How to Soothe Your Eyes and Your Eyestrain

Lord Of The Flies By William Golding - 1264 Words

Gone was a very action pact, exciting, and vigorous book. When I read Lord of the Flies I thought it was the best book ever, but that has changed. Gone was such an intriguing book because something like this could never happen in real life. I love books that could never happen in this world. When I was reading this book it felt like a dream. When I would go to sleep I was dreaming about the part I read, but the main character was me. One day everyone fifteen and older disappears. Then there is this giant dome cover a whole entire city. There was no phone or cable service and all the kids were in school. That is not the only weird thing about the book; some of the characters have power. Caine and Sam can shoot long beams out of their†¦show more content†¦I would need electronics because my younger brother would need something to do in the house. We would have an x-box so he could watch movies and play video games. Can goods a very long lasting food that we would have in our house. Medicine and water are supplied to keep are body health. The items that we have should supply us for at least two weeks. There are many reason I would want to go outside. There may be kids out there who would have different beliefs about what has happened. They might take this time to take out all their animosity on kids. They might use this period to show their preeminence. Other kids might accomplice with these kids because they think that they could protect them or they might think that they are cool. Gone and our world our sort of the same because of many things. In Gone there were kids who wanted to do the right things and other who wanted to do the wrong thing. Our world is analogous because there are those kids who would go into a grocery store and take something without paying and others would leave the money on the counter. There are kids who would run around throwing rocks at people, house, stores, and other things and then there are kids who would want to stop them, keep peace, and do the right thing. Michael Grant in this book makes everyone 15 and older disappear. What could Michael Grant be saying when this happens, does this mean the pa rents not necessarily any more or the children are being

Dystopia or Utopia Free Essays

First, in the book 1 984 by George Orwell, dyspepsia is shown right off by the futuristic setting. Orwell shows the theme dyspepsia with the futuristic setting in 1 984 by using the Thought Police and vaporization. The Thought Police are constantly monitoring the thoughts of Oceania citizens, to make sure they do not disobey ‘ ‘The Party’ or â€Å"Big Brother’. We will write a custom essay sample on Dystopia or Utopia or any similar topic only for you Order Now In the book it says several times â€Å"BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU! † (Orwell 3), this saying creates fear in the citizens, and reminds them they are always being watched by their government. They do this to make sure the current government will stay in control. If any citizen ever even thinks about going against or betraying â€Å"The Party’, they get vaporized immediately. Being vaporized means that they basically make the citizen completely disappear and they also make it seem like they never existed. The author causes the reader to be afraid by using these forms of technology that are impossible in our world currently; this enhances the theme of dyspepsia. The main character Winston Smith, is always fighting his urge to go against and betray â€Å"The Party’ because he knows what he consequence will be if he ever does betray them. This also greatly enhances the theme of dyspepsia in 1984. Second, the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury has an underlying theme of dyspepsia as well. When reading just the first few pages of this book, the reader can get a feeling of dyspepsia very quickly. One of the first things that makes the reader think this is, is the fact that the firemen in Fahrenheit 451 burn books, instead of putting out fires, like they do in our modern day society. This seems very strange to use because it is not what we are used to, UT this is a way the author enhances the theme of dyspepsia. We see this dyspepsia world through the eyes of the main character Guy Montage. He is one Of the firemen that burn books, and he Starts to question why he does this throughout the book, especially when he meets his new neighbor, Claries. She is a young girl that makes him think about the world in new ways and makes him wonder about his life, his ideals, and his own happiness. This is a quote from the book, ‘†Do you ever read any of the books you burn? † He laughed. â€Å"That’s against the law! † â€Å"Oh of course† (Bradbury 8). Montage is liking to Beauty, his boss about reading books. After this he takes an interest in reading and soon steals a book to read, instead of burning it. In this fictional world created by Bradbury, the reading of books is abandoned. If someone is caught with a book, they are sent to a mental hospital and their books are burned, or they are sentenced to death. This also enhances the theme of dyspepsia because the government does not want the people to know anything and only do what they want them too. Thirdly, the book Brave New World written by Aloud Huxley also has an underlying theme of dyspepsia. Most of the time there is a big difference between a utopia and dyspepsia, for some readers, this book can be seen as either. It is dyspepsia because the people are built in factories, rather than by human interaction, also in a child’s upbringing they go through conditioning. This is a quote from the book talking about conditioning ‘that is the secret of happiness and virtue- liking what you’ve got to do. All conditioning aims at that: making people like their inescapable social destiny’ (Huxley 16). Conditioning means that they are trained to dislike and like certain things. All of the people in the society think that things are perfect, until Bernard Marx comes along. As a baby Bernard received extra alcohol in his ‘baby bag†, and he is different than the rest of the people. He has only engaged with 3 women in a year, whereas most â€Å"normal† alphas engage 2-3 women per week. Another example of dyspepsia is the system of control in Brave New World is pleasure, and indulgence. Sex and drugs causes the people to be happy all the time, and this keeps them from ever going against the government. In other words, the government keeps all the citizens under the influence, and happy to intro them and get the citizens to do whatever they want them too. Others might say that these three books, 1984, Fahrenheit 451 , and Brave New World aren’t dyspepsia, but they are utopias. They might say that these worlds are perfect because everybody has a job, or that nobody is in poverty. They also might say this because you don’t hear of anyone getting killed, or anyone getting robbed. This might be true, but the cons of these societies outweigh the pros, therefore they should be considered Dyspepsia. The governments in all three of these books have way too much control, and have he people oppressed to get them to do anything they want, and to keep them from going against them. In conclusion, Dyspepsia is the word that comes to mind with the stories and political horrors with government control, politicians, and community leaders being those who are most opposed by the audience and the main characters in the stories throughout Brave New World, 1 984, and Fahrenheit 451. Dyspepsia is the opposite of utopia, which means a perfect society. Dyspepsia means an imperfect society. All three of these books have an underlying theme of dyspepsia. How to cite Dystopia or Utopia, Papers

Winners and Losers in EU Integration

Questions: 1. How far should the EU expand to incorporate its eastern and south-eastern neighbours? 2. Should EU try to build bridges with Russia and other former soviet republics along its eastern border? 3. Should EU set aside it reservations and speed up the process of accepting turkey as full member? 4. What are the business implications for the tensions in the eastern and south Eastern Europe? 5. Outline the most likely scenario for the development of the relations between the EU and its eastern and south eastern neighbours over the next ten or twenty years? Answer: 1. The relations between the countries in Eastern and South Eastern Europe with the European Union are generally positive but there are several problems to the incorporation of the states into the EU. There are new republics that have been constructed from Soviet Union and the change of borders led to the uneven distribution of different ethnic groups. This was previously suppressed by the sense of unity and national benefit but as there is separate countries with different agendas now the conflict has come to fore and the eruption of violence between nations of the region are not uncommon. Therefore, the relation of the countries in Eastern Europe with the ones in the EU is different (Black, 2010). Moreover, the economic condition of the countries and their development are too different from the member states to consider a union at this time. The EU should bide their time until the situation settles and the countries show gradual progress and development in the social and economic s cene. 2. In my opinion, the EU should not attempt to build bridges with Russia and other eastern European nations at this moment as the political situation in that region is still too volatile for them to attempt growth with the help of the EU. The gas line supplies to Ukraine and other ethnic reasons are causing severe tension in the region. This situation is not conductive of growth and prosperity that the countries of EU have in common (Lavenex, 1999). The economic condition and social progress are also vastly different from the countries in the EU so any attempt made to connect with these countries will be futile and has high chance of failure. Therefore, the EU should only try to build bridges with the countries that have similar level of progress and potential for development. The instability of the region is too big a gap that has to be bridged by effort for one side, although the value of positive relations is indisputable. 3. In my opinion the adoption of turkey into the European Union is only a matter of time and the current situation in the region has only a few minor barriers to the joining of the country into the EU. The matter of the turkeys consideration for adoption is subject to the records of human rights violation of the ethnic minorities and the somewhat developed economy along with the predominantly Muslim religion and culture that is vastly different from the other countries of the EU (Pond, 2002). There is also the point of Turkish domination of the northern Cyprus that is a point of contention between the countries. These barriers in my opinion can be easily overcome by the combined effort from the whole of the EU and the people of the country will benefit from the influence of the European Unions interference. Therefore, there are no reasons to slow down the growth of the country by the bureaucracy. 4. In the tensions of the Eastern Europe the business implications of the region are based on the ethnic conflicts that result in violent confrontations between ethnic groups. These conflicts cause instability in the market of the region and the rate of foreign direct investment in the countries allied with Russia are significantly lower than the countries that are more in favour of their western neighbours (Smith, 1999). This causes the trade imbalance between the nations of the region. The nations of the region were separated by the iron curtain during the soviet reign had not totally dissolved the trade barriers but the countries that are allied with the EU are benefitting to some degree by the influx of trade from their neighbours of western Europe. 5. In the next ten to twenty years the scenario in the Eastern and South Eastern Europe is liable to change dramatically. Already after disaster in the 1990 the countries in the region are shaping up nicely and in just ten years they were able to pick themselves back up from the disaster. Therefore, it can be hoped that the in the next ten or twenty years they will be completely stable and the conflicts that erupt unannounced will be quelled in the region. The peace will be followed by economic development and prosperity and rise in social standards (Tang, 2000). This will lead to more equality in the region and the countries in this region will be ready to form union with the western neighbours in the EU. Therefore, the current stance and rigidity of the EU will be reduced and the reasons for such mentality would have been eradicated by then. So in ten or twenty years there will a peaceful cooperation between the eastern and western European countries. References Black, R. (2010).A continent moving west?. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. Lavenex, S. (1999).Safe third countries. Budapest: CEU Press. Pond, E. (2002).The rebirth of Europe. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press. Smith, K. (1999).The making of EU foreign policy. New York: St. Martin's Press. Tang, H. (2000).Winners and losers in EU integration. Washington, D.C.: World Bank. Topidi, K. and Morawa, A. (2011).Constitutional evolution in Central and Eastern Europe. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Pub.

