Funding the Rising Cost of U.S. Health Care Essay Example for Free

Funding the Rising Cost of U.S. Health Care Essay Give your opinion of the rising cost of health care’s overall impact on the U.S. economy It is more expensive for individuals, families and employers to have health care coverage because of the rising cost. Spending on the use of new technologies, treatment, and high cost for medical services. There has also been a high cost on local, federal and state government which led to high cost on to medical and Medicaid. This spending of health care has affected the economy and now people have to choose between a need for health care of the need to have shelter, food, or not having sufficient funding. Health care spending is moving faster than the economy is growing. High health care rising cost is causing the government to re-examine eligibility for public health and rising taxes on the consumers is leading to reduce investments. The U.S. will not be able to compete in the economic global market. These rising cost in health care will affect business, house wholes, providers, employees, health status, income levels, age, and increase premiums. (Rising Health Care Costs ) http://www.ahip.org/Issues/Rising-Health-Care-Costs.aspx â€Å"Health plans are playing a vital role in reducing the cost of care and improving value†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Karen Ignagni, President CEO, Americas Health Insurance Plans Health Plan Innovations in Delivery System Reforms, American Journal of Managed Care Compared and contrasted at least two (2) areas of the economy that the new health care act impacts. Small business and middle class families are two areas that the new health care act will impact. It used to be the economic strength in the U.S. was the small business owner. Small business has been strength to the economic by bring diversified groups opportunities of people to the workforce. Small business bring products have that are innovative to the services market. Small business has been able to create new jobs for the economic. However since the housing bubble in 2007 and 2008 small businesses are struggling very hard from the bank credits. Small businesses are the back bone to job growth and innovation for the economy. Small business owners who offer health care insurance to their workers are facing a hit by heavy taxes and high premiums for the employer. Small business pays up to 18% more per worker for health insurance than larger firms. This is a tax disadvantage for small business. Which cause profits to be eaten  up by higher health insurance cost and workers working for lower wages makes the small business workers, product, and market at a disadvantage. Small business(less than 50 workers) is less likely to provided health insurance. Back in the 50s and 60s a middle class family of three could live off a one person income which was the father. Mothers were house wives and people could purchase a home, car, and have a small savings. Families could go on vacation and own a late model car. The burden for middle class families today is the high cost for health care insurance and premiums. There have been an increase in unemployment and employees are scaling back on wages. Credit card debt gone up and slow job creation. Increase in bankruptcy files, income inequality and out-sourcing of America business has been causing problems for the middle class families. This growth in health care spending has change priorities for middle class life style. With saving money, retirement benefit pension, and 401K plans shifting. Middle class person who have been working all their lives, now rick the chance of not having sufficient funds to maintain middle class life style. Will the middle class be able to retire and live a middle class style? Middle class families are not sure if there will be available income for retirement. (http://www.aarp.org/research/ppi/security/impact-of-rising-healthcare-cost-AARP) Debated the main pros and cons of using private insurance versus using the new affordable insurance.  Our population in this country has increase over the last 30 years and because of healthier life style and medical advances people are living longer. This can be a disadvantage to the patients who are using private insurance. This has put a strain on the private health insurance because most companies don’t cover previous medical conditions that cover injuries and short-term illness. Illness is something that happens on its own and worrying whether or not your condition is cover can add stress. After receiving a referral from the internal doctor the patient has to act as its own administrator who calls the insurance company to check, if the cost is cover before they can see a consultant for treatment. If you want more coverage you pay higher premiums. There also a disadvantage of having so  many private health insurance companies to pick from. Each representative only disc usses their company policies and not how their policy compares with others. Leaving the patient not knowing which one is the best offer for you. Private insurance advantages is you can choose where you want to be treated without a long wait. There are specialist teams that will deal with specifically types of conditions. There continuity cares that allows you to be seen by the same consultant until the end of your treatment. The new affordable insurance covers families, small business, and individuals with the cost assistance through the market place program. There are no limits on life time health care which this will cut down on large medical bills for long term illness. This will keep people out of debt. If you make a mistake on your application or if you are sick an insurance company can’t drop you. A person with pre-existing condition can’t be denied care or charge a higher premium. The new affordable insurance allows for parents to keep their children on their plan until the age 26 years old whether they live at home, married, or attend school. The affordable insurance has free preventive care for checkups, well woman visits, mange care to control chronic illness before they become costly to treat or complex. http://obmacarefacts.com/benefitsofobamacare.php) OBMA CARE FACTS dispelling the myths Analyzed the major impact this new health care system may have on different immigrant demographics; Predicted the cost associated with the changing the accommodation to facilities having to review organizational planning in order to actualize these changes

Analysis of of Quercetin in Camellia Sinensis Extracts

