A Second Chance free essay sample

We often imagine about how see our lives go by in seconds when we placed in life or death situations. This was no exception, I recalled the most important moments in my life as I spun on that ATV bike. Everything came to my mind, my most treasured memories that reminded me how I had lived my life to the fullest. As other people spent their spring break at the beach or watching movies, I was being medically treated, due to my severe scrapes. What was supposed to be a perfect vacation turned out to be the most painful thing that I have ever experienced. It was spring break so my family and I decided to go to the beach. The first couple of days, we enjoyed the sun and clear waters. It was until the third day that we decided to ride our bikes to the border between Honduras and Guatemala, which was about thirty kilometers away from the beach. We will write a custom essay sample on A second Chance or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It was the perfect day for early bike run, with excellent weather conditions. Every minute that passed by as I rode my bike, I felt more and more exhausted. It seemed we were on an endless road. Finally, we reached our destination. I was glad I was able to experience this with my family, but little did I know what was going to happen on my way back to the beach house. It seemed impossible riding another thirty kilometers to go back to the beach. Luckily, some friends were lazy enough to ride their ATV motorcycles instead of their bikes. My dad and I switched our bicycles for their ATVs. It was getting dark, so we had to get back as soon as possible. I was driving at a high speed, and a man appeared from the side of the road. I tried not to run him over, but as I skipped the man I hit a bump on the road, which caused me to roll several times with the ATV bike. I got up immediately, my legs and hands were shaking. I still remember the burning sensation on my arms, legs and face. My dad rushed to help me. Even though he did not say anything, his face ratted him. A family friend came to help us and took me back to the house, where there was a doctor waiting. I was completely dirty, since I had scraped myself against the pavement. Indeed, cleaning the wounds hurt more than the accident itself. At the beach house, I was cleaned with hydrogen peroxide, soap and water. It was beyond all bearing, but it had to be done. It was not until I had been cleaned that I noticed all my bruises and scrapes. It was obvious that we needed to head back to the city, I needed to treated by a dermatologist, not by a general practitioner. Once we were in the city, I was taken to the hospital, where I was placed in a dermatological treatment that lasted for six months. Recuperation was even harder, Imagine having injuries on all your joints, and every time you tried to walk or move, they would just start bleeding and the healing process would have to start again. The purpose of the treatment was to leave as least scars as possible. In the end, I was left with scars on my arms, hands, and legs. Every time I see someone riding an ATV without protection, I tend imagine the worst. I still get flashbacks of what I saw and felt as I was rolling on that bike. I was lucky enough to be left with a scar instead of a major medical condition, or even death. When I see my scars, I do not think about the accident itself, but how fortunate I am to be alive. It took myself an accident and six months of painful recuperation to learn that I should always wear the appropriate gear when riding a motorcycle. I believe that once we have been placed in life or death situations, we realize how fragile we are, and that we most live our lives to the fullest because we do not know if there is going to me a tomorrow.

Major Courses Needed for a Statistics Degree

Major Courses Needed for a Statistics Degree So you want to study statistics in college. What courses will you need to take? Not only will you be taking classes that pertain directly to statistics, but you will also take classes that are similar, if not identical, to those taken by students majoring in mathematics. Below is an overview of courses that commonly make up the core of a Bachelor’s degree in statistics. Requirements for a degree vary from one  institution to another, so be sure to check with your own college or university catalog to be certain what you will need to take in order to graduate with a major in statistics. Calculus Courses Calculus is foundational for many other areas of mathematics. The typical calculus sequence involves at least three courses. There is some variation on how these courses segment the information. Calculus teaches problem-solving and develops numerical competency, both skills that are important for statistics. In addition to this, a knowledge of calculus is necessary to prove results in statistics. Calculus One:  In the first course of the calculus sequence you will learn to think carefully about functions, exploring topics such as limits and continuity. The main focus of the class will move to the derivative, which calculates the slope of the line tangent to a graph at a given point. Towards the end of the course, you will learn about the integral, which is a way to calculate the area of regions that have strange shapes.Calculus Two:  In the second course of the calculus sequence you will learn more about the process of integration. The integral of a function is typically harder to compute that its derivative, so you will learn about different strategies and techniques. The other major topic of the course is typically infinite sequences and series. Intuitively, this topic examines infinite lists of numbers, and what happens when we try to add these lists together.Calculus Three:  The underlying assumption of calculus one and two is that we deal with functions with only o ne variable. Real life is much more complicated with several variables in the most interesting applications. So we generalize the calculus that we know already, but now with more than one variable. This leads to results that can no longer be depicted on graph paper but need three (or more) dimensions to illustrate. Other Mathematics Courses In addition to the calculus sequence, there are other courses in mathematics that are important to statistics. They include the following courses: Linear Algebra:  Linear algebra deals with the solutions to equations that are linear, meaning that the highest power of the variables is the first power. Although the equation 2x 3 7 is a linear equation, the equations that are of most interest in linear algebra involve several variables. The topic of matrices is developed to solve these equations. Matrices become an important tool to store data in statistics and other disciplines. Linear algebra also directly pertains to the area of regression in statistics.Probability:  Probability is foundational for much of statistics. It gives us a way to quantify chance events. Starting with set theory to define basic probability, the course will move on to more advanced topics in probability such as conditional probability and  Bayes theorem. Examples of other topics may include discrete and continuous random variables, moments, probability distributions, the law of large numbers and the central limit theorem.Real Analysis:  This co urse is a careful study of the real number system. In addition to this, the concepts in calculus such as limit and continuity are developed rigorously. Many times theorems in calculus are stated without proof. In analysis, the goal is to prove these theorems using deductive logic. Learning proof strategies is important to develop clear thinking. Statistics Courses Finally, we arrive at what you want to major in, statistics. Although the study of statistics is heavily dependent upon mathematics, there are some courses that do specifically pertain to statistics. Introduction to Statistics:  The first course in statistics will cover basic descriptive statistics such as average and standard deviation. In addition, some topics of statistical inference such as hypothesis testing will be encountered for the first time. Depending upon the level and aims of the course, there may be a number of other topics. Some courses overlap with probability and will involve a study of different types of probability distributions. Other courses are more data-driven and will focus on how to use computational software to analyze the statistics of these data sets.Mathematical Statistics:  Here the topics of the introduction to statistics course are dealt with in a mathematically rigorous fashion. There may be few if any data involved in this course. Rather the ideas from most if not all of the mathematics courses are used to deal with statistical ideas in a theoretical way.Specialized Courses:  There are a variety of other courses that you could then take to earn a degree in statistics. Many colleges and universities have entire courses built around regression, time series, actuarial studies and biostatistics. Most statistics programs require that you complete several of these courses in specialized topics.