Sweet Are the Fruits. Through Pablo Nerudas Prism

Tasting the Fruits: The Poem, the Images, and the Ideas It is pitch dark. Even though the lights are on, the United Fruit Co. casts the shadow that does not let the sun in the lives of millions of people. In his striking poem, The United Fruit Co., Pablo Neruda draws the sketch of a monster named injustice – the monster that devoured a great number of people, and seized the power over the entire universe.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Sweet Are the Fruits. Through Pablo Neruda’s Prism specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Despite the poet knows that the fight is already lost, for the monster is far too influential, and his face is under a perfect disguise, Neruda still depicts the crimes of those prepossessing power. Each word a loud cry, the poem is filled with grief and rage. In each line, the fury is building more and more until it reaches the top pitch, to subside then slowly into a sad ending. The incredible tension pierces the novel right through, as the poet balances between the anger for those ruining the lives of hundreds of people, and the grief for these lives broken. Sarcastic and sad, the poem shapes the image of The United Fruit Co. as the barbarians who came to break the rest of the people down, to make them submit and follow the orders of the company. The poem sounds like a cadence of images – it seems as if Neruda was threading beads to make a string of the saddest story ever. Listening more carefully to the poem, one can hear the distinct lament of the people, their pleas for mercy – but the monster they are calling to is deaf and blind, with no heart to understand them. Neruda’s cartridges are blank, and he knows that well enough. Neruda’s Life Path: A Long Way to Heaven One of the people who shaped the literature of XX century Chile and contributed to the world literature as the man who saw woes and misery, Neruda followed specific life track that predetermined his creative work. Growing under the hot Chile sun and learning what the vicissitudes of life can be, the poet-to-be was destined to become a world-recognized personality. With help of his unique experience and the specific manner of perceiving and understanding the events that occurred in the world and in his own life, Neruda was born to become a poet – or, it would be better to say, he was born a poet, literally (Urrutia).Advertising Looking for essay on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More One of the details that strike most about the poet’s biography is the strain in his relationships with the family. Neftali (the poet’s real name) was much like a medium between the earth and the underworld, with his incredible ability to feel the world at the tip of his fingers: He heard footsteps. Was it Father? He had been away, working on the railroad for a week, and was due home today. Neftali’s heart pounded and his round brown eyes grew large with panic. The footsteps came closer [†¦] (Ryan 5) Each of us experiences the time when the childhood fears and ideas fade away like the morning dew. That is the inevitable cost of growing up and becoming the part of the world. Yet that did not happen to Neruda – he never was the part of this world; the poet could be rather described as a creature thrown into the heart of the Earth to test the humankind for humanity. This incredible ability of his – the ability to understand and give the piece of his without demanding anything back – acme as the boy grew into a poet. However, the dreamer within his was not gone. There was still a piece of the little boy whom he used to be: Nefati sat, rubbed his eyes, and looked around the room. The words were no longer there. He slid from the bed, tiptoed to the drawer, and opened it. All of the words were sleeping (Ryan 23). The words were still there. It was just that he had to convey them to the adults this time, being an adult himself. In fact, this proved harder than he expected. Together with the specifics of the adult life, the political problems and the concern fro the native land came, which literally tore Neruda apart. As soon as the head of Chile signed the agreement with the U.S. and practically sold the country to the entrepreneurs from the United States, Neruda felt that he could not take the half-baked decisions of the government any longer. As a result of this long-lasting conflict, The United Fruit Co., the poetic masterpiece in Neruda’s treasure chest, appeared:Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Sweet Are the Fruits. Through Pablo Neruda’s Prism specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More There was considerable political tension, nevertheless, arising from the United States’ commercial involvement in the country, part icularly through the United Fruit Company. Shortly before Neruda’s arrival, the municipality in Barranquilla had passed a resolution to expropriate the American firm that operated its public utilities (Feinstein 171). Neruda’s unique brainchild, this poem is ridden with the fear for the future of the country, and the indignation for the invaders. The â€Å"flies† seized power over the entire country, which Neruda could not bear – and he never did. Balancing Between Scylla and Charybdis: Where the Truth Lurks Like many other great poets, Neruda is perceived as either the man who proclaimed Latin freedom from the Western expansion, or the Communist agent that was going to undermine the most progressive and prominent activities of the United Sattes; yet none of the critics deny the geniality of the poet. It is worth mentioning that there are two basic points of view concerning Neruda’s poem; the rest of the considerations either dub the existing ones, or touch upon the issues that were not topical for the author. Thus, it would be a good idea to consider the two key ideas that critics had about the United Fruit Co., the two opposing views that were represented by Marc Mascia and Jeffrey Gray. Considering one of the most conventional viewpoints offered by Jeffrey Gray, one must note that, to some extent, this is a tribute to the late poet. Indeed his greatness cannot be doubted, which triggers the specific attitude to the poem. Seized by the fear for his nation and the desire to protect people from the danger of being enslaved, Neruda did everything possible to prevent the consumerism from devouring the society. Such patriotic goals are worth appreciation, no matter whether they were correct or erroneous. Indeed, it is hard to deny that the impact of the company’s operations left much to be desired, which meant that the poet was guided by the noblest ideas. According to Jeffrey Gray, United Fruit Co. is â€Å"depicting a dictator’s betrayal of revolutionary aspirations, and emphasizing the hope that lay, for Neruda, in socialism† (201-202). Therefore, it was not only the expansion o the Americans in the country, but also the home policy of the political leaders that troubled Neruda and that he expressed in his poem, Grey emphasizes.Advertising Looking for essay on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Could the famous writer err? In contrast to Grey, famous Mark Mascia criticizes the poem in quite different manner, suggesting another way of interpreting it. According to his article, the poet resorted to the ideas that were totally Utopian from the very beginning, choosing the path of socialism to heal the wounds of the country: His desire to conquer is, as mentioned above, one to overcome grief (both individual, as an exiled writer, and collective, as a self-declared â€Å"man of the people†) and to â€Å"conquer happiness.† But is this conquest of a better world not itself a universal utopian dream? (Mascia 74) Despite the credibility of Mascia’s argument, it is still more reasonable to consider the poem from the viewpoint that Grey offers. Although Mascia sounds rather impressive, it still seems that his ideas are cluttered with the prejudice for the Socialism. After all, it must be admitted that the Socialism theory was the last resort for the collapsing s tate and the opportunity to fight the insistent attempts of the United States to establish the consumerist lifestyle in the country. Nevertheless, each paper allows to consider the work of the poet deeper. Knowing the ideas that made Neruda write United Fruit Co., one can evaluate the work more objectively and enjoy the vision of the words gaining unpredictable shades of meaning. Although the viewpoints of each critic can be considered somewhat subjective, their papers still contribute to the overall understanding of the poem. Two and Two, Put Together: Picking the Fruits Summarizing the creation of Neruda, one can claim with certainty that the incredible power of the [poet’s words drove the attention of the entire state. With help of his talent, Neruda managed to break new grounds in people’s vision of the USA invasion. Making it clear that the economical aggression of the foreigners will bring nothing but the troubles for the state, Neruda tried to explain his ideas to the people, yet – no one would listen. A heart-rending and impressive poem, it was a cry of despair and an attempt to bring the country and the people together, making them a unified entity. With a number of metaphors for the country explored by the foreigners, Neruda managed to depict the shock and the helplessness of the nation, make the lament of those in despair reach everyone. However, it is worth mentioning as well that the poem was not only about the policy of the invaders, but also about the propaganda that they seeded. To teach this poem for someone who is unaware of the life and struggle of the poet, I would use the visual aids and the literature sources to tell the story of Neruda. I would try to incorporate the movies shot about the poet and his creations and the information about his life, both personal and political. It could also be a good idea to demonstrate the influence of the United Fruit Co., which I would do with help of PowerPoint presentations and th e articles about the company. Works Cited Gray, Jeffrey. â€Å"United Fruit Co., Canto Generale, and Neruda’s Critique of Capitalism†. Ed. Harold Bloom, Exploration and Colonization. New York City, NY: Infobase Publishing, 2010: 201-212. Print. Feinstein, Adam. Pablo Neruda: A Passion for Life. New York City, NY: Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2005. Print. Mascia, Mark. â€Å"Pablo Neruda and the Construction of Past and Future Utopias in the Canto General.† Utopian Studies, 12.1: 65-81. Print. Neruda, Pablo. United Fruit Co. Stone Soup. July 16 2004. Web. Web. Ryan, Pam Muoz, and Peter Sis. The Dreamer. New York City, NY: Scholastic Inc., 2010. Print. Urrutia, Matilde. My Life with Pablo Neruda. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 2004. Print. This essay on Sweet Are the Fruits. Through Pablo Neruda’s Prism was written and submitted by user Lillie T. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Computers and Technology essays

Computers and Technology essays Ever since I was a child I have been fascinated by the way things work the way they do. From the simplest of video games, that I played with in the pre-school ages, to todays more advanced computers and computer systems, these have always amazed me. As I look forward to furthering my education, I am interested in learning more about what computers can do for education, Industries and communications. The best way to improve educational opportunities is to utilize every tool available, including state-of-the-art technology. Computers and the Internet have expanded the way in which information can be delivered to the students of today. Using todays networking technology students can practice new learning techniques. Educators are discovering that computers are facilitating learning. Computer based communications or telecommunications can offer many new learning experiences. Computers have become an integral part of education. New programs designed for educational purposes are constantly being developed. Dictionaries, encyclopedias and atlases that a student can access for his or her own computer can be a definite advantage. For example, instead of looking for a particular country and simply finding out where it is in a regular atlas, students type in the name of the country, and not only will they find out where it is faster, but they will obtain more information about the particular country. Instead of having volumes and volumes of heavy encyclopedias, technology has enabled companies to place all of these massive books on to one small CD. This CD is much simpler than the unpleasant job of flipping page by page just to read about a topic, such as history. Writing reports on a typewriter is an inefficient method to write term papers; especially if that student runs out of white-out. Certain programs offer a spell-checker, thesaurus, and other h elpful features, which make writing that term paper easier. The...

