Bipolar Mood Disorder Essay Example for Free

Bipolar Mood Disorder Essay Many people ask, â€Å"Is Bipolar disorder real?† Some people believe that Bipolar Disorder is not real since having mood swings is a common factor in one’s life, especially in adolescence. They also say that all people in one point experience sadness, even the happiest people. But Bipolar Disorder is real. The illness isn’t just about being a little depressed once in a while. Bipolar Mood Disorder, or manic depression, is a serious mental disorder that causes a person to have dramatic changes in his/her mood, ability to function, and energy level. It can cause damaged relationships, risky behaviors, and even suicidal tendencies in one’s life if left untreated. The illness consists of the changing of mood between two emotional stages; mania and depression. Although the person alternates between these two episodes, at one point he/she may experience normal moods. Bipolar Disorder Bipolar Disorder was first noticed in the second century, making it one of the oldest known illnesses. The first symptoms of mania and depression were recognized by Physician Arateus of Cappadocia, an ancient city in Turkey. He felt that mania and depression could be linked to each other and that they both were different types of the same disease. Mania is one of the symptoms of bipolar disorder. It divides into two categories; hypomania and mania. Hypomania is a less severe form of mania. During hypomania, one may feel extremely good, excited, and excessively happy. One feels like they can accomplish anything. â€Å"At first when Im high, its tremendous ideas are fast like shooting stars you follow until brighter ones appear All shyness disappears, the right words and gestures are suddenly there uninteresting people, things become intensely interesting. Sensuality is pervasive, the desire to seduce and be seduced is irresistible. Your marrow is infused with unbelievable feelings of ease, power, well-being, omnipotence, euphoria you can do anything but somewhere this changes.† This phase does not last forever. For someone who is bipolar, hypomania can evolve into actual mania, or depression. During Mania, one can go from being happy to feeling furious, irritable, and aggressive. Some symptoms of mania include increased reckless behaviors, talkativeness, sudden shifts from being happy and joyful to being hostile, restlessness, racing thoughts, and excessive energy. Aside from mania, the other symptom of bipolar disorder is depression. During depression, one may feel sad, guilty, anxious, hopeless and/or worthless. Other symptoms of depression include loss of energy, loss of interest in things one used to enjoy doing, difficulty concentrating, feeling restless and agitated, insomnia, changes in appetite, and thoughts of death and attempting suicide. Types of Bipolar Disorder There are many types of Bipolar Disorder; Bipolar I, Bipolar II, Cyclothymic disorder, and rapid-cycling bipolar disorder. In Bipolar I, one goes through severe mood shifts from mania to depression. Bipolar II is a milder form of Bipolar II, containing milder episodes of hypomania that then can evolve into severe depression. Cyclothymic disorder consists of brief periods of depression that last shorter and less extensive than full episodes of depression. Last is rapid-cycling bipolar disorder. The illness is described as rapid-cycling when one has more than 4 episodes in less than a 1-year period. The shift of polarity from mania to depression in rapid-cycling can be in one week, or even as short as in a day. The rapid-cycling pattern can increase severe depression and suicidal thoughts. Causes of Bipolar Like any other psychological disorder, there is no exact cause of Bipolar Disorder. It can contribute from many different factors, the main ones being biological, genetic, and environmental. Scientists believe that primarily it is caused from biological factors. This is because in people who are bipolar, some of their brain’s neurotransmitters, which are the chemical transmitters of the brain, don’t function properly. Another factor that contributes to Bipolar Disorder is genetics. Bipolar Mood Disorder tends to run in families, so if one’s parent has bipolar disorder, he/she is 15-25% more likely to inherit the illness. The last factor that causes bipolar is environmental influence. Factors in life such as major stress or a life-changing event can trigger a biological reaction, thus making one develop Bipolar Disorder. Treatment Treatment is available to anyone who suffers from Bipolar Mood Disorder. The illness is often treated with medications. When prescribed medications, the patient is required to take daily medications such as mood-stabilizers. They are the most effective solutions for Bipolar Disorder, along with Lithium. Psychotherapy also plays an important part in treating the illness. If considering counseling, you can consult your family doctor. They may recommend psychotherapy, and prescribe medications for the disease. Other professionals one can visit are psychologists, psychiatrists, and therapists with a professional degree in the field of the brain. Mood Stabilizers Mood Stabilizers have the ability to decrease the severity of depression and mania, and also decreases the frequency in which they happen. The most common type of mood stabilizer is Lithium, which has been known for helping people who deal with mood swings for years. Conclusion Bipolar Mood Disorder is actually a serious mental disorder which causes one’s mood to shift dramatically in a period of time. The symptoms of bipolar include mania, which is the high, and depression, which is the low. The illness can affect one’s mood, behavior, and way of living, and can also make concentrating difficult. Depending on the type of the disease, one can change mood in months, weeks, or in days. Bipolar Disorder can be caused from many factors, including genetic, biological, and environmental. Many people suffer from this illness, but luckily there is a solution to improving it. With medications and psychotherapy, one can regulate their mood swings and their severity, making Bipolar Disorder easier to deal with.

