trusted to provide me with a fair mediation. If members of the team respect the lead negotiator, the process is manageable (lecture 8). Before the mediation, I tried to pull myself together so that I wouldnt be so emotional during the meeting. I knew I wouldnt have as much credibility if I was visibly too emotional. I tried to practice some self-management for the meeting. I wanted to focus on strategies for control of my motion and my emotional impulses (Mason, 2010). This was to no avail. I was so infuriated by the behavior of my supervisor that I completely broke down in mediation. I tried to suppress anger but it came out in my tears. I was an emotional wreck and knew that my emotions were too far gone to try and control at this point. In spite of everything, the mediation went well and we worked on some strategies that would have allowed me more freedom while giving my supervisor the assurance that the task would be done. Unbeknownst to them, I packed up and walked out at lunchtime and never returned. I knew that I would never be able to forge ahead after that day with any amount of dignity or respect after such an emotional breakdown and didnt even want to try. We all have emotions that influence our response to the world around but when employees have a high competence of emotional intelligence they have the ability to manage emotions and not let them influence their responses to their environment (Mason, 2010). People dont follow those who cant control their emotions and those kind of workers generally make for poor employees and poor leaders. References Mason, K. (2010, December 5). Why is emotional intelligence important in the business workplace? .The Thriving Small Business, 2-4. Rosete, D., Ciracohhi, J. (2001). Emotional intelligence and its relationship to workplace performance outcomes of leadership effectiveness .Leadership Organization Development Journal ,26(5), 288-296.

Vygotsky’s Theory

Vygotsky’s Theory Explain and Evaluate Vygotskys Theory of the Role of Language in Childrens Cognitive Development Vygotsky described developmental changes in childrens thinking in terms of cultural tools; they use these to make sense of their world. Generally, they use technical tools to change objects or gain mastery over the environment. Moreover, they used psychological tools to organise behavior or thought. According to Vygotskys view, society shapes a childs mind through the transmission of tools which are appropriate for their culture. Both the culture and the childs experiences are necessary to understand childrens cognitive development (â€Å"Social Development Theory,† n.d.) Vygotskys theory was an attempt to explain awareness the product of socialization. For example, in the learning of language or first words, peers or adults are noticing the first utterance and the purpose of communication but after they recognize that they become internalized and allow â€Å"inner speech† (Bransford, Brown, Cocking, 2000). Vygotsky believed that language was one of the most important psychological tools that effects childrens cognitive development. He identified that there are three different stages in the childrens use of language. Firstly, language is an essential factor for communication (social speech). Next, children begin to use egocentric or private speech to control their own thinking. The last stage is language development. Children use verbal thoughts to guide what they are thinking and their actions. (referance). Vygotsky also believed that language and thought first become independent after them being interdependent. He suggested that attainment of a new word was the beginning of the development of a concept. This is supported by a classic study by Carmichael (1932) who gave participants one of two labels for certain drawings. A kidney shape was described either kidney bean or canoe. Following that participants were asked to draw the shape. If the drawing was different form their label according to which label they had been given. As a result of this words can help us to remember things. On the other hand, Sinclair- de -Zward (1969) tried to teach children who could not use comparative terms that were not in their vocabulary. (p116). Such as, bigger or shorter, she found that there was very little improvement in their ability to conserve. The major theme of Vygotskys theoretical framework is that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition. Vygotsky (1978) states: Every function in the childs cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals. (p57). Moreover, Vygotsky also identified three concepts in particular for cognitive development to proceed effectively. â€Å"The zone of proximal development is the distance between what children can do by themselves and the next learning that they can be helped to achieve with competent assistance† (Raymond, 2000, p.176). The scaffolding teaching strategy provides individualized support based on the learners ZPD (Chang, Sung, Chen, 2002). The first is the Zone of proximal development. This zone describes the range of difficult tasks or it is very hard for the learners complete this task alone. However, learners can complete this task with appropriate assistance or someone who is more knowledgeable. Thus according to Vygotsky, cognitive development will occur when a learner is confronted by a task that lies within the zone, if a task is easy to complete for task learners then no cognitive development will occur. Also if the task is too hard for a learner to complete the task alone or even with assistance then no cognitive development will occur. (Bransford, Brown, Cocking, 2000). Evidence for ZPD was produced by McNaughton and Leyland (1990). They observed young children working with their mothers on jigsaw puzzles of increasing difficulty and then after one week the child was working on their own. The children reached higher difficulty when working with their mother. Thus it is explaining their ZPD. The Zone of Proximal Development was related to a kind of scaffolding which is used by the mothers. The mothers were worried about keeping their child on task. During this time