Airline Industry: Pricing Structure and Strategies Essay

ABSTRACT The profitability of an airline industry depends on filling seats, and on the company’s ability successfully to anticipate the cost and price structures of their competitors. However, many airline carriers have a hard time accomplishing this because the average airline passenger just needs to travel from one destination to another in the most convenient and shortest amount of time at a reasonable price. Therefore, customers in this market are not as loyal to one specific airline (brand) in the industries. The reason for this is that airline carriers provide the same services at similar prices. In addition, the passenger will only incur high switching costs if they choose to take another mode of less desirable transportation. Airline carriers have overcome these problems by using the strategy of â€Å"Price discrimination.† That is a strategy that allows them adequately to segment their potential passengers, and to offer different pricing structures that match passengers’ sensitivity to price and value differences in cost to serve, and their different competitive positions (Stern, 1989). While it also allows passengers to maximize their â€Å"expected utility† when flying with the airline carrier that meets their needs. The 1978 deregulation of the airline industry has resulted in airline carriers being unable to make a profit by filling seats, and successfully to anticipate the cost and price structures of their competitors (Bailey, David, Graham, Kaplan 1985). According to statistic, the airline industries’ profits declined in 2001 through 2003 by $23.2 billion (Smith Jr. & Cox). During this time the average airline passenger just needed to travel from one destination to another in the most convenient and shortest amount of time at a reasonable price. However, because all airline carriers provide the same services at similar prices, the passengers in this market are not as loyal to one specific airline (brand). For, example, any passengers not able to purchase a flight plan that they value, will not necessary buy the next best plan offered. Instead, these price-sensitive passengers will gravitate toward a lower-cost competitor  airline (Smith Jr. & Cox). This is especially true in this particular industry because a passenger will only incur high switching costs if they chose to take another mode of less desirable transportation. Therefore, many airline carriers had a hard time making a profit or breaking even (Brady, & Cunningham, 2001). In addition, this same deregulation of the industry provided new companies the opportunity to enter an already competitive market (Bailey, David, Graham, Kaplan. 1985). This stressed the market because pricing strategies that airlines used in the past did not adequately different between price sensitive passengers and price insensitive in this market (Sterns, 1989). Therefore, many airline carriers could not â€Å"capitalize on opportunities that [would] influence customer and [their] competitor responses (Stern, 1989). Because of this lost of profit, many airline carriers were force to file bankruptcy (Brady, & Cunningham, 2001). Therefore, as a reaction to these, external pressures many of the remaining companies (American, United, Continental, Northwest, US Air, and Delta) developed complex pricing strategies that would help them to outmaneuver their rivals (Smith Jr. & Cox). Different pricing structures were developed that allow them to match passengers’ sensitivity to pr ice and value differences in cost to serve, and their different competitive positions (Stern, 1989). In addition, sense airline carriers offer a product that is homogenous; to be successful they had to offer a product that potential passengers would view as different from their competitors’ product (Westermann, 2005). One strategy that airline carriers’ use is â€Å"differentiated pricing, which is a form of â€Å"price discrimination.† That is a strategy, which many companies’ uses because it allows them to charge different prices to different customer. However, airline carriers use this strategy by offering fare discounts.[1] This strategy allows the airline carriers to get as much consumer surplus as possible from each group of passengers, given his or her utility functions and income. Once they have determine their potential passengers expected utility from flying and income â€Å"Pricing ladders† are then used to charged for seats on a flight by segmenting travelers by their identity, destination, number of days between the day of reservation, the day of travel, the day, and time of departure, the day and time of return (Currie,  & Simpson, 2009). Many airline carriers and other companies are able legally to accomplish price discrimination and use pricing ladders because not all passengers have the ability or willingness to pay the higher or lower prices when they are offered (p.331 ). Identifying price discrimination Placing restrictions on purchase and use â€Å"Price discrimination† is a way to increase prices to improve profit margins by offering substantial discounts on bundles (McAfee, 2008). Price discriminate is accomplished by airline carriers’ when they offer potential passenger that satisfy certain demographics considerations a range of packages, or combinations of fares and restrictions attached to the purchase of their tickets (Stavins, 1996 & Anderson, & Renault, 2008). This pricing discrimination strategy â€Å"†¦ is known as second-degree or self-selection price discrimination (Stavins, 1996). Under this strategy, the airline is able perfectly to segment potentials passengers into groups according to their willingness to pay (Currie, & Simpson, 2009). Airline carriers are then able to offer them the highest fare in the ladder that they are happy to pay (Currie, & Simpson, 2009). While at the same time allowing passengers â€Å"†¦to choose [other] preferred versions of a product based on their willingness to pay for specific attributes of the good (e.g., time, convenience, flexibility)† (Stavins, 1996) [The citation for a direct quote needs the page number] . The pricing strategies is successful because it allow airline carriers to match â€Å"†¦the passengers relative ‘utility’ across competing products (where multiple factors are considered, including price, departure times, elapsed times, etc† (Ratiiff & Vinod). Therefore, companies were able to charge passengers on the same airline flight different prices for the same service and product. Nevertheless, several practices that involve selling services and or products for different prices can be viewed discriminatory (Anderson, & Renault, 2008). Airline carriers however justified this price discrimination by their cost differences and their demand-base (Anderson, & Renault, 2008). That includes â€Å"†¦the service quality/price sensitivity of various air travelers and offer differential fare/service quality packages  designed for each† (Smith Jr. & Cox). The second type of price discriminations that airline carriers use is the rationing and limiting of the supply of the cheaper goods (Stavins, 1996). One way airlines accomplish this is by adding various restrictions to cheaper or discounted tickets (Stavins, 1996). The discounted ticket is offered to passengers willing to stay at their destination a specific amount of time (Saturday-night stay over) or willing to purchasing their ticket in advance (Stavins, 1996). They also offer their potential passenger a discount or cheaper rate for their bundle roundtrips tickets. These are strategies that allows airline carriers to further separate â€Å"†¦price-sensitive passenger [that have a low disutility] from travel restrictions from price-inelastic [passengers that have a] high disutility from ticket restrictions† goods (Stavins, 1996). However, not all passengers value these types of discounts, especially business travelers. This is because even though this segment of passengers is less price sensitive, they are also less flexible concerning their flight arrangement (Stavins, 1996). Therefore, airline carriers can charge this segment of travelers premium seat fees because they prefer the flexibility that their one-way tickets offer. They also offer them frequent flier plans to help induce them to favor their particular carriers, even when ticket prices and restrictions are higher than their competitor (Stavins, 1996). â€Å"yield management† systems have also enabled airline carriers effectively to determine how many last-minute business travelers will show up willing to pay whatever it takes to get on a given flight (MCCARTNEY, 1997). Whereas, they charge this segment of passengers for their seats, leisure travelers on the same flight are offered a discount price, which is not necessarily based on the price of their ticket, but instead on the flight itinerary (Stern, 1989). These discounts and cheaper tickets are an economic value that this segment of passengers will obliviously value. This is because these potential passengers are more concern about price than the flight schedule (McAfee, 2008 Stavins, 1996). It is a pricing policy that allows airline carriers to provide a wider range of choices, which allow  potential passengers to determine the products and services that best meet their needs. Thereby, passenger satisfaction and loyalty is increased, and the airline carrier is also able to optimize their revenues by up charging different prices for the same seat on their airline (Stern, 1989). However, it is important to note that in today airline hyperturbluent environment airlines ticket prices change frequently in response to supply and demand and to changes in the prices of competitors’ fares (http://www.airlines.org/products/AirlineHandbookCh3.htm). This has resulted in many airline carriers unbundling services that traditionally came with the purchase of a seat, such as baggage checking, seat reservations and even the ability to pay by credit card. The benefits of these strategic practices have increased the revenue of airlines. It has also resulted in some passengers paying only for what the use. While for others that need to check a bag, and do not pay with cash, the cost of the seat will be more. Nevertheless, no company can price discriminate successfully, if they do not have some market power to charge prices above marginal cost (Stavins, 1996). In addition, they must have a diverse population of potential passengers, which they can adequately segment (Stavins, 1996). The â€Å"†¦product resale must be impossible or costly, to prevent arbitrage† (Stavins, 1996) [Needs page number] . The airline carriers’ industries however can accomplish price discrimination because of their hub-and-spoke systems (Stavins, 1996). These system allow different airline carriers to differentiate among themselves by â€Å"†¦occupying different slots in flight schedules, and by offering different route networks† (Stavins, 1996) [Needs page number] . These differentiation in flight routes, flight frequency, and airport dominance has allow many airline carriers obtain â€Å"†¦market power even on relatively competitive routes† (Stavins, 1996) [Needs page number] . Therefore, airline carriers may have market power in some market segments, but in others they do not, which results in higher price discrimination on their more competitive routes (Stavins, 1996). Conclusion Price discrimination is usually thought of as a way to extract as much consumer surplus as possible from each group of consumers, given his or her  utility functions and income. It is a strategy therefore associated with raising prices for less elastic consumers. But in the case of airline carriers, price discrimination is exhibited [Passive voice] through fare discounts. Consumers maximize their expected utility from flying. They choose between various price restriction packages, such as between low price-high inconvenience and high price-no restrictions combinations. The choice depends on the consumer’s elasticity of demand with respect to convenience, time, or money REFERENCES Anderson, Simon P., & Renault, Rà ©gis. August 2008. Price Discrimination. Retrieved 20 April 2010 from http://www.virginia.edu/economics/ Bailey, Elizabeth E., David R. Graham, and Daniel P. Kaplan. 1985. Deregulating the Airline. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. Brady, Stephan, Cunningham, William. Predatory Pricing in the Airline Industry. :Transportation Journal; Fall2001, Vol. 41 Issue 1, p5, 11p Currie, Christine S.M., and Daniel Simpson. â€Å"Optimal pricing ladders for the sale of airline tickets.† Journal of Revenue & Pricing Management 8.1 (2009): 96+. Academic One File. Web. 20 Apr. 2010. Graham, David R., Daniel P. Kaplan, and David S. Sibley. 1983. â€Å"Efficiency and Competition in the Airline Industry.† Bell Journal of Economics, vol. 14 (Spring), pp. 118-38. McAfee , R. , Preston , PRICE DISCRIMINATION, 1 ISSUES IN COMPETITION LAW AND POLICY 465 (ABA Section of Antitrust Law 2008) McAfee , R. , Preston, & Vera te Velde. Dynamic Pricing in the Airline Industry. http://www.mcafee.cc/Papers/PDF/DynamicPriceDiscrimination.pdf MCCARTNEY, SCOTT Airlines Rely on Technology To Manipulate Fare Structure The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition November 3, 1997. http://www.nd.edu/~mgrecon/datafiles/articles/airlinefarestructure.html Ratiiff, Richard& Vinod, Ben. FUTURE OF REVENUE MANAGEMENT Airline pricing and revenue management: A future outlook Stavins, Joanna. Price Discrimination in the Airline Market: The Effect of Market Concentration. November 25, 1996 Stavins, J. (2001) â€Å"Price Discrimination in the Airline Market : The Effect of Market Concentration†, The Review of Economics and Statistics, 83, 1, 200-202. Stern Andrew, A. Pricing and Differentiation Strategies. Planning Review. Sep/Oct 1989, 17, 5. Retrieved 20 April 21, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Westermann, Dieter, (Realtime) dynamic pricing in an integrated revenue management and pricing environment: An approach to handling undifferentiated fare structures in low-fare markets: Journal of Revenue & Pricing Management; Jan2006, Vol. 4 Issue 4, p389-405, 17p, 4 http://www.airlines.org/products/AirlineHandbookCh3.htm

