Life and Women Bearing Women Essay

Harwood’s elegy Mother Who Gave Me Life nostalgically explores the confronting concepts of the unavoidability of death and past bleak memories. Harwood explains explores the fragility e nature of life through the fabric motif symbolism; â€Å"fine threadbare linen† depicting symbolising the frailty image of her mother and the inevitability of her demise. Similarly, the reminiscent cosmic and iconic imagery depicts the futile effort to extend life â€Å"I prayed you would see live to see Halley’s Comet a second time. Furthermore, the reference to Halley’s Comet informs the audience of the persona’s short-lived hope for human immortality, on to be brought back to the reality of death. In addition, the author speaks ofoutlines a cycle of death and the continuity of life, shown through repetition that is as perpetuated through motherhood shown through repetition; â€Å"I think of women bearing women† which utilises gender specific diction to highlight the significance of women as a . Thus, the cycle of women bearing women is shown as a symbol of life and continuity. Likewise, through cumulative listing, Harwood provides an insight into the human history of motherhood, noting that that it transcends all temporal restraints indicated through cumulative listing â€Å"your mother, and hers and beyond†, and its ability to never cease. Though Harwood constantly implies of her desire to be able to extend life she acknowledges that in reality death is inevitable through the use of elegiac language; â€Å"you left the world so†. Finally through elemental references and natural imagery, Motherhood is portrayed to be infinite and as the link between prehistoric and current epochs elucidated through elemental references and natural imagery; â€Å"ice, rock, fire. † Hence, through the use of a variety of language techniques, Harwood is able to explore the challenging images of the inevitability of mortality through its inevitable nature whilst offering nostalgic recollections of her mother to signify the mportance of motherhood in establishing the continuity of life providing reader’s with a valued text. and cycle of mournful self-reflective thoughts through the use of motherhood, providing a valued text. The ode style poem Harwood’s diptich poem, Father and Child, investigates the notion centrality of seminal experiences in shaping one’s understanding of of a melancholic longing for the past whilst simultaneously acknowledging the inevitability of death through the rhyming pattern of its stanza, hence creating a valued text for the audience reader. The idea of childlike innocence and naivety immortality is expressed through the masculine diction â€Å"master of life and death† and power metaphor â€Å"a wisp-haired judge† exposing the child as an self-proclaimed vigilante. However, the self vilification of the child upon the his shooting of the owl is, expressed through a woeful reminiscent self reflection; â€Å"mirror my cruelty†. This portrayings the confronting topic of mortality through the physical pain of the owl and the emotional torment of the child. Another memory that highlights the both the challenging concepts of nostalgia and death, is the symbolic death of the child’s innocence demonstrated in the juxtaposition; â€Å"a lonely child who believe death clean and final, not this obscene. † Hence, this shows the naivety of the child, and the stinging memory of an un-romanticized death that has remained. Finally through the use of empathic language, the child’s harsh epiphany is shown â€Å"I†¦ wept, owl blind in the early sun. This implying lies the persona’s is transformation to show a new appreciation for morality. In â€Å"Nightfall† the second part of the poem the persona uses a collective pronoun to depict togetherness as a notion of eternity which transcends earthly beings; â€Å"we stand in time’s long promised land. † The nostalgic tone presents the audience with Harwood’s perspective of the unyielding process of time and the inevitability of death. This notion is emphasised through parallelism; â€Å"we pick our last fruits†, hence utilising showing the reader of the organic discourse which to presents the comparison of the ripeness of fruit to the infinite life cycle of birth and decay. Furthermore, inevitability of death is illuminated through past tense of the self reflective question â€Å"Who can be what you were? † implying that persona’s father has ceased to exist. Through the character of the child, it is clearly evident that the poem Father and Child explores the challenging ideas of nostalgia and mortality making the texts valued in the eyes of the reader.

Care Ethics Essay

Did you ever stop and think long and hard about what type of person you are? Whether you put your needs before the needs of others, or if you care for others more than you care for yourself. The word â€Å"care† can mean many things. The ethics of care is a normative ethical theory about what makes actions right or wrong. It implies that there is moral significance in the elements of relationships and dependencies in human life. Care ethics normally seeks to maintain relationships by promoting the well-being of each other. The word â€Å"care† involves meeting the needs of not only our self, but others as well. It is inspired by memories of being cared for and the idealizations of self. Since â€Å"care† depends upon the contextual considerations, it is difficult to define. There have been at least three distinct but overlapping meanings that have emerged in the recent decades. It can be known as â€Å"an ethic defined in opposition to justice, a kind of labor, and a particular relationship. † In ethical literature, ‘care’ is most often defined as â€Å"a practice, value, disposition, or virtue, and is frequently portrayed as an overlapping set of concepts. One of the most popular definitions of care is â€Å"a species of activity that includes everything we do to maintain, contain, and repair our ‘world’ so that we can live in it as well as possible. That world includes our bodies, us, and our environment†. Care ethics was first most explicitly articulated by Carol Gilligan and Nel Noddings in the early 1980s. Gilligan, a graduate student at Harvard, wrote her paper outlining a different path of moral development than the one described by Lawrence Kohlberg, her mentor. Gilligan believed that her mentor Kohlberg’s model of moral development to be gender biased. She posed a different view and found that both men and women articulated the voice of care at different times, but pointed out that without women, the voice of care would nearly fall out of their studies. Later, Gilligan resisted readings of her work that suggests care ethics as relating to gender more than theme, and even established the harmony of care and justice ethics, but never fully abandoned her thesis of an association between women and relational ethics. Nel Nodding’s published Caring, in 1984. Caring developed the idea of care as a feminine ethic, and applied it to the practice of moral education. Nodding’s understood caring relationships to be basic to human existence and consciousness. She identified two parties in a caring relationship—â€Å"one-caring† and the â€Å"cared-for. † She stated that both parties have some form of obligation to care and meet the other morally, but not in the same manner. Nodding’s located the origin of ethical action in two motives. One is the human affective response that is a natural caring sentiment. The second is the memory of being cared-for that gives rise to an ideal self. She also identified two stages of caring, â€Å"caring-for† and â€Å"caring-about†. There were a number of criticisms that have been launched against care ethics. Some of the critiques include: slave morality, and that care ethics is empirically flawed. Care ethics as a slave morality is one of the first objections. The philosopher Frederick Nietzsche came up with the concepts of slave morality. Nietzsche believed that oppressed people tend to develop moral theories that confirm traits as virtues. This interprets the voice of care as emerging from traditions characterized by severely enforced sexual divisions of labor. Issues against caring practices are warned because women perform the work of care for their own economic and political disadvantage. This objection further implies that the voice of care may not be an authentic or empowering expression, but a product of false consciousness. Another critique is that care ethics is empirically flawed. People started to question the accuracy of Gilligan’s studies. She has been criticized that her conclusions are too narrow and that her studies were performed on an overly homogeneous groups. Critics argued that wider samples would be more accurate and yield more diverse results. Since care ethics has an association with women, it is often seen as a feminine ethic. Care ethics, feminine ethics, and feminist ethics are frequently seen as synonymous. However, not all feminine and feminist ethics are care ethics. The connection between care ethics and femininity has been subject to challenge. The idea that there may be a feminine approach to ethics can be traced far back into history. Assumptions of feminine ethics are that women are similar enough to share a common perspective, and that characteristically feminine traits include compassion, empathy, nurturance, and kindness. There is also the chance that it could be acknowledged that women are diverse, and that some men exhibit equally strong tendencies to care. It has been proven that many women, in actuality and in myth, do not display care. There are other factors known to correlate with care thinking such as: social identity, ethnicity, and class. But nonetheless, care is assumed to be a feminine trait. All in all, care ethics has a vigorous set of definitions and it can be understood in many different ways. It really can make you think of what is right or what is wrong on a daily basis. After learning about care ethics, it really makes me wonder about the ideal concept of it and what it means to me as an individual. Taking a look at the critiques of it, and whether or not you believe the critics or the philosophers who articulated it.

Composing Self Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Composing Self - Assignment Example They have stated that this tool purports to nurture students. However, it stunts the growth of our minds as students (Wesley, 2000). Leaving the form behind meant that you hand an intention of expanding our level of reasoning. I had read in several published journals about the effects of the five paragraph theme. In my opinion, I felt that this writing tool had become a national phenomenon for most of us as students. The status quo that has always reinforced the high school composition instructions is quite dangerous. It came to my mind that you might found out that the five paragraph theme had become so bring in writing and we needed to learn other tools (Wesley, 2000). The idea of abolishing the five paragraph theme as a writing style caused a lot of anxiety. I knew that we would now be taught about a new writing style. I became more eager to learn about a new style and put it into practice. I started feeling that being introduced to a new style would give me a chance to write more. The five paragraph theme had always been restricting me to only five paragraphs in my writing. For example, our teacher would ask to write a seven page essay about two novels. In these kinds of situations, I used to find it quite challenging in fitting a seven page essay in five paragraphs. I felt so excited when our teacher abolished the 5PT. I have a chance to write more without

