Organ Donation Save Lives

Organ Donation Save Lives Free Online Research Papers Death is often an unpleasant thought, even though it is a simple fact of life. For some it is a welcome event that can alleviate pain and suffering and can sometimes save the life of another. A simple decision to become an organ donor can save lives and improve the quality of life of recipients. Receiving a needed organ facilitates a restoration of physiological functioning and often means the difference between life and death. Many people have misconceptions regarding organ donation and simply do not understand the facts. Some do not realize the vast numbers on waiting lists and how simply becoming a donor could save the life of another. Others may be apprehensive about making a decision about their bodies after death. In this paper we explain the origins and history of organ donation, the process by which organs are donated, the ethical implications behind organ donation and discuss many of the proposed solutions to solve the organ shortage issue. HISTORY OF ORGAN DONATION The origins of organ donation arose with several experimental transplants. The first successful transplant was a bone transplant in 1878, which used a bone from a cadaver. (14) Experimentally, bone marrow transplants began by giving patients bone marrow orally after meals to cure leukemia. This had no effect, but later when they used intravenous injections to treat aplastic anemia, there was some effect (14). One development that largely aided organ donation was the discovery of blood groups in the early 20th century. The first recorded kidney transplant was in 1909 and was a rabbit kidney inserted into a child suffering from kidney failure. The child died after two weeks (8). The first human to human kidney transplantation was in 1936 and failed. The first successful kidney transplant wasnt until 1954 and was between two identical twins. Soon after, heart transplants began, but originally consisted only of valves and arteries (8). The emergence of bioethics came about in the 196 0s and became at the core of transplantation issues. It wasnt until 1967 that the first successful heart transplant took place. With this new development, the donor card was established as a legal document the next year (8). In 1984, National Organ Transplant Act was passed; this established the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network. This fundamentally guaranteed fairness in distribution of donated organs (5). Three years later a new drug to suppress the immune system was developed. It was not approved until 1994. Technology for organ donation has come along way. Science has even been able to transplant a full hand. Many articles suggest that the future of transplantation is stem cells. That is in using stem cells to grow tissue and organs. Many researchers are also studying how to use genetically modified animals for transplantable organs. So why is it so important to develop other ways to receive organs? Why then are we still researching this area? The largest difficulty with Organ Donation is the immense shortage. As of November third of this year, there are 100,372 people on the waiting list for organ donation, in the United States (13). Approximately one person is added to that list every 11 minutes (9). It is also estimated that on average, between 16 and 17 people die per day due to lack of an organ transplant (1). Some studies indicate that rate may be higher. The rough facts are that they dont need to. It is estimated that 10,000 to 14,000 people who die each year qualify for organ donation, but less than half of them become donors (1). In 2001, 2,025 kidney patients, 1,347 liver patients, 458 heart patients and 361 lung patients died waiting for organ transplants due to the shortage of organ transplantation (1). These numbers include young people; nearly 10 percent waiting for liver transplants are under 18 years of age (1). PROCESS OF ORGAN DONATION There are many steps to take during the organ donation process. The procurement process differs for the type of organ being donated, and whether or not the donor is living. For a deceased donor, the organs and tissues that are in good condition are removed in a surgical procedure and all incisions are closed so an open casket funeral can take place. After the organs have been removed, the patient is taken off artificial support. Organs must be used between 6 and 72 hours after removal from the donors body (depending on the organ), tissues such as corneas, skin, heart valves, bone, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage can be preserved and stored in tissue banks for later use. Some organs and tissues can be donated while the donor is alive. Living individuals can donate one of their two kidneys and the remaining kidney provides the necessary function needed to remove waste from the body. Single kidney donation is the most frequent living donor procedure. A living donor can donate one of two lobes of their liver. This is possible because liver cells in the remaining lobe regenerate until the liver is almost its original size. Living donors can also donate a lung or part of a lung, part of the pancreas, or part of the intestines. Although these organs do not regenerate, both the donated portion of the organ and the portion remaining with the donor are fully functioning. Surprisingly, it is also possible for a living person to donate a heart, but only if he or she is receiving a replacement heart. Tissues donated by living donors are blood, marrow, blood stem cells, and umbilical cord blood. A healthy body can easily replace some tissues such as blood or bone marrow. Blood is made up of white and red blood cells, platelets, and the serum that carries blood cells throughout the circulatory system. Bone marrow contains stem cells. In addition, stem cells found in circulating blood in adults and from the umbilical cord of a newborn also can be donated. Both blood and bone marrow can even be donated more than once since they are regenerated and replaced by the body after donation. Each potential living donor is evaluated to determine his or her suitability to donate. The evaluation includes both the possible psychological response and physical response to the donation process. This is done to ensure that no adverse outcome, either