Urban planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Urban planning - Essay Example The meeting starts at 5.00 p.m. From my first impression, the meeting was going on smoothly although there are some changes that could be made to ensure that the meeting is more efficient. The chairman was commendable in his role and ensured that order was maintained throughout the meeting. People respected his calls and he was the final authority in regards to all the matters in regards to the meeting. The members of the public who attended the event had also been informed on the need of order during the meeting. One improvement I would recommend is that the meeting be held on Saturdays instead of during the agenda week. This is because of several factors. People might not want to go home late in the night and therefore the meeting can run late into the night and be adjourned. If the meeting is held on a Saturday afternoon, people will have ample time to go through the meeting and also further time to air their contributions. I was surprised to notice various prominent people in the town at the meeting. One that I did not expect was the mayor, John Lewis, who was also in attendance. Most of the time, he was silent and just took down notes, however, when it to the AOB segment he thanked the commission for assisting him in trying to fulfill his election agenda of a better Gilberts Town that would be the envy of the country. He requested that this cordial relationship continue into the future. His presence there was a sign of the importance of this meeting to the community. Initially, I thought that any attendee of the meeting could speak at the meeting but I realized this was not the case. Anyone who wants to speak at the meeting must fill a speaker card. An individual fills the agenda items he wants to speak on and filing it with the clerk before the actual meeting. There are several guidelines that determine the use of speaker cards: When a designated speaker is called to air their views, the speaker shall use the microphone set for public

The films we have screened in the second part of the course display Essay

The films we have screened in the second part of the course display some reactions to the challenges (social, political, cultura - Essay Example In this way, each of the main characters in each of these films represented the way that change is inexorable, even if society doesn't really want it, because these figures do not fight for change. They are witnesses to the changes, on the sidelines, yet, at the same time, are driving the revolutions that they are a part of. This is true of all three films – they are not necessarily portraits of people who are railing against the establishment so much as they are portraits of people who, ironically, don't really care about the establishment. This is what makes their characters so ironic and poignant at the same time. For instance, Wyatt and Billy are the ultimate nihilistic characters. One could see that, within their heads, there was never a thought that they would bring about the cataclysmic changes that men like them brought about in the 1960s. After all, the hippies were the ones who helped to end the Vietnam War, who helped usher in a period of civil rights, who preached the gospel of peace and love and freedom. They were the counterculture who helped change the dominant culture, yet there was no sense that these two men even realized how important they were in the big scheme of things. They literally were drifters – they rode their bikes, smoked a lot of weed, picked up a hitchhiker and stayed on the commune for a few days. Then they â€Å"crashed† a parade by riding in it as a joke – this got them put into jail, where they met a drunken ACLU lawyer, picked him up and brought him along on their adventure. That lawyer was killed in their camp, and they continued on their way, virtually as if nothing happened, and had a great meal and a visit to a prostitute by using the money found in George, the dead lawyer's, wallet. They give LSD to the two prostitutes, have an interesting trip in the graveyard by the Mardi Gras parade, continue on their way, and both of them soon end up dead. The nihilism of these two is shown in just about everything that happens to the two. Everything's all good, really, even though Billy does try to protest about certain things – the first hippy they pick up pumps gas for them, and there is money in that tank, which makes him paranoid, but Wyatt assures him its all good. They go to the commune and get in with that lifestyle for a little while, admiring the fact that they are living off the land. But what shows the ultimate in their nihilism is how they treated George – the man was beat to death in their camp, and, while they did seem sad about it, they weren't so broken up about it that they used George's money to treat themselves to wine, women and song. The film doesn't even show what they do with the body – presumably they left the body there in the woods, with the sleeping bag covering it. What the film is also trying to show is the struggle that the counterculture had against the dominant culture, assuming that the dominant culture is represented by the pol icemen who arrested them for â€Å"parading without a license,† the men who beat them up in their camp, or the hillbillies who killed them in the end. Which makes their nihilism all the more ironic, because they weren't struggling against the dominant culture at all, so much as they were in their own little bubble of a world. This was

History and Political Sciences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

History and Political Sciences - Essay Example Let us discuss these factors in some detail in order to know how borders protect us from different national, social, and economic problems. 1. Borders Reduce Crimes Borders protect us from a large number of crimes. Border security forces stop illegal immigrants from entering the premises of a country. Illegal immigrants pose a great threat to the overall safety of the citizens of a country. Increase in the number of crimes and drug trafficking are two of the most noteworthy problems that illegal immigrants cause in any particular country. Illegal immigration refers to the process of crossing the borders of a country illegally. Illegal immigrants are such people who do not have legal documents which can help them enter the premises of a country in a legal way. Such people use illegal ways to cross the borders of well-developed countries. The intent of most of such people is to earn money through illegal ways because they do not have legal work documents with them using which they can earn legal money. Border security forces protect us from such people by continuously looking for people crossing the borders of their countries without legal documents. Almost every country has a proper border security force which protects the borders of the country. The main aim of border forces is to look for suspected people moving near the borders. Most of such people are usually illegal immigrants who are in continuous search of hidden paths through which they can cross the border without coming in sight of the border security forces. A large number of illegal immigrants fall into criminal activities when they find it difficult to earn their livings through legal ways. Crimes, such as, rapes, drug trafficking, violence, and terrorist attacks inject terror in the minds of the citizens. An increase in the number of terrorist attacks in a country and threats of terrorism can also be associated with the presence of a large number of illegal immigrations in the country. The well-kno wn incident of 9/11 which took away the lives of thousands of people is also an outcome of illegal immigration. The terrorists entered the premises of the United States of America illegally and launched a terrorist attack on the world trade center. Since then, the government of America has increased its border security to make its borders safe and secure for the citizens of America. It is a fact that borders ensure safety and security of citizens. If a country will not have any borders, everyone will get the opportunity to enter the premises of the country while destroying the peace of the society. Therefore, we can say that borders ensure safety of citizens by controlling the arrival of suspected people. 2. Borders Improve Economy Borders of a country play a vital role in improving economy of a country. The economy of a country having clearly defined borders flourishes more rapidly and at a constant pace because the government of that country can set proper economic and infrastruct ural policies based on accurate calculations of the total area of the country. On the other hand, the government of a country having weak borders finds it difficult to design a proper economic policy based on total area of the country. Moreover borders reduce illegal immigrations which also results in improving the economy of a country. Illegal immigrations harm the economy of a country as they reduce the number of job opportunities for local people, increase poverty, and decrease foreign

