Marketing Initiatives of Milo free essay sample

Nestle is one of the biggest multinational companies in the world offering fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) such as Milo. Nestle’s Slogan, â€Å"Good Food, Good Life† reiterates what they stand for in delivering qualitative products to the end-user being their main objective. The fundamental aim of Nestle is to increase profits however at the same time, raise the standing of living and quality of life for everyone by continually providing nutritional products to promote a healthier lifestyle for all of us. In every market, different companies offer products; consumers always want to choose the best and the healthiest product. Nestle is one of the companies which caters for the nutritional needs of consumers. Due to the great competition in the market, Nestle has evolved its product with a passage of time to maintain the market share being our main reasoning for choosing Nestle Milo. The market share of Nestle Milo is so large that their biggest competitors comprise of their own products such as Nesquick. We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Initiatives of Milo or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Milo markets itself to teenagers by being a beverage that will provide kids with enough energy for sports and a fast lifestyle, whilst still being healthy. Another large part of Nestle Milo’s Marketing is the sponsorship and community programs which consist of Nestle’s ‘MILO in2CRICKET’ program offering children an opportunity to â€Å"have a go† at cricket whilst promoting physical activity at a young age. On top of this Nestle Milo also sponsors various sporting events at a school level to ensure all children have the opportunity to build their sports skills for the future. In the business environment, there are different forces such as economic forces, legal forces and the socio-cultural forces which can have an impact on the product, on the organization and the marketing manoeuvres in which nestle undertakes. This will be further examined in the first section of the report. Marketing Initiatives As we all know that there are several forces that can impact a product and an organization. Companies must take different measures according to their environments to ensure the survival of their products. When we look at Nestle Milo, we will come to know that Nestle has taken many steps to make Milo compatible with the needs and expectations of consumers. According to Ryan (2004), Nestle introduced the phrase â€Å"good food, good life†. When we look at Milo, we can see that Nestle has tried to focus on the health and nutritional benefits of its product. Nestle has also tried to focus on the market of children from 6-13 years of age. Some of the examples of the initiative taken by Milo are the ‘Good Food, Good Life’ Campaign and the ‘Milo in2 Cricket’ Program. The ‘Good Food, Good Life’ campaign is a consumer psychology that they relate the brands with things or feelings. Whenever a brand name comes to their minds, something associated with that brand or their own personal experience comes into their minds as well. In a similar manner, consumers recognize Milo as a symbol of nutrition and Health. Even the packaging and the outlook of Milo symbolises nutrition, health and energy. Another example of the initiative taken by Milo is Milo in2 cricket. It is actually an initiative taken by Milo in its Australian market. This initiative is for the children who are between the age of five and ten. In this program, these children participate in a six to twelve week cricket camp. This marketing move has enabled Nestle to penetrate into the potential market of Milo, that is, children. The program basically focuses on providing children with the skills that they need to have to perform well in cricket. Also, children attending the Cricket camp receive Milo products and merchandise which causes a great promotion for the product. Environmental Forces – Socio-cultural Socio-cultural aspect is one of the most important macro environmental factors that can have an impact on a product. According to Elliott et al. 2010), when a company is trying to maintain and establish its product in a market, it must pay special attention to the socio cultural aspect. The progressive thoughts and the changes in beliefs have impacted the population a lot. According to Bergadaa (2007), as a result, the companies have also been impacted by these changes. The parents also have an impact on the purc hases that their children make. The perspective of parents can cause a decline in the sales of product. According to Preston (2005), a customer decisions can be impacted by a change which the households are undergoing. The catholic social services (2010) have highlighted some of the difficulties which the parents are facing because of increase in petrol prices and the interest rates. Hence, other areas such as social and economic areas get impacted and the pressures build on the parents. This creates a feeling of frustration and guilt in parents. These feelings can also impact purchase decisions of parents thus Nestle must pay special attention to such macro environmental forces. Democracy is another factor which can have a great impact. Democracy is the fundamental basis of our society. It is a human nature that they always resist the imposition of anything on themselves. Galbreath has done a great work to document the importance of customer satisfaction. According to Bergadaa (2007), Nestle still continues to be impacted by the moves which a society makes to protect children against the marketing manoeuvres which companies make. This has also impacted Milo as well. Such factors will always have an impact on marketing manoeuvres of the organizations. Health – Childhood Obesity A society evolves with time into a healthy and a conscious society. They pay special attention to nutrition and health issues. Public views are greatly impacted by the health issues. Childhood obesity is one of the major issues which the modern society is facing. The society has also taken many steps to deal with these issues specially childhood obesity. Nestle Milo is continuously receiving the impacts of the measures that are being taken against childhood obesity because it is one of the most critical health problem in Australia. This socio cultural issue has caused a great impact on the company’s ability to market their product. Companies find it difficult to communicate about their products. Laws and regulations In every country, there is an organization that looks after the activities of companies. In Australia, the ASIC is doing this job. The ASIC makes laws, enforces them and acts as a regulatory authority. It works to protect creditors, investors and consumers. It has made several laws for the above mentioned purpose. The corporations Act 2001 and the ASIC Act 2001 are some of the examples of the legislations done by the ASIC. It is important that the corporate marketing initiative should follow the concerned law. Therefore, Nestle must pay attention to this environmental factor as well and must