Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Official State Tree of U. S. States and Territories

Official State Tree of U. S. States and Territories All 50 states and several U.S. territories have officially embraced a state tree. All of these state trees, with the exception of Hawaiis state tree, are natives that naturally live and grow in the state in which they are designated. Each state tree is listed in order by state, common name, scientific name and the year of enabling legislation. You will also find a Smokey Bear poster of all state trees. Here you will see each tree, a fruit, and a leaf.   Alabama State Tree, longleaf pine, Pinus palustris, enacted 1997 Alaska State Tree, Sitka spruce, Picea sitchensis, enacted 1962 Arizona State Tree, Palo Verde, Cercidium microphyllum, enacted 1939 California State Tree, California redwood, Sequoia giganteum* Sequoia sempervirens*, enacted 1937/1953 Colorado State Tree, Colorado blue spruce, Picea pungens, enacted 1939 Connecticut State Tree, white oak, Quercus alba, enacted 1947 District of Columbia State Tree, scarlet oak, Quercus coccinea, enacted 1939 Delaware State Tree, American Holly, Ilex opaca, enacted 1939 Florida State Tree, Sabal palm, Sabal palmetto, enacted 1953 Georgia State Tree, live oak, Quercus virginiana, enacted 1937 Guam State Tree, ifil or ifit, Intsia bijuga Hawaii State Tree, kukui or candlenut, Aleurites moluccana, enacted 1959 Idaho State Tree, Western white pine, Pinus monticola, enacted 1935 Illinois State Tree, white oak, Quercus alba, enacted 1973 Indiana State Tree, tulip tree, Liriodendron tulipifera, enacted 1931 Iowa State Tree, oak, Quercus**, enacted 1961 Kansas State Tree, cottonwood, Populus deltoides, enacted 1937 Kentucky State Tree, tulip poplar, Liriodendron tulipifera, enacted 1994 Louisiana State Tree, bald cypress, Taxodium distichum, enacted 1963 Maine State Tree, eastern white pine, Pinus strobus, enacted 1945 Maryland State Tree, white oak , Quercus alba, enacted 1941 Massachusetts State Tree, American elm , Ulmus americana, enacted 1941 Michigan State Tree, eastern white pine , Pinus strobus, enacted 1955 Minnesota State Tree, red pine , Pinus resinosa, enacted 1945 Mississippi State Tree, magnolia, Magnolia***, enacted 1938 Missouri State Tree, flowering dogwood, Cornus florida, enacted 1955 Montana State Tree, Western yellow pine, Pinus ponderosa, enacted 1949 Nebraska State Tree, cottonwood, Populus deltoides, enacted 1972 Nevada State Tree, singleleaf pinyon pine, Pinus monophylla, enacted 1953 New Hampshire State Tree, white birch, Betula papyrifera, enacted 1947 New Jersey State Tree, Northern red oak, Quercus rubra, enacted 1950 New Mexico State Tree, pinyon pine, Pinus edulis, enacted 1949 New York State Tree, sugar maple, Acer saccharum, enacted 1956 North Carolina State Tree, pine, Pinus sp., enacted 1963 North Dakota State Tree, American elm, Ulmus americana, enacted 1947 Northern Marianas State Tree, flame tree, Delonix regia Ohio State Tree, buckeye, Aesculus glabra, enacted 1953 Oklahoma State Tree, Eastern redbud, Cercis canadensis, enacted 1937 Oregon State Tree, Douglas fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii, enacted 1939 Pennsylvania State Tree, eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis, enacted 1931 Puerto Rico State Tree, silk-cotton tree, Ceiba pentandra Rhode Island State Tree, red maple, Acer rubrum, enacted 1964 South Carolina State Tree, Sabel palm, Sabal palmetto, enacted 1939 South Dakota State Tree, black hills spruce, Picea glauca, enacted 1947 Tennessee State Tree, Tulip poplar, Liriodendron tulipifera, enacted 1947 Texas State Tree, pecan, Carya illinoinensis, enacted 1947 Utah State Tree, blue spruce, Picea pungens, enacted 1933 Vermont State Tree, sugar maple, Acer saccharum, enacted 1949 Virginia State Tree, flowering dogwood, Cornus florida, enacted 1956 Washington State Tree, Tsuga heterophylla, enacted 1947 West Virginia State Tree, sugar maple, Acer saccharum, enacted 1949 Wisconsin State Tree, sugar maple, Acer saccharum, enacted 1949 Wyoming State Tree, plains cottonwood, Poplus deltoides subsp. monilifera, enacted 1947 * California has designated two distinct species as its state tree.** Although Iowa did not designate a specific species of oak as its state tree, many people recognize bur oak, Quercus macrocarpa, as the state tree since it is the most widespread species in the state.*** Although no specific species of magnolia was designated as the state tree of Mississippi, most references recognize the Southern Magnolia, Magnolia grandiflora, as the state tree.This information was provided by the United States National Arboretum. Many state trees listed here can be found in the U.S. National Arboretums National Grove of State Trees.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

