500 word essay symbolism in the short story the glass menagerie

500 word symbolism in the short story the glass menagerie - Essay Example One of the first symbols encountered by the reader is the fire escape. The fire escape represents both a literal and symbolic way to leave the house. It also represents a major them in the story – the need to escape. Williams describes the Wingfield house and makes note of the fire escape. He explains â€Å"huge buildings are always burning with the slow and implacable fires of human desperation† (scene i). Certainly this is true of the Wingfield family. Tom wishes to escape from his boring job and current lifestyle because â€Å"Man is by instinct a lover, a hunter, a fighter, and none of those instincts are given much play at the warehouse!† (scene ii). He does succeed, occasionally, in finding comfort in movies, drinking, and magic shows. The fire escape represents his ultimate path to his freedom. His regular trips onto the fire escape to smoke foreshadows the permanent abandonment of his family. In the final speech of the story, Tom states â€Å"I descended the steps of this fire escape for a last time and followed, from then on, in my father’s footsteps, attempting to find in motion what was lost in space† (scene vii). Laura wishes to escape too. However, she seeks refuge not in the real world but within the house and a reality all her own. The fire escape protects her from the outside world. She wishes to isolate herself from the world where her deformity is laughed at and her shy spirit is crushed. Even when she ventures out on to the fire escape she slips representing another failed attempt at entering the real world (scene iv). is a symbol of the affection that Laura seeks and the cruelty that world offers her. Blue roses are both unusual and mysterious which reflects Lauras personality. The nick name while seemingly affectionate was actually a play on the term â€Å"pleurosis† which Laura suffered from in her childhood. Additional, the use of the name Rose pays

Critically discuss the management of a patient suffering from CHD Essay

Critically discuss the management of a patient suffering from CHD using the scenario of Mrs M.Cox as the background to your disc - Essay Example The paper also looks at the future of the spread of CHD and other such so-called â€Å"lifestyle† illness and the impact this will have on the healthcare systems of the less developed world. The paper also looks at the social determinants of cardiovascular diseases, including CHD. The other thing that is examined in this document is the place for self care and self management of chronic illnesses especially in the homes and in the communities where a lot of such illnesses need to be managed, with the intention of reducing the need for making too many trips to the hospital for the patient and also ensuring that his or her psychosocial needs are met right at the place where they live. The report uses the case study of a CHD patient to ensure that the lessons learned and best practices in self management of chronic illnesses can be utilised and used as teaching tools not just for the patient but also for those members of their families and their community that are charged with th e task of taking care of them and following up on their needs as patients and family members. Coronary heart disease is a condition caused by the build up of fat and cholesterol deposits in the walls of the arteries of the heart. These deposits result in the constriction of the arteries which leads to a reduction of the flow of blood to the heart. This build up of deposits happens gradually over time and usually the first signs that this manifests itself in are in breathlessness and chest pains. The first symptoms of CHD include chest pain or angina. Coronary heart disease can often lead to heart attacks, irregular heartbeat and heart failure. Coronary heart disease kills more people in the United Kingdom than any other disease, with about 82,000 deaths reported annually. A further 2.7 million are estimated to be living with the condition (NHS(b), 2012). In the United States there are over 7 million people living with CHD and every year more than 600,000 die of CHD and related illne sses (Surgical Associates of Texas, 2005). The prevalence of CHD is highest among those over 65 years of age (19.8%) while the prevalence among the men in the population is much higher than that in women, at 7.8% and 4.6% respectively (CDC, 2011). There are certain factors that increase the risk of contracting CHD. These include smoking, being overweight, a sedentary lifestyle with lack of exercise, excessive intake of alcohol, family history of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes (Canvin, 2012). CHD is diagnosed by various tests that are conducted which include blood tests to see the amount of fat and cholesterol in the blood, an electrocardiogram (ECG), chest x-ray, CT and MRI scans (Canvin, 2012; Heart Foundation, n.d.). Other tests include the angiogram, also called cardiac catheterization, where a dye is injected into the body via a thin tube known as a catheter. The images taken showing how the dye flows through the body are used to determine how effective blood fl ows through the body. Another test is the stress test where typically a client is placed on a treadmill at changing inclines and speeds and any abnormalities in the rate and rhythm of the heartbeat is measured. Additionally a dye can be introduced into the body intravenously and then x-rayed to show how effectively blood is being pumped through the body (Milano, 2013). CHD has no cure once diagnosed.

