Analysis of Medicine Availability

Analysis of Medicine Availability 4. Results 4.1 Availability of Medicine Chart 4.1 Comparative Availability of Medicine in both public and private sector along with high priced and low priced generics Chart 4.1 shows the comparative availability of the surveyed medicines in public sector facilities (mean availability in all PHCs over the period of seven months) and in private sector at the time of visit. Findings show that out of the thirty (30) medicines surveyed, three (3) medicines; diethyl carbamazine, ampicillin and human premixed insulin are neither available in public nor in private. Nine (9) medicines; ampicillin, diethyl carbamazine, Enalapril, furosemide, human premixed insulin, mannitol, methyldopa, phenobarbitone and sodium valproate were not available in public sector at any point of time. Availability of seven (7) medicines was found to be less than 50 percent; isosorbide dinitrate (40%), metaclopromide (40%), metronidazole (40%), dextrose NaCl (30%) and dexamethasone, glyceryl trinitrate and beclomethasone with 10, 10 and 1.4% respectively. Availability of twelve (12) medicines; Albendazole, amoxicillin, ascorbic acid, ibuprofen, paracetamol, ranitidine, cotrimoxazo le, atenolol (70%), gentamicin (70%), glibenclamide (70%), salbutamol (70%), vitamin B complex (80%) was more than 50% with first seven medicines available at all times (100%). In the private sector, the availability of medicines assumed either all or none except for the low priced versions of cotrimoxazole (70%) and glibenclamide (90%). Low price generics of 13 medicines; amoxicillin, ampicillin, beclomethasone, chlorpheniramine, dexamethasone dextrose NaCl, diethyl carbamazine, human premixed insulin, isosorbide dinitrate, mannitol, metaclopromide, methyldopa and phenobarbitone and both versions of 6 medicines; ampicillin, beclomethasone, chlorpheniramine, diethyl carbamazine, human premixed insulin and isosorbide dinitrate were not available in any facility. Chart 4.2 Comparative availability of medicines in public sector among all the PHCs survey for the period of seven months Chart 4.2 shows the mean availability of the surveyed medicines across all the PHCs over the period of seven months. Availability ranged from forty percent (40%) to fifty seven percent (56.67%) with the mean availability at forty eight percent (47.57%). Chart 4.3 Comparative availability of Medicines in Private Sector Chart 4.3 shows the mean availability of surveyed basket of medicines in private sector for both high price and low price versions. Availability of high price generics was found to be eighty percent (80%) and for low price it was fifty two percent (52%). 4.2 Price Differentials Chart 4.4 Price Comparison of median prices of individual drugs of both high price and low price generics Chart 4.4 cont.†¦.. Chart 4.4 shows the median prices of all the surveyed medicines in Indian rupee per unit dose of the medicine except for gentamicin, dextrose NaCl and mannitol (price of full pack is considered). Table 4.1 Ratios of median prices of high price and low price generics Table 4.1 gives the information on the ratios of median prices of high and low price versions of medicines available. Values ranged from 6.44 for atenolol to 1.02 for ranitidine. Higher the ratio, higher is the price difference between the generic versions available. Table 4.2 Median Price Ratios of high priced and low priced generics in comparison with International Reference Prices Table 4.2 shows the median, percentile, minimum, and maximum values of median price ratios in the private sector for both versions of generics. Maximum MPR for high price version was found for diclofenac (18.84) and minimum for dexamethasone (0.22). Maximum and minimum MPR in the low price version were for vitamin B complex (8.43) and glyceryl trinitrate (0.18). 4.3 Affordability Table 4.3 Affordability of treatment for certain conditions in terms of daily wages Table 4.3 shows the information on cost of treatment regimen for few conditions using the surveyed medicines. Average wage/ salary earnings (Rs. 0.00) per day received by casual labours of age 15-59 years engaged in works other than public works in urban areas of Andhra Pradesh (INR 178.34) were considered (NSS 68th round). Cost of the treatment ranged from 6 days’ wages for treating Echinococcus infection with high price generic of Albendazole to 0.24 days’ wages for treating urinary tract infection using co-trimoxazole. 4.4 Prescription Audits Chart 4.5 Comparison of drugs prescribed by branded name, generic name and from essential medicines list among all the PHCs surveyed Chart 4.5 shows the percentage of drugs prescribed by generic name and branded name and as per the essential medicines list. It was found in seven PHCs the 100 percent of drugs were prescribed as per essential medicines list and in the rest it was more than eighty five percent. It was found around seventy percent of drugs were prescribed by generic name with a maximum of ninety four percent and minimum of sixty seven percent. Table 4.4 Table 4.4 shows the maximum, minimum and mean values analyzed in the prescription audits. Maximum and minimum drugs per prescription were six and one respectively with a mean of 2.75. Maximum and minimum drugs prescribed by generic name per prescription were four and zero with a mean of 2.15. Maximum and minimum drugs prescribed by branded name per prescription were three and zero with a mean of 0.6. Maximum and minimum drugs prescribed as per EML per prescription were six and zero with a mean of 2.7.

