Choice and Relevance of the Name Healer to Refer Nurses Research Paper

Choice and Relevance of the Name Healer to Refer Nurses - Research Paper Example Nurses, given their delicate position and weird characters occupying the world, attract ridicule in order to undermine their work. This paper discusses some effects that these ridicules that include nicknames might have, and finds out some of the ways these could be avoided in order to pursue the nursing career in full swing. The identity that the name ‘healers’ gives to the nurses sure uplifts their image and the impact of this is also discussed. Lastly, various perspectives from various spheres of the term ‘healer’ are compared with the current scenario and a conclusion summing up the general ideas of the paper finalizes the paper. Thesis: The name ‘healer’ is well deserved to nurses globally as they have shown the quality, commitment, compassion, and competence it takes to take part in the healing process of a patient, right from the beginning to the end. Introduction What rings in one’s mind with the mention of the word ‘Healer? ’ The obvious guess would be the good doctor. ...This argument may qualify the fact that indeed nurses are healers (Watson, 1985). A healer is defined as an individual who oversees the transformation of a patient from unsound or ill condition to a healthy form. Healing does not just comprise of putting one into a sound form, but rather, healing is an umbrella to many objectives that a patient should transcend on his or her way to recovery. These include psychological, physical and social healing. With the definition of healing looked at from this perception, one might rethink the reference of doctors as healers, and rather give that honor to the nurses. Nurses are professions in the medical world that carry the obligation of human care in the community, families or individual in order to foster recovery, maintain a healthy condition and live a healthy life. They have the most responsibility in the world of medicine apart from just being the doctor helper. They truly deserve t o be called ‘healers’ because they are involved with a patient right from the beginning, to that very moment that the patients depart from the hospital. This paper shall carefully analyze the weight that this name carries and try to find the basis of the whole process of naming and some of the factors that go along naming. The name ‘healer’ is well deserved to nurses globally as they have shown the quality, commitment, compassion, and competence it takes to take part in the healing process of a patient, right from the beginning to the end. What’s in a name? Names go beyond the essence of just identity.

Pathophysiology of Why at High Risk of Infection Research Paper

Pathophysiology of Why at High Risk of Infection - Research Paper Example of concurrent or previous treatments like radiation and/or steroids are both variables that can raise the probability of contracting an infection and may exacerbate any that come to exist. Additionally, the patient has an increased risk of infection due to having diabetes, and even the anxiety he experiences about the procedure can negatively impact the body. All of the factors described above can contribute to the compromising of the immune system and the subsequent colonization of infectious organisms. Post-operative influences are also important in the assessment of Mr. Baker’s risk for contracting an infection. Though incompetence is far from a certainty, the inexperience of the patient’s assigned nurse may increase the risk of infection. Perhaps more obvious is the threat of infection arising from the use of several invasive instruments during the post-operative care period. IVs, PCA punts, nasogastric tubes, and nasal cannulas are all valuable tools but they can also provide both entry points for infections as well as locations for microorganisms to amass. Direct entry is provided in every IV and PCA situation because puncturing the skin is necessary in both cases. In contrast, nasogastric tubes and cannulas are ideally meant to be implemented without tissue penetration, but scratches and cuts are practically unavoidable, especially in an

The United States Constitution Its Strengths And Flaws Politics Essay

The United States Constitution Its Strengths And Flaws Politics Essay In the late 18th century, the United States Constitution was designed as a foundation to build a stable governing structure for the 13 states that composed the United States around that time. These states were relatively different and consisted on predominantly rural and agrarian societies. Moreover, the same document regarded by these states as the supreme law of the land, serves the exact same purpose today as it did back in the day. The 200 year old Constitution of the United States, by far the oldest charter of government in the world, faces a time of increasing urbanization and technological developments. Nonetheless, its effectiveness at guiding this nation and providing individual freedom, economic stability, economic growth and social development has proven to be substantially enduring over the years. The United States Constitution is often referred to as a living constitution, because of its adaptability to the emerging and ever changing political and social views, needs and demands of Americans. Moreover, its enduring