The Wounded Knee Massacre

The Wounded Knee Massacre   The massacre of hundreds of Native Americans at Wounded Knee in South Dakota on December 29, 1890, marked a particularly tragic milestone American history. The killing of mostly unarmed men, women, and children, was the last major encounter between the Sioux and U.S. Army troops, and it could be viewed as the end of the Plains Wars. The violence at Wounded Knee was rooted in the federal governments reaction to the ghost dance movement, in which a religious ritual centered around dancing became a potent symbol of defiance to white rule. As the ghost dance spread to Indian reservations throughout the West, the federal government began to regard it as a major threat and sought to suppress it. The tensions between white and Indians greatly increased, especially as federal authorities began to fear that the legendary Sioux medicine man Sitting Bull was about to become involved in the ghost dance movement. When Sitting Bull was killed while being arrested on December 15, 1890, the Sioux in South Dakota became fearful. Overshadowing the events of late 1890 were decades of conflicts between whites and Indians in the West. But one event, the massacre at the Little Bighorn of Col. George Armstrong Custer and his troops in June 1876 resonated most deeply. The Sioux in 1890 suspected that commanders in the U.S. Army felt a need to avenge Custer. And that made the Sioux especially suspicious of actions taken by soldiers who came to confront them over the ghost dance movement. Against that backdrop of mistrust, the eventual massacre at Wounded Knee arose out of a series of misunderstandings. On the morning of the massacre, it was unclear who fired the first shot. But once the shooting began, the U.S. Army troops cut down unarmed Indians with no restraint. Even artillery shells were fired at Sioux women and children who were seeking safety and running from the soldiers. In the aftermath of the massacre, the Army commander on the scene, Col. James Forsyth, was relieved of his command. However, an Army inquiry cleared him within two months, and he was restored to his command. The massacre, and the forcible rounding up of Indians following it, crushed any resistance to white rule in the West. Any hope the Sioux or other tribes had of being able to restore their way of life was obliterated. And life on the detested reservations became the plight of the American Indian. The Wounded Knee massacre faded into history. However, a book published in 1971, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, became a surprise best seller and brought the name of the massacre back to public awareness. The book by Dee Brown, a narrative history of the West told from the Indian point of view, struck a chord in America at a time of national skepticism and is widely considered a classic. And Wounded Knee came back in the news in 1973, when American Indian activists, as an act of civil disobedience, took over the site in a standoff with federal agents. Roots of the Conflict The ultimate confrontation at Wounded Knee was rooted in the movement of the 1880s to force Indians in the West onto government reservations. Following the defeat of Custer, the U.S. military was fixated on defeating any Indian resistance to forced resettlement. Sitting Bull, one of the most respected Sioux leaders, led a band of followers across the international border into Canada. The British government of Queen Victoria allowed them to live there and did not persecute them in any way. Yet conditions were very difficult, and Sitting Bull and his people eventually returned to South Dakota. In the 1880s, Buffalo Bill Cody, whose exploits in the West had become famous through dime novels, recruited Sitting Bull to join his famous Wild West Show. The show traveled extensively, and Sitting Bull was a huge attraction. After a few years of enjoying fame in the white world, Sitting Bull returned to South Dakota and life on a reservation. He was regarded with considerable respect by the Sioux. The Ghost Dance The ghost dance movement began with a member of the Paiute tribe in Nevada. Wovoka, who claimed to have religious visions, began preaching after recovering from a serious illness in early 1889. He claimed that God had revealed to him that a new age was about to dawn on earth. According to Wovoka’s prophecies, game which had been hunted to extinction would return, and Indians would restore their culture, which had been essentially destroyed during the decades of conflict with white settlers and soldiers. Part of Wovoka’s teaching involved the practice of ritual dancing. Based on older round dances performed by Indians, the ghost dance had some special characteristics. It was generally performed over a series of days. And special attire, which became known as ghost dance shirts, would be worn. It was believed that those wearing the ghost dance would be protected against harm, including bullets fired by U.S. Army soldiers. As the ghost dance spread throughout western Indian reservations, officials in the federal government became alarmed. Some white Americans argued that the ghost dance was essentially harmless and was a legitimate exercise of religious freedom. Others in the government saw malicious intent behind the ghost dancing. The practice was seen as a way to energize Indians to resist white rule. And by late 1890 the authorities in Washington began giving orders for the U.S. Army to be ready to take action to suppress the ghost dance. Sitting Bull Targeted In 1890 Sitting Bull was living, along with a few hundred other Hunkpapa Sioux, at the Standing Rock reservation in South Dakota. He had spent time in a military prison, and had also toured with Buffalo Bill, but he seemed to have settled down as a farmer. Still, he always seemed in rebellion to the rules of the reservation and was perceived by some white administrators as a potential source of trouble. The U.S. Army began sending troops into South Dakota in November 1890, planning to suppress the ghost dance and the rebellious movement it seemed to represent. The man in charge of the Army in the area, General Nelson Miles, came up with a plan to get Sitting Bull to surrender peacefully, at which point he could be sent back to prison. Miles wanted Buffalo Bill Cody to approach Sitting Bull and essentially lure him into surrendering. Cody apparently traveled to South Dakota, but the plan fell apart and Cody left and returned to Chicago. Army officers decided to use Indians who were working as policemen on the reservation to arrest Sitting Bull. A detachment of 43 tribal police officers arrived at Sitting Bull’s log cabin on the morning of December 15, 1890. Sitting Bull agreed to go with the officers, but some of his followers, who were generally described as ghost dancers, tried to intervene. An Indian shot the commander of the police, who raised his own weapon to return fire and accidentally wounded Sitting Bull. In the confusion, Sitting Bull was then fatally shot by another officer. The outbreak of gunfire brought a charge by a detachment of soldiers who had been positioned nearby in case of trouble. Witnesses to the violent incident recalled a peculiar spectacle: a show horse which had been presented to Sitting Bull years earlier by Buffalo Bill heard the gunfire and must have thought it was back in the Wild West Show. The horse began performing intricate dance moves as the violent scene unfolded. The Massacre The killing of Sitting Bull was national news. The New York Times, on December 16, 1890, published a story at the top of the front page headlined â€Å"The Last of Sitting Bull.† The sub-headlines said he had been killed while resisting arrest. In South Dakota, the death of Sitting Bull stoked fear and distrust. Hundreds of his followers departed the Hunkpapa Sioux camps and began to scatter. One band, led by the chief Big Foot, began traveling to meet up with one of the old chiefs of the Sioux, Red Cloud. It was hoped Red Cloud should protect them from the soldiers. As the group, a few hundred men, women, and children, moved through the harsh winter conditions, Big Foot became quite ill. On December 28, 1890, Big Foot and his people were intercepted by cavalry troopers. An officer in the Seventh Cavalry, Major Samuel Whitside, met with Big Foot under a flag of truce. Whitside assured Big Foot his people would not be harmed. And he made arrangements for Big Foot to travel in an Army wagon, as he was suffering from pneumonia. The cavalry was going to escort the Indians with Big Foot to a reservation. That night the Indians set up camp, and the soldiers set up their bivouacs nearby. At some point in the evening another cavalry force, commanded by Col. James Forsyth, arrived on the scene. The new group of soldiers were accompanied by an artillery unit. On the morning of December 29, 1890, the U.S. Army troops told the Indians to gather in a group. They were ordered to surrender their weapons. The Indians stacked up their guns, but the soldiers suspected they were hiding more weapons. Soldiers began searching the Sioux tepees. Two rifles were found, one of which belonged to an Indian named Black Coyote, who was probably deaf. Black Coyote refused to give up his Winchester, and in a confrontation with him a shot was fired. The situation quickly accelerated as soldiers began shooting at the Indians. Some of the male Indians drew knives and faced the soldiers, believing that the ghost dance shirts they were wearing would protect them from bullets. They were shot down. As Indians, including many women and children, tried to flee, the soldiers continued firing. Several artillery pieces, which had been positioned on a nearby hill, began to rake the fleeing Indians. The shells and shrapnel killed and wounded scores of people. The entire massacre lasted for less than an hour. It was estimated that about 300 to 350 Indians were killed. Casualties among the cavalry amounted to 25 dead and 34 wounded. It was believed most of the killed and wounded among the U.S. Army troops had been caused by friendly fire. Wounded Indians were taken on wagons to the Pine Ridge reservation, where Dr. Charles Eastman, who had been born a Sioux and educated at schools in the East, sought to treat them. Within days, Eastman traveled with a group to the massacre site to search for survivors. They did find some Indians who were miraculously still alive. But they also discovered hundreds of frozen corpses, some as many as two miles away. Most of the bodies were gathered by soldiers and buried in a mass grave. Reaction to the Massacre In the East, the massacre at Wounded Knee was portrayed as a battle between â€Å"hostiles† and soldiers. Stories on the front page of the New York Times in the final days of 1890 gave the Army version of events. Though the number of people killed, and the fact that many were women and children, created interest in official circles. Accounts told by Indian witnesses were reported and appeared in newspapers. On February 12, 1890, an article in the New York Times was headlined â€Å"Indians Tell Their Story.† The sub-headline read, â€Å"A Pathetic Recital of the Killing of Women and Children.† The article gave witness accounts, and ended with a chilling anecdote. According to a minister at one of the churches at the Pine Ridge reservation, one of the Army scouts told him he had heard an officer say, after the massacre, â€Å"Now we have avenged Custer’s death.† The Army launched an investigation of what happened, and Col. Forsyth was relieved of his command. But he was quickly cleared. A story in the New York Times on February 13, 1891, was headlined â€Å"Col. Forsyth Exonerated.† The sub-headlines read â€Å"His Action at Wounded Knee Justified† and â€Å"The Colonel Restored to Command of His Gallant Regiment.† Legacy of Wounded Knee After the massacre at Wounded Knee, the Sioux came to accept that resistance to white rule was futile. The Indians came to live on the reservations. The massacre itself faded into history. However, in the early 1970s, the name of Wounded Knee came to take on resonance, largely due to Dee Brown’s book. A native American resistance movement put a new focus on the massacre as a symbol of broken promises and betrayals by white America.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Visual Rhetoric of 'One Water Film Documentary' Essay

