Respiratory Therapy

The Path of Respiratory Therapy Introduction About a year ago, I came home from work one night and walked into the kitchen to where my mother was standing. There was a feeling of uneasiness and the panic began to clench my stomach. She looked so sad, so stressed; maybe it was the frizzy hair, the bags beneath her eyes, the way her back slouched in a low negative curve, or her eyes. Her eyes looked at me before she turned them away, but in that fragment of a second, it’s almost like I could look inside her narrow eyes and search until I would come upon this thing.This thing has no name, but it scares her. She wouldn’t exactly explain to me what it was but I felt the sudden movements of uncertainty with the way she shifted her body and tilted her gaze away from mine. It’s almost like I started to feel scared too. The expression that was set on her face gave me such a feeling that went straight to my heart. My mother sat down with me that night and explained that he r sickness had become idiopathic, meaning that it was created from an unknown cause. The malfunctions that inhabit her body are respiratory related and deals with her lungs.Every week, she attends respiratory therapy and completes several breathing treatments. The therapists who have taken care of her, year after year, have set a positive influence and have created a better outlook for her. I have been inspired to become a respiratory therapist to help patients, like my mother, who suffer from breathing complications. My overall goal is to give people the opportunity to experience their lives as long as possible. Setting a positive outlook for others will help build a base for patients to be happy once again.Respiratory therapy is extremely popular with the amount of people who are diagnosed with breathing disorders every year. From 2010-2020, employment is expected to grow by 28 percent (â€Å"Occupational Outlook Handbook†). This is faster than the average growth for all ca reers. Thousands of people are employed as respiratory therapists across the country. In Indiana, the number ranges just over 3,000 people (â€Å"Occupational Outlook Handbook†). Whether working here or in a different state, hospitals are always in need of medical help.As people become elderly, it is essential for them to breathe to stay alive; that is where the necessity of respiratory therapists comes in. Job Description Respiratory therapists eat, sleep, and work mainly in hospitals. It is common to work in nursing homes or even travel to patients’ homes. From the time babies are born to the adults reaching old age, they assist anyone who has breathing difficulties. Typically, RT’s interview/examine patients, perform diagnostic tests, treat patients, monitor/record the progress of treatment and teach patients how to use treatments (â€Å"Occupational Outlook Handbook†).The environment in which they work in is extremely clean to prevent patients from ca tching bugs that can put their health in more danger. Though the salary ranges from state to state, Indiana’s respiratory therapists are able to make around $50,000 a year (â€Å"Occupational Outlook Handbook†). Depending on the shifts that are worked, therapists can make a bit more by working on holidays and even night shifts since hospitals are always open. Qualifications The more education experienced, the greater chance applicants will successfully obtain the job of a respiratory therapist.At minimum, an associate’s degree is needed. Many colleges and universities, vocational-technical institutes, and the Armed Forces offer training-most programs even award an associate’s or bachelor’s degree (â€Å"Occupational Outlook Handbook†). Respiratory therapy is particularly science based and requires a certain amount of credits from classes. Important courses taken are human anatomy and physiology, chemistry, physics, microbiology, pharmacology , and mathematics (â€Å"Occupational Outlook Handbook†). In order to receive the license for a respiratory therapist, an exam is to be taken.This exam is important because employers prefer to hire those of who have successfully passed. If therapists are certified, there is a greater chance of obtaining the job. Studying for long hours and keeping steady grades pays off in the end. Opportunities Growth in the middle-aged and elderly population will lead to an increased incidence of respiratory conditions such as emphysema, chronic bronchitis, pneumonia, and respiratory disorders that permanently damage the lungs or restrict lung function (â€Å"Occupational Outlook Handbook†). Knowing this, the demand for respiratory therapy will increase.When medications and treatments improve, so will the need for therapists to help patients. There will always be factors that continue to harm the health of people such as pollution and smoking. There are other types of therapists that come close to the career of one in the respiratory field. Though some require a bachelor’s, master’s or even a doctoral degree, select trainers and therapists still hold the duty of treating patients. From physical to radiation therapy, therapists use different techniques to help treat problems that many people suffer from.Depending on what field of therapy the career is in, the salary can range from $40,000 to around $80,000 (â€Å"Occupational Outlook Handbook†). Conclusion Since the time that I decided what I wanted to do, I have taken steps in the right direction to obtain the career that I want. Before I started college classes, I saw an advisor and specifically asked for the courses that I needed in order to get into the medical program. General studies for respiratory therapy include classes in which I have to achieve high grades. If my grades are not the best, I may not get accepted for the medical program.As long as that does not happen, the positive o pportunities for this career will lead me to a successful life without the fear of losing this job. As I mentioned before, respiratory therapy will be demanded more as conditions get worse, causing a rise in treatments for patients and a higher demand for therapists.Reference Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition, Respiratory Therapists, on the Internet at http://www. bls. gov/ooh/healthcare/respiratory-therapists. htm (visited October 25, 2012).

Night World : Secret Vampire Chapter 16

â€Å"You have got to be kidding,† Poppy said. Phil just gaped. â€Å"No. I'm perfectly serious. You're witches of thesecond kind. Remember what I told you?† â€Å"There are the kind of witches that know theirheritage and get trained-and the kind that don't.Who just have powers. And humans call that kind-â€Å" â€Å"Psychics!† James chorused with her. â€Å"Telepaths.Clairvoyants,† he went on alone. There was something in his voice between laughing and crying.†Poppy, that's what youare. That's why you picked up on telepathy so quickly. That's why you had clair voyant dreams.† â€Å"And that's why Phil heard me,† Poppy said. â€Å"Oh, no,† Phil said. â€Å"Not me. Come on.† â€Å"Phil, you're twins,† James said. â€Å"You have the same ancestors. Pace it, you're a witch. That's why I couldn't control your mind.†Ã¢â‚¬ Oh, no,†Phil said. â€Å"No.†He flopped back in his seat. â€Å"No,†he said again, but more weakly. â€Å"But whose side do we get it from?† Poppy wondered. â€Å"Dad's. Of course.† The voice from the backseatwas very faint. â€Å"Well, that would seemlogical, but-â€Å" â€Å"It's the truth. Don't you remember how Dad wasalways talking about seeing weird things? Havingdreams about things before they happened? And,Poppy, he heard you yell in yourdream. When you were calling for James. James heard it, and I heardit, and Dad heard it, too.† â€Å"Then that settles it. Oh, and it explains otherthings about all of us-all those times we've had feelingsabout things-hunches, whatever. Even youhave hunches, Phil.† â€Å"I had one that James was creepy, and I wasright.† â€Å"Phill—â€Å" â€Å"And maybe a few others,† Phil said fatalistically.†I knew it was James driving up this afternoon. Ithought I just had a fine ear for car engines.† Poppy was shivering with delight and astonishment, but she couldn't quite understand James.James was absolutely beaming. Filled with unbelieving elation that she could feel like streamers andfireworks in the air. â€Å"What, James?† â€Å"Poppy, don't you see?† James actually pounded the steering wheel in joy. â€Å"It means that even before you became a vampire, youwere a Night Person.Asecret witch. You have every right to know about the Night World. You belong there.† The world turned upside down and Poppy couldn't breathe. At last she whispered. â€Å"Oh . . .† â€Å"And webelong together. Nobody can separate us.We don't have to hide.† â€Å"Oh†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Poppy whispered again. Then she said,†James, pull the car over. I want to kiss you.† When they were in motion once more, Phil said, â€Å"But where are you two going to go now? Poppycan't come home.† â€Å"I know,† Poppy said softly. She had accepted that.There was no going back for her; the old life wasover. Nothing to do but build a new one. â€Å"And you can't just wander around from place toplace,† Phil said, doggedly persistent. â€Å"We won't,† Poppy said calmly. â€Å"We'll go to Dad.† It was perfect. Poppy could feel James think, Ofcourse. They would go to her father, the always-late, always-impractical, always-affectionate parent. Herfather the witch who didn't know he was a witch.Who probably thought he was crazy when his powersacted up. He'd give them a place to stay, and that was all they needed, really. That and each other. The whole Night World would be open to them, whenever theywanted to explore it. Maybe they could come back and visit Thea sometime. Maybe they could dance atone of Thierry's parties. â€Å"If we can findDad, that is,† Poppy said, struck by sudden alarm. â€Å"You can,† Phil said. â€Å"He flew out last night, buthe left an address. For the first time.† â€Å"Maybe somehow he knew,† James said. They rode for a while, and then Phil cleared his throat and said, â€Å"You know, I just had a thought. I don't want any part of the Night World, you understand-I don't carewhat my heritage is. I just wantto live like a human-and I want everybody to bedear on that†¦.† â€Å"We're dear, Phil,† James interrupted. â€Å"Believeme. Nobody in the Night World is going to force youin. You can live like a human all you want as long as you avoid Night People and keep your mouth shut.† â€Å"Okay. Good. But here's my thought. I still don'tapprove of vampires, but it occurs to me that maybethey're not as completely bad as they seem. I mean,vampires don't treat their food any worse than humans do. When you think of what we do to cows †¦at least they don't breed humans in pens.† â€Å"I wouldn't bet on it,† James said, suddenly grim.†I've heard rumors about the olddays†¦.† â€Å"You always have to argue, don't you? But my other thought was that you're part of Nature, and Nature just is what it is. It's not always pretty, but †¦ well, it's Nature, and there it is.† He wound upglumly, â€Å"Maybe that doesn't make any sense.† â€Å"It makes sense to me,† James said, entirely serious. â€Å"And-thanks.† He paused to look back at Philinacknowledgment. Poppy felt a sting behind hereyes. If he admits we're part of Nature, she thought,then he doesn't believe we're unnatural anymore. It meant a lot. She said, â€Å"Well, you know, I'vebeen thinking, too.And it occurs to me that maybe there are otherchoices for feeding besides just jumping on humans when they don't expect it. Like ‘ animals. I mean, isthere any reason their blood won't work?† â€Å"It's not the same as human blood,† James said.†But it's a possibility. I've fed on animals. Deer aregood. Rabbits are okay. Possums stink.† â€Å"And then there must be somepeople who'd bewilling donors. Thea was a donor for me. We could ask other witches.† â€Å"Maybe,† James said. He grinned suddenly. â€Å"Iknew a witch back home who was verywilling. Nameof Gisele. But you couldn't ask them to do it everyday, you know. You'd have to give them time to recover.† â€Å"I know, but maybe we could alternate. Animals one day and witches the next. Hey, maybe even werewolves on weekends!† â€Å"I'd rather bite a possum,† James said. Poppy socked him in the arm. â€Å"The point is, maybewe don't have to be horrible bloodsucking monsters.Maybe we can be decentbloodsucking monsters.† â€Å"Maybe,† James said quietly, almost wistfully. â€Å"Hear, hear,† Phil said very seriously from theback. â€Å"And we can do it together,† Poppy said to James. He took his eyes off the road to smile at her. Andthere was nothing wistful about his gaze. Nothingcool or mysterious or secretive, either. â€Å"Together,† he said out loud. And mentally headded, Ican't wait. With that telepathy of yoursyourealize what we can do, don't you? Poppy stared, then felt an effervescent rush that almost shot her out of the car. Oh, James-do youthink? I'm certain. The only thing that makes exchanging blood so special is that it enhances telepathy. But you don't needany enhancementyou little dreamer. Poppy sat back to try and still her heart. They would be able to join their minds again. Anytime they wanted. She could imagine it, being sweptinto James's mind, feeling him surrender histhoughts to hers. Merging like two drops of water. Together in a waythat humans could never know. I can't wait, either,she told him. Ithink I'm going tolike being a witch. Phil cleared his throat. â€Å"If you guys want someprivacy.. .† â€Å"We can't have any,† James said. â€Å"Not with youaround. Obviously.† â€Å"I can't help it,† Phil said through his teeth.†You're the ones who're yelling.† â€Å"We're not yelling. You're snooping.† â€Å"Both of you give it a rest,† Poppy said. But she felt warm and glowing all over. She couldn't resistadding to Phil, â€Å"So, if you're willing to give us someprivacy, that means you trust James alone withyour sister†¦.† â€Å"I didn't saythat.† â€Å"You didn't have to,† Poppy said. She was happy. It was very late the next day. Almost midnight, infact. The witching hour. Poppy was standing in a place she'd thought she'd never see again, her mother's bedroom. James was waiting outside with a carload of stuff,including one large suitcase of Poppy's CDs, smuggledfor them by Phil. In a few minutes James and Poppywould be heading for the East Coast and Poppy'sfather. But first, there was something Poppy had to do. She glided quietly toward the king-size bed, making no more noise than a shadow, not disturbing either of the sleepers. She stopped by her mother'sstill form. She stood looking down, and then she spoke withher mind. I know you think this is a dream, Mom. I know youdon't believe in spirits. But I had to tell you that I'm allright. I'm all right, and I'm happy, and even if you don'tunderstand, please try to believe. Just this once, be!ieve in what you can't see. She paused, then added, Ilove you, Mom. I alwayswill. When she left the room, her mother was stillasleep—andsmiling. Outside, Phil was standing by the Integra. Poppyhugged him and he hugged back, hard. â€Å"Goodbye,† she whispered. She got into the car.James stuck his hand out the window toward Phil. Phil took it without hesitation. â€Å"Thank you,† James said. â€Å"For everything.† â€Å"No, thank you.†Phil said. His smile and his voicewere both shaky. â€Å"Take care of her. . . and of yourself.† He stepped back, blinking. Poppy blew him a kiss. Then she and James droveoff together into the night.

