Leadership in Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Leadership in Nursing - Essay Example Hence the nursing needs for the elderly have become an issue of growing concern in Hong Kong. Traditionally, the care of the sick is considered to be the moral duty of their family members among the Chinese. Hence, being cared for by nurses, who are strangers, "places the Chinese people in somewhat of a paradoxical situation" (Pang et al., cited in Smith & Tang 2004, p.18). Therefore, the success of nursing care depends also on the nurse's ability to act as a surrogate family member. With increasing health issues of the elderly and their near-total dependence on healthcare facilities, private nursing homes are increasing in demand for the confinement of the elderly with deteriorating health issues like cerebrovascular accidents, fractures such as hip fractures, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive airways disease, dementia, parkinsonism, etc. The government has funded three forms of residential care, with the aged homes providing assistance with activities of daily living, C&A homes providing personal attention and some nursing care, and infirmaries providing more intensive nursing care with medical supervision (Bartlett & Phillips 1995, p.238). Though several measures have been undertaken to increase the number of residential care homes, the availability of such care homes unfortunately still fall short of demand. This places increasing responsibility on the available nursing care personnel. According to a study done by Leung et al... Though several measures have been undertaken to increase the number of residential care homes, the availability of such care homes unfortunately still fall short of demand. This places increasing responsibility on the available nursing care personnel. According to a study done by Leung et al. (2000, p.65) from a random sample of private nursing homes in Hong Kong East region, increasing number of bedridden or chairbound patients, increasing dependency for basic activities of daily living, increasing problems of incontinence of bowel and/or bladder, increasing use of supporting devices, aggravating problems of bedsore, etc. lead to more hospitalizations and specialist out-patient clinic visits. Unfortunately the incidences of re-hospitalizations of these patients with recurrences of the same disease conditions have been gaining in frequency recently. "Frail elderly patients are shuffled back and forth between acute care, non-acute care, old age homes and the community" (Derrick 1998, p.1). This situation calls for a highly efficient and totally effective nursing care system. This report studies the scenario in a private nursing home in Hong Kong. The scenario is analysed for the effectiveness of the nursing care rendered by the present nursing team, its leadership style, and its advantages and disadvantages. Also studied are the different leadership styles and concepts that are applicable to this context. New strategies for improving the situation are developed, and appropriate leadership skills are recommended that suit these strategies. 2. Context I work as intern in a nursing team handling 100 inhabitants of a private nursing home in Hong Kong. The average age of the group is

Analysis on All the pretty Horses Essay Example for Free

Analysis on All the pretty Horses Essay The title of Cormac McCarthys novel All the Pretty Horses, reflects the significance and variance of roles that horses play in this coming-of-age story, as they relate to John Grady Cole who is the focus of the novel. The horse, which was the social foundation of Western American culture then, is described as an economical and practical asset to the boys John Grady and Lacey Rawlins. However, the author also describes horses abstract qualities using idyllic and impassioned diction, depicting them as animals of a highly advanced spiritual nature, similar to humans in some ways. John Grady has an intimate relationship with all horses and understands the world of horses extraordinarily well. On his journey from Texas to Mexico, he learns that the world of men is very different from that of horses and is forced to rethink about the relationship between humans and horses. John discovers that his preconceived notions about men and human society are false. He finds that they do not live in a romantic world, as he had believed. Therefore, the title that McCarthy has chosen is ironic and symbolizes the change that John experiences. The author uses the title to represent Johns initial perspective on the world, which turns out to be the opposite later on. Johns life, like all of Western American society during the timeframe of the story, revolved around horses. In fact, I think that he is able to understand the horses more than he does about men. The horses in the novel represent strength, untamed passion, and most importantly, freedom of spirit. The veneration that the vaqueros have for horses is apparent in the tales Luis tells the boys. the old man only said that it was pointless to speak of there being no horses in the world for God would not permit such a thing (111). I feel that this quote demonstrates to the readers very well on the strong feelings of passion of the vaqueros, cattle-ranchers, that they value horses so highly that they are able to regard themselves as nearly divine. It also reinforces Johns romantic notion that horses are highly spiritual beings. Like the vaqueros, the boys respect the horses, and these animals play large roles in their lives. The boys use horses in many ways throughout the novel, such as companions and as means of transportation or escape. John even has dreams about horses, as his thoughts were of horsesstill wild on the mesa whod never seen a man afoot and who knew nothing of him or his life yet in whose souls he would come to reside forever (118). This style of expression used in referring to horses here wild and souls is idealistic and almost poetic. Furthermore, the fact that John dreams about horses in this way and that he wants to reside forever in their souls shows that he, like the vaqueros, thinks of them very highly. Throughout the novel, the author does not fail to use romantic and emotional language to describe horses and their connections to humans. By using venerating diction in describing the horses, the author portrays these animals as noble being with wild spirits. Besides that, with vivid imagery, the author is able to paint us a poignant picture of horses. The painted ponies and the riders of that lost nation came down out of the north with their faces chalked and their long hair plaited and each armed for war which was their lifeWhen the wind was in the north you could hear them, the horses and the breath of the horses and the horses hooves that were shod in rawhide (5). This introduction of horses in the beginning of the novel demonstrates the passion and dedication that the author attributes to horses. The mood created by words such as painted ponies and the breath of the horses is passionate and emotionally charged. The author also continues to describe the raw energy and life that f lows through the horses. John Gradywas holding the horsewith the long bony head pressed against his chest and the hot sweet breath of it flooding up from the dark wells of its nostrils over his face and neck like news from another world (103). These metaphors such as the dark wells of its nostrils and news from another world create a forceful likeness of mysterious animals with a nature that is foreign to humans. The horses hot sweet breathflooding up displays the life and energy that fill the horses. This mysterious energy is also apparent later, when the author writes, He rode the last five horsesthe horses dancing, turning in the light, their red eyes flashingthey moved with an air of great elegance and seemliness (107). This imagery of red eyes flashing and horses dancing is very mysterious yet still striking. The descriptive detail is very cinematic, and any of these scenes could easily be made into a movie. These extremely in depth  descriptions are so exaggerated that they are almost unrealistic, but they are able to create the desired effect in making horses seem mystical and bizarre. These are the romantic creatures that John sees, the pretty horses that can be taken off the title. John Gradys connection with horses is as mystical as the horses themselves. He is one way or another, able to communicate with all horses on a deeper level than any other character in the story. This is evident on the Hacienda in the scene in which John and Rawlins are breaking some new horses. John cupped his hand over the horses eyes and stroked them and he did not stop talking to the horse at all, speaking in a low steady voice and telling it all that he intended to do and cupping the animals eyes and stroking the terror out (103). Johns ability to stroke the terror out of the horses is just like in a case of a parent calming a frightened child. Obviously, he must have some natural tie with these animals if he is able to do this. Indeed, the author has already unambiguously stated that such a bond does exist between John Grady and the horses earlier on when he writes, The boy who rode on slightly before him sat a horse not only as if he had been born to it which he was but as if were he begot by malice or mischance into some queer land where horses never were he would have found them anyway (23). This passage shows that Johns relationship with horses extends into the metaphysical range, a view that is reinforced throughout the novel as more is revealed about John Grady and the horses. As Luis says, the horse shares a common soulif a person understood the soul of the horse then he would understand all horses that ever were (111). It seems like as if the author is trying to tell us that John Grady has this ability to be familiar with the soul of the horse, and that is why his relationship with horses is so unique. Johns reliance on his knowledge of horses as a guide in the world of men eventually reveals to him that the two species are actually very different. When John starts out on his journey, he has very little knowledge about the inner workings of the human society, but he has superficially assumed men and horses to be similar. As the author writes in the opening of the novel, What he loved in horses he loved in men, the blood and the heat of the blood that ran them. All his reverence and all his fondness and all the leanings of his life were for the ardenthearted and they would always be so and never be otherwise (6). John knows that horses are ardenthearted and believes that men must be the same too. He thinks that his journey will be a romantic and passionate one, like the horses he loves, and will strengthen his view of the world. However, he soon learns that his assumption is not what the reality is. Before anything unfortunate happens to him, John hears from Luis that among men there was no such communion as among horses and the notion that men can be understood at all is probably an illusion (111). The first doubts then began to creep into Johns mind, and eventually, he finds out about this personally. Instead of pretty horses, Johns journey is filled with murder and stealing, prison and broken hearts. His ill-fated journey proves clearly about Luis point, and totally destroys Johns belief that the world of men is at all an understandable thing. Finally, when it is all over, he returns home disappointed, only to find that both his father and his Abuela have died. Johns fanciful concept of the world of men now has been completely replaced by a world thatseemed to care nothing for the old or the young or rich or poor or dark or pale or he or she. Nothing for their struggles, nothing for their names. Nothing for the living or the dead (301). The world of all the pretty horses is nothing to him now but a distant memory. This reveals the titles irony, a story titled All the Pretty Horses would apparently never involve the death and violence that is included in Johns travels. Indeed, John has come full circle and realized that his original assumptions about men were false. The title of McCarthys novel All the Pretty Horses is not meant to be taken literally. Before he runs away, John Grady believes in the world of all the pretty horses, because he has never known anything else. However, his time in Mexico disheartens him and forces him to believe otherwise, that the real world is not so simple, carefree, or innocent. John learns that the romanticism that he ascribes to horses cannot be applied to men. John respects horses and experiences the praise of these animals in the folklore of the day. His relationship with horses exists on many levels, by being his  transportation, his friends, and his spiritual companions. Furthermore, the author illustrates the horses with emotional diction creating almost a motif of passion whenever horses are described. Johns unusual understanding of the fervent spirit of horses leads him to believe that men are the same. However, on his bleak and disappointing journey, he learns that men do not have the same passion of s pirit as horses. Instead, they are unpredictable, violent creatures, and their world is certainly not always pretty. I think that it is utterly important for us as readers to understand what the author is trying to tell us by looking at the title and try to understand deeper with the details that the author provides us. Initially I thought that this novel is just going to give details of various horses that man uses in many different ways. However, I was completely wrong on making the judgment by its cover title. This novel teaches us about the reality in human world that no one will be able to predict what is going happen. He illustrates the morals and ethics that have survived throughout the ages, while ending up with nothing else is left, leaving only memories to be reminders of the mysterious and naturally beautiful time period. I am sure after reading this novel, one would never be able to forget the pain, suffering, romance, and above all loyalty inscribed on its pages or in the memories of those who lived through it.

