Ebay Market Share

How to dominate the online auction market Jeffrey Phillips †¢ Brian Somok †¢ Xiaoke Zheng Executive Summary Background eBay Inc history: September 1995: funded as a sole proprietorship. May 1996: incorporated in California. April 1998: reincorporated in Delaware. September 1998: completion of initial public offering October 2002: acquired PayPal Product Online Auction: Every day, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, millions of people from all over the world go shopping at online auctions. This is not an exaggeration – eBay, with a 76% share of the auction site market, reports 42. million users and a growth factor of 100% per Year Porter’s Five Forces Analysis Rivalry Rivalry is very intense. Yahoo had to give up Japan and Australia online auction sites in 2003 because of low margin in this market even if Yahoo made great investment in these two sites beforehand. Number of firms Online auction firms: www. eBay. com, www. overstock. com, www. ubid. c om, www. yahoo. com, www. amazon. com, www. CQout. com, www. bidville. com, etc. The large number of firms in this market reflects the intense competition among those sites. Margin profit is decreased to a relatively low level. Bay could still survive because of its scale of economy and good reputation. However, eBay’s growth in 2004 was much smaller than in 2003. Shareholders put much pressure on eBay, and eBay had to readjust its pricing on varied services on the short run in order to satisfy people’s short term expectation. However, he is risking his long term revenue and reputation. Fixed costs Essentially, fixed costs on online auction market are rather low: purchasing programming technology patents, web, administration, credit, accounting, staff, and daily operations. Product differentiation Differentiation depends on how the transaction is performed. There is not too much difference among different online auction companies in web processing efficiency and shipping efficiency, but eBay is more convenient than others, due to their lengthy expertise in the market. eBay differentiated itself by integrating PayPal payment system, which is famous for its security, cheap rate and network utility. eBay offers a cheap transaction fee rate, as well. It has greatest number of users by far, which offers excellent network utility. Amazon used to be a substitute product provider. However, since 1999 Amazon added auction module in its business. eBay likewise encroached on Amazon’s niche by adopting fixed price functions like â€Å"buy it now† button and purchasing www. half. com. eBay and Amazon have been less different and therefore rivalry has increased a little. However, there is still an obvious gap between them in terms of business model and software development. Amazon built its reputation with high-end users. It has a friendly and succinct transaction interface, which offers superior product mix. Amazon is utilizing Porter’s value strategy and has not changed this for years. On the other hand, eBay is a large community of small buyers and sellers who deal with single-item transactions at negotiable prices. It has a created cost advantage by scale of economy. Most goods traded on eBay are secondhand, and eBay’s inventory changes more rapidly than Amazon’s. eBay is actually taking Porter’s cost strategy. Different business models result in different financial performance. eBay generated $441 million profits in 2003 on $2. 17 billion revenue compared with Amazon's much smaller $35 million profit on far more revenue — $5. 3 billion. eBay has a more liquid and efficient financial structure. Besides, these two companies are both valued by their own network/community. Most customers don’t switch between auction and fixed price retail very often partly because they are rooted in the community culture of either network. They don’t have incentives to change their current method of transaction if it is satisfactory. Different business models and different networks are enough to place these two companies in different niches without too much rivalry. Barriers of New Entrants New entrants seize every opportunity to expand their market share. eBay still has a dominant market share of online auction. His reputation is a sweeping force in maintaining his good performance. However, eBay has to be cautious in every marketing decision. His mistakes will be taken advantage by these new comers. For example, www. bidville. com , an online auction site, recently experienced a dramatic increase in new member registration after eBay announced they would raise their listing fees for sellers. eBay took a prompt response by resuming the listing fee back to the original level. eBay didn’t win anything in this price adjustment and readjustment, but eroded his reputation. Essentially in this online auction market, whoever has the most name recognition, wins the game. Right now, Bidville’s disadvantage in name recognition puts Bidville out as a possible alternative to eBay’s market space temporarily. eBay should think about more to maintain his name recognition on the long run. Patents eBay does not hold any key patented technology. A new entrant could easily emulate eBay’s interface. High cost of entry eBay’s most effective barriers are its large network and credible reputation. It is rather difficult for a new entrant to build a new network starting with no users. We can verify this by how new air ticketing companies grow. ) The only way to start a network from a reasonable size is to derive an online auction market from an existing online website company which already has a network, just as Yahoo and Amazon did. A new entrant must also demonstrate creditability and capability to customers and payment providers (credit car d, PayPal, eWallet, etc. ). New entrants must prove their guarantees of efficient and safe transactions, to both buyers and sellers. Why would buyers and sellers bother to switch from a sound existing online auction site to a new one? Incentives to switch include discounts, coupons, accumulative reimbursement like frequent miles, complements from other services an entrant or their cooperating company offers, and higher-quality service in terms of timely and elegant shipping. All of these are trivial but not necessarily effective sales methods. Effectiveness depends on a comprehensive sales strategy which is based on keen insight of business dynamics and human group dynamics. It is hard for a new entrant to find an experienced strategist, and even if it does, there is still no guarantee to gain market share. This market is basically first-mover dominant. Furthermore, it is unlikely for payment companies like credit card companies or other electronic payment providers to support a new entrant, because profitability is unclear. The revenue for successful new entrants will be low at the beginning and stable on the long run. However, expenses will be extremely high at the beginning. A new company rarely survives within a short term unless it has a very generous percentage of leverage or a large amount of venture capital, and leverage is only available for public companies. Therefore, a new entrant can likely only be an existing company that operates in other markets. It should either be sufficiently self-funded or have a very strong, persuasive income statement and business plan to prove liquidity and gain leverage. Since the internet bubble, venture capitalists are very cautious in investing in IT companies, especially Business-to-Customers or Business-to-Business ecommerce companies. (Check the performance of eBay during and after internet bubbles. ) Essentially, the scale of economy is very obvious in the online auction market. The value of an online network is proportional to the number of users squared. The scale of economy will naturally lead to a monopoly. A new entrant should either license a fraud prevention system or employ a third-party payment platform company that already integrates fraud prevention system in its service. Brand loyalty First of all, eBay has been operating in this market since the beginning of e-commerce. A lot of e-commerce companies have failed since the internet bubble. eBay has successfully survived because of the convenience and simplicity of its service. It has gained popularity and built loyalty among customers. It has a secure identity system, and every user has a record of past transactions. eBay has a sound rating system for every buyer and seller to establish credibility amongst the users. eBay’s user accounts work like passports of their personal credit and reliability. Most customers of eBay are long-term users; therefore, they will not attempt fraud in their transactions. If they do, their rating suffers. All customers tend to trust each other because transactions are transparent to the 3rd party supervisor, eBay. eBay has successfully turned their online auction site into a community which has a cohesive culture. Photos of items to be sold greatly enhance the community value and establish amiability and trust between sellers and buyers. (eBay’s success has influenced Amazon to adopt a similar policy in its online transactions recently. ) New entrants are competing against a community as well as a company. It is rather difficult to build a new culture and a new community. There might be some other specialized auction niches available, but eBay offers nearly any product available. For example, eBay has online auctions for cars. However, since cars are large purchases, people tend to be cautious in purchasing them. They must inspect the cars in person, and the buyers and sellers tend to haggle in person. Online auctions don’t seem conducive to the secondhand car market. As one would expect, eBay doesn’t have much revenue from car transactions, and any other online car auction websites are not likely to generate high revenues. Such specialized auction markets have uncertain viability. In the example of a car transaction, there are two types of creditability involved. One is buyers’ trust of eBay: Will eBay protect the buyers’ privacy? The other is buyers’ trust of sellers: Will sellers defraud the buyers or exaggerate the quality of their cars? Shipping is also a major cost in this transaction. Most buyers obviously favor in-person transactions. There is little market space for online auction providers. In fact, there are free online bulletin boards that provide used car sale information. They make it difficult for paid online car auctions to exist at all. Mostly, the viability of such specialized auction markets is doubtful. Therefore, there is limited chance for new entrants. Substitute Products The most important merit of fixed-price online retail is that a buyer does not have to wait for an auction to end. It is appealing to shoppers who prefer straightforward sales. They value their time more than the small price change. It is basically a tradeoff between time and price. Since online auction and fixed online retail target people with different personalities, these two products essentially don’t conflict with each other. eBay expanded its market by adding fixed-price features to its online transactions, such as â€Å"Buy It Now†. Half. com is a fixed price online retail web site which is owned by eBay. This shows that eBay is flexible in its business model. On the other hand, Amazon, a traditional online fixed-price retail web site, launched its auction feature in 1999. Here, fixed-price retail acts somewhat like a complement. However, it is a complement only when a company is involved in both types of sales. It is especially beneficial for the company’s network utility. eBay expanded its community (network) by adding fixed price retail feature, as Amazon did by adding auctions. Both of them successfully combined these two functions together, which merged these two markets into one, and gave customers greater convenience by allowing them to decide which way to purchase goods impromptu. However, there is less differentiation between eBay and Amazon. Traditional retail is more prevalent when the buyer must check the product in person or shipping is difficult or expensive. eBay has had to build a strong creditability by making sure all the descriptions of online items to be sold are precise, complete and correct. Without this reliability, customers would switch to traditional retail stores. For those goods which are hard to price without observation, eBay cannot supplant traditional retail. This is particularly true for specialized items such as cars, jewelries, and plastic surgeries, all of which have too many details to be taken care of online. Online transactions seem impossible for these goods. The switching cost from online auction to traditional retail or fixed-price online is essentially high. For fixed-price online, sellers have to pay the storage fee for Amazon’s storage plant. For traditional retail, sellers have to pay for the storage fee and shelf rental fee. These extra fees, which are switching costs, are enough to discourage single item sellers, who are main customer category of eBay, to switch. Buyer Power Customer’s price sensitivity Online auctions don’t charge sellers for storage of their goods. Fixed-price sites might charge sellers for storage. Traditional retailers incur overhead costs. Sellers have incentives to sell via online auction. On the other hand, online auctions mainly deal with unpackaged new products or secondhand products. Most buyers of such products are familiar with eBay, so sellers are more prone to sell via online auction. Buyer bargaining power is weakened. Customer’s negotiating power As I analyzed above, eBay is a large network of small buyers and sellers who mainly deal with single-item sales. A seller generally sells one item to one buyer on eBay, so eBay has high prices and high margins when providing services for many buyers and sellers. Online auction site, recently experienced a dramatic increase in new member registration after eBay announced they would raise their listing fees for sellers. eBay took a prompt response by resuming the listing fee back to the original level. eBay didn’t win anything in this price adjustment and readjustment, but eroded his reputation. Essentially in this online auction market, whoever has the most name recognition, wins the game. Right now, Bidville’s disadvantage in name recognition puts Bidville out as a possible alternative to eBay’s market space temporarily. Bay should think about more to maintain his name recognition on the long run. Patents eBay does not hold any key patented technology. A new entrant could easily emulate eBay’s interface. Buyer Power Customer’s price sensitivity Online auctions don’t charge sellers for storage of their goods. Fixed-price sites might charge sellers for storage. Traditional retailers incur overhead cost s. Sellers have incentives to sell via online auction. On the other hand, online auctions mainly deal with unpackaged new products or secondhand products. Most buyers of such products are familiar with eBay, so sellers re more prone to sell via online auction. Buyer bargaining power is weakened. Customer’s negotiating power As I analyzed above, eBay is a large network of small buyers and sellers who mainly deal with single-item sales. A seller generally sells one item to one buyer on eBay, so eBay has high prices and high margins when providing services for many buyers and sellers. Supplier Power Suppliers to eBay offer technology patent, legal support for intellectual property, and fraud prevention systems. eBay has great pressure to prevent fraud, since its reputation is at stake. Buyers and sellers care about very much about their security. Online auction fraud in 2004 made up 16% of all consumer complaints last year, and 48% in the subset of internet-related complaints, topping the list. eBay has 0. 