A World Health Organization

A World Health Organization Why is health a social issue? Health, in the light of World Health Organization definition, is understood as subjectively felt physical, mental and social well-being as a result of appropriate adaptation to the environmental conditions. Psychical health relates to proper human system functioning. Mental health is connected with ability to recognition of peoples feelings and emotions, coping with difficult situations, problems and stress. Social health concerns the human community, its development and adaptability to the environmental conditions, what means ability to live independently as well as in a social group and retain both individual and group identity. There were many attempts to classify factors conditioning health. During early 20th century up to 1970s, it was considered, that health mainly depends on health service. At the beginning of the 1970s way of perceiving determinants of peoples well-being changed. In 1974 Marc Lalonde, Minister of Health for Canada, proposed The Health Field Concept, in which he distinguished four basic factors conditioning health (Fig. 1.): Lifestyle (50%) Physical and social environment (20%) Human Biology (20%) Health Care Organization (20%) This approach influenced on change in health policy and established base for health promotion In modern societies, some of the main problems regarding the health such as illnesses induced by ageing, globalization, new technologies, and genetic engineering have cultural and social grounds. State of health is strongly dependent on social processes and occurrences such as lifestyle (for instance nutrition, recreation, reaction for stress), social cohesion, wealth, education, working conditions and emotional relations. All this things can on the one hand make worse or on the other hand improve the state of health. Currently, it is considered that, the socioeconomic factors (for instance incomes, social status, education level, social support) affect a persons health to the highest degree. Depending on these conditions, the peoples lifestyle can favour health or be harmful to it. Poverty and low level of education are reasons of health inequalities. In general, people with low social status are less healthy, have worse access to health care and take risky for health actions more often. Social support in human living environments is regarded as significant factor shaping positive health and fighting pathogenic influence of potential stressors. In recent decades, people witness a dynamic development of technology and science. As might be expected, new technologies facilitate human lives and make them more efficient. It is possible to say, that in present circumstances, people are able to have an influence on their state of health. However, not always advances of science and in technology go hand in hand with improvement of quality of life. People, preoccupied with making their lives more comfortable, more and more frequently forget about their biological existence. New facilities, means of transport, automation, all kinds of machines are reducing physical activity in their daily life to a minimum. Mass-media, especially television, take them a lot of free time and force them to the sedentary way of life. Nowadays, people suffer from many ailments defined as civilization diseases, which increase alongside with the (continuously) quickening pace of living. Undoubtedly, work is also a very important determinant of health. When it is done for pleasure, work can give a sense of happiness and positive energy. In practice, it means that actions based on harmony with the environment and self-realization favour persons health. Work, which is not a vocation, is a reason of stress, unwillingness and apathy. Meanings of health change in the popular culture and public awareness. Besides strivings for avoiding diseases, more and more people need fitness, vitality, good looks and good mood. Apart from interest in length of life, there appeared care for its sense and quality. In recent years, there is observed a considerable increase in importance of health in sphere of personal aspirations, aims, and values of individual. Health is no longer defined only as an absence of disease and discomfort. Healthy lifestyle becomes in many environments a phenomenon on the verge of fashion. Health issues come into prominence in public discourse, concerning inter alia social and political priorities. The right to health is one of the most important elements of the human rights. Nowadays, health and disease become valuable goods of expanding market.

