E-Business Versus Traditional Retailing

E-Business Versus Traditional Retailing Abstract As the Internet access becomes widespread, both businesses and consumers worldwide used web as a main tool for marketing and shopping. As a result, the impact on retailers and consumers are relatively significant with the rise of the E-business. This project looks into the advantages and disadvantages of E-business and traditional retail stores, and then by comparing the two different business modes concludes an integrated business, which is more adapted by public. Further, an analysis of Amazon.com and Wal-Mart also support the notion that multi-channel retail seems to be more satisfy the need and want of retailer and consumers. Introduction The origin of e-business was 20 years ago. In the 1990s, the definition of e-business was used by one of the first supplier, IBM, in its advertising campaign. It was defined as the transformation of key business processes through the use of Internet technologies. (Li ,2007:9) Today, the meaning of e-business is much broader. According to Cunningham (2002) E-business refers to the transactions, processes, and systems that support the act of doing business through electronic networks. Businesses in industries such as banks, automobiles, travel, and many others are undergoing a significant transformation. In the past, traditional retail stores were constrained by geography, location, and size; on the other hands, in the age of information, these are not important anymore. Although the Internet has a great influence on the growth of E-retail, there is one thing of concern, it also presents with threat and opportunity. The aim of this project is to compare and contrast E-Business and traditional business in retailing across a variety of criteria from customers and retailers perspectives, and then to analyze the two biggest retailers in the world in terms of E-retailer and physical retailer and then conclude which business is better adapted to e-commerce. Firstly, the project will consider advantages and disadvantages of E-business from retailers and consumers view, then analyses Amazon.com and Wal-Mart by the means of SWOT analysis (which can be defined as Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats) and finally will forecast future retail developments. E-Business Versus Traditional Retailing There are numerous opportunities for businesses to reach new markets on the Internet across nations, lower costs, and relationship-build with customers. For most businesses, opening a virtual retail seems like to be filled with opportunities as well as challenges. The rest of this project will address these opportunities and challenges. The opportunities in E-Business Market There are a number of advantages for e-business. First, with regard to the location, it is clear that online business have the opportunity to access farther than physical stores. According to Dennis and Harris (2002), the three most important elements in retail are location, location and location. Without constraint on geography, the Internet has provided the e-retailer with a store in every home all over the world. Almost every product and service on the Internet has an opening to be sold globally. In other words, e-business sells equally well to anywhere in the country and even overseas, compared to traditional stores. Since building a business online does not need to lease a building on a specific place, which saves a great deal of money on rent. Compared to the existing stores, running a business need to situate on one street, town and country, which is the most expensive part due to paying high-priced rent monthly as well as tax. In addition to location, another factor needs to concern is size. In the past, size of stores was principal when competing with other stores. A large store has the capacity to stock as many products as it can; however, there is a limitation of quantity for those small stores. Thanks to the invention of the Internet, even a small e-business has the chance to vie with large traditional stores. Secondly, as far as the number of consumers and opening time are concerned, online business can reach a larger number of consumers than the traditional stores. Without boundary on the Internet, everyone in the world have equal chances purchasing online. Especially for overseas shoppers, could easily reach web sites in which they are interested. Additionally, with fewer barriers in both time and limitation of consumers, online businesses have a better opportunity to market their product on the Internet. In other words, the problems of time difference between nations and nations have been solved. In contrary, it is difficult for traditional stores to sell further, when considering the limitation of time and geography. In the past few existing stores are opened 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. However, since online business is on the web all the time, consumers with different shopping habits do not have to worry about the opening and closing hours of physical stores. There are many other advantages regarding to online business. Usually, building a traditional store need to concern the expenditure of ongoing costs, including renting, tax, electricity. In addition, for those traditional stores reaching consumers either face to face or by telephone, have to pay for a significant additional cost. On the other hand, for those businesses that open e-shops could save a great deal of money on the wages costs of face-to-face salespeople and the costs of premises. Furthermore, a virtual store may save budget on all the other needless expenses, such as additional training requirements. Many studies have shown that many online stores in the existing