Is Media A Boon Or A Curse Essay

Is media a boon or a curse? Everything in this modern age is powered by media from the moment we wake up until we sleep at night. Have we ever asked ourselves how all of this affects our reasoning, our power to choose and our lifestyle? Since mass media is used to communicate and interact with people from various walks of life, it can often result in a conflict of opinions. The media, specifically in India, represents a convergence of paradoxes: tradition and modernity; anarchy and order; diversity and unity; conflict and cooperation; news and views; feudalism and democracy; the free market and monopoly. Mass media enjoys a very prominent role in our lives. Therefore, there are various effects of mass media on society at large. Mass media a boon? The wide reach offered by mass media is phenomenal. It can target both local and global audience. Over the years, mass media has played an important role in making people understand the meaning of democracy. We also come to know about the strengths and weaknesses of the economy of our country, the various problems faced by the nation, achievements of the nation in different sectors, through the prompt and precise reporting of different forms of media. In a country like ours, where there are many castes, religions and languages spoken, media has even more tough responsibility of conveying the true news to the citizens. Media plays a very important role in shaping the personality of people. It has been observed that citizens become more sensible and capable to shoulder their responsibility towards the nation and society because of the media. Media has done much good to society by exposing various scams, scandals, frauds, embezzlements and many other cases of corruption, leading to init iation of inquiries and other processes of prosecution against the perpetrators of these crimes. Some of the recent cases are witness that the Press has been instrumental in putting an end to atrocities. It has also brought to light some of the rustic practices like child marriage, dowry, etc., to light and has empowered women especially to come to the forefront and express their grievance. Media has not just become a form of disseminating information and entertainment but also the most trusted form of advertising. Millions of consumers and advertisers today receive a flood of information through commercial advertising. Recently, online media has become an improved modern method of  interaction. Its quick and easy access at the touch of a button has not only made media powerful but also helps in keeping us updated even on the move. Mass media can be used for educational purposes in an effective manner, and media is a boon for all age groups and people from different walks of life in many ways. They get news, views, and constructive information related to the subject of their c hoice. Mass media a curse? However, media suffers from some pitfalls; growing consumerism and materialism have adversely impacted our media. At times, the information reported may not be authentic from every angle. Hence, there may be a misinterpretation of a situation. News can be manipulated to influence the minds of the audiences. For example, a particular political party may manipulate reports in their favour, which would indicate the political control in the media. Media bias can occur due to various issues. A journalist or an editor may give personal preference to an issue. A particular event or a celebrity may receive undue importance and set wrong ideals before the youth. It may present an ostentatious lifestyle, which may inculcate wrong ideals amongst youngsters. Unnecessary sensationalism of an issue may project incorrect information to the public. There is the danger that comes when making money is more important than quality of information flow. It clearly hampers the honest and unbiased functioning of the organisation. Due to the rise in social media, we have become a population that is afraid to be ‘left out’ – we need to know things that really has no value, and, to a certain extent, we are at risk of filling our lives and brains with worthless information at the expense of meaningful dialog and interactions. Misleading messages may divert young minds towards a wrong path. Wrong interpretation of news may even blow things out of proportion. This would create further unrest in any place or even violence in case of extreme situations. At times, a particular event or news item may receive too much attention simply because of the lack of important news or snippets. It presents a wrong notion before the public and clogs their minds with unnecessary information. Media strongly influences the minds of the people who read or view what has been published, so it is important for the publishers and publications to be careful and cautious in handling the inputs they get from their reporters. Media is a boon if it is socially  responsible, unbiased, non-political, informative and educative to the masses but not to a class alone. But, it is a curse if it carries information or coverage to sensationalise, create curiosity among the public, misrepresentation of facts at the cost of someone’s reputation. For long-term solutions, we will have to bank on the educational institutions to educate, train, groom and prepare the youth to be more discerning viewers rather than passive spectators or participants in order to avoid any irresponsible influence or working of the media.

Procter & Gamble Global Business Services: A Case Study Essay

A Time to Make a Change at P&G Some of the signs and signals experienced by an organization which indicates that it is time to make a change are: experiencing rapid growth or a decline in growth, a decline in productivity, a decline in resources, stakeholder pressures on management, environmental crises, sociopolitical influences on the organization, environmental turbulence and changes to customer expectations and behavior. The highly competitive global marketplace where Procter & Gamble operates is forcing the company to continuously do more with less. Advancements in technology, the pace of competition, globalization, the need to control cost and the increased efficiency coupled with the increasing customer expectations mean that the organization has to evolve and regenerate in order to survive. This is all the more important because if business has to know anything about the future, it is that it will be different from the present. Whatever is, will change. There’s no way to avoid it. But it can be managed. The inevitable changes in the organization will take P&G to a higher level, and will bring them to new avenues opened up for growth, in the face of the increasingly boundless global market that the nature of the consumer goods business is mercilessly made to put up with. Communicating Change to Employees Within the popular management literature, John Kotter (1996) has put forward an eight-stage model on how to successfully manage change. This is very applicable to the situation in P&G and comprises of: (1) communicating a sense of urgency; (2) creating a vision; (3) communicating the vision; (4) forming a powerful coalition; (5) empowering others to act; (6) planning short-term wins; (7) consolidating change and (8) institutionalizing new approaches. He argues that change leaders should communicate their vision in many different forums over and over again if they wish to develop an effective implementation strategy. The question of what to communicate should be all information that interrelate employees in their work in order to inform, to convince and to determine action during a time when the employees are most confused and apprehensive of the circumstances within the firm. The matter of when to communicate should be at all times, when there are new developments in the change that seems to be in the scope of concern of the employees, as they would naturally ant to be informed of any progress that the transition is taking. Effective communication in times of change helps facilitate smoother change management. Recommendations One effective strategy to overcome expected resistance is to think beyond it. The Procter & Gamble management must attend to the more specific reasons for resistance, such as loss of control or loss of self-efficacy, to diagnose problems more accurately and to overcome them more efficiently and effectively (Dyer, Dalzell and Olegario, 2004). It must also be kept in mind the context of the change and focus on explanations other than individual resistance for why change may not be successfully implemented. Likewise, senior management must think beyond the wisdom that people resist change by challenging themselves to consider the role they, as change leaders may play in creating resistance. The unavoidable changes in corporate culture should be supported through revamping internal reward systems and introducing training programs in order to improve result orientation among employees. It sold its rigorous training to potential recruits during that time in much the same way that the US Army sells its educational opportunities to its own recruits. Two integration programs are seen as useful for these types of changes: training & development and reinforcement. Training and development, as any decision that would be reached would inevitably bring about change within the company. Reinforcement is necessary also, in which the staff will become so used to the changes that the tendency to resist it fades as they are bound to ultimately follow such policies if they are to stay in the organization and contribute to its continued growth. WORK CITED Dyer, D., Dalzell, F. & Olegario, R. (2004). Rising Tide: Lessons from 165 Years of Brand Building at Procter & Gamble. Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Publishing. Kotter, J. (1996) Leading Change. Harvard: Harvard Business School Press.

Panera Bread Business Strategies Essay

â€Å"Thirty years ago, Ron Shaich set out to change the world by changing the way America eats. He’s done that with not one, but two successful restaurant brands. By co-founding Au Bon Pain, Co. Inc. and founding Pan-era Bread, Shaich shook up the industry by offering an antithesis to fast food – hand made, artisan food served in warm and welcoming environments by people you can trust. †(KANAI, 2012) This quote describes how Shaich and colleagues started to create their cafe bakery and change the way Americans eat. Pan-era was the first to come out with the calories on the menu board to ensure that Americans were aware of how healthy Pan-era was and the intention to re maim forthcoming about what was in the food we eat. Shaich and his colleagues did not follow the six step process they focused on the four areas food, setting, customers, and the workforce which made sense for capitalism. Shaich also thrived to make sure the customers and employees were well taken care of because they also played a big role in the success of Pan-era and lets not forget to acknowledge the community and their involvement in the success. Conscious Capitalism is an expression of how Shaich has found success in the restaurant industry if the whole society and corporate society would think of themselves as a corporation things would be better for everyone. Shaich is able to offer a word of advice if you were to get involved with conscious capitalism â€Å"Believe in yourself and why you got into it. Believe in those things that attracted you to the industry which makes a big difference in the lives of our guests. (ROMEO, 2012) For many years Pan-era has focused on the principal of conscious capitalism or what they like to call â€Å" enlightened -self interest† in two ways by delivering value to customers, vendors , employees, investors, and the community and to focus on a higher purpose above and beyond short term results. Meaning providing our customers with the artisan bread , delicious and nutritional food on a daily basis. Then Shaich and all his colleagues wanted to know how to challenge conscious capitalism and they figured out somethings that they are already doing like donating the day old bread to homeless.

