Sigmund Freud Contributed On The Human Psyche - 2015 Words

Sigmund Freud contributed greatly to film studies at large. Terms that can be associated with Freud include repression, ID, Ego, Superego, and unconscious. The ID, Superego and ego are all three interconnected layers which Freud believed could cover and understanding the human psyche. The ID is also known as the unconscious being the largest part of the human psyche. This part of your mind has the strongest influence on our day to day actions as being the conscious. This layer is the most primitive component of the human personality. It consists of all the inherited biological compartments of the personality such the Eros or sex (life) instinct and the aggressive (death) instinct (Fotopoulou 137). Examples include human desires, and†¦show more content†¦The ideal self is on merely a fantasy of how toy picture your life to be as far as career aspirations, how you treat others, and how you manage in society. Behavior is also punished by the superego through guilt, but can als o be rewarding us through the ideal self when the human behaves properly, causing us to feel proud. Both the ideal and conscience are permanently constructed through parental values as the child is brought up. The ego also known as the conscious is the individual him or herself. It’s the more reasoned layer which evolves and becomes stronger as the person progresses. It’s often seen as a sort of mediator between the ID and superego. It’s the ego’s job to suppress and control the ID. The ego is much like the ID it seeks to avoid pain but it takes a realistic approach to achieve pleasure. Compared to the ID the ego is weak, the ego only needs to point the ID in the right direction and reap in the benefits of the result of human actions as if it were its own. This layer has not concept of right or wrong. Its dean’s situations are simply good if the end result does not cause harm to itself or the ID. Majority of the time this layer engages in a secondary process of thinking which is rational and problem solving oriented. Freud’s free association concept is that falls under the psychoanalytic theory, which is the technique of getting a patient to talk freely about his or her thoughts to help them recognize their mood or feelings. The

The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Family care givers in a Home Setup Free Essays

