Personal reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 7

Personal reflection - Essay ExampleThese will increase food business to a great extent that will satisfy a nations population. In my thought, a growth in the economy should provide adapted wealth for the whole population. Mostly, this does not happen because the population the poor grows rapidly and they do not sh be in the increased industrial expansion. The tragedy of super acid is a trap that involves the conflict between resources of individual interests and those of common good. The problem with arising from this gradation in managing the human population is the assumption that commons need to be regulated both the international and national agencies. In my thought, it is not entirely possible to control the commons or convert them to private property.In most countries, there does exist a gap between the existing population and what is regarded as the optimal population. Reasons, why countries have sub-optimal population, vary both geographically and historically. Daly sugge sts that tradable permits are a measure that can be use to control the human population. The allusion to birth rights for income inequality is contrasted. In my opinion, the tradable rights to have children are the only means to negociate the human population. Each girl should be given a license to allow her to have, say, two children. Tradable birth rights may be a better measure as couples who have more than two children will risk previous the economic

Discussion on the Marketing Impacts of the Global Recession Essay

Discussion on the Marketing Impacts of the Global Recession - Essay ExampleThe Global Recession By the end of 2007, what started as an apparently discriminate turbulence in the sub-prime segment of the US housing market turned into a full-blown recession by the end of 2007 (Verick & Islam, 2010). The US housing sector, as stated by Verick and Islam (2010), was unaware of the true extent of the complexities and liabilities which, in turn, caused liquidity to dry up, bringing down the global financial system. The economic drawback was spread speedily and simultaneously through the global financial system to all corners of the world (Jannson, Hilmersson, & Sandberg, 2010). The result is the global economic recession that peaked in 2008. There had been enormous lay-offs, unemployment, unpaid mortgages, bigger debts, enormous financial problems and fraud, financial deregulation of credit, automotive sales loss and manufacturing decline. Marketing Impacts of the Global Recession Up to n ow, recession is liquid evident in the global scenario. The increasing globalization of economic activity the interconnectedness of economic activity across national frontiers calls companies and countries to adapt to the negative effectuate of the recession (Kitching, Blackburn, Smallbone, & Dixon, 2009). Kotler and Keller in 2009 stated that speed of global business is accelerating diversity but that has slowed down, yet, as they say, its business is as usual. The companies must change their marketing strategies and concern capabilities to keep up in the market, at the same time giving customer satisfaction. Several methods and strategies were devised or emerged as the reaction of the global market to the recession. gibe to Kitching et al. (2009), recessions are regarded as periods of creative destruction, during which some businesses and industries decline while new ideas, technologies, products and industries emerge and become the driving forces of subsequent economic activ ity and growth. cable strategy and performance vary with owner perceptions, resources, and opportunities available of the threats faced (Kitching et al., 2009). According to Orr (2010), findings suggest that two principal factors are dominant in determining supranational strategy during times of financial crisis home country market conditions, and the level of domestic industry protection introduced by the foreign country government in response to the economic downturn. Other factors including the variability in relative exchange rates also influenced international strategy during financial crises. Marketing Impacts in accredited Countries of the Global Recession Several developed countries had certain impacts in both marketing and management aspects due to the recession. These countries mentioned in the discussion include Japan, the United States, European Union in general, Australia, Singapore and China. In Japan, Toyota Motor Corporations profitability was badly affected by t he recession, resulting in a fall from shew profits to record losses (Greimel, 2009 as cited by Orr, 2010). In response, Toyota is planning to limit expenditure and return to its original focus on quality. In reaction to global capital fluctuations, the lower value of currencies in countries such as the US, and

Toyota Management Planning Essay Example for Free

Toyota Management Planning EssayIn tramp to keep an presidency flowing and to achieve the goals that are set-forth the direction teams have to continually watch their planning processes. To make sure that nothing is missed in any of the go the planning teams much(prenominal) as change management taking charge to monitor the growth is able to happen. For Toyota there have been some large changes expiration on over the past few years with the difficulties from the over-seas suppliers due to the tsunami then in the auto world there is always troubles that lie ahead with forge changes and technology changes. Although the company in whole is not performing all that poorly with such difficult times they have had along with all the stcarpetgles the actor(a) automakers have had in the market. Upon research for the Toyota Motor Company you will find that they are the largest automaker in the world followed by General Motors. Recently Toyota had do a very bold move on their planni ng side to be able to stay the largest automaker in the world. On March sixth 2013 the company appointed non-Japanese Executive to lead three out of its four global regions.It also appointed three outside members to its board of directors, including longtime former General Motors executive Mark Hogan (Snavely, 2013). This is the strategic and also tactical form of planning the short term being able to make the vehicles more intrigue along with making sure that Toyota stays in the eyes of the American consumers. Foreign auto makers tend to do this no matter where they come from because no matter what their mother-ship is in a different country not realizing what the true difference in design and passion is.Planning for growth such as theirs with long term customer retention is not always easily to be done with the poor quality from large and important recalls here in the United States. * Legal necks can stem from anything in the auto world, anything from large safety recalls to bu y backs caused by not having parts in stock or taking too long to get from the supplier. The largest influence of the legal issues are the recalls in parts greatly increased if Toyota claims it to be a safety issue such as the breaks going out, or the Prius not shutting down and driving out of control.When the planning team starts to build ways to fix their issues it demand to be the fast way possible so that customers feel safe with what they have implemented to correct the issues. So when they find an issue with a vehicle tactically they need to develop the fix, then plan for what parts are needed ordered to ensure that the cars can be fixed when you tell the owners. * This is ethically important to the course knowing that there is a problem with the vehicles and it is still safe you are not setting up for angry customers.You have sensible them that you have located the issue figured out the fix and also have everything ready for you when you come in for the repair, not sweepin g it under the rug and hiding it. In order to make things flow together and showing everyone that Toyota works on being the top employer in the United States in order to do this they need to show the commitment on doing the right thing for the employees in the plants or parts distributions channels.Making everyone aware that Toyotas management is works on fixing its past and will be a immature richer company in no time as long as customers sequestrate the old pasts they will be able to hit the undermentioned level. * Socially as the auto company works on the growth they have apparatus for you will always see more and more of what they have done and what they plan to do for you in the future as they grow. Seeing them display their new developments such as starting off with the original Prius then hearing what the consumers said they added the next line of Prius C smaller, Prius V larger and the plug in Prius.By hearing socially what the customers need and want management heard th is used it to develop the next line of models. Social networking is a way to express conference to the customers or a fan so that they know and can hear what the management has planned every business uses these forms to get across to the customers. Toyota in the United States has a hard win for getting new customers in the door. Their design of the vehicles is a little too Japanese for the American buyers. Over the next few years the new designs will need to be marketed to bring the new customers in the doors.Strategically they have changed a lot inside the walls of the business to make sure that it can sustain the goals set forth. Toyota has condensed its businesses into four main units, creating a structure that the company said should clarify operations and earnings responsibleness as well as speed up decision-making. (Takahasha, 2013). All the movements that have been made were all done to make sure that the goals will be achieved in the time line that they have tasked themse lves with.As we think on the directions that business are going you will realize that every aspect of the business Toyota has to be revamped in order to setup for their goals of not being so old fashioned in design. The largest factors for implementing these changes in the poor turn around on issues such as recalls from 2009-2010, this has halted their growth in continuing to be benchmark in the auto world. New managers to make quick and fast acting decisions in if the closely important thing for Toyota to make the customers see when something is happening to the business.This also goes back to the social side of things, customers notice a flaw then it will be plastered for all social networks to be able to be seen by all. Proving the quality has changed with the new management and them being transparent so that a management should do is see them implementing their changes. Resources Snavely, B. (2013). USA Today.Retrieved from http//www. usatoday. com/story/money/cars/2013/03/26/t oyota-management-changes-bob-carter/2021639/ Takahasha, Y. (2013). The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http//online. wsj. com/article/SB10001424127887323628804578343552255704028. html.

