Eco/561pr †Economics Essay

In modern society people desire goods and services that provide a more comfortable or affluent standard of living. We want bottled water, soft drinks, and fruit juices, not just water from the creek. We want salads, burgers, and pizzas, not just berries and nuts. According to MC-Connell (2008) â€Å"Economics, which is the social science concerned with how individuals, institutions, and society make optimal choices under conditions of scarcity.† Scarce economic resources mean limited goods and services. Scarcity restricts options and demands choices. Because we â€Å"can’t have it all,† we must decide what we will have and what we must forgo. Consumers are purposeful in deciding what goods and services to buy. Business firms are purposeful in deciding what products to produce and how to produce them. Government entities are purposeful in deciding what public services to provide and how to finance them. Economist develops economic principles and models at two levels macroeconomics and microeconomics. Macroeconomics examines either the economy as a whole or its basic subdivisions, such as the government, household, and business sectors. Macroeconomics seek to obtain an overview or general outline of the structure of the economy relationship of its major aggregates. We can see it as an economic measure of total output, total employment, total income, aggregate expenditure, and the general level of prices in analyzing various economic problems. On the other hand microeconomics is the part of economics concerned with individual units such as a person, a firm, or industry. At this level economist observe the detail of an economic unit, or very small segment of the economy. Micro measures the price of a specific product, the number of employees in a small business, the revenue of a particular individual. These means individuals and society face economizing problem because their wants exceed their income and they must decide what to purchase and what to for go. Some of the tools we can use to measure this process is a graphically, budget line which is a line in a graph with the various  combinations of two products that a consumer can purchase with the specific income, giving the prices of the two products. Other tools for economist to measure and illustrate society’s economizing problem through production possibilities analysis. This use tables and curves that show the different combinations of good and services that can be produced in a fully-grown economy. Economists most often use graphs to illustrate their models. By understanding these â€Å"graphs† you can more readily comprehend economic relationships. Most of economic principles or models explain relationships between just two sets of economic facts, which can be conveniently represented with two-dimensional graphs. Since income is the determining factor, we represent it on the horizontal axis of the graph, as is customary. And because consumption depends on income, we represent it on the vertical axis of the graph, as is also customary. Actually, what we are doing is representing the independent variable on the horizontal axis and the dependent variable on the vertical axis. Also it’s very important to understand lines which can be described in terms of their slopes. The slope of a straight line is the ratio of the vertical change to the horizontal change between any two points of the line. We can concluded that Graphs and lines are a convenient and revealing way to represent economic relationships. Over time, technological advances and increases in the quantity and quality of resources enable the economy to produce more of all goods and services, that is, to experience economic growth. Society’s choice as to the mix of consumer goods and capital goods in current output is a major determinant of the future location of the production possibilities curve and thus of the extent of economic growth. References: Mc-Connell, B. (2008). Economics: Principles, Problems, and Policies, (16th ed.). : .

Facebook’s Stock? Essay

Social networking has played a prominent role in allowing users to connect with each other around the world over the past decades. Social network sites are used in order to improve intimate communication and build better relationships with family, old and new friends. Facebook in particular is one of the most popular social networking sites. It provides a wide range of connection methods for users to interact with those people that they care about and to update status or photos on the website. The website was established by Mark Zuckerberg and his college friends in February 2004. It is owned and operated by Facebook Inc. The company has continued to develop and increase potentiality over the last eight years (PrivCo, 2011). As of March, 2012, there were more than 900 million Facebook users, more than 125 billion friend connections and there were an average of 300 million photos uploaded each day on the website (Facebook’s S-1 Filing, 2012). In this sense, Facebook has become the largest social networking sites in the world. Additionally, when the company started trading stock to public on 18 May, 2012, it was also recorded as the third largest IPO in the history of the United States (Hammond, 2012). However, the stock price has been significantly falling since selling the stock to public. Although social networking is a growing market and the company plans to continue developing its productions and services, investors remain worried about the ability of the company and they have doubted that the stock will not be able to turn profit margins in both short-term and long-term period. Therefore, the stock of Facebook should not be invested in because it is overvalued and overpriced and the company might struggle with commercial revenue and be restricted in many areas. This paper will describe the stock market and Facebook’s situation before and after trading to the public and will also discuss the question of investment in the stock of the company. It will then anticipate the future of Facebook.

House of Spirits – Epigraph by Pablo Neruda

How does the epigraph relate to the greater message in the novel? An epigraph is a quotation, phrase or motto at the beginning of a piece of literary work, thus setting forth a theme for the piece of literature. In this case, this epigraph gives the readers a small gist and theme of what to expect when they read the novel. â€Å"The House of Spirits† is a novel which was written by Isabel Allende. This story revolves around family life, mainly around two upper-class families; the Del Valle and the Trueba family and was originally written in Spanish, then translated to many different languages, English being one. The story is set in a Latin-American country. The epigraph by Pablo Neruda has a much deeper meaning which the reader has to implore. In a nut-shell, the epigraph talks about two things; life and death. Pablo Neruda is Chilean by nationality, which may also suggest that this ‘Latin country’ we thing the novel is set in, may very well be Chile. The first line asks a question which when thought about, not many people have an answer to. Together with the second line, we can reflect to the novel because even though we may exaggerate and say we live a thousand years, the crucial events that define an individual’s life take place in the matter of just a few days and at the end of the day it is those events that decide the fate of a person’s life. We can connect this to the novel by using the example of Esteban Trueba and Clara, when after he hits her, she decides not to speak to him, nor to use her maiden name and never to wear their wedding ring ever again. It was that one moment that sealed their fate, and their real personality was reflected. â€Å"For a week, or for several centuries? †- this line makes us think, how one small contribution to the world can change a person’s life. He will be remembered for years and years to come, just for that one small thing he may have contributed to the world, in a matter of minutes. The fourth line makes us reflect back on life. All along, as individuals we have thought of death just ‘happening’ and getting over. Like an event. But this novel makes us thing otherwise. It portrays itself as a long process. Dona Ester is a very good example from the novel regarding this. Her life is already declining and there is nothing that she can do to change that fact. It is like she has already begun to die, a slow process, she is just counting her days till that ‘moment’. We can also look at death in another way. In a certain situation, death may also mean not physically leaving the world or your mortal body, but killing something, leaving something behind. We can use the example of Esteban Trueba and Clara, as when he hits her and she decides not to converse with him anymore, it is the beginning of the ‘death’ of their relationship. Another comment on the epigraph I would like to make is that everywhere, Pablo Neruda has used â€Å"he† and â€Å"man†, suggesting that at the time he wrote it, the society he was living in was a male-dominated society. This is also reflected in the book as the inequality to women is clearly shown all through. Ironically, this poem has 5 lines and also there are 5 generations in one of the most important families in the book; the Del Valle family: grandmother, Nivea, Rosa, Clara, Blanca and Alba. This epigraph gives us a surface picture of what to expect in this novel, but as we have seen, if we go deeper to explore, there can be so many more meanings to it.

Pol 300 class discussions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Pol 300 class discussions - Assignment Example The next time speculations are such that the games could be held in South Africa and most of the countries that lost will rise up to be future winners. The United States will receive much publicity based on the wide coverage of the players and, marketing of their products to be used in the games. As a result, the per capita will rise. The course has broadened my outlook on international events. The subject introduces various issues that are addressed in world concept and promotes the idea of integration at the international concept. The course raises the perspective of unity, peace, problems, and events where different states come together for a common goal. Events at the international level lead to establishment of networks that promote development and growth (Thomas, 1988). The events also help in the identification of flaws in various states that require attention and amendments as well challenges in the nations that need to be solved. At the same time, international events help in solution of problems since ideas are provided and information is shared. Innovation is also enhanced and new ways of doing things are learnt during these events (Thomas,

Urban enterpreneurialism has become the adopted post-modern system of Essay

Urban enterpreneurialism has become the adopted post-modern system of governance in cities such as Birmingham. Do new developments benefit inner city areas and - Essay Example We want affordable, quality housing. We want our children to have no need to worry about tomorrow; their biggest concern should be striving to do well at school. We want to know that if the need arises there is quality, affordable healthcare available. We want to give our children a better life than what we have. We want to be able to live comfortably in our old age. Lastly, we want to proud of our communities. However, given the unique problems faced by centre cities, such as Aston, can this attempt at urban entrepreneurialism be effective at combating the extreme poverty and unemployment areas like Aston face? Urban Renewal, Urban entrepreneurialism, Urban Revitalisation or Urban Renaissance – by whatever name called, the concept behind it, no matter where one resides, holds fundamental desires every person strives for. We want to feel safe in our homes and on our streets; we want to make a decent living that will sustain our families. We want affordable, quality housing. We want our children to have no need to worry about tomorrow; their biggest concern should be striving to do well at school. We want to know that if the need arises there is quality, affordable healthcare available. We want to give our children a better life than what we have. We want to be able to live comfortably in our old age. Lastly, we want to proud of our communities. In the mid 1990’s the government saw the need to revitalize our major cities after the industrial decline in the 1980’s and the economic instability that proceeded it. People were flowing out of centre city for the suburbs, industry was leaving, crime was on the rise, and a host of the economic and social problems were happening in our major cities. In an initiative to revitalize urban England, the government implemented a plan to â€Å"create sustainable communities, improve the quality of life