01% fraud rate of all transactions, but these isolated incidents receive wide media coverage, which discourages many potential customers. eBay is still improving its fraud prevention system. The fraud prevention system is launched by Microsoft Inc. and Visa International Inc. As this system is necessary to eBay, it has little leverage to negotiate a better price. Many online retail systems need fraud prevention system, but there is only one supplier in the market. It has great bargaining power. Complements PayPal, as an online payment solution, is a good complement of eBay’s online auction business. PayPal is a neutral intermediary based on the financial infrastructure of bank accounts and credit cards, supported by a proprietary fraud prevention system. Transactions on PayPal are of low risk to both sellers and buyers. PayPal accepts money from the buyer in one of the three ways. Charging the buyer’s credit card Debiting the buyer’s checking account Charging from the buyer’s PayPal account. The buyer can always send check to his/her PayPal account. Then PayPal will email the seller about the payment made by the buyer. The seller will receive money in one of the three ways. The seller might have his own PayPal account. The payment will directly transfer to his/her account. The seller might receive a check from PayPal. PayPal directly deposits the payment into the seller’s checking account. Buyers care about security. Buyers’ credit card numbers are only shown to PayPal. That is safer than online payment directly by credit card. Buyers also care about the cost. For transactions between PayPal customers, there's no transaction fee. PayPal makes money on the float – when customers’ money sits in their account, PayPal is collecting interest on it. Customers generally don’t care about the interest that PayPal collects on their deposits. Customers also care about ease of use. PayPal is one of the simplest services for online transactions. All a buyer has to do is to provide his/her name, e-mail address, credit card information, and billing address. For business accounts on PayPal, merchants are charged a 2. 2% discount rate + 30 cents on the transaction. It is better than the rate charged by merchant banks for accepting credit cards, in most cases. eBay Micro Strategies Increase brand recognition Expand the auction market by introducing PayPal to more online auction markets Credit card companies charge more for Internet-enabled merchant accounts (the accounts the merchants need to accept credit card payments on the Internet), because of the high cost to main security. Therefore, credit cards become too expensive for smaller purchases. PayPal might negotiate with credit card companies for smaller fees for their subscribers. They can cooperate to share the market in the following way: Merchant accounts on PayPal will be charged less by credit companies than those on other online payment platforms. Therefore it can increase the number of small purchases on eBay auction. Nowadays, credit cards are the primary means of purchasing air tickets and recording frequent flier miles. eBay should enter the air ticketing markets. It definitely can offer the same service with PayPal. PayPal should cooperate with more airlines and online ticketing websites. If they can integrate PayPal into ticket sales websites, eBay will have a huge potential market in air ticketing and also increase its network utility. eBay should acquire a greater online auction market share by educating online customers that PayPal is the online currency. Yahoo’s wallet failed in the online marketplace. It was not easy to establish their own online payment platform, partly because the online payment concept goes against Yahoo’s traditional business model. PayPal should make use of its competitive advantage and offer Yahoo and other websites its specialized solutions. Perfect its proprietary fraud prevention system, which is essential to its success. eBay should let its customers, cooperative online transaction sites, online airline ticketing sites, and credit card companies all feel that transactions through eBay will lower their costs and be more valuable. Bay should cooperate with shipping companies, and make its online transactions more lucrative eBay should work with Phish Report Network and other anti-phishing organizations more efficiently in order to prevent fake online auction sites taking its market share and damaging the whole market’s reputation eBay should work with software developers to improve the s ecurity, efficiency, and adaptability of its database. eBay should convince customers that there is no intentional bidding up behavior involved in its online auction practice Develop real name feature for customers. Put some restrictions on new sellers in expensive merchandise transaction or large volume sale until they have a good track record. Expand to international market, decrease national boundary barriers in terms of payment (credit card/PayPal) and shipping. Cooperate with local equivalent companies or localize by itself. Mediate between buyers and seller at Security Center. Respect both sides’ privacy. Solve conflicts in conservative way. Don’t take risk of eBay’s reputation. eBay Today eBay is the world’s foremost online marketplace. Through reliable customer service, efficient information exchange, and by utilizing the latest technology, eBay has created an auction-based market community of an efficiency unheard of prior to the internet revolution. Competitive Advantage eBay has used its first-mover advantage to establish itself as the most reliable and, more importantly, largest auction house on or off the internet. In 2003 alone, more than 30 million people exchanged over $20 billion. Due to the size and diversity of its user base, eBay is able to offer a wider selection of merchandise than any online retailer. This is made feasible by the virtual nature of eBay’s market: sellers can market obscure items to a global market as easily as and more cheaply than they could put an ad in their local paper. Famous for matching buyers and sellers across the world with the most extreme items, eBay has developed incalculable value in its brand name. eBay has become a household word synonymous with an eclectic online marketplace. eBay comes to the mind of any buyer looking for that rare or rarely-cheap item; any seller hoping to get rid of practically anything knows a buyer is lurking somewhere on eBay. The site has become an easily identifiable rallying point akin to a popular dance club on a global scale: everyone who’s anyone is there—and everyone else too. eBay’s Macro Strategy eBay seeks to maintain a high level of consumer patronage by capitalizing on its unique positioning as an internet marketplace. Globalization. Since eBay is a virtual marketplace, eBay can establish language localized sites in other countries that have access eBay’s full auction database. Since the seller handles the shipping details, each seller may determine the extent to which they enter the global market. Bay has already expanded into 150 countries around the world. International transactions require little additional bookkeeping cost while their benefit to the consumer is enormous: every buyer and seller has access to the largest market possible. Communication By allowing buyers and sellers to meet and communicate online, eBay is able to minimize the costs of remote market research and individual exchanges of information across states and borders. This interplay is essential to mutually amicable transactions on which eBay is based. To encourage fair transactions eBay provides an efficient feedback system to allow buyers and sellers to benefit from collective experience, giving customers a strong social incentive to honor each transaction. Integration Through its acquisition of PayPal eBay gained not only market share, but also vertical integration key to its long-term success. By embracing the payment method most commonly used on its site rather than forcing an unpopular one on its user base, eBay has not only retained the existing PayPal user base but expanded to those consumers previously unsure of which method to use. In 2003 there were 40 million PayPal accounts—almost twice as many as the previous year—and these customers transferred $12 billion across 38 countries. Diversification In addition to normal auction bidding, eBay now offers a Buy-it-Now option. Sellers set fixed maximum prices at which the auction will close before it begins. This attracts auction-wary consumers from other e-commerce sites outside of the strict auction market and effectively competes with amazon. com and froogle. com for fixed-price transactions. By allowing independent sellers to maintain storefronts online, eBay seeks to extend its position to include an even wider range of transactions, thus not only broadening its appeal but securing ties to more conservative consumer bases. The Future of eBay Industry Trends What originally began as a small industry of auctions for collectibles has mushroomed into a behemoth encompassing individual sellers, small businesses, and large retailers. The e-commerce industry is constantly growing, and many businesses rely on the reputation of eBay or one of their competitors to sell their products. As the market grows, a wider demographic range of consumers will be purchasing an increasing number of products online. For example, teenagers are the target consumers of very recent products such as cell phone ring tones and games, many of which are available exclusively online. As such varied consumer groups are emerging in the online market, there is more room for differentiation; perhaps some niches are being created. Therefore, the barriers to entry will decrease as the market expands. Competitive Trends eBay has a solid foothold as the canonical online auction site. They have a niche as an enormous community with an extremely high success rate of matching buyers and sellers. eBay is distinguished by its availability of single, used, and/or rare items, and for its floating prices. They are adequately differentiated from their competitors, and they possess roughly 70% of the online auction market share. However, due to the relatively low switching costs and entry barriers inherent in a web market, eBay must continue to be rather defensive of their position, against current competition and potential new entrants. Current Competitors Amazon and Yahoo Auctions are the main competitors of eBay. Ubid. com has 14% of the market share, but they have a different niche than eBay by appealing to business-to-consumer transaction. Amazon may pose a threat to eBay’s utter dominance; they are consistently bringing retailers into e-commerce. However, this comes with a great burden. Whereas eBay has virtually no overhead, Amazon needs to store and move vast quantities of inventory. Currently, Amazon’s revenues are considerably greater than eBay’s (about twice as much), but their costs are so high that eBay’s annual profits are roughly ten times Amazon’s. Alternatively, Amazon might choose to expand its auction operations, trying to nudge eBay from its niche. Amazon would have to establish a network, a community, on the scale of eBay’s in order to challenge them directly. Although this could be time consuming and costly to implement, focusing on transactions in which they are merely the broker and bear no cost could greatly increase their long-term profits. Yahoo poses little threat to eBay. While they theoretically have potential for growth similar to Amazon, they lack Amazon’s reputation. They also lack the cost-free transactions in which eBay luxuriates. New Entrants Online auctioning doesn’t have high costs of entry, especially the way eBay operates: All a new entrant needs is merchant software; there is no need for warehouses or expensive machinery. However, many companies have tried to enter this lucrative market and have failed. New entry is difficult because eBay has an enormous community, which gives tremendous network value to both buyers and sellers. Any entrant would have to build up a network from scratch. Conceivably, if a new company entered a niche market, e. g. uctions of teenage clothing and cell phone accessories, they could survive, but such a market would likely be too small to gain any measurable market share. Alternately, a website that already has a large community would be able to enter more easily. For example, Craig’s List has a network of millions of users, who rely on it for matching them up with people who can fulfill their sp ecific needs. It would be simple enough to add an auction section to the site, and take advantage of this existing network to compete with eBay. Froogle, a new service from Google, may forever change the way online shopping is done. While it currently is a beta version, it looks to be a promising engine for online shoppers to quickly search nearly all online stores for the products they desire. While Froogle isn’t an entrant to the online auction market (yet), it is certainly the beginning of a powerful new substitute service. Froogle may be very dangerous to eBay for many reasons. Google already has a huge network of search-users and advertisers. If vendors (especially specialized vendors, as many on eBay are) can set up their own online stores and be found for free on Froogle, they have less of a reason to pay eBay for its high access. Bay certainly still has a lot going for it, (security and reputation) but may soon find its network challenged by Froogle users. eBay’s Response eBay recently started Business. eBay, a new business-to-business online auction that spans all sectors, from mining to farming. eBay is aware that they may need to accommodate larger retailers in order to grow, and to chal lenge Amazon’s growth in this direction. If Amazon decides to challenge eBay’s community appeal, then eBay must block this attempt any way they can. A simple method would be to start a price war. Bay’s costs are so negligible compared to Amazon’s that Amazon could not possibly survive a price war. EBay could almost give away auctions to sellers, whereas this sort of competition would bankrupt Amazon. If a new entrant emerges, eBay’s best bet is to rely on the value of their community. Even a company trying to enter into a niche market would have a difficult time building a network large enough to attract eBay customers. In the rare case of an established community site entering into online auctioning, eBay should engage in a price war if they believe this site’s community is comparable to theirs. Bay is famous for their extreme efficiency, and any entrant would likely be somewhat inefficient due to their inexperience. eBay’s best resp onse to Froogle is to assert their security and reputation to their users: If you buy from eBay, you know you will have a safe and fraud-free transaction, especially if you pay with PayPal. On the other hand, if someone buys from an online shop found on Froogle, he has no idea how reliable the vendor is, or if his credit card information will be safe. If buyers are reluctant to engage in potentially insecure transactions outside of eBay, buyers and sellers alike will continue to complete their transactions through eBay. Summary eBay virtually monopolizes the online auction market, due to their large network value, extremely low costs, reputation for security, and efficient operations. When confronted with competition, eBay either relies on its community niche, or buys out the competition (i. e. Half. com and PayPal). They have created a market where entry is very difficult, and competitors are relatively powerless, particularly given the threat of a price war. These advantages should ensure eBay’s continued domination of online auctions in the future. However, they should court larger retailers, as Amazon has, to expedite their growth. eBay is likely to stay the leading online auctioneer for quite some time, as long as they remain adaptable to the ever-dynamic online market. eBay has proven to be a successful chameleon in the past, making lucrative acquisitions and modifying its business model, depending on the state of the online market. As long as eBay continues to aggressively maintain its community and reputation of security, it will dominate the online auction market. References 1. Crockett, Roger O. â€Å"No Plastic? No Problem. † BusinessWeek | online. . October 23, 2000. 2. â€Å"eBay 2003 Annual Report. † . 3. Hof, Rob. â€Å"Meet eBay’s Auctioneer-in-Chief. † BusinessWeek online. . May 29, 2003. 4. Hof, Robert D. â€Å"The eBay Economy. † BusinessWeek | online. . August 25, 2005. 5. Lewis, Marilyn. â€Å"eBay and Amazon. † webservicespipeline. . December 22, 2004. 6. Perez, Juan Carlos. â€Å"Online auction providers grapple with fraud. † Computerworld. . Februrary 17, 2005. 7. Roberts, Paul. â€Å"Microsoft, eBay, Visa form Phish Report Network. † Computerworld. . February 14, 2005