Analysis of of Quercetin in Camellia Sinensis Extracts ABSTRACT A precise and feasible reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method for the novel analysis of of Quercetin in aqueous and alcoholic extracts of Camellia sinensis extracts with internal standard has been developed. The analysis was carried out on a Phenomenax-C18 column (250 Ãâ€" 4.6mm, 5ÃŽ ¼m). reversed-phase column, using a mixture of acetonitrile and 0.1% orthophosphoric acid in water at 60:40 ratio as the mobile phase; Propyl paraben was used as the internal standard. The linearity range of the Quercetin was found to be in 1-25  µg/ml and the retention times were found to be 3.3 and 5.6 min for Quercetin and Propyl paraben respectively. The accuracy was good and recovery values for Quercetin ranged from 100 to 102% respectively. The proposed novel method is precise and feasible for the determination of Quercetin with internal standard in a short analytical runtime. The method seems to be suitable for routine analysis in quality control laboratories an d research institutes. Keywords: Quercetin, HPLC, Propyl paraben, Validation. Introduction Quercetin (Fig. 1) chemically 2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-3,5,7-trihydroxy-4H-chromen-4-one is a plant pigment (flavonoid) found in many plants and foods, such as red wine, onions, green tea, apples, berries,  Ginkgo biloba. It is used for treating conditions of the  heart  and  blood  vessels including â€Å"hardening of the  arteries† (atherosclerosis),  high cholesterol,  heart disease, and circulation problems (1-3). It is also used to treat inflammation,  asthma,  gout,  viral infections,  chronic fatigue  syndrome (CFS), preventing  cancer, and for treating chronic infections of the  prostate (4-7). Quercetin is also used to increase endurance and improve athletic performance. Tooth decay is most common infectious oral disease that afflicts 95% of the human beings. The flavonoids Quercetin found in green tea can stop the formation of dental plaques and tooth decay. Fig.1 : Chemical structure of Quercetin Some analytical methods were developed for analysis of quercetin by spectrophotometric (8-10), HPLC (11-13), HPTLC (14-16), electrochemical detection (17). In spite of its wide economical importance, a rapid and efficient method forits identification and quantification is necessary. To the best of our knowledge, there is no published method for the determination of quercetin in Camellia sinensis extracts with propyl paraben as internal standard. The aim of the present study was to develop a rapid, economical, precise and accurate reversed-phase HPLC method for quantifying quercetin in aqueous and alcoholic extracts of Camellia sinensis. Materials and Methods Acetonitrile (HPLC grade, MERCK), Water (HPLC grade, Thomas Baker) and orthophosphoric acid (HPLC grade), Quercetin and Propyl paraben are procured from local analytical laboratories. Instrumentation and chromatographic conditions HPLC is a chromatographic technique used to separate a mixture of compounds in analytical chemistry and biochemistry with the purpose of identifying, quantifying purifying the individual components of the mixture. The system consisted of UFLC-Shimadzu make LC-20AD with PDA detector. The data acquisitionwas performed by LC solutions software. The chromatographic separation was achieved on Phenomenax-C18 column (250 Ãâ€" 4.6mm, 5ÃŽ ¼m) column. The elution was isocratic with mobile phase of 0.1% orthophosphoric acid in water and acetonitrile (60:40, v/v). The flow rate was 1.0 mL/ min and yielded a backpressure of about 57 bar. The column temperature was maintained at 40 °C, the detection was monitored at a wavelength of 262 nm and injection volume was 10  µL. UFLC is suitable for separation of Quercetin with propyl paraben as internal standard. The chromatographic conditions are shown in Table 1. Table 1: The chromatographic conditions of the developed method Plant material (Camellia sinensis) Dried leaves of Camellia sinensis i.e Green tea are collected from Doddabetta Tea Factory, Ooty, Tamilnadu and identified by Dr. K. Mruthunjaya, Asst. Professor, Department of Pharmacognosy, JSSCP, Mysore. The procured leaves were used for the preparation of alcoholic and aqueous extract. Extraction Methodology: Alcoholic Extract of Camellia sinensis Alcoholic extract was prepared by hot reflux extraction method on a water bath temperature maintained at 78 °C for 2 hours. The dried coarsely powdered leaves of Camellia sinensis (550g) were extracted in 3 batches (150g each). The obtained extract was filtered and solvent was distilled out up to required concentration and combined extract was spray dried to get alcoholic extract of Camellia sinensis and stored in a dessicator. Aqueous Extract of Camellia sinensis Aqueous extract was prepared by hot reflux extraction method on a water bath temperature maintained at 80 °C for 2 hours. The dried coarsely powdered leaves of Camellia sinensis (550g) were extracted in 3 batches (150g each). The obtained extract was filtered and solvent was distilled out up to required concentration and combined extract was spray dried to get aqueous extract of Camellia sinensis and stored in a dessicator. Drying of Extract: Prepared extracts were dried using Spray dryer. Parameters maintained for Spray drying are Inlet temperature maintained at 70-80 °C, Outlet temperature maintained at 50-60 °C, aspiration rate 1200 rpm per min, feed pump 2ml per min respectively. PREPARATION OF SOLUTIONS Preparation of mobile phase The content of the mobile phase was prepared from Acetonitrile, filtered and degassed mixture of and water and orthophosphoric acid in the ratio of 60:40 v/v. Preparation of standard solutions About 10 mg of pure standards of Quercetin and Propyl paraben were accurately weighed and dissolved separately in two 10 mL standard flask and dissolved in methanol to get standard stock solutions of concentration of 1 mg/mL (1000  µg/mL). From the prepared stock solution an intermediate stock solution was prepared which contains 100  µg/mL of Quercetin. From this intermediate stock solution serial dilutions were made to obtain final concentrations of the solutions in the range of 1, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25  µg/mL of Quercetin. Propyl paraben solution was made to a concentration of 25 µg/mL and used as an internal standard throughout the methodology. Preparation of Camellia sinensis extracts sample solutions 100 mg of extract sample was weighed and transferred in to 10ml volumetric flask and dissolved in a mixture of 5ml of 6M HCl and 5ml of mobile phase and sonicated for 15min. The obtained solution was filtered through a 0.45  µ pore