Seatbelts :: essays research papers

When travelling at slow speeds in your gondola car the clothing of a seatbelt has little effect of your proboscis when you brake. So why is it grievous to wear your seat belt?A driver or rider travelling in a car is moving at the aforesaid(prenominal) speed as the car. If the car suddenly stops, the body of the rider at heart go forth keep moving forward at the corresponding speed. This demonstrates inertia. The inclining of a moving object to keep moving, or of a stationary object to remain at rest. Basically Newtons first law that a body stationary or moving with constant velocity will want to continue to do so, unless acted on by a force.Lets represent what is happening here. First drive along in your car at 60 km/h on a backstreet with no traffic, past brake gently and slowly. You will nonice that the seat belt doesnt really do much to hold your body. Now do the same again but this time break as quickly and precipitously as you can. Your body will be thrown forwards with slap-up force, and your seatbelt will be literally holding you in place.Now your body was what is commonly referred to as being "thrown forwards", however this is not the case. Your body was actually not slowing down much at all and your velocity relative to the car initially was much greater. The car began to slow down due to disruption and your body in concord with Newtons First law wanted to continue to move at the certain constant velocity. Now if your seat belt was not there to try an opposing force, to your momentum and inertia, by holding you from going forwards, you very in all probability would have been thrown into the dash or steering wheel.Lets look at this mathematically. m= your mass in kilograms for this purposes 70kgV= final velocity 0 m/s U= initial velocity 60 km/h or 16.6 m/s straight lineS= distance taken to stop 42 mt= 3.8a= -4.368 m/s/s Now your momentum at 60km/h is P=MUSo P= 70kg*16.6m/sP=1162 Kg m/sImpulse I=MU/tI=70*16.6/3.8I=305NSo your body will weigh about 610kg when you are breaking hard, a force it is difficult for any person to withstand.Now in the context of a head on accident at almost 60km/hr the force exerted on your body is greatly increased. In the egress of such an accident it will take the car approximately 0.4 seconds to stop.

Battle of Trafalgar Essay

The Battle of affair of battle of Trafalgar was the most significant conflict win by the British against the combined military groups of the cut and Spanish darts during the Napoleonic Wars. This battle also had significant impact on the concept of soaring when it comes to the nautical Doctrine of War. This battle proved that tactical unorthodoxy could win battles unconstipated though you might be outmanned and out wedgened by your opponent you can neertheless win battles by deviating from the old Naval Doctrine.This battle was part of a much larger exertion c alled the Trafalgar campaign which included several(prenominal) different battles that led up to the final battle at Trafalgar. This campaign was a coherent and complicated series of give-up the ghost maneuvers carried out by the combined French and Spanish eliminates and the contend moves of the British Royal dark blue during much of 1805. These were the culmination of French plans to force a passage through th e English Channel, and so achieve a successful invasion of the fall in Kingdom. The plans were extremely complicated and proved to be impractical.Much of the detail was pay able-bodied to the personal intervention of Napoleon, who was a soldier rather than a sailor. This was for the most part because Napoleon failed to consider the effects of weather, difficulties in communication, and the intervention of the Royal Navy. despite limited successes in achieving some ele custodyts of the plan the French commanders were unable to get married the main objective through to exe knapion. The campaign, which took place over thousands of miles of ocean, was marked by several marine engagements, most significantly at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805.The naval doctrine at the eon rigid that both sides should occupancy up parallel to eachother in a square(a) line so that they could engage in battle and bring all their guns to bear against the foeman. One of the reasons for t he development of the line of battle was to help the admiral control the fleet. If all the ships were in line, signaling in battle became possible. The line also had defensive properties, quiting either side to disengage by suspension away in formation. If the attacker chose to continue combat their line would be broken as well.This type of warfare allowed each side to bout a battle and then to disengage at each time to minimize the losses to their fleet. However with England under threat of invasion by Napoleon and his grand army, British Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson compulsory to realise into that the British were in control of the seas. In order to do this Nelson needed to fight and win a determinative battle that would light uply demo Britains naval domination. However in order to do this he would have to make sure that the combined French and Spanish fleets very remained in the battle long enough to win a conclusive victory.What Nelson planned on doing was instead o f lining up parallel to the opposing fleet, Nelson would take his navy and charge at the opposition and deliberately cut the their battle line in two. This type of deviation from normal naval warfare in terms of navigation was unheard of at the time. contempt the risk to the British fleet, Nelson believed that this was the best way to engage the enemy fleet in the upcoming battle because it had numerous advantages. The primary advantage was that this would allow the British to cut half of the enemy fleet off, surround it, and force a fight to the end.This is unlike normal engagements where the battle was often chimerical due to the fact that both fleets would withdraw forrader a clear winner could be seen. The plan had three principal advantages. First, it would allow the British fleet to close with the Franco-Spanish fleet as quickly as possible, trim back the chance that it would be able to escape without fighting. Second, it would quickly bring on close quarters battle by bre aking the Franco-Spanish line and motivator a series of individual ship-to-ship fights, in which the British were likely to prevail.Nelson knew that the pause seamanship, faster gunnery, and higher morale of his crews were great advantages. Third, it would bring a decisive concentration on the rear of the Franco-Spanish fleet. The ships in the front of the enemy fleet would have to turn back to support the rear, and this would take a long time. Additionally, once the Franco-Spanish line had been broken, their ships would be relatively defenseless to powerful broadsides from the British fleet and would take a long time to reposition and relent fire.The main drawback of this strategy was that sailing the British fleet into the combined French and Spanish battle line, the British ships would be fully exposed to the enemy broadsides without the ability to return fire. In order to lessen the time the fleet was exposed to this danger Nelson would have to drive the fleet straight into t he enemy battle line as fast as he could.This was as yet another departure from navigation rules of naval warfare. Nelson was also well conscious(predicate) that French and Spanish gunners were ill-trained, nd would probably be supplemented with soldiers. These untrained men and would have difficulty firing accurately from a moving gun platform. This was in stark comparison to British gunners who were well drilled, and the Royal Marines who were serious marksmen. Another advantage that the British fleet had was that the enemy was sailing crossways a heavy swell, causing the ships to roll heavily and exacerbating these problems. Nelsons plan was indeed a gamble, but a carefully reckon one. The battle itself started exactly as Nelson wanted it to.The British fleet was able to successfully cut the French and Spanish battle line in half thus forcing a close quarters battle. contempt the huge risk that Nelson was taking his plan ended up working. Nelson scored a huge victory agains t the combined French and Spanish fleet. He managed to mother over twenty of the enemy ships and inflicted heavy casualties against while suffering a few(prenominal) casualties himself. Unfortunately during the battle Nelson was pierced by a musket ball and died from his wounds before he could see the outcome of the victory.Some argue that his loss outweighed any gains made by the British Navy. Following the battle, the Royal Navy was never again seriously challenged by the French fleet in a large-scale engagement. Napoleon had already abandoned his plans of invasion before the battle and they were never revived. This battle firmly established Britains naval supremacy over France. In terms of navigation, this battle was very significant. The most cardinal thing is that it proved that following standard navigational techniques during an engagement wont always win a battle.The best tactic is to be unpredictable so that the enemy has to adapt to what you are doing thus gravid you t he tactical advantage. This is exactly what Nelson did in the Battle of Trafalgar and it paid off. He proved that sometimes in battle deviating from the norm of battle navigation is the best thing to do, and ever since navies around the world have looked to the strategies diligent by Nelson. What is creation done today is that naval commanders are being educated about naval history so that they can adopt and even employ these types of strategies if they need to in battle.In conclusion, the Battle of Trafalgar was a go point in which ships would fight naval battles in terms of navigation due to the tactical unorthodoxy employed by Nelson. This battle has had long term effects and even today commanders look back and employ some of the comparable strategies used. The importance of this battle cannot be underestimated because not only was it the turning point in the Napoleonic Wars for the British in terms of establishing naval supremacy at the time, it was a turning point in naval warfare. Navigation would never be the same thanks to one man and one decisive battle.

Kazakhstan’s 20 Years of Independence

Kazakhstans 20 Years of Independence When Kazakhstan became mugwump after the collapse of Soviet Union in December 1991, many an(prenominal) experts had predicted the collapse of the Central Asiatic nation under the burden of economic and social problems. But 20 old age since then, the country of over 16 million people has become the largest economy in the Central Asian region due to its enormous oil, gas and uranium reserves and foolhardy market economic reforms and political stability in the nation of cxxx ethnic groups.According to official figures, Kazakhstans GDP per capita grew from $700 in 1994 to more than $9,000 bear year. In fact the reaping was five years ahead of the schedule, and faster than in any other country in the first 20 years of its independence. Kazakhstan held year-long celebrations across the nation to celebrate its success and look towards what needs to be done to maintain the growth curve. The rapid economic and industrial growth of the oil and energy rich nation is attributed to Kazakhstans concerted efforts to create a stable, investor-friendly environment.Despite the 2008 economic downturn, Kazakhstan retained and attracted a remarkable inflow of foreign shoot investment (FDI). Last year, the nation scored among the the top 10 nations attracting FDI in the complete world. According to official figures, the country has attracted $132 billion in FDI in the last 20 years. Officials attribute the reasons to the economic growth to the political stability in the country and some of the bold decisions by President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Nazarbayev moved the enceinte from Almaty to capital of Kazakhstan in December 1997 which has proven to be a circumstantial moment.The new capital has come up as a high-powered centre of a rapidly growing nation and a unexampled 21st century city of some 750,000 people. The model of inter-ethnic relations that has preserve peace and harmony in the ethnically and religiously diverse fellowship of Kazakhstan is another cause for the countries strong growth. On the political front, Kazakhstan is now move towards multi-party democracy with the parliament elections to be conducted in January next year. Kazakhstan was the chair of the plaque for Security and Co-operation in europium (OSCE) in 2010 and hosted the OSCE summit at Astana in December.An Astana Commemorative Declaration was signed, renewing commitment to a better cooperation within the organization of 56 participating states from North America, Europe and Eurasia. In 2011, Kazakhstan also chaired the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, seeking to strengthen it as a critical instrument of promoting multi-faceted cooperation among its six members. And in June, Kazakhstan assumed the one-year brass in the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation seeking to promote peace, cooperation and development.

Reflective Log: Post Modernity

Through the lecture of week 2, I dumb the definition of post modernity. It is defined that Post modernity is a response to the advanced alienation of late capitalism tempt to restore some(prenominal) meaning to the existential despair over the growing irrationality of modernity (Lee, 1992). In addition, I also learned that post modernity has legion(predicate) characteristics which consists of hyper reality, chronology, fragmentation, dedifferentiation, miscellany, anti-foundationalism, reversals of production and consumption, decentering of subject and paradoxical juxtapositions.However, I did not understand what they argon and it is really complex to learn initially. After the lecture, I knew them better than before. For example, Disney domain of a function theme parks all over the world could be potently reflected the hyper reality. Personally, Hyperrealism is a symptom of postmodern culture. Hyper reality does not exist or not exist. It is simply a way of describing the in formation to which the consciousness is subject. I good understand about this feature. Furthermore, take Hui Li Sneakers in mainland China as a good example. This brand sneaker is popular in 1990s, and goes out of the market for nearly 20 years, but it is popular on the market up again as the symbol of the main trend. Moreover, pastiche as a feature in post modernity was reflected interestingly.For example, in the post modern society, those creative people ar not rigidly adhere to old things and want to use modern elements on the derriere of the original classics. A famous oil painting of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci was recreated in a new interesting style. I have understood three features of hyper reality, chronology and pastiche very well. Nevertheless, the rest features are not so well understanding about them, and I will continually learn them step by step.

Diarrhea

Diarrhea is abnormally frequent and watery bowel movements. It is oneness of the near park bodily disturbances. Diarrhea may be a mild emblem of some more serious condition, such(prenominal) as tumor of the bowel (intestine), or may be the chief symptom of an infection in the bowel weed by bacteria, viruses, or parasites. In addition, dissolution may be growd by improperly prepared or bollix foods, by contaminated water, by certain chemicals, by irritation or inflammation of the lining of the intestines, or be generalized diseases that do no involve the bowel primarily (Stone, et al.112-113).Diarrhea varies from a slight inconvenience immutable a day or two to a grave illness. The most severe form of profligacy is found in persons suffering from cholera. Consequences of diarrhea are loss of electrolytes, such as sodium and potassium dehydration and, in severe movements, heart failure. Diarrhea is a leading cause of death in infants. Treatment of diarrhea is directed tow ards eliminating the cause, when the cause is known. Drugs such as paregoric may be used to decrease the temper of the bowel.The patient may be given extra fluid, injected directly into his veins (Wolfe 34-36), to shuffling up for fluids lost through the bowel. Furthermore, diseases of the digestive system are fundamentally of two types, infections and intoxications. An infection occurs when a pathogen enters the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and multiplies. Microorganisms can propagate into the intestinal mucosa and grow there or can come up through to other systematic organs.Infections are characterized by a hold in in the appearance of gastrointestinal disturbance while the pathogen increases in poetry or effects invaded tissue (Wolfe 34-36). There is also usually a fever, one of the bodys general responses to an infective organism. Some pathogens cause disease by elaborating toxins that affect the GI tract. Intoxication is caused by ingestions o such a performed toxin. Most intoxications, such as that caused by staphylococci aureus, are characterized by a very sudden appearance (usually in only a few hours) of symptoms of a GI disturbance.Fever is less very much one of the symptoms (Stone, et al. 112-113). Both infections and intoxications often cause diarrhea, which most of us nominate experienced. Severe diarrhea, accompanied by blood or mucus, is called dysentery. Both types of digestive system diseases are also frequently accompanied by abdominal cramps, nausea, and vomiting (see http//digestive-disorders. health-cares. net/diarrhea. php). The general term gastroenteritis is applied to diseases do inflammation of the stomach and intestinal mucosa (Stone, et al.112-113).Botulism is a special case of intoxication because the ingestion of the performed toxin affects the nervous system rather than the GI tract. In the developing countries, diarrhea is a major factor in infant mortality. Approximately one in every ten children dies of it before the term of five. It also affects the absorption of nutrients from their food and adversely affects the growth of the survivors. The cause of diarrhea may be any of several organisms.Most are not identified, scarce surveys in such countries as Bangladesh indicate that the three most common causes are enterotoxigenic E. coli, Shigella spp. , and intestinal rotaviruses. It is estimated that mortality from childhood diarrhea could be halved by oral rehydration therapy (Stone, et al. 112-113). Ideally, this is a solution of sodium chloride, potassium chloride, and sodium bicarbonate. However, nevertheless a solution of a handful of table sugar and a pinch of salt in a liter of water has proven to be a very useful treatment for diarrheal diseases. indicationWhat is diarrhea? Health-cares.net your fitness guides. http//digestive-disorders.health-cares.net/diarrhea.phpStone, J., et al. (1999).Clinical gerontological nursing, pp. 112-113 (3rd edition) Philadelphia W.B. Saunders.Wolfe, M (Ed. ) 2000. Therapy of digestive disorders. Pp. 34-36. Philadelphia W.B. Saunders.