Automobile Repair and Mechanics Essay

Automobile repair is not only an interesting field to me, also I feel automobile maintenance is necessary knowledge to have in today’s auto market. Like studying for school or learning the skills of a job; I feel knowing how to repair a vehicle will produce a cost effective lifestyle, and take out all the hassle anyone who owns a vehicle encounters everyday. How many Americans can change their own oil that don’t work as mechanics, or what is the average repair bill for a same day repair are questions that bring concern to how becoming my own handyman makes a productive choice. I decided to explore the topic a little more to get a better understanding of the requirements to become an auto mechanic, for I have decided to become certified in Automotive Technology. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics(definition)- â€Å"an auto mechanic is a technician that inspects, maintains and repairs automobiles and light trucks that run on gasoline, electricity or other alternative fuels; like ethanol†. Auto mechanics play a very important role in maintaining and keeping vehicles running efficiently. The field of auto mechanics reveals a long history, specialized schooling and strong career objectives for anyone that would like to choose this field as a career. There are certain requirements to become an auto mechanic, and a student can get the basics of automobile repair by taking a vocational class in high school. The course is not really considered training, but the class gives a basic knowledge of what mechanics do. To be considered a qualified auto mechanic; completing training at a post- secondary school like Pinellas Technical Education Centers or at a community college are the best choices, but the college aspect is not as much hands on as the secondary school. â€Å"PTEC consists of 2 years of intense training†(brochure), and the community college usually offers an associate degree for this field that also takes 2 years to complete the coursework. With these types of training, getting the most up to date training needed is essential; like using computer systems to detect problems with cars. Another form of training involves working as an apprentice to a master technician so questions are answered from experience . When all the formal training is completed a mechanic is considered certified when receiving a ASE Certification. This stands for Automobile Service Excellence Certification. The Bureau of Labor statistics suggests that individuals who live in large cities should get certified to help them with their search for jobs. An auto mechanics basic job function is performed in some type of repair shop, and working 40 plus hours a work is expected with such high volume of vehicles to work on. Sometimes work can continue into the weekend, along with performing work on the side to help earn some extra money. The working environment for the job involves identifying and fixing problems that deal with the car in a repair shop. Most of the time repairs are done indoors in a large, open garage like facility, including mechanics to get dirty due to all the grease repairs performed daily. These functions are real important that this does not bother someone who might want to do this as a job, for some of the grease and dirt is almost impossible to get completely rid of. Many shops have now included electrical technology as part of their services due to the fact that most cars have specialized computer systems. â€Å"This new service has increased the mechanics skill level greatly† (resource). â€Å"Many repair shops rely on these computerized systems to help in identifying problems related to the car† (Ly). The term auto mechanic is slowly fading away, and many mechanics are now being labeled as service technicians. The change in the name comes from the fact that working on many different parts of the car, and computer systems that require additional and more advanced training. Auto mechanics make a pretty good living. Starting out as a new auto mechanic the annual income will range between $25,000 – $35,000. The next level mechanic could make $35,000- $45,000. After that the pay can be anywhere from $45,000 up to $100,000, for the higher pay range is for a Master Mechanic. It would be best to try and achieve the highest level of pay to make this job worthwhile. This is not exactly a goal that I am going to set forth for myself to achieve because simply auto work is all I’m interested in. Many Master Mechanics work for luxury car manufacturers like Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar and Porsche. The future for service technicians looks very bright. For the next 3 years the auto mechanics field will see an increase close to 10- 20%. This increase is due to many technicians retiring, and due to an increase in cars being purchased. Dealerships and independent car repair shops will be the main employers of service technicians. The outlook continues to look positive for auto mechanics even though economic downfall is predicted to continue. In conclusion, auto mechanics is a very diverse field that requires complete dedication and skill to help become successful. Mechanics involves a long history, specialized schooling and the desire to achieve. Auto mechanics has evolved into a very complex and sometimes challenging field, and the future job outlook for this field is great and it is a very good choice for anyone interested in pursuing this career.