physically, psychologically, or emotionally, will occur before, during, or following the donation. Generally, living donors should be physically fit, in good health, between the ages of 18 and 60, and not currently have or have had diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, kidney disease, or heart disease. After death, a person can choose to donate their whole body to a medical school or other scientific research facility. People who wish to donate their entire body to medical science should contact the medical school or willed body program of their choice and make arrangements to do so before they die. Medical schools need bodies to teach medical students about anatomy, and research facilities need them to study disease processes so they can devise cures. Since the bodies used for these purposes generally must be complete with all their organs and tissues, organ donation is not an option. Some programs, however, make exceptions. A person making this decision can inform their family that organ donation is the first choice, but if it is found that the organs are not medically suitable for organ donation, the family can carry out the wishes for whole body donation. To begin the transplantation process, those in need of organs are placed on a registry list. All patients accepted onto a transplant hospitals waiting list are registered with the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) Organ Center, where a centralized computer network links all organ procurement organizations (OPOs) and transplant centers. Staffed 24 hours a day throughout the year, the Organ Center assists with the matching, transporting, and sharing of organs throughout the U.S. When donor organs are identified, the procuring organization typically accesses the UNOS organ matching system, enters information about the donor organs, and runs the match program. For each organ that becomes available, the program generates a list of potential recipients ranked according to objective criteria (i.e. blood type, tissue type, size of the organ, medical urgency of the patient, time on the waiting list, and distance between donor and recipient). Ethnicity, gender, religion, and financial status are not part of the computer matching system. The procurement coordinator contacts the transplant surgeon caring for the top-ranked patient to offer the organ. If the organ is turned down, the next listed individuals transplant center is contacted, and so on, until the organ is placed. Once the organ is accepted for a potential recipient, transportation arrangements are made for the surgical teams to come to the donor hospital and surgery is scheduled. For heart, lung, or liver transplantation, the recipient of the organ is identified prior to the organ recovery and called into the hospital where the transplant will occur to prepare for the surgery. The recovered organs are stored in a cold organ preservation solution and transported from the donor to the recipient hospital. For heart and lung recipients, it is best to transplant the organ within six hours of organ recovery. Livers can be preserved up to 24 hours after recovery. For kidneys and typically the pancreas, laboratory tests designed to measure the compatibility between the donor organ and recipient are performed. A surgeon will not accept the organ if these tests show that the patients immune system will reject the organ. The role of the organ procurement organization (OPO) is very important in the matching process. OPOs become involved when a patient is identified as brain dead and is therefore a potential donor. The OPO coordinates the logistics between the organ donors family, the donor organs, the transplant center, and the transplant candidate. OPOs provide organ recovery services to hospitals located within designated geographical area of the U.S. OPOs are non-profit organizations and are members of the OPTN. Each has its own board of directors and a medical director on staff who is usually a transplant surgeon or physician. OPOs employ highly trained professionals called procurement coordinators who carry out the organizations mission. From the moment of consent for donation to the release of the donors body to the morgue, all costs associated with the organ donation process are billed directly to the OPO. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS Organ donation and transplantation carry with them some unique ethical implications. According to Veatch, â€Å"it is clear that choosing an ethical principle [to guide decisions in organ donation and transplantation] determines some very practical matters, including who lives and who dies† (15). There are many elements of organ donation and transplantation that create ethical dilemmas. The difficult resolution of these questions is largely attributed to the discrepancy between the number of potential recipients and the scarcity of available organs. Issues related to organ donation create a number of unique and intriguing challenges that are not easily resolved. Along with the allocation of organs, there are myriad ethical considerations when dealing with organ donation, procurement and transplantation. Some of these other considerations include variations in, and the standardization of, the definition of death, ethical differences between living and deceased donors, transplant tourism, the buying and selling of organs and xenotransplantation (cross-species transplantations). Each of these presents unique circumstances that need to be considered and addressed. This issue touches every level of society regardless of socioeconomic status or any other dividing factor. Everything from the black market of human organs to animal rights creeps into ethical decisions of this type. There is no easy way to make these choices, especially those that often mean the difference between life and death. Numerous ethical models are used to support and detest certain practices regarding organ allocation. The most pervasive ethical theories that guide de cision making are social utility and justice. Social utility is a principle based on the maximization of social utility. It holds that those who will receive the most social benefit should receive the organ. Social utility favors the best HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigen) match. The