Welfare Essays - Federal Assistance In The United States

Welfare Essays - Federal Assistance In The United States Welfare Welfare Welfare is a government program that provides money, medical care, food, housing, and other things that people need in order to survive. People who can receive help from these welfare programs are children, elders, disabled, and others who cannot support their families on their current income. Another name for welfare is public assistance. There are many organizations that supply this public assistance. Such as Salvation Army and other groups. Public assistance benefits help many people who live below the poverty line, an income level is established for families. If your income is below this you would be eligible to receive this help. Welfare in the United States Federal and state governments in the Unites States serve the poor people through about 60 public assistance programs. Most people receive help through one of the four major programs. These programs are Medicaid, Aid to families with dependant Children, Social Security, or Supplemental Security, or the food stamps program. I will discuss the four programs individually. Medicaid provides free medical care to the poor people. Funds vary from state to state. In some situations, people who may be able to pay daily needs, but can't afford large medical bills may also be able to receive Medicaid. Some services paid for are bills such as doctor's visits and nursing home care. Most Medicaid funding comes from the federal government. The rest is supplied by the state. Each state runs their own Medicaid program. A.F.D.C. provides cash benefits to dependent children and the parents or the guardians taking care of them. Most families that qualify for A.F.D.C. have just one parent in the home. About 80 percent of these families are headed by a woman. A.F.D.C. also pays benefits to two-parent families if both parents are unemployed. Most A.F.D.C. funding comes from the federal government. The states provide the rest of the money and administer the program. The sizes of families' payment vary from state to state. Next is Social Security Income. This provides financial Aid to people in need who are at least 65 years old, blind, or disabled. The federal government finances and administers social security income programs in most states, though some states supply the federal payment and are able to run their own programs. Finally, the Food Stamp Program helps low-income households buy more and better food than they could otherwise afford. Each participating household receives a certain number of coupons called food stamps. The stamps are issued by the federal government. The number of stamps a household receives varies with the family's size, income, and expenses. Cooperating grocery stores accept the stamps like money for food purchases only. There are other programs such as energy assistance and public housing. Energy assistance, which is federally financed but administered by the states, helps people pay fuel bills. Public housing provides low cost rental apartments in government owned buildings. State and local governments fund and administer their own general assistance programs. These programs provide financial aid for needy people who do not qualify for other types of welfare. People waiting to receive assistance from other programs also may get temporary emergency aid from general assistance. Back in the early days, welfare resembled the English system. Social governments were responsible for helping the poor. But the colonies and later the states, sometimes helped the local government provide aid. The first federal welfare program, began after the Revolutionary War, they provided pensions to war veterans. During the Civil War these pensions were expanded to cover soldiers' widows and orphans. In the early 1900's, primary responsibility for providing welfare benefits shifted from local to state governments. During these years, states enacted programs to aid dependent children and the elderly. The criticisms of welfare ranges over a number of social and economic issues. Some people criticize welfare programs for not providing high enough benefits to eliminate poverty. Spending on welfare would have to increase greatly to eliminate poverty, and many people believe the cost is already too high. Many critics of the welfare system charge that providing a steady income to needy people encourages idleness. Actually, most welfare benefits go to elderly, blind, and disabled people and mothers with young children. But welfare does discourage some recipients from working harder by reducing benefits if their income