make the advertisement moves according to the laws. In Australia, the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) makes the laws for the industries and also regulates the industries. The ACCC sets the laws for trade practices and the industries. One of the important laws passed b the ACCC is the Trade practices Act 1974. According to the Australian Competition Consumer Commission 2005, this law addresses the issues about the quality, nutritional information and the imported ingredients. It is essential that the marketing initiatives which talk about the nutritional benefits of any product, they must comply with this law. According to James (2009), Milo is unable to comply with this law properly because of the caffeine content in their product. Excluding this issue, the Milo has always exhibited fairness in all other issues. Nestle has taken many measures to deal with the macro environmental forces. Nestle has always changed its marketing mix according to the needs of a market. It also shapes its strategies according to the environment. One of the major steps taken by Nestle is the recognition that it has obtained by the Heart foundation. The heart foundation endorses and emphasises the use of healthy products. References: 1. Emerald | Society and Business Review | Children and business: pluralistic ethics of marketers. 2011. Emerald | Society and Business Review | Children and business: pluralistic ethics of marketers. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www. emeraldinsight. com/journals. htm? articleid=1593515. [Accessed 07 October 2011]. 2. elliot, 2009. marketing isbn13 9780470819654. Edition. John Wiley Sons. 3. Nestle Australia: Feeling Good with Nestle . 011. Nestle Australia: Feeling Good with Nestle . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www. nestle. com. au/NutritionAndHealth/FeatureArticles/Pages/FeelingGoodwithNestle. aspx. [Accessed 07 October 2011]. 4. Nestle Australia: MILO Programs . 2011. Nestle Australia: MILO Programs . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www. nestle. com. au/Community/Pages/MiloPrograms. aspx. [Ac cessed 07 October 2011]. 5. Overview of the Trade Practices Act. 2011. Overview of the Trade Practices Act. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www. accc. gov. au/content/index. phtml/itemId/788579. [Accessed 07 October 2011].

Essay on Leadership part 2

Essay on Leadership part 2 Essay on Leadership part 2 Essay on Leadership part 2Essay on Leadership part  1Leadership dynamicsIndra Nooyi’s leadership dynamics allowed the company to hold the leading position on the global markets. Indar Nooyi made a decision to â€Å"increase the size of her executive team to 20 members, allowing for a broader distribution of management decision-making power† (Cunningham Harney, 2012, p. 631). Indra Nooyi’s leadership style is focused on the principle of â€Å"performance with purpose,† which means that leaders should use the proper strategies to generate as much profit as possible from business, but at the same time, they should be socially responsible for their actions. Nooyi’s activity and leadership approach can be defined as transformational leadership. Indra Nooyi inspires her employees to follow the strategy aimed at the required organizational change. Nooyi has developed an effective strategy of PepsiCo’s growth on the global market, but she also is highly focused on the greater good for the world (Williams, 2010; Cunningham Harney, 2012).In addition, Indra Nooyi’s leadership approach demonstrates the major aspect of Kouzes and Posner’s Transformational Leadership Model. She allows others to act, and she is always ready to listen to the ideas of her employees. She may use their ideas in her decision making process (Winston, 2008). Indra Nooyi acts as an executive leader because she is involved not only in executive sponsorship, but also in instruction and coaching activities.Management dynamicsIndra Nooyi has a huge experience of management practices. She held top management positions in PepsiCo and other companies. Indra Nooyi’s management skills and her education allow her to develop effective management dynamics. Indra Nooyi demonstrates her cultural sensibility and emotional intelligence which help her to perform management tasks in a proper way (Williams, 2010).   She says that education she got at Yale helped her to develop excellent communication skills. She benefited from various management strategies, including the feedback from mentors. As she is well known as an advocate of multicultural teams and corporate diversity, her managerial strategies were aimed at hiring the employees of varied backgrounds, and promoting disparate perspectives of PepsiCo (Cunningham Harney, 2012). According to experts, Indra Nooyi also benefited from effective employee programs introduced at PepsiCo (Williams, 2010).   She says, â€Å"I am everything that this company has stood for in diversity and inclusion; it has all come together with me† (Abu-Tineh et al., 2009, p. 271).Actually, Indra Nooyi is considered to be one of the most dynamic leaders in the world. She has become one of the most influential women leaders in the corporate world today due to her exclusive management skills (Cunningham Harney, 2012). From the beginning of her career, Nooyi has demonstrated her best manageme nt skills, which help her to become a successful business woman and never give up. Her management skills affect her ability to easily adapt to changes in organizational environment. She is well-known as a practical, self-confident and courageous leader. Her key principle is to keep an open mind in order to use her effective communication style to drive her employees. Indra Nooyi believes that any effective leader should take care of his/her people. This belief is one of the most important parts of Indra Nooyi’s management (Cunningham Harney, 2012).Group/Team DynamicsIndra Nooyi as an effective leader is focused on team building. She has the ability to apply the skills, experience and talents of her team. Indra Nooyi is focused on invention and innovation in her activity, which provides the organization’s growth and promotes continuous renewal. She uses her team dynamics to embrace organizational change and use effective practices (Cunningham Harney, 2012; Fitzsimmons et al., 2011).Despite the increased number of multicultural teams, PepsiCo is one of global organizations that are â€Å"tapping the potential of their employees with more than one culture† (Fitzsimmons et al., 2011, p. 199). Indra Nooyi is aware of the skills her employees possess.   She effectively uses her multicultural team’s potential to contribute to the major international business activities of PepsiCo.   Group/Team Dynamics of Indra Nooyi involves the following elements: successful multicultural teams, effective intercultural negotiations, the application of the key principles of ethics and leadership, expatriation practices, as well as international mergers and acquisitions practices (Fitzsimmons et al., 2011).   