Canadas Independence from Britain

Canadas Independence from Britain Canada: An Independent Nation â€Å"A British subject I was born, a British subject I will die,† As said by the founding father of our nation, Sir John A. MacDonald, 1891. Like Sir John A. MacDonald, many Canadians have expressed full support and loyalty to Britain, as â€Å"Mother Empire.† Canada is one of the oldest established colonies of Britain and a senior member of the imperial family. Over the course of history beginning with Confederation Canada has developed a bond with Britain. This connection is rooted in common history, family ties, shared values and traditions. Though expressed support to Britain, Sir John A. MacDonald believed that Canada could be a â€Å"powerful auxiliary to the Empire,† in other words; he believed that Canada can be a powerful support to Britain as an independent country. Subsequently, it is without a doubt, that earlier on in history, Canada was meant to be a sovereign country. Certain battles and laws prove that Canada is, after all, a self-governing n ation. For this reason, the three most significant defining moments in Canadian history would be the Battle of Vimy Ridge, the Statute of Westminster and D-Day when Canada emerged under the shadow of Britain, becoming a strong and independent nation. The 1917 Battle of Vimy Ridge proves that Canada is a united and independent country through its ability to pull through a tough battle, as one unit. Even under British leadership, Canada was able to achieve control and gain victory at Vimy Ridge. Yet many had low expectations from Canadian troops from the start. This proves that Canadian troops are tough, well trained and can pull through any battle they are faced with. Vimy Ridge is a difficult location to capture – due to its strategic ridge – the territory was an advantage if captured. Even with restrictions, this was the first total Canadian victory under Canadian leadership with no British involvement. With the help of Canadian General Arthur Currie, Canadians created and mastered the â€Å"Vimy Glide,† a military technique used to help successfully capture the ridge. After all circumstances, the capture of Vimy Ridge became more significant due to the fact that other countries such as France and Britain fa iled to capture the ridge – and above all, Canada was successful. This helped increase Canada’s reputation as a strong, independent and professional nation, gaining the respect from many people. The Battle of Vimy Ridge is a battle contributing to Canada’s international reputation and as a united country, the first step to the growth of Canada’s independence. The Statute of Westminster, passed on December 11, 1931, officially proves that Canada is a self-governing, independent country from Britain. This law gave Canada its freedom to control it own foreign affairs and was no longer a colony of Britain. This British law outlined Canada’s full independence and freedom from â€Å"the Empire†. It is an important, defining moment in Canadian history, because it gave Canada the freedom to make decisions on their behalf, with no British involvement. Hence, this freedom was generally established during World War Two, when Canada was not automatically at war when Britain was, and was able to decide as an independent country. The Statue of Westminster contributed to Canada’s full independence from â€Å"the Empire,† revealing a supreme nation ready for anything that comes its way. The 1944 battle of D-Day is an important event for Canadians, proving the strength Canada has as a newly formed independent nation. It is one of the toughest, important battles Canadian troops had faced. Not only was battle of D-Day the largest, planned invasion against Germany, but also the turning point and end to World War Two. Being a part of this event, as an independent country, was significant for Canada. This battle made up for the Canadian efforts of the failed 1942 Dieppe raid. June 6, 1944 Canadian troops were assigned to capture â€Å"Juno Beach,† one of the five beaches of Normandy. Since Juno Beach was one of the central beaches, the most deadliest fighting took place here. Many Canadian soldiers drowned even before reaching the beach, just to show the harsh conditions experienced by the courageous troops. Although the beach was typically flat, Canadian troops had to go through a series of obstacles to advance this territory, for instance, barbed wire, mines and beach obstacles that prevented Canadian advance. As a result, Canadians successfully accomplished the mission given to them, particularly driving the Germans off the territory and capturing Juno Beach. The battle of D-Day proves to one important battle, demonstrating Canada’s independence and ability to carry out a mission. Although this was a tough battle, Canada was able to prevail during an important battle of World War Two. The Battle of D-Day proves Canada’s strength as an independent nation. In the long run, Canada gradually and peacefully emerged under the shadow of Britain, becoming a self-governing nation. As a part of the imperial family, Canada has demonstrated loyalty to Britain and has always been very close to the Empire. Events in history prove that Canada is, after all, an independent country. It was only a while ago when Canada fought alongside Britain during World War One and when Canada fought as an independent country during World War Two, proving that Canada has surely become a sovereign nation. Early on, fears of Canadian involvement in Britain’s foreign affairs were present even back to the late 1800s to the early 1900s. These fears were soon destroyed as the nation grew, revealing the true, independent side of Canada. That is to say, there was a time when Canada was dependent on Britain for most of their battles. Through the battle of Vimy Ridge, the Statute of Westminster and the invasion of Normandy when Canada grew, and developed into an indep endent nation, becoming one of the strongest, successful countries in the world.

Witchcraft in Salem Essay -- Salem Possesed Witchcraft Witch Trials Es

Witchcraft in Salem In the past, the word Salem has always been somewhat synonymous with the infamous witch trials. Thanks to works such as Arthur Miller’s â€Å"The Crucible†, many people find it hard not to envision a community torn apart by chaos, even though Miller’s play was not so much about the witch trials but instead a commentary on the rampant McCarthyism going on at the time he wrote it. Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, however, see a very different picture when the Salem witch trials are mentioned. Rather than overlook the â€Å"ordinary† people living in the towns in which they write about (in the case of Salem Possessed, the town of Salem, Massachusetts), they instead take the instance of the witch trials of 1692 and springboard from them into a detailed inquisition into the entire history of the small village of Salem; or, in their own words, Boyer and Nissenbaum have â€Å"exploited the focal events of 1692 somewhat as a stranger might make use of a li ghtning flash in the night: better to observe the contours of the landscape which it chances to illuminate† (xii). That is to say, the authors strive to show how the witch trials were not simply a completely spontaneous event, but rather a long, horrible process by which individuals were singled out, tried, and executed in order to vent emotions of hostility towards change. The way in which the authors go about this, however, is in a somewhat difficult to comprehend style that goes back and forth between the years, forcing one to rethink all the facts thus far each time a new chapter is introduced. In addition, the authors tend to focus mostly on the social and economic aspects of witchcraft, with little to nothing as far as further explanation of the actions of the women accused. In the year 1692, the small farming village of Salem, Massachusetts saw a social phenomenon that would propel the village into the history books: the calamity that was witchcraft. The witch trials were initiated whenever three young girls, Betty Parris, Abigail Williams, and Ann Putnam were caught performing fortune telling rituals in the woods, trying to gather information on what type of man would be best for them. Soon thereafter, the girls began experiencing hysterical fits, prompting Betty Parris’s father, Reverend Samuel Parris, to call in the authorities to confirm the cause of the girls’ symptoms. ... ...rought into the case would treat it as though it were a completely rational occurrence. But then again, this is perhaps more of a fault of my own than of the authors. In the end, Salem Possessed did indeed leave me with more of an understanding of the events that took place in Salem Village, even though that understanding did seem a little shallow, as I felt it only focused on one aspect of the whole. But regardless of my unpleasant viewpoint on said novel, Mr.’s Boyer and Nissenbaum have done an admirable thing by taking the Salem witch trials and examining them by today’s standards. By going strictly from church records and personal accounts, the authors have brought a whole new light to what was once percieved as a purely tyrannical act of prejudice against seemingly random people, letting the public know that it was in fact a calculated attack on many ‘radical’ individuals. And, while the book did occasionally fall short on offering a complete picture of the events, it was still a fairly succinct guide to the economic factors involved with the village of Salem and its â€Å"fifteen minutes†, as it were, a nd as such would be reccommended to history buffs around the world.