marketing making a big profit on account of reduced costs and increased sales. Furthermore, The Challenges in E-Business Market Generally speaking, although there are many advantages for e-business, considering about disadvantages is also needed. First of all, online business is less powerful than face-to-face selling in many ways. In the traditional stores, salesperson with high skill of convincing shopping can be a part of reasons influencing consumers to shop. For example, when going shopping we are always easy to be persuaded by people around us who support for purchasing. On the other hands, due to fewer impulse of salesperson online, it is easier to say no to a computer. Consumers are totally decide buy or not to buy. Moreover, e-Selling is also less powerful than face-to -face selling. For example, for certain products, it is difficulties with products not sold by touch, feel, and smell. E-businesses are lack of theses advantageous positions. A further disadvantage is that consumers have a perception of lower prices online. They expect online prices to be lower than prices in traditional stores. This puts pressure on margins for online business, and can lead to shoppers expecting consistent how prices in store. Looking for low prices online is one of major factors affecting consumers to shop on the Internet. However, such a perception across all product categories may be unwarranted. Only in some areas such as airline tickets and books can find much lower prices on the Internet. Also, there is a limitation for selling products online. Not everything could be selling on the Internet, such as daily products and fragile items, which limit consumers product selection. In addition, cost in Internet customer contact and maintaining technology could be expensive. Although a beneficial thing for e-business is save the costs of wages of salesperson and rent, the system requires regular maintenance to ensure customer satisfaction. Compared with traditional stores, they do not have to pay the extra maintenance fee on system due to most of they are lack a sophisticated computer system. Finally, after-care can be difficult, especially if the shopper is overseas. It is always not easy to collect those unwanted products which have been return by online shoppers. When ever any of products have technique problems, it is a trouble to return it back to e-shop, especially for those overseas customers.Because not only consumers require to pay the delivery fee but also the online shop, which is a burden for both consumers and e-retailer. Drivers of Consumers Adoption There are considerable potential benefits for consumers to shop online. The main reason for consumers to buy online is to save money. In some given products categories, online prices are significantly cheaper than existing stores. On the Internet, shoppers could always get good value of bargains. Furthermore, consumers could also save the cost of traveling to the existing stores, the cost of finding a parking space, parking, walking through the mall to the stores, finding the item in the store, waiting in line at the checkout, Internet shopping provides in-home access 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which enhances convenience by minimizing many of these costs. The other advantage for online shopping is the convenience of shopping at any time of day. On the Internet, the stores are opened 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Consumers could never worry about missing the open hours of the exiting stores. The other good thing about e-shopping is that the webs offer older consumers, those with disabilities, and those live in remote areas to access to information and services. The other motivation for people to accept shopping online is that consumers could make a purchase at home instead of leaving from house. In addition to convenience, consumers could not only save more time on the travel time, but also save the time on walking through all the stores to find what they want, especially when at the height of the holiday. Whether on booking a ticket for an event, purchasing a book, or registering and paying for a fee, the Internet saves time. With regard to breadth and depth of products, consumers could find a great variety of products on the Internet than in any one single store or mall. Rare items can be purchase easily by simply click a mouse; the web sites can take shoppers from one online store to another. The benefit of online shopping is even greater when purchasing foreign-made products. Many traditional businesses will shift a significant part of their operations and selling to the Internet. Growth in the consumer segment is likely to be slower. Security concerns regarding online transactions and the difficulty of modifying consumer behavior can explain the slower pace of growth in the business-to-consumer marketplace. Barriers to Consumers Adoption Although shopping online can by easy, there are a variety of reasons related to security deters online shoppers from making a purchase. Dennis indicated that Security fears as the number one barrier to more consumers shopping online (Dennis et al. 2002). Safety of credit card and other private information are key issues that discourage many consumers e-shopping. A study sponsored by the Better business Bureaus Online found that over 80 percent of users had some concern about security online. (Better Business bureaus, 2005) Most web sites today require users to create personal accounts and provide a lot of personal information. Some consumers are afraid that personal information may be broken in by website hackers or be access by unauthorized organization; moreover, personal accounts provided to online vendors may have a risk to be