Congenital Heart Disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Congenital Heart Disease - Essay Example These are: congenital heart disease in the babys mother or father; congenital heart disease in the babys brother or sister; diabetes in the mother; German measles, toxoplasmosis (an infection that is passed through contact with cat feces), or HIV infection in the mother; the mothers use of alcohol during pregnancy; the mothers use of cocaine or other drugs during pregnancy; and the mothers use of certain over-the-counter and prescription medicines during pregnancy. It should be noted though, that the presence of any one or more of these factors will not absolutely result to the disease. Likewise, the absence of these factors does not assure a pregnant woman that her baby will be safe from any congenital heart disorders, which might be an important point to consider when a woman is pregnant. All safety measures should be observed all throughout the pregnancy as there is no single identifiable factor in contracting life-threatening diseases such as this. This also leads us to the impor tance of having a thorough knowledge of the subject, for one can never be too sure if one of the members of the family will suffer from such disease. Knowledge on the disease might just be the best way to go about the situation when prevention is not so possible. The heart is a muscular organ about the size of the fist. It has two sides, separated by a wall-like structure called a septum. The right side of the heart pumps blood to the lungs where it is oxygenated. The oxygenated blood then goes from the lungs to the left side of the heart, and is pumped out to the rest of the body. The heart is made up of four chambers: the right and left ventricles and the left and right atria. The atria, which are located at the upper portion of the heart, receive the blood coming into the heart, while the ventricles which are located at the lower part of the heart, pump blood out of the heart and into the lungs and the other parts of the

A Critical Discussion of the Concept of Integrated Marketing Essay

A Critical Discussion of the Concept of Integrated Marketing Communications from an Advertising Strategy and Planning Perspective - Essay Example A significant debate over recent years has been the significance of ensuring the integration of these tools of marketing communications† (Yeshin, 2006). Introduction The desire to implement effective marketing communications and advertising strategies since the inception of corporate world prompted the integration of varied aspects deemed by managers to ensure clients’ satisfaction (Luck & Moffatt, 2009). The aim of this action was to capture large pool of clientele globally as well as corporations have high client’s retention rate essential in ensuring higher market share than other key players in the same field (Luck & Moffatt, 2009). However, this concept, which is Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) has received both welcoming and dissuading arguments from varied scholars whereby the latter category deem IMC is a â€Å"management fad† (Cornelissen & Lock, 2000, p. 9). Hence, according to the dissuading category, IMC is not a new devised effective tool but a fashion of what used to be prior to the inception of utilizing it. Conversely, some scholars have argued pro about the idea of IMC coupled with availing adequate proven examples, which support the argument that have persisted up to date. Therefore, this study seeks to provide a critical discussion of Yeshin’s (2006) statement on the subject of IMC relating to both advertising strategy and planning in UK. ... Evolution in this case encompasses integrating of technology with other marketing aspects especially in communicating, planning and execution, whereby according to IMC’s devotees or proponents this is not a â€Å"management fad† (Cornelissen & Lock, 2000, p. 9). This is because advertising cannot exist solely by its own but entails other varied and essential aspects meant to aid it in attaining the required corporate reputation in the market. Therefore, integration of the current communications knowhow usually supplements advertising aspect, which to date has experienced transitory period. Similarly, Cornelissen and Lock’s approach or argument aligns well with Luck and Moffatt (2009, p. 313) study where they expound more about significant evidence of transition in terms of marketing strategies. Based on their study, â€Å"communications† usually implies diverse marketing methods, which current policymakers ought to embrace in order to improve both particip ants’ interaction and relationships contrary to the 20Th century’s advertising approaches (Luck & Moffatt, 2009). Hence, posing the aspect of evolution whereby in the past, marketers solely focused on distribution channels as well commodities’ exchange, which is contrary to the current period whereby market mix has taken over as key marketing strategy. This aligns with the relayed statement whose implication cites integration of varied methods or communications together with advertising aspect aimed at heightening corporation’s reputation despite numerous counterarguments against it. Other arguments in favor of IMC aspect characterizing the current corporate world encompass establishing of communication programmes contrary to the earlier four key mass media forms

