Homeless Veterans Essay

Abstract Homelessness has always existed in the United States, but only in recent years has the issue become a more prevalent and noticeable phenomenon. Homeless veterans began to come to the attention of the public at the same time. News accounts chronicled the plight of veterans who had served their country but were living (and dying) on the streets. The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates about 250,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. (2012, pg. 4) My research will examine how homelessness is impacting our veterans and what interventions are available to homeless veterans. Introduction Whether it is wartime or peacetime, the men and women who serve our country live an unusual life style. Whether it is in the barracks or in the fields, military personnel form close alliances and bonds, which are necessary because they must depend on one another for survival. Once these veterans return home from the Gulf, Iraq or Afghanistan war or even if they just decide to discharge honorably, they face a whole new set of problems. These problems can be as small as reintegrating with their family, finding a job or finding a place to live. An ongoing problem that our veterans learn to cope with is how to deal with combat issues such as physical and mental disabilities. Today’s veterans find that he/she has more difficulty because they are not looked at in the way veterans were looked upon in the past. America’s patriotism has changed. Men were drafted into the military with the promises for a better future because they served their country. The country got behind them because they were fighting a World War. But Vietnam was the turning point for our veterans and upon their return home, they became society’s problem. Many young veterans who returned home were between 18 – 31 years old. Some were physically wounded and some were physically disabled. These veterans were sent home to our veterans hospitals for treatment. There were also those who had mental health issues and some help  was given to them but not enough. Veterans were discharged much too quickly. Where were these veterans to go? Many tried to reintegrate into society by securing housing (apartment or room) and others tried to move back home with their families. However, many veterans faced considerable challenges as a result of their physical disabilities and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). This caused many veterans to become homeless. First, society could not deal with veterans up close and personal and second, another reason was because the war haunted many veterans every day (PTSD). Therefore, for some veterans, they would rather live on the streets because they actually felt safer. According to data from Department of Veterans Affairs office of Inspector General, â€Å" veterans who became homeless after military separation were younger, enlisted with lower pay grades and were more likely to be diagnosed with mental disor ders at the time of separation from active duty.† (2012, pg. 4) Our veterans are our most important resource. We (Americans) do not live in a closed world anymore and when trouble comes to our shores, it is our veterans we depend upon to defend us. Our military is voluntary at this time and society and our government should protect and preserve their lives because without the veterans who would we count on? The military that protects us are strong, well trained, intelligent men and women who are willing to lay their lives on the line for their country. And for that reason, they deserve our respect, our support and our care. The social worker plays a major role in helping the veterans to stay connected to family and their community. The social worker’s role is to help the veteran and his family to access all resources that can be beneficial to the veteran’s recovery and a smoother re-entry back into his/her life. My research will attempt to answer the following questions: How common is homelessness among veterans?  What are the risk factors: gender, age, race and ethnicity, disability and how does it impact housing placement? What interventions are provided to address veteran homelessness? Do female veterans feel more isolated? Literature Reviews: Comparison of Outcomes of Homeless Female and Male Veterans in Transitional Housing Homelessness among female veterans is of national concern but few studies have been conducted on regards to how homelessness among female veterans differs from male veterans. The healthcare of female veterans has become an important priority for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as female veterans represent one of the fastest growing groups of new VA healthcare users. Studies have shown female veterans are less healthy and are in poorer mental health compared to male veterans, which has been attributed to barriers for women in accessing VA health services and allegations that the VA is male-dominated and not attentive enough to the needs of women (MacGregor et al. 2011: Weiss 1995, pg. 705). Homelessness among female veterans is a central issue as the VA strives to end homelessness among all veterans. Although women constitute about 8% of sheltered homeless veteran population, that number is expected to increase and women veterans have been found to be at higher risk of being homeless than their male counterparts (U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development & U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs 2009, pg. 705). The literature on homeless female veterans is small with only two previous studies identified in a comprehensive review. One study concluded that risk of homelessness is two to four times greater for women veterans (Gamache et al. 2003, pg. 706), and the other study found that compared to homeless male veterans, homeless female veterans are younger, less likely to be employed, more likely to have a major mental illness, but less likely to have a substance abuse use disorder (Leda et al. 1992, pg. 706). A small case-control study also found that sexual assault during military service, being unemployed, being disabled and having physical and mental health were risk factors for homelessness among female veterans (Washington et al. 2010, pg. 706). In the current study, the data used came from multi-site outcome study of homeless veterans enrolled in VA-funded transitional housing services (McGuire et al. 2011, pg. 706), through cross-sectional comparisons of homeless male and female veterans at the time of entry into transitional housing and examining outcomes 12 months after discharge. It is further hypothesized that, due to suggestions that there may be increased barriers for female veterans in accessing VA health services, female veterans would have worse outcomes than their male counterparts after transitional housing. Traumatic Stressor Exposure and Post-Traumatic Symptoms in Homeless Veterans  The Department of Housing and Urban Development (Carlson et al. 2012, pg. 970) recently reported that 13% of all homeless persons were veterans and an estimated 63,000 veterans were homeless on one night in January 2012. High rates of mental health problems have been reported in military and veteran populations. These problems may be related to trauma exposure and contributing to homelessness. Approximately 70% of homeless veterans have substance abuse issues and 45% are diagnosed with mental illness. (Carlson et al. 2012, pg. 970) Combat exposure has been found to increase risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which in turn, is thought to increase risk for homelessness. One study examining the rates of PTSD pre- and post deployment in a combat unit found that rates of PTSD increased from 9.4% to 18%, suggesting that exposure to combat raised the prevalence of PTSD in the unit (Hoge et al. 2004). Military veterans may also have an elevated risk of PTSD as a result of noncombat military stressors, such as dangerous or unstable conditions, witnessing injury, death or atrocities. Military trauma exposure puts individuals at risk for both PTSD and homelessness, but it is less clear whether civi lian trauma exposure increases risk for PTSD and homelessness in veterans. In a study of Vietnam veterans, both PTSD and exposure to combat and other war-related atrocities indirectly increased risk for homelessness, whereas interpersonal violence, and other types of nonmilitary trauma appeared to have direct effects on risk for homelessness (Carlson t al. 2013, pg. 970). A better understanding of the types of trauma that homeless veterans are exposed to could help identify veterans at increased risk for PTSD and homelessness and inform treatment (Carlson et al. 2013, pg. 970). Homeless Veterans of the All-Volunteer Force: A Social Selection Perspective The dramatic increase in urban homelessness in the United States has included large numbers of veterans. As with other Americans, poverty, alcohol, drugs, mental illness and social isolation have been documented as the primary risk factors for homelessness among veterans. As would be expected of an age cohort effect, in 1986 – 1987 the overrepresentation was highest among veterans of ages twenty to th irty-four, and in 1996 the odds of being a homeless veteran were highest among veterans aged thirty-five to forty-four (Tessler et al. 2003, pg.509) In this article, the explanatory factors all derive from a social selection perspective that refers to the idea that individuals with personal  characteristics that would later put them at risk for homelessness were recruited to military service in disproportionate numbers during the early years of the all-volunteer force (AVF). Culturally Competent Social Work Practice with Veterans: An Overview of U. S. Military If social workers are to serve veterans effectively and efficiently, a basic understanding of the United States military is essential. Despite a longstanding and intimate relationship between social workers and veterans, the profession has been criticized for the lack of veteran-specific practitioner resources. The literature has been characterized as providing little practical guidance while universities and professional organizations failed to develop and incorporate the curriculum, information and tools needed to prepare social workers to serve this special population (Savitsky et al. 2009, pg. 863). Recently more information seems to be revolving with additional resources becoming available through social work journals, the development of advanced practice standards for military social workers, as well as academic course and degree specializations focusing on military social worker (Zoroya, 2009, pg. 864). The common theme has been the importance of military cultural competency. The acknowledgment of military culture is complex and not well understood by civilians and continues to impact veterans after discharge. This article presents information in anticipation of a Department of Veteran Affairs funded research project with veterans experiencing homelessness. Also, the article presents a structural and historical overview of the United States military, the propensity to enlist in armed forces, military culture and training methods and outcomes. It concludes with a discussion of implications for social work practice. Generally, military culture differs from the larger society in the United States as it is paternalistic and maintains a strict hierarchy. The military is characterized by a collectivist approach; encouraging interdependency; group orientation and group cohesion. Highly criticized qualities of military culture include misogyny and homophobia. The integration of females into armed forces has been hampered by fear of cohesiveness among males would be undermined. Experience indicates servicewomen are no more vulnerable to stress than servicemen and are able to complete physical tasks required of them. Unfortunately, women are subject to gender-based bias, stereotypes and harassment, both mental and physical. Alarming incidences of sexual  harassment and sexual violence has increased in the military. A 2004 survey indicates 52% of women experienced sexual harassment while serving; 10% did not feel it would do any good and 42% feared they would suffer adverse consequences (Zeiger & Gunderson, 2005. Pg. 867). Although changing with the repeal of Don’t’ Ask, Don’t Tell, the military has been strongly criticized for banning homosexuals from serving opening (Herek & Belkin, 2006. Pg. 867). Reason being it would undermine unit bonds and effectiveness and that privacy could not be provided. Ultimately, it is important to note that the attitudes of heterosexual servicemen and women may not have been as biased against homosexuality as previously thought. The belief that gays be allowed to openly serve in the military had increased in recent years, indicating the obsta cle to integration was not the attitudes of servicemen and women, but of military tradition. Social workers encounter veterans in public and private practice and effectively serving them demands military cultural competency. Social worker must have a foundation of general understanding of the larger military, its basic history and the complimentary roles played by the different branches (Petrovich, 2012. pg. 871). Veterans will have divergent service experiences and their opinions regarding service could vary widely. The more the social worker knows, this will help develop rapport with the clients, facilitate a more individualized understanding of their service history and other relevant areas. In the end, it is likely that veterans experience ambivalence regarding military culture and service experience and some military-oriented traits may be viewed as problematic in civilian life. However it’s important for the veteran and the social worker to explore and interpret these issues with respect the veteran’s sense of affiliation with and attachment to the military (Petrovich, 2012. pg. 872). Thus, a review of the literature has revealed helpful information about: How common is homelessness among veterans? What are the risks factors: gender, age, race, and ethnicity and disability and its impact? What interventions are provided to address this homeless problem among veterans? Do female homeless veterans feel more isolated? This research study will examine the impact of these four research questions  from the most recent data from the Veteran Affairs transitional housing programs. Specifically this study hypothesizes that participants in the different VA-funded transitional housing services will: Is the rate of homelessness increased and/or decreased between homeless female and male veterans? Are there increased barriers for female veterans in accessing VA services, in which female veterans would have worse outcomes than male counterparts after transitional housing? Sampling The research approach that will be utilized for my chosen topic is qualitative research. Qualitative research is flexible; it uses open-ended questions in interviews, participant observations and is often the best fit for diverse and at-risk populations such as homeless veterans whereas quantitative methods involve analysis of numbers; structured surveys, observations and examines existing information/reports. Also, in qualitative research, the research methods are not as dependent upon the sample sizes as in quantitative methods. Methodology Three major forms of VA-funded transitional housing service for homeless veterans will be included in this study: the health care for homeless veterans (HCHV) program; the grant and per diem (GPD) program and the domiciliary care for homeless veteran program (DCHV). The first two programs provide assistance to veterans through contracts with or grants to community service providers while the DCHV provides service directly through the VA staff at the local VA facility. Data were collected for a prospective, naturalistic study to compare these three transitional housing services across five different VA administrative regions (North, South, East, Wets and Mid-West). The study focused on 59 female participants and 1181 males. The female participant were Black (53%) or White (41%) and had a mean age of 43.89 years; while the majority of male participants were Black (59%) or White (35%), and had a mean age of 48.13 years. This information utilizes the variable of value (gender) and the constant (homelessness). Age is variable that can be measured by asking the participants to write down their age in the blank space. Procedures The data collection was conducted from May 2002 through September 2005.  Independent evaluators recruited, consented and conducted baseline and follow-up interviews with veterans in the transitional housing programs. Intake interviews were conducted before entering VA housing program, baseline interviews completed after admission and follow-up interviews were conducted 6 and 12 months after program discharge. Participation rate was very high (99.16%), and each participant gave informed consent. They were paid $10 for baseline interview and $25 for each follow-up interview. Measures When doing the initial intake interview, a paper form would be used to gather information from the participants to document their socio-demographic characteristics, combat exposure, housing and work history, psychiatric diagnoses, brief hospitalization history and a assessment of mental and physical health status. At baseline interview, participants were asked to complete a measure of the social climate of their residential care service. At follow-up interviews, a series of measures were administered to participants to assess: Housing: They were asked how many days in the last 30 days they have slept in different types of places such as housed (room or apartment) somebody else’s apartment; days in an institution (hospital, hotel or jail) and days homeless. Income and Employment: They were asked about their current employment pattern and classified as employed or unemployed; number of days they worked for pay and their employment income in 30 days. Also how much money they received from disability and public assistance. Substance Abuse Status: Alcohol and drug use in the past month. General Physical and Mental Health Status: Medical conditions were assessed with 12 questions that asked participants yes/no whether they had any of 12 common serious medical problems (e.g. hypertension, liver disease, cardiovascular problems, and orthopedic problems). Also includes an 8-item psychiatric composite scale which was used to assess general mental health status. Quality of Life: General quality of life and quality of social life were assessed. Residential Social Climate: At baseline, participants were asked to rate their perceptions of the treatment environment of their residential care program. Findings At intake the female participants were significantly younger; report more  psychiatric symptoms, more likely to be diagnosed with mood disorders, has shorter histories of homelessness and less likely to be working than male veterans. Male participants were reported to have higher risk factors of homelessness due to substance abuse (70%) and PTSD (45%) due to combat exposure. Between one to six months in transitional housing services, both genders were showing improvement on employment income and overall psychiatric scores. At six months, female participants showed some decrease in employment and an increase in their psychiatric scores whereas the male participants continued to show improvements. After a one year period, female participants showed improvement in housing, employment and incomes, substance abuse use and general physical and mental health and quality of life compared to male participants. This suggests that homeless female veterans can benefit as much from transitional housing services as male veterans. Transitional housing programs and shelter have been predominantly male environment focused on serving men, in the VA context. But this study found that, after adjusting for multiple comparisons, there were no differences in how homeless male and female veterans perceived the social climate of their transitional housing program or in their overall clinical benefits. These findings suggests that VA efforts to improve services for women may be successful, but need to continue. Limitations One limitation of this study is the small sample size of homeless female veterans. Also we were not able to differentiate between female veteran who are caring for dependent children and those who were not. Validity is a standard that determines whether an instrument measures what it is supposed to measure and whether it measures it accurately. Accuracy is the key issue. Because of small sampling of female veteran participant, the question of dependent children was a valid observation. Reliability is the second key standard in determining if a measure is satisfactory. Reliability refers to the internal consistency of the measure. Dudley states that the connection between validity and reliability is triangulation. Triangulation is a process of using multiple methods to measure one concept. If it is determined that the results of one measure of the same variable are similar to the results from another measure of the same variable, they are triangulating the findings. They are deemed to be both valid and reliable  because they have similar results. (Dudley, 2011). Bibliography Carlson, Eve B., Garvert, Donn W., Macia, Kathryn S., Ruzek, Josef I., Burling, Thomas A. (2013). Traumatic Stressor Exposure and post-Traumatic symptoms in Homeless Veterans. Military Medicine, Vol. 178, 9:970-973. Dudley, J.R. (2011). Research Methods for Social Work. Second edition. Boston: Pearson Education. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Gamache, G., Rosenheck, R., & Tessler, R. (2003). Overrepesentation of women veterans among homeless women. American Journal of Public Health, 93(7), 1132-1136. Herek, G. M., & Belkin, A. (2006). Sexual Orientation and Military Service: Prospects for organizational change and individual change in the United States. In T. W. Britt, A. B. Adler, & C. A. Castro (Eds.), Military Life: the Psychology of serving in Peace and Combat (pp. 119-142). Westport, CT: Praeger Security International. Hoge CW, Castro, CA, Messer SC, McGurk D, Cotting DI, Koffman RL. Combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mental Health Problems, and Barriers to Care. New England Journ al of Medicine; 351(1): 13-22. Leda, C., Rosenheck, R., & Gallup, P. (1992). Mental illness among female veterans. Hospital & Community Psychiatry, 43(10), 1026-1028. MacGregor, C., Hamilton, A. B., Oishi, S. B., & Yano, E. M. (2011). Descriptive, development, and philosophies of mental health service delivery for female veterans in the VA: A qualitative study. Women’s Health Issues, 21(4), S138-S144. McGuire, J. F., Rosenheck, R. A., & Kasprow, W. J. (2011). Patient and program predictors of 12-month outcomes for homeless veterans following discharge from time-limited residential treatment. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research,38, 142-154. Petrovich, James. (2012). Culturally Competent social work Practice with Veterans: an Overview of the U. S. Military. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 22:863-874. Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group Savitsky, L., Illingworth, M., & DuLaney, M. (2009) Civilian Social Work: Serving the military and veteran populations. Social Work, 54(4), 327-339. Tessler, Richard, Rosenheck, Robert and Gamache, Gail. (2003). Homeless Veterans of the All-Volunteer Force: A social Selection Perspective. Armed forces & Society, Vol. 29, No. 4, pp. 509-524. Tsai, Jack, Rosenheck, Robert A. and McGuire, James F. (2012). Comparison of Outcomes of Homeless Female and Male Veterans in Transitional Housing. Community Mental Health Journal, 48:705-710. United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, & United States Department of Veterans Affairs. (2009). Veteran Homelessness: A supplemental report to the 2009 annual homeless assessment report to Congress. Washington, DC: US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Community Planning and Development: US Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans. Washington, D. L., Yano, E. M. Mcguire, J. F., Hines, V., Lee, M., & Gelberg, L. (2010).Risk factors for homelessness among women veterans. Journal of health Care for the Poor and Underserved. 21, 81-91. Zeigler, S. L. & Gunderson, G. G. (2005). Moving beyond G. I. Jane: Women and the U. S. Army. New York, NY: University Press of America. Zoroya, G. (2009, October 5). USA Today, p. 4a. More colleges develop classes on how to treat war vets.

