Poverty, Education and Health Care Essay

Abstract Poverty and education play an important role in access to health care. A low socioeconomic status influences the health of people. This paper provides a general overview of how poverty and education determines access to health care. It provides a description of the consequences of poverty and education on health care accessibility. Finally it provides solutions as how to address the issue. The link between poverty, education and access to medical care has received considerable attention. Health influences all the activities of an individual. All societies are concerned with varying levels of health among their members. They are also concerned about marginalized sections of society have access to health care. Poverty and its effects on society People belonging to poor communities have poorer health outcomes. They have less access to primary care as compared with more affluent residents. They are also less likely to have health insurance and regular doctor. They are more likely to have chronic health problems. They are more likely to get hospitalized for conditions which can be detected and treated at an early stage. Despite an expansive public insurance program these health problems remain. At least 18 percent of Americans are without medical insurance. This means a total of 44 million are without health insurance out of a population of 300 million. An estimated 87 percent of people are covered by government or employee based health care insurance (Cutler, 2004). People with low socioeconomic status face many challenges in maintaining their health. They have a high mortality rate. They are more likely to be suffering from some disease. They have limited health care resources. They live in poor environmental situations. The United States has one of the world’s most impressive standards of living. At least 32 million Americans live below the poverty line. In addition to poor people an estimated 50 million people live in poverty like conditions. Health risk factors like smoking, obesity and sedentary lifestyle are found in poor Americans (Cutler, 2004). They have a higher prevalence of disability and chronic illness. They have a shorter life expectancy. Children belonging to poor families are more likely to be malnourished. Many poor Americans live in houses which have lead paint. This can cause growth problems in children. Poor people eat inexpensive food which is fatty and lacks important nutrients. Poor people cannot afford health insurance coverage. Patients postpone their medical care and they are more likely to go without prescription medicines. Low income workers are at the highest risk of being uninsured because they are ineligible for Medicaid coverage. They work in low wage jobs that do not offer insurance. They cannot afford the high premiums associated with health care insurance. The lack of a usual source of care is another barrier to seek adequate health care. The challenges associated with poverty create conditions that can diminish lifesavings, lower learning ability and reduce physical, mental and emotional well being. All of these factors are a threat to people’s health. Urban areas in the United States have many health care facilities. However poor people cannot make use of these services. The major challenge is the high cost of visiting doctors, medicine and hospital care. Social factors like language barriers and prejudice by providers also hinder the accessibility of health care by poor people. The government also faces challenges in trying spreading health education in poor communities. Health care services are vital for the survival and livelihood of poor people. Illness persists in poor people. It stops people from working and forces them to sell assets. They fall into debt and are lead into a vicious cycle of dependency and poverty. Failure to treat themselves leads to illness and disability. This further reduces the ability to work in poorer households. People living in rural areas are forced to bear high transport costs. This is difficult and expensive for them. The lack of local health centers in rural areas further hinders the ability of poor people to access adequate health care (Crichton, 1997). The huge time that takes for poor people to obtain treatment is one of the greatest barriers which they face. Time away from jobs results in lost income. Health services run by governments are usually inefficient and are characterized by neglect. The quality of service is low. There is shortage of staff. There is no proper medicine and equipment. In many countries there is no safe water to drink. In developing countries there are high costs to health care. Besides the official fees there are corrupt staff members who demand bribes and fees in return for ordinary services. These services can include registration, tests and being given medicine. They can also pressurize a sick person to make unnecessary visits to the hospital. Payment methods are not flexible in many developing countries. Payment usually has to be made in advance and in cash. This causes considerable hardship for poor people (Crichton, 1997). Â  Education and its effects on society Education also plays an important role in health care. Many people with low literacy cannot read and understand directions written on medications. They cannot complete medical consent forms. They have problems in accessing health care and dealing with health related issues. Health literacy is the ability to read and understand words and procedures related to health care. It consists of comprehension, communication and appropriate action. The direct effects of low health literacy are medication errors. The indirect issues can include insurance issues, accessibility to health care and poor health behavior (Shi, 2003). Low health literacy affects people of all ages, races, educational levels and social classes. It is driven by a variety of factors. It is a multidimensional issue. Understanding written materials has been part of extensive health literacy in the past few years. Sensitivity to culture has also become part of health literacy due to the diverse population of the world. Messages and images have to be tailored to meet the diverse beliefs and values of people. Health literacy is concerned with understanding the information necessary to manage health (Shi, 2003). It is estimated that at least 90 million people in the United States cannot read. The health of such people is at risk. Ethnic minority groups are also affected by low health literacy. Older patients, recent immigrants, people with chronic diseases and those with low income are also vulnerable to having low health literacy. Many people with average or strong literacy skills have found medical terminology and concepts confusing. There are many health consequences associated with a low literacy level. Research has found that at least one third of patients have health problems because of failure in taking prescription medication correctly. People with low health literacy cannot comply with prescribed treatments and self care routines. They also have a high rate of failure in seeking preventive care. They are more at risk for hospitalization. They lack the skills to successfully move in the complex healthcare system (Shi, 2003). Patients with low health literacy have glycemic control. They are also more likely to report eye problems caused by diabetes. The annual health care costs for individuals with low health literacy are five times higher than those with higher health literacy skills. People with low health literacy are more likely to use health care services. Additional health care expenditures result from low health literacy skills. People cannot feel part of the social structure. They are also vulnerable to anxiety and other mental disorders. They can also alienate other people. Research has also found that people with low literacy levels are more vulnerable to die. While federal and state lawmakers continue to debate about how to increase access to health care, some of them are thinking of reinsurance system which might be affordable for poor people. In order to understand the concept of insurance it is essential that policy makers understand the concepts, benefits and limits of reinsurance mechanism. Reforms in Health care Reinsurance in health care refers to risk transfer or risk pooling arrangements. These are designed to remove the barriers which low income workers and minorities face when accessing health care. Risk transfer arrangements can help in this matter but they cannot lower health care costs. Policy makers must design policies which encourage participation from insurers and remove incentives to transfer costs to taxpayers. Reinsurance is defined as an insurance company buying insurance itself. The primary insurer is protected against the rare set of circumstances which might produce losses that it cannot fund on its own. Property and casualty insurance are the areas where reinsurance has been successfully implemented. Companies working in these areas can take heavy losses due to natural disasters in a short time period. This induces insurers to buy reinsurance on the commercial market. Poor people cannot afford health insurance coverage. This directly affects their ability to access medical care. Patients postpone their medical care and they are more likely to go without prescription medicines. Low income workers are at the highest risk of being uninsured because they are ineligible for Medicaid coverage (Kling, 2004). Public health plays a vital role in countering the effects of poverty on health care. It also minimizes the disparities in health by income. Public health policies protect the health of the population. It also plays an important role in reducing contagious diseases and providing low cost health services to marginalized sections of society. There are many examples of public health functions. Immunizing babies, improving sanitation, combating sexually transmitted diseases, protecting the environment and containing tuberculosis are some of the public health functions. Public health focuses on reallocating resources to communities which have low incomes. The US government has a network of community health centers, public clinics, school based clinics and health clinics for low income workers, migrants, minorities and homeless people. The National Health Service Corps is an organization which provides services and places physicians in vulnerable communities. Public health services also focus on specific diseases like tuberculosis. They also increase immunization efforts against this disease. They provide services which improve the health of low income families. Neighborhoods are cleaned from lead paint, pollution control and nutrition programs are launched. Women and children are fed through special programs. Poor people with low income and education have poorer health outcomes. They have less access to primary care as compared with more affluent residents. They are also less likely to have health insurance and regular doctor. They are more likely to have chronic health problems (Kling, 2004). Medicaid is the largest public programs that have improved access to health care. It provides health services to low income population. It finances health and long term care insurance for over 40 million low income Americans. Before Medicaid the poor people were essentially without any medical care. They relied on charity of physicians and hospitals. Public hospitals and clinics were also visited by poor people. Medicaid has made health services available to poor people. It has improved their health status and access to quality care. It has also created satisfaction amongst the poor people. Uninsured poor people lag well behind those people who have coverage with Medicaid. People with Medicaid have even fared comparably with private insurance (Kling, 2004). Despite the fact that these programs offer valuable assistance to low income populations, the deficits in access and coverage faced by low income population cannot be easily overcome. Increase in income does produce a substantial contribution to removing health differentials. However this is the need for insurance coverage and support for community based resources to eliminate health disparities by income. Poverty is hazardous for the physical and mental well being of an individual. Low income and homeless people are poor physical functions. They have a high prevalence of health risk factors and chronic health conditions. They also are more vulnerable to depression and other mental disorders. Research has shown that people living in vulnerable communities have a higher rate of being diagnosed with mental disorders as compared with more affluent communities (Kling, 2004). There is a need for prevention, intervention and treatment of diseases for poor people. Welfare reform cannot succeed without taking into account the special health problems of poor people and children. Poverty is associated with depression and other symptoms. It contributes to depression. People with insufficient personal support have no assistance in raising children. They live under the chronic stress of having children but little money to support them. They are at a higher risk for depression. There is a strong link between single-parent status, responsibility for young children, social isolation, and lack of social supports as well as to poverty. Welfare recipients have many barriers towards employment. They have low skills, substance abuse, health limitation or children with chronic medical conditions. They have serious forms of barriers. They have also high level of distress. They seek help from general medical, specialized and human service sources. Poor people with low income and education have poorer health outcomes. They have less access to primary care as compared with more affluent residents. They are also less likely to have health insurance and regular doctor. They are more likely to have chronic health problems. They are more likely to get hospitalized for conditions which can be detected and treated at an early stage. Despite an expansive public insurance program these health problems remain. At least 18 percent of Americans are without medical insurance. This means a total of 44 million are without health insurance out of a population of 300 million. An estimated 87 percent of people are covered by government or employee based health care insurance. Rising health care costs have become unbearable in the world. This is a problem for poor people in the Western countries and the situation is even worse in developing countries. There is a need for reform in the health care system. Many poor people are not covered by health insurance. Critical care medicine in high technology hospitals are only for a small group of patients (Ham, 2004). The first step should be rationing in containing health care costs. Public health care resources are limited. It is not possible to satisfy all medical needs for all people at all times. An appropriate goal for developing countries is to provide basic health care for the people. Some luxury medical procedures must be left for individuals to purchase with their own resources. Â  A basic level of health care must be provided for all people. Providing the best care is practically impossible. The government can however provide a basic level of care. Prevention oriented and ordinary treatment oriented goals must be set for developing countries and their health care systems. Inexpensive medical prevention is more effective and appropriate for poor people. Finally there should be a system of support which should help people with special expensive medicine care. Special foundations should come to the rescue of poor people for emergency and life saving procedures (Cundiff, 2005). Conclusion The health and well being of poor communities is an issue confronting both developed and developing countries. Research has found links between poverty and the health of people. Inside the United States many poor people do not have health insurance. Some of them can’t even think of affording health insurance. They are more concerned with the basic amenities of life. People in developing countries are even worse off. They have access to state hospitals and clinics which do not have trained staff, prescription medicine and advanced hospital care (Cundiff, 2005). A low health literacy rate is also dangerous for the well being of people. It can have adverse negative economic and social impacts. They can die at from treatable causes and get hospitalized because of their lack of health literacy skills. They are also prone to suffering from mental diseases like anxiety and depression. Â  There is the need for health reform in the entire world. Governments must provide a basic level of health care to all citizens. Advanced hospital care must be made available by foundations and donations. Governments working in coordination with community support groups can effectively counter the affects of poverty and low education on the health care of poor people. Some health responsibilities and policies should be transferred to community groups. The international community must help poor countries in developing basic and adequate health care system. References Cutler, David M. (2004). Your Money Or Your Life: Strong Medicine for America’s Health Care System. US: Oxford University Press. Crichton, Anne (1997). Health Care: A Community Concern?. US: University of Calgary. Shi, Leiyu (2003). Delivering Health Care in America: A Systems Approach. US: Jones and Bartlett. Kling, Arnold S. (2004). Crisis of Abundance: Rethinking How We Pay for Health Care. US: Cato Institute. Ham, Christopher (2004). Health Care Reform: Learning from International Experience. US: McGraw-Hill Education. Cundiff, David E. (2005). The Right Medicine: How to Make Health Care Reform Work Today. US: Humana Press.