Richard Nixon and the WaterGate Scandal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Richard Nixon and the WaterGate Scandal - Essay Example The edifice of the Watergate scandal has been based on corruption, espionage and antidemocratic activities, ostensibly based on ensuring President Nixon, a second term in the Oval Room. However, certain facts like the Vietnam war, the release of Pentagon papers, and growing public resentment for his policies were serious impediments to this objective and had to be dealt with a firm, and if necessary, strong arm methods. This was ensured by use of the CIA and other governmental agents to discredit the President's political opponents, and seek to ensure his victory in the Presidential elections. He was able to achieve re-elections but he was constrained to pay the final price in terms of loss of his office and personal humiliation amidst a political scandal that rocked the entire country and shocked the world into mute speechlessness. At the time of instigating the Watergate scandal, President Nixon was not aware, or did not make himself to visualize that his political career would leave him a bitter and disillusioned man, devoid of moral principles and ethics that are the hallmarks of a strong and committed leader.This entire episode started when, while conducting security checking at the Watergate hotel, a security guard noticed a door prevented from closed by the use of tape. He removed the tape and continued with his check However, he was dismayed to find, that on his return, the door was reaped. He informed the police about the burglary. The police arrested five persons from the office of the Democratic National Congress, who had been illegally repairing wiretapping equipment and taking photographs of documents. Likewise, before the burglary in the Watergate Hotel on June 17, 1972, when a group of five burglars, who were members of a group of anti-Castro Cuban refugees called 'Plumbers', broke into the Democ ratic Party's National Committee offices, the term "Watergate" had no greater implication to the Americans and the entire world, rather than an office and a sumptuous apartment complex in Washington, D. C. As a result of the 'third-rate burglary', "it came to be associated with the greatest political scandal of that century and would change the lives of the many people involved" - principally the then President Richard M. Nixon and as for the present day political system, it imparts great meaning. (U.S. History.com, 2008). In the current American Background, the term Watergate has become a common phrase which denotes and expresses the fall of Richard Nixon, one of the most outstanding political figures of the 20th century America and the world. He had refused to hand over incriminating tapes illegally recording the conversation he had when he served in the White House. He refused to hand over the tapes even during the Supreme Court Proceedings. The Court had no other option but to impeach the President, but he preferred to resign rather than face impeachment. The former President of the USA was the only conspirator in the Watergate scandal who did not go to jail. "The lessons learned by these events are enormous. The story of Watergate is a complex and deep one full

Media Event Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Media Event - Assignment Example Her main objective is to find them suitable jobs or protective environment after graduation. This is to prevent them from landing in the streets. The director of this movie, Samantha Buck, demonstrates sensitivity in a dramatic way to those students with special needs as the camera keys rove in on Mimo’s reactions. Ms. Mimo is the star and a protagonist with a bright face that does not hide anything as she focuses on the audience’s emotions. The camera lingers on the students who have grown with frustrating experiences longer than comfort. The â€Å"Best Kept Secret† film is exemplary in the sense that, it never seeks to hide any truth from the framework of the narrative. This section will explore two Special Education Laws websites, and two special education court previous cases. The first website is wrightslaw.com (http://www.wrightslaw.com/caselaw.htm). This website explores various cases from the U.S Supreme Court, Courts of Appeals, District Courts, and Noteworthy Cases. The first case mentioned in this website is the case of U.S Department of Justice Verses Day Care Centre in Oklahoma. The case was filed with the U.S Department of Justice. The statement of the case alleged that, the Camelot denied the person the right to participate in field trips, hence violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. The case was settled on the November 27th, 2013, the child in question, with Down Syndrome and toileting issues. The court ruled that, Camelot shall not discriminate any child on the grounds of disability. This includes full participation and enjoyment of goods, services, privileges, advantages and accommodation. The second website is the special education advisor.com (http://www.specialeducationadvisor.com/special-education-laws/brief-history-of-special-education-court-cases/). The case was heard by the Supreme Court. The case was between the Board of Education of Hendrick Hudson Central School

Mercks transition to open innovation strategy Essay

Mercks transition to open innovation strategy - Essay Example The paper will focus on the open innovation strategy by Merck pharmaceutical company in form of merging with Schering-Plough. The writer will provide answers to the following questions: 1. Can open innovation help Merck meet the needs of its customers in creative and cost effective ways that also bring value to its shareholders. Why or why not? 2. Assuming open innovative is the path to follow, what implementation issues would you expect? How would Merck overcome its cultural resistance to change? 3. What positive or negative effects will the recent Schering Plough Merger have on Merck’s transition to a more open innovation strategy? Introduction. Merck historically believed in closed innovation strategy. This involves ideas being developed from within the company and the resulting products manufactured and marketed. On the contrary, open innovation involves the search for new ideas from outside and including them in business models. This is through bringing new ideas, personnel and technologies. Open innovation also allows some knowledge to flow outside the companies to other people. Most companies do not use their original technologies because it may be too costly making these ideas unutilized. Open innovations allows some of these good ideas to be shared to companies where they will be put into use. Therefore, open innovations make companies more creative in terms of research and development. ... It has achieved all this success at only one sixth of the cost. Since the approach has worked in other companies, it can also work in Merck. Through open innovation, Merck can develop new cost effective ideas and products. The breakthrough for such products can bring great sales for the company thus benefiting the shareholders. (Rothaemel, 2008) Question 5: Assuming open innovative is the path to follow, what implementation issues would you expect? How would Merck overcome its cultural resistance to change? Merck has been deeply rooted in the culture of closed innovation. This is the culture that they are the best in what they do and need no assistance from outside. Merck assumed that they had the best and brightest personnel. They believe that whatever they invented was the best. Merck believed that all great discoveries were to be unveiled at Merck. This overconfident notion was deeply instilled in the minds of the people at Merck. This makes everyone in the company to be very rigi d to any sought of change. Implementing the new open innovation strategy would therefore, be difficult because of this rigidness. The workers people have strong believe in themselves and would resist any new idea from outside. It would be a problem for the workers at Merck to adapt and accept this change (Rothaemel, 2008). Therefore, for successful development of open innovation at Merck, change has to start with each person. Change from the use of closed innovation to open innovation would mean that people have to change their attitudes and minds. This would erase the earlier culture of closed innovation and replaced it with open innovation. The resistance to change can be dealt with by sending top

Social Worker Essay Example for Free

Social Worker Essay As the saying goes, â€Å"Our children are our future† and who you are as a child can determine who you can be later on in life. It is important for a child to be in a safe, comfortable and loving environment during its development so that the child can have the full advantage to become the best he can be in his future. My future career as a social worker will ensure just that. I chose this profession because of my own history. Growing up, I’ve had my share of social workers in my house. I experienced them as people who helped my family during a hard time. This is a career where I can fight for people’s rights. I will also be able to protect those who are vulnerable and give support to those who need it. I want to be able to have a positive impact on others as social workers have had on my family. According to the Occupational Handbook, there are two different kinds of social workers; â€Å"direct-service social workers who help people solve and cope with problems in their everyday lives, and clinical social workers, who diagnose and treat mental, behavioral, and emotional issues.† My main focus would be children and family. This will fall under the direct-service social worker. The description of this job would be to provide social service and assist improvement of the social and psychological functions of the children and their families. Also I would try to maximize families well-being and children’s academic functions. I may be able to do so by assisting parents, arranging adoptions, or by finding foster homes for abandoned children or in any dangerous situation the children may be in. If the child was removed and the danger has been address, I may also work to help unify the family. I may act as an advisor, an advocate or even just a listener and to do my best to make sure they have the best option available for them. Overall I work and support the children and families to find and develop long lasting solutions. I’ve learned from the Occupational Handbook that a bachelor’s degree in  social work is required. But also, in many cases you may be able to become employed by having a similar degree such as psychology or sociology. As of now I am currently enrolled in LaGuardia community College majoring in psychology. My plan is to transfer to Hunter College to get my bachelor’s degree. However, I do not plan to end there. I’ve learned that in the state of New York, a competitive and demanding need for social workers, a bachelor degree may not be enough to earn a successful position. I plan to complete my master’s in social work (MSW). From what I’ve learned on the Occupational Handbook, â€Å"a degree in almost any major is acceptable† to enter the MWS program. This means that with my bachelor’s in psychology I would be able to get in the program. In the MWS program it may take an additional two years to complete and in the state of New Yo rk it also requires a license (LMSW) as well to become a social worker. After all the hard work and challenges I may face academically, I’ve learned that I may also face emotional challenges once I have my foot stepped into the career. Although I believe I have an emotionally strong personality, this career as a social worker still can be stressful. As my responsibility to make decisions about the welfare of the children and families, I may be faced with difficult situations such as not being able to help everyone in the way I hope. Some of my clients or cases may be stuck because of obstacles created by the legal system, courts, schools or other kinds of institutions. Because of this there can be times when there is really little that I can do. In cases like this, it can become really frustrating and emotionally challenging for myself. In other cases, some people may not want my help. Since I cannot control how client behaves I am still mandatory to give them the tools and recourses they need and then move on to the next person who needs my help. As current social worker, Amy Dogenske, she says â€Å"sometimes they don’t want us to be there but in the end you see changes in the parents and kids.† As of now I must have my mind set that I cannot go down expecting to resolve everything all at once. It can be frustrating, but I must learn that I have to be patient, and that the reward of feeling satisfied with my job will come my way because the positive changes in the kids and families is what my job is all about. It is very easy to become engaged in helping others, but there must be a line between my job and my personal life. According to Amy Dogenske, she emphasizes how important it is to have â€Å"self care and take time for your self.† In this profession I may deal with many cases with unimaginable crisis and it is important for me to know to leave my work at the office everyday. In doing so it will allow me to rejuvenate and return to the job without burning myself out. As I’ve mentioned before, I have a personal history with social workers. They have helped my family and I through difficult situations and I want to be able to return the favor to the society. Although I am in no longer in need of the assistance of social workers I still believe that in pursuing this career it may still help me in other forms. I believe this career can allow me to gain a lot of insight and personal growth. I believe once I start to experience some of the cases I may be assigned to, ill be able to see sometimes what other people miss by getting a look beneath the surface of someone’s life. I believe I’ll be able to cultivate qualities like compassion and insight through working with the clients who are less fortunate. I also believe that when I help others deal with their struggles, I will be able to gain opportunity to learn more about my own beliefs and values, which will enable me to grow more as a person. I cannot imagine a more rewarding job than social work. Being able to go home and know that I may have made a difference in someone’s life; a child, the whole family, or in extreme cases actually saving a life is a privilege that not many careers are able to experience. As a social worker, working with the children and families, using the knowledge and skills that I will have learned and develop, to listen, suggest and assist. Sometimes I will be taking in hard decisions, celebrating achievements or just being useful until there is a point when I am not needed anymore, that’s the most rewarding bit of it all. Works Cited Dugenske, Amy â€Å"A Day in the Life Social Worker.† Dir. Amy. Perf. Amy Dugenske. YouTube. YouTube, 11 May 2009. Web. 03 Dec. 2013 United States. Department of Labor. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 29 Mar. 2012. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.