Implementing Change Essay

Implementing change among all organizations is necessary to achieve success; within the health care industry change is constant and it is the role of management teams to assess, plan, implement and evaluate change to ensure satisfaction. Considering this among the other aspects of running a successful organization it is essential to ensure that there is minimal resistance and familiarity to change. Demands of the consumers and staff as well as regulations are continuously changing. The responsibility of managers is to successfully lead these inevitable changes. As managers it is a priority to identify issues and potential opportunities. â€Å"Change is often planned to close a discrepancy between the desired and actual state of affairs. Discrepancies may arise because of problems in reaching performance goals or because new goals have been created. Opportunities demand change as much as (or more than) problems do, but they are often overlooked. Be it a problem or an opportunity, it must be identified clearly† (Sullivan, E.J. & Decker, P.J., 2009). A manager should continually strive to assess the strengths and weaknesses of their staff and incorporate these observations into recommended improvements associated with change within the organization. This process could eliminate a great deal of staff resistance by commending their qualities to benefit them as employees and the organization as a whole. Within the health care industry there is constant change. It takes a tremendous amount of awareness, education, and planning from management teams to build and maintain an effective program that is sufficient. A good team will have the ability to recognize potential change in all aspects relating to an organization; medical professionals, patients, structural strength and regulation, and an ongoing list of other aspects. A quality management team can then take these observations and construct a plan to begin the implementation process. Stemming from the planning process comes the implementation phase. It should be considered that there is always room for improvement and take a team of motivated and persistent members to execute a continuous effort to better the quality of health care. A goal that is to be pursued is to always exceed the standard and expectations and always improve the quality of an organization. Strategies such as the power-coercive strategy, normative–reeducative strategies, or the empirical-rational model can assist managers in the implementation process. Also, a continuous quality improvement plan should include a link to key elements of the organization’s strategic plan, quality council made up of the institution’s top leadership, training programs for personnel, mechanisms for selecting improvement opportunities, formation of process improvement teams, staff support for process analysis and redesign, personnel policies that motivate and support staff participation in process improvement, and the most current and rigorous techniques of the scientific method and statistical process control (Sollecito, W. A., & Johnson, J. K., 2013). Once change has been implemented management must then observe and evaluate the benefits and strains the staff and the organization are facing in order to ensure the success of the implemented change. Identifying any resistance or struggles with the implemented change should always be a priority of management to ensure continued success. â€Å"Resistance prevents the unexpected. It forces the change agent to clarify information, keep interest level high, and establish why change is necessary. It draws attention to potential problems and encourages ideas to solve them. Resistance is a stimulant as much as it is a force to be overcome. It may even motivate the group to do better what it is doing now, so that it does not have to change† (Sullivan, E.J. & Decker, P.J., 2009). Initially change can be successful, but in many cases staff could lose motivation or overlook small glitches in the implemented changes. Through things such as incident reporting, generic occurrence screening, consumer and staff complaints and satisfaction surveys, and formal and informal discussion between managers and staff can evaluate and identify final changes to best benefit staff, management, and the organization as a whole. As a management team it is suggested to always be aware of not only individual organization but also occurring changes in organizations across the nation. By staying informed, the organizations and managers can always promise that there is a constant awareness of potential improvement found in all forms of health care across the nation, ensuring that a problem faced or benefit gained at another facility will never be overlooked. Quality can be greatly affected internally within an organization. Considering that internal factors can be monitored and controlled mainly from within, it is considerably easier to manage, though these factors have a much more direct and immediate effect on the organization where the management responsibility lies. Internal contributors that factor into quality outcomes include leadership styles, administrative policies, and organizational culture. These factors, if not performed to standard or with minimal empathy can cause stress among staff indirectly affecting the consumers. An unpleasant environment may lead to a low morale and dissatisfaction throughout the organization. (Suchman, A., 2001) Above all, management and staff must always have an open mind and an open heart concerning the consumers and the overall benefit of the organizations. Providing services and actually caring for staff are what sets apart the common from the exceptional manager and management team. By implementing these change processes will do just that. The constant change in the healthcare industry defines the role of management teams to assess, plan, implement and evaluate change to ensure satisfaction. Considering this among the other aspects of running a successful organization it is essential to ensure that there is minimal resistance and familiarity to change. â€Å"The capacities to do the redesign work, and to accept the results of the redesign, are perhaps the most important capability an organization can have and value† (Lagace, Martha, 2009). Demands of the consumers and staff as well as regulations are continuously changing. As successful managers it is essential to confidently lead the staff through inevitable change to ensure organizational success. Reference: Lagace, Martha (2009). Management’s Role in Reforming Healthcare. Retrieved from: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6202.html Sollecito, W. A., & Johnson, J. K. (2013). McLaughlin and Kaluzny’s Continuous Quality Improvement in Health Care (4th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett. Suchman, A. (2001). National Library of Medicine. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1071231/ Sullivan, E.J. & Decker, P.J. (2009). Effective leadership and management in nursing. (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Additional Comments: The paper—including tables and graphs, headings, title page, and reference page—is consistent with APA formatting guidelines and meets course-level requirements. Intellectual property is recognized with in-text citations and a reference page. Rules of grammar, usage, and punctuation are followed; spelling is correct. The paper does not make effective use of section headings. Total Available Total Earned 20 13.8

God’s Word in Schools Essay

Currently our country is in moral decay because we are not raising our children under the authority of God’s Word. For example, some parents feel as though their children should not have to do chores around the house. It is our responsibility as parents to educate our children on what God’s Word  says about all of life’s issues, including chores. In Jane Smiley’s, The Case Against Chores she attacks parents that have their kids do chores saying that it alienates children from the family, but it my family it brings us together because we all pitch in to get the job done. In 1 Samuel 16:11 it says when Samuel came to anoint David, he was in the field tending the sheep. He was doing his chores! This passage clearly indicates that God wants kids to do chores. Whether or not our kids do chores is not the biggest issue though. In the 1960’s the U. S. Supreme Court decided to take prayer out of our schools. From that point on our country has seen a vast moral decay resulting in things such as AIDS and the murder of millions of innocent babies. Are we to blame the government for this? How about the school system? We need to look at ourselves as parents. Since our school systems are not going to allow the Word to be taught we parents must take up the sword and teach our children what God has to say about life’s major issues. Traditional family values are quickly becoming a thing of the past. In her article Ms. Smiley states, â€Å"And don’t the parents love their children anyway, whether the children vacuum or not? † This is insinuating that the only reason parent’s love their kids, is because of the work they do. To that I say it’s because we love our kids we assign them chores. This helps them learn responsibility. The Bible says, â€Å"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it† (Proverbs 22:6). It’s not just about teaching our children what the Word says, but we must show them in our relationship with them. Ms. Smiley says in her article when she was taking care of her horse she saw the purpose of her labor. If we educate our children about God’s Word they will see the purpose in everything they do. Colossians 3:23 says, â€Å"And whatever you do work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. † When God’s Word is in our heart our entire life takes on new meaning. Ms. Smiley says in her article when she was a girl she had a problem with a teacher because she (Ms. Smiley) always did what she wanted to do. She had no responsibility. She would leave for school with her room a mess and return home and it would be cleaned up for her. It’s clear that God’s Word had not been taught to Ms. Smiley. The Bible says in Romans 13:1 that we are to submit ourselves to authority. Proverbs 15:33 tells us the fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom. Had Ms. Smiley been taught the Word there would not have been a problem. In the case of Ms. Smiley we can see where our culture is going astray. We have gotten away from God in the home and in the schools and we now have one generation passing down their values (or lack thereof)  to another. In order to restore our country to what our founding fathers intended it to be we must start in the homes. We can do this by giving our kids chores, disciplining them when needed, telling them what they need to hear as opposed to what they want to hear, spending time with them, showing them love, and most importantly teaching them about our Heavenly Father. In doing so we can bring up a nation of young leaders who can restore this great land to what it once was, one nation under God with liberty and justice for all.

Media Communication of Scientific and Environmental Information Essay

Media Communication of Scientific and Environmental Information - Essay Example This does not auger well with society needs, as there is nothing like general audience. News reporting should enable decision makers to do their job effectively and at the same time, it should make sense to experts in the field. Thesis Statement. The objective of this review paper is to discuss how unethical partial or wrong reporting of scientific information is. In this context, I will illustrate how partial reporting of scientific views ends up harming the exact masses the media aims to protect. EFFECTS OF SCIENCE AND MEDIA IN DAILY LIFE Economic Ramifications. Scientific claims are usually beneficial to the society in curbing or at least reducing the adverse effect of natural or artificial phenomena to the environment and human life. For instance, the US government had spent millions of dollars to remove asbestos roofing to avoid its effects on human health. In this case, the general population received suppressed information and scientific views that had opposed it ignored. Late r, scientists figured out that the process of removing asbestos produced toxic gases that were more harmful than letting them be (â€Å"New View† 1993; cited in Roll-Hansen 104). The media played a key role in suppressing the information from one side since it had biased opinions towards supporting the government project. This is grossly unethical and goes against the requirement that the media be impartial in their reporting. More research needed to take placed if they had reported the findings of those scientists thereby conserving resources. Finally, there is the need for a good relationship between the media and scientists to ensure that reporting of findings is as accurate and timely as possible. Norwegian Tree Deaths. In Norway, tree death was intense at the beginning of 1980s. This situation was not unique to Norway since it also existed in Germany among other countries and it affected many tree species. Reports focussed on fir and spruce since their deaths were more d ramatic with needle loss and thinning of tree crown before death (Roll-Hansen 105). Though there were many causes of tree death, the most reported cause was acid rain probably because the rest of the causes were boring scientific explanations that would not adequately serve the media’s main profiteering agenda. For the media to make it in the highly competitive environment, the headlines have to be sensational and eye catching. Scientists maintained that the situation was not as damaging as portrayed by the media and the government. They advanced that there should not be a comparison with Germany since the two countries had different dynamics in respect to pollutants and ways of handling it (Roll-Hansen 104). During this time, the Norwegian institute of forest reserve (NISK) organized a conference on the matter. The media was quite disappointed that there was nothing to report showing that the media only had interest in reporting one side of the story and not the other. This was another way of saying that scientific conferences are not sensational or newsworthy enough to generate enough sales in the highly competitive environment. The media criticized the NISK for denying the role of acid in tree death and at the same time ignoring the other causes of tree death proposed by the NISK (Roll-Hansen 106). Though the media criticized scientists for their attitude on the acid rain and forest death, they agreed with scientific reports that acid rain was the

The advantages and disadvantages of social media Essay

The advantages and disadvantages of social media - Essay Example Indeed, the 21st century has people with the highest access to information as compared to other generations. They read news through Facebook, updates on Twitter and other social sources. Apart from communication, social media has also improved the working environment. It allows employees and employers alike to post ideas, ask questions and share good links that either improve relationships or the working environment. Notably, this has helped in facilitating business growth. Additionally, social media open the playing field for business contacts. Certainly, this is because of the wide audience ranging from adults to youths. Additionally, it has served as a recruitment tool that expands market research instruments, direct clients to specific websites, and most propel marketing campaigns. In the professional fraternity, social networking initiates a like-minded platform where academicians and scholars share ideas and important research. According to Bozarth, â€Å"a blog can even be us ed to host an entire online course.† (Bozarth 84) From this perspective, the process has expanded the horizon of knowledge leading to more discoveries and exposure. Among the many disadvantages, one cannot fail to capture the social ills associated to the discovery. Notably, hackers have been on the rise mainly in social media. They commit fraud, initiate virus attacks and launch spam problems that expose personal information. People have also fallen prey for online frauds leading to identity theft and other online swindles. Identifying genuine users of social media is currently the main challenge in the social media fraternity. Conceivably, this is because of people targeting the unsuspecting users hence reducing ethical levels of the modern trend. Interestingly, social media is not only a communications site but also a legal playing field. The legal consequences of postings between employees and