Personality in Human Beings Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Personality in Human Beings - Essay Example In this essay I shall shortly describe my own views on personality and then discuss some theories that are popular in their descriptions of the human personality. The theories of three theorists namely, Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1939), Carl Gustav Jung (1875 - 1961), Albert Bandura (1925- ), and their work on human personality shall be discussed here. In the process I shall envisage to understand the differences and similarities in the theories of psychoanalysis. In my perspective human personality is complex, and is constituted of many factors such as 1) physical attributes and genetic make-up, 2) cultural and ethnical background, 3) personal aptitudes and beliefs. The first two factors are largely inherited with little scope for alteration; like for example, skin color, height, propensity towards some inherited diseases, are inherited and do have a bearing on one's personality. The second two factors are socially constructed, partially inherited and partially changeable, but, nevertheless have great influence on the human personality. For example, the work-culture and perception of opportunities by a Chinese is more likely to be typically inherited from his/her parents and very specific to that ethnic and cultural background. I call it partially changeable because, the same Chinese immigrated to the U.S. ... The third set of factor is important and is mostly responsible for making a qualitative difference in one's personality. For example, physicist Stephen Hawking suffered from the degenerative Lou Gherig's Disease (www.hawking.org), but never allowed it to come in the way of his scientific quest. Battling with pneumonia, he lost his voice; but his sheer love for science and integrity made him to overcome all his set-backs. He is a good example of the power of personal beliefs and aptitudes, and what it can achieve, despite handicaps. Theories of Psychoanalysis Consciously or unconsciously, my concept of personality is derived from three theorists: Freud, Jung and Bandura. Importantly, the 'structure of personality' (Ewen 6) as per each construct shall be delineated here, with a further discussion of how they have helped in my understanding of the human personality. 'Construct' refers to "a set of terms and principles constructed or applied by the theorist" that constitutes a theory and they are useful in explaining the particular theory of personality and comparisons between them (Ewen 4); like for example Jung's theory of psyche and the human personality is marked by the terms and descriptions like the 'collective unconscious' and archetypes (Ewen 6). First in the discussion shall be Sigmund Freud. Von Schubert, Carus, and Schopenhauer, had already done some research in the field of 'unconscious' (Ewen 7-8). Freud's concept consists of the constructs - id, ego, and superego (Freud 1923 p.8). He holds that the human being is driven by powerful instincts which get activated when the body is mature. Human beings are born with an Id which may be understood as basic instincts like hunger, sleep and so on.

Internal Auditing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Internal Auditing - Essay Example Beyond the intent to commit a fraud intentionally to mislead shareholders and investors, accountants and top executives of a company can sometimes commit unintentional mistakes through a wrong interpretation of an accounting rule. This is why it is terribly important that auditors, accountants, chief executive officers and chief finance officers set the tone for an ethical working environment from start. There are many ways to commit wrongdoing in the accounting profession and the line between what is perfectly legal and an action that borders on the illegal is a very thin one. It is easy to cross over to the illegal side. In relation to this paper, accounting frauds are committed mostly by top executives of a company since they have access to the records and have a good view of how to manipulate the figures to suit their objectives to the detriment of stockholders. In other words, those in positions of trust and least suspected are the ones who commit fraud and it takes an average of two years before a crime is uncovered, sometimes accidentally only. An alarming 9% only of all frauds are discovered by external auditors (who are very good in forensic auditing), 20% discovered by accident and 46% uncovered due to tips given by the whistle blowers. The remainder of accounting frauds goes undetected, perhaps forever. Accountants are required by their professional associations to undertake continuing professional education (CPE) units to retain and renew their licenses. One of the subjects in CPE is a module on accounting ethics. The two most common problematic situations which accountants and auditors frequently encounter during the course of their work are conflict of interest and confidentiality of privileged information. This was what Cynthia Cooper had been dealing with since she was both a certified public accountant (CPA) and the certified internal auditor (CIA) of WorldCom. Her

Current Trends in the Tourist Infrastructure Development Literature review

Current Trends in the Tourist Infrastructure Development - Literature review Example Mr. Brian Summers believes that the success in this economy lies in putting the visitor at the heart of the tourism industry.   A global comparison is a factor for visitors’ choice of destinations and world-class experience is expected. Visitors yearn for excitement, foods, and drinks and to shop.   They enjoy more, when the places are clean, safe and attractive, with good roads and clear signage.   As effective advertising, a visitor has to be encouraged to come back and tell others of their wonderful experience. In March 2007, the Tourism West Midlands (TWM) gathered at the NEC for the annual conference and the presence of more than 200 businesses could attest to the fact that their growth effort in this industry is found to be significant.   On April 1, 2007, TWM was restructured, to make it the single official lead strategic body.   New members, who were mostly senior decision-makers in their own rights, were duly welcomed. Among other issues taken up were focused on their main priorities.   They appreciated the continuance of the support of the specialist businesses in tourism, to be undertaken by the Regional Centre for Tourism Business Support through the Brokerage service.   They saw the need to manage more effectively in countering climate change and they can expect a great deal of support by way of grants.   Marketing schemes will be reviewed and the importance of clearer advertising shall be promoted.   The improvement of low skill levels, such as chefs and customer service staff are vital, which can be addressed by the Learning and Skills Councils.   Being a focal point for the region’s tourism industry, the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be able to bring in a sizeable number of tourists. They intend to support the role that sub-regional partnerships play in campaigning for their destinations with the hope that tourists will stay longer.   Many iconic tourist attractions are being refurbished, inasmuch as Advantage West Midlands (AWM) and other partners continue to invest millions for such a purpose.

American Advertising Federation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

American Advertising Federation - Research Paper Example Complex consequences of such progress of information-communication technologies for the sphere of media today still cannot be estimated unequivocally. It is obvious, that such development means the technological evolution of traditional media. An example of the transformation of wired networks in independent sector of the media industry has already shown, that the creation of new technology of distribution of television signals has led to the occurrence of the new form of the television business offering to an audience a new product and new services. The similar chain is observable by consideration of a course of technological progress in other media. In general, it can be presented as follows: What counts as new media is often debated, and is dependent on the definitions used. There is no one united definition for the term 'new media'. According to Chun & Keenan (2006, p.1), "the term 'new media' came into prominence in the mid-1990s, usurping the place of 'multimedia' in the fields of business and art...Although new media depended heavily on computerization, new media was not simply 'digital media': that is, it was not digitized forms of other media (photography, video, text), but rather an interactive medium or form of distribution as independent as the information it relayed".

In the news 1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

In the news 1 - Assignment Example Things have taken a new twist when Eduardo Campos was killed when a plane he was in crashed and the former environment minister was confirmed as his successor. Analysis predicts that Marina Silva as well as Rousseff have the same number of votes in the initial round that may result in a subsequent round of votes which may go in her favor. Miss Silva presents her candidature as a manner of fronting political renewal since she is neither a part of the Workers’ Party nor the PSDB which have been dominant in the politics of the country for the last twenty years. She has developed to be a viable alternative since she supports efforts towards change from both sides in Brazil while showing support for the business friendly policies making her win the sympathy of votes from the elite. It is ironic that her support amongst the middle class which has developed in the society in the last ten years is increasing among the Workers’ party administration. This may be happening as a result of people joining the formal job market and beginning to pay taxes which have changed their expectations. The Workers’ Party has lifted many Brazilians out of poverty through increases in minimum wage and school programs that have increased attendance. On the other hand, support dwindled when costs of transport started rising and police violence escalated in relation to the world cup. The approval ratings are rapidly decreasing but showed some improvement in July as a result of the World Cup running

Mozart Effect in Childrens Toys Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mozart Effect in Childrens Toys - Case Study Example In 1993 Rauscher, Shaw and Ky published results of a study in which they measured the increase of spatial reasoning skills in 36 college students who listened to music composed by Mozart. The researchers reported increases of between 8 and 10 points on the IQ spatial reasoning task scale as opposed to those students who sat quietly for the 10 minute period or listened to relaxation tapes. The results of these findings were attributed to listening to the composer's sonata and resulted in coinage of the phrase 'The Mozart Effect.' Since these findings were first reported there has been a contentious debate as to the validity of the Mozart Effect. According to Caulfield (1999) the original study was performed on college students, not infants, and the results were temporary. Rauscher et al. (1997), however, conducted a two-year study where they found that preschool children who took piano lessons had increased spatial reasoning skills. This led them to conclude that music exposure to young children enhances the development of the brain, particularly in the area of spatial reasoning skills. These findings led Caulfield (1999) to question at what age music can be processed and remembered by young infants. According to LaFuente et al (1997 as quoted in Caulfield, 1999) infants during their last trimester care capable of hearing music. He and his associates conducted a study in which they had pregnant women in their final trimester (40 weeks) play tapes of basic chords and gradually moving up to more complex musical patterns. Each mother completed between 50 and 90 hours of musical listening prior to delivery. The researchers foun d that during the first six months the infants "exhibited significantly more rapid development of many behaviors, including visual tracking, eye-hand coordination, facial imitation and babbling" (Caulfield, 1999, p. 120) but Caulfield warns that the mother's knowledge of the study may have been a confounder. Nantais and Schellenberg (1999) explain that the Mozart effect is "similar to robust psychological phenomena such as transfer or priming" (p. 370) but the main difference is that the Mozart Effect, if in fact it exists, would be caused by passive listening as opposed to active doing. In an attempt to replicate the Mozart Effect the researchers selected 84 undergraduates, 56 for one experiment and 28 for a second. They used two different music pieces: the Mozart sonata and a piece composed by Schubert. Although their findings showed an improvement in spatial reasoning by both groups who listened to music as opposed to the control group who sat in silence, they concluded that the slight improvement was due to a positive stimulus versus a negative stimulus (music to

