Medicines and drugs Essay

A drug or medicine is a chemical that alters incoming sensory sensations, mood or emotions, or physiological state. Painkillers, hallucinogens and alcohols are examples of drugs and medicines that alter incoming sensory sensations. Prozac and alcohol alter mood or emotions Steroids, cigarettes and heart medicines alter physiological state, including consciousness, activity level or coordination. Drugs such as antiseptics, antibiotics and antivirals are infection fighters; hormones and vitamins affect body chemistry or metabolism; stimulants, depressants, analgesics and anesthetics affect the central nervous system and the brain. It is also important to understand that the human body has great natural healing processes; some drugs just increase the rate of natural healing. Also, there could be a placebo effect, it is when a pharmacologically inert substance that make seems to help because the person taking the substance was told that it would work. Placebo effect is examined by giving sugar pills to one group of tests patients, and real drugs to another group (when they are not aware of which they receive). B.1.2: Outline the stages involved in research, development and testing of new pharmaceutical products. This takes a very long time and costs a fortune, and is often controlled by the government. Before drugs are tested on humans, they must be testing on various animals (start with small animals and then go to bigger ones). The range of effective doses, the doses in which side-effects arise and the lethal doses have to be determined. There are 3 phases then; clinical trial; clinical evaluation (more in depth analysis); human studies with more evaluation, Very few drugs make it to the market, and the development would have cost a lot. Sometimes, things can still go wrong, like Thalidomide. It was given to pregnant women to treat morning sickness, but it cause deformities in babies! Now it is still used, but to treat skin sores. B.1.3. Describe the different methods of administering drugs * Oral: Very convenient. However, it might not be reliable as the rate of absorption depends on drug concentration, stomach content and pH value. As most is absorbed in the small intestines, so the drug must survive the gastric acid. Therefore it often lays in time release capsules. * Rectal: Good when drug cannot be taken orally due to vomiting or because the drug is pH sensitive. * Inhalation: Rapid, as there are loads of blood vessels in the lungs, and therefore a drug would have a reliable effect. Good for general anaesthesia, and asthma medicine. * Parental o Just below the skin; slower than for intravenous. Used often for dental injections o Into muscles; for large doses, or when immediate response is not needed (vaccines etc). o Intravenous; almost instantaneous, but cannot be undone when injected! Fatty lipids may bind some kinds of drugs, so the drugs won’t leave the body so fast The half life of a drug is the time for half the dose in the body to be eliminated. B.1.4. Discuss the terms lethal dosage (LD50), tolerance and side effects. LD50 is the lethal dose for 50% of the population; and it varies a lot from drug to drug. When one is tolerant, then one has to take a larger dose in order to feel the wanted effects. Some people after often use of a drug becomes dependant on it; physically (they must have it to be able to function physically) or psychologically (they must have it to feel right). Tolerance doesn’t necessarily mean that one gets used to the harmful effects. Sometimes it is hard to know the difference between main effect and side effect. A drug has many effects, and some patients benefit from a few of those effects; then those are the main effects, and all the other are side effects. Someone else, with another disease may benefit from other effects, and then those become the main effects. There are always harmful effects too. The risk : benefit ratio should also be considered. B.2.1. State and explain how excess acidity in the stomach can be reduced by the use of different bases. Bases, most often metal oxides, hydroxides, carbonates or hydrogen carbonates are used as antacids. These react with acid in the stomach to adjust the pH value. The purpose of gastric acid is to kill off bacteria, and help in digestion. However, over-eating or stress stimulates more production of acid, causing discomfort. The active ingredients tend to be; this react only with HCl: Magnesium Oxide: Magnesium Hydroxide: Aluminium Hydroxide: Calcium Carbonate: Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate: Magnesium Trisilicate: Some of the products; Carbon dioxide is a gas. So a foaming agent has to be added to prohibit excessive belching. Also alginates are used, to prevent acid reflux. If too much antacid is used, the stomach becomes too basic, and that hurts too; then more antacid might be wrongly taken. This leads to alkalosis. B.3.2. Describe the use of derivatives of salicylic acid as mild analgesics and compare the advantages and disadvantages of using aspirin and paracetamol (acetaminophen) Salicylic acid is used as an anti-pyretic (fever reducer) and mild analgesic (painkiller), but it is a strong acid and hurts the stomach and mouth; so variations of salicylic acid was used. One is Acetyl Salicylic Acid (ASA) or Aspirin, which has the benefits of salicylic acid and does not irritate so much due to the acetyl group. When ASA reacts with water, it becomes salicylic acid, and the by-product of ethanoic acid. GOOD: It is good for killing minor pain, reducing fever, acting as an anti-inflammatory agent and prevents abnormal blood clot. BAD: Upsets stomach and bleeding; allergy; accidental poisoning in infants and Reye’s syndrome. Acetaminophen is also an anti-pyretic and analgesic. However it does not upset the stomach and is safe. However, overdose can still occur and lead to liver and brain damage. And it is not anti-inflammatory. Ibuprofen is like aspirin and cause fewer stomach problems. It is anti-inflammatory and is very safe. B.3.3. Compare the structures of morphine, codeine and the semi-synthetic opiate heroin. These are strong analgesics and are often called opiates, narcotics or narcotic analgesics. The major pain relieving substance originates from the opium poppy plant is sleep inducing and pain relieving. All three share the same skeleton. Remember the group C2H3O2 is called an acetyl group. B.3.4. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using morphine and its derivatives as strong analgesics. These affects: The Central Nervous System, the Eye and the Gastrointestinal tract (the digestive system) They are used as: Strong analgesics (severe pain from injury and chronic diseases); treatment of diarrhoea, relieve coughing. However they are very addictive and are rather replaced with something else. They also produce mood changes, drowsiness and mental clouding. Tolerance can arise by adaptation of the liver and neurons in the brain. Some people can’t function without the drug, feeling restlessness, sweating, fever, chills, vomiting, aches etc due to abstinence of the drug. There is often severe psychological dependence too (one might feel extremely depressed).’à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Short term effects: Sedation, stupor, pain relief, euphoria, reduced tension, worry, couching reflex. One might die of overdose. Long term effects: Loss of appetite, sterility, withdrawal illness, crime, diversion of energy. B.4.1. Describe the effects of depressants Tranquilizers, sedatives and hypnotics, which calm and relax; they slow down heart rate and breathing. Tranquilizers include alcohol, Valium and Librium and are weaker than the others. These relieve anxiety and tension. Sedatives: Barbituates that soothe distress without producing much sleep in small doses. Hypnotics: Like chloral hydrate. These induce sleep. Too much can lead to coma or teach. B.4.2. Discuss the social and physiological effects of the use and abuse of ethanol. Social effects: Major costs from alcohol are from sickness and death, as in hospital treatments and lost efficiency. Property crimes and crimes against people; drinking while driving. Physiological effects: Harmful to relationships, and may physically or emotionally harm others. One may lose control and develop dependence and tolerance. It increases blood pressure when drinking and nausea, sweating and anxiety as withdrawal of use. Short-term effects: CNS depressant reduces tension. It triggers Euphoria, Talkativeness, Dilation of blood vessels, Violent behaviours, Inertia, Coma, Death. Long term effects: Cirrhosis, liver cancer, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, gastritis, low birth mass etc. Alcohol can be used for antiseptics such as mouthwashes. B.4.3. Describe and explain the techniques used for the detection of ethanol in the breath of in the blood or urine. Ethanol passes from the stomach into the blood and therefore it passes into the lungs and ethanol vapour is formed. The breathalyser test might involve a redox equation with potassium dichromate: as oxidizing agent. Color change: Red-Orange to Green The gas liquid chromatography works as follows: Small samples of gases and volatile liquids such ethanol are separated. These are pushed through a column using an unimportant gas, such as Nitrogen gas and different gases take different time to come to the detector, where concentration of gases are measured. Intoxilyzer, Infra-red spectroscopy: Infra-red energy make molecules vibrate. Different types of bonds absorb and vibrate at different infer-red frequencies. By measuring how much energy is not absorbed by the molecules, one can find the number of certain bonds in the molecules. B.4.4. Describe the synergistic effects of ethanol with other drugs. Alcohol is easily absorbed in the stomach, so drugs that can be dissolved in alcohol will be absorbed much quicker, and the dosage will seem higher as in normal conditions the liver removes a part of the drug. So performance of the drug is enhanced and may lead to devastating effects such as death, especially if alcohol is combined with barbituates. Alcohol with aspirin increases the risk of stomach bleeding. B.4.5 . List other commonly used depressants and describe their structures. Valium (diazepam) is a tranquilizer, Mogadon (Nitrazepam) is a hypnotic drug (used to control seizures and infantile spasms), Prozac (hydrochloride) is an anti-depressant drug used to treat mental depression. Diazepam and Nitrazepam have similar carbon skeletons meanwhile Prozac is different. B.5.1. List the physiological effects of stimulants. Stimulants are chemicals that stimulate the brain and the central nervous system. It is the opposite of a depressant. These increase alertness. Examples are amphetamine, nicotine and caffeine. B.5.2. Compare amphetamines and adrenaline They both derive from the phenylethylamine structure, and therefore look similar. Furthermore, amphetamines mimic the effects of adrenaline (they are sympathomimetic drugs), as they constrict arteries and thus increases sweat production. They increase heart rate, blood pressure, respiration and insomnia. Medical uses: Treat mild depression, narcolepsy and asthma. They use up the body’s reserve energy and can lead to a collapse. B.5.3 Discuss the short- and long-term effects of nicotine consumption. Tobacco is a source of nicotine which is a mild stimulant with a short lived effect. The response is followed by depression and thereby makes one pushed to use it more often. Short-term: Increase in heart-rate and blood pressure. It constricts blood vessels and therefore strains the heart. Nicotine also reduces urine output. Long term effects of nicotine: It stresses hard and may lead to heart diseases and blood clot; May lead to increase of fatty acids in the blood. Smoking leads to more carbon monoxide in the blood making the blood less able to carry blood. It also increases the gastric acid production and may lead to ulcer. Smoking causes: Cancer in lungs and mouth; heart and blood vessel disease; breathing difficulties and chronic bronchitis; air pollution; fires; bad teeth; insomnia. B.5.4. Describe the effects of caffeine and compare its structure with that of nicotine. Caffeine stimulates the respiratory system (more energy is available from respiration), so heart and brain gets more energy. So one becomes more alert, motivated and well-being. In small amounts in is rather harmless, but too much causes insomnia. One gets more urine as well. Caffeine leads to some tolerance but no physical addiction. It can be given to babies to help their breathing. It also constricts blood vessels and therefore helps against migraines. Both caffeine and nicotine contain a tertiary amine group. Caffeine has more of those though. B.6.1. Describe the historical development of penicillins. In 1928, Fleming accidentally saw that some types of fungi killed off a certain bacterium and started to try to isolate the fungi, but it was too hard to purify it. In 1940, Floray and Chain continued with penicillin testing and development, and in 1943 it was available clinically. The first penicillin was Penicillin G. However it was deactivated by stomach acid so it had to be injected. Acid resistance penicillins such as penicillin V was developed by modifying the side chains of the basic penicillin structure. Some bacteria could deactivate penicillin G by synthesising an enzyme, therefore one had to make other synthetic penicillins. 6-APA penicillin is inert, but an extra amino group H2N would activate it. B.6.2. Compare broad spectrum and narrow spectrum antibiotics A broad spectrum antibiotics is effective against a wide variety of bacteria. Examples are tetracyclines. Narrow ones are effective only against certain types of bacteria; most penicillins are narrow spectrum antibiotics. One often has to determine the bacterium before getting antibiotics, because a broad-spectrum one can kill beneficial bacteria and give discomfort. B.6.3. Explain how penicillins work and discuss the effects of modifying the side chain. The cell walls of some bacteria are composed of polysaccharides, and these layers are supported by cross-links. However, penicillins interfere with the formation of these links and therefore weaken the structure. The bacteria can easily burst. Animals cells don’t have these cell walls and are therefore not affected. It is important to modify the side chain to work against bacteria have evolved and are able to break down certain types of penicillin. Side chains are also added to make the penicillin work (as for the 6-APA) and to survive the gastric acid (Penicillin G) B.6.4. Discuss and explain the effect over prescription of penicillins has, and the use of penicillins in animal feedstock Repeated use may lead to allergic reactions. They can also wipe out harmless and beneficial bacteria in the food canal, and harmful bacteria might eventually replace these. Bacteria can become resistant against certain antibiotics and then pass on their immunity. In feedstock: They are used to kill dangerous pathogens which may otherwise endanger humans and animals. They are also used to increase productivity. However, this increases the chances that bacteria might become resistant. B.7.1. State how viruses differ from bacteria Bacteria are relatively large single cell microorganism with DNA strands. Viruses are noncellular and are much smaller and are not living. They can only reproduce within a host cell. B.7.2. Describe the different ways in which antiviral drugs work * Block the transfer of genetic information * Control by inoculation, vaccines. * Block the enzyme activity in a host cell, so that the virus can’t use it to replicate. B.7.3. Discuss the difficulties associated with solving the AIDS problem HIV molecules bind to proteins on T-type of white blood cells and hinder them from fighting infections by inactivating them. HIV virus is good at mutating and together with their similarities with human cells, it is very heard to treat with antiviral drugs and vaccines. B.8.1. Describe the importance of geometrical isomerism in drug action. Stereoisomers are isomers with the same molecular formula and the same structural formula, but different arrangement of atoms in space. Geoemetric isomers have different physical properties such as polarity, boiling point, and solubility etc. They may also undergo different t chemical reactions although their functional groups are identical. For example cisplatin is en effective anti-cancer drug (as it may enter the nucleus of a cancerous cell), but the trans-isomers is inactive in such purposes. B.8.2. Discuss the importance of chirality in drug action. Optical isomers differ from geometric isomers in two ways: * Optical isomers are chiral (asymmetric) * Optical isomers are non-superimposable mirror images of each other One optical isomer rotates the plane polarized light one direction, meanwhile its other isomer rotates it the other way. An equi-molar mixture of two enantiomers means a 50-50 ration and will not totate the plane of polarised light at all; this is a racemic mixture. Penicillin V is active, but its enantiomer is inactive. One enantiomer of Thalidomide could be used to treat morning sickness in pregnant women and was marketed as a racemix mixture, but its other enantiomer gave foetal deformities. B.8.3. Describe the use of chiral auxiliaries to form the desired enantiomer. It is very heard to separate racemic mixtures into separate enantiomers, as they have identical chemical properties in relation to non-chiral reagents. Instead, scientists use stereospecific synthesis to produce only one kind of enantiomer. Chiral auxiliaries are used to convert non-chiral molecules into a desired enantiomer by attching itself chemically to the non-chiral molecule so that only one type of enantiomer can be formed. After the procedure the auxiliary can be recycled. This is used when synthesising Taxol which isa drug effective against breast cancer. B.8.4. Explain the use of combinatorial chemistry to synthesise new drugs. This is when one creates lots of molecules and test them quickly for biological properties; one starts with a set of basic chemicals which are then combined in all possible combinations, and this allows a fast production of many different molecules, increasing the chance of finding better drugs. A library is a collection of compounds that are screened to determine their usefulness as a drug, using parallel synthesis (identical processes with many different molecules at the same time). B.9.1. Compare local and general anaesthetics in terms of their modes of action Local anaesthetics block the pain in specific areas when they are injected under the skin or used as a crà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½me. Examples are cocaine, procaine, benzococaine, lidocaine etc. These block local nerve transmissions and decrease blood supply to that area. Procaine and lidocaine do not affect the brain, meanwhile cocaine does. General anaesthetics affect the brain and produce unconsciousness. But it is easy to reverse the unconsciousness. Examples are nitrous oxide, diethyl ether, chloroform, cyclopropane and halothane. B.9.2. Compare the structures and effects of cocaine, procaine and lidocaine. All three have the benzene ring and the tertiary amine. Cocaine also stimulates the central nervous system. It constricts blood vessels which leads to high blood pressure, and can’t be safely used. Although it doesn’t produce withdrawal symptoms and tolerance, it produces a strong psychological addiction. An overdose suppresses heart and respiration. Cocaine has a very short half life as it is metabolized by the liver fast, and is poorly absorbed when taken orally. Procaine gives prolonged relief from pain which is good for surgery and dental procedures. It is non-toxic and non-irritant. Lidocaine is used topically to produce numbness. It is more potent that procaine, but may cause swelling and itching. B.9.3. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of nitrous oxide, ethoxyethane, trichloromethane, cyclopropane and halothane. Nitrous oxide is not very potent, and makes one feel good Trichloromethane is nonflammabe, but leads to liver damages. Narrow safety margin Ethoxyethane alleviates the pain in surgery well, but it is very flammable and nonstable. Cyclopropane is a very potent anaesthetics, however it forms explosive mixtures with air and is very flammable. It also causes vomiting and nausea. Halothane is widely used as it is not flammable and one may recover fast from it. It doesn’t irritate the respiratory tract. However, it takes time to become unconscious. It is potentially harmful to the ozone layer as it produces chlorine and bromine free radicals. B.9.4. Calculate the partial pressures of component gases in an anaesthetic mixture The partial pressure ratios of the total pressure equal the molar ratios of different gas molecules. It is important to have enough oxygen in the anaesthetic mixture so that the patient can live. At least 20% oxygen is needed B.10.1 Describe the effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), mescaline, psilocybin and tetrahydrocannabinol. Psychadelic drugs like these alter the mind and produces a change in thought, perception or mood and induce vivid fantasies. Colors seem more brilliant for the user. There are the effects of the mentioned mind altering drugs: LSD: This is a powerful hallucinogen that strongly magnifies perception and may destroy the sense of judgment. No physical addiction, and not very strong psychological dependence. Mescaline: Color hallucinations which last 12 hours. Psilocybin: Similar to LSD, especially at high doses, but at low doses produces relaxation. Shortlasting; 4 hours THC: Milder drug similar to alcohol. At larger doses, changes in perception occurs – sees bright colors and gets sharper hearing. May get extreme anxiety, depression, uneasiness, panic attacks etc. There is no tolerance, but could lead to psychological dependence. B.10.2 Discuss the structural similarities and differences between LSD, mescaline and psilocybin. LSD and psilocybin both have the Indole ring (Heterocyclic amine compound where the nitrogen atom is part of a ring). However, mescaline includes the benzene ring but not the indole ring; it does have a primary amine. Serotonin also has the indole ring. B.10.3 Discuss the arguments for and against the legalization of cannabis. Cannabis offers relief from symptoms from AIDS, cancer and glaucoma. Marijuana may increase the appetite, and relieves nausea. Cannabis helps terminally ill patients to relieve tension and anxiety. Marijuana relieves pressure inside the eyeball for glaucoma patients. However there are many bad sides to it too. Smoking marijuana may lead to lung problems and may suppress the immune system. It might lead to decreased fertility for men and cause brain damage and birth defects. Users may also start using harder drugs too. Users of prohibited drugs need to obtain it from criminal sources and may therefore be forced into crime to support their habit. It damages the society a lot.

