Thursday, October 31, 2019

Fukuyama Francis The end of history The national Interest (Summer Essay

Fukuyama Francis The end of history The national Interest (Summer 1989) - Essay Example He insists, therefore, in this case that the threat to the security and the freedom rights of people are no longer available. The history has, therefore, come to its conclusion from this point (Fukuyama 54). The phrase, â€Å"end of history,† according to Fukuyama symbolizes the end of human â€Å"ideological evolution,† the search for good governance that encompasses the rights and freedoms of every citizen within it. The most important information in the text is the urge for change or move from capitalism to communism. Mankind underwent transformation from the tiny under civilized forms of government to higher and progressive forms of governments systems. It is from this notion that Fukuyama where insists that the history would assume its ending in an absolute moment. He also believed that through such ending, only the victorious forms of government will assume the power to head such states. Upon the assumption of power, the citizens will be able to realize good governance that respects their democratic rights. The government too will also be able to understand their social, cultural, economic, and political backgrounds. Such type of governance will in turn foster the peaceful coexistence of the country’s citizens (Fukuyama 110). The main conclusion (explicit or implicit) in this article is that the homogenous state would eventually become victorious throughout the material world since ideological development has, in fact, ended. As presented by Fukuyamas context, it is not a must that all societies be liberal to become successful (Fukuyama 218). Clear evidence about this situation is in their difference in their ideological pretensions of representing different and higher forms of human society. The main assumptions underlying an author’s thinking are that the country would change from a communist state to a capitalist state. He also believed that the country would attain a liberal form of government with free

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Wepons and selfdefence concerns in the USA and the UK Essay

Wepons and selfdefence concerns in the USA and the UK - Essay Example From a simple theft to a terrorist bombing, firearms play a vital role in committing crime. Do guns really help private citizens prevent crime through active self-defence and deterrence Or are they mostly used by criminals. This paper opens a window on empirical questions that have generated a small mountain of conflicting facts and opinions. There are several different factors behind the dilemma confronted by the new generation, which not only relates to the psychological factors but also emotional factors cannot be ignored in mentioning and analysing the reasons behind holding weapons. Robberies and assaults committed with guns can be a result of mental frustration resulting in the victim's death than are similar violent crimes committed with other weapons. According to case fatality rate for gun robbery, it is found that it is three times as high as for robberies with knives and ten times as high as for robberies with other weapons. "Similarly, in injuries resulting from criminal assault the case-fatality rate is closely linked to the type of weapon, as is also the case for family violence". (Cook, 2000, p. 35) There is another aspect of the same picture which states that there is much more concern of crime with weapons and self defence other than psychological one. Crime, either done with the help of weapons or without weapons, when analysed in the thought of basic assumptions, upholds the following reasons behind it: Crime is caused by the individual exercise of free will. Human beings are fundamentally rational, and most human behaviour is the result of free will coupled with rational choice. Pain and pleasure are the two central determinants of human behaviour. Crime disparages the quality of the bond, which exists between individuals and society and is therefore an immoral form of behaviour. Punishment, a necessary evil, is sometimes required to deter law violators and to serve as an example to others who would also violate the law. Crime prevention is possible through swift and certain punishment, which offsets any gains to be had through criminal behaviour. (Schmalleger, 1999, p. 230) As far as self-defence is concerned, policy interventions intended to separate guns from violence may have the perverse effect of increasing the amount of violence, and in some cases even making it more harmful. "The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), a national survey based in United States for criminology gathers information on assault, burglary, larceny, theft and robbery and is generally considered as the most reliable source of information on predatory crime as it has been in the field continuously since 1973 and incorporates the best thinking of survey methodologists. From this source, it appears that use of guns in self-defence against criminal predation is rather rare, occurring on the order of 100,000 times per year. Of particular interest is the likelihood that a gun will be used in self-defence against a home intruder. One study of data from the NCVS found that only 3% of victims were able to deploy a gun against someone who broke in while they were at home. Reme mbering that 40% of all households have a gun, we conclude that it is quite rare for victims to be able to deploy a gun against intruders even when they have one available". (Cook, 2000, p. 37) Gun Oriented Policies Law enforcement

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Case Study Marketing: Nyquil