Promotional Strategy Essay Example for Free

Promotional Strategy Essay There are various ways to communicate with potential customers. Promotional strategy includes a mix of advertising, publicity, sales promotions, personal selling, and public relations. Each component of the promotional mix plays a role in your effort to have potential customers learn about your business and buy your goods or services. Your promotional strategy must address the who, what, when, where, and how much money to spend. The Who of Your Promotional Strategy No business can be all things to all people, and no business has an unlimited amount of money to spend on its promotions. You will need to be sure you direct your effort and money to your target market. The better you can identify who is in your target market, where they live, what magazines and newspapers they read, what television stations they watch, and what radio stations they listen to, the higher the probability that you will be able to get their attention and influence their behavior. If you can identify your target markets demographics, then you can check the listenership, viewership, and readership profiles for various media, including local radio stations, newspapers, magazines, and television stations. For example, if you are opening a clothing store and the primary target market is teenage girls, then you should review the rating of radio listenership in your geographic area. Most radio stations have a copy of the ratings. You will be able to determine which radio station has the highest listenership in that age category. The A. C. Nielsen rating service does the same for television viewership. The What of Your Promotional Strategy The what involves determining the message you should communicate to your target market. Your promotional strategy is intended to take people who may have varying degrees of interest in your type of goods and services and get them to become your customers. You will need to know who they are, who they are currently buying from, why they are buying the goods and services, and to what extent they are still customers in search of a business. Your promotional strategy is intended to get the people in your target market to modify their behavior. The message you send to the people in your target market must be tailored to their mental frameworks. Your message must also provide the incentive for them to do business with you. Your promotional strategy should be based on: (1) Who do you want to influence? (2) What do you have to offer them that is better than the competition? and (3) What do I need to communicate to them to get them to become my customers? Your promotional strategy should emphasize your competitive advantage(s). Successful promotional strategies are based on the concept, If everyone is offering a steak, then you must sell your sizzle! You must know what your target market values. Your strategy should highlight your businesss unique selling points/propositions. The When of Your Promotional Strategy There are four major intervals for promoting your business. The first is preening promotion. It is very important for a new business to generate customer interest before your business opens its doors. You want your target market to be anxious for your business to open. Some businesses do teaser advertising. A teaser ad may be, the countdown has begun; there are only 60 days until Company of Miami opens. This business may do teaser advertising by erecting a sign where the business will be located. Your business will also need to provide ongoing promotions. Your existing customers will need to be kept informed about developments in your business. You will also need to let potential customers learn about your business and its sizzle. Most new businesses tend to have a token grand opening promotion and do little after that. You need to develop an ongoing promotional program that will keep your business in your target markets minds. If the world doesnt know about your mousetraps advantages and the market doesnt know where your door is, then you will not sell a single mousetrap. The Where of Your Promotional Strategy Your promotional strategy will only be effective if its message gets to your target audience at the appropriate time. The where of promotional strategy involves the media you use to communicate with your target market. There are numerous avenues or media available for promoting your business. The key is to know which media will produce the best results. The media to be used will depend on to whom you want to direct your message, the nature of the message, and when it needs to be presented. Each type of media has advantages and disadvantages. Television offers color, movement, sound, and broad geographic coverage. Radio offers a means to get to a large number of people at various times of the day and night. Newspapers offer daily coverage to a large percentage of an areas households. Direct mail permits you to send your message to a specific group of people. Billboards take advantage of a captive audience while people are in their automobiles. There is no one best medium for all businesses. There is no one best medium for every type of message. When asked which medium is the best, the answer can only be, The one that does the best job of attracting customers per dollar cost. Your promotion budget also influences media selection. You want to get the best return per dollar invested in promotion. One medium may cost less than another, but you need to determine which one will do the most effective job of getting your message to your target market. businesses frequently evaluate media in terms of the cost of reaching each 1000 potential customers. The How Much to Spend Part of Your Promotional Strategy The question of how much money to spend on promoting your business is very difficult to answer. Some businesses spend a certain percentage of projected sales on promotion-related activities. If, for example, you are trying to generate sales of $ 100,000 for the first year, then you may want to review trade data on your type of business to learn what percentage of sales you should spend on advertising. Bank of America reports that the average ad expenses for apparel stores is 2 to 3 percent of sales; for bookstores, 1.5 to 2.5 percent of sales; and for gift stores, 1.5 to 2.5 percent of sales. These figures reflect annual budgets for existing businesses. Your first years promotional budget will need to be a larger percentage of sales because your business will be unknown and you will be trying to divert customers from other businesses. The percentage-of-sales method may provide a general idea of how much to spend, but spending a certain percentage of sales on promotion does not guaran tee that you will generate that level of sales. The best way to determine your promotional budget is to identify what you want to accomplish. This is known as the target approach. If you want to have 8 people come to you each week, then you need to determine what type and amount of promotion you will need to do to achieve that goal. You may find it will take 3 primetime radio spots per day on two different radio stations; a two column, 3inch ad in the local newspaper on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; 2 billboards located on two major thoroughfares; and 1000 direct mail promotions per month to achieve your goal. The target approach recognizes that you must reach a critical mass before your promotions will have an effect on the market. The percentage-of-sales approach indicates what businesses spent. The target approach determines what you think it will take to achieve your sales goal. The target approach is particularly appropriate for a new venture. There are two other approaches businesses may use to determine their promotional budgets. Some businesses simply try to match their competition. They monitor the number of radio spots aired and the amount of ad space in the newspaper. The businesses then match their major competitors promotional program. This approach has two flaws. First, it assumes that your competitors are doing the right type and amount of advertising. Second, if you dont do a better job of promoting your business than your competition, why should your target market do business with you? The other approach to developing a promotional budget is based on how much you can afford to spend. This may be the least effective approach. It assumes that you have allocated money to all of the other aspects of your business. Any money that is left is what you can spend on promoting your business. You must recognize that you need to do promotions to generate sales. If you hope to have enough sales to leave you with enough money to do promotions, then you have things backwards. It is interesting to note that most people are reluctant to spend much money promoting their business. This reluctance is quite natural. Money spent on promotions offers no assurance that it will bring in enough customers to justify the expense. One of the sayings about advertising is, Only one-half of advertising works. The problem is that you dont know in advance which half it will be! However, promotions should be viewed as an investment that is necessary to generate the level of sales needed to produce your targeted level of profit. The Promotional Mix Most of the discussion of promotional strategy has been focused on advertising. Promotion also includes the name you choose for your business, its sign, personal selling techniques, point-of-purchase displays, special sales promotions, public relations, and publicity. Publicity may be particularly important for a new business. Publicity is defined as media coverage for which you dont pay. Many radio stations, newspapers, and television stations do features on new businesses when they open. If your business is the first of its kind in your area or if it has some special sizzle, you may be able to get the media to do a special feature on it. You should make every effort to get in touch with the media before your business opens. Publicity can be equivalent to thousands of dollars of free advertising. Publicity is also valuable because potential customers tend to pay more attention to features than to advertisements.

