Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Women on Death Row :: Capital Punishment Essays

Women on Death Row The eighth amendment protects Americans from the infliction of cruel and unusual punishment. Many death penalty opponents use this as the backbone to their argument against capital punishment. Other than being cruel, I do not think that the death penalty can be used judiciously in the United States or any other part of the world. Personally, I do not think that human beings are perfect and as such they cannot set up a perfect justice system. In any justice system that is flawed and allows bias in certain cases, the death penalty should not be used as a means of punishment because of its irrevocable nature. When I came across Sarah Hawkins’ article regarding the case of Karla Faye Tucker, I was surprised to see the manifestation of my fears of the biases involved in the use of the death penalty in the case of this woman. Hawkins described how the representations of Tucker as a white, heterosexual Christian woman worked in her favor in the criminal justice system, and how media representations perpetuated the argument for her release from death row. Hawkins made very valid and convincing arguments that representations of â€Å"womanhood† that are expected in American culture can make a large difference in how we perceive criminals, and in certain cases these representations can be a matter of life or death. Of course, we all know from common sense that women are far less likely to be sentenced to death row than men. This should tip us off to the differences that the judicial system discriminates even in matters as important as murder or other capital offences. But within the subgroup of women prisoners there can be a distinction made between the representations of women more likely to be sentenced to death row, or in this case shown compassion while on death row. Hawkins describes this compassion as â€Å"typically extended only to female inmates who fit a certain predetermined societal profile of women†. This definition of â€Å"women† or â€Å"womanhood† is very interesting and deserves to be explored. In my past, I have a conception of women as being sweet and frail; basically incapable of doing wrong because they are too nice or too weak to do so. Women who are too intelligent or too strong are cast off as being masculine or lesbians. When female basketball pl ayers are seen on television, they are perceived as trying to be masculine.

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis Essay example -- Fear Silent Pl

Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis In the year 1625, Francis Bacon, a famous essayist and poet wrote about the influences of fear on everyday life. He stated, â€Å"Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased with tales, so is the other† (Essays Dedication of Death). Clearly, external surroundings affect perceptions of fear as well as human nature in general. Although C.S. Lewis published the novel, Out of the Silent Planet, over three centuries after Bacon wrote his theory on fear, Lewis similarly portrayed external surrounding to manipulate perceptions of fear. From the first chapter of the novel, Lewis revealed fear to be a weakness that leads to ignorance. It was this ignorance that apparently fueled the cycle of corruption and immorality on â€Å"The Silent Planet.† Using the character Ransom to reveal the effect of memory and morality on fear, C.S. Lewis demonstrates that fear is a quality of the â€Å"bent† race (humans), and only by eliminating fear in our lives can the human race become hnau.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout Out of the Silent Planet, memory, in particular, appears to have a tremendous impact on Ransom’s perception of fear. The influence of memory on fear was noticeable since the early abduction of Ransom in this novel. After spending mere hours on the spaceship, Ransom reveals his ignorant notion that space was a â€Å"dark and cold abyss (29).† While Weston contemptuously corrects him, asking, â€Å"Forgotten the sun?† it is clear that Wellsian novels such as The Time Machine created this pessimistic view of space. This â€Å"Wellsian† ideology continues to influence the thoughts and actions of Ransom throughout his journey on the spaceship. When overhearing the conversation between Weston and Divine about the sorns, Ransom instinctively envisions these creatures as â€Å"the bogies† he read in the novels by Wells (37). Ransom later reiterates this idea when assuming that key words including â€Å"Giants, ogres, ghosts, and skeletons† represented the sorns or, â€Å"the horrors of [my] imagination† (47). When arriving at Malacandra (Mars), Ransom’s memories of Sci-fi novels causes him to instinctively categorize the living animals on the planet as savage beasts. Believing Weston and Divine’s ignorant notion that he would be tortured and consumed by the sorns, Ransom resists â€Å"donkey-fashion† when being handed over to them... ... Ransom ties all of his experiences on Malacandra together and learns that trivial aspects of life should not be feared (153). Instead of fearing life and death, mankind should fear ignorance and inequality (imbalance). Through this mere statement, Ransom proved his understanding that through the use of morality, a greater understanding of life (especially fear) may be attained.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion, while Ransom journeyed to Malacandra as an ignorant young man, fearful of the unknown, he was completely transformed by the end of the novel by his complex understanding of fear. Although memory primarily inhibited any development in Ransom’s character during the first half of the novel, following Ransom’s understanding that initial reactions are often erroneous, Ransom’s memory allowed him to see the problems of Earth clearly. On the other hand, Ransom additionally learned to use morality to overcome fear rather than the converse. While modern dictionaries describe fear as â€Å"an unpleasant, often strong emotion caused by expectation or awareness of danger,† Ransom would define fear as ignorance, the possibility of lost opportunities, and most importantly, inequality within the world.

Monday, September 2, 2019

business :: essays research papers

I. Executive Summary Accents will be formed as a consignment company specializing in the resale of high quality used furniture in the consignment market. Its founders are former managers of retail services, personal finance, and brand allocation, all in the retail industry. They are founding Accents to capitalize on a service they offer in a virtually untapped market. Accents offers reliable, high quality furniture and appliance to college students for apartments, dorm rooms, on a discount scale. A true alternative to traditional furniture stores, Accents offers a high level of practicality, convience, and know-how. Customer must know that shopping at Accents is a more relaxed, and inexpressive way to furnish their new homes, apartments, and offices. Accents must also be able to maintain financial balance, through creative pricing, while delivering a higher value to its clients. Initial focus will be development in the college market, or for other persons in the Kalamazoo market. 1. 3 Keys to Success *Ex cellence in fulfilling the promise completely confidential, reliable, trustworthy expertise and information. *Developing visibility to generate new business leads. *Leveraging from a single pool of expertise into multiple revenue generation opportunities: retainer consulting, project consulting, market research, and market research published reports. 2. 0 Company Summary Progressive Consulting is a new company providing high-level expertise in international high-tech business development, channel development, distribution strategies, and marketing of high tech products. It will focus initially on providing two kinds of international triangles: *Providing United States clients with development for European and Latin American markets. *Providing European clients with development for the United States and Latin American markets. As it grows it will take on people and consulting work in related markets, such as the rest of Latin America, and the Far East, and similar markets. As it grow s it will look for additional leverage by taking brokerage positions and representation positions to create percentage holdings in product results.

