The Bakun Dam Project in Sarawak Essay Example

The Bakun Dam Project in Sarawak Paper For more than 30 years, there have been discussions concerning the development of the Baku Dam in the East Malaysian state of Karakas. If built, the dam would be the largest in South-East Asia. The Baku Dam: A Case Study indicates that generating 2400 megawatts of power, it would provide electricity for all of Karakas, and for industries and cities in mainland Malaysia, through a cable under the South China Sea. At 650 kilometers, this would be by far the longest cable in the world. The Baku Dam has been a highly controversial issue spanning over three decades as its validity and use to the people of Malaysia have been questioned. For the cost that involves producing this dam, at seven billion dollars and rising, is there a need for so much power at all? The main environmental issue here is whether Karakas should sacrifice forests in order to promote the economic growth of its country or cease construction to preserve the traditional environment and standards of living. It is essential to the people of Malaysia that the construction of the dam continues, as it will benefit them in the future through industrialization. This dam can be seen as a source of employment for the nation, the creation of international interest, and increased economic growth. There are also many negatives to the completion of the dam; which include the displacement of natives, increased foreign debt, and the gradual deterioration of the dam after many years. There are many other factors that contribute to this issue, however, the above three positive components are fundamental to the further growth of Malaysia. We will write a custom essay sample on The Bakun Dam Project in Sarawak specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Bakun Dam Project in Sarawak specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Bakun Dam Project in Sarawak specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The main stakeholders involved in this area of interest include Malaysian non- governmental organizations opposed to the project, indigenous peoples affected, non-governmental organizations outside Malaysia opposed the reject, Malaysian State and Federal governments, Koran Bernhard (the developer), and international corporations contributing to the project. The Baku Dam has had an uncertain, highly controversial history. The project is of importance to Malaysian political and business leaders as there is a promise of abundant electricity and a lever by which Karakas could be lifted out of its backward state. It has been said that for environmentalists and the native people, the project would flood tropical forests and force the resettlement of approximately 10 000 people in order to generate high cost electricity, for which no market might exist (Dams Initiative). These contrasting perspectives on the Baku Dam make it valuable as a case study to identify the best power solution for a nations economic problem. There have been many complications regarding the Baku Dam since its introduction. Bevies (1 995, p. 65) stated that after initial surveys in the early asses, in 1 986, a decision by the national government was made to construct the dam. In 1 990, official postponement of the project was made due to protests and doubts about the dams economic viability. In 1 993 however, he project was renewed with the catalyst being Malaysias desperate need for power. It was said that in 1 994, the awarding of the project contract to Koran Bernhard cemented the importance the dam was for the Malaysian government to address its financial issues (Bevies, 1995, up. 101-102). But nevertheless, further problems mounted and in 1 997, the project was deferred in the face of the Asian economic crisis. In recent years, the project has been rehabilitated with last year being the set date for the completion of the project. Clearly however, the completion of the Baku Dam will not take lace for a further few years. There are many advantages to the completion Of the Baku Dam for Malaysia. Proponents of the project argue that the dam has several benefits, and minimal impacts. For the native residents of the region, it would be a source of employment during construction, and would indirectly stimulate creation of other employment opportunities. It has been stated that increased cash income for these residents was advocated as the only means to change the backward status of this region, and to address poverty (Chocolates, 1993, p. 163). These are the initial steps to consolidating Malaysias economic and environmental future. Even after the project had been shelved in 1990, lobbying by its proponents continued, particularly by the Karakas government, which urged the federal government to revive the project. Finally, in September 1993, the Malaysian cabinet approved construction of the Baku Dam. In reviving the project, Malaysias need for power was most often invoked as justification. By 1993 the Malaysian economy was growing by more than 8 percent per year, with electricity demand expanding even faster. The Borneo Bulletin affirms that lockouts in 1992 and 1993, and a predicted doubling of demand by 2000, were indications of a power crisis, justifying extraordinary efforts to expand supply. Project proponents also believed the Baku Dam could help reduce dependence on fossil fuels, especially oil. Most evident however, was that this project was consistent with an energy policy relying almost entirely on supply. In Hardens argument, he referred to the quote from environmentalist Grit Sings (1995) to prove his theory: The concept of energy conservation and certainly its implementation is virtually absent in Malaysia. This is why Malaysia needs to complete the dam, to enhance its economic and environmental status on the worldwide scale. Furthermore, the Baku Dam has attracted the attention of numerous international engineering and construction companies, with experience building dams elsewhere. The IRON Baku Campaign specifies that this is a means of attracting investment to Karakas, of fostering its industrialization, so that it could develop to the same extent as, or even beyond, mainland Malaysia. Originally, Germany, Mexico and Brazil were major participants in a consortium to bid to have privileges to build the dam. The dam was used as a connection to develop close ties between Malaysia and associated countries. Spires (1 995 p. 135) reported that recent contract an announcements have included Europe, Latin America and certain parts of Asia to add to the increasing number of foreign firms constructing the dam. This is beneficiary for the Malaysian economy as there is more money coming into the nation. Beyond the economic viability of the project itself, the Baku Dam has been justified in terms of the overall economic development of Malaysia. In 1991 Malaysia established Vision 2020, a plan that envisages Malaysia becoming fully developed and industrialized nation by 2020. Within this context, the IRON Baku Campaign informs that the Baku Dam could contribute in several ways to Vision 2020 through the supply of electricity, needed by manufacturing. In recent years, demand for power has increased by up to 13%/year. In addition, the project would be a model of close partnership between the state and federal governments, and the private sector. Furthermore, Vision 2020 can be achieved through gaining access to advanced power technology, such as turbines and transmission lines, provided by foreign engineering firms. The role the dam plays on Vision 2020 can progressively contribute to Malaysia becoming industrialized in the future. However, the Baku Dam has been the focus of intense controversy as well. Human implications included the displacement of approximately 10 000 native people to the Karakas region. The displacement and resettlement of these people in effect involved the loss