Patient Case Studies for Accurate Nursing Assessments

Patient Case Studies for Accurate Nursing Assessments Jon Teegardin Performing accurate nursing assessments on patients establishes a baseline of information regarding a patient’s complaint and history of present illness. The patients represented in this paper are not real, instead they are created to allow for examples of basic nursing assessments. This paper will assess two patients, one with chronic lower back pain and one with psychiatric and substance abuse complaints. Patient one The first patient is a 45 year old female who presents to the emergency room after arriving by private vehicle with a complaint of lower back pain with radiation down the right leg to the foot. My assessment of the patient begins when I go to the lobby and call the patients name. The patient ambulates with an even steady gait to the examination room. The patient does not require assistance ambulating. Once in the examination room, privacy is provided and an interview and full assessment are conducted. After introducing myself, the patient is identified using two identifiers, name and birthdate. The information provided by the patient is verified against the chart and an identifying wristband is applied. The chief complaint is then verified using an open ended question: Can you tell me why you are visiting the emergency room today? The patient’s response is â€Å"Back in 20012 I injured my back when my boyfriend was drunk and he slammed me against a wall. The doctor told me I had several ruptured discs in my back and it hurts so bad tonight I can’t stand it. The pain started about three days ago and has gotten progressively worse. I reassure the patient that she will be treated as soon as we can get the doctor in the room (Jarvis, 2012). The patient then asks for an emesis bag and states â€Å"I’m hurting so bad I think I’m going to throw up†. An emesis bag is provided. The patient retches several times and spits into the bag. No vomitus is noted . I continue with my interview by asking about the patients’ health history (Jarvis, 2012). I ask the patient about medication allergies. The patient states she is allergic to penicillin’s. Next I ask the patient about any medications she currently takes. The patient reports she takes the following medications: Xanax, 1 milligram 3 times per day, Gabapentin, 400 milligrams 3 times per day, Vicodin 10mg-325mg every 4 hours for pain, Lisinopril 20 milligrams, every day, Simvastatin 40 milligrams every day, Cyclobenzaprine, 20 milligrams every 6 hours, Ultram, 50 milligrams every 8 hours as needed for pain. When asked for a primary care physician, the patient states â€Å"I have recently switched doctors and I have an appointment on Wednesday with my new doctor. The patient presents an appointment card for a local physician. The patient is next asked about her medical history. The patient reports a history of hypertension, high cholesterol, anxiety, and ruptured discs in her lower back. The patient reports a surgical history of bilateral breast augmentation, bilateral tubal ligation, appendectomy, total hysterectomy, and tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy. When questioned about any surgical interventions for her back, the patient states â€Å"I don’t have insurance so I can’t afford to get any surgery on my back†. The patient reports a family history of hypertension, anxiety, and depression on her mother’s side. She also reports smoking 1 pack of cigarettes per day for 10 years but quit smoking 15 years ago. With my initial interview complete, the physical assessment begins (Jarvis, 2012). The patient is placed in a hospital gown for the examination. Vital signs are obtained. The blood pressure is 168/109 in the left arm, 166/106 in the right arm, heart rate is 79, oral temperature is 98.5, respirations are 16 per minute, oxygen saturation is 97% on room air, and the patient rates her pain on a numeric scale as a 10 out of 10 in her lower back. She describes the pain as a sharp, constant pain that is aggravated with movement, and helped with medication. She also relates radiation of the pain to her right leg as a burning sensation. The patient has shoulder length hair that is clean and well groomed. She denies any hearing problems, visual problems, congestion or cough. No drainage is noted from her ears, the eyes are clear with no redness or conjunctiva. Pupils are equal and reactive to light. Nares are clear bilaterally without swelling. The patient has good dentition with evidence of d ental intervention with fillings visible in three teeth. The lips, tongue, oral mucosa, and uvula are unremarkable. Facial symmetry is good with no drooping. The patient’s neck is supple with full range of motion and the trachea is midline. Respirations are clear and even bilaterally. The heart is auscultated and is strong and even at 78 beats per minute. Normal S1 and S2 are present. The patient denies any pain or mass in the breasts and reports that she self-examines monthly and her last mammogram was two years ago. Hand grips are strong and equal, radial pulses are strong and equal bilaterally. The abdomen is soft and non-tender to palpation. Bowel sounds are present in all four quadrants. A healed surgical scar is noted in the lower right quadrant. The patient denies any incontinence of bladder or bowel, and reports nausea and vomiting related to her back pain. The back is grossly unremarkable, and is tender to palpation in the area from L1 to L5. The patient denies any b urning or pain on urination, and denies flank pain. The patient reports a burning sensation down the right leg to the foot. Foot strength equal bilaterally, with strong bilateral pedal pulses. A scar is noted on the anterior right lower extremity distal to the patella. The patient reports that she accidently cut herself there as a child and required stitches to close the laceration. The patient’s mood and affect are appropriate for her age and the current situation. Her speech is clear. The patient is reassured that the physician will see her and the bed is verified to be in its lowest position with the wheels locked. The call light button is explained to the patient and placed within easy reach. The patient is reminded to request assistance prior to ambulating. Summary of findings My summary of finding is that the patient appears to be suffering from chronic back pain related to a traumatic injury in her past, and has uncontrolled hypertension related to noncompliance with her medication regimen. SOAP note S: Patient reports excruciating back pain radiating to the right leg, with nausea and vomiting prior to arrival. She also reports being out of her prescription medications which include a blood pressure medication. O: the patients’ blood pressure is elevated at 168/109, the lower back is tender to palpation. The patient ambulates without assistance but appears to be in mild distress. A: Nontoxic appearing white female that appears consistent with her stated age of 45 years old. EENT within normal limits. PERRLA at 3mm. Facial symmetry equal with no facial droop noted. The neck is supple and trachea is midline. Regular apical rate with S1 and S2. No S3 or S4 noted. Hand grips strong and equal bilaterally. Radial pulses strong and equal bilaterally. Respirations are even and unlabored. Lungs clear to auscultation bilaterally. The abdomen is soft and non-tender. Bowel sounds present in all four quadrants. Tender in the lower back region from L1 to L5 with radiation of pain to the right leg. No vomiting noted during assessment. Denies diarrhea. Denies urinary symptoms. Leg strength strong and equal bilaterally. Ambulates without difficulty or assistance. Pedal pulses present with no edema noted in lower extremities. P: Patient placed on non-invasive blood pressure monitoring and positioned for comfort. Expect MD orders for oral anti-hypertensive to reduce blood pressure and intramuscular injection of narcotic pain medication with antiemetic to control nausea and vomiting. Prepare patient for X-ray of lumbar spine region, and possible CT of the same area. A urine pregnancy test is contraindicated because of history of hysterectomy. Potential for admission to hospital for consult with orthopedist and surgical intervention. Patient two The second patient is a 62 year old female who has a chief complaint of alcohol dependence, benzodiazepine dependence, and depression. This patient is called from the lobby and ambulates to the exam room with an even, steady gait. Once in the examination room, privacy is provided and an interview and full assessment are conducted. I identify myself and the patient is identified using two identifiers and an identification band is placed on her wrist. I begin by obtaining a social history of the patient (Jarvis, 2012). She states she has never seen a psychiatrist and has been treated for depression by her primary healthcare provider. The patient is currently employed as a nurse practitioner/midwife with a county health department. She thoroughly enjoys her job and is fearful of losing her position due to chronic absenteeism related to her alcohol abuse. She reports consuming approximately one half gallon of liquor daily and has smoked one pack of cigarettes per day for twenty years. In her spare time she says that she enjoys sewing and gardening. The patient describes childhood as â€Å"normal†, had a â€Å"great relationship† with her father, but states â€Å"my mother loved my brother more than me, and nothing I did was good enough for her, even though I got straight a grades in school, and was active in church and band†. She further states â€Å"my mother used to beat me for waking up in the morning, becau se she said that I would eventually get into some kind of trouble†. †My brother is gay, but very successful working in Atlanta. I don’t see him enough, and I don’t hold what my mother did against him. I wish we saw more of each other. I got divorced over my drinking, so that was that, I could deal with all of it, up until my daughter died. Any other night I would have watched TV with her, but I was so tired that night. I went straight to bed and she decided to drive down to her brothers, 2 miles away. She made it about halfway, and was killed when she went off the road and hit a culvert, causing her car to roll several times. She died instantly†. Having obtained a social history, I begin obtaining medical history from the patient. The patient reports that she is allergic to codeine, Demerol, sulfa drugs, and Zithromax. She reports having a hysterectomy, cholecystectomy, and left foot ORIF. She is currently taking clonazepam, Lexapro, singular, and Xanax. She reports her mother and father had a history of alcohol abuse and are both deceased. My next assessment is a mental status examination. Having built a therapeutic relationship with the patient, I ask the patient if she has considered harming herself or had any command hallucinations (Jarvis, 2012). The patient denies any suicidal ideation or any hallucinations of any sort. The patient is well dressed, clean, pleasant, and cooperative. Her thought process is coherent with no ambivalence. The patients affect is calm and her appropriateness of mood to thought is normal. There is no depersonalization. The patient does not appear to be delusional, obsessive, or display ideas of reference. She is oriented to person, place, time, and situation. Vital signs are obtained and are all within normal limits. The patient denies any pain. Summary of finding My summary of finding is that this patient is suffering from depression, related to her divorce and the death of her daughter. Her needs include counseling, detox, and peer support. The patient’s education is an asset to her treatment. She has the support system of two sons. Stressors include her divorce due to her alcoholism and the sudden death of her daughter. Her coping methods include alcohol abuse, benzodiazepine abuse, and social isolation. SOAP note S: The patient reports feeling depressed and abusing alcohol and benzodiazepines. She denies suicidal ideation. O: The patient is well dressed, clean, pleasant, and cooperative. Her thought process is coherent with no ambivalence. The patients affect is calm and her appropriateness of mood to thought is normal. There is no depersonalization. The patient does not appear to be delusional, obsessive, or display ideas of reference. She is oriented to person, place, time, and situation. Vital signs are obtained and are all within normal limits. The patient denies any pain. A: The patient is suffering from depression related to her divorce and the death of her daughter. She could benefit from an inpatient rehab program. P: Prepare patient for lab draws to obtain baseline values, presence of drugs of abuse, and medical clearance. A call to the Georgia Crisis Access Line is anticipated for placement of the patient in an inpatient detoxification/rehabilitation program. Referral to grief counselor is also a possibility. References Jarvis, C. (2012). Physical Examination and Health Assessment [VitalSouce bookshelf version]. Retrieved from http://digitalbookshelf.southuniversity.edu/books/978-1-4377-0151-7/outline/5

Literature Supports Trigger-Dispersion Theory :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Literature Supports Trigger-Dispersion Theory Having seen epileptic seizures and talking qualitatively about the experience with people who have epilepsy, I made five basic hypotheses about epilepsy. I collectively call these hypotheses my trigger dispersion theory of epilepsy. My five hypotheses are: 1 There is an area in the brain where abnormal firing associated with seizures begins. I will call this area the trigger area. From the trigger area, abnormal firing spreads to other areas of the brain compromising the function of the affected area. 2 There is a stimulus either external or internal which excites the trigger area. I will call this stimulus the trigger. The trigger can be very specific. 3 The first area affected after the trigger area is sensory. 4 The abnormal firing spreads from the sensory area to an area for motor control. In this paper, I will go through the hypotheses of the trigger-dispersion theory and discuss literature that supports each hypothesis. Hypothesis 1- There is an area in the brain where abnormal firing associated with seizures begins. I will call this area the trigger area. From the trigger area, abnormal firing spreads to other areas of the brain compromising the function of the affected area. During a seizure, certain cells (a seizure focus) begin to fire rapidly. In fact, nerve cells in the brain fire electrical impulses at a rate of up to four times higher than normal during a seizure (5) . This abnormal firing is spread this to other neighboring cells. In the brain of an epileptic, there is not enough inhibitory neurotransmitters to stop the spread of the abnormal firing (2) . In the 1800s, it was noted by Jackson that epileptic seizures begin in isolated parts of the body such as the thumb and from there spread to neighboring regions perhaps the arm and then to the rest of the body. He hypothesized that there were areas in cerebral cortex that controlled isolated movements and that the areas that were adjacent in the brain were anatomically adjacent as well. Therefore, a seizure began in one area and spread to the rest of the cortex. His hypothesis was later substantiated by Fritsch and Hittig's excitation experiments on motor cortex or area 4. It is a band of neural tissue on the cerebral cortex lying on precentral fissure. The body's movements are mapped out on this band giving rise to the spreading fashion that Jackson described during seizures (6) .