Di (2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP) Hormone Levels in Males

Di (2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP) Hormone Levels in Males Introduction Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is one of phthalate ester and endocrine- disrupting chemical. It is used as plasticizer in Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics tubing to make PVC plastic tubing more soft and flexible. Animal data show that target organs of exposure to DEHP are the liver, kidneys, lungs, and reproductive system. DEHP may cause adverse effects of animal’s reproductive system such as reduced fertility, decreased spermatogenesis in males (Rais-Bahrami, 2004). Phthalate monoesters including mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP) is the DEHP metabolites. The primary targets of Phthalate monoesters toxicity are Leydig cells (LCs) and sertoli cells (SCs). The function of LCs and SCs is spermatogenesis and testosterone production. The toxicant will damage the LCs to decrease the secretion of testosterone, which will affect spermatogenesis and decrease the sperm count. Food is one of the sources of exposure to DEHP for public (U.S. EPA, 2013). DEHP has been detected in many foods such as meat, cheese, milk, eggs, cereal products and fish. There is more and more evidence showing that DEHP induce many adverse effects on the reproductive system such as reproductive hormones included luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and free testosterone (Giuliana G. 2009). As DEHP can cause birth defects or reproductive harm, the government of California listed DEHP as reproductive toxin in 2003 (Chemical Market Reporter, 2003). In addition to the food intake exposure to DEHP, occupational and environmental are the another sources of exposure to DEHP (Guowei Pan et.al., 2006). It is essential to concern whether high levels of DEHP exposure would affect reproductive hormone levels in male. According to the studies of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, they have found that DEHP can cause birth defects in laboratory rodents (Chemical Market Reporter, 2003). However, only limited studies focus on the relationship between human reproductive hormone and DEHP exposure (J. Mendiola et.al., 2011). Hence, there are limited evidences to conclude a correlation between human reproductive hormone and exposure to DEHP. It is important to find out what chemicals will influence human reproductive hormone because it decides the total number of our offspring. Therefore, based on the related human studies, the effects of DEHP exposure on reproductive hormone levels in male would be discussed. Method The aim of the literature search was to find the associations between Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and reproductive hormone levels in male. A board research was first conducted by Medline (EBSCO HOST), Web of Science and ProQuest. The search term â€Å"Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate/ DEHP† AND â€Å"reproductive hormones† was used and excluded the term â€Å"animal.† The criteria used to select the studies were as follows: The Studies were primary sources and published within 10 years, 2004-2014. The Studies must be human study for adult and NOT animal study. The Studies should address the associations between DEHP and reproductive hormone levels in male. The studies were in good quality, such as in high impact factors of 2013. 3 main studies met the above criteria for the topic examination. The impact factor on the 3 studies are 3.206 (G. Pan et.al, 2011), 3.206 (J. Mendiola et.al, 2010) and 7.029 (Guowei Pan et.al, 2006). Totally 3 main studies at the end of literature has been searched. The three chosen studies were Cross-sectional study since there are limited long-term studies such as cohort studies and randomized controlled trial (RCT) fulfilled the above criteria. Result G. Pan et.al. (2011) carried a cross-sectional study to find the dose-response relationship between dose-response relationships between cumulative phthalate exposure and reproductive hormones in human. 