Formulate and implementation of research question following agreed procedures and to specifications Essay

How can Ferrero attract more customers to its brand therefore increasing its market share in Shanghai? Reason to choose this working titleï ¼Å¡ China’s economic development and social openness is growing, and larger imports of goods from abroad. Rising income levels and growing interest for western products have been driving chocolate confectionery demand in the last decades. With double-digit growth year after year, the market offers huge opportunities for development but also requires foreign companies the implementation of consistent marketing strategies and proper targeting to meet local consumers buying patterns. As for Ferrero, there are already many chocolate brands in China market, such as Dove and Mï ¼â€ M. So, it is really important to ensure the present strategy of Ferrero is appropriate for China market, and the methods of how to attract more customers. In order to appeal to more customers by enhancing Ferrero’s market sale in China becomes the mainly concept in my research. Background of Ferrero History of Ferrero In 1946, Pietro Ferrero invented a cream of hazelnuts and cocoa, derived from Gianduja and to be spread on bread, and called it Pasta Gianduja. Ferrero created the new company to produce and market it. Later on his sons became joint chief executives. Michele Ferrero modified his father’s recipe to produce Nutella, which was first sold in 1964 and has become popular around the world. The company places great emphasis on secrecy, reportedly to guard against industrial espionage. It has never held a press conference and does not allow media visits to its plants. Ferrero’s products are made with machines designed by an in-house engineering department. Products In addition to Nutella, Ferrero produces many other products, including Ferrero Rocher, Pocket Coffee, Mon Chà ©ri, Giotto, Confetteria Raffaello coconut cream candy, Hanuta chocolate hazelnut-filled wafers, the Kinder line of products, as well as the Tic Tac breath mints. Ferrero also produces the Kinder product series and The company received an innovation award for the frozen products called â€Å"Gran Soleil† in March 2011. The main background and related research content Ferrero is an Italian manufacturer of chocolate and other confectionery products. It was founded by confectioner Pietro Ferrero in 1946 in Alba, Piedmont, Italy. Reputation Institute’s 2009 survey ranks Ferrero as the most reputable company in the world. Ferrero is a private company owned by the Ferrero family and has been described as â€Å"one of the world’s most secretive firms†. The Ferrero Group worldwide – now headed by CEO Giovanni Ferrero – includes 38 trading companies, 18 factories and approximately 21,500 employees. Ferrero International SA’s headquarters is in Luxembourg. Its German factory is the largest of all and Pasquale Giorgio is its current CEO. High quality, crafted precision, product freshness, careful selection of the finest raw materials, respect and consideration for customers: these are Ferrero’s â€Å"key words† and values which have helped make its confectionery well-known and loved by millions of cons umers all over the world. And I will focus on how to attract consumers through the advantages of products for Ferrero in the competitive market. Purpose The aim of this essay is to conduct a market research to explore the opportunities that Ferrero can still exploit in the chocolate market in China. Moreover, the objective of my tentative research will be listed as follows. Theories and marketing concepts are used to analysis the Chinese consuming behavior, which plays a very important role in shaping the market of chocolate. Environment has to offer in relation to the features and the objectives of the company analyzed, the research focuses on the marketing strategy adopted by Ferrero in China. The evolution of its marketing approach is studied into details, in order to highlight what are the key success factors for Ferrero. Ferrero’s marketing tools, data collected from  the survey and a case study are applied to develop viable marketing strategies that aim to take full advantage of a market that offers considerable resources still unexplored by the company. Findings reveal that the possibilities for Ferrero to expand in t he market of chocolate for self-consumption in China are enormous. According to these, this essay is going to analysis the SWOT and PEST of Ferrero. And find out how Ferrero takes into consideration local consumers’ needs and wants in the formation of the marketing mix of its products. Scope Ferrero is an international company, and Corporation engages in a diverse range of businesses, so I just research the Ferrero’s market sale in China chocolate market. I will find out a theoretical review regarding the implementation of a complete and sound market analysis, executed through the application of theoretical models, information and data collected from appropriate and academic research and surveys conducted on the field. Besides, I am going to gather information from outside through questionnaire format to investigate local customers in two weeks. Not only hand out questionnaires to the public in the open, but also distribute them by e-mail or website. And I will interview some marketing personnel who worked in hypermarkets to perfect the information resources. Theoretical framework For the part of theoretical framework, SWOT and PEST will full-scale propose about advantage and disadvantage of Ferrero’s market sale in China. a) SWOT S: 1. Brand advantage: being the first company to introduce chocolate in the country soon after its reopening to the outside world, Ferrero succeeded in establishing its chocolate as a luxurious and exotic product. 2. Marketing benefit: do not have joint venture enterprises and manufacturers in China. Make the decision more flexible with fewer risks. 3. Source of origin in Europe: the country of origin is Italy. 4. Technological superiority: possesses of more than 60 years’ experience and advanced craft technology of making chocolate. 5. Quality advantage: regardless of cost, has always been sticking to the best natural raw material, including hazelnut, cocoa, and  coffee beans. W: 1. Sales disadvantage: there is no production factory in China, so it carries many time-consuming in the transport. 2. The price is too expensive. 3. Without some sort of specific policies: compared with China’s domestic brands of chocolate, Ferrero lack of government policies to protect its market sale. 4. The lack of brand management: copies are full of Chinese market. For example, intellectual property rights cases of Montresor (zhangjiagang) food co. Ltd. O: 1. The chocolate market in China has great development potential: Rising income levels and growing interest for western products have been driving chocolate confectionery demand in the last decades, the China chocolate market offers huge opportunities for development. 2. For competitors: for example, Leconte did not set up the premium brand image. And it is a opportunity for Ferrero. T: There are too much competitors in the chocolate high-end market; Ferrero has only a limited presence in China’s marketplace, which is 2.32%. b) PEST Political: China’s entry into the WTO, international trade and further strengthening of internal and external communication become more and more. Also it is the main reason that Ferrero can enter the Chinese market. Italy is in the European Union: In recent years, China trades more with the EU than any other partner. The products of Ferrero certified by SGS, food safety certification, IOS and GMP Economic: There is an expanding market in China for chocolate Cost-conscious Increasing of average Chinese income Social-cultural: Chinese customers become more health conscious Chocolate shows how people’s physical and cultural lives are changing Have been retained by Ferrero loyalty Technology: Strengthen the development of new tastes Continuous improvement in terms of chocolate preservation Growth of internet use to increase demand for online and mobile phone shopping Conclusion (size 14) (Insert conclusion text here – size 12) Recommendations (size 14) (Insert recommendations here in BULLET POINT FORMAT – size 12) List of references – Harvard References (size 16) (List references here in Harvard format – size 12) (If you are having problems with referencing – see your lecturer for guidance)

Speech notes

Some speeches may, in fact, last those agonizing 52 minutes; however, some speeches last only moments. Remember when the dean of your college got up to Introduce the speaker? That was a speech, too. I'm sure that one was much more brief. There are three mall types of speeches that you likely see on a regular basis. Let's take a look at each of those speeches now. Informative Speeches Imagine sitting in the audience of a large lecture hall listening to your professor talk about the theory of relativity.It may sound like confusing words to many, but what he is really doing is giving an informational speech. This kind of speech is delivered mostly to convey information to the audience about something they don't already now. There are a few types of informational speeches: Speeches about objects Speeches about events Speeches about processes Speeches about concepts When a public speaker talks about things that can inspire your senses, like touch, smell or feel, it is a speech about objec ts and involves talking about things in the sensory and physical world.Maybe he is talking about the way a spider looks or the way freshly snipped herbs smell. It may even be a speech about your favorite president. Either way, the speech is written to appeal to the senses. Some speeches are written to inform people of a current or past happening. This Is a speech about an event, and it is meant to bring people up to speed on things that have, are or will be going on in the world. Upon taking the presidential oath, a newly elected president will give his Inaugural Address, where he tells the citizens of the united States his plans for his term.This speech Is done to get the nation excited about the prospect of a new president. A cooking demonstration Is a good example of a speech about processes because It instructs the audience on how to do something through a process. So, the next time you happen to pass a gourmet store and see a chef showing onlookers how to make manmade pasta, kn ow you are listening to a speech designed to show you how to do something step by step. To talk. Some are speeches about concepts, written about theoretical ideas and notions, like world peace, freedom or love.Unlike the other types of informative speeches, this type of speech is intangible. As with any of the informative speeches, they should be written as topical (or by topic), chronological (or by date) or spatial (or how things physically fit together). A writer may use a topical organization if writing about types of wines. The writer may start with a wine type, then go into region and then grape varieties. Chronological organization would most likely be used when writing about an event, such as events that led up to the Civil Rights Act.When writing about things to do in Miami Beach, a writer may break down the area to a few important sightseeing locales and then list important places of interest for each. Not all speeches are informative. For instance, persuasive speech writi ng is a little different. Persuasive Speech So, you get roped into attending a How To Get Rich in Real Estate seminar. After a few minutes, you realize that the lecture is less about real estate and more about buying he speaker's set of CDC and books on tape.Likely, this was a persuasive speech, and it is designed to change a group's thinking or behavior. This type of speech is often used in sales and advertising to get people to buy things. A persuasive speech could be an emotional appeal, where the speaker attempts to elicit sensitivity from the group, or it could be a logical appeal, where the speaker wants the audience to rely on their own reasoning to make a decision. A speech about hunger in America may pull at your heartstrings and make you quickly dial a number to send money.That is a purely emotional decision based on the persuasive talk of the speaker. Choosing a good acne cream based on product facts and before and after visuals might muster up some attention because the audience is asked to use logic to decide whether the product works. If the visuals show a clearer face after use, soundness may say the product is good. Of course, some speeches are not meant to change anything. They are mostly Just for fun, and that is when special occasion speeches are used. Special Occasion Speech So, you're the best man at your friend's wedding.That means you have to arrange the bachelor party, buy a tuxedo and worst of all -give a speech. With a lump in your throat and a shaky hand, you begin talking. What you are doing is giving a special occasion speech, and it is generally done to toast a celebration or commemorate some special event. This type of speech usually does not require major research, and there is no formal style of execution. It is done as a means of rejoicing at a fun event. The only rule to a festive get together, keep it brief, and the audience will most likely refrain from throwing things at you.

Resotech Inc.

