Asthma. Pathologic basis of disease Research Paper

Asthma. Pathologic basis of disease - Research Paper Example Asthma can be divided into different groups on the basis of severity of attacks that are mild intermittent, mild, moderate and severe persistent asthma. But typically the asthma is classified into extrincsic asthma and intrinsic asthma. Extrinsic asthma is set off by type 1 hypersensitivity reaction caused by an extrinsic antigen. Intrinsic asthma is initiated by various mechanisms including pulmonary infections caused by viruses especially, cold, stress, exercise and inhaled irritants. Some categories classify asthma in accordance to the agent that causes the constriction of air passages for example seasonal asthma, exercise asthma, occupational asthma, drug induced asthma and asthmatus bronchitis. The genetic susceptibility to type 1 hypersensitivity, chronic inflammation and bronchial hypersensitivity are the major factors that cause asthma. Our immune system contains Type 2 helper T cells (Th2) which is type of CD4+ helper T cell secretes interleukins. The interleukins then promote allergic inflammations and stimulate B cells to produce IgE and different antibodies. Type 1 helper T cells (Th1) are also a type of CD4+ helper T cell which secretes interferon-ÃŽ ³ (gamma) and intereukin-2. The interferon-ÃŽ ³ (gamma) and interleukin-2 activates the macrophages and cytotoxic T cells which kills the viruses and other invading organisms. These two types of helper T cells form an immunoregulatory loop that is the cytokines from type 1 helper T cells inhibit type 2 helper T cells and cytokines from type 2 helper T cells inhibit type 1 helper T cells. These two types of helper T cells respond to different immunogenic stimuli and try to destroy them. Any imbalance in the regulatory loop of these two types of helper T cells makes it easier for the viruses and agents to attack the bronchopulmonary tree and cause inflammation which leads to asthma. In patient suffering from hypersensitivity as occur in asthma, when an antigen is presented to the skin, a wheal and flare reaction occurs. This wheal and flare reaction is clear example of hypersensitivity type 1. In air passages when the allergen reaches the epithelial lining it stimulates the induction of type 2 helper T cells (Th2). The type 2 helper T cells secrete various cytokines such as interleukin 4 (IL-4) and interleukin 5 (IL-5). The interleukin 4 (IL-4) then triggers the production of immunoglobulin IgE by the B cells and promotes the growth of mast cells. The interleukin 5 promotes the growth and activation of eosinophills. The reaction mediated by IgE to the allergens elicit an acute response and late phase reaction. The acute response to the allergens consist of bronchoconstriction, edema, mucous secret ion and in rare cases the decrease of blood pressure. The acute response occurs by this mechanism; the contact of antigens to the mast cells stimulates the secretion of mediators which mediate the reaction. In the case of air passage diseases when the allergens reach the mucosal surface, the reaction of allergens first occurs with the mucosal mast cells. In this reaction mediators are secreted which opens the tight junction in between the mucosal cells and improve the entrance of the antigens to the submucosal mast cells. This reaction causes the broncoconstriction, edema and mucous secretion which is acute response. Vagal stimulation in lungs also called bronchoconstrictio

They’re all wasted! Essay Example for Free

They’re all wasted! Essay â€Å"They’re all wasted! † proclaims The Who’s Roger Daltrey in 1971’s â€Å"Baba O’Riley,† a song widely and mistakenly believed to be titled â€Å"Teenage Wasteland† because of the refrain. Putting an emphasis on â€Å"all,† this is a sweeping indictment: the youth are all wasted, not just one group or in one way, but everywhere and in every faculty. Every potentialfor rebellion, discipline, pleasure, beliefhas been squandered. But The Who were far from the first to imagine this modern wasteland. T. S. Eliot’s poem, â€Å"The Wasteland,† provides a wide-ranging critique of modernity, while also modeling the aesthetics of the new epoch, that makes statements like The Who’s intelligible while building on established literary and social conventions. The historical context for Eliot’s poem can be divided into three major components. First, there is the literary tradition writ large, the collected textual productions of the world over the last several millennia. â€Å"The Wasteland† makes reference to the Bible (20-3), Buddhism (173), Dante (62-5), Shakespeare (172), Greek tragedy (218), and many more sources: the Norton Anthology’s cup runneth over with footnotes. Second, there is English literature. It is more likely that Eliot’s peers would measure him against the immediate backdrop of national history, not least because education in excellence in English literature is also education of the excellence of English literature. Thus Eliot must be able to demonstrate knowledge of Shakespeare and Marvell at the minimum, but also make an original contribution to the English literary tradition coming out of the nineteenth century. As in â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† Eliot addresses nineteenth century British Romanticism with modern inversions of the celebration of unadulterated nature. In the opening paragraph we have a modernized parallel of Wordsworth’s â€Å"A Beauteous