Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Engineering project with management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Engineering project with management - Assignment Example There are several attempts to develop effective high tech stethoscope given the advancement in medical technology. The stethoscope remains one of the least advanced equipment in the doctor’s chambers. This is because some of the developed stethoscopes are expensive or face regular breakdowns hence ineffective. To enhance technological innovation on this instrument medical instruments the electrical and electronic engineers have chipped in to innovate a modern electronic stethoscope to replace the traditional diaphragm type stethoscope. This project was developed on clients request for a complete redesign on the current electronic stethoscope. The clients request that the design should comprise a receiver box, speakers, wireless microphones and a headphone jack. The microphone signals are sent via a quad amplifier. The amplifier filters the signal and implements and initial gain (A) of 3. The mixer receives the two signals which enable the user to choose the microphone of preference for the respective sound quality adjustments. The signal is then passed to another switch providing interactive user ability mode of output between the headphone and speaker. The complete stethoscope is then printed on the board to suit the needs of different users. The current electronic stethoscopes are generally designed for a one time user and are uncomfortable for doctors if used for periods of time. Stethoscopes are the main medical equipment for Anesthesiologists since they have to analyze breath and heart sounds when handling anesthesia cases. The electronic stethoscope makes use of a microphone and speaker system, but it is extremely large for practical uses resulting from large power system. This brings an implication of the need to innovate an appropriate power system. The stethoscope must be redesigned to allow for dual microphone capabilities. The stethoscope is a french physician innovation ‘Rene Theophile’ in 1886 as he was

Monday, October 28, 2019

Strategies to Maximise Profits in the First Year

Strategies to Maximise Profits in the First Year How will the company maximize its profits (or minimize losses) its first year, while it is a monopoly firm? Give concrete examples by referring to the cottages, restaurant and ferry. What advantages does it have in its first year and how can it maximize profits? What are the risks associated with this strategy? In the first year the firm would be a monopoly firm as there is no existing firm in the market dealing with the vacation destination on Partridge Island. It provides rent services for cottages, restaurants and ferry. Being a monopoly firm it has two choices available first one is to decide how much quantity is to be sold and the other one is the decision about the price to be charged. An important thing is that a monopolist can either decide quantity to be sold or the price to be charged, but not both the price and quantity simultaneously. If this firm take a decision about price then the quantity sold will be decided by the market. If given firm decides about the quantity to be sold then the price will be decided the market forces. In order to maximize profits or minimize losses the firm will produce at a level at which its marginal costs are equal to its marginal revenues. Level of output is determined by the intersection of these two curves. To take decision about the prices and q uantities monopolist will have to use the data on market demand and prices, and will supplement this data with the costs faced by monopolist. This firm will charge a price which is far higher than the marginal economic costs as there is no danger of losing customers. The firm is price maker in this case and has a complete control over prices as being a single provider of cottages, restaurants and ferry on Partridge Island. There is no perfect substitute available in the market therefore the firm will try a charge a maximum possible price. In order to maximize the total profits the firm will have to carefully analyse the demand structure for cottages, restaurants and ferry, separately. Maximum rent will be charged for a service that has most in elastic demand. In elastic demand ensures that consumer will go to avail the services of this firm even at high prices. On the other hand comparatively low rent will be charged for a service having more elastic demand. In this way among the three departments of cottages, restaurants and ferry, the rent will be determined by the firm keeping in view the motive of profit maximization. As far as the determination of rent is considered costs play very important role. It is possible to decrease the rent in the department which is having favorable cost structure as compared to the other departments of the firm. It is often observed that a monopoly firm usually earns ab normal profits both in the long run and short run but is also possible for a monopolist firm to experience losses. In case of losses firm will try to minimize the costs being faced by doing so the difference between revenue and costs will be decreased and thus the losses. The following year, a new business enters the market and provides cottages, restaurant and ferry. What strategies will you recommend so your client continues to maximize its profits now that it is in a oligopoly? What are the risks associated with these strategies In the following year when a new business enter the market, it will lead to completely change the market structure from monopoly to oligopoly, as there are two firms now competing with each other. In such circumstances there are two possibilities for these competing firms. First one is that these two firms will keep competing with each other by indulging themselves into price and non-price competitions. The other possibility is that they will come at an agreement and will form a cartel. The cartel will serve to increase the profits for both the