Difference between memory and knowledge Essay

Memory is the mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experience. It’s a very complex system and to understand it there have been many theories that attempt to explain it. In order to help me answer this question, I will look at the theorist JM Gardiner, along with other theorists such as Tulving, Mandler and Schacter in order to help me conclude if they are the same thing, inter-related or completely different. Tulving (1985), distinguished between two quite different recollective experiences: remembering, which is someone’s concrete awareness of oneself (autonoetic consciousness) in the past, which is driven by the prefrontal cortex, allows people to mentally represent past, present, and future experiences in a highly personal and subjective manner. And knowing, which is your abstract knowledge (noetic consciousness) of the past, which is the feeling that we know certain information and that the information is objective rather than subjective. Gardiner and colleagues (Gardiner & Java, 1990, 1993; Gardiner, Richardson-Klavhen, & Ramponi, 1997) developed a test in which participants are given a recognition task for a list of common words viewed earlier and classify each of the recognized items as something they remember (R response) or know (K response), was on the study list. Participants received detailed instructions so that their R responses and K responses reflect retrieval from episodic and semantic memory. For example, participants are told to make R responses to test items that they can consciously reexperience from the study list (e.g., participants make R responses to test items because in their mind’s eye, they consciously recollect seeing those words on the study list). In contrast, participants are told to make K responses to test items if they (a) are certain those were on the study list but (b) have no specific personal or contextual recollection of the items’ previous presentation. The use of this technique has shown that some independent variables (e.g., dividing attention at study) affect the frequency of R, but not K, responses, whereas other variables have the exact opposite influence. Memory of a personal life event may be categorized as a K response, which is  relatively impersonal and objective. A memory qualifies as a K response if people know a great deal about the details of a previous event but do not mentally reexperience the exact perceptual, contextual, and emotional details of the original event. Gardiner’s remember-know distinction maps are similar to that of Mandler’s (1980) distinction between recognition by retrieval and recognition by familiarity. Recognition by retrieval involves remembering an event as an event, including the personal, time and place context in which the event occurred; in contrast, recognition by familiarity involves a feeling that some event occurred in the past, in the absence of conscious recollection of that event. For Gardiner, Remember judgments reflect recognition by retrieval, while Know judgments reflect recognition by familiarity. An alternative framework is provided by Schacter’s (1987) distinction between explicit and implicit memory. The hippocampus is important in the formation of explicit memories. They involve the conscious recollection of an experience from the past. Due to the hippocampus not fully developing until about the age of 3, this explains why we can’t remember events prior to this, a condition known as infantile amnesia. The cerebellum seems important in the formation of implicit memories which are memory-based changes in behaviour that occur independent of, and in the classic case in the absence of, conscious recollection. Contexual information can be defined as information associated with memory which enables that memory to be distinguished from all others. Hewitt (1973) proposed a distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic context. A change in intinsic arises when some aspect of the target changes (ie the colour of their hair), whereas a change in extrinsic is the change in information accompanying the target (ie meeting someone in somewhere you wouldn’t expect them to be). In Gardiner’s case, remembering reflects explicit memory, while knowing reflects implicit memory. There are at least three varieties of recollective experience: firstly remembering which involves the conscious recollection of some past event, as an explicit expression of episodic memory; knowing which is the abstract  knowledge of that event, as an item in semantic memory; and feeling is the intuition that an event occurred in the past, as an implicit expression of episodic memory. So for example, semantic memory enables a man to know what the term birthday refers to and that he celebrated his last birthday by having dinner at a particular restaurant with his wife, whereas episodic memory allows that same man to reexperience from a personal and subjective point of view the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings that accompanied that dinner. Metamemory is our ability to know whether or not our memories contain a particular piece of information. An example might be failing to recall the capital of France (Paris) but knowing that you would recognise it if you saw it – this is an ability known as a feeling of knowing. These experiences are familiar to anyone who has ever taken a multiple-choice test. Sometimes, we choose a response because we remember the circumstances under which we learnt it. Or on other occasions, we choose a response because we just know the answer, it’s part of our knowledge about the world, and we don’t remember the circumstances under which we learned the answer. Tulving and Gardiner believe that remember and know judgments are based on retrieval from different memory systems: episodic and semantic memory, perhaps, or explicit and implicit memory. However, it could also be that â€Å"remember† and â€Å"know† are based on retrieval from a single memory system, and that the categories of remember, know, and so forth are substitutes for different levels of confidence associated with the recognition judgments. Both Tulving (1985) and Gardiner (1988) have rejected this interpretation, even though Tulving actually gathered evidence favouring it. Tulving’s subjects studied 36 words, and then made Yes/No recognition judgments, confidence ratings (on a 3 point scale), and Remember/Know ratings. The average confidence rating associated with Remember judgments was 2.74, while that of Know judgments was 2.08. However, Gardiner & Java (1990) argued that confidence ratings affect Remember/Know judgments. People may base their confidence ratings on their recollective experience, so that the two are not independent. In their 2nd  experiment, the subjects studied 60 items, 30 words and 30 non words, and then made Yes/No recognition judgments followed by Remember/Know ratings. The result was a double dissociation: more words received remember than know judgments, while the reverse was true for nonwords. In the 3rd experiment which was identical to the 2nd, except the people being tested classified recognized items into â€Å"Sure† and â€Å"Unsure† categories. This time there was no dissociation. Rajaram (1993) performed a similar pair of experiments, with similar results, and came to same conclusion. Substituting Sure/Unsure ratings for Remember/Know judgments got rid of the dissociations observed with Remember/Know, so both Gardiner and Java (1990) and Rajaram (1993) conclude that Remember/Know is not merely a substitute for confidence. Although the Remember/Know distinction is commonly interpreted in terms of different memory systems, it is suspected instead that these different memories reflect retrieval of different information from a single common store. Know judgments require retrieval only of information from a list, while remember judgments seem to require retrieval of information about spatiotemporal context, and you need to experience the event yourself. Knowing and remembering something are very similar, the definition of to know is to have fixed in the mind, recognize and have experience of, and the definition of remember is to retain in memory, to think of again. In order to know something it can be quite impersonal, general information about things such as the is the prime minister, this is the semantic memory, however in order to remember something you need to know specific details about the event such as going on holiday, you remember the sights and sounds and the feelings you experienced, this is the episodic memory. In order to remember you need to be able to retrieve information, remember an event as an event, whereas to know you need to just be familiar with it, have a feeling that some event may have occurred before. So to say there is a difference between knowing and remembering something is hard, there are clear cut differences as explained, however without one we couldn’t have the other, they are inter-related. It is all the same memory system in which we use to know or to remember something. It is the different  processes and different levels of experience or relation to you that makes them different. References †¢Gardiner, J.M., & Java, R.I. (1990). Recollective experience in word and nonword recognition. Memory & Cognition, 18, 23-30. †¢Memory and amnesia, 2nd edition, Alan J Parker, page 17-18,33, 36,116†¢Memory observed, remembering in natural contexts, 2nd edition, Ulric Neisser, Ira E. Hayman, jr. Page 109†¢Psychology powerpoint – Memory II – Lecture 3: Theories of Short and Long Term Memory, 2005, University of Glamorgan. †¢Rybash, John M.; Monaghan, Brynn E, Episodic and semantic contributions to older adults’ autobiographical recall, The Journal of General Psychology. 126 no1 (Jan. ’99) p. 85-96. †¢Schacter, D.L. (1987). Implicit memory: History and current status. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 501-518. †¢Tulving, E. (1972). Episodic and semantic memory. In E. Tulving & W. Donaldson (Eds.), Organization of memory (pp. 381-403). New York: Academic Press. †¢Tulving, E. (1985). Memory and consciousness. Canadian Psychology, 1-12. †¢Your Memory A user’s guide, Alan Baddeley, Page 13, 75-76,81,94-95,

