About the Philippines Essay

The Philippines is located in the southeastern portion of Asia. Her neighbor on the north is the Republic of China (Taiwan or Formosa), while on the west is Communist Vietnam. Further west is Thailand. Immediately to the south of the Philippines is Indonesia and to the southwest are Malaysia and Singapore. The Philippines is separated from her nearby Asian neighbors by several bodies of water. They are the Pacific Ocean on the east, the South China Sea on the north and west, and the Celebes Sea and the coastal waters of Borneo on the south. I. LAND AND ITS PEOPLE The Philippines is an archipelago of 7,107 islands and islets. The biggest islands are Luzon, with a land area of 40,530 square miles (105,000 square kilometers); Mindanao, 36,670 square miles (95,000 square kilometers); Palawan, 5,749.86 square miles (14, 896 square kilometers); Negros, 5,278.55 square miles (13,675 square kilometers); and Samar, 5,183.59 square miles (13,429 square kilometers). She has a rugged land mass and, similarly, she has an irregular coastline, which is twice as long as that of the continental U.S.A. This irregularity has resulted in numerous fine harbors and landlocked straights that can accommodate large ships. They can also be a refuge of ships in distress during stormy weather. The land surface is 115,800 square miles (300,000 square kilometers). Land forms include hills, plains, valleys, and mountains. Her mountain ranges, which are volcanic in origin, are drained by small river systems. There are seven major mountain ranges. The largest and longest is Sierra Madre, which faces the Pacific Ocean on the eastern coast of Luzon. See more: Experiment on polytropic process Essay The highest peak is Mt. Apo, a volcano in Davao del Sur Province. It has an elevation of 9,691.60 feet (2,954 meters). Three Major Islands. The three major geographical groups in the country are Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Luzon comprises the northern portion of the archipelago. The Visayan region has about 6,000 islands including Leyte, Cebu, Samar, and Bohol. Mindanao is the second largest land and encompasses about 400 small islands. These islands are divided into provinces, which are run like states in the United States. Each province is ruled by a governor, a vice governor, and members of the provincial board. Each province is composed of cities, towns, and barrios. Several â€Å"Pinatubos.† There are several volcanos in the Philippines. These have been one of the natural causes of destruction to life and property for centuries. At least 10 are considered active. The most famous are Iraya on Batanes Island; Taal in Batangas; Banahaw in Quezon; Mayon in Albay; and Hibok- Hibok on the Camiguin Islands; Makaturing in Lanao; Apo in Davao, and Mt. Pinatubo in Zambales. Mt. Pinatubo has gained notoriety as being the most destructive volcano in the world. It lay dormant before it erupted in June 1991. It directly and indirectly caused damage to public and private property in the provinces of Zambales, Bataan, and Pampanga, including the Clark Air Force Base in Angeles City, Pampanga Province. Its ashes spread all over the world, causing global warming, damage to the ozone layer, and adverse effects on communications. After six years of eruption, the lahar deposits along the volcano still cascade down the slopes after heavy rains. They continue to take lives, destroy bridges and roads, and defy billion-peso dikes built to contain lahar flows. These lahar flows are expected to last for five or more years, according to volcanologists. The Philippines lies within the Pacific seimic belt, which is why she experiences severer earthquakes. Christian Groups. The people of the Philippines number about 73,265,584 (July 1995 estimate). There are several ethnic groups and more than 65 so-called cultural minorities in the Philippines, which speak their own dialects or languages. Among these ethnic groups are the Tagalog, the Ilocano, the Pangasinanian, the Pampangue?o, the Bicolano, the Cebuano, the Ilongo, and the Waray-Waray. They comprise more than 90 percent of all Filipinos and are the Christians. About 84 percent of Filipinos are Roman Catholics. The Tagalogs live in Manila and in central and southern Luzon. Although they speak Tagalog, they have intonations of their own, as do the Batangue?os from Batangas Province. The Tagalogs mostly live in such provinces as Nueva Ecija (the Ilocanos also live in some towns in the northern part of the province), Bulacan, Rizal, Batangas, Quezon, Laguna, and Mindoro (Oriental and Occidental). The Tagalogs dominate the people in Manila. There are, however, many people in the city who have come from different parts of the country, including Luzon, to live in the big city. Many also have come from the Bicol region and the Visayan islands. The Ilocanos live in the Ilocos region in northern Luzon, particularly Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte, but many of them have migrated in large numbers to central Luzon, and, of course, to the United States. Most of the oldtimers in the United States in the late 1920s and early 1930s came from the Ilocos region. The Ilongos live in western Negros, in southern Mindoro, and on the island of Panay. The Cebuanos predominate in Cebu, western Leyte, Bohol, eastern Negros, and in some coastal areas of Mindanao. The Bicolanos are in the southeastern Luzon and nearby islands, including the provinces of Albay, Camarines Norte, etc. The Pampangue?os or Kapampangans live in central Luzon, particularly in Pampanga Province. The Pangasinanians live in the Lingayen Gulf region of Luzon, including Pangasinan Province; however, many Pangasinanians have migrated into other towns in central Luzon. The Waray-Warays are in the provinces of Samar and eastern Leyte. Other Groups. Chinese and other groups also live in the Philippines. The Chinese comprise 1.5 percent of the population, and are active in business. Cultural Minorities. There are more than 65 cultural minorities, similar to the Indian tribes in th e United States, who live in reservations and in the mountains. They include the Muslim groups, which are comprised of the Maranao, the Samal, the Maguindanao, the Tausug, etc. They live in the Sulu Archipelago and southern Mindanao. There are also the so-called upland tribal groups who live in the mountain regions of the country, such as in the Mountain Province of Luzon. In northern Luzon, the other ethnic groups include the Bontoc, the Kalinga, the Ifugao, the Kankanay, the Ibaloi, the Isneg, the Ilongot, the Tinguian, and the Gadang. The Mangyan group lives in Mindanao and the Batak and the Tagbanua live in Palawan. In Mindanao there are groups known as the Tiruray, the T’Boli, the Bagobo, the Mandaya, the Bukidnon, the Subanun, and the Manobo. The Negritoes, popularly known as the Agta or the Aeta live in the mountainous areas of Luzon, Negros, Panay, and Mindanao. â€Å"I love You! Iniibig Kita!† Yes, â€Å"I love you† is said in about 87 dialects or languages in the Philippines. These include Tagalog, Kapampangan, Iloc ano, Cebuano, Pangasinanian, Bicolano, Hiligaynon, Chabacano, and the different dialects spoken by other ethnic groups such as Muslims and cultural minorities. The Filipino dialects belong to the so-called Malayo-Polynesian language family, which is said to be the largest language family throughout the world. Pilipino (not Filipino), which is based on Tagalog, is the national language in the Philippines, but both English and Pilipino, are the official languages in schools, in government, and in private institutions, especially in urban places. English serves as the official language used in communications and in business meetings, especially by Rotarians, Jaycees, and other organizations. That is, English and Pilipino both serve as the media of communications among the people who also speak their own dialects. It is common that when a Filipino in the Philippines and a Filipino in America write to each other, they communicate in English. But in daily conversation, English and Pilipino are combined, which is called Taglish (meaning Tagalog (Pilipino) and English. For instance, one may say, â€Å"Pupunta ako sa Maynila, to enroll at the University of the Philippines, (I’ll go to Manila to enroll at the†¦.) or â€Å"Okeng, okey ka, you’re so sweet!† (You’re o kay and you’re so sweet!†) So whenever you meet Filipinos in the United States, they may be speaking their own dialects when not speaking in English. However, these groups know Pilipino. So if you want to know a Filipino language, it should be Tagalog or Pilipino so that you’ll have more people whom you can converse with. Government.The Philippines has a democratic form of government, like that of the United States. The government is divided into executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Have Pesos and Enjoy! If you have the dollar, you can have it changed to the Philippine peso. The dollar when this book was about to go to press was equivalent to forty pesos (P40.00). The Philippine currency consists of the peso (P) and the centavo. One hundred centavos equal P1. Coin denominations are 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 centavos, and P1, P2, and P5. Bill denominations consist of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 pesos. Foreign currency may be exchanged in banks, hotels, and most large department stores, which have authorized money-changing shops. Charge It! Charge It! Most large hotels, stores, restaurants, and resort areas accept major credit cards, including Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. At hotels and other large stores, traveler’s checks are accepted, preferably American Express. How’s the Weather? The weather in the Philippines is tropical, the country having only two seasons, the dry and rainy seasons. It’s usually hot from April to July. The dry season is between November and June and the rainy season is between July and October. Filipinos consider December, January, and February as the cool months. But they may not be considered as winter without snow as in the United States; maybe it’s milder or like spring or fall. II. FLASHBACK: THE EARLY FILIPINOS The Philippines, scientists believe, once was a part of Mainland China. According to the scientists, during the Ice Age, the waters surrounding the Philippines dropped to about 156 feet below the present levels, exposing large bodies of land. These became land bridges connecting the Philippines to the Asian mainland. The Philippines, Out from the Bottom of the Sea? In February 1976, Dr. Fritjof Voss, a German scientist who studied the geology of the Philippines, questioned the validity of this theory of land bridges. He maintained that the Philippines was never part of mainland Asia. He claimed that it arose from the bottom of the sea and, as the thin Pacific crust moved below it, continued to rise. It continues to rise today. The country lies along great Earth faults that extend to deep undersea trenches. The resulting violent earthquakes caused what is now the land masses forming the Philippines to rise to the surface of the sea. Dr. Voss also pointed out that when scientific studies were done on the earth’s crust from 1964 to 1967, it was discovered that the 35-kilometer-thick crust underneath China does not reach the Philippines. Thus, the latter could not have been a land bridge to the Asian mainland. When They Came, How They Came. The traditional teaching of Philippine history in Filipino schools today has early Philippine habitants coming in waves. In 1962, it was concluded that about 250,000 years ago, primitive men came to the Philippines from the Asian mainland. Then about 25,000 years ago came the pygmies, the small, black-skinned, squat-nosed, thick-lipped, and kinky-haired people from the south over the still remaining land bridges. (They are considered the ancestors of the Negritoes, who are, in turn, regarded as the aborigines of the Philippines.) Around 12,000 to 15,000 years ago, another Negrito (or Aeta) migration occurred. They reached Luzon from Borneo over land bridges in Palawan and Mindoro. The submergence of the land bridges when the ice melted with the passing of time did not prevent other people from inhabiting the Philippines. 5,000 to 6,000 Years Ago? The first Indonesians arrived by boat from Southeast Asia some 5,000 to 6,000 years ago. Much later, around 1500 B.C., a second wave of Indonesians arrived. Then came the Malays in two successive waves, the first between 800 and 500 B.C. and the second, between 300 and 200 B.C. From Borneo, they traveled by sailboats and settled in the three major islands of the Philippines: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Subsequent peoples who came from the start of Christianity until the present time include the Indians (Hindus), the Arabs, the Chinese, other Eastern Asians, the Europeans, and the Americans. Who Came First? The matter of who the first settlers were has not been really resolved. This is being disputed by anthropologists, as well as the theory of Professor H. Otley Beyer that the first inhabitants of the Philippines ca me from the Malay Peninsula. The Malays now constitute the largest portion of the populace and what Filipinos now have is a Malayan culture. Anthropologist F. Landa Jocano of the University of the Philippines contends that what fossil evidence of ancient men show is that they not only migrated to the Philippines, but also to New Guinea, Borneo, and Australia. He says that there is no way of determining if they were Negritoes at all. However, what is sure is that there is evidence the Philippines was inhabited as early as 21,000 or 22,000 years ago. In 1962, a skull cap and a portion of a jaw, presumed to be those of a human being, were found in a Tabon cave in Palawan Province. The discovery proved that man came earlier to the Philippines than to the Malay Peninsula; therefore, the first inhabitants of the former did not come from the latter. Jocano further believes that present Filipinos are products of the long process of evolutions and movements of people. This not only holds true for Filipinos, but for the Indonesians and the Malays of Malaysia, as well. No group among the three is culturally or racially dominant. Hence, Jocano says that it is not correct to attribute the Filipino culture as being Malay in orientation. According to Jocano’s findings, the peoples of the prehistoric islands of Southeast Asia were of the same population as the combination of human evolution that occurred in the islands of Southeast Asia about 1.9 million years ago. The proofs of this are fossil materials found in different parts of the region and the movements of other peoples from the Asian mainland during historic times. He states that these ancient men cannot be categorized under any of the historically identified ethnic groups (Malays, Indonesians, Filipinos) of today. Some Filipino ethnic groups were pagans while others were Muslims. The pagans were converted to Christianity by the Spaniards. The Americans later arrived and introduced further cultural changes, which made the Filipinos more and more different from the peoples of other Southeast Asian countries.