Case Study Marketing: Nyquil Nyquil is a brand of over the counter drug produced by Vicks, which is a division of the Procter and Gamble Company. This drug comes in form of syrup and liquid capsules and tablets that are used to for the treatment of a wide range of cold symptoms. Marketing of Nyquil is done both in the domestic market and internationally by the Procter and gamble through it Vicks subsidiary that it bought from Richardson Vicks in 2005.Vicks is known world widely for its marketing of branded consumer health care products. Before its acquisition by PG the Vicks Company had more than thirty subsidiaries all over the world some of which were acquired by PG too. One of them is the India Richardson Hindustan Limited (RVL) Company that has greatly contributed in the manufacturing and distribution of the Nyquil drug (Richardson Vicks Inc. (RVI)).Nyquil is the number one drug recommended by pharmacists for night time relief of cold among adults and it is available in more than 70 countries within five continents where its distributed by varied PG distributors. Drug distributors in pharmacies, government and private hospital and pharmaceutical companies get their Nyquil drugs shipped to their countries with the by the manufactures and the Subsidiaries of PG pharmaceutical products. This physical distribution of the drug is done through a well organized supply chain that spreads from the manufacture to the consumer. The purchasing of this drug can either be done by physically visiting the pharmaceutical companies or by placing online bids through website like Amazon.com and Vicks.com Some pharmaceutical companies that dont produce the Nyquil drug act as the distribution centers by buying the drug in bulk from Vicks company and other pharmaceutical associated with PG and they repackage it with direction and permission from the manufacturer. Such companies employ sales agents who sell the drug either directly or through the internet. They market Nyquil to the wholesalers, private buyers, hospitals and sometimes to selected retail dealers. The wholesalers buy from such companies, break the bulk and redistribute the drug to the retail sellers in pharmacies and small private hospitals. This multi channel distribution of Nyquil has made it easy to export the drug to various markets all over the world. The marketing of the Nyquil drug has for the longest of time been assisted by its brand strength. Mention Nyquil to any American and they will understand what you are taking about. In fact it could equally qualify as the most abused cold over the counter drug since it has a sedating effect on its user. Widespread television radio and print advertisement have helped create product awareness and created ideal market exposure for the drug. The liquid variation of Nyquil was tested for the first time in 1966, and officially launched into the market in 1968 with several television and magazine advertisement and recommendation from the medical world. Consequently, Procter and Gamble used $ 17 million dollars to promote liquid Nyquil during its launch in 1980(New York Magazine 12 Vol. 24, No. 38) Further more, Nyquil has become a common name to most house holds in American households and its the mostly recommended over the counter drug for remedying cold symptoms. Its slogan that calls it The nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, best-sleep-you-ever-got-with-a-cold medicine is an eye catcher for anyone displaying the mentioned symptoms of a cold. With this slogan comes a list of Nyquil variation, each tailored to the different formulations on offer. More over the Nyquil Liquid medication is available in ranges of the Soothing Original, Soothing Cherry, and Vanilla Cherry Swirl. The earliest marketing of Nyquil also created a niche market for it as the best night time relieve for cold since it has an ingredient that makes someone drowsy and help him sleep peaceful. This quality of Nyquil was previously critiqued by those who didnt want to use a cold remedy with the intention of sleeping immediately. To maintain the drugs niche and retain her customers Vicks company came up with Dayquil, a daytime counter part of Nyquil which does not contain the sedating ingredients or alcohol that is found in Nyquil. Therefore, Procter and gamble s able to satisfy both the day time and night time consumers of effective cold remedy. Another marketing method used in the marketing of Nyquil is the use of Nyquil Coupons. This coupons which are distributed by either Procter and Gamble Sunday News Circular supplement called PG Brand Saver, from the physicians and allergists, weekly circular of pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS or in third party Coupon Sites like Coupon.Com.These coupons enables to one buy Nyquil medication at a discounted rate during a repeat purchase and are working to attract and sustain repeat buyers of the product. To make it easier for customers the coupons are available in clippable and printable online form, and so any person is able to access them (Pharmacy Drug Guide.com). Another promotion strategy that was launched for this product in 2009 was the use of social media Facebook.According to the a customer review the most attractive thing about the Nyquil face book page was that the introductory language used in it did not try to get you straight to the product but first told you about the page itself detailing the growing number of its fans in order to make someone feel like he was missing out on something. During the same period it had a free Nyquil T-shirt offer for the Nyquil customers who posted the best peaceful sleeping photos purported to have been taken after one had taken Nyquil for their cold. According to another blogger, it took only 7 days for the number of Nyquil fans to grow from 30199 to 95,125 and in the next twenty four hours they had grown to a hundred thousand. This kind of marketing has created an extensive exposure to the product and interested buyers from all over the world can easily access information on it. In effect, the approach has helped in creating wide spread product knowledge and in beating the common misconceptions that competitor sometimes spread about the product. Other than face book, marketers at PG use different Websites to advertise their product. For instance, Vicks.com is a website that gives product information on all the variations of Nyquil medication and any promotions involved in its purchase and where to shop for it. For instance, on the Nyquil and Dayquil product information page there is information on the availability of Combo packages of the drug and on the promotion page there is a promotional advert that asks someone to Search Nyquil on face book to enter the Vicks Nyquil/Dayquil search for the most dedicated NFL fan. The Promotion catch line is In the NFL there are no sick days. Such promotional activities are aimed at appealing the drug to the NFL fans (Vicks.com). The marketers of Nyquil have also been known to market the product through creation of its demand. This kind of marketing plays on human psychology by using words that are attractive to the consumer. Most Nyquil advertisements Market it as a medication that that work while a person is sleeping. This is interpreted to mean that it does not interfere with a persons daytime schedule. This night time appeal combined with the fact Nyquil tablet comes in not only Tablet and capsule form but also in liquid form helped increase the demand for the product. In essence there fore Nyquil is perceived as the most potent cold medication. This is a pull approach that helps in attracting consumers to the product without the manufacturer prodding them to do so. Although NyQuil contains 25% alcohol this remedy has become the gold mark of cold medication. However, the variation of Nyquil given to children only come in syrup form and does not contain any alcohol. When it comes to customer care, PG aims at providing the best for her Nyquil customers who are spread all over the world. The task of handling so many customers can be quite a logistic burden and man power burden to one company. There fore, PG usually out-sources the customer care service from Public Relation experts on contract basis. This extra service complements and helps to build up the customer skills displayed by PG personnels. For instance on June 30th, 2003 the company outsourced the customer care expertise of Syke Enterprises Incorporated on a five year contract at a cost of 70 million. Sykes, a reknown giant in provision of customer care services was to provide customer care management services and help provide solution to the P G consumer problem and help save cost. Part 2 Although the above marketing methods have helped open the sales gates for Nyquil some of them have achieved decreasing sustainability. For instance, in some cases PG has been accused of engaging in illegal marketing strategies in the promotion of Nyquil. Example was in the late 2009 when PG got itself under the scrutiny of the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) for illegally touting two Vicks branded over-the -counter drugs, Vicks Nyquil plus vitamin C and its day time counterpart Vicks daytime plus vitamin C as both a medication for cold as well as a dietary supplements. The marketing language used on this drugs said that they worked by combining the powerful multi symptom relief of Dayquil with more than 150% of the recommended value of vitamin. This was done as a marketing strategy during the time of a swine flu epidemic but FDA claimed that there isnt well researched and verified material that shows vitamin C helps in prevention of colds. Consequently, the company was given 15 day s to amend the violation (Straczynski). Market competitors of Nyquil have also critiqued the use of alcohol as an ingredient to the drug. This has led to the rampant abuse of the drug is search for the high that is derived from its overdose. Although its manufacturers tried remedying this problem by changing the formulation of this medication it realized that the sedating quality of the medicine was still needed by those suffering from cold. This made customers abandon the New Nyquil in search for a drug with the qualities of the original Nyquil. Vicks was forced to revert back to the old formulation but the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 only allows regulated over the counter purchase of this drug. Another critique is in the use of social media where one is only able to access the Nyquil page through series of applications that asks for private information that may drive away potential customers. The Nyquil wall does not allow interactive participation of the fans and it fails on not engaging customers enough. Consequently, Instead of using the platform to engage their user they have reverted to the traditional marketing tactic where you are only allowed to see the product but you cannot comment on it. They forget that the number of fans on a social website page does not always translate to potential customers since some people just like them for nostalgic reasons. Lastly although the drug has become a brand in America, it may have corresponding competition from other cold remedy manufacturers when it goes to outside markets. Never the less most of the advertisement and promotional activities have been concentrated in America where there is already saturation of information. In consequence there the following remedial measures should be taken in marketing of Nyquil. Instead of the manufacturer constantly changing the drug formulation due to its controversial sedating characteristics caused by the alcohol ingredient(Green 60), its marketers should be confident with the original Nyquil and market it as it is, since market research has shown that most initial consumers of this drug prefer it in its original form. Different formulation of the same medication erodes the consumer confidence in the product. Second, if the marketers of Nyquil plan to use social media network for marketing and advertisement purposes they should do it in a way that allows for consumer feed back. Lack of interaction creates disinterest and most potential consumers are likely to dislike the Nyquil page. 3. Illegal marketing strategy that gives lying information to consumers a marketing no-no that should be discouraged at any chance. Nyquil marketers should only advertise the truth about the product because customers may abandon the product when they find out that someone has been lying about it (Straczynski).This will happen due to reduced confidence in a product. 4. Finally, if PG want to increase it sale of Nyquil to the market outside America, is should increase, it advertising and promotional activities in these countries through its subsidiaries and distributors. This will accentuate the sales volumes especially from the largely untapped market. Research study: factors that enable depression Research study: factors that enable depression Introduction Research studies are essential to the practice of Social Work. Social Work practice is extremely complex and research studies allow social workers to develop theories and hypotheses that will help them understand the root of the issues that their clients are experiencing. Academic evidence is vital for backing up the practices, policies and values that underpin Social Work practice. Academic research not only benefits the social worker through the expansion of their knowledge but can also benefit clients and society at a policy level. In this essay I will be evaluating the research carried out by Brown and Harris (1984) in their book â€Å"Social origins of depression: a study of psychiatric disorder in women†, specifically on chapter 10, â€Å"Social class, provoking agents and depression†. Brown and Harris carried out this research to find out how life events and social and cultural factors may lead to the development of depression amongst women. I will briefly descri be their study and their findings and then discuss the methodology they used and the advantages and disadvantages of their methodology. I will also discuss how Brown and Harris’ research is extremely important and influential for the practice of Social Work and how the study is still used today to show how social and cultural factors can lead to depression. Description of study and findings The study aimed to find out how social factors and life events lead to women’s depression. They sampled 458 women in the south London area of Camberwell and surveyed them using â€Å"clinical based interviews† (Brown Harris 1984) on their daily lives and depression. Brown and Harris aim to contest the wide spread belief that depression is more common amongst women of higher social classes, as asserted by previous studies carried out by sociologist Pauline Bart, psychiatrist Ernest Becker and psychologist Charles Costello. Brown and Harris’ study contests this idea that middle class women are more likely to develop depression as they found in their study of 458 women that it was much more common for those who were working class to develop a psychiatric disorder, depression in particular. They found that 23% of working class women were â€Å"considered cases† as opposed to only 6% of middle class women. They measured the social class of the women by the occ upations of the women’s husbands and when this wasn’t available they used the occupation of the women’s father to determine their social class. In addition to class differences, Brown and Harris also looked at the â€Å"five life stages† which consisted of, three stages where women has a child at home with the youngest child being less than 6, between 6 and 14 and 15 and over. The remaining two life stages consisted of women younger than 35 where there was no child at home and women over 35 where there was no child at home. They found that in all life stages, working class women had a higher rate of depression than middle class women. Most notably, the highest percentage was of 31% for working class women with a child of less than 6 compared to 5% of middle class women. Brown and Harris found that depression was more prevalent amongst women of working class because there is greater vulnerability attached to working class. Vulnerability factors included lack of a confiding relationship, loss of mother before age of 11, unemployment, poor housing and low finances. These vulnerability factors, which were more common amongst those women who were working class, were found to increase the chance of developing depression. Vulnerability factors, when combined with stressful life events, like divorce, illness and death, which Brown and Harris called â€Å"provoking agents† further increased the chances of developing depression amongst working class women as they are more vulnerable with less support, financial and familial. These provoking agents or life events were ranked in severity by Brown and Harris, ranging from the most severe being â€Å"death† to the least â€Å"residence change†. â€Å"When social class is considered it is onl y severe events that show a class difference and then only among women with children† (Brown Harris 1984) , for both working and middle class women without children 1 in 3 experience at least one severe life event in the year, however when considering those with children the number stays the same for working class women, 1 in 3 whereas it drops to 1 in 5 for middle class women with children, implying that middle class women with children are more protected from provoking agents that lead to depression. The study concluded that social factors and life events are linked to depression. Working class women were more likely to develop depression than middle class women in all instances showing that the risk of developing depression is linked to social class. Brown and Harris found that being from a lower class meant increased vulnerability and greater chance of being exposed to provoking agents than middle class women. Importance to Social Work The study by Brown and Harris has been marked for many years by a combination of imaginative flair and commitment to the rigorous testing of their ideas (Tennant and Bebbington 1978). This study is extremely important to social work practice as it providing a turning point in looking at depression amongst women. The study provided an awareness of women’s mental health. Before this study, most research focused on personality traits and experiences in childhood that linked women to depression, however Brown and Harris’ study was different in that it investigated the social and cultural factors related to women’s mental health. It’s a very important study as it recognized that depression could be linked to social class and that life events or difficulties relating to social class could provoke the development of depression. Brown and Harris’ study is very important to the practice of social work as it provided a theory of the relationship between socia l class or status and depression amongst women and a clear understanding that poverty is linked to depression. In addition to finding a link between class and depression, this study is also very significant to social work as it allowed for the broadening of perspectives. Before, there was a medicalised model or way of looking at depression and mental illnesses however this study allowed social workers to develop the social model of depression, a thinking which challenged the medical model and looked for a much broader understanding of the reasons for depression. Furthermore, this study was connected to the growing awareness of women’s unequal position in society and in the family, so whilst it did not originate from feminist enquiry the study helped the evolving feminist movement which began to give women a voice in society. It also led to the development in the understanding of the demands of caring for children and the impact of the reduction in the extended family at this time. This study is very important to Social Work practice as it strengthened the role of social work with families and individuals who are in distress through community based practice. It also allowed women and mothers’ networks to strengthen as the study helped shine a light on the difficulties of being a mother, of experiencing different life events and the difficulties related to being working class. The study highlights the importance of social work values like anti-oppressive practice that strive towards equality for women and the recognition that wha t women feel should be understand. Furthermore, this study is extremely important to social work practice as it allows social workers to understand the roots of depression in women. This study shines a light on the social factors that lead to depression, social workers can use this study to identify what social factors lead to depression and target these factors and implement prevention techniques for those women who are most likely to develop depression. Advantages and Disadvantages of methodology Brown and Harris used a mixed methodology in their research. Statistical data was gathered and analysed by Brown and Harris, alongside the qualitative data obtained by individual narrative and stories. They used a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods which increases validity and reliability. Reliable data means that the research could be repeated and the same results would occur and valid data means it’s a true picture of what the researcher is trying to measure. Brown and Harris used random sampling in their research and they used the sample of 458 women to represent the target population – middle class and working class women. Random sampling means their research is representative of the target population and they can therefore make generalisations about depression suffered by middle class women in contrast to working class women. Brown and Harris carried out semi-structured interviews meaning that the women could be asked open-ended questions which would give qualitative data, increasing validity by obtaining an in-depth understanding of the women’s situations. Interviews mean that the conversation developed naturally and so is a good method for researching sensitive issues like depression as the natural conversation allows the interviewee to feel relaxed and able to open up more to their interviewer. Interviews also allow a relationship to build between researcher and respondents. Brown and Harris continued their research over a long period of time (1969/71 and again in 1974/75) which would also strengthen their relationship with the women, allowing their evidence to be more valid and paint a true picture. However, there have been criticisms made of the methodology used by Brown and Harris. Tennant and Bebbington (1978) criticise Brown and Harris’ methodology on the basis of their random sampling. They argue that 15% of households in the sample had 2 or more age-eligible women living in them, but Brown and Harris only chose one. Tennant and Bebbington therefore argue that there is bias in the sample and that larger than average households are slightly underrepresented in their research. Tennant and Bebbington (1978) further criticise Brown and Harris on their â€Å"conceptualization and definition† of the concept of â€Å"vulnerability factors†. Tennant and Bebbington argue that the construction of the vulnerability factor â€Å"parental loss† is open to criticism. Brown and Harris argue that maternal loss influences the risk of depression whereas paternal loss doesn’t affect the risk of developing depression. They argue that Brown’s definition of loss consists of three different variables, â€Å"loss through death, separation from one parent, and marital separation of the parents† events which Tennant and Bebbington describe as â€Å"qualitatively quite different† and that the composition of â€Å"maternal† and â€Å"paternal† loss groups may be so different that they are not valid to compare their impact on mental health (1978). They argue that in the instance of separation women usually get the custod y resulting in a paternal loss and regarding death, the risk of losing fathers in childhood is greater than the risk of losing your mother (Langer and Michael 1963 cited by Tennant and Bebbington 1978) and so this comparison in relation to depression is misleading and it would be much more appropriate to compare maternal/paternal death and maternal/paternal separation for more valid results. Conclusion In conclusion, I would argue that this research study by Brown and Harris is undeniably important to Social Work practice. Through its mixed methodology, using both qualitative and quantitative methods of research, it proves a very reliable and valid picture of class differences and social factors linked to women’s mental health. This research is vital to Social Work practice as it marks a turning point in a change in attitude towards mental health, a shift away from the medical model to a social model of depression. It underpins values that are at the heart of Social Work practice like anti-oppressive practice and equality for women. Word count: 1941 Bibliography Brown, G, W. Harris, T, (1984) 10. Social class, provoking agents, and depression' from Brown, G W. Harris, T, Social origins of depression: a study of psychiatric disorder in women pp.150-169,353-358, London: Tavistock Publications Brown, G. W., Harris, T. (1978). Social origins of depression: a reply.Psychol Med,8(4), 577-88. Tennant, C., Bebbington, P. (1978). The social causation of depression: a critique of the work of Brown and his colleagues.Psychological Medicine,8(04), 565-575.