Advantages of music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Advantages of music - Essay Example Music lovers are destined to cherish thorough entertainment,good health and a wholesome personality.Music happens to be one of the most potent art forms because sounds tend to have a more powerful impact on the human consciousness as compared to other sensory stimuli. Human feelings are often classified as emotions, moods and sensations. Music can influence all the aspects of the human psychosomatic framework. Music generates pleasant sensations by stimulating the human auditory system. Music also helps in creating positive emotions by the salubrious influence it often has on the sense organs. The impact of music on the human mind does sometimes get elevated to the level of intense passion when the listeners' emotions soar to higher intensity under the magic of musical compositions. Listening to music can also help one in getting into the right mood. Thus, music has a direct correlation with the human feelings and emotions, as the structure of many musical compositions is often somew hat akin to the structure of human feelings. Music has the immense power and ability to alter a person's attitude and mental state by the dint of its beats and melodies. There is no denying the fact that the history of music is as old as the history of humanity. Music does happen to be an integral constituent of most of the worthy civilizations. Manifold are the advantages of music as this art form has discrete personal, social and intellectual implications. Music is not merely a source of solace, but also a popular mode of self-expression. It will be interesting to touch upon some of the advantages of music. Entertainment First, music is the most vital source of entertainment and recreation (Berkman, 4). In today's time pressed work scenario, people often are subjected to intense stress and duress in their day-to-day life. To distress oneself, the modern man has to often take recourse to the available forms and modes of recreation. No doubt, in all the ages and times, music happened to be the most viable and accessible form and source of entertainment and recreation (Berkman, 7). Music can accompany and support the human moods and consciousness in all its shades and aspects. After a hectic day at the office, music can help a person to de-stress and unwind oneself and to get rid of the accrued stress and fatigue. A student sweating on bulky assignments and coursework can choose to play some good song in the background to create a creative and salubrious environment. It is not a surprise that one inevitably comes across music, being played at most of the social and public places like parks, eating join ts and malls. In fact the modern man is so hooked to music that it has come out with innovative gadgets like iPods and Walkman, which enable one to carry one's music with oneself all the time. No Hollywood blockbuster is considered complete without being accompanied by an original sound track. Thus, music is the most portable source of entertainment and recreation that has seamlessly integrated itself with all the aspects of contemporary civilization. Health Music also has many medicinal and healing qualities that can significantly reduce stress and improve health (Campbell, 9). That is why many people prefer to tag good music with their fitness and exercise programs. Loud and upbeat music has been found to have a salubrious impact on the patients of chronic depression. Contrary to this, slow and melodious music is used as a sedative by many therapists. Harp music has been found to be particularly helpful to the people having some heart trouble (Campbell, 27). Many studies conducted at Harvard have established beyond doubt that the rhythms of a healthy heart are often very much like the rhythms of classical music (Campbell, 36). Therefore, harp music can stimulate a patient's heart to beat more normally. Many other studies conducted in the last two decades have

DQWEEK8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

DQWEEK8 - Essay Example The software requirements process will give the developers the requirements that will be required of the system that will be developed. The developers will use the blueprint of the business requirements to come up with the system. It is an important process that will determine the outcome of the system. For any system to be accepted by the users, it will have to meet the requirements and the needs of these users (Tan & Ruighaver 2005). Another important software process is that of software development. This is so because the avoidance of software bugs will help to eradicate the errors that will be met when using the software. The software development process should be undertaken using the right software tools and the right technologies. Without proper tools, there will be many deficiencies in terms of functionalities. When developing the software, the right and modern trends and technologies should be used. Technology is dynamic as it keeps changing. The right and current technology should be used. This will ensure that the resultant software product will be as recent and up to date as much as possible (Tan & Ruighaver 2005). Software improvement is yet another important software process that is important in the software processes. This process is important as it enables the organization to have the latest capabilities from the software. It enables developers to integrate the latest technologies and patch holes that have been identified in the software. Even though the technologies that were used in the initial development of the software could be obsolete, this process of software improvement will enable the software to have the latest features and have had recent technologies integrated. It is, therefore, important to have this important process while developing the software (Tan & Ruighaver 2004). The key processes that are used in the course are six. The parts that re missing are the testing of the software. The ramification of the missing parts is that sof tware testing, if not done, will bring software which might be having deficiencies. This could bring errors in the business processes. Deploying a software product without testing will introduces bugs to the business process. If the bug affects financial procedures, then a lot of money will be lost in the business (Tan & Ruighaver 2005). Another important process that has been missed is that of software analysis and design. This is an important which could bring errors if it is not undertaken. The software product that could be developed could meet the technical requirements but not in the way the users wanted it to be used. It is important to follow the needs of the users. The users will require that the software product follows the design that they anticipated. They might dismiss the whole system just because some function has not been designed in the way they wanted it to be (Tan & Ruighaver 2005). Another process that has not been mentioned is that maintenance and repair. If the software product is not well maintained, then there will be a lot of problems that will be met by users. It will bring a lot of problems to the software users. To improve the process, there will be the need to ensure that the requirements of the users are followed to the latter (Tan & Ruighaver 2004). Question 2 Timing issues are an important component that should be considered when implementing a real-time system. Timing will affect many processes in the whole business process if timing is not effectively undertaken.

Enhancing Employability & Employment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Enhancing Employability & Employment - Essay Example The derived information from the exploratory research suggests that compliance with legal requirement and accounting standards not only improves the existing system within Ernst & Young but also helps them in devising strategies meant for community and societal development. The main aim of the hard and soft system models as solutions for Ernst & Young would help in the removal of the existing functional and non-functional barriers for the improvement and efficiency in the accounting system and also the achievement of the goals and objectives. Covert, overt dimensions, hard and soft systems would help in identification of taxation and accounting errors and also the delay causing the timely delivery of projects. On the other hand, the Weisbord Six Box Model would facilitate both the running the existing system, design of constructive organizational structure and enhancing the work climate. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Outline of Research used for Ernst & Young 4 Diagnosis of Internal Issues Faced by Ernst & Young 5 Diagnosis of External Issues Faced by Ernst & Young 8 SWOT Analysis 10 Analysis of Issues faced by Ernst & Young 11 Recommendations of Change Management Strategy 12 Justification of Change Management Intervention Techniques 14 Reference List 16 Introduction Ernst & Young, a multinational professional service provider with its headquarters in London, United Kingdom, is regarded as the world’s third largest professional service provider. It is also one of the largest accounting firms in the present scenario. The company operates in more than one-fifty countries with more than seven hundred offices in the world and employs more than one hundred and seventy-five thousands employees (Ernst &Young, 2013a). The prime objective of the organization revolves around providing audit, tax, legal and advisory services to the leading organizations. The company caters to advisory, tax, assurance and information relate d to financial and accounting transactions. The research was conducted on this organization to help the users to understand the functionality of this firm which aims and does excel in their accounting and professional services. The management concepts along with the issues related to the organization will be highlighted. Presently, the external and internal strategic issues faced by Ernst & Young along with the appropriate solutions would be provided by the author in the following study. Finally, the study would conclude with recommendations which can help in curbing down the current strategic issues faced by Ernst & Young and aid the betterment of the existing systems. Outline of Research used for Ernst & Young Exploratory research is conducted for identification of a problem that has not been clearly identified and recognized. It is regarded as one of the research data collection methods based on secondary data available through print, media, articles and interview with the respon dents. The entire purpose of explorative research would be to precede a formal research through the availability of large and small data. It also helps the researcher to provide information through conducted surveys and experimental methods (Appelbaum et al., 2012). This is used to develop possible list of causes and help in uncovering possible avenues and assisting decision maker in reaching the goals

Compare medieval students with your own student life Research Paper

Compare medieval students with your own student life - Research Paper Example hat was practiced in the middle ages thus could be viewed as a Christian doctrine fronted by those who were apologetic for Christianity as a religion and as such had it thinly disguised as some form f philosophy (Kenny, 56). This essay therefore seeks to discuss medieval philosophy giving comparison and contrasts between the medieval students and my own student life. Medieval students were expected to act within the doctrines of Christianity. This was the philosophy that required an individual student to take responsibility for the evil conducted. Medieval philosophy talks about free will and the choices people make about what they do and priority over what should be made superior over the other (Kenny, 62). As such students conduct and actions were expected to be guided by this philosophy. The students were expected to live a life that is guided by these doctrines. They were rules set about dress cords and regulated flamboyant dressing. This students were restricted from staying around with lose women as well as staying up all hours. There mannerism and behavior was controlled using the Christian doctrine as would have been seen today to be theological. The medieval students unlike the student’s life we enjoy today had a lot of respect for the laws that were established in their institutions. The development and growth of the universities including increase in population however brought changes which can now be seen as contributors to the similarities we share today like the strikes and brawling as well as drinking that characterizes our universities today. The lives of the medieval students socially pale in comparison with that of my student life. There was a lot of patronizing and strictness about the school rules and students were monitored and chastened in a Christian way of life. This days things are different, students are a all about their freedom and liberty. The fact that most of them are in college at an adult age makes them want to express their

Websites that explore visual designs Research Paper

Websites that explore visual designs - Research Paper Example Almost everyone has access or has the need to surf the Internet for various purposes whether for academics, work or purely for relaxation. It is indeed a challenge to the designers of websites on how they can keep the interest of the users, or how to make the Internet surfers addicted to the site. In this study, we will analyse six quality websites that deals with visual designs of web pages.Michael Bernard's (2003) Criteria for Optimal Web Design (Designing for Usability), noticeably, does not contain any unnecessary hyperlinks that could distract the surfer; Bernard knows exactly who his users are. Being an information website, whose users are most likely students of Computer-related courses or anyone interested in web design, Bernard's text is comprehensible and focused on enhancing the website's usability.Foss identifies four reasons why users get lost within the structure: disorientation, embedded digression problem, "art museum" problem, and poor structure (as cited in Bernard, 2003). Bernard, in turn, presents solutions to these difficulties. To avoid confusion, Bernard suggests organising the site according to thetypical users' mental model of how a site should be organised; submenu titles are also helpful. Since arrangement of links can affect search time, Bernard further recommends link presentation according to category. Bernard adheres to the result of his research. I, personally, find Bernard's webpage easy to use. The navigation cues are visible at the top and the bottom of the page; the title of the next or previous page is also shown when the cursor touches the navigation cues. Access to this site is unbelievably speedy, as well. Just as I clicked on the Enter key the webpage immediately appeared. Rick Oppedisano's (2002) Common Principles: A Usable Interface Design Primer upholds the general principle of usability which is often called "transparent interface" that maximises user task completion and minimises interfering factors. Rieman, Franzke, and Redmiles (as cited in Oppedisano, 2002) discover that "when users perform a transaction or action, their cognition is often split between learning and operating the system or user interface (UI)"; hence, UI has to be well-designed to enable the user to focus more on gaining knowledge than troubling himself into finding out the operating system of the website. For this reason, Oppedisano presents "guidelines for minimising user cognitive processing and maximising interface efficiency." The basic rule for Oppedisano is having a consistent style in layout, font, and other elements. Indeed, as a user the very first thing I notice in a website is its style sheet. Fancy colors, font, and images are good to see but noticeably the fancier it gets the slower the browser becomes. However, Oppedisano's webpage has been created in the simplest form. What is good about Oppedisano's study is ensuring that users are given full concern especially when clicking on a transaction that might have a negative consequence. An ample warning should be in place. However, compared to Oppedisano, User Experience Design Director Mike Padilla (2006) tackles UI design in a more comprehensive manner. The key word in his article about taking the good with the bad UI design is compromise; that is, compromise between the downside and the benefit of certain design decisions. With the use of a table, Padilla has clearly presented the "costs and benefits of design decisions." As in writing an essay, knowing the target audience is a must as it plays a vital role in determining the appropriate writing style; as in designing websites, being able to know the site's target users will also enable the designer to plan and execute a more beneficial design. As Padilla points out, critiques can also find some flaws on a good UI design. What is a high-quality design to a user may appear cluttered;