74 male workers occupationally exposed to high levels of DEHP and 63 male construction workers as comparison group matched for age and smoking status. The urine and blood were collected from each patient on the same day. The authors of study observed a significantly negative correlated between hazard indices (HI) and serum concentrations of free testosterone (fT) in exposed workers (r = -0.195, p = 0.096), but not in unexposed workers. J. Mendiola et.al. (2011) carried a cross-sectional study to find the association between exposures to Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and reproductive hormone levels in men. 425 men were partners of pregnant women who were selected to participant in the study for Future Families (SFF). All men completed a questionnaire and received a physical examination. The questionnaire included the question about demographics, recent fever, history of sexually transmitted disease, diet and as well as lifestyle factors such as smoking, alcohol and caffeine consumption. The urine sample was collected within 15 min after the blood was collected. The result was found that Free Androgen Index (FAI) was significantly associated with the concentration of DEHP metabolites in urine. However, total testosterone levels were no associated with urinary concentration of DEHP metabolites. Guowei Pan et.al. (2006) carried a cross-sectional study to find the effect of occupational exposure to high levels of phthalate esters on the balance of gonadotropin and gonadal hormones, which including LH, FSH, free testosterone (fT), and estradiol. 74 male workers at a factory producing unfoamed PVC flooring exposed to di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) as exposure group and compared them with samples from 63 male workers from a construction company as comparison group matched for age and smoking status. Urine and blood samples were collected from each workers between 800 and 1100 hours on the same day, but not on the first day of the worker’s work week or the day after a night work shift. The authors of study observed there is significant reducing of serum fT in workers with higher levels of urinary MEHP (DEHP metabolites) compared with unexposed workers. fT was negative association to MEHP (r = -0.19, p = 0.095) in the exposed group. Discussion Study Design The three studies are a cross-sectional study. The limitations of cross-sectional studies are it cannot establish a temporal relationship and reflect the causal relationship between high levels of DEHP and the reproductive hormone levels in male. It only can provide a possible risk factor for reproductive hormones for further study. The three studies both have different advantages and disadvantages. The sample size of the study of Guowei Pan et.al. (2006) and G. Pan et.al. (2011) is relative small. They are all less than 100 people in exposed group and comparison group. The study of J. Mendiola et.al. (2011) has relative large sample size (N=425) but it does not contain a comparison group. The study of Guowei Pan et.al. (2006) and G. Pan et.al. (2011) only investigated the confounding effect of the influence of occupational exposure to DEHP. The study of J. Mendiola et.al. (2011) also only investigated the confounding effect of the influence of environmental exposure to DEHP. They did not considered the confounding effect of the influence of food intake exposure to DEHP. Study population Randomization is a basic and essential technique to avoid selection bias in Epidemiology Study and It can show better association between exposure and outcome is true or not. However, the participants of three studies are not strictly random. It may cause false association between high exposure of DEHP and male reproductive hormone. In the study of Guowei Pan et.al. (2006) and G. Pan et.al. (2011), the authors wanted to compare the reproductive hormone levels between exposed group and comparison group. Therefore, they selected exposed group in a factory producing unfoamed PVC flooring and using DEHP as plasticizers and comparison group in a construction company. The authors can ensure the exposed group was exposed to DEHP by dermal contact and/ or through dust inhalation in their work. A comparison group who without occupational exposure to DEHP and matched for age and smoking status to exposed group. The comparison group can help authors to exclude other factors that may influence reproductive hormone levels in male in addition to DEHP exposure. The study of J. Mendiola et.al. (2011) did not contain a comparison group. All the participants were conducted in the study for Future Families and at prenatal clinics affiliated with university hospital in five United States cities. Exposure assessment The concentration of MEHP and reproductive hormone were determined by using different methods. Both methods have advantages and limitations. Table 1: The methods used to determine the concentration of MEHP Three studies used similar method to determine the