Study of Software Industry Using Porters Five Forces Model free essay sample

Porter’s model supports analysis of the driving forces in an industry. Based on the information derived from the Five Forces Analysis, management can decide how to influence or to exploit particular characteristics of their industry. A strategic Business manager seeking to develop an edge over rivals can use this model to understand the industry context in which the firm operates. Software industry is a growing industry and there are many potential new entrants to the industry. A study of the Software industry using Porter’s five forces model provides key insights into the industry trends. The study provides key challenges faced by the industry, and throws up some great opportunities that are present in the industry. Overall, the studies done through this paper reveal that software industry is a great industry to get into, for those who have the capability to create opportunities out of challenges. Introduction Software Industry is considered to be a very profitable industry. This perception attracts many players to this field. Many of the new entrants to the industry do not do any scientific analysis before they get into the field. This some times result into failures and uncertainties in the industry. A lot of new entrants fail to correctly assess and analyse the competitive strength and position of the firm in this industry. Michael Porter’s (1980) famous Five Forces of Competitive Position model provides a very effective way of doing this assessment for any industry, and can be used in the software industry too. This paper does a detailed study of the software industry using Porter’s model and the findings will help new entrepreneurs and existing ones to arrive at the right strategies for being unique and addressing the competition. This paper attempts to analyse the software industry based on Porter’s five forces model. Literature Review Porters Five Forces No organization is an island unto itself. Its ability to thrive is affected by many factors, including its competition. Michael Porter (1980), of the Harvard Business School, has developed the five forces model to describe and analyze these factors. Apart from Porters Book Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitorsâ€Å" in 1980, there are very many internet resources and articles which provide insight into the model. Some of them are www. themanager. org , www. businessballs. com, www. quickmba. com etc In this model, there are five competitive forces that interactively shape the dynamic environment of any industry. Rivalry Among Existing Firms All companies strive to improve their position with respect to their rivals. Companies use a variety of tactics to secure advantage; for example, product innovation and differentiation, patents, pricing, distribution systems, and advertising. In many industries, the use of one or more of these tactics by one company provokes a response by its competitors. Over time, this action-reaction dilemma can damage both the companies and the industry at large. This happened in the semiconductor industry: when one company began to build up production capacity for RAM (random-access memory) chips, the others followed suit, and the resultant overcapacity gave buyers an inordinate amount of leverage, precipitating a crash in prices. There are other factors that promote rivalry and competition: †¢Large increases in production capacity †¢Many competitors or relatively balanced competition †¢High exit barriers †¢Slow industry growth †¢High fixed costs Low switching costs Industries in which the competition is intense are often referred to as cutthroat, warlike, and bitter. The soft-drink industry is a well-known example of this. The more competitive the industry, the more difficult it is to generate profits. Threat of Potential Entrants New competitors in an industry bring with them additional resources and production capacity and a desire to gain market share. Their entrance can result in a collapse in prices, loss of suppliers, and increased costs (for example, in more advertising or a bigger sales force)—all of which reduce profitability. This has happened repeatedly in the discount department store sector, beginning in the early 20th century when the first â€Å"five-and-ten-cent stores† began to compete with smaller specialty shops. The likelihood of new entrants depends on the barriers to entry that are inherent to the industry and on the responses of the existing competitors. There are five major barriers to entry: a) Economies of scale In industrial economies, the most efficient level of production is called the minimum efficient scale (MES), which is the production level needed to achieve the lowest production costs. All industries have an MES. The higher the MES, the more production capability a new entrant must build in order to enter without an initial cost disadvantage. New entrants must then capture a share of the market proportional to their capacity or they will be at a long-term disadvantage. The bigger the market share they need to capture, the higher this barrier to entry is. One example of where it is extremely high is the automobile industry. b) Access to distribution channels In some industries, the distribution channels are controlled by existing companies through distributor contracts and preferred relationships. This can be seen in the light bulb industry, where the biggest manufacturers have exclusive contracts with the biggest