Resotech Inc. Time is a critical strategic challenge. For example, assume you are a customer being interested in a particular product. This product is very expensive and long lasting. It’s capacity is more than you need. Once you’ve bought it, you can use it for decades. Even product improvements and new versions would only rarely make you buying a new one, simply because they’re incredible expensive. A secondary market to sell the product might exist, but anyway you’d have to sell it at a discount due to technology improvements.The main question for you as a consumer is the following: How many products do you buy? The answer is simple: One. What does that mean for companies offering solely such a product? If a customer buys a particular product only once and stays with it, only one company can serve this customer. The company, that first sells to him or her, wins. The competitors have no chance to convince the customer to switch or to buy the next time fr om them, since there is no next time. This reveals our strategic challenge: Time. If a company is the first launching a product, it has a first-mover-advantage.If a company is second, a part of the market is already served, hence, the total demand and the maximum revenues decreased. How can companies be successful in such an environment? There’s only one way: Be the first! Either because there’s no follower (you’re a monopolist), or because you launch the product earlier than your competitors do. This implies for any company that whatever it does, it must ensure that the product is launched before the competitors launch their products (staying out of the market is no option since it’s the company’s only product).This brings us to the question of available resources. How many resources you have to invest to be the first mainly depends on how many resources your competitor’s are investing. Moreover, if they suddenly increase their investments trying to outpace you, you should be able to react. What does that mean for Resotech Inc.? The company is known for its amazing quality. The products are of superior technology and benefit from a â€Å"Rolls-Royce† image. This implies that a lot of time must be spent on R&D for developing a mobile scanner of such a quality.Delivery delays are possible, or even probable, as it were the case for the RS-1000. Moreover, the development might also lead to a delay of the RS-2000 due to limited R&D resources. And what if the competitors enter the market as well? One can argue that Resotech might be able to discourage other companies to enter the mobile market once they committed themselves. However, this is unlikely for two reasons: First, Resotech is a relatively small company. Larger companies such as GE, Siemens, and Picker will probably have a shorter product development cycles due to their huge financial reserves and experience.Second, Resotech aims for high quality products. C ompetitors are able to produce less advanced scanners and enter the market first. In contrast, this is no option for Resotech. Moreover, Resotech would have to acquire new personnel first. To summarize, Resotech could sell 25 units. However, there’s a risk that Resotech is not able to stick to its delivery schedule, since the development of a mobile product is â€Å"not a piece of cake†. This may result in penalties. Additionally, if we try to stick to the schedule with a less advanced product, we will damage our image as quality leader.Moreover, what if 25 units are not enough to break even and another competitor has already entered the market? If Resotech accepts the offer, it won’t have any spare resources to accelerate R&D to outpace potential entrants. On top of that, we put the RS-2000 at a risk of being launched too late, since we might face a shortage of R&D capacity for both products. Therefore, from a time point of view, I recommend to decline the offe r. Thereby we can focus on the RS-2000 and launch it earlier. Declining would be less risky, but maybe less profitable. It’s the safe way.

International Accounting Standard Mib Water For All Essay

International Accounting Standard Mib Water For All - Essay Example With a daily average of 150-350 vendors, the company estimated that each consumer will need at least 1-litre clean drinking water on a daily basis. Within the first year, the company planned to acquire 50 water filters. After conducting an extensive market research, MIBW4A introduced its purified water products priced at USD 0.08 per liter. By only attracting 12% of the potential consumers, the company estimated daily average sales of 450,000 liters of clean water. Within the first year of operation, MIBW4A relies on hired expertise services from Blue Future Ltd to supply them with slow sand filters. However, to reduce the cost of capital, the company plans to manufacture their own filters at a cost of USD 250 per sand filter by the second year of operation. This would be more economical as it is relatively cheaper than importing each filter at USD 400. Other capital expenditures to be met by the company are associated with the acquisition of trucks and motorcycles to aid in ferrying equipment and technical staff to their workstations. By the end of the third year, the team planned to have 150 motorcycles at a cost of USD 2,500 per motor. In addition, MIBW4A planned to have 12 service trucks in good working condition by the beginning of the third year (Salzman, 2012, p.5). To determine the unit water pricing, it was essential for MIBW4A to depreciate their capital expenditures at the effective market cost of capital, which was helpful in determining the unit cost of distributed water.... Within the first year, the company planned to acquire 50 water filters. By the end of three years of operation, MIBW4A estimates their customer base to reach 3000, thus calling for acquisition of more filters in the subsequent years. After conducting an extensive market research, MIBW4A introduced its purified water products priced at USD 0.08 per litre. By only attracting 12% of the potential consumers, the company estimated daily average sales of 450,000 litres of clean water. Within the first year of operation, MIBW4A relies on hired expertise services from Blue Future Ltd to supply them with slow sand filters. However, to reduce the cost of capital, the company plans to manufacture their own filters at a cost of USD 250 per sand filter by the second year of operation. This would be more economical as it is relatively cheaper than importing each filter at USD 400. Other capital expenditures to be met by the company are associated with acquisition of trucks and motorcycles to aid i n ferrying equipments and technical staff to their work stations. By the end of third year, the team planned to have 150 motorcycles at a cost of USD 2,500 per motor. In addition, MIBW4A planned to have 12 service trucks in good working condition by the beginning of the third year (Salzman, 2012, p.5). To determine the unit water pricing, it was essential for MIBW4A to depreciate their capital expenditures at the effective market cost of capital, which was helpful in determining the unit cost of distributed water. All the capital expenditure items are expected to have a 15 year economic life span. The team used a straight line depreciation method to allocate equal depreciation costs to each item over its economic time. MIBW4A

U.S. Employment Regulations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 18

U.S. Employment Regulations - Essay Example This paper illustrates that the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) implements the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Act provides policies for minimum wages, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor. It gives exemptions for minimum wage and overtime pay. The Act obliges employers of covered employees to pay them a minimum wage of not less than $7.25 per hour. Youth employees, who are below 20 years of age, may receive a minimum wage of not lower than $4.25 an hour, during the first 90 successive calendar days of employment. Employers are not allowed to terminate existing employees to hire youth or people whom they can pay the youth minimum wage. Furthermore, employers can adopt a piece-rate basis in paying employees, as long as the latter get at least the required minimum hourly wage rate and overtime for hours worked that are more than 40 hours in a workweek. In addition, the Act allows the employment of particular individuals at wage rates below the statutory minimum wage, as long as they get certificates from the Department of Labor. They are the following: â€Å"Student learners; full‑time students in service establishments, agriculture, or higher education; and individuals whose productive capacities for the work to be performed are impaired by physical or mental disabilities†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The Act does not provide limitations for hours or days per week of work, as long as the employee is not less than sixteen years old. Nevertheless, the Act obliges employers to compensate covered employees for overtime pay, which is not less than one and one-half times their standard rate of pay, for all hours that exceed 40 in a workweek, unless employees are considered as exempted.  

International Business FINAL Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

International Business FINAL - Essay Example The trend of distributing the production networks all over the world offers a firm the advantages like competitive edge and cost cutting. Competitive edge is achieved when the firm’s produced products are sold all over the world bringing in a good amount of profit. Cost cutting takes place when the firm’s production system takes into consideration and exploits all the cheap factors of production that are available in different parts of the world at cheaper price. 2. Globalization has created lots of changes throughout the world. The changes introduced both positive and negative impacts on the countries. It is believed that the developed countries reap the maximum benefit out of the process of globalization. The developed nations shift their production units to the places where the cost of production will be cheaper. The cheaper production cost helps the nation to generate more profit from the sale of their produced products. This is helping the economy of certain develo ped nations to prosper and grow. However on the other hand the underdeveloped nations and the developing nations are constantly losing their resources which are being purchased by the wealthy nations for the purpose of manufacturing products and services which in turn are again being sold in the developing or underdeveloped nations. Thus it has become a topic of debate that addresses the issue whether globalization is a blessing or a curse. The positive side of globalization is that it enhances the job opportunities and economy across the world. But the negative side denotes that since the developed nations are shifting their plants to the overseas nations due to the availability of cheap resources, the labor there are getting under paid in comparison to the labors of the developed nations. Therefore despite the creation of job opportunities, globalization also creates disparity in the amount of wages received by the workers of the developed and developing nations. 3. Religion is on e of the important elements of culture. Religion determines whether a person is Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, etc that implies which God does the person believes in and which rituals related to their religion does they follow. Globalization has created the integration of all the religions and this has affected the business operations to a great extent. For example the case of McDonalds can be taken into account in this respect. McDonalds prepare different kind of fast foods that contain both vegetarian and non vegetarian items. The non vegetarian foods contain chicken, egg, fish, beef, lamb, pork etc. However McDonalds have eliminated beef and pork from its wide range of menu while entering the Indian market, since the Indian market included people from both Hindu and Muslim religions and beef and pork are restricted for these two religions respectively. Moreover religion affects the language, dressing style, values and morals of a person. Thus the business operations get highly i nfluenced by these factors as these are the elements that form the basis of a human being. 4. The term culture includes the behavior, beliefs, arts, languages, institutions, etc. of an individual. Culture decides how a person should behave at a social

Inside Obama's Presidency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Inside Obama's Presidency - Essay Example The second challenge was the huge bonuses awarded as compensation to the banks; .the public was angry. When Obama met with the top banks C.E.O’s, most people expected that he would take on a hard approach against them, but this was not the case to the dismay of many. The banks seemed to have gotten it all on silver Plata. Another challenge was the reforms on the health care. Again he tried to take a bipartisan approach, but there came the problem; dealing with the congress that often slows down processes. The republicans were on his case: they did not vote for the motion. When faced with the issue of terrorism and handling Osama Bin Laden, he had to make the verdict to send U.S troops to Iraq. Leon Panetta, the CIA director, had information that Osama lived in a compound in Pakistan. The American troops went for the raid, and that reported that Osama had been killed. Another obstacle came which Obama had not foreseen. During the mid-term elections, his party lost to the republicans. Most of his supporters had been ousted, and he now had to take another approach to get things done. To take care of the debt crisis, he met John Boehner, who let him down when he needed him the most. To Obama it seemed that he had total confidence in his governance. He was so sure that his bipartisan approach would work. But if we would gauge his performance on this, I’d say that he was not successful. In all instances, he had to look for a second option. For example, looking at the stimulus bill, it passed without the votes from the republicans. Clearly, his promise to offer bipartisan solutions did not see the light of day. This was not because he was not willing to do so, but because the republicans were not ready to cooperate. From the first term’s performance, Obama tried too much to change how things worked: he had too many expectations that there wouldn’t be politics. He ought to have taken it as it is. In politics, everybody tries to be better