Friday, October 25, 2019

pain is inevitable :: essays research papers

Pain is Inevitable Pain, a word that is always associated with getting hurt. The real question now is how it hurt. There are two different kinds of pain; physical and mental. The physical aspect of pain is like falling from something, cutting your arm, or stubbing your toe. The mental part is hurting someone’s feeling from saying something harsh or doing something to them emotionally, which hurts inside. The causes and effects of physical and mental pain are very different but can be both equally devastating and even more dramatic with emotionally disturbed people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Causes for physical pain are purely explainable. In all cases it hurts. In most cases I get hurt physically; it is from doing something really stupid. One great example is the time I was twelve and broke my leg. I was in a swing with my eyes closed, not paying attention, and my leg got caught under the swing coming back around and broke my leg. The cause was my not paying attention to what I was doing and it hurt. The actual cause for physical pain can be very different scenarios, but it can also be terribly dramatic. One of my best friend’s brothers was riding in a car with someone who was high, drunk, and tired. They had just gotten done with a party and were heading home. As they were going home, the truck went off the road and flipped on his head. He is now mentally and physically disabled and can not do anything without help from his parents.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The effects from physical pain can be something easy or something very difficult to deal with. When I broke my leg the effect was I had to wear a cast for two months. The effects are always going to be different as well. For my friend’s brother, he will be a paraplegic for the rest of his life. The effects of physical pains are the broadest ranged category because anything can happen, or not happen.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The cause for mental pain is a very complex category. Some people don’t even know that they have hurt someone mentally. It could be from saying something, doing something, or from not doing anything at all. Emotions are the most unstable and unpredictable feelings. Saying something like this doesn’t taste good can be the effect of getting slapped, or making someone cry. Driving over an animal will not only hurt the animal, but the person who owned it will definitely not be happy.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Bladder Cancer

BLADDER CANCER Bladder cancer is the growth of malignant cells in the urinary bladder. Most forms of bladder cancer start in the superficial layer of the transitional epithelium, and most often affect the transitional cells. It may also be called transitional cell carcinoma or even urothelial carcinoma. Urothelial carcinoma is also a term used for transitional cell cancer in the renal pelvis, ureters, and urethra. Bladder cancer is a relatively common disease. It is the fourth leading cancer among men (following prostate, lung, colorectal cancers), and the tenth leading cancer among women; occurring in men about three times more often than women. Like most types of cancer, bladder cancer usually involves epithelial cells, in this case, the transitional epithelium that lines the urinary bladder. Constant repetitive damage to the epithelium causes the mature cells to die. This stimulates rapid replication in the basal layer, and soon new colonies of immature cells migrate to the surface. These new cells are easily disrupted by genetic mutations and may become malignant growths that cause bleeding into the bladder. The causes of bladder cancer vary according to medical history and geographical location. People who have had pelvic radiation for other problems and people who have had chronic infections, bladder stones, or catheter use are at an increased risk for developing bladder cancer. In Africa, Asia, and South America, bladder cancer is associated with a specific parasitic infection, called Schistosoma haematobium. In the United States and industrial countries, most cases of bladder cancer are directly related to more controllable factors. The transitional epithelium of the bladder seems to be particularly susceptible to damage from environmental toxins. Several genetic mutations that limit the body’s ability to slow down tumor growth or invasion have been linked to bladder cancer. These mutations are frequently triggered by exposure to carcinogenic substances. About half of bladder cancer cases are believed to be related to cigarette smoking. Other contributing factors include exposure to aromatic chemicals used in dry cleaning fluid, hairdressing chemicals, and textile and rubber industries. The earliest most dependable sign of bladder cancer is hematuria (blood in the urine). The urine of a bladder cancer patient is often noticeably reddened or rust colored, although the patient has no particular pain in the early stages of the disease. If the tumors continue to grow and invade deeper layers of the bladder, secondary symptoms may develop. These are the result of mechanical pressure, including the bladder irritability (painful urination, increased frequency of urinating, reduced urine output) and compression on the rectum, pelvic lymph nodes, and any other structures that may be in the way. In order to diagnose bladder cancer, urine samples may be tested to look for shedding cancer cells, and a digital rectal exam (or a pelvic exam if the patient is a woman) provides information about tumors. Other diagnostic techniques include using dye to stain the urine and make the bladder easy to radiograph. Specific markers for bladder cancer have recently been identified, but tests to find them are not yet consistently accurate or widely available. However, continued development in this area show a promising future toward the early detection and treatment of this disease. How to treat bladder cancer depends on the stage at diagnosis. Surgeons can use a small wire loop at the end of a cystoscope to remove abnormal tissue, or another tool may be used to burn the tumor away with electricity. More invasive surgeries may remove part or the entire bladder, and if signs of pelvic metastasis are present, other tissues as well. Urine flow may be routed out of the body through a stoma, or a variety of surgeries have been developed to form artificial bladders from parts of the large or small intestine. In addition to surgery, radiation and chemotherapy may be used in the battle against bladder cancer. More than 70% of bladder cancer diagnoses are made when the cells affect only superficial layers of tissue. Of course, this is excellent news because the survival rate for cancers caught early is much better than for cancers caught in stage three or later. Even so, bladder cancer has an unusual habit of growing in several places at once, so although it may be possible to catch one or two tumors, any invisible third, fourth, and fifth tumors may not become symptomatic for another several months. This means that the reoccurrence rate for bladder cancer is surprisingly high; up to 80% percent of bladder cancer patients have at least one reoccurrence. The relation between bladder cancer and carcinogenic substances is one of the most clearly demonstrated links between environmental exposures and cancer. The good news is the bladder cancer is probably a completely preventable disease, if exposure to the carcinogenic substances is limited or eradicated. References Bladder Cancer. (2008). Retrieved 30 January, 2009, from Mayo Clinic Foundation for Medical Education and Research Web site: http://www. mayoclinic. com/health/bladder-cancer/DS00177 General Information about Bladder Cancer. (2008). Retrieved 30 January, 2009, from National Cancer Institute Web site: http://www. cancer. gov/cancertopics/types/bladder Health Information: Bladder Cancer. (2008). Retrieved 30 January, 2009, from University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinic Authority Web site: http://apps. uwhealth. org/health/adam/hie/1/000486. htm