Interreligious Dialogue Essay Example for Free

Interreligious Dialogue EssayDialogue with respect to theological pluralism Statistics base that most of the worlds macrocosm is affiliated with some type of religious belief, with Christianity and Islam encompassing slightly over 50% of the population. Though interreligious dialogue is beneficial in gaining a better understanding of a nonhers idolisation, is it possible to hold ones religion as macrocosm the absolute truth mend engaging in an open interreligious dialogue with a nonher religion?M whatsoever spiritual raft go away slope to be theological exclusivists, because a hooking of the religions argon divided and differ in many ways from one another, however they must accept the values and beliefs of other hoi polloi if they are to abide truly faithful to the conviction of their traditions. Interreligious dialogue in a broad sense is being in communication with someone of a different religion to increase the understanding of ones own religion or tradition as well as others. Since half of the worlds population is either Christian or Muslim, we will take a look into the differences these religions shares.One of the chief(prenominal) issues is developed in Klostermaiers book, In the Paradise of Krishna. It exemplifies some of the differences religions tend to hold, such as the discussion between Muslims and Christians on where the role of Jesus stands in Senestant 2 connection to beau ideal. Muslims agree that Jesus was an important figure and served a purpose as a great teacher of righteousness, solely fail to see his true up connection with beau ideal the suffer. They claim that he is still a prophet sent by matinee idol but not equal to immortal.The stick Klostermaier takes on Jesus, or Son of Man, is that he is the movement towards God in every being. He is what ultimately accommodates for us to encounter a relationship with God. The Son of Man still makes use of two basic distinctions My Father on the one side everything else on the other. He doesnt judge people based off of other peoples judgment or the rules set by man, rather he judges people based on their relation to the Father. Klostermaier too wants us to recognize that Christ is not an avatara. there were many people before Jesus time who were sent on this earth to save Gods people from particular calamities that were caused by mankind. Those people were very important because they were chosen by God to do his will. Noahs obedience to Gods command to salvage servicemanity by build an arc to withstand the flood or Moses standing up to the Pharaoh and onlyowing his people to be set free are just a some instances of Gods sons who assisted in salvation. Saying Jesus is the Only Son of God is putting a limitation on the abilities of God and not recognizing his near power.It also confuses the Muslim sect because of their belief that God sent many people by dint ofout history who were a source of deliverance from any fortuity that was occu rring at the time. They are referred to as prophets therefore Jesus must also be a prophet and nothing more. Instead, he wants us to look at Christ as the movement to God Senestant 3 that will grant us ultimate salvation. He is the deciding factor that will determine whether we will enjoy eternity in the promise land or feel the wrath of God as we torment in hell.A second main issue in the book is dialoguing on a daily basis with familiar and unfamiliar religions. Before dialoguing with other people, its crucial to have a great understanding on your own religion. Its very important to study and learn what your beliefs are shewed upon, although its very time consuming and doesnt aid in spiritual progress. While it is good to study and familiarize yourself with the religion you are currently practicing, it is also beneficial to converse with others about your religion as well.People tend to only see whats on the surface because they are ignorant and misguided on certain areas and fai l in attempting to delve deeper to find the true meaning of things. As you enter into dialogue with someone of an opposing religion, you must be very open-minded and unbiased to allow each other to learn things that arent obvious at first glance. It allows for a different perspective of who you think you are and helps you identify if youre life sentence and acting according to your beliefs. Its also important to have inner dialogue with yourself.Meditating and reflecting on the impact our religion have in our lives and in our hearts. Is the internality of Hinduism and Christianity or any other religion we profess just words coming out of our mouths or does it directly impact our lives and allows us to live in peace and unity? These are the questions we must ask ourselves in helping to determine if were living in fallacy and wasting our time, or if were in accordance to Senestant 4 our beliefs. A starving old Brahmin talked about four kinds of people praying some pray that God shou ld preserve their wealth, others that God should take back them wealth.Those who asked for heavens were better but those who neither had nor wanted riches and did not ask for heaven, but only wished to serve God for his own sake, they were the best. (Klostermaier 95) Those people who only wished to serve God know of his magnificence and splendor and being connected to that will enhance their spirituality and respect for man and not traditions. This allows anyone from any religion to be suffer like brothers and sisters. If we insisted on our theologies you as a Christian, I as a Hindu we should be fighting each other.We have lay out one another because we probed more deeply, towards spirituality. (Klostermaier 99) A third issue in the book is the idea of three persons in one God. Many established religions military position God as being absolute and indescribable because of how minute we are compared to God. Other religions are able to grasp the physical nature of God and give h im attributes and qualities which can only be possible if this God was visible. However, Christians hold the position that God is both of these things and can go between each form when necessary. This is seen by God revealing himself through his son Jesus Christ.Through him were able to become attached and have understanding of where our beliefs lie. When other religions look at Christianity, they view it as a religion without any real philosophy and that it has taken its teachings from everywhere and justifies them by claiming to possess the only true revelation, to Senestant 5 apportion the only salvation (Klostermaier 29). Therefore they see it as being immature when relating to religion. They even go as far as saying theyre uneducated on their religion therefore they cant hold intelligent conversations and go in depth on the various issues that involve religion.I found this to be very true because as a Christian myself, I attempted to discuss religion with one of my atheist fri