Sunday, September 1, 2019

Mark Twain and William Hazlitt’s Comparison

Ideas can be conveyed in many different ways dependant on the tone, style and diction of the piece. Both William Hazlitt and Mark Twain present a very similar topic in two very different ways. Hazlitt†s â€Å"Education of Women† speaks of how classical education is not proper for women. Twain†s â€Å"Female Suffrage† reiterates the idea that women should not be able to vote or hold public office. Hazlitt†s 1815 essay is a true opinion of his own feelings against having educated females. 1867, a different time with similar ideas, is the setting of Twain†s piece. He portrays how the relationship between suffrage and women is completely ridiculous. These authors use different styles to display completely opposite points. Hazlitt wastes no time getting to his point in order to drive it into the minds of the readers. He intends that his audience is only the educated male society. Hazlitt feels that women do not need to be anything more than generally educated. He attempts to convince his audience to accept his views and practice them. Twain, on the other hand, is creating a humorous situation which picks at the number of crazy positions that his wife holds in the community. He is not trying to make the audience think that female suffrage is bad. Twain intends that all people will read his piece for comic relief. Hazlitt uses a very straightforward type of diction in his essay. He explains his points and backs them up with his own opinions and observations. He is very authoritative and arrogant in the way he speaks. â€Å"They are mere egoists. They have no passion for truth, nor any love of what is purely ideal† He feels that his way is the right and only way to think. Since he speaks unto the educated community, he uses well-accepted ideas to communicate his points. Twain uses hyperbole, an approach very different from Halzitt†s style. Twain takes the offices held by his wife and exaggerates them to a humorous level. His diction is very relaxed and calmed. The tone Twain tends to adopt can be misinterpreted as self-centered, but his intent is only to bring a sense of fun to the audience. Hazlitt†s effect of style is very powerful. The essay is very convincing and if it is read to establish ideas, it is nothing short of excellent. The way he compiles the words with his diction, makes the points in his essay incredibly moving. When read by the desired audience, this piece is quite moving and powerful. If a female reads this, the expected reaction is a sense of loathing. Twain accomplishes his goal of being humorous and entertaining. His combination of creative ideas with a serious topic displays his great deal of writing skills. The reader is torn between believing what Twain writes and seeing the humor of hyperbole. The reader is very amused by the decisions that have to be made on interpretation. Hazlitt and Twain use different style, tone and diction to explain to readers their feelings on touchy issues. Hazlitt uses very powerful and persuasive ways of speaking to convince his readers that the education of women is completely unnecessary. Twain is quite entertaining to read because he pokes at his wife†s positions. He assumes that the reader will identify that he is only attempting to entertain his audience. Both authors are very different in style but by using different types of writing, they prove totally different points with the same subject.