nature in a world of continued change has served as a role model for the evolution of numerous governmental institutions and their respective constitutions around the world. Its self-correcting and self-regulating nature made possible through amendments, the constitutional supremacy it embraces, the bill of rights, the separation of powers and its simplicity of design are major strengths of the constitution. The Constitution is a timeless document due to the adaptability of its nature. It was designed so that it could be amended as the needs of Americans changed over time. However, the founding fathers were well aware that amending the constitution should require significant complexity to avoid the approval and ratification of ill-conceived amendments. Moreover, they made sure that amending the constitution was in the best interest of the majority as opposed to a select few by putting into effect a dual process that Amendments must undergo in order to be approved and ratified. Furthermore, amendments are subject to judicial review by the courts, a process that originated from the Marbury v. Madison case and allows the courts to review and revoke unconstitutional measures carried out by other branches of government. The Constitutions supremacy draws the boundaries along which state governments and congress adopt and ratify legislation. Despite its supremacy the Constitution is not entirely the absolute authority for it can be amended by the people through their participation in open elections aimed to provide political representation in the various structures of government. Appointed and elected officials are subject to be removed from office under the constitution if convicted of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors; which serves as an intensive to fulfill their constitutional duties, that is with the exception of lifetime appointees of the supreme court and/ or federal judges. The reasoning behind such exception is to eliminate the impact external influences often have on public officials. The establishment of a Bill of Rights in the Constitution serves as a mean to protect the natural rights of the people. It is composed of the first ten amendments added to the constitution which aimed to protect individual freedoms from the government. The first amendment is perhaps one of the most important since it addresses delicate issues such as the separation of church and state allowing for freedom of religion. Also, it establishes freedom of speech, press, the right to assembly, right to petition the government, and protects individuals not only from the government but from each other by restricting libel. Moreover, subsequent amendments address other issues such as the right to bear arms, search and seizures, prohibition of self-incrimination, the right to trial by jury and counsel, reservation of powers to the state and people powers, among others. In addition, it has a significant influence on laws and policy-making under the principle for the people and by the people. It is the Bill of Rights along with other factors that distinguishes the United States from other less successful democracies around the world. The separation of powers among the three dominant structures of government is another strength of the Constitution. It allows for the overlap of authority among all government institutions and hinders the concentration of power in one of these institutions. Foremost, the Constitutions simplicity of design outlines the government structures and designated functions. Yet, it does not specify how power is to be distributed among the government institutions, resulting in an ambiguity that has made it possible for the Constitution to successfully guide the United States in the desired direction. Nevertheless both of these have been a source of conflict and harshly criticized for the broadness of the power allocated to the structures of government. As can be appreciated, the United States Constitution is deeply flawed, to the point where some of its strengths represent major threats to its original purpose put forth by the founding fathers. Although federalism is vital to avoid the concentration of power in a single structure of government, it blurs the concept of the separation of powers by providing the national government with sufficient protection to surpass the power allocated to states. In the time being there is not an easy approach to deal with this dilemma; however, it is not terribly hindered to solve as to set it aside for another 200 hundred years. Therefore, one of the first measures to deal with the problem in question is to narrowly draw the jurisdictional boundaries in order to define the power reserved for each structure of government, so that no structure has an unfair advantage over another. Such a measure should address the insufficient protection given to the states as compared to the national government. Another weakness of the United States Constitution is Congressional stagnation. The absence of term limits in Congress has proven to be an issue of high debate among politicians. It seems reasonable to argue that term limits in Congress would result in inexperienced individuals taking roles which have been adequately fulfilled by previous political officers and that the degree to which they represent their constituents as well as their ability to do is