“How to Poison the Earth” by Linnea Saukko Essay

The two main purposes Linnea Saukko has in â€Å"How to Poison the Earth† are persuasive and referential aims. She uses examples classification and descriptions to help the reader better understand the future of the planet if humans keep on the same path of destruction. The main modes she uses in the first paragraph are cause and effect, and later classification of pollution into ground water and air methods is used Saukko starts the essay off by saying, â€Å"Poisoning the earth can be difficult because the earth is always trying to cleanse and renew itself.† She not only uses sarcasm to make reader think what she is saying is meant to taken literally, but she classifies the main methods to poison the earth. She stress the need for toxic chemicals like uranium-238, plutonium, PCB, and DDT. Along with the need to spread those chemicals around the earth, she starts to persuade the reader that if those two parts happen, we will poison the earth. The next two paragraphs she emphasizes several ways to spread the toxins into the shell of the earth. She classifies those into deep-well and shallow-well injections, and dumping. The deep-well injections are to â€Å"ensure that the earth is poisoned all the way to the core,† while the shallow-well injections are to contaminate groundwater aquifers. In paragraph two she gives the reader examples of deep-well and shallow-well injections and how these will ensure that the core is poisoned. The third paragraph ties to the second by explaining that if humans place dumps by groundwater that this method and shallow-well injections will poison the water. Saukko sarcastically states that since there are only 50,000 dumps in the United States,† they should be located in areas where they will leak to the surrounding ground and surface water.† In paragraphs four, five, and six Saukko uses cause and effect to show how to bring pesticides and other poisons to lakes, rivers, and oceans. She explains that if plants absorb the pesticides, then the poison will end up in the ground water. She again sarcastically implies that â€Å"surface water is  very important to contaminate because it will transport the poisons to places that cannot be contaminated directly.† It is important for ground water to be poisoned so that lakes will be poisoned, since lakes can hold the poisons. The problem she talks about next is the rivers. Rivers act like a natural filter before water flows into the ocean. That is a cleansing effect where the problem lies. In the sixth paragraph she explains how the oceans act as a natural buffer for the toxins. She then evaluates that the only way to stop this buffer is to dump directly into the ocean. This will not only pollute the buffer, but transport toxins to places that cannot be reached otherwise. In the seventh paragraph she continues with the transportation by going into the air transportation part. She evaluates the cause and effect of combustion and evaporation to make acid rain. The acid rain destroys very few lakes and living animals, so the pollution will stay in the lakes, oceans, and rivers. She then explains that since â€Å"the lower atmosphere can cleanse itself fairly easily, we must explode nuclear test bombs.† The effect of this is that the radiation will circle the earth for years and destroy the atmosphere. But gravity will bring pull some of the radioactive particles to earth. The only way to fight the slowly decreasing radiation is to continue to set off nuclear bombs. Linnea Saukko’s essay is very effective. She uses persuasive and referential purposes to catch the reader’s attention, with sarcasm, and bring to attention the main methods to kill the planet. At first the essay seems to be aimed at promoting what will kill the planet, but later on it is informative on what we need to be aware of so that we do not kill the planet. The author provides more in depth ways of killing the planet, but for the most part Saukko makes a basic outline on how to prevent poisoning of the earth.

Japanese fiction works are better than Western ones Essay

Q:What kind of Japanese fiction works? A:This presentation is mostly about comics and animation produced in Japan, but it covers also TV Shows and movies Topic: Japanese fiction General Purpose: To persuade Specific Purpose: To persuade you that Japanese fiction is better than western fiction regarding comics, animation, movies and TV shows Thesis statement: Although Western people see Japan as a calculating land with brutally efficient workers, they are in fact individualistic, expressive and sentimental if we can judge them from their works of fiction who surpass our own in various aspects Introduction: I. How other countries think of Japan II. Thesis statement III. Reminding the meaning of the terms manga and anime Body: I. First argument: Japan’s tendency to mix various influences from all over the world A.Japan borrows various foreign things and merges them with other elements B.Example regarding religion of Japan C.This tendency in regards to fiction II.Second Argument: How Japanese portray life, human relations, nature and the world in their fiction works A.Human nature is portrayed as it is B.Japan’s popular culture has a tight closeness to the ordinary, everyday lives of its audience C.Manga on any theme imaginable and toward any age range D.How human relations are portrayed III.Third Argument: Heroes’ fate after their struggle, death and the morality of the universe in Japanese fiction A.What defines a hero in Japan B.Death in japanese fiction C.View of the universe as amoral IV.Opposition/Refutation A1. Pornographic themes in manga and anime A2. Refutation B1. Japan’s cultural insularity robs it of relevance for other societies B2. Refutation Conclusion: I. Quote from Antonia Levi If someone will say that Japanese people are imaginative, sentimental, expressive and individualistic might earn him strange glances in most countries of the world. Many Westerners see Japan as a cold, calculating land of ant-like workers with brutal efficiency. Students are seen as oppressed slaves to their studies, pounded down like nails until their imaginations and individuality are crushed, or until they are driven to suicide. Japanese social culture is often seen as blanketed under stifling layers of politeness and formality, characterized by endless bowing. However, underneath all these there is the hidden Japanese soul. Almost all of the Japanese escape from reality through fiction works. These domestically created fiction works be it comics, animation, movies or TV shows enjoy great popularity not only in Japan but also in many countries of the world. Therefore, because these specific works are strikingly different from what we’re used to here in the Western world, it is inevitable to compare these two: the Western fiction works and the Japanese ones. Hello, everybody, my name is †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ I will talk to you about Japanese fiction works and I will compare them to Western ones so as to enforce my opinion and persuade you of course, that Japanese fiction is better than Western fiction. Before starting, I want to make you acquainted with two terms. Manga, which is used to refer to the Japanese comics and anime, which refers to the Japanese animation. As a first argument, I have to inform you that Japan has the tendency to borrow various foreign things and to tinker with them, merging them with native or other elements so that they become something new and often quite distinct from the original. As an example, regarding religion, Taoism was the original religion of Japan but this didn’t stop Japanese people from accepting Buddhism as well, and even acquiring some aspects of other religions in addition, like Christianity. In works of fiction this tendency of the Japanese means new and non-static entertainment through mixing different influences from around the world without having to suffice only to the myths and the influences of their own country. For my second argument supporting Japanese fiction, I want to inform you about the way Japanese portray life, human relations, nature and the world in their fiction works. The world and human nature in Japan’s pop culture can be portrayed as they are, not as they should be. This allows Son Goku, Dragonball’s raised in the wild, central character, to be drawn naked, without the private parts-covering fig leaf that had to be added for American TV. It allows as well, the darker side of life to be portrayed. In an episode of Naniwa Kin Yudo, which is an anime TV series, the protagonist Haibara encourages the girlfriend of a customer, who cannot repay his loan, to work as a prostitute to cover her boyfriend’s debt. Scenes such as this can be disturbing but they are part of life and are neither denied nor hidden. Kazuhiko Torishima, editor of Japan’s best-selling comic magazine Shonen Jump states: â€Å"I feel sorry for U.S. kids, who live in an adult-filtered Disney world.† Moreover, Japan’s popular culture has a tight closeness to the ordinary, everyday lives of its audience. American comic artist Brian Stelfreeze has said: â€Å"Comics in the U.S. have become such a caricature. You have to have incredible people doing incredible things, but in Japan it seems like the most popular comics are the ones of normal people doing normal things.† Part of the normalcy is that the characters that populate Japan’s manga, anime and TV dramas display plenty of character flaws and weaknesses along with their strengths and good points. Furthermore, as Ian Reader, a scholar of Japanese religions and popular culture, has noted: â€Å"Manga are simply too fascinating, colorful and rich a literary medium to be left solely to children. In Japan one can find manga on any theme imaginable and toward any age range.† which is certainly not the case with American comic books. In addition, Timothy Craig which is an author, writes in his book entitled â€Å"Japan Pop!† that, human relations are a pervasive topic in Japanese pop culture, as one would expect from a society that places great importance on the group, harmony, and the smooth management of conflict. Human relations are also portrayed with a sophistication that does justice to the complexity of human affairs. Issues are many-sided, emotions are mixed, solutions are neither easy nor obvious, and outcomes are often ambiguous – not unlike real life. He continues by saying that, in Japanese fiction the human characters are more real. They  exhibit a fuller range of human emotions and are put into more realistic situations, sometimes with unpleasant outcomes, than allowed by Disney’s â€Å"perfectly preserved, stiflingly safe fairytale-based storylines.† For my last argument I will talk about heroes’ fate after their struggle, about death and the morality of the universe and therefore god, in Japanese fiction. We here in the Western world, are used to good being only good and be rewarded in the end and evil being only evil and be punished in most of the cases. This is not the case in Japanese culture. It’s not unknown in Japan for heroes to become villains and vice versa. Moreover, the Japanese hero is defined by motivation than in the West where heroism is more dependent on result. The ideal Japanese hero is not only self-sacrificing, but also unconcerned with personal gain or survival. The hero’s willingness to give his or her all to it is what counts. Winning doesn’t matter either. Losing and gaining nothing confirms the hero’s altruism and renders his or her sacrifice all the more tragic. Many characters also, meet meaningless, undeserved ends. And fans love that aspect, the fact that bad things , even death, can happen to any character at any time. It doesn’t matter how brave, how good, or even how popular they are. According to my opinion, this fact is absolutely in accordance to how our own world works. Death and bad things generally, can be around the corner for any person, no matter how kind or good-willed he or she is. According to a book by author Antonia Levi titled â€Å"Understanding Japanese Animation† that doesn’t happen on American TV where virtue is rewarded and evil is punished. That’s mainly because America is a Christian culture that believes that the universe is, or it should be, a moral place. The Japanese peoples’ take on this is that universe is amoral. Shinto as well, has no moral code at all! It simply celebrates life. Heroism and self-sacrifice may define a japanese character as a hero, but they will not save him or her. The universe simply doesn’t care. On the opposing side now and regarding manga and anime specifically, some of you may have noticed and may say that a lot of these works have pornographic themes. Wrong. According to the author of the book â€Å"Understanding Japanese Animation† these works are actually a very small portion of the total production of Japan in manga and anime that is disproportionately exported  to the Western world. Another opposition stated by quite a few people, expresses that Japan is a one-dimensional economic power marked by a cultural insularity that robs it of relevance for other societies. Wrong again. The success and presence of Japan’s cultural exports in countries apart from Asian ones such as U.S.A, Canada and most of the European countries is strong evidence that Japan’s culture does have relevance for other societies. To conclude, and quote author Antonia Levi, it’s not just that Japan’s pop culture deals with dilemmas in a more realistic fashion, or that it raises issues considered taboo in other countries. Its willingness to show death and other bad stuff restores a kind of tension, a genuine dramatic emotionality that Hollywood and TV seem to have forgotten about. Bibliography: Clements, Jonathan and Helen McCarthy. The Anime Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917 Stone Bridge Press, 2001. Craig, Timothy. Japan Pop: Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture East Gate, 2000. Levi, Antonia. Samurai from Outer Space: Understanding Japanese Animation Carus Publishing, 1998. Patten, Fred. Anime Stereotypes. Newtype, Issue Dec.2003 A.D.Vision Publications. For my third argument supporting my opinion, I will talk about the presence of female heroes in Japanese fiction. In the Western world apart from such exceptions as Wonder Woman, She-ra and Xena the role of superhero has traditionally been reserved for males, and targeted a predominantly male audience especially in comic books. This is not the case with Japanese  fiction. Japanese don’t neglect females be it on the starring roles of their fiction works or as a target group audience. In manga specifically, there exists a separate genre called shoujo manga with many sub-genres itself, which raises issues and has stories related and devoted to women. The presence of females as featured heroes in manga, animation and TV shows has been much stronger in Japan than in the western world. As the book â€Å"Japan Pop† specifically reports: â€Å"in Japan girl heroes are now as common and popular as boy heroes. The reasons for this are complex and, while hardly due to a greater feminist consciousness in Japanese society, are clearly linked to the increase in recent years of female artists.

