Evolution Of Speaker Manufacturing English Language Essay

Evolution Of Speaker Manufacturing English Language Essay A speaker is an electrical device that converts electrical signals to mechanical motion in order to create sound waves. A transducer, which is another name for a speaker, is a device that converts one form of energy to another. The speaker moves in accordance with the variations of an electrical signal and causes sound waves to propagate through a medium such as air or water. The first electrical speaker, patented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876, was for the earpiece of the telephone. This design was later improved upon by Ernst Siemens and Nicola Tesla in 1877 and 1881 respectively. Siemens and Tesla used a metal horn driven by a membrane attached to a stylus to create the design of what would be the basis for the modern speaker. Thomas Edison was working on a design at this time using compressed air as the amplifying mechanism. He quickly found this was not the most effective way to create the mechanical waves that produce sound. He quickly withdrew his application for a patent an d settled on the metal horn design. The metal horn speaker is a speaker which can be found on antique record players. Metal Horn Speaker Moving Coil Speaker The modern design of the moving coil driver was established by Oliver Lodge in 1898. Lodge was a British physicist and writer that was involved in many key patents involving wireless telegraphy. In 1915, Magnavox emerged as the first public company to produce a loudspeaker. This design was the first practiced use of the moving coil drivers in a loudspeaker. Magnavox was started in that same year by Edwin Pridham and Peter L. Jensen. The companys focus was on developing consumer electronics. They would later go on to be the first to develop a phonograph loudspeaker. Today Magnavox is owned by one of the world leaders in electronics, Phillips. In 1924, Chester W. Rice and Edward W. Kellogg received the first patent on the moving-coil principle, direct radiator, and loudspeaker. Their patent was different from the previous attempts because of the adjustment of mechanical parameters in their design. The fundamental resonance of the moving system takes place at a lower frequency than that at which the cones radiation impedance becomes uniform. In 1926, Rice and Kellogg sold the loudspeaker, Radiola which was superior to anything else previously invented because it decreased sound distortion and improved audio quality for the buyer. These speakers used electromagnets instead of large powerful magnets in their design. The electro magnets were used because larger, more powerful magnets were not available at a cheap enough price at the time. In the 1930s, manufactures began placing two or three band passes worth of drivers in their speakers, which allowed for increased quality, sound pressure levels, and frequency response. Many of the components involved in the production of modern speakers have been improved upon from their initial designs. The biggest improvements have occurred mainly in the makeup of the materials in the speaker and in the enclosure design. The diaphragm materials and permanent magnet materials are some of the other speaker components which have improved throughout the years. With the advent of computer aided design and increased accuracy in measuring techniques, the development of the speaker and quality of sound have grown exponentially in recent years. The modern loudspeaker has a similar makeup to that of earlier designs, but some of the basic ideas behind the design have changed to give us the speaker we have today. The Modern Speaker Modern speakers use a permanent magnet and an electromagnet to induce the reciprocating motion of the diaphragm. The alternating current going through the electromagnet constantly reverses the magnetic polarity of the coil thus reversing the forces between the voice coil and the permanent magnet. This causes a rapid back and forth motion of the coil resembling that of a piston. When the coil moves it causes the diaphragm to vibrate the air in front of the speaker, creating sound waves. The frequency and amplitude of the electrical audio signal dictates the rate and distance that the voice coil moves thus determining the frequency and amplitude of the sound waves produced by the diaphragm. Drivers are only able to create sound in a given range of frequencies, thus many different types of drivers must be manufactured to account for the wide range of possible frequencies. The main components of the modern speaker are the diaphragm, permanent magnet, suspension, voice coil, and basket with three other important features being coaxial drivers, speaker enclosures, and audio amplifiers. In the following sections we will break down each component and investigate the improvements of each component including those in the material selection and the manufacturing process. Diaphragm One of the main components of a speaker is the diaphragm, sometimes called a speaker cone. The diaphragm can also be referred to as the diaphragm and its surrounding assembly including the suspension and the basket. However for our purposes the suspension and the basket will be individually discussed in later sections. Movement of the diaphragm causes sound waves to propagate from the speaker thus producing the noise we hear. The ideal properties of a diaphragm are minimal acoustical breakup of the diaphragm, minimal standing wave patterns in the diaphragm, and linearity of the surrounds force-deflection curve. The diaphragm stiffness and damping qualities plus the surrounds linearity and damping play a crucial role in reproducing the voice coil signal waveform. Eighty five percent of the diaphragms sold worldwide are made of cellulose fibers because they can be easily modified by chemical or mechanical means to giving it a practical manufacturing advantage not found in other common diaphragm materials, although reproducibility can be a problem. The lack of reproducibility can affect imaging, depending on the precision and quality of production. Cellulose is also advantageous over other diaphragm materials because of its low cost to produce. Although Cellulose works well as a diaphragm, new synthetic materials are emerging that are more lightweight, allowing for better audio quality, reduced distortion, and increased vibration and shock durability. These materials include polypropylene, polycarbonate, Mylar, silk, fiberglass, carbon-fiber, titanium, aluminum, aluminum-magnesium alloy, and beryllium. Polypropylene is the most common plastic material used in a diaphragm. The polypropylene is normally mixed with a filler, such as Kevlar, to reduce the manufacturing costs or it can be to alter the mechanical properties of the diaphragm. Polypropylene diaphragms have been increasingly more popular with the advancements in modern adhesive technology. Although with all plastic materials present, the material tends to have a viscoelastic creep, which is the materials tendency to slowly deform and stretch when under repetitive stresses. However, polypropylene diaphragms are still a popular choice for high performance speakers due to their consistent performance. Research is presently underway in attempts to create new plastic based materials such as TPX, HD-A, HD-I, Neoflex, and Bextrene for diaphragms. These materials generally have the same characteristics as polypropylene so the manufacturing costs cannot be justified for full production. Another option for low-frequency applications are woven fiber diaphragms. The woven fibers such as carbon fiber, fiberglass, and Kevlar are