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Was it credible? Did you say things an average person wouldn’t know?

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FORMAL FEASIBILITY REPORT

PREMISE

  • You are a consultant. Create a fictitious business name with your last name in it.
  • You’ve been hired by a large corporation the average businessperson has heard of (your choice). Its leadership wants to know if increasing its presence in a specific country is feasible and wise.
  • In the beginning, research the client and its industry to learn its concerns. You have to know its concerns before you can say if a place benefits it.
  • Then, define what “increased presence” means for that client. This will help you narrow your methodology with a criteria list upon which to judge the potential destination country.
  • Much later in the process, pick the country from a list. Then you’ll see if it’s a good match for the client based on the criteria you selected.
  • Finally, render judgement on that country as a match for the client’s needs.

From the syllabus: Students will research a country and write a formal report about the feasibility of opening a business in that country for a specific corporate client. The report will be based on scholarly research, adhere to APA citation guidelines, and demonstrate common document design guidelines. It will include a title page, executive summary, introduction, industry summary, company summary, country feasibility analysis, evaluative conclusion, references, and appendix.

Author point of view (Who are you?): You are an outsider working closely with an established company to produce an internal strategy document. It is not a marketing or promotional document. References to “your company” are appropriate, but can usually be avoided without altering a sentence’s meaning. First and second person pronouns (“I” and “you”) are mostly unneeded. Phrases like “I believe X and Y require Z…” can usually be written “X and Y require Z…”

This also means you must write objectively with no interest in whether the country is selected. Most of the document will be analytical with only the conclusion being appropriate for persuasive writing. You are analyzing risky countries on behalf of your client company. You are not cheerleaders or tourism promoters for the countries being analyzed.

Audience point of view (Who are they?): Your audience is your paying client, so you should use a deferential tone and assume you have a burden of proof. They will want to see evidence of your competence on the various subjects of the report, including their situation. On the title page you may refer to them as any reasonably named decision-making group (“executive board of,” “strategic committee for,” etc.). If you still have your BUAD 201 book, or a similar business writing reference for persuading up the chain of command

RECOMMENDED WORK SCHEDULE

  1. Pick a client
    1. The following traits make a company easier to research: American; publically traded; well known; makes a tangible product.
    2. I’ve read enough reports about Apple, Uber, Starbucks, Target, and Tesla in recent years. Don’t pick them.
    3. Make sure you pick a company (like Starbucks) and not a brand (like Frappuccino). You’ll know for sure if the company owns stock. When you can say the company’s stock ticker code (like SBUX for Starbucks), then you know you have the company.
  2. Determine the client’s industry
    1. Some companies are in many industries. Define increased presence early if yours is.
    2. When in doubt, check sites like Yahoo Finance or the stock exchange on which it’s listed.
  3. Research the client and its industry
    1. See the research guides on Titanium from the CSUF business librarian.
  4. Take the plagiarism quiz
  5. Write an industry summary and a company summary (1 page each)
    1. Have a clear division between the two topics. I recommend never typing the client’s name in the industry summary. Do not use your industry summary as “part 2” of your company summary.
  6. Check your documentation and visuals
    1. See your notes from our in-class activities on APA in-text citations and references. Also see Axtell on APA and The Business Writer’s Handbook (under “documentation”)
    2. Ensure your visuals are valuable. See lecture notes.
  7. Submit upload #1
  8. Define “increased presence”
  9. Develop client-specific criteria
  10. Write an introduction
  11. Design the title page
  12. Submit upload #2
  13. Pick and research a country
  14. Use your criteria to make your outline
  15. Write your country analysis
  16. Write your evaluative conclusion
  17. Write your executive summary
  18. Check your documentation and visuals
  19. Make a final sweep for document design uniformity
  20. Make Appendix 1
  21. Submit upload #

STANDARDS

 

