International Business Transactions Free Essay Example, 4500 words

For example, Apple Inc has formulated joint ventures with the Chinese firms to manufacture their products mainly due to the fact that Chinese manufacturers offer cheap alternatives to produce the same quality at effectively lower costs. This therefore serves as an added advantage and attraction for the international firms to seek entry into such markets where the overall chances of reducing the costs are higher so that the final end products can be sold at the premium pricing in the international market. (Luo & Park, 2004)2 Mainly there are three types of joint ventures i. e. Contractual, corporate and partnership joint ventures. Each type of JV arrangement outlines the rights and obligations of each party to the contract and how they are actually drafted through an agreement. In a contractual joint ventures, the rights and obligations of each of the party are documented in a written agreement however, in corporate joint venture agreements, though the same procedure is adapted, however, it is more extensive. The overall extent of documentation in the corporate joint venture is more extensive and contains diversified range of issues covered in the agreement. There are two important elements which need to be discussed and explored in order to fully understand joint ventures and their overall legal essence. We will write a custom essay sample on International Business Transactions or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now In business terminology, joint ventures are simply the strategic arrangements between two or more parties to accomplish any task of common interest. International firms have repeatedly used this method in order to make some important strategic decisions to expand into international markets. 3(Hewitt, 2005). There are different methods or ways through which international firms can actually make an entry into the new market. For example, firms can enter into the new market through making exporting arrangements or they can even inter into the new market as a wholly owned businesses to start a Greenfield project. However, joint venture is considered as the most common method used by the firms to make an entry into the international market. (Shane, 2001)4 There are generally no specific meanings to the term joint venture however, loosely defining, a joint venture is considered as the undertaking or agreement between two or more parties to undertake a common activity of mutual interest. What is significantly more critical is the fact that the control of the entity which is formulated after the formation of the joint venture is mutually shared by each of the party to the contract.

Sharing For Generic Abuse Analgesic Opioid Analgesic Drug...

sharing for generic abuse-deterrent opioid analgesic drug product and require Medicaid services or a managed care organization to be compliant with the new sections to the bill ( Kentucky.gov, 2015). Bill #HB 330(BR-990) was filed and introduced into committee on Tuesday February 2nd, 2016 and sponsored by Addia Wuchner, Joni Jenkins, Linda Belcher, Regina Bunch, Kelly Flood, Kim King, Martha Jane King, Mary Lou Marzian, Donna Mayfield, Marie Rader, Rita Smart, Diane St. Onge, Susan Westrom and Jill York (Kentucky.gov, 2015). The bill was reassigned to the Health and Welfare Committee and posted on February 4th, 2016 (Kentycky.com, 2015). â€Å"Approximately half of the bills introduced each session never get out of committee (Kentucky.gov, 2015). Currently bill #HB 330(BR-990) remains with the Health and Welfare Committee. Improvements in United States Healthcare â€Å"Americans account for 99% of the worlds hydrocodone consumption, 80% of the worlds oxycodone consumption and 65% of the worlds hydromorphone consumption, according to the New York Times† (Elkins, 2015). Pain killers are one of the most abused drugs in the United States. â€Å"Every year, prescription pain killers cause more than 16,000 deaths and 475,000 emergency room visits† (Elkins, 2015). The proposed bill HB 330(BR-990) will be beneficial to the healthcare industry. One step that has been made to deter drug abuse is the development of opioids that are formulated to deter abuse. â€Å"An abuse-deterrent formulations

Time free essay sample

Have you ever looked at a clock? I mean, really looked at a clock in depth? If you look past the white face and the secured black hands, you may encounter a multitude of memories. One day last week when I was conversing with friends, the clock caught my eye. I entered into a deep gaze which carried me back to the time of my first lesson with my second piano instructor. My palms sweated, and hives itched on my face and back, and approximately one thousand active butterflies fluttered in my stomach. I was twelve years old and in the eighth grade. Meeting a new person I wasnt sure I was going to like was a very traumatic experience. My lesson was scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. I recall looking at my watch while I sat in the living room on her lovely pink couch with matching pillows. We will write a custom essay sample on Time or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The short black hand positioned itself a millimeter before the seven while the long black hand sat one minute before the twelve. Then I glanced objectionably at the rose-pigmented second hand. It was aimed at the six and still mobile. Sweat dribbled down the sides of my face as a door down the long corridor opened. I stood up as quickly as a jack rabbit. The dreaded seven oclock had finally arrived. I walked into the room expecting to see a Steinway baby grand that I would never have enough talent to play. I also imagined mirrors around the room so I would have to watch myself play as others would see me in a recital. But instead she had an upright Yamaha piano, just like the one I had at home. There were no mirrors either, just many pictures of composers like Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart. This atmosphere made me feel more comfortable. About ten minutes into the lesson I realized the lesson wasnt unpleasant at all. When I strolled in the room, I expected to see a short, squat lady. She would have large, thick glasses that suspended on her nose, chock-a-block filled with warts. Her plaid wool skirt would hang below her knee with lots of grotesque shades of brown. Then of course, she would have on a dressy blouse that wouldnt match another thing she was wearing. Probably yellow. Her shoes would be black with a small heel and a strap crossing over the top of her foot. They would be austere and Pilgrim-like. That isnt what I encountered at all. My new piano teacher was about twenty-six years old and had beautiful curly black hair. She was wearing Levis with a black t-shirt. I was only wearing a pair of jean shorts and a green Champion sweatshirt. I was so glad I wasnt underdressed. With this situation, I once again had made another mountain of a molehill. I had wasted all that time worrying about the lesson when I could have been practicing. Ninety-nine point nine percent of the time, the things I worry about never come to be. I should never waste time if I want to live my life to its fullest.

Understanding Womens Responses to Domestic Violence

Cavanagh (2003) brings forth a scientific study exploring women experiences in relation to violence occasioned on them by their intimate male partners. The study takes cognizance of the contextual space within which the violence exists as well as the complex interactive relationship between intimate partners.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Understanding Women’s Responses to Domestic Violence specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The theoretical framework presented is strongly supported by three key themes firstly by highlighting that women are not passive in their response to violence against them by their male partners. Rather they are actively involved in making their relationships safe. Secondly, violence against women is seen to happen in an environment of intimate and interactive relationships making it quite complex to deal with. Thirdly the theoretical framework is broad enough to address vio lence against women not only from an individual perspective but also from the wider social context. The researcher reviewed existing literature in support of the themes grounded in the theoretical framework. The researcher was objective in the study and was therefore able to ably articulate the issues around violence against women. The author’s research orientation is a mix of interpretive, positivism and critical science – interpretive in informing social workers or practitioners on how to enhance their effectiveness as they deal with cases related to violence against women, positivism in its use of measurable evidence to draw conclusions to the study, and uses of scientific method in the conduct of research. The researcher however fails to explicitly bring forth the research question thus causing the reader to infer from the study. Two research questions can be deduced as follows: i) how do women respond to violence perpetrated by an intimate male partner? and ii) wh at new information would social workers or practitioners require to offer effective services to in the event of violence and/or abuse among intimate partners? The study design blends with the research questions derived from the study. Though the study was set out to identify accounts of the way women understand and respond to their violent and abusive experiences through qualitative data obtained from interviewing one hundred thirty six (136) women, eventually the inclusion of interviews to one hundred twenty two (122) male strengthens the research through broadening the source of informants. The longitudinal approach of the study design enhances validity of data.Advertising Looking for critical writing on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Conducting interviews in home environments in the absence of one partner enhances freedom of expression hence more likelihood for respondents to cooperate in freely giving res ponses. A major limitation of the study is the fact that information sought from respondents is confidential and sensitive by nature hence increased chances for fear to reveal information critical to the study. Sampling strategies are not clearly explained or defended e.g scientific justification on numbers of male verses female respondents is not provided. However, given the nature of the problem, focus on affected families is appropriate and results of the study can be generalized to the entire population. Data collection procedures are clearly articulated and data is analyzed through interpretation of qualitative data and descriptive statistics for quantitative data. The key findings are clearly presented in the paper. The author has however not articulated the study’s key limitations. The results of the study bring out its contribution to the professional practice of social work practitioners and it is capable of informing future policy direction. It also expounds on impl ications of social injustice against women relatively well. The article has however failed to identify research gaps for further study (Cabinet Office, 2008). A study focusing on violence against men by their intimate female partners would present a suitable subject for further study. References Cabinet Office (2008). Quality in qualitative evaluation: A framework for assessing research evidence. Retrieved from //www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/~/media/assets/www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/strategy/qq e rep%20pdf.ashx Cavanagh K. (2003). Qualitative social work: Understanding women’s responses to domestic violence. DOI: 10.1177/14733250030023002, 2, 229-249.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Understanding Women’s Responses to Domestic Violence specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This critical writing on Understanding Women’s Responses to Domestic Violence was written and submitted by user Haiden Y. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

What You Need To Know About Cinco de Mayo in English and Spanish

What You Need To Know About Cinco de Mayo in English and Spanish  ¿Quà © es el Cinco de Mayo? What is Cinco de Mayo? This bilingual feature has been written with classroom use in mind - a grammar guide at the end provides useful tips for Spanish students. En espaol: Los orgenes del Cinco de Mayo Muchos creen que el cinco de mayo es el aniversario de la independencia mexicana. Pero no tienen razà ³n - el dà ­a de independencia en Mà ©xico es el 16 de septiembre. Para familiarizarse con los orà ­genes de la celebracià ³n, es necesario estudiar los sucesos a mediados del siglo diecinueve. Despuà ©s de la Guerra Mexicana Americana, Mà ©xico enfrentaba una crisis econà ³mica. En 1861, Benito Jurez, el presidente mexicano, declarà ³ que Mà ©xico aplazarà ­a por dos aà ±os los pagos de deudas exteriores. Aunque Jurez hubo dicho que se reanudarà ­an los pagos en 1863, la promesa no satisfizo a Gran Bretaà ±a, Francia y Espaà ±a. Se ablandaban Gran Bretaà ±a y Espaà ±a, pero Francia insistià ³ en obtener su dinero por la fuerza. Napoleà ³n III, emperador de los franceses, nombrà ³ un pariente, archiduque Maximillian de Austria, el là ­der de Mà ©xico. Mientras marchaba hacia la Ciudad de Mà ©xico, el ejà ©rcito francà ©s enfrentaba resistencia tenaz. El 5 de mayo, 1862, el general Ignacio Zaragoza y su ejà ©rcito mexicano vencieron el ejà ©rcito francà ©s en la batalla de Puebla. La victoria mexicana era una sorpresa porque el ejà ©rcito francà ©s era ms grande y tenà ­a materiales superiores. Segà ºn  un refrn inglà ©s, es posible ganar la batalla y perder la guerra. Los franceses ganaron otras batallas, y Maximillian se hizo là ­der en 1864. Pero los franceses, enfrentando resistencia mexicana y presià ³n de los Estados Unidos, retiraron las tropas en 1867. El Cinco de Mayo es un dà ­a para conmemorar el coraje de los luchadores contra la opresià ³n. Quizs por eso este dà ­a de fiesta es muy popular dondequiera haya personas de ascendencia mexicana. Por ejemplo, la fiesta hoy dà ­a es muy popular en Estados Unidos, donde viven muchas persons con antepasados de Mà ©xico. In English: Origins of Mexicos Cinco de Mayo Many people believe that May 5 is the anniversary of the Mexican Independence. But theyre mistaken, for the Mexican Independence Day is September 16. To understand the origins of the celebration, you need to go back to the middle of the 19th century. After the Mexican-American War of 1846-48, Mexico was in a fiscal crisis. In 1861 Mexican President Benito Jurez declared that Mexico was suspending payment on all its foreign debt for two years. Even though Jurez had said payments would resume in 1863, Great Britain, France and Spain were not satisfied. Although the British and Spanish-backed off, France insisted on using force to secure its debt payments. French Emperor Napoleon III named a relative of his, Archduke Maximillian of Austria, as ruler of Mexico. As it was marching toward Mexico City, the French Army encountered stiff resistance. On May 5, 1862, General Ignacio Zaragoza defeated the French Army in the Battle of Puebla. The Mexican victory was a surprise, for the French Army was larger and better equipped. There is a saying that its possible to win the battle and lose the war. The French won other battles, and Maximillian became the ruler in 1864. But facing Mexican resistance and American pressure, the French withdrew their troops in 1867. Cinco de Mayo is a time to recognize the bravery of those who fight against oppression. Perhaps that is why this holiday is popular wherever there are people of Mexican descent. For example, the fiesta these days is very popular in the United States, where many people who have Mexican ancestors live. Grammatical Highlights Differences in uses of the two simple past tenses of Spanish can be seen in the article. In general, the preterite is used here in referring to ordinary events (such as with ganaron for the winning of battles), the imperfect is used to provide background, such as in the use of tenà ­an  materiales (literally had materiel). Names of the months typically arent capitalized in Spanish. The name of the holiday is, however. Adjectives such as mexicana and francà ©s derived from names of countries also arent capitalized, nor are most titles such as archiduque. Note how reflexive verbs such as familiarizarse and reanudarse (in the form se reanudarà ­an) are used. Alhough the two verbs could be translated literally in this context as to famliiarize oneself and to resume themselves, such a translation would be awkward. In the third paragraph, a comma is used after France in English but not after Francia in Spanish. That is because Spanish does not use the Oxford comma before the y (and) in a series of words.