Saturday, August 31, 2019

Microeconomics Coursework Essay Essay

Critically evaluate and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Customer Boycotts. Compare and contrast either Coca Cola or Bacardi with another consumer boycott of your choice and discuss appropriate microeconomic theoretical models. Firstly to understand this question we need to understand what a customer or consumer boycott actually is. Well it is normally called by an organisation or a group of individuals, asking consumers not to buy a specific product, or the products of a specific company, in order to exert commercial pressure. This is usually done to get the company to change behaviour, to cease an activity or to adopt a more ethical practice. For this essay I am going to discuss many advantages and disadvantages of consumer boycotts and also I have decided to compare and contrast coca cola with the Nestle boycott. There are various ways to make a boycott efficient. To be efficient a reduction of 1-2% of turnaround of a company (or product) is seen as the critical mass needed. (27 Mar 2003, Demanding consumer [online]. Available at:). Boycotts can be successful, for example, in 1986 Rainforest Action Network launched a boycott of Burger King. This was because of Burger King importing beef from tropical rainforest countries because it was cheap. But the rainforests were getting destroyed in order to provide pasture for cattle. As a result of the boycott, Burger Kings sales dropped by 12%. In response, Burger King cancelled thirty-five million dollars worth of beef contracts in Central America and announced that the company would stop importing rainforest beef. Boycott calls are at times controversial because they may be called by groups from the political side or for activities that people don’t specifically disagree. Boycott efforts can include protests against everything from  investing in a politically undesirable country to discouragement of the eating or drinking of products from certain companies or countries. Boycotts are not always effective and only a limited percentage of countries consumers will participate in one. While many people are sympathetic to the reason behind a boycott, not enough people join in. One of the main reasons is that people do not see their actions as having any results. This may be partly due to only concentrating on what happens to the primary target of a boycott. But there are also secondary effects which I will talk about later. There are many advantages to consumer boycotts that I will discuss now. Obviously the main advantage is when the boycotts work, as said above with the boycott of burger king, and the company consequently changes its ways. But more often than not boycotts rarely change the companies ways or at least so that the consumer knows about it. One advantage is that boycotts are a way that consumers can use their power for positive social change. Boycotts can be effective because when successful they will result in increased public scrutiny of the company. This in turn will cause concerns inside the company about lost profits from the loss in consumer interest and companies are always concerned about their financial position. Another advantage is that a boycott can hold a company accountable for any policies that negatively affect the environment or people. This is an advantage because a company could be ignoring the problem but with a consumer boycott more and more people will find out about the problem and may also decide to join in. The negative coverage that will arise from media coverage of the boycott may become a big problem for the company in the long run, since competitors may gain a relative advantage. An example of this is that after the boycott of French wines in Denmark had calmed down, the French wines had lost 20 percent market share. Also there was a bigger problem, because the general impression was that consumers could be persuaded to switch back to French  wines. But many supermarket shelves had been reorganised in order to give more space to Italian and Spanish wines, and this was considered a more serious problem. (Can Consumer boycotts work, 2002 [online]. Available at: I mentioned briefly earlier something called a primary effect, well this would be where the target organisation changes its practice. Many targets are however reluctant to change as the result of hostile pressure, and even if changes are made they may try to hide the fact that the consumer action had any effect. There is also the fact that most boycotts are small by comparison to the overall sales, so a target can ride out a boycott. Thus the primary effects may be small and many boycotts may be judged not to have succeeded. So this could be seen as a disadvantage. But the secondary effects are an advantage and are the effects that are not connected to the target. They are effects on other organisations that are not in conflict and can therefore change without the public knowing. Secondary effects can be changes to regulations, lasting change in industry practices, allowing substantial growth entrance of ethical players into the market or effects on decisions of similar organisations to the target. (Why Secondary Effects, [online]. Available at: An example of secondary effects is if someone refuses to buy Nescafe (the coffee brand from Nestle) then he may choose to buy a brand from a much smaller company. The positive effect to this smaller company is much larger than the negative effect to Nestle. The new company may find out that many people are switching to it on ethical grounds and position itself in the market to take advantage of this by, for example, publishing a code of conduct. Having switched brand once this person will have less brand loyalty and a newly formed company will know this by market research and will know they have a better chance of success in the coffee sector. (Why Secondary Effects, [online]. Available at: The boycott campaigns can also be important in developing political consciousness and can be one of the few non violent means to create political pressure. Another advantage is the exposure of the company and with less people buying their products the consumers will be looking at  buying substitute goods and therefore the demand for these will increase and therefore the supply will also increase. Consumer boycotts will increase competition in the market and firms will reduce their prices as a result to compete and also to gain the extra consumers that have less brand loyalty. The firms profits will also reduce and the smaller firms will gain more of the market share. There are also disadvantages to boycotts though. One of these could be a large reduction in jobs, â€Å"Boycotting Nestle products won’t help the poor farmers who sell to the company†, the head of Oxfam said. (Charlotte Denny, 2002. Retreat by Nestle on Ethiopia’s $6 debt [online]. The Guardian. Available at: ) They can have an adverse impact on individuals and communities which become innocent victims of the economic damage that boycotts can cause. Obviously there are disadvantages for the company as the reputation of the company will be harmed as a result of the impact of consumer boycotts, this isn’t good for it as it would need to lower its prices because the demand will become less. This is shown below As the demand falls so does the equilibrium price (Pe1 to Pe2). Another disadvantage to the company is that the company budgets will get ruined and will need to be analysed and changed. Also the gross domestic product of the host country could fall which is a disadvantage. In extreme cases there could be a loss of multinational specialisation and technology in a third world country as the company may not do their business their. There could be a loss of consumer choice if the product ceases after a boycott. Boycotts like that of advertising of cigarettes can cost