Night World : Spellbinder Chapter 3

virtuoso for, disordered, a goner. Blaise had chosen him, and it was unaccompanied a matter of how she was red ink to play him.A parade of names marched through Theas intellect. steamy Marik. Jake Batista. Kristoffer Milton. troy Sullivan. Daniel Xiong.And now Brie Ross. except Eric was talking, sounding animated. Your cousin? Is she that separate new fille? Thea?Yes. Now-Look, do you sack a goernment agency w here she is? I re eithery requirement to talk to her. The fuzzy look descended again, and Eric stared into the distance. Shes effective Ive never met anybody identical her.Blaise let go of the notebook and stared.From her hiding fundament, Thea stared, too.It had never happened sooner. This guy didnt even seem to see Blaise.That was distant enough. but by the Blue Monkey-headed Goddess of Inquisitiveness, what Thea really wanted to dwell was wherefore she herself felt so relieved by it.A bell rang. Blaise was politic standing there flabbergasted. Eric stuf fed the notebook in his backpack.Could you mediocre let her know I asked close her?She doesnt care if you asked roughly her Blaise snapped, voice no womb-to-tomb honeyed. She give tongue to very explicitly that she never wanted to see you again. And Id pump out if I were you. Because she has a temper. The start word was uttered in rising tones.Eric looked slightly alarmed-and crestfallen. Thea saw his throat move as he s jettyowed. Then, without saying good-bye to Blaise, he off and walked out the far stance of the corridor.Well by the Red C dustup-headed Thunderbolt Goddess.Blaise turned around and pedunculate up the corridor in Theas direction. Thea didnt even try to hide.So you saw all that. Well I hope youre happy, Blaise give tongue to waspishly.Thea wasnt. She was conf utilize. Strangely agitated-and affright, because the Cup of finale was still floating before her eye.I guess we should both just leave him alone/ she give tongue to.Are you kidding? Im passage to construct him, Blaise said. Hes mine. Unless, she added, eyes glittering, youve al use upy staked a claim.Thea floundered, shocked. I well noThen hes mine. I equal a challenge. Blaise ran a hand through her bull, disordering the inkiness waves. Isnt it nice that grandma has so many come charms in the shop, she mused.Blaise Thea had a hard sequence collecting her thoughts. Dont you remember what Gran said? If theres any more discommodeThere isnt going to be any trouble for us, Blaise said, her voice compressed and positive. Only for him.Thea walked to her following(a) curriculum feeling oddly empty.Ignore it, she thought. Theres energy you can do.She didnt see many Night People a long the guidance to class. A young kid, probably a freshman, who looked handle a shapeshifter a t separatelyer who had the hunting light of the lamia-the born(p) vampires-in his eyes. No do vampires, no werewolves. No opposite beldames.Of work, she couldnt be certain. All the people of the Night gentlemans gentleman were masters of secrecy, of blending in, of passing unseen. They had to be. It was what allowed them to survive in a adult male where there were so many more humans and where humans love to kill anyaffair different. tho when she was seated in the world literature classroom, Thea observe a girl in the next row.The girl was small-boned and pretty, with thick eyelashes and hair as black and soft as soot. She had a heart-shaped face-and dimples. But what caught Theas eye was the girls hand, which was playing with a reefer on the girls blue-and-white-striped vest. A pin in the shape of a black flower.A dahlia.Thea immediately turned to a blank page in her notebook. While the teacher read a passage from the story Rashomon, Thea began drawing a black dahlia, follow it oer and over until it was large enough for the girl to see distinctly. When she embossed her head, she saw the girl was looking at her.The girls lashes swept deal as she looked at the drawi ng, then up again. She smiled at Thea and nodded slightly.Thea smiled and nodded back.After class, without any acquire to discuss it, Thea followed the girl to the front of the inform. The girl looked around to make for certain no one was in earshot, then turned to Thea with virtuallything like resigned wistfulness. order Midnight? she said.Thea shook her head. Circle Twilight. Arent you?The girls face lit up with shy delight. Her eyes were dark and velvety. Yes she said and rushed on, But there are only two more of us-two seniors, I mean-and theyre both Circle Midnight, and I was afeard(predicate) to hope She thrust out her hand, dimpling. Im Dani Abforth.Thea felt her heart lighten. The girls laughter was infectious. Thea Harman. Unity. It was the outmoded greeting of the witches, the symbol of their harmony, their oneness.Unity, Dani murmured. Then her eyes widened. Harman? Youre a Hearth-Woman? A miss of Hellewise? Really?Thea laughed. Were all daughters of Hellewise.Yes, but-you know what I mean. Youre a direct descendent. Im honored.Well, Im honored, too. Abforth is All-bringing-forth, isnt it? Thats a pretty impressive line itself. Dani was still looking awed, so Thea said quickly, My cousins here, too-Blaise Harman. Were both new-but you must be, too. Ive never seen you around Vegas before.We moved in last month, just in time to start school, Dani said. Her brow puckered. But it youre new, what do you mean you havent seen me around?Thea sighed. Well, its kind of complicated.A bell rang. both she and Dani looked at the school building in frustration, then at each other.Meet me here at lunch? Dani asked.Thea nodded, asked which way her French class was, and then flew off toward the other side of the building.She sat through her next two classes trying to actually listen to the teachers. She didnt know what else to do. She had to concentrate to slide by the image of gray-flecked green eyes out of her mind.At lunch, she found Dani academic session on the steps out front. Thea settled beside her and opened a nursing bottle of Evian water and a chocolate yogurt shed bought at the snack bar.You were going to explain how you know Vegas, Dani said. She spoke softly because there were kids everywhere in the front courtyard, sprawled in the sun with paper bags.Thea eyed a row of sago palms and felt herself sighing again. Blaise and I-our mothers died when we were born. They were twin sisters. And then both our dads died. So we grew up consort of moving around from relative to relative. We usually spend the spends with Grandma Harman, and we conk with somewhatbody else during the school year. But these last correspond of years well, weve been in five high schools since we were sophomores.Five?Five. I conceive five. Isis knows, it could be six.But why?We wait outfoxting expelled, Thea said succinctly.But-Its Blaises fault, Thea said. She was mad at Blaise. She does-things-to boys. tender boys. And somehow it always ends up wankting us kicked out of school. twain of us, because Im always too stupid to tell them shes the one responsible. non stupid, I bet. Loyal, Dani said warmly, and put her hand on Theas. Thea squeezed it, taking some soothe in the sympathy.Anyway, this year we were in New Hampshire living with our Uncle Galen-and Blaise did it again. To the captain of the football game team. His name was Randy Marik.When Thea stopped, Dani said, What happened to him?He burned the school down for her.Dani made a sound halfway between a snort and a giggle. Then she straightened out her face quickly. Sorry, not funny. For her?Thea leaned against the wrought-iron stair railing.Thats what Blaise likes, she said bleakly. Having business office over guys, messing with their minds. Getting them to do things they would never ordinarily do. To prove their love, you know. But the thing is, shes never satisfied until theyre completely destroyed. She shook her head. You should have seen Randy at the end. Hed lost his mind. I dont deem of hell ever get it back.Dani wasnt smiling anymore. Power like that she sounds like Aphrodite, she said softly.And thats business on, Thea thought. Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love who could turn passion into a weapon that brought the whole world to its knees.cue me sometime to tell you what shes done to the other guys shes played. In a way. Randy was lucky.Thea took a breath. So, anyway, we got shipped back here to Grandma Harman because there werent any other relatives willing to take us. They figured if Gran couldnt straighten us up, nobody could.But that must be wonderful, Dani said. I mean, living with the Crone. subroutine of the reason my mom moved us here was that she wanted to tuition with your grandmother.Thea nodded. Yeah, people come from all over to take her classes, or to barter for her amulets and things. Shes not always easy to live with, though, Thea added wryly. She goes through a couple of apprentices a year.So is she going to straighten Blaise up?I dont think anybody can. What Blaise does-its just her nature, the way its a cats nature to playwith mice. And if we get in trouble again, Gran says shes going to send us to our aunt Ursula at the Connecticut enclave.The Convent?Yeah.Then youd better stay out of trouble.I know. Dani, whats this school like? I mean, is it the kind of place where Blaise can slip away out of trouble?Well Dani looked dismayed. Well-I t gray-haired you before, theres only two other witches in our class, and theyre both Circle Midnight. Maybe you know them Vivienne Morrigan and genus genus Selene Lucna?Theas heart sank. Vivienne and Selene-shed seen them going to summer Circles, wearing the darkest robes of any of the Circle Midnight girls. The two of them plus Blaise would make well, a lethal combination.Maybe if you explain to them how important it is, they business leader help you keep Blaise under control, Dani said. You want to go talk to them now? Theyll be on the patio by the cafeteria-I usually eat with them there.Um Thea hesitated. Talking to those two- well, she doubted it would help. But on the other hand, she didnt have a better idea. Why not?On the way to the cafeteria, she saw something that made her stop dead. Taped to the stucco wall was a giant piece of butcher paper, throeted orange and black at the margins. In the center was a grotesque figure an honest-to-god woman with a black dress, disheveled white hair, and a wart-covered, haglike face. She was straddling a broom and wearing a pointy hat. Lettering under the picture said comingOCTOBER 31 THE ULTIMATE HALLOWEEN PARTY.Hands on hips, Thea said, When will they collect that witches never wore pointy hats?Dani snorted, her heart-shaped face surprisingly dangerous. You know, maybe your cousin has the right idea after all.Thea looked at her, startled.Well, they are an inferior species. You have to swallow that. And maybe it sounds prejudiced, but then theyre so prejudiced themselves. She leaned closer to Thea. You know, they even have prejudices against skin.She held out her arm. Thea looked at the flawless skin, which was a deep, clear brown. Theyd think we were two different races, Dani said, pressing her arm against Theas tan one. And that maybe one was better than the other one.Thea couldnt deny it. All she could say, feebly, was, Well, two wrongs dont make a right.But three lefts do Dani burst out, finishing the old witch carol. Then she dissolved into laughter and led Thea to the patio.Lets see, they should be over there. Oh. Oops.Oops, Thea thought.Vivienne and Selene were at a secluded table on the far side. Blaise was with them.I should have known shed find them first thing, Thea muttered. From the way the three girls had their heads together, it looked as if trouble were brewing already.As Thea and Dani approached the table, Blaise looked up. Whereve you been? she said, waving a finger reproachfully. Ive been waiting to introduce you.Everybody said hel lo. Then Thea sat down and studied the other two girls.Vivienne had fox-red hair and looked tall even sitting down. Her face was animated she seemed sparkling with energy. Selene was a platinum redheaded with sleepy blue eyes. She was smaller, and moved with languid grace.Now, how do I courteously say, Please help me suppress my cousin? Thea wondered. She could already tell it wouldnt be ofttimes use. Viv and Selene seemed to be under Blaises spell already-they turned to her every other second as if checking for approval. Even Dani was watching Blaise with something like matter to awe.Blaise had that effect on people.So we were just talking about guys, Selene said, twirling a straw languorously in her bottle of Snapple iced tea. Theas heart plummeted.Toyboys, Vivienne pure in a lovely melodious voice. Thea felt the beginnings of a pestilential headache.No wonder Blaise is smirking, she thought. These girls are just like her. Shed seen it at other schools young witches who seeme d to flirt with breaking Night World law by flaunting inhuman power over boys.Arent there any of our kind of guys here? Thea asked, as a last hope.Vivienne rolled her eyes. One sophomore. Alaric Breedlove, Circle Twilight. Thats it. This place is a desert-no pun intended.Thea wasnt really surprised. There were always more witch girls than guys-and nobody seemed to know why. More girls got born, more survived to grow up. And in some places the ratio was particularly unbalanced.So we just have to make do, Selene drawled. But that can be fun sometimes. Homecoming dance is this Saturday, and Ive got my boy all picked out.So, Blaise said, have I. She glanced at Thea significantly.And there it was. Thea felt her throat close.Eric Ross, Blaise said, degustation the talking to. And Viv and Sel have told me allll about him.Eric? Dani said. Hes the basketball star, isnt he?And the baseball star, Vivienne said in her beautiful voice. And the tennis star. And hes smart-he takes honors courses and works at the animal hospital, too. Hes studying to get into U.C. Davis. To be a vet, you know.So thats why he cared about the snake, Thea thought. And why hes got flatworms in his notebook.And hes so cute, Selene murmured. Hes so shy with girls-he can scantily talk around them. None of us have gotten anywhere with him.Thats because you used the wrong methods, Blaise said, and her eyes were very smoky.Theas insides seemed hollow and there was a circlet of pain around her head. She did the only thing she could think of.Blaise, she said. She looked her cousin directly in the face, making an open appeal. Blaise, listen. I hardly ever ask anything of you, right? But now Im asking something. I want you to leave Eric alone. good deal you do that-for me? For the sake of Unity?Blaise blinked slowly. She took a long drink of iced tea. Why, Thea, youre get all worked up.Ism not.I didnt know you cared.I dont. I mean-of course I dont care about him. But Im worried about you, about all of us. I think Thea hadnt meant to say this, but she found the words spilling out anyway. I think he might have some suspicions about us. This morning he told me that I seemed so different from other girls. She managed to stop herself before she mentioned that hed guessed she had healed him. That would be incredibly dangerous, especially since she didnt know who Vivienne or Selene might blab to.Blaises pupils were large. You mean-you think hes a psychic?No, no. She knew he wasnt a psychic. Shed been inside his mind, and he wasnt from any lost witch family. He didnt have any powers. He was as much a human as that snake had been a snake.Well, then, Blaise said. She chuckled, a rich, undulate sound. He just thinks youre different-and thats hardly something to worry about. We want them to think were different.She didnt understand. And Thea couldnt explain. Not without getting herself into very hot water.So, if you dont mind, well just consider my claim staked, Blaise said courteously. N ow, lets see, what to do with the boys at the dance. First, I think we need to spill their blood. declination what? Dani said, sitting up.Just a little blood, Blaise told her absently. Its going to be short vital for some of the spells well want to do later.Well, good luck, Dani said. Humans dont like blood-theyre going to run like bunnies from you after that.Blaise regarded her with a half-smile. I dont think so, she said. You dont understand this business yet. If its done right, they dont run. Theyre scared theyre shocked and they just keep coming back for more.Dani looked shocked herself-and still fascinated. But why do you want to hurt them?Were just doing what comes naturally, Blaise purred.I dont care Thea thought, its none of my business.She comprehend herself say, No.She was staring at a pile of squashed napkins in her hand. Out of the corner of her eye she could seeBlaises exasperated expression. The others might not know what Thea was saying no to, but Blaise always unde rstood her cousin.I asked you before if you wanted him, Blaise said. And you said you didnt. So now youre changing your mind? Youre going to play him?Thea stared at her wad of napkins. What could she say? I cant because Im scared? I cant because something happened between him and me this morning and I dont know what it was? I cant because if I keep seeing him I have this feeling I might break the law, and I dont mean the one about never utter humans that we exist I mean the other one, the one about never falling in love.Dont be ridiculous.That sort of thing is out of the question, she told herself. All you want is to keep him from ending up like Randy Marik. And you can do that without getting involved.Im saying I want him, she said out loud.Youre going to play him?Im going to play him.Well. instead of snarling, Blaise laughed. Well, congratulations. My little cousin is growing up at last.Oh, please. Thea gave her a look. She and Blaise had been born on two different days-just bar ely. Blaise had been born one minute before midnight, and Thea one minute after. It was another reason they were so connected-but Thea hated it when Blaise acted older.Blaise just smiled, her gray eyes glinting. And,look-theres lover boy right now, she said, feigning flesh out surprise. Thea followed her nod and saw a figure with sandy hair and long legs at the other side of the patio.What luck, Blaise said. Why dont you just walk over and ask him to the dance?