Multi-threading in C# With Tasks

Multi-threading in C# With Tasks The computer programming term thread is short for  thread  of execution, in which a processor follows a specified path through your code. The concept of following more than one thread at a time introduces the subject of multi-tasking and multi-threading. An application has one or more processes in it. Think of a process as a program running on your computer. Now each process has one or more threads. A game application might have a thread to load resources from disk, another to do AI, and another to run the game as a server. In .NET/Windows,  the operating system allocates processor time to a thread. Each thread keeps track of exception handlers and the priority at which it runs, and it has somewhere to save the thread context until it runs. Thread context is the information that the thread needs to resume. Multi-Tasking With Threads Threads take up a bit of memory and creating them takes a little time, so usually, you dont want to use many. Remember, they compete for processor time. If your computer has multiple CPUs, then Windows or .NET might run each thread on a different CPU, but if several threads run on the same CPU, then only one can be active at a time and switching threads takes time. The CPU runs a thread for a few million instructions, and then it switches to another thread. All of the CPU registers, current program execution point and stack have to be saved somewhere for the first thread and then restored from somewhere else for the next thread. Creating a Thread In the namespace System.Threading, youll find the thread type. The constructor thread  (ThreadStart) creates an instance of a thread. However, in recent C# code, its more likely to pass in a lambda expression that calls the method with any parameters. If youre unsure about lambda expressions, it might be worth checking out LINQ. Here is an example of a thread that is created and started: using System; using System.Threading;namespace ex1{class Program{public static void Write1(){Console.Write(1) ;Thread.Sleep(500) ;}static void Main(string[] args){var task new Thread(Write1) ;task.Start() ;for (var i 0; i 10; i){Console.Write(0) ;Console.Write (task.IsAlive ? A : D) ;Thread.Sleep(150) ;}Console.ReadKey() ;}}} All this example does is write 1 to the console. The main thread writes a 0 to the console 10 times, each time followed by an A or D depending on whether the other thread is still Alive or Dead. The other thread only runs once and writes a 1. After the half-second delay in the Write1() thread, the thread finishes, and the Task.IsAlive in the main loop now returns D. Thread Pool and Task Parallel Library Instead of creating your own thread, unless you really need to do it, make use of a Thread Pool. From .NET 4.0, we have access to the Task Parallel Library (TPL). As  in the previous example, again we need a bit of LINQ, and yes, its all lambda expressions. Tasks uses the Thread Pool behind the scenes  but make  better use of the threads depending on the number in use. The main object in the TPL is a Task. This is a class that represents an asynchronous operation. The commonest way to start things running is with the Task.Factory.StartNew as in: Task.Factory.StartNew(() DoSomething()); Where DoSomething() is the method that is run. Its possible to create a task and not have it run immediately. In that case, just use Task like this: var t new Task(() Console.WriteLine(Hello));...t.Start(); That doesnt start the thread until the .Start() is called. In the example below, are five tasks. using System;using System.Threading;using System.Threading.Tasks;namespace ex1{class Program{public static void Write1(int i){Console.Write(i) ;Thread.Sleep(50) ;}static void Main(string[] args){for (var i 0; i 5; i){var value i;var runningTask Task.Factory.StartNew(()Write1(value)) ;}Console.ReadKey() ;}}} Run that and you  get the digits 0 through 4 output in some random order such as 03214. Thats because the order of task execution is determined by .NET. You might be wondering why the var value i is needed. Try removing it and calling Write(i), and youll see something unexpected like 55555. Why is this? Its because the task shows the value of i at the time that the task is executed, not when the task was created. By creating a new variable each time in the loop, each of the five values is correctly stored and picked up.

The Solution to Solve The Gap Between Chinese Students and Native Essay

The Solution to Solve The Gap Between Chinese Students and Native American Students - Essay Example This small skills will advance into ‘small talks’ and this will lead to common understanding of other bigger topics between the students. They should also focus on listening, speaking which develops into the soft skills and hence they will find themselves engaging in casual talks and improve their activity in class. The American students feel that it’s the role of the institution to increase intercultural interactions to link the cultural gap (Brisk 2006). However the American students have their responsibility to tolerate the other student’s culture through peer pairing for students to collaborate outside the classroom and enhance cultural interactions between them. They should work in intercultural groups to reduce cultural stereotypes hence increasing the desire to work with people of different culture and this will lead to cultural tolerance of the American students to the other student’s cultures. Students should also practice residential programs such as activities in the student hostels for both international and domestic students to increase their cultural friendliness and tolerance (Brisk, 2006). In order to be prepared for the future economy with the Chinese economy, American student ought to appreciate the incorporation of some of the needful Chinese syllabus into their curriculum in their education system as one of the strategies towards equipping these students for the future task in the states economy (Brisk,

Modern Day Attacks Against Firewalls and VPNs Essay

Modern Day Attacks Against Firewalls and VPNs - Essay Example VPN is an important technological advancement for remote workers as well as organizations to share the data in privately. The security issues surrounding VPNs are cracking of offline password, deficiency of account lock out, poor default formation and VPN thumbprint among others (Hills, 2005). In the similar context, firewalls are the security system used as secure the flow of information between the two networks. Firewalls places a bottleneck between the networks which ensures the privacy and confidentiality of the data shared between the two networks. There are two types of firewalls such as ‘packet filtering firewall’ and ‘stateful inspection firewall’. The common threats pertaining to firewalls include attacks from malicious codes such as virus, worms and information theft among others (Rao et al., 2011). This paper intends to explain the modern day attacks against firewalls and VPNs by explaining concepts of these two information technology tools. In th e light of aforesaid description, the essay intends to explain and discuss modern day attacks against firewalls and VPNs. The technology of firewalls was first established in 1980 and since then it has undergone several modifications and alternations. Firewalls are integrated security system designed to secure network from unauthorized access. Firewalls are also useful for protecting the outside fire. Firewalls are also considered as a system of network security which controls flow of traffic over the network created by set of protocols (Brown University, n. d.). Firewalls as act as a ‘software solution’ and ‘hardware appliance’. Firewalls can also be defined as the security measures, which protect local system as well as network system from the potential threats. The two types of firewalls are packet filtering and stateful inspection firewall. A packet filtering firewalls allows the flow of packets that meets certain specific criteria. The rules of the filtering depend on