  • Everything must be 11-point Garamond, except elements of the title page that are larger in the sample from the BWH.
  • All paragraphs must be in standard business block paragraphs (flush on the left margin, ragged right margins, true single spacing).
  • Everything must be in true single spacing. Pull down the corner arrow in the paragraph tab and make sure the spacing section looks like this:
  • All page requirements are for a page of writing, before any visual elements.
  • I consider quotes over one line long to be a visual element. I will delete them when verifying if you wrote a page’s worth or text.
  • I consider any quotation after the first in each paragraph to be a visual element. I will delete them when verifying you wrote a page’s worth of text.
  • Bullet lists, number lists, and long lists of things like flavors and countries are also considered visual elements, and will also be deleted when verifying you wrote a page’s worth of text.
  • If you label a paragraph, label it inline with the text. Don’t waste space floating small titles above your paragraphs.
  • Repeated use/abuse of long names or terms will not count for reaching your writing minimums.
  • Design documents as uniformly as possible. Similar things should have similar appearance.
  • In-text citations and reference pages must conform to APA guidelines. These will be covered with lecture, activities, readings, and the plagiarism quiz.
  • Dodging work lowers your grade.
  • Being deceptive lowers your grade.
  • Cutting and pasting lowers your grade.
  • Plagiarizing lowers your grade.
  • Obvious claims lower your grade. Show your research.
  • Repeated claims lower your grade. Move on.
  • Vague word choice lowers your grade. Be specific.
  • Wordiness lowers your grade. Be concise.
  • Abandoned claims lower your grade. Support your claims.
  • A research section cannot get an A without a valuable visual reinforcing one paragraph.
  • All paragraphs in a research section need at least two distinct authors cited.
    • However, if a paragraph only comprises the work of others, then you’re adding no value, so make sure you have intellectual contributions in all your paragraphs.

STRUCTURE

 

UPLOAD 1: Only upload these three things.

  1. Industry summary
  2. Company summary
  3. References (only for the above sections)

 

UPLOAD 2: Only upload these two things.

  1. Title page
  2. Introduction

 

UPLOAD 3: The whole thing. Previously graded sections must appear but will not be regraded.

This is front matter. Use insert > page break each page.
  • Title page
  1. Executive summary (2/3 page)
  2. Introduction (1 page of writing)
This is manuscript. Only use insert > page break at the beginning of the introduction.
  • Industry summary (1 page of writing)
  1. Company summary (1 page of writing)
  2. Country analysis (2 pages of writing)
  3. Conclusion (1/2 page of writing)
This is back matter. Use insert > page break each page.
  • References
  1. Appendix 1

 

SECTIONS

 

Title page: You already paid for a perfectly good policy on title pages, so let’s use it. See BWH p. 199 and 204.

 

Executive summary: This is a short version of the report’s purpose and recommendation with only the most persuasive supporting evidence.  It gives a complete picture of what you recommend whilst projecting your credibility. What’s the report’s purpose? What do you recommend? Do you know what you’re talking about?

It is not the intro to the intro! It should stand alone as one complete argument. It should not say “as we will see” and the later pages should not refer to it with “as we saw.” Evidence in it must be repeated in the manuscript since they should not rely on each other.

It is not a walkthrough of the entire report! It will draw primarily from your conclusion, secondarily from the analysis on the selected country, and with just enough material from your introduction’s purpose paragraph to give the reader a vivid image in his or her head about what’s going on in the report and why he or she is bothering to read it.

This page will likely be written last, since you must form your opinions first, and those opinions hinge on research. This page needs almost no formatting beyond the words “Executive Summary.”

See BWH pages 182, 183, 201, 207, and 208.

Introduction: Tell the reader why this report was written and a sketch of how you worked and what’s to come. Use the following sequence to craft an effective introduction:

  • a purpose paragraph with a brief statement about how, when, and why it was decided this report was necessary (referring to another fictitious internal meeting, report, or project); also give your definition of “increased presence” here. What does it mean for the client company to “go there”? What action would it be? What does “going there” look like for this client? Open a glitzy flagship store? Get its products on the shelves of retailers already in the country? Open a factory? Get people to take a test drive? Get celebrities to promote the products? Get people to send something in the mail? Get people to subscribe to a service? Download an app? Do what? Go there how?
  • a subjects paragraph briefly introducing the key nouns (such as the countries) and defining key terms that might come up often
  • a methodology paragraph discussing how you conducted your work, including listing and justifying your four to six criteria used to evaluate the country’s fitness for the client
  • a brief overview paragraph walking the reader through the upcoming report, making no arguments, just laying out the map