rejected due to service attacks and human error. Therefore, security of credit card information is quite negative for online consumer. The inability to talk to a live salesperson is another concern for consumers. Even though the Internet brings the world into our homes, customer may still wish to speak to someone to seek advice on the product when shopping online. Also, for older consumers, and those who are relatively new to Internet shopping, exceptionally need a live salesperson to get information they are interested in. However, many of online business have not provided customer service for online shoppers reached by phone, live chat. A report by Data Monitor (www.datamonitor.com) found that only 8 percent of the over 60000 call centers in the US were Web-enabled, and only 1 percent of Web sites currently offer live customer assistance (Venkat, 2001:307). Additionally, the difficulty in returning products is major reason for a large number of consumers not shopping online. BizRate.com, a company that measures post-purchase satisfaction found that in a survey of 9800 consumers, 89 percent said that return policies influence their decision to purchase online. (ibid: 2001:304) Above all, the reason why returns sometimes are difficult may say is because of the lack of face to face negotiations. In addition to returning, the cost of shipping is another concern for consumers. A survey by Greenfield Online revealed that 32percent of consumers surveyed mentioned high shipping costs at the reason for not shopping online (Greenfield, 2002) Most consumers perceive online prices to be lower than prices in conventional stores. It is true; however, sometimes shipping costs can negate other price advantages. Although various products sell at a discount online, when adding into the shipping rate, the consumer may end up paying more than traditional store. Many consumers are still uneasy with online shopping because they prefer to see and touch the goods. Plus, some products are difficult to buy on the Internet. Take clothing for example, it is impossible for online shoppers to feel the fabric. When buying clothes, most people still like to try them on. Online shopping provides a lower sensory stimulation (through smell, touch, music, in-store decorations, etc.) than does offline shopping. (Fernie, J. 2005:106). People incline to use five senses in developing beliefs and bias towards various products. However, on the Internet, only three of these senses can be used. Case Study of Amazon.com and Wal-Mart There are a range of criteria of SWOT Analysis about Amazon.com and Wal-Mart, and this paper will only focus on the areas related to the above sections based on current developments and future developments in how e-retail and traditional retail adapt to e-commerce. SWOT Analysis of Amazon.com With regards to strengths, according to Harris and Dennis (2002:258), Amazon as a US-based multinational e-business company, is the biggest online retailer all over the world. Over the years since it opened its online bookstore in 1995, has established a customer around 30 million people. Besides books, now has launched various products including electronics, computer software, toys, video games and home improvements, apparel, furniture, and food. In addition, Amazon has created different website pages in the USA, the UK, Europe and Far East. It also provides international shipping to certain countries for some of its products. The major weakness for the company is that it heavily depends on external delivery companies, which may tackle a major problem. Due to the rising fuel and vehicle taxation, a potential increase costs should be concerned. As a consequence, the increasing shipping fee may lead consumers rather to visit a local retailer than purchasing online. It is realistic that the rise of Amazon.com has had a profound influence on virtually every sector of business in the world. There are many opportunities for Amazon.com to expand further. One of the priorities is to open exiting stores to solve the disadvantages of E-business. As far as threats are concerned, it is easy to attract competition on the Internet. Since Amazon.com markets similar products as physical retail, it pose a negative impact on Amazon.com within the price competition between e-business and traditional stores. SWOT Analysis of Wal-Mart Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world. It is famous for its convenience and a wide range of products all in one store. The retailing giant has annual revenues of over $ 100 billion. According to Grant (2002) the Fortune 500 ranking list, published in 2002, showed that Wal-Mart was the worlds largest public corporation by revenue. These years, Wal-mart has experienced global expansion to 3,600 stores and more than 750,000employees worldwide. Although Wal-Mart stores, Inc. has expanded to the global market, they have a presence in a relatively small number of countries Worldwide. They only focus on the market in the UK, but their competitors are grown in the other countries. Besides, Wal-Mart has a risk in the location of their stores. Since Wal-Mart is the leading physical retailer in the USA, it has a magnificent opportunity to become the largest retailer in the world. Therefore, international expansion will be a huge opportunity for Wal-Mart. Although the stores are currently only trade in relatively few overseas there are many opportunities for future business in expanding consumer markets online. A major threat to Wal-Mart is the intense price competition with online business. Being a leading retailer also represents being the target of competition locally and globally. How to compete with e-retail in the international market will be a major question for