Dutiful Characters of Ibsen and Sophocles Essay

Nora of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, and Antigone of Antigone (by Sophocles) have all had circumstances pitted against them, yet within these unfavourable circumstances they have duties to perform. Their constraints as women or as people whose destinies are governed by fate have caused them to be without pleasing options in their situations—and through the performance of their duties fate often does its work. They have both acted in ways that cause them to be viewed as the dutiful characters in their stories. Where there have been successes, the achievement of their goals against odds reveals them as hardworking characters who shift to accommodate and adjust to the vicissitudes of life, and who are able to defy hardship and even death to do their duties to those for whom they feel loyalty. The situation given Antigone is not one that can be taken lightly, as defiance of authority within that culture of ancient Greece had the ability to ruin an individual. Such an individual would have to be sure that he or she was acting in accordance with the wishes of the gods. In the play, Antigone is concerned that the lack of burial for her brother (who in her opinion had done no wrong) should be an affront to the gods. Even so, if it was not disliked by the gods, she was willing to defy them in order to satisfy herself—for it was an affront to her and she considered it her duty to rectify the situation. It was a dangerous thing for Antigone to find herself in defiance of the gods (who control fate) and of the king Creon. Her father, Oedipus had in his day found himself on the wrong side of Fate and was ruined as a result (Oedipus, the King). As the daughter of a cursed man, Antigone knew that her fate could be an unfavorable one and that it would serve her best to act in accordance with the wishes of the gods. Yet her duty to her brother was stronger, and she acted as she wished and sealed her fate. In A Doll’s House, Nora’s duty is toward her family as Antigone’s has been, and she too defies odds in order to fulfill them. As Nora reveals her hardships to Mrs. Linde, it is evident that she has tried many ways to create favorable circumstances for her husband. As a dutiful wife, she has made many attempts to create a good home. In order to do this, she embarks on the business of borrowing money so that her family might be able to meet its obligations. She proves herself able to deny her wants in order to fulfill her own obligations to the debt. She uses all the devices she as a woman possesses toward the fulfillment of the goal. She proves herself better equipped than even her husband who, possessing the abilities and opportunities of a man, has not shown half the resourcefulness she has, nor has he accomplished as much. In examining the actions of Antigone, one can demonstrate precisely how she showed her dutifulness throughout the play. She begins by defying the decree of the king, who has denied burial to her brother. Antigone initially asks her sister to help with the burial, â€Å"Will you help these hands take up Polyneices’ corpse and bury it? † (lines 52-53). This plea for help demonstrates how natural Antigone felt her duty toward her brother to be. She expected her sister to share it without question. However, even after her sister refuses, she shows her duty in her ability to act given limited resources in her willingness to do all herself. Upon her sister’s refusal, she replies â€Å"I’ll do my duty to my brother—and yours as well, if you’re not prepared to. I won’t be caught betraying him† (lines 56-58). Though she is not able to influence her sister, she is still demonstrates determination to perform her duty in her ability to create the situation she desires. It is also possible to track the areas in which Nora has shown herself dutiful—and in her duty, resourceful. In the years following the incident, she has managed to repay most of her loan without help, sacrificing the scant pleasures of her life. She relays this here: â€Å"It has been no joke to meet my engagements punctually. You must know, Christina, that in business there are things called installments, and quarterly interest, that are terribly hard to provide for. So I’ve had to pinch a little here and there, wherever I could. † This demonstrates the duty that she has to her husband, children and the service of her debt. She does not show the strain that must have been upon her—remaining strong to her children as a dutiful mother should. She succeeds in single-handedly turning around the fate of her family, while continuing. Her burden was often great, as she expresses, â€Å"sometimes I was so tired, so tired. And yet it was splendid to work in that way and earn money. I almost felt as if I was a man. † Her power of conformity allowed her to transform from passive wife to active and dutiful breadwinner, as she assumes a role generally reserved for those the opposite sex. In both A Doll’s House and Antigone, other characters’ failures in their duty serve to strengthen the effect of the duties performed by Antigone and Nora. Creon (the king) might be seen as dutiful because he carries out the decrees of his throne unrelentingly. Yet, in all his power and his attempts at duty, he fails in comparison to Antigone who braves death in her performance of her duty. All Creon’s power does not gain Antigone’s obedience, and though he declares of Polyneices, â€Å"He’ll be left unburied, his body there for birds and dogs to eat† (lines 234-5) his word is unheeded by Antigone so that what he says will not happen does in fact happen. Antigone’s sense of duty allows her the fortitude to face a king who is backed by an army. She knows that Creon is able to command the country’s armed forces and have her banished or killed for her deed, and yet her loyalty to her brother impels her toward committing the act of defiance. Antigone proves to be the writer of her own fate, and accepts death for the sake of her duty toward her brother. She says, â€Å"Take me and kill me† (line 565) demanding (and receiving) her own death. Ismene, like Creon, can hardly be considered dutiful in that she expresses no real wish to be loyal (at all costs) to her brother. Though she too loved her brother, she fears the power that Creon has to banish or kill dissenters. Her speeches are mainly questions and demonstrate no inclination toward action. She says, â€Å"What? You’re going to bury Polyneices, when that’s been made a crime for all in Thebes? † (lines 54-55). Here she subtly refuses to help Antigone and demonstrates even further the lack of duty she feels. Yet in the face of Antigone’s strong feelings of duty, Ismene cannot prevent the action. Much later when Antigone knows she will die, Ismene asks, â€Å"Even now is there some way I can help? † (line 631). She asks to help now, when she refused her help before, and this reflects not duty but an attempt to pretend loyalty when she knows that no help is now possible. She stands for very little, making very few statements or declarations, and proves herself to be among the least dutiful characters of the play. Again in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, Nora demonstrates her ability to perform her duties in her dealings with Krogstad. Here, though she is at a disadvantage, she still manages to a large extent to direct the courses of action—showing that her resourcefulness comes to her aid in performing her duties. She is not afraid to stoop to manipulation in order that her obligations are fulfilled. She knows when to act and when to be still and let others do the acting for her. Though she appears not to, she directs Mrs. Linde to use her influence with Krogstad to help her in her situation. After pouring out her woes to Mrs. Linde, Nora makes a false attempt to deter her when she offers to talk to Krogstad. Nora says, â€Å"Don’t; he’ll do you some harm,† fully knowing it to be untrue. Nora’s follow up to this deterrent almost nullifies it: â€Å"Here’s his card. But the letter, the letter-! † This ability to manipulate people and situations is also evidence of the extents to which she will go in order to fulfil her duty to her husband. In contrast to this, Mrs. Linde’s attempt at dutifulness within her own marriage and after pale in comparison to Nora’s She has tried her hand at business, she says, â€Å"I had to fight my way by keeping a shop, a little school, anything I could turn my hand to. † However, this was to no avail. She is still without much money and, though she was married to a rich man, has accomplished not nearly as much as Nora has. Her duty appears to have been directed toward herself and her own enrichment via marriage to a wealthy man. She has demonstrated no strength in her duty toward him in maintaining (or even adding to) the wealth that they once possessed. Nora again proves herself more able even than her husband to control situations—and the success she demonstrates a determination born of her dutiful characteristics. It is here, however, that her dutifulness shifts from her husband toward herself. Even though Torvald does find out about the loan, she discovers his true colors and is no longer led by his desires or taken in by his sweetness. He tempts her with all his charms and fails. He declares at first when the truth comes out, â€Å"you have inherited- no religion, no morality, no sense of duty,† yet a few minutes later when he receives the forged note he says, â€Å"I know that what you did was all for love of me. † He shows want of tact and quick-wittedness to effect a recovery, and Nora’s reason allows her to see this. Meanwhile, her new-found duty toward herself gives her the strength to leave him. She acts in her own best interest, though societal norms and her love for Torvald would have dictated that she remain. In the two plays, Nora and Antigone prove to be the most dutiful characters. While Creon, Mrs. Linde, Torvald and Ismene demonstrate very little (or selfish) duty, Nora and Antigone demonstrate a self-sacrificial duty that stems from loyalty and love of their families. They are willing to do what they feel they must, though odds are pitted against them, and they act even though they may fear the consequences. The events of the two plays Antigone and A Doll’s House are driven by the dutiful figures (Antigone and Nora) that are able to perform feats despite not having the real power to do so. Their duty drives them to accomplish these acts. Both leading characters’ unwillingness to allow events to deny them of their desires to help their family demonstrates the depth to which their loyalty ran, and they prove themselves more dutiful than others who accomplish less even with more resources. Works Cited Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll’s House. Trans. By William Archer. http://academics. triton. edu/uc/files/ dollshse. html. Sophocles. Antigone. Trans. By Ian Johnston of Malaspina Nanaimo: University-College, Canada, http://www. mala. bc. ca/~johnstoi/sophocles/antigone. htm Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. The Harvard Classics. http://www. bartleby. com/8/5/