PROPOSAL FOR A DOUBLE-LINE VENTURE Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

PROPOSAL FOR A DOUBLE-LINE VENTURE - Assignment Example However, the business venture must assess and scrutinize the progress of the initiative to determine potential strengths and weaknesses. Meanwhile, inefficiencies and market failures will arguably contribute to emergence of numerous opportunities vital for growth and expansion of the double-line venture. Despite the numerous risks and potential challenges, the business venture will continue to capture the imagination of nonprofits and funders alike. The essay primarily focuses on a proposal for double-line venture. Entrepreneurial ventures pursue opportunities regardless of the resources they have and control. However, discovering the opportunities that lie outside of the current market structures remains a significant challenge to virtually all entrepreneurial ventures worldwide. A number of such opportunities in new and existing markets focus primarily on the needs of underprivileged or underserved customer segments. In most cases, inefficiencies and market failures contribute to the emergence of numerous opportunities. Entrepreneurs can successfully mobilize resources to help in resolving market failures in particular sectors of the economy and provide a viable solution to specific social problems. The primary objective of the double-line venture should be to create a new socially valuable product or service that will ultimately address the aforementioned challenges. In addition, the business venture, through its double-line program (second bottom line), is committed to measuring performanc e in relation to potential positive impacts on local communities. It also uses the power of business to bring about environmental and social change through various social enterprises and initiatives. This paper main purpose is to analyze the entrepreneurship in the global perspective; and specifically to highlight the concept of double line business concept. The idea of measuring conventional financial accounting concurrent with the social return will be

The European sovereign debt crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The European sovereign debt crisis - Essay Example It was found that from 2009 onwards, some countries in the EMU like Spain, Portugal and other countries in the similar zone, were not able to refinance the debts incurred by the government. This crisis in some of the countries in the EMU had a spill-over effect and had generated an economic scarcity in most of the contemporary economies in the world. The essay in this context desires to throw light on how the crises in some of the economies in the EMU were responsible for the massive and deadly financial crisis in the financial markets of the whole European Union (Ross, 1979). Crisis in a Small Economies Triggered a Large Impact The economies in the contemporary world have become highly integrated in nature after the emergence of globalization and liberalization. The debt crisis that was initially faced by the public authorities in a few small economies in the Euro zone like Spain, Greece etc were responsible for the occurrence of the Sovereign Debt Crisis for the whole European Cont inent. The Property Bubble that occurred in Spain long back in 2007 was largely responsible for the occurrence for the recession in the European economy at the latter stage. It was found that after a long term sustainable growth, the Spanish economy had become highly unproductive in nature. The entrepreneurs started to invest more in the real estate sector. However, it was found that the prices of the properties constantly increased in the economy because real estate trading was used for speculative purposes in the Spanish economy. Ultimately, this caused a fall in the disposable income of the individuals who had to purchase houses at very high prices. The number of the failed projects in the economy started to increase. All the other economic indicators like the government debt, exchange rates, velocity of money circulation, derivative trading etc became worse in the economy at this point of time. As the countries used to follow the regime of fixed policies, the recession in one pa rticular economy had largely triggered the same in other economies in the Euro zone. Greece was one of the poorest nations that had remained in the Euro Area. The government of the country took large amount of loans from the ECB for mitigating the requirements if the expansionary fiscal policies. However it was a matter of concern that the government of the country could not pay back the loans to the ECB. This was the reason for the huge fiscal deficit in the country. Fiscal deficit in the nation contagiously affected the supply of money in the economy. Thus during 2005 and 2009, some countries which were indeed small economies like Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal etc. had to face severe financial crisis for reasons like property bubble, high fiscal debt or lack of productivity. Since all the nations in the Euro zone were integrated together in terms of the monetary policies taken for them, the crisis in some of the economies soon triggered the same in other economies in the European Continent and generated the severe Sovereign Debt Crisis in the country (Klann, 2007). Impact in the financial Market The financial market in the Euro zone was distressed after the occurrence of the Sovereign Debt Crisis. The severity of the recession caused in the economy has not been completely recovered from even at this juncture of time. Derivatives Market During the Sovereign Debt Crisis, the European economy faced severe financial crisis. The number of failed out financial projects were excessive. The overall productivity of the economy had fallen to a

Animal System Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Animal System - Research Paper Example Their digestive system is composed of the mouth, tongue, gall bladder, pancreas, the four compartment stomach (rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum), salivary glands, the small intestine (duodenum, jejunum, and ileum), esophagus and the large intestine, which include; cecum, colon, and rectum (Brooker 5). A ruminant animal uses its mouth and tongue to harvest forages and consume feedstuffs during grazing. Cattle pick up feeds during grazing by grasping and gathering the plants with their tongues and pulling them to tear for consumption. On average, cattle take from 25,000 to over 40,000 prehensile bites each day when grazing and harvest forage. Typically, spend over 30 percent of their time grazing, another 30 percent of their time chewing cud, and the rest of their time idling where they are not grazing or chewing cud (Hall 9). The roof of their mouth is a hard dental pad without incisors. The incisors on the lower jaw work against this hard dental pad. The incisors of roughage selectors are wide and have a shovel-shaped crown while those of concentrate selectors are narrower and chisel-shaped. They have the same number of molars and premolars both on the upper and lower jaws. The ruminants use their teeth to crush and grind feeds during chewing and rumination (Hall 9). Saliva helps in moistening the feeds hence making easy when chewing and swallowing. Saliva contains enzymes, which breaks down the starch (salivary amylase) and fat (salivary lipase) and is involved in recycling of nitrogen to the rumen. In the rumen and reticulum, the pH level is reduced by saliva. On average, in a day, a mature cow will produce up to 50 quarts of saliva; this is in relation with the amount of time they spend chewing feeds, which stimulates saliva production. The forage and feed mixes with saliva, which contains bicarbonate, sodium, phosphate, potassium and urea when consumed, to form a bolus. The bolus then moves from the mouth to the reticulum