of their way of life, and the acceptance of a modern lifestyle. Most people are now subsistence farmers, supplementing their income through cash crops or jobs in timber companies. These native people once valued their autonomy, as one indigenous person dated in a Friends of the Earth press release (1995): We are poor only insofar as we have little money. In fact, we are rich, because we have all we need to feed ourselves and house ourselves. Rice is free, fish and meat are free, vegetables are free, water is free, and lumber is free. After the relocation these natives no longer have their own land, and have to seek work instead on large plantations to survive. Malaysia: the progress bought by the Baku Dam in Karakas states that the project had long been criticized for the possibilities of a dam collapse, earth remorse, new waterborne diseases, deterioration of the reservoir, disruption of downstream water quality, salt water intrusion, loss of fish habitat, and sediment accumulation behind the dam that would render it useless within fifty years. Construction of the dam would also result in loss of approximately 23 000 ha fertile agricultural land. These were some of the many environmental effects cited that would one day harm Karakas. There were also questions about the economic costs of the project. The Lira Monthly (1 995, p. 71) assumed that in the asses, much of the necessary UAPITA would be raised through loans from international agencies such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. These loans would substantially increase Malaysias foreign debt. It was even unclear whether the nation, then in recession, needed so much electricity. However in todays society, research shows that the need for electricity would aid in the industrialization of the nation. There have been many alternating perceptions on the Baku Dam issue. Many people believe that the Baku Dam is just the start of the transformation of Malaysia. Private investors from all around the world live that their investments will bring them great financial returns. One investor from Belgium stated: There has been so much controversy over this dam. I chose to invest in it because I believe it has great potential. The Baku Dam will be the means Of a new and improved Malaysia, all it needs is some financial assistance. Is there any controversy in financial assistance? As part of an international lobbying effort, Friends of the Earth along sent letters to hundreds institutional investors and fund managers in February 1997 warning them of the financial, environmental and social risks involved in he Baku project. Sarah Tack of Friends of the Earth said: It is clear that major institutional investors and financial analysts are beginning to realizes that an investment in this Baku Hydroelectric project is not only unethical but carries a high financial risk due to overly optimistic performance forecasts. Koran must take this Luke warm response from potential foreign investors as a reflection Of the lack Of confidence in this project There is a great need for private intervention on the project to assist in its completion. In the projects incarnation in the asses, funding for the dam was to discussed in any detail publicly. It was the assumption that Malaysia would seek loans from international sources. However, in the 1 sass, there were strong intentions from the federal government to avoid funding from multilateral sources. In a recent newspaper article published by the Borneo Bulletin (2001 a statement by Prime Minister Mathis helps explain his governments effort to avoid involvement of the World Bank: We in the poor countries would like to have some cheap hydroelectric power. But all manner of campaigns are mounted against our proposals the World Bank will be used to deprive poor countries of cheap hydroelectric power. And all this after the rich have developed most of their hydro potentials. Instead, funding is being sought through domestic private and government sources, as well as international private investors. While domestic sources are envisaged as the dominant sources of funding, funding from foreign private sources is also clearly a priority for project proponents, perhaps because of the credibility such funding would provide. However, the effort devoted to obtaining private funding illustrates the obstacles encountered in financing such a project without subsidies. It has often been argued by dam opponents that such projects could not survive without large subsidies from governments or multilateral development banks. Difficulties that Koran has encountered in soliciting interest from foreign private investors suggest that this is also the case in this project. Malaysia: the progress bought by the Baku Dam in Karakas reports that in July 1 996, Delphi International, a British consulting firm, warned its clients and potential investors in the project that the Baku Dam promised far greater kiss than is typical of power projects, and lower returns. This has presented an additional obstacle to Sarans efforts to attract foreign investment. The extent to which the Baku Dam represents prevarication of power generation is ambiguous; while Koran Bertha currently holds the largest stake in the project and is actively seeking private investment, the Karakas state government and Cosec are also major shareholders. (Spires, 1995, p. 139-140). Evidently, although there are firms that are currently investing in the Baku Dam, more needs to be done to attract further investors. Koran has also agreed to sell much of the power to the national public utility, at rates that may involve considerable subsidy of the project by Malaysian electricity consumers. This is an important process towards providing for a more advanced and Industrialized Malaysia. There is certainly a way the Baku Dam can be built with minimum impact on the environment and the Malaysian economy. Initially, there are uncertainties concerning the technical details of project. These include variations in rainfall and stream flow at the dam site, and the design and stability of the dam itself. One of the most significant technical worries relates to the cables that will deliver power to the Malaysian mainland. They are, in effect, an unprecedented experiment. Dams Initiative studies show that at 650 km, they are far longer than the longest existing undersea power cables, beneath the calmer waters between Denmark and Sweden. No reliable estimates of how much these cables will cost, how long they will last, or how much power will be lost as it travels through the cable, are available yet. The Baku Dam project is definitely manageable, and a positive step to consolidating Malaysias economic and environmental future. The design of the Baku Dam has evolved since the initial studies carried out in the early asses, taking into account developments worldwide. The design of the dam has incorporated features that will ensure the highest degree of safety and economics. The project certainly yields more positive outcomes with respect to the use of local resources and employment, promotion of regional development and industrialization, savings of fossil fuel, and river regulation. Negative ecological effects include the deterioration of the water quality (although temporary), displacement of natives, and high foreign debt. However, with proper planning of precautionary measures, these negative outcomes can be kept under control. The main recommendations in consideration are to constantly monitor water quality, provide to the natives essential needs, and maintain appropriate foreign debts. Ultimately, the negative outcomes are only temporary. Although environmental conditions may not be positive and debt will mount during construction of the dam, these situations will diminish over a period of time and these impacts will lessen. Malaysia will benefit greatly from the Baku Dam in the not too distant future.