Industry summary: Make the reader conversant on the larger context of the company’s external situation. Effective industry discussions blend together some of these:

  • What is the industry?
  • What do they make or do?
  • What are its parts?
  • Different categories of businesses?
  • What are its processes?
  • How does it work?
  • Where has the industry been?
  • Any important historical events, especially recent, volatile ones?
  • Where is it going?
  • Any trends?
  • Any current trouble?
  • Any big tech changes?
  • Any changes in what customers want, or how customers get it?
  • What’s going on right now?
  • Scandals?
  • Legal hurdles?
  • Upstarts making waves?
  • Old guard dying off?
  • New or lost resources?
  • Dead areas of the industry that aren’t serviced anymore?
  • A change in top performers?
  • Changing consumer tastes?
  • Myths? Misconceptions?

When scoring, I look ask these questions: 1) Was it credible? Did you say things an average person wouldn’t know? 2) Was it informative? Did you make the reader conversant on the industry? Could they follow along without getting too lost on an industry conference call? 3) Focused? Did you have the self-confidence to not mention the client company once? 4) Was it comprehensive? Do I feel like I got a good sampling of the industry without too much minutiae or pointless stats?

Company summary: Make readers knowledgeable about the company’s specific recent events and most important details. If the company elements are done well, your reader will be conversant in the company’s current situation, interests, and challenges. Keep in mind, you are not interested in buying your client’s company, so this is not a typical company analysis like you might do in a finance class to determine its health and desirability. Instead, write this to show what your client company might consider valuable when expanding its presence.

Blend some of the following things to make an effective company discussion:

  • very brief history of the company
  • recent events, scandals, changes
  • its products, array of brands
  • its niche in its industry
  • its successes and failures
  • its customer impressions, reputation
  • some very brief recent financial information
  • anything unusual about the company that would affect where it does business

When complete, the reader needs to be confident you understand his or her company, its current situation in the industry, what it has to offer, what it cannot do, and its limitations.

Country analysis: Analyze one country through the lens of everything that’s been discussed up to this point in the report. You just spent a few pages stating what your client company considers important. Does this country offer that?

Begin with a background paragraph offering a very brief snapshot of the country’s politics, geography, recent events, etc. Lean heavily towards recent events. Avoid trivia that won’t matter later in the document.

Once the background is out of the way, start right in on the first criterion mentioned in your introduction’s methodology chapter. Give a well-developed paragraph or two testing the country for its desirability to your client company on that particular criteria. Make clear, specific claims and support them wit

Since you already justified why the criteria mattered in two places (the introduction and when going through the company and industry summaries), then there’s no reason to again say why the criteria is worthy of examination.

Repeat this process for all of your remaining criteria listed in the introduction’s methodology section.

Just end the country section with whatever your last criterion is. Don’t tack on a worthless “here’s what I just said” paragraph where you just repeat yourself. That sort of thing might be OK for longer articles of books, where the reader might have forgotten your claims and evidence, but this document is so short, that sort of thing is worthless.

Conclusion: End with a paragraph of final, summarizing evaluations of your researched country through the lens of what you claimed your client should seek in its new destination.

  • Make judgments. You must take a stand involving risk.
  • Do not repeat older claims.
  • Don’t ambush the reader with new evidence on your way out the door. The time for evidence is over.
  • This is a “Here’s what I think about all that stuff I just said” paragraph, not a “Here’s what I just said” paragraph.
  • Remember, you are an unbiased, objective analyst, with no stake in whether your analyzed country gets selected. You’re not trying to “win” for your country. This section shouldn’t have any cheerleading or promotional marketing puffery, as one might find on a biased tourism website. Telling your clients a country’s faults is just as valuable as telling them about its strengths.

 

References: Add a correctly formatted APA references page. See your lecture notes, Axtell on APA, The Business Writer’s Handbook, etc.

 

Appendix 1: Put one of your boring, long, or ugly pieces of evidence (picture, map, infographic, menu, store locator, etc.) in its own appendix. It should be something SOME readers will care about, but which would be too much of a distraction to include in your writing. If you have other appendices, label them “Appendix 2” etc.

To what extent is Sex Work (Off- and On Street Prostitution) a Form of Abuse?