Infection and its prevention Essay Example

Infection and its prevention Essay Example Infection and its prevention Essay Infection and its prevention Essay Infection and its prevention have been a prime concern of mankind for a long time. Infection is a condition that results when a microorganism is able to invade the body, multiply and cause injurious effect or diseases. (McCall Tankersley, 2007:71) Infection control therefore refers to policies and procedures used to minimize the risk of spreading infections, especially in hospitals and human or animal health care facilities. The purpose of this is to reduce the occurrence of infectious diseases. The aim of this essay is to look at how infection control and the theatre environment impact on a patient undergoing surgery. The first part of the essay looks at infection control in the hospital setting in general; touching on issues such as hospital acquired infection like Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) and Clostridium Difficile (CD). Then the essay delves into the design of the surgical theatre and how it impacts on patients; it further talks about surgical etiquette placing much emphasis on hand washing as this is the first defence in preventing transmission of pathogen (Radford et al, 2004). Finally a conclusion is drawn on all the issues raised and their impact on the patient undergoing surgery. In the past, surgery would have been performed in a convenient location such as the patients home or a hospital ward with only basic infection control in place (Essex-Lopresti 1999). In Phillips (2004) describes the process for preparing the room as rudimentary, amounting to little more than removing furniture and non essential items and boiling linen, perhaps fumigation if time allows. Today, most surgery takes place in operating theatres that are specially designed for that purpose. There are two types of infection, the endogenous and exogenous infection. Endogenous infection occurs when microorganisms that normally exist harmlessly in one part of an individual to become pathogen, whereas exogenous infection happens when microorganisms from other source or from other person, object, animal or the environment (Woodhead 2005). Infection control refers to policies and procedures used to minimise the risk of spreading infection especially in hospitals. Nosocomial or hospital acquired infection (HAI) occur in approximately 5% of all hospital patients. The longer a patient stays in hospital, the higher the risk of getting HAI and sometimes even leading to death. There are many reasons why patients infected with HAI: Firstly weak immune system which makes them more vulnerable to infection due to patient sickness or treatment. Secondly, infection agent can be introduced to the patient by medical procedures and thirdly, on admission with infectable disease agent, patient can transfer diseases to a patient or patient to staff or visitor (Jones, 2008). HAI has, over the past few years dominated the media with its coverage of the superbugs, in particular MRSA and CD. A HAI or nosocomial is that which is acquired or develops as a result of treatment while the patient hospitalised for more than 48 hours and who did not have signs and symptoms of such infection on admission. Radford et al (2004) cited the research of Emmerson et al (1996) 9% of patients admitted to hospital acquire HAI from surgical wound infection after hospital discharge. MRSA has the ability to resist to one or more conventional antibiotics. Study suggests many people are carriers of MRSA but are colonised in their nose or back of their throats and on their normal flora. Report from BBC news (2005) stated that about 100,000 get infected with MRSA each year when they get admitted into hospital. The only way health care workers can reduce this infection is; a good hand washing between patients, a good standard hygiene in hospital and patients with MRSA treated in a highly isolated as much as possible. The operating theatre is designed in accordance by national and processional guidelines as described by Woodhead et al (2005). Each department is divided into three zones, the outer or dirty zone which is unrestricted area where normal clothing can be worn; it contains the entrance to changing areas and usually has access to remove theatre waste. The clean or semi-restricted zones are the staff changing rooms, anaesthetic and recovery rooms and sterile supplies. Access is restricted and all personnel and patients have to wear theatre attire. There is exception sometimes to patients that need support, such as children, mental ill patients or translators to the anaesthetic room. The sterile or restricted zones include the operating theatre, preparation rooms and the scrub areas. Surgical attire and possible masks will need to be worn at all times (Davey Ince 2004). Sterile areas should avoid overcrowding by theatre staff to reduce the risk of accidental contamination to sterile instruments and layout. To reduce airborne contamination, movement of staff and patient should be kept to a minimum. This helps to reduce airborne bacteria from entering the operating theatre (Woodhead 2005). Ventilation, temperature, humidity and airborne contamination have an important role in the design of a good operating theatre. In order