questionable. Nevertheless, it is crucial to point out that a large majority of incumbents, that is those currently in office, get reelected [INSERT STATS] to a point where most Congress representatives have rather established a career in Congress. Their reelection is primarily due to the low turnout of elections since the public is less involved in these elections as compared to presidential elections, name advertisement and credit obtained from the service provided to their constituents. Because elections take place every two years, reelection is the main drive for incumbents, which includes obtaining name recognition among their constituents and service credit within their districts. Incumbents aim to meet the interests and demands represented by the majority of constituents, which has proven to be very problematic due to the emerging concerns regarding whether they act as puppets to secure their seat or act in the faith of making a difference for their constituents by having their voices heard. Either way, incumbents enjoy unfair advantages over competitors since they are allotted higher campaign funds than subsequent competitors, for instance through free mail. Additionally, due to the large sums necessary to fund a successful campaign and the diminished chances of election when running against incumbents, the number of candidates is inconsequential, limiting the choices of voters. Lastly, the long term retention of office by legislators may result in corruption, through the means of lobbyists seeking that legislators address their cause which may not be related or benefit by any means the constituents that such legislator represents. The need to have checks and balances for Congress is evident; which constitutes the reason why term limits should be implemented in Congress. The power to establish term limits is delegated to the states and the people and further protected under the 10th amendment. Therefore, a state can propose an amendment by obtaining a two-thirds majority of state legislators to call for a constitutional convention, after which legislators must ratify the amendment with a three-fourths majority. Similarly the house and senate members can propose such amendment, which is very unlikely to occur due to the fact that the ratification of term limits will affect their personal interests. On similar grounds, the Electoral College has been harshly criticized since the purpose it served 200 years ago is viewed as rather outdated today. This election system is not only compelling in terms of its design but also the extent to which it is representative of the popular vote in presidential elections. For instance, in the 2000 election featuring George W. Bush running against Albert Arnold Gore for the presidency, Al Gore won the popular vote; however he did not win the election. Therefore, it is legitimate to question how accurately do outcomes of the Electoral College reflect the will of the people. Moreover, because the number of electoral votes allocated to states relies primarily on the number of district and house representatives of the states, it gives larger states the power to influence the outcome of presidential elections. Since larger states are delegated such power, most presidential candidates focus their campaign and attention on the states with the most elect oral votes; therefore, smaller states have a disadvantage regarding their political involvement in presidential elections and the value of their vote as compared to larger states and voter turnout can be further discouraged. The Electoral College can also result in a minority president being elected It is not terribly difficult to acknowledge that the removal of the Electoral College is by far the best strategy to solve the present situation. Nevertheless, the difficulty lies in designing a system that accurately represents the people. Some politicians argue that providing a representation of the electoral vote proportional to that of the popular vote would ease the problem at stake. However, it is very likely to raise new concerns, especially if both candidates running for office win 50% of the electoral vote, then a method for splitting the vote must be addressed, which complicates the nature of the Electoral College and furthermore defeats the initial purpose of correcting the flawed design of such institution. One way to do this without further complications is by establishing a direct vote system in which all individuals have an equal say in presidential elections and are equally pursued by the candidates running for office. Please discuss the suitability of the Constitution as a governing document for the contemporary United States. What are the strengths of the Constitution?   What are some of its weaknesses?   Should we attempt to reform the Constitution?   If so, why?   If not, why not?   You should rely heavily on course materials, but feel free to use any outside material that will help your argument. Is it public officials or government officials? Are supreme court justices and federal judges public officials too as compared to senators and house members? Paragraph about the separation of powers. Am I making my point clear enough, since its rather a transition into the weaknesses? Purposely chose it.. As can be appreciate ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Is this contradicting somehow?

