Monday, September 30, 2019

Justification for funding researches on Biotechnology and genetic engineering Essay

Biotechnology and genetic engineering are technologies that employ biological materials to generate or construct enhanced products. The technologies are extensively used in the field of agriculture for the generation of new plant hybrids which present commercially important traits such as size and sweetness and remove the commercially risky features including drought- and insecticide-resistance. In the field of biomedicine, microbial species are modified through genetic engineering and used as basis for the design and creation of new vaccines which will help the public from acquiring specific infectious diseases. It is of my opinion that these sciences be funded for purposes of food enhancements and vaccine improvements because these provide us with new methods of using modified versions of the basic biological materials. The modification of particular plant species may be helpful to us in terms of food and our daily consumption, and maintaining good health in the society. For example, rice may be genetically modified to grow to maturity in half the time the wild rice grows. This means that we will always have ample supply of rice because we do not have to wait for such a very long time. In term of vaccines, it is important the biotechnology and genetic engineering improve vaccines because the bacterial and viral pathogens that cause diseases are also constantly evolving. Viruses are continuously changing the proteins on their cell membrane so that the cells of their host will not recognize and destroy them based on the host’s current immunity. If we do not improve our vaccines, we will not be able to control emerging infections around the world, and this may result in multiple global outbreaks. Hence, it is important that these technological innovations be used to their maximum potential. References Patel R, Torres RJ and Rosset P (2005): Genetic engineering in agriculture and corporate engineering in public debate: Risk, public relations, and public debate over genetically modified crops. Int. J. Occup. Environ. Health 11:428-436.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Best essay ever

Grouping Europe into 3 segments WWW Super Nozzles in Europe Wool No clear sales goals. Growth in Industrial Chemicals 02 Different markets 03 Growth in Europe 04 Other areas of the world 05 New Joint ventures 06 New branded sub-assemblies 07 Growth in Plastics 08 Growth in Canada 09 Manufacturing in Europe THREATS TO Extra fees in Europe TO Fragmented media in Europe TO Cultural barriers in Europe TO New competitors TO Government Solutions AY Create a Joint venture with a company in a single country in Europe.Europe is too big of an area with too many different languages and cultures for a small company eke Kinesics. They need to narrow their focus on one country. Also, by creating a Joint venture they can bypass all or some of the fees that make their European product up to 45% more expensive. The idea seems to be working well in Canada. If it goes well, create more Joint ventures in other countries in Europe.PROS CONS Pl more narrow target market CLC less potential sales UP better understanding of market CO less control over operations UP reduced fees CO share profits Leave Europe. Focus efforts on U. S. Where there is still huge potential for growth. Continue sales from Canada and Japan. Pl no wasted efforts/money in Europe CLC lose European sales UP more energy put forth towards U. S.CO less international exposure UP safe decision CO Company growth may slow down Exhibit 1 SSL Exclusive rights to the mixing device without moving parts SO Unlike components, branded products came in standard sizes that could be plugged in to existing machinery SO Choosing target applications and selling only branded subassembly to them, management was pleased with the financial returns of this strategy SO It appeared that Canadian Kinesics would double their sales from 1972-1973 SO Good ales in synthetic fibers, pulp and paper, industrial chemicals, plastics, waste application, made company versatile SO Only 6 sizes of Super Nozzles were needed to cover U. S. Arrests SO New pr oduct that no one else had, only company with the technology SO More organized than European sales, over 1 million orders SIS Created multiple branded subassembly and able to create custom components.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Barriers to Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Essay

Health promotion has been defined as the process of enabling people to increase control over their health and to improve it. This process requires personal participation and supportive environments. For people with disabilities, however, personal participation is often limited by non-supportive environments. Lack of knowledge on how to modify programs to meet specific needs, poor attitudes, and unfriendly environments often creates insurmountable barriers to participation for many people with disabilities. While innovative medical technology has increased the life span of individuals with disabilities, little attention has focused on improving their health span. The reportedly high incidence of chronic secondary conditions seen in persons with disabilities, including pain, fatigue, low functional capacity, obesity, and depression, is often related to environmental conditions that include poor health promotion practices. Smith wrote: â€Å"People with disabilities therefore represent significant health needs and investment in health care resources, both in terms of the primary disability and secondary complications. Although the prevention of these conditions is important, of equal importance is to make living with them as healthy as possible, as many disabilities are life-long. Although health promotion may be significant in leading to lower levels of premature mortality, higher quality of life and lower health care costs for the general population, it has the potential to be even more significant for those already with a disability, whose quality of life and independence rely critically on their ability to maintain their narrow margin of health.† With the emerging concept that individuals with disabilities can improve their health in the same manner as anyone else, there is growing momentum for providing quality health promotion programs for people with disabilities. Maintaining health and wellness is especially important for people with disabilities because functional limitations that often accommodate a primary impairment (neurological dysfunction) may reduce a person’s capacity to engage in health promoting behaviors and result in a higher frequency of secondary conditions. These secondary conditions are defined as â€Å"†¦physical, medical, cognitive, emotional, or psychosocial consequences to which persons with disabilities are more susceptible by virtue of an underlying impairment, including adverse outcomes in health, wellness, participation and quality of life†. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of health promotion for people with disabilities in the areas of exercise, nutrition and health education, and to describe a health promotion service delivery model that addresses the gap in services between rehabilitation and community-based health promotion. The vast majority of people with disabilities are not obtaining the recommended amount of physical activity needed to confer health benefits and prevent secondary conditions (e.g., heart disease, obesity, and osteoporosis). In a study by Rimmer, it was found that less than 10 percent of adults with physical disabilities engaged in structured physical activity programs. A possible reason for this high level of inactivity may be linked to the number of actual and perceived barriers to exercise reported by people with disabilities. Transportation, cost of the exercise program, and not knowing where to exercise were listed as the three most common barriers. In a related study, Messent reported that the barriers to physical activity participation in adults with developmental disabilities were unclear policy guidelines in residential and day service programs; transportation and staffing constraints; limited financial resources; and limited availability of physical activity programs in the person’s community. While these external barriers may impose major limitations on exercise participation, internal barriers may also create obstacles to participation. Kinne reported that exercise self-efficacy and motivational factors were significant predictors of exercise maintenance in a group of adults with disabilities. Health disparities refer to differences between groups of people. These differences can affect how frequently a disease affects a group, how many people get sick, or how often the disease causes death. Many different populations are affected by disparities. These include †¢Racial and ethnic minorities †¢Residents of rural areas †¢Women, children, the elderly †¢Persons with disabilities While better nutritional habits are a major concern for most people with and without disabilities, there may be some specific differences in diet and nutrition guidelines pertaining to people with specific types of disabilities. Issues related to accessing healthy foods, determining food interactions with commonly used medications to control various secondary conditions ( pain, seizures, depression), and establishing specific requirements for food supplements ( vitamins, minerals, fluid intake) are all major concerns among people with certain disabilities. For example, people with spinal cord injury have a higher rate of bone loss after their injury, which increases their risk of osteoporosis. A few studies on persons with cerebral palsy and Down syndrome have also reported a higher incidence of osteoporosis. While it is the recommended daily allowance for calcium intake and vitamin D may need to be increased for certain types of disabilities to offset the rate of bone loss, recommen ded guidelines are not available. There are little data available to support this theory. There is a pressing need to conduct more research on various types of disabilities that have a reportedly higher incidence of bone loss, to determine the effects of exercise and nutritional supplements (calcium, vitamin D) in reducing or slowing the progression of this condition. Health education can have a measurable impact on empowering people with disabilities to improve their own health. For example, people with depression, manic depression, schizophrenia etc. should practice medication management with the assistance of a physician or nurse practitioner. Many states offer education classes dealing with communication with family members and the public along with skills on how to cope with mental illness. There are also cooking, cleaning, and hygienic classes and job training skills. In my experience job coaches are available to help ease the transition from unemployment to gainful employment practices. Many disabled individuals still experience discrimination from others who do not understand what mental illness is and don’t take the time to find out how to cope daily with a friend, family member or co-worker who may suffer from mental illness. In Belize Central America poverty is a big problem. In an article I read had this to say, â€Å"The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) said Tuesday that it had approved a US$15 million loan to help Belize provide better basic health care, improve secondary education and strengthen its capacity to target, coordinate and evaluate social protection programs.†These measures will help the government achieve the goals of its National Poverty Elimination Strategy,† the IDB said in a statement. It said that one-third of the country’s population lives under the poverty line and the poorest sector of society lacks adequate basic health and secondary education services. â€Å"In some southern rural areas, like the Toledo district, 79 per cent of the population is poor and 56 per cent is classified as indigent. â€Å"The IDB said that in order to strengthen primary health care for the most vulnerable sectors, the funds will support government plans to increase enrolment in the National Health Insurance (NHI) pilot program.†It will also protect the 2009-2010 budget lines needed to at least maintain NHI coverage at 95 per cent of the population in south-side Belize City and 84 percent in the Southern Region. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is also addressing the significant barriers to mental health care experienced by African American, Asian American and Pacific Islander, American Indian, and Latino/Hispanic populations. NAMI is developing national partnerships and strategies to overcome the crisis. There is also increasing emphasis on improving quality of health care within the existing services in the United States. To achieve quality, there must be: 1. Improved access to care for all people. 2. Appropriate and acceptable treatment plans that incorporate multidisciplinary knowledge. 3. A workforce of sufficient numbers and qualifications. 4. Agreement on indicators for health care quality. 5. Responsible practices and follow-through on the part of patients. One study of infants revealed the cost of hospitalizing premature infants, the need to improve prenatal care to women at high risk for delivering preterm or low-birth-weight infants, and the need to improve outcomes for those infant. There is still so much to be done to increase health and the quality of life in persons with disabilities and those with chronic health issues. Health promotion has been defined as the process of enabling people to increase control over their health and to improve it. This process requires personal participation and supportive environments. Reference Rimmer JH, (1999). Health promotion for people with disabilities: the emerging paradigm shift from disability prevention to prevention of secondary conditions Physical Therapy. 79(5), 495-502. Ravesloot C, Seekins T, Young Q, (1998). Health Promotion for People with Chronic Illness and Physical Disabilities: The Connection between Health Psychology and Disability Prevention Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy. 5, 76-85. Thierry JM, (1998). Promoting the health and wellness of women with disabilities. Journal of Women’s Health. 7(5), 505-507. Stuifbergen, Alexa K., PhD, RN, Heather Becker, PhD, and Dolores Sands, PhD, RN, (1990). Barriers to health promotion for individuals with disabilities Family & Community Health. Smith RD, (2000). Promoting the health of people with physical disabilities: a discussion of the financing and organization of public health services in Australia Health Prom Int. 15, 79-86. 13(1), 11-22. Belize to receive IDB funds for health, education. (2009, Oct 07). BBC Monitoring Americas. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/460151112?accountid=32521

