Research in Practice

Introduction Population growth and issues such as globalisation are the main drivers behind an increase in demand in the food sector. According to the USDA (2012), â€Å"Processed soybeans are the world’s largest source of animal protein feed and the second largest source of vegetable oil†. This can be used as an indicator that there is a constant demand for soybean in the food industry. Whilst it is a fact that the US are leaders in soy production, according to a study by the IDEI (2012), soybean is mainly imported into the EU as there is high demand and a large variety of products that are made with or from soybean. In fact, demand exceeds its production (0.9 million tons/year) and imports reach around 30-35 million tons per year. France, for example, produces approximately 140,000 tons per year and imports around 4 million tons of soybean meals for animal consumption, including 0.5 million tons of seeds. This type of issue has external and internal factors that could influence the PESTEL factor of governments within the EU. This is especially pertinent in Poland where economic dependency is on imports or on a small number of key suppliers. Nevertheless, different issues can be analysed in order to identify these types of problems, but one of the main factors is the controversy of GM and non-GM soybeans. The EU legislations refer to the non-authorization of the GM soybean and other GM crops in the EU, and authorization of high levels of import of GM soybean. This eventually means that 50% of soybean meals imported include GM. Nevertheless, issues such as the supply chain and the end consumers tend to be interested in healthier foods, and where the place of the soy protein ingredients could take place. Therefore, the study of the supply chain and adaptation of appropriate strategies may affect the increase in efficiency and profitability. Literature Review Focusing on the concept of supply chain, there are several studies aimed at understanding where a common view on the supply chain is found. For example, according to Simchi-Levi et. al (2007), it is clearly seen that the supply chain involves developing an efficiency for all of the inputs, while going through a process of transformation and coming up with the outputs using the best possible strategy. This has led to the development of new tactics and strategies in terms of operational and planning processes of the supply chain (Simchi-Levi et al., 2004) Nonetheless, Kreipl and Pinedo (2004) have discussed that in order to achieve a successful operation, there should be a decent planning of supply chain and goal setting. With an account of the whole structure of the organisation including micro and macro technological and financial factors (Lambert & Cooper, 2000; Bowersox et al., 2002), the supply chain is being studied in many different variations such as strategic and tactics. However, in simple business conceptuality, it is mainly about receiving minimum costs and predicting movement of the business. In order to be more specific, according to various researchers, there are five main factors that are involved with supply chain management such as the use of outsource teams (Bal et al, 1999) and according to Christopher (2000), the incorporation of processes which spread the risks but also the income. This can lead to better ICT skills (Morash, 2001) and also helps with a long-term relationship with the suppliers (Schonsleben, 2000). On the other hand, there are cases where wrong planning and expectation lead to relationship issues between partners and therefore, the production process. In order to ensure these issues are avoided, a coordination of the managers in different departments should be presented (GEMI, 2004). According to Anderson and Tushman (1990) and Christensen (2003), it might be overlapped by being more innovatively structured within the existing market, or as Griffin and Page (1996) argue, being new in the market in terms of the first mover. On the other hand, Sebastiao and Golicic (2008) combine the two views and argue that the success of a company is based on the development of the supply chain such as the dynamics of the market. Frazelle (2002) states that the entire organisation across the supply chain should co-ordinate in order to maximise shareholder and customer cost through methods such as analysis of the measurement from operations, vertical integration which collaborates the logistics and logistics services. The changes in international business have led to changes in the supply chain and pose many questions towards these changes and the strategies that should be taken by companies (Christopher, 2005), Hopkin (2010) adds to this perception and argues that supply chain management becomes even more important due to global business. Nontheless, according to Bozart and Handfield (2006), the company’s survival depends on the way that the supply chain managers operate it. The leading point of supply chain managers is the ability to create a competitive advantage (Klassen and Johnson, 2004). Lavoie (2005) provides an example of the agricultural product, wheat, in which the importance of the supply chain and the logistical performance are more dynamic in than simply the competition even though the process differs due to difference in handing and supply chain process. The price differs by grade of protein and other characteristics. According to the USDA, forecasts for vegetable protein demand in 2011 have grown compared to previous years which means that the availability of meal from South America might be lowered and this might be seen as opportunity for the USA to expand its share of the Polish soybean meal. (Agata Kingsbury, 2011) Thesis statement The main aim of this research is to allocate the supply chain of the soybean in Poland, the main producers, especially the main consumers and customers, and to allocate gaps in the market which could be seen as emerging business opportunities. There should be an understanding of the latest data and the major stakeholders of this particular market and industry. This could eventually identify gaps in the market, and might be a useful tool for market research in emerging members of the EU such as Poland, eventually creating potential strategies for establishment of a business in this specific industry. The following research could be conducted with secondary and primary research which is available through major agricultural institutions and different major players of the market, such as traders but mainly comes from the users of the Soybean in Poland. There will be a comparison with Non-EU markets as they are part of the stakeholders and exporters. With the allocation of the existing organisations in Poland, there might be an outcome for potential markets. There will therefore be primary research such as interviews with professionals included. Methodology Philosophy of StudyThe two following philosophies of Positivism and Interpretivism are going to be examined during the research of the emerging opportunities in the Polish market with soybeans. The first theory will be looking at other theories and attempting to generalise them through looking at their outcomes both in and observable social reality which eventually can lead to gathering of relevant data such as by looking at the market performance in Poland and trying to relate it to the concept of growth in the market and possible market gaps in EU food industry (Remenyi et al., 1998). On the other hand, there will be the use of an interpretivistic approach throughout the analysis of the interviews with the different Soybean producers and traders in Poland and other countries in the EU so as to non-EU members such as Ukraine, and finally, when evaluating the research findings based on the interviews for the industry professionals.Approach This research will mainly analyse business opportunities in the Polish Soybean market in the food production sector and is going to be conducted using the inductive approach. According to Bryman and Bell (2007), this particular method is the relationship between theory and the research that is being undertaken and finally, trying to evaluate and create a