Visual Rhetoric of 'One Water Film Documentary' - Essay Example While the visual scenes and the verbal accompaniments present water as physiologically and spiritually significant, the depletion, improper use, and poor development of the commodity spells a crisis that needs urgent attention. On the whole, the documentary employs one of the most innovative cinematic--visual and verbal--strategies to reach a wider view and attract an appeal to its thematic significance. It opens with the scenes of several people coming together in front of screens to watch awareness-raising movie on the importance of water conservation and how safe-drinking water is crucial (Travis 2). In this Scenario, the cinematic visual expression sets the psychological stage for the viewer to significantly open up to the following scenes. It captures and captivates the audience attention (Dwyer 1).In other scenarios filmed in different countries, the scenes indicating the differences of clear crystal clean water to dripping in some taps in a country and showing over-exploited d irty water in other countries show the differences in how water is a commodity in some regions and a human right in others (Dwyer 1). This is further compounded by the narrator’s exposition that while water is misused in affluent quarters, it is struggled for in other places (Travis 2) Moreover, there are scenes where images on how people use or misuse water which further deals with the dilemma of water in development as well as disease acquisition. Some scenes show human populations using various public water points for bathing, going for calls, as well as drinking. Besides, there are scenes where various other pollutants and thrown into water bodies, all which shocks the audience (Travis 2).Over-exploitation of water is additionally portrayed in other scenes showing the dried out lands bordering the over-exploited Colorado River, which has changed the water movement path (Dwyer 2). The statistical figures showing the urgency with which the death tendency of children in rela tion to the availability of water in the developing world vis-a-vis the developed nations shows that water crises need to be addressed urgently. It reveals a lack of understanding that many people across the world need to know that usage of polluted water should not be the rule, but the exception (Garcia 1). In an Indian Desert, Rajasthan, a woman and her child are shown carrying water pots crossing a seemingly dry lake, and a picture of winds transmitting salt onto some agricultural land. This ushers the notions of the extent to which agricultural productivity is enormously affected by lack of water. In Kenya and indeed the entire Sub-Saharan Africa, the picture of how unsafe water causes Malaria, diarrhea and other water born diseases introduces the viewer on the relationship of severity between water and disease micro-bills (Garcia 2). Indeed, the visual images that illustrate poverty and diseases unfold in various countries as the movie progresses (Dwyer 3). The picture of India n women carrying pots and fetching water from hand pumps is one such. Then there a scenes indicating that the use of under ground water, leads to sickness, as ground water deficits are characterized with ‘arsenic seepage into wells.’’ What is more, there are scenes showing women walking and crossing through and muddy and sewage-full streams while struggling to protect that precious commodity that

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Melamine poisoning Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Melamine poisoning - Research Paper Example They are not much bother about the safety of the consumers. â€Å"China milk poisoning incidents make everyone afraid to look at the daily news report. Every day, the reports are changing. No one can clearly tell us what to eat and not to eat† (Smsasad). Even in baby food items product manufacturers are using some harmful chemicals in order to keep the baby foods secure for a longer period and also to make it tastier. China is one country which keeps no ethics or morality in business practices. They are producing in bulk without bothering much about the quality of their products in order to compete effectively in the market. Even in baby milk, manufactured by the Chinese business people, many of the harmful chemical ingredients were found recently. Melamine is a basic organic chemical intermediate, with chemical formula C3H6N6. It is commonly produced from urea, and contains 66 percent nitrogen by mass. Nitrogen is a very important building stone of all living beings. The element is an essential ingredient of proteins, which make up most of the human body that isn’t bone or water. As such, making nitrogen measurement is a common practice for protein content estimation. The Kjeldahl and Dumas testing methods are the standard tests used in the food industry for measuring total nitrogen in crude protein content while they can be misguided by adding nitrogen-rich compounds such as melamine (Milk Poison Could Come From Melamine Scrap) Even though, melamine has much other industrial use, it is never adviced to use with food items. The detection of melamine in Chinese infant milk products has created many concerns about the safety of using Chinese food items. This paper briefly analyses the Melamine poisoning in Chinese milk production. Melamine contains 66% nitrogen by mass. It is formed in the body of some mammals through some natural or biological process. It is used widely to produce thermosetting plastics.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Perfect competition and demand curve Essay Example for Free