to control the movement of air, the operating department requires specialised ventilation system. Usually the system employed in ventilating modern operating departments are laminar airflow (LAF) technology and positive pressure (PP) systems; these are in theory designed to reduce surgical site infections. The theatre is particularly arranged in a way so that air pressure is filtered moving air from clean to less clean areas and this continues when the theatre room is not in use. This is in place to reduce the airborne contamination, reduce expired anaesthetic gases and to control temperature and humidity, thus reducing and minimising bacterial growth. Adequate ventilation in theatre can be achieved by properly closing theatre doors, windows are well sealed, ceiling solid and the floor impermeable to washable material with no gaps or cracks and cove red joints where it meets the wall. Also shelving should be kept to a minimum (Weaving P, et al 2008). In orthopaedic theatre the air is ultraclean. These system are used when the risk and consequences to developing infection are greater. Ultra clean air, provided by the laminar flow systems, is designed to move particle free air over the aseptic operating field in one direction; it can be in vertically or horizontally sweeping away particle in its path. These canopies have the capacity to provide up to 400 to 500 air change per hour and can reduce the incidents of surgical site infection ,so together with good practice and the use of prophylactic antibiotics, the impact of surgery upon the patient should be favourable (Woodhead et al 2005) . 37à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ C and high humidity is the optional where most bacteria reproduce, to keep a theatre room free from bacteria the temperature should be between 20 to 24oc and humidified air levels of 50 to60%, this help to suppress bacteria growth, also help create a good impact upon the surgical patient, as infection rates are considerably lower (Davey and Ince 2004). Infants, children and burnt patient need a warmer temperature to avoid hypothermia, therefore each operating theatre have its own controls for regulating the temperature (Mangum 2001). There are two types of lighting found in theatre, the laminar lighting used to light the operating theatre and auxiliary and the surgical lighting. Both harbour microorganisms on it surfaces due to the movement and activities of staff in the operating theatre (Phillips 2004). This should be clean regularly to reduce the risk of infection. The theatre must be damp dusted before the first case of the day, and it is essential to clean and disinfect all contaminated areas of the theatre at the end of each case (Mangum, 2001) Infection control as defined earlier as policies and procedures use to minimize the risk of spreading infection, staff do not always go by this policies and guidelines. For example policies on air movement in the department, normally doors between the anaesthetic room and theatre are mostly left open by staff therefore affecting the positive pressure from working effectively. Staff need constant trainings and made aware of updated policies. These measures will help to control infection. According to Woodhead et al (2005), 300 million skin squames are shed per day and about 10% of this have microorganisms of which smaller particles stay as airborne for some hours. Some big particles may rest on work surfaces, furniture and equipment. 37% of airborne microbial contamination can be reduced if in every 3 minutes air is changed in the theatre. Different type of waste should be separated and disposed of in the right way. All waste known, or considered to cause disease in humans or other living organisms is considered infectious waste (DH, 2006). In the authors trust yellow is the colour coding for clinical waste which can cause a risk of infection or can be hazardous. Green bags for the linens. All waste bags should not be more than three quarters full (Davey Ince, 2004) and it is the duty of the staff to ensure that and dispose off in the appropriate manner to meet the requirement of the control of substances hazardous to health regulation (COSHH). Maintaining a safe and clean environment is essential for a good impact upon surgical patients, but staff themselves can be a source of microbial contaminated (Green et al, 2003). Staffs are screened by their occupational health department. They are annually screened for such infections as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B.; this screening is mandatory and is design to protect patients from exposure from infected staff. Microorganisms are shed from exposed skin, hair and mucus membranes, so to achieve a sterile field and to reduce infection for both patients and staff; staff need to wear appropriate clothing, prepare patients, use sterile equipment and eliquette during surgery. According to Radford et al (2004), every staff working within the theatre context needs to change into suit and trousers as classed as personal protective equipment (PPE) made from cotton fabric to reduce skin cells to the surroundings. Other PPE such as footwear, mask, eye protection etc. are also worn by staff as an infection control measure during surgery. Hospital Acquired Infections may not be eradicated but