Positive Psychology Essay

Martin Seligman is considered the father of positive psychology (Friedman & Schustack, 2012). Positive psychology pertains to helping people live happier and healthier lives (Friedman & Schustack, 2012). Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi states that â€Å"positive psychology at the subjective level is about valued [sic] subjective experiences,† such as â€Å"well-being, contentment, satisfaction (in the past), hope and optimism (for the future) and flow and happiness (in the present)† (McNulty & Fincham, 2011, p. 101). Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi are also states that the â€Å"individual level is about positive individual traits† and the capability â€Å"for love and vocation, courage, interpersonal skill, aesthetic sensibility, perseverance, forgiveness, originality, future mindedness, spirituality, high talent and wisdom† (McNulty & Fincham, 2011, p. 101). Finally, Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi state that positive psychology â€Å"at the group level is ab out the civic virtue’s† and† the institutions that move† individual’s â€Å"toward better citizenship† and the â€Å"responsibility, nurturance, altruism, civility, moderation, tolerance and work ethic† (McNulty & Fincham, 2011, p. 101). The chosen article states that the â€Å"field of positive psychology† believes that people have specific â€Å"psychology traits† that are inherited of the individual’s positive mental health (McNulty & Fincham, 2011, p. 101). Studies show that â€Å"forgiveness, optimistic, positive thoughts and kindness† can â€Å"benefit or harm† individuals (McNulty & Fincham, 2011, p. 101). The researchers state that the psychologist should move forward and examine the individual’s traits that may support well-being. The researchers show three approaches to search for a better understanding to positive psychology. First, psychologist need to examine the process of happiness and factors (McNulty & Fincham, 2011). Second, psychologist need to understand, prevent, relieve and understand people who suffer (McNulty & Fincham, 2011). And finally, to study shows that â€Å"short term† and â€Å"long term† effects of psychological traits character istics (McNulty & Fincham, 2011, p. 107). References Friedman, H. S., & Schustack, M. W. (2012). Personality Classic theories and modern research (5th ed.). [Vital source ebook]. Retrieved from Vital Book file McNulty, J. K., & Fincham, F. D. (2011). Beyond positive psychology? Toward a contextual view of psychological processes and well-being. American Psychologist, 67(2), 101-110. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0024572

How does the case of the 'Guildford Four' Illustrate the weaknesses of Coursework

How does the case of the 'Guildford Four' Illustrate the weaknesses of utilitarianism when used as the moral guide of the State - Coursework Example Based on how the consequences of a human action could create happiness for human beings is merely a pure achievement of pleasure and prevention of pain (Kemerling 2002; Bentham 1789, p. 1). When estimating the moral status of human actions1, Bentham argued that the measurement of hedonistic value of human actions should be based on certainty and uncertainty, purity and extent of human actions, the intensity of pleasure and the duration wherein the sense of pleasure could last including the collateral benefits of the human action in order to prevent collateral harm (Timmons 2002, pp. 106 – 108; Dibie 1988, p. 315). It means that the experiencing pleasure and pain are classified as intrinsically good and bad respectively. With regards to political philosophy, Bentham’s proposed utilitarianism considers the happiness based on pleasure such that the happiness of the entire community and/or society as a whole is more important as compared to the happiness or self-interest of a single person. With this in mind, the principle of utility as suggested by Bentham means that the moral obligation of each individual should be based on â€Å"the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people affected by human actions† (Kenny 1998, pp. 283 – 284). In other words, Bentham’s strongly believe that the human actions and social institutions should aim at promoting the greatest utility – happiness and pleasure (Crisp 1997, p. 2). Since the greatest happiness should be for the greatest number of people, government corruption is considered as intrinsically bad since only few minorities among the government officials could enjoy the pleasure of having substantial amount of money due to misuse of political power and legal rights. At the... The act of judging whether or not a given action is morally right or wrong is considered a very complex situation. Specifically the case of the 'Guildford Four' illustrates the weaknesses of utilitarianism when used as the moral guide of the state. In judging whether or not human action is intrinsically right (good) or wrong (evil), the role of the public policymakers comes in. As stated by Sir William Blackstone, â€Å"It is better to let ten guilty men go free than to wrongly incarcerate one innocent man†. Because of the increasing number of wrongful conviction in UK, developing a set of political rules in the form of law will not always lead to actions that are morally good. One way or the other, developing a set of political rules the the form of creating a legal system may only serve as a scapegoating tactics in the case of the true criminals. As compared to the theory of utilitarianism, the concept of deontology is totally different in the sense that deontology remains f ocus on judging an action by observing the righteousness or wrongness of an action regardless of whether the end result of the action is good or evil (Nishukan 2007). Instead of taking into consideration the end-result of an action, Immanuel Kant suggest the use of deontology more than the classical utilitarianism since deontology judges moral issues by carefully examining the type of actions being committed by a person

Attracting and Retaining Talent in the Current Environment Research Proposal

Attracting and Retaining Talent in the Current Environment - Research Proposal Example The current business environment or the e-world is about the opportunities that globalization and mobility offer to employees. While in the previous era, people seeking a ‘job for life’, the current world that is enabled with information technology provides a host of opportunities for the employee and the employer. Clearly, information technology and the widespread use of Internet along with globalization have broken down barriers and borders. A person from the UK would probably not hesitate if a suitable offer and position came up in the US or any other country. At the same time, employers also have the option of a much wider talent pool and an HR person from the UK would not hesitate to recruit someone from the US (Martinsons, 2009). Considering all the issues and opportunities, the thesis looks at ISS as an enabler and would find ways and means to link it with SHRM thus creating a competitive advantage for a firm. The paper would be using both primary and secondary re search with extensive literature review and survey to link the two areas. Â  Competitive advantage for organizations is obtained by managing and maintaining key resources that are scarce and are difficult for other firms to imitate and which provide a firm an advantage over its rivals. Among the key resources available, human resources are regarded by many firms as irreplaceable. Being ‘irreplaceable’ is very true in the case of hi-technology firms such as Intel or Pharmaceutical companies that have a high worth of intellectual capital. Other firms also regard skilled technicians, good instructors, a good sales team or even excellent programmers as valuable and these employees help in retaining a competitive advantage (Youndt, 2006). Â  

Select a topic in U.S. History that corresponds to the time period of Essay

Select a topic in U.S. History that corresponds to the time period of 1607-1974 - Essay Example www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/.../king-bio.htmlNobel Prize is the website that I chose to do my research. It clearly and precisely and analyzes the history of Martin Luther since the time he was born and through his activist ministry. It has explained the various civil right movements that he led between early 50s to 1968when he died. The website has given in details the key points, unlike the other websites and so preferred using it in this research. It has discussed the way Martin conducted his activism. I highly recommend this website to the rest for the information it gives is understandable and orderly arranged. The website also has highlighted in explicit details on successes of Martin Luther and the occurrence of his death. From this topic, I have learnt so much about Martin Luther. Martin advocated for nonviolent demonstrations. He educated the southern people on peaceful movements, civil rights and as well politics. He desired to be diplomatic in carrying out his campaigns on call for equality on African American. Martin was so persisting in his work and determined to achieve his targets. In Montgomery Bus Boycott, where an African American was put in prison for failure to give up her seat for an American he called for a lobby group. Boycotting was to carry on for 382 days of harassment and walking to working places. King being the leader was attacked but did not give up. Public transport had a severe economic problem since there was no business for them. Martin was able to get support from other African churches just after he formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).He was able to go to many places across the country speaking on nonviolent protests. He had a meeting with politicians, religious leaders and other activists to show how devoted he was in work. In August 1963, Martin marched to Washington with his followers and many people came to listen as he gave the speech on â€Å"I have a Dream†. He

Retail Marketing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Retail Marketing - Case Study Example Tesco PLC is the largest British retailer based on both global and local shares. Traditionally, the UK-based international retailer specializes only in the distribution of food products but it currently adds other goods and services to its product portfolio which ranges from clothing to consumer electronics to consumer financial services to internet services to internet service and consumer telecom. Last February 26, the company announced a total annual turnover of 33.974 billion and reported a pre-tax profit of 1.962 billion. It is estimated that in every 8 UK retail sales, 1 is spent on Tesco. Tesco is currently one of the world recognized retailers. The phenomenal success of Tesco as a retailer is recognised even in the global arena. The company lags behind Wal-mart in terms of global sales, staying ahead of other retail giants like Carrefour, and Home Depot. The company's success and even mere existence in the strategies it employs to capture new markets and retain its current buyers. Its well-crafted marketing strategy is a huge factor becomes a main driver in the company's success. However, as the company focused on capturing other geographical regions in the world, it is irrefutable that the Tesco also needs to modify its current domestic strategy and design other strategies taking into account the features and issues in the new market. Together with other large global companies, the strategies employed by Tesco are met by a lot of criticisms from commentators. As societal marketing is becoming a trend and a common feature in the businesses, it is imperative that Tesco adapts ways to mitigate the identified harmful effects of these issues in its operations. This report will look at the phenomenal success of Tesco PLC both in the United Kingdom and other geographical markets. The first section will identify and explain the key success factors in its operation. Recognizing that marketing is fundamental in its operation, an in-depth exploration of its marketing mix will also be done. Another section will be devoted to the issues and challenges faced by Tesco when trying to capture foreign markets. The last part will look at the implications of Tesco's rapid growth in the market environment and the possible recommendations on how to minimize its harmful effects. The report will conclude with its findings. II. Tesco's Success Drivers As with any business organization, the success of a retailer is based on having a distinct competitive strategy. Accordingly, retailers' competitive advantage should come from critical success factors in the value chain. Market oriented and customer focused companies undoubtedly become successful in their industries as they focus on understanding customer needs, motives and patronage decisions. The current business arena shows companies being transformed into lean organizations as they evaluate their value chains and including only processes which add value to the customers. The evolution of new technologies which drives competition into higher intensity calls for a system for which to hear, understand, and respond to customers' needs in order to succeed. The factors discussed above become the most important tenets of retailer's success.

Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 7

Case Study Example There is favoritism and discrimination going on at the workplace. An employee such as Fred, despite the fact that he is more skill oriented than Bob, and performs exceptionally well does not get an increase of his salary. There is the lack of privacy. Employees are not supposed to share their some information especially when it is salary oriented. Sharing this information could lead to a lot of conflicts in the workplace. As the director, I would carry out an evaluation process on each employee. I would do this by initiating a scale rating which usually indicates the strengths and weaknesses of every employee. The key areas I would concentrate on are, following rules and instructions, ability to get along with others and effectiveness. After carrying out the evaluation, I would call every employee and give feedback to them. If Fred seems to be working well, as he implies then I would recommend a raise of salary and promote him to a higher position. If he is under performing, I would have to release him off his duties. Jack Otto should introduce a policy of rewarding the exceptional employees, who keep time on arriving in the morning and employees who get along with other employees well. This would keep Bob on his toes and will even start arriving at the workplace earlier than expected. Putting up with Bob’s behavior for a long time, his lateness is not an issue anymore. The company has ignored Bob and actions have not been taken against him. This has spearheaded the existing problem with Bob. Policies usually provide ethics by which an institute governs its employee relations in a fair and steady manner. The policies and procedures help employees be aware of what is expected and can prevent misunderstandings about employer policies. Some of the policies which could have prevented the problem from happening are; George should establish a method for all employees in his department to report complains confidentially. He should also incorporate

DEVELOMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY - METHODOLOGIES OF CHILDHOOD PREJUDICE Essay

DEVELOMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY - METHODOLOGIES OF CHILDHOOD PREJUDICE - Essay Example vities of young children within the social setting in which they find themselves impress meanings upon them more profoundly than through their intellectual grasp of their surroundings (2003). Methods used by researchers have been chosen in order to probe the areas in which social conditioning occur, as well as to detect the social representations given different objects and interactions that can be found or are known to occur in different environments. Their experiments have captured empirically the results of this kind of social representation by facilitating children and adults’ precise designation of the gender to which objects are believed to be best associated. Through this they have demonstrated the different levels at which this type of social conditioning occurs, as well as the prejudices that result and that become evident at different stages of children’s development. Developmental psychologists have theorised that gender assumptions, beliefs, values and prejudices become embedded through the social representations that are available to them in their environment (Sanders, 2003). Ideas about the behaviours and expectations of males and females are learned in ways similar to those in which people learn colour and speech: through interaction with others in the social settings in which they find themselves. These ideas are learned socially and then internalised, and it is these ideas that compact together to form the gender prejudices that are displayed in children. After this period of internalisation, the attitudes and behaviours displayed by persons become unconsciously imbued with these beliefs and their expression of them causes their inculcation in future generations. The method of research by Lloyd and Duveen (1993) has demonstrated the high likelihood of identities to become formed through socialisation that occurs within a specific group. This has highlighted the diversity that exists among the identities that children have expressed, but in

Organic Chemistry Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Organic Chemistry - Lab Report Example The extraction of compounds from these natural products is an example of solid/ liquid extraction-the solid being the natural product and the liquid being the solvent into which the compounds are extracted. In research, a Soxhlet extractor is often used for solid/liquid extraction. Although solid/liquid extraction is the most common technique for brewing beverages and isolating compounds from natural products, liquid/liquid extraction is a very common method used in the organic laboratory, specifically when isolating reaction products. Reactions are typically homogeneous liquid mixtures and can therefore be extracted with either an organic or aqueous solvent. Organic reactions often yield a number of by products-some inorganic and some organic. Also, because some organic reactions do not go to 100% completion, a small amount of starting material is present at the end of the reaction. When a reaction is complete, it is necessary to do a workup, that is, separate and purify the desired product from the mixture of byproducts and residual starting material. Liquid/liquid extraction is a common separation step in this workup, which is then followed by purification of the product. There are two types of liquid/liquid extractions: neutral and acid/base. ... 2 CH3CH2CH2CH2OH +2NaBr +H2S042CH3CH2CH2CH2Br +2H20 +Na2S04 The 1-bromobutane is isolated from the reaction mixture by extraction with t-butyl methyl ether, an organic solvent in which 1-bromobutane is soluble and in which water and sodium sulfate are insoluble. The extraction is accomplished by simply adding t-butyl methyl ether to the aqueous mixture and shaking it. Two layers will result: an organic layer and an aqueous layer. The t-butyl methyl ether is less dense than water and floats on top; it is easily removed/drained away from the water layer and evaporated to leave the bromo product free of inorganic substances, which reside in the aqueous layer. Partition Coefficient The extraction of a compound such as 1-butanol, which is slightly soluble in water as well as very soluble in ether, is an equilibrium process governed by the solubilities of the alcohol in the two solvents. The ratio of the solubilities is known as the distribution coeeficient, also called the partition coefficient (k), and is an equilibirium constant with a certain value for a given substance, pair of solvents, and temperature The concentration of the solute in each solvent can be well correlated with the solubility of the solute in the pure solvent, a figure that is readily found in solubility tables in reference books. For substance C K = concentration of C in t-butyl methyl ether Concentration of C in water >solubility of C in t-butyl methyl ether (g/100mL) Solubility of C in water (g/100mL) Consider compound A that dissolves in t-butyl methyl ether to the extent of 12 g/100mLand dissolves in water to the extent of 6g/100mL. K = 12g/100mL

Household Behavior and Consumer Choice Essay Example for Free

Household Behavior and Consumer Choice Essay Issues of household behavior and consumer choices, lie in the field of microeconomics. Microeconomics, sometimes called the price theory is a branch of economics that concerns itself with the study of how households, individuals, and firms make their own private decisions on how to allocate scarce resources. In this research paper, I will seek to apply economic theories and mostly the consumer theory to analyze these decisions and their effects on consumption, interests and wages. ANALYSIS: DEFINITIONS: HOUSEHOLD BEHAVIOR: Household behavior is principally viewed and analyzed as the theory of consumer demand of various commodities or generally household consumption. In addition to this household behavior also concerns itself with production of commodities or services and the supply of labor by households. Consumer demand on the other hand concerns itself with how demand functions for various commodities are derived. This derivation is done considering the rational choice model based on utility maximization. In this analysis, economic constraints like budgets, income and commodity prices are considered for specific households. The consumer theory studies the issue of household likes and preferences applying indifference curves as well as budget constraints and relates these preferences to consumes demand curves. There are many economic variables that are used in the analysis of these preferences. Among the major variables, include the price per unit of a certain good and the money incomes of the specific consumers. A change in the price of a good usually has two major effects. Firstly, there is the substitution effect and secondly there is the income effect. The substitution effect usually arises from the relative change in prices of consumer goods. On the other hand, the income effect arises from changes in the purchasing power of the available money wage or income. The diagram below depicts the relationship between consumer demand and prices through indifference curves given budget constraints. When the price of good Y increases, the budget line will shift from BC2 to BC1. This is because when the price of good y increases households will buy less of the good but they will still buy the same quantity of good X as long as they wish. In order to maximize his or her utility the consumer will have to move from indifference curve I2 to I1. By doing this the consumer will be able to enjoy his/her preferences as normal. Incase the price of commodity Y decreases the budget line or the budget constraint will move from BC1 to BC2. This is because the consumer will now be able to purchase more of commodity y while at the same time enjoying the same amount of good X. in the same case, the consumer in order to maximize his/her utility will move from indifference curve I1 to I2. The same scenario will be applicable for price changes of good X. The income effect: The income effect is depicted in the diagram below. An increase or decrease of the consumer’s disposable income will cause a parallel shift of the consumer’s budget constraint. An increase in the disposable income will cause the budget constraint to shift to the right while a decrease in the income will cause the budget constraint to shift to the left. This applies for normal goods since the indifference curves will react differently for inferior goods and Giffen goods (goods with a snob appeal). For inferior goods as the income increases, less of the commodity will be consumed. This is because the increased income will cause the consumers to seek higher or better goods. For Giffen goods as the income, increases the amount of goods purchased may either increase or remain the same. Generally, the effects can be summed up to the substitution effect and the income effect. The substitution effect usually is a price change that affects the slope of the budget line (constraint), but leaves the consumer on the same equilibrium indifference curve. In cases where the good in question is a normal good then the price effect will outweigh the substitution effect, but in cases where the good is an inferior good then the substitution effect will outweigh the price effect. Leisure-labor tradeoff: The time that any consumer has to allocate for different purposes is called time endowment. The price of leisure is analyzed using the consumer theory, with some slight adjustments. In this case, leisure is assumed to be a good and consumption is considered to be another good. Since consumers have scarce and finite time then they will have to choose between leisure, which earns no money, and consumption of labor that earns an income. Regardless of this trade off the change in the unit price of leisure will have a huge effect on the working time since a reduction or an increase in the price of labor will lead to less work and more work respectively. Wage and interest rates: Wages can be analyzed both as a cause and as effect of consumer behavior. They are a cause in the sense that as wages increase so does the consumption of households increase. On the other hand, wages can be viewed as an effect of consumption behavior since they are indirectly determined by the consumer price index. Both real and nominal interest rates are affected by consumer behaviors. Depending on the liquidity within the economy, the consumption behavior of households can cause an increase or decrease in the level of interest rates. Conclusion: Many variables that are dealt with in microeconomics usually have an indirect effect in the field of macroeconomics. The determination of the national income do consider the value that households contribute either in the form of consumption or services that they render. In addition to this, the level of inflation is also slightly affected by the consumption and expenditure behaviors of the households. Consumer theory plays a very important role in explaining household behaviors. However, the field of macroeconomics also needs to be keenly looked at since it deals with economic aggregates. References: Mankiw, N. G. (2004), Principles of economics (3rd Ed. ), Chicago, ILLIOIS: Thomson South-Western McWilliams Gary. Analyzing Customers the wall street journal,Monday, November 8, 2004. Available at:http://online. wsj. com/article/SB109986994931767086. html Philip Hardwick (1982), an Introduction to Modern Economics, Longman, U. K

Was the Cold War an Identity Conflict?

