Economics case study Essay Example for Free

Economics case study Essay (a) Explain whether health care is a private , merit or public care (b) Is health care a free good? Explain your answer (c) Does the quote from the doctor suggest that the market for healthcare is in equilibrium? Again explain your answer (d) Compare the effects of an improvement in the quality of product provided by the NHS and that provided by a private health care company (e) Explain 2 meanings of the word efficiency (f) What is likely to happen to private sector firms which are not efficient? (g) In which market structure is information about best practice likely to be most freely available (h) Discuss the private and external benefits of health care. a) A public good is a good that is a benefit to society and is provided free of cost to society, usually by the government running the country. Theses goods are not provided by private companies and firms as they do not render profit, which thus leads to a market failure due to a lack of provision of public/merit goods. Examples for such goods are roads, streetlights, education, public libraries etc. NHS (National Health Service) is a public good and government organization. It is a service that is free at the point of delivery because society pays for it indirectly through taxes. The NHS provides free healthcare to society, this is especially beneficial for the low income group sector of society thus making it a public good. The demand for this service is high, as healthcare is very expensive in the private sector. As the law of demand states that when the prices increase demand decreases. Here there is no actual price for the service thus the demand must be high. But sometimes this high demand creates a problem as the supply cannot be met; public goods are goods that do not render profits. And thus these organizations are run by government spending and may not really be updated with the best quality as they have a limit in their budgets. They do not have the quality of being efficient as they do not make profits from their services. b) A free good is good that is not scarce, has a zero market price and do not have any opportunity costs when consumed. The key word is opportunity cost. (***Free good is a term used in economics to describe a good that is not scarce. A free good is available in as great a quantity as desired with zero opportunity cost to society.) Opportunity cost is the cost of forgoing one opportunity for another. For example A school has been given 10,000$ and it can either spend it on books and supplies or on a new gym. Thus the opportunity cost to build the gym would be the loss of not buying books and vice versa. An example for free good can be sunlight, air, salt water etc. Considering healthcare, it can be noted that healthcare does not fall into the category of free good. It is an economic good even a public organization like the NHS. As NHS is a government funded subject, it is actually just a free service at the point of delivery. The taxpayers pay for this good; therefore it does have a market value indirectly through taxes. And it is not a resource that is available all the time, thus making it limited and not scarce. As it is government funded, the government can choose to spend their money on something else instead of healthcare. Therefore there is an opportunity cost to providing healthcare. The government can may spend the same amount on public structures (roads, streetlights, traffic lights or on education etc). As provision of healthcare has an opportunity cost, it makes it an economic good and not a free good. (*** Economic good is a good that has an opportunity cost thus giving it a price and hence making it scarce.) c) The market for healthcare (pubic healthcare) is not in equilibrium as the doctor quoteswe just get more patients and we cant cope with anymore. Therefore suggesting that the supply cannot meet the demand and thus the market equilibrium is not met. Market equilibrium is when the market is in a stage where the demand meets the supply. For eg In the figure below, we see that at price P1 the quantity Q1 is both demanded and supplied. Thus the market in equilibrium at the price P1 since the quantity of goods that people wish to buy at price Q1 is equal to quantity of the goods the supplier wants to sell at that price. This price P1 is also called as market clearing price, as everything produced is sold. The market thus remains in equilibrium. The healthcare sector (NHS) does not follow this structure of market equilibrium. The figure below shows the demand for healthcare in the private and public healthcare. This follows the demand laws that when prices increase then the demand for the good decreases as can be in seen in the demand for private healthcare services. Whereas the demand for public healthcare is very high as the price is very low or minimal. (Figure 1) Figure 2 When the prices are low then the suppliers supply less of their goods. In the case of healthcare (public healthcare), the providers of this services may not be provide less of their services but the quality and efficiency may be less and improvements may not be made as they are Government organizations and do not have the funds to do so. Figure 3 shows that because of the low prices the demand for the service increases to Q2 and the healthcare providers can only provide services till Q*. More is being demanded than supplied, and thus there is a shortage as there is an excess of demand. Therefore the market equilibrium is altered as the supply does not meet the demand. d) Improvements in the quality provided by the NHS and the private healthcare company. The private sectors main motive is to earn profit. Any private company or firms main goal is to earn profit. This can be done by having a large consumer base, thus to get achieve a large consumer base the firms continuously improve their services and are always striving for efficiency. Therefore an improvement in the private healthcare sector would not make a big difference as these firms are already always trying to provide better services to the consumers in order to make profits. Even though the prices are higher than the public sector people would with money would chose to a private clinic rather than a government healthcare facility, as it would be wiser for them to make use of the better