Adequacy Of Crime Control In The Uk Criminology Essay

Adequacy Of Crime Control In The Uk Criminology Essay Analyse the adequacy(sufficient to satisfied or meet a need) and relevance(relation of something) of the crime control and due process models for understanding criminal justice, with reference to the jurisdiction you are in and/or England and Wales. For discussing this question we should first tell what criminal justice system is and how it does works. A Criminal Justice system is a set of legal and social institutions to ensure the implementation of criminal law with a set course of rules and regulations . The system of criminal justice is directed at controlling and mitigating crimes, punishing the offender and providing safety to the society by the help of the government. Today its one of the major concerns of the general public. Fruitfully criminal justice is a behavior that changes with the change in different aspects of the society and varies with space and time(Black, 1976). A lot of agencies namely the Police, the Crown Prosecution service,judges,juries,lawyers. courts etc. are working together to reform and improve the Criminal Justice System (CJS). The main challenge was that of making the prisons system and the processes of dealing with prisoners more better and efficient .Only to criminal justice process a number of government departments agencies and other departments make contributions which sometimes can be conflicting. Maintaining a level of deterrence in the society that can stop the violation of law by punishing and convicting those who are guilty and deliver justice to the society is the sole purpose of Criminal Justice System. One of the reasons which has made this system more prone to criticism is due to the recent modifications made to it with the amendments made to the areas that are more concerned with the proceedings of these crimes.Every citizen has the right to be safe and is always eager to know that whether the criminal will be brought to justice or not.punishing the offender can increase public faith.CJS also aims at practicing fairness in the system fair treatment to everyone. A few societies have been able to setup criminal justice institutions that practice equality,fairness and openness (Prillaman 2000; Solomon and Foglesong 2000; Ungar 2002). The local criminal justice board led on reducing crime and administering justice on local basis. The crime levels have been increasing, which leaves the subject even more criticized however there exists a mistrust of justice for those who believe that the innocent people are being punished and the guilty people escape. Mostly justice systems that practice secrarcy, brutality and arbitrariness are in a society that is under authoritarian regime (Smykla 1989; McElligott 1994; Shelley 1994; Trevaskes 2004). We will examine how the CJS works and focus on the crime control model and due process model. Its theories and models are are identified following. Due process model: it can be said that the current system in UK is a element of the Due Process Model. The Model looks very much like an obstruction route. Each of its succeeding stages is planned to present frightening impediments to carrying the accused any further along in the course. this was created by the American Commentator Herbert Packer in 1968.the primary social goal of the model is Justice and there is an emphasis on fairness and procedural due Process. Basically the model insists on the avoidance and removal of mistakes to the level possible, a process of evidence gathering and dealing with suspects that are needed to protect the accused. The crime control models primary goal is to control crime and punishment of offenders, focuses on ensuring that the police get the convictions in courts. It emphesises on the responsibility of an individual to protect the citizens of the society that abide by the law by apprehending and punishing the criminals (Pecker,1968), David Bunkett was responding to a journalists question concerning the Prime Ministers speech regarding a move towards Crime Control Centered Criminal Justice System, on BBC News. One of the major and most disturbing problems of the Crime Control Model is the miscarriages of justice The rest of models like the The restorative justice mode, bureaucratic model ,A medical model, social integration and exclusion model and status passage model requires no discussion yet. Here the main models of crime control and due process will be discussed that are considered as two different ideal types of criminal justice.Protection of the innocence and elimination of crimes from the street is the main role of crime control.While comparing both models it should be borne in mind that proponents of both models embrace constitutional values. According to the crime control model repression of criminal conduct should be the vital purpose of the criminal process and that justice should focus on upholding the rights of victims rather than those of the accused. Based on the concept of police fact-finding it treats the alleged criminal