Book Review: the Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr Essay

Many are still quoting from Nicholas Carr’s 2008 Atlantic article â€Å"Is Google Making Us Stupid?† Here in The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, he elaborates to illustrate precisely how the Internet changes our lives. Along the way, Carr’s highly entertaining book reminds us of how the great thinkers of past centuries did just fine without a hyperlinked database of all the world’s knowledge at hand. In the 21st century, we are facing the consequences of our distracted and scattered society, and we make choices about the impact of technology, weighted with assumptions about the nature of knowledge and intelligence. The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains presents a thoughtful, if frightening, look at what we’re doing to ourselves. We learn to take in information the way the Internet distributes it, â€Å"in a swiftly moving stream of particles.† At best we skim the surface, rather than go deep into information, and our fragmented journey results in lack of concentration and comprehension. Pay attention as the author cites his own difficulties with reading and that of others who find problems with their ability to read and absorb. Sadly much of our reading has become â€Å"skimming and scrolling.† In just twenty years, since the web’s graphical browser was created, the Internet has become the communication and information medium of choice. Those of us who grew up in an analog youth can still remember when AOL was the top consumer choice for web use. Do you remember AOL’s weekly allotment of a limited amount of web surfing? Carr colors his analysis with interesting stories and profiles of some of the world’s greatest thinkers and writers, including Socrates and Plato. He reaches far back in time to bring us a full understanding of the development of human intellect over centuries. In the late 19th century, when first using a typewriter, Nietzsche quickly found a difference in his work when not using paper and pen. †Our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts.† The Shallows illustrates that every technology is an expression of human will and changes how we think. The typewriter, sextant, globe, book newspaper and computer are all tools for self-expression, our identity and relations with others. In Chapter Four, â€Å"The Deepening Page,† Carr creates an interesting parallel between today’s technology divide and Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press invention, developed in the mid-15th century. While it was as central an event as the Internet is today, it too was out of reach for the poor, illiterate, isolated or incurious. The biggest difference between the printing press and the web today, other than speed, is the web’s bi-directional communication ability. Yet, Carr quotes Marshall McLuhan stating, â€Å"A new medium is never an addition to an old one. Nor does it leave the old one in peace.† â€Å"Today, when a printed book is transferred to an electronic device connected to the Internet, it turns into something very like a web site,† says Carr. Yet, he reflects on what this means, when the ability to continually update a book removes the sense of closure from book writing. He raises the question of whether an author’s pressure to achieve perfection will diminish, along with artistic rigor that pressure imposed. â€Å"The Juggler’s Brain,† Chapter Seven, should be mandatory reading for us to understand effects of technology in the school system, after a decade of using hypertext on computer screens instead of printed pages. Over time, it was apparent that evaluating links and navigating paths was mentally challenging, and extraneous to the act of reading. Studies quickly determined that hypertext increases readers’ cognitive load and is more than the average reader is capable of handling and remembering. As skimming becomes our dominant mode of reading, we as a society and individually, pay a price. With lessened comprehension and compulsive multitasking, we’re easily distracted, compounding our problems. As Carr says, â€Å"The Net is making us smarter, in other words, only if we define intelligence by the Net’s own standards.† Do yourself a favor and turn off your browser and email while you read the section on attentiveness. It points to a problem many of us experience without understanding, thinking we’re faced with â€Å"too much information.† The reality may be that changes in our brains, as we use the web, turn us into shallow thinkers. The Shallows is more than a report on the current state of technology in society. The greatest problem is the more we use the web, the more we train our brain to be distracted – to process information very quickly and very efficiently but without sustained attention. It’s worth reading this book to remind ourselves that we are responsible for the priorities we set and the choices we make. Reviewers note: In the complexity of today’s technology, and as proof of the dramatic changes the simple act of reading a book, The Shallows is available in hardcover, as well as a Kindle edition, audio book, CD, Audible Audio edition, cassette and MP3. Such is the reality in the modern world.

The effects on children of growing up in a household where both Essay

The effects on children of growing up in a household where both parents work outside the home - Essay Example This paper examines some of the most common causes of working of both parents, and the general effects of this practice on the children. In the present age, women go shoulder to shoulder with men in every walk of life. Be it education, work, or research, women have set their footprint in all areas. In the past, in a traditional nuclear family, man used to play the role of bread earner for the family, and the woman used to nurture the kids at home and take care of their nutrition, studies and such other necessities. That practice was very beneficial for the children in particular as they would spend sufficient time with at least one of the two parents. With the passage of time, more and more women began to go out of the home particularly for work. There were several underlying factors that caused an altogether change in the traditional roles of mother and father in a nuclear family. First of all, by working, women have made an attempt to fulfill their long cultivated desire of coming at par with men. In the past, as discussed above, man used to be the sole bread earner for the whole family. This gave him the opportunity to go out and build social relations. The social network of man became stronger as compared to women, who had to resort to socialize mostly with other women in the neighborhood. The increased social networking placed more power in the hands of the man, and women started to feel themselves as living in a male dominated society. In order to come out of this suppressing feeling, more and more women started to study, though it would be wrong to say that this was the only reason why women today study in large numbers. There are several reasons behind this. Most of the times, it is indeed, the parents that want their daughters to be as educated as their sons, so the choice is mostly made by the parents and not the daughters themselves. However, paralleling the men is undoubtedly, one of the many causes why we see more women out today than in the past. Secondly, as the society has generally become more receptive towards the applications made by women for jobs, women can easily find work. In fact, in many cases, it so happens that when there is a competition between a woman and a man with equal qualifications for a particular job, the woman gets hired and the man does not. More and more women have made use of this fact and have started to work as a result. Thirdly, it is quite reasonable for both parents to work in the contemporary age of economic recession. As a result of the recent financial crisis, companies have been downsized by the owners in an attempt to maximize the profits. A lot of people have been expelled from jobs. Those, that have continued to work are being offered much lower pays than what they used to be offered only few years ago. There is little to no job security these days, and people may be fired any time. To top it all, prices of products and facilities of everyday use are skyrocketing. Taking these circumsta nces into consideration, it is quite wise of both the parents to work. However, the practice has conventionally had negative impacts on the children. With both of the parents out of the home, children are mostly left at the disposal of maids or servants. Some maids and servants are morally corrupt. Because of that, children are exposed to the risks of physical abuse, kidnapping and such other threats. Everyday, many such

Homework Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Homework - Case Study Example Determination of the cause of an incident is informed by classification of that incident accordingly. Incident reaction – An actual incident is respondent to, and it is this response(s) that is associated with incident reaction. Once an actual incident has been identified, all the activities directed to that incident constitute a response that is hereby referred to as the reaction. Incident recovery – Recovery is realized after all responsive activities have been executed. It is after containing the incident and successfully regaining systems control that the recovery step begins. This step entails assessing the extent of realized damage, restoring any needed data and/ or services in that line, frequent system examination and monitoring, and getting all stakeholders back in track within the organization. Strategies for containment vary from one organization to another, with the commonly used being disconnection of communication sources, application of filtering rules, and incident monitoring (Socha 203). External attacks are contained through disconnecting communication sources that have been impacted. Doing so safeguards the organization against external networks. Rules used for filtering purposes basically restrain network access based on their respective types. Finally, the incident can be monitored as a specific course of action is being undertaken. These strategies are tailored towards ensuring that the incident is stopped, and that systems control is successfully recovered. The document highlights the process of contingency planning and all the activities involved in ensuring that the panning process is a success. The various types of plans associated with contingency planning for IT systems are presented and their functionality described. It is noted that the planning process is significantly different from the actual plan development. The varying processes and activities that uniquely define the two

BUSINESS MODELS AND PLANNING Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