Jane Austens View of Marriage in Pride and Prejudice Essay -- Austen

Jane Austen's View of Marriage in Pride and Prejudice "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want if a wife" This comment is humorous and satirical, but holds an underlying truth.   The fact that Jane Austen opens the novel with such a comment on marriage evidences the importance of the theme in the book.   Indeed the novel is all about marriage in society.   Austen lived in a time when marriage was the only way out for some women, or they would be forced to become a governess and lose their independence.   The way that this opening sentence is out provides another theme, satire.   Austen sees the following marriages that she writes on as amusing but they are still frowned upon, such as the marriage of Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas.   Austen sees this marriage as beneficial for both partners.   He can potter around the garden and suck up to Lady Catherine deBourgh, while Charlotte spends her time alone reading. The first marriage to be examined is that of Mr and Mrs Bennet.   This is not a marriage of love, but of vulgarity and shallow natures of both parties. Mr Bennet is of a higher class than Mrs Bennet, who is "a woman of mean understanding" contrasting Mr Bennet's "quick parts".   They have been married 23 years and at once, the Bennets realise that they have absolutely nothing in common, so they withdraw from each other.   Mr Bennet spends all day in his study retreated from Mrs Bennet and her gossip. "With a book he was regardless of time" "Mrs Bennet spends her day with tittle-tattle and idle conversation.   She is vulgar in her behaviour; the only aim for her is to get her daughters married off to someone with lots of money." Austen shows us ... ...g from the couple's opening resentment of each other - Elizabeth herself describes the "malice of Mr Darcy".   His all turns around, and we know that Darcy is the most suitable husband for Elizabeth. He is generous and intelligent, and Elizabeth is "convinced that she could have been happy with him" when she almost loses him.   In fact of course they are, and we don't need a sequel to be told that! Works Cited Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Ed. Donald Gray. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996. Fritzer, Penelope Joan. Jane Austen and Eighteenth-Century Courtesy Books. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1997. Monaghan, David. Jane Austen Structure and Social Vision. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1980. Rubinstein, E., ed. Twentieth Century Interpretations of Pride and Prejudice. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1969.

Gambling Research Essay

Gambling refers to the play of any game where there is money, or something of value at stake. There are many different forms of gambling including horse races, lotteries, casinos, scratch cards, stock market betting, and even more recently internet gambling. Although these games are meant for recreational use, the thrill of gambling causes some people to become so involved in it that they become dependent on gambling. The effects of gambling can cause damage psychologically, be very harmful to one’s social life and can also cause many physical damages. Gambling addiction and pathological gambling is not always seen as dangerous as other addictions like substance abuse but it can in fact be a very damaging addiction to many aspects of life and should be considered a major health problem. Not everyone who gambles has a gambling addiction or even has the capability of being addicted to gambling. The majority of people who gamble do not have an addiction and simply do it for recreational purposes. But there is a small percentage of people who gamble who are considered problem gamblers or pathological gamblers. Pathological gamblers is described as, â€Å"Pathological gambling is characterized by chronic and irresistible impulses to gamble, with consequent gambling compromises and disruptions to family, personal and vocational pursuits.† (Coman, Burrows & Evans, 1997) This addiction causes the gambler to gamble very frequently, often times they will begin to make bigger and bigger bets and receiving feelings of anxiety or depression when they are not gambling. Pathological gambling can also include gambling to recover losses from previous gambling episodes, lying to family members to try and hide their habits, committing criminal acts to obtain money for gambling and relying on others to provide money to relieve them from their financial situation. This is a very serious addiction and should be considered a major health problem because it can negatively affect many serious aspects of an individual’s life. There are many different influences and gateways that can lead to gambling and even a gambling addiction. Although things like scratch cards may not seem like much of a threat to becoming an addiction, they can intrigue the thought of winning money purely by chance which is a dangerous mindset to have. Another factor that can lead to a gambling addiction is the link between the proximity from the casino and gambling participation. Living close to a casino causes much more accessibility and can add to the possibility of gaining an addiction, â€Å"additional gambling opportunities due to the presence of a casino increase the prevalence of gambling-related problems for people who live close to a casino, as compared with people who live far from one.†(Sevigny, Ladouceur, Jacques & Cantinotti, 2008)People who live closer to the casino are much more likely to just â€Å"drop by† and play a few hands rather than people who live farther and have to make an evening of it. Accessibility can have a large impact on gaining an addiction to gambling. Also, the recent popularity of poker has a huge impact on the view of gambling for younger people. Poker has become very popular in our society today and is televised quite frequently showing these players not only making a living from this game of chance, but becoming millionaires. Some of these players are seen as celebrities who can cause some younger audiences to look up to them and strive to be like them. These aspects do not directly lead to a gambling problem but they can definitely help lead to one. Technology has become a large contributory factor to problem gambling. As stated earlier, accessibility can have a large impact on gaining an addiction to gambling and the technology of internet has brought accessibility of gambling to a whole new level. Gambling over the internet should be a major concern because the increase in gambling opportunities gives the potential for an increase in problem gamblers . Research evidence in other countries has clearly shown that: â€Å"where accessibility of gambling is increased there is an increase not only in the number of regular gamblers but also an increase in the number of problem gamblers.† (Griffiths, 1999) Internet gambling websites has dramatically increased this accessibility which will in turn increase the number of people gambling. Not everyone is susceptible to becoming a problem gambler, but the more people gambling, the more people who have the chance of becoming addicted. The popularity of internet gambling is on the rise with its easy accessibility and quickness. This popularity itself cannot lead to a gambling addiction but a number of the more popular poker players on television often promote different gambling websites where anyone of any age can play poker online. The websites allow someone to play in tournaments, play with friends and play with fake money or even real money. They are very appealing to people of all ages and easily accessible all the time which makes them a threat to contributing to problem gamblers and youth gambling. When someone suffers from problem gambling, it is not only that individual that is affected but their family, friends and community as well . There can be some positive aspects of gambling in terms of the social effects of gambling. Gambling can be seen as a recreation, a break from their problems of everyday life and a nice night out. Yet these positive effects only exist if gambling is done in moderation. Once gambling becomes a habit and a necessity is where the negative impacts arrive. Often, it’s those close to the pathological gambler that suffer the most. Constant gambling takes time away from family, friends and other activities. If gambling becomes a problem, it can cause loss of trust between individuals and family members which can lead to family related problems and even divorce. Generally, the social problems begin with borrowing of money to support their addiction. At this point, many friends and family may lose touch with the gambler. Being distanced from those who are closest can cause desperation which may lead to criminal activity. Pathological gambling can become so severe that they can resort to criminal activity in a last effort to support their financial needs. People are more likely to commit crime without thinking of the consequences when they are in a desperation mindset which is what can happen after a big loss due to gambling. Supporters for the spread of legalized gambling make claims about economic growth and more jobs but opponents have a strong case saying, â€Å"†¦various forms of street crimes, such as robberies and automobile thefts, come with gambling, as well as problems with connections to organized crime†¦ The majority of Wisconsin problem gamblers in treatment that were interviewed in Thompson et al. (1999) admitted to crimes as a result of their gambling activity, primarily property crimes.† (Gazel, Rickman & Thompson, 2001) Pathological gamblers reach a point where there are no options left so they have to resort to illegal means to support themselves displaying the severity and control that a gambling addiction can have. Having a gambling addiction does not just affect someone economically or socially but it can deeply affect them psychologically. Once a pathological gambler is down money, they will make bets to try and regain that money that they have lost. Instead of cutting their losses, they get deeper into debt, preoccupying themselves with gambling, determined to win big to repay their loans and solve all their problems (Griffiths, 2001). A very dangerous way of thinking is the â€Å"what if I win† mentality. This way of thinking is especially dangerous because then they are more prone to make bigger bets with money they may not have to lose so they can receive bigger rewards. A large factor for whether someone develops this addiction has a lot to do with their personality. The type of personality someone has can have on whether or not someone develops a gambling addiction or not. Gambling is characterized by an â€Å"unrealistic optimism by the gambler† (Griffiths, 2001). For the most part people believe that optimism is a good way to live life by always seeing the positive things instead of dwelling on the negatives. Optimists are known to be less likely to suffer from depression symptoms following a stressful event and seem to have more psychological benefits when compared to pessimists. Although in terms of gambling, optimism can be counterproductive, â€Å"Optimists may be especially susceptible to maintaining illusory gambling expectations. Because of their generalized expectations for success, optimists may approach gambling with the belief that they can win.† (Gibson & Sanbonmatsu, 2004) Optimists may also have a tendency to look at the positive aspects in a situation which may prolong their gambling thinking that they will win it all back. Also, people who are risk takers are more prone to gambling addiction than someone who is more conservative. Not everyone is susceptible to becoming a pathological gambler and a great deal of the matter has to do with their personality type and how they look at different negative situations. Having a gambling addiction not only affects one’s social life but it can have a great impact on your mind and even cause physical difficulties. Pathological gamblers often suffer from stress-related disorders such as depression, insomnia, intestinal disorders and migraines. Health problems do not only occur from the gambling itself but a significant amount of people suffer problems from the withdrawal, â€Å"Rosenthal and Lesieur (1992) found that at least 65 percent of pathological gamblers reported at least one physical side-effect during withdrawal including insomnia, headaches, upset stomach, loss of appetite, physical weakness, heart racing, muscle aches, breathing difficulty and/or chills.† (Griffiths, 2001) It was also found that pathological gamblers experienced more physical withdrawal effects when attempting to stop than substance abusers who are attempting to quit. This is quite astonishing and again proves why gambling addiction is a very serious matter and should be considered just as much of a health problem as addiction to alcohol or other substances. Pathological gambling can cause great psychological damage and can cause people to do irrational things after a big loss which can sometimes even lead to suicide. Pathological gambling and suicide have been known to have a link to each other. Suicidal attempts among pathological gamblers are much more frequent than among the general public. The American Psychiatric Association did a study that with these results, â€Å"Of individuals in treatment for Pathological Gambling, 20% are reported to have attempted suicide, (American Psychiatric Association (APA))† (Penfold, Hatcher, Sullivan & Collins, 2006) For many gamblers, coping with the negative emotions relating to their issues in their life can be overwhelming. Feelings of shame, hopelessness and failure may be hard to bear which sometimes makes suicide seem like the best solution for their problems. The damage to the mental aspects is one of the reasons that make pathological gambling so dangerous. The act of gambling and casinos is a very controversial topic. There are some positive aspects to the casino and gambling that include a source of jobs and economic development. Gambling is meant to be for recreational use on occasion but it can also be very dangerous. Certain people with certain personality types and lifestyles may be prone to becoming a pathological gambler. The effects of pathological gambling can cause a lot of harm psychologically, destroy someone’s social and family life, cause physical damage to themselves which can even lead to their death. Gambling addiction may not be seen as dangerous or likely to happen as other addictions but the results from being a pathological gambler can be just as harmful as other addictions and should be considered just as much as a serious health issue as everything else. References: Griffiths, M. (1999). Gambling Technologies: Prospects for Problem Gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, vol.15, no.3, p.265-283. Griffiths, M. (2001). Gambling: An Emerging Area of Concern for Health Psychologists. Journal of Psychology, vol.6, no.5, p.477-479. Gibson, B., & Sanbonmatsu, D. (2004). Optimism, Pessimism, and Gambling: The Downside of Optimism. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 149-160. Coman, J., Burrows, G., & Evans, B. (1997). Stress and Anxiety as Factors in the Onset of Problem Gambling: Implications for Treatment. Stress Medicine, Vol.13, no.4, p.235-244. Sevigny, S., Ladouceur, R., Jacques, C., & Cantinotti, M. (2008). Links between Casino Proximity and Gambling Participation, Expenditure, and Pathology. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, vol. 22, no.2, p.295-301. Penfold, A., Hatcher, S., Sullivan, S., & Collins, N. (2006) Gambling Problems and Attempted Suicide. Part 1. High Prevalence amongst Hospital Admissions. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, vol.4, no.3, p.265-272. Gazel, R., Rickman, D., & Thompson, W. (2001) Casino Gambling and Crime: a Panel Study of Wisconsin Counties. Managerial and Decision Economics, vol.22, no.1-3, p.65-75.