Evening, Calm and Free†: Summer surprised us, coming over the Starnbergersee With a shower of rain; we stopped in the colonnade, And went on in sunlight, into the Hofgarten, And drank coffee, and talked for an hour. (8-11) The natural world is pleasing and comforting to humanity in this miniature. The surprise of rain does not seem to dampen the spirits of the characters but rather, through the stop in the colonnade, causes them to pause and so appreciate the reappearance of the sunlight. The construction â€Å"Summer surprised us† gives the natural world and its seasons a kind of playful agency, as in the Romantic tradition. However, we cannot think of Eliot as remaining within the Romantic tradition despite his utilization of it as a literary option. The third vital context is the recently concluded World War I. Hence the agency of the natural world, insomuch as Eliot images such agency for literary purposes, is as ambivalent as human nature. The opening lines, also drawing on literary precedent in Chaucer’s â€Å"Canterbury Tales,† depict a less loving nature. April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. (1-4) The April showers that bring May flowers, to paraphrase Chaucer, bring a conflation of life and death instead of pilgrims. April is personified, as in Romanticism, but here it is so that it can be labelled cruel. Life is not an abstractly generative force: since at least Sidney’s â€Å"Astrophel and Stella† and Shakespeare’s â€Å"Sonnets,† English literature has had a rich tradition of sexual metaphorics, using phrases like â€Å"Dull roots† for phallic impotence and â€Å"spring rain† for ejaculatory procreation. But Eliot cannot simply celebrate this cycle of rebirth in the shadow of the muddy graves of World War I. The â€Å"mixing / memory and desire† recasts the common literary relationship between sex and death in a perverse light, since â€Å"memory† transgresses the partition between the living and the dead, the present and the past. Memory exhumes what is past, does not allow it to die and rest in peace. This corpse is now also the object of â€Å"desire. † The cycle of death and rebirth has been stalled in modernity and in the vision of â€Å"The Waste Land. † Eliot’s poem both represents and partakes of this modern problem; in fact, the necessity of participating in the forces of social infertility to represent it might be one of the most distinctively modern aspects that Eliot represents here. The broad scope of historical literature that he can draw on is the result of the British empire contacting and importing cultural products from around the globe. His knowledge of languages and availability of translations when necessary further speak to world literature as a thoroughly modern phenomenon. The need to reject or critique prior traditions is also part of the modern awareness of the dialectical nature of history. Of course, this also marks (ironically) a point of continuity with Victorians like Baudelaire (67). The fragmented form of â€Å"The Waste Land† is part of this modern rejection of tradition, but to depict this fragmentation Eliot must also gather together multiple traditions. They are juxtaposed with each other but without a master narrative to organize them. To further drive the point home Eliot also uses non-standard grammar or spelling, or seemingly nonsense words and sounds: â€Å"O O O O O that Shakespeherian Rag† (128). This ambiguity then contrasts with the grim and undecorated conversation circling, like Hemingway’s â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants,† around an abortion: â€Å"I can’t help it, she said, pulling a long face, / It’s them pills I took, to bring it off, she said† (158-60). Stylistic innovation and rejection of stifling â€Å"rules† of art allow Eliot to create a radically new expression of the human experience, but in doing so he simultaneously duplicates the rootlessness and anomie he is seeking to overcome. â€Å"The Waste Land† articulates combatting notions of history, progress, and form that do not reach any conclusive resolution in the poem or in its subsequent readings. With the aid of hindsight the critic can understand Eliot’s growing religious conservatism in subsequent works like â€Å"Journey of the Magi. † By trying to include every literary and theological mode, he winds up putting them all at a discount; even if one’s chosen credo is somewhat arbitrary it at least allows entrance into the myth of rebirth. The forces in tension in â€Å"The Waste Land† chart two continuing political alignments. The will or willingness to subscribe to any belief is most darkly visible in the rise of the Third Reich; the willingness to subscribe to none is most visible in our inability to decisively commit to the prevention of subsequent atrocities. Eliot’s poem provides a space for considering these questions without prejudicing the question through contemporary political affiliations. The political question can be momentarily set aside if we imagine, for the time being, that this is merely art for art’s sake. Works Cited Eliot, T. S. â€Å"The Wasteland. † The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M. H. Abrams and Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W. W. Norton and Co. , 2000. 236

Efficiency Rise in PCDTBT:PC70BM Organic Solar Cell