BUSINESS MODELS AND PLANNING - Assignment Example According to wired magazine, craigslist is the currently â€Å"most popular dating site†, job searching site, apartment hunting site and selling site despite its weird business model. Craigslist does not entertain innovation, and has very few workers. However, craigslist has remained a performer in the market due to. Reaching customers: this refers to the process of using communication channels to reach the customers of a product with an aim of generating a market. Entry into a new market is very easy. This happens through the company’s ability to draw a chain of people. When the network enters into a given region and obtains a few clients, other people soon find it necessary. Product differentiation: this is the process of developing unique strategies for product positioning that spotlight the product’s true value in the market. A company needs a clear understanding of its competitors and should clearly differentiate its product from those of the competitors. Craigslist is clearly known for its dating services, job hunting among others and therefore attract so many people in those areas. Pricing: this is the determination of the amount of money that a company will charge for its product or service. This starts by an evaluation of the value customer attach on a product, consideration of production cost, consideration of competition landscape and finally determination of price. This has been the strongest point of craigslist model i.e. offering very low prices that attract and keep the customers (Osterwalder 270). Selling: this involves the actual persuading and convincing a customer to buy a product. This calls for a precise understanding of what is required to close a business deal, and subsequent organization of a sales force. Craigslist does not stock items that it deals with but rather performs the deals as an intermediary. Delivery /distribution: this is the process of transporting goods from the business premises to the

Pathological liar Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Pathological liar - Research Paper Example Once a lie is told, there is no changing it, no taking it back, and no easy resolution to solving the problems that it creates.† If lying becomes habitual and chronic, the liar becomes known to have developed into a compulsive liar. This is differentiated from a pathological liar, which is the topic of this research. This research paper is aimed at presenting relevant factors surrounding a pathological liar. A brief description of this disorder would initially be presented. The characteristics of this personality disorder would also be enumerated, as well as any remedies which might be available. â€Å"an individual who habitually tells lies so exaggerated or bizarre that they are suggestive of mental disorder†. In a study which differentiates a pathological liar from a compulsive liar, a pathological liar is described as: â€Å"someone who lies incessantly to get their way and does so with little concern for others. Pathological lying is often viewed as coping mechanism developed in early childhood and it is often associated with some other type of mental health disorder. A pathological liar is often goal-oriented (i.e., lying is focused - it is done to get ones way). Pathological liars have little regard or respect for the rights and feelings of others. A pathological liar often comes across as being manipulative, cunning and self-centered.† (TruthAboutDeception.com 2009). On the other hand, the same study defined a compulsive liar as â€Å"someone who lies out of habit. Lying is their normal and reflexive way of responding to questions. Compulsive liars ben d the truth about everything, large and small. For a compulsive liar, telling the truth is very awkward and uncomfortable while lying feels right. Compulsive lying is usually thought to develop in early childhood, due to being placed in an environment where lying was necessary. For the most

Cross-Cultural Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cross-Cultural Psychology - Essay Example With respect to evolutionary behaviour, this form of giving up one’s life has slowly evolved over the ages in India. In the ancient times, the phenomenon was prevalent among kings and queens as the queens would usually give up their lives when their husbands died in wars, rather than remain widows for the rest of their lives. Since then, the practice has evolved a great extent and has taken shape in an adverse manner, causing degradation to the entire Indian society. If one thinks of the custom as something that would have evolved over the ages and helped the situation get better, Sati is not the best explanation for growth and development within society at all. It is in fact something that has been hindering the same, and has not let women gain absolute freedom. Sociological factors have also helped to lead to this very custom of Sati. It is a custom that has evolved from the very thoughts of people living in olden day India; the country witnessed ideals arising from a very p atriarchal form of society where the men folk had the power to decide what was to happen and how it was to be carried out.

Petroleum Engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Petroleum Engineering - Essay Example The Kolga sands had been remobilized under the burial which led to sand fluidization and injection along weakness zones. On seismic sections, injection wings appeared cross cutting what surrounded seismic reflection, this was considered as an artifact. They launched the development of the Nini east field in 2009 with a drilling campaign which included two horizontal and one injection in Kolga sand. The main reason for using this kind of approach was to increase the percentage of horizontal section in pay while avoiding the sele shale and maintaining the oil water contact. They also decided that it was crucial to get a better handle on seismic data to plan for the two upcoming wells. The seismic data was processed and inverted to improve the imaging of the injectable sands The understanding of the reservoir and its heterogeneity was greatly improved with the use of the new generation deep directional electromagnetic tool which was the LWD and the new processing method. This tool was critical in refining the reservoir model and ultimately for the management of this field in the long

Frederick Jackson Turner writes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Frederick Jackson Turner writes - Essay Example The immigration of people of various ethnic backgrounds mostly Europeans into the region led to their transformation. They cultivated adopted and spread their culture and notions in west America. Thus, through these processes, they become Americanized. According to Jackson Turner, the long established American character originated from the forests and gained momentum every time it reached a frontier thus the frontier thesis. The American character entails democracy, equality, optimism, individualism, violence, and self-reliance (Turner 1). I agree with Turner that America owes its identity from the west. First, the Middle States, as well as the South, possessed democratic ideas and this formed the center of Ohio politics in her early history. This is proved since most of its members elected in the Ohio legislature in 1820 comprised a large number of the natives. For example, New England contributed nine Senators as well as six Representatives who mainly came from Connecticut. Moreove r, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania elected seventeen Senators as well as twenty-one Representatives majority who came from Pennsylvania (Turner 1). Further, the South elected twenty-seven Representatives and nine Senators most of whom came from Virginia. Among the Representatives, five of them were natives of Ireland. In total, the emigrants from the Middle Region and the Democratic South outnumbered the Federalist who originated from New England. Since America is the heart of democracy and Ohio was the first state to elect emigrants as representatives, then it shows that the idea of democracy in America arose from Ohio, which is in the frontier. Secondly, once the immigrants settled in the West, they cooperated among themselves in clearing land, building houses and barns, and establishing communities (Froner 337). These ideals of individualism spread from the west into other areas in America. Thus, the communities promoted selflessness within their communities which later

Management of underperforming surgical trainee Essay

Management of underperforming surgical trainee - Essay Example Work place based assessment 15 Annexes: Forms template Foreword The purpose of this handbook is to provide a guide for the clinical supervisor in the performance of his/her duties in the hospital. This is designed to give the supervisor with resources and models for the supervision work and to orient the supervisor on the clinic supervision program. This is also a manifestation of our expressed commitment to provide students with excellent academic preparation. The materials contained in this manual are not intended to substitute existing ones, but rather to supplement the information. Relevant forms are attached for supervisor’s use. The Clinical Supervision The clinical supervision is a professional preparation. The experience gathered in this exercise provides the student with an opportunity to carry out professional responsibilities. The clinical supervision allows the student to integrate the academic theories learned from school to actual practice under the guidance of a clinic supervisor Clinical Supervision is defined as â€Å"formal process of professional support and learning that enables individual practitioners to develop knowledge and competence, assume responsibility for their own practice, and enhance patient protection and safety of care in a wide range of situations (â€Å"clinical supervision†). ... Shared clinical responsibility ensuring that the client’s treatment goals are addressed. A rigorous process that ensures ethical and legal responsibility. An individualized approach based on the learning needs and style of the supervisee. Congruence with the values and philosophy of the agency. Adopted from: Part 2, Chapter 2, NCBI Resources The Clinical Supervision Defining the characteristics of an Effective Clinical supervisor a. The Clinical Supervisor’s objectives The clinical supervisor’s foremost objective is to establish a positive supervisor-supervisee relationship that promotes client’s welfare a nd professional development of supervisee. The Clinical Supervisor has a well rounded personality as he acts as a teacher, coach, consultant, mentor, evaluator and administrator (TIP 52). The Clinical Supervisor has the following objectives in doing his jobs: 1. To help the less experienced worker improve his/her skills. 2. To ensure that patients receive the best medical care . 3. To have e clear contract of expectations, ongoing review and feedback; and a commitment to professional developments. These objectives will be discussed more thoroughly in succeeding sections of the manual. The Clinical Supervisor b. The Clinical Supervisor’s Duties and Responsibilities Responsibilities The clinical supervisor is committed to work with other departments in order to provide an outstanding customer experience. The role calls for coordinating management and clinical activities. Responsibilities include the following: Staffing Budgeting Personnel management Staff development Occasional clinical coverage and weekend house supervision Source:

The Effects of Business Planning, Financial Management and Performance Monitoring Essay Example for Free