string(88) " model and therefore community and home based care provision assume great significance\." Abstract Management of a Chronic HIV patient at home involves enormous dedication, effort and is stressful. The psychological, spiritual and financial needs of the caregivers are largely ignored. Reeling under enormous financial strain, compounded by the lack of support network, African women are forced to singlehandedly manage care delivery for the HIV patient and are stretched to breaking points. We will write a custom essay sample on The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Family care givers in a Home Setup or any similar topic only for you Order Now Stigmatization and social isolation that arise out of HIV care giving make them even more isolated and overwhelmed. The present study clearly highlights these failures. It is very clear that financial woes are among the biggest followed by the lack of support services. The Zimbabwean government is unstable and social welfare programs are hardly functioning. Even for those support services that are maintained and run by the Government, bureaucratic difficulties have made them inaccessible and out of reach of the poor caregiver. There is clear indication that support networks do not exist or atleast they are inaccessible. A collaborative action involving government, NGOs and other health agencies is called for. Home based carers should be trained, supported and counseled and policy level initiatives must be practically implemented. Only then could the quality of life for the patients as well as for the carers improve. Introduction HIV/AIDS is one of the most pandemic diseases in the world with an estimated 34 million people infected with the HIV virus. (amfAR, 2012) Zimbabwe, in particular, has been worst hit by the HIV epidemic with more than 27% of the adult population diagnosed with HIV in 1997. Currently though, the prevalence rates have reduced significantly to 14% of the adult population (National AIDS Council, 2012). However, this decline is largely attributed to the significant number of deaths of people with HIV. Persistent political turmoil and the resultant economic decline have further contributed to the literal collapse of the Zimbabwean health care system. The failure of the Public health care system has cast the major burden of health care provision to private agencies, NGOs and Home based care has become the indispensible and only feasible model under the prevailing circumstances. Statistics suggest that of the 35,000 children in the country that needed ‘Antiretroviral Therapy’ (AR T) only 17,000 have had access to the drugs (UNICEF, 2009). Though the availability of ART has vastly improved from just 15% in 2007 to around 80% by 2010, (National AIDS Council, 2011) there is still a huge unmet demand. Zimbabwean government’s opposing attitude towards NGOs and its accusations about the NGO funds being used for anti governmental activities has further limited the already strained financial aid flowing into the country for AIDS care. Amidst these tiring circumstances, family based care giving has become the central strategy for the national HIV/AIDS management programs. This paper attempts to study the impact of HIV/AIDS care delivered in the family based setting and how such care provision affects the care giver. In particular, this paper strives to highlight the issues such as the psychosocial impact on caregivers and using the caregiver’s views assesses their coping and support mechanisms. Home Based Care A brief outlook into what constitutes home based care is appropriate before we proceed further. The World Health Organization defines home based care as â€Å" a programme that through regular visits, offers health care services to support the care process in the home environment of the person with HIV infection. Home visits may be the only service provided or be part of an integrated programme which offers the patient and his/her family services in the home, hospital and community†. Ministry of Health and Child Welfare,(2004). From the definition it is clear that home based care is considered a holistic care solution that addresses the needs of both the care receiver as well as the care giver. This understanding is crucial for the successful implementation of the home based care delivery model. Literature Review Family based care provision is proving to be the important model in the delivery of care to chronic illnesses such as AIDS. Particularly in Zimbabwe, where decades of political and economic turmoil have weakened the health care system, the role of family based care provision could not be more emphasized. The political friction between the West and the Mugabe government, and the accusations about the political motives of the NGO operations in the country, led to a sharp decline in the active healthcare interventions in the country. NGO funding to Zimbabwe for its healthcare programmes reached a record low in 2006. During this year, the average aid money for HIV care per person in Zimbabwe was limited to $ 4 which when compared to the average aid money allotted per person in Zambia ($184) is a meager amount (Matimba, 2010). However, since 2008, the aid to Zimbabwe is again on the rise with the USAID and DFID being the two key contributors. The USAID contributed 26.4 million in 2008 wh ile the DFID pledged in 2010 to contribute $40 million over a five year period. Despite this the total aid money that Zimbabwe received for its HIV healthcare operations during this period is just one tenth of the aid money received by neighboring Zambia and one fourth that of the aid amount received by Namibia in the corresponding periods (AVERT, 2012). These statistics project the grim scenario from the financial standpoint in delivering HIV care in Zimbabwe where HIV has assumed endemic proportions. HIV being a chronic condition, patients have to undergo continuous care for a protracted period of time and the hospital setting cannot handle the enormous demand. Statistics suggest that in Zimbabwe roughly 70% of all hospital admissions are connected to HIV care. Statistics also suggest that even a 5% increase in the number of HIV patients would result in a 25% increased demand for hospital beds. The figures indicate that hospitals, as care provision centers, for a country such as Zimbabwe where there is a swelling HIV population, is a highly unviable model and therefore community and home based care provision assume great significance. You read "The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Family care givers in a Home Setup" in category "Essay examples" The policy stance of the Zimbabwean government to promote home based care provision could be understood based on these ground realities. The Zimbabwean government has been actively promoting care giver training by employing community nurses as trai ners for these family care givers. With funding limitations, even the training and support provided by the community nurses to the family care givers has been affected making them vulnerable to the enormous pressure of managing the care provision all by themselves (Matimba, 2010). National Community Home-Based Care Standards (2004) The enormity of the HIV problem and the limited nature of the government health care resources forced the home care system of care delivery in Zimbabwe. However, the quality of life of the HIV infected patient depends a lot on quality of the home care givers. In most cases these home based care providers have absolutely no training at all and even lack the knowledge to protect themselves from accidental exposure to HIV infection. To improve the quality of home based care delivery, support services must also be improved. With this in view the government of Zimbabwe set up the ‘National Community Home-Based Care Standards’ in 2004 that included the following important features Care and Support for patients and Family Team Service Provision Governance and Management Training , information and Education Monitoring and evaluation The main objective of establishing the standards for home based care delivery is to change home care from being perceived as a third rate care provision by improving its overall quality. It should be noted that Home care is not just about the patients but also about the care giver. The national standards for Home care therefore lay this stress on providing holistic care support through an established standard. The process involves training, education, monitoring and continuous evaluation. The National Community Home-Based Care Standards (2004) neatly defines its purpose as â€Å"Provision of a support system through the development of strong partnerships with the community, family and patient, home-based caregivers, and the health system, thus assuring patients an acceptable quality of life until death†. (Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, 2004). The definition also considers the aspects of support provided for the carer and other family members including † emotiona l, spiritual and other psychosocial support, bereavement counseling, and other appropriate assistance that meets their special needs† (Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, 2004). Psychosocial Impact of Caregiving Literature is abound with studies that analyze the impact of care giving for a HIV patient, on the care-giver. Almost all of these studies indicate that care giving results in enormous psycho social impact on the provider. Typically, the family care giver maybe overcome with emotions ranging from , depression, anxiety, fear, anger , helplessness along with the overwhelming financial burden that is involved with HIV care provision. Lindsey et al., (2003) explored the effects of care giving on older and younger women in Botswana who were caring for family members with chronic HIV. The authors of the study identified that older women, in particular, were overwhelmed with the physical and mental demands of care giving. These women had to manage demanding tasks such as caring for the patient with frequent episodes of vomiting, incontinence and confusion. Care giving family women had to do all this along with their household chores and this creates enormous physical hardships not to mentio n the emotional drain. Furthermore, in many cases, care providing women are subjected to economic strains when the productive member of their family is affected by HIV (Lindsey et al., 2003). Another study by Ssengonzi (2007) explored the impact of care giving on Ugandan older women. The results of this study also chimed in with the findings of the previous study with the elderly Ugandan women reporting that care giving left them financially affected due to three main reasons The ill relatives and the consequent loss of family income the negative effect of care giving on the employment opportunities of the care provider Expenses incurred on procuring medicine for the patient under their care The care giving women also expressed social isolation as a result of their inability to participate in the usual social activities (Ssengonzi,2007). One study by Thomas F (2006) that assessed the impact of home based care giving for HIV patients in Namibia again reported that financial constraints due to care giving is a serious problem. This study collected information from both the patient as well as the care giver in the form of solicited diaries. The study found that the inability to provide for family created severe emotional strain for the care giver. Significantly, the study also reported that the quality of care provision is affected over time when the worsening financial situation in the household coupled with the lack of recovery of the patient lead to escalating tensions and emotional upheavals in the house (Thomas F (2006). One urban study conducted in Kinshasa, the capital of the republic of Congo, involved self reported health and emotional status of 80 spouses and caregivers of HIV infected men in the region. What surprised the researchers was that despite this being an urban study with better hospitals and home care support networks, around 94% of the women caregivers expressed that care-giving was very difficult for them and 99% reported that it affected their social lives. Importantly, 90% of these women care givers stated that they were stigmatized by friends and their husband’s employers. This study clearly highlights that the stigma of AIDS care could further contribute to the emotional strain of HIV care. As a revealing study on the psychosocial impact of care giving, this research found that 48% of these care providing women were so unhappy with their circumstances that they lost interest in their life and expressed the lack of interest and energy to continue. Furthermore, 94% of thes e women had some form of physical ailment including frequent headaches, fatigue, body pain, lack of appetite, anorexia, etc (Kipp et al., 2006). Studies done elsewhere in the developed countries also reflect similar feelings from the care givers. For instance one earlier study by Flaskerud Tabora (1998) based on low income female care givers in California who provided care for heterosexual and homosexual HIV patients attested to the findings from the African studies. These women expressed the same concerns as the previously listed studies including depression due to poor functional outcome of the patient, loneliness due to uncooperative and unsupportive friends and relatives, etc. Around 59% of the care giving women also reported that their physical health was affected considerably due to the prolonged period of care giving. Worn out by their care-giving duties these women were moody and even expressed their anger at the patients as their irresponsible behavior put them in this place. Last but not the least, the women subjects of this study welcomed being interviewed for the study as it provided an emotional vent for them to lay out their feelings which they could not so far share with anyone due to the absence of an appropriate support network. (Flaskerud Tabora, 1998). One recent South African study by Hlabyago et al. (2009) focused on one of the important problems faced by care givers of terminally ill HIV/AIDS patients. This problem is the caring for the orphaned children of the parents who succumbed to HIV. As per 2010 data, more than a third of the 50 million or more orphaned children in Sub Saharan Africa lost either one or both their parents to HIV. Given the huge scale of the problem, this study by Hlabyago assumes great significance in terms of policy formulations and also with respect to assessing the impact on family caregivers. The researchers of this study employed one on one interview technique which sought answers to the following important question from the care givers – â€Å"Would you please tell me your experiences as a family caregiver concerning your care of the orphans?† (Hlabyago et al., 2009). The Interviews were conducted for nine subjects who were home caregivers recruited from the Hoekfontein Clinic in South Africa. The demographic details of the subjects were noted down. Six out of the 9 (63%) care givers were grand mothers, 2 of them were aunties and one of them sister to the orphaned children. Thematic analysis of the data resulted in the observations that are listed in the following table. As could be inferred from the above results table, financial constrain is a major problem for care givers affecting 77% (7 out of 9) of the study subjects. However, one concern that is uniformly expressed by all the care givers involved in the study was that of the existence of Bureaucratic difficulties and the lack of social support services. Though the government has programs to support orphans in the form of orphan grants, accessibility problems and processing delays and the lack of proactive approach within the social works departments hinder the outreach of such programs to the people. For instance, one of the caregiver, who was the grand mother of the orphaned child, expressed her helplessness stating, â€Å"I got the heart to help this child by applying for this orphan grant. I am still waiting for the money because it is not yet released. I sent the documents a long time ago. The social worker has since told me that they will send someone at home and I am still waiting. I w ish that money can come so that I can save some for him (the orphan) because I am old – anytime I can die, you see†. (Hlabyago et al., 2009). The study also revealed that lack of support from family members is a pressing issue. One of the care giver subjects who were interviewed for the study reported that she received little support from her husband in taking care of the orphaned Children. â€Å"The day Johanna died he came and found me struggling with her, he came into the room and walked out, and when he came back again the child was already dead† (Hlabyago et al., 2009). Some of the care givers expressed concern about the rebellious attitude of the orphaned kids while some of them expressed concerns about the growing family conflicts due to the care giving. â€Å"I decided to take him in and care for him. I think that she (the orphan’s biological grandmother) is thinking that because I am receiving this child’s orphan grant, she is not sending anything for this child who is basically her responsibility† (Hlabyago et al., 2009). The literature reviewed so far clearly highlighted that caregiv ing for HIV patients could be a stressful event and debilitate the care giver in the absence of suitable support mechanisms. Methodology The following sections will revolve around a questionnaire based primary study in which 15 subjects who were care providers for HIV patients in Zimbabwe were provided with 6 questions with various choices and their answers analyzed for themes. The choice of questionnaire was due to its informal nature and usefulness in gaining valuable data. The use of open ended questions helps in ascertaining more information from the subject whenever appropriate. Though initially I had sent my questionnaires to 15 recipients only 10 of them returned the completed information. All the 10 subjects were properly apprised of the nature of the study. Though the respondents knew that the study was purely for academic purposes they were delighted in providing the valuable information for the study. All the subjects were assured of the confidentiality of their responses and that their responses would be used purely for academic knowledge improvement purposes. Thematic analysis was employed to discern us eful themes and patterns about the various aspects of caregiving. Results The data from the questionnaires answered by the 10 subjects who participated in the study were analyzed to identify the emergent themes. In all, six questions with varied responses to each question were provided to the subjects. These questions were particularly relevant to understanding the wide impact that care giving has on the home based care providers. The results revealed some of the important psychosocial aspects of caregiving. The repetitive themes that were identified from the data attested to the key findings reported in the literature review early in this paper. These common themes suggest the need for urgent action. Care giving challenges The data from the questionnaires revealed some demographic profile about the subjects. Most of the carergivers in the study were relatives of the HIV Patient and on an average care provision period lasted between 2 and 3 years. 80% of the caregivers were elderly females. Economic difficulties dominated the challenges that were reported by the caregivers with almost 90% of the subjects reporting financial constrains as a serious issue involved in prolonged caregiving for the HIV patient. As discussed earlier in the paper this may stem from loss of income if the patient was a productive member of the family. Caregivers are also constrained by the fact that they could not be gainfully employed when they are tied down with caring for the patient. One other important aspect pertaining to caregiving at home was the lack of adequate transport services. 80% of the caregivers opined that they find transporting the patient to the hospital during times of emergency a huge problem as the Ambulance services are not prompt. Subjects also complained that the ambulance services charge them for the fuel costs.Most of the subjects stated that they took the responsibility of caregiving out of love and compassion to the patients. When asked about the support services that could have helped them a lot with their care giving almost all the subjects mentioned transportation as an important feature. 30% of the subjects felt that providing food care for the patients and opportunities for part time employment for themselves would have been greatly helpful. 40% of the caregivers also expressed their concern that the scarcity of water in rural Zimbabwe added more problems to them as they could not walk several kilometers to fetch water leaving thei r sick patients at home. This is a very relevant issue as Zimbabwe is one of the African countries that is hard hit by water crisis, and more often than not, functional borewells that are the only nearby sources of water would be several kilometers away. There were also concerns about the medication supply with 40% of the caregivers complaining about shortage and availability of ‘Anti retroviral Drugs’ at the local dispensary. The continuous availability of ART is critical for HIV patients in order to prolong their life. It was also interesting and informative to note down that 7 out of the 10 subjects felt that this small questionnaire project, though it was done for educational purposes, provided them with an opportunity to discuss the problems involved in care giving. The seven care providers felt that the questionnaire provided them an emotional purge as they hsd not had a chance to discuss their difficulties with anyone else. They all felt that there was a complete lack of support mechanisms available for carers and that this made them feel helpless and emotionally dissipated time to time. Conclusion Caregivers undergo enormous stress during the protracted period of care giving that is involved in managing a chronic HIV patient. Just as care givers provide so much of love, effort and care to the patients they look after, their needs should also be looked after. The psychological, spiritual and financial support that caregivers require are however largely unfulfilled. Especially when there is political and economical turmoil in a country, such as that seen in Zimbabwe, the needs of the home based care provider is more likely to be ignored. As the numerous studies that were discussed in the paper reported care givers are mostly women and predominantly elderly women. Reeling under enormous financial strain, compounded by the lack of support network, African women are forced to singlehandedly manage care delivery for the HIV patient and are stretched to breaking points. Stigmatization and social isolation that arise out of HIV care giving make them even more isolated and overwhelmed. The present study based on the information gathered from caregivers in Zimbabwe clearly highlights the plight of the caregivers. It is very clear that financial woes are among the most important to the caregiver, followed by the lack of support services. Zimbabwean government is unstable and social welfare programs are hardly functioning. Even for those support services that are maintained and run by the Government, bureaucratic difficulties have made them inaccessible and out of reach of the poor caregiver. Counseling support services for caregivers are distinctly lacking. Based on the opinion gathered from the study and other relevant literature, it is clear that holistic care as advocated in the National Community Home-Based Care Standards (2004) is still far from reality. There is clear indication that support networks do not exist or are inaccessible. Based on these findings this paper concludes that family based care givers are struggling without access to support services. A collaborative action involving government, NGOs and other health agencies is required to correct the defects. Home based carers should be trained, supported and counseled, and policy level initiative must be practically implemented. Only then could the quality of life for the patients as well as for the carers improve. Bibliography AVERT, (2012), HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe, viewed Jan 1st 2012, http://www.avert.org/aids-zimbabwe.htm#contentTable5 amfAR, (2012), Statistics Worldwide, viewed January 1st 2012 Hlabyago KE Ogunbanjo GA (2009), The experiences of family care givers concerning their care of HIV/AIDS Orphans, SA FAM PRACT Vol 51, no 6 pg 506-511. Kipp W, Matakula Nkosi T, Laing L, Jhangri GS, (2006), Care burden and self-reported health status of informal women caregivers of HIV/AIDS patients in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. AIDS Care, Oct; 18(7):694-7 Lindsey E, Hirschfelf M, Tlou S, Ncube E. (2003), Home based care in Botswana: experiences of older women and young girls. Health Care for Women International; 24: 486-501 Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, (2004), National Community Home based Care Standards, viewed Jan 1st 2012, http://www.jsieurope.org/docs/national_community_hbc_standard.pdf Natsayi Matinba, (2010), The Psycho Social impact of Care-Giving on the Family Care-Givers of Chronically ill AIDS/HIV Patients in Home based Care. Research Report, University of Witwatersrand, SA. National AIDS Council, (2011), UNAIDS highlights Zimbabwes progress in response to AIDS, viewed January 1st 2012, http://www.nac.org.zw/news/unaids-highlights-zimbabwe%E2%80%99s-progress-responding-aids-0 Ssengonzi R. J. (2007), The plight of older persons as caregivers to people infected/affected by HIV/AIDS: evidence from Uganda. J Cross Cult Gerontol; 22: 339-353 Thomas F. (2006), Stigma, fatigue and social breakdown: Exploring the impacts of HIV/AIDS on patient and carer well-being in the Caprivi Region, Namibia. Social Science and Medicine 63: 3174-3187 UNICEF, (2009), HIV and AIDS Issues, viewed January 1st 2012, http://www.unicef.org/zimbabwe/hiv_aids.html How to cite The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Family care givers in a Home Setup, Essay examples