as guilty. This therefore, shows a negative mannerism of the crime control model. Now coming towards the latter goal, in the due process model the focal point is the assumption that a person cannot be deprived of his liberty or rights unless the relevant legal procedures and safeguards are adhered to. Those who believe in harsh approaches towards criminal activity may be classed in favor of crime control whereas those against the notion of state intrusions and harassment of the accused tend to value the due process model. There seems erratic swings in crime control in some societies (Rose,2000). On the other hand, the due process model rests upon the principle of legal guilt and the presumption of innocence. After scrutinizing both the models it appears that much depends on the political climate of a country on what model to adopt. It follows that the crime control model mirrors the conservative ideals while the due process thereby reflecting liberal views. During the 1960s the system was manipulated by the policies of the due process. However, when conservatism dominated from the mid 1970s to the early twenty-first century the criminal justice system took the shape of the crime control model.The most important breakdown that is also considered as the failure of law enforcement is bringing criminal conduct under strict control that vanishes an important condition of human freedom. Successful operation of this model must result into a strong rate of apprehension and conviction. Secondly it has to be done in a manner that although the resources are limited still a very large m agnitude can be dealt with.According to Paul Roberts by far the most important function that has to be performed by the criminal process is based on the proposal of forcibly subjugating crime conduct which is the basic of crime control model. A properly criminalized conduct is the dependency of this model. Punishing the guilty and freedom of the innocenct is the aim of both of these models. Here it should also be mentioned as Zander points out that there are so many important current developments affecting criminal justice that it is difficult to keep abreast of them and even more difficult sometimes to be sure whether they are to be welcomed or deplored .A number of miscarriages can be seen in justice that are rapidly increasing. The three great IRA cases are have gathered a lot of interest and highlighted problem of miscarriage of justice. The Guildford four, Derek Bentley, Birmingham six , the Maguire seven, Judith ward and Bridgewater four. In all these cases later Royal commission found them innocent and before that people served long time in prison for wrongly being accused.. The defendants had their convictions quashed by the court of appeal. The structural reforms purposed and accepted by both the May inquiry into the Guildford four and the Runciman commission, which reported in 1993. In case of Birmingham six, where Defendant was beaten up after arrest and forced to confess. Lord Denning held that the police were guilty of perjury; that they were guilty of violence and threats; that the confession was involuntary and improperly admitted in evidence; and that the convictions were erroneous ,Lord Denning held à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦that the police were guilty of perjury; that they were guilty of violence and threats; that the confessions were involuntary and improperly admitted in evidence; and that the convictions were erroneousà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ in the case of Cardiff three, where d was held for murder of a Cardiff prostitute and later the convictions were quashed on the basis of the fact. The Lord Chief justice held that the techniques of interrogation used by the police amounted to an oppression of s.76 of PACE. Case of M62 bombing, where d was convicted of murder and causing an explosion. She did not appeal. Her convictions were quashed. Her personality disorder which rendered her confession unreliable. Tottenham three, d was convicted of murder of a police officer. their appeal was unsuccessful. However Home Secretary referred their case back to CA and their convictions were quashed. And Confait, (which resulted in the royal commission on criminal procedure)the d confessed to a crime that they had actually not committed ,similar problems with confession evidence occurred. the common element which was found in these cases was confession from the suspect and its clearly seen how the police has abuse their powers to arrest the victim bringing them to justice thus taking away the rights of innocent party .one thing we should mention is the Royal commission on criminal justice which was set up by the Home Secretary on the day when Birmingham six was released. It was served by the Lord Runciman and its report was published in 1993.the reason was to examine the reality of the criminal justice system. The report was for securing the convictions of the guilty, which contained disclose of evidence by prosecution and defense and unsupported confession evidence.