Racial Discrimation in the Criminal Justice System Research Paper

Racial Discrimation in the Criminal Justice System - Research Paper Example Even though minimized to bare levels presently, America has been a class society defined by seclusion of the minorities over the centuries. While facially neutral, the criminal law in the United States is enforced in a massively and pervasively biased manner that has often left the minorities fighting for total-inclusion, and the 21 century is not any different. Surprisingly, the degree with which such discrimination permeates the criminal justice system has defied remedy and lingers on in an era of advanced civilization. No wonder, therefore, that crime and punishment formed the basis of rich and powerful manifestations of the racial divide characterized by chain-gang style penal practices and prosecutorial and judicial bigotry in the early history of the United States. While many scholars and politicians may deny a factual racial disparity statistics, the reality is in the open and only those interested would dare see the truth behind the numbers. A study by the American Bar Association (2007) – in a research - quoted one of the most concise accounts of the law enforcers attitude toward black offenders. A research participant declared: "All three of my boys smoked pot [growing up]. I knew it. But I also knew if one was caught he would never go to prison. But if any of my neighbors got caught," adding that his neighbors were black, "they would go to prison for 10, 12 years" (p.71). Although overt racial discrimination may have diminished to the bare minimum, perceptive fairness of the entire criminal justice system is still a myth in reality in the United States. Minorities remain overrepresented at all stages of the criminal justice process both as offenders and as victims. Nothing services this claim than the statistical evidence of a racially skewed justice system tilted in favor of the white population as depicted in racial

Freud and Levi-Strauss' explanations of the roles and positions of Essay

Freud and Levi-Strauss' explanations of the roles and positions of women in kinship structures - Essay Example You must discuss TWO or THREE texts and make clear what parts of Freud and Levi-Strauss' theories you are using. Introduction Oedipus the King and The Hours have different stories that unlock the mysteries of traditional flaws. The two stories are considered as the best novels of Sophocles for Oedipus the King and Michael Cunningham for the Hours. The two stories will be tackled in this paper as their contextual framework base on the roles of women will be explored. With such purpose, the present paper will be significant in terms of using the psychological and socio-cultural basis of the two famous contemporaries (Freud for the latter and Levi-Strauss for the former) whose disciplines and theoretical concepts will be used to reflect for the ageless literature of Sophocles and modern literature in the advancement of the 21st century of Michael Cunningham. Jocasta’s role in Oedipus the King Jocasta has been troubled with fate that brought her family and the whole land into nuis ance. Jocasta became the wife of his own son, Oedipus. Jocasta could not bear the truth and felt shame based on what happened to her situation. She killed herself after knowing the truth (Johnston 2007, 63). She felt being humiliated by faith. Women’s Roles and Relationships in â€Å"The Hours† The movie has three main characters whose lives are interestingly similar with their life experiences and struggles in life. The three women only differed in the set of time and separated with the span of decade (McCarthy 2002, 39). Woolf, who is primarily emphasized in the novel, wrote the Mrs. Dalloway novel in London in the early 20th century. Therefore, the story of the Hours contributes in covering Woolf’s â€Å"Mrs. Dalloway† novel (Spohrer 2005, 113). This would mean that Cunningham (2008) has reviewed and evolved the novel of Woolf by generating two characters (Laura Brown and Clarissa Vaughn that overwhelms the personality of Mrs. Dalloway and the author i tself. The role of Virginia Woolf in the story illustrates her psychological illness of depression which results to her suicidal tendency situation (Holden 2002). She was a writer who inspired the other two protagonists (Brown and Vaughn) in the Hours story with the life of Clarissa Dalloway. The protagonist in the novel of Woolf has been found to fell in love with a woman who may have experienced identity confusion. The confusion of Clarissa Dalloway resulted to her inability to express herself and freedom which may have influence her to cut off her life. Mrs. Dalloway is a representation of Woolf to herself as she was confused and worried not to live a healthy, normal life. She has been anxious by thinking how his husband’s life could be ruined with her illness. Hence, she was afraid that her role as a wife whose succumbing for the pain of mental illness will also make his husband suffer, which made her to illogically tabulate herself to death like Mrs. Dalloway. Laura Brow n, the other main character of Cunningham’

NURSING AND SOCIAL WORK SKILLS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

NURSING AND SOCIAL WORK SKILLS - Essay Example Through science, nurses obtain the skills and technology they rely on to achieve each patients optimal health (Dougherty, L & Lister, S. 2004). In this essay I will illustrate how I worked and established a working relationship with service user TJ during my 100-day statutory placement at a primary care community setting for people with learning disabilities and mental health problems. I will consider the interactions and interventions embarked upon with the patient, critically analyzing my work practice by linking theory to practice. My work with this patient involved helping and supporting him to develop new skills and more importantly to lower his aggression towards others in the day centre. The assignment will look at the rationale for utilizing a holistic philosophy of care and employing an anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice in nursing. I will also discuss how developed a close relationship. I will divide the essay into five sections. The first will discuss the des cription of the work. The second section will analyse how relationship was established. The third section will identify anticipated and actual barriers in the relationship. The fourth will talk in depth how the relationship was brought to a close. Reflecting upon my interactions with the patient I will analyze the influence of the reflective process. Following guidance from the NMC code of professional conduct and the GSCC Codes of Practice, the names of the patients have been changed to ensure confidentiality. The placement will remain unidentified and referred to as Edwardian Day Centre. The final section will provide an evaluation of my success (if any) in establishing the relationship with TJ. The essay will than be concluded.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Established with the aim to enable people with learning disability to live independently in the society, Edwardian Day Centre considers its members (aged 18-65) as students rather than service users as this prevents labelling (Cynthia, B.

Analysis on the evolution of inflation and unemployment rates Essay

Analysis on the evolution of inflation and unemployment rates - Essay Example The highest inflation rate recorded was 16.59% in June 2008 while the lowest recorded rate was -9.96% in December 2009. Currently the inflating in Qatar is 2.70% .Unemployment rates from 2001 to 2013 averaged about 2.73% proving the relationship between inflation and unemployment rate as inverse. Currently ,unemployment rate is about 0.3 %( World Bank 2015). Inflation rates in United Arab Emirates from 1990 to 2014 averaged 2.15%. December 2008 recorded the highest inflation rate in United Arab Emirate of 2.15%. The lowest recorded inflation rate was -1.6% in January 2011. Currently the inflation rate stands at 3.60%. Unemployment rates averaged 3.12% from 1985 to 2012. The highest unemployment rate recorded was 4.60% in 2011. This rate decreased to about 4.20% as of 2012 (World Bank 2015). According to those statistics, inflation and unemployment relates inversely. Consequently policy makers can only target either low inflation rates or low unemployment rates but not both simultaneously. If the rates of unemployment and inflation were plotted, the resulting curve is the Phillip’s

Reform Laws and Divorce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Reform Laws and Divorce - Essay Example This paper shall argue on the causes of divorce, while pointing out to the reasons for reform laws on marriages and divorce in the process. A marriage is a standard union between two individuals that are committed to one another and they are to live for each other with the two parties developing common interest, which are economically related in some cases. In marriage, the husband and wife are expected to have a lifetime bond and the strength of this bond all depends on how they could effectively manage their relationship and it is the mismanagement of relationships that ultimately lead to divorce. It is a known fact that most of the divorce cases are filed by women and this is due to the fact that the society has made women to play second fiddle in relationships and when they feel they are no longer enjoying the relationship, they sue for divorce. According to the American Law and Economics Review, more than two-thirds of divorce cases in the United States are filed by women (Brini g & Douglas 126, Khun & John 31) A marriage would surely stand on a proper economic foundation and if the necessary things are not done, the foundation on which the marriage was built would collapse. This is to say that a marriage that the husband or the man of the house cannot meet up with the responsibility in the house in terms of matching his income with the finances at home would begin to crumble. A relationship that is marred by lack of finances or proper management of finance cannot stand and the marriage would ultimately fail. In this case, there needs to be some reform laws on the union of two people as it must be clearly stated that people that are not financially capable to start a family should not even make any attempt to get married in the first place. If this is done, divorce cases that arise as a result of the inability of the husband to cater for the financial needs of the family would never arise (Brinig & Douglas 127). There are several divorce situations that the bride accuses her husband of not being financially capable enough to cater for the family and then sues for divorce and after the hearing of the divorce, the two married parties are legally separated with the husband paying some sum of money for the upkeep of his ex-wife and if they have any issue between them, he is also responsible for the upkeep of the children. Thus, if there have been reform laws that have mandated the wife to ensure that she wants to get married to someone that would take care of the finances of herself and the issue that comes after the marriage, these cases of divorce would be to the barest minimum. Parents hold the responsibility of catering for their children and when this obligation is not fulfilled there could be some cracks in the walls in the family system and this could be the effect of an improperly planned marriage system. Divorce follows an improperly managed marriage, thus there should be some reforms law that seeks to monitor the management of m arriages and this would go a long way to teach the couples the consequences of mismanaging their homes. Some of the reasons women sue for divorce is due to the financial and economical incentives they stand to gain from the dissolution of their marriage and the fact that it is the women that gain more from