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Charlottetown Conference

The Charlottetown Conference By the early 1860s, the British colonies of North America were considering the benefits of a union. The American Civil War had created a new military power and a renewed threat to the small, divided colonies to the north. And British public opinion had been in favour of reducing, if not eliminating government spending in North America, especially for defence. In September 1864, British North American politicians met in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island to discuss the possibility of a union. (Courtesy of the National Archives of Canada)In September 1864, the Atlantic provinces – Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Newfoundland – organized a conference to discuss a union among themselves. Governor General Monck asked that the province of Canada be invited to their talks, â€Å"to ascertain whether the proposed Union might not be made to embrace the whole of British North American Provinces. † Canada's most prominent p oliticians journeyed down the St. Lawrence River on a 191-ton steamer, with $13,000 of champagne in its hold, to attend the conference in Prince Edward Island. Those on board included John A.Macdonald, and George Brown from Upper Canada and George-Etienne Cartier, Thomas D'Arcy McGee and Alexander Galt from Lower Canada. Each journeyed to Charlottetown with a different motive in mind. Cartier felt that if he could persuade the Maritimes to join in a union, together their population would balance that of Upper Canada. In contrast, Brown wanted an end to what he considered French domination of English affairs – the end of a political stalemate. Macdonald was worried about American aggression and felt that the united British colonies, perhaps, could resist their powerful neighbour.In the 1860s, John A. Macdonald was instrumental in creating the Dominion of Canada and became its first prime minister. (Courtesy of the National Archives of Canada) The group of eight cabinet ministe rs and three secretaries arrived in Charlottetown on the same day as Slaymaker's and Nichol's Olympic Circus, the first circus to visit the island in 20 years. The harbour was deserted with most of the town at the circus. The delegates to the conference soon formed a different, political circus with a marathon of speeches, protests, lobster lunches, resolutions, picnics, alliances, flirtations and champagne balls.On the first official day of the conference, Macdonald spoke at length about the benefits of a union of all of British North America. The next day, Galt – a businessman, finance minister, and railway promoter – presented a well-researched description of the financial workings of such a union. On the third day, George Brown discussed the legal structure. And on the fourth day, McGee praised the nationalist identity, one that he saw bolstered by a vivid Canadian literature. Prominent politician George-Etienne Cartier was the leading spokesman for French Canada d uring Confederation negotiations. Courtesy of the National Archives of Canada) The original intent of the conference to discuss a Maritime union was overwhelmed by talk of a larger union. In a matter of days the Maritimers and Canadians had persuaded each other to create a new federation. The delegates were giddy with success and the celebration party continued in Halifax, Saint John and Fredericton. But the terms of the union remained to be worked out – a daunting political task. The delegates agreed to meet again in Quebec City the following month.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Road Traffic Accidents Epidemiology of an Injury

Road Traffic Accidents Epidemiology of an Injury Introduction: Epidemiology, Statistics and Other Related Issues Road accidents will always happen (Bartley, 2008). No matter how well people might learn the basic principles of road regulations and the rules of pedestrian safety, due to the notorious human factor, accidents are practically unavoidable (Cacciabue, 2004). As a result, road injuries will never cease to occur, and, therefore, the guidelines on their efficient handling must be revisited once again.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Road Traffic Accidents: Epidemiology of an Injury specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Due to the rise in the population umber in most cities, the number of road accidents has also increased (Gustavsson, 2008), which cannot but cause concern among the representatives of healthcare services. Despite the attempts that have been undertaken in order to address the issue of road accidents, the number of the latter does not seem to be goin g to decrease any time soon; however, with the help of a new strategy that will allow for the introduction of the basic road safety rules to the target audience, one can possibly bring the rates of bad accidents down a few notches. The given goal can be achieved after a careful analysis of the existing data on the road accidents in the United Kingdom has been carried out and the detailed information concerning the types of road accidents, their number and their victims is acquired. Therefore, the goal of this paper is not only to define the key type of road injuries – although the research will also comment on the given type of data – but also to offer efficient measures to prevent road accidents, as well as handle them fast. Priority Area: The Cost of Human Life In the modern world, human life is the top priority, which all the actions should be centered around (Gostin, 2010). Like in any other research in healthcare, people’s health and well-being is the prior ity of the given paper. As a result, the means to preserve the lives of the people who happened to be in the epicenter of a road accident are being discussed in this paper. One might argue, though, that the superiority of human life is only implied in the given research, while the real focus of the research is the analysis of the statistical data on road accidents across the United Kingdom, as well as the process of working on the strategy for fighting road accidents.Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Indeed, the research revolves around the aforementioned issues and, in fact, provides the opportunity of studying the social factors causing road accidents along with the data concerning the road injuries, instead of merely specifying the annual number of injuries. As a result, one can easily get the full picture of what causes road accidents, who gets into car crashes and other types of incidents, as well as study the possible social factors inducing these incidents, such as social/family background, workload, etc. However, at the end of the day, these are the prevention measures against road accidents that matter; as a matter of fact, the entire research is aimed at checking whether there are possible means to reduce the amount of road accidents by providing people with detailed instructions on the type of behavior acceptable in places with complex traffic patterns. Thus, it can be assumed that the key priority of the given research revolves around the safety of the people who might be possibly under the threat of getting into a road traffic accident. Road Traffic Accidents Related to the Target Audience Before defining the target audience for the given research, it is necessary to say a couple of words about the people who are affected by the road accidents most. According to what the reports on the UK road accidents say, most of the victim lists consist of the people of 18–50 years (RAS30001 – reported road casualties by road user type and severity, Great Britain, 2005–09 average, annual for latest 5 available years, 2013, June 27). Of course, one might argue that the given number is far too big to make a reasonable conclusion, the problem is actually not with the lack of precision when it comes to the age of the people injured in the road accidents. Instead, the emphasis shifts to the fact that the types of victims range from pedestrians to the ones responsible for the accident themselves (RAS30002 – reported casualties by road user type, age and severity, Great Britain, latest available year, 2013, June 27).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Road Traffic Accidents: Epidemiology of an Injury specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Therefore, it is more than advisable to consider every possible group of people involved into road accidents in order to specify the target audience for the given research (Road traffic injury prevention manual, 2006). Preventive Measures and Their Efficiency: What Needs to Be Changed When choosing the intervention that can possibly work within the chosen setting, one must admit that there are two basic ways to help the people who can possibly suffer from being involved in a road accident or be the victim of the one (Hoye, 2009). To start with, it is crucial that people should spread awareness of road accidents and the necessity to comply with the existing pedestrian safety rules, as well as the rule of the road in general (Peden, 2008). According to the results provided by the data sets, the people who are most prone to road accidents are people aged 18–50 (RAS30004 – Reported road casualties by road user type: Great Britain, quarterly and annual for latest 11 available years, 2011). Since employees and students fall into the given age category, it is most reasonable to int roduce college/university courses and business courses where people are taught the basics of road safety (Kennedy-Smith, 2012). However, as the numerous examples of case studies and researches show, being aware of the dangers of road accidents, as well as knowing the basic ways to avoid these accidents will not necessarily help. Therefore, it will be required to make people aware of what has to be done once a road accident has taken place (Gurgaon doctor raises awareness on first aid for road accident victims, n. d.). As reports show, people tend to move the injured in case of road accidents, which often results in harming the injured person/people even more. Therefore, it is desirable that the basic rules on how to treat the victim of a road accident must be provided for the entire population of the UK.Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The given goal can be reached by creating a massive campaign with advertisements and commercials not only on TV, but also in the largest social networks, such as Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, etc. (Knoxville car accident prevention: Distracted driver awareness month, 2013, April 10). Injury Data for the TA: Minor Discrepancies in the Statistical Information It must be admitted that for the most part, the data provided by the dataset offered by the UK Department of Transport is rather adequate, as well as the manner in which the given data is provided for the audience to consider. However, it cannot be argued that the current data sets still can and must be improved so that the data available for the analysis could be acquired and processed faster and more efficiently. To be more particular, the way in which the people suffering from road accidents have been classified could use some improvements. At present, the available dataset offers very scarce information on the age of the in jured without actually specifying a number of important details concerning the injured. The first detail that falls into the eye is the fact that there is no statistical data concerning the gender of the injured or yet, more importantly, their social status. While age is an important piece of information to consider, it gives little to no idea of what made the people in question neglect or fail to learn the basic rules of pedestrian safety or/and road regulations (National Roads Authority, 2000). Another obvious failure of the existing methods of gathering information on road accidents and road accident victims is the absence of injuries classification. On the one hand, the cases of road injuries have been split into the basic severe damage – light damage – death types; however, the information provided in the data set does not allow figuring out which organs are typically injured most in road accidents. For example, the existing data sets could also have an additional slot or even one more table that would provide the data on injury types, e.g., â€Å"head traumas: 70, hand breaches – 50, hand twists – 30,† etc. With the help of the given classification, one would be able to provide the measures that would address the injuries in question, therefore, being more specific and, as a result, more efficient (Saraee, Kerry, Lloyd Markey, n. d.). Improving the Data Issues: Ideas and Suggestions As the paragraph above shows, the data provided on the road traffic accidents and the injuries associated with these accidents, the information datasets definitely lack in certain types of information, such as the kind of injury that the victim of the accident suffered from, the gender of the victim, a more specific age classification, the classification according to the specifics of the victim’s social status, etc. In general, the statistical data provided by the corresponding organizations could clearly use a better nomenclature an d be much more diverse; in other words, the analysis of the existing data carried out by the corresponding state services could have been implemented in a much more impressive way. Therefore, to improve the data available from the online databases, one should analyze it more carefully and split it into more categories, so that more conclusions could be drawn from it. To start with, it is clear that the suggestion provided by the authors of the case study in question is not enough. On the one hand, it is important to have competent staff being able to address the most complicated cases of injuries in case of a road accident. However, as the results of the research show, in most cases, the death of the victim is inflicted by the careless, though hardly malicious, treatment of the witnesses of the accident. The given conclusion leads to the discovery that very few people, in fact, know what to do in case of road traffic accidents. Therefore, it is important to spread awareness concerni ng the actions to be taken in case of being a witness to a road accident. Once people are able to withdraw from doing unpremeditated harm to the victims, it will be easier for the medical staff to address the problem and help the victims efficiently. Reference List Bartley, G. P. (2008). Traffic accidents: Causes and outcomes. New York, NY: Nova Science Publishers. Cacciabue, P. C. (2004). Guide to applying human factor methods: Human error and accident management in safety-critical systems. New York, NY: Springer. Gostin, L. O. (2010). Public health law and ethics: A reader. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Gurgaon doctor raises awareness on first aid for road accident victims (n. d.). Retrieved from http://ibnlive.in.com/shows/India-Positive/414286.html Gustavsson, P. (2008). New transportation research progress. New York, NY: Nova Publishers. Hoye, A. (2009). The handbook of road safety measures. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing, Ltd. Kennedy-Smith, L. (2012). C rash! What you don’t know about driving can kill you! Victoria, CA: FriesenPress. Knoxville car accident prevention: Distracted driver awareness month (2013, April 10). Retrieved from tennesseeinjuryattorneyblog.com/2013/04/knoxville-car-accident-prevent.html National Roads Authority (2000). Road accident facts: Ireland 2000. Retrieved from nra.ie/Publications/DownloadableDocumentation/RoadSafety/file,3640,en.PDF Peden, M. M. (2008). World report on child injury prevention. Geneva: World Health Organization. RAS30001 – reported road casualties by road user type and severity, Great Britain, 2005–09 average, annual for latest 5 available years (2013, June 27). Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/208625/ras30001.xls RAS30002 – reported casualties by road user type, age and severity, Great Britain, latest available year (2013, June 27). Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/att achment_data/file/208639/ras30002.xls RAS30004 – Reported road casualties by road user type: Great Britain, quarterly and annual for latest 11 available years (2011). Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/ras30-reported-casualties-in-road-accidents Road traffic injury prevention manual (2006). Geneva: World health Organization. Saraee, M., Kerry, J., Lloyd, M. Markey, C. (n. d.). Application of data mining: Case of road accidents in the UK West Midlands area. Retrieved from http://usir.salford.ac.uk/18821/1/Accident_2004.pdf