theory or concept out of the research. As in this particular research, there will be an analysis and study of the soybean in Poland and attempts to evaluate the issues that might relate to theory and concept which are the possibilities to market opportunities in Poland as an EU member, possibly become a European leader in producing soybean food products and potentially create possible strategies to develop the Soybean food industry in Poland by learning its implications and potential growth. Purpose of Research Explanatory research tends to be conducted by the researcher as the initial research requires the use of a decent amount of surveys to indicate the main topics for subsequent research. Consequently, I will conduct research of emerging possibilities in the Soybean industry in Poland and the EU and its possible growth and development, possibly finding challenges in the market of the food industry in Poland by looking at data analysis, eventually being able to develop a strategized correlation. Therefore, the qualitative data that will be researched may allow this understanding and will adopt a clear vision of possibilities at relatively new markets. This particular method could be seen the most appropriate out of the three methods for this type of study (Lee, Collier & Cullen, 2007) Research Design As the main research focuses on the Soybean market in Poland and its effect on the food industry in Poland and the EU, I will be studying these particular industries and their potential growth and strategic analysis and finally, recommendations. Therefore, the study will involve a case study of large multinational companies that are mainly controlling the industry in term of their size and pricing. These companies include Cargill, Topfer, Bunge, Desmet Ballesetra, EuroFin and other possible American and EU organisations that can be found throughout the duration of the research. According to Saunders et al., there is a need for using various companies for research in order to gain a better understanding and establish the relevant data necessary for the research. The Mmin purpose in the collection date from these companies is due to the fact that they are deeply involved in the market and have strong forces of influence on it. An important factor is to interview these companies and their regional director in order to begin to create an image of the Polish soybean market and its supply chain, and finding the reasons of why and what could be done better. Another important issue is why Polish is being studied and this is due to the fact that it is relatively new market and a new member of the EU with large potential in terms of development and its geographical and logistical preferences. Sample Size In this particular research, the sample will consist mainly of the Polish Soybean market and companies motioned above that are operated in Poland. As these soybean companies in Poland are European members, there will be an analysis of the EU soybean market and the main aspects of the supply chain of this particular business. I expect the sample size to grow over the period of this research. Secondary Research As mentioned earlier, there will be a study of the supply chain of the business. Therefore, there is a need to provide secondary data drawing on books on supply chain, statistics of worldwide agricultural figures and changes, and journal articles of the companies’ performance. In order to indicate the performance of the market and any potential gaps in Polish soybean market which eventually could lead to credible data for business strategy, there will be other sources that are provided by the case study such as reports and presentations of new strategies and their supply chain. Primary Research Furthermore, there is a need to research primary data, based on direct interactions with the studied area and the main companies involved in the industry. There is also a need to study the agricultural polish department in terms of regulation and understanding the actual business in terms of legality, and to eventually conduct an analysis based on primary findings from processing companies in the food industry in Poland in the case of the Non-GMO soybeans. In this particular research, the most suitable method for primary research is a direct interview technique which consist of mostly semi-structured interviews. There will be five interviews in total that will be taken during the summer of 2013. One interview will take place with the CEO of the multinational company Bunge and another interview will be conducted with the CEO of other similar company; MNC Toepfer. In both interviews, the main focus of the conversation will be the relationship of companies in Poland on their activates of business in Poland, from their trading perspective and so as manufacturing and relationship with local producers. Such as their supply chain, or challenges that they face in this field in Poland, so as their main reasons for entering these specific markets. Another interview will take place with a non EU member but also a major importer to Europe of Non-GMO soybean. This is the Ukrainian company ATK. The main aspect of this interview is to research the soybean market in terms of its production in the EU and the main concerns of food producers. Geographically, Ukraine has a potential for business in Poland with the Soybean, especially as Ukraine is one of the largest agricultural exporters in the world Two more interviews will be conducted with the Polish Soybean Extracting company Zlato Zerno and one with the Agricultural Ministry office in Poland. These interviews will be conducted to understand the actual concept of Non-GMO and the role of soy in the food sector in Poland and the EU. In terms of reliability and validity of the data, there may be couple of challenges such as whether the companies would like to provide the needed information, and if so, whether it would be based on academic material and world financial organisations such as the USDA. Ethical Issues The main ethical issues that might arise involve the primary research. When companies are studied, particularly private enterprises where there is a lack of transparency, there might be protection of particular data. Another factor is that most of the interviews are going to be conducted in foreign languages such as Ukrainian, Polish, and Russian and therefore, there will be a need for translation in order to avoid misunderstanding of the cultural differences in terms of language. Resources When referring back to the primary research, there are a variety of places that the interviews are going to take place in such as Warsaw, Kiev, Krakow, and potentially in Belgium. Interviews will take place over a two-month period of summer and shall end in London for evaluations.and further interviews on Skype or via e-mails. Conclusion Considering the growth of globalisation, the increase of border-free trade between different countries, the dramatic increase in migration and population growth and the rise in concern for healthier products and a more sustainable environment, there is a need for food processing with constant growth in this particular area. This particular research is aimed at covering the knowledge in this industry and sphere, so as to conduct strategic analysis and eventually to make outcomes on the development of the food industry in Poland, within the context of Non-GMO soybean, and its potential growth, by looking at Poland and so as Europe and non European member which are geographically European. Bibliography Anderson, P., and Tushman, M.L. 1990. ‘‘Technological Discontinuities and Dominant Designs: A Cyclical Model of Technological Change.’’ Administrative Science Quar- terly 25:604–33. Babcock, B.A Beghin, J. (1999). Potential Market for Non-GMO Corn and Soybeans. Available: http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/18294/1/bp990027.pdf. Last accessed 15th Apr 2013. Bal, J., Wilding, R. & Gundry, J. (1999).†Virtual Teaming in the agile Supply Chain,† International Journal of Logistics Management, 10(2). 71-82 Banaszkiewicz, T . (2011). 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Evolution of Wireless Technology Essay