generally mothers were focused on helping the children solve the puzzle for themselves, Previous studies looked at middle- income families. Researchers suggested that using different ZPD â€Å"region of sensitivity to instruction,† this term using for mothers and preschoolers in a copying task and it is help to predict childrens subsequent skills on this task. Furthermore, researchers found some differences in how well mothers change their level of encouragement style based on the childs performance (â€Å"i.e., providing less support after the child succeeded and more support after failure† and these differences were also helping to predict a childrens ability to gain understanding and learn information . (Wood et al., 1976; Wood Middleton, 1975). The second concept is that the scaffolding which describes the nature of the assistantce given by the more knowledgeable person. In this time the learner completes the task with the Zone of Proximal development (with assistance). Infants cognitive development depends on the assistance level. If the assistance is great at first and then it is slightly reduced as the learners skill improves, ultimately, the learner will be able to complete the task but the cognitive development will only continue if the task is replaced with another task or a more complex task which is modified to the new zone. (Bransford, Brown, Cocking, 2000). Vygotsky defined scaffolding instruction as the â€Å"role of teachers and others in supporting the learners development and providing support structures to get to that next stage or level† (Raymond, 2000, p. 176).An important aspect of scaffolding instruction is that the scaffolds are temporary. As the learners abilities increase the scaffolding provided by the more knowledgeable other is progressively withdrawn. Finally the learner is able to complete the task or master the concepts independently (Chang, Sung, Chen, 2002, p. 7). Therefore, the goal of the teacher when using the scaffolding teaching technique is for the student to become an independent and self- regulating learner and problem solver (Hartman, 2002). There is one study which examined the relation of maternal scaffolding and childrens attention regulation abilities in preschool children from low-income families within the context of a parent-child interaction task and in a child-alone task. According to this maternal scaffolding behaviors are different between mothers of children with attention regulation skills. For example, whose children show poor attention regulation skills, it emerges that parent and child interactions are more likely to engage verbally with their children, more strategic questions, â€Å"verbal hints and verbal prompt† (Olson and Platt, 2000, p.180). The amount of childrens attention regulation skills is related to the mothers level of scaffolding to predict child performance when they are alone to complete a task. Attention regulation skills are also related to independent performance when contexts including high maternal scaffolding. Findings provide important information parents promote attention regulation skills in children especially who are at risk for poor academic outcomes (Blair, 2002; Sethi, Mischel, Aber, Shoda, Rodriguez, 2000). The current study focused on a parent-child puzzle matching task to understand how children regulate their attention process when with their mother and when alone. How specific mothers behavior are related to childrens abilities to understand to regulate their own behavior and transfer these abilities to independent tasks. Researchers especially focused on verbal behaviors of mothers which are related to childrens attention regulation skills. (Norman, Breznitz, 1992) Researchers have focused on different socioeconomic status in families. An empirical research has exposed that there has been significant differences in interactional characteristics in families of different socioeconomic levels (Gottfried, 1984; Hart Risley, 1992, 1995; Heath, 1989). According to research results show that different socioeconomic status has been shown to influence the nature parent-child interactions. Another research was done by Wood (1976) who observed children aged 4-5 who were working with their mother on problem solving tasks. Some mothers gave verbal encouragement and others more specific help including demonstrations of what to do. The most effective strategy was combined both general and specific instructions, the mother was adapting to the learners achievement and failures. The mother gave instructions when the learner had difficulty but mothers gave general encouragement when the child was coping well. Kopp (1987) reported that specific types of control technique used by caregivers affected childrens self regulation skills. For instance, middle income families who encouraged their children to be independen,t their children were more likely to have low rate on impulsivity, problems of cconcentration and hyperactivity, and high on self-control measures. Similarly, Grolnick and Ryan (1989) have found that high levesl of parental support of independence was associated with more self regulation and they are more likely to less acting behavior. Based on these studies, the amount of caregiver control affects childs behavior and it is also related to childrens self- regulation abilities. When children get older parents give their children a number of responsibilities for example, children become independent regulators of their own thinking processes. According to Vygotsky (1978) view of socio-cognitive transaction makes it easy to improve childrens cognitive development is the ability to become same structure situation like an adults, it is depends to the childs ability levels. The third concept is psychological tools give another reason that â€Å"social interaction† is an essential factor in cognitive development. Psychological tools are â€Å"intellectual mechanisms or operations† which people use to examine their environment and interact with others. Here is some examples of psychological tools â€Å"written language, symbols, maps and scientific method and oral language† (Gredler