Water and Air Pollution Plan Essay Example for Free

Water and Air Pollution Plan Essay According to the peer material provided for review entitled â€Å"Water and Air Pollution Analysis† dated September 19, 2007, among the main environmental problems of Arkansas is water pollution. The paper stated that polluted water caused people to be sick, obliging them to file a lawsuit against several big poultry farms believed to have caused the problem brought about by chicken waste. This hints at the problem of ground water contamination. The paper also said that because of the proliferation of chicken farms in the area, chicken waste is being widely used as fertilizers by farms, resulting to agricultural runoff which pollutes their streams and rivers. Elsewhere in the paper, the author also claimed that the agricultural runoff which is being conveyed by White River to the Mississippi River â€Å"leads to algae blooms that take oxygen from the water and kills fish. † This is a case of surface water pollution. The leading environmental issue in Arkansas, therefore, is ground water and surface water pollution from agricultural runoff. The chicken waste being used as fertilizer contains harmful elements which seeps through the layers of soil and contaminate the sources of ground water. According to information released by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), chicken waste contains a combination of fungus, bacteria, and arsenic. Arsenic is found in chicken waste because â€Å"organic arsenic compounds are extensively added to poultry feed to enhance growth. † Therefore, if the chicks grow rapidly, the profit of the poultry company is increased. According to the EPA, â€Å"the most common arsenical poultry feed is Roxarsone [and ] by design, most of the arsenic, which is number one on the EPAs toxic substance list, is excreted in the manure of the chicken. † (Lundy Davis, 2003) In other words, if this organic arsenic manages to seep through the layers of soil, it could easily contaminate the groundwater which is the source of the people’s drinking water. In the face of this hazard, it is paramount that efforts should be exerted by the residents of Arkansas to push for the illegalization of adding organic arsenic to poultry feeds. The people should organize themselves into a lobby group, hire lawyers if necessary to assist them, and approach government officials to achieve this objective. A broad united front is needed for this purpose because poultry raisers, a rather strong lobby group itself, would not take things sitting down since removing organic arsenic compound from poultry feeds would inevitably mean reduced profit for the industry. Over-fertilization should also be avoided. The amount of chicken waste being spread over the fields should not be overdone so that the seepage could be contained. Crop specialization should likewise be avoided because specialized crops usually require more fertilizer to achieve a high production level. The tendency to provide more fertilizer to specialized crops therefore could lead to over-fertilization. For the farming community of Arkansas, crop rotation and the planting of cover crops is advisable. Crop rotation is planting different kinds of crops alternately in order to enhance the quality of the soil and allow reduced use of fertilizer. Cover crops, on the other hand, refer to the types of crop which has a rooting system capable of storing nitrogen. If farmers could plant these kinds of crops, they could avoid the use of large amounts of fertilizers. (Pedersen, 1997) Surface water pollution due to agricultural runoff could be prevented or reduced in several ways. One of them is the maintenance or restoration of natural riparian zones. A riparian zone is an area of vegetation which is usually found near the waterways. In some areas, farmers destroy these riparian zones to enlarge their farms. If they had done this, it is time that they restore them because riparian zones act as buffers which prevent the agricultural runoff to go down the streams or rivers. (Overmann, n. d. ) In areas where the farms are situated in steep hillsides overlooking the rivers, constructing â€Å"terraces† is a good solution. Terraces refer to the short slopes planted with grass or other types of cover crops which are alternating with the level areas planted with crops. These terraces â€Å"hold the slope in place† and prevents agriculture runoff from easily reaching the waterways. â€Å"Contour farming† could also be practiced by farmers in Arkansas. Iowa farmers have applied this method with some success. In the traditional method of farming, the crops are planted in straight rows. Under this method, however, water could easily run down the slope or hill following the rows. In the contour farming, the crops are planted in rows which circle around the slope in curves, thereby breaking the flow of water. This prevents runoff from going down directly to the river. (Iowa Association of Naturalists, n. d. ) In New Orleans, the situation is slightly different. Water pollution is also caused by runoff but here it comes from the industrial plants which pour their industrial wastes into the rivers. Mining activities are also a source of runoff in New Orleans. Floods and storms also contribute to water pollution in the area. For instance, when Hurricane Katrina struck, it caused a lot of havoc in the area including polluting the waterways. The sewerage system was destroyed, causing liquid and solid wastes to be spilled into the rivers and the ocean. Air pollution is caused by geothermal plants which are emitting harmful substances into the environment. Turbulences popularly known as Building Wakes accelerate the rate of diffusion of these substances to the environment. The frequent occurrence of dust storms is another source of smog while the greenhouse effect contributes substantial emissions of hydrofluorocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons into the atmosphere. Water pollution in New Orleans has caused people to suffer from dysentery and cholera and even displaced some residents from their homes because of polluted drinking water supply. The overt effects of air pollution, on the other hand, are asthma and hypersensitivity pneumonitis. The causes of pollution in the two areas may differ, but the effects are similarly destructive and, in some cases, life-threatening. Arkansas and New Orleans should both fight pollution, mustering all the resources available to them. References Iowa Association of Naturalists. (n. d. ). Iowa Water Pollution. Retrieved September 23, 2007 2007 from http://www.extension. iastate. edu/Publications/IAN103. pdf Lundy Davis. (2003). Something Fowl in the Air – Poultry Industry Contamination. PR Newswire. Retrieved September 23, 2007 from http://www. animalsvoice. com/PAGES/writes/editorial/news/invest/fowl_air. html Overmann, S. R. (n. d. ). Water Pollution by Agricultural Chemicals. Retrieved September 23, 2007 from http://agripollute. nstl. gov. cn/MirrorResources/10087/update30. html Pedersen, T. L. (1997). Agricultural Run-Off as a Source of Drinking Water Contamination. Retrieved September 23, 2007 from http://extoxnet. orst. edu/faqs/safedrink/ag. htm

Interpersonal Communication Distinguish Between 2 Different Type of Communication Essay Example for Free

Interpersonal Communication Distinguish Between 2 Different Type of Communication Essay This paper was a little difficult for me to write at first because I have never had to analyze my own communication styles and apply concepts to the type of communication styles I have encountered. Here is to learning how to understand communication and the different styles we encounter every day. I spent a lot of this past week encountering a lot of non-verbal communication. Non-verbal communications is communicating through wordless messages. I have been sick and this has been the most sufficient and effective form of communication for me. While I was in the hospital, to effectively communicate to the nurse my needs sometimes I had to use gestures or facial expressions to let her know I was hungry or letting her know the room temperature was hot. Facial expressions are one of our primary means of conveying emotions. Deaf people rely on facial expressions and gestures to communicate. The machine I was hooked up to, to let the nurse know my stats, I believe is also form of communication. I believe it communicated to the nurse that I was not getting proper oxygen saturation so she was able to increase my oxygen intake base on what was communicated to her. I had a hard time speaking, so I did sometimes have to make some noises to let the nurse know I was in pain and needed assistance. She was able to understand my request and assist me accordingly. I also did a lot of online communication. I sent a lot of emails and messages to communicate with friends and family. I also have spent a lot of time listening. Listening is making an effort to hear something and to pay attention to either what is being said or the non-verbal communication gestures or messages given to you. Hearing what someone is saying to you is completely different then actually listening. Effective listening is to understand what is being said to you. I had to understand what the Dr. was explaining to me to be able to recover in a timely manner. I also had to remember to put into practice what the Dr. telling me in regards to my care. Remembering is an important stage of listening. Remembering is important because it can help me from getting into a sticky situation such as the Doctor asking me any questions regarding my treatment. If I was just hearing him and not listening and remembering what he said I would not be able to answer his questions accurately. I had to interpret what he was saying. I had to understand what was critical to my care as of right now and what I need to implement once I recover. I did this by listening to his words as well as watching his gestures and facial expressions. At some point I had to respond to the Doctor. I had to make him aware I was listening and remembering what he said I needed to do. I usually nodded my head and made direct eye contact given it was hard for me to communicate verbally until the last day. On the day of my discharge I was able to paraphrase to him what he needed me to do in order to recover and to maintain my health. When looking at this experience of listening, I would say it would be considered informational listening. I was engage to learn, taking information in so I was able to properly care for myself outside of the hospital and what I needed to do to keep from returning back.