Today PepsiCo, as a global organization, can effectively use the unique skills, experience, knowledge and individual perspectives of its multicultural teams (Fitzsimmons et al., 2011).Conclusion  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thus , it is necessary to conclude that Indra Nooyi is an effective leader, whose leadership approach can be viewed as a role model for others in today’s business environment. Indra Nooyi serves not only her company and her employee, but also the whole society she lives in. She effectively uses her personal business experience and professionalism in leadership practices to succeed on the global market. She is a leader who possesses solid beliefs in organizational growth, leadership strength and the contribution of her employees. Indra Nooyi has demonstrated her skills, abilities and the potential to contributing much more to PepsiCo’s development. She is focused on the continued growth and development of the company. As a result, she has formulated the appropriate strategies aimed at stimulating her efforts through her unique leadership style. She managed to enhance, direct and change the functioning of PepsiCo. As a female business leader, Indra Nooyi recognizes how she ca n significantly affect not only PepsiCo, but also the world’s global economy. Indra Nooyi’s organizational dynamics has a strong impact on the overall functioning of the organization, employee motivation and job satisfaction and corporate culture.

Transcript of Spoken Interaction with a Critical Commentary Essay

Transcript of Spoken Interaction with a Critical Commentary - Essay Example It helps researchers to determine a child’s sound abilities. Most natural discourse involves an adult and a child. The linguistic feature of the transcript below is phonology awareness, which involves analysis of sound patterns to come up with meanings. Many children learn to produce sounds, but cannot relate the sounds to the meanings of words. Other children are able to merge sounds to formulate words. The informant is a three-year-old girl. The dialogue took place on a farm in the countryside. The adult and the child were having a conversation about what they saw as in the farm. The adult is a distant relative of the child. They talked about the animals, plants and fruits, which they saw. Children listen to various sounds to learn their languages. They learn to differentiate various sounds, and to divide the speech into meaningful units to enable them to come up with words and sentences. Children also have to learn to extract a word from a speech sequence, and to understand the meaning of the word. They also learn to distinguish different sounds to understand the meanings of words with the same sounds. Some children may learn the meaning of words, but are unable to produce the correct sounds in their speech. Phonological awareness is the capability to concentrate on the elements of sound in speech. It also involves manipulation of sound elements such as syllables and phonemes. The awareness may include matching, fusion and study of spoken words. Child phonology describes the phenomena in children’s language. The descriptions of these aspects and developmental patterns are not sufficient to come up with a proposition of attainment of phonology. There are two dim ensions of phonological awareness; the first deals with the magnitude of the sound unit, while the second looks into the nature of manipulation of sound units. The second dimension also involves a child’

Psychological treatment plan Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Psychological treatment plan - Case Study Example There are signs for a variety of trauma that she is experiencing and for brief therapy it would be important to find out the type of trauma; she may be suffering from PTSD or the experience of her fathers abuse. The Trauma Symptom Inventory (TSI) is a level B instrument and it would be an important part of her work because it could generate information on why she is attempting suicide at regular intervals. (Briere, n.d.). There are so many challenges for Jane that she is unable to express so the second test I would use would be the House Tree Person Test because it may bring out reference to her "true" sexual orientation as well as other challenges that are affecting her now (Fredman and Sherman, p. 20). This test is usually used on children but I get the impression that Jane is "child-like" in her approach to life and since it may be difficult for her to respond within the therapy session verbally, tests that have her drawing or making up stories would be best. Currently Jane is already a possible danger to herself. If she continues the way she is going a psychiatric evaluation may be necessary. Although she is on medication it does not seem to be doing well for her and this may also be part of the reason why she is having problems with suicidal tendencies. Much of her problem may be due to her sexual orientation and the inability to express what she is feeling. Her relationship with Susan was a positive one for her and had it is not clear whether she had episodes of cutting herself while she was with Susan. According to Suzuki and Ponterotto, a thorough multicultural assessment should be done which would give another piece of information about this client. Because her case is so volatile, there may come a time when she is showing symptoms of psychosis though she is not showing them now. In this case, Jane would be better served by a psychiatrist. In the event that I needed to make a

A Foreign artist in Paris - Pablo Picasso Research Paper

A Foreign artist in Paris - Pablo Picasso - Research Paper Example The research paper "A Foreign artist in Paris - Pablo Picasso" discover one of the most incredible artists of modern era. Pablo Picasso is a famous artist from Spain. Artistic impression may have been passed onto the young Picasso, as his father practiced his specialty of painting especially of naturalistic depictions. This gene was passed from the father, as he proved to be an illustrious professor and curator; this in the city’s School of Crafts and a local museum respectively. This artistic capacity was evident from a young age, to be trained henceforth from the young age of seven years. His father was responsible for his early learning, especially in oil painting and figure drawing. As a traditional instructor and academic artist, his father was of the belief that proper training necessitated the disciplined learning from existing art masters. In addition was the need for skill in drawing the human body from both live models and plaster casts, with Picasso becoming engross ed in art; to the detriment of his schooling. It is after the tragic death of his sister that the family moved to Barcelona. Later, he was admitted in the city’s School of Fine Arts at the age of just 13 years. But his conduct could not sustain him in the center, instead transferring to Madrid’s Royal Academy, which is the nation’s foremost art center. However, his spirit was wild, being unable to sustain his schooling, to later on stop class attendance at the age of 16 years. His focus was henceforth shifted to other areas of interest.