Quantitative Techniques

Classification of Quantitative Techniques: There are different types of quantitative techniques. We can classify them into three categories. They are: 1. Mathematical Quantitative Techniques 2. Statistical Quantitative Techniques 3. Pprogramming Quantitative Techniques Mathematical Quantitative Techcniques: A technique in which quantitative data are used along with the principles of mathematics is known as mathematical quantitative techniques. Mathematical quantitative techniques involve: 1. Permutations and Combinations: Permutation mearns arrangement of objects in a definite order.The number of arrangements depends upon the total number of objects and the number of objects taken at a time for arrangement. The number of permutations or arrangements is calculated by using the following formula:=  Ã‚  Ã‚   n! n r ! Combination mearns selection or grouping objects without considering their order. The number of combinations is calculated by using the following formula:=  Ã‚  Ã‚   n! n r ! 2. Set Theory:Set theory is a modern mathematical device which solves various types of critical problems. Quantitative  Techniques  for  Business     Ã‚  5 School  of  Distance  Education 3. Matrix Algebra:

Evaluation of The Poverty Issue in US Economy Essay - 5

Evaluation of The Poverty Issue in US Economy - Essay Example There is little contradiction as to objectives, for example; the proceeding with verbal confrontation in the middle of liberals and preservationists is not over closures; it is over means (Cypher, 2014). Presently, the characteristic approach to attaining to the economic ends of higher living standards, one would assume, is by utilizing financial means and getting to be more profitable. It is just in a profitable, prosperous economy that imparts the riches projects bode well whatsoever; and it is just by growing the systems which clarify our present flourishing that the less prosperous may want to enhance their circumstances. Government is not an economic institution; administrative activity, all things considered, does not deliver sustenance, garments, or asylum (Gordan, 2005). The provisioning of men's material needs includes financial activity, with government remaining by to secure the maker and keep the exchange courses open. The government has no monetary products of its own, so any riches it offers on either individual must first be gotten from the people who delivered it. If the government gives Peter a dollar, it should first deny Paul of a bit of his profit. The way of political activity is such that legislature cant in any way, shape or form be utilized as a lever to raise the general level of monetary, physical, and intelligent prosperity. Let us attempt to get this matter of poverty into a point of view. The greater part of individuals has had some experience with destitution. The majority of people encountered destitution in their particular families or, at any rate, in the neighborhoods. In the 1930s, there were many men without occupations (Louis & Jennings, 1999). However, amid this same period, the nineteen thirties, more than five million individuals passed on of starvation in Ukraine; in no way like this happened in America.

Term paper that present the knowledge and depth you obtained in this Essay

Term paper that present the knowledge and depth you obtained in this class. The paper can be from any topic discussed or not in - Essay Example Definition Cushing’s Syndrome is a disorder involving the hormones and is particularly caused by an abnormal increase in the amount of the hormone cortisol or other glucocorticoid hormones in the blood (Nieman et al., 2008). In the case of an overactive immune system, glucocorticoids usually turn down the inflammation system as a sort of negative feedback mechanism. However, if there is too much production of glucocorticoids, especially cortisol, in the blood, then the entire immune system might be turned down, thus leading to a variety of numerous physiological disturbances known as Cushing’s syndrome (Nieman et al., 2008). Causes The main cause of Cushing’s syndrome is the overproduction of adenocorticotropic hormone, or ACTH, by the pituitary gland, which is usually known as Cushing’s Disease. Another cause is an adrenal gland tumor that usually occurs among women over 40 years of age. A third cause is a tumor somewhere in the body which either produces too much cortisol or causes its production, such as tumors in the pancreas, lungs or thyroid that oversecrete ACTH (Nieman et al., 2008). ... However, the most initial step for Cushing’s syndrome is the ACTH stimulating the adrenal glands for the production of cortisol (Blevins, 2002). Symptoms Cushing’s Syndrome is characterized by â€Å"reddish purple striae, plethora, proximal muscle weakness, bruising with no obvious trauma, as well as unexplained osteoporosis† (Nieman et al., 2008). Other symptoms of the disease include â€Å"obesity, depression, diabetes, hypertension, or menstrual irregularity† (Nieman et al., 2008). If Cushing’s Syndrome affects the higher brain centers in the case of complications, it may cause anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, alcoholism and diabetes. Other more noticeable symptoms include obesity of the upper torso coupled with disproportionately thin limbs, a round and red face with characterized fullness, and acne or certain other skin infections. The less common symptoms include a buffalo hump, backache, tenderness and pain of the bones, rib and spine fractures, weak muscles, excessive hair growth in the woman, impotence and lack of sexual desire in men, and certain headache, tiredness and feelings of thirst and hunger (Nieman et al., 2008). Treatment The treatment of choice is surgical removal of the tumor. This should be followed by treatment with hydrocortisone or hydrocortisone replacement therapy because cortisol levels will go down fast once the tumor is removed. Moreover, in the case of patients with malignant adrenal cortical neoplasm, the treatment of choice must be open adrenalectomy (Thomson et al., 2010). Through an MRI scan, cases of mediastinal masses that intertwine with the heart nerves must be done with extreme care so as not to injure such a delicate organ. Moreover, CT-guided coaxial core biopsy to investigate whether it is

Analysis of Health Currently Affecting the Australian Population Essay

Analysis of Health Currently Affecting the Australian Population - Essay Example First, cardiovascular diseases are heart conditions which commonly affect the heart and blood vessels surrounding it. It includes coronary heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, and an ischemic heart (WHO, 2011). It includes various conditions of the heart and blood vessels; the common issue in relation to heart disease being atherosclerosis where plaque builds up in the walls of the arteries reducing blood supply to the heart, causing heart attacks, and sometimes to the brain, eventually leading to stroke (National Heart and Medical Research Council, 2011). This paper shall provide an analysis of the health issue, then discuss and analyse the health issue in relation to the population/community it usually affects, the scope of the health issue as well as its implications for the affected population/community, the social determinants of health which affect the health problem. It shall also provide an analysis and evaluation of relevant current primary health care services and initia tives which are in place to address this issue, including its strengths and limitations. Finally, a proposal on additional services needed to address this issue shall also be established. ... Their higher risk for the disease is mostly attributed to the fact that a large number of them are overweight, smokers and who are physically dormant. Those in the lower socioeconomic groups are also liable to suffer this disease more than the general Australian population. The death rates for the disease in this group was registered those as high compared to those in the higher social sets (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006). Studies also revealed that those in the lower social sets were likely to be involved in smoking; many of them had hypertension and were overweight. In relation to age and sex, those in the older population are likely to be afflicted by cardiovascular diseases, owing to the wear and tear of the ageing process as well as the likelihood that they would also be afflicted with other diseases like obesity or diabetes (Department of Health and Ageing, 2007). Women were also registered with high rates of cardiovascular disorders. However, it was notable that males were more likely to die from this disease as they were tobacco smokers who were obese, hypertensive, and engaged in limited exercise. Those who are overweight and obese have the highest risk of being afflicted with a cardiovascular disease (Cameron, et.al., 2003). Obesity has increased in Australia in recent years, and this trend has been more or less similar in other countries as well. Adults, 25 years and over present a 67% obesity rate in Australia, and 52% of women are considered overweight or obese (National Public Health Partnership, 2003). Among children, 20% are considered obese, and these who grow up to be obese were overweight adults when their eating and exercise habits were not corrected early during

Gender Roles and its Effect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gender Roles and its Effect - Essay Example The gender roles as defined by society therefore fail to pay attention to such groups who identify themselves as intersexual and transgender. Intersexual are individuals having male/female anatomical characteristics that deviate from the normal while transgender are those that identify with or express their gender identity through a gender that does not correspond to the sex at birth. In a society where a lot focus is placed on this gender binary, these individuals with characteristics that do not neatly fit the clear-cut male/female dichotomy face similar problems as socially constructed gender roles fail to accommodate them. Perceptions and judgments people hold about others are generally informed by social norms, which consequently leads to them gravitating to individuals that are least hostile to a society’s norms. To perceive and understand reality, people rely on senses, intellect and generally, held social constructs which makes them able to label certain objects and co ncepts. For example, a man is differentiated from a woman according to gender roles and behaviors that have been assigned to genders and are expected of them. Individuals who posses’ characteristics and behaviors regarded as ‘masculine’ by the society are identified as man, and vice versa. There is a complexity when individuals who do not identify themselves within the constraints of this gender binary fail to fit into the male/female duality. In her article, Judith Butler explains that through intelligibility, humans are able to recognize other humans based on â€Å"normal† human social and physical characteristics that are defined by the society. ... at a definable gender is necessary for understanding someone to be human, people hold dominant gender perceptions, which dictate that intersexed persons must conform to either male or female gender roles. Butler rather subverts gender roles, as she asserts that â€Å"justice is not only or exclusively a matter of how persons are treated or how societies are constituted. It also concerns consequential decisions about what a person is, and what social norms must be honored and expressed for ‘personhood’ to become allocated† (Butler, 58). She goes out of the norm to define justice not in terms of law but as the capacity to overlook the social norms that define an individual’s self-worth. According to her, justice is defined by the decisions held by a particular society in defining what it considers ‘human’. These include the accepted appearance, characteristics and behaviors of an individual. Individuals who portray characteristics and behaviors t hat deviate from what the society considers as the ‘normal’, their identity is questioned. A quandary arises since perceptions held by a society are not flexible to change for accommodation of such individuals, rather it is expected of the individuals to readjust and conform to the predefined gender roles. Gender roles are acquired through socialization whereby a society trains individuals to conform and practice certain values and behaviors. Judith Lorber states that, â€Å"gender construction start with assignment to a sex category on the basis of what the genitalia look like at birth†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..a sex category becomes a gender status through naming dress and the use of other gender markers† when a child is born as sex is assigned to the child depending on the anatomical characteristics in particular the sex organs. As