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The role of the social worker - modern day social worker Essay

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Human Nutrition - Essay Example I can also reduce the amount of meat that I consume by eating less portions of it. I can also eat more beans and legumes as they provide fiber and my daily intake of fiber is lower than it should be. These do not contain as much protein as meat. However, overall, my meat servings need to be smaller. The foods in my recorded daily intake that contain protein are flan (which contains eggs and milk), scrambled eggs, sausages, and the ground beef in the taco salad and the soft taco supreme. The foods contain complete proteins as they are meat and animal products. Incomplete proteins come from beans and legumes and must be combined with other foods in order to provide complete proteins. I was not surprised by the overabundance of protein that I consumed today as I usually do not eat fast food on a normal basis. Today consisted of extra special events; therefore, I was on the go. I knew that the processed and junk food eating would contribute to a high fat, high protein intake. I will go back to my usual intake tomorrow as I will go back to my normal schedule. Consuming too little protein can lead to anemia, which as defined by anemia (n.d.) is â€Å"a quantitative deficiency of the hemoglobin, often accompanied by a reduced number of red blood cells and causing pallor, weakness, and breathlessness.† Parts of the body that require more protein such as muscles and hair will start to weaken and even decrease if there is not enough protein. A decrease of lean body mass and muscle can lead to weakness and fatigue. Protein provides amino acids and is the building blocks of each cell in the human body. Too little protein means that the body cannot renew and repair its cells and itself. Eating too much protein can cause you to gain weight as it does contain extra calories. Nelson (2002) reports, â€Å"So-called ketogenic diets can thrust your kidneys into overdrive in order to flush these ketones from your body. As your kidneys rid your body of

Information Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Information Technology - Essay Example The telephone, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is an instrument for reproducing sounds at a distance. In the process sound is converted into electrical impulses for transmission. According to Anderson and Johannesson (2005), the telephone evolved rapidly due to its instant nature. The predecessor of the telephone, the telegraph is hardly present or even heard of today, but the telephone has persisted for more than a hundred years. This is due to the fact that the absence of intermediaries made the two parties easily exchange information in real time without much delay, just by talking on both ends of the line as compared to the telegraph. For the later part of the 20th century, the telephone has come a long way. From originally being connected in a wired network, the originally analogue system of transmitting signals in telephone lines became digital, to accommodate more customers. Also, since the data being received and sent are rather bulky, high-speed transmission is important, which needs the digitizing of data being exchanged (Lee, 1997: 3-4). Due to the perceived promise of the telephone technology in accommodating and innovating its functions to fit the continuously improving information technology system, it became one of the key elements in the present era of communication. The mobile phone’s origins can be traced from the mobile two-way radio, which were used in fire trucks and police cars. Soon, mobile telephony for the general public grew, and eventually a system of using transmitters that covered small patches of land that could hand off transmissions as a user moves around became the forerunner of cellular technology (Anderson & Johannesson, 2005:24). Eventually, the use of analogue frequency modulation became replaced by digital telephony, by the introduction of GSM, or Global System for Mobile communications. There are numerous technologies along the line of these

Discussing the Law Cases in the United States Assignment

Discussing the Law Cases in the United States - Assignment Example Officer D’onofrio took a single picture of the defendant without the accompaniment of Mr Glover, the alleged buyer. He only relied on the description given to him by Mr Glover. This is another hitch; what if there is another person who resembles the defendant and maybe is the one who sold the alleged heroin to Glover It is hard for the officer to prove that the picture he took was actually of the person Glover described. Glover admits that he had neither met the defendant nor had he seen him before, this also makes his positive identification of the defendant challengeable in a court of appeal. In short, the procedure the officer used to obtain evidence of the case is improper according to the US federal constitution. The defendant lawyer can argue that the evidence given is inadmissible since it is derived by Glover pretence to lure his client to commit a crime. The US criminal penal code states that; .."Whenever evidence is objected to as inadmissible because it was discovered as a result of or otherwise derived from compelled testimony or evidence, the burden shall be upon the person offering the challenged evidence to establish a source independent of the compelled testimony or evidence"( Sec. 54-47a). Since the court relied on evidence given by Mr.  Ã‚   It should be noted that the defence lawyer has all the right to apply for rejection of any information or evidence given under the U.S Federal criminal penal code. The federal court can upon motion by the defence lawyer at any time dismiss any information and order the defendant discharged. (Sec.54-56 ).