consideration of the likelihood of success based on donor-recipient compatibility is of utmost importance in this view. Also, this is generally the preferred guiding principle of medical professionals. Because of the availability of immunosuppressive drugs, the difference between poor matches and good matches is marginal at best (15). Because of the negligible difference between good and poor HLA matches, many people assert that justice should be the guiding ethical principle in allocating organs. The view that everyone should be treated equally, regardless of the odds for a successful transplant, is called justice. It is often favored because skewed donor demographics can reduce a person’s chance of receiving organs based on a good HLA match or other genetic differences (race, gender etc.). Those in favor of justice advocate equal access based on criteria such as blood type and time on the recipient waiting list. Proponents of the justice approach are often non-physician decision makers who try to focus on fairness instead of medical or social benefit. How can seemingly conflicting ethical principles be considered and applied? What is the best course of action? Ethics committees for organizations such as UNOS try to combine ethical principles when making organ allocation decisions. In his book, The Basics of Bioethics, Veatch asserts that ethics committees â€Å"endorsed a policy of giving half the weight in the allocation to considerations of medical utility and half the weight to considerations of justice† in order to appease both parties (15). Finding an effective and universal method for making ethical decisions that will please everyone is unlikely because of the discrepancy between general policy and individual cases. Unfortunately, not everyone will be treated fairly all the time or agree with policies in which only generalizations can be made because of personal biases and experiences. Therefore, committees such as the UNOS Ethics Committee do not review individual cases, but focus on general policy instead. Ethics committees must do the best they can to be fair and provide social utility simultaneously. SOLUTIONS FOR THE SHORTAGE Despite the advances in medicine and technology, the demand for organs drastically outnumbers the number of organ donors. According to The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) the chronic shortage of organ donors is the most critical issue facing the field of organ transplantation. The current approach to acquiring organs for transplantation relies on the voluntarism of live donors and the altruism of deceased donor families. Increased educational expenditures have frequently been used as a way of motivating people to become donors. The Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) have launched substantial promotional campaigns. The campaigns have been designed to both educate the general public about the desperate need for donated organs and educate physicians and critical care hospital staff regarding the identification of potential deceased donors. Over the years, a substantial sum has been spent on these types of educational activities. Recent evidence, however, suggests that further spending on these programs is unlikely to increase supply by a significant amount.3 As a result, there are many new proposed solutions to solve the organ shortage problem. One of the most controversial proposals is to provide individuals with some type of incentive to become a donor. It is currently illegal to compensate donors or their families for organ transplantation. The National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA) of 1984 states: â€Å"It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly acquire, receive, or otherwise transfer any human organ for valuable consideration for use in human transplantation. â€Å" Due to the increasing shortage of organs many groups, including The American Medical Association, The American Society of Transplant Surgeons, and The United Network for Organ Sharing, have come out in favor of testing financial compensation. Financial incentives can be divided into forward looking approaches and on the spot approaches. Forward approaches involve offering some type of incentive for people to become part of an organ donor registry so that if they die under circumstances where they can donate, their organ will be recovered. An advantage of this type of approach is that the donor is in control, taking the burden off the family to have to make a decision in that most difficult situation. On the spot incentives would be offered only to the families of people who are suitable deceased donor candidates. The American Society of Transplant Surgeons has said that it would be ethically acceptable to offer to make a charitable contribution on behalf of the deceased donor to cover the funeral expenses.2 This kind of payment could be given as a way of saying thanks for the sacrifice the family has made, and would be similar to the death benefit offered to families of servicemen who die in the line of duty. It is impossible to know in advance what effect such polices would have on increasing organ supply. One of the greatest objections to financial incentive plans is that they risk creating tensions and divisions between surviving family members at the bedside about whether or not to take the money; and that it changes the character of organ procurement from giving to selling. 