Strategies That Capitalize On An Organizations Strengths Marketing Essay

Strategies That Capitalize On An Organizations Strengths Marketing Essay A SWOT Analysis is used to develop strategies that capitalize on an organizations strengths, minimize the effects of any weaknesses, exploit available opportunities and defend against threats. Implementing these strategies leads to achieving the organizations objectives. SWOT analysis looks at your strengths and weaknesses, and the opportunities and threats your business faces. By focusing on the key factors affecting your business, now and in the future, a SWOT analysis provides a clear basis for examining your business performance and prospects. INTRODUCTION General Motors Corporation is the worlds largest automaker company founded in 1908 which Employs about 326, 999 people around the world with its headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Founded in Flint, Michigan as a holding company for Buick, then controlled by William C. Durant and acquired Oldsmobile later that year. The following year, Durant brought in Cadillac, Elmore and Oakland. In 1909, General Motors acquired the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company of Pontiac, Michigan, the predecessor of GMC Truck. A Rapid became the first truck to conquer Pikes Peak in 1909. Durant lost control of GM in 1910 to the companys bankers, because of the large amount of debt taken on in its acquisitions. GM holds the biggest share in GM Daewoo Auto Technology Co. of South Korea and has product, powertrain and purchasing collaborations with Suzuki Motor Corp. and Isuzu Motors Ltd. of Japan. The company also has advanced technology partnership with Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan, DaimlerChrysler AG and BMW AG of Germany, and vehicle manufacturing Ventures with several automakers around the world, including Toyota, Suzuki, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation of China, AVTOVAZ of Russia and Renault SA of France. GM along with its strategic partners manufactures trucks cars in 31 countries, and the vehicles through these well-known brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, FAW, GMC, Daewoo, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. China is known to be the largest national market, followed by the U.S., Brazil, Germany, U.K., Canada, Italy. General Motors Company develops, produces, and markets cars, trucks, and parts worldwide. The company offers its products under the brand names of Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Daewoo, Holden, Opel, Isuzu, Vauxhall, Jiefang, FAW, and Wuling. The companys cars, trucks, and parts are marketed through retail dealers in North America, and through distributors and dealers outside of North America. In addition to the products it sells to its dealers for consumer retail sales, the company also sells cars and trucks to fleet customers, including daily rental car companies, commercial fleet customers, leasing companies, and governments. As of December 31, 2009, the company had 5,619 vehicle dealers in the U.S.; 568 in Canada; and 263 in Mexico. Additionally, there were a total of 14,317 distribution outlets throughout the rest of the world. Significant Events In February 2010, the company completed the sale of Saab Automobile AB to Spyker Cars NV. In September 2009, the company decided to wind-down the Saturn brand and dealership network. On August 18, 2010, General Motors Corporation is collaborating with SAIC Motor Corporation. The collaboration is targeted at developing 1.0 litre and 1.5 litre engines for small cars. On August 26, 2010, General Motors Company has collaborated with Bright Automotive, Inc. The collaboration is targeted at offering an electric commercial fleet vehicle. In October 2010, General Motors Company had set up a used car joint venture with Shanghai Automation Instrumentation Co., Ltd. to expand into an untapped segment of the worlds biggest auto market. Mission and vision GM is one of the respected auto companies in the world. It has a variety of products that ensure that the company is faring well in the market. The companys headquarters is located in New York, United States and looks forward to establishing an outlet in every country of the world. Product analyses The planning strategy is looking on how the GM products are faring in the world auto market. The existence of the company in the market is based on an extensive research that was carried out in the European market which shows that there is still large untapped market potential in the auto industry in Europe and other parts of the world. The GM Company specializes in Designing and making of automobiles, trucks, locomotives, and related parts such as chassis, interiors, drivetrains, and electronics (Brandi, 2007). The company employees more than 205,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 157 countries. GM and its strategic partners manufacture cars and trucks in 31 countries of the world. The SWOT analysis of General Motors is given below. Strengths 1. Large Market Share Although GMs market share in the US has dropped it is still very much competitive at 26 percent. They also have an increasing share in the Chinese market. With the right decisions there is no reason for GM to not become the automotive leader it once was. 2. Global Experience As explained above even with GMs recent decline they still have the market share and the experience to bounce back. They have been a worldwide company for nearly a century now and have established themselves as the global leader for most of them. If you recall I mentioned above that a current opportunity for GM is to expand globally and as we can see they already have the experience to do so. It is just a matter of the correct planning and proper implementation of those plans that will decided whether or not GMs goals are achieved. 3. Variety of Brand Names GM as I mentioned has been the automotive leader for the majority of the last century. A large reason for that is the wide variety of quality brand names that appeal to all target markets. The current GM brands include: Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, Buick, Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer, Saab, Daewoo, Opel, and Holden. 4. GMAC Customer Financing Program Since its establishment in 1919 it has proven to be GMs most reliable source of revenue. 5. OnStar Satellite Technology Developed in 1996 OnStar currently has over 3 million subscribers and is standard on all GM vehicles. This technology allows the vehicles to be tracked in the event of an emergency or theft. It also allows the driver and or passengers the ability to communicate with OnStar personnel at the click of a button. Weaknesses 1. Behind on Alternative Energy Movement This is GMs biggest weakness. The alternative energy/hybrid trend has begun to take place in the automotive industry and GM has been one step behind the competition in terms of alternative energy vehicles. This has led to many problems including loss of market share and a decrease in company profit. In order for any automotive company to be successful from this point forward they must be Hybrid friendly and fuel efficient. 2. Poor Organizational Structure As we can see in exhibit 1 of the case GMs organizational structure seems to be too vertically integrated. This causes a lack of communication between employees from top to bottom and may have played a part in GM falling behind on the alternative energy movement. 3. Stagnant Profitability Looking at GMs profit we see that they are certainly struggling with respect to the size of their company. Their profit margin was about 1.5% and the ROE has dramatically decreased over the recent years dropping to 10% in 2004. This is a situation that shareholders will not be pleased with. 4. Overly Dependent on US market GM has become too dependent on the US market and must take advantage of the opportunity to expand globally. The competition is becoming too strong to focus on just one country. 5. Overly Dependent on General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) Financing GM has become too dependent on its financing program. Granted it is a great strength for GM, however they once again cannot rely solely on financing in order to turn profit, especially if they want to compete with Honda and Toyota who are rapidly growing. 6. Poor Credit Status GMs credit status has like everything else has been steadily declining. Their current ratio is just barely above 1 and their acid test is even lower. Although, I dont see them getting denied based on their credit at this point, the seriousness of the matter is certainly apparent. Opportunities Produce fuel-efficient, smaller, and higher-quality models that can attract the consumers. Chinese government condensed automotive taxes in order to encourage declining sales. In February 2009; citing declining manufacturing numbers, the State Bank of India decreased interest rates on automotive loans. Establish or Equip facilities to manufacture advanced technology vehicles that would meet up certain fuel economy and emissions standards. One of the big opportunities is to shift manufacturing to other amenities in order to produce in-demand vehicles. Manufacturing could be done in those countries where the labor as well as material cost is low. Diversification in other related and unrelated products or shifting to the hybrid electric engines. The purchasing power of consumers is increasing due to end of financial crisis 2007-10. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The firm can use the knowledge that it gained from Toyota Nummi joint venture and Saturn experience. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ It should build its image and gain more share in the market with its newly build confidence regarding the customers. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ New car models and designs should be introduced keeping in mind the customer preferences, because in the automobile industry, the needs of the customer are the valid puncture points that will provide profitability if concerned with delicately. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Expansion of their business processes, but also keeping in mind the preferential influence of the customers. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ VEBA can help General Motors save up to $2.5 to $2.8 billion a year in cash if the process is implemented strictly. 8. Alternative Energy Movement It is obvious that GM was behind its competition with regards to the research and development of hybrid vehicles. However hybrid technology is still very much new giving GM the opportunity to once again become the automotive industrys leader in innovation and technology. 9. Continuing to Expand Globally. Recently GM saw an increase in the Chinese automotive market, which proves their needs to be more emphasis put on foreign markets. If GM can infiltrate these markets and successfully grow along with their continuing focus on the US market they will be headed in a positive direction. 10. Low Interest Rates With the right marketing strategy the low interest rates have the potential to generate an immediate increase in sales. 11. Develop New Vehicle Styles and Models This is an opportunity that will never be satisfied, meaning that GM should always be attempting to develop the automotive worlds most popular vehicles, and as we know, what is in today will be out tomorrow. Threats The automotive industry crisis of 2008-2010 was the big downturn. Now it is challenge for industry players to recover. The financial crisis of 2007-10 caused by a liquidity deficit in the U.S banking system resulted decrease in consumer wealth. The crisis mainly felt in the U.S and also affected Asian and European automobile manufacturers. Car companies from North America, Europe, and Asia have implemented innovative marketing strategies to attract disinclined consumers. Major producers, including the Toyota and Big Three offered significant discounts across their lineups. North American consumers shifted to more fuel-efficient and higher-quality product of European and Japanese automakers. Environmental politics and allied anxiety concerning carbon emissions have sharp sensitivity to environmental protection worldwide and gas mileage standards. U.S manufacturers are facing soaring gasoline prices, health care costs for an aging workforce, dependence on declining SUV and eroding market share. The company is facing very high labor and raw material cost as compared to Asian manufacturers. GM is also facing criticism on its culture and corporate practices. In 2007, its employees union went on the first countrywide strike due to which a transmission facility and two car assembly plants were closed down. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The industry although has matured considerably, but there is still room for more improvements, and due to which new entrants are entering the market even though the competition is already tough. (New entrants, not likely pose much of a threat, although Domestic and Foreign competition both act as active threats for the firm that has already gone through losing its market share.) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Regulations and legislative authorities engaging the industry more actively. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Consumer lawsuits are also present to be accounted for. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Japan being a high manufacturing ground for automobiles, is being affected by the decline in its currency Yen. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Current threat to the image of the GM is posed by the Senator Charles Grassley has accused GM for using bailout money to bailout of the loans it had taken from the U.S. and Canadian Govt. (The money used were paid, not through GMs profitability, but it was yet another loan acquired, so it is accused.) 11. Rising Fuel Prices With GM being a large producer in both trucks and SUVs, sales have drastically decreased due to the lack of fuel efficiency. The rise in fuel prices has played a significant role in creating the opportunity for development of both hybrid and more fuel efficient vehicles. As you will find with most threats, an equal opportunity will usually emerge as is the case here with GMs opportunity mentioned above. 12. Growth of Competitors GM no longer has the luxury of being the known leader in the automotive industry and faces the reality that they are in serious trouble. As I mentioned earlier Toyota took the first step in the direction of hybrid technology and has since drastically grown and become the questionable automotive frontrunner to start the 21st century. 13. Pension Payouts. Part of this threat is their own doing and the other is simply unavoidable. GM is responsible for providing generous pension benefits to its employees, which at the time seemed like a great idea, however they are now experiencing problems as more and more people begin to collect. 14. Increased Health Care Costs GM, like many large companies with quality employee health care benefits, is experiencing a large financial hit that only gets worse as time continues. 15. Rising Supply Costs, i.e. Steel Once again this threat affects the entire automotive industry and forces each company to cut manufacturing and production costs as much as possible, without taking away from the quality of the product. OVERALL POSITION The current global crisis has affected almost all aspects of the economy. It has resulted to borrowing of money by the companies from the government and General Motors (GM) and Chrysler are among these companies. GM has already borrowed 13 .4 billion from the Treasury Department but they announced that they need 30 billion in total to compensate for the declining auto market. Chrysler on the other hand needs 9 billion in total. Since the General Motors has issued to be resolved, then GM will have a hard time coping up with the crisis. Two of the major issues are (1 ) GM needs to drop their unsecured debt burden from 27 billion to 9 billion which still has to be negotiated with the bondholders and (2 ) the debt of GM to United Auto Workers (UAW ) which amounted to 20 billion . GM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard Wagoners plan for the company is to pay its debt and reduce its long-term debts thus making the company economically viable. Wagoner claims that if their turnaroun d plan will work then GM will profit within 24 months. General Motors already presented their plan to the bondholders and it is up to them to scrutinize the plan and conform for a deal to be done. With the General Motor s new CEO , Mr . Frederick Fritz Henderson s determination to reorganize the company , and the US government s strong effort to support the ailing businesses , recovery would be possible for General Motors . General Motors Corporation gets into supervised bankruptcy as the new strategy upon the advise of Steven Rattner , President Obama s auto task force chief (Whoriskey . Bankruptcy is the term given once a company seeks for financial aide in form of loan from the government however , this agreement involves direct intervention and manipulation of the government in the overall operation of the company bankruptcy is another President Obama s strategy to help in the recovery of the economy of the United States . The initial impacts of this agreement between GM and US government are the firing of GM s former boss Rick Wagoner and the formulation of new business plan for submission within sixty days . The new business plan , which was submitted to the US governm ent in December last year constitutes new strategies and endeavor that will benefit in the recovery of General Motors Corporation . In the restructuring plan submitted to Senate Banking Committee and House of Representatives Financial Services Committee , new approaches are outlined with the hope to competitively dominate the market once again . CONCLUSION A SWOT analysis is a popular decision making tool in business which analyzes the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the organization in relation to a specific objective. This decision making technique can also be used for making personal decisions and in a variety of different situations.