An Analysis Of Cigarette Ignition Environmental Sciences Essay

An Analysis Of Cigarette Ignition Environmental Sciences Essay Hydrogen or deuterium gas when mixed with air or oxygen forms a highly flammable mixture over a wide range of proportions; they also form flammable mixtures with chlorine and the oxides of nitrogen, further, they will also react spontaneously with fluorine and chlorine trifluoride. Because it is impossible to guarantee that any system will be completely leak free every effort should be made to exclude all sources of ignition. The designer and the user should give careful consideration to the risk from a wide variety of ignition sources e.g. smoking, flames, hot surfaces, electrical and other sparking, static electricity, shock, impact, catalytic and chemical action. , Thus petrol vapour mixed with air has a lower flammability limit of just over 1% and an upper limit of 6% by volume petrol vapour in air, at normally encountered temperatures. Concentrations below the lower limit are said to be lean mixtures and those above the upper limit rich mixtures Flammability For flammable liquids with flash point temperatures above normal ambient, e.g., kerosene, white spirit and diesel oil, an ignition source has to ignite not only the flammable mixture of fuel vapour but to generate this mixture in the first place by heating the bulk liquid. Ignition delay A further factor in the mechanism of ignition of gases and vapours is the ignition delay time or induction period, that is the time period between bringing a potentially flammable mixture to a condition where it will ignite, Ignition delay times are dependent on temperature and are reduced with an increase in temperature. Cigarette composition and combustion Composition The most commonly encountered, manufactured cigarette consists of a cylindrical packed bed of 1 g of shredded tobacco enclosed in paper and is generally 8 mm in diameter and 65 mm to 85 mm long. The strands of tobacco are non-uniformly packed and the volume of the cigarette consists of about 75 percent free space. Often a smoke filter is attached and this is typically 20 mm long and contains cellulose acetate, paper fibres and sometimes charcoal. The Virginia tobacco typically used in the manufacture of British cigarettes contains less than 0.1 % of nitrates. One obvious difference in their burning characteristics is that hand-rolled cigarettes tend to go out unless puffed by the smoker, whereas a cigarette with tightly packed tobacco will smoulder for about twenty minutes with no assistance from the smoker. The experimental work reported here and the discussion relates to manufactured cigarettes. The smoke itself consists of mainstream smoke, from the maximum gas phase temperature (850Â °C) was at the centre butt end of the cigarette during suction by a smoker, and. sidestream smoke during the smoking cycle. The term used here for the suction or drawing process during smoking is puffing of the cigarette. One puff of a cigarette is, there- the fore, one suction or draw by the smoker. There are two main regions at the tip on the coal, namely the combustion zone A and the pyrolysis and distillation zone B. Combustible vapours are produced in zone B prior to ignition in zone A In the interval between puffs, the natural convection flow of air around the combustion coal in an upwards direction sustains burning, and forms the sidestrearn smoke. Baker [33] employed two different methods of measurement, one for the solid phase and one for the gas phase, and his results are generally accepted as being representative of the temperatures encountered inside a burning cigarette tip. smoking machine, taking a 35 cm3 volume of 2 sec duration, once per minute of both the gas and solid phases, were determined. These temperatures can, therefore, be regarded as approaching the maximum attained during the drawing of a cigarette surprisingly, the maximum solid phase temperature in the area region of 900Â °C-950Â °C was attained at the points of maximum air flow, i.e., 0.2 mm to 1 mm forward of the paper burn line. This is the area of the cigarette where a distinct pale red glow can be seen when a cigarette is puffed. The maximum gas phase temperature (850Â °C) was at the centre of the cigarette coal. Ignition of gases and vapours by hot surfaces Although the tip of a cigarette cannot be treated simply as a hot surface in a discussion about its potential to ignite substances, it is useful to consider such an ignition source and the combustion parameters involved. Powell has reviewed much detailed experimental work on hot surface ignition [42], and the results provide an insight into some of the reasons for ignition or otherwise of flammable gas and vapour mixtures by a lighted cigarette. Some of the factors involved in the ignition of flammable mixtures of vapour or gas by hot surfaces are: temperature of heated surface; contact time of gas and surface; movement of gas; composition of surface; shape and size of surface; chemical nature of substance; ignition delay time. Ignition of gases and vapours by lighted cigarettes Experiments carried out at the US Bureau of Mines found that a smoked (puffed) cigarette would only ignite methane air mixture if the latter were caused to flow across the glowing cigarette at 1000 ft per min. Attempts were made to ignite propane, petrol and butane with lighted cigarettes without success and similar results were obtained with white spirit Laboratory studies of ignition by a lighted cigarette were carried out by Yockers and Segal testing the liquids carbon disulphide, ethyl ether, benzene, toluene, xylene, acetone, methylethylketone, amylacetate, ethylacetate, ethyl benzene, ethanol, methanol, petroleum ether, gasoline and Stoddard solvent (white spirit) [50]. They suggested that it might be thought that a cigarette would ignite these substances as their ignition temperatures were lower than those encountered in the burning tip of a cigarette. Carbon disulphide was readily ignited and ignition also occurred during one of the tests with toluene. Ignition of toluene could not be achieved, however, in several subsequent tests under the conditions which prevailed during the one ignition. It was speculated that this one ignition was perhaps owing to a hot spot when a solid chunk of tobacco seems to spit or sizzle. (It was later suggested that as some tobaccos in the USA contain nitrates, a concentration of this substance could give rise to a hot spot as described in Yockers and Segals paper.) They also tried without success to ignite natural gas (mostly methane), butane and acetylene. Carbon disulphide, acetylene, ethylene oxide, hydrogen sulphide and hydrogen phosphide were readily ignited. Diethyl ether was ignited but only in a closed vessel and after a long delay. Included in the substances which were not ignited were methane, butane, benzene, hexane and cyclohexane. In 1989 scientists at the Research and Technology Division of British Gas studied the effects of lighted cigarettes on methane and ethylene. Six tests were carried out wit smoked cigarettes in natural gas-air mixtures over a concentration range of 5.6% (v/v) to 9.6% (v/v) natural gas in air; tests were also carried out with ethylene-air mixtures Flammability limits The low values of the upper flammable limits of methane, gasoline and propane suggest that in the burning tip of the cigarette or indeed at the surface, oxygen is not present in a sufficient concentration to allow ignition. At the temperatures encountered (700Â °C to 950Â °C), the upper limit would be much higher than those quoted for ambient temperatures but insufficient oxygen molecules are present. Some regions of the cigarette coal are virtually depleted of oxygen and in other areas less than 10% oxygen by volume was measured. In addition to this, carbon dioxide is produced during the combustion of the tobacco and it has been shown by Jones et a1 [54] that gasoline vapour-air-carbon dioxide mixtures are non-flammable when the concentration of carbon dioxide in the mixture exceeds 28.9% by volume. Although some combustible gases such as carbon monoxide and hydrogen are produced, inside the cigarette coal there is a reducing atmosphere depleted in oxygen. A cigarette tip does not, therefore, have sufficient heat energy both to strip off vapour from the liquid surface and to ignite the air vapour mixture produced. Auto-ignition temperature For a burning cigarette, a given parameter involved in the combustion process cannot be discussed in isolation from the others but for ignition by hot surfaces the number of these factors is reduced. It has been found that at the temperatures encountered in a cigarette where the smoulder is stable (ca 700Â °C to 775Â °C) ignition of methane and gasoline by a hot surface in this temperature range is highly unlikely. For methane, temperatures in excess of 1,000C are needed for ignition. Temperatures in the region of 900Â °C to 950Â °C are generated when a cigarette is puffed, so even at this elevated temperature methane would not be expected to be ignited. During the puff of a cigarette in a flammable atmosphere there will be a continuous flow of fuel and air drawn into the combustion zone. Only substances with short ignition delay times, of around 1 millisec or less, at the temperatures encountered in the cigarette, will be expected to be ignited. For substances with long ignition delay times cooler reactants would be swept into the path of reacting fuel and oxygen molecules, before a flame could propagate through the mixture. Namely that methane and gasoline constituents are not ignited, diethyl ether is but after a long delay and hydrogen and carbon disulphide are ignited. Quenching distance The ignition of flammable gases and vapours will probably take place in the airlgas space between the glowing tobacco fibres. It is possible that some substances are ignited in this region but the flame does not propagate to the flammable gas outside the cigarette. Guest [44] found that some surfaces, which formed a layer of scale or ash, e.g., iron or impure carbon, did not ignite natural gas mixtures with ease, and that surfaces which were strongly catalytic or possessed an interstitial structure required higher temperatures. This latter effect could be similar to the flame arresting property of a fine-mesh wire gauze (e.g., as in the Davy Lamp). Heat is conducted away by the gauze from the reacting gaslair mixture, lowering the temperature of the reactants and preventing the progression of flame to unburned fuellair mixture. This phenomenon is related to the quenching distance of the fuel and these distances for stoichiometric mixtures of fuels (at 20Â °C and one atmosphere) tested by cigarettes are given in Table 2 [57] and [58]. The substances which are ignited by a cigarette have the shortest quenching distances. These are the substances where, because of their reactivity, the loss of heat or destruction of reacting molecules at a boundary is not significant until the dimensions of the boundary are small. As with the other parameters discussed, this alone cannot provide an explanation why some substances are ignited and others are not. For example diethyl ether, which is ignited by cigarettes, has a greater quenching distance than hexane, which is not ignited.

The White Doe by Francesco Petrarch Essay -- TPCASTT for The White Doe

Title- I believe that the title, "The White Doe" will perhaps have something to do with animals because the only way I have ever heard the word doe used is in the context of a female deer. Perhaps the poem will touch on the innocence of an animal or situation because of the word "white" which symbolizes innocence and cleanliness. Paraphrase- In the poem, "The White Doe," the author is speaking of an encounter with a female deer. The encounter takes place in a glade, which is an opening in the forest. It is a cold morning when the author first spots the deer under the shade of a tree in between two streams. The author raves at the site of the magnificent animal. Intrigued by the deer, he follows it throughout the morning like a greedy person searches for treasure. After following the animal, the author realizes that the deer does not want to be touched because a higher authority wishes it to remain undisturbed. Noontime soon came, and satisfaction did not come to the author's tired eyes. The author falls into a stream at the end, and the beautiful white doe disappears. Connotation- The first glance at the poem, "The White Doe" leads the reader to believe that it is strictly about an encounter with a white doe, but it actually is a love poem. The white doe represents the woman the author loves. This poem's rhyme scheme varies from stanza to stanza. The first stanza has a rhyme scheme of ABAB, the second ABBA, the third ABA, and the fourth stanza has no rhyme scheme. The deterioration of the rhyme steady serves as a tool to exemplify how the speaker becomes lost in following the animal/woman. The entire poem is an example of personification because the white doe represents the woman whom the author loves. White symbolizes the... ...to deer, the author created more of a feminine sounding title, which in turn implies that white doe represents a woman. Theme- The author is trying to say that everyone should come out of the forest into the glade because one might find something magnificent. In other words, for someone to not find his or herself caught up in the clutter or everyday life and thinking only of oneself. The author is trying to send the message for people to look up out of the thicket and see life because a beautiful white doe-pure innocent young woman-may be waiting to meet oneself. Yet, in the end the author wants to get away from his escape, so the author is also saying that one should not become fixated upon one moment. Therefore, the author is sending the message that one should look up and smell the roses, yet know where one is and still have his or her priorities in order.