The Effects of Business Planning, Financial Management and Performance Monitoring Essay Heraclitus (535bc-475bc) was a philosopher who believed in the power of change, claiming that everything would find repose by changing (Harris, 1994). This may not be true to the average sense of the concept of housing as a basic need to mankind. Housing has and will always be a constant, essential need and a basic right for every human being (United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 25, www. un. org). However, this paper may agree with him on the existence of uncertain changes in the political, social and economic states of countries at various times and how these changes affect housing policies. This essay shall examine the impact of these changes on housing businesses with the social housing sector as the area of interest. It will identify these uncertain changes as risks to the business of social housing and ultimately discover if business planning, financial management and performance monitoring are important to the productivity of the social housing sector. (Balchin and Rhoden, 1998) claim that housing is most times the largest and most expensive acquirable item. Next to agriculture, it usually requires the most use of land space. The only need that precedes housing in mankind’s scale of necessities is food. Otherwise, housing needs consume the most land space, thus making this need an expensive and enterprising one with governments and private individuals investing heavily in businesses related to supplying such needs to people. (Ogu and Ogbuozobe, 2001), classified this supply process in their theory that two paradigms are present in social housing provision in Nigeria. They referred to them as the â€Å"provider† and the â€Å"enabling† (supporter) paradigms. But claim also, that most governments in developing countries lack the financial strength to run the â€Å"provider† paradigm scheme. Hence they adopt the â€Å"enabler† strategy which was encouraged by the City Summit (Habitat II) held in 1996. (Reeves, 2005) elaborates these theories as he defines social housing bodies in the United Kingdom as primarily local authorities and housing associations which provide and manage houses even after tenant occupation, regardless of ownership. He states that they could be direct providers (e. g. housing association develops and manages a property), or enablers (e. g. a local authority, indirectly houses tenants by funding another body like a housing association by grants to build houses). This explanation is similar to Ogu and Ogbuozobe’s paradigms mentioned above. He concludes however, that the largest enabler in any country is the government (e. g. housing corporations and local authorities). (Lansley, 1979) had also stated years ago that housing corporations support social housing authorities with exchequer grants as they are primarily non-profit making organisations. This characteristic differentiates them from the primarily profit oriented nature of private enterprises. According to (Nyssens, 2006), Social Enterprises started in the late 1970s as an approach to tackle social needs collectively without the desire for individual profit. It is an alternative to conventional co-operative societies which functions in a manner that it assists low income earners tackle social exclusion (in this case, through provision of affordable housing). Because they are indigenously organised by a group of citizens, participatory and non profit oriented in nature allowing equality in decision making (not based on capital ownership), they have been proactively accepted by the local tenants and the government as housing service providers. (Paton, 2003) agrees that Social Enterprises have had positive impact on the social housing sector, but he also shows that they may be problematic as they consist of numerous stakeholders. He claims that contrary to its equality based nature, there is always a dominant stakeholder with the most influence. He also adds that the problem it faces is performance. But as social enterprises in the housing sector are also regulated by government policies, this paper would disagree with him as performance can be enhanced by methods which shall be analysed in this essay. This essay would refer to Social Enterprises, Housing Associations and local authorities as Social Landlords. According to (Ogu and Ogbuozobe, 2001), the economic recession of the 1980s negatively affected the housing sector as structural adjustment policies created by the International Monetary Fund to tackle economic problems were implemented without consideration of their effect on housing businesses and its stakeholders. This shows how international organisations make policies which affect social landlords in several countries as well. It also points out the possibility of economic uncertainties affecting the housing sector. Reeves, 2005) furthermore, illustrates how differences in economic performance in different regions of a country affects demand and supply of housing. He compares London and the South-East to the Midlands and the North-East, stating that the economic growth in London and the South-East (coupled with sustained shortages in skilled labour) created a rise in average wage levels and a consequent rise in house prices as demand for private ownership of houses rose beyond s upply. And that fluctuating growth levels negatively affected lower income earners making them unable to meet the prevailing housing cost. He blames this outcome on the inability of developers and social landlords to provide adequate housing as they strive keep prices at a level where they can maximize profit. This is another example of how inefficient preparedness against socio-economic issues affects social landlords’ decisions and ultimately, tenants. (Housing Corporation Centre for Research and Market Intelligence, 2008) also funded a research showing how the credit crunch of 2007-2009 had adverse effects on social landlords as the pace of building new houses slowed down with developers waiting for a change in the market condition. Unlike the case described by (Reeves, 2005), housing demand was poor as there was lack of access to mortgages for buyers leading to numerous unsold houses being carried over to the following financial year. The research ultimately showed that social landlords had to employ several financial and risk management procedures to stay in business. Some strategies initiated by the government to tackle social housing problems were analysed by (Garnett and Perry, 2005), who blame the late twentieth century’s decline in the demand for council housing on reduction n investment that led to inefficient building maintenance with most council houses occupied by low income earners. They state that the Chattered Institute of Housing (CIH) made a report which resulted in the Governments reaction of setting up a ten year programme for housing standards. They also highlighted the targets of this programme in the April 2000 housing green paper as; increasing investments in existing council housing stock, government demand for business plans from councils, demand for detailed council funding options (e. g. ublic or private financing), creation of the Decent Homes Standard with 2010 as its target year for all homes to meet its requirements and finally, directives to carry out monitoring and appraisal to evaluate progress. From this review it is clear that the government is the major policy maker in the United Kingdom as the (Department for Communities and Local Government, 2006-www. communities. gov. uk) explains to citizens that the â€Å"Decent Homes Standard† was formulated to regulate developers as well as landlords on the building and maintenance of houses to a set standard and the (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister- www. pdm. org, 2004) claims that it will ensure that all houses attain the laid down standards of decency by 2010. This is one of the latest in a series of policies that have evolved over time of which social landlords are mandated to effectively implement in their business planning schemes. Because as (Garnett and Perry, 2005) illustrated, the government has requested for business plans from housing authorities possessing housing stocks and a Housing Revenue Account-HRA. They explain that this plan must be taken after consultation with tenants and other stakeholders and must show detailed financial managerial strategies, stock condition management, demand and availability of resources, financial forecasts, priorities and a detailed, updated record of progress. Although this requirement might offer social landlords a basis to organise, strategise and enhance their businesses, (Garnett and Perry, 2005) also show evidence of feasibility problems as they reported that this business plan requirement was not achieved in Scotland and Wales whose authorities were required to deliver similar plans by April 2005. This probably questions the possibility of meeting the Decent Homes Standard policy by 2010. (Harrison and Lock, 2004) state that a project cannot be managed without risk consideration. From the illustration of (Garnett and Perry, 2005), the achievement of these requirements is a ten year project which the government has given to social landlords. And from the enabler theory explanation of (Reeves, 2005), these social landlords are sometimes given grants to facilitate these projects. Harrison and Lock, 2004) show the importance of identifying risks early in any project. They show how project success can be achieved by early identification, assessment and classification of risks and their mitigation methods. The required business plans are expected to include such risk management processes as stated by (Garnett and Perry, 2005) who also explained that the production of a detailed business plan involves financial planning and management with a view to not just cutting cost, but making the best use of resources. They add that financial management is the responsibility of not just the finance department of the organisation but every section as it generally involves value management. In conclusion, they state that financial management is important to housing organisations because it analyses long term and current outcomes of investing in a stock or service. Another approach was introduced by the (Improvement and Development Agency- IDEA, 2008) (which is one of four partner organisations with the Local Government Association). They call it â€Å"Place Shaping†, a concept developed by Sir Michael Lyons who describes it as creatively using authority to facilitate the overall wellbeing of a community and its citizens. It aims to provide strong governance through local strategic partnership, create a common vision within the local sustainable community strategy and promote local tenant involvement. In summary, they state that after a detailed research on the drivers that influence and affect local neighbourhoods (e. g. opulation growth, jobs, good schooling, antisocial behaviour and crime, and the quality and range of housing on offer), they would address these problems and supply affordable housing for all sections of the community with low income earners in mind and generally encourage the development of sustainable communities. This approach is a summary of the risk management strategies of (Harrison and Lock, 2005), where data is collected, brainstorming sessions are done, risks are identified, asse ssed, classified and their mitigation measures are implemented. Performance monitoring ensures accountability to all stakeholders as it is an open and interactive process involving the monitoring body, the social landlords and the tenants. This was clarified by the set of questions inspectors will use to appraise social landlords. These questions are known by the Audit Commission as Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOE). (Audit Commission, 2010-www. audit-commission. gov. uk), state that they were developed to provide inspectors, social landlords, tenants and other stakeholders with a framework through which to review and assess service planning and delivery. It also recognises the relevance of political leadership, collaboration and spatial planning in creating effective methods, and demands that the housing long term plans must involve plans to develop sustainable communities. It however states the need for flexibility among councils as they are all not expected to use the same exact approach. Tools like the Balanced Scorecard may be used for such appraisal schemes. In another report (Audit Commission, 2010-www. audit-commission. gov. k) reveals that the new methods adopted by the government have received immense support and inspectorates have succeeded in concentrating on outcomes and local priorities. It also claims that monitoring and appraisal have also resulted in more efficient functioning of some local public services. As for the achievement of the Decent Homes Standard, the Head of the National Audit Office (Morse, 2010) claims that progress has been made. But he admits that there are risks facing the programmes completion. Addi ng that weakness in information is an undermining factor to the department’s efforts.