Was the Cold War an Identity Conflict? The Cold War was a controversial war. Unlike previous wars the main actors never really frontally fought each other. By using client states to fight on their behalf, the USA and Soviet Union fought for their beliefs and identities. [1]Identity in IR can be associated with nationalism, and that is one of the reasons that the Cold War is seen as an identity conflict. The Cold War was in fact an opposition of different cultural, political, power and ideological identities.[2]This essay tries to clarify the semantics of the word identity, when this word started to have importance between the scholars an[3]d in particular why it is so important in order to understand better International Relations.[4] In this essay the main protagonists and events related to the Cold War will also be reviewed. After this important context is explained, the role of identities in the Cold War will be examined and described. By using some examples it should be clear why the Cold War was in fact an identity c onflict. What is Identity? To understand the role of identities in the Cold War it is first necessary to understand what identity really means, in particular related to IR. Defining identity is not easy and if we look at the word in the Cambridge Dictionary we find this definition: who a person is, or the qualities of a person or group that make them different from others [1]. But as James D. Fearon relates in his manuscript [2] dictionary definitions fail to capture the meaning of identity in every day and social science contexts.According to many scholars, identities play a central role in politics. Anthony Burke, for example, affirms that there would be no world politics, no people, no states and no international system without identity[3]. Before extending to groups such states or the international system[5] it is important to remember how the concept of identity starts from the individual. It is said that identity is what we make of it. Culture, education, family environment, media and many other factors shape every persons identity. Another aspect that should be pointed out is that rarely is identity forever fixed, and in fact identities can change throughout places and time. Relationships, for example, are a powerful factor able to change ones identity. Personal and national identities have a close connection as both mutually influence each other. A persons identity is influenced by the national identity of the country he/she was born in, and at the same time national identity is formed by putting together the single peoples identities of its inhabitants. [6]But as Jervis Robert asks: Can we treat national identity as singular in the face of internal differences? [4]. That is the reason why understanding the individuals identity and how they develop is important to understand how a group of identities work. We can refer to many aspects as identity. Identity in IR can often be related to nationalism, and this will be explained better later on. If we refer to cultural identity it is necessary to remember Huntingtons theory about the Clash of Civilisations [5]He argued that modern conflicts would happen mainly because of conflicts between civilisations. Regarding civilisations as cultural identities is evidence of how Huntingtons theory also applies to this case. Brief summary of the Cold War Besides clarifying the definition of identity, it is also important to understand the reasons for and the protagonists involved in the Cold War. As is well known, the Cold War happened mainly because of the tension between the two opposing superpowers, the USA in the West and the Soviet Union in the East. The Soviet Union was a communist system where, based around a central ideology, everyone owned the means to create a Commonwealth[7] while the United States was a capitalist system where almost everything was privately owned and run for profit. These two powers never really frontally fought against each other, instead, after World War II they started spreading their influence through the world and fighting each other using proxy wars, intimidation, propaganda and espionage. The Soviet Union and the United States spread their influence in the Middle East, Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia, trying to overthrow the old European colonial regime. Nationalism and identity As human beings we are considered to be social beings and for this reason we feel the desire or the necessity of belonging to a community. As explained before, an identity is something that belongs to a person and it is indivisible. Everyone has his/her own identity but everyone as human being has the need for belonging to a greater community or identity. Extending this fact to a national view we can understand how nationalisms are born. The pride of belonging to a nation and the desire to make ones own country the greatest is a way of making yourself belong to a national identity, making your identity complete by being part of a greater identity. In western counties, in particular in the US, the idea that ones own country was better than other was common. And although Karl Marx believed that nationalism was something to avoid, communist countries, such as China and the Soviet Union, were strongly nationalist as well. Nationalisms and wars are often connected to each other or even though necessary for the existence of the other. [8]The pride of ones own culture and identity that comes with nationalism can cause people to believe that their own country is always right and keeps motivated people to make sacrifices for their own country and be willing to fight for it. We build our identity by excluding characteristics we dont like. If we extend this concept to IR we can see how identities had a major role in the Cold War. Soviet identity, as an example, was shaped in opposition to the capitalist world as well, as Americans were constantly afraid of the spread of Communism (the Red Scare[6]). Americans believed that democratic ideology was the best , and that by globally spreading their ideologies they would assist the world to modernise and improve it. Communists from the Soviet Union had the same feelings about communism. By thinking like this it was inevitable that the two super powers would be pitted against each other. Geopolitical divisions = clash of identities During the Cold War the clash of identities was physically and geopolitically visible. Germany, Vietnam and Korea are clear examples of how there was a clear division and conflict between the two super powers identities. During the Vietnam War, the contrast between the two political and ideological identities was clear. South Vietnam was anti-communist and for this reason it was supplied by the US, while North Vietnam was pro-Communist and by using weapons from the USSR and China they fought against the south and against the US. The same scenario occurred in Korea and Germany,[9] in this last one by creating the material and physical division of the wall.This clash of identities was sometimes also immaterial[10]. An example of this is the Red Fear that was spreading in the US during the war. The fear of the other and the fear of the contagion of unwanted ideologies, in this case, communism was a daily reality in the US during the Cold War. This fear was extended outside US borders By this point it should be clear that the Cold War was an attempt of preservation of national identities. The curious thing after all was said, as Jervis Robert 4 debates, is that the Soviet Union and the US had in fact a lot of similarities or parallels. As he ascertains, both implied a form of universalism and both were founded on ideas instead of nationalities or myths of common heritage or blood. Robert testifies that in a country where mostly everyone was an immigrant,[11] like the United States, it was possible to not be considered an American just by not believing in the correct ideas[12]. Another aspect that they[13] had in common was that both believed they were the standard to be followed in order to obtain global progress and modernity. How the Cold War ended The way the Cold War ended is another clear example of the importance that identities had in this war. In fact, the Cold War ended only when one of the two sides identities ended as well. As this war was happening mainly because of the contrast of the two main identities, when one of them failed there was no more reason for conflict to exist. CONCLUSION To summarise, it has been noted that conflicts of identities, if extended to an international level, had a major role in the Cold War. This particular war cannot be explained by classic IR. Just by analysing the role of identities in the global system this particular war can be understood properly. As was explained, identity can assume many different forms (political, ideological, cultural), and it is clear now how preservation and spread of identities were the two main reasons that for the Cold War. The two main ideologies of capitalism and communism started from the United States and the Soviet Union but rapidly spread globally creating internal conflicts in countries such as Vietnam, Korea and Germany. These clear distinctions and divisions, the development of the War and finally the way the Cold War ended make indisputable the fact that the Cold War was an identity conflict. BIBLIOGRAPHY Adler-Nissen, R. Stigma Management in International Relations: Transgressive Identities, Norms and Order in International Society, International Organisation 68/1 (2014): 143-176 Berenskoetter, F. Identity in International Relations in R. Denemark (ed.), The International Studies Encyclopedia (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010): 3594-3611 Burke, Anthony. Identity/Difference. In M. Griffiths (ed.) Encyclopedia of International Relations and Global Politics. London: Routledge, 2006: pp.394-6 Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary Thesaurus  © Cambridge University Press s.v. Identity http://www.dictionary.cambridge.org/dictioà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦/english/identity Fearon, J. What is Identity (as We Now Use the Word)?, unpublished manuscript (Stanford University, 1999) Jervis Robert. Identity and the Cold War. Cambridge University Press, 2010: pp.22-43 Samuel P. Huntington 1996, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, Touchstone Books. Zachary Keck 2013, How Geopolitics Doomed the Clash of Civilizations, The Diplomat, . Individual, transnational(means in the space between) identity Dignity and Privacy in Health Care: Literature Review Dignity and Privacy in Health Care: Literature Review Annotated Bibliography To complete this assignment I am going to complete an Annotated Bibliography. An annotated bibliography is a bibliography of sources of information such as: books, websites, journals, articles. However under each source is an evaluation paragraph that is a brief description about the source that has been used. During this assignment the sources used will be based upon on the subject of privacy and dignity, and overall 15 sources will be used including one national policy. Finally the evaluation paragraph of each source will focus on a few points: 1) what the main points of the source are. 2) Are the main points of the source clearly presented to the reader? 3) Who is the source directed at- who is the audience? 4)Is the information in the source supported by someone or is the source unsupported. Alaszewski, H, Holdsworth, L,Billings, J, Dr Wagg (2009) ‘Privacy and dignity in continence care: research review Nursing Residential Care. 11 (8) pp 393-396. http://internurse.com [Accessed 5th December 2009] This article is written by three health professionals who specialise in research two of whom are research associates and one who is a researcher and one health professional who is a senior lecturer at a university. Therefore due to the nature of the authors the article is primarily based to health professionals. More specifically as it was published in Nursing and Residential care the health care professionals who work in nursing and residential homes. The layout of this article is very simple and the information is presented clearly with the use of subheadings to describe the different parts of the study. This article reviews a study that was carried out in relation to privacy and dignity in continence care. This review highlights that there four major themes identified from the study one of them being privacy. With the review commenting that maintaining privacy during toileting and continence care is vital to maintaing dignity. In addition that it was easier to maintain privacy in care homes that provided en-suite bathrooms for the residents. This article is not supported as it only gives reference to what the Health Care commission report caring for dignity says about dignity. Foss, T D (2006) ‘Grave Bearing: how dignity will be dealt with on wards. British Journal of Nursing. 