Higher Learning

In this essay I will discuss hat It Is Like to counsel the character Remy from the movie â€Å"Higher Learning† (Singleton, 1995). I will give an overview of the movie and character, the presenting Issues of the character, my approach and role to counseling the character, and the characters cultural framework Influence on why I chose to Intervene to counsel him. Cultural Skills Students from different countries, races, social and culture background are forced to integrate with each other when they all enroll in Columbus university College. They all have real life issues, such as finance, harassment, personal safety, and self-doubt.However, the college campus life seems to be causing a problem for everyone evolving around the issue of racism. The students are already under pressure to perform in the classroom, on the track, or in front of their friends, are beginning to face obstacles such as prejudice, and misunderstanding of each other on many deferent levels. Remy Remy chara cter plays an important role to the flow and overall point of racism in the movie. His character is a driving force for the slow transition of how an individual can go from a cracked mental state of mind into a total broken state of mind.Remy slowly becomes alienated from his peers. Remy at the start has no identity of who he is so he's very confused and lost. Remy is taking a close look at his diverse peers, trying to find ways to be the same or similar with the hopes of becoming accepted to a social group he can be comfortable with. He comes in as an engineering major, and a son of a â€Å"survivalist† father who use to abuse him. Remy throughout the movie shifts from alienated loner to a motivated Nazi skinhead. At this point Remy has given up trying to fit in until the Nazi leader Scott befriends him.They Immediately alcove him to their circle without hesitation, to which Remy says thanks and shaves his head. Remy further starts to fall Into a pit of frustration and self- hate, due to the advice given by the Nazi leader Scott who brainwashes Remy Into thinking that the world needs to be taken over by â€Å"White America† therefore this Is where the character Remy starts to display mental disorder Like symptoms. Presenting Issues/ My Approach In the movie, Remy displayed many different emotions ranging from crying, emptiness, self-inflicting behavior and a high need to fit In.However, when he did not it in he felt hopelessness and alone so he turned towards a reckless group of people people that accepted gave him a new way of thinking. As a counselor my approach to Remy would be compared to dealing with an individual with Borderline Personality Disorder issues. According to the Journal â€Å"Symptoms of borderline personality disorder predict interpersonal (but not independent) stressful life events in a community sample of older adults†, Individuals with borderline personality disorder can often experience stressful life events at a hig her frequency than those without it.Only borderline personality pathology was related to an increase in the frequency of interpersonal stressful life events. Three specific symptoms of this disorder were connected with unstable interpersonal relationships, impulsively, and chronic feelings of emptiness (Powers, 2013). So looking at how BAD can have a direct correlation between stressful events in life and past issues, it is easy to see how Remy could be seen for this disorder. The initially start of the sessions with Remy would revolve around first breaking down the barriers of his past issues with his abusive father.But as a counselor one would have to ask does childhood abuse have a connection with Borderline Personality Disorder or their characteristics? Although childhood abuse, BAD traits, and internal and external symptoms were all correlated, the connection between childhood abuse and BAD traits stems from findings that are consistent with the widely held assumption that chil dhood abuse causes BAD, and they suggest that BAD traits show in adults as they get older ( Broadleaved, 2013).So once again as a counselor, asking Remy questions about his childhood could give him answers as to why he feels these emotions apart from dealing with the issues of not fitting in and his feelings of emptiness. Because his father was a â€Å"survivalist† which focuses around the belief that eventually society will collapse through social or political disorder and only the self-sufficient will be able to survive. The skills that survivalists have are some such as wilderness survival, first aid and self-defense with either weapons or hand-to-hand combat.So seeing that his father was abusive, he could very much have desensitizing Remy with this belief that he had, which possibly dead to the abuse as his father's way of making him stronger. My reason for Intervention My reason for Intervention for Remy looking at his cultural framework, is that many children grow up in homes that are strict, have military backgrounds, violence and other matters that can damage a child even Just by witnessing or living through it. In the movie, Remy stated â€Å"Were going to war man this is the opening stage of World War 3† (Singleton, 1995).Remy felt that he was in a race war when in fact he's really in a war with himself and the fact that he feels that he has no purpose in the world, ex.'s lost. My intervention process would rely on getting him to focus on the point that he initially went to school as an engineer and he should finish and become what he started out to be. Getting him to realize healthy choices and advantages of getting his degree from college in engineering and the opportunities that are ahead for him that could make a huge impact in his life is the angle that would be taken.In order to help Remy, he would have to realize his self-worth instead of believing the views that his father raised him in. Remy believes at this point in what his N azi leader friend Scott as instilled in him which is â€Å"White Power†, a reality that his race has to take over to is proved to be useful with dealing with BAD. Implementing DEBT in the treatment of college students with complex issues, including suicidal ideation, severe depression, and BAD features.DEBT is a principle-based treatment that is flexible enough to apply to the severe and complicated issues increasingly seen across an individual. DEBT focuses on teaching skills such as, emotion regulation, distress and tolerance that are developmentally relevant to college students. DEBT was designed for chronically suicidal individuals which suggest that chronically suicidal students are more likely to benefit from comprehensive treatment approaches and may actually experience positive effects with very brief forms of treatment.College students with BAD traits differs from community BAD individuals, and the treatment targets of DEBT can be altered to address college students' specific clinical needs. For example, college students are less likely than community BAD individuals to engage in recurrent suicidal threats suggesting that DEBT treatment for this population may focus more on kills acquisition than stabilizing an individual (Pictorials, 2012). Conclusion In my opinion of treating Remy, this type of therapy can benefit him in many ways.In the movie he started to commit suicide in his room when he thought to himself life would be better dead. However, he did not do it which at that point I would intervene before that point and get him on track to thinking in a different mindset. In the movie Remy ended up sadly committing suicide shooting himself in the head after he shot a few students from a rooftop. The point of mental health counselors in our field is to et to the root of the issue before it gets to that point with the hope of getting the client on track to a healthy way of thinking.Remy would have been a very interesting character to counsel d ue to the fact he had childhood issues which lead to even bigger adult issues. The attitude of his father believe it or not reflected in his behavior with the â€Å"survive by any means necessary mentality'. However, Remy was not strong enough mentally which Scott the Nazi leader preyed on Remy as his puppet to mold him into what he wanted him to be. As a counselor we have to member that we do not know what state a client's mind is in mentally so we have to be careful ourselves in our approach to make sure we do no further harm.

Why SAT SuperScoring means you should retake the SAT.

Why SAT SuperScoring means you should retake the SAT. SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips In this article, PrepScholar cofounder and statistics expert Dr. Fred Zhang explains why the SAT superscoring means you can get huge points by retaking the SAT. Many of you know that colleges often take the best SAT score in each section, but do you know how much you can gain by just a re-take? Do you know how to do your retake to max your score? Many students know about the Superscore concept in the SAT: the fact that many colleges only look at the best score in each section in admissions.For example, suppose you take the SAT twice with the following outcomes: Test Date Math Score Reading Score Writing Score Total March 620 600 760 1980 October 740 720 610 2070 SuperScore 740 720 760 2220 Even though you only increased your session SAT score from a 1980 to a 2070, and improvement of 90 points, your SuperScore increased by 240 points. I will tell you why this is incredibly important to your test taking strategy! More Times Matters Because you are getting the maximum of your SAT score over multiple sessions, then it is clear that the more often you take it, the higher your maximum score will be. Imagine if you were running a 100-meter dash, but only your best time mattered doesn't it make sense to run it more than once. Variation Matters When you retake the test, besides trying to do well, you also want to try to increase the randomness of your score what statisticians callvariance. The more varied your score is, the more likely your superscore is higher. This is actually quite subtle, so I'll repeat it again. Even if your score stays the same, you want to increase variation. For example, suppose your last SAT Math score was 600, which one of the below strategies would you take: A) A strategy that gives you a 50% chance of getting a 590 and a 50% chance of 610. B) A strategy that gives you a 50% chance of a 500 and a 50% chance of a 700. Take a moment to think about this. Done? If you chose B, you're correct! With the superscore, you care about only the upside, not the downside. The 50% chance of a 700 means much more than the 50% chance of a 610. How much can you gain? College Board has released thorough data about student score improvements between different tests. The key data: College Board shows that re-taking the test results in a variation of about 50.86 points in each section that's a huge amount of natural variation! It also means that riding off of this variation alone, I used Monte-Carlo simulation to prove that if you go from taking the SAT once to taking it twice, your superscore will go up in expectancy by 78 points! Supercharge the Superscore Okay, so that's awesome, but can you improve on that more? Yes! PrepScholar's training includes SAT test taking strategy as an important component of the prep process. Using our strategies, we'll show you how to increase the variation so your expected point increase is even higher, up to 100 points plus! And this is based on pure variation we also train you so your raw expected score goes up as well. With the two components combined, you can achieve hundreds of points of improvement. But the base story still holds: variation means you should take the SAT multiple times if you have the chance, and you should increase your test variation.