Friday, September 27, 2019

An American Indian Providing their Perspective of the English Assignment

An American Indian Providing their Perspective of the English - Assignment Example Primarily coming from the southern states of America, my forefathers had later settled in the northern part, in quest of better living. Recounting my experience is interesting because history has long since been regarded as a very important document of a country’s inheritance of its cultural values, people and its socio-political and economic evolution. While some of the historical events can be gleaned from the written accounts of the eyewitnesses, the authenticity of the same is always in doubt and helps the historians to delve deeper into the myriad aspects of evolving time. Indeed, my children grandchildren tell me that there is well-documented information about America from the time it was discovered by the Spanish conquistadors. But we are the original inhabitants of this country and I think, history should be interpreted from the accounts of our people and sot solely accepted from the foreigners who have now been declared as rightful citizens of this land! History for us is the tales of the times that are passed on to from generations to generation and added from the inputs of the succeeding generations. Frankly speaking, the stories of my forefathers, as told to me by grandparents, are a mixture of the good and the bad. The good things comprise of our culture and the pride in our tradition and values. We value human beings as the creation of God and they have the responsibility of maintaining good relationships with all the things that God has created. Thus, conservation of the environment is an intrinsic part of our heritage. I think this was the major issue that has brought about so much of conflict in our lives through the times. The clash of ideas and the ambitious and often nefarious intentions of the Europeans have resulted in the formation of a new social order where racial discrimination has superseded human values.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Parenting Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Parenting Education - Essay Example They must be told at the initial phase of their lives that a little mischief is always permissible but doing this in an all-out manner is not a very acceptable thing. This paper takes a keen look at the critical standpoint of the relationships that exist within the parents and the kids’ spheres. It also studies the basis of the parents being at the helm of complete control and exerting their influence in nearly all the kids’ activities and undertakings. One sees this relationship between the parents and the kids in such a way that allows for their positive association with one another. However it is when the kids stop realizing that they are answerable to their parents that the whole problem creeps into the related domains. This is one of the most important aspects that one should understand before delving deep into the study basis of associations between the parents and their kids. The parents are unaware of the new ways and means through which their kids are bent upon deceiving them (Levine 2007). They are also unknowing the realms that their kids are outsmarting them in terms of technological prowess and related technical details that they are learning by the day. The ignorance therefore is very detrimental towards the cause of raising kids on a solid footing, as the repercussions are immensely hazardous for the parents as well as their kids. The parents might not live long enough to see their kids getting to good ages but what they can do is to inculcate a sense of sound.

Is political art possible In your response, concentrate on three works Essay

Is political art possible In your response, concentrate on three works with political claims and objectives - Essay Example Particularly when the artist chooses to depict recognizable subjects, future generations of viewers are able to glean some sense of how the people lived by thoroughly examining changes in depictions from one generation of artists to another, watching for deliberate misrepresentation of images and juxtaposition of elements, all of which can provide clues as to the underlying social and political structures of the era. Attempts to understand these deeper elements of art can be improved by coming to a greater understanding of literature, whose expression is closely connected to the concepts underlying artistic practices. Social theorists and academics commonly look to literature as a means of achieving greater understanding of events such as massive cultural shifts like that experienced during the post-war period and cultural hybridity. Because these concepts are difficult to define or explain, literature offers the necessary examples and analogies which bridge gaps in understanding and pose new questions to be watched for in the artworks produced. The idea of cultural hybridity has taken on great significance since the mid-20th century as social and cultural shifts prompted by globalization have had increasing impact on our world. Although commonly employed to refer to the effects of pre-war colonialism, in which a technologically dominant society overpowers a less developed nation, the concepts that have emerged from studies into cultural hybridity have taken on new significance in light of globalization and transnationalism as the artist attempts to depict the mood of an entire nation. The concepts and aftereffects of colonialism became a subject of great consideration during the postwar period particularly within the academic world and have recently, within the past few decades, become the focus of a number of political artworks and artists. â€Å"Colonialism is a practice of domination, which involves the subjugation of one people to another† (Kohn). O riginally, colonialism was thought to apply only to the specific action of moving people from a dominant territory, like England, to a new territory, like Africa, for permanent purposes. This type of relocation effort is also commonly characterized by the expectation that those relocated individuals will continue to cling to their home rule standards of living even within the bounds of the new location. In other words, settlers were expected to adhere to their former modes of dress, behavior styles and observe the cultural standards of their original home country rather than attempt to in with or adopt the standards of the people already living in the area. Regardless of their status in the home country, these settlers were given the impression that it was their task to convince the local people to change their ‘heathen’ or ‘uncivilized’ ways so they might come into compliance with the colonizing culture’s ideals and thus be able to compete on the 'h igher' or 'better' level. Although there were reasons why this deliberate attempt to replace entire cultures was considered justifiable, the attempt was also perhaps unavoidable. The practice of colonization was considered to be important to the global community because â€Å"a temporary period of political dependence or tutelage was necessary in order for ‘uncivilized’ societies to advance to the point where they were capable of sustaining liberal institutions and self-government†

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Articulation of Effective Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Articulation of Effective Leadership - Essay Example The paper tells that the personality of individuals plays a great role in the leadership traits that the person holds. A person displays this behavioral and emotional character to the world. The ideas of an individual characterize the personality of the person. Leaders are majorly extroverts, as opposed to introverts who are better at sharing ideas than in interaction with people. Both personalities are useful for the realization of the strengths and weaknesses of a society that a person yearns to lead. The public picture drawn by a person determines the following he/she enjoys. Ethics in leadership stirs the society towards ethical development and effective coexistence. Leaders who have ethical leadership skills influence the operations of an organization or community. Ethics ensures that the public mentality is set to do the right things, not to exploit the setbacks of others. The ethics in a leader begins with responsible handling of crisis to owning up in situations that implicat e their performance in public office. The inclusion of the entire society and members of an organization in decision-making proves to be ethical for the leadership style portrayed by a leader. The ethical background of a good leader should not allow the negative behaviors or deeds of certain individuals to erode the trust of the society. For it to be practiced by the followers, the leader should cultivate the accountability culture. By being accountable, the leadership builds trust and encourages communication in the process of building the society. The ethics in leadership is important in bringing unity to a people as the regulations of ethics exempt nobody from meeting them.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Law - Essay Example Issues Relevant to The Contract for the Sale of the Van Misrepresentation In negotiating for the purchase of a van from Daly, Winston explained that the putative van must have a storage capability of 200 feet and must be capable of regularly transporting antique furniture up to 1 ton. Based on these requirements, Daly told Winston that he had a van the fit Winston’s requirements and a van was offered for sale and accepted based on Daly’s representations. In fact, Daly also noted that the van in question had hardly been broken in. It is a fundamental rule of contract law that the parties to a contract enter into a contract on the basis of an understanding that they will receive the benefit bargained for and forming the inducement to enter into the contract.1 In addition, should one of the contracting parties fail to perform as mandated pursuant to the contract, the party losing the benefit bargained for and reflected in the contract for sale, is entitled to compensation for that loss.2 When the party loses the entire benefit of his or her bargain, he is entitled to treat the contract as terminated.3 Under the contract for the sale of the van, Winston was promised and expected to receive a van capable of replacing the van lost in the conduct of the antique shop’s business. The truck however, turned out to be inadequate as a replacement vehicle. The question is therefore whether or not the van’s failure to live up to expectations amounts to a breach of the contract on Daly’s part. Daly did make certain representations or as it turned out, misrepresentations that the van in question was fit for purpose. Misrepresentation occurs when false information is communicated and that false information induces the other party to enter a contract to which the false information applies.4 Misrepresentation can be made fraudulently or negligently or innocently.5 It is difficult to discern from the facts of the case for discussion whether or not the false information provided by Daly that the van was fit for its intended purpose was negligent, innocent or fraudulent. However, as a skilled or experienced salesman, it can be assumed that at the very least, Daly ought to have known whether or not the van was fit for purpose. It is therefore reasonable to assume that Daly’s misrepresentation was negligent at the very least. Regardless, it will be for Winston to prove that he relied on the information communicated to him or was induced by that information to enter into the contract.6 It can be assumed from the facts that Winston did in fact rely on Daly’s communication of facts since he was looking for a specific van with specific requirements and communicated those facts to Daly. Fit for Purpose Quite apart from misrepresentation, Winston can consider taking action against Daly under statute. By statutory law, it is an implied term of contracts for the sale of goods that goods purchased for a specific purpose are fit for purpose. By virtue of Section 14 (3) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979, where a purchaser either â€Å"expressly or by implication makes known to the seller† it is implied that the â€Å"goods supplied under the contract are reasonably fit for that purpose† unless the purchaser â€Å"does not rely,† on the â€Å"skill or judgment of the seller†.7 Winston can prove that he rel