healthcare facilities. If there are improvements in the public sector, the efficiency of the sector is improved and a lot more people would prefer going to public healthcare facilities rather than spending more money for the same service at a private clinic. The demand for the private healthcare services would decrease, and the firms would have to come up with innovative methods to restore their consumer base as a majority of the consumers would prefer paying less for healthcare for the same services provided by the private sector. The private healthcares may even have to shut down due to increasing costs in running their facilities and fewer buyers for their services thus decreasing the revenue they earn. There would be a producer loss for the private sector and a consumer gain for the consumers as they pay for good quality healthcare at a cheaper rate. But this would mean more government spending on healthcare to ensure that the new improvements continue. Or the government may increase the taxes, and thus the tax payers would have to pay more taxes in order for better public healthcare. e) Efficiency getting any given results with smallest inputs or getting maximum output from minimum inputs Efficiency can be classified into 2 categories * Efficiency in consumption ( Allocative efficiency ) * Efficiency in production ( Productive efficiency ) Allocating resources among consumers so that it would not be possible by any re allocation to make people better off without making anyone worse off is called efficiency in consumption. Allocative efficiency in simple terms can be put as doing the right thing. Defining Allocative efficiency when there is no waste in resources in the production of goods, allocative efficiency is maximized. This occurs when there is 0 excess demand and supply in the market (S=D). For eg when a firm produces 5000 flower pots but the market enables the firm to sell only 3500 then the resources have gone waste by producing the excess 1500 goods and there is an inefficiency in the allocation of resources as they could have been better allocated. The firm could have used the same amount of resources for something like fertilizers which would have had a higher demand. Therefore the allocative optimality occurs when the supply equals demand on the market. Allocating available resources between industries so that it will not be possible to produce more of some goods without producing less of others is called efficiency in production. Productive efficiency occurs when goods are produced at the lowest possible cost per unit, taking into account all costs arising. A firm is productively efficient when total use of resources (factors) result in the lowest possible cost per unit of output. This would be the point where average total is minimized. Productive efficiency means doing things right. In the healthcare sector being economically efficient as well as productively efficient is what the private clinics, hospitals etc aim for. To supply the maximum output at the cost of minimum inputs. f) Private firms that are inefficient would not be able to compete with other firms in a competitive market. If a firm is inefficient, the demand for the firms services and goods decrease and the firms consumer base will move on to another firm that does provide efficient goods and services. Or if a firm is allocatively inefficient then its resources go waste and it is unable to make the same revenue like it would have if it had used proper allocation of resources. Lack of productive efficiency would lead to the cost of production to be higher therefore the firm would suffer losses. Taking the 3 different situations in private healthcare * Inefficient services and quality provided: would lead to the loss of customers and eventually revenue, and more competition from other firms. * Improper allocation of resources(spending): spending and wasting money on frivolous items such as curtains and dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½cor rather than medicines and treatment facilities , the firm would have a decrease in revenue again as people would expect top quality services rather than fancy dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½cor. * Costs of production and services revenue earned = loss: the firm has spent a lot more on setting up the place and is not gaining maximum profits in return thus being productively inefficient. g) In a private structure information about best practice is likely to be freely available, as in public sectors there is not much incentive to improve techniques and skills. Whereas in the private sector the commercial organizations have an economic incentive to introduce better practices for both market leadership which leads to profits. Eg 2 dentist clinics each one comes up with newer faster and high quality technology for braces such as clinic1 comes up with invisible braces and clinic 2 to outdo clinic 1 comes up with invisible painless clear fit on braces to form a larger consumer market. Whereas in public sector there would be no such highlight as there is no one to compete against and no economic incentive. h) Merit goods are goods that are beneficial to the society and include services like healthcare defense etc. The marginal social benefits in providing healthcare are greater than the marginal production costs. For this reason healthcare is normally left up to the government to provide in many countries as private sector owners find no profit making scheme through it. The private and external benefits of healthcare are many. * Society remains healthy * When society remains healthy then the major workforce remains fit as well * Provision of healthcare = public good, like the NHS makes it easily accessible to the low income society. * If the main workforce of a country has access to healthcare, the overall development of a country increases. * The government also encourages the use /consumption of this service, as it is beneficial for all. * The healthcare services provided, if of good quality, makes sure that everyone in society gets their vaccines, health checkups etc. Thus ensuring that everyone is stable and in a well fit environment. * These services are more beneficial for the lower middle and poorer section of society. The poor do not need to spend much of their little incomes and are assured of the basic services.