15 (9) pp 481 http://www.internurse.com [Accessed 5th December 2009] This article is written by the editor of the British Journal of Nursing and bases the article around the new duty that the government has imposed on nurses, the new duty of the Dignity nurse. In the article the author argues that nurses simply have too many duties and adding another will make the nurses even more overstretched. In addition it is pointed out that nurses already show the patients respect and dignity in basic care as nurses play an important role in keeping up dignity in mixed wards, so why does it need to be actually stated as a new duty. The article concludes with the view that the government cannot deal with this with continuing learning courses as the nurses do not have the time nor do the trust have the money to send the nurses on them. As this article is published in the British Journal of Nursing and written by the editor of the journal this article is aimed at Health Care professionals especially who work on wards. As no reference is made to anyone else or any o ther publications this article is unsupported. McParland J, Scott, PA, Dassen, T ,Gasull, M, Lemonidou, C, Valimaki, M , Leino-Kilpi, H ( 2000) ‘ Atonomy and clinical practice 2: patient privacy and nursing practice. British Journal of Nursing. 9 (9) pp 556-559. http://www.internurse.com [Accessed 5th December 2009] This article is written by a number of health lecturers and outlines privacy and the nursing practices to enable the policy of privacy is adhered to. The article is presented clearly with an abstract box at the beginning of the article to inform the reader what information the article is going to contain, and all the information under sub headings. The article begins with a number of definitions of privacy and then informs the reader of patient privacy. A number of situations and examples of patient privacy are given in the article with it also stating how nurses can maintain patient privacy. This article is primarily aimed at the nursing profession as it was published in the British Journal of Nursing. This article may be extremely useful to student nurses to enable them to learn about privacy to maintain a good understanding of it and how to make sure it is maintained why they are on placement. Throughout this article many references are made to many people who have researched this area before, therefore this article is supported. Charles- Edward, I, Brotchie, J (2005) ‘Privacy: what does it mean for childrens nurses? Paediatric Nursing. 17 ( 5) pp 38-44. http://www.proquest.com [Accessed 6th December 2009] Although this article is appropriate for paediatric health professionals due to where it was published and the authors. Imelda Charles- Edward being the programme director for the Bsc (Hons) in child health nursing and it being published in the Paediatric Nursing journal, it is most appropriate for Paediatric Nursing students. The main reason for this being that includes a number of activates that could be completed in order to gain a good understanding of the subject of privacy and dignity while undertaking training. Due to this being aimed at paediatric nursing students the layout is very clear as it includes tables and is sectioned off with what the author calls ‘Time outs at the end of each section for the reader to complete. This article covers many issues to do with privacy and dignity including: the different definitions of privacy, physical privacy, privacy of information and adult secretes. Throughout the article the author makes reference to many other health professi onals and authors who have their own views on this subject and who have carried out studies on the subject previous, therefore this article is supported. Matiti, M R, Trorey, G M ( 2008) ‘Patients expectations of the maintenance of their dignity Journal of clinical nursing. 17 (20) pp 2709- 2971. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com [Accessed 6th December 2009] This study was carried out to research into patients expectations of dignity while they were in hospital and how it was maintained. Due to both the authors being health lectures at universities in England and the article being printed in a nursing journal this article is aimed at any health professional who works in a hospital setting as this is where the study was carried out. The information about the study is clearly presented in this article as the information is divided into the different sections of the study. For example the article provides information background to dignity, information on the methodology of the study, the study population, data collection and information on the findings of the study. As this is a study that was conducted it is not supported in the traditional sense as it only makes reference to what other people perceive privacy and dignity to be. Nazarko, L, (2007) ‘Bathing Patients with care and dignity. British Journal of Health Care Assistants. 1 (2) pp 73-76. http://www.internurse.com [Accessed 6th December 2009] An abstract box at the beginning of this article informs the reader that healthcare assistants play an important role in maintaining the hygiene of clients in their care and this role should be carried out with sensitivity to maintain the clients dignity. The article comments on this in more depth informing the reader that one of the main ways of respecting the clients dignity is to assess the risk of the client of getting in the bath/shower as if they can complete the task themselves then they should be left to do so. This article was written by a nursing consultant for older people and was published in the British Journal of Healthcare Assistants; therefore it is aimed more specifically at Healthcare Assistants. Nursing students however may find this useful as the article is simply written and explains what needs to be done to bath a client, therefore a student nurse may find it useful to use to find out how to bath a patient. As the article is like a guide to bathing clients no re ference is made to any other publications therefore this article is unsupported. Thomas, S, (2008) ‘RCN: Lets get political for patient dignity. British Journal of Neuroscience Nursing. 4 (5) pp 243-244. http://www.internurse.com [Accessed 6th December 2009] The author of this article Sue Thomas a nurse policy adviser for the Royal College of Nursing writes this article to inform health professionals about the barriers that face nurses when trying to make policy changes and how maintaining patient dignity can bring about policy change. The information is clearly presented with sub headings and quotations being easily distinguished by being in bold. The article highlights the barriers to dignity such as the obstacles that stop the nurses providing the dignity that the patients want. The article then provides recommendations that the RCN would like to see in place in order for the nurses to provide the dignity the patients want such as: no more mixed wards and curtains around beds that actually close. Although this was published in the neuroscience journal this article is aimed at all health professionals especially them in the Royal college of Nursing. Throughout this article there are many quotations by health professionals and results o f a survey carried out therefore this article is supported. Pownall, M, ( 2009) ‘Privacy and dignity: eliminating mixed sex accommodation in hospitals. Nursing Times. 105 (44) pp 15. http://www.proquest.com [Accessed 6th December 2009] This article is written by a freelance health journalist who uses the issue of mixed sex wards as an example of how individual trusts can monitor how they are maintaining privacy and dignity in relation to overall performance. The author states that this is achieved in three ways: 1) A committed board of directors e.g. providing the senior management with the right information and recourses to ensure privacy and dignity is maintained to patients in their care. 2) The care environment e.g. separated sleeping areas and washing facilities for men and women on mixed sex wards. 3) Individual action e.g. if it is unavoidable for a patient to be placed on a mixed ward try to relocate the patient as soon as possible and apologise for any inconvenience. The article is clearly presented and uses sub-headings to categorise the information. As it is printed in a nursing journal nurses and health care professionals may find this article beneficial. Walsh, K, Kowanko, I (2002) ‘Nurses and patients perceptions of dignity International Journal of Nursing. 8 (3) pp143-145. http://www3.interscience.com [Accessed 7th December 2009] The authors of this article, one being a senior lecturer and another being a senior researcher explains in depth the study and the results of the study they carried out in order to obtain nurses and patients perceptions of dignity. This article highlights that after carrying out the study nurses believe that there are many aspects and many different characteristics of dignity, the most important ones being aspects such as privacy and respect. With the study also concluding that the characteristics the patients associated with dignity were very similar to the nurses. Although the article is of length it is clearly presented with the use of sub-headings and the use of quotations in italics. As the authors have used quotations of the participants in the study and have related to other health professionals during this study this article is supported. As it was published in the International Journal of Nursing this article is not only aimed at audiences here in the United Kingdom but heal th professionals all over the world. Ashurst, A (2007) ‘Palliative Care: maintaining dignity. Nursing and residential care. 9 (1) pp22-24. http://www.internurse.com [Accessed 7th December 2009] This article has been specifically written for palliative care staff in nursing or residential care specifically for the care of the elderly and terminally ill. The author- a consultant editor for the journal highlights guidelines to follow to ensure dignity is maintained for the care of the terminally ill during their stay at residential homes. Ashurst sates to maintain privacy and dignity towards the end of the patients life emotional support must be obtainable which may include respecting the relatives wishes- this may include involving themselves in the care of their relative. He also sates that respect for the patients wishes should be at the forefront of the care for the patient regardless of what the nursing staff believes to be the best course of treatment. Ashurst clearly presents the main points of this article to the reader by using a simple layout with the uses of sub-headings, pictures, columns and quotations in bold and inverted comers. As this is not legislation but me rely guidelines it is not supported in the traditional sense as the author only uses the opinions of members of the health profession. NHS Executive- Safety, Privacy and dignity in mental health units- guidance on mixed sex accommodation for mental health services. (2000). http://www.dh.gov.uk [Accessed 9th December 2009] This policy is a National Health Service policy for all NHS trusts in England written by the NHS Executives. It provides guidance for the practical steps that need to be taken out by all NHS staff to ensure that safety, privacy and dignity are maintained for the patients in mental heath units with regards to mixed sex accommodation. It is split into two main sections. Section A being operation policy. This provides the audience with guidelines to meet the overall objects of providing a safe environment and safe facilities for mentally ill patients which maintain their privacy and dignity. Section B being design guidance. This section elaborates on the guidelines given in the previous section by specifically relating it to mental health facilities. As this is a NHS policy and is therefore legislation it is not supported as it is not a matter of opinion. Although this policy is long in length it is clearly presented with the use of sections and sub-sections being clearly numbered. The policy also includes models as aguidance to possible accommodation arrangements for new/existing accommodation in order to maintain privacy and dignity in mental health facilities. Professor Ian Philip, National Director for old people, Department of health- A new ambition for old age- next steps in implementing the national service framework for older people. (2006) http://www.dh.gov.uk [Accessed on 9th December 2009] This report written by the national director for old people outlines the next steps for implementing the national service framework for older people and follows on from a previous report on ‘Better Health in old age. The author states that it is the department of healths ambition that within five years all older people will be treated with respect and dignity and in all care settings. He believes this will be achieved by following 10 programmes of activity. An example being: improving dignity in care by strengthen activities such as ensuring the dignity towards and at the end of a persons life. As it is a government policy this report is primarily aimed at everyone in the United Kingdom, however more specifically those who work with older people and those in the health sector. The layout is easy to understand with each programme easy to identify by the use of sub headings in a different colour. Bullet points are also used to keep the text short and direct in some areas with the use of pictures also to brake down the writing.