Mutations Essay Example For Students

Mutations Essay A mutation is an alteration in the genetic material of a cell that is transmitted to the cells offspring. Mutations may be spontaneous (the result of accidents in the replication of genetic material) or induced by external factors (e.g. , electromagnetic radiation and certain chemicals). Mutations take place in the genes, which are found in the long, chainlike molecules of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). The backbone of the DNA chain is composed of alternating sugar and phosphate groups. Protruding from each sugar group is one of four nitrogenous bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), thymine (T), or cytosine (C). Structurally, each DNA molecule consists of two entwined chains, linked together by bonds between the bases of one chain and those of the other. An A is always bonded to a T, and every G is paired with a C; the result is that the sequence of bases in the two strands is complementary. The arrangement of the bases determines the genetic code of an organism. This code directs the synthesis of proteins at the cellular level. It is written in units called codons, each of which specifies a particular amino acid. (Proteins are composed of amino acids.) A codon consists of a sequence of three basesfor example, GAG or TCA. The four bases can be assembled into 64 possible codons. Because proteins are built from only 20 amino acids, most amino acids are specified by more than one codon. Mutations occur when one base is substituted for another or when one or more bases are inserted or deleted from a gene. Substitution mutations affect only one codon, and in most cases the effect is minimal. One reason is the redundancy of the genetic code mentioned above. Because many codons mean the same thing, the altered codon might still specify the same amino acid. Furthermore, even if a mutation causes a wrong amino acid to be inserted into a protein, the change might be harmless. Most proteins consist of scores of amino acids; a change in one of these may have little or no effect on the biological properties of the protein. Also, almost all higher organisms have two sets of genesone inherited from each parent. In such organisms, a mutated gene may be recessive and have its effect canceled by a dominant gene. This is not to say that substitution mutations never produce serious consequences. The protein hemoglobin, an important component of red blood cells, is made up of hundreds of amino acids. The incorporation of one wrong amino acidthe product of a single substitution mutationresults in hemoglobin that forms an abnormal sickle shape. If a person inherits this mutation from both parents, the disease sickle-cell anemia results. Whereas only one codon is affected by a substitution mutation, base insertions and deletions alter the reading frame of the entire gene, thus changing every codon from the site of the mutation to the end of the gene. For example, assume that the end of a gene reads TAG GGC ATA ACG ATT. The insertion of an extra A in the first codon will alter the entire sequence as follows: TAA GGG CAT AAC GAT T. Because it affects many codons, a base insertion or deletion is more likely to have significant results. Even these mutations, however, may be masked by the presence of a dominant normal gene. Mutations in humans and in other animals that reproduce sexually can be divided into two types: somatic and germinal. Somatic mutations occur in body cells (as opposed to sex cells). Such mutations can produce a localized changee.g., the streak of white (albino) sometimes found in the hair of an otherwise normal individual. All the cells descendant from the mutant body cell will carry the mutation, but it cannot be passed on to offspring. .ua4df17a81945606d50d61bf1684075cb , .ua4df17a81945606d50d61bf1684075cb .postImageUrl , .ua4df17a81945606d50d61bf1684075cb .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ua4df17a81945606d50d61bf1684075cb , .ua4df17a81945606d50d61bf1684075cb:hover , .ua4df17a81945606d50d61bf1684075cb:visited , .ua4df17a81945606d50d61bf1684075cb:active { border:0!important; } .ua4df17a81945606d50d61bf1684075cb .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ua4df17a81945606d50d61bf1684075cb { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ua4df17a81945606d50d61bf1684075cb:active , .ua4df17a81945606d50d61bf1684075cb:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ua4df17a81945606d50d61bf1684075cb .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ua4df17a81945606d50d61bf1684075cb .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ua4df17a81945606d50d61bf1684075cb .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ua4df17a81945606d50d61bf1684075cb .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ua4df17a81945606d50d61bf1684075cb:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ua4df17a81945606d50d61bf1684075cb .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ua4df17a81945606d50d61bf1684075cb .ua4df17a81945606d50d61bf1684075cb-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ua4df17a81945606d50d61bf1684075cb:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Drug Abuse Essay Germinal mutations, however, affect the sex cells (eggs or sperm) and can be transmitted to the individuals offspring. When germinal mutations alter an organism, the effect is usually harmful. Many genetic diseases are the result of such mutations. Harmful genes eventually may be eliminated from a population if they impair the carriers ability to reproduce at the same rate as their fellows. A mutation will rarely produce a beneficial change. When this does occur, the percentage of organisms with this gene will increase until the mutated gene becomes the norm in the population. In this way, beneficial mutations serve as the raw material of evolution.

