The hydration step Essay Example for Free

The hydration step Essay Oxidation is the major pathway for the catabolism of saturated fatty acids. It involves the successive removal of two-carbon fragments from the carboxyl end of the fatty acyl CoA (Champe, Harvey, Ferrier, 2005). The first three steps of this ? -oxidation spiral are the following (Murray, Granner, Mayes, Rodwell, 2000): Dehydrogenation or oxidation – the removal of two hydrogen atoms from the 2(? )- and 3(? )-carbon atoms, catalyzed by acyl-CoA dehydrogenase, yielding 1 FADH2; Hydration – the addition of water to saturate the double bond, forming 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA, catalyzed by ? 2-enoyl-CoA hydrase (also known as enoyl-CoA hydratase); and Dehydrogenation or oxidation – a further dehydrogenation on the 3-carbon, catalyzed by the enzyme L(+)-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, producing 1 NADH. The end-products of this pathway, after a few more steps and successive reentry of acyl-CoA into the cycle, are acetyl CoA, NADH and FADH2. The citric acid cycle is the energy-producing pathway â€Å"where the oxidative metabolism of carbohydrates, amino acids, and fatty acids converge, their carbon skeletons being converted to CO2 and H2O† (Champe, Harvey, Ferrier, 2005). Although it is technically a cycle, the â€Å"last† three steps are identified as follows (Murray, Granner, Mayes, Rodwell, 2000): Dehydrogenation or oxidation – succinate, in the presence of FAD, is converted by the enzyme succinate dehydrogenase into fumarate and FADH2; Hydration – the addition of water to fumarate to produce L-malate, catalyzed by fumarate hydratase (also known as fumarase); and Dehydrogenation or oxidation – the conversion of malate and NAD+ by the enzyme malate dehydrogenase to oxaloacetate, NADH and H+. The chemical conversions involved in the citric acid cycle that eventually produce carbon dioxide and water generate a form of energy that is usable by aerobic organisms (http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Citric_acid_cycle). Obviously, the first three steps of the ? -oxidation pathway and the last three steps of the citric acid cycle involve the same reactions. Both occur in the mitochondria of the cell. In both cycles, the first dehydrogenation (also called oxidation, depending on the source) involves a flavoprotein coenzyme with a FAD prosthetic group, and FADH2 is thus yielded. The hydration step in ? -oxidation and the citric acid cycle involve hydratase enzymes. The second dehydrogenation step in both cycles require the NAD+ coenzyme and produce NADH + H+. That having been said, the main difference between these otherwise similar reactions is that they have different substrates and yield different products. The last step in the ? -oxidation pathway is the splitting of ? -ketoacyl-CoA by the enzyme ? -ketothiolase (http://themedicalbiochemistrypage. org/fatty-acid-oxidation. html). This reaction produces an acyl-CoA derivative that contains two carbons less than the original acyl-CoA molecule that that underwent oxidation, as well as acetyl-CoA. The acyl-CoA thus formed reenters the ? -oxidation spiral, while the acetyl-CoA is oxidized to carbon dioxide and water through the citric acid cycle. The first step of the citric acid cycle is the initial condensation of acetyl-CoA with oxaloacetate to form citrate, in a reaction catalyzed by citrate synthase (Murray, Granner, Mayes, Rodwell, 2000). A carbon-to-carbon bond is created between the methyl group of acetyl-CoA and the carbonyl carbon of oxaloacetate. Acetyl-CoA transfers its two-carbon acetyl group to oxaloacetate, which initially contains four carbons, and a six-carbon molecule is then formed as citrate (http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Citric_acid_cycle). Both reactions involve acetyl-CoA. However, acetyl-CoA is the product in ? -oxidation, whereas it is one of the substrates in the citric acid cycle. Coenzyme A is required in the last step of ? -oxidation, whereas it is one of the by-products in the first step of the citric acid cycle. Finally, in ? -oxidation, two carbons are removed per cycle, whereas the citric acid cycle involves the addition of two carbons. References Champe, P. C. , Harvey, R. A. , Ferrier, D. R. (2005). Lippincott’s Illustrated Reviews: Biochemistry. Philadelphia: Lippincott Wiliams Wilkins. Citric Acid Cycle. (2008). In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved October 7, 2008, from Wikipedia: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Citric_acid_cycle Fatty Acid Oxidation. (2008). In The Medical Biochemistry Page. Retrieved October 7, 2008, from: http://themedicalbiochemistrypage. org/fatty-acid-oxidation. html Murray, R. K. , Granner, D. K. , Mayes, P. A. , Rodwell, V. W. (2000). Harper’s Biochemistry (25th ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Computer Forensics And Crime Investigations Information Technology Essay

Computer Forensics And Crime Investigations Information Technology Essay With the progression of time and advancement in technology, our digitized nation has and will become more dependent on computers as we use them in our daily lives whether it be at school, work, or for personal use. By evaluating past trends it is safe to calculate a rise in crimes using computers. Today criminals put a strain on computer forensic examiners, because there are few crimes that are committed without the involvement of a computer or any other computing device of some sort. Today with computer hardware and software becoming more sophisticated and portable along with wireless technology this broadens the definition of computers, but for this research a personal computer is the extent of the subject. With technology constantly evolving and with the definition updating what is to be considered evidence, this is why proper training and education is necessary. This is why it is imperative to examine crimes where computers play a role in a crime and it is essential to find any potential evidence located on the digital media. For a person charged with an offense, their charge in the case can be weakened if the investigation fails to find any such evidence. This is why it is imperative to create, build, and improve a national standardization and