Impact Of Current Small Networks

Impact Of Current Small Networks One of the ways to categorize the different types of computer network designs is by using their scope or scale in account. Almost every type of design as some kind of area network is referred by networking industry and that is due to history of computer networking. Common examples of area network types are:- A LAN is used to connect network devices over short distance like an office building, school, or home. Generally a single LAN is used, though sometimes one building will contain a few small LAN, and occasionally a LAN will cover a group of nearby buildings. Moreover LANs are also typically owned, controlled, and managed by a single person or organization. WAN Wide Area Network A WAN covers a large distance. The Internet is the largest WAN, spanning the Earth. A geographically-dispersed collection of LANs is a WAN. Routers are used to connect LANs to a WAN. Most WANs (like the Internet) are not owned by any one organization they are under distributed ownership and management. LAN, WAN and Home Networking Home users use LAN and connect to the Internet WAN through an Internet Service Provider (ISP) using a broadband modem. Once connected, all computers on the home LAN can communicate directly with each other and they are bound to go through a central gateway, typically a broadband router, to reach the ISP. Some other types of networks are also classified:- Wireless Local Area Network a LAN which is based on WiFi wireless network technology Metropolitan Area Network owned and operated by a single entity such as a government body, it is a network covering a physical area larger than a LAN but smaller than a WAN, such as a city. Campus Area Network a network covering multiple LANs but smaller than a MAN, such as on a university or local business campus. System Area Network it is used to link high-performance computers with high-speed connections in a grouped configuration. It is also called as Cluster Area Network. Range of some devices on the network:- Laptop: When using a laptop with public hotspots, a strong Wi-Fi signal is must for successful Internet access and good connection speed. A wireless laptop with limited range will most probably suffer from slow Internet connections. Smart phones, PDAs, etc.: It is perfect to free the most portable of all devices to be freed from wires. For that we need a fast Internet connection (DSL, cable model or wired Ethernet) with a Wi-Fi access point start.   Other than this we use some devices such as Digital Media Server (DMS), Digital Media Controller (DMC), Digital Media Printer (DMPr) etc, for devices on network. Task 2- briefly describe each device participation/role in the network. Example; Router to connect to the Internet, etc. Computer network devices also called communication devices and they have a data communication network. We have routers, switches, hubs, LAN cards, gateway, modems, hardware firewall, CSU/DSU, ISDN terminals and transceivers under this head. These devices are must need for data communication in an Ethernet or WAN network. Understanding of these devices is necessary for an IT professional or a network administrator. After selection of best devices one must ensure that they are compatible with each other. The top vendors are Cisco, D-Link, LinkSys, Baynet, RealTek, 3Com, NetGear, Intel, Nortel, and Lucent etc. These vendors help you get devices. We can reduce the operational cost and enhance the overall performance dramatically by a well designed IT infrastructure with the proper placement of the routers, servers, gateway and switches. Routers:- It is a communication device which is used to connect two logically and physically different networks, two LANs, two WANs and a LAN with WAN. Router is mainly used to sort and the distribute data packets to their destinations according to their IP addresses. Router is a main device for the connectivity between the enterprise businesses, ISPs and in the internet infrastructure. Cisco routers are widely used in the world. Every router has IOS which is routing software. Router does not broadcast the data packets. Switches:- Alike the router, a switch is an intelligent device which is used to map the IP address with the MAC address of the LAN card. It sends the data packets only to the destined computer. Switches are used in the LAN, MAN and WAN. There are three methods to transmit the data in a network via switches i.e. store and forward, cut through and fragment free. Hubs Hub is a central connecting device in a computer network. There are two types of a hub i.e. active hub and passive hub. Every computer is directly connected with the hub. Data packets are broadcasted to all the LAN cards in a network and the destined recipient picks them and all other computers discard the data packets. Hub has five, eight, sixteen and more ports and one port is known as uplink port, which is used to connect with the next hub. Modems It is a communication device that is used to provide the connectivity with the internet. Its working is in two ways: modulation and demodulation. Either it coverts the digital data into the analog or analog to digital LAN Cards LAN cards are the building blocks of a computer network. They are also called as network adapters. A properly installed and configured LAN card is need for computers to communicate. A unique IP address every is there with every LAN card. Different LAN cards support different speeds. Multiplexer It is used to combine the several electrical signals into one signal. Task 3 briefly describe and evaluate the impact of SOHO networks, such as; †¢ limited connections †¢ number of devices on the network †¢ usage social networking, video-streaming, entertainment, gaming, home working, etc. †¢ security Firewalls, sharing folders, VPN, wireless encryption, etc. †¢ Bandwidth constraints †¢ User expectations †¢ Sharing of resources †¢ Use of technology †¢ Communications Bluetooth, 3G, Broadband, etc. The small office home office has gone through a great transformation in recent years as technology has advanced to another level. Small office/home office (SOHO) network is growing in popularity among network types. It is a modern concept for the category of business, which involves from 1 to 10 workers.. To a great extent companies which market products targeting the great numbers of small businesses that have a small or medium sized office use SOHO. Basically it includes less than 10 PCs and may not include servers at all. Network resources such as DNS server resolution and e-mail servers are generally located offsite, either hosted by an ISP or at a corporate office. Cable, DSL, or perhaps ISDN are used to provide internet access for the SOHO network. An inexpensive router is used for the boundary between the LAN and the WAN connections. This router may also serve double duty as a firewall to shield the SOHO network from malicious activity. To provide interconnections between clie nt PCs and the router, and many routers include an integral hub or switch. It has simplicity that is why Ethernet is generally the LAN standard used to wire the SOHO network. Wireless standards such as 802.11b are starting to appear for a vital use in the SOHO market. It eliminates the need for adding LAN wiring in the home. When a small office needs to connect to a corporate environment with security involved then some sort of VPN device is either built into the router itself or on the LAN. We must ensure security for SOHO networks. As there is increase in number of employees so are their sophisticated computer networks in their homes. It comprise a mix of personal and company equipment. Many enterprises believe that practice of conducting work at home on employee-purchased PCs or networking equipment will save them money. However, we are bound to face security problems when users link personal systems to the corporate network. This is most in the cases when enterprises fall prey to false assumptions about the associated risks. While working from home on network-connected personal systems, enterprise data can be dangerously exposed by employees. For security: before turned in for service, users must be warned about the exposure risks of leaving personal and business data on personal systems. PCs with preloaded safeguards such as disk encryption can be a solution too. At least, encouragement should be there for employees to use system passwords and disk encryption. A combination of policy control, configuration lockdown, personal firewall, and central firewall filters to block installation of the better-known file-sharing and remote-control programs can be used. Similarly protection methodology can be used for personal systems. Enterprises shouldnt rely on employees personal equipment and networks conform to enterprise security and privacy standards. They should follow best practices to ensure security. Training and awareness programs will help remind users of the risks of data exposure and the potential damage such exposure can cause to themselves and the enterprise. They can implement thin client computing solutions, which minimize the risk of data exposure on non enterprise-owned systems.