size filter into a HPLC vial and loaded to the instrument. Method development and optimization The chromatographic conditions were optimized by changing the mobile phase compositions; buffer used in the mobile phase column stationaryphase and organic solvent. Finally a mixture of 0.1% orthophosphoric acid in water, acetonitrile and C18 column were used. A typical chromatogram obtained by using the aforementioned mobile phase and column are shown in fig. 2 of blank chromatogram and standard drug quercetin chromatogram is illustrated in Fig. 3. Method validation When a method has been optimized it must be validatedbefore put into practical use. By following the ICH guidelinesfor analytical method validation e Q2 (R1), the system suitability Test was performed and the validation characteristics elinearity, accuracy, precision, specificity, limits of detectionand quantitation were addressed. Preparation of calibration curve Aliquots of quercetin (containing 10- 250  µg/ml) were pipetted into series of 10ml volumetric flask from 100 µg/ml of stock solution followed by addition of propyl paraben containing 250 µg/ml and made up to 10ml with HPLC grade methanol to obtain the final concentrations of 1, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25  µg/ml of quercetin and 25 µg/ml of propyl paraben solutions were prepared. The responses were measured at 262 nm. The calibration curve was established by plotting the peak areas of Quercetin versus their concentrations. Assay Procedure The column was equilibrated for at least 30 min, with the mobile phase flowing through the system with a flow rate of 1ml/min. Detector was set at a wavelength of 262 nm. Two sets of the sample solutions were prepared containing aqueous and ethanolic extracts with mobile phase mixture. The retention time of Quercetin and Propyl paraben in bulk drug in two replicate samples were found to be 3.3 and 5.6 mins. The peak area of the Quercetin in sample was obtained and the regression equation of the drug concentration over the peak areas was calculated. The RP-HPLC method was used to estimate the amount of Quercetin in aqueous, ethanolic extracts of Camellia sinensis. The typical chromatograms of alcoholic and aqueous extracts are shown in fig. 4 and 5 respectively. It is found that alcoholic and aqueous extract contains 7.35  µg and 4.31  µg per 100 grams of the extract respectively. System suitability The system suitability test ensures the validity of the analyticalprocedure as well as confirms the resolution betweendifferent peaks of interest. A data from six injections ofstandard solutions were utilized for calculating system suitability parameters like %RSD (0.19), tailing factor (1.2), theoretical plates (10728) and resolution (7.8). Linearity and range To assess the linearity, calibration plots of quercetin in each dilution were constructed in the concentration range 1-25 µg/mL the correlation coefficients of quercetin was 0.9998 respectively. Accuracy and precision The accuracy and precision of the developed method was evaluated and results are expressed as percent recoveries 99.3 -101.7%. The precision study of intra-day and interday relative standard deviation was less than 2%, stating that method is more precise. Specificity The specificity test demonstrated that the used excipients did not interfere with the peak of the main compound. The results showed that the developed method was selective for determination Of Quercetin in Camellia sinensis extracts. Sensitivity The limit of detection and limit of quantitation decide aboutthe sensitivity of the method. Tests for the procedure wereperformed on samples containing very low concentrations of analytes based on the visual evaluation method. In thismethod, LOD (signal to noise ratio of 3:1) is determined by theanalysis of samples with known concentration of analyte and by establishing the minimum level at which the analyte can be reliably detected. Accordingly, the LOQ (signal to noise ratioof 10:1) is determined by the analysis of samples with known concentration of analytes and by establishing the minimumlevel at which the analyte can be quantified with acceptableaccuracy and precision (RSD RESULT AND DISCUSSION We developed and validated a simple and efficient reversed phase HPLC method for analysis of Quercetin in Camellia sinensis extracts. Method conditions were optimized by changing the mobile phase compositions; buffer used in the mobile phase, stationary phase and organic solvent. Finally a mixture of 0.1% orthophosphoric acid in water and acetonitrile and C18 column were used. In this study UFLC instrumentation with PDA detection, which is readily available in most analytical and pharmaceutical laboratories, was used. The analytical method was validated as per current International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines. In addition, in the present study,an internal standard was used to provide higher accuracy and precision of several substances tested, propyl paraben was chosen as the most appropriate internal standard. This substance is stable and does not interfere with the excipients present in of samples and composition of the diluent.Indeed, in the developed method, Propyl paraben was adequately separated from Quercetin. Moreover, its elution time was shorter, which resulted in a short run time of less than 10 min. In the accuracy of the method, recovery is in the range of 98.3-101.7% and standard deviation was less than 2% proves that method is more accurate and precise. The LOD and LOQ values of quercetin are 0.03  µg/ml and 0.05  µg/ml respectively. The described HPLC method was successfully applied for the determination of Quercetin in Camellia sinensis plant extracts. Fig. 2: Blank chromatogram of the method Fig. 3: Chromatogram of Quercetin (25  µg/ml) and Propyl paraben (Internal Standard) Table 2: Recovery studies of the method Table 3: Intraday and Inter day study precision of the method Fig. 4: Assay of Quercetin in Camellia sinensis Alcoholic Extract Fig. 5: Assay of Quercetin in Camellia sinensis Aqueous Extract Table 5: Assay of quercetin in alcoholic and aqueous extract Conclusion The proposed method is simple, accurate, precise, specific andlinear over the analysis ranges and was able to simultaneous determination of quercetin with internal standard in a short analytical run time. Hence the method can easily and conveniently applied for routine analysis in qualitycontrol laboratories and research institutes. Acknowledgements Authors extend their thanks to the JSS College of Pharmacy, JSS University, Mysore for providing the facilities to carry out the research work.