ends. After a few minutes went by, I realized I didnt know as much as I thought. It led me to examining what I believed in and why. Towards the end of the conversation, I grew more respect for people who werent adapted to a particular religion and understood theres a lot that can be learned from them. It showed me the unimportance of the different sects of religion and only claiming to a religion without close examination of it will lead to immaturity and idiocy.As a Sikh professor in Klostermaiers book says, Religion cannot be proved by logic religion is inner experience. (Klostermaier 31) This inner experience is affirmed through meditation as well as the various acts of people around you whom you have no association with. When looking at theological exclusivism versus pluralism, it is confusing as to whether they are relevant in deciding whether to converse with people of different religions. Looking only at theological exclusivism, it is the theological position that holds to t he finality of the Christian faith in Christ.The finality of Christ means that there is no salvation outside the Christian faith. By definition, exclusivism seems to be self-contradictory. It contains the fact that Senestant 6 human beings are limited in the amount of knowledge they have and are unable to understand the infinite(God) to its fullness. However, followers of this concept are not restricted in believing that they are the only people that have the ability to be connected to God. They look at people of other religions as being infidels, not actually having a religious belief.They also claim to be the ones most devoted to God, when in all actuality they are just followers of religious doctrine, created by man. Though the Bible was created by man, it was said to be created through spiritual guidance of the Most High. Every religious person who looks at the Bible sees it as being full of truth, which by nature is exclusivist. So everyone who follows the rules and guidelines the Bible have set in place is partially exclusivist. Since the Bible is considered as be exclusivist, it is only right to dwell on some of teachings it talks about.It talks about a God, who is full of mercy and compassion, one who loves all of his children and continues to love them through all the sins they have committed and continue to commit. It is a God that loved us so much that, he gave his one and only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (Stoughton 897) A God of this nature does not sound like a God that will only come to save those who believe in Christ. Although that was his only begotten son, they are many people who do not have the opportunity to believe in such a religion. This can be caused by the way the person was rought up, or where the person was brought up, in which case Christianity was not the religion of choice. They are also instances of when someone dies prematurely and does not Senestant 7 have the opportunity to have a true relationship with Christ Jesus. These people shouldnt be and are not exempt from the sanctifying grace of God. This is a God who created all of mankind in his image and likeness, so that everyone will have the ability to be saved. God must be seen at the center of religions / The pluralistic contention is that all religions are fundamentally the same though superficially different. (Hick 42) The pluralist believes that the world religions are true and equally valid in their communication of the truth about God, the world, and salvation. This is also backed by the Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs and Religions, which says that other religions possess validity and truth in their own right / These religions are understood as different cultural reflections or expressions of the same divine reality and as such constitute coherent ways to God (Larousse 437). This seems to make the most logical sense because we are not sole-bearers of the truth.We were only created to praise and give worship to the Almighty. Since this is true, we will all have our own understanding and interpretations about who God is, what our place is in this world and why we were created, and the steps in receiving salvation. At the core of our beliefs we hold the same truths, but slightly differ in minor details. Some examples are the day in which we should attend mass or how often we should pray. Yes these things are important and are what gives meaning to our life, but God only requires us to recognize who he is and the impact he has in our lives. By whatsoever way men worship Me, even so do I accept them for, in all ways, O Partha, men walk in My path. Senestant 8 (Bhagavad-Gita 4. 11) God is evident in all religions that have him in its center. As long as his followers stay true to the doctrine their religion provides, God will have prefer on them. Many of the religions out there share these commonalities so they should be treated with equality when evaluating their doctrine with respect to God. In the sense of interreligious dialogue, the idea of being a theological exclusivist is irrelevant.It does not bring anything meaningful to the table when people of two different religions come together. Rather it would just be hurtful bait between the opposing religions and nothing worthwhile will be accomplished. Since by definition, an exclusivist can only view their religion and belief as being the only one which holds the absolute truth, to deviate from this by indulging in conversations that can potential alter that belief is dangerous and when placed in a position like that, mockery will be imminent. The only way the strengthen interreligious dialogue is through a pluralist outlook.They both go hand in hand, in that a pluralist will be very open to dialogue. This will increase their knowledge of not only the other persons religion but also ones own, since they both stem from the same root. Senestant 9 Works Cited 1)Goring, Rosemary, Frank Whaling, John Marshall, and David Brogan. Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs and Religions. Edinburgh Larousse, 1994. Print. 2)Lopresti, Matthew. INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE AND RELIGIOUS PLURALISM A philosophical Critique of Pope Benedict XVI and the Fall of Religious Absolutism (Matthew LoPresti) Academia. edu. Hawaii Pacific University Academia. du. Hawaii Pacific University. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. . 3)Marbaniang, Domenic. Theology Of Religions Pluralism, Inclusivism, Exclusivism Earthpages. org. Earthpages. org. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. . 4)Bhagavadgita. Lewiston, N. Y. u. a. Edwin Mellen Pr. , 2010. Print. 5)Klostermaier, Klaus, and Antonia Fonseca. In the Paradise of Krishna Hindu and Christian Seekers. Philadelphia Westminster, 1969. Print. 6)Hick, John. God and the Universe of Faiths Essays in the Philosophy of Religion. Basingstoke Macmillan, 1988. Print. 7)NIV Bible. London Hodder Stoughton, 1997. Print.