Communication Methods

Face to Face communicationAdvantage: Creates a better experience because the depth of understanding is enhanced by body language and posture. Disadvantage: Body language could be misread and lead to a miscommunication of the intended message.TelephoneAdvantage: With the presence of cell phones, communication can be done anytime and anywhere. Disadvantage: The cell phone presents times when phone conversations may not be appropriate and could cause a miscommunication in the conversation.VideoconferencingAdvantage: It is inexpensive, builds relationships, and allows face to face communication. Disadvantage: There could be technical problems that hinder the conference from happening.EmailAdvantage: Very fast. Can be changed instantly. It can reach large amounts of people at one time. Disadvantage: May not be written clearly and can cause miscommunication.MemosAdvantage: Reach a large amount of employees at one time. The message could be very traditional or high impact that is easy to in terpret. Disadvantage: The memo could have a message that is not easy to interpret and is hard for the reader to understand.Address the following scenarios:1. One of your employees is constantly late, leaving food and drinks at the work station, and you are forced to address the situation. The best form of communication for this situation is face to face. Face to face communication is the â€Å"richest: form of communication because it contains cues from many sources that add to the interpretation of the message exchanged by the sender and receiver. . This would be the form because it is important that the employee who is participating in this type of behavior in the workplace understand the implications of the rules that are being broken in the workplace. The employee may need a serious demeanor and body language that expresses that this type of behavior can and will not be tolerated. The employer also needs to see the body language of the employee so that they can see if the empl oyee takes the situation seriously and plans to make changes.2. You need to let all employees know about a company special event. The best form of communication for this scenario is an email. The email would have to be highly detailed. It would need to include: time, place, cost, and theme of event. The email would need to ensure to let employees know if they can bring a guest or if it is for employees only. The email would need to include rather or not the employee needs to state if they are attending the event or not. It would need to be clear and concise.3. You hear from a friend that a client is about to sign a contract with one of your present competitors. The best form of communication to deal with this scenario is face to face communication. In this scenario a meeting may need to be arranged. That way the client could be persuaded on the reasons why it would be best to use your company versus the competition. You may also be able to build a level of rapport with the competito r because you were upfront about the information you heard in regards to the contract.4. You have three bids on a piece of equipment and you need to get a management decision on purchasing. The best form of communication of for this scenario is videoconferencing. Videoconferencing would allow the  managers to see the equipment and understand why one product could be a better purchase than the other. The videoconference would give the manager the luxury of using video aids without leaving the comfort their office.

Journal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 17

Journal - Assignment Example The article went on further to describe that George Romney had grown up on a Mormon compound established by his grandfather who had four wives. Asked to comment, Obama’s reelection campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith replied that they will not engage in attacking a candidate’s religion and that the practice was beyond what is appropriate. I think that this aspect of the presidential candidate’s family history, especially if it will not affect the candidate’s performance should he become the president, is of no relevance. I think Americans are more concerned with a presidential candidate’s capability to govern them than if where the candidate’s parents grew up. As the article mentioned, it was only Romney’s great grandfather who did not practice monogamy. It just shows that even if it was against their beliefs to have more than one wife, Romney’s grandfather and father stuck to their own principles of having just one family as is what presidential candidate Romney has done. At the end of the day, I think what matters is Romney’s personal conviction. This is what makes him the kind of person and presidential candidate that he is. If this kind of person is who America wants as a ruler then what his great grandfather had done should be of no

Law in social work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Law in social work - Essay Example Under Subsection 2 of the same proviso, it is stated that the court would only be willing to make a Care Order or a Supervisory Order, if it is convinced, inter alia, that the child is not being well looked after by its parents. Regarding "Legal representation of children there have been a number of cases, concerning the ability of children or young persons to appoint guardians or solicitors to act on their behalf." (Brayne & Carr 2007, P. 80). In this case we find that Janine's mother is not capable of taking good care of her, including her physical, intellectual, emotional social and behaviour development. Therefore, if needed, an application under Section 31 (1) may be made, to hand over the care of Janine, to the care of a local authority or other authorised person. (Care and supervision orders. 1989) In this case, Althea is widowed and, besides, she also has to care for her aged mother, Beatrice, and a small child, Janice.

My fascination with the law profession Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My fascination with the law profession - Essay Example Since childhood I have had a habit of asking for reasons and logic for almost everything in life. My weekly trips to my grandmother’s house demanded reasons from my parents, my occasional trips to the shelter of the homeless demanded logic and the list goes on. As I grew up, I developed a personal sense of reasoning and logic to find the purpose behind the happenings in the environment. This reasoning developed a sense of judgment for right and wrong. It has been experienced that age provides one with the confidence and courage to stand up for one’s principles and reasons in life. I have witnessed the same in my life. As I grew older, the logic demanding nature earned me the voice to protest against any wrong actions in the society. The passion for a structured and lawful society urges one to protect the rights of others as well as one’s own. One of such instances took place in my neighborhood when the local municipal community showed negligence on an important m atter. The local municipal community planted a garbage disposal point adjacent to the premises of a children park. The foul smell of the garbage surrounded the park and made the park loose the charm of the purity of the air. It would not have been a big problem if the garbage got cleared from the point every day; there were some days when the garbage was not cleared for two consecutive days. This even created a threat for the health and welfare of the community as some diseases might have initiated from the dump.

Developmental Milestones Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Developmental Milestones - Essay Example Children have widely individual characteristics and develop different skills at different paces. â€Å"The interactive influences of genes and experience literally shape the architecture of the developing brain, and the active ingredient is the ‘serve and return’ nature of children’s engagement in relationships with their parents and other caregivers in their family or community† (NSCDC, 2007:1). For the most part, parents’ instincts are usually the best indicator that development is not going right. Parents should therefore trust these instincts, and not be overly stressed because babies can feel and react to stress in their caregivers. What is important is for parents to provide their babies with sufficient care and stimulation, to make sure that they eat and sleep well, and most of all, to show them that they are loved. Children bask in the love of their parents, and affection conveyed through words, touch, and â€Å"just being there† is pr obably the best stimulus for development that any young child could ever

Protective security research project Assignment

Protective security research project - Assignment Example The study found out that most of the security firms and Close protection Officers were in favour of including a compulsory physical fitness test as a pre-requisite for SIA front line license award. With all the technological advances being made in the world today, security is being recognized globally as one of the areas which has greatly benefitted from these developments while at the same time suffered from it. Many people are becoming more aware of the security risks they face everyday. They seek the services of Close Protective Officers (CPO) who basically offer security services to anyone who feels that he/she is at risk and therefore in need of security services. As the need of security services increases, the effectiveness of CPO’s is coming under close scrutiny. It has been noted that physical fitness is one of the key areas that has the potential of increasing the overall effectiveness of CPO’s. In order for an individual to practice as a CPO, he/she has to be licensed. Security Industry Authority is the body mandated to award licenses to individuals who meet the criteria. Among the requirements for the award of a CPO license is a clean criminal record a nd undergoing CPO training. This study was conducted with an intention of evaluating whether CPO’s need to complete compulsory fitness tests in order for them to gain their Security Industry Authority (SIA) front line license. A brief background at this point would be of great value as it would assist contextualize this study. The Security Industry Authority (SIA) is a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) that was established under the PSIA Act of 2001. It is an independent body that has the mandate to license all the individuals who meet the criteria for licensing. Any individual who wants to work as a front line operative, they must have a clean criminal record, undergo an identity check and a competency

The Choice of Music in Any Film and the Meanings of the Actions Research Paper

The Choice of Music in Any Film and the Meanings of the Actions Performed in the Film - Research Paper Example In the Pianist, the horror story of the Nazi holocaust is told through the story of Wladyslaw Szpilman. He is a Polish-Jewish Pianist cum composer trapped in the evil objective of the Nazi manifesto to degrade the Jewish people of the world (Akhtar, Rogers & Plotkin, 2002). Music in both films is used to achieve different emotions to viewers in order to convey different messages to them. While â€Å"The Pianist† starts with a low note of the piano The GodFather begins in the centre of the underworld which is Don Corleone’s office as he listens to requests in his role as The GodFather; the leader of the crime world. Dressed in a dark suit and a white shirt The GodFather epitomizes the cadre of his profession which is a raw crime. Outside the dark tense office of Don Corleone, there is an ongoing wedding full of pomp and music; it is the wedding of his only daughter. This is meant from the onset to show the two different worlds in a mafia family. While the women and the c hildren are spared the intricacies of mafia operations the men such as Sony and his father are the kingpins of the underworld. The Pianist begins in the streets of Warsaw in 1939 at the onset of the world war. Szpilman is behind his keyboard in the studios of the polish state radio playing Chopin 's Nocturne in C-sharp minor Lento con gran espressione. The calm composition signifies the pieced prevailing in Warsaw before it is attacked by the Nazi thugs. As Stillman plays the piano the first sounds of the raging war outside are heard presumably from the window behind his producer in the studio.