Educating Slum Children

There are colours and vibrancies in the world of children. Their activities are full of energies and attract attention of others. The mischiefs, dream world, away from worries are very dear memories of childhood that have lasting impact on one’s life. Such happiness doesn’t play its part for some children. Slum children have to face the life’s hardships during early age. These children are compelled to work and have to struggle for their existence. They are easily manipulated because of their docile nature. The plight of slum children is they are forced to do work i. e. to act as slaves, picked up for domestic help, involved in hazardous work, trafficked and even compelled to be part of illegal transactions. For survival they are put into shameless act such as pornography and prostitution. These tortures at an early age not only affect their mental and physical health but they are even exposed to harmful disease such as HIV AIDS. Slum children appearances are deformed, and are enforced to beg to earn for their survival. Cruelties faced during tender years affect their natural growth and they become indifferent towards life. Government and local bodies are running many programmes to raise the status of such children but its outcomes are very less. There is need to do lot of work. To educate slum children many educational institutions and NGOs have shown interest. These institutes face lot of problems in educating slum children and also to cut down the dropout rates. Present requirement is to not only to make the education interesting but also to give basic skills training required for earning. Right to education is now the basic right, according to Article 29 of Indian Constitution. An education cannot be denied to child on caste or creed basis or due to lack of funds. Studies are done by government organisations and NGOs to know the cause of unwillingness towards education and high dropouts from schools by slum children. The studies show that parent’s ignorance and discouragement towards education, fight to meet their basic ends meet and children helping hand in running the household of lower socio income group act as a catalyst in not joining educational process. These people face discrimination of the society which discourages them to be a part of growth factor of society. Various innovative ideas and creative approach developed by government, NGOs, and educational institutions are streamlined to bring about these slum children as an enterprising people. The meaning of education is not only to make them accustomed to 3 R’s but also to give training in basic skills needed for earning a living. Computer education is also provided to prepare them to stand high with the fierce competition of the world. NGO’s and educational institutions assist the slum children in getting enrolled with nearby government schools and help in giving tuitions to cope up with school work. Schools are even run on wheels i. e. mobile schools to educate slum children in various states â€Å"Education for all† is the movement which is spreading with the help of media to educate deprived children. This has inspired lot of citizens to work for the good cause. Right direction is required to trace the slum children potentials.

Changing Business Environment for Model of Airtel-

It is a fact that in order to achieve profit-making opportunities, organizations desire to go international and they adopt several different ways and tactics which they think will provide them competitive advantage. In the foreign markets, the organizations intend to increase the sale of their production and services and therefore, they sell their products and services at very lower cost. The same strategy is used by the Bharti Airtel in its business operation. It expands its business through low-cost models and targets the other emerging countries for more sale of its services (Aggarwal, 2013). The uniqueness of Bharti Airtel lies in the fact that it has entered into the emerging new markets. The very first advantage that it receives is that it can get benefit for the capabilities and resources of those emerging countries that always seek for getting an opportunity for expanding their services. Hence, in most of they get merged along with the leading organizations such as Bharti Air tel (Damodaran, 2013). Curwen and Whalley (2014), have stated that Airtel shares its stake with the other industries in the field of telecommunication like they did with the Warburg pictures in order to ensure better industrial growth. Such a diverse collaboration is indeed an unique approach which is not followed by the other European MNEs. Along with that, the model of Bharti Airtel is regarded as a unique model for the telecom as it is an effective model for every emerging market like China and India. In many countries apart from these, Airtel has emerged as a dominant player because of its innovative and unique method of business as well as strong brand. Most of the companies belonging from the same industries, focus on getting a hold of the Indian markets, while on the other hand, Airtel is continuously thriving to put more concentration on the international markets. The management team of Airtel has realized that the extensive experience of the company that it has gathered fro m the Indian markets, with its distinctive business model will help to grab the opportunity that is provided by the other developing markets. This has resulted in Airtel, claiming the Zain Group’s telecom business in more than ten different countries of Africa (White, 2013). This has given the company a good start in the African continent as well. However there are several other factors that Airtel fouces on and these factors also contribute to the uniqueness of the Airtel. These factors are mentioned below: One of the most unique models of Airtel that makes it different from the other European MNEs is that of its â€Å"minute factory model†, which they have used in Bangladesh after gaining the Warid Telecom (Satanarayana, Sambasiva & Krishnamurthy, 2017). Furthermore, its international corporate level strategies are also unique to that of the MNEs. They are mentioned below: - The primary motive of a brand for attaining competitive advantage and profit-making opportunities are two of the factors that affect the brand recognition in order to develop all over the world. These motives could be achieved by changing the global environment. In this context, Zhu, Sarkis & Lai (2013) have been stated that such an expansion of a business could easily take place through encouraging the development of the organizational performance and minimizing the trade barriers. There are several organizations such as the manufacturing or retail companies that is going hand in hand with the trend and has been adopted the modern technology of computerization in order to reach their customers around the world, notwithstanding the fact that they do not have any outlet or any kind of physical store present in that country. With the same, organization such as the Bharti Airtel always looks forward towards the present of opportunities in order to access the resources from other natio ns around the globe. They search for an opportunity so that those resources could be obtained through acquiring the other companies in the same field of the developing or emerging nations. Deshmukh, Deshmukh and Thampi (2013) have stated that companies such as Bharti Airtel also reduce their cost with an intention that more number of people from the new nation could use their products. Along with that, the stability in the relation of the international organization and the development of technologies that made it so easy to trade in the international market and incensement has also driven the internationalism of Bharti Airtel. Aggarwal, R. (2013). Adjusting to BRICs in glass houses: replacing obsolete institutions and business models.  Thunderbird International Business Review,  55(1), 37-54. Cappelli, P., Singh, H., Singh, J., & Useem, M. (2015). Indian business leadership: Broad mission and creative value.  The Leadership Quarterly,  26(1), 7-12. Damodaran, S. (2013). New strategies of industrial organization: outsourcing and consolidation in the mobile telecom sector in India. Deshmukh, S. P., Deshmukh, P., & Thampi, G. T. (2013). Transformation from E-commerce to M-commerce in Indian Context.  International Journal of Computer Science Issues (IJCSI),  10(4), 55. Moshi, G. C., & Mwakatumbula, H. J. (2017). Effects of political stability and sector regulations on investments in African mobile markets.  Telecommunications Policy,  41(7-8), 651-661. Satyanarayana, D., Rao, K. S., & Naidu, S. K. (2017). The impact of Reliance Jio on Indian mobile industry-A case study on mergers and acquisitions of idea–Vodafone and Airtel–Telenor.  IJAR,  3(3), 209-212. White, L. (2013). Emerging powers in Africa: Is Brazil any different?.  South African Journal of International Affairs,  20(1), 117-136. Zhu, Q., Sarkis, J., & Lai, K. H. (2013). Institutional-based antecedents and performance outcomes of internal and external green supply chain management practices.  Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management,  19(2), 106-117. .com is the only dissertation service provider in Australia that provides cheap dissertation help while maintaining all quality standards. Hence, students, from various Australian cities prefer taking dissertation help from us. Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne rank to when it comes to availing dissertation writing assistance from .com. Our dissertation writers, editors and experts work together to provide students highest quality dissertation help solutions. buy dissertation online from to acquire the final degree without any hassle. You are required to write a researched argument essay that convinces persuades the reader of your position / stance. This is an academic, researched and referenced do... Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to elaborate the factors which are considered by individuals before selecting an occupation. Choosing an occupati... Introduction With the increase enhancement in the field of technology, it has been considered essential by the businesses to implement such technology in their b... Executive Summary In a merger & acquisition, role of an HR has emerged as a very critical function. At each stage of merger and acquisition process, HR plays a s... Introduction In this competitive business environment where every business organization is trying to attract the customers of each other, it becomes essential for ... 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A Strategic Empty Container Logistics Optimization Essay