Lab Report Boiling Point and Melting Point Essays

Lab Report Boiling Point and Melting Point Essays Lab Report Boiling Point and Melting Point Paper Lab Report Boiling Point and Melting Point Paper Should be based on observations made during the experiment. Evaluation of laboratory exercise type: On a separate page, each student should write a brief comment regarding 1) which lab method you prefer (inquiry-method, i. E. Problem-solving oriented, or traditional lab. Like this one. 2) group size (individual labs or small-group labs) 3) report writing individual or small group 4) Any negative aspects about chem.. Lab how we can improve them 5) any other comments We expect an evaluation from everyone. If you prefer not to put your name on this evaluation, thats k. Lab Instructions: Objectives: 1. To determine the boiling point of a liquid, and 2. To determine the melting point of a solid. Materials Used: Matches Spoilsport (Rubbing) Alcohol 1-2 small rubber bands Thermometer Powdered stand beaker 2 closed-end capillary tubes (melting point tubes) 10-12 mm diameter test tube Heat source Discussion and Review: In this experiment we will examine additional physical properties of liquids and solids. Two of the more important physical properties of pure substances are the boiling point and the melting point. The boiling point of a liquid is the temperature at which that liquid is converted to a gaseous state. Boiling point is formally defined as the temperature at which the vapor pressure of the liquid becomes equal to the pressure at the surface of the liquid. The boiling point of. A liquid can change if the pressure at the liquids surface changes. Since pure substances have a distinct boiling point, boiling points are sometimes used to determine the purity of substances. The melting point is the temperature at which a solid is converted to liquid. This is an important property of solids. The melting point of solids, like the boiling point of liquids, is often used for the identification of substances. Boiling points and melting points are recorded in the Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, and can be found in the sections titled Physical Constants of Organic Compounds and Physical Constants of Inorganic Compounds. PROCEDURES: I. Boiling Point 1 . Make a test tube assembly by using the following directions and illustration. A. Place about 1 ml of Spoilsport alcohol in a 10-12 mm diameter test tube. B. Using a small rubber band, attach a thermometer to the outside of the test tube. The thermometer bulb should be even with the test tubes bottom. C. Insert an inverted closed end capillary tube into the test tube. . Make a water bath assembly by using the following directions and illustration. A. Half fill a 100 ml or larger beaker with warm tap water. [Note: a water bath is used if the boiling point of the material is expected to be less than the boiling point of water; otherwise, an oil bath is needed. ] b. Place the above test tube assembly in the water bath so that the surface level of the alcohol in the test tube is beneath the surface level of the water bath. . Place the beaker on the wire stand and, stirring frequently to insure even heating, carefully heat the water bath with your heat source until the water bath oils and a rapid stream of bubbles continuously emerges from the capillary tube. [Note: if an oil bath is used, the oil does not boil; the stream of bubbles from the capillary tube is the sole indicator that the liquid in the pipette or test tube is boiling. ] d. Remove the heat source and begin observing the stream of bubbles. E. When the last bubble emerges from the capillary tube, record the temperature. 3. Reheat the water bath and repeat the cooling process two more times. Record the temperature reading after each trial, and average all three trials. 4. The published boiling point of spoilsport alcohol is 82. Co. 5. Calculate the error between the observed boiling point and the published value of the boiling point. II. Melting Point 1 . A. Push the open end of a capillary tube into the powdered academic. B. Move the powder to the closed end of the capillary tube by tapping it on the table. Repeat until the the powdered academic occupies 1-2 mm of the capillary tube end. C. With rubber bands, attach the capillary tube to a thermometer and align the bulb of the thermometer with the closed end of the capillary tube. D. Make a water bath as before by half filling a 100 ml beaker with warm tap water. E. Place the thermometer/capillary tube assembly in the water bath so that the surface level of the powdered academic is beneath the surface level of the water bath. F. Place the beaker on the burner stand and, stirring frequently to insure even heating, carefully heat the water bath with your heat source. G. Note the temperature at which the academic melts. Remove heat source. . Let the academic cool and recitalist. Repeat the procedure two more times and average the results. i. The published melting of academic is ICC. Compare your experimental result with the accepted (published) value. . Calculate the percent error. Clean-up: Dispose of the used capillary tubes by putting them in your trash can. If any spoilsport alcohol is left in your test tube, you may p our it down the drain with All contents copyrighted (c) 1 998 Peter Scoffing, Ph. D. , Professor of Science, Colorado Mountain College All Rights reserved Experiment 10 As described in the lab manual: 1. Record the barometric pressure. 2. Measure about 10 Goff ice using the chemical balance and place it into a 100 ml beaker. Heat over a flame until half of the ice has melted. Remove from heat and measure the temperature s accurately as possible using your laboratory thermometer. Repeat with a 10. 0 g sample of your unknown. Be sure to record your unknown number. 3. Measure 50 ml of water using your graduated cylinder and pour it into a 200 ml beaker. Bring the liquid to a boil over a flame. After the liquid has been boiling for approximately 1-2 minutes, measure the temperature of the boiling liquid. Repeat with a 10 g sample of your unknown. Record all data in your lab notebook and clean up. We followed all the steps above pretty much closely and pretty much got the results for water that we expected, except that the ductwork had cheap thermometers because one of them broke (this was my lab partners fault she used it as a stirring rod which is exactly what you said not to do in your lecture) and the new one was off by a few degrees but it was close enough for this simple experiment. The pressure in the room was 761. 2 and the temperatures we measured for our unknown were: -15 and 17. Correcting for our water results this made our measurements -15. 2 and 17. 4 after the corrections. Based on these temperatures and the data we looked up in the library, our unknown was certainly blabber gas. The error in our results as really small and the experiment worked really good. Other errors include: possible math errors in our calculations and human error. Overall the lab was really good and we learned quite a lot of stuff. Especially liked the part where the blabber gas exploded when heated scaring my partner (I think that may be why she broke the thermometer). The only criticism of the lab is that the equipotent wasnt really great and that we ran out of time but otherwise it was a really good experience and I think it taught us a lot of chemistry. Notes: For references we used our textbook, lab manual, and the Chemical Handbook mound on shelf 2 of the library (behind the reference desk). What to do? A. Student Chemistry 1 Identification of a Compound using Melting and Boiling Points Introduction One of the primary methods used to characterize a new compound is the physical determination of its normal melting and boiling points. The normal melting and boiling point is the temperature at which a substance melts or boils when the barometric pressure is 760 mug or 1 ATM. In this experiment we will first calibrate our thermometers using ice and water, whose normal melting and boiling points are well characterized as 0. DC and 100. 0 ICC, respectively[l]. Following this, we will measure the normal melting and boiling points of an unknown compound. We will use this data to determine the identity of our unknown from a list of possible unknown samples and physical data from the Chemical Handbook[2]. Experimental Procedure As described in the lab manual,[3] ice was placed in a beaker and warmed until approximately 50% had melted. The temperature of the ice/water mixture was then measured with a thermometer. This was followed by a similar measurement of our solid unknown. In part II, water was heated until boiling and the enrapture of the liquid/gas mixture measured with a thermometer. This was followed by a similar measurement using our unknown compound. Toggle the best results possible, the procedure in the manual was modified by repeating each trial three times.