Congenital Heart Disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Congenital Heart Disease - Essay Example These are: congenital heart disease in the babys mother or father; congenital heart disease in the babys brother or sister; diabetes in the mother; German measles, toxoplasmosis (an infection that is passed through contact with cat feces), or HIV infection in the mother; the mothers use of alcohol during pregnancy; the mothers use of cocaine or other drugs during pregnancy; and the mothers use of certain over-the-counter and prescription medicines during pregnancy. It should be noted though, that the presence of any one or more of these factors will not absolutely result to the disease. Likewise, the absence of these factors does not assure a pregnant woman that her baby will be safe from any congenital heart disorders, which might be an important point to consider when a woman is pregnant. All safety measures should be observed all throughout the pregnancy as there is no single identifiable factor in contracting life-threatening diseases such as this. This also leads us to the impor tance of having a thorough knowledge of the subject, for one can never be too sure if one of the members of the family will suffer from such disease. Knowledge on the disease might just be the best way to go about the situation when prevention is not so possible. The heart is a muscular organ about the size of the fist. It has two sides, separated by a wall-like structure called a septum. The right side of the heart pumps blood to the lungs where it is oxygenated. The oxygenated blood then goes from the lungs to the left side of the heart, and is pumped out to the rest of the body. The heart is made up of four chambers: the right and left ventricles and the left and right atria. The atria, which are located at the upper portion of the heart, receive the blood coming into the heart, while the ventricles which are located at the lower part of the heart, pump blood out of the heart and into the lungs and the other parts of the

Stroke Rehabilitation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Stroke Rehabilitation - Essay Example 70). This study shall evaluate the stroke rehabilitation of an elderly male. It shall consider the assessment, planning, implementation, and treatment in clinical practice. It shall critically analyse the efficacy of the care given to the elderly patient – with a sharp focus on rehabilitation. It shall also critically evaluate the role and function of team members and their contribution to the rehabilitation process. It shall discuss the psychological outcomes for the patient and carers, while taking into account the longer term needs of the patients. This paper is being conducted in order to establish a comprehensive understanding of stroke rehabilitation, especially among elderly patients. Discussion Patient Profile The patient in this case is a 65 year old elderly male, married, with three grown children. He was admitted three weeks ago for a headache and the sudden onset of the following: difficulties in speaking and swallowing, left sided paralysis, and a tingling sensati on of his extremities. Upon admission, he was immediately assessed. After subsequent diagnostic processes, he was diagnosed for an embolic stroke. The appropriate intervention was later carried out to remove the embolus. At which time, his condition was assessed. Due to a 10 minute lack of oxygen supply to his brain, he suffered from left-sided paralysis with his mobility and speech severely compromised. He was then discharged from the neurological care unit and onto the rehabilitation clinic. Assessment of patient The assessment of the post-stroke patient was mostly an assessment of his mobility and his ability to conduct his daily activities. The patient was assessed on the following areas before a plan for rehabilitation was conceptualized by the rehabilitation team: neurological aspects, including level of consciousness, cognitive disorders, motor deficits, disturbances in balance and coordination, somatosensory deficits, disorders of vision, unilateral neglect, speech and langu age deficits, and pain; presence of comorbid diseases; functional health patterns, including bladder and bowel function, swallowing disorders, nutrition and hydration, skin breakdown, physical activity endurance, and sleep patterns; presence of depression and other affective disorders; neuropsychological function; and family functioning and other contextual factors. All of these aspects were assessed using standardized assessment tools. These tools have included the following: Glasgow Coma Scale, Modified Rankin Scale, Measures of Disability of Daily Living, Mini-Mental Status Examination, Berg Balance Assessment, Rivermead Mobility Index, Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale, Family Assessment Device, and Quality of Life Assessment scale (Warlow, van Gijn, and Dennis, 2008, p. 534). Assessment results Based on the assessment, the patient scored 12 out of 20 on the Glasgow Coma Scale. This was based on the recommended scale to measure the patient’s level of consciousness (He rndon, 2006, p. 366). He scored 4 out of 6 on the Modified Rankin Scale. This scale is used to measure a patient’s level of disability (Stroke Center, 2010). The patient scored 87 out of 126 on the Functional Independence Measure Test. This test assessed the patient’s ability to carry out independently his daily activities (DeLisa, Gans, and Walsh, 2005, p. 986). On the Mini-mental Status Examination, he scored 23 out of 30. This test assess