Efficiency Rise in PCDTBT:PC70BM Organic Solar Cell Efficiency Rise in PCDTBT:PC70BM Organic Solar Cell Using Interface Additive Rashmi Swami, Rajesh Awasthi, Sanjay Tiwari Abstract Solar cell can be designed with photoactive layer of organic and inorganic materials. Organic materials, particularly polymers, are a promising alternative to traditional semiconductors as the active material for solar cell because of their low cost, low temperature energy processing, low material requirement, can be used on flexible substrate, can be shaped to suit architectural application. Low efficiency is one of the biggest problem with organic solar cell. In order to increase the efficiency of bulk hetero-junction organic solar cell we are using interface surfactant additive poly(oxyethylene tridecyl ether) (PTE) with blend photoactive layer. Here we are reporting on the enhanced photovoltaic (PV) effects by means of a polymer bulk-hetero-junction (BHJ) layer having PCDTBT which is poly(N-9-heptadecanyl-2,7-carbazole-alt-5,5-(4,7-di-2-thienyl-2,1,3†²-benzothiadiazole)) as a low-band gap e’ donor/HTL polymer and PC70BM which is [6,6]-phenyl C70 butyric acid methyl e ster as an acceptor/ETL, doped with poly(oxyethylene tridecyl ether) (PTE) which is an interface surfactant additive. For PCDTBT:PC70BM organic solar cell , we recorded 0.886 V open-circuit voltage (VOC), 11.7 mA/cm2 short-circuit current density (JSC), and 47.3% fill factor (FF) and PCE of 4.9%. For PCDTBT:PCBM70:PTE organic solar cell, we recorded VOC of 0.904 V, higher values of JSC of 13.8 mA/cm2, FF of 48.2% and improved PCE of 6.0% for a PTE concentration of ca. 0.164 wt%. Power conversion efficiency (PCE) reaches to 6.0%, by the addition of PTE to a PCDTBT:PC70BM system which is much higher than a reference device not including the additive (4.9%). Increase in efficiency is because of the increase in lifetime of charge carrier, which is due to the existence of PTE molecules at the interfaces sandwiched between the BHJ photovoltaic active layer and the anode and cathode, in addition to the phase-separated BHJ domains interfaces. Keywords – Organic Solar Cell, PCDTBT, PCBM, PTE, IPCE, Bulk hetero-junction. Introduction The global rising demand for low-priced electricity has triggered deep research on solar cells comprising organic semiconductors. Organic solar cell (OSC) technology has received significant attention over the past decade due to the simple, flexible nature of polymer photovoltaics and the potential to develop a clean, cost-efficient renewable energy source. The key development of organic solar cells has been made with the pioneering concept of ‘‘bulk hetero-junction (BHJ)’’ photoactive layers [1-2].The bulk hetero-junction (BHJ) PSC [1][3] is of particular interest, due to the efficient photo-induced generation of charge in its blended photovoltaic (PV) layer, that is consisted of interpenetrating, channel-like domains of separated fullerene and polymer. Following the annealing of the BHJ structure at elevated temperatures, PSCs with PV layers of P3HT which is poly(3-hexylthiophene) and PCBM60 which is phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester have shown high pow er conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 3-5%. Efficiency of P3HT:PCBM organic solar cell is upto 5% because of the limitations of conventional P3HT, whose bandgap lies at around 1.9 eV, which limits absorbance to wavelengths below 650 nm [4]. To improve the efficiency of PSC we need new active materials having lower bandgap to harvest more solar photons. More recently, a PCE of 5-6% was reported for a BHJ PSC that used a blend of PCBM70 and PCDTBT having a bandgap of 1.88 eV [5,6]. Using ‘processing additives’ PCE of organic solar cell can be increased [7-9]. To increase carrier lifetimes (reduce recombination loss) we modify the BHJ interfaces between the phase-separated domains of the donor-conjugated polymer and the acceptor fullerene, and added a non-ionic surfactant poly(oxyethylene tridecyl ether) (PTE) as an additive to the PV layer. In this paper we investigated J-V characteristic and IPCE spectra of PCDTBT:PC70BM organic solar cell with and without PTE. 1.1 Donor molecule Next generation HTL/donor material for organic photovoltaics is Poly[[9-(1-octylnonyl)-9H-carbazole-2.7-diyl]-2.5-thiophenediyl-2.1.3 benzothiadiazole-4.7-diyl-2.5-thiophenediyl] (PCDTBT) shown in Fig. (1) which can produce better efficiencies and lifetimes. The main qualities of PCDTBT are lower HOMO and LUMO levels narrow band gap Increased open circuit voltage Longer wavelength absorption Lower concentration and material usage Improved stability under ambient conditions High electron and hole generation rate and high mobility of electron and hole. Fig. 1. Molecular structure of PCDTBT. 