4 Critics also argue that payments for organ donation could lead to a black market for human organs. Reciprocity plans are another approach to motivate people to donate their organs. One such proposal is a â€Å"no- give, no- take† policy. Under this system, in order to receive an organ you must have previously signed your organ donor card. A variant of this plan could be implemented within the current point system. Organs are currently allocated according to a point system which is based on factors such as quality of life, match between donor and recipient, or the amount of time a recipient has been on the waiting list. Under this type of plan, those who have previously signed their organ donor card would receive extra points that would move them higher up on the list. Another proposal is to reverse the current system in which doctors must obtain a patient’s (or his or her family’s) consent in order to remove organs after death. Under this policy, known as â€Å"presumed consent†, all patients would be presumed to want to become organ donors unless explicitly stated otherwise. This approach is followed in different forms in several European countries and has had varying levels of success. While it has resulted in significant increases in organ donation rates in Austria, Belgium, France and Spain, other countries that have presumed consent laws such as Switzerland, Greece, and Italy have organ donation rates that are lower than those of many voluntary consent† countries. This type of proposal has consistently been met with opposition on the grounds that it violates an individual’s right to make medical decisions for them self. Critics of presumed consent also warn that there may be a public backlash against orga n donation as a result. They state that individuals may be more likely to donate if they feel free to exercise a choice rather than being compelled to do so by the law. Less extreme approaches to presumed consent are â€Å"mandated choice† or â€Å"required response† policies. Rather than waiting for people to volunteer for organ donation, hospitals or government organizations could require individuals to state their preference about organ donation when they get their driver’s licenses or file tax returns. Their wishes would be considered legally binding unless they had a documented change of mind before actually dying. In 1991, Texas enacted a law requiring citizens to make a yes or no choice about organ donation when they renewed their drivers license. The law had to be repealed in 1997 because the implementation of the mandatory choice resulted in a refusal rate of 80%. This high rate of refusal was attributed to the lack of public education about organ donation.(16) Researchers are also working on developing artificial organs. As of February 2002, five people have received fully self –contained artificial hearts. The artificial heart has rarely been used because it is still highly experimental and because recipients must be willing to have their own heart removed. Although there are many technical hurdles to overcome in the field of artificial organs, researchers are hopeful. Various laboratories in the United States and around the world are developing artificial hearts, lungs, livers, and pancreases. Perhaps the simplest approach to significantly reducing the demand for organ transplantation would be the sustained, committed, long-term emphasis on disease and injury prevention. Preventing disease before it begins would shrink the number of people on transplant waiting lists and reduce the demand for human organs. However, there is reason to doubt that these measures would have a significant impact. Preventive medicine cannot ultimately stop the natural aging of the body, which leads to organ failure. Also, many Americans will not follow the strict regimen of diet and exercise necessary to get and stay healthy, and even for those who change their ways, the disease processes set in motion by years and decades of poor health habits are often not readily reversible. In light of these constraints, we can expect only so much from preventive medicine. Most people do not consider what happens to their bodies after death, so they do not often think about organ donation. They do not consider that after their own death they can save others from reaching the same fate prematurely. A simple decision about giving away organs no longer needed for a lifeless body can save lives, restore lost body function, and improve the quality of life. 1. 25 Facts About Organ Donation and Transplantation. United States House of Representatives. February 2002. Congressional Kidney Caucus. 4 November 2008. house.gov/mcdermott/kidneycaucus/index.html. 2. Arnold, R. et al. 2002. Financial Incentives for Cadaver Organ Donation: An Ethical Reappraisal. Transplantation 73 (8):1361-67. 3. Beard, T. Randolph, John D. Jackson, and David L. Kaserman. The Failure of U.S. Organ Procurement Policy. Regulation Winter 2008: 22-30. 4. Crowe, Sam. â€Å"Increasing the Supply of Human Organs: Three Policy Proposals† bioethics.gov/background/increasing_supply_of_human_organs.html 5. Donation and Transplantation. The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. 3 November 2008 optn.org/about/. 6. Etzion, Amitai . Organ Donation: A Communitarian Approach. The Communitarian Network. 1 November 2008. gwu.edu/~ccps/Organ_Donation.pdf. 7. Guy, Bonnie S and Aldridge, Alicia. â€Å"Marketing Organ Donation Around the Globe,† Marketing Health Services [Winter 2001]: 31). 8. History of Organ Transplantation. New York Organ Donor Network. 12 November 2008 donatelifeny.org/transplant/organ_history.html. 9. Howards, Lawrence A.. Ethics of organ donation. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 20 June 1999. 7 November 2008 http://www2.jsonline.com/alive/column/jun99/howards62099.asp. 10. Sundwall, David N. Utahns committeed to organ donation . Deseret news 17 January 2008 12 November 2008 deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695244690,00.html. 11. Torr, James D. Introduction. At Issue: Organ Transplants. Ed. James D. Torr. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2002. August 2004. 4 November 2008. enotes.com/organ-transplants-article/38952 12. Truog, Robert. â€Å"The Ethics of Organ Donation by Living Donors.† The New England Journal of Medicine. 2005 Aug 4;353(5):444-6. 13. Types of Donation. Department of Health and Human Services. 15 November 2008 . 14. Understanding Donation. Donate Life America. 12 November 2008 donatelife.net/UnderstandingDonation/Statistics.php. 15. Veatch, Robert M. The Basics of Bioethics, Second Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., 2003, 2000. 16. Verheijde, Joseph L., Rady, Mohamed Y., and McGregor, Joan. Recovery of transplantable organs after cardiac or circulatory death: Transforming the paradigm for the ethics of organ donation. PubMed Central 22 May 2007. 7 November 2008. pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmedpubmedid=17519030#B64. Research Papers on Organ Donation Save LivesGenetic EngineeringArguments for Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)Capital PunishmentMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesPersonal Experience with Teen Pregnancy