Monday, October 21, 2019

Definition of the Bona Fide Occupational Qualification

Definition of the Bona Fide Occupational Qualification A bona fide occupational qualification, also known as BFOQ, is a characteristic or attribute required for a job that could be considered discrimination if it were not necessary to perform the job in question, or if the job were unsafe for one category of people but not another. To determine if a policy in hiring or job assignment is discriminatory or legal, the policy is examined to ascertain whether the discrimination is necessary to the normal business operation and whether that category denied inclusion is uniquely unsafe. Exception to Discrimination Under Title VII, employers are not allowed to  discriminate  on the basis of sex,  race, religion,  or national origin. If religion, sex, or national origin can be shown to be necessary for the job, such as hiring Catholic professors to teach Catholic theology at a Catholic school, then a BFOQ exception can be made.  Ã‚  The BFOQ exception does not permit discrimination on the basis of race. The employer must prove that the BFOQ is reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the business or whether the BFOQ is for a unique safety reason. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) extended this concept of BFOQ to discrimination  based on age. Examples A restroom attendant can be hired taking into account sex because the users of the restroom have privacy rights.  In 1977, the Supreme Court upheld the policy in a male maximum security prison requiring guards to be male. A women’s clothing catalog could hire only female models to wear women’s clothes and the company would have a BFOQ defense for its sex discrimination. Being female would be a bona fide occupational qualification of the modeling job or an acting job for a specific role. However, hiring only men as managers or only women as teachers would not be a legal application of a BFOQ defense. Being a certain gender is not a BFOQ for the vast majority of jobs. Why Is This Concept Important? BFOQ is important to feminism and women’s equality. Feminists of the 1960s and other decades successfully challenged stereotypical ideas that limited women to certain professions. This often meant reexamining ideas about job requirements, which created more opportunities for women in the workplace. Johnson Controls Supreme Court decision:  International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) v. Johnson Controls, 886 F.2d 871 (7th Cir. 1989) In this case, Johnson Controls denied certain jobs to women but not to men, using the bona fide occupational qualification argument.  The jobs in question involved exposure to lead that could harm fetuses; women were routinely denied those jobs (whether pregnant or not). The appellate court ruled in favor of the company, finding that the plaintiffs had not offered an alternative that would protect a womans or a fetus health, and also that there was not evidenced that a fathers exposure to lead was a risk to the fetus. The Supreme Court held that, on the basis of the Pregnancy Discrimination in Employment Act of 1978 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the policy was discriminatory and that ensuring fetal safety was at the core of the employees job performance, not essential to be employed in the work of making batteries.  The Court found that it was up to the company to provide safety guidelines and inform about risk, and up to workers (parents) to determine risk and take action. Justice Scalia in a concurring opinion also raised the issue of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, protecting employees from being treated differently if pregnant. The case is considered a landmark for womens rights because otherwise so many industrial jobs could be denied to women where there is a risk to fetal health.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Geography and Overview of the Caribbean Nation of Haiti