1.2 Acceptor molecule Extremely symmetrical cage-shaped molecules of carbon atoms is Fullerenes as shown in Fig. (2). For the separation of photoexcited exciton into free charge carriers blending of conjugated polymers (electron donor) with fullerenes (electron acceptors), is extremely efficient way. Fig. 2. Molecular structure of PC70BM. 1.3 PTE additive Poly(oxyethylene tridecyl ether) (PTE) shown in Fig. (3) as an additive have low (- 8.1 eV) highest- occupied-molecular-orbital (HOMO) and high (à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­2.1 eV) lowest-unoccupied-molecular- orbital (LUMO) [10–12]. Fig. 3. Molecular structure of PTE. Experimental Details The sample BHJ PSCs were fabricated in a sandwich structure with an anode of indium tin oxide (ITO) and an Al:Li/Al cathode. Patterned 80-nm-thick ITO glass was cleaned by sequential ultrasonic treatment in detergent, deionized water, acetone, and isopropanol, and then treated in an ultraviolet-ozone chamber for 15 min. Then, a ca. 40-nm-thick hole-collecting PEDOT:PSS buffer layer was spin-coated onto the ITO electrode. On the top of the PEDOT:PSS layer spin coat the blended solution of PCDTBT (0.456 wt%), PCBM70 (1.824 wt%), and PTE additive in dichlorobenzene. The PV layer was about 85 nm thick. Finally, for the cathode, a ca. 1-nmthick Al:Li alloy (Li: 0.1 wt%) layer and a pure Al (ca. 50-nm-thick) layer were created on the photovoliaic layer through thermal deposition (0.5 nm/s), at a foundation pressure below 2Ãâ€"10-4 Pa. The sample device structure studied was therefore [ITO/PEDOT:PSS/PCDTBT:PC70BM:PTE/Al:Li/Al] as shown in Fig. (4). The active area of the fabricated device was 3Ãâ€"3 mm2. For comparison, a reference PSC was fabricated with the structure [ITO/PEDOT:PSS/PCDTBT:PC70BM/Al:Li/Al] as shown in Fig. (5). In 100 mW/cm2 illumination intensity produced by an AM 1.5G light resource, the performance of the PSCs was measured,. With the help of a source meter (Keithley 2400) the photocurrent-versus-voltage (J-V) characteristics were measured. The IPCE (incident photon-to-current collection efficiency) spectrum were measured for the PSCs studied using an IPCE measurement system. Fig. 4. ITO/PEDOT:PSS/ PCDTBT:PC70BM:PTE /Al:Li/Al Organic Solar Cell. Fig. 5. ITO/PEDOT:PSS/ PCDTBT:PC70BM /Al:Li/Al Organic Solar Cell. Results And Discussion As shown in Fig. (6) for PCDTBT:PC70BM organic solar cell , under an illumination of AM 1.5G and 100 mW/cm2, we recorded 0.886 V open-circuit voltage (VOC), 11.7 mA/cm2 short-circuit current density (JSC) and 47.3% of fill factor (FF) and PCE of 4.9% a value comparable with those reported by others [6]. For PCDTBT:PC70BM:PTE organic solar cell, we recorded VOC of 0.904 V, higher values of JSC of 13.8 mA/cm2, FF of 48.2% and improved PCE of 6.0% for a PTE concentration of ca. 0.164 wt%. These increased values resulted in an improved efficiency of 6.0%, which led to a PCE that was up to 22% higher than that of PCDTBT:PC70BM based organic solar cell. Fig. 6. The current-voltage characteristics of BHJ OSCs with and without the PTE additive. We further investigated the PV performance of the OSCs that incorporated the PTE additive by studying the IPCE spectra. Fig. (7) shows the observed IPCE spectrum of the PSC devices. It can be seen that the IPCE values are consistent with the variations in JSC for the OSCs with and without the PTE additive. The maximum IPCE was 73.0% at 470 nm for the sample device with the PTE additive, which corresponded to the highest JSC (13.8 mA/cm2 ), while the IPCE value was about 60.9% for the reference device without the additive, which had the lowest JSC (11.7 mA/cm2 ). Fig. 7. IPCE spectra of PCDTBT:PC70 BM OSCs with and without the PTE additive. Conclusions In conclusion, we have reported on the use of a low-bandgap PCDTBT:PC70BM-based PV layer that incorporates a PTE surfactant, which was used to the BHJ interfaces in OSCs. We have shown that BHJ OSCs that contain the interface PTE additive are more efficient than conventional OSCs. A high PCE (6.0%) was obtained for our PCDTBT:PC70BM (1:4 w/w) OSC device using 0.164 wt% of the PTE additive, which yielded improvements in PCE of up to 22%. This improvement may be attributed to the increased selective flow of dissociated charge carriers, not only at the interfaces of the PV layer and the electrodes, but also at the BHJ interfaces between the PCDTBT and PC70BM domains. Our findings show that a combination of PTE interface additives and high-performance low-band gap PV materials holds great potential for the development of a new generation of highly efficient OSCs. References [1] G. Yu, J. Gao, J.C. Hummelen, F. Wudl, A.J. Heeger. Polymer Photovoltaic Cells:Enhanced Efficiencies via a Network of Internal Donor-Acceptor Heterojunctions. Science, New Series, 1995, 270(5243): 1789-1791. [2] J.J.M. Halls, C.A. Walsh, N.C. Greenham, E.A. Marseglia, R.H. Friend, S.C. Moratti, A.B. Holmes. Efficient photodiodes from interpenetrating polymer networks. Nature, 1995, 376: 498–500. [3] C. J. Brabec, N. S. Sariciftci, and J. C. Hummelen. Plastic solar cells. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2001, 11(1): 15–26. [4] K. M. Coakley and M. D. McGehee. Conjugated polymer photovoltaic cells. Chem. Mater., 2004, 16(23): 4533–4542. [5] S. H. Park, A. Roy, S. Beauprà ©, S. Cho, N. Coates, J. S. Moon, D. Moses, M. Leclerc, K. Lee, and A. J. Heeger. Bulk heterojunction solar cells with internal quantum efficiency approaching 100%. Nat. Photonics, 2009, 3(5): 297–302. [6] J. Zhou, X. Wan, Y. Liu, F. Wang, G. Long, C. Li, and Y. Chen. Synthesis and photovoltaic properties of a poly(2,7-carbazole) derivative based on dithienosilole and benzothiadiazole. Macromol. Chem. Phys., 2011, 212(11): 1109–1114. [7] J. Peet, J. Y. Kim, N. E. Coates, W. L. Ma, D. Moses, A. J. Heeger, and G. C. Bazan. Efficiency enhancement in low-bandgap polymer solar cells by processing with alkane dithiols. Nat. Mater., 2007, 6(7): 497–500. [8] G. Garcia-Belmonte and J. Bisquert. Open-circuit voltage limit caused by recombination through tail states in bulk heterojuction polymer-fullerene solar cells. Appl. Phys. Lett., 2010, 96(11): 113301. [9] Y. Liang, Z. Xu, J. Xia, S.-T. Tsai, Y. Wu, G. Li, C. Ray, and L. Yu. For the bright future-bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells with power conversion efficiency of 7.4%. Adv. Mater. (Deerfield Beach Fla.), 2010, 22(20): E135–E138. [10] Y. I. Lee, M. Kim, Y. Ho Huh, J. S. Lim, S. Cheol Yoon, and B. Park. Improved photovoltaic effect of polymer solar cells with nanoscale interfacial layers. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells, 2010, 94(6): 1152–1156. [11] B. Park, Y. H. Huh, and M. Kim. Surfactant additives for improved photovoltaic effect of polymer solar cells. J. Mater. Chem., 2010, 20(48): 10862–10868. [12] J. H. Park, S. S. Oh, S. W. Kim, E. H. Choi, B. H. Hong, Y. H. Seo, G. S. Cho, B. Park, J. Lim, S. C. Yoon, and C. Lee. Double interfacial layers for highly efficient organic light-emitting devices. Appl. Phys. Lett., 2007, 90(15): 153508.