Types of Story Conflicts Between a Person and the Society

Types of Story Conflicts Between a Person and the Society Over the time of human being existence, the social norms changed regularly depending on the political situation, environment, culture and ideas of particular individuals. In every stage of the history, there were rules that had to be followed and if it happens so that a person brakes them, he or she gets a public or, at times, even obscure disapproval. Here where the conflict between a person and the society appears. Make sure that a person has valid reasons to oppose a society The society has its dominant views but they might be both ethical and unethical. The contradiction is a key in order to create a great plot for your story so presenting a clear reason for the action of the main character (be it a hero or anti-hero) is a must. The strong motivation of the character to confront what the society demands is important for the plot development. Heighten the stakes for noncompliance to the social norms The tension of the conflict makes the story interesting and thrilling. The higher level of emotions is displayed, the more engaging your story can be. Overwhelming odds and a perspective to pay a high price for breaking written or even unspoken social rules can create an intrigue that will make your story engaging. However, for a successful piece of writing that should not be booed, be careful and keep a wise balance between being prejudiced or too open-minded while creating the plot and main characters. Ideally, your story needs to help resolve a conflict in a real life and, in no case, to elevate it further. Enhance ‘person and society’ conflict by including the inner struggle of the main character Trying to disapprove the defined but clearly unethical social dogmas can, by itself, draw the attention and the reaction of a person who does not agree with what the society says is pretty much clear. The rules influence your well-being so as a result, you decide to confront the usual social practices. However, adding an inner conflict of the main character can bring an additional flare and interest to your piece of writing. An individual might get used to what is supposed to be correct so he agrees with what the society desires and considers the rules to be fairly reasonable. At the same time, the character can feel that he is not comfortable with the conventions, which make him unhappy. This inner struggle can enhance the ‘person and society’ conflict in your story and make it thrilling and memorable. Think of how the conflict will be resolved Pay attention to how you want to conclude your story. Figure out for yourself whether you want to have a happy ending that may suggest a probable solution, which can potentially help resolve the real-life conflict between an individual and the society. On the other hand, the conflict might be so complicated that all you can do is to give a food for thought to your readers so that they can start acting towards resolving it. James Baldwin, one of America’s foremost writers, once said, â€Å"The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose.† Putting your character in the hardest conditions possible and showing how he managed to get over the obstacles can really make your story memorable. For the order and the success in the society, the conforming to the defined norms is a must. The idea behind this is to avoid chaos, which can be destructive for the society in whole. However, there always will be people who would not wish to conform and act against any social norms. Sometimes the protest is, in fact, justified, even if it is forbidden by the society, but sometimes people do indeed act inappropriately with regards to other members of the social structure. This is a human nature and we still have a lot to learn about how to properly handle the conflict without harming a particular individual while avoiding sabotaging the wellbeing of the whole society.

Lets Keep Some of the Old Verb Forms

Lets Keep Some of the Old Verb Forms Lets Keep Some of the Old Verb Forms Lets Keep Some of the Old Verb Forms By Maeve Maddox When it comes to some irregular verbs, I really hate to see the old past participle forms regularized to the dominant -ed ending. Heres an odd regularization of split: Data is splitted between the protocols HTTP and FTP. To be fair, I found this example on a site belonging to a company based in Germany. Its a logical mistake for a non-native English speaker. Split is one of those rare verbs that never changes its form: Today they split the data. Yesterday they split the data. The data is split between protocols. The data has been split. This next example is from an online chat: the Rabbi of Bardichevalways seeked to judge Jews favorably As far as I can tell, the site is based in the U.S. The person who typed this sentence is well-educated. I have no way of knowing if hes a native English speaker, but Im pretty sure that he is. It may be that seek is undergoing the same change as slay. Ive often expressed my aversion to slayed as the simple past of slay, to kill. I much prefer the forms slay, slew, (have) slain. Ill continue to use the old forms in my own writing, but I realize that many other writers are going with the -ed forms. Unlike slayed, Ive never seen seeked before. I hope this is just a personal aberration. The -ed change has already taken place with seeks cousin, beseech: to beg urgently. Both words derive from Old English secan, visit, inquire, pursue. He beseeched her to change her mind raises no hackles for me, although I might still find a use for besought in my writing. What do readers think? Should all English verbs be regularized to -ed forms? Or do you have old-fashioned favorites youd hate to see make the change? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Beautiful and Ugly WordsThe Letter "Z" Will Be Removed from the English AlphabetEnglish Grammar 101: Prepositions

Analyzing Dickinson’s Poetry Essay Example for Free

Analyzing Dickinson’s Poetry Essay To analyze Dickinson’s poetry, this paper will involve the analysis of three of her works, `Safe in their Alabaster Chambers†, â€Å"I Heard a Fly Buzz-when I died†, and â€Å"The Brain-is wider than the Sky†. 1. The poems were written in the first person. Since most of her poems tackled the depressing situation of death, the speaker of the poem can in fact be a dead person. However, it seemed that ED may also be assuming an all-observing, all-seeing speaker like God. In the Brain-is wider than the sky, it even seemed that God was in fact the speaker since â€Å"the weight of God† was compared to the â€Å"brain†.   As for the poem’s audiences, it may be that the literary works were directed towards the ‘living’ – people who are not safe within alabaster chambers and who have not heard the buzzing fly as they lay on their deathbeds. 2. In the â€Å"The Brain – is wider than the sky†, there is really no definite setting, it can be likened to any moment of rationalization. In â€Å"I heard a fly buzz when I died†, the setting was in a deathbed while it was perhaps in the cemetery for the poem â€Å"Safe in the alabaster chambers†. The situation was related to dying. It may be that the speaker is already dead, or nearing his death. Nonetheless, the action in the poems remains the same – surrendering to the abyss. 3. Most of the poems had their verbs in the present tense, and in the indicative mood. The style may be to emphasize that the speaker is actually experiencing whatever situation is being imparted in the poems. Such style makes the poems more contemporary and typical, and thus engaging to read and easier to relate to despite the fact that they were written centuries ago. The syntax may also indicate that the poems will be eternal since the action involved is always presented as a current situation. 4. In her poems, Dickinson uses two formal patterns alternatively- tetrameter and trimeter. In every stanza, the first and third lines always have four stresses while there are only three stresses in the second and fourth lines. The rhyme schemes come in the ABCB form. 5. Dickinson uses the slant rhyme in the second and fourth lines of the first two or three stanzas to provide a sense of association and form. In the last stanza however, she then uses a true rhyme also in the last words of the second and fourth stanzas to emphasize conclusions to the proposed action. 6. In â€Å"The Brain is deeper than the sky†, the phrases â€Å"The brain is† and â€Å"The one the other will† were repeated thrice and twice, respectively, to give both indicative and comparative effects. The repetition emphasizes the subject of the poem – â€Å"the brain† – and stresses its association with other elements – the sea, the sky, and the weight of God. 7. To extensively describe the subjects of her poems, Dickinson The poem contained metaphors and personifications to describe her chosen subjects. In one poem, she likened a fly to death perhaps to stress out the repugnance of not being able to experience the simple joys of living. It is also important to note that she always compared the poem’s settings to universally recognizable elements of nature. For example, she likened the stillness of being dead to â€Å"heaves of storm†. 8. The effectiveness of Dickinson’s poems in relaying thematic obsessions may rely on the fact that she uses a mixture of images to convey the setting of her works. In `Safe in their Alabaster Chambers†, Dickinson describes the situation of the dead through their inability to be â€Å"touched by morning†, feel the sunshine, and hear the birds and the bees. She also totally equates death to â€Å"soundlessness†, darkness, and numbness. The same image associations can also be observed in â€Å"I Heard a Fly Buzz-when I died†. However, in contrast to the first poem, the latter’s scenario of soundlessness exempted the buzzing of the fly.   In â€Å"The Brain-is wider than the Sky†, visual comparisons were made with the brain and major elements of nature. 9. In most of the poems, the speaker just describes poem subjects in relation to what she sees, feels, or hears. In the process, she narrates her observations and seemingly creates an underlying story for her works. In these stories, the climactic moment is death and the resolution is one’s total submission to the darkness and numbness of losing her life. 10. Dickinson’s poems are mostly playfully dreadful as they deal with death in relation to bees, sunshine, and castles. Death was portrayed as a very awful situation of being deprived of the small things which make living simply a pleasant experience. Although not portrayed as something gruesome, the description of a death as a natural and inevitable experience adds dread to poem’s tone. Analyzing Dickinson’s Poetry. (2016, Dec 25).