urinary concentrations of DEHP metabolites. Thus, the urinary DEHP metabolite concentration of three studies will not have significant difference. Table 2: The methods used to measure the levels of reproductive hormone The advantages of using radioimmunoassay are high sensitivity and highly specific. However, using radioimmunoassay method is very dangerous because it uses radiolabelled reagents. Thus, the labs require specially trained person and special license to handle radioactive material. The following methods have less dangerous than radioimmunoassay. Chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA) is it has been applied broadly to the clinical diagnosis and environmental analysis. It can show the result quickly because it does not require long incubation time (Ayio, K. 2010). Also, CLIA has high specificity and relatively simple and inexpensive instrumentation (J.L.S. ARAÚJO-FILHO et.al 2011). An electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) procedure was based on solid-phase sandwich immunoassay method. Thus, ECLIA has the superior sensitivity to determine plasma and urine sample (Xiao-yan, C. 2013).The advantages of TR-IFMA are higher sensitivity due to lower background values, higher specificity as only intact molecules of FSH and LH can be measured. (Van Casteren JI et.al 2000) Result analysis The result of J. Mendiola et.al. (2011) in addition to showing the relationship between reproductive hormone in male and the concentration of DEHP metabolite (N=425), it also found some factors such as age, Body Mass Index (BMI) and smoking etc may influence the reproductive hormone in male. Therefore, J. Mendiola et.al. (2011) had done multivariate analysis for reproductive hormone in male and the concentration of DEHP metabolite (N=363) to control for factors such as age, BMI and smoking states etc. It can increase the accuracy of the studies. Although the study did not contain a comparison group, J. Mendiola et.al. (2011) tried consistent the factors found in the questionnaire of participants to minimize the influence of confounding factors to the data analysis. G. Pan et.al. (2011) was using hazard indices (HI) to show the result. The hazard index is the sum of hazard quotients. The ratio of hazard index is compared to 1.0. If the ratio is less than 1, then the systemic effects are assumed not to be of concern; if the hazard quotient is greater than 1, then the systemic effects are assumed to be of concern (U.S. EPA, 2012). It is more easily to show the result and indicate whether DEHP exposure as the concerned factors for reproductive hormone to public and epidemiology. In addition to showing the relationships between serums free Testosterone in workers and the exposure to high levels of DEHP, Guowei Pan et.al. (2006) also compared the demographic characteristics including age, marriage status, smoking and alcohol consumption and plastic material contact of exposed group (N=74), comparison group (N=63) and all the workers (N=137). Also, all the results of this study were compared to exposed group and comparison group. The result can be shown the different of reproductive hormone levels between exposed group and comparison group easily. Limitation of studies The data and result of the three studies were limited by using a single urine and blood/serum samples to determine the levels of DEHP and hormone. It may cause a bias in spot sampling because the result is not reflecting average hormone levels. The endogenous serum LH and FSH concentration had significant change by assessing in different time. The urine samples only reflect the recent exposure to DEHP because phthalates have short half-lives. Also, the concentration of DEHP in three studies was based on the concentration of urinary metabolites of DEHP (MEHP). Therefore, the concentration of DEHP may be not the real concentration of participants. Conclusion The result of three study indicate that there are adverse effects of high levels of DEHP exposure on reproductive hormone levels in male. However, there is no clear evidence to prove a causal relationship between high levels of DEHP and the reproductive hormone levels in male because cross-sectional studies cannot reflect the causal relationship between them. High level of DEHP can as an investigative target included in long term studies such as cohort study and randomized controlled trial of reproductive hormone levels in male. The further research is required to prove that high levels of DEHP exposure will decrease the reproductive hormone levels in human.