the problem of evil Essay -- essays research papers

Studies in the Philosophy of Religion THE PROBLEM OF EVIL â€Å"God is the omnipotent and wholly good creator of all things† â€Å"There is evil in the world† a) EXPLAIN THESE TWO STATEMENTS AND SHOW WHY THEY ARE SAID TO BE CONTRADICTORY (20) The problem of evil is usually seen as the problem of how the existence of God can be reconciled with the existence of evil in the world. It’s regarded as a logical problem, because it is based on the apparent contradiction involved in holding onto three incompatible beliefs. This being that God is omnipotent, that God is wholly good and that evil exists in the world. The fact that evil exists in the world constitutes the most common objection to the belief in the existence of the omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing) and all loving God of Classical Theism. Classical Theism is the traditional understanding of God as worshipped by Christians, Jews and Muslims. This definition is initially criticised, for being culture-bound, as other religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism don’t believe in one God so can’t be applied to their respective religions. Therefore the problem of evil is only a problem for followers of a theistic religion. God is described as an infinite, self-existent, incorporeal (without body), eternal, immutable (doesn’t change), impassable (incapable of suffering), simple (one entity), perfect (God is seen as a morally perfect being i.e. wholly good), omniscient (all knowing) and omnipotent (all powerful) being. Omnipotence means being able to bring about anything which it is logically possible to bring about. However not being able to bring about that which is logically impossible is not a restriction on omnipotence since the logically impossible is not a characterisation of anything. It is a non-thing. Evil is said to come from the free actions of human beings. God can’t do what’s logically impossible and it’s said to be logically impossible for God to create humans who are free but always choose to do what’s right. This therefore takes the responsibility of evil from God. Omniscience means knowing everything that it is logically possible to know. If God knows everything it is not possible for him to think of something he does not know. This raises the question of whether God knows every little fact; does he know what you’re thinking or what you’re going to do? If so then if he’s omnipotent shouldn... ...d that finding good consequences in bad things is a horrible idea. DOES IRENAEUS’ APPROACH SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF EVIL? There are many instances of good being brought out of evil through a person’s reaction to it, however there are many other cases where the opposite has occurred. Sometimes obstacles result in ones character being strengthened but other times they can be crushing leading to ones character being diminished and left incompetent so unable to grow and develop further. So it would seem any soul making is subject to an individual’s temperament and particular way of dealing with a problem. Therefore this doesn’t remove the contradiction, because there’s evidence of people suffering and not getting better after it. This produces more problems as shows God to be selecting people who he should know would suffer immensely because of this evil. Irenaeus approach takes the blame off God for human suffering. This is what is needed to solve the problem of evil. He places the blame on human free will therefore avoiding questions of God’s nature so in essence removin g the contradiction. People accept that suffering is there for a reason and it’s part of God’s plan for soul making.

William Wordsworth Essay -- Poet Poetry Wordsworth Papers

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth was born April 7, 1770, at Cockermouth in Cumberland, England. His poetry, and especially his poems on solitude, must have been heavily influenced by the death of his mother and the splitting up of his family when he was only eight (Kilvert 1). At that time, fate sent him to live in Hawkshead, England, where his teacher started him writing poetry. Wordsworth got his higher education at Cambridge, his memories of which play a part in his later poetry (Noyes 201). Fate again stepped in when, as a young man, he received an inheritance, which gave him the freedom to study literature. One might guess that this is when he first became part of the Romantic movement, (Pinion, 21). The poetry of William Wordsworth beautifully displays the characteristic themes of English Romanticism. Wordsworth's poems express basic feelings and soaring emotions, idealize the simplicity of rural life, portray the glories of nature, and give flight to the imagination, with bold symbols, colorful imagery and high ideals. It is perhaps, the simple expression of feelings which most clearly underlies Romanticism (Pinion 22). Nowhere is raw, uncomplicated feeling better put in words than in Wordsworth's poems. There developed what has been called his "visionary imagination." His collections of poetry include "Lyrical Ballads," "The Prelude," and "The Excursion." The beautiful poetry of Wordsworth is a good example of English Romanticism. Four characteristics of romantic poetry are: putting strong feelings into words (Abrams,145); using the power of imagination (Pinion, 142ff); showing the joy of solitude (Abrams, 74); and giving a sense of the supernatural or the strange (Bush, 44). I have chosen to discuss a poem ... ...ur past happiness, rather than feeling sad. Happy memories make being alone a joy. We have only to close our eyes and think of the most beautiful sights we have ever seen. It is noteworthy that the golden daffodils are seen as gleeful and are "jocund company." They bring joy and happiness to the lonely poet, and it is the happiness that he remembers. With the gift of memory, his heart may even "dance" with the flowers. Now, his solitude is not just bearable, but full of pleasure. Thus, Wordsworth's poems show characteristics of romantic poetry, in general. Two of the themes almost come together into one-- the joy of solitude and the power of imagination. The third theme of the super natural gives a strange quality to some of the poems. However, the fourth theme, the strong expression of feeling, is most important and, in a way, includes all of the other themes.

Contact (Call) Center Managers?

1. What lessons are there from these two examples for contact (call) center managers? Services are different from manufacturing, with the key service difference being the interaction of the customer in the delivery process. Service design is no longer considered to be an art form as logical approaches to better design and management of service systems are emerging. In a facilities-based service, the customer must go to the service facility. In contrast, in a field-based service, the production and consumption of the service takes place in the customer's environment. Internal services refer to services required to support the activities of the larger organization. There is a blurring of manufacturing and service firms since the manufacturer product always has a certain percentage of service content. Services are also seen as the next source of competitive advantage for firms. In services we also consider the amount of customer contact or the physical presence of the customer in the system. Service systems range from those with a high degree of customer contact to those with a low degree of customer contact. Service encounters can be configured in a number of different ways. The service-system design matrix includes six common alternatives. Flowcharting, like in manufacturing process design, is the standard tool for service process design. The flowchart, or service blueprint, emphasizes the importance of design. Poka-yoke systems applied to services prevent mistakes from becoming service defects. Approaches to services include the production line approach, the self-service approach, and the personal attention approach. Service guarantees are not only a marketing tool for services but, from an operations perspective, these guarantees can be used as an improvement incentive and can focus the firm's delivery system on things it must do well to satisfy the customer

Basics of the Operating System

Heather RussellNT1430 Unit 1 Chapter Exercises Unit 1 Chapter 1 1. What is free software? List three characteristics of free software. Free software is software that users have the freedom to distribute and change. The three main characteristics of free software are: The source code has to be distributed with the program, you cannot restrict people from redistributing/modifying/using the software, and users must be allowed to redistribute modified versions under the same terms/licensing. 4.What is the Free Software Foundation/GNU? What is Linux? Which parts of the Linux operating system did each provide? Who else has helped build and refine this operating system? GNU stands for â€Å"GNU'S Not Unix†, and it was designed to be a UNIX-like operating system developed by Richard Stallman. Linux is the name of operating system kernel developed by Linus Torvalds. GNU's tools aside the Linux kernel make the operating system known as â€Å"Linux† aka â€Å"GNU/Linux†. Th ousands of people helped refine the operating system online.Chapter 2 1. Briefly, what does the process of installing an operating system such as Fedora/RHEL involve? Installing Fedora/RHEL is the process of copying operating system files from a CD, DVD, or USB flash drive to hard disk(s) on a system and setting up configuration files so Linux runs properly on the hardware. Several types of installations are possible, including fresh installations, upgrades from older releases of Fedora/RHEL, and dual-boot installations Chapter 3 1. What is a live system?What advantages does it have over an installed system? A live system gives you a chance to preview Fedora without installing it. It does not write to hard disks. 4. Where on the disk should you put your /boot partition or the root(/) partition if you do not use a /boot partition? Put /boot at the beginning of the drive (partition 1) so that there is no issue of Linux having to boot from a partition too far into the drive. 8. When do es a Fedora/RHEL system start X by default? When the system enters Run Level 5Chapter 11 1 How does single-user mode differ from multiuser mode? When a system is in single-user mode, you can log in only at the console. Not all of the filesystems are mounted, and many daemons are not running. With the system in multiuser mode you can log in at any terminal or workstation that is set up for login, most or all of the filesystems are mounted, and all of the daemons that your system is set up to run are running. 3 What do the letters of the su command stand for? Hint: It is not Superuser. ) What can you do with su besides give yourself Superuser privileges? How would you log in as Zach if you did not know his password but knew the root password? How would you establish the same environment that Zach has when he first logs on? The letters stand for substitute user. You can give yourself privileges of any user whose password you know (or any user when you are running as root). You can also execute a command (other than a shell) as the specified user.

Annual Per Capita Healthcare Costs By Age Essay

The United States has way higher healthcare costs than any other country in the OECD, mostly which is because of the extremely high expenses later in life. 17 cents of every US dollar is being spent on health care. At about age 60, healthcare expenses for US citizens skyrocket, averaging between $40,000 to $45,000 a year per person, which is way above Germany, who has the next highest with only about $10,000. Dr. Ficshbeck, an engineering professor who runs a website called deathriskrankings.com, says the high costs are not completely without some reward. He said when it comes to deaths caused by disease, men from the US have a survival advantage over men from western Europe starting around age 65 that steadily increases over time. American women have this same advantage starting around age 80. This means if Americans died from diseases at the same rate as people from the Netherlands, for example, there would be about 60,000 more male deaths and 14,000 more female deaths in the US, all after the age of 70. France is among the few exceptions because they have a lower death rate from disease, but for the most part, the United States has a lower rate of diseased-caused deaths than Western Europe. Dr. Ficshbeck’s research also shows evidence that Americans have a higher death rate during young adulthood and middle age mainly due to health. Obesity rates, which are one of the leading causes of type 2 diabetes, are 3 times higher in America than France, and more than twice as high as in Germany. This study could mean that American healthcare is not totally at fault for not producing better results, but the American people themselves should be to blame for not making better health choices earlier in there lives. Ficshbeck believes that the edge the United States is getting in the latter years are due to our superior screening and treatment of diseases, the most prominent one being cancer. Americans have an average 5 year survival rate for breast cancer. This is higher than any other country in the OECD. Although Americans have a small advantage when it comes to death rates caused by disease for people over the age of 70, it isn’t a big enough advantage to prove that all of the money we spend on older American’s healthcare is providing that much of a survival advantage. A Boston University economist by the name of Dr. Lawrence Kotlikoff believes that the problem with our healthcare overspending problem stems from Medicare. He says the system has no cost control, and that pretty much any services that hospitals or doctors provide, Medicare will pay for. He has a very interesting idea for an alternative system that will provide incentive for practicing healthy habits (which the lack of proves to be one of main reasons for our not-so-superior life expectancy rates) and also lower US healthcare spending. He advocates issuing everybody vouchers through health insurance companies that would vary in value depending on the receiver’s health status, kind of like how car i nsurance companies are run. This sounds like a great alternative in that it would give people a good reason to be healthy which, in turn, would lead to less money being spent on expensive tests and procedures.   Robert Martensen, director of the office history at the National Institutes of Health is skeptical of how much of the United States’ health care spending is actually going towards increasing lifespan. He says that 40 to 50 percent of Medicare is being spent on intensive care which may not necessarily increase their chances of survival. European countries spend a lot less after the age of 65 mainly due to the fact that they have a lot more general practitioners, fewer specialists, and more centralized control over the number of hospital beds. Another researcher, named Dr. Jonathan Skinner, believes that although the US may be spending too much on older people’s health care, Europeans may also be doing too little. Having a specialist for every organ in the body of a patient with a chronic illness is a big part of the reason Americans are overspending. A payment technique called â€Å"bundling† could be a solution to this problem. It suggests that doctors and hospitals be paid a set amount for each patient diagnosis, such as diabetes or heart failure, and then have the ability to be rewarded with additional payments for meeting certain standards for quality care. This will give the doctors more control on what they should be spending their money on, so if they deem it unnecessary, they won’t have to â€Å"waste† money on specialized care for a patient. The problem with bundling and the reason many physicians are against the idea, is that a doctor can’t always know ahead of time if they shouldn’t spend money on a patient. Although the US is spending way too much on Medicare, that’s not a decision any doctor wants to be in control of.