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7000 words

Discussion - Essay Example 6.2 User Profile The user profile mainly consisted of six elements that allowed the researcher to understand the profile history of each Umrah Company. These elements included the following: 1- Length of Service 2- Total Number of Employees 3- Number of Employees Dedicated to e-services 4- PC History 5- Computers Owned 6- Number and Average age of Computer Literacy Staff 1- Length of Service The companies that have 10 years or less are likely to adopt to electronic services compared to the older ones according to the data obtained from the findings of the study. 2- Total Number of Employees The total number of employees has a bearing on the organisation’s chances of adopting the electronic services. This implies that the higher the total number of employees in an organisation, the higher the chances of adopting and presenting higher level of satisfaction and dedication towards electronic services than those with low total number of employees who might find it difficult to impl ement electronic services. 3- Number of Employees Dedicated to e-services Most companies often commit resources to train between 2 and 10 employees in electronic services. ... t of the Umrah services and a minority of companies constituting about 7 % has started working with computers before the new electronic systems (10-15 yrs). 5- Computers Owned The number of computers owned is closely related to the structure of adoption of new technology in companies. This means that the companies which have large numbers of computers are more dedicated towards technologies both inside and outside their work tasks. They also seem to be dedicated towards the adoption of new technologies. On the other hand, those who have small numbers of computers are only using them to access the service providers to accomplish their task requirements and neither fully dedicating themselves to technologies nor involving their end users, â€Å"clients† online. 6- Number and Average age of Computer Literacy Staff The advanced computer literacy states that it is not necessary for the companies to have large numbers of staff computer literacy but only a few who can enhance as well as execute the technical issues that relate to IT requirements. However, the average ages of those with advanced computer literacy was observed to be between 25 and 35 years and they approximately represent the highest percentage of respondents which is 41.9%. According to the moderate computer literacy, it can be seen that the majority of companies have their moderate computer literacy staff of around 2-20. Their average ages range between 25 and 30 years and was the highest in terms of response showing 41.9% while the average age between 20 and 25 years was the lowest. This implies that the majority of companies have their moderate computer literacy staff of around 25 to 30 years and above. According to the no computer literacy, it can be observed that some companies have a large number of

Unmasking the Meaning Essay Example for Free

Unmasking the Meaning Essay In, â€Å"The Masque of the Red Death† by Edgar Allan Poe, Prince Prospero believes he has the ability to escape the inevitable plague through the use of his social and economic power. After encountering a â€Å"masked figure† of the Red Death, Prince Prospero falls into rage of the mysterious man who interrupts his masquerade. Because of his reckless and foolish acts, Prince Prospero and the guests of his masquerade fall into the hands of death. Poe creates a passage describing Prince Prospero’s palace, adding several descriptions of its color and order orientation. In this passage, Poe uses adjective clauses and simple compound sentences to develop a symbolism towards the objects in his allegory. In one of the lines of the, Poe writes ‘†The second chamber was purple in its ornaments and tapestries, and here the panes were purple†, describing the subjects itself and enhancing them with the addition of an adjective clause. Poe’s addition of the adjective clause â€Å"here the panes were purple† creates an in-depth meaning of the object. Poe moves on to emphasize the final room by obscuring description, stating that â€Å"The seventh apartment was closely shrouded in black velvet tapestries that hung all over the ceiling and down the walls.† Poe clearly acknowledges these specific sentences compared to his others. He progresses, going as far to extend the sentences by adding several more adjectives to specify a hidden meaning. Furthermore, Poe shifts to draw more attention towards the seventh apartment, developing separate sentences to enhance the last sentence â€Å"The seventh apartment was† The adjective clauses are most likely Poe’s intention for readers to attract interest in the seventh apartment and for them to uncover its significance. Throughout the passage, Poe describes each apartment with merely simple compound sentences. But, as the passage moves on, Poe shifts from â€Å"That art the eastern extremity was hung, for example, in blue – and vividly blue were its windows† to â€Å"The fourth was furnished and lighted with orange – the fifth with white – the sixth with violet.† The first three simple compound sentences describing the six other apartments all incorporate youth (blue), intuition (purple), life (green), vitality of endurance (orange), purity (white), and spirituality (violet). Poe developed simple a compound sentences for, blue, purple, and green, but a simple sentence, â€Å"The fourth was furnished and lighted with orange – the fifth with white – the sixth with violet† for the other incorporated colors. This symbolizes Prince Prospero’s favor of youth, intuition, and life, but lacks vitality, purity, and spirituality. Subsequently, Poe differentiates Prince Prospero’s concluding color, black, by shifting again from compound sentences to a complex sentence. He writes, â€Å"The seventh apartment was closely shrouded in black velvet tapestries that hung all over the ceiling and down the walls, falling in heavy folds upon a carpet of the same material and hue† to emphasize Prince Prospero’s interest in death. Prince Prospero’s actions such as attempting to his avoid his problems and death, is the most reasonable explanation to Poe’s reason of switching sentence structure. Switching sentence structure crafts a clear understanding in the meaning of the color and apartment. Therefore, Poe uses both adjective clauses and simple compound sentences to illuminate Prince Prospero. The symbolic colors and Poe’s syntax reveals his corrupt personality.

Market Segmentation Essay Example for Free

Market Segmentation Essay An organization cannot satisfy all the needs and wants of all the consumers. Therefore, Market is divided into different segments so an organization can focus on the needs and wants of the specific consumers who share similar needs and demonstrate similar buyer behavior. In the world, there are different types of buyers with their own needs and behavior. Segmentation is the process to match groups of the purchasers with same needs and wants. Market segmentation: The division of a market into different groups or the process of splitting customers in a market into different groups or segments, within which customers show similar buying behavior and share a similar level of interest in the same set of needs and wants satisfied by a marketer is called Market segmentation. Reasons for segmentation of market: The reason for segmenting a market is to allow your marketing program to focus only on the segment that is most likely to buy your offering. Market segmentation makes possible how to use marketing mix for different target markets. A company is then able to determine which groups of customers are best suited to serve and which product and service offers will meet the needs of the customers and will satisfy them. Therefore, the main objective of segmentation must be how to win and retain the customers you want to serve. If the segmentation process is done properly then it will insure the maximum return for your marketing and sales expenditures, depending on what you are selling and whether you are selling your offerings to individual consumers or a business. Levels of Market Segmentation †¢Segment Marketing †¢Individual Marketing †¢Niche Marketing †¢Local Marketing Segment Marketing: Dividing the market into different segments on the basis of homogenous need. Segmented on basis of broad similarity with regard to some attributes. Segmentation is also sometimes identifying, capturing retaining potential new markets. Individual Marketing: Extreme marketing in which marketers focus on individual customers. Keep track of individual tastes preferences of individual customers. Many companies are approaching individuals through e-mails to promote their products. Niche Marketing: Marketer’s effort to position their product or service in smaller markets that have similar attributes and have been neglected by other marketer. Segment further divided into sub segments to cater unsatisfied needs of small group is called as niche. Local Marketing: Marketers offer customized products to suit the local markets. McDonalds introduced â€Å"Muslimized† or â€Å"Arabic† products such as Big Mac, Halal Chicken, Mac Arabia, and more†¦ Variables to Segment the Market: There are a number of segmentation variables that allow an organization to divide their market into homogenous groups. These variables will be discussed briefly below: †¢Geographic †¢Demographic †¢Psychographic †¢Behavioral Geographic segmentation It is based on regional variables such as region, climate, population density, and population growth rate. Geographic segmentation divides markets into different geographical areas. Marketers use geographic segmentation because consumers in different parts of world vary in characteristics and behaviors. An area can be divided by the town, the region or the country. If you are an organization working on a global scale you may divide by global regions such as Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Africa. Example: McDonalds globally, sell burgers aimed at local markets, for example, They also offer vegetable burgers in India due to lots of vegetarians and burgers are made from lamb in India rather than beef because of religious issues also. In Mexico more chili sauce is added and so on. In Muslim countries halal food is offered. In Arabic countries Arabic food is offered like Mc Arabia. Demographic Segmentation It is based on variables such as age, gender, ethnicity, education, occupation, income, and family status. Demographics originate from the word ‘demography’ which means a ‘study of population’. The population can be divided into age, gender, income, and family lifecycle amongst other variables. As people age their needs and wants change, some organizations develop specific products aimed at particular age groups. Gender segmentation is commonly used within the cosmetics, clothing and magazine industry. Income segmentation is another strategy used by many organizations Products and services are also aimed at different lifecycle segments. Examples: ïÆ'ËœFor different age groups: Nappies for babies, toys for children, clothes for teenagers and so on. Introduction of Maxim, (www.maxim-magazine.co.uk)A male lifestyle magazine covering male fashion, films, cars, sports and technology. Psychographic Segmentation: oIt is based on variables such as values, attitudes, opinions, interests, personality and lifestyle. oIt is used highly in the hospitality industry oVALS (Values And Lifestyles) Principle Oriented- principles or beliefs rather than feelings, events, or desire for approval. Status Oriented- status or other people’s actions, approval, or opinions. ï‚ §Action Oriented- action prompted by a desire for social or physical activity, variety, and risk taking. Behavioral Segmentation: It is based on variables such as usage rate and patterns, price sensitivity, brand loyalty, and benefits sought. It refers to why people purchase a product or service. How will the product enhance their overall lifestyle? Occasion is another variable. When should a product be purchased? Occasion segmentation aims to increase the ‘reason to buy factor’ and thus increase sales. Usage rate divides customers into light, medium and heavy users. Heavy users obviously contribute more to turnover then light or medium users, the objective of an organization should be to attract heavy users who will make a greater contribution to company sales. It is based on benefits people seek when buying a product. It is based on Total satisfaction from a service rather than individual benefits. Examples: When someone is going out to dinner McDonalds and local restaurant will not come in the same breathe for choices of where to go. When purchasing a computer the benefit sought will be of ‘ease of use’. ïÆ'ËœThe demand for turkeys increases during Christmas, flowers and chocolates on mother’s day and so on.