Essay --

VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORK A journal article Submitted to Dr. David Beach Electronics and Computer Technology Department Indiana State University By Teja Tatini â€Æ' Table of contents: 1. Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------- 3 2. Virtual Private Network ------------------------------------------------ 4 3. Purpose of VPN --------------------------------------------------------- 5 4. VPN protocols ----------------------------------------------------------- 5 i) PPTP ----------------------------------------------------------- 5 ii) L2TP ----------------------------------------------------------- 5 iii) IPsec ----------------------------------------------------------- 6 5. Modes of operation ----------------------------------------------------- 6 i) AH ( Authentication Header) ------------------------------ 6 ii) ESP ( Encapsulated Security Payload) -------------------- 7 6. VPN security considerations ------------------------------------------ 8 7. Conclusion --------------------------------------------------------------- 8 8. References --------------------------------------------------------------- 9 Table of Figures: Fig 1: Traditional leased line network --------------------------------- 3 Fig 2: Basic VPN connection ---------------------------------------... ...ofile, encryption keys and algorithms. 2. Personal firewalls should be installed and configured properly on the client VPN machines to block the unauthorized access to the client. 3. The user should remain aware of the physical security of the machine, in particular when authentication information is stored in the machine. Conclusion: Virtual Private Network provides a means of accessing a secure, private, internal network over insecure networks like external networks and internet. The most widely used technology in VPN is IPsec in most of the business environment to provide secure and safe encrypted data transfer between host and different remotely accessible clients. References: 1. http://info.lib.uh.edu/services/vpn.html 2. http://www.positivenetworks.net/images/client-uploads/jumppage2.htm 3. http://vpn.shmoo.com/ 4. http://www.ipvanish.com/why-vpn.php

Medical Marijuana and the future of legalization in Massachusetts :: Drugs Medicine Essays

Medical Marijuana and the future of legalization in Massachusetts Fran Cuhtahlatah, a 55-year-old woman from Washington state, smokes marijuana to help alleviate intense pain in her feet, legs and mid-spine due to arthritis. According to Cuhtahlatah, the pain in her spine feels like being beaten across her back with a baseball bat. Cuhtahlatah said her arthritis was caused from strenuous work environments including a job at a frozen food plant. â€Å"My doctor said that she has seen a lot of people with the similar kind of spinal arthritis of people who worked in a frozen food plant,† said Cuhtahlatah. â€Å"I couldn’t look for work. I couldn’t work. I had to almost re-accommodate myself to my own home. Everything I do now takes longer. Things I could do in three or four hours now takes eight,† said Cuhtahlatah. Cuhtahlatah lives on very limited supply of funds. The social security office, where she gets her food and medical stamps, are cutting her monthly allotment. Within a month, Cuhtahlatah must live on less than $600 a month. She has $78 taken away from her income because of Medicare premiums. In addition, she only receives $76 for food. She is also limited on the places where she can receive medical care. Doctors who accept medical stamps from the government are the only doctors that can help her. Sometimes she must wait several months in order to obtain an appointment. â€Å"I did a lot of social service activities on the food stamp rules and regulations. I started a couple of statewide food stamp networks. Educating legislatures of the effects of what this is,† said Cuhtahlatah. Cuhtahlatah does not drive a car. In order to get anywhere she needs to find a ride or walk. When she walks, the closest town is a mile or two away and she says she must rest for a day and a half after because of the immense pain. â€Å"I’ve tried numerous arthritis medications,† said Cuhtahlatah. â€Å"I am always afraid when I purchase [marijuana] that I could lose my home. I am afraid to even almost grow my own because I was arrested a long time ago.† Cuhtahlatah says that it is a good she owns her own home because otherwise she would be out on the street with nowhere to live. â€Å"I feel that state’s rights are being trampled on by the federal government, and that the federal government should butt out,† said Cuhtahlatah. Cuhtahlatah would like to see marijuana confiscated by drug dealers be brought to the health department so that ill patients can benefit from the medication.

