Objection to the production of genetically modified foods

Introduction Genetically modified crops (GMF) refers to plants which have been modified within laboratories for the purposes of enhancing plant characteristics. This process had earlier been done through breeding which proved to be more time consuming and at times produced inaccurate results.Advertising We will write a custom article sample on Objection to the production of genetically modified foods specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This was enhanced through the use of genetic engineering which enabled the creation of plants with desired characteristics, done by inserting appropriate genes to the desired plants. However, arguments have risen on the viability of these kinds of food to human and environmental health. Various organizations have raised their concerns about GM foods since the idea is considered profit oriented rather than being health oriented (Domingo, 2000). There are some common concerns emerging amongst different p rofessionals about genetically modified crops and food. These concerns revolve around health risks, environmental pollution and the adverse effects on the general biodiversity. These concerned people put across their arguments without any valid evidences which could support their negative stand on the danger posed by genetically engineered food. So far conclusion has been made concerning the long-term consequences GM food could have on human health not forgetting the general safety of the current and future environment. Based on such argument, some may tend to take side with the proponents of GM crops and food in declaring the food safe for consumption (Domingo, 2000). Despite the dilemma faced on the issue, there are still numerous legal grounds that people could stand upon in the process of opposing the use of GM food. This could be based on the manner in which the industry has structured its laws on the use of intellectual property rights where by the issue of patenting genetical ly modified organisms would be geared towards transformation of farming methods. The focus is majorly on maximizing profits hence ignoring many lives it is meant to support. Contrary to the objections presented by the public concerning the introduction and use of GM food, some of the big world organizations seem to be reading from different scripts. One of the organization’s is World Trade Organization (WTO), which is a body majorly concerned with implementation and regulation of rules amongst the nations of the world. This body is one of the proponents on the use of GM food; WTO has gone as far as protecting the sale of GM food within the market through granting those involved legal trade licenses and also protecting them against any market discriminatory actions. Such kind of a move undermines the people’s democratic rights on choice and interests. This is since the market forces can never form any legal substitute to human life and safety. Such kind of move provides a reach battle ground between humanitarian and market forces.Advertising Looking for article on agriculture? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More These rights include; food and safety rights, right to freedom of choice, property rights and the rights conferred on organizations dealing with food security. This provides one of the most powerful grounds used in opposing the existence of GM food within the global market. International laws require that any kind of food should undergo thorough testing and investigations before being released to the general public. However, there are some kinds of food that are always regarded as safe internationally hence does not undergo thorough check. Genetically Modified food falls under this category of safe food according to international laws under FDA. The tests relied upon for approvals are performed by the same companies who happen to be prime producers of genetically modified organisms. This leads to some kind of bias since they would want to gain at the expense of human life, they will tend to exaggerate the level of danger contained within their inventions. To be on safe side the public should be warned and advised to take caution while using any kind of food within the market. This is since most of these genetically modified food stuff appear in the market with no labels which could provide consumers with knowledge about their use. Such actions reinforce the nature of risk the companies are exposing people to; this could be traced to some dangerous scenarios the public has been exposed to in the past like the issue on mud cow disease. Humanitarian and food security organizations should therefore ensure that necessary safety rules and procedures are instituted to assist in curtailing GM food and crops (Pusztai, 2000). Explanation of the issue on objection on the use of Genetically Modified food Controversies have been raised over the rise in genetically modified crop s and food; this is in line with the kind of complexities they pose to human issues. Most governments though, have considered genetic modification as an important aspect of technology beneficial to scientific, political and economic progress. They consider such implication as one of the great advances towards development of future human welfare. This has since not been proven true from the human point of view, because the idea of using biotechnology poses some moral and ethical challenges to human life.Advertising We will write a custom article sample on Objection to the production of genetically modified foods specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The ability of the inserted genetic matter being transferred through into different species presents one of the greatest risks to survival. Scientists have got little knowledge to establish the processes which might be caused by GMF at genetic level and the ultimate consequences on the prot eomic level of the life involved. They have not been able to ascertain on the causal impacts across food chains (Domingo, 2000). The inception of GM crops and food has got some adverse effects on economy and nature. It seems to undermine the nature’s ability to sustain life through environmentally friendly ways of producing food for human sustenance. There is strong belief and proof that the planet has got the capability of producing enough food for the purposes of supporting life therein, the insufficiency comes due to unfair application of human will power. Enough could be produced through the use intensive farming methods and the application of right procedures and prescriptions on crops. Increased yields and food production could be ensured by use of various diversification methods. One of the major environmental risks posed by GM crops is the negative impact they have on the biodiversity within the farmlands (Buick, 2011). Genetically modified food is no different from o ther known conventional foods hence should be subjected to thorough test for health risks. Genetically modified food should be examined for their alleged level of toxicity, antibiotic resistance and also the level of carcinogens they contain. These contents make them health hazards hence should be avoided whenever possible. They also pose a great threat towards what is known as genetic pollution whereby the crops trigger irreversible genetic contamination to plant and animal life. The crops produce chain of reactions which eventually pose unintended consequences like pests resistant to chemicals as well as hard core weeds. It may also lead to emergence of resistant viruses in the process of gene transfer from viral resistant plants to other plants. This presents great threat to biodiversity since the crops are planted into foreign ecosystems where they eventually dominate (Taylor et al, 1999). The whole issue on GM food seems to concentrate so much on scientists ignoring the importa nt contributions by the public. The whole issue on policy making surrounding GM food is only narrowed down to experts ignoring the full involvement of the public in decision making process. This could lead to under-presentation since the effects of the food is generally felt by the public hence the decisions made could be considered illegitimate. There is also the unjustified process on risk assessment processes which involves balancing of risks, costs involved and the benefits on the use of GM food. There are no clear indications that implementation of GM food has got parallel studies on methods of overcoming any hazardous consequences they might pose to life (Lappe et al, 1999).Advertising Looking for article on agriculture? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Arguments for the particular decision based on legal, economic, social, political and ethical considerations Many opinions have been put across on the potential health risks associated with GM food crops; this has been substantiated by scarce data. The level of quality, science gives on the established data concerning GM food is sub-standard. This justifies the reason as to why there is objection on the fact that the future of this generation is dependent upon the success brought by the promise based on quality GM foods. On the issue of environmental concerns, research has shown that GM crops could cause harm un-discriminatively to other niches within the environment. This was presented from the example of Bt. Corn which resulted in high mortality rates of insects including the un-targeted ones. The process also leads to gene transfer to non-targeted plant species, which appears adjacent to GM crops. This happens through cross pollination where pollen grains are transferred from mal e plants to undesired targets (Buick, 2011). Economically, existence of GM food into the market proves to be an expensive process owing to the kinds of costs involved. Companies involved in genetic production of food crops have patented their engineering technologies. The idea of patenting GM plants may result in price increase of the seeds which would be of great disadvantage to small farmers and majority of the third world countries. The result is the widening gap between the rich and the poor (Panse, 2010). The healthcare system which is concerned with the duties of providing the people with treatment, prevention measures and overall management of health finds difficulties dealing with risks posed by GMOs since there are no documented procedures form biotechnology industries. However, the necessary interventions could be ensured in collaboration with professional service providers like nurses and physicians. These services require adequate financing and should be performed based on already set policies and standards which govern the healthcare system. The industry faces some risks