life :: essays research papers

Self from Religious Viewpoint The Afterlife is an area of human consciousness we all enter upon leaving the physical world at physical death. Throughout history we've questioned if there is a life after death. Along the way, our religions and various philosophers offered beliefs and opinions to answer this commonly asked question. However, many of the answers contradict each other making it hard to figure out. While some believe it's impossible to know whether there is life after death, belief in immortality is a timeless phenomenon. Through the years there have been many philosophers that do not believe in life after death. Among them is David Hume. David Hume was a British imperialist to the extreme. He only believed in what he could see. He felt that if you can't see your soul or god then they must not exist. The same holds true for the after life, or heaven. He felt that when you died that was it, your life was over and there was nothing more. Muangkram pg.2 Buddhist's also do not believe in life after death meaning heaven. Buddhist's believe that when one dies he is reborn again and this continues until the person reaches Nirvana. Nirvana is the state in which one has attained disinterested wisdom and compassion. In the Buddhist religion there is no god to save you or to show you the way. To reach nirvana you must achieve insight and wisdom. The Buddha was not saved by a revelation or from any god. He was the self-enlightened one; by the power of his own post virtue, which finally produced piercing insight and wisdom, he came to the knowledge or the saving insight into things 'as they are.' He literally made himself a Buddha and subsequently entered Nirvana. One of the great philosophers that did believe in life after death was Spinoza. Spinoza believed there was a heaven and a hell and the life here in the physical realm was just a small part of gods greater plan. Spinoza believed that man is a fleeting incident in an infinite and eternal universe. In the Christian religion it is believed that there does exist life after death. The argument to support it being that after Jesus died he rose from the dead, proving that the soul is not destroyed after death. This proof of immortality has been accepted by millions of Christians and has been regarded as one of the most precious assurances brought to mankind by Jesus.

Analysis Of Desalination Use In South Australia Environmental Sciences Essay

Another method that is used in desalinization is electrodialysis. This method is a batch more expensive because it uses more energy. When salt dissolves in H2O, it splits up into charged ions. The method electrodialysis uses membranes to pin down the ions go forthing purified H2O on the other side. To make this the salt H2O is placed into a container with a negative electrode and positive electrode at either side of the container. The ions are attracted to the electrodes and acquire stuck in the membrane which leaves a supply of desalinated H2O. Distillation ( or vaporization ) is besides a method used for sublimating H2O in desalinization workss. The seawater is heated in one container to do the H2O evaporate, so go forthing the salt behind. The vapor is so condensed in a separate container to organize purified H2O. However it was found that the distillment was limited for H2O supply because of the fuel costs involved in change overing salt H2O to vapour. Modern engineering has developed to more efficient distillment units utilizing solar energy alternatively of fuel. The units have little capacities so hence their public-service corporation is restricted to how much H2O they can condense at a clip. Benefits and Restrictions of Desalination Benefits of a desalinization works: Desalination workss can provide up to 500 million liters of fresh purified H2O a twenty-four hours, which will decidedly work out South Australia ‘s H2O supply deficit They are ever in usage as there is ever sea H2O in the sea, therefore it can be used all twelvemonth unit of ammunition ( every season ) It is an limitless beginning of H2O If the Murray River or any dikes run out of H2O the desalinization works can work as a backup and make full up the dikes once more Restrictions of a desalinization Plant: It costs $ 1.37 billion dollars to pay for a desalinization works, which is an expensive option. If this option is used people ‘s revenue enhancements will travel up in order to pay for this works, where some are sublimating their ain H2O and so hence should n't hold to. Desalination produces concentrated seawater, which is to a great extent concentrated salt H2O that gets pumped back out to see and can impact the marine life in the ocean. ‘Dr Bolton, one of five South Australians who wrote to the province authorities warning it of the dangers of desalinization when so small was known about its long term effects on marine life. ‘[ 1 ] Releases more nursery gas emanations in the ambiance, hence more pollution They require a batch of energy and electricity to run ( as shown in diagram 3 ) hypertext transfer protocol: //www.lenntech.com/desalination/general/desali6.jpg Diagram 3 How desalinization affects us economically and environmentally: Research has shown that desalinization is really expensive in footings of money wise and the sum of energy that is needed ( shown in diagram 3 ) . There are much cheaper options to sublimate South Australia ‘s H2O nevertheless