Nature of Justice in the Soul and State Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Nature of Justice in the Soul and State - Essay Example On a personal view, the definition of justice can be logical based on the fact that the three components of the soul can greatly affect the concept of justice. There is only one question in terms of the fact that reason, spirit and appetite can be considered as subjective or personal. This had been answered in the view that the soul is the microcosm of the state. Due to the fact that soul is hard to analyze, the corresponding events in the state can be studied to be able to understand the soul (Republic 436b8–9). With this analogy, it had been considered that by managing the state well, the soul can achieve happiness. For example, the part of the soul, reason is mainly interested in knowledge. In the state, reason corresponds to philosophers who have the virtue of wisdom. Honor is the main interest of the spirit and is possessed by the warriors who have the virtue of courage. Desire, which is the third component of the soul, can be equated to the commoners since the main inter est is to achieve pleasures. They have the virtue of temperance (Republic 415a-433e). Looking through the different virtues, justice cannot be found. The main view of Plato is that justice can be found in all of the classes in the society, although each one may have different perception of the concept. In the dialogue, different individuals gave their opinions which all had logical points. Cephalus said that justice is about telling the truth and repaying debts, but Socrates pointed out that it can be true but not at all times or situations (Republic 331c). Polemarchus on the other had said that justice is â€Å"giving to each what is owed† but Socrates pointed out that this can alienate the people who had done crimes which can lead to more crimes or wrong doings (Republic 335d). Every speaker in the dialogue had a point specifically Socrates. The other speakers were concerned about the application of the definition of justice to their own field but Socrates was able to prese nt the different sides on a general term. The bottom line in the view of justice, based on the reading then, is that justice does not consider sides, perspectives, virtues, or other elements in the social structure that people deemed important. The main reason for this is impartiality. Plato is right soul and state are the main ground where the rules of justice will be applied. In this case, it is subjective to begin with. There is never an absolute right or an absolute wrong. The view that Plato perceived justice to be in all the classes and all the components of the soul is his own version of impartiality. No matter how he deemed that the philosophers’ roles in the society are the most important in all classes, he still believed that justice can be achieved by the commoners. 2. Characteristics of a Good Citizen and the Possibility of Utopian State There are different definitions of the term citizen depending on the philosophers or the context. Based on Plato’s view i n the Republic, a good citizen participates and contributes to the achievement of the goals of the state. He expressed in his work that the people who participates in governance are the citizen. For the Utopian society, he citizens are the philosophers, while the others are the people being led and ruled over. Plato’s philosophy on good citizen and even the existence of people revolve around the political concepts (Republic 415a-433e). Thoreau described good citizens as active people with goals

Final exam Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Final exam - Assignment Example The following diagram illustrates the model. Source of information The message Receiver Interactive models are another class of models of communication. Though achieving the same purpose of transmitting information from a sender to a receiver, the model recognizes active participation of the receiver through feedback. The model also identifies continuity in communication as the receiver becomes the secondary sender during feedback and the primary sender becomes a secondary receiver recognizes the role of the environment on communication. The model is also cyclic. The following diagram illustrates the modes. Field of experience Message Field of experience Encoder, source, decoder Decoder, receiver, encoder Feedback Another model of communication is the transactional model that recognizes the potential of simultaneous communication as opposed to the single directional scope of the linear model. The sender in the model is also the receiver at the same time. The transactional model also considers effects of time in communications. The following diagrams illustrate the model. Transactional model in an interpersonal communication Time Difference in context Transactional model in a mass communication Time Contextual difference (Wood 16, 17) Q2. ... Another link between communication and culture is the role of communication as an indicator of culture. Even though communication influence culture through facilitating sustainability, culture also shape people’s communication approaches. Differences in communication styles among people from different cultures show this. Consequently, communication forms a basis of identifying different cultures. Similarity in communication styles among people from the same culture can classify the society into communities while difference in communication within the communities can classify aspects such as behaviour. Indicator role of communication over culture helps in improving cross-cultural communication by bridging communication barriers. Another link between communication and culture is the role of communication if initiating and influencing cultural changes. One of the examples of this role of communication is in the development and spread of the hip-hop culture that emerged through mu sic artists and was communicated to influence the youth into the hip hop culture (Wood 159, 168). Some of the communication concepts that relate to culture are communication barrier and dynamism in communication amidst development in technologies (Wood 120). Culture defines a person’s environment and therefore contributes to situational barriers to communication. Cultural differences are an example. Culture also define norms, behaviour, and attitude that may consider some communication trends as immoral or complex and therefore offer resistance to advancement in communication (Wood 159). Q3. The first step in preparation for a speech is earning credibility from the audience and this is achieved through ensuring reliability

Comparative governance PowerPoint Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Comparative governance - PowerPoint Presentation Example This increases efficiency in service delivery. The social structures of the society coupled with the prevailing social features contribute to the manifestation of social problems (Glendon, 1994). Overpopulation for example is a social feature that results in the development of social problems in the society. With increased population, cases of crime increase in the society thereby invoking the intervention of the government to develop effective and efficient structures to curb such social problems. The Oscar Pistorius case in South Africa and the Michael Jackson case in the United States are two phenomenal cases in the world that has help portray the difference in the judicial proceedings in different countries. The judiciary is a fundamental arm of the any government the United States, United Kingdom and the republic of South Africa included. The three countries are leading democracies and developed economies in their respective continent; they therefore typify the democratic maturity in contemporary democracies worldwide (Corbett, Jacobs & Shackleton, 2011). However, their judiciaries has different structures just as is the case with their social and cultural features which therefore validate the difference in the manner in which their judiciaries function as envisaged in the discussion below. The number of judges in a bench does not determine the fairness in a case. However, the number may help provide a national representation to a case and provide the judges with the opportunity to consult among themselves thereby making a fair ruling. A one-judge bench on the other hand is likely to provide a speedy ruling to a case owing to the lack of conflicting interests in the interpretations of the laws. The two countries therefore provide differing number of judges to the cases based on the interests and efficiency of the systems. Furthermore, the judicial systems in the three countries provide the parties with the liberty to appeal the ruling of a court in a

The WACC of the Nike Inc Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The WACC of the Nike Inc Company - Essay Example The cost of the debt is the effective rate paid by a company on its current debts. It is calculated based on the ratio between the amount of interest paid annually and the market value of the debt. It is used to ascertain the cost the company will incur in servicing the debts. The method used to calculate the cost includes the tax because interest is tax-deductible, thus, it will reduce the tax liability (Binsbergen & Graham 2010). The formula requires the use of the annual interest rate paid and the market value of the debt to estimate the cost of debt. Based on this, the figures are obtained from the income statement and the balance sheet respectively. The cost of retained earnings is the rate of return shareholders require on the firms common stock. The company should earn on its reserved earnings at least as much as its shareholders themselves could earn on other investments of equal risks (Pandey 2010). This method was chosen as the beta of risk could not be ascertained from the financial information. The method uses the expected dividend and the market value of the shares to arrive at the cost of retained earnings. The cost of common stock is the proportion of dividend paid to the shareholder as compensation for the money they have invested. It is calculated as the fraction of the amount paid to them in form of dividends in comparison to the value of the share in the market (Jones 2010). A student will be able to analyze the company and understand its return while a market analyst will be able to know the returns from the company and its viability as an investment opportunity. It shows the return of the money that was initially invested and what it cost the company in paying that dividend.