The Motorcycle Diaries

It is an irony that the guerrilla Ernesto â€Å"Che† Guevara, one of the most intriguing figures of Latin America, has come to be immortalized as an icon of popular culture—a pin-up, poster boy of sorts that lends face to the mass-produced â€Å"Che† shirts and pins. This massive appeal, however, needs to be rooted in the context of what prompted him to become a revolutionary, to a time before he took up arms and became a legend. Retracing such route to a decisive era in Guevara’s early life is the book â€Å"The Motorcycle Diaries: A Journey Around South America.† The Motorcycle Diaries: A Journey Around South America is the memoir of twenty-three year-old medical student Ernesto Guevara de la Serna when he embarked upon a journey across South America with his older friend Rodrigo Granado. In search for fun and adventure, theirs is a rather grand route that spans Argentina, Chile, Peru, the Peruvian Amazon, Colombia and Venezuela. The two start out aboard a lumbering 1939 Norton 500 motorcycle they named â€Å"La Poderosa† (The Mighty One) which eventually crashes on the way and forces them to travel on foot. Chronological entries in The Motorcycle Diaries detail Ernesto’s narrative of the eight-month journey, in which they initially wanted to seek bourgeois pleasures like getting drunk and getting laid. Early on, they pose as Argentinian leprosy doctors in order to gain accommodations and hospitable treatment from local folks.   Further on the road, Ernesto and Alberto share a series of youthful misadventures, at times committing scams to get themselves by. In an event, Ernesto tries to work as a fireman but sleeps out on the sounding fire alarm so that the building on fire burns down. Even if the diaries present the characters’ bawdy behavior, it more importantly accounts for a great discovery that only such journey can offer them. As they themselves experience poverty and come face-to-face with indigent townsfolk, nameless people whose living conditions sharply contrast the lavish lifestyle they were born into, their view of the world changes. Incidents in the diaries concretely speak of these encounters with social injustice. When Ernesto sees a tuberculosis-stricken woman in her death bed, he realizes how dismal the public health system is. When he tours a copper mine (which has taken lives of miners), he discovers how laborers are famished and unfairly treated. Throughout the trip, not only does Ernesto stumble upon the endemic poverty and subjugation of the peoples across South America. He is also able to make his stand regarding a â€Å"unified Latin America.† A passage in the The Motorcycle Diaries reads Although we are too insignificant to be a spokesman for such a noble cause, we believe, and this journey has only served to confirm this belief, that the division of America into unstable and illusory nations is a complete fiction. We are one single mestizo race with remarkable ethnographical similarities, from Mexico down to the Magellan straits. And so, in an attempt to break free from an all narrow-minded provincialism, I propose a toast to Peru and United America. From various South American sights running parallel to each other, Ernesto sees his ideal of Pan-American unification which he would later brace politically. He maintains that since all of Latin America share a common experience and long history of oppression, hence should they have an integrated movement towards their liberation. (Later in his life, Ernesto demonstrated how he lived up to this ideal, touring across the continent to unite different guerrilla units and revolutionary forces in different countries.) What was originally meant to be a journey for fun and adventure turned out to be the provocation necessary to make a â€Å"revolutionary.†   Immersion and encounters with workers being laid-off and fighting for jobs, starving farmers, and other vestiges of feudal rule on agricultural communities make only a few threads weaving the larger story of oppression that proved strong enough to catapult individuals like Ernesto Guevara to the fray. These experiences caused such indignation in Ernesto, sending him to become the revolutionary who changed the history of South America. Both Alberto (who came back to Argentina to pursue medicine and dedicate his practice for the poor) and Ernesto show that the things they saw from their journey are hard truths—realities often obscured to the upper economic classes but inescapable realities nevertheless, needing to be dealt with actions more forceful than charity. The characters of The Motorcycle Diaries are a testament that revolutionaries are made, not born. The ‘life-changing’ theme that prevails in The Motorcycle Diaries is conveyed by other allegories pertaining to the characters’ awakening. For instance, the river separating the leper colony to the medical staff’s island symbolizes the gap between the powerful and the oppressed. Ernesto’s act of dissolving this symbolic divide is a portent to the way he would later take in his life. Ernesto’s Diaries is written with such vividness and animation, and is punctuated with a range of ordinary human emotions, from mischief and vulgarity to a sense of righteousness and justice. He states even his most roguish actions in a matter-of-fact tone that you would think of â€Å"shooting a puma in the dark of the night† (which turns out to be a neighbor’s dog) as if it is the most natural thing to do.   Even if Ernesto writes The Motorcycle Diaries from his own viewpoint, it does not render him heroically ‘larger-than-life.’ In 2004, a film bearing the same title was made based on the book. There are minor deviations from the book to account for, particularly the omission of several interesting incidents (like shooting of the â€Å"puma† and sneaking inside a shipment of melons, etc.). The film also romanticizes the love angle between Ernesto and his fiancà ©e, which, in the diaries, does not appear to be such a highlight.   Despite these, however, the film is still quite able to introduce the essence of the written memoirs to those who have not read them yet. The Motorcycle Diaries: A Journey Around South America has written down how witnessing concrete forms of social injustice could change a person’s worldview and awaken him from his ignorance and unconscious indifference. At least for the man who later became the revolutionary Che Guevara, the journey even served to fuel his future actions in defiance of the prevailing system he found oppressive. The catchphrase â€Å"Before he changed the world, the world changed him† (promoting the film version of The Motorcycle Diaries) speaks truthfully of the bereted man we see ubiquitously as a pop icon. In turn, the book speaks of demystifying the face behind the shirt and the poster and understanding, from his beginnings, the persona who the powers-that-be, for so long, have come to vilify. Guevara, Che, The Motorcycle Diaries: A Journey Around South America. October 1996. New York: Verso.   

Critical Writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Critical Writing - Essay Example According to the article, while normally the piracy of goods and services adversely affect the original promoters and creators, the imitation of the fashion products are known to facilitate creativity and popularity of the promoters through pirated lines of the current fashion trend. The author asserts that while the concept of copyrights and patents are important for businesses to maintain a competitive edge over their rivals, such criteria are irrelevant for the fashion industry which seems to thrive on imitations and piracy of fashion designs. Though fashion designers may be annoyed by the copying of their designs and would like to prevent the practice in the gray market, it cannot be denied that the pirated version of those designs make it affordable for the general public. This not only serves to make those designers more popular but the process also helps them indirectly to gain financially because their niche clientele is still more willing to pay premium prices for the original products! Another pertinent factor is that the cheap counterfeit promotes awareness of the changing habits and tastes of the public. The dissatisfaction of the public with the current trends, motivates the fashion designers to be more creative and original in their new fashion line and meet the expectation of the consumers. As the article says, it means ‘there is more innovation, more competition and probably more sales than there otherwise would be’. Again, fashion industry is the only field where the imitation has promoted brisk development of the industry instead of adversely affecting its revenues and imagination. It is a well known fact that designer fashion product line, basically caters to a select segment of the society who do not mind paying exorbitant prices for the original and unique products. Piracy of the designer fashion products brings the goods to the

Strategic management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 11000 words - 1

Strategic management - Essay Example Corporate culture describes and governs the thinking, feeling and actions of owners of companies and employees. It does not matter whether corporate culture is written as a mission statement or merely understood by organisational publics. Corporate culture may be founded on the beliefs spelled out in the mission statement or be consisted in the part of a corporate symbol. For example, Apple’s corporate culture is reflected in its rainbow-coloured apple. Contemporary managers are always keen on the corporate culture of their organisations. According to Johnson, Whittington, Scholes, Angwin and RegneÃŒ r (2014), corporate culture has a critical role to play as far as determination of organisational performance is concerned. Fundamentally, how well a business performs is contingent upon the ways through which people behave in organisations. Behaviours, as contended by Mintzberg, Ahlstrand and Lampel (2009), comprise of the actions that lead to production of results. Corporate culture is a subset of these actions; this is why corporate culture is directly proportional to the performance of a business. Capon (2008) believed that all organisations have a developed set of assumptions, understandings, and implicit rules that govern the daily behaviours in the workplace. All businesses have their own cultures that determine the relationships between them and external stakeholders. Corporate culture is not constant and fixed within an organisation. Volberda (2011) posit that all aspects of organisations should feature flexibility in order to enhance adaptability across time, place, and circumstances. If a company is not happy with the current corporate culture, the management can begin looking for ways of changing it into what they want. The management can find alternative symbol, believes, attitudes and even values that can change the direction of behaviour. The management, in this case, should ensure

Physical security assessment on the VA medical center Assignment

Physical security assessment on the VA medical center - Assignment Example The intended survey will entail going through all areas of the buildings within your institution, checking for security devices such as locks, surveillance, and access control. In addition to this, an interview with the institution’s security manager will be essential in providing a concise complete picture of the state of security within the institution’s premises. This process should take up to 2 hours at the most.All information obtained from the survey will be treated with utmost discretion as all it is considered confidential to the parties involved. Upon agreement, all information generated from this research activity will be strictly confidential, limited to only the parties taking part in the exercise highlighted. The Eastern Kentucky University will be represented by the assigned instructor and supervisor. The other parties who will be preview to the information generated from the research will be the facility’s Senior Security Manager. PurposeThis surve y has been developed to investigate the weaknesses in the personnel protection system, physical protection system and other weaknesses that may pose a potential threat to the operations of the Birmingham Alabama VA Medical Center in case of an attack. This assessment is expected to produce concrete results that will be used to develop recommendations for the institution as pertains their security. These recommendations will be vital in the creation of protection strategies so as to improve the short-term protection in the case where emergencies.