Dental Asst Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Dental Asst - Research Paper Example ("NYSDA") Salary structure: Compensation amount differs from state to state as per the cost of living and other surrounding factors like year of experience, clinic location, etc. California dental assistant’s annual wage is $35,290, average $ 12.96 per hour and in New York $14.92 per hour. ("Dental Assistant") State board: For California, the state board is Dental board of California ("Dental board of California") while for New York, it is NYS education Department (NYS Edu). Dentist and dental assistants must be licensed by this board to practice in NY State. ("NYSED.GOV") Hygienist: Educational Requirements: To become a dental hygienist in California, the candidate has to undergo 4 or 6 years programme to get bachelor or masters degree respectively from Dental Hygienist College. The classes include Anatomy, Chemistry, Pharmacology, Nutrition, Physiology, Periodontology, Microbiology, Clinical dental hygiene, Sociology, laboratory and clinical training. To qualify for this deg ree, the candidate should have previous high school diploma and good score on college entrance test.

Financial Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Financial Management - Essay Example They should who the business is currently progressing and how it is likely to perform in the future. Accounting has its objectives which it is supposed to fulfil. In order to fulfil these objectives, there are concepts and conventions that have to be followed and adhered to. This essay describes ten accounting concepts citing practical examples for each concept. The essay will distinguish between the concepts which are contained in IAS1 from those that are not contained in the IAS1. IAS1 accounting concepts Consistency The first concept of accounting is the consistency. The accounting records should be consistent. The financial statements of one financial year should be consistent with the financial statement of another financial year (Stickney, 2010). They should be easily comparable. There are instances where the methods used in the preparation of financial statement of a certain year are changed in the next financial year hence it becomes difficult to compare the two. This should only be done when the reason is very genuine and satisfactory. Otherwise, the methods should always be similar. A good real life example of the consistency concept is that of a company that uses straight line method in computing depreciation of assets. In all the subsequent years, straight line basis should be used in the computation. This will enable the comparison of depreciation in various financial years. Going Concern Under this concept, it is assumed that an entity should continue to operate for an indefinite period. Recording of assets in the financial statement should be on the basis of original costs rather than the market value (Stickney, 2010). In addition, the concept assumes that the assets will be useful in the business for an indefinite period of time. The idea is that there is no intention to sell the assets in the foreseeable future. In preparing the financial statement, the management is supposed to keep in mind that the business will be in operation for a long per iod of time and in case there are any plans that there are some assets which will be liquidated in the near future, disclosures should be made on the statements. A real life example of a going concern is where a business is being sold to another person. The business will be sold with all its operations, liabilities and assets as they were under the ownership of the previous owner. Nothing should be changed since under the going concern concept, the business is expected to continue as it is indefinitely. Accrual basis It is the requirement under IAS1 that the financial statements of a business entity should be prepared on the accounting accrual basis (Stickney, 2010). Only the cash flow is exempt from this requirement. This means that revenue is supposed to be recorded in the time it was earned. It does not matter when the money or the earnings will actually be received. In the case of expenses, they should be recognized in the year they were incurred and the time they have actually been paid does not matter. For instance, if the business issues goods on credit in a certain financial year, this transaction should be recorded in the financial statement of that year even if the money is to be received in subsequent year(s). Materiality In a business, there are transactions which have the ability to affect the decision making of the management (Stickney, 2010). Such transactions

Admission Paper in Finance Essay Example for Free

Admission Paper in Finance Essay Every person has his/her story and so do I. I’m writing this statement of purpose to solicit an admission into the prestigious Finance Phd Program. Many people endeavor into PhD to do high-level research and teach but my primary reason for entering is to be my own boss. Not to sound conceited, I have earlier worked in 7/11 from 6 am to 12 pm for many years and under unmanageable coworkers to support my living and schooling expenses as I come from a very humble background. I understand that being one’s own boss or in more euphemistic terms an independent researcher does not come easy, one has to first go through many years of rigors and challenges of academic world. My Masters in Quantitative finance have built the foundation or framework to withstand any challenge that academia will put forth in the near future. Courses that I have taken in my masters include Mathematical finance, real option analysis, Microeconomic theory, Financial Derivatives, Statistics, Econometrics 1, Econometrics 2, Financial modeling, Financial application, and so forth. See more: Homeless satire essay I took few research and quantitative classes because I know they will inadvertently prepare me for PhD . The reason I chose Quantitative Marketing is because the statistics, economics and mathematics that’s involved in it mesmerizes me. In this country the advertisers have known from the beginning that â€Å" The heart rules over the head.† So by allowing the mass majority of people with easy personal and mortgage loans, they have jeopardized the economy. What I would like to research is if this was a zero-sum game or not, and if yes, then who benefitted from it? Because of securitization, the bank did not seem to make any money, and neither the homeowners that lost their home. If banks knew people were going to default, then why did they still offer loans? This whole thing is like a mathematical paradox that is yet to be solved. Marketing is what separates the product from its competitors. In my research I’d like to learn how adverstisers use athletes to add val ue to the product. Nike’s whole business model was based on Marketing. Top sportsman like Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Kobe Bryant and so on are paid several millions by Nike. Many people perceive that by wearing the same brand as their idol does, he/she could improve their game. But what about â€Å"the Rolex† watch that Roger Federer advertises? How can a watch improve anyones tennis game? Maybe , the ad implies that only â€Å"Winners† or so called â€Å" achievers† can wear it? People looking to lose weight may take up a sport and watch their favorite athlete drink â€Å"Gatorade† to rehydrate or replenish their energy, but fail to realize that the 46 grams of sugar in Gatorade itself is the primary reason that’s defeating their weight loss goal. Ab rockets, Ab lounges are advertised by professional trainers who have spent their life doing sports. It is impossible for a 9 to 5 working person to achieve the same results, yet countless people fall prey to thes e infomercials. It is definitely fascinating to learn more about the profound effect that Marketing has on us. Neverthless, schemes like â€Å" buy one get one 50% off, zero percent down payment for 12 months, buy now pay later† are a sure sell. What begs the question is whether the scheme is benefitting the consumer or the economy. After research the second most important thing for a phd is to teach. Even though I do not have formal teaching experience I have been teaching GRE to students from all walks of life. I definitely do not have a stellar GPA nor a GRE but I do my job well when needed. The fact that I love people makes my job of teaching extremely simple. I can wake up middle of the night and walk an extra mile to give a talk on a topic that inspires me. Having taken immeasurable courses at community colleges and universities, I’ve become very fond of academia. I now dote reading, learning, relearning, and writing. Of course, my past high school and university grades donâ€⠄¢t walk the talk but the fact is I have overcome all of that with my independent learning. A majority of my high-school teachers and family members doubted if I’d ever finish high-school. Not only did I finish high school , I now also have two advanced United States degrees. Much of these didn’t come easy for me. Every parents teacher meeting and every result day from grade 3 to grade 12 was like a doomsday for me. I used to literally pray that we never had a result day or a parents teacher meeting. My dad physically whopped me and my brother together till he injured us for passing our classes with a B or a C grade. It still gives me nightmare just thinking about it. He beat us because he compared us to his wealthier colleagues or brothers kids who were excelling in school while we weren’t. He never realized that each kid is unique and has different talent. Perhaps, his lack of education or short-temperedness made him violent or even so because he could not flaunt to others that his kids have the highest grade . Believe me this is what parents in South Asia are discussing at parties or family gatherings, â€Å"whose kids are getting the best grades.†. Nevertheless, at first it was a big challenge to just learn English, but as time passed, my innate ability taught me reading, writing, and speaking. In fact, English has now become my primary language. Also during undergrad I have written myriad papers and thus writing has become a fact of my life. The writing skills I have acquired during a long period of my stay in the academic world will unarguably be useful during my PhD. If not, at least I like to think so. I choose Lubbock because it’s a small college town and the professor who mentored me during my masters has his PhD in finance from Texas Tech . He in fact referred me to this school. Nevertheless, a small quite town would also enhance a person’s learning since he/she will be free from all distractions. While writing this essay I hold an undergraduate sociology 101 t ext book. According to the book, being a university professor is considered one of the most prestigious occupation in the United States, ranking way ahead than an athlete, Dentist, programmer, Actor, and so forth. The author took the abstract from, â€Å"General Social Survery, 1972-2002. Cumumlative codebook (Chicago national opinion research center.† ) Such findings did stir my up my mind to pursue PHD. I really saw this in my text six years ago as a young teenager . This explains I truly have the passion to be a professor from a long time. The excellent faculty at Texas Tech with their wide variety of research interests , and student placements will definitely make my ambition of becoming a university professor come true. What I like about research is it removes the bias from the illimitable information we have today. Integrating information from google, scholarly journals, publications, magazines, foreign newspapers, and so forth and coming up with my own analysis is something I loo k forward to do. Another thing that I like about research is it’s about finding patterns and relationships that are not obvious to others. My poor undergraduate GPA could be attributed to the fact that I was part of Texas Wesleyan Table Tennis Team. We have won 4 national collegiate championship, having me represented TWU as a varsity player in all four of them. Apart from playing NCTTA tournaments we were obligated to play open tournaments all over America. I did get a chance to play and win several open tournaments in different cities across the US. For winning the national collegiate championship, the United States House of Representative personally awarded me a certificate of excellence. I’ve enclosed a copy of that certificate along with this essay. Nevertheless, team practice and tournaments took up a lot of time and energy; once tired, college and books were the last thing in my mind. Somehow, I still managed to complete my undergrad degree keeping in mind the famous American say ing , â€Å" It doesn’t matter how many times you fail, but it does matter how you finish.† Nevertheless, I realized I have criticized my dad earlier in the essay but this piece of work that I have penned down today could not have been possible without his support. Moreover, I could never make him happy with my low grades, but I always saw him rejoicing each time I won a tournament. Table tennis taught me invaluable lessons in life. When I lost a tournament or an important match I used to feel devastated, but it then made me realize that it’s not the end of the world. By accepting defeat, I learned that I have to train harder and come off strong for the next tournament. Similarly, in business and research only after failing several times did great thinkers emerge. Lastly, I thank the dean, chairman, and admission committee members for taking out their valuable time to read this essay and also for considering my application.