A Strategic Empty Container Logistics Optimization - Essay Example Therefore, they get limited in other regions that export more than they import. The other problem is that it is unknown when demand will rise for containers and return date for containers is uncertain. Also, Epstein et al., says that capacity for ships returning empty containers is not known, and a lot of information needs to be processed hence at times delay decision making that would help decrease stocks of empty containers. Another problem is of ensuring communication of interrelated decisions around all countries that CSAV operates; this was to ensure making decisions at a worldwide level to get rid of empty container challenge. Alternative Solutions to the Empty Container Problem. Different shipping companies have come up with solutions to overcome the problem of empty containers by use of advanced technologies. Among the technologies is the use of foldable containers. Taking containers to nearby ports with equipment necessary to fold the containers follows emptying them. The co ntainers on folding are space-saving hence can be shipped back to where they came from so that they can be used in moving more goods to other various destinations instead of staying where they had been taken waiting when they will be used to ship goods, which may never happen. It is clear that some regions are high importers but export fewer goods hence the containers may never leave that region. Therefore, incurrence of storage costs and lowering efficient in regions the containers are in need by customers.

Italy and jobs Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Italy and jobs - Term Paper Example The hypothesis for this paper is distribution of public employment is distributed based on region and employment types. This paper seeks to explain how job allocations are done in Italy plus, job search and mobility within Italy in relation to job. The Italian welfare state system does not offer job security for the temporarily unemployed but highly favors retirees. As a result, temporary unemployment subsidy from the government offers incentives for job seekers (Picchio, 2008 pp.1). Conversely, permanent employment would not offer such incentives since public employment remains a lifelong endeavor and could hardly be lost. The use or misuse of disability pension in the South could lead to compensation on permanent unemployment. The South also remains over dependent on public employment that offers permanent job welfare. This substantial reliance on public employment creates a sequence of attitudes and educational choices towards risks that could support tendencies to escape from private employment sectors (Picchio, 2008 pp.1). Informal networks, which incorporate social ties between currently, employed and job seekers, letters of reference and intermediation have affected the Italian labor market (Boca et al., 2004 pp.7). First, informal networks have become more successful in relation to job seekers’ placements than any other job search strategies in Italy. However, these networks work effectively for small firms that offer low wages regardless of the skills since they remain less governed by governmental hiring regulations. Most negative impacts on earnings arising from informal networks could be due to links developed by informal networks especially with small ï ¬ rms and their contracts (Picchio, 2006 pp. 4). There exists a negative relationship between job search by informal networks and earnings (Picchio, 2008 pp.1). Hence, people with

Brain Cancer Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Brain Cancer - Research Paper Example The growth of cancer cells in the brain tissue is termed as brain cancer. A tumor or mass of cancer tissue is formed by the cancer cells. These tumors affect the functions of the brain, such as memory, muscle control and memory. Tumors are classified as malignant, when they are comprised of cancer cells. On the other hand, tumors consisting of non – cancerous cells are termed as benign (Davis & Stoppler, 2013). Furthermore, cancer cells resulting from brain tissue are termed primary brain tumors; whereas the cancer cells that spread to the brain from other sites in the body are termed as metastatic brain tumors. It has been projected, by the available statistics that brain cancer could develop in approximately 22,000 individuals per year. Moreover, 13,000 deaths could occur due to cancer (Davis & Stoppler, 2013). Symptoms Individuals with glial origin tumors depict general, non – focal signs and symptoms, or focal manifestations pertaining to the specific region of the brain where the tumor is located. The most frequently observed symptoms among such individuals include headache, nausea, vomiting, generalized seizures and alterations in the level of consciousness. Headache tends to accompany several instances of brain tumors; nevertheless, only a few individuals with headache have a brain tumor (Pan & Prados, 2003). Headache tends to be the sole symptom in a fifth of the patients with brain tumors. Such headaches vary between moderate to severe, tend to be intermittent, and pronounced to a greater degree in the early morning, or increase with coughing and other actions that enhance the intracranial pressure. Headaches that are associated with increased intracranial pressure tend to be generalized, non – focal and non – lateralizing to the location of the tumor. Furthermore, tumors can be localized by headaches that are not associated with enhanced intracranial pressure (Pan & Prados, 2003). In 15% of the cases, the initial manifestat ions of brain tumors are seizures. In addition, 30% of the individuals with brain tumors could develop seizures in the long run. Usually, seizures transpire along with the slower developing and superficial tumors that involve the sensorimotor cortex (Pan & Prados, 2003). Some of the rapidly developing brain tumors may not present seizures as a distinguishing feature, but may do so eventually. With respect to adults, the onset of a new seizure necessitates neuroimaging, so as to eliminate the presence of a brain tumor as the underlying cause. Brain tumors have been seen to prevail to the extent of 10% among patients suffering with generalized seizures (Pan & Prados, 2003). With regard to children, seizures had been observed to result from intracranial tumors in less than a hundredth of the instances. This could be indicative of the fact that the majority of the central nervous system lesions in children transpire infratentorially. All the same, if a child exhibits seizures that tend to be difficult to control, then magnetic resonance imaging techniques have to be used, in order to evaluate the condition. In general, the brain tumors that cause seizures in children tend to be slow growing neoplasms (Pan & Prados, 2003). Increase in intracranial pressure can cause vomiting in a patient with glial tumors. On rare occasions, such vomiting can be due to invasion by the tumor of the vagal nucleus in the posterior fossa. Sometimes, a rapid

Aquisitions and Payments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Aquisitions and Payments - Essay Example ing the entire useful life of assets, the management would be paying fewer taxes under double- declining method of depreciation during initial years of useful life. This is because double- declining method uses double the rate of straight line method. Depreciation would be higher in initial years as compared to straight line method. Carrying value of in later years would be lower as compared to straight line method and hence lower depreciation would be charge to income statement resulting into higher income and thus higher taxes during later years of useful life. The position is exactly reversed when management decide to use straight line method of depreciation. However, when using double- declining method and paying fewer taxes in initial years of useful life of asset, the company will have to make provisions for deferred taxation. The cash flow statements of Pier 1 Imports show an entry under the head changes in cash from ‘Sales of receivables in exchange of beneficial interest in securitized receivables’. . That means that Pier 1 had to resort to Securitization laws to take hold of assets covered for receivables that became bad and unrecoverable. The company is generating cash by way of making sales of those assets or beneficial interests held in place of bad recoverable under the provisions of the law. This indicates that there were recoveries that turned bad and Pier 1 had to resort to take possession of some beneficial interests to make good some of the bad debts. â€Å"Securitization is the process of pooling and repackaging of homogeneous illiquid financial assets into marketable securities that can be sold to investors.† (Lakshmi Mohandass). This shows that securitization is undertaken only of those financial assets which become illiquid or bad to recover. The amount shown under the above stated head ‘Sales of receivables in exchange of beneficial interest in securitized receivables’ is quite significant. In 2007 changes in cash flow from such

Research of Dissertation Problem Statements Essay

Research of Dissertation Problem Statements - Essay Example The patients were selected on the basis of their and birth weight and the diagnosis of RDS of prematu ­rity. There is no reference in the work regarding the randomization of the treatments. However the statement that all the neonatal who suffered from RDS were treated with the new ventilatory strategy for 24 months points towards a wide range of population. All the 72 patients included in the study were properly accounted for at the conclusion of the trial as data on gestational age, birth weight gender, incidence of prenatal steroid treatment, low Apgar score at 1 and 5 minutes, and severity of RDS of prematurity were recorded and analysed in the case of all the 72 patients. There is no reference to the homogeneity of the group in the trial. However as the basic differences on gestational age, birth weight gender, incidence of prenatal steroid treatment, low Apgar score at 1 and 5 minutes, and severity of RDS were accounted for as variables in the study and thus wont affect the pr ecision of the result. The trial addressed a clearly focused issue that whether the improved pulmonary out ­come and less lung injury persisted (outcome) in the infants who had respiratory distress syndrome(population) and were exposed to high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) in comparison with the infants exposed to conventional ventilation (CV) (intervention). The trial was a follow up design of a previous multicenter controlled clinical trial in which surfac ­tant-heated premature newborns with moderate to se ­vere respiratory distress syndrome were randomly assigned to early treatment with high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) or to conventional ventilation (CV). Compared with control infants who were treated with CV, neonates who were treated with HFOV using a strategy designed to recruit and maintain lung volume and