Critically analyse the MTV event in the Reid Essay Example for Free

Critically analyse the MTV event in the Reid Essay This essay will analyse the MTV event in the Reid (2003) case study. And suggest how improvements to the organisation and management of this event could have been made. We will look at how the event was organized and with whom in mind. We will also look into how the management of the event was carried out and try to come up with improvements which both the MTV and Scotland might benefit from in future. All event have a direct social and cultural impact on their participants, and sometimes on their wider host communities, as outlined by Hall (1997) and Getz (2005). According to Sharron and Perry (2004) there are various attribute to special events, these characteristics are that they are unique, intangible, have a fixed time scale, and labour intensive among others. This characteristic is what makes an event into a special event. A special event recognises a unique moment in time with ceremony and ritual to satisfy specific needs, Goldblatt (2001). And in the case of MTV it was there 10th European Music award and they wanted to create an event which would mark a milestone and show its critics and competition that they are still the big boys and market leader when it comes to the music industry. MTV Networks operates a leading portfolio of cable TV channels; they also have music video networks MTV, VH1, and CMT. MTV Networks International oversees more than 120 channels worldwide and distributes content online, and produces video games through MTV Games. MTV decided to have their 10th European music award ceremony in Edinburgh. Allen, (2000) suggests that there are various type of event, for MTV this is/was a special event, as it’s for the music industry only and it recognises the music industries contribution, with access to public and media. MTV’s biggest stakeholders are its shareholders and its customers, of course there are others, and MTV need keeps an up to date with what its customers wants. MTV wanted a start stuck event where they will celebrate the 10th ceremony, create a lot of buzz and excitement and hope to gain new customers in the process. While Edinburgh and the Scottish government wanted to use MTV to reimage Scotland. And show the world what it has to offer, creating a feeling amongst viewers that it is a dynamic, vibrant, historical city. With the councils wish to make Edinburgh the most prosperous northern city by 2015. According to an article published in Event Magazine (2007), public events are increasingly being used around the world as promotional tools by cities, to increase the city’s image. Hughes (1999) suggests that public officials must market the city as a dynamic environment, as this will attract not only tourist but also new jobs and settlers to the region. According to a report by Ofcom (2006), the telecom regulator, 16 to 24-year-olds, a key demographic group for advertisers and MTV’s core audience. And this is one of the segment that Scottish official where hopping to target though their reimage campaign to show them, why they should come to Scotland/ Edinburgh. As well as lure other older age group at the same time, educate them about Scotland and its history. For a private sector company, such as MTV, the client defines the events budget, leaving the events planner/ organiser able to spend it how they choose and therefore do not have to justify what they do with the money. In the case of public sector, local government and tourist boards, it is not just the immediate benefits that are measured post event. It is also the long-term or â€Å"flow on effects† (Bowdin et al. 2006) that benefit the community as a whole. From an every early stage there were problems between, the two parties’ objectives, desire and goals which were very different. The goals of a public and private event differ in that private companies are more often than not in pursuit of profit (Andersson and Getz, 2008). In this case one wanted to put a spectacular show to celebrate and the other wanted to use the show to reimage its self. This is because; MTV is more likely to adopt a ‘consumer orientation’ whereas ELTB might have a ‘product orientation’ approach (Andersson and Getz, 2008: 849). The event was criticized from early on by critics and local newspaper, when it was found that MTV was given a ? 750 thousand public subsidiary to part fund for shows temporary structure and also for the simultaneous live concert. This caused some tension, and the local newspaper was very critical about this, specially when the money could have been spend on other things e. g. Scotsman journalist felt that the event did very little for the Leith’s poverty, prostitution etc. These doses not help when MTV’s parent company is Viacom and according to website www. answere. com Viacom made a profit of $369 million in 2003. So giving a ? 750 thousand pound to MTV is seen as a waste of money by some; however it might have been necessary to attract MTV to Scotland and also to persuade MTV to have a simultaneous concert at a different venue. What MTV could have done is either not taken any of the money or taken a proportionally small amount just for the concert at the Princes Street Garden. This would have prevented them from receiving the backlash from the press. Or found/ made the venue bigger and incorporate a larger audience to make it a huge spectacular. Further anger was expressed by resident and newspaper when it emerged that, the event was not a live concert with thousand of ticket available and rather was a television show, rising the expecting of the local wishing to be at the show. Moreover only 50 of 6000 ticket were being sold in Edinburgh and locals had to compete with other European to pick up one of the 2000 ticket which sold out within 20 minutes. Rest were allocated to event sponsors like Vodafone Live and American Express. This obviously was a weak point for both MTV and the local government who did not communicate well with each other and in turn was late to tell the residents. Creating a buzz and anticipation during the weeks ahead of the event which lead to disappointment, Sharron and Perry (2004) suggest that there are various possible motives for attending an event, in this case it would social motives its why resident of Edinburgh would want to go to the concert and was angry when they didn’t get the ticket. This social motive involves social interaction with others, creation of community spirit, status or recognition of achievement. They were surrounded by all the hype and excitement of this event and as a community wanted to embrace this event as it was first of its kind in Edinburgh, and specially for youth generation it would have been something exciting as they would have been able to see there stars who they normally see on television. In order to avoid this kind of isappointment, both ELTB and MTV need to communicate more effectively in future, and think about this issues when they are conducting there feasibility study before making the decision to carry out such event. This will not only save time and negative press but will let the anticipated residents/ consumes know what to except. The organizer solved the problem by having the concert which have good line-ups and also a 30 sec live feed at the actually award show. They also gave 750 tickets to local charity and used 1000 local youngsters for various tasks, (Mooney Halstead, 2003). As mentioned above that MTV was given a  £750 thousand pound subsidiary, but the local council spent a further ? 75 thousand in â€Å"hidden cost† which the newspaper and opposition council were angered about as it came from the council budget. Money which was spent to window shop the town before the event so that it looks presentable to the world and dose not effect the reimaging process. This cost include extra cleansing, policing, traffic management, staffing. Further  £30 thousand used to part finance banners in the city. Moreover,  £5 thousand was spend to clean up the city centre hotel fronts in preparation of the event which according of a conservative group should have been the responsible of the Hotel. According to Watt (1999) debate that place marketing requires a â€Å"pristine environment†. So as it was the objective of the local government at that time, they would have seen it as a useful and essential cost which needs to be carried out in order to give audience the message they wanted to project to its consumes, tourists. However, MTV could have also share the cost when it came to the policing, traffic management and staffing. As this would have shown locals and press that they care about customer’s safety and also its dose not want to burden the local government with the extra costs, and it already planned for such cost in their $4. 5 million budget which gave MTV the editorial control. Local government needed to communicate with the cities Hotels, restaurant and clubs to negotiate deals, where they all put some money in to a pot which would be use for the cleaning of the city and business fronts. Public sector bodies, (ELTB) tend to look at long-term objectives when it comes to planning their events, or as Mules (1998) states â€Å"the ‘spillover effects of events’. Mules goes on to say that even if the actual event makes a loss, it still may produce benefits for local industry’s such as transportation, restaurants, hotels and local caterers or suppliers. As by doing so not only the city was benefiting from the extra trade but also the business as people are more likely to go somewhere clean then dirty. Roche (2000) remarks that mega events often physically transform an area; here we had an attempt to symbolically reconnect Edinburgh with its waterfront to aid future business prospects. The problems which occurred during this event, was mainly due to the reluctances of councils project officers not standing their ground, and communicate and consult with MTV successfully. They were happy for MTV to decide what sort of content the show should be and comply with every request, as one put it, MTV knows what they are doing. This attitude cost them both money and marketing opportunities. ELTB had to pay for slots during the show for their advertisement and spent further  £5000 writing the publication editorial bearing their logos. Local councils wish to promote a new charity promoting Arts in the city was also scrapped during the event. Even when at one point MTV said they would help to promote the charity but later changed their mind. Nonetheless if ELTB was not, bit scared, at times they would probably use MTV more and without paying them. ELTB should have bargain more with MTV when it came to this issues, specially allowing them to use the screen at the award and the concert venues to promote their reimaging project and cheaper slots during the actual award show. Though MTV did not support the charity openly and needed discussion, they did however auction pop star memorabilia at the charity launch and provided donation from MTV UK, Reid (2003). Edinburgh Leith Tourist Board, received a ward from MTV for hosting the best show in the events 10 year’s. The city was also praised by A-list celebrity who attended the award and several international news agencies for hosting excellent award ceremony. This obviously shows that government project of reimaging the city worked and they are getting noticed, while MTV produced spectacular shows which help them achieve their objective. Therefore, creating an excellent and effective event which helped all those who took part in making it reach their objective, at the same time both parties learnt for future how to deal with different clients specially that they need to communicate more effectively and learn to negotiate and convey the message if possible to their customers from an early stage. This will ensure that future event will run smoothly and successfully.

Hamlet Essay -- essays research papers

During Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the main character Hamlet has to deal with the responsibility of revenging his father’s murder. He learns of his tragic death when the ghost of King Hamlet comes to him and tells him the truth of his murder: he was killed by his brother Claudius, for his crown and his wife. Hamlet decides that the best plan of action is to fake madness to attain his father’s vengeance by murdering Claudius. As the play develops, Hamlets act of being a madman becomes more and more believable, and his friends and family react as you’d expect someone who is discovering that their loved one is slowly turning insane would. As we read the play and begin to understand Hamlet’s mentality, his inner thoughts, and the reasons for his actions, it becomes clear to the reader that Hamlet is, in fact, totally and healthily sane. It becomes evident that he is simply simulating insanity so that it is easier to fulfill his duties to his father, and that Claudius’s murder doesn’t rest so guiltily on his conscience. Hamlet only feigns madness because it allows him to do and say things that he otherwise could not say without severe repercussions and suspicion being held against him. It also prevents people from blaming him for his ridiculous antics, and from taking him seriously. We first see Hamlet’s initial plan of faking insanity falling into place when he is talking to Horatio and Marcellus, telling them not to comment to anyone about his â€Å"antic disposition (Shakespeare, 75).† Hamlet’s supposed madness allows him to talk to his friends, family, and especially to Ophelia in a manner that is totally unsuitable for a human being to act, especially a prince. He is completely disrespectful and insulting in his remarks, and although his antic disposition backfires while he is talking to his mother, it allows him to severely reprimand her actions and criticize her for her disloyalty to her deceased husband because Gertrude thinks he is insane. She therefore is very passive in her response to Hamlet, being very dismissive of his actions and harsh words because of his supposed insanity. Throughout the play, Hamlet also makes some very sexually inappropriate remarks to Ophelia such as â€Å"That’s a fair thought to lie between a maids` legs (Shakespeare, 157).† He can inappropriately vent his anger toward Ophelia for her abandonment in any way he pleases, being emotion... ...the play sane, normal, healthy, loving, but with the discovery of his father’s murder and his mother’s remarriage, he dies selfish, distraught, and cold-hearted. His feigned madness is maintained throughout the entire play because it allows him to follow through with his plans, which makes Hamlet not only completely sane, but truly genius. Maybe Hamlet thought too much, but he thought (and acted) as only a sane man could. He commits no actions whatsoever without much thought and reason, and he is far too organized, particular, and articulate to be proclaimed insane. His one downfall is also responsible of his many successes: his intelligence. Hamlet thinks far too much and has too much of a conscience to behave as a madman would, and going on a murdering rampage to kill Claudius. His hesitation in doing so is the main key that allows the reader to realize that Hamlet’s insanity is a complete farce, used to help Hamlet to maximize his father’s revenge a gainst Claudius in the most efficient and effective way possible, leaving few repercussions for Hamlet. Hamlet’s portrayal of a mad man is also very complicated because it not only gets his point made, but in a believably insane way.