many outbreaks can be prevented through effective hand washing. Transient microorganisms are easily removed during hand washing therefore it is one of the most important procedures to prevent the spread of infection (Woodhead Wicker 2005). Hand antisepsis started in the 1860 by Joseph Lister. He realised decay is caused by microorganism and it can be prevented by disinfecting the clinical environment and all equipment with carbolic acid. It also included staff having their hands washed in a solution of 5% carbolic acid before undertaking surgery. Other development on surgical hand antisepsis occurred including scrubbing the hands and arms with a brush where the term scrub comes from. Also introduction of alcohol rubs in the late 1990s which contain antiseptic agent such as chlorehexidine gluconate alcohol solution which when rubbed on the hands does not need rinsing (Tanner 2008). Hand washing takes place before and after patient contact, following removal of protective clothing, immediately following contamination with blood or body fluids and after handling contaminated or potentially contaminated articles (Davey and Ince 2004, p39). This hand washing is a form of standard precautions for all staff to practice since staff cannot tell which patient is contaminated; therefore it is one of the most important procedures to prevent the spread of infection. Healthcare workers handling patient with their catheter, bed linen, wound, disposal of linen and waste come in contact with microorganisms. Also staff or practitioners caring for MRSA patients can have the pathogen on their skin for a few hours, this means it can transfer to another patient or staff easily. During these times, hand washing is vital to help stop the spread of infection. Surgical hand scrubbing gets rid of transient microorganisms which help to minimise the number of resident microorganisms in the recent study of Tanner 2008. Before hand scrub, all jewellery with the exception of single plain band must be removed. False nails and nail polish is not acceptable, since they harbour pathogens as studied by Heddewick et al (2000). Aqueous antiseptic solution such as Chlorhexidine gluconate and providone-iodine are efficient in removing transient organisms and reducing resident organisms to a safe level. Frequent hand wash minimise a low bacterial count under gloves which is accepted by all healthcare workers. To start effective hand scrub, temperature of the water must be checked; also arms and hands must be wet before applying anti-microbial solution. The hands and arms are washed from fingertips to the elbows and hands are held higher than elbows in order to prevent microorganisms dropping back to the fingertips. There is no agreed time for how long a surgical hand wash should last, but between 2 5 minutes have been vouched for by most researchers as enough and effective. Hands should be properly dry. Alcohol based hand rubs are also effective for use between patient contact. When used, the right technique should be employed to ensure it covers the relevant areas and left to dry (Woodhead et al 2005). Sterile gowns are worn after hand scrub to prevent bacteria from scrub staff to the surroundings or operating site, thus reducing surgical side infection (SSI) (Radford et al ,2004). Gloves must be put on using the closed gloving technique, not touched by the staff members bare hands. During orthopaedic operation, double gloving is recommended as any perforations will be highlighted and sterility will not be compromised. Surgical instrument and sterile equipment are prepared in the preparation room just before use, thus minimising the risk of contamination from airborne microbes. Patients are then positioned on to the table before a scrub nurse wheels the trolley into the operating area (Davey and Ince, 2004). A patients skin around the incision site is disinfected to reduce the number of bacteria present so as to reduce the risk of endogenous infections. The most effective antiseptic are those which are alcohol based. This has to be left on the skin to evaporate before draping begins (Weaving et al, 2008). The rationale behind this is to reduce the natural flora from getting into the incision and avoiding the patient contracting SSI. The rest of the patient is covered by draping which comes in disposable or reusable; this is to provide a sterile field in which the operating team can work without risk of contaminating themselves or the instrument. Draping start from the incision site working out towards the peripheries and should not be removed until dressing applied and surgery completed (Radford et al, 2004). Infection can not be totally eliminated and has serious consequences for the patient; however the risk of contracting infection can be reduced by adhering to infection control procedures and policies such as effective hand washing, wearing the appropriate personal protecting equipment. The design of the operating department also plays an important role in the success of controlling infection. Ventilation system needs to be working effectively to achieve its use; temperature and humidity parameters need constant checking. The continuous education of staff about theatre policies and regular update of the policies will go a long way to help reduce infection in theatre.