firms. This is due to the fact that if they keep competing then they will have to lower down the prices which will in turn reduce profits of both and they will come at a level at which profit is quite lower than the monopoly profits. On the other hand if they form a cartel then they will be able to enjoy the monopoly powers. These two firms will have complete control over the price and quantity and will be able to charge a higher price as now there is no substitute available for the services provided by this cartel. Cartel is referred to a formal and explicit agreement between two or more competing firms which is aimed to generate the monopoly powers for the firms in order to raise the levels of profit. In this case the two firms dealing with the business of restaurants, cottages and ferry will agree to fix the rents marketing or production. Formation of cartel depends upon the nature of market and here the nature of market i.e. oligopoly is perfect to enjoy the benefits associated with cartels. The members of cartel reach an agreement and then act together as being a single seller, with mutual consensus, in order to have an influence on the prices of goods and services. They control these prices by acquiring a control over production and marketing. The two members will have to agree upon certain factors like share in industry’s provision of services, market shares and fixation of prices. They come at an agreement after having completed detailed negotiations on terms and conditions of the important matters. In this case it is also an important consideration to decide about allocation of territories, customer’s allocation, formation of common sales agencies bid rigging and division of profits among these two firms. Their joint aim will be increase of profitability by reducing the competition in the market. If these two firms remain successful in acquiring government shield regarding the formation of cartel then this cartel will be known as public cartel and the enforcement of cartel agreement will be ensured by the state. On the other hand if they just try to focus on the benefits of the two firms who constitute it then it will be recognized as private cartel. As compared to private cartel it will be more beneficial for the society as a whole that these two firms form a public cartel, due to the fact that in case of public cartel the benefits are passed to the respective society as a whole. It is observed that competition laws are always found to oppose the formation of cartel the refore these two firms will have to keep in mind the rules and regulation associated with the formation of cartels in the country so that they may ensure their long run existence in the market. However, it is always very difficult for law implementation agencies to prove the existence of cartel in any market. To avoid the disclosure of involving in cartel making and resulting negative consequences often firms do not paper the hidden agreements existing among them. These firms will try to regulate supply with an aim to regulate the prices being charged for the services provided by two. Three years later there are 20 companies providing cottage rental, restaurant and ferry services to Partridge Island. What strategies would you recommend to your client to maximize profits now that it operates under monopolistic competition? Now there are twenty companies in the market meaning that now the nature of competition is similar to that of monopolistic competition where there is a reasonable number of firms in the market competing with each other. In order to maintain the position of the individual firm in a market and to ensure the survival firms compete on the basis of product differentiation. No firm can survive in the industry if it ignores the strategy of product differentiation. Product differentiation means that firms try to generate differences in their products or services to make their products attractive as compared to those of rivals. The purpose is to acquire the attraction of buyer in order to increase the demand for the products offered and resultantly to increase the profits. The profit maximization will occur at the same point as it is in monopoly i.e. a point at which Marginal Revenue is equal to marginal costs. Firm will produce output and charge the price corresponding to the intersection of marginal revenue and marginal cost. As far as the strategies to maximize profits are concerned the main strategy which must be followed by the firm is to create differentiation in the services offered by this firm. They will have to discover different ways to make their services alike, it will ensure the rise in the competitive advantage associated with the services offered. These differences in the services may be of real nature or that of an imaginary one. Real differences involve an actual services. These differences which should be created by the firm in order to maximize the profits may also be of imaginary nature for example simply changing the style of services provided. In this case there will be no real difference in the services but by changing the prese ntation style, customers will get attracted to the services of this particular firm and will prefer this firm among other twenty firms operating in the same industry. It is considered to be very important in the field of business dealing with cottages, restaurants and ferry to maintain a unique position in the market especially when there are many firms competing. In this industry the importance of services provided is like that of lifeblood in the human body. Therefore, it can be suggested that this firm will have to improve the standards of services, including that of staff and related to the comfort of customers. Customers comfort should be of primary importance for the firm and to do so they can do many different things. For restaurants and cottages they should improve the living conditions including furniture and food provided to the customers. As far as the case of Ferry is concerned user friendly services will have to be provided and to do so they