Napster and Intellectual Property :: essays research papers fc

The Internet. It is a vast network of millions of users, surfing and sharing billions of files, all day, every day. To individuals holding copyrights on intellectual property, this is a frightening proposition. After all, there is virtually no protection for these copyright holders from the misuse of their property. But, as Scott Sullivan, writer for The FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin stated, â€Å"as history has proven, technological and societal advances usually come with a price.† The price society is paying for the Internet is a loss of copyright protection by laws for their intellectual material. Napster is a good example of how these intellectual property rights are being compromised on the Internet. Napster is a simple, yet sophisticated program created by a young college student named Shawn Fanning that enables users to anonymously swap and share audio files known as MP3s. During its infancy, Napster only had approximately 3,000 users. At that time, Napster could probably have been protected by the Audio Home Recording Act, â€Å"which gives consumers the right to create and transfer digital music for noncommercial purposes† (Gurly). Since that time, according to Chris Sherman, writer for the magazine Online, â€Å"Napster has become the most successful new Web technology ever by gaining more than 25 million registered users in just over a year or existence.† At this point, however, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is quite unhappy with Napster’s existence and its service. They believe â€Å"the fact that millions of users can shar e songs with one another is a violation of copyright and constitutes outright ‘theft’ of intellectual property† (Sherman). The RIAA won a lawsuit under this argument against Napster in early 2001, so the program may go offline unless a compromise is reached. If the final ruling is made to stop Napster’s service, doing so will not be difficult because it is a centralized service. However, â€Å"file sharing, a mainstay of Web activity that’s considered almost a ‘right’ by many users, is too popular to stomp out in one fell swoop† (Sherman). The technology under which Napster operates, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), has been in use since 1971. It would be as difficult to destroy this technology as it would music itself. Nonetheless, as with many other technologies that threaten to freely distribute copyrighted music, the RIAA is attempting to stop the file sharing movement in its tracks. Alex Torralbas, who has worked in the recording industry, states, â€Å"in the 1980s they (the RIAA) effectively killed the digital audio tape, and in the ‘70s, albums and tapes bore skull-and-crossbones stickers warning buyers against taping the music on cassettes.

Will American Hegemony Produce a Better World for Everybody?

Hegemony is defined as leadership, predominance, especially of one society over another. Encarta dictionary defines it as Control or dominating influence by one person or group especially over society or one nation over others. Referring to America, Stanly D. Brunn pointed out â€Å"the world’s single remaining superpower is the accountable hegemon† (p. 36). Every one would agree that the United States maintains its status as the only remaining superpower in the world though perhaps economically Japan and the rest of the G7 member countries are at par with the US.However many would disagree if one would say, ‘the U. S. remains the world’s police,’ and much more if one would add â€Å"a good policeman indeed. † Thus the question ‘Well American Hegemony Produce a better World for Everybody poses an important analysis of the role of the United States in the global community. But in the realist perspective, they see that the American attitud es towards international order is unstable not because of any special malign characteristic but because of the inherent insecurity that unequal power confers on weaker states.Michael Cox, Timothy Dunne, and Ken Booth pointed out their argument, â€Å"In anarchic orders, weaker states are threatened by extreme concentrations of power and will seek protection in counter-hegemonic groupings† (p. 193). But this has been debated issue as some contends that the American unipolarity is a highly durable political order. Cox, Dunne, and Booth argued that the American order is built on power.They point out â€Å"the extended system of American-led security protection in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, is an essential element of this order and it can only be sustained by dominant military capabilities, which in turn depends on continuing American economic and technological strength† (p. 193). Realism like any other ism such as naturalism and liberalism is a philosophical posit ion, therefore cannot be subjected to the test of falsifibility or cannot be proved or disproved. Benjamin Frankel point out that realism viewed peace as the result of power equilibrium than a cessation of conflicting ambition (p.6). They regard society as basically conflictive and the struggle for power among rival groups is a fundamental condition of human existence (Frankel, p. 6) Frankel cited that there is a differing position within realism. He noted that realist believed that human beings were driven by lust for power, while the rest including him, regarded