certification for the computer forensics field. The Statement of the Problem The definition of computer forensics may vary slightly depending on the authors on the subject. One of commonly known definition refers computer forensics as the acquisition, examination, and reporting of information found on computers and networks that pertain to a criminal or civil investigation (Kessler, 2005). Computer forensics is becoming increasingly important due to growth of crime-rates involving the use of computers and the Internet. Although such a trend is difficult to control completely, computer forensics technologies and applications provide necessary tools to law enforcement and other agencies to assist in crime investigations. Computer forensics is effectively used in solving cybercrimes; however, its use reaches far beyond just that. As many criminals engage in more sinister crimes-such as murder, kidnapping, sexual assault, and terrorism-also maintain incriminating information on their computers, recovering damning evidence from their computers often provides law enforcement crucial discoveries during investigations. There are numerous real-life crimes that were solved by use of computer forensics, and the significance of computer forensics continues to increase as technologies develop. However, computer evidence does not always provide solid traces of information necessary to prosecute a criminal due to computers volatile and virtual nature of data storage. Proper processing of computer evidence is essential to establishing credibility of evidence collected from computers and other peripherals, and it is computer forensics experts responsibility to ensure that the evidence is valid, uncorrupted, and unq uestionable. Why research this topic During a computer investigation, the computer system that is suspected to have to possible evidence must be properly handled by a professional. They investigator must create a copy or true image (bit stream) of the original media, which would be inspected later in the process for crucial evidence. When inspecting the copy the investigator will look for specific expressions or key words to establish any vital digital evidence that exists or has been deleted. The types of incriminating digital evidence could be many such as: racial discrimination, sexual discrimination, stock fraud, blackmail, and numerous others. To help promote fast turnaround time computer forensic professionals have the aid of commercial software packages like X-Ways Forensics, Encase, and several other commercial and open source utilities. Unfortunately, the consequences of not following precisely these steps can lead to the lost of evidence itself, and therefore it is important to create, build, and improve the m ethods of performing well-organized searches in order to trace evidence. The need for a current study in the computer forensics field is important for the future of not only the computer forensics field, and law enforcement, but for the legal system and everyone else who uses a computer. Today in our digital nation, we are becoming more dependable on technology and its many branches of devices. This has lead to make investigators ask themselves what type of computer crime has happened, what is considered evidence, and how to handle it. Methodology As time and technology progresses computer forensics is a very important factor on the war in computer crimes in our nation. Most reading suggest in order for computer forensics to properly be considered by the courts as a scientific discipline there has to be proper education, training, and testing for adequate certification. The time frames from the readings were 2000-2010, but a majority of them were from 2004 2006. There has been improvement in recent years to develop a national unified approach in undergraduate and graduate programs. Hypothesis Computer forensics is a relatively new field and discipline in the private sector compared to other forensic sciences. Computer forensics is the science of acquiring, preservation, identification, extraction/retrieving, and documentation of computer evidence that has been processed by electronic means and stored on a computer without altering any of the data in the process. With our rapidly evolving improving technology this has lead the definition of computer forensics to be interchangeable with digital forensics, which expands the definition to include PDAs, cell phones, and other portable devices. When conducting a forensic investigation with computer evidence; the investigator must perform particular procedures to guarantee successful evidence collection. The evidence collected can be useful in civil disputes, criminal cases, computer system break in, recover data, and human resources/employment proceedings. As our homes, workplaces, and organizations become more incorporated wit h the aid of information technology and the Internet; we also have to take into consideration the human element as a factor. This is why current research is needed to tailor programs for computer forensics to keep up with advanced criminals. background In order to prepare for the future we need to look in the past and try to figure out how we got here and how to fix some of the problems. Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal. (Albert Einstein) As technology changes and the words that explain it there is the unchanged motives and emotional needs that drives the criminal behavior. With this in mind we need to understand the intentions of the inventors for the computer and the Internet. Before the invention of personal computers and the Internet these technological tools were used exclusively for scientific leaders and the military; which were located in either military bases or major university campuses. Half a century ago, the technology we use today might have seemed like science fiction. The first general-purpose electronic computer was the ENIAC, Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer. The intentions of the creators were to design a machine for mathematical power for computing. The Un ited States Department of Defense began funding of ARPA (the Advanced Research Projects Agency) and in 1969 the Internets first long distance electronic communication was made. The intentions of the creators