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KEY READINGS

Sagar, T. (2007) Tackling on-street sex work: Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, sex workers and inclusive inter-agency initiatives, Criminology and Criminal Justice, vol. 7 (2), pp. 153-168.

 

Brooks-Gordon, B. (2010) Sex Workers. In. F. Brookman, M. Maguire, H. Pierpoint and T. Bennett. Handbook of Crime. Oxon: Willan Publishing. (Chapter 28, pp. 542-576)

 

Matthews, R. Easton, H., Reynolds, L., Bindel, J. and Young L. (2014) Exiting prostitution: a study in female desistance. London: Palgrave Macmillan. (Chapter 2, pp. 20-44).

 

FURTHER READINGS

VICIMASATION

Matthews, R. (2015) Female prostitution and victimization: a realist analysis, International Review of Victimology, vol. 21(1), pp. 85-100.

 

Agustin, L. (2006) The conundrum of women’s agency: migration and the sex industry. In. R.Campbell and M.O’Neill (eds.) Sex Work Now. Collumpton: Willan. (Chapter 5, pp. 116–140).

 

Crown Prosecution Service (2013) Prostitution and exploitation of prostitution.

Available at: www.cps.gov.uk/legal/p_to_r/prostitution_and_exploitation_of_prostitution.

 

Davidson, J. (2006) Will the real sex slave stand up? Feminist Review, vol. 83, pp. 4–22.

 

Farley, M. (2004) Bad for the body, bad for the heart: prostitution harms women even if legalized or decriminalized, Violence Against Women, vol. 10 (10), pp. 1087–1125.

 

Hester, H. and Westmarland, N. (2004) Tackling street prostitution: towards a holistic approach. Research Study 279. London: Home Office. Can be accessed via http://dro.dur.ac.uk/2557/1/2557.pdf

 

 

Sanders, T. (2004) A continuum of risk? The management of health, physical and emotional risks by

female sex workers, Sociology of Health and Illness, vol. 26 (5), pp. 557-574.

 

 

Sheff vs. O’Neill:What law did the Connecticut General Assembly pass in order to meet the requirements of the verdict of Sheff v. O’Neill?

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1.
Start with a basic description of the Sheff v. O’Neill lawsuit.
Who were the plaintiffs (all of them)? It was a carefully and strategically chosen group of people – describe what was important about the makeup of the group of families.
Some of the families lived in suburban towns, not in Hartford. Why did they join the lawsuit?
Describe the conditions that the plaintiffs hoped to address. This is to give evidence that either supports the plaintiffs’ effort or challenges the validity of the plaintiffs’ effort.
What did the Connecticut Supreme Court decide? You don’t have to describe the whole history of the case; a brief description of the final verdict is sufficient.
What law did the Connecticut General Assembly pass in order to meet the requirements of the verdict of Sheff v. O’Neill?

2.
Briefly describe the Brown v. Board of Education case and describe why it is related to the Sheff v. O’Neill case.
Note: Brown v. Board of Education was a federal case. Sheff v. O’Neill was a Connecticut case.
At the time of Brown v. Board of Education many states had legally mandated racial segregation in schools. At that time (1954) Connecticut did not have legally mandated racial segregation in schools. Therefore, Brown v. Board of Education may not have had a significant impact on Connecticut schools.
So what is the connection between these cases? They both address segregation. They were both supported by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. They both led to school desegregation, though the impact of Sheff v. O’Neill is much more limited. What is the Sheff v. O’Neill case about? More than 30 years after the groundbreaking Brown v. Board of Education decision, and in a state that did not have legally mandated segregation in its schools, why was it necessary to file a lawsuit about school segregation?

3. Talk about the cases and the outcomes and importance for Hartford.

Abortion law directly affects public health programs that provide family planning services and in directly as a limitation on the state’s police powers.

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Abortion law directly affects public health programs that provide family planning services and in directly as a limitation on the state’s police powers.

Supreme Court overrules Bowers, decriminalizes private homosexual conduct – Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558, 123 S.Ct. 2472 (2003) – good discussion of the contrast with Roe.