Leaders Are Being Influenced Dominantly By Either Confidence Or Competence :: Free Essays

Leaders Are Being Influenced Dominantly By Either Confidence Or Competence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before a person can take any action to lead their followers, they must be able to recognize approximately where their followers are in the developmental cycle. To do this, he or she must watch closely the actions of his or her followers and determine to what degree their actions are being influenced dominantly by either confidence or competence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Once the leader knows the point of confidence vs. competence in his or her followers, he or she will know which factor to build on. When the leader feels they have successfully motivated their followers to be both very confident and competent, and that the followers are ready and have the responsibility to lead themselves to their goal, then they know that at that point, the followers are ready to accept some leadership themselves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Once the followers are ready for some leadership of their own, the next problem at hand becomes how to go about empowering them with the leadership responsibilities. Needless to say, the leader cannot simply step away and allow the responsibility to dump onto the followers; surely if that happened, they would quickly lose confidence and possibly competence too. Instead, the leadership and responsibility of the followers should be increased gradually as they are steadily empowered, and at a rate that depends on how well the newly gained leadership is handled.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At all times though, the leader must be prepared to guide or even realign the direction the newly independent followers take. The leader must also realize the risk of failure in the complete empowerment of his or her followers, as starting over completely is hardly possible. Were that to occur, the subject would near definitely experience a severe loss of confidence as a major consequence to a premature empowerment situation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  And lastly, if a leader is completely successful in empowering his or

Effects of Nontraditional Curriculum on its Students Essay -- Educatio

Effects of Nontraditional Curriculum on its Students To succeed in the current world, a person should have multifaceted knowledge. Therefore, to build that knowledge in students, many schools have an educational system that consists of nontraditional subjects. According to the people who implement this curriculum, it will produce a person who is well-adjusted to the current world. It also helps students to succeed not only in class but also in the real world. But the curriculum with nontraditional subjects has several effects. In her passage â€Å"An Army of one: Me† Jean Twenge discusses about self-esteem curriculum. Although the authorities who carry out these self-esteem programs promise that it will improve the future of the students, it is making the future of the student worse. In, â€Å"An Army of one: Me†, Twenge argues how schools conduct self-esteem programs and what kinds of effect do these programs have on children. Twenge says â€Å"Many school districts across the country have specific programs designed to increase children’s self-esteem, most of which actually build self-importance and narcissism† (765). In the same sentence, she starts to describe the self-esteem program in schools she makes an assumption that it is going in a way that is not intended. If we build a building without using the plan that we already drew, it will be a crooked building. In the same way, self-esteem curriculum is planned and designed to increase the self-esteem of the school children, but when it is implemented it made an outcome that is straightly opposed to the outcome that is intended. Twenge defines narcissism in this way â€Å"Narcissism is one of the few personality traits that psychologists agree is almost completely negative† (774). Thus, narciss... ...to a real world. Because the real world is not a bed of roses, we have to face failures at sometimes. But the self-esteem programs try to make students feel that there will be no failures, which is not true. If we cannot see planet Saturn with the naked eye, it does not mean that Saturn does not exist. Likewise, it does not mean that students will not fail anything because they went through a system that will not fail them. This self-esteem curriculum also conceals the failure of the students and promotes the students to the next level. But at some point it will be difficult for those students to follow up with others. Therefore, this self-esteem curriculum should be revised in a way that it improves the students’ future instead of diminishing it. If we choose and implement the program correctly it will undoubtedly make the younger generation’s future prosperous.

Cash Management and Short Term Financing

Running head: CASH MANAGEMENT AND SHORT-TERM FINANCING Cash Management and Short-term Financing University of Phoenix Cash Management and Short-term Financing Structured cash management and efficient short-term financing are both beneficial and important for a company to remain competitive in the market; this will help increase potential profit and shareholder value with the rising stock. Cash management is a tool for the company can use to manage idle funds (cash balances) that are not generating revenue giving the company the ability to use the freed cash to build sources for short-term financing through interest building securities. Cash management techniques include marketable securities, international cash management, collection/disbursement float, and Electronic Funds Transfer. Short-term financing give the company the ability to secure cash needed for production enabling the company to maximize profitability. Short-term financing methods include inventory financing, commercial paper, trade credit, bank loans, receivables financing, foreign borrowing. Cash management Techniques Float is the difference between the recorded available cash and the amount that has been credited by the bank, this results in a time delay when dealing with banking system and the mail service and clearing checks. A company will use the float to minimize collection times and increase disbursement dates to give them more time with the cash on hand to use in interest building securities. Electronic Funds Transfer is quickly replacing the out-dated check system, with the EFT system the ease of electronically deposited funds; this reduces the lag or down time traditionally associated with the manual check. This system increases the efficiency of the banking system and decreases float times for the company. International cash management allows the company to deposit money in countries with a high interest rate returns. This allows the company to invest in high return loans in a source of generating additional revenue. Marketable securities turn non-generating cash into interest generating revenue through CD’S, treasury notes, treasury bills, savings deposits, Eurodollar deposits and commercial paper. The techniques used in cash management are used to reduce or eliminate unwanted cash balances that do not generate revenue and turn them into interest earning securities. Collections control and management is vital in eliminating unwanted cash balances, the entire purpose is for the company to retain the highest rate of cash solvency to maximize profitability. Companies have reduced the use of â€Å"float† methods with the increase of EFT’s, time is not an issue with the EFT, and this transition takes place immediately. However, both float and Electronic Funds Transfer can be used in collections to maximize return. International cash management allows the company to reach for the highest interest rate of return not found in the United States, the use of this technique is more challenging; the ability to manage funds through different geographical locations and time zones can be extensive. The International cash is always susceptible to currency fluctuations, interest rate changes that could end in a lesser value than originally deposited. The International cash management runs at a high risk for the company but also has the potential for the largest gain. Marketable securities are a good technique for cash management but run the risk of company loss with increasing interest rates. Trade credit occurs when a seller or manufacturer of goods extends credit to the company in the form of accounts payable. Bank loans can be used to provide the necessary cash to implement expansion or new product development. Commercial paper is a certificate issued to the investor, by the company; this constitutes a debt that will be repaid. Foreign borrowing lets a company seek outside the normal parameter to obtain loans at a lower rate. Inventory and receivables financing let the company try to get based on their current asset value. Between all the financing options Trade credit constitutes approximately 40% of all short term credit to companies with trade credit a company can take advantage of discounts when the payments are made in a timely fashion, this give the company flexibility in deciding on how long to carry their credit debt. Both bank loans and trade credit are short-term provide immediate funds of financing. However, bank loans are at risk of requiring a higher compensating balance, which lowers the amount of actual money lent to the company. Commercial paper methods of financing have the advantage of being issued below the prime interest rate that banks charge. Commercial paper does not have the challenge of compensating balance requirements but the paper can be lost, stolen, misplaced, or damaged. The commercial paper process has mostly been replaced by a computerized version. Foreign borrowing, like the other techniques, is also short-term but runs the risk of foreign currency inflation or fluctuations. The use of receivables and inventory as collateral in financing is also short-term. Receivable has the advantage when the asset level inflates, as the value increase the amount of money increase that the company can borrow against. The uses of short-term financing or cash management both maintain the goal of ensure sufficient funds the company will need to maximize profitability. Cash management utilizes control over the receipt and payment of cash as to minimize non-earning cash balances and to capitalize the freed up cash in interest earning modes.