These days when you hear the term wireless technology people automatically think of Wi-Fi or wireless internet, but the thing is wireless technology has been around much longer than wireless internet, or even internet itself. The thing is wireless technology has been around as long as the late 1800’s and has tremendously evolved over the course of the last 100 years since its creation and existence. The first true demonstration of wireless technology was the wireless telegraph system, which lead to the birth of the radio, which evolved to cellular phones, and has now gave way to what we know today as Wi-Fi. It has be the evolution of wireless technology and its abilities that has taken a giant leap in the technology race and is still maturing since it has only been around for 100 or so years. The first true wireless technological demonstration was when a message was transmitted between two English telegraph offices. This major feat was accomplished by Guglielmo Marconi who invented the first wireless telegraph. Marconi later gave way to the â€Å"Birth of the Radio† in 1897 when he was awarded the patent for the wireless telegraph by radio waves. Marconi later established a station on Needles Island that communicated with the English coast. At this time in history wireless was so new but so innovating that many saw how it could improve communication time vastly and was being improved to further the distance at which messages could be communicated. Only a year later after Marconi set up the station was communication between France and England established. It only took 3 more years for Marconi to set up communication across the Atlantic from Cornwall to Newfoundland which lead to Marconi getting the Nobel Peace Prize for physics for his discovery with radio waves and wireless communication. The birth of the radio we think of these days as hearing a voice transmitted didn’t happen until 1914 with the first voice over radio transmission. It wasn’t long till people started using radios to relay information to people. The first real use of radios was in Detroit when the police installed radio receivers in all their police cars to tell the drivers locations and other useful information. The next big advancement in wireless technology with the radio was the discovery and use of AM and FM radios that transmitted over different frequencies. AM radio waves vary with the combination of audio frequencies and radio frequencies, this allows for long distance communication but is susceptible interference from electricity and many other things; FM radio waves change to reproduce the audio signal, which allows for little to no interference and much better sound quality, but shortens the distance that FM radio waves can travel significantly. The major downside to radio at this time is that it is one way of communication; you have someone sending the message to someone else with a receiver, not cross communication. This was somewhat fixed with the introduction of two way radios that allowed for one person to talk to another through a handheld radio that worked off of different channels. The only problem with two way radios was that they were somewhat limited to range and it was possible for other people to listen in on communications. The next major advancement in wireless technology came in 1979 when Japan deployed the first cellular communication system. At this time though the system was crude and wasn’t able to support many users and service was poor. It took a few years for the systems to advance and become sufficient enough to support commercial use. In 1991 the US Digital Cellular Phone System was introduced and only a year later was the first (GSM) cellular phones approved for sale. After cellular phones hit the market wireless technology boomed in advancement. Companies were working on providing better quality service to more people around the nation and around the world as the number of cellular users surpassed 10 million. Only a few years down the road were the first smart phones hitting the market, which were capable of sending and receiving emails and fax services. Smart phones have since advanced to the point where we are capable of sending and receiving pictures and video, as well as achieving the ability to live stream video chat across your cell phone providers’ data connection. The cellular phone since hasn’t had many more breakthroughs in wireless technology other than improved signal quality and a larger coverage area. Another significant breakthrough in the wireless technology field was the introduction of satellites and satellite phones. Satellite phones were created as a means of placing a call to anyone from anywhere around the orld. As the name states, satellite phones transmit a satellite signal to one of 48 satellites orbiting the globe, from there the signal bounces around until it reaches a satellite that has a direct signal with the ground receiver it needs to transfer to. Satellites were created for many reasons but one was for a fast and easy way to transmit data from anywhere to anywhere around the globe. Howev er unlike radios, cell phones, and Wi-Fi; satellites transmit data on a spectrum that is regulated by the government and you need licensing to use a satellite signals. Another significant breakthrough in satellite technology was the introduction of satellite television, which enabled companies to broadcast television shows and movies to houses via satellite dish pointed towards the ellipses of a satellite. The one downside to satellite technology is that it needs an unobstructed signal in order to make a connection. The first real breakthrough in Wi-Fi was actually in 1985, several years before Wi-Fi was invented. In 1985 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), America’s telecoms regulator opened several bands in the wireless spectrum. This decision allowed these bands to be used without the need for a government license; at the time this was unheard of because there was very little unlicensed spectrum. A visionary engineer, Michael Marcus, sanctioned three chunks of the industrial, scientific, and medical bands of the spectrum to be opened to communications entrepreneurs. The next major advancement Wi-Fi came when several companies realized that the best way for it to thrive amongst the populace was to be universal so that a person wasn’t locked into a particular vendor’s products. It was at this time the Institute of Electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) was approached by Viktor Hayes and Bruce Tuch from Bell labs for create a standard for all wireless internet providers to abide by. A committee called 802. 11 was set up with Mr. Hayes as chairman, and the negotiations started. It took a few years for the majority of vendors to come to an agreement and in 1997 the committee came up with a basic specification, of using spread-spectrum technologies, frequency hopping, or direct-sequence transmission. Engineers at this time quickly came up with prototypes to comply with the standard and two variants emerged, the 802. 11b which operated on the 2. 4GHz band and the 802. 11a which operated on the 5. 8GHz band. It was at this time the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA) coined the term Wi-Fi as it was a consumer friendly name that stuck. So now the technology had been standardized; it had a name; now all it needed was a company to bring it to the market, and so it found one with Apple. Apple told Lucent that if it could make an adapter for fewer than one hundred dollars it would incorporate it into all of its laptops, and so shortly after it found its way into the new iBook. It didn’t take long for every other company to follow suite. Wi-Fi was then boosted by the popularity for high-speed broadband internet connections that allowed several computers to connect to one access point without the need for cables. In the last few years there haven’t really been any breakthroughs in wireless technology, just some major tweaking to the rules and regulations. The FCC tweaked the rules to allow a new standard 802. 11g which uses orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) which is capable of achieving speeds up to 54 megabits per second in the 2. 4GHz band. Since then many other variants have come up across the last few years such as 3G and 4G mobile phone networking and mobile hotspots which have provided better and faster internet to more people on the go as they are able to create a short range Wi-Fi â€Å"hotspot† from their cellular phone or adapter which has allowed people to bring the internet with them. A new technology has also popped up, 802. 16 also known as WiMax, which is capable of providing up to 70 megabits per second and capable of reaching 50 kilometers, much better than Wi-Fi that is only capable of 50 meters. Another standard 802. 15. 3 known as WiMedia, a short range high capacity connection specifically designed for media, capable of streaming videos and providing networking for entertainment devices. In the last two or three years wireless technology hasn’t seen any advancement, but many companies are working to come out with the next biggest thing to profit off of, and there is no doubt that wireless technology has not seen its demise for further advancing. In the last hundred years wireless technology started from sending a short simple message via telegraph to streaming videos, playing games and live steaming video chat across home and mobile broadband networks and satellite connections, wireless technology has rooted itself deep within society and as yet to improve even further as technology itself advances and revolutionizes our world. We have seen this technology evolve from telegraphs, to one way radios, two way radio transmitters, cellular devices, satellite signals, wireless internet to computers, to mobile wireless internet to phones and laptops; all while continuing to advance to meet societies needs and demands for something that is even better and faster. Only time can tell what the next big advancement in the wireless technology field will be and where it will take us, but one thing is for sure, it hasn’t finished advancing.