and challenges which include costs and the complex processes which should be followed to ensure quality results. The issue on GM food could be best addressed in terms of hazards rather than risks, of great importance is on how the effects occur within free trading systems. This may help in exposing the anticipated connections between the free markets and the public opinions concerning safety in terms of human and environmental health. This should be considered since GM food forms part of the complex social, political which makes the issue crucial part of international laws and markets. This makes the issue an important part of social justice which incorporates food production and consumption based on national, international laws and human rights. Failure to incorporate and consider these laws in the process of implementing GM food leads to violation of international laws on food s ecurity and human rights (Pusztai, 2000). The firm needs the approval of FDA in order to start carrying out the normal sales of GM food to the industry. Biotechnology firm should carry out some trials through the marketers on sample population to establish the level of relevance their invention brings to the market. This should be part of the design so as to enable the firm prove to the consumers that their product is superior compared to others and has got no side effects. There should be an established research organization which operates under the modern international laws on development providing strong base for future expansion. It would only work with experienced management team providing the required and necessary knowledge. The processes of regulations and clinical research should be incorporated to form part of research and development assisting in improvement of the results submitted to FDA. The strategy of introducing GMOs is simply for the purposes of fulfilling preventi on priority initiatives. It is intended at helping the population all over the world by improving on their lifestyle and upgrading their health status through adoption of quick-fix GM crops which in essence matures faster than the natural crops and also best at controlling emerging diseases. The aim is in the reduction of food deficit level experienced all over the world as well as preventing the use of chemicals. The strategy also aims at preventing prevalent mortality rate amongst the population due to rise in hunger (Pusztai, 2000). Building strategies is necessary for efficient implementation of any consumer product. The kind of strategy built and implemented determines the level of progress within any system. Strategies are usually built based on various conditions which should include; the current economic status, Country’s policies and ability to focus ahead based on competitive moves and health concerns. The implementation process should have action plan which can ena ble them have competitive advantage over other related food sources within the industry. The effects and implications of the chosen strategies in the implementation of GM food by the governments are basically based on business principles. The use of GM food may have increased effects on human productivity due to the genetic composition of the food crops transferable across food chain. The use of this strategy was basically aimed at ensuring that all community members have access to cheap food at affordable costs. This would have been done by offering some quality options like the implementation monitoring gadget that would enhance safety for all users of the GMOs. This would also ensure that important information about health concerns on the use of GM food is relayed appropriately to all community members. Performing this strategy would ensure reduction in negative consequences on the use of GM food. This means that the government would be in full control of the people’s heal th. Besides preventing and reducing death rate, the initiative would also ensure reduction in general public suspicions on the use of the food (Pusztai, 2000). The information provided on the use of GMOs would improve the nature of disaster preparedness towards community reactions on the use of GM food. The idea of objecting implementation of GM food aims at equipping the community and preparing them against any disaster posed by the use of strange food products found within the market. This strategy could help in enhancing excellent coordination between the food industry and the health care sector, making it easier when it comes to organizing appropriate responses in protecting public health. This would at the same time cover the need in improving the communication system used between the community and various organizations dealing with food safety. The procedure ensures that all the cases pertaining to reports on public health responses are maintained (Panse, 2010). Any plan insti tuted by biotechnology industry should ensure that organizational excellence is given priority since the strategy touches on human and environmental sustenance. For progress to be realized within the biotech industry, some dimensions and components within organizations working in collaboration with the industry require strengthening. This ensures that the industry’s effectiveness and efficiency on safety issues is felt across all the communities. This could be enhanced through recruitment of qualified and experienced scientists willing to be accountable for every process involved in the innovation of genetically modified food. This strategy may help in reducing the unnecessary phobia on the general public concerning GMOs. It would ensure that majority of consumers respond positively towards the idea on GM food (Pusztai, 2000). All these priorities could be supported on condition that Biotech industry agrees to work in partnership with the humanitarian organizations, food secu rity organizations and the community at large in ensuring that health and safety are given first priority. The industry should ensure that it forms and sponsors specific community groups specifically concerned with Health care matters to help in ascertaining the viability of their inventions. This would also help in closing the disparity that exists within healthcare on the grounds of discrimination and economic ability on the majority of the people. The promotion should encompass individuals, learning institutions and social centers all over the world (Pusztai, 2000). Stakeholder analysis The many controversies surrounding genetically modified food is that it may cause small local farmers to loose their business to few bigger companies. This means that much of the food will have to be imported from overseas countries. Due to the limited research done on this field only few crops could be produced through this process giving full benefits to the bigger corporations hence being viewe d as government initiative for the purposes of controlling world food supply (Yingqi, 2011). People have got the right to be protected from hunger by their respective countries and concerned world organization bodies. This makes every individual to have right to food which is essential to good health. There should not be any form of interference on the issue of citizen’s rights to enjoyment by any form of implementation whatsoever. Every state is under obligation to protect through provision of adequate basic needs which includes food and water. Food provided should be of convincing quality and quantity and in line with the people’s cultural norms. Genetically modified food tends to infringe the right of others towards enjoyment both environmentally and socially. Their acquisitions are thought by many to be of great set back towards sustainability (Yingqi, 2011). The governments through humanitarian organizations have the obligation of promoting individual’s rig hts to health and nutrition which in turn leads to enjoyment of basic political and economic rights. However, World trade organization encourages people to buy GM seeds and at the same time improve on the ways in which they do farming for the purposes of accommodating large quantities. The issue of farming has currently been dwindling within societies leading to mass drive towards poverty. This is because of the nature of competition which exists within the market. This clearly shows that even the introduction of GM food would do little to solve the problem of hunger within communities. Hence, reveals that the issue is not all about having less food but poor governance and crying levels of poverty. This means that introduction of biotechnology would encourage further dependence on few individual companies for the purposes of providing seeds and necessary equipments for farming (Kuiper et al, 1999). There is the problem of high expenditure on overheads and less involvement of the pub lic in decision making. The introduction of GM food leads to abrupt change in taste on side of the consumers since the food products give some unnatural taste to people. The use of in-experienced scientists in genetics poses adverse effect on the introduction of GM food since they are unable to convince the public on the safety of their innovations. Owing to these reasons, the only solution would be to provide possible alternatives out of this mire by incorporating both public and specialist opinion. This could lead to fulfillment of the desired consumer taste (Millstone, 1999). Conclusion Genetically modified foods could be used as one of the best interventions towards eradicating world food problems. Its other benefit could be realized on the reduction in the use of familiar chemicals like pesticides and other mechanical weed control mechanisms. Despite all these, several challenges face many governments; this is specifically in the crucial areas dealing with safety, regulation pr ocesses, international policies and food labeling. Majority share the feeling that genetic engineering could be one of the major future challenges on human life despite its potential of producing great benefits. The potential threats it poses to human and environmental health requires further investigations to establish on the truth behind the allegations. However, all the allegations provide valid concerns on the use of genetically modified food and crops. Specialists understand better the idea of strategy development within the Health care and food security sectors. This is since both contribute to individual’s as well as community’s health. Implementation of right strategies assists in increasing the health and environmental awareness amongst the communities and helps them know on ways of differentiating between risks and hazards. However, poor strategies often results into poor services which at times results into harmful consequences to both the Community and the health of individuals. Health of the public should be handled with the necessary caution and every available resource used in ensuring that humanity is safe from any form of humanitarian destruction. International rules and regulations safeguarding human existence should be followed to details by every country and any global organization. References Buick, A. (2011). The Great GM Food Scare. Web. Domingo, J.L. (2000). Health risks of Genetically Modified Foods: Many opinions but Few Data. Science, (288), 1748-1749. Kuiper, H.A., Noteborn, H.P., Peijnenburg, A., (1999). Adequacy of Methods for Testing the Safety of Genetically Modified Foods. The Lancet, (354), 1315-1316. Lappe, M.A., Bailey, E.B., Childress, C., Setchell, K.D.R. (1999). Alterations in Clinically Important Phytoestrogens in Genetically Modified, Herbicide-Tolerant Soybeans. Journal of Medical Food, (1), 241-245. Millstone, E., Brunner, E. Mayer, S., (1999). Beyond Substantial Equivalence.  Nature, (401), 525-526 . Panse, S. (2010). The Advantages and Disadvantages of Genetically Modified Food. Retrieved from https://www.brighthub.com/ Pusztai, A. (2000). The Need for Rigorous Risk Assessment. Chemistry Industry, (8), 280. Taylor, N.B., Fuchs, R.L., MacDonald, J., Shariff, A.B. Padgette, S.R. (1999). Compositional Analysis of Glyphosate-Tolerant Soybeans treated with Glyphosate. Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, (47), 4469-4473. Yingqi, C. (2011). Public has doubts over Modified Food. China Daily, (23/2), 5. 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Role of the Unconscious in Personality Theories