Nelson on Descartess Theory of Perception and Judgment Essay -- Desca

Nelson on Descartes?s Theory of Perception and Judgment ABSTRACT: One tension in Descartes?s account of human error stems from the idea that we may be faulted for our acts of will, despite the fact that God is our omnipotent and omniscient creator. In the present essay, I describe a second tension in Descartes?s account of human error. After describing the tension, I consider Alan Nelson?s characterization of the means by which Descartes?s intended to relieve it. Although Nelson's interpretation is almost correct, I think that it obscures some of the interesting details of Descartes?s theory of perception and judgment. These details are revealed by the taxonomy of sensory responses that Descartes articulates in the Sixth Set of Replies to the Meditations. I. In the Fourth Meditation, Descartes is confronted with the problem of reconciling his conclusion that God exists and is no deceiver with apparent instances of human error. Described generally, Descartes attempts to square his assertions regarding God, with the fact that humans are subject to error, by claiming that any error made by a human being originates in a free act of will for which God should not be attributed fault. There is, of course, enormous tension between Descartes?s claim that human beings may be faulted for their acts of will, and his claim that God is our omnipotent and omniscient creator. In what respect is it appropriate to regard us as culpable for our acts, assuming that God is antecedently the author of these acts through his creation of the Universe? This is a difficult question to answer. However, even if we set this question aside (as I will), we find that considerable tension remains in Descartes?s account of the etiology of perceptual error. .. ...escartes, Volume II, pp. 295. 21 The same sort of confusion is also described in the last sentence of both principle 70 and 71, in Book One of the Principles. 22 In fact, the categories of the objects of confusion mentioned in principle 46 (perceptions and judgments) are precisely the constituents of the second and third categories of sensory response described in the Sixth Set of Replies. 23 The Philosophical Writings of Descartes, Volume I, pp. 208. References Descartes, Renï ¿ ½: 1985, The Philosophical Writings of Descartes (Vol. 1,2, and 3), Cambridge University Press, New York. Hare, R.M.: 1952, The Language of Morals, Clarendon Press, Oxford. Locke, John: 1975, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Clarendon Press, Oxford. Nelson, Alan: 1997, ?Descartes?s Ontology of Thought?, Topoi 16, 163-178. DESCARTES?S THEORY OF PERCEPTION AND JUDGMENT 11

Gabriel Garcia Marquezs Love in the Time of Cholera :: Essays Papers

Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera Gabriel Garcia Marquez, author of Love in the Time of Cholera, depicts his characters by having them act in certain ways, in ways of love and care towards others. Each character acts certain ways to certain people, either to gain respect, love, friendship or hatred. Marquez’s character Florentino Ariza, is desperately in love with Fermina Daza, a beautiful young lady (early in the novel), who promises him her hand in marriage then breaks that promise by marrying Dr. Juvenal Urbino. Although heartbroken Ariza’s love for Fermina would still continue over many long years, thus showing how much he was in love with her. Over the years Ariza would do many things to attempt to woo Fermina back into his arms, none that would prosper. All of the acts he committed, he committed for the love he had for her. Most of the actions she would never know of, for he would never show nor tell her about such things. It seemed almost daily Marquez had Ariza writing Fermina a poem, a song or some sort of letter. Most which would never make it into her hands. Florentino Ariza’s love for Fermina Daza went beyond just loving her. He was truly IN love with her. People can love many people, but I believe that there can truly only be one person you are IN love with. Ariza would sacrifice so much throughout his life to attempt to have her attention. He would quit jobs, and move to be near her or to even just see her for a split second, like he would do when he went to the park to see her walk past. Ariza would finally work hard and become prosperous and wealthy, again trying to impress Fermina. Ariza’s love went beyond the childish love that most of us have endured. He waited fifty-one years to be with the woman that he considered his soul mate. This truly shows a great deal of self-determination and love for another human.