Healthcare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Healthcare - Essay Example According to the policy on vendor relationships, medical practitioners should base all their decisions on integrity of medical research, analysis and professional judgments. Their professionalism should not be affected by their relationship with vendors in the medical field. Such inducements have been found to influence decisions by medical practitioners. After a thorough medical examination, healthcare practitioners, for example, doctors should be in a position to prescribe the proper medicine to a patient. According to Wazana (2000), physicians should base their decisions only on the patient’s health condition and prescribe appropriate medicine whether it is from an inducing pharmaceutical company or not. This is because their role is to save patients’ lives and not to promote products from pharmaceutical companies. They should not allow anyone else to affect their decisions regarding medical procedures or drug prescriptions. Unfortunately, in some cases, it has been noted that some medical practitioner do not base their prescriptions on the patient’s health needs. They prescribe medicine in favor of some pharmaceutical companies that give them inducements in the form of gifts, sponsorship in graduate education or Continued Medical Education (CME) and food. These gifts influence the prescription patterns of the physicians even to the risk of the patient’s health. This has turned their role from medical practitioners into ‘sales people’ for pharmaceutical companies (Wazana, 2000). It has affected the standard of drugs, and medical devices and equipment ordered by medical practitioners for use in their medical practice hence compromising the standard of medical care offered to patients. The quality of some drug samples and therapeutic devices has not been proven by the pharmacy and therapeutics committee. This means that a lot of lives are in danger, especially patients whose medical conditions require medicine from a

Washington As A President Born Abroad Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Washington As A President Born Abroad - Essay Example As per the requirements of the US Constitution, only a citizen by natural birth or an already citizen of the United States during the adoption of the constitution is eligible to election to the Office of the President. Additionally, the Office of the President remains eligible for persons with thirty-five years of age and above, and have been residents within the United States borders for fourteen years. From the amendment; however, all person born or naturalized in the United States are subject to their jurisdiction, citizens of the United States and in the particular state in which they reside. The Constitution clearly states that one's eligibility to run for president of the United States requires that the person be a natural-born citizen, an aspect that is then assumed by many that the president's eligibility refers to individuals physically born in the United States, but is such usually the case? Ideally, the constitution remains vague on the definition of natural born, with a n umber of status defining a natural-born U.S. citizen as an individual entitled to be so "at birth" or "by birth," without regard to the particular place of birth as long as either or both of the parents are United States citizens. Determination of George Washington's United States citizenship and eligibility to run and be elected as president of the United States is an aspect that requires an in-depth analysis. George Washington was a Virginian by birth, though the United States never existed during his birth.

International Marketing Plan Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

International Marketing Plan Report - Essay Example Iraq is a Muslim country located partially in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf region. Iraq is built on the remnants of the ancient Babylonian Empire. It has gone through various historical periods like being part of the Greek Empire under Alexander the Great and the Roman Empire. The area in present-day Iraq became part of the Ottoman Empire and this passed to the British after World War I. Iraq became more autonomous after World War II and finally got into the hands of Saddam Hussein after a coup detat in 1979. Under Saddam Hussein and his Baath party, Iraq became an ally to the West and it fought a war against Iran between 1980 and 1988. In 1991, after Iraq invaded Kuwait, the United States and other coalition forces entered Iraq and liberated Kuwait. In 2003, the US President, George W. Bush invaded Iraq and this led to a period of democracy, reforms and restructuring that exists today in the country. Iraq is bordered by Turkey, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Its main land area is dominated by sandy deserts (Fontan, 2009). Iraq has two main rivers, one of them being the Euphrates which has fertile alluvial plains that have led to the creation of major cities throughout the country (Baskhin, 2011). The extended family is the basis of the Iraqi social system. It involves the grouping of different generations of the same family that is united through marriage (Every Culture, 2012). The nuclear family is defined by the extended family and there is a high degree of collectivism (Bashkin, 2011). Marriage in Iraq is seen as the joining of two families and this leads to strong connections to each other. Traditionally, the role of men and women are defined and fixed (Fontan, 2009). However, after the Iran-Iraq war where many men were recruited to fight in the battlefield, the nation included a liberal approach to women and their rights. Education is defined by the new