Role of the judiciary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Role of the judiciary - Essay Example Thesis Statement: The American constitution stipulates that the main function of the nation’s foreign policy is to protect and reinforce the position of the United States as a sovereign and independent state. The history of the American constitution in terms of Foreign Affairs The U. S. constitution, as documented by the nation’s Founding Fathers, stated that it was the nation’s aim to assume ‘the earth’s powers, equal to the rules of nature as were intended by God’ (Chomsky, 2004). Essentially, all other rules, including those that dictate foreign policy, have to observe this objective in all attempts to adopt stances of foreign policy as well as shared power. All regulations concerning the American foreign policy are formed through consultations between the nation’s Commander-in-Chief, executive and legislative branches. Even in the days of the first president of America, George Washington, there were difficulties in creating a releva nt, consistent, and practical foreign policy. Theoretically, the creation of foreign policy ought to correspond with the objectives of national interest. The federal government’s position, as one of the factors that contribute towards the formation of foreign policy, stems from the Supremacy Clause; which stipulates that Federal law is the supreme law in America and even precludes state law. The American constitution was first formed by the founding fathers as a contract of a revolutionary tobacco democracy which was led by an enlightened pseudo-government made up of merchants, paramilitary planters, and lawyers (Murray, 2013). The first American government, which was headed by George Washington, wanted to ensure that the new young nation would be able to survive in spite of the existence of powerful opponents in the European continent. In those early years, American foreign policy was aimed towards ensuring that the new nation avoided potential conflicts with European superp owers while also establishing itself as an autonomous member of the then group of free nations. This would be hard to accomplish as the nation was crafted out of a bloody conflict with the then greatest power, the United Kingdom, and had a weak and disorganized army. The United States also came into existence at a time when there was no organization, such as an international court, to arbitrate between warring nations. War was considered as being the only honorable method of solving serious disputes. In the late 1700s, only the self-interested sovereign nations were recognized as the major principalities on the international stage. When it was first formed, the American constitution worked alongside congressional powers to standardize commerce with other states, to sustain the armed forces, and create government regulations to oversee immigration and naturalization clauses. The ‘Articles of Confederation’ was America's primary constitution, and was confirmed in 1781. Th is was a time when the nation was merely a disorganized confederation of thirteen states, each of which were conducting themselves as nations in their own right (Brzezinski, 2004). America’s national government was made up of a congress and a singular legislature. The Articles of Confederation allocated to congress the abilities to oversee the running of foreign affairs, the regulation of national currency, and determination of all issues to do with war. Moreover, these activities were limited

LAN Reliability and Availability Research Paper

LAN Reliability and Availability - Research Paper Example Organizations that have employed the use of Local Area Network, or LAN, can access information and resources of all persons and departments linked to the network. 1 It is important for the networked organizations to understand the various networking terms, conditions and systems operation in order to ensure that the system would not be compromised. In this manner, information would be available and reliable and serve the operational requirements of the organization. Since not all members of the organization would be able to understand the framework of the network, it is necessary to employ network administrators that would ensure the smooth operations and availability of the network. 2 With the network functioning properly, the organization can deliver their products and services to the consumer or end-user without restraint that can result from unpredictable network malfunctions. The network administrator should be the one with the appropriate training so that he/she could understan d the network architecture and impacts of specific system failures on the general network. 3 LAN refers to a â€Å"communication network, limited in geographic scope†. 4 The network’s hardware components are: a) transmission medium (e.g. twisted pair, fiber optics, coaxial cable), b) mechanism for control of transmission, and c) network interface (for host computers, devices or nodes of network). 5 To meet the requirements of availability and reliability, redundancy approach is usually applied in the system. 6 This approach uses a back up path for every connection so that recovery is possible when failure occurs. 7 Network Availability The ability of the organization to benefit from any network relies on the availability of the specified network. However, for a network to be available most of the time, it must be reliable in order to maximize its use within the infrastructure. Both reliability and availability of a network are interdependent. A network cannot be reliab le if the framework is not available to all the units or departments required to connect with it. Thus, both concepts must be handled together since one would affect the other and the organization in general. 8 Network availability refers to the fragment of time wherein the network is in service. 9 Availability of the network may fail if a disaster strikes, and in case of large-scale disaster, many link failures may occur. 10 Computer networks should establish the required infrastructure that would meet the needs of the applications that will be used. 11 Studies have indicated that one measure of the computer network performance is its availability. 12 The availability feature would be particularly important for applications used in banking transactions, e-commerce, and other online transactions. 13 The components of the network that may be prone to failure and affect availability are the a) hosts (e.g. clients, servers in different departments, middle level corporate servers, data tier corporate servers), b) interconnection equipment (including hubs, routers, switches), and c) individual links. 14 The availability concept has become more critical due to complex issues and interconnections distributed across numerous computers. 15 It is also dependent on the accessory devises included to make it functional. 16 Availability has always been an important characteristic of systems but becomes a more critical and complex issue

Present day Societal Value of Labor Unions Essay Example for Free

Present day Societal Value of Labor Unions Essay A labor union is an organization of employees of the same profession, working for either one employer or many employers. It is formed by people with common skills, knowledge and skills pursuing the same dream, to be at the top of their carriers. Labor unions are normally funded by contributions from employee’s salaries. They are headed by officials who are elected by members after a given period of time. For labor unions to be effective they need to be run by people with the right management education, skills, knowledge and experience for them to deliver to their respective members. Labor union officials are accountable to its members and need to be responsible enough, for every action they take, has consequences on all the members. Labor unions are formed and run as per the constitution, according to the Labor act of any nation and the related articles. Labor unions have a societal value in the present day, because members expect some return that is either qualitative or quantitative. Although employers may be opposed to the idea of labor unions, the Government gives the right atmosphere for their formation and existence. Labor unions that are not beneficial to the members do not last long, because they are democratic institutions and members have a right to quit and join new unions. (Albert, 2001 p. 20-31) Organized institutions: Labor unions provide a forum for dealing with multiple issues at once and as group. Actions taken by labor unions are across the board; they relate to all the employees and their respective employers. Issues tackled do not relate to individuals but to the whole group of members. Members of the same profession get to meet and reason together, in order to better their living standards and their economic well being. Solutions to issues facing the employees are to the advantage of all the member. Labor unions need to be registered as per the required regulations, prescribed under the Labor union’s Act of any Country. They are therefore recognized and protected by law. They are therefore expected to deliver as per the necessary standards, without bias to either the employees or the employers. Issues presented by individual members are discussed by the officials and if need be, they are communicated to the rest of the members, in order to understand who the union is acting for, at any particular time. Protection of Employee’s rights: Labor unions are formed on the principle, â€Å"united we stand, divided we fall†. Any skilled, semiskilled and unskilled employee has rights and privileges at his place of work, which the employer may not be willing and ready to fulfill. It’s the duty of the labor union to negotiate for its members, with the employers for their rights to be realized. Single employees may not have a better understanding of their rights and may be oppressed by the employer. In groups/labor unions they will have the power to speak as one and demand the employer’s attention. (Becky 2002 p. 11-32) Some employee’s rights include; Better working, conditions and environment; This mostly applies to semiskilled and unskilled workers who are found at industrial plants. Most employers may find it expensive to provide them with the right working gear and devices like, gloves, masks and gum boots. Such employees will therefore be risking their lives at the expense of their incomes and need someone to come in between. Such employees may not be housed at the plant and will be expected to report to work early in the morning. The labor union will come in and negotiate for their transport system; whereby they are either picked by bus early in the morning or they are given an adequate transport allowance to enable them be punctual at work. The single employees who demand better working conditions and environment may risk their jobs because the management may consider them to be unruly. Some manufacturing companies, like tobacco industries, pollute the environment which the employees are working in. they may therefore be exposed to contracting diseases, hence poor health. It is the duty of the labor unions to negotiate healthy environment to ensure that employees utilize their skills well and advance in their carriers. A well balanced remuneration package; Employees need a salary package relatively proportional to their contribution towards the company’s profitability. Some employers may want to retain a lot of their earnings and therefore deny their laborers/employees good compensation. For a worker to be productive his or her financial and economic needs should be well catered for, by the employer. A stressed up employee may not utilize his education and knowledge adequately to develop his carrier. Some employers may want to pay their employees less than the other professionals with the same education, knowledge and skills. This is psychologically unfair and the labor union steps in to ensure a uniform salary package across the board for people with the same skills and knowledge. If the employer does not obey, the labor union can sue on behalf of the employee with costs being met by the employer, as per the relevant regulation and case ruling. Employee Motivation; For employees to perform better, they need their spirits lifted through a well organized motivation system. These lack in some organizations and it is the duty of labor unions to negotiate for the members items like, overtime payments, study leaves and bonus payments. It is through such motivation systems that employees can utilize their skills, education and knowledge in order to have some carrier growth and development. Labor unions therefore assist their members in meeting their short-term goals and keep them focused at their long-term goals. Better working conditions at the present make it possible for employees to realize ambitions and dreams. (Norman 2000 p. 4-54) Retirement benefits; Labor unions ensure that every employer has retirement arrangements in place for its employees. Employees should not retire with any funds to survive on because this may depress them at their old age. Retirement age is therefore maintained across all companies and those who their contracts are terminated in advance are given some golden handshake to survive on. Labor unions also deal with cases where contracts are terminated before maturity and those affected are restored and any damages are catered for by the employer. The labor unions therefore ensure that the society’s dependency ratio is not increased due to early terminations or people retiring with out finances. Professional Networking: Through labor unions professionals get to meet and share ideas relating to their carrier field. People with the same knowledge, skills, education and experience get to network and assist one another emotionally and this boosts their morale. Meetings organized by labor unions for its members provide a forum for discussions to be held among members. Motivational speakers are also invited to give speech which inspires the members. Carrier growth and development: Labor unions ensure that members are constantly being updated on the latest skills and knowledge during union meetings. Discussions held also advance the awareness of their professional field details. Members also get to know the requirements for their movement up the carrier ladder. Study leaves negotiated for by the labor unions provide carrier development. Some employers may want to maintain employees as casual, which is not as per the law; labor unions therefore come to negotiate for their permanent employment. This enables both carrier growth and development. Go slows: When employers do not want to give in to requests by the employees, laborers may present this to their unions and they may result in mass action. Demonstrations/go slows organized by labor unions are recognized by the laws and no one of the employees is victimized. workers’ plights are therefore considered by their employers and their demands are negotiated for by both the employer and the union officials. Creation of jobs: Labor unions are run by officials, elected by the members based on their education, knowledge and experience, to manage the union. These officials are well remunerated, from the contributions by the members. They therefore earn a living out their efforts to manage the unions. In the society, dependency ratio is therefore reduced while idleness by the unemployed and crime levels go down. These officials are replaced from time to time and the jobs are given to new people. Mediator between the government and the employees: Labor unions negotiate with the Government for labor standards to be maintained for the sake of the employees. The government is therefore kept on check by the union to ensure that there are statutory regulations on the, minimum wage, working conditions/environment and unfair dismissals. Labor unions also provide some level of awareness to the professionals in terms of, what they should expect from the employer and what their level of productivity to their employers should be, in order to experience carrier growth and development. (Timothy, Roni, 2003 p. 23-34) References: Albert S. (2001). Labor unions. New York. Cristol Publishers. Becky T. (2002). Societal Value of Labor Unions. New Jersey. Western Press. Norman C. (2000). Enforcement of Labor unions. Los Angelus. Southern Publishers. Timothy S, Roni B. (2003). Labor Unions in united States. Boston. Cribal Publishers.