Education and Economics Essay Example for Free

Education and Economics Essay I. Introduction: The conventional theory of human capital developed by Becker (1962) and Mincer (1974) views education and training as the major sources of human capital accumulation that, in turn, have direct and positive effect on individuals’ life time earnings. In the Mincerian earning function, the coefficient of school years indicates the returns to education, i. e. , how much addition in earnings takes place with an additional school year. There exists a wide range of literature that estimated the rates of returns to education for different countries [Pascharapoulos (1980; 1985; and 1994); Pascharapoulos and Chu Ng (1992)]1. In Pakistan, most of the nationally representative household surveys do not contain information on variables, such as, completed years of schooling, age starting school, literacy and numeracy skills, quality of schooling, and technical training. Due to the unavailability of completed school years, one can neither compute the potential experience nor observe the effect of an additional year of schooling on individual earnings. Therefore, the available literature in Pakistan is lacking in estimating the returns to education by using the Mincerian earning function2. In recent years, the government of Pakistan has started nation-wide survey, Pakistan Integrated Household Survey (PIHS), to address the imbalances in the social sector. This survey ? The authors are Senior Research Economist and Research Economist at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) Islamabad. 1 Pascharapoulos (1994) provide a comprehensive update of the estimated rates of returns to education at a global scale. He observed high social and private profitability of primary education (18%and 9% respectively) in all regions of world. The private rate of returns at this level were found highest in Asia (39%) as compared to other regions. He also noted a considerable increase in total earnings by an additional year of education in all regions of world; 13% in Sub-Saharan Africa; 10% in Asia; 12% in Europe/Middle East/North Africa; and 12% in Latin America/Caribbean. 2 At national level, only two studies are available in Pakistan that used the Mincerian earning function approach to examine the returns to education [see Shabbir and Khan (1991) and Shabbir (1994)]. However, both these studies are based on twenty years old data set. 2 provides rich information on the above mentioned variables that were missing in the earlier household surveys. This study uses the data of PIHS to examine the returns to education by using Mincerian earning function and thus aims to fill the vacuum that, due to the lack of appropriate data, exists in the literature on returns to education in Pakistan. In this paper we will first estimate the earning function with continuous school years with the assumption of uniform rate of returns for all school years. It is argued that different school years impart different skills therefore we extend our analysis to examine the addition in earning associated with extra years of schooling at different levels of education, i. e. , how much increase in earnings takes place with an extra year of schooling at different levels, such as, primary, middle, matric, intermediate, bachelors and masters. By doing so we overcome the problem that exists in the available literature in Pakistan. To our knowledge no study has yet adopted this method to examine the returns to education in Pakistan3. The impact of technical training and school quality on the earnings of fixed salaried and wage earners will be examined in this study. Based on the available data in Pakistan, most of the studies, for example, Haque (1977), Hamdani (1977), Guisinger et al (1984), Khan and Irfan (1985), Ahmad, et al (1991); and Ashraf and Ashraf (1993a, 1993b, and 1996) estimated the earning functions by defining the dummy variables for different levels of education4. These studies observe low rates of returns at different levels of education as compared to other developing countries. However, a positive association between levels of education and earnings and an inverse relationship between the degree of income inequality and educational attainment has been noted. In order to examine the inter- 3 Most of the studies on returns to education in Pakistan used dummy variables for different levels of education where the rates of returns at different levels of education are computed by the estimated coefficients. 4 In Pakistan, the data on education in most of the nationally representative household surveys have been reported in discrete form that denotes the completion of different levels of education, such as, ‘primary but incomplete middle’, ‘middle and incomplete matric’, and so on. 3 provincial differentials in returns to education, Shabbir and Khan (1991) estimated the Mincerian earning function by using a nationally representative sample, drawn from the of Population, Labour Force and Migration Survey (1979) for the literate wage earners and salaried males. Later Shabbir (1994) estimated the earning function on the extended sample of the same data set. These studies found 7 to 8 percent increase in earnings with an additional year of schooling. Although the results are consistent with those of comparable LDCs but may not reflect the recent developments in Pakistan’s economy as these studies are based on the data set which are 20 years old now. Since 1979, the economy of Pakistan has passed through various changes, especially after the inception of the Structural Adjustment Programme in late 1980s. For example, the literacy rate has increased from 26 percent to 45 percent and enrolment at primary level has increased by 67 percent. Public and household expenditures on education have also increased [Economic Survey (1998-99)]. Moreover, due to the fiscal constraints, the employment opportunities in the public sector have started shrinking and the economy is moving towards more openness with stronger role of private sector in recent years. In this scenario, it becomes imperative to re-test the role of human capital as both private and public sectors are moving towards more efficiency and productivity. This study is important from three standpoints. First, in order to estimate the effect of education on earnings, the most recent and nationally representative household survey data is used which provides detailed information on the variables that were missing in previous surveys. Second, it uses the splines of education in the earning function to examine the additional earnings associated with extra school years at different levels. Third, this study investigates the role of some important factors such as, technical training, school quality, and literacy and numeracy skills on earnings for the first time. 4 The rest of the paper is organised as follows: section 2 presents an overview of the education sector. Section 3 outlines the model for empirical estimation and describes data. Section 4 reports the results. Conclusions and policy Implications are presented in the last Section. II. The Education Sector in Pakistan: An Overview: Education plays an important role in human capital formation. It raises the productivity and efficiency of individuals and thus produces skilled manpower that is capable of leading the economy towards the path of sustainable economic development. Like many other developing countries, the situation of the education sector in Pakistan is not very encouraging. The low enrolment rates at the primary level, wide disparities between regions and gender, lack of trained teachers, deficiency of proper teaching materials and poor physical infrastructure of schools indicate the poor performance of this sector. The overall literacy rate for 1997-98 was estimated at 40 percent; 51 percent for males and 28 percent for females; 60 percent in urban areas and 30 percent in rural areas. These rates are still among the lowest in the world. Due to various measures in recent years, the enrolment rates have increased considerably. However, the high drop-out rate could not be controlled at primary level. Moreover, under-utilisation of the existing educational infrastructure can be seen through low student-institution ratio, (almost 18 students per class per institution) low teacher-institution ratio (2 teachers per institution) and high studentteacher ratio (46 students per teacher). The extremely low levels of public investment are the major cause of the poor performance of Pakistan’s education sector. Public expenditure on education remained less than 2 percent of GNP before 1984-85. In recent years it has increased to 2. 2 percent. In addition, the allocation of government funds is skewed towards higher education so that the benefits of public subsidy on education are largely reaped by the upper income class. Many of the highly educated 5 go abroad either for higher education or in search of better job opportunities. Most of them do not return and cause a large public loss. After mid-1980s, each government announced special programs for the improvement of the education sector. However, due to the political instability, none of these programs could achieve their targets. The Social Action Program was launched in early 1990s to address the imbalances in the social sector. This program aims to enhance education; to improve school environment by providing trained teachers, teaching aids and quality text books; and to reduce gender and regional disparities. The Phase-I of SAP (1993-96) has been completed and Phase-II is in progress. The gains from the Phase-I are still debatable because the rise in enrolment ratio has not been confirmed by the independent sources. Irrespective of this outcome, government has started work on Phase-II of SAP. In this Phase, government is paying special attention to promote technical and vocational education, expanding higher education in public as well as in the private sector, enhancing computer literacy, promoting scientific education, and improving curriculum for schools and teachers training institutions in addition to promoting primary and secondary education. Due to low levels of educational attainment and lack of technical and vocational education, Pakistan’s labour market is dominated by less educated and unskilled manpower. A considerable rise in the number of educational institutions and enrolment after 1980s is not yet reflected in Pakistan’s labour market. This might be due to the fact that most of the bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes emphasise only on academic education without developing specific skills. The sluggish demand for the graduates of these programs in the job markets leads to unemployment among the educated and the job market remains dominated by the less educated. In this scenario, it becomes important to explore the role of education for the economic benefit of individuals. 6 III. Theoretical Model and Estimation Methodology: We start with the human capital model developed by Becker (1964) and Mincer (1974) where natural logarithm of monthly earnings are the linear function of completed school years, experience and its square. In mathematical form the equation can be written as: ln Wi = ? 0 + ? 1 EDU i + ? 2 EXPi + ? 3 ( EXPi ) 2 + Ui (1) where ln Wi stands for natural logarithm of monthly earnings, EDUi represents completed years of schooling, and EXPi is the labor market experience of ith individual. ?1 implies the marginal rate of return to schooling. A positive value of ? 2 and negative value of ? 3 reflects the concavity of the earning function with respect to experience. Ui is the error term, assumed to be normally and identically distributed. It has been argued in the literature that different school years impart different skills and hence affect earnings differently. Therefore, it is misleading to assume a uniform rate of return for all educational levels. Most of the previous studies used dummy variables to capture the effect of different levels of education. In order to examine the effect of school years at different levels of education, van der Gaag and Vijverberg (1989) divided the years of schooling according to the school systems of Cote d’ Ivore. Similarly Khandker (1990) also used years of primary, secondary and post-secondary schooling in wage function for Peru. Both studies found significant differences in returns to education at different levels of education. Following van der Gaag and Vijverberg (1989), we divide the school years into seven categories according to the education system of Pakistan. In Pakistan, the primary education consists of 5 years of schooling; middle requires 3 more years; and by completing 2 more years of schooling after middle, an individual obtains a secondary school certificate i. e. , Matric. After matric , i. e. , 10 years of schooling, students have a choice between technical and formal education. Technical education 7 can be obtained from technical institutions which award diploma after 3 years of education while the certificate of intermediate can be obtained after two years of formal education. After the completion of intermediate certificate, students can enter either in the professional colleges for four years or in non-professional bachelors degree program for two years in a college. Those who choose non-professional degree can pursue their studies in a university for masters for two more years. At this stage the graduates of professional and non-professional colleges complete 16 years of education. They can now proceed to the M. Phil. or Ph. D. degrees. In order to examine the returns to education at different splines of education, we estimate the following extended earning function. ln Wi = ? 0 + ? 1Yrs Pr imi + ? 2 YrsMid i + ? 3YrsMati + ? 4 YrsInteri + ? 5 YrsBAi + (2) ? 6 Yrs Pr of i + ? 7 EXPi + ? 8 ( EXPi ) 2 + Ui where YrsPrim, YrsMid, YrsMat YrsInter YrsBA YrsProf are defined as: YrsPrim = D5EDUi YrsMid = D8EDUi YrsMat = D10EDUi YrsInter = D12EDUi YrsBA = D14EDUi YrsProf = D16EDUi where D5 = 1 if where D8 = 1 if where D10 = 1 if where D12 = 1 if where D14 = 1 if where D16 = 1 if 0 EDU ? 5 5 EDU ? 8 8 EDU ? 10 10 EDU ? 12 12 EDU ? 14 EDU 14 The coefficients associated with YrsPrim, YrsMid, YrsMat YrsInter YrsBA YrsProf in equation 2 imply an increase in income with one year increase in education at respective levels. For example, the returns to five completed years of education at primary level will be 5*? 1. Similarly, the returns to for six, seven and eight of education will be 5*? 1+? 2, 5*? 1+2? 2, and 5*? 1+3? 2 respectively. On the same lines we can compute the returns to education at each level as: 8 Returns to Primary =5*? 1 Returns to Middle =5*? 1+3*? 2 Returns to Matric= 5*? 1+3*? 2+2*? 3 Returns to Intermediate=5*? 1+3*? 2+2*? 3 +2*? 4 Returns to Bachelor’s =5*? 1+3*? 2+2*? 3 +2*? 4 +2*? 5 Returns to MA/Prof=5*? 1+3*? 2+2*? 3 +2*? 4 +2*? 5 +2*? 6 The data are drawn from the nationally representative Pakistan Integrated Household Survey 1995-96. In order to assess the performance of the Social Action Programme (SAP), the government of Pakistan has launched the series of Pakistan Integrated Household Surveys (PIHS), a collaborative nation wide data collection effort undertaken by the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS). So far two rounds have been completed. The first round of the PIHS is different from other round on two counts. Firstly, the information on employment and wages is available only in this round. Secondly, only 33 percent of the sample used in the first round is being repeated in the subsequent rounds. This implies that all of these rounds are independent cross-section data sets and can not be properly linked with each other to be used as panel data. Therefore, the appropriate sample can only be drawn from the first round of PIHS. This round was conducted in 1995-96, which covers 12,622 households and more than 84,000 individuals. The 1995-96 PIHS provides a detailed information on completed school years5. In addition, this survey contains information on age started school. This information is particularly important for our study to calculate the potential experience of a worker. The indicator for experience used by Mincer (1974) is a good proxy for U. S. workers as they start school at the uniform age of six years6. However, this assumption does not hold in Pakistan, as in this country there is no uniform age to start school. In urban areas, children as young as three years start going to school whereas in rural 5 This is the only nation-wide data set that provides this particular information. Similarly no other survey contains information on public and private school attendence and year starting school. 