Self-Concept Essay -- Self Concept

The Self-Concept is a complicated process of gaining self-awareness. It consists of mental images an individual has of oneself: physical appearance, health, accomplishments, skills, social talents, roles, intellectual traits, and emotional states and more –all make up our self-concept.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The development process begins at about six or seven months of age. The child begins to recognize â€Å"self† as distinct from surroundings. They stare at anything they see, including their own body parts; hands, feet, toes, and fingers. As they grow, their sense of identity expands through interactions with others –creating self-esteem levels that become the â€Å"booster† for the ability to interact. There are two theories that describe how interactions shape our self-views. One defines perceptions of the judgments of others called Reflected Appraisal. It is the notion of receiving supportive and nonsupportive messages. It states that positive appreciation and a high level of self-value is gain when supportive messages are received. In contrast, receiving nonsupportive messages leads to feeling less valuable, lovable, and capable. Everyone that you and I interact with influences these self-evaluations. Either from your past or from present –all shapes how you view yourself, especially from our significant others. The strength of messages from significant others become stronger and eventually affect the health, when they are nonsupportive; depression, for instance, leads to less physical activities that are necessary for a healthy body. However, the foremost important influences are our parents. Supportive parents raise children with healthy self-concepts. While nonsupporti ve parents raise an unhappy child who view his/her self in negative ways.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The other theory defines evaluation of ourselves in terms of how we compare with others, called Social Comparison. There are two types, superior or inferior comparison and same as or different from others. We compare by attractiveness, success or failures, intelligence, and it all depends on whom we are comparing ourselves with. For instance, an individual might feel inferior when compared with an inappropriate reference group. Therefore, he or she might feel inferior because she feels less of everything from the reference. Similarly, the opposite occurs when compared with an appropriate reference group.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In addition, we a... ... behavior. This means that self-awareness must also come into play. I will have to be concerned about the way I present my ideas, as well as my behavior; otherwise, it will be perceived negatively.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  So far, my self-concept has changed positively and in time, it will improve (optimists). The only difficulty that I have been facing is the ability to defend myself against negative comments from others. Because of my thinking process speed, it takes time for me to acquire comments and how to say them immediately. In addition, I found that it is not necessary to give a response back to negative comments in order to defend yourself, except in courtrooms. Nonverbal expressions are also as powerful. For example, ignoring critical comments create a serious climate between you and the speaker –sending a message that the comment was unnecessary and offensive. But in some cases, verbal messages are necessary, such as that in debates over issues. In conclusion, I would have to say that what has been written are only a scratch on a big surface of interpersonal communication skills that I have learned from this class. This concept just happened to be the most important for improvement.

Macbeth- Act 1 Journal for Lady Macbeth

Act 1 Journal Jabie H. (Scene 5) Journal of Lady Macbeth: After reading the letter Macbeth sent her. â€Å"Blue Jays play dumb and dumber, with and without Yunel Escobar: Perkins†. Toronto Star Thu Sep 20, 2012. Website.My dear Macbeth is now the thane of Cawdor and has been promised to be ‘the future king’ by the three witches, oh how wonderful this is! ‘Queen Lady Macbeth’ I can already feel the royal power. But wait I do worry if Macbeth really has what it takes to capture the crown, even if he has the ambition he does not have the guts to do things that are foul and get the crown. Macbeth is far too kind and naive to go out his ways, just like he was five years ago when he first confessed his love to me, I told him I needed more time, I knew he would come to good use of mine.I never had the eye for Macbeth but I knew I could get power if I married him, since his father was the thane of Glamis, I knew he would inherit the position when his father p asses away, but I am not good with patience, when there is a chance to get power I want it done as quickly as possible. When I heard the news that the thane of Glamis fell really ill, I agreed to marry Macbeth under one condition that he would poison his father and inherit the position as the thane of Glamis, and of course Macbeth was easy to convince, since he was madly in love with me.When it came to play the game of power, Macbeth plays dumb and dumber, it was time to give his father the poison, I was watching him that night as he was pouring the poisoned water in his father’s cup, that’s when I saw hesitation in his eyes and his eyes started to tear, I knew he couldn't do it and would tell his father the truth, so at that moment I had to decide quickly, and I decided to poison his father with or without him.I entered the room before Macbeth had the chance to speak and assured his father that Macbeth couldn't handle to see him at such ill state, and so I guided Macb eth out of the room and poisoned his father myself. Of course Macbeth wouldn't forgive me so I convinced him that his father would have died anyway, and this just made the process quicker. Making him the thane of Glamis was one thing, but making him the King is now my priority, the power and richness that comes with the title is far too great to miss, I am ready to murder the King if I have to, Macbeth might not agree, but I can do it with and without him.