Disastrous Date Essay

Three years ago my good friend set me up on a blind date, but before going on the date I wanted to get to know my potential date. After talking to him for a couple of weeks and getting to know him we finally decided to have our first date. He was a gentleman he came to the airport to pick me up, opened the door and was polite. Our conversation in the car had no awkward moments of silence as we headed to our restaurant. The restaurant was his pick which was a surprise to me since it was Ruth’s Chris Steak house. We ordered appetizer’s and drinks to start off the date, we talked and laughed over dinner and shared some embarrassing moments over dessert. In my mind I thought is this night too good to be true. We spent over three hours talking and laughing as the night came to an end the waitress brought our check. This is where it gets interesting. As he’s frantically checking his pockets for his wallet in my mind I’m thinking he’s joking with me he did have a sense of humor over dinner. Don’t get me wrong I don’t ever mind paying for dinner, but on a first date â€Å"forgetting your wallet† might be pushing it especially when you’re having dinner at a steak house. At the end I ended up paying for our dinner which wasn’t cheap, we headed out and drove back to his hotel and it turned out his wallet was left behind now I don’t know if it was intentionally left behind, but it was defiantly at the hotel. We freshened up and headed out again to continue our night. Till this day my husband and I laugh at my first disastrous date and what’s even funnier is that my husband is the guy who â€Å"forgot his wallet.† So my bad experience actually ended up turning into a good one.

Accounts receivable management

The brand opened up a new facet of beauty care services that was associated more with market and state-of-the-art hospitals, where customers opted for these services under the supervision of doctors who had specialized in cosmetic surgeries/interventions. Would the differentiation between the first-time users of a beauty parlor and the loyal customers of a parlor offer insights that Kayak would find useful? Issues related to services management as well as customer value and customer loyalty were relevant to Kayak's competitive strategies.Although the customers of a beauty parlor could be demographically efferent from Kayak's customers, the commonality of the benefits related to the beauty services offered were the same. The challenge for Kayak was to use the insights from the customers in a related category of beauty parlor services in developing its category that did not face direct competition. etc Traditionally, beauty care products in India had been limited to herbs and homemade products. Only soaps, hair oil, shampoos, and talcum powder from the organized industry had been able to penetrate the Indian market.However, with a teddy increase in the awareness of hygiene and personal grooming across urban and rural India, several beauty and personal care categories gained momentum. In India, marketing activities generally involved popular celebrities, and traditionally highlighted aspects such as elimination of body odor and dandruff, improved oral health, and the prevention of infection. This further boosted the demand for beauty and personal care products. No The Indian beauty care industry grew rapidly in a few years with the penetration of premium beauty care products and services.The rising disposable income and the hanging lifestyles of Indians led to a boom in the beauty and personal care industries. The India skin care industry, for instance, was forecast to grow at 9% compounded annual growth rate (CARR) during 2009-2014. 1 Major fast-moving consumer g oods brands such as Hindustan Milliner Limited (HULL) and Procter and Gamble (P&G) aggressively expanded their product portfolios, distribution networks, and marketing activities in this segment. With the proliferation of beauty and personal care categories and brands, customer awareness of the different types of products and brands increased.The consumption of beauty products and services mimed to have experienced significant growth. 2 The emergence of brands such as Marco's Kayak Skin Clinic, Lake Beauty Salon, BLOC, Shania Hussein Herbals, Covariance's Limited, Green Trends, Keen, and Jawed Habit Hair & Beauty POOH) could be attributed to this trend. The boom was evident: HULL was opening up a new Lake salon almost every week, and GHB had grown from 37 parlors in Staying ahead of the game: How companies are adapting to the changing face of beauty, Euro monitor, November 2010, http://www. Remuneration. Mom/staying-ahead- of-the-game-how-companies-are-adapting-to-the-changing-face- of-beauty/report, accessed October 3, 2011. 2 Beauty business set to boom, http://economists. Initiatives. Com/news/news-by- industry/cons-products/fashion-/-cosmetics-/]leery/beauty-business-set-to-boom/ artilleries/8921457. SMS, accessed on July 1 2, 2011. S. Rammers Kumar, Anode Deja and Seed Hussein prepared this case for class discussion. This case is not intended to serve as an endorsement, source of primary data, or to show effective or inefficient handling of decision or business processes.Copyright 2012 by the Indian Institute of Management Bangor. No part of the publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (including internet) – without the permission of Indian Institute of Management Bangor. This document is authorized for use only by SANDY SANDWICH at MDI Management Development until November 2013. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protect ed] Harvard. Deed or 617. 783. 