Diary extract from the poem blessing Essay

Today was the best day ever; the pipe through our village burst. I first spotted it on the way back from my two mile hike to the well, I had two buckets in my hands had spilt a little water on the way back when seeing a spurt of water coming from the pipe. I filled up the buckets and ran home, I told everyone in the village to bring buckets and cups and everything, by this time the gap had grown and there was a good amount of water coming from it. Everyone gather around bring mugs and tin cans to collect some clean water, we filled our metal bath tub with our buckets and everything we could, we have so much water now, the crops we have tried to grow have been watered and we have kept a good amount to water them more often, the drought had finally ended, there hasn’t been rain in a while, but I believe that this is the work of god, he’s finally come through for us, everyone had prayed and thanked him for this deed, the party still hasn’t finished, I am tired, I have been dancing and singing and drumming until the sun rose again, I was the village’s favourite person today because I spotted the leak that has praised us all, I wouldn’t trade the feeling I had for anything in the world, people chanted my name and cheered all night long I loved it, none of the water is being wasted anything waterproof is being filled with clean healthy water, I will not have to go on my hike for water for the next few days and I will not have to be thirsty we are going to church again tomorrow and I think that the whole village will be there just to thank him for this blessing. I can’t believe how lucky we were, this is truly a miracle, the water came when we needed it the most, when everyone was finding it harder and harder to drink the dirty water, but the question is how long will this water last? How long will it take for the rich people to realise they are paying for our water? And will they stop it? I believe that these questions will be answered in time, God may have let this miracle but I don’t think there is much he could do to change those idiots, they have everything, clean house, clean food and clean drinking water and we have nothing. Our homes are dirty so is our food and out drinking water they just get water whenever they want whereas we have to walk over 2 miles to get dirty water from a well. Everyone hates them if only we could swap places for a week, they would know what it’s like how hard it is for us just to survive, to stay alive but they have no idea I wish something could be done about this.

Monoethylene Glycol Market Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends And Forecast, 2013 2019 Essays

Monoethylene Glycol Market Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends And Forecast, 2013 2019 Essays Monoethylene Glycol Market Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends And Forecast, 2013 2019 Essay Monoethylene Glycol Market Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends And Forecast, 2013 2019 Essay Monoethylene Glycol Market Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends And Forecast, 2013 2019 Monoethylene glycol is commonly referred as ethylene glycon or MEG and is a colorless odorless liquid. It accounts for the largest share by volume demand among all ethylene glycol. It is hygroscopic and miscible in water in different proportions. The flash point of the liquid is at 111Â °C, while its boiling point and freezing points are 197Â °C and -13Â °C, respectively. Ethylene glycol is manufactured from ethylene through ethylene oxide which is the intermediate. Ethylene oxide reacts with water to obtain ethylene glycol. It is generally available in different grades such as polyester grade, high purity grade, antifreeze grade and industrial grade.Visit Complete Report Here: www.marketresearchreports.biz/analysis-details/monoethylene-glycol-market-global-industry-analysis-size-share-growth-trends-and-forecast-2013-2019 Monoethylene glycol is an orga nic compound which has wide applications. The chemical is used as a raw material in the production of polyester fibers. It is also used in the production of polyethylene terephthalate resins, which is used in the bottling industry. It is used as a dewatering agent in the natural gas industry in order to eliminate water vapor from natural gas before further processing. Apart from these, it is used in anti freeze and coolant materials, as a heat transfer fluid and as chemical intermediates. It is also used as a humecant in the manufacturing of textile fibers, glues, adhesives, leather, and paper. In the deep sea, pipes carrying natural gas are exposed to extreme cold temperature and a possibility of salt water corrosion. Monoethylene glycol is introduced in the pipe lines so that it acts as an anti-freeze and anti-corrosion agent. Apart from these mainstream applications of monoethylene glycol, the chemical has several niche uses such as in the production of tobacco and tobacco produc ts including

Sovereign Default risk in the Euro zone A further look at a possible Dissertation

Sovereign Default risk in the Euro zone A further look at a possible exit - Dissertation Example The resulting models which were arrived at using the forward stepwise procedure passed various goodness-of-fit tests as well as other tests of the significance of coefficients. This indicates that both CDS spread and Debt/GDP ratio improved the model’s predictive power in the case of the Euro zone while CDS spread was the only significant factor for Cyprus. Tests of the model using in-sample and out-of-sample data shows that it is capable of predicting default and non-default with a high degree of accuracy. 1.0 Introduction Sovereign default has been present in world economies throughout history. One of the countries that have defaulted in the past is Argentina. Very often, it is the same set of countries that are habitually in this state of economic crisis. The 2008 financial crisis has been described as one of the worst to be felt in this modern age since the Great Depression of 1933 (Your reference here). Its effects are still underway and countries around the world are try ing their utmost to maintain financial stability. One of the newest currency unions and the most powerful in the world; the Euro-Zone, therefore makes an interesting study. One of the single most important events that preceded the spiralling downturn in the 2008 financial crisis is the Lehman Brothers failure on September 15, 2008. Prior to the 2008 financial crisis, the sovereign Credit Default Swap (CDS) market was not as significant as corporate CDS markets. This was due to the relatively stable outlook of developed nations within the Euro Block and the perceived minimal default risk associated with these countries. As a result of the Lehman Collapse, and other proceeding financial institutional failures, large losses worldwide were incurred, which had spill over effects eventually affecting entire economies. This resulted in negative implications for investor confidence and a reduction of credit in the market. The bailouts for these banks by the individual governments could only be made possible by incurring massive amounts of debt (Dieckmann and Plank 2011). This led Governments to increased risk of sovereign default and a global reassessment of credit risk. In turn, CDS in the sovereign market became highly liquid as the uncertainty of these nations became an issue, implying an increase in sovereign credit risk. Since 2012 the Euro zone has been characterized by deepening crises in several countries, some of which have suffered what is described as selective default. These crises have been characterised by increases in CDS spread, increased Debt/GDP ratio and high bond yields. This has led to credit rating agencies such as Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s giving ratings to some of these countries that indicate to investors the risks associated with government bonds. In addition to Cyprus and Greece, some of the countries that have received speculative ratings include Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Estonia, Portugal and Spain (Blo omberg 2013). Concerns have been raised that the ratings given by credit rating agencies are unreliable as the default ratings for Greece in 2012 and Cyprus in 2013 came after the event. The aim of this study is to evaluate the risk of sovereign default in the Euro zone and also to develop an econometric model that is capable of predicting default before the event takes place. This would be very beneficial to

Customer Relationship Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Customer Relationship Management - Essay Example   Engaging in CRM allows company employees, who work in various customer contact departments such as customer support, marketing and sales, to become better placed and able to make rapid and well informed decisions on every aspect of the business ranging from competitive positioning tactics to up-selling and cross-selling opportunities. According to CRM Magazine, although it was once thought to be a type of software, CRM has gradually evolved and has now become a customer-centric philosophy that most organisations are adopting and developing various policies that help it permeate throughout the various organisations. CRM is seen to encompass a set of three key elements that play an important role in the success of a well formulated CRM program. These three elements are basically technology, people and process (destinationcrm, 2010). Customers have long been considered as being the biggest asset to any business enterprise and more often than not, this definition is seen to specially apply to those customers who will continue engaging with the business and hence remain its customers in the future (Rust, Lemon and Zeithami, 2004). Customers are usually perceived as the main reason for which companies as well as business enterprises exist. The value of a given customer can be calculated so as to show the customer lifetime value. The customer lifetime value (CLV) is commonly defined as the current value of the entire. The value of a given customer can be calculated so as to show the customer lifetime.