Wal-Mart. Evaluation From the SWOT Analysis, it is clear that both mazon.com and Wal-mart have its specific strengths and weaknesses. This evaluation concluded that, based on the criteria mentioned above, the e-retail has competitive advantages over e-retail stores while physical retail stores have advantages over e-retail. With regard to disadvantages, online retail faces many difficulties compared to existing stores. For online retailers, the major challenges are face-to-face interaction and immediate delivery, and this is an area where traditional stores have an advantage. On the other hand, online retail also affects opportunities of traditional retail to certain extents. Take location and opening hour, for example, E-retail outweighs traditional retail stores. Many consumers are willing to select products on the Internet, but would not want to wait for delivery. Due to the need of consumers, it stimulated the boom of multi-channel retail (physical stores plus e-retail) becoming dominant, which has both e-retail and physical retail stores components, provides consumers with a higher degree of satisfaction. Thus, more and more e-shoppers find online shopping and in-store pickup more attractive than pure E-railing and traditional retail stores. According to Harris and Dennis (2002:258), the proportion of e-shoppers preferring to shop from e-sites run by physical retail stores rather than Internet-only is soaring 9 up from 22 percent in October 2000 to 33 percent in April 2001. As a result, many E- businesses are attempted to establish physical stores, and just as traditional stores are also creating online business. That competition is not about E-business versus traditional business. Gandy (2000:122) claim Its about integrating both-pulling together the best of what is available through the physical distribution with the best of the Web world. As traditional companies begin to provide multi-channel services to combine online business and it would make sense for pure online businesses to offer services of physical stores. The example of Amazon.com and Wal-mart also support it. According to The Sunday Times, Amazon.com had planed to open existing stores to support its growing website. (Mashable, 2009) Similarly, Wal-Mart stores Inc. has continually increased the integration of its physical stores with its Internet business, in order to respond with the growing web-based stores. (Reuven, 2000) Conclusion Both e-business and traditional stores has its advantages and disadvantages in many criteria. Physical stores has the edge on criteria such as after-sell service and face-to-face selling, while e-business is beneficial on the wide-range of products, time saving and convenience. The project presented a comparative business channel to evaluate the two types of retails and concluded that whether e-retail or traditional retail stores is not in perfection, multi-channel retail stores which combine the best of e-retail and traditional retail may be more adaptable to the business environment in the future. The analysis of Amazon.com and Wal-Mart has also been highlighted, particularly with regard to integrating e-retail with existing physical stores. These can be summarized as multi-channel retail is becoming a dominant. In 1999, Andy Grove, Chairman and CEO of Intel, once have noted that all companies will be Internet companies or they will be dead. (Venkat, 2001) However, even though e-business is able to provide consumer greater service and choice in a variety of the product, the consumers adoption toward the Internet need to be concerned. It should be noted that a detailed examination of multi-channel retail lies outside the areas of this project and further work could be done in this area, which would be of particular interest to those business involved in this area.

race in sports :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Chad Lawrence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sports and Society   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  March 7, 2005   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sports is what has molded us into the people we are today. The world of sports is so unique, and people have different interest and fascinations. From being a child I can remember watching the Red Sox and Celtics with my father and becoming a die hard fan for those teams due to my family being serious fans. Not only did watching those games turn me into a good New England fan but it also gave me some good quality time with my father and brothers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The movie we watched showed all the emotions that can come from sport. Whether it would be a gratifying moment with a win for your team, or a devastating moment with a loss. That is what makes you grow when you are a younger kid growing up. A kid who can handle a loss in his life with the same dignity as a win will become a better person in the future.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In class discussion we talked about how in today’s age younger kids do not have the same interest to get involved in sports as they used to. It seems that today younger kids are more interested in playing video games, then to take part in a sport and learn the team aspect of life and how to get along with each other and work as a team. Learning in sports is something people do not understand unless you are a true athlete. In the game of baseball there is so much silent communication not everyone knows about. You have nine men on the field who have the same mind set and that is to do anything you can to win this game and help your teammates. If a kid can learn this at a young age and carry this on with him through life, he will become that much of a better worker when he is at the office or wherever they might be.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We also discussed the role of women in sports and that is a uniqueness in its self. Girls sports are becoming more of a interest to the public then it once had. This is in direct relation to the U.S Woman Soccer championship game over China. Mia hamm got girls real interested in soccer as well as fans. With the WNBA growing every year it has been