were to create an instrument to guarantee an infrastructure between military installations. The goal of computer forensics is to recover and preserve digital evidence and to understand as much information regarding to the data as possible. The need for a computer forensics examiner is after the fact electronic information has been altered, deleted, or stolen in a computer crime. As with any other types of crimes it is a fact that the criminal leaves behind traces of their activity and these traces are the smoking gun that leads to prosecution in the court system. A computer forensics specialist is more than a computer expert; they must know how to effectively perform complex evidence recover procedures. These procedures include: data duplication/preservation, data seizure, data recover, document searches, expert witness services, media conversion, computer evidence service options, and miscellaneous services. A computer forensic examiner must follow federal guidelines for data seizure. One course of action allows a representative to examine and duplicate designated documents or data compilations that may include evidence, and it is The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. When data is duplicated or preserved the main concern is that data must not be altered in any way. Data recover is performed using dedicated tools for computer forensics to safely recover and analyze evidence. A document search is the ability to understand storage technology and perform a search with speed and efficiency. Media conversion is the ability to find and cross-examine data from the source or unreadable device, extract data and convert it into readable formats. Part of being a computer forensic specialist is to at times be an expert witness, and explain complex technical processes in an easy to understand manner. Some level of services that should be offered is on-site, standard, emergency, priority, and weekend s ervices. Other miscellaneous services include analysis of computers and data, on-site seizure in criminal investigations. Also an advantage is the ability to work on both PC and Mac O/S and a fast turnaround of time. Overview of Computer Crime Today criminals usually are one step ahead of law enforcement agencies and they have the knowledge to use computers to their gain, and they have the ability to cover their tracks. Since technology is constantly changing definitions are quickly becoming outdated as new definitions expand new offenses to computer crimes. However, computer crime can be generally categorize into four categories and they are criminal activity that involves using a computer as an instrument to commit a crime, criminal activity that has a computer as a target, such as hacking into, criminal activity when the computer was unintentionally part of the crime, and crimes frequently associated with the use of computers. With this new definition computer crimes in 2009 have increased 22% from 2008. The computer as an instrument of a crime When a criminal uses a computer as an instrument in a crime we can think of it as when a burglar uses a crowbar or lock picks as in instrument to enter a house. For this research, when a computer is used as an instrument of a crime there objective is to obtain data to commit fraud, theft of service, harassment and other illegal activities through a network by copying data rather than deleting. Theft is when a criminal unlawfully takes and carries away property or service without the permission of the owner. The property and service can range from personal/private information, financial information, security information, human resources information, internet access and trade secrets. With the stolen property or services the criminal can reproduce false identification, copyright material, and distribute child pornography among other types of crimes. Another use of a computer is by writing letters or e-mails to make threats, harassments, or stalk individuals. Computer as a target When a criminal targets a computer as part of the crime they launch an attack on computers or networks trying to deny service by denying the rightful user access to their own computer system or data. Another attack could be to damage or alter the computer system or data by browsing through valuable information stored or saved on the computer. When a computer is vandalized this also is considered as a computer as a target, because valuable information stored in the computer is denied to the rightful owner. The computer as incidental to a crime In a crime scene a computer can be seen as a subsidiary tool to a crime when criminals use the computer to simplify their transactions. These crimes could happen without technology, but the computer assists the criminal in their transactions which might include child pornography, money laundering, leads to other crimes and other criminal information. This computer crime evidence could have names of victims, associates, clients, and perpetrators personal information. Crimes associated with the prevalence of computers Technology advancements have created new targets of conventional crimes and the targets are on the industry. This includes academic property, software piracy/counterfeiting, copyright infringement of computer programs, black market computer equipment, counterfeit equipment, identity theft, and programs, and theft of technological equipment. The most common use of this crime is piracy or the violation of copyright infringement of commercial software COMPUTER FORENSICS SERVICES Today on television there are shows that portray crime scene investigation while using computer forensics, and they give the audience a little glimpse into the world of computer forensics. When in reality computer forensics is meticulous work, but the shows leave out all the details of the process. Computer forensic today based on a theory of trace evidence, and this theory is build upon the development of forensic science. One of the motivating factors in the development of forensic science was by 20th century forensic scientist Edmond Locard, and his theory was called the The Locard Exchange Principle. The Locard exchange principle states there will always be an exchange when two items come into contact, and that the contact(s) will bring something into the