Study Plan for Masters in Surgery

ZSTU International Students Application Form | |? |(please print) | | |Name |Family Name | |Photo | | |? |(please print) | | | |Given Name | | | | | | | | |Nationality | |Gender | | | | | | | | |Passport No. | |Valid until | | | |? ? ? | | | |Date of Birth |Year Month Day |Marital Status | | | | |Place of Birth | | | | | | | |Religious Belief | |Physical Status | | | | | | |Highest Academic | |Major | | |Degree Obtained | | | | | | | |Current Employer or College Affiliated | | | Occupation | | | | | |Permanent Address | | | | Tel. /Mobile | Fax No. | E-mail | |My Contact Information | | | | | | | | | | Name | Tel. /Mobile | E-mail | |Contact on Emergencies | | | | | | | | | | Education & Work Experience | | | | | | | | | | | /Time for Chinese Learning: hours | |Proficiency of Chinese Language |HSK Band of HSK Achieved: | | | | |Preferences of College of Study | | | | | |Subject or Field of Study I Apply for | | | ? /From: ? /Year ? /Month ? /Day | |Duration |? /To: ? /Year ? /Month ? /Day | | /Categories of International Students I Apply to be in | |? /Bachelor’s Degree Candidate ? /Chinese Language Student | |? /Master’s Degree Candidate ? /General Scholar | |? /Doctor’s Degree Candidate ? /Senior Scholar | | |? /Scholarship ? /Self-supporting ? /Other | |Financial Support | | | | |Name, Tel & Address of the Guarantor Charging Your Case in China: | | | | | | /Guarantor’s Signature: Date: | | ( â€Å"? â₠¬ ? â€Å"? †) | |Do you have any of the following diseases(Each item must be answered â€Å"Yes† or â€Å"No†) | |? Yes ? No Cholera ? Yes ? No Venereal disease | |? Yes ? No Yellow fever ? Yes ? No Lung tuberculosis | |? Yes ? No Heart disease ? Yes ? No AIDS | |? Yes ? No Leprosy ? Yes ? No Mental illness | | /I hereby confirm that: | | , | |All information and materials given in this form are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. I will take full | |responsibility for the authenticity of the above information. | | , ; | |I shall abide by the Chinese laws & the regulations during the study at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University and will not participate in any| |activities in China which are deemed to be adverse to the social order of China and are inappropriate to the capacity as a student. | | , |If I’m judged by the Chinese laws and decrees and the rules and regulations of ZSTU as having violated any of the above, I will not | |lodge any appeal against the decision of ZSTU on suspending my study at ZSTU or other penalties. | | /Applicant’s Signature: /Date: | | | |Advice of ZSTU Relevant Offices | | | | | | ): | |Director’s Signature(Seal) /Date: | | | |Remarks | | |

Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 21

Case Study Example Additionally, â€Å"Persuasion  is a matter of persuaders engineering actors decisions to produce the desired action† (Funkhouser & Parker, 1999, p.28). Jill presents raw data to her guests that require her to breakdown for them so that they may be emotionally appealed. She further makes the assumption that once they leave they will read the information in the folder that she presents to them. Jill completely fails to communicate to her guests effectively because of the lack of emphasis to the significance of her proposed research. Effective communication requires adequate appeal to the passion, logic and the character of an individual. Jill’s does not appeal to these aspects hence she is not able to convince her guests to donate towards her research. As pointed out by Barker (2010), â€Å"the key to effective persuasion is having powerful ideas and delivering them well† (p.75). Though Jill presents herself and her work in a systematic and orderly way, she does not convince the guests to be passionate about her work. In addition, she does not appeal to their logic by demonstrating clearly in very basic language how the project would be helpful to the society as well as the donors. Instead, she assumes that the guests (donors) will understand what she is up to. Nothstine & Michael (1989) have mentioned that â€Å"most people have never been trained in formal logic and reasoning† (p. 47). On the other hand, the potential donors are people that are rich and their character may be based on the need for self-actualization. Jill fails to clearly communicate to the guests by appealing to their character. It is clear that there is an aspect that is lacking in the communication, as well put by Mayo and Jarvis (1992), â€Å"Persuasive  communication  is more effective when salespeople create a sense of togetherness with those with whom they speak† (p.1). At the ends of the day, she ends up not getting any correspondence from

Mr Cod Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Mr Cod - Essay Example The company manages its operations through specialised American machinery to international standards, but with a difference. Mr Cod has its roots firmly targeting British sentiments and maintains a high quality that is synonymous of its service. Mr Cod's special Fish and Chips and other famous chicken products are, in the opinion of its staunch supporters and existing franchisees, superior to any multinational competitor. Mr Cod is the brainchild of Mr John Brewer, a pioneer of fast food franchising in the UK, and a former director of Kentucky Fried Chicken. He became a founder member of the British Franchise Association in 1977, and a founder member of the British Fast Food Federation in 1978 (Mr. Cod, Mr. Cod Background and History, www.mrcod.com). The fast-food industry has seen a remarkable upward trend in recent years in the UK. It was estimated that this business industry, which, if coffee shops were included, was valued at around 10.78bn, in 2005, an increase of 4% to the corresponding period the previous year. It's quite easy to predict the cause for this growth pattern. With globalisation come opportunities. Its not just here in the UK or in Europe, but the world itself is becoming one big union. China was the first to break the communist jinx and follow a path to liberalisation and open market. This opened the floodgates and multinational companies took advantage of the benefits of cheap labour and raw materials to establish and expand their market presence there. It didn't take long for other Asian countries to recognise the benefit of liberalisation. Soon others joined the bandwagon to economic freedom and FDI. Perhaps one might wonder what this has got to do with the fast food industry. Time! Just about everyone competes with the other for space. Fast-paced and time restrained, the people who make things happen, have just no time to share the table with their colleagues and family. Gone are the days when families got together on weekends over a barbeque and had fun. Today, the world is fast-paced. Only those who have the inclination and dedication for fast-paced life, survive. Breakfasts during transit, business meetings over lunch, and late dinner are a part of an executive's life. Liberalisation and globalisation has brought countries closer to each other. With more and more conglomerates setting up their business in other countries, competition has become stiff. Time is money and people just don't seem to have the time to sit over a cup of coffee with a paper in their hand. This phenomenon has created opportunities for hoteliers and other like-minded entrepreneurs as well. Fast food for the fast-paced! Just about every corner of the street is occupied by a burger or hot dog vendor making a decent income by sunset. Welcome to the world of fast foods. This tradition has caught the imagination of almost all people

New Zealand accounting standards Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

New Zealand accounting standards - Assignment Example International Accounting Standards Board conducts public meetings to ensure transparency in order to produce new or updated financial reporting standards.This procedure has been adopted to ensure transparency and to involve the opinion of the public. The procedure ensures constant engagement with the stakeholders like investors, analysts, regulators, business leaders, accounting standard-setters and the professional accountants and auditors at national and international levels (Smart, Bourke, & Awan, 2008). ANSWER 2a: External Reporting Board (XRB) is an independent crown entity developed under section 22 of the Financial Reporting Act 1993 (as amended in 2011). Main responsibilities of XRB are: Development and implementation of the overall strategy related to financial reporting standards, auditing and assurance standards. Responsible for preparing and issuing of accounting standards. Responsible for preparing and issuing of auditing and assurance standards (XBR, 2011). Other respon sibilities of XRB include preparing and issuing of ethical and professional standards and providing guidelines for conduct. Liaising with organizations on national and international levels on matters that apply functions that are in correspondence with or share similar features with those presented in XRB (NZICA, 2011). ANSWER 2b: Initially, New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountant (NZICA) was responsible for development and implementation of financial reporting standards. ... It has been planned to achieve the same in the current year, i.e.2012. Under the Financial Reporting Act 1993 (FRA), the responsibilities for financial reporting standards setting have been divided between two bodies which are: New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA) and the Accounting Standards Review Board (ASRB). Accounting Standards Review Board (ASRB) is also an independent crown entity. The mechanism has been changed and the new mechanism is as follows: 1. The Financial Reporting  Standards Board (FRSB), which is a board of NZICA,  will submit the draft standards  to the Accounting Standards Review Board (ASRB) for consideration.    2. NZICA is responsible for setting up of auditing and assurance standards for its  members. 3.   The Professional Standards Board (PSB), which is another board  of NZICA, submits draft standards to NZICA’s Board for consideration and approval. 4. Standards approved  from NZICA are then obligatory on members.    5. Non-members of NZICA can  carry out statutory audits provided they belong to an overseas professional  accounting body, providing that the Registrar of Companies has approved the  individual or the professional accounting body to which they belong.    6. Hence, the standards approved by the NZICA Board do not form any binding in formal status in relation to  overseas-qualified auditors who are not members of NZICA (NZICA 2010a). ANSWER 2c: On whole, it is expected that External Reporting Board (XRB) will provide better quality of financial reporting standards. It is expected because of the reason that the new financial reporting arrangement has recently been approved by Minister of Commerce of New Zealand and it has been considered as a significant milestone in the establishment of the new