International Economic Conditions in Ukraine

International Economic Conditions in Ukraine Introduction Ukraine is the largest country in Europe in terms of land mass. The country borders Belarus on the northwestern side, Russia from its eastern and northeastern side, and Black Sea from its southwestern side. Ukraine also borders Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia. It continues to enjoy the second largest military body among all European nations.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on International Economic Conditions in Ukraine specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The country has a population of about 45.4 million people. Most of the Ukrainian Christians are members of the Eastern Orthodoxy. Ukraine has a market economy that formed immediately after the planned economy of the former Soviet Union. However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the economy of Ukraine began experiencing a major slump. Ukraine’s population also gradually became poor. In the efforts to curb this situation, the government success fully liberalized trade in 1991. The government also subsidized most of the public industries and the agricultural sector in the country. However, high rates of inflation grew speedily in 1990s to a hyperinflation. For example, Ukraine had the highest rate of inflation in the world within a period of one year. In 2008, the economy suffered the great economic crisis effects. As the paper reveals, the country is currently facing various international economic conditions. Ukraine and the International Trade Many countries have expanded their businesses to the global levels as a way of boosting their productivity. Ukraine is not an exception. As Dabrowski and Taran confirm, the country has been a major player, especially in the European Union (2). The major international trade partner to Ukraine is Russia. Other trade partners include Turkey, Italy, Germany, China, Poland, USA, France, and Turkmenistan among others. Ukraine is both an exporter and an importer of various goods to and fro m other countries.Advertising Looking for term paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The major exports from Ukraine include iron and steel, mineral fuels, oil, gasoline, nuclear reactors, machinery, cereals, tools, and base metals. Ukraine also imports goods from various nations in the world. Such commodities include mineral fuels and crude petroleum, nuclear reactors, vehicles, electronics, paper and paperboard, and articles of pulp (Hoekman, Jensen, and Tarr 796). For several years before the onset of economic and political crisis, the economy of Ukraine was rated one of the best in Europe. The country has relied on imports to sustain its economy. Several factors come into play to necessitate the country’s imports. To begin with, Ukraine’s internal energy sources can only cater for 15% of its yearly energy needs (Dabrowski and Taran 6). This finding implies that Ukraine has to import energy sources, including oil, nuclear reactors, and electricity. Secondly, the forest cover in Ukraine is small and inadequate for its timber and wood product needs. Hence, for it to sustain its pulp, timber, and paper-dependent industries, it has to import wood products. Thirdly, Ukraine does not have the absolute advantage of manufacturing cars as the situation is witnessed in Germany and Japan. Therefore, it is economical for it to import cars from various nations of the world. Deploying the Heckscher-Ohlin model, a nation that is abundant in the production of a particular factor has the advantage of exporting the item it produces extensively. The model also affirms that a country will export goods that it produces intensively through resources that it is endowed with. This theory explains the iron, steel, grains, and grain products that Ukraine exports. Hoekman, Jensen, and Tarr assert that Ukraine has abundant fertile farmland that it uses for the production of grains f or local markets and export (796). On the other hand, the demand for energy and energy products outdo the country’s local production.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on International Economic Conditions in Ukraine specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Bilateral trade between Ukraine and Russia can be seen from the specific factor model. Although, Russia has played a major role in positioning and projecting the economy of Ukraine, Russia’s gains are incomparable to the losses that Ukraine encounters (Dabrowski and Taran 4). According to the specific factor model, the international trade has the ability to change income distribution in countries. The result is the witnessed unleveled gains and losses by some people. For instance, the Russian economy is currently slumping due to the political crisis and demonstrations in Ukraine concerning Russian annexation of the Ukrainian land. Trade agreements that were signed by the two countries in the view of streamlining the economy of Ukraine have not taken off. Ukraine import cars and electronics from Russia since it has an absolute advantage over such products (Hoekman, Jensen, and Tarr 796). Export of grains, iron, and steel to Russia does not compensate the gap. In fact, the population of Ukraine demonstrates regularly to press the government to cut its ties with Russia over the annexed land and political interference. Economic Conditions that affect Ukrainian International Trade Government Policies on International Trade The Ukrainian government has enacted protectionist policies to gain its international trade. For instance, the Ukrainian government has put tariffs on automobile imports (Hoekman, Jensen, and Tarr 798). Although this move vehemently affects international trade with various countries such as Germany, Japan, and Russia, Ukraine has gained some milestones from it with reference to the Heckscher-Ohlin Model. For instance, the se laws have benefitted the local business, but not the international business.Advertising Looking for term paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Automobile tariffs make it prohibitive for Ukrainian importers and exporters to bring automobiles for sale. Such countries may opt to export their automobiles to other parts of the world consistent with the specific factor model of international trade where trade between one nation and the other may affect the partners in a way that one partner gains while the other loses. In this case, Ukraine has gained by imposing high trade tariffs on automobile imports. As a result, its automobile manufacturing industry has grown to the extent that the country can now export its household automobiles. In addition, owners and employees of Ukrainian automobile industries have benefitted from the protection policies that the government has imposed on automobile imports (Hoekman, Jensen, and Tarr 798). The growth of the automobile industry implies more employment opportunities and technological advancement in the country. Moreover, the other consequence of automobile import tariff is that prices of Ukrainian automobiles such as cars have gone up very much. Cars are very expensive in Ukraine. Competition for car manufacturing is just within where few international motor dealers can penetrate the automobile markets in Ukraine. Therefore, exporting automobiles such as cars, airplanes, motorbikes, and other vehicles to Ukraine is a venture that the country’s international trade partners reject. With the imposition of steel tariffs by the World Trade Organization (WTO), prices went up for steel and steel products in the US where Ukraine imports its items. Since steel is used in the manufacturing industry, its rise in price is likely to affect exports from the manufacturing industry (Kostenko 56). Therefore, international trade policies are likely to affect the global business relationship between Ukraine and its partners. The implication is that the protectionist policies benefit the country that imposes them, as opposed to the situation with the specific model theory. Non- membership of Ukraine in the World Trade Organization According to Kyzym et al., although there has been an outcry in Ukraine for the country to join the WTO, it has not yet become a member (7). Lack of membership to the WTO makes the trade relationship between them strained. Ukraine is likely to face limitations when trading with the WTO members. Most of the trading partners of Ukraine are members of WTO, apart from Russia. However, its major trade partner (Russia) is on the verge of registering its membership in WTO (Kostenko 54). Therefore, Ukraine is likely to face protectionist rules in its trade with members of the WTO as a nonmember. Ukraine is not protected from the abuse of patent or trade disputes in the international markets. Therefore, whenever there is a trade dispute concerning quotas, protectionism, and duties between Ukraine and its partners, the situation remains at the partners’ mercies. Most of the trading partners such as China are also cautious of lack of surety that Ukraine puts on the table in trade relations. Membership in the WTO provides some confidence to traders in the international market (Kyzym et al. 8). The WTO rules bind all members. Hence, as a non-member, Ukraine cannot be bound by the rules and regulations of WTO whenever it contravenes them. Lack of membership to the WTO has negatively affected Ukraine’s imports and export processes. For example, there were embargoes on Ukraine grains in 2006 and 2007. This case contradicted the WTO regulations on exports. However, since Ukraine was a non-member, nothing could have been done. Trade Embargoes The impact of the 2006-2007 trade embargoes on Ukraine grains still affects its international trade (Kyzym et al. 22). According to the WTO, trade embargoes can only be applied when an exporter is suffering from a serious shortage of the commodity. However, no serious shortage of grains was witnessed in Ukraine during the period when it embargoed its grains. As a result, m ost of the exporters of grains from Ukraine suffered great losses and cancelation of international contracts. In addition, a general imbalance of grain products was witnessed in the international market. Traders also suffered losses from the depreciation of grain prices locally. Moreover, the country’s farmers also suffered a lack of the market share since it was oversupplied to the tune of $200million (Dabrowski and Taran 3). Today, grain exporters fear buying grains for exports from Ukraine, unless the prices are discounted to cater for the appreciation in the international market. The government must also provide a room for the high risk that grain traders pose to Ukraine. Export Taxes and Prohibitive Energy Cost Export taxes on some commodities such as scrap metal, skins, sheep and goats, and sunflower in Ukraine are prohibitive (Kyzym et al. 8). These taxes negatively affect Ukraine’s poor citizens who rear sheep and goats, grow sunflower, and/or buy scrap metals. On the other hand, rich citizens who are involved in this trade gain highly. This observation reflects the specific factor theory where the international trade affects the participants differently. Hence, the affluent class grows wealthier while the underprivileged one continues to be deprived while still trading. For instance, sunflower farmers in Ukraine are forced to pay a 16% tax on their sunflower overseas sales as export tax (Kyzym et al. 23). As an implication, the farmers opt to smuggle their sunflower to other parts of the world, thus resulting in uncontrolled domestic prices. In line with Heckscher-Ohlin model, export taxes benefit the rich people and not the poor ones. They also prohibit the commitment of the international investors. The energy sector in Ukraine is prohibitive for foreign investors (Dabrowski and Taran p.3). Laws and policies on energy in Ukraine are also limiting for foreigners to operate. For instance, foreign companies that are interested in oil explo ration in Ukraine are required to bid and complete their tasks within a period of not more than five years. Such policies prohibit the entry of international explorers of the Ukraine market. Another crippling factor in the energy sector is that the government does not offer any information concerning energy resources (Hoekman, Jensen, and Tarr 812). The contract winner is supposed to collect data and explore the resource within the limited period. This situation has affected the gas industry. Hence, Ukraine continues to import gas. Energy regulations in Ukraine also make it difficult for foreign investors to run their industries. Prohibitive Laws and Regulations on Investment Laws that guide the business environment in Ukraine make it difficult for foreign direct investment to succeed. Foreign investors face difficult processes in terms of registering businesses and running them in Ukraine (Kyzym et al. 7). For instance, the law requires businesses that are owned by foreigners to be regularly inspected and satisfied for health and human resource safety. This rule has become an avenue for corruption through bribery where investors bribe government inspectors to avoid prosecution and withdrawal of permits. Laws on business regulations in Ukraine do not come from a specific arm of the government (Kostenko 54). For example, the president, ministers, and individuals who are in charge of the department can enact them. This flexibility makes it difficult for foreign investors to carry out their business operations smoothly. Dabrowski and Taran say that obtaining the right of ownership in joint companies is difficult in Ukraine (4). A deficiency in laws that regulate shareholding in joint stock companies opens up the economic environment to corruption. This gap has negatively affected the stock markets in Ukraine. As a result, major firms in Ukraine have turned into investing in foreign markets, for instance, in the United Kingdom and China. Foreign and international companies avoid investing in Ukraine since no clear laws on joint stock companies have been established (Dabrowski and Taran 4). This situation contradicts the specific model theory since both the national economy and the international investors do not benefit from poor joint stock laws in Ukraine. Conclusion Ukraine is one of the major economic hubs in Europe. Since its independence in 1991, the country has experienced both vicissitudes in its international economic endeavors. As discussed above, various conditions influence Ukraine’s international economic environment. Such conditions include government policies on international trade, protectionist policies, non-membership of Ukraine in the World Trade Organization, and trade embargoes. Besides, export taxes, prohibitive energy cost, prohibitive laws and regulations on investment, laws on business environment, inconsistency in commercial laws, and deficient laws on joint stock companies are part of the conditions that infl uence Ukraine’s global business operations. Dabrowski, Marek, and Svitlana Taran. â€Å"Is Free Trade with the EU Good for Ukraine?† CASE Network E-briefs 1.6(2012): 1-4. Print. Hoekman, Bernard, Jesper Jensen, and David Tarr. â€Å"A Vision for Ukraine in the World Economy.† Journal of World Trade 48.4(2014): 795-814. Print. Kostenko, Nataliya. â€Å"Geo-Economic Strategy of the European Union: Experience for Ukraine.† Economics Business 25.1(2014): 54-60. Print. Kyzym, Onesmus, Vera Yaroshenko, Yasmin Matyushenko, Bahma Semyhulina, and Malik Makhansova. â€Å"Opportunities and Threats of Ukraine WTO Membership to the Production and Foreign Trade of Grain Crops with the EU and Customs Union and EurAsEC.† Problems of Economy 1.2(2014), 7-24. Print.

Hesperosaurus - Facts and Figures

Hesperosaurus - Facts and Figures Name: Hesperosaurus (Greek for western lizard); pronounced HESS-per-oh-SORE-us Habitat: Woodlands of North America Historical Period: Late Jurassic (155 million years ago) Size and Weight: About 20 feet long and 2-3 tons Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Short, wide head with small brain; relatively blunt, oval-shaped plates on back; quadrupedal posture About Hesperosaurus Stegosaursthe spiked, plated dinosaursfirst evolved in Asia during the middle to late Jurassic period, then crossed over to North America a few million years later, where they prospered up until the cusp of the ensuing Cretaceous period. That would explain the in-between features of one of the first identified North American stegosaurs, Hesperosaurus, with its wide, round, mushroom-shaped dorsal plates and unusually short and blunt head (earlier stegosaurs from Asia possessed smaller skulls and less ornate plates, while the skull of Stegosaurus, which followed Hesperosaurus by about five million years, was much more narrow). Ironically, the near-complete skeleton of Hesperosaurus was discovered in 1985 during an excavation of its much more famous cousin. Initially, the near-complete skeleton of Hesperosaurus was interpreted as an individual, or at least a species, of Stegosaurus, but by 2001 it was classified as a separate genus. (Just to show that paleontology is not set in stone, a recent re-examination of Hesperosaurus remains led to the conclusion that Hesperosaurus was actually a Stegosaurus species after all, and the authors recommended that the closely related stegosaur genus Wuerhosaurus should also be so assigned. The verdict is still out, and for the time being, Hesperosaurus and Wuerhosaurus retain their genus status.) However you choose to classify Hesperosaurus, theres no mistaking the distinctive plates on this dinosaurs back (about a dozen roundish, short structures significantly less pointed and dramatic than the comparable plates on Stegosaurus) and its spiked tail, or thagomizer. As with Stegosaurus, we dont know for sure why Hesperosaurus evolved these features; the plates may have aided in intra-herd recognition or served some kind of signaling function (say, turning bright pink in the presence of raptors and tyrannosaurs), and the spiked tail may have been wielded in combat by males during mating season (the winners earning the right to pair with females) or used to inflict puncture marks on curious predators. Speaking of mating, once recent study of Hesperosaurus (published in 2015) speculates that this dinosaur was sexually dimorphic, the males differing anatomically from the females. Surprisingly, though, the author proposes that female Hesperosaurus possessed narrower, pointier plates than the males, whereas most of the sexual differentiation in large animals (both millions of years ago and today) favors the males of the species! To be fair, this study has not been widely accepted by the paleontology community, perhaps because its based on too few fossil specimens to be considered conclusive