Role of the Unconscious in Personality Theories Introduction In the discussion of how the unconscious mind influences personality, one cannot negate the role of psychoanalysis.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Role of the Unconscious in Personality Theories specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to Kihlstrom, Beer, and Klein, psychoanalysis refers to the â€Å"aspects of Freud’s work and research, including Freudian therapy and the research methodology that he used to develop his theories† (2002, p.68). In the formulation of the personality of theory, Freud largely depended on case studies conducted on his patients together with direct observations of the behavior of the patients. According to Freud, the human mind is organized into two chief parts: the conscious and unconscious mind. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast the role of the unconscious in personality theories using two perspectives of the course. These perspectives are psychoanalytic and social cognitive approaches to the construction of personality. Before this section, an effort is made to discuss the conscious and unconscious minds in terms of how they help to construct the personality of people. Functioning of Conscious and Unconscious Mind Conscious Mind The conscious mind carries the information that people can comprehend. People can freely and precisely talk about these aspects of their mental processes in a robust and rational way. Part of the conscious mind involves human memory. However, as Matt (2011) notes, not all information that is held in the conscious memory forms part of people’s consciousness although the information is retrievable easily so that it can be introduced into their awareness (p.81).Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More From Freud’s theory of personality, this reminiscence is referred to as the nor mal recall, or simply the preconscious recollection. Freud used the analogy of submerged ice to describe how the human mind is divided. According to him, the conscious mind constitutes the smallest portion of an individual’s mind. Freud argued that most of the memories and feelings that help to construct the personality of an individual are hidden from the conscious mind (Matt, 2011). Hence, the many feelings and memories that are displayed in the personality of an individual constitute the province of â€Å"the unconscious mind, which he divided into superego, ego, and id† (Matt, 2011, p. 81). Unconscious Mind The unconscious mind is the second part of the human mind from the perspective of the Freud’s theory of personality. It acts as the principle storage for all thoughts, memories, and feelings together with urges that exist outside people’s conscious awareness. With regard to Kihlstrom, Beer, and Klein (2002), most of the contents of unconscious memo ry are unpleasant and/or unacceptable under normal circumstances (p.73). They include the feeling of conflicts and pain together with anxiety among other things. In his analysis of Sigmund Freud’s theory of personality, Matt (2011) argues, â€Å"unconsciousness continues to influence our behaviors and experiences, even though we are unaware of these underlying influences† (p.43). Consequently, the unconscious mind is part of the human mind that people have no direct control over in any way.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Role of the Unconscious in Personality Theories specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Unlike the conscious mind, the unconscious mind is a store of instinctual wishes, needs, and actions relating to ghosts and the dead. It is also a store for desires, shocking and upsetting memories, unpleasant emotions, and social ideas, which are not removable from the mind. The process of action of the unconscious mind is described by the term psychological repression. Recollections and opinions from the earlier periods can be removed from the instantaneous consciousness. These memories give rise to emotions together with thoughts that people have in their conscious memories. Since the personality of an individual is permanent and that these memories are removable, it is arguable that they do not influence the personality of an individual. A person does not obtain ideas directly in the unconscious mind for ordinary examination (Fleeson, 2004). However, emotions and ideas from the unconscious mind can become conscious by use of methods such as analyzing dreams, verbal slips, hypnosis, and free association of people with same interests. These methods are carefully examined and done during psychoanalysis. Psychotherapy is a process, which aims at inhibiting emotions and ideas into a mindful state for relieving the tolerant person of suffering from recurring untrue thoughts. According to Freud, the unconscious part of the mind is referred to as the id.It is composed of people’s basic needs and wishes. The id behaves in accordance with a principle known as pleasure principle that prevents pain. Freud also defines ego as a component of the unconscious mind.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More He says that ego constitutes the conscious whole character and natural aspects that intervene between the unconscious portion of the mind and reality (Matt, 2011, p.48). Comparing and Contrasting the Roles of the Unconscious in Personality Theories Types of Personality Theories Several theories can be used to explain personalities of individuals. They include behavioral theories, trait theories, social cognitive theories, psychoanalytic theories, and humanistic theories. In these theories, the term personality is used to refer to â€Å"dynamic and organized sets of characteristics possessed by a person that uniquely influence his or her cognitions, emotions, motivations, and behaviors in various situations† (Fleeson, 2004, p.84). Arguably, the various classifications of theories for personality are based on this definition. For instance, emotions and motivation give rise to the psychoanalytic theories of personality while the behavioral aspects in the definition of the term p ersonality give rise to the behavioral theories for personality. Behavioral hypotheses hold that people’s qualities emanate from their relations with the surroundings. In advancing their argumentations, behaviorists study the various measurable and observable behaviors of people to explain the nature of personality portrayed by individuals (Matt, 2011). Behavioral theorists such as John Watson reject various theories that suggest that personality of individuals is a function of feelings and the thoughts that form part of the conscious and unconscious mind. Trait theory argues that the personality of individuals comprises various broad traits. In the context of discussions of this theory, traits refer to characteristics, which are stable within an individual, which guide the course of actions of such persons. One of such theories is the five-factor theory (Matt, 2011).The origin of personality characteristics is a major concern to biological personality theorists. This group o f theorists argues that personality originates from the genetic characteristics of an individual. In fact, according to Kihlstrom, Beer, and Klein (2002), â€Å"researches on heritability suggest a link between genetics and personality traits†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p.73). Examination of these links drives research in biological personality. Apart from the two main paradigms of personality theory considered in this paper, another important group of theories that attempt to explain personality comprises the humanistic theory. This theory pays incredible attention to the significance of the free will of people together with the individual experience in fostering the development of personality. Central to the discussion of the humanistic theories is the concept of self-actualization. This concept emphasizes that personal growth is an important aspect that influences or motivates the behavior of people (Matt, 2011). Behavior is an important aspect that affects the personality of an individual f rom the perspective of social cognitive and psychoanalytic personality and theoretical paradigms. Abraham Maslow is one of the well-known advocates of humanist personality theory. Since the purpose of this paper is limited to the discussion of roles of the unconscious mind in personality theories from only two perspectives, the remaining part of the paper considers psychoanalytic and social cognitive perspectives only. Roles of Unconscious Mind in the Social Cognitive Theory of Personality From the perspective of psychoanalytic and social cognitive theories of personality, consciousness forms the phenomenal substance, which helps to guide the mental functioning in the life of a human being. It forms the foundation in which contextualization of events, construction of courses of action, and even planning of various actions are made (Bandura, 1995). Arguably, after the environmental learning experience, a mental effort is not required to perform various tasks. Rather, the unconscious mind functions as the constant