Drugs and safety of teens Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Drugs and safety of teens - Essay Example The easy availability of drugs at street corners, students’ hang-out places and even residential areas facilitates the teenagers to remain vulnerable to such drugs. The most worrisome factor that concerns most of the parents is the addictive nature of drugs, as chemical reactions caused by intake of same stimulate and excite the brain; resulting in excessive dependence on these substances repeatedly. As there is no restriction or limitation on the availability of drugs, most teens become victim of drug overdose. This has dangerous repercussions and consequences that can harm the victim mentally and physically, lifelong. Side effects of drugs While discussing on the side-effects of drugs, it is essential to understand that varied substances have different product mix and accordingly can cause several types of side-effects. However many intoxicants like alcohol and amphetamines have direct affect on human brain, as teens start consuming same for stimulation. Amphetamines are ava ilable in different forms like pills, injections or powder that can be snorted and inhaled, which causes the severe damage by getting into the blood stream. However, alcohol, being widely used in our society, is the single most addictive substance that is consumed by teenagers for getting the required stimulation. While it affects our normal brain functions like reflexes, coordination and judgment, teens try to consume an overdose of the same to escape from their psychological pressure and stress. The immediate relief experienced by them with intake of lighter drugs is responsible for the youngsters to upgrade for consuming life threatening substances like inhalants and injections that directly attack the blood cells. Due to their immediate results, in terms of experiencing the height of excitement, teens are tempted to consume such drugs, regularly. In addition, they are available freely everywhere.(Vranken, 2008) Laws and the usage of drugs Referring to the usage of drugs, I regre t to underline that laws meant for preventing the drug abuse have remained irrelevant, as same could not stop their consumption by the teenagers. Contrary to the same, many teenagers have been fined and detained in the juvenile homes and rehabilitation centers. In such detention centers teenagers are placed in custody for violating the laws, mainly for their own and the society’s safety. (Hicks). However, they can interact with hardened criminals, at such centers, which can prove harmful and dangerous for their whole life. Considering such consequences of drug usage, these teenagers are closely watched by the relevant authorities, to ensure that they pay-off their debts and behave in a perfectly normal manner. Repercussions of alcohol consumption Reports of various studies conducted for this purpose have highlighted the dangerous consequences of alcohol consumption. One publication from USA government, â€Å"Prevention Alert†, has listed the side effects of teen alcoho l abuse, which include learning impairments in youngsters that can severely damage their academic career. In one study, it has been found that alcohol dependant teens, in the age group of 15-16, had difficulty in remembering words and simple geometric designs, after a short

President Obama and Agenda for Possible Second Term Essay

President Obama and Agenda for Possible Second Term - Essay Example Over the years, through the development of broadcast technology, candidates are given an opportunity by the media to sell their policies through a public debate. This platform helps them to improve on their campaigns, and it assists the voters to evaluate also the candidates. The communication advisor is necessary during the campaign period because he advises the candidate and party on what strategies to use to ensure victory in the elections. As a communication advisor in the Barrack Obama campaign team in the current elections, I would suggest prioritization of some issues during the final weeks of the campaign. This essay will highlight the current trending issues in the country’s politics, and advice on some arguments and the positions that the team should emphasize on. During the final campaign weeks, some issues should not be emphasized on as shall be pointed out in the essay; moreover, the last weeks of campaigning are prominent in gathering the votes of the undecided v oters, and developing trust from the voters on the direction, which the country should take. Political structures are social structures in the society; therefore, the campaign teams need to consider the social dynamics in the society for their success. The key factor is that campaigns involve communication of messages to the public with an objective of getting their support during the elections. Therefore, it is necessary to design the message to appeal to the voters (White, 2010). In addition, the social judgment theory applies to every person because people hear a message then they compare it with another, and they make a judgment on where to place it in the different mental categories. Further, people develop some mental yardsticks (Latitudes) of acceptance, rejection and non-commitment to a message. Therefore, in the case of Obama’s campaign, one needs to know what and how to communicate messages to the public in order to persuade them towards the desired direction or vot ing. In Obama’s campaign, the use of persuasive social skills to influence voters is easier than in Romney’s team because Obama has excellent, persuasive skills through his speech. Persuasion and influence of people is necessary in all the social theories, and is essential to getting people to accept the party’s political ideologies and policies. In the current political campaign, the candidates are contesting in their campaigns on several issues. Some of them include foreign policies, energy, education, healthcare and the economy. In this presidential campaign, I would suggest that the issues to do with foreign policy and energy should not be focused on by the Obama Campaign team during the last weeks towards elections. This is because the policies and suggestions on these issues are not different to the ones used in the previous four years of the Obama Administration. Therefore, based on the consistency theory, people do not expect them to change so the campai gn should focus on other, different issues (Clarke, 2008). In the economic, education and healthcare issues, there are many differences in policies between the candidates and hence, the campaign should emphasize on them in order to develop proper social judgment from the voters.

Professional Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Professional Ethics - Essay Example However, as important as ethics are for any and all professions, the need and importance for ethics within the IT profession is arguably even more profound. As such, the following analysis will seek to engage the reader with an understanding of the way in which ethics is of such a vast importance within the IT profession and is so central to practice of good business behavior. Furthermore, the analysis will also draw upon some of the questions of value and how they are different from questions of fact. Lastly, examples of the IT profession in addressing issues of ethics will be utilized as a means of drawing further prints upon the situation and moral needs that might be illustrated. According to the ACM, the code of ethics for IT professionals includes nearly 24 points; among these contributing to human well-being, avoiding harm to others, honoring property rights and copyrights, respecting privacy, honoring confidentiality, and seeking to improve public understanding of computing and its consequences. Whereas this is by no means an exhaustive list of all of the determinants that the ACM seeks to put forward, it does provide a running commentary on some of the aspects that the ACM code of conduct understands as central to the application of ethical and morally responsible IT work. Arguably, one of the most distinctive facets of ethics, or even of ethical considerations, within the IT profession is concentric upon the overall amount of data and responsibilities that the IT professional has at his or her disposal (ACM, 2014). As a direct function of the way in which IT work is performed, it individual working within this particular career path will necessarily ha ve access to a broad variety of different personal, sensitive, and public information. Likewise, although it is somewhat dangerous to state that the ethical considerations for one particular career path are higher than another, it is fair to state that the overall level of responsibility that an IT

Clinical Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Clinical Psychology - Essay Example In this disorder, the patient may at one point, feel very low or depressed; in another instant, he may feel very high and elated. The depressed mood usually manifests in the patient first; so a patient may be diagnosed first as clinically depressed then later, when manic episodes manifest, he may be diagnosed with bipolar disorder (National Health Services, 2009). Because of the erratic manifestations of this disease, it is often misdiagnosed as either clinical depression or schizophrenia. Most often, for many years, patients are treated for the wrong illness and manifestations seem to indicate that applied interventions are not effective for the patients. Consequently, this disease has become an important concern among mental health professionals and among sufferers. Latest figures from the World Health Organization (as cited by the Australia Bipolar Schizoaffective Support Network, 2008) reveal that bipolar disorder is the 6th leading cause of disability in the world, with women 3 times more likely than men to experience rapid cycling. Women are also more likely to experience depressive and mixed moods as compared to men; and women are more likely to be misdiagnosed as depressed and men would most likely be diagnosed as schizophrenic (Australia Bipolar Schizoaffective Support Network, 2008). As was previously mentioned, instances of misdiagnosis is prevalent in bipolar disorders and the World Health Organization (as cited by Australia Bipolar Schizoaffective Support Network, 2008) affirms this fact as they reveal that only 1 person in 4 is likely to receive an accurate diagnosis for this disease. This disease has also been known to cause 9.2 years reduction in the expected life span of bipolar patients (Australia Bipolar Schizoaffective Support Network, 2008). Based on statistics from the Department of Health in the United Kingdom, they reveal that bipolar

Summarising and evaluating the contributions made to the Semantic Web Essay

Summarising and evaluating the contributions made to the Semantic Web research area and Challenges of the semantic web - Essay Example While the progressive implications of the Semantic Web are evident there remains a number of varying contributions and challenges to the overriding movement. Ontologies are one of the prominent aspects of the Semantic Web. As the Indeed, as the Semantic Web is divided into a number of hierarchical layers, it’s noted that, â€Å"the Ontology layer, in form of the OWL Web Ontology Language, is currently the highest layer of sufficient maturity† (Lukasiewicz and Straccia 2007). While ontologies are highly contingent elements within the Semantic Web one of the primary problems related to their implementation is the notion of vagueness. Current approaches to vagueness issues have been approached by a variety of formalisms; for instance Google uses probalistic techniques. One of the most pervasive concerns in terms of vagueness is the understanding that linguistic elements oftentimes contain within them necessarily vague structural demarcations. For instance, Lukasiewicz and Straccia (2007) note the difficulty in determining the true extent that a tomato is ripe; one considers that young or tall would produce similar search diffi culties. Still, it’s recognized that considerable development is needed in this area, with current research focusing on description logics. Another prominent challenge of the Semantic Web is in terms of uncertainty. While vagueness issues are relegated to linguistic elements that lack a definite boundary, uncertainty challenges can be understood -- as indicated by Lukasiewicz and Straccia (2007, p. 3) -- as including â€Å"all those approaches in which statements rather than being either true or false, are true or false to some probability or possibility (for example, â€Å"it will rain tomorrow†)†. In these instances, uncertainty is further understood in terms of probability and possibility, with possibility regarded as entirely

Teenage love Essay Example for Free

Teenage love Essay Do teenagers today have their priorities in the correct order when it comes to dating? More and more often, it does not seem they do. Some teenagers these days spend too much time focusing on their romantic relationships instead of the things that should be more important. Teenagers who are in serious relationships do not care as much about school, their families, or their jobs. These teenagers seem to forget everything that should be important to them. School should be a very important priority for teenagers. In high school, teachers try to prepare young people for what lies ahead in life. That includes going off to college and entering the working world. But many teenagers in serious relationships begin putting off doing their homework and studying for tests. Their grades begin to drop, and sooner than they know it, they are failing their classes. Most times when these lovesick teenagers begin failing, they do not care. In some cases the teenagers even drop out. In todays world it is nearly impossible  Ã‚  middle of paper  nship without getting my priorities mixed up. So for the people who say it is impossible to do all of these things, I know from personal experience that it is not. I am not saying that it is wrong to date as a teenager. Just remember what is important. The teenage years are to be used as a time to grow and experience new things, but not at the expense of what is important in life. Just keep a level head and do not get too involved with that significant other right now. It is important to remember what it important in life.