Leadership Style Paper Grading Criteria Research

Leadership Style Grading Criteria - Research Paper Example One approach to successful leadership is aligning with the contingency style and theory of leadership. In this theory the leaders are flexible enough to continually adapt the styles of leadership in response to situational changes. Contingency theory of leadership envisages a kind of leader with behaviors that range between being authoritative & persuasive and vary according to needs of the present time as well as possibilities for the future. A manager in the field of nursing for instance may be compelled to be authoritarian in an emergency situation like when handling a patient with cardiac arrest. The same leader faced with the challenge of encouraging team members to take care of patients having multiple system failures may opt to employ persuasion. The leader can delegate some duties and decisions to competent followers e.g. when it comes to completion of patient forms. An effective style of leadership for a nurse is one which aligns well with the work environment, tasks at hand and personalities of individuals involved in various situations. President Barack Obama of the United States is one of the most successful world political leaders of the modern times. He is one person who is very effective in communication and articulation of issues facing America. He is firm and decisive when it comes to decision making for instance when faced with issues of terrorism he has consistently remained firm and focused to ensuring the security of Americans. As president of America Obama is capable of assessing situations and making independent decisions, involving followers to collect information for decision making purposes and persuading followers to implement the decisions. Obama as a leader employs consultation widely to get advice, make decisions and inform, joins groups to seek opinions in order to indecently make sound decisions. He such an aggressive leader who would delegate duties to followers so as to come up with solutions and actively

David Smith and the cubi series sculpture Essay

David Smith and the cubi series sculpture - Essay Example David Smith, beginning off as an artist, emerged to be one of the most influential and imaginative twentieth century American sculptors, in the process bringing American sculpture, a relatively relegated art form, to the fore of American art. He was apparently inspired and influenced by the European modernism in art, and applied the principles of cubism and abstract expressionism in developing one of the most innovative, expressive forms in a series of sculpture titled the Cubi series. David Smith, considered one of the most influential and imaginative twentieth century American sculptors, apparently inspired and influenced by European modernism in paintings, has applied the principles of cubism and abstract expressionism in developing one of the most innovative, expressive forms in a series of sculpture titled the Cubi series. "It may not be possible to reach further as an artist than David Smith did, within and outside himself,"1 wrote art critic Donald Goddard reviewing an exhibition of his works at Gagosian Gallery, New York in 2004. An attempt to know and appreciate the life and development of the artist, who purportedly reached the heights of human artistic expression, and his art, would be valuable and perhaps imperative, and in all likelihood tempting to art enthusiasts and students. David Roland Smith was born on March 9, 1906, in Decatur, Indiana; his father Harvey Martin Smith was a telephone engineer and part-time inventor and mother, Golda Stoler Smith, a schoolteacher. His inborn talent in fine arts surfaced during his young age, as he joined for a correspondence course at the Cleveland Art School during his high school years. The family moved to Ohio in 1921. In 1924 Smith attended the Ohio University; in 1925, he left the university to work as an automobile factory welder in an assembly plant, where he learnt the first lessons of welded construction and assembling, which he later vastly applied in his metal sculpture. His academic interests in arts brought him back to college, joining the University of Notre Dame in Indiana in 1926; however, soon Smith moved to Washington D.C and then to New York, to enroll at the Art Students League, where he studied painting with many celebrated artists like Richard Lahey and John Sloan and privately with Jan Matulka.2 Smith married Dorothy Dehner, a young painter at the school, in 1927. Though he worked for sometime at a sports good store and on an oil tanker, Smith returned to New York to pursue his artistic aspirations. New York's cultural life seemed fascinating and promising to the artist; Smith bought a farm in Bolton Landing, near Lake George in upstate New York; the fields, remained his seasonal resort until 1940, when he made it his home, staying there permanently, developing his farm of outdoor metal sculptures.3 David Smith's association with artists John Graham and Jan Matulka introduced him to European modernism; Smith was much influenced by cubism in art, and the welded steel sculptures of Pablo Picasso and Julio Gonzlez, the experience leaving enduring impressions in his artistic perceptions. Smith's fascination with abstract expressionism and constructivism in art fuelled his friendship with modernists of the time including Willem de Kooning, Stuart Davis, Edgar Levy, Jackson Pollock, Arshile Gorky, and Jean Xceron. Smith was also captivated by the jazz and modern dance, the art forms influencing him in unique ways in his creations. 4 Smith's artistic expedition ventured into sculpting in

Age of Enlightenment and How It Affected Art Essay

Age of Enlightenment and How It Affected Art - Essay Example As the paper highlights Painting revolved during this time following the emergence of Rococo art that replaced the then popular baroque art. It was mainly concerned with the emphasis on airy grace and refined pleasures of boudoir and the salon, porcelain and delicate jewelries, artful dances, wooded scenes and women, especially women in the nude. Moreover, rococo painters specialized in other areas like portraiture, displaying aristocratic subjects in their finery, beautified and idealized on their canvas. An example of a rococo painting was that of Watteau Antoine that blended a lot of fantasy with heightened observations of nature. The painting conveyed and portrayed the ease, as well as, the lavishness of French court life. Watteau was succeeded in the painting job by several other Europeans. Jean Fragonard and Francois Boucher were his French successors. There were also Italian painters like Giovanni Tiepolo who also displaying rococo influences. There were some paintings, mainly from England, which lacked rococo frivolity. However, most English painters were influenced by the style; among them were Thomas Gainsborough and Reynolds Joshua. One of the current examples of early painting is the London Street scenes done by one of the English painters, William Hogarth. Another one is Francisco Goyas court portraits existing in Spain. In conclusion, art, as part of science, developed during the enlightenment age. It was facilitated by individuals and the societies which knew the importance artistic works.

Your task is to develop a model which could be used to inform an Essay

Your task is to develop a model which could be used to inform an economic evaluation - Essay Example It can be seen that the maximum amount of money is spend on the diagnostic procedure- echocardiogram. Around 142.16 $ is spend for this. Then the model included other primary evaluations in health care for the particular disease as ECG, TFT, INR, FBC, coagulation studies and medication. The total cost incurred for the primary visit is 418. 08. There have been reviews on the increased cost of ECG on adolescents and neonates. It is estimated that cost effectiveness was at peak between [,000 in 14 year olds and $ 204000 in screening done in 8 year children for the life saved per year. (Saul, Samuel & Gidding 2014). Both warfarin and aspirin are anti-coagulants, which are administered to prevent the clot formation in the blood vessels of heart, which may lead to cardiovascular diseases. Warfarin and aspirin were administered in patients at risk of developing heart problems. Risk category included obese patients, patients with diabetes mellitus. It may seen that, the cost spent for visit of general practitioner without the administration of any medication and with the prescription of aspirin was the same (552,992 $). The cost spent for speciality visit was same for all three categories. The use of diagnostic procedures like ECG and Echocardiogram spent the same amount. The amount of money spent on TFT is same for all the three categories. No amount of money was additionally spent on INR, FBC, and coagulation studies on the administration of aspirin and warfarin. When the total cost was estimated along with the administration of medication and frequency of use, less amount of money was spent when aspirin was used for prevention. After deploying this model for three years, the end result was found use of aspirin prevented the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases in comparison with administration of warfarin and without any intervention. This indicates that this model may be used in the prevention of

Public Policy Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Public Policy Analysis - Essay Example This is one of the legislative ways the government of the USA came up with to control the market. In light of this, the paper will venture into the history of the act to try and establish its necessity. It will then create a prescription that will indicate who failed in operation for this law to be enacted. The impact of the law on business and society will be discussed followed by a review of literature as per the course content. The viability of the law will be discussed based on its strengths and weaknesses. History of the Policy and Current Situation The US financial market had witnessed a large series of frauds in the corporate sector in 2002. Some of the highly publicised scandals included some large companies like Enron Corporation, Tyco and WorldCom. Due to these market malpractices, there were serious consequences that saw Enron collapse in 2001 after filing for bankruptcy on December 1. According to Healy and Palepu (2003), the company was a power in the US energy sector ha ving been formed in the year 1985. This large success led the management to into venture production of other energy related products; natural gas, pulp, paper and communications sectors. A critical analysis of the operations of the company according to economic consultants indicated that the rise to stardom of the company was not genuine. Many accounting practices that were unethical had taken place which killed the trust of the public in the US large sector market (PriceWaterhouseCoopers 34). Together with scandals at other companies like WorldCom and Tyco International, the public truly believed that there are several accounting practices yet to be discovered. Due to these happenings where the greedy executives wanted to benefit from their positions in companies, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 of 2002 was formed. It is also called Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002 and abbreviated as SOX act of 2002 (Healy and Palepu 15). The SOX bill was signed i nto law on July 30 2002 by the then president George Bush and had provisions creation of reforms in the accounting and corporate business world by use of a board which it mandated, the â€Å"Public Company Accounting Oversight Board." The current position of the act has been a creation of corporate responsibility and it has seen a drastic overhaul of the entire US financial operations where there is a high level responsibility in management. This is a step that has highly reduced bankruptcy among companies. Having not created such an act earlier on means that the government had failed to implement its duties as this act was created as a matter of contingency. Public Prescription and Implementation of the Act As an act that was created as a matter of contingency, the act took care of the matters that were happening at the time and remained to take care of future similar matters. It was an emergency measure that made sure that the confidence of the public in the large business sector was restored. The policy has eleven chapters and each seeks to create accountability to the management teams of the large

Rocks and Minerals in Indiana Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rocks and Minerals in Indiana - Assignment Example Additionally, minerals occur in abundance within this state. Estimates are that Indiana has approximately 100 different minerals, although other minerals exist in scarcity. This implies the state has more than 100 minerals considering the scarce mineral deposits that are present within the region. Despite the huge deposits of minerals across Indiana, only some minerals occur in large quantities. The most plentiful of the minerals in Indiana include calcite, clay minerals and quartz (Smith, Brookley and McGregor 12). The largest percentages of the minerals that are present in Indiana are widely dispersed while others are totally covered by the earth crust. Therefore, this makes economical utilization of these minerals impossible, especially in large-scale mining. Additionally, the process of mining and searching for these minerals can be uneconomical since the minerals occur sparingly. Calcite occurs in Indiana as one of the most abundant minerals. It is usually present in different rock layers. The mineral is considered the largest carbon depository and takes up the form of limestone coupled with marble. Limestone is generated either through chemical precipitation of CaCo3 or changes that transpire on various constituents in the period that diagenesis occurs. Conversely, marble is generated in the instance that limestone gets exposed to towering temperature and pressure. Nearly all the calcite that is present in Indiana is colorless or possesses yellow and brown shades. Calcite has hexagonal shaped crystals in case they are visible to the eye. The calcite present in Indiana has crystals that bear other minerals such as pyrite although this phenomenon rarely occurs. Outstanding specimens of calcite and other related mineral deposits are present in Indiana, with some possessing large crystals (IGS1). The properties that calcite possesses makes the mineral exceptional during identification thus making it easier to recognize the mineral.