Optimizing Chloroquine to Make a Better Drug to Fight Malaria Essay

Optimizing Chloroquine to Make a Better Drug to Fight Malaria Abstract: Malaria has haunted man for centuries. Humanities experiments in drugs allowed for the discovery of chloroquine, perhaps the most successful cure against the parasitic infection. However, a new strain of malaria, plasmodium falciparum, has proven to be resistant against chloroquine and other cures we have for this virulent disease. Should man then cast aside this antique drug? Not before trying to optimize it to once again combat malaria. There has been a disease that has never been completely assessed nor understood, yet it has been a scourge to humanity for centuries. Consequently, it has never quite been fought off. Malaria has haunted man for millennium, and even today we are really unable to claim conquest over it, as it still infects millions of victims every year, killing close to a million each year (WebMed). How then has malaria been nearly eradicated in North America and Europe? There are drugs that fight malaria, the most famous of which is probably chloroquine, one of the oldest drugs made by man. Chloroquine is one of now several drugs that have fought malaria to the tropics, but now has become almost useless against a new, drug resistant strain of malaria, Plasmodium falciparum. P. falciparum has perhaps come to claim the title of the most virulent strain of malaria as well. Today it is certainly the deadliest, requiring specialized treatment that might not exist in the poorer tropic regions where it is most rampant. Even now, research against this strain of malaria is ongoing, in the hope to find a cure. Where can this be found? One of the most explored methods is optimizing the drugs we have, particularly chloroquine. I... ... I made in GaussView should not be considered the only or even the best changes. For instance, replacing all the nitrogens with oxygens, I completely changed how it would react to acidic conditions. The extra rings I added increased the molecular weight, in some cases to huge proportions that violated lipinskis rules. By changing the way this molecule bonds, very likely I made this drug very poisonous. It could take years, but eventually this drug could be optimized to fight plasmodium again. Perhaps humanity’s defense against malaria will again come from this nearly antique drug. Plasmodium in the blood. Bibliography weblogs.madrimasd.org/images/weblogs_madrimas WebMed. Malaria. July 12, 2008 Westerfield, Scott. Peeps. Razorbill, 2006. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Chloroquine. July 16, 2008. Zimmer, Carl. Parasite Rex. Simon and Schuster, 2000.

How Do You Define Success?

Success is defined differently by different people. For some, success means becoming rich, for others reaching high social position. Everyone has his / her own definition of success. Depending on how you see the world, your definition of success will differ from others. However, achieving success is far from easy. Depending on the definition of success, it can be achieved through many ways and come in different forms. Nonetheless, whether small or big, success in any form carries the same worth as long as people continue to strive for it.There are many different ways to achieving success, you should just consider which way is the most appropriate for your desired results. Perseverance also plays a role, if you are willing to put in the effort; you will achieve more success and thus will be more satisfied in the end. To achieve success you should never give up. There is no use in just waiting for wishes and dreams to come true. Success can only be achieved if people learn from their m istakes.You never come close to success unless you experience failure. Believe me; you can embrace success if you only believe in yourself and your abilities. Moris Meterling said, â€Å"People are born of their thought, so think positively. † In short, no matter what situation you are involved in, in order for your goal to be achieved, you must always give your best effort, persevere, learn from your mistakes and believe in yourself. The most important thing to remember is that all you achieved is only to your benefit.

Rape Culture Essay

In the United States, rape has become one of the most underreported crimes each year (â€Å"Reporting Rape† 1). The term rape culture refers to how our society has taught women how not to be raped instead of teaching men not to rape. Through jokes and the sexualization of women we are more likely to believe rape is not a big crisis in our nation. Rape culture leads to the acceptance of rape as a natural occurrence through images that objectify women, media, and the stigmatization of rape victims. In our culture we are made to believe that victims should be blamed for their own abuse according to their state of mind or what they were wearing at the time. Rape culture has become such a major part of own lives that we don’t know its even happening. In todays society, women have become such a â€Å"sex† object from the media, movies, and advertisement, or even jokes. Through images that dehumanize women, they turn them into objects, leading to the increase of violence towards women. In a Stop Violence Against Women event students face the issue face on and said: When the media objectifies women, it also creates an analogous definition of masculinity. She added that the media imposes these societal roles, causing people to ignore complex human personalities and identities (Turmam 1). The over-sexualization of women in today’s media gives women the wrong hopes. At one-angle women see sex as a necessity to be in todays â€Å"norms† but not to put themselves out enough to be sexually assaulted. The word â€Å"slut† has oppressed women by telling them to dress a certain way, where to go or not go, who to talk to and who not to talk to. â€Å"Slut† shaming is an act of shaming a person based on how much they flaunt their sexuality. Taking the word too lightly can have awful consequences on how rape will be justified. Women who show too much skin or dress provocative are labeled as â€Å"sluts† and are tormented as well as looked at with less respect. Women should be able to wear whatever choice of clothing they want, go out where they want and not be in constant fear of rape. We are living in a culture where survivors are afraid to speak up (Kacmarek 2). Most women are afraid that by speaking up they are putting themselves out to be judged. People around us judge a person who has been raped not on the  circumstances but by the type of clothing they were wearing, saying that they have â€Å"lost their self-respect† which means they might have brou ght it upon themselves. Research has found that an increase in sexist jokes can have a negative outcome for rape victims (Viki 1). By creating a society that looks down on those who show their sexuality, it creates fear when women are sexually assaulted. This also makes men believe that it is â€Å"okay† to come onto women. Nobody but the rapist should be blamed for the abuse that happened. No one ever asks to get raped, in any situation. Jessica Valenti confronts the issue of â€Å"no means no†: Until American culture and law frames sexual consent, as proactively, enthusiastically given, there will be no justice for rape victims. Its time for the U.S to lose the â€Å"no means no† model for understanding sexual assault and focus â€Å"only yes’ means yes† instead (Broderick 3) America has looked at consent is such a loose way. Many forget that â€Å" no† does not mean â€Å"convince me.† A survey reveals that many people between the ages of 14-25 do not actually learn about consent in mandatory sex-education classes (Broderick 2). A consent sex does not mean there wasn’t a no, but rather that the yes was not forced upon by convincing or hostile situation where they feel like th ey were pressured to say yes. Also that being when people are under the influence or even unconscious, just because they didn’t say no does not mean that it gives the right for a person to have sex with him. Two people consenting is a necessity when it comes to sex. Many people are not aware of how frightening the statistics involving sexual assault is. The crime of rape is at an alarmingly high rate due to the fact that â€Å"slut†-shaming and victim shaming, many are afraid to speak up about rape. Every year there is 237,868 people sexually assaulted (â€Å"Statistics† 1) Only 40% of rapes actually reported to the police (â€Å"Reporting Rates† 1) That means that 60% are too afraid to report a sexual assault and many rapist getting away for what they have done and possibly doing it again. Out of the 40% of rapes that are actually reported 3% of rapist will ever spend a day in prison (â€Å"Reporting Rates† 1). There is no justice for women in the United States who are being raped. Angie Epifano states how rape is somehow have to more â€Å"legitimate† compared to other crimes: If you were mugged in New York City people would be horrified. No one is going to sit there and say ‘Are  you sure you were mu gged?’ With sexual assault there is always this question of ‘Are you sure?’ ‘What were you wearing?’(Kacmarek 2) Men rape on a daily basis because they know they can get away with it. Our culture has become so involved in bashing others on how to dress or how to act we have forgotten that it is not the victims fault, but that people rape because they are rapists. Another thing that most people forget is that rapes do not happen by random strangers. Most rapes happen by the people we know, friends or family. We are afraid that to face the fact that the rape is not only committed by evil psychopaths but instead by those who we look up to or those who we’ve got to know the best (Broderick 1). About â…” of rapes are committed by someone the victim knows (â€Å"Statistics† 1). Some of best examples how rape culture has taken such huge effect in the United States is in the media. Rapists are made to look like victims in today’s society. A culture where it’s believed that â€Å"boys will be boys,† where men cannot control themselves if they see women in revealing clothing. In the media, rape culture has affected the way rape cases are looked at. The bias opinions on the way news coverage looks at the rapes have been having a negative effect on the viewers. A prime example of this is seen in the rape case in Steubenville, Ohio. The trial was against two young men, Trent Mays and Ma’lik Richmond, both in high school. These two boys raped a unconscious girl who was highly intoxicated. They referred to this young 16 year old as the â€Å"dead girl,† but in trial denied knowing that they were raping her because it â€Å"wasn’t violent†(Plank 1). A person who is unconscious is unable to consent any type of penetrati on. Just because there isn’t a no, does not mean that means that is what the girl wants. Silence is not consent. Rape is usually not violent or forced. The two boys continued to urinate on her, live-text, and disseminated naked pictures of the victim (Plank 1). During this many watched as the girl was being raped, most laughed and took pictures as this was happening. This rape trial is being dismissed because she was not saying â€Å"no† during this. Rape apology in the media was clearly shown when CNN, covered and responded the rape trial. Finally a trial where the rapists were sent to jail the way the reporter dismissed the rape and instead victimized the rapist. Poppy Harlow went on to discuss on how deeply sorry she was for this rapist: I’ve never  experienced anything like it Candy. It was incredibly difficult even for an outsider like me to watch as these two young men that had much promising future, star football players, very good students literally watch as they believed their lives fell apart (Plank 1). Here she makes the rapist seem like a victim when he was the one that made the decision to rape and hurt another human being. Even one of the nicest guys can rape. No one but the rapist should be blamed for violence they inflicted on the others. No matter what the girl was wearing or how her state of mind was, no one but the rapist should be blamed. â€Å"As long as we publicly sympathize with rapist, we are glorifying them. Rapist deserve no apology, rape victims do† (Plank 2) Therefore, there is conclusive evidence that rape culture is prevalent in the United States. Our culture has desensitized and minimized traumatic experiences for its victims. Women are being dehumanized because of they are objectified and over-sexualized. Victim blaming has become such a norm in our society we forget that no one but a rapist should be blamed for what they have done. Statics show how there is not justice for women, when men are not being put away for their crime. Culturally men and women are taking bias sides because of sexist ways that the victim is somehow responsible for being raped.

The pathogenesis of measles virus infection The WritePass Journal

The pathogenesis of measles virus infection Introduction The pathogenesis of measles virus infection IntroductionInfection and SpreadThe virusInfectionSpreadSymptomsSubacute sclerosing panencephalitisVaccinationAttenuated virus vaccineOther virus vaccines(2134 words excluding Refs. And plagiarism statement)References:Related Introduction Measles is one of the most important contagious diseases of mankind. It remains one of the leading causes of infant deaths in developing countries (1). In 1998 the world health organisation (WHO) estimated that despite all the efforts to eradicate measles it still accounted for more than 30 million infections and 1 million deaths every year (2). Most of infections, it is believed are from countries where vaccination has not been taken up properly and developing countries where vaccination programmes are not that robust. Measles is very infections with an infection rate of 90% (3) when susceptible individuals are exposed to the organism that causes measles. This organism is an RNA virus of the genus morbillivirus, hence measles sometimes being referred to as morbilli. This virus belongs to the virus family of the Paramyxoviridae (4). The measles virus is transmitted through bodily fluids mainly as aerosols (airborne exposure) or droplets (5). It enters the host through the respiratory tract and immediately starts to replicate in the epithelial cells of the respiratory tract (6), from here the virus start to invade some cells of the immune system in the lymph nodes particularly the monocytes (7) through which it then spreads to rest of the host body. Measles is a self limiting disease, which means it will normally resolve itself after a few weeks, but because measles also induces a transient profound immunosupression (8), most of its victims succumb to fatal opportunistic infections. Without these infections the host will normally clear the virus from its system as illustrated by the graph below. Fig.  1.  Pathogenesis of measles in-host. The level of measles virus in the plasma is plotted versus day of infection (7) It should be noted that in very rare cases the measles virus cannot be cleared from the host and persist in the host system in what is termed persistent measles virus (PMV). This is the cause of most measles complications which includes a subacute sclerosing pan encephalitis (SSPE) (5)(9) which may occur in about 1:10 000 measles cases (9) and inclusion encephalitis (5) which may occur if the host does not have adequate cellular response to the infection. Infection and Spread Clinical symptoms of measles include fever, malaise, coryza (runny nose), conjunctivitis and tracheobronchitis (10). Other symptoms that appear at a later stage during infection are the Koplik’s spots,   10-12 days post exposure, and erythmatous maculopapular rash which appears at around day 14 (5). Symptoms like diarrhoea and pneumonia, which are from opportunistic infections, will not be discussed here as they are not a direct result of the measles virus. The direct results will be discussed later in this essay after discussing how the virus infects and spread around the host body. To fully understand the mechanism of measles virus infection, one has to understand the measles virus structure. The virus As a morbillivirus in the paramyxoviridae family, the measles virus is a negative, single strand enveloped RNA virus (11). It is about 150-300 nm in diameter and has a lipid bilayer surrounding the RNA forming the envelope. Protruding from this envelope are two glycoprotein ligands called haemagglutinin (H) and fusion (F), necessary for virus attachment to host cells. The RNA is enclosed in a nucleoprotein (N) and associated with two proteins called phosphoprotein (P) and large protein (L) (12). See diagram below for a schematic picture of measles virus. Fig. 2 Showing the components and structure of measles virus. (5) The lipid envelope on the outside of the virus is acquired from the host cell during budding (13), because this outer layer is made up of host material it becomes difficult for the body’s immune system to detect the virus as non-self in the initial stages of infection enabling the virus to gain a foothold. Directly beneath the lipid envelop is the matrix (M), a protein that is important in virus replication as it facilitates the assembly of virus particles to the cell surface membrane during budding (5). The nucleoprotein (N) forms a protective sheath around the virus RNA called the nucleocapsid. The associated proteins P and L have been suggested to act as virus polymerase by some studies (12), helping in RNA replication. Then there are the two glycoproteins H and F. As their names suggest, they are responsible for anchoring the virus to the host cell and penetration of the cell membrane. The haemagglutinin binds (agglutinates) the virus to the host cell receptor (CD46, to be discussed later) and the fusion protein fuses the virus envelope with the cell membrane (5). Infection The infective process occurs in two key stages of attachment and fusion. In order for the virus genome to gain entry into the host cell and start replicating it needs to â€Å"catch† and â€Å"inject† host cells with its genome. The â€Å"catching† of host cells occurs when the virus haemagglutinin protein (H) attaches to the host cell receptor CD46. CD46 in the human cell act as a co-factor for serine protease degradation of C3b and C4b (14), these are the complement proteins of the immune system hence immunosupression by the measles virus. Studies (15) suggest that there exist more undefined virus receptors that enable the virus to attach to its host cells. The formation of syncytiae, cell-to-cell contact, also allows virus to spread to other cells (5). The â€Å"injecting† of host cells with the virus genome occurs during fusion, and the processes are less understood. It is thought that the same fusion processes occur for all enveloped virus, and studies (16) on human immune-deficiency virus (HIV) has shed some light into this. Two glycoproteins are involved, gp41 and gp120. gp41 is anchored onto the virus envelope and gp120 attaches to the host cell CD4 receptor next to the CCR5 co-receptor. Structural changes then occur whereby the gp41 is driven into the membrane of the host cell thereby linking the two cells (virus and host). The whole structure of gp41, gp120, co-rector CCR5 and CD4 receptor then collapses leaving the two membranes in apposition for fusion (16). Spread As discussed earlier, the virus enters the host through the respiratory tract, where it replicated in the epithelial cells. Then it infects cells of the immune system, monocytes are the mostly affected cells (6,7). B and T lymphocytes are also infected but at less proportions as compared to monocytes. This amplification of the virus occurs in the lymph nodes of the host (5). Monocytes, B and T lymphocytes are cell of the peripheral blood and therefore circulate around the body, carrying with them the virus and spreading the infection to other parts of the body including the skin, gastro-intestinal tract, liver and the central nervous system. Disseminated virus proliferation occurs in the epithelial and endothelial cells of the blood vessels and other infected organs. Another mode of spread (mentioned earlier)   is the formation of syncytia, not   only do infected cells aggregate together, they can also form syncytia with non infected cells therefore infecting them in the process. Symptoms The symptoms of measles infections as mentioned earlier are fever, malaise, coryza, conjunctivitis, cough and Koplik’s spots in the oral cavity, later on the erythmatous maculopapular rash appears.   These symptoms are tied with the immune’s response as the virus infection progresses. From day 0 when the virus first enters the host to around day 8, the first response from the immune system is the innate one, which is characterised by inflammation, giving rise to fever and general body malaise. As the virus continues to replicate in the epithelial cell of the host especially the nasal cavity (causing coryza), the trachea and bronchus (causing coughs), the nasolacrimal duct (causing conjunctivitis) and the oral epithelia cells (causing Koplik’s spots), it irritates these mucosal surfaces and cause their inflammation. The appearance of Koplik’s spots is diagnostic of measles (7) and it signals the appearance of early symptoms and viral load start to peak in the blood (refer to fig 1 for the measles timeline in-host infection). These spots are transient and last for only about 3 to 4 days; also it is about this time that the adaptive immune response starts to kick in. At day 14 the viral load is at its peak and the adaptive immune response is fully operational and is clearing the pathogen from the system, the formation of the immune complex on the skin as the virus gets cleared result in the measles rash signalling cytotoxic T cell clearance of virus-infected cells (5, 7). After peak levels of the virus, following successful adaptive immune response, the virus levels drop and the immunological memory begins (7). In rare circumstances the virus can persist in the host, causing complications (17). One of these complications is the subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), discussed below. Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis This is one of the complications of persistent measles virus infection; it affects the central nervous system of children who are infected by measles virus at a very early age (18). These children normally lack the maternal antibodies in their circulation to help combat the infection at its early stages. Studies (19) found that 50-75% of children who develop SSPE had measles infection before the age of two and also the prevalence rates of SSPE are 1:10 000 cases (9). This complication can take a very long time to manifest itself, with an average time of 8 years before SSPE symptoms appear and the reported range is between 9 months and 30 years (9). The disease leads to neurological deficits and eventually the patient dies (20). The other two measles complication worth mentioning are progressive measles inclusion body encephalitis (MIBE) which can occur in patients who are immunocompromised, and the post infection encephalomyelitis which is an autoimmune disorder that attacks the myel in sheath covering neurons. Recovery from measles (assuming opportunistic infections have not prompted medical intervention) requires both the humoral and cell mediated immune response. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes clear infected host cells and measles antibodies reduce free viral load by serum neutralisation (5) these antibodies can also be directed directly against the virus. The humoral response as usual is mostly for preventing re-infection and is involved in building immunity, a process taken advantage of by vaccine developers. After cytotoxic clearance of infected cells; there follows an immunologic type 2dominance where cytokines IL4, IL5 and IL10 are secreted by type 2 CD4+ T cells (21). Vaccination Many virus infections are untreatable, they are either self limiting, maim, or kill the host, so the only intervention that is available is to prevent infection in the first place. As noted from fig 1, after day 21 when the pathogen has been cleared, immunological memory is activated. This activation of immunological memory can only happen after the host has encountered the measles virus. Subsequent infections are met with a robust humoral response and the virus does not progress to cause infection. This is the basis of immunisation, the host immune system has to be introduced to the virus first, and as there is a risk of the virus overwhelming the immune system most virus used in vaccines are â€Å"controlled†. Attenuated virus vaccine Once the measles virus was isolated and cultivated by Enders and Peebles (5) it was then able to be manipulated. They found that the virus once cultured in chick embryos was attenuated in virulence and immunogenic enough to stimulate the host immune system to produce antibodies against it and remembering it (22). Work to produce a licensed measles vaccine begun in 1958 (5) and by 1963 the first licensed measles vaccine, RUBEOVAX ®, was available. In 1968 a more attenuated vaccine ATTENUVAX ® was licensed. As more vaccines for viruses e.g. mumps and rubella were developed there was a need to combine the doses into one single shot. In 1971 (5) a trivalent vaccine with all the three vaccines, measles-mumps-rubella was licensed. In recent times a fourth vaccine has been added to the MMR vaccine, resulting in a tetravalent vaccine MMRV (23). The fourth vaccine is a chicken pox vaccine, varicella. Other virus vaccines Other less favourable virus vaccines exist. Experiments were done on high titre vaccines by Sabin et al (5). These were aimed at infants who are at risk because they have circulating maternal measles antibodies which prevent vaccine uptake by neutralising it. The other vaccine, an inactivated measles virus vaccine produced by killing the virus in formalin was produced and licensed in 1963. It fell out of favour because the immunity if offered lasted for only one year and it had to be taken in three doses (5). With vaccination and great knowledge gained from studying measles it can be said that total eradication of the virus is possible. It is the beliefs and cultures of people that are slowing this up because they are not taking up vaccination. (2134 words excluding Refs. And plagiarism statement) References: Mrkic B, Pavlovic J, Rulicke T, Volpe P, Buchholtz C.J, Hourcade D, Atkinson J.P, Aguzzi A, and Cattaneo R. Measles virus spread and pathogenisis in Genetically modified mice, Journal of Virology (1998), 72, 7420-7427 World Health Organisation. Standardization of the nomenclature for describing the genetic characteristics of wild-type measles viruses. Weekly Epidemiological Record (1998);73:265–272 Clements CJ, Cutts FT. The epidemiology of measles: thirty years of vaccination. In: Meulen V, Billeter MA, editors. Measles Virus. Berlin: Springer Verlag, (1994) Lamb RA, Kolakofsky D. Paramyxoviridae: the viruses and their replication. In: Fields BN, Knipe DM, Howley PM, editors. Fields virology. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven, (1996). p. 1177–1204 [Chapter 40] Hilleman M.R, Current overview of the pathogenesis and prophylaxis of measles with focus on practical implications, Vaccine (2002), 20, 651-665 Salonen, R., Ilonen, J., Salmi, A, Measles virus infection of unstimulated blood mononuclear cells in vitro: antigen expression and virus production preferentially in monocytes. Clin. Exp. Immunol. (1988). 71, 224–228. Heffernan J.M, and Keeling M.J, An in-host model of acute infection: Measles as a case study, Theretical Population biol, (2008), 73, 134-147 Saimi AA, Suppression of T-cell immunity after measles infection: is the puzzle solved? Trend Microbiol (1997) 5: 85–86 Takasu, T., Mgone, J.M., Mgone, C.S., Miki, K., Komase, K., Namae, H., Saito, Y., Kokubun, Y., Nishimura, T., Kawanishi, R., Mizutani, T., Markus, T.J., Kono, J., Asuo, P.G., Alpers, M.P. A continuing high incidence of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. Epidemiol. Infect. (2003) 131, 887–898. Griffin DE. Immune responses during measles virus infection. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol (1995);191:117–34. Naniche D, Varior-Krishnan G, Cervoni F, Wild F.T, Rossi B, Rabourdin-Combe C and Gerlier D. Human membrane cofactor protein (CD46) acts as a cellular receptor for measles virus, Journal of Virology (1993) 67, 6025-6032 Horikami S.M and Moyer S.A, Structure, transcription, and replication of measles virus, Curr. Top. Microbiol. Immunol. (1995), 191, 35–50 Owen P, Jennifer E. Garrus and Wesley I. Sundquist. Mechanisms of enveloped RNA virus budding. Trends in Cell Biology, (2002),12,   569-579 Hughson F.M, Enveloped viruses: a common mode of membrane fusion?, Curr. Biol. (1997), 7. 565–569 Bartz R, Firschung R, Rima B, ter Meulen V, Schneider-Schaulies J. Differential receptor usage by measles virus strains. J Gen Virol (1998), 79:1015–1025. Chan DC, Kim PS. HIV entry and its inhibition. Cell (1998),93:681–684. Griffin DE, Bellini WJ. Measles virus. In: Fields BN, Knipe DM, Howley PM, editors. Fields virology. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven, 1996. p. 1267–1312 [Chapter 3. Dimova P, Bojinova V. Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis with atypical onset: clinical, computed tomographic and magnetic resonance imaging correlations. J Child Neurol (2000);15:258- 61. Dunn RA. Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. Pediatr Infect Dis J (1991); 10: 68-72. Rima K.B, and Duplex W.P, Molecular mechanisms of measles virus persistent. Virus research (2005), 111; 132-147 Karp CL. Measles, immunosuppression, interleukin-12 and complement receptors. Immunol Rev (1999); 168: 91–101. Katz SL, Enders JF. Immunization of children with a live attenuated measles virus. Am J Dis Child (1959); 98: 605–7 Vesikari T, Sadzot-Delvaux C, Rentier B, Gershon A. Increasing coverage and efficiency of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine and introducing universal varicella vaccination in Europe: a role for the combined vaccine. Pediatr Infect Dis J (2007) 26 (7): 632–8

How to do job interview and Questionnaire about the Morrison Company Essay

How to do job interview and Questionnaire about the Morrison Company - Essay Example These open-ended questions will develop the interviewer’s understanding of the interviewee’s strengths and weaknesses pertaining to the duties and responsibilities that the job requires. These questions also give insight in the interviewee’s work experience, elicit opinions from them and give some indication of their suitability for the job (Department of Civil Service, 2008). The structure of the interview can follow a six-point format. Firstly, introduce yourself and greet the interviewee with a smile. Secondly, go through their application form and C.V. with them and ask them to provide more details on his/her previous job responsibilities, duties and projects they may have completed. Their responses will imply what they find interesting or challenging, how suitable they are for the job and how good their communication skills are. Thirdly, give the interviewee the job description verbally and summarize the main duties and responsibilities. Fourthly, to gain as much information that is feasible as to the interviewee’s suitability for the job, encourage expansive responses with open-ended questions, such as those suggested below. Fifthly, ask the interviewee if they have any questions regarding the job or the company, and that either the interviewer or the Personnel Office will be there to answer any questions that may come to mind after the inter view has ended. Lastly, end the interview by stating what will happen next in the hiring process, and thank them for their time (Department of Civil Service, 2008). Allbusiness.com. (2008). How to Conduct an Effective Employee Interview. [Online]. Available at: http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/workforce-management-hiring-interviewing/1253-1.html. [Assessed 23 November 2008]. Department of Civil Service. (2008). How to Conduct a Job Interview. [Online]. New State Department of Civil Service. Available at:

Challenges, solutions, benefits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Challenges, solutions, benefits - Essay Example The reason for the many complications in patient’s condition is the inability of staff to recognize significant changes on the physical condition of the patient: breathing, skin colour, etc. In 2004, the Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI), in line with its 100,000 lives campaign, â€Å"encouraged American hospitals to implement rapid response teams (RRTs) (20). The major purpose of RRT is to preclude the possibility of deaths outside the intensive care unit (ICU) by â€Å"providing a resource team that can be called to a patient’s bedside† (21) all the time. As a matter of fact, a patient’s baseline condition starts to aggravate for an average 6.5 hours before a much more critical situation could occur; and what is more interesting is that 70% of these conditions can be prevented. The early detection of the possible signs of attacks by an RRT could do a lot to reduce the number of deaths and the rate of transferring patient to higher levels of care . RRT intervention has contributed to 50% decrease on the number of cardiac arrest cases outside the intensive care unit; the rate of transfer of patient to the ICU was decreased by 58%; and deaths due to operative complications were reduced to 37%. An RRT is an immediate response team that may be composed of the following: (1) physician and nurse; (2) intensivist and respiratory therapist; (3) physician assistant alone; (4) a critical care nurse and respiratory therapist; or (5) a clinical specialist alone.