Monday, September 23, 2019

Terrorism Act 2000 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Terrorism Act 2000 - Essay Example All the criticisms have been centered round the very basic issue of definition of the term 'terrorism'. This paper details some of the contradicting views on the definition of terrorism. The definition of terrorism has been exhaustively dealt with by section 1 of the Terrorism Act 20001. Under Section 1 of the Terrorism Act, 2000 the term 'terrorism' is defined to include "any specified action, the use or threat of which is designed to influence any government or to intimidate the public in order to advance a political religious or ideological purpose" (James Hammerton)2. The use or threat of action which involves the use of firearms or explosives will be deemed to be terrorism whether it is designed to influence the government or not or to intimidate a section of the public. The definition as provided for in section 1 of the Terrorism Act, 2000 thus includes an action that satisfies result under subsection (2), intention under subsection (1) (b) and motivation under subsection (1) (c). However it has been specifically provided that where the action involves there is no relevance of the intention3. The major criticism against this exhaustive definition brought into force by the Terrorism Act 2000 is that it has the effect of making a serious assault on the civil liberties. This criticism is leveled on the ground that the definition covers even those who voice support for armed resistance against suppressive regimes and even those who organize mass faxing to register their protest against the government. The report from University of Essex describes the definition as too wide devoid of the clarity required for the criminal law.4 The same report points out that Amnesty International and the Parliamentary Joint Committee also have a similar view on the definition of the term 'terrorism'.5 It has been pointed out that the Terrorism Act, 2000 does not cite any specific offence of committing an act of terrorism, as has not been the case with the legislation in many other jurisdictions. Here in the case of Terrorism Act the tacit legal assumption is that the existing offences under any other criminal law would cover the terrorist attack under Terrorism Act. However this may give rise to a situation that the acts or conducts which are ancillary to the terrorist acts would be "criminalized in many situations in which analogous conduct ancillary to other criminal activity would not be". The following cases will clearly illustrate this point It is considered as an offence under section 56 of the Terrorism Act, 2000 to direct a terrorist organisation at any level. This act at a very low level may not be subjected to the wider scope of terrorist attack "It is an offence under section 38B of the 2000 Act, as inserted by the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, for any person to fail to disclose as soon as reasonably practicable any information which he knows or believes might be of material

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Essay Example for Free

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Essay In the book, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Douglass chronicles his slave life during the mid 1800s. By informing his readership of the realities and cruelties of slavery, Douglass’ seeks to persuade Northerners to become involved in the abolitionist movement. He accomplishes this purpose by delivering his message throughout the entirety of the book slavery is harmful to all participants – with the effective utilization of ethos, logos, and pathos. The trio works to support his thesis, and this support therefore aids Douglass’ overall purpose. Although each of the argumentative devices is effective, the most powerful component is pathos, which is a quality that evokes pity or sadness. Unlike ethos or logos, pathos speaks directly to the readers, in this case the North, and profoundly influences their emotions and thoughts on the issue of slavery. Therefore, pathos is the most effective strategy in Douglass’ narrative because it accomplishes the author’s purpose by sufficiently delivering his message, through the manipulation of emotions to Northern readers. Ethos is without a doubt an apparent strategy throughout Douglass’ narrative; in fact, the entire book is ethos. Douglass’ life was, at the time, living proof of the cruelties of slavery. He takes advantage of this fact in his narrative and describes almost every detail, being sure to leave out names whom he did not intend to offend or embarrass, and brings to reality the treatment of slaves in the 1800s. In addition, Douglass incorporates references to the Bible, often relating slaves’ lives to peoples’ lives in Biblical times. For example, â€Å"My friend Nathan Johnson (of whom I can say with a grateful heart, ‘I was hungry, and he gave me meat; I was thirsty, and he gave me drink; I was a stranger, and he took me in’).† This is a reference to Matthew 25:35, which discusses the importance of caring for others, even strangers. Douglass includes this passage to compare Nathan Johnson to a humble, selfless man that would care for anyone. Furthermore, the reference supports Douglass’ credibility as an educated man of God and a reliable non-fiction author. Just because he was once a slave, ignorant of freedom and all its blessings, including education, it did not stop him from brilliantly writing his narrative through which he sufficiently proves his credibility by means of correct grammar, references to the Bible and other highly respected pieces of literature, and the simple fact that he was once a slave and therefore contains the most reliable information. However, ethos is not the most effective strategy on his readers; it does not support his purpose or meaning as much as pathos does. Logos is also a strategy used throughout the entirety of the book, simply because it is a narrative of Douglass’ life, therefore it must be composed of non-fiction occurrences. He includes as much detail as he can, but he leaves out particular names and happenings in order to prevent embarrassment of the individual or even potential consequences. Despite his restrictions, Douglass still includes amazing thoroughness and accuracy. For example, â€Å"I left Master Thomas’s house, and went to live with Mr. Covey, on the 1st of January, 1833.† He uses three specific details in one tiny sentence, which just shows the reader his incredible memory and accuracy. Although his precision within the book is rather impressive to the Northern readers, the simple facts do not supply them with Douglass’ deeper meaning, that slavery is harmful to all participants. Rather, logos gives the readers the direct happenings of his slave life, but it does not reach out to the Northerners’ emotions, humans’ weakness and main influence to take action, to the extent pathos does. Pathos is a strategy in argument that aims to draw pity or sadness from the audience or reader, and it is often the most persuasive tool to accomplish a purpose. In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Douglass uses a generous amount of pathos in order to persuade his Northern readers to become involved in the abolitionist movement. He accomplishes this purpose by including sad incidences he saw or experienced himself. For example, Douglass tells the story of his Aunt Hester being punished with a whipping, â€Å"He commenced to lay on the heavy cowskin, and soon the warm, red blood†¦came dripping to the floor. I was so terrified†¦that I hid myself in a closet.† This description of the first time he saw someone whipped is drawn out in detail purposefully; Douglass wants the reader to engage in the narrative and let his/her emotions drive them toward pity for slaves and hatred of slavery. He includes many other descriptions like this, but they all have the same purpose. Emotion drives many peoples’ actions, and Douglass wants to persuade his Northern audience to become active in the abolitionist movement by letting their emotion take over. Pathos also brings out the meaning of the essay; by explaining cruel experiences, Douglass includes proof of his meaning, that slavery is harmful to both the slave and the slaveholder. Northerners are persuaded by this meaning and affected by the traumatic incidences in the book, and are driven to involve themselves in the move to abolish slavery. Pathos is therefore the most effective strategy that encourages Northern readers to follow through with Douglass’ purpose. Douglass utilizes ethos, logos, and pathos in a brilliant way, but it is acceptable to claim that pathos had the largest effect on the readers of the North in the 1800s. While ethos and logos give the author credibility and information to discuss, pathos affects the reader directly. It becomes tiresome to hear of straightforward facts, like moving from master to master or plantation to plantation. The readers want to hear of excitement, so when Douglass talks about sad topics, it involves the reader, as well as affects their opinion of slavery. By taking advantage of pathos and the readers’ impressionable emotions, Douglass conveys his message and fulfills his purpose, and therefore, pathos is the most effective strategy in his book. Works Cited Douglass, Frederick, and Houston A. Baker. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin, 1982. Print.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Health Attitudes Towards Chewing Tobacco Health And Social Care Essay