Link between economic development and crime and corruption Research Paper

Link between economic development and crime and corruption - Research Paper Example Experts who have not found a close link between economics and crime have linked increased crime outbreaks to a rapid rise in drug markets. Some even linked crime to inequality and injustice meted out to certain sections of the population. However, many experts continue to maintain that recession is in most cases the trigger for a rise in crime rates. The main reason for a lack of clear understanding between the various factors has been attributed to the inability of economists to conduct appropriate studies to ascertain the links. Many crimes occurring in the society is driven by favorable opportunities and changes brought about by social and scientific developments. For example, developments of better locking systems and use of advanced monitoring systems can bring down the crime rates in society irrespective of economic upheavals. However, crime rates are also likely to soar due to increasing unemployment rates that cause marked behavioral changes among the youth. While some expert s argue that lack of resources would prevent people from engaging in criminal activities, many others cite bouts of inflation and the increased demand for goods can also result in increase in criminal activities (Plumer, 2010). The second article by Wei reported in the National Bureau of Economic Research, explores the effect of corruption on the economic development of a country. In the case of the link between corruption and economic development, one of the first studies conducted for this analysis was by Mauro, who conducted a cross country regression study. From his study he concluded that countries where there was widespread corruption showed a much slower economic growth. However, since many factors can contribute to slower growth it is much difficult to solely analyze the effects due to corruption. One of the ways by which corruption deters economic growth is by reducing foreign direct

The Darwinian Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Darwinian Economy - Essay Example During a House Financial Services Committee hearing, it was put across that the simplest way to frame regulation was capital. Capital informs the amount of risk that financial institutions can take overall. It assures that the institutions have cushions that can absorb extreme shocks. Capital requirements are designed so as, given the uncertainty about the future and ignorance that there is concerning some elements of risk, it will ensure a greater cushion for absorption of loss and save bankers from consequences of judgment mistakes, as well as global uncertainty. The debate on whether to regulate or not to regulate has a great deal at stake. The global financial systems and their stability are dependent on adequate and effective capital requirements for these institutions with the 2008 crisis revealing vital problems with requirements as they currently stand (Ferguson, 2012: p1). However, economic recovery prospects, in Britain, the EU, and the US are heavily dependent on a steady credit flow, as well as lending. In addition, the available evidence is suggestive of the fact that over the top increment of capital requirements, in deed, will cause a credit crunch. Therefore, while financial institutions do require some level of regulation, they should not be over-regulated. Regulatory Failure Regulatory requirements of capital are not equally effective in their totality, especially because of two essential pitfalls that they are susceptible to; discretionary recognition of loss by regulators and bankers and discretionary bailouts by their governments (Barth et al, 2010: p34). Discretionary loss recognition refers to the use of practices of accounting that act to alter the meaning of capital. Instead of utilizing market based concepts, such as bank stock prices, so as to measure risk, as well as establish capital needs, regulators are reliant on concepts of accounting. They check on the bank’s books, rather than on the market assessments of the firmâ€⠄¢s held value. Regulatory capital, therefore, is referred to as accounting residual, i.e. the difference between asset accounting value and debt accounting value (Barth et al, 2010: p34). Accountants, book value, of course, are subject strict requirements of law. However, these requirements provide the regulators and bankers with discretion, especially concerning timing, which allows them to delay the acknowledgement of problems, as well as acting on these problems (Barth et al, 2010: p36). In addition, neither regulators nor bankers tend to recognize losses fully during poor economic conditions. The bankers will usually prefer to use delay tactics, such as ever greening, i.e. re-lending of money to the delinquent borrowers in order for these borrowers to pay back ballooning costs of debt service using even more debt to mask their problems. Bank regulators, on their part, always crave system stability, especially forbearance, to avoid worsening or precipitating a crisis. Therefore, they find ways to utilize their allotted discretion so as to downplay the size of losses in order for the banks not to require lost capital replacement (Barth et al, 2010: p34). When the above-mentioned practices are done on a large scale, they can have disastrous results. In the preceding events of the 2008 financial crisis, for instance, their combination caused a failure in the replacement of bank capital in time, which led to an intensification of the eventual