Spider Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Spider - Essay Example To date, 40,000 species of spiders have been recorded. It has been said that there might be thousands more which have yet to be discovered. These types have been found in all parts of the world except for Antarctica. According to Carl Alexander, author of’ Spiders, volume 8 (1929)’, the kingdom of spiders is Animalia, the phylum is Arthropoda, the class is Arachnida, and the order is Araneae. (8) According to James H. Emerton, author of ‘The common spiders of United States (1961)’, the most interesting types are mouse spider and black widow spider. Mouse spider is discovered first in Australia, is not harmful to human, and its bite is dry. The black widow spider is found around the world, has a large body, and excretes poison secretion that is harmful to human nerve (25). The scientific name given to the black widow spider is ‘Latrodectus Hesperuses’. This spider is mostly found in the United States, mainly, North America. The spider got its na me from the fact that the female spiders usually eat the male spiders after mating. This characteristic of the female black widow spider makes a male spider to approach the female carefully and gradually. In order to mate, the male spider would vibrate the female spider’s web in a certain way so that the female recognizes it and allows it to mate with her. The male spiders are not as venomous as the females as their main purpose is to mate; hence, they spend their entire lifetime searching for mates and even stop feeding. The female black widow spider have been known to be quite venomous, however, it is not life threatening as it secretes only a small amount of poison when bites. The body structure of a female black widow spider and a male are very different. The females have a shiny black body which is relatively longer. Moreover, there is a red marking just below the abdomen. The females are poisonous than the males. The males, however, are almost half the size of females. They have longer and leaner legs and most of them have red and yellow marks at the back. Both males and females body is parted in two. Their jaws are strong which support poisonous fangs. They have a hard, long exoskeleton. According to Donald M. Tuttle and Edward W. Baker, authors of ‘Spider mites of the United States’, spiders have about six holes underneath their abdomen called eyes. The silk goes out from these holes to expose to the air, then, it converts to thread. Spider’s female form its web from an extremely thin elastic silky thread. They use the glands that are in the lower part of their abdomen to form the web (34). According to Maggie Daley, author of ‘Illinois insects and spiders’, spiders have eight legs, eight eyes, and they do not have wings or chewing organs. Moreover, their bodies consist of two parts, the chest and the external part. The chest part is consists of the head with the brain and eyes, the stomach, legs and the mouth. T he external part consists of lungs, heart, liver, reproductive organs and the glands that play important role in producing the silk. (14) The black widow spider is further categorized into three main types, the Northern Black widow Spider, the Western Black Widow Spider and the Southern black Widow Spider. The Northern black widow is mostly found in the north east parts of USA and south east Canada. The Western Black Widow is mainly found in the western parts of USA, Canada and some parts of Mexico. Furthermore, the

Jazz concert report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Jazz concert report - Essay Example Susan is a pianist while Michael Zilber is a saxophonist. They were joined by other CJC members Jeff Chambers and Jason Lewis both played bass and drums consecutively. The concert lasted for an hour and forty minutes. Zilberella mainly played contemporary jazz pieces but they also interpreted standards of jazz. The jazz pieces they showcased include: - ‘UN POCO LOCO’ which is a style of jazz called Bright Latin. Medium –up swing jazz style had songs which included ‘bud Powell’ and ‘blues on the corner’. Another style of jazz included the bright swing which they sung to ‘Voyage’ together with a ballad ‘THE MEANING OF BLUES’. Interpretation of standards was showcased by the song ‘You leave me breathless’. Zilberella had no featured soloists as they each played a part to the songs. Furthermore, they covered everything but their areas of interest were in the showcasing of contemporary jazz music and standards of jazz. The performance of the group was amazing because Zilberella could actually read the audience’s mood and switch tempo and rhythm to suit the moods. They also effectively utilized the use of blue note in their performance. The key signature changes were the most amazing in the whole performances the audience was well catered for in terms of music. In my opinion I think Susan was the most talented. She played the piano but was also reading the crowd mood and organizing the group to make the necessary changes. Her ability to know how to switch the rhythm and tempos and changing keys was magnificent since it went smoothly and perfectly. Michael was also good at the saxophone since he played his heart out mixing his emotions and feelings in his facial expression. It was like he was acting out the song to the audience which made the audience and the group to connect. I must say that that Michaels way of silently talking to the audience through facial expressions and Susan’s ability to

Business Ethics Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business Ethics - Case Study Example As with most ethical decisions, there is likely no one solid answer, but I have done my best below to provide some possible courses of action that the judge in this case could consider. Question 1 In this situation, Mr. Groetsch has done nothing wrong. As such, he is under no obligation to allow other people to handle his personal fight against Securities America. He is convinced that he has been financially damaged as a result of this case, and he is perfectly able to work through arbitration on his own, with a judge, to come a fair resolution. Let us remember that arbitration was set up as a way to settle disputes between two parties who simply cannot come to an agreement on any given problem. The judge in this situation should only concern himself with the specific arbitration case that Mr. Groetsch has dutifully bought before him, regardless of any potential impact on cases that might be pending before other courts at a future date. This is a decision that will likely weigh on th e judge, knowing that many more clients may lose out on a judgment in the future that is rightfully due them. In the end, however, the judge is ethically responsible for the arbitration hearing in this case and should let it proceed without delay. Question 2 This case is particularly troublesome because of the sheer number of clients that were adversely impacted as a result of the fraudulent acts partaken by Securities America. Due to this unique situation, no one person should receive the benefit of arbitration at this time until the outcomes of the class action suits are settled. The actions of one fraudulent company has negatively impacted the lives of many people, so the judge should ethically do everything in his power to make sure all alleged victims have an equally opportunity at a fair judgment. The judge should go ahead and table the arbitration hearing and allow the cases in Montana and Massachusetts to proceed. This will allow the money that is currently available to be p aid out to victims to remain in a frozen, yet liquid account to be distributed once the case is completed. Once settled, the judge should then allow the arbitration to proceed until finished. The reasoning behind this lies in simple numbers. Should one person benefit greatly from arbitration, draining a limited pool of funds that will be available, while the masses are left to scrounge what is left over? In this case, that would not be a beneficial course for anyone involved, except Mr. Groetsch. It needs to be pointed out that he had the option to join the class action suit, yet for whatever reason, decided not to. As such, he has given up his claim to that hearing. His actions, however, do nothing to mitigate the fact that class action suits are filed to level the playing the field. That is what the judge should do in this case – level the playing field so all victims will eventually be compensated in a fair and equitable manner. Question 3 The judge in this case can also a ct as an advisor. In the legal system, judges are put in place to protect those that appear before them. In this particular situation, it appears that the interests of Mr. Groetsch will be best served if he were to drop his arbitration claim and fold his interests into the class action suits that are pending. This becomes particularly helpful advice if the judge has already determined that he is going to table the arbitration hearing until the current cases in Montana and Massachusetts are resolved. If this were to happen, there would simply be little to no money left to pay Mr. Groetsch in any event. While the estimated 10 cents to the dollar is not a happy outcome for this client, it will certainly be better than