Nonsom Fermented Fish Rice Biology Essay

Nonsom Fermented Fish Rice Biology Essay Fish is classified according to origin such as seawater fish, shellfish, oily and white fish and freshwater fish. Fish is a rich source of protein and it contains other nutrients such as essential fatty acids, fat soluble vitamins and calcium (Barnett, 1998). In fish, it contains fat soluble vitamin such as vitamin A , D and a number of water soluble vitamin B group. Vitamin A and D are mostly found in the visceral fat, though there are amounts in the flesh for a few species such as lamprey and some species of tuna (Pirie and Swaninathan, 1975). Fish is also low in saturated fatty acids and oily fish in particular is an excellent source of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids with ÃŽÂ ±- linolenic acid( ALA), Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and cocosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to aid in preventing cardiovascular disease(Brunner, 2008). Fish can be rich source of iodine and some magnesium, calcium and iron are also present. However, fish are more perishable due to the surface slime by a mass of ba cteria covering the fish body and the bacteria resides in the digestive tract. In Malaysia, fish is an important food in the Malaysian diet and besides consuming it as a dish itself it can be used as a condiment in various traditional form such as dried, salted and fermented. 1.2 Fermentation Fermentation is the most conventional method in food processing. It is a desirable process of biochemical modification by microorganisms that bring changes to food and enhance properties such as taste, aroma, shelflife and nutritive value. Through fermentation, the safety of food can be enhanced by removing their natural toxin components or by inhibiting the growth of disease-causing microbes (Adams et. al., 2001). Food fermentation can be classified in several groups which is beverages, cereal products, dairy products, fish products, fruit and vegetable products, legumes and meat products. Fermented foods were developed by many cultures for two main reasons, that is to preserve harvested or slaughtered products which were abundant during those times and are scarce and the other reason is to improve the sensory properties of products that are unappealing. In Southeast Asia, fermentation of fish the most common as fish is a major component in the human diet. Freshwater shellfish ,marine fish and crustaceans are processed with salt to produce various type of fermented fish products. Fish fermentation produces a type of savory flavor from marine products by using both endogenous enzymes in fish and salt tolerant microorganisms in the environment. Fish fermentation is also a method of preserving perishable fish and marine products in a high salt concentration (Lee et al., 1993). Lactic acid fermentation plays a major role in preserving perishable vegetables and fishes, ensuring its safety. The organic acids, mainly lactic acid and acetic acid, produced by lactic acid bacteria are effective antimicrobial agents, and they reduce the pH in the foods to prevent the growth of most hazardous food microorganisms (Lee et al., 1994). 1.3 Nonsom Nonsom or bosou is a traditional fermented fish-rice product made among the among the KadazanDusun-Murut community in Sabah. It is served during festival occasions such as Pesta Keamatan. The ingredients used to make this dish includes fish rice, salt and grinded kernel seed of the Pangium edule. The process of producing nonsom is simple. First the fishes are cleaned thoroughly and salted. Rice is added into the conoction and mixed thoroughly. Dried seed of Pangium edule also known as pangi ,with the content that is scraped out are pounded into a powder form and is then sprinkled onto the conoction to be mixed. The mixture is then transferred into a tightly close jar and kept for one month period before consumption. Nonsom can also be cooked by steaming, fry with onions and chili or be eaten just as it is (Vivienne, 2007). One of the ingredients in nonsom is the seeds of Pangium Edule that are said to be poisonous due to presence of hydrocyanic acid which is toxic Pangi seed can only be consumed after treatments such as boiling and soaking in running water(Davidson and Jaine, 2006 ). These seeds are specialty in Indonesia and have been used as spices. It is claimed that the addition of these seeds into the fermented foods helps in controlling the fermentation process and provide unique flavor to the products. The KadazanDusun community eliminates the poison of pangi by soaking and boiling them in water. They use the powdered seed of pangi as food ingredients in the fermented fish product. This gives a nutty aroma on the fermented fish. The flavor source for spices is due to the dominant amino acids that is present in the fermented seed, which is Glutamic acid (Andarwulan et.al., 1999). 2.0 SIMILAR PRODUCTS WORLDWIDE 2.1 Burong dalag. In the Philippines a fermented rice-fish product which involves lactic acid bacteria is served as appetizer, sauce or main dish (Melchor,2007). Burong isda is a traditional fermented fish product in the phillipines that is similar to narezushi in Japan. Burong isda is produced in white and red form. The red is by addition of angkak which is a culture grown in rice. Burong isda is prepared using freshwater fish that is cleaned thoroughly and mixed with salt overnight before mixing with cooled cooked rice. The mixture is left to ferment for 7 to 10 days in room temperature. There are other kinds of burong isda based on the type of fish used. An example is Burong dalag, a fermented rice-fish mixture using mudfish, Phicephalus striatus (Sanchez, 2008). 