Insects That Defend Themselves by Playing Dead

Insects That Defend Themselves by Playing Dead Insects use many defensive strategies to protect themselves from predators, from chemical sprays to bites or stings. Some insects take a more passive approach to self-defense, though, by simply playing dead. Thanatosis Predators quickly lose interest in dead prey, so insects that employ the strategy of playing dead (called thanatosis) can often escape unharmed. The act of feigning death often looks like a demonstration of stop, drop, and roll, as threatened insects let go of whatever substrate they happen to be clinging to and drop to the ground. They then stay still, waiting for the predator to give up and leave. Insects that evade predation by playing dead include certain caterpillars, ladybugs and many other beetles, weevils, robber flies, and even giant water bugs. Beetles of the genus Cryptoglossa are known by the common name death-feigning beetles. When trying to collect insects that play dead, its often easiest to place a collecting jar or beating sheet beneath the branch or substrate where youve found the insects.

Strategic Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Strategic Management - Case Study Example Tim-BR-Marts need to develop a combative strategy and develop it fast. Any company do not have a strong strategy will lose the competition. To start the planning the analysis of the problem is most vital way to solve it. Management Processes: Tim-BR-Marts Ltd has management process, which is a process of planning and controlling the performance or execution of their business. This include: 1. Decision making processes A decision-making arises in Tim-BR-Marts because a manager is faced with a problem and another courses of action are available. So manager do study the following: a. Type of information used in decision making In deciding which option to choose, the information is very important to choose which decision to fallow. Also manager do have information relevant to his decision, and manager must have some principle on the basis of which he can choose the best alternative. Tim-BR-Marts know how many competitors are there in the market? What are the strong properties and what we ak area that they have? 1. Firm overhead Time-BR-Marts managers know overhead which all non-labor expenses require to operating such business. How many stores, electricity bills, and phone bills. All these expenses are knew by the manger. 2. Negotiation prices Negotiating on price became a factor in getting the scene to agree to deals. Tim-BR-Mats have competitive advantage of negotiation price. 3. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This agreement gives good advantage to all component of lumber market. 4. Tim-BR-Marts has defensive strategy Defensive marketing warfare strategies are a type of marketing warfare strategy designed to protect a company's market share, profitability, product positioning, or mind share. Many companies in Tim-BR-Marts territory have attacked Tim-BR-Marts. There is many ways that Tim-BR-Marts to defend their market by principles involved: Always secure an attack with equal or greater force. If Tim-BR-Marts competitor plans to open more stores, Tim-BR should find better places to open new stores. Defend every important market. Be forever vigilant in scanning for potential attackers. Assess the strength of the competitor. Consider the amount of support that the attacker might muster from allies. The best defense is to attack you. Attack your weak spots and rebuild yourself anew. Defensive strategies should be the exclusive domain of the market leader. 5. Market Share Market share analysis is an important part of market analysis and indicates how well Tim-BR-Mart is doing in the marketplace compared to its competitors. b. Decision time frame Competitors are expanding quickly into Canada market. Price negotiated yearly. c. Level of inclusiveness in process autocratic Reduce the stress among managers and employees A more productive group while the leader is watching the growth. 3.Tim-BR-Marts has only two who make the decision. 4. Employees need quick and accurate action instead of obstacles and delays and wait only for two m anagers to make decision. 5. Employees with decision-making permission, save company time and increase client satisfaction. To solve that by 1. Local meetings 2. Business and the mission need of inclusiveness, employees help to achieve the mission, all member of the firm should adapt to the changing. E. Bounded rational model Use the knowledge that they have to the best of their abilities. Define the situation/decision to be made Identify the important

Psychology - Self Esteem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Psychology - Self Esteem - Essay Example Materialistic people believe that possessing physical things or property will lead to their satisfaction, content, and happiness. Apparently, studies have found this to be the opposite, such that, with the increase in material wealth, people tend to be unhappier. Caprariello and Reis in their study identified that people who spend more on life-experience events were happier than those acquiring material possessions. Having been identified as two important factors in defining human character, research has also been carried out to identify the correlation between self-esteem and materialism. Some of the findings have identified that there is an inversely proportional relationship between self-esteem and materialism; people with low self-esteem tend to use material possessions to satisfy their self-consciousness and insecurities (Park and Roedder 73–87). People’s self-esteem and need for materialistic possession are the main causes of societal problems. One of the problems associated with individual’s self-esteem and materialistic needs is poor health. As we have identified in earlier statements, individual’s character is mostly defined by their desire to achieve attain happiness, and this can be achieved through high self-esteem or use of material possessions. However, since nothing is perfect in this world, those unable to cope with the realities of life will likely fall victim to various health problems such as anxiety and depression. In a study carried out by Sowislo and Orth, they identified that low self-esteem was strongly related to depression. The results showed that, low self-esteem contributed to depression and depression was found to erode an individual’s self-esteem. The study further identified that low self-esteem was also a determinant for anxiety (Sowislo and Orth 214). People experiencing low self-esteem are known to seek material possessions in order to fulfill their desire for content and

Obesity Statistics Essay Example for Free

Obesity Statistics Essay Obesity statistics in Malaysia are getting scarier by the day. The World Health Organization (WHO) survey in 2010 ranked Malaysia as sixth in Asia with the highest adult obesity rate. Obesity statistics from the Malaysian National Health and Morbidity Survey in 2006 showed that 43% of Malaysian adults were obese or overweight at that time. And these obesity statistics showed that overweight children were 38% of the child population in Malaysia. The recent WHO results of 2010 showed that 60% of Malaysians aged 18 and up, had a BMI over 25. A BMI of more than 25 means the person is overweight. In 2008, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) did research on the ‘prevalence of obesity among children’. The results were astounding, showing an increase of obesity of 30% in the 6 to 12 years old age group. In 2007, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) did a nationwide, all Malaysian states study on obesity, on Malaysians aged 15 years old and above. A person with a BMI of more than 30 was considered to be obese. Those overweight with a BMI reading of more than 25 were excluded. The UPM researchers found that females were more likely to be obese at 13.8% while men were at 9.6%. Malays and Indians had higher cases of obesity at 13.6% and 13.5%, while Chinese came in 8.5% of their population groups. Sarawak natives had 10.8% cases of obesity while the Sabah natives had the lowest at 7.3%. The data obtained were statistically significant (p 0.0001). All these obesity statistics have rung alarm bells at the Malaysian Ministry of Health. The Malaysian government is concerned on the health effects, productivity and the healthcare costs implications of an obesity epidemic in the country. The government notes that this obesity and overweight issue is far more serious in Malaysia than in other countries in the region. The Malaysian Ministry of Health had planned for another survey in 2011 to update these obesity statistics. This would have included a study on the incidences of diabetes and kidney diseases in Malaysia. But no results are available as of now.