Labor Market in Gulf Countries

Labor Market in disjunction CountriesIndia Steps Up Pressure for minimal Wage for Its Workers in the GulfThe Labor Market in Gulf CountriesThis section of the report is near the push back market in the Gulf countries and how it is affect with changes in the constancy policies by the governments of GCC countries. The GCC consists of six Arab countries including all Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The wear market is growing with the rapid growth of the economies of GCC countries. The governments of GCC countries prefer their topic to be part of their organizations because of their postgraduateer education, and the nationals are too attracted towards the government welkin of GCC countries because of the higher allowance and generous benefits, job security, early retirement with pension and many an(prenominal) a(prenominal) other benefits associated with the government jobs. However, the labor market of GCC countries also contains a significant portion of expatriate workers, therefore the clubby sector heavily rely on the working on expatriate workers and the expatriate labor work also attracted towards the private sector because of the jobs that are available on fixed terms, the contracts of the jobs are item and they are under the sponsorship of nationals.The labor migration to Gulf countries is considered to be of vast importance. The factors cerebrate to its importance are the relatively larger size of the Gulf countries and better frugal conditions prevailing there. According to the modern reports, foreign workers especially from South Asia and Philippines make up around 90 percent or more of the private sector in all GCC countries except Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the rate of increase population and the birth rate of foreign citizens in the Gulf countries also among other factors of increasing labor migration in Gulf countries.An individual labor law for every country i n GCC is designed in accordance with international labor laws and standards, conventions and recommendations of world-wide Labor Organization that aim to eliminate unfair labor practices and equal treatment of laborers regarding to the nationality, social status or religious belief. This is also because of the Global economical Crises which cause the working class of South Asian countries to be affected badly, as a result many of the workers were not paid and most of the extraterrestrial being laborers had to leave the country and they put Gulf countries on the priority because of the high economic train and better wages rates than the European countries. Gulf countries recent policies and regulations on the protection of rights emphasize on the regulation on the labor market and boost national man power in private sector, by keeping the balance in working relationships at work place, increasing the labor protection and safeguarding the employees interests at all.The above figur e shows the supply and demand of labor market in the Gulf countries. It has shown that the labor market of the Gulf countries is effecting consortly to the number of workers or workforce present there. If the supply of the workforce is increasing in Gulf countries because of the rising migration workers in Gulf countries, the demand is also increasing because of the increasing effect of the economies of Gulf countries, and the demand is also increasing because of their high expertness and high education in their relevant fields.According to the reports issued by the World Bank, there is various numbers of factors that have been contributed to the bureau of youth employment situation in the Gulf countries. If considering the supply side, a demographic wave has increased the share of young people in the population because of the migration youth individuals to the Gulf countries has resulted the labor supply pressures. And if the demand size of the labor market is considered, young p eople in the labor markets of Gulf countries widespread with structural distortions. And the fact is that the public and private sector of GCC continues to attract young people towards themselves, with higher wage and benefit packages and better job security.Labor Market in IndiaThis section of the report considers the level of labor force and labor market in the economy of India. The India is considered to be the second largest country in the population growth after china and according to the reports of 2012, the labor workers who were working in India were 487 million, and 90 % of these workers were working in un nonionised and unincorporated companies, while only 10 % of them are working in the organized private, state owned enterprises and government sectors. In local terms, the organized sector or formal sector are described as the sectors in India related to licensed organizations that are registered and pay income tax, and sales tax etc. These organizations of India take on the publicly traded companies, corporations, factories, incorporated or formally registered entities, shopping malls, hotels, and large businesses. Unorganized sector, also known as informal sector or own account enterprises, refers to all unlicensed, self-employed or unregistered economic activity such as owner manned general stores, handicrafts and handloom workers, rural traders, farmers, etc.If the labor market of India is to be seen, the matter of the fact is that there are two broad groups of migratory laborers working in India bingle group of migrant laborers is that who migrates to Gulf countries and overseas in order to work temporarily, and another group is that one who migrates on a seasonal and work available basis.According to the latest reports, the migrant workers who are Indian-origin laborers are roughly(predicate) 4 million in number who are migrant workers in the shopping mall East and Gulf countries alone. They are accredited to been a part of Gulf countri es and the majority of workers are those and are proud themselves who built many of Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain, and Persian Gulf modern architecture, and major of their architecture is the Burj Khalifa, which is considered to be the tallest building in worlds history which has started its operation in 2010.It is the common factor that no one wants to leave his country and the reason of leaving home country and to go abroad is that of financial surplus. These migrant workers are also attracted towards the Gulf countries because of better salaries, and get the opportunity of even better jobs in order to remit funds and financials to support their families in India. In 2009, the reports by Middle East analysts show that the Middle East-based migrant workers from India remitted about US$20 billion. In many cases they also have to face the challenges and problems in dong jobs that is labor abuses and problems such as rent-free salaries, poor living conditions and unsafe work conditions have been claimed by the Indian migrant workers.Moreover, it has also been seen that national migrant workers in India have been assessed to be about 4.2 million. These migrant workers work according to their capacity and abilities and they have shown the range from full-time to part-time workers, permanent and temporary workers. They are typically employed for remuneration in cash or kind, in any household through any agency or directly, to do the household work, but do not include any member of the family of an employer.While talking to the India workforce in GCC countries, the reports suggests that India is the principal and major country of South Asia origin for the 17 million migrants in GCC countries. The Indian states are also sending their individuals also to GCC countries in order to get better employment and better remunerations. In 2004, the Indian state of Kerala only consists of the 26 percent of all households that had at least one temporary international migrant. And 89 p ercent of these were found to be in GCC countries (Zachariah and Rajan 2009, pp. 35, 162). According to the Philippines reports, that there were about 1.5 million temporary Overseas Filipino Workers (POEA 2011), in 2011 represented themselves while working abroad through the act of Philippine Overseas Employment governance and according to the entire national labor force (BLES 2012) there were about 4 percent of the GCC migrants are Philippines who were working there.The figure below shows that the financial fertilise comes to the India because of the remittances from abroad and it has been seen that in the period of 2009-2011, 31.4% has been received by India only from the remittances of FDI from all over the world, and in 2012, only 30 of the total remittances came from GCC countries only.The above figure shows that India receives about as much in remittances from the GCC countries as it receives in FDI from the whole worldThe demand and supply of the labor market of India is no t elastic and that the supply of the labor market is high and that the demand is ot that much high because of the economic conditions of the country and that the wages rates as well not according to the demands of the workers as well. Moreover, the high rate of population and unavailability of employment caused the migrants o move towards the GCC countries and overseas.According to the latest reports, the Indian migrates are not getting paid according to their demands and that the wages rate is quite minimum in Gulf countries for them.ReferencesGrm.grc.net,. (2014). The Gulf Research Meeting 2014 Workshop Details. Retrieved 29 August 2014, from http//grm.grc.net/index.php?pgid=Njk=wid=Mjg=Labor Market Challenges and the policies in Gulf Corporation Council union. (2014) (1st ed.). Retrieved from https//www.imf.org/external/pubs/FT/gcc/GCC3.pdfIlo.org,. (2008). The Indian labour market An overview. Retrieved 29 August 2014, from http//www.ilo.org/asia/whatwedo/publications/WCMS_09885 1/langen/index.htm