3 Questions About Hyphenation with Adverbs

3 Questions About Hyphenation with Adverbs 3 Questions About Hyphenation with Adverbs 3 Questions About Hyphenation with Adverbs By Mark Nichol Writers are often confused about whether a phrase beginning with an adverb should be hyphenated. The answers to the following three questions explain when hyphenation is required and when it is incorrect. 1. I read an article that included this sentence: â€Å"Smith did his best during a nationally-broadcast speech this month to scare voters away from Jones.† Is that hyphen correct? Adverbs ending in -ly are generally not hyphenated, because the suffix signals that the adverb modifies the word that follows it, not the noun that follows both words, so a hyphen is redundant. Many people, including your friend, confuse such adverbial phrases with adjectival phrases (or phrasal adjectives, as they’re more commonly called), which do usually take hyphens. 2. True or false: If an adverb is a part of the phrasal adjective, it does not need a hyphen to connect it. For example, â€Å"She was a highly motivated student.† Assuming that is true, how would you approach the phrasal adjective in this sentence: â€Å"We’re having nowhere else conversations in this confidential community.† Else is an adverb, but to modify conversations, does â€Å"nowhere else† need a hyphen? True and false: In discussions of adverbial phrases that modify a noun, the distinction described in the answer to the previous question and repeated here is sometimes ignored: Adverbs ending in -ly are never hyphenated in such phrases, because the suffix signals that the adverb modifies the next word, not the noun, so a hyphen is redundant. Adverbs with no such suffix, however, should be hyphenated, as in â€Å"nowhere-else conversations.† (However, I do not recommend that particular construction.) 3. A coworker who edited a report I wrote insists that the hyphen in the following sentence is required: â€Å"Condemnation of her offensive response was near-universal.† Is she right? Your colleague is under the near-universal misapprehension that when the adverb near precedes an adjective, the two words are always linked by a hyphen. However, this is true only when the words combine to modify a noun that follows, as in the phrase â€Å"near-universal condemnation.† (This is a case of hyphenation with an adverb that does not end with -ly, as discussed in the answer to the previous question.) This distinction is the same as for phrasal adjectives consisting of an adjective and a noun converted to an adjective, as in the difference between â€Å"the highest-grossing film† and â€Å"the film that is highest grossing.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Great Opening Lines to Inspire the Start of Your Story8 Proofreading Tips And TechniquesHow to Style Titles of Print and Online Publications

How far does the murder of King Dunkan affect Lady Macbeth and how is Essay

How far does the murder of King Dunkan affect Lady Macbeth and how is this shown in the play - Essay Example At the end the memories of her bloody hands actually push her to take her own life. Lady Macbeth is unable to overcome the guilt associated with the murder of King Duncan. Macbeth for driven by his wife to commit the crime. Lady Macbeth desperately wants her husband to be Kind and she asks the â€Å"aids of spirits† (I, v) to assist her in her wish for the throne. Lady Macbeth summons the â€Å"sprits that tend on mortal thoughts† to come and fill her with â€Å"direct cruelty† (I, v). She is portrayed as having no moral values and boundaries in fulfilling the prophecy for Macbeth to be a King. She is willing to throw away her moral principles in the name of gaining the titles of queen. King Duncan is invited to Macbeth’s castle and Lady Macbeth has already prepared her malevolent act. After murdering King Duncan Macbeth returns to his wife seeing that her husband is nervous Lady Macbeth says: â€Å""Why, worthy thane, You do unbend your noble strength, to think So brainsickly of things" (II, ii). It is obvious that Macbeth is struggling with his morality and sanity, but not Lady Macbeth. While Macbeth is paralyzed with horror, she is totally in control of herself and comments: â€Å""My hands are of your colour; but I shame / To wear a heart so white" (II, ii). Here Lady Macbeth is more ruthless than her husband. Her hands are also red from King Duncan’s blood, but she does not have while heart – meaning that her heart has blood in it, because she is strong and not a coward. After the murder, Lady Macbeth takes all actions to turn aside the suspicion over her husband and herself. Her words rhyme here, which show her deep thoughtful reactions to what had happened after the murder of King Duncan. Her philosophical reflections about life indicate that she is not as happy as she had believing she would be. She got what she wanted, but then she is still not content. Her second thought addresses her real wishes now after the death of King

Introduction & corporate level strategy of Cable&Wireless Assignment

Introduction & corporate level strategy of Cable&Wireless Communication company - Assignment Example ive to mention that critical analysis of CWC will be majorly based on the annual reports and financial statement of the company due to lack of sufficient, updated and reliable alternative sources of information on the internet. According to CWC (2015b) Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC) is a British company founded in 1866 under the name Cable and Wireless Cable plc. In 2010, Cable and Wireless Plc demerged into the Cable and Wireless Communications and Cable and Wireless Worldwide Plc. The company operates as a Telecommunication Company offering mobile, broadband and fixed-line services in the Caribbean and Latin American States. The company has been identified as a mobile services market leader in 10 out of 15 countries, broadband leader in 14 out of the 15 states and the largest market shareholder of fixed line in all the 14 countries that it operates in (CWC, 2011a). CWC provides mobile and mobile data services to 3.7 million customers across its network. The company also has a broadband customer base of 388,000 and a reach of 1.1 million fixed line communications users. Cumulatively, CWC operates in 17 countries and offers the following services; voice services, broadband, texts and mobile intern et (The Guardian, 2014). The company’s impressive financial performance has further been underlined by its 2014/13 financial gains compared to the results of 2013/12. The operating cost of CWC was US $ 763m, representing a 5 % decrease compared to 806m for the year 2013/12 (CWC, 2014e). The company further adjusted its shareholders earnings per share to reflect the growth and performance of the company. The earnings per share increased by 73 % compared to 2013/12 earnings. However, the company reported operating cash flow of US $ of 302m for the financial year 2014/13, a decrease of 5 %. The revenue generated by CWC products and services for the period 2014/13 was US $ 1.873 billion (CWC, 2014e). The company impressively managed to surpass its budgeted targets