Marketing Plan for Pharmasim

A) Executive Summary The management team at the over-the-counter cold medicine (OCM) group of Allstar Brands is looking to utilize revenue generated by Allround to help fund new opportunities in emerging markets. Therefore, it is critical that Allround maintain its market-leading position in terms of market share, profitability, and sales in order to fund these new initiatives. While Allround is a leader in brand awareness and brand most frequently purchased, there are direct competitors to Allround.These competitors offer various products from general cold medicine offerings to single-use medicines. It is likely that these companies will continue to develop new offerings in that arena to have greater coverage across different segments. To defend against these moves, the Allround brand must expand its line, and introduce new products to the market. This will provide an additional area for growth and revenue, allow the company to use the strong brand recognition to help launch the new products, and ensure that the product lineup is meeting current consumer trends and demands.Our sales force works with the channel’s large retailers/chain stores (direct sales) or with wholesalers/retailers (indirect sales) to ensure prominent product placement. Our sales force also works to maintain relationships with the key decision makers at each of these channels. If these relationships are damaged, there is a direct impact to sales and therefore profitability. Our outlined marketing plan will work to strengthen these relationships and allow for a dialog with the channels that will be invaluable for our organization.It is evident that Allstar Brands needs a detailed marketing plan in order to positively progress in the future. Outlined below are the key areas in a marketing plan as well as suggestions for achieving our marketing objectives. B) Situation and Environment Analysis SWOT Analysis Strengths – Allround has the highest brand awareness of any other compet itor. – Allround has the highest market share based on sales revenue for OTC medicine. – Allstar is the market leader in the cold remedy market. Weaknesses – Allround has a low customer retention rate compared to some other competitor brands. Allstar’s current product offering only focuses on the cold category, which is a small portion of the total available market. – Allstar has a small sales force to promote its product. Only 14% of total marketing expenses allocated to sales force. – Product placement in stores is not optimum. – Allround contains alcohol, which is a side effect that consumers dislike. – Allstar has only one product on the market. – Consumer preference is leading to capsule form, and most competitors already supplying in capsule form.Opportunities – Allstar has the ability to tap into another segment of the market by offering a brand extension, such as the cough or allergy segments. -Allstar has the ability to add brand extensions that fit customer needs. -Allstar can remove the alcohol from its product line. Threats -Consumers perceive alcoholic content in OTC medication negatively. -Other OTC competitors are receiving higher doctor recommendations than Allround. -Allround has a lower customer retention rate compared to other competitor brands. Allstar is only focusing on the cold category, which makes up a small portion of the available market. -Product placement in stores not optimal compared to competition. -Introduction of new products by competitors can erode Allstar’s market share. Competitors CompanyAllstarB&BEthikDriscolCompetitor Summary Brand NameAllroundBesthelpExtraDryup Market SegmentColdAllergy/ColdCough/Cold/NasalAllergy/Nasal/ColdDiversified in other market segments Product4-hr multi symptom cold liquid4-hr cold capsule12-hr cold capsule4 hr multi-symptom cold capsuleAll cold medicine in capsule form Price$5. 9$4. 89$4. 49$5. 09Lower MSRP unit price for competitors Market share40. 4%25. 2%19. 5%14. 9%59. 6% Share Cold Sales Revenue$355M$222M$172M$131M$525M Total Sales$355M$286M$395M$255M$936M/$1491(63%) % of Business Related to Cold Sales100%78%44%51% Cold Sales $’s Period 0$355M$222M$172M$130M$879M Total Allstar’s major competitors are B&B, Ethik, and Driscol. All competitors of Allstar’s are diversified into other categories of the OTC market and not dependent upon just the cold segment. This is one area where Allstar can potentially improve its sales and diversify its product lines.Although Allstar has the highest brand awareness, it also has the highest price amongst competitors. The fact that Allround has a strong reputation in the market place due to the product effectiveness allows Allround to maintain a higher price than its competition. All other competitors supply its OTC in capsule form, which is the preferred method of consumption by consumers. Allstar must be aware of the various formulations of the competitors, be selective in considering new products to market, and pay attention to newly offered products and the markets the competitors are targeting.The Allstar team needs to reassess the strategy and approach each period based upon competitor information while maintaining the long-term strategic objectives. Economics Allstar must monitor the economic conditions when deciding the appropriate budget allocations to advertising, sales force, promotion, and discounts. Inflation is a major influential factor that can affect total pricing and the costs of goods sold, which will affect the company’s bottom line. In order to sustain proper pricing, Allstar’s marketing team must monitor inflation and deflation in the market place to determine the optimum pricing strategy.Allstar must adjust its pricing to reflect inflation rates in the market as this will have a negative impact to net income, as costs will continue to rise. Social/Cultural Allstar must focus on the needs of its customers and monitor any changes in the behaviors of its consumers. One factor to consider is the amount of medication in Allround and the perceptions of physicians and consumers. Obtaining recommendations from the medical community is crucial to the success of the product, as some consumers value the advice from physicians.Some doctors may not recommend Allround because of the alcohol content or that the multi-symptom formulation contains too much medicine. Our team must decide the best formulations of OTC medications that meet the needs of the consumers while at the same time satisfy the medical community in terms of medicinal content and brand effectiveness. Allstar must also consider motivational factors to get consumers to continue to buy our products and the appropriate sales force and incentives to motivate the sales force to promote our brand.Some consumers are motivated to purchase based upon coupons. Motivational factors vary for the various sales channels: large grocery stores, mass merchandisers, and chain drugstores are incentivized by turnover and allowances, and independent drugstores by the number of sales people on the account. Allstar must ensure the appropriate allocation and combination of promotion and sales force to ensure our product gets the optimum attention and exposure. Political/LegalThe Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the amount of medication that can be contained in a single dose and the frequency in which a consumer should consume the dosage. In selecting new products, the Allstar marketing team must select products that will avert potential risks for the company. Selecting a product that has not received FDA approval could delay time to market and miss a potential sales window. Introducing a product to the market that has higher than average the recommended ingredients could be a potential risk should the FDA impose stricter regulations on the amount of ingredients.The team will pay close attention to the formulations offered before introducing these to the market place, scrutinize the ingredient type and amount of medication in each, and assess the risk associated to the potential regulation of the product. Natural Environment Climate change is an ongoing concern and can affect the weather patterns and temperature fluctuations, which can affect the health of the population as a whole. Changes in climate could potentially increase or decrease the demand for OTC products. The team must monitor symptoms of consumers and offer products that meet the needs of the consumers.Currently, the most reported symptoms are aches, chest congestion, and coughing. The reported symptoms could potentially change over time and Allstar needs to take into consideration potential changes that could occur based upon changing environmental factors. Technological Allstar is C) Marketing Objectives Allstar’s long-term marketing objectives are: 1)Increase market share 10%+ 2)Increase net income ann ually by 20+ (annual growth) 3)Increase customer satisfaction to at least 60% 4)Increase consumer brand awareness to at least 85%The team will also evaluate results at the end of each period via the performance summary report and adjust the short-term strategy via the various input elements: marketing strategy, marketing mix, pricing, promotion, sales force allocation, target markets and channels. Overall, we will adhere to our long-term plan to achieve our long-term objectives. D) Target Market Prior to determining the best way to market our product, we needed to identify our target market of consumers. In doing so, we sought to identify and profile distinct groups of buyers who might prefer our product over our competitions’ product.Based on this, we aligned our advertising and promotion accordingly. When analyzing the market research, we noticed that young families, mature families, empty nesters, and retired individuals accounted for over eighty-five percent of the cold, cough, and allergy market. Additionally, as Allround treats several different symptoms, it can be appealing to a large market with varying symptoms. Because of this, we used this demographic variable to identify our market. For psychographic considerations, the interests and opinions of the target market were considered. For example, we did not initially target young families.The original formulation of Allround included alcohol as an ingredient. Due to this ingredient, we did not market to young families for fear of an unintentional backlash from this demographic. We were aware that young parents would not approve a pharmaceutical company marketing a cold medicine with alcohol as an ingredient to buyers with young children. When we were able to reformulate our product, we removed the alcohol from Allround’s composition, and added young families to our target market. Another factor we noticed when analyzing the market research was an interest in the effectiveness of the produ ct.We observed that members of our target market (young families, mature families, empty nesters and retirees) were primarily concerned with the effectiveness of a medicine, and had a smaller amount of concern for the price of the product. In other words, we deducted that members of this market group had the socio-economic background that would allow them to purchase a higher priced cold medicine if it was proven to be effective. By including both young and mature families in our target market, we believed we would see an increase in usage. By nature, colds and coughs are contagious.Families living in close quarters are likely to share colds, and therefore increase the need for cold medicine. This was another significant variable we analyzed when identifying our target market. Also, minimal side effects is an appealing attribute of our medication. Both young and mature families have many â€Å"working parts,† and we believe we can effectively target this group by touting our reduced side effects that allow families to go about on their daily routines. Geographic considerations involved reviewing the shopping habits of the target group. We sought to analyze where customers are going to purchase our product.According to the research, our target market shops predominately at