Pricing Strategy Essay

Pricing refers to the process of setting a price for a product or service and more than any other element of your marketing mix, will have the biggest impact on the amount of profit you make. Developing an effective pricing strategy is a critical element of marketing because pricing is the only element of the marketing mix that creates sales revenue; the other elements create costs and sales volume. An effective pricing strategy will help you: meet your profit objectives meet or beat your competitors’ prices retain or increase your market share match the image or reputation of your business, product or service match your offer to market demand To arrive at a price for your product or service you’ll need to: Establish what it costs to offer and deliver your products. Without this knowledge, you’ll have no idea whether your prices are sufficient to not only cover all your costs, but to return a profit. Few businesses have failed because their prices are too high, however, many have folded because their prices weren’t high enough to cover costs or generate a profit. Conduct market research to establish what price your competitors are charging and what is the optimum price customers would be willing to pay for your product. Your price will inevitably fall somewhere between that which is too low to produce a profit and that which is too high to generate any demand. The pricing structure A pricing structure consists of a base (or list) price and a variety of price modifiers which depend on the type of product you are selling and the type of market in which you operate. The most common price modifiers are outlined below: Quantity discount – an incentive to buy more. Settlement discount – an incentive to pay quickly. Promotional discount – a discount for a specific period of time. Seasonal discount – an incentive to clear seasonally sensitive stock. Cash rebate – an after-sale incentive linked to a specified target. Ranging allowance – paid to a reseller in return for them stocking your product. Promotional allowance – for participation in a promotional campaign. Delivery fee – an amount you charge for delivering the product. Credit card fee – an amount you charge on credit card purchases. At the end of the day, your objective should be to achieve the best possible price for your products or services taking into account: The value they provide for your customers – ie: how they satisfy their needs and wants in terms of features, benefits, utility value and prestige. Your cost structure – what is your break-even point and how much profit do you want to make? Go to the Financial section for more information on calculating your break-even point and determining profit targets. The competitive environment – what do your competitors charge for similar products and services? Your competitive advantage – do the products or services provide advantages that warrant a price premium? The economic and market environment – what is the level of demand in your industry? A business can use a variety of pricing strategies when selling a product or service. The Price can be set to maximize profitability for each unit sold or from the market overall. It can be used to defend an existing market from new entrants, to increase market share within a market or to enter a new market. Businesses may benefit from lowering or raising prices, depending on the needs and behaviors of customers and clients in the particular market. Finding the right pricing strategy is an important element in running a successful business.[1] Method of pricing in which all costs are recovered.The price of the product includes the variable cost of each item plus a proportionate amount of the fixed costs. Contribution margin-based pricing[edit] Main article: Contribution margin-based pricing Contribution margin-based pricing maximizes the profit derived from an  individual product, based on the difference between the product’s price and variable costs (the product’s contribution margin per unit), and on one’s assumptions regarding the relationship between the product’s price and the number of units that can be sold at that price. The product’s contribution to total firm profit (i.e. to operating income) is maximized when a price is chosen that maximizes the following: (contribution margin per unit) X (number of units sold). In cost-plus pricing, a company first determines its break-even price for the product. This is done by calculating all the costs involved in the production, marketing and distribution of the product. Then a markup is set for each unit, based on the profit the company needs to make, its sales objectives and the price it believes customers will pay. For example, if the company needs a 15 percent profit margin and the break-even price is $2.59, the price will be set at $2.98 ($2.59 x 1.15).[2] Creaming or skimming[edit] In most skimming, goods are sold at higher prices so that fewer sales are needed to break even. Selling a product at a high price, sacrificing high sales to gain a high profit is therefore â€Å"skimming† the market. Skimming is usually employed to reimburse the cost of investment of the original research into the product: commonly used in electronic markets when a new range, such as DVD players, are firstly dispatched into the market at a high price. This strategy is often used to target â€Å"early adopters† of a product or service. Early adopters generally have a relatively lower price-sensitivity – this can be attributed to: their need for the product outweighing their need to economise; a greater understanding of the product’s value; or simply having a higher disposable income. It will maximize profits for the better of the company. This strategy is employed only for a limited duration to recover most of the investment made to build the product. To gain further market share, a seller must use other pricing tactics such as economy or penetration. This method can have some setbacks as it could leave the product at a high price against the competition.