Advertising and Promotion Evaluating Arguments Essay Example for Free

Advertising and Promotion Evaluating Arguments Essay Emotional Argument 1- What if advertising does not exist? How a company wants to promote their products and services? 2- How mass media of advertising can promote a company’s products and services to potential customers. Ethical Argument 1- Leo Burnett, an advertising executive and the founder of Leo Burnett Worldwide Company said â€Å"Good advertising does not just circulate information. It penetrates the public mind with desires and belief.† 2- Robert Smith, an expert in advertising said, â€Å"Brand to consumer relevance† refer to situations where the advertised brand of a product or services is of personal interest to consumers. 3- Grant McCracken said advertisers must try to match the product or company’s image, the characteristics of the target market and the personality of the celebrities. Logical Arguments 1- A good advertising can attempt to persuade potential customers to purchase of a product. 2- A company cannot make dream to be a well known brand until they invests in their promotional activities for which costumer market have been dominating through advertisements. 3- Advertising is an important promotional tool for building company or brand as it is an effective way to provide customers with information and to influence their perception. See more: Social process essay What I found more persuasive Advertising is an effective way to promote a company’s product and service to potential costumer. Advertising is also a promotional tool for building company or brand as it is an effective way to provide customers with information and to influence their perceptions. This book is about the advertising and promoting of an integrated marketing communications perspective. The author gives lots of information of how advertising can be use by a company to promote their product. The author also states the definition, statistic and the development of advertising. The book is very interesting to read because the author used lots of color to divided every topics and give good examples. This book has a lot of photos for audiences to understand more what the author tried to say. I recommended the audiences to get more information about advertising from this book.

The Epic Portraits Of Eve English Literature Essay

The Epic Portraits Of Eve English Literature Essay Renaissance literature has a wide range of genres with an assortment of sonnets, plays, epic poetry and more; however, the meaning lying within the stories is what catches the readers attention. In some, it is about desiring a woman or man who is unattainable or has a hidden political meaning, both of which can tell the reader about the time period. One of the greatest and most curious themes or characters portrayed is Eve from the book of Genesis. With Eve, the author can take a religious stand point of how it was a womans fault mankind fell to evil or it could pertain to womens roles within society. Either way it is looked at there is a further meaning which can be deceived as to how the authors of certain works look at society or the societal standards of the time. In Aemilia Lanyers Eves Apology in Defense of Women and John Miltons Paradise Lost, they convey two different yet intriguing views of women both relating back to the way in which Eve in the Book of Genesis is described. In a quick summary, Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat the fruit off of the Tree of Life and Eve was the first to create this sin, but is it really her fault the situation occurred? In Eves Apology in Defense of Women by Aemilia Lanyer, Lanyer produces an excuse as to why women are sinful through Eves character relating her primary sin back to eating from the garden. Eve is the first women on Earth who gave birth to all the children on Earth and is the main role model for women. Lanyer describes Eve as innocent and unknowledgeable. She was made simply good because God made her that way, therefore; through Him she does not know any better (Lanyer, ll. 21). Eve being unknowledgeable wanted to know more and was extremely curious. She was easily deceived or misled by the snake that was Satan in disguise because of her curiosity and ate from the forbidden tree for knowledge sake not out vengeance or direct violation. However, Lanyer points out that Adam, representation of all men, ate the fruit out of pure pleasure and therefore, directly disobeys God out of selfishness (Lanyer, ll. 53). Therefore, through curiosity Eve was pressured into finding out more in the life she was living. Further on in the poem, Lanyer reinforces that Eve was made from Adam as a result, the source of evil comes from and resides in him as well (Lanyer, ll. 65-66). Lanyer is continually trying to show man that women are not the problem in society but that it is man. She sees man as creating the greatest sin, pointing out that man had betrayed Gods son through crucifixion out of pure wickedness and deceit. However, Eve was an innocent mistake and through an individuals weakness not all women should be held accountable for her mistake because lessons can be learned (Lanyer, ll. 73-77, 85-88). Eves Apology in Defense of Women is a way for Lanyer to defend all women through defending Eves mistake by comparing it to the greater malice which man has done over the centuries. It seems as if Lanyer is asking how you can possibly blame Eve when it is mans fault for executing the Savior and is that not alone the worse crime? This poem illustrates the feminist view defending womens rights and fight ing for an overall equality for women in society through Eves story. Eve, as presented through Lanyer, is just a woman that was misled by man and is continually being punished for her mistake. However, through John Miltons perspective Eve is a woman unequal to man and for that she is in her rightful place. John Milton first introduces Adam and Eve through Satans perspective. This perspective is a first impression of the characters and how they are perceived by other beings. Satan first describes that they are lords of all, meaning that they are above all other creatures within this paradise (Milton, b. 4; ll. 290). The description goes further into stating that the two individuals are however, not equal in sex (Milton, b. 4; ll. 296). It relates back to the fact that women come second to men and answer to them, therefore; giving men a higher status than women. Eve is further described as being soft, sweet, and gracefully attractive compared to Adam and only serves God through Adam and by his word (Milton, b. 4; ll. 298-299). Furthermore, Eves complete appearance is described as naturally beautiful with a slender waist, natural golden hair that made her seem untidy yet prom iscuous, she yields to Adam, but seems modest sweet and reluctant (Milton, b. 4; ll. 304-311). Although, she seems to be a wanted and willing woman, Eve is still curious and capable of wondering onto the wrong path with her lack of knowledge. As the story progresses, Eve does not seem to enhance her role in Miltons work but continues a downfall in character. Continuing in book 4 lines 449-491, Eve begins to describe her awakening to Adam. She describes it as waking up under a covering of flowers within the shade and that she wonders amongst the gardens territory. In other words, she is born in darkness by a veil of beauty. It than explains that she is a wonderer which could be a foreshadowing event that there is evil in her and that there is a possibility of her getting on the wrong path falling to deceit. She finds a lake and appearing into it sees her reflection which memorizes her. She makes the comment that she was startled by it at first but then was pleased by it. Upon its return she was delighted, thus showing she was entranced by her own beauty in vain desire. She later admits that God speaks to her telling her that it is her reflection that she sees but he never presents himself to her unlike he does when Adam aw akens. Milton compares Eves turning back to her reflection to the myth of Eurydice explaining that if she were to turn back to her image she would be drowned in despair and anguish. Eve is easily compelled by her beauty and seen as being vain however; Satan does not succeed when trying to persuade her this way (Milton, b. 9; ll. 216). However, later she was easily swayed by Satan because he was able to make her feel equal to Adam and connecting her directly to God (Milton, b. 9; ll. 538-548). She is filled with narcissistic pleasure through herself not needing Adam anymore; without the connection to Adam she feels free to do whatever, including eat from the tree. In fear of death and Adam finding someone else like her, Eve tells Adam about eating from the garden. Adam than eats the fruit as well so Eve does not have to go down alone in consequence (Milton, b. 9; ll. 830-833). John Milton perceives Eve to being superficial and easily swayed. He does not place any good implications on her character making her out to be one of the villains but main characters of the story. Eve through Milton acts as a representation of women during his time period. While both Lanyer and Milton use Eve as a main character who is seen as unknowledgeable, curious, and swindled, they use her to tell two completely different stories with completely different meanings. Lanyer is compelled to use Eve as a reason for why women are treated unequally and how man is the problem creating the most malevolence. However, Milton is showing that women are unequal for multiple good reasons, one dealing with vanity consuming them and being unable to follow order. Each provides a viewpoint of that time period on how women were perceived and how sex roles played a huge part in society. Renaissance literature is able to take religious, political, and social standards and twist them in a way that the reader is able to gather an understanding of what life was like during that century. Aemilia Lanyer and John Milton took to describing their societies through the character of Eve in two different ways which were extremely compelling.

Catcher in the Rye Essay: Holden - The Thinking Man :: Catcher Rye Essays

Holden: The Thinking Man of The Catcher In The Rye Margaret Atwood defined the â€Å"thinking man† as on who resists, believes survival is a necessity, is isolated and alienated, and who is aware of the elements that make one's psyche and physical being disappear. Atwood's "thinking man" is exhibited in Holden Caulfield through the use of character, plot, and symbolism. The "thinking man" is clearly portrayed through Holden Caulfield's character. One characteristic of Atwood's "thinking man" is that of being isolated and alienated. Holden is a very lonely character. An example that shows this is his direct reference to David Copperfield in the first paragraph of the novel when he says "...and all that David Copperfield kind of crap."(pg.1) When David Copperfield was a child he was alienated from his mother, and was very lonely. This points to the fact that Holden had a very lonely childhood and, like David Copperfield, his innocence as well. Like the "thinking man" Holden was aware of the elements that make one's being disappear. This segment of Holden's character is helped by symbolism. For Holden, it was too late to stop himself from entering adulthood, a kingdom he resisted entering, a kingdom he viewed with disgust. For this reason he wanted to help other children, and save them from "disappearing" over the edge of the rye field too, to preserve their innocence and to save them from the dreaded adulthood. Also, Holden had resisted one of the factors leading towards the loss of his innocence; losing his virginity. He "had quite a few opportunities to lose [his] virginity...[he] came quite close to doing it a couple of times...she keeps telling [him] to stop, and [he] stops." This not only shows that he doesn't want to lose his purity, but that he cares for the girl's innocence too, and does not want her to lose it. Next, "Catcher In The Rye" uses plot to create the "thinking man". Holden Caulfield has a deep struggle within himself. He wants to be positive, and her wants to work with and for the positive, and yet he is continually drawn to the negative aspects of life. In one scene he is at a food stop eating, when two nuns approach him. Even though they didn't ask for money, Holden donates $10 from his fast depleting funds. Nevertheless, he is drawn to the negative aspects of life too.