Transformational Leadership Plan Essay Example for Free

Transformational Leadership Plan Essay ABSTRACT Innovation and Transformational Leadership with respect to modern organizational hierarchies. The paper goes on to synthesize aspects of transformational leadership into an individual leadership plan, summarize outcomes of transformational leadership and innovation and present varied views stemming from empirical data on organizational philosophies. Several scholarly journals and industry papers were gleaned, they are listed in the annotated bibliography. Results and Outcomes of Innovation and Transformational Leadership Transformational leaders motivate others to do more than they originally intended and often even more than they thought possible. Such leaders set more challenging expectations and typically achieve higher performances. Transformational leadership is an expansion of transactional leadership. Transactional leadership emphasizes the transaction or exchange that takes place among leaders, colleagues, and followers. This exchange is based on the leader discussing with others what is required and specifying the conditions and rewards these others will receive if they fulfill the requirements. True transformational leaders raise the level of moral maturity of those whom they lead. They convert their followers into leaders. They broaden and enlarge the interests of those whom they lead. They motivate their associates, colleagues, followers, clients, and even their bosses to go beyond their individual self-interests for the good of the group, organization, or society. Transformational leaders address each followers sense of self-worth in order to engage the follower in true commitment and involvement in the effort at hand. This is one of the things that transformational leadership adds to the transactional exchange. Transformational leadership adds to transactional leadership in its effects on follower satisfaction and performance. Transformational leadership does not replace transactional leadership. That is, constructive and especially corrective transactions may have only marginal impact on followers unless accompanied by one or more components of transformational leadership for getting the most out of transactions: The follower needs to feel valued by the leader, the follower needs to find meaning in what he or she is doing, and the follower needs a sense of ownership in whats being done. Transactional leadership, particularly contingent reward, provides a broad basis for effective leadership, but a greater amount of effort, effectiveness, innovation, risk taking, and satisfaction can be achieved by transactional leadership if it is augmented by transformational leadership. When peers of military cadet leaders were asked what characterized the important traits of a good leader, they tended to describe such traits of inspiration, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration as self-confidence, persuasiveness, concern for the well-being of others, the ability to articulate ones ideas and thoughts, providing models to be emulated by others, holding high expectations for him—or herself and others, keeping others well-informed, and maintaining high self-motivation. Given a team task, the innovation process begins with the creativity of individuals. The generation of a new idea is a cognitive process, located within individuals, albeit fostered by interaction processes in teams. Thus, first and foremost, innovative individuals are both creative and innovative (i.e., they dont just have creative ideas; they also try to implement them). They are people who have a preference for thinking in novel ways, who think globally instead of locally (distinguishing the forest from the trees). They have appropriate intellectual abilities, including synthetic abilities (to see problems in new ways and escape the bounds of conventional thinking), analytic abilities to recognize which ideas are worth pursuing, and the practical contextual abilities to persuade others of the value of their ideas. Having a good idea about whether the Earth revolves around the sun or vice versa is not enough. Galileo, if he were alive today, might note that Richard Branson and Bill Gates did not succeed by simply being mavericks; they were also able to charm, persuade, and inspire people. To be innovative and creative we also require sufficient knowledge of the field to be able to move it forward, while not being so conceptually trapped in it that we are unable to conceive of alternative courses. People who are confident of their abilities are more likely to innovate in the workplace. In a study of role innovation among more than 2,000 UK managers, it was found that confidence and motivation to develop knowledge and skills predicted innovation following job change. Tolerance of ambiguity, widely associated with creativity, enables individuals to avoid the problems of following mental ruts and increases the chances of unusual responses and the discovery of novelty (Burpitt Bigoness, 2002). Innovative people also tend to be self-disciplined, with a high degree of drive and motivation and a concern with achieving excellence. This perseverance against social pressures presumably reduces the dangers of premature abandonment. Minority influence theory in social psychology suggests that perseverance acts to bring about change in the views of majorities and is a necessary behavioral style among innovators. An employee of 3M discovered Post-it notes because he sang in the church choir and needed some effective way of marking the place of hymns between services. Knowing of an adhesive with poor properties (it didnt stick well) being explored at 3M, he had the idea of using it on small strips of paper to mark the hymnal. But the real innovation came in his persistence in selling the idea to secretaries, chief executives, the marketing department, and the sales department in the organization. It became an annual $200 million business for 3M. Innovative people tend to be self-directed, enjoying and requiring freedom in their work. They have a high need for freedom, control, and discretion in the workplace and appear to find bureaucratic limitations or the exercise of control by managers frustrating. Such people need clear work objectives along with high autonomy to perform well. Indeed, in a study of 13 oil company teams, Jerry et. Al. found that the innovativeness of individuals in teams was superior as a predictor of team innovation to measures of group climate and process. In a more sophisticated longitudinal study of 27 top management teams in hospitals, it was found that the proportion of innovative individuals within the team did not predict the overall level of innovation but did predict the radical ness (changes to the status quo) of the innovations implemented by teams. Another influence on team innovation is the extent to which team members have the relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities to work effectively in groups. Some researchers believe that team members require appropriate team knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs), or â€Å"team integration skills†. These are distinct from the technical KSAs that are relevant to task performance (such as medical skills for a physician on a breast cancer care team). They include conflict resolution skills, collaborative problem-solving skills, and communication skills such as the skill to utilize decentralized communication networks to enhance communication. Other key integration skills, they argue, include goal setting and performance management and the skill to coordinate and synchronize activities, information, and tasks among members. The more of these integration skills team members have, the more likely it is that the benefits of team working and team diversity will manifest, not just in terms of team performance, but also in innovation proposals and their successful implementation. Leadership processes in teams will moderate the relationship among team member characteristics, team processes, and innovation. Leadership processes will either encourage or block the expression of behaviors and skills supportive of team innovation. A dominant, directive leader may prevent attempts by team members to bring about change and steadily reduce their confidence and perseverance in initiating innovation implementation. Moreover, such a leader might inhibit the expression of team KSAs by repeatedly dominating decision making or discussion. A more transformational leadership style is likely to enhance the impact of individual characteristics such as confidence, innovativeness, and tolerance of ambiguity on group processes (such as support for innovation) and thereby innovation implementation. Synthesize aspects of transformational leadership into an individual leadership plan It has been discovered that most of the large global companies studied operate, to one degree or another, under a traditional model of strong individual leadership at the top. Moreover, the quality of that leadership bears on the overall performance of those companies. A few of the companies studied—and some business units within others—are characterized by a different pattern of leadership. Instead of leadership being a solo act, an aria sung by the CEO, in these organizations it is a shared responsibility, more like a chorus of diverse voices singing in unison. Significantly, this characteristic is more than the frequently observed phenomenon of â€Å"cascading† leadership (in which a strong leader at the top empowers other leaders down the line). Although cascading is often a part of what is observed, more to the point in these organizations many of the key tasks and responsibilities of leadership are institutionalized in the systems, practices, and cultures of the organization. Typically, cascading leadership depends on the continuing support of whoever is the leader of an organization at any given time; behavior that is not personality dependent. Eventually, it has been realized that this form of leadership is rooted in systems, processes, and culture. Without the presence of a high-profile leader (or â€Å"superior† goading or exhorting them on) that people at all levels in these organizations †¦ Act more like owners and entrepreneurs than employees or hired hands (that is, they assume owner like responsibility for financial performance and managing risk). Take the initiative to solve problems and to act, in general, with a sense of urgency. Willingly accept accountability for meeting commitments, and for living the values of the organization. Share a common philosophy and language of leadership that paradoxically includes tolerance for contrary views and a willingness to experiment. Create, maintain, and adhere to systems and procedures designed to measure and reward these distributed leadership behaviors. Obviously, this is not a new model of leadership. Doubtless, it has been around a long time and we, missed it because we were blinded by the powerful light that emanates from high-profile leaders. We were also prisoners of the current wisdom about the necessity for personalized, take-charge leadership—particularly in times of rapid change. Moreover, it is important to stress that the organization based model identified was not the only one observed, nor was it necessarily always the most effective. In fact, the two most successful companies in an empirical sample operate, on two different models, Oracle being headed by a single strong leader, and Enron with widely diffused and systematized leadership responsibilities. Thus we are not advocating a newly discovered â€Å"best way to lead†; instead, calling attention to a previously unnoticed— but equally viable—alternative to the traditional leadership model. Among other things, this discovery helps to explain some persistent contradictions to the dominant model of leadership. If leadership were solely an individual trait †¦ Why is it that some companies continually demonstrate the capacity to innovate, renew strategies and products, and outperform competition in their industries over the tenures of several different chief executives? Intel, for instance, has been a rip-roaring success under the leadership of, in sequence, Gordon Moore, Andrew Grove, and now, Craig Barrett. Why is it that some CEOs who have succeeded in one organization often turn in so-so performances in the next? Consider George Fisher, who was a star at Motorola, but far less effective at Kodak. (Conversely, why is it that some companies headed by singularly unimpressive CEOs nonetheless rack up good performance records?) Why is that academics are unable to quantify the relationship between CEO style on one hand and organizational performance on the other? (In fact, they have found no objective correlation between those two factors—concluding, unhelpfully, that â€Å"it all depends.†) Moreover, as history shows, businesses that become dependent on a single leader run a considerable risk. If that individual retires or leaves (or dies in office), the organization may well lose its continuing capacity to succeed—witness the performance of General Motors after Alfred Sloan, ITT after Harold Geneen, Polaroid after Edwin Land, and Coca-Cola after Roberto Goizueta. More frequently, organizations learn the hard way that no one individual can save a company from mediocre performance—and no one individual, no matter how gifted a leader, can be â€Å"right† all the time. As one CEO said, â€Å"None of us is as smart as all of us.† Since leadership is, by definition, doing things through the efforts of others, it is obvious that there is little that a business leader—acting alone—can do to affect company performance (other than try to â€Å"look good† to investors) (Howell    Avoiio, 2003). In light of these observations, it should not have been so surprising that our research revealed that, in many successful companies, leadership is treated as an institutional capacity and not solely as an individual trait. It turns out that many corporations whose familiar names perennially appear on â€Å"most respected† lists are ones with the highest institutionalized leadership capacities. Like individual IQs, companies have collective LQs—leadership quotients— that can be measured and compared. (Moreover, unlike individual IQ an organizations leadership capacity can be bolstered through appropriately directed effort.) Hence, we now are better able to explain why companies like Intel, ABB, GE, Enron, BP, Ford, Nestlà ©, and Motorola continue to renew themselves year after year, and over the tenures of many different leaders: Such companies are not only chock-full of leaders from the executive suite to the shop floor, they make conscious efforts to build their LQs, that is, their overall organizational leadership capacities. That last point requires an important clarification. Some companies with continuing records of success do not pay much, or any, attention to traditional—that is, individual—leadership development. Instead of asking â€Å"What qualities do we need to develop in our leader?† these companies continually ask â€Å"What qualities do we need to develop in our organization?† And, though this may seem to defy the current wisdom about the importance of leadership, on reflection it squares with experience. At Motorola, for example, there has been a decades long pattern of self-renewal that has continually belied the predictions of Wall Street analysts who, on at least four occasions, have written the company off for dead. When it has suffered one of its periodic setbacks, how could Motorola reasonably be expected to turn itself around without a take-charge leader like Jack Welch at its helm? But it has done so repeatedly, and under the collective leadership of several different individuals. In light of what we have learned from our study, we posit that the secret sauce at Motorola is the companys strong, institutionalized leadership capacity— systems consciously created by former-CEO Bob Galvins leadership teams over a period of thirty years (Dong et. Al. 2001). And the effectiveness of the organizational leadership model should not come as a surprise to those who have tried to change the behavior of a CEO—or of any executive whose career has been validated by rising to the top. Powerful executives tend to see leadership as positional. To them, by definition, the CEO is the leader of the corporation. For example, a couple of years ago we suggested to the CEO of a Fortune 500 company that he (and his executive team) might benefit from a leadership development program. He looked at us as if we were space aliens and testily replied, â€Å"If the board thought there was someone who was more qualified to lead this company, they would have named him and not me.