retailers. New entrants will have to break into the current distribution system or find other alternatives. Both choices may be expensive, creating a high barrier to entry. c) Capital requirements Entering a new market can involve creating new capacity, aggressive advertising, acquisition of licenses, and so on. All of these activities require investment capital. The higher the capital needs, the greater the barrier to entry. An extreme case here is the building of jet aircraft, where even an established company can spend over a billion dollars (U. S. ) to bring one new model into production. d) Switching costs In some cases, entry into a new market can be achieved by retooling existing production machinery at relatively low costs. It is also possible, however, that the retooling costs are substantial, hence, a greater barrier to entry. Oftentimes, highly specialized capacity for which there is no alternative use must be created. This is a potential switching cost and constitutes another barrier to entry. Integrated circuit manufacturing equipment, for instance, cannot be used for anything else, while the machines used to make hardware and small metal parts can be reconfigured fairly easily. e) Cost disadvantages independent of scale Some industries have unique features that create high barriers to entry. These include: †¢Proprietary knowledge and patents not available to entrants †¢Access to raw materials limited to or controlled by existing firms †¢Favorable locations already secured by existing firms †¢Government regulations or subsidies †¢A relatively long learning/experience curve Similarly, barriers to exit make it difficult for firms to leave an industry. In industries that are difficult to exit, existing firms will tend to put more into the competition for retaining their market share than if they had an easy-exit option. Low Barrier to Entry Standard technology Low capital investment Low switching costs Little government restriction Fragmented or open distributionHigh Barrier to Entry Critical patents High capital investment High switching costs Considerable government regulation Controlled distribution Low Barrier to Exit Separate SBUs Incidental to core strategy Assets easy to sell Common technologyHigh Barrier to Exit Interdependent SBUs Part of core strategy Assets difficult to sell Specialized technology not applicable to other industries The Power of Buyers In some circumstances, the buyers or customers in an industry contribute to its competitiveness. Customers in competitive industries are able to force down prices, bargain for higher quality or more services, and play competitors against each other. Customers can exert significant pressure on an industry when †¢They have full information. They consider the products they purchase to be standard or undifferentiated. †¢The products are a significant portion of the buyers’ costs. †¢The products are unimportant to the quality of the buyers’ products. †¢The industry faces low switching costs. An industry that is severely limited by the power of buyers is pharmaceuticals: insurance companies, health maintenance organizations, and even governments (e. g. , through Medicare) limit their profits on prescription medications. The Power of Suppliers Suppliers also influence the competitiveness of an industry. Powerful suppliers can raise prices, restrict access to supplies, and lower the quality of supplies and services. If competitors are unable to pass along increased costs to their customers, their profits decrease. Suppliers are powerful when: †¢They pose a threat of forward integration. †¢Their product is an important input to the final product. †¢The industry overall is not an important customer of the supplier. †¢They are few in number and are more concentrated than their customers. †¢There are no competing substitutes. Their products are differentiated and/or the customers have significant switching costs. Suppliers are extremely powerful in the oil business, where a company that operates refineries but does not own its own wells is completely dependent on the producers. The Threat of Substitutes Usually, the firms in one industry are, broadly speaking, also competing with industries that produce substitute products. Substitutes can place a ceiling on the prices an industry can charge, thus limiting its profit potential. The more favorable the price/performance ratio of alternatives, the stronger the ceiling. Identifying viable substitute products is a matter of searching for other products that can meet customer needs. Some examples are: †¢High fructose /low calorie sweetener for sugar †¢LEDs for incandescent lights †¢Cellular phones for landline phones †¢Real estate investing for equity investing †¢Public transportation for automobiles All of these factors together shape the dynamics of an industry. After establishing how attractive an industry sector is, companies can then determine the key industry success factors, the investment needed, and the potential for return on those investments. Methodology First, the requirements and the nature of software industry were studied. The industry experience of the author of this paper came in handy for the study. Discussions were held with various experts in the industry. Various stages of setting up and sustaining a software industry were evaluated. Extensive study of already existing research was carried out. Various research information were considered while arriving at conclusions. A number of secondary sources are