they may non be the best quality of picks. If South Australia gets a desalinization works it will be about $ 3.7 billion dollars to construct it. The province authorities will so hold to raise the revenue enhancement in order to pay back this money that has been spent on something that non everyone will most decidedly usage. This will so hold an consequence on us politically ; it will raise a great argument and a large statement. Desalination has a large consequence on the environment. In order to sublimate salt H2O utilizing the desalinization works procedure you have to stop up with a concentrated salt solution that has to be pumped back out to sea. This will hold a large impact on the marine life as the salt in the ocean will increase the temperature. Not merely will it hold an impact on the marine life it will hold an impact on the wet in the dirt, which will slowly acquire more salty and have an impact on the workss. Desalination besides has an consequence on planetary heating. This is because most methods ( rearward osmosis, distillment ) use unsafe chemicals that are so released into the air, produce waste ( concentrated seawater ) and foul the local environment. To keep the desalinization workss from a cloggy physique up, cleaning agents are used. These are normally chlorine, alkalic solutions and chemical germicides. Chimneies are besides needed in desalinization workss to acquire rid of all the wast e merchandises that are n't needed, these normally creates unsafe chemical clouds. Decision In decision, desalinization could decidedly be a possibility to work out South Australia ‘s H2O deficit. However there are many other different ways to sublimate H2O that would n't impact the environment or be excessively expensive to run and utilize excessively much energy. A better solution would be storm H2O recycling. This is because it will be cheaper to construct a stormwater recycling works than a desalinization works and the H2O will acquire recycled approximately four times, hence intending less H2O demand to be found from other beginnings. All systems have a defect though ; with stormwater recycling and the idea of imbibing H2O that has been flushed down a lavatory can set some people off.

Business Plan for Grab-N-Go Snax Essay

II. Executive Summary & General Company Description Grab-N-Go Snax are a selection of prepackaged, single serving snack foods which will be sold out of food carts conveniently located around the core downtown Portland business district. Our new enterprise caters to the need for downtown office and business workers to gain quick and easy access to healthy breakfast, break and lunch snack food options. Grab-N-Go Snax offers a wide selection of high quality fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy, grain and gluten-free products. Products are cleaned, cut, portioned, packaged in re-sealable recyclable packaging and refrigerated for immediate consumption. To augment our name brand product selection, we’ll offer a variety of products in this category offered by other name brand companies, such as granola bars, trail mix, bottled water, fruit juices and energy drinks. To start, activities of the business will include stationary food cart vending in the high activity food cart vending groups, called ‘PODS’. Supplemental activities of the business will be to participate in special events vending. Special events include city wide water front events, Saturday Market, sporting events and holiday celebration activities. In a preparation area that will be set up for processing, packaging, and storing food products, work will be done each day to prepare products for delivery. Products for the day’s sales will be transported in refrigerated storage containers to the food carts early each morning. Vendor services will stock their carts and displays in preparation of opening for business. Customers and passer-bys will notice the brightly lit awning, colorful displays, smells of fresh fruit and sounds of nature in a clean environment open early in the morning for their convenience. They will see a wide selection of food items for breakfast, or to eat later for workday snacks. Customers can grab items for purchase for themselves from the on-board displays or refrigerated cases. Vendor services will scan the UPC codes and processes the sale quickly via POS system. For the future of the business, it is our plan to promote the sale of our own Grab-N-Go Snax name brand product selection through refrigerated vending machines, fitness health clubs and in-office delivery. Our catering services will accommodate the need for refreshments during company meetings and parties to businesses in and around the core downtown area. Our goal is to develop a strong business model, brand name and reputation so that as the business continues to grow into other locations and communities, becoming more recognizable, we can develop Grab-N-Go Snax into an operation that can be franchised. We like the flexibility a LLC provides to allow the option to hire professional management that would not necessarily be owners. This would allow us to offer employees (potential new franchisees) the opportunity to learn the ropes of the business and experience what it might be like to operate their own Grab-N-Go Snax food cart before they make the decision to invest in our business as a franchisee. III. Qualifications My background of working downtown Portland