Perfect competition and demand curve Essay COMPARE(SIMILAR) similarity. The cost functions are the same. [16] Both monopolies and perfectly competitive companies minimize cost and maximize profit. The shutdown decisions are the same. Both are assumed to have perfectly competitive factors markets. compare monopoly and perfect competition is the four characteristics of perfect competition: (1) large number of relatively small firms, (2) identical product, (3) freedom of entry and exit, and (4) perfect knowledge. * Number of Firms: Perfect competition is an industry comprised of a large number of small firms, each of which is a price taker with no market control. Monopoly is an industry comprised of a single firm, which is a price maker with total market control. Phil the zucchini grower is one of gadzillions of zucchini growers. Feet-First Pharmaceutical is the only firm that sells Amblathan-Plus, a drug that cures the deadly (but hypothetical) foot ailment known as amblathanitis. * Available Substitutes: Every firm in a perfectly competitive industry produces exactly the same product as every other firm. An infinite number of perfect substitutes are available. A monopoly firm produces a unique product that has no close substitutes and is unlike any other product. Gadzillions of firms grow zucchinis, each of which is a perfect substitute for the zucchinis grown by Phil the zucchini grower. There are no substitutes for Amblathan-Plus. Feet-First Pharmaceutical is the only supplier. * Resource Mobility: Perfectly competitive firms have complete freedom to enter the industry or exit the industry. There are no barriers. A monopoly firm often achieves monopoly status because the entry of potential competitors is prevented. Anyone can grow zucchinis. All they need is a plot of land and a few seeds. Feet-First Pharmaceutical holds the patents on Amblathan-Plus. No other firm can enter the market. * Information: Each firm in a perfectly competitive industry possesses the same information about prices and production techniques as every other firm. A monopoly firm, in contrast, often has information unknown to others. Everyone knows how to grow zucchinis (or can easily find out how). Feet-First Pharmaceutical has a secret formula used in the production of Amblathan-Plus. This information is not available to anyone else. The consequence of these differences include: * First, the demand curve for a perfectly competitive firm is perfectly elastic and the demand curve for a monopoly firm is THE market demand, which is negatively-sloped according to the law of demand. A perfectly competitive firm is thus a price taker and a monopoly is a price maker. Phil must sell his zucchinis at the going market price. It he does not like the price, then he does not sell zucchinis. Feet-First Pharmaceutical can adjust the price of Amblathan-Plus, either higher or lower, and so doing it can control the quantity sold. * Second, the monopoly firm charges a higher price and produces less output than would be achieved with a perfectly competitive market. In particular, the monopoly price is not equal to marginal cost, which means a monopoly does not efficiently allocate resources. Although Feet-First Pharmaceutical charges several dollars per ounce of Amblathan-Plus, the cost of producing each ounce is substantially less. Phil, in contrast, just about breaks even on each zucchini sold. * Third, while an economic profit is NOT guaranteed for any firm, a monopoly is more likely to receive economic profit than a perfectly competitive firm. In fact, a perfectly competitive firm IS guaranteed to earn nothing but a normal profit in the long run. The same cannot be said for monopoly. The price of zucchinis is so close to the cost of production, Phil never earns much profit. If the price is relatively high, other zucchini producers quickly flood the market, eliminating any profit. In contrast, Feet-First Pharmaceutical has been able to maintain a price above production cost for several years, with a handsome profit perpetually paid to the company shareholders year after year. * Fourth, the positively-sloped marginal cost curve for each perfectly competitive firm is its supply curve. This ensures that the supply curve for a perfectly competitive market is also positively sloped. The marginal cost curve for a monopoly is NOT, repeat NOT, the firms supply curve. There is NO positively-sloped supply curve for a market controlled by a monopoly. A monopoly might produce a larger quantity if the price is higher, in accordance with the law of supply, or it might not. If the price of zucchinis rises, then Phil can afford to grow more. If the price falls, then he is forced to grow less. Marginal cost dictates what Phil can produce and supply. Feet-First Pharmaceutical, in comparison, often sells a larger quantity of Amblathan-Plus as the price falls, because they face decreasing average cost with larger scale production. * The single seller, of course, is a direct contrast to perfect competition, which has a large number of sellers. In fact, perfect competition could be renamed multipoly or manypoly, to contrast it with monopoly. The most important aspect of being a single seller is that the monopoly seller IS the market. The market demand for a good IS the demand for the output produced by the monopoly. This makes monopoly a price maker, rather than a price taker. * A hypothetical example that can be used to illustrate the features of a monopoly is Feet-First Pharmaceutical. This firm owns the patent to Amblathan-Plus, the only cure for the deadly (but hypothetical) foot ailment known as amblathanitis. As the only producer of Amblathan-Plus, Feet-First Pharmaceutical is a monopoly with extensive market control. The market demand for Amblathan-Plus is THE demand for Amblathan-Plus sold by Feet-First Pharmaceutical. * Unique Product * To be the only seller of a product, however, a monopoly must have a unique product. Phil the zucchini grower is the only producer of Phils zucchinis. The problem for Phil, however, is that gadzillions of other firms sell zucchinis that are indistinguishable from those sold by Phil. * Amblathan-Plus, in contrast, is a unique product. There are no close substitutes. Feet-First Pharmaceutical holds the exclusive patent on Amblathan-Plus. No other firm has the legal authority to produced Amblathan-Plus. And even if they had the legal authority, the secret formula for producing Amblathan-Plus is sealed away in an airtight vault deep inside the fortified Feet-First Pharmaceutical headquarters. * Of course, other medications exist that might alleviate some of the symptoms of amblathanitis. One ointment temporarily reduces the swelling. Another powder relieves the redness. But nothing else exists to cure amblathanitis completely. A few highly imperfect substitutes exists. But there are no close substitutes for Amblathan-Plus. Feet-First Pharmaceutical has a monopoly because it is the ONLY seller of a UNIQUE product. * Barriers to Entry and Exit * A monopoly is generally assured of being the ONLY firm in a market because of assorted barriers to entry. Some of the key barriers to entry are: (1) government license or franchise, (2) resource ownership, (3) patents and copyrights, (4) high start-up cost, and (5) decreasing average total cost. * Feet-First Pharmaceutical has a few these barriers working in its favor. It has, for example, an exclusive patent on Amblathan-Plus. The government has decreed that Feet-First Pharmaceutical, and only Feet-First Pharmaceutical, has the legal authority to produce and sell Amblathan-Plus. * Moreover, the secret ingredient used to produce Amblathan-Plus is obtained from a rare, genetically enhanced, eucalyptus tree grown only on a Brazilian plantation owned by Feet-First Pharmaceutical. Even if another firm knew how to produce Amblathan and had the legal authority to do so, they would lack access to this essential ingredient. * A monopoly might also face barriers to exiting a market. If government deems that the product provided by the monopoly is essential for well-being of the public, then the monopoly might be prevented from leaving the market. Feet-First Pharmaceutical, for example, cannot simply cease the production of Amblathan-Plus. It is essential to the health and welfare of the public. * This barrier to exit is most often applied to public utilities, such as electricity companies, natural gas distribution companies, local telephone companies, and garbage collection companies. These are often deemed essential services that cannot be discontinued without permission from a government regulation authority. * Specialized Information * Monopoly is commonly characterized by control of information or production technology not available to others. This specialized information often comes in the form of legally-established patents, copyrights, or trademarks. While these create legal barriers to entry they also indicate that information is not perfectly shared by all. The ATT telephone monopoly of the late 1800s and early 1900s was largely due to the telephone patent. Pharmaceutical companies, like the hypothetical Feet-First Pharmaceutical, regularly monopolize the market for a specific drug by virtue of a patent. * In addition, a monopoly firm might know something or have a piece of information that is not available to others. This something may or may not be patented or copyrighted. It could be a secret recipe or formula. Perhaps it is a unique method of production. * One example of specialized information is the special, secret formula for producing Amblathan-Plus that is sealed away in an airtight vault deep inside the fortified Feet-First Pharmaceutical headquarters. No one else has this information. CONTRAST Arguably, perfect competition has the advantage of promoting consumer sovereignty, in the sense that the goods and services produced are those that consumers have voted for when spending the pounds in their pockets. When consumer sovereignty exists, the ‘consumer is king’. (However, the extent to which consumer choice exists in a perfectly competitive world would be extremely limited. All the firms in a particular market would sell identical goods at an identical price, namely the ruling market price. ) Firms and industries that produce goods other than those for which consumers are prepared to pay, do not survive in perfect competition. By contrast, a monopoly may enjoy producer sovereignty. The goods and services available for consumers to buy are determined by the monopolist rather than by consumer preferences expressed in the market place. Even if producer sovereignty is not exercised on a ‘take-it-or-leave-it basis’ by a monopoly, the monopolist may still possess sufficient market power to manipulate consumer wants through such marketing devices as persuasive advertising. In these situations, the ‘producer is king In contrast to perfect competition — and once again assuming an absence of economies of scale — monopoly equilibrium is both productively and allocatively inefficient. Figure 6. 6 shows that at the profit-maximising level of output Q1, the monopolist’s average costs are above the minimum level and that P MC. Thus, compared to perfect competition, a monopoly produces too low an output which it sells at too high a price. The absence of competitive pressures, which in perfect competition serve to eliminate supernormal profit, mean that a monopoly is also likely to be X-inefficient, incurring average costs at a point such as X which is above the average cost curve. A monopoly may be able to survive, perfectly happily and enjoying an ‘easy life’, incurring unnecessary production costs and making satisfactory rather than maximum profits. This is because barriers to entry protect monopolies. As a result, the absence or weakness of competitive forces means there is no mechanism in monopoly to eliminate organisational slack. 62 Marginal revenue and price In a perfectly competitive market price equals marginal revenue. In a monopolistic market marginal revenue is less than price. [17] * Product differentiation: There is zero product differentiation in a perfectly competitive market. Every product is perfectly homogeneous and a perfect substitute for any other. With a monopoly, there is great to absolute product differentiation in the sense that there is no available substitute for a monopolized good. The monopolist is the sole supplier of the good in question. [18] A customer either buys from the monopolizing entity on its terms or does without. * Number of competitors: PC markets are populated by an infinite number of buyers and sellers. Monopoly involves a single seller. [18] * Barriers to Entry Barriers to entry are factors and circumstances that prevent entry into market by would-be competitors and limit new companies from operating and expanding within the market. PC markets have free entry and exit. There are no barriers to entry, exit or competition. Monopolies have relatively high barriers to entry. The barriers must be strong enough to prevent or discourage any potential competitor from entering the market. * Elasticity of Demand The price elasticity of demand is the percentage change of demand caused by a one percent change of relative price. A successful monopoly would have a relatively inelastic demand curve. A low coefficient of elasticity is indicative of effective barriers to entry. A PC company has a perfectly elastic demand curve. The coefficient of elasticity for a perfectly competitive demand curve is infinite. * Excess Profits- Excess or positive profits are profit more than the normal expected return on investment. A PC company can make excess profits in the short term but excess profits attract competitors which can enter the market freely and decrease prices, eventually reducing excess profits to zero. [19] A monopoly can preserve excess profits because barriers to entry prevent competitors from entering the market. [20] * Profit Maximization A PC company maximizes profits by producing such that price equals marginal costs. A monopoly maximises profits by producing where marginal revenue equals marginal costs. [21] The rules are not equivalent. The demand curve for a PC company is perfectly elastic flat. The demand curve is identical to the average revenue curve and the price line. Since the average revenue curve is constant the marginal revenue curve is also constant and equals the demand curve, Average revenue is the same as price (AR = TR/Q = P x Q/Q = P). Thus the price line is also identical to the demand curve. In sum, D = AR = MR = P. * P-Max quantity, price and profit If a monopolist obtains control of a formerly perfectly competitive industry, the monopolist would increase prices, reduce production, and realise positive economic profits. [22] * Supply Curve in a perfectly competitive market there is a well defined supply function with a one to one relationship between price and quantity supplied. [23] In a monopolistic market no such supply relationship exists. A monopolist cannot trace a short term supply curve because for a given price there is not a unique quantity supplied. As Pindyck and Rubenfeld note a change in demand can lead to changes in prices with no change in output, changes in output with no change in price or both. [24] Monopolies produce where marginal revenue equals marginal costs. For a specific demand curve the supply curve would be the price/quantity combination at the point where marginal revenue equals marginal cost. If the demand curve shifted the marginal revenue curve would shift as well and a new equilibrium and supply point would be established. The locus of these points would not be a supply curve in any conventional sense. [25][26] The most significant distinction between a PC company and a monopoly is that the monopoly has a downward-sloping demand curve rather than the perceived perfectly elastic curve of the PC company. [27] Practically all the variations above mentioned relate to this fact. If there is a downward-sloping demand curve then by necessity there is a distinct marginal revenue curve. The implications of this fact are best made manifest with a linear demand curve. Assume that the inverse demand curve is of the form x = a by. Then the total revenue curve is TR = ay by2 and the marginal revenue curve is thus MR = a 2by. From this several things are evident. First the marginal revenue curve has the same y intercept as the inverse demand curve. Second the slope of the marginal revenue curve is twice that of the inverse demand curve. Third the x intercept of the marginal revenue curve is half that of the inverse demand curve. What is not quite so evident is that the marginal revenue curve is below the inverse demand curve at all points. [27] Since all companies maximise profits by equating MR and MC it must be the case that at the profit maximizing quantity MR and MC are less than price which further implies that a monopoly produces less quantity at a higher price than if the market were perfectly competitive. The fact that a monopoly has a downward-sloping demand curve means that the relationship between total revenue and output for a monopoly is much different than that of competitive companies. [28] Total revenue equals price times quantity. A competitive company has a perfectly elastic demand curve meaning that total revenue is proportional to output. [29] Thus the total revenue curve for a competitive company is a ray with a slope equal to the market price. [29] A competitive company can sell all the output it desires at the market price. For a monopoly to increase sales it must reduce price. Thus the total revenue curve for a monopoly is a parabola that begins at the origin and reaches a maximum value then continuously decreases until total revenue is again zero. [30] Total revenue has its maximum value when the slope of the total revenue function is zero. The slope of the total revenue function is marginal revenue. So the revenue maximizing quantity and price occur when MR = 0. For example assume that the monopoly’s demand function is P = 50 2Q. The total revenue function would be TR = 50Q 2Q2 and marginal revenue would be 50 4Q. Setting marginal revenue equal to zero we have 1. 