Capital Punishment Essay - America Needs the Death Penalty :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

America Needs the Death Penalty      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ever since the death penalty has been declared constitutional in 1976, thousands of people have been placed on death row and 314 of them have been executed.( Yaffe,1)   Thirty-eight states now allow the death penalty, with New York being the last to adapt this legislation last March.   Massachusetts and Iowa have been trying to pass a law that would to allow the death penalty to be used in their states.   Capital punishment is most often saved for murder and sometimes arson, treason, burglary, and forcible rape of a 14 year old or under from a 18 year old or older, but it varies within each state. There are many politicians who are trying to pass laws banning the death penalty.   There are around 3000 people on death row across the country right now and if these politicians get their way, then 3000 lives will be spared.(Matthews,1)   The rage of this issue continues to persist   with many people questioning if capital punishment is really the answer to solving the problem of crime.   The death penalty sh ould beallowed because it is not inhumane but rather fair and it's continued use will end up helping out society in many ways.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many people who oppose the death penalty say it is inhumane and unfair. These people who oppose it say that all human life has the right to be respected. All human life does have the right to be respected but there is a point when that right can be lost, if someone takes the life of another human being then they have given up that right.   Another claim the opposers to the death penalty make is that the death penalty encourages more murders because if people see the authority taking someone's life, then they will think they can do it too.   This is not true, if criminals see that more and more people are getting the death penalty, this will cause them to think their actions over. The United Kingdom abolished the death penalty in 1965 and since then, violent crime has more than doubled.(Matthews,2)   The death penalty is not inhumane because it can be done painlessly and quickly.   In most cases when the execution was performed the process that was most often used was lethal injection. Out of   the 314 executions that have taken place since 1976 the majority of them, 179 have been done by means of lethal injection.   The electric chair has been used 123 times, the gas chamber: 9 times, a firing squad: twice, and hanging: once.(Rodriquez, 4) Lethal injection is a quick, non-suffering way to execute the death row

My Antonia Imagery Essay

Willa Cather, an American author, achieved much recognition on her frontier works. She earned much acknowledgement in her work of My Antonia. Raised on a primitive farm in Nebraska, Cather uses her experiences of the landscape to transform the senses of her readers. Cather demonstrates her ability to capture the feeling of the prairie at the end of the â€Å"Hired Girls. † (â€Å"Presently we saw†¦ somewhere on the prairie. † Page 146-147) Not only is this scene an important image of the moment, but the representation of this plow amongst the setting sun as well. The image of the plow in front of the sinking sun is very prominent throughout the book. Though the plow could simply represent a plow or the sun just a sun, Cather puts much more depth into it. She creates a mental picture that appeals to the readers senses. Cather emphasizes the â€Å"gold-washed sky† and â€Å"horizontal light. † She creates vivaciousness into the mind. The warmth that the sun gives off made Jim feel joy and the love for his country. Cather includes how the setting sun embellishes a red hue around the plow. Red makes Jim feel the passion and affection he has for Antonia and the land he grew up on. It reminds him of the fire and life he had as a kid and remembers the love of life itself. The plow as a silhouette against the setting sun shows its enormity and massiveness. The plow casts a shadow along the fields, creating the impression of a much larger plow than in reality. The plow has changes not only Antonia’s life, but the fields as well. It transforms the ground, from something hard and tough, to fertile soil used for farming to create something new and beautiful. If the plow was not placed in front of the sun, the plow would still look smaller and irrelevant. As the sun continues to set, the shadows diminish. Although the symbolism of the plow is significant, it pales in comparison to the endless fields. The plow settles â€Å"back to its own littleness. † It is no match to the beauty of Mother Nature. Towards the beginning of the book, Cather includes Virgil’s quote, â€Å"Optima dies†¦ prima fugit,† which translates to â€Å"the best days are the first to flee. It represents a reoccurring theme in the book. The sun rises and falls each day, and this moment with Antonia stood out to Jim most of all. As they both grow older and move in their separate ways. Aware of the approaching end, Jim leaves for college shortly afterwards. The setting of the sun at night means a new day will dawn soon, and a new chapter of Jim and Antonia’s life must begin. Antonia leaves her life on the fields behind to move onto a life of a â€Å"Hired Girl. † Cather transforms this spectacular novel into a Bildungsroman. Antonia and Jim develop from children to young adults. She continuously reminds the readers of the American Dream, which is also referenced to by the plow. From the outside, the plow and sun- or the American Dream, looks beautiful in combination. But when the sun sets, all that is left behind is a regular plow that still requires hard work and dedication. Shortly before the end of Jim’s statement, Cather includes â€Å"heroic in size, a picture writing on the sun,† Heroic stands for the plow, something bigger than itself. When put into use, the plow is a quintessential element for farming, but when not, it takes up space and could get in the way. Irrelevant and unnoticed. The hard work that Willa Cather put into My Antonia did not go unrecognized. She portrayed her talent to capture the reader into the book. The simple words she uses helps to constrain the actual complexity she can not express. The symbolism ties into the story to make clear to the reader of the American Dream and all the other reoccurring themes throughout the story.