Rizzi’s The Fine Structure of the Left Periphery and his Locality and t

In the two articles, Rizzi’s The Fine Structure of the Left Periphery and his Locality and the Left Periphery, there does not seem to be any incompatibility but instead a steady focus on fist elucidating the structure of the left and using the left to refine the Relativized Minimality principle. The major issue is that issues presented in the first are not necessarily addressed in the second, like details about the null constant. The second paper can be viewed as an additional paper that relies, to some degree, on the information presented in the first, like the overall structure and some of the adverbial analyses. To that extent, it builds off of 1997. One of the main aims of Rizzi 1997 is â€Å"to explore some aspects of the fine structure of the left periphery† and â€Å"to postulate an articulated array of X-bar projections which will be assumed to constitute the complimentizer system†(Rizzi 1997:281). He also addresses some of â€Å"the adjacency and anti-adjacency effects involving elements of the C system and different kinds of fillers of the subject position (overt DP, PRO, trace) which are that are amenable to an explanation in terms of the assumed structure of the C system†. Rizzi (1997) depends on a few features, that syntactic movement is â€Å"last resort† or that it must be a necessary â€Å"quasi-morphological† requirement, and that these requirements are Criteria requirements, â€Å"the presence of a head entering into the required Spec-head configuration with the preposed phrase†. Criteria requirements, unlike feature checking, will not disappear. Finally, Rizzi must also assume within the relativized minimality theory, Empty Category Principle (ECP), and the Head Movement Constraint (HMC) and therefore head government. The rele... ...new structure for the left periphery that looks like this: Force Top* Int Top* Focus Mod* Top* Fin IP This template helps account for all of the different effects. We see these in examples (25), (26), (32-41), and (63). Adverbs are normally modifiers and quantifiers, and trigger minimality effects in wh-chains. Some belong only to the modifiers, like attentivement, and therefore do not have an effect on quantificational chains (Rizzi 2004: 244). â€Å"Simple adverb preposing targets the Mod position†, but can also target â€Å"the ordinary Focus position† and â€Å"negation belongs to both the quantificational class and the modifier class†(Rizzi 2004:244). This is one of the main differences between the first and second paper, the further analysis of the overall structure of the left periphery and how adverbs both help make it clear and how it explains their placement.

Frankenstein: Less Human Than His Creation Essay -- essays research pa

There are obvious similarities between Victor and his creation; each is abandoned, isolated, and both start out with good intentions. However, Victor’s ego in his search for god-like capabilities overpowers his humanity. The creature is nothing but benevolent until society shuns him as an outcast on account of his deformities. The creature is more humane than his own creator because his wicked deeds are committed in response to society’s corruption; while Frankenstein’s evil work stems only from his own greed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Victor Frankenstein and his creation are very much alike. Both are abandoned by their creators at a young age; Frankenstein is left without his mother after her death, the creature is rejected by Frankenstein's abandonment. Frankenstein and the monster are also similar in that they are isolated and outcasts of society. Frankenstein is hypothetically an outcast when he consumes himself in work and is isolated when the creature kills those he loves, and the creature is obviously isolated as a hideous outcast of society. Victor Frankenstein starts out with good intentions; he is merely seeking to gain knowledge of natural philosophy. Soon, his greed for god-like power overcomes him and he becomes consumed with the idea of creating life, â€Å"Summer months passed while I was thus engaged, heart and soul, in one pursuit† (32). The creature also starts out with kindness, he tells his creator, â€Å"Believe me, Frankenstein: I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity: but am I not alone, miserably alone?† (66). However, after society refuses to accept him based on personal appearance, the creature becomes angry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The creature has an overwhelming capacity to love as can be seen in his admiration for the peasants, â€Å"[The creature’s] thoughts now became more active, and [he] longed to discover the motives and feelings of these lovely creatures... [he] thought (foolish wretch!) that it might be in [his] power to restore happiness to these deserving people† (77). The creature’s display of care and compassion for the cottagers is more humane than most humans are; he retains the innocence and naive characteristics of a child. The creature’s grasp of human-like qualities allows the reader to possess sympathy for his situation; he is a victim and Frankenstein is to blame. A true monster would, by definiti... ...imself] which nothing could extinguish† (57). The creature is a portrayal of Eve’s role in Paradise Lost. The creature is persuaded by the behavior of others to take his fall into wickedness, much like Eve was pushed by the serpent to eat the forbidden fruit. Shelley blatantly makes this comparison when Frankenstein gets a first glance of himself in a scene that mirrors Eve’s first look at herself. The creature tells Victor, â€Å"I [was] terrified when I viewed myself in a transparent pool! At first I stared back, unable to believe that it was indeed I who was reflected in the mirror; and when I became fully convinced that I was in reality the monster that I am, I was filled with the bitterest sensations of despondence and mortification† (108).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Despite their similarities, Victor and his creation differ greatly. Only after rejection does the creature turn to evil; while Victor acts out of greed. Victor’s self-centered behavior effects everyone in the novel; he hurts his family’s feelings, he lets those that he loves die, and abandons his own creation. Even the creature couldn’t have committed such horrible acts before the effects of society’s rejection.

Life in Plymouth Colony Essay

The book of John Demos on â€Å"A Little Commonwealth: Family Life in Plymouth Colony† explores on the concept of the family life in the context of the Plymouth Colony. In particular, it tends to describe the ways of life of the people in the Plymouth Colony specifically the aspect of family, which is the smallest unit of the society. Through this book review, one will be able to determine the true accounts of the social life and customs of the people in the Plymouth Colony. Basically, the book is dedicated into furthering the importance of the smallest and most intimates of all group environments- the family. This concept has been usually left out by experts and historians alike wherein their interest is focused on the larger units of social actions. This includes the region, the class, the party, the ethnic as well as the religious group. Most of the time, the unit of family is left with the behavioral science which includes the anthropology, sociology and psychology. In order to examine the behavior of the Plymouth Colony in a family setting, the author has to descend on the local level which is considered as almost personal history. As such, one has to know average people in the everyday routine of their lives, in order to begin to understand their behavior in a family setting. In this way, the author was able to successfully present a picture of the family in the Plymouth Colony rather than any single instance thereof. Different aspects of the family setting of the Plymouth Colony have been discussed in the book. The author started with providing a historical survey on the Plymouth Colony. Among the various aspects of family setting mentioned in the book are physical setting, the structure of the household and the themes of individual development. More specifically, the physically setting deals with the elements of housing, furnishing and clothing. On the structure of household, it consists of the husbands and wives, membership, parents and children and, masters and servants. Lastly, the themes of individual development involve the infancy and childhood, coming of age as well as late years. With the examination on the different aspects of the Plymouth Colony’s family setting, the author has come to realized that the family life in Plymouth was not at all unique. This is because of the evident similarities of the colony with other American colonies. More specifically, the similarity between the Plymouth Colony and other American colonies reside in the embrace of the term â€Å"Puritanism†. As such, it can be claimed that the family is, after all, an extremely fundamental and durable institution: it often provides a kind of common denominator, or baseline, for a whole culture whose various parts may differ substantially in other respects. Plymouth Colony has been known as the Old Colony and sometimes, the New Colony. It has been said that this colony is founded by the â€Å"Pilgrims† in 1620. In particular, the â€Å"Pligrims† are defined as the group of religious people which consists of adults as well as family groupings. They were English separatists from New England. They were famous on their sailing away from Europe to New America during the early 17th century in order to search for a home where they could freely practice their Puritan style of religion and live according to their own laws. Orginally, the â€Å"Pilgrims’ are English Puritans who broke away from the Church of England because they felt that it had not completed the work of the Reformation. Because of this, they committed themselves to a life based on the Bible. Most of the members of the â€Å"Pilgrims† are the poorly educated people, farmers and people without political and social standing. (â€Å"Chapter 2: The English Transplantations – People/Term†, 2007) Consequently, the arrival of the â€Å"Pilgrims† in the New World is illustrated by the following lines below: â€Å"Being thus arrived in a good harbor, and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of Heaven, who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and stable earth, their proper element. † (Demos, 1971) During their stay in North America, the â€Å"Pilgrims† manifested their views on Puritanism, especially on the way they deal with one another. Through these dealings, it is found out that the repression on the Puritans was not as strongly directed against sexuality as against the expression of hostile and aggressive impulses. Moreover, this evident on the prevalent modes of family life as well as child-rearing. More specifically, the book shows that even from the very start, the family of the Plymouth Colony was nuclear. This family characteristic has been unchanged even from the beginning of their settlement. Specifically, the family consists of one couple and their own children formed the core of each household — with the addition in some cases of an aged grandparent or â€Å"servant†. And during these times, the life in the households was much less segmented. However, despite this physical arrangement, the roles and responsibilities of the members of the family are almost the same as today. In this colony, there is a much tighter line of authority between the parent and the child. And the range of functions performed by the family includes material, psychological, social, and otherwise. Above all, the system of family life revolves around the fulfillment of certain basic needs as well as universal needs. These need comprise of the food, shelter and sexual release. Furthermore, the family in the Plymouth Colony setting is likened to different things and institutions. Particularly, the family is described as a â€Å"business†, â€Å"school†, â€Å"vocational institute†, the â€Å"church†, â€Å"house of correction† and as a â€Å"welfare institution†. As a business, the family is the central agency of economic production and exchange. As a school, the parents and the masters are obliged to attend to the educational needs of the children. As a vocational institute, there is a need to apply the knowledge and skills on the larger economic system. As a church, there is an obligation for â€Å"family worship†. Lastly, on the welfare institution, the family usually provides welfare services such as the presence of the hospital or even orphanage. Indeed, the findings on the book of John Demos create awareness on the true nature of the people from the Plymouth Colony. Moreover, it contributes to the strengthening on the American culture and history. In fact, it serves as one of the foundations of the family life of the American people. Undoubtedly, there is only little difference between the family of the Plymouth Colony and the modern-day American family. As such, the study of the ways and customs of the family on the Plymouth Colony proves the resemblance of families between the ancient colonies and the modern societies. Works Cited Demos, John. A Little Commonwealth: Family Life in Plymouth Colony. New York: Oxford University Press, 1971. Chapter 2: The English Transplantations – People/Term. 2 July 2007. .