Case Study Samsung Mobile Advertisement Marketing Essay

Case Study Samsung Mobile Advertisement Marketing Essay The following essay will analyse the attached Samsung mobile advertisement, in terms of the type of advertisement, the psychological approach used and the target market to which the advertisement is aimed at. A comparison with other advertisements would also be looked at in order to support the general argument of the essay. Advertising is a pervasive form of communication. Society is bombarded with paid-for messages from the morning they wake up until they go to bed at night. Advertisements appear on television as consumers watch their favourite weekly shows, on billboards as they commute to work, in magazines and newspapers as they read an interesting article, on radio while they listen to the music of their choice and on the internet where they communicate with their friends far and wide, advertisements appear wherever humans are present. It is estimated that the average consumer is exposed to more than a thousand images a day. (Tellis, 2004:3) Thus advertisements impinge on consumers awareness and can greatly affect their thoughts, beliefs, actions, attitudes and decisions, making advertising an extremely powerful tool for communicating to the general public. Many people in society make the assumption that advertising is only done by corporations in order to sell their products to consumers and make quick money off it. These individuals also believe that advertising is an accident of the free market system, an evil force that consumers have to endure for the sake of free speech in our capitalist society. However in reality, advertising is a vitally important force for many reasons. (Tellis, 2004:3) Advertising firstly creates fierce and healthy competition between corporate organisations. In a free capitalist market companies constantly competes with each other, offering potential customers better quality products or services at lower prices than their rivals. Companies make use of a brand image to represent a consistent level of quality at specific prices. Corporate organisations then use advertising to communicate to potential customers what these brand names represent and what the particular prices are and where the consumers can find the products or services. (Tellis, 2004:4) The various forms of advertising enable companies to communicate to the potential consumers promptly and efficiently as needed, thus making advertising an essential tool in the workings of the free capitalist market. (Tellis, 2004:4) Secondly, companies make use of advertising as a primary tool to communicate to customers about new or improved products or services. Since the beginning of the Industrial Age during the 19th century, the quality of consumers lives has greatly improved primarily due to the availability of new or improved products or services. (Tellis, 2004:4) The great vitality of most free capitalist markets rests on the ability of companies to market and sell these new or improved products or services to consumers. In order to do so, corporate organisations need to communicate to potential customers and inform them of the current innovations at hand and to persuade them of the values associated with these innovations. Advertising thus becomes the primary tool corporate organisations use to achieve this task, while at the same time ensuring the vital functioning of markets for new or improved products or services. (Tellis, 2004:4) Advertising thirdly provides major support for media in any free market economy around the world. Several forms of media including broadcast television, satellite television, magazines, newspapers, and most of the internet, reach consumers mainly free or way below cost. The reason for this is that advertisers pay media companies to display their advertisements. The media companies in turn do not have to charge customers the full cost of the chosen media. As such, advertising subsidises the chosen media. Consumers primary form of information and entertainment comes from the media, thus advertising helps improve and maintain the free flow of information and entertainment to society. (Tellis, 2004:4) Fourthly, advertising as an industry in itself is enormous. Total expenditures on all forms of media for the year of 2007 stood at $385 billion worldwide. (Wikipedia, 2010) The advertising industry employed over 300,000 professionals in over 21,000 companies at the turn of the century with growth in employment projected to rise to 32% compared to 15% of other industries. (Tellis, 2004:4) The fifth and final reason for the vitality of advertising to the free capitalist market is that, the public subsidises advertising expenditures. Advertising expenditures in many free market economies are tax deductable. This means that corporate organisations can charge these expenditures as costs of doing business in order to reduce their pre-tax profits. In Layman terms, the general public pays for a small fraction of the cost of advertising that is equal to the advertisers marginal tax rate. (Tellis, 2004:4) Advertising can take the form of various mediums. Commercial advertising media can include wall paintings, billboards, street furniture components, printed flyers and rack cards, radio, cinema and television adverts, web banners, mobile telephone screens, shopping carts, web popups, skywriting, bus stop benches, human billboards, magazines, newspapers, town criers, sides of buses, banners attached to or sides of airplanes (logo jets), in-flight advertisements on seatback tray tables or overhead storage bins, taxicab doors, roof mounts and passenger screens, musical stage shows, subway platforms and trains, elastic bands on disposable diapers, doors of bathroom stalls, stickers on apples in supermarkets, shopping cart handles, the opening section of streaming audio and video, posters, and the backs of event tickets and supermarket receipts. Any place an identified sponsor pays to deliver their message through a medium is advertising. (Wikipedia, 2010) The