scene of the crime and leave behind something in the scene, therefore leaving a trace of evidence. Although trace evidence might be small yet important information found in a computer, it alone is not enough to make a case. Traces evidence can might be the smoking gun that leads to a successfully win in a court case. No matter how well the criminal tries to cover up their tracks, in todays society with computers hooked up to a network or wirelessly leaves traces of stored data on a computer to be found. This is where the skills and services of a computer forensics specialist will come in handy. This section is where computer forensic specialist and self proclaim computer experts get divided into separate groups. The field of computer forensics is vital to law enforcement agencies, because the procedures to protect and present evidence in court are followed by the requirements of the judicial system. There are plenty of computer experts who know how to search through files, point, click, copy, and make directory listings, but a computer forensics specialist does more than this. A computer forensics specialist must be familiar with and understand in detail how files systems are created, accessed, deleted, and changed. With training and experience a computer forensics specialist understands the methods and techniques for securing and acquiring evidence without altering it in a legal manner. Acquisition Just as any other type of evidence, digital evidence also comes across some difficulty. So why go through the trouble of collecting it? It is because if we dont try to figure out who committed the crime, why they did it and how, then we will never be able to stop them or anyone else from committing a crime again. This is why trying to recover all possible deleted files is crucial. Areas to look evidence can be in the hard drive, page files, temporary or swap files, and unallocated space. When collecting evidence in this step no changes or modifications to the evidence must be made or else the evidence will be considered inadmissible. Preservation When a proper warrant is issued the ability to protect data from a recovered system must be protected and unaltered in any way. The computer forensic specialist should pay close attention to this step in trying to avoid the notorious Murphys Law. To avoid this mishap at this point in time an exact duplicate copy should be made in order to preserve the best evidence, the original evidence. One of the most effective ways to back up is the use of bit stream image back-ups. This method copies and preserves all data enclosed partition, logical drive, and physical drive in the hard drive. Another idea to think about when preserving digital evidence is where to save it, and that depends on the investigator and the organization they work for. Analysis The person conducting and analyzing the evidence in the investigation but be able to guarantee that the result of an conclusion came from the evidence, and were not in any way a part of contamination or error. One area that the computer forensic specialist can control is making sure hardware and software are working properly. They can also check to make sure their equipment is up to date with updates, verify licenses, and know how to use the equipment. A vital process to conduct analysis is creating a hash value. The hash value is created with software to produce a unique value, like a digital fingerprint, produce a mathematical value. Documentation This process is crucial in the field, because if one mistake is made in reporting of evidence, then any other evidence could be questioned. Once the evidence has been indentify everything encountered with the use of a digital camera, video camera, or pen and paper or a combination of two. Once this is done, then all evidence must be labeled and any devices attached to the computer along with ports and wires connected the two. In case a computer forensics investigator is testifying in a court case, then the documentation process will help the investigator jog their memory. In conclusion, following these steps is crucial in computer forensics because it builds stronger methods within time. Experience and training of software can result in better search techniques to build a better and faster turnaround time. There is a need for a current study to identify future trends and concerns in judicial system on the subject of digital evidence and computer forensics. With the data gathered on future trends schools and computer forensic field can educate and train future forensic investigators with current and proper techniques to keep up with criminals. References

Feared Drowned :: essays research papers

Favorite Poem I picked the poem â€Å"Feared Drowned† by Sharon Olds as my favorite poem because it reminds me of a hard time that I had to overcome in my life. Once in my lifetime, I found this one perfect person who I fell in love with and lived happily ever after. Yeah, in reality this did not happen. Yes, we did have common interests and therefore developed romantic involvement. Real life relationships are more like "The Real World" rather than "Romeo and Juliet". It was a fact of life that couples do break up. In my freshman year of college I lost someone very special. My girlfriend at that time broke up with me but she still wanted to be friends. We had been in a relationship for about 4 years and all of a sudden everything started to fall apart. I could not figure out how that could be possible to be friends still. I always thought once you break up that’s it you go your way and I go my way. I didn’t really want to be friends with her. I was ready to move on with life but she kept coming back to me. Although, I didn’t look at her the same way I used to but she still wanted talk on the phone and go out. Growing apart was the reason for our break-up. This was an instance where we just did not feel attracted to each other anymore and that resulted in an end of relationship. She started talking to another guy and I started talking to this one girl and we came to the conclusion that we should break-up before anything bad happened such as losing trust in one another and this could hurt our relationships forever. Now I have overcame that tough time and I am still friends with my ex-girlfriend.