reminder of the appropriate course of action whenever one encounters a situation requiring actions that have been executed before in response to a given environmental stimuli. The manner in which one responds to certain stimuli through a given set of behavioral actions that are peculiar to a particular individual constitutes the personality of such an individual (Bandura, 1995). From the perspective of social cognitive theories, the responses to certain environmental stimuli in automated ways are attributable to the information stored in the unconscious mind of an individual. The main challenges of social cognitive theorists are to develop an explanation of how these cognitions are developed. Addressing the above challenges constitutes the main points of departure on the role of unconscious from the perspective of social cognitive and psychoanalytic theorists. For instance, while the psychoanalytic perspective holds that some characteristics of an indi vidual that constitute the personality of him or her are owed to the functioning of the unconscious mind, the social cognitive paradigm argues that â€Å"consciousness cannot be reduced to an epiphenomenon of the output of a mental process realized mechanically at unconscious lower levels† (Bandura, 1999, p.7). From the basis of this assertion, social cognitive theory emphasizes that it is important for a distinction to be drawn between functional properties of the brain of a person and the physical processes for thoughts that are deployed by the given individual. While a psychoanalytic subscriber would incline to the position that the human unconscious mind is responsible for reactions involving negative experiences, the social cognitive theoretical paradigm maintains that people’s unconscious mind is essentially generative, proactive, and creative, apart from being self-reflective or reactive (Bandura, 1999, p.3). This argument implies that practices leading to cogni tions that are held within the unconscious mind are not only developing behaviors but also determinative manipulations. The unconscious mind is viewed from the perspective of social cognitive as the storage of information that must be activated to help in reacting towards the determination of the required course of action. Additionally, socials cognitive theorists emphasize that, in the expression of the personality of individuals, people must actuate certain brain processes so that selected intentions can be realized. These intentions define the personality of a given individual. Hence, for the expression of the characteristics of a person that make him or her unique from other people, certain schemas within the unconscious mind must be excited. Such schemas are made up of socially cognized and/or generated experiences. The central argument here is that the memories stored in the unconscious mind are acquired from the environment. The social cognitive theory on personality holds th at people display certain behaviors due to four main key factors: rewards, cues, drives, and responses (Bandura, 1999). In case an individual is motivated for learning a given behavior, he or she uses the observation technique to learn the behavior. This behavior defines the personality of the individual once its schemas are developed in the unconscious memory. Once a person observes behavior, it is solidified through learning. Therefore, the individual does not have to put any effort mentally to recall it and/or display it in a phenotypic manner. In this perspective, the personality of an individual is a function of the learned behaviors from the environment. Roles of Unconscious Mind in the Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality As argued before, social cognitive theory emphasizes that the personality of an individual is constructed by the social experiences through learning of behaviors from the environment. Once these behaviors are fully learnt, the unconscious memory serves the p urpose of automatically retrieving the memories that call into action the appropriate behaviors once stimuli, which demands reaction by a certain behavior, is experienced (Bandura, 1995). This purpose of the unconscious mind is opposed to the purpose of the unconscious mind in the formation of the personality of an individual from the perspective of psychoanalysis as stipulated and discussed by Sigmund Freud. Freud believed that one of the amicable mechanisms of uncovering the personality of his patients was through the free association with them. According to Matt (2011), patients were requested to describe what appeared in their minds whenever a discussion of certain topics was initiated. Additionally, Freud also conducted scrutiny of dreams of people in the attempt to establish a link between the unconscious mind and the personality of his patients. Via an intensive analysis of the preconscious mind together with the unconscious mind of patients, Freudian school of thought implie s that the personality of an individual is possible to evaluate. Consequently, a psychotherapeutic treatment of mental ailments can be conducted. Based on this psychoanalytic approach to personality, it means people have no control over their personality. Rather, it is controlled by the unconscious mind, which under the normal functioning of a person, is difficult to unveil. This argument perhaps explains why the Freudian approach to the determination of personality of an individual over dwells on the analysis of dreams as opposed to social cognitive perspective. While dreaming, an individual is not under control of his or her thinking process (Fleeson, 2004). However, in the dreams, an individual reminiscences situations, which are encountered in real life by attempting to respond to them depending on the acquired experience on some of the effective means of tackling such situations. This argument underlines the significance of considering socio-cognitive theoretical perspective in the determination of the roles of the unconscious mind against the psychoanalytic perspective. This case is significant since it is arguable that the dreams discussed by Freud as proactive means of determining the role of the unconscious mind in the construction of personality have the possibilities of being based on the information acquired through social interactions between the dreamer and other people within the environment. Social cognitive theory of personality provides an account of the personality of people based on the cognitions acquired by their interaction processes. Psychoanalysis approach argues, â€Å"The unconscious is the storehouse of instinctual desires, needs, psychic actions, and a repository for socially unacceptable ideas, wishes or desires, and traumatic memories† (Kihlstrom, Beer Klein, 2002, p.74). The unconscious mind is also the storage of painful emotions. Social cognitive theorists criticize this assertion by arguing that the psychoanalytic app roach to personality emphasizes the negative experiences of an individual in influencing his or her personality. The issue that remains is to know the roles of the unconscious mind in influencing positive personality traits that are expressed by people. Seeking a response to this query gives rise to other theoretical paradigms of explaining how the personality of an individual is constructed such as the behavioral theories and humanistic theoretical paradigms. Conclusion People’s actions and behaviors are attributable to several factors. Such factors include cultural beliefs and processes of social interactions. From the psychological perspective, people’s behaviors are also influenced by the conscious and unconscious mind. Psychoanalytic theorists advance this school of thought by contending that people have inner forces, which act outside their cognitions. Such forces influence the manner in which people behave. As discussed in the paper, this school of thought is at tributed to Sigmund Freud, who is regarded as the origin of psychotherapy. The arguments raised by Sigmund Freud were criticized, with people considering them strange. Hence, they attracted much debates about their applicability in real life situations. They also give rise to alternative paradigms of theorizing the personality of people. However, Freud’s work continues to influence a number of disciplines that are concerned with the studies of human behaviors such as sociology, anthropology, and psychology among others. Reference List Bandura, A. (1995). Social Foundations of Thought and Action. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Bandura, A. (1999). A social cognitive theory of personality. New York: Guilford Publications. Fleeson, W. (2004). Moving personality beyond the person-situation debate: The challenge and the opportunity of within-person variability. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13(2), 83–87. Kihlstrom, J., Beer, S., Klein, B. (2002). Self a nd identity as memory. New York: Guilford Press. Matt, F. (2011). The Foundation of Unconscious: Schelling, Freud and the Birth of the Modern Psyche. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

And now for a number of points - Emphasis

And now for a number of points And now for a number of points If you watched the recent Horizon programme on BBC Two 31 March at 9pm to be precise you cant have failed to have been moved by the power of maths and how we are literally surrounded by myriad aspects of it in our daily lives. Professor Marcus du Santoy, an Oxford mathematician led Alan Davies, comedian, through a series of interesting exercises to help him conceptualise how we assess probability, angles, and one, two, three and four spatial dimensions. Professor du Santoys enthusiasm for his subject was infectious. Maths is fundamental. We use it constantly whether we are aware of it or not. It helps us make good, rational decisions. And yet, how many of us are confident about expressing numbers in print? At first sight this may look amazingly straightforward but recent courses have revealed that lots of delegates are unsure when to use figures or words to express numbers. And many fudge a perfectly good point by using a number of rather than the exact amount. Why not see which of the following you think are correct and why? Then send us in your answers. 1. The Bank of Englands interest rate is now half of one percent. 2. Rates remain exceptionally low after 6 cuts since October last year. 3. The government looks set to inject around 30 billion into the economy through quantitative easing. 4. The government looks set to inject around 30 bn into the economy through quantitative easing. 5. Three sheep stood up to their necks in 3 feet of water. 6. 1,000 curses on your head. 7. His office is on the 1st floor. 8. Lets meet on Friday the 10th of May.