Ethical judgements Essay

Our entire life is a continuous process of gaining and retaining information, expanding our knowledge as individuals. Most people spend quite a bit of time in their childhood years in school learning, taking in knowledge that has been produced. As a species humans have produced a wealth of knowledge in a variety of ways. However there comes a time where you have to wonder what extent people would go to, to produce knowledge. Where is the line? When are we doing something ethically wrong? All of these questions bring up another question, do ethics get in the way of producing knowledge? The arts and natural sciences are two areas of knowledge that deal a lot with ethics. The arts are a very free area of knowledge in with people are allowed to express themselves, the natural sciences require a lot of experimentation. In my opinion, knowledge is very valuable, and the production of it should be a priority if the sacrifice is reasonable. The arts are a valuable source of knowledge, producers of art tend to try to convey a message through their artwork. Art comes in many different forms, ranging from visual arts to music and even literary arts. Throughout all forms most of art there are lessons embedded in the art piece, or at least messages conveyed through the art. Similarly, most art contains some form of censorship, artists are not allowed to touch on certain topics. Even if artists decide to make art that touches on controversial or different topics, their art is typically not accepted in society and does not receive any publicity. Again, this is the case with almost all art, however for the purpose of this essay I am going to focus on literary art. An example that is very prevalent in my mind is the ban of _The Book of Negroes_ by Lawrence Hill. A dutchman named Roy Groenberg wrote a letter to Lawrence Hill. In the letter he wrote that a group of people in the Netherlands were going to burn Hill’s book because in contained the word ‘negro’ in the title (Hopper). _The Book of Negroes_ is an award winning book that is about the life of an 11 year-old girl who is kidnapped in a village near Segu in Africa, and sent to North Carolina to be a slave. The book continues to tell the reader about her life as a slave (Hill). _The Book of Negroes_ is widely considered as very moving and a book that conveys important messages (Hopper). Unfortunately, because of the title it was misconceived as a book that was critical of African-Americans. Groenberg was the only person to act on his feelings, however that does not mean he was the only person to see this book as negatively directed at African-Americans. _The Book of Negroes_ was likely misconceived by many more people just because of the inclusion of the word ‘negro’ in the title. Unfortunately, society has made many ethical judgements about the word ‘negro’ which are usually justified but in this case prevent people expanding their knowledge (Hopper). This one of many examples, in which an ethical judgement limited methods available in the production of knowledge. This brings up the question in my mind, why do people shy away from certain words? An attempt to find the answer lead me to the Theory of Knowledge diagram, more specifically the ways of knowing. One way of knowing that intrigues me is language, this seems to answer my question. Language is a very powerful way of knowing, as words can be very powerful. There are handful of words in the english language that are not spoken because of how powerful they are. It seems to me that because of this some words are not tolerated even if the context is appropriate. Which sort of explains why The Book of Negroes received some criticism. It almost makes the criticism understandable, and I can begin to justify Groenberg’s actions. Like I said before, almost all art forms have artwork that is not socially  accepted, and up to this point I’ve only discussed literary art. However in my personal life I have learned about art not being accepted, when it comes to hip-hop music. I regularly listen to hip-hop music and it is a very important part of my life. In the eighth grade for a social studies class I had the opportunity to play a song in class as part of a project. This for me was especially difficult because a lot of hip-hop music is not completely suitable for a eighth grade class setting. Even though I had found a couple of songs that were perfect for what I needed, but had a little too much profanity. I completely understand that there are some inappropriate elements to hip-hop music that are not the best thing for a class room environment. However, I believe by the eighth grade students have developed a level of maturity, and should be able to listen to hip-hop music. All that needed to happen was for my classmates to disregard any profanity and see the song for what it truly is. Similarly, people should have looked past the title â€Å"The Book of Negroes† and read the book to see it for it’s value. Ethical judgments are as prevalent in the arts as they are in the natural sciences. From stem cell research to animal testing, there are a plethora of examples for natural sciences. The arts are as much about entertainment as they are gaining knowledge, or maybe even more. On the other hand the natural sciences is almost entirely about gaining new knowledge and improving what is already known. In this age, developments in natural sciences are nearly only about human advancement. Whether is medically or discovering new things. I am going to mainly focus on how various countries, such as Argentina, the United States, Russia, Iran and France, tested their space equipment. From the mid 1940s all the way to 2013, the mentioned countries have sent monkeys into space (Gray). Before leaders were confident enough to send humans into space, they sent monkeys into space to see how their equipment fared. As expected, most of these monkeys died horrible deaths in flight with no way of knowing what is happening or any way to help themselves (Gray). The most notable instances were the first few monkeys in space. In 1948 NASA sent a  rhesus monkey named Albert 39 miles into the air in a rocket. Albert died of suffocation mid flight, however NASA sent another monkey in the air named Albert II. Albert II survived the flight but died due to a parachute malfunction (Gray). When I discussed the Book of Negroes I reached a conclusion that gaining knowledge is more important than ethical issues. However, when discussing NASA monkeys it is much harder to decide. This is because lives are at stake, although they are not human lives it is still hard to think about something dying for space research. Majority of people agree that sending monkeys into space is wrong. How is it that NASA can design equipment to go into space, but can not create a machine that can detect air pressure and oxygen levels. Again, understanding this point of view is much easier but the theory of knowledge diagram came to my mind again. In the ways of knowing there is emotion, and that is likely the main way of knowing affecting people when they imagine monkeys dying for space research. It is easy to create an emotional bond with an animal as cute as a monkey, and most people can agree monkeys are cute. When reacting on emotions people reach rash conclusions. Which I think can be applied here, I am curious what the reaction would be if NASA tested with uglier or at least less cute animals. What if NASA sent warthogs into space? This is a situation when I personally hate to play devils advocate, however if I was an astronaut in the 1940s I would certainly not go into a space rocket. I have absolutely nothing against monkeys, but if I were forced to make a decision between a monkey dying and a human dying I would choose the monkey, without hesitation. In conclusion, knowledge is very valuable and has been something humans have cherished through the ages. The production of knowledge has been vital to the advancement of the human race. Under most circumstances in the arts and natural sciences, the production of knowledge does not require a major sacrifice, just a small loss or temporary discomfort. There are times in which it is not worth the sacrifice to learn something. However the vast majority of circumstances provide a reasonable loss for the production of  knowledge. Overall, I believe knowledge and the production of knowledge is extremely valuable and should be a priority when it comes to he arts and natural sciences. Works Cited Gray, Tara. â€Å"A Brief History of Animals In Space.† NASA. NASA HQ, 02 Aug 2004. Web. 16 Sep 2013. Hill, Lawrence. The Book of Negroes. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: HarperCollins, 2007. Print. Hopper, Tristin. â€Å"Dutchman threatens to burn The Book of Negroes.† National Post. National Post, 10 Jun 2011. Web. 16 Sep 2013. .

Vivian Bearing: a Tragic Heroine That Triumph

Vivian Bearing: A Tragic Heroine that Triumph Margaret Edison’s play Wit is about Vivian Bearing, a professor of seventeenth century poetry, specializing in John Donne. She is a strong willed intellectual being treated for ovarian cancer. Vivian lives a very secluded life and avoids human emotional contact. Just like any tragic hero, Vivian has flaws that prevent her from human kindness, which leads to her downfall. Her treatment of cancer causes her to realize that she needs emotional connection, which she has missed her whole life.Although her flaws are her intellect and wit that cause her an inability to connect emotionally with people around her, she becomes noble because she begins to express her emotions and accept kindness. Vivian Bearing has lived an intellectual rather than emotional life. As a child, education was very important to her family. On her fifth birthday which she recalls as her best birthday she read a book (Edson 41). She would rather read a book than ha ve a party, cake or even having friends over.Reading a book during her birthday is very ironic because she claims this to be her best birthday which is really unique, because this is horrible as any standard for a fifth birthday. Most five year olds want a party and cake. Vivian takes the book and she reads its spine intently. Reading a book attentively on her birthday proves Vivian’s obsession with learning and expanding her horizons. She is only interested in learning, not worried about connecting with people her own age or even her family. While she is reading her book, her father sits on his chair â€Å"disinterested but tolerant† (Edson 41).Since her father does not pay any attention to her, Vivian is emotionally detached from her father. She only knows education and learning. She never mentions receiving any affection as a child. This is the only time she mentions her childhood. One can only assume that because of this the character’s own remote personalit y reflects that of her father’s. It is very likely that she never received the gentle touch of affection from her dad, the way she probably would have from her mother, if the mother had been in the picture.We know that her mother died at the age of forty, but other than that, nothing else is either mentioned or displayed regarding her. Vivian’s intellect and crave for knowledge continues to prevent her from human emotional connections. We meet Vivian as a student in a flashback. Her scholarship was her consuming and unrelenting passion, blinding her to other concerns of life like making friends. Despite being advised by her professor to enjoy life, she resorts to withdrawing into the library instead of going out (Edson 15).Her toughness and strictness towards her education blinds her treatment of humanity. She remains lonely and uses her education to cover her need for showing and needing emotional attachment. She does not enjoy her college life like most students do. Her intellect refuses her to show a need of emotional connection with students her own age. Her emotional detachment is apparent when she is told that she has ovarian cancer. Instead of crying and being afraid of death, she begins to analyze and think. â€Å"Must read something about cancer. Must get some books, articles.Assemble a bibliography,† she explains (Edson 8). The character’s excessive need for knowledge, which can be perceived as her tragic flaw, causes her to be oblivious to the reality of her diagnosis. Vivian is consumed with learning that she is unable to grasp with the reality that she has a disease that is slowly killing her. Her need for knowledge can be seen as a flaw because this prevents her from becoming psychologically attached to anything or anyone. Vivian thrives on knowledge and her ability to learn and understand things and uses her intellect to avoid human contact.The character’s addiction to intellect has shut down her need for any h uman emotions. Vivian’s wit appears as rude and uncaring when she uses her wit to push people away. Vivian’s smart remarks to everything cause people around her and also people that meet her to be unable to create a relationship with Vivian. When Vivian is diagnosed with ovarian cancer, Dr. Kelekian uses the word â€Å"insidious† and defines it as â€Å"undetectable† (Edson 8). Vivian is unable to control her witty comments and could not resist the urge and decides to tell him the correct definition saying â€Å"treacherous†. Dr.Kelekian has a negative attitude towards her because of these corrections. Instead of treating her cancer, he decides to use her as research. Dr. Kelekian is unable to feel any compassion for her because she is rude. Vivian’s wittiness also appears as being uncaring. She is not liked very much by others, due to her unkindness. Previously, when a student asked for an extension on his paper, Professor Bearing rejects h is request with a heartless comment. â€Å"Don’t tell me, your grandmother died† (Edson 63). Then she goes on to say, â€Å"Do what you will, but the paper is due when it is due† (Edson 63).Instead of showing some sentiment for the student, she is inconsiderate and cold-hearted towards him. She is so evil towards the student that no other student is able to feel comfortable around her and even speak to her as a person. She terrorizes her students inconsiderately and dispassionately. Vivian Bearing uses her wittiness to push people away so she does create an emotional attachment. Being put in hospital causes Vivian to reflect on her life and to realize how much she needs kindness. She even admits to craving kindness.She wants Susie to come see her to the point where she creates an emergency (Edson 64). She begins as an intellect, witty professor who is lonely, but now she is thirsty for a drop of kindness. Vivian’s hunger for kindness becomes apparent when she allows her nurse to call her â€Å"sweetheart† (Edson 64) or â€Å"honey†(Edson 65). These are words Vivian has never been referred to in her life and she is comfortable with them. She realizes that it is acceptable to allow people to treat her like a person and be kind to her. Vivian starts to open up and shows her emotions without any problem or hesitation.At the end of the play when Vivian is lying in her deathbed, alone, shivering scared, and in pain, E. M. comes to her side. When her college professor Ashford comes to visit her, she asks Vivian if she wanted her to recite Donne, she replies â€Å"nooooo† (Edson 79). Vivian is finally realizing that her need for intellect and wit is not what she needs because she has received kindness. The emotional part of life is what she needs and not the complicated poems by Donne. As her time draws to a close, a sea change begins to work in the way Vivian thinks about life.As mentioned in the above paragraphs, Vivi an has devoted her life to education and it is only through suffering that she learns that being extremely smart is not enough. It takes our heroine fifty years, and an insidious cancer to realize that it does not matter in the end how much you know since knowledge cannot possibly comfort you in death. Vivian says this line in the play â€Å"And death shall be no more, death thou shalt die â€Å"(Edson 72-73). By these words she learns that â€Å"death is nothing but a breath, a comma that separates life from life everlasting†, Vivian’s last breath was nothing but a comma† and she has now moved on where she will live not by her knowledge, but by her heart. Though her body has died, her soul is awakened. Before Vivian’s final moments of life, she receives the attention and affection that she never had. She dies with a sense of peacefulness. Vivian Bearing is a very intellectual and witty individual who is dedicated to her love for knowledge. But because s he is consumed by her incredible love for knowledge she lives a secluded life. Her downfall is that she is incapable of showing any emotions to another person.The play did not leave the audience with a sense of sadness or remorse, but with hope and respect for Vivian Bearing. She lived the final eight months of her life in extreme pain so doctors could gain more knowledge for future cancer patients. In the process, she learns that life is about humanity. This is what brings the audience to believe that this individual is a tragic hero who triumph and leaves one not with a sense of pity but one of empathy for her suffering. Work Cited Edson, Margaret. Wit. Oxford: Faber & Faber, 1999. Print.