Discussion Question Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 21

Discussion Question - Assignment Example Southern people feared that the North would gain strength and push abolition of slavery. The regional conflict between the North and South affected the political environment. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 saw the Northerners getting from the Union and formed a new slave state called Missouri while Maine became a slavery-free territory. The stands of North and South on slavery also influenced the compromise of 1850 that gave rise to doctrine of states’ rights (Brands, Breen, Williams & Gross, 2012). Both divisions were pushing for a state that would have equal leaders from slave and Free states. However, the compromise led to a bigger conflict that divided the two regions even further than in the beginning. Anti-slavery call inspired Abraham Lincoln rise to presidency. The North backed his candidacy because his victory would automatically impose their will on South. The Southern states did not have him on the ballot, but he won and brought moderate rule on slavery. The Southern states believed that Lincoln was against them. However, Lincoln did not have plans of violating doctrine of states’ rights in a bid to deal with the tension between the North and the

Native Americans vs. African Americans Essay Example for Free

Native Americans vs. African Americans Essay In today’s society there are many people living in poverty. All across America there are different projects and reservations where the less fortunate reside. Statistics show that mostly minorities live in these different locations. Native Americans and African Americans are two of the more popular races living in these places. The group suffering the most in these situations is the youth. Although both Native American and African American children living on a reservation or in the projects experience a terrible community, have little to no faith, and a broken family structure, African American youth living in the projects have it worse than Native American children living on a reservation. First, one of the most common living situations for less fortunate African Americans is in the projects. A project is a public living environment that is government owned. Although these buildings are government owned they are far from nice looking. Most of the buildings have no windows, are run down, dirty, and old. The government’s main goal is to maintain affordable housing not to make them the best looking homes in town. The projects aren’t a good environment for a child to be raised. Throughout these neighborhoods different gangs can be found. These gangs are built to defend the different areas in the projects. The gangs bring major violence to the area and are one of the main causes of death. At a young age children join these gangs and are raised to be violent. Many of them decorate the buildings they are living in with graffiti expressing their gang colors, symbols, or motto. In contrast, while Native American youth also live in poor housing, the environment is safer than the projects. A reservation is an area set aside for a specific type of land use or activity, or for use by a particular group of people, mostly Native Americans. Similar to the projects, houses on a reservation are old, beat down, and dirty. The houses on a reservation are government owned as well. Although these two locations are very similar they also differ. The reservation is a safer place then the projects. On the reservation there is a couple cases of mild violence but they aren’t as severe as the violence in the projects. Therefore, the reservations environment is a better environment than the projects. Secondly, many of the young people have no faith growing up in the projects. A lot of them believe their only way out of the projects is to become a basketball or football player or to become a top selling rap artist. At as young as sixteen years of age most African American males end up in jail, deceased, or selling drugs. A lot of them are also lead to believe that if they don’t do what every other man on the streets is doing, then they won’t make it anywhere in life. On the reservation the kids believe their only way out is to become NBA players or â€Å"powwowers†. Powwower’s are traditional Native American cheerleaders or dancers. Much like the African Americans growing up in the projects, the life expectancy rate for those living on a reservation is in the mid forties. Considering that both of these locations are in the United States mid forties is very young of age. Many of these people don’t live very long because they don’t have enough money to take care of themselves as well as their families. They also aren’t able to live a healthy lifestyle which shortens their days. Death is common in the two locations which leaves these two young groups wondering what’s beyond the age forty. Lastly, family structure is very important in a household. In the projects many of the homes lack a very strong family structure. Children growing up in the projects nine times out of ten don’t have both parents in the home. Most of them are drug dealers, alcoholics, prostitutes, or doing any and everything to try and provide for the child. Although these parents are trying to provide for their children a lot of the time they are also on welfare. Moreover, these children’s parents aren’t ever around, they sometimes go days without having anything to eat. Many of the young men follow after the footsteps of their father, older brother, or uncles which is why this cycle has continued for so long. Native Americans typically stick together as a unit. According to Sherman Alexie, an award winning author who grew up on a reservation, â€Å"Native American children are taught to be suspicious of Caucasian people. † Native Americans teach this to their children because there are many people in America that are against minorities and believe that just because they are the majority they’re better. A lot of the parents on a reservation go from job to job not being able to keep one job for a long period of time. Many of these parents are also alcoholics. On the other hand, some of these families on these reservations are very family oriented unlike the African American families in the projects. These Native American families have up to seventeen family members living in one house. They keep their families very close and are very supportive of one another rather then being against each other like African Americans. The parents watch over their children to make sure they don’t go down the wrong path in life. Although these families are experiencing hard times they cheer each other up and manage to smile every once in a while. Therefore, the Native Americans family structure is stronger then African Americans. In conclusion, Native American youth living on a reservation have it better then African American youth living in the projects. Both of these minorities are going through some hardships. From alcoholic parents to not having anything to eat they both are suffering as young children. Native American families provide a safer living environment, work harder, and look after one another, where as African Americans are against one another, on the streets all day, and are strongly associated with violence. As the years go on these families are hoping that the government will separate people in the projects and those living on reservations and provide them both with a better living situation. If these environments are separated the United States will be one step closer to eliminating violence in America.