should relax the terms and c ondition elated to the transport of goods and they may also maintain their position in the market by offering relatively low prices as compared to those offered by competitors. The strategy to reduce prices will have a positive impact to increase the preference for this firm among customers. Ten years later we find hundreds of companies providing the same services. What strategies would you recommend to your client to maximize its profits in a perfectly competitive market? If your client was losing money, when would you recommend it shut down its activities and when should it leave the industry altogether. Ten years later when there are hundreds of new companies in the market the monopoly power faced by the firm will totally abolish. The firm will have no control over the price charged from the customers. The main reason behind this is that now there is large number of firms offering almost the same services, so of this firm tries to charge a higher price it will lose its customer a they has a large choice available in the form of service providers of cottages, restaurants and ferry. The firm will become a price taker one and will have a choice to take only one decision that is of quantity to be sold. The market structure now resembles that of perfect competition, with large number of buyers and sellers, free entry and exit and having almost perfect substitutes available. In this case the firm cannot charge high prices for any of cottages, restaurants and ferry as there are large number of firms offering almost similar services so the rise in price will contribute to shift the customer s to any other service provider, hence contributing to decrease the venues of client firm. In a perfectly competitive market it becomes difficult to generate abnormal profits in a long run. However there is a possibility that firm enjoys abnormal profits in short run which will encourage the entrance of new firms in the industry and this mechanism will lead to decrease the abnormal profits enjoyed by the firms. In order to maintain a profit maximizing level the strategy followed by the firm should be based on the production of output or provision of services, at the minimum level of average cost curve. In other words firm should produce at a level which is optimal for it and at which the costs faced by the firm are minimized. The strategy to produce at optimal level will lead to generate at least normal profits for the firm in long run and it may earn heavy profits in short run. In a perfectly competitive market firm should never try to compete on the basis of prices as it would prove to be a useless strategy. As far as the general rules of profit maximization are concerne d the profits are maximized at a point where the Marginal cost curve intersects the marginal revenue curve. In addition to this the slope of MC is more than the slope of MR. Here is perfectly competitive market the Marginal Revenue (MR), Average Revenue (AR) and price (P) curves are the same. These curves are represented by the straight line which is horizontal to the X-axis showing that the firm has no control over the price of its product or service. The optimal output is not just determined by the cost information instead the knowledge of cost and demand conditions enables the firm to determine the optimal level of output which maximizes its profitability. The demand curve can be obtained by plotting sales revenue at different levels of output. The optimal output of the firm is sensitive to the price and costs associated with it, resultantly whenever the cost conditions or the prices of services in the restaurants, cottages and ferry market change, then the optimal output of this particular firm will also be changed. As here exist intense rivalry among the business of restaurants, cottages and ferry, so the firm should try to introduce new products, improve the quality of existing products and make more advertising expenditures. It is also extremely important to timely respond the strategies of competitors in the market. How can changes to the labour market be linked to changes in income distribution? What could be driving income disparities between high-income earners and low-income earners (in Canada or elsewhere)? What could be the negative impacts of these disparities? Are these short term differentials or equilibrium differentials? What policies could government put in place to improve income opportunities for low-income earners? Due to the wage restraints all over the world, people on higher end enjoy most of the benefits of economic gains leaving majority of the people deprived of the advantages associated with production processes. The status and position of migrants, women and minorities is miserable in the income distributions of most of the countries. The major contributor to promote income disparities and inequalities all over the world is decreased powers of labor unions. These unions remain unable to secure a reasonable rate of wages due to weak bargaining power associated with them. A gradual and long term decline in labor union memberships has also been observed in the past and the trend still continues. There is also negative impact of Right to Work Laws on the equal distribution of resources in an economy. These laws on the one hand benefits in achieving social welfare and on the other have adverse impacts on the income distribution, while promoting the situation of inequality in the country. Mor eover, in case of Canada the premiums set by labor unions are also quite low to ensure the well being of low income and middle income classes. The gap between rich and poor as represented by the income inequality is widening these days in Canada and the income inequality is far higher than the level at which it was thirty years ago. The inequality in favor of rich is posing serious threats to the economy as it is contributing to increase the level of aggregate demand, hence promoting highly rising inflation in the country. Poor is suffering a lot and resources available to this class for the