Module Summaries Essay Example for Free

Module Summaries Essay Module 1 introduced the concept of evidence-based practice by describing how research reports are adapted and incorporated into healthcare practices. Research plays an essential role in identifying the best methods in diagnosing, treating and caring for patients with particular medical disorders. Evidence-based practice is based on the testing of experimental treatment regimens to a study population and determining its effect on the patient. It is therefore important that the investigators of a clinical trial be highly analytical and cautious with regards to the design, implementation and assessment of research programs and results. The module also instructs its reader on methods in identifying investigations that are of good quality. The significance and credibility of the research study is also important in any medical investigation. The process of appraising a medical investigation should thus always include screening a research design based on the feasibility, credibility and repeatability of the study. Module 2 describes the impact of research on shaping healthcare practices based on evidence-based research. In addition, the module provides methods on how to conduct a thorough analysis of a research report based on an assessment tool. The criteria of evaluating research studies is generally based on the employment of a rating scale which looks into different aspects of a study, including the aims, hypotheses and methodology of the research. The ethical issues of the clinical study are also important aspects to consider in any health-related investigation. It is thus important to review the reasons why particular investigators conducted a study, without inflicting any additional harm on the study subjects and still continuing in promoting excellence in healthcare delivery to the public. Evidence-based research thus forms an integral part of healthcare because it provides scientific proof that a certain procedure or treatment is indeed effective and beneficial to the target patient population.

Eating Disorders: Bulimia Nervosa, Anorexia Nervosa, and Compulsive Overeating :: Causes of Bulimia, Eating Disorders

Eating Disorders: Bulimia Nervosa, Anorexia Nervosa, and Compulsive Overeating Bulimia is an illness characterized by uncontrolled episodes of overeating usually followed by self-induced vomiting or other purging. Alternative names for Bulimia are Bulimia Nervosa, Binge-Purge Behavior, and also Eating Disorders. In bulimia, eating binges may occur as often as several times a day. Induced vomiting known as purging allows the eating to continue without the weight gain; it may continue until interrupted by sleep, abdominal pain, or the presence of another person. The person is usually aware that their eating pattern is abnormal and may experience fear or guilt associated with the binge-purge episodes. The behavior is usually secretive, although clues to this disorder include over activity, peculiar eating habits, eating rituals, and frequent weighing. Body weight is usually normal or low, although the people may perceive themselves as overweight. The exact cause of bulimia is unknown, but factors thought to contribute to its development are family problems, maladaptive behavior, self-identity conflict, and cultural overemphasis on physical appearance. Bulimia may be associated with depression. The disorder is usually not associated with any underlying physical problem although the behavior may be associated with neurological or endocrine diseases. The disorder occurs most often in females of adolescent or young adult age. The incidence is estimated to be 3% in the general population; but 20% of college women suffers from it. A cultural and family de-emphasis on physical appearance may eventually reduce the incidence of this disorder. There are several symptoms associated with bulimia such as: binge eating followed by purging, self induced vomiting, inappropriate use of diuretics and laxatives, menstruation is absent or deceased, and overachieving behavior. Bulimia is characterized by a cycle of binge eating followed by purging to try and rid the body of unwanted calories. A binge is different for all individuals. For one person a binge may range from 1000 to 10000 calories, for another, one cookie may be considered a binge. Purging methods usually involve vomiting and laxative abuse. Other forms of purging can involve excessive exercise, fasting, use of diuretics, diet pills and enemas. Bulimics are usually people that do not feel secure about their own self worth. They usually strive for the approval of others. They tend to do whatever they can to please others, while hiding their own feelings. Food becomes their only source of comfort. Bulimia also serves as a function for blocking or letting out feelings.

Definition of family Essay

The definition of a family according to the U. S. Census Bureau is that a family consists of a householder and any other person living in the same household. However, the people living in the family should be related to the householder either by birth, marriage, or by adoption. The people in a family who are related to the householder are termed as his family members. However, in some houses there might also be people living in a family who might be unrelated to the householder, therefore they are not to be included in the householder’s family while the census is being carried out and thus, the number of family households is equal to the number of families, but the family households may include more members than do families. Therefore, the crux of this would be that all the households do not contain families as they might be unrelated as well. Functions of a family Basically the two functions of a family are: †¢ Economic functions †¢ Political functions Other than these two major categories, a family has a number of functions after doing which a family can be really termed as a family in a true sense and these are mentioned below. One of the most important functions is reproduction of babies and once a child is born, it is the duty of the householder to look after the children, take care of them, monitor that day to day activities, supervise them on certain things, interact with them and provide them with all the necessities and love it would require to make them good grown ups. As it is not just necessary to give birth to the baby, however they should also be taken care of so that they survive to become adult members of the society. Two persons basically tie the knot of marriage in order to legitimize their sexual relationship and this ensures the offspring is healthy. The household head is supposed to provide economics support to the family as well as to fulfill the love, emotional, security needs of the family. In the end, I would also add that the family is looked upon in the society with respect and they have a certain position in the society than those individuals just living together without marriage. (Schwartz & Scott, 2007). As mentioned above, a family consists of the household member who is basically responsible for his family members. However, to define my family I would say that my family does not fulfill the definition of the family mentioned above. This is because the fathers are usually the ones who are said to be the household heads and they are responsible of taking care of the family members. I am only the child in my family and my parents were divorced when I was four years old. I am living with my Mom right now and the rest of my family is living in China. Most of the family functions that I mentioned above are not actually applicable to my family. This is because my parents had an unhappy marriage and this thing gave me a lot of bad experiences. The first function of the family is to ensure that the baby grows as an adult of a society. In my case, however I did become an adult but it was just my mother who took care of me and looked after all my needs. A father is always necessary to make a family more strong as the responsibilities of a father are different than ones of a mother but in my case, my mother was my mother as well as my father. She was the one who was responsible for each and every activity of mine. It is believed that a family is economically supported mostly by the fathers, however as my mother had a divorce with my father, she was the one who had to support my needs all by herself. And I think that my family did not manage things well. The divorce of my parents at the time when I was just four was a shock for me as for a family to survive well; both the mother as well as the father has to be there so that they might fulfill their own set of responsibilities and ensure that the family is living happily. However, this was not the case for my family as the divorce between my parents made things worse for me. Although my mother did all she could do for me but still the presence of the father is essential for a family to prosper well. Thus, according to me, my family did not address the functions of a family well as it was an unhappy and irresponsible family. The fundamental purpose of each family is to fulfill the requirements and the functions of a family. It is vital for each family to fulfill their responsibilities as this not just affects the family alone but the society and the environment as well and it also affects the people around you. No one likes to be friends with the families who are not well settled in a way that the parents might have conflicts amongst each other or they might not want to live with each other and this would create lots of problems for their children. Therefore, for a country to prosper well it is essential that the families living there are happy and contended. The functions of the family highlight the responsibilities the household head has with reference to their family. Therefore, its informative nature helps to think about families in terms of the functions it fulfills. Reference Schwartz, M. A. & Scott, B. M. (2007). Marriages and families: Diversity and change. 5th Edn. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Instagram