Risky play in early years setting

Risky play in early years setting Introduction: There is an ongoing debate whether to prioritise the safety of children or the benefits of risky play in early years setting. More particularly, the contention is on the issue of making certain children are safe against allowing them to play in emotionally and physically motivating and challenging contexts. The emphasis is currently on the right of children to participate in risky play. Thus far, there are no investigations classifying risky play. This study will attempt to accomplish this. In the present study, risky play is defined as stimulating or thrilling varieties of play that involve a possibility of physical harm. Children usually want to and participate in risky or challenging varieties of play although, and to a certain extent, it involves the risk of getting injured or hurt. Because of the safety concerns of the Western culture, the issue of risky play in early years and the degree such play should be monitored and regulated are crucial and continuous debates (Greenfield 2003). These debates on play safety have generated safety proceedings and legislation from concerned child care workers and parents. This has invoked further disputes on the balance between the benefits of risky play for child development on one hand, and safety proceedings and litigations on the other hand (New, Mardell Robinson 2005). Normally, play occurs under the supervision of adults, hence controlling what children are permitted to do and where they are permitted to go (Gill 2007). For this reason, adults are influencing the safety of children when playing, and, simultaneously, they embody the greatest limitation on the childs capability of experiencing challenges and risks that are eventually favourable for development (Gill 2007). A persistent argument in the literature is the children gain developmentally from taking risk, and that too much protection from risk can hamper development. Historical and Current Context of the Debate In a continuously evolving world, environmental and social aspects have significantly affected childrens opportunities for emotionally and physically challenging play. Where previously youngsters may have played in the street, playing ball games, riding bicycles or playing other outdoor activities, increased road hazards has made the streets and play opportunities restricted to children as the risk or perils are extremely high. Children nowadays are confined to their houses or designated areas for relatively secured places to play. Still even these are transforming (Ball 2002). With increasing populations, the enlarged need for housing in several areas, specifically urban areas, is weakening the play spaces of children. High-density housing is increasingly becoming widespread and housing units are becoming smaller (Rivkin 1995). Coupled with diminished opportunities for parents to allocate time for the supervision and participation in their childrens play due to expanded work obligat ions, this condition has led to greatly decreased opportunities for childrens participation in risky play (Rivkin 1995). In addition to this, diminished risky play experiences have been ascribed to the fears of parents for the safety of their children. A UK survey discovered that, although 91 percent of the grown-ups asked understood the benefit of risky play, 60 percent said they were worried about their childrens safety when playing in unsafe places (Valentine McKendrick 1997). Consequently, parents place higher constraints on their childrens independent plays. Their worries have aided the development of overprotective or domineering parenting, by which the world is viewed as a naturally unsafe place from which children have to be protected (New et al. 2005). This concern for safety is present on several levels, involving concerns linked to safety stemming from stranger danger (p. 49) and increased street hazards, as well as those linked to harm inflicted by the use of play equipment, such as skateboards, roller blades, etc., and playground. In contrast, Ball (2002) emphasises that, because the advantages of risky play are not simply determined using recognised western scientific processes, they have a tendency not to be properly regarded in discussions about risk and play. He argues: If the purpose of an activity is not directly considered, then a balance between risk and benefit cannot be struck and one is in danger of considering only one side of the equation (p. 51). It is claimed risk taking can have favourable effects in terms of childrens emotional, social and developmental needs, as well as their general well-being (Ball 2002). Advocates of risky play tend to argue that removing risks deny children the opportunity to evaluate them competently, and hence they are unprepared to cope with any circumstances they may experience in later life (Childrens Play Council 2004). It is argued that, by giving chances to children to deal with their own risks in a regulated environment, they will become skilled at important life capabilities required for adulthood, and acquire the experience required to confront the changeable nature of the world (Childrens Play Council 2004). Gill (2007) claims that depriving children this opportunity may generate a society of risk-disinclined population, or citizens incapable of dealing with daily situations, or in children easily locating more hazardous areas to perform their risk-taking behaviour; risk-taking is regarded to have additional advantages, which contribute to the cultivation of favourable personality attributes, such as creativity (Ball 2002). Through exposure to cautiously supervised risks children become skilled at sound judgment in evaluating risks themselves, thus developing self-esteem, resilience, and confidence, attributes that are crucial for their later independence (Ball 2002). Moreover, a developing culture of litigation has led to the elimination of playground paraphernalia from numerous public places and a growing anxiety amongst educators and child care workers that they will be held responsible for any harm sustained by a child while in their supervision (Childrens Play Council 2004). Moreover, children who adopt and use more minor techniques to play may be open to the more threatening possibilities of chronic illness linked to diminished levels of activity. Experimental data with children in preschools (Smith Hagan 1980) and early school years (Pellegrini Davis 1993) shows that participants who have been denied of physical play for a given period of time will, when provided with the opportunity, participate in physical activities that are much more challenging and persistent. This effect of deprivation was discovered to be more intense for boys than for girls and indicates that risk reduction techniques that limit physical activities are prone to have a direct effect on the plays quality (Mitchell et al. 2006). Hence, the benefit of risk-taking in facilitating childrens development and learning in the context of risky play will be explored in the present study. Current Debate Providing opportunities of risk-taking for children in physical play does not imply that safety is taken for granted. Instead it implies that parents and educators have to be highly aware of the dangers and carry out all the essential steps to make sure that the environment is safe, and to have sufficient number of staffs to supervise risky play (Mitchell et al. 2006). Even within the field of playground safety and harm prevention there is recognition of the benefit of risk-taking during play. As argued by Mitchell and colleagues (2006), children should have opportunities to explore and experiment in an environment that provides a degree of managed risk (p. 122), because eventually, regardless how secure the play environment is, it will fall short in meeting its goal if it is not thrilling and appealing for children. Inopportunely, the concept risk-taking is generally understood with negative implications, with danger and risk usually viewed as synonymous (New et al. 2005). However, Greenfield (2003) thinks a differentiation should be made between these two concepts; risk links to the childs doubt about being capable of attaining the desired result, involving a decision whether to take risk or not, whilst danger is something the child does not perceive. Grown-ups can mostly perceive the dangers and try to get rid of them. The way is in that case certain for children to confront the challenge and take the risk should they decide to do so (Greenfield 2003). This also requires giving sufficient assistance and supervision and being conscious of those features of the childs activities that may contribute to severe injury, particularly as an outcome of improper use of playground tools (Ball 2002). The concept of finding the symmetry is integral if children are to have the chance to encounter some risk in their lives. This symmetry can be realised when adults respond perceptively to individual behaviour patterns (Gill 2007); to recognise and develop childrens capability of evaluating and managing risk, as well as their need for stimulation and challenge in their play. Conclusions Risk is a crucial deliberation within the play field, but it remains a comparatively under-studied field. The studies that have been conducted appears to assume that play is both pleasurable and favourable to children, and there is a number of substantiation that children have a higher understanding of and capability of handling risk than they are credited for. It also proposes that chances for children to evaluate and encounter risk in play are constrained because of several attitudes and structural limitations. Several authors call this a risk-averse society due to the carefulness of risk evaluation in childrens play opportunity, and the prevailing judgment adults adopt towards risky play. There is substantiation to indicate that several of the measures that have been adopted to build safer play for children are not needed or efficient. Scholars appeal for acknowledgement of the potential impacts that thorough safety norms have for children, and propose using a new strategy of risk evaluation. References Ball, D. (2002) Playgrounds: Risks, benefits and choices, Middlesex University: HSE Books. Childrens Play Council. (2004) Childrens Play Council Policy Positions: Risk and challenge in childrens play, http://www.ncb.org.uk/dotpdf/open%20access%20-%20phase%20only/policyrisk_cpc_2004.pdf. G. Valentine J. McKendrick. (1997) Childrens outdoor play: Exploring parental concerns about childrens safety and the changing nature of childhood, Geoforum , 219-235. Gill, T. (2007) No Fear: Growing up in a risk averse society, London: Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. Greenfield, C. (2003) Outdoor play: The case for risks and challenges in childrens learning and development, Safekids News , 5. Mitchell, R., Cavanagh, M. Eager, D. (2006) Not all risk is bad, playgrounds as a learning environment for children, International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion , 122-124. New, R.S., Mardell, B. Robinson, D. (2005) Early childhood education as risky business: Going beyond whats safe to discovering whats possible, Early Childhood Research and Practice , 7. Pellegrini, A.D. Davis, P. (1993) Relations between childrens playgroundand classroom behaviour, British Journal , 86-95. Rivkin, M. (1995) The great outdoors: Restoring childrens right to play outside, Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

SNCC :: essays research papers

SNCC The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC, was created on the campus of Shaw University in Raleigh in April 1960. SNCC was created after a group of black college students from North Carolina A&T University refused to leave a Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina where they had been denied service. This sparked a wave of other sit-ins in college towns across the South. SNCC coordinated these sit-ins across the nation, supported their leaders, and publicized their activities. SNCC sought to affirm the philosophical or religious ideal of nonviolence as the foundation of their purpose. In the violently changing political climate of the 60’s, SNCC struggled to define its purpose as it fought white oppression. Out of SNCC came some of today's black leaders, such as former Washington, D.C. mayor Marion Barry, Congressman John Lewis and NAACP chairman Julian Bond. Together with hundreds of other students, they left a lasting impact on American h istory. John Lewis was an influential SNCC leader and is recognized by most as one of the important leaders of the civil rights movement as a whole. In 1961, Lewis joined SNCC in the Freedom Rides. Riders traveled the South challenging segregation at interstate bus terminals. In 1963, when Chuck McDew stepped down as SNCC chairman, Lewis was quickly elected to take over. Lewis' experience at that point was already widely respected--he had been arrested 24 times as a result of his activism. In 1963, Lewis helped plan and took part in the March on Washington. At the age of 23, he was a keynote speaker at the historic event. He stepped down from his position in 1966. Stokeley Carmichael, a fellow Freedom Rider, was elected chairman of SNCC and soon after raised the cry of "black power." Some were alarmed by the concept of black power and many were critical of Carmichael's new approach. In the summer of 1964, SNCC organized the Mississippi Summer Project, which was an urgent call to action for students in Mississippi to challenge and overcome the white racism of their state. The Mississippi Summer Project had three goals: registering voters, operating Freedom Schools, and organizing the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) precincts. SNCC organized Freedom Days where they gathered black people together to collectively try to register to vote and Freedom Schools where they taught children, many of who couldn't yet read or write, to stand up and demand their freedom.