bonded together with a resin. When the high tensile strength of the woven fibers mixes with the adhesive and bonding characteristics of the resin it results in an incredibly stiff material. This stiffness results in a great low-frequency diaphragm, however the stiffness causes rough high-frequency responses. There have been numerous attempts to improve the high-frequency problems of woven fiber diaphragms such as using two thin layers of Kevlar fabric bonded together with a resin and silica microball combination and another attempt employed a sandwich structure of materials with a honeycomb Nomex core. But again, as with the advanced plastic materials, the cost of manufacturing versus the performance of the material cannot yet be justified. The final modern practical material for diaphragms is metal. Metals worst downfall is its terrible damping attributes which causes extreme high-frequency distortion. The most common metal of choice are aluminum and magnesium alloys. Due to the lack of technological advances in damping agents to add to these alloys, metal diaphragms are very rarely used in high-frequency applications. However, these alloys have been commonly used in lower end frequencies with great success. Permanent Magnet Modern driver magnets have become predominately permanent magnets. Historically this function was filled by the use of electrically powered field coils. When high-strength permanent magnets became available, they eliminated the need for the additional power supply that drove the coils. When this happened, Alnico magnets became popular. Alnico magnets are created from alloying aluminum, nickel, and cobalt. Until about 1980 Alnico magnets were primarily used but because of their tendency to become demagnetized, permanent magnets have since been made of ceramic and ferrite materials. Ferrite magnets are constructed by mixing iron oxide with strontium and then milling the compound into a very fine powder. The powder is then mixed with a ceramic binder and closed in a metal die. The die is then placed in a furnace and sintered to bond the mixture together. Sintering is the process in which the particles of the powder are welded together by applying pressure and heating it to a temperature below its melting point. Although the magnetic strength to weight ratio of ferrite magnets is lower than Alnico, it is considerably less expensive, allowing designers to use larger yet more economical magnets to reach a desired performance. In manufacturing, the most significant technical innovation of the speaker is due to the use of neodymium magnets. Currently neodymium magnets are the strongest permanent magnets known to man. For this reason neodymium magnets significantly help in producing smaller, lighter devices and improve speaker performance due to their great capacity for generating strong magnetic fields in the air-gap. A neodymium magnet is an alloy of neodymium, iron, and boron to form the molecule Nd2Fe14B. The molecular structure of this molecule is a tetragonal crystalline structure. Important properties in a magnet are the strength of the magnetic field, the materials resistance to becoming demagnetized, the density of magnetic energy, and the temperature at which the material loses its magnetism. Neodymium magnets have much higher values for all of these properties than other magnetic materials except that it loses its magnetism at low temperatures. For this reason it is sometimes alloyed with terbium and dysprosium in order to maintain its magnetic properties at higher temperatures. Suspension Another critical element in speakers is the suspension. The purpose of a suspension system is to provide lateral stability and make the speaker components return to a neutral point after moving. A typical suspension system includes two major components, the spider and the surround. The spider connects the voice coil to the frame of the speaker and provides the majority of the restoring force. The surround connects the top of the diaphragm to the frame of the speaker and helps center the diaphragm and voice coil with respect to the frame. Both components work together to make sure the diaphragm and coil assembly move strictly linearly and in line with the center of the permanent magnet. The spider is usually made of a corrugated fabric disk, impregnated with a stiffening resin. The name comes from the shape of early suspensions, which were two concentric rings of Bakelite material, joined by six or eight curved legs. The surround may be resin treated cloth, resin treated non-wovens, polymeric foams, or thermoplastic elastomers that are molded onto the cone body. An ideal surround has sufficient damping to fully absorb vibration transmissions from the cone to surround interface, and the durability to hold out against long term fatigue caused by prolonged vibration. Advancements in suspension manufacturing have come from innovations in synthetic suspension materials. The use of synthetic materials like kevlar or konex instead of cotton, has made todays speakers much more stable than those made as recent as ten years ago. A more durable suspension means that a speakers sound quality can remain unaltered for a longer period of time. This is especially a concern for speakers that generally operate at low frequencies since lower frequency sounds are created by larger diaphragm travel and larger diaphragm travel must be supported by more suspension travel. Voice Coil The wire in a voice coil is usually made of copper, though rarely aluminum and silver may be used. Voice coil wire cross sections can be circular, rectangular, or hexagonal, giving varying amounts of wire volume coverage in the magnetic gap space. The coil is oriented co-axially inside the gap; it moves back and forth within a small circular volume (a hole, slot, or groove) in the magnetic structure. The gap establishes a concentrated magnetic field between the two poles of a permanent magnet, the outside of the gap being one pole, and the center post (called the pole piece) being the other. The pole piece and backplate are often a single piece, called the poleplate or yoke. This magnetic field induces a reaction with the permanent magnet causing the diaphragm to move thus producing the sounds we hear. Voice coils can either be overhung, longer than the magnetic gap, or underhung, shorter than the magnetic gap, depending on its application. Most voice coils are overhung thus preventi ng the coil from being overdriven, a problem that causes the coil to produce significant distortion and removes the heat-sinking benefits of steel causing the speaker to heat rapidly. The most important characteristic of a voice coil is that it be able to withstand large amounts of mechanical stresses and also be able to dissipate heat to its surroundings without causing damage to the speakers other components. In early loudspeakers the voice coil was wound onto paper bobbins to remove heat from the system. At the time this was enough to cool the system at average power levels but as larger amplifiers became available allowing for higher power levels new technologies had to emerge. To cope with the increasing power inputs the use of alloy 1145 aluminum foil was widely used as a substitute for the paper bobbins. Aluminum was popular to industry due to its low cost to manufacture, its structural strength, and it was easy to bond to the voice coil. However, problems with the foil emerged over extended use at increased power levels. The first problem was the foil tended to transfer heat from the voice coil into the adhesives used inside the speaker causing them to thermally degrade or even burn. The second problem