Personal Experience with Ageism and Adultism Essay

Personal Experience with Ageism and Adultism - Essay Example The essay "Personal Experience with Ageism and Adultism" talks about the age as a factor that distinguishes individuals in the society. To begin with, when I was young, during my third-grade year, my elder brother, who was in twelfth grade at the time, and his friends once discussed an issue which all of them seemed quite unaware of. Their discussion was mainly marred by speculation and imagination of what a new education policy was about and the implication it would have on the education system. Even though I was not part of the discussion, I was sitting with them in the living room, and had an upper hand over them, having watched the broadcast about the policy and its implication on national television. They kept arguing speculatively with one of them particularly explaining a completely distorted version of the policy to the rest. At some point, I joined in the discussion, giving the true version of the policy and its implication just as I had watched on television. They took it t o another side of the argument, giving it little attention, maybe because it did not come from one of their peers, and more so, it had come from a younger person whom they did not seem to believe had the command on such matters. Even after I had told them that I had watched it on national television, they still ignored my version and continued with the argument using their own speculated versions. As the debate continued and after I had given up on convincing them, my father arrived in the house and found the debate raging on.

Today's Bachelor Degrees are Minimum, Like High School Degrees Were 30 Assignment

Today's Bachelor Degrees are Minimum, Like High School Degrees Were 30 Years Ago - Assignment Example Owing the changing scenario the attainment of bachelor’s degree has been the minimal level of education in the preset era, equivalent to high school degree around 30 years back. An increase in trend in the attainment of Bachelors degree is observed in the developed nations. The enrichment in the education sector of major economies has given rise to the number of the bachelor’s degree holders and the post graduate or the master’s degree holders. A few decades back bachelors degree was a standard in the level of education of the individuals but in the present generation the masters degree has replaced as a benchmark in the level of education. The study of the figures reveal that in USA the number of master degree holders in all discipline was 657,000 in the year 2009 which was more than the double number in the 1980. Almost all the states in US have more than 20% of the educated mass holding a bachelors degree. The district of Colombia accounts for the highest numb er of bachelors degree holders with figures of more than 45 %.( Smith, 1996, pp.15-20). The figures suggest that in matters of seeking education, students aim to attain at least a bachelor’s degree. The wide range of facilities has caused the educational system to improve with Bachelors degree becoming the minimum level of education. ... In the present generation education has been made accessible to all, and the government funds majority of the students for the higher education programs like that of a bachelor degree (DesJardins, et al, 2006, p.401) The availability of educational loan for perusing a bachelor’s degree from college has removed the financial constraint for undergoing a higher education. The availability of various resources and various areas of subjects for conducting higher studies has also encouraged more number of students to pursue the bachelor’s degree. The competition in employment has caused the students to gain a minimal level of bachelor’s degree. The completion of higher degree in education is a prerequisite for the attainment of a proper job. The rate of employment of a person with a bachelor’s degree is more than the rate of an employment of person with a diploma in high schools. Owing to the primary needs of employment, the number of students graduating every y ear is on a steep rise. The level of salary which an individual gets with a completed bachelor’s degree is also higher and often proves to be substantial to carry out a healthy living. In the advent of globalization most of the organization provides satisfactory salary package to the holders of bachelor’s degree which suits their needs. The rise in competition in today’s economy does not guarantee a job just by a mere possession of the bachelor’s degree but does provide the individual to have a productive full career. Employers prefer a minimal degree of graduation from college for certain job profiles. The students who fail to get trough big organizations after completing their bachelors degree still gets benefited by the knowledge and the

Postwar Urban Development in the Golden Horseshoe Research Paper

Postwar Urban Development in the Golden Horseshoe - Research Paper Example The Golden Horseshoe population is dense which makes up one fourth of the total population in Canada. The total population of the Greater Golden Horseshoe was 8.1 million individuals according to census results of 2006 (MacFarlane 65). By the year 2031, the population is projected to grow up to about 12 million (MacFarlane 66). This shows that the expected growth rate per year is about 12.5 %. However, in the urban areas there are set density targets for the urban growth. The policies enable effective urban growth with fully developed structures.   The population figure puts the Greater Horseshoe to be ranked sixth among the most populated urbanized areas in the North America. It also has a strong economy that helps in the implementation of policies effectively, especially the plans that require financial investments. In this respect, the greater Golden Horseshoe was selected to be the headquarters for the world fortune global companies approximated as five hundred in number. This has made it to be among the worlds’ most stable countries economically.Growth Plan for Urban Development Generally, proper growth plan of the Greater Golden Horseshoe was produced in 2006, where several policies for growth management of these urban centers were incorporated. The policies are useful in guiding of planning decisions on the respective urban development areas. This reflects a planning vision of the Great Golden Horseshoe, which is the central development support for the nation.  ... This has made it to be among the worlds’ most stable countries economically. Growth Plan for Urban Development Generally, proper growth plan of the Greater Golden Horseshoe was produced in 2006, where several policies for growth management of these urban centers were incorporated. The policies are useful in guiding of planning decisions on the respective urban development areas. This reflects a planning vision of the Great Golden Horseshoe, which is the central development support for the nation. The government of Ontario prepared policies on the general growth plan of Golden Horseshoe. This plan was to promote a healthy growth that covered the whole Ontario. Growth plan for Horseshoe had major aims stated as revitalization of all downtowns to be vibrant and excellent centers, provision of good housing choices, protection of greenhouse and farming lands, and creation of good infrastructural facilities through better road network among other grand plans. Some of the policies in cluded the transit promotion, walking terms in the city and demand management of transport system (MacFarlane 77). The infrastructural policies were also effective in setting up standardized buildings and road network in the urban regions. This enhanced a faster development through transportation of commodities to the market effectively, without wastage. The population has a greater influence on the selected 25 urban centers’ population. The urban planning provisions were to recognize diversity in the 25 centers. The set density target for the urban is 400 jobs and persons per hectare. If growth plan on density is realized, then the municipality can then set the new minimum