Cockroaches and Human Health Essay Sample

Cockroaches and Human Health Essay Sample Effects of Cockroaches on Human Beings Essay Sample Effects of Cockroaches on Human Beings Essay Sample A cockroach is one of the oldest species on earth. They have not changed in the process of evolution. It is one of the groups of insects widespread around the globe. Cockroaches are among the most enduring insects on the planet. People have struggled with them for many centuries. Science describes 3,600 species. The insects are heat-loving and inhabit mainly heated buildings. They breed all year round actively. The insects are well-oriented in space. Cockroaches label their shelters and the way to them with trace pheromones. The insects are practically omnivorous (eat everything except glass and metal). They eat both fresh and spoiled food. Cockroaches can eat non-traditional products: pepper, ink, leather. A cockroach is an agent of more than 40 different kinds of pathogens (causing intestinal infections, urinary tract infections, hepatitis), as well as helminth eggs. In addition, cockroaches can provoke allergies and asthma attacks. When a cockroach dies, it leaves a skeleton, which consists of chitin. A mixture of chitin and house dust causes asthma. There have been cases when hungry insects bit babies’ ears, nose, and lips. History of Cockroaches A cockroach appeared when there was neither man nor birds and animals on the planet Earth. Cockroaches crept along wet warm forests. There were no wingless forms. â€Å"Once thought to have originated from Africa, the German cockroach probably spread from an area in East and South-East Asia† (Bonnefoy, Kampen, Sweeney, 2008, p. 54). The German cockroach and the Black-beetle are spread everywhere. The American Cockroach is widespread in Eastern Europe. Some people say that the German cockroach’s homeland was South Asia and that it was brought to Europe in the XVIII century. Others believe that it moved with people on ships from Africa. They moved to the north, settling with people. In Central European cities, the Black-beetle has been known for over 400 years (Bonnefoy et al., 2008). Cockroaches are very unpretentious. However, the main things for these migrants from the southern geographic areas are warmth, moisture, and, of course, food. Breadcrumbs on a kitchen table or even just a badly wiped surface are a magic tablecloth for them. Glue on the envelope will be enough for the cockroach to eat for a week. It can also eat soap, shoe polish, paper. Nevertheless, it has gastronomic preferences like white bread and beer. That is why, cockroaches choose kitchens, bakeries, and breweries most willingly. Like all arthropods, a cockroach’s body is segmented and covered with a chitinized cuticle, which is released by cells of the hypodermis. The segments are combined into three functionally distinct sections: a head, a thorax, and an abdomen. The head consists of five segments fused into a solid head capsule – epicranium. The head is triangular or heart-shaped, flat, covered by a shield-shaped pronotum. There are sensory organs and mouth adnexa on the head. There are two big eyes. They are of two types: complex and simple. However, they often atrophy. Sometimes, both are absent. Cockroaches have strong jaws. â€Å"The mouth parts are of the biting kind common to primitive† (Kemp, 1906). The first two pairs of jaws are mandible and maxillae. They are separate. The third pair is fused in the midline, forming the lower lip, the end parts of which remain divided. Tentacles are long and bristle. They are segmented and mainly olfactory organs. They are situated on the fr ont side of the head between eyes. Tentacles consist of a different number of segments. A clypeus is simple and has two parts. The body is flat and oval with a length from 1.7-2 cm to 9.5 cm. The pronotum is large, almost flat, and usually with transparent edges. Superior wings are dense, but with distinct venation. Underwings are webbed and are folded under superior wings. Superior wings and wings are often short or absent. Hips are flat and armed with spines; the armament is of three types. All tibias have strong spines. An abdomen is long, consists of 8-10 tergites and 8-9 (males) or 7 (females) sternites. The last tergite is an anal plate, which is very diverse, sometimes asymmetrical. A genital plate represents a male’s external genital apparatus; an external one is very diverse. A female’s ovipositor is completely hidden. The development occurs with incomplete metamorphosis. A cocoon shell covers mature eggs. Larvae are wingless and small. The development of an e mbryo lasts 17 days. Post-embryonic development lasts 40-41 days, followed by six molts. The lifespan of a female is up to 153 days. Popular Species German Cockroaches â€Å"The German cockroach, Blattella germanica, is the most common indoor species, especially in multiple-family dwellings† (UC IPM, 2007). The German cockroach or Croton-bug is an especially well-known species of synathrophic cockroaches. It is reddish-brown with two stripes on a pronotum. Its length is 10-13 mm. The cockroach’s homeland is South Asia. It was brought to Europe in the XVIII century. It lives in warm, heated rooms in winter, especially in old bathhouses, bakeries, and kitchens. The German cockroach is heat-loving and cannot stand cold weather. A temperature below 5 °C is lethal for it: at -5 °C it dies in 30 minutes and at -7 °C – in a minute. Living in premises, it can eat remnants of bread, vegetables, sugar, butter, and other products. In addition, it damages paper, books, as well as shoes and other leather items. Black-beetles The Black-beetle occurs outside a human’s accommodation in countries with warm climate. â€Å"The black roach is less active and wary than the others, and particularly to German roach, which is especially agile and shy† (Marlatt, 1915, p. 5). Now, the Black-beetle is rare, but it lives in Central Asia. The color of the Black-beetle is pitchy or blackish-brown. It is bigger than the German cockroach. A male is 20-25 mm long and a female is 18-30 mm. Males’ underwings are shorter than the abdomen. The underwings of females are undeveloped. Skin glands of this cockroach spread unpleasant smell. The female lays 5-8 cocoons before dying. The Black-beetle cockroach cocoon contains 16 eggs. Larvae go out of eggs after 2-3 months. Terms of an embryo development depend on temperature and humidity. They grow and develop rapidly: from 4 months to 4 years, depending on the temperature and habitats. Do Cockroaches Carry Diseases? Viral Fatigue It is a well-known fact that cockroaches carry millions of bacteria on their legs. These bacteria enter a body, causing dyspepsia and intoxication. Experts point out that cockroaches are vectors of the so-called viral fatigue. Doctors in the USA and France have concluded that cockroaches are guilty of a permanent prostration. Scientists have recently discovered a new species of cockroaches living in concrete buildings. They have found that they had viral fatigue, which appeared because of mutation. Doctors believe that a microbe can suck the life force from the body, which leads to a sort of premature aging. Contact with insects can transmit the virus to humans. For humans, the virus is dangerous by the fact that the high-calorie diet and vitamins do not bring relief as it eats all useful substances contained in the food before they manage to enter the bloodstream. The person is slowly dying, not knowing that he or she has been the victim of a deadly disease. A new species of parasites was first found in France. Scientists have not found a way to cope with the virus of cockroach fatigue yet, but prevention may stop the disease. Allergies and Asthma In fact, human aversion to cockroaches comes from self-preservation. Cockroaches that eat garbage spread diseases by contact. It is true that these insects cause allergies and asthma. According to experts, a significant increase in the incidence of asthma in recent years, especially among children, is associated with allergy to cockroaches. Cancer Now, Japanese scientists have proven that they cause cancer. Actually, there is a clear correlation of cockroaches with cancer. Today, researchers from the Medical University of Kyoto Prefecture have found that cockroaches could be the cause of cancer. It is clear that cockroaches are vectors of all kinds of bacteria. Japanese scientists claim that the bacterium Helicobacter Pylori increases the risk of stomach cancer and spreads with cockroach droppings. According to scientists, if there are cockroaches in a house, then most likely an owner is infected with this bacterium. However, this bacterium does not cause cancer; it just increases the possibility of its occurrence. The main conclusion of Japanese scientists is that cockroaches are not only disgusting, but also terribly harmful. Exterminator specialists argue that the main method of controlling cockroaches is to cut their way to the water. One needs to fix all taps, wipe the sink at night, and close a drain with a plug. Flowers need watering only in the morning. Under these recommendations, the probability that cockroaches will breed in the house is almost zero. Control Measures Spray One of the most common misconceptions is that cockroaches can be killed forever. The first way to fight with cockroaches is spray (from 1-2 days to 2 weeks). Chemical compounds that include aerosols are so unstable that they are often decomposed in a couple of hours after application and do not cause any harm to insects. Besides, one should not forget about the problem of resistance, i.e. addiction of cockroaches to a particular type of chemical compounds. â€Å"Using these products can cause the roaches to hide deeper inside walls and be more difficult to control later† (Ogg, 2004). Cockroach Bait Cockroach bait is a quite popular and widely advertised insect control. It has no smell and no stains. However, these insecticides have one, but a significant drawback: a cockroach is required to noose. â€Å"Bait is more effective if it is attractive or neutral to cockroaches, or if they cannot escape it† (Rust, Owens, Reierson, 1995, p. 255). Insecticidal gels have become very popular in recent years. However, they frequently use ordinary chocolate paste (hence the brown color) as an attractant and the insecticide and sometimes bitter flavor are added to this paste to avoid eating gel by pets and small children. Fumigation There is another way of chemical control of insects – fumigation. â€Å"Fumigation is a category of a pest control in which gaseous pesticide (fumigant) is applied within a measured volume of space that is enclosed by tarpaulins or otherwise sealed† (Capinera, 2008, p. 3604). It means that an insecticide is placed in a special container and upon contact with water a reaction occurs, resulting in poisonous smoke. In some developed countries, this method is banned for residential use and is used only for disinfestation of storages, basements, and other commercial buildings. Biological effectiveness of this method is quite high because poison penetrates with smoke everywhere and settles on surfaces. However, people will have to live in a place where all things are covered with a thin layer of insecticide. Chalk Chalk is the most primitive method of controlling insects. It has gotten its spread only by price. Chalks are soaked in a weak solution of the insecticide and act as compressed powders. The term of such chalks is short enough (7-10 days). Sticky â€Å"Houses† The next way to control insects is sticky â€Å"houses†. In fact, it is not a means of insect control. It is a natural trap. Sticky traps are recommended to be used together with chemical methods of insect control in places where treatment with chemicals is undesirable or impossible (cabinets for food storage, appliances, etc.). Dust and Powder Talking about dust or powder in different packages, powder often clogs the spiracles of a cockroach. However, together with a low biological efficiency, powders have the most significant drawback as they raise dust, form suspension in the air, and are inhaled by humans and animals, causing attacks of allergy or asthma. Moreover, some powders, containing thiuram – a strong carcinogen, are very dangerous for health. Furthermore, cats and dogs breathe the air near the floor where the powder is scattered. It remains on their paws and hair. A cat licks its fur very often and the poison gets straight into its stomach. Disadvantages of Chemical Methods Most of these methods have a number of disadvantages. Firstly, cockroaches disappear only for a while. More often, cockroaches just become less numerous. Secondly, unpleasant smell can stay in the apartment (it applies to chemicals). Finally, chemicals used to control cockroaches are dangerous to human and animal health. Vapors of toxic chemicals are harmful to health. They lead to a weakening of the immune system and, consequently, to a decrease of the bodys ability to resist pathogenic and harmful effects. As a result, it may develop or aggravate almost any disease. Dry pesticides are dangerous if they enter a mouth or open wounds (scratches). Most often, it happens with children and pets. The presence of cockroaches indicates poor sanitary condition. The main thing in fighting against cockroaches is observance of sanitary-hygienic requirements, as well as elimination of food and water sources and hiding places. Although to find an effective remedy is quite difficult, it is necessary to fight for the eviction of these ill-fated red monsters and not just because they damp the spirits. The persistence of cockroaches is explained not only by unpretentiousness, but also by high fertility. The female cockroach is fertilized only once. However, over the six-month life of an adult insect, it lays eggs in the form of a baggage several times and drags them on the tip of the abdomen. Then, it unhooks the luggage from the abdomen and about forty white creatures appear. Consequences of a cockroach’s coexistence with a person have a negative result: synanthropic cockroaches are dangerous because they spoil products. Furthermore, they spread various bacteria and helminth eggs. The bacteria cause dysentery, typhoid, cholera, tuberculosis, and other diseases. There are whipworm and pinworms eggs in the rectum of a black cockroach. In addition, a German cockroach has broad tapeworm eggs. It could be concluded that cockroaches are troublesome neighbors.