Effects of Music on the Growth of Mung Beans

CHAPTER V SUMMARY, proof AND RECOMMENDATIONS This chapter presents the summary of finding the generalization of the last and the urge onation for the further improvement of the study. I. epitome of Findings 1. Music affects the harvesting of mung bean beans. As established in the experiment and establish on the data gathered, melody has a great tack together on the proceeds of Mung beans. The varying degree of effect is dependent on the type or tempo of medical specialty to be played. 2.In general, medicine helps in the return of plants. It hastens the suppuration of plants. As we conducted and observed our experiment, we noticed that classical euphony helps the Mung beans harvest-tide. Plants exposed to rock medicament grew slower than those exposed to classical music however, they grew faster than those exposed to no music. 3. The reaping of the green variety of Mung beans is faster than those of the yellow variety in whatever of the environment they were subject ed to.II. Conclusions 1. Music affects the growth of Mung beans as we observed the set-ups. The different aspects that we keep up observed where music was involved were the plants point and the number of leaves produced. 2. Music helps the Mung beans growth and does not hinder their development. 3. Music, more specifically the classic music, has effects on the growth of Mung beans especially on the growth of the green variety. III. Recommendations 1.As we have proven through the data gathered that music hastens the growth of plants, we recommend promoting the use of music in planting and other agricultural activities. This arsehole be done through discussions in the different fora to bring to the awareness of the administration and the agricultural sector the benefits of music in planting. 2. We recommend that in the utilization of music for plant growing, you should use classical music in order for you to grow your plants faster. 3. We recommend that further study be conducted to formalise the findings of this paper.