Introduction to entrepreneurship Midterm assignment Kevin Systrom, founder and CEO of Instagram Introduction Kevin Systrom is an American entrepreneur most known as CEO and founder of Instagram, the most popular worldwide sharing application. This program has 85 million users and 4 billion photos were shared. So what makes it so special? It is a combination of passion for photography and weal to make it easy and available for everyone by just using your mobile. Kevin says â€Å"It’s one thing to share the photo but another for that photo to look gorgeous and be something you would like to keep forever. †(Systrom,2012)The reason why I decide to report Kevin Systrom is in my opinion he gives the best example how great idea can be transformed into successful company in very limited amount of time. Second after completing my research I realized that innovation made by him would have huge influence on social network in future. Last but not least his set of mind, values and p ersonal characteristics fulfill my vision of perfect entrepreneurial set of mind. Entrepreneurial path and mind-set Kevin Systrom was interested in entrepreneurship from very young age; his mother used to work for a monster. com back than and currently is an employee of Zip Car.Since that time technology was exiting for him, he took decision to go to private school that was an hour drive away in order to take computer science classes, as he considered them fun and useful. With the age of 12 he found the way to block his friend cursors and knock them offline. In his free time Kevin was creating websites for his friends and classmates, an example can be PhotoBox created in order to post pictures from latest keg party. He applied to Stanford with the intent to study computer science, but after taking the first course in advance programing he realized it was probably not a right thing for him.He used to spend 40 hours per week studying it and could barely get B. So he switched to manage ment science. He says, â€Å"It basically taught me how to be an investment banker. †(Systrom,2012) What really stands out for me is Kevin,he is really open minded and ready to explore new things. He is always looking for opportunity to get some experience even if it doesn’t seem applicable at the moment he believes it can be useful in long-term perspective as long as you do intellectual activities. During his junior years in Stanford he went to Florence, Italy in order to study Photography.Combing this experience with his technological background helped him to create open platform for visual media, which gained such a success. Being in Florence he also applied for a program created for young entrepreneurs, the core idea of it put students in groups of 12 people and paired them with successful entrepreneurs in order to share experience about structure of deals, fundraising and recruitment of people. The program’s co-director, Tina Seelig, says, â€Å"Systrom st ood out as an obvious  ­entrepreneur, he was always building things—always experimenting.It was in his nature to be looking at the world through the lens of ‘Where’s the opportunity here? ’† (Bertani, 2012) He completed his first summer internship at Odeo (that would later create Twitter), it was where he realized that he wanted to become and entrepreneur and got the first real feel of it. During this internship an important contact was made, he was working in a pair with Jack Dorsey, later the creator of Twitter. In future he will help Instagram to gain that popularity. Once Systrom was hired for a project manager position at Google.After about a year working there he realized his hunger for a start up. Soon after he came up with the idea of Instagram, called Burbn back than. In winter 2010 Stanford education and his ability to communicate helped him to make right connections for the future. It is important to meet people, communicate and keep in touch, that what in the end really makes difference. Steve Anderson, whom he met during his VC meet ups, got interested in his idea and agreed to invest $250,000 needed to start the company with the only condition, he wanted Systrom to bring in cofounder.He contacted Mike Krieger, another Stanford graduate with a majored degree in symbolic system, and proposed to join Burbn as cofounder. Mike got interested in this offer. It was the first check in service that he actually liked, so he accepted the offer. Systrom was able to identify a gap in a market place; it was decided to create photo- only, mobile-based service. He says, â€Å"It was an opportunity to create a new type of service, a social network that wasn’t based on a computer but computer in your hands†(Systrom,2012) His creativity and ability to come up with not obvious decision were crucial for the company development.Once during his holidays in Mexico, his girlfriend told him she wanted her pictures to look a s beautiful as pictures of their friend, who was a fan of photography and used different filters. It was a point where Kevin realized what Instagram was missing and spent the rest of the day working on this idea. Not long after first filter was added to program features and users loved. It helped to make even average mobile picture special. On the 6th of October 2010 Instagram became available in apple app, over the night it was downloaded by 25,000 users.With a help of Adam D’Angelo, whom he knew from flat party in Stanford they managed to get on Amazon com servers. In a meter of month 1 million users were using Instagram on regular bases. In April this year Mark Zuckenberg offered to purchase Instagram for $1 billion, with Systrom’s skake of 40% or $400 million. It is quite shocking as Instagram is a company with zero revenue and only 14 employees, however Facebook is highly interested in a mobile platform with 85 millions users. â€Å"This is the first thing I†™ve seen that feels like it’s truly native to mobile,† says Matt Cohler, the former VP of product management at Facebook. Bertani, 2012) It was decided that even after buying out, Kevin Systrom would run Instagram independently. The company is at the beginning stage of its growth. It’s currently working only with AOS, but Android and web will also be considered in future. Failure and actions As company activities are based on innovation the risk of is failure is quite high. There is a myth that successful startups based on single great idea Kevin however claims that there are only couple that entered and ended up doing exactly same thing.Idea is not something you can just wake up one day with, you have to take steps, find solutions and solve problems in order to create something valuable. In fact the idea of Instagram is based on another application created by Systrom, called Burbn. It was really simple and basic with only four different tabs, created as check in service, the innovative thing about it was like no other service Burbn gave people an option to attach their photos together with a location. It was discovered users are not checking in that much however they love to share their pictures.Burbn didn’t become successful. It was too hard to explain to people outside their friend group. Kevin and his team even joked that it didn’t pass the Bar test, meaning the idea was not clear enough to be explained in a noisy bar. It is important to present your product to customer as quickly as possible; it is a big mistake to wait for too long. The â€Å"right way to fail† is to fail early and often, in this way you don’t waste your recourses and you are able to identify if the direction in which you are working is right to fulfill people’s needs.Kevin believes that it’s totally normal to fail in the organization. Failure is required in order for right solution to be found. When Burbn was presented to p eople it turned out to be most Eye opening experience and he realized the idea has to be refined. The company was continuously failing with Burbn, so based on this experience the idea was changed. The check in was demoted and photos were promoted, in a new program (Instagram) you start with a photo and then optionally you can add a location and it turn out to make a huge difference.During the process of development filters were added and it was a break through for Instagram, as they realized they want to make photos better for people. Kevin states, â€Å"We were thinking how to encourage people to take more photos and we realized we want their photos to look better†. (Systrom,2012) Motivation The main drive and motivation for Kevin Systrom is a strong belief in what he is doing. The company Instagram didn’t want to build just a fun application, what it is aiming for is an application that solves problems and making people’s life better.The idea of Instagram in l ong term is a program that helps you to explore the world, your way to get news and experience events you were not able to attend. The ability to tune in any place in the world and see what is going on. They want to become world-changing company. It is first truly International network, as you don’t need to speak the same language in order to communicate through visual media. The obsession with his idea is highly beneficial for the company. As entrepreneur he works all the time, sometimes he skips birthday parties and has luck of sleep in order to solve the problem that may appear.He is exited about what he is doing and always looking for solutions and ways how to give world something it was asking for during a long period of time. Conclusion The goal of this report was to research and analyze the entrepreneurial path of Kevin Systrom. And to find an answer what is a key to his success. Through the report I have learnt few important lessons that can be useful for my future ca reer. The first of them is you can fail in order to find the right answer, it is completely normal to make mistakes, what is more important is to be able to find solutions and ways to improve.Usually the idea you will start with it’s not going to be exactly the same with your final idea. Second thing that I would like to keep in mind after finishing this report is its importance to hire right people. With the example of Instagram we can see that 14 really talented people can run a company in such a successful way. As well it is critical to find people who share passion for what you are doing.Reference Bertoni, S. (2012, August, 01). Instagram's Kevin Systrom: The Stanford Billionaire Machine Strikes Again. Retrieved October,10,2012, from http://www. forbes. com/sites/stevenbertoni/2012/08/01/instagrams-kevin-systrom-the-stanford-millionaire-machine-strikes-again/4/ Kevin Systrom,Mike Krieger (2011,May 11). From Stanford to Startup [Video file] [Video file]. Retrieved October 10,2012, from http://ecorner. stanford. edu/authorMaterialInfo. html? mid=2735 Noer, M. (n. d. ). 30 under 30 [Video file] [Video file]. Retrieved from http://video. forbes. com/fvn/30-under-30/30-under-30-kevin-systrom/