† Given that such ego-driven denial is fairly common in executive suites, it makes practical sense that the high-LQ companies in our study focus on identifying business-related activities as the source of leadership development—that is, they stress improving the ability of their leaders collectively to do their central tasks, rather than on trying to fix them as individuals. The lesson we take from this is not that individual leadership behaviors are unimportant, but that in some cases, at least, it may be more effective to treat them as secondary to organizational issues. Moreover, it is far easier for leaders to learn to do things differently in terms of business processes than it is for them to change who they are. III. Summarize the outcomes of transformational leadership and innovation Among the components of transformational leadership, idealized influence and inspirational leadership are most effective and satisfying; individualized consideration is a bit less so. But in turn, all four 1s of transformational leadership are more effective than is constructive transaction. However, constructive transactions remain reasonably effective and satisfying in most situations, except where a leader has no control of the ways a follower may be rewarded for good performance. Actively taking corrective action—that is, managing by exception by arranging to monitor the performance of followers—is somewhat less effective and satisfying, but passively waiting for problems to arise or remaining oblivious until a mishap occurs is seen as poor, ineffective leadership and is dissatisfying. The most ineffective and dissatisfying style is laissez-faire leadership avoiding leadership and abdicating responsibilities. Analyses of over 5,000 cases have affirmed these findings. Transformational leadership adds to transactional leadership in its effects on follower satisfaction and performance. Transformational leadership does not replace transactional leadership. That is, constructive and especially corrective transactions may have only marginal impact on followers unless accompanied by one or more components of transformational leadership for getting the most out of transactions: The follower needs to feel valued by the leader, the follower needs to find meaning in what he or she is doing, and the follower needs a sense of ownership in whats being done. Transactional leadership, particularly contingent reward, provides a broad basis for effective leadership, but a greater amount of effort, effectiveness, innovation, risk taking, and satisfaction can be achieved by transactional leadership if it is augmented by transformational leadership. Transformational leadership can be directive or participative, as well as democratic or authoritarian, elitist or leveling. Sometimes, transformational leadership is misunderstood as elitist and antidemocratic. Since the 1930s, the praises of democratic, participative leadership have been sung. Most managers have at least learned that before making a decision it pays to consult with those who will implement the decision, although fewer managers pursue a democratic vote or strive for consensus in a participative discussion with ail those involved. There are many good reasons for encouraging shared decision making, empowering followers, and self-managing. Nonetheless, many circumstances call for a leader to be authoritative, decisive and directive. Democratic decisions can become a pooling of ignorance among a group of novices. Novices may wish direction and advice on what to do and how to do it. Even when no leader is appointed, someone must begin to take initiatives and soon comes to be seen as a leader. Many confuse transformational leadership with democratic, participative leadership. It often may be so, but at times it can also be directive, decisive, and authoritative. Idealized leaders can direct followers who are counting on them to help get the team out of a crisis by employing radical solutions to deal with the problems. Again, inspirational leaders can be highly directive in their appeals. Intellectually stimulating leaders may challenge their followers. Individually considerate leaders could rise above the demands for equality from their followers to treat them differently according to their different needs for growth. At the same time, transformational leaders can share vision building and Idea generation that could be a democratic and collective enterprise. Such leaders can encourage follower participation in the change processes involved. In the same way, transactional leadership can be either directive or participative. Most leaders profiles include both transformational and transactional leadership. The attitudes and behavior of Otto Von Bismarck, whose efforts led to the unification of Germany in 1871, illustrate how transformational and transactional leadership can be directive or participative, democratic or authoritative (Deborah, 1999). Interviews with executives about the leadership they had seen produced numerous behavioral examples of transformational leadership. Idealized influence or charismatic leadership was attributed to the interviewees leaders for demonstrating such traits as setting examples, showing determination, possessing extraordinary talents, taking risks, creating in followers a sense of empowerment, showing dedication to â€Å"the cause, † creating a sense of a joint mission, dealing with crises using radical solutions, and engendering in their followers faith in the leadership. Inspirational leadership included providing meaning and challenge, painting an optimistic future, molding expectations, creating self-fulfilling prophesies, and thinking ahead. Intellectual stimulation was judged to be present when leaders questioned assumptions, encouraged followers to employ intuition, entertained ideas that may have seemed silly at first, created imaginative visions, asked subordinates to rework problems they thought had already been solved, and saw unusual patterns. Individualized consideration was apparent to interviewees when their leaders answered them with minimum delay, showed that they were concerned for their followers well-being, assigned tasks based on needs and abilities, encouraged two-way exchanges of ideas, were available when needed, encouraged self-development, practiced walk around management, and effectively mentored, counseled, and coached. When peers of military cadet leaders were asked what characterized the important traits of a good leader, they tended to describe such traits of inspiration, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration as self-confidence, persuasiveness, concern for the well-being of others, the ability to articulate ones ideas and thoughts, providing models to be emulated by others, holding high expectations for him—or herself and others, keeping others well-informed, and maintaining high self-motivation (Atwater, Lau, Bass, Avolio, Camobreco, Whitmore, 1994). COMPONENTS OF TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP Transformational leaders do more with colleagues and followers than set up simple exchanges or agreements. They behave in ways to achieve superior results by employing one or more of the four components of transformational leadership. First, leadership is idealized when followers seek to identify with their leaders and emulate them. Second, the leadership inspires the followers with challenge and persuasion that provide meaning and understanding. Third, the leadership is intellectually stimulating, expanding the followers use of their abilities. Finally, the leadership is individually considerate, providing the followers with support, mentoring, and coaching. Each of these components can be assessed with the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ). In the questionnaire, you can describe yourself as a leader. Those who work for you, with you, and for whom you work can do the same assessment of you. Idealized Leadership. Transformational leaders behave in ways that make them role models for their followers. Such leaders are admired, respected, and trusted. Followers identify with these leaders and want to emulate them. Among the things the leader does to earn this credit is consider the needs of others over his or her own personal needs. The leader shares risks with followers and is consistent rather than arbitrary. He or she can be counted on to do the right thing, demonstrating high standards of ethical and moral conduct. He or she avoids using power for personal gain and in fact uses his or her power only when needed. Inspirational Motivation. Transformational leaders behave in ways that motivate and inspire those around them by providing meaning and challenge to their followers work Team spirit is aroused. Enthusiasm and optimism are displayed. The leader gets followers involved in envisioning attractive future states. The leader clearly communicates expectations that followers want to meet, and demonstrates commitment to goals and the shared vision. Intellectual Stimulation. Transformational leaders stimulate their followers efforts to be innovative and creative by questioning assumptions, reframing problems, and approaching old situations in new ways. Creativity is encouraged. There is no public criticism of individual members mistakes. New ideas and creative problem solutions are solicited from followers, who are included in the process of addressing problems and finding solutions. Followers are encouraged to try new approaches, and their ideas are not criticized if they differ from the leaders ideas. Individualized Consideration. Transformational leaders pay special attention to each individuals needs for achievement and growth by acting as a coach or mentor. Followers and colleagues are developed to successively higher levels of potential. Individualized consideration is practiced as follows: New learning opportunities are created along with a supportive climate. Individual differences in terms of needs and desires are recognized. The leaders behavior demonstrates acceptance of individual differences (e.g. some employees receive more encouragement, some more autonomy, others firmer standards, and still others more task structure). A two-way exchange in communication is encouraged, and â€Å"management by walking around† is practiced. Interactions with followers are personalized (e.g., the leader remembers previous conversations, is aware of individual concerns, and sees the individual as a whole person rather than as just an employee). The individually considerate leader listens effectively. The leader delegates tasks as a means of developing followers. Delegated tasks are monitored to see if the followers need additional direction or support and to assess progress; ideally, followers do not feel they are being checked up on. Bibliography Follower Motive Patterns as Situational Moderators for Transformational Leadership Effectiveness. Journal article by Jerry C. Wofford, J. Lee Whittington, Vicki L. Goodwin; Journal of Managerial Issues, Vol. 13, 2004 In this article, two important leadership questions are addressed. Is transformational leadership universally effective or are there situational moderators which augment or limit its effectiveness? Is transformational leadership more appropriately viewed in terms of individual-level analyses or of multi-level analyses? First, we examine the literature on the potential moderators within the transformational leadership paradigm and on the appropriate level of analysis for transformational leadership. The present research examines the potential moderator effects of the need for autonomy and of growth need strength. In addition, we examine whether transformational leaders adapt their behaviors to different subordinates or behave the same way with all of them. Perceptions of Transformational Leadership among Asian Americans and Caucasian Americans: A Level of Analysis Perspective Journal article by Dong I. Jung, Francis J. Yammarino; Journal of Leadership Studies, Vol. 8, 2001 This study asserted a theoretical framework of transformational leadership and its effects on several process and outcome variables among Asian Americans and Caucasian Americans from levels of analysis perspective. Nomological relationships among the constructs of interest also were tested. Results indicated that effects of transformational leadership were positive, but generally stronger among Asian Americans than among Caucasian Americans. Results from Within and Between Analysis indicated that variation in perceptions of transformational leadership and other measured variables in the two ethnic groups was mainly due to individual differences. Based on these results, we offer several theoretical and practical implications. Transformational Leadership and Urban Renewal Journal article by Deborah R. Rada; Journal of Leadership Studies, 1999 Despite Burnss contention that transformational leadership can occur at all levels of organization and society, most of the discussion of transformational leadership has centered on persons in traditional, hierarchical power positions. This paper focuses on a social movement, urban renewal, which involves volunteer activity and persons not in hierarchical power positions. The urban renewal efforts of two southern California towns are highlighted, with examples from other towns renewal efforts also cited. It is demonstrated that many renewal efforts utilize a transformational leadership approach. It is further shown that those efforts which employ a transformational leadership approach are often more successful than those that do not. It is concluded that transformational leadership does occur in voluntary, nonhierarchical groups and leads to substantive change. Further study is recommended to confirm these conclusions and advocate for broader recognition and encouragement of transfor mational leadership in various organizations. Howell. J. M. Avoiio, B. J. (2003). Transformational leadership, transactional leadership, locus of control. and support for innovation: Key predictors of consolidated business-unit performance. Journal Applied Psychology, 78, 89142   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Notes Portions of this paper were presented at the Academy of Management National Conference in Seattle, Washington, August 2003. Thanks to Major David Pursley, Dr. Orly Nobel, and several anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions on earlier drafts of the manuscript. Dr. Dardis recently retired from active duty and is currently the Chief Learning Officer at Freddie Mac Corporation in McClean, Virginia. Burpitt, W. J., Bigoness, W. J. (1997). Leadership and innovation among teams: The impact of empowerment. Small Group Research, 28 (3), 414–423.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Most research and writing on creativity has focused on individual creativity, the â€Å"lone genius,† with little recognition of the social and group factors that influence the creative process. Research on creativity has sought to understand the factors responsible for creative people and activities. Personality, developmental experiences, culture, motivation, and cognitive skills are just a few of the factors that appear to underlie creative behavior