Therapeutic Hypothermia After Cardiac Arrest Essay Example for Free

Therapeutic Hypothermia After Cardiac Arrest Essay Cardiac arrest is considered as the prime cause of sudden deaths in the modern world, claiming tens of thousands of lives globally each year (http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/mor_car_arr-mortality-cardiac-arrest).   It has been determined that survival rates after cardiac arrest are very low, due to consequent ventricular fibrillation that immediately results in zero cardiac output and death within a few minutes (http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Ventricular-fibrillation).   During cardiac arrest, oxygen flow in the brain in significantly affected and brain damage may possibly occur if no emergency treatment is given as soon as possible. Emergency treatment of cardiac arrest generally involves manual artificial breathing to facilitate oxygen circulation to the brain, as well as chemical and electrical induction of the heart to reinstate its normal beating.   Such emergency procedures mainly aim to provide a way to reoxygenate the brain and to save it from further irreversible damage.   Consequently, reoxygenation also generates free radicals that are responsible in creating a post-resuscitation syndrome, which is characterized by necrosis of different tissues of the patient. The observation that tissues survive at particular hypothermic settings has been evaluated as a promising emergency treatment for cardiac arrest (http://www.rnweb.com/rnweb/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=158218).   Hypothermia involves subjecting the body of an individual in a temperature that is below the normal physiologic temperature.   The effect of hypothermia in protecting the brain from severe and irreversible damage during the non-oxygenated state of cardiac arrest is currently being evaluated, after successful results in dog models.   Several investigations have been conducted on the direct and immediate positive effect of hypothermia in cardiac arrest patients.    A prospective clinical trial involving the use mild resuscitative cerebral hypothermia in 27 cardiac arrest patients for at least 24 hours showed that hypothermia treatment is reliable and safe (Zeiner et al., 2000).   The procedure involved cooling of the entire body, including the head, resulting in a lowering of body temperature within 62 minutes after commencement of hypothermia treatment. It is interesting to note that no further complications associated with the cardiac arrest were observed after the application of hypothermia treatment.   In a separate investigation, 55% of cardiac arrest patients treated with hypothermia was observed to show positive responses to the treatment, as well as a decrease in the mortality rate 6 months after hypothermia treatment, suggesting that hypothermia treatment favors the prevents deleterious brain damage and death among cardiac arrest patients (HACASG, 2002). However, there are also certain issues with regards to the application of hypothermia in cardiac arrest patients that remains unclear and doubtful.   One of these includes the inclusion and exclusion criteria that will determine whether a particular patient will benefit from such treatment (Skowronski, 2005).   This comment is mainly based on the need for personalized treatment of patients because of the recent observation of inter-individual variations in the response to specific treatments. Such observation explains subtle yet significant differences that should be addressed during medication, diagnosis and testing of patients for any type of illness.   With regards to cardiac arrest emergency treatments, it is of prime importance that a patient’s unique physiological, genetic, metabolic and cardiac profile be determined first before subjecting him to hypothermic conditions.   However, this profiling may also pose to be a hindrance during emergency treatment because the survival of the cardiac arrest patient mainly depends on the speed of administration of the treatment to the patient. Specific risks have already been identified to be associated with hypothermia treatment of cardiac arrest patients (http://www.sca-aware.org/sca-treatment.php#treatment3).   The exposure of the patient to cold temperatures at a prolonged duration may cause bleeding or hemorrhage in specific organs of the patients because the cold temperature slows down the blot clotting capability of the platelets.   In addition, a cardiac patient treated with hypothermia may suffer from infection because the immune system is also inhibited by prolonged cold temperatures. An alternative treatment that is parallel to hypothermia has been proposed to be as effective as hypothermia, and possibly much safer than the more radical hypothermic exposure of the cardiac patient to low temperature levels. The alternative treatment involves intravenous introduction of ice-cold fluid to the patient using automated cooling equipment (Bernard, 2005).   Such settings provide the healthcare personnel complete control over the temperature of the intravenous fluid, which plays a vital role in the emergency treatment of the cardiac arrest patients. Until sufficient clinical investigatory information has been collected from comprehensive and comparative studies on the risks and benefits of hypothermia treatment on cardiac arrest patients, it is imperative that healthcare personnel be cautious in administering such rapid and radical treatment to cardiac arrest patients. There have been active requests from the medical research field that such investigations will provide a better understanding of the mechanisms and pathophysiological routes that are involved in the exposure of the body, most specifically the brain and the rest of the central nervous system, to cold temperature during those critical non-oxygenated states (Bernard, 2004). References Bernard (2004):   Therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest: Hypothermia is now standard care for some types of cardiac arrest.   Med. J. Austral.  Ã‚   181(9):468-469. Bernard SA (2005):   Hypothermia improves outcome from cardiac arrest.   Crit. Care Resusc.   7:325-327. Hypothermia After Cardiac Arrest Study Group (HACASG) (2002):   Mild therapeutic hypothermia to improve the neurologic outcome after cardiac arrest.   N. Engl. J. Med.   346(8):549-556. Skowronski GA (2005):   Therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest- Not so fast.   Crit. Care Resusc.   7:322-324. Zeiner A, Holzer M, Sterz F, Behringer W, Scho ¨rkhuber W, Mu ¨llner M, Frass M, Siostrzonek P, Ratheiser K, Kaff A and Laggner AN (2000):   Mild resuscitative hypothermia to improve neurological outcome after cardiac arrest: A clinical feasibility trial.   Stroke   31:86-94. http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Ventricular-fibrillation      Ã‚  Ã‚  Nation Master- EncyclopediaVentricular fibrillation http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/mor_car_arr-mortality-cardiac-arrest   Ã‚  Ã‚   Mortality Statistics Cardiac arrest by country http://mweb.com/rnweb/article/articleDetail.jsp?id158219 http://www.sca-aware.org/sca-treatment.php#treatment3   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Therapeutic Hypothermia