purpose of education or for investment in business are very few. This is the major reason that poor remain trapped into the vicious circle of poverty and rich get richer day by day. Moreover, another impact of income inequality is that it leads to generate increased probability of financial distress for the economy which may serve to hinder the progress in long run. Due to distress in the society caused by income inequality, the crime rates also increase e.g. it is often observed that poor section of society indulge itself into criminal activities like murders, in order to create money for themselves and their children, so that they may the basic needs of daily life. As far as the general welfare of society is concerned income equality makes it impossible to provide similar facilities to different sections of society. Among these the most important consequence of in equality is reduced availability of health facilities which results in lower life expectancy especially for the case of poor, who has limited resources to obtain proper food and health facilities. These differentials existing between different sections of society may prove to be if long run nature if not controlled with proper policies of private and public sector. In case of Canada the differences are persistent in nature, therefore, it can be concluded that these differences between rich and poor are of long term nature in Canada. In order to deal with the income inequalities government can adopt fiscal policy changes like that of tax policy change. The measures to adopt progressive taxation can prove to be very helpful. Another way regarding tax policy is to tax the non-parents in Canada as no –parents have larger median incomes as compared to the parents. Moreover, the responsibilities of parents are larger than the non-parents and it is very beneficial to provide them an ease in the form of tax break. Tax rate should be higher on the incomes of producers as the producers comprise that section of society which is comparatively wealthier. Government can also provide ease to the poor section to get them out of the poverty trap, in the form of subsidies on the products used by poor. In addition different allowances and benefits should be designed by the government of Canada to facilitate poor so that the disparities can be removed and income distribution may get equal for all the sections of society.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Essay --

Instruments For The Financial Manager Intel is one of the leading companies in the world and amongst the top ranking companies in the Fortune 500 of the world. It was a big blunder on their part but at times minor things are overlooked and lead to higher costs. Since the company of the stature of Intel cannot afford to compromise on its repute it decided to recall all the defected motherboards and as a result the burden on its income statement was very pronounced due to the shipping and re-structuring costs. Although the company is huge and funds are enormous but the catch was that most of their funds were either committed elsewhere or they were running short on cash flows and the senior financial management had this Herculean task of coming up with the 725 million dollars in order to service this recall. This course of action was the call of the hour and was required to complete this shipment in order to safeguard the name of the company and the interest of the shareholders. Due to the commitment of the cash flows elsewhere the company will need to raise an additional sum of 675 million dollars from various sources and the purpose of this research is to find out the most suitable and apt sources of fund considering the interests of all the concerned parties. As the financial manager for the company I would like to suggest that the desired levels of funds be raised from a number of sources, which would include raising part of it via equity, through part of accounts receivables, and some of it will have to financed internally. Though the company of this stature can afford borrowing from external sources but why drain away the funds elsewhere when we can do the same thing internally. Similarly part of it will have to come from o... ...inion the only options available to us are to use a mix of all of these. We should allow for the major chunk to come from the public as equity whereas the partial financing may come from the other assets as well as from the trading assets. What matters at the end of the day are that we are able to live up to the name of the company and deliver what we so staunchly promise to deliver. The only way to recover from the blunder made at some point in time is to recover the funds from the sources mentioned earlier on and when the time comes to repay these dues with diligence. As a finance manager I believe that these measures will enable us to sail through this problem with ease and in the longer run we will be able to stand more cohesively if we choose to settle this problem internally rather than going to outside and exposing the company to various other forms of risks.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Assignment: Optimism and Health