Child Obesity Essay Example for Free

Child Obesity Essay America has it’s share of problems just like any other country throughout the world, but there is one issue in particular that has been a growing trend for years in America. Today’s topic of issue is child obesity, this is a huge problem in America and it seems to continue to grow in numbers. Child obesity is the highlight of my research, but due to lack of time there will only be an explanation of just one of the many issues with child obesity in America. So the question that the researcher has decided to research is: How does child obesity occur in America? After doing a lot of research, the author figured out that there are so many reasons that cause child obesity. Being obese has many risks associated with it like: diabetes, high blood pressure, trouble breathing, trouble with sleep and increased chance of heart disease. These risks stress the importance of preventing or managing child obesity. As we all know child obesity is very serious problem in America but like most problems there are ways that could either prevent child obesity or managed the child’s weight if they are already overweight. The author of this research topic decided to do a descriptive research to gather information for his topic. He basically collected data that was useful to answer the question for this topic from various reliable websites/sources. There are different issues that causes child obesity or obesity in general, like: some parents spoil their child and feed them anything the child wants with no limitations, some parents do not watch what their children eat, also parents just let their kids sit around and play videos games instead of making them go out to run around and play and some children cannot help it because obesity runs in their family. However, the author wanted to focus the attention of his audience on the question: How does child obesity in America occur and how can it be prevented or managed? Now according to American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, â€Å"the causes of obesity are complex and include genetic, biological, behavioral and cultural factors† (American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 2010). The Mayo Clinic considered child obesity â€Å"particularly troubling because the extra pounds often start children on the path to health problems that were once confined to adults, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol† (The Mayo Clinic, 1998-2011). The author believes those extra pounds come from the person eating more calories than their body actually burns. Obesity in childhood can be caused by things like: â€Å"poor eating habits, overeating, lack of exercise, family history of obesity, stressful life experiences, low self esteem or depression† (American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 2010). But those are only a few of the ways that could cause child obesity leading up to their adulthood. Just because a child is carrying a few extra pounds does not mean he/she is overweight or obese, some people have larger body frames than others† (The Mayo Clinic, 1998-2011). Not all children even adults are obese by the looks of their outer appearance; it could very well because they larger than normal body frames or as a lot people like to call it â€Å"big-boned†. If a parent is worried about whether their child is overweight or not, they could always visit their doctor who will measure their child’s body mass index (BMI) and compare the stats to other children of the same sex and age range. The Mayo Clinic says â€Å"Although there are some genetic and hormonal causes of childhood obesity, most of the time its caused by kids eating too much and exercising too little† (The Mayo Clinic, 1998-2011). According to American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry obesity in childhood can be caused by things like: â€Å"poor eating habits, overeating, lack of exercise, family history of obesity, stressful life experiences, low self esteem or depression† (American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 2010). If parents would take more control of what and how much their children eat, that would alleviate some of the causes of their becoming overweight. Being aware of what their children eat is important for their child’s health because one of the main causes for child obesity, parents not being aware. The author obviously is not saying to starve or deny the children food, but do not feed the child too much to the point where it is effecting the child’s weight and overall health. Parents that do such things are harming their kids and either they are in denial about it or they do not realize it. lso parents should not let their children become â€Å"couch potatoes† laying in front of the television playing video games all day, they should have them go outside to play and run around, it helps with their child’s overall health, but even that has limitation due to safety issues that has developed over the years. The author also suggested the parents should keep thei r children active by signing them up for recreational sports such as basketball, baseball, and soccer or flag football. Obesity could also be part of that child’s family history, that is something the child cannot help but they can manage their weight so it become out of hand and become heavier than they have to be. Also they should not use their family history as an excuse to eat unhealthy or overeat. Even though they may be overweight due to family history, they could still manage their weight. People can help the issue of over feeding their child versus a child that cannot help their weight because of it running in their family. The author suggests the parents should be more specific on how much they will give their child to eat at certain time of the day, basically having a set schedule for breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner. His reason for suggesting this is because a person who actually has control over their weight can control what they eat and when they eat and since we are speaking on child obesity, it is the parent’s responsibility to control that. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says â€Å"Obese youth are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure. In a population-based sample of 5- to 17-year-olds, 70% of obese youth had at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Children and adolescents who are obese are at greater risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem† (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,2011). Having stressful life experiences could also lead to low self esteem which can in turn lead to a person not caring too much about themselves and begin to harm themselves by â€Å"stuffing† themselves with food. We see these type of issues in schools, where children tease others about things in general which lower that child’s self-esteem, that in turn would lead to that child wanting to that child doing many things including eating entirely too much. But besides school there are other instances where people get their confidence lowered by general life experiences, again this happens everyday where the child or people in general would just hide themselves in their houses from the world because they feel no confidence with themselves. They should seek advice from reliable people they can trust and keep themselves around positive people who would give them encouragement to get past their condition and not let it hinder them from doing anything they want. To conclude, I would like to piggyback on a few things. First, child obesity or obesity in general can be managed even if the individual does not have a family history, which should not be an excuse to eat more than a person is supposed to. Today’s main question was: How does child obesity in America occur? Again, according to American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, â€Å"the causes of obesity are complex and include genetic, biological, behavioral and cultural factors† (American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 2010). Child obesity is can be caused by a number of things, but the author/researcher only used a few of the causes like: â€Å"poor eating habits, overeating, lack of exercise, family history of obesity, stressful life experiences, low self esteem or depression† (American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 2010). Poor eating habits, overeating and stressful life experiences to a certain extent can be managed in order to either prevent or manage a child’s weight gain and overall health. Also â€Å"Children and adolescents who are obese are at greater risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem† (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). â€Å"Although there are some genetic and hormonal causes of childhood obesity, most of the time its caused by kids eating too much and exercising too little† (The Mayo Clinic, 1998-2011). A lot of this happens because of the children’s parents letting them overeat and not having them exercise and staying active as much as they should. If those parents would just control what their children eat and how much they eat, that part of the cause of obesity can be practically eliminated. Lack of exercise can also be managed, parents should not let their child be a â€Å"couch potato† but have their child go out doors to play and run around with friends because that could help with their child burning off calories that they may have added from eating, it also helps with their overall health.