Research Review on Accuracy of Memory

Research Review on Accuracy of Memory Meghan Amber-Rose Turnbull Explain and evaluate what research has taught us about why our memories are not always accurate. Memory[p1] is a mechanism whereby the brain stores and retrieves information to be used in everyday life. Psychologists have come to understand the existence of memory, as we do not continuously re-learn information every time it is of need. This is what lead psychologist’s to develop three key processes in memory. These are encoding, storage and retrieval. Encoding processes take in information from the outside world using the senses. Each piece of information is given a unique code to enable it to be entered into the memory system. Storage processes use this coded information to enable the memory system to retain information. This coded information is stored as internal representations which come in varying forms such as words, faces, sounds etc. Retrieval processes enable access to the stored information and come in two forms, recognition and recall. Recognition matches coded information which is stored to what is being perceived in the outside world whereas recall (brings information that is stored to your attention.) involves searching memory stores. Recall is what helps you to remember where you last placed an object such as your wallet. These three memory processes work together, therefore, how well and how much information is encoded then determines how much is stored and retrieved (Brace, 2007, pp113-114). This essay will now explain and evaluate what research has taught us about why our memories are not always accurate. One possible reason for memory inaccuracy is the presence of neuropsychological impairment or accidental brain damage. Localization of function is a theoretical method that believes particular areas of the brain play a key role in functions such as memory. When studying this, psychologists use brain scanning technology such as positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Patients are asked to complete certain mental tasks during a scan. The scans can then pick up brain activity and pin point which part of the brain is not functioning correctly. This can enable psychologists to understand why or how their memory may not be accurate and help in patient’s recovery. Unfortunately for some, the damage may be too severe and incurable. This can be seen in patients suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia. (Brace and Roth, 2007, pp144-145[p2]) Research conducted by (Martin) Conway and colleagues looked at how well students retained information, over a 12 year period, after completing a cognitive psychology course. The experiment tested for general overall knowledge of what was studied and they found that names were forgotten rather than principals and statistics. This is possibly due to less information being coded to a name than that of principals and statistics when information was originally taken in[p3]. This could be seen as a limitation as important information can be forgotten due to a fault in one of the key processes (in this case at encoding). Their study also found a significant strength as after 4 years the participant’s memories stabilized and what they were still able to recite at this point would potentially stay in their memory for life, meaning the participants know the information rather than remember it. (Brace and Roth, 2007, pp118) Other researchers that focused on the accuracy of memory were Loftus and Palmer (1974). They looked at the effect that leading questions can have on memory. They did this by conducting an experiment whereby participants were shown video clips of car accidents. Each participant was then asked a variation of the question â€Å"about how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?† with the verb ‘hit’ being changed each time for a more violent verb such as smashed, collided and bumped. The participant’s estimates of speed were much higher when asked how fast a car was going when it ‘smashed’ into the other car. It seems that the more violent verb convinced the participants that the cars in that clip were going faster when they were all the same speed. In a similar second experiment, one third were asked â€Å"About how fast the cars were going when they smashed into each other?†, one third were asked how fast they were going when the y ‘hit’ and a control group were not asked a question. After seven days all participants were then asked the question â€Å"did you see any broken glass?† Out of the participants that had been asked the more violent leading question using the word ‘smashed’, 32 per cent admitted to seeing broken glass, even though there had been no broken glass shown on the video clip. An advantage of the research conducted by Loftus and Palmer (1974), is that it gained a lot of knowledge into the misinformation effect. This means information that is given to a person after an event takes place can actually override (or merge with) the memory that they originally have due to the memory not being encoded properly[p4]. Yet, this can also be seen as a disadvantage as If memory can be influenced this easily using only leading questions, it could be used to effect witness testimonies and people can be made to remember events that they did not actually witness. (Brace, 200 7, pp133-134) There is also much to be said about the accuracy of autobiographical memories, which are episodes that an individual can remember from their life. This includes past experiences and biographical information. From this, Brown and Kulik (1977) devised the flashbulb memory. Flashbulb memories are formed when certain conditions, such as surprising and emotionally arousing events, are met and create detailed and stable memories. Brown and Kulik (1977) used insider viewpoints in their research and found that memories of events, such as the assassination of John F Kennedy and Martin Luther King, were highly detailed and much more accurate than other memories. A limitation to this area of research is that it depends solely on personal circumstance. What an individual finds, surprising, arousing and important will determine how well they will remember an event. For instance, the assassination of Martin Luther King registered a higher number of flashbulb memories with black North Americans tha n white North Americans. This means the accounts of white North Americans were less accurate (of the event) than the accounts of black North Americans. However, their research also showed a significant strength in memory recall as flashbulb memories store such a detailed and vivid account of what happened. When asked, participants could remember who they were with, where they were and exactly what they were doing when they learned of the surprising event. (Brace, 2007, pp140[p5]) Collective memories also play a part in how accurate recollections of past events can be. Jean Piaget (1960) spoke of his own experience of collective memory. Piaget was able to describe in detail an instance when a man tried to kidnap him as a child. Subsequently, at the age of fifteen Paiget’s nanny wrote to his family to admit that she had made the story up and the attempted kidnapping never took place. Fifty years on, Piaget could still remember the scratches the man had left on the face of his nanny during the supposed event. Paiget’s collective memory of the kidnapping is possibly due to family repeatedly discussing in detail what happened. Over a period of time, Piaget came to believe that he had witnessed this kidnapping and formed memories of what happened based on what others had told him. (An advantage of this is that) Piaget was able to recall this particular memory in so much detail after fifty years, showing that the information had been told was encoded and stored perfectly and thus was able to be retrieved. This instance shows how memory is not always accurate, as Piaget describes his memory of the kidnapping as being witnessed first-hand. Essentially, his memory of the event was fabricated from information he had been told by family members. (Brace, 2007, pp143[p6]) Research has shown that there are many factors that can affect the accuracy of our memory[p7]. However, these factors are dependent on individual and personal circumstance. The research of Conway (1991) stated that memory inaccuracies were due to a fault in one of the key processes. For instance, if there isn’t enough information taken in and coded it makes it highly difficult for the information to be retrieved in any detail. Piaget (1960) and Loftus and Palmer (1974) both focused on the effect that other people can have on influencing the memory of an individual (. Meaning) illustrating that others can make you believe you have witnessed a situation just by talking about it often enough or using leading questions and persuasive language . The research of Brown and Kulik (1977) concentrated more on personal circumstance. They found that how accurate a person’s memory is of a situation depends on how interesting, surprising or emotionally stimulating they, as a person, find the event. What also must be taken into consideration is the possibility of brain damage and neuropsychological impairment; this can affect the accuracy of memory as the part of the brain that is responsible for memory recall may be damaged in some way. To conclude, the research mentioned in this essay has given a vast pool of knowledge into why our memories are not always accurate. References Brace, N. and Roth, I. (2007) ‘Memory: structures, processes and skills’ In D. Miell, A. Phoenix, K. Thomas (Eds.), Mapping Psychology, Chapter 8 (2nd ed, pp. 113–145). Milton Keynes: The Open University. Brown, R. and Kulik, J. (1977) ‘Flashbulb memories’, Cognition, vol.5, pp.73-99[p8]. Conway, M.A., Cohen, G.M. and Stanhope, N. (1991) ‘On the very long-term retention of knowledge acquired through formal education: twelve years of cognitive psychology’, Journal of experimental psychology: General, vol.120, pp.395-409. Loftus, E.F. and Palmer, J.C. (1974) ‘Reconstruction of automobile destruction: an example of the interaction between language and memory’, Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behaviour, vol.13, pp.585-9. Piaget, J. (1960) Play, Dreams and Imitation in Childhood, New York, Norton [p1]A good introduction in terms of explaining what is involved in memory and the issue, but you need to state precisely how you plan to organise the essay. [p2]Note that individuals may also vary in memory function due to brain differences. [p3]This is a good point – names do not have a specific meaning nor do they relate to the person (except in some cultures) so are easily forgotten. [p4]In fact there is debate about the cause of the misinformation effect which could also be due to not attending at encoding, due to fear or misattributing the source of information so it is thought to be real (as with Piaget’s story and Crombag’s study of memories of an air crash.). [p5]You might have commented that some psychologists question how accurate flashbulb memories are. [p6]Like the memory of Loftus and Palmer’s participants – their memory was â€Å"reconstructed†. [p7]This conclusion is well focused on the evaluative part of the question – and summarises your points well. You might also have considered methodological issues. [p8]Don’t simply add references from the end of the chapter unless you have read them first hand. If you have read ABOUT them in the course book – you need only cite them in the main body of the essay.