was the motion of the aluminum foil inside the magnetic gap created currents that actually increased the temperature of the voice coil, thus causing long-term reliability issues. In 1955 a new material was developed called Kapton, a polyimide plastic film, to replace the aluminum foil. Kapton solved all the problems that were associated with the aluminum foil however Kapton or even its improved cousin Kaneka Apical, were not perfect. Both high-tech materials were costly to manufacture and had a tendency to soften when heated. Although Kapton and Kaneka Apical had their downfalls they became the most widely used coating for voice coils until 1992 when a material called Hisco P450 was developed. Hisco P450 is a thermoset composite created by using a thin film of fiber glass cloth and impregnating it with a polyimide resin. This combination allowed for necessary mechanical strength and endurance of the polyimide and necessary temperature resistance and stiffness of fiberglass. Hisco P450 was able to withstand the grueling temperature requirements of professional speakers while also maintaining enough rigidity to withstand the mechanical stresses associated with long-term, high-frequency motions. In recent years the copper wire that is almost always used as the voice coil has been replaced sparingly with aluminum wire in extra sensitive, high-frequency applications. The aluminum wire is lighter than the copper wire and has about two thirds of the electrical conductivity allowing the wire to move at higher frequencies inside the magnetic gap. Variations of the aluminum wire include copper-clad aluminum and anodized aluminum. Copper-clad aluminum allows for easier winding along with an even more reduced mass. The anodized aluminum is effectively insulated against shorting which removed the concerns of dielectric breakdown. Aluminum wires are great lightweight, low-inductance choices for voice coils however, they do have their downfalls. The thermal characteristics of aluminum causes power limitations with the coil. If too much power is passed through the aluminum coil it can cause the adhesive bonds between the wire and the bobbin, or the bobbin to the spider and coil to weaken or even burn. To cope with the ever increasing power demands on the voice coil in addition to wrapping the coil in some high-tech material to increase its thermal properties, the voice coil has also been submerged in a ferrofluid, an oil that is used to conduct heat away from the voice coil and also creates a small magnetic field thus increasing the power handling capacity of the voice coil. Basket The basket or frame (as seen below) is the fixture used to hold the diaphragm, voice coil, and magnet in the proper place. The rigidity of this part is extremely important to prevent rubbing of the voice coil and prevent random movements that could cause problems with the permanent magnet. The three most common types of modern baskets are cast metal baskets, rigid baskets made out of stamped steel or aluminum, and cast plastic baskets. Each type of basket offers different advantages and disadvantages; these will be discussed in the flowing paragraphs. The stronger the basket the more power the speaker can handle before failure occurs. A well made basket should have a high power rating, be lightweight, and be able to conduct heat away from the voice coil to prevent physical changes or even possible demagnetization of the permanent magnets. Cast metal (above right) baskets are the most rigid of the three in all directions, but they are the most expensive to make. Cast metal baskets are made by melting down the desired metal to liquid form. The scorching hot liquid metal is then poured into a mold and once the liquid metal dries inside the mold, the mold is removed revealing a cast metal basket. Cast metal baskets although more expensive than the other two options, usually are more rigid thus preventing motion. They also have better damping characteristics, and they are also more easily manufactured allowing for more intricate shapes. Cast metal baskets are usually the preferred basket choice for higher quality speakers. A less expensive and yet less rigid basket can be made out of stamped steel. The stamped steel or aluminum sheets arrive to the manufacturer preformed. The sheets are then drilled using a hydraulic press to cut holes in the sheet to allow air flow to and from the diaphragm. The sheet is then pressed using another hydraulic press using a die to form the desired shape. Stamped metal baskets tend to be weaker than their cast metal counterparts. This weakness could cause the basket to flex if the speaker is being used at high volumes. The final option, which is even less expensive, is a cast plastic basket. Cast plastic baskets are made by using the liquid plastic and pouring it into the desired shaped mold. When the liquid plastic dries the mold is removed revealing a cast plastic basket. Just like cast metal baskets, cast plastic baskets are easily manufactured allowing for intricate shapes. The lightweight characteristics of the plastic would also make the speaker lighter allowing for smaller power consumption. However, as with most engineering decisions, the performance of the part proportionally decreases as the cost to produce the part decreases. The decreased cost of production of the plastic basket means that it is a weaker basket. This weaker, plastic basket will allow for the most flexing as compared to cast metal and stamped steel baskets. The power rating of the speaker would also be less than that of the metal baskets, both cast and stamped, due to the weaker strength characteristics of plastic in com parison with metal. Coaxial Drivers Coaxial drivers are the components of a speaker that radiates sound from the same point or axis. This is done by placing a high-frequency driver in the center of a low-frequency driver so that they produce sound waves from a single point in a loudspeaker system rather than separate locations. This allows for a more beneficial design over having the low and high frequency drivers separate. There are many different types of drivers and each driver produces sound within a limited frequency range. Subwoofers, woofers, mid-range drivers, and tweeters are all driver types capable of emitting different ranges of sound. A coaxial driver takes one of these higher frequency drivers and places it within a lower frequency driver. For example, a tweeter, the high frequency unit, could be placed in the center of a woofer, the low frequency unit, so that both drivers emit sound from the same point. This example can be seen in the images below. This design, which improves sound quality, was first de signed by Altec Lansing in the 1940s. Although it has many advantages, it is still an uncommon practice in the manufacturing of speakers due to technical and budgetary considerations. Enclosures The enclosure of a loudspeaker serves three functions and is made with a specific design that helps improve the quality of the sound produced by the speaker. The first function the enclosure performs is separation of the sound waves. It accomplishes this by preventing sound waves generated at the back of the speaker from interacting destructively with sound waves generated at the front of the speaker. The enclosure is intended to reduce distortion created because the waves that emanate from the front of the speaker are out of phase with the waves emanating from the rear of the speaker. If the front and rear waves were to overlap with one another it would result in wave interference. The second function the enclosure serves is to stop any echo and reverberation that