6 Mincer defined experience as (Age-education-6). 9 areas the school starting age is higher. 7 This information enables us to construct potential experience as (age-schools years-age starting school). Although experience is still a proxy for actual experience but it is relatively better measure than age and the Mincer type potential experience. In addition to education and experience, various other factors, such as quality of schooling, technical training and quality of schooling have significant impact on earning8. It has been argued that because of the market-oriented approach adopted by the private schools, the graduates of these schools earn more as compared to the graduates of public schools9. According to Sabot (1992), Behrman, Ross, Sabot and Tropp (1994), Alderman, Behrman, Ross and Sabot (1996a), Alderman, Behrman, Ross and Sabot (1996b), and Behrman, Khan, Ross and Sabot (1997), the quality of education has positive, significant and substantial impact on cognitive achievements and hence on post school productivity, measured by earnings. These studies observed higher earnings of the graduates of high quality school than those who attended a low quality school. A recent study by Nasir (1999) found considerably higher earnings for the private school graduates. These schools, however, charge higher fees. â€Å"Estimates of average annual expenditure per pupil in both government and private schools indicates that the total cost of primary level in rural areas is Rs. 437 (Rs 355 for government schools and Rs. 1252 for private schools), compared with Rs. 2038 in urban areas (Rs. 1315 for government and Rs. 3478 for private schools). This means that the cost of primary schooling is almost three times that of public schools in urban 7 The issue of age starting school has been highlighted by Ashraf and Ashraf (1993) and because of the nonavailability of this information, they used age as proxy for experience. 8 See Summers and Wolf (1977); Rizzuto and Wachtel (1980); Behrman and Birdsall (1983); Booissiere, Knight and Sabot (1985); Knight and Sabot (1990);Behrman, Ross, Sabot, and Tropp (1994); Behrman, Khan, Ross and Sabot (1997). 9 Various studies found the effectiveness of private schools to acquire cognitive skills [Colemen, Hoffer and Kilgore (1982); and Jimenez, Lockheed, Luna and Paqueo (1989)]. For Pakistan, Sabot (1992), Behrman, Ross, Sabot and Tropp (1994), Alderman, Behrman, Ross and Sabot (1996a), Alderman, Behrman, Ross and Sabot (1996b), and Behrman, Khan, Ross and Sabot (1997) found a significant variation in the cognitive skills among children with same number of school years. These studies conclude that some of the differences are due to the family characteristics while some are due to the quality of schooling. 10. areas and nearly four times in rural areas. The differences in cost of schooling also reflect the degree of quality differentials in public and private schools, and between urban and rural schools. A relatively better provision of school facilities and quality of education in private schools is causing a continuous rise in school enrolment in urban areas† [Mehmood (1999) page 20]. The PIHS provides information on the type of school attended10. On the basis of this information we can identify workers according to the school they attended and therefore examine the effect of type of school on individual earnings. In order to capture the quality of education an individual received, a dummy variable is included in the model that takes the value ‘1’ if individual is a graduate of private schools and ‘0’ otherwise. The effect of post-school training on earning has been found positive and substantial in many developing countries [see Jimenez and Kugler (1987); van der Gaag and Vijverberg (1989); Khandker (1990); and Nasir (1999)]. The PIHS contains information on years of technical training. This information helps us to examine the effect of technical training received on individual earnings. We use completed years of technical training as independent variable in the earning function. The existence of vast gender gap in human capital accumulation is evidenced by various studies in Pakistan11. The PIHS reports vast gender disparities in literacy and enrolment rates. The literacy rate among females is half than that of males’ literacy rate for whole Pakistan. This difference has increased to three-folds for rural areas. The gender difference is however smaller for the gross enrolment rate at primary level. For the higher levels of education, this difference 10. The coefficient of private school may also capture the effect of socio-economic background of workers. The data, however, does not contain such information, therefore we are unable to separate the effect of parental characteristics from the effect of private schools in worker’s earnings. 11 Sabot (1992); and Alderman, Behrman, Ross and Sabot (1996b); Sawada (1997); Shabbir (1993); and Ashraf and Ashraf (1993a, 1993b, and 1996) 11 shows an increasing trend. Similarly vast gender gap has been observed in returns to education where males earn more than the female workers [Ashraf and Ashraf (1993a, 1993b and 1996) and Nasir (1999)]. In order to capture the effect of gender, a dummy variable is introduced in the model that takes the value ‘1’ for males and ‘0’ otherwise. The regional imbalances in the provision of limited available social services are more pronounced in Pakistan. Rural areas are not only underdeveloped in terms of physical infrastructure but also neglected in gaining basic amenities. Haq (1997) calculated the disaggregated human development index for Pakistan and its provinces. He noted that nearly 56 percent of population is deprived of basic amenities of life in Pakistan; 58 percent in rural areas and 48 percent in urban areas. According to the 1995-96 PIHS, the literacy rate in urban areas is 57 percent and in rural areas it is 31 percent. The gross enrolment rate was noted 92 percent in urban areas and 68 percent in rural areas. Because of these differences low returns to education are observed in rural areas [Shabbir (1993 and 1994) and Nasir (1999)]. To capture the effect of regional differences, a dummy variable is used that takes the value ‘1’ if individual lives in urban areas and zero otherwise. The four provinces of Pakistan exhibit different characteristics in terms of economic as well as social and cultural values. Significant provincial differentials in rates of returns to education have been noted that reflect not only the differences in market opportunities but also indicate uneven expansion of social services across provinces [Khan and Irfan (1985); Shabbir and Khan (1991); Shabbir (1993); Shabbir (1994); and Haq (1997)]. The effects of these differences are captured through the use of dummy variables for each province in the earning function, Sindh being the excluded category. 12 For the purpose of analysis we restrict our sample to wage earners and salaried persons. Our sample contains 4828 individuals. Among them, 4375 are males and 453 are females. Table 1 presents the descriptive statistics of some of the salient features of the important variables. According to the statistics in table 1, average age of the individuals included in the sample is 34 years with 18 years of experience. A typical worker in the sample has completed approximately 10 years of education. A majority is graduated from public schools. Most of the workers live in urban areas. On average an individual earns Rs. 3163 per month. In our sample, there are only 22 percent individuals who received technical training. The average years spent for training are less than one year. A majority of wage earners belong to Punjab, followed by Sindh and Balochistan. Table1 Mean, Standard Deviation and Brief Definitions of Important Variables Variables W Age EDU EXP RWA MALE Urban Private Training Punjab Sindh NWFP Balochistan Mean SD Variables Definitions 3163. 34 3397. 39 Individuals monthly earnings in rupees consist of wages and salaries. 34. 07 12. 36 Age of an individual in years. 9. 53 4. 36 Completed years of schooling. 18. 14 11. 80 Total Years of labour market experience calculated as (age-school years-age starting school). 2. 37 1. 07 Categorical variables, contains 4 categories of literacy and numeracy. 0. 91 0. 29 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual is male. 0. 60 0. 49 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual belongs to urban area 0. 04 0. 19 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual is a graduate of private school 0. 35 0. 87 Completed years of technical training 0. 38 0. 49 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual belongs to Punjab 0. 31 0. 46 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual belongs to Sindh 0. 15 0. 36 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual belongs to NWFP 0. 16 0. 36 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual belongs to Balochistan 13 IV. Empirical Results The estimated results of equation 1 and equation 2 are reported in table 2. The highly significant coefficients of school years and experience indicate the applicability of human capital model for Pakistan. An additional year of schooling raises individual’s monthly income by 7. 3 percent, which is very close to the prior studies. 12 13 The coefficient of experience shows substantial increase in wages with each additional year. The concavity of age-earnings profile is evident from the negative and significant coefficient of experience squared. The results reveal that an individual with five years of experience earns 31 percent higher wages as compared to non-experience worker. The highest level of earnings is achieved with approximately 30 years of experience. These estimates are relatively low compared to prior studies14. The positive and significant coefficients of gender (0. 401) and regional dummies (0. 178) strengthens the a priori expectation that males earn more than females and earnings are higher in urban areas as compared to rural areas. These estimates are consistent with earlier studies [see Arshaf and Ashraf (1993), Khan and Irfan (1985)]. Furthermore, significant inter-provincial differences in individual’s earnings can be observed in the estimated model. Many studies indicate substantial differences in earnings across school levels. For example, van der Gaag and Vijverberg (1989) noted that an increase of one year in elementary, high and university education causes an increase of 12 percent, 20 percent and 22 percent respectively in 12 The estimated coefficients of school years by Shabbir and Khan (1991), Shabbir (1991), Shabbir (1993) and Shabbir (1994) are found to be in the range of 6 percent to 9. 7 percent. 13 The returns to education are calculated by taking the anti-log of 0. 092 (estimated coefficient of completed school years) and subtracting from 1. To convert into percentage, multiply the value by 100. For details, please see Gujrati (1988) page 149. 14 The difference in the returns to experience could be due to the approach adopted by these studies. Most of the studies used age as a proxy for experience [see for example Khan and Irfan (1985); Ashraf and Ashraf (1993); and Nasir (1999)]. Shabbir (1991) used the Mincerian approach to calculate experience. The present study uses actual age of starting school and actual years of education. These information enable us to calculate total years of labor market experience. This approach is also not the perfect alternative for actual experience, as we do not have information about the starting time of the first job. But when compared with other approaches, it is more precise in measuring experience. 14 earnings. In order to examine the returns to education across different school years, we include the information on schooling according to the education system of Pakistan (equation 2). The results reported in column 3 of table 2 show a positive and significant impact of school years at each educational level on earnings. For example, an increase of one year in education at primary level increases the earnings by 3 percent. Similarly, at middle level, one year of schooling brings about an increase of 4 percent in earnings and the total returns to schooling at middle level are 27 percent. Table 2 Earning Function with and without Levels of Education Variables Coefficient s 6. 122 0. 072* 0. 058* -0. 001* 0. 178* 0. 401* 0. 127* -0. 113* -0. 203* 0. 412 t-ratios Coefficient s 6. 380 0. 058* -0. 001* 0. 150* 0. 264* 0. 098* -0. 112* -0. 166* 0. 027** 0. 040* 0. 050* 0. 057* 0. 071* 0. 082* 0. 429 t-ratios Coefficient s 6. 342 0. 058* -0. 001* 0. 152* 0. 262* 0. 096* -0. 108* -0. 164* 0. 052* 0. 007 0. 025* 0. 038* 0. 047* 0. 063* 0. 075* 0. 429 t-ratios Constant EDU EXP EXP2 Urban Male Balochistan NWFP Punjab RWA Yrs-Prim Yrs-Mid Yrs-Mat Yrs-Inter Yrs-BA Yrs-Prof Adj R2 148. 91 46. 71 26. 49 -19. 20 10. 31 13. 98 4. 94 -4. 34 -10. 21 92. 03 23. 85 -16. 84 7. 87 8. 15 3. 40 -4. 06 -7. 75 2. 03 5. 07 8. 69 11. 41 16. 85 21. 98 89. 25 23. 84 -16. 88 7. 98 8. 09 3. 32 -3. 91 -7. 63 2. 41 0. 45 2. 45 5. 02 7. 28 11. 47 15. 57 * significant at 99 percent level. ** significant at 95 percent level. One can note higher returns of additional year of schooling for higher educational levels from this table. For example, the returns to masters and professional education (Yrs-Prof) are more than five- 15 times higher than that of primary school years (Yrs-Prim). The results exhibit a difference of 15 percent between primary graduates and illiterates, the excluded category. This category includes illiterates as well as all those who have not obtained any formal schooling but have literacy and numeracy skills15. To further explore the earning differential between primary school graduates and those who never attended school but have literacy and numeracy skills, we have constructed an index RWA that separates illiterates from those who have literacy and numeracy skills. This index takes the value ‘zero’ if individual does not have any skill; ‘1’ if individual has only one skill; ‘2’ if individual has two skills; and ‘3’ if individual has all three skills. We re-estimated equation 2 with this new variable and the results are reported in column 5 of table 2. According to our expectations, the coefficient of RWA is found not only large (0. 05) in magnitude but also statistically significant at 99 percent level. This indicates that the individuals with all three skills earn 15 percent more than those who have no skill. On the other hand, the coefficient of Yrs-Prim dropped to 0. 007 and became insignificant16. The differential in the earnings of illiterates and those having five years of primary education was 15 percent (0. 03*5=0. 15). This differential however, reduced to approximately 9 percent (0. 007*5+0. 053=8. 8) when we include those who have no formal education but have literacy and numeracy skills. These high returns to cognitive skills indicates the willingness of employer to pay higher wages to the able workers as compared to those who have five or less years of schooling but do not have these skills. Now we examine the effect of technical training and quality of schooling on earnings, first in separate equations and then in a single equation. The impact of technical training on earnings is examined by including years of apprenticeship as continuous variable in our model. The results are reported in column 1 of table 3. The results show a positive and significant impact of technical 15 There are 48 wage earners in our sample who have education less than primary but do not have any of these skill. Whereas we found 76 wage earners who do not have any formal education but have at least one of these skills. 16 This result is consistent with van der Gaag and Vijierberg (1989). 16 Table 3 Earning Functions : Impact of Technical Training and School Quality (Separate Functions) Variables Constant EDU EXP EXP2 Urban Male Balochistan NWFP Punjab Train.