Depictions of Dragons in Different Cultures

Depictions of Dragons in Different Cultures With the integration of global economy and technology, multicultural situation is inevitable. Culture exchange in various countries has become extremely important. Under its shadow, all culture becomes significant factors in this international environment. Today, in the information-crash society, the cultural has not merely be seen as separated signs but seen as a cross-cultural communication behavior. For a long time, people are keen to argue about superiority and inferiority among Eastern and Western cultures. However, in fact, we lack sufficient recognition of essential aspects on cultural differences and clashes. We should see through the appearance to the essence and take culture views to closely observe the tendency of global cultural development. H.L.Menken once said, Culture itself is neither education nor law making, it is an atmosphere and a heritage. Dragon culture, as a core culture reflects typical differences. Different countries have different cultural norms values, su ch differences lead to communication problems in Western thought, resulting in misunderstandings and conflicts. This article focuses on analyzing the Dragon Culture budded from two culture branches,  and from a philosophical point of view to outline the ideology that reflects from two cultures. Dragon was one of the totem worship images in remote ancient times when people liked using the images of creatures or plants which they held in awe as symbols of their tribes. Loong seems a combination of numerous animals, such as snakes body, pigs head, deers horns, bulls ear, goats beard, hawks claws and fishs squama. One alternative view said in remote times of clanship, the Huaxia Clan which symbolized by snake totem in the Yellow River drainage area, conquered other clans and then grew into a big clan union by integrating others together with their totems. The other legendary figures like Nà ¼wa, Fuxi are depicted as having snake bodies. Some scholars report that the first legendary Emperor of China Huang Di (Yellow Emperor) used a snake for his coat of arms. Every time he conquered another tribe, he incorporated his defeated enemys emblem into his own (Li Rong, 1999, P14). The exact origin of the dragon in Chinese culture remains elusive, though its earliest depictions can be traced back to the totems made by various ancient Chinese tribes. And we, Chinese people often consider ourselves as the descendents of the loong. From that time, loong has been the most important totem in Chinese traditional culture. Ancient people admire loong has magic power. It could change the length of its body as it wishes; it can either fly or swim and even bring rainfalls. 1.2 The symbolization of loong in feudal period When Chinese went into primeval society, loong had begun to be caved on the bronze containers, designed in jewelry, and embroidered on cloth. Gradually, people who honored loong as almighty God, hoping that caving this special image on daily necessities can bless them well and bring them good fortune. People in ancient China often offered sacrifices to loong to celebrate favorable weather and good harvest. With the deification of loong, it was gradually monopolized by the imperial lineage, making these images embalmed the federal Chinese empires. Loong were a symbol of power, strength, success, luck and honor, and it was no surprise that they emerged as a representation of the imperial power of emperors. It was believed that loong was able to race across the sky with its divine power, and the emperors regarded themselves as exclusively entitled to the dragons attributes. Chinese empires thought they were real loong, so they addressed themselves as son of heaven, which meant they were chosen by the destiny to dominate the world. They held power over peoples lives and property, and had staff in their hands. Emperor became the most honorable person on the earth. Also loong became the symbol of imperial power. Thus, the imperial clothes were known as dragon gowns and their thrones were dubbed dragon thrones. , the descendents of empires were titled as son or daughters of loong, the health of an emperor was called loong ti, the bed they sleep named loong bed. In the Zhou Dynasty the 5-clawed dragon was assigned to the son of heaven, the 4-clawed dragon to the Zhuhou (seigneur), and the 3-clawed dragon to the Daifu. Up to Qing Dynasty, the 5-clawed dragon was assigned to represent the Emperor while the 4-clawed and 3-clawed dragons were assigned to the commoners. In the Qing Dynasty, the country even preferred to embroider Loong as a symbol on national flags. Carvings of loong adorns on the steps leading to many ancient palaces and tombs, most notably, the Forbidden City in Beijing. And it is still taboo to disrespect or disfigure any depiction of a loong in China. 2 The origination of western dragon 2.1 The development of western dragon in early time About 11th century BC, the Hebrews made the concept of Seraphim, which was close to the concept of the dragon. Not only in Western mythology, religion, but also significance, the seraphim were the most consistent of loong in china. Seraphim was a constrictor in ancient Rabbinic which is the Seraphs plural. There is other saying it was followed with a suffix on the meaning of the flame or burning and so. In the early Rabbinic language, because no dragon word, so often used constrictor to represent dragon. However, religious portraits and sculptures of the Seraphim have become a type of person now which is translated into Seraphim (Blazing Angels) generally. The appearance of dragon is much later than the Seraphim, which is the object of Celtic worship, standing holy. The early middle ages, the Virgin caved ships like dragons to explore a new path on the Atlantic Ocean, hoping dragons to bless themselves with endless power. While in Britain, the dragon is more commonly associated with Wales due to the national flag has a red dragon as its emblem and their national rugby union and rugby league teams are known as the dragons. This dragon may originate in Arthurian Legend where Myrddin, employed by Gwrtheyrn, had a vision of the red dragon (representing the Britons) and the white dragon (representing the invading Saxons) fighting beneath Dinas Emrys. The red dragon was linked with the Britons who are today represented by the Welsh and it is believed that the white dragon refers to the Saxons who invaded Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries. This particular legend also features in the Mabinogion in the story of Llud and Llefelys. (http://en. wikipedia.org/wiki/Seraph) Specific reactions to alarm calls identifying several of predators have mately local cultural manifestations, maintaining to this day its shape and mature. Though we glimpse the dragon in the world of the ancient bandsmen-it does not spring into life from the murky depths of the primate brain until a particular point in cultural evolution-specially that point where a multiculturic-or loosely organized-polity moves toward centralization and ultimately statehood. (David E. Jones , 2001 ,P 107) The birth of Christianity made the fate of dragons an earth-shaking change that to some degree became synonymous to Satanas. Dragon is regarded as the symbol of devil in the Christian which comes from Mesopotamia. In mythology Mesopotamia, the dragon is the horrible life of the ocean, the scourge of people, the fate to be destroyed by God. In Babylonian myth, the heros opponent Tiamato and Hittite myth Illuyankas, are all examples. Living in the Mesopotamia region nearby Jewish also affected, and inherited down such a concept. Dragon in Judaism and Christianity gradually became the symbol of the devil. 2.2. The image of dragon in western society in movies and novels Western dragons arent necessarily evil, but they often are. At least, they tend to be greed, evil and solitary, which may represent the dark side of human natures. Quite different between Chinese Loong, the Western dragon is a huge, winged, green scaly skin, fire-breathing, and dinosaur-resembling creature. An alternative name for dragon is Wyrm, a word clearly related to worn, this name is more commonly used for serpentine, water dwelling dragons but can be used for any of them, Wyrms are to be especially common in Britain. In the traditional myths, fairy tales and legends, dragons live in caves, mountains, or virgin forests. They have vicious power to destroy buildings, cause catastrophe. They are the mindless monsters that know nothing but killing people, animals, and hoarding gold and silver, and treasure. All these images create an evil black reflection into the Western consciousness. Also, dragons can be found in many literatures and films, those quite significantly different b etween Chinese loong. In medieval legend, the highest merit of a hero was to slay of a dragon. In the Beowulf, the national epic of the English people, Beowulf fights against a fire dragon with single-handed. At last, the dragon is killed, but Beowulf is hopelessly wounded too. Maybe, it is the first complete dragon appears on the paper of English literature. The Bible, Satan is a fallen angel who rebels God Jehovah. And Satan changes in to a image of a snake (dragon) to beguile Adam and Eva to eat the apple in the Eden. In the Bible story, Satan also is into a red dragon whose tail swept a 1 / 3 of the stars. it has seven heads, each head crowned, greedily devouring the new-born baby. The Learned Adventure of the Dragons Head in Lord Peter Views the Body (London: Gollancz, 1928), in which a character refers to having seen hic dracones on an old map [spotted by both Andrew S. Cook and Benjamin Darius Weiss]. (Chales Gould ,1998, ,p126) Thus, the Western dragon from the miser degenerated into the most evil, described as representatives of evil, cunning and cruel. With the Christianity spreading and European expansion, the Satans notoriety shadows dragon in Europe, even in the world. 3. Comprehensive analysis on the clashes of loong and dragon 3.1 Analysis from literature background With the development of science, people gradually get rid of ignorance, the West has finally recognized that dragons only exists in imagination, and not fear it. But dragons in western culture still become a derogatory terms. In Western literature, the dragon has become a vivid description of the evil words. British writer Charles Dickens in his masterpiece Hard Times criticizes Mrs. Si Base is a evil dragon of keeper bank. In Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet, when Juliet heard her cousin was killed by Romeo, she said sadly:ah, flower face hides a wild snake heart! Which dragon was perched once in this elegant heart? Nowadays, it could easily observe the trace of dragon in some kinds of legendary novels, like Harry Potter.  