Marketing Strategy Study Guide

MKT 850 Study engineer Chapter 5 * organise Analysis * One of the approximately accessible tools in analyzing merchandise data and t for each virtuosoing * Links companys situation synopsis and ontogenesis of merchandise device * Uses buildingd reading to uncover competitive receiptss and guide plectron of the st charge per unitgical focus of the grocerying scheme. * Broken down into * Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats * entire-bodied study ( jitney should) * Use a series of organise analyses focusing on ad hoc overlap/ martplace confederacys * Search for competitors both present and future gather with other functional atomic number 18as by sharing development and perspectives * Examine issues from the clients perspective by asking employees * What do guests entrust astir(predicate) us as a company? * Which of our wornnesses translate into a decreased susceptibility to serve nodes? * Looks for causes not characteristics dispenseing th e sozzleds resources for each part * bust indispensable and international issues using this tonality running * Would this issue eruptlive if the whole did not exist? * If yes, issue classified as external * Strengths & Weaknesses understand because of resources by the secure, or collectable to the nature of key relationships between the firm and its customers/employees/outside plaques * whitethorn be leveraged into capabilities (strengths) or overcome (weaknesses) * Meaningful only when they serve or hinder the firm in consolatory customer involve * Opportunities & Threats * non electric potential merchandising actions. Issues/situations that occur in the firms external environments. * not ignored as the firm gets caught up in developing strengths and capabilities for fear of creating an efficient, save inefficacious organization. Stem from changes in the competitive, customer, scotch, political/ reasoned, technological, and sociocultural environments. * SWOT M atrix * Allows trade manager to visualize the digest * Serves as a catalyst to guide the substructure of mart strategies that leave produce desired results. * Allows manager to see how strengths and opportunities might be connected to throw capabilities that be key to meeting customer trains * Assesses the magnitude and importance of each strength/weak/opp/threat. * Competitive Advantage Capabilities in relations to those held by the competition * Based on both inner(a) and external factors * Based on reality and customer perception * Based on the basic strategies of useable excellence, intersection leadership, and customer intimacy. * Strategic Focus constitution * Based on developing an overall imagination or model that guides the firm as it weaves un stand inable marketing elements together into a coherent system * Tied to firms competitive advantage * Use results of SWOT as firm considers quad directions of strategic attempts * Aggressiveness Diversification * Turnaround * Defensiveness * Ensures the firm does not step beyond core strengths to consider opportunities outside its capabilities * Visualized through with(predicate) the use of a strategy displacevas where the goal is to develop a honor curve that is distinct from the competition * belittle traditional diligence competitive factors in favor of new approaches * Lays groundwork for development of marketing goals and objective, connects SWOT outcomes to the rest of the marketing plan. * marting Goals Broad, desired accomplishments started in general terms. * Indicate the direction the firm attempts to sham in, as well as the rank of priorities will use in evaluating alternative and making stopping points. * Should be attainable, realistic, internally consistent, comprehensive, and clarify the roles of all parties in the organization. * Involves both(prenominal) degree of intangibility * Marketing Objectives * Specific and valued benchmarks that can be used to gauge ap pear toward the achievement of the marketing goals * Should be attainable with sound effort Continuous or discontinuous depending on the degree to which they depart from present objectives * Assigned to specific areas, departments, or persons who pay off the responsibility to accomplish them Chapter sixsome * Buyer Behavior in Consumer Markets * very much ill-advised and unpredictable as consumers say unity occasion and do another * Progress through volt stages * Need Recognition * Information Search * paygrade of Alternatives * Purchase Decision * Post Purchase military rank Dont al behaviors follow these stages in locate or may skip stages * May be characterized by loyalty where consumers simply bribe the same ware that they bought last quantify * Involves check sequencing of activities with finding the most suitable merchant. * Consider what convergence they want, and where to deprave it * tolerate occur if a consumer is ferociously loyal to a merchant * Can be affected by * Complexity of the purchase and decision making go * Demographics, Psychographics, and Sociocultural factors * Social influences culture, cordial class, family, opinion leaders, reference assemblages. Situational influences physical and spatial influences, amicable and personal influences, magazine, purchase task/usage, consumer dis send * Consumers Wants & require * Shouldnt get assumes as necessities because everyone has a discordent perspective on what constitutes a need * Needs occur when a consumers current direct of satisfaction doesnt equal their desired direct * Wants are consumers desire for a specific harvest-homeion that will satisfy a specific need * Firm must understand basic involve fulfilled by its carrefours. Allows firm to fraction markets and attain marketing political platforms that show inescapably into wants for their harvest-time * close harvest-times are marketed on the basis of wants not need fulfillment * Wants are not the same as subscribe to * Demand occurs when the consumers talent and willingness to pay backs up a want for a specific produce * Information Search * Passive and Active * Passive- consumer lead much attentive and receptive to information * Active- consumer engages more aggressive seeking information search * Depends on several(prenominal) issues Degree of risk * Level of expertness * Actual cost of search (time and money) * Culminates in an elicited denounce of suitable acquire alternatives * Evaluation of Alternatives * Translates ineluctably into wants for specific crops or stigmas * Evaluate harvest-times as bundles of attributes that deliver varying abilities to satisfy their necessitate * Priority of each consumers choice criteria can change * Want the product to be in the evoked set of potential alternatives * Constantly remind them of their company and products * Purchase spot Intent to purchase and the existing act of acquire are distinct concepts * Key issu es * product accessibility how easy is it to get the product where the consumer is * possession gain how easy is it to transfer ownership * Postpurchase Evaluation * military issue of buying process is linked to the development of semipermanent customer relationships. Closely follow customers responses to monitor procedure and ability to meet customers expectations * Will down one potential outcomes Delight, satisfaction, dissatisfaction, or cognitive dissonance * caper Markets * Purchase products for their use in their ope dimensionns, like buying raw materials, buying office supplies, or leasing cars * Consists of four types of buyers * Commercial markets * Reseller markets * Government markets * Institutional markets * Four uncommon characteristics not found in consumer markets * The buyer shopping centre economic buyers, technical buyers, and users * Hard and soft cost are equally in-chief(postnominal) Hard- monetary monetary value or purchase be * Soft- downtime, oppo rtunity costs, HR costs * Reciprocity parentage buyers and sellers often buy products from each other * Mutual dependence sole-source or limited-source buying chevvys both buying and sell firms in return dependent * Business Buying Process * season of Stages * Problem Recognition * reading of product specifications * seller identification and qualification * Solicitation of proposals and bids * Vendor selection Order processing * Vendor performance look backward * Can be affected by several factors including environmental conditions, organizational factors, and interpersonal/individual factors * Market Segmentation process of dividing the total market for a particular product or product category into comparatively homogeneous portions or congregations * Groups should pay back analogous members, but groups must be dissimilar from each other * Fundamental decision of whether to segment at all Allows firms to be more productive callable to the fact that they can tailor p roducts to meet the needs of a particular market segment * tralatitious market partition approach * employ successfully for decades, not out of date, and are used by many of todays most successful firms * Can be used in confederacy with newer approaches by the firm, depending on the reproach/product or market in question * Successful segmentation Must be identifiable and measureable * Substantial * affable * Responsive * operable and sustainable * Avoid respectable/legally gauzy segments * Avoid viable segments that acquiret compeer firms mission * tidy sum Marketing no segmentation and is aimed at the total market for a product * undifferentiated approach assumes all customers have similar needs/wants * Works best when needs are relatively homogeneous Advantage- production efficiency and decline marketing costs * Disadvantage- risky because a standardized product is vulnerable to competitors that raise specialized products that better match customers needs * Differe ntiated Marketing divides the total market into groups of customers having relatively homogenous needs, attempting to develop a marketing program that appeals to one or more of these groups * needful when customer needs are similar at bottom a single group, but the needs differ across groups * cardinal options * Multi-segment approach * Market assiduousness approach Niche Marketing focusing efforts on one small, well outlined market segment or niche that has a eccentric, specific set of needs * Requires that firms understand and meet needs of intention customers. Although small in size, firms substantial share calls the segment highly bankable * Individualized Segmentation Approaches * Viable due to advances in technology especially in communication and the internet * Organizations can now route customer with a high degree of specificity * Allows firms to fuse demographic data with past/current buying behavior. Tweak marketing programs in miens that relinquish them to pr ecisely match customers needs, wants, and tastes * Become more important in the future because their focus on individual customers packs them critical to the development and maintenance of long-term relationships * big-ticket(prenominal) to deliver * Two important considerations * Automated obstetrical delivery of the marketing program * Personalization One-to-one Marketing involves the establishment of an entire unique product or marketing program for each customer in the stain segment * Common in business markets where unique programs and systems are knowing for each customer * developing rapidly in consumer markets, in luxury or custom do products or operate * Mass customization providing unique products and solutions to individual customers on a slew scale * Cost-effective and practical due to advances in affix-chain management. real time inventory control) * apply much in business markets, especially electronic procural systems * Permission Marketing different fro m one-to-one marketing because customers choose to become a member of the firms target market * Commonly penalize via opt in email lists * Advantage customers already interested in firms offerings * Allows precise target of individuals, eliminating the hassle of wasted marketing effort and expense * call Market Segments selecting most relevant inconstants to identify and define the target market, many of which come from the situation digest of the marketing plan. Isolation of individual characteristics that distinguish one or more segments from the total market (must have homogeneous needs) * Consumer markets involved examination of factors of one of these categories * behavioural segmentation most motiveful approach because it uses actual consumer behavior or product usage helps to make distinctions among market segments Demographic segmentation divides markets using factors much(prenominal) as gender, age, income, and education * Psychographic segmentation state-of-mind is sues such(prenominal) as motives, attitudes, opinions, values, lifestyles, interests, and personality * Geographic segmentation most useful when combined with other segmentation variables, geodemographic segmentation or geoclustering. * Business markets are base on types of market or on things such as organization, characteristics, benefits desire/buying