Performance Management Essay Example for Free

Performance Management Essay William Hill employee workers in order to help the company to contribute its services. The efforts of Human Resources are directed towards improving the performance of employees and thereby enabling the business to achieve its objectives. Every business has to measure the performance of their company, this is to ensure efficiency and therefore they need their staff to perform effectively. William Hill always tries there best to recognise areas that are unsatisfactory for workers and find the aspects of weakness in the organization and do provide relevant training for individuals in order to develop this skills. They also realise that hard work has to paid off well so William Hill promote and reward good performance of employees with the use of bonus and this ensures workers tend to work better because they know that if they work well the organisation does better and further increase in pay will be awarded. Due to different hierarchical structures in companies, you will find that there are several methods to monitor performance, which do benefit these companies, and the system, which is commonly found, is the appraisal system. This is a one to one meeting with employee and manager to discuss the individuals performance between a certain periods. It is a rather good way in which to gain feedback from workers, discussing their performance to improve for the next meeting, identify what training is required if needed also to classify the potential for promotion and finally to reward performance related pay. William Hill does not find this method rather approachable due to the decentralisation of power of each subsidiary and some workers dont have a based shop but it can be used to encourage their employees to perform better because in appraisals you set targets which one would strive to meet in order to gain better financial gains. This relates with Hezbergs theory of motivator factors, one is given recognition of their efforts, which then enables a chance of improvement such as promotion due to the motivation the employee has also gained job satisfaction. Douglas McGregors theory Y can also be linked to appraisals if they met the targets that are set in the appraisal meeting then there is a good chance of promotion, this means that there is chance that workers can start enjoying work and be motivated by the job itself. McGregors theory X concurrent also that a pay increase, as he assumed that those in X are motivated by money. Abraham Maslows theory correlates with employees gaining job security by performing well, and if promotion is acknowledgeable then promotion will allow them to reach self- actualisation because their full potential has been realised. Businesses can use observation, which is when the manger watches the worker while they are working to ensure they are working efficiently and fault analysis, which is when the work is checked after it, has been finished to check for mistakes. In both incidents training can be identified and check for good performances and it indicates to the individual where they are going wrong and what needs to be done better. Training enables workers to be very familiarise with their job and will perform it to their best which according to Maslow will gain self-esteem to workers due to the confidence given by performing well. Performance through profit is when a business compares profit form previous years or to rivals to show how well they are performing. William Hill can use this in enabling them to see which area needs more work to increase workers routine such as training in needed areas to ensure that they perform rather more competitively with rivals also so that employees can be awarded dep ending how well the company does. This links with Taylor and McGregor theory Y as they all presume people are only motivated by money. Performance through productivity is when a company measures its workers output, this is done through William Hill by how much betting slips are taken by each Cashier and if targets are met then bonuses are rewarded monthly with your pay. This links with Maslow stating that rewarding workers gives them esteem as well as receiving recognition for their good performance. Performance related pay is when workers are paid according to their performance at work. William Hill can increase pay according to productivity or give the workers a bonus. This can be linked into the same theories as performance through productivity as they will be rewarded in the same way because it is financial gains that workers are gaining. Through various achievements within the organisation reward can also be given for instance when new employees go through the whole stage of induction program, William Hill will issue a certificate nicely presented to the worker, also a sense of achievement means more responsibility so they have moved from the trainee section which is related to promotion also so an increase of pay due to this. Through all of this William Hill are recognising their employees effort within the organisation which relates to Maslow theory of gaining once again esteem needs due to an increase of responsibility and Herzbergs motivator factors of achievement and recognition because the have ascertained to this level in William Hill PLC. Employees tend to be rewarded with good sales performance in William Hill through the way they demonstrate their skills, knowledge, behaviour and attitude towards customers. They are rewarded with promotion, job enlargement, job enrichment and fringe benefits that should keep them motivated to perform better at their position in William Hill. Theorists such as Taylor, Maslow and theory X believe those economic sorts of rewards are good for those who only work for the love money and this will motivate them to perform well whereas theory Y, Herzbergs motivators states that the job enrichment, enlargement and promotion are giving them more responsibility which should motivate but at the end of the day they want do the extra job with less pay that what is deserved. Long service to William Hill is also an achievement made because you have gained various skills and abilities also knowledge of William Hill to apply and allow new employees to imitate. This loyalty is rewarded with extra paid holiday allowance greater bonus at the end of each year to acknowledge also. This allows workers to feel respected and recognised by the company also part of the family. Gaining the bonus is a financial incentive and Taylor believes that is what motivates workers but Herzberg sees this as only causing job satisfaction not a motivator, the real motivator is that sense of achievement and reorganisation and this also relates to Maslow because esteem is given through respect and effort due to the loyalty the worker has given to William Hill.