used in this paper Results and Discussion What are the threats of entry in this industry? Let us look at this with reference to the five aspects of †¢Economies of scale †¢Access to distribution channels †¢Capital requirements †¢Switching costs †¢Cost disadvantages independent of scale Economies of Scale Gerard Jackson (June 1998) argues that the concept of economies of scale do not apply to soft ware industry, simply due to the very nature of the industry where once we have invested in the development of the product the production costs are virtually nil and hence the economies of scale concept cannot be applied here. There of course are costs associated with packaging, shipping and marketing the product, but they are so minimal compared to the overall cost that the argument appears logical. So for the big players this is not an advantage at all. Any small player can threaten the big players, if they have the right brains behind their products. I do not consider this to be a serious entry barrier for new entrants to this field. Access to Distribution Channels Access to distribution channel is a big threat of entry in the software industry. The internet is a virtually free distribution channel available for any one to pump their products into. Any new entrant can have the same access as the big players to the distributions channels. However this is easily said than done for large software products like middle ware or operating systems, or huge data base management systems. Overall, this is not a serious barrier for new entrants. Capital Requirements The Capital requirements in this industry are of a different nature. According to the Reserve Bank of India (India’s Apex Bank) Notification (August, 1998) the working capital requirements of the software industry are basically the development costs. To quote their report â€Å"These products are prepared to meet standard requirements of end-users and are sold as packaged units comprising software manual and other user aids (tutorials). The development of these products involve fairly large scale investment, the return on which can be realised only after the product is fully developed and sufficient demand is generated therefore. By and large, no payment by the buyers would be involved at any stage of development and the developer would be receiving payments only when the products are purchased by interested buyers. In such cases, working capital requirements would be mainly for meeting expenditure such as salaries and expenses of the professionals associated with the development of the products. The period required for development would vary and, in some cases, may extend up to 24 months. â€Å" Depending on the scale of the proposed product, the new entrants would need to muster this capital requirement, and take the risk of success or failure once the product is launched. Hence this could be a high barrier Switching Costs Switching cost could well be the most important entry barrier for new firms into the software industry. Steve Kahl (Spring 2004) has done some extensive study on the switching costs related with Software industry. The total cost of ownership to implement a software package typically is much higher than the purchase price of software, sometimes as high as twelve times the price. Integrating software with the pre-existing technical architecture, changing business processes, training new users on the system, and maintenance costs for the software make it difficult for customers to replace software products. These high switching costs can lock customers in and increase the value of the installed base. As a result, the size of the installed base is an important performance measure for the software industry. The installed base, in turn, impacts competitive strategy. A firm such as Microsoft with a significant installed base may deter entry from new firms. Cost Disadvantages Independent of Scale include proprietary product technology, favorable access to talent and raw material, favorable locations, learning or experience curve etc. In the context of the software industry this could be a low barrier, since the software as a product is a function of the human intelligence and really one cannot make it proprietary, and history proves this where start up companies became giants in this field. To what threats of substitutes are you vulnerable in this industry? The threats of substitutes could be of a different nature in the software industry. There is always the big fight between patents and open source. But the major threat for software industry in this account is the threat of piracy. All major software players struggle with this and a lot of efforts and money is spent on preventing , detecting and acting on piracy. I would say that the industry has still not figured out the right and fool proof way of preventing this threat. The proliferation of piracy requires us to constantly re-evaluate how people can ensure they are getting the real thing when they see the Microsoft name, says Jackie Carriker, group manager of anti-piracy efforts for Microsoft (Microsoft press release Feb 2000). It seems we are in a perpetual cat-and-mouse game with counterfeiters. But hopefully these features will make it more challenging for would-be pirates to make a quick buck while making it easier for customers and resellers to differentiate between genuine and counterfeit software. Microsoft published data confirms this problem. To Quote Microsoft â€Å"Software piracy, or the illegal copying