The Strategic Direction For The Future Business Essay

The St laygic Direction For The Future Business EssayTHE HONDA go COMPANY LIMITED has established in 24th September 1948. Honda has expansion to defend a leading position in the field of aimcycle machine and power growth Japanese grocery storeplace was in the nuisance because of the shortage of money and fuel only if japan was still in require of rudimentary transportation Honda utilise All rights booked. Honda manufacturing facility attract engine to a bicycle that create cheap and in effect(p) method of transportation.HONDA HEAD OFFICE JAPANIn the piece-wide market the Honda is world largest engine manufacture and market attraction in the takecycle. Honda has been operating 120 manufacturing facility in 29 unsophisticated and 167,234 people worldwide Honda has broaden unit of measurement over the world in the fol lower-rankinging market.Honda established in United States of the States in 1959 by the cite of American Honda force back telephoner .inc.In Thailand 1 964 Asian Honda motor social club limited.The first market in the Europe in 1963 Honda (UK) limited recognized in the LONDONHonda found in the South America (BRAZIL SAO PAULO) in the 1971 by the image of Honda motor Brazil.By the late 1980 the only 25 year after(prenominal) the firm entered in the go industry. The key point of go in front the Hondas success is continuous innovation that was found by MR SOICHIRO HONDA had a swell delight in locomote as basis today the Honda gild stand as the 9th largest motor cycle manufacture in the world. The market shell out of the Honda until now 10.2 % and its ranked a no 5 in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.In 2006Honda aircraft gild begins the gross revenue of the in Honda resinous advance light jet .in the 2006 the Honda aviation company awarded by popular science magazines the winner of the publications 2006 aviation and space categoryThe Honda Philippines begins the atomic pile production their motorcycle plantHonda established an cillary in Ukraine.New automobile plant in the Vietnam begins operation (civic) and flexible simple machine at Brazil launched the cold wing airbag the first man market motorcycle with an air bag body . in the raw(prenominal) company to conduct solar cell line of descent established.In 2007Honda sales it is going to launch low outlay hybrid and advance diesel technological in the near future .they were withal voted as number one political machine manufacture in the world for the third period .1.2 CURRENT MARKET POSITIONIn 2007 the price of fuel was high and the slight efficient (US) economy scarce Honda reported 1%sales increased while its competitor including Toyota has reported double going. Honda sales grow approximately 20% in 2007 year.Honda Nissan and Toyota were still not safe to the international financial crisis of 2008 as these company declined in the profits at the Beijing auto show Honda presented the LI NIAN 5-door niche bank and announced that they were look ing to substantial an entry level brand exclusively for the Chinese market similar Toyota SCION brand in the USAPRINCIPAL PRODUCT AND FUNCTION OF EACH surgical incisionSegmentPrincipal product and armed servicesFunctionMotorcycle parentageMotor cycle terrain vehicles and personal motor craft and vehicleResearch and schooling manufacturing sales related serviceAutomobile businessAuto and applicable partsResearch and development manufacturing sales related serviceFinancial service businessFinancial insurance servicesResearch and development manufacturing sales and related servicesPower product and other businessPower products and relevant part and othersResearch and development manufacturing sales and related services othersGEOGRAPHICAL REGION TOTAL REVENUE IN MILLIONS IN 2007Japan68,190North America5,980,876Asia1283,154Europe1236,757Other905,163EMPLOYEE WORLD WIDE IN HONDAIn whole over the world Honda had 144.785 employee in 2006 this number has increased in 2007 and reached at 167,231 in the Honda group.In 2007 the sale of Honda grew 11.9 percent compared in 2006.In the foreign market the sales grew 7.7 percentages on automobile and 9.3 percentage on the power product. Because of the world break motorcycle market of Honda in the North America, Europe or in the Asian market is not grew real.Honda operating data in the percentage fit to the business portfolio in the 2007BusinessPercentageMotorcycle13.44Automobile78.46Financial4.01Power product and other4.091.3 STRATEGY APPLIED BY HONDA COMPANYTHE world-wide STRATEGYAs Honda is spherical company and Honda Company has broaden whole over the world in America, Europe or in the Asia. The dodge is to avow the competent supply the extreme whole step of the product at low price worldwide client and satisfied them. However same(p)wise improve their quality to develop more in product and launched into the globular market and commitment for the future.CORPORATE STRATEGYThe Honda Company is includes four busi ness- motorcycles, automobile, power and the financial business. In 1963 the Honda becomes the leader with the characteristics like extreme fuel economy, best safety product and driving more contentment. Honda proves their self not in Japan and US but it has prove worldwide.Motor business was the first business of the Honda because of the special interest of the MR HONDA in the auto mobile. Honda has operated lucratively in 28 motorcycle plant in the 21 countries as well as RD operation in the US, INDIA, ITALY, CHINA, GERMANY and THAILAND. Then Honda becomes the more popular than ever.The first power product lunched in the 1953 and has prolonged portable generator, out wit engines, power carrier. The power products are produced at 11 plants in the 9 disparate countries. Honda is stretched it to the robot industry with ASIMO and Honda has reached on the sky after launched Honda jet and in any case providing financial services worldwide to improve the sales.ASIMO BUSINESS STRATEGY Honda business strategy is to RD compete in the belligerent automobile industry .Honda always focal point on the quality of the product ,durability and milieual and social issues, low fuel efficiency than other automobile industry in the market in the. Honda end littlely creative and innovative technical foundation, these all strategy leads Honda slowly in the US and Europe at condemnation of oil rate flatution and the world recession but Honda keep their RD strategy that will benefits people as well as company in the future.The school principalship of the Honda is also one the strength. The innovation and the efficient service supply, manufacturing and distribution system is also a source of success in the global market. agreeING TO HONDA ANNUAL REPORT 2007Global auto sales by companySale in percentageGeneral motor13Ford motor10Volkes wagon5Nissan motor15Honda motor5Toyota12Other40The world automobile market is captured by Asian brands in the US market .threats to the US car maker is the growing TOYOTA ,HONDA and NISSAN that are threatening strategy to the GENERAL MOTOR the world current largest car maker.The Honda motor competitor of all time whole over the world TOYOTA MOTOR, NISSAN HYUNDAI .FORD VOLKES WAGON and GENERAL MOTOR.OPERATIONAL STRATEGYHonda operational strategy is to satisfy their customer worldwide by customer or also keeping the high level of transparency in the operational level they also follow the police and the regulation to perform better their operational strategy according to the country where they want to do business. The Honda strategy is to look future forecast. The Honda ope rank worldwide market with the 167234 employees and associate to produce their service to 23million customer annually worldwide. soulfulness STRATEGYThe individual strategy of Honda Company is to sell with happiness, produce by happiness, and buy with the happiness. Sell with the happiness means to make good communication with their dealer and. Produce with the happiness means manufacturing and RD and produce quality product whole over the world for their customer. Buy with the happiness means associate with their customer hope whole over the world.2 CURRENT MARKET SITUATIONS BY MACRO abstractThe macro analysis examines opportunities and threats that exist in the environment. Both opportunities and threats exist independently of the organization. The stand up ANALYSIS unalikeiates between a strength and weakness from an opportunity and threat. PESTLE and Porters 5 Forces rescue been regarded as two effective tools they are also known as the macro factors.2.1 PESTEL ANALYSIS OF HONDAP POLITICAL In the 