Geography and Overview of the Caribbean Nation of Haiti Population: 9,035,536 (July 2009 estimate)Capital: Port au PrinceArea: 10,714 square miles (27,750 sq km)Bordering Country: The Dominican RepublicCoastline: 1,100 miles (1,771 km)Highest Point: Chaine de la Selle at 8,792 feet (2,680 m) The Republic of Haiti, is the second-oldest republic in the Western Hemisphere just after the United States. It is a small country located in the Caribbean Sea between Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Haiti has years of political and economic instability however and it is one of the poorest nations in the world. Most recently Haiti was struck by a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake which damaged its infrastructure and killed thousands of its people. History of Haiti The first European habitation of Haiti was with the Spanish when they used the island of Hispaniola (of which Haiti is a part) during their exploration of the Western Hemisphere. French explorers were also present at this time and conflicts between the Spanish and French developed. In 1697, Spain gave France the western third of Hispaniola. Eventually, the French established the settlement of Saint Domingue which became one of the wealthiest colonies in the French Empire by the 18th century. During the French Empire, slavery was common in Haiti as African slaves were brought to the colony to work on sugarcane and coffee plantations. In 1791 though, the population of slaves revolted and took over control of the northern part of the colony, which resulted in a war against the French. By 1804 however, local forces beat the French, established their independence and named the area Haiti. After its independence, Haiti broke into two separate political regimes but they were unified in 1820. In 1822, Haiti took over Santo Domingo which was the eastern portion of Hispaniola but in 1844, Santo Domingo separated from Haiti and became the Dominican Republic. During this time and up until 1915, Haiti underwent 22 changes in its government and experienced political and economic chaos. In 1915, the United States military entered Haiti and remained until 1934 when it again reclaimed its independent rule. Shortly after regaining its independence, Haiti was ruled by a dictatorship but from 1986 to 1991, it was ruled by various temporary governments. In 1987, its constitution was ratified to include an elected president as head of state but also a prime minister, cabinet and supreme court. Local government was also included in the constitution via the election of local mayors. Jean-Bertrand Aristide was the first president to be elected in Haiti and he took office on February 7, 1991. He was overthrown that September however in a government take-over which caused many Haitians to flee the country. From October 1991 to September 1994 Haiti had a government dominated by a military regime and many Haitian citizens were killed during this time. In 1994 in an attempt to restore peace to Haiti, the United Nations Security Council authorized its member states to work toward removing the military leadership and restore Haitis constitutional rights. The U.S. then became the major power in removing Haitis military government and formed a multinational force (MNF). In September 1994, U.S. troops were prepared to enter Haiti but Haitian General Raoul Cedras agreed to allow the MNF to take over, end military rule and restore Haitis constitutional government. In October of the same year, President Aristide and other elected officials in exile returned. Since the 1990s, Haiti has undergone various political changes and has been relatively unstable both politically and economically. Violence has also ensued in most of the country. In addition to its political and economic problems, Haiti has most recently been impacted by natural disasters when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck near Port au Prince  on January 12, 2010. The death toll in the earthquake was in the thousands and much of the countrys infrastructure was damaged as its parliament, schools and hospitals collapsed. Government of Haiti Today Haiti is a republic with two legislative bodies. The first is the Senate which comprises the National Assembly while the second is the Chamber of Deputies. Haitis executive branch is made up of chief of state whose position is filled by the president and a head of government which is filled by the prime minister. The judicial branch is made up of Haitis Supreme Court. Economy of Haiti Of the countries in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti is the poorest as 80% of its population lives below poverty level. Most of its people contribute to the agricultural sector and work in subsistence farming. Many of these farms, however, are vulnerable to damage from natural disasters which has been made worse by the countrys widespread deforestation. Larger scale agricultural products include coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum, and wood. Although the industry is small, sugar refining, textiles, and some assembly are common in Haiti. Geography and Climate of Haiti Haiti is a small country located on the western part of the island of Hispaniola and is west of the Dominican Republic. It is slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Maryland and is two-thirds mountainous. The rest of the country features valleys, plateaus, and plains. Haitis climate is mainly tropical but it is also semiarid in the east where its mountain areas block the trade winds. It should also be noted that Haiti is in the middle of the hurricane region of the Caribbean and is subject to severe storms from June to October. Haiti is also prone to flooding, earthquakes, and droughts. More Facts about Haiti Haiti is the least developed country in the Americas Haitis official language is French but French Creole is also spoken Source Central Intelligence Agency. (2010, March 18). CIA - the Worldfactbook Haiti. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html Infoplease. (n.d.). Haiti: History, Geography Government, and Culture - Infoplease.com. Retrieved from: infoplease.com/ipa/A0107612.html United States Department of State. (2009, September). Haiti (09/09). Retrieved from: state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1982.htm

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Solid Waste Management Privatization Research Paper

Solid Waste Management Privatization - Research Paper Example This research paper not only discusses today's pollutive levels in India, but also analyzes benefits and disadvantages of privatizing solid waste management services in New Delhi. The researcher explores costs of waste disposal services in India, that had increased from 21 to 42% after the privatization. This drop in costs was mainly attributed to great efficiency and stricter monitoring of the waste services. The government, on the other hand, cannot pay its workers lower than their minimum, therefore without privatization the costs will still remain high. In their provision of services, private companies also have economies of scale to protect the environment and to get into multiple contracts thus, incurring very low costs. In addition this research paper also discusses government bureaucracies, such as service limitations, that are not imposed on private companies and for this reason, their service provision is not hindered at all. Privatization of solid waste management was also thought as beneficial by the researcher due to the increased efficiency of the services. The dumping sites in New Delhi reduced remarkably after the privatization program. In conclusion, the researcher states that privatization of solid waste management certainly has more benefits than if left in the hands of the public sector. Better and improved results are more likely to be obtained if the private sector undertakes the solid waste management services. However, the cost factor is still of great importance.

Friday, October 18, 2019

What are the most important differences between rationalists and Term Paper

What are the most important differences between rationalists and empiricists(Site specific philosophers in each group) - Term Paper Example It is known that rationalists and empiricists give different answers to the above-mentioned questions. Such rationalists as Des Cartes stated that one always describes the highest truth by means of logic and reason. One should not apply subjective or direct experience to do that. As for empiricist’s point of view, experience is very important as it is the basis of one’s development of logic. Once Isaac Asimov uttered that â€Å"I prefer rationalism to atheism. The question of God and other objects-of-faith are outside reason and play no part in rationalism, thus you do not have to waste your time in either attacking or defending† (Lacewing, 65). This statement demonstrates that for Asimov it was better and more convenient to use rationalism than empiricism. As for empiricism, it teaches that one should not try learning more about God with the help of reason. This school recommends using two projects instead of that. They are: critical and constructive. The first one focuses on the elimination of what is known by metaphysicians. The second pays attention to the commentaries of religious texts. A strong point of empiricism is that people are able quickly understand the sources of information/knowledge. In the majority of cases it is received with the help of the senses. It is a casual process. Experience helps to form one’s concepts. When the latter are gained, their understanding gives to the individual analytic knowledge. Thus, John Locke is sure that â€Å"all ideas are derived from sense experience. The mind is a ‘tabula rasa’, empty at birth. He begins his argument by attacking the opposite point of view – that some ideas are not derived from sense experience, but are ‘innate’. By ‘innate idea’ Locke means a concept or proposition which is part of the mind from birth. For an idea to be part of the mind, the

Marketing Strategy of Apple Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marketing Strategy of Apple - Essay Example The main objective of this research is to recognize the marketing strategy of Apple from the customer’s point of view. Therefore, the questionnaire design and data analysis in this study are focused on the elements of the marketing mix. In this research, descriptive studies will be used. Descriptive research is a research based on a set of methods and procedures which are used to describe variables, such as consumers’ attitudes, intentions and behaviors. Descriptive studies are mostly used in survey based researches, in which respondents are requested to fill survey questionnaires (Burns and Bush, 2006). There are several benefits of using descriptive research. Firstly, it could provide data for comparative analysis of competitive products. Secondly, new product performance can be evaluated through such a research. Lastly, it can develop profiles of types of customers and their preferences, which can greatly help the company. Questions about products, distribution, and marketing strategies will be asked in the research. The purpose of this design is to make this kind of research productive (Chisnall, 2005). The reason for using this type of research design is that it perfectly matches to the objective of thi s research, which is to evaluate the effect of marketing strategies on product performance from the customer’s point of view. The research design and data analysis will be divided into several steps. First of all, secondary data will be scanned in order to find what existing literature has to say about the topic. Secondary data is data previously gathered by someone other than the researcher for some purpose other than the research project on hand (Burns and Bush, 2006). In this research, most of the secondary data will be accessed through the internet, which is a form of online research. Secondary data can be divided into two forms: internal and external. The word â€Å"internal data† refers to the data collected within the

Financila Performance and Positioning Assignment

Financila Performance and Positioning - Assignment Example A projected profit and loss account of Clinton Cards plc has also been included in this part to add to the analysis. Shareholders need to analyse the management's performance and efforts put into the company affairs through the financial results so as to realise its strengths and weaknesses. Riahi-Belkaoui (1998, p11) says, "the profitability ratios portray ability of the firm to efficiently use the capital committed by stockholders and lenders to generate revenues in excess of expenses". Therefore, the analysis for the shareholders has been done with the help of following profitability ratios: The above chart depicts the profitability ratios for Clinton Cards plc indicating the financial performance of the company over the last five years. Shareholders are interested in the company's profit records and being the real owners of the firms, they constantly need to appraise the company's performance. If the company is able to generate a stable profit for its shareholders out of its business activities, then it is said to be a good performer in the financial sense. The Gross Profit Margin Percentage evaluates the percentage of profit earned by a company on sales after the production and distribution activities (Mcmenamin, 1999). It shows how well the company manages its expenses so as to attain maximum profit out of its total sales. Clinton Card plc's gross profit ratio shows that the company is sustaining a stable profit margin with a slight increase in profitability. It further illuminates that the company manages to keep about 11% of its total sales revenue out of all the production and distribution expenses. This can also be inversely stated that the company loses about 89% of the total turnover in meeting cost of sales. The Net Profit ratio shows what percentage of profit a company earns on its sales (Mcmenamin, 1999). It reveals the profit retained by a company after accounting for its various operating costs. The difference between the company's net and gross profit ratios indicate the amount of profit foregone by them in the course of meeting various selling and administrative expenses. Thus the above graph shows that the company manages to retain about 6% of the total sales after accounting for various operating costs. The company's net profit margin is also rising sparingly at a stable rate showing the management's efficiency in managing costs. Riahi-Belkaoui (1998, p11) says that the return on capital employed ratio "indicates how efficiently the capital supplied by the common stockholders was employed within the firm". Clinton Card plc's return on capital employed ratio reveals that the company is having a slightly fluctuating rate of profit on the funds invested by the shareholders. However the rate of fluctuation is not high and thus the graph shows that the company gains profit as about 30% of the total equity funds. The return on asset ratio indicates the returns or profits generated after utilising the financial resources of the company determine the company's financial performance throughout the year (Meigs & Meigs, 1993). The company in consideration has had a significantly

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Should all states raise the high school dropout age to 18 Essay