Article response paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Response paper - Article Example The article also points out why LA can be regarded as a crucial phenomenon to be used while teaching some issues related to language. The article also focuses on the theoretical perspectives, which guide literacy autobiography, and how useful they can be termed to be with regard to literary autobiography. The article outlines that L1 and W1 should be included in the L2 classroom (Steinman, 2007). Personal observation After reading the article, I gained outstanding knowledge regarding literary autobiography. The article is helpful in a number of ways, and the immense information contained in the article forms the basis for a deep understanding of what languages entail. From the article, I have managed to learn that there are various theoretical frameworks that support LA. I have learnt that certain writing conventions can be regarded as significantly crucial. These writing conventions include affective, textual, cognitive, contextual, as well as political. Language also plays a crucia l role in the development of thought. LA is vital to learning for teachers, as well as multilingual students. The L1 writing skills held by writers can be regarded as crucial since writers tend to bring such skills when they take part in L2 writing. The article outlines the crucial role played by information regarding early literacy. As stated in the article, information about early literacy determines the factors that have an impact on the academic writing skills of students (Steinman, 2007). The article outlines that the classroom can be regarded as a place where trans-cultural dialogue takes place. This means that students from diverse cultural backgrounds interact and the cultural beliefs of each student have to be respected. It is worth noting that the article points out the little advocacy with regard to the inclusion of L1 in institutions of higher learning such as universities and colleges. The article also points out levels of change, which tend to be three. These levels in clude change of practice, material and beliefs. Numerous approaches prove to be helpful in the literature and research of Literacy autobiography. Some of the central approaches encompass socio-cultural theory, communities if practice, multiliteracies, as well as contrastive rhetoric. LA is instrumental in examining how writing practices, as well as writing, differ between cultures. Based on multiliteracy, meaning should be derived from all forms of language used in teaching. The article explores various ways in which students from various backgrounds tend to be welcomed in a community of practice, which consists of various languages and students from diverse backgrounds. Writing is crucial to the developing of collaborative learning, as well as value and thought (Steinman, 2007). Excerpts â€Å"I have since been taking part in studying, talking, and thinking about contrastive rhetoric, which refers to the study of writing values and writing conventions, as well as how these tend to vary in different cultures† (Steinman 2007, p.564). â€Å" I discovered the implications and significance of writing conventions such as political, affective, cognitive, contextual, and textual. Consequently, I started rethinking what I expected second language students in my class to bring out appropriately and what they could not articulate with a lot of ease† (Steinman 2007, p.564). The reason for choosing the above excerpts is because they fundamentally address the

Economics of Race and Gender Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Economics of Race and Gender - Essay Example In the movies, Freedom Writers, Crash and The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter, this is apparent. In all three films discrimination based on race, and gender is a social condition. It is even bordering on the realm of norms and public policy. All these films show that discrimination based on race and gender to be a product of social institutions and social interactions. The failure of social integration, the absence of acceptance and the disdain against specific sectors of society results to this. Â  Discrimination based on race and gender may be alleviated by a paradigm shift in terms of mindset. The whole system of discrimination is built on mere distorted ideas, and perceptions made manifest. If this can be corrected via education, reorientation and cultural understanding it would cease. These false distinctions can be proven to be inconsequential and irrelevant social constructions. Â  Social and cultural diversity is common in modern society. However, the underlying negative aspect of diversity is marginalization. Often this is because of discrimination and the failure to integrate into mainstream society. Â  Social integration is the process of creating unity, inclusion, and participation at all levels of society within the diversity of personal attributes so that every person is free to be the person she wants to be. Personal attributes include socio-economic class, age, gender - sexual preference and expression, political ideas, ethnicity and cultural traits, religion, citizenship (national origin) and geographical region of origin and so on (Cruz-Saco 2). Â  

Reducing Ambiguities in Customer Requirements Through Historical Dissertation

Reducing Ambiguities in Customer Requirements Through Historical Knowledge - Dissertation Example On the contrary, adverse scenarios develop and complex designs are continually expressed, marked by high levels of understandability, verifiability, traceability, and modifiability requirements which are not consistent with intricate situations. The intricate situations increase, creating a design reality for Requirements Engineering processes plagued with uncertainty, vacillation, and visualization. The purpose of this study is to present a more conventional philosophical system of thinking, which is ideally grounded on the value-based approach, and melted down to ideal elucidation process in the rigid scenarios. It will develop a discussion that supports no software engineering may supersede Requirement Engineering. A high degree of quality in Requirement Engineering is paramount to withstand harsh run time errors associated software engineering development. ... 2†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦... Proposed Conceptual Method; Cybulsky, J., and K. Reed. 2000. â€Å"Requirements Classification and Reuse: Crossing Domains Boundaries.† In 6th International Conference on Software Reuse, 190–210. Fig. 3†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.Software and Qualitative Analysis; e-Source. (2013). Software and Qualitative Analysis: The Qualitative Research; Sorting and Coding. Office of Behavioral & Social Sciences Research Fig. 4†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Fig. 5†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ LIST OF TABLES Table 1†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Methodologies for Requirements Engineering Table 2†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Deductive Analysis Steps Table Table Table Table CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION History has shown that insufficient engineering requirements lead to insufficient engineering products and thus, security risks. Requirements Engineering (RE) consists of development and management and is one of the most important disciplines in the development of Software Engineering (SE) soft ware products. According to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK), software requirements can be defined as â€Å"a property which must be exhibited in order to solve some problem in the real world† (Committee 2004). One of the main practices in RE is the elicitation process of software requirements (see fig. 1). During the elicitation process, requirements are analyzed, specified, and verified (SPC, 2002). Software requirements specifications are derived from the requirements elicitation process (see fig. 1). For requirements to be of quality, they must be correct, complete, precise, consistent, verifiable, modifiable, and traceable (Toval et al. 2002). Successful and effective requirements engineering can improve risk management, quality, reusability, and productivity during the software development process. In this study, ambiguities in new customer

Entrepreneurship College Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Entrepreneurship College - Essay Example For the success of any creative industry and economy certain factors are very important. They are personal factors, cultural factors, economic factors and social factors Creativity is one of the essential qualities of successful entrepreneur. Creativity refers to doing something in a different way or introducing some new ideas. It is a unique quality of some individuals. "Creativity is defined as the tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and others." (Franken). Creative industry is nothing but the industry that involves some kind of creativity. Creative industries include advertising, music, crafts, art, design, computer software, television, video games, radio, publishing industry, copy writingetc. Creative economy refers to that economy generated and sustained by all the creative industries put together. Creative economy contributes much to the economic development of any country. There is very little chance of the creative industries becoming irrelevant or going out of fashion. Creative industry is an economic sector which is one of the major contributors of national income of most countries. There are millions of people working in the creative industries and it can safely assumed that there will be high increase in the employment opportunities in these industries in coming years. 5% of the GNP in European Union countries is contributed by creative industry. Its growth rate is also very high. (Working papers series: crating industries in Vienna: development, dynamics and potentials 200