Discuss the War of 1812. Begin with a short background of the conflict Essay

Discuss the War of 1812. Begin with a short background of the conflict and the reasons for a U.S. declaration of war. How did the war change America Disuss at least three major long term results of the War - Essay Example The war of 1812 was a war that was fought chiefly between the government of the United States of America and the British empire (Chiefly British North America/Canada). Without question there had been a strongly strained relationship between the United States and the British Empire since the conclusion of the war of independence. The war was fought both the land and sea, and there were a number of different agents involved such as the Americans, United Empire Loyalists, Quà ©bà ©cois, The British, Upper & Lower Canadians, American Indians etc. After the British had defeated Napoleon on the European more resources were freed up for the war effort and as such a more aggressive strategy was employed. Although neither side lost any major territory in the war the war was concluded with a number of treaties (Such as the Rush-Bagot Treaty) which helped lead to the un-militarized great lakes and helped lead to an un-militarized borderbetween Canada and the United states that remains to this day. As with any historical event such as a war it is often the case that the issues surrounding it are not cut and dry. In the case of the war of 1812 the reasoning behind the declaration of war was not as simple as one would think. According to Horseman (1962) it was the case that the British engaged in a naval conflict with the United States that saw the commandeering of American vessels and seizing sailors on the grounds that they were deserters from British naval forces and as such were co-opted into British Service. Moreover, Strong trade restrictions were placed by the British on the United States and France (Which hurt American commercial interests) and lastly many American Indians were being supported by the British to impede American expansion into the West (Of the American Continent). Ultimately these grievances helped push James Madison to give a long speech to the U.S. Congress regarding American interests and