The Bill of Rights: Americas Last Defense Against the Federal Suffocat

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Is our Bill of Rights necessary? Does it put a limit on our government, or on our liberty? Do these ten amendments hold the same meaning today as they did two-hundred and fourteen years ago? Are they now or have they ever been relevant? These questions were debated by our nation’s founding fathers in the eighteenth century and continue to be debated by the historians, academics, and political scientists today. Over the course of the last two centuries, its meaning has been twisted and stretched by the interpretation and misinterpretation of our legislature and, most of all, by the Supreme Court wielding its power of judicial review. It is my belief that these rights were and are absolutely essential to maintaining any liberty in this country; however, I also believe they have placed a limit on our liberties in that the government has come to restrict many rights that are not expressly declared in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Perhaps, it is nece ssary to convene a convention dedicated to defining and expanding the protected rights and to put these revisions to the people through normal amendment processes requiring ratification by three-quarters of the states.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To begin, we need to understand what a â€Å"bill of rights† is and where it comes from. Bills, or lists, of rights litter American colonial history, from the Declaration of Rights issued to the British parliament in response to the Stamp Act of 1765, which led to the repeal of that act, to those found in state governments such as Virginia and Delaware during the earliest days of the new nation. These lists were written in response to years of oppression suffered by the colonists at the hands of a tyrannical British government. They outlined certain individual rights that were held to be above government regulation by the philosophy of the time. Though the first ten amendments do not constitute the first list of rights ever devised, they are the first list incorporated into a national constitution.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The founders developed two contradicting viewpoints on this subject, which threatened to bring the process of ratification to a standstill. In his letters, Federalist 84 and Federalist 85, Alexander Hamilton, writing as â€Å"Publius†, summarized the federalist argument against the bill of rights. He presented what I f... ...oncerns, their philosophies are outdated. Perhaps our constitution is inadequate. If this is so, should we not change it rather than allow the justices of the Supreme Court to decide what it means as they see fit for the current political, social, or economic climate? It took an entire nation to decide the wording of our present constitution. Is it fair to leave its interpretation in the hands of only nine men and women? Does it make sense to allow them to decide that terms which are written as absolutes could, in some cases, be conditional? I propose a simple solution to the problem. We, the people of this nation, need to decide what we want our Constitution to say. Then, we need to rephrase the wording so that it cannot be misinterpreted. This would require amending the amendments that are already in place with more specific language. This could restore the effectiveness of the Bill of Rights and put it back in its rightful place, above the national government. Until that time, the only way the Bill of Rights will continue to provide shelter from government intrusion is to take it at face value and to quit trying to establish conditions under which it doesn’t mean what it says. The Bill of Rights: Americas Last Defense Against the Federal Suffocat   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Is our Bill of Rights necessary? Does it put a limit on our government, or on our liberty? Do these ten amendments hold the same meaning today as they did two-hundred and fourteen years ago? Are they now or have they ever been relevant? These questions were debated by our nation’s founding fathers in the eighteenth century and continue to be debated by the historians, academics, and political scientists today. Over the course of the last two centuries, its meaning has been twisted and stretched by the interpretation and misinterpretation of our legislature and, most of all, by the Supreme Court wielding its power of judicial review. It is my belief that these rights were and are absolutely essential to maintaining any liberty in this country; however, I also believe they have placed a limit on our liberties in that the government has come to restrict many rights that are not expressly declared in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Perhaps, it is nece ssary to convene a convention dedicated to defining and expanding the protected rights and to put these revisions to the people through normal amendment processes requiring ratification by three-quarters of the states.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To begin, we need to understand what a â€Å"bill of rights† is and where it comes from. Bills, or lists, of rights litter American colonial history, from the Declaration of Rights issued to the British parliament in response to the Stamp Act of 1765, which led to the repeal of that act, to those found in state governments such as Virginia and Delaware during the earliest days of the new nation. These lists were written in response to years of oppression suffered by the colonists at the hands of a tyrannical British government. They outlined certain individual rights that were held to be above government regulation by the philosophy of the time. Though the first ten amendments do not constitute the first list of rights ever devised, they are the first list incorporated into a national constitution.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The founders developed two contradicting viewpoints on this subject, which threatened to bring the process of ratification to a standstill. In his letters, Federalist 84 and Federalist 85, Alexander Hamilton, writing as â€Å"Publius†, summarized the federalist argument against the bill of rights. He presented what I f... ...oncerns, their philosophies are outdated. Perhaps our constitution is inadequate. If this is so, should we not change it rather than allow the justices of the Supreme Court to decide what it means as they see fit for the current political, social, or economic climate? It took an entire nation to decide the wording of our present constitution. Is it fair to leave its interpretation in the hands of only nine men and women? Does it make sense to allow them to decide that terms which are written as absolutes could, in some cases, be conditional? I propose a simple solution to the problem. We, the people of this nation, need to decide what we want our Constitution to say. Then, we need to rephrase the wording so that it cannot be misinterpreted. This would require amending the amendments that are already in place with more specific language. This could restore the effectiveness of the Bill of Rights and put it back in its rightful place, above the national government. Until that time, the only way the Bill of Rights will continue to provide shelter from government intrusion is to take it at face value and to quit trying to establish conditions under which it doesn’t mean what it says.

Tools of the Craft Essay example -- essays papers

Tools of the Craft So you have decided you want to write. Perhaps you may feel you need to write. Sometimes this urge inside you is so sweet and urgent that you find yourself imagining the smooth feel of the keyboard beneath your fingertips. You can hear the tap tap of the keys as your fingers fly over them, forming words, sentences, paragraphs and pages of images that will flow from your mind to another’s in a bizarre and wondrous kind of telepathy. This desire may come to you as you are studying, attending classes, or working, making you yearn for the time when the tedious details of life might be abated, if only for a moment, so that you can finally work on your story. When at last you are able to grasp your favored writing instrument, whether it is keyboard, pencil or pen, you might reach inside for the words that had nagged at you so insistently earlier. Your fingers will caress the keys, or your pencil will lightly touch the page†¦and frustration will fill you more completely than your earlier desire had. For even though the words are there, deep inside the crevices of your imagination waiting to break through, the transfer of thought to print is more difficult than you had ever realized. Writing is hard, a fact that most novices and likely all experienced writers are aware of. When you find yourself fighting the inadequacies that plague your writing, where do you turn? Most likely you’ll seek the pages of the books and stories that have inspired you in the first place. Are the answers there? Perhaps; perhaps not. It can depend on the writer and the book. There are hundreds of books out there that claim to help the writer, including numerous â€Å"How To† books that address every aspect of writing that you have imagined and some that you may not have. Which are right? Where are the ones that might help you? One book for writers that has been popular for roughly 65 years was written by a professor of composition at Cornell University and revised by a writer of fiction who was well known for his fiction and essays. The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White is a valuable guide for any writer. In it the writer will find rules for writing that are demonstrated by short examples. This book is for the writers who have found themselves stumbling over the roadblocks of grammar. It will also be of assistance in describin... ...writer, but he will discuss many of the rules Strunk insists on, and he will use examples from his own writing as well as the works of others to illustrate how the rules can be used to strengthen your writing. His tone will be more in the nature of friendly, personal advice to a friend than a clinical study of the mechanics of language, and this may appeal to a number of readers who have been overwhelmed by the other books. He will even present the rough draft of one of his short stories and demonstrate how it might be edited to improve it, listing in the following pages detailed explanations for each of the changes that were made. Finally, he will touch on certain elements of writing fiction left entirely untouched by the other two books: Dialogue, symbolism, and some discussion on the importance of plotting your novel as opposed to letting the story tell itself. Together, each of these books will provide the beginning or struggling writer with not only the tools for writing, but also with a demonstration of how to use them. These books will not make you a writer but they may be able to show you how to become a better writer. Once shown the way, it is up to you to follow it.