Report to President on Gun Control Legislation

Report to President on Gun Control Legislation According to the second amendment of the U.S. Constitution, it has been guaranteed to the people, a right to keep and bear arms and such rights shall not be infringed. The result is that generally there is a heated debate regarding the gun-control legislation. While there are many who want to increase the regulation of firearms, many people oppose such regulation. For example, the article appearing in USA Today, titles as â€Å"Next, Comprehensive Reform of Gun Laws† the introduction of strict gun-control legislation by the Senate has been applauded and the benefits that can be derived by such reform legislation as well as the need for more such laws has been highlighted (USA Today 475). However, the detrimental effect of gun control legislation has also been equally highlighted in the media and also the way such legislation has an impact on the crime rate as well as the safety of the citizens (Gottlieb). In the present report, the arguments made by both sides have been evalua ted and an attempt has been made to provide a critical assessment of the need for gun-control legislation. As mentioned above, the persons who are in favor of the introduction of more gun-control laws claim that the laws that require waiting period as well as the background check of the persons who are willing to hold firearms can help in keeping these firearms away from the reach of criminals. The premise behind this argument shows that the laws that impose a ban on certain types of guns and ammunitions will result in keeping the streets safer because these weapons will not be available to easily. In this way, it is implied that such laws will prevent the criminals from accessing guns and it will also discourage the use of highly dangerous anti-personnel weapons. At the same time, this argument also believes that with the introduction of more such laws, the judicial system will also be in a better position to process the crimes related with guns and at the same time, it will ensure licensing and training for the owners of these guns. Therefore, it can be implied that more such laws shoul d be enacted because it will allow the legal system to work more efficiently and ensure the basic regulatory policies. However there are many who do not agree with this argument. According to these persons, it has been amply supported by statistics that in case of the States where gun control laws have been passed that require waiting period for purchasing guns, the rate of crime has in fact increased. This data is very significant because every time new gun-control legislation is introduced, the rate of violent crime increases instead of going down. Therefore, the opponents of gun control legislation argue that nobody wants an increase in violent crime. Moreover, it is also pointed out that as a result of the gun-control legislation, the streets have become safer for the criminals only while the danger for the victims increase because the victims are not in a position to protect themselves. It is also argued in this regard that it is the fundamental right of a person to protect himself and his family. Keeping in mind the significance of this right, it can be argued that more gun-control legislation should not be introduced in America. However, it needs to be noted in this regard that the introduction of more gun control legislation can be considered as the most significant step that can be taken in order to bring down firearm related crime. By imposing such laws that require waitlist, training, registration and a ban on dangerous weapons, it can be expected that the cities will become safer. The objections raised by the opponents of gun control legislation appeared to be insufficient due to the reason that they rely on the statistical evidence and there is always a chance that such evidence may not be accurate. At the same time, this argument is also based on the assertion that there is always a chance that the sale of guns in black market will increase. However the basis of the belief of the supporters of gun control legislation lies in disarming the criminals and making it difficult for the criminals to purchase guns. While the death of a victim is always unfortunate however the blame cannot be placed on gun-con trol legislation. The purpose of such legislation is to protect the victims. Although it is a way to protect oneself and the family to purchase a gun but it is not the only way. There are several other solutions available instead of using lethal force and the solutions are much more effective. Moreover, statistical data is often used by the opponents of gun control legislation in their support. However, it appears to be highly improbable that the increase in rates of crime is somehow related with firearms waitlist. If gun-control laws were not there, it will be very easy for everyone to have a gun, even if such person was a criminal record. However with the help of gun control legislation, the number of guns that are present on the streets can be reduced. If the number of guns present industries is reduced, the sale of guns in the black market will also decrease. It cannot be denied that it is the main responsibility of the government and protect the fundamental rights of the citizens but at the same time, it is also the responsibility of the government to introduce new laws so that the safety and well-being of the citizens can be ensured. The same is true in case of the area of gun control. The citizens are significantly impacted by the laws that are connected by the government in this regard and it is hoped that the laws will work in the best interests of the citizens. As a result, the citizens are at the core of the issue or the social side of this debate. As the laws in the country are enacted through the vote of the people, as a result, the society plays a significant role in the debate related with gun-control. The question that is generally asked in this debate is if owning the guns can be considered as a significant social reason behind the rate of homicide and suicide in America. This question lies at the base of the debate going on regarding gun control and at the same time, it also provides a significant reason behind the enactment of gun control legislation. Apart from taking the guns away from the common citizens, we reviewed to ensure their safety, there is another reason behind the enactment of gun control legislation. This reason is to prevent the guns from reaching the hands of criminals. But generally, the criminals do not face any barriers in acquiring deadly firearms although there are several laws that prevent the ownership of these weapons. There are certain laws that prohibit that any person was being accused or convicted of a deadly crime which carries a sentence of more than one year is prevented from possessing a gun. However, these laws have not proved to be very effective. It needs to be noted in this regard that the debate related with gun-control has three aspects, social, political and criminal. There is a significant relationship between the three. For example the criminal aspect of gun control has resulted in considerable social strife and as a result, political action has to be taken. The combined effect of these three aspects working jointly is to promote or prevent the introduction of gun control legislation as these laws significantly impact each and every person, regardless of the position taken by such a person (Cavett). Due to the fact that a large number of groups are involved in the issue of gun control, it is likely that the debate that is going on in this case is not going to fade very soon. However it is almost certain that significant changes have to be introduced in the present policy related with the possession of firearms. Some of the questions that can be asked in this regard is if the gun-control legislation is going to help or h urt the citizens to which they are trying to protect. Similarly another question that can be asked in this regard is if the enactment of these laws take away any of the fundamental rights enjoyed by the citizens. All these questions have to be considered carefully while dealing with this question. A much has been suffered by the nation at the hands of the dangerous people who have used terms in order to comment various acts of violence. Although most of the gun owners are law abiding and responsible and guns are used by them safely (Lund 127). However, the issue of gun control is a very complex issue. Therefore it becomes important that well founded, truthful statistics as well as scientific research is used to deal with the issue and find the basic causes behind the misuse of our arms and also crimes that are committed with the help of guns (Nocera). It will be very helpful for society if the general public as well as the main source of information of the public, media, adopts a critical skepticism and a responsible approach towards the claims made by the parties on both sides of this debate. In the end, it can be said that after considering the arguments forwarded by both sides regarding the issue of gun control, and examining the stands and weaknesses of the arguments from both sides in order to deeply analyze the competing views, it appears that the arguments in favor of the introduction of more gun-control legislation are in a better position as compared to the arguments that are given against the introduction of such legislation (Berzon). The arguments made by the supporters of gun control legislation have been significantly successful in explaining the benefits that can be provided by the introduction of more gun-control laws (Cullen). At the same time, the supporters of gun control legislation also provides solutions and the solutions are delivered clearly and concisely (Whitehead 13). On the other hand, the opponents of gun control legislation generally rely too heavily on unsupported statistics. In the absence of supportive evidence, it can be believed that the a rguments made by the opponents of gun control legislation do not hold much weight. At the same time, the assumption that is generally made by the opponents of such laws that the introduction of these laws will result in an increase in the sale of guns in black market is also not supported by facts. However, both the opponents as well as the supporters of gun control legislation want to protect the lives of innocent citizens and reduce the crime rate. However the solution lies in the introduction of more gun-control legislation.