Health Attitudes Towards Chewing Tobacco Health And Social Care Essay Chewing tobacco is a form of oral smokeless tobacco. Smokeless tobacco is used to describe the tobacco that is used in un burnt form. Tobacco used for this purpose is prepared by harvesting the tobacco leaves when they turn yellow and brown spots start appearing on the leaves they are left in the fields for uniform drying.The aging time for leaves for making chewing tobacco is one to three years. They are then tied into bundles and moistened with water and molasses and are stored for fermentation for a couple of weeks .The bundles are then separated and dried again and leaves are cut into different sizes[1] Chewing tobacco can be used itself or as an ingredient to other products such as betel quid (paan)[12] The preparations are placed in the mouth, cheek or lip and are sucked or chewed.The most common preparation[2] of chewing tobacco used are Loose leaf It is commercially prepared. The product constituents are leaf tobacco, sweetener and liquorice Loose cigar leaves are air-cured and steamed. It is then cut into small strips of shredded tobacco. Licorice is added to give flavour Moist Plug It is made from enriched tobacco leaves collected from the plant, immersed in a mixture of liquorice and sugar and pressed into a plug. Twist Roll This type of tobacco is hand made. Air crued tobacco leaves are treated with a tar like tobacco leaf extract and are twisted into a rope like strands that are dried. Guthka It is dry commercial preparation containing areca nut, slaked lime, powdered tobacco, catechu and condiments. The same mixture without tobacco is called paan masala[1] .Both Guthka and paan masala are attractively packed and widely available. It is highly addictive and is used as a mouth or breath freshener[3](21) Most common brand names are Manichand,Tulsi and parag Betel Quid (Pann) Paan consists of betel quid leaf, areca nut, slaked lime and catechu. Flavouring agents such as mentol, champhor, sugar,rose water, aniseed, mint water and other spices are added according to individual and regional preference[2]. Chewing tobacco is also used as an ingredient in betel quid (paan)[4][12].However paan can also be used without tobacco. Tobacco is used as raw, sundried and roasted that is finely chopped into small pieces or powdered. To make the quid slaked lime and catechu are smeared on a betel leaf. The leaf is folded in a funnel shape and tobacco and other ingredients are added. The top is folded over resulting in a quid which is placed in the mouth. Zarda .It is prepared by cutting tobacco leaves into small pieces and boiling them in water with slake lime until water evaporates. It is then dried and coloured with the vegetable dyes. Spices and perfumes are added. Zarda can be chewed itself with areca nut or added as an ingredient in paan. Most common brands available are Baba, bharat, gopal, Betel quid Parag. Qiwam It is thick tobacco paste available in the form of granules and pellets To prepare Qiwam the tobacco leaves are soaked and boiled in water, flavoured with spices and additives and stirred well. I then strained and dried into a paste from which granules and pellets are made.It is either placed in the mouth and chewed or used in betel quid[1]. Although the use of oral smokeless tobacco product has been existed for thousand of years in South America and South East Asia, the products became popular in other parts of the world as well[2] [FS 00] The frequency of its use varies considerably not only across the countries but also within the countries according to sex, age, ethnic origin and socioeconomic status of the people[4][12].Oral smokeless tobacco use is widely prevalent in South East Asia. According to WHO figure in 2004,17% of the total population in Southeast Asia uses oral smokeless tobacco and 95% of these people belong to India and Bangladesh[1].[NML] Chewing tobacco is the most common form of oral smokeless tobacco used in South East Asia. It is used in a variety of forms; betel quid chewing (paan), leaf alone, leaf with lime and tobacco, and areca nut preparations. Historical evidence has indicated that the habit of paan chewing has been existed for 2000 years and is being used from year 437AD [1]. About 600million people are estimated to chew paan in Southeast Asia[5][18] and tobacco is an important constituent of paan especially for users in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan [1] The use of these products was dropped in Europe and North America but an opposite trend has been observed for the last few decades particularly among people under the age of 40 years. These products are used as an alternative option to cigarettes and other smoking products and are considered to be of negligible risk to health[6] [6]. Demographic context of South-Asian UK Community According to 2001 census number of South Asians in the UK were 2,010,541 that make up 4% of the total UK population. Indians were the largest figures 1,028,539 (1.8%) followed by Pakistanis and Bangladeshis with 706,752 (1.3%) and 275,250 (0.5%) respectively. 2004 estimate shows that number of British Asian community in the UK is 2,7999,700. Asians are present in most towns and cities of the UK. The largest concentration of Indians are in west London, Leicester and west Midlands Pakistanis are evenly distributed in the UK with greater concentration in Birmingham, Lancashire ,Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and greater London. Most of the Bangladeshis live in East London in Tower Hamlets where they make up 33% of the total borough population[7].[34] Recent tobacco control strategy Support for chewing tobacco users For many years the users of chewing tobacco in some areas of the UK have been treated by local stop smoking services on the grounds that individuals seeking help for tobacco use of any kind should be offered support within NHS. Since April 2009,there is no clarification that tobacco chewers can be included in the monitoring data for NHS Stop Smoking Services[8] 5 So there is little incentive for the services to treat tobacco chewers. However certain locally established services are working to help people quit. There is no rigorous search on different types of smokeless tobacco products used in UK[9](8) All this has resulted in raising the concerns that chewing tobacco has received little attention in the UK compared with cigarette smoking, the predominant form of nicotine use. As a result, there are concerns that tobacco chewers may be unaware of the health risk However in the latest DOH guidelines A smoke free future: a comprehensive tobacco control strategy for England the government has highlighted the harmful effects of smokeless tobacco and has stressed upon the implementation of certain regulations regarding its use in the UK. It has been considered to extend the legislation on pictorial health warnings to smokeless tobacco products and to label the products clearly. In addition it will be tried to ensure that the legislation on the labelling, display and sale are enforced. Work will be done to get a clear picture of the current market. UK Government will continue to support the current European prohibition on the sale of snus. Regarding support and advice for the current users of smokeless tobacco government will work with NCSCT to develop and implement cessation packages and care pathways. Efforts will be made for these pathways to be embedded in the community and to become sustainable. Additional support will be provided by communication strategies to the users of chewing tobacco and health and social care professionals and workers to highlight the health risks associated with the use of such products and support and methods available to stop them[10]. Literature search The literature search was conducted using the online databases given in table 1 Data base Description EMBASE It is a major biomedical data base that covers a wide range of articles on clinical and experimental human medicine ,health policy management and public health Medline Medline is good source of biomedical and clinical medical literature. Cochrane For the systematic reviews of the studies. Boolean operators (AND, OR) were used and search was conducted in three different categories using the key words given in table Chewing tobacco Health effects Attitudes UK Smokeless tobacco Harmful effects Behaviour England Hazards Knowledge Great Britain Dangers manners The searches were limited by: English language documents only No study from date before 1990 was included The initial searches on Medline and EMBASE produced 1209 papers on chewing tobacco OR smokeless tobacco The search was then restricted to focus on chewing tobacco only and found 245 articles. The review was highly specific regarding the use of chewing tobacco in UK,so all the studies conducted outside the UK were excluded and the number was reduced to 16 only. Searching for the harmful effects of chewing tobacco OR smokeless on different database revealed 72 papers from all over the world. Nearly half of these papers had no description of chewing tobacco and were excluded. Search for the attitudes towards the use of chewing tobacco was very limited and produced only 6 papers globally. Limiting the search further in UK found nothing on this topic. The studies found were reviewed for the relevant information under the following headings The use of chewing tobacco in the UK Health effects Attitudes Use of chewing tobacco in the UK Research has suggested the widespread use of areca nut mixed with smokeless tobacco amongst Asian ethnic communities residing the western world[11].[4] Of the 2.4 million South Asians in the UK,27-98% are users of smokeless tobacco depending on the community and sex[12][35]while chewing tobacco is the most common form of smokeless tobacco used in the UK[13].[1] Studies in the UK have found a high prevalence of betel quid (paan) chewing in South Asian communities among both sexes in all age groups and increasing incidence with the age [14,15,16,17,18] [40,41,42,43,44] The habit of paan chewing varies between 66% to 95% within Bangladeshi UK communities whilst in Indian and Pakistani it is 15% and 75% respectively[13] [1].Bangladeshi women are distinct from other minority ethnic groups in their tobacco use as most of it is derived from chewing tobacco (16%) rather than cigarette smoking (2%)[19][36]. However the reporting of chewing paan with and without tobacco varies among Bangladeshi women living in Britain [20][38]It has been found that out of 75-90% of Bangladeshi women chewing paan, 50-80% use tobacco in their paan[21][37] The first large study conducted in Birmingham to investigate the use of betel quid and tobacco chewing among Bangladeshi community in the UK found that 92% of male and 96% of female chewed betel quid on daily basis an d the percentage of male and female users of betel quid and chewing tobacco increases with the age[16].[42]. Furthermore It has been found from the studies that in Bangladeshi community the number of the women chewing tobacco with betel quid is higher than men and 37% of male were reported to chew betel quid with tobacco whilst 81% of women did so[16][42]. In another study in west Yorkshire 95% of women were chewing paan of which 89% reported to add tobacco[15].[41] Similarly Health education authority (HEA)survey for health and lifestyle in ethnic minority 2004 has found that the prevalence of chewing paan in 50-74 years age group was 76% for women and 62% for men of which the frequency of adding tobacco was 58% and 31% respectively[17].[43] Same results were revealed in Tower Hamlet in 1999 where 86% of women and 71% of men chewed betel quid, and the frequency of adding tobacco was 64% for women and 42% for men[18] [44]. On the other hand in two other studies conducted in Tower Hamlet, London and inner city of London the prevalence of chewing tobacco among Bangladeshi women was low;48.5% and 43% respectively[20,22].[39,38] The actual prevalence is thought to be higher as the reasons demonstrated for this low prevalence is cross-sectional study design that provides only a snapshot of the current picture and is unable to describe the actual behaviour. Other possible reasons include the study sampling and questionnaire wording. It has been later on found that the tobacco use in chewing paan is under reported by Bangladeshi women. In another study nearly half of the women in the sample undisclosed their personal tobacco use [23]1. Likewise in another study of betel quid use among first and second generation of women in London, the prevalence ranged between 25% to 33% and 49% of these women were reported to add tobacco. The possible explanation given for this low finding is the smaller sample size and the age range selected for this study was narrow (18-39)years. It did not include the age group over 45 years where the prevalence of betel quid use is highest[11] [23] The habit of the paan chewing is found to be started in this community before the age of 15 years[16,18][44,42] and some times it is acquired at a very early age ( as early as 5years) but mostly in early teen age between 11 and 15 years[24,11][4,5] Another research in East London has also found a high level of regular paan use, both tobacco containing and tobacco free, among the young Bangladeshi adolescents of 12-14 years of age. Most considerable fact is that only a third of these young people knew the association between tobacco containing paan and oral cancer[25](11) The different types of chewing tobacco used in the UK are similar to those used in Southern Asia and include;Guthka,zarda,dried whole and chopped tobacco leaves and tooth cleaning powders(abrasive powdered tobacco with aromatic ingredients)[13][1]These products are available in the market with different branded names. Such as for Guthka it is Manikchard and Tulsi mix. Zarda is available as Hakim pury,DulalMisti and Baba Zard gulabi Pati.The name given to teeth cleaning powder is Quardir Gull. Some of these products are used in conjunction with paan. All these chewing tobacco products used have at least a detectable level of some of the carcinogens. One type of zarda product Hakim Pury is of special concern as it is found to have high levels (29.7 µg/g) of carcinogens, nitrosamine (TSNA) and is putting the life of the users at risk[13][1]. Different level of toxins and nicotine content has also been found in Guthka and tooth cleaning powder.. It has been found that gutka and paan are commonly sold in the UK without health warnings.The UK Children and Young Persons ( protection from tobacco) Act1991[26][48] states that it is an offence to sell the tobacco products to people under the age of 18 years and tobacco containing gutka and paan fall in this category. If legislations are not enforced .there is a risk that this problem would not remain confined to South Asian community but also spread to other ethnic groups[25].11 Effects of the treatment One pilot study conducted in London in UK has described the effect of NRT patch along with brief advice and encouragement on the reduction in the use of chewing tobacco in South Asian community. The report of this study suggested that NRT helped volunteers to give up chewing tobacco use in moderately dependent users of chewing tobacco whilst advise only was helpful for those with low dependency. There was a great reduction in the salivary cotinine level in the group of volunteers treated with NRT patches[27] (24) According to a report 67% of the Bangladeshi women have declared a desire to quit the use chewing tobacco products[8].5 Harmful effects The habit of chewing tobacco is associated with a number of risk factors some of which are fatal whilst the others are injurious to heath. Cancers Oral cancer is a common malignancy among people who smoke and chew tobacco and is the 11th most common cancer that makes up 3 to 4% of all cancers, worldwide. 