2.2 Narezushi Narezushi is a fermented fish product by fermented salted mackerel with boiled rice. It was suggested that narezushi was developed as a mean of fish preservation. In the past half century, marine fishes has been substituted with freshwater fishes due to the drastic decrease of harvest. Aji-no-sushi is another form of Narezushi that is made from horse mackerel (Trachurus japonicas). The mackerel is gutted and put in a barrel that has been salted. It is then drained off and placed in a vat filled with vinegar rice. The salting takes 3 days to 2 months and the desalting phase varied. The fish are stuffed and covered with cooked rice, scattered with a small amount of Japanese pepper leaves or red pepper and pickled in a barrel with the lid that is held closed by stone weights. The fermentation period last from 6 weeks to 1 year, depending on the manufacturer (Kuda et. al., 2009). 2.3 Sikhae Sikhae in Korea is the lactic acid fermentation of seawater fish with cooked millet. The process of producing is similar to other fermented fish-rice products but millet is used instead of rice as it is the common carbohydrate source in the northeastern country. Other ingredients added include minced garlic and red pepper powder. Garlic shows antimicrobial effect on most microorganisms in raw material and the product. It also functions as a selective agent which explains that why lactic acid bacteria is dominant in sikhae fermentation (Lee, 1997). Garlic plays dual role in fermented fish products by inhibiting Gram-negative bacteria and yeasts and providing LAB less sensitive to garlic with a carbohydrate source for growth (Puladan-Muller et.al., 1999) . The fermentation last for 2 to 3 weeks at 20 °C. The pH of Sikhae drops quickly due to the organic acids formed from the millet that provide fermentable sugar for lactobacillus. The product can be stored up to one month at 5 °C after fermentation. The foul fish odor disappears and an acceptable flavor is formed during the fermentation process (Lee et.al, 1993). Leuconostoc mesenteroides   and Lactobacillus plantarum   are the lactic acids involved in the fermentation of Sikhae. The role of these acid forming bacteria for the preservation of fish is apparent, but a more important factor is their ability to produce acceptable flavor during the fermentation process. 2.4 Plaa-som. Plaa-som is a Thai fermented fish produced according to family or local geographic preferences, especially in the central, northeastern and northern parts of Thailand. The fermented fish product is composed of freshwater salt, boiled rice or cooked rice and garlic. In Southern Thailand, another local variety of plaa-som is produced. Palm syrup are used to replace garlic and boiled rice, and from time to time by roasted rice resulting in the resembles of another type of fermented Thai fish known as plaa-uan (Paludan Muller et. al., 2002). In processing of plaa-som, all ingredients are mixed and left to ferment at ambient temperature (25-30  °C) for 3-5 days in a covered-lid cooking pot. The fermentation spontaneously occur due to the presence of microflora , mainly lactic acid bacteria that is found in raw materials. Appropriate conditions are important in order for the complete fermentation by lactic acid bacteria. For example the presence of carbohydrate and antimicrobial substanc es containing ingredients like salt and garlic (Kopermsub and Yunchalard, 2008). Garlic is believed to act as an antimicrobial agent against certain gram negative bacteria and stimulating the growth of lactic acid bacteria(Paludan-Muller et. al, 1999). 2.5 Pekasam Another similar product to nomsom is pekasam that is localized in the state of Kedah, Perak and Kelantan of Peninsular Malaysia. Pekasam is made from fermented freshwater fish that is mixed with ingredients such as roasted rice, tamarind and salt. It is prepard by thorough cleaning of the fish and salted overnight with 20-50 per cent of salt. Then the fish are drained before mixing 50 per cent of roasted rice powder and some tamarind. The mixture is packed into an earthenware container in layers and allowed to ferment for 2 to 4 weeks. After fermentation, the fish is consumed deep fried or made into a side dish( Lee et.al., 1993). The table below shows the composition of pekasam and the composition may vary slightly depending on the type of fish use and method practiced. Table 1. Composition of pekasam. Composition Approximate range pH 4.5 6.1 Lactic acid (%) 0.1-0.4 Salt (%) 10.0-16.0 Moisture (%) 57.0-73.0 Protein(%) 15.0- 25.0 Fat (%) 3.0-8.0 Ash (%) 6.0-14.0 Souce Zaiton (1980) During fermentation process, lactic acid bacteria lowers the pH and preserves the product. The presence of the organic acid also contribute to the flavor of the product. The formation of acid combined with the addition of salt eliminate proteolytic and putrefying microorganisms. The carbohydrate source that supports the growth of lactobacilli comes from the roasted rice powder which also aid in masking the fishy odor and colour development of the final product. There is also some breakdown of the fish protein by autolysis to peptides and amines. These compounds together with acids and products formed by microbial fermentation give rise to typical flavor and odor of the pekasam (Lee et.al., 1993; Kuda et.al., 2009). 