businesses their survival, as in motor racing as half the advertising used to come from cigarette companies. Now a lot struggle to get the advertising money needed. There can also occasionally be some violence resulting from the boycotts and also resentment. Another disadvantage for consumers would be that some people would argue that all publicity is good publicity. Now I will compare and contrast the consumer boycott of coca cola with the consumer boycott of Nestle. Coca cola is the worlds fastest selling non-alcoholic beverage and the consumer boycott of it started on the 22nd July 2003. The reason behind the boycott is because they are accused of complicity in the assassination of 8 Sinaltrainal trade union leaders in Colombia since 1990. Sinaltrainal is a trade union and it organisers workers in the food and drink sector. Many other of the leaders have been imprisoned, tortured, forcibly displaced and exiled. Coca Cola deny any responsibility for these murders. They say that 100’s of union leaders are killed every year in Columbia. However many of the murders were made inside Coca Cola plants while negotiating agreements. Coca cola management were reported in the national press as meeting and contracting members of the AUC death squads to â€Å"sort out their labour problems†. (Boycott Coca Cola, [online]. Available at: Since 1977, Nestle has been the subject of an international boycott for its deceptive promotion of artificial baby milk as a superior alternative to mother’s milk. Artificial baby milk can harm babies because it does not contain the natural anti bodies which a mother’s milk provides, and because it is extremely expensive, causing many mothers to mix it with too much water resulting in mal-nutrition. Also, in many places the water used to dilute it is not portable. Once a mother starts giving her baby the formula, her own supply of milk dries up. Nestle provides free packages of formula in hospitals with the result that many babies never ever even get a chance to start nursing. In 1988 the boycott was re-launched when it was discovered that the company did not abide by its promise to follow the World Health Organisation’s International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes. (A Consistent Corporate Criminal, [online]. Available at: ). There have been massive impacts on Nestle because of the boycott. In 1984 the boycott forced Nestle to agree to abide by the World Health Organisation’s International Code of Marketing of breast Milk Substitutes. But now it was discovered that the company has not abided by its promise so the boycott was re-launched. Also in one afternoon 8,500 people emailed Oxfam to complain about Nestle, this was the fastest response Oxfam says it has had to a campaign. (Charlotte Denny, 2002. Retreat by Nestle on Ethiopia’s $6 debt [online]. The Guardian. Available at: ). Coca cola is in the non-alcoholic beverage market whereas Nestle is one of the world’s largest food manufacturers; it is also though same as coca cola in the beverage market. With a consumer boycott against both of these two companies, this means that the demand for both of their products will decrease as a result, causing an increase in the demand for substitute goods, like Pepsi instead of Coca Cola. Also because there is a shift in the demand curve this leads to a movement along the supply curve so the price of the goods, coca cola or a nestle brand will go up from P1 to P2 and the quantity in equilibrium falls from Q1 to Q2. This is a supply and demand graph for what has happened with coca cola and Nestle because of the consumer boycott against them. This is a supply and demand graph for what happens to the demand for a substitute good like Pepsi for coca cola because of the boycott. If a company has a strong consumer loyalty then a boycott would be unlikely to have much of an effect on the number of people who choose to join in and not purchase their products, however if a company has failed to build up a strong consumer loyalty then consumers will find it easy to decide to no longer purchase their product and will purchase the competitors products. Why have both Coca Cola and Nestle continued to upset consumer groups when  they could easily change there policies and consequently have the boycotts against them lifted. The answer to this is that the company must be getting more financial gain from what ever is upsetting the consumer groups than the loss of revenue that the boycotts have brought about. Both Nestle and Coca Cola are oligopoly markets because there are just a few firms that share a large proportion of the industry. Both of the markets of Nestle and Coca Cola are differentiated, because they both produce many types of the product. Coca Cola and Nestle are the same as much of the competition between such oligopolists is in terms of the marketing of their particular brand. There are barriers to entry into both markets, these could be product differentiation and brand loyalty, where there are differentiated products where the consumer associates the product with the brand, and it will be very difficult for a new firm to break into that market. The problem would be being able to produce a product sufficiently attractive to consumers who are loyal to the familiar brand. (John Sloman, 2003. Economics. Fifth edition. (s.l.): Pearson Education). Another barrier could be lower costs for an established firm. The companies are likely to have specialised production and marketing skills. They are more likely to be aware of the most efficient techniques and the most reliable and/or cheapest suppliers. They are also likely to have access to cheaper finance, therefore operating on a lower cost curve. New firms would find it hard to compete and be likely to lose any price wars. Aggressive tactics or intimidation could also be used. (John Sloman, 2003. Economics. Fifth edition. (s.l.): Pearson Education). Because Nestle and coca cola are in the oligopoly markets they both are affected by their rivals actions and vice versa. Because of this the firms could wish to collude and act as though they are a monopoly so they could jointly maximise their profits, or the firms could try and compete with their rivals to gain a bigger share of industry profits. Because Coca Cola and Nestle are both the leading firms in their industries, tacit collusion could form where they set the prices for their markets. Oligopolists will not engage in price cutting, excessive advertising or  other forms of competition. By doing this profits will be maintained in the long run. If oligopoly firms compete, profits are low and consumers benefit. If there were a rise in price of Coca Cola or a Nestle product e.g. Nescafe, then this would lead to a large fall in the quantity demanded. This is because consumers would buy alternative substitute goods like Pepsi or another coffee brand. The reason is because both coca cola and Nestle products are elastic products. After looking at both the advantages and disadvantages of consumer boycotts, I have found out that even though the firms lose consumer loyalty, lose revenue and get public scrutiny the firms must be coming out on top and are gaining financially, otherwise they would change their ways. This is probably why Nestle maybe did start to abide by the World Health Organisation’s International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes, then realized how much revenue they were losing so changed back even knowing they were likely to have the boycott brought back aswell because they must be gaining financially, but this is only my opinion. Also the other businesses in the market that whilst their competitors are having their products boycotted can take advantage and increase their own financial position and customer base.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Control Of Infectious Diseases Health And Social Care Essay