process, personal/psych characteristics, or relationship intensity. sneak Marketing Strategies * Based on evaluation of the attraction of each segment and whether each offers opportunities that match firms capabilities and resources * maven segment targeting, selective targeting, mass market targeting, product specialization, and market specialization. * Also consider issues related to noncustomers, like why they do not buy and finding ways to remove obstacles to purchase. Chapter 7 yield dodging at the heart of every organization and it defines what the organization does and why it exists * Creating a productive offering tha t is a bundle of physical (tangible), inspection and repair (intangible), and symbolic (perceptual) attributes designed to satisfy customer wants/needs. * Strives to overcome commoditization by differentiating product offerings via the service and symbolic elements of the offering * Product Portfolio * Used in both consumer (convenience, shopping, specialty, and so forth and business markets (raw materials, process materials, installations, etc. ) * Used in most firms due to the advantages of selling a variety of products * Consists of a group of closely related product items (product lines) and the total group of products offered by a firm (product mix) * Involves strategic decisions such as variety and assortment of offerings * Can fashion benefits including economies of scale, package uniformity, standardization, sales and distribution efficiency, etc. expediency Products Challenges stem from the intangibility of services. Other characteristics include coincident production/c onsumption, and perish ability/client based relationships * Other issues * Experience problems in balancing bestow and require * Time and place dependent because customers must be present for delivery * Customers have a difficult time evaluating timber of service in advance it is purchased * Quality of service is often inconsistent and heavy(p) to standardize * Need for some services are not always apparent to customers.Service marketers often have trouble tying offerings to needs * New Product Development vital part of a firms efforts to sustain maturement and profits * six strategic options related to newness of products * New-to-world products (discontinuous innovations)- which involve a pioneering effort by a firm that leads to the creation of an solely new market * New product lines- represent new offerings by the firm, but they become introduced into establish markets * Product line extensions- supplement an existing product line with new styles, models, features, or f lavors * Improvements/Revisions of existing products- offer customers improved performance or greater perceive value * Repositioning- targeting existing products at new markets or segments * Cost reductions- modifying products to offer performance similar to competing products at a lower expense * Depends on firms ability to create differential advantage for the new product * Proceeds through five stages * Idea extension * Screening and evaluation * Development * Test marketing * Commercialization * bluring Strategy selecting the right combination of name, symbol, term, and design that identifies a specific product * Two parts * crisscross name words, letters, and numbers * Brand mark symbols, figures, or a design * scathing to product identification and factor used by marketers to differentiate a product from its competition * Successful- capture product offering in a way that answers a question in consumers mind *Involves many attributes that make up the way customers think about brands * People (employees and endorsers) * Places (country of origin) * Things (events, causes, third party endorsements) * Other brands (alliances, the company, extensions) * Advantage- make it easier for customers to find and buy products * Four key issues * producer vs. private-label brands- private label brands are more profitable than manufacturer brands for the retailers that carry them. Manufactured brands have incorporate take aim, recognition, and product loyalty. * Brand loyalty- positive attitude toward a brand that causes customers to have a consistent preference for that brand over all competing brands in a product category. Three levels brand recognition, brand preference, and brand insistence * Brand equity- the value of a brand or the marketing and financial value associated with a brands position in the marketplace. * Brand alliances- stigmatization strategies, such as co branding that involve developing close relationships with other firms. * furtheran ce and labeling * Part of developing a product, its benefits, its differentiation, and its image * Issues such as color, shape, size, convenience of the package or container * ar often used in product modifications/co branding to reposition the product or will it new features. * Vital in helping customers make proper product selections * all important(predicate) environmental and legal consequences * Differentiation and Positioning Creating differences in the firms product offering that set it apart from competing offerings (product differentiation) and the development and maintenance of a relative position for a product in the minds of the target market (product positioning) * Can be monitored through perceptual mapping- a visual, spatial display of customer perceptions on both or more key dimensions * Based on the brand, but also product descriptors, customer support services and image * Includes positioning strategies to strengthen current position, reposition, or reposition the competition * Managing Products and Brands over time * traditional product life bike five stages Development a time of no sale revenue, invalidating cash flow and high risk * demonstration time of emergent customer awareness, extensive marketing economic consumptions, and rapidly increasing sales revenue * step-up time of rapidly increasing sales revenue, rising profits, market expansion, and increasing numbers of competitors * Maturity time of sales and profit plateaus, a shift from customer acquisition to customer retention, and strategies aimed at holding or stealing market share * Decline time of persistent sales and profit decreases, attempts to postpone the decline, or strategies aimed at harvesting or divesting the product * knead by shifts in the market, or actions of the firms within the industry as they constantly reinvent themselves. Chapter 8 * determine * Key factor in producing revenue for a firm * Easiest of all marketing variables to change * Important con sideration in competitive intelligence * solitary(prenominal) real representation of differentiation in shape up markets that are commoditized * Among most complex decisions to be made in developing a marketing plan * Sellers Actions regarding hurt Tend to inflate prices to receive as much as possible in exchange * Consider four issues in determine strategy * be * Demand * Customer value * Competitors prices * pay off appendd power over buyers when products are in short supply, high rent, or good economic times. * Buyers Actions regarding Price * See prices as being lower than the market reality dictates * Two issues * perceived value * price sensitiveness * Considered value to be the ratio of benefits to costs. More bang for the buck * Increased power over sellers when large number of sellers, economy is weak, product information easy to obtain, or price comparisons are easy to make * Cutting prices Viable means of increasing sales, moving excess inventory, or generating short cash flow * Based on two general price myths * When business is good, a price cut will capture greater market share * When business is bad, a price knavish will stimulate sales * Risky because a price cut must be first gear by an increase in sales intensiveness to maintain the same level of gross moulding * Not always best strategy, maybe frame value into the product instead. * determine strategy issues * set objectives * Nature of supply and demand in the market * Firms cost structure * Nature of competition and the structure of the industry * Stage of the product life cycle * Firms cost structure Typically associated with determine through breakeven analysis or cost-plus set * Not be the driving force behind price strategy because different firms have different structures * Used to establish a floor below which prices cannot be set for an extended period of time * price Strategy in Services * Critical as price may be the only hint to quality in advance of the purc hase experience * Becomes important and more difficult when * Service quality hard to detect prior to purchase * Costs associated with providing the service are difficult to determine * Customers are unfamiliar with the service process * Brand name are not well established * Customers can perform the service themselves * Service has poorly defined units of consumption Advertising within a service category is limited * Total price of the service experience is difficult to state beforehand * Often based on yield management systems allowing a firm to both control power and demand in order to maximize revenue and capacity utilization * Yield management knowing when and where to raise prices to increase revenue or to lower prices to increase sales volume. * Implemented by limiting the available capacity at certain prices, controlling demand through price changes, and overbooking capacity * Common in services characterized by high fixed costs and low variable costs, like airlines, hotel s, rental cars, cruises, etc. Allows firm to offer same basic product to different market segments at different prices * Price elasticity of demand * Customers responsiveness or sensitivity to changes in price * Inelastic quantity demanded does not respond to price changes * Elastic quantity demanded is sensitive to price changes * Unitary changes in price and demand offset, keeping total revenue the same * Not uniform over time and place because demand is not uniform * Price sensibility Increases * alternative products are widely available * Total expenditure is high * Changes in price are pronounced to customers * Price comparison among competing products is easy Price Sensitivity Decreases * Substitute products are not available * Products are highly differentiated from the competition * Customers perceive products as being necessities * Prices of complemental products go down * Customers believe the product is worth the price * Time pressures or purchase risk are involved fo r consumers * major(ip) base price strategies include * Market accession pricing used of price skimming or penetration pricing when products are first launched into the market * Prestige pricing on purpose setting prices at the top end of all competing products in order to promote an image of exclusivity and superior quality Value-based pricing (EDLP)- setting reasonably low prices, but subdued offering high quality products and adequate customer service * Competitive matching- charging what is considered to be the going rate for the industry * Nonprice strategies- building a marketing program around factors other than price * Strategies for adjusting prices in consumer markets * promotional discounting putting products on sale * Reference pricing comparing the actual selling price to an internal or external reference price * Odd-even pricing setting prices in odd numbers, rather than in whole, round numbers * Price bundling bring together two or more complementary products for a single price * Strategies for adjusting prices in business markets Trade discounts reducing prices for certain intermediaries in the supply chain based on the functions that they perform * Discounts and allowances bragging(a) buyers price breaks, including discounts for cash, quantity or bulk discounts, seasonal discounts, or trade allowances for participation in advert or sales support programs * Geographic pricing quotes prices based on transportation costs (distance) * shipping pricing pricing when one unit in an organization sells products to another unit * Barter and countertrade full or partial payments in goods/services/buying gibements rather than in cash * Price variation charging different prices to different customers * Dynamic Pricing * Started to renew fixed pricing in many product categories * Growing in importance and popularity due to the growth of online auction firms * Three pricing levels * Opening position * Aspiration price Price limit * ample process, but is most logical and systematic way for two parties that dont initially agree to reach agreement * Legal & Ethical Issues of Pricing * Price discrimination different prices to different customers. smuggled unless its basis is the actual cost differences in selling products to one customer relative to another. * Price location when two or more competitors collaborate to set prices at an artificial level * Predatory pricing firm sets prices for a product below the variable cost to drive out competitors or out of the market * Deceptive pricing firm intentionally mislead customers with price promotions.