Analyse Contribution Of Engagement In Biopsychosocial Assessment Client Nursing Essay

Analyse Contribution Of Engagement In Biopsychosocial Assessment Client Nursing Essay In this essay the process of building a therapeutic relationship and assessing clients own circumstances within the inpatient admission and the framework found in practice will be uses analysed and criticized by using Johns (1994) model of reflection. The framework that has been used in mental health services is the Care Program Approach (CPA), which it has been profoundly criticised since it was introduced. Therefore the reflection will look into other model of nursing, Tidal Model, which offers a different philosophy of care. The reflection will also explore the interpersonal interactions theories which the nursed used during the assessment and how these aided to engage the client in the biopsychosocial assessing process. It also will be discussed other intervention models and the possible usage in similar situations. In order to begin the analysis of the above points, engagement needs to be defined. Thurgood (cited by Norman and Ryrie (2004) p.650) described it as: can be broadly defined as providing a service that is experienced by service users (including carers) as acceptable, accessible, positive and empowering. Although this definition gives an idea of the concept, it lacks to define the key elements of engagement, which Cutcliffe and Barker (2002) identified as forming a human to human relationship, expressing tolerance and acceptance, and hearing and understanding. Both definitions gather the professional values of the service and the interaction itself. Yet, Cutcliffe and Barker (2002) definition can be considered more practical when holistically assessing clients. However, these definitions do not acknowledge factors of engagement that are behind the interpersonal relationship, such as personal or organizational perspectives of engagement. The personal perspective for the nurses practice is underpinned by poor structural organization, occupational cultures and stress, bureaucratic constrains, lack of time and nursing culture driven by measurable targets (Hosany et al (2007) and Addis and Gamble (2004)). On the other hand, clients and their families are conditioned by the mental illness, their past experiences with other services, the trust in the service and the relevance of it. Additionally, the organizational issues effect upon engagement and care by reducing services budgets, by not providing resources and also by politics. Engagement has been recognized as an important part of mental health services users care. The National Service Framework (NSF), the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the Department of Health (DoH) appoint that users under CPA should be provided with resources to build a therapeutic relationship, optimise engagement and reduce risks. These documents also highlight the need to provide a therapeutic environment in order to provide best care and to engage the clients and their families with the service. Taking into account all the above information a reflective account will be taking place in the following pages by using Johns model of reflection (1994). 1. Description of the experience The clinical environment where this assessment took place was in an acute adult ward. The ward is based in an old mental health hospital, which has old and pilling off wooden windows, untidy roofs and old fashioned flooring. The ward had untidy carpets, the curtains did not draw appropriately and the painting on the walls was peeling off. These are the organisational barriers affecting engagement. This particular client was known by the service already, to protect his right to confidentiality he will be referred as John (NMC code of practice 2008). John had been stable for 10 years, but in the past few months his mental state had worsened. His psychosis and levels of anxiety increased; he distrusted neighbours and other acquaintances as well as strangers. Consequently, he stopped going out of his house and began to self medicate with over the counter sedatives. Crisis and Resolution Home Treatment Team (CRHTT) was involved and as they felt that John was not able to cope at home, they decided that an inpatient admission would be beneficial. Before the admission the CRHTT forwarded the CPA form 1A, which updated the ward staff about the latest assessment of the clients biopsychosocial needs. Once John arrived to the ward, he fully understood the situation where he was in. He was able to consent and had capacity to agree with treatment and, thus, he was admitted as an informal client. This facilitated the initial interaction and the initial grounding for the nurse/client relationship. Before the beginning of the assessment Tom (Johns named nurse) introduced everyone to John, roles were explained, a welcome pack with the ward information and a CPA booklet were given and Tom provided all the information in an oral and written manner. The nurse started the assessment by formulating open questions. However John gave single direct answers (yes, not, not sure ). Consequently, the nurse decided to change to more direct questioning. After that the client was very co-operative and was answering all the questions. He reported to be very anxious, which also was noticeable by looking to his body language (he was sweaty, clenching his fingers, rubbing his hands on the chairs arms and removing his spectacles several times during the interview). At this stage the nurse decided to undertake an anxiety assessment by using the scales tools available on the ward the Becks Anxiety Inventory (BAI, see Appendix 1). Following this assessment, John began to answer the questions more in depth and he appeared more eased, stating several times that he was in hospital for help and was going to do everything that was available for his recovery. Following the local trust policies and NICE guidelines, the CPA 1A assessment was concluded (as it must to be completed within 72 hours of the admission); the Integrated Care Pathway for Inpatient Safety and the Patient Property Liability Disclaimer were filled in and signed by nurse and client. 2. Reflection The whole assessment was intended to gather as much information as possible about John in order to understand the clients actual biopsychosocial situation (holistic assessment) and the context that led to the admission, which would highlight the needs and strengths of the client. However, inpatient admissions are more likely to focus on a more medical approach to health, mainly because social interventions cannot be implemented until the clients mental state has stabilized and he is ready to move on to community settings. Along this process the multi-disciplinary team organizes care to build up the grounds to enable recovery (Simpson 2009). This particular ward was focus on treatment and stabilizing, working on one to one interventions (nurse-client), building a therapeutic relationship through structured and unstructured interventions, and used CPA as a nursing intervention framework. Alongside these individual interactions, the activity nurses and the occupational therapist offered daily social and leisure activities. These groups provided skills and entertainment to the clients on the ward, but did not follow a particular model of nursing, such as the Tidal Model, and they offered activities to spare the free time on the ward without promoting recovery. The Tidal Model provides structured group-work centred on recovery (Barker and Buchanan-Barker 2005). This model centres its assessment on a holistic approach for the short and long term needs, viewing the mental illness as a unique experience of each individual, their families and social environment. It looks into the lowest point of the illness (such as an inpatient admission like Johns) as the point where the recovery begins with a positive approach to the illness. There are three working groups recommended in this model: discovery, solutions and information (see appendix 3), where therapeutic relationship is built and issues common to the individual and others are discussed and explored. As mentioned above, the ward nurses had more structured interventions with clients, and the issues discussed in these interviews were correlated to the Tidals Model theme groups. In these interviews the clients engage with their primary nurses and they discuss their concerns in relation to their care or other personal matters. These interventions or interviews were intended to happen at least twice weekly for at least an hour. However, for organizational issues (usually low number of staffing) not all the clients had the opportunity to benefit from these one to one interventions on a regular basis. Initially, the Tidal Model research was criticised for being bias, for lacking to fully describe clients pre and post intervention with the model, not taking into account Hawthorne effect and most of physiological factors and by not reasoning the need for a new model in mental health care (Noak 2001). However, further research and analysis showed that the Tidal Model provides tools and structure to improve care in acute ward admissions filling the gaps in care pointed in the NSF and The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health (Gordon et al 2005). One could say that this model has been shown to improve mental health services, fulfil the historical gaps within nursing practice and to be grounded on evidence-based practice. However, the author of this essay believes, after reading the relevant literature, that for the implementation of the Tidal Model the levels of staffing (and therefore the service budget) should be increased and nursing practice cultures must be changed by re-educating th e workforce. Arguably both implementations are very difficult to achieve as the health service has seen budgets cut downs in the recent years and nurses practiced has been subject to negative ward cultures towards nursing models. On the other hand CPA, which is the framework used on the ward, was first designed after a series of fatal incidents which involved mentally ill people. It was aimed to be introduced in Wales by 2004 (in England was done by 1991). CPA is person centred focus which promotes social inclusion and recovery, through assessment and planning of individualized needs and strengths, working with the clients and their families or carers (Care Programme Approach Association (CPAA) 2008). Despite the initial intention that the CPA was brought to improve service users quality of care, to increase inter agencies communication and to be a case management tool, some critiques appeared. Simpson et al (2003a) researched showed CPA was thought to be an over-bureaucratic duty within the professionals. The author of this paper has observed in practice, not in this particular assessment, that some professional do not reassess clients when they are admitted. Instead the latest CPA 1A form (usually filled in by the CRHTT) is photocopied or copied-pasted and re-used to speed up the process. This would be acceptable if the client was assessed the day or night before the admission, because the social, psychological or biological needs would have not changed in that period of time. When older assessments are used, changes in circumstances might have not been updated. In the worst case scenario a health professional could have misunderstood the clients needs and have documented them wrongly. This misunderstanding could be carried over, therefore care would be affected. This hypothetical scenario shows that CPA assessments should be done every time when needed. CPA as a case management tool fails to compile the most important features which promote therapeutic relationship. In contrast with other case managements models the role of the care co-ordinator is more of an administrative and as an alternative service prescriber (Simpson et al 2003a). This means that there is no need for a specific training or skills related to therapeutic relationship, partly because other services (or service providers) will engage with the client, and the care co-ordinator just oversees the process of care. Moreover, CPA also lacks a nursing model background and fails to define specific roles within the multi-disciplinary team. These factors reduce the teamness feeling between the health professional (Simpson et al 2003b). Although, it could be argued that the reason, why CPA is lacking nursing background, is that it was not designed as a mental health nursing framework but for the use of mental health services. In this particular reflexion the care co-ordinato r was not present in the admission and never mention during the assessment. Whether it was a usual situation or not it is something that never was discussed, but it shows Simpson et al (2003a and 2003b) critiques of CPA as a case management were factual. CPA and Tidal Model are intended to provide holistic care for clients and their families. However, the Tidal Model is more clients centred than CPA, and it also looks into the more positive side of the clients situation, foreseen the now and future as a whole. It explains the illness as an accumulation of life factors. The Tidal Model complements other health and social care professionals, as well as it searches to nurse by building a special relationship between health practitioner and client. Moreover, CPA always looks for risk signs in the short-term and from a psychiatric approach. As this assessment took place in an inpatient admission it is important to bear in mind that in this particular environment CPA forms (1A, 2, 2A and 4) were used for assessment, planning, implementing and evaluation of inpatient care and for the liaison with other health professional in tertiary care (such as physiotherapist, dietician or occupational therapist). Perhaps CPA would benefit from sharing some principles of a nursing model (like the Tidal Model), by using it as a tool more than as a paperwork and from a better staff training and promoting adherence to nursing models (Barker 2001). Whether the ward uses Tidal Model or CPA to structure care, an inpatient admission is always stressful and uncomfortable experience for clients and their families. John saw the nurse as a stranger in an unfamiliar place, however, Tom was there to guide the client throughout his care, to provide information and to be somebody he could relay on. This first encounter related to the orientation phase described by Peplau (1952) (cited by Sheldon (2005), see Appendix 2). In this phase Johns past experiences, expectancies, culture and believes were to condition the initial interaction. Following this phase John went into the identification stage, where he sought assistance for anxiety relief techniques, shared needs and strengths when and co-designed care plans and began to have feelings of belonging and capability, therefore decreasing negative feelings. This exchange of feelings is going to lead to exploitation and resolution phases, where John will engaged with treatment (medical, physic al and social), having different needs at different times, starting to be informed about all the help available towards the final stage, feeling as an important part of the whole nursing process and finally ending the professional relationship when discharged. The exploitation and resolution phases were not observe as at the time of writing John was still an inpatient. John had had previously one bad inpatient admission. He reported that he was very unhappy when he was in the other hospital 10 years ago. He explained that the bad experience was related to the other clients and organizational issues rather than staff. John stated that he was feeling anxious but happy that he was getting help. His positive attitude helped to engage him in the assessment process and on the ward activities, which were the first steps towards the identification phase. Therefore, John could begin to have professional input from other members of the multi-disciplinary team. Tom interacted in a way that John felt understood, respected and individualized. Tom did not appear to have preconceived ideas of the client after reading the CPA forma 1A. And certainly, Tom treated John respectfully and as an equal human being. He followed the NMC code of practice 2008, which states that: you must treat people as individuals and not to discriminate in any way those in your care. Tom tried to adapt the pace of the questioning to the clients needs, involving him and asking in a respectful manner. Tom also acknowledged Johns anxiety feelings, and showed it when taking further (BAI see appendix 1) assessments to empathize more with Johns situation. This reinforced the approachability and genuineness of the nurse and led John to open and engage with the assessment process and the health professional. 