power as essentially instrumental to and necessary for the achievement of other goals such as security and even liberal ideals (Frankel, p. 6). The American Hegemony American hegemony has been interpreted in some ways.Demetrios Caraley quoting the words of The Economist stated, â€Å"The united states bestrides the globe like a colossus. It dominates business, commerce, and communications; its economy is the world’ s most successful, its military might second to none† (p. 105). Caraley also cited French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine arguing that the United States had gone beyond its superpower status of the twentieth. He said â€Å"U. S. supremacy today extends to the economy, currency, military areas, lifestyle, language and the products of mass culture that inundate the world, forming thought and fascinating even the enemies of the United States† (Frankel, p.105). The American hegemony was also seen in the context of globalization. Caraley noted the statements of two American triumphalists stating, â€Å"Today’s international system is built not around a balance of power but around American hegemony† (p. 105). Globalization is seen simply a disguise for American imperialism. American hegemony has been described as â€Å"hyper power† and is not comparable, in terms of power and influence, to any thing known in modern history. G. John Ikenberry point out tha t hegemony is not just material power capabilities, and hegemonic order cannot be assured simply by a preponderance of such capabilities.He emphasized that a â€Å"leader needs followers and acquiescence of these followers is only achieved if the leader is seen as legitimate† (Ikenberry, p. 18) Quoting Michael Mastanduno, Ikenberry pointed out â€Å"Mastanduno argues that the United States has succeeded in establishing at least a partial hegemonic in East Asia† (Ikenberry, p. 18). The Realist view of Hegemony Realist held that only economically and militarily powerful nation-states qualifies as a hegemon since the use of power or economic sanctions against non-cooperating parties, is regarded as part of the game.Garrit Stratmann points out that this view hold that â€Å"a hegemon has to exercise hegemony over subordinated countries within its sphere of influence† (p. 37). In other words, though hegemony still reflects the preeminent position of a hegemonic actor , but does not necessarily imply dominance rather it is referred to as leadership. Thus, according to Stratmann in the realist view of hegemony, the focus is on the hegemon’s role â€Å"in mitigating collective action problems through the provisions of leadership over other donors and the creation of positive incentives to cooperate, e.g. by assuming a larger share of the costs to set up and maintain a cooperative infrastructure† (37). The realist argues that hegemony of one state provides a benefit for all by providing collective goods to all. Realist maintains that domination is always associated with coercion, state power, and indeed force, and hegemony remains consistently identified with equilibrium, persuasion, consolidation, and consent. Stuart Croft and Phil Williams cited Antonio Gramsci’s definition of hegemony whichâ€Å"stresses the explanatory importance of ideas – that this voluntary submission by one party to another is predicated on the b elief, right or wrong, that all parties will benefit from the interaction between the weak and the strong, even though it is important to emphasize that they might not recognize this act as submissive, nor may they recognize that the outcome might indeed be a hegemonic relationship† (68). Will the American Hegemony Produce a Better World in Realist Perspective? There are many factors that lead to a yes answer to the question above.It has been partly discussed above that the United State’s hegemony has been qualified, as the U. S. has succeeded in establishing partial hegemonic in East Asia. Further more, based on the definition and explanation of what hegemony is and the role of the hegemony in the international community of nation, it appears that indeed the American hegemony meets the requirement to produce a better world for everybody. The biggest threat to humanity to be able live a better life in a better world was the threat of communism prior to the collapsed of the Soviet Union.But with fall of Communism, it is now the evil of terrorism that brought real danger and fear worldwide. The political and social condition of life is no longer threatened by oppression but by the evil of terrorism, which only America can control. Michael Byers and Georg Nolte Noted that the concept of a â€Å"community by superpower is very popular in US international relations theory† (64) which promotes relations rather than dominion. In the realist view, state values of traditional international law prevail over community values such as human rights or sustainable development.Chrystalla A. Ellina noted that the â€Å"realist view of states as autonomous entities defined by geographical boundaries and distinctly separating domestic and foreign policy is incongruent with supra national policy† Realist argues that order is a result of the concentration of material power capabilities in a single state, which uses its commanding position to create and m aintain order. In a sense, realist’s view of hegemony is somewhat apprehensive as they tend to be suspicious of the real intention