The British Heart Foundation Organisation Marketing Essay

The British Heart Foundation Organisation Marketing Essay The British Heart Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation. We are the UKs largest heart charity (the fifth largest charity in the UK), fighting heart and circulatory disease. Largest funder of research into heart disease in UK. Founded in 1961 Our head office is based in London and there are six regional offices. Employ 1807 staff. Heart and circulatory disease the UKs biggest killer 2.6 million people in UK living with heart disease. Income year ending March 2008 was nearly  £117 million Fund research, education/campaigns raising awareness, life-saving cardiac equipment and through BHF heart nurses, they help support patients suffering from heart disease. BHF has B2B customers, working in partnership with organisations such as Colgate, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Weight Watchers and Scottish and Southern Energy. However, this study will focus on BHFs B2C customers. Number of SBUs trading, Events, VFR, Legacies, Prevention and Care therefore serving multiple customer segments. BHFs target audiences include Heart patients, at-risk groups, health professionals, and children and parents. As with most charities, those donating money, time and support to the BHF are typically 45 plus, ABC12s. 1.2 BHFs Philosophy The philosophy of an organisation refers to its business approach, it is the principles that underlie its whole operation; the philosophy is what guides the organisation. Organisations may operate under one of three philosophies; they may be product, sales or market oriented (Lancaster and Reynolds, 2005). A product oriented organisation focuses on their existing products, their goal being to produce them as efficiently as possible. There is little, if any, consideration of the needs and wants of their customers or the market. A sales-oriented organisation, although recognising their competition, still devotes little in the way of considering the needs and wants of their customers. The sales-persons role is key and their goals are typically short-term with success being measured in terms of sales (Lancaster and Reynolds, 2005). A market-oriented organisation holds the customer at the centre of all its activities. In contrast to the sales orientation, where marketing is likely to be restricted to a marketing department, the marketing-oriented philosophy is one that permeates the whole organisation; every department recognises the central importance of the customer. There is an emphasis on understanding their target audiences; identifying their needs and satisfying them. (Lancaster and Reynolds, 2005). Products and services are developed with the target audience in mind, in fact extensive research into the customer needs and market conditions is conducted to inform the development. Andreasen and Kotler (p38, 2007) Marketing orientation means marketing planning must begin with the target audience, not with the organization The BHF follows a market oriented philosophy, Target audiences are a central focus of the organisation; the organisation only exists as a result of their audience. The focus on their customers is demonstrated not only by their current strategy to make the organisation more relevant to target audiences, but also by their corporate objectives (see appendix 1), which are customer focused; based on fulfilling their needs and attaining a high standard service. The organisation is dedicated to instilling the market-approach organisation-wide, for example internal marketing workshops are frequently held, aimed at the non-marketing departments. Lancaster and Reynolds (2007) claim that to achieve their corporate objectives, the market oriented company must recognise that they do not exist in a vacuum; rather, the external environment is dynamic and constantly changing. Whilst it is essential to identify and anticipate the needs and wants of their target markets, and know how best to respond to these with the most efficient use of the resources available to them, it is important that this is done within the context of their ever-changing external environment and the opportunities and threats it poses. Therefore, for a market-oriented organisation such as the BHF, the role the marketing plan plays is a crucial one. It operationalises the organisations philosophy and ensures the organisation actually is market-oriented and provides a route the organisation can follow to ensure this. As mentioned in 1.1 the marketing plan requires a great deal of research scanning the environment and aiming to meet the customer needs and wants (Beamish and Ashford, 2008). The role of marketing information and research in conducting and analysing the marketing audit The Role of Marketing Information and Research In order for an organisation to operate a market orientation and remain customer-focused, information and research is essential. When undertaken properly it can provide a thorough understanding of target audiences and the micro and macro markets. The findings guide the direction of the marketing plan and with the right information and research subsequent decisions will be informed ones and it will be possible to make more realistic future predictions. Failing to gather data and research poses serious risks; without it an organisation is effectively operating in a vacuum, future decisions are uniformed and there is no customer focus. (Beamish and Ashford, 2008). Collecting Marketing Information There are two ways of collecting marketing information; secondary and primary. Secondary data is information collected for a purpose other than for the current research. External sources of secondary data include third party databases such as keynote and mintel, government statistics, national and trade press and the internet. In addition, there are also a number of internal sources of secondary data, for example a Customer Relations Management (CRM) database providing demographic (age, gender, address, occupation) and lifestyle data (where, what, when and how they buy, how much they spend, religion). Other internal sources include customer complaints, sales reports, personnel, information on their products and services, prices, retailers, internal training of staff, marketing budget/spend, communications spend and results of previous market research studies. Much of this data may be held on a central database The Marketing Information System (MkIS), this can provide substantial inf ormation, fulfilling some research needs, however to obtain bespoke, targeted information to fulfil all research needs primary data is necessary (Taghian and Shaw, 1998) Primary data is data bespoke to the research project. It allows for a more detailed analysis specific to the organization. External sources of primary data interviews, focus groups and surveys. Internal data can be gathered through interviews with staff. Conducting Research within BHF Secondary: OneCRM Third party databases Subscribes to specialist magazines such as ThirdSector, Marketing Week and PR Week Information on external environment. Primary: Recognises importance of bespoke research uses external agencies (FIND NAME RESEARCH NOTES!!). Important to note that there are only 2 other chest and heart charities in CAF top 500, third party data therefore often only relates to charity or health charity sector, not very specific. Use surveys and focus groups. 2.4 Conducting and Analysing the Marketing Audit Environmental scanning is necessary to conduct a detailed marketing audit; it requires both primary and secondary information on both the internal and external environment. To analyse the internal environment we need to consider: Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Process and Physical Evidence (7Ps) and Staff, Style, Shared Values, Systems, Structure, Strategy and Skills (7Ss). This data is specific to the organisation and therefore internal sources such as sales reports, CRM databases, staff interviews, internal observations and staff intranet are used. To analyse the external environment we need to consider factors such as political, economical, social, technological, environmental and legal (PESTEL) as well as suppliers, publics, intermediaries, customers and competitors (SPICC). This requires information sources such as third party reports, newspapers, trade magazines such as ThirdSector, focus groups, surveys and interviews of existing and potential volunteers/beneficiaries/supporters. Marketing audit and their key issues and their implications for the plan 3.1 The Marketing Audit The Internal Environment This refers to those factors the organisation has full control over. To identify the strengths and weaknesses of BHFs internal environment the 7Ps marketing mix and McKinseys 7Ss framework were used (appendix 2). These consider 14 elements such as product, price, place, promotion, strategy, structure staff and skills. In addition there are also models that can be used to help analyse certain elements, for example the BCG matrix (appendix 2) and value chain analysis. The Micro Environment To help identify the opportunities and threats that exist within BHFs micro environment the SPICC model was used (appendix 3), which considers 5 factors an organisation has partial control over; suppliers, publics, intermediaries, customers and competitors. To help analyse these factors the Product Life Cycle, Porters Five Forces model (appendix 3) and the Value Systems Analysis can be used. The Macro Environment An organisation has no control over influences within the external environment, however it is important to scan the environment in order to identify the opportunities and threats that may exist and to make informed decisions to prepare for them. When scanning BHFs external environment the PESTEL model was used (appendix 3), this categorises the forces into political, economical, social, technological, ecological and legal. Having analysed the internal and external environment a SWOT analysis can be conducted (figure 2), whereby the key strengths and weakness of the BHF and the opportunities and threats facing them are identified. Bringing together the strengths and weaknesses enables the identification of BHFs core strengths; their distinctive competencies (DCs), and from the opportunities and threats their critical success factors (CSFs) can be identified. CSFs Little direct competition. Many customers with a link to the cause. Media attention surrounding issues BHF tackle. Large prospect market. THREATS The credit crunch: decreased disposable income, corporate donations, legacies (accounts for 40% BHFs income). Direct Marketing not as effective as it used to be for charities (not seeing a return on investment). Hard to obtain the details of new people. More health and medicine charities than any other type, therefore a lot of competition especially as many tackle similar issues e.g. smoking, obesity. Many people find it embarrassing and give socially desirable answers when discussing issues such as obesity and exercise, i.e. issues the BHF deal with research unreliable. Governments Digital Britain Initiative could leave the BHF looking out-of-date. OPPORTUNITIES Many customers have a link with the cause potential to engage with our audiences more directly and build long-term relationships. There is a large prospect youth market opportunity to increase revenue and market share. Little direct competition, one of just 3 heart charities in top 500 opportunity to maximise differentiation. Companies are placing more importance on Corporate Social Responsibility provides more B2B opportunities. More media attention surrounding the issues BHF tackles such as food labelling and obesity raises profile. Governments Change4Life campaign has given BHF exposure. WEAKNESSES Lack of perceived relevance to the target audience hard for them to engage with BHF. Many generic products that arent customer friendly. Website is hard to navigate much information available, but buried under links. Low staff turnover lack of fresh ideas and perspectives in the organisation. Staff close to or highly driven by the cause find it hard to see general public perception. Regional offices developing their own structure, meaning BHF messages may appear inconsistent on a national level. STRENGTHS Strong and trusted brand. Market leader (number 1 heart charity in UK) Large integrated CRM large pool of customer data Highly motivated -dedicated and driven by cause. Recently launched large multi media campaign Connections increased awareness. Strong demand/need heart disease is the biggest UK killer. A number of large corporate sponsors give access to large audiences. Many professionals working for BHF high calibre and solid knowledge base. DCs A strong, trusted brand. Large CRM database. Strong demand. Large corporate sponsors. 