Healthcare Industry In Malaysia

Healthcare Industry In Malaysia Healthcare industry in Malaysia is divided into private and public sectors. Malaysian society places importance on the expansion and development of healthcare industry. With a rising and aging population in Malaysia, the Government wishes to improve many areas in healthcare industry including the refurbishment of existing hospitals, building and equipping new hospitals, expansion in polyclinics, and improvements in training and expansion of telehealth. Telehealth is the delivery and communicate of health-related services and information via telecommunications. It could be as simple as two healthcare professionals discussing patients condition over the telephone. It also may as sophisticated as doing robotic surgery between facilities at different country. Over last few years, we have increased our efforts to improve the telehealth systems. Besides that, telehealth also will help in access to specialty services for rural patients and allows the patient to stay in their own community rather than traveling. This is parallel with our mission and objective of deliver quality healthcare services to our customers efficiently. Political factors include government regulations and legal issues. It defines both formal and informal rules which a hospital must operate. Some examples of political issue are tax policy, employment laws and medical tourism. Medical tourism in Malaysia ranks among the best in the world and most private hospitals in the country have internationally recognized quality and standards in medical tourism. In our country, the growth rate of medical tourism is growing rapidly because of low-cost advantage and the improvement of new high-quality healthcare service providers compare to some foreign hospital. The healthcare sector in Malaysia is highly regulated by the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act and regulatory approval is required to set up a private hospital. It regulates all private healthcare facilities and services in our country. Under this act, we must get the approval before a new private healthcare facility can be established. Government set the strict rules on the quality of care and safety on patient to ensure that fairness and honesty in providing health care to patients. The objectives of the rules are same with our objective of to provide quality healthcare service with fairness, honesty and sincerity for patients. Political and government rules may affect any business either positively or negatively. So, the changing of government rule or regulation in healthcare industry may cause some threats on KPJ as we are part of it. Actually, it is considered as a threat for KPJ as it may require us to change our business strategy due to changing of regulations. It may affect negatively on the entire industry as well as KPJ healthcare. In budget 2012, government has assigned around RM15 billion for operating expenditure. Simultaneously, they allocated RM1.8 billion for development expenditure. With the allocation financial support by government, the health industry in our country will be enjoying the benefits. Therefore, our healthcare industry will become energetic by improving the facility or equipment within hospitals. Eventually it will increase the level of customer satisfaction as we can provide better quality healthcare services and our profitability will be improved. Economic Economic conditions for a country are mainly influenced by political and government policies. This mean that any decision made by government will indirectly affect the economic conditions of the whole country. The economic growth in Malaysia has dropped significantly and KPJ should be aware of this factor. This is because economic condition will affect KPJ in terms of operation and profitability. Customer disposable income and purchasing power will decrease as economic is not performing well. During economic crisis, inevitably most of the customer may try to cut down some expenses on healthcare such as medical checkup. Instead of choosing a best healthcare provider, customer now which is price sensitive will more prefer on public hospital that able to provide services to customer with lower price. Therefore, it is important for KPJ in setting an appropriate and lower price to gain market share. During the economy crisis, it is usual for the KPJs shareholder to divest their entire share because they may refuse to take any risk of losing their money. When there is having substantial shareholder divesting their share, KPJ may lack of capital available to expand the business and it will difficult for KPJ to invest in new technologies which can help to treat patients. Due to insufficient of capital, KPJ may losses competitive advantages compared to competitors. In order to gain a competitive advantage that could gain a confidence to all the investors, KPJ need to evaluate the cost and benefit for all the expenses and to cut down the unnecessary overhead and expenses such as personnel cost at the same time, which could result in layoffs. However, layoff employee will lead healthcare professionals who are already lack of time to do their work to be overworked since they will be expected to do more work compared to before. Therefore, healthcare professionals will spend less of time and care for more patients than ever. Due to this, healthcare professionals may become negligent in some important part and medical error, which can result in an increase in malpractice lawsuits. Inflation in Malaysia is affecting the overall cost for KPJ. This is because inflation will push up the material price and also price of buying the medical equipment. Other than that, employees for KPJ will try to negotiate for higher salary. All these factors will increase the cost of KPJ in running their business activities. Therefore, KPJ profit margin will be lower as KPJ needs to generate more income in paying additional expense. Competitive Rivalry Previously, private practice was just in general practice and there are only have limited number of specialists. But over the years, there have some changes in healthcare industry structure. Not like previously which hospitality business is mainly from governmental hospital. Today, there is increasingly growing of profit oriented private hospitals. There are a few private hospital which opens in major town and cities in our country. Growth in the industry and increasing number of competitors will inevitably increase the competition for KPJ. However, due to the limitation of 20km distance requirement between private hospitals recommended by Ministry of Health, direct competition among private healthcare groups is becoming not so significant. Thus, even though there are numbers of private healthcare groups competing each other in Malaysia, the rivalry among existing firms is considered medium. Although 20 km zoning is restricting the competition, rivalry is still remains important factors to be considered by KPJ. This is because aggressive expansion and competition from existing players such as Parkway and Columbia Asia may hurt KPJ by affecting profitability and also the market share for KPJ. Therefore, it is important for KPJ to develop a better strategy to gain more competitive advantages against rivals. It is lack of differentiation of KPJ because KPJ and others hospital is providing similar treatment or services to patient. This will be a threat for KPJ as low differentiation cause patient to have low switching cost. Patient may easily switch to others hospital which they want or they feel confidence with it. Nevertheless, low differentiation also means patient will be more priorities on the price of the treatment or services. There will be creating the price competition among existing rivals to attract customers. Therefore, setting lower price on the services provided might earn better competitive advantages against rivals. Moreover, customer service is also an important area which KPJ competing with rivals. Customers will be more prefer to a hospital which able to provide better quality and customer services. Hospital which able to provide speedy and innovative methods in fulfilling customer needs will be the sources of competitive advantages. Besides that, technology for healthcare industry is also the factor which KPJ need to consider. This is because of medical advances and specialty services have been driving a strong trend towards private hospitals specializations with more of the industry players are developing a significant competition for niche areas of expertise such as coronary care, eye surgery, mental health care and maternity admissions. It is will be good if KPJ developing a niche areas which distinguish itself with other existing competitors. As KPJ can build up a good reputation in particular area, customer loyalty can be retained and hence KPJ might not need to lower down the cost to attract customer. Last but not least, intensity of competition between KPJ and others hospital will affecting the profitability and market share of KPJ. Therefore, KPJ should develop and identify a good strategy in order to create sustainable competitive advantage in order to compete with existing rivals. Social Nowadays, awareness of social on healthcare is raised compared to past as a result of the rising in income and education level of citizens. This will lead to the increases in the demand of good quality healthcare services provided. This will enhanced the development of healthcare industry and therefore increase our industry profitability as well as our KPJ profitability. Hence, our KPJ mission of provide quality healthcare services to customer may be achieved with the development of healthcare industry. As there are more and more people having the high level of education, they will more concern on the issues of their body health as they have more knowledge. They also will try to accept the treatment for their healthcare problem as fast as possible due to the awareness on health issue. For example, they will constantly go to hospital either by themselves or bring their family for body check to ensure that they are under a health condition. Besides that, the increases in the income level of society will make them move toward good quality of healthcare services provided. The stable of economic growth in the country will enhanced the income level of society. That will enable them feel more affordable to spend in private healthcare services which are able to provide more quality healthcare services compare to public healthcare services and this directly drive the society move to private healthcare services. Increases in the percentage of getting some disease in the society also have impact on the development of healthcare services. Drug abuse and drug addiction issues are posing a big problem in Malaysia, there are increases in abuse of a drug called Ecstasy by Chinese teenagers and youths and this will lead to the increases of HIV/AIDS in the country. The increases of the number of foreign workers that come from rural areas or poor countries will bring diseases like tuberculosis, bride flu or dengue fever to Malaysia. Then, stressful lifestyle like the pressures arise in the work place will cause high-blood pressure and the risk of getting hearth attack will increases. Besides, the bad habit in the consumption of foods such as alcohol and tobacco will increase the risk of chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. The recent reports of National Health and Morbidity survey show that 15% of Malaysians are obese which increases 1% from year 2006 to 2010. A lmost half of adult Malaysians are overweight. Besides that, breast cancer is one of the main reasons of death in Malaysia as it is common type of diseases among women according to the National Cancer Registry Malaysia, 2002. These factors will give positive impact to the healthcare sector in Malaysia. Furthermore, growing in ageing population in Malaysia also will help in drive the healthcare sector in Malaysia. Malaysias population grow at 2% p.a. and the percentage of the population over 65 years old is expected to rise from 5% to 8% from 2010-2020 regarding to Global Demographics. The growing of older proportion in the population means that there will be increase in age-related disorders like Alzheimers, high blood pressure and heart-related ailment which require long term treatment and rehabilitation Reasonably, all these factors can be considered as big opportunities of expansion for healthcare industries such as KPJ which has the mission of provide quality healthcare services to customer. In order to achieve the mission, KPJ with its goal of providing healthcare services with fairness, honesty and sincerity should be done so that they can expand their services more widely as demand of quality healthcare services seen to be increases in future. Technology Technologicalfactor is very important for all type of business, including our healthcare industries. Greater awareness about the technology will help KPJ improve theirefficiency of business operation and quick response to the changing environment.Healthcare industry needs technology to help them carry out their operation activities more efficiently and effectively. Advancement in IT is enabling KPJ to improve the quality of medical activities provided by them. Healthcare industry need to make a lot of medical records about their patients information.Ifit is done by paper record, there are not much storage place to store all the information and will increase the rate of missing important information. To resolve this problem KPJ has adopted the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) to reduce the administrative work and error. This is a digital record which can help KPJ to hold all the detail information about their patients and patients medical history in the system. When a patient enters this system, information can be easily searched by the officer compared to paper work. KPJ will then be more efficient in making the diagnostic and therapeutic decision to reduce the unnecessary work and wasted time. Properly managing the patients medical history is very important.If a mistake occurs, it will lead KPJ to make wrong decision in medical treatment for th e patient.It may also threaten the life of their patient. Other than that, KPJ needs the IT system to help them to enhance in the internal process by establishing an internal network system. IT can act as a mechanism of communication between nurse, doctor and other people who are qualified to access the information system to get the necessary information and information is always updated by using internet. These also help to improve activities of exchanged information between stakeholders. For example, announcement make by internal hierarchy can be quickly received by worker within KPJ by using the internal network system. In addition, doctors can easily place their orders to the nurse, the nurse can then respond quickly to the order and without error due to written order being clearer than oral order. KPJ required a lot of medical facilities to help them in the process of providing the medical services, the required facilities include MRI scanner, CT Scanning. Without the high technology medical facilities, KPJ may not be able to provide a good care service to patient, because recently medical service has become more reliant on the technology. A good medical facility may help to reduce the time of medical treatment. Technology factor plays an important role in the healthcare industry.So, KPJ should invest more in the RD to enhance their medical skill and also help them easily change the administrative work to reduce the mistake and error occur that will affect the reputation of their company. Porter five forces Threat of new entrants The threat of new entrants is the