The Burden of Love, the Bonds of Sisterhood Essay

The Burden of Love, the Bonds of Sisterhood - Essay Example "When people looked at Lindsey, even my father and mother, they saw me. Lindsey was not immune. She avoided mirrors. She now took her showers in the dark." (Sebold 59). This signifies that people were not seeing Lindsey as a person, but as part of a broken sisterhood, they perceived the absent sister instead. She fears to confront that absence, to see herself without her sister and to avoid the fear and pain, she avoids the evidence of her own single existence. In Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, events before and after Susie's death, may be seen to reflect the experiences of other children who find themselves in a similar situation. In particular, it provides insight as to how children 'left behind' may deal with the trauma of grief, horror and loss. Before Susie's murder, she and Lindsey were pretty much like any two teenage sisters, with certain resentments and jealousies, but strong in family loyalty and acceptance of each other. Susie is bright, feisty and has a good sense of humor, Lindsey is gifted and takes herself rather seriously. Susie explains their differences when she says "She locked herself in her bedroom and read big books. When I read, Are You There God It's Me, Margaret, she read Camus's Resistance, Rebellion and Death." (Sebold 32) The natural envy of the younger sister is shown when Lindsey finds herself in Susie's closet: "Lindsey had always wanted the clothes I owned first-run but had gotten them all as hand-me-downs." (Sebold 106). Every younger sister in the world would recognize that feeling, and sadly, if similar circumstances of loss pertained, some might share in the "guilt and glee" (Sebold 106), felt with the realization that everything was now hers alone. Whatever their differences, sisters love an d care for each other, and the constant reminder of loss is a sadness which never goes. For Lindsey, there is much more to cope with, she has almost a greater responsibility than that of any other family member. This forces her to continually change and adapt, to acknowledge she has not just lost Susie, but her own childhood. She thus must develop ways to handle life differently, for as long as it takes to become whole again. Her immediate response can be appreciated as a major defense mechanism many would employ. She must develop a hard, impenetrable shell, in public at any rate, and build up strength, both mental and physical. "She sat in her room....and worked on hardening herself...make yourself small and like a stone.." (Sebold 29). For Lindsey this is necessary to protect her from the pain and horror of this particular death, and the allusion to 'stone' suggests she believes in the need for a hard inner core. Other strategies included looking through people, a refusal to appear weak, avoidance of those who might breach her defenses, and those she believed to be talking about her and the murder aspects of her sister's death. These beliefs hold some truth, people's perceptions do change, and the dead define the living, robbing them of their individuality, raising expectations of

Security aspects of network Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Security aspects of network - Essay Example Companys products enable IT managers to bypass costly RF surveys. Instead, they can use low-cost, commoditized access points. With Sputniks firmware, these access points configure themselves, and are controlled from a central management console. So instead of installing a few costly access points from vendors such as Cisco Systems Inc., Sifry said, an enterprise could mount a larger number of inexpensive access points and forgo the RF survey. Carriers are particularly interested in wide area wireless technology because it can help to boost cell phone coverage within buildings. The No. 1 reason enterprise customers switch carriers is poor service, Sly said, and this product can help carriers keep their customers, but it also gives them a presence inside the enterprise. SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- While Wi-Fi networks are often seen as simple and inexpensive to deploy, there are plenty of hidden costs and complexities lurking under the surface. Now, a number of new vendors are poised to rem edy those problems. Wireless LAN deployments are often expensive for companies because RF surveys, which help ensure proper network coverage, can cost as much as $1,000 per access point, said Albert Lew, director of product management for Burlington, Mass.-based wireless LAN vendor Legra Systems Inc. IT departments usually lack the expertise to do these surveys themselves, he said. Interference is also becoming a problem for many businesses, said Tyler Burns, product marketing manager with Ottawa-based wireless products manufacturer IceFyre Semiconductor Inc. He noted that the growing popularity of Wi-Fi, and the numerous technologies that compete with it, are taking up much of the space in the 2.4 GHz RF band.

Periodontal Health Knowledge and Awareness in Pregnancies

Periodontal Health Knowledge and Awareness in Pregnancies Title: Periodontal Health knowledge and awareness among pregnant females in Bangalore, India ABSTRACT There is plenty of evidence in the literature suggesting an association between periodontal diseases, pregnancy and even preterm low birth weight deliveries. The correlation has been expanded from periodontitis and preterm birth to various forms of periodontal infections and adverse pregnancy outcome, preterm birth, low birthweight, stillbirth, miscarriage, intrauterine growth retardation and pre-eclampsia. Aims and Objective:  The purpose of this study was to assess the awareness regarding periodontal health among pregnant females in Bangalore, India. Materials and Method: Three hundred pregnant female patients who visited the OPD of Gynaecology Department of Government Hospital, K.R. Puram, Bangalore was evaluated for oral hygiene status. Awareness of the relationship between oral health and pregnancy, demographics, oral health knowledge, oral hygiene, and dental visits during pregnancy and their willingness for treatment was surveyed by self administered questionnaire from the patients who were willing to participate in the study. The data were collected, summarized and statistically analyzed. Results: Awareness among pregnant women was found to be statistically non significant (p value > 0.05) irrespective of the age and educational qualifications (p value> 0.05). Conclusion: Knowledge and awareness regarding periodontal disease, and its effect on the pregnancy and birth outcome are limited. Key words- Pregnancy, Awareness, Periodontal Health INTRODUCTION Women’s life cycle changes presents unique challenges to the oral health care profession. Hormonal influences associated with the reproductive process alter periodontal and oral tissue responses to local factors creating diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas. It is imperative, therefore, that clinician recognize, customize and vary periodontal therapy, according to an individual female and the stage of her life cycle.1 Apart from the underlying systemic diseases, ceratin physiological condition can also aggravate the underlying gingival status, especially when the oral hyagiene is poor. Pregnancy being one of these conditions, is a time when the patient may experience the most profound physiologic and psychological changes in her life. There is plenty of evidence in the literature suggesting an association between periodontal diseases, pregnancy and even preterm low birth weight deliveries. The link between periodontal infections and preterm birth has been one of the frontiers in dental research. The correlation has been expanded from periodontitis and preterm birth to various forms of periodontal infections and adverse pregnancy outcome, preterm birth, low birthweight, stillbirth, miscarriage, intrauterine growth retardation and pre-eclampsia.2,3,4 Pregnancy provides an ideal opportunity to improve women’s health practices. Prenatal care entails regular and frequent medical visits, so that women are or can be motivated to improve their health for the benefit of the developing fetus. Since maternal oral flora and oral hygiene practices are predictors of the oral flora and oralhealth of infants and children, a pregnant woman’s knowledge and actions concerning her oral health are critical to the oral health of her child or children and may be a key to childhood caries prevention. Certain oral disease, such as periodontitis or periodontal infection, gingivitis or even caries can affect and influence not only the Maternal oral health but also the oral health of her child. Targeting pregnant women to increase their oral health knowledge may improve their oral health and, thus, the oral health of their children. Maternal oral flora and oral health are one of the greatest predictors of childhood oral flora and oral health.1,2 The interaction between oral and systemic health has long been of interest. It has been shown that pregnant womenhave a higher incidence of gingival inflammation compared to non-pregnant women2,3,4 According to literature in pregnant women the incidence of gingival inflammation observed from 36% to 100 %3,5 These vascular and Hormonal changes can lead to exaggerated immune respone of gingival towards bacterial plaque. 6,7 Good oral hygiene practices, however, can minimize gingival disease during pregnancy.2,7Two case–control studies 8,9 and cohort studies 10,11,12showed that periodontal disease could be an independent risk factor for pre-term birth and low birthweight after adjusting for several known risk factors. 2In fact, treatment of periodontal disease has been shown to reduce pre-term birth. 