would be created from the two differing sound source locations on the speaker. Because waves are created at the front and rear of the speaker, the two different sets of waves travel through the air differently as a result of their relative locations, and arrive at the person listening at different times. The third function the enclosure serves is to deal with the vibrations produced by the driver and to deal with the heat produced by the electronic components. Enclosures did not always have the fully enclosed container design that they now commonly have. Although present day practices say that enclosures need to have a back, before the 1950s they lacked one due to the cooling functions of an open container. Sealed enclosures, the most common type of enclosure, is completely sealed so no air can escape. With this type of enclosure the forward wave travels outward into the surroundings, while the backward wave is limited to only fill the enclosure. With a virtually airtight enclosure, the internal air pressure is constantly changing; when the driver retracts, the pressure increases and when the driver moves out, the pressure decreases. Both movements create pressure differences between the air inside the enclosure and the air outside the enclosure. Because of this, the driver motion always has to fight the pressure differences caused. These enclosures are less efficient than other designs because the amplifier has to boost the electrical signal to overcome the force of air pressure. The force due to air pressure does, however, provide an additional form of driver suspension since it acts like a spring to keep the diaphragm in the neutral position. This makes for tighter, more precise soun d production. Enclosure designs range from very simple, rectangular particle-board boxes (above left) to very complex cabinets made of composite materials (above right). The simplest enclosures are made to prevent destructive interference caused by overlapping of the front and rear sound waves from the speaker. The most complex enclosures contain acoustic insulation and internal baffles, which prevent interference. Solid materials such as heavy wood, are typically used when building enclosures in order to absorb the vibration caused by the speaker driver. This vibration dampening is extremely important. A speakers sound output would be drowned out by the drivers vibrations if there were not an enclosure incorporated into the design. Since the beginning of the production of enclosures, the most advantageous properties required for minimal energy loss through the enclosure walls have remained unchanged. Different strategies employed to reduce energy losses are to use thicker enclosure walls, denser hardwood plys and sturdier bracing. The downside to these methods is that they all add significant weight to the enclosure. However, with the production of newer materials that possess an increased stiffness-to-mass ratio this is changing. These new materials can improve performance and reduce weight, while also reducing the cabinets resonance. The end result is that a greater amount of the speakers en ergy is delivered in the intended direction rather than into mechanical vibrations which are wasted and produce a decrease in sound quality. A recent alternative to heavy wood construction of enclosures is the use of composite materials. It was for the aerospace industry that composite materials such as carbon-fiber were originally developed. Carbon-fiber was a success because of the high demand for a material with increased strength and rigidity. Speaker applications, such as enclosures use carbon-fiber materials to create a product with a vastly decreased weight and increased strength and rigidity. Enclosures built with carbon-fiber can weigh less than half as much as enclosures built from heavy wood. These enclosures which limit the speaker resonance can provide as much as 3 dB more output than the same speaker would have otherwise had in a heavy wood enclosure. Furthermore, carbon-fiber enclosures are extremely durable adding quality to the final product and they require almost no maintenance. Even though carbon-fiber enclosures cost around twice as much to produce as traditional enclosures, the lighter weight and ext ra output offer two very advantageous tradeoffs. Amplifier An amplifier is any device that increases or decreases the amplitude of a signal. An audio amplifier increases low-power audio signals to a suitable level for loudspeakers. When dealing with a speaker there are a many audio amplifiers involved. These amplifiers are responsible for pre-amplification, equalization, tone control, and mixing effects followed by a higher power amplifier which creates the final amplification for suitable levels of sound output. Amplifiers are found in wireless receivers and transmitters, CD players, acoustic pickups, and hi-fi audio equipment. Amplifiers are used for high-quality sound production, and depending upon the quality of the amplifier, they may cause distortion, which the speaker enclosures are meant to deal with. Distortion in amplifiers is caused by difference in phases of the output waveform and the input waveform. The smaller the difference in between the output and input waveforms the greater the quality of final sound. Audio amplifiers cons ist of resistors, capacitors, power sources, wires, semiconductors, and stereo jacks all combined on an electronic work board to produce the type of amplifier needed. Types of Speakers Woofers are loudspeaker drivers designed to produce sounds of low frequency from around 40 hertz up to around 1000 hertz. The most common design for a woofer is the electro-dynamic driver, using a stiff paper cone driven by a voice coil. Woofers are important to allow for a range of frequency that will hit a low level. Effective woofer designs efficiently convert low frequency signals to mechanical vibrations. The vibration of the air out from the cone creates concentric sound waves that travel through the air. If this process can be done effectively, many of the other problems speakers run into will be greatly reduced such as linear excursion. For most speakers the enclosure and the woofer must be designed to work hand in hand. Usually the enclosure is designed around the woofer, but in some rarer cases the enclosure design can actually dictate the woofer design. The enclosure is made to reflect the sounds at the right distance, so that they will not be wave cancelling reflections. Below you can see an example of a common woofer. A subwoofer is a woofer with a diameter between 8 and 21s. Subwoofers are made up of one or more woofers. They can be arranged in many different configurations to produce the best quality of sound. Subwoofers usually play frequencies between 20 hertz and 200 hertz, well within the range of human auditory levels. The first subwoofer was created in the 1960s and added to the home stereo to create bass for sound reinforcement. Up until this point the only form of audio player which contained bass was a phonograph player which was created by Magnavox. This allowed for a more accurate array of music. Subwoofers are used in all sound systems today such as in cinemas, cars, stereos, and for general sound reinforcement. A mid-range speaker is a loudspeaker driver that produces sound between 300 hertz and 5000 hertz. These are less commonly known as squawkers. Midrange drivers can be found as cone speakers, dome speakers, or compression horn drivers. Mid-range speakers usually resemble small woofers. The most common material the cone is made out of for a mid-range is paper although they can be found to be coated or impregnated