The History of the Snowmaking Machine

The History of the Snowmaking Machine By definition, snow is crystallized ice particles that have the physical integrity and the strength to maintain their shape.† It’s normally created by Mother Nature, but when Mother Nature doesn’t deliver and commercial ski resorts or movie makers need snow, thats when snowmaking machines step in. The First Machine-Made Snow Manmade snow started out as an accident. A low-temperature laboratory in Canada was studying the effects of  rime icing on the intake of a jet engine in the 1940s. Lead by Dr. Ray Ringer, the researchers were spraying water into the air just before the engine intake in a wind tunnel, trying to reproduce natural conditions.  They didn’t create any rime ice, but they did make snow. They had to repeatedly shut down the engine and the wind tunnel to shovel it out. Attempts to commercialize a snowmaking machine began with Wayne Pierce, who was in the ski manufacturing business in the 1940s,  along with partners Art Hunt and Dave Richey. Together, they  formed the Tey Manufacturing Company of Milford, Connecticut in 1947 and sold a new ski design. But in 1949, Mother Nature got stingy and the company was hit hard by a slump in ski sales due to a dry, snowless winter. Wayne Pierce came up with a solution on March 14, 1950.  I know how to make snow! he announced when he  arrived at work on that March morning. He had the idea that if you could blow droplets of water through freezing air, the water would turn into frozen hexagonal crystals or snowflakes. Using a paint spray compressor, a nozzle and some garden hose, Pierce and his partners created a machine that made snow. The company was granted a basic-process patent in 1954 and installed a few of their snowmaking machines, but they didn’t take their snowmaking business very far. Maybe they were more interested in skis than in something to ski on. The three partners sold their company and  the snowmaking machines patent rights to the Emhart Corporation in 1956. It was Joe and Phil Tropeano, owners of the Larchmont Irrigation Company in Boston,  who bought the Tey patent and began making and developing their own snowmaking equipment from Pierces design. And as the idea of making snow started catching on, Larchmont and the Tropeano brothers began suing other makers of snowmaking equipment. The Tey patent was contested in court and overthrown on the basis that the Canadian research led by Dr. Ray Ringer predated the patent granted to Wayne Pierce. A Flurry of Patents In 1958, Alden Hanson would file a patent for a new type of snowmaking machine called the fan snowmaker. The earlier Tey patent was a compressed air-and-water machine and had its drawbacks, which included loud noise and energy demands. The hoses would also occasionally freeze up and it wasn’t unheard for the lines to blow apart. Hanson designed a snowmaking machine using a fan, particulate water and the optional use of a nucleating agent such as particles of dirt. He was granted a patent for his machine in 1961 and is considered the  pioneering model for all fan snowmaking machines today.   In 1969, a trio of inventors from Lamont Labs at Columbia University named Erikson, Wollin and Zaunier filed a patent for yet another snowmaking machine. Known as the Wollin patent, it was for a specially developed rotating fan blade that was impacted with water from the rear, resulting in mechanically atomized water leaving the front. As the water froze, it became snow. The inventors went on to create Snow Machines International, manufacturers of the snowmaking machine based on this Wollin patent. They promptly signed licensing agreements with the Hanson patent holder  to prevent an  infringement dispute with that  patent.  As part of the licensing agreement, SMI was subject to inspection by a Hanson representative.   In 1974, a patent was filed for the Boyne Snowmaker, a ducted fan which isolated the nucleator to the outside of the duct and away from the bulk water nozzles. The nozzles were positioned above the centerline and on the downstream edge of the duct. SMI was the licensed manufacturer of the Boyne Snowmaker. in 1978, Bill Riskey and Jim VanderKelen filed a patent for a machine that would come to be known as the Lake Michigan nucleator. It surrounded the existing nucleator with a water jacket. The Lake Michigan nucleator exhibited none of the freezing problems that earlier fan snowmakers sometimes suffered from. VanderKelen received a patent for his Silent Storm Snowmaker, a multiple speed fan with a new style propeller blade, in 1992.

Construction website evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Construction website evaluation - Essay Example Generally speaking, each construction company has its own motto, perspective, work ethic and attitude on how and what to build. These can vary greatly, but their goal is always the same- to gain more clients, construct more buildings and become successful and acknowledges in the construction business. Once the idea or notion of what to build is created, the customer contacts his or her construction company of choice. They meet and discuss the task at hand, and if they agree on things- a contract is signed to start the construction project. The signing of the contract can be arduous and take a long time since many details have to be agreed upon, such as the cost of the project, exactly how it will be carried out, the estimated duration of constructing and many other details. But if both sides manage to reach an understanding and the company can supply what the customer is interested in, the project is launched. Once the contract is signed, the construction company begins its preparations for the project, and this involves staff members and workers of different areas and fields. One or more architects will be involved, as will construction workers, accountants, lawyers if necessary and many others. The company may have to use sub-contract companies in order to complete the project within the monetary and time frames. This means that another contract will have to be signed between the major construction company that originally took on the construction project and other smaller companies or workers that dont belong to the major company who will be contracted to work on the project. This of course depends on the scope of the project. Finally, when everything is arranged, the implementation stage begins. The materials for the construction project are brought to the location of the intended building (sometimes via other moving companies or industries) and the builders can start constructing the building under the guide of construction manager and the architect or

Case Brief Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Case Brief - Essay Example Mr. Brown filed in 1951 in United Sates district court. The education board based their decision to establish separate learning institutions on Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896), in which the Supreme Court judge ruling allowed separate learning institutes to be established for white and for black children (Orlik, 2010). However, the bench did not make it mandatory for districts to form establish separate institutions, though district education board decided to establish separate institutions. The parents felt that their children were denied the opportunity to interact with their colleagues and therefore, they felt they were being treated with inferiority. This was against the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause, which granted all the Americans legal safety regardless of their background. The civil right movement arose to fight for equal rights of all Americans which pushed the matter to the court. The case was presented to district court and the plaintiff claimant challenged the Topeka District Education Board for treating the Black-American children unfairly (Orlik, 2010). The plaintiff affirmed that having separate learning institution for black and white people offered an opportunity for the black children to be denied access to superior housing facilities, inferior services and mistreatment. In making the ruling, the bar question whether establishing different learning institutions for black and white children amounted to injustice. The other issue was whether this deprived the black Americans their legal security offered by fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause. The ruling by the court was that although learning institutions offered similar training, housing and transportation facilities, having different institutions for white and black children was unfair because it had emotional damages to Black American children (Orlik, 2010). They declared that the decision by the Supreme Court in 1986 was alright and

Principles of research & evidence based practice Essay

Principles of research & evidence based practice - Essay Example In addition, concepts and theories of nursing allege that a nurse is bound to his/her practice policies as well as personal choices. Therefore, for nurses to undertake any course of actions, evidence is supposed to lead the decisions while concepts and information enabling such decisions is required prior to implementing decisions and deemed solutions. For the nursing career, care is the major responsibility which the nurse is entrusted with as it involves of use of interventions aiming at providing care for patients with differing and a wide range of personal and medical needs (Burns, & Grove, 20). Evidence in nursing is a function of both research and analysis of data regarding medical problems that the nurse may be presented with. This means that a nurse is entitled to provide diagnosis of illness through researching on symptoms, medical tests, and information on the best practices available. However, while nurses are categorized as care givers, their welfare in terms of performan ce and attachment with the work they do has been identified as problematic at personal development level. For example, the nurses are care givers and therefore are classified as the service deliverers but their welfare hangs on the balance as they do not have bodies or entities that care for them. This is according to a research conducted by Burtson and Stichler (2010) in which they allege that satisfaction of nurses is a function of how they are treated, both in compensation and how they are developed to adapt and deal with personal issues while at the same time providing the best care to their patients. According to the results from Burtson and Stichler’s research, nurses get their satisfaction from the work they do. The responsibility of providing care to patients is one among a cluster of factors that ensure that a nurse is satisfied. The level of satisfaction enables the nurse to conduct research and employ cohesiveness in their duties. In this case, a nurse with persona l issues and unsatisfied needs is unable to provide substantial evidence-based care. In this case, the quantitative research article ‘nursing work environment and nurse caring: relationship among motivational factors’ gives an account of the various factors that influence nurse satisfaction and the possible outcomes when caring is considered. The purpose and aim of this document is to analyze the various factors of consideration that connect nursing research with best practice. In addition, a critique to two articles, quantitative and qualitative research methods, will show the different types of research methods, designs, and approaches used by the nurses before they implement their interventions. Research methods and designs are used to determine the variables and factors that affect a group of patients, individual patients, or the relevance of using treatment and control groups in a research-based intervention. Nursing therefore includes research whose purpose is to provide evidence which in turn is used to implement interventions. A background study on evidence-based practice shows that during the 1980s, evidence-based medicine was the term