possibility that a new firm will enter the industry. It is a threat for existing business as new entrants will affect the business and inevitably cause existing business to lose profit or market share. Nowadays, there are many potential investors trying to invest in healthcare service, thus, causing existing business intheindustrytoface the threat of the new entry.Inorder to exclude new competitors, it needs to create a barrier to the entry. However, KPJ may not have to face the new competitor come in because it is hard for a new healthcare business to enter the industry due to the high initial cost. Before starting the healthcare business, it requires to do necessary research, intensive planning and require a huge amount of initial capital to purchase the facilities, research and development, specialist equipment in order to operate the business. Besides that, to be a medical tourism hub Malaysia has to set a goal requiring all the institutions to u se medical devices and procedures. Comparing the other industry and healthcare industry, normally the barriers to enter in healthcare industry are quite high.Itis because of restrictions by government policy. From the past to the present, all the private medical facilities in Malaysia need to get approval to be granted under the Private Health Facilities and Services Act 1998 before they can be established and must be compliant to a regulatory body working closely with the Ministry of Health who monitors, regulates and coordinates these hospitals. Moreover, it is heavily government regulated, which is zoning for healthcare industry. The act requires having a minimum distance of 20km between the existing healthcare industries. This means that when one decides to open a new healthcare business, it must make sure there are no other healthcare businesses within the 20 km area. Some more, to prevent the new competitor to enter the market, government restrict the hospital to acquire the healthcare technology, without the sp ecialist equipment that is hard for the private healthcare to survive in the future. Shortage of doctors is also a factor which is creating the high barriers of entry. When potential competitors come in, they must make sure they have enough medical practitioner and doctor to carry the routine task. This is because if they dont have all those qualified staff, they might face difficulties in providing services to patients. Moreover, potential customer will only choose to go for a hospital which has specialist in particular areas. Therefore, shortage of specialist doctors will also cause that hospital to lose marketshare. Difficulty in securing private specialists will be the barrier for entry to all the new competitors. As the supply of private specialist is limited, hospital groups with a strong reputation will have better advantage in attracting potential specialist against the new hospital. Record of patient is a valuable asset for the healthcare industry it can create a barrier to entry. KPJ have records of patients who have come before and maintained the medical records in one system.This system enables the doctors to have knowledge of their patients medical history. Because all the patients records are already exists in the hospital, therefore, it will cause inconvenient for patients to regurgitate their medical history to a new doctor. Therefore, it will be hard for the new entrant to compete with the existing healthcare industry. Threat of substitute Threat of substitute means that consumer are available to buy another product or service that can provide similar benefit to replace our industrys product. Product demand will be affected by price change of substitute product and service. Therefore, threat of substitute for healthcare industry is considered to be low. The threat of substitute for private healthcare provider will be the non-profit healthcare provider. Private health care is normally charge higher medical fees compared to public hospital. Because of this, some people might not be able to pay for the expensive fees. KPJ is a private healthcare provider that provides a lot of medical service and use medical facilities to enhance their medical skill. Purchases of the medical facilities are considered very expensive because it is high technology equipment designed by professional person and to develop it will use many resources to carry out the necessary research and development activities. For non-profit healthcare provider, most of the funds is come from sponsor, therefore it may be lack of capital to acquire the facilities and equipment. Private healthcare as a profit-oriented company will be easier in raising capital, so private healthcare service will have better competitive advantages against non-profit organization as they is own ing the higher technology equipment and medical facilities. Second threat for KPJ is the Public healthcare provider which is supported by government. People often choose the private healthcare providereven when the service provided will be more expensive is because the services providedis more efficient than public where patient needs to wait for a long time. Private industry is more focused on efficiency and effectiveness todeliver the service to customer, so private healthcare provider will employ more doctors and nurses to carry out the service that are of quality. Another substitute for private healthcare could be the acupuncture, massage and spa, many old people are more reliant on and believed in this traditional service, but it is lacking of proves by science and not so safe. Many traditional servicesare promoted as an entertainment service rather than serious medical service that is provided in legal healthcare company. Sometimes the services provided can be illegal and may be a threat to the patients health. For nowadaysmany people are knowledgeable, they will refuse the traditional medical and chose the more scientific service and that relates to high technology, so the threat for this traditional services is considered low. In healthcare industry, technology acts as a strong substitute to their service, such as e-health. E-health brings a lot of convenient to the patient that are busy and people that lack easy access to hospital; they will be helped by telemedicine. For example,the success story of e-farmasi in Malaysia, computerizing Medical Claims in Korea, and others. Due to insufficient development, this threat to hospital will be low. Therefore, threat of substitute on the private healthcare will be very low. But KPJ still need to plan out the strategies to face the threat of substitute due to economic and environment change that will affect the profit of KPJ. Bargaining Power of Buyers Customer is one of the sources of profit for a business. It is important for a business to understand what customer needs, and their position in bargaining with our business. Bargaining power of customers is considered to be high for healthcare industry. This is because there is having many medical centers in Malaysia. Customer will have the freedom to choose whatever healthcare company and doctors which they feel confidence with. High power of customer will be a threat for the business as it will be increase competitive intensity in the industry. Most of the hospital in Malaysia is providing similar treatment or services to the patient. This means that it will have a low differentiation between hospitals. Therefore, switching cost for customer will be low and hence customer can easily switch between alternatives healthcare company to get a better deal. Buyers income is also the factors which affecting the bargaining power of buyers. If their income is low, probably they will be more preferred on public hospital as public hospital will able to provide services to patient with lower prices. However, if some of the customer who is having higher income, they tend to be low price sensitive. They will more prefer on the best healthcare providers which can deliver better services to them instead of looking at the price. This group of customer will switch to other healthcare providers when they not satisfy with the services provided. Since KPJ is providing healthcare services to people who are struggling with life-threatening diseases, reputation for KPJ will be an important factor to be considered. In addition, buyers is now aware of alternative supplier and information of healthcare is freely available for the public, therefore KPJ need take care their performance and also quality which deliver to patients. Once patients recognize that KPJ performance is not good or poor quality of services, it will cause patient to switch to other healthcare providers which is more reputable in terms of quality and performance. Availability of substitute for healthcare industry will affect customer power in bargaining with KPJ. As there are having substitutes which is public healthcare, acupuncture, massage and spa. Customer may try to switch for substitute as this will be their alternative methods if they dont want to go for private hospital. Therefore, in order to protect against substitute, it is important for KPJ creating and highlight the value and let customers to know the differences between their services and the others. Bargaining power of supplier Suppliers is playing an important roles in a business. They is the person who supplying all the materials, services and things which required by an industry. KPJ is relying on many different types of supplier which support biotechnology development, drugs development, supplying medical equipment, and also specialist doctor. Suppliers who supply medical equipment are considered as important suppliers for KPJ. Medical equipment is indispensable as KPJ is using all the medical equipment in their daily job activities. However, technology advancement has made a lot of changes for medical equipment. There are a lot of new and updated medical equipment which come with better features. All these latest equipment will helps KPJ to improve their efficiency and effectiveness in carry out their routine job. However, there are having limited sources of supplier in supplying all these medical equipment, which creating limited opportunities for KPJ to buy the equipment. There are many buyers for all those medical equipments but only a few dominant suppliers. Due to this, suppliers may have substantial amount of power in negotiating with KPJ in terms of pricing and supply conditions. Supplier may set higher price but there is no room for KPJ to negotiate with suppliers. Medical practitioner is also one of the suppliers for KPJ. KPJ needs qualified nurses and specialist doctors to treat their patients. Therefore, bargaining power of medical practitioner is considered high. Having a group of qualified employees will be the sources of competitive advantage for KPJ against competitor. However, there is shortage of specialist doctors in Malaysia. This will cause the competition among hospital in employing qualified specialist. Most of hospital will try their best to award the specialist by offering higher salary, bonuses. If KPJ choose not to be competitive against the competitors, medical practitioner will search other healthcare industry to work. Hence, specialists doctors will be in the best position in negotiate the working conditions and also the pay structures. In terms of drugs development, KPJ is rely on a few supplier which provide them with specialized tools, materials, and equipment that they need to develop their products. Special tools to develop the drugs will be quite technical and lack of substitute products. This mean it will be high switching cost for KPJ to use another suppliers. If suppliers stop supplying, KPJ will face difficulties in their development progress. Therefore, supplier for all those special tools, materials will carry a higher power in negotiate a better price or delivery conditions. Overall, the supplier power is considered to be high as KPJ is relying on a few major suppliers to supply the things which KPJ needed in their daily job. Therefore, it is important for KPJ to maintain a good relationship with all suppliers to ensure the business process goes smoothly. Factor conditions Basic factor for KPJ is capital availability, KPJ has enough profit to contribute for their capital for internationalize or globalize their business. KPJ earned its  ¬Ã‚ rst annual billion-ringgit turnover in year 2007, with revenue totalling RM1.11 billion in that year. KPJ continued in achieve their new revenuerecords in subsequent years. Which are rising to RM1.27 billion, RM1.46 billion and RM1.65 billion in year 2008, 2009 and 2010respectively. KPJ achieved a new recordin 2011 with total revenue of RM1.91 billion and pre-tax pro ¬Ã‚ t of RM204.60 million. In basic factors for medical tourism of KPJ, medical tourism products are better to located in warm, pleasant environments like Malaysia. Therefore, the basic factorswhich include ideal climatic conditions, natural resources and geographic location, are an advantage for medical tourism in KPJ especially for those visitors from colder climates. In addition to these basic factors, there are advanced factors about skill labour In our country.KPJ healthcare had 750 medical consultants, which equals to a 7% share of private doctors in Malaysia and 47% of the countrys medical personnel and professional.This is because of the better paid of salary. Another advanced factor is KPJ are driven by innovation and technological advancement.There is a strong regulatory and hospital and healthcare infrastructure in KPJ. KPJ continues to invest in the latest equipment with state of-the-art medical technology.This type of technology will help in provide positive patient experience as well as to enhance medical and surgical outcomes. Last advanced factor is we are assisted in the development of medical tourism. These include the world-wide web resources for the communication and marketing of the medical tourism product internationally. In terms of quality, it can be said that there is just little difference in the medical tourism services offered in the advanced western countries and those in the eastern or developing countries like KPJ in Malaysia. But the attractive work conditions and higher salary has helped to staff ourKPJ hospitals with well-qualified people. Therefore, the quality of such healthcare services are equivalent and the services may better compare to the hospitals in developed countries. Demand conditions Demand conditions are one of the important factors for KPJ in order to gain competitive advantage within the industry. Demands in home country enable KPJ has a better understanding in the needs and desires of the customers thus can response faster to take advantage before the foreign competitors. Therefore, KPJ need to continue to improve competitiveness through innovation and high quality services. Malaysia is one of the fastest-growing nations in Asia although our country has a small population of only 29m.Malaysias population has grew from 23.5m to 29m from 2000-2010 with a CAGR of 2.2%. KPJ need to increases the quality of services provide like shorten the waiting time for patients, provide comfortable place for patients to stay like hygiene condition to meet the increases in demand. Besides that, KPJ need to continue to invest in the latest equipment with state of-the-art medical technology in its effort to provide positive patient experience as well as to enhance medical and surgical outcomes in order to retain as well as attract more customers and strong the position of KPJ in private healthcare industry. Then, the development of health tourism is contributing to curative services by private healthcare services providers. For instance, 450,000 foreign patients obtained treatment from private hospitals for various illnesses as well as utilized diagnostic and therapeut