12,13Other studies have shown additional associations between periodontal diseaseand pregnancy, such as increased risk for development of preeclampsia during pregnancy.14 The purpose of the present study was to assess the awareness regarding periodontal health among pregnant females in Bangalore. The results obtained would serve asbaseline information for planning an oral health education program aimed at improving the oralhealth of pregnant women receiving care in the hospital.Specifically, it would identify areas of deficiency in thewomen’s knowledge and this would be helpful informulating the content of the oral health messages. MATERIALS AND METHOD The presentcross sectionalstudy was conducted in the Gynaecology Department of Government Hospital, K.R. Puram, Bangalore during June to August 2011.The minimum sample size wascomputed using the formula n= z2pq/d2 where p (theprevalence of women with good knowledge) was set at40%. Thus the computed minimum sample size was 271 subjects. This was increased by 10% to 300subjects to accommodate attrition. Hence, three hundred pregnant females who visited the OPD of Gynaecology Department of Government Hospital, K.R. Puram, Bangalorewere taken instudy design using simple random sampling. The subjects were informed about the purpose of the study and only those who gave written voluntary consent were taken into the study. Also, ethical approval was obtained from the institutional review board and permission from the head of Government Hospital was also obtained. The questionnaire wasdeveloped and pre-tested on 25 pregnant women toallow for refinement of the questions in order tofacilitate answering(Table 1). Questionnaires wereadministered to all consenting pregnantwomen who attended the antenatal clinic during thestudy period.The questionnaire contained two segments. The first part contained inquiries on the participant’s sociodemographic qualities, for example, age, occupation, monthly income and educational status. The second part contained fifteen questions pertaining to participant’s awareness regarding knowledge of relationship between oral health and pregnancy, knowledge about oral health, knowledge about oral hygiene, dental appointment during pregnancy, advice regarding necessity of dental health in pregnancy, presence of bleeding gums and whether any of the possible actions were taken to treat or reduce the gingival problems along with their compliance for the treatment. Each question answered â€Å"Yes† was given a score of 1 while for â€Å"No†, score 0 was given. Thus, the maximum achievablescore was 15 with a higher score indicating a high level of awareness. Individuals with scores of 11 and abovewere graded as having high awareness, those having scores from 6 to 10 were having average awareness while those with scores 5 or less were having low awareness. Awareness of periodontal health, according to age and educational qualifications of the pregnant females was also considered in the study. The results obtained from the periodontal health awareness questionnaire were compiled and subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS version 19.0. Descriptive statistics were reported as well as cross-tabulations by age, parity, education and occupation. For the purpose of analysis thelevel of education was categorized as low (primaryeducation only), middle (secondary education) andtertiary (post secondary education).Inference on the cross-tabulations were performed, using chi-square tests to test for general association. A probability value of RESULTS Sociodemographic features of study participants The mean age of our studypopulation was 24.97+4.343years (range 18–35 years)with the majority of the study population in the 18-25 (59.3%) and 26-30 (33%) years old categories. Over half (53.7%) of the respondents wereprimigravida while the remaining women had between1 and 5 children. Out of the total study population, 2.3% had primaryschool education, 10.7% secondary schooleducation, 33.3% attained post secondary educationand 53.7% attended university (Table 2). Most of the study participants were unemployed(78.3%), followed by employee (21.7%) (Table 2).On theutilization of dental services, 285 (62.9%) respondentsreported ever visiting a dental facility. The mean of questions answered correct by the subject was 4.53 +1.814 with a range of 1 8.Majority, i.e. 60 percent subjects had low awareness and only 40 percent with average awareness and 0 percent with high awareness (Table 3). The results of awareness among pregnant women came out to be statistically non significant (p value > 0.05) irrespective of the age.The results of awareness among pregnant women came out to be statistically non significant (p value > 0.05) irrespective of educational qualifications. DISCUSSION It is worth sayin that good oral health in pregnancy is very important factor, as recent trends showed that the poor oral health can lead to unfavourable pregnancy results. This is important in context of developing countries like india, where high mortality rate present.Most of the common oral diseases present during pregnancy (i.e. periodontal disease) are preventable only by using simplest measures like regular flossing and tooth brushing.A person’s knowledge, attitude and oral health would influence and generate such positive behaviour which is the ultimate result of person’s awareness.15 Thus, this study wasdesigned to provide a view of periodontal awareness among pregnant females in Bangalore. The present study showed low awareness(60%) among majority of the study population followed by average awareness among rest 40% of the participants. The results of the present study were similar to study conducted by HA Alwaeli SH Al-Jundi (2005)16who concluded that knowledge and awareness for pregnant women about their teeth and gingival condition is generally poor. Pregnant women need accurate information about their teeth and oral health. Simple educational preventive programmes on oral self-care and disease prevention before and during pregnancy should be provided to improve oral health.Another similar kind of study was conducted by Kim A. Boggess; Diana M. Urlaub, Merry-K Moos etal (2011)1and concluded that pregnant women have some oral health knowledge, which varied according to maternal race or ethnicity. Their beliefs varied according to their education levels. Including oral health education as a part of prenatal care may improve knowledge regarding the importance of oral he alth among vulnerable pregnant women, thereby, improving their oral health and that of their children. The awareness among pregnant women came out to be low below 25 years of age.The awareness among pregnant women came out to be average above 25 years of age.When the results were compared of above and below 25 years of age the awareness came out to be nonsignificant with average awareness among above 25 years of age. This study is not without limitations. Onelimitation is its reliance on self-reported data, which isoften subject to biases inherent to questions being askedsuch as recall bias. Nonetheless, the results wouldserve as a veritable tool for designing and specifyingappropriate oral health education messages forpregnant women receiving antenatal care. CONCLUSION A majority of the pregnant women has good knowledge and information about general health; however, their knowledge and awareness regarding periodontal disease, and its effect on the pregnancy and birth outcome is limited. Most pregnant women need more information about oral health, and prevention of gingival and periodontal diseases. Longitudinal studies are needed to assess the long-term effect of oral health education programs in maternity care centers on dental health knowledge and behavior of pregnant women. Further studies are needed to determine if there is a strong correlation between periodontal disease and premature labor and whether periodontal therapy or prevention can reduce the risk of premature labor. Studies to assess the role of dental hygienists in designing and promoting information regarding periodontal health awareness and practices among pregnant women in maternity care centers. REFERENCES Boggess KA, Urlaub DM, Moos MK, Polinkovsky M, El-Khorazaty J, Lorenz C. Knowledge and beliefs regarding oral health among pregnant women. J Am DentAssoc. 2011;142(11):1275-82. Loe H, Silness J. Periodontal disease in pregnancy. I. Prevalence and severity. Acta odontol scand. 1963;21:533-51 Jensen J, Lilijmack W, Bloomquist C. The effect of female sex hormones on subgingival plaque. J Periodontol1981;52: 599–602. Nuamah I, Annan BD. Periodontal status and oral hygiene practices of pregnant and non-pregnant women. East Afr Med J. 1998;75:712-4. Ferris GM. Alteration in female sex hormones: their effect on oral tissues anddental treatment. Compendium. 1993 ;14:1558-64. Zachariasen RD. The effect of elevated ovarian hormones on periodontal health:oral contraceptives and pregnancy. Women Health. 1993;20:21-30. Raber-Durlacher JE, van Steenbergen TJ, Van der Velden U, de Graaff J,Abraham-Inpijn L. Experimental gingivitis during pregnancy and post-partum:clinical, endocrinological, and microbiological aspects. J Clin Periodontol. 1994;21:549-58. Offenbacher S, Katz V, Fetik G, Collins J, Boyd D, Maynor G, et al. Periodontal infection as a possible risk factor for preterm low birth weight. J Periodontol 1996; 67: 1103–1113. Dasanayake A. Poor periodontal health of the pregnant woman as a risk factor for low birth weight. Ann Periodontol 1998; 3: 206–212. Jeffcoat MK, Geurs NC, Reddy MS, Cliver SP, Goldenberg RL, Hauth JC.Periodontal infection and preterm birth: results of a prospective study. J AmDent Assoc. 2001;132:875-80. Offenbacher S, Leiff S, Boggess KA, Murtha AP, Madianos PN, Champagne CM, etal. Maternal periodontitis and prematurity. Part 1: Obstetric outcome of prematurity and growth restriction. Ann Periodontol 2001; 6: 164–174. Lopez NJ, Smith P, Gutierrez J. Periodontal therapy may reduce the risk of preterm low birthweight in women with periodontal disease. J Periodontol 2002; 73: 911–924. Jeffcoat MK, Hauth JC, Geurs NC, Reddy MS, Cliver SP, Hodgkins PM, etal. Periodontal disease and preterm birth: result of a pilot intervention study. J Periodontol 2003;74: 1214–1218. Boggess KA, Lieff S, Murtha AP, Moss K, Beck J, Offenbacher S. Maternalperiodontal disease is associated with an increased risk for preeclampsia. ObstetGynecol. 2003;101:227-31. Al Habashneh R, Guthmiller JM, Levy S, Johnson GK, Squier C, Dawson DV, FangQ. Factors related to utilization of dental services during pregnancy. J ClinPeriodontol. 2005;32:815-21. Alwaeli HA, Al-Jundi SH. Periodontal disease awareness among pregnant womenand its relationship with socio-demographic variables. Int J Dent Hyg. 2005;3:74-82. TABLE 1: Questionnaire used for the study Table 2: Socio-demographic characteristics of study population Table 3: Percentage awareness among study population regarding periodontal health