Jealousy Snow White

Jealousy in Snow-White Few people can grow up within today's society without knowing the tale of Snow White. From the Grimm Brothers to Disney, it has been told and retold to children throughout the ages. However, what is often overlooked are the true meanings within the story. Fairytales typically have underlying messages that can be found between the lines, generally in terms of the key themes. Snow-White discusses the theme of jealousy, and shows how humans' obsessions of material can lead to their own downfall as well as the harm of others. When focusing on the relationship between Snow-White and her stepmother the Queen, it is evident that the jealousy inside the story results in a power struggle in which beauty and pride are seen as the basis for the stepmother’s envy towards Snow-White. â€Å"This gave the queen a great shock, and she became yellow and green with envy, from that hour her heart turned against Snow-White, and she hated her. † Throughout the story of Snow-White jealousy is omnipresent. The major evidence of jealousy is the daily ritual of the queen in which she consults her magic mirror on who is the most beautiful person in the kingdom. As she says, â€Å"Looking-glass upon the wall, who is the fairest of us all? † she repeatedly expects to be in her favor. One day she is outraged when it appeared that Snow-White surpassed her. This information drove the queen to hate Snow-White and generates jealousy and soon she ordered her death. By looking at beauty as commodity through which power can be gained, this action can be interpreted as a mean for the queen to preserved her power through beauty. The stepmother is very narcissistic and obsessed with power, she constantly wants to be the center of all the attention. She is afraid that snow white will gradually take her place as the most beautiful woman in the kingdom. As a result, she fears that Snow-White could use her beauty in order to usurp power from the queen and surpasses her. After all, snow white was young and beautiful, and the queen would only deteriorate with time. In the story, the pride of the queen was to be the most beautiful of the kingdom. Indeed, â€Å"Pride pumped in her like a poison. † Until one day, the mirror replied â€Å"queen you are full fair, its true but snow white is fairer han you. † This statement is a turning point among the story. She becomes green with envy and obsessed by the desire of killing Snow-White. Jealousy seized the queen one more time as she could not stand not to be the best. This time, more than her rank and the fear to loose her power, she is loosing her own pride and is jealous about the fact that she is not THE most beautiful woman. She was very obsessed to be the fairest, she bel ieved in her mirror and was enraged that, â€Å"snow-white was a thousand time fairer than the queen would never be. Her extreme jealousy towards snow-white pushed her to madness, and non-human behaviors. She eats the heart and liver of a beast believing that they are snow-white’s organs. Another interpretation we can give to the story could be what Snow-White represents to the King’s eyes. Snow-white is the daughter of the King and the former queen. This is making the queen particularly jealous in two ways. First, she is probably annoyed that she is the daughter of another queen and that herself doesn’t have any child. It is an opposition of blood between stepmother and stepdaughter. In the other hand, the jealousy comes from that snow white will naturally generates interest to the king as she is his daughter. The queen would not want to share her husband with her stepdaughter. To sum up, jealousy of the queen in the story of snow white is absolutely outrageous. The obsession of the queen and her extreme jealousy leads her to madness and crime. She commits act of cannibalism and repeatedly attempt to kill Snow-White. Her sins took her to her own downfall as she is the one that finally dies in the story. The story teaches us a lesson, not to be vain, and be blessed with what you have instead.