50 4Q = 0 2. -4Q = -50 3. Q = 12. 5 So the revenue maximizing quantity for the monopoly is 12. 5 units and the revenue maximizing price is 25. A company with a monopoly does not experience price pressure from competitors, although it may experience pricing pressure from potential competition. If a company increases prices too much, then others may enter the market if they are able to provide the same good, or a substitute, at a lesser price. [31] The idea that monopolies in markets with easy entry need not be regulated against is known as the revolution in monopoly theory. [32] A monopolist can extract only one premium,[clarification needed] and getting into complementary markets does not pay. That is, the total profits a monopolist could earn if it sought to leverage its monopoly in one market by monopolizing a complementary market are equal to the extra profits it could earn anyway by charging more for the monopoly product itself. However, the one monopoly profit theorem is not true if customers in the monopoly good are stranded or poorly informed, or if the tied good has high fixed costs. A pure monopoly has the same economic rationality of perfectly competitive companies, i.e. to optimise a profit function given some constraints. By the assumptions of increasing marginal costs, exogenous inputs prices, and control concentrated on a single agent or entrepreneur, the optimal decision is to equate the marginal cost and marginal revenue of production. Nonetheless, a pure monopoly can -unlike a competitive company- alter the market price for its own convenience: a decrease of production results in a higher price. In the economics jargon, it is said that pure monopolies have a downward-sloping demand. An important consequence of such behaviour is worth noticing: typically a monopoly selects a higher price and lesser quantity of output than a price-taking company; again, less is available at a higher price. [33] Sources of monopoly power Monopolies derive their market power from barriers to entry – circumstances that prevent or greatly impede a potential competitors ability to compete in a market. There are three major types of barriers to entry; economic, legal and deliberate. [6] * Economic barriers: Economic barriers include economies of scale, capital requirements, cost advantages and technological superiority. [7] Economies of scale: Monopolies are characterised by decreasing costs for a relatively large range of production. [8] Decreasing costs coupled with large initial costs give monopolies an advantage over would-be competitors. Monopolies are often in a position to reduce prices below a new entrants operating costs and thereby prevent them from continuing to compete. [8] Furthermore, the size of the industry relative to the minimum efficient scale may limit the number of companies that can effectively compete within the industry. If for example the industry is large enough to support one company of minimum efficient scale then other companies entering the industry will operate at a size that is less than MES, meaning that these companies cannot produce at an average cost that is competitive with the dominant company. Finally, if long-term average cost is constantly decreasing, the least cost method to provide a good or service is by a single company. [9] Capital requirements: Production processes that require large investments of capital, or large research and development costs or substantial sunk costs limit the number of companies in an industry. [10] Large fixed costs also make it difficult for a small company to enter an industry and expand. [11] Technological superiority: A monopoly may be better able to acquire, integrate and use the best possible technology in producing its goods while entrants do not have the size or finances to use the best available technology. [8] One large company can sometimes produce goods cheaper than several small companies. [12] No substitute goods: A monopoly sells a good for which there is no close substitute. The absence of substitutes makes the demand for the good relatively inelastic enabling monopolies to extract positive profits. Control of natural resources: A prime source of monopoly power is the control of resources that are critical to the production of a final good. Network externalities: The use of a product by a person can affect the value of that product to other people. This is the network effect. There is a direct relationship between the proportion of people using a product and the demand for that product. In other words the more people who are using a product the greater the probability of any individual starting to use the product. This effect accounts for fads and fashion trends. [13] It also can play a crucial role in the development or acquisition of market power. The most famous current example is the market dominance of the Microsoft operating system in personal computers. * Legal barriers: Legal rights can provide opportunity to monopolise the market of a good. Intellectual property rights, including patents and copyrights, give a monopolist exclusive control of the production and selling of certain goods. Property rights may give a company exclusive control of the materials necessary to produce a good. * Deliberate actions: A company wanting to monopolise a market may engage in various types of deliberate action to exclude competitors or eliminate competition. Such actions include collusion, lobbying governmental authorities, and force (see anti-competitive practices). In addition to barriers to entry and competition, barriers to exit may be a source of market power. Barriers to exit are market conditions that make it difficult or expensive for a company to end its involvement with a market. Great liquidation costs are a primary barrier for exiting. [14] Market exit and shutdown are separate events. The decision whether to shut down or operate is not affected by exit barriers. A company will shut down if price falls below minimum average variable costs. Monopoly versus competitive markets While monopoly and perfect competition mark the extremes of market structures[15] there is some similarity. The cost functions are the same. [16] Both monopolies and perfectly competitive companies minimize cost and maximize profit. The shutdown decisions are the same. Both are assumed to have perfectly competitive factors markets. There are distinctions, some of the more important of which are as follows: * Marginal revenue and price In a perfectly competitive market price equals marginal revenue. In a monopolistic market marginal revenue is less than price. [17] * Product differentiation: There is zero product differentiation in a perfectly competitive market. Every product is perfectly homogeneous and a perfect substitute for any other. With a monopoly, there is great to absolute product differentiation in the sense that there is no available substitute for a monopolized good. The monopolist is the sole supplier of the good in question. [18] A customer either buys from the monopolizing entity on its terms or does without. * Number of competitors: PC markets are populated by an infinite number of buyers and sellers. Monopoly involves a single seller. [18] * Barriers to Entry Barriers to entry are factors and circumstances that prevent entry into market by would-be competitors and limit new companies from operating and expanding within the market. PC markets have free entry and exit. There are no barriers to entry, exit or competition. Monopolies have relatively high barriers to entry. The barriers must be strong enough to prevent or discourage any potential competitor from entering the market. * Elasticity of Demand The price elasticity of demand is the percentage change of demand caused by a one percent change of relative price. A successful monopoly would have a relatively inelastic demand curve. A low coefficient of elasticity is indicative of effective barriers to entry. A PC company has a perfectly elastic demand curve. The coefficient of elasticity for a perfectly competitive demand curve is infinite. * Excess Profits- Excess or positive profits are profit more than the normal expected return on investment. A PC company can make excess profits in the short term but excess profits attract competitors which can enter the market freely and decrease prices, eventually reducing excess profits to zero. [19] A monopoly can preserve excess profits because barriers to entry prevent competitors from entering the market. [20] * Profit Maximization A PC company maximizes profits by producing such that price equals marginal costs. A monopoly maximises profits by producing where marginal revenue equals marginal costs. [21] The rules are not equivalent. The demand curve for a PC company is perfectly elastic flat. The demand curve is identical to the average revenue curve and the price line. Since the average revenue curve is constant the marginal revenue curve is also constant and equals the demand curve, Average revenue is the same as price (AR = TR/Q = P x Q/Q = P). Thus the price line is also identical to the demand curve. In sum, D = AR = MR = P. * P-Max quantity, price and profit If a monopolist obtains control of a formerly perfectly competitive industry, the monopolist would increase prices, reduce production, and realise positive economic profits. [22] * Supply Curve in a perfectly competitive market there is a well defined supply function with a one to one relationship between price and quantity supplied. [23] In a monopolistic market no such supply relationship exists. A monopolist cannot trace a short term supply curve because for a given price there is not a unique quantity supplied. As Pindyck and Rubenfeld note a change in demand can lead to changes in prices with no change in output, changes in output with no change in price or both. [24] Monopolies produce where marginal revenue equals marginal costs. For a specific demand curve the supply curve would be the price/quantity combination at the point where marginal revenue equals marginal cost. If the demand curve shifted the marginal revenue curve would shift as well and a new equilibrium and supply point would be established. The locus of these points would not be a supply curve in any conventional sense. [25][26] The most significant distinction between a PC company and a monopoly is that the monopoly has a downward-sloping demand curve rather than the perceived perfectly elastic curve of the PC company. [27] Practically all the variations above mentioned relate to this fact. If there is a downward-sloping demand curve then by necessity there is a distinct marginal revenue curve. The implications of this fact are best made manifest with a linear demand curve. Assume that the inverse demand curve is of the form x = a by. Then the total revenue curve is TR = ay by2 and the marginal revenue curve is thus MR = a 2by. From this several things are evident. First the marginal revenue curve has the same y intercept as the inverse demand curve. Second the slope of the marginal revenue curve is twice that of the inverse demand curve. Third the x intercept of the marginal revenue curve is half that of the inverse demand curve. What is not quite so evident is that the marginal revenue curve is below the inverse demand curve at all points. [27] Since all companies maximise profits by equating MR and MC it must be the case that at the profit maximizing quantity MR and MC are less than price which further implies that a monopoly produces less quantity at a higher price than if the market were perfectly competitive. The fact that a monopoly has a downward-sloping demand curve means that the relationship between total revenue and output for a monopoly is much different than that of competitive companies. [28] Total revenue equals price times quantity. A competitive company has a perfectly elastic demand curve meaning that total revenue is proportional to output. [29] Thus the total revenue curve for a competitive company is a ray with a slope equal to the market price. [29] A competitive company can sell all the output it desires at the market price. For a monopoly to increase sales it must reduce price. Thus the total revenue curve for a monopoly is a parabola that begins at the origin and reaches a maximum value then continuously decreases until total revenue is again zero. [30] Total revenue has its maximum value when the slope of the total revenue function is zero. The slope of the total revenue function is marginal revenue. So the revenue maximizing quantity and price occur when MR = 0. For example assume that the monopoly’s demand function is P = 50 2Q. The total revenue function would be TR = 50Q 2Q2 and marginal revenue would be 50 4Q. Setting marginal revenue equal to zero we have 1. 50 4Q = 0 2. -4Q = -50 3. Q = 12. 5 So the revenue maximizing quantity for the monopoly is 12. 5 units and the revenue maximizing price is 25. A company with a monopoly does not experience price pressure from competitors, although it may experience pricing pressure from potential competition. If a company increases prices too much, then others may enter the market if they are able to provide the same good, or a substitute, at a lesser price. [31] The idea that monopolies in markets with easy entry need not be regulated against is known as the revolution in monopoly theory. [32] A monopolist can extract only one premium,[clarification needed] and getting into complementary markets does not pay. That is, the total profits a monopolist could earn if it sought to leverage its monopoly in one market by monopolizing a complementary market are equal to the extra profits it could earn anyway by charging more for the monopoly product itself. However, the one monopoly profit theorem is not true if customers in the monopoly good are stranded or poorly informed, or if the tied good has high fixed costs. A pure monopoly has the same economic rationality of perfectly competitive companies, i. e. to optimise a profit function given some constraints. By the assumptions of increasing marginal costs, exogenous inputs prices, and control concentrated on a single agent or entrepreneur, the optimal decision is to equate the marginal cost and marginal revenue of production.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Business Plan for an Established Business Essay example -- Business Ma