7860. Exploring Category Benefits for Brand Building: Kayak and the Beauty Care Market Page 2 of 9 2006 to 225 by the end of 2010.The boom in the Indian beauty market was also able to attract large multinationals, such as Jean-Claude Beguine with annual revenues of ever 150 million Euros, to set up parlors in India. 3 The predominantly unrecognized, locally run beauty parlor market was being replaced by branded chains such as Lake, which was changing the face of this industry in the country. These branded beauty parlors were the leaders in a new era of trained parlor personnel. They offered services based on global insights and professional products that incorporated the latest international technologies.KAYAK SKIN CLINIC The approximately INNER 7,000-core (1 core = 10 million) organized and unrecognized hair and beauty industry was growing at a CARR of 35%. The industry was estimated to reach a potential business of INNER 30,000 core by 2015. Personal hygiene products (soaps and shower products), hair care and skin care products, color cosmetics, and fragrances were the key segments in the Indian beauty care industry (Exhibit 1). The skin care segment was relatively smaller than the personal care segment. The anti- aging cream segment alone, which was only 2% of the skin care market, had been growing at a rate of 90%.The increasing number of educated and working women in the corporate world was a major driver for this rapid growth. What made this industry even more fascinating was that even with the high growth rate, the Indian market was largely untapped, compared to other developing markets. In comparison, a developing country such as China spent ten times more on skin care, six times more on cosmetics, and twice more on hair care on a per capita basis (Exhibit 1). It is also worth noting that India had the highest percentage of women in the age group of 25-44 years, which was the key segment for the beauty industry. These fig ures and facts indicate the huge unrealized potential of the Indian market. Given the vast attention of beauty care services in the country, customer perception about the value related to the delivery of services, customer loyalty, and brand perception were important from the perspective of any branded or unbranded offering in this category. In December 2002, after conducting extensive research, Marino identified an emerging need in the market that translated to an aspiration to look and feel good.On furthering this understanding with the customers, a more focused need that was still untapped was identified: that of having flawless skin that looked good naturally. Thus, the first Kayak Skin Clinic was launched with the single-minded objective of delivering flawless skin solutions customized to Indian skin using the latest technology. In 2011, Kayak had opened 81 clinics spread across 26 cities in India, 18 highly successful clinics in the Middle East, and 2 clinics at Dacha in Bangl adesh. In May 2010, Kayak acquired the aesthetics business of the Singapore-based Dermal Ark Asia Pacific Pete.Ltd. (Dermal Ark). The company expanded its portfolio with the launch of more services such as lip enhancement as well as fairness and hair removal services. Kayak Skin Clinic had a number of services and solutions such as skin beauty, skin concerns, laser hair reduction, and anti-aging. Their product range included over 40 skin, hair, and body products for women and men. Kayak offered 360 degree skin care solutions that included advice on proper diet and exercise regimens. All the services offered at Kayak Skin Clinic were designed and supervised by a team of over 250 dermatologists.The services were carried out by certified skin practitioners who had undergone more than 300 hours of training. The services were US FDA-approved and tested in-house, and conformed to the highest international quality standards. All the services were competitively priced, starting from INNER 1 ,250. Kayak had over 600,000 satisfied customers. Kayak conducted frequent in-house training programs for its skin practitioners and dermatologists. Once in six months, Kayak held training-UCM-refresher courses for its staff to keep them up-to-date with the latest skin care techniques that were available internationally.Its team of dermatologists also participated in the in-house Continuing Medical Education (CAME) program, where international doctors met to discuss various trends in the field of skin care. Beauty bet: JOB plans to set up shop in India, http://economists. Initiatives. Com/ beauty-bet-]CB-plans-to-set-up-shop-India/artilleries/1773980. SMS, accessed on July 122011. 4 Outlook personal care industry: An Indian perspective, Data Strategic Management Group, http://www. Test. Com/download/article/Personal_Care_Chemicals. UDF, accessed on September 12, 2011. Page 3 of 9 PHILOSOPHY OF KAYAK 5 Kayak was divided into six service verticals, namely, Skin beauty, Skin concerns, Hair- free, Anti-aging, Bridal, and Kayak Men. Unlike other retailers, Kayak had not adopted the franchisee model. The company owned each of its clinics, because Kayak Skin Clinic believed in providing consistent services across the country. The philosophy at Kayak was governed by the single value of placing the customer first at all times. The word â€Å"Kayak† in Sanskrit meant â€Å"body. Kayak was all about personal confidence through expert skin care that seamlessly blended looking good with feeling good about one's inner and outer selves at all times. The emphasis, therefore, was on highly customized and personalized services that were best suited for the Indian skin. The services were provided in a state-of-the-art clinic with a Zen-like ambiance. The