3.2 Key issues faced by the BHF and their implications for the plan The SWOT analysis highlights the key issues now faced by the BHF, these are shown below: Key issues the BHF faces and their implications to the marketing plan. Key Issue Implications to the Marketing Plan Credit Crunch reduction in disposable income, therefore less donations slump in the housing market, therefore reduction in legacies reduction in corporate donations Income reduced therefore a tighter budget need to generate alternative, cost-efficient ways of raising funds go for low risk options such as building on existing relationships rather than investing a lot of resources trying to make new contacts. Increasing competition from other health charities. BHF needs to maximise their advantage of having little direct competition and emphasise their differentiation by highlighting unique aspects of the BHFs work rather than those that are similar to other charities and make it relevant to target audiences. Direct Marketing no longer an effective communication media for charities. Need to use alternative communication media that are equally accountable yet more effective possibly making more use of new media. Large prospect market. Targeting this market will require a great deal of resources, however in the short term; given the economic climate it is perhaps not the best time to try to enter this market. It is a great opportunity that should be should be considered in the long-term. Very high priority given to cost savings and operational efficiency, even more so due to the recession often results in generic products (Bruce, 2007). Need to optimise the use of the OneCRM database and increase product customisation. The Digital Britain Initiative is set to secure the UKs place at the forefront of innovationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and quality in the digital communications industries rapid development could leave the BHF behind. Plan needs to make better use of new media, possibly going out of the BHFs comfort zone. Having conducted the SWOT analysis and considered the key issues, the BHF is now in a better position to set their objectives and determine their strategy. Referring back to figure 2, the DCs are well supported by the CSFs; there is a good match. Therefore we can afford to set higher level marketing objectives (discussed in section 4.1). This creates a gap, identified through gap analysis, between the initial forecast (where we will be if we continue to do nothing) and the new objectives. Taking the SWOT analysis into consideration I believe this gap can be bridged through establishing a product development growth strategy, this is a moderate risk strategy, which the match of the DCs and CSFs supports. The BHF will also operate a differentiation competitive strategy (appendix 4); we need to emphasise our unique selling point amongst all the other health charities. Although, other product lines may also contribute in closing the planning gap, the remainder of this plan will focus on the BHFs new product. Task 02 Red for heart campaign London to Brighton Bike Ride New Product B2B Corporate Partnerships World Events Regional Events Sponsored School Events SBU Marketing Marketing Objectives for the BHFs New Product The BHFs New Product The BHF will launch a B2C membership service that will allow them to engage directly with a large audience and encourage the development of long term relationships. Members will receive information on how to improve their heart health. Upon registering the member will receive a welcome pack containing a heart risk tape measure, a guide to heart health, a 5-a-day food diary, a heart matters fact card and a membership card. They will also receive access to the heart matters helpline, receive email alerts tailored to their needs (healthy eating, getting active, quitting smoking and well being) and will have an online account with a homepage that is regularly updated according to their stated interests upon sign up. Their membership will also provide them with special commercial offers. This is a free service because it is a belief of the BHF that heart health information should be available to all. 4.2 Marketing objectives for the BHFs Heart Matters membership service There is a hierarchy of objectives with three levels; corporate, functional and operational. At the corporate level they start off more general and are long-term and get more specific the closer the planning activity gets to the tactical implementation stage (p23 Robert et al, 2005). Corporate objectives are often expressed in financial terms, for example referring to return on investment (ROI) and return on capital employed (ROCE) (Beamish and Ashford, 2008). However, for many not-for-profit organisations, including BHF, although still long-term, they can be much harder to measure. They are typically based on the needs of the beneficiaries, now and for the future. [They] set out the direction of the organisation; they are a statement of its prioritiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Everything the organisation does should be related back to a [corporate] goal (accessed on 10/04/09 10.30 at http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/index.asp?id=488) Functional objectives are more specific than corporate objectives, often medium term referring to percentage increase in sales or market share. These then feed down to the operational objectives that are short-term and much more specific based on the 7Ps marketing mix, for example to offer a 10% discount for 2 weeks. Therefore when setting the marketing objectives for Heart Matters, they should support the corporate objectives as well as reflecting the close match between the DCs and CSFs. With regards to Heart Matters, the BHF have three options. The first is to take the view that the BHF is doing a lot of work directly related to their corporate objectives, therefore Heart Matters should be all about raising funds to help finance this work. The second is that Heart Matters should primarily focus on the need of the beneficiaries, the third is a middle-of-the-road option, whereby the need is addressed to a certain extent, but the service must be self-financing. We believe Heart Matters should initially be about addressing the need of the beneficiaries as this would provide the best opportunity to reach and engage with a wider audience. Keeping in mind the objectives should be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time bound) the marketing objectives for Heart Matters are as follows: Marketing objectives for Heart Matters Membership Service Objectives To recruit over 300,000 members, with less than 7% annual attrition by 2012. This helps support the BHFs objective to provide vital information to help people reduce their own heart health risk once recruited, members will have access to heart health information to help improve their heart health. Hitting this target would indicate increased engagement with supporters. For 20% of donors to make a donation by 2012. 30% of the general population donate to charity; however, this may be skewed (as heart conditions are more prevalent in low income areas). This supports all objectives, as funds raised are invested in helping achieve BHFs objectives. For example, to achieve objective 1 (appendix 1) the BHF will provide funding, equipment and facilities to achieve the best results. Therefore, funds raised will support this. For 40% of members recruited to have engaged with another BHF product/service by 2012 e.g. to have participated in an event, donated, made a purchase from the online shop or catalogue. This serves to increase public involvement in heart health, to help achieve objective 2 (appendix 1). Achieving this target would indicate an increased understanding of the work BHF does and an increased involvement of BHF supporters. 5. Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning of Heart Matters. 5.1 Segmentation Customers are very diverse; therefore the same product and tactics will not appeal to all of them. We need to use segmentation; the process of dividing the market into specific groups of consumers/buyers who share common needs and who might require separate products and/or marketing mixes (Kotler, 1998 as cited in Ashford and Beamish, 2008). B2B and B2C markets each require different techniques to do this, as Heart Matters is a B2C product consumer segmentation will be used. Consumer markets can be segmented based on the following criteria: Geographic segmentation is based on variables such as region, population density and size of the area. Demographic segmentation uses variables such as age, gender, income, occupation, ethnicity and social class. Geo-demographic segmentation is a combination of the above, assumes that people either socialise according to class and occupation, or their lifestyles and geographic factors (Ashford and Beamish, 2008). ACORN (A Classification of Residential Neighbourhoods) is a system commonly used to segment the population according to geo-demographics. Psychographic segmentation groups according to lifestyle using variables such as social activities, interests, opinions and values. Behaviouristic segmentation refers to customer behaviour, segmenting based on variables such as benefits sought, purchasing rate and usage rate. Segmentation for the BHF differs depending upon whether the market to be segmented is donor or beneficiary. When segmenting the donor market, all of the above criteria are important, however when segmenting the beneficiary market, behaviourist segmentation will typically be given priority (Bruce, 2007). There will be 2 main phases to Heart Matters; the first will target beneficiaries. Upon recruitment of the target beneficiary groups the product will move into its second phase, to raise donations, therefore the target beneficiary groups will be further segmented and new target groups identified (for example this will determine those members receiving a  £5 donation ask and those receiving a  £15 one) . This report will focus on phase 1, therefore segmentation will be specific to the BHFs beneficiary market (for further information on phase 2, please refer to appendix 5. As previously mentioned, the BHF gives priority to behaviourist segmentation when segmenting their beneficiary markets. Potential segments Heart Matters could target include: Seeking help recovering from a heart condition Seeking help living with a heart condition Seeking information on caring for someone with a heat condition Desire to improve their lifestyle Desire to improve their diet Frequent user of BHF products/services Infrequent user of BHF product/services Use products and services from a variety of health charities Loyal to an alternative health charity Although behaviourist variables form the basis of segmentation, further segmentation is necessary as within these groups there are still huge differences from one customer to the next. Further, given limited resources it may not be possible to serve everyone within a particular needs group. The BHF also use the other criteria to identify additional segments: Geography: The BHF is a nation-wide organisation, however they segment according to Densely populated areas Large metropolitan areas Areas of low income Demographics: Parents educate about keeping their childrens hearts healthy 65+ higher risk of heart disease, inform on how to reduce risk 30-45 leading busy lives, but still have a chance to make a change 7-16 to educate about the importance of keeping their heart healthy Sedentary occupation High stress occupation Geo-demographic: Segment into different ACORN groups all of which are within the BHFs beneficiary market as heart health information should be made available to everyone. The market is segmented according to ACORN group as solutions and recommendations may differ depending on income and social class, for example EF14 category affordable healthy recipes, gym-free ways of keeping fit. Psychographics: Internet-savvy Dependents Families Older couples (no children or left home) Gym Members 5.2 Target audience for Heart Matters The marketing of Heart Matters will follow a differentiated strategy, that is Heart Matters will only be targeted at certain segments of the total market and the marketing mix (section 6) will be tailored towards these target segments of the market. Figure 4 below shows the target groups chosen for Heart Matters Membership. Recovering/living with heart conditionhigh risk Glasgow and London Age 50+ Behaviour Geographic Demographic Target groups for Heart Matters Target Group Reason for Choice Recovering/living with a heart condition and high risk groups. This is a large market; heart and circulatory disease is the UKs biggest killer, almost 2.6 million people are living with heart disease. It is a current strategy of the BHF to make the organisation more relevant to target audiences; this is a large audience where the need is currently greatest and it is important to ensure the BHF is made relevant to them. These are issues that are unique to the BHF, no other large charity tackles them targeting this group provides an opportunity to highlight the BHFs differentiation. Glasgow and London As this is a new product, and one which is free it will initially be launched into just 2 cities, this is to reduce the risk involved. Densely populated cities give a wider market reach. Glasgow has been chosen as there is a high concentration of heart disease, London has been chosen as people living here tend to have a faster pace of life, encouraging them to be unhealthy. Initial rates of membership registration of the two cities may give an indication of where to roll the membership out to. Age 50+ Heart disease is more common and risk is greater in older people. Further, a survey under-taken by one of our corporate sponsors Fitness-First revealed that of all age groups the over 50s showed the greatest percentage eating healthily, this indicates a large market that would be receptive to health-related information. In addition, this is the baby-boomer generation, a large percentage of which are wealthy home owners may provide significant fundraising opportunities in phase 2. 5.3 Positioning Heart Matters Having selected the target segments, it is important the service is then positioned with their needs and requirements in mind. Positioning is the act of designing an offer so that it occupies a distinct and valued place in the minds of target customers (Kotler et al, 1998). The target segments are likely to have concerns, it is therefore important the service is positioned as reassuring. However, we do not want to be patronising and compromise our brand, the service tackles serious issues so needs to be positioned as a provider of expert advice. Each customer treated as an individual, we wish the service to be viewed as providing customised, not generic information. Figure 4 below shows how we would like our target audiences to perceive our service. Customised Reassuring Expert, trusted advice Generic Inaccessible Amateur advice Depressing Accessible Perceptual Map for Heart Matters Marketing mix for the BHFs Heart Matters Membership Service Strategy Justification Product USP (Unique Selling Point) Core product: USP no other charity provides information and advice specific to living with and recovering from a heart condition. Supports our competitive differentiation strategy. Secondary and tertiary product: Carbon Copy many other charities provide free membership services offering newsletters, free calendars, membership cards etc (appendix 4) Price Intermediate strategy, in terms of the value the customer will place on the product. This supports our quality of information positioning and selective marketing strategy. Heart Matters core product has a USP; however we want it to be available to everyone within our target market, not just a specialist group, so therefore skimming is not applicable. Price penetration is also not applicable as this is a strategy typically used for lower quality, carbon copies therefore does not support our quality of information positioning strategy. In addition we do not want to target everyone within the beneficiary market; this is a new product, do not want to appear low quality and generic, the intermediary price strategy supports this. Place Dual distribution use both direct and indirect (via intermediaries) distribution to the customer. Selective Distribution Interdependence BHF retains full control. Dual distribution: the core product will only be distributed directly, this is essential to support the expert positioning and give the BHF full control over the service. Indirect distribution of the core product may confuse customers and fail to relate it to the BHF. Indirect distribution of Heart Matters registration and materials. This will give a greater access to the market and provide customers with the option to register in person or online. Selective distribution will give access to the right customers i.e. our target groups. This also supports our quality positioning strategy and intermediate price strategy, as we can choose intermediary locations that support our brand such as pharmacies. Intermediaries will be interdependent the BHF will retain full control. This is because the BHF has a strong brand and a g