Comentation On Let Us Now Praise Famous Men :: essays research papers

It was in 1936 that James Agee and Walker Evans, on assignment for Fortune magazine, drove into rural Alabama and entered the world of three families of white tenant farmers. And it was in this same year that Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to his second term as president, his New Deal having won the resounding support of American voters. Fortune was not unique in its concern for the tenant farmer; Roosevelt himself appointed a Committee on Farm Tenancy to investigate the situation of this segment of the nation's farming population. The committee's startling report, issued in February of 1937, revealed that tenant farmers constituted half of the farmers in the South, almost a third of farmers in the North, and a fourth of Western farmers. These figures, accompanied by reports of great suffering and stark poverty, led to the enactment of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenancy Act, which reorganized the Resettlement Administration as the Farm Security Administration, and which included amo ng its purposes assisting enterprising tenants in becoming landowners.[1] Agee and Evans examined the life of the tenant farmer as closely as the president's committee, but from the perspective of artists, not New Deal politicians or economists. Proposing no economic solutions to the problem of tenant farming, they attempted only to describe the life of the Gudgers, the Woods, and the Ricketts as accurately as possible "in its own terms."[2] Nevertheless, the result of Agee and Evans' endeavors, a book entitled Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, is, as much as the New Deal itself, a great experiment in addressing the issues of social responsibility and human dignity that faced the United States during the 1930s. Roosevelt was elected to the presidency in 1932 because he recognized the need for an innovative approach to the U.S. economy. Financial institutions, including the banking system and the stock market, had been thoroughly undermined along with American confidence, and had miserably failed to recover on their own, as Hoover had promised. The methods that had been used to bring the economy out of a slump in the 1920s were simply not working anymore, and the casualties of depression were rapidly mounting in a frightening new world. As Roosevelt recognized that traditional plans for economic recovery could not end the Depression, so Agee and Evans knew that traditional methods of photography and journalism would not work to convey accurately the hard and simple lives of the tenant farmers.

Cleaning up Bodies of Water with the Rio Salado Project :: Environment Environmental Pollution Preservation

As I looked out the window of the restaurant, I could see the sun bouncing off the sparkling water below. Boats and other water craft scatter the water as well as people on water-skis and inner tubes. The picturesque view makes life seem so much better and just looking at the river makes a person calmer. The scene just described is the view from the window of a restaurant called Sophia in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the corresponding river is the mighty Mississippi. Although Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes, this scene could be found right here in the valley of Phoenix. The way this is possible is through the Rio Salado Project. After the Roosevelt Dam dammed the Salt River in 1911, the bed that formed in its place has become a garbage-infested hole stretching through a large potion of the valley. In 1966 a group of architecture students at ASU first proposed the idea of the Rio Salado Project to a community-wide audience. It was approved by the legislature in 1980 and extensive planning has been underway since. The project will take 26 miles of the dry river bed, fill it in with purified wastewater, and make it into a 7,000-acre park over the next 2 decades (Rio Salado Development District 1). I believe that we should continue with construction on the Rio Salado Project because of all its benefits to the valley area. The plan I am proposing is comprehensive of many plans already proposed since Rio Salado was first an idea over 30 years ago. The difference is that my plan combines the positive features of many different plans to make a new one. This includes ensuring that Town Lake provides a safe environment for all activities, providing flood control, encouraging development along the river, promoting recreation, improving the regional quality of life, attaining the economic benefits of the area, while still maintaining the historical content of the area. Up until the early 1900’s, the Salt River flowed without any control or restraints. However, it was a burden for travelers on the trail leading from Prescott to Tucson. In 1911 the Roosevelt Dam was built upstream from Tempe and the flow was reduced until in the late 1930’s when the river ceased to flow altogether. Many people have often wondered what it would be like if the riverbed would once again be filled with water.

Characterization in Oedipus the King Essay -- Oedipus the King Oedipus

Characterization in Oedipus Rex  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚   The dialogue, action and motivation revolve about the characters in the story (Abrams 32-33). It is the purpose of this essay to demonstrate the types of characters present in Sophocles’ tragic drama, Oedipus Rex, whether static or dynamic, whether flat or round, and whether protrayed through showing or telling.    Werner Jaeger in â€Å"Sophocles’ Mastery of Character Development† pays the dramatist the very highest compliment with regard to character development:    The ineffaceable impression which Sophocles makes on us today and his imperishable position in the literature of the world are both due to his character-drawing. If we ask which of the men and women ofGreek tragedy have an independent life in the imagination apart from the stage and from the actual plot in which they appear, we must answer, ‘those created by Sophocles, above all others’ (36).    Surely   it can be said of Sophocles’ main characters that they grow beyond the two dimensional aspect into really rounded physical presences. This is done through mostly the showing technique, though the chorus at times is involved in telling the audience various pieces of information. At the outset of Oedipus Rex the reader sees a king who comes to the door full of curiosity: â€Å"Explain your mood and purport. Is it dread /Of ill that moves you or a boon ye crave?† When the priest has responded that the people are despairing from the effects of the plague, the king shows another dimension to his character with his deep sympathy for his subjects: â€Å"Ye sicken all, well wot I, yet my pain, /How great soever yours, outtops it all.† Shortly thereafter a second round character makes his appearance on stage in the pers... ...and Creon become so later in the tragedy. Rarely does the dramatist use the chorus to convey information; most of this comes from exchanges of dialogue, which would be the showing technique.    WORKS CITED    Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms, 7th ed. New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1999.    Ehrenberg, Victor. â€Å"Sophoclean Rulers: Oedipus.† In Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex, edited by Michael J. O’Brien. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.    Jaeger, Werner. â€Å"Sophocles’ Mastery of Character Development.† In Readings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997.    Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Transl. by F. Storr. no pag. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/browse-mixed new?tag=public&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&part=0&id=SopOedi