core values of Kayak Skin Clinic were: Customer First: Spirit of Partnership: Keeping the customer in focus and partnering to deliver skin care solutions.Doing what was in the best interests of the customer; business in terests would follow. Openness: Allowing diversity of opinion by listening to members without bias. Sharing information both good and bad, and having a sense of trust and respect for each other. Ownership: Having a â€Å"my Kayak† mind-set. What would I do if I were the owner of the business? Displaying seamless behavior across the organization when necessary, rather than drawing boundaries of unction's/grades in the interest of the organization. Exhibit 3 presents some of Kayak's print advertisements.They give an idea of how Kayak tried to differentiate itself from regular beauty parlors by consistently emphasizing its technology, the expertise of its dermatologists and skin experts, and so on. Kayak Skin Clinic could be called a chain of cosmetic dermatology clinics. It was a pioneer and thought leader in the skin care services space in the country. It offered its clients tailor-made, result-oriented, safe, non-surgical skin solutions, with the latest and most suitable tech nology available in the world. These services were impolitely administered by dermatologists.Any beauty or skin care brand/service could be considered as competition for Kayak. One of their biggest competitors would be individual doctors and dermatologists who offered one or two specialized services. It was in this context that Kayak needed to use the commonality of the category benefits to develop its brand, especially among loyal customers. KAYAK'S APPROACH TO OBTAIN INSIGHTS ABOUT THE CATEGORY BENEFITS In an emerging market such as India, personal and beauty care has attracted the attention of consumers in several ways. There have been several products and services in this sphere.One recent addition to this category is the services of Kayak that is medically anchored. It is interesting to find that in several markets and product/service categories, consumers prefer a range of offerings or delivery mechanisms to obtain the benefits of the category. For example, for urban transport , there are two-wheelers and four-wheelers; for hair care, there are hair oils and creams; for knowing the time, there are both watches and mobile phones; and for skin care there are creams, lotions, soaps and gels, and cosmetic surgeries.Beauty care has evolved in India from making use of homemade products to obtaining the revives of well-known brands. Although socioeconomic status and chirography's of consumer groups may influence the type of offering/delivery mechanism, the case is written from the viewpoint of the marketer who would like to learn about consumer loyalty through a substitute in the category. Kayak's services and beauty parlor services are meant for different types of consumer segments.Kayak, being at a stage in the market where it does not face much of direct competition owing to the emerging nature of the category, the brand would like to know if there can be lessons earn from a service that is related to its services. For example, the hospitality aspects, ambian ce, response of the service providers to the needs of the consumer (in this instance, consumers in the beauty care segment) and what differentiates a loyal consumer from a new consumer are dimensions that are common to both Kayak's services and beauty parlors: they may vary in their styles and approaches. Kayak Culture, Kayak Philosophy, www. Clinician. Com, accessed on September 13, 2011. Note: Additional information about Kayak Skin Clinic was provided by Grammar Sahara and. Audit Chad of Kayak Skin Clinic. Page 4 of 9 What should a â€Å"self-concept†-centered service category in a market do to obtain inputs in a category that has evolved little? The case's survey was triggered by such a question and beauty parlor services were selected for the purpose. This point can be illustrated as follows.Benefits of beauty care Self-concept of the customer Self-concept of the consumer Beauty-based services Dimensions of customer loyalty Beauty parlors Kayak's services (new offerings forming a subcategory) Differentiation between new and loyal consumers Dimensions of loyalty Insights Differentiation between new for Kayak ND loyal customers METHODOLOGY OF STUDY The objective of the study was to compare the value perception of first-time customers and loyal customers of beauty parlors in order to obtain category insights that Kayak could use.We were interested in finding out how an emerging category (technology-based beauty care in the consumer market and not in the conventional medical market) in an emerging market without direct competition can obtain insights from a related category (beauty parlors) that offers the same core benefit of beauty care. This context (emerging category, related category with the same core infinite as the emerging category and the emerging market in the Indian context) was a unique one and the case focused on a learning that would be useful to Kayak in terms of understanding the behavior of â€Å"first-time† consumers and loyal consumers.The value perception needs to be built around the customers' experiences of the service at the service provider's premises. The questionnaire had a scale related to several components of the service experience as shown in the three sections of Exhibit 2. Responses were collected from the residents of three Indian cities, namely, Bangor, Hydrated, and Delhi. The data collection was done in June and July 2011. Data from 50 first-time customers and 50 loyal customers of beauty services were collected.