grocery stores for cold and cough medicine. Because of this, we will geographically target our market at grocery stores. E) Positioning For value positioning, we are considering several factors to best position our product. We are pleased with the effectiveness of our product in regards to symptom relief. We believe that this will increase value in our product, and result in more satisfied customers. This will also lead to repeat purchases from happy customers, and will increase the likelihood for customers to purchase other Allround products.This will allow us to introduce new Allround products to the market. For positioning in regards to pricing, we are seeking to find the delicate b alance between price and customer-perceived value. As Allround has a large portion of market share, we can factor in high volume of sales in our pricing plan. Higher volume sales can lead to a reduced unit cost and overall, more significant profits in the long term. Because our customers view our product as effective in regards to cold symptoms, we can increase the price a bit to reinforce the notion that Allround may be a little more expensive but overall, it is worth the slightly higher price.Factors also used to determine the price positioning of Allround will also include our competition's pricing, customer satisfaction, and overall brand awareness. As line extensions are introduced, we will elect to use either a market penetration or skimming strategy, depending on the product and target market. The strategy used in the future will be determined after an in-depth analysis of the market and evaluation of the new produce. For Allround's advertising in regards to positioning, we w ill continue to increase the advertising budget.This will allow Allround to remain on the high-end value side of the market while simultaneously keeping pace with our competitors. Allround is in the mature stage, so the advertising message will focus on reminder messages. The reminder message will be used to stimulate repeat purchases and serve as a reminder that Allround is the superior cold medicine. For Allround's promotion in regards to positioning, we will devote a portion of our budget only when needed. Times when our promotional budget will increase will likely be if there is a decrease in Allround's market share, or to combat a competitor's new product.When Allround introduces a line extension, we will not devote the majority of our advertising budget to promote it. Rather, we will aim for a low to medium advertising expense, and carefully direct our message. Line extension advertising will be informative in an effort to create awareness of the product. It will also be used to highlight the relationship the product has with Allround. Because Allround is a leader in the market with heightened brand awareness and consumer confidence, the relationship with Allround can be used to our advantage.When Allround introduces a brand new product, we will use a medium to high advertising expense. The new product will be in the introduction stage in its product life cycle, so advertising will need to be used more. The advertising message for new products will be informative, seek to help customers form a preference for the new product, and reassure customers that the new product is as good as Allround Though advertising strategies vary for Allround, line extensions and new products, we will use the same channel decision strategy for all products. This strategy will be used regardless of the product's life cycle stage.We will maintain a channel sales force according to demand for the products. When a channel segment is experiencing growth, we will increase the amoun t of sales force present at these locations. For Allround, these high-volume sales channels are grocery stores and chain drug stores thus far. Because of this, we have allocated more salesmen at these channels. Our strategy is to continue to monitor the level of sales at the different channels, and increase sales force at channels where sales are growing and/or have the potential for large amounts of growth.F) Product Currently, the Allround brand has the highest brand awareness and conversion ratio amongst its competitors. Consumers view the brand positively and it has the highest market share in OTC cold medicine. The main emphasis on the product is the brand’s effectiveness over the various categories and limited side effects. The medical community is recommending products that do not produce side effects. For this reason, the team has made the decision to market products that do not contain alcohol. Product PositioningAllstar’s value proposition to consumers is to offer products that will meet all their cold medication needs, providing high-quality products with multi-symptom relief without adverse side effects. We feel that with the reputation of the Allround brand, consumers are willing to pay for a high-quality product that meets his or her needs. We will emphasize the following four key areas: 1. High Quality Product/Competitive Price: Offer products that are high quality and at a competitive price to maximize net income up to the point that consumers will tolerate. . Product Benefits: Offer products that will meet the needs of the consumer from a multi-symptom perspective that will make them satisfied with our products and motivate them to repurchase. 3. Product Differentiation: Multi-symptom solution compared to competitors, such as, Besthelp 4. Side Effects: Offer products that minimize negative side effects, such as removing alcohol content to gain more physician recommendations. G) Price The pricing strategy will rely upon the follow ing key factors: 1)Inflation/Deflation 2)Consumer purchase decision criteria )Balancing the tradeoff between price and symptom relief 4)Analysis of competitor pricing / competitor product offering / historical pricing We will monitor the tradeoff graph in the PharmaSim module each period to ensure that we are pricing the product close to the optimal line (price vs. symptom relief). Thus far, we have learned that we need to continue increasing our prices to keep up with inflation and make some manual modifications to the price depending on the previous period’s price increase while monitoring what is happening in the future period regarding the economic factors.Consumers’ purchase decision criteria will be the one of the main decision factors in determining how we price our product each period. We determined that the key element in the consumer purchasing decision is product effectiveness for Allround, which we can measure by customer satisfaction. We need to ensure tha t our product has the highest level of customer satisfaction each period. By linking customer satisfaction with performance-based pricing, we believe we will be successful. Since products offered are at different stages of the product life cycle, we will position the pricing appropriately for each product.As Allround is in the mature stage, we will take advantage of the consumer loyalty and try to maintain an optimum price to reap benefits from this product line to help with the financing of other product introductions. We will price new products competitively using penetration pricing based upon where the competitors are in the market and once consumer loyalty and market presence are established, we will increase the pricing to an optimal level as to maximize net income, while continuing to increase our market share. H) Promotion For Allround, we plan to use a combination of push and pull strategies.For the most part, we will use a pull strategy for Allround as the product is in th e mature lifecycle and we need to continue to advertise and contribute funds to the consumer promotion budget using trial sizes, coupons, points of purchase, and co-op advertising. Our push strategies will include our sales force to help promote the brand and detailers to help obtain recommendations from the medical community. We will use trade allowances as a way of enticing the sales channels to buy at the higher volume by decreasing the lowest volume discount and increasing the highest volume discount.When introducing new products, we will use the same trade allowances as Allround and decrease the discounts once the new products establish a market presence over future periods. We believe that this strategy will help us achieve higher unit sales, as we will entice the channels to buy at the larger volumes as they will benefit from a larger discount. As the new products mature, we will gradually decrease the volume discount to maximize our net income. In period 4, we decided to all ocate 70% of all funds to Allround and 30% to Allround+.As the majority of the sales are still with Allround and the product is still Allstar’s moneymaker, we did not want to allocate too many funds into the new brand Allround+. As we introduce other products, we will establish a long-term strategy of allocating funds as follows to our product line: Allround40% Allround+30% Allright30% Advertising For Allround, we will use various advertising messages depending where we are in the product cycle. We initially will focus on benefits and reminder advertising, as well as continue to use comparative advertising against Besthelp.On new products, our strategy will focus on heavy primary and benefit, with some comparative advertising. As the product ages, we will place emphasis from primary to benefits and reminder advertising. For Allround, the advertising message is â€Å"Relieves Aches, Clear Nasal Congestion, Reduces Chest Congestion, Suppresses Cough, Minimizes Side Effects, an d Won’t Cause Drowsiness. † We added â€Å"Won’t Cause Drowsiness† when we removed the alcohol from Allround and got rid of â€Å"Dries Up Runny Nose† as we already have a message of â€Å"Clear Nasal Congestion,† which could be confusing to consumers.I) Place (distribution) The period zero sales report shows that direct distribution channels are almost twice as much as indirect distribution channels (direct distribution channels account for 63. 4% of sales, while indirect distribution channels account for 36. 7% of sales). Because of this, we will prioritize direct channels for our distribution. The direct channel sales are motivated by volume discount and promotional allowances; these two factors impact overall shelf space for Allround.Volume discount and promotional allowance are factors for indirect channels as well, so we will use this information in our marketing mix with regards to promotion. We will adjust these volume discounts and p romotional allowances after each period to correspond with channel growth rates and sales. J) Evaluation and Control We will employ various methods to evaluate our performance after each period. We determined that an in-depth analysis after each period is essential to maintain our product as a leader in the market. The company dashboard and performance summary will serve as primary tools in this analysis.This is where we will gather information regarding our marketing strategy, mix, promotions, sales force and price; we will use this information to compare how effective we were in achieving the marketing goals aforementioned. Another method we will use to evaluate our performance is by analyzing the percentage of changes in each of our decision points. For example, we will calculate the percentage of growth in our sales force, our product price and our advertising budget. We will then cross-reference these calculations with our overall performance in the period.An increase in price of 3. 5% may cause a negative trend in our market share; because of this, we will look to adjust our price to better capture market share. By performing similar calculations and comparative analysis, we hope to identify any positive or negative trends and adjust accordingly. While changes will occur, our overall marketing approach will not change drastically. We will adjust as our line is extended and new products are launched due to differences in the marketing life cycle of each product, but the core of our marketing strategy will remain relatively unchanged.