Victoria’s Secret Pink: Keeping the Brand Hip

Case 6 Victoria’s Secret Pink: Keeping the Brand Hip As consumers, we pay attention to what is hip and trendy in the marketplace as it relates to fashion. Advertising plays a large role in the fashion decisions made by adults and pre-adults alike. For instance, advertisers for Victoria Secret have done a brilliant job of creating an association with the Victoria Secret brand and the visual image of lingerie that immediately comes to mind. They do this by using famous super models to market their signature bras, panties and sleepwear. This association is then projected back on the consumer, who begins to believe that they can be just a seductive as the Victoria Secret supermodels if they purchase this lingerie. A dilemma that may arise from this is that sometimes ethical boundary lines may become blurred or even crossed when advertisers try to establish a target audience. In an effort to generate profits, companies may be putting themselves at risk by targeting audiences that are too young for their sexually charged merchandise. . Analyze the buyer decision process of a typical Pink customer. The typical Pink customer is a young and fashionable woman that enjoys comfortable clothing. For women who may think that the Victoria Secret line is too racy or sexy for them, the Pink line offers a casual alternative that allows young women to feel cute and playful. The Pink brand is typically associated with and is characterized as an â€Å"approach† product, which is a product that provides a consumer a form of enj oyment. A typical Pink consumer uses personal influences to make purchase decisions. For example, this line of clothing is basically geared toward college coeds, who are usually seen sporting â€Å"loungewear† in daily life. Pink consumers are able to take their personal sense of style to the next level by wearing clothing that better suits their personalities. In this line, loungewear has been redefined by the use of bright colors, stripes and polka-dots; the line reflects personalities that are more fun. Likewise, lifestyle and social class play a large role in buyer decision. Pink customers are fortunate enough to be able to afford to spend their disposable income on fashion forward brands such as these. Lastly, â€Å"age and life stage† impacts buyer decision. The intended target audiences for the Pink brand are women between the ages of 18 through 30 , which includes the later part of Generation X and most of Generation Y. This subculture perceives themselves as young and will dress accordingly and make a fashion statement with the popular Pink brand. The women in this target group who are interested in being fashionable will look to societal requirements of them when making fashion decisions. If they know their age group is being targeted by the Pink advertisers and they think that Pink is hip and stylish, they will likely be influenced to buy it. Consumers wearing modern clothing products tend to feel better about themselves and perceive themselves as conforming to modern times. 2. Apply the concept of aspirational groups to Victoria Secret’s Pink line. Should marketers have boundaries with regard to this concept? Victoria Secret has positioned the Pink line in a way that it will target young consumers through their entry-level product so that they continue to be loyal customers and purchase the Victoria Secret brand as they age. Marketers have an ethical and social responsibility to ensure that they are not marketing to a young target age group if the product poses an inherent health risk or is sexually charged. Such is the case with the tobacco companies. Their advertisements were indirectly gaining the attention of minors. I believe that Victoria Secret is not exploiting younger age groups with their Pink line. Even if tweens are interested in the product, there is little cause for concern since the line is intended to be cute and playful, rather than sexy. Unfortunately, because of age compression, children are doing away with childlike images at a much earlier age. The need to grow up is very visible when it comes to fashion. For this reason, marketers need to be diligent in making sure that they target and advertise to the appropriate age group. In this day and age we place blame on the fashion industry and manufactures for the skimpy clothing products that are introduced to the market place and essentially to our children. Although there is some truth to this, we must not minimize the essential role that parents need to play in ensuring that the boundaries for their children are met. 3. Explain how both the positive and negative consumer attitudes toward a brand like Pink develop? How might someone’s attitude toward Pink change? From a positive side, consumers can relate more to the Pink product line as the clothing is characterized as â€Å"loungewear† which is comfortable and easy to wear. The consumers are presented with new Pink products every three to four weeks. This in turn keeps customers satisfied with being able to have the latest and greatest attire. Positive consumer attitudes are formed by customer satisfaction