Beach Burial Essay -- essays research papers

AWARENESS OF NATIONAL IDENTITY ORAL EXAMINATION Softly and Humbly to the Gulf of Arabs,The convoys of dead sailors come; At night they sway and wander in the waters far under,But morning rolls them in the foam. Between the sob and clubbing of the gunfire Someone, it seems, has time for this,To pluck them from the shallows and bury them in burrows And tread the sand upon their nakedness;And each cross, the driven stake of tidewood,Bears the last signature of men,Written with such perplexity, with such bewildered pity,The words choke as they begin – "Unknown seaman" – the ghostly pencil Wavers and fades, the purple drips, The breath of the wet season has washed their inscriptions As blue as drowned men’s lips, Dead seamen, gone in search of the same landfall,Whether as enemies they fought, Or fought with us, or neither; the sand joins them together,Enlisted on the other front. El Alamein. Although not blatantly obvious at first, Kenneth Slessor’s emotive and poignant poem Beach burial is a poem concerned with raising the awareness of national identity. Now I found this hard to believe at first – For me to be able to use this poem, (as it has been my one of my favourites for years) I though that for it to have ANYTHING to do with national identity I would have had to use my creative ability to dissect and warp aspects of the poem that COULD have something to do with national identity if the poet had actually CHOSEN to write about national identity. Basically a lot of windbagging- and as much I was looking forward to see how great my powers of persuasion were I finally realised that they wouldn’t be necessary. I realised that even though Slessor’s Beach Burial doesn’t ramble on about the Australian lifestyles and the Australian landscapes, It is a poem solely based on the importance of national identity†¦ heck- it doesn’t e ven mention the word ‘Australia’ in it! But what Slessor is trying to say here doesn’t refer just to the Australian identity it refers to the importance of every countries national identity and, in the long run, the unimportance of it. To give you a bit of a background, Kenneth Slessor was an eminent Australian Journalist for a great part of his life, and because of this, When World War 2 came around he was chosen be Australia’s official war correspondent. He was to report on the Australian act... ...d in this poem have been from both sides of the war. The bodies were floating alongside enemies and allies, yet from the beginning of the poem Slessor made them all equal in death. As I pointed out earlier this can be seen in his reference to the dead sailors as convoys; groups of dead men that were travelling together with the same personified feelings and actions. World War 2 was, is in its simplest form, one nation against another nation, fighting for land, fighting to increase their national identity. For the expansion of their own national identity, humans were willing to kill other human beings. Just because of different national identities, the soldiers treated the enemy inhumanely. "the sand joins them together, Enlisted on the other front" The land for which they fought, joins them together in death, the reference to ‘enlisted on the other front is an eloquent metaphor for the sailors deaths. They are now enlisted into the world of the dead, just as they enlisted to join the navy. It is ironic that these men, so proud and patriotic of their national identity, have lost not only the record of which country they were serving but also their own identity.

Determining of the equilibrium constant for the formation of FeSCN2+ Essay

Determining of the equilibrium constant for the formation of FeSCN2+ Introduction The objective of this experiment was to determine the equilibrium concentration and then determine Kc. A dilution calculation was formed to determine the concentration of SCN- and Fe(SCN)2+. Each cuvette was filled to the same volume and can be seen in table 1. Then the absorbances were recorded from each cuvette and can be seen in table 1. A Beer’s law plot was made from the data that was recorded from the optical absorbance. During the second part of the experiment Fe (NO3)3 was added and diluted with HNO3 . All of the cuvettes were mixed with the same solutions in the second part of the experiment, which can be seen in table 2. A dilution calculation was made to determine the initial concentration of Fe3+and SCN-. Then the formula Abs + b/ slope was used to determine the equilibrium concentration which lead to the calculation of each Kc per trial. Chemical reaction Fe3+ + SCN- FeSCN2+ Â  Conclusion: An acid and a base were mixed together throughout the experiment, which resulted in a bright orange color. It was determined that using the colorimeter at 565nm the would give the optimum wavelength because it was the closest absorbance to 430nm. All of the cuvettes were filled to 3mL so there would not be another dependent variable. Whenever Fe3+ would come in contact with SCN- there would be a color change. Relatively all of the Kc were close to each other as they should be because the only variable that affects a change Kc and the temperature was kept consent throughout the experiment. The average Kc from all five trials is 1.52 x 10 2.