Rhetoric Principle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Rhetoric Principle - Essay Example It is, therefore, wise for employed people to invest and if they do not do so now, they will wallow in poverty and desperation alongside those who never had employment or invested. There are many areas in which a person can invest including entrepreneurship, shareholding, real estates, agricultural activities, and banking among others (Gray, 1983). The good news is that at least, every person can find an area of interest in investment options. These options also fit in a variety of jobs one does (Domini, 2011). Moreover, everyone can easily investment in an economic activity that fits his or her timetable, financial status, social status and cultural orientation. Therefore, there will be no reason to justify if a person is abandoned by his children to wallow in poverty in old age when he should have laid a strong financial foundation by investing. There is also no reason for one to claim that he or she was not employed given the loan packages that financial institutions offer all over at interest rates that even lay people can

The problem with public relations Essay Example for Free

The problem with public relations Essay Budd and Ruben (1988) stressed that the absence of data sources signals mass media’s inevitable downfall and destruction. Once and for all, information is media’s main (product). Thus, it is pretty impossible for media organizations to deliver such (product) if there is an apparent lack of supplier. PR is therefore instrumental in sustaining media’s existence and survival. PR departments of business establishments can supply industry-based news and stories. Likewise, government agencies utilize PR to increase the public’s awareness about the government’s projects and endeavors. Similarly, it can be noticed that advocacy and interest groups capitulated on public relations to voice out their views and opinions. However, while it is true that public relations aid the media in satisfying the market for information, it cannot be denied that PR’s sole purpose is still grounded on the principle of building publicity and creating massive media exposure. The marriage of press releases and news items make it too difficult and confusing for the public to distinguish plain news materials from press releases. The implications of the above-mentioned scenarios are pretty compelling and cannot be readily ignored. For one, the dependence of media organizations on PR departments as news sources raises question regarding the quality of news production. For one, media practitioners are trained and expected to conduct heavy research and collect different news sources to ensure accuracy. Relying on a single source is a cardinal sin for many journalists and broadcasters primarily because news items must ensure that all angles of the story are presented. Relatively, this also served as a challenge to the degree of professionalism practiced by individuals that work in the media. Data gathering and verifying information are essential routines in news production. This means that journalists and broadcasters are expected to go out of their comfort zones and look for socially relevant topics that serve the public’s interests. The notion that media practitioners should develop a keen eyes for details and nose for news, imply that media outfits must exert effort in providing news rather than merely sit and wait for PR handouts. But more than anything else, this situation readily surrenders mass media’s freedom. Mutual connections of news organizations and PR departments manifest media’s subtle suppression and independence from the powerful influences of external environments. Indeed, PR departments, due to its strong links to business organizations, governmental agencies and even advocacy groups, now has the upper-hand in the overall process of how news is produced and delivered to the public (Fitzpatrick Bronstein, 2006) . Drawing on Dahrendorf’s idea of power legitimacy, business establishments and government agencies have the authority to transform news materials into mere promotional or propaganda copies (Slattery, 2003). These actors are well positioned in the social strata that grant them a good grasp of influence. The uneven distribution of authority and rule (Slattery, 2003) readily legitimizes the position of business organizations and government agencies in the social, political, cultural and legal hierarchy. PR subsequently becomes a tool for control and manipulation via exerting pressure to distort and fabricate news items. It is important to note that media outfits are also business endeavors that depend on profiteering to sustain their survival. Profit, in the media context is measured by high ratings and wide audience reception. But this can be only achieved if newspapers and television programs alike have enough information to offer for public consumption (Craig, 2004). It is the information—the news stories that function as lifebloods of the media industry. When PR departments become involved in news making, they are very much capable of withholding data and information that leaves journalists and broadcasters at their mercy. This is most especially true in situations wherein corporate reputation is very much at stake. In these times, media practitioners must exercise neutrality and objectivity. However, neutrality in this case does not work well for PR. One must readily take sides. What happens then is that journalists and news anchors are compelled to transform press releases into (well-researched) news reports that simply explain the sides of the affected party. However, a closer look into the matter shows that these simple explanations are no less than defense mechanisms that are pursued to protect capitalistic aims and orientations. Other business organizations would even push media practitioners to exaggerate press releases and resort to sensationalism (Whitaker, Ramsey Smith, 2004). On the other hand, government agencies can impose legal sanctions to influence news coverage and to a certain extent—silence media groups. These institutions can very much exercise censorship to dismantle media’s critical stand. This situation is highly evident in communities governed by extremely authoritarian regimes. Likewise, if government offices fail to garner favorable media attention, they can create their own media system and thus capitalize on PR. Nowadays, it is not too much of an extraordinary thing to see government agencies publish their own newsletters or newspapers (Franklin Murphy, 1991). A deconstruction of these media contents clearly show that campaign materials are readily expressed as news. Yes, these copies may well increase the public’s awareness. But news, in the truest sense of the word, is not self-serving. Apparently, this scenario manifests a blatant abuse of freedom of expression. However, press releases are also exploited by other media practitioners. This can be specifically observed in journalists and broadcasters who are active members of advocacy groups. Their ideological beliefs may very much interfere with the way they handle news stories. Biases may occur in treating subjects that have differing opinions and perspectives. There are instances wherein released statements of their respective groups are customized to look like news items. But then again, no matter how noble the intentions are, this does not erase the fact that the public is deceived and mislead. The inability of media individuals to distance themselves from their respective affiliations is a subtle and unconscious way of placing more PR content in news items. The agenda-setting model states that mass media in general have the ability to dictate and redefine the audience’s perception (Botha et. al, 2007). News organizations, regardless of the ethical standards that govern broadcast, print and online media can tell the public which issues should be considered important and which should be immediately dismissed as irrelevant. The agenda-setting function of media is manifested through giving focus and emphasis on particular subjects (Botha et. al, 2007). When certain events or personalities receive much media attention, the public is made to believe that these are important. It can be observed that majority of released news items are mainly concern on few large-scale issues. Yet, it seems that there is diversity in newspapers and television news programs. But the truth is, these issues are simply dissected and articulated from different angles. Public relations officers know this very well and PR agencies are readily capitulating on these situations (Burns, 2002). Even though it is a common practice for news producers to identify news angles, this has been nonetheless, abused. Consequently, this scenario is also instrumental in the prevalence of unethical practices in mass media. These include biases, data fabrication, inaccuracy, and conflicting interests. Under this context, news and media in general becomes a tool of the elite to retain their positions in the social and political ladder. Media becomes a hegemonic machine of the ruling class. This situation further reaffirms Althusser’s argument that media is part of the so-called â€Å"ideological state apparatuses or ISA (Fourie, 2007). † Conclusion PR is indeed, a good source of news stories. However, there should be a clear distinction between press releases and news items. Media organizations must assert their independence and autonomy from certain groups that could very well affect news production. It should be always remembered that providing relevant information is not synonymous to creating â€Å"praise releases. † Ethical practices in the media must be strictly observed. The public’s demand for information should not be perceived from a business-oriented view. News stories are not commodities. The public needs to know because the public needs to make a decision. Media, more than anything else is accountable to the public, not to PR agencies. Reference List Benkler, Y. (2006). The Wealth of Networks How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedoms. Connecticut: Yale University Press Botha, D; Chaka, M; du Plessis, N; Krause, B; Rawjee, V. P; Porthen, D; Veerasamy, D and Wright, B. (2007). Public Relations Fresh Perspectives. Cape Town: Pearsons Education South Africa (Pty) Ltd. Budd, R. and Ruben, B. (1988) Beyond Media New Approaches to Mass Communication. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers Burns, L. (2002). Understanding Journalism. London: Sage Publications Ltd. Clear, A. and Weideman, L. (2001) Dynamics of Public Relations and Journalism. (2nd ed). Cape Town: Juta Co. Ltd. Craig, G. (2004). The Media, Politics and Public Life. North South Wales: Allen Unwing Davies, A. (2003). Public Relations and News Sources. In S. Cottle (Ed. ), News, public relations and power. London: Sage Publications Inc. Fleming, C; Hemmingway, E; Moore, G and Welford, D. (2006). An Introduction to Journalism. London: Sage Publications Inc. Fitzpatrick, K and Bronstein, C. (2006). Ethics in Public Relations. London: Sage Publications Inc. Fourie, P. (Ed. ) (2007). Media Studies Media History, Media and Society (Vol. 1). Cape Town: Juta Co. Ltd. Franklin, B. and Murphy, D. (1991). What News?. London: Routledge L’Etang, J. (2004). Public Relations in Britain. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc. Ray, S. (2007) And Now for the good News. Massachusetts: Moment Point Press Schultz, R. (1998) Reviving the fourth estate. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Slattery, M. (2003). Key Ideas in Sociology. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Ltd. Sloan, W. and Parcell, L. (Eds) (2002). American Journalism History, Principles, Practices. North Carolina: McFarland Company Inc. Whitaker,W; Ramsey, J and Smith, R. (2004). MediaWriting Print, Broadcast and Public Relations. (2nd ed). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.