The Two Best Websites to Find a Used Car :: Sell Websites Buy Websites

The Two Best Websites to Find a Used Car Have you ever been disappointed while searching a used car online? For example, never finding the car that you are interested in, hard to obtain the contact information about the seller, not getting satisfactory information relating to the car that you have found, that leads to total disappointments. After performing some researches for a week and based on my personal experienced, I found out two best websites to find a used car. They are http://www.cars.com/ and http://www.autotrader.com/. At first, these two websites seem to be alike, but if you go through the detail, you can see the strength and the weakness of both websites. These are what I am going to explain further in this paper. Cars.com [2] and Autotrader.com [1] are comprehensive online resources for buying and selling a car. Both of these websites list all potential cars from dealers and private sellers. Cars.com [2], which is created in June 1998, is a division of Classified Ventures, LLC, which is owned by six leading media companies. Autotrader.com [1], which is created earlier in 1997 and headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., is a division of AutoTrader.com, LLC. Autotrader.com [1] is the world’s leading automotive marketplace online, more than 2.5 million cars for sale by dealers, private sellers, and manufacturers. Both Cars.com [2] and Autotrader.com [1] are public websites; this means that these websites are opened to automotive dealers and private sellers throughout the United States. The buyers can search for a car all around the United States by entering their ZIP code. The individual sellers also can post their car on the website despite where ever location they are. Both of these websites provide free information on all aspects of the car shopping and processing procedure. You do not have to be a member to access the website. The website is free for car buyers. However, the sellers have to pay to advertise their cars on the website. Another income for these websites is from the advertisement that was posted in the websites from other car companies. Advertising on these websites helps both the dealers and manufacturers to promote their company as well, because more than 8 millions people averagely visit these websites monthly. The outline of both of these websites seems so simple. At the top headline, both of them have lots of menus, but if we compare between these two, Autotrader.

To What Extent Was Jacksonian Democracy Democratic? Essays -- History

To What Extent Was Jacksonian Democracy Democratic?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the administration of Andrew Jackson, the United States was a nation of change both politically and socially. American society was a society of opportunity. Americans felt that, given a chance, they could make a better life for themselves. This was the era of the common people, the era of democracy. Andrew Jackson appealed to the American people because he stood for values many regarded with favor. However democratic Jackson may seem, he was more tyrant-like than any of his predecessors. His major offerings to the nation included majority rule and a popular presidency, however offered no benefits to women, African Americans, nor Native Americans. Jacksonian Democracy was in no way democratic.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before Jackson's time, voters expected public officials to use their own best judgment in electing. Under Jacksonian Democracy, the people came to believe that officials should act according to the demands of the people. To make government respond more directly to the popular will, state and local governments began to fill some positions such as judges, constables, and public surveyors by election rather than appointment. The terms of office were also shortened so that popular opinion had a more direct effect on the actions of elected officials. Thus, the government under Jackson became the people's government, although he retained a tight grasp, using his veto often.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As new voters made demands on government, they learned the power of political organization. National issues became as much topics of conversation as local issues had always been. As national parties built stronger state and local ties, they began to rely upon a growing number of "professional politicians." These changes helped to initiate the spoils system. This practice of appointing people to government positions based on party loyalty and party service was not an entirely new development, but Jackson was the first to oust large numbers of government employees in order to appoint his followers to office. He argued that there should be a rotation in office. Some believed that the spoils system set a poor precedent. Jackson amplified presidential power by using the veto more than all previous presidents.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the "Women's Rights" issue, Jacksonian Democracy did nothing to further the female cause. Only in sparse st... ...ur government was built, the Constitution. He completely disregarded Marshall’s decree and sent the army in to force the Indians from their native homes in Georgia. This disgusting display of the broad sword of government is a disgrace to our nation’s legacy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tocqueville, a foreigner, came to the United States to study American prison reform, but was so disgusted with the way our society was and how our government functioned under Jackson that he changed the focus of his study to an analysis of democracy. He saw democracy by our example as â€Å"far from accomplishing all it projects with skill† and that â€Å"Democracy does not give people the most skillful government.† Jackson’s example of democracy was horrible.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jacksonian Democracy seems to be a zeugma, two contrasting things put together to make a comparison. Andrew Jackson never had any intention of broadening our democracy, only to make his ends meet. Through the way he treated Native Americans, African Americans, women, and many other minority groups, Jackson showed his ignorance in fulfilling one of the most pressing tasks of the president, to represent the people. To no extent was Jacksonian Democracy democratic.