Pharmaceutical Industry and E. Merck Ag

Historical background of the business Today Merck & Co, Inc. is one of the most recognizable companies in the pharmaceutical industry. When asked about Merck, most people think that it is and always has been a US company. However, the company’s history can be traced all the way back to the 1600’s where it was started in Darmstadt, Germany. Friedrich Jacob Merck purchased a local store in 1668 where he prepared and sold medicines. The store was called â€Å"At the sign of the Angels† and would remain in the Merck family for many generations (Merck & co. , 2000). In 1827, Heinrich Emmanuel Merck and renamed E.MERCK AG transformed the store into a drug manufacturer. The pharmacy was so successful that by 1855 E. Merck AG was selling medications worldwide. It was at this time that Merck decided to send a company officer to the United States to set up a sales office. Once in the U. S. in 1899, Heinrich’s grandson George Merck bought one hundred and fifty acres in Rahway, New Jersey. A couple of years later, in 1903, Merck started production in its new U. S. headquarters. By this time Merck was not just producing drugs, it was also starting to produce different types of chemicals and there was also a research lab.When the United States entered World War I in 1917, George Merck, fearing that Germany would win the war and take over his company, sold all of his stock to a US company named Alien Property Custodian (Merck & Co. , 2000). This ended all of Merck’s ties to Germany. After the war, George Merck regained a controlling share of the company in 1919 and from that day forward Merck has always been a publicly owned company. George Merck continued to grow the company until his death in 1926 at which time his son, George W. Merck took over. In 1926, George W.Merck decided to merge the company with Powers-Weightman-Rosengarten, which was a Philadelphia, based pharmaceutical company. In 1927 the company was officially incorporated and renamed Merck & Co. Inc. This merger gave George W. Merck the capital he needed to recruit new chemists and biologists, which lead to the discovery of vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 was a huge success, but because the war had been over for several years, new foreign companies were continually underselling Merck. With no new products in sight, George W. Merck decided to merge with a Baltimore company by the name of Sharp & Dohme, Inc.This merger was believed to have saved Merck from going under; it gave Merck new marketing facilities and a new distribution network, which it desperately needed. By the time George W. Merck died in 1957, the company had hit the one hundred million dollar mark. Not only was the dollar mark significant, George’s death marked the last time a Merck family member would ever be in control. From the 60’s on, Merck continued to raise its market share taking advantage of its research and development, which continually produced new and popular drugs every year.Today Merck employs over fifty five thousand people and produces some of the most well known pharmaceutical products on the market. With profits totaling a little fewer than six billion dollars and annual sales of over twelve and half billion dollars, Merck is considered one of the best pharmaceutical companies in the world. Products Throughout the years, Merck has made itself a reputation for developing high quality products that consumers know will work. The drugs are developed to help with all different types of problems.Some medicines are used for every day symptoms like a stuffed up nose and some are used for more serious illnesses like the treatment of HIV. Since Merck & Co. , Inc. was founded; it has always made a point to have an above average research and development program so that it could appeal to a wide variety of consumers no matter what symptoms they were trying to cure. Some of the first products ever distributed by Merck in the 1820’s were morphine, co deine and cocaine. These three products allowed Merck enough revenue to begin research on other types of products.In 1933 Merck scientists discovered vitamin B12 which was, at the time, used as a therapeutic drug. The sales from B12 alone were enough to carry Merck into the next decade. Although Merck scientists discovered cortisone, which is a steroid, and streptomycin, which is used to treat tuberculosis, the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s were fairly slow periods for Merck. Other products such as Aldomet, which is used to treat depression, Indocin and Clinoril which are anti-inflammatory drugs, were developed but none of them had the impact on revenue that Merck was used to.It was not until the mid to late 70’s that Merck came out with some new products that really connected with consumers. It was at this time that Timoptic and Enalapril were invented. Timoptic is a hepatitis vaccine that helps with the treatment of glaucoma and Enalapril is a high blood pressu re medication. Sales from these two drugs were well over a half a billion dollars by the early 1980’s. Things only got better for Merck from the 1980’s through 2000. During this time Merck produced over twenty new drugs.Some of the more popular drugs include Cosopt, used in the treatment of glaucoma, Propecia, which is used to treat hair loss, Maxalt, which is used for migraine headaches, and Singulair, which treats cases of asthma. Although all of these medications worked out very well for Merck’s profit, there were three drugs that stood above the rest. Vasotec was a treatment for congestive heart failure and Merck’s first billion dollar a year drug. That was followed by Vioxx which is a pain medication used to treat arthritis and also a billion dollar a year seller. The most popular drug Merck ever produced was Zocor.Zocor is a cholesterol-fighting drug that was introduced in 1992. Not only was zocor a multi-billion dollar a year drug, it was one of th e most successful selling pharmaceutical drugs ever (Merck & Co. , 2000). Zocor accounted for over four billion dollars in worldwide sales in 2004 alone. With products like these and a continued dedication to research and development, Merck will be a major player in the pharmaceutical industry for many years to come. Company Locations Merck and its subsidiaries have locations all over the world. Their main headquarters is currently located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey.Merck takes pride in being a global healthcare leader. According to their website they currently have 83,000 employees worldwide (Merck. com). In 2009, Merck merged with competitor Shering-Plough, which extended Merck’s reach into the global economy. According to Muse (2011), Merck has over 75 locations, â€Å"Drawing from its locations in 77 countries, Merck’s worldwide sales for 2009 were $27. 4 billion (Muse p. 251). † These locations stretch across the continental United States from New Je rsey to San Francisco. The worldwide locations include factories in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Japan.Merck’s revenues continue to climb with their global growth. The revenues recorded in various regions by Merck in 2012 include, â€Å" |2012 Revenues |United States | |(By Geographic Region) |$20. 4 billion | | | | | |Europe, Middle East and Africa | | |$13. billion | | | | | |Japan | | |$5. 1 billion | | | | | |Other | | |$8. billion (Merck. com). † | | | | Merck is seen as a leader on the stage of global expansion. It is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Merck continues to grow and expand its influence in an effort to provide their vaccines and medicines across the globe. Their recent merger will allow them to test markets that they have not had experience in before, and help increase their profits globally.Style of International Business Merck has been on the forefront of International Business and is one of the leaders at adapt ing to new employees in diverse geographic locations. The company has maintained a policy of progressiveness in their workplace. According to Muse (2011) Merck is one of the leaders in this field. They have been ranked among the Top 50 Companies for Diversity and the 100 Best Corporate Citizens List (Muse p. 251). † Merck makes diversity one of their top priorities and it is well documented on their website. They have created a voice for the different diverse peoples within their company.It is a new way to maintain communication with the feelings and thoughts of various groups in different regions throughout the world. Merck calls these Global Constituency Groups. According to their website, â€Å"We've taken an innovative, global approach to our diversity strategy through the creation of Global Constituency Groups. These groups represent the diverse constituencies in our company, our customers and society, in general. The members represent different geographies, cultures and areas of expertise. Together they reflect Merck employees and customers globally†. Merck. com) With this process, Merck is able to keep up with the problems and successes within the different constituencies throughout the company. Merck’s plan to achieve diversity within their company begins from the leadership positions. Filling these positions with people mindful of diversity has allowed the company to continue to keep its place among the most diverse companies in the world. According to Merck, â€Å"Diversity and inclusion are integrated into our leadership model, and are considered an essential leadership skill for all of our employees (Merck. com). Merck preaches this diversity not only to their employees, but their suppliers as well. â€Å"At Merck, we believe that having a diverse supplier base helps us better understand and anticipate the needs of the people we serve (Merck. com). † This creates a positive culture throughout the company of acceptance an d tolerance towards others. It is a progressive policy that allows Merck to continue to flourish and it is a model style of International Business. Strategic Alliances Merck has made many strategic alliances throughout the years to help improve their products or supply them to a wider range of people.In the late 80’s Merck made an alliance with one of the biggest companies in the United States, Johnson & Johnson. According to the International Directory of Company Histories (2000), â€Å"In 1989 Merck joined with Johnson & Johnson in a venture to develop over-the-counter (OTC) versions of Merck’s prescription medications, initially for the U. S. market, later expanded to Europe and Canada (encyclopedia. com)†. This helped Merck products become more easily available to consumers throughout the world. At the time this alliance was hailed as a blockbuster deal that would create growth for both companies.This deal lasted over twenty years and was very profitable for both parties. When Merck sold their stake in the deal in 2011, they received $175 million for it. The largest alliance Merck has made recently is the acquisition, or reverse merger, of their rival Schering-Plough. The $40 billion deal was made in an effort to keep up with other companies in the pharmaceutical market, especially Pfizer. According to Singer (2009), â€Å"The merger would join pharmaceutical companies that had combined sales of $46. 9 billion last year (p. 1). † This alliance expanded Merck globally and allowed it to tap into Schering-Plough’s resources.These resources ranged from new drugs for Merck to market, to a bigger pipeline to promote their own drugs. According to Singer (2009), â€Å"The merger gives it access to successful brand-name Schering products with much longer patents, like the prescription allergy spray Nasonex. And Merck could capitalize on Schering’s investments in promising biotechnology drugs (Singer p. 1 ). † This al liance helped Merck continue to be a formidable competitor in the global pharmaceutical market. With this deal happening only a few short years ago, Merck continues to grow and utilize its new resources in the market today.Exports Merck’s exports consist of various types of pharmaceuticals. Some of their most profitable exports include Singulair, Fosamax, Nasonex, and Vytorin. Singulair is used to treat seasonal allergies like other drugs such as Claritin and Allegra. It can also be used to prevent asthma attacks. It has been very profitable for Merck in the past. Yet, sales began to dramatically fall when media reports about the disturbing side effects of Singulair began to surface. The worst of these side effects included depression and suicidal thoughts.Still, even in spite of Singulair’s profit drop, Merck continues to make large amounts of money off of the export. Nasonex and Vytorin are two products that were a result of the Merck and Schering-Plough merger. Naso nex is a nasal spray used to treat seasonal allergies in adults and children. It has proved to be a positive part of the merger, becoming one of Merck’s most profitable products. Vytorin was already part of a joint effort between Merck and Schering-Plough even before the merger. Vytorin is a combination of ezetimibe and simvastatin used to treat cholesterol levels.They created and marketed the product together. After the merger, Merck continued to sell and market Vytorin. Fosamax is another popular export of the Merck Company. It is used to treat osteoporosis and other bone diseases. Fosamax was previously one of Merck’s best selling drugs. Yet, because of patent problems, they have lost large amount of money. According to Singer (2009) â€Å"Merck’s former blockbuster bone drug Fosamax has gone generic, and in a few years the same thing will happen to its best-selling allergy and asthma drug Singulair (pg. 1 ). † These exports have been Merck’s ma in products in the past.In the future, with their recent merger, they should be able to develop new products that can help them rebound from the losses they took from products like Fosamax and Singulair. Transportation In order to effectively and efficiently deliver their products throughout the world, Merck has contracted UPS to deliver them. As of June 2011, the joint venture known as MSD has announced that it would include and take care of Merck’s logistics and distribution around the world, which till now only managed Merck’s distribution, warehousing and transportation in North America (Berman, 2011).According to Willie A. Deese, executive vice president and president, Merck Manufacturing Division,â€Å" This expanded agreement with UPS allows us to focus on our core business as a global healthcare leader that looks for innovative ways to bring our medicines and vaccines to patients in emerging markets and markets around the world† (businesswire, 2011). The collaboration, which began in early 2003 with UPS just taking care of the transportation and delivery of products over time, has extended to North American distribution, warehousing and multi-modal transportation services (businesswire, 2011).Merck now entrusted UPS with taking care of their logistics in countries like China, Brazil as well as Latin America among others. UPS also stated that it would establish proper facilities in order to store goods and vaccines so in order to ensure quicker and efficient delivery system (Berman, 2011). Merck believes that this extended partnership with UPS would result in being cost effective in the long run. Although Merck does rely on other logistic companies as well, but they rely more heavily on UPS and this current agreement will only further increase the company’s trust in the logistics firm (businesswire, 2011).Ethical Standards The code of ethics from Merck’s website (2013) states: Being a good corporate citizen means that we comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations. Also, we serve our society, from the local communities in which we operate to the national and international levels, by supporting a number of programs, including those that improve health and promote environmental sustainability. All of our activities are guided by our corporate responsibility principle of â€Å"Helping the World Be Well†. (p. 1) Ethical Violations Merck & Co. ave developed some great products that have helped many people. They have even done some amazing humanitarian work that follows their mission of their code of ethics, which is to help the people of this world be as