Physician Patient Relationship with a Pregnant Woman Extends to her Fetus – Nold v. Binyon, No. 94,292 (Kan. 09-21-2001)

Regulation Abolishing the Gag Rule

Standards for a Facial Challange to a Federal Regulation – The Gag Rule – Rust v. Sullivan, 500 U.S. 173 (1991)

Brief – Anti-abortion WWW Site is Protected Speech – Planned Parenthood of Columbia-Willamette, Inc. v. American Coalition of Life Activists, — F.3d —-, 2001 WL 293260 (9th Cir. 2001)

No Ex Parte Young exception for physicians challenging abortion tort law – Okpalobi v. Foster, No. 98-30228 (5th Cir. 03-12-2001)

Court allows destruction of frozen embryos – J.B. v. M.B., 331 N.J.Super. 223, 751 A.2d 613 (N.J.Super.A.D. Jun 01, 2000)

The Supreme Court rules on Partial Birth Abortion – Stenberg v. Carhart, 120 S.Ct. 2597, 68 USLW 4702 (2000)

Health and Safety Regulations Upheld for Abortion Clinics – Greenville Women’s Clinic v. Bryant, 222 F.3d 157 (4th Cir.(S.C.) 2000), including allowing the review of patient medical records by state inspectors.

Health and Safety Regulations Upheld for Abortion Clinics – Greenville Women’s Clinic v. Bryant, No. 99-1319, 2000 WL 1152224 (4th Cir.(S.C.) Aug 15, 2000)

Supreme Court Rules on Parential Notification in Abortion Cases – Lambert v. Wicklund, 520 U.S. 292 (1997)

Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992)

Supreme Court Rules on Parential Notification in Abortion Cases – Hodgson v. Minnesota, 497 U.S. 417, 458-459 (1990)

Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, 492 U. S. 490 (1989)

Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 476 U.S. 747 (1986)

Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health, Inc., 462 U. S. 416, 467 (1983)

Maher v. Roe, 432 U.S. 464, 474 (1977)

Carey v. Population Services International, 431 U.S. 678, 97 S. Ct. 2010 (1977)

Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth, 428 U.S. 52 (1976)

Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179, 188 (1973)

Roe v. Wade, 410 U. S. 113 (1973)

Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, 481 (1965).

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Market Process Overview:Are we currently using Marketing?

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The Marketing Planning
Process
■ Marketing planning is a structured way
of matching what an organisation has
to offer and what the market needs.
Analysis
(Where are we now?)
Objectives
(where are we going?)
Evaluation
(Are we getting there?)
Methods
(How will we get
there?)
Market Process Overview
■ Marketing Audit
■ This is a review or appraisal of marketing
operations in an organisation. It is
concerned with establishing environmental
factors facing the organisation, which have
marketing implications now and in the future.
■ Are we currently using Marketing?
SWOT Analysis
(Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats)
■ A SWOT analysis is a good way of
summarising the internal and external
marketing audit.
■ Strengths Internal
■ Weaknesses Audit
■ Opportunities External
■ Threats Audit
Setting Objectives
■ After the analysis has been carried out, the
next step is to establish some objectives.
■ Objectives can be defined as where we are
going?
■ Simply they are results wanted from planned
Marketing activities.
■ Objectives can include; increase market
share, increase product range, be
technological leader etc.
Constraints
■ Financial
■ Legal
■ Community or other pressure
■ Planning
Options to overcome
constraints
■ Convert to PLC
■ Lobby MPs
■ Get involved in local community e.g.
sponsorship
■ Relocate
Target Markets
■ Identify the group of buyers you wish
to purchase your product/service.
■ Actual or potential customers.
Marketing Mix
■ Product
■ Price
■ Place
■ Promotion
■ Utilize the four Ps to attract customers
to buy your product/service rather than
anyone else’s.

How should I choose the time frame for my literature review? Is there a minimum number of years?

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  1. What structure should I follow for my essay?

It is recommendable to follow the structure below:

I Introduction II Main Body

  1. a) Method – briefly present the criteria used for selecting the journals & articles included in your literature review;
II. b) Analysis of the articles selected – critically discuss the content of the academic articles included in your review (in terms of purpose, context, theoretical background, method, findings and conclusions);

III. Conclusions

  1. Should I include an Index/Table of content?

No, there is no need.