Ã‚   3.2. Explaination in social profounding of loong and dragon. With a few centuries going on, the Chinese loong has crystallized the unique culture profundity. Till now, Loong is still superior to any of the mythological in peoples mind. Loong, this word have been extensively used in our daily life. For example, Long tou qi ye, of course, we cant translate it word by word. In our China, this is an honor given by the local government to a company that achieves highest income through the commercial business. Here Loong means, leading the top, being first. So we can put it into the leading enterprise. In the eyes of our ancestors, loong ,since it is held sacred, of course, also contacted with the good fortune together. With good metaphor, the image of the dragon goes into all aspects of social life. Such as lobster, longan, lichee, asparagus, Longjing tea, the noodle of Long Xumian, etc. The name of the foods are plenty from their shapes, while others are propitious meanings. Another example is the Seasonal Eating Custom, from the early Yuan Dynast y, it has been recorded on Lunar February 2, loong flys up to heaven. To express the hope of the harvest, people in many places are prevalent of eating noodle this day. Noodles made this day is called noodle of Long Xu pancakes called Interfax, dumplings called fossil teech. (Ji Chenming, 1998, p58) And China has a lot of festivals about culture of Loong, such as dragon boat. Dragon boat racing which originates in China over 2000 years ago. For competiton events, dragon boats are generally rigged with decorative Chinese dragon heads and tails every annual Duanwu Festival. In the Merriam-Webster Dictionary-dragon lady means an overbearing or tyrannical woman, also glamorous often mysterious woman. However-the Collins Cobuild English language Dictionary explains that if you call a woman a dragon-you mean she is unpleasant and fierce. In the famous Chinese TV play A Couple of Chivalrous Swordsmen and their Supernatural Eagles, there is a girl named little dragon maid. Maybe when the foreigners head dragon maid, the image appearing in their mind is ferocious instead of holy and pure. Whats more, the same characteristic of two kinds of dragons is that they have been interpreted as symbols of the power to control the nature. They often are associated with weather, like rain, lighting, thunder. Meanwhile, people in China regard Loong as controllers of weather. Thus, in folk, they are honored as the king of Loong. Negatively, dragon in western, this greater power of nature frequently carries a malign or destructive quality. When the character Loong appears in the words and expressions, we always refer it to the analogical meanings, which are formed by the profound civilization of China. Above, we have explained two dragon cultures by analyzing the origination, development, and connotation, differences. Culture is a rich multi-dimensional extension, including value systems. Values are the essence spirit of national culture to decide the characteristics and style of culture. According to cite the difference of metaphors and symbolizations between Chinese loong and western dragon, we will explain the origin of Philosophy. 4. Explore the West dragon philosophical roots of cultural differences 4.1 The Chinese monism unity of Nature and man 4.1.1 Living environment affect the Chinese values Different ways of thinking led to the different Dragon metaphor, which leds to cultural misunderstanding. China is monistic of unity on nature and man, while Western mains dualistic. At an atmosphere of living on plain of farming growth, Chinese people have always focused inward-looking on Heaven, internal intermediation of national character. 7 Chinese people believe that nature is a loop. Everything is an element in cycle of nature .Of course, people also belong to the natural world, rather than the relatively isolated unit element. Therefore, people return to nature, to maintain harmony. Cultural identity is stick to the local community, calm solid, plain thick, peace. Chinese culture believe that people and nature, spirit and matter, subject and object, which both into one with God, focusing on both the interdependence and unity. In the relationship between human and nature, Chinese advocate the harmony between human and nature. 4.1.2. View of nature and the dragons supernatural forces in nature In China, relationship and humans to nature is: harmony with nature, as follows: live according to the rhythms of nature; everything has its own character; be balanced. Chinese traditional medicine shows the cultural value of harmony with nature. Chinese people are deeply affected by the Confucian and the ideology in I Ching or Chouyi. They think that the more conducts a person makes in his life, the more meaning reflects. Therefore, people who has the largest political vision are affected by such a unitary value of life, most people do not want to be the one who is interested in Natural Science, which were trapped in the embryonic stage of scientific. Also, people have the wisdom to concentrate on political power, so that can create a real political culture super-solid model in a unique world. In this particular model, the Chinese will have a unique historical phenomenon. When the ancients could not fight against the natural or supernatural phenomena, they raise the imaginary loong for the ideal solution to be deified. At the stage of no loong exiting, snakes, crocodiles, lizards and other reptiles are related to water, and even some on the living in the water. People who live on the land t are all produced mystery on crocodiles submerging in water, water snakes swimming fast in the water, no feet but can be free movement of snakes. This the mystery became to awe, and the myth. Into the real dragon time, people decided to give the loong their homes in the water. People have them lived in the water in order to let loong control water for the needs of agriculturing water. (Yang Rong Liu Zhixiong , 2002,P106) Therefore, the loong in Chinese legend would have exceeded the forces of nature. For example, loong could control clouds, rain, thunder, etc. Last loong gain the sanctity in peoples mind. 4.2. The western dualism of Host-guest Western awareness of the environmental background Western culture is restricted by the narrow scope on the island. In order to survive, for economic and cultural development, people often face an independent nature, fighting the sea, which develop the character of novelty, change, curiosity and hyperactivity and the view point of separation between heaven and nature. Western culture thinks that people and nature, spirit and matter, subject and object, where the uniform of God into two distinct lines, emphasizing the coexistence and the opposite binary. The mainstream of Western cultural values is dualism of Host-guest, the spirit of fighting for self-satisfaction. As if the destruction of the dragon cannot be too thorough for the human spirit-the dragon next appears to metamorphose into a palpably unreal character of fantasy. (David E. Jones , 1984, p237 ) Western culture publicizes personality, emphasizes the protection of individual interests, focus on the potential of independent individuals and strengthens the awareness of individual rights. The famous Greek physicist Archimedes once said: Give me a fulcrum and I can turn the entire universe. Vivid demonstration of this sentence reflects a mans spirit of bold exploration and transformation in the natural world. 4.2.2 Dragon culture derived from the western values From old time to now, Westerners has a tendency to split into two different worlds universe, the separation of man and nature, ever against. Westerners self-awareness on the original sin is to enable them to atonement and perseverance to conquer nature, and transform them to be divine power, to achieve One God. Western culture emphasizes the playing of individual potential, personal goals and pursuing personal interests. Individual-based consciousness is the deepest core of Western culture, with the highest value. Western culture of individualism makes a analogy to the rule of survival of the fittest. Individuals only make through their own efforts, and ability to explore their potential, to protect their interests, to choose a place in society. Individual character in Western culture is extremely important value. The development of individual potential, personal hobbies, interests and personal rights are often paramount. The Western experience of human life separated from nature can be found in the Bible story of creation. As masters of nature .humans are encouraged to control it and exploit it in any way they choose to master the natural world. People need to study and explore it to figure out how it works, to figure out how a machine works before using it. Westerners prefer to show their power to control, transform, and dominate nature. Therefore, in the legend, the dragon changes into a wicked body, the embodiment of greedy, then brave knights fought for victory. All show that human stress the independence of the individuals awareness; so they need some kind of evil forces to contrast out of peoples unlimited potential. Be crucial, unity of Nature and man and Host-guest the two different world view and values in the construction of Chinese and Western thinking way .And almost national character plays a decisive effect on the communication behavior. Conclusion Culture is a kind of social behavior, which is correlated with peoples customs and habits.  With the intercultural communication, we should recognize the condition of our unique culture; acquaint other cultures to avoid unnecessary culture clashes and misunderstanding as far as possible. Loong and dragon cultures are very important parts to nations. Each nations special culture gives owe special cultural connotation. Western dragon and Chinese loong culture obviously have differences, which exactly result in the obstacle of cross-cultural social intercourse. If there is no communication, there would be no culture. The two cultures reflect the national characteristics, not only including historical and cultural background of that race, but also the position in nature, containing competitive viewpoint to life styles and the ways of thinking. Therefore, to comprehend the different culture, we have to explain the origin of philosophy. We not only need to have culture exchanged-but also need to value culture in the cross-cultural social intercourse process. Only we set out to analyze cultural differences, we can hold the deep contact of culture effectively.