300,000 new cases of oral cancer occur and is responsible for 200,000 deaths, each year, globally[28,29]. (29,33) There is a significant difference in the prevalence of oral cancer among different ethnic groups and is found to be related to their cultural habit such as chewing of tobacco, areca nut and betel quid[30].[7] It is the most common form of cancer in India and South Asian countries and account for 40% of total malignancies with high frequency in Bangladesh, India and Srilanka[31].[45] A number of studies conducted in Asia Pacific have shown an increased risk of oral cancer among betel quid (paan)chewers. The presence of tobacco in betel quid further increases the risk[30].[7] The first cohort study to examine the risk of oral cancer in women chewing tobacco was conducted in a rural costal area in Kollam district of Kerala over a period of 15 years from 1990 to 2005.The results revealed a strong association between daily usage of chewing tobacco and the incidence of oral cancer in women and the risk was 9.2 folds higher among women who chew 10 times or more in a day. The risk also increased with the duration of chewing in the first 20 years[28].(29) The incidence of oro-pharyngeal cancer is highest in India and is strongly related with the use of chewing tobacco[32][3,] A study in Bhopal has found an increase risk of oro-pharyngeal cancer whilst the risk of oral cavity cancer was increased up to six fold with tobacco quid chewing. The risk was found to be 66.1% for tobacco chewers for the development of oral cavity cancer[33][10] Another most recent review of the studies on the head and neck cancer has tried to explore the associated risk factors. The carcinoma of the oral cavity; oropharynx, larynx and hypopharynx was the focus of the studies. It has been found that the incidence of head and neck cancer is increasing in women chewing tobacco which is considered as a newly recognised risk factor of great concern[34](28) Chewing tobacco has been found as an independent factor associated with an increased risk of hypo-pharyngeal cancer in a clear dose response relationship[29](33) The wide spread habit of chewing tobacco among South Asian community in the UK has raised concerns in public health authorities because of its harmful effects. There is a potential risk of oral and pharyngeal cancer among Asian immigrants living in the UK[33][10] A systematic review of the studies conducted in Europe and North America has shown a consistency of their results in finding the association of chewing tobacco and oro-pharyngeal cancer thus suggesting the strength of this association[35][55] .Between 1998 to 2000, an average of 5,010 new cases of oral cancer were detected per year in the UK. In the year 2000, 2,073 new cases occurred. The mortality rate due to this disease is 40% which is higher than due to cervical and breast cancer. It is possible to prevent the mouth cancer by avoiding the risk factors and early detection as the Awareness about the early signs and symptoms of mouth cancer is very low in high risk patients in the UK population although it has not been found to be low about knowing chewing tobacco as a cause of oral cancer[36].(25) Betel quid causes oesophageal cancer even without adding tobacco[5](18) and the addition of tobacco enhances it effect[30][7]. Cancer of the oesophagus was higher in men in Assam who had been using fermented betel nut combined with any type of tobacco[37](19).These findings are supported by a systematic review that explored the association of chewing tobacco not only with the oral and oesophageal cancer and also with the squamous cell carcinoma of the lip, buccal cavity, tongue and floor of the mouth[38].[20] In a cross-sectional analysis in England and Wales it has been found that the mortality rate from hepatocellular carcinoma and liver cirrhosis is high among men from South Asian community which cannot be explained by their patterns of alcohol consumption but might partly be attributed to the direct effect of paan chewing with or without tobacco[39](16) Similarly another case control study conducted in Taiwan has found a modest but independent dose dependent relationship between the habit of chewing tobacco and liver cancer. Furthermore it has been found that the paan chewers infected with hepatitis B and C are at an increased risk of liver failure as compared to non chewers infected with the virus alone[40].(17). The overall survival rate after the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue at five and 10 years was 60% in people who did not chew tobacco whilst it declined to 40% in those who did so. Similarly relapse-free survival rate at 5 and 10 years was also higher for non chewers (63%) compared to those who chewed (42%) and was associated with high risk of loco-regional failure [41][13] Tobacco smoking /chewing causes oxidative stress that is defined as a sustained pressure of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in tissues.ROS are involved in the initiation of cellular free radical reaction and thus causing damage to protein, lipid, carbohydrate and DNA. If DNA damage is minor it can cause mutagenesis whilst severe damage will result in modifying the cell cycle[30][7] A number of studies have been conducted to estimate the risk of pancreatic cancer associated with chewing tobacco and revealed conflicting results. In 2008, a report from European Community Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) on the health effects of smokeless tobacco[42] [56] has stated that All STP [Smokeless Tobacco products] contain nicotine, a potent addictive substance. They also contain carcinogenic tobacco-specific nitrosamines of differing levels. STP are carcinogenic to humans and the pancreas has been identified as a main target organ. Similar findings were reported in 2007 by International Agency of Research on Cancer (IARC) concluding there is sufficient evidence in humans for the carcinogenicity of smokeless tobacco. Smokeless tobacco causes cancer of the oral cavity and pancreas.[43][57] In contrast a systematic review in 2008[44][27] has demonstrated conflicting results with no effect of smokeless tobacco (ST) on risk of pancreatic cancer. However it has highlighted the limitation and weakness of the available data and has suggested for more evidence to determine the true relation. The number of exposed cases as compared to controls was small in the studies included for the review and there was a limited control for confounders as diet was not taken into account during analysis of risk from ST. The reliability of the base line exposure data was also doubtful in some of the cohort studies conducted over a period of 15 years as it has been suggested that there is considerable change in the use of smokeless tobacco over the long follow up period[44].[27]. Although the relationship of chewing tobacco with different types of cancers has been revealed in different studies but the interpretation of meta analysis of these studies is difficult as there a number of shortcomings associated with them. The studies are of variable size, quality and design are not able to provide sufficient information. Other draw backs include; small number of cases exposed to chewing tobacco lack of histological confirmation, unclear description of inclusioin and excliusion criteria,no details of selection of cases. Furthermore some studies have not mentioned about the type of ST used, its frequency and duration of use. Chewing tobacco products vary by country and overtime and older studies show an increased risk which may be not be the same for modern studies because of less nitrosamine level in modern products. Pre neoplastic disorders Oral submucous fibrosis is a chronic premalignant condition that occurs due to chewing of tobacco and areca nut and has a greater tendency to progress to cancer [5][18] There is a sufficient evidence that areca nut causes progressive sub-mucosal fibrosis and tobacco increases its addictiveness and carcinogenicity[3].(21)The fibrosis can involve the hard palate, tonsillar fosaa, buccal mucosa and underlying muscles. In some areas of the India the incidence of submucous fibrosis is as high as 35 per 100,000 men and 29 per 100,000 women[45,32].[3,22] In a study carried out in the UK to explore the relation between oral lesion and betal quid (paan) chewing among Bangladeshi women over the age of 40 years, revealed the presence of oral mucosal lesion in 40% of the participant and the leukoplakia was the most common disease with 25% prevalence [46].6 Similarly in another study conducted, in Papua New Guinea to find the relation between oral leukoplakia and bà ªtel quid chewing without tobacco, it was revealed that the current chewers and heavier chewers had a prevalence of oral leukoplakia of 3.8% and 4.1% respectively[47].[8] Circulatory diseases A systematic review of the studies conducted in United states and Sweden has found an association between smokeless tobacco products and the risk of fatal myocardial infarction and stroke and is explained to be without any chance.[48][6] Betel nut has been found also to aggravate the cardiovascular diseases[11] 7 Betel quid chewing is thought to be associated with asthma as well. The findings suggest that arecoline, a major constituent of betel nut, is absorbed through the buccal mucosa and exerts its broncho- constrictive properties from the circulation[49] (14) Non neoplastic diseases Evidence from a systematic review of nine studies from Europe and USA has suggested a relationship of the risk of non-neoplastic oral diseases; dental caries and tooth loss with chewing tobacco[50]. [11] In all the studies included chewing tobacco was significantly associated with decayed permanent tooth and decayed root surface even after adjusting for the confounders such as age, race, ethnicity, education and past-year dental visits. The risk was further increased with an increase in the number of packets used each day [50][11].Tobacco chewing also causes gum recession and loss of dental attachment which leads to dentine sensitivity and pain. Nicotine in chewing tobacco is documented to have analgesic properties and helps to overcome the pain resulting due to this dental sensitivity and as a consequence of other dental diseases. This explains the reason for experiencing oral pain by the people who want to quit and is found to be a barrier to their quit attempts.[27].(24) Disabilities Chewing of tobacco or areca nut is associated with certain disabilities and a new name has been proposed for these .prevalent disorders; Gutka syndrome or Areca Nut Chewers syndrome[3][21] Gutka syndrome is a combination of disabilities related with the chewing of areca nut and betel nut with or without smokeless tobacco It is predominant in people chewing for several years .The features of this syndrome include different degrees of fibrosis in the sub mucosal layer of the mouth and in the muscles of mastication that leads to trismus. The mucosa is white and lacks suppleness It becomes extremely temperature sensitive and is easily bruised [3].[21] Foetal disorders After nicotine, alcohol and caffeine betel nut is the fourth highly used addictive substance. Another recent study has investigated the impact of betel nut chewing habit on pregnancy. The prevalence of low birth weight was found to be 18% in chewing mothers and it was statistically significant The reduction in the birth weight was up to 467g[51](30) Among other factors, chewing tobacco is also found to be associated with the carcinoma of gallbladder[52].(31) Similarly a study was conducted in southern India to evaluate the level of micronuclei (MN) in the buccal mucosa of the individuals chewing tobacco, betel quid and areca nut. It was revealed that there was not much difference in the level of MN in individuals, chewing tobacco with smoking and those who where only chewing tobacco, being 1.09+/- 1.03 and 2.00+/- 1.12 respectively[53].(32) ] Attitudes The use of betel nut in South-Asian communities is regarded as a part of their cultural identity and is further enhanced by their perception of it as a valued tradition[11][4] In South Asian culture betel nut chewing is perceived beneficial and socially acceptable and is not believed to be associated with cancer and other related diseases. There is a stigma associated with women who smoke whilst there is no such stigma with using smokeless tobacco[20][15] Pressure from the family and friends is another factor stated by the women chewing tobacco. Older generation who do not believe in the health risks of betel nut chewing encourage the adolescent women to adopt this habit. In addition, the pregnant women adopt this habit to lessen their morning sickness in early pregnancy and later on maintain it to aid digestion due to its well being effect[11].[4] Paan is believed to have medicinal qualities and is thought to be effective in relieving headache and stomach ache . It is believed to freshen the breath and strengthen the gum[11][23]. One study conducted in Pakistan where chewing tobacco is the most common form of smokeless tobacco used has tried to study the attitudes and practice of smokeless tobacco users. The study revealed that 67% of the users were using it for physical and mental relaxation,59% reported the use by other family members as well. Reasons reported for its start were for relaxing and concentrating in work 67% and 39% respectively).media advertisement was another source of inspiration reported by 40% of users. 31% found it to be due to the peer pressure from friends and /colleagues. More than 40% of the respondants , mainly uneducated women, reported it to be a cheap and useful remedy to deal with common health problems[54].(26) Attitudes of the women chewing tobacco have been explored in another study conducted in Papua New Guinea PNG. Women reported its use; to prevent smelly mouth (43%), it is in my custom (28%),I am addicted to it (9%), to able to work more when I am tired (8%). 28% of the women reported the use of chewing tobacco during pregnancy to reduce the morning sicknees and nausea. And 12% reported other reasons such as after meal, to relax, to be with others or socialising and for its good taste[51].(30) In a study in the UK in Bangladeshi community,the main reason given for betel quid chewing was its use by everyone in the family and friends. There was a wide social acceptance of this habit by the community especially by female users. 5% of the respondents even think it acceptable for the children to chew tobacco[16].[42].It was confirmed in the study that habit of betel quid chewing starts during the teen age years and the addition of tobacco in the females starts before the engagement and marriage. The habit was so frequent that 80% of the adult female were found to be engeaged in this habit..Taking few health risks was socially accepted and those who do not chew were considered deviant by the community [16].[42] Further exploring the attitudes of the Bangladeshi population regarding their perception towards the harmful effects of chewing tobacco it was found that 49% of female and 38% of male were unaware of its harmful effects of chewing paan. 23% of the participants believed that it is good for over all dental health, keeps teeth strong and helps stop pain in the gums and teeth and. It is perceived to aid digestion and keep mouth fresh. 14% of the participants also admitted that they were add