Iphone 5C price decision Essay Example for Free

Iphone 5C price decision Essay The fist factor that important in the pricing decision of iPhone 5C is by considering costs. For instance, since Apple Inc. wants to maximize its profits through establishing new products, the price should be set at the point where marginal revenue equals to marginal cost. We know that iPhone 5C is in the perfectly competitive market, the company can reach its maximum profit at equilibrium at X* and P*. To determine the price, Apple Inc. needs to do the marginal analysis. According to profits (Ï€) equals to total revenues (TR) minus total costs (TC), which is Ï€=(P*X)-(fixed cost+variable costs per unit *X), X is the number of units sold by Apple Inc. Of course, manager needs to ask several departments and contractors to know the cost of their product and services. From online websites, I get to know that producing a 16Gbyte iPhone, total BOM and Manufacturing Cost is about $173.45, for a 32Gbyte iPhone 5C is approximately $182.85(which accounts only for hardware and manufacturing costs and does not include other expenses such as software, licensing, royalties or other expenditure)(Andrew, 2013). The manager can differentiating the fixed costs and variable costs based on cost behavior, and plug those numbers into the equation and get an equation between Ï€ and X. then differentiate the equation and set it to zero, the manager can get the number of units when profit maximizing. Finally, plug X into assuming demand function, the manager can get the price and make a decision. But, in the real world, it is not easy to implement the marginal analysis method. So, managers usually try to combine cost-based approaches and market-based approach to make a profit satisfying approach, for example full cost-plus target profits, variable costs-plus percentage markup can both assess to pricing decision. However, the common and basic factor for the methods is costs. The second factor that important in the pricing decision of iPhone 5C is product line and competitors. Strategy analysis is the company needs to consider about the Competitors as well as the whole industry, and then assess to firm’s plan. We can figure out that the competitions in the smartphone market are quite intense, there are numerous competitors and are almost equal size, such as Samsung, Microsoft. So, Apple Inc. has to investigate the cost leadership and the unique producers in order to make a competitive price in the smartphone market. The website take the example of Moto X, which has 18 kinds of colors and the functions are really similar to iPhone 5C (Darren, 2013). The price of Moto X is $599, so the manager should decide a lower price than it to gain a competitive advantage. In particular, the competition is not just from the external market, we know that Apple Inc. promoted iPhone 5C as well as iPhone 5S at the same time. To iPhone 5C, the manager needs to consider about the plastic case, which is $42 less than the metal case cost of iPhone5S (Ben, 2013). So manager should also compare the 5C’s price to 5S. It is an important thing to keep secret of the product’s price before they coming out. The manager of Apple Inc. can survey the expected price of the public, or conduct some historical sample tests before making the final price decision. The third factor that important in the pricing decision of iPhone 5C is the manager should estimate the demand. Assume that we are suffering a financial crisis, most people don’t have extra money to pay for new electronic devices. They have already owned iPhone 5 or iPhone 4S and do not want to pay for another similar product. Then the manager should decrease the price of iPhone 5C to fit for people’s expectation of low pricing, using the profit margin per unit to trade for higher quantities. As I mentioned above, the estimation of demand function is also important in the marginal analysis. In order to estimate the demand, the manager should also make market survey to analyze the targeted customers. According to Pew Internet’s report, Teens and Technology 2013, 37% of U.S. teenagers now own a smartphone (which compares to 23% in 2011). And the increases of U.S. wireless carriers’ family data plans, intensive the parents to buy smartphones for their kids (Jason, 2013). Because the iPhone5C is colorful, has proper functions and easy to control, it must a first-choice for kid’s cellphone. Aimed at attracting teenagers group, the Apple Inc. manager should make the price to a certain level. What’s more, we also have to consider whether buyers are sensitive to price. In economics, we call it price elasticity of demand, which means the percentage change in the numbers of units sod to the percentage change in the price of the product. Assume most people are price sensitive, if the price of iphone5C is much higher than they expected, they will not buy it, which decreases demand a lot. So, listen to the public opinions on price is quite important. Before iphone5C facing to the public, a lot of individuals forecast that the selling price should be low enough to satisfy the low-end customers needs. Somebody was kidding that iPhone 5C is iPhone for China or iPhone for cheap. Apple Inc. wants to occupy more market percentage in developing countries, so they advertised that to make a colorful low-end smartphone. However, the price of iPhone 5C is not as low as we expected. The data shows after releasing the iPhone for 72 hours, both in China, Australia, U.S., the sales of iPhone 5S is almost 4 times compare to iPhone 5C. Especially, the graph says in the â€Å"target† country China, where the 5s is outselling the 5c five to one (Christopher, 2013). So I think the price of iPhone 5C is not reasonable. There are several reasons to explain iPhone 5C price is not appropriate. Firstly, compare to iPhone 5S, people claim 5C just looks an iPhone 5 with a candy-colored plastic shell. According to a report published by UBS, the same memory for 16 Gigabyte iPhone, 5S costs $213 in materials, whereas a 5C costs $156IPhone 5S has metal shell, Touch ID fingerprint scanner, more advanced A7 chipset, Motion Coprocessor and True tone flash for camera. The different price due to plastic case of $42 and finger print sensor of $7. However, the price of iPhone 5C is only $100 less than iPhone 5S. The UBS also estimates the gross margins of iPhone 5S is 45-55% and for iPhone 5S is 48-54% (Ben, 2013). As a rational consumer, I will buy iPhone 5S instead of iPhone 5C, since 5S has much more functions, which is not at a so much higher price. Secondly, the factors of competitor also have huge effects. Samsung is the key part for apple to make its â€Å"retina display† screen, as well as apple use Sony’s sensor in its camera. We know that Samsung and Sony are competitors. Apple Inc. is hiring, relying and paying them. But if someday, Samsung or Sony stop providing essential parts to apple, what will happen? I think Apple Inc. has to produce all manufacturing parts by themselves under a big amount of fixed cost, which will have a big effect on Apple’s price decision. Thirdly, the price of iPhone 5C is not as low as rumored. It brings the question to us, who exactly is Apple targeting? We know that Samsung has galaxy series, which with large-screen and liked by fashion people and developing markets. In china, there are a lot of really cheap phones under 1000RMB, those phones have varieties function and beautiful looking. So when Apple Inc. can really open the market to low-end customers? The price decision and targeting customer is not clear and accurate. I am kind of thinking there must be some sailing strategy when apple promoted 5C and 5S at the same time, with a huge cost performance in my opinion. Maybe Apple Inc. just wants to stimulate the sales of 5S, after people comparing these two products.