Inventory Management and Logistics Control at Pfizer Research Paper

Inventory Management and Logistics Control at Pfizer - Research Paper Example   Pfizer has an effective supply chain system to reach even the remote corners of the world. Pfizer is currently implementing a new supply chain management strategy all over the world. Instead of increasing internal networks, Pfizer is currently trying to reduce it. However, this strategy doesn’t mean that Pfizer’s logistics operations are causing problems to it. Pfizer is trying to reduce its own internal networks; at the same time, it increases its cooperation with local partners to maintain better records in logistics operations. It should be noted that globalization brought many changes in business management principles. Since Pfizer is operating globally, it needs the cooperation of the domestic partners to operate successfully in overseas countries. Since local partners have better knowledge about the local markets, it is better for Pfizer to give the responsibility of supply chain operations to local partners instead of doing it in its own ways. Pfizer is an Am erican company which knows American business climate, culture and environment properly. However, same thing cannot be said about Pfizer in other countries. For example, being the most heavily populated countries in the world; India and China are huge markets for Pfizer. It is impossible for Pfizer to manage supply chain operations in these countries using its own capabilities. Since these markets are extremely diverse geographically and culturally, Pfizer needs the support from local partners to maintain good inventory all the time.  

HIV Infected Mothers Having Babies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

HIV Infected Mothers Having Babies - Essay Example Because more women are infected with HIV, there is dilemma for public servants in helping HIV positive mothers have babies. Some believe HIV positive women should not have babies at all. Others would rather not see babies Born to HIV mothers become infected, but realize that as human beings those women wish to have normal family lives as others do. For some women, the idea of having a baby with a positive HIV status is unthinkable. They would not want to take the risk of transmitting the virus to the baby. They also may fear that spouses or other family members would not want to care for an HIV positive baby after the mother’s death. Other women believe having a baby where there is a high risk of birth defects is ok, but not having a baby that might get the HIV virus. Personal views stem from socially acceptable norms that accept babies with birth defects more than those with HIV. Other women believe that regardless of the risks, they have a right to bear children and have a f amily just as much as the next woman. Women in the United States are not prohibited from having babies when they are HIV positive. Interestingly, in Botswana some officials discourage women with HIV from having babies â€Å"claiming that they are not fit to take care of a child or that they will automatically transmit the virus to the infant† (Doyle). Women are often shunned by locals who know they have the virus, when they decide to have children. This is surprising as infants are more likely to die in their first year of life due to unsanitary water and poor nutrition.

Metabolic syndrome and its management in schizophrenia Essay

Metabolic syndrome and its management in schizophrenia - Essay Example Among other symptoms that are interrelated with schizophrenia is metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a complex of certain risk factors that are likely to cause a person to develop cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, and it traditionally includes abdominal corpulence (with waist circumference more than 88 or 102 cm with women and men correspondingly), hypertriglyceridemia, high blood pressure, increased blood sugar level, and others. A patient's having the majority of these factors is considered a risk to the health, however it has not been discovered how each of the above mentioned symptoms influences the development of diseases. (Thakore 2005) People suffering from schizophrenia are said to be in more danger of cardiovascular diseases than the rest of the population. Taking into account that these diseases are affecting the life of the society the most, this problem is very topical. What is the connection between schizophrenia, cardiovascular diseases and metabolic syndrome With patients suffering from schizophrenia, there are certain risk factors associated with cardiovascular diseases, and many of them are of a metabolic character. Such elements of metabolic syndrome as high blood pressure, dislipidemy, increased blood sugar level, abdominal corpulence - all these stimulate the development of cardiovascular diseases, for example myocardial infarction.

Behavior of Activities of Thymidine Metabolizing Enzymes in Human Article

Behavior of Activities of Thymidine Metabolizing Enzymes in Human Leukemia-Lymphoma Cells - Article Example The studies were conducted with cell cultures obtained from 13 human leukemia-lymphoma cell lines consisting of T- and B-cell lines as well as Non-T- and Non-B- cell lines. The various enzymes were assayed in extracts obtained from cells subjected to rapid freezing and thawing in liquid nitrogen. Activities of the catabolic enzymes were higher by several orders of magnitude compared to the synthetic enzymes in normal cells. However, in all leukemia-lymphoma cells examined, the thymidine degrading enzyme activities were decreased for example, by 5-42% in the case of dihydro thymine dehydrogenase (with the complete absence of DHT DH activity noted in chronic myelogenous leukemia K-562 cells) and up to 38% in the case of TP relative to normal cells. In contrast, the activities of the synthetic enzymes namely, thymidylate synthase and TK were increased significantly by up to 407 times and up to 79 times, respectively of the normal human lymphocytes. Thymidine is utilized by cells both for DNA synthesis and energy production through oxidation to CO2 and water. Therefore, the reduction in the activity of the thymidine degrading enzymes is also important since it would lead to the enhanced availability of the compound for DNA synthesis. Furthermore, the enhanced activities of the thymidine synthesizing enzymes would also contribute to DNA synthesis which is  essential for rapid cell growth and proliferation. A comparison of kinetic properties of the catabolic enzymes, DHT DH and TP in the normal lymphocytes showed that the specific activity of DHT DH was considerably less than that of phosphorylase thereby indicating that DHT DH is the rate-limiting enzyme and, therefore, a better enzyme to evaluate the capacity of human leukemia-lymphoma cells to degrade thymidine. Thymidine kinase (TK) converts thymidine, or deoxythymidine (dT) to the respective monophosphate.  

International Business Strategy IBS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International Business Strategy IBS - Essay Example It is proved that using the first mover advantage a firm can increase its competitiveness but the full success of this practice cannot be guaranteed, even for firms that are already established in their market. 2. International Business Strategy 2.1 The concept of first mover advantage - overview In the context of international business the first mover advantage theory can be related to the work of Markusen (2002). According to the above theorist, trade relationships are likely to be influenced by geography, meaning that businesses that are interested in entering the global market tend to prefer the markets of neighbouring countries, probably because risks and costs involved are expected to be lower (Sitkin and Bowen 2013). For FDI also a similar practice is used. Under these terms, the development of international business is based on two, critical, factors: a) learning effects; this term is used for showing the transfer of knowledge between ‘the research and development secto r of each business and its other sectors/ departments’ (Sitkin and Bowen 2013, p.38); this strategy of knowledge transfer decreases risks since no external intervention on knowledge used for building business strategy can occur; b) the first mover advantage; the specific concept reflects the following idea: ‘the first firm to enter a new market and leverage its existing experiences is in a good position to shut out future rivals’ (Sitkin and Bowen 2013, p.38). According to the above, the first mover advantage involves in ‘introducing in the market a new product or service’ (Cullen and Parboteeah 2013, p.273). However, the benefits of the above concept are related to the following term: that the product/ service employed ‘is not only innovative but also comprehensive’ (Cullen and Parboteeah 2013, p.273). The term comprehensive is used for showing a product/ service that ‘meets the customers’ expectations’ (Cullen and P arboteeah 2013, p.273); only such product/ service would be able to result to profits. The concept of first mover advantage, as described above can be effectively used for developing a business strategy in regard not only to the international market but also to the local market (McDonald and Burton 2002). The terms of such use of the specific concept are described analytically in the next section. 2.2 The use of the concept of first mover advantage in formulating a business strategy In regard to the use of the concept of first mover advantage in practice the following fact should be highlighted: the specific concept can be incorporated in different business strategies, meaning that it can be used as the basis for developing business strategies of various formats, depending on the needs of each organization, the resources available and the conditions in the business environment (Cullen and Parboteeah 2013). Figure 1 – Franchising based on the first mover advantage – the oretical model (source: Michael 2013, p.62) The study of Michael (2003) refers to the use of the first mover advantage as part of a franchising strategy. The involvement of the specific concept in a franchising strategy should be based on certain rules; the relevant framework is presented

Metabolic syndrome and its management in schizophrenia Essay

Metabolic syndrome and its management in schizophrenia - Essay Example Among other symptoms that are interrelated with schizophrenia is metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a complex of certain risk factors that are likely to cause a person to develop cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, and it traditionally includes abdominal corpulence (with waist circumference more than 88 or 102 cm with women and men correspondingly), hypertriglyceridemia, high blood pressure, increased blood sugar level, and others. A patient's having the majority of these factors is considered a risk to the health, however it has not been discovered how each of the above mentioned symptoms influences the development of diseases. (Thakore 2005) People suffering from schizophrenia are said to be in more danger of cardiovascular diseases than the rest of the population. Taking into account that these diseases are affecting the life of the society the most, this problem is very topical. What is the connection between schizophrenia, cardiovascular diseases and metabolic syndrome With patients suffering from schizophrenia, there are certain risk factors associated with cardiovascular diseases, and many of them are of a metabolic character. Such elements of metabolic syndrome as high blood pressure, dislipidemy, increased blood sugar level, abdominal corpulence - all these stimulate the development of cardiovascular diseases, for example myocardial infarction.