3. Influencing factors John scored 45 points in the BAI (see appendix 1), which is a high scoring. This could have been influenced by the hospital admission and the assessment process. Despite these factors and Johns actual mental state he engaged in the assessment actively. The BAI scales consist of 21 observable and self-rating symptoms of anxiety, rated from 0 to 3 (0 being the lowest score), which can also be easily transformed in direct questions or self rating. At the end of the assessment the scores are added up and compared against the scales. There are several assessment tools available such as Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scales (HADS) or Hamilton Anxiety Scales (a collection of them can be found in the Appendix 1 reference). The BAI is shown to be a quick and reliable when measuring clients anxiety levels and it also differentiates General Anxiety Depression and depression (Fydrich et al 1992). Although, these characteristics appear to be positive, it could be argued that BAI is just a merely adaptation of the DSM-IV panic symptoms and therefore it could also be said that measures panic attacks rather than anxiety levels (Cox et al 1996 and de Beurs et al 1997). On the other hand, HADS which achieves good levels of anxiety and depression screening could have been more appropriate for hospital settings and more accurate (Bjelland et al 2002). It is important to point out that NICE clinical guideline for management of Anxiety (2004) does not recommend a specific tool for assessment of anxiety, which gives to the professional practitioner choice on the usage of available tools. This affects practice as these scales are not used as often as they should be. Most practitioners relay on their observations and experience to perform informal assessments, rather than using research based scales. It is perhaps understandable when dealing with clients unable to fully understand these assessments. But in practice it can be noticed that nurses do not tend to use anxiety inventory even with clients that could engage with the process. Tom designed care plans in partnership with John and made him realise which were more realistic goals in the short and long term. Tom had shown knowledge and understanding of the professional capabilities that the NSF defined in the documents The Ten Essential Shared Capabilities (2004) and The Capable Practitioner (2001). These documents set basic principles that underpin positive mental health practice as well as providing the basic grounding for service workers to continue developing and learning skills. Therefore, it was observed during the placement that along the whole admission the nursing team also guided care and practice as appointed by these documents. They provided patient-centred care, which is accountable for each client and respecting the individual. The team also had a broad knowledge of national legislations as well as local policies and services, and worked under the same professional and ethical principles recognizing the rights of the clients and their families. T hey promoted recovery and self-realisation by identifying people needs/strengths and empowering the individuals. Most of the team members were undertaking further training, to keep their skills up-to-date or be able to transfer their existing skills to new environments. They also worked in partnership with family, carers, lay people and external agencies, such as community care services, voluntary associations and vocational services. 4. Evaluation In the interview Tom used a Rogerian approach (Roger (1961) cited by Sheldon (2005)). He also showed knowledge of Peplaus interpersonal theories and applied them in practice by creating a shared experience of care. However, it also would be appropriate to use the Herons six-category intervention framework (Heron 1989). This framework was designed to enable a practitioner (nurse) taking the lead to facilitate the clients specific needs or arising issues. Therefore this intervention could have been used in the admissions assessment and the following one to one sessions, which have been described in this essay. The framework is made off two categories, which are subdivided in three more. The first category is authoritative which it can be prescriptive, in which the nurse influences and directs behaviour, gives advice and prescribe goals. It also can be informative providing information or giving feedback for the clients behaviour. The third subcategory is confronting, in which the pract itioner challenges the clients beliefs or actions. The second category is the facilitative which is divided into cathartic, in which the nurse tries to release the clients painful feelings and talks about or express them with actions (tears, anger or shouts). Next subcategory is catalytic, where the nurse tries to help the client and encourage self-discovery and learning. Finally, supportive is the category where the client is supported in an unqualified manner. The facilitative stage of the framework would have been the most appropriate to use in the first assessment. Johns mental state would not have benefit from an authoritative approach as he might have felt threatened by the staff, therefore his willingness to engage with the service could have reduced greatly. This approach shares the same goals as the one that Tom used. The outcome would have been the same, which was the beginning to build a relationship towards recovery. However, it is important to know different ways to practice and to interact in order to provide an individualised care. This principle is shared by the models discussed in the essay (CPA and Tidal Model) and also by the nursing professional code (NMC code of practice 2008). 5. Learning Although, it was difficult to deal with Johns anxiety levels and his initial unwillingness to engage with the assessment, it was possible to create a therapeutic relationship between nurse and client. After this reflexion it was learnt that nurses knowledge and usage of the right nursing models, strategies and tools can be adapted to individual situations and their own circumstances. It is also important to share principles of care and to change some nurses cultures regarding models of care. It was positive to reflect upon this experience and, therefore, to realise how the theory learnt was applied in practice. Since nursing studies and practice are moved towards research based knowledge it seems that the human connection and relationship building have lost their place in the nursing profession. As a student it is good to see that values based nursing promoted safe, trustful and supporting environment, which led to a healthy therapeutic relationship (Hewitt 2009). In conclusion, the reflection and analysis of engagement through a biopsychosocial assessment illustrated how personal and organizational factors effect on clients care. It was found out that applying specific intervention techniques, mental health screening tools and the adequate adaptation to the individual and the situation promote engagement and build a healthy therapeutic relationship. Furthermore, the research showed that the relevant mental health regulations and nursing professional code recognise the need to keep up-to-dated knowledge and skills in order to provide the best care. All the above techniques and tools were found to be used in a very individual way between the nursing professionals. In addition to this, it was found that theses personal adaptations to practice and clients care were beneficial when reducing barriers for engagement and personalising the care. The positive and negative characteristics of the actual mental health framework CPA were brought forward and it was found that it lacks a nursing model background. CPA and Tidal Model when compared and contrasted, showed that both mental health frameworks differ gratefully from each other but at the same time they could benefit from each other. Despite the ward worked under CPA and used a more medical approach to nursing, the nursing team shared the same professional capabilities and worked towards holistic goals and recovery. Over all, in order to engage and to provide relevant services for clients and cares biopsychosocial needs there should be a continues connection between practice and theory in nursing. References Addis J Gamble C (2004) Assertive outreach nurses experience of engagement. Journal of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing 11 (4) 452-460. Barker P (2001) The Tidal Model: developing an empowering, person-centred approach to recovery within psychiatric and mental health nursing. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 8 233-240. Barker P Buchanan-Barker P (2005) Tidal Model: A guide for mental health professional. Brunner-Routledge. Hove. UK. Bjelland I Dahl A A Haug T T (2002) The validity of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale: An updated literature review. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 55(2) 69-77. Cox B J Cohen E Direnfeld D M Swinson R P (1997) Does the Beck Anxiety Inventory measure anything beyond panic attacks? Behaviour Research Therapy 34 (11/12) 949-954. Cutcliffe J R Barker P (2002) Considering the care of the suicidal client and the case for engagement and inspiring hope or observations. Journal of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing 9 611-621. Department of Health (2002) Mental Health Policy Implementation Guide: Adult Acute Inpatient Care Provision. Department of Health (2004) The Ten Essential Shared Capabilities. http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4087169 Accessed: 29/12/09 de Beurs E Wilson K A Chambless D L Goldstein A J Ulrike Feske U (1997) Convergent and divergent validity of the Beck Anxiety Inventory for patients with panic disorder and agoraphobia Depression and Anxiety 6 140-146. Fydrich T Dowdall D Chambless D L (1992) Reliability and Validity of the Beck Anxiety Inventory. Journal of Anxiety Disorders 6 55-61. Gordon W Morton T Brooks G (2005) Launching the Tidal Model: evaluating the evidence. Journal of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing 12 (6) 703-712. Heron J (1989) Six-Category Intervention Analysis (3rd EDN) Human Potential Resource Group, University of Surrey, Surrey, UK. Hewitt J (2009) Redressing the balance in mental health nursing education: Arguments for a values-based approach International Journal of Mental Health Nursing 18 368-379. Hosany Z Wellman N Lowe T (2007) Fostering a culture of engagement: a pilot study of the outcomes of training mental health nurses working in two UK acute admission units in brief solution-focused therapy techniques. Journal of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing 14 (7) 688-695. Johns C Graham J (1996) Using a Reflective Model of Nursing and Guided Reflection. Nursing Standard 11 (2) 34-38. National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) Clinical Guideline for Management of Anxiety (2004) http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/pdf/cg022fullguideline.pdf Accessed: 26/11/09 National Service Framework (NSF) Modern Standards and Service Models for Mental Health (1999) NHS our Healthier Nation. Noak J (2001) Do we need another model for mental health care? Nursing Standard 16 (8) 33-35. Norman I Ryrie I (2004) The Art and Science of Mental Health Nursing: A Textbook of Principles. Open University Press. Maidenhead. UK. Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2008) The Code. (NMC, London). Sheldon L K (2005) Communication for Nurses: Talking with Patients. Sudbury; Jones and Bartlett. Simpson A (2009) The acute care setting. In Barker P (2009) Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing: The craft of caring. Edward Arnold Ltd. London. Simpson A Miller C Bowers L (2003a) Case management models and the care programme approach: how to make the CPA effective and credible. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 10, 472-483. Simpson A Miller C Bowers L (2003b) The history of the Care Programme Approach in England: Where did it go wrong? Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 10, 489-504. The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health (2001) The Capable Practitioner. http://www.scmh.org.uk/publications/capable_practitioner.aspx?ID=552 Accessed: 29/12/09 Appendixes Appendix 1 Beck Anxiety Inventory Below is a list of common symptoms of anxiety. Please carefully read each item in the list. Indicate how much you have been bothered by that symptom during the past month, including today, by circling the number in the corresponding space in the column next to each symptom. Not At All Mildly but it didnt bother me much. Moderately it wasnt pleasant at times Severely it bothered me a lot Numbness or tingling 0 1 2 3 Feeling hot 0 1 2 3 Wobbliness in legs 0 1 2 3 Unable to relax 0 1 2 3 Fear of worst happening 0 1 2 3 Dizzy or lightheaded 0 1 2 3 Heart pounding/racing 0 1 2 3 Unsteady 0 1 2 3 Terrified or afraid 0 1 2 3 Nervous 0 1 2 3 Feeling of choking 0 1 2 3 Hands trembling 0 1 2 3 Shaky / unsteady 0 1 2 3 Fear of losing control 0 1 2 3 Difficulty in breathing 0 1 2 3 Fear of dying 0 1 2 3 Scared 0 1 2 3 Indigestion 0 1 2 3 Faint / lightheaded 0 1 2 3 Face flushed 0 1 2 3 Hot/cold sweats 0 1 2 3 Column Sum Scoring Sum each column. Then sum the column totals to achieve a grand score. Write that score here ____________ . Interpretation A grand sum between 0 21 indicates very low anxiety. That is usually a good thing. However, it is possible that you might be unrealistic in either your assessment which would be denial or that you have learned to mask the symptoms commonly associated with anxiety. Too little anxiety could indicate that you are detached from yourself, others, or your environment. A grand sum between 22 35 indicates moderate anxiety. Your bod