with polymers or resins to improve vibration dampening. Much of the rest of the mid-range speaker is made from plastic polymers. Mid-range speakers which employ the dome set up usually only use 90 degrees of the sphere as the radiating surface. These can be made from cloth, metal or plastic film. The voice coil in this design is set at the outer edge of the dome. Mid-range drivers are most commonly used for professional concerts and are compression drivers coupled with horn drivers. Rarely mid-range speakers can be found as electrostatic drivers. Mid-range speakers handle the most prominent part of the human-audible sound spectrum. This is the region where most sound emitted by musical instruments lie. This is also where the human voice falls in the audible spectrum. Most television sets and small radios only contain a single mid-range driver. Tweeters are a loudspeaker designed to produce frequencies from 2,000 to 20,000 hertz. Some tweeters on the market today can produce sounds of up to 45000 hertz. The human ear can generally only hear up to about 20000 hertz. The name tweeter comes from the extremely high pitch it can create. Modern tweeters are different from older tweeters because older tweeters were smaller versions of woofers. As tweeter technology has advanced, differen

Pharmacy Marketing Plan Essay

The Discount Pharmacy is a brick and mortar and mail order pharmacy that sells prescription medication at lower prices than other pharmacies. The Discount Pharmacy is able to sell at reduced prices through the use of operating efficiencies and the elimination of unnecessary services for customers that self pay their drugs. The Discount Pharmacy does not accept insurance payments which disrupt the cash flow. By having a larger percentage of their business serviced by their mail order arm, The Discount Pharmacy is able to gain economies of scale by selling larger quantities of drugs with less labor required per order. As more and more Americans are on a continuous prescription to medicine, this trend will lend itself to rapid growth as customers can mail order larger quantities of drugs that they will need over time. Additionally, many insurance companies offer an economic incentive for medicine to be purchased mail order in quantity, saving the insurance company money. This factor will also help boost The Discount Pharmacy to profitability. The Pharmacy will increase its market share through targeted advertising to increase the number customers who are looking to save money on a pricey, necessary expense. Pharmacy Marketing Plan The Discount Pharmacy Situation Analysis The Discount Pharmacy is in the first year of business as a start-up operation. The Pharmacy believes that the market demand for their services will be great and are convinced that a cohesive marketing strategy is required for The Pharmacy. The Pharmacy offers a wide range of prescription medicine for pick up at their store front or it can be distributed by mail order. The Pharmacy’s prices are far better than most pharmacies so their services will be attractive for people that just need to buy their medicine at good prices and do not need their hands held during the process. Market Summary The Discount Pharmacy posesses good information regarding their market and the target segments that they wish to serve. The Pharmacy will leverage this information to better understand who is served, their specific needs, and how The Pharmacy can better serve them. Market Needs The Discount Pharmacy is providing the market with a source of discounted drugs. This market need is important as many Americans are faced with the dilemma of using their limited income on food or meds. The Discount Pharmacy seeks to fulfill the following benefits that are important to their customers. * Selection: The Pharmacy offers a wide range of medication, both originals as well as generic alternatives. * Accessibility: Products are distributed through their conveniently-located store front, or can be shipped within the U.S. * Customer service: The Pharmacy recognizes the value of having outstanding customer service. By exceeding all of the customer’s expectations, they are ensuring repeat customers and many referrals. * Pricing: The Discount Pharmacy’s prices will be noticeably better than local pharmacies. Market Trends The market trend for pharmacies reinforces consolidation. The whole medical industry (including doctors, pharmaceutical companies) has pressure being applied to them from different sides to achieve cost efficiencies and to decrease the cost of the various products/services. Looking specifically at pharmacies, over the last eight years, there has been widespread consolidation, done to a large degree to achieve costs efficiencies. Now insurance companies are adding pressure to decrease costs since they are a main party in the payment for meds. The Discount Pharmacy is able to coexist in this consolidation environment by achieving cost efficiencies through their unique business model of mail order service and a decrease in the normal pharmacist offered services. Market Growth In 2000, the global pharmaceutical industry as a whole was a $897 billion dollar industry. The industry is forecasted to continue its record growth. This growth can be attributed to several factors, the underling driver is scientific progress. As our scientific community continues to make breakthroughs in medical applications, people become more and more reliant on medication to lengthen and improve their quality of life. American society in particular has become increasingly reliant on medication. This conclusion seems to be fairly intuitive as many individuals have a vested interest in living longer and more comfortably. This demand applies pressure to the scientists and pharmaceutical companies who are always on the lookout for the next big blockbuster drug which will ensure profitable returns. While America remains as the largest consumer of medication in the world, to a large degree based on the simple quantitative measurement of GNP, it is reasonable to expect that the retail distribution of these drugs will achieve extraordinary growth rates if they are employing creative business models or if they are one of the â€Å"giants.† SWOT Analysis The following SWOT analysis captures the key strength and weaknesses within the company, and describes the opportunities and threats facing The Discount Pharmacy. Strengths * A unique, current business-environment-appropriate business model. * Excellent staff who are highly trained and very customer attentive. * Great prices. * The ability to scale rapidly for the mail order side of the business. Weaknesses * The lack of visibility and brand equity of a start-up business. * Lack of true experience running a mail order outfit. * Government intervention/regulation into medicine is possible. Opportunities * Outside pressure on consumers to purchase meds mail order. * The constant growth of the number of people taking medication. * Newly formed alliances of insurance companies and mail order pharmacies. Threats * The entry into the mail order market by an established company. * Regulatory legislation that curtails the mail order medicine industry. * Some event that cripples interstate commerce in regards to shipping. Competition Competition takes many different forms in the pharmacy industry. * Chain pharmacies: These are state or national chains such as Rite-Aid. The advantage to these chains are better prices through economies of scale as well as personalized service. The personalized service takes the form of the chain having a record of your medication purchases as well as any allergies that