Japan country risk analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Japan country risk analysis - Assignment Example Indeed, the market has experienced a growth rate of 2.8% at the end of 2012 that has been stimulated by domestic consumption (Global Edge, 2013). This is as shown in the graphical representation from IMF below. Source (IMF, 2012). Source (IMF, 2012). Consequently, this reflects that the domestic demand of commodities is expanding positively to enhance the sales for organizations operating in Japan. This means that Japan is a vital place for multinationals to locate since it is able to enhance their sales revenue due to the rising local consumption that is currently experiencing shrinkage in many countries worldwide. Indeed, a market population of 127.8 million coupled with the rising private demand in the market, Japanese market promises to be the best destination in the global market for multinationals. However, the deflation or the fall in prices in the market (0.3%) as indicated in the table above has threatened the savings in the economy that is vital in promoting the availabilit y of credit for the investors intending to set up new or expend businesses in Japan. Nevertheless, the proposal by the government to increase the consumption tax has seen the households opting to save more which has pushed the saving to 6% currently form the previous 2.2% on their disposable income (S$P, 2011). Thus, the credit market is experiencing a rising deposit to enable foreign investors to acquire credit to set up their business. Furthermore, the economic strength of Japan is one of the crucial factors that make the country one the best attractive destination for multinational organizations globally stimulating a concrete trade surplus (SEB, 2012). Owing to the surplus and steady balance of payment structure, the country is experiencing a reserve level that is the... In assessing the viability of locating or starting a business in a foreign country, a country risk analysis is vital in allowing investors to identify associated risks or opportunities that might affect the business in future. This is because a country risk analysis undertakes an in depth investigation on the economic, political and social factors that affects the financial and strategic derailment to the firms in realizing their business objectives (Wagner, 2012). This helps the investors in realizing the profitability and sustainability of a business they intend to start in a given country. The country risk analysis of Japan shows that the country has a mixed signs of attractiveness to multinational organization intending to expand their international territory. This is shown by its favorable economic risk rating due to its economic environment the country offers to prospective multinational firms. In contrast, the political risk depicts a negative environment due to the current political tensions surrounding the future stability of the country. Furthermore, the aging population of Japan reveals a destination that may be expensive in acquiring an effective and efficient work force. However, the education system of Japan has the capacity of producing the best effective and efficient work force in the global market. Nevertheless, Japan has shown that it is capable of supporting the profitability and survival of multinationals even after tragic series of events. This means that Japan offers a good destination for multinational firms seeking to expend their international te rritory operation.

Ethical duties as an Entrepreneur (Is your good harm to others) Essay

Ethical duties as an Entrepreneur (Is your good harm to others) - Essay Example Entrepreneurship is not an exception. This paper will analyze the ethical duties of entrepreneur, arguing that one’s good does not necessarily harm others. To begin with, one might suggest that one of the most important duties of an entrepreneur which involved Ethics focuses on the necessity to think about the affect that one’s activity has on the stakeholders. Indeed, it would not be an exaggeration to suggest that one can hardly find an activity where the number of stakeholders is reduced to a minimum and entrepreneurship is surely not one of them (McFarlane, 2013, 51). In other words, it is an imperative for a person who runs a business to think about the impact that it can have on all the parties which are involved directly and indirectly. A helpful way to do so would be to create a map of all the people affected and determine the relationship between them and the business activities (Weiss, 2014, 13). One should point out that considering the impact on the stakeholders might be regarded as a characteristic feature of the modern kind of business. Indeed, in the previous times economic world in general as well as entrepreneur s in particular was primarily concerned with the profitability of the enterprise, the security of the source of income and possible ways to maximize the return of investment. However, contrary to that, at the modern times people acknowledge that they might have a negative impact on the stakeholders and are encouraged to refrain for it. In other words, a good entrepreneur will be able to set up one’s business in such a way that would not harm anyone. The next important duty which should be analyzed in great detail is connected with the necessity to implement ethical decision making process. One of the most significant aspects that are crucial for understanding of this duty is the difference between morals and ethics. Thus, the former is largely considered to be a set of personal

Juvenile Justice Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Juvenile Justice - Research Paper Example This would involve merging punishment and welfare in contributing to the rehabilitative reformatory. Since Mrs. I does not want her son to go to jail for his crime, the question would be; †should we punish,† or â€Å"should we treat the situation â€Å" (Reader, 1996). Therefore the best approach to the case considering Mrs. I’s concerns would be to talk to the teen and understand why he had to commit the crime, introduce treating mechanisms, which would make the youth to pay for the crime such. Such treatment would include recommending he should never touch a vehicle until he improves his behaviors, and threatening to take him to jail any time such a case is reported in the future. Such an approach as Markman (2007) notes would be in accordance to parens patriae doctrine in protecting, rehabilitating and healing process. There are three steps that have to be used to protect Mrs I’s teenager. The first step would be accountability. This would involve takin g responsibility for one’s behavior, take the necessary action to repair any harm caused and be ready to change (NCJRS, 2000). In this case, the teenager has to understand how his behavior affected others, accept, and acknowledge that the behavior involved a choice that could be made differently, and make changes to avoid such behavior in the future. The teenager has also to have support from his parents to ensure he realizes his mistakes and is ready to change for the better. This focuses on repairing the harm done by such a teenager, and not so much on punishment (Little 2010). The second stage would be competency development. Competency would be explained as the capacity to do something well to be valued by others (Pranis, 1998). The juvenile offender has to have a chance to perform meaningful and important tasks in the community and contribute to the wellbeing of others. Such would involve learning to make meaningful choices, belong to a community, and contribute positive ly in developing decision making, reasoning and problem solving skills (NCJRS, 2000). The third step would involve community protection. In a balanced and restorative justice framework, youths with strong connections to their communities and care about people in their community are less likely to offend. This would involve initiatives that would foster positive relationship with the family and the community at large (Pranis, 1998). To help the teen, it would be important to facilitate a cordial relationship between the youth, the family, and community, which would indicate the extent of reforming the teen has undergone. To ensure this is achieved, it would be important supervise the youth for sometime, where he has to report regularly on his day to day activities, use house arrests for some time to ensure he realizes his mistakes by denying the freedom he treasures, and ensure he is involved in some communal undertakings to understand how best to live in a community, which would in turn help in his reforming process by understanding his responsibilities, and having a sense of belonging (NCJRS, 2000). As a judge, there would be several factors to consider. For example, prototypical of the current psychological discourse related to youth and the hormonal imbalance issue, criminologists view youths as subjects to a number