Successful Supply Chain

Successful Supply Chain The supply of an organization depends on the facilities for economical yet efficient production and distribution. The organization can keep production and distribution costs minimal by carefully selecting the raw materials and the suppliers. Managing the supplier offers velocity, flexibility and, quality at the lowest costs possible. Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Successful Supply Chain specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The main reason of working around reasonable costs is to ensure satisfaction of the customer at all times, especially during the market fluctuations. The main aim of a supply chain is to offer innovative dimensions of remaining competitive in the market by introduction and delivery of dynamic and technologically high quality inventories into the market at sustainable costs and high swiftness. Management of cost also enables the organizations to build a vision or goal by recognizing the per formance break and thus narrowing the gap through utilization of available resources. Successful supply chain means that the consumer is not kept waiting after ordering and this is achievable via proper balancing of resources to meet the demands (Wang et al, 64). According to Wisner (478), the current economical crisis means that these are un-standardized times, which require critical but quick decisions regarding trade especially on money matters. Today there is need for careful management considering that technology is taking over transactions by storm and there is need to convert the physical elements of transactions to virtual ones to enhance trade at the lowest feasible costs. The costs need management because currently there is urgent need for firms to invest in hi-tech information and goods transfer due to low investments rates and poor international transactions. Economic crisis means low investment rates thus the need to invest the available resources smartly. Globalizatio n of the supply chains is becoming crucial because of the reduction on the procurement costs as well as decreases on the risks of international transactions such as purchasing behaviours. The technological impact is forcing businesses to consider outsourcing or venturing into countries that are more productive. For instance, India was a rare consideration to venture into some years back but today their advancement in technological matters makes most transactions easier, faster and cheaper over some of the U.S. and other western countries. Today globalization enables supply-chain firms to bid for the cheaper but best quality options through comparison. Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Competition requires better establishment, new ventures and proper marketing strategies thus the quests for globalization. Globalization means change for growth and that is t he aspiration for every firm (Ayers and Odegaard, 88). Lastly some of the market niche are only attainable globally for instance the vehicle manufacturing industries that require global supplies. Some of the repercussions for this trend involve higher overall costs in comparison to the traditional style of regional or remote supply chains. According to Coyle (7), the exchange rates, tariffs, and space are some of the extra costs incurred during the international transactions. The time factor due to regional differences may affects the transactions beside the climatic conditions. A lot of complexity is usually involved when there are many global suppliers, thus the needs to consider the number to involve. The lowest prices in the global markets may mean more costs if a firm lacks to consider other related factors such as time, quality and quantity. In relation to Lambert (91), companies use various methods for demand forecasting of supply chains, such as graphical, historical or sta tistical. Graphically there are many difficulties involved in modelling outputs, especially when the chains are many but on the other hand, it offers clear picture of the reality and chances for expansion through better analysis of hindrances and catalysts. The daily demand shifts call for complex representations. However, it is possible to model systematic and similar graphs even when they call for demanding efforts. The statistical forecasting are more accurate because of defined data types compared to historical, which mainly entail predictions based on past performances. Majority of the methods nevertheless utilizes supply situations that are a rough estimate as opposed to the current states of affairs, thus lack of exact prediction. Forecasting enables firms to learn the procedures of controlling some of the consumer’s systematic shifts such as weekly changes. The shifts are rather much more complicated when the company fails to carry out the observations. Forecasting enables the management to find the information regarding insufficient supplies, which would otherwise be hard to note thus better trading and accurate timely supplies.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Successful Supply Chain specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Close coordination means that the chains are working as a unit, to alloy uniformity especially over performance and dynamism. The managers are able to avoid heterogeneity within the firm by synchronizing activities. The current technological change calls for intelligent systems and personnel who are able to handle the operations, research and system’s theories. In a strategy to minimize costs, they harmonize state times, sequences to avoid waiting costs, and retain customers through timely deliveries, especially for the global markets. Coordinated activities enhance the firm’s ability to deliver solutions of the complex problems through int egration of various aspects from different chain stores. According to Kurtz et al (405), globalization makes the supply chains more complex and, limited but better and more profit oriented. Modulating components enables the manager to design subsystems as modules, which assist in meeting a wide range of business requirements. The production, manufacturing and procurement of components are highly reduced, thus saving resources in material status for future requirements. The joint planning, process integration and coordination reduces the performance cost and offers chances for business expansion to other market niche. There is increase on returns on investments such as assets, improved customer services due to specialization and, reduction on the time required for delivery. Ayers, James B. Odegaard, Mary Ann. â€Å"Retail supply chain management: Series on resource management.† CRC Press, 2007 Coyle, John J., Langley, C. John Bardi, Edward J. â€Å"Supply chain management : a logistics perspective.† Cengage Learning publishers. 2009 Kurtz, David L. MacKenzie, H. F. Snow, Kim. â€Å"Contemporary Marketing.† Cengage Learning publishers. 2009Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Lambert, Douglas M. â€Å"Supply chain management: processes, partnerships, performance† Supply Chain Management Inst. 2008 Wang, William Y. C, Heng, Michael, S. H. Chau, Patrick Y. K. â€Å"Supply chain management: issues in the new era of collaboration and competition.† Idea Group Inc (IGI) publishers. 2007 Wisner, Joel D., Tan, Keah-Choon., Leong, Keong. G. â€Å"Principles of Supply Chain Management.† Cengage Learning publishers. 2008