Healthcare Reform and Its Impact on the Delivery System

If you are in the healthcare industry, you have probably heard some rumblings about the Health Care Reform of 2010, coolly referred to as Affordable Care Act, or Obama care. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was enacted by the United States Congress and signed by President Barack Obama. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) became public law in March 23, 2010. The health care reform was enacted with the goals of â€Å"increasing the quality and affordability of health insurance, lowering the uninsured rate by expanding public and private insurance coverage, and reducing the costs of healthcare for individuals and the  government† (Frost and Sullivan, 2011). The law is passed by US congress provide universal access to healthcare, control the rising costs of healthcare, regulate the private insurance industry through online marketplace and improve the quality of healthcare. The purpose is to â€Å"make healthcare choices more consumers friendly and easier to unde rstand. It is intended to make sweeping changes to healthcare in the United States† (White, 2013). The law also â€Å"requires insurance companies to cover all applicants within new minimum standards and offer the same rates regardless of pre-existing conditions or sex.Additional reforms aimed to reduce costs and improve healthcare outcomes by shifting the system towards quality over quantity through increased competition, regulation, and incentives to streamline the delivery of healthcare† (Monheit, 2010 ). The Congressional Budget Office projected that â€Å"the ACA will lower both future deficits and Medicare spending† however upheld â€Å"the law in promoting strategies and solutions to encourage health care reform that lowers cost, improves quality, and expands access to health care† (CBO, 2013).According to U. S Chambers of Commerce, â€Å"the United States spends $2.  7 trillion a year on health care. More than 170 million Americans receive healt h insurance through voluntary, employer-sponsored plans. The government was on the hook for $38. 6 trillion in unfunded liabilities for Medicare in 2011 as a result of the entitlements created by the health care reform law† (U. S. Chambers of Commerce, 2013). For the purposes of this research, it may be a good idea to have a common understanding of the recent legislation and Health Care Reform Act.I plan to highlight its impact on the delivery system at Montefiore Medical Center, thoroughly discussing its effect on access, cost and  quality, with special focus on how the recent legislation and health care reform will affect the health care facility. Montefiore Medical Center is a health care facility which is covered by the Health care reform. Health care reform compliance at Montefiore Medical Center is a central concern of their delivery system. The health care reform is a law that needs continuous regulation. Montefiore Medical Center and other health care facilities such as private clinics, home healthcare providers and small healthcare associated businesses, are in a prime position  to comply with the healthcare reform, and the law must ensure that these healthcare institutes are rigorously controlled, and are in compliance of the affordable care act.The Healthcare reform and all its provisions are already making the facility â€Å"find new ways to increase facility efficiency, better manage care and streamline costs† (Montefiore. org, 2012). One item the facility is focused on is renovating to cut down on operating expenses because of the impact of the healthcare reform. In a study by Amadeo Kimberly (2013) about access to healthcare on the delivery system  found that â€Å"more than 600,000 new young people became insured as of May, taking advantage of the Act's provision that children up to age 26 could be covered by their parents' insurance.†Rather than â€Å"employer-sponsored insurance offering the sole source for guarante ed issue insurance, coverage for preexisting conditions, and generally affordable coverage,†(Geyam, 2012) many employees may have alternative sources of coverage through expansion of Medicaid eligibility or premium subsidies through the state or federal exchanges. A report by economic experts at the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) noted that â€Å"the health  care remake will achieve the aim of expanding health insurance – adding 34 million Americans to the coverage rolls† (HHS, 2013).This shows that on the potential positive side of the health care reform, there would be a continuous increase in access to healthcare. This increases â€Å"profits for the insurance companies, which should translate to lower premiums, since the new insures pay into the system but require fewer health services† (Kimberly, 2013). Geyam (2012) observed that â€Å"the healthcare reform will extend insurance coverage by 32 million people by 2019 (including 16 millio n on Medicaid);Will provide subsidies starting in  2014 to help many lower-income people afford coverage; will eliminate cost-sharing for many preventive services; will provide new funding to increase the capacity of community health centers; will put in place some limited reforms of the insurance industry, such as prohibiting exclusions based on pre-existing conditions and banning annual and lifetime limits; and will establish a new non-profit Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute charged with assessing the relative outcomes, effectiveness and appropriateness of different treatments. †As a result, millions of previously uninsured people will soon have access to healthcare, causing an increase in the number of potential patients requesting treatment from healthcare facilities such as Montefiore Medical Center. Healthcare costs are expected to â€Å"rise 7. 