attached Samsung Mobile advertisement is a form of press advertising. Press advertising is form of advertising that utilises newspapers and magazines as a tool for communicating to potential consumers. These encompass either a very broad readership base such as major national or international newspapers and magazines to a more narrowly targeted readership base such as a local newspaper or magazine. (Wikipedia, 2010) The use of a textual based advertisement is a major reason behind the use of press advertising as medium, it makes it essential. The viewer or consumer requires a certain amount of time to read through the advertisement and then to process the given information on the Samsung Mobile advertisement. If Samsung Mobile used a billboard as a medium to advertise the attached advertisement instead of the preferred press advertising medium, the given information of the advertisement would be lost or misinterpreted by the viewer or consumer, as not enough time was spend on the reading of the information in the advertisement. Thus the message or purpose of the advertisement would be ineffective. The use of press advertising as a medium to communicate to potential customers would also render itself more cost effective than the use of television or billboards as a medium. In the corporate environment, advertising would either adopt a rational or emotional psychological approach in order persuade a potential customer in buying the specific product or service, or in certain cases both approaches would be utilised. The attached Samsung Mobile advertisement uses the emotional approach successfully to grab the attention of the viewer or consumer. Emotional advertisements can utilise the three most common components, namely; arguments, emotions and endorsements. Arguments are appeals that persuade the consumer with the use of evidence or force of logic. An emotional approach would persuade the consumer by arousing certain emotions, such as anger or love. Endorsements on the other hand utilises the use of a lay endorser, an expert in the field or a celebrity who vouches for the effectiveness or quality of the product or service either by claim or association. (Tellis, 2004:23) Of the variety appeals that companies can use to advertise, the emotional approach would be regarded as the most effective form of persuasion for a number of reasons. Emotional appeals are firstly more interesting and can more easily cut through the clutter and grab the attention of the consumer than other forms of appeals. Secondly, emotional appeals require less attention by the viewer or consumer. Thirdly, emotional approaches are far more vivid and easily remembered than other appeals. Fourthly, an emotional approach contains far less counterarguments, thus resulting in less resistance from the viewer or consumer. The fifth and final reason why an emotional appeal is more effective than other appeals is that it evokes a more immediate action by the consumer. (Tellis, 2004:23) The attached Samsung Mobile advertisement effectively utilises the emotional psychological approach or appeal with the use of a textual based advertisement. The text used in the advertisement reminds the viewer of reasons why he or she unfortunately cannot join their family and loved ones during the festive season, for reasons such as having to work during the festive season or living far away. The text or information contained in the advertisement are written in a hand-style format in order to create a more personal touch or feel to the advertisement and to engage with the viewer at such a level. Certain words are also circled and underlined to emphasise the importance of these specific words relating to time that could be spent with the viewers family during Christmas. Hand drawn illustrations for example like snowmen, reindeer and turkey dinners are used to enforce the text based information by creating a festive feel and a personal emotional touch of previous festive times. An essential component for effective advertising is the ability to understand the selected target market for the specific product or service. Knowledge or information regarding this matter can be achieved by the company involved utilising a process called market research. The main purpose of market research is to have a clear understanding who your target audience or potential customers are. A target market consists of those individuals or specific groups that have common characteristics or needs which the participating company can satisfy with their products or services. The goal of market research is to develop a profile of the potential consumers with the use of gathering information through a comprehensive study of demographics and psychographics. (Jinnet et al, 2006:19) The term demographics refers to the statistical information gathered regarding sex, age, ethnic background, occupation, education, income, family status and geographical location. Sex is an important element regarding market analysis, as traditional buying patterns are ever changing, for example, not only men go fly-fishing. Age distribution dictates certain trends associated to a specific age group. Ethnic differences would indicate specific product preferences, language differences and population shifts. (Jinnet et al, 2006:20) Population distribution would help the specific company involved to create a better understanding of the size and location of the target market. Trends indicate that people are moving to the cities suburbs at increasing speeds. The family status of a target market has changed in the past decade with two new distinct groups emerging, single people living on their own and unmarried couples living together. Education, occupation and the level of income are othe r demographics to be considered in a target market. Specific educational level points to a change in product or service preferences. (Jinnet et al, 2006:20) Target markets are can also be defined as psychographics. Psychographics refers to the specific lifestyle, personal behaviour, self-concept and