Should all states raise the high school dropout age to 18 - Essay Example The skills become better with increased age. Hence, 18-year-old students have more life experiences that make them better citizens. They are also able to comprehend issues and act in accordance with regulations. An 18-year-old student has an enhanced maturity and cognitive capacity. Therefore, making the legal age for school dropout ensures that the society has fully equipped members to promote sustainability. Persons aged 18 years are equipped physically and mentally to enhance productivity and help in nation building. Even though, critics argue that increasing age limit amount to a violation of student rights and that it does not consider the talents. The school provides the platforms for talent development and nurturing. Schools also improve the interpersonal skills of individuals through diversity. Persons also learn to respect and appreciate other people’s cultures. However, such attributes only become better with increased age. An 18-year-old student shows good reasoning compared to the one who drops out at an early age. Therefore, all States should establish mechanisms to keep students in high schools until they reach 18 years of

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Game Studies - Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Game Studies - - Essay Example Consideration of games as the most socially acceptable medium of stress relief and fitness regulation came with the progressive trend of human culture in every aspect. As a result of the extended support from the populations of different countries across the world, games became a visible form of exchange medium of culture in course of time. When such a single game has to be identified as a reformer of the cultural and socio-economic facets of the human community over a large proportion of the world population, cricket claims its emphatic position across England and other Common Wealth nations. Cricket evolved as a game from unknown time in the history, but with the enthusiasm of more and more people to pursue this game, the popularity and the cricketing culture formed part of the world’s English dominance. The influence of literature in popularizing this game was a major contributor of the development of a new culture that promoted the expansion of cricket across various countries. More importantly, cricket evolved as a mentor of the sports culture with greater consideration for the beautification of the game by eliminating possible rivalries that sustained during the ancient sports history. As many more people entered the game with expectations of prestige-over-entertainment, the aesthetic approach to the game evolved and as a result, cricket itself had forced on people, a class-difference of involvement based on their wealth and social status. As Bateman (2009, p. 7) opines, in the early stage, cricket used to be a stage where the players classified themselves as amateurs or professionals; in which the former class opted batting as their favourite element of the game while the latter had to chose the more laborious and less glamorous area of bowling. Though this separatist views about the cosmetic image of cricket continued for a long time, it was really a synopsis of the upcoming trend

Should all states raise the high school dropout age to 18 Essay

Should all states raise the high school dropout age to 18 - Essay Example The skills become better with increased age. Hence, 18-year-old students have more life experiences that make them better citizens. They are also able to comprehend issues and act in accordance with regulations. An 18-year-old student has an enhanced maturity and cognitive capacity. Therefore, making the legal age for school dropout ensures that the society has fully equipped members to promote sustainability. Persons aged 18 years are equipped physically and mentally to enhance productivity and help in nation building. Even though, critics argue that increasing age limit amount to a violation of student rights and that it does not consider the talents. The school provides the platforms for talent development and nurturing. Schools also improve the interpersonal skills of individuals through diversity. Persons also learn to respect and appreciate other people’s cultures. However, such attributes only become better with increased age. An 18-year-old student shows good reasoning compared to the one who drops out at an early age. Therefore, all States should establish mechanisms to keep students in high schools until they reach 18 years of

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Students Report on Family Values Reduced Essay Example for Free

Students Report on Family Values Reduced Essay Slide 1: Good morning teacher. My name is †¦..I’m come from Viet Nam. I am studying Advance D. My FIN No. is G1139539L. Today I’m going to talk about the decline of family values in society today. Slide 2: Before I start I will show you the outline of my presentation. For the introduction, i will say in general about the decline of family values. After that I will show main points and explain the greed and other reasons which led to family values decrese. Lastly, I will sum up my presentation with summary, prediction and recommendation. Slide 3: Due to globalisation with the growth of materialism, people have high standard of living, the decline of family values become a usual topic these days. Materialism can be defined as a dominating sense of desire to pursue wealth and other tangible things that can provide physical comforts that ignores the importance of spiritual values. Many mourn the loss of joy, the warmth, unity and togetherness in households today. Someone said that this is the period of greed that responsible for this decline but in my opinion, it’s still exist some reasons which make family values decrease. So I will discuss both of it in this presentation. Slide 4: Now moving onto the first part of my presentation which is talk about the impacts of greed to family values include competition within family members, pressure from society to be rich and marriage base on money. Slide 5: Firstly, let me start by an undisputable fact that greed can make intensive competition within family members. For example, we can look at relationship between sibling. Sometimes, second or third children feel inadequate by comparison to a first sibling. They think they work never enough good when compare to their sisters or brothers are exhibit unusual talent. If children are labeled best in a domain, they often do their best to prevent another sibling from encroaching on their domain and gradually become selfish, jealous. Moreover, because of it can make some children have less confident and try to run away from their family. Slide 6: Secondly, I want to mention about pressure from society to be materialistic. To make it clear we can see the characteristics of such materialistic people are greed for money, tendency to become rich quickly even if it involves a lot of risk. It also involves the desire to live in plush houses, wearing highly expensive clothes and jewelry and driving flashy cars. It’s express oneself have high position under look of society and have respect from others. Besides, because of materialism become more popular in society today, the behavior between rich people and poor people also have big diffirence, with this thinking like that, people gradually forget about simple things in a family. Slide 7: In addition, greed in society can led to marriage exist base on money. There is an increase in marital discord and divorces. Nowadays, a lot of people marry for money not for love. That’s why relationship in the family always have conflicts, the greed promotes many other negative feelings as well like lust, selfishness, jealousy, sense of hopelessness. People are forgetting their moral values and often fail to understand the distinction between right choices and the wrong ones. The only thing that matters is good quality life and false comforts. All of this made a family only focus at money and without basic factor to keep a happy family. Slide 8: Now let me turn to the other reasons that are dedication to work, the influence from mass media and social pressure on children to succeed. Slide 9: First of all, dedication to works can become one of the reasons make family values decline. To give an example, busy lives make family member hardly spends time together. Everybody is busy with their own thing. Careers and professions are given priority. Home lives are neglected. Children are lonely and immersed with the computer, T.V. They do not have time to take care of their family even themselves, without discuss problems, holidays together and share difficulties in life. A family without support can not stable. Slide 10: Interestingly, the influence of mass media. With the development of mass media such as: radio, internet, movie, television, newspaper†¦ children who still sensitive are easy to get misconception about family values. Also, now we are living in a open and complex society. Information is get easily with variety of opinions and some of this can take negetive meaning and influence to people surrouding even about family values today. Slide 11: Finally, we look at social pressure on children to succeed. For instance, some parents always put high expectation for their child but they don’t know they are making more stress for children. Pressure to win and be the best. Attending tuition classes. Intense training schedules. In a world of super achievers, children often find themselves at the burnt end of the rope. Parents require their child must to have outstanding results in exam and forget feeling of their child. Some children grow up with lost innocent childhood. Well, that’s all I want to say about reasons whichs led to decline of family values. Slide 12: To sum up, todays lifestyle has changed everything. Many old values are being replaced. Slide 13: Families have never been ideal and flawless nor may they ever be. Ups and downs are part of family lives.spouses should make extra efforts to listen, love and respect each other * INFORMATION: We can still mend our ways and move towards a beautiful world. For this, we have to look for a purpose in our life. Each individual has to make some changes in his outlook. We have to separate ourselves from material world. This will make us happy both with or without the material things that we desire. It will make us feel that if I get that thing its good but if I do not get that its fine with me. Its not very easy for us to get this kind of mental set up but it is not an impossible task too. The rough phase of economy has given us some valuable lessons. That, all the tangible things of the world that we acquire may go some day but still we have the strength within us to survive in tough condition. We are happy that we have not lost ourselves and the support of our family. These things matter more than any other material things of life. We have to give top priority to hard work and not to any shortcut route to achieve success. There is a sense of truth and honesty associated with h ard work which can give us immense satisfaction. We have to increase our knowledge of reality that are non-physical. Lack of knowledge of the non-physical aspects of our life is a major cause of downfall not only of an individual but collectively as a society. Spirituality help us to know our real identity. If we lose our wealth it can be replaced but if we lose our own self then we cannot replace that. The actual solution of the problems, be it economic or otherwise, can be obtained through introspection. We can identify what has caused us face this kind of problem that we are in today. Set yourself free from the material world, recognize the real self that lies within you in dormant condition. In this way you can prevent the influence of materialism from blocking your inner growth. that greed, selfishness and individualism have a negative effect on children families and children need to receive a basic education on the subjects of love and moral responsibility. It is only natural for crime rates to rise and human relations to be impaired in such a society in which affection, compassion and brotherhood are replaced by anger, conflict and feelings of hostility.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Reason For The United States Imports Economics Essay