Structures and Maximizing Profits

Market anatomical structures hunt an important role in the economy today. The strategic and net maximize concepts argon determined by the type of mart structure. Market structure is best defined as the organizational and separate characteristics of a foodstuff place. (Riley, 2006) agonistical commercializeplaces, monopolies, and oligopolies tierce of the four market structures in the economy. A competitive market or perfect competitive market is a market that has m any(prenominal) a(prenominal) buyers and sellers that do not influence scathes. An example of a competitive market would be the street vendors selling bottled water along the sidewalk of a tourist attracted city.There are seeming to be many vendors and buyers alike. Most notably the influence of separately vendors input on price is low. The opposite of a competitive market is a monopoly. Monopolies affect the economy with considerable promise over supply and price. The definition of monopoly is when the s ingle seller of a proceeds controls its market and does not allow competition. Local telephone, cable, and water, which are a innate monopoly, are examples of monopolies. Each of the companies has complete control for the distribution of their outputs or go in regards to supply and prices.Oligopolies are types of imperfect competition in the market structure. An oligopoly is where only a few sellers offer similar or like harvest-tides. Consider watching a basketball game at any level of competition. The athletic wear, footwear, and accessories worn by players are more than likely Nike, Addidas, or Reebok. These companies sell products that are similar and are for the same purpose, but they are not identical. This type of market structure is also cognize as monopolistic competition. Oligopolies have considerable control over nearly of the prices of the products they sell.The characteristic of each market structure are important to go through the role of each structure. The determination of price in terms of maximise profits is best understood by following the forms of production in a given market. Profit maximizing for a fellowship or firm is utilized by using the companys profit maximizing output level. This is when the peripheral cost is the same as the product price. When a company offers products in brisk locations the bare(a) cost of the products of the new locations is a part of the marginal cost. That would be an example of a company opting to profit maximizes their production ased on change of total cost to accomplish more profit. Another consideration of a profit maximizing rule is when marginal cost equals price. A company attempting to profit will eradicate this rule closely to determine profitability. The average total cost of a good is the deciding factor in profit maximizing where marginal cost equals price and marginal cost increases. Monopolist market companies maximize profits by following the rule marginal revenue equals mar ginal cost. Marginal revenue is the change in total revenue that results from a change in output.Companies that are the single producer of a product will want to maximize their total revenue. Costs of production are low therefore marginal revenue will equal cost. agonistic markets, monopolies, and oligopolies have profit maximizing rules that compare price to marginal revenue, marginal cost, and average total cost to determine profit gain. Each market consists of parapets of entry. One of the reasons for entry is the encouragement of successful gain of profits from other companies. Consider the local and national fast food hamburger restaurants.McDonalds began as one of the first restaurants of its type followed by chains such as Wendys and Burger King. That is an example of monopolist competition at its best. A hopelessness or barrier for entry into certain(a) market structures is through honor and regulations. Creating anti-trust laws are detrimental to the formation of monop olies and their continued growth. There are three examples of business practices that present a dilemma for business entry. Resale price attention is the setting of a product price is contracted by the middleman for the retailer to sell at that given price.If the price is set from the middleman competition is suspended beca expenditure of the price being uncontrolled by the retailer. The succeeding(prenominal) business practice involves market fountain. A company that possesses market power has control of setting and changing prices without losing customers or altering the entire market. These companies are also referred to as price setters. Firms with market power normally use that power to raise prices above the competition level. (Mankiw) Predatory pricing is a debatable topic in terms of entry into a market and regulated policies. The third type of a business entry barrier is tying.Tying forces smaller businesses to strategize products based on the market power and price in equality practices of manufacturers. There are four other barrier entry pabulum for various markets. First, there is the denial of entry into a market or the lack of possible competition. Next, a company may own a key resource that provides exclusive rights to that market. Another point is when the government allows a single seller the right to produce or provide certain goods. Finally, the cost of production equals a single producer being more efficient versus the cost of production via a large number of producers.The characteristics, price determinations, and barriers of entry into competitive markets play essential roles in the economy. The characteristic of each market provides buyers and sellers to understand and make business decisions for the success of the economy. The economy as a whole benefits from how market structures abide by the rules and regulations of profit maximizing. References Mankiw, N. G. (2007). Principles of economics (4th Ed. ) Mason, OH South-Western Cen gage Learning. Riley, Geoff. September. 2006. A2 markets & Market systems. Market structures. Retrieved on January 22nd, 2012 from http//tutor2u. net/economics

Maiden Voyage by Denton Welch Essay

This passage from Maiden transit by Denton Welch is an tale of an adventurous European boy in China who wishes to explore the variant finales and experience the extraordinary. Yet he is overwhelmed by the barbarity of the new culture and this reveals to the reader the unexpectedness of life from the boys perspective. Through the first person memoir and detai take descriptions of the levelts, various themes much(prenominal) as adolescent insubordinateness, gap amid un handle cultures and our limited sockledge is highlighted with varied literary features such as contrast, colour imagery and metaphor.From the very beginning, the juxtaposition between the indoors and the outside of the European villa accentuates the differences between two cultures. Inside the villa, where the foreigners live, seems to be much secure and settled as reflected by the reference to the permanent doors. The boys poster of the signs of cultivation similarly hints the civilised European cultu re inside the palisades. This by chance links to Mr pantrymans comment that foreigners are non very popular and nation outside and foreigners have separate communities. The main char traveler using moth eaten balls and the grey-headed tennis racket shows that young people uniform himself used to tab at the villa, exactly not for long periods of time it is where people dont assess the thoughts of the young. As the plot develops, the change in the setting is emphasized by imagery.Words such as a shameful particle and a dark boulder are colour imageries used to foreshadow the reproving and unexpected event. Outside of the European villa, the human head that the boy has make up implies that the culture outside is in a way, barbaric. This is supported by ferocious images such as odd white teeth stood up like ninepins in its dark, gaping mouth, its cheeks and shrivelled lips were plastered black with alter blood. These images not except highlight the unfortunate and unexp ected events, but also give emphasis on difference between the two cultures. The boys charge and realisation of the aggression between cultures are conveyed from the head is described through with(predicate) imagery. Tall roll deceive grew was dry and sharp as knives. in like manner the second mention of the insects reminds the boy of the head, causing the boy to feel more fearful.Through the main character, the author explores various themes of maturity and our awareness of different cultures. Readers are able to observe that the main character seems to be a boy, from him playing tennis. It is shown that he is an adventurous person as he is longing to explore. He hates to be dependent on opposite people and says they would never command to do what I want to do- highlighting the theme of teenaged rebelliousness and his desire to be independent.His unhappiness and dissatisfaction with his quiet lifestyle is suggested when He hits the balls fiercely against the stable do ors. The boy feels imprisoned in a European villa and a stemma of poplars the orderly line of poplar implies the structured and formal environment of the villa. For the boy, even the straight line of poplars is a sign of restriction and imprisonment. . As an act of rebellion, he does not want to listen to the elders, but carries out what he believes to be right, without rational thinking about the consequences. .From the action of the main character, the author highlights the themes of teenage rebelliousness, difference between two cultures and acceptance of a different culture. In the line, he let himself quickly out of the keystone admission, the back entre has an implication that it was done in secret. This once again reinforces the theme of teenage rebelliousness as this action was disapproved by Mr Butler and Mr Roote the adults. Despite his rebellious nature, however, his immaturity and lack of knowledge are evident in his initial response to finding the head.The rather na ve observation of the head, I apothegm that the object was not black but pink shows that he was not able to identify what he was seeing highlighting the boys unawareness of other cultures. This colour imagery used to describe the head, helps the reader picture the situation, and senses the scandalize that the boy feels. The line he stared at it stupidly until his numbed sensescan be interpreted as him being stupid and numb in the understanding of other cultures. When he finally finds out that it was a human head, he jumps backwith horror and terror. Such shock from the baring of a new culture highlights the unexpectedness of some events in life.The boys misgiving is emphasized through metaphors and diction in the passage. The first cur barked as a sound imagery, contributes to the fast-flowing and panicking situation where the boy is running away from the head. Also, the wall is a metaphor for the separation between the two cultures. The tall rank stag that is dry and shar p as knives, shows that one culture is just about enterpriseing to repel the people from another. Also, knives are an image that conveys cruelty and hostility between the two cultures. The boys horrified action and shock contributes not moreover to the differences of two cultures but also the lack of endeavour to tolerate these differences.In the passage from Maiden Voyage, various themes such as expectations from different cultures, teenage rebelliousness and our limited knowledge are explored though a European boys horrifying experience. These themes are supported by a variety of literary features such as colour imagery, metaphor and contrast. The authors message that people should try to accept and understand other cultures is conveyed in the passage through highlighting these main themes.Text -Foreigners are not very popular here, Mr Butler told me at breakfast. So I dont think you ought to go out alone.My affectionateness sank. I hated to be dependent on other people. They would never want to do what I wanted to do. I began to feel imprisoned. I took up the moth-eaten balls and the old tennis racket which were lying in the hall, and went into the garden.I hit the balls fiercely against the stable doors until I was too caustic and unhappy to go on. I sat brooding on the steps. I might have been in Sydenham for all I could see a European villa and a line of poplars yet outside lay a Chinese city which I was longing to explore.After lunch I decided that I could stand it no longer. Mr Butler and Mr Roote were still complex in their mornings discussion, so I let myself quickly out of the back gate and walked along the sandy lane which led into the country. Mr Butler could not mind my walking in the country, I thought.Everything was still and silent, in an early-afternoon torpor. The only sound came from the stunted bushes which squeaked and grated linguistically as the wind passed through them. Pillars and scarves of sprinkle and sand rose up from the g round, eddying and swirling themselves into flat sheets which hovered in the air. Harsh spears of grass stuck up through the sand. The soles of my shoes began to burn and I looked round vainly for some shady place. I enjoyed the dreamlike stillness and wanted to catch ones breath out for as long as possible. I thought that if I walked on I might find a place. The road led towards the hills. Across the sandy plain the city walls stood up like cliffs. Turrets and bastions were undone cottages, crumbling into the sea.I walked on, fixing my eyes on a black speck some way in front of me. I wondered if it could be a cat crouching in the middle of the road or perhaps it was a dark boulder.As I drew nearer, a haze of travel absolutely lifted, and I saw that the object was not black but pink. The loathsome flies hovered angrily above it, buzzing like dynamos. I bent my head down to see what it was. I stared at it stupidly until my numbed senses suddenly awoke again. Then I jumped ba ck, my throat quite dry and my wear churning.The thing was a human head. The nose and eyes had been eaten away and the black hair was caked and grey with dust. Odd white teeth stood up like ninepins in its dark, gaping mouth. Its cheeks and shrivelled lips were plastered black with modify blood, and I saw long coarse hairs growing out of its ears.Because it was so terrible, my eyes had to return to it whenever I looked away. I stared into its raw eye-sockets until waves of sickness extend over me. Then I ran. The whole plain and the bare hills had suddenly become tinged with horror.I found myself between high banks. I would presently be coming to a village. There were signs of cultivation. When the first cur barked, I turned and ran back the way I had come. I did not know what to do. I would have to pass the head again.I tried to rid of it by making for the city walls across the pathless sand. My feet sank in, and my shoes became affluent and heavy. My only idea was to get&nbs pback to the house.Tall rank grass grew in the shadow of the wall. It was dry and sharp as knives. I pushed through it, looking up at the towering cliff for a gate or steps to come on. Nothing else seemed to be alive except the insects. I could only hear their buzzing and the slap of them when they hit the wall.There was no gate. I began to feel desperate. I ran towards a bastion, wondering if I could climb up to it in any way. I knew that I could not.Denton Welch, Maiden Voyage (1943)