you have disclosed to them. * Local pharmacies: These are the pharmacies where you typically know the pharmacists and they know your medical history. This option is high in personalized service and convenience, and high in price. * Mail order and Internet pharmacies: These are similar to The Discount Pharmacy. * Canadian pharmacies: These pharmacies are located in Canada where the cost of drugs is lower than in the U.S. These pharmacies can be accessed through mail order, the Internet, or via travel. Recently there has been the trend for trips arranged for senior citizens in northern states to travel up to Canada for the day to pick up their meds. Product Offering The Discount Pharmacy offers a wide range of prescription drugs to patients based in Oregon and nationally. Both generics and name brands are offered. The customer needs to either mail in the prescription, fax it, or email it. Once it is received and payment arrangements are complete, the meds will be sent out to the customer via U.S.P.S. or U.P.S. Local customers may stop by the store front to pick up the medications contemporaneously. The Discount Pharmacy will only service customers who self pay. The self pay customers will be attracted to The Discount Pharmacy because of their superior prices. For many Americans that do not have drug plans, including the vast majority of Americans over 65, a discount on drugs is very welcome on today’s increasingly tight monthly budgets. The Discount Pharmacy will be able to survive on lower margins due to operating efficiencies gained through mail order and not accepting insurance policy drug plans. With each order a printout will accompany the medications that will provide directions on how to take the medications, other drug that should be avoided concurrently, and other useful information. Often times this information is communicated personally by the pharmaceutical technician. The Discount Pharmacy will be using computer printouts from industry software to reduce the cost of providing this information. Note: While the term â€Å"self pay† is typically associated with the notion that the customer is paying for the medication out of pocket without insurance, it is used in this context as the customer paying for the medications upfront by themselves regardless if they have insurance. They may be paying for the drugs out of pocket, or they may be paying for the medications upfront and then requesting their insurance companies drug plan to reimburse them later. Keys to Success The keys to success are: * Repeat customers. * Low overhead and operating costs. * Superior prices and service. Critical Issues The Discount Pharmacy is still in the speculative stages as a start-up business. Its critical issues are to continue to take a modest fiscal approach, expanding at a reasonable rate, not for the sake of expansion in itself, but because prudent economic analysis dictates to  Pharmacy Marketing Plan The Discount Pharmacy Marketing Strategy The Discount Pharmacy will have different marketing strategies for the two different segmented groups that they wish to reach. The walk-in customers will be targeted through advertisements in the local paper, â€Å"The Oregonian.† The advertisements will raise visibility for The Discount Pharmacy and their discounted prices. As the price of medication continues to skyrocket, The Discount Pharmacy will appeal to local people as a way to try to contain these rising costs. The mail order customers will be targeted through an advertising campaign in magazines and newsletters that have an older (over 55) crowd that regularly needs medication and knows in advance what their needs are. One of the main newsletters that The Discount Pharmacy will be visible in is the American Association of Retired Persons (A.A.R.P) monthly newsletter.

American Democracy Essay

Democracy had its origin in Rome, primeval Greece and both South and North America and has gained roots nearly all over the entire world and states become efficient and effective in there responsibilities if they utilize this concept. I will therefore discuss in this paper the aspect of democracy in America and the types of democracy that is direct and indirect types and point out the one used in this country particularly in California State. I will also proceed to highlight both democratic and undemocratic issues in America. Definition of democracy Democracy is simply defined as government by the people for the people. Essentially it illustrates small units of interrelated structures of administration. Research indicates that the primary characteristics of democracy comprise of administrations founded on popular rule, open and just elections, safeguarding political/opinionated minorities, high opinion of fundamental human privileges/rights, and impartiality before rule of law, and opinionated pluralism. (Anthony, 1957) Direct Democracy This is the practice of democracy which provides an opportunity to the citizens of a particular country to be involved in decision making process directly without depending on legislative bodies who act as there representatives. Many scholars argue that this kind of democracy is a feeble structure commonly practiced by comparatively small societies. This type of democracy is not only about the issue of voting but also includes referendum. According to the research I conducted, California state practices this direct democracy as witnessed through the making of decisions using referendum style, for example in the year 1998 the citizens of California who numbered twenty million engaged in referendum. (Markoff, 1996) Indirect democracy Unlike direct democracy representatives or intermediaries of the citizens of a state or nation play a key role in decision making process. These intermediaries are usually elected by the citizens and they have the duty to protect the interest of the electorate because they have the mandate to do so. This kind of democracy has led to the practice of what is termed as representative democracy whereby the citizens elect administration executives who formulate decisions that will represent the interest of those citizens. Representative democratic system is a type of indirect parliamentary government whereby such officials or intermediaries are democratically elected and typically complicated to recall them if they do not carry their duties as required. This form is usually based on a principle called Edmund Burkes which declares that the intermediaries selected should carry their duties based on the sense of what is right and wrong. (Joseph, 1950) Views of various scholars on American democracy There are many people who expressed different views about democracy and include the following: Robert A. Dahl who looked at the fundamental suppositions of democratic hypothesis, experiment them in opposition to the enquiries put forward by it opponents and build the concept of democratic system in to fresh and rational whole. Dahl deduces that there are various directions that democratic system has to move if superior autonomous countries are to subsist. (Dahl, 1989) Alexis de Tocqueville also had reflective outcomes regarding the theory of democratic organization. Alexi’s ideas emphasized on the issue of equality being an important ingredient to democracy; he further argues that without equality crime cases will rise. He also emphasizes on sovereignty or autonomy of states and also points out the importance of public opinion as the other key ingredients to achieving democracy. Another contributor is Jane Mansbridge who believed on democratic process and she dedicated her political opinions on democracy and equality in America. She argues that equality must prevail in order to achieve justice and only through democratic means that this equality can be realized. Thomas Marshall contributed to democracy in America by working to changing the existing laws then to that rules which embraced democracy for example he worked on voting rights among others. He also emphasized the issue of equality and he said that it propelled the country in the direct direction that is being democratic. He also worked tirelessly in reinforcing substantive egalitarianism in America by guaranteeing that sparkling method of checks and equilibriums among the three divisions of administration put forward in the American constitution was functioning. On his part Richard Hofstadter proposed that both anti-intellectualism and utilitarianism are outcomes experienced faced on the road to democratization of information or knowledge. Hofstadter preliminary worry of function of the institution of higher education and the scholars in the community developed into an influential appraisal of the current principle of learning and the position of civic education in America. (Johansen, 1996)