Meningitis Vaccine Policy in Saudi Arabia

Meningitis Vaccine Policy in Saudi Arabia Meningitis Vaccine Policy During Hajj Overview of the Essay This essay looks at the meningitis vaccine policy during Hajj in Saudi Arabia, first looking at the healthcare system in Saudi Arabia, in terms of how the health care system is structured and what the policies towards vaccination against meningitis are. The essay then moves on to discuss more general policies towards meningitis vaccination, from the World Health Organisation (WHO), for example, and how the Saudi model of vaccination fits in to this more general framework. The essay then moves on to looking at social theories that have been suggested to explain how organisations work, in terms of understanding how meningitis can be spread through the hajjis attending the Hajj pilgrimage. The essay then moves on to look at what evidence has been gained from research in to meningitis outbreaks during Hajj, and meningitis control through vaccination. This is presented in the form of a literature review of the current, relevant, literature regarding meningitis outbreaks during Hajj, and meningitis control through vaccination. Literature that is specific to Saudi Arabia is focused on, although vaccination programmes that have been successfully attempted further afield will also be discussed. The essay then moves on to looking at how and when the current Saudi Arabian vaccination policy and how this policy differs from previous policies, in terms of why the new policy was introduced and what the positive and negative effects of this policy have been. This section incorporates research reviewed in the previous section, through the literature review of the relevant research, and also looks at how historical trends and international trends in healthcare have contributed to this policy. The impact of globalisation on health care is also discussed. The essay then moves on to discuss any gaps that are present between the stated policy and the implementation of this policy, in terms of the organisational constraints that are present that directly affect policy implementation. The next section of the essay looks at the implications of the policy for nursing practice, in terms of the direct involvement of nurses, the need for counselling and educating parents, in terms of the historical development of nursing and the international trends in nursing. Introduction The Saudi Healthcare System This section looks at how the health care system is structured in Saudi Arabia, and what the policies towards vaccination against meningitis are within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The essay then moves on to discuss more general policies towards meningitis vaccination, from the World Health Organisation (WHO), for example, and how the Saudi model of vaccination fits in to this more general framework. The essay then moves on to looking at social theories that have been suggested to explain how organisations work, in terms of understanding how meningitis can be spread through the hajjis attending the Hajj pilgrimage. The healthcare system in Saudi Arabia is essentially a national health care system, provided by the Government, which is overseen by the Ministry of Health (MOH), which provides primary healthcare services through a series of health care centres scattered throughout the Kingdom. These primary care centres refer applicable cases to advanced specialist curative services based in hospitals. In addition, secondary and tertiary care is provided by a variety of Ministries, and through a variety of private and public organisations: for example, Saudi Arabian universities provide specialist care, through their research hospitals and Saudi Arabian airlines provide health care to it’s employees. Emergency care is provided by the Saudi Red Crescent Society, and is also responsible for providing medical care during the Hajj and Umra pilgrimages. Health care is free, at the point of delivery, to all Saudi citizens and expatriates working in Saudi Arabia, and the Saudi Government spends an estimated ten per cent of its annual budget on health care: this seems to be a good investment as the Saudi’s have one of the highest life expectancy in the region, although obesity is becoming a concern in Saudi Arabia, due to the introduction of the ‘Western’ diet to the region. Whilst a more than adequate health care system is provided by the Saudi Government, as has been seen, there is also a thriving private healthcare system which provides all levels of care, from primary to tertiary and including emergency medical services. The Saudi Government is also interested in reforming the health care system, with a desire to achieve coordination amongst the various sectors and to increase the number of Saudi medical and nursing graduates so that Saudi employees can work in this sector, rather than employing many hundreds of thousands of expatriate nursing and medical staff, as is currently the case. The Saudi Government is also attempting to introduce a cooperative health insurance scheme, which would cover all non-Saudi residents living and working in the country. Infection Control for the Hajj In order to attend the Hajj, vaccination against the A and C meningitis strains was made mandatory, following on from the worldwide outbreak of meningitis A which occurred following the 1987 Hajj (Fonkoua et al., 2002) and a 1992 outbreak of meningitis A which occurred amongst Umra pilgrims (Wilder-Smith et al., 2003). In addition to this requirement for travellers entering Saudi Arabia for the Hajj, all hajjis coming from countries belonging to the African meningitis belt, and those arriving from areas that had recently experienced a meningitis outbreak, were required to take a single dose of ciprofloxacin upon arrival to Saudi Arabia (WHO, 2001). This policy was in place in Saudi Arabia until the recent outbreak of the W-135 serogroup. The current concern of health professionals and health organisations is, however, the W-135 serogroup, due to the recorded outbreak of meningitis amongst Singaporean pilgrims returning from the Hajj in 2001, many of whom had been vaccinated with the quadrivalent vaccine (Wilder-Smith et al., 2003). As stated in Wilder-Smith et al. (2003), there was a massive outbreak of serogroup W-135 meningitis in the 2000 and 2001 pilgrimages, through pharyngeal carriage of the serotype in pilgrims returning from the Hajj. Wilder-Smith et al. (2003) looked at meningitis carriage during the minor pilgrimage (Umra) and found that, whilst the W-135 serotype was carried, it was at a much lower rate of incidence, at 1.3% versus the 17% found in Hajj pilgrims, leading to their conclusion that in order to reduce the potential introduction of N.meningiditis W-135 in to the countries of origin of the pilgrims, then a ttentions would be better focused on those pilgrims attending the Hajj rather than the Umra. Following on from the Hajj-associated outbreak of W-135 serogroup, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health changed their policy with regards to meningitis and made it mandatory for hajjis to receive the quadrivalent vaccine (against A, C, Y and W-135) as a visa requirement from 2002 for people entering Saudi Arabia for the purposes of the Hajj (Wilder-Smith et al., 2003). In addition, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health administers antibiotics to all local Saudi hajjis in order to eradicate the carriage of the W-135 serogroup and to reduce transmission to local contacts and to the larger community (Wilder-Smith et al., 2003). In terms of more general policies with regards to vaccination programmes against meningitis, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended control practices for meningitis involve vaccination with the A/C vaccine in response to epidemics, which requires that epidemics are detected early and that stocks of vaccines be set up in at-risk regions, so that vaccination can be rapid (Fonkoua et al., 2002). Whilst other outbreaks of the W-135 strain of meningitis are becoming increasingly common, such as the outbreaks in Yaounde in Cameroon (Fonkoua et al., 2002) and in Burkina Faso (which killed 1500 people of the 13000 known to have been infected), the WHO is recommends preventative vaccination to protect those individuals at risk (for example, travellers, people in the military and pilgrims) (WHO, 2003) and vaccination for those who have been in close contact with known meningitis cases. In terms of vaccination for epidemic control, the WHO recommends that in the African meningitis belt , the known hotspot for meningitis, stretching from Senegal to Ethopia, epidemics be controlled with enhanced surveillance and the use of oily chloramphenicol, with mass vaccinations for those areas in the epidemic phase and those contiguous areas that are in alert phase: such mass vaccination, promptly administered is estimated to prevent seventy per cent of cases (WHO, 2003). As shown in a 2001 WHO report (WHO, 2001) on the emergence of the W-135 strain of meningitis, infection with this strain can lead to outbreaks of considerable size and because the epidemiology of this strain is not well understood, there is a serious need for travellers to the Hajj to be protected. The 2001 outbreak of W-135 strain of meningitis at the Hajj spread worldwide with a total of 304 cases reported and this outbreak raised serious questions as to whether the W-135 strain of meningitis will become a major public health problem at national and international levels (WHO, 2001). As shown in the NHS leaflet specially designed for UK citizens and residents planning on attending the Hajj, the W-135 strain of meningitis is deadly and vaccination against the A and C strains of meningitis does not protect an individual against this more deadly strain: only the quadrivalent vaccine will protect individuals against the W-135 strain of meningitis (NHS, 2007). In terms of the WHO policy on the W-135 strain of meningitis, the WHO has stated that the currently available vaccine is too expensive to be applicable for mass vaccination programmes that are known to be effective in the prevention of the epidemic outbreak of other meningitis strains, and so the WHO is pressing for an affordable vaccine against the W-135 strain, i.e., a vaccine at a price that would be affordable in an African situation, given that the majority of outbreaks of meningitis occurring worldwide occur in the African meningitis belt (WHO, 2003). Thus, there is no widespread vaccination programme with the quadrivalent vaccine, which protects against the W-135 strain of meningitis, unlike the routine vaccination programmes with the vaccines that are effective against the A and C strains. As the WHO, the Saudi government and various Governments who deal with their citizens who attend the Hajj (for example, the UK) are recommending, it is, at the moment, sufficient that the quadrivalent vaccine is given only to those who are at risk, i.e., those who are planning on entering a region that is known to have the W-135 strain. Widespread vaccination against the W-135 strain of meningitis is not being practiced anywhere in the world, mainly, it seems, due to the high cost of the vaccine but also due to the fact that there is no scientific evidence as to the global direction of the W-135 strain of meningitis i.e., the fact that there is no evidence, as yet, to suggest that the W-135 strain of meningitis will become a global scourge (WH O, 2001) and, as such, that it is not certain, as yet, as to whether a mass vaccination against this strain is necessary. Due to this information, the Saudi Arabian government implemented a mass vaccination with the tetravalent vaccine, active against the A, C and W strains of meningitis (WHO, 2001) and put in place the controls for hajjis as previously outlined: i) making it mandatory for hajjis to receive the quadrivalent vaccine (against A, C, Y and W-135) as a visa requirement from 2002 for people entering Saudi Arabia for the purposes of the Hajj (Wilder-Smith et al., 2003); ii) administering antibiotics to all local Saudi hajjis in order to eradicate the carriage of the W-135 serogroup and to reduce transmission to local contacts and to the larger community (Wilder-Smith et al., 2003); and iii) requiring all hajjis coming from countries belonging to the African meningitis belt, and those arriving from areas that had recently experienced a meningitis outbreak, to take a single dose of ciprofloxacin upon arrival to Saudi Arabia (WHO, 2001). Social theories to explain how organisations work This section looks at some of the social theories that have been suggested to explain how organisations work, in terms of understanding how meningitis can be spread through the hajjis attending the Hajj pilgrimage. In terms of the social theories that have been suggested to explain how organisations work, in terms of understanding how meningitis can be spread through the hajjis attending the Hajj pilgrimage Bourdieu, writing in Hillier and Rooksby (2005) talks about the concept of ‘habitus’ in terms of describing both geographical and social spaces or dispositions, which Bourdieu (2005) describes as permanent manners of being, seeing, acting and thinking, a permanent structure of perception, conception and action. Bourdieu’s (2005) thinking on habitus and dispositions can be applied to participation in the Hajj, as Bourdieu (2005) widens his definition of habitus to include unity of human behaviour, or what he terms lifestyle: that is, a set of acquired characteristics which are the product of prevailing social conditions. Bourdieu (2005) argues that this habitus, this disposition, can lead to entrenched behaviours and responses, especially in religious beliefs, for example, which leads, for example, to people wishing to attend the Hajj pilgrimage as part of their religious beliefs. Other social theories that have been put forward to explain organisational behaviour include social network theory (Barnes, 1954) which explains how social networks are formed, through the formation of nodes (i.e,, individuals) which are bound together through interdependency such as values or visions or disease transmission. The use of this theory can help epidemiologists explain how, for example, meningitis is spread amongst and beyond hajjis, leading to the development of plans and policies to contain the spread of meningitis. This will be looked at in more detail later in the essay. The Evidence from the Research This section looks at what evidence has been gained from research in to meningitis outbreaks during Hajj, and meningitis control through vaccination. This is presented in the form of a literature review of the current, relevant, literature regarding meningitis outbreaks during Hajj, and meningitis control through vaccination. Literature that is specific to Saudi Arabia is focused on, although outbreaks and vaccination programmes that have been successfully attempted further afield will also be discussed. There was a massive outbreak of serogroup W-135 meningitis in the 2000 and 2001 Hajj pilgrimages, through pharyngeal carriage of the serotype in pilgrims returning from the Hajj (Wilder-Smith et al., 2003). Wilder-Smith et al. (2003) looked at meningitis carriage during the minor pilgrimage (Umra) and found that, whilst the W-135 serotype was carried, it was at a much lower rate of incidence, at 1.3% versus the 17% found in Hajj pilgrims, leading to their conclusion that in order to reduce the potential introduction of N.meningiditis W-135 in to the countries of origin of the pilgrims, then attentions would be better focused on those pilgrims attending the Hajj rather than the Umra. Outbreaks of the W-135 strain of meningitis are becoming increasingly common further afield, such as the outbreaks in Yaounde in Cameroon (reported in Fonkoua et al., 2002) and in Burkina Faso (which killed 1500 people of the 13000 known to have been infected) (reported in WHO, 2001). To this end, as