  1. Is the references list included in the word count?

No, the references list is not included in the word count. Everything else however is included in the word count (including any tables, figures, graphs, endnotes, footnotes etc. you may choose to use).

  1. Can I use reference of reference (e.g. X et al., 2004 cited in Y et al., 2010)

For good academic practice, you should always consult the original source.

  1. How should I choose the time frame for my literature review? Is there a minimum number of years?

There is no set answer for this question. Literature reviews can include articles published the last 7, 10, 20 … 50 years. This is for the author to choose. For the purpose of this assignment the minimum time frame is from 2014 onwards.

  1. How should I choose the Journals to include in the literature review?

There are a few journals, particularly relevant the entrepreneurship field, recommended on the study guide. You can definitely include them in your literature review, but you can also include other journals relevant for the specific topic chosen to analyse. Please consult the ABS list for further guidance on this.

  1. How many journals should I include in my literature review? Is there a minimum number?

This is a decision the author of the study should make. What is important is to justify your choice appropriately. There is no perfect number as such, but for the purpose of this assignment the minimum number of journals to include in your literature review is 2 journals.

  1. How should I choose the articles from these journals?

Simple! You need to search using keywords appropriate for your topic and specify these keywords in your method section (see Q19 for further information).

  1. How many articles should I include in my literature review?

There is no straight forward answer for this question, I’m afraid. This is part of your assignment. It depends on your choice of topic, journals and time frame.

  1. Can I use references published before the time frame chosen for my literature review?

Yes, of course you can, particularly if they are seminal papers which contribute substantially to the development of the field. However, it would be advisable to use them to support your arguments, in the introduction and/or conclusion, as opposed to directly form part of your literature review.

  1. Am I allowed to change the title?

Yes, of course you are. The only things you need to ensure is that your title is included under the broader umbrella of the topic selected and that you clearly specify at the beginning of your essay which of these 2 topics you address in your essay.

1

  1. Can I choose to focus on a subtopic of the broad topics presented?

Yes, you are allowed to do this. You first need to clarify (either by using a definition or classification) that the subtopic chosen is included under the broader umbrella of 1 of the 2 topics on your coursework.

  1. If the coursework I chose says “write on topic A AND/OR topic B” is it ok to focus on only topic A or only topic B?

Yes, this is perfectly fine.

  1. Do I need to collect any empirical (e.g. survey, interview data for this course work)?

No, there is no need for you to collect any empirical data for this coursework. You only need to conduct a content analysis of the articles selected clearly demonstrating integration and synthesis capacity.

  1. Do I need to discuss any case studies?

You are allowed to do so, (for example in the introduction), but you are not required to do so.

  1. Should I provide tables, graphs or models?

You do not necessarily have to, but you are encouraged to do so if they are the result of your own analysis of the relevant literature.

  1. What should I write in the conclusions?

In the conclusions it is recommendable to provide an outline of the main findings of your literature review. You also need to include the limitations of the study, recommendations for entrepreneurs and future research directions clearly deriving from your study.

  1. Should my literature review be as elaborated (and long) as the systematic literature reviews published in ABS 3 and 4 grade journals?

Given the word limit and the time frame for this course work, you are not expected to develop such elaborated (and long) reviews.

  1. How do I search for the journals?

You can choose which journals to search from by selecting them from the ABS list, uploaded in the MG5592/MG5801 Blackboard Learn.

 

What is my purpose? What am I intending to achieve? What is my intended outcome or outcomes?

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Communication Strategy Plan (PPR)

Create your Communication Strategy Plan by answering the following questions in detail.

Plan:

  1. What is my purpose? What am I intending to achieve? What is my intended outcome or outcomes?

 

  1. Who is my audience? How are members of my audience the same? How are they different? How might their goals be the same or different?

 

  1. How will I adapt to the audience? Be sure to identify different segments of an audience and how you will adapt to each. How will you make your message relevant to them? What potential barriers exist, and how will you overcome them?

 

  1. What is your thesis? How does your thesis relate to your purpose and your audience?

 

  1. What are your main points? How will you support them? Does your support relate to your audience? If so, how? If not, why?