Natural law approach Essay

Natural fair play is the most true(p) draw close when fashioning judgements ab break through finish up and relationships. Discuss. (35 marks)When either evaluating or disusing this statement we must(prenominal) first consider the main teachings of vivid legal philosophy. For instance infixed justness focuses very much on the enjoyment the potential and the numberuality of things and flatts. It as well duologue of and attributes these three things to human existences in particular natural looks at the purpose of human beings. Natural contains two types of precepts, mavin being primary precepts, these ar in natural estimablefulness precepts in which ar for invariably and a day legitimate and they atomic number 18 the fundamental principles of natural law and there are louver primary precepts including the preservation of life, reproduction, education of the young, living peacefully in friendship and worship god. The second type of precepts are the secondary precepts these are cultivateed out from the primary precepts and are hence dependent of our own judgements and therefore distinctly differ from the primary precepts.Natural law is an absolute law, in which is square on altogether situations and times. Natural law is a deontological, in other(a) words a ethical system in which considers that the moral act itself has moral value, for instance telling the truth is always right even when it susceptibility cause pain or harm. Although Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) is accustomed the name as the founder of natural law, natural law owes dissever of its existence to Aristotle (384-BCE). As for it was Aristotle who originally had the idea that commonwealth exchangeable either other natural objects comport specific nature purpose and cultivate and then later Aquinas linked these ideas with that of the teachings of the Catholic church. Even chill out to this day natural law is a basic for papistic Catholic teachings and beliefs.Whe n dealing with the idea of judgements relating to awaken and relationships there is many directs which have to be given consideration. For instance knowledgeable morality, so here we shall consider how we should all show concern to correct and bad in relation to wind upual relations. For instance we must consider the following sex as procreative, sex within sexual union and premarital sex, paederasticity and contraception. All of which are ideas and elements in which have to be obligen account for, especially when qualification judgements well-nigh sex and relationships.Sex as procreation, is virtuallything in which is a very diachronic view of sex. Sex as procreation is the exact feeling in which natural law has towards sex and relationships as the purpose of sex fit in to natural law is to procreate.Natural law believes very unassailablely besides in the idea of sex before marriage, as natural law states that in order for a parallel to have sex with star a nonher they must first be married this is also what is believed in the price of the Catholic church. As we eject come up here once more how natural law is in fact the bases for so many of the Catholic churches ideas beliefs and teachings.As natural agrees and states that people should be in a marriage before having sex, this forms the idea that natural law does not agree with the touch or the act of premarital sex.Homosexuality is some other issue in which is nearly always raised within the subject of sex and relationships. As natural laws perspectives are very similar to that of the Roman Catholic churches, we weed state that the view in which these both build is that one in which states that to have sexual inclinations towards someone of your sex is not a sin but to act on these inclinations would be wrong. deep down natural there is also the main statement in which says that sex has to be done in order to create a child. So although sex is said to be allowed to be for pleasurab le, the main purpose always has to be an intention to have a baby from it. Hence homosexual couples will not follow this rule when having sex with one another as for this impossible for them and hence natural law is against same couple sex as this can never result in the alliance of a baby. contraception is a very controversial topic. Natural law is against the fundamental principle of contraception (stopping a child being conceived). Contraception quite simply goes against one of natural laws fin principles reproduction, therefore natural law is against any form of contraception, so alike is the Catholic Church. Natural law believes that we should not have the power as humans to interfere with Gods work and as child and babies are his work for us to use contraception we would be interfering with his work, hence wherefore contraception is not something in which natural law agrees with.There are many reasons and examples as to why some whitethorn see natural law as the most accr edited approach when devising judgements about(predicate) sex and relationships. For instance it is universal, so applies in all situations and there can be no misunderstandings or wrong interpretations along the way as this is a universal clear cut approach.Some will also advocate that this is a god given approach as the statements in which have be go up the rule and teachings/beliefs of natural law often come from the bible also not forgetting that natural law has very strong religious ties with the catholic church and hence many will beg that the fact that natural law is a god given approach, in many peoples eyes, will cerebrate that for many this makes it the outmatch approach. Another reason as to why natural law is the exceed approach is because it does have very strong beliefs as to when it comes to relationships and these strong views in some peoples minds mean that it is a sure and good approach to use when in the dilemma of relationship questions.However this white thorn not be the case for everyone, as some will see natural law as out of date in commonplace and this aspect of being out of date shines through for lots of people in the views in which natural law shows towards sex and relationships. For example of sex before marriage being one of these views. For some this idea in which natural law is out of date will mean that for them natural law really isnt the best approach especially when making judgements about sex and relationships. Also, we must consider here that natural may also for many seem in bendable.Back to the point made precedent which is that natural law is absolute law, in which is true on all situations and times. Although for many this is the exact reason or one of them for why the like natural law this is also for many a negative point of natural law. As it agency that natural law is inflexible, and hence some might argue that natural law being inflexible means that it is not the best approach to use, especially in thi s situation when we are dealing with a the sensitive topic of sex and relationships.In a question like this one we must make sure that we have a clear cut idea of what all the words mean to make sure that everyone is really making the best judgements about whether or not natural law is the most good approach when making judgements about sex and relationships. In this question the word in which we need to make sure we have to know what we mean by it is, reliable. To me reliable means that we can trust it, for an approach to be seemed as reliable, to me that means that we can trust all of what the approach has to say on the topic in which it has been said to have been reliable when making judgements on. Reliable in this context I think can also be associated with being fair and a view in which we can all take and all be happy taking.This theory may seem reliable I believe from the perspective of someone who is religious and especially catholic and the views are very similar. This app roach may also seem reliable to a person with the perspective that there should be answer rules in life and that life is very clean cut and black and white. psyche with the perspective that life needs set rules and regulations and that these rules and regulations should be fixed and set and little of any flexibility.However, this theory may seem not reliable to those who believe that there cant be absolutes in terms of personal relationships. For instance these people who think like this may argue, are there really absolutes when it comes to personal relationships? As we all know that no relationship is ever the same as no person is ever the same and hence these people may well argue that for such(prenominal) reasons like these that there just cant be absolutes in situations really involving people and emotions, in which are both a blown-up part of the topic situation e.g. relationships. However, some who believe strongly in natural law will disagree, no doubt and will argue that there can be absolutes in terms of personal relationships and they may argue that everything in life can have and should have absolutes. And one rule in which applies in one aspect of life and sure then be applied to all aspects of life.Those who argue that there cant really be absolutes in terms of personal relationships might say that other theories due to this are more reliable. For instance, they might designate forward Kant or utilitarianism as being more reliable. This could be because they are seen as being more flexible theories. Especially utilitarianism, as utilitarianism is a teleological theory, one in which argues that moral actions are right or wrong depending on their out as opposed to natural law which is not a teleological theory and is a deontological theory sort of therefore is a theory in which is not very flexible and is a theory which is based on moral rules and whether action itself is right or wrong.To conclude, Natural law is the most reliable approach w hen making judgements about sex and relationships, is a statement in which really depends on your personal views.

Hannin Essay

The administration essential acquaint accountability for customary capital and a business croupe use its resources as it deems give up. 5. Role of the Budget Commercial its utilise for planning and control purposes, for government budgets carry the authority of law, preventing 1-3. Identify and concisely describe the three organizations that roofy standards for state and local anesthetic governments, the federal government, and nongovernmental non-for-profit organizations. 1. GASB set the news report and m whiztary reporting standards for state and local government in the US.GASB also set accounting and pecuniary reporting standards for governmentally connect not for profit organizations. 2. FASB set standards for profit seeking business and for nongovernmental not for profit organizations. 3. FASAB set the accounting and financial for the federal government. 1-4. What is the definition of a government as agreed upon by the FASB and GASB? Public corporations and bodi es corporate and liquid be governmental organizations. Other organizations argon governmental organizations if they have one(a) or more of the following characteristics. . Popular election of officers or escort (or approval) of a controlling majority of the members of the organizations governing proboscis by officials of one or more state or local governments. 2. The potential for unilateral dissolution by a government with the crystalise assets reverting to a government. 3. The power to enact and enforce a revenue enhancement enhancement levy. 1-5. Describe the hierarchy of GAAP for state and local governments, the federal government, and nongovernmental not-for-profit organizations. (See parable 1-2 come back to this) 1-8.GASB considers budgetary accounting and reporting to be important. joust the principles outlined by GASB related to budgetary accounting and reporting. 1. An annual budget(s) should be adopted by every governmental unit. 2. The accounting system should groundwork the nucleotide for appropriate budgetary control. 3. Comparisons should be included in the appropriate financial statements and schedules for governmental memory boards for which an annual budget has been adopted. 2-2. With regard to GASB rules for the financial reporting entity, answer the following 1. Define the financial reporting entity.It is the elementary government together with its dowry units. 2. Define and give an example of a primary government. Can be a state government, a all-purpose local government such as a city or county, or a special(prenominal) purpose government such as a school district. 3. Define and give an example of a component unit. Are legitimately separate organizations for which the elected officials of the primary government argon financially accountable. 4. Define and describe the two methods of reporting the primary government and component units in the financial reporting entity. a.Primary Government -either appoints a voting ma jority of the governing body of the separate organization or members of the primary governments governing body hold a majority of the seats of the other organizations board. Second, the relationship meets one of the following two criteria a. The other organization provides either a financial burden or benefit to the primary government. b. The primary government can impose its will on the other organization. b. Component units are legally separate organizations for which the elected officials of the primary government are financially accountable.In addition, a component unit can be an organization for which the temper and significance of its relationship with a primary government are such that exclusion would cause the reporting entitys financial statements to be shoddy or incomplete. 2-3. With regard to the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) 1. What are the three major sections? Introductory, Financial, and Statistical. 2. List the government-wide statements. Indicate the mea for surement focal point and land of accounting utilize for the government-wide statements. Basic Financial relations Proprietary Funds Statements Statement of Cash Flows.Governments use the accrual buttocks and the modified accrual tail of accounting. 3. List the governmental fund statements. i. General fund. This fund is used to account for general operations and activities not requiring the use of other funds. ii. Special revenue funds are required to account for the use of revenue earmarked by law for a particular purpose. State and federal fuel tax income revenues require special revenue funds, because federal and state laws restrict these taxes to expatriation uses. iii. Capital projects funds are used to account for the construction or acquisition of located assets9, such as buildings, equipment and roads.Depending on its use, a fixed asset may instead be financed by a special revenue fund or a proprietary fund. iv. Debt answer funds are used to account for m oney that will be used to pay the interest and principal of long-term debts. Bonds used by a government to finance major construction projects, to be paid by tax levies over a period of years, require a debt service fund to account for their repayment. v. Special assessment funds account for public infrastructure improvements financed by special levies against property holders. Sidewalk and alley repairs a great deal rely on special assessments. 4.Indicate the measurement focus and terms of accounting used for the governmental fund statements. It usually rely on a modified accrual base of operations. 5. List the proprietary fund statements. vi. inwrought service funds are used for operations serving other funds or departments within a government on a cost-reimbursement basis. A printing shop, which takes orders for booklets and forms from other offices and is reimbursed for the cost of each order, would be a suitable application for an internal service fund. vii. Enterprise fund s are used for services provided to the public on a user strike basis, similar to the operation of a commercial enterprise.Water and sewage utilities are common examples of government enterprises. 5. Indicate the measurement focus and basis of accounting used for the proprietary fund statements. i. Proprietary funds, used for business-like activities, usually kick the bucket on an accrual basis. Governmental accountants sometimes refer to the accrual basis as full accrual to distinguish it from modified accrual basis accounting. 6. List the fiduciary fund statements. Statement of Changes in Fiduciary last Assets and Statement of Changes in Fiduciary Net Assets. 7.Describe the measurement focus and basis of accounting used for the fiduciary fund statements. The accounting basis applied to fiduciary funds depends upon the needs of a specific fund. If the reliance involves a business-like operation, accrual basis accounting would be appropriate to show the funds favourableness. Acc rual basis is also appropriate for confidence funds using interest and dividends from invested principle amounts to pay for supported programs, because the profitability of those investments would be important. 8. Outline the reports and schedules to be reported as required appurtenant information.Come Back To 2-4. Describe the test for determining whether a governmental fund is a major fund. The General Fund is always considered a major fund. Other governmental funds are considered major when both of the following conditions exist (a) entireness assets, liabilities, revenues, or expenditures of that individual governmental fund constitute 10 percent of the total for the governmental funds category, and (b) total assets, liabilities, revenues, or expenditures of that individual governmental or enterprise fund are 5 percent of the total of the governmental and enterprise categories, combined. 2-10. Not sure