Sales and Inventory System of Graph Image Paint Center

I. INTRODUCTION 1. 1 RATIONALE OF THE STUDY Inventory systems are tracking systems that inform the amount of raw materials, supplies or final products have readily available. Updated each time you sell an item or use raw materials to create and to know what you available for the following day or week. This type of system allows ordering products in advance, so you have everything you need at all times. 1. 2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM How can the proposed system monitor the sales inventory of the transaction * How can the proposed system provide an accurate sales computation * How can the proposed system make a better sales record for each order transaction 1. 3 SYSTEM OBJECTIVES * To develop a Sale and Inventory System for Graph Image Paint Center that will give solutions to the problems encountered in their manual business processes. * To avoid excess inventory and stock outs by using the sales inventory system * To produce appropriate reports of the sales 1. 4 SYSTEM SCOPE AND LIMITA TIONScope: * records the customers’ order transactions * generate the customers’ order transaction report. * view the previous sales record * can add, edit, search or delete orders to be delivered * print a receipt * can view inventory record in daily basis * determines the lead point of reorder Limitations: * limited in cash-based payment * doesn’t accept a credit card payment * cannot perform the crediting of the custom II. Company Background Graph Image Paint Center is located at Salcedo Rosario, Cavite that sells different kinds of paint and painting materials.The store is owned by Mr. Gary Palima and Armie Palima. The business operates every Mondays to Saturdays from 8am to 5pm. The company is doing their annual inventory manually. 2. 1 Organizational Chart Gary Palima Armie Palima OWNER Alice Saqui CASHIER Mark Villegas Salesman 2. 4 ORGANIZATIONAL FUNCTIONS 1. Manager * updates the records of the products * responsible for the entire paint products and ot her painting materials retailing and wholesaling business * in charge of annual inventory 2. Cashier * responsible for the monetary transactions * updates the transaction records in charge of receiving phone call orders from the customer 3. Sales Man * in charge of delivering the products to the customers * receives payment from the customers where the products were delivered 2. 3 SUPPLIERS * Davies Paints Philippines Inc. 1887 Mercedes Ave. , San Miguel Pasig City * Asian Coatings Philippines Inc. 48 Amang Ave. , Santolan Pasig City * Super Globe Inc. 08 Luis Street, Barangay San Miguel, Pasig City III. CURRENT SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION 3. 1 USER OVERVIEW OF THE EXISTING SYSTEM The existing system of Graph Image Paint Center is a manual sales and inventory transaction process.The process has its simple listing of transactions and issuing of receipts. Everything is manually operated. Their inventory is being checked every end of accounting period or in a Periodic basis. However, the syst em cannot easily search for a particular product if they wish to see the quantity available. Sales report is unsecured and not presentably recorded. All their products are just listed in and compiled in a clear book. If the records are lost, there is no backup storage that will recover their transactions. 3. 2 EXISTING FLOW PROCESS DIAGRAM STARTCustomer Order Yes Another Order? No Sell the Product? Cancel Order No Yes Prepare the Product B Payment from customer Another Order? No Yes Copy Information to Record Book All Payments Recorded? A No Customer Transaction Continuation D A Yes End of the Day? Daily Sales Report Compute for Daily Total Sales No D Yes End of the Week? Weekly Sales Report Compute for Weekly Total Sales D No Yes End of the Month? Monthly Sales Report Compute for Monthly Total Sales B D No END The start of the existing flow process transaction is from the selling of the product.There is a decision box that indicates the cancel order and preparation of the product. If there is another order then the transaction is back to the customer’s order. If no, then the customers pay and the information are copied in the information record book. Then another decision box will ask if all the payments are recorded. If no, then it is back to copying information to record book. Then the information is saved at the customer’s transaction. If yes, there are decision boxes that will ask if what mode of report view will be, if it is daily, weekly and monthly. If es, the cashier will compute for the daily total sales. Then daily sales report will be generated and ends the process. 3. 3 EXISTING CONTEXT DIAGRAM CUSTOMER Defective Payment Product Product Receipt New Replaced Inquiry of Order Product Customer’s Profile SALES AND INVENTORY DeliveryReceipt Manual Sales and Inventory Report Shipment Purchase Manager SUPPLIERS Order Payment The figure shows the existing Context Diagram of Graphic Image Paint Center that focuses on their sales and i nventory system. The researcher’s chose that aspect because of the manual operating and checking of their sales and inventory. All of the records and information about their business are ecorded in an excel sheet and record books. The context diagram shows how their business flows between customers, suppliers and the owner. The transactions are made personally like shipping of the products, payment, reports, and customer orders and inquiry. 3. 4 EXISTING TOP-LEVEL DIAGRAM SALES Checking of products availability INVENTORY MANAGEMENT Order Point Payment Deliver Issue finalproducts bill & receipts Customer Shipment of Products Payment SUPPLIER Purchase Order The figure shows the existing Top Level diagram of Graphic Image Paint Center that focuses on sales and inventory system.Payment and ordering of products are done personally. Checking of product availability is done manually through physical counting that links the sales and inventory management. IV. ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS Th e existing system has shown that the un-automated sales and inventory structure hinders the fast and smooth flow of sales and inventory reports. It also indicates that the transactions are time consuming and are written in a record book which are unsecured and can be lost. The store is currently managing their inventories in a periodic way in which it is being checked at the end of each accounting period in a quarterly manner. . 1 SYSTEMS COMPONENTS FOR IMPROVEMENT The researchers have managed to improve the system by installing an automated sales and inventory system that will cater to the needs of the store to be able for them to handle inventory management at ease. The proposed system is made through Microsoft Access which is easy to operate and user friendly. In the proposed system, the inventory checking is being done through perpetual way that updates inventory accounts after each purchase or sale. V. SYSTEM DESIGN 5. 1 OVERVIEW OF PROPOSED SYSTEM The proposed system will prov ide the needs of Graph Image Paint Center.The system has initial customer profile that needs to save the customer’s name in order to save the transaction. The system now looks for the product that is being asked then the item will be shown with unit and price. The system can search and add another product if the customer wishes to buy one or more products at the store. Then the total amount is shown with the number of units bought by the customer. Receipt is issued with the total amount of products purchased. The cashier now will be able to generate sales report based on the order transactions and inventory updates. 5. PROPOSED FLOW PROCESS DIAGRAM: STORE INVENTORY START PRODUCTS B A SUFFICIENT STOCKS ADD PRODUCTTS NO NO ADD PRODUCT TO ORDER LIST SEARCH PRODUCT YES YES ALL STOCKS CHECKED NO ADD NEW PRODUCTS A YES ADD AGAIN YES CHECK ORDER SLIP /LIST NO B PRINT ORDER SLIP/LIST GENERATE REPORTS END The start of the proposed flow process diagram of store inventory is from the da ta of the products then a decision box for adding a product. If no, then search a product then search a product. again, a decision box for â€Å"sufficient stocks†. if no, then add product to order list. If yes then a decision box for â€Å"all stocks checked†. f no, then it will go back again at the search product. If yes, then it will show the checked order slip list. Then goes to print order slip/list. Then it will generate reports. After generating reports, that will be the end of the process. PROPOSED FLOW PROCESS DIAGRAM Sales START Z Start order transaction Yes A No Generate reports? Yes B No Customer Module? C Yes No END A Enter Product Name to Search Engine Cancel Transaction Yes No Yes No Yes Customer Order Z Continuation D Another Order? Found Product? Another Order? No Payment for the Ordered Product Calculate the Total AmountReceipt and Change Sales Record D CONTINUATION: B Sales Record E Daily Sales Report Daily Sales Report? Yes Create daily sales report Sales Record E No Weekly Sales Report Weekly Sales Report? Yes Create weekly transaction report No Sales Record E Monthly Sales Report? Monthly Sales Report Yes Create weekly transaction report No Z E C Z No Yes Add another Customer? Customer’s Contact No. Customer’s Address Customer’s Name CONTINUATION: Customer Record 5. 