healthy as they can. For example, After World War II, many people who were living in Japan could not afford the Merck developed drug streptomycin (Miller & Goldman, 2003). Streptomycin was the first drug to fight tuberculosis. Merck decided to sell streptomycin at a much lower cost in Japan so it could be distributed to those who nee ded it and could not afford it at market value.Merck is also one of the nation’s largest donors to UNICEF. One of the ways that Merck has partnered with UNICEF is by donating a drug called Mectizan. Mectizan is a drug that Merck has developed to fight river blindness, and Merck has teamed up with UNICEF in order to distribute Mectizan to anyone who needs it (Unicef, 2013). But the business strategies for Merck have not always been as ethically sound as it may appear. On September 30th 2004 the drug that Merck had created to treat arthritis and severe pain, Vioxx, was pulled off the shelves for good.The reason behind shutting down this drug was that it was found to have caused serious illnesses after long term use, including heart attacks and strokes (Kay, 2004). Vioxx was withdrawn only five years after being introduced, but in that short time had effected many, in those five years there had been over eighty million prescriptions for Vioxx (Kay, 2004). Dr David Graham, the as sociate director for science and medicine at the Office of Drug Safety, estimates that Vioxx caused between 88,000 and 139,000 heart attacks, of which thirty to forty percent have most likely died (Kay, 2004).But did Merck know of this threat before they started to market the drug? Before Merck released Vioxx in 1999 their own scientist conducted tests on Vioxx while developing it. In 1997 these scientist did a study and found that patients who were being tested on were six times more likely to have heart complications when using Vioxx compared to other arthritis drugs. But this study was never released and the data was never sent to the FDA (Culp & Isobel, 2007).Scientist also completed a VIGOR (Vioxx Gastrointestinal Outcomes Research) test on the drug and found evidence that people who take Vioxx had a five times higher chance of having a heart attack (Cahana & Mauron, 2006). In 2001 Merck scientist had another test called â€Å"meta-analysis†. The meta-analysis tested 20, 000 patients, and again showed that these patients were twice as likely to have a heart attack while taking Vioxx compared to other drugs (Culp & Isobel, 2007). Not only did Merck know about these risks and kept the results to themselves, they also trained their sales people on how to dodge the subject.In order to train the sales force who were going to be selling Vioxx to doctors, Merck developed a card game called dodgeball. The purpose of this game was to teach the sales force different ways to dodge questions asked by doctors about the effects Vioxx has on the heart (Daily, 2005). This again proves that Merck knew of these risks caused by taking Vioxx, but was trying to make sure that information was kept in house. Another instance where Merck lacked good ethical decision making is when they decided to pay Elsevier to publish a magazine for them. Elsevier is a publishing company that focuses mainly on medical and scientific literature.Merck’s marketing team decided to pay Elsevier to publish a journal called The Australiasian Journal of Bone & Joint Medicine. This journal was made to look like any other peer-reviewed medical journal but it was far from it. Merck’s marketing department handpicked the articles that they wanted to put in this journal, with the purpose of trying to control what articles were chosen to be in the journal. They took advantage of this situation by picking articles that favored Merck products and disguising this marketing scheme as a peer review journal (Grant, 2009).For instance in the second issue twenty one of the twenty nine articles spoke about Merck’s products in a favorable way, nine of them positively talking about Vioxx (Grant, 2009). Merck also had an ethical downfall when management decided to change the prices of their product. Not only was Merck paying doctors to prescribe Merck medicine when patients were in the hospital, Merck also started to give hospitals a ninety two percent discount on their medicine; with the idea that after the patient was discharged they would want to stay on the same medicine (Merck to pay whistleblower, 2008).The insurance company would pay full price for the drugs after the patient was discharged and that is where Merck would bring in their profit. An employee within Merck saw what was going on and didn’t approve. A lawsuit quickly followed and Merck ended up paying $671 million, including sixty eight million dollars to the whistleblower (Merck to pay whistleblower, 2008). Even after settling Merck did not think they were in the wrong with this pricing, as Merck to pay whistleblower (2008) reported Merck making a statement saying they â€Å"stands by its pricing strategies but is keen to resolve the dispute† (p. 2). Unfortunately for Merck, Vioxx isn’t the only drug that has caused people to question Merck’s ethical decision making when it comes to their customers. As noted above, Merck released a drug called Propecia t o the public that helped men with baldness. The problem with Propecia is that men are starting to see a great increase in sexual problems. Merck says that only one out of fifty men will see significant sexual side effects, and those side effects will disappear after you stop taking Propecia (Thornton, 2011). But that doesn’t seem to be the case.A recent study by Micheal Irving showed that ninety percent of his test patients still showed signs of sexual problems forty months after being off of Propecia (Thornton, 2011). This is where ethics will hurt Merck the most. Not only have there been hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and settlements that will be paid out, but if Merck continues to keep making unethical managerial decisions, Merck will lose the trust of their customers. Even though there is no evidence yet that Merck knew that Propecia would harm people after they stopped taking the drug, it’s hard not to think of how the Merck management decided to handle Vioxx.The financial hit is a big blow that will slow present and future projects, but money is a lot easier to gain back than trust. References Berman, J. (2011, June). UPS and Merck extend relationship with a global supply chain focus. Retrieved February 2013, from http://www. logisticsmgmt. com/article/ups_and_merck_extend_relationship_witha_ global_supply_chain_focus/ businesswire. (2011, June). UPS and Merck Expand Their Distribution and Logistics Agreement. Retrieved February 2013, from businesswire. com: http://www. businesswire. com/news/home/20110628005271/en/UPS-Merck-Expand-Distribution-Logistics-AgreementCahana, A. , & Mauron, A. (2006). The story of Vioxx—no pain and a lot of gain: ethical concerns regarding conduct of the pharmaceutical industry. Journal of anesthesia,  20(4), 348-351. doi:10. 1007/s00540-006-0432-7 Culp, D. R. , & Isobel, B. (2007, August 6). Merck and the Vioxx       debacle. Retrieved February 13, 2013 from St. Johns University,       Web site: http://www. stjohns. edu/media/3/2c0778b7593f4a178b60354abc80bad8. pdf Grant, B. (2009, April 30). Merck published fake journal. Retrieved Febuary 12, 2013 from, Web site: http://www. the-scientist. om/? articles. view/articleNo/27376/title/Merck- published-fake- journal/ Daily, M. (2005, July 18). Merck used ‘dodge ball’ on Vioxx       questions-lawyer. Retrieved February 12, 2013 from, Web site:       http://www. redorbit. com/news/general/178738/ Kay, J. ( 2004, November 22). The Vioxx scandal: Damning senate       testimony reveals drug company, government complicity. Retrieved 2013, February 9 from , Web site: http://www. wsws. org/en/articles/2004/11/viox-n22. html Merck & Co. , Inc. International Directory of Company Histories. 2000.Retrieved February 19, 2013 from Encyclopedia. com:  http://www. encyclopedia. com/doc/1G2-2843800076. html Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. , a subsidiary of  Merck & Co. , Inc. (2009-2013). Retrieved February 18 , 2013, from http://www. merck. com/index. html Merck to pay whistleblower. (2008). TCE: The Chemical Engineer, (801), 12. Miller, C. , & Goldman, K. (2003, October, 23). Merck, aids, and       Africa. Retrieved February 2, 2013 from New York University,       Leonard N. Stern School of Business Web site: http://pages. stern. nyu. edu/~lcabral/teaching/aids. pdf Muse, L.A. (2011). Flexibility implementation to a global workforce: a case study of Merck and Company, Inc. Community, Work & Family,  14(2), 249-256. Singer, N. (March 9, 2009). Merck to Buy Schering-Plough for $41. 1 Billion. The New York Times, Retrieved from http://www. nytimes. com/2009/03/10/business/10drug. html? _r=0 February 19, 2013. Thornton, J. (2011). A Hair-Raising Side Effect. Men's Health (10544836), 26(10), 102-105. Unicef (2013). Merck & co. , inc. Retrieved January 12, 2013 from, Partners Web site       http://www. unicefusa. org/partners/corporate/merck. html Pharmaceutical Industry and E. Merck Ag Historical background of the business Today Merck & Co, Inc. is one of the most recognizable companies in the pharmaceutical industry. When asked about Merck, most people think that it is and always has been a US company. However, the company’s history can be traced all the way back to the 1600’s where it was started in Darmstadt, Germany. Friedrich Jacob Merck purchased a local store in 1668 where he prepared and sold medicines. The store was called â€Å"At the sign of the Angels† and would remain in the Merck family for many generations (Merck & co. , 2000). In 1827, Heinrich Emmanuel Merck and renamed E.MERCK AG transformed the store into a drug manufacturer. The pharmacy was so successful that by 1855 E. Merck AG was selling medications worldwide. It was at this time that Merck decided to send a company officer to the United States to set up a sales office. Once in the U. S. in 1899, Heinrich’s grandson George Merck bought one hundred and fifty acres in Rahway, New Jersey. A couple of years later, in 1903, Merck started production in its new U. S. headquarters. By this time Merck was not just producing drugs, it was also starting to produce different types of chemicals and there was also a research lab.When the United States entered World War I in 1917, George Merck, fearing that Germany would win the war and take over his company, sold all of his stock to a US company named Alien Property Custodian (Merck & Co. , 2000). This ended all of Merck’s ties to Germany. After the war, George Merck regained a controlling share of the company in 1919 and from that day forward Merck has always been a publicly owned company. George Merck continued to grow the company until his death in 1926 at which time his son, George W. Merck took over. In 1926, George W.Merck decided to merge the company with Powers-Weightman-Rosengarten, which was a Philadelphia, based pharmaceutical company. In 1927 the company was officially incorporated and renamed Merck & Co. Inc. This merger gave George W. Merck the capital he needed to recruit new chemists and biologists, which lead to the discovery of vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 was a huge success, but because the war had been over for several years, new foreign companies were continually underselling Merck. With no new products in sight, George W. Merck decided to merge with a Baltimore company by the name of Sharp & Dohme, Inc.This merger was believed to have saved Merck from going under; it gave Merck new marketing facilities and a new distribution network, which it desperately needed. By the time George W. Merck died in 1957, the company had hit the one hundred million dollar mark. Not only was the dollar mark significant, George’s death marked the last time a Merck family member would ever be in control. From the 60’s on, Merck continued to raise its market share taking advantage of its research and development, which continually produced new and popular drugs every year.Today Merck employs over fifty five thousand people and produces some of the most well known pharmaceutical products on the market. With profits totaling a little fewer than six billion dollars and annual sales of over twelve and half billion dollars, Merck is considered one of the best pharmaceutical companies in the world. Products Throughout the years, Merck has made itself a reputation for developing high quality products that consumers know will work. The drugs are developed to help with all different types of problems.Some medicines are used for every day symptoms like a stuffed up nose and some are used for more serious illnesses like the treatment of HIV. Since Merck & Co. , Inc. was founded; it has always made a point to have an above average research and development program so that it could appeal to a wide variety of consumers no matter what symptoms they were trying to cure. Some of the first products ever distributed by Merck in the 1820’s were morphine, co deine and cocaine. These three products allowed Merck enough revenue to begin research on other types of products.In 1933 Merck scientists discovered vitamin B12 which was, at the time, used as a therapeutic drug. The sales from B12 alone were enough to carry Merck into the next decade. Although Merck scientists discovered cortisone, which is a steroid, and streptomycin, which is used to treat tuberculosis, the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s were fairly slow periods for Merck. Other products such as Aldomet, which is used to treat depression, Indocin and Clinoril which are anti-inflammatory drugs, were developed but none of them had the impact on revenue that Merck was used to.It was not until the mid to late 70’s that Merck came out with some new products that really connected with consumers. It was at this time that Timoptic and Enalapril were invented. Timoptic is a hepatitis vaccine that helps with the treatment of glaucoma and Enalapril is a high blood pressu re medication. Sales from these two drugs were well over a half a billion dollars by the early 1980’s. Things only got better for Merck from the 1980’s through 2000. During this time Merck produced over twenty new drugs.Some of the more popular drugs include Cosopt, used in the treatment of glaucoma, Propecia, which is used to treat hair loss, Maxalt, which is used for migraine headaches, and Singulair, which treats cases of asthma. Although all of these medications worked out very well for Merck’s profit, there were three drugs that stood above the rest. Vasotec was a treatment for congestive heart failure and Merck’s first billion dollar a year drug. That was followed by Vioxx which is a pain medication used to treat arthritis and also a billion dollar a year seller. The most popular drug Merck ever produced was Zocor.Zocor is a cholesterol-fighting drug that was introduced in 1992. Not only was zocor a multi-billion dollar a year drug, it was one of th e most successful selling pharmaceutical drugs ever (Merck & Co. , 2000). Zocor accounted for over four billion dollars in worldwide sales in 2004 alone. With products like these and a continued dedication to research and development, Merck will be a major player in the pharmaceutical industry for many years to come. Company Locations Merck and its subsidiaries have locations all over the world. Their main headquarters is currently located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey.Merck takes pride in being a global healthcare leader. According to their website they currently have 83,000 employees worldwide (Merck. com). In 2009, Merck merged with competitor Shering-Plough, which extended Merck’s reach into the global economy. According to Muse (2011), Merck has over 75 locations, â€Å"Drawing from its locations in 77 countries, Merck’s worldwide sales for 2009 were $27. 4 billion (Muse p. 251). † These locations stretch across the continental United States from New Je rsey to San Francisco. The worldwide locations include factories in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Japan.Merck’s revenues continue to climb with their global growth. The revenues recorded in various regions by Merck in 2012 include, â€Å" |2012 Revenues |United States | |(By Geographic Region) |$20. 