buying style. These factors are just as important as demographics as they can indicate why consumers buy and use certain products or services. The lifestyle factor refers to the consumers manner of living and involves personal characteristics, interests or activities. Personal behaviour is attached to the specific values of the consumer, which can be linked to the consumer being sceptic or cautious. The term or factor of self-concept refers to how the consumer views themselves or how they would like to portray themselves towards the public. Self-concept is strongly linked to the demographics of location, family size, income level and occupation. The buying style of the target market is crucial to the success of the advertising campaign of a company. Elements such as how often does the consumer buy the product and/or what the reasons were for buying the specific product or service. Trends show that new products are normally bought by adventurous and open-minded consumers rather than less adventurous individuals. (Jinnet et al, 2006:21) The attached Samsung Mobile advertisement targeted a specific target market that can be associated to young professionals. Young professionals aged between 21-30 years of age, which live mostly on their own and are adventurous enough to leave the comfort zone of living near their family or loved ones. Individuals that are educated, career driven and have a disposable income in order to buy the latest Samsung mobile phone in order to communicate with their family during the festive season. If comparing the attached Samsung Mobile advertisement to other existing mobile advertisements, one can observe the use of either the emotional or rational psychological approaches to sell a similar product. The Sony-Ericsson C905 advertisement utilises both sexual emotions and rational appeal, combined by the fact that the advertisement was the first of its kind to ever use a photograph taken by a mobile phone camera and not a professional stand-alone camera. (See attached Figure 1) Figure Figure The Sony-Ericsson W705 uses a rational approach to advertise the mobile phone main selling ability crystal clear sound. An inner city environment covered in egg containers are used in the advertisement to indicate that the sound produced by the mobile phone is as perfect as a recording studio used for professional artists. (See attached Figure 2)nokiastring.preview.jpgSoundproofCityDowntown.preview.jpgsony-ericsson-c905-mobile-phone-ad-campaign-a-world-first.bmp Figure The Nokia mobile phone advertisement utilises a rational approach to indicate chaos, but with the help of this specific Nokia mobile phone the consumer will never get lost as it has the function of GPS (Global Positioning Service) used instead of a traditional road map, the GPS function on the mobile phone can give the user directions to their final destination, thus making the consumers experience easier and more enjoyable. (See attached Figure 3) In conclusion, the above essay effectively analysed the attached Samsung mobile advertisement, in terms of the type of advertisement, the psychological approach used and the specific target market to which the attached advertisement was aimed at. Varies comparisons was made to other existing mobile phone advertisements and their respective psychological approaches identified.

What Kind of Leader Is Ms. Condoleezza Rice? Essay -- informative essa

Dr. Condoleezza Rice was sworn in as Secretary of State on January 25, 2005. She is a clear example of a leader, which possesses certain traits that have led her to where she is today. In order to evaluate her as a leader, it is necessary to look at different aspects of her leadership. It is important to examine her personality traits and values, ethical challenges she will face, her candidacy, her leadership style, and her dark-side traits. The first way to evaluate her as a leader is to look at a detail description of what her personality and values are. Condoleezza Rice was born into a family that was disciplined in life and in religion. Generations of her family extend from college-educated teachers, preachers, and lawyers. Her parents were very well-respected in their communities. Her father was a Presbyterian Minister and her mother was a teacher of music and science. Condoleezza was born in Birmingham during a time when African-Americans struggled to receive a college education. Since Condoleezza Rice worked hard and excelled during her adolescence, she had the opportunity to attend college. The Rice family was known for â€Å"dedicating themselves to nurturing a strong, self-confident child by exposing her to all the elements of western culture including: music, ballet, foreign languages, and athletics† (Strobel, 2005, p.1-2). Rice’s grandmother stated, â€Å"Condoleezza has always been very focused, ever since she was very, very young† (Strobel, 2005, p.1-2). Condoleezza’s mother taught her at home to make her lessons more enlightening. This was very different compared to public schooling. Another value that Condoleezza Rice would proclaim to be her strongest is her faith. Condoleezza Rice, who is known to speak publicl... ...ew National Security Strategy and Preemption. Retrieved Jan 21, 2011 from http://www. Brookings.edu/printme.wbs?page=/comm/policybriefs/pb113.htm. Rice, Condoleezza. (2002, June 16). ‘Acknowledge that you have an obligation to search for the truth’. Retrieved Jan 21, 2011 from http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2002/june19/comm_ricetext-619.html. Strobel, Warren P. (2005, Jan. 28). Condoleezza Rice. Retrieved Jan 21, 2011 from http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,2092-1367314,00. The Associated Press. (2000, December 17). Exceeding expectations, Rice returns to White House in top job. Retrieved Jan 21, 2011 from http://archives.cnn.com /2000/ ALLPOLITICS/stories/12/17/rice.profile.ap/ Whitelaw, Kevin. (2011, Jan 21). Getting It ‘Dead Wrong.’ U.S. News & World Report, 138 (32). Retrieved Jan 21, 2011, from Business Source Premier database.