International Business Strategy IBS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International Business Strategy IBS - Essay Example It is proved that using the first mover advantage a firm can increase its competitiveness but the full success of this practice cannot be guaranteed, even for firms that are already established in their market. 2. International Business Strategy 2.1 The concept of first mover advantage - overview In the context of international business the first mover advantage theory can be related to the work of Markusen (2002). According to the above theorist, trade relationships are likely to be influenced by geography, meaning that businesses that are interested in entering the global market tend to prefer the markets of neighbouring countries, probably because risks and costs involved are expected to be lower (Sitkin and Bowen 2013). For FDI also a similar practice is used. Under these terms, the development of international business is based on two, critical, factors: a) learning effects; this term is used for showing the transfer of knowledge between ‘the research and development secto r of each business and its other sectors/ departments’ (Sitkin and Bowen 2013, p.38); this strategy of knowledge transfer decreases risks since no external intervention on knowledge used for building business strategy can occur; b) the first mover advantage; the specific concept reflects the following idea: ‘the first firm to enter a new market and leverage its existing experiences is in a good position to shut out future rivals’ (Sitkin and Bowen 2013, p.38). According to the above, the first mover advantage involves in ‘introducing in the market a new product or service’ (Cullen and Parboteeah 2013, p.273). However, the benefits of the above concept are related to the following term: that the product/ service employed ‘is not only innovative but also comprehensive’ (Cullen and Parboteeah 2013, p.273). The term comprehensive is used for showing a product/ service that ‘meets the customers’ expectations’ (Cullen and P arboteeah 2013, p.273); only such product/ service would be able to result to profits. The concept of first mover advantage, as described above can be effectively used for developing a business strategy in regard not only to the international market but also to the local market (McDonald and Burton 2002). The terms of such use of the specific concept are described analytically in the next section. 2.2 The use of the concept of first mover advantage in formulating a business strategy In regard to the use of the concept of first mover advantage in practice the following fact should be highlighted: the specific concept can be incorporated in different business strategies, meaning that it can be used as the basis for developing business strategies of various formats, depending on the needs of each organization, the resources available and the conditions in the business environment (Cullen and Parboteeah 2013). Figure 1 – Franchising based on the first mover advantage – the oretical model (source: Michael 2013, p.62) The study of Michael (2003) refers to the use of the first mover advantage as part of a franchising strategy. The involvement of the specific concept in a franchising strategy should be based on certain rules; the relevant framework is presented