A Study on the Victorian Model of Marriage

The Victorian Era was a period in history from about 1837 to 1901, during the reign of Queen Victoria. It was a time of great growth and strides for England.   The country was gaining profits from overseas and industrial improvements were making it easier and more profitable for businesses and for the home front.The social class between families and income levels became more prominent and defined during this era. However, even with all of the improvements and advancements in industrial and social status, the Victorian marriage still remained somewhat antiquated, especially when compared to the modern marriage model of today’s world.Before a couple decide to get married, they must first meet and obtain a certain level of relationship status to be able to proceed to marriage.   In the 21st century, people meet, date, fall in love and get married.   How they meet varies as well.They could meet at a dance club, Church, work, or even off of a dating site on the Internet.   In contrast, the Victorian era looked at meeting a potential spouse a lot differently.   â€Å"Courtship was considered more a career move than a romantic interlude for young men, as all of a woman's property reverted to him upon marriage† (Courting the Victorian Woman, 1).A lot more thought and decision making went into meeting that special someone.   The young ladies of the wealthier class who were going to be ‘coming out’ into the available market would spend months in preparation ahead of time.   New outfits had to be purchased, and they would need to make enough prominent acquaintances to receive the invitations to the best events where they could meet the most eligible bachelors.â€Å"To get ready for courtship and marriage a girl was groomed like a racehorse.   In addition to being able to sing, play an instrument and speak a little French or Italian, the qualities a young Victorian gentlewoman needed, were to be innocent, virtuous, biddable, duti ful and be ignorant of intellectual opinion† (A Woman’s Place in Victorian Society, 4).While searching for a mate, the women are on display, showing off their best attributes, qualities and skills that would proclaim her the best wife for a bachelor.   Once married, the women then take on an entirely different role in society.â€Å"A woman's prime use was to bear a large family and maintain a smooth family atmosphere where a man need not bother himself about domestic matters.   He assumed his house would run smoothly so he could get on with making money† (A Woman’s Place in Victorian Society, 4).Victorian women were not supposed to have outside employment.   Society believed that a woman’s sole job was to take care of home, hearth, children, and to do whatever necessary to help her husband succeed in his business.â€Å"The job of a woman was to organize parties and dinners to bring prestige to her husband, making it possible for them to meet new people and establish economically important relationships. Her real job was devoting time to the children and maintaining the house† (Marriage in the Victorian Era, 2).The modern day woman, in comparison, is usually a working wife and mother.   She is expected to keep the home, hearth and children together while also earning income, which sometimes may even be the larger income of the household.   Today’s society almost demands a double income to survive, even comfortably.   Although there are still a few women who are stay at home moms, the majority of modern day women have at least a part time job to help supplement the income.   While men of the Victorian era expect their wives to stay home and not have a job outside the home, many modern day men actually want and expect their spouse to help financially.   Women today have a lot more say in decisions and matters of the home than they did in the Victorian era. A Study on the Victorian Model of Marriage The Victorian Era was a period in history from about 1837 to 1901, during the reign of Queen Victoria. It was a time of great growth and strides for England.The country was gaining profits from overseas and industrial improvements were making it easier and more profitable for businesses and for the home front.The social class between families and income levels became more prominent and defined during this era. However, even with all of the improvements and advancements in industrial and social status, the Victorian marriage still remained somewhat antiquated, especially when compared to the modern marriage model of today’s world.Before a couple decide to get married, they must first meet and obtain a certain level of relationship status to be able to proceed to marriage.   In the 21st century, people meet, date, fall in love and get married.How they meet varies as well.   They could meet at a dance club, Church, work, or even off of a dating site on the Internet.   In co ntrast, the Victorian era looked at meeting a potential spouse a lot differently.   â€Å"Courtship was considered more a career move than a romantic interlude for young men, as all of a woman's property reverted to him upon marriage† (Courting the Victorian Woman, 1).A lot more thought and decision making went into meeting that special someone.   The young ladies of the wealthier class who were going to be ‘coming out’ into the available market would spend months in preparation ahead of time.New outfits had to be purchased, and they would need to make enough prominent acquaintances to receive the invitations to the best events where they could meet the most eligible bachelors.â€Å"To get ready for courtship and marriage a girl was groomed like a racehorse.   In addition to being able to sing, play an instrument and speak a little French or Italian, the qualities a young Victorian gentlewoman needed, were to be innocent, virtuous, biddable, dutiful and be ignorant of intellectual opinion† (A Woman’s Place in Victorian Society, 4).While searching for a mate, the women are on display, showing off their best attributes, qualities and skills that would proclaim her the best wife for a bachelor.   Once married, the women then take on an entirely different role in society.â€Å"A woman's prime use was to bear a large family and maintain a smooth family atmosphere where a man need not bother himself about domestic matters.   He assumed his house would run smoothly so he could get on with making money† (A Woman’s Place in Victorian Society, 4).Victorian women were not supposed to have outside employment.   Society believed that a woman’s sole job was to take care of home, hearth, children, and to do whatever necessary to help her husband succeed in his business.â€Å"The job of a woman was to organize parties and dinners to bring prestige to her husband, making it possible for them to meet new people and establish economically important relationships. Her real job was devoting time to the children and maintaining the house† (Marriage in the Victorian Era, 2).The modern day woman, in comparison, is usually a working wife and mother.   She is expected to keep the home, hearth and children together while also earning income, which sometimes may even be the larger income of the household.   Today’s society almost demands a double income to survive, even comfortably.Although there are still a few women who are stay at home moms, the majority of modern day women have at least a part time job to help supplement the income.   While men of the Victorian era expect their wives to stay home and not have a job outside the home, many modern day men actually want and expect their spouse to help financially.   Women today have a lot more say in decisions and matters of the home than they did in the Victorian era.â€Å"Married women had rights similar to the rights of chi ldren. A married couple was considered as one person. The husband was responsible for his wife and controlled her.The wife was to obey her husband, and do as he pleased. All property was controlled by the husband. Even if a woman brought personal property into the marriage, the man automatically took control of it. Most women, especially those in the upper class, were not to have a job† (Marriage in the Victorian Era, 2).The 21st century woman has a lot more control and rights.   She can vote, have her own finances, and even sue her husband for divorce and property.   Many of the modern day weddings have even excluded the â€Å"obey† commandment out of their wedding vows.In the Victorian ages, the roles of husband and wife and marriage were clearly defined, with each knowing what was expected of them, not only from their spouse, but from society as well.   The modern day marriage model is not so clearly defined and, not surprisingly, causes confusion and debates o n just how a marriage should work.An interesting couple from the Victorian era who did not conform completely to society’s image of marriage was Elizabeth Barrett Browning and her husband, Robert Browning. At a time when women were supposed to stay home and make their home, children and husband their only career, Elizabeth Barrett Browning spent much of her time writing.Her husband, instead of being furious and embarrassed, or strictly forbidding her to work, helped and encouraged her with her writings. â€Å"Laws, social practices and economic structures narrows women's choices for meaningful roles in society.The people of this era emphasized the ideology of the home. They felt it was extremely important for women to preserve the identity of the home† (Marriage in the Victorian Era, 2).   Although society would have had Mrs. Browning staying home and not working, they still appreciated her writings and her husband encouraged her to succeed.The roles and rules of the marriage model have vastly changed since the Victorian era.â€Å"The progression from Victorian marriage to modern marriage was a slow process. In the 1960's the sexual revolution was a time when women began to exert their power and freedoms more publicly. At this point in history women were beginning to marry for happiness and not as a result of coercion† (Women's History Then & Now – Marriage, 3).The casual greeting and meeting of the opposite sex does not require seeing each others’ bank accounts to see if they are a financial match, shopping for the perfect clothes months in advance, or following such strict guidelines and etiquette as in the Victorian era.   Women today are able to make their own choices, manage their own homes and careers and be in a marriage that is a partnership financially and romantically. Works Cited1.   Hoppe, Michelle J. â€Å"Courting the Victorian Woman.† December 4, 2008.http://www.literary-liaisons.com/article009.htm2.   â€Å"Marriage in the Victorian Era.† December 4, 2008.http://shsaplit.wikispaces.com/Marriage_In_The_Victorian_Era?f=print3.   â€Å"Women's History Then & Now – Marriage.† December 4, 2008.http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~ulrich/femhist/marriage.shtml4.   Thomas, Pauline Weston. â€Å"A Woman's Place in Victorian Society – Social andFashion history.† December 4, 2008.http://www.fashion-era.com/a_womans_place.htm  

Elements of a Contract Scenario Essay

1. Jack has to decide whether to engage an attorney. What would you advise? I would advise jack not to engage an attorney in the case. First, the fact that the old woman who sold the china shows signs of Alzheimer is enough to nullify the contract. A person can only get into contract if they are understand the terms and are considered to be competent. A person engaging in a contract should be able to understand all the ramifications, something which the old woman might not have understood (Chen-Wishart 41). Moreover, she sold the china at a very low price when compared to its value, and this is evidence enough that she did not understand what the china’s really value is and these might be signs of the disease. 2. Was there a valid contract when Jack purchased the china for $150.00. Why or why not? Did Jack’s superior knowledge prevent formation of a contract? How might the widow’s age or possible medical condition affect contract formation There was a valid contract during the time of sale because the two parties agreed on the price and the payment was done. Nevertheless, the contract can be easily reversed on the basis that one of the parties was incapacitated to engage in any legal agreement. Initially, jack did not have knowledge on the condition of the woman, but this is not evidence enough for him to win the case (Cibinic et al 62). The widow’s age should however have been enough alarm to show him that she did not have knowledge regarding the value of the product. As a result, jack should not have taken this to his advantage and bought the china at a price which was very low. Moreover, he should have accepted the initial offer made by her daughter, since this would have been profitable for him instead of engaging in a law suit. 3. What is the likelihood that the daughter’s suit will succeed? State your reasons. Is contract rescission a potential remedy? Why or why not? Is an award of monetary damages an adequate remedy? Why or why not? There is a likelihood that the daughters suit will succeed, based on the facts of the case. First, one of the parties was incapacitated to engage in a contract, and this meant that there was no recognizable contract. Moreover, the value of the china  indicates that jack has taken the woman’s condition to his advantage and gave a price which was very low (Dawson 73). Contract rescission would be the possible remedy in this case, because the woman had willingly sold the china at a throw away price, and just like any other business man jack would not have refused to purchase it. Awarding the monetary damages is however not a possible remedy because there was no criminal act entailed in the contract, and jack did not have prior knowledge of the woman’s condition. Works Cited Chen-Wishart, Mindy. Contract Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print. Cibinic, John, Ralph C. Nash, and James F. Nagle. Administration of Government Contracts. Washington, D C: George Washington University, National Law Center, Government Contracts Program, 2006. Print. Dawson, John P. Cases on Rescission of Contracts and Restitution at Law and in Equity. Ann Arbor, Mich: Brumfield & Brumfield, 1934. Print.

Cardioversion

Cardioversion Have you ever felt like your heart was racing, fluttering or skip a beat? This can be a sign of cardiac arrhythmia and it is common especially in older adults. If you experience this occasionally they are usually harmless. However, some arrhythmias that last longer can be critical and require management and treatment. Cardiac arrhythmia is a class of conditions in which the electrical activity of the heart is abnormal. One way to correct certain arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter is by performing a medical procedure called â€Å"Cardioversion†. As a group, we will like to explain why it is important to distinguish when cardioversion will be used versus defibrillation. According to heart.com website, â€Å"Arrhythmias can produce a broad range of symptoms, from barely perceptible to cardiovascular collapse and death.† There are different diagnostic tests used to confirm arrhythmias. We will also explain the two types of cardioversion procedures used to correct an irregular heartbeat and what occurs before, during and after cardioversion. We will discuss nursing implications including patient education throughout the process of a cardioversion procedure. An arrhythmia is a change in the rhythm of your heartbeat. Arrhythmias are more serious if you have other heart problems. Cardioversion is a corrective procedure to change or convert an irregular heart rhythm back to normal sinus rhythm. This procedure is usually elective, the patient is awake but sedated and a consent form must be signed prior to the procedure. According to heart.com website, cardioversions are done to treat atrial fibrillation (AFib) or atrial flutter (AFL) and non-life threatening irregular rhythms in the top of the heart. It is also used in less urgent cases to try to convert the rhythm back to normal. Defibrillation is for immediately life-threatening arrhythmias, the patient does not have a pulse such as ventricular fibrillation (VF) or pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT). The goal for both is to deliver electrical energy to the heart to shock the heart temporarily allowing a normal sinus rhythm to kick in via the hearts normal pacemaker. For cases where an electrical shock is needed, if the patient is stable, and you can see a QRS-t complex you will use (LOW ENERGY) synchronized cardioversion. However, if the patient is pulseless, or if the patient is unstable and the defibrillator will not synchronize, you will use (HIGH ENERGY) unsynchronized cardioversion (defibrillation). Patients who have arrhythmias can be asystematic. When arrhythmias last long enough to upset how well the heart functions, more serious symptoms can occur such as syncope or near-fainting spells, chest pain and fatigue. In severe cases, collapse and sudden cardiac arrest can emerge. Diagnostic tests used to confirm arrhythmia are chest x-rays, blood tests, stress test and electrocardiogram. There are other tests or procedures used to determine arrhythmias; however, an electrocardiogram is the most common. ECG is used to check for signs of heart disease. Its a test that records the electrical activity of your heart through small electrode patches that are placed on the chest, arms, and legs. The ECG diagnostic test is commonly used because it’s reliable, fast, safe and painless.