First, it is of import to understand the standard any disease needs to run into to be considered for obliteration. Miller ( 2006 ) has proposed two classs of scientific and economic factors relevant for for good disrupting transmittal of infective disease. The scientific factors include: the concatenation of transmittal must merely include worlds and pathogens doing the disease must non hold a natural reservoir, inoculations for the disease must confabulate long-run protection, the ecology of pathogen must be really good known and effectual research lab parturiency must be possible. Additionally, from economic facet investings into obliteration programme must pay off to pull investors and support ( Miller, 2006 ) . However, as Miller points out, any obliteration run is hazardous because at the start it is impossible to gauge if there is traveling to be adequate support and political support. Furthermore, the feasibleness of obliteration differs in developed and developing states due to overall wellness degree, political agitation, substructure and communicating services, and fiscal state of affairs ( Miller, 2006 ) . Thus, even if a disease meets the standards and can be a campaigner for obliteration it will non be guaranteed that obliteration attempts lead to success. Smallpox In the last 100 old ages at that place have been several efforts to eliminate different diseases. However, the merely successful obliteration run so far has been that of variola. Prior to eradication the eruptions of variola were frequent in many parts of the universe, nevertheless, by 1950 it was eradicated from most developed states ( Fenner, 1982 ) . The obliteration run of variola was announced by the World Health Organization ( WHO ) in 1967 ( Henderson, 1977 ) and it is one of the greatest success narratives of twentieth century medical specialty. Beginnings and features Smallpox is a terrible infective disease, caused by smallpox virus, which is a genetically stable DNA virus ( Nomoto et al, 2002 ) that spread from Asia to Europe and Africa at the beginning of Christian epoch ( Henderson, 1977 ) . There are two different types of variola, variola child and major, the latter being more unsafe with 30 % of decease rates ( WHO ) . The airborne smallpox virus ( Henderson, 1977 ) spread among worlds via inhaling and had an incubation period of 7-17 yearss, followed by terrible strivings, febrility and other flu-like symptoms that made the victims stay at their house, restricting the instances of variola into limited countries. Smallpox is contagious merely during the clip when victims have roseola, which develops on face and appendages. Rash is characteristic to smallpox and it is easy to name rather accurately. Peoples who have recovered from variolas have a womb-to-tomb unsusceptibility against the disease ( Henderson, 1977 ) . Vaccines and efficiency Smallpox does non hold any known intervention besides inoculation ( WHO ) . Before Collier developed heat-stable variola vaccinum in 1950s merely liquid vaccinums were available, which were restricted in their usage due to heat-sensitivity ( Henderson, 1977 ) . The new lyophilized vaccinum proved to be really efficient since merely one dosage had immediate effects and conferred durable unsusceptibility ( Arita et al, 2004 ) . In add-on ( Henderson, 1977 ) , the inoculation procedure itself was easy and the re-use of acerate leafs reduced the cost of inoculation. Most developed states were already immunizing people before the start of WHO run and had stopped the transmittal in their state ( Henderson, 1977 ) . The first enterprise to eliminate variolas came from Soviet Russia and the USA ; their proposal was approved by World Health Assembly ( WHA ) in 1966 and the WHO run officially began in 1968 ( Foege, 1998 ) . Reasons for successful obliteration First, smallpox met the standards of eradicable diseases and had several biological characteristics that facilitated its obliteration. Fenner ( 1982 ) suggested that the badness of the status, easy designation by people without medical makings or preparation, human to human transmittal, limited spread, the absence of perennial infectivity and the deficiency of animate being reservoir had a major impact on the obliteration attempt. Furthermore, the handiness of effectual heat-stable vaccinum that was either made by local authoritiess or donated made the vaccinum cheap and sustainable in different socio-environmental conditions ( Henderson, 1982 ) . Second, there was a strong political support for the run: all developed states that had already eradicated the disease had to do immense investings to keep the quarantine programmes and nation-wide immunisations because air-travelling could import variola from an endemic state and let go of the pathogen. Therefore, they had economic involve ment and motive to finance the obliteration elsewhere because if obliteration was certified in all states so the investings and inoculations could halt and so could all future disbursals related to smallpox ( Fenner, 1982 ) . Third, although the epidemiology of variola was of import to the obliteration attempt, the run might hold failed without the invariably bettering reporting-surveillance methods, prosecuting of local wellness workers and community members, and, near link between field workers and research labs to better the vaccinum ( Henderson, 1977 ) . Besides, the programme had strong cardinal leading yet it was really flexible and suited to the demands of each state, which finally led to success ( Henderson, 1977 ) . Finally, the obliteration run lasted merely 10 old ages, which is non drawn-out plenty to deter people in the feasibleness of the enterprise. The last endemic instance of variola occurred in 1977 in Somalia, and the last instance of smallpox transmittal took top ographic point in England in 1978 when smallpox virus was by chance released from a medical school lab ( Hull et al, 2001 ) . This incident points out possible jobs of incorporating viruses and forestalling them from doing new eruptions. The enfranchisement of smallpox obliteration was given in 1980, 2 old ages after the last instance of variola ( Arita et al, 2004 ) . Reverses and last attempts The success of smallpox obliteration does non intend that it was easy to accomplish. The plan struggled with logistic issues, deficiency of money and inconsistent political and social support ( Arita et al, 2006 ) . India and Ethiopia ( Fenner, 1982 ) were the last states where variola was endemic, nevertheless, the methods applied in these states proved to be really effectual. In 1973 in India the purposes of the plan changed from mass inoculation to surveillance and containment ; besides, seven-day hunts were carried out to observe new instances. Reward for describing a instance together with easy sensing helped to halt the transmittal by 1975, while at the start no 1 believed it was possible. Intensive run in Ethiopia started in 1971, where mountains, clime and spread population had hindered old inoculation attempts. Increasing the figure of wellness workers, WHO investings into bettering transit and house to house hunts helped to make more people populating in distant countries a nd led to the last reported instance in 1976 ( Fenner, 1982 ) . Therefore, the intensified attempts to eliminate variola from its last fastnesss were fruitful and led to the run to a successful terminal. The WHA declared smallpox obliteration in 1980 and inoculation activity had stopped in all states by 1984 ( Jezek et al, 1987 ) . Poliomyelitis After the great success of smallpox obliteration, the WHO declared a planetary run against infantile paralysis ( infantile paralysis ) in 1988 ( Hull et al, 2001 ) . Polio is a good campaigner for obliteration due to its disabling effects, particularly in kids. It besides fits the standards of eradicable diseases suggested by Aylward and confederates ( 2000 ) and Miller ( 2006 ) : transmittal occurs merely between worlds and it lacks an animate being reservoir, there is an effectual orally administered infantile paralysis vaccinum, the badness of the disease can be prevented by immunisation and cut downing or halting immunisation will salvage 1000000s of dollars every twelvemonth ; to boot, the strong coaction and support from the Rotary International, UNICEF, WHO, Centres for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) and authoritiess has provided wider social and political support. There has been important success after 20 old ages of attempts seeking to eliminate infantile paralysis: 350A 000 infantile paralysis instances and 125 endemic states in 1988 have been reduced to 1997 instances and 4 endemic states by 2006 ( Dutta, 2008 ) . However, polio obliteration has proven to be more hard due to unanticipated factors refering the vaccinum and the last fastnesss of infantile paralysis that seem impossible to level ; as a consequence many people have lost religion in the run and think that effectual control may be a better option ( Roberts, 2006 ) . Beginning and Features The antiquity of infantile paralysis is widely acknowledged and Egyptian rock carvings dated to ca 1500 B.C. picturing a adult male with limb malformations is believed to stand for an early instance of infantile paralysis ( Sass, 1996 ) . Polio ( Nomoto et al, 2002 ) is a paralytic disease caused by poliovirus, which is a genetically unstable RNA virus and belongs to the household of enteroviruses. It