will be seen, whilst there is a vaccine against the W-135 strain of meningitis, this vaccine is extremely expensive and, as such, is not suitable for mass vaccination programmes. The vaccine is currently only in usage for travellers who are expecting to travel in to high risk regions, i.e., hajjis travelling to the Hajj which happens in a known outbreak area. It is hoped, however, that the WHO lobbying of the pharmaceutical companies will produce a more affordable version of the vaccine that would then be utilised in mass vaccination programmes, particularly across the African meningitis region, in order to minimise the spread of the deadly W-135 strain of meningitis. The Saudi Arabian Vaccination Policy This section looks at the current Saudi Arabian vaccination policy and how this policy differs from previous policies, in terms of why the new policy was introduced and what the positive and negative effects of this policy have been. This section incorporates research reviewed in the previous section, through the literature review of the relevant research, and also looks at how historical trends and international trends in healthcare have contributed to this policy. The impact of globalisation on health care is also discussed. Prior to the W-135 meningitis outbreak amongst those who had attended the 2001 Hajj, and following on from the worldwide outbreak of meningitis A which occurred following the 1987 Hajj (Fonkoua et al., 2002) and a 1992 outbreak of meningitis A which occurred amongst Umra pilgrims (Wilder-Smith et al., 2003), the Saudi Arabia vaccine policy was for mandatory vaccination against the A and C meningitis strains for all hajjis, with the necessity to present a certificate of vaccination upon application for a visa to travel to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj. In 2003, similarly to many other countries, such as the UK, who also undertake such a mass vaccination scheme, the Saudi Arabian government implemented a mass vaccination with the tetravalent vaccine, which is active against the A, C and W strains of meningitis (WHO, 2001). Following the 2001 W-135 outbreak, the Saudi Arabian Government put in place several controls for hajjis: i) it became mandatory for hajjis to receive the quadrivalent vaccine (against A, C, Y and W-135) as a visa requirement from 2002 for people entering Saudi Arabia for the purposes of the Hajj (Wilder-Smith et al., 2003); ii) the Saudi Arabian Government administered antibiotics to all local Saudi hajjis in order to eradicate the carriage of the W-135 serogroup and to reduce transmission to local contacts and to the larger community (Wilder-Smith et al., 2003); and iii) it became a requirement for entry to the country that all hajjis coming from countries belonging to the African meningitis belt, and those arriving from areas that had recently experienced a meningitis outbreak, were to take a single dose of ciprofloxacin upon arrival to Saudi Arabia (WHO, 2001). In terms of how international trends in healthcare and globalisation have contributed to these changes in the policy of the Saudi Arabian Government towards controlling meningitis, whilst the Hajj has always attracted pilgrims from all over the world, only recently has the deadly W-135 strain of meningitis reared its head, presenting a potentially disastrous scenario if this disease became epidemic as a consequence of the ideal conditions for disease replication that the Hajj presents. Thus, the Saudi Arabian Government has had to work fast to draw up a policy that minimises, as far as possible, the chances of a W-135 epidemic. The Saudi Arabian response to this threat has been impressive, in terms of drawing up practical, preventative measures so quickly and putting these in to practice so quickly. Globalisation has speeded up international travel and, through globalisation, the world has become, in a very real sense, smaller. One can literally travel wherever one desires, faster than ever before. The fact that there was an outbreak of W-135 in Singapore, amongst Singaporean hajjis, shows that what could once, historically, have been an isolated outbreak of such a deadly disease now has the potential to affect many thousands of individuals, as those infected could, potentially, travel on many different modes of transport, across many thousands of miles, coming in to contact with many different individuals, who could then become carriers of the disease, spreading the disease far afield and leading to different outbreaks of the same disease in places where the disease has never been reported previously. Problems Facing the Policies in Place to Prevent Meningitis Outbreaks During the Hajj This section discusses the gaps that are present between the stated policy and the implementation of this policy, in terms of the organisational constraints that are present that directly affect policy implementation. The actual situation of meningitis control amongst hajjis requires attention, as it is known that many hajjis enter Saudi Arabia illegally and thus are not reached by formal checks or health services whilst entering Saudi Arabia (WHO, 2001). This leads to the situation where diseases could be spread through an individual slipping through the many and varied controls that have been put in place by the Saudi Arabian Government, as it is known that many of these illegal immigrants come from countries that do not have vaccination programmes in place and who, therefore, are highly unlikely to have been vaccined prior to travelling to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj. For this reason, aside from the formal border controls on entry of hajjis, vaccination posts have been established in the last few years around the Holy Mosque (WHO, 2001). In addition, risks are presented by the arrival, at Saudi Arabian border entry ports, of individuals bearing false vaccination certificates. This presents a particular problem as these individuals put at risk the Saudi Arabian control policies that are in place, through the fact that these individuals may be carriers of disease, and may pass disease to the hajjis, but also because the need to vaccinate these individuals, often numbering in to the thousands, costs the Saudi Arabian Government time and money, paying for and administering the vaccine, a vaccine that is in short global supply and which is expensive (WHO, 2001). In terms of minimising the chances of such problems occurring, the Saudi Arabian Government has been in close talks with the Governments of countries of the African meningitis belt to offer direct, on the spot, help with vaccination programmes, donating vaccines to those countries who cannot afford them and opening temporary health centres in those countries that do not have the necessary infrastructure for the administration of said vaccines (WHO, 2001). The Saudi Arabian Government is also involved in research looking at, for example, carriage prevelance of meningitis strains in Mecca and the impact of mass chemoprophylaxis with ciprofloxacin (Who, 2001). Thus, whilst there are gaps that are present between the stated policy and the implementation of this policy, in terms of the organisational constraints that are present that directly affect policy implementation, the Saudi Arabian Government seems, really, as shown through this in-depth study, to be doing literally all it can to attempt to control, as far as possible, the outbreak of various strains of meningitis amongst hajjis during Hajj. Implications of the Saudi Arabian Policy for Nursing Practice The next section of the essay looks at the implications of the policy for nursing practice, in terms of the direct involvement of nurses, the need for counselling and educating parents, in terms of the historical development of nursing and the international trends in nursing. There are many and varied problems presented to UK nurses by the Saudi Arabian policy on vaccination against meningitis, in terms of the fact that UK nursing staff need training to understand the cultural significance of the Hajj to their muslim patients, in order to understand any potential requests for vaccination and to diagnose any potential diseases on their return from the Hajj. Nurses dealing directly with hajjis also require further training in the current vaccination requirements for hajjis, as determined by the Saudi Arabian Government’s vaccination policy, as shown through their visa requirements, in order to administer the correct, required, vaccines. The nursing staff in contact with hajjis should also be fully versed in the symptoms of all types of meningitis (including the deadly W-135) and other diseases that could be contracted whilst undertaking the Hajj, in order for timely diagnoses to be made, and timely treatment to be delivered to the patient. The fact that there was an outbreak of W-135 in Singapore, amongst Singaporean hajjis, shows that what could once, historically, have been an isolated outbreak of such a deadly disease now has the potential to affect many thousands of individuals, as those infected could, potentially, travel on many different modes of transport, across many thousands of miles, coming in to contact with many different individuals, who could then become carriers of the disease, spreading the disease far afield and leading to different outbreaks of the same disease in places where the disease has never been reported previously. Thus, globalisation has led to the situation where nursing staff need to be attuned to the possibility of ‘local’ patients presenting with ‘tropical’ or ‘foreign’ diseases. Whilst there is a system of reporting set up for such diseases, the early diagnosis of such diseases is often mistaken for common ailments, such as flu, for example, and diagnosis and treatment delayed, often leading to the spreading of the disease whilst the patient is ‘at large’ and not contained. This was the case in the 2001 outbreak of W-135 meningitis in the UK, with only 8 of the 51 total cases being actual pilgrims and 22 cases being contacts of the pilgrims, with 21 cases not having any apparent contact with the pilgrims: transmission was maintained for several months prior to diagnosis which is suspected to have led to many of the additional cases (WHO, 2001). Thus, nursing staff in countries that host Hajj attendees, such as the UK, need to be aware not only of current policies which affect the vaccination requirements of hajjis, but also of diseases that could be contracted whilst at the Hajj, in terms of knowing what symptoms to look for in patients returning from the Hajj. Saudi Arabian policies that are aimed at controlling the spread of meningitis during the Hajj thus not only have an effect on Saudi Arabian nursing staff, in terms of requiring them to administer any necessary vaccines and/or other medication, but also have a direct impact on nursing staff in those countries that host hajjis, for example, the UK, requiring special training for nursing staff. Conclusion This essay has looked at the meningitis vaccine policy during Hajj in Saudi Arabia, first looking at the healthcare system in Saudi Arabia, in terms of how the health care system is structured and what the policies towards vaccination against meningitis are. It was seen that the Saudi Arabian policies to vaccination against meningitis have changed somewhat in light of the 2001 outbreak of the W-135 strain of meningitis, which led to a tightening of requirements for entry to the country for the purposes of the Hajj and to a widespread vaccination programme across Saudi Arabia, and a local vaccination and medication programme in the immediate vicinity of the Hajj sites. The essay then moved on to discuss more general policies towards meningitis vaccination, from the World Health Organisation (WHO), for example, and how the Saudi model of vaccination fits in to this more general framework. As seen, the WHO is concerned that a major outbreak of the W-135 strain of meningitis could not be controlled, due to the high cost of the vaccine; the Saudi mondel fits in to this general framework in terms of aiming to prevent an outbreak not through mass vaccination with the quadrivalent vaccine but through the careful control of individuals entering the Hajj zone. The essay then moved on to looking at social theories that have been suggested to explain how organisations work, in terms of understanding how meningitis can be spread through the hajjis attending the Hajj pilgrimage, showing that many social theories are applicable to explain how diseases are transmitted across the Hajj period. The evidence that has been gained from research in to meningitis outbreaks during Hajj was then discussed, as was the historical treatment of meningitis control through vaccination. This was presented in the form of a literature review of the current, relevant, literature regarding meningitis outbreaks during Hajj, and meningitis control through vaccination. Literature that is specific to Saudi Arabia was focused on, although vaccination programmes that have been successfully attempted further afield were also discussed. The essay then moved on to look at how and when the current Saudi Arabian vaccination policy has changed, and how this policy differs from previous policies, in terms of why the new policy was introduced and what the positive and negative effects of this policy have been. It was shown that, prior to the W-135 meningitis outbreak amongst those who had attended the 2001 Hajj, and following on from the worldwide outbreak of meningitis A which occurred following the 1987 Hajj (Fonkoua et al., 2002) and a 1992 outbreak of meningitis A which occurred amongst Umra pilgrims (Wilder-Smith et al., 2003), the Saudi Arabia vaccine policy was for mandatory vaccination against the A and C meningitis strains for all hajjis, with the necessity to present a certificate of vaccination upon application for a visa to travel to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj. In 2003, similarly to many other countries, such as the UK, who also undertake such a mass vaccination scheme, the Saudi Arabian government implemented a mass vaccination with the tetravalent vaccine, which is active against the A, C and W strains of meningitis (WHO, 2001). Following the 2001 W-135 outbreak, the Saudi Arabian Government put in place several controls for hajjis: i) it became mandatory for hajjis to receive the quadrivalent vaccine (against A, C, Y and W-135) as a visa requirement from 2002 for people entering Saudi Arabia for the purposes of the Hajj (Wilder-Smith et al., 2003); ii) the Saudi Arabian Government administered antibiotics to all local Saudi hajjis in order to eradicate the carriage of the W-135 serogroup and to reduce transmission to local contacts and to the larger community (Wilder-Smith et al., 2003); and iii) it became a requirement for entry to the country that all hajjis coming from countries belonging to the African meningitis belt, and those arriving from areas that had recently experienced a meningitis outbreak, were to take a single dose of ciprofloxacin upon arrival to Saudi Arabia (WHO, 2001). In terms of how historical trends and international trends in healthcare have contributed to this policy, and the impact of globalisation on health care, it was shown that globalisation has meant that diseases can spread far more rapidly and widely than ever before, and that this has grave consequences in terms of deadly diseases such as the W-135 strain of meningitis. Various problems for the Saudi Arabian vaccination policy were then discussed, and the relevant solutions were given, and then the essay moved on to discussing the role of nurses involved in the care potential hajjis and of returning, infected, hajjis, in terms of the implications of the Saudi Arabian vaccination policy for nursing practice, in terms of the direct involvement of nurses, the need for counselling and educating parents, and in terms of the historical development of nursing and the international trends in n