Earlier Teen Years :: Personal Narrative Growing Up Essays

Earlier Teen Years My little sister's all grown up now, but she's only ten years old. She looks like a teenager. She thinks like a teenager. And you could say she acts like one because teenagers themselves are not very mature. She loves to hang around me, and she tries to persuade me to act more like a typical 18-year-old girl because she wants to be one herself. She begs me to take her shopping and let her do my hair. She wants to be just like me. At first, I thought it was because she's the youngest in the family, and she wanted to be like her big sister and brother. However, I realized I didn't look like the typical teen. In fact, she dresses more like a typical teenager than I do. Many of her friends are the oldest children in their families yet try to present the image of a teenager. They all seem to wish they were older. Girls these days just seem to want to, and do, grow up sooner and sooner. It seems the "teenage years" have changed, starting well before the age of thirteen. As I have said, my sister and her friends are prime examples of this change. For instance, they have sleep-overs and stay up till dawn. Their many sleep-over activities include gossiping about boys and discussing fashions, painting nails, and experimenting with make-up. I never did such things at that age. My friends and I had to go to bed by one or two at the latest, and we played games and watched movies. My sister also thinks that she should have the same privileges that I do at age eighteen when she's only ten. She thinks she can stay up late, till ten or eleven o'clock. I was in bed by eight when I was her age. Not only does she want to stay up late, but she also thinks that she can watch any movie she wants. It's hard to pick a movie the whole family will like that's rated PG these days, so many times we choose a PG-13 movie (sometimes even R) and let her watch with us. This has given her the idea that she is mature enough to watch anything she wants. She likes the TV show Fr iends, but at her age she doesn't completely understand the adult content in the show, nor does she need to.

Confidence in Students Essay

Statistics reveal that 95% of children and adults experience lack of confidence, self-belief, or low self-esteem at some point in their lives. Confidence is a feeling most adolescents have always struggled with and it is impossible to overestimate the lack of it amongst students. It ties in with stress, peer pressure, and other insecurities most teenagers face on a daily basis. Self-confidence can be altered by various life situations such as one’s school environment, home life, and individual motivation. What most educators fail to realize is that strengthening the confidence of their students is just as important as educating them. Educating students means more than giving academic knowledge. Giving positive and constructive feedback helps reduce weaknesses and enhance strengths. Telling a student how well he’s done on any task, whether it being an exam or regular classwork, helps him feel more accomplished. Students thrive on praise and will push themselves even harder once they feel their work is being recognized. Even though giving praise is helpful, one should know self-confidence isn’t built from being spoiled with praise. Students will also know if the praise given is genuine. If they feel the praise is meaningless, they will not feel as motivated to push themselves harder. One should remain honest with each student to encourage him to address problems, instead of avoiding or denying their existence. Teachers should always make corrections without damaging a student’s confidence. A simple smile or letting students know you’re happy to see them also helps them to feel worthwhile and appreciated. Another key idea is goals set for each student. Teachers sometime tend to set goals too high or too low for certain students. Recognize that every child is different and has different learning capabilities. Always set realistic goals so the students will feel a sense of accomplishment when the goal is completed. Never make tasks too easy or too challenging. When students reach a point where they can overcome doubt to achieve objectives will help boost their confidence. Including them in your expectations for them and discussing their individual progress is always good to do. This will help students to see what approach or direction they need to take in order to complete the given task to their best ability. Rewarding students for meeting challenges lets them know they’re doing what they should. Most students don’t give themselves enough credit due to their personal insecurities. Encouraging students to set high standards for themselves will test their limits. When a teacher reassures a student that they are capable of achieving greatness, they will feel like somebody truly believes in them and it will motivate them greatly. With all this being said about the school environment, a student’s home life plays a major role with self-confidence as well. Parental relationships help in determining the self-esteem level one may have. Adolescents who view their parents’ communication as supportive and open are most probably to have higher self-esteem than those who perceived their parents’ communication patterns as controlling and unsupportive. Parents shouldn’t put any extra pressure on their children than they’re already facing. Being overwhelmed in numerous tasks and activities is never a good impact on one’s self confidence. It makes one panic and having a parent constantly yelling for one to complete it and do it well lowers self-confidence. A teenager wants to feel that their parents believe in them and their work capabilities. Despite how much a student’s home and school environment may affect their confidence, it all begins with individual motivation. For a student to be confident in their work and themselves, one has to be completely focused. A focused student shows determination and promise which helps the self-confidence level. Focusing on school and being very studious will make a student’s grades increase, boosting their confidence. Telling oneself positive motivational remarks helps also. Believing in oneself is the last step but indeed the most important. Confidence may be hard for teenagers to obtain in today’s society, but it isn’t impossible. The insecurities, peer pressure, and nearly unbearable stress student’s face shouldn’t be seen as a discouragement but instead as motivation to work harder. With realization of one’s own potential and self-confidence in one’s ability, one can build a better world.