of the hegemonic nation. Paul J.D’Anieri asserts that Realist contends, â€Å"Great powers pursue hegemony in order to create a world order to favorable to themselves, and often exploitative to others† (p. 218) Jonathan Joseph point out that in the realist View, hegemony can only operate under conditions of social and material causality. Joseph cited â€Å"It is necessary to examine the social whole and its different structures and mechanisms, each of which has its own dynamics† (p. 126). However they admit that only militarily and economically strong nation is capable of being a hegemon.Since the only remaining superpower militarily and economically is the United States, it follows that American hegemony is legitimate and is capable to produce a better world for every body to live. The American use of power in the war against Iraq and against the Taliban forces maybe viewed as an attempt of global domination, but it is quite clear that threat of terrorism has been the main object the war. The world will never be safe with the terrorist around. The war on terror, which the US initiated, has put the world in a better and safer condition.Further more the benefit of globalization, democracy, and continues advancement of technology being carried out by the United States continues to make life easier. What the realist wanted to see actually in the American hegemony is that it should be able to provide benefit for weaker nations by providing collective goods to all. The US assistance in rebuilding European economies during the cold war era and its commitment for peace in the Middle East proves that the United States is working towards improving the world’s political and social condition.On the other hand, the problem that could be pointed out in the American hegemony is the concepts of democracy, which is associated with liberalization. It has been viewed that the American export of democracy and economic liberalization is imperialism, Americanizing its subject nations. Nevertheless, American democracies placed more values to human lives and give more protection and respect both for life and the basic rights of the individual.Realist maybe right that the American unipolar status may not last long but it may not be based on the dominant view that it is unstable and cannot but in time produce competition for the mantle of hegemon. John A. Agnew, Stuart Cordbridge admits that â€Å"there are a number of candidates for international ‘primacy’ available to replace the United States as Number One unless it acts decisively to prevent this† (130). Realist is not at all against hegemony or the American hegemony but just believe that society is basically conflictive.It means that they also recognize American hegemony as no one can dispute that the US is the only remainin g superpower. The realist assertion that hegemony means equilibrium or the balance of power does not certainly mean equal benefit or equal strength. They perhaps simply mean equal opportunity or equal protection, which is guaranteed in the American democracy. Andreas Hasenclever, Peter Mayer, and Volker Rittberger stated, â€Å"Realist theories of regimes emphasize relative power capabilities as a central explanatory variable and stress states sensitivity to distributional aspects of cooperation and regimes† (84).Hasenclever , Mayer, and Rittberger emphasized the realist teaches that the states are the most important actors on the world scene which act out of self -interest in an anarchical environment, without needing to renounce the liberal insights that state are able to realize common interests through cooperation and use international institutions to this ends† (83) Regardless of this statement, T. V. Paul James J. Wirtz, and Michael Fortmann pointed out that †Å"all realism agree on several fundamental assumptions about the nature of international politics† (104) It means that realist recognized some action by the state as a legitimate.Paul, Wirtz, and Fortmann noted that realist also believes that international politics are state centric, because politics are about relations between organized social groups and states are the primary organized groups in the modern world. Therefore the move to rid the world of international terrorist maybe state centric as it is triggered by the 7/11 terrorist attacked but it can also be in the realm of international politics as it was later joined by many other countries in an effort to subdue the international terrorist. Furthermore, based on the realist doctrines above, the U. S.led crusade against systematic mass extinction of people under a tyrannical rule that led to war against Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein can still be viewed as part of the international politics, which aim to pro duce a better world for everybody to live. With all the effort of the United States to bring economic rehabilitation in Europe under the Truman Doctrine, the effort to bring peace in the Middle East by trying to mediate in Palestinian conflict, and the US effort to rid the world of the threat of terrorism; I can definitely say the American hegemony was able to produce a better world for everybody.Though the realist view seems to run counter on the concept of hegemony yet there are some areas that realist agrees to the hegemonic ideas. It is in this agreement therefore that the discussion in this paper was based. Realism maybe extreme in