Communications Between Parents and Children Essay example -- Communica

Healthy family relationships depend on healthy communications. â€Å"Good communication helps keep a family running smoothly and prevents misunderstandings from escalating into conflict or from being buried unresolved.† (Feiden, 68) There are many ways and times to practice and teach good communication to children. There are many times that without good communication, the parent-child relationship suffers and sometimes ends abruptly. Allen Schwartz, PH.D., states that he knows of â€Å"many cases where children are raised in an atmosphere of dark secrecy about both the matriarchal and patriarchal parts of their families. They grow up with a sense that something must be wrong but fear discussing this with their parents.† (5) Most people have grown up with family secrets, but some secrets can destroy a family. The act of hiding the secret(s) provides an excuse to limit self-disclosure, and reacts negatively on one’s self-esteem. When these become extremely limited or negative, there is an increased chance of a separation and possible ending of the relationship. The end of the relationship could mean that parent and child no longer talk, or they are forcibly separated for their own health in extreme cases. Unfortunately, â€Å"emotional health can be passed down from generation to generation just as easily as abuse and dysfunction,† (Bloch, 7) making such dysfunctions of communications a continu ous process. Sturges writes â€Å"children will learn how to communicate with the world based in large part on how they have learned to communicate with their parents.† (31) Children often learn their communication behaviors not only from what we say but also from our actions. For example, If you tell your child that they can talk to you about anything, but y... ... their minds. It is important for the parent to respect their wishes and let them know that they will be available when the child is ready to talk and that you won’t be judgmental. Let the child tell the whole story before interceding with your thoughts. There are also instances where the child won’t want your opinion; they just want you to listen to their problems. This can be tricky to know whether the child wants your opinion or your ears but if you are actively listening to your child, you will know what it is that they are wanting. Remember, good communication is the heart of everything you do in life. Without good communication skills, things won’t get done properly and could cause hurt relationships. Learning these communication skills begins at home from the day that the child is born and should be continued into adulthood and for the rest of their lives.

Is Banning School Soda Machines A Good Idea

Is banning school soda machines a good idea? It's not the government's Job to make decisions about what we drink and where we drink it. That's why I think it's a bad idea to ban soda machines from schools. Taking away soda machines will take away the students ability to learn how to make healthier decisions for themselves. If they don't learn how to make healthy choices as a kid, they won't be able to make those good choices as an adult.The New York Times states that anyone who has tried to lose weight is likely to tell you that going â€Å"cold turkey' and avoiding tempting foods and drinks is setting ourselves up for failure, and that is exactly what banning particular foods and drinks will do. Removing unhealthy choices is setting you up for failure, and it's not a way to teach students on how to make healthy choices. Keeping soda machines in schools will allow students to ask themselves, â€Å"Is this a good choicer, â€Å"Is this healthy? Soda machines in schools will teach t hemselves on how to make good and healthy choices. Although soda is high in calories and sugars, there Is no evidence that it Is the direct cause of obesity. If schools carry only diet and zero calorie sodas such as diet eke and coke zero, the students would be drinking calorie free sodas with less sugar. That would allow the schools to still make profit and the students to get a healthier version of their favorite sodas.Another more beneficial way to decrease childhood obesity Is by dally exercise. This way your lungs and heart will get In better shape, while you are losing weight. Nobody wants to set kids and students up for failure. Banning soda machines In schools will set them up for that failure. That's why I believe that schools shouldn't ban their soda machines from students. Source The New York Times Upfront. † The New York Times Upfront I The News Magazine for High School. N. P. , n. D. Web. 4 Novo. 2012. Is Banning School Soda Machines A Good Idea By crimsoning will allow students to ask themselves, â€Å"Is this a good choice? â€Å", â€Å"Is this healthy? † Soda Although soda is high in calories and sugars, there is no evidence that it is the Another more beneficial way to decrease childhood obesity is by daily exercise. This way your lungs and heart will get in better shape, while you are losing weight. Nobody wants to set kids and students up for failure.