5 percent in 2013, even with healthcare reform,† according to a study by Price water house Coopers (2012). The Affordable Care Act focuses â€Å"more on getting people insured than on lowering costs overall,† says Jeff Munn, vice president of benefit policy development at Fidelity (2013), â€Å"But it's going to take a while to see if those provisions work,† he says..Another analysis by Barina (2013), also found that â€Å"the law falls short of the goal of controlling runaway costs, rising projected spending by about 1 percent over 10 years. That increase could get bigger, however, since the report also warned that Medicare cuts in the law may be unrealistic and unsustainable, forcing lawmakers to roll them back† (p. 18). The rapidly rising costs of health care keep going up unabated. Under the health care reform, the market still rules on prices. The cost of health care will increase by about â€Å"20 percent because of new technology and new initiatives† (Wright, 2010).In addition, analysis by both the Congressional Budget Office and the CMS actuary shows that â€Å"the health care reform will substantially reduce the federal deficit, only slightly increase national medical spending (despite an enormous expansion in insurance coverage), begin to reduce the growth rate of medical spending, and introduce various new initiatives that may lead to more fundamental reductions in the long-term rate of health care cost growth† (CBO & CMS, 2010). The health care reform will not solve our health care cost problems, but it is a historic and cost effective step in the right direction.It will introduce a range of payment and delivery system changes designed to achieve a significant slowing of health care cost growth. Throughout the health care reform debate, consumers and providers alike at Montefiore Medical Center and other healthcare facilities asked how they would be affected by the new law. Given how many types of facilities make up the delivery system, it is likely that the effects of reform will not fix all problems. Any â€Å"hosp itals that have historically provided more care to uninsured patients is likely to gain the most in terms of revenue increases for the mostly  uncompensated care they have been providing to these patients† (Berenson and Zuckerman, 2010).The Healthcare providers in the hospital and other healthcare facilities understand that their former ways of doing business are bound to change because of the healthcare reform. As observed by Berenson & Zukerman (2010) â€Å"the introduction of new, marginal incentives is designed to move in the direction of rewarding better performance. † In this way, there is a modest move in the direction of paying for value rather than volume.As indicated by Cutler David (2013), â€Å"the law begins to change how providers are paid and care is delivered, so that  they are rewarded not for the volume of services they provide but for the value they offer. † Of greatest effect is the expectation that future provider revenues will have less to do with patient volumes and more to do with clinical outcomes, quality and cost efficiency. Most hospitals will likely benefit financially because of the coverage expansions. â€Å"Providers that get good results for their patients and keep costs in check stand to be rewarded with performance bonuses, shared savings and other revenue enhancements† (Monheit, 2010).Those providers  that fail to do these things can expect financial penalties which will affect revenues and ultimately tarnish a provider's credit profile. â€Å"Accountable care may still be gestational in most areas of the nation, but the concept appears to be taking hold and will eventually replace large portions of our existing fee-for-service system† (Berenson & Zukerman, 2010). Moreover, the health care reform will also call for more care to be provided outside of the hospitals with specific provisions focusing on increasing the quality of preventative care. This will likely result in a major rise i n demand for ambulatory, or outpatient care.At the same time, Montefiore Medical Center and other hospital care facilities will shift a greater focus on critical care patient. In conclusion, the health care reform, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), commonly called the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare, may make some marginal gains in the area of access, cost and quality, but will not remedy all access, cost and quality problems in the health care delivery system. Experts also believe the added demand of the health care reform will mean a major increase in job openings within the healthcare industry.Some  predict as many as â€Å"250,000 to 400,000 jobs annually over the next ten years – as well as an increase in scope and location of available jobs† (Katz, 2013). For example, hospitals like Montefiore Medical Center will be staffing more critical care nurses while registered nurses and other patient care positions may have more opportunities at outpatient sites, such as clinics or other non-critical medical facilities. The health care reform changes are right around the corner and subsequently there will likely be a lot of transformation happening in the healthcare delivery system over the next few years.

Visual Rhetoric in Persepolis

Nils Tangemann Josh Holland English A SL C-Code Section: Part 3 Works read: Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. Pantheon. New York. 2003 Question: How and why is a social group represented in a particular way? The Display of Revolutionists in Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis In Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis there are several important social groups that all play a role towards creating the whole picture that describes little Marji’s everyday life in 1970s Iran. The nature of the revolution during that time created a huge divide between the different social groups.This was dominated by different opinions that were expressed using violence, intimidation and other mental and physical threatening methods. Satrapi uses visual representation and plot devices in her graphic novel Persepolis to expose the hypocrisy of the Islamic revolution. First of all, the author displays all members of the army and Islamic revolutionary groups without any distinction from each other; they are o ne homogenous group. Secondly, a story about the corruptness of policemen and government officials is used to demonstrate how detached those people act towards their fake values that they preach to other people.Lastly, the fact that the army is recruiting new soldiers through a method that is obviously aimed at non- or less-educated youth shows that the regime is scared of the higher educated population knowing that they will not have a chance in recruiting this social group because of their opposition. An aspect of the novel that comes to mind immediately when reading the text is Satrapi’s choice to display the members of the revolutionist Islamic regime in a different way than the family or friends of ten year old Marji.While the individuals that are a direct part of Marji’s social life are displayed in great detail, the revolutionists are always shown in a more general fashion, therefore not distinguishing those