Global marketing and communication Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Global marketing and communication - Assignment Example So, it can be said that globalization complements the standardization of company’s products in various markets around the world, and as a result plays a major role in the influencing and changing the consumer behavior of the masses in various markets around the world. There are some widely popular examples that can be quoted to demonstrate the globalization strategy of companies when they focused on treating the world as a single entity. It has to be noted that different category of products like beverage drinks, electronic goods, music products, clothing accessories implement the strategy related to globalization. The popular sports brand Adidas implements the strategy of globalization for the purpose of communicating value to its customers around the world (Pride and Ferrell, 2010, p. 194). Another company that increasingly categorizes the world as a single entity for the purpose of marketing its standardized products is the globally reputed beverage brand Coke which caters to consumers around the globe, with its widely popular product range which are homogeneous in all markets around the world (Czinkota and Ronkainen, 2007, p. 313). Various companies that have the clothing based product offering like that of Levi Jeans etc, also focus on standardization of its products while offering it to consumers in various markets around the world. Localization Localization happens when companies of a particular country focus on the process of going for market development by entering in to new markets in the country (Hines, 2000, p. 27). Talking in these regards, it can be said that the companies while focusing on the designing of... As a matter of fact, it can be said that there is a great demand for various new as well as existing products and services in the marketplace. In an attempt to cater for this demand, various companies around the world are focusing on fulfilling this demand by entering into new markets or catering existing markets by offering new values based products and services. This paper discusses in details the multiple processes that companies implement for the process of value generation for a wide range of customers while maintaining their levels of profitability. Conclusion As of today’s date in an attempt to survive the cut throat competition in the marketplace, the companies around the world firmly believe, that the process of entering into new markets through the carefully designed strategic moves related to product development, market development, product penetration and diversification will help them achieve significant amount of business growth in the upcoming future. So, the companies are looking forward to implement the various methodologies like globalization, localization as well as glocalization. On a concluding note, it has to be stated that in this particular assignment, the global brand Apple is taken because of the brand’s significant amount of presence in various markets around the world. The other important factors behind the selection of this particular global brand are the process of high brand equity as well as high consumer demand around the world.

Mrs Fields Cookies Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

Mrs Fields Cookies - Case Study Example It has thus created a wider database of new opportunities in the real world. It has also become a necessary business tool with its wide range of applications in the ever-expanding and competitive global environment, especially where acquisitions and mergers are concerned. When Fields’ acquired La Petite Boulangerie or LPB in 1987 from PepsiCo, the company saw the huge potential of successful diversification into new sit-in cafà © that would also serve to complement the delights of Fields’ cookies. LPB was a French bakery cum sandwich retail chain with 119 outlets. Within a month after the acquisition, Fields’ cut down LPB’s administrative staff to 3 from the strength of 53 employees as various administrative functions like accounts, human resource, finance, training, and development were brought within the wider scope of Fields’ in-house information system. It was a major tactical strategy that was used to promote centralized monitoring and uniformity in the work functioning across its various outlets. The prime importance of using technologies is not only improving the various processes within the system but also the overall performance. It also greatly facilitates the merger of diverse ideologies and processes for improved performance. In the case of LPB, it was an essential tool to promote better efficiency in the delivery of the common organizational goals and objectives. In a fiercely competitive business environment, the firm gains the position by leveraging its strengths by improving and improvising its business management and organizational goals. ‘A company can outperform rivals only if it can establish a difference that it can preserve. It must deliver greater value to customers or create comparable value at a lower cost, or do both’ (Porter, 1996). The technology-driven organization culture within the parent company needs to become the intrinsic part of all its subsidiaries and acquisitions.

Dwight Eisenhower Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dwight Eisenhower - Term Paper Example ncomparable with other military leaders after him and it is only a few generals that were before that could possibly match his tremendous leadership skills. When he became the thirty-fourth President of the United States, his exemplary leadership skills played out as he efficiently carried out his obligation as the democratic leader of the US. As a result of the warnings of an impending war, Eisenhower was given the mantle to lead the Allied Forces in Europe as he became the Supreme Commander of the army alliance during the Second World War and the first supreme commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces (U.S. Army Center of Military History). It should be noted that it was his adept leadership skills that availed him this opportunity. The great General Dwight David Eisenhower is one of the greatest military leaders that history has ever known as this man was right there when the world needed his great leadership qualities as he helped save the world from the tyrannical Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler and this was achieved in collaboration with other great minds like himself. Eisenhower was a great military leader that had an unparalleled leadership quality and these attributes made him go through the ranks of the United States Military at a volatile period in world history. The period before the Second World War was a critical period in the history of the world and the United States of America and indeed a man in the mould of Eisenhower was needed to save the world from the shackles of tyranny and oppression as would have been the case if Hitler had succeeded in his bid to rule the world. Eisenhower made stern decisions that had an extensive effect on the United States and the world at large. He rose from obscurity to the platform of leadership and his ability to act as a mediator between two warring parties in the political and military spheres was top notch. As a Chief of Army Staff of the United States of America in 1945, the

Emerging global governance Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Emerging global governance - Research Paper Example A child who is defined as person of age below 18 years is entitled to healthcare, free education, adequate nutrition, freedom from violence, abuse, exploitation and leisure and recreation (Verhellen, 66). The CRC originated from the Geneva declaration o 1924 which according to Verhellen (64) is the first international human rights instrument dealing with children rights. Before then, various organizations like ILO have made efforts to improve the well-being of children by setting minimum employment age for children to avoid abuse and exploitation. The Geneva declaration was made after the First World War to deal with the plight of children and remove them from deplorable situations. The declaration had a preamble and five aims referred as â€Å"Declaration of the rights of the child.† Under this declaration, a child was entitled to receive relief first in times of distress, protection from any form of exploitation, to be fed and sheltered and to develop normally materially and spiritually. This is the obligation of parents or adults. More declarations concerned with children issues continued to emerge. The declaration was reconfirmed by the League of Nations General Assembly ( UNICEF, 2011). Another Declaration which forms the basis for CRC is the declaration on the rights of the child in 1959. Whereas Geneva declaration focused on social and economic needs, the 1959 declaration focused on families, right to name and nationality and need for love among other issues. It had a preamble and based on 10 principles hence it was more complex than Geneva declaration. It touched on issues such as non-discrimination, name and nationality, education, opportunity for development and enjoyment of social security benefits among others (Verhellen, 66). The 1989 convention was a culmination of various human rights instruments developed over the years and its work began during the 20th

Philips Kotler Marketing Management Essay Example for Free

Philips Kotler Marketing Management Essay Analyzing Consumer Markets Since marketing starts from the customer, it is of primary importance to understand the psyche of the customers and their buying motives. This chapter talks about the various behavioural patterns that govern the decision making process of a customer. A marketer needs to understand these factors affecting the customer’s purchase decisions so as to design an appropriate marketing strategy. Factors affecting Consumer Buying Behaviour 1. Cultural Factors a. Culture Frames traditions, values, perceptions, preferences. E.g. Child learning from family surroundings. b. Sub-culture Provides more specific identification and socialization. Include nationalities, religions, racial groups and geographic regions. c. Social Class – Homogeneous and enduring divisions in a society which are hierarchically ordered. Members share similar tastes and behaviour. 2. Social Factors a. Reference Groups – Have direct or indirect influence on person’s attitude and behaviour. Primary groups: regular interaction, e.g. family, friends, neighbours. Secondary groups: religious, professional, trade union groups. Aspirational Groups: ones that a person hopes to join. Dissociative groups: whose values or behaviour and individual rejects. b. Family – Family of orientation: parents and siblings. Acquires orientation towards religion, politics and economics, sense of personal ambition, self worth and love. Family of procreation: spouse and children. More direct influence on buying behaviour. c. Roles and Status – Role consists of activities a person is expected to perform. Each role carries a status. Marketers must be aware of the status symbol of each product. Chapter 6 Analyzing Consumer Markets 3. Personal Factors a. Age and Stage in the Life Cycle – Tastes are age related. Markets should also consider critical life events or transitions. b. Occupation and Economic Circumstances – Economic Circumstances like spendable income, savings, assets, debts, borrowing power etc affect consumption patterns. c. Personality and Self Concept – Personality, set of distinguishing characteristics that influence his/her buying behaviour. Consumers match brand personality with their ideal self concept instead of their actual self concept. d. Lifestyle and Values 4. Psychological Factors a. Motivation: Freud’s theory of id, ego and super ego; Maslow’s need hierarchy theory; Herzberg’s two factor model. b. Perception: Process by which we select, organize and interpret information inputs. In marketing, perceptions are more important than reality. c. Learning – Induces changes in behaviour arising from experience. Marketers can build demand by associating the product with positive drives. d. Memory – Short term and long term memory. Build brand knowledge and brand recall as node in memory. Problem Recogniton Information Search Evaluation of Alternatives Purchase Decision Postpurchase Behaviour The Buying Decision Process Problem Recognition Customer recognises a need triggered by internal or external stimuli. Marketers need to identify circumstances that trigger needs. Information Search Two levels of involvement – Heightened attention when person becomes more receptive to information about the product. At next level consumer may enter into active information search, looking for reading material, phoning friends etc. Evaluation of Alternatives Factors influencing a particular choice over the other include attitudes, beliefs and expectancy value. Purchase Decision Between purchase intention and purchase decision, 2 intervening factors come into play- Attitudes of others and Unanticipated situational factors. Marketers should understand that these factors provoke  risk and should provide information to reduce it. Post purchase Behaviour Marketers must monitor postpurchase satisfaction, postpurchase actions, and postpurchase product uses. Chapter 6 Analyzing Consumer Markets Trends Level of customer involvement Involvement Significant Insignificant Differences in Brands High Complex Buying Behaviour Low Variety Seeking Dissonance Reducing Habitual 1. Complex Buying Behaviour: When a customer purchases something for the first time. 2. Variety Seeking: Consumers will keep switching varieties just out of boredom. Eg- Biscuits. Marketer should keep introducing new products and display the product prominently. 3. Habitual: Buying the same thing out of habit and not out of loyalty. Distribution network should be excellent in this case. Maintain consistency in product and advertising. 4. Dissonance Reducing: In case of repeat purchase of same product.