3.0 WHAT WERE DONE IN THE PAST. Currently there are hardly any studies on the local indigenous fermented fish-rice products of Malaysia such as nonsom. The only studies made so far are the effect of Pangium edule seed in the production of fermented fish by Ajik (1999) and the nutritional content and physiochemical analysis of fermented fish of different species from different areas in Sabah by Joanis (2002). The study done by Joanis (2002) found that nonsom from Tamparuli using Tilapia mossambica contained the highest nutrient and mineral content. Most of the studies were carried out on the seed extract of Pangium edule whereby antioxidant activity were associated with mobilization of lipids and phenolic compound during fermentation (Andarwulan et.al., 1999). According to (Chye and Sim, 2009) report, there is a strong relationship between the phenolic compound of the seed extracts with the antioxidative and antibacterial activities. It was concluded that the phenolic extracts possess good antioxidant and antimicrob ial activities which could be a promising source of natural preservative and be used in pharmaceutical industry. On the other hand, pekasam which is a similar product of nonsom has already been studied on the fermentation process and fast fermentation method has been introduced whereby the product can be ready in 2 to 3 weeks (Che Rohani Bt.Awang, 2001). In other previous work, there were studies done on the microflora and chemical changes in fermented fish products during fermentation. It is found that lactic acid bacteria are the dominant microorganisms involved in the fermentation of fish-rice products such as Plaa-rom, Narezushi, Burong isda, sikhae and in our local indigenous fermented food of Pekasam and Nonsom. The lactic acid bacteria involved for each type of fermented products are listed in the table below. The role of lactic acid bacteria is to ferment available carbohydrates which lead to a decrease in pH that inhibits pathogenic and spoilage bacteria. The combination of low pH and organic acids present is the main factors that preserve fermented fish products (Paludan-Muller et. al., 2002). Table 2 : Type of lactic acid bacteria found in fermented fish-rice product. Country Name of fermented product Findings Journal resource Thailand Plaa-som Parallel growth of yeast and LAB was found. Pediococcus pentosaceus and Zygosaccharomyces rouxii are the predominant lactic acid bacteria and yeast species respectively. Lactic acid bacteria initiates fermentation followed by alcoholic fermentation by Zygosaccharomyces rouxii. Paludan-Muller et.al., 2002 Japan Aji-no-susu It is reported to be a typical traditional lactic acid fermented fish product and the lactic acid concentration was very high as compared to other narezushi products. The predominant bacterial groups were lactobacilli and lactococci. Kuda et.al., 2009 Korea Sikhae Leuconostoc mesenteroides   and Lactobacillus plantarum   are the lactic acids involved in the fermentation of Sikhae Lee et.al.,1997 Phillippines Burong dalag The fermentation is initiated by Leuconostoc mesenteroids and Streptococcus faecalis then followed by Pediococcus cerevisiae and finally Lactobacillus plantarum. Orillo and Pederson, 1968 Besides that, reports on different salt concentrations, presence of amino acids and organic acids and also source of carbohydrates influenced the fermentation process of fermented fish-rice products. In fermentation with salt, the high salt content retards microbial growth, hydrolysis of the fish protein is thought to occur by natural tissue enzymes, cathepsins. For low salt products, halotolerant populations consisting of gram-positive organisms will prevail. I- sushi which is fermented by various strains of lactobacillus has been associated with food poisoning outbreaks from toxin production by C. botulinum type E. (Downes and Ito, 2001). However, different fermented fish products have different salt concentration requirement. The sufficient amount of salt in fermentation is important as it influence the microbial growth and the rate of fermentation which also affects the sensory quality and safety of the product. Padulan-Muller et. al.(2002) studied on the growth of microflora wit h different concentration of salt in Plaa-som, a Thai fermented fish product. It is found that in high salt concentration of plaa-som, the growth of lactic acid bacteria was inhibited and this delayed the fermentation process. This increase the risk of growth for salt-tolerant potentially pathogenic bacteria, example Staphylococcus aureus (Paludan-Muller, 1999).Thus, 6-7% of salt concentration is recommended for Plaa-som to facilitate the growth of LAB and rapid decrease of pH to below 4.5. However, different fermented fish products have different salt concentration requirement. Aside from salt, the taste of fermented fish-rice product is enhanced during fermentation due to the presence of organic acids and amino acids. According to (Itou et. al., 2006) research, it is reported that the marked increase of the extractive components and organic acids is thought to contribute to the umami taste and the sour taste of narezushi. The extractive components such as free amino acids and peptides increased remarkably because of the decomposition of proteins in fish. As for the organic acid, it increased rapidly due to the fermentation of rice and permeation into the fish meat. Same goes the taste of Aji-no-susu where the predominant amino acids of alanine, lysine,leucine,glutamic acid and theronince were found and are important in providing the taste of fermented fish products (Kuda et.al., 2009). Fish contains little carbohydrate and thus rice or millet that is used mainly functions as a carbohydrate source for fermentation by LAB for the reduction of pH in products without indigeneous starter culture. Rice is an important source of carbohydrate to provide fermentable sugar for lactic acid bacteria in the reduction of pH. High buffering capacity of the fish is also reduced by the rice in order to obtain a rapid decrease of pH.The decrease of pH inhibits pathogenic and spoilage bacteria thus preserve the fermented fish. The starch from rice are hydrolyzed by the amylolytic activity found in lactic acid bacteria by which is reported (Olympia et.al., 1995.) that lactic acid bacteria strains isolated from burong isda hydrolyzes soluble starch, amylopectin, glycogen