The substitution reactions

The substitution reactions Acknowledgement The preparation of this project on the topic- substitution reactions.: a profile would not have been possible without the valuable contribution of my TEACHERS. I would like to give most specially thanks to my CHE sir Dr. Ashish kumar who is my chemistry teacher to giving me the important guidelines during making this project. So, I hope this project will provide large and sufficient information about the different coordination numbers present in the coordination chemistry. Introduction In substitution reaction, afunctional groupin a particularchemical compoundis replaced by another group[1]. Inorganic chemistry, theelectrophilicandnucleophilicsubstitution reactions are of prime importance. Organic substitution reactions classified in several mainorganic reactiontypes depending on whether thereagentthat brings about the substitution is considered anelectrophileor anucleophile, whether areactive intermediateinvolved in the reaction is acarbocation, acarbanionor afree radicalor whether thesubstrateisaliphaticor aromatic. It also is helpful for optimizing a reaction with regard to variables such as temperature and choice of solvent Substitution reaction : chlorination of methane Nuclophilic reactions: These kind of substitution reactions happen when the reagent is a nucleophile, which means, an atom or molecule with free electrons. Anucleophilereacts with analiphaticsubstrate in anucleophilic aliphatic substitutionreaction. When the substrate is anaromaticcompound the reaction type isnucleophilic aromatic substitution. Carboxylic acidderivatives react with nucleophiles innucleophilic acyl substitution. This kind of reaction can be useful in preparing compounds The Nucleophilic substitutions can be produced by two different mechanisms: Monomolecular nucleophilic substitution (SN1): In this case the reaction proceeds in stages, the compounds first dissociate in their ions and then this ions react between them. Its produced by carbocations. Bimolecular nucleophilic substitution (SN2): In this case the reaction proceeds in only one stage. The attack of the reagent and the expulsion of the leaving group happen simultaneously. Electrophilic reaction Electrophilesare involved inelectrophilic substitutionreactions and particularly inelectrophilic aromatic substitutions: Electrophilic reactions to other unsaturated compounds thanarenesgenerally lead toelectrophilic additionrather than substitution. Radical substitutions Aradical substitutionreaction involvesradicals The term nucleophile comes from the Greek meaning nucleus loving, in other words nucleophiles seek positive charged centres. Nucleophiles have lone pairs of electrons and may carry a negative charge. There are many examples of nucleophiles, such asNH3,H2O,CN-,HC?C-, andOH-. Alkyl halides contain a halogen (X =F,Cl,BrorI) covalently bonded to a carbon atom. Due to the electronegativity differences between carbon and the halide, theC-Xbond is polar with a partial positive charge (?+) on the carbon atom and a partial negative charge (?-) on the halogen. Halogens are good leaving groups and can be replaced by an incoming nucleophile. Nucleophilic substitution is the reaction of an electron pair donor (the nucleophile, Nu) with an electron pair acceptor (the electrophile). An sp3-hybridized electrophile must have a leaving group (X) in order for the reaction to take place. Mechanism of Nucleophilic Substitution The term SN2 means that two molecules are involved in the actual transition state: The departure of the leaving group occurs simultaneously with the backside attack by the nucleophile. The SN2 reaction thus leads to a predictable configuration of the stereocenter it proceeds with inversion (reversal of the configuration). In the SN1 reaction, a planar carbenium ion is formed first, which then reacts further with the nucleophile. Since the nucleophile is free to attack from either side, this reaction is associated with racemization. In both reactions, the nucleophile competes with the leaving group. Because of this, one must realize what properties a leaving group should have, and what constitutes a good nucleophile. For this reason, it is worthwhile to know which factors will determine whether a reaction follows an SN1 or SN2 pathway. Common examples include Organic reductionswithhydrides, for example R-X?R-HusingLiAlH4 (SN2) hydrolysisreactions such as R-Br + OH-?R-OH+Br-(SN2) or R-Br + H2O ? R-OH +HBr (SN1) Williamson ether synthesis R-Br +OR-?R-OR+ Br- (SN2) Electrophilic substitution Electrophilic aromatic substitutionorEASis anorganic reactionin which an atom, usuallyhydrogen, appended to anaromatic systemis replaced by anelectrophile. The most important reactions of this type that take place arearomatic nitration,aromatic halogenation,aromatic sulfonation, and acylation and alkylatingFriedel-Crafts reactions. Basic reaction Aromatic nitrationsto formnitro compoundstake place by generating a nitronium ion fromnitric acidandsulfuric acid. Aromatic sulfonationofbenzenewith fumingsulfuric acidgives benzenesulfonic acid. Aromatic halogenationof benzene withbromine,chlorineoriodinegives the corresponding aryl halogen compounds catalyzed by the corresponding iron trihalide. TheFriedel-Crafts reactionexists as anacylationand analkylationwith acyl halides oralkyl halidesas reactants. The catalyst is most typicallyaluminium trichloride, but almost any strongLewis acidcan be used. In Fridel-Crafts acylation, a full measure of aluminium trichloride must be used, as opposed to a catalytic amount. Basic reaction mechanism In the first step of thereaction mechanismfor this reaction, the electron-rich aromatic ring which in the simplest case isbenzeneattacks the electrophileA. This leads to the formation of a positively-charged cyclohexadienylcation, also known as anarenium ion. Thiscarbocationis unstable, owing both to the positive charge on the molecule and to the temporary loss ofaromaticity. However, the cyclohexadienyl cation is partially stabilized byresonance, which allows the positive charge to be distributed over three carbon atoms. In the second stage of the reaction, aLewis baseBdonates electrons to the hydrogen atom at the point of electrophilic attack, and the electrons shared by the hydrogen return to thepisystem, restoring aromaticity. An electrophilic substitution reaction on benzene does not always result in monosubstitution. While electrophilic substituents usually withdraw electrons from the aromatic ring and thus deactivate it against further reaction, a sufficiently strong electrophile can perform a second or even a third substitution. This is especially the case with the use ofcatalysts. Radical Substitution Radicals A radical is a species that contains unpaired electrons. Typically formed by a homolytic bond cleavage as represented by the fishhook curved arrows: RADICAL CHAIN MECHANISM FOR REACTION OF METHANE WITH Br2 Step 1 (Initiation) Heat or uv light cause the weak halogen bond to undergo homolytic cleavage to generate two bromine radicals and starting the chain process. Step 2 (Propagation) A bromine radical abstracts a hydrogen to form HBr and a methyl radical, then The methyl radical abstracts a bromine atom from another molecule of Br2to form the methyl bromide product andanotherbromine radical, which can then itself undergo reaction 2(a) creating a cycle that can repeat. Step 3 (Termination) Various reactions between the possible pairs of radicals allow for the formation of ethane, Br2or the product, methyl bromide. These reactions remove radicals and do not perpetuate the cycle. There are two components to understanding the selectivity of radical halogenations of alkanes: reactivity of R-H system reactivity of X. R-H The strength of the R-H varies slightly depending on whether the H is 1o, 2oor 3o. The following table shows the bond dissociation energy, that is the energy required to break the bond in a homolytic fashion, generating R.and H. Halogen radical, X. Bromine radicals are less reactive than chlorine radicals Br.tends to be more selective in its reactions, and prefers to react with the weaker R-H bonds. The more reactive chlorine radical is less discriminating in what it reacts with. The selectivity of the radical reactions can be predicted mathematically based on a combination of an experimentally determined reactivity factor, Ri, and a statistical factor, nHi. In order to use the equation shown below we need to look at our original alkane and look at each H in turn to see what product it would give if it were to be susbtituted. This is an exercise in recognizing different types of hydrogen, something that will be important later. REFERENCES:- Chang Raymond www.wikepedia.org www.google.com