characters. An example of this can be found in the cha pter â€Å"The bicycle† when the burning down of a cinema by police forces is described (Satrapi 14). Using this technique, the followers of the regime are displayed as individuals that do not have an individual opinion, but rather blend into the crowd of people and go with the mainstream ideology hat is prevalent during the current political situation. This makes this social group stand out in such a way that the reader considers them generally as less educated and unable to question the political views that society has. The fact that Satrapi shows the persons that lean towards the more communistic political opinion in greater detail than revolutionists shows her political beliefs, therefore furthering the idea that this novel can be considered a memoir. In addition, the policemen of the revolutionary regime are depicted as corrupt and detached from their values.When the family almost gets caught having alcohol in their house, the policemen accept money from Marji’s f ather and leave again without checking his flat (Satrapi 10). If the actual religious core values of the regime were important to those policemen, they would not have left the site without checking, since the possession of forbidden substances is obvious to them. This depicts how separated the followers of the regime are from their own values that they promote.Satrapi tells the reader this story because she wants to expose the hypocrisy with which the government officials and therefore also the police operates. In this case, the author uses a plot device to express her political opinion. She makes the conscious decision to include this memory in her novel because it illustrates her opposition to the government and demonstrates a strong reason why using these policemen as bait. Similarly, in Marji’s description the army uses techniques that clearly aim for the less educated and poor people to join the military.A plastic key on a chain is distributed to the less educated in ord er to convince them that they will go to heaven if they fight for their country. Satrapi uses the dialogue between her mother and their housekeeper to indicate how upset the upper social class us about the strategy that the government uses to persuade the innocent youth of Iran (Satrapi 99). The government clearly aims for the young adults that do not have much of a choice other than joining the army and dying at a young age.On top of that, they are also naive enough to believe that the key will bring them to heaven. Mrs. Nasrine tells the story of how her son is being convinced to go to the army (Satrapi 100). The family helps to convince Mrs. Nasrine’s son that the government is spreading lies (Satrapi 101). Marji’s mother is debunking the myths of the government in front of everyone’s eyes. The author uses this technique to express her own, negative opinion for the government and the manner in which they treat the young adults and not caring about their lives .In conclusion, certain techniques of visual rhetoric and plot devices can be detected in the novel and are utilized to express the personal opinion of the author whilst displaying the revolutionary government as incompetent and unqualified. The followers of the regime are displayed homogenously without distinct characteristics or an individual opinion. The police that is associated with the government is corrupt and the methods of recruiting new soldiers for the army are only intended for uneducated and naive people because others cannot be tricked into the belief of going to heaven.The author makes great use of this technique not only when describing the revolutionists, but also when she is delivering her own opinion about how women were treated in Iran during her childhood. When deciphering these methods and finding the hidden comments on the social structure we really see the author in her mid-forties who is writing. The novel far expands from the view of a ten year old and is n ot only a story of a childhood, but also a critical commentary on moral issues and personal opinion. [Word count: 958] Citation: Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. Pantheon. New York. 2003.

Knee Injuries

Knee Injuries The knee is a complex Joint which can flex and extend for movement and Is a weight bearing joint. The knee is part of a kinetic chain directly affected by motions and forces occurring and transmitted from the foot, ankle, and lower leg. The knee then transmits forces to the thigh, hip, pelvis, and spine. The knee Is has four major ligaments which controls stability. The medial collateral ligament (MAC)and lateral collateral ligament (LLC) are on the sides of the knee and prevent the Joint from sliding sideways.The anterior excruciate ligament (CAL) and posterior excruciate ligament (PC) form an â€Å"X† on the inside of the knee and prevent the knee from sliding back and forth. These limitations on knee movement allow the knee to concentrate the forces of the muscles on flexing and extension. The knee also has two shock-absorbing pieces of cartilage called menisci that sit on the top surface of the tibia. The menials allow the femoral condole to move on the tibia surface without friction.Range of Motion * Loss of motion is likely from: Effects of Injury * Trauma of Surgery Effects of Inflammation Ligaments do not heal completely for 18-24 months so waiting is not an option * Early range of motion can minimize harmful changes * Controlled movement should be initiated early and based on patient tolerance and healing constraints Exercises * Active assisted knee slides: use good leg supporting injured knee to regain flexing and extension * Wall slides to regain flexing and extension * Active assisted knee slides on wall * Knee extension with foot support (towel) regain extension (flex knee towards floor) * Knee extension in prone with ankle weight to regain extension (on stomach) * Groin stretches * Kneeling thrusts * Knee extensors stretch * Side-lying knee extensor stretch with sports cord * Knee feeler stretch (on back) * Knee feeler stretch with sports cord (on back) * Knee feeler stretch on wall * Ankle pleasantness's stretch 1 OFF * Prima ry goal: Return of normal strength, endurance, and power to musculature surrounding the knee * Overload is necessary to strengthen but not over aggressively to cause further injury or repeat * Recovering knees need protection and strengthen programs made for a health knee can compromise the integrity of the injured knee. Strengthening contain.