A Critical Discussion of the Concept of Integrated Marketing Essay

A Critical Discussion of the Concept of Integrated Marketing Communications from an Advertising Strategy and Planning Perspective - Essay Example A significant debate over recent years has been the significance of ensuring the integration of these tools of marketing communications† (Yeshin, 2006). Introduction The desire to implement effective marketing communications and advertising strategies since the inception of corporate world prompted the integration of varied aspects deemed by managers to ensure clients’ satisfaction (Luck & Moffatt, 2009). The aim of this action was to capture large pool of clientele globally as well as corporations have high client’s retention rate essential in ensuring higher market share than other key players in the same field (Luck & Moffatt, 2009). However, this concept, which is Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) has received both welcoming and dissuading arguments from varied scholars whereby the latter category deem IMC is a â€Å"management fad† (Cornelissen & Lock, 2000, p. 9). Hence, according to the dissuading category, IMC is not a new devised effective tool but a fashion of what used to be prior to the inception of utilizing it. Conversely, some scholars have argued pro about the idea of IMC coupled with availing adequate proven examples, which support the argument that have persisted up to date. Therefore, this study seeks to provide a critical discussion of Yeshin’s (2006) statement on the subject of IMC relating to both advertising strategy and planning in UK. ... Evolution in this case encompasses integrating of technology with other marketing aspects especially in communicating, planning and execution, whereby according to IMC’s devotees or proponents this is not a â€Å"management fad† (Cornelissen & Lock, 2000, p. 9). This is because advertising cannot exist solely by its own but entails other varied and essential aspects meant to aid it in attaining the required corporate reputation in the market. Therefore, integration of the current communications knowhow usually supplements advertising aspect, which to date has experienced transitory period. Similarly, Cornelissen and Lock’s approach or argument aligns well with Luck and Moffatt (2009, p. 313) study where they expound more about significant evidence of transition in terms of marketing strategies. Based on their study, â€Å"communications† usually implies diverse marketing methods, which current policymakers ought to embrace in order to improve both particip ants’ interaction and relationships contrary to the 20Th century’s advertising approaches (Luck & Moffatt, 2009). Hence, posing the aspect of evolution whereby in the past, marketers solely focused on distribution channels as well commodities’ exchange, which is contrary to the current period whereby market mix has taken over as key marketing strategy. This aligns with the relayed statement whose implication cites integration of varied methods or communications together with advertising aspect aimed at heightening corporation’s reputation despite numerous counterarguments against it. Other arguments in favor of IMC aspect characterizing the current corporate world encompass establishing of communication programmes contrary to the earlier four key mass media forms

Stroke Rehabilitation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Stroke Rehabilitation - Essay Example 70). This study shall evaluate the stroke rehabilitation of an elderly male. It shall consider the assessment, planning, implementation, and treatment in clinical practice. It shall critically analyse the efficacy of the care given to the elderly patient – with a sharp focus on rehabilitation. It shall also critically evaluate the role and function of team members and their contribution to the rehabilitation process. It shall discuss the psychological outcomes for the patient and carers, while taking into account the longer term needs of the patients. This paper is being conducted in order to establish a comprehensive understanding of stroke rehabilitation, especially among elderly patients. Discussion Patient Profile The patient in this case is a 65 year old elderly male, married, with three grown children. He was admitted three weeks ago for a headache and the sudden onset of the following: difficulties in speaking and swallowing, left sided paralysis, and a tingling sensati on of his extremities. Upon admission, he was immediately assessed. After subsequent diagnostic processes, he was diagnosed for an embolic stroke. The appropriate intervention was later carried out to remove the embolus. At which time, his condition was assessed. Due to a 10 minute lack of oxygen supply to his brain, he suffered from left-sided paralysis with his mobility and speech severely compromised. He was then discharged from the neurological care unit and onto the rehabilitation clinic. Assessment of patient The assessment of the post-stroke patient was mostly an assessment of his mobility and his ability to conduct his daily activities. The patient was assessed on the following areas before a plan for rehabilitation was conceptualized by the rehabilitation team: neurological aspects, including level of consciousness, cognitive disorders, motor deficits, disturbances in balance and coordination, somatosensory deficits, disorders of vision, unilateral neglect, speech and langu age deficits, and pain; presence of comorbid diseases; functional