1965 the US was engage with the Vietnam in war. American represents the Honda 50 modal in the siemensmost Asian market because of the bad economic condition modal 50 was not so much success is was declined in the market. In the 2005 the interest rates in the Inthroughsia were rise because of the government improbability it e ffect inflation and rising the price of the gasoline in 2006 the government strategy remain same but suddenly the economy of the India were boost on that time the demand of the motorcycle were high their and the easy business rule and the tax regulation lead Honda to India than Honda acquire making the profit that was one of the strength of the Honda.E ECONOMIC Honda become wider its business in whole over the world (North America, Europe, and Asia) because of the world recession Honda prejudice their consumer heavily the other factor also influence like rising the price of fuel declined the demand for the automobile , motorcycle, and the power product . Because of the recession and the move gas price in 2007 Honda unit sales declined 18.2% in the North America.S SOCIAL CULTURAL Honda has 167,134 employees worldwide Honda has improve the employment for the local fraternity in the North America, Europe and in the Asia. Since the recession is entered in whole over the world Ho nda is innovative and introduce new product in the market slight cost and the best quality than China manufacturers they also have done research and development on to produce or launch little pollution vehicles in whole over the world.T TECHNOLOGICAL Technology is vital for competitive advantage and is a most important driver of globalization. Honda has utilising the teaching technology to control their world wide operation. On the production process the Honda motor is innovated since they have started automobile business. Honda is innovated in the auto fit machine and mass production, distribution, reduces cost also save time. On the marketing process Honda advertise on the news paper, Magazine. With the help of the internet (IT) they have displayed their upcoming modal on the different web site or encourage people trading on line.L LEGAL The parameters set for a business by a governing body like the legal implications in terms of products and services to be sold out, in ter ms of rules and regulations imposed on employment by law etc .china manufacturer start making problem to Honda .the chins manufacturer start making the motorcycle in the southern Asia to defeat Honda the economic condition of the south Asia was not good because of the recession or oil price fluctuation .the people were not buying the Honda motor cycle at the same time chins manufacturer start making the motorcycle on the very(prenominal) less price than Honda, to kill this situation Honda launched new modal VAVE in the market with less price and high quality.E ENVIRONMENTAL the environmental problem like global warming, hole on ozone layer because of the pollution. Honda continuously research on the less emit ion of CO2 toxic waste to develop hybrid and electronic vehicle. They have also generated and implement less pollution diesel engine.2.2 PORTERS FIVE FORCES ANALYSISPorters five forces analysis helps to contrast a competitive environment of the organisation its also shown in the diagram description are as following.Threat of new entrants now a days the business environment is very competitive in whole over the world .ford is continuously, aggressively committing with the Honda or producing barriers to make maximal profit for the Honda in the market. Honda has also getting the problem in the distribution system in the USA rather than FORD because of the US government law and policies.2. Bargaining power of Buyers Buyers are the customer of Honda always take care of the expectation their customer, as Honda is global company so the Honda always keep innovating, developing, researching and initiation new product for the different age group for instance Honda launched air blade scooter in the Vietnam in 2007 to attract young people but in the 2007 Suzuki has also launched modal of Hayete scooter with same function like air blade but price was less than air blade so the customer preferred to buy Hayete scooter modal of Suzuki result the share price of Honda were shrink.3. Threat of substitute products Brands like Yamaha motorcycle company Yamaha can be the best competitor for the Honda. Yamaha is also pioneered in the business of the motorcycle manufacturing, if the Yamaha make good quality than the Honda for instance R6 modal of the Yamaha is close substitutes of the Honda modal F4 if the Yamaha innovative or improve the quality and decline the price than Honda it can be very serious problem for Honda.4. Bargaining power of suppliers Contract, raw material suppliers, the volume of the raw material providers would determine their supply capacity, supplier are very powerful. Honda always influence on to produce less price vehicle than other motor company like general motor, ford motor to compete in the market .supplier are very power full they can refuse to do work with the or they can switch their supply or start doing work with GM motor or the ford motor, in case Honda acquittance their key supplier it might be affect cost i t could go up.5. Competitive stirry Its the business competition in between other company in the market in the automobile industry Honda has three bigger rival Honda have to compete with them like general motor, ford motor, and Toyota motor. these three rival of Honda always keep innovation research and development on their modal time to time to compete in the market for instance Honda introduce ACCORD modal in1976,after that the Toyota introduce the modal CAMRY in the market. At the same time general motor introduce MALIBU and ford introduced FUSION. Toyota. General motor and ford motor can replace Honda from the market .Honda have to improve their quality and should be more innovate to compete.2.3 SWOT ANALYSIS HONDASTRENGTHSHighly aware brand name and the company stand on the 9 position on global scale with the 167000 employee and the associate.Honda has made outstanding relations with their suppliers, stake holder or with customer worldwide developing the manufacturing technol ogy.Differentiation from other company like Toyota, GM motor ford economically.Environmental conscious they have launched hybrid cars or less emit ion diesel engines..Since they have been start automobile business Honda motor is Innovative, and doing research and development to satisfy the need of the customer.WEAKNESSThe Honda is global company forecast of the company is more of a cool kind and not professional some time they stress a lot on to produce a low price automobileIts not global, focuses mainly on the UNITED STATES or the Europe.Has only one main hub and limited destination to do to businessOPPURTUNITIESSince they started the business in the automobile industry they highly Target the major unadulterateds (SOUTH ASIA, AMERICA, and EUROPE)Honda has opening more hubs in key geographical areas as business units in the Vietnam china and India. Sales promotions and marketing on the global scale through different websites and different business magazines.THREATSChanging the go vernment policies taxation policies in different countries fuel rate fluctuation world economic recession.Threat from the big brand in the global market like (GENERAL MOTOR, FORD, TOYOTA. These all creates competitive environment in global market for Honda motor.The Global economic recession, fuel price fluctuation worldwide and natural disasters like tornado hurricane.2.4 KEY DRIVERSHigh quality, low price more safety sustain like airbag etc.Honda motor organizational environment is very professional, they innovative the supply chain and the distribution system and the manufacturing system is the core competency. Personal research on the customer need in the global market. They have separate department to handle the customer illness and the customer issue.2.5 CORE COMPETENCYThe core competency of the Honda motor is to launch their product in the global market with low price than other automobile company in the global market.2.6 ORGANISATIONS STRUCTUREReference http//world,honda.c om/profile /organisation/The Honda have supervise their operation from the Japan in whole over the world like in the china, Asia oceanic, Europe Latin America north regional sales operates from the JapanAs Honda is a global organisation, the stake holder is customer their employee, business individual company, trading union. The position of their stake holder is very strong worldwide. Board of the director primary duty is to admit qualified employee and associated or the CEO to run their operation very smoothly worldwide.The working environment of the Honda corporation is very friendly, good communication with employee and board of the director.Honda has continuously coordinated with natural and external manpower in board of director and auditors to perform well in the market. The Honda Corporation operate their four basic operations in the automobile motorcycle and power product and service part.2.7 SYNOPSIS OF THE HONDA/SUMMARYThe following report looks after the macro analysis of an organisation, and considering all these factors