Assignment: Optimism and Health Andrea Pulis PSY/220 October 9, 2012 Ratonya Bennett For this paper, I researched two peer reviewed articles which discusses the effects of optimism and psychological health. The first one that I found is called Optimism and Physical Health: A Meta-analytic Review by Heather N. Rasmussen, Ph. D. , Michael F. Scheier, Ph. D. , and Joel B. Greenhuse, Ph. D. It was published in 2009. The second article that I located is called Perceived Academic Control: mediating the effects of optimism and social support on college students’ psychological health by Joelle C.Ruthig, Tara L. Haynes, Robert H. Stupnisky, and Raymond P. Perry. In Optimism and Physical Health, there was a study conducted to find out the relationship between optimism and physical health outcomes. According to their findings, the data suggests that optimism is a significant predictor of physical health. I would have to agree with this study and I find it validating. One thing that I fou nd interesting in the article was the significance of pessimism and physical health.We learned from the study that optimism can have a positive effect on physical health but we also learn that pessimism can have a negative effect on physical health. According to the article Optimism and Physical health, â€Å"It may well be the case that it is the presence or absence of pessimism that is important in determining physical health outcomes rather than the presence or absence of optimism†(p. 247). What this is telling me is that having the presence of pessimism can have a more negative effect on physical health rather than the positive effect optimism has on physical health.To summarize, â€Å"In general, it is clear from this review that optimism is related to physical health. It is also clear that the link between optimism and health is stronger for subjective health outcomes than for objective health outcomes† (p. 248). This study really shows this information and it ca n be said that for future studies that they can move past this understanding and do further research. This could lead to what specifically does optimism effect and how to possibly teach those who are suffering physically how to be optimistic.In the second article I found, Perceived Academic Control, the article discusses the psychological effect that optimism has on college students, particularly freshmen and how they are doing psychologically at the end of their freshmen year. The study assessed year end GPA, stress level and depression level. According to the academic journal, â€Å"As expected, optimism and support predicted less stress and depression, yet their beneficial effects were mediated by student’ PAC† (Ruthig, Haynes, Stupnisky, Perry, 2008).PAC stands for perceived academic control. Having optimism can buffer the students’ for being susceptible to stress and depression and having optimism can protect freshman’s health when facing the challen ges of transitioning from high school to college. Think about it, a lot of students decide to leave home to go to college. They will be in a new environment, a new home, new friends, new restaurants, possibly new weather and many other factors. Believing in being optimistic is very beneficial.I can say from personal experience that I was very pessimistic and ended up dropping out of college after my freshman year because I could not handle it. I never thought positive. I did not believe, expect, or hope that things will turn out well and I did not have the attitude of somebody who feels positive or confident. I think and I know that if I was more optimistic or even possessed a hint of optimism, I would have stuck my years out at college. However, I was so depressed by the end of my freshman year that I could not even think of going back.I associated that place as negative and I was not going to put myself through it any further. It is safe to say that I believe whole-heartedly that optimism does have a psychological effect on individuals or in particular, on me. Both of these articles bring up how powerful thinking positively can be on individuals. You can always think negatively and think that nothing will turn out well and in fact, it might not. Or, you can be someone that thinks that things will ultimately turn out for the better, that there is positivity out there and that the glass is half full rather than half empty.I chose to think that the glass is half full. References Ruthig, J. , Haynes, T. , Stupnisky, R. , & Perry, R. (2009). Perceived Academic Control: mediating the effects of optimism and social support on college students’ psychological health. Social Psychology Of Education, 12(2), 233-249. doi:10. 1007/s11218-008-9079-6 Rasmussen, H. N. , Scheier, M. F. , & Greenhouse, J. B. (2009). Optimism and Physical Health: A Meta-analytic Review. Annals Of Behavioral Medicine, 37(3), 239-256. doi:10. 1007/s12160-009-9111-x

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Case Analysis of Andrea Yates

Nathan Merrill XXJUN2012 PS208 Case Analysis of Andrea Yates After close review and careful analysis of the case of Andrea Yates and the circumstances which led to the drowning death and murder of her five children, I first would like to state my personal opinion on the conclusion of the case which was the majority consensus at the time of her trial and sentencing.She was guilty of a horrible murder and although certainly had mental problems, which is apparent by her actions that most completely rational thinking human being and mother would be incapable of committing, and expertly used an insanity plea to lessen the sanctions that should have and inevitably would have been brought upon her. The major dilemma in this entire case was not based upon whether Andrea Yates had or had not committed the crime of murder five times over on her own flesh and blood or even if she was mentally sick.The defining line in this case is the interpretation by which we judge insanity and the scale by which we way the accuracy if someone convicted of a crime and pleads insanity was actually aware that the crime they committed was a wrong doing. The interpretations are subject to base line analysis which has changed over time since its inception on how we decide if a person is mentally capable of knowing their actions and thus should be held responsible for those actions to the farthest extent of the law.Basically this case comes down to if Yates knew her actions were wrong and if she made the conscious decision to murder her children, which in my personal opinion is a resounding yes. I would not argue the fact that Yates is mentally ill but the this cased seemed to revolve around the fact of if she comes up with a good enough reason to commit such a horrible crime then it can appear that she honestly thought by her actions she was protecting her children. The circumstances based on religion become confusing but could also be the result of a masterfully constructed defense.Granted , a life in a mental