Anti Smoking Promotion Policies Difference Health And Social Care Essay

Anti Smoking Promotion Policies Difference Health And Social Care Essay According to the Oxford Medical Companion (1994) cited in the WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic 2008, tobacco is the only legally available consumer product which kills people when it is used entirely as intended. Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the World which causes one in ten deaths among adults worldwide and in 2005, tobacco caused about 5.4million deaths, an average of one death every six seconds. At the current rate, the death toll was projected to reach more than eight million annually by 2030 (over 175 million deaths by then as shown in figure 1) and a total of up to one billion deaths in the 21st century (WHO 2007).Certain behaviours have been labelled as risky behaviours associated with negative health outcomes among which smoking is and which has been the subject of UK national health strategies (Naidoo Wills 2005). Smoking causes about one fifth of all deaths in the UK, most of which are premature and has hugely significant impacts on the wid er environment and community through causing air pollution, fires, litter and environmental damage (Ewles 2005). This essay will look into why smoking is an important public health issue in England by defining it from various perspectives and will analyse why people smoke. Also, it will examine various demographical and epidemiological data related to smoking and in addition, it will examine how smoking is addressed in International, National and Local policy. It will also analyse various measures adopted at various geographical levels to address inequalities in health on promoting anti-smoking. In addition, it will look into various values, norms and ethical principles that influence anti-smoking policy development. From the gaps identified, recommendations and conclusions will be made. According to Ewles (2005), smoking in the UK can be defined from three different perspectives in terms of; the activity, the product and the market. In terms of the activity, it is the largely use of tobacco in manufactured and hand-rolled cigarettes which is the most common form of tobacco use since the early twentieth century. In terms of the product, the manufactured cigarette consists of chopped tobacco that has been cured and mixed with a variety of additives to add flavour, increase nicotine availability from smoke and improve shelf life all rolled up in a paper tube with a filter at one end. In terms of the market, UK is home to several Worlds major tobacco companies such as the Imperial Tobacco, British American Tobacco, Gallagher and Rothmans UK who all together employ 9000 people in the UK and have more than 90% of UK cigarette market. The principal constituents of cigarette smoke are tar, carbon monoxide and nicotine and the paper used for manufacturing cigarettes is treated with chemicals to prevent self-extinguishing whenever the cigarette is lit. The filter usually consists of cellulose acetate which traps some solid particles in smoke and cools it (Ewles 2005). The principal constituents of cigarette smoke are carbon monoxide, tar and nicotine which is highly addictive (Cancer Research UK 2009). FIGURE 1: Cumulative tobacco- related deaths, 2005- 2030. Source: http://www.who.int/tobacco/mpower/mpower_report_tobacco_crisis_2008.pdf The impact of tobacco smoking on public health extends beyond the direct effects on the individual smoker and personal health being to economic, environmental and social effects (Ewles 2005). Tobacco smoking is an important public health issue because the smoke is very toxic to every human tissue it touches on its way into, through and out of the smokers body (Ewles 2005). Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body thereby causing many diseases, reducing quality of life and life expectancy. Also it has been estimated that in England, 364,000 patients are admitted to NHS hospitals each year due to smoking related diseases which translates into about 7,000 hospital admission per week and 1,000 admissions per day (ASH 2006). In the UK, smoking causes about a fifth of all deaths, approximately 114,000 each year, most of which are premature with an average of 21 years early (Ewles 2005). According to Peto et. al. (2003) cited in Ewles (2005), most premature deaths caused by smoking are Lung and coronary cancer, chronic obstructive heart diseases and coronary heart diseases with 42800, 29100 and 30600 deaths respectively every year. In addition, smoking is known to also bring increased risk of many debilitating conditions like impotence, infertility, gum disease, asthma and psoriasis (Ewles 2005). Research has also shown that non-smokers are put at risk by exposure to other peoples smoke which is known as passive or involuntary smoking and is also referred to as second-hand smoke (SHS) or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) (Cancer Research 2009). Tobacco was first introduced to Britain way back in the sixteenth century when it was commonly smoked in pipes by men. Later snuff and cigar smoking became popular among men but as a result of the invention of the cigarette making machines in the latter part of the nineteenth century, mass consumption of tobacco was made possible and in 1919, more tobacco was sold as cigarettes than in any other form (Wald Nicolaides- Bouman 1991). According to Wald Nicolaides- Bouman (1991) cited in Cancer Research UK (2009), smoking was firstly common among men and the consumption rose steadily until 1945 when it peaked at 12 manufactured cigarettes per adult male per day. After the Second World War, there was a slight dip in consumption but thereafter it remained at around 10 manufactured cigarettes per day until 1974 which marked the beginning of a steady and continuous decrease to about 4.6 manufactured cigarettes per adult male per day in 1992. On the other hand, women began to smoke cigarette s in the 1920s but not in large numbers until after the Second World War when they were smoking 2.4 cigarettes per adult female per day. Later, consumption among women continued to increase until it reached 7.0 cigarettes per day in 1974 after which it declined to 3.9 cigarettes per day in 1992 (Cancer Research UK 2009). HISTORY The link between smoking and life threatening diseases began in the early 1950s when Dr Richard Doll and Prof Austin Bradford conducted the first ever large scale study between smoking and lung cancer which was later published in 1954. In 1957, the British Medical research Council announced that, there is a direct causal connection between smoking and lung cancer. Later in 1962, the Royal College of Physicians concluded that smoking causes lung cancer, bronchitis and coronary heart diseases and recommended tougher laws on cigarette sales, advertising including smoking in the public places. In 1965, the British Government banned cigarette advertising on television and in 1971, there was an agreement between the Government and the tobacco industry that, Government health warnings must be carried out on all cigarettes packet sold in the UK. In 1973, the first tar/nicotine tables was published in UK which was later upgraded and divided cigarettes into five categories of tar content in 19 74. In 1975, the Imperial Tobacco agreed to drop brand names and logos from racing cars in UK races as control of tobacco advertising switched from the Industry to the Independent advertising Standards Authority. In 1976, Prof Sir Richard Doll and Richard Peto published the results of 20 years study of smokers and concluded that, one out of three people died from the habit. In 1983, the Latest Royal College of Physicians report featured passive smoking for the first time and asserted that more than 100,000 people died every year in the UK from smoking -related illness which later resulted in the banning of smoking on London Underground trains in 1984. In 1985, the smoking ban was extended to stations that were wholly or partly underground and in 1986, new advertising and promotion guidelines agreed on including banning tobacco advertising in cinemas. In 1987, the London Underground smoking ban was extended to entire network following the Kings Cross station fire outbreak in which 31 people died. The Independent Scientific Committee on Smoking and Health report in 1988 concluded that, non-smokers have a 10-30% higher risk of developing lung cancer if exposed to other peoples smoke and in June 1988, a UK court ruled that injury caused by passive smoking can be an industrial accident. The first nicotine skin patch became available for prescription in the UK in 1992 and in 1993, Sir Richard Dolls study results suggested that smokers were three times more likely to die in middle-age than non-smokers and up to half of all smokers may eventually die from the habit. In May 1997, the New Labour Government pledges to ban tobacco advertising and in the same year, the Government called for Formula One to be exempted from proposed EU directive on tobacco advertising and sponsorship but later backed down in the face of widespread criticism that was threatening the entire directive. In 1998, a White Paper named Smoking Kills was published after the Government -appointed Scie ntific Committee on Tobacco and Health announced that, passive smoking was responsible for causing lung cancer and heart disease in adults. In 2001, their was a new EU directive requiring larger and more prominent health warnings on tobacco packaging and in 2002, the British parliament passed legislation that began as a Private Members Bill, banning tobacco advertising named the Tobacco advertising and promotion Act. In December 2002, the British Medical Association called for the banning of smoking in the public places because of threat to non-smokers and young children. The Cancer Research UK launched an advertising campaign in 2003 and was funded by the Department of Health which target smokers of mild brand of cigarette, warning on the risk associated with the habit. In January 2004, the British Heart Foundation used graphic images to reinforce the Government -sponsored anti-smoking campaign. In March 2004, the Irish Republic introduced the toughest anti-smoking laws in Europe d escribed as the landmark legislation with a complete ban on smoking at workplaces. In November 2004, a Public Health White Paper proposed to introduce smoking ban in workplaces in 2008 with the exemption of private members club and pubs that do not serve food. In, March 2005, the British Medical journal report produced data showing that smoking killed 11,000 a year in the UK and in April 2005, MSPs voted by 83 to 15 to introduce a ban on smoking in public places from April 2006 and any smoker who defy is liable to pay a  £1,000 fine. In October 2005, the discussions over the England smoking ban broke down at the cabinet level causing severe delays. In December 2006, the Government announced the smoking ban in public spaces in England known as Smoke free England, which began on the 1st of July 2007 (BBC NEWS 2007). On the 1st of October 2007, the law for selling tobacco changed and became illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 (an increase from 16) (Smoke fr ee England 2007). In May 2008, the Health Bill then called the National Health Service Reform Bill was contained in the Draft Legislative Programme published and it was announced in the Queens speech during the state opening of Parliament on 3rd December 2008. The Bill was later introduced into the House of Lords on 15th January 2009 and was published on the 16th January 2009 which proposes measures to improve the quality of NHS care, the performance of NHS services and to improve public health (DOH 2009). DEMOGRAPHY EPIDEMIOLOGY The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) is located in Northern and or Western Europe and it comprises the Island of Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and the Island of Ireland (Northern Ireland) (Wikipedia 2009). According to the 2001 census, the population of the United Kingdom was 58,789,194 and has increased to 60,587,300 according to mid -2006 estimates by the Office for National Statistics. EPIDEMIOLOGY The prevalence of smoking varies widely around the World and has been observed to be on the increase in many developing countries thereby creating huge health problems for the future. Approximately 1.3 billion people smoke cigarettes or other tobacco products Worldwide (WHO 2003) and Figure 2 shows the worldwide tobacco epidemic model which describes the rise and decline of smoking prevalence followed by similar trends for smoking. The first stage is characterized by a low smoking prevalence of less than 20%, which is commonly observed among the males with no increase in lung cancer and other chronic diseases caused by smoking. Countries in this stage includes those in the Sub-Saharan Africa that have not yet been drawn into the global economy but are vulnerable to growth and changing strategic initiatives of transnational tobacco companies (WHO 2003). Stage two of the model is characterized by increase in smoking prevalence to above 50% in men with early increase in cigarettes smoki ng among women and a shift towards smoking initiation at younger age with an increasing burden of lung cancer and other tobacco-attributable diseases. These are characteristics of countries in the Asia, Latin America and North Africa continents. In these regions, tobacco control activities have been observed to be poorly developed and the health risks associated with tobacco smoking are not well understood. There are very low public and political supports for the effective implementation of tobacco control policies (WHO 2003). The third stage is characterized by a decline in smoking prevalence in men and gradual decline among women. Here, there is a convergence of male and female smoking prevalence at 45% and the burden of smoking attributable diseases is on the increase. Also, smoking-attributable deaths comprises of 10%to 30% of all deaths within the region which is about three quarters of men. Countries within this stage are those in the Eastern and Southern Europe where health e ducation about the diseases caused by smoking decreases with the public acceptance of smoking, most especially among the educated ones (WHO 2003). The fourth stage is characterized by a decline in smoking prevalence among men and women with deaths attributable to smoking peaked at 30% to 35% of all deaths most of which are middle aged men. Among the women, smoking attributable deaths rose to about 20% to 25%. Examples of countries within this stage are the United States and United Kingdom where England falls. FIGURE 2: Four stages of the Worldwide Tobacco Epidemic. (Source: WHO 2003). According to the Cancer Research UK (2009), the survey of smoking in Britain began in 1948. Then, smoking was extremely prevalent among men and the survey showed that 82% smoked some form of tobacco while 65% smoked cigarette. Later on, smoking prevalence fell rapidly through the 1980s until the mid 1990s when the overall smoking rates stabilizes just below 30% among the population as shown in figure 3. The sharp fall in smoking prevalence during this period is as a result of several interventions put in place by the Government then such as banning of tobacco advertisement on TV in the 1960s and others. Since the mid 1990s, the rate of fall has been very slow and in 2007 it was observed that 22% of men aged 16years and over smoke cigarette. The percentage of female smokers on the other hand has remained constant between 1948 and 1970 as shown in Figure 2. Between 1970 and 2007, the % of women who smoked dropped from around 43% to 20 % still due to certain measures developed in the la te 1960s. FIGURE 3. % of person aged 16+ who smoke cigarettes in Great Britain from 1948 to 2007. Source: General household survey, ONS. Available from: http://publications.cancerresearchuk.org/WebRoot/crukstoredb/CRUK_PDFs/lung/cs_lu_f6.1.xls