Delivery of Customer Service Excellence within UK universities Essay

There has been continuous increase in the number of people pursuing higher education. This has been contributed to by the changing society that requires one to continuously update and keep up with the education standards. As the demand of education increases, there is an increase in demand for higher education in the face of decreasing government funding (White, 2007, p.67). The decrease in government funding in many countries has resulted to self-sponsorship among most of the students. With the students, being self-sponsored there is need for amore market driven stress on focus on the customers’ needs and in this case, the students are the customers. As the number of students with the objective of going to universities increase so does the application of marketing in the field of higher education (Lomas, 2007, p.456). The marketing of university services has necessitated the change in the relationship of the students and the university to have a customer provider relation. The treatment of students as customers has been at an increase due to the increase in number of universities. The increase in number of universities increases competition-necessitating need for customer service among the universities to increase the number of student’s enrollment rate. To establish if the students are customers one has to determine the services provided by universities and the consumers of the products or services provided. According to Martinez (2013, p.56), education provision can be classified as a service, which can be separated into service delivery and service content. Whereby service, content cannot be negotiated with the students but service deliver is negotiable. Simple the content covered in the classrooms is not determined by the students but the way in which this content is delivered can be negotiable. The customers of the service provided by the universities are students. The service delivered in this case refers to the standard way in which education is applied or impacted on the students. The quality of service is determined by the standards applied in an institution, the equipment’s applied, technology, materials, instructor, and the timing in which this education takes place. The two types of service provided by the universities attract different consumers. The service content attracts customers that are external to the institution who include private and public employers and the society. The students are described as the service consumers since they are partners with the institutions and are the main consumers of the services provided by universities. Universities can also be described as service providers since it cannot be classified as service provider since they do not manufacture any of their final products instead they offers good that are not physically visible. Having classified the services provided by universities it could be established that there are several types of consumers of the universities products. The main customers are however, the students who are directly affected by the quality of services provided. Secondly, there are external consumers who are affected by the services provided in a secondary level. Having established students as consumers then universities should strive to always satisfy customer’s needs. In addition, universities should be improved by comparing them with the service provision industry, as an ever-increasing competition forces to do so. Trends in the universities also draw it closer to customer-oriented service industries. Students   want to be involved in the decision making process of the universities more than depending on the market forces, this qualifies   the students to be the customers since the articulation of their opinions increases or decreases the royalty and retention rate of the universities customers. In some countries like UK and Austral, universities senior management and government agencies insist on the need to consider students as the customers. This is evident in Oxford University where the satisfaction of the students is a paramount objective for the institution. This is justified by the fact that the marketing department of the university has students suggestion cites where they collect the needs and wants of the students. This opinion is however, not supported by the academic staff that states that recognition of students as customers decreases the quality of education since the needs of the students are not in all cases right like the expectation in businesses(Lomas, 2007, p.34). Governments all over the world and particularly the UK government have been seen to put in place mechanisms for assessing the quality of the services provided by universities. This assessment is meant to allow the government to identify areas that need improvement. The government also puts in place measures that drive up the quality of education and provide enough information about the universities that will help students determine on what institution is proper or the best among the many provided. Government makes reforms at universities to change the perception of universities into business –like organizations (Lomas, 2007, p.54). According to Pittman (p. 342), the relationship between the student and the universities are special unlike most of the service industries. The recognition of universities as service providers, in one way or another the market forces lead into the treatment of the institutions as businesses. The treatment of universities as businesses has been evident in the running of Cambridge university and other leading universities in the UK that engage in marketing strategies aimed at pleasing the students in the universities. This therefore includes the marketing strategies used by businesses. The business focus is the satisfaction or meeting customer needs and similarly universities should focus on meeting the students’ needs to survive in the market. Students attend universities with different objectives including, pursuit of their person interest, desire to gain qualifications, prepare for academic and research careers and preparation for the world of work. These needs are sufficiently provided by most of the universities however, the students choose the universities that provide these services with a more customer centric culture. The universities are now under pressure to make the students feel as the kings and at the same time not deteriorate their standards of their curriculums or standards. This calls for the universities to differentiate themselves and creating a customer oriented relation with the students to increase the enrollments and retention rate. Customer Relationship Management Theory Customer relationship management is an important aspect of any business. It is the process of obtaining, retaining an increase the market share, or customer base of a business. It includes the management of off-line and in-line relationships with consumers. Customer relationship management requires the running of business in a customer centric approach that considers the customers first. Universities have increased in number necessitating the need of marketing activities that differentiate each university and increase their competitive advantage. The ever-increasing competition levels have brought