Friday, September 20, 2019

Strategic management report

Strategic management report 1.0 Introduction I choose Genting Berhad as the organization for the Strategic Management report. I worked in Awana Genting Highlands almost one year before I worked in government sector. Awana Genting Highlands is one of the six hotels under the Genting Berhad. Genting Berhad is a management company and investment holding of Genting Group. It was founded by the late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong in 1965 when he want to make a 20 km access road across mountainous which was located about 2000-metres above level sea. Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay is now the Chairman and Chief Executive of Genting Berhad. Genting Berhad is a Malaysian company with interests in a variety of fields. The group comprises of more than 15,000 employees, 11,000 acres of resort land and 156,000 acres of choice plantation land throughout Malaysia. The company is principally an investment holding and management company with seven major business divisions, such as leisure hospitality, plantations, property, power, paper, and oil gas. The leisure hospitality division is represented by numerous holiday brand names. This division operates in a variety of areas, and includes the operation of over 30 food and beverage outlets. They are variety of accommodation where there have six hotels, theme park and attraction, international shows, gaming experience, leisure cruising and meetings and conventions. Their vision is to be leading leisure, hospitality and entertainment corporation in the world, (Annual Report 2008). Oil palm cultivation is the main activity of the Plantation Division. The division is made up of 41,000 hectares of plantation land. The Genting Groups involvement in the property development sector enables it to realize its strategy of holding land-based assets for long-term capital appreciation and development potential. In 1971, the shares of Genting Berhad were listed on the main board of Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE). In November 2007, Genting Berhad became one of the biggest listed companies in Malaysia wi th a market capitalization of RM29.2 billion (US$8.74 billion). 2.0 Group Corporate Structure The Board has their own responsibilities for the proper conduct in the business. The Board meeting is usually on a quarterly basis. They have formal schedule specifically reserved for its decisions like annual operating plan, major capital projects, overall strategic direction, financial performance and monitoring of the Groups operating. Formal Board Committees established by the Board with the Code namely the Audit Committee, Nomination Committee, Remuneration Committee that assist the Board in the discharge of its duties. In addition, The Board is responsible for the Groups system of internal control and risk management. This is important to review their integrity and adequacy. Moreover, it is for the purposes of safeguarding the Groups assets and shareholders investment. According to Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995), leadership is distributed in the organization that supports the flow of knowledge from the middle to the top and down to the rest of the organization. The Group also put i n place a risk management process in order to help the Board recognizing and evaluating the managing risks. The Audit Committee has appropriate relationships with the external auditor. External auditors attended all Audit Committee meetings in order to audit their plan or report and comments on the audited financial statements. The Committee were responsible approved the internal audit for the Group and the company. They also need to authorize resources to identify any risks areas. They also need reviewed the internal and external plan for the Group and the company with the external editors. The Board reviewed the performance of the Committee every three years to determine whether they have carried out their duties. In terms of meeting, the Committees meet at least four times a year. The Secretary of the Committee prepared and sent all minutes of each meeting to the Committee members. 2.1 Lack of Understanding by the Board of Director with Regard to Internal Control In dealing with the boards stewardship responsibilities, the board should fully understand both the principal risks the company faces and its system of internal control. The purpose of internal control is to manage and control risk. In order to properly manage risk, an appropriate risk assessment and evaluation framework and activities would be needed. Once risks have been identified, appropriate control systems to manage and control these risks should be maintained and regularly reviewed given the companys risk profile. The reason of internal control is to make better doing in control risk without eliminate it because it involves risk-taking business. The Board has responsible for the Groups system of internal control and risk management and for reviewing its adequacy and integrity. The Board of Directors should aware that the system is created to control rather than get rid of risks and therefore cannot provide an absolute assurance against material misstatement or loss. To assist the Board in maintaining a sound system of internal control for the purposes of safeguarding shareholders investment and the Groups assets, the Group has in place, an adequately resourced internal audit department. The activities of this department which reports regularly to the Audit Committee provides the Board with much of the assurance it requires regarding the adequacy and integrity of the system of internal control. As proper risk management is a significant part for the system of internal control, the Group has also put in place a risk management process. In practice, businesses face risks from many sources in their dynamic environments and virtually all areas of the business are exposed to risk. In particular, the objectives of the business are at risk, and control systems are established and maintained to assist the achievement of objectives. Even though it is impossible to provide complete assurance through any control system, the control systems must be designed and applied to manage the likelihood and consequences of risk to acceptable levels. That is the cost of control should be related to the significance of risk. To manage internal control and assessing its integrity and adequacy, the company should in corporate its governess and normal management in order to meet regulatory requirements. In addition, the code details that a sound system of internal control is necessary in order to keep companys assets and shareholders investment safe. Generally, internal control is created to provide reasonable assurance based on the achieve ment of the companys objectives. Internal control is based upon certain fundamental concepts where it is not forms or policy manuals but is affected by people. It is not an end in itself process but it is a means to an end. 2.2 Internal Audit Function and Risk Management Process The Group should have an adequate resourced internal audit department to assist the Board in maintaining a system of internal control. The internal audit department reports to the Committee and is independent of the activities they audit. The primary role of the department is to undertake regular and systematic review of the systems of internal control so as to provide sufficient assurance that the Group has sound systems of internal control and that established policies and procedures are adhered to and continue to be effective and satisfactory. As proper risk management is a significant part for a system of internal control, the Group has also to put in place a risk management process to help the Board in identifying, evaluating and managing risks. 2.3 The Board Directors Responsibilities In relation to internal control, the Board of Directors have to acknowledges their responsibility under the Bursa Malaysia Listing Requirements as identify principal risks and ensure implementation of appropriate control measures to manage the risks. They are also need to review the adequacy and integrity of the internal control system and management information systems and systems for compliance with applicable laws, regulations, rules, directives and guidelines. It should be noted that an internal control system is created to control risks rather than eliminate them. It should be an ongoing risk management process established to identify, evaluate, and manage significant risks to effectively mitigate the risks that may impede the achievement of Genting Group of companies business and corporate objectives. The Board has to make sure management of risks and measures are taken to mitigate any weaknesses in the control environment. 3.0 Business Operations and Performance In terms of Genting Groups strategy, they intend to continue growing its core leisure and hospitality businesses by concentrating on its competitive advantages, enhancing its customer facilities and improving its current offerings in these businesses. The Genting Group also plans to identify growth segments within the area of leisure and hospitality, particularly in the gaming, hotel and cruise sectors and make appropriate investments in Malaysia, and, if appropriate, overseas to expand these businesses. According to Richard Nelson (1991), the resource-based view of the firm has explained firm differences by means of the cost of imitating or acquiring resources so firms that seek to acquire resources that give other firms a competitive advantage are prevented from doing so because these resources are too costly or impossible to acquire in the factor market. Maximize returns from existing business activities by optimizing operational efficiencies The Genting Group believes that it has on average one of the highest levels of operational efficiency in its existing industrial and plantation businesses among its competitors in Malaysia. Through the continuing application of new technology and production techniques, investment in information technology and other technologies across its businesses, the Genting Group intends to further increase business automation and enhances its operational efficiencies. The top management must either see opportunities not seen by other top teams or must be able to exploit opportunities by virtue of preemptive and consistent capability-building that other companies cant, (Hamel G., Prahalad 1994). Expand the Genting Groups revenue base through strategic acquisitions and investment opportunities in Malaysia and elsewhere, in particular in the areas of power generation and supply as well as plantations. A successful cost leadership strategy usually permeates the entire firm, as evidenced by high efficiency, low overhead, limited perks, intolerance of waste, intensive screening of budget requests, wide spans of control, regards link to cost containment and broad employee participation is cost control efforts, (Fred R. David 2005). The Genting Group believes that its strong balance sheet and stable cash flow and revenue streams from its leisure, hospitality, gaming and entertainment business enable it to expand its revenue base by growing its other busin ess activities. The Genting Group will seek to continue building on its prudent acquisition strategy to date by viewing potential acquisitions of power generation and supply projects that display potential upside returns on investment. The Genting Group will also consider expanding its plantations business if appropriate opportunities arise. They optimize their capital structure by achieving a more balanced use of financing. The Genting Group intends to maintain a balanced financial structure by optimizing the use of debt and equity financing and utilizing a mix of internally generated funds and external financing to fund the Genting Groups planned expansion and working capital expenditures. Expand cross marketing initiatives within the Genting Group to increase sales to its existing customers and grow its customer base. When the firm is exposed to rapid technological change, the firms routine, language and embedded forms of knowledge may adversely impact firm profits, (Poppo and Zenger 1998). The Genting Group is strongly focused on taking advantage of its diverse businesses by expanding its cross marketing initiatives and having greater integration within the Genting Group businesses. For instance, the cruise line and hotel businesses will be cross marketed to existing and new customer bases by the use of the Genting Groups World Card loyalty programme having a membership of approximately 825,000 throughout Asia as at 30 June 2003. In addition, the Genting Groups strategy is to build the branding of World Card throughout Asia. World Card subsidiaries and businesses have commenced in Singapore and Hong Kong from 2003 and other Asian countries are identified for implemen tation. The Genting Group will continue to grow from strength to strength as a leading Asian multinational corporation. 