The implications of the major determinants of demand and supply to Essay

The implications of the major determinants of demand and supply to domestic house building industry - Essay Example This paper starts with understanding this market. Here we will discuss about Porter’s Five Forces Model and try to understand the kind of customers marketers have in the domestic housing sector. This section would be followed by the discussion on determinants of demand and supply in the housing industry. Once we have understood the market structure and supply-demands we will be discussing various factors like economic, social, legal and environmental which affect the industry. This will be followed by the analysis and conclusion. The industry is made up of around 192,404 construction firms, 164,000 of which have less that 24 employees. Just 56 firms have more than 1,200 employees. (Source: Construction Statistics Annual 2002/CITB). 2 There are around 192,404 small and big firms. 56 firms have employed more than 1200 employees while 28,348 firms have employed 25 or more than 25 people and rest 164,000 firms have employed less than 24 people in their organization. Around 500 firms work for overseas contracts also.4 The segment rivalry and exit barriers are high. As it is almost mature industry in Britain, the number of suppliers and rivalry among them is high. This gives an added advantage to the constructor to negotiate for the quality and the price of goods supplied by them. The switching cost from one supplier to another is usually high. Buyers’ power in the case of houses is limited. There are several reasons for this i.e. increasing demand of house, lesser number of buyers, buyers not connected to each other, lack of information and others. The threat of substitutes is less and within the category. Housing requirements of an individual or family can be very specific leaving no room for many or instant substitutes. It depends upon the quality, price and availability of the house. The consumer behaviour can be divided on the basis of the type of consumers. They can be divided on the basis of

Strategic sales management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Strategic sales management - Essay Example The process of having a good human resource base does not end with recruiting people as it is equally important to have motivated employees who can easily align their personal objectives with the organizational objectives so as to bring about organizational efficiency and generate competitive advantage. In order to have motivated employees, it is necessary to ensure a proper job fit so as to align the objectives of the employees and the employers. This requires a good recruitment strategy that would actually help in selecting a set of individuals who would be able to align themselves with the job responsibilities as well as the working culture in the organization. This would also boost up the morale of the employees who would be motivated to take up the job responsibilities (Griffin & Moorhead, 2009, p.118). The present study would be based on analysing the recruitment and staffing issues for the FMCG giant Procter & Gamble. The choice of the organization assumes significance as the company is considered to be among the largest FMCG companies of the world having its operations in diverse geographies with a wide product portfolio. The study would analyse the present recruitment policy of the organization and would try to find out the possible shortcomings in the strategies of recruitment and staffing presently adopted and implemented by the company. It would also try to formulate a proper recruitment and staffing strategy for the organization which would also include the framework for compensation, incentives and reward programs so as to motivate the employees to provide their best effort at the organization. About the Company Procter and Gamble (PROCTER & GAMBLE) is one of the most coveted FMCG Company of the world. The organization has its headquarters based in Cincinnati, USA and successfully operates out of 180 different diverse geographic nations with a wide array of product offering. The strengths of the organization can be analysed from the fact that its market capitalisation is greater than the GDP levels of many nations. The company also has a well defined policy of serving the society through a well knit policy of corporate social responsibility. The organization also has a well defined recruitment and staffing policy that helps it to churn out the best possible employees. It also has a raining and development program that trains employees to meet the standards required to bring about efficiency in organizations like PROCTER & GAMBLE (Procter & Gamble, 2011). Recruitment strategy Procter and Gamble follows a highly rigorous and comprehensive framework for recruitment and selection. The candidates selected for the organization are generally asked to go in through a rigorous session of numerous rounds of interviews. In the initial strategy, the candidates are asked to appear for an interview that tests the candidate’s ability to produce high volumes of quality work. The candidates pass through two rounds of filtering after w hich a test of general knowledge and general aptitude is conducted. The extent of success in these tests determine the level of efficiency of the candidate

Market Segmentation Essay Example for Free

Market Segmentation Essay A definition of market segmentation is groups of potential buyers that have two things in common, similar needs and a reaction to the marketing strategy. (Kerin, 188) There are four different segments to the market. They are geographic area, demographic focus, psychographic referring to lifestyle and behavioral which refers to where the person makes purchases, what they are looking for, how often they shop, and their reason for purchasing. Kerin, 193) A definition of target market is one or more groups of consumers that a company uses for purposes of market focus. The five criteria for selecting a target segment are, market size, growth expectation, competitive position, cost associated with reaching the segment, and compatibility with the objectives and resources of the organization. (Kerin, 198-199) where a target market is groups selected for company focus, market segmentation is used to divide potential buyers into more specific groups. The statement, â€Å" Sometimes a firm can achieve a key differential advantage by simply emphasizing how its offering satisfies existing consumer demands/desires and needs better than its competitors† can be very true in that a company can use what is already known about their customer base to identify their products best focus group. Companies can use this advantage to instill positive feeling about their products to their already existing customer base as well as competitor clientele. A marketing strategy called product repositioning can help a company to change the importance or usefulness of a product in a consumers mind in comparison to a competitor product. A company will use head to head positioning (pg. 202) in order to compete with suppliers of similar products. An example of this type of positioning is Pepsi vs. Coke. These two companies sell soda that the attempt to convince theirs and the opposing companies customers of buying. An example of a company, product, and positioning strategy is Splash Lagoon Water Park in Erie, PA. This company operates as an indoor water park resort type facility and serves mostly families with young children. They offer entertainment such as water slides, a wave pool, arcade, and laser tag. Their value to the consumer is advertised through television, internet, direct mailings, and word of mouth. They have nearby a competitor in Castaway Bay Water Park, which is owned by Geauga Lake, located in Ohio. Both of these companies offer similar product offerings and amenities. Splash Lagoon uses a head to head marketing approach in offering competitive rates, coupons, group discounts, and hotel accommodations much like that of its Castaway Bay competitors. Referring to the concept called managing the product life cycle, the statement, â€Å"Sometimes demand patterns must be modified for consumers to perceive a firms product differentiation as worthwhile. † This is seen in a variety of products offered from many different companies. Many companies will attempt to re-gain a consumers interest in a product or line by changing the formula or offering a different look for the packaging. Often times the familiarity of a certain product to a customer can cause them to overlook it when new and more appealing products enter the market. Many companies also add other products from their line in combination with a product to increase brand recognition. An example of a modification in managing the product life cycle is the Mr. Clean Magic eraser. The product has a very large consumer popularity. There are now many other companies manufacturing the same type of product and offering it for a lower cost. The Magic Eraser was improved by the company by giving several different options available. The original brand product is still available in addition to larger versions of the same product, multi pack options, and recently marketed a bathroom specific eraser product containing Febreeze cleaning solution to increase consumer interest.