Testing Drug Content of Famotidine Core Tablets

Testing Drug Content of Famotidine Core Tablets 6. Formulation development and evaluation 6.1 Preparation of core tablets Core tablets of famotidine were prepared by direct compression and batch size was kept as 100 tablets. Drug , sodium chloride, polymer and MCC were co-sifted through sieve # 30 Now the blend is mixed in polybag for 10 min Citric acid was crushed using mortar and pestle and sifted through sieve # 60 And this is added to above blend and mixed in a polybag for 10 min. Then magnesium stearate talc were passed through sieve #60 and to the above blend and mixing continued for another 2 min Now the blend is compressed to tablets having the average weight of 180 mg using 8 mm round concave punch and at low relative humidity 20 % RH 6.2 Coating of core tablets: 6.2.1. Preparation of coating solution: 5 ml of water was taken in a beaker and to this required amount of PEG 400 was added and dissolved 95 ml of acetone was taken in a beaker and stirred at 150 rpm using electrical stirrer to this above solution was added and stirred for 5 min Now to the above solution 5 gm of cellulose acetate was added slowly and stirring is continued for another 30 min i.e until a clear solution was formed. 6.2.2. Procedure for coating of semi permeable membrane: Coating was done using RD Lab Coater. Core tablets were placed in the coating pan and coated with cellulose acetate solution coating parameters are maintained as below: Inlet temperature : 40 oC  ± 2 oC Bed temperature: 35 oC rpm of pan: 15 -17 Spray rate: 3-7 ml/min Atomizing air pressure: 2.0 psi Coating was done until required weight gain was achieved Drilling of orifice: The orifice was made using needles of different sizes i.e, 24, 22 guage INGREDIENTS F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 Core tablet mg/tablet Famotidine 40 40 40 40 40 40 Citric acid 20 20 20 20 20 20 Sodium chloride 50 50 50 50 50 50 HPMC k100M 9 18 Polyox1105 7.2 Polyox 301 7.2 Polyox303 7.2 Sodium lauryl sulphate 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6 Magnesium stearate 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 Talc 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6 Avicel PH 102 43 43 53.8 53.8 53.8 53.8 Total wt of tablet 180 180 180 180 180 180 Coating solution Cellulose acetate 5 gm 15 % w/w of total solids (0.669 ml) 4 ml Upto 100 ml 4% PEG 400 Water Acetone Weight gain Coated tablets were left over night for drying Table 6.8 Formulation trails for optimum polymer (using various grades of HPMC and PEO) Table6.9 Formulation trails for optimum polymer concentration and coating weight gain INGREDIENTS F7 F8 F9 Core tablet mg/tablet Famotidine 40 40 40 Citric acid 20 20 20 Sodium chloride 50 50 50 Polyox 301 10.8 10.8 10.8 Avicel PH 102 50.8 50.8 50.8 Sodium lauryl sulphate 3.6 3.6 3.6 Magnesium stearate 1.8 1.8 1.8 Talc 3.6 3.6 3.6 Total wt of tablet 180 180 180 Coating solution Cellulose acetate 5 gm PEG 400 15 % w/w of total solids (0.669 ml) Water 4 ml Acetone Upto 100 ml Weight gain 4 % 3 % 5 % Table 6.10 Formulation trails of optimum plasticizer concentration INGREDIENTS F 10 F 11 F 12 Core tablet mg/tablet Famotidine 40 40 40 Citric acid 20 20 20 Sodium chloride 50 50 50 Polyox 301 10.8 10.8 10.8 Avicel pH 102 50.8 50.8 50.8 Sodium lauryl sulphate 3.6 3.6 3.6 Magnesium stearate 1.8 1.8 1.8 Talc 3.6 3.6 3.6 Total wt of tablet 180 180 180 Coating solution Cellulose acetate 5 gm 5 gm 5 gm PEG 400 (% w/w of total solids) 20% (0.89 ml) 25% (1.25 ml) 35% (1.4 ml) Water 4 ml 4 ml 4 ml Acetone Upto 100 ml Upto 100 ml Upto 100 ml Weight gain 4% 4% 4% 6.3 Evaluation of blend 6.3.1 Angle of repose Angle of repose: Weighed quantity of the drug was passed through a funnel kept at a height 2 cm from the base. The powder is passed till it forms a heap and touches the tip of the funnel. The radius the base of the conical pile, and the height of pile were measured and the angle of repose was calculated using the formula: (h/r) h = height of the pile r = radius of the base of the conical pile Table 6.4 Flow property and corresponding angle of repose Flow property Angle of repose (ÆÅ ¸) Excellent 25 – 30 Good 31 – 35 Fair-no need of aid 36 – 40 Passable –hang up chances 41 – 45 Poor – must vibrate, agitate 46 – 55 Very poor 56 – 65 Very, very poor >66 Formulation code Angle of repose F1 25.45 F2 22.92 F3 23.13 F4 19.20 F5 18.62 F6 17.20 F7 20.09 Table no. : Data for angle of repose of all formulations 6.3.2 Bulk density An accurately weighed quantity of powder carefully poured into graduated cylinder. Then after pouring the powder into the graduated cylinder the powder bed was made uniform without disturbing. Then the volume was measured directly from the graduation marks on the cylinder as ml. The volume measure was called as the bulk volume and the bulk density is calculated by following formula: Bulk density = Weight of powder / Bulk volume Tapped Density: After measuring the bulk volume the same measuring cylinder was set into tap density apparatus. The tap density apparatus was set to 300 taps drop per minute and operated for 500 taps. Volume was noted as (Va) and again tapped for 750 times and volume was noted as (Vb). If the difference between Va and Vb not greater than 2% then Vb is consider as final tapped volume. The tapped density is calculated by the following formula: Tapped density = Weight of powder / Tapped volume Compressibility Index: It gives the flow property of the granules. More is the compressibility; less will be the flow property. It was calculated by the following formula using previously obtained bulk and tapped densities. Carrs index = Tapped density Bulk density X 100 Tapped Density Hausner Ratio: It is used for flow property of the granules. It was also calculated from bulk and tapped densities using following formula: Hausners ratio = Tapped density / Bulk density Table 6.3 Flow property and corresponding Carrs index Hausner ratio Flow property C.I ( % ) Hausner ratio Excellent ≠¤10 1.00 – 1.11 Good 11 – 15 1.12 – 1.18 Fair 16 – 20 1.19 – 1.25 Passable 21 – 25 1.26 – 1.34 Poor 26 – 31 1.35 – 1.45 Very poor 32 – 37 1.46 – 1.59 Very, very poor >38 >1.60 Formulation code Bulk density (gm/cm3) Tapped density (gm/cm3) Carr’s index (%) Haussners ratio Angle of repose F1 0.486 0.631 22.9 1.25 25.45 F2 0.410 0.513 20.08 1.25 22.92 F3 0.438 0.601 18.259 1.18 23.13 F4 0.436 0.583 16.39 1.196 19.20 F5 0.430 0.520 17.31 1.21 18.62 F6 0.462 0.535 13.64 1.16 17.20 F7 0.446 0.523 14.72 1.17 20.09 Table no. : Data for Bulk density, Tapped density, Compressibility index and Hausner’s ratio of all formulations 6.4 Post compression studies 6.4.1 Weight variation The average weight of core tablets and coated tablets were determined using a digital weighing balance. 20 tablets were selected randomly from each batch and weighed individually, calculating the average weight and comparing the individual tablet weight to the average. From this, percentage weight difference was calculated. Table 6.11 Limits of weight variation IP/BP Limit USP 80 mg or less 10% 130mg or less More than 80mg or Less than 250mg 7.5% 130mg to 324mg 250mg or more 5% More than 324mg Table no. : Data for weight variation test of all formulations Formulation Code Avg weight (mean ±%deviation) Before Coating After Coating F1 178.42 ± 1.02 185.72 ±1.12 F2 181.31 ± 0.91 188.79 ±1.45 F3 179.21 ±1.34 187.89 ±1.09 F4 181.39 ±0.98 189.01 ±0.98 F5 179.76 ±1.32 186.96 ±1.42 F6 183.12 ±2.24 190.32 ±1.08 F7 180.09 ±1.08 187.34 ±1.12 F8 178.12 ±1.24 184.52 ±1.33 F9 179.35 ±1.02 187.01 ±1.14 F10 180.45 ±0.98 188.00 ±1.11 F11 181.32 ±1.23 188.67 ±1.28 F12 182.45 ±1.11 189.79 ±1.20 Hardness Hardness indicates the ability of a tablet to withstand mechanical shocks while handling. Hardness of both core and coated tablets were determined using a Monsanto hardness tester. It is expressed in kg/cm2. Three tablets were randomly picked from each batch and analyzed for hardness. The mean and standard deviation were also calculated. Table no. : Data for hardness of all formulations Formulation Code Hardness (kg/cm2)(n=3) (mean ±SD) Before Coating After Coating F1 5.06 ±0.19 6.18 ±0.22 F2 5.21 ±0.26 6.29 ±0.42 F3 4.96 ±0.32 6.03 ±0.15 F4 5.02 ±0.22 6.41 ±0.32 F5 5.28 ±0.18 6.17 ±0.18 F6 5.11 ±0.33 6.25 ±0.28 F7 4.89 ±0.25 6.00 ±0.33 F8 4.99 ±0.14 6.32 ±0.36 F9 5.08 ±0.18 6.75 ±0.25 F10 4.99 ±0.25 5.98 ±0.12 F11 5.12 ±0.33 5.90 ±0.21 F12 4.97 ±0.10 5.96 ±0.19 Friability (F) It is the phenomenon whereby tablet surfaces are damaged and/or show evidence of lamination or breakage when subjected to mechanical shock or attrition. The  friability of core tablets was determined using Roche Friabilator. It is expressed in percentage (%). Twenty core tablets were initially weighed (Winitial) and transferred into friabilator. The friabilator was operated at 25 rpm for 4 minutes or run up to 100 revolutions. The tablets were weighed again (Wfinal). The % friability was then calculated % Friability = ((A-B)/A) Ãâ€" 100 Where, Formulation Code Friability (%) (n=10) F1 0.010 F2 0.015 F3 0.017 F4 0.012 F5 0.009 F6 0.016 F7 0.014 F8 0.013 F9 0.012 F10 0.015 F11 0.014 F12 0.012 A = Initial weight of tablets B = Final weight of tablets after 100 revolutions Friability of tablets less than 1% are considered acceptable. Drug content The famotidine core tablets were tested for their drug content. Five tablets were finely powdered; quantities of the powder equivalent to 100 mg of famotidine were accurately weighed and transferred to a 100 ml of volumetric flask. Made up to 100ml with 4.5 phosphate buffer. From the above solution 1ml was taken and made up to100 ml with phosphate buffer (pH 4.5) From the above solution 10 ml was taken and made up to100 ml with phosphate buffer (pH 4.5) i.e.,10 µg/ml solution and measure the absorbance of the resulting solution at 265 nm using a Shimadzu UV-visible spectrophotometer. The linearity equation obtained from calibration curve was used for estimation of famotidine in the tablet formulations. Formulation Code Assay (%) F1 99.25 ±0.042 F2 98.32 ±0.052 F3 99.15 ±0.016 F4 99.52 ±0.019 F5 101.95 ±0.021 F6 99.25 ±0.034 F7 99.98 ±0.028 F8 98.74 ±0.052 F9 98.23 ±0.061 F10 100.12 ±0.011 F11 99.52 ±0.021 F12 99.56 ±0.023 Table no. : Data for drug content of all formulations In-Vitro Dissolution Studies The developed formulations of were subjected in vitro dissolution studies using USP Type II dissolution apparatus (Electrolab, India) with a speed of 50 rpm. The dissolution study was carried out in 900 ml dissolution media maintained at 37 ±0.5 oC. At suitable time interval, 10 ml samples were withdrawn and replaced with equivalent amount of fresh medium to maintain sink conditions. Samples withdrawn were filtered and analyzed at 265 nm using a UV spectrophotometer. After analyzing the drug content in the dissolution samples, cumulative percentage of drug release versus time was plotted. The general conditions for in vitro dissolution studies are as summarized below. Dissolution conditions: Medium : 4.5 phosphate buffer Volume: 900 ml Temperature: 37  °C  ± 0.5  °C Apparatus: USP Type-II (paddle) Rpm: 50 Time intervals : 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 12 hr Samples were suitably diluted and absorbance was measured. Cumulative percentage drug released was calculated for each batch. The study was performed in triplicate and the average was reported. Table no. : In-Vitro data drug release data for formulation F-1 S.no Time Cumulative % drug release 1 0 0 2 1 2.81 ±2.75 3 2 4.00 ±1.64 4 3 6.67 ±2.56 5 4 10.61 ±1.98 6 5 13.07 ±2.84 7 6 16.31 ±1.27 8 7 18.56 ±1.32 9 8 21.86 ±0.99 10 10 27.07 ±1.46 11 12 32.76 ±1.21 Figure no. : In-Vitro drug release of formulation F-1 Table no. : In-Vitro data drug release data for formulation F-2 S.no Time Cumulative % drug release 1 0 0 2 1 2.10 ±2.84 3 2 4.21 ±1.95 4 3 7.52 ±2.95 5 4 10.61 ±2.09 6 5 13.07 ±1.95 7 6 16.31 ±2.75 8 7 18.56 ±2.94 9 8 21.86 ±1.24 10 10 32.16 ±1.89 11 12 40.79 ±1.11 Figure no. : In-Vitro drug release of formulation F-2 Table no. : In-Vitro data drug release data for formulation F-3 S.no Time Cumulative % drug release 1 0 0 2 1 4.02 ±3.72 3 2 8.04 ±1.34 4 3 13.34 ±2.83 5 4 18.63 ±1.52 6 5 22.90 ±1.32 7 6