Advantages of oligopoly in UK supermarket industry

Advantages of oligopoly in UK supermarket industry Oligopoly in UK supermarket industry Supermarket, which provides a retail sales service, is an indispensable place for people who buy the daily things. The definition of oligopoly is that an economic condition in which there are few independent suppliers of a particular product that competitive pricing does not take place (Answer, 2010). It is manifest that the UK supermarket is under the structure of oligopoly. There are four main characteristics of supermarket in the UK. The first point with respect to this is that all the super markets in the UK sell similar products and produce branded products. Secondly, look at the bar chart on the right, the big companies has larger market share, because the big supermarkets will set high barriers to avoid new supermarket into market. More importantly, the companies must be interdependent. If one large supermarket takes an action, it will directly affect another supermarket. The chairman in the supermarkets has to take into account likely rea ctions of rivals to any change in price and output and the interdependence of sellers can keep the price stability. Finally, non-price competition is a significant strategy for selling, such as the VIP cards, online shopping. The term marketing mix refers to different elements within a strategy designed to create demand for a product (Anderton, 2008; 324). Considering of the marketing mix right for the products means all the important bases are covered in the marketing campaign and it will help the companies gain more profits. This market structure creates both advantages and disadvantages. The lower price and the creative services are the advantages, but in the oligopoly market, the collusion between the companies will have detrimental influence upon the consumers. In oligopoly market consumers can enjoy a lower price for the products. Most of supermarkets in the UK sell the products from the same grocery brands, such as Kellogg’s, Heinz and Walkers Crisps (Which, 2007). The products which be sold in different supermarkets are the same and we called it homogeneous. Mysupermarket (2010) illustrates that the same products in different supermarkets have a similar price. Thus, it means that all the supermarkets need to pay almost the same cost of the products. The larger companies might pay slightly lower than the smaller one, because the quantity of the goods which the larger companies need to buy is more than the small companies so that larger companies will have a bigger discount. The lower cost help the larger supermarkets have superiority in the low price to attract the consumers. Because of the oligopolistic market, all the companies compete on price so that different companies take different measures appeal to the consumers. Figure 2 is a kinked demand curve and it assumes that a firm will reduce its price if a competitor starts a price war, but will leave price unchanged if a competitor raises its price. Thanks for the oligopoly structure, price is rigidity. Tesco promotes the discount coupon to the consumers and they can use these coupons to save their money while they buy goods in Tesco (Couponmountain, 2010). Discount coupon appeals consumers to shopping in this supermarket, thereby making the contribution to marketing. BBC(2006) reports â€Å"Supermarket Sainsbury’s is to sell more than 500 of its own-brand products in compostable packs instead of plastic as it seeks to cut packaging waste†. Sainsbury’s uses new packing way to pack the organic fruit and vegetables. This can reduce the cost of products and it is also a good way for the environment. Providing the low price is in the best interests of consumer.

Patterns of Italian immigration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Patterns of Italian immigration - Essay Example In contrary, to the modern Italy primarily united states, immigration has characterized the whole development. Italian immigration the United States has been on the way out and the consistency of these new arrivals has significantly changed in the recent years. For the stabilization of Italy population, there was a continuous immigration from North Africa and Eastern Europe. The present Italian immigrants in America have a good education, driven by the career, and their primary focus is the preserving of their language and culture (Barkan 42). The difference that can be seen in the present and the early immigrants are that those who migrated in the last centuries were poor, no education and they lacked skills. Ignorance of the government to people’s interests and needs is the primary cause that led to the massive immigration of Italians to the United States having in mind that they will be served accordingly. Looking for an advanced better life within a free society that is pr otected by the constitution. The making of the individual rights to be a priority; was also another factor that let the Italians make a move to the new world. The immigration, on the other hand, was driven by the uniqueness of the American civilization features which distinguishes it from other European countries. Influence of the American natural environment and the American culture. The culture was attributed to two fundamental factor; the impulse and the inspirations, this compelled men and women to leave not only in European countries, but also across the Atlantic.