Calculating Osmotic Pressure With an Example Problem

Calculating Osmotic Pressure With an Example Problem The osmotic pressure of a solution is the minimum amount of pressure needed to prevent water from flowing into it across a semipermeable membrane. Osmotic pressure also reflects how readily water can enter the solution via osmosis, as across a cell membrane. For a dilute solution, osmotic pressure obeys a form of the ideal gas law and can be calculated provided  you know the concentration of the solution and the temperature. Osmotic Pressure Problem What is the osmotic pressure of a solution prepared by adding 13.65 g of sucrose (C12H22O11) to enough water to make 250 mL of solution at 25  °C?Solution:Osmosis and osmotic pressure are related. Osmosis is the flow of a solvent into a solution through a semipermeable membrane. Osmotic pressure is the pressure that stops the process of osmosis. Osmotic pressure is a colligative property of a substance since it depends on the concentration of the solute and not its chemical nature.Osmotic pressure is expressed by the formula:ÃŽ   iMRT (note how it resembles the PV nRT form of the Ideal Gas Law)whereÃŽ   is the osmotic pressure in atmi van t Hoff factor of the soluteM molar concentration in mol/LR universal gas constant 0.08206 L ·atm/mol ·KT absolute temperature in K Step 1,Find the Concentration of Sucrose To do this, look up the atomic weights of the elements in the compound:From the periodic table:C 12 g/molH 1 g/molO 16 g/mol Use the atomic weights to find the molar mass of the compound. Multiply the subscripts in the formula times the atomic weight of the element. If there is no subscript, it means one atom is present.molar mass of sucrose 12(12) 22(1) 11(16)molar mass of sucrose 144 22 176molar mass of sucrose 342nsucrose 13.65 g x 1 mol/342 gnsucrose 0.04 molMsucrose nsucrose/VolumesolutionMsucrose 0.04 mol/(250 mL x 1 L/1000 mL)Msucrose 0.04 mol/0.25 LMsucrose 0.16 mol/L Step 2,Find absolute temperature Remember, absolute temperature is always given in Kelvin. If the temperature is given in Celsius or Fahrenheit, convert it to Kelvin. T  °C 273T 25 273T 298 K Step 3,Determine the van t Hoff factor Sucrose does not dissociate in water; therefore the van t Hoff factor 1. Step 4,Find the Osmotic Pressure To find the osmotic pressure, plug the values into the equation. ÃŽ   iMRTÃŽ   1 x 0.16 mol/L x 0.08206 L ·atm/mol ·K x 298 KÃŽ   3.9 atmAnswer:The osmotic pressure of the sucrose solution is 3.9 atm. Tips for Solving Osmotic Pressure Problems The biggest issue when solving the problem is knowing the vant Hoff factor and using the correct units for terms in the equation. If a solution dissolves in water (e.g., sodium chloride), its necessary to either have the vant Hoff factor given or else look it up. Work in units of atmospheres for pressure, Kelvin for temperature, moles for mass, and liters for volume. Watch significant figures if unit conversions are required.

Definition and Examples of a Writer

Definition and Examples of a Writer A writer is: (a) a person who writes (articles, stories, books, etc.); (b) an author: a person who writes professionally. In the words of author and editor Sol Stein, A writer is someone who cannot not write. Etymology:  From an Indo-European root, to cut, scratch, sketch an outline Examples and Observations Everyone is a writer. You are a writer. All over the world, in every culture, human beings have carved into stone, written on parchment, birch bark, or scraps of paper, and sealed into letterstheir words. Those who do not not write stories and poems on solid surfaces tell them, sing them, and, in so doing, write them on the air. Creating with words is our continuing passion.(Pat Schneider, Writing Alone and With Others. Oxford University Press, 2003)A writer is someone who writes, its true, but a writer is also someone with a large capacity for adversity. Youll want to cultivate that capacity. Stamina is a writers first quality.(Bill Roorbach, Writing Life Stories. Writers Digest, 2000)We all know its hard work. Nobody asked any one of us to become a writer. No one will care if you dont become one.No one but you, that is.(George V. Higgins, On Writing. Henry Holt, 1990)Writers are sentenced to their sentences, which sometimes set them free.(Adam Gopnik, As Big as the Ritz. The New Yo rker, September 22, 2014) Gushers and TricklersIn regard to the work habits of professional authors, Robertson Davies insisted that there are just two kinds of writers, gushers and tricklers. Take a moment to consider which category you fall into.[James] Thurber  was a gusher; for one story which was 20,000 words when finished, he wrote a total of 240,000, and fifteen different versions. It is interesting that the torrential Thurber is the one who talked most about that dread of all writers - drying up. . . . Frank OConnor was also a gusher; he rewrote some of his stories even after they had been published.The tricklers may be represented by William Styron, who says: I cant turn out slews of stuff each day. I wish I could. I seem to have some neurotic need to perfect each paragrapheach sentence, evenas I go along.  Dorothy Parker, also a trickler, said: I cant write five words but I change seven!The industry of the gushers commands respect; Joyce Cary, Frank OConnor, and  [Truman] Capotewe see them writ ing and  revising, rejecting pages by the handful, and finally piecing their work together from the mass. But the tricklers have an agony of their own; they cannot continue until the last line written is as right as they can make it. Both methods seem to take about an equal amount of time.(Robertson Davies,   A Voice from the Attic: Essays on the Art of Reading, rev. ed. Penguin, 1990) A Writing ExerciseBefore you begin writing about your life, I want you to think about how you feel about writing. We all have our personal mythology of what a writer is and does. I want you to write for fifteen minutes to complete the following sentence: A writer is someone who _______.Write for fifteen minutes without stopping, letting yourself explore the possibilities. Let go of all your inhibitions and enjoy yourself. Remember to be honest. When you are finished, take a look at what you have written. Did anything surprise you?If you are working with a partner, take turns reading what each of you has written and discuss the work.