Case Study: Harold Shipman

Case Study: Harold Shipman Shipman began practicing as a doctor in 1974, at the Abraham Ormerod Medical Practice in Todmorden. He was there until 1975 when his partners discovered that he had been obtaining drugs dishonestly for his own use. In 1976 he pleaded guilty to three offences of obtaining pethidine by deception, three offences of unlawful possession of pethidine and two further offences of forging a prescription he was sentenced in Halifax Magistrates court to pay a fine and compensation. In August 1992,he began working as a solo practitioner at a surgery in Hyde he continued to work as a single-handed practitioner until his arrest in September 1998. In July 1998 the Greater Manchester Police began an inquiry into Kathleen Grundys death, a patient of Dr Shipman, the inquiry was rapidly widened to include the deaths of Shipmans other patients. On Monday, 31st January 2000 the jury at Preston Crown Court convicted Harold Shipman of 15 murders and of forging a will. Case Study Mrs Kathleen Grundy was a widow and lived by herself she was in remarkably good health for her age. She undertook work for many Charitable organisations and had a healthy social life. She spent the evening before her death with a friend and was in normal health when she went home. Mrs Grundy died on 24th June 1998 at the age of 81. Shipman forged a certificate and passed of her death being due to old age. Later scientific analysis of her body tissues in August 1998 showed that she had died of morphine poisoning. In the few days before her death, Shipman had persuaded Mrs Grundy to take part in a research project into the ageing process, allegedly to be conducted by Manchester University. It emerged later that this was a hoax so he could obtain a sample of her signature, which he used in an attempt to forge a will. This also created an excuse to visit her at home. She visited him on 23rd June, to have her ears syringed and told her that he needed a blood sample for the research project which must be taken early in the morning. He arranged to visit her at about 8.30am the next morning. The following day she was due to attend Werneth House but she did not arrive. Friends and colleagues there became concerned as this was out of character for Mrs Grundy and two of them, Mr John Green and Mr Ronald Pickford, went to her house at about midday. They found her lying on the sofa fully dressed. Her body was cold and it was established she was dead. The door to the house was unlocked. They summoned Shipman to the house. Following a perfunctory examination of the body, he said ‘cardiac arrest’, following the test he had a brief discussion with someone in the coroner’s office and it was agreed that a certificate which stated the cause of death to be ‘old age’ would be acceptable. There was no record kept of the conversation with the coroner’s office. When Shipman had left the house Mr Green informed the police, as he was unable to contact Mrs Grundy’s daughter Mrs Angela Woodruff. The officers concerned spoke to Shipman later and he informed them he had called on Mrs Grundy earlier that day because she had been unwell. He did not mention the fact that he had called to take a blood sample. Shipman also told them he had spoken with the coroner’s office and was going to issue a certificate stating that Mrs Grundy had died of natural causes. The police officers took a quick look at the body and on seeing nothing suspicious took no further action. The day after the death Shipman spoke to Mrs Woodruff. He told her that he had seen Mrs Grundy on the day before her death just for ‘a routine thing’. He was vague and mentioned she had chest pains possibly due to indigestion. Shipman said that he had arranged to collect a blood sample the next morning, when he arrived she was not yet dressed. He then said that some old people complain of feeling unwell a few days before they die and then just die. He inferred that this had happened to Mrs Grundy. He handed Mrs Woodruff the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) and said that he had certified the death as being due to old age. Mrs Woodruff’s suspicions were not aroused until she was contacted by the Hamilton Ward legal firm handling her mother’s will. Her own law practice in Warwickhad usually dealt with her mother’s legal affairs. The original will had been lodged with the firm in 1986. Hamilton Ward received a new will the same day that Mrs Grundy died. The new will was badly typed. Mrs Woodruff told the Shipman trial in October: â€Å"My mother was a meticulously tidy person. The thought of her signing a document which is so badly typed didn’t make any sense. The signature looked strange, it looked too big. The concept of mum signing a document leaving everything to her doctor was unbelievable.†[1] The police arranged for the exhumation of Mrs Grundys body. The exhumation was vital because forensic evidence was needed to verify the case of death. Dr Rutherford an expert witness pathologist was instructed to conduct the post-mortem examination. The post-mortem was crucial as it would establish time and cause of death, one would also know if Shipmans version of events are true. The results of the post-mortem examination found no natural explanation for Mrs Grundy’s death therefore not supporting Shipmans account. Also questions that were left unanswered for example why had this happened to someone who had been in good health, had been answered. Scientific analysis of the body tissues revealed levels of morphine consistent with the administration of a fatal dose. Dr John Grenville also provided a report and said that there were a number of false entries in the medical records which had been created after the death to give credibility to Shipman’s stories. Firstly that Mrs Grundy was under the weather when he saw her on 23rd June and secondly that Mrs Grundy had been abusing drugs and might have administered the morphine herself. This evidence was very valuable as it proved medical records had been doctored in order to cover Shipmans back. Forensic evidence proved that Shipman forged Mrs Grundys will this was one of the main reasons as to why suspicions were aroused in the first place. Shipman wanted to obtain the whole of Mrs Grundy’s estate, leaving nothing to her daughter and grandchildren. He drafted the will using his own old-fashioned Brother portable typewriter. When the police came to Shipman’s premises and took possession of the typewriter the will was immediately linked to him. This was important as tests would be able to show that if the will had been produced from Shipmans type writer the paper could be matched as well as the ink and tracks that had been used, this evidence would be enough to prove that it had come from that specific printer. Although this evidence was valuable shipman could still argue that someone else had used his type writer. Overall the final product looked painstakingly unprofessional and suspicion would be aroused immediately. Expert hand writing evidence proved them to be forgeries. Shipman forged Mrs Grundy’s signature and dated the will 9th June 1998. On that day he staged a ‘signing and witnessing’ event in his consulting room and must have prepared a document for Mrs Grundy to sign which purported to provide for her consent to take part in some medical research supposedly to be conducted by Manchester University. This document required that Mrs Grundy’s signature should be witnessed by two others, who also had to sign and provide their names, addresses and occupations. While Mrs Grundy was at Shipman’s surgery on 9th June, Shipman appears to have obtained her signature on this document and then called two patients from his waiting room into the consulting room where they completed and signed the witnesses’ part of the document. Shipman must have used this document to copy the three signatures as well as he could. The document would have been valuable to shipman as he had no other means of looking at Mrs Grundys signature. Forensic evidence showed the Shipman had forged the signature as it did not match the style of Mrs Grundys writing and it was blatantly obvious that it was a copy due the fact that Shipman had to break off as he kept looking at the original signature to copy it, it was also noted that the signature Shipman forged was allot bigger than how Mrs Grundy would normally sign. There were clear conclusions drawn from the Forensic evidence as the post-mortem that Mrs Grundys death was a clear case of morphine poisoning. Even without this evidence there were a number of questions that did not add up for instance this was a sudden death of an elderly person in good health. There was no explanation for her death. Mrs Grundys door was unlocked this was also unusual for her as her neighbours mentioned the fact that she was a security conscious person, Shipman implied that Mrs Grundy left the door unlocked after letting him out this vital piece of evidence was a major blow to shipmans case as he had been unable to leave the security system in the condition relatives and friends would have expected it to be. Even though Shipman had altered Mrs Grundys medical records to show she was unwell just before her death and that he suspected she had been abusing drugs her medical records still showed she had been in good health and had no potentially fatal conditions that would harm her. Also the cause of death being ‘old age’, left unanswered question and was quite an inappropriate case of death for a person who had been in such good health. On the 31st January 2000, after six days of deliberation the jury found Shipman guilty of killing 15 patients by lethal injections of diamorphine, and forging the will of Kathleen Grundy. He was sentenced to 15 consecutive life sentences and it was recommended that he never be released. Shipman also received four years imprisonment for forging the will. Two years after his conviction, Home Secretary David Blunkett confirmed the judge’s recommendation that Shipman never be released. Shipman was officially struck off by the General Medical council in Februaury 2002 he consistently denied his guilt, disputing the scientific evidence against him. He never made any statements about his actions. His defence tried, but failed, to have the count of murder of Mrs Grundy, where a clear motive was alleged. Shipman subsequently committed suicide at Wakefield Prison by hanging himself from the window bars of his cell using bed sheets. He was found in his cell at 6:20 am on 13 January 2004, on the eve of his 58th birthday, and was officially pronounced dead at 8:10 am. Bibliography Crime scene to court second edition, Edited by .P.C.White http://www.the-shipman-inquiry.org.uk http://www.geraldengland.co.uk/gx/shipman.htm http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-180566187.htm [1] Mrs Woodruffs evidence in court Royal Ahold: An analysis Royal Ahold: An analysis ROYAL AHOLD: 1. Introduction Headquartered in the Netherlands, Royal Ahold is one of the worlds largest international retail grocery and food service companies. At its peak in 2001, Aholds reported sales and profits were â‚ ¬66.6 billion and â‚ ¬1.1 billion and it operated 5,155 stores in 27 countries with nearly a quarter of a million employees. Ahold was started as a family firm in 1887 by the Heijn family. It was a family-controlled business, operating primarily in the Netherlands for over 100 years. The company went public in 1948. In 1989, Ahold underwent a major transition from a family-controlled to a management controlled firm. This transition resulted in a phenomenal period of success for the firm. It generated over a 1,000% return for its shareholders and had a market capitalization of â‚ ¬30.6 billion by November 2001. In February 2003, Ahold witnessed a reversal of fortunes and suffered a complete meltdown. The firm was in a complete disastrous state with nothing going in their favour: a failed strategy, an accounting scandal, the firing of professional management, and litigation filings from all parts of the world. Shareholders lost most of their returns generated since 1989. Ahold scandal gave Europe a reason to believe that corporate governance and accounting problems were not restricted U.S. only. Ahold became â€Å"Europes Enron† (The Economist, March 1, 2003). It caused Dutch and European policymakers to rethink their approach to corporate governance and accounting policy. The Royal Ahold scandal, along with the accounting fraud at the giant Italian firm Parmalat, caused the European Union (EU) to impose more extensive and rigorous regulation on the financial reporting system and independent audit function within its member nations. The Royal Ahold debacle also reignited the debate re garding the need for more uniform accounting and auditing standards around the globe. In the Netherlands, a committee on corporate governance was installed on March 10, 2003 (Tabaksblat Committee, 2003) to restore the lost confidence in public companies. This report aims at studying the inter-relationships between the lack of corporate governance and of accounting transparency which led to the downfall of Ahold. The subsequent policies and strategies of the firm which aimed at reviving the firm are also aptly covered in the report. 2. The Growth Story: Expanding Boundaries Over the years, Ahold evolved from a single grocery store in 1887 to a food company with a dominant position in the Netherlands. By the mid-1970s, Royal Aholds management realized that for the company to continue to grow it could not limit its operations to The Netherlands. Since the Netherland market was already dominated by Royal Ahold, the companys top executives, who had long been known for their conservative operating and financial policies, announced their plan to expand its operations into other countries. Royal Aholds expansion efforts got off to a slow start but then accelerated rapidly in the 1990s after the company hired a new management team. Until the late 1980s, members of the Heijn family had occupied the key management positions within the firm. In 1987, two grandsons of Albert Heijn, served as Royal Aholds two top executives. Later in 1987 when the brothers retired, a professional management team was hired to replace the Heijn brothers. The team recognized that the quickest way for Royal Ahold to gain significant market share in the grocery retailing industry outside of The Netherlands was to purchase existing grocery chains in foreign countries. To finance their growth-by-acquisition policy, Royal Aholds new executives raised large amounts of debt and equity capital during the 1990s. By 2000, Royal Ahold had purchased retail grocery chains in Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Portugal, Scandinavia, South America, and the United States. This aggressive expansion campaign m ade Royal Ahold the third largest grocery retailer worldwide by the turn of the century. At the time, only U.S.-based Wal-Mart and the French firm Carrefour SA had larger annual retail grocery sales than Royal Ahold. Royal Ahold completed its most ambitious acquisition in 2000 when it purchased U.S. Foodservice, a large food wholesaler headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Although Royal Ahold had previously purchased several retail grocery chains along the eastern seaboard of the United States, including New England-based Stop Shop, U.S. Foodservice was easily the largest U.S. company it had acquired. The U.S. Foodservice acquisition was also important because it signalled the companys commitment to becoming a significant participant in the food wholesaling industry. In 2003, after purchasing two smaller U.S.-based food distributors, Royal Ahold ranked as the second largest food wholesaler in the United States—Houston-based Sysco Corporation was the largest. In fact, the three U.S. acquisitions caused food wholesaling to be the companys largest source of revenue, accounting for slightly more than one-half of its annual sales. The companys more than 4,000 retail grocery stores located in 27countries accounted for the remainder of its annual sales. 3. Problems Due to Expansion The aggressive growth strategy adopted by the new professional management gave rise to a number of unexpected and unanticipated problems. Among these the major problems were caused primarily due to the expansion in the global regions. The differences in the cultural norms hampered the ability of the management to manage its worldwide retail grocery operations. As the firm ventured into new markets, especially the markets outside of Western Europe and the United States, it faced new challenges in the face of wide range of laws, regulations and cultural differences. The management team also faced difficulty in dealing with human resource policies regarding hiring, appraisal, and other employee benefits. The policies which were successful in The Netherlands failed to live up to the expectations of the new managers and employees in the countries of Asia, Latin America and South America. Furthermore the cultural norms of grocery shopping among the consumers in global markets also exacerbated the misery of the firm. Some consumers out rightly rejected the â€Å"Dutch: idea and way of organizing the grocery store. The consumers also did not appreciate the idea of â€Å"foreign invader† replacing the local grocery stores which existed there for years. 4. Response towards the Problems and Further Issues Since the problems were primarily the result of cultural and social issues, the management at Ahold decided upon the strategy of using the management personal of the local grocery chains and retaining them when those chains were acquired by Ahold. The new mangers were empowered with the authority to make major decisions. The Royal Ahold ambitious plan to become a major player in the wholesaling segment of the huge food industry in the US gave rise to new problems. Most of the company officials were unfamiliar with that segment. Therefore they adopted the â€Å"hands-off† mindset to the acquisition and depended primarily on the executives of U.S. Foodservice who were retained following the buyout to oversee the subsidiarys day-to-day operations. But the firm adopted a policy of following the same rigorous performance standards that were imposed on the companys domestic operations. The companys established goal of 15% annual growth rate in profits was used to decide upon the annual sales targets for each of the companys operating unit in Netherland and also at global locations. The units were pressurised to achieve their target and there were significant rewards on meeting the specified targets. But due to increased competition and the relatively lower profit margins within the food industry prevented many of those units from achieving the annual earnings goals that had been assigned to them.  ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­5. Accounting Issues During the fiscal 2002 audit of Royal Ahold, Deloitte Accountants uncovered evidence suggesting that the companys consolidated revenues had been inflated and overstated. When Royal Ahold invested in a foreign company, it often acquired exactly a 50 percent ownership interest in the given company. Nevertheless, Royal Ahold would fully consolidate the companys financial data in its annual financial statements.Dutch accounting rules at the time permitted a parent company to fully consolidate the financial data of a joint venture company if the parent could control that firms operations. Such control could be evidenced by a more than 50 percent ownership interest in the joint venture company or by other means. Royal Ahold persuaded their Deloitte auditors by providing them with â€Å"control letters† officially signed by the officials of joint venture companies. This was accomplished by taking the officials to their side by bribing them. Further in order to placate the companys executives, the Royal Aholds management team signed â€Å"side letters† addressed to the companys executives of the JV. These letters affirmed that the decision making was mutual rather than by Ahold exclusively. Thus for Dutch accounting purposes, the joint ventures operating results should have been â€Å"proportionately consolidated† in Aholds annual financial statements. Apart from such improper accounting, Royal Ahold was also accused of not sharing the full information among the stakeholders. It did not reveal its obligations to purchase the ownership interests of certain investors in those companies. This was because of the default on the part of the joint venture companies to pay off their outstanding debt. Fraudulent Accounting at U.S. Foodservice Deloitte Accountants U.S. affiliate, Deloitte Touche, audited the financial statements of U.S. Foodservice after that company was acquired by Royal Ahold in 2000. Before the acquisition, KPMG was its auditor. Deloitte uncovered anomaly in the account books which distorted the consolidated net income of Ahold group. Subsequent investigation revealed that US food Service had misrepresented their financial statements for several years before the acquisition. The misrepresentation was because of improper accounting of the â€Å"promotional allowances.† Since the food wholesaling industry is intensely competitive, so the profit margins on their sales are relatively small. This led to the concept of â€Å"promotional allowances† (refund on purchases) being paid to food wholesalers by their suppliers or vendors. Another common practice or rather malpractice was â€Å"front-loading† promotional allowances. This means accounting for all the allowances prior to its actual period. The absence of proper internal controls over promotional allowances provided an opportunity for dishonest employees to overstate those allowances for accounting purposes. 6. The Aftermath In 2003 when the company issued the restated financial statements for the preceding there years, the fraud was uncovered. The net income figures for the years 2000, 2001 and 2003 had been overstated by 17.6%, 32.6% and 88.1% respectively. The corresponding figures for the reported revenues were 20.8%, 18.6% and 13.8%. Soon after the disclosures were made the regulatory agencies, law authorities, investment companies and other stakeholders began seeking more information regarding the fraud. Following the public disclosure both Dutch and U.S. law enforcement authorities filed criminal charges against the company and several of its former executives. Upon investigation, the responsibilities for the fraud lay on the top executives of the firm. The so called â€Å"professional management† which replaced the Heijn-family management in the 1990s were the forces responsible for the crisis. They over estimated their growing potential and set unrealistic targets at the company level. These targets where passed on to the individual units which were pressurised to achieve these unrealistic targets by hook or by crook. This was further enhanced by a significant level of rewards attached to the meeting of targets. Role of the Auditor Though it was because of the Aholds auditor Deloitte that the crisis was finally ended, but it cane under severe criticism for letting this fraud flourish to the extent it had reached. There were many lawsuits filed against Deloitte for the shear reason of negligence on their part which required them to prove their integrity. The loosely organized operating units under Ahold group made the auditing task a tough one. Regulatory Bodies The following controversy also revolved around the inefficiency and loopholes of the present in the regulatory system. The Ahold case re-affirmed the need for cooperation among the different regulatory bodies across countries. This was evident in the wake of rapid globalization which had taken place in the 1990s. Also the need for a common framework of regulations was further enhanced to maintain the comparability aspect of the account books across globe. 7. The Verdict The fraud charges against the Royal Ahold corporate house were finally settled in September 2004. The verdict required the firm to pay a fine of 8 million Euros. Further after investigation the Royal Aholds former executives (CFO and CEO) were found guilty and were penalized as well as were sentenced to four to nine months of imprisonment 8. The Road to Recovery program Press release is issued by Royal Ahold N.V â€Å"Our highest priority now is to rebuild the value of our company. We will do everything in our power to create a company of which you can once again be proud. Reinforcing accountability, controls and corporate governance Ahold is replacing a decentralized system of internal controls that had many weaknesses with a one-company system with central reporting lines. Internal audit will not only report to the CEO, but also to the Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board. In addition, Ahold has nominated Peter Wakkie to the position of Chief Corporate Governance Counsel on the Executive Board, to serve as the driving force behind improved internal governance policies and practices, for legal compliance as well as conformance to ethical and social standards. †