about changes in the dynamics of the education business particularly in the university level. The customers of universities have continuously been enlightened and choose the best among the universities. This has increased the need and importance of a customer centric culture that strives to understand the customer’s needs. Universities have understood the need to invest in new technologies to allow them to gain advantage in the competition by exploiting their brand value, customer base, and investments in infrastructure in order to increase the number of enrollments, as their direct link to the customer satisfaction and profitability (Martinez, 2013, p.56). Customer relationship management allows the universities to analyze their consumers at different levels to allow the detection of their needs, preferences, potential areas that require improvement and after this, the universities are able to establish or implement the necessary actions to achieve customer satisfaction. Universities engage in every year orientation for the students to display the facilities in the institutions. This is evident in Manchester University, Liverpool and Cambridge that allow the interested students to view the facilities and from their judgment choose a university that best suits their needs. Achievement of customer satisfaction is a core objective to many businesses as it increases the competitive advantage and thus increasing profitability of the organization. The increase in number of universities increases the bargaining power of the consumers who in this case are the students. Today students want to enroll in universities with better services, lower fees, good infrastructure, skilled tutors, and access to various services within an institution. This pressures the universities to look for new ways that are going to satisfy these needs and ways to keep the students and the rest of the customers satisfied before any other institution does (West, Ford, & Ibrahim, 2010, pg.89). According to Bay, Darlenen, Daniel, &Harold (p. 15), students are the purchasers of the service provides and therefore the customers of some of the campus services and the facilities, which are provided at a price. Students have to pay for the education provided at full price in order to benefit. The service provider determines the standards of the service though the services provided at aimed at satisfying the customers. This is similar with the universities who are expected to determine the needs of the customers but at the same time ensure that they satisfy the customer’s needs. Students can also be seen as clients of the campus facilities such as libraries, administrative services, and computer laboratories. Students could use these services as free of charge but since they are charged this makes the students the clients of the universities. These universities have a responsibility to the students Total Quality Management According to total quality, management customers are the people to whom an organization sells its services or products. This makes the students and in some cases the parents, private and public institution, and the government the customers of the universities. TQM model identifies students as stakeholders in educational decisions. They are however, not the only stakeholders and at times, the needs of the students come second to those of the society. Under the TQM, frame work the students create a market force under which the universities have to adopt to survive in the market (White & Naomi, 2007, p. 600). The TQM model states that quality starts and ends with the customer, this is because of the increased competition in the market that has necessitated the focus on the customer to gain a competitive advantage. According to the concept, the satisfaction of internal customers leads to the satisfaction of the external customers and consequently every customer both the external and internal are satisfied. The theory states that several factors including, customer expectation, company operations, and the employees responsible for delivering the services to the customer bring about customer satisfaction. The creation of a customer centric culture is of great importance to an organization. This creates satisfaction among the consumers and the customers increasing their royalty and increases the retention rate of customers. Focus on customers increases the advertisement of a product by the word of mouth of the satisfied clients reducing the operation cost and increasing the number of consumers. Concentration on consumers is the best tactic or weapon against competitors since the customers are the final determinants in the existence of an organization (George & David, 2007, p.970). Universities are businesses that should re-orient the services rendered so to keep the customers satisfied. In the past universities were not treated as businesses since there were countable universities and the number of students were minimal and there were no competition. Currently the market is flooded with universities, which increases the need of the perception of the customer as the king and always right. With the increased number of universities the buyers of universities services are fewer and this increases the need for quality services   which is dependent on the extent that   an university is able to meet and exceed the customers’ requirements (King, 2001, p.190). Total quality, management recognizes the student’s perception of quality change as they progress from one stage to another. This allows the institutions to continuously update their services to meet the customers’ needs and expectations in every level, Needs of the customers in universities consist of the minimum necessary human elements that must be rendered to retain the customers in this case the student. If the students’ needs are not met then they are likely to discontinue their education in one university and continue in another that meets its needs. Universities are defined to be successful if the student enrollment and retention rate is high compared to the rest in the market. Total quality, management programs are also seen to be successful if they facilitate customer retention and enrollment in universities. Needs and want satisfaction in universities is therefore structured towards the basics of performance, providing what the students want and what they are unable to survive without (White & Naomi, 2007, p. 600). Ways in Which Expectations Can Be Managed and Service Excellence Achieved Universities can use different mechanisms to improve their service excellence. The first strategy on improving service excellence is the determination of the superior services they offer. The service must identify and target customers segments according to the type of services attributes that they must demand. Universities must identify group or students with similar expectations in terms of what aspects are associated with the excellence in service. The universities should continuously find the proper trade- off between inferior performance for one attribute with superior performance for another (Bay, Darlene, Daniel &Harold, 2001, p.16), The customers themselves best understand their needs. Expectations can be managed if the service providers are able to understand the needs of the customers. In universities, the students are