Business Plan for an Established Business This business plan consists of a narrative and several financial spreadsheets. The narrative template is the body of the business plan. It contains more than 150 questions divided into several sections. Work through the sections in any order you like, except for the Executive Summary, which should be done last. Skip any questions that do not apply to your business. When you are finished writing your first draft, you will have a collection of small essays on the various topics of the business plan. Then you will want to edit them into a flowing narrative. The real value of doing a business plan is not having the finished product in hand; rather, the value lies in the process of research and thinking about your business in a systematic way. The act of planning helps you to think things through thoroughly, to study and research when you are not sure of the facts, and to look at your ideas critically. It takes time, but avoids costly, perhaps disastrous, mistakes later. The business plan narrative is a generic model suitable for all types of businesses. However, you should modify it to suit your particular circumstances. Before you begin, review the section titled Refining the Plan, found at the end of the business plan. It suggests emphasizing certain areas, depending upon your type of business (manufacturing, retail, service, etc.). It also has tips for fine-tuning your plan to make an effective presentation to investors or bankers. If this is why you are writing your plan, pay particular attention to your writing style. You will be judged by the quality and appearance of your work as well as your ideas. It typically takes several weeks to complete a good plan. Most of that time is spent in research and rethinking your ideas and assumptions. But then, that is the value of the process. So make time to do the job properly. Those who do never regret the effort. And finally, be sure to keep detailed notes on your sources of information and on the assumptions underlying your financial data. Business Plan OWNERS Business Name Street Address Address 2 City, ST ZIP Code phone fax e-mail I. Table of Contents I. Table of Contents 3 II. General Company Description 4 III. Products and Services 4 IV. Marketing Plan 4 Notes on Preparation: 4 The Marketing Plan: ... ...does the company: o Protect intellectual property? o Avoid technological obsolescence? o Supply necessary capital? o Retain key personnel? If your company is not yet profitable or perhaps does not yet even have sales, you must do longer-term financial forecasts to show when profit take-off will occur. And your assumptions must be well documented and well argued. Retail Business †¢ Company image †¢ Pricing: Explain mark-up policies. Prices should be profitable, competitive, and in accord with the company image. †¢ Inventory: o Selection and price should be consistent with company image. o Calculate your annual inventory turnover rate. Compare this to the industry average for your type of store. †¢ Customer service policies: These should be competitive and in accord with the company image. †¢ Location: Does it give the exposure you need? Is it convenient for customers? Is it consistent with company image? †¢ Promotion: What methods do you use and what do they cost? Do they project a consistent company image? †¢ Credit: Do you extend credit to customers? If yes, do you really need to, and do you factor the cost into prices?