Discussion on the Problems of Quantum Theory :: Physics Essays

Discussion on the Problems of Quantum Theory The early 1930s gave us quantum theory, and along with that came many new physical and philosophical arguments. Many problems exist in quantum physics, and many brilliant scientists have spent their lives trying to understand. Heisenberg gave us The Uncertainty Principle, the idea that nothing is certain, just within a probability of certain. It also questioned the scientific method of observation, arguing that no measurement can show an object’s true nature. This brought the idea of quanta, different states, and the question of objects existing in more than one state, or having a dual nature. Scientists, physicists and mathematicians alike have all pondered and questioned these theories for many years and yet there are still problems left unresolved. One of the problems with quantum theory and The Heisenberg Uncertainty principle is the reliance on probabilities. This is to say that nothing can be exactly predicted, just predicted within a certain probability. This implies that nothing can be certain; that there is an uncertainty associated with every statement, even those we consider facts. â€Å"This uncertainty leads to many strange things. For example, in a Quantum Mechanical world, I cannot predict where a particle will be with 100 % certainty. I can only speak in terms of probabilities. For example, I can say that an atom will be at some location with a 99 % probability, but there will be a 1 % probability it will be somewhere else (in fact, there will be a small but finite probabilty that it will be found across the Universe). This is strange† (Heisenberg). This problem is especially troubling at the microscopic level because there still are many uncertainties involved. Scientific technologies have not yet bec ome omniscient. There are still limitations to what can be observed and measured. â€Å"It is important to understand that this is not simply a philosophical question or a rhetorical debate. In QM one often must model systems as the superposition of two or more possible outcomes. Superpositions can produce interference effects and thus are experimentally distinguishable from mixed states. How does a superposition of different possibilities resolve itself into some particular observation?† (Quantum Measurement). This measurement brings up another issue with quantum theory. There was a great debate among scientists as to whether it was possible to measure things without changing them.