Age assessments for unaccompanied asylum seeking

Age assessments for unaccompanied asylum seeking DISSERTATION Age assessments for unaccompanied asylum seeking children: Policy, law and implications for social work. Abstract Methodology Literature Review Chapter One – Introduction Chapter Two – Unaccompanied Asylum Seekers Chapter Three – Age Assessment Policy, Legislation and Practice Chapter Four – Conclusion and Recommendations. Unaccompanied asylum seeking children arrive in the UK seeking refuge from often-horrific events in their home countries. The response of both national government and local authorities to this influx has been largely unsatisfactory with campaigners arguing that the focus has been on cutting costs and removing young asylum seekers rather than providing them with the care that they are entitled to. This study suggests that policy and practice around age assessment is central to this argument. There is significant evidence that local authorities are pressurising social workers to age assess children as older than they are in order to save them money. The haphazard way in which age assessments have usually been carried out only serves to encourage this behaviour. Even without financial pressure, the lack of a standard approach to age assessment is also leading to inconsistencies when age assessments are put into practice The focus of this dissertation has been to analyse how, why and when age assessments are used in processing unaccompanied asylum seekers and examine whether the process is fair and consistent. The methodology has primarily to adopt secondary sources and evaluate evidence from as wide a range of viewpoints as possible. The dissertation has been aimed towards a conclusion that the current process is unsatisfactory and has attempted to deliver recommendations that could improve the process. Literature for this dissertation has been gathered from a combination of academic books and journals, government publications, reports produced by independent agencies and articles from newspapers and magazines including The Guardian and Community Care. One of the most detailed reports on the subject of assessment is the 2007, When is a child not a child? Asylum, age disputes and the process of age assessment by Crawley. Much of the factual detail about the actual mechanics of age assessment has been gathered from this source. Of academic journals, the articles written by Kohli have been most useful as they delivering the results and analysis from a wide range of studies around unaccompanied asylum seekers. Each year, approximately 3000 unaccompanied children and young people arrive in the UK to seek asylum.[1] Many of these are subject to age assessment to clarify that they are entitled to services available to vulnerable children in the UK. The age of people claiming to be children can be disputed by a range of professionals, from immigration officers to police and social workers. It is important to define what an age assessment actually is at the beginning of this study. An age assessment is he method used by either the UK border and Immigration Agency or local authority social services departments to assess the age of an asylum seeker.[2]There is currently no method that is capable of defining the exact age of a child and the accuracy of the assessment will often be produced within a range of two years over or below the assessment age.[3] Some commentators have argued that many local authorities have proactively looked to avoid the cost of looking after young asylum seekers in need and have set up control measures to keep children aged 16-18 out of the territory.[4] One of the mechanisms for doing this has been attempts by social workers to stop classifying unaccompanied minors as children. There have been suggestions that many social workers became preoccupied with attempting to assess the age of applicants rather than providing services and that such an assessment was crude exercise based on the individual opinion of a single social worker. As Kohli writes â€Å"studies reported a growing disbelief in respect of those claiming to be under 18 and the treatment of anyone over 16 years as a de facto adult allowed access to food and shelter but little else.†[5] Professionals working in the highest echelons of childcare have expressed similar concerns, for example the Children’s Commissioner Sir Al Aynsley Green has stated: â€Å"Although Home Office Policy is for the immigration officer to apply the ‘benefit of the doubt’ in favour of the applicant in borderline cases, the evidence suggests that in practice this is frequently not adhered to. The result is that a substantial number of asylum seekers who are in fact unaccompanied children are excluded from the protection of domestic care regimes†¦Ã¢â‚¬ [6] Government policy from the early part of the decade has been to work in partnership with local authorities and disperse asylum seekers of all ages around the country. The Home Office negotiated contracts with a number of authorities to receive and accommodate asylum seekers.[7] There also is evidence to support this. Central government has since 2005 looked to change the role of social work teams at ports of entry to work practically as adjuncts to the Border and Immigration Agency, deliberately narrowing the gap between immigration and social services functions. There is clearly a financial motivation for this – in 2005 the 6000 unaccompanied asylum seeking children offered services by local authorities comprised less than 10% of cases yet used up approximately 25% of the Home Office budget.[8]Social work teams have been set targets in terms of turning away age disputed asylum seekers and assessing clients claiming to be 15 as older.[9] This study looks at how the UK deals with unaccompanied asylum seekers and in particular examines policy and practice around age assessment. Chapter two focuses on the legislation in place and policy around it whilst chapter three looks more specifically at the age assessment processes and the general failings of the system in the UK. Chapter four concludes with recommendations on improving the system Unaccompanied asylum seeking children arrive in the UK for a number of reasons. A recent study of 218 arrivals found that half came from countries undergoing armed conflict or serious disturbances and over two fifths were victims of direct or indirect persecution. Deprivation, poverty or trafficking for exploitation were other primary reasons for seeking asylum.[10] Dealing with asylum seeking children, either with or without their families is a growing area of social work practice yet one in which there is relatively little understanding of the needs or circumstances of such children.[11] In legislative terms, legislation such as The Children’s Act 1989 and The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families remain central to issues around assessment and care for asylum-seeking children and they should also be included under the remit of the Every Child Matters agenda. The Children and Young People’s Plan 2005 for example makes reference to joint working between housing and social care bodies to meet the housing needs of unaccompanied asylum seekers. [12] For local authorities, there is a duty to provide services necessary to safeguard and promote the well-being of any children deemed to be in need under the Children Act 1989. Due to the absence of their parents, unaccompanied children are classed as vulnerable and therefore in need. The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 also reinforces the local authority duty to support unaccompanied minors. It is helpful to have a clear definition of what an unaccompanied asylum seeker actually is. The Immigration and Nationality Directorate definition is a young person under the age of 18(or who appears to be if there is no proof); who is applying for asylum in his or her own right; and who has no adult relative or guardian to turn to within the UK.[13] The age of an unaccompanied asylum seeker has historically been an important factor in respect of the Special Grant that the Home Office made available to unaccompanied minors. Prior to 2004 there were two levels of support available, with those supported under the age of 16 receiving a higher level and those first supported at age 16 or 17 receiving half that amount.[14] However, a judicial review – the Hillingdon Judgement – carried out in 2004 has significantly increased the impact on local authorities. The judgement ruled that, except in exceptional cases, all asylum-seeking children must be treated under section 20 of the Children’s Act 1989 which classes them as looked after children. [15] There is clearly an impact on service provision for both national and local government. Watters writes that â€Å"the arrival of significant numbers of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children through the port of Dover thus presented very significant challenges to social care, health and education providers in the south east.† [16] Asylum seekers who after the assessment process became looked after children would be entitled to foster or residential placements, an allocated social worker and financial support. They may also have qualified for the benefits of leaving care status up to the age of 21, a further financial burden on local authorities. The question of age then is a crucial issue for local authorities. Many young people seeking asylum do not have official papers or documentation confirming their age so practitioners in both social services and immigration have difficult decisions to make. It can be difficult to draw information from asylum seeking children – research shows that when they are asked about reasons for their asylum request, they try and fit their stories into the narrow format that they believe are acceptable in their given country.[17]This in turn can lead to scepticism amongst officials and social workers, the same research reported instances of social services personnel being cynical about young Kosovan and African males claiming to be younger than they looked and thus worrying that their services were being exploited and their resources drained.[18] Ultimately, age assessment is a crucial tool for immigration officials and social workers. There are asylum seekers who try to abuse the system, so a method of asserting age is required. When the current practices serve this purpose will be discussed in chapter three. When and Why Most age disputes in asylum cases occur when an asylum seeker first applies for asylum, normally at their port of entry.[19]There is little in the way of formal assessment at this point, age disputes will be lodged primarily based on the basis of appearance, demeanour and documentation. Another issue of contention is the range of individuals or professionals that might dispute the age of an asylum seeker – this can include immigrations officials, social workers or police officers. Social workers may even dispute the age of a child who had not been queried by immigration officials. Age disputes may happen several months or even years after a child has entered the country. Crawley quotes a case study of a young girl who had been brought into the country at a young age to be used as a domestic slave. When immigration officials became aware of her five years later – still under the age of 16 – she was age disputed before eventually taken into the care of a social services department.[20] In contrast, many young people, perhaps some who are over 18, slip through the net and are classed as minors. Many social services departments simply do not have the resources to undertake formal age assessments and have concerns about the impact of multiple interviews and assessment on young asylum seekers. As such, decisions are made not to query age. Policy and Legislative framework Home Office policy in terms of unaccompanied minors is set out in policy documents including Policy bulletin 33, Guidance from processing applications from children and Guidance on age disputed cases 3rd ed which lays out specific procedures for professionals who dispute a claimant’s age and believe that it is an adult claiming to be a child. One of the most interesting aspects of policy and perhaps the most controversial in the light of what appears to be happening is that the INDs guidance on age disputed cases states clearly that when there is an age dispute â€Å"a claimant must be given the benefit of the doubt with regards to their age unless their physical appearance strongly suggests that they are aged 18 or over†.