The Alltel Pavilion Case: Strategy and Cvp Analysis

ISSUES IN ACCOUNTING EDUCATION Vol. 19, No. 4 November 2004 pp. 555–561 The ALLTEL Pavilion Case: Strategy and CVP Analysis Edward Blocher and Kung H. Chen ABSTRACT: The ALLTEL Pavilion case is intended for the undergraduate management accounting or cost accounting course and the M. B. A. management accounting course. It provides an excellent context in which to examine strategic issues in using cost volume profit (CVP) in a service business.Based on an actual entertainment pavilion, the case develops many factors unique to a service business and illustrates how pavilion management can use CVP analysis to determine which artists to attract and what kinds of contracts to have with these performers. The Pavilion has two types of customers (paying ticket holders and free ticket holders) and earns profits from three types of revenues (ticket revenues, concession revenues, and parking fees).The case requires you to identify the best strategy for different types of artists, conduct cost-volume-profit analyses, consider the strategic issues related to operating leverage and how this affects the choice of performer and contract, and assess pricing strategies. O ne day in early November, Pam Berg, Manager of the ALLTEL Pavilion, was reviewing the operating results for the year just completed in preparation for the executive board meeting the following Friday. While the year ended in the black, she was disappointed that the ALLTEL Pavilion failed to earn the budgeted profit goal.This was the second year since Ms. Berg assumed the manager’s position at the ALLTEL Pavilion. After the somewhat disappointing first year, she was determined to exceed the budgeted profit in the coming year. While not all events developed exactly as expected at the time of preparing the budget for the year, there were no major surprises during the year. Yet, the operating results are below the budgeted goal. In addition, Pam was frustrated by the lack of clear guidelines for contra ct negotiations with artists, for setting ticket prices, and in dealing with unexpected low ticket sales for certain concerts.THE ALLTEL PAVILION FOR LIVE ENTERTAINMENT The ALLTEL Pavilion in Raleigh, North Carolina (http://www. alltelpavilion. com/) is an outdoor amphitheater that provides live concerts to the public from April through October each year, hosting as many as half a million patrons a year. The seven-month season usually hosts an average of 40 concerts, and 12 year-round staff plan and manage each season. SFX Entertainment Inc. (http://sfxyes. liveonline. net/) operates the pavilion. SFX is one of the largest diversified promoters, producers, and venue operators for live entertainment events in the United States.It has 71 venues either directly owned or operated under lease or exclusive booking arrangements in 29 of the top 50 U. S. markets, including 14 amphitheaters or pavilions in 9 of the top 10 markets. Edward Blocher is a Professor at The University of North Caro lina at Chapel Hill, and Kung H. Chen is a Professor at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. 555 556 Blocher and Chen ALLTEL Pavilion wants to be the nightlife for the Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC) and eastern North Carolina, and one of the most beautiful, technologically advanced, and successful amphitheaters in the world.It features the most modern state-of-the-art acoustics and video of any facility of its kind. In the last few years, ALLTEL Pavilion staged shows by the Dave Matthews Band, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Toby Keith, Santana, Tim McGraw, Aerosmith, James Taylor, Jimmy Buffett, and many other national, regional, and local artists. The Pavilion claims, â€Å"There isn’t a bad seat in the house. Whether you choose to spread a blanket on our gently sloping festival lawn or select a reserved seat in our pavilion seating area, you are guaranteed a great view of the action on the stage† (ALLTEL Pavilion website).Exhibit 1 shows the stage and seating of the amphitheater. History/Development The city of Raleigh and Pace Entertainment Company of Houston, Texas jointly built the ALLTEL Pavilion in 1991. Pace Entertainment and Cellar Door Inc. of Raleigh, NC had the initial contract to manage the Pavilion. Hardee’s Food Systems, Inc. of Rocky Mount, NC, the original sponsor of the amphitheater, paid an annual fee to carry its name and logo on all signs and ads regarding the amphitheater. On February 3, 1999 ALLTEL Corp (http://tel. com) became the title sponsor for the amphitheater.The demand for the outdoor facility came about because the rapidly growing city of Raleigh lacked a major entertainment complex. In the late 1980s Pace Entertainment and the city of Raleigh came to an agreement to build the facility. The city of Raleigh would own the land while Pace Entertainment would own the facility and assume sole operations of the facility; Cellar Door would do the booking for all the concerts. Pace Entertainment would pay income taxes on earnings from the use of the facility. In 1998, SFX Entertainment Inc. acquired Pace Entertainment Inc.The amphitheater facility and its employees became part of SFX Entertainment Inc. Also, in 1999 SFX Entertainment Inc. acquired Cellar Door Inc. and merged with Clear Channel Communications Inc. , one of the largest owners of radio stations in the country. This move brought together both worlds of the entertainment business. While the company has diverse holdings, the philosophy of SFX is â€Å"One Company, One Mission. † Many companies that are now owned by SFX were at one time bitter rivals in the concertpromoting business. These companies now maintain good working relationships within SFX.A key goal for SFX is for the net operating income of each of its holdings, including the ALLTEL Pavilion, to grow 5 percent each year. The Pavilion competes with the RBC Center (http://www. rbccenter. com) at North Carolina State University in Raleigh (NCSU), the De an Smith Activities Center (http://tarheelblue. ocsn. com/genrel/ 092301aad. html) at The University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC (UNC), and the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Charlotte, NC (http://www. verizonwirelessamphitheater. com/charlotte/), among others.In contrast to the facilities at NCSU and UNC that offer only indoor events, the Pavilion offers outdoor as well as sheltered seating for its events. Marketing, Operations, and Accounting When the marketing department plans a promotion for an upcoming event, it coordinates with the sales department to see if there is a conflict in sponsorship. Marketing also coordinates with the operations department to effectively manage the activities on show days. Finally, the budget of each department (sales, marketing, and operations) is reviewed by the accounting department, which provides overall financial anagement of the project. Bringing Concerts to Reality A concert becomes reality in many steps. First, a group or perform er with an interest in performing at ALLTEL will discuss with Cellar Door, Inc. and the Pavilion the possibility of performing at Issues in Accounting Education, November 2004 The ALLTEL Pavilion Case: Strategy and CVP Analysis 557 the Pavilion, and look at the open dates. Upon reaching an agreement, Cellar Door, on behalf of the Pavilion, signs a contract with the booking agent for the performer.A time is specified for gate openings, and once the gate is opened the show is underway. The job of the staff during a concert is to make sure every customer of the ALLTEL Pavilion has a pleasant experience and that the mission of the company is clearly seen by everyone that â€Å"a concert †¦ it’s better live. † Clean Sweep Inc. of Raleigh handles the cleanup after a show. Key Business Issues Marketing has an important role in the success of the ALLTEL Pavilion, but marketing expenditures are carefully watched. For every show, the marketing budget is limited to $20,000.F or many shows it is difficult to stay within the budget, since the Pavilion serves a five-market region consisting of Raleigh-Durham, Fayetteville, Wilmington, Greensboro, and the Carolina Coast. Most of the marketing budget is spent on advertising with radio, TV, and print media in the designated regions. Prior to developing advertising plans, the marketing staff analyzes ticket sales geographically over the five-market region. It is important to know the demographics of the five regions and compare them with the profile for each performer. The more ALLTEL Pavilion can know about the fans, the more they know where to spend the $20,000.SFX develops measures of performance and profitability for each advertising media, by region. This type of analysis is important to the ALLTEL Pavilion because increased ticket sales, through effective advertising, not only affect ticket revenues, but also revenues from parking, merchandise, and concessions. It is also important because of the increas ed cost of advertising. The advertising rates in the Raleigh-Durham region are comparable to the rates in Washington, D. C. The rates are up 200 percent over the last five years, while the budgets per show are only up 15 percent over this time.The cost of the performing artist has also increased dramatically. The average fee for an artist is approximately $160,000. Some artists are paid on a fixed-fee basis, while others are paid on a per capita basis. Generally, the most popular artists seek a per capita contract because they are confident of a high level of attendance. In contrast, the artist paid a fixed-fee is guaranteed the same fee whether 100 or 20,000 people attend (the capacity of the Pavilion is approximately 20,000 attendance). On average, the total number of paid tickets per fixed-fee concert is 7,000.The role of marketing and advertising is especially important for fixed-fee shows. One method the Pavilion uses in addition to advertising is to distribute â€Å"comp† tickets (comp tickets are free tickets distributed throughout the community) to build interest in the Pavilion that will later be realized in paying customers. Comp customers also bring in revenue for parking, concessions, and merchandise sales. In a fixed-fee concert, the number of comp tickets is approximately 25 percent of the number of paying tickets, while a per capita show has no more than 2. 5 percent.Because of the increasing cost of the performing artists, ALLTEL Pavilion tries to reduce nonartist costs. Nonartist costs at ALLTEL Pavilion include expenses for sales, marketing, parking, security, concessions, and merchandise. Since assuming the manager position, Pam has developed several avenues to reduce nonartist costs and/or increase revenues and profits, including reducing expenses, having the parking service pass out flyers for upcoming events, trading â€Å"comp† tickets for online spots in the radio industry, and giving local businesses tickets in exchange f or advertising on their premises.Revenues, Costs, and Flash Report for the KFBS Allstars Concert Exhibit 2 is a mock flash report for an illustrative fixed-fee show, the KFBS Allstars. A flash report is a projection of costs and revenues for a scheduled concert. The guarantee/talent cost ($160,635) is the amount the KFBS Allstars are guaranteed for the show. Projected sales is the number of projected paying ticket holders, while the â€Å"drop count† is total attendance, including both Issues in Accounting Education, November 2004 558 Blocher and Chen paid and comp tickets.Setting ticket price is often done together with the performer, taking into consideration SFX’s national and regional pricing policies, prices of comparable venues, and the Pavilion’s desired profit for the concert. Pam uses the flash report to plan potential concerts and to evaluate the success of concerts already presented. The report shows the variety of revenues and costs for a concert, an d the projected profit for the concert. The flash report projects total revenues including ticket sales, parking, food, and merchandise based on per capita (drop count) rates.Ticket sales are in four ticket categories: A seats and B seats are regular price tickets for the reserved and lawn seating sections respectively; C and D seats are promotional (discount) price tickets for reserved and lawn seating, respectively. Other revenues include per capita facility charges paid by the sponsoring corporation for naming rights (based on paid ticket holders) and a per capita service charge paid by the performer for food, transportation, and other services. Not included are the annual lease payments for VIP seats at $10,000 per year.Patrons to the VIP seats also have to pay the ticket price of A-level seats. Reserved and lawn seating areas are shown in Exhibit 1. The parking, food concession, and merchandise operations are outsourced to other service providers, so the direct costs for parkin g, merchandise and concessions are determined based on contracts with the service providers that include both a percentage (10 percent) of applicable revenues and a fixed fee. Operating expenses include an allocation of the total of fixed production and operations costs for the season, the advertising expenses for the KFBS Allstars event, and other variable expenses.These are then added to the direct costs for concessions, merchandise, parking, and insurance to determine total operating expenses. REQUIRED How would you describe the competitive strategy of the ALLTEL Pavilion? Given the firm’s strategy, what are the critical success factors for the Pavilion to achieve its goal of continuous annual growth in operating income? 2. Complete two selected cost-volume-profit analyses for the show illustrated in Exhibit 2, the KFBS Allstars: a) How many tickets must the ALLTEL Pavilion sell to break even? ) How many tickets must ALLTEL sell to earn $30,000 operating income after taxes , assuming a 40 percent tax rate? 3. What should be the average ticket price for the KFBS concert if the fixed-pay fee is $200,000 and the Pavilion expects to sell 7,000 tickets and wants to earn $30,000 after 40 percent in taxes? 4. Negotiating the fee for the KFBS Allstars: fixed-pay or per capita contracts? a) What is the maximum fixed fee that the Pavilion can pay the KFBS Allstars if the Pavilion wants to earn $45,000 after 40 percent tax and expects the show to have an average ticket price of $22. 12?Assume the show is expected to draw 6,000 paying ticket holders. b) What is the maximum fixed fee that the Pavilion can pay the KFBS Allstars if the Pavilion wants to earn $45,000 after 40 percent tax and expects the show to have an average ticket price of $22. 12? Assume, including 25 percent comp tickets, the show is expected to be a sell-out. c) Independent of (a) and (b), what is the maximum per capita fee that the Pavilion can pay the KFBS Allstars, whose concert is expected to be a sellout, if the Pavilion wants to earn $180,000 after 40 percent tax from an average ticket price of $22. 2 per ticket? 5. What role does CVP analysis and operating leverage play in contract negotiations with different types of performers (fixed-fee or per capita)? 1. Issues in Accounting Education, November 2004 The ALLTEL Pavilion Case: Strategy and CVP Analysis 559 EXHIBIT 1 ALLTEL Pavilion Stage and Seating The Pavilion can accommodate 20,000 fans with 7,000 reserved seats directly in front of the stage (covered seating in sections 1 through 9 and VIP seating) and another 13,000 on the spacious lawn. It has 78 theater-style VIP boxes that can accommodate 4, 6, or 8 people.In addition to positioning for prime viewing, patrons in VIP boxes also enjoy amenities such as wait staff service at their seats, personalized parking, and exclusive membership to the VIP Bar & Grill. Directly in front of sections 4, 5, 8, and 9 is seating with an elevated floor that provides excellent views of the stage for patrons with disabilities and additional seating for the hearing or visually impaired. Lawn Seating Reserved, Covered Seating Issues in Accounting Education, November 2004 560 Blocher and Chen EXHIBIT 2 Flash Report for the KFBS Allstars ConcertARTIST NAME ACTIVITY/EVENT NUMBER EVENT MONTH EVENT DATE Projected Sales (Number of Seats) A Seats B Seats C Seats D Seats TOTAL Number of Seats Projected Ticket Price A Seats B Seats C Seats D Seats PROJECTED NET AFTER TAX ADMISSIONS AVG TIX PRICE NET OF TAX PER PAYING PATRON TALENT % GUARANTEE/TALENT COSTS NUMBER OF PERFORMANCES DROP COUNT (includes comp tickets) Other Ticket-Related Revenue FACILITY CHARGE Per capita SERVICE CHARGE Per capita REVENUE FROM TICKETING Per capita ANCILLARY REVENUES PARKING Per capita FOOD CONCESSION Per capita MERCHANDISE Per capita RENTALS REVENUE FROM ANCILLARIES Per capita TOTAL REVENUE Per capita The KFBS Allstars 10310001 7 7/31/04 2,778 2,845 1,747 881 8,251 $36. 29 $22. 22 $11. 3 1 $ 4. 92 $182,479 $22. 12 88. 03% $160,635 1 10,349 $24,010 $2. 91 $16,172 $1. 96 $222,673 $26. 99 $19,767 $1. 91 $79,273 $7. 66 $36,428 $3. 52 $0. 00 $135,468 $13. 09 $358,141 $34. 61 (continued on next page) Issues in Accounting Education, November 2004 The ALLTEL Pavilion Case: Strategy and CVP Analysis 561EXHIBIT 2 (continued) Other Direct Costs PARKING CONTRACT CONCESSION CONTRACT MERCHANDISE CONTRACT TOTAL DIRECT COSTS Per capita PERCENT OF SALES TOTAL REVENUE (from above) TOTAL DIRECT COSTS (from above) GROSS PROFIT Operating Expenses TOTAL PRODUCTION EXPENSE TOTAL OPERATIONS EXPENSE TOTAL OTHER VAR. EXPENSE TOTAL ADVERTISING EXPENSE TOTAL OPERATING EXP Per capita PERCENT OF SALES OPERATING INCOME Per capita PERCENT OF SALES Detail: Other Concert Variable Expense Insurance Expense per person COGS—Concession per person COGS—Merchandise Inventory per person COGS—Parking per person Other Variable Concert Expense per person TOTAL OTHER VARIABLE EXPENSE $0. 1 7 $0. 35 $1. 12 $0. 08 $0. 02 $14,323 $4,448 $43,356 $17,826 $226,265 $21. 86 63. 2% $358,141 $226,265 $131,876 $15,506 $14,991 $14,323 $20,030 $64,850 $6. 27 18. 1% $67,026 $6. 48 18. 7% Issues in Accounting Education, November 2004