Barriers to Health Maintenance and Disease Prevention

Barriers to Health Maintenance and Disease Prevention Redante Castro Introduction: There are many factors that interfere with health equity and the ability of the patients to get their healthcare needs met. Whether people are healthy or not, is determined by their circumstances and environment. There are challenges that a patient and healthcare providers encounters in securing and providing health services. These social determinants of health, such as income, education, transportation, housing, and race or ethnicity, have powerful influence on a patient’s life long before they arrive at a hospital or clinic. According to literature, persistent social exclusion and inequities in wealth distribution and in access and use of services are reflected in health outcomes. Social exclusions and inequity are obstacles to human development. It poses barriers to poverty reduction strategies. It hinders social unity and improved health conditions of the populations. Social exclusion and inequity are further compounded by racial and gender discrimination. There are health disadvantages due to differences between segments of populations or between societies. There are health gaps arising from the differences between the worse-off and everyone else. Lastly, there are health gradients relating to differences across spectrum of the population. Studies have shown that the poorest of the poor have the worst health. This is also a global phenomenon, seen in low, middle, and high income countries. Within countries, studies showed that a person with low socioeconomic position has worse health- this is the soci al gradient of health. The poorest have the highest mortality rates. Improvements in income and education has a positive effect on health. One’s occupation is also relevant to health in terms of workplace risks exposure and its role in positioning the person along a society’s hierarchy. There is also demographic transition to consider that affects health, i.e., increasing life expectancy, increasing number of youths, growing number of elderly persons in the population, increased migration, and rapid urban growth. Population distribution and population age structure are crucial determinants of social, economic, and health-related services. For example, people in poverty are likely to be exposed to higher level of stress, economic uncertainty, and unhealthy conditions than their wealthier countrymen. It was recognized by some policymakers and stakeholders that the population’s health cannot be sustained by focusing solely on the financing and distribution of medical services. A more comprehensive and integrated strategies are necessary to foster health in all policies. An approach that integrate considerations of health, well-being, and equity in the development, implementation, and evaluation of policies and services. Determinants of health are being acknowledged and incorporated into health reform processes and policy changes are made. Examples of these policy changes are: regulation of alcohol and tobacco products, the expansion of healthier transportation systems (bicycle paths, pedestrian-friendly roads, and pathways), improvement in air and water quality, expansion of primary health care services, and improvements in nutrition programs. This new focus has helped divert the emphasis away from individual lifestyles and from a focus on disease towards broader determinan ts and actions that created a big impact on population health. However, it is probably fair to say that all community issues are political to some degree. For example, if a factory is poisoning town water system with its effluent and poisonous waste, local officials are faced with the choice of not dealing with the actual cause of the problem, i.e., the dumping of waste and endangering citizen’s health, or addressing the dumping and endangering citizen’s job. Differences of political opinion can have enormous consequences in the health of the community. Health is not merely the absence of illness or infirmity. It is the embodiment of physical, mental, social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing (World Health organization, 2007). Spiritual wellbeing involves one’s religious belief. Religious belief is essentially personal and private matter over which the individual should exercise control and choice. It is of value to understand the relative importance of religious beliefs and practices in protecting and promoting the health of the people of religious faith and the need to protect their rights to practice this belief free from discrimination. There is an abundant evidence in literature that religiousness can generate multitude benefits in health outcomes. For people of faith, their religion and belief system may influence individual health-promoting practices, for example encouraging abstinence from alcohol or not eating pork. They may also influence social environments. Strong social support and participation have been found t o be associated with better health/ longer life and may be offered by some religious communities. To people of faith, prayer is very important while seeking healthcare or undergoing procedures, a prayer of support and encouragement when unfavorable result was received. There are some religious group that blood and blood products are not to be part of any treatment. For some religious groups, contraceptives, abortion and anti-life practices are against their belief system. With these in mind, alternative ways are to be sought to promote the health and wellbeing of the individual without compromising their belief system. Values are criteria that people use to evaluate actions, people and events. What is important to a person may not be important to someone else. Each individual holds numerous values with varying degrees of importance. Values are motivational construct. They refer to the desirable goals people strive to attain. People have different health care value system. There are three ways people will view their health: how they became ill, what made them ill, and how they believed they can be cured. Example, people from the East (China) would value acupuncture for pain management option. This in turn will cause health care providers to look at health treatment plan to accommodate those needs. Among Asian cultures, maintain family harmony is an important value. The interests and honor of the family are more important than those of individual family members. Older family members are respected, and their authority is often unquestioned. Therefore, due to respect for authority, disagreement with tr eatment recommendation by the health team is avoided. (McLaughlin, L. Braun, K. 1998). Ethnic discrimination and exclusion affects all aspects of the individual’s life, including those related to health. Studies show that indigenous working people has low income, low educational level, poor access to healthcare, and has high mortality rate. Health screening, diagnosis, and treatment inequities within and between communities of different race, ethnicity and socioeconomic background are evident. Poverty barriers are linked to lack of primary care physicians, geographical barriers to care, competing survival priorities, comorbidities, inadequate health insurance, lack of information and knowledge, risk –promoting lifestyles, provider-and system-level factors, perceived susceptibility to disease, cultural beliefs and attitudes. Social exclusion can be the result of prejudice, which results in different access to health care, education, or other services. These are social norms of acceptance of particular behaviors or practices. Culture influences how people define illness or wellness, how they understand the causes of illness or wellness, and whom they access to improve their health. Greater support from families, friends and communities is linked to better health. Culture-customs and traditions, and the beliefs of the family, practices and behaviors, and community all affect health and even the outcomes of intervention. Example: smoking, or even alcohol abuse, may be accepted part of the culture of a community. In that case, many more people will adopt it than in a community where those practices are considered health risks. Some people think that health is not having any disease or illness, something that one feels. A paper from a conference of international health experts in 2011 sees health as the ability to adapt and to self-manage (Jocelyn Lowinger 2014).Medical News Today (2014) claims that most people accept that there are two aspects of health, physical and mental health. Most people relates physical health to good body health because of regular physical activity (exercise), good nutrition, and adequate rest. To some people, physical health involves structural health and chemical health. Structural health is associated with one’s height/weight ratio, body mass index, resting heart rate, and recovery time after exercise. Chemical health suggests that there are no toxic chemicals in one’s body and that there is a balance of nutrients needed by the body. Mental health on the other hand refers to people’s cognitive and emotional well-being. People have always found it easier to e xplain what mental illness is, rather than mental illness. Most people agree that mental health is the absence of mental illness. Mental health, to some people includes the ability to enjoy life, the ability to bounce back from adversities, the ability to achieve balance, to be flexible and adapt, the ability to feel safe and secure and making the best of what you have. Some views health as reflecting lifestyle, including a moral dimension and emotional well-being (MacInnes Milburn: 1994). Healthy behavior as not smoking, good diet, exercising, and not drinking alcohol to excess, a positive approach to life. Elderly people concepts of health were identified as the absence of disease, as a dimension of strength, weakness and exhaustion and health as a functional fitness. (Williams, R. (1983)†Concepts of Health: an analysis of Lay Logic†. Sociology 17:185-204). Illness results from negative attitudes, arising from a conflict between the individual and society-lifestyles in its widest sense. Ideas about causes of disease tend to emphasize biological rather than behavioral factors. Some of the agents of disease cited by working class women included infection, hereditary factors and environmental factors. The causes of disease are very much outside the control of the individual. Studies have also shown that people’s ideas about disease causation and vulnerability from illness are also influenced by biomedicine, example, and germ theory. However, people tend to take on beliefs which tend to fit with their lay understandings. (Calnan, M. (1987) Health and Illness: the Lay perspective. London: Tavistock). (Blaxter, M (1983) â€Å"The Causes of Disease: Women Talking†, Social Science and Medicine, 16:43-52). On the other hand, non-Western people views illness into two main systems according to anthropologists- personalistic and natur alistic. Personalistic system views illness to be caused by the active and purposeful intervention of an agent that may be: a supernatural being such as a deity or a god, a non-human being such as a ghost, ancestor, or evil spirit, or a human being such as a witch or a sorcerer. In this system, the sick person is a victim, the object of punishment directed specifically against him, for reasons that concerns him alone. In naturalistic system, illness is explained in impersonal, systemic terms. There is a concept of balance and equilibrium. Health prevails when elements in the body – heat, cold, the humors, etc. are in balance appropriate to the age and condition of the individual in his natural and social environment. (Foster, G. Anderson, B. (1978) Medical Anthropology New York: Jon Wiley). There are also beliefs or superstition that people believes as causative factor of illnesses. An understanding of people’s ideas about health maintenance and disease prevention is crucial to the success of health education and health promotion programs. One’s health beliefs may contribute to the knowledge of informal health care-how people manage their own health and whether they choose biomedical health services. Public attitudes towards health professionals and their authority as medical experts are changing. The days of blind trust in a doctor â€Å"who knows best† is history. Social and cultural processes that have encouraged change in interpersonal trust relations have stimulated changes in institutional trust. Beliefs about the limits of medical expertise together with concerns about the effectiveness of professional regulatory systems to ensure high standards of clinical care, magnified by the media coverage of medical errors and examples of medical incompetence, have eroded trust in health care organizations, in the medical professions in general, and in the health system as a whole. The lower level of institutional trust and the emergence of more informed and potentially demanding patients who are aware that expert knowledge may be contested and who may actively seek further opinions poses challenges for both governments and the medical professions and raises the question of wh ether trust is still relevant and necessary to the provision of medical care in the 21st century. (Trust relations in health care – new agenda/The European Journal of Public Health 2006) There should be policies to improve health in early life, such as equal opportunity of access to education, good nutrition, health education; access to health and preventive care facilities and access to adequate social and economic resources. Legislations to help protect minority and vulnerable groups from discrimination and social exclusion should be implemented. Government should intervene to reduce poverty and social exclusion at both individual and neighborhood levels. There should be policy regarding improvement in conditions of work and employees involvement in decision making process. For individuals who turn to drugs, alcohol and tobacco use – there should be a policy that aims to address the patterns of social deprivation in which the problems are rooted. Effective drug policy must be supported by the broad framework of social and economic policy. Conclusion: Countries, such as New Zealand can develop health policy changes in assembling and promoting effective, evidence based practices, place health equity as a shared goal across governments and other sectors of society, build a sustainable global movement and to turn public health knowledge into political action. Governments should recognize that welfare programs need to address both psychosocial and material needs.

Richelieus Great Success :: European Europe History

Richelieu's Great Success Machiavelli, More, and Richelieu all at one point or another occupied a high post in their respective governments: Italy, England, and France; from such a vantage point, or rather in the case of Machiavelli after descending from office, each identified the ills existent in his given state and derived his own remedy for such ills. However, the efforts of Machiavelli and More proved less fruitful in the short run than did Richelieu's; while Richelieu raised the state of France under Louis XIII to a condition of greatness through the elimination of internal strife and discord which had for so long plagued the nation and through the advocacy of increased involvement in the international realm, his two predecessors in their renowned works, The Prince, Discourses on Livy, and Utopia, made a number of espousals concerning certain desirous reforms which would prove extremely influential in the future and throughout the world, but which would fail to be adopted as remedies for the immediate c oncerns which fostered them. Italy, and Florence itself, the birthplace and residence of Niccolo Machiavelli had endured violent political and social upheavals throughout the 15th and 16th centuries. In the 1440's the social balance which had permitted the germination of much of Renaissance thought a few decades prior was already beginning to fall into decay as a result of heavy wartime taxation; Florence had been forced to keep Spanish held Naples and Milan at bay for years and consequently found herself lacking in funds to continue such a defense. The Florentine military was composed primarily of mercenaries who proved both a costly and not necessarily loyal force. The increasing costs incurred by warfare inevitably led to a centralized state led by the Medicis that could more readily generate and amass the necessary revenues; however, the outward trappings of a republican form of government were preserved. The Medici maintained their dominance of the Florentine Republic until1494 when Piero d' Medici was oust ed from office. The ostracization of Piero by his Florentine counterparts was in direct correlation to the invasion and capture of Naples from Spanish control by the French King Charles VIII. In 1494 on route to Naples the French took Pisa, Florence, and Rome without conflict; however, Piero's surrender of Pisa, which left Florence vulnerable, provoked a fierce rebellion in Florence putting an end to Medici rule there for the time being. Despite such unrest the Dominican Friar Girolamo Savonarola who sought to create in Florence a "new Jerusalem" restored the Republic; regardless of his good intentions Savonarola made multitudous enemies, the most dangerous being Pope Alexander VI. Richelieu's Great Success :: European Europe History Richelieu's Great Success Machiavelli, More, and Richelieu all at one point or another occupied a high post in their respective governments: Italy, England, and France; from such a vantage point, or rather in the case of Machiavelli after descending from office, each identified the ills existent in his given state and derived his own remedy for such ills. However, the efforts of Machiavelli and More proved less fruitful in the short run than did Richelieu's; while Richelieu raised the state of France under Louis XIII to a condition of greatness through the elimination of internal strife and discord which had for so long plagued the nation and through the advocacy of increased involvement in the international realm, his two predecessors in their renowned works, The Prince, Discourses on Livy, and Utopia, made a number of espousals concerning certain desirous reforms which would prove extremely influential in the future and throughout the world, but which would fail to be adopted as remedies for the immediate c oncerns which fostered them. Italy, and Florence itself, the birthplace and residence of Niccolo Machiavelli had endured violent political and social upheavals throughout the 15th and 16th centuries. In the 1440's the social balance which had permitted the germination of much of Renaissance thought a few decades prior was already beginning to fall into decay as a result of heavy wartime taxation; Florence had been forced to keep Spanish held Naples and Milan at bay for years and consequently found herself lacking in funds to continue such a defense. The Florentine military was composed primarily of mercenaries who proved both a costly and not necessarily loyal force. The increasing costs incurred by warfare inevitably led to a centralized state led by the Medicis that could more readily generate and amass the necessary revenues; however, the outward trappings of a republican form of government were preserved. The Medici maintained their dominance of the Florentine Republic until1494 when Piero d' Medici was oust ed from office. The ostracization of Piero by his Florentine counterparts was in direct correlation to the invasion and capture of Naples from Spanish control by the French King Charles VIII. In 1494 on route to Naples the French took Pisa, Florence, and Rome without conflict; however, Piero's surrender of Pisa, which left Florence vulnerable, provoked a fierce rebellion in Florence putting an end to Medici rule there for the time being. Despite such unrest the Dominican Friar Girolamo Savonarola who sought to create in Florence a "new Jerusalem" restored the Republic; regardless of his good intentions Savonarola made multitudous enemies, the most dangerous being Pope Alexander VI.