4.0 External Environment 4.1 Economic Malaysia has trade freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom and high level s of fiscal freedom. The top corporate tax rate and the top income tax rate are moderate and the tax revenue is low as a percentage of GDP. The government does not distort market prices with direct subsidies and inflation is also minor. The simple employment procedures with no minimum wage make the labor sector flexible and help businesses to stay competitive. 4.2 Technology Genting Berhad needs technological facilities advancement at all level to run the activities of their Principal Subsidiaries Division such as Leisure Hospitality Division, Plantation Division, Property Division, Power Division, Oil Gas Division, Manufacturing Division and Investment Holding and Management Services. Due to increased competition and accelerated product development cycle, innovation and the management of technology are becoming crucial to corporate success of Genting Berhad. Research found that the most important driver of corporate value for both durable and non-durable companies to be innovative. What is less obvious is how a company can generate a significant return from investment in research and development as well as an overall sense of enthusiasm for innovative behaviour and risk taking. One way is to include innovation in the corporations mission statement. Another way is by establishing policies that support the innovation process. The organizational form that best coordinates and enables knowledge creation is an amalgamation of three layers working in parallel: the business system, the project system and the knowledge system, (Lyles and Schwenk 1992). The importance of technology and innovation must be emphasized by top management of Genting Berhad and reinforced by people throughout corporation. The top management and the board must be interested in this topic and followed by managers below than tend to echo their interest. Therefore, management has an obligation to not only encourage new product development but also develop a system to ensure that technology is being used most effectively, with the consumer in mind. The groups need to continually seen their external societal and task environments for new development in technology that may have some application to their potential products or services. For sure manager of each Principal Subsidiaries is responsible for suggesting and implementing a companys tec hnological strategy light of its corporate objectives and policies. The managers of Genting Corporate Subsidiaries job involve build techniques of embodying in new processes and products, selecting alternative new technologies and organizing resources so that the new technologies can be implemented. Technology Department or Human Resource Management unit should be evaluated for technological competence in both development and the use of innovation technology, or to improve knowledge and implementation regarding on technology, or top management must attend course and seminar related to the technology subject. 4.3 Political-Legal It is related to allocation of power and provides constraining and protecting laws and regulations. Trend in the political and legal have a significant impact not only on the level of competition within an industry but also on which strategies might be successful such as strict enforcement periods, high level of taxation and constraining labor laws that directly affect corporate growth strategy. All these are set by the government that rules the country with its own purposes. However the stability of the government that rules a country is very important. Stable ruling government can set rules and regulations that will protect the local company in competing with foreign company that have an investment in that particular country. The laws is set to be follow by all individual and company that stay of have business in the country. In political and legal forces the laws that govern the corporations have an impact on decision making. So strategy makers should choose strategic alternative that minimize the general forces such as political and legal pressure and maximize the probability of gaining stakeholder support. One way is to propose a political strategy to influence its key stakeholders. Political strategy is a plan to bring stakeholders into agreement with a corporations actions. Some of the most commonly used political strategies are constituency building, political action committee contribution, advocacy advertising, lobbying and coalition building. 5.0 Internal Environment 5.1 Corporate Culture Asias top tourist destinations, is a now an inspiration for many budding entrepreneurs. The founder has blended the values of perseverance, hard work and integrity to create a management style distinctively his own. And over the years, these values have been instilled within the realms of the Genting management team and corporate culture. According to Mr. Eddie Chan, Sports Recreation Manager of Awana Genting Highlands, Winning this title reflexes a companys good corporate culture that believes in teamwork, healthy employees, companys commitment on employees training and a progressive and dynamic company. 5.2 Corporate Resources 5.2.1 Marketing Genting International is the exclusive international marketing and sales coordinator of Genting Highlands Resort outside Malaysia. It has a network of international sales offices and sales agents in various countries including Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, India, China, Indonesia and the Middle East. During the year, new representative offices were set up in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and in Shanghai, China and a branch office was established in the United Arab Emirates. The additional new offices have boosted promotional efforts and increased visitors to Genting Highlands Resort. Revenue from sales and marketing services amounted to S$18.9 million (2005: S$17.7 million). 5.2.2 Finance It has been a record year of performance as all business divisions posted higher revenues. Group revenue increased by 27% to a new high of RM6.9 billion (2005: RM5.5 billion). The good revenue performance was mainly due to higher business volume generated by the Leisure and Hospitality Division, especially from Genting Highlands Resort. In addition, the Malaysian power plant posted higher revenues as no major maintenance works were undertaken in 2006, compared to the previous year in which all of its turbines underwent major inspection and maintenance. The Plantation Division benefited from higher crude palm oil prices and an increase in the output of fresh fruit bunches. Higher progress billings from properties sold also benefited the Property Division. Higher oil prices benefited the Oil Gas Division while higher paper selling prices and volume sold benefited the Manufacturing Division. The Groups profit before tax reached a record high of RM2.7 billion (2005: RM2.4 billion). 5.2.3 Research Development Genting Berhad had developed computer programme by using Java programming language. The programming standard have been defined from the standards used in the development of the Internet games, namely the Wu Shi and Fire Cracker games both made their debut in the Internet Tournament System (ITS). These standards exist principally to preserve the consistency of programming style in the Java language. Besides, they are also needed to facilitate the ongoing maintenance of the system as well as in the development of the impending Intranet Gaming System (IGS) and other future system that will be employing the use the Java programming language. 6.0 Conclusion and Recommendations To run and administered the big company, the function of Board of Directors, Principal Executive Officers, Top Management Officers, other management committee and employees commitment are needed. Thus, commitment and co-operation from all level of the employees are important to ensure the successful of Genting Berhad. Genting Berhad is a big conglomerate with big investment and capital should control group investment with cautious by the top management level. A vision set by the leaders can be programmed into the many organizational members through accurate explanation and presentation. Programmed with the right direction, organizational members are expected to act accordingly, (Simon 1993). Frequently monitoring of the investment activities could avoid financial burden to the company. The company should find any strategic locations or places in Malaysia to develop as a tourist destination. The other location could give an alternative to the visitors either local or foreigner to enjo y their vacation with family or friend. The company revenue had increase from year to year. Based on the current company strategy, Genting Berhads business activities will be expanding from time to time as well as the Genting Groups revenue will be increased. Loyalty and commitment from employees also contribute to the ongoing success of Genting Berhad. To keep up company stability and growth, the Genting Berhads top management should consider the areas like expansion of business activities or down-sizing by the competitors, market trend, economic conditions, expectations of shareholders, technological changes, public expectations, criticism by outsiders and changes in market and consumers expectations. 7.0 References David, F. R. 1995. Concepts of Strategic Management. London, Prentice Hall International (UK) Limited. Nonaka, I., and Takeuchi, H. 1995. The Knowledge Creating Company. Oxford University Press. David, F. R. 2005. Strategic Management Concepts and Cases Tenth Edition. New Jersey, Pearson Education. Hamel, G., and Prahalad, C. K. 1994. Competing for the Future. Boston, Harvard business School Press. Johnson, G., and Scholes, K. 1999. Exploring Corporate Strategy Fifth Edition. Essex, Pearson Education Limited. Nelson, R. R. 1991. Why do firms differ and how does it matter?. Strategic Management Journal 12, 61-74. Poppo, Laura and Zenger, T. 1998. Testing alternative theories of the firm: Transaction cost, knowledge based and measurement explanations for make-or-buy decisions in information services. Strategic Management Journal 10, 853-877. Clarke-Hill, C. M., and Glaister, K. W. Cases in Strategic Management. London, Pitman Publishing. Lyles, M. A., and Schwenk, C. R. 1992. Top management, strategy and organizational knowledge structures. Journal of Management Studies 29, 155-74. Simon, H. A. 1993. Strategy and organizational evolution. Strategic Management Journal 14/2, 131-142. Mintzberg, H., Ahlstrand, B., and Lampel, J. 2008. Strategy Bites Back. Harlow, Financial Times Prentice Hall. Grant, R. M. 2007. Contemporary Strategic Analysis 6th Edition. Oxford, Blackwell. http://www.genting.com.my (Assessed 24thDecember 2009).