[21]It seems that this is not the case currently in practice – local authorities certainly are encouraging social work team to dispute age more regularly. Other aspects of the IND guidance can be confusing and it is not surprising that there are inconsistencies in practice. For example there is no actual duty for immigration officers to refer age disputed cases to the appropriate local authority, rather this is something that should be done in principle, a situation that can only complicate things for social workers further down the line. Overall, the current system seems disjointed and variable. As Crawley writes: â€Å"There is evidence of a significant gap between what is supposed to happen and to what happens in practice†[22] and some of the issues involves at age assessment units around the country highlight this: A general lack of care, including a lack of food and water, for young people waiting to be screened A failure to use the privacy of separate interview rooms Difficulties with microphones meaning conversations held through the glass screen in the public area are either overheard or not heard at all No responsible adult being present to support young person[23] Clearly age assessment is not a simple matter. All children vary in development, maturity and natural growth and there can be a wide range of supposed ‘normal findings’ at various ages. It is extremely difficult to accurately gather a young persons age and things such as race, ethnicity and local conditions such as disease and malnutrition have to be considered in any assessment. Whether children’s social workers are qualified to do this is questionable The organisation Youth Support which assists young refuges reports that in its own age assessment process it includes as many factors as possible including â€Å"height, weight, body mass, shoe size, developmental factors such as skin care and teeth, sexual development; mental and emotional age estimates including thought processes and general concepts. Also of great importance is the history and social milestones which the young person might have experienced – again talking culture and religion into consideration.†[24] There is clearly inconsistency in the process nationwide. Michie argues that one of the problems in the UK has been that a diversity of systems and guidelines has developed in assessing the age of unaccompanied minors, involving a combination of history collection, physical anthropometry and radiographs. He writes: â€Å"Their lack of uniformity identifies an underlying difficulty: there is no method by which chronological age can be precisely estimated in this age group. Paediatricians in the United Kingdom care for small numbers of individuals in late adolescence and early adulthood in graduate outpatient services, but often have little experience in this area.†[25] There are some success stories. At Heathrow Airport for example, Hillingdon Social Services have used a number of strategies to deal with large volumes of unaccompanied asylum seekers. These have included use of a dedicated police officer for child protection, a specific questionnaire for staff working at terminal 3 and the development of a specifics age assessment tool combined with specific training,.[26] Guidance for Social Work Practice Age assessment is clearly a difficult area for social work practitioners. There is little experience in this type of work and relatively little in the way of practice guidelines. The guidance drawn up by the Children’s Legal Centre is perhaps the most useful document for social workers to refer to when carrying out age assessments. Some of the points included are: Taking account of ethnicity, culture and customs of the person being assessed and well as the level of trauma, tiredness, anxiety and bewilderment present The asylum seeker may have had coaching prior to arrival. It is important for the social work to engage with the person in a process sometimes known as ‘joining’. The assessment framework should be led by open, non-leading questions The practitioner should note the verbal and non-verbal (body language) behaviour of the person A useful indicator is if the person seems uncomfortable talking to an adult A detailed family tree with ages of parents and siblings can help assessing likely age Questions about the activities and roles a person was involved in prior to entering the UK can be a good indicator Social workers may consider arranging for the person to be put in a social situation with people of the age stated and observing interaction Gaining detailed accounts of educational history can be a valuable source of information in making an accurate age assessment Assessment of life skills is useful – does the person have any experience of living independently, managing money etc[27] All of the above can be done in conjunction with opinion and input from other sources including foster carers, teachers, doctors, interpreters and residential workers. It is useful also to have input from paediatricians, dentists or optician although a social worker should take into account advice from paediatricians that there can be a five year error in age assessments.[28] Just as important is information and best practice sharing between professional involved in this type of work. A uniform approach to age assessment across the UK should be a shared objective. There are clearly huge improvements necessary in the way that social service departments across the country deal with unaccompanied asylum seekers. This includes both the process for age assessment and the subsequent services provided. Evidence shows that staff in the various agencies dealing with these children lack knowledge about the services available and how to deal with the emotional trauma that many of these children will have experienced.[29]Social workers dealing with age assessments are clearly lacking in the skills to do so accurately. One reported when surveyed: â€Å"We do them (age assessments) but we can be wrong five years either side – it matters a lot doesn’t it? They can end up with many dates of birth – social services, Home Office, their own..†[30] Practitioners need such understand the vulnerability of the young people they are dealing with and avoid taking a cynical approach. As Michie concludes: â€Å"The fairness, legality and ethical base of any national framework for age assessment has to take into account legal history, jurisprudence as well as the paediatric wisdom, â€Å"What if this were my child?†, Although it may be difficult to quantify the inadequacies of the current system, it clearly compounds abuse to a vulnerable group of children. We must do better.†[31] The are some positives in examining the UK response to unaccompanied asylum seekers . The more holistic approach developed in recent years seems to be more efficient are more aware of the sensitivities of the issues than for example the US and Australian governments. Bhaba et al write of the UK: â€Å"It has made extensive efforts to identify children in genuine need at the earliest possible stage and to institute programmes to target trafficking in children through training of in country border officials and the instigation of research. [32]This is a pleasing sign, yet problems still occur when age is disputed. Recommendations: There are a number of steps that can be taken to improve the way in which young asylum seekers are treated to ensure consistency. Protection of vulnerable children is crucial, yet it is also important that age assessments can be used to identify asylum seekers over the age of 18 who seek to abuse the system. The EU’s reception directive states that unaccompanied children seeking asylum should be appointed a legal guardian[33] and this should be adopted by the UK Helping vulnerable children through the process would be a welcome improvement. Trained, skilled age assessors should be employed at ports of entry. These may well be social workers, experienced in dealing with this age group, accountable to a child protection team with paediatric expertise open to them in some form. Another option would be to establish fully trained multi agency teams based in regional assessment centres, something that would produce holistic and better-informed outcomes. Ideally age assessors should be financially independent of local authority social services – this would limit the chance of pressure being put upon assessors to reach targets for the number of age assessments found to be 18+. The lack of statutory guidance on the process of age assessment should also be addressed – this would help alleviate some of the inconsistencies in the process. A final recommendation, supported by Crawley, would be for the age assessment process to be overlooked by an independent age assessment panel which could provide support and guidance, help with the auditing process and make it less likely that decisions could be challenged or influence by those holding the local authority purse strings. The most important thing is that age assessment is done fairly and consistently, and that young asylum seekers are treated in the same way, regardless of port of entry or the local authority overseeing them. At present this is not the case and there is work for legislators, policy makers and practitioners to do if this is to be rectified. Bibliography Bhaba J, Finch N, Crock M Schmidt S, Seeking Asylum Alone, Themis Press 2006 Chase e, Emotional Well-being of asylum seeking children, http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2008/07/29/108994/well-being-of-asylum-seeking-children.html accessed 15 October Children’s Legal Centre, Practice Guidelines for age assessment of young unaccompanied asylum seekers, http://www.childrenslegalcentre.com/NR/rdonlyres/BAA6E134-7810-42C1-9634-2AC500D326DE/0/PracticeNotesKarenGoodman.pdf accessed 15 October Crawley, H, When is a child not a child? Asylum, age disputes and the process of age assessment, Immigration Law Practitioners Association, May 2007 DFES 2005, Guidance on the Children and Young People’s Plan, Hayes D, Humphries B, Cohen S, Social Work, Immigration and Asylum, Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2004 Kelly A, Minors Conflict, The Guardian Jan 31 2007 http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/jan/31/asylum.guardiansocietysupplement1 accessed 16 October Kohli R, The Comfort of Strangers: social work practice with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people in the UK, child and Family Social Work ,vol 11 2006 Kohli R, The Sound of Silence: Listening to What Unaccompanied Asylum-seeking Children Say and Do Not Say, British Journal of Social Work vol 36 2006 Michie CA, Age Assessment: time for progress? Archives of Disease in Childhood, 90(6) June 2005 Mitchell F, The social services response to unaccompanied children in England, Children and Family Social Work, vol 8 August 2003 Watters C, Refugee Children, Routlege 2008 http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/jan/05/immigration.immigrationandpublicservices accessed 15 October Asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/jan/05/immigration.immigrationandpublicservices accessed 16 October http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/asylumprocessguidance/specialcases/guidance/disputedagecases.pdf?view=Binary accessed 15 October www.everychildmatters.com accessed 14 October http://www.ilpa.org.uk/infoservice/Info%20sheet%20Age%20Disputes%20%20Age%20Assessment.pdf accessed 16 October 1 [1] Chase e, Emotional Well-being of asylum seeking children, http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2008/07/29/108994/well-being-of-asylum-seeking-children.html [2] http://www.ilpa.org.uk/infoservice/Info sheet Age Disputes Age Assessment.pdf [3] http://www.ilpa.org.uk/infoservice/Info sheet Age Disputes Age Assessment.pdf [4] P2 Kohli R, The Comfort of Strangers: social work practice with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people in the UK, child and Family Social Work ,vol 11 2006 [5] p2 Kohli 2006 [6] p4 Crawley 2007 [7] p85 Watters 2008 [8] p84 Watters C, Refugee Children, Routlege 2008 [9] p84 Watters C, Refugee Children, Routlege 2008 [10] p179 Mitchell F, The social services response to unaccompanied children in England, Children and Family Social Work, vol 8 August 2003 [11] p132 Hayes D, Humphries B, Cohen S, Social Work, Immigration and Asylum, Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2004 [12] p22 Guidance on the Children and Young People’s Plan, DFES 2005 [13] P179 Mitchell 2003 [14] p179 Mitchell 2003 [15] Kelly A, Minors Conflict, The Guardian Jan 31 2007 http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/jan/31/asylum.guardiansocietysupplement1 [16] p85 Watters 2008 [17] p711 Kohli R, The Sound of Silence: Listening to What Unaccompanied Asylum-seeking Children Say and Do Not Say, British Journal of Social Work vol 36 2006 [18] p718 Kohli 2006 [19] p14 Crawley 2007 [20] p16 Crawley 2007 [21] p43 Crawley 2007 [22] p44 Crawley 2007 [23] p47 Crawley 2007 [24] Asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/jan/05/immigration.immigrationandpublicservices [25] p612 Michie CA, Age Assessment: time for progress?Archives of Disease in Childhood, 90(6) June 2005 [26] p613 Michie 2005 [27] Childrens Legal Centre, Practice Guidelines for age assessment of young unaccompanied asylum seekers, http://www.childrenslegalcentre.com/NR/rdonlyres/BAA6E134-7810-42C1-9634-2AC500D326DE/0/PracticeNotesKarenGoodman.pdf [28]