health patterns, including bladder and bowel function, swallowing disorders, nutrition and hydration, skin breakdown, physical activity endurance, and sleep patterns; presence of depression and other affective disorders; neuropsychological function; and family functioning and other contextual factors. All of these aspects were assessed using standardized assessment tools. These tools have included the following: Glasgow Coma Scale, Modified Rankin Scale, Measures of Disability of Daily Living, Mini-Mental Status Examination, Berg Balance Assessment, Rivermead Mobility Index, Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale, Family Assessment Device, and Quality of Life Assessment scale (Warlow, van Gijn, and Dennis, 2008, p. 534). Assessment results Based on the assessment, the patient scored 12 out of 20 on the Glasgow Coma Scale. This was based on the recommended scale to measure the patient’s level of consciousness (He rndon, 2006, p. 366). He scored 4 out of 6 on the Modified Rankin Scale. This scale is used to measure a patient’s level of disability (Stroke Center, 2010). The patient scored 87 out of 126 on the Functional Independence Measure Test. This test assessed the patient’s ability to carry out independently his daily activities (DeLisa, Gans, and Walsh, 2005, p. 986). On the Mini-mental Status Examination, he scored 23 out of 30. This test assess

The Impact of Universal Studios Essay Example for Free

The Impact of Universal Studios Essay Universal Pictures, or Universal Studios, has been around for a little over a century and it is currently regarded amongst the top six movie studios in America. It grosses billions of dollars in revenue annually and produces major hits and movie stars. Universal is also owned by a giant media conglomerate known as NBC Universal, which is quite different from its humble beginnings. This paper will provide a brief insight into the relationship between Universal Pictures and its impact on the movie industry along with how Universal became a big name in Hollywood. The man who started it all was Carl Laemmle. Born in Wà ¼rttemberg Germany, Laemmle was the tenth of thirteen children, eight of which died of a cruel epidemic of scarlet fever. At the age of thirteen, he was apprenticed to a family friend as a bookkeeper and office manager. A few years later, at the age of seventeen, Carl persuaded his father to let him buy passage to the United States. After arriving, Carl worked as an errand boy in New York for a short while then moved to Chicago where his brother Joseph lived. There Carl worked as an office boy until his next move took him to Wisconsin. There he worked in a clothing company and met his wife Recha Stern who gave birth to a son, Carl Jr., and a daughter , Rosabelle. Carl got into an argument with his employer and moved back to Chicago looking for an enterprise that might multiply his family’s savings. Carl decided to go into the film industry after seeing The Great Train Robbery, which left a â€Å"heavy impression† and a profound business idea (Zeirold 89). In 1906, Laemmle began purchasing nickelodeons. As Laemmle’s business bloomed, the Motion Picture Patents Company was born, which sparked one of his many contributions to the industry, the Independent Moving Pictures Company of America. Founded in 1909, the Independent Moving Pictures Company of America, condensed to IMP, was created to spite the MPPCo. IMP caused its biggest blow to the MPPCo when they snatched up Florence Lawrence, nicknaming her the â€Å"Biograph Girl,† and produced many hit films with her, thus creating the star system we know today. In 1910, Carl joined another organization named the Motion Picture Distributing and Sales Company. This company led to the downfall of the MPPCo and the creation of major studios, such as, MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures), Twentieth Century-Fox, Paramount Studios, and Universal Pictures. Universal, whose name came from Laemmle â€Å"observing† a Universal Pipe Fittings wagon, was created from the remnants of IMP and was sited in New York (Dick 33). The new Universal studio was a horizontally integrated company, with movie production and distribution of exhibition venues. As Laemmle’s business grew he searched for a new foothold to permanently house his studio and, following the westward trend of the industry, by the end of 1912 the company was focusing its production efforts in the Hollywood area. On March 15, 1915, Laemmle opened the worlds largest motion picture production facility, Universal City Studios, on 230 acres of converted farm just over the Cahuenga Pass from Hollywood. Studio management became the third facet of Universals operations, with the studio incorporated as a distinct subsidiary organization. Unlike other movie moguls, Laemmle opened his studio to tourists. Universal became the biggest studio in Hollywood, and remained so for a decade. However, it sought an audience mostly in small towns, producing mostly inexpensive westerns, melodramas, and serials. The reason for Laemmle’s low budget and lower-class films were because he personally funded all of Universal’s endeavors. One of his greatest â€Å"investments† was character actor Lon Chaney, nicknamed â€Å"The Man of a Thousand Faces.