has three wild serotypes that are causative of infantile paralysis. In developing states it affects 1 in 200 people, whereas merely in 1 % of instances the virus invades the nervous system and causes palsy ( Nomoto et al, 2002 ) . The victims shed virus with their fecal matters for hebdomads or more after inoculation, therefore, the virus can mouse back and circulate in a community without being detected ( WHO ) . Poliovirus spreads chiefly via oral-faecal transmittal and replicates in the intestine and pharynx ( Roberts, 2004 ) . The disease has the most annihilating consequence in kid s under 5 ( WHO ) . Furthermore, most instances of infantile paralysis have untypical symptoms, which hinder the diagnosing and containment of the disease ( Arita et al, 2006 ) . Due to the low specificity of infantile paralysis symptoms the surveillance mechanisms focal point on acute flaccid palsy ( AFP ) in under 15-year-olds and to corroborate the status stool samples need to be collected and analysed in the lab ( Hull et al, 2001 ) . Due to drawn-out and complicated designation procedure gives the pathogen an chance to re-enter the environment and do new eruptions of infantile paralysis. Vaccines and efficiency Similarly to smallpox, there is no remedy for infantile paralysis and inoculation is the lone manner to forestall the disease ( WHO ) . There are two types of vaccinums available: inactivated infantile paralysis vaccinum ( IPV ) developed by Salk in the 1950s and unwritten infantile paralysis vaccinum ( OPV ) that contains unrecorded virus advanced by Sabin in the sixtiess ; both have advantages and disadvantages ( Hull et al, 2001 ) . OPV is widely used because it provides enteric unsusceptibility, is inexpensive to bring forth, easy to administrate, and spreads from individual to individual confabulating unsusceptibility to unvaccinated persons in propinquity ( Miller, 2006 ) . At least 3 doses of OPV in babies are required for the vaccinum to work ; nevertheless, surveies have shown that 3 unit of ammunitions of OPV provide merely 70-80 % unsusceptibility in some tropical scenes but frequently the vaccinum coverage is low, go forthing many kids unprotected and triping eruptions du e to uneven population unsusceptibility ( Hull et al, 2001 ) . In add-on, the efficiency of vaccinum is dependent on the general wellness state of affairs of the population, which in many developing states is low ; for illustration 10 doses of OPV are deficient against infantile paralysis in some parts of India, whereas merely 2 doses were effectual in Japan ( Dutta, 2008 ) . Children who live in hapless sanitation conditions frequently have chronic diarrhea that undermines inoculation since the medicine leaves the organic structure before it could hold any effects ( Roberts, 2004 ) . A major job with OPV is its heat sensitiveness: infantile paralysis serum needs to be kept below 8 grades Celsius, which can be hard in parts with hot tropical clime and civil perturbation ( Westhead, 2009 ) . This job is being addressed and presently all OPV acquired through UNICEF have thermo-sensors that monitor heat exposure of the vaccinum and let limited usage in the heat without compromising the vaccinum ( Hull et al, 2001 ) . Furthermore, virus strains in OPV can mutate and recover the ability to go around and may do vaccine-associated paralytic infantile paralysis ( VAPP ) , which occurs seldom and has low transmittal rates ( Minor, 2009 ) . Some people with compromised immune-system may cast the vaccinum derived poliovirus ( VDPV ) for old ages, moving as a reservoir for the disease and current medical specialty has no remedy to halt it ( Miller, 2006 ) . Therefore, despite the cost-efficiency ratio of OPV it has some major mistakes that may forestall the accomplishment of obliteration. On the other manus, IPV is administered via injection, doing it expensive to utilize, particularly in developing states ( Miller, 2006 ) . IPV does non do VAPP or VDPV, does non distribute from individual to individual, does non supply enteric unsusceptibility and does non forestall oral-faecal transmittal of the disease ; therefore, IPV requires higher inoculation coverage ( Nomoto et a l, 2002 ) . To turn to the job of VAPP and VDPV it has been suggested to exchange from OPV to IPV, nevertheless, the high cost of IPV makes its usage in developing states unlikely but every bit long as OPV is administered the obliteration of infantile paralysis can non be once and for all confirmed ( Minor, 2009 ) . Attempts and methods to get the better of infantile paralysis First, by 1990s 80 % of kids were vaccinated against 6 diseases supplying high overall unsusceptibility across populations and the feasibleness of eliminating infantile paralysis was demonstrated in different geographic countries across states with different economic position ( Hull et al, 2001 ) . The methods of obliteration were inspired by the success of Pan-American Health Organization programme that eradicated infantile paralysis from the Western hemisphere by 1990 ( Hull et al, 2001 ) . By today US $ 4 billion has been invested in the run and the planetary instances have been reduced by 99 % since 1988 ( Roberts, 2006 ) . An estimated US $ 1.5 billion will be saved every twelvemonth if polio obliteration is finished and inoculations ceased ( Aylward et al, 2000 ) . Hull and confederates ( 2001 ) have summarised the schemes used to eliminate infantile paralysis: First, everyday immunisations that aspire to present 3 OPV doses to babies during their first twelvemonth of life ; se condly, the debut of national immunisation yearss ( NIDs ) quickly boosts the unsusceptibility of under 5-year-olds and must be continued for at least few old ages after the last reported instance ; thirdly, the surveillance marks instances of AFP and sends tool samples for analysis ; and eventually, mopping-up immunisations are intensive house to house hunts that reach the bulk of people at the terminal stages of infantile paralysis run ( Hull et al, 2001 ) . Recent finds allow OPV to aim type-specific poliovirus, either type 1, or 3 ; the usage of monovalent OPV ( mOPV ) may increase the public presentation of vaccinum in contending infantile paralysis in states where the disease has been hard to undertake so far ( Aylward et al, 2006 ) . Poliovirus type 2 had already been wiped out by 1999, converting authoritiess and moneymans that accomplishing obliteration of infantile paralysis is possible ( Roberts, 2006 ) . mOPV aiming type 1 poliovirus has already been efficaciously used i n several parts in Egypt and India ( Aylward et al, 2006 ) . Additionally, leaders of infantile paralysis run have negotiated armistices for immunizing kids in war zones ( Tangermann et al, 2000 ) . The initial end of infantile paralysis run was to halt inoculations after the obliteration has been certified, for this to go on, extra attempts are required: safe containment of poliovirus stocks with intensive surveillance until 3 old ages has passed from the last infantile paralysis instance to measure up for enfranchisement ; and, the concluding measure is the halt of inoculation ( Hull et al, 2001 ) . Post-eradication inoculation should be carried out with IPV to avoid casting of virus and has to make high coverage rates ( Dutta, 2008 ) . The last stairss of infantile paralysis obliteration are debatable and may be impossible to carry through in current political state of affairs. Troubles and reverses In add-on to the antecedently mentioned jobs, polio obliteration run has faced serious reverses that have caused uncertainty in the likeliness of polio obliteration. One of the first licking was the infantile paralysis eruption in Hispaniola in 2000, caused by VDPV while the island had been known to be polio-free for old ages and inoculation rates had dropped below 30 % ( Roberts, 2004 ) . In 2003 infantile paralysis inoculations were ceased in Nigeria because the Muslim leaders feared that the vaccinum was contaminated and would do the population infertile ; as a consequence infantile paralysis spread to more than 18 antecedently polio-free states ( Kluger, 2005 ) . Inoculations were restarted in 2004 after all the trials for taint were negative but by so infantile paralysis instances had skyrocketed and 20 % of kids in Nigeria were left unprotected ( Kluger, 2005 ) .The fact that the virus can be difficult to observe was acknowledged in 2005 when poliovirus had been mutely go aroun ding in Sudan for old ages ( Roberts, 2006 ) . Furthermore, wars challenge polio obliteration because full states are unaccessible, unsafe for wellness workers and inoculations can non be on a regular basis carried out. After the declaration of the World Summit for Children in 1990 yearss of tranquility were introduced in order to to immunize kids in struggle countries and supply them with basic wellness attention ( Tangermann et al, 2000 ) . Besides, since the states affected by struggle normally lack the resources to cover the costs of inoculation, money has to come from external beginnings ( Tangermann et al, 2000 ) . War activity frequently forces 1000s of people leave their place and move to refugee cantonments where conditions for the spread of infective diseases including infantile paralysis are favorable. The mobility of refugees can sabotage the inoculation runs because unvaccinated people may re-introduce the virus into a pathogen free country. Furthermore, the dangers