The Success of a New Product Essay -- Marketing Toilet Seats Retail Co

The Success of a New Product Feasibility Analysis Introduction Our product is a toilet seat that lifts up with the step of a pedal. The purpose of our report is to test whether or not our product will be of success and or test what things are necessary to launch our business, J.J.L. Industries. Concept Testing The ‘Toilet Stepper’ was tested using a survey that was designed to understand the bathroom experiences and habits of all types of individuals (Male, female, young, mid-aged, old). When discussing the concept with the surveyed individuals we found that overall everyone thought it was a good idea, however, some males felt it was sexist that they needed to have to pick up the toilet seat and put it down when finished. These individuals felt that a woman should have to put down the toilet seat and lift it back up when they are done with it. (These were generally married couples). While asking some key industry participants such as Home Depot and Menards about the idea and survey they tended not to comment, stating it was against company policy and/or the boss was overlooking them and they would prefer not to take part in the survey. The most information we received through them was through the verbal conversation which we will call ‘interviews’. Through the ‘interviews’ we found that the industry participants felt that it was a good idea and also found it quite humorous. Our Concept Statement was mainly showed to relatives, friends, classmates, and strangers. Unfortunately the our concept statement was not shown to companies/businesses due to the fact that companies could neither partake in the activity (company policy/work time) or they didn’t have time for ‘non-serious’ business related issues. Overall we learned that just about everyone is picky about restrooms/toilets. We also learned that it is very hard to get information from key people when there is no reward or benefit in return. Being viewed at as a student doing research rather than a business partner, company managers/employees don’t seem to have or want to take the time to help you. If we were to do this again we would most likely hide the fact that we are students taking introducing an idea and taking a survey and pretend more like we are actually in the business of selling these ‘Toilet Steppers’. Usability Testing We conducted our u... ... toilet stepper is not really high because of all of the capital that was given to us by Louie’s father and how inexpensive it is to produce the product. The break-even point in units is 2,280, which is a low number for the year. This means that we would have to sell about 44 units per week to get the $45,000 dollars that the three owners put into the company at the beginning of the year. The rate of return that we are looking at is about 115% on three owners’ investments. The rate of return is high, but that is also because the net income is high, since our costs are low. The rate of return could change, of course, depending on what the plans for the company are in the future. Works Cited Chantanuser, Wichit. â€Å"Bowled over: Toto of Japan Elevates Mundane Bathroom Fixtures† Bangkok Post 27 May 2005 â€Å"The Nearest† PerformanceToilets.com 1 Nov 2005 http://www.performancetoilets.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=7 â€Å"The Toilet Marketplace† Supple House Times 1 Nov 2005 http://www.supplyht.com/CDA/ArticleInformation/features/BNP_Features_Item/ 0,5333,107103,00.html Stratton, Lee. â€Å"Super Toilet Not Only Rises to Occasion But Refreshes.† The Columbus