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Summary of Behavioral Genetics :: Science, Technlogy, Psychology

Behavioral Genetics   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Behavioral Genetics is a new field of study. The purpose of Behavioral Genetics is to investigate the affects of genetics and environment on individual human behavior. Behavioral Genetics is a quite complex field of study and the path towards the understanding the relation of genetics and environment to individual human behavior is a long and difficult one.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are instances that support the theory that behavior has a biological basis. Behavior is often reproduced in consecutive generations of a species. Drugs that chemically alter the brain have been shown to also alter the behavior of an individual; furthermore, behaviors such as mental illness have been known to run in families. Many studies have shown many different things.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In fact, Behavioral Genetics is studied in many different fashions. In the traditional fashion, a researcher might use a set of twins to conduct an observation in which the biological and environmental effects are determined and sorted through. In a more complex nature, the presence of the 21st chromosome is associated with mental retardation; however, the brain processes that affect it are not clear yet.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many researchers have determined that genetics are the cause for many physical behaviors. A growing concentration on genes and behavior has many more considering the belief that genetics is a great factor in determining human behavior. Yet, there are many problems in simply using a blanket correlation between genome and behavior. It is extremely difficult to completely identify all other possible causes for a certain condition and prove that it is caused solely by genetics.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Genes do affect behavior; however, not single genes.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The Importance of Recycling :: Environment Ecology Essays Papers

The Importance of Recycling Recycling is an important project everyone should be part of. If we do not recycle many landfills where we put garbage will be filled up faster and we will use more of our natural resources to make the products we could have made from recycled material. My entire life people have been standing over my shoulder making sure I am recycling everything possible. In high school we had huge recycling bins all over the entire school. Down every hall there was a regular garbage can, a garbage can for pop cans, and a bin for paper products and glass bottles. It was important to everyone that garbage was disposed of in the proper places. First of all we have all been taught that this was the appropriate thing to do and secondly out of common courtesy. We knew that our janitors would take the time to move cans and glass bottles from the wrong trash bins to the correct ones. I was a little surprised and disappointed with the recycling bins placed in my dorm, Patterson. There are three huge garbage cans and one tiny recycling bin. The bin is only large enough to hold about six cans or bottles. It does not promote recycling very well, not to mention that it is usually filled with new garbage bags used to replace the bags in the large garbage cans. So even if you want to recycle something there is no room. The book â€Å"Great Expectations† taught me to love the environment more. The characters in this book took great pride in caring for the gardens and the land around the house. The hired boy would work on the land a lot and it became like his home also. He and the people who lived in this house cared about the land and its appearance. They loved to go back there after they were grown and walk around. I believe everyone should take time to appreciate the environment around him or her and find the beauty in it. It is also everyone’s job to pitch in and take care of our environment to keep it beautiful.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Project Appraisal And Risk

PROJECT APPRAISAL AND RISKQ1. Risk & Uncertainty is an important part to be considered before any projects investment appraisal. Select the appropriate option which relates to either Risk or Uncertainty. (HA)It is Quantifiable RISK UNCERTAINTYIncreases as the projects life increases RISK UNCERTAINTYIt is difficult to assign probabilities RISK UNCERTAINTYIncreases as the variability of returns increases RISK UNCERTAINTY(2 marks) Q2. Cipher Co. plans to buy a new machine which will produce expected sales of 110,000 units per year. Each unit can be sold for $15 per unit. The project is expected to last for five years. The project NPV is $1780. The company profit tax one year in arrears at an annual rate of 30% per year. Calculate the sensitivity of the new machine to a change in selling price using the cost of capital of 11%.4%4.4%4.7%5%(2 marks) Q3. Calculate the sensitivity of selling price? The following information to be used:Investment in Year 0 $30,000, Sales volume 200 units per annum each costing $200, Variable cost $50/unit & Total Fixed cost $6000 per annum. The project life is estimated to be three years with the cost of capital of 10%. (MCQ)30.5%29.8%25%15%(2 marks) Q4. Select the appropriate strength & weaknesses for sensitivity analysis according to the statements. (HA)It identifies crucial areas for the success of the project STRENGTH WEAKNESSIt provides information which allows management to make subjective judgments STRENGTH WEAKNESSIt is not an optimizing technique STRENGTH WEAKNESSIt assumes that changes to variables can be made independently STRENGTH WEAKNESS(2 marks) Q5. Calculate the sensitivity of contribution? The following information to be used:Investment in Year 0 $60,000, Sales volume 600 units per annum each costing $125, Variable cost $10/unit & Total Fixed cost $4000 per annum, the Tax rate is 20% will only be applicable on taxable cash flows & capital allowances are to be ignored. The project life is estimated to be two years with the cost of capital of 8%. (MCQ)45.4%41.8%33.2%30.6%(2 marks) Q6. Dmitri is contemplating purchasing a machine for $275,000 which he will use to produce 50,000 units per year for five years. These products selling price is $10/unit and variable costs are expected to be $6/unit. Incremental fixed costs will be $70,000 every year for production & $25,000 every year for selling and distribution. Petra has a required rate of return of 10% per annum. By how many units must the estimate of production and sale volume fall for the project to be regarded as not worthwhile? (MCQ)2,8756,4658,11512,315(2 marks) Q7. Zulu Co. is considering to invest in a project costing $20,000, the amount is payable at the start of the first year of operation. The estimated future cash flows & its probabilities are given below: Year 1 The present value of cash flow ($) Probabilities17,500 0.7211,700 0.2(5,000) 0.08Year 2The present value of cash flow ($) Probabilities23,000 0.65(3,500) 0.35Calculate the total expected value? (MCQ) $23,700$14,540$13,725$8,265(2 marks) Q8. An individual uses expected value on the assumption to (MCQ)Reduce risk for a given level of returnMaximize return for a given level of riskReduce risk irrespective of the level of returnMaximize return irrespective of the level of risk(2 marks) Q9. Which of the following TWO are disadvantages of Expected value? (MRQ)Relatively simple calculationIgnores variability of payoffsDeals with multiple outcomesThe answer is only a long-run average (2 marks) Q10. â€Å"Using mathematical models, it produces a distribution of the possible outcomes from the project using multiple uncertain variables.† Choose the appropriate Technique. (MCQ)SimulationRisk-adjusted discount ratesAdjusted paybackExpected value(2 marks)PROJECT APPRAISAL AND RISK (ANSWERS)Q1. It is Quantifiable RISK Increases as the projects life increases UNCERTAINTYIt is difficult to assign probabilities UNCERTAINTYIncreases as the variability of returns increases RISK Q2. ASelling Price = 110,000 Ãâ€" $15 = $165, 0000Annuity Factor 11% (1 – 5 years) = 3.696Annuity Factor 11% (1 – 6 years) = 4.231Discount Factor 11% (Year 1) = 0.901Annuity Factor 11% (2 – 6 years) = 4.231 – 0.901 = 3.33Year 1-5 Tax rate Year 2-6 Cash flow 1650,000 Ãâ€" 30% 495,000 Ãâ€" Ãâ€" Annuity 3.696 3.33 Selling Price after tax 6098,400 – 164,8350 445,0050Sensitivity = (1,780 à · 445, 50050) Ãâ€" 100 = 4% Q3. Years Cash flow ($) Discount Factor (10%) Present value ($)Investment 0 (30,000) 1 (30,000)Sales Revenue 1-3 40,000 2.487 99,480Variable Cost 1-3 (10,000) 2.487 (24,870)Fixed Cost 1-3 (6,000) 2.487 (14,922)NPV 29,688Selling Price = (29,688 à · 99,480) Ãâ€" 100 = 29.8% Q4. It identifies crucial areas for the success of the project STRENGTH It provides information which allows management to make subjective judgments STRENGTH It is not an optimizing technique WEAKNESSIt assumes that changes to variables can be made independently WEAKNESSInformation will be presented to management in a form which facilitates subjective judgment to decide the likelihood of the various possible outcomes considered.It is not an optimizing technique. It does not point directly to the correct decision.It assumes that changes to variables can be made independently, e.g. raw material costs will change independently of other variables. This is highly unlikely. Q5. CYears Cash flow ($) Discount Factor (8%) Present value ($) After Tax Present value ($) Investment 0 (60,000) 1 (60,000) (60,000)Sales Revenue 1-2 75,000 1.783 133,725 106,980Variable Cost 1-2 (6,000) 1.783 (10,698) (8,558)Fixed Cost 1-2 (4,000) 1.783 (7,132) (5,706)NPV 55,895 32,716Contribution = (32,716 à · [106,980 – 8,558]) Ãâ€" 100 = 33.2% Q6. CYear Cash flow ($) Discount factor (10%) Present Value ($)Machine 0 (275,000) 1 (275,000)Contribution 1-5 200,000 3.791 758,200Fixed cost 1-5 (95,000) 3.791 (360,145)NPV 123,055PV of contribution must fall by $123,055 Sales volume must fall by $123,055 à · 758,200 = 16.23% Fall in sales volume = 0.1623 Ãâ€" 50,000 = 8,115 Q7. DYear 1 Present value of cash flow ($) Probabilities Expected value ($)17,500 0.72 12,60011,700 0.2 2,340(5,000) 0.08 (400)14,540Year 2The present value of cash flow ($) Probabilities Expected value ($)23,000 0.65 14,950(3,500) 0.35 (1,225)13,725(14,540 + 13,725) – 20,000 = 8,265 Q8. DThe Expected Value is the weighted average of all the possible outcomes, with the weightings based on the probability estimates. This is specifically used to maximize the shareholder's wealth exclusive of any risk assumptions. Q9.Relatively simple calculation (Advantage)Ignores variability of payoffs (Disadvantage)Deals with multiple outcomes (Advantage)The answer is only a long-run average (Disadvantage) Q10. AThe simulation uses a mathematical model, it produces a distribution of the possible outcomes from the project using multiple uncertain variables.