the main consumers of the services offered. Universities should identify the students’ needs by encouraging feedback on the services provided. This allows the meeting of their needs and consequently increasing the customer royalty and the enrollment rate. The second strategy is the employee management system that allows ensures that the employees treat the customers are content. Universities should ensure that their employees meet the needs of the customers and have a customer centric culture. In the case of universities the academic personnel should ensure the student’s needs are met and also that the services rendered are of quality (Lomas & Laurie, 2007, p.35) The third element is benchmarking the service provided and the services provided by other universities. This allows the universities to identify the areas that need improving and the areas that are outstanding. This allows the universities to merge or close up the gap between them and their competitors. Benchmarking also gives new ideas of products or the services that the competitors are offering. This increases the products offered and the quality of service (West, Ford, & Ibrahim, 2010, pg.89). The fourth element is continuous improvement of the services and products offered by institutions. The continuous improvement of services reduces the chances of products becoming obsolete. University students needs keep changing with periods, change in equipment infrastructure, and the time. This necessitates the universities to update their services continuously so at to increase customer satisfaction and maintain customer royalty. The last step is being of conscious of bad service delivery. Looking at the past bad experiences allows and institutions to learn what are being done wrong. Continuous review of past mistakes allow the correction of the poor standard services previously provided and introduction of new services that meet the customers need. The last is the implementation of technology to improve customer satisfaction and in meeting the customer needs. The increased perception of students as customers has increased the enrollment in most universities. This is because of the students feeling that their needs are catered for. This has been evident with the increased enrollments in the oxford university. Conclusion The focus on customers is a core objective for any business. Universities are classified as service delivery business with the students being the major customers. The identification of the customer needs is a relevant and important factor in the satisfaction of customer needs. In universities and higher education institutions students are classified as customers since they are the purchasers of the services provided by the institutions. Universities are obliged to provide quality services to the students. There has been increased number of universities with time, which has increased the competition among the universities to gain competitive advantage. The increased competition has necessitated the need for a customer centric culture to gain more customers. References Bay, D.   & Daniel, H. 2001. â€Å"The Student Is Not the Customer-An Alternative Perspective†, Journal of Marketing for Higher Education Vol.11, No. 1, pp.1-19 Biswas, S. 2011. Relationship marketing: concepts, theories and cases. New Dehli, India, PHI Learning. George, D. 2007. â€Å"Market Overreach: The Student As Customer†, The Journal of Socio-Economics, Vol.36, pp.965-977 HErnon, P., & Whitman, J. R. 2000. Delivering satisfaction and service quality: a customer-based approach for libraries. Chicago, American Library Association. Hess, E. D. 2011. Growing an entrepreneurial business: concepts and cases. Stanford, California, Stanford Business Books. King, S.P. 2001. â€Å"The Funding of Higher Education in Australia: Overview and Alternatives†, The Australian Economic Review, Vol.34, No.2, pp.190-194 Lomas, L. 2007. â€Å"Are Students Customers? Perceptions of Academic Staff†, Quality in Higher Education, Vol.13, No.1, April, pp.32-43 Martinez, M. 2013. Creating a service culture in higher education administration. West, D. C., Ford, J. B., & Ibrahim, E. 2010. Strategic marketing: creating competitive advantage. Oxford, Oxford University Press. White, N, R. 2007. â€Å"The Customer Is Always Right? Student Discourse About Higher Education In Australia†, High Education, Vol.54, pp.593-604.   

Santa Ines

1. Discuss the importance of philosophy. Why philosophy? Tell something about a philosopher and his philosophy? Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with reality, existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language Philosophic thought is an inescapable part of human existence. Almost everyone has been puzzled from time to time by such essentially philosophic questions as â€Å"What does life mean? † â€Å"Did I have any existence before I was born? † and â€Å"Is there life after death? † Most people also have some kind of philosophy in the sense of a personal outlook on life.Even a person who claims that considering philosophic questions is a waste of time is expressing what is important, worthwhile, or valuable. A rejection of all philosophy is in itself philosophy. ( Pilosopiko-iisip ay isang hindi maiwasan bahagi ng tao-iral. Halos ang lahat ay tuliro sa pana-panahon sa pamamagitan ng tulad mahalagang pilos opiko tanong ng â€Å"Ano ang ibig sabihin ay ang buhay? † â€Å"Hindi ko anumang pagkakaroon bago ako ay ipinanganak? † at â€Å"Mayroon bang buhay pagkatapos ng kamatayan? † Karamihan sa mga tao ay mayroon ding ilang mga uri ng pilosopiya sa kamalayan ng isang personal na pananaw sa buhay.Kahit na isang tao na claim na isinasaalang-alang ang mga pilosopiko katanungan ay isang basura ng oras ay pagpapahayag ng kung ano ang mahalaga, sulit, o mahalagang. Isang pagtanggi ng lahat ng pilosopiya sa mismong pilosopiya. ) By studying philosophy, people can clarify what they believe, and they can be stimulated to think about ultimate questions. A person can study philosophers of the past to discover why they thought as they did and what value their thoughts may have in one's own life. There are people who simply enjoy reading the great philosophers, especially those who were also great writers. Sa pamamagitan ng pag-aaral pilosopiya, ang mga tao ay maaaring linawin ku ng ano ang pinaniniwalaan nilang, at maaaring sila ay stimulated upang isipin ang tungkol sa mga ultimate tanong. Ang isang tao ay maaaring pag-aralan ang mga philosophers ng nakaraan upang matuklasan kung bakit ang inisip nila tulad ng kanilang ginawa at kung ano ang pinahahalagahan kanilang mga pananaw ay maaaring magkaroon ng sariling buhay. May mga taong simpleng mga bisita sa pagbabasa ang mga dakilang philosophers, lalo na ang mga na mahusay na manunulat. ) PLATOGood people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws. â€Å"(Mabuting tao ay hindi kailangan batas upang sabihin sa kanila na kumilos responsable, habang ang mga masamang tao ay makahanap ng isang paraan sa paligid ng batas. â€Å") There is no harm in repeating a good thing. If you continue doing a good thing, then you will feel good. For example, working hard, if you take the time to work hard it will pay off in the end. Don't let a good thing slip away, you may only have one chance to keep it. 2. discus the common nation of love by manuel dy jr?