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Applications of Biochemistry Essay

Blood is one of the most important fluids in the human body. It helps carry nutrients such as oxygen to the cells in the body and transports out wastes like carbon dioxide and other metabolites from these cells. Since blood is the medium through which the different organs and tissues in our body communicates, keeping a close eye on the constituents of a blood sample would provide a good indication of the functioning of the human body. Blood gas tests are ordered for patients who might have symptoms of pH imbalance, extreme levels of oxygen/ carbon dioxide, or in order to evaluate the functioning of organs such as the kidneys and the presence of disorders such as diabetes. The latter tests are measured through the analysis of electrolytes and metabolites in the blood. Patients who are on a â€Å"ventilator† in a hospital may have their treatment procedures also monitored using a blood gas analysis test. In the Core Laboratory of University Hospital in London, Ontario, the Gem Premiere 3000 Blood Gas Analyzer is used in order to perform tests on patients. There are two analyzers present in this laboratory. Both machines can run tests for levels of pH, partial pressure of carbon dioxide, partial pressure of oxygen, Na+, K+, Ca++, and hematocrit (Hct). One of the machines however, is also capable of running glucose and lactate tests as well. One other final blood constituent that is also analyzed in this analyzer is for carboxyhemoglobin. If a sample is to be tested for carboxyhemoglobin, the sample must be injected from the syringe into the GEM cuvette. The cuvette is then inserted into another analyzer in order to test carboxyhemoglobin levels. The samples collected for blood gas analysis tests can be arterial, venous, or capillary blood. Reference Range values of measurements in the â€Å"normal range† using the Gem Premiere 3000 (UCSF Medical Center, 2011). All samples are delivered to the laboratory in syringes or capillaries from the bedside of the patient in the hospital. A sample that arrives from the Operation Room can only be stored for and has to be analyzed within 15-20 minutes. Samples that are delivered to the laboratory on ice can be stored for one hour while all other samples must be analyzed within half an hour. Unlike other samples that are analyzed in the lab, these samples are not archived after analysis. All samples must also be warmed between the hands before being analyzed in order to mix the contents thoroughly. All syringes with samples contain a coating of heparin sulfate in order to avoid the clotting of blood samples. Once the source of blood sample (arterial, venous, capillary) has been selected on the display screen of the analyzer, the sample is checked for clots. This is done by testing a drop or two onto a gauze pad. The barcode on the sample syringe is then scanned in order to read the patient ID and store the results. A message then appears on the screen of the analyzer that reads â€Å"Present sample now†. The tip of the syringe can then be inserted at an angle, into the needle that protrudes from the Analyzer. The results will then appear on the screen and be saved on the patient’s profile according to their ID that was scanned. The maintenance conducted on the Gem Premiere 3000 is very minimal. The Gem Premiere 3000 contains a cartridge that has electrodes with all the calibration measurements for the machine. The analyzer is checked daily for printer paper. Every week, quality control tests are run in order to ensure the accurate working of the Gem Premiere 3000. The two control tests administered are the ‘Critical Care QC ContrIL9’ and the ‘GEM critCheck’. The first control tests for the proper analysis of of pH, partial pressure of carbon dioxide, partial pressure of oxygen, Na+, K+ and Ca++, while the second control tests for hematocrit low and normal levels (UCSF Medical Center, 2011). The cartilage with electrodes for calibration measurements expires every three weeks. However, if there is a power cut or an issue with the analyzer, the cartridge must be changed immediately before any other tests are conducted. Once the cartridge has been replaced, it takes half an hour for the cartridge to warm up after the CVP control has been run and before tests can be run again. Once all the tests are run, they are saved on the patient’s profile and are available for access by all physicians and hospital staff throughout the hospital.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Macbeth as Tragedy Essay

Shakespeare’s Macbeth is often considered one of literature’s greatest tragedies and is said to reveal much about human nature. Do you agree or disagree that the play conveys much about humanity or about the human experience? What, if anything, does the work suggest about human beings or society? Support your views with textual details and analysis. In your response, address how Macbeth’s subject matter, themes, form, or other literary elements might (or might not) be characteristic of tragedy. How do tragic qualities of the play contribute (or not) to the story’s larger message(s)? Macbeth has always been a play of interest in any age groups. I remember this play in my high school but then which school does not get involved with this play. I do agree with the statement that Macbeth reveals much about human nature. Macbeth reveals the dark side of human nature; ambition, hunger for control and power, it shows us the aftermath that it leaves behind. The play suggests the dark tendencies that lives within many of the human beings in our society; the need to succeed and annihilate their obstacles at any cost: human beings are opportunistic. Macbeth shows us how far a person will go to in order to realize their own ambitions; even to commit a killing. Free will exists in humanity and everyone has the potential for good and the commit evil deeds. The Macbeth’s lust for power and greed ends up in grim tragedy. Macbeth starts off as a hero; a brave warrior in the battlefield, standing behind his king and protecting his land. This is what makes Macbeth a tragic hero. â€Å"Tragic hero: A main character who acts with courage but falls from high standing into catastrophic circumstances because of a weakness of character or serious misjudgment. (Clugston, 2010, page. 4. 4, para. 3). Lady Macbeth is willing to lose her soul in order to push her husband’s faith to be king a reality and sooner; she asks the gods to remove all compassion and femininity and replace with cold and ruthless qualities; this symbolizes the darkness of human nature. The Macbeth’s had it all but failed to recognize it due to having their dark ambitions take over them; consuming them and this is the tragedy. The literary elements are the motifs, they are the hallucinations and violence; these motifs lead to tragedy end of the Macbeth’s.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Russian Orthodox Church essays