Marketing intelligence: Final Exam Essay

1) Which of the following is NOT a step that might be used to improve the quality of a firm’s marketing intelligence? A. Watching how the stock market reacts to interest rate changes B. Motivating distributors to pass along important intelligence from the marketplace. C. Collecting competitive intelligence by buying a competitor’s products D. Setting up a consumer panel 2) When Molly’s parents retired, they decided they wanted to travel. They found an ideal job that allows them to travel for free, but the only catch is they have to stay at Holiday Inns. During each stay, they test all the amenities offered by the motel and evaluate each. The evaluation forms are sent to the motel headquarters where it becomes part of the motel’s __________ systems. A. Accountability information system (AIS) B. Marketing intelligence C. Experiential research data D. Marketing research 3) Typically, companies budget about 11-12 percent of company sales for marketing research. A. True B. Fasle 4) Which of the following is NOT a component part of total customer value? A. Psychic value B. Image value C. Product value D. Services value 5) Lee is constantly begging his mother to buy him an iPod because the most popular kids at his school all have one. His mother contends that he’ll just break it or lose the music player if she buys it for him. For Lee, the most popular kids in his school are examples of a _______________. A. Social class B. Demographic group C. Subculture D. Reference group 6) A(n) ________________ is likely to offer informal advice and information about a product or product category. A. Opinion leader B. Diversity marketing program C. Primary reference group D. Aspirational reference group 7) Which factors have the broadest and deepest influence on consumer behavior? A. Cultural B. Psychological C. Personal D. Social 8) Painting and consulting are considered industrial goods because ______________. A. Most firms do not seek them directly B. They are specialty goods C. They facilitate developing and managing the finished product D. They are considered â€Å"component materials† 9) When SAP software added a Windows-style â€Å"back† button to its industrial invoice management software, the new product ___________. A. Improved upon an existing product B. Used a new product line C. Used a marketing diversification strategy D. Added to an existing product line 10) Ayal and Zif argue that going into fewer countries is advisable when ___________. A. Population is low, and income size and growth are high in the initial countries chosen. B. Population and income size are high, and population growth is low in the initial countries chosen. C. Population, income size, and growth are high in the initial countries chosen. D. Population, income size and growth are low in the initial countries chosen. 11) Which is the last major decision in international marketing? A. Deciding on the marketing program B. Deciding which markets to enter C. Deciding how to enter the market D. Deciding on the marketing organization 12) Which of the following is NOT a step that might be used to improve the quality of a firm’s marketing intelligence? A. Watching how the stock market reacts to interest rate changes B. Motivating distributors to pass along  important intelligence from the marketplace. C. Collecting competitive intelligence by buying a competitor’s products D. Setting up a consumer panel 13) Which is correct about â€Å"noise† in the communication process? A. It mostly happens during the decoding stage B. It interferes with intended communication C. It is controllable D. It has only one source 14) Marketing __________ is the art and science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping, and growing customers through creating, delivering, and communicating superior customer value. A. segmentation B. integration C. internally D. management 15) Public policy makers have developed a substantial body of laws and regulations to govern advertising. For these reasons, an important step in developing anadvertising campaign is _____________. A. The social responsibility review B. Asking network censors what to cut out of the communication C. Preparing a copy strategy statement D. The creative development of the message 16) Which of the following is an example of primary data that would be used by Topps card company to determine popularity of its new hologram baseball card series? A. Sales records for baseball cards gathered by the industry’s trade council. B. An article about the hologram cards in a recent issue of Sports Illustrated C. Data from sales records kept by exclusive dealers of Topp’s hologram series D. Input from focus groups that was put together specifically to discuss their perception of popularity of the hologram card series 17) A marketing information system (MIS) consists of ___________. A. An organized collection of comprehensive data about individual customers, prospects, or suspects that is currently accessible for marketing purposes. B. The systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data and findings relevant to a specific marketing situation. C. The people,  equipment, and procedures to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate, and distribute needed, timely, and accurate information to marketing decision makers. D. A set of procedures and sources used by managers to obtain everyday information and relevant developments in the marketing environment. 18) The step in the marketing research process thatincludes determining who will be sampled is to _______________. A. Collect the information B. Develop the research plan C. Define the problem and research objectives D. Make the decision based on the project outcomes 19) All of the following are steps in the marketing research process EXCEPT: A. Compare data to government sources B. Collect the information C. Define the problem and research objectives D. Present the findings 20) The ____________ consists of all the organizations that acquire goods and services used in the production of other products or services that are sold, rented, or supplied to other customers. A. Consumer market B. Institutional market C. Government market D. Business market 21) Toyota, the maker of the Scion brand, using what kind of brand strategy with Scion products? A. Individual names B. Blanket family names C. Corporate names D. Separate family names 22) When SAP software added a Windows-style â€Å"back† button to its industrial invoice management software, the new product ___________. A. Improved upon an existing product B. Used a marketing diversification strategy C. Added to an existing product line D. Used a new product line 23) When customers buy on the basis of a reference price or because the price conveys a particular quality image to them, they are being influenced by ____________. A. The going rates of competitors B. Value augmented by perception C. The psychology of pricing D. Value pricing 24) A __________ pricing objective is suitable for a company that has overcapacity, intense competition, and changing customer needs. A. Maximum current revenue B. Maximum sales growth C. Survival D. Maximum current profit 25) A concept in retailing that helps explain the emergence of new retailers is called the ___________ hypothesis. A. Service-assortment B. Product life-cycle C. Retail life cycle D. Wheel-of-retailing 26) Which of the following would NOT be considered part of a marketing communications program? A. An event sponsorship B. Personal selling C. A sales promotion D. Brand contact 27) McDonald’s franchisees get a small discount when they pay their bills for supplies within the first seven days (when the due date is 30 days after delivery). This is an example of ___________ within channel relations. A. Sharing the risks B. Territorial rights C. Price policies D. Conditions of sales 28) __________________ are the means by which firms attempt to inform, persuade, and remind customers about the products and brands they sell. A. Marketing communications B. Sales promotions C. Mass communications D. Brand images 29) Which of the following is most closely associated with a proactive marketing orientation? A. It represents the â€Å"make and sellâ€Å"philosophy. B. The marketer focuses on the customers’ latent needs. C. It is about understanding and meeting customers’ expressed needs. D. It involves delivering superior value 30) Marketing __________ is the art and science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping, and growing customers through creating, delivering, and communicating superior customer value. A. segmentation B. integration C. management D. internally 31) Which of the following is NOT a component part of total customer value? A.Product value B.Services value C.Psychic value D.Image value 32) About a year ago, Echo began renting her movies from Netflix. She perceived Netflix to be a better source because of the enhanced selection, the responsive customer service emails she has received in answer to her online queries, better pricing, and less effort compared to renting from the store in her town. Netflix has offered Echo better _________ than the local competition. A.Total customer cost B.Customer perceived value C.Customer delivered value D.Total customer value 33) Lowe’s home improvement stores strive to have nicer, more knowledgeable salespeople, a better product selection, and to maintain an impeccable image. These are all part of improving the offer via _____________. A.Reducing the buyer’s nonmonetary costs B.Reducing the product’s monetary costs to the buyers. C.Increasing the service value D.Increasing total customer value 34) _____________ are relatively homogeneous and enduring divisions in society, and may exhibit distinct product, brand, and media preferences. A.Subcultures B.Social classes C.Demographic groups D.Cultures 35) Lee is constantly begging his mother to buy him an iPod because the most popular kids at his school all have one. His mother contends that he’ll just break it or lose the music player if she buys it for him. For Lee, the most popular kids in his school are examples of a _______________. A.Social class B.Subculture C.Demographic group D.Reference group 36) Business buying behavior differs from consumer buying behavior in that _________. A.[Answer Text]Businesses buy products to accomplish a single goal, which varies by industry and business. B.The buyers for the business market are typically more geographically dispersed than those for the consumer market and the demand for products and services in the consumer market is unaffected by price fluctuations. C.The demand for business goods and services is derived from consumer’s final demand. D.Fewer people typically participate in or influence business buying decisions than in the consumer market. 37) The institutional market is best described as having _____________. A.Contract negotiations and fluctuating demand B.Low budgets and a captive clientele C.Derived demand, geographically concentratedsuppliers, and budgetary constraints. D.Demand elasticity and geographically concentrated suppliers 38) The ____________ consists of all the organizations that acquire goods and services used in the production of other products or services that are sold, rented, or supplied to other customers. A.Consumer market B.Business market C.Government market D.Institutional market 39) Toyota, the maker of the Scion brand, using what kind of brand strategy with Scion products? A.Individual names B.Separate family names C.Corporate names D.Blanket family names