with the product. If the customers’ expectations are exceeded, then they are said to have a positive outcome. Positive customer experience will lead to customers being loyal and making repeat purchases. Satisfied customers will in turn be advocates and refer their friends to the Pink line. Negative consumer attitudes are formed when there is dissatisfaction with the product purchased. These customers will most likely never purchase the product again due to their initial poor experience. A customer’s attitude towards Pink may change due to some misunderstanding. For example a loyal customer may change their opinion of the company not due to the product, but because of poor customer service. This in turn can persuade the customer to purchase from somewhere else. As a business, you need to create and maintain strong customer relationships. It is easier to keep current customers than to attract new ones. 4. What role does Pink appear to be playing in the self-concept of tweens, teens, and young adults? Pink appears to be having a positive influence on the self-concept of young adults. It is not always necessary to look sexy in order to feel good about yourself. Young adult women can look good and feel comfortable at the same time with the Pink line of clothing. Let’s face it, not all women love the way they look naked; the Pink brand allows them to feel as though they are wearing something young, hip and attractive without having to compete with the supermodels that wear the Victoria Secret line. The tweens and teens are being influenced by external forces such as the media, and by their social groups into wearing the Pink Label. Tweens and teens want to conform to societal expectations and will take any step necessary to accomplish this such as wearing adult clothing in order to fit in and be part of the hip, trendy crowd. Some parents may think that the Pink clothing line may be slightly risky or too provocative for this age group. Though selling to this age group may be a positive economic benefit for Pink, it may tarnish Pink’s corporate social image. Parents do not want to see their children dressing beyond their years. Bad publicity may cause customers to boycott the Pink brand and possibly the Victoria Secret’s products as well. References: Hickling, J. , & Miller, C. (2008). Cigarette pack and advertising displays at point of purchase: community demand for restrictions. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 32(6), 574-578. doi:10. 1111/j. 1470-6431. 2008. 00694. x. Court, D. , Elzinga, D. , Mulder, S. , & Vetvik, O. (2009). The consumer decision journey. McKinsey Quarterly, (3), 96-107. Retrieved from Business Source Elite database. Kotler, P. , & Armstrong, G. (2010). Victoria’s Secret Pink: Keeping the Brand Hip. In Principles of Marketing (Thirteenth ed. , pp. 12-13). Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Creed, W. , Scully, M. , & Austin, J. (2002). Clothes Make the Person? The Tailoring of Legitimating Accounts and the Social Construction of Identity. Organization Science, 13(5), 475-496. Retrieved from Business Source Elite database.

Definition and Examples of Paralinguistics

Up to 90 percent of communication is nonverbal. Getting ones message across is made easier through voice inflection, facial expression and body gestures. Paralinguistics is the study of these vocal (and sometimes non-vocal) signals beyond the basic verbal message or speech, also known as vocalics. Paralinguistics, Shirley Weitz explains sets great store on how something is said, not on what is said. What It Is Paralanguage  includes accent, pitch, volume, speech rate, modulation,  and fluency. Some researchers also include  certain non-vocal  phenomena  under the heading of paralanguage:  facial expressions, eye movements,  hand gestures, and the like. The boundaries of paralanguage, says Peter Matthews, are (unavoidably) imprecise. Although paralinguistics was once described as the neglected stepchild in language studies, linguists  and other researchers  have recently demonstrated greater interest in the field.  Ã‚   The rise in recent decades of non-face-to-face communication through email, text messaging, and social media led to the use of emoticons as a substitute for paralanguage. Etymology From Greek and Latin, beside language Cultural Differences Not all cultures interpret these nonverbal cues the same way, which can cause confusion when people of different backgrounds are trying to communicate. In Saudi Arabia, speaking loudly conveys authority and speaking softly conveys submission. Americans, on the other hand, are often perceived as brash for their loudness by Europeans. The Finnish language is spoken more slowly than other European languages, leading to a perception that the Finnish people themselves are slow. Some people have a similar perception of the Southern drawl accent in the United States. Examples and Observations We speak with our vocal organs, but we converse with our entire bodies. ... Paralinguistic phenomena occur alongside spoken language, interact with it, and produce together with it a total system of communication. . . . The study of paralinguistic behavior is part of the study of conversation: the conversational use of spoken language cannot be properly understood unless paralinguistic elements are taken into account.