Russian Orthodox Church essays The Russian Orthodox Church's history and development, which established it as an arm of the Tsarist state and an instrument of the perpetuation of Russia's unequal class system and anti-reform policies, made it a necessary object of destruction for the security of the Bolshevik revolution. The myth of the Holy Russian land was the founding idea of the Muscovite tsardom as it was developed by the Romanovs from the start of the seventeenth century. After the civil war and Polish intervention during the Time of Troubles (1598-1613), Mikhail Romanov, as the legend went, was elected by the entire Russian population, therefore reuniting the Holy Russian land behind the Romanov dynasty and saving Orthodox Russia from the Catholics. (Carr 125). The idea of Russia as a holy land contributed to the Tsars position not as a king ruling with a divine right, but a god on earth. There was, in fact, a tradition in Russia of canonizing princes who died pro patria et fides. Tsars used Church laws to persecute political opponents, unlike the Western rulers of this time. Peter the Great later tried to reform relations between Church and state in an attempt to Westernize Russia, transferring the Churchs administration from the patriarchate to the Holy Synod (this was completed by Catheri ne II). This body of laymen and clergy, with its secular representative being the Procurator-General, was appointed by the Tsar and served as a faithful tool. It was in the Churchs best interests not to protest this subordination to the state, as during the latter half of the eighteenth century it had lost most of its land and now relied on the state to support its 100,000 parish clergy and their families (Curtiss Russian Church... 21) . With most of the population being illiterate, the Church was an essential propaganda weapon and a means of social control. Priests were ordered to denounce from the pulpit dissent and oppositio...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Writing for International Markets

Writing for International Markets Make your freelance writing career go viral. To make more money in 2014, take your marketing outside of North America. Introduce your work to a global audience. The Internet and social media have made this task easy, but its still your responsibility to be pro-active. Like hanging out on Facebook, the epitome of social media? Facebook can lead you to international markets. Using hashtags, you can find a publication with similar content to your post. For example, if youre writing about high school proms, you can write about the increasing cost of prom dresses, underaged sex or alcohol. When working with editors from overseas, keep in mind five types of stories most likely to be accepted: 1. Celebrity profiles. Overseas, the American entertainment industry still creates the most revenue. If youve written profiles of American celebrities and business leaders, and you still own rights, sell them to overseas publications as reprints. Even if you sold all rights to one article, most of the time you can still write and publish articles on similar topics. 2. Travel articles. If youre a native New Yorker, editors from London to Mumbai eagerly want to read your views of Central Park, the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg and the Bronx Zoo. Ditto for residents of Orlando or Vail, Colorado. Even if your towns small and relatively nondescript, use your imagination to transform a local event or destination into a beautiful word picture for foreign vacationers or local staycationers. 3. Write about the demographic of your magazine. This is almost impossible for writers not familar with the magazines location. The majority of editors prefer local writers to write about their culture. However, if you know some Indian-Americans, for example, and you want to write about how domestic violence or mental illness affects the Indian-American community in your city, you can pitch to an Indian magazine. 4. Write about American trends. To most of the world, Americas still a leader in finance, culture and science. Many international publications want stories on how trends in the United States affect their particular country. An Australian magazine may want a piece on how their local retail sector reacted to the financial safety breach at Target. A trade magazine from South Africa may want a how-to on encouraging customers to start using credit and debit cards again after similar scandals. If its just a straightforward trend article, editors prefer local writers, so stand out 5. Essays. Another way to crack international markets is through personal essays, especially based on experiences located in the magazines country. Essays can be humorous, political or foster cross-cultural understanding. In this case, always read the magazine before submitting your unsolicited manuscript even if the magazine only comes through snail mail. Stereotypes are not only offensive, theyre a waste of time and cost you money. Here are seven international publications that are looking for material: Writing Magazine www.writers-online.co.uk Country: United Kingdom Contact: Jonathan Telfer Email: jtelfer@writersnews.co.uk BUZZZ Caribbean Lifestyle Magazine www.buzzzmagazine.com Country: Jamaica Contact: Fabian Barracks Email: buzzzeditor@gmail.com female www.femalemag.co.my Country: Malaysia Contact: Terry Saw Email: terrysaw@bluinc.com.my British Airways High Life www.highlife.ba.com Country: United Kingdom Contact: Kerry Smith Email: kerry.smith@cedarcom.co.uk GQ Australia www.gq.com.au Country: Australia Contact: Jake Millar Email: jake.millar@news.com.au WestJets up! Magazine www.upmagazine.com Country: Canada Contact: website for online submission form In Lan Chile Magazine www.in-lan.com Country: Chile Contact: Roberto Schiattino Email: rschiattino@spafax.com

Sunday, November 3, 2019

To what extent has the credit crunch contributed towards a downturn in Essay

To what extent has the credit crunch contributed towards a downturn in UK house prices - Essay Example ers to ask for hefty deposits, with seven of the ten leading lenders not lending to borrowers who have less than 10 per cent deposit (Gilmore & Blakely 2008). This has led to increased stock of unsold property in the market, which in turn has led to the decline in house prices. According to the figures from Nationwide, the second-largest mortgage lender, the value of an average home fell by 1.8 per cent in April. This is 1.1 percent lower from April last year, amounting to a loss equivalent to  £5 per day (Gilmore & Blakely 2008). Shaftesbury, the British property company that has shops and restaurants in and around London’s Carnaby Street, announced a net loss of  £91.2m for the six months preceding March 31 as against a net earnings of  £212m for the corresponding period a year ago. This is the first announcement of loss by the group since 1992. This year, the company announced a fall in its net asset value by 11 percent (O’Grady 2008). The outlook for the coming quarter remains unexciting with more surveyors expecting a decline in rent. Graham Beale, chief executive of Nationwide Building Society, has predicted that this fall in house prices would continue, with further decline in prices into 2009-10. In the six months to the end of September, Nationwide had advanced mortgages worth  £1bn, considering repayments and redemptions, as against  £3.6bn in the corresponding period last year (Osborne 2008). The society reports an increase in arrears and repossession signalling that the adverse effects of the crisis are beginning to set in with the borrowers facing difficulties in making mortgage repayments. Repossessions doubled year on year, with 300 homes repossessed in the six months to the end of April as against 143 in the corresponding period last year (Osborne 2008). The Market Oracle predicts a 15% fall in the UK house prices over two years to August 2009 (Walayat 2008). It is expected that the UK would follow the footsteps of the US, where the housing

Friday, November 1, 2019

Price Strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Price Strategy - Assignment Example For success in "pricing strategy," the marketing manager must understand how to heighten the concept by understanding the customers need the clarity on the market and understand the willingness to pay by the customers (Tanner Jr. & Raymond). Before a business determines the pricing strategy, it should first establish its objectives towards pricing and analyze the factors that may influence the optimum price placed on the product. Once the manager establishes the objectives and the factors, then the pricing strategy will focus on achieving the objectives (Tanner Jr. & Raymond). In many cases, the life cycle, or the sage as to which the business is currently at determined how the strategy will be, this is because products often have different stages when it comes to how it will hit the markets. The "Mexican Taco Restaurant "needs to determine the break-even point as per its pricing strategy, for this to be achieved the break-even analysis must be computed. The restaurants average order size of its customers is 7$ which is also the average order amount, the variable cost per order is 3$ while the fixed costs are 2000$ building lease, 500$ electricity and 3100$ for labor. For the "Mexican taco restaurant to reach" the break-even point the manager should adapt to new strategies. The first strategy is determining the price sensitivity, how sensitive is the price set for the product, is it high, or is its low. In determining the price sensitivity the marketing manager must understand that the higher the price the lower the volume, this strategy depend on how sensitive customers are in cases of price fluctuations, in cases where the customers are sensitive to higher prices then the marketing manager should lower the price so as to maintain the customers and also target new customers, this in turn ensures that the company meets its breakeven