[3] Decoy pricing[edit] Method of pricing where the seller offers at least three products, and where two of them have a similar or equal price. The two products with the similar prices should be the most expensive ones, and one of the two should be less attractive than the other. This strategy will make people compare the options with similar prices, and as a result sales of the most attractive choice will increase.[4] Freemium[edit] Main article: Freemium Freemium is a business model that works by offering a product or service free of charge (typically digital offerings such as software, content, games, web services or other) while charging a premium for advanced features, functionality, or related products and services. The word â€Å"freemium† is a portmanteau combining the two aspects of the business model: â€Å"free† and â€Å"premium†. It has become a highly popular model, with notable success. High-low pricing[edit] Method of pricing for an organization where the goods or services offered by the organization are regularly priced higher than competitors, but through promotions, advertisements, and or coupons, lower prices are offered on key items. The lower promotional prices are designed to bring customers to the organization where the customer is offered the promotional product as well as the regular higher priced products.[5] Limit pricing[edit] Main article: Limit price A limit price is the price set by a monopolist to discourage economic entry into a market, and is illegal in many countries. The limit price is the price that the entrant would face upon entering as long as the incumbent firm did not decrease output. The limit price is often lower than the average cost of production or just low enough to make entering not profitable. The quantity produced by the incumbent firm to act as a deterrent to entry is usually larger than would be optimal for a monopolist,  but might still produce higher economic profits than would be earned under perfect competition. The problem with limit pricing as a strategy is that once the entrant has entered the market, the quantity used as a threat to deter entry is no longer the incumbent firm’s best response. This means that for limit pricing to be an effective deterrent to entry, the threat must in some way be made credible. A way to achieve this is for the incumbent firm to constrain itself to produce a certain quantity whether entry occurs or not. An example of this would be if the firm signed a union contract to employ a certain (high) level of labor for a long period of time. In this strategy price of the product becomes the limit according to budget. Loss leader[edit] Main article: Loss leader A loss leader or leader is a product sold at a low price (i.e. at cost or below cost) to stimulate other profitable sales. This would help the companies to expand its market share as a whole. Marginal-cost pricing[edit] In business, the practice of setting the price of a product to equal the extra cost of producing an extra unit of output. By this policy, a producer charges, for each product unit sold, only the addition to total cost resulting from materials and direct labor. Businesses often set prices close to marginal cost during periods of poor sales. If, for example, an item has a marginal cost of $1.00 and a normal selling price is $2.00, the firm selling the item might wish to lower the price to $1.10 if demand has waned. The business would choose this approach because the incremental profit of 10 cents from the transaction is better than no sale at all. Market-oriented pricing[edit] Setting a price based upon analysis and research compiled from the target market. This means that marketers will set prices depending on the results from the research. For instance if the competitors are pricing their products at a lower price, then it’s up to them to either price their goods  at an above price or below, depending on what the company wants to achieve. Odd pricing[edit] In this type of pricing, the seller tends to fix a price whose last digits are odd numbers. This is done so as to give the buyers/consumers no gap for bargaining as the prices seem to be less and yet in an actual sense are too high, and takes advantage of human psychology. A good example of this can be noticed in most supermarkets where instead of pricing at $10, it would be written as $9.99. This pricing policy is common in economies using the free market policy. Pay what you want[edit] Main article: Pay what you want Pay what you want is a pricing system where buyers pay any desired amount for a given commodity, sometimes including zero. In some cases, a minimum (floor) price may be set, and/or a suggested price may be indicated as guidance for the buyer. The buyer can also select an amount higher than the standard price for the commodity. Giving buyers the freedom to pay what they want may seem to not make much sense for a seller, but in some situations it can be very successful. While most uses of pay what you want have been at the margins of the economy, or for special promotions, there are emerging efforts to expand its utility to broader and more regular use. Penetration pricing[edit] Main article: Penetration pricing Penetration pricing includes setting the price low with the goals of attracting customers and gaining market share. The price will be raised later once this market share is gained.