Family Identity Essay

A persons individuation is often considered a trait that someone is born with, similar to physical traits such as eye color or face find. In actuality, identity is not some amour that can be determined by a particular drawstring of DNA, rather it is something that must be formed throughout a lifetime. Thus, at birth, ones identity is a blank canvas, ready to go down on knowledge from its immediate surroundings, to a greater extent particularly family, as it is the first thing a fresh identity is exposed to. As evidenced by Grapes of Wrath, Abraham capital of Nebraska, and The Great Gatsby, ones identity is primarily determined by his or her family.In Grapes of Wrath, the Joads identify themselves with their land, as farming is their provided livelihood. Without land to farm, the Joadss way of life is entirely uprooted thus, they are constrained to change their identities in order to survive. However, this identification with the land is not something apiece Joad is born with ra ther, it is a relationship that is primarily influenced by family. Initially, Ruthie and Winifield, both in time recent children, do not understand the emotional impact of the Dustbowl on their family.However, as they watch their father, they begin to understand that his land is what makes him who he is, and without it, he is lost. At this point, Ruthie and Winifields new identities are starting to take shape as they, too, learn to love the land. Abraham capital of Nebraska, a former president of the joined States, grew up in a small cabin to a myopic family. He was able to attend school as a young boy however, the educational system of his rural town in Kentucky rate him at a disadvantage to firearmy other politicians he competed against.When Lincolns mother passed, he was left to be raised by only his father, whom he gradually became estranged from. However, these disadvantages that Lincoln faced make him the self-motivated and ambitious man he soon became. Had he been raised in a well-to-do family by attentive and loving parents, he would not start out been nearly as driven and hard domesticateing, as e genuinelything would have been spoon-fed to him. Thus, Lincolns family life was the one thing ultimately determined the man he was to become.Lincolns absentee father and poor economic stake gave him the will and ambition that allowed him o do great things in the world. In The Great Gatsby, in contrast to Abraham Lincoln, Daisy was born into an extremely wealthy family. In such a family, Daisy hardly ever had the need to lift a finger, as everything was done for her. In addition, this wealth made Daisy a very desirable young woman thus, Daisy did not often have to work to gain anyones approval. Had she been raised in poor family, similar to Abraham Lincoln, Daisy would have been forced to sink or swim on her own, giving her more ambition to succeed.However, due to Daisys family life, she grew accustomed to a pampered life lifestyle in which everything was simply handed to her, making her the self-obsessed, materialistic, and lazy person she became. As evidenced by Grapes of Wrath, Abraham Lincoln, and The Great Gatsby, family is what primarily determines someones identity. Thus, identity is not some gene-determined trait that is formed prior to birth. It is something that takes shape in the early stages of ones life, forming accordingly to his or her environment.

Mississippi Burning

The 1988 photograph Mississippi vehement directed by Alan Parker, is loosely based on true action razets surrounding an FBI investigation that followed the 1964 murder of three civil rights activists by members of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in a sm every(prenominal) Mississippi town. The investigation led to the conviction of rough prominent figures in the town including members of both the sheriffs and mayors offices who were also members of the KKK.The movie documents the methods used by the KKK to control the black corporation at that time. The hearty masked bullying, violence and murders of black populate in the community by the KKK must be seen as acts of terrorism and therefore, the irregular methods employed by the FBI to uncover the crime can be strugglerant as necessary and appropriate given the circumstances.The movie portrays a war waged by the KKK against non-Anglo Saxon people in the southeastward during the early 1960s. Blacks, Jews, Catholics, Turks, Mongols w ere entirely targets of the KKK. In fact, the list of unacceptable races or origins was extensive, but in the South at that time, the main target of KKK aggression was black people.The KKK used violence, deterrence and coercion as means of controlling the black people and creating a culture of fear in the community. So effective were these tactics that even non-racist members of the community, such as the deputys wife in the movie (played by Frances McDormand), who were sympathetic to the plight of the black people, were afraid to speak up or voice their opinions for fear of backlash and reprisal.While an every last(predicate)-encompassing interpretation of terrorism is difficult to pin down, the Jackson, Mississippi Division of the FBI defines terrorism as the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or station to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or all segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.The get together Natio ns goes further to state that terrorists are usually clandestine and that the immediate humans victims of violence are generally chosen randomly or selectively from a target population, and serve as message generators. Based on these definitions, it is clear that the actions of the KKK were indeed terrorism. The violence perpetrated by the KKK against the black people in the community was unlawful, intimidating to the civilian population, anonymous (KKK members wore cloaks), and random means of send a message to the larger population.In the movie, two very heterogeneous FBI agents head the investigation into the disappearance of the three activists. In the beginning, the investigation is organise by operator Ward (played by Willem Dafoe), a young, very constitute and by-the-book northerner. He does not understand the unwritten rules of the South and therefore, his methods fail to award the results that he hopes for or has achieved elsewhere in his short but in(predicate) care er.In fact, his investigative techniques actually jeopardize the safety of the black people in the area because the KKK, watching every move the FBI make, go to massive and sometimes violent lengths to make sure no one speaks to the investigators. Agent Anderson (played by Gene Hackman), on the other hand, is from Mississippi and understands more more or less the culture of the South. Only when he employs more extreme and rather obscure methods that mirror the methods of the Klan themselves, do the FBI close the case and convict the killers.If the KKK is to be categorize as a terrorist group, then it must follow that all members of the Klan slang some of the responsibility for the crimes they committed. In the case of this film, one could extend the wrong even further to include the entire community. It was clear that the actions of the Klan were cruel, deadly and well known amongst the townsfolk and yet almost everyone stood back and allowed them to continue their loom of te rror. In light of the greater good therefore, the FBI were justified in pickings the actions they took to stop the KKK and thus hopefully curtail further violence and intimidation in the community.The atrocities committed by the KKK against non-white members of the community were more than crime. These actions were terrorism and all members of the group played a role in perpetuating the terror. We are all responsible for hatred.ReferencesFederal Bureau of Investigation, Jackson Division. (n.d.). Retrieved November 5, 2006 fromhttp//jackson.fbi.gov/cntrterr.htmDefinitions of Terrorism. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (n.d.). RetrievedNovember 5, 2006Zollo, Frederick and Robert F. Colesberry. (Producers), & Parker, Alan. (Director). (1988). Mississippi BurningMotionPicture. United States MGM.  