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

Applications Of Lanthanides For Medicine

Applications Of Lanthanides For Medicine Lanthanides have been used for medicinal applications since the 1980s but the development of technology has led to a demand for new developments.1 Lanthanides, known as rare-earth elements, have a wide range of photophysical properties that are amenable to spectroscopic and crystallographic studies.1 This, along with the absence of lanthanides in biological systems, makes them ideal for studying protein structure and interactions. The chemistry of lanthanides arises from the shielded electrons in the 4f orbitals, located within the outermost filled 5s/5p orbitals2. This shielding means the luminescent f-f transitionsehibited by lanthanides are almost ligand-dependent. Despite their chemical similarities each lanthanide gives its own distinctive colour, luminescence emission spectra and nuclear magnetic properties.2 They are electropositive, very reactive and favour the Ln3+ oxidation state. It is these properties that make them useful as medicinal agents.1 Figure The f block lanthanidesLn3+ ions have similar ionic radii, donor atom preferences and coordination numbers in binding sites as Ca2+ ions which means that to some extent Ln3+ can mimic Ca2+ behaviour.3 For drugs molecules to reach their target they first need to be absorbed across the cell membrane a calcium dependent process. Calcium concentrations of mM are needed for efficient drug uptake, but these are rarely achieved under cellular conditions and even when it is the cell is likely to become damaged.3 It has recently been found that Ln3+ can perforate the membrane at concentrations as low as 10-5 M. It is therefore no surprise that co-administration of drugs with Ln3+ has led to an increased intracellular accumulation.3 This property has allowed lanthanides to be used as a co-administer to drugs, as a drug itself and imaging agents.3 Medicinal applications Anti cancer agents Lanthanides have been known to be anti cancer agents since the early 1990s primarily through the induction of apoptosis.3 Lanthanides, particularly Tb3+, increase the infux of Ca2+ into cells thus increasing the intracellular levels. This increases the endonuclease activity, leading to DNA cleavage and therefore apoptosis.4 The same result is achieved by the inhibition of phosphodiesterase, the molecule responsible for the degradation of cyclic adenosine 3,5-monophosphate (cAMP).4,5 The molecule cAMP has an important role in DNA replication and an increase in its levels leads to a corresponding increase in the protein kinase (PKA) levels. This has two effects both of which lead to apoptosis; the increase of endonuclease activity and the expression of apoptosis genes.3,5 However, these methods were not selective and influenced healthy tissues as well as cancerous ones.4 New developments have targeted this drawback in an attempt to limit the side effects of treatment. Titania nanoparticles (NPs) have the potential to target tumours in a non-invasive manner.4 Titania, a wide band gap semiconductor, produces reactive oxygen species (ROS) following excitation of valence band electrons to the conductance band upon stimulation.4 These photoelectrochemical reactions can be promoted by x-ray irradiation which allows non-invasive penetration of the human body. Two papers, published by H.Townley et al. and A.Gnach et al., reported the discovery that the interaction of titania-NPs with x-rays can be optimised by using lanthanides as dopants.4,5 Normal cells can tolerate a certain level of exogenous ROS due to a reserve of antioxidants which counteract the ROS activity.3 Cancerous cells have metabolic abnormalities which increase the intracellular ROS levels. This makes them more dependent on the intracellular antioxidant system and vulnerable to exogenous ROS levels.4,5 Lanthanide doped NPs generate higher levels of ROS, due to the lanthanides allowing increased x-ray absorption, than general NPs thus playing on this vulnerability. The increased levels cause DNA and mitochondrial damage, causing apoptosis.4,5 NPs have the capability to accumulate in tumours as a result of the defective tumour vasculature. This gives them the potential to be selective to cancer cells thus reducing side effects. The NPs can also be coated with moieties for specific targeting and activation further limiting the damage to healthy tissues.5 These properties of the NPs are enhanced by lanthanide doping thus giving a new application for lanthanides. The best results have been seen for [emailprotected] and [emailprotected] Imaging Figure The traditional contrasting agent with Gd3+ bound to the chelate ligand and the water molecule under observation.Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has been vastly improved due to the use of contrasting agents (CA) since 1988.6 These act to improve the contrast between healthy and pathological tissue by influencing the relaxation rate of protons of bound water molecules, T2.7 The faster the relaxation rate, the higher the intensity and the sharper the image achieved. Relaxation rates are increased when the water molecule is close to a paramagnetic centre. Gd3+ has 7 unpaired electrons and is used as contrasting agents in MRI due to its highly paramagnetic centre.6 The traditional contrasting agents used Gd3+ bound to a chelate ligand through eight donor atoms (figure 2). This gives the complex the stability and strong binding needed to ensure that Gd3 is not released into the blood.6 However, Gd3+ is unselective and distributes over a wide region of extracellular space. Develop ments have been made to make the distribution more selective by linking Gd3+ chelates to moieties that cause accumulation in areas of interest.7 However, the increase of the magnetic strength from 64 MHz to the present 125 MHz has led to the decrease in the efficiency of Gd3+ based CAs. Therefore developments have had to be made to meet the technological demands. Current commercial contrasting agents are based on Gd-DPTA, Gd-DOTA and their derivatives but utilizing the magnetic and luminescent properties of other lanthanides has allowed the developments of new CA.8 A paper recently published by C.Andolinia et al. described how the near infrared (NIR) luminescence of the lanthanides Dy3+Â  and Yb3+ has been combined with the traditional MRI-CA to create new multimodal imaging agents.6 These complexes act as light harvesting antenna due to the bifunctional chelators/chromophores present. They surround the reaction centre, in this case the tissues, and funnel absorbed energy to the reaction centre.8 It is through this method that more of the incoming radiation is absorbed and the contrast is improved. Optical probes absorb photons from the excitation source within the visible region as well as absorbing the photons caused by biomolecules.6 Therefore the absorption and luminescent emission of optical probes are both in the visible region which l eads to a decrease in the limit of detection as well as the depths that the photons can reach. The NIR probes have the advantage that the depth of light penetration is increased due to their excitation wavelengths being outside of the biological window.6 Evaluation of all of the lanthanides has shown Yb3+ to be the most efficient NIR and MRI bimodal imaging agent.7 Osteoporotic treatment Bones are involved in a very precise cycle of the resorption and desorption of the bone tissue, see figure 3. Osteoporosis is a skeletal disease in which the bone density is decreased through higher levels of resorption than desorption. It is most commonly treated with biphosphonates which inhibit resorption thus preventing bone degradation.9 However, this class of drugs is poorly lipophilic and thus have a low oral bioavailability. To counteract this, the drug must be administered in high concentrations which causes GI tract problems, low patient tolerability and suspected osteoporotic issues in the jaw.9 Figure The continuous cycle of bone degradation and rebuildingIt is well known that lanthanide ions preferentially accumulate within the bone3 where they have an inhibitory effect on osteroclasts (bone degradation) and a stimulatory effect on osteoblasts (bone making). Due to the chemical similarities of Ln3+ and Ca2+ mentioned before, Ln3+ can potentially replace Ca2+ ions within the bone and affect the bone turnover cycle.3 Y.Mawani et al. discovered that heavier lanthanide ions show a 50-70% accumulation in the bones compared to lighter ions which have a >25% accumulation.9 The half life for a lanthanide ion in the bone is 2.5 years compared to an elimination time from soft tissues, such as the liver, of 15 days. These properties have led to heavier lanthanide ions being used for osteoporotic therapy.9 Furthermore, adjustment of the ligand structure has allowed the improvement of oral availability leading to an increased uptake and reduced side effects. Previous lanthanide comple xes were found to be poorly soluble in aqueous phases therefore reducing the absorption across the GI tract.9 This led to small levels of lanthanide ions accumulating in the bones therefore making the treatment inefficient. The development of an orally active drug that can pass through the GI tract has allowed efficient delivery of lanthanides to the bone. Conclusion Despite the initial disregarding of lanthanides due to suspected toxicity they have shown to have excellent properties for use as medicinal agents. The similarity of Ln3+Â  and Ca2+ has allowed lanthanides ions to be used as anti-osteoporotic agents as well as for increasing the permeability of cells to other drugs. New developments have seen lanthanide ions being used as cancer agents, by causing increased levels of ROS, as well as improving the already existing imaging techniques.