for the past 30 years and being a customer of a lot of the food carts in the downtown area has provided me with the drive to make this unique business concept a true success story among the growing trend of food carts here. I have worked as Administrative Assistant to Directors of companies and Project Manager and coordinator for projects that required budgeting, multi-tasking and attention to detail. My strengths are with organization, human relations, patience and dedication. Besides devoting a lot of my own funds that will go into this venture that I believe in, I will be committing a lot of my time and energy to making sure every aspect of the business operational needs are met to meet the customer demands. Outside of the day to day product preparation, on-site vending and management of business affairs, I will be networking and connecting with other Administrative Assistants, Event and Meeting Planners and with businesses in the downtown area to sell our in-office delivery and catering services. IV. Products and Services Products: See Appendix A (not included in this document) for examples of wholesale costs and pricing comparisons of local retail & grocery store competition. * Fruits: apples, bananas, oranges, grapes, grapefruit, melons, cherries, berries, * Vegetables: carrots, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, * Nuts: almonds, peanuts, cashews, walnuts, soy, trail mix, granola mix * Dairy: milk, yogurt, cheese sticks, pudding, vegetable dips * Beverages: water, vitamin water, sports drink, fruit drinks, fruit juices, vegetable juices, dairy drinks, fruit smoothies, Products will be displayed in a highly lit environment while activating physical senses. (e.g. sight-lighting of colors & textures; sound-background musical sounds of fresh water falls, breezes, birds , etc; smell-odors from fresh fruit juices) Services: * Parked truck/trailer: Daily on-the-street vending. Â  * Mobile truck/trailer: Special events vending – fairs, markets, entertainment venues, promotional events, sports events, * Catering: Regularly scheduled in-office supply replenishment, meeting room delivery. Customer service is highlighted with a smile, cheerful attitude, immediate attention to the customer’s inquiries, recommendations for specials and new products, appreciation for their business and request for feedback via our web page. These items are offered fresh, dried and refrigerated from early in the morning, to catch people before work and school, to late afternoon. Products are intended to fulfill the desires of those seeking healthy and nutritional breakfast, pre-lunch, lunch and post lunch time snack options. Snacks and drink items represent alternatives to those high in sugar, fat, cholesterol, caffeine or carbonation. Grab-N-Go Snax objective is to promote the image of providing high quality healthy snack food options, quick and easy to obtain with freshness guaranteed. Products being offered will be healthy, pre-packaged, single serving, ready-to-eat snacks and drink items. V. Marketing Plan Currently the food cart business is growing and thriving in the downtown Portland area. Owners of parking lots and open spaces are looking to expand and convert available space for this business use because of the increase in space revenue and the ease of which the city has made it a viable optional use of their property. Because of the local and nationwide publicity for many of the local food cart businesses, more downtown workers and visitors to the downtown area now consider experiencing a food cart meal. The advantage of Grab-N-Go-Snax is that there are a lot of busy downtown workers who do not tend to eat breakfast, they don’t remember to purchase snack items in advance, do not remember to bring them to work when they do, and when they do want a snack for a break, do not have a lot of healthy snack options convenient for them to choose from. Busy professionals know they want and need to move towards healthier food selections, but need convenience and speed of ownership to change their current habits. They need a place close by their work for that quick turn-around time during a break or before they enter their office building in the morning. Promotional objective will be to change downtown workers’ behavior, not only around the kind of snack foods they do select, but actually adding the activity of taking time in the morning and during breaks to include snacks for nutritional and health reasons. Within the promotion is the message of how quick and easy it is to obtain a selection of quality healthy snack foods. I want our customers to see the convenience and ease of taking a new step that contributes to their health and well being. I plan to communicate this message with colorful unique signage outside the food cart to grab attention with matching post card size business cards. I have also planned to promote the cart through the nearby business office building tenant newsletters, providing coupons and a drawing with on-line website registration. The purposes of the registration and drawing would be for obtaining e-mail addresses for on-going communication and promotions. There will be bonuses and discounts offered for frequent customers. I will be listed in the website created to promote Portland’s food cart businesses www.foodcartsportland.com and I will create a press release with a twist on the food cart business. The purposes of the press release