Random Student Drug Testing (RSDT) Essay -- School Drug Testing Progra

What is drug testing? Drug testing is an examination of biologic material such as urine, hair, saliva, or sweat to detect the presence of specific drugs and determine prior drug use. Student random drug testing programs, RSDT, is increasingly common (Edwards). RSDT can help identify the students who are already abusing illicit drugs. Yet most schools only drug test the students, when they should also be drug testing the teachers and staff. Illicit drug use interferes with the ability to learn, affects other students learning and disrupts the teaching environment (Random). Although drug testing at first glance seems like a good idea, it may not be the best decision for every circumstance. Drug testing in high schools will not do very much good. It will cause use in other drugs and create more problems with alternative uses and more sneaky behavior. Drug testing does not prevent drug abuse or stop them from doing it. It usually just pushes them into harsher drugs or into unfamiliar situations. There have been many changes in today’s school systems to help prevent drug use in their students other than drug testing alone. They have introduced a zero tolerance policy. In schools, common zero-tolerance policies concern possession or use of drugs or weapons. Students, and sometimes staff, parents, and other visitors, who possess a banned item for any reason, are always to be punished. They have also introduced metal detectors, sniff dogs, and camera systems. The zero tolerance policy has proven to reduce the presence of these things on school property but doesn’t prevent them outside the walls of the schools. So how do we keep student’s drug free outside of the schools. There are moral aspects of drug testing the student body... ...ext. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. Yamaguchi, Ryoko.†Relationship Between Student and Illicit Drug Use and School†. Student Drug Testing.org. 2003. PDF File. Yamaguchi, Ryoko. â€Å"Drug Testing in Schools: Policies, Practices, and Association With Student Drug Use†. Drug Policy.org. 2003. PDF File.

the Tao Of Pooh Book Review Essay -- essays research papers

THE TAO OF POOH Philosophy is a complicated subject. Since the beginning of human existence, many tried to come up with theories about life, happiness, reality and knowledge. From philosophical ideas different beliefs sprung, and existence of different religions followed. Every theory raised by a philosopher attracted different followers. In today's modern society aside from major religions, there are thousands of others that suggest that their explanations to universal questions are the only accurate ones, and all of these religions seek to gain more followers to join their "way". One of these religions is the religion/philosophy of Taoism. Taoism has it roots in China, where the founder of Taoism Lao-Tse was searching for a way that would avoid the constant feudal warfare and other conflicts that disrupted his society during his lifetime. The result was his book: Tao-te-Ching. Lao-Tse described Taoism as a path or a way which one must follow in order to reach inner serenity and peace. In order to reach these inner goals one must live in harmony with nature and natural process that creates the balance in the universe. The novel, written by Benjamin Hoff embodies the spiritual beliefs of Taoism, through the famous cartoon character of Winnie-the-Pooh. In this novel, Hoff shows that the character of Pooh is amazingly consistent with the principles of Taoism. He brings about explanations of Taoism through Pooh and explanations of Pooh's behaviour through Taoism, which eventually shows that Taoism is not simply an old religion or ancient philosophy, but a practice that can be used by every individual here and now in their every day lives. In this novel each major principle of Taoism is followed by an explanation made though a humorous story staring Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends. -2- SUMMARY OF MAIN IDEAS The first main principle of Taoism that is presented in this novel is the idea that things in their original simplicity contain their own natural power, power that is easily contaminated and lost when that simplicity is altered. This principle is also known as the Uncarved Block. Winnie-the-Pooh is very significant in this principle of the Uncarved Block, because he illustrates the perfect example of an individual that follows this principle. Pooh always exists in his "natural state", he is... ...oundation of all living things that exist in this world. The mission of Taoism is not to force its beliefs on people, but to help them realize their inner-self and guide into a happy life in harmony with nature. To best summarize Taoism a quote from Lao-Tse can be used: "We believe in the formless and eternal Tao, and we recognize all personified deities as being mere human constructs. We reject hatred, intolerance, and unnecessary violence, and embrace harmony, love and learning, as we are taught by Nature. We place our trust and our lives in the Tao, that we may live in peace and balance with the Universe, both in this mortal life and beyond." There are thousands of religions that offer endless solutions to end suffering, to restore peace and unity in the world. For decades philosophers tried to come up with ways to find happiness, but in the end there was only one answer. The answer came from a some would call silly, others wise bear by the name of Winnie-the-Pooh, w ho discovered the secret for happiness in and old religion, founded by a great master Lao-Tse. This religion became the answer for the endless search for happiness and the answer was Taoism.

Consumerism & marketing Essay

The difference between needing and wanting has changed. In the past people bought products because they needed them; however by time, wanting has become the new needing. Purchasing â€Å"new goods and services with little attention to their true need, products origin, durability or the environmental consequences of manufacture and disposal† has become the new way of consuming. We do not consider why we are buying a certain product or a certain service because we feel that we need it. From a producing world we have shifted into a consumerist world. It is not about the culture, nor the tendencies of personality. With globalization and marketing people have forgotten what it is to buy what you need instead of what you think you need. The goal of marketers both local and international is to come up with marketing strategies through researches that would draw more customers to consume their services and products. According to Marken (n. d), â€Å"Consumerism has changed the rules of the game and produced the need for new strategies. By using the new rules to your advantage, you’re sure to end up on the winning side. † Marketing has taken over everything. Companies that had failed to develop effective marketing strategies end up losing to more successful businesses. To be able to construct a marketing strategy that will be helpful in their undertaking, they have to bear in mind the needs and wants of their target market. In a global context, more extensive researches are conducted to satisfy the needs of the market. It is not only the companies that have to adapt. Consumers also adapt to the changes in the market by responding to the offers. Consciously or not, the consumers had been manipulated to want the newest products in the hope that they will have a better life. Marketing has raised consumerism to what it is now, and has affected every one–male, female and even young kids. People in this country acquire goods even just for the sake of acquiring goods. This culture of consumerism, many people claim, will lead to the demise of the American society – both as they use up limited resources and abuse the capacities of their minds and body. But no matter how needed a change in the pattern of lifestyle and values may be, such will not easily take place. Consumerism is a historical phenomenon, its dynamics embedded with a number of social factors and historical events. In fact, it is social development in American society, both materially and ideologically, that gave rise to consumerism. The 1920s is usually identified as the dawn of consumerism. By this time, the industrial revolution had reached its fruitful stage, and mass production, mass distribution, and thus mass consumption are easily imagined and implemented. Indeed, that was what the owners of large industries and corporations set out to achieve. In order to do these, they designed new systems to control the full processes of production from the raw materials to the finished product. Together with the material reality that faced America in the 1920s was the marketing tool found in psychology. Advertisement campaigns are the core of this decade, shaping the mentality into one, which seek fulfillment in consumption and glorified it. The public was enticed to buy for the sake of buying more than anything else. The advertisements offered whatever one needed, wanted or just lacked. Perhaps there can be no clearer situation that demonstrated the power of advertising than during World War II. Even at a time when the nation was actually being frugal, living with recycling and rationing, advertisers worked hard to maintain the same level of consumerism. During the World War II, Americans supported their government by helping the nation economize, either by growing food in their own garden or by recycling resources for other productions. During the war even though there was not much to sell or not much available sources to buy anything, advertisers would still work on their campaigns. As everyone waited for the war to end, there came the excitement after the war. As the war ended, people were ready to forget and get back to their lives as consumers. New products were introduced during this era like aerosol spray cans or nylon. Such new products caught the attention of the consumer and created a cycle; newer products increased the willingness to buy more. One important factor that facilitated the continuity of consumerism well into the middle of the 20th century was the strategic targeting of women as main consumers. When the war ended, the family became a central part of society again, and women were pushed once more into the homes to become the dutiful wife and mother, integral to rebuilding a healthy and thriving society. The domestic role that woman had for years, and the baby boom after the war were great reasons to create new products and reasons to buy them. The increase in pregnancies and births after the war resulted in the focus of advertisers and producers. New baby products from toys to food, from clothes to books were introduced to the market. And mothers were pressured to have the best and be role models. With men as the ones who earned, women were the one who spent the money; and they spent it according to their role against men. Aside from consuming products for becoming the ideal mothers were the products for being the ideal wife and ideal housekeeper or the ideal woman. Since the early 1920’s consumerism has shifted with the help of marketing and mass production. Women who bought only their necessary needs, like cloths to make their own clothing, or meat that would be enough for the day for the whole family, went into buying the brand that stood ahead. Instead of making clothes for themselves, or having it made for them, people started to buy mass produced clothes from stores. As the quantity of items displayed in stores increased, the competition began. And there came the marketing department. The distinctions of branding, the ad campaigns, the photo shoots and the change in the concepts of beauty, need, and want are all what advertisers and marketers did. Changing one’s perception is not easy, but it is done everyday. Women who were just wives or mothers were now woman standing against their husbands or fathers. They had the opportunity to relieve themselves from their duties and add a little for their own. Now they had the opportunity to buy what they wanted or thought they needed. They had choices for kitchen appliances or furniture designs. Each magazine they bought had suggestions for fashion, make-up and hair, or for their family members. And each suggestion had one thing in common, the fact that it has to be purchased.