and pullulan. Addition of salt and spices such as garlic or pepper may add to the safety of the product. In another study (Paludan-Muller, 1999) describes the role of garlic that serves as carbohydrate source for lacti c acid bacteria in fermented fish product. In garlic, a garlic fermenting Lb. Plantarum strain was found . This indicated that garlic may be more important than rice starch as a carbohydrate source for fermentation. Moreover, garlic play dual role in fermented fish by inhibiting gram negative bacteria and yeasts and acts as a carbohydrate source for growth of lactic acid bacteria. The traditional method of fermented fish product was based on spontaneous fermentation or by the use of indigenous starter culture. The starter culture serves as a source of a variety of enzyme including amylolytic enzymes. Based on a study (Olympia et. al., 1995) it was found that in strains of L. plantarum contains the L137-amylase enzyme that hydrolyzes both ÃŽÂ ±-1,4 and ÃŽÂ ± -1,6-glucosidic linkages in polysaccharides. The enzyme degrades the starch to fermentable carbohydrates for the growth of lactic acid bacteria in the fermentation process. Recently there has been studies that mentioned the fermentation process could be improved by using a mixed starter culture. In the fish sauce fermentation a report from Yongsawatdigul et al. (2007) found that strain of Staphylococcus sp. SK1-1-5 from proteinases and bacterial starter culture has the potential to be utilized as it can accelerate the fermentation without having great effect on the sensory qualities of the fish sauce. Another research by Saithong et.al (2010) examined the use of lactic acid bacteria as potential started cultures of plaa-som. The scientists discovered that plaa-som inoculated with the mixed starter culture were found to contain higher amounts of lactic acid after 24 h than plaa-som inoculated with single starter culture. This indicated the possible advantage of increased product safety and quality in addition to reduction in fermentation time. Moreover, the combination L. plantarum IFRPD P15 and L. reuteri IFRPD P17 starter cultures could also inhibit th e growth of clostridia during plaa-som. As a conclusion, L. plantarum and L. reuteri have great potential to be used as starter cultures in plaa-som and may possibly reduce fermentation time. 4.0 CHALLENGES The indigenous fermented fish-rice products are mostly produced in household or small factory scale with limited processes to control and ensure the safety and quality of the product. Like other fermented products, it is easily contaminated due to the presence of other harmful microorganisms. Contamination can occur due to exposure to microorganisms from the environment during harvesting, processing, storage and distribution. Besides that, improper food handling and lack of good hygiene practices increases the risk of microbial contamination. For example, fish that is not eviscerated prior to fermentation process are prone to spoilage since the raw materials are not cooked. Nearly all fish bourne botulism outbreaks are associated with the consumption of salted-dried or fermented fish that is consumed without further cooking. Clostridium sp has been reported to contaminate izushi, a fermented preserved fish with rice in Japan (Downes and Ito, 2001). Likewise in the Philippines, Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium sp. which has been isolated from bakasang indicated that practice of hygiene during production was poor ( Salampessy et.al.,2010).The resultant from pathogenic microflora present in the food include negative effects such as spoilage, where the food is unfit for human consumption or risk of health by infectious or toxigenic microorganisms being present. Proteolytic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium botulinum cause microbiological hazards in fermented fish as both of these microorganisms are associated with salt and raw fish used in the processing. Insufficient level of salt concentration also leads to growth of pathogenic m icroorganisms in fermented fish products. At higher salt concentration there is a risk for growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium botulinum type A and B. Besides that, the producers of the fermented fish-rice products are not well educated on importance of proper handling and maintaining good hygiene practice to avoid cross-contamination during fermentation process of the product. They are also not well aware of the undesirable changes on the fermented food may occur during processing and repackaging of the product. Knowledge on the microflora which are involved in the fermentation process of the fermented fish-rice products are limited. 5.0 THE EMERGING NEED OF RESEARCH Currently there are no studies done on the nutritional composition of certain indigenous fermented fish-rice products such as nonsom. Moreover, there is no standardization in the addition of salt concentration since nonsom made from different areas of Sabah are based on personal preferences. Thus, the final product of this fermented fish-rice based product may contain excessive addition of salt. In addition, higher percentage of salt concentration was found to have a slow or no decrease in pH, whereas a rapid decrease of pH was found in low salt concentration (Paludan-Muller et al., 2002). However, Pekasam which is a similar product to nonsoom has already been standardized in Malaysian Food Act 1985 whereby it must not contain less than 10% salt. Because of this, more research on this indigenous fermented product needs to be carried out for the standardization and safety of the product produced. Next is the need of improving knowledge base. Other fermented food such as cheese, bread , beer and wine are well known and well developed. However