Functional Roles of Human Resources Essay

Functional Roles of Human Resources One of the most important departments in a company is the human resources department. This department is charged with finding, screening, recruiting, and training job applicants, as well as administering employee-benefit programs. As companies reorganize to gain competitive edge, human resources play a key role in helping companies deal with a fast-changing competitive environment and the greater demand for quality employees. The purpose of this paper is to describe the functional roles of human resources. Roles There are many different roles that the human resources department possesses. The major functional areas are: (1) planning, (2) staffing, (3) employee development, and (4) employee maintenance. These four areas and their related functions share the common objective of an adequate number of competent employees with the skills, abilities, knowledge, and experience needed for further organizational goals (Scribd, Inc. , 2011). Planning In the human resource planning function, the number and type of employees needed to accomplish organizational goals are determined. Human resources are able to make transitions as quick as possible by always anticipating a company’s staffing needs. This ensures that companies do not fall behind while searching for the right person to fill an opening. Research is an important part of this function because planning requires the collection and analysis of information in order to forecast human resources supplies and to predict future human resources needs (Scribd, Inc.2011). Staffing This is one of the most fundamental roles of the HR department. Human resources must work to ensure that a company has the right number of employees, placed in the positions that best utilize their talents. This function involves evaluation of ability and competency of potential employees in relation to what the Company needs. If this function is performed well, then the organization will increase va lue consequently being on the right pathway to achieve its organizational and departmental goals and objectives (Hyde, 2004). Employee Development Development programs help prepare employees for higher level responsibilities within the organization and train new employees by giving them information to be valuable assets to the company. This function provides useful means of assuring that employees are capable of performing their jobs at acceptable levels (Scribd, Inc. , 2011). This helps employees feel empowered and motivated, which keeps them from looking into positions at a competing company. Employee Maintenance This function monitors employee performance to ensure that it is at acceptable levels (Scribd, Inc. , 2011). A large part of maintenance is performance appraisal. Besides providing a basis for pay, promotion, and disciplinary action, performance appraisal information is essential for employee development since knowledge of results (feedback) is necessary to motivate and guide performance improvements.

Free Essays on Politics And The Media

In America, the media holds a powerful and effective position in politicizing and socializing the general populace. The main political function of the media is to inform and analyze while being accountable. However the question of whether the media produces a pluralist democracy, or fosters a â€Å"one dimensional society† still remains unanswered. Many contemporary philosophers conclude that the media does contribute to both, some even postulate other drawbacks, for instance they posit that the media maintains elite power both in the corporate and political sector. On the other hand, some intellectual thinkers have theorized that the media, especially advertisement, is a major influence to substantiate the economy. One common belief shared by all contemporary media critics is that the media reflects and produces values of its own, even though their onus is initially to inform. In America the media has become a corporation in a corporate dominated society, it has become a bias agency of politicization. Powerful business corporations and politicians intertwine, both using the media to indoctrinate the mass populace in order to consummate a political and social consensus. This in turn maintains their elite positions. â€Å"Hollywoodism† and advertisement contributes to American imperialism by generating a desire among oversea consumers to buy American products. The impact of the American media has politicized a pluralist democracy among the majority by creating a marginilized society, leaving the corporations, including the media, and the American politicians at the top of the pinnacle concerning political decisions and elite power. Mass communications used to be, in itself, an autonomous solely owned corporation. However, this changed by the 1980’s, the majority of all major American media- magazines, televisions, radios, books, newspapers, and movies- were controlled by fifty giant corporations. Today, only twenty-three conglomerate cor... Free Essays on Politics And The Media Free Essays on Politics And The Media In America, the media holds a powerful and effective position in politicizing and socializing the general populace. The main political function of the media is to inform and analyze while being accountable. However the question of whether the media produces a pluralist democracy, or fosters a â€Å"one dimensional society† still remains unanswered. Many contemporary philosophers conclude that the media does contribute to both, some even postulate other drawbacks, for instance they posit that the media maintains elite power both in the corporate and political sector. On the other hand, some intellectual thinkers have theorized that the media, especially advertisement, is a major influence to substantiate the economy. One common belief shared by all contemporary media critics is that the media reflects and produces values of its own, even though their onus is initially to inform. In America the media has become a corporation in a corporate dominated society, it has become a bias agency of politicization. Powerful business corporations and politicians intertwine, both using the media to indoctrinate the mass populace in order to consummate a political and social consensus. This in turn maintains their elite positions. â€Å"Hollywoodism† and advertisement contributes to American imperialism by generating a desire among oversea consumers to buy American products. The impact of the American media has politicized a pluralist democracy among the majority by creating a marginilized society, leaving the corporations, including the media, and the American politicians at the top of the pinnacle concerning political decisions and elite power. Mass communications used to be, in itself, an autonomous solely owned corporation. However, this changed by the 1980’s, the majority of all major American media- magazines, televisions, radios, books, newspapers, and movies- were controlled by fifty giant corporations. Today, only twenty-three conglomerate cor...