4 billion | | | | | |Europe, Middle East and Africa | | |$13. billion | | | | | |Japan | | |$5. 1 billion | | | | | |Other | | |$8. billion (Merck. com). † | | | | Merck is seen as a leader on the stage of global expansion. It is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Merck continues to grow and expand its influence in an effort to provide their vaccines and medicines across the globe. Their recent merger will allow them to test markets that they have not had experience in before, and help increase their profits globally.Style of International Business Merck has been on the forefront of International Business and is one of the leaders at adapt ing to new employees in diverse geographic locations. The company has maintained a policy of progressiveness in their workplace. According to Muse (2011) Merck is one of the leaders in this field. They have been ranked among the Top 50 Companies for Diversity and the 100 Best Corporate Citizens List (Muse p. 251). † Merck makes diversity one of their top priorities and it is well documented on their website. They have created a voice for the different diverse peoples within their company.It is a new way to maintain communication with the feelings and thoughts of various groups in different regions throughout the world. Merck calls these Global Constituency Groups. According to their website, â€Å"We've taken an innovative, global approach to our diversity strategy through the creation of Global Constituency Groups. These groups represent the diverse constituencies in our company, our customers and society, in general. The members represent different geographies, cultures and areas of expertise. Together they reflect Merck employees and customers globally†. Merck. com) With this process, Merck is able to keep up with the problems and successes within the different constituencies throughout the company. Merck’s plan to achieve diversity within their company begins from the leadership positions. Filling these positions with people mindful of diversity has allowed the company to continue to keep its place among the most diverse companies in the world. According to Merck, â€Å"Diversity and inclusion are integrated into our leadership model, and are considered an essential leadership skill for all of our employees (Merck. com). Merck preaches this diversity not only to their employees, but their suppliers as well. â€Å"At Merck, we believe that having a diverse supplier base helps us better understand and anticipate the needs of the people we serve (Merck. com). † This creates a positive culture throughout the company of acceptance an d tolerance towards others. It is a progressive policy that allows Merck to continue to flourish and it is a model style of International Business. Strategic Alliances Merck has made many strategic alliances throughout the years to help improve their products or supply them to a wider range of people.In the late 80’s Merck made an alliance with one of the biggest companies in the United States, Johnson & Johnson. According to the International Directory of Company Histories (2000), â€Å"In 1989 Merck joined with Johnson & Johnson in a venture to develop over-the-counter (OTC) versions of Merck’s prescription medications, initially for the U. S. market, later expanded to Europe and Canada (encyclopedia. com)†. This helped Merck products become more easily available to consumers throughout the world. At the time this alliance was hailed as a blockbuster deal that would create growth for both companies.This deal lasted over twenty years and was very profitable for both parties. When Merck sold their stake in the deal in 2011, they received $175 million for it. The largest alliance Merck has made recently is the acquisition, or reverse merger, of their rival Schering-Plough. The $40 billion deal was made in an effort to keep up with other companies in the pharmaceutical market, especially Pfizer. According to Singer (2009), â€Å"The merger would join pharmaceutical companies that had combined sales of $46. 9 billion last year (p. 1). † This alliance expanded Merck globally and allowed it to tap into Schering-Plough’s resources.These resources ranged from new drugs for Merck to market, to a bigger pipeline to promote their own drugs. According to Singer (2009), â€Å"The merger gives it access to successful brand-name Schering products with much longer patents, like the prescription allergy spray Nasonex. And Merck could capitalize on Schering’s investments in promising biotechnology drugs (Singer p. 1 ). † This al liance helped Merck continue to be a formidable competitor in the global pharmaceutical market. With this deal happening only a few short years ago, Merck continues to grow and utilize its new resources in the market today.Exports Merck’s exports consist of various types of pharmaceuticals. Some of their most profitable exports include Singulair, Fosamax, Nasonex, and Vytorin. Singulair is used to treat seasonal allergies like other drugs such as Claritin and Allegra. It can also be used to prevent asthma attacks. It has been very profitable for Merck in the past. Yet, sales began to dramatically fall when media reports about the disturbing side effects of Singulair began to surface. The worst of these side effects included depression and suicidal thoughts.Still, even in spite of Singulair’s profit drop, Merck continues to make large amounts of money off of the export. Nasonex and Vytorin are two products that were a result of the Merck and Schering-Plough merger. Naso nex is a nasal spray used to treat seasonal allergies in adults and children. It has proved to be a positive part of the merger, becoming one of Merck’s most profitable products. Vytorin was already part of a joint effort between Merck and Schering-Plough even before the merger. Vytorin is a combination of ezetimibe and simvastatin used to treat cholesterol levels.They created and marketed the product together. After the merger, Merck continued to sell and market Vytorin. Fosamax is another popular export of the Merck Company. It is used to treat osteoporosis and other bone diseases. Fosamax was previously one of Merck’s best selling drugs. Yet, because of patent problems, they have lost large amount of money. According to Singer (2009) â€Å"Merck’s former blockbuster bone drug Fosamax has gone generic, and in a few years the same thing will happen to its best-selling allergy and asthma drug Singulair (pg. 1 ). † These exports have been Merck’s ma in products in the past.In the future, with their recent merger, they should be able to develop new products that can help them rebound from the losses they took from products like Fosamax and Singulair. Transportation In order to effectively and efficiently deliver their products throughout the world, Merck has contracted UPS to deliver them. As of June 2011, the joint venture known as MSD has announced that it would include and take care of Merck’s logistics and distribution around the world, which till now only managed Merck’s distribution, warehousing and transportation in North America (Berman, 2011).According to Willie A. Deese, executive vice president and president, Merck Manufacturing Division,â€Å" This expanded agreement with UPS allows us to focus on our core business as a global healthcare leader that looks for innovative ways to bring our medicines and vaccines to patients in emerging markets and markets around the world† (businesswire, 2011). The collaboration, which began in early 2003 with UPS just taking care of the transportation and delivery of products over time, has extended to North American distribution, warehousing and multi-modal transportation services (businesswire, 2011).Merck now entrusted UPS with taking care of their logistics in countries like China, Brazil as well as Latin America among others. UPS also stated that it would establish proper facilities in order to store goods and vaccines so in order to ensure quicker and efficient delivery system (Berman, 2011). Merck believes that this extended partnership with UPS would result in being cost effective in the long run. Although Merck does rely on other logistic companies as well, but they rely more heavily on UPS and this current agreement will only further increase the company’s trust in the logistics firm (businesswire, 2011).Ethical Standards The code of ethics from Merck’s website (2013) states: Being a good corporate citizen means that we comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations. Also, we serve our society, from the local communities in which we operate to the national and international levels, by supporting a number of programs, including those that improve health and promote environmental sustainability. All of our activities are guided by our corporate responsibility principle of â€Å"Helping the World Be Well†. (p. 1) Ethical Violations Merck & Co. ave developed some great products that have helped many people. They have even done some amazing humanitarian work that follows their mission of their code of ethics, which is to help the people of this world be as healthy as they can. For example, After World War II, many people who were living in Japan could not afford the Merck developed drug streptomycin (Miller & Goldman, 2003). Streptomycin was the first drug to fight tuberculosis. Merck decided to sell streptomycin at a much lower cost in Japan so it could be distributed to those who nee ded it and could not afford it at market value.Merck is also one of the nation’s largest donors to UNICEF. One of the ways that Merck has partnered with UNICEF is by donating a drug called Mectizan. Mectizan is a drug that Merck has developed to fight river blindness, and Merck has teamed up with UNICEF in order to distribute Mectizan to anyone who needs it (Unicef, 2013). But the business strategies for Merck have not always been as ethically sound as it may appear. On September 30th 2004 the drug that Merck had created to treat arthritis and severe pain, Vioxx, was pulled off the shelves for good.The reason behind shutting down this drug was that it was found to have caused serious illnesses after long term use, including heart attacks and strokes (Kay, 2004). Vioxx was withdrawn only five years after being introduced, but in that short time had effected many, in those five years there had been over eighty million prescriptions for Vioxx (Kay, 2004). Dr David Graham, the as sociate director for science and medicine at the Office of Drug Safety, estimates that Vioxx caused between 88,000 and 139,000 heart attacks, of which thirty to forty percent have most likely died (Kay, 2004).But did Merck know of this threat before they started to market the drug? Before Merck released Vioxx in 1999 their own scientist conducted tests on Vioxx while developing it. In 1997 these scientist did a study and found that patients who were being tested on were six times more likely to have heart complications when using Vioxx compared to other arthritis drugs. But this study was never released and the data was never sent to the FDA (Culp & Isobel, 2007).Scientist also completed a VIGOR (Vioxx Gastrointestinal Outcomes Research) test on the drug and found evidence that people who take Vioxx had a five times higher chance of having a heart attack (Cahana & Mauron, 2006). In 2001 Merck scientist had another test called â€Å"meta-analysis†. The meta-analysis tested 20, 000 patients, and again showed that these patients were twice as likely to have a heart attack while taking Vioxx compared to other drugs (Culp & Isobel, 2007). Not only did Merck know about these risks and kept the results to themselves, they also trained their sales people on how to dodge the subject.In order to train the sales force who were going to be selling Vioxx to doctors, Merck developed a card game called dodgeball. The purpose of this game was to teach the sales force different ways to dodge questions asked by doctors about the effects Vioxx has on the heart (Daily, 2005). This again proves that Merck knew of these risks caused by taking Vioxx, but was trying to make sure that information was kept in house. Another instance where Merck lacked good ethical decision making is when they decided to pay Elsevier to publish a magazine for them. Elsevier is a publishing company that focuses mainly on medical and scientific literature.Merck’s marketing team decided to pay Elsevier to publish a journal called The Australiasian Journal of Bone & Joint Medicine. This journal was made to look like any other peer-reviewed medical journal but it was far from it. Merck’s marketing department handpicked the articles that they wanted to put in this journal, with the purpose of trying to control what articles were chosen to be in the journal. They took advantage of this situation by picking articles that favored Merck products and disguising this marketing scheme as a peer review journal (Grant, 2009).For instance in the second issue twenty one of the twenty nine articles spoke about Merck’s products in a favorable way, nine of them positively talking about Vioxx (Grant, 2009). Merck also had an ethical downfall when management decided to change the prices of their product. Not only was Merck paying doctors to prescribe Merck medicine when patients were in the hospital, Merck also started to give hospitals a ninety two percent discount on their medicine; with the idea that after the patient was discharged they would want to stay on the same medicine (Merck to pay whistleblower, 2008).The insurance company would pay full price for the drugs after the patient was discharged and that is where Merck would bring in their profit. An employee within Merck saw what was going on and didn’t approve. A lawsuit quickly followed and Merck ended up paying $671 million, including sixty eight million dollars to the whistleblower (Merck to pay whistleblower, 2008). Even after settling Merck did not think they were in the wrong with this pricing, as Merck to pay whistleblower (2008) reported Merck making a statement saying they â€Å"stands by its pricing strategies but is keen to resolve the dispute† (p. 2). Unfortunately for Merck, Vioxx isn’t the only drug that has caused people to question Merck’s ethical decision making when it comes to their customers. As noted above, Merck released a drug called Propecia t o the public that helped men with baldness. The problem with Propecia is that men are starting to see a great increase in sexual problems. Merck says that only one out of fifty men will see significant sexual side effects, and those side effects will disappear after you stop taking Propecia (Thornton, 2011). But that doesn’t seem to be the case.A recent study by Micheal Irving showed that ninety percent of his test patients still showed signs of sexual problems forty months after being off of Propecia (Thornton, 2011). This is where ethics will hurt Merck the most. Not only have there been hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and settlements that will be paid out, but if Merck continues to keep making unethical managerial decisions, Merck will lose the trust of their customers. Even though there is no evidence yet that Merck knew that Propecia would harm people after they stopped taking the drug, it’s hard not to think of how the Merck management decided to handle Vioxx.The financial hit is a big blow that will slow present and future projects, but money is a lot easier to gain back than trust. References Berman, J. (2011, June). UPS and Merck extend relationship with a global supply chain focus. Retrieved February 2013, from http://www. logisticsmgmt. com/article/ups_and_merck_extend_relationship_witha_ global_supply_chain_focus/ businesswire. (2011, June). UPS and Merck Expand Their Distribution and Logistics Agreement. 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Community, Work & Family,  14(2), 249-256. Singer, N. (March 9, 2009). Merck to Buy Schering-Plough for $41. 1 Billion. The New York Times, Retrieved from http://www. nytimes. com/2009/03/10/business/10drug. html? _r=0 February 19, 2013. Thornton, J. (2011). A Hair-Raising Side Effect. Men's Health (10544836), 26(10), 102-105. Unicef (2013). Merck & co. , inc. Retrieved January 12, 2013 from, Partners Web site       http://www. unicefusa. org/partners/corporate/merck. html