for indigenous fermented fish-rice products, the knowledge is poor. Therefore, to have a broader spectrum of understanding these indigenous fermented products, microbiological, nutritional and technical investigation should be carried out on each process. The isolation and characterization of each organism should be determined and should not narrowed to only the dominant organisms as other organisms in small numbers may contain important function in the process. Understanding the roles of the microorganisms in these fermented products is important as they largely control the qualities of the fermented products. Also, more research needs to be done on various fermented fish-rice products to accelerate the fermentation time by using mixed starter culture instead of depending on traditional spontaneous fermentation to produce the fermented products. Researches on starter cultures by lactic acid bacteria or commercial proteinase with bacterial starter culture showed that there are great potential for the use of these starter cultures in accelerating fermentation of fish products (Yongsawatdigul et. al.,2007; Saithong et.al.,2010). Thus, more research has to be made on the use of these starter cultures to other fermented fish-rice products to accelerate the fermentation time and without adversely affecting the sensory quality. 6.0 STRATEGIC FOR CONTINOUS IMPROVEMENT. The production indigenous fermented fish-rice product of nonsom has the potential to expand and commercialized as more people are consuming the fermented food and the taste is acceptable. However, the process of fermented fish-rice products are done using traditional method so a more organized and specific method is required to upgrade the way of processing the fermented product. For small scale industries that produce fermented fish-rice products, implementation of quality control of the processing and distribution is required based on Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point principles. New practices can be added for improvement in Good Manufacturing Practices. Good practices in certain steps and identifying the possible critical control points for example lactic acid bacteria counts, pH and the length of maturation stage, for better production and higher safety standards. Food handlers should also be educated in line with on (HACCP) for controlling safety of the product. Besides that, to combat issues on safety of fermented fish-rice products reseraches on the microbial and chemical changes in these indigenous fermented fish-rice products are necessary in order to ensure the safety and improve the quality of the fermented product produced. Findings from research can be used as an indicator for the producers to understand different stages of fermentation process and precautions to be taken to minimize the risk of contamination and maintain quality consistency of the product. Furthermore, a more safe production can be resulted if starter culture are used. The use of starter culture in the fermentation of fermented fish-rice product could increase product safety and quality as there is a rapid growth of lactic acid bacteria and lower pH to a safe level. In addition, fermentation time is also shorten.

The Women Of Jane Austen :: Jane Austen Females Essays

The Women of Jane Austen Jane Austen has attracted a great deal of critical attention in recent years. Many have spoken out about the strengths and weaknesses of her characters, particularly her heroines. Austen has been cast as both a friend and foe to the rights of women. According to Morrison, 'most feminist studies have represented Austen as a conscious or unconscious subversive voicing a woman's frustration at the rigid and sexist social order which enforces subservience and dependence'; (337). Others feel that her marriage plots are representative of her allegiance to the social quid pro quo of her time: 'Marriage, almost inevitably the narrative event that constitutes a happy ending, represents in their view a submission to a masculine narrative imperative that has traditionally allotted women love and men the world'; (Newman 693).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In reality, Austen cannot accurately be evaluated as an author (or feminist subversive) without first examining the eighteenth century English society in which she lived and placed her heroines. Watt says that Austen's characters cannot be seen 'clearly until we make allowances for the social order in which they were rooted'; (41). Austen lived in a society where women were expected to be 'accomplished,'; as Darcy states in Pride and Prejudice, but not well educated ('Notes';). Women of the late eighteenth-century could not attend educational institutions like Oxford or Cambridge. It was not considered necessary for a woman to have knowledge of either Greek or Latin. If a woman received training, it was usually religious or domestically practical. The expected accomplishments of a woman at the time included the ability to draw, singing, speaking modern languages (such as Italian or French), and playing a musical instrument, usually the piano. These accomplishments were required to attract the right (rich) kind of husband. A woman's financial status was very important, and yet there was little she could do to improve it. Women of some social standing could not just go out and get a job. The only opportunities for support outside one's family was work as a governess, or live-in teacher. Money for a woman usually only came through marriage or the death of her father, and then only if she had no brothers or other male relatives. Marriage, then, was looked upon by both men and women as a necessity for security, regardless of a lack of attraction or love. Long-range financial stability had to be procured at an early age.