gives us the understanding of SWOT analysis of the organisation pestel analysis porter five forces and key driver and core competency. Based on this marketing analysis, Mr sosichiro Honda the founder of the Honda motor because of his great interest in the automobile. He has made a big global organisation to serve their product in whole over the world including American continent Europe and Asia.Honda gives respect individually, every employee give them chance to grow up them self and initiate. Initiate means the company encourage people to be creative. Honda motor is also described as the all the three HAPPINESS. BUY WITH THE HAPPINESS, PRODUCE WITH HAPPINESS, SELL WITH THE HAPPINESS. Honda maintain his position in the global scale they have done innovation since they have started Honda motor in 1948 and the consistency in the in the operations, manufacturing and supply worldwide. in the term of the advertise to spread awareness about their product time to time on different web sites and news paper, different business magazinesKey factor to survive or compete in the global market fulfil the demand of their customer and make happy their stake holders. Honda proudly focus on innovation3 STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS FOR FUTUREThe choices of the company is launched more innovated product in the global market less pollution. Since they have launched less emit ion diesel engine for the air craft and hybrid car for the safe environment. Now the Honda strategy is to explore the business in the market or India and china and north America (brazil) because these two countries economy is grooving very fast so buying power the consumer is very high .now they have already launched so many automobile in the Indian market like less price Honda unicorn 150 cc engine, Honda dio, Honda eterno scooter and to be more innovated to produce more economical vehicle less pollution better feature and more safety for their consumer. Or they also advertising of their new product launching on the different web site or in the different magazine their strategy is to make people fully aware about their new products in the global market. Honda also gives the environmental training for employee and associate or develop more technology to become a global market leader.3.1 LIMIT RANGE OF CHOICES FOR FUTURE3.1.1 Based on the competitive strategyHonda is global organisation its spread around the world it stand on the 9th place in automobile industry there are some outstanding company in the world of automobile also spread around the world like Toyota .general motor, ford, mercerizes, these all motor has made the very competitive environment for business in front of the Honda motor.According to the analysis of the section one and two the position of the Honda motor in the global market is better than the other company in the market in 2007 the Honda motor is reported 1 percent of growth in the time of world recession or fuel rate fluctuation in whole over the world all company like General motor, ford or other automobile company remember very heavy losses on their sale on the global scale but Honda motor is innovated since they start automobile business.3.2 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HONDAAfter look at all the analysis of the organisation Honda should have to do the smart work to become the global leader. Honda is global company. The board of director and the associate have to select right person for the right job like the hire good and educated people to perform the in the organisation and the director of the Honda motor should have to perform their duty to control the quality and to develop more technology to perform in the manufacturing process or in the distributing processThe risk caution system prevent and addressed the different kind of the risk in the company like fuel rate fluctuation, world economic recession inhering disaster and the risk manage department, should have full knowledge how to make our organisation more profitable in the global market or how to overcome by this kind of risk. The Honda motor has the potential to become truly global leader if they spread their units of two wheeler countries like Australia and some African country.The schooling on the execution of the business by director .the time to time auditing should be done by senior management to have control on the manufacturing process or in the distribution process.The Honda motor is doing good business in whole over the world they get the good profit delimitation at the time world economic recession however the other company like Toyota, GM motor and ford motor got heavy loss in the sale.Honda motor have to be more innovative developed their technology in the manufacturing and to be continuing with the research and development.3.3 THE SUPPORT OF THE RECOMMENDATIONAs Honda is global automobile organisation on this level the customer expectation are will reach on the top the Honda have to jam-packed the de mand of the customer in the global market. Honda has the potential to become the global leader in the automobile industry. In the some parts the Honda motor was not did well at the time of world economic recession because of the less potentiality of the employees to in the so many areas like information execution and analyse the risk in the market thats why i recommend to Honda motor should select write employee and the associate for write job to become global leader in this competitive environment. And the Honda did not have the potential to analysis risk like economic recession, fuel rate fluctuation how to overcome and make profit in the global market. After the whole analysis of the report of the Honda motors (executive the top management) information execution was not performing well and the distribution system. i find the Honda should have take care of all these fact to become a innovative and the true automobile manufacturer in the global competitive market.

Structural Footprint of Minimally Invasive Brain Cannulation

Structural Footprint of minimally Invasive Brain CannulationAssessing the Structural Footprint of Minimally Invasive Brain Cannulation on Cerebral White Matter A Cadaveric DTI ModelAbstractBackground Minimally invasive approaches to whizz tumors offer the potential of decreased iatrogenic impairment related to tumor visualization compared to conventional approaches. Currently there are no validated exercises to testify axonal victimize after minimally invasive entry into the promontory.Object The authors present and evaluate a cadaveric model of brain cannulation utilize scattering tensor tomography fractional anisotropy measurements. Two different methods of access are compared.Methods Freshly harvested unfixed cadaveric brains were cannulated victimization both(prenominal) direct and validatory methods. Specimens were subjected to 68-direction DTI scans and proton density imaging. FA data from a region of interest surrounding the entry zone was extracted from scans usin g imaging software and analyzed.Results FA values were operatively higher followers verificatory cannulation (less invasive method) than they were next direct cannulation. FA values for undisturbed brain were world-shakingly higher than in either of the cannulated groups.Conclusion Axonal damage following brain cannulation can potentially be evaluated by FA analysis in a cadaveric model. Future studies will focus on histologic analysis and clinical validation.IntroductionDiffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a magnetic resonance imaging methodology that can be utilized to visualize neuronal microstructure. Diffusion of water inside the human brain is largely limited by the neurolemma. Since the nerves of the brain travel in large fascicles, this dissemination accomplish can be exploited to visualize white intimacy tracts using DTI. Further more, degree of water flow along these axonal tracts can be quantified by using a measurement called fractional anisotropy (FA). (1-3) FA is a scalar value, calculated from the eigenvalues of the diffusion tensor, which describes the independency of a diffusion process. High FA values indicate diffusion in a uniform direction whereas low FA values indicate more random motion of water. Therefore, lowering of relative FA values within item white matter tracts has been postulated as a marker of neuronal blur in clinical studies and animal models of stroke, traumatic brain injury, radiation-induced injury, and epilepsy (4-8). Iatrogenic white matter injury from surgical trajectories into the brain can also be quantified using tractographic methods (9, 10).Traditional open approaches to subcortical lesions are difficult to perform without causing significant trauma to the overlying normal tissue paper. For deep lesions, extensive abjuration may be required. Minimally invasive cylindrical brain retractors have been deployed over a dilator device with success in multiple case series (5, 11-14), building on prior work demons trating feasibility of a microsurgical cylindrical brain retractor (15-17). There are even reports of using minimally invasive approaches for hematoma evacuation18. However, the degree of brain trauma incurred from this method of brain access has yet to be radiographically assessed in human