† Chaney started working for Universal when it began in 1912, but was not truly recognized until 1918 in the silent picture Riddle Gawne. He began his early career presented as a team alongside Dorothy Phillips and William Stowell, starring in fourteen films from 1917 to 1919. However, Chaney’s greatest contributions to Universal were The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera. The Hunchback of Notre Dame was Universals Super Jewel of 1923 and was their most successful silent film, grossing over $3 million, and set the standard for all future horror films in the industry. The Phantom of the Opera made Universal more interested in possibly making higher budget, â€Å"grade-A† films. Chaney eventually left Universal for MGM and retired shortly after making a few films for Howard Dietz. In the late 1920s, Universal became a very powerful movie studio but was not considered part of the â€Å"Big Five.† It was, however, given companionship alongside Columbia Pictures and United Artists which became collectively known as the â€Å"Little Three.† Although it was the largest of the Little Three, Universal Pictures lost money during each year of the 1930s except 1931, 1934 and 1939. This desperate ï ¬ nancial situation led to a change in ownership in 1936 and several management upheavals thereafter. Universal had traditionally engaged primarily in the production of low-budget features and â€Å"sub-features† aimed at the subsequent run and rural markets, with only an occasional prestige ‘A’ picture. This policy of reliance on programme pictures remained fairly stable throughout the decade of the 1930s; those periodic forays into ‘prestige’ production and away from the basic programme formula generally met with ï ¬ nancial disaster and precipitated most of the decade’s management turnovers. The case of Universal is somewhat unique when compared with MGM or Warner Bros. Under the conservative leadership of its founder, Carl Laemmle, Universal specialized in the secondary, largely rural, independent theatre market, and most of its product consisted of rather short features without top rank star players. Unlike MGM or Warner Bros., short subjects had always been a fundamental part of Universal’s production strategy. In an effort to remove itself from its near-bottom industry ranking, the company ï ¬â€širted occasionally with the prestige feature market during the 1930s, usually to its ï ¬ nancial detriment. During this decade it did its best ï ¬ nancially when it concentrated on its primary business: turning out low-budget features at high speed. Universal’s short subject releases maintained this philosophy throughout the 1930s with amazing consistency, considering the turnover in management (including the ouster of Laemmle and his son, Carl, Jr, in 1936 ). Early in the 1930s, the studio’s emphasis was shifted to two-reel comedies, starting with the likes of Slim Summerville, Arthur Lake and Benny Rubin as starring comedians. The Universal two reelers took a decidedly interesting swing when former Hal Roach studio manager Warren Doane was hired in 1932 to organize a production unit. Doane, in turn, brought in Roach employees James W. Horne, a young George Stevens and Alf Goulding as directors, as well as a long-time member of Charles Chaplin’s staff, Albert Austin. The unit lasted until 1934, with Stevens leaving for RKO quite a bit earlier. Unfortunately most of these ï ¬ lms have been unseen for decades, locked away in Universal’s ï ¬ lm vaults, unavailable for fresh appraisal. A handful of the Doane shorts viewed by the author revealed no hidden treasures, a disappointment considering the behind-the-camera talent involved. However, Mr. Mugg, a 1933 series entry, was nominated for an Academy Award. Another Universal short comedy from this period, although not from the Doane unit, which could provide both a â€Å"new† look at a legendary humorist and a cinematic treatment of an early Depression school of political thought, is a single Robert Benchley two reeler entitled Your Technocracy and Mine. In addition to the comedies, Universal had the ‘Mentone’ revue series, Strange As It Seems and later Stranger Than Fiction, short lived Goofytone News series produced by a New York independent studio, and travelogue and sports series. Universal produced its own twice-weekly newsreel, the only non-Big Five company to do so. In a reversal of the situation with MGM and Warner Bros. at this time, Universal also had its own in-house animation unit, headed by Walter Lantz, at the beginning of the 1930s, but allowed Lantz to go independent during the ownership turmoil of 1936. The unstable nature of the company at mid-decade also abbreviated the production of colour cartoon s after just six shorts made in 1934 and 1935. Colour did not return to the Universal cartoon release schedule until the 1939–1940 season, when the Lantz studio switched to all-colour production. The area of short ï ¬ lm production for which Universal is best known, however, is the serial. Serials generally were considered the domain of small, independent producers such as Mascot and Republic. Of all of the major studios, only the two ‘mini-majors’, Universal and Columbia, produced serials. This may be largely attributed to the aforementioned need for producers without theatres to cater to rural and niche markets. Throughout the decade of the 1930s that was to prove so turbulent for Universal, the studio still managed to crank out an average of four 12-episode serials per year. The subject matter ranged widely, from Westerns to jungle adventures to mysteries to air adventures and more. One Universal serial available in its entirety for viewing today is the 1934 Perils of