Health Promotion Model Essay

The Health Promotion Model (HPM), designed by Nola J. Pender, describes the multidimensional nature of persons as they interact within their environment to pursue health while increasing their level of well-being. Pender offers a theory that places importance on behaviors that improve health through a lifetime. The HPM offers insight into how influencing factors experienced by an individual and their interactions with the environment affect the pursuit of health. HPM remains applicable as health promotion and illness prevention continue to be as important as the treatment of disease. Health is an active state in which constant efforts are made by the individual, in their environment, to achieve and maintain health. The patient has a distinct set of factors influencing their actions to attain health. The success of the HPM is based on the assumption that an individual is willing and able to play an active role through health promoting behavior (Alligood & Tomey, 2010). Internal evaluation and analysis of the theory Identify assumptions, both explicit and implicit. Assumptions are statements that are understood to be true without proof or demonstration. They are beliefs about phenomena one accepts as true. Pender’s assumptions of the Health Promotion Model are explicit and testable. Explicit assumptions are statements that are clearly defined and eliminate (remove any) ambiguity. Due to the explicit nature, this model has been used as the basis of many research studies, both nursing and non-nursing. The explicit assumptions of Pender’s theory include: 1) Persons seek to create conditions of living through which they can express their unique human health potential. 2) Persons have the capacity for reflective self-awareness, including assessment of their own competencies. ) Persons value growth in directions viewed as positive and attempt to achieve a personally acceptable balance between change and stability. 4) Individuals seek to actively regulate their own behavior. 5) Individuals in all their biopsychosocial complexity interact with the environment, progressively transforming the environment and being transformed over time. 6) Health professionals constitute a part of the interpersonal environment, which exerts influence on persons throughout their life spans. 7) Self-initiated reconfiguration of person-environment interactive patterns is essential to behavior change (Alligood & Tomey, 2010). How does the theorist define the four concepts of the paradigm of nursing? These concepts are: Nursing, Environment, Person and Health. Most theorists have defined these concepts differently. While the HPM focuses on health promotion and offers many holistic approaches to understanding health, the four major concepts of the nursing paradigm are not defined by Pender. The model helps nurses plan and implement health-promoting changes. It takes into consideration the multidimensional nature of persons as they interact within their environment to pursue health while increasing their level of well-being. How does the theorist define and inter-relate major concepts of their own theory? While health promoting behaviors are the desired outcome of the model, Pender identifies relationships between concepts. The model links the major concepts under three headings: individual characteristics and experiences, behavior-specific cognitions and affect, and behavioral outcome. Individual characteristics, which include prior related behaviors and personal factors, are the best predictors of future behavior. Individual characteristics affect behavior specific cognitions and affect. The behavior specific cognitions and affect are listed by Pender as the following: Perceived benefits barriers, self-efficacy, activity related affect, interpersonal influences, situational influences, commitment to plan of action, and immediate competing demands and preferences. Behavior specific cognitions and affect are most amenable to be changed by intervention, which makes them the core for nursing intervention in the HBM. Both individual characteristics, experiences, behavior specific cognitions, and affect have direct effects on the behavioral outcome (George, 2010). Identify propositional statements Pender developed fourteen theoretical assertions or propositional statements for The Health Promotion Model. These statements demonstrate how the biopsychosocial processes motivate individuals to engage in behaviors directed towards the enhancement of health (Alligood & Tomey, 2010). The theoretical assertions or statements are the following: 1) Prior behavior, as well as inherited and acquired characteristics, influence beliefs, affect, and enactment of health-promoting behavior. 2) Persons commit to engaging in behaviors from which they anticipate deriving personally valued benefits. ) Perceived barriers can constrain the commitment to action, the mediator of behavior, and the actual behavior. 4) Perceived competence or self-efficacy to execute a given behavior increases the likelihood of commitment to action and actual performance of behavior. 5) Greater perceived self-efficacy results in fewer perceived barriers to specific health behavior. 6) Positive affect toward a behavior results in greater perceived self-efficacy, which, in turn, can result in increased positive affect. 7) When positive emotions or affect are associated with a behavior, the probability of commitment and action is increased. ) Persons are more likely to commit to and engage in health-promoting behaviors when significant others model the behavior, expect the behavior to occur, and provide assistance and support to enable the behavior. 9) Families, peers, and healthcare providers are important sources of interpersonal influences that can increase or decrease commitment to and engagement in health-promoting behavior. 10) Situational influences in the external environment can increase or decrease commitment to or participation in health-promoting behavior. 1) The greater the commitment to a specific plan of action, the more likely health-promoting behaviors will be maintained over time. 12) Commitment to a plan of action is less likely to result in the desired behavior when competing demands over which persons have little control require immediate attention. 13) Commitment to a plan of action is less likely to result in the desired behavior when other actions are more attractive and thus preferred over the target behavior. 14) Persons can modify cognitions, affect, and the interpersonal and physical environments to create incentives for health actions (Alligood & Tomey, 2010). Analyze consistency of the theory Consistency (logical form) refers to systematic development and structural clarity. Definitions of concepts should be consistent across the theory and relationships across concepts clearly identified. Is the theory logical? The model’s conceptual diagram and its variables are easy to understand. The theory is logical because there are many relationships between each concept, many of them both directly and indirectly affecting the ultimate endpoint of health promoting behavior. Comment on the adequacy, simplicity and generality of the theory. Adequacy is a term that refers to how the theory is accepted by the nursing community. Is it applicable to practice? Does this theory explain nursing? The Health Promotion Model is applicable to nursing and accepted by the nursing community due to the use of the nursing process. The nursing process is a goal-oriented method of caring that provides a framework to nursing care. It involves five major interconnected cyclic steps: assessment, diagnosis, evaluation, planning, and implementation. The most important steps of the nursing process as it relates to this model involve the implementation and evaluation phases. Although assessment, diagnosis and planning phases are important to the development of the HPM, they are not directly reflected in the model. Implementation can be found throughout the entire model through the use of the characteristics, experiences, cognitions, and affect information to identify how to support the commitment to a plan of action and how to encourage the client to seek to avoid competing demands and not become entangled by competing preferences. Evaluation is based upon the performance of the target health-promoting behavior (George, 2010). Simplicity refers to having few concepts and simple relationships. Complex theory would have many concepts and multiple relationships. Pender’s concepts are simple and easily understood. The concepts can be logically applied to any situation in which a client aspires to change health related behaviors and those environmental influences to support this change. Flexibility of the model allows for identification of the most important variables in relation to a selected health behavior. Generality refers to the scope of concepts and goals. The more limited the concepts and goals, the less general the theory. The more general the theory, the greater the applications. Generalizability of a model centers on assessing its applicability to other situations or phenomena. This model focuses on evaluating the individual but is not easily generalizable to groups or community populations. It can be applied to different settings and is not limited to specific cultures as it allows for the diversity of the individual. Type of theory refers to: Grand theory, Middle range or Micro theory, Philosophy. The Health Promotion Model is considered a middle range theory. It has been formulated through induction by the use of existing research to form a pattern of knowledge about health behavior. Middle range theories commonly are generated through this approach. These theories are more precise, with a focus on answering specific nursing practice questions. External evaluation and analysis Relationship of theory to practice The intent of the model is to provide guidance to nurses when identifying how to be most supportive to a patient when planning and implementing health related change. It takes into consideration that individuals are unique, and their life experiences and personal characteristics influence health behavior changes. With the ability to consider all of these variables, this model acts as an appropriate tool for promoting positive health related behaviors. It has strength of use in practice because looking at all variables provides a more complete picture of the client. This completeness in turn should enhance the possibility of positive outcomes (George, 2010). One study read for this assignment proposed the need for health promotion and disease prevention for family caregivers of post-stroke patients in Taiwan. Formal health care and social service resources for post-stroke care in Taiwan are limited. Patients are cared for at home with family members as the primary sources of care. The Health Promotion Model provides a framework for a modified model in this study, which in turn facilitates examining the relationship between and among caregiver’s personal factors, the care recipient’s functional status, the caregiver’s perceived self-efficacy, social support, reactions to caregiving, and health promotion behaviors in family caregivers of community dwelling stroke patients in Taiwan. Nurses often neglect incorporating social support into teaching of family members. Social support is an important aspect for caregivers because the caregivers need as much support as possible from others. Nurses can refer these caregivers to, and even establish, community training programs and support groups for family caregivers. The findings of this study indicated the need to follow up with caregivers and referring them to the appropriate health care services where necessary (Tang and Chen, 2002). ? Relationship of theory to education This model and its variables provide a tool for successfully incorporating health education into practice. The variables can be modified through nursing actions, which facilitates ease of adopting health-related behavioral change and is more realistic because it takes into account a client’s behaviors and preferences. This allows the nurse to develop a unique care plan that takes these behaviors into account. Nurses are in a position to influence healthy behaviors and incorporate them into patient teaching. A recent study using Pender’s Health Promotion Theory as the framework focused on the relationship between nurses’ beliefs regarding the benefits of exercise, their exercise behavior and their recommendation of exercise for health promotion or as part of a treatment plan. Beliefs of the benefits of exercise were measured using the Exercise Benefits/Barriers Scale (EBBS). The beliefs of benefits were determined using the EBBS benefits subscale score, with a higher score reflecting the individual’s feelings of stronger positive benefits of exercise. Results showed positive correlations between exercise benefits, physical activity and recommendation of exercise to patients. Nurses who believe in health promotion and embrace healthy behaviors are more likely to be positive role models and teach healthy behaviors to their patients (Esposito and Fitzpatrick, 2011). We believe that nurses have a professional responsibility to provide the best care for their patients, and are in the position to be role models. Nurses spend the most time with patients and, as a result, impact patient health by teaching healthy behaviors and health promotion. Relationship of theory to research Pender revised and based the Health Promotion Model on her previous research studies identifying factors involving studies of how individuals make decisions about their own health care in a nursing context. This model has served as a framework for research intending to demonstrate desirability for clients to seek behavior change and possibly changing the environment to support healthy behavior (George, 2010). Both quantitative and qualitative methods have been used, with descriptive studies being most common. One example of using the theory in research is as follows. Nola Pender’s Health Promotion Model was the framework for a non-experimental, quality assurance study using descriptive retrospective chart review in rural family practice clinic in the southern United States. The purpose of this study was to evaluate smoking cessation intervention by primary care providers for patients who smoke with a known history of CAD.

Marketing Plan Executive Summary Essay

{Insert Name Here} provides the best in patient centered healthcare North Decatur has to offer. {Insert} will provide quality healthcare in a number of specialties, having a primary focus on our Heart and Vascular Center services. As our hospital continues to grow, we are devoted to staying up to date and providing our patients with cutting edge technology options, while caring for them wholeheartedly. Many of our premier services we offer to our patients are those in our Heart and Vascular Center, where interventional procedures are taking place every day in order to prevent our patients from having to undergo open-heart surgeries and being transferred to tertiary facilities. The Heart & Vascular Center is equipped with state-of-the-art procedure rooms that offer patients the most advanced form of cardiovascular imaging in the area. We employ the latest heart care and vascular technology which provides the ability to perform both cardiac and peripheral vascular procedures on a singl e system. Our technology gives detailed diagnostic information that leads to effective treatments of heart and vascular diseases. This up to date equipment is at the fingertips of our physicians allowing them to perform intricate procedures such as placing balloons, stents and other therapeutic agents in vessels requiring treatment. By informing our service area and the general public of our competent and well educated cardiology specialists and elegant state-of-the-art amenities through grassroots outlets and direct contact, {Insert} will quickly gain more market share. We will also provide benchmarked customer service and flexibility. Targeted consumers of our services will be those individuals and families in nearby communities at higher risks of contracting cardiovascular diseases due to lifestyle choices, family history, and certain demographics. These patients are usually referred after admittance to our facility or by other health care professionals such as primary care physicians, outside specialists, or extended care facilities. Our hospital has already developed an excellent reputation with many of these professionals, but plans to align ourselves with even more community health providers in order to attract more patrons in our service area. We also will also utilize data obtained from the Georgia Hospital Association to solicit consumers in our service area  directly. There are currently two other hospitals that serve North Decatur. One is a research based hospital located less than ten miles away from our location. Due to the lack of highly skilled physicians specializing in interventional cardiovascular procedures, we believe that once this is communicated with our service network, interest in their cardiovascular services will decline greatly. The other hospital currently operating in our area only markets in to small number of our targeted zip codes; they also do not offer the unique blend of specialty care and patient engagement which {Insert} will be providing.Objectives Increase brand awareness, evidenced by an increase in unsolicited requests for services. Increase customer referrals by 7% per quarter.  80% of Customer Satisfaction Surveys returned indicating satisfaction with services. Respectable gross sales by the end of first year. Keys to Success Professional quality of services offered Reliability — being available through on-call, and adequate staffing Effective collaboration with other community professionals (physicians, extended care facilities, and other organizations) Steadfast engagement with our home community, organizations, and clubs