Nursing Processes for Emesis Management

Nursing Processes for Emesis Management Nausea and vomiting are common complications of multiple conditions, procedures, therapies, and events such as motion sickness, pregnancy, anesthesia (general, regional, or local) or radio/chemotherapy. Symptoms can be debilitating for many patients, and in the case of post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV) physical damage may result, such as rupture of sutures, stitches, and esophageal tissue, and metabolic problems, such as electrolyte imbalances and dehydration (Golembiewski et al, 2005; Gan 2006). In severe cases of PONV, although rare, aspiration of gastric contents may occur, resulting in pulmonary sequelae, such as pneumonia or pneumothorax (Scuderi and Conlay 2003; Bremner and Kumar 1993). Thus effective treatment of PONV, possibly through multimodal antiemetic prophylaxis, is an important are of research (Skledar et al. 2007). This essay will consider two commonly used, well-recognized antiemetic treatments namely cyclizine and prochlorperazine. Both represent very old drug therapies, with cyclizine having been launched as an antiemetic in 1953, and prochlorperazine as an antipsychotic in 1957 (Broccatelli, 2010), its use as an effective antiemetic emerging soon thereafter (Finn et al, 2005). These drugs are commonly used on most wards in my practice setting and therefore it is vital for nursing staff to understand their respective pharmacodynamic (PD) and pharmacokinetic (PK) profiles. Prior to prescribing it is also important that the nurse have relevant knowledge regarding how these drugs work, how their PD and PK properties are altered by disease processes such as kidney/liver failure and whether there are any relevant contraindications or precautions. Additionally, the potential for drug-drug interactions and the dose appropriate for the patients age and weight should be ascertained if beneficial pati ent orientated outcomes are to be achieved. These issues will be comprehensively discussed within this essay. Pharmacology of emesis There are a plethora of drugs on the market to treat emesis, however, deciding upon an appropriate and effective treatment for patients requires the cause of the underlying nausea and vomiting to be ascertained. This is because the symptoms can manifest as a result of a number of underlying pharmacological processes, as will now be described. Vomiting is a complex reflex action controlled by the vomiting centre (VC) in the medulla region of the brain, an important part of which is the chemotrigger zone (CTZ); stimulation of this in turn leads to VC stimulation which ultimately leads to vomiting (Goodman Gilman, 1996). Neurotransmitter mediated stimulation of the VC can arise from both peripheral and central impulses (Shanbhag, 2008). Thus gastrointestinal irritation, motion sickness and vestibular neuritis all manifest in nausea and vomiting as a result of neurotransmitter release. The three main neurotransmitters involved in the control of vomiting are acetylcholine (ACh; via muscarinic-receptors), dopamine (via dopaminergic receptors), histamine (via H-1 receptors), and serotonin (via 5-HT3 receptors) (Shanbhag, 2008). Inhibition or antagonism of these receptors achieves emetic control. The VC has neurons which are rich in muscarinic cholinergic and histamine containing synapses and is directly stimulated by the vestibular input (e.g. through motion sickness), whilst dopamine and serotonin release are involved in the visceral stimuli pathway (e.g. through chemotherapy treatment) and also in the CTZ stimulation pathway as shown in Figure 1. Thus drug classifications of anti-emetics arise on the basis of which of the three pathways that they target (Flake et al., 2004). Selective serotonin receptor antagonists and antidopaminergics target the visceral stimuli and the CTZ, whilst the antihistamines and anticholinergics target the vestibular input pathway (Hornby , 2001; Flake et al., 2004). Etiology of Nausea and Vomiting Cyclizines anti-emetic effects are not fully understood but it is thought that it works by blocking the transmission of information from the labyrinthine apparatus in the inner ear (i.e. the vestibular pathway) to the VC (Goodman and Gillman, 1996). Cyclizine may also target the CTZ and it thought to exhibit some ACh muscarinic receptor blockade which probably contribute to the antiemetic potential thus operating at several pathophysiological levels. However, a side effect of ACh blockade is sedation in some individuals along with the potential for certain deliriant and hallucinogenic effects, probably responsible for cyclizines abuse potential (Bailey and Davies, 2008). Cyclizine produces its antiemetic effect within two hours and it lasts approximately four hours (emc, n.d.). The exact mechanism of prochlorperazines antiemetic action is also unclear, but the drug is thought to inhibit apomorphine induced vomiting by blocking dopamine D2 receptors centrally in the CTZ and possibly peripherally through dopaminergic receptors in the intestine (Perwitasari, 2011).   However, it also has some potential to block anticholinergic and alpha-adrenergic receptors, and therefore can also result in sedation along with muscle relaxation, and orthostatic hypotension (Kelly, 2000). Following intramuscular administration prochlorperazine has an onset of action within ten to twenty minutes and a duration of action of three to four hours (globalrph, n.d.). Indications and dosage form Cyclizine is indicated for the control of postoperative and drug-induced vomiting and in motion sickness (BNF, 2012; emc, n.d.). It is given by mouth at a dose of 50mg tablets up to three times a day or parenterally as a 50mg in 1ml solution intramuscular (im) or intravenous (iv) injection again at a frequency of up to 3 times a day (Reynolds, 1993). The recommended dose in children aged 6-12 years is lower: 25 mg up to 3 times daily. For motion sickness, it is recommended that tablets be taken 1-2 hours before departure. Cyclizine can also be given for vertigo and, morning sickness in pregnancy, and to combat  opioid nausea. It is also prescribed for radiation sickness (medsafe, n.d.) and PONV (Cholwill et al., 1999), indeed it is given iv before the induction of general anaesthesia at half the recommended dose, to increase the lower oesophageal sphincter tone thus reducing the hazard of regurgitation and aspiration of gastric contents (medsafe, n.d.). Although prochlorperazine is classified as an antipsychotic, its principal use nowadays is in the treatment of severe nausea and vomiting of various causes including, PONV, vertigo and motion sickness (BNF, 2012). It has several dosage forms: tablet (5mg: one or two tablets 3-4 times daily), syrup (5mg in 5ml: 5-10 ml 3-4 times daily), suppositories (25mg twice daily), dissolvable tablet (buccal tablet 3mg: one or two tablets twice a day in adults and children aged 12 years and over), im injection (12.5mg in 1ml; 5-10mg repeated every 3-4 hours with a maximum daily dose of 40mg) and iv injection (2.5 -10 mg by slow IV injection or infusion  with a maximum daily dose of 40mg). The oral (and buccal) route is the only method of administration recommended for children, and it is not recommended in children younger than  12 years (BNF, 2012). The different dosage form of prochlorperazine provides the nurse with flexibility for example the elderly and children may prefer the syrup or b uccal tablet, or in dysphagia suppositories or intra-muscular injections could be more appropriate. Cyclizine and prochlorperazine are both considered first line treatments for nausea secondary to vertigo and motion sickness (Quigley, 2001) and are first line treatments in many hospitals in PONV (NHS, Salisbury; NHS Plymouth). A review by Matchar, et al. (2003) has suggested that oral prochloperazine may also be used as an adjunct in the treatment of nausea associated with migraine (Matchar et al, n.d.). No randomized controlled trial has been found which formally compares efficacy of cyclizine and prochlorperazine, however, two studies comparing cyclizine with perphenazine in ameliorating drug-induced emesis, have shown the former to have comparable antiemetic efficacy to this related phenothiazine drug (Dundee et al., 1975; Chestnutt and Dundee, 1986). These studies are featured in a Cochrane report (Stevenson, 2006) which investigates drugs for preventing PONV and highlights eight drugs which reduce PONV by a similar amount in this patient group, cyclizine being one. The report concluded, therefore, that the most important question to answer when treating emesis is What are the types and risks of side effects experienced by patients exposed to these antiemetics? Thus safe and effective prescribing requires the nurse to identify patient variables or comorbidities relevant to the drugs side effects, for example heart failure patients should not be prescribed cyclizine and individuals susceptible to visual disturbances should avoid prochlorperazine as per the drugs contraindications. It is noteworthy that both drugs may be prescribed in the later stages of pregnancy if considered appropriate by a doctor (Schaefer, 2007; CKS, n.d.).  [1]   The choice of antiemetic would depend upon the precise cause of the nausea in conjunction with the specific receptor affected. However, since several different neurotransmitters stimulate the CTZ, combining drugs with different mechanisms of action can often be more effective than increasing the dose of one individual drug (King and Brucker 2011). Indeed, combinations of antiemetics are often used in palliative care (NHS Scotland, n.d.). Notably, vomiting of unclear or mixed origin may respond to a phenothiazine such as prochlorperazine because, in addition to acting on dopamine and serotonin receptors in the CTZ, it also acts at the VC and vestibular area. Cyclizine and prochlorperazine are both commonly used anti-emetics in palliative care where nausea and vomiting are present in up to 70% of patients with advanced cancer (NHS Scotland, n.d.). Treating this patient population requires particular vigilance, since there may be a number of underlying reasons for and comorbidities contributing to the nausea and vomiting, and antiemetics may be inappropriate. Consideration for causes of the symptoms might include intestinal obstruction or constipation, anxiety, raised intracranial pressure (ICP), oesophageal candida, severe pain or hypercalcaemia all of which might warrant interventions other then antiemetics. Conversely, should the nausea and vomiting be identified as drug induced, then anti-emetics such as cyclyzine or prochlorperazine might be appropriate. Raised intracranial pressure stimulates vomiting centre via pressure receptors and can be problematic in patients with known or suspected brain metastases. Notable, cyclizine can be g iven to such patients, especially where corticosteroids are contraindicated (NHS Scotland, n.d.). Pharmacokinetics Cyclizine, like most antihistamines, is well absorbed from the GI tract. After oral doing the effects develop within 30 minutes, are maximal within 1-2 hours and lasts for 4-6 hours. A single oral dose of 50 mg cyclizine in healthy adult volunteers resulted in a peak plasma concentration of approximately 70 ng/mL, occurring at about two hours after drug administration. The plasma elimination half-life is approximately 20 hours.  [2]  Cyclizine is extensively metabolised in the liver via N-demethylation to the inactive metabolite norcyclizine (Figure 4), which is widely distributed throughout the tissues and has plasma half-life of approximately 20 hours. This metabolite has minor antihistaminic activity compared to parent drug. A single 50 mg dose of cyclizine when given to an adult male volunteer, results in less than 1% of the total dose administered being excreted as parent drug in the urine over a 24 h period. Thus urinary excretion of metabolite rather than parent drug is th e major route of elimination for  cyclizine. The metabolism is thought to be mediated through CYP 2D6 and therefore exhibit inter-subject variability dependent upon the CYP 2D6 genotype as demonstrated by Vella-Brincat et al. (2012) in their study of the PK of cyclizine (Appendix 1) and its major metabolite (Appendix 2) in palliative care patients receiving sub-cutaneous cyclizine. Results indicated that the metabolic ratio of parent drug to metabolite differed significantly according to CYP2D6 genetics.  [3]   Prochlorperazine is reasonably well absorbed from the GI tract and highly protein bound. It undergoes extensive metabolism both in the gastric mucosa and on first pass through the liver via the cytochrome P450 enzyme system (CYP 2D6 and CYP 3A4)  [4]  to inactive metabolites, which are subsequently excreted in the urine. Parent drug has a plasma half-life of between 4 and 8 hours, the precise half-life differing according to the mode of administration. An im injection produces its antiemetic effect in 5-10 minutes and it lasts for 3-4 hours. Onset of effects are related to the mode of administration hence the pharmacokinetic profile, thus an oral dose would have a slightly slower onset of action but would last longer compared with an im injection.  [5]  According to Finn et al (2005), although the drug has been accepted as a useful anti-emetic for over half a century, its therapeutic success has been limited by its low and variable absorption and high first-pass metabolism. H owever, the development of a new buccal formulation has improved the PK, since studies demonstrate that buccal administration of prochlorperazine produces plasma concentrations more than twice as high as an oral tablet, with less than half the variability (Finn et al., 2005)  [6]  (Figure 5). When placed in the buccal cavity between the upper lip and the gum the formulation forms a gel from which the prochlorperazine is released and absorbed. The plasma levels achieved at steady-state on a dosage regimen of one 3mg buccal tablet twice daily are similar to those observed with the standard oral dosage of one 5 mg tablet taken three times daily. The elimination half-life of prochlorperazine in this formulation is 9 hours. The safety and efficacy of this relatively new formulation has also been demonstrated by Bond  [7]  (1998) in a randomised, double-blind, double-dummy trial in patients with vestibular disorders. Side effects By virtue of their pharmacology, cyclizine and prochlorperazine are both central depressants and can cause impairment of performance (Benson, 2001). Consequently, the pharmaceutical data sheets for both drugs have warnings regarding their potential to interfere with the ability to drive or operate machinery safely due to their ability to cause drowsiness (BNF, 2012). Despite the fact that cyclizine is one of the older antihistamines it is considered less potent in this regard compared to others in its class (Broccatelli, 2010), however, there is considerable variability in response to this side effect which can range from slight drowsiness to deep sleep. For this reason in practice, when one drug is not effective or poorly tolerated then it is justifiable to give another drug or combination of drugs (Benson, 2001). This unwanted side-effect is also a feature of prochlorperazine especially in the elderly, and often diminishes with continued treatment of both drugs (emc, n.d.). Cyclizines other more common side-effects include headache and psychomotor impairment plus antimuscarinic effects, such as urinary retention, dry mouth, blurred vision, and gastrointestinal disturbances (BNF, 2012). Less common side effects are palpitations and arrhythmias, also dizziness, hypotension, muscular weakness and poor coordination (Goodman and Gilman, 1975). Prochlorperazine commonly causes CNS related side effect such as acute dystonia or dyskinesia, however these tend to be transitory (usually occur within the first 4  days of treatment) and are more common in children and young adults. Dopamine antagonists like prochlorperazine can also cause extrapyramidal effects, QT prolongation and even severe hypotension, especially in the elderly (emc, n.d.). Muscle spasms and restlessness are other reported side effects. Interactions Cyclizine exhibits pharmacological interactions with other drugs due to antagonism of its action (donepezil, galantamine, rivastigmine) or enhanced anticholinergic actions (tacrine, trimethobenzamine, triprolidine, trospium). Pharmacokinetic interactions may arise since cyclizine is an inhibitor of the hepatic CYP 2C9 isozyme system, which is involved in an NADPH-dependent electron transport pathway. This isozyme oxidizes a variety of structurally unrelated compounds, including steroids, fatty acids, and xenobiotics and contributes to the wide pharmacokinetics variability of the metabolism of drugs such as S-warfarin, diclofenac, phenytoin, tolbutamide and losartan. Pethidine and propanidid are also listed as having a potential to interact with cyclizine. Cyclizine also acts as an inhibitor of estrogen sulfotransferase, the enzyme responsible for estradiol metabolism. Prochloperazine has a plethora of interactions, both pharmacological and pharmacokinetic. The pharmacokinetic interactions are largely due to competitive metabolic interactions at the hepatic CYP 3A4 and CYP 2D6 enzymes. The CYP 3A4 isozymes are responsible for a variety of oxidation reactions e.g. caffeine 8-oxidation, omeprazole sulphoxidation, midazolam 1-hydroxylation and midazolam 4- hydroxylation, plus metabolism of structurally unrelated compounds, including steroids, fatty acids, and many other xenobiotics. Whilst the CYP 2D6 isozymes are responsible for the metabolism of many drugs and environmental chemicals, via oxidative transformation along with metabolism of drugs such as antiarrhythmics, adrenoceptor antagonists, and tricyclic antidepressants.  [9]  Consequently, the data sheet for prochlorperazine lists many drugs with interaction potential including adrenaline, amphetamine, carbamazepine, clonidine, desferrioxamine, guanethidine, levodopa, lithium, phenobarbital and propranolol. Managing Drug Therapy When managing the care of a patient, nursing staff must initially thoroughly assess the patient, then identify significant interactions between core drug knowledge (PD, PK, ADRs, interactions, contraindications) and the patients core variables (health status, age and gender, life-style and diet, environments, culture). Thereafter the nurse can plan and implement suitable interventions, which will maximise therapeutic effects whilst minimising adverse effects (Aschenbrenner and Venable, 2008). In order to achieve such objectives the nurse should ensure administration of the appropriate medication is given through a suitable route on a regular basis or as required, with ongoing patient evaluation and monitoring. Cyclizine and prochlorperazine are both considered first line treatments for nausea secondary to vertigo and motion sickness (Quigley, 2001) and are first line treatments in many hospitals in PONV (NHS, Salisbury; NHS Plymouth). A review by Matchar, et al. (2003) has suggested that oral prochloperazine may also be used as an adjunct in the treatment of nausea associated with migraine (Matchar et al, n.d.). No randomized controlled trial has been found which formally compares efficacy of cyclizine and prochlorperazine, however, two studies comparing cyclizine with perphenazine in ameliorating drug-induced emesis, have shown the former to have comparable antiemetic efficacy to this related phenothiazine drug (Dundee et al., 1975; Chestnutt and Dundee, 1986). These studies are featured in a Cochrane report (Stevenson, 2006) which investigates drugs for preventing PONV and highlights eight drugs which reduce PONV by a similar amount in this patient group, cyclizine being one. The report concluded, therefore, that the most important question to answer when treating emesis is What are the types and risks of side effects experienced by patients exposed to these antiemetics? Thus safe and effective prescribing requires the nurse to identify patient variables or comorbidities relevant to the drugs side effects, for example heart failure patients should not be prescribed cyclizine and individuals susceptible to visual disturbances should avoid prochlorperazine as per the drugs contraindications. It is noteworthy that both drugs may be prescribed in the later stages of pregnancy if considered appropriate by a doctor (Schaefer, 2007; CKS, n.d.).  [10]   The choice of antiemetic would depend upon the precise cause of the nausea in conjunction with the specific receptor affected. However, since several different neurotransmitters stimulate the CTZ, combining drugs with different mechanisms of action can often be more effective than increasing the dose of one individual drug (King and Brucker 2011). Indeed, combinations of antiemetics are often used in palliative care (NHS Scotland, n.d.). Notably, vomiting of unclear or mixed origin may respond to a phenothiazine such as prochlorperazine because, in addition to acting on dopamine and serotonin receptors in the CTZ, it also acts at the VC and vestibular area. Cyclizine and prochlorperazine are both commonly used anti-emetics in palliative care where nausea and vomiting are present in up to 70% of patients with advanced cancer (NHS Scotland, n.d.). Treating this patient population requires particular vigilance, since there may be a number of underlying reasons for and comorbidities contributing to the nausea and vomiting, and antiemetics may be inappropriate. Consideration for causes of the symptoms might include intestinal obstruction or constipation, anxiety, raised intracranial pressure (ICP), oesophageal candida, severe pain or hypercalcaemia all of which might warrant interventions other then antiemetics. Conversely, should the nausea and vomiting be identified as drug induced, then anti-emetics such as cyclyzine or prochlorperazine might be appropriate. Raised intracranial pressure stimulates vomiting centre via pressure receptors and can be problematic in patients with known or suspected brain metastases. Notable, cyclizine can be g iven to such patients, especially where corticosteroids are contraindicated (NHS Scotland, n.d.). Administration Precautions Due to its centrally acting effects, patients taking cyclizine should avoid alcohol and other depressants e.g. hypnotics or tranquillisers. Food may reduce irritation to cyclizine and since there is no interaction with food, this drug can be taken without regard to meals. The datasheet indicates it should be used with caution in hepatic disease, whilst in renal impairment there is a need for dose reduction (BNF, 2012). Cyclizine should also be used with caution in patients with severe heart failure. Other anticholinergic effects include visual disturbances, and sedation, which can make them dangerous for the elderly population or younger patients. Further, cardiovascular side effects e.g. hypotension, tachycardia, and palpitations have been reported, plus minor GI effect e.g. dry mouth and constipation. Cyclizine has a well-known abuse potential (Ruben et al. 2006). In opiate dependents receiving long-term methadone cyclizine is often taken in large doses intravenously to provide a m ore intense high. Thereafter the addict experiences depressive mood changes and a craving for cyclizine. Many individuals receiving long-term prescriptions of oral methadone have been identified as being habitual abusers of cyclizine.  [11]  Consequently, there is considerable reticence by pharmacists in prescribing the drug, and alternative treatments are generally sought. Obviously in the hospital setting there is little opportunity for such abuse, and the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of the drug would therefore take precedence over its abuse potential (Barber, 1995; Philips and Thompson, 1997). Although prochlorperazine being an antipsychotic phenothiazine drug can be employed in psychiatry, in lower doses it is usually prescribed for its anti-emetic properties. Patients taking the drug should take with a full glass of water, avoid excessive quantities of coffee or tea (containing caffeine) and also avoid alcohol. Prochlorperazine should be used with caution in patients with renal and hepatic impairment and cardiovascular disease; also in Parkinsons disease, epilepsy and in patients with a history of glaucoma. While the drug does not deliver the euphoria that is associated with many commonly abused drugs, it still has some abuse potential since it can alter mood and perception, but not to the extent of cyclizine. Moreover, dependence and tolerance can develop, which can drive the individual to continue to seek more of the drug  [12]  and result in overdose, characterised by symptoms of central nervous system depression to the point of somnolence or coma. Agitation and r estlessness may also occur in overdose. Other possible manifestations include convulsions, EKG changes and cardiac arrhythmias, fever and autonomic reactions such as hypotension, dry mouth and ileus. Managing Drug Therapy Nausea and Vertigo: In emetic patients, antiemetics should only be prescribed when the underlying cause is known, indeed antiemetic administration may be harmful when the cause can be treated, e.g. in diabetic ketoacidosis or digoxin/antiepileptic overdose. In addition to motion sickness cyclizine can be given to patients with nausea caused by mechanical bowel obstruction and raised intracranial pressure.  [13]  Once a decision has been made that antiemetic drug treatment is appropriate, the drug and the dosage form should be chosen according to the aetiology of vomiting along with core drug knowledge and patient variables. Thus prochloperazine is useful for episodes of more severe nausea and vomiting e.g. associated with diffuse neoplastic disease, radiation sickness, and the emesis caused by drugs such as opioids, general anaesthetics, and cytotoxics. Indeed, prophylactic use may be required if severe nausea is anticipated such as following chemotherapy treatment. (Aschenbrenne r and Venable, 2008). Prochorperazine may be a suitable choice because of its dosage forms, thus rectal suppositories can be useful in patients with persistent vomiting or with severe nausea and the buccal tablet dosage form is also useful in such instances. However, during use of phenothiazines it is important to monitor severe dystonic reactions, especially in children. It is recommended as a second-line treatment for vomiting in pregnancy after promethazine.  [14]   Whereas the efficacy of cyclizine in treating nausea and vomiting has already been unequivocally proven, it is only available in tablet and injectable form. Nevertheless, cyclizine may be the choice of drug over prochlorperazine in children since in this patient population the latter can only be administered orally (BNF, 2012), and therefore requires patient compliance for success. There is no evidence that either of the two drugs is superior to the other in terms of efficacy; also despite cyclizines longer plasma half-life compared with prochlorperazine, the duration of action is similar at around 4 hours. The adverse event profiles do however differ slightly, because of the differing underlying pharmacology of these two drugs. This is an important consideration in the choice of drug, alongside special precautions which, as described earlier, must be considered in conjunction with patients co-morbidities. It is also noteworthy that educating patients and their families regarding the drug of choice is important; for example warning patients against consuming alcohol with both prochlorperazine and cyclizine and warning patients against driving or operating machinery if susceptible to drowsiness with either drug. In summary, both cyclizine and prochloperazine have similar safety, tolerability and toxicity profiles despite their differing modes of action on a cellular level. Tolerability in terms of drowsiness is a potential problem for both drugs, but is generally dependent upon the individual patients susceptibility, warranting a trial and error type approach when determining which is the optimal drug of choice. Also, due to the drugs both being substrates of CYP 2D6 their phamacokinetic profiles may exhibit inter-subject variability by virtue of the different phenotypes of this enzyme which exist in the population. This differing pharmacokinetic profile would logically translate into a varied response in terms of therapeutic effects. Likewise, their potential to interact with other drugs is inextricably linked with their metabolism, namely metabolic competition at the cytochrome P450 enzyme receptor sites. Thus both drugs have the potential to interact with a wide range of other medications . Moreover, since both drugs are extensively metabolised in the liver, with excretion of metabolites in the urine, there is a need for caution in renal and hepatic disease. Cyclizine and prochlorperazine appear to be similarly efficacious with regard to their treatment of emesis caused by motion sickness. The literature is inconclusive regarding which drug would be more superior for PONV, or vertigo, and even though it has been suggested that prochlorperazine should be chosen over cyclizine when the nausea is severe, there does not seem to be any compelling evidence for this and many hospitals tend to choose cyclizine over prochlorperazine in their antiemetic protocols/guidelines. The most compelling evidence for choosing prochlorperazine over cyclizine in the primary care setting would be the high abuse potential with cyclizine. However, in the secondary care setting this is of minimal concern. Therefore a more compelling reason for choosing prochlorperazine over cyclizine in this setting might largely hinge on the greater flexibility in formulations available for prochlorperazine. Whereas both drugs can be given orally as a tablet, when patients are vomiting this may be inappropriate. The buccal tablet or rectal suppository, which is available for prochlorperazine, and is less invasive than an injection formulation may be more acceptable to many patients in such cases. To conclude, the present essay has demonstrated that the nursing process for effectively dealing with emesis is challenging and complex. Here we have witnessed the plethora of facts which the nurse must take into account prior to prescribing the antiemetic drugs cyclizine and prochlorperazine, and that even after attempting to optimise drug selection on the basis of such facts, success cannot be guaranteed. Ongoing monitoring of patient response/progress with the possibility of altering or augmenting the chosen drug therapy is necessary to improve outcomes, ensure patients receive optimal care, and that they enjoy maximal therapeutic success with minimal side effects. References Matchar DB, Young WB, Rosenberg JH, Michael P. Pietrzak, Stephen D. Silberstein, Richard B. Lipton and Nabih M. Ramadan. Evidence-based guidelines for migraine headache in the primary care setting: Pharmacological management of acute attacks. Available at: www.aan.com/public/practiceguidelines/03.pdf/. Accessed 28/10/12. CKS: Clinical Knowledge Summaries http://www.cks.nhs.uk/nausea_vomiting_in_pregnancy/management/prescribing_information/prochlorperazine/advice_about_prochlorperazine Goodman, L.S., and A. Gilman. (eds.) The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics. 5th ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1975., p. 607). Benson A J, Medication for Motion S