Article Summary Essay

Upon reading the article there was a strong emphasis on the interaction from within the virtual classroom and the communication that the students had developed with the instructor and other students in the classroom. Due to the flexibility that the online classroom offers many people are signing up. In the past many people preferred the classroom setting, because it gave him or her, the capability of having interaction amongst peers. However since this has turned into a text, and email world many people have chosen to go to college online. The number one method of conversation used to be either in person or on the phone, now it is through text message and by email. The online classes do require participation and the way that participation is graded is by the involvement that the student makes with his or he peers. While online course enrolments continue to climb, retention and success rates in such courses and programs are frequently reported as typically lower than those delivered in a traditional classroom format; those of us in roles that support online students have a role in reversing that trend! (Schreck, 2006).Online classes take much dedication, and a structure of independence. Life in general can be busy and full of circumstances. It takes a person who can independently work on his or her own, and have a desire to complete task and finish the course facilitator participation When teachers interact with students during online classes, the students tend to participate more. Just knowing that even if there is not a teacher that is standing over you insuring that assignments are done, or that you are participating in group discussions or activities, initiates interaction. According to the text â€Å"the student’s online posts, online quizzes, and tests were analyzed using ATLAS software (Nagel, Blignaut & Cronje, 2007). Since the virtual classroom does not have the capability of someone directly standing over a student, a strategic plan had to be developed in order to make sure the students were participating in daily classroom activities, as well as a test of his or her knowledge to  demonstrate that the student was actually obtaining and learning the information that has been taught. Through the discussion forum the teacher is able to analyze if the student is on the correct track, or if explanation needs to be given on a particular subject. Students have to have the desire to learn, as well as the desire to accomplish an online class. However the student must be dedicated to logging in, participating in the classroom discussions, and interacting with his or her peers and instructor. References Nagel, L., Blignaut, A.S., Cronje, J.C. (2007). Read-only participants: a case for student communication in online classes. Interactive Learning Environment, Vol17, 37-51.Retrieved December 10, 2012. Schreck, V. (2006). It takes a virtual village: Practical strategies for improving online learning Retention Rate. Retrieved December 10, 2012, from: www.innovativeeducators.org/product_p /38.htm.

Career Goal Essay

My short term goal – immediately upon completion of the MBA – is to enter the field of FMCG marketing. My aim is to take up a challenging product marketing position with a top global consumer goods company. This role would give me the opportunity to identify target market segments, and devise strategies to tap into them. By working on the design and execution of marketing campaigns, I will be able to combine my newly acquired business skills with my inherent creativity and channel it in a way that helps my organization grow. I have deep interest in gaining extensive learning in the field of marketing. Over a period of a few years I aim to become an expert in end-to-end marketing strategy and execution. This expertise will help me achieve my longer term goal – to set up a niche marketing consultancy for the health foods and nutrition snacks sector. My consultancy will provide a one-stop solution for marketing and promotion activities such as market research, market targeting and segmentation and implementation of marketing programs. My firm will allow me to leverage my love of marketing for bringing healthy food supplements that benefit society as a whole. Through my work in commercial sales, I have gained experience in understanding complex and fragmented market landscapes, identifying market gaps that the business can serve, bridging operational ability with market needs and negotiating with suppliers and customers. I have learned the art of managing customer expectations and building strong customer relationships even under difficult delivery constraints and economic conditions. All of these will be valuable in my marketing career. Additionally, the MBA degree will help me address the gaps that presently exist in my competencies. The MBA program will give me exposure to multi-domain business knowledge from finance to supply chain to human resources to technology. More importantly, it will help me understand the interplay between business functions, and between the business and its competitive environment. This will be instrumental in devising optimal marketing strategies that best serve the organization’s vision. Through the MBA, I will also gain expertise in the use of popular marketing frameworks to identify market needs and gaps, and determine appropriate pricing strategies. Soft skills, such as presentation and communication skills, are also vital to success in marketing. The MBA degree will greatly help me enhance my soft skills. It will also give me the  opportunity to network and build professional relationships with peers and alumni – who themselves are successful business executives. These networks will be instrumental in my career growth as well as in establishing my business venture in the future. The comprehensive set of competencies that the MBA will equip me with makes will give me the perfect platform to reach my career objectives.