ref ering poliovirus containment must be addressed: the stocks of poliovirus are distributed among legion labs and there is presently no cardinal high-security storage installation ; besides, the little size of poliovirus genome with known sequence can be synthesized in lab and used against susceptible populations by terrorists ( Dove et al, 1997 ) . Even without human intervention the unstable poliovirus could mutate and unite with other enteroviruses in nature ( Arita et al, 2004 ) . Finally, the 4 endemic states India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria are thickly settled, dumbly habituated, have hapless sanitation and many parts that are hard to entree, and therefore, have rendered all attempts to undertake infantile paralysis useless ( Aylward et al, 2006 ) . Even if polio obliteration was to be achieved it is questionable if inoculation will of all time halt in the western universe, particularly after the daze of 9/11 and in the turning menace of biological terrorism ( Roberts, 20 04 ) . Wild Poliovirus.bmp Figure 1. This map illustrates nicely the correlativity between endemic states of poliovirus and states affected by struggle: the bulk of points concentrate around Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and North India. All these states are affected by ongoing struggles. ( WHO, 2009 ) Criticism of infantile paralysis obliteration run The review of the run is related to the issues refering vaccinum related infantile paralysis instances, troubles of surveillance due to untypical symptoms, perturbation of everyday immunisations caused by struggles and increasing indifference of people due to holds ; many of these facets have been discussed in old subdivisions. I will now look at the more general statements against polio obliteration programme that argue why all hereafter obliteration attempts need reconsidering. One of the chief statements against the run is that obliteration of a individual disease can merely be done at the disbursal of other wellness resources ; even with international aid developing states need to deviate important sum of their ain resources that could be used for supplying other wellness attention services ( Arita et al, 2004 ) . Henderson points out that in developing universe infantile paralysis merely affects 1 in every 200 and putting to deaths 1 in 2000 people, therefore, infantile paralysi s is non every bit large menace in comparing to other infective diseases and would otherwise non be considered a precedence ( Roberts, 2004 ) . Others have suggested that money and attending should be focused on major slayer diseases, such as AIDS and malaria that kill, severally, 3 and 1 million people every twelvemonth ( Kluger, 2005 ) . The initial infantile paralysis obliteration deadline of 2000 was non kept and new deadlines are invariably delayed, the most recent one in 2015 ( Arita et al, 2006 ) . 20-year-old on-going infantile paralysis run causes defeat and deficiency of involvement, utilizing up 1000000s that could be used for increasing the overall wellness position in people populating in developing states instead than seeking to extinguish one of many diseases. The one-year costs to keep infantile paralysis run have increased from circa US $ 350 million to US $ 700 million in 2005 ( Roberts, 2006 ) yet there is a important opportunity that inoculations will non halt af ter obliteration has been certified ( Arita et al, 2004 ) . Finally, the conditions for infantile paralysis obliteration have changed after the obliteration of variola: universe population has increased from 4 billion in 1977 to 6.2 billion today ; and political state of affairs has become more complicated after the terminal of Cold War when two world powers could order their will ( Arita et al, 2006 ) . Reconsidering the hereafter of obliteration does non intend that infective diseases are non worth the money and attempt. As Miller phrases it: â€Å" pick is non between making nil and obliteration but between optimum degree of control and obliteration † ( Miller, 2006 ) . Discussion The purpose of this paragraph is to discourse if effectual disease control could replace any future obliteration attempts, including the on-going infantile paralysis run. The current thought of polio obliteration is based on the success of variola run, nevertheless, Arita and confederates ( 2004 ) argue that eliminating poliovirus in worlds and in the environment is impossible today and suggest redefining the term ‘eradication ‘ so that it would merely embrace the finding of pathogens in worlds. Furthermore, Caplan ( 2009 ) argues that obliteration is hazardous because if obliteration is achieved and all immunisation activity stops so worlds will be left vulnerable to the possible re-emergence of the pathogen. As the Hispaniola incident proves we can ne'er be certain if a virus has gone everlastingly or non. In 2005 the WHO approved the Global Immunization, Vision, and Strategy ( GIVIS ) programme that puts more accent on supplying wellness attention to more people and at tempts to incorporate immunisation with other signifiers of medical service ( Arita et al, 2006 ) . Sceptics argue that the WHO new policy prioritising the development of basic wellness attention installations web may be deadly to polio run due to reduced political involvement and support ( Roberts, 2006 ) . In order to eliminate an infective disease the inoculation coverage has to be high, which leads to another important job. The patients can take non to be vaccinated but by making so they pose a hazard for others and stand in the manner of obliteration ( Caplan, 2009 ) . It will be impossible to deny patients their right to decline from intervention particularly in times when people are more cognizant of the possible effects of vaccinums and their rights to command what will be put in their organic structure ; besides, many will decline from inoculation due to spiritual grounds. Therefore, sing all of the above, it has been suggested that obliteration should be replaced by effect ual disease control ( Arita et al, 2006 ) . Arita and Henderson are the two major oppositions of infantile paralysis obliteration and they believe that the run in its current signifier can non win ; they suggest the incorporation of infantile paralysis vaccinum into everyday immunisation to keep the achievements made so far ( Roberts, 2006 ) . In instance of effectual disease control all steps used to contend infantile paralysis will be maintained until world-wide instances bead below 500 in less than 10 states, after which the accent will be on surveillance and inoculations will be carried out indefinitely ( Arita et al, 2006 ) . Another of import concern is money: infantile paralysis obliteration run needs at least a few more one million millions to finish the undertaking ; nevertheless, the feasibleness of obliteration is unsure ( Arita et al, 2006 ) . The oppositions for infantile paralysis run argue that increasing investings to accomplish the end is worth it and will salvage money in long term ( Chan, 2007 ) . Polio obli teration from the last pockets is expensive if non impossible. However, the betterments made with mOPV vaccinums and concentrated attempts to undertake the last parts where infantile paralysis is endemic can non be ignored. If polio obliteration programme stopped now so money and attempt invested in the run would be lost, besides, exposure to poliovirus at an older age is more unsafe ( Miller, 2006 ) . However, after the infantile paralysis obliteration programme reaches closing any farther programs to eliminate a following disease should be postponed. Smallpox and infantile paralysis runs started off with small cognition about the epidemiology of the disease and uncomplete scheme. No other disease should of all time be considered for obliteration without extended research and thorough analysis. Furthermore, trailing down one disease does non live over the disease load that hinders people in developing states. Investing in improved wide base wellness attention that is accessible to everyone will assist to increase the overall good health in developing states and in the long tally will better the life quality of 1000000s of people. Decision To sum up, it can be said that all future obliteration runs have to be carefully assessed before the start of executing. The epidemiology of a disease that is considered for obliteration plays a cardinal function in the success of any run, together with the handiness of effectual stable vaccinums. The standard of eradicable disease were fulfilled by both variolas and infantile paralysis, nevertheless, merely smallpox run managed to accomplish the end of nothing instances in worlds and devastation of pathogen in the environment. In add-on, in current political clime biological terrorism is regarded as a considerable menace to international security, hence, halting inoculation even after obliteration may non be possible since it would go forth world unprotected against the re-introduction of pathogens. Besides, making an international understanding to get down a undertaking with high committedness may be presently impossible due to the clashing involvements of developing and developed states, yet, political support and support are important for any planetary project. Therefore, at this point effectual disease control alternatively of obliteration may be more executable and cost efficient. Word Count: 4006