Merck Case

Pharmaceuticals Merck Sustaining Long-term Advantage Through breeding applied learning Hiroshi Amari Working Paper No. 161 Working Paper serial Center on Nipp iodinese Economy and bank line Columbia limpid argument School declination 1998 Columbia-Yale Project Use of Softwargon to Achieve combative Advantage PHAR macintoshEUTICALS MERCK Sustaining Long-term Advantage Through In melodyation Technology lively by Hiroshi Amari Research Associate, Yale University William V. Rapp and Hugh T. Patrick Co-principal Project InvestigatorsCenter for International and Area Studies Yale University everyplacebold Haven, CT 06520 203-432-9395 (Fax 5963) e-mail pull up s put insiam. email&160 protect edu Revised December 1998 Table of Contents 1. portal Objective of this Study 2. The Pharmaceutical Indus assay in a worldwide Context 3. Product R&038D and Clinical Trials 4. Manu incidenturing and Process R&038D 5. Technological Factors Structure-Based medicine (Rational dose) Des ign Structure-Based Drug (Rational Drug) Design 6. Merck 7. Managerial ending Making 8. Decision Making on IT invents 9. Joint Ventures 10. Information Technology and Organization 11. addendum I Summary Answers to Questions for Merck Strategy &038 Operations 12. Appendix II INDUSTRY AND star sign BUSINESS DATA 13. Bibliography 2 Introduction Objective of this Study This fact study of Merck was completed at a note place a three year look into grant from the Sloan Foundation. The projects purpose is to examine in a series of possibility studies how U. S. and Japanese theaters who atomic number 18 recognized leaders in utilize learning applied science to achieve long-term sustainable re handles puzzle unionized and managed this bring. time each case is complete in itself, each is unwrap of this turgidr study. This pharmaceutic manufacturing case to leadher with almost separate cases2 obligate an sign inquiry hypothesis that hint package package syste m system theatrical bureaurs in twain the U. S. and Japan ar real forward-looking in the ways they nurse combine softw be product into their focus strategies and do it to institutionalize organizational strengths and pick up tacit fellowship on an iterative basis. In Japan this outline has involved heavy reliance on customized and semicustomized softwargon (Rapp 1995) further is changing towards a much selective apply up of package softw atomic number 18 managed via customized systems. In turn, U. S. ounter single outs, such(prenominal) as Merck, who countenance ofttimes relied to a greater extent on case computer softw be, atomic number 18 doing more than(prenominal) customization, especi soloy for systems privationed to coalesce softw atomic number 18 product package packages into well-nighthing more intumesce-nigh linked with their vocation strategies, food markets, and organizational twist. Thus, coming from varied directions, on that depi ct appears some convergence in approach by these leading softw are substance abusers. The cases thereof confirm what some early(a) analysts subscribe to hypothesized, a long business strategy is a necessary condition for a victoryful culture technology strategy (Wold and Shriver 1993). These strategical links for Merck are presented in the following case. Industries and firms examined are food retailing (Ito-Yokado and H. preciselyts), semiconductors (NEC and AMD), pharmaceuticals (Takeda and Merck), retail banking (Sanwa and Citibank), enthronement banking (Nomura and belief Suisse First Boston), biography insurance (Meiji and USAA), autos (Toyota), steel (mini-mills and integrated mills, Nippon poise, Tokyo Steel and Nucor), and apparel retailing (WalM subterfuge). The case writer and the explore squad inclination to express their appreciation to the Alfred P.Sloan Foundation for making this work attainable and to the Sloan practise centers for their invaluabl e assistance. They curiously appreciate the time and guidance accustomed by the center for look on pharmaceuticals at MTT as well as Mr. Sato at Takeda. This refers to cases for which interviews defend been completed. See footnote 3. These and other summary results are presented in some other Center on Japanese Economy and Business working report card William V. Rapp, Gaining and Sustaining Long-term Advantage Through Information Technology The Emergence of Controlled Production, December 1998 strategy (Wold and Shriver 1993). 3 These strategic links for Merck are presented in the following case. Yet this case along with the other cases too illustrates that implementation and frame of each clubs software and software strategy is unparalleled to its warring authority, industry and strategic objectives. These factors influence how they choose mingled with encase and customized software options for achieving precise goals and how they measure their success.Indeed, as pa rt of their strategic integration, Merck and the other leading software users interviewed live linked their software strategies with their all overall anxiety goals finished clear mission statements that explicitly note the importance of selective education technology to firm success. They wear coupled this with active CIO (Chief Information Officer) and IT ( culture technology) accept group participation in the firms business and finish making structure.Thus for firms want Merck the totally independent MIS ( instruction Information Systems) department is a thing of the knightly. This whitethorn be bingle reason why outsourcing for them has not been a genuinely option, though their successful business cognitive operation is not base totally on software. Rather as shall be described below software is an integral element of their overall forethought strategy and p go unders a detect role in serving corporeal goals such as enhancing productiveness, astir(p) stockta king management or streng henceing customer relations.These systems thence mustinessiness be coupled with an appropriate approach to manufacturing, R, and merchandising reflecting Mercks clear dread of their business, their industry and their firms agonistic strengths within this context. This clear business vision has enabled them to select, bewilder and use the software they require for each business function and to integrate these into a total support system for their operations to achieve corporate objectives. Since this vision oppositions other corporateThese and other summary results are presented in another(prenominal) Center on Japanese Economy and Business working paper William V. Rapp, Gaining and Sustaining Long-term Advantage Through Information Technology The Emergence of Controlled Production, December 1998 3 4 terminations, they have effectual human resource and financial characteristics too (Appendix I &038 ii). Yet Merck does share some coarse themes with other leading software users such as the creation of super proprietorship interactive entropybases that drive automatic feedback surrounded by unlike dots and/or players in the ware, delivery and consumption dish up.Their ability to use IT to rivet inventories and im base hear of the labor un intended serve up are similarly common to other leading software users. They are also able organizationally and competitively to hold beneficial feedback cycles or loops that increase productivity in field of studys as several(prenominal)(predicate) as R, pattern and manufacturing patch reducing cycle times and defects or integrating production and delivery. Improved cycle times slue be besides increase the re financial obligation of forecasts since they need to cover a pithyer period.Customer mirth and lower inventories are improved by dint of on-time delivery. Thus, software in dedicates are scathing factors in Mercks and other leading users overall business strat egies with strong substantiating competitive implications for doing it success estimabley and potentially cast out implications for competitors. An authorised consideration in this respect is the possible emergence of a impudent strategic manufacturing image in which Merck is probably a leading participant.In the same way volume production dramatically improved on craft production done the economies of large master plants that breakd and used standardized parts and lean production improved on mass production through making the production line more dogging, reducing inventories and tying production more nearly to actual demand, what might be called minceled production seems to fundamentally improve productivity through monitoring, controlling and linking every aspect of producing and delivering a product or service including after sales service and repair.Such controlled production is only possible by actively apply culture technology and software systems to intermina bly admit the monitoring and control function to what had earlierly been a preferably automatic system reply to changes in 5 expected or actual consumer demand. This whitethorn be why their skillful use of information technology is seen by themselves and industry analysts as classical to their business success, scarcely only when it is integrated with the business from both an operation and organization point of view reflecting their overall business strategy and clarity of competitive vision.Therefore at Merck the software and systems bustment mess are part of the finale making structure while the system itself is an integral part of organizing, delivering and supporting its do medicines strain from R through to sales post FDA approval. This sequence is particularly heart-sustaining in pharmaceuticals where crimson after clinical trials there is a continuous need to monitor potential side do. Therefore Seagate Technology whitethorn be correct for Merck too when th ey state in their 1997 annual comprehend We are experiencing a fresh industrial revolution, one more tight-lacedly than any before it.In this emerging digital world of the Third Millennium, the spick-and-span currency allow for be information. How we harness it volition reckon the contravention in the midst of success and failure, surrounded by having competitive advantage and being an also-ran. In Mercks case, as with the other leading software users examined, the samara to using software successfully is to break up a mix of packaged and customized software that supports their business strategies and incompatibleiates them from competitors. However, they have not tried to adapt their organizational structure to the software.Given this perspective, operating(a) and market gains have incisivelyified the additional expense incurred through customization, including the cerebrate damages of integrating customized and packaged software into a single information system. They do this by appraiseing the possible business uses of software organizationally and ope intellectually and especially its role in enhancing their core competencies. While they go away use systems used by competitors if there is no business advantage to growth their own, they reject the view that information systems are generic products opera hat real by right(prenominal) vendors who shadower achieve low equal through economies of scale and who can more easily afford to invest in the latest technologies. 4 In undertaking this and the other case studies, the project team sought to answer certain key questions while all the same recognizing firm, country and industry differences. These have been explained in the summary paper pen in footnote 3. We have set them forth in Appendix I where Mercks profile is presented based on our interviews and other research.Readers who press to assess for themselves the way Mercks strategies and approaches to using information technolog y care for these issues may wish to review Appendix I prior to reading the case. For others it may be a serviceable summary. 5 Merck and the other cases have been unquestionable using a common regularityology that examines cross national pairs of firms in key industries. In principle, each pair of case studies focuses on a Japanese and American firm in an industry where software is a significant and successful in do into competitive performance.The firms examined are ones recognized by the Sloan industry centers and by the industry as ones using software successfully . To develop the studies, we combined analysis of alive research results with questionnaires and direct interviews. Further, to bring up these materials to previous work as well as the brightise located in each industry center, we held working hearings with each center and coupled sweet questionnaires with the materials used in the previous study to either update or obtain a questionnaire similar to the one use d in the 1993-95 research (Rapp 1995).This method enabled us to relate each candidate and industry to earlier results. We also worked with the industry centers to develop a set of questions that specifically relate to a firms business strategy and softwares role within that. Some questions address issues that appear comparatively general across industries such as inventory control. Others such as managing the dose grapevine are more specific to a particular industry. The focus has been to establish the firms perception of its industry and its competitive position as well as its advantage in ontogenesis and using a software strategy.The team also contacted customers, competitors, and industry analysts to get word whether competitive benefits or impacts perceived by the firm were recognized outside the organization. These sources provided additional data on measures of competitiveness as well as industry strategies and structure. The case studies are thus based on panoptic inter views by the project team on softwares use and integration into management strategies to improve competitiveness in specific industries, augmenting existing data on industry dynamics,firmorganizational structure and management strategy collected from the Sloan industry enters.In addition, we self-contained data from outside sources andfirmsor organizations with which we worked in the earlier project. Finally, the US and Japanese companies in each industry that were selected on the basis of being perceived as successfully using software in a key role in their competitive strategies in fact saw their use of software in this exact manner while these competitive benefits were generally confirm after further research.The questions are broken into the following categories General Management and Corporate Strategy, Industry Related Issues, Competition, Country Related Issues, IT Strategy, IT Operations, Human Resources and Organization, dissimilar Metrics such as Inventory Control, Cycle Times and damage Reduction, andfinallysome Conclusions and Results.They cover a range of issuesfromdirect use of software to achieve competitive advantage, to corporate strategy, to criteria for selecting software, to industry political economy, to measures of success, to organizational integration, to beneficial loops, to cookery and institutional dynamics, andfinallyto interindustry comparisons. 7 The Pharmaceutical Industry in a Global Context In move on countries that represent Mercks primary market, the pharmaceutical industry is an exceptionally research intensive industry where many firms are large multinationals (MNCs).It is also heavily regulated for both local producers and MNCs. Regulations work as both constraints and performance boosters since doses are used with other medical and wellnesscare services. Therefore, wellnesscare expenditures are divided among many industries and providers of which pharmaceuticals are only one. All parties involved are interested in influencing the restrictive surround and in participating in the growth in wellnesscare services. This means taste the industry requires appreciating its semipolitical economic context.In this regard, healthcare providers in rich nations are currently under pressure to control be due to aging populations. Regulators who have the place to change the demand structure through laws and regulations are considering various measures to reduce costs such as generic dose substitution which may mean lower succumbs for discovering and developing drugs. Still, if drugs are more effective at reducing healthcare costs compared to other treatments, Pharmaceutical companies can benefit.Since R is at the heart of competition, each drug company must suffice to these cost containment pressures cautiously and strategically in competing for healthcare expenditures. Another important aspect of this industry is technological change arising from the convergence of life and biological lores. Many disciplines directly work together to uncover the mechanisms that lie john our bodies and various maladys. Examples are molecular(a)(a) biology, cell biology, bio natural philosophy, genetics, evolutionary biology, and bioinformatics.As scientists see life from these sunrise(prenominal) chemic and physical viewpoints, the ability to represent, operation and organize the grand data based on these theories becomes critical. Because information dish uping systems are very flexible scientific instruments (Rosenberg 1994), progress in information technology and computer science has broadened scientific frontiers for the life and biological sciences. These advances have opened fresh doors to 8 fervency more thickening diseases, including some chronic diseases of old age.These healthful areas are present opportunities for pharmaceutical companies since they address demographic and technical changes in advanced countries. Still, to take advantage of these opportunities requires information technology capabilities. Historically, the drug industry has been comparatively stable where the puffy players have remained unchanged for years. This has been due to various l pungencyr entry barriers such as R costs, advertising expense, and strong expertise in managing clinical trials. It is gruelling and high-ticket(prenominal) for a impertinent company to ascertain this combination of skills quickly.However, there are signs the industry and mandatory mix of skills may be changing. There have been several cross national unitings especially between U. S. and European companies. In addition, red-hot biotechnology companies are very good at underlying research, which may force pharmaceutical R to transform itself. For example, no single company even among the new mega-companies is large enough to cover all new areas of expertise and therapeutic initiatives. Thus, many competitors have had to form strategic alliances to learn or access new technologies and to ca pture new markets. Conversely, a stand-alone company can have a lot to lose.The challenge facing large pharmaceutical companies is how degraded and how efficaciously they can move to foster both technological mutation and cost containment without exposing themselves to too much risk. The pharmaceutical industry in all of Mercks study markets reflects these cost containment pressures, the need to harmonize expensive and time devour clinical trials, and the impact of extensive regulations. Information technology has had its impacts too. For example, to respond to these challenges Merck is using more management techniques based on consensus last making among outstrip functional managers.This requires go against communication support using e-mail and groupware combined with face-to-face communication. This is part of an industry trim towards greater parallel decision making in R&038D and s uncontaminating(prenominal) sequential decision making where A must premier(prenominal) concur on a project before moving to B, etc without delay all elements of the firm judge the project simultaneously at each 9 stage. In this manner, Merck has significantly reduced coordination costs while centralizing and speeding the overall decision making process. Additionally, first-tier irms have had to follow a trend in R&038D strategies that increasingly use information technologies. Exchange of data and ideas across national borders has become relatively easy, and contracts may specify access to another companys database. Because many companies share similar R instruments and methods, one companys instruments may be compatible with other companies. Indeed, the trend towards greater use of Web-based technology in R and other operations may change our notion of a firm and its boundaries. Firms may eventually be characterized by acquaintance creating capabilities (Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995).Having more ways to communicate with other companies makes frequent communication with greater tone possible. This supports the trend towards more strategic alliances unless overtaken by the creation of larger firms through continued mergers. This is also uncompletely due to the nature of the industry which is part of the fine chemical industry where changes in technologies are rapid and very much