Pauline. Other than the title, borrowed for name recognition value, the Universal Perils bears no resemblance to its famous early silent forebear. This serial was obviously the beneï ¬ ciary both of several standing sets evidently left over from other productions and of a rather large st ock footage library. The latter fact is particularly apparent in the scenes of a Chinese revolution that opens Chapter 1, and of numerous jungle and other location scenes in the following episodes. It is not at all uncommon to have clean backlot shots of the serial’s characters reacting to shaky, ï ¬â€šickering, scratched and undercranked shots of revolutionary carnage or charging tigers. Both the extensive use of existing sets and of stock footage permit the story to hopscotch from one location to another, all over the Far East and, ultimately, back to New York City. The result is that this series is essentially a mixture of virtually every type of serial ever done at Universal, including science ï ¬ ction. Much more successful, as evidenced by their popularity even today, were the studio’s three Flash Gordon serials. The battles between Buster Crabbe’s Flash and Charles Middleton’s Ming the Merciless of the Planet Mongo combine streamline, art-deco styling of the late 193 0s with sci-ï ¬  camp in a package that is still appealing. The promotional booklet, For Your Box-office: Line up with Universal 1935–1936, provides a fascinating look at the manner in which the studio tried to sell its product to exhibitors during the last year of the Laemmle regime. The promotional hype expended on the company’s shorts suggests their perceived audience appeal as well as the content of some of the long unseen short series. Announcing the ï ¬ rst â€Å"Flash Gordon† series, the advertising copy proclaims: ‘53 million people read it in the Daily and Sunday newspapers! Now Universal adapts Alex Raymond’s sensational newspaper adventure strip for a serial of 13 episodes!’ The page devoted to Universal Newsreel reminds theatre owners that Graham McNamee, ‘National Broadcasting Company’s Ace Announcer’, narrated the reels. It goes on to assert the statistically unsupportable ‘First! Fast! Foremost! Holder of the World’s Record for Miraculous Scoop after Sc oop.’ Moving to the entertainment short series, For Your Box-office describes the ‘Mentone’ series as having ‘more stars and headline acts than the best vaudeville show! †¦ And at prices you can afford to pay!’ Three other one-reel series are depicted thusly: ‘Stranger than Fiction’-‘Facts, freaks and fancies from every corner of the globe! Each reel is a box-office magnet in itself’; ‘Studio Novelties’—‘Gems of comedy, musical comedy, trick photography, satire and short subjects! A new and novel series’; and ‘Going Places’—‘The short that never fails to do things! From one end of the world to the other †¦ and back again †¦ with the enchanting personality and voice of Lowell Thomas.’ As frequently happened with studio press books, which were designed to sell a company’s product before production on the season’s wares had actually commenced, some of the announced projects never reached the screen. Speciï ¬ cally, in this case, the promised 13 episodes of the new ‘Studio Novelties’ dwindled to a mere four ‘Specials’. In sum total, Universal’s product actually conformed to the basic format of its competitors, with the exception of serial production. Content and quality are hard to judge at this point in time with relatively few of the ï ¬ lms available for re-evaluation. The original nitrate negatives for most of the Universal short subjects still survive and are housed in the company’s Kearny, New Jersey, vaults. Hopefully, they will be transferred to safety ï ¬ lm before they are consumed by the inevitable nitrate decomposition. As has been previously noted, serials were generally the province of low-budget producers, not of major studios. Beyond serials, Universal’s greatest successes were its novelty series (Strange As It Seems, Stranger Than Fiction), travelogues (Going Places) and musicals (Mentone series). An interesting aspect of Universal’s short subject programme was that it continued to release silent ï ¬ lms through 1931, over 2 years after the ‘ talkie revolution’. Presumably this was for the beneï ¬ t of the more than 1500 small silent theatres that were still in business despite having been unable to afford the conversion to sound. Beyond that, one gets the impression that Universal was just struggling to turn out a product during the turbulent 1930s, with any ideas of visual style being secondary. The studio’s shorts, like its features, tended to be all over the map in terms of production polish. One may ï ¬ nd a rough correlation between Universal’s B-grade Western feature productions and a number of its Western-themed serials. However, as with Warner Bros.’ lack of gangster shorts, it is something of a surprise that the studio known for its world-class horror ï ¬ lms (Frankenstein, Dracula, The Phantom of the Opera, etc.) attempted virtually nothing in the way of horror/science ï ¬ ction serials until decade’s end (Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, and The Phantom Creeps). In conclusion, Carl Laemmle worked vigorously to bring down the MPPCo powerhouse with IMP and kick start a major movie studio which he called Universal. Universal made great impacts on the industry in the fields of horror, sci-fi, and serials; impacts that changed the movie industry forever.