Cloud Operating System Architecture

Cloud Computing Architecture Tall Tanager developer. [email  protected] Com Abstract? A bright vision of the future sparks up with the new technologies of cloud computing. A new perspective towards how files, pictures, documents are shared, accessed and modified over the World Wide Web. In this we take a look at the architecture of cloud computers, identify and explain the different layers from client to host. It also discusses how we will be able to design, implement, develop and innovate in the future with cheaper costs, better efficiency by the use of powerful systems on the cloud almost anytime and anywhere around the globe.A world with incredible virtual systems being made affordable for everyone. Looking ahead the next decade, cloud computing promises to collaborate everywhere through mobile devices. Introduction Cloud computing can be seen as a very promising future of computing with cheaper costs, application efficiency and a door opening for millions of people around the g lobe not being able to afford powerful systems for education, work and development.Given the ability that it will allow people to conduct geophysical modeling experiments, render high-end graphics almost anywhere and anytime in he world will lead to innovation by many with ideas being capable of implementing them for an affordable cost. It can store immense amount of data, improve accessibility, secure data by making it available to authorized users only and deploy web scripts for PH, Perl, ASP. NET and several others on the go as it includes a platform for an Apache and MYSELF TM Database Server.Most importantly sharing videos, music and documents across the internet would be far more efficient as files would no longer be required to uploaded instead would require access-permission. From modeling AD graphs to integrate photos, maps with a handful of web services, loud computing would highly benefit large business corporations. Keywords? collaborate, affordable costs, efficiency, in tegrate The Layers – An Outer Look Here is a representation of architecture of a common cloud computer.The first layer being the client layer is a web browser on a mobile or tablet device. An application has three layers, graphical interface layer (user interaction), application layer (the coding-level) and the database layer (for storing data). Figure 1-1 (Graphical Representation of the different layers) Next we have cloud services, the service required for applications to run I. Apache services, database servers etc. This layer cannot be directly modified by the client. Alongside these is the cloud runtime for storage and table services.These could be various applications such as an anti-virus tool, a service for file transfer, POP connection services. Lastly we have the Infrastructure and storage. This has to do with the hardware, the physical design of the system to ensure maximum durability, prevent incidents such as short circuits, ensure cooling etc. Deployment and Us er Experience User Intent & Interface To be able to customize your computer and have a flexible environment to work in sakes an important factor in the overall architectural design of the system.End-users look out more for the design; the speed and accessing their programs with ease rather than worry about the infrastructure or web services. Over here the target needs to be aiming for fast application deployment, services should be updated automatically, and responsiveness should be fast. Designing On Established Trends Cloud computers are deployed on established trends to reduce cost out of the delivery of services as it increases the speed and power at which services are deployed. Cloud computing offers on-demand deployment in less time with reduced cost and maximum efficiency.From one perspective, it seems to be nothing new as it approaches concepts already built and established however from another perspective, cloud computing is something complete new as it develops ideas on ho w we deploy, update, scale, invent and maintain our applications over a huge network. Over the last few years, virtual machines have become the standard deployment object. We have seen how people connect to remote computers using built-in applications. As we can see, it further improves the flexibility as the system is total pendent on the host.For instance, a person can rent a computer for a few hours being provided the authentication by host. This way, many people can have access to powerful systems for less cost without needing to upgrade hardware to enhance their systems. Figure 1-2 shows a typical remote desktop connection. This shows how cloud computing has revolutionized over the years and been made better. Cloud computing promises us in the future to be able to access computers through web browsers with reliability and an affordable cost. Keywords? on demand deployment, flexibility, fertilization, hypothesisFigure 1-2 (a typical remote-desktop connection) Infrastructure Prog rammable Infrastructure In the past, developers would identify how the various component of application would be managed, secured, modified, interconnected, and deployed. Now a developer would be able to use a Cloud Provider's API to manipulate the application on the go and not only that but to manage tremendous work load changes. Consider this analogy: A Java developer creates and deletes thread to do multiple activities at the same time however now developers can do the same but modify the application dynamically giving them power to accommodate accordingly.To make the best out of cloud computing, a developer must be an architect being able to create a self-logging and self-expanding application for best user experience. Infrastructure as a Service (alas) alas is one of the fundamental service models of cloud computing. It provides computing resource in a brutalized environment, â€Å"the cloud†, usually through a public network like the Internet. It includes attributes suc h as virtual server space, network bandwidth, IP etc. A hypothesis such as Java VIM creates virtual machines and/or allows you to connect to one over the internet.Platform as a Service (Pas) Pas is another fundamental service model of cloud computing. In these models, the provider delivers services such as an operating system, an executable environment (programming environment), database server etc. Application developers can run and develop their programs on this platform service without the cost of buying additional hardware. This is extremely useful to the ones whom cannot afford the luxury of powerful systems and complexity of managing hardware. Software as a Service (AAAS) AAAS is Just another fundamental service model of cloud computing.

Hockey Sticks

The hockey stick, the most basic piece of equipment, is also the most confounding. While other pieces of gear either fit or don’t fit, the stick defies such a simple categorization. It’s more like buying a pizza. Size is the easy part—options are where things get tricky. Stick technology has come along way from the days when players found a nice piece of hickory and started whittling. Sticks today come in a number of materials that in themselves can be overwhelming. These range from wooden shafts with ABS plastic blades, to traditional wood and fiberglass, to full Kevlar and Carbon Fiber. Prices can vary by a factor of ten, with a very simple stick costing around $20 and top end exotics surpassing the $200 mark. Today’s stick market has as much variety as the grocery store’s breakfast isle. The three main kinds of sticks are: Wooden Sticks, Two-piece sticks and blades, One-piece composite sticks The Wooden Stick The wooden stick has been around since the inception of hockey. Despite the many improvements in this most basic piece of hockey gear, there are still a few NHL pros using wood sticks. Still the numbers are dwindling from about half the league using wood several years ago, to just a handful now. Another reason some players still prefer wood might be feel. One thing that technology hasn’t improved is the feel. If you cannot catch a pass, or stickhandle through the defense, there isn’t much point in being able to shoot an extra ten miles per hour. Many Pros are now using a composite shaft with a wood blade as a compromise between the best of both worlds. Beyond the obvious issue of having the plainest stick in the locker room, the negative of a wood stick is simple durability. Even if you are like me and don’t break many sticks, wood will wear out. Shooting the puck hard requires flexing the shaft and getting a good pop, almost like a bow releasing an arrow. The fibers in wooden sticks break down fairly quickly and the spring that you need in releasing a shot gets weaker. Wooden sticks are the smartest choice for beginning players. The cost of a composite stick balanced against the minimal gain a beginner might get doesn’t make sense. Until beginners learn to shoot, poke check and stick handle and stand up on skates adequately; there isn’t much point in spending big bucks on a composite stick. Trust me; no one looks any less silly falling down with a $200 stick than they do with a $20 stick. Two-piece Shafts and Blades Two-piece sticks have been around for a while. The blade and shaft, sold separately, are hot-glued together with a heat gun. Originally making its debut in the medium of aluminum, the two-piece shaft is now available in such exotic materials as Carbon Fiber, Graphite and Kevlar. Some lower priced shafts are pure fiberglass making them heavier and more prone to breakage. Aluminum shafts lasted almost forever and are still a favorite of many players who own one, but they are almost impossible to find. The advantages in a two-piece stick are lighter weight, more consistent performance and longevity. The type of a blade selected can change the weight somewhat, but it will generally weigh less than a wooden stick. This translates into slightly quicker stick handling for the player. One downside to buying a two-piece is the cost. Even an inexpensive shaft and blade will cost twice what a wooden stick goes for. Realistically, the cheapest shaft on the market will cost about $40 and a low-end blade for it about $25. More likely you will spend over $150 to get a two-piece stick of decent quality. However, since the largest numbers of breakages in sticks occur at the blade, the two-piece is an attractive option after the initial investment. Two-piece shafts and blades are interchangeable between brands. Junior and Senior are the two basic blade sizes. The shafts come in Junior, Senior and Intermediate sizes with intermediate shafts accepting senior blades. Tapered two-piece sticks are typically the top performing two-piece sticks and priced accordingly. The Modern One Piece Sticks The term one-piece stick used to simply refer to a wooden stick that wasn’t broken. Now it refers to the expensive, featherweight, composite jobs that would make NASA proud. (The price tags are starting to get into the NASA range too). The one-piece stick is the newest of stick options. Easton’s very popular Synergy started the craze and remains among the most popular choices today. The one-piece is the lightest of the three basic choices available, and widely considered the top performer as well. A one-piece stick will have a very nice, almost weightless feel to it when even the casual player picks it up. The one-piece is made of carbon fiber or Kevlar. One-piece sticks are probably the most hyped up piece of hockey equipment today. Every brand seems to have their own unique design, from holes in the shaft, to a spine on the blade like a two-piece; the one piece is a durable, high performance choice. The one-piece will give most players many months of quality play. There is little argument that a good player will notice a more powerful shot with a one-piece stick. So perhaps the biggest downside to the one-piece stick is their position as the most expensive option. The price of a one-piece is generally comparable to that of a two-piece initially but does top out much higher. Not only is the initial investment sometimes higher, but in order to keep that same high level of performance, players will need to buy a new stick every time they break one. As you can see there are a variety of sticks to choose from and not every person will like the same stick. Even with all this information I just gave to you, it still might be hard for you to choose one that you will like. It's not something your friend can help you pick out because it's more of your opinion and how it feels in your hands. Hockey is a sport where the gear and theme of the game are both independent, the help of others is useful but at the end of the day, it’s on your shoulders; it’s your choice that makes the final decision.