and distribution of software, is both an individual and a worldwide problem that takes a toll on the global economy. In 1998, software piracy caused the loss of more $11 billion in revenue worldwide, according to the Business Software Alliance (BSA). That same year, software piracy cost 109,000 jobs in the U. S. lone. There are currently approximately 2 million auction and warez sites pushing pirated or counterfeit goods, compared to 100,000 in 1997, according to BSA estimates. In short, software piracy is a problem for everyone at every level of the distribution channel from honest resellers to consumers. As per Douglas Heingartner (January, 2004) internet pirac y is the latest threat in software piracy, and organisations are struggling to bring this under control. To what pressures from suppliers are you vulnerable in this industry? This is probably an industry which is not too dependent on â€Å"suppliers† in the conventional manner. However, the right skill sets in employees could be treated as a major supply source. Sourcing the right employees and having strategies and policies which attract them to stay on, is a major challenge that every software industry player . The war of talent as it is called is all too well known. According to Steve Schifferes (January 2007) ,Nasscom, the Indian software industry association, estimates that by 2010, the Indian outsourcing industry could have $60bn worth of global sales, up from $23bn in 2006 and that would still only be 10% of the potential market. But if the industry is to triple its revenues, urgent action is needed now to increase the supply of skilled labour, Nasscom says. According to Mary Hayes Weier (February 2007) Accenture plans to increase its India staff this year by 8,000 people to 35,000, surpassing its U. S. employee base. IBM s India staff has jumped from 43,000 to 53,000 in six months, and it expects to continue growing at that pace. Both Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services are hiring about 2,000 people a month. At that pace, thats more than 35,000 new hires for these four companies alone the next six months, and dozens of other tech companies are rushing to add staff in India. So where will all this talent come from? Thats a question businesses should be asking their suppliers of India-based IT and business process services. The country still offers the best talent-to-price ratio of any place in the world, but suppliers admit its getting increasingly difficult to find and keep the right peopleespecially at the management level. To what pressures from customers are you vulnerable in this industry? Customers or clients as they are called currently in our industry, have a great power as they always have had. They have choices, they continue to ask for better quality at lower costs. More importantly they are asking the software vendors to add business value to their business. It is no more a sell and walk out policy. According to the Software 2006 Industry report put together by McKinsey Company, in collaboration with the Sand Hill Group, the entire eco system of software business is undergoing major changes and customers are driving that change aggressively. The report says, â€Å"Two major business models are vying for an growing share of software spend: Software as a Service and Open Source. Software as a Service (SaaS) has become increasingly relevant to both Enterprise and SMB customers and has the potential to impact the entire IT landscape. Although the market size for SaaS was relatively small ~$6 billion in 2005, it is poised to grow more than 20 percent annually. Several factors are driving this large shift in preferred model: vendors are seeking attractive annuity revenue streams, customers are pushing for more affordable and lower TCO alternatives to packaged software, and critical technology enablers like broadband wireless and universal access are coming online. SaaS has already gained traction in number of application areas – such as payroll, human capital management, CRM, conferencing, procurement, logistics, information services, and e-commerce) – and should make gains across a much broader cross-section of applications over the next 3 years.

Personal Impact Paper free essay sample

Once started the symptoms are chronic and lifelong with periods of remission in between bouts of active symptoms. Diagnosing CD may be lengthy, requiring non – invasive as well as invasive tests. A check of the stool could indicate bleeding, a blood test might indicate anemia or the antibody associated with Crohn’s. Abdominal x ray could indicate intestinal wall thickening. Physicians may need to do colonoscopy, biopsy to diagnose the disease ( Harvard Heath). CD is classified as an inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) (Neighbors Tannehill -jones, 2006). CD can be a debilitating disease and can affect all aspects of person’s life intensely as seen in the case of SM. Using a case study of an individual with Crohn’s disease, I will address how the CD impact on patient’s social, financial, and personal life, how patient learned about her disease and educational experience while learning about her chronic disease. I want to use the initial instead of full name to protect the patient’s privacy. SM , a 40 year old teacher with two younger children from Michigan admitted to our hospital with dehydration and anemia. She has been bloody diarrhea for six months and initial diagnosed with colitis by her primary care physician who gave her