Apple iphone analysis Essay Example for Free

Apple iphone analysis Essay The phone starts ringing, were going to pick it up and when we touch it, the ringer volume smartly goes down! Yes! Today a company like HTC could make this kind of cellphone. Since the launch of the IBM Simon in 1993, smartphone technology has reached levels that until recent times had only been dreamed about. Features such as wireless sharing, HD video recording and mobile internet are now commonplace and today’s average smartphone has more processing power than computers used by NASA to land a man on the moon. All over the world, the smartphone experience is being shared by more and more people every day. The convergence of mobile telephony, Internet services, and personal computing devices is resulting in the emergence of a â€Å"mobile Internet† (Ishii 2004; Funk 2001). The key devices for accessing the mobile Internet -currently dubbed â€Å"smartphones† are powerful new computing devices offering traditional wireless voice service as well as native software applications and, perhaps most importantly, the ability to connect to and run a myriad of Internet-based services including email, geo-location, streaming video, and social networking, while providing a good user experience. The business opportunities presented by this new category have attracted many of the major global information and communications technology (ICT) firms, including firms from the mobile telephony, personal computer, Internet, and personal digital assistant (PDA) industries, into a complex new landscape of competition. For many of these firms, capturing a portion of the total value created by the smartphone industry is believed to be a key to future growth and profits. The interest is understandable. Today more than 1. 3 billion mobile phone handsets are being sold annually, and in 2010 smartphones made up almost 20% of that total (Gartner, 2010; Ahonen, 2010). Sales of smartphones are increasing almost 100% per year, and total global sales volume is expected to surpass that of PCs by 2012 (Gartner, 2010). By collapsing the boundaries between previously distinct devices, smartphones are subsuming sales of mobile phones entirely and, increasingly, netbook and notebook PCs. To complicate the landscape, the smartphone is not the only device at stake, tablets and ebook readers are emerging as key components of the mobile universe. Across all devices, total mobile revenues including advertising, subscriptions, handsets, applications, and so on are forecast to surpass $1 trillion by 2014 (Gartner, 2010). Given the rate at which smartphone are penetrating the market and component prices are declining by 2015 there will be, at least, 2 billion smart mobile devices in use globally. According to the instructions we should make a report with a organizational business plan structure to depict current situations of Apple Inc. / iPhone division, and then analyze strength and weakness of the company. I will start with SWOT and PESTEL analysis. Then we review the most effective force on iPhone production with Porters 5 forces. Then we will analyze Apple iPhone Growth and market share in depth with BCG matrix. I use mostly 2012 figures to draw an up to date image from Apple iPhone production and market situation. Ansoff matrix will be the next analysis which helps us understand iPhone market penetration and how it reached diversification. Apple is a big company with several products and services that provide along with products. Each product has its own market. It is possible to use multiple factors and combine related statistics for analyzing a company with different product. But in this case we are required to analyze smartphone industry only. I use recent figures (2010 to 2013) for analyses. For brands comparisons I consider Apple, Samsung, HTC, ZTE, and RIM (BlackBerry). For set goals and making the report’s objectives we should specify what we want. It is required to indicate strength and weaknesses of smartphone section. In my opinion weaknesses are more important. They could emerge in any areas such as production lines, technological aspects or selling process and cause big failures. Prominent strength and weaknesses will be identified and then will be matched with political, social, technological and environmental factors. Industry intensity will be assessed using Porter’s 5 forces analysis. This analysis classifies strong and weak points within 5 forces: Threat of new entrants and substitute products, bargaining power of suppliers and customers, and segment rivalry. These forces analyze micro environment. For macro factors we could look into PESTEL analysis. For market share and growth analysis Growth-share matrix (BCG matrix) will be used. This method indicates a product strength using its sales cash flows. iPhone position will be determined among 4 BCG matrix’s categories: Star, Cash cow, Dog and Question mark. Apple iPhone as a new product in comparison with existing products within a new or existing market will be analyzed using Ansoff matrix. Result shows that iPhone as a new product in 2007 was magnificent. 270,000 units were sold at that time. Expanding the concept of the marketing mix is important for companies that want to adapt to new markets. For example, just placing a product in stores is not enough. A manufacturer with retail outlets also needs to think about physical environment and layout. The store should convey the right look and feel, leading consumers to build up positive associations with the brand. Products inside the store should be displayed logically and consistently, in the locations customers would check first if they were looking for specific items. Because of all these factors a complete extended marketing mix (7Ps) will be presented. Global Smartphone trend The global smartphone market has been experiencing explosive growth for the last several years. Competition has remained fierce all throughout, but the numbers dont lie. Two technology titans dominate the market, taking a whopping 92% of market share for themselves. These two companies are Google and Apple. Data regarding smartphone sales during Q4 2012 has come out during the last several days, evidencing how much people all over the globe want to get their hands on a smartphone. After a quick look at the information, it becomes evident that the high-end phone market is a one of the most extreme oligopolies of the 21st century. With the release of Blackberry 10 just two days away, investors are starting to ask if there really is any room left for Research In Motions latest offering. Smartphones are flying off the shelves. According to Strategy Analytics, global smartphone shipments have increased from 490. 5 million during 2011 to 700. 1 million during 2012, which is roughly 30% growth year-over-year. If anything, there is room for disruption within the industry: people will keep buying more phones. As the market grows, however, so does Androids market share: Android went from having 48. 7% of the market in 2011 to a whopping 70. 1% in Q4 2012. Apples iOS has also grown slightly, capturing 22% of the market share by the end of the same period. How much is there left for everyone else? As of Q4 2012, a meager 7. 9%. The success of the iPhone, Pre, and Blackberry shows the strength of consumer demand for an intelligent, multifunctional device. The appeal of the smartphone will create significant new revenue streams for carriers and developers, who should strive to create new service bundles that build off this mobile platform with converged video, voice, and data applications. Future Smartphone sales forecast Smartphone sales blew past the number of PCs sold last year, and theyll be nearly twice PC sales this year, analyst Alex Cocotas of BI Intelligence predicts. More startling, smartphone sales will exceed 1. 5 billion units per year by 2016. This compares to about 350 million PCs and 1. 7 billion mobile handsets sold globally last year. Smartphone sales will be driven by two main factors, BI Intelligence says: Replacement of nearly 5 billion dumbphones with smartphones (smartphones currently make up only 10% of handsets worldwide) Price declines. The average price of a smartphone will drop from about $315 last year to $200 over the next several years This will obviously have a huge impact on the mobile Internet economy, which is already exploding from the growth of smartphone penetration in the past few years. Some other highlights from the report: Smartphone unit sales will grow at nearly a 30% compound annual growth rate over the next five years Smartphones will represent about two-thirds of all mobile phone purchases by 2016, Smartphones will be a $320 billion market by 2016. These forecasts are much higher than those of other industry analysts, who generally expect smartphone unit sales to hit about 1 billion a year by 2015. Apple Mission and Vision statement Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad. Apple vision statement: Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings. Apple Background On December 2012 The Economist reported that â€Å"Apple became the most valuable company ever (in nominal terms), beating the record that Microsoft hit in December 1999. Apple’s share price peaked at $705 before entering bear territory and falling by 25%, to $510; at the start of 2012 it had been $410. † Apple Incorporated is an American corporation that designs and manufactures computer hardware, software and other consumer electronics. The company is best known for their Macintosh personal computer line, Mac OS X, extremely loyal user-base, iTunes media application and the iPod personal music player. The company headquarters is in Cupertino, California, CEO and co-founder is Steve Jobs and the company boasts 284 retail locations spanning 10 different countries. Apple Inc. was founded on April 1, 1976 in a garage by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. The young entrepreneurs brought different strength to their fledgling company: Jobs had a flair for conceptualizing products, while Wozniak had the technical know-how to make them happen. Apple I was the first product that Apple Inc. produced. It was a personal computer (PC) with a MOS 6502 cpu clocked at 1 MHz and 4Kb memory. In 1977, Apple introduced Apple II which became a very successful device. After that the company began to produce Apple II series. The Apple II was followed by Apple II plus, Apple IIe, Apple IIc, Apple IIGS, Apple IIc Plus and Apple IIe Card. Apple introduced Macintosh in 1984 that became a very successful computer. It was a first computer featuring a graphical interface and a mouse for navigation. The new computer sold very well, pushing apples fiscal 1984 sales to an unprecedented 1. 5$ billion. By 1985, however Jobs and Scully began to disagree over the direction they wanted the company to take. After Jobs attempt to remove Scully failed, Jobs left Apple in May to start his own new business, NeXT Computers. In December 1996, Apple acquired NeXT, with the plan of using its technology as the basis for a new operating system. After being gone for more than a decade, Jobs returned to the company he had originally cofounded with Wozniak.. In 1998 Apple introduced the new generation of PowerMacs, PowerBooks, and the highly anticipated iMac and iBook, which were less expensive computers aimed at the how-end computer market. After an entire year without showing a profit, the first quarter of 1998 began three years of profitable quarters for Apple. Apple ventured into the market of legal downloads with the introduction of its iTunes Music Store in 2001. iTunes offers downloads at a specified price without requiring subscription or monthly fees. iTunes offers its users a selection of more than 6 million songs, with new songs continually added. For music lovers, the iPod is the greatest invention since the Walkman. With up to 160 GB of storage, it allows users to carry up to 40,000 songs or 200 hours of video wherever they go. There are currently four different iPod styles: the iPod shuffle, iPod classic, iPod nano, and iPod touch. Apple earned 5,615 million just from iPod in 2012 . Brief Chronology: 1976 With $1,300, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak found Apple Computer, Inc. 1980 Apple converts to public ownership. 1982 Apple becomes the first personal computer company to reach $1 billion in annual sales. 1985 John Scully assumes the helm after a management shakeup that causes the departure of Jobs and several other Apple executives. 1991 PowerBook line of notebook computers is released. 1994 Power Macintosh line is released. 1996 Acquisition of NeXT brings Steve Jobs back to Apple as a special advisor. 1997 Steve Jobs is named interim chief executive officer. 1998 The all-in-one iMac is released. 2000 Jobs, firmly in command as CEO, oversees a leaner, more tightly focused Apple. 2001 The iPod is released; Apple opens its first retail store in Virginia. 2003 Apple opens its first store in Japan. 2005 The release of a video iPod, the fifth generation of the device, pushes total iPod unit sales to 30 million. In first-quarter 2007, Apple launched its revolutionary product, the iPhone. iPhone combines three concepts popular with customers: a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod, and a internet communication device. The iPhone brags an entirely new user interface based on a large multi-touch display and pioneering software. which users can control with just their fingers. The iPhone default Internet browser will be Apples own Safari **, but it is open to other software as well. The iPhone allows for 8 hours of talk time. Apple sold 1million iPhone less than three month after this product was available to customers. Apple expects this trend to continue during 2008 and to reach sales of 10 million iPhones, stealing 1 percent of the mobile phone market share. . One year following the untimely death of Steve Jobs, the company he co-founded and led for most of his adult life appears to be thriving and lacking any serious obstacles to its break-neck growth in a rapidly changing technology market. That said, Apple Inc. still has plenty of challenges ahead. Some of those stem simply from the nature of the fast-paced, hyper-competitive consumer technology business the company currently competes in — and largely dominates. Other challenges may be more unique to Apple and its singular focus on a relatively narrow line of products. And long-term, the company may still feel the loss of a leader who possessed an uncanny ability to see around corners, and bend other strong personalities to his will. â€Å"The guy who could literally pull rabbits out of his hat no longer exists,† said independent technology analyst Roger Kay. Apple’s had a phenomenally strong year since Jobs’ death from cancer last October, which left the company permanently in the hands of the senior management team he spent years cultivating, led by CEO Tim Cook. It’s also had some stumbles along the way. Some missteps with features such as Siri — the infamous personal digital assistant first embedded into last year’s iPhone 4S — and the Apple Maps tool in the latest iPhone 5 have caused some level of embarrassment. The company under Jobs’ direction was not free of slip-ups either, and some issues have spanned both periods, such as growing concerns about the treatment of workers in the massive Chinese factories that produce the company’s popular products. But if proof is in the numbers, investors may find it hard to argue against the crew running Apple now. The company is conservatively projected to report a 44% revenue gain for its just-ended fiscal year — with earnings expected to post a gain of more than 60% from the previous year. Apple’s stock is up more than 70% from the day Jobs passed away, despite the stated concerns at the time of many investors and analysts about how well the company could keep its pace of innovation without its chief visionary at the helm. The key challenge for Apple’s management team will be in keeping the company’s strongest profit engines humming. And this will involve the right mix of technological innovation and deal making. The iPhone is the most crucial element. First launched in 2007, the smartphone accounted for nearly 55% of Apple’s total revenue in the first nine months of the just-ended fiscal year. While the company does not disclosed profitability data on its product lines, analysts believe the iPhone is the major driver of operating profits, with a gross margin of well over 50% on the devices. Apple can command those high subsidies because of the strong consumer demand for the iPhone. But competitors are pushing hard into the smartphone space. Samsung has already outpaced Apple in global shipments thanks to its use of Google’s Android operating system and its wide line of phones that appeal to a broader array of markets and consumers. Apple’s old nemesis Microsoft is launching an updated Windows Phone platform this fall, with Nokia and Samsung building devices for the software. Investors will continue to watch closely for signs that Apple’s current team can not only push forward its existing product line, but add to them with new categories and innovations. Though the iPhone 5 launched a year following his death, a report by Bloomberg BusinessWeek cited unnamed sources as saying that the device received â€Å"detailed input† from Jobs prior to his death. Despite Apple’s strong run of success, it’s narrow product line and strong reliance on the iPhone makes it vulnerable to competitors who may come up with better ideas. Apple’s future success will likely hinge on its ability to maintain that posture —no matter who’s in charge. Apple SWOT Analysis: SWOT is a great indicator of an agencys strategic ineptitude. This involves you creating a two-by-two grid and then populating it with a list of incredibly obvious client strengths and weaknesses, and another list of equally palpable opportunities and threats. Then you stand back and gaze at this list of incredibly humdrum words, such as competitors and new product, and attempt to intuit a bold, new, innovative way of doing business. The table below provides information about current situation of Apple’s smartphone market position, strength and weaknesses and also its possible future situations, threats and opportunities. Table Apple Inc. Strengths and Weaknesses Strengths Weaknesses Universally accredited and well-known brand which also began kind of revolution in smartphone industry Apple is a Big name in the technology world. It brings so much responsibility and kind of obligation for company and its product. New iPhone map application problem and customer frustration would be a good example. Brand loyalty is incredible. People will line up in the freezing cold overnight just to be one of the first to get their hands on the new iPhone! From the anti-capitalism point of view devices like iPhone counts as luxuries. They think this kind of huge prices could be spend somewhere more vital. Employ high technologies. This offers unique features for at least two purposes. One, First degree price discrimination and two, luxury customer satisfactions Utilize high technology along with high quality hardware component turn Apple iPhone into very costly merchandise. Probably many people cannot afford the price. Ease of use. Apple utilizes user friendly design elements for both hardware and software parts of iPhone. 3. 5 mm audio jack would be a good example! iPhone is equipped with own Apple closed operating system, iOS. And apps which work with iOS can only be downloaded from App Store. Other rivals like Android have more distribution channels. Former CEO, Steve Jobs’ role in developing iPhone and leading Apple to the market incredibly. Steve Jobs died on Oct 2011. We can still see his works and ideas in Apple iPhone. His lost can be an excessive damage to the company. Having strategic agreements with well-known mobile carriers. like T-Mobile and ATT Apple summary of PESTEL Analysis Political factors The supply and manufacture of many critical components is performed by sole-sourced outsourcing partners in the U. S. , Asia and Europe. Outsourcing partners in Asia perform final assembly of substantially all of the company’s hardware products. Manufacturing or logistics in these locations or transit to final destinations may be disrupted for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, natural and man-made disasters, information technology system failures, military actions or economic, business, labor, environmental, public health, or Political issues. War, terrorism, geopolitical uncertainties, public health issues, and other business interruptions have caused and could cause damage or disruption to international commerce and the global economy, and thus could have a material adverse effect on the Company, its suppliers, logistics providers, manufacturing vendors and customers, including channel partners. The Company’s business operations are subject to interruption by natural disasters, fire, power shortages, nuclear power plant accidents, terrorist attacks, and other hostile acts, labor disputes, public health issues, and other events beyond its control. Economic factors The global recession is having a serious impact on Apples retail performance The follow-on effects from global economic conditions on the Company’s suppliers could affect the Company’s ability to obtain components. Therefore, the Company remains subject to significant risks of supply shortages and price increases. The Company expects to experience decreases in its gross margin percentage in future periods, as compared to levels achieved during 2012, largely due to a higher mix of new and innovative products with flat or reduced pricing that have higher cost structures and deliver greater value to customers and anticipated component cost and other cost increases. Future strengthening of the U. S. dollar could also negatively impact gross margin. Social factors The Company’s business requires it to use and store customer, employee, and business partner personally identifiable information (â€Å"PII†). This may include names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, contact, preferences, tax identification numbers, and payment account information. Although malicious attacks to gain access to PII affect many companies across various industries, the Company may be at a relatively greater risk of being targeted because of its high profile and the amount of PII managed. Technological factors Apple RD expense is increasing year by year. $1. 8 billion for 2010, $2. 4 billion, and $3. 4 billion for 2012 which is a crucial manner in these days competition Environmental factors The Company also sells its hardware and software products to enterprise and government customers in each of its geographic segments. The Company’s products are deployed in these markets because of their performance, productivity, ease of use and seamless integration into information technology environments. The Company’s products are compatible with thousands of third-party business applications and services, and its tools enable the development and secure deployment of custom applications as well as remote device administration. Legal Factors The Company is subject to laws and regulations affecting its domestic and international operations in a number of areas. These U. S. and foreign laws and regulations affect the Company’s activities including, but not limited to, areas of labor, advertising, digital content, consumer protection, real estate, billing, e-commerce, promotions, quality of services, telecommunications, mobile communications and media, television, intellectual property ownership and infringement, tax, import and export requirements, anti-corruption, foreign exchange controls and cash repatriation restrictions, data privacy requirements, anti-competition, environmental, health, and safety.