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Seligram Inc. Case Analysis

At the beginning, the Electronic Testing Operations (ETO) measured two components of cost: direct labor and burden, but the burden is grouped into a single cost pool that includes all costs and divided by direct labor dollars to obtain the burden rate. (Q2) ETO’s manager picked up 5 components to evaluate the impact of different accounting system. The reported costs from existing system can be computed as follows, given the burden rate 145%: Product Direct Labor Burden Total Costs ICA 917 1,330 2,247 ICB 2,051 2,974 5,025Capacitor 1,094 1,586 2,680 Amplifier 525 761 1,286 Diode 519 753 1,272 Based on the accounting manger’s proposal, the operation burden can be divided into machine-hour and direct labor burden. We use the revised burden rate 21% and machine-hour rate $80. 1 to show the updated costs: Product Direct Labor Burden Machine Hour Machine Burden Total Costs ICA 917 193 18. 50 1,482 2,591 ICB 2,051 431 40. 00 3,204 5,686 Capacitor 1,094 230 7. 50 601 1,924 Ampl ifier 525 110 5. 00 401 1,036 Diode 519 109 12. 00 961 1,589If ETO follows the consultant’s recommend, treats the main test room and mechanical test room as different cost pools. The three-burden-pool system reports the cost: ($63. 34 for main room burden rate and $112. 63 for mechanical room) Product Direct Labor Burden Main Room Hour Mech. Room Hour Test Room Burden Total Costs ICA 917 193 8. 50 10. 00 1,665 2,774 ICB 2,051 431 14. 00 26. 00 3,815 6,297 Capacitor 1,094 230 3. 00 4. 50 697 2,021 Amplifier 525 110 4. 00 1. 00 366 1,001 Diode 519 109 7. 00 5. 00 1,007 1,635Among the three costing systems, we prefer the consultant’s proposal (Q3). The accounting manager treats the machine hours as separate cost pool because the automated operation process leads to large percentage of total cost comparing to direct labor. Measuring the machine hour costs can help us to assess the total burden more accurate. However, given the same machine hours, the different hours spend in main room and mechanical room also incurs different costs. We can see from Exhibit 5 that mechanical room has higher unit cost per hour.Therefore, the three-cost-pool system can trace the costs back to the actual operation factors more clearly. (Q1) According to the two explanations shown above, the critical problem that causes ETO to fail is the single cost pool accounting system. In the single cost pool system, all products consume direct labor and overhead in the same proportion. However, some products need more direct labors while others require automated machinery operation. And the trends of direct labor obsolescence also biased the calculation of burden rate, which causes the verall product cost assessment become misleading. Managerial Accounting Case Study 2: Seligram, Inc: ETO Group 1 2 Although we prefer the consultant’s proposal, the three-cost-pool system still can be further improved by introducing another cost pool, the technical support costs (Q4). Both the accounting manager and consultant regard the administrative and technical functions as the same cost factor. However, we think the technical support is very different in nature comparing with administrative cost. Each type electrical component which sent to ETO varies greatly in its complexity.For example, a keyboard IC is much simpler then a 3D graphic processing IC and requires less (or nearly no) technical support since keyboard IC is a matured product. Administrative cost usually includes general overhead such as indirect salaried employee, security, store/warehousing, telephones, and others. If we classify the technical functions in the same cost pool as administration costs, then a keyboard IC and a 3D graphic processing IC share the same direct labor burden rate, which is not reasonable. Therefore we recommend a four-cost-pool system that separate technical support from general direct labor burden. Q5) From the data provided in Exhibit 5 and Exhibit 7, we can calculate the ma in test room burden rate if the new machine is included. The first year’s burden rate will be: Hours Variable Depreciation Other Total Old Machine 33,201 887,379 88,779 1,126,958 2,103,116 New Machine 400 100,000 500,000 225,000 825,000 Sum 33,601 987,379 588,779 1,351,958 2,928,116 Machine Hour Burden Rate $ 8 7. 14 (first year) And the remaining years’ burden rate: Hours Variable Depreciation Other Total Old Machine 33,201 887,379 88,779 1,126,958 2,103,116New Machine 2,400 100,000 125,000 150,000 375,000 Sum 35,601 987,379 213,779 1,276,958 2,478,116 Machine Hour Burden Rate $ 6 9. 61 (remaining years) The original burden rate calculated from three-cost-pool system is $63. 34. Both the first year ($87. 14) and remaining years’ ($69. 61) burden rate per machine hour are much higher, especially for the first year. Since the new equipment is only needed by one or two customers in the foreseeable future, we should treat the new machine as separate cost center, or the new equipment will have a disastrous effect on ETO’s pricing structure.