models19. In addition, potentially less invasive proficiencys, such as inflating a balloon within the brain to create a transmission line for brain surgery, have not been comparatively assessed (20-22).This study sought to apply diffusion imaging techniques to assess iatrogenic brain injury in a cadaveric model of brain surgery. Rather than test conventional retraction methods of the brain using spatulas and brain dissection, emerging minimally invasive techniques for brain retraction were evaluated.MethodsAll warnings were procured from the hospital morgue following a protocol internally approved by the department of pathology. Within 6 hours after death, brains were harvested from patients wi th no cognize pre-existing neurologic disorders. Specimens were sectioned into two approximately 5cm by 3cm blocks to facilitate cannulation and transport. Cuts were made introductoryly at the level of the anterior genu of the principal sum callosum, bumly at the level of the precentral sulcus, and along the midline. Lateral areas of lens cortex were removed to make the blocks symmetrical.Two distinct cannulation techniques were used to access the brain, working sequentially from anterior to posterior for each block (Figure 1A). The direct cannulation technique was performed by passing the cannula plunger through cortex approximately 1 cm posterior to the anterior genu, and allowing the cannula to follow, similar to placement of a guide sheath for working channel neuroendoscopy. 2 cm of undisturbed cortex was maintained between cannulations. validatory cannulations were performed using a 1.5 cc dilatable fogarty catheter. The balloon segment of the catheter initially punctured the cortex. After this, 1.5cc of air was injected to inflate the balloon. Using the balloon as a guide, the cannula was passed into cortex (Figure 1B). After cannulation, specimens were stored in sealed water filled containers and kept in refrigerated conditions until scanning.Scans were performed within 12 hours of cannulation on a Siemens (Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) 3T lead system. Scanning protocol included a 68-direction, 30 slice DTI scan with echo/repetition time TE/TR=99/4000ms and voxel size of 1.35 by 1.35 by 2. mm. Fractional anisotropy maps were calculated online, using the scanner software. Additionally, 75 slice proton density scans were acquired with TE/TR=9.8/3000ms and with voxel size of .45 by .45 by .8 mm. After scanning, specimens were kept in storehouse in 10% formalin.All data were analyzed using OsiriX Imaging Software (http//www.osirix-viewer.com/). FA maps were co-registered to the proton density scans for anatomical accuracy. Two Regions of Interest (ROIs ) were drawn as coaxial circles centered on the cannula (Figure 1C). The larger circle had a constant radius of .5cm radii around the cannulae. The smaller circle was constructed to cover the area of the cannula. Average FA was recorded for both direct and indirect cannulation for a given slice and both ROIs. The FA of the cannula ROI was subtracted from the FA of the .5cm ROI to obtain the Adjusted FA of the area immediately around the cannula. (Equation 1) A third ROI, constructed to receive the radius of the cannula, was placed between the two cannula ROIs in an equidistant fashion. This ROI served as a control, measuring the FA of undisturbed brain. This technique was repeated on a slice-by-slice solid ground over a depth of 5 slices and the resulting data was averaged to determine the total FA for a given cannulation.Equation 1This data was subjected to a paired T-Test using Microsoft Excel. The p value of .05 was prospectively determined to be statistically significant.Resu ltsSix specimens were analyzed for FA changes after cannulation using both direct and indirect methods. For each specimen 13 slices of MR data were used for analysis. The pixilated average FA for direct and indirect cannulation was, respectively, 0.1893 and 0.2956. Average Adjusted FA for direct cannulation wide-ranging from 0.0267 to 0.105 with a mean value of 0.0645 while indirect varied from 0.0596 to 0.208 with a mean of 0.137. (Table 1) Analysis of all 78 slices revealed an Adjusted FA range of .0211 to .241 for direct cannulation and .0545 to .611 for indirect. Control FA varied from 0.0648 to 0.2152, with a mean of 0.1576. Not a single slice exhibited direct cannulation FA greater than indirect.Paired 2 tail t-tests were conducted between direct and indirect datasets using both average and adjusted values. All analyses were statistically significant. (Table 2).DiscussionMinimally invasive brain retraction systems offer the potential to decrease trauma to normal brain during surgical removal of deep-seated intraparenchymal masses. However, an assessment of the utility of such systems requires an appropriate experimental model that can quantify brain injury incurred via various access routes through the cortex. The investigators have developed such a model, via MRI assessment of cadaveric specimens.Previous look into in an animal model has present that a dilatable balloon retraction system causes less damage to white matter as compared to blunt microsurgical dissection (23). In this particular study, both histologic and clinical evidence demonstrated that balloon dilation resulted in less brain injury as compared to standard techniques. In addition, recent research has demonstrated that iatrogenic white matter injury can be quantified following brain surgery using fiber tracking methods (9, 11). The investigators submit that the above imaging method is a relatively innocent technique for assessing iatrogenic white matter injury following brain dissec tion, which can then be match with functional outcomes in live patients.The concept of FA correlation to axonal integrity is not new. Many investigators across multiple different disciplines in brain research have used FA as a metric of neuronal injury. (6-8, 24) FA is highest when there is uniformity in a diffusion process such as in intact white matter tracts. It decreased progressively to a theoretical value of zero as diffusion becomes more dimensional. In the case of traumatized axons, damage increases the degrees of freedom of diffusion and thus decreases FA. (25)The use of fresh cadaveric specimens with diffusion tensor imaging has also been previously reported and validated26, 27. Using unpreserved specimens ensures the retention of brain tissue fluidity. Thus, retraction in these specimens directly mimics operative conditions. In addition, cadaveric brains can be imaged easily and accurately, without motion artifact. Many authors have previously used diffusion imaging in p ostmortem brain tissue to study neuropathologic features of the brain28-30. In fact, Seehaus et al (31) published a histological validation of postmortem DTI. Perhaps most(prenominal) convincing, Budde et al32 published a recent study evaluating blast traumatic brain injury in rats using DTI. In their study, rats were subjected to controlled shockwave exposure. After running post-trauma functional tests the authors sacrificed the rats and performed tractography on the formalin fixed post-mortem brain specimens. The authors found significant differences in FA in multiple cortical regions that furthermore correlated to poor functional outcome. For example, a significant decrease in FA was discovered in the hippocampus, which correlated to poor performance on the Morris Water Maze task.In light of this evidence, the authors believe that this model is a reasonable estimation of iatrogenic brain injury following tissue manipulation in cadaveric specimens. However, live imaging in vivo w ould clearly be superior to a cadaveric model, and is planned for future studies.The data clearly illustrates a general increase fractional anisotropy using the indirect cannulation technique in comparison to the direct cannulation method. Fractional anisotropy is a scalar measurement of the independency of a diffusion process. Higher values indicate more uniform diffusion. In the case of neural tissue, diffusion is largely limited by the cell membrane. Thus, lower FA values indicate compromised neuronal integrity. We believe the statistically significant difference in FA between indirect and direct cannulation is evidence for increased preservation of neural tissue using indirect, balloon-guided cannulation. Generally increased FA values in the control specimens is further evidence of this hypothesis.ConclusionBrain cannulation for minimally invasive access to deep-seated brain tumors is an area of maturation interest in neurosurgery. To assess the collateral damage to surrounding neural tissue, validation studies need to be conducted to assess white matter integrity following manipulation. Diffusion imaging provides unique visual and quantitative measurements that can be utilized to answer these critical questions. The application of DTI to assess cannulation techniques is a simple but novel idea. The authors hope that this work facilitates analysis of brain cannulation and retraction technology with the goal of maximum preservation of cerebral white matter. realizationWe would like to thank Dr. Julia Koeffler (UPMC Neuropathology) and Denise Davis (UPMC Radiology) for their assistance on this project.