antibiotics and steroid which help her symptoms improving. Two day ago her diarrhea became very severe and reached as often as 15 to 17 times a day, accompanied by severe pain and abdominal cramping, loss of appetite, and sense of abdominal fullness. This has made it increasingly difficult for her to leave her home or go to work. â€Å" I feel like I am a prisoner of my own bathroom . SM has become moody and depressed. She has lost 40 pounds, developed blurred vision, and is growing facial hair. Her skin started to peel and split. She is bloated and her face is swollen. Her husband has filed a divorce because she could not take care of children , family ,plus financial crisis, and she is scared because she is covered under her husband’s medical insurance. Impact of Cronh’s disease can be extensive on an individual’s social, financial, and per sonal as seen in MS case. She could not work and only get 60% of her salary , plus medical expense, unable to take care her family, and her two young children so cause her husband filed divorce. Furthermore, she is isolated from her co-worker and friend since she is too weak to participate any social activity. All above caused her depression. According (Coheb. J. D, 1995) â€Å" long term stress and repeated crisis provide fertile ground for individual maladaptive functioning as well as creating vulnerability for dysfunctional family behavior. When psychosocial dilemmas persist over time and are left unattended, various form of dysfunction emerge† (p . 18). So psychologist was consulted for MS to help coping with her diagnosis, her debilitating symptoms ,and her husband filing for divorce. Depression can be situational and may aid in allowing MS to voice her feelings, and decrease her anxiety. The psychologist provided her more information about her disease, help her cope with her daily struggles, and gave her encouragement as another support system. The psychologist has tried to enlighten her husband regarding MS’s disease process and her stress could worsen its symptoms. Counseling the couple could reduce marital strife and perhaps assist MS and her husband to find mutual ground and save their marriage. The doctor explained to MS in brief about her diagnosis and treatment options which include drug therapy, nutrition supplement, herbs, and surgery. The nurses according to MS and her husband literacy level and readability made the broche with pictures, DVD to educate them how to deal with the disease. Using Bloom’s taxonomy, cognitive domain to help the patient and family to have knowledge as following: 1. What is Chron’s disease, how do the medication work, what is the main side effects, how to take the medications, what are complications so the patient and her family can participate her medical care. 2. How to maintain optimal nutrition: parental nutrition (PN) is used when symptoms of irritable bowel disease are severe. If oral foods are tolerated small, frequent, low residue feeding are given to avoid over distending the stomach and stimulating peristalsis. It is important for the patient to restrict activity to conserve energy, reduce peristalsis and calorie requirements. 3. How to promote rest: it is important to encourage activity within the limits of the patient’s capacity. The nurse suggests bed rest for a patient who is febrile , has frequent diarrheal stools or is bleeding. 4. How to cope with the stress and anxiety: teaching the patient the art of stress relief without drugs can give the patient a sense of control over some symptoms. Such as biofeedback, routine exercise, relaxation exercises, breathing techniques, massage, etc. According to (Mirkka et al, 2008) â€Å" patients expect functional knowledge about self care and how it affects their health. In addition to understanding the disease and treatment, patients expect social knowledge about how to connect treatment at home. Patients expect social knowledge about how to connect treatment with work, hobbies and social life, patients also expect that their family should learn about their illness, home care, and how to participate in treatment. â€Å" ( p. 250) After finishing the above teaching, MS and her husband accepted the facts and disease, expressed all the feeling and concerns to the nurse. While allowing MS to explore her feeling toward he diagnosis, the nurse could encourage her to set short- term and long -term goals. How will MS cope with pain today? What methods for pain control would MS like to continue to explore in the days to come (Bloom’s Taxonomy affective domain)? Once the goals setting, MS and her husband work together to comply with treatment, follow medical advise. Financial strategies will place a huge toll on MS’s disposition. The nurse enlisting the help of social work can help her develop plans for future caring needs. Social work can assist her to apply for other health plans that will support her alone. If she has no other support systems in place, social work can assist her with home health nursing for her recovery period and financial assistance , if she needs to be off from work for an extended time. MS’s struggles are many, but to ensure her successful recovery we must utilize all the resources of our multidisciplinary colleagues, as well as our nursing knowledge. We must take into effect what the patient’s diagnosis, prognosis, and experiences are so we can give her the best chance of survival with her illness.

Character Of Malvolio In Twelfth Night Essays - Malvolio