The Negatives of Technology in the Classroom

Why Technology in the Classroom Is a Negative For schools and universities, both have experienced many changes with the technology that is available. Instead of students having to go to the library to complete their work, most can now just walk into their classroom filled with new desktops and laptops. With the increase of technology in most schools, it is almost becoming a necessity for classrooms to have up to date technology for students. Students that have been able to work with laptops ever since elementary school get so used to the technology available that most find it just standard in classrooms today.In the classroom it does not stop with the computers, now teachers are having smart boards made and put into classrooms. But do these smart boards really help the students learn better? I highly doubt that a smart board in the classroom is going to help a student want to pay attention to another boring lecture of some moment of time in our history. Frankly, that smart board is a ll but making the teacher’s job easier. Or is it? What if that teacher or professor is a little older than some of us?Someone who is not used to having the high amounts of technology in today’s classrooms may not know how to work that smart board. All that does is waste time. The same can go for students who grew up in low income areas who are not used to working with computers. While others in the classroom are busy typing a paper, this student is probably sitting in the back wondering how to change his font. The fact is too much technology in the classroom can cause negatives for both the student and teacher in many ways. Imagine an English class walking in to their room filled with new laptops.Everyone sits down and waits for the teacher. The teacher comes in and tells them to continue working on their paper. Unfortunately one student in there is using this word program for the first time. While his peers are busy writing their papers, he is still trying to figure o ut how to save his document. My first issue with technology in the classroom is that it takes away from valuable learning time. While this student could be starting his paper, he must be aided by his teacher multiple times during class for his technical issues.Not everyone in a classroom may have had the opportunity that most students have had of growing up with computers in the classroom. Everyone comes in at a different skill level which makes it hard for students to actually learn something on a lesson based on using the computer. The same can be for the teacher. Not all teachers are used to the new technology in classrooms today. When it comes time for a lesson to be taught through using a computer and the teacher doesn’t even know how to load the document needed, it just becomes wasted time for the students.A teacher who posted his experience about new technology on A Novel Idea writes â€Å"I looked down at my iPad and it had gone dark. So I slid my finger across the f ace of the tablet to wake up the screen, then punched in my password, then flipped through the electronic pages until I found the place where I left off. This was not only distracting to the kids, but it also added frustration to the problem, making me anxious in front of a crowd† (A Novel Idea). This teacher shared his experience of new technology being brought into the class and how it took away from the valuable learning time that was available.Instead of technology being a part of the curriculum in schools, it is now becoming the center of attention. My second reason for the negatives of technology in the classroom is the overuse of it. Many students learn best by physically and mentally interacting with what they are studying. If most teaching is done using a computer, these students’ needs are not being met. For example, a class could be playing a review game for math using PowerPoint. The teacher would have the problems on the board while the students race to ans wer it.But what about some of the students who have really struggled this year in math, this review is pointless for them because they cannot even figure out how to solve the problem. Also, while the teacher is busy changing the problems it is hard for the student who is struggling to ask for help because that takes away from the lesson plan for that class. The issue with overuse is that overtime it will just become boring for students who are excelling in that particular class, and seem like a pointless strategy for students who are struggling.Charlene Kamper states in her article of the overuse of technology that â€Å"With information and answers just a click away, today’s teens are falling short when it comes to deductive reasoning and problem-solving on their own† (Kamper). The availability of technology causes students to not be able to learn information on their own but be able to type something into Google and find the answer. In a class where the lesson for to day is researching topics for the next research paper, some students will take advantage of that time in class.However, some students will use this time to get and twitter and tweet about how English class is lame (in 160 characters or less of course). Distraction in a technology filled classroom is a huge issue. In some classes where the teacher gives the students the freedom to get on the computers and research, some will misuse it and just go web surfing. This issue does not just apply to the middle and high school levels, even in elementary. In Matt Richtel’s article about technology in the class room, he writes about a young student playing a math game.He writes â€Å"Xavier Diaz, 6, sits quietly, chair pulled close to his dell laptop playing Alien Addition†¦Xavier’s goal is to shoot only the spaceship with the correct answer but he is just shooting every target in sight† (Richtel). While this math game is supposed to be helping Xavier improve his math skills, he just sees it as another video game he would play at home. It’s hard to stop the distractions with technology available in most classes. Imagine walking into history class. It’s just another average day. You sit down, say hey to some of your friends and possibly send out a tweet.Then your teacher pulls up a PowerPoint. You automatically know that your teacher is going to be reading off the PowerPoint for the whole class and it’s just going to be another period of taking long notes. My final issue with technology in the class room is the misuse of it. â€Å"PowerPoint works best for things that are presented visually, not verbally. It helps when you need to draw a picture† (Kaminski). Too many teachers today use PowerPoint as a verbal aid for lectures. The use of PowerPoint is best used as a visual aid in the classroom setting.For years students have had to deal with the long PowerPoints with the endless notes. How do these long PowerPoints help students? The only thing that it does is that it will help cause arthritis in your wrist before age fifty. Also, these long PowerPoint’s just make students not wanting to pay attention. These students are unable to play an active role in their education. Then when a teacher complains and how the students are unresponsive and unwilling to participate, that teacher needs to look in the mirror along with their teaching strategies.Jeffrey Young states in his article When Good Technology Means Bad Teaching â€Å"Colleges have spent millions on â€Å"smart classrooms† packed with the latest gadgets to assist teaching†¦But colleges have spent far less time and money giving professors the skills to use even the simplest technology effectively† (Young). Colleges and schools can spend as much money as they want for state of the art classes, but if you don’t have an instructor that knows how to use that technology available it just becomes a waste of money. Al so, it becomes the students that suffer the most. In today’s world, technology is going to be improving all the time.No matter what schools are going to be updating the technology available for students. Now, it is important for the libraries to be up to date with the computers available because that is a useful are for students to help complete work when they want too. But at some point, we must put up the stop sign with how much technology is integrated in the classroom. Sixty minutes without a computer screen in front of you is not going to kill us. But instead could help us. While we do need technology in our everyday lives, we do not need excessive amounts in our classrooms.