 

  1. If giving a presentation, what should I be aware of in terms of my nonverbal behaviors? What behaviors do I want to focus on? Why?

 

Practice: Write the document or give the presentation by applying your plan.

 

Reflect: Seldom are we completely pleased with our writing or presentation, and we tend to be our own toughest critics!  Based on feedback from your instructor and peers, reflect on the experience.

 

  1. Did I achieve my purpose? What was effective and why? What could have been improved and how?

 

  1. Did the audience seem to respond as I’d hoped? Did I seem to connect with them? What seemed to work well? What could I have improved?

 

  1. Was my message clear and easy to follow?

 

  1. If I gave a presentation, did I achieve my goals for communicating nonverbally? What might I work on in the future?

How do effector memory CD4+ T cells migrate to the epidermis?

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Clinical case study 1

Patient Presentation

A 55-year old HIV-infected male was referred to the Dermatology Outpatient Clinic with a four month history of a swollen face and multiple skin nodules.

Acknowledgement

  • Ranks Lehloenya, Dr. Khadija Shebe and Prof. Gail Todd from the Department of Dermatology.
  • Dr Sipho Dlamini from the Department of Infectious Diseases, Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town.
  • Dr Carol Hlela, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town

History

Three years prior to this presentation, the patient was treated at his local clinic for a persistent rash, diagnosed as eczema. There was minimal response to a standard therapy of topical steroids, he experienced only a minimal response.

Past Medical History

He was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) and tested positive for HIV at the same time. He completed six months of standard TB treatment.

His CD4 count over three months showed a steady decline:

  • 1st measurement: CD4 count was 987 cells/ul
  • 3 months later his CD4 count was 603 cells/ul

HAART was initiated five months later when his CD4 count dropped below 350 cells/ul. He was started on antiretroviral therapy (ARV), consisting of lamivudine (3TC), stavudine (d4T) and efavirenz (EFV)

He defaulted treatment and was lost to follow-up for more than a year.

When he returned to the clinic he was re-initiated on ARV.  Four months after restarting treatment he developed facial swelling and bulky, non-tender nodules on the trunk and limbs.

A skin biopsy showed dermal infiltration of atypical lymphoid cells.

Following his biopsy results, he was referred to a specialist skin lymphoma clinic.

Past Surgical History

Previous laparotomy for small bowel obstruction, cause unknown.

Family History

Nothing of significance

Allergies

None known

Medication

Topical steroids

ARV: 3TC, d4T and EFV

Travel History

None noted

Social History

Non-smoker

No alcohol use

No illegal substance use

Differential Diagnosis

  • HIV-associated atypical cutaneous lympho-proliferative disorder (ACLD)
  • Leprosy
  • Mycoses fungoides
  • Sezary syndrome
  • Other lymphomas

Examination

Appearance: ambulatory, underweight, erythrodermic male, awake, alert and co-operative.

Vitals

  • Temperature: afebrile
  • Blood pressure: 124/76
  • Heart rate: 75
  • Respiratory rate: 16

General

  • Erythrodermic, skin, generally indurated
  • Palpable axillary and groin lymph nodes
  • No jaundice, pallor or oedema

Chest

  • Chest clear

Cardiovascular

  • Normotensive
  • No murmurs, no added heart sounds

Abdomen

  • Mild tenderness over the liver and the spleen with accompanying hepatosplenomegaly.

Neurological

  • No abnormalities detected

Dermatological

  • Erythrodermic, skin generally indurated
  • Diffusely indurated face with leonine features
  • Boggy non-tender multiple nodules and tumors on the face, of varying sizes
  • Similar tumourous nodules on thighs
  • Fine non-palpable purpuric rash on upper the trunk
  • Non-tender tumourous nodules on forearm
   
  On Admission  6 weeks 14 weeks Reference ranges
WCC +peripheral smear 50.51 with > 10%  circulating atypical lymphocytes 8.6 11.1 4-12×109/L
Hb 13.3 10.6 7.4 12.1-15.2g/L
MCV 105 79-98.9fL
MCH 33.4 27-32.0pg
MCHC 31.8 32-36.0g/dL
Platelets 383 93 130 140-450×109/L
Diff Count:
Neutrophils 6.57 2.0-7.50 x109/L
Lymphocytes 34.35 1-4×109/L
Monocytes 3.54 0.18 – 0.80 x109L
Eosinophils 1.01 0.0 – 0.45 x10 9 /L
CD4 count 94
Viral Load 1890