Character Of Malvolio In Twelfth Night In William Shakespeares Twelfth Night we encounter several interesting characters. The character I found to be most interesting and most different from the others was Malvolio. Malvolio is the servant of Olivia. Although he belongs to the servant class, he believes strongly that he is better than the individuals that he serves. Malvolio often takes it upon himself to try to discipline others when Olivia is not around. For example he even takes it upon himself to discipline Sir Toby, his social superior. Malvolio appears to be a dedicated worker. Most of the time Olivia seems to appreciate the solemn dignity with which he carries out his duties, however, the others find him arrogant and regard him as an enemy. Malvolio, like Rosalind in As You Like It is in disguise. He pretends to be a Puritan. He dresses in black and never laughs. Throughout the movie we never see a smile on his face. This however, is merely a disguise that he assumes, that allows him to criticize others. Under his black garments, lies a heart filled with vanity. He often daydreams that Olivia will marry him and as a result he will become her equal. He imagines himself wearing fine clothes and jewelry. He would then have command of the household, and he would then be able to get revenge on those who havent treated him respectfully. I find it ironic that Malvolio is more successful at fooling himself than he is at deceiving others. The other members of the household see through Malvolios hypocritical nature. Even Olivia, who seems to value Malvolio as a servant, says he is sick of self love, Act 1, Scene I, line 92). Though others can see through him, Malvolio fools himself completely. Maria says, he believes that all that look on him love him(Act II, sc.iii, l.152). He is sure that some accident of luck has caused a man as fine as him to be born a servant rather than a master. He believes that fortune will eventually correct that mistake. Malvolio's self deception makes him the perfect target for Maria and Sir Toby's joke. Maria's letter is only able to convince him that Olivia loves him because that's what he wants to believe. When the letter tells him to act proud and haughty, it only gives him permission to show how he already feels. His own pride causes him to act as foolishly as he does. Malvolio's real downfall however, is not caused by foolishness. Nearly everybody in this play is foolish at one time or another. Unlike the others, however, Malvolio simply cannot laugh at himself, cannot recognize his faults. Therefore, he has no part in the healing that occurs at the end of the play. While the others are all laughing at themselves and forgiving each other, Malvolio clings to his anger. When he makes his final exit, he vows to take revenge on everybody. In Conclusion, from viewing the play I had a better understanding of the plot. I did however notice when trying to follow the movie with the play itself, that it was a little off. They first scene in the play is not acted until ten minutes into the movie. In the beginning of the play I felt like I was watching a remake of Titanic because everyone was jumping into the water. I also noticed that while I understood the purpose of Violas disguise, she didnt look too masculine to me. I thought the power struggle between Malvolio and Sir Toby was very entertaining. It was portrayed in a light, flimsy manner. Overall the film wasnt too bad to watch and I thought Helene Bonham Carter was fabulous in her role as Olivia. Shakespeare Essays

Modern Drama and the Diminution of Dreams essays

Modern Drama and the Diminution of Dreams essays The Aristotelian view of drama required an imitation of life, but his heroes were invariably members of the noble class. He regarded Sophocles Oedipus Rex as the perfect play. Given this viewpoint, and given the stranglehold that Aristotle had over Europe over the next sixteen centuries, it is no wonder that most drama from the Greeks through until the renaissance were designed with this in mind. Dramatic heroes needed to be elevated so that their plunge into darkness would be all the more extreme. The Renaissance began a process which allowed a re-examination of drama. No longer was a protagonist required to be a king. Now it was possible for lesser mortals to experience the devastation formerly reserved for nobility. By the 19th century Naturalism and Humanism had made it possible for plays to be written about prostitutes as protagonists, such as The Lady of the Camillias in 1849, which eventually degenerated into Eugene ONeils Anna Christie. By 1902 Maxim Gorky was writing plays about the dregs of society, the lower class, as in The Lower Depths. Realism allowed playwrights a chance to write about real people. Ibsen wrote about women smothered by society, as in A Dolls House, or The Wild Duck. ONeil wrote plays about dysfunctional families, such as A Long Days Journey into Night, or plays about the destruction of lower class men, such as The Emperor Jones and The Hairy Ape. None of these protagonists were noble in class, and yet their falls often resulted in death, and the act of their falls left audiences as drained as the Athenians who watched a king plummet from grace. Along with this de-emphasis on the stature of the protagonist has come a shift in the tragedy that surrounds them. Aristotle stressed the natural, as he said in his discussion of plot, in that it should follow the rule of what is possible according to the law of probability or necessity. ...