FIGURE 4: Prevalence of Cigarette smoking by sex, England and Govt. Office Regions 2005. Source: Cancer Research UK. Figure 4 shows the cigarette distribution of cigarette smoking prevalence in England and it can be observed that, the overall smoking prevalence in England is about 25% among men and around 22% among the women. Within the various regions in England, smoking prevalence is higher among men and women in the North East because the region is economically active and home to 588 overseas companies from 32 different countries employing over 27,000 people (UK Trade Investment 2009). There has been a link between socio economic class and high prevalence of smoking as demonstrated in Figure 5 which buttresses the reason why the prevalence is high in Northeast England. Regions with high manual employee, occupation and high numbers of Industrial factories are characterised by high smoking prevalence. FIGURE 5: Prevalence of cigarette smoking by sex and socio-economic groups in England in 1992, 1998 and 2002. Source: Cancer Research UK. As shown in figure 5, smoking prevalence is observed to be higher among manual workers than non-manual workers. From 1992 to 2002, smoking prevalence reduced as a result of some interventions introduced within these years especially the White Paper on Smoking Kills introduced in 1998 making the prevalence to reduce from 33% in 1998 among the manual workers to 28% in 2002. FIGURE 6: Prevalence of cigarette smoking by age, persons aged 16+ in Great Britain, 1974-2005. Source: Cancer Research UK. FIGURE 7: Self reported cigarette smoking percentages by sex and minority ethnic group persons aged 16+ in England 2004. Source: Cancer Research UK. Smoking is more prevalent among the younger age groups of 16-19, 20-24 and 25-34 as shown in figure 6, where highest rate was observed among the 20-24 age group. Between 1974 and 2005, smoking prevalence among the 20-24 age groups fell from 48% to 32 %. On the other hand, among the 60+ age group, smoking prevalence halved between the same year intervals from 32% to 14%. Therefore, smoking prevalence has been observed to reduce with age as smokers tend to give up in middle age or die of smoking-related illnesses. (ONS 2002). Smoking prevalence has been observed to vary among different ethnic minority groups in England as shown in figure 7. Smoking prevalence is higher among the Bangladeshi men of about 41% but rare among the women with about 3%. Although this rate is alarming but there has been a decrease as to what was observed in 2001, when cigarette smoking and tobacco use was around 44% among the men with a relatively small percentage among the women (ONS 2001). FIGURE 8: Prevalence of cigarette smoking and use of tobacco products among ethnic minorities in England 2001. Source: DOH 2001. SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS Smoking in the UK has been observed to be closely associated with social class and deprivation. The prevalence of smoking among the low paid groups has been observed to be twice those of the affluent groups because of the great difficulty people in the less affluent groups experience in stopping smoking (Ewles 2005). Tobacco smoking is also widely recognised as a cause of health inequality in the UK because it is common among the deprived groups and also compromises the already poorer health of deprived population such as those that fall within the marginalized groups. Examples are people with mental problems and prisoners, who are more likely to smoke and less likely to have access to mainstream smoking cessation services (Ewles 2005). The Index of multiple deprivation ranks areas from the most deprived to the least deprived and the odds of smoking increases as deprivation in the area increases (The NHS Information centre 2008). Children smoke for all sorts of reasons. Some smoke to show their independence, others because their friends do while some smoke because adults tell them not to and others do smoke to follow the example of role models. There is no single cause. Parents, brothers and sisters who smoke are a powerful influence. Also is the way it is been advertised and the tobacco companies sponsor sport which makes children want to try it (DOH 1998). The problems of smoking during pregnancy are closely related to health inequalities between those in need and the most advantaged. Women with partners in manual groups are more likely to smoke during pregnancy than those with partners in non-manual groups: 26 per cent of women with partners in manual groups smoke during pregnancy, compared with 12 per cent with partners doing non-manual work (DOH 1998). Education is also another social determinant of health for smoking. Education empowers individuals to make healthy choices and provides practical, social and emotional knowledge needed to achieve a full and healthy life (The Annual Report of the Director of Public Health for Newham 2007). The relationship between education and smoking has been extensively examined in developed countries and in the1989 US Surgeon General report analyzed by Bao-ping et al.(1996), it was stated after reviewing the literature of smoking that, education is the best socio demographic predictor for cigarette smoking pattern. The general agreement was that, the fewer the year of education one has, the more likely the person smokes and this again accounts for why there is high smoking prevalence among the ethnic minority groups in England. Another factor is the social norms whereby, in environments where smoking is freely permitted, it becomes a normal thing and becomes more difficult for individuals to opt out from (Ewles 2005).Other factors that prompt people to start smoking includes, the price and availability of cigarette, colourful advertisement and accessibility to treatment facilities for those that want to stop, the more available the facilities, the more people will be willing to use the facilities and stop smoking (Ewles 2005). In response to the global tobacco epidemic, May 31st of every year was declared as the World No Tobacco day, so as to globally address the danger associated with smoking tobacco. Also, the World Health Organization developed a WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in May 2003 (WHO 2003), which later came into force on the 27th o February 2005 (WHO 2009). This was the first global treaty for public health negotiated under the auspices of the WHO and requires participating countries to implement a range of legislative and other measures to control smoking by taking appropriate action on passive smoking, banning tobacco promotion, providing services to smokers , monitoring smoking prevalence and international cooperation to control smuggling (Ewles 2005).In order to expand the fight against tobacco epidemic, the WHO introduced the MPOWER package of six proven policies namely: Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies, Protect people from tobacco smoke, Offer help to quit tobacco use, Warn about the dangers of tobacco use, Enforce bans on tobacco advertising promotion and sponsorship, and Raise taxes on tobacco. (WHO 2008) Smoking has been addressed at Government level in the UK since the publication of the White Paper Smoking Kills in 1998 which takes a comprehensive approach and prioritises people who want to give up, pregnant women, children and young people (DOH 1998). Between 1998 and 2009, various policies have been developed as stated earlier in this essay under the historical perspective of smoking in England which includes; 1998: Smoking Kills à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬Å" 2002: Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬Å" 2006: Health Act à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬Å" 2007: Smoke Free England. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬Å" 2008: National Health Service Reform Bill à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬Å" 2009: Health Bill. GOVERNMENT MEASURES TO TACKLE SMOKING In line with the WHO directive to address tobacco epidemic, the UK signed into the International WHO framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2003 and has implemented a range of legislative measures to control smoking at different geographical levels and between various population groups. The overall measures were broadly classified into three sets of overlapping effects namely; Changing social norms, Influencing attitudes, and Supporting individual behavioural change (Ewles 2005). Measures classified under the changing social norms and influencing attitudes includes; educational programmes such as the Government-funded mass media education campaigns aimed to educate the public on the danger associated with smoking, bans on tobacco promotion with health warnings covering 30% of the front and 40% of the back of tobacco packaging while terms such as low-tar and light have been prohibited on cigarette packet (DOH 2003). Also education on the benefit of quitting smoking was also part of the measure and explaining why people get fat after quitting as a result of increased eating unbalanced by increase activity because smoking has slight appetite suppressant effect (Ewles 2005). In addition, picture warnings started appearing on tobacco products in autumn 2008 and by October 1st 2009, all cigarette packs will have to carry picture warnings including other tobacco products by 1st October 2010 (DOH 2003). Also, another measure employed was prohibiting sales of tobacco products to people under the age of 18 by directing tobacco retailers to ask for form of identification from buyers who are teenagers. Taxation has also been used frequently to increase the price of smoking with rises in duty imposed in each years budget by the Government (Ewles 2005). On average, a price increase of 10% on a packet of cigarette reduced consumption by about 4% in developed countries, however, price control is undermined by tobacco smuggling which currently accounts for 16% of the UK market (Cancer Research 2009). Another measure is ensuring a smoke free environment which has been introduced in 2007 as smoke free England whereby smoking in enclosed public places is illegal. Under the supporting individual behavioural change is the cessation treatment programme, examples of which includes; a national telephone help lines and NHS specialist services for smokers who want to stop (Ewles 2005). To help smokers quit, the NHS Stop Smoking Services was set up between 1999 and 2000 following the recommendations of the White Paper Smoking Kills in 1998(DOH 1998). It was later observed that between April and September 2006, approximately a quarter of a million people (246,254) in England set a quit date through this NHS Stop Smoking Services and majority of these people receiving Nicotine replacement therapy (The Information Centre 2007). CHALENGES OF PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY FORMULATION AND PRACTISE The formulation of anti-smoking policy in England has always been big issue in most developed countries. In the UK, the Government needs people to smoke because the economy largely depends on it. The Government obtains  £8billion per year from excise duty on tobacco products which is approximately 2% of its annual revenue (Ewles 2005). Both in the policy formulation and in the implementation phase conflicts of commercial and health interests have been strongest on three issues: the ban on advertisement and sales promotion, the setting of upper limits for harmful substances in tobacco products, and proposals for an efprice policy. In the political process Parliament has been much more sensitive to the public health interest and to public opinion than to the lobbying power of the tobacco industry and trade, which has been more clearly visible in many Government decisions MEASURES TO REDUCE INEQUALITY IN SMOKING/ POLICY CRITIQUING After thorough review of the various policies aimed towards reducing cigarette smoking at the International, National and Local level, various gaps have been identified. Firstly, banning of smoking in public places is not enough to reduce the effect of smoking on health because be it passive or active smoking, it still endangers the life of the smoker. Therefore, abstinence should be the only message since smoking is a major cause of litter. In the UK, 200million cigarette ends are discarded each day and each takes 18months or more to biodegrade (Ewles 2005). Also, smoking in bus stops tends to serve as passive smoking to others waiting to join buses and therefore smoking in areas like this also needs to be banned. Another lapse in the smoking in the public places law is that, when people are not allowed to smoke in public places, they tend to do so when they get into their private cars and homes and these could be dangerous to young children living in the same house. Another area worth reviewing is the use of taxation to increase the price of tobacco products. High price has helped dissuade people especially young children from smoking and prompted many smokers to stop; however, smoking is concentrated among the lowest paid sector of the society and common among the addicted population who continue smoking despite prices, therefore such measures by the Government is not fair because the poor people pay disproportionately more as a consequences of their acquired addiction caused by the Government originally (Ewles 2005). Another misconception of tackling smoking is the youth smoking prevention programme which has always assumed to be the best way to tackle smoking among children and youths. The Youth-oriented media campaigns has a poor record of credibility among the target group (youths) and is often difficult to differentiate between those created by the health organizations and those created by the tobacco manufacturing companies. Therefore, discrediting smoking among the adult population will lessen the attraction for the youths because they tend to smoke in aspiration to be more adult (Ewles 2005). In addition, the law prohibiting sales to under -18s tend to add to the allure of smoking as an adult activity and thus creating challenges to children on finding a way around it buy getting the cigarette through adult friends, older siblings or black market routes(Ewles 2005). Also people who stop smoking through the nicotine replacement therapy gets addicted to the cessation programme and use the product beyond the recommended period. Since the nicotine delivery rate in the content is slow, it mostly prompts a relapse making people return to smoking (Ewles 2005). Reducing inequality in smoking has always been an issue the UK Government have been addressing and in response to this, a specific inequality target on smoking was set up in The NHS Cancer plan and the Public Service Agreement (PSA) 2004 aimed to reduce smoking rates among manual groups from 32% in 1998 to 26% by 2010 in order to reduce the health gap between the two groups. (DOH 2000). RECOMMENDATION/ CONCLUSION Evaluation of smoking patterns indicates that there has been an historic reversal of trends in total consumption, but distributional data show a widening social gradient in smoking. Two developments are needed for further improvement: a price policy that would support health policy and not contradict it, and better understanding of the socio-cultural dynamics of smoking which would be required for new innovative approaches in health education. REFRENCES Action on Smoking and Health (2006). Smoking Statistics; Illness and death. [Online]. Available from: http://old.ash.org.uk/html/factsheets/html/fact02.html (Accessed 25/04/2009). Bao-ping, Z., Giovino, G., Mowery, P. Eriksen, M. (1996). The Relationship between Cigarette Smoking and Education Revisited: Implications for Categorising persons educational status. American Journal of Public Health.1996. Vol.86, No 11. British Broadcasting Corporation (2007). Timeline: Smoking and Disease. [Online] Available from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4377928.stm (Accessed 28/09/2009). <