From Communism to Democracy Essays -- Government Politics Essays

From Communism to Democracy More than half a decade has passed since the sweeping political events of 1989 and 1990 in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. On December 26, 1991, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ceased to exist . In its place are the Russian federation and 14 independent countries. The impact of this change was felt across the globe, from European countries with close economic ties with the USSR to countries as far away as Cuba and Algeria. The former republics experienced the hardest time in their existence, and entered a new period of their history. Independence meant a new life for people, but not many of them expected the results. At the time sovereignty was not clearly stated, and nobody could predict what ramifications would follow. The inhabitants of the region have had to balance the positive and negative aspects of the change. Most countries were left with nothing, and they had to start everything from the very beginning. As Shor in Nations in Transit stated, for many, democracy, freedom of association, and the removal of the Soviet bureaucracy have had a positive impact. But economic uncertainty, hunger, and poverty also increased. The former republics struggle to maintain the value of the money and a decent level of life for the citizens, but the attempt to do so is failing. Many branches of the new economy are still socialized, and reforms are necessary to fulfill a change. People think that a change from communism to democracy should bring a better life, but in reality those countries suffer a period of stagnation. There are many causes for such a situation, which are revealed in different aspects of life and history. The principles of communism p... ...nge, than the reality of raw political power. Economic and democratic reforms are complementary and heavily correlated. Countries with consolidated market economies, guided by the rule of law also made progress in consolidating their transition to democracy. A transition from Communism to Democracy means more freedoms and choices, but it also needs time. Political and economic freedom means more predictable, more transparent, more constitutional, less discriminatory, and less corruption-prone lawmaking and enforcement. An authorian government can hardly engage in economic reforms, or undergo a transition to liberal democracy, without simultaneously undergoing free market economic reforms. Author: Valentin Antoci (ed_valentine@hotmail.com) February 1999 Reproduction of the Text without the author's permition is considered plagiarism and is punishable by law. From Communism to Democracy Essays -- Government Politics Essays From Communism to Democracy More than half a decade has passed since the sweeping political events of 1989 and 1990 in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. On December 26, 1991, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ceased to exist . In its place are the Russian federation and 14 independent countries. The impact of this change was felt across the globe, from European countries with close economic ties with the USSR to countries as far away as Cuba and Algeria. The former republics experienced the hardest time in their existence, and entered a new period of their history. Independence meant a new life for people, but not many of them expected the results. At the time sovereignty was not clearly stated, and nobody could predict what ramifications would follow. The inhabitants of the region have had to balance the positive and negative aspects of the change. Most countries were left with nothing, and they had to start everything from the very beginning. As Shor in Nations in Transit stated, for many, democracy, freedom of association, and the removal of the Soviet bureaucracy have had a positive impact. But economic uncertainty, hunger, and poverty also increased. The former republics struggle to maintain the value of the money and a decent level of life for the citizens, but the attempt to do so is failing. Many branches of the new economy are still socialized, and reforms are necessary to fulfill a change. People think that a change from communism to democracy should bring a better life, but in reality those countries suffer a period of stagnation. There are many causes for such a situation, which are revealed in different aspects of life and history. The principles of communism p... ...nge, than the reality of raw political power. Economic and democratic reforms are complementary and heavily correlated. Countries with consolidated market economies, guided by the rule of law also made progress in consolidating their transition to democracy. A transition from Communism to Democracy means more freedoms and choices, but it also needs time. Political and economic freedom means more predictable, more transparent, more constitutional, less discriminatory, and less corruption-prone lawmaking and enforcement. An authorian government can hardly engage in economic reforms, or undergo a transition to liberal democracy, without simultaneously undergoing free market economic reforms. Author: Valentin Antoci (ed_valentine@hotmail.com) February 1999 Reproduction of the Text without the author's permition is considered plagiarism and is punishable by law.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight :: Sir Gawain Green Knight Poem Essays

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written by an anonymous author in the 14th century. It was written in a dialect from Northern England. The poem uses alliteration similar to the Anglo-Saxon form of poetry. Alliteration uses a repetition of consonants. The poem ends the way it begins. At the end of each scene, the section of the poem concludes with a sharp rhyme. There are many patterns that are developed by the author in the poem. There are three literal hunts with the deer, boar and fox. The deer is represented as being timid; the boar is represented as being ferocious, and the fox as being cunning and sly. There are also three symbolic hunts, three attempts to seduce Gawain and the three hits of the Green Knight's ax. The poem seems to emphasize magical elements such as Morgan, Merlin, and the Green Knight. The poem gives us a very realistic depiction of the slaughtering of the animals, the big feasts that take place, as well as the changing seasons. The poem also contains many religious elements such as the celebrations that take place according to the church calendar. King Authur's court is in the midst of a celebration that has taken place for fifteen days. They are celebrating the New Year, and in the middle of their celebration, the Green Knight and his green horse come barging into the hall. Sir Gawain is the youngest knight of the Round Table. He is the only one that volunteers to play the "game" with the Green Knight. The game is that the challenger gets a chance to hit the Green Knight now, but in a year and a day, he must go to the Green Knight's chapel and then the Green Knight will test him and if he fails the tests, the Green Knight will hit him. The Green Knight has no fear, and he even lowers his neck to make it easier for Gawain. Gawain bravely cuts off the Green Knight's head, and the Green Knight proceeds to pick it up. Then the head speaks to the people on the dais, and he reminds them of the deal. The Green Knight then rides off on his horse with his head in his hand. The people in the hall are surprised that King Arthur allows Gawain to go on this journey to the Green Knight's chapel. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight :: Sir Gawain Green Knight Poem Essays Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written by an anonymous author in the 14th century. It was written in a dialect from Northern England. The poem uses alliteration similar to the Anglo-Saxon form of poetry. Alliteration uses a repetition of consonants. The poem ends the way it begins. At the end of each scene, the section of the poem concludes with a sharp rhyme. There are many patterns that are developed by the author in the poem. There are three literal hunts with the deer, boar and fox. The deer is represented as being timid; the boar is represented as being ferocious, and the fox as being cunning and sly. There are also three symbolic hunts, three attempts to seduce Gawain and the three hits of the Green Knight's ax. The poem seems to emphasize magical elements such as Morgan, Merlin, and the Green Knight. The poem gives us a very realistic depiction of the slaughtering of the animals, the big feasts that take place, as well as the changing seasons. The poem also contains many religious elements such as the celebrations that take place according to the church calendar. King Authur's court is in the midst of a celebration that has taken place for fifteen days. They are celebrating the New Year, and in the middle of their celebration, the Green Knight and his green horse come barging into the hall. Sir Gawain is the youngest knight of the Round Table. He is the only one that volunteers to play the "game" with the Green Knight. The game is that the challenger gets a chance to hit the Green Knight now, but in a year and a day, he must go to the Green Knight's chapel and then the Green Knight will test him and if he fails the tests, the Green Knight will hit him. The Green Knight has no fear, and he even lowers his neck to make it easier for Gawain. Gawain bravely cuts off the Green Knight's head, and the Green Knight proceeds to pick it up. Then the head speaks to the people on the dais, and he reminds them of the deal. The Green Knight then rides off on his horse with his head in his hand. The people in the hall are surprised that King Arthur allows Gawain to go on this journey to the Green Knight's chapel.

Links Between Personality and Health Essay

The importance of understanding the links between personality and health are being increasingly recognized within the scientific and psychological society, over the years research and theoretical advances have begun to uncover that personality can have an effect on health, whether good or bad. Illnesses can be a cause of many factors that may be biological, psychological, environmental or even sociological. Suggesting that illnesses are related to more than just biological infectious diseases such as Tuberculosis, pneumonia, influenza, etc. of which during the 1900’s were major killers within western societies. (Stroebe, 2000) Yet as medicines understanding of these diseases grew and as vaccinations and treatments were made available the major culprit for death was no longer of a purely biological nature. By the year 2000 the major killers were taking the form of cardiovascular diseases which include coronary heart disease(CHD), High blood pressure, and cancer, (American Heart Association, 1999) that have many psychological, environmental and behavioral links, and most importantly links to stress and how our body copes while experiencing it. Selye’s three stages of the general adaptation syndrome (1976) can be directly linked to the above and have on many occasions been associated to personality and its effects on health. These developments have facilitated in the creation of ‘Health psychology,’ as researchers in this field evaluate and study the link between the mind and body, and how the environment may have an impact on these to produce illness or health. The following essay will interpret work written by professionals within the field of Health Psychology and offer an explanation of how Personality can impact health, with reference to research and theories, and to highlight personality’s role in Coronary Heart disease and cancer. The effect of stress on an individual’s physical health can have very serious consequences if the body’s response to the stress is over aroused. The prolonged arousal of the sympathetic system and the adrenal cortical system can cause major damage to the arteries and organs, yet long term stress can have an effect on the body’s immune system, lowering its ability to fight off diseases, this particular notion has had a lot of links to the development of cancer. (Taylor, 1986) Yet the links between the ideas that stress affects health has also been linked to the individual’s personality. Ultimately the concept is that challenging environments produce stress, and that certain individuals that possess a particular personality are poor at coping with stress, this is usually associated with personality traits and certain coping skills. Studies into the effects of ‘Hardiness’ by Kobasa, (1979); Kobasa, Maddi and Kahn, (1982) have shown that men who have had High levels of stress yet low occurrences of illness differed from those that had become ill during stressful events. The link seems logical as those that had less illnesses had felt as if they had more control and commitment in their lives while at the same time seeing certain situations such as losing a job, as a challenge instead of a setback, signifying that those individuals would be able to turn what could have been a stressful situation into their advantage. This particular study was only conducted on males, however and alternative study showed similar results when conducted on females.( Wiebe and McCallum, 1986) An alternative to theory to the Hardiness scale is The Type A personality type that has had links to CHD and other heart issues. Physicians believe that the traits of a Type A personality tend to be, aggressiveness, impatience and often an over involvement in work. The individuals that often exhibit this type of behavior tend to be very competitive and often find it difficult to relax. (Friedman and Rosenman, 1974) In comparison with type A, Type B individuals are those that do not show the characteristics of a Type A person. They can relax and work without a feeling of urgency; they are less likely to become agitated or angry. The Biological connection between Type A people and coronary heart disease suggests that the individual’s sympathetic nervous system responds to stress in a maladaptive way. Most people when exposed to stressors such as high demands at work, feel angry, or agitated yet not to the extent to which it could cause any long term issues, as they are not prolonged and easily returned to a normal state, however an individual with a type A personality would show a much higher increase in blood pressure and heart rate. The sympathetic nervous system on a Type A individual would be ‘Hyper-responsive’ to stressors. The theory is that all of these psychological and physiological changes damage the heart. (Manuck and Kranz, 1986) In relation to the above there have been many large scale studies that suggest that there are larger varieties of risk factors than just CHD, Such as smoking, and obesity. (Rosenman, 1975) patterns shown by research suggests that it is not necessarily the individuals traits such as high ambition and the need to work, instead the negative emotions that a Type A personality possesses such as anger are seen as the main culprits for the health problems. Friedman and Rosenman’s Western collaborative group study was the longitudinal study of 3534 men, between the ages of 39 and 59. Each individual was medically examined and given a category of either Type A or it’s contrasting Type B, it was found that 53 per cent of the participants were Type A and the rest Type B. (Rosenman, 1964) After an 8.5 year follow up results had shown that Type A men had experienced higher numbers of CHD in comparison with Type B over the course of the study. Coinciding studies such as the Framingham Study (Haynes et al, 1978) and the British Regional Heart study (Jognston et al, 1987) looked into the link between Type A and CHD, each study showed higher numbers of CHD (both MI man Angina) among Type A men and women .