discontinuous. It therefore requires different management skills from other technology based industries, especially as the k this instantledge required for variation tends to be more specialize thus demanding less coordination than assembly industries.Transferring mass production know-how to R is also limited. Still, the U. S. and European industries have been undergoing massive reorganization to achieve economies of scope and scale in R and marketing where firms are taking advantage of the fact that the U. S. industry is much less regulated than almost foreign industries (Bogner and doubting doubting Thomas 1996). The U. S. companies grew after World War II due t o a spacious home market combined with the global market for antibiotics this was before British firms began to recapture market share.At that time, European firms did not have the resources to apportion drugs instantaneously to U. S. doctors. The European recovery period gave U. S. firms enough time to take advantage of antibiotics. Then, when the U. S. market became saturated, U. S. 10 firms thriveed into global markets in the early(a)(a) 1960s. This strained U. S. firms to diversify their R as well. At the same time, in 1962 amendments to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act change magnitude the rigor of drug regulation creating an entry barrier to industry R that elevateed large established firms (Bogner and Thomas 1996).The U. S. effectively tightened their regulations after their industry had acquired sufficient R skills and resources. This timing seems to count for todays industry success. Another factor is that unlike the European industry, U. S. firms had few incentive s to integrate vertically. During the War the military distributed antibiotics. Therefore, the U. S. firms were generally bulk chemical producers such as Merck and Phizer or sellers of mark drugs such as Abbott and Upjohn. At the end of the War, only a few firms such as Squibb were fully integrated.However, as progress and other down rain cats and dogs functions became more critical, controlling functions such as scattering became a strategic objective. To accomplish this they acquired other firms (Merck acquired Sharpe and Dohine and Phizer acquired Roerig), developing expansion via merger and acquisition as a business strategy and core competency. This helped lay the openation for subsequent industry consolidation. Today, American healthcare is based on the belief that while making progress in science is the best way to solve medical problems, cost containment is also important.As a result, while American healthcare is the most expensive in the world, it is also not for sale to everyone and is the most subject to cost scrutiny. Indeed, since drugs are just one way to improve health, consumers should want to remain healthy and choose cost effective means to do this. However, the reality is that insurance systems covering different services give incentives and disincentives for particular care (Schweitzer 1997). Thus, coordinated adjustment of prices for healthcare is necessary to get markets for healthcare products to work better. In the U. S. , this has led to a public policy push for HMOs.These healthcare purchasers have in turn set the reward schemes obtainable to healthcare providers such as pharmaceutical companies so as to reduce transaction costs (Ikegami and Campbell 1996) 11 and promote innovation. These knowledges and trends are putting more pressure on major firms to put more resources into R&038D, to focus more critically on just honorable drug development for the global market, and to be more advertent in gathering information on clinical trials and side effects. The most important market for Merck in this regard is the U. S. where NTH has pursued a unified approach.This is because the NIH (The National Institutes of Health) has actively supported basic life science research in U. S. universities, especially after World War II. NSF (National lore Foundation) also encouraged collaboration between academia and industry with partial living by the government. Other federal and state funding has been important to the scientific community as well, especially in biotechnology. In biotechnology, the funding of basic research has led to a complex pattern of university-industry fundamental interaction that includes gene patenting and the immediate publishing of results (Rabinow 1996).U. S. drug companies are of course increase motivated but are regulated by the FDA (Federal Drug Administration) which is compressed nearly its drug approvals, demanding clear scientific evidence in clinical research as its operation is bas ically science oriented. Product R&038D and Clinical Trials Still, despite this R&038D support, industry economics are driven by pharmaceutical R&038Ds very lengthy process, composed of discovering, developing and bringing to market new ethical drugs with the latter(prenominal) heavily determined by the drug approval process in major markets such as the U.S. , Europe and Japan6. These new therapeutic ethical products fall into four broad categories (U. S. Congress, OTA 1993) one, new chemical entities (NCEs) new therapeutic entities (NTEs) new therapeutic molecular compounds never before used or well-tried in humans two, drug delivery mechanisms new approaches to delivering therapeutic agents at the desired dose to the desired part of the body three, 6 Ethical drugs are biological and medicinal chemicals advertised and promoted primarily to the medical, pharmacy, and confederate professions.Ethical drugs include products available only by prescription(prenominal) as well as s ome over-the- sideboard drugs (Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association 1970-1991). 12 next stage products new combinations, formulations, dosing forms, or dosing strengths of existing compounds that must be tested in humans before market introduction four, generic products copies of drugs not protected by patents or other exclusive marketing rights. From the viewpoint of major pharmaceutical firms such as Merck, NCEs are the most important for the R of sophisticated drugs that drive industry success.Since it is a risky and very expensive process, understanding a companys R&038D and drug approval process is critical to understanding the firms strategy and competitiveness both domestically and globally. Statistics call for that only about 1 in 60,000 compounds synthesized by laboratories can be regarded as highly successful (U. S. Congress, OTA 1993). Thus, it is very important to stop the R process whenever one recognizes success is not likely.Chemists and biologists used to deci de which drugs to pursue, but R is now more systematic and is a collective company decision since it can involve expenditures of $250 to $350 zillion prior to market launch, thus the need for more parallel decision making. Key factors in the decision making process are expected costs and returns, the behavior of competitors, liability concerns, and possible future government policy changes (Schweitzer 1997). Therefore, stage reviews during drug R are common, and past experiences in development, manufacturing, regulatory approvals, and marketing can provide ample guidance.NCEs are discovered either through screening existing compounds or designing new molecules. Once synthesized, they go through a rigorous testing process. Their pharmacologic activity, therapeutic promise, and toxicity are tested using isolated cell cultures and wolfs as well as computer models. It is then modified to a think compound to optimize its pharmacological activity with fewer undesirable biological prop erties (U. S. Congress, OTA 1993). Once preclinical studies are completed and the NCE has been proven safe on faunas, the drug sponsor applies for Investigational smart Drug (IND) status.If it receives approval, it starts Phase I clinical trials to establish the 13 gross profit margin of healthy human subjects at different doses to study pharmacological effects on humans in anticipated dosage levels. It also studies its absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excreting patterns. This stage requires careful supervision since one does not know if the drug is safe on humans. During phase II clinical trials a relatively infinitesimal number of patients participate in controlled trials of the compounds potential usefulness and short term risks.Phase trine trials gather precise information on the drugs effectivity for specific indications, determine whether it produces a broader range of contrary effects than those exhibited in the smaller phase I and II trials. Phase III trial s can involve several hundred to several thousand subjects and are extremely expensive. Stage reviews occur before and during each phase, and drug development may be terminated at any point in the pipeline if the risk of failure and the added cost needed to prove effectuality outmatch the weighted probability of success.There is a data and safety monitoring climb on in the U. S.. This group has access to unblinded data throughout the conduct of a trial but does not let anyone else know what the data shows until it is necessary. For example, they ordain not divulge the ability data until the trial reaches a point where it seems appropriate to recommend stopping it because the null hypothesis of efficacy has been current or rejected. The FDA will normally insist on the drug proving efficacy with respect to ameliorating a disease before giving approval.If clinical trials are successful, the sponsor seeks FDA marketing approval by submitting a New Drug Application (NDA). If approv ed, the drug can be marketed immediately, though the FDA very much requires some amendments before marketing can proceed (Schweitzer 1997). However, successful drug development and sales not only requires approval of therapeutic rate and validity but also that the manufacturing process meet stringent best-practice standards. To meet U. S. regulations, Phase IV trials are required. Manufacturers selling drugs must notify the FDA periodically about the 14 erformance of their products. This surveillance is designed to detect uncommon, yet serious, adverse reactions typically not revealed during premarket testing. This postapproval process is especially important when phase III trials were completed under smaller fast track reviews. These additional studies usually include use by children or by those using threefold drugs where potential interactions can be important (Schweitzer 1997). Furthermore, because drug development costs are so high relative to production costs, patent secur ity measure is another key aspect of a companys management strategy. Under U. S. aw, one must apply for a patent within one year of developing an NCE or the innovation enters the public domain. Therefore, patenting is usually early in the development cycle or prior to filing the NCE. But as this begins the patent life, shortening the approval period extends a drugs effective tax income life under patent. This makes managing clinical trials and the approval process an important strategic variable. Although creating a drug pipeline through various stages of development is relatively standardized, it is changing as companies use different methods to reduce time and related costs of new drug development.Companies are constantly pressuring the authorities to reduce NDA review times. As a consequence, the FDA did introduce an accelerated approval process for new drugs in oncology, HIV (AIDS) and other life threatening illnesses. A familiar feature of this new fast track review is the use of surrogate end points, or proxies for clinical end points which are deliberate by testing ground values but lack supporting clinical outcomes data. Accelerated approval speeds new drugs to market saving companies tens of millions of dollars in negative cash arise.However, it does not generate clinical values that insurers and managed care organizations demand. Countering this situation is thus the trend among drug firms to increase the complexity of their analyses during clinical trials. Companies have begun to use cost-effective analysis in their evaluation of new drugs in assessing competing product development investment alternatives and by integrating cost effectiveness analysis into their clinical trials. They also try to capture smell of life 15 measures such as how patients perceive their lives while using the new drug.Companies vary their analysis by country (Rettig 1997) since measures of effectiveness shift correspond to clinical practice, accessibility to doctors, and what different cultures value as important. There are no universal measures of the quality of life. At present, the components measured depend for the most part on the objectives of each researcher but some companies are onerous to introduce more systematic measures. Nevertheless, no matter what components are elect for these studies, capturing, storing and using the data requires sophisticated software and data base management techniques which must be correlated with various families of molecules.Also, to cancel the moral bump of focusing on the weaknesses in a competitors drug or molecule, some analysts argue companies should examine all domains and their components (Spilker 1996) and move towards agreed performance standards. Furthermore, quality of life measures should only be used when they are of practical use to doctors in treating patients (Levine 1996). Such judgments should be sensitive and informed and should cover criteria related and important to a broad spectr um of patients while balancing measures which can be easily gathered and those that are more complex due to eightfold treatments.These trends make clinical trials and data gathering complex and expensive and put a premium on a firms ability to manage the process efficiently, including creating and using large patient and treatment databases. Manufacturing and Process R&038D The research process differs from production. Yet, both are important, particularly the firms knowledge of scale-up. This is voiceless because production requires uniformity at every stage. Making the average chemical make-up constant is not enough.Careful scale-up is essential to avoid contamination. Variations from the mean in commercial message production must be very small. This requires constant control of variables such as the preparation of raw materials, solvents, reaction conditions, and yields. Often, experience will help achieve purer fruit in the intermediate processes. This better output alleviat es problems in later processes. Thus, there is a learning curve in process R which starts at 16 the laboratory. An important distinction is between continuous process and batch process.In the continuous process, raw materials and sub-raw materials go into a flow process that produces output continuously. This continuous process is more difficult because many parameters and conditions have to be kept constant. This requires a good understanding of both optimizing the chemical process and maintaining safeguards against abnormal conditions. However, continuous processes are less dangerous and require fewer people to control at the invest than batch processing where the chemicals are produced in batches, put in chit form and then stored for future distribution and sale (Takeda 1992).The following compares initial process R once a compound is discovered and commercial manufacturing for a representative chemical entity proceeds (Pisano 1996). Comparison research process and commercial p roduction for representative chemical 17 Process R in chemical pharmaceuticals involves three stages (1) process research, where basic process alchemy (synthetic route) is explored and chosen (2) pilot burner development, where the process is run and refined in an intermediate-scale pilot plant and (3) technology transfer and startup, where process is run at a commercial manufacturing situation (Pisano 1997).Pisano argues that the scientific base of chemistry is more ripe than biotechnology and this difference accounts for the more extensive use of computer simulations in drugs made by chemical synthesis than biotechnology-based drugs. Codifying the knowledge in chemistry and chemical engineering in software has a higher instructive designer than in biotechnology. In chemistry, many scientific laws are available for process variables such as pressure, volume, and temperature.Computer models can simulate these in response to assumption parameters to predict cost, throughput a nd yield (Pisano 1997). By contrast, biotechnology has aspects that resemble art dependent on an opprators skill more than science which only requires the proper formulation. This is particularly true for large-scale biotechnology process (Pisano 1997). Simulation is thus less reliably guessd to commercial production. An additional factor is the importance of katharsis after large-scale production in bioreactors in biotechnology-based drugs.It is not uncommon at this stage of extraction and purification that commercial application becomes impossible, even though the scale-up is successful. Since avoiding contamination is the key in biotechnology-based drugs, extracting and purifying a small amount of the desired materials from a large amount of broth is critical. This process is done using filters, chromatography, and other methods specific to organisms (Koide 1994). Technological Factors All scientific frontiers run pharmaceutical companies.Since no company can be an expert on everything, what technology to develop in-house and what to license or subcontract have become important issues. In general, pharmaceutical companies were skeptical of new developments in small biotechnology firms. Yet the latter now provide new techniques in basic research and fermentation to the MNCs. Other pharmaceutical 18 companies then tend to follow when competitors adopt ideas from less well know biotech companies. This is why many such companies announce platform deals with drug companies to get more financial resources and opportunities.Biotechnology based pharmaceuticals have entered a new development stage which requires the capital, manufacturing and marketing expertise of the large companies. New drug uncovering methods and biotechnology each demand skills different from earlier times. Emerging biotech companies cristal new ideas and research tools. Other new technologies such as discovery out side effects, specialized drug delivery systems, and antisense which cance ls out the disease causing messages of faulty RNA also come from biotechnology (Fortune 1997).These are promising areas of drug research and potential products. Further, these biotech companies develop new drugs more quickly than large firms. Where they frequently have difficulty is in managing clinical trials and the approval process, an area where large firms have considerable experience and expertise, including sophisticated software for tracking the large data bases and handling the new computerized application procedure. In addition, biotechnology demands skills in large scale commercial production which smaller startups may not possess.Thus, close association with large firms is logical and efficient, and one should expect more future alliances and joint suppositions, though outsourcing to organizations that will manage clinical trials is ontogenesis. Another important factor which further encourages strong suit in a network of companies is the industrys heavy use of infor mation technology. Indeed, software strategies have become an important part of the industry through their impact on R, drug approval, including clinical trials, and control of manufacturing.If decisions in a science based industry are generally driven by knowledge creation capability dependent on human resources, having information share-out and access mechanisms so complementary capabilities can be efficiently transfer and used becomes key to successful corporate strategy, especially when that knowledge is growing and becoming increasingly several(a). 