MID-TERM ASSIGNMENT Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MID-TERM ASSIGNMENT - Article Example Generally, Chase River is situated within a narrow valley that is steep-sided, restricting the development of meandering or braided river features. What is more, the vegetation found within the Park or the Park is dominated by a coniferous forest characterized by trees such as western hemlock, western red cedar and Douglas fir (McBeath, 2011). Primary native species comprise red huckleberry, Oregon grape, salal, a wide range of mosses and sword fern. The ecosystem has been influenced by human activities in the past. For instance, the demand for water led to establishment of protected areas such as middle lake and other water reservoirs. The existence of paper mills which prompted the plantation of softwood trees. The Park has been affected negatively by some form of human activities. For instance, there are human settlements especially alone the Upper Chase River. Not enough, the ecosystem was sometime back cleared to pave way for the creation of a dual carriage way which negatively affects the Parks

Heidegger's distinction between the ready-to-hand and the Essay

Heidegger's distinction between the ready-to-hand and the present-to-hand - Essay Example Heidegger has approved the explanation with regard to philosophy as 'its own time comprehended in thought'; the same thought has been delivered by the historians. According to Heidegger, the history of philosophy was to be considered as Western civilization's ever-deepening forgetfulness or oblivion of being, and he disapproved the belief that supported progressive self-realization of spirit version of history f philosophy. Heidegger was also supportive of the notion that Eastern intellectual thoughts can be of support towards technological understanding of being. Heidegger once commented that, 'I am convinced that a change can only be prepared from the same place in the world where the modern technological world originated. It cannot come about by the adoption of Zen Buddhism or other Eastern experiences of the world. The help of the European tradition and a new appropriation of that tradition are needed for a change in thinking. Thinking will only be transformed by a thinking that has the same origin and destiny. The technological world must be superseded in the Hegelian sense, not removed, superseded, but not by human beings alone'(G. Neske, 1990). Heideggar's philosophy has much in similar with the philosophy proposed by Edmund Husserl. Heidegger was much impressed by the article of Husserl on Logical Investigations. Heidegger acknowledged that Husserl's phenomenology produced significant impact on his personal work. Phenomenology is with reference to the science of consciousness and the related objects. The Cartesian tradition has been foundation for phenomenology, Husserl is of the opinion that one can reach the phenomenological attitude, based on the detail analysis of the content of consciousness, from natural attitude, based on actual world and related affairs by the application of methodological procedure. Freedom from prejudice and achievement of purity is possible through phenomenological reduction. Heidegger believes that phenomenology is based on separate analysis of consciousness. DASEIN: Ready-to-Hand & Present-at-Hand Being and Time is supportive of Husserlian phenomenology, and Heidegger has tried to explore the different modes of the existence of the beings, and the experience of its encounter. He analyzed the concept of being in a detailed manner, and referred to the daily life as utensils, or in particular mood of anxiety, and has further revealed the identity of Dasein, and terms it to be particular kind of being. Heidegger has denied the concept with reference to the constitution of the original on the basis of pure consciousness, rather is of the opinion that Dasein in its being is the core of philosophy. Heidegger has forwarded many thoughts which need to be answered. In his letter to Husserl he asked, "What is the mode of being of that being in which the world constitutes itself'" he has stressed over the need to evaluate the constitution supportive of the existence of Dasein, and if certain mysteries with reference to Dasein are unanswered, it will have an impact on the being in general. He wrote to Husserl that, "universal problem of being refers to that which constitutes and to that

Quality-of-Life: Patients with Common Dermatological Disease

Quality-of-Life: Patients with Common Dermatological Disease Skin diseases are frequent in all over the world. Approximately 30% of Americans had at least one skin condition that leads to further medical examination (1). Patients with skin disease have experienced various problems including emotional, financial, psychological and social issues which can affect their quality of life (QoL) (2). Skin diseases are responsible for the majority of morbidity due to the presence of physical symptoms. Some studies reported that itching and fatigue are the main complaint in patients with skin diseases; moreover, compared with the normal people, these patients had a lower psychosocial wellbeing which it depended on disease-severity and duration, disease-related quality of life, and presence of physical symptoms such as itch, pain and fatigue (3-4). It also reported that some skin diseases can cause higher degree of disability in comparison with many chronic diseases (5). For instance patients who suffered from psoriasis reported fatigue, stigmatization, and loss of physical function, lack of self confidence, impaired daily and social function and limitations in social contacts (6). Some studies suggested that that eczema and psoriasis have a lower mental health compare patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and psychiatric patients had better functioning compared to patients with skin disorders, also the harmful effects of psoriasis on QOL were comparable to that seen in breast cancer, arthritis, hypertension, diabetes, and mood disorders (7-8). The World Health Organization defines QOL as â€Å"individuals’ expectation of their position in life, in the context of the cultural and value system in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns† (9). It