and Shields, 2004). Evaluation of Vygotskys theory; There has been very little empirical investigation research on Vygorskys theory however there are much more research on Piagets theory. Further limitation relates to Vygotskys social emphasis. Whereas Piagets give minimise attention to social influences, Vygotskys give too much weight to social influences. There has been also some strengths, for example, Vygotskys approach provides an association between social and cognitive domains. (Vygotsky, 1978) There are a number of important distinctions between Piagets and Vygotskys theories. The most important ones are that teachers worry about the role of language and learning in development. But Piaget believed that egocentric speech is not a useful function in young childrens development. Vygotsky argued that egocentric speech is the way children recognise and regulate their thoughts and actions. Piaget claimed that childrens development is limited and it is associated with what children are able to learn from social experiences (Vygotsky, 1978) Vygotsky( 1934/1986) disagree with Piagets conclusions. Language helps children to think about mental abilities, behaviors and select courses of action. He believed that it is the foundation for all higher cognitive processes including controlled attention, deliberate memorization, recall categorization, planning problem solving, abstract reasoning and self reflection. Vygotskys view is that children speak themselves for self guidance. When they get older they find some tasks easier, their self directed speech isinternalised as salient in inner speech and the internal speech verbal dialogs people always carry on while thinking and acting in everyday situations. ( Vygotsky, 1986) To conclude vygotskys theory of socio-cultural theory is important to understand child cognitive development. Especially, he divided into three concepts which gave more clear information and each zone gives completely different information. However there have been some negative aspects of this theory, it does not tell how children internalize social experience to advance their mental functioning. He just gave a little information about biological contributions to childs cognition. However, his theory emphasised cognitive change Vygotsky theory leads up to expect diverse path of development. ( Vygotsky, 1978) References: Blair, C. (2002). Integrating cognition and emotion in a neurobiological conceptualization of childrens functioning at school entry. American Psychologist, 57, 111−127. Bransford, J., Brown, A., Cocking, R. (2000). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, and Experience School. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Chang, K., Chen, I., Sung, Y. (2002). The effect of concept mapping to enhance text comprehension and summarization. The Journal of Experimental Education 71(1), 5-23. Hartman, H. (2002). Scaffolding Cooperative Learning. Human Learning and Instruction (pp. 23-69). New York: City College of City University of New York. Hart, B., Risley, T. R. (1992). American parenting of language-learning children: Persisting differences in family-child interactions observed in natural home environments. Developmental Psychology, 28, 1096−1105. Hart, B., Risley, T. R. (1995). Meaningful differences in the everyday experiences of young American children. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. Heath, S. B. (1989). Oral and literate traditions among Black Americans living in poverty. American Psychologist, 44, 367−373. Kopp, C. B. (1987). The growth of self-regulation: Caregivers and children. In N. Eisenberg (Ed.), Contemporary topics in developmental psychology (pp. 34−35). New York: Wiley. Gredler, M., Shields, C. (2004). Does no one read Vygotskys words? Commentary on Glass Commentary on Glassman. Educational Researcher, 33(2), 21 25. Gottfried, A. W. (1984). Home environment and early cognitive environment. Integration, meta-analysis, and conclusions. In A. W. Gottfried (Ed.), Home environment and early cognitive development: Longitudinal research (pp. 329−342). Orlando, FL: Academic Pres Grolnick, W. S., Ryan, R. M. (1989). Parent styles associated with childrens self-regulation and competence in school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81, 143−154 Norman, G., Breznitz, Z. (1992). Difference in the ability to concentrate in first grade Israeli pupils of low and high socioeconomic status. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 153, 5−17. Olson, J. and Platt, J. (2000). The Instructional Cycle. Teaching Children and Adolescents with Special Needs (pp. 170-197). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc Raymond, E. (2000). Cognitive Characteristics. Learners with Mild Disabilities (pp. 169-201). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn Bacon, A Pearson Education Company. Sethi, A., Mischel, W., Aber, J. L., Shoda, Y., Rodriguez, M. L. (2000). The role of strategic attention deployment in development of self-regulation: Predicting preschoolers delay of gratification from mother-toddler interactions. Developmental Psychology, 36, 767−777. Social Development Theory. (No date). Retrieved November 3, 2002, from http:// tip.psychology.org/vygotsky.html Norman, G., Breznitz, Z. (1992). Difference in the ability to concentrate in first grade Israeli pupils of low and high socioeconomic status. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 153, 5−17. Vygotsky, L.S. (1962). Thought and Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in Society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Vygotsky, Lev. 1986. Thought and Language (translated by Alex Kozulin). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. (Original work published 1934.) Wertsch, J.V. (1985). Cultural, Communication, and Cognition: Vygotskian Perspectives. Cambridge University Press. Wood, D., Bruner, J., Ross, G. (1976). The role of tutoring in problem solving. Journal of Child Psychology and Child Psychiatry, 17, 89−100. Wood, D., Middleton, D. (1975). A study of assisted problem-solving. British Journal of Psychology, 66(2), 181−191.