their doctrine about hegemony, power, and the community but they provided a political mirror by which the hegemonic states can be judge whether their actions are still within incongruent with hegemony. Work Cited Agnew, John and Corbridge. Mastering Space: Hegemony, Territory and International Political Economy.London: Routledge, 1995. Brunn, Stanley D. 11 September and Its Aftermath: The Geopolitics of Terror. London: Routledge, 2004 Byers, Michael and Nolte, Georg. United States Hegemony and the Foundations of International Law. UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Caraley, Demetrios. American Hegemony: Preventive War, Iraq, and Imposing Democracy. New York: Academy of Political Science, 2004. Cox, Michael, et. al. Empires, Systems and States: Great Transformations in International Politics.UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Croft, Stuart and Williams, Phil. European Security Without the Soviet Union. Great Britain: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd. , 1992. D’Anieri, Paul J. Economic Interdependence in Ukrainian – Russian Relations. New York: State University of New York Press, 1999. Ellina, Chystalla. Promoting Women’s Rights:The Politics of Gender in the European Union. London: Routledge, 2003 Frankel, Benjamin. Realism: Restatement and Renewal. Great Britain: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd. , 1996. Hasenclever, Andres, et.al. Theoris of International Regimes. UK: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Ikenberry, John. American Unrivaled: The Future of the Balance of Power. USA: Cornell University Press, 2002. Joseph, Jonathan. Hegemony a Realist Analysis. London: Routledge, 2003. Paul, T. V. , et. al. Balance of Power: Theory and Practice in the 21st Century. California, USA: Stanford University Press, 2004. Stratmann, Gerrit. Donor Coordination of Economic Assistance to Eastern Europe. London: Transaction Publishers, 2000.

How Does Doppler Radar Work

One discovery that is used in a variety of ways is the  Doppler effect, even though at first glance the scientific discovery would seem to be rather impractical. The Doppler effect is all about waves, the things that produce those waves (sources), and the things that receive those waves (observers). It basically says that if the source and observer are moving relative to each other, then the frequency of the wave will be different for the two of them. This means that its a form of scientific relativity. There are actually two main areas where this idea has been leveraged into a practical outcome, and both have ended up with the handle of Doppler radar. Technically, Doppler radar is what is used by police officer radar guns to determine the speed of a motor vehicle. Another form is the Pulse-Doppler radar which is used to track the speed of weather precipitation, and usually, people know the term from it being used in this context during weather reports. Doppler Radar: Police Radar Gun Doppler radar works by sending a beam of electromagnetic radiation waves, tuned to a precise frequency, at a moving object. (You can use Doppler radar on a stationary object, of course, but its fairly uninteresting unless the target is moving.) When the electromagnetic radiation wave hits the moving object, it bounces back toward the source, which also contains a receiver as well as the original transmitter. However, since the wave reflected off of the moving object, the wave is shifted as outlined by the relativistic Doppler effect. Basically, the wave that is coming back toward the radar gun is treated as an entirely new wave, as if it were emitted by the target it bounced off of. The target is basically acting as a new source for this new wave. When it is received at the gun, this wave has a frequency different from the frequency when it was originally sent toward the target. Since the electromagnetic radiation was at a precise frequency when sent out and is at a new frequency upon its return, this can be used to calculate the velocity, v, of the target.   Pulse-Doppler Radar: Weather Doppler Radar When watching the weather, it is this system which allows for the swirling depictions of weather patterns and, more importantly, detailed analysis of their movement. The Pulse-Doppler radar system allows not only the determination of linear velocity, as in the case of the radar gun, but also allows for the calculation of radial velocities. It does this by sending pulses instead of beams of radiation. The shift not only in frequency but also in carrier cycles allows one to determine these radial velocities. In order to achieve this, careful control of the radar system is required. The system has to be in a coherent state which allows for stability of the phases of the radiation pulses. One drawback to this is that there is a maximum speed above which the Pulse-Doppler system cannot measure radial velocity. To understand this, consider a situation where the measurement causes the phase of the pulse to shift by 400 degrees. Mathematically, this is identical to a shift of 40 degrees, because it has gone through an entire cycle (a full 360 degrees). Speeds causing shifts such as this are called the blind speed. It is a function of the pulse repetition frequency of the signal, so by altering this signal, meteorologists can prevent this to some degree. Edited by Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.