[6] Predatory pricing[edit] Main article: Predatory pricing Predatory pricing, also known as aggressive pricing (also known as â€Å"undercutting†), intended to drive out competitors from a market. It is  illegal in some countries. Premium decoy pricing[edit] Method of pricing where an organization artificially sets one product price high, in order to boost sales of a lower priced product. Premium pricing[edit] Main article: Premium pricing Premium pricing is the practice of keeping the price of a product or service artificially high in order to encourage favorable perceptions among buyers, based solely on the price. The practice is intended to exploit the (not necessarily justifiable) tendency for buyers to assume that expensive items enjoy an exceptional reputation, are more reliable or desirable, or represent exceptional quality and distinction. Price discrimination[edit] Main article: Price discrimination Price discrimination is the practice of setting a different price for the same product in different segments to the market. For example, this can be for different classes, such as ages, or for different opening times. Price leadership[edit] Main article: Price leadership An observation made of oligopolistic business behavior in which one company, usually the dominant competitor among several, leads the way in determining prices, the others soon following. The context is a state of limited competition, in which a market is shared by a small number of producers or sellers. Psychological pricing[edit] Main article: Psychological pricing Pricing designed to have a positive psychological impact. For example, selling a product at $3.95 or $3.99, rather than $4.00. There are certain price points where people are willing to buy a product. If the price of a product is $100 and the company prices it as $99, then it is called  psychological pricing. In most of the consumers mind $99 is psychologically ‘less’ than $100. A minor distinction in pricing can make a big difference in sales. The company that succeeds in finding psychological price points can improve sales and maximize revenue. Target pricing business[edit] Pricing method whereby the selling price of a product is calculated to produce a particular rate of return on investment for a specific volume of production. The target pricing method is used most often by public utilities, like electric and gas companies, and companies whose capital investment is high, like automobile manufacturers. Target pricing is not useful for companies whose capital investment is low because, according to this formula, the selling price will be understated. Also the target pricing method is not keyed to the demand for the product, and if the entire volume is not sold, a company might sustain an overall budgetary loss on the product. Time-based pricing[edit] Main article: Time-based pricing A flexible pricing mechanism made possible by advances in information technology, and employed mostly by Internet based companies. By responding to market fluctuations or large amounts of data gathered from customers – ranging from where they live to what they buy to how much they have spent on past purchases – dynamic pricing allows online companies to adjust the prices of identical goods to correspond to a customer’s willingness to pay. The airline industry is often cited as a dynamic pricing success story. In fact, it employs the technique so artfully that most of the passengers on any given airplane have paid different ticket prices for the same flight.[7] Value-based pricing[edit] Main article: Value-based pricing Pricing a product based on the value the product has for the customer and not on its costs of production or any other factor. This pricing strategy is frequently used where the value to the customer is many times the cost of  producing the item or service. For instance, the cost of producing a software CD is about the same independent of the software on it, but the prices vary with the perceived value the customers are expected to have. The perceived value will depend on the alternatives open to the customer. In business these alternatives are using competitors software, using a manual work around, or not doing an activity. In order to employ value-based pricing you have to know your customer’s business, his business costs, and his perceived alternatives.It is also known as Perceived-value pricing. Other pricing approaches[edit] Other pricing strategies include Yield Management, Congestion pricing and Variable pricing. Nine laws of price sensitivity and consumer psychology[edit] In their book, The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing, Thomas Nagle and Reed Holden outline nine â€Å"laws† or factors that influence how a consumer perceives a given price and how price-sensitive they are likely to be with respect to different purchase decisions. [8][9] They are: Reference Price Effect – buyer’s price sensitivity for a given product increases the higher the product’s price relative to perceived alternatives. Perceived alternatives can vary by buyer segment, by occasion, and other factors. Difficult Comparison Effect – buyers are less sensitive to the price of a known or more reputable product when they have difficulty comparing it to potential alternatives. Switching Costs Effect – the higher the product-specific investment a buyer must make to switch suppliers, the less price sensitive that buyer is when choosing between alternatives. Price-Quality Effect – buyers are less sensitive to price the more that higher prices signal higher quality. Products for which this effect is particularly relevant include: image products, exclusive products, and products with minimal cues for quality. Expenditure Effect – buyers are more price-sensitive when the expense accounts for a large percentage of buyers ’ available income or budget. End-Benefit Effect – the effect refers to the  relationship a given purchase has to a larger overall benefit, and is divided into two parts: Derived demand: The more sensitive buyers are to the price of the end benefit, the more sensitive they will be to the prices of those products that contribute to that benefit. Price proportion cost: The price proportion cost refers to the percent of the total cost of the end benefit accounted for by a given component that helps to produce the end benefit (e.g., think CPU and PCs). The smaller the given components share of the total cost of the end benefit, the less sensitive buyers will be to the components’ price. Shared-cost Effect – the smaller the portion of the purchase price buyers must pay for themselves, the less price sensitive they will be. Fairness Effect – buyers are more sensitive to the price of a product when the price is outside the range they perceive as â€Å"fair† or â€Å"reasonable† given the purchase context. The Framing Effect – buyers are more price sensitive when they perceive the price as a loss rather than a forgone gain, and they have greater price sensitivity when the price is paid separately rather than as part of a bundle.