High School vs College Essay Example for Free

High School vs College Essay The transition from high school to college is sometimes difficult, but with a little knowledge and planning, students can make the transition very easily. There are some major differences between high school and college. There are differences in the teachers, the cost, and the personal responsibility involved. In high school, teachers are more helpful, there is relatively no cost, and although students are encouraged to be responsible, responsibility lies mainly with their parents. In high school, students have it pretty easy. Teachers are there to guide and help students, and often will stay after school, offer extra credit or extended projects to help in the learning process. Teachers also often communicate with students’ parents to ensure they know what is going on in the classroom. There is relatively little cost involved with public high school. There are participation fees for sports and a fee paid at the beginning of the year, but textbooks are provided free of charge. Some more hands-on classes will have additional fees, but most of these classes are electives and do not have to be taken. As far as personal responsibility, in high school, students are expected to behave as if they are preparing to be adults. They are given breaks from time to time, but are expected to behave as if they were training for the real world and to take their studies seriously. However, responsibility falls on the parents if a student is struggling in school or not attending classes. In college, teachers are not just teachers any more, the expenses are great, and personal responsibility is one of the lessons most hard learned. In college, teachers are not referred to as â€Å"teachers†. They are â€Å"instructors† or â€Å"professors†. They have high degrees of education in their field, and are passionate about their subjects, often striving for perfection from their students. College professors often do not accept late or sloppy work and some do not accept extra credit or projects. Many have so many students in a class that they often are not even aware who is or is not in class. College instructors never speak to students’ parents about grades; it is a violation of confidentiality. College is quite expensive, however. In addition to tuition, there are fees for books and supplies and labs. College textbooks can cost up to $150 per class. While parents usually help to offset the costs of college, personal responsibility falls solely on the student. Many students attend colleges away from home, so they need to begin doing their own laundry, cleaning, and cooking. Many will also work part-time or full-time jobs in addition to school to pay for the extras that their parents no longer provide. Personal responsibility is one of the lessons that college teaches students. Although they are both institutions of learning, high school and college are very different. They differ in the teachers, the cost, and the personal responsibility involved on the part of the students.

Oscar Wilde, The Picture Of Dorian Grey

Oscar Wilde, The Picture Of Dorian Grey Content: I give my personal opinion of the picture of Dorian Grey and how the author Oscar Wilde depicted himself in the novel. This essay reads the novel from several aspects include beauty and art point of view of Wilde, the connection between the novel and the social background and how the author lives his own life in the novel. Key words: aestheticism, Victoria era, corruption, responsibility Oscar Wilde was born in 1854, when the Queen Victoria reigned and Victoria literature style was flowering. Wildes parents were successful Dublin intellectuals and when he was young he was tutored at home, where he became fluent in French and German. He was deeply interested in the rising philosophy of aestheticism when he was at Oxford led by his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin, who had a great influence on his writings later in his life. The prosperity in the Victoria era began to decline in the late 19th century. The hegemony of Great Britain was challenged by the rising Germany and domestic dispute with Ireland. Under the superficial vanity of the British society lies the corruption of the aristocracy. They led a dissolute life and their Vitoria values and beliefs began to vanish. Indulgence and hedonism took the place of a decent and respectable life style they used to live. Oscar Wilde was born to be a spokesman of this era in the field of literature. The picture of Dorian Gray is one and the only novel of his and, in my opinion, is a representative oeuvre of both his life and the declining era. The story starts on a beautiful day with Lord Henry Wotton observing the artist Basil Hallward painting the portrait of a handsome young man named Dorian Gray. Dorian arrives later and meets Wotton. After talked with the libertine lord, Dorian begins to believe that beauty is the only thing that deserves to pursue in all his life. Distraught that his beauty will fade, he wishes that the beautiful and ever-lasting portrait can grow old instead of him, which finally comes true in some way. Later in his life, the portrait keep records of whatever he does and the portrait gets older and uglier once he does something criminal or corrupt. In the end, he thinks the only way to absolve him is to destroy the painting with a knife, which ends his horrible life instead. What is ironic is that his painting becomes what it used to be but Dorian himself dies with an aged and withered face. Acknowledged as the spokesman of the philosophy of aestheticism, Wildes doctrine was Art for arts sake. For Wilde, the purpose of art would guide life if beauty alone were its object. The picture of Dorian Gray reveals the belief that beauty on the surface can only exist in tragedies. As Henry said in the story -in the presence of off behind every beautiful thing there is some tragic things are (The picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde 1891), tragedy if the nature of beauty. Wilde, a pursuer of extreme art and beauty, combined the character of both Dorians and Basils. He once said that: Basil Hallward is what I think I am; Lord Henry is what the world thinks me; Dorian gray is what I would like to be-in other ages perhaps. These three main characters in the story are the spirit of the story. Dorian Gray is a handsome young man who accepts Lord Henrys idea of hedonism. He indulges himself in all kinds of pleasure, moral and immoral. Like Oscar Wilde, Dorian thinks that beauty is the only object of life and that is why he would like to trade his conscience for life-long youth and beauty. Dorian is actually an extremist of aestheticism, a person that Wilde admires. Wilde highlights Dorians pleasure of living a double life and being an example of duplicity. Although Dorian is extremely indulgent, he replies take care, Basil. You go too far when Basil accuses him of making Lord Henrys sisters name a by-word. This indicates that Dorian still cares what he looks like in peoples eyes and his image in the Victorian society. 24 hours after committing a murder, he happily attends a party and feels keenly the terrible pleasure of a double life. Dorian enjoys this double life as an integration of good and evil. I think this kind of life is what Wilde dreams of. Actually Wilde is just like Dorian. His life is a paradox because he is both good and evil, both sophisticated and simple, both honest and hypocritical. Different from other writers, he leads a much more real life than others. Being accused of sodomite (gay person) by his lovers father, he has lots of scandals and was imprisoned for two year. He abandons his wife and children for his male lover again after he is released. But he does not get what he pursues at last. Different from other writers, he belongs to the upper-class instead of the impoverished known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversations. Wilde was one of the best known personalities of his day (On Characters in the Picture of Dorian GrayAn Interpretation of Oscar Wilde 2008). He converts to Roman Catholicism on his deathbed. All those experience are the reflections of his motto I want to live rather than survive. He himself is a living character in his own life story. Wilde gives what he wants and what he respects to this person-Dorian Gray. Another character in this story named Basil Hollward is also a reflection of Wilde himself. Wilde says that Basil Hollward is what he thinks he is. I think that is because Basil Hollward is a complete artist. Attracted by Dorians gorgeous face, he paints the portrait of Dorian which proves to be his finest work. Art is the only pursuit of basil and he does not want to believe that Dorian is evil although he was murdered by him at last. He still thinks that he is beautiful yet incomplete. What he commits is just a flaw in an apparently perfect thing. In my opinion, he knows what happened as the painting changes but he just does not want to believe. Once Basil acknowledges all the evil sides of Dorian, his dream of art was destroyed. Dorian is a work of art to Basil as well as a lover deep in his heart. Whod like to admit his or her lover is evil and corrupted? Wilde once said my life as an artist depends on him. This is because basil, as an artist, possesses all the doctrines of what Wilde think an artist should have. He is a perfect reflection of Wildes witticism: all that I desire to point out is the general principle that life imitates art far more than art imitate life. Disappointed to the society, Wilde gives all the social characteristics to this Lord. He tricks Dorian to become a half-human half-evil spirit with his corrupted lifestyle. What he does in the story is to lead Dorian to be destroyed in his ideology. As he says that the purpose of life is self development and the full realization of the nature of their requirements. His position in the story is best described by basil, as never says anything good but never does anything bad.(Aestheticism in the picture of Dorian grey, 2006) Besides the theme of aestheticism, this masterpiece also reveals the social situation and peoples sense of irresponsible at that time. When Dorian visit to the opium dens of London, according to what Lord Henry asserts crime belongs exclusively to the lower ordersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦I should fancy that crime was to them what art is to us. In Henrys eyes, different social status has different world view and a tainted value must belong to the lower class. What ironic is that Dorian conflates criminal and aesthete. Back in the last stage of the Victoria era, people were crazy about indulgence and corruption but did not want to be responsible for their behavior. This theme is also reflected in the picture of Dorian Grey. In my opinion, Dorian uses his portrait to avoid his responsibility. He also justifies his actions according to the philosophy of the new hedonism. At the end of the novel, he chooses to destroy the painting as a way to confess. All these behavior depicts a spirit which aims to avoid all the commitments and condemnation. Professor John Sutherland once said in his lecture that this writing would have secured Wilde only a minor place in literature, but his status is elevated by his notoriety. I am not totally on board with this statement. Wilde may not be a very successful novelist but he is a successful living human being pursuing what he really wants for all his life. He thinks that it was the artists duty to rebel against precisely sacred orthodoxies. He and his novel are of total success in this sense as a perfect reflection of art and beauty.