Analysis of Media Text

Analysis of Media Text TMA02 The first analysed text is an article published in 2016 in Guardian: Maria Sharapova provisionally banned from tennis after revealing failed drug tests, written by Carpenter. (Appendix 1) This will be compared against Maria Sherapova hits out at the media coverage of failed drug test scandal, by N.Evans, published in Mirror in the same year. Despite the fact that these texts have some similarities, they also contain significant differences. Throughout the provided comparison. I will be highlighting process types as can be seen in Appendix 3 and 4. I will further on compare the two texts processes and separate them into categories, reflected in Table 1, which will lead to establishing the most often used verbal groups. Following step will be to identify the actors and material processes in order to establish the active participants. This is reflected in Table 2, as well as in Appendix 3 and 4. Upon collecting all the data I will then attempt to interpret and analyse the results. As mentioned above, in Table 1 the processes identified in each of the categories have been grouped. Both texts use heavily material processes, however, the Mirror text tends to have more verbal and mental processes. The next step in the process has been to identify the actors in both texts and grouping them into categories, as such: Maria Sherapova consisted of she, champion, the 28 year old, the former number one, substance, Wada, etc. The next step in the process has been to identify the actors in both texts and grouping them into categories, as such: Maria Sherapova consisted of she, champion, the 28 year old, the former number one, substance, Wada, etc. Table 3 is consisted of a comparison between text A and text B and the way goals are portrayed in each of the texts, also portrayed in Appendix 3 and 4. Material processes, as well as verbal processes are vital in helping writers assume a certain position regarding the subject of any communication. Upon analysing Table 1 we can see that there is a similar amount of material processes, however, in the second article, Maria is attributed a multitude of them: {..}hits out, .. has hit, tested, but in the same time the Mirror article contains more verbal and mental processes, such as Im proud, I hope, etc. In the first text, as mentioned before, there are plenty of material processes, this is because these are the main ways of providing an animated portrayal of participants and events. It plays a vital role in realizing the swaying function of the text. Restricting the usability of statements is one of the roles played by nominalization. The texts in both newspapers utilize nominalization to establish existence of prepositions before presenting arguments, which are certainly debatable in themselves. Nominalization usually transforms a deb atable process into something, which its existence is more complex to question. For example, in the Text B, people will believe is a good nominalization that is being used. On the other hand, she believed is a good example of nominalization used in Text A. As can be seen in Appendix 1 and 2, both articles are mostly focused on Maria Sherapovas failed drug tests. Through the relational process attributed to the tennis player, few athletes are like Sherapova, the author is helping readers to view participants in certain ways, in this case, as special athlete, that would admit her mistake in order to take control of the story (Appendix 1). The pronoun she is the most prevalent participants in the text by Carpenter (2016). On the other hand, the I pronoun is the most common participants in the text by Evans (2016). The pronouns are commonly employed as an actor in the material processes. Modality refers to the expression of probability. It is the grammars way of articulating the writers verdict, without making first person explicit. In the first text, modality is utilized to express his position regarding WADA decision about their chances of banning the drug. The writer says that the previous year WADA was studying the drug, and the athletes needed to take warning that the drug could be burned soon. On the other hand, on the Evans text, he writes that Sharapova that after ITF hearing, she will be allowed to play again. The will in this text represents the probability of her being allowed to participate in tennis game again. In both articles the themes has no personal element, which makes the texts extremely impersonalised. The main identified information providers are declaratives: Maria Sharapova has been provisionally banned from tennis (appendix 1), however the Carpenter article is at times empathetic towards Maria Sharapova, by comparing her with other Most sports stars try to hide positive tests for performance-enhancing drugs, hoping news will not break until a suspension is revealed (Appendix 1). The tone of the second article appears to be instigating adverse opinions: Tennis ace Maria Sharapova has hit out at some media accounts of her doping scandal in a furious open letter. (Appendix 1) APPENDIX 1 || Maria Sharapova provisionally banned from tennis || after revealing failed drugs test || || Maria Sharapova has been provisionally banned from tennis || after she revealed on Monday || she tested positive at the Australian Open for a recently banned drug [[ that she has been taking for 10 years for health reasons. ]] || || Sharapova claimed || she was prescribed meldonium by her doctor in 2006 || to deal with health issues such as an irregular heartbeat and a history of diabetes in her family. || But the substance was added to the banned list in January of this year || because Wada said || there was evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance. || || Sharapovas announcement is almost unprecedented for a top athlete. || Most sports stars try to hide positive tests for performance-enhancing drugs, || hoping news will not break || until a suspension is revealed. || But few athletes are like Sharapova || who has made herself into the highest-paid female in sport, > through a series of high-end endorsement deals. || The implication [[ that Sharapova has been cheating ]] can be a devastating blow to those deals. || By revealing the test results herself || she is attempting to take control of the story, || hoping that > || people will believe || she is being honest || and really was taking mildronate for health purposes. || || Meldonium was developed years ago in Latvia || to treat patients with heart conditions [[ brought on by a lack of oxygen in their blood. ]] || It has become popular with athletes || who use the oxygen-enhancers || to improve endurance, || especially when working out. || Last year Wada announced || that it was carefully studying the drug, || allowing athletes || to take it with the warning [[ that it could soon be banned.]] || A few months into that study Wada said || meldonium was being moved to 2016s banned list. || (Carpenter, L. (2016) Maria Sharapova provisionally banned from tennis after revealing failed drugs test, The Guardian) APPENDIX 2 || Maria Sharapova hits out at media coverage of failed drugs test scandal || || Tennis ace Maria Sharapova has hit out at some media accounts of her doping scandal in a furious open letter. || || The five times grand slam champion admitted || she tested positive for the banned drug meldonium at the Australian Open in January. || || The 28-year-old is facing a suspension of up to four years by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) || and has already lost numerous sponsorships in the aftermath. || || In a post on her Facebook account, the former world number one thanked her fans for their tremendous outpouring of support || before launching into a critique of [[ what [[ she believed ]] were some inaccurate reports. ]] ]] || || A report said || that I had been warned five times about the upcoming ban on the medicine [[ I was taking. ]] || That is not true || and it never happened, || Sharapova wrote. || || Russian Sharapova said || she was making no excuses || for not knowing about the ban [[ that went into effect on January 1, ]] || but said || that after the first announcement, other notices were buried in newsletters, websites, or handouts.|| Again, no excuses, || but its wrong || to say || I was warned five times, || said Sharapova, || who has said || she took the drug for 10 years due to a family history of heart issues and diabetes. || || The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) added meldonium to their banned substance list || after concluding [[ that it improves blood flow and || boosts exercise capacity. ]] || || Im proud of [[ how I have played the game.]] || I have been honest and upfront, || Sharapova said. || I look forward to the ITF hearing || at which time they will receive my detailed medical records. || I hope || I will be allowed to play again. || (Evans, N. (2016) Maria Sharapova hits out at media coverage of failed drugs test scandal, The Mirror) APPENDIX 3 Process RED Actor GREEN || Maria Sharapova provisionally banned from tennis || after revealing failed drugs test || || Maria Sharapova has been provisionally bannedMA from tennis || after she revealed V on Monday || she tested MA positive at the Australian Open for a recently banned drug [[ that she has been taking MA for 10 years for health reasons. ]] || || Sharapova claimedV || she was prescribed MA meldonium by her doctor in 2006 || to deal MA with health issues such as an irregular heartbeat and a history of diabetes in her family. || But the substance was added MA to the banned list in January of this year || because Wada said V || there was R evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance. || || Sharapovas announcement is almost unprecedented R for a top athlete. || Most sports stars try MA to hide MA positive tests for performance-enhancing drugs, || hoping M news will not break R || until a suspension is revealed R . || But few athletes are like R Sharapova || who has made R herself into the highest-paid female in sport, > through a series of high-end endorsement deals. || The implication [[ that Sharapova has been cheating MA ]] can be R a devastating blow to those deals. || By revealing V the test results herself || she is attempting R to take control R of the story, || hoping M that > || people will believe M || she is being honest R || and really was taking MA mildronate for health purposes. || || Meldonium was developed MA years ago in Latvia || to treat MA patients with heart conditions [[ brought on by a lack of oxygen in their blood. ]] || It has become R popular with athletes || who use MA the oxygen-enhancers || to improve MA endurance, || especially when working out MA. || Last year Wada announced V || that it was carefully studying MA the drug, || allowing MA athletes || to take it MA with the warning [[ that it could soon be banned R.]] || A few months into that study Wada said V || meldonium was being moved MA to 2016s banned list. || (Carpenter, L. (2016) Maria Sharapova provisionally banned from tennis after revealing failed drugs test, The Guardian) APPENDIX 4 Process RED Actor GREEN || Maria Sharapova hits out at media coverage of failed drugs test scandal || || Tennis ace Maria Sharapova has hit out MA at some media accounts of her doping scandal in a furious open letter. || || The five times grand slam champion admitted V|| she tested MA positive for the banned drug meldonium at the Australian Open in January. || || The 28-year-old is facing MA a suspension of up to four years by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) || and has already lost MA numerous sponsorships in the aftermath. || || In a post on her Facebook account, the former world number one thanked V her fans for their tremendous outpouring of support || before launching MA into a critique of [[ what [[ she believed ]] were MA some inaccurate reports. ]] ]] || || A report said V || that I had been warned R five times about the upcoming ban on the medicine [[ I was taking. ]] || That is not true R || and it never happened MA, || Sharapova wrote MA. || || Russian Sharapova said V || she was making V no excuses || for not knowing M about the ban [[ that went into effect on January 1, ]] || but said V || that after the first announcement, other notices were MA buried in newsletters, websites, or handouts.|| Again, no excuses, || but its wrong R|| to say V || I was warned MA five times, || said V Sharapova, || who has said V || she took MA the drug for 10 years due to a family history of heart issues and diabetes. || || The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) added MA meldonium to their banned substance list || after concluding MA [[ that it improves blood flow and || boosts MA exercise capacity. ]] || || Im proud M of [[ how I have played the game.]] || I have been R honest and upfront, || Sharapova said V. || I look forward M to the ITF hearing || at which time they will receive MA my detailed medical records. || I hope R || I will be allowed MA to play MA again. || (Evans, N. (2016) Maria Sharapova hits out at media coverage of failed drugs test scandal, The Mirror)