Toumai, The Oldest Relative of the Human Race Essay example -- Anthrop

Toumai, The Oldest Relative of the Human Race Discoveries relating to the human lineage are extremely exciting and often baffling. This is the case with the recent discovery of what seems to be the oldest member of the human family. A skull found in northern Chad in 2001, has been deemed the earliest relative to the human ever found. Nicknamed Toumai, and discovered by Michel Brunet and his paleontology team, this new category of human has been given the scientific name, Sahelanthropus tchaensis. What makes this skull so definitive is the fact that it dates back approximately 6-7 million years in the earth’s history (Whitfield 2002). Since the discovery there have been anthropologists and paleontologists that have disputed the hominid status of Toumai (Evans 2002), but many, especially those involved in the finding of the skull still believe that they have the oldest relative to the human race we know today. The kind of attention that comes from discovering a fossil that may challenge pre-existing notions of human lineage is massive. When the findings were first published in â€Å"Nature† and â€Å"Science†, scientific journals, the news spread like wildfire and every news source from ABC to the BBC had the story covered. A discovery of this magnitude is highly important considering it can alter thoughts about the beginnings of the human line and cause an uproar in the science community in terms of the way human evolution is looked at. BBC News was one of the sources that covered this story when the discovery was made. Their primary article stated, â€Å"Scientists say it is the most important discovery in the search for the origins of humankind since the first Australopithecus ‘ape-man’ remains were found in Africa i... ...s. Toumaà ¯, the ancestor of the human ones. http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0%402-3328,36-331868,0.html    Evans, Mark., 2002, Ancient Skull’s Species in Dispute. Philadelphia Inquirer. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/inquirer/living/science/4249114.htm    Gibbons, Ann., 2002, One Scientists Quest for The Origin of our Species. Science, v. 298. http://rcp.missouri.edu/carolward/pdfs/quotebrunetpiece.pdf    Meek, James., 2002, Monkey or Man? Toumai hailed as our oldest ancestor, is stirring ancient scientific rivalries. Guardian News, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,808955,00.html    Noble, Ivan., 2002, Astonishing Skull Unearthed in Africa. BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2118055.stm    Whitfield, John., 2002, Oldest Member of Human Family Found. Nature, Science Update, http://www.nature.com/nsu/020708/020708-12.html   

Shakespeares Much Ado About Nothing and Renaissance Italy Essay

Shakespeare's play "Much Ado About Nothing" takes place in Messina, a city-state of Renaissance Italy. The Renaissance was a period in European history believed to have been between AD 1300 and AD 1600 with a feudal society of agricultural economy and church dominated culture. It was during the Renaissance that Europe was transformed into a society dominated by central political institutions with education, arts and music heavily influenced by the Christian religion. In Italy, cities such as Florence, Ferrara, Milan, and Venice flourished. These cities were able to finance cultural achievements. Medieval Italian merchants developed commercial and financial techniques such as bookkeeping and bills of exchange. Italian city-states were transformed from communes into territorial states, each of which wanted to expand at the expense of others. Diplomacy was established when the Italian city-states began embassies in foreign courts. In general, the Italian Renaissance was a time of flo urishing ideas and prosperity. "Much Ado About Nothing" is a play intertwining two love stories. One story follows the romance of a young woman Hero (daughter of Leonato, governor of Messina) and a young officer Claudio. When Claudio returns from war, he realizes he's deeply in love with Hero. With the help of his commander, Don Pedro, Claudio proposes to her. The other is a less likely couple, Beatrice (Hero's cousin) and Bene*censored* (another officer). Both being witty, strong-willed and outspoken, the two seem to bare distaste for each other. However, when their friends arrange for them to overhear conversations revealing how much each is loved by the other, it doesn't take long before they declare their love for one another. Meanwhile, self... ...ce of Aragon, Don Pedro. The political systems are also shown by the fact Don John was denied claim to his family's wealth because he was born outside of marriage. Secondly, I learned about household positions in Renaissance Italy. As displayed by the play, a noble household was headed by a man (Leonato) with daughters waiting to be courted (Hero/Beatrice), and maidservants (Margaret/Ursula). A third lesson was in medieval courtship. In those times, the girls were to be wooed and events such as the dance in "Much Ado About Nothing" were thrown to do so. When a man wished to marry her, he would ask her father for permission, just as Claudio does for Hero. In conclusion, Shakespeare's play "Much Ado about Nothing" intertwines two love stories in Renaissance Italy. Through its characters, it portrays the political and household lifestyles of the Renaissance times.