is very difficult to achieve QOL in patients with skin diseases. This may be due to the patients worrying about their unhandsome appearance in confronting people and so, what they think about their skin. Therefore, it is very important for clinicians or dermatologists to improve the QOL in these patients by concentrating on patients symptoms and appearance. Assessing QOL provides more accurate information about patients needs and helps dermatologist to decide better about patients treatment. So, it improves better patients service and QOL (10). Because QOL shows a very important aspect in physical and mental health, this review was aimed on evaluating the impacts of QOL of patients on various skin diseases including psoriasis, vitiligo, acne vulgaris, atopic dermatitis and seborrheic dermatitis and also, how much these diseases affected QOL and what factors may be associated with a worse QOL. ACNE VULGARIS: Acne vulgaris is the probably most prevalent skin disease in adolescents and especially during puberty. Approximately all of men and women experienced at least one acne lesions during their lifetime (11). In some studies has reported that this skin disorder, affecting almost 80% of individuals who aged from 11 to 30 years. 17However, this rate varied between 41.7% -93.3% in different countries with populations aged 12 to 18 years (12-13). Also, it has reported that acne and actinic keratosis represented the two most common presentations in dermatologists office visits, with both conditions resulting in 5.2 million visits and 15% of total visits yearly in United States (14). QoL issues have been well-known in acne vulgaris. One of the most important in adolescence is a good appearance. It affected self-worth and self confidence. Acne vulgaris may cause some morbidity in many teenage patients such as low self-esteem, social isolation, and depression and suicidal ideation (15-18). There are some validated criteria for evaluating and identifying individuals with acne vulgaris include the Acne Disability Index (ADI), Cardiff Acne Disability Index (CADI), and the Acne-QoL index (19). It is worth mentioning that CADI and acne-Qol were Simpler and more rapidly used than the ADI index (19). Of note, physical morbidity and decreased social functioning in adulthood may be the complications of acne vulgaris that had happened in adolescents (20). Verhoeven et al.(3) suggested in his study that patients with skin diseases in experienced a lower psychosocial well-being compare to the normal population and several of these patients was at risk of developing severe mood disorders such as depression. Also, the psychosocial problems were more frequent in patient with chronic skin disease. Also, Patients who suffered from acne vulgaris have worse mental health and anxiety and depression status than individuals with asthma, epilepsy, diabetes, CVD, back pain, or arthritis (2, 21). About the half of adolescent patients accepted acne as a disease, but 86% think that treatment is necessary to improve their appearance (12). This is the reason that subjects with worse symptoms and QoL condition should be treated by the physician or dermatologist with more aggressive or systemic treatments such as corticosteroids(22). In some cases, referral for further evaluation by a psychologist is recommended (23). Effective treatments may be useful to reach the optimum QoL burden of this common disease. ATOPIC DERMATITIS: It is reported that the atopic dermatitis causes most physician office visit and outpatient hospital visits in United States (14). Atopic dermatitis (AD) describes an inflammatory, chronically relapsing skin condition that, along with asthma and allergic rhinitis, is part of the atopic triad (24). The condition gives rise to itching and severely dry skin, and is characterized by an allergic predisposition, pruritus, erythema, oozing, crusting, excoriations, lichenification, sensitivity to allergens/ irritants and susceptibility to secondary infections (24) Atopic dermatitis typically appears in early childhood, and patients may experience periodic flare-ups throughout adulthood (25). A worldwide study found that AD affects approximately 5% to 20% of children at ages 6 – 7 and 13–14 years, with the prevalence being highest in developed countries (26). Other estimates of prevalence in children fall within this range. The prevalence of AD in Canada was estimated to be 8.5% for children aged 6 – 7 years, and 9.4% for children aged 13–14 years (26). Approximately 10% of cases are considered to be severe, with approximately half the remaining cases being considered moderate and half being considered mild. Incidence and severity are approximately equal among males and females (24). Evidence suggests that the prevalence of AD in Western nations is increasing. Parents report that their children with AD experience sleep disturbance, and are more clingy, frustrated, and irritable (27-29). Studies have found a correlation between AD and attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (30-32). Infants with AD are also found to be at greater risk for development of mental health problems by age 10 years. The prevalence and burden of AD in teenagers is less well understood. Adolescents with AD are at significant risk of impaired QoL similar to that of acne vulgaris, including predisposition to depression, impaired social interaction with members of the opposite sex, and sexual functioning.54 Using Skindex-Teen, adolescents with AD generally experienced similar impairment in QoL as those with acne (33). Indices to accurately measure QoL in pediatric patients with AD are highly relevant to clinical practice and research. To more completely gauge the comprehensive burden of disease, the clinician should aim to objectively review QoL and physical impairment (34-35). Patients with severe QoL impairment caused by AD may be in greater need of aggressive treatment strategies to minimize comorbidities and the longterm psychosocial effects of their disease. It is critical to involve both the caregiver and patient in these treatment strategies. . 1.Johnson M-LT. Defining the Burden of Skin Disease in the United States[mdash]A Historical Perspective. 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