Reason For The United States Imports Economics Essay In recent years, studies show that the United States imports more than it exports. Imports are any goods or services brought in from one country to another for sale. Exports, refers to the selling of goods and services produced in the home country to others. This means that the United States is buying more than we are selling at this very moment. Companies import goods in order to supply the domestic market at a cheaper price. Companies, also import goods that may not be available in the local market. Exports outweighing imports helps widen the trade deficit. This overall widening of the countrys deficit shoes how difficult it will be to rebalance the global economy so that the United States does not consume more than it produces. The United States importing more than it exports affects the economy by tipping the balance of trade. The Balance of trade also known as net exports, is the difference between the monetary value of exports and imports of output in an economy over a certain period. In easier terms it is the correlation between a nations imports and exports. The United States importing more than it exports places the United States in what is known as a trade deficit, or trade gap. According to the United States Census Bureau, in 2011, the United States trade deficit was $559.956 billion. This was due to the United States having $2.1 trillion in exports minus the $2.67 trillion the United States had in imports. This is an example of how the United States Economy is becoming stronger, considering the fact that this is way better than the outlandish $753 billion dollar trade deficit that happened only four years prior. The reason for the United States imports is because its imports in oil, consumer goods and automotive products outweigh exports in many of the same groups. Being that the United States is the third largest exporter in the world; the economy still manages to export a large amount of goods. The United States is only behind China and the European Union. It is a known fact that two-thirds of the United States exports are material goods. The most imperative export for the United States is services, which is the remaining third of the economies exports. As the biggest service exporter in the world the United States manages to stay atop the three largest exports categories in service which are royalties and license fees, travel services and financial services. On the contrary the United States is the worlds largest importer; more than 80% of the United States imports are goods (BEA). The largest category is industrial machinery and equipment, within this the largest group is oil and related petroleum products. In order to get out of the recession the United States needs to figure out how to try and balance out the trade deficit. As a result of production levels dropping and the continuing of selling off our large companies to foreign interests, tax revenue has receded and we have fewer American owned companies remaining to produce wealth and generate taxes. American owned companies are what we need to build the economy. The persistent importing of goods from other countries will hurt our economy even more. Small businesses help drive the American economy. Small businesses also provide jobs for over half the nations private workforce. The debt enlargement has impacted every level of our economy. This ongoing trade deficit is detrimental to the nations economy over the long term because it is financed with debt. The trade deficit also helps the United States lose its competitiveness. This means one day we wont be able to compete with other countries. When purchasing goods overseas for a long period of time, the United States companies lose their expertise and even factories to make certain products. The government will have to continue to borrow money and import more goods in order to operate. One of the biggest issues existing today with imports and exports, are the rising and falling of gas prices. In the past year, the United States exports of oil rose above its imports of oil. Being that in the past year, gas prices have reached an all-time high, this shows that exporting more than importing is not always a positive thing. In fact, The Energy Department reported, For the first time since 1949, the United States exported more gasoline, heating oil, and diesel fuel last year than it imported (Winter). This change is significant because for years, the United States economy has depended heavily on other countries for imports of fuel to meet demand. In the past year, the capacity of fuel exports has been rising because many citizens are using less fuel, and in return buying more resourceful cars. This case allows U.S. refiners to export more fuel to rising economies such as South American countries. For example, In 2011, U.S. refiners exported 117 million gallons per day of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum products, up from 40 million gallons per day a decade earlier (USATODAY). The more fuel the U.S. economy exports the higher the prices of gas will be. This statement is true because the more fuel and oil that is sent to other countries, the less of a supply pillow the United States will have. These facts and statements show while the United States exported more oil than imported, the downside is that gas prices were higher than they ever were. When President Obama took office, he prompted that he planned to change the economy in a substantial way. According to CNN, his initiative to enhance the economy was to increase the amount of exports over the next five years, while in return creating 2 million plus jobs. As said earlier in the analysis, the balance of trade needs to be rebalanced as the economy recovers. Obama and his teams support of increasing exports has not only created a surplus of jobs, but also will shift the economy towards exterior trade. In conclusion, it is clear to see that the United States has put the economy into quite a predicament. Because of the negligence of the future, America has continued to create a massive amount of debt. With all of the problems being faced, lets look at a possible solution to this problem. There are many resources that the United States must import. However one of the biggest issues is oil and can be something that can definitely be manipulated for the future. The United States possesses its own oil supply that it has yet to dig into for various political reasons. If this oil is found and used then not only will we not have to import oil, but gas prices can go down tremendously in America. In the midst of everything that is currently occurring, there is good news as of late. According to the New York Times, exports last month have increased by 3.1 percent and a 1.5 percent increase in imports. This is good news and a slight sign of improvement. Further, President Obamas plans to enhance the economy will help our future. If the United States can continue to keep this progress, then maybe the economy can decrease the trade deficit more every year until we can maintain some type of balance. When it comes to the future state of the United States economy we can only be optimistic in the nation and hope for a better tomorrow. If bad decision making continues as far as our country and our money, we are making it harder for the future leaders of this country. That is simply making disarrays for someone else to clean which is not the type of behavior this country needs to continue to exuberate. The choices we make today effect our tomorrow and if we plan on staying strong as a nation, the way we handle our finances must be improved and be more strategic. If not our future will be unclear, and our great country will go into an uncontrollable downward spiral.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Western Views of Non-Traditional Medicines Essay -- Exploratory Essays

If you walk into any pharmacy, grocery store, or natural foods store, you cannot avoid the shelves and displays of "alternative" remedies and treatments. Promises of fewer aches and pains, clearer skin, slower aging, better digestion, and more "harmonious" body functions are plastered on store walls and across bottle labels with many, often green, pills and liquids. Ginseng, Echinacea, acupuncture, reflexology, antioxidants, Vitamin A, B, C, E... have all become a familiar part of our culture's vocabulary, and for many, a part of their health regime. The allure of treatments that are as simple as a collection of plants or are based on a well-loved substance like garlic are obvious, particularly in an cultural environment where not only medical labels but most food labels seem to be written in a different language, and where people are taught that "science [and medicine] know more about them than they could ever know or understand about themselves"(Beinfield, 24). A full-page advertis ement in the New York Times for the Oxford HMO is an insightful illustration of both public demand of alternative treatments and its current misgivings about Western medical care. In the first paragraph, Oxford says it has redesigned its program to take on a more "physician-responsive, patient-centered approach." Another section begins with the heading, "Alternative Medicine. The Choice is Yours." It goes on to state, "A third of the people we serve already use alternative therapies. Now they have access to the first credentialed network of alternative care practitioners. It includes acupuncturists, chiropractors, massage therapists and nutritionists, to name a few... In traditional health care, specialty care has been focused more on isolated treatmen... ... New York Times. Tuesday, April 1, 1997.   * Website on Chinese Medicine: www.hanwei.com/culture/medic.htm   * Stix, Gary. "Probing Medicine's Outer Reaches." Scientific American. October 1996.   * Website on Alternative Medicine: www.chinaplus.com   * Marshall, Eliot. "The Politics of Alternative Medicine." Science. Vol. 265. Sept. 30, 1994.   * Website on Chinese Medicine: www.europa.com   * Finkelstein, Katherine Eban. "Insuring Children: Health Care Reform Writ Small." The Nation. March 3, 1997.   * Eisenberg, M.D., David, with Thomas Lee Wright. Encounters with Qi: Exploring Chinese Medicine. 1985, New York, W.W. Norton and Company.   * Caudill, M.D., Ph.D., Margaret A.. Foreward, The Web that has No Weaver: Understanding Chinese Medicine. Ted Kaptchuk, O.M.D.. 1983, New York, Congdon and Weed.   * Website on Chinese Medicine:www.ccchome.com  

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Comparing The Grapes of Wrath and The Power of One Essay -- comparison

Comparing The Grapes of Wrath and The Power of One "Two heads are better than one," it's always been said. But is another person always valuable, or can extra baggage keep an individual from achieving his goals? Both sides can be argued effectively, and both may be true depending on the circumstances. Two historical novels, The Grapes of Wrath and The Power of One, show how two sets of characters took different routes to achieve their goals and how they fared along the way. In The Grapes of Wrath, The Joads, a family of penniless migrant workers, travel to California to look for work, depending on the help of assorted strangers along the way, while The Power of One tells the story of Peekay, a young South African boy growing up alone in a hostile world bent on destroying his chances of success. The books portray very different views on life that are equally valid and convincing; while The Grapes of Wrath is a tale that emphasizes the power that can be achieved in numbers and the consequences of trying to survive alone, Th e Power of One is a testimony to the things one person can achieve when he is forced to depend on and trust in himself only.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The Joads, after they are forced to vacate their farm in Oklahoma, decide to pack all of their belongings and make the voyage to California, where there is supposedly so much work that everyone can make a living. But along the way, they quickly run into trouble. They have little money, an unreliable vehicle, a truckload of people to feed, and miles to go before they reach their destination. The Joads quickly discover something that becomes a major theme throughout the book: cooperating with others to achieve a common goal is sometimes necessary for surviva... ...ss birds banished, their rocky nests turned to river stones"(513;Ch. 24)   Ã‚  Ã‚   Each of these novels, although powerful and influential in its own right, contrasts the other greatly in terms of theme. The Joads in The Grapes of Wrath had to rely on others to obtain their goal, while Peekay in The Power of One struggled to find his way in life completely alone. Though each book is very different from the other, each is an emotional story of life's obstacles and the tremendous human spirit, whether combined or individual, that it takes to overcome them.    Sources Courtenay, Bryce. The Power of One. New York: Random House, 1989 Levant, Howard. "The Fully Matured Art: The Grapes of Wrath." John Steinbeck, Modern Critical Views. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. 35-62. Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin Books, 1978.