2 PROPOSED CONTEXT DIAGRAM CUSTOMER Product Payment Receipt New Replaced Product Defective ProductInquiry ofProduct SALES AND INVENTORY Customer’s Profile Delivery Receipt Copy of Automated Shipment Purchase Sales and Inventory SUPPLIERS Order Reports MANAGER Payment Purchase Order The figure shows the proposed context diagram of Graphic Image Paint Center. The proponents chose to improve the sales and inventory management for proper and safe recording of information and data with ease and effectiveness. The proposed system consists of automated sales and inventory reports and customer’s profile and transactions recording. 5. PR OPOSED TOP-LEVEL DIAGRAM SALES Automated checking of products availability INVENTORY MANAGEMENT Order Point payment Deliver Issue finalproducts Customer bills and receipts Shipment of Products Payment SUPPLIER Purchase Order The figure shows the proposed Top Level Diagram of Graphic Image Paint center that focuses on automation of sales and inventory management. The checking of the availability of the products are done automatically using a inventory system design software for easy tracking of products. 5. 4 LAYOUT DESIGN Fig. 5. 4. 1 Sales TransactionThe sales transaction is composed of customer’s name, the search engine for product category, product number, product, price, quantity, amount, total price purchased and the output transaction. The system has the â€Å"Add to Cart† command for additional product purchases. The â€Å"Add Quantity† is a command for adding the unit of the product. There is also the â€Å"Buy† and â€Å"Remove† selection in which the user can easily remove and approve the products that will not be purchased and will be acquired. There is also the â€Å"Previous Transactions† selection for easy tracking of customer’s transaction.Fig. 5. 4. 2 Payment The payment area of the system shows the total amount purchased, amount tendered, and the change is being calculated for faster computation. The â€Å"Purchase† command serves as the finish button transaction. Fig. 5. 4. 3 Daily Report of Sales The daily report part of the system shows the 24 hour transaction made. The date is being displayed as selected in â€Å"Display Report† command. The transaction number, product purchased, product price, quantity, total price and date purchased are displayed. The total profit Fig. 5. 4. 4 Weekly ReportThe weekly report part of the system is almost the same with the daily report display; the difference is it is viewed weekly from the chosen date to a specified date with 7 days range. Fig. 5. 4. 5 Monthly Report The monthly report of the system shows the monthly transaction of Graph Image Paint Center and has the same features with daily and weekly report system. Fig. 5. 4. 6 Inventory Record The inventory record system serves as the product storage management in which it shows the quantity available in the store. The critical quantity is included in order to monitor the order point of the store.The price of all the products is also shown. The â€Å"+† command indicates the adding of another product when there is a new product to be stored. The â€Å"X† indicates the removal of the product. The â€Å"paper and pen† box is a command that edits the product name and product number. Fig. 5. 4. 7 Customer’s Profile The Customer’s Info area indicates the customer’s name, customer’s address, and customer’s ID and contact number. The â€Å"X† it the edit command which manages the customer’s information. 5. 5 PROPOSED SYSTEM DATA DICTIONARY: Table 5. 5. 1: Sales Information Proposed System Data Dictionary| *Sales Information|Data Element Name| Type | Length| Valid Entries| Sample Data| | | | | | Customer_Name| Alpha-numeric| 30| any character (A-Z,0-9)| Juan dela Cruz|   |   |   |   | Juana Miller| Category| Alpha-numeric| 16| any character (A-Z,0-9)| Gloss Latex|   |   |   |   | Enamel| Product_Number| Numeric| 10| any number (0-9)| 1005| |   |   |   | 206| Product_Name| Alpha-numeric| 20| any character (A-Z,0-9)| Nation-Gallons|   |   |   |   | Davies-1/4 Liter| Price_per_Case| Currency| 12| Php| Php2,045. 00| |   |   |   | Php610. 00| Quantity| Numeric| 10| Php| 12| |   |   |   | 5| Total_Price| Currency| 12| Php| Php1,128. 00| |   |   |   | Php15,600. 0| The Table shows the Proposed System Data Dictionary of the Graph Image Paint Center, This consists of the Sales Information of the Retail Store. Data Element, Type, Length, Valid Ent ries and Sample Data. Data Element involves the names, category, number, quantity and price of the product that the Retail Store has. Table 5. 5. 2: Daily/Weekly/Monthly Report (Transactions) Proposed System Data Dictionary| *Daily/Weekly/Monthly Report (Transactions)| Data Element Name| Type | Length| Valid Entries| Sample Data| | | | | | Transaction_Date| Alpha-numeric| 13| Valid Dates| 20130101|   |   |   |   | 1-Jan-13|Transaction_Number| Numeric| 5| any number (0-9)| 32| |   |   |   | 15| Product_Name| Alpha-numeric| 20| any character (A-Z,0-9)| Nation-Gallons|   |   |   |   | Davies-1/4 Liter| Product_Price| Currency| 12| Php| Php2,045. 00| |   |   |   | Php610. 00| Quantity| Numeric| 10| any number (0-9)| 12| |   |   |   | 5| Total_Price| Currency| 12| Php| Php1,128. 00| |   |   |   | Php15,600. 00| Total_Sales| Currency| 12| Php| Php18,900. 00| |   |   |   | Php6,700. 00| The Daily/Weekly/Monthly Report Transactions of the Retail Store which is the Graph Image Paint Center is discussed in the table and also the proposed systems dictionary.The same concept is shown in the table. With Data Element, Type, Length, Valid Entries and Sample Data are the one being discussed. This Table gives summarization for the store to have easy and productive results. Table 5. 5. 3: Payment Information Proposed System Data Dictionary| *Payment Information| Data Element Name| Type | Length| Valid Entries| Sample Data| | | | | | Total_Due| Currency| 12| Php| Php6,500. 00| |   |   |   | Php15,250. 00| Amount_Tendered| Currency| 12| Php| Php7,000. 00| |   |   |   | Php15,500. 00| Change| Currency| 12| Php| Php500. 00| |   |   |   | Php250. 00|The Payment Information of the retail store, Graph Image Paint Center is given in the table shown below, this has the same content because this is a Proposed System Data Dictionary, This table discussed the Total Due, Amount Tendered and Change of the store. Table 5. 5. 4: C ustomer’s Profile Proposed System Data Dictionary| *Customer's Profile| Data Element Name| Type | Length| Valid Entries| Sample Data| | | | | | Customer's_ID| Numeric| 12| any number (0-9)| 23| |   |   |   | 32| Customer's_Name| Alpha_Numeric| 12| any character (A-Z,0-9)| Ana Gonzales|   |   |   |   | Juan dela Cruz|Customer's_Address| Alpha_Numeric| 12| Php| Lagundi, MorongRizal|   | |   |   | Pandacan, Manila| Contact_Number| Numeric| 15| any number (0-9)| 2345678|   |   |   |   | 9108766543| The Table shows the Customer’s Profile Proposed System Data Dictionary of Graph Image Paint Center. The Data Element Name shows the information about the customer, it discussed the names, contact numbers, customer’s ID and address. Table 5. 5. 5: Inventory Information Proposed System Data Dictionary| *Inventory Information| Data Element Name| Type | Length| Valid Entries| Sample Data| | | | | |Product_Number| Numeric| 10| any number (0-9)| 1005 | |   |   |   | 206| Product_Name| Alpha-numeric| 20| any character (A-Z,0-9)| Nation-Gallons|   |   |   |   | Davies-1/4 Liter| Quantity| Numeric| 10| any number (0-9)| 12| |   |   |   | 5| Critical_Quantity| Numeric| 10| any number (0-9)| 200|   |   |   |   | 150| Product_Price| Currency| 12| Php| Php2,045. 00| |   |   |   | Php610. 00| The proposed System Data Dictionary of an Inventory information is shown in the table and the data element name discussed all about the paint products of the retail store, which are the item number, name and quantity. . 6 PROPOSED SYSTEM SPECIFICATION The proposed system is being operated through Microsoft Access. Microsoft Access, also known as  Microsoft Office Access, is a  database management system  from  Microsoft  that combines the relational  Microsoft Jet Database Engine  with a  graphical user interface  and software-development tools. Microsoft Access stores data in its own format based on the Access Jet Database Engine. It can also import or link directly to  data  stored in other applications and databases.The proposed system is a combination of sales and inventory which are linked to one another to easily monitor transactions and manage products. 5. 6. 1 MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: Operating System: Windows XP or higher Processor: Pentium IV or higher Memory: 1 gb RAM Video Card: 256 mb Application Needed: Microsoft Access VI. CONCLUSION Therefore, the proposed sales and inventory system for Graph Image Paint Center is fast and reliable. They can manage inventory in automated way which will lessen the hassle of recording it manually. It may help the user to easily search for a particular transaction for later viewing of reports.