institution would be no walk in the park or even enjoyable but far less intrusive than death itself or a life in the general population of penitentiary living. My conclusion is that yes, Yates is sick, but I feel a strong possibility of her understanding the wrongness of her actions to the rest of society but in her opinion acted in the greater good based on religiously psychotic feeling of heaven and hell which was a foundation of making a decision to take her children’s lives while understanding it was wrong and should have been dealt with by a swifter and stronger hand of justice.My opinion aside this is the conclusion and information brought forth by unbiased research as to the case and analysis of Yates. Only one of a twelve mental health experts who testified concluded that the Yates was legally sane when she drowned her five children in the family bathtub. The witness, called by prosecutors, was Park Dietz, a forensic psychiatrist and the prosecuto rs' only mental health expert, Dietz and his testimony helped convict Yates. The conviction later was overturned. When Yates is retried, much of the attention again was on Dietz, who is back on the prosecution's witness list.And now, there are questions about Dietz's conclusions in the Yates case because of his testimony in another trial involving a Texas mother who killed two of her children. Questions have added intrigue to a case in which prosecutors' initial decision to seek the death penalty ignited a national debate over how mental illness and postpartum depression are viewed in criminal courts. The Yates case now has become a symbol of the influence that expert witnesses hold in trials in our country each day, and a test of how psychiatrists' opinions are used in court.The standards judges use in deciding whether to admit psychiatric opinions in court are less precise than those used to allow testimony about scientific evidence that is more obviously measurable, such as DNA o r fingerprints. George Parnham, who was Yates' lead attorney, said the defense hopes to raise doubts about Dietz's analysis of Yates. The defense, Parnham said, was to focus on why Dietz found Yates to be sane and therefore legally responsible for her actions and also why he came to the opposite conclusion in 2004 in a similar case involving Deanna Laney, a Texas mother who killed two of her sons.Kaylynn Williford, who was a Harris County prosecutor, said Dietz's analysis in other cases is not relevant to the Yates case. She says she will ask the judge to limit Dietz's testimony to his analysis of Yates. If convicted, Yates was facing life in prison, but not execution. That issue was settled at her first trial, when the jury rejected execution. Texas law defines insanity as the inability to know right from wrong. At Yates' trial, Dietz testified that Yates knew that drowning her children was wrong. Jurors agreed with Dietz's opinion and rejected her insanity defense.A key difference in the Yates case from other similar cases was that she didn’t state that she attacked her sons at God's direction. Yates had told Dietz that she had drowned her children — Noah, 7; John, 5; Paul, 3; Luke, 2; and Mary, 6 months — at the direction of Satan, according to the trial transcript. She also told Dietz she thought it was wrong. Although Yates readily confessed to what she had done, and the crimes were committed in less than an hour, what led up to her killing her children had been building for almost two years she had said.Odd family dynamics, fundamentalist religious beliefs, clinical care that was fragmented at best, and the quirks and inadequacies of the American medical-insurance system all had some role in the Yates' family tragedy. The case also highlighted the lack of recognition of the potentially deadly consequences of postnatal disorders, and the limitations of the justice system in dealing with individuals who are mentally ill. Andrea Yates b egan to show signs of mental illness shortly after the birth of her first child, when she had a hallucination that involved a stabbing.After the birth of her fourth child, she attempted suicide by taking an overdose of sedatives. She was taken to hospital, but was eventually discharged before her symptoms were resolved because her insurance company limited the number of days of inpatient care it would pay for. She was prescribed antidepressants, but did not take them. In a second suicide attempt, she held a knife against her throat and began to mutilate herself and heard voices that told her to â€Å"get a knife†.When she became near catatonic, doctors suggested electroconvulsive therapy, but the family rejected this option. Finally, she received a drug cocktail containing an antipsychotic agent. The medication was apparently effective, but Andrea believed she had been given â€Å"truth serum†, which caused her to lose control of herself. Despite a psychiatrist's warni ng that having another child would more than likely provoke another psychotic episode, the Yates had a fifth child.The implication was that Andrea had got the idea for her actions from the television program. However, no such episode had ever aired. This was the false testimony, a mistake Dietz acknowledged, on which the case was eventually overturned and a new trial granted. Rusty Yates, Andrea’s husband, divorced his wife and remarried. Andrea's commitment to a state mental institution is subject to court supervision and is reviewed periodically but chances are she will remain in a mental hospital for the rest of her life.Several professional communities have used Andrea's case to try to prevent a similar tragedy from occurring. The Mental Health Association of Greater Houston established the Yates Children Memorial Fund to educate the public about issues affecting women's mental health after birth and the effect of post pardum depression and disorders. In 2003, the Texas s tate legislature passed the Andrea Yates Bill. The bill requires all providers of prenatal care to give new mothers information about resources available to help them with postnatal depression.