How the Relation of the Camera to the Real is Problematized in The Thin

How the Relation of the Camera to the Real is Problematized in â€Å"The Thin Blue Line† and â€Å"Yuki Yukite Shingun† Documentary films can include every type of discourse about the real world. The accomplishments of nonfiction film are derived from more than the stereotypical edited interview segment, and recently have been a totality that is useful as much for showing reality as it is for expressing the creative visions of its director. It is possible for the most extrinsic implications to be presented in a way that reflects individual systemics and personal expression. The innovation of a nonfiction work can legitimize many techniques that were previously unused and will ultimately provide countless new ways of exploring social and historical issues. The examination of these issues using different visual styles leads to the methodical questioning of the degree of truth that surrounds each individual style. For nonfiction cinema, the epistemological virtue exists within the relation of what is filmed and what truly is real. In an inspection of The Thin Blue Line and Yuki Yukite Shingun, the relation between the camera and the real is problematized by both films’ intentional reversal of presentational truths, the awareness of the camera, the staging or reenacting of real events with actors, and the addition of graphical or aural stylistic elements. The Thin Blue Line was directed by Errol Morris in 1988. It is the retelling of a story of two men that meet by chance in Dallas, one of whom later kills a police officer. The facts are chronicled through a series of interview segments and supplemented by various reenactments, striking visual images, and a repetitive, captivating musical accompaniment. The images presen... ...ing of real events with actors, and the addition of graphical or aural stylistic elements. As presented in The Thin Blue Line and Yuki Yukite Shingun, these elements are important to the originality of their overall films and have the effect of problematizing the relation between the camera and what is real. Sources Cited Bruzzi, Stella. New Documentary: A Critical Introduction. New York, NY: Routledge Publishing, 2000. MacDonald, Scott. A Critical Cinema 3: Interviews with Independent Filmmakers. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 1998. Plantinga, Carl R. Rhetoric and Representation in Nonfiction Film. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Renov, Michael. Theorizing Documentary. New York, NY: Routledge Publishing, 1993. Ruoff, Kenneth. Filming at the Margins: The Documentaries of Hara Kazuo. Iconics 16 (Spring 1993): 115-126.

Building and Maintaining Effective Teams :: BTEC Business Marketing GCSE Coursework

Building and Maintaining Effective Teams In this age of rapidly changing technology, market-driven decision making, customer sophistication, and employee restlessness, leaders and managers are faced with new challenges. Organizations must build new structures and master new skills in order to compete and survive. As work settings become more complex and involve increased numbers of interpersonal interactions, individual effort has less impact. In order to increase efficiency and effectiveness, a group effort is required. The creation of teams has become a key strategy in many organizations. Team building is an essential element in supporting and improving the effectiveness of small groups and task forces and must be a key part of a total program of organizational change. Hellriegel, Slocum, & Woodman (1986) state that team building is used to improve the effectiveness of work groups by focusing on any of the following four purposes: setting goals and priorities, deciding on means an methods, examining the way in which the group works, and exploring the quality of working relationships. A cycle then develops; it begins with the awareness or perception of a problem and is followed sequentially by data collection, data sharing diagnosis, action planning, action implementation, and behavioral evaluation. This style is repeated as new problems are identified. Not all work groups are teams. Reilly and Jones (1974) list four essential elements of teams: goals, interdependence, commitment, and accountability. The members must have mutual goals or a reason to work together; there must be an interdependent working relationship; individuals must be committed to the group effort; and the group must be accountable to a higher level within the organization. A good example is an athletic team, whose members share goals and an overall purpose. Individual players have specific assignments they are responsible for, but each depends on the other team members to complete their assignments. Lack of commitment to the team effort reduces overall effectiveness. Finally, the team usually operates within the framework of a higher organization such a league. The overall objective of a work team is to exercise control over organizational change (functionally, this involves increased decision-making and problem-solving efforts), although a side effect may be to increase the productivity of individual members. A primary objective of team building is to increase awareness of group process. In essence, the group members will learn how to control change externally by experimenting internally.