Endangered Species Legislation Essay -- CITES, Endangered Species Act

The latter half of the twentieth century was host to the greatest and most widespread advancements in environmental awareness in human history. It was during this time that people began to consider the effects of their polluting cars and their wasteful habits. People began to realize that something must be done to curb humans’ negative impacts on their surroundings and thus the environmental movement was born. One of the most important factors that resulted from this expansion of environmental consciousness occurring over the last several decades has been the protection of endangered species. Much has been done in the legal world to ensure the continued longevity of our planet’s diversity, including two major policies: CITES and the Endangered Species Act. Each of these policies has approached the welfare of endangered species in a different way, with varying degrees of success. Each strategy will be summarized and analyzed, beginning with the CITES treaty, as it was enacted before the Endangered Species Act. However, before examining the function and effectiveness of each strategy, it is important to understand the history behind each one of them. In 1966, Congress passed the Endangered Species Preservation Act, a piece of legislation designed to provide limited protection to a list of native animal species. The Departments of Interior, Agriculture, and Defense were responsible for the protection of these species and the preservation of their habitats. It also allotted land to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help maintain these natural habitats. In 1969, the Act was amended because further protection was necessary. With the threat of worldwide extinction, the amendment called for an international meeting and cha... ...es rather than the officials that manage them, but all things considered, these two policies go a long way to improving the problem of human-caused extinction. Works Cited Doremus, Holly, and Joel E. Pagel. "Why Listing May Be Forever: Perspectives on Delisting Under the U.S. Endangered Species Act." Conservation Biology, Vol. 15, No. 5 (Oct. 2001): 1258-68. Hemley, Ginette. "CITES: How Useful a Tool For Wildlife Conservation?" Wildlife Society Bulletin, Vol. 23, No. 4, Changes and Challenges in the Wildlife Profession (Winter, 1995): 635-39. "History and Evolution of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, Including its Relationship to CITES." Fish and Wildlife Service. 1 May 2008. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2 Dec. 2008 . Reibstein, Rick. "Endangered Species Act." CAS GE 521, Boston, MA. 19 Nov. 2008. Endangered Species Legislation Essay -- CITES, Endangered Species Act The latter half of the twentieth century was host to the greatest and most widespread advancements in environmental awareness in human history. It was during this time that people began to consider the effects of their polluting cars and their wasteful habits. People began to realize that something must be done to curb humans’ negative impacts on their surroundings and thus the environmental movement was born. One of the most important factors that resulted from this expansion of environmental consciousness occurring over the last several decades has been the protection of endangered species. Much has been done in the legal world to ensure the continued longevity of our planet’s diversity, including two major policies: CITES and the Endangered Species Act. Each of these policies has approached the welfare of endangered species in a different way, with varying degrees of success. Each strategy will be summarized and analyzed, beginning with the CITES treaty, as it was enacted before the Endangered Species Act. However, before examining the function and effectiveness of each strategy, it is important to understand the history behind each one of them. In 1966, Congress passed the Endangered Species Preservation Act, a piece of legislation designed to provide limited protection to a list of native animal species. The Departments of Interior, Agriculture, and Defense were responsible for the protection of these species and the preservation of their habitats. It also allotted land to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help maintain these natural habitats. In 1969, the Act was amended because further protection was necessary. With the threat of worldwide extinction, the amendment called for an international meeting and cha... ...es rather than the officials that manage them, but all things considered, these two policies go a long way to improving the problem of human-caused extinction. Works Cited Doremus, Holly, and Joel E. Pagel. "Why Listing May Be Forever: Perspectives on Delisting Under the U.S. Endangered Species Act." Conservation Biology, Vol. 15, No. 5 (Oct. 2001): 1258-68. Hemley, Ginette. "CITES: How Useful a Tool For Wildlife Conservation?" Wildlife Society Bulletin, Vol. 23, No. 4, Changes and Challenges in the Wildlife Profession (Winter, 1995): 635-39. "History and Evolution of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, Including its Relationship to CITES." Fish and Wildlife Service. 1 May 2008. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2 Dec. 2008 . Reibstein, Rick. "Endangered Species Act." CAS GE 521, Boston, MA. 19 Nov. 2008.

How Is the Power of Dreams and Dreaming in the Novel of Mice and Men Essay

The idea of moving from one place to another, working hard and trying to raise the quality of life for you and your loved ones is known as ‘The American Dream’. Steinbeck invites us to understand how having this dream keeps them going despite the challenging life that each character faces. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck makes this ‘dream’ the main focus of the story for both the reader and characters. George’s dream is to have independence and to â€Å"go into town and get whatever I want† but most importantly he dreams of being â€Å"somebody†. On the other hand, Lennie aspires to be with George and to â€Å"tend the rabbits†. Ultimately, George and Lennie both wanted to â€Å"have a little house and couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs† however, George only tells Lennie about their dream to comfort Lennie. This is shown when Lennie says â€Å"No†¦ You tell it. It ain’t the same if I tell it. Go on†¦ George. How do I get to tend the rabbits. † It is only after they all realised that together, â€Å"this thing they never believed in was coming true† Even though the dream is very important to George as well, Steinbeck portrays Lennie as someone who wants the dream a lot more. This is shown through Lennie’s angry or upset feelings when he feels like he has done something that would jeopardise their dream. George uses this to his advantage to threaten and control Lennie by blackmailing him, â€Å"If you do, I won’t let you tend the rabbits. † Consequently, Lennie tries to please George and to gain his approval as much as possible. Another way in which Steinbeck shows the power of dreams and dreaming in the novel is through how much they want it. Steinbeck portrays each character’s desperation through their lifestyle. The dream that each character has reflects what is missing from their life. George and Crooks are both very desperate about this dream because they both want their current lives to be like their past. This is shown when, for a second, George loses track of the present and says â€Å"we’d keep a few pigeons to go flyin’ around the win’mill like they done when I was a kid† which is referring back to his childhood. Similarly, Crooks wants to return to his past. â€Å"The white kids used to play at our place, an’ sometimes I went to play with them. † This shows that Crooks used to be well respected and equal within his community. After all, Crooks â€Å"ain’t a southern negro†; however, he is not treated well at the ranch, therefore, the dream provides comfort for Crooks. Although George wants to return to his childhood, there is a deeper meaning to his dream. George wants to â€Å"just say the hell with goin’ to work† because unlike Candy, George doesn’t want to stay at the ranch too long so he would get ‘canned’. For George, the dream means that â€Å"nobody could can us† Furthermore, George doesn’t want to have to keep moving because he would â€Å"jus’ live there† and â€Å"belong there. There wouldn’t be no more runnin’ round the country and gettin’ fed by a Jap cook. † This suggests that he’ll be his own boss. A result of being a migrant worker, no one at the ranch has any friends, which is why Crooks was surprised to hear that Lennie had George. For George and Lennie, the dream of having their own land provides a stable home that will eventually gain them friends and family. On the other hand, Crooks is very pessimistic about the possibility of a dream becoming a reality because he has been segregated in the ranch for as long as he can remember. His cynicism has led him to believe â€Å"It’s just in their head. They’re all the time talkin’ about it, but it’s jus’ in their head†. This suggests that his past experiences have affected his power to dream. Steinbeck reinforces the power of dreaming within the novel, as he shows every character’s reaction when they all realise that there is a possibility of George and Lennie’s dream becoming reality. â€Å"They looked at each other, amazed. This thing they had never really believed in was coming true. Once they believed that the dream is a possibility, the tension is ramped up. Suddenly there is something to lose and something to fight for. This massively enhances the power that the dream has over each character and for a while the feeling of doom is lessened. The reader wants to know if each character can escape the curse they seem to be under and reach their goals. For Lennie and candy the dream would provide an exciting o pportunity, as both characters are not worth much in the real world. The dream would provide them a chance of appreciation. To Lennie, the dream is an antidote to disappointment and loneliness, and he often asks George to recite the description of the farm to him for comfort. Like a child, he loved the hear George telling him to â€Å"tend the rabbits† correspondingly for Candy it would make him feel more important as he can â€Å"cook and tend the chickens and hoe the garden some† Even though Curley’s Wife was the reason that the dream fell apart, she had big dreams to be in â€Å"pitchers† Unsatisfied by her surly husband, she constantly lurks around the barn, trying to engage the workers in conversation. However, although she may come across as very flirtatious, she only flirts with the men for attention. Which is what her dream would have provided her if she didn’t marry Curley. Shes so lonely, and so desparate for the attention of the men at the ranch that she even flirts with Lennie as she leans â€Å"closely† at him to â€Å"see if she was impressing him† To look in more detail about how Steinbeck shows the power of the dreams, take each individual character and how they all act to their dreams ending. For example, Steinbeck has made Curley very bitter after the realisation of his dreams ending when Candy’s wife is killed by Lennie. His bitterness shows how much the dream meant to him and how he needed it because he is old and disabled so he will probably get ‘canned’ soon, He shuffles out of the barn which that he has given up all hope, almost given up on life.