19 There is some evidence suggesting when innovation is dependent on trial and error, it is best done when many players try different strategies and are held responsible for the projects they choose (Columbia Engineering Conference on Quality September 1997).If the large drug companies can successfully form principal-agent relationships with biotechnology companies doing advanced research in a particular area in the same way that J apanese parts manufacturers have with large assemblers, there may be opportunities for major breakthroughs without the drug companies having to put such trial and error processes inside the company where they may be less easy to manage. If the make or buy decision in a science based industry is generally driven by knowledge creation capability dependent on human resources, the basis for new product, i. . drug development, becomes more dependent on the nature and facility of information commute between groups and individuals than asset ownership. Creating information sharing and access mechanisms so that complementary capabilities can be efficiently exchanged and used then becomes the key to successful corporate strategy in knowledge based industries, especially when that knowledge base is growing and becoming increasingly diverse as in the ethical drug industry. Another information sharing issue related to biotech is pharmacology.Classical pharmacology models are often irrelevant for biotech-based drugs. While some proteins express their activities across other species, others can be more species specific. Neither poor results nor good animal trial results need be predictive for humans. Particularly difficult problems are those related to toxicology since some animals develop neutralizing antibodies (Harris 1997). Technical support systems are important in biotechnology as well. One is transgenic animals. They provide information on the contribution of particular genes to a disease.This is done by inserting genes that have the function of expressing the phenotype, or interbreeding heterozygotic animals to produce knockout animals that suffer from genetic metabolic diseases. Transgenic animals are relevant to early phase clinical trials since the data from these animals contribute useful data on dose-selection 20 and therapeutic rations in human studies. In addition, they offer hints to which variables are secondary. This simplifies the clinical trial design .In general, significant input in the design and tally of phase I and II trials must come from the bench scientists who strengthened the molecule (Harris 1997). Since clinical trials for biotech drugs lack clear guidelines, inhouse communication among drug discovery, preclinical and clinical trials is important, especially due to the increased use of transgenic animals bred to examine inherited diseases. This process in phase I/II trials can be greatly facilitated by information sharing technologies and acts as another number one wood towards a more integrated approach to decision making using IT.Structure-Based Drug (Rational Drug) Design This is also true of structure-based drug (rational drug) design or molecular modeling which is a range of computerized techniques based on theoretical chemistry methods and experimental data used either to analyze molecules and molecular systems or to predict molecular and biological properties (Cohen 1996). Traditional methods of drug discove ry consist of taking a lead structure and developing a chemical program for decision analog molecules exhibiting the desired biological properties in a systematic way. The nitial compounds were found by chance or random screening. This process involved several trial and error cycles developed by medicinal chemists using their erudition to select a candidate analog for further development. This traditional method has been supplemented by structure-based drug design (Cohen 1996) which tries to use the molecular targets involved in a disorder. The relationship between a drug and its receptor is complex and not completely known. The structure-based ligand design attempts to create a drug that has a good fit with the receptor.This fit is optimized by minimizing the energies of interaction. But, this determination of optimum interaction readiness of a ligand in a known receptor site remains difficult. Computer models permit manipulations such as superposition and energy calculation that are difficult with mechanical models. They also provide an everlasting(a) way to analyze molecules and to save and store this data for later 21 use or after a research chemist has left. However, models must still be tested and used and eventually, chemical intuition is required to analyze the data (Gund 1996).Then the drug must proceed through animal and clinical trials. Still the idea behind this modeling is the principle that a molecules biological properties are related to its structure. This reflects a better understanding in the 1970s of biochemistry. So rational drug design has also benefited from biotechnology. In the 1970s and 1980s, drug discovery was still grounded in organic chemistry. Now rational drug design provides customized drug design synthesized specifically to set out or inactivate particular physiological mechanisms.This technique is most useful in particular therapeutic areas. For example, histamine receptor knowledge was an area where firms first took advan tage of rational design since its underlying mechanism was understood early (Bogner and Thomas 1996). The starting point is the molecular target in the body. So one is working from demand quite a than finding a use for a new molecule. The scientific concepts behind this approach have been available for a long time. The existence of receptors and the lock-and-key concepts currently considered in drug design were formulated by P.Ehrlich (1909) and E. Fischer (1894). Its subtleties were understood, though, only in the 1970s with the use of roentgenogram crystallography to reveal molecular architecture of isolated pure samples of protein targets (Cohen 1996). The first multiplication of this technology conceived in the 1970s considered molecules as two topological dimensional entities. In 1980s it was used together with quantitative structureactivity relationships (QSAR) concepts. The first generation of this technology has proven to be useful only for the optimization of a given seri es (Cohen 1996).The second generation of rational drug design has considered the full detailed property of molecules in the three dimensional (3-D) formula. This difference is significant, since numeral parameters in the QSAR approaches do not tell the full story about the interaction between a ligand and a protein (Cohen 1996). 22 This has been facilitated by software and hardware becoming less costly. Thus many scientists are paying attention to computational techniques that are easier to use than mechanical models.This underscores the role of orchestration in scientific research stressed by Rosenberg (1994). Availability of new instruments, including computers, has opened new opportunities in technological applications and furthered research in new directions. Three dimensional graphics particularly suits the needs of a multi-disciplinary team since everyone has different chemical intuition but appreciates the 3-D image. Rosenberg (1994) notes scientists who move across discip lines bring those concepts and tools to another scientific discipline such as from physics to biology and chemistry.This suggests the importance of sharing instruments, particularly computer images and databases that help people work and think together. The predominant systems of molecular modeling calculations are UNIX workstations, particularly three dimensional graphics workstations such as those from Silicon Graphics. But other hardware such as desktop Macintoshes and MS-DOS personal computers on the low end and computer servers and supercomputers on the high end have been used. Computational power is required for more complex calculations and this guides the choice of hardware.A renewal of commercial software packages are available from $50-$5,000 for PC-based systems to $100,000 or more for supercomputers. Universities, research institutes, and commercial laboratories develop these packages. Still, no one system meets all the molecular modelers needs. The industry therefore d esperately needs an open, high-level programming environment allowing various applications to work together (Gund 1996). This means those who for strategic reasons want to take advantage of this technology must now do their own software development. This is the competitive software compulsion facing many drug producers.In turn, the better they can select systems, develop their capabilities, and manage their use, the more successful they will be in drug development and in managing other aspects of the drug pipeline. 23 The choice of hardware is based on software approachability and the performance criteria needed to run it. Current major constraints are the power of graphics programs and the way the chemist interacts with the data and its representation (Hubbard 1996). Apple computers have frequently been used in R because of superior graphics, though this edge may be eroded by new PCs using Pentium MMX as well as moves to more open systems.However, Dr. Popper, Mercks CIO, feels tha t the real issue, is the software packages for the MAC that research scientists know and rely on but that are not yet available for Windows NT. Thus, MACs continue to be used for Medical R&038D which keeps the Windows market from developing. There are, in addition, the elements of inertia, emotional attachment and training which are apparent at major medical schools too. In sum, rational design has opened a wide range of new research based on a firms understanding of biochemical mechanisms. This means direful opportunities to enter new therapeutic areas.However, since rational design is very expensive, it has embossed entry costs and the minimum effective size for pharmaceutical firms by putting a premium on those with a sequence of cash generating drugs. It also has favored firms with broader product lines able to spread the costs of equipment over many projects and to transfer knowledge across therapeutic areas, contributing to the increased cost of new drugs through higher R an d systems support disbursal (Bogner and Thomas 1996). A similar analysis applies to the use of other new technologies because major U. S. nd Japanese companies to discover and develop drugs systematically, such as combinatorial chemistry, robotic high-throughput screening, advances in medical genetics, and bioinformatics. These technologies affect not only R but also the organization and the way they deal with other organizations as many new technologies are complementary. For example, high-throughput screening automates the screening process to separate compounds for further testing or to optimize the lead compound. Thus, both regulatory and technological change have raised the advantage of developing innovative drugs, even 24 hough it is inherently risky and forces firms to develop better skills in using information technology to support the process. The Pharmaceutical Industry in the United States As explained above, healthcare and the pharmaceutical industry are closely intert wined, especially in the U. S.. Ever since the election of the Clinton Administration, U. S. healthcare has been the focus of heat debate. The pricing of pharmaceuticals in particular is one of the most controversial aspects of the industry. Estimates of the cost of bringing a new drug to market are up to over $250 million (DiMasi et. l. 1991). However, once drugs are on the market, the costs of manufacturing, marketing and distribution are relatively small. This loose connection between borderline cost and the market price seems to require further justification for drug pricing. While the obvious answer lies in the high fixed cost of drug development and the expensive and time consuming approval process prior to any positive cash flow, the answer is still not easy. Furthermore, the drug market is very complex for several reasons. First, there are many drug classes for which only a few products exist.Secondly, FDVIOs (health maintenance organizations) and other managed-care plans can negotiate substantial discounts because they are able to control the prescription decisions made by their participating physicians and because they buy in large quantities. These health organizations are highly price sensitive. This means drug prices are intimately determined by the purchasers demand elasticity. This demand in turn determines investment decisions (Schweitzer 1997). Thirdly, the market for pharmaceuticals is highly segmented, both domestically and internationally, and price discrimination between and within national markets is common.Research studies cannot even agree on a common measure of wholesale price. Indeed, no measure captures actual transaction prices, including discounts and rebates (Schweitzer 1997). Fourth, consumers do not have enough scientific knowledge to assess different drugs. Thus, gatekeepers such as doctors are important (Hirsch 1975). 25 Yet, the current trend is towards managed care and HMOs who closely control costs. This development clea rly indicates physicians are losing some autonomy in drug selection. Thus it is not surprising the market share of generic drugs has increased from 15% to over 41% between 1983 and 1996.This has forced the ethical drug manufacturers to communicate both more effectively with the HMOs and managed care organizations in addition to physicians and to demonstrate the improved efficacy of their products as compared with generics. The acquisition of PBMs (pharmacy benefit managers) by pharmaceutical companies is an important development in this regard. Physicians now have to prescribe drugs available in the formularies of the managed-care organization. PBMs suggest cheaper alternatives to physicians for a given therapeutic benefit to save money.Eighty percent of the 100 million patient/member PBM market as of 1993 is controlled by the five big PBMs (Schweitzer 1997). In turn, when PBMs and mail-order companies expand, the small pharmacies lose the data necessary to examine various drug inte ractions. Since current U. S. law protects the propriety data of pharmacists and pharmacy chains, information on prescription for those patients who use pharmacies and mail-order companies actually becomes fragmented. It is likely this development could affect pharmacists jobs as well. A fifth reason is FDA approval does not mean new drugs are better than old ones.As noted above, this has pressured drug companies to prove the effectiveness in cost and quality of life their drugs bring to patients. Recently, drug companies have often tried to show how their drugs can help patients vivify a normal quality of life. As already described, these concerns complicate the design of clinical trials. Consolidation among wholesalers, the greater complexity of clinical trials and globalization favor firms with substantial resources and are part of the reason for the industrys merger trend, especially between U.S. and European companies. The leading pharmaceutical firms ranked by 1994 sales are as follows (Scrip Magazine, Jan. 1996), with five of them the result of cross border mergers. Merck ranks 2d 26 27 *3 Comparison is based on U. S. dollars *4 computation based on the sales of companies before mergers *5 Including nonprescription(a) (over the counter drugs) *6 Excludes sales through strategic alliances Merck Merck is a multibillion dollar pharmaceutical firm with a long history going back to the nineteenth century in the U. S. and the 17th century in Germany.While in the past they have diversified into areas like animal health care, they are now very focused almost exclusively on human health, in particular, on ethical branded prescription drugs within human health care since they have found this is their most profitable business area. Also, given the many opportunities that exist, it will demand all their capital and energy for the foreseeable future. It has therefore spun off its animal health care business to a joint venture and sold its specialty chemical busine ss.This strategy and want is similar to Takedas focus on human health, whose market is more moneymaking(a) than its other businesses. The company appears to stress their ability to bring innovative drugs to market. Merck presently tried to produce generic versions of their drugs, but found it was not outlay the investment. In addition, they now assume someone else will produce their over-the-counter (over the counter) versions too. This strategic focus is now underscored by their active formation of strategic alliances. For example, in the over-the-counter(a) medicine market in the U. S. nd Europe, but not in Japan, Merck relies on Johnson &038 Johnson through a joint venture with J to market, distribute and sell the OTC versions of Mercks prescription drugs. This means Merck has seen the OTC market as one way to lengthen the revenue stream for some of its products after their patents expire. In Japan, Mercks agreement is with Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. They formed a joint venture in September 1996 to develop and market Mercks OTC medicines there (Merck 1996 Annual Report). Moreover, Merck and Rhone-Poulenc have announced plans to combine their animal health and poultry genetics businesses to form 28Merial, a new company that will be the worlds largest in animal health and poultry genetics (Merck 1996 Annual Report). Their primary strategic focus on ethical drugs seems appropriate, but as explained above it is also critical with respect to this strategy that they maintain relationships with those in scientifically related fields. Their work with Rhone-Poulenc must be examined in this light since improving their competence in the genetic business seems a good part of their strategy given developments in biotechnology and the Human Genome Project. This is because biotechnology-related drugs are often species-specific (Harris 1997).More knowledge about the genetic make-up of human and animal bodies may provide some insights into the appropriate choice o f animals in pre-clinical trials from which to extrapolate observations to humans. Since this extrapolation is never perfect and you have to do animal experiments anyway, they have added to their competence in genetics via a joint venture with Du Pont called Du Pont-Merck Pharmaceuticals Co, whose investors are E. I. Du Pont (50%) and Merck (50%). This firm has capabilities in fermentation, genetic engineering/rDNA, cell culture, hybridoma, protein engineering, and tissue culture.By forming this alliance, Merck was able to exchange its strengths with Du Pont, an early investor in biotechnology. Du Pont-Merck Pharmaceutical has also developed its own drugs in cardiovascular disease. 7 Like other pharmaceutical companies, they continue to sell their branded products as long as they can once they have gone off patent but at a lower price in order to meet generic competition. Cost conscious HMOs increase this downward price pressure. Yet, according to Merck some demand for the branded p roduct continues once they adjust the price downward.This is due to better quality, consonant dosage, and brand awareness of the original. Strategically, Merck sees itself as a growth company with a growth target of about 15% per year. This signals a continuing need for cash flow, i. e. from existing drugs, and a Merck sold its share to Dupont in 1998 for over $4billion, apparantly due to its ability to manage more drugs itself. 29 constant flow of new drugs, i. e. from R&038D. They need this growth to continue to offer their shareholders the return they expect and to attract the personnel they need to develop drugs which is their corporate mission.Their products now cover 15-16 therapeutic categories. In five years this will expand to between 20 and 25 categories depending on the success of various stages of drug testing. Important new products in the pipeline include Singulair for asthma, Aggrastat for cardiovascular disorders, Maxalt for hemicrania headaches, and VIOXX, an anti -inflammatory drug, which works as a selective inhibitor targeted at rheumy arthritis. They are in phase III trials for all of these new drugs. Propecia for staminate pattern baldness recently received FDA approval. Mercks R is done internationally.To avoid duplicate investment, each research center tends to be focused. For example, the Neuroscience Research content in the Untied Kingdom focuses on compounds which affect the nervous system. Maxalt was developed in this Centre. The one laboratory in Italy studies viruses while the one laboratory in Tsukuba, Japan (Banyu Pharmaceuticals) emphasizes the circulatory system, antibiotics, and anti-cancer research (Giga, Ueda and Kuramoto 1996). This concentration pattern often reflects the comparative strengths in R and the therapeutic demand structure in each local market.Still, selecting the appropriate R projects while critical to their success is very difficult. This is because no discipline in science has as addled a distinction between basic and applied research as biotechnology. The distinction is usually not well-defined because applied research often contributes to basic research. Indeed, in molecular biology, science often follows technology. Still, as a general approach, Merck tries to focus on applied research and development rather than basic science. They rely on universities and smaller biotech firms for the later.However, they do some basic research. For instance, th