A Review of the Federally Subsidized Greenbelt Construction Project :: City Planning Public Administration

A Review of the Federally Subsidized Greenbelt Construction Project In 1935, the Resettlement Administration undertook the Greenbelt construction project which was to serve three major purposes: 1. Provide useful employment for thousands of jobless workers who were hit hard by the Great Depression 2. Demonstrate a new type of community planning, combining city conveniences with many advantages of rural life 3. Demonstrate better utilization of land in suburban areas (Walker 16). In this project, I would like to discuss some of the aspects of the construction, including the labor and materials used, as well as some economic and safety concerns. Keep in mind that these factors continually intertwine in the construction business and many times it is hard to discretely separate the roles played by each factor in individual design decisions. Safety was, indeed, a major concern of the designers. After all, this project was to provide housing for citizens who had already suffered through the Great Depression, and Roosevelt agreed to this project because it would provide a "Utopia" for the stricken citizens. Certainly, safety should be pretty high on the list of "Utopia" ingredients. Designers felt that a special effort would have to be made to ensure safety because they had some disturbing statistics on their minds. In 1922, 100 lives were lost when the Knickerbocker Theater building collapsed in Washington. This tragedy was caused by a weak structure and surely could have been prevented by stricter building codes. Additionally, fire caused a major threat. According to the Bureau of Census, 7,874 lives were lost in 1935 due to inhalation and burns, the majority of which occurred in homes (Thompson 95). Many of the homes in America at that time were old and dilapidated like the one in the picture. As you can imagine, a home like this would be a definite fire hazard. In order to address these safety issues, the Greenbelt homes were built to rigid building code standards. Fire resistive materials were used as much as possible. These materials included brick veneer, asbestos shingles, and cinder block. Note that in 1935, asbestos was not known to be hazardous to one's health. In fact, only positive qualities for this material are mentioned in the Kidder-Parker Architects' and Builders' Handbook. Under "Asbestos Siding and Roofing Shingles", it states: "because of incombustibility, low coefficient of expansion, and low heat-conductivity, asbestos products will withstand high temperatures without disintegration or loss of strength" (Parker 923).