(Janet Lynn Roseman, The Way of the Woman Writer, 2nd ed. Haworth, 2003)Writers WriteIf you simply define a writer as someone who is writing, clarity sets in. Youre truly a writer when youre writing; and if you dont write regularly, dont pretend to give yourself that title. Start writing more, Ray Bradbury tells would-be writers at conferences, itll get ri d of all those moods youre having.(Kenneth John Atchity, A Writers Time: Making the Time to Write, rev. ed. W.W. Norton, 1995) You Are a WriterA writer is a writer. You care about writing. It isnt men or women. . . . You sit down, you write, you are not a woman, or an Italian. You are a writer.(Natalia Ginzburg, interviewed by Mary Gordon, Surviving History. The New York Times Magazine, Marc. 25, 1990)What Is a Writer Like?- A writer is like a bean plant: he has his little day, and then gets stringy.(attributed to E.B. White)- Being a writer is like being one of those riskily overbred pedigree dogsa French bulldog, for instancepoorly suited for survival despite their very special attributes. Being a writer is in defiance of Darwins observation that the more highly specialized a species, the more likelihood of extinction.(Joyce Carol Oates, A Widows Story: A Memoir. HarperCollins, 2011)- A writer is like a Gypsy. He owes no allegiance to any government. If he is a good writer he will never like the government he lives under. His hand should be against it and its hand will always be against him.(Ernest Hemingw ay, letter to Ivan Kashkin, Aug. 19, 1935)- Being a writer is like having homework every night for the rest of your life.(attributed to Lawrence Kasdan) The Downside of Being a WriterYou may have gathered from all this that I am not encouraging people to try to be writers. Well, I cant. You hate to see a nice young person run up to the edge of the cliff and jump off, you know. On the other hand, it is awfully nice to know that some other people are just as nutty and just as determined to jump off the cliff as you are. You just hope they realize what theyre in for.(Ursula K. Le Guin, The Language of the Night: Essays on Fantasy and Science Fiction, ed. by Susan Wood. Ultramarine, 1980)On the whole, professional writers are a lot of whining bastards who wouldnt last a day in a real job. . . . The true mortification of being a writer is having to meet other writers from time to time, and listen to their mundane egotistical rantings.(Duncan McLean, quoted by Jim Fisher in The Writers Quotebook: 500 Authors on Creativity, Craft, and the Writing Life. Rutgers University Press, 2006) Pronunciation: RI-ter Writers on Writing Toni Morrison on WritingWhy Do Writers Write?​Writers on Writing: E.B. WhiteWriters on Writing: Overcoming Writers BlockWriters on Rewriting Also see: WritingCollaborative WritingCompositionWriters BlockWriting CenterWriting GroupWriting Process

Commenting on discussion forum Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Commenting on discussion forum - Essay Example To the contrary, his family cheerfully accepts him as he plays the function of a mother substitute nursing his family. The movie, â€Å"The blossoming of Maximo Oliveros,† demonstrates that gay life does not necessarily follow preordained patterns or preconceived ideas. Maximo undergoes transformation, but with little suffering, which is not in the manner in which casual viewers might anticipate. Contrary to most films, the family does not appear to undermine personal preferences such as gender. The dichotomy between gender and sexuality can be regarded as significantly interchanged within the film. The film, The blossoming of Maximo Oliveros, can be considered to place a positive reinforcement of homosexuals into perspective. The film depicts the stereotypical and real lives of gays in good light, especially regarding gender reassignment and cross-dressing. The film, The blossoming of Maximo Oliveros, mirrors cultural acceptance of homosexuality within Philippines. The treatment of homosexuality is distinct and refreshing, and the film does not resort to stereotypes at the expense of gay characters. One of the film’s most interesting aspects relates to the portrayal of the possibility that effeminate homosexuals can live relatively peacefully in the slums. The film depicts that the general mood in Philippines regarding homosexuality situated between tolerance, amusement, and acceptance; however, this does not necessarily mean that the Philippines is immune from the spurts of homophobia (Roces and Grace 61). The film demonstrates the easiness of accepting others who are diverse from the norm as long as they build a bond. The Filipino film industry has grown over the years and is increasingly embraced by the world. Presently, the film industry criticized as â€Å"poorly made† in the description of quality of films been produced. Filipino needs to embrace new genres and add innovation in the

Architectural theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Architectural theory - Essay Example This has been accelerated by the technological advancements in the field that has further led to the expansion of knowledge of the design theory of architecture. When looking at the design theory in architecture it is vital we consider the newly founded styles of architecture that is; contemporary, post-modernism and modernism Looking at architectural style of modernism, it is a style that was founded in the early years of the twentieth century. The roots and good qualities of modernist architecture have been safe guarded and are displayed in Marseilles, France at Le Corbusier's iconic Unite d'Habitation. The modernist architects were against the ways of their predecessors who had ornamental architectural designs. These modernist architects were of a rather different perspective of architecture whereby their interest laid creating space and structure exactly the way it’s needed. The design of a simple structure that had a structure of the natural world that surrounded them is a good example of how modernist architects thought. ... This era came in the early 1970s. Postmodernism was more of a blend between modernism and the era that was before modernism. This was due to the fact postmodernist architects had decorative and ornamental features and additions to their designs of buildings. This architecture was therefore an improvement of their predecessors although it had decorations and unplanned angles. Over the years with the advancement in technology, the discovery of new architectural ideas and concepts and ultimately the expansion of the architectural field, post-modernist architecture has come to be more modifiable and also more sculptural. These properties of post-modernist architecture are a response to the prior modernist architectural look, design and movement. The post-modernist architecture has over time transformed into a more profound, less rigid and sculptural form of architecture for example: the work of famous post-modernist architect Richard Rogers which was design of the Centre Georges Pompidou museum in Paris, France and also the work of another famous post-modernist architect Frank Gehry which was design of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. When we talk about contemporary architecture we basically mean all the architecture that was developed in the 1980s. However this architecture has evolved over time due to the advancement in technology, the discovery of new architectural ideas and concepts and ultimately the expansion of the architectural field. Computer advancements have made it possible the simulation of architectural designs which has shed light into conceptual thinking and architectural styles. These computer advancements have taken the theoretical thinking and insight into recent architectural styles to new heights and have brought up a