A Beginners Guide to the French Revolution

A Beginner's Guide to the French Revolution Between 1789 and 1802, France was wracked by a revolution which radically changed the government, administration, military, and culture of the nation as well as plunging Europe into a series of wars. France went from a largely feudal state under an absolutist monarch through the French Revolution to a republic which executed the king and then to an empire under Napoleon Bonaparte. Not only were centuries of law, tradition, and practice wiped away by a revolution few people had been able to predict going this far, but warfare spread the revolution across Europe, changing the continent permanently. Key People King Louis XVI: King of France when the revolution began in 1789, he was executed in 1792.Emmanuel Sieyà ¨s: Deputy who helped radicalize the third estate and instigated the coup which brought the consuls to power.Jean-Paul Marat: Popular journalist who advocated extreme measures against traitors and hoarders. Assassinated in 1793.Maximilien Robespierre: Lawyer who went from advocating an end to the death penalty to the architect of the Terror. Executed in 1794.Napoleon Bonaparte: French general whose rise to power brought the revolution to an end. Dates Although historians are agreed that the French Revolution started in 1789, they are divided on the end date. A few histories stop in 1795 with the creation of the Directory, some stop in 1799 with the creation of the Consulate, while many more stop in 1802, when Napoleon Bonaparte became Consul for Life, or 1804 when he became Emperor. A rare few continue to the restoration of the monarchy in 1814. In Brief A medium-term financial crisis, caused partly by Frances decisive involvement in the American Revolutionary War, led to the French crown first calling an Assembly of Notables and then, in 1789, a meeting called the Estates General in order to gain assent for new tax laws. The Enlightenment had affected the views of middle-class French society to the point where they demanded involvement in government and the financial crisis gave them a way in to get it. The Estates General was composed of three Estates: the clergy, the nobility, and the rest of France, but there were arguments over how fair this was: the Third Estate was far larger than the other two but only had a third of the vote. Debate ensued, with a call for the Third getting a bigger say. This Third Estate, informed by long term doubts over the constitution of France and the development of a new social order of bourgeoisie, declared itself a National Assembly and decreed the suspension of taxation, taking French sovereignty i nto its own hands. After a power struggle which saw the National Assembly take the Tennis Court Oath not to disband, the king gave in and the Assembly began reforming France, scrapping the old system and drawing up a new constitution with a Legislative Assembly. This continued the reforms but it created divisions in France by legislating against the church and declaring war on nations which supported the French king. In 1792, a second revolution  took place, as Jacobins and sansculottes forced the Assembly to replace itself with a National Convention which abolished the monarchy, declared France a republic and in 1793, executed the king. As the Revolutionary Wars went against France, as regions angry at attacks on the church and conscription rebelled and as the revolution became increasingly radicalized, the National Convention created a Committee of Public Safety to run France in 1793. After a struggle between political factions called the Girondins and the Montagnards was won by the latter, an era of bloody measures called The Terror began, when over 16,000 people were guillotined. In 1794, the revolution again changed, this time turning against the Terror and its architect Robespierre. The Terrorists were removed in a coup and a new constitution was drawn up which created, in 1795, a new legislative system run by a Directory of five men. This remained in power thanks to rigging elections and purging the assemblies before being replaced, thanks to the army and a general called Napoleon Bonaparte, by a new constitution in 1799 which created three consuls to rule France. Bonaparte was the first consul and, while the reform of France continued, Bonaparte managed to bring the revolutionary wars to a close and have himself declared consul for life. In 1804 he crowned himself Emperor of France; the revolution was over, the empire had begun. Consequences There is universal agreement that the political and administrative face of France was wholly altered: a republic based around elected- mainly bourgeois- deputies replaced a monarchy supported by nobles while the many and varied feudal systems were replaced by new, usually elected institutions which were applied universally across France. The culture was also affected, at least in the short term, with the revolution permeating every creative endeavor. However, there is still debate over whether the revolution permanently changed the social structures of France or whether they were only altered in the short term. Europe was also changed. The revolutionaries of 1792 began a war which extended through the Imperial period and forced nations to marshal their resources to a greater extent than ever before. Some areas, like Belgium and Switzerland, became client states of France with reforms similar to those of the revolution. National identities also began coalescing like never before. The many and fast developing ideologies of the revolution were also spread across Europe, helped by French being the continental elite’s dominant language. The French Revolution has often been called the start of the modern world, and while this is an exaggeration- many of the supposed revolutionary developments had precursors- it was an epochal event that permanently changed the European mindset. Patriotism, devotion to the state instead of the monarch, mass warfare, all became solidified in the modern mind.

Financial management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Financial management - Essay Example These ratios describe that how many current assets are required to fulfill the current liabilities. By using the data from each company’s financial statement we find out the current ratio of both companies. As in company A there is a large amount of assets to fullfill the liabilities of the company more efficiently as compared to the company B, so the current ratio of company A is 1 and a current ratio of company B is 0.4, the same situation is in the case of quick ratio. Quick ratio of company A is 1.02 and of the company B is 0.2. Quick ratio specifically measures the liquidity so the result shows that company A is more liquid as compared to the company B. (â€Å"HITSTELEC: Financial reports†) What do the accounts receivables turnover and inventory turnover of your company (Company (A)), compared with the other company, suggest about the company (A)’s ability to convert AR and Inventory accounts into cash? We compared account receivable turnover between company A and B, we know that account receivable turnover show that how many times companies receive payments from debtors. As the result show company A has the turnover of 8.8 times and company B has the turnover of 10.7 times, so it is clearly shown that company B has a high turnover as compared to company A. As we know inventory turnover means the cost of goods sold on an inventory recovered at a specific time. Again the company B has a high inventory turnover as compared to company A. Company A can convert account receivables into cash when it receives the debts from the debtors and this happen only when company issue debts on some specific terms and conditions or compensate the debtor that they can return their debt by their willingness. Company A can convert an inventory account into cash from the sale of inventory as possible as they can for this purpose it is necessary to reduce the cost of that inventory that every person can easily afford it. (â€Å"DU: