Unit case study Free Essays

Technical Institute Skin cancer, otherwise known as skin melanoma, has become a serious epidemic in the United States over the last several years. Approximately one in 60 people will develop some form of skin cancer in their life time. With tanning beds and extended outdoor tanning becoming more common, as well as â€Å"being tan† become the new beauty tip. We will write a custom essay sample on Unit case study or any similar topic only for you Order Now However, genetics still plays a very important role in skin cancer. It has been said that people with minimal melanin genes, the gene that determines hair and eye color, are more susceptible to skin cancer to do their light hair, eyes and fair kin. Most skin cancer cases are caused by ultraviolet rays, however, approximately five percent of cases are inherited. The risk of melanoma is doubled in the first degree relatives of those who have had melanoma. (Stamp-Posthumous J, Van Dunedin C, Schaffer E, Pink J, Bergman W, 2001 ;44:22-7). The most common type of skin cancer in the United States is Basal Cell (2014 Stanford medicine) Pigments are what give your skin its color. Melanin, carotene and hemoglobin are three different types of pigment that affect your skin color. When you are in the sun the ultraviolet rays activate the melancholy’s which produce melanin. The melanin Is what causes your skin to tan. This helps protect your skin from damage. Melanin absorbs ultraviolet rays and prevents the rays from damaging or affecting the DNA In epidermal cells. It has also been studied that due to the ozone layer depleting over the years, your own pigment can no longer handle the strength of the ultraviolet rays, also contributing to the increase in melanoma (Chickasaws T, Kodak K, Amounts J, Takeaway S). With all of the new Information and studies available to today there Is no reason to doubt the importance of wearing sunscreen whenever you are exposed to the sun for extended periods of time. How to cite Unit case study, Free Case study samples

Introduction myself free essay sample

Book review of Uncommon Super Bowl winning coach and author Tony Dungy reflects on what it takes to achieve significance in life in his book titled Uncommon. He is looked to by many as the epitome of the success and significance that is highly valued in our culture from the dominance of athleticism in society. In his book he gives examples of young men who are trying to achieve significance through football and all that goes with a professional athletic career, such as money, power, and a celebrity status.Tony Dungy has had all of that, but he passionately believes that there is a different path to significance, a path characterized by attitudes, ambitions, and loyalties that is rewarding in the end. Uncommon reveals lessons on achieving a meaning in life that the coach has learned from his parents, his athletic and coaching career, his mentors, and his experiences with God. We will write a custom essay sample on Uncommon or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page A big focus of Dungy’s book tells what it means to be a man in a culture that is losing chivalry and respect towards others.The book is filled with references from Scripture on many of its pages, and also includes quotes from authors and famous figures. As you read you can tell that Dungy tries to use his fame to communicate about life and how to live it. He tells stories without sounding as if he is preaching to his readers. Its tone is gentle, and reads much like a conversation with a friend. The primary audience of these messages is men, especially young men and young fathers. Dungy focuses on a wide variety of topics including subjects not talked about very often.In it, he talks about some of his most painful tragedies and greatest victories. With chapters on failure, sex, the treatment of women, and respecting others, Uncommon has little in common with most football books. There are many interesting insights into various events in the last several years for football fans. He talks about the hiring of Mike Tomlin, and the role Dungy played in Tomlins hiring in Pittsburgh. Tony reveals how devastating certain losses were for him, such as the 41-0 loss to the Jets and the 2005 loss to the Steelers in the playoffs.He also explained in detail his decision to move his family to Tampa last year, while he continued to work in Indianapolis. He went into great detail about the whys and hows of the decision, as well as revealing that it was something his own father had to do for a time while he was growing up. The biggest insight you can gain about Tony Dungy from reading this book is to understand his decision to walk away from football. He loves it, and loves coaching. He has said many times that he doesnt feel tired or burnt out, he just has more important things to do. This book reads as if Dungy is saying, Im famous and influential.What are the most important things God would want me to say to the men of America? He then went out and wrote those things down. It was interesting to read as Dungy handled certain aspects of a changing attitude with his players. His discussion of the respect my ethics was fun to read. Uncommon discusses the mistakes and regrets of Dungy. He uses his failures and disappointments to serve as lessons and encouragements to himself and others around him. At the end of the book, there is sort of a question and answer section dealing with the topics of the book.It is one of the most interesting parts of the book in my opinion. If you want to know what is important to Tony Dungy, what he lives for, what hed die for, and what he quit coaching for, this book is for you. A lot of people think Tony Dungy made a bad choice to walk away from the NFL to do work with troubled kids and convicts. Ultimately, Tony Dungy did what was best for him and that’s the matter that he conveys in this book. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone trying to learn more about themselves, God, or even just to get a better perspective on life.

The Staffing Problems at British Airways (BA)

Abstract This paper focuses on a case study of the staffing problems at British Airways (BA) as an illustration of a service-oriented company that faces modern-day problems of employee opposition to downsizing. The paper uses online questionnaires as the main data collection tool to sample the views of ten company employees who work in British Airways (BA). Comprehensively, this paper acknowledges that BA has maintained a good relationship with most of its stakeholders, except for its employees.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on The Staffing Problems at British Airways (BA) specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Therefore, this paper proposes that BA should adopt an open communication strategy to improve its relationship with its employees. Similarly, this paper recommends that BA should uphold stakeholder engagement as the main solutions to the periodic industrial actions it faces. This way, the company can improve its competitiveness in service provision and maintain its leadership in the aviation sector. Introduction British Airways (BA) Company is the national flight carrier of the United Kingdom (UK). BA operates under the banner of the One World Alliance and under its parent company – International Airlines group (Cole, 2003). The parent company lists in the London Stock exchange (Cole, 2003). So far, BA flies to more than 160 destinations around the world (Melville, 2011). Its presence manifests in Europe, Asia, North America, Africa, and other parts of the world (however, its main hub is in London) (Melville, 2011). Based on its fleet size, BA is among the largest airline companies in the world. Moreover, besides Easy Jet Company, BA is the largest airline company in the UK, in terms of its passenger numbers (Cole, 2003). BA offers a variety of services including engineering and cargo transportation. However, passenger service is its main business focus. Since its privatization, BA has been a phenomenal success in the provision of passenger services. The company’s privatization helped the organization to move from a loss-making entity to a profitable enterprise. An increase in the organization’s turnover, operating profits, and earnings per share characterized the swift transition of the company into a profit-making entity. The volumes of passengers have also more than quadrupled in the past decade (Melville, 2011). Nonetheless, underlying BA’s success is a growing dispute between the company’s management and its workers. The fiercely competitive aviation sector also threatens the sustainability of the company’s service. Indeed, low-cost airlines considerably erode BA’s market share through effective pricing and the provision of quality services.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More On one hand, BA’s has been forced to improve its customer services by nurturing long-term relationships with its customers, but this move has been undermined by several factors. Staffing problems and a demoralized workforce highlights some of the problems that affect the company’s goal of maintaining its industry leadership. Defining the Problem For most parts of the years 2010 and 2011, British Airways experienced several industrial actions from its workers (Werdigier, 2010). The workers demanded higher pay and better working conditions. BA was however hesitant to do so, after citing significant hikes in operating costs and an unstable business environment as its reasons for rejecting the demands of the workers. Besides the rising costs of operations and the unstable business environment, British Airways also suffered from an increasingly fragile British economy, characterized by high unemployment rates and a weakening consumer spending power (Werdigier, 2010). The sheer extent of a serious British Airways strike worried many analysts who feared that such an eventuality might cause more fragility of the country’s economy (Werdigier, 2010). This happened. Broadly, the BA strike involved a dispute between the company’s staff (through their union) and managers of the airline company. The union accused the airline’s management of bullying and harassing its workers. For example, in 2010, the airline’s management decided to withdraw cabin benefits of the workers. Most of the employees considered this move as bullish and went on strike. In fact, for the period of the strike, the company threatened most of the workers with job termination and the withdrawal of fringe benefits (Melville, 2011). Consequently, most of the workers believed that the airline’s management was out to gag some of its workers and cripple the worker’s union. The strikes caused significant losses for the company because BA was still experiencing the effects of fie rce competition and rising costs of operation. The strike affected BA’s operations at different levels because customers reported significant delays in flight operations and lack of baggage services. The check-in staff was also not on duty, thereby affecting the company’s sales. In some major airports around Europe, the strike affected the airline’s operations for more than 24 hours. For example, the strikes affected Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow airports with significant delays of up to 24 hours (Smith, 2012).Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on The Staffing Problems at British Airways (BA) specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In fact, at Heathrow alone, the company cancelled more than 150 flights (Smith, 2012). At Gatwick airport, the strikes caused the cancellations of more than 45 flights (Smith, 2012). The effect of the strike was so severe that the company had to c ancel more than 1,100 flights out of a possible 1,900 flights that the company scheduled to do within the strike period (Smith, 2012). Moreover, even as the strike continued, periodic collapses in negotiations between the workers and the airline managers occurred. Analysts say that for the period that the airline company witnessed the industrial action, the company incurred more than 264 million Euros in losses (Werdigier, 2010). Similarly, during the strike, the airline’s brand suffered a significant dent in its image after customers shunned BA and decided to book flights with its competitors. As the strike continued, its spillover effects started to be felt by other airlines as well. This standoff caused many analysts to fear for the airline’s future, especially as the competition in the airline sector grew fierce, and the costs of operations continued to rise (Smith, 2012). The 2010 industrial action witnessed at BA has not had a long-term solution. In fact, the ind ustrial action is not the first in the company because a similar strike in 1997 occurred after workers complained about managerial insensitivity to the plight of the workers (Smith, 2012). While BA’s managers solved the 2010 strike, the threat of a new strike is always not far away from reality. For example, BA recently collaborated with a Spanish airline company, Iberia airlines, as part of its expansion plan. However, since the merger has not been profitable for the company, BA considers restructuring the company to make it leaner and more efficient (WSN, 2012). Unfortunately, this strategy requires the company to dismiss hundreds of workers. This has been the latest battlefront for BA and its workers because the workers are threatening the company with more industrial action if it intends to proceed with its plans. Therefore, BA faces a tougher future as it is involved in a fierce battle with its workers, who oppose its restructuring plan. Tools used for Data Collection Th e main data collection method was the online questionnaire. Ten BA employees received the questionnaires. We gathered the data as a survey to understand the opinions regarding the human resource issues at British Airways and their possible solutions.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The unavailability of some respondents for a face-to-face interview informed the selection of the online questionnaire as the main data collection tool. Indeed, online questionnaires transcend geographic boundaries that would prevent a face-to-face meeting with the respondents (McDonald, 2003). Moreover, the use of the online questionnaires provided a cheaper approach of data collection because of the simplicity in administering them. Certainly, the respondents easily keyed their opinions through the online questionnaires without having to meet with the researcher in person. Therefore, there were no travelling and printing costs incurred. Another motivation of adopting the online questionnaire was the limited probability of errors occurring in the data collection method (McDonald, 2003). A comprehensive regulation of the online questionnaire occurred through a data input software that disallowed the input of â€Å"unacceptable† information. Moreover, in some instances, the re spondents had to select their answers from a series of available choices. This option created a lot of flexibility in the collection of data because answers displayed through check boxes, pull-down menus, pop-up menus, help screens and sub-menus. The use of the online questionnaires also enabled an easy and prompt review of the participants’ responses because it was easy to get information from the respondents (promptly) without waiting for the physical delivery of the questionnaires (McDonald, 2003). Furthermore, since the data collection process occurred through a central database, the data analysis process was also faster than physical questionnaires. It was therefore easy to understand the views of the respondents because their answers were more direct. The use of the online questionnaire often poses significant challenges in data collection, but most of these challenges did not occur in the research. For example, McDonald (2003) says that online questionnaires normally h ave a low response rate when researchers use them in areas that do not have an internet connection. However, all the respondents who were involved in this study had a working internet connection in their offices. It was therefore easy to avoid this challenge. McDonald (2003) also says that online questionnaires have a bias towards young people and have a lower reception to their completion. These challenges were equally avoided because the respondents were young people aged 40 years and below. Moreover, they did not exude any hesitation to participate in the study or to use online questionnaires. Analysis of Data Gathered The biggest issue identified by the BA workers sampled included managerial insensitivity. Many of the respondents believed that the company’s management was running the company single-handedly without considering their thoughts. When the respondents stated their greatest grievance in the company, they affirmed that managerial insensitivity, coupled with poor pay and bad working conditions were their main concerns. As seen from the graph below, managerial concerns formed the greatest grievance of the workers (60%), followed by bad working conditions (21%) and poor pay (19%) in that order. Many respondents therefore believed that their managers were largely arrogant and insensitive to their plights as workers. The withdrawal of some of their fringe benefits was also an issue of serious concern for most of the workers. The lack of job security and the uncertainty that prevailed in the workplace also stood out as serious concerns for the workers. The workers were therefore not sure about their employment status in the workplace because the fear that they would lose their jobs always lingered over their work. One respondent said that the company intends to dismiss about a quarter of their workforce without any consideration to the welfare of the workers, or any proper notice for such actions. Another respondent said that the company intende d to reduce workers’ pay by about 25%-30% without any consideration to the prevailing financial hardships that most workers faced. This uncertainty demoralized them and prevented them from fully engaging in their duties. They therefore lacked enough focus to dedicate their services to the company. The main indicator of this lack of employee commitment was the low level of customer satisfaction with the services of the company. The employees no longer experienced the need to satisfy their customers because they lacked the commitment to do their job well. One person said, with the fear that they would no longer be part of the company; they could no longer devote all their energies to the company’s activities. When the respondents suggested what the mangers could do to alleviate their problems, many of the respondents answered that the managers should demonstrate empathy and concern for the plight of the workers. Other respondents said that the company’s management should adopt more consultative approaches when formulating their decisions, so that whatever decisions they came up with, demonstrate the input of all the parties involved. However, there was the unwillingness of the respondents to appreciate the factors that led the managers to make their decisions. More specifically, the respondents did not understand the external and internal factors that were privy to the managers, which forced them to make the decisions that they did. Moreover, the workers did not refer to the competitive pressures and the growth of competitive forces that forced the company to make hard decisions about its staffing problem. The workers therefore never appreciated that the company had to be more efficient and leaner to make more profit and compete with other airline companies in the industry. When the respondents stated who would better solve their problems (between the managers and the union) an almost equally opinionated response highlighted the potential fo r the worker’s union and the company’s management to solve the company’s problem. As seen from the above pie chart, 49% of the respondents said that the union should continue to pressure the company’s management for better working conditions, while 51% believed that the managers had the sole discretion of solving their problems (better than the unions would do). Broadly, the employees believed that the union’s role was mainly to advance their agenda to the management, but the management had the mandate to solve their issues. Indeed, there was a clear understanding that the union did a good job to organize the workers and formulate a collective bargaining agreement with the company’s management. The role of the union could however not be undermined because without their opinions in the negotiations, the workers would not stand a chance of effectively receiving a favorable response from the company’s management. Therefore, through such an understanding, the employees believed that the union’s input was instrumental in the decision-making process. Therefore, the solutions to the staffing issues had to mirror the union’s input. When the respondents explained if their industrial actions were effective in advancing their plight, all of them answered affirmatively. In fact, most of the workers believed that this strategy was the only â€Å"language† that the managers understood. WSN (2012) said that during the 2010 strike, the industrial action cost the company about 7,000,000 Euros, daily. For most companies, such (daily) losses would be significant enough to warrant a careful reconsideration of the plight of workers. Nonetheless, so far, the company has made some effort to open its communication policies to include the trade union, but such efforts are still insufficient. For example, a planned exercise to dismiss more than 400 cabin crew has been ongoing because BA’s management has tried to engage with the workers’ union about this plan to no avail (Melville, 2011). So far, the company is facing a situation where the union demands that the management should only dismiss workers who are unwilling to work for the company (Melville, 2011). Therefore, the union would oppose any attempts by the company to dismiss workers who are still willing to retain their jobs. Such hard-line positions require a well-thought approach to solving them. Conclusion and Recommendations Stakeholder Involvement The importance of companies to maintain a good relationship with their stakeholders cannot be overemphasized. This is because stakeholders support most company activities, and without their support, organizations would seize to exist. BA has managed to maintain a good relationship with most of its stakeholders (Werdigier, 2010). For example, suppliers have provided the company with crucial goods and services that support the organization’s activities. Indeed, since the c ompany is a service-centered company, BA buys many goods from its suppliers, including food for its customers and fuel to power its airplanes (Werdigier, 2010). The company’s suppliers are always keen on nurturing a good relationship with the company because as BA expands, they will also expand and enjoy greater profits. Some of the company’s main suppliers are Boeing and Airbus because both companies manufacture airplanes and sell them to the company. Both companies therefore have a big stake in the London-based organization (Werdigier, 2010). Creditors also surface as an important stakeholder for BA because most of them are interested in receiving regular and periodic payments. They need to know that the company can pay its debts on time, so that they can lend the company more money to make more profit. Such stakeholders are more interested in the financial performance of the enterprise (Werdigier, 2010). Therefore, BA’s creditors would be more concerned with the company’s profitability, cash flow, balance sheet and the likes. According to the context of this paper, employees are the main stakeholders for BA. Employees are normally interested in the company’s activities because it provides them with an income and a livelihood. Besides this advantage, workers are interested in the company’s activities because it provides them with fringe benefits and an opportunity for advancing their careers. However, BA has failed to understand the role of its employees in the company’s decision-making process. Consequently, it has failed to include all stakeholders in its decision-making process. Some of the sampled respondents mirror this weakness because some of them feel isolated and vulnerable to managerial excesses. They also feel that most of the company decisions do not reflect employee input. The importance of stakeholder engagement at BA cannot be overemphasized because the management needs to realize that it needs to consider the inputs of everybody that it influences through its decisions (Welch, 2011). Stakeholder engagement may offer the company a good opportunity for aligning its operations with the needs of the employees and the organization. Through this process, the company will also find it easier to improve stakeholder value and improve the company’s long-term sustainability. Welch (2011) says proponents of stakeholder engagement intend to encourage organizations to exploit the opportunities of full stakeholder engagement that is associated with the process. Through this engagement, Welch (2011) says that BA may find it easy to enjoy an employee buy-in. Moreover, such a strategy may improve the motivation of the workers, thereby improving the company’s overall productivity. This way, the company may also improve its services and improve customer satisfaction. In fact, BA has long suffered from the lack of customer satisfaction, which has also significantly eroded its pr ofitability from low sales. The improvement of these organizational functions will also lead to the improvement of the company’s competitive standing. Such a development will be an important addition to the company’s brand because BA continues to face stiff competition in a fiercely competitive aviation sector. At the same time, the company will be introducing new and procedural changes to the company’s operations. Better Communication Based on the analysis of BA’s internal and external environments, there is a clear understanding that the company’s management faces tough choices regarding the maintenance of the company’s long-term sustainability (profitability) and keeping its employees happy. While the company may not have the power to change its external environment (which influence its decision-making process), it needs to do more work to make its employees understand the prevailing market conditions that influence their decisions. For e xample, increased competition is a significant challenge for the company because it threatens its long-term sustainability. The company is helpless to such forces. Similarly, the rising cost of operation is also a significant challenge for the company because it erodes the company’s profitability. Issues like rising fuel costs are equally beyond the company’s control. BA’s management therefore needs to communicate such challenges to the employees, better than it has done in the past. Relatively, the main problem that arises throughout the analysis of this paper is the presence of a closed system of communication between the company and its employees. The communication mainly seems to be a top-down approach, where the company communicates managerial decisions â€Å"down† to the employees, without their participation. While a top-down communication channel may be undesirable for the company, BA’s decision to make the company more efficient by reducin g its workforce is not new to modern-day companies. Indeed, many companies have downsized their workforce without much opposition from workers’ unions. In fact, in the last two decades, most major companies in the world have downsized their workforce (Strain, 2013). For example, HSBC holding (an international banking and financial services) has downsized its workforce without widespread public opposition. The company dismissed more than 5,000 employees, in 2011, and it intends to lay off more workers in the future. Another company that has adopted BA’s downsizing strategy is General Motors (American car automaker). Necessitated by a drop in sales, the company’s management had to dismiss more than 75,000 – 100,000 workers (Strain, 2013). Interestingly the company dismissed the workers between 2008 – 2010 when BA wanted to reduce the workers’ fringe benefits and salaries. Examples of other major companies that have downsized exist. Therefore, compared to BA, other multinational companies have dismissed more workers that BA intends to do. While there is a danger in generalizing the managerial decisions of different companies, across varied industries, the above analysis shows that there is no strange difference in what BA intends to do and what other companies have done. Communication is the only difference that exists for BA and other companies (Powis, 2012). BA needs to adopt an open strategy of communication because the current communication strategy is uncomfortable and unproductive for everyone. While many people may identify different reasons for the ideological differences between the worker’s union and the management, it is important that BA’s managers do not allow past disagreements with the workers to influence its future decisions (Powis, 2012). So far, past animosity between the union and the management seems to overshadow future company operations. The company needs to mitigate this concern by e mbracing an open and clear communication channel with the employees, to build a more productive environment for everyone in the organization (Powis, 2012). Furthermore, the company also needs to demonstrate that it is proactive in solving employee issues. Indeed, as the workers said, the greatest responsibility for solving the company’s problems rest with the management and not the workers, or their unions. References Cole, G. (2003). Strategic Management: Theory and Practice. London: Cengage Learning EMEA. Melville, T. (2011). British Airways Plans to Cut 400 Cabin Crew Jobs. Web. McDonald, H. (2003). A comparison of online and postal data collection methods in marketing research. Marketing Intelligence Planning, 21(2), 85-95. Powis, A. (2012). A journey to award-winning employee engagement. Human  Resource Management International Digest, 20(5), 31 – 34. Smith, J. (2012). Travel Tourism: AS Level for OCR : GCE AS Level Double  Award. London: Heinemann. Strain, M. (2013). Examples of Downsizing in the Business World. Web. Welch, M. (2011). The evolution of the employee engagement concept: communication implications. Corporate Communications: An International  Journal, 16(4), 328 – 346. Werdigier, J. (2010). British Airways Strike Effect Disputed. Web. WSN. (2012). BA Owner Faces Strike Threat Over Job Cuts. Web. This case study on The Staffing Problems at British Airways (BA) was written and submitted by user Perla V. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Destijl movement Utopian values essays

Destijl movement Utopian values essays The De Stijl Movement of the early twentieth century was founded in 1917 by Theo Van Doesburg. Initially established as a journal, he brought together a group of artists, architects, sculptors, designers and writers who collectively published the first issue of the journal entitled, De Stijl (the style). By publishing this they hoped to create a dais for the voice of the modern world and the avant-garde. As this new form of art was emerging Van Doesburg realised that the work had to be accompanied by a literary commentary, almost having to defend their innovations and theories. It was hoped that in printing such a journal they were developing a new public awareness of what was considered beautiful and so making them more open to modern art. The De Stijl believed art was capable of leading mankind toward a brighter future, a new and revolutionary utopia. By looking at the work of three of the most prominent members, Theo Van Doesburg, Piet Mondrian and Gerrit Rietveld, we can see how their cumulative utopian ideals manifested through their individual projects. Universal harmony was the focus of the De Stijl. Art had a new mission. It preceded life and showed the way to the realisation of universal harmony. They wanted to bring mankind to light and purity that would spill to every facet of life, including politics, music, architecture and theatre. The De Stijl members believed that this universal enlightenment and harmony was obscured by the individualism and irrelevancies of life. In their search for these truths they sought to reveal them through the creation of a new model. They tried to achieve this in their collective projects through the use of the most direct and elemental means, namely: primary colours, considered to be the only true colours; strong verticals and horizontals, representing male and female opposing forces; and, asymmetrical compositions. By breaking down the organic representation and reducin...

Self -executing treaties Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Self -executing treaties - Essay Example In an effort to assess how international laws and treaties are applied by nation-states, this paper shall discuss the application of self-executing treaties and the position of treaties recovering provisional application. The views of different authors, courts, and international tribunals shall be used to critically assess the implementation of the dualist and the monist approach to treaties. As part of the international community, states are obliged to follow and respect the provisions and mandates of international laws. These laws help keep the peace between nations and help secure and protect the sovereignty of the different nations of the world. Treaties form part of our international laws. Through the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, the principle of pacta sunt servanda finds application. Nations are free to apply these treaties in any way they see fit. They may apply the dualist approach or the monist approach in order to seek the application of the treaties in their territory. Whatever approach to implementation they choose, these nations have international obligations to fulfill, and their failure to comply cannot be excused using domestic laws as a scapegoat. International responsibilities cannot be ignored because states are risking their economic and political position in the international community (Council of Europe, p. 16). In some countries which follow a dualist approach to treaties, these treaties cannot, as a general rule, be applied by municipal courts until they have been transformed into municipal law by legislative action. However, in the case of self-executing treaties, this rule must be qualified. Treaties are normally endorsed by states and are considered the most common and trusted sources of international law. The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties in 1969 was passed in order regulate the enactment of treaties between state parties as well as organizations. According

Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 9

Education - Essay Example Day 1- The Literacy Hour began with a copy of a non-fiction text ’Little Red Riding Hood’, by Charles Perrault. A copy of this book was placed on each table and children were expected to independently read the story within 10 minutes. Afterwards the class shared what they read and evaluated the story together as a group. This story provided the children with insight and it acted as a model to facilitate thinking and motivate children to ‘WALT: Write in the genre of a Fairytale’. The story also incorporated word and sentence level work through spelling, vocabulary and grammar (written and spoken). Once this was done, it was followed up with brain-storming of ideas about the key features of a fairytale. One of the most popular forms of the ten stages utilized as a process of learning in the Literacy Hour was the ‘activation of previous knowledge’. I felt this was a crucial and popular stage to implement at the beginning of a lesson, as learners were encouraged to engage in an open discussion. Because they could speak openly to each other, the learners were able to draw upon their own knowledge of the subject matter and bring it into the discussion. The practical teaching methods which were deployed were brainstorming and mind-mapping. These methods were offered as a guide to facilitate the children’s thinking about ‘what they already knew about the text’. During the lesson the format of deploying reading skills was developed and children were motivated into ‘adopting an appropriate strategy’. This activity took place as an independent and shared reading task because the teacher and pupil read the text ‘Little Red Riding Hood’, out loud and with expression. This style of close reading allowed the teacher to ‘describe the careful and sustain interpretation of a brief passage of text ’. The teacher implemented this literacy strategy by closely examining

Effect of Obesity on Children

Effect of Obesity on Children Chapter One: Introduction Overweight and obesity have turn out to be the most serious health problem in children, adolescents and adults. â€Å"Overweight in children and adolescents was defined as ≠¥ 85th percentile according to BMI-for-age growth sex-specific charts, whereas obesity ≠¥ 95th percentile of the BMI-for-age growth, sex-specific charts â€Å"(Ogden et al., 2010). In the United States and Canada, 30% of adolescents were obese or overweight while the percentage doubled in adult (Anis et al., 2010). Obesity in adolescents’ population tripled in the last 30 years at both countries (Ogden et al., 2002). Several chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancers were observed in obese adults (Panel, 1998). Adipose tissue is composed of subcutaneous and visceral adipocytes (Chowdhury et al., 1994). Visceral fat accounts for 20% of total body fat in men compared to only 6% in premenstrual women (Krotkiewski et al., 1983). The etiology of visceral tissue dispositi on in humans is still indistinct (Samaras et al., 1999, Batra and Siegmund, 2012). In the last decade, blood pressure increased among children and adolescents (Muntner et al., 2004). Furthermore, children with high BMI are more probable to have elevated blood pressure and lipid profile (Freedman et al., 2007). Additionally, premature mortality is attributed to elevated blood pressure by increasing the incidence of cardiovascular disease (Stamler et al., 1993, Vasan et al., 2001).On the other hand, treatment of childhood obesity initiates reduction in blood pressure among adults which leads to cardiovascular disease prevention(Freedman et al., 1999). In 2008, Khader and colleagues estimated that 28.1% of north Jordanian adult men were obese. Whereas, in 2009 the obesity rate, as regards to studies conducted on children in north Jordan, was 18.8% of the targeted population(Khader et al., 2008, Khader et al., 2009). Comparing those studies, there is domination of obesity among adults rather than adolescents which leads to a prediction of escalating the obesity problem by age in north Jordan. This study aims to estimate abdominal and total fat among Jordanian adolescents and its relation to blood pressure. Many studies have shown that blood pressure is associated with being overweight in children and adolescents of Western countries (Genovesi et al., 2005, Ebbeling et al., 2002). Therefore, the aim of this study aims to estimate abdominal and total fat among Jordanian adolescents and its relation to blood pressure. Chapter Two: Literature Review. High body mass index is usually associated with elevated blood pressure (Cercato et al., 2004). Relation of trunk, waist circumferences and visceral fat with blood pressure were considered predictor indicators in children and adolescents for cardiovascular mortality (Welborn and Dhaliwal, 2007). The prevalence of hypertension among adolescents population has not been acknowledged as in adults. Adolescents with elevated blood pressure (BP) can develop several chronic diseases and body organ damage also they will increase risk of cardiovascular disease in adulthood. Therefore, prevention of obesity will help to limit the disease burden due to hypertension (Lande et al., 2006, Must et al., 1992). In several studies conducted in Western countries, prevalence of high blood pressure among children ranged from 7 to 19% (Sorof et al., 2004, Paradis et al., 2004). However, few studies have been conducted in adolescence at developing countries (Mehdad et al., 2013, Abdulle et al., 2014, Abolfotouh et al., 2011). Fat accumulation especially in abdominal region: More than one third of obese children remained obese at adulthood (Serdula et al., 1993). A study showed that 77% of obese adults was related to overweight in childhood (Freedman et al., 2001). Another longitudinal study pointed that only1.6% of adolescents’ in the transition to young adulthood shifted from obese to non-obese, while 9.4% remained obese (Gordon-Larsen et al., 2004). Presence of abdominal fat was observed among non-obese children (Goran et al., 1995) and adolescents (Fox et al., 1993, De Ridder et al., 1992). In the topic of obesity, especially the android type of obesity , an observation of high mortality rate was recorded among the Danish population in a study with 27178 men and 29875 women. Mortality rate was 10% higher among 136 men than 130 women who were having increased waist circumferences. A similar observation was detected among smokers, overweight or obese participants (Bigaard et al., 2005). A study was in Morocco on 167 adolescents aged from 11- 17 years (123 girls and 44 boys) were, 42% overweight and/ or obese in addition to 58% were at normal weight. Significant relation between BMI and each of fat mass percent body fat in both genders. Waist circumferences could be predictor tool for fatness among adolescents (Neovius et al., 2004, Wang et al., 2007). In Kuwait, a study on adolescents 4,219 participants aged from 11 to 19, Boys who had waist circumference ≠¥ 90th percentile account 8- 30.3%, mean of waist circumference was higher in boys than it was in Kuwaiti girls. Also, increase in percentage of boys who had ≠¥ 90th percentile observed in boys unlike girls (Jackson et al., 2010). Peeters and colleagues (2003) detected a remarkable decrease in life expectancy by 7.1 and 5.7 years in nonsmoking males and females respectively at 40 years old. While, a lower life expectancy of 13.3-13.7 years identified in obese smoking females and males respectively (Peeters et al., 2003). Relation between smoking among adolescents and excessive fat in abdominal region young adults (men and women) has been investigated (Saarni et al., 2009). Intra-abdominal fat increases cardiovascular risks such as hypertension and dyslipidemia. Cardiovascular disease risks rise when accompanied with smoking which leads to modifications in the physiological functions of adipokines, endothelial, insulin and proatherogenic status (Ritchie and Connell, 2007). Other studies confirmed the association between abdominal obesity and smoking. Both abdominal fat and smoking were at tributed to the same risk factors, which were unhealthy dietary behavior (Wingard et al., 1982, Keski-Rahkonen et al., 2003), low education (Pierce, 1989, Green et al., 2007) and low physical inactivity (Aarnio et al., 2002, Escobedo et al., 1993), the etiology of this causal link remained unclear. The reason could be related to the change in glucocorticoid metabolism and psychosocial stress that has been caused mainly by smoking (Cohen et al., 2006, Lahiri et al., 2007, Rohleder and Kirschbaum, 2006) may be in charge with abdominal fat (Bjà ¶rntorp and Rosmond, 2000, Bjà ¶rntorp, 2001). Visceral tissue were more sensitive to lipolytic stimuli than other fatty tissue make fatty acid from triglycerides turnover increased in blood stream by portal vein, this led to, increasing hepatic fatty acid release make liver exposing to fatty acid also increased hepatic gluconeogenesis and secretion of LDLs moreover to inhibit hepatic role of insulin riddance to develop hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance (Bjà ¶rntorp, 1992). Studies showed that ischemic heart disease, independent lipid level changes (Desprà ©s et al., 1996) and metabolic abnormalities were associated to patients with fasting hyperinsulinemia (Haffner et al., 1992). A hypothesis studied by Randle suggested a reduction in insulin resistance and glucose uptake because of reduce the need for glucose oxidation when fat oxidation increased (Randle et al., 1963). Dietary effects on visceral fat, a study on white non-obese men, explains visceral and subcutaneous fat and dietary effect. Fat intake explained only 1.4% of the variance in subcutaneous fat and no variance in visceral fat. On the other hand, 2% of the variance appear in total adiposity, which make dietary factors have a minor role in total adiposity and with no effect on visceral fat (Larson et al., 1996). In Bogalusa Heart Study, children and adolescents aged from 6-18 years demonstrate that high fat in truncal region associated with elevated LDL and VLDL cholesterol concentrations (Freedman, 1995). Total and visceral fat were inversely affected by dietary fibers intake; that effect was significantly observed among adolescent boys without a significant effect on girls in sample aged 14-18 years old in total participants of 559. Moreover, it linked between dietary fiber intake and inflammation markers include adiponectin and C-reactive protein (Parikh et al., 2012). Aerobic exercise among adolescents for 8 weeks had significant effect on decreasing total fat 700 g by (0.6 %); the majority of the lost fat was observed in abdominal region, but, no significant changes were noticed in subcutaneous fat to alteration in body compositions (Watts et al., 2004). Risk for elevated blood pressure and it’s relation to total and abdominal fat: Hypertension raised atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease outcomes by 2 to 3 folds. Moreover, Hypertension is the most influential accompaniment with cardiovascular disease that leads to death in a prospective longitudinal analysis (Kannel, 1996). In Bogalusa Heart Study, prevalence of adult patients with hypertension who were diagnosed clinically, they were significantly higher in those who had elevated blood pressure at childhood (Bao et al., 1995). In young boys, an increase in blood pressure from pubescence to 18 years was observed (Cornoni-Huntley et al., 1979). Relation between blood pressure and fat distribution had a marked variance upon sexual difference among adolescents. Boys had an elevated blood pressure associated to adiposity that was enhanced by visceral and peripheral fat, unlike girls where blood pressure was affected by peripheral adiposity but no significant effect by visceral adiposity (Pausova et al., 2012). Low averages at cognitive test scores were observed among 5077 children and adolescents from 6 to 16 years when systolic blood pressure were ≠¥90th percentile and diastolic ≠¥ 90th percentile (Lande et al., 2003). In adolescents, 9-17years old, cardiovascular risk factors associated with fat accumulation areas, which was analyzed by Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) (Daniels et al., 1999). Android type of obesity and cardiovascular disease risk factors as blood pressure produced a powerful relation among African-American and Caucasian children (He et al., 2002). Abdominal fat distribution that was measured by DEXA and skinfold- thikness among 920 healthy children and adolescents (American, Asian, and Caucasian aged from 5 to 18 years) was predictor for blood pressure in boys but not in girls (He et al., 2002). Systolic and diastolic blood pressure relation to total fat and fat distribution by using DEXA on 127 adolescents aged from 9-17 years, systolic blood pressure have significant relation to total body fat and fat distribution but diastolic blood pressure was significant with total body fat but was not with fat distribution (Daniels et al., 1999). Evidence approved that truncal fat was associated to high cardiovascular risks such as hypertension compared with peripheral fat (Kannel et al., 1991, Sardinha et al., 2000). Adolescents with left ventricular hypertrophy were associated with high rate of essential hypertension; those who developed severe hypertrophy and abnormal left ventricular geometry were in high degree of the risk to cardiovascular disease and increase in morbidity rate (Daniels, 1999). Abdominal fat could be estimated by using waist circumferences as a better indicator for abdominal fat rather than waist to hip ratio among children and adolescent because waist to hip ratio reflected changes in fat amount less than bones and muscular changes when children and adolescent were growing (Kissebah and Krakower, 1994). Waist circumference had relevance to blood pressure adolescents of both sexes and showed, by a study applied on multivariate models instead of visceral fat, no association between blood pressure and visceral fat, which made waist circumference an inappropriate tool to evaluate visceral fat in adolescents (Pausova et al., 2012). Adults, who deposited fat viscerally, rather than elsewhere in the body, were at a higher risk for hypertension (Hayashi et al., 2003, Fox et al., 2007). This relationship was shown to be stronger in men than in women (Fox et al., 2007). Insulin absence, resistance and hyperinsulinemia were associated to obesity chiefly in abdominal region. insulin was responsible to elevated blood pressure due to obesity. One of the mechanisms to protect body from gaining weight, hypothesized by Landsberg, was activating the sympathetic nervous system when consuming high calories which lead to increasing thermogenesis (LANDSBERG, 1986). Mikhail and Tuck. 2000 observed an alteration in artery structure include thickness and artery flexibility in hemodynamic effects of insulin. Abdominal obesity related to increased plasma renin activity is the possible key to blood pressure elevation (Licata et al., 1994). Strong evidence showed that management of hypertension was related to obesity by block renin-angiotensin system (RAS), which was active in obese subjects (Sharma, 2004). In mice, adipocyte differentiation and growth effect by adipocyte-derived angiotensinogen which secreted into the bloodstream, redounding blood pool of angiotensin ogen (Massià ©ra et al., 2001). It was recently found that mice have greater angiotensinogen gene expression in visceral fat at variance with other fat tissue when it was on high fat diet to induce obesity (Rahmouni et al., 2004). Patients who accumulated fat, especially visceral fat, were associated with elevated plasma aldosterone (Goodfriend and Calhoun, 2004). Elevated blood pressure could be induced by aldosterone by effect on mineralocorticoid receptors situated on tissue as in brain, kidney and vasculature to make Aldosterone have a significant relation on obesity-hypertension (Rahmouni et al., 2005). Aldosterone relation to obesity-hypertension, explained by De Paula, showed blocking mineralocorticoid receptors with the specific antagonist eplerenone. A remarkable blood pressure increase was inhibited without development of weight on dogs even on the high fat fed ones (de Paula et al., 2004). Vasculature health preservation depended on endothelium status when nitric oxide was released which was characterized by antiatherogenic properties (Vita and Keaney, 2002). Exercise was one of interventions that could be applied to improve nitric oxide dilator function (Maiorana et al., 2000, Maiorana et al., 2001), considering cardio-protective factors. Normalizing in vascular function and alteration in body compositions by increasing muscular strength were results for exercise training to minimize cardiovascular disease in future. Detection and treatment of endothelial dysfunction for 19 obese subjects aged 14.3  ± 1.5 in early stages were known as primary strategy role to prevent to prevent adolescents who were susceptible from developing cardiovascular disease in adulthood (Watts et al., 2004).