 

Discussion points to consider:

Our presenting case was a middle-aged man with severely indurated face presenting as a leonine facies as well as skin nodules and tumours on his trunk and limbs. He was previously diagnosed as HIV-infected and was initiated on ARV. It is uncertain whether the skin lesions were a result of drug toxicity following initiation of ARV, or possibly due to immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS). It is also possible this could be an aggressive progression of a pre-existing condition due to his immune-compromised state

What primary immune response to foreign antigen in the skin?

Homing of effector memory CD4+ T cells to the skin.

Circulation and homing of central memory CD4+ T cells.

How do effector memory CD4+ T cells migrate to the epidermis?

What is happening in our patient?

What happens in Sezary Syndrome?

What happens to these transformed malignant CD4+ T cells?

How are Sezary Cells Identified?

Final Outcome

Despite stopping HAART and administering chemotherapy along with radiotherapy, the disease continued to worsen and the patient’s skin lesions ulcerated and he developed progressive systemic disease. During the fourth month following admission he contracted pneumonia and died shortly thereafter.

How alcohol affects the nervous system (in the short term, as well as after chronic, heavy drinking).

/in /by

Research Paper #2

Question:

Describe the pathophysiology of alcohol abuse and addiction. Your answer should include, but is not necessarily limited to, the following elements:

– How alcohol affects the nervous system (in the short term, as well as after chronic, heavy drinking).

– How these effects are linked to behavior.

– The impact of alcohol abuse and addiction on physical and mental health.

– Biology-related risk factors (e.g., genetics, hormones)

– Biology-related individual differences in the etiology, presentation, or severity of alcohol abuse and addiction (e.g., sex, age, comorbidity). *No need to refer to all of these; 1-2 examples are enough.

– Main treatment approaches.

Remember: This is a paper in a Physiological Psychology course. Your writing should reflect solid knowledge in physiological psychology and the ability to link this knowledge to human behavior and clinical psychology.

Resources

Given the scope of the question, your answer cannot be based only on class material (slides, notes). You will need to use resources such as textbooks and scientific papers.

It is imperative that you apply the APA rules for citation and referencing, within-text and in your bibliography.

There are numerous guides available online. Here is an example:

http://www.easybib.com/guides/citation-guides/apa-format/how-to-cite-a-parenthetical-citations-apa/ The complete guide: http://www.easybib.com/guides/citation-guides/apa-format/

Writing

  • Carefully follow the instructions and the prompts.
  • Write to the point; keep general statements to a minimum.
  • Be clear and specific; avoid ambiguous phrasing.
  • When referring to physiological or biological concepts (e.g., parts of the brain), link them to behavior.

Font Times New Roman 12 or larger Double spaced

1 inch margins on all 4 sides

Length: up to 3 pages of text

– Not including the bibliography and cover page.

– No need to write an abstract.

A second issue about the NPV is if it is so great, why don’t all companies everywhere use it?

/in /by

Discuss the pros and cons of net present value.

The basic objective of a corporation is to maximize the wealth of its stockholders. Stockholders’ wealth is measured by the value of their shares, so it can be said that the basic objective of a corporation is to maximize the value of the corporation’s stock.

In order to accomplish this basic objective, a firm’s managers must know how the actions they take will affect the value of the firm’s stock. They must know, for example, how much a plan under consideration will increase or decrease the value of the firm’s stock if the plan is put into effect.

What managers need, then, is a capital budgeting decision tool that will tell them how much a plan that is under consideration will increase or decrease the value of the firm’s stock if it is put into effect.

Academics are always telling us the Net Present Value (NPV) method of evaluating investment proposals is the best and most correct of all the methods available. Why do you think they say this? In other words, what is it about the NPV method that makes academics prefer it to all other methods?

A second issue about the NPV is if it is so great, why don’t all companies everywhere use it? For that matter, why don’t all individuals use it? In other words, what is it about the NPV method that makes people want to use, say, the IRR or payback period methods to evaluate investments instead?