— David Abercrombie Paralinguistics is commonly referred to as that which is left after subtracting the verbal content from speech. The simple cliche, language is what is said, paralanguage is how it is said, can be misleading because frequently how something is said determines the precise meaning of what is said.— Owen Hargie, Christine Saunders, and David Dickson Loudness in Different CulturesA simple example of the adverse effects of paralinguistics is quoted in [Edward T.] Hall concerning the loudness with which one speaks (1976b). In Saudi Arabian cultures, in discussions among equals, the men attain a decibel level that would be considered aggressive, objectionable and obnoxious in the United States. Loudness connotes strength and sincerity among Arabs; a soft tone implies weakness and deviousness. Personal status also modulates voice tone. Lower classes lower their voices. Thus, if a Saudi Arab shows respect to an American he lowers his voice. Americans ask people to talk more loudly by raising their own voices. The Arab then has his status confirmed and thus talks even more quietly. Both are misreading the cues!— Colin Lago Vocal and Nonvocal PhenomenaThe more technical discussion of what is loosely described as tone of voice involves the recognition of a whole set of variations in the features of voice dynamics: loudness, tempo, pitch fluctuation, continuity, etc. . ... It is a matter of everyday observation that a speaker will tend to speak more loudly and at an unusually high pitch when he is excited or angry (or, in certain situations, when he is merely simulating anger and thus, for whatever purpose, deliberately communicating false information). ... Among the most obvious non-vocal phenomena classifiable as paralinguistic, and having a modulating, as well as punctuating, function is the nodding of the head (in certain cultures) with or without an accompanying utterance indicative of assent or agreement. ... One general point that has been continually stressed in the literature is that both the vocal and non-vocal phenomena are to a considerable extent learned rather than instinctive and differ fro m language to language (or, perhaps one should say, from culture to culture).— John Lyons Detecting Sarcasm Based on Paralinguistic CuesThere was nothing very interesting in Katherine Rankins study of sarcasm—at least, nothing worth your important time. All she did was use an M.R.I. to find the place in the brain where the ability to detect sarcasm resides. But then, you probably already knew it was in the right  parahippocampal gyrus. ...Dr. Rankin, a neuropsychologist and assistant professor in the Memory and Aging Center at the University of California, San Francisco, used an innovative test developed in 2002, the Awareness of Social Inference Test, or Tasit. It incorporates videotaped examples of exchanges in which a person’s words seem straightforward enough on paper, but are delivered in a sarcastic style so ridiculously obvious to the able-brained that they seem lifted from a sitcom.I was testing people’s ability to detect sarcasm based entirely on paralinguistic cues, the manner of expression, Dr. Rankin said. ...To her surprise, ...  the magnetic resonance scans revealed that the part of the brain lost among those who failed to perceive sarcasm was not in the left hemisphere of the brain, which specializes in language and social interactions, but in a part of the right hemisphere previously identified as important only to detecting contextual background changes in visual tests.The right parahippocampal gyrus must be involved in detecting more than just  visual context—it perceives social context as well, Dr. Rankin said.— Dan Hurley Sources Khalifa, Elsadig Mohamed, and Faddal, Habib. Impacts of Using Paralanguage on Teaching and Learning English Language to Convey Effective Meaning. Studies in English Language Teaching, 2017. file:///Users/owner/Downloads/934-2124-1-SM.pdfIntra-personal Communication http://faculty.seattlecentral.edu/baron/Spring_courses/ITP165_files/paralinguistics.htmEmoticons and Symbols Arent Ruining Language – Theyre Revolutionizing It, Lauren Collister - https://theconversation.com/emoticons-and-symbols-arent-ruining-language-theyre-revolutionizing-it-38408Weitz, Shirley. Nonverbal Communication. Oxford University Press, 1974, Oxford.  Matthews, Peter. Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics. Oxford University Press, 2007, Oxford.Abercrombie, David. Elements of General Phonetics. Edinburgh University Press,1968, Edinburgh.Hargie, Owen; Saunders, Christine and Dickson, David.  Social Skills in Interpersonal Communication, 3rd ed. Routledge, 1994, London.Lago, Colin.  Race, Culture an d Counselling 2nd ed. Open University Press, 2006, Berkshire, England.Lyons, John. Semantics, Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press, 1977, Cambridge.Hurley, Dan. The Science of Sarcasm (Not That You Care). The New York Times, June 3, 2008.