will be to create a buzz around the food cart concept not only in the local market, but nationally in order to get free press stories and media attention. Plan for success: I plan to expand the business by offering products and services for catering to the downtown business offices. I also plan to make consignment agreements to sell product through the local fitness health clubs, whose customers workout early in the morning, on breaks and through their lunch hour. I will be expanding the business to include personnel needed for developing orders, product preparation and delivery. I will promote the catering side of the business by selling face to face to the local business office administrative staff, typically responsible for making in-office food arrangements for meetings, parties and for employee benefit. Customers Our customers are middle class, educated at or above a high school education, mostly white, men & women that work, play and go to school in the downtown Portland area, though most do not live in the downtown area. For lunch, most all of our customers walk within a one to 3 block radius of a group of food carts called ‘pods’. The majority of these target customers’ ages range from their mid 20’s to their mid 50’s, most of which are already getting messages of healthy eating and control of obesity from multiple media sources as well as their employer’s health benefit provider. From my experience and relationships with colleagues that work downtown, they lead extremely busy and sometimes stressful lives at work, try to work out to stay fit when they can and don’t always eat right or as often as they should. From my visual survey of workers entering offices in the morning and exiting during breaks and lunch hours, very few bring food from home. VI. Market Research Competition From my visual survey of existing food carts in both the high density target markets, there is no other food cart offering fresh, healthy, pre-packaged, single serving, ready-to-eat snacks and drink items. Since I will be offering more nutritional beverage options consistently at a lower price, I will also be targeting to gain their lunch hour beverage business, even though they may be purchasing their lunch food at a food cart nearby. This strategy will also serve to allow customers to view all the snack options available for their future consideration. Pricing Our pricing objective is to beat everyone’s price on beverages and be competitively priced on like items offered at other food cart vendors and local corner convenience stores nearby. The more desirable items, pre-packaged mixed product sets and items not offered elsewhere is where I will make a higher profit margin. Using a Loss Leader strategy – Beverages will be offered at lower prices consistently every day. This will ensure the customer remembers that the place to always get a great price on healthy beverages is specifically at our food cart. For specific ‘like’ items that can be found at in-office building vending machines and indoor convenience stores nearby, we will set our price lower than the indoor store to encourage customers to venture outside of the building for the savings. Prices on identical food items that can be found at the customers’ local supermarket outside the downtown area will be priced higher for the benefit of convenience and freshness. Based on research of urban grocery store pricing, we expect to be able to set our product prices at least 20% above what customers would pay outside the downtown Portland center. Distribution Our distribution objective is to be situated where there is the highest density of daytime office workers in the downtown Portland market, close to other businesses that customer frequent. Currently the two desirable pods (groupings of food carts) are located on SW 5th Avenue near Stark and around the block of SW 10th Avenue and Alder for their proximity to high density population of workers. (12/13) Being located at either the 5th Avenue or 10th Avenue pods would be most desirable because of the foot traffic from the surrounding businesses and transit mall. From my visual count, there averaged 100 – 165 people on one side of one block throughout the 12:00 to 1:00 hour being served by 13 to 15 trailers per block length. During their lunch hour, most customers are drawn to the area because of the variety in choices of food from the high density of food carts. These two food cart groupings are close to our customer’s offices and on their way to and from transportation options. (parking garages, Max train, Tri-met buses, etc.) Because both pods are located within parking lots, there is a lot of flexibility for delivery of goods and situation of the trailers. When the weather is wet or windy, being located outside office building retail space, is not as convenient, but does reach more customers from a variety of businesses all around the pod. If it is possible, it is our goal to incorporate clean solar energy as part of our uniquely designed cart to be able to operate at special events where electricity may not be conveniently located or expensive to purchase. VII. Operational Plan We have selected to start the business with a fresh new trailer concept, rather than take over an existing business or invest in someone else’s franchise. Our food cart and catering operations have many elements that are not currently offered from any food cart currently in the Portland markets.