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For instance, when an employer distributes a number of difficult tasks to his or her employee to be completed within a short period of time, the employee will usually feel stressed due to the fact that completing the task within a short period of time is beyond the employee’s capability. This can be related to MARS Model where Motivation, Ability, Role perception and Situational factors are considered (Mcshane, Olekalns Travaglione 2010, p. 46-49). The employee may have the motivation and ability as well as a good role perception to perform his or her task, but due to situational factor such as limited time, he or she will feel stressed. For instance, in most of the secondary school, a teacher is responsible for teaching many subjects and the overload work task will definitely make the teacher feel stressed (It takes two: how schools are in vesting in staff teaching additional subjects 2013). Besides, the relationship among employees or between employees and employers also contributes to occupational stress (Causes of work-related stress 2009). This problem commonly happens when a new employee enters into a new job or position. He or she may not be able to get used to the new environment, especially the relationship with new colleagues. New employees will usually feel ignored by his or her colleagues and this problem makes them feel depressed (Common causes of stress at work n.d.). Very often, new employees will also have problem in communicating with new colleagues because of incomprehension of personality to each other (Mcshane, Olekalns Travaglione 2010, p. 345). In Model of Communication, communication barriers are the obstacles, which include perception, filtering, language and excessive information that disturb communication among people (Mcshane, Olekalns Travaglione 2010, p.356-358). For instance, sometimes when new colleagues make fun of a new employee such as kidding with the new employee, the new employee may convert the message received in a wrong way due to his or her perception, different language spoken, excessive information received and so on, in which the employee will think that the new colleagues are trying to insult him or her. Moreover, some employees, who do not have a good communication and relationship with their superiors or employees, are even bullied and suffer from harassment such as sexual harassment by their superior and end up feeling pressured (Tehrani 2002) (cited in Ongori Agolla 2008, p.124). The employees or victims are unable to communicate well or feel shy to communicate with people in a company will usually be the target of bullying by their superiors or colleagues. 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For instance, the majority of the employees in United Kingdom are most worried about the problem of their salaries reduction, followed by the problem of being unemployed and treated unfairly (Osborne 2013). Therefore, job insecurity is truly undeniable to be one of the major factors which may lead to the occupational stress (Unemployment ‘can lead to depression’ 2011). In actual fact, occupational stress has indeed brought advantages to employees. One of the most common advantages is that a low level of occupational stress can help to improve the working performance of an employee. When an employee has suffered from stress such as a reasonable work submission deadline, he or she will be more initiated or committed to try the very best to complete a task or come out with a well-done output. For example, after Apple company has released its new smartphone, iPhone 5S, Samsung Company then declares that it will also come out with its new smartphone product, Samsung Galaxy S5 which also has the same level of processor (The Fierce Competition Between Samsung And Apple is Still Ongoing n.d.). It is clearly shown that stress has actually motivated Samsung company’s employees to create come out with a good way to compete with Apple Company. Occupational stress, on the other hand, does also incur a number of negative impacts. The typical disadvantage is that occupational stress may harm oneself health condition in term of physical and mental. It is commonly known the symptoms of being overstressed are headache, insomnia, high blood pressure and so on (Hamlett n.d.). In fact, these symptoms also implies that oneself suffer the risk of health problems. If the overstressed issue persists, the employee will get sick and end up reducing his or her productivity. Not only that, the employee will also be unable to fully concentrate on performing his or her tasks as he or she will be distracted by worries at most of the time (Hamlett n.d.). In addition, the issue of occupational stress harming employees’ mental health condition is now increasing at an alarming rate. The mental illness or stress suffered will get serious if it is not cured as soon as possible and will end up causing fatal to the patient such as committing s uicide (Omelas Kleiner 2003) (cited in Ablanedos-Rosas et al. 2011, p. 555). For example, a nurse in Britain committed suicide due to the vicious slander brought by his patient (Work Suicide n.d.). In order to reduce stress temporarily, many people choose to smoke and end up addicted to smoking (Smoking and Mental Health n.d.), consequently increasing the chances of getting lung cancer (Lung cancer risks and causes n.d.). 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