Essay --

​Throughout history there have been several radical events which have ultimately affected large groups of the human population, if not the world in its entirety. The events of World War II are without question a part of that list of radical events. Lasting approximately six years, this global war went from unprovoked acts of military invasion, to acts of mass genocide, to utilization of suicide bombers, and even the first appearance and use of atomic weapons. While it’s not hard to understand why the events in this war, or really any war or large scale battle, can be considered radical in nature, it is also not uncommon to also question whether certain actions were or were not ethical [1]. For instance, it has often been questioned whether the United States’ decision to drop two nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was ethical or not. While many people may struggle with the realization of the aftermath of these events, to me the answer i s quite clear. The United States' utilization of nuclear weapons against Japan during WWII was neither necessary nor ethical. ​Before any rational discussion or analysis on the topic can be formally begun, I believe it is of relative importance to clarify exactly what is meant by the word â€Å"ethical.† Ethics can roughly be defined as the moral principles and standards that govern people’s, or groups of people’s, behavior, thoughts and general way of thinking. This means that when one deems an event or action as ethical or unethical one is not simply deciding if said event was right or wrong [1]. Ethical labeling implies that one has taken the general mindset of the society in which they consider themselves a part of as well as their own personal feelings, thoughts and opini... ...us that while the U.S. did not intend to formally enter the conflicts of the time, it was the actions taken by the Japanese that caused us to declare war. History also tells us that the Japanese didn't stand a chance against the U.S. and it's coordinated efforts with allies. The fact still remains that the Second World War was ended with the utilization of nuclear weapons against two Japanese cities. Asking if the attacks were necessary, majority of what is now known says no. Asking if the attacks were right or wrong, the simple fact is I believe it was wrong for the U.S. to implement that kind of attack on populations that were primarily composed of noncombatant civilians. Between one, let alone two, atomic weapons not being necessary and it being obvious how inhumane and wrong the attacks were, there is no question in my mind that the events simply weren't ethical!

The Three Facets of the Christian Walk :: Biblical Bible Christian Religious Essays

The Three Facets of the Christian Walk As I begin this essay, I pray that I might be able to "rightly divide the word of truth", so that I need not be ashamed (2 Tim 2:15). This being my goal, I hope that you the reader might learn something from this essay. Remember though, to be as the Christians in Thessalonica, and examine all teachings based on their faithfulness to the scriptures (Acts 17:11). As Christians, we are to go through life in a certain way. In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus tells us that the proper path in life is narrow. Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. What then is this path? Well, as Christians, we know that the path to Eternal Life is through Jesus. Jesus tells us in John 14:6 that, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. So we know that, as Christians, we have already turned to face the right direction. As all Christians certainly know, though, the story does not end with the Sinner's Prayer. After that day of salvation, we must go to sleep, and then rise again the next morning, again having to face a fallen world. In order to be the "Salt of the World", as we are told we are in Matthew 5:13, we must know how to walk. Certainly one that follows all of the dictates of the scriptures is doing right (all of the dictates, NOT just the rules of action). It is my belief that the Christian walk can be broken down into three inter-related Facets. The first of these facets is Worship. The word "worship" appears in the King James Version of the Bible 108 times. Under the classification of worship, one could include such things as praise, prayer, and thanksgiving. Worship, though, is more than these things. One can worship in all things, because to worship is to give glory to God (1 Peter 4:11). One can give glory to God by having a heart attitude of thanksgiving and praise when walking through a grocery store, through the woods, or down a street.

Ducati Paper

Margaret DeWitt Ducati Turnaround The turnaround success of Ducati was the direct result of Federico Minoli’s implementation of a differentiation strategy. As a company that was heading towards bankruptcy, Ducati was saved and revamped by Minoli’s specific vision for the company that were precisely presented in an extremely realistic manner. These goals for the company included double-digit growth for Ducati and equaling Harley-Davidson’s profit level. After reading the success of this turnaround, one point that I found very interesting and contributed to the company’s success is Minoli’s staffing method for Ducati.Not only did he strive to acquire intelligent and qualified workers, but also he emphasized passion and creativity in the workplace. The article refers to this â€Å"structured chaos† as the primary source of creativity. Another unique staffing method using by Minoli was that none of the new staff had previous experience in the mot orcycle industry. According to Minoli, even though they had no previous experience they were still capable of becoming passionate about this company and its products and would therefore be a successful management team.It is apparent Minoli views everyone involved in the production of Ducati’s products as a key success factor in its turnaround. In choosing the right strategy for Ducati, Minoli debated between standardizing the engine, which would result in better efficiency, or to remain true to what the motorcycle represented. He wanted the brand name to appeal not only to extreme motorcycle riders but also so other segments of buyers. By implementing a differentiation strategy, Minoli was able to position Ducati in a way that showcased its uniqueness as a motorcycle.It was also a way to separate it from other motorcycle companies such as Harley-Davidson and Honda. The specific features of their product are so unique to the brand name that it would be difficult and expensive for competitors to try to mimic. The company has moved from a â€Å"product-centered† company, as many of its competitors are categorized as, to an â€Å"experience-centered† company. It is not only focused on producing and selling motorcycles, but also focused on selling the lifestyle benefits of owning a Ducati motorcycle and being part of the Ducati organization.This was a smart move on behalf of Ducati for two main reasons: to increase sales due to product uniqueness and the building of customer loyalty through repeat customers. As customers buy into a lifestyle, they are more likely to continue to purchase that product. Two of the factors that Ducati possess that contributes to its differentiation from other companies are its top engineering team and increased investment in research and development.As a result of the company ‘s product development and research and development sectors become more open structures, there have been tremendous cost savings and qu icker product launches. Also, as technology is a growing asset to the motorcycle industry, Ducati’s success can be a direct result of the expertise taken from their racing division. Another attribute that supports the differentiation strategy of Ducati motorcycles is the creation of the â€Å"World of Ducati† in addition to â€Å"Ducati Stores†.Through the several activities including racing, advertising in specialized magazines, the Ducati museum, Ducati owners clubs, and Ducati special events, the company successfully built an atmosphere unique to Ducati that customers can buy into. This not only creates brand loyalty for the product but also gives the owners of Ducati motorcycles the feeling that they have something special or unique that cannot be purchased elsewhere. By using the differentiation strategy to position itself as â€Å"the sport bike company†, Ducati, in my opinion, will be able to sustain its position in the market.By strictly competing in the sport bike segment of the market, Ducati makes it difficult for threats by all other competition. Even though companies such as Honda and Harley- Davidson also produce motorcycles, they are not specialized in sport bikes and do not sell â€Å"the lifestyle† of having their particular product. I think by sticking to one specialty, Ducati has more power over its customers than all other competing companies. This does not however eliminate rivalries between companies altogether.Even though Ducati may have the advantage of differentiation, this particular industry is continuing to grow and with that comes more competition for customers. I think that one tradeoff that Ducati has to face is staying focused on the sport bike segment rather than branching off into other segments of the market. Even though branching into other product lines may be beneficial in the short-term aspect, I think that by sticking to what they have already successfully built and expanding their curr ent market segment will eventually lead to higher long-term profitability.They could possibly achieve this by expanding distribution. Ducati can offer its product and all of the benefits that come with purchasing one in more locations. The only thing Ducati should be careful of is that they do not over-expand. They want to make their product more available for new customers but not in a way that makes the lifestyle of owning a Ducati as â€Å"normal† as owning maybe a Harley-Davidson. They need to make sure they still have the advantage of having that differentiation factor that sets them apart from the competition.Overall, Minoli’s implementation of the differentiation strategy was critical to the turnaround of Ducati. By focusing in on what they are good at and building a brand upon those elements, this company was able to go from almost bankruptcy to an extremely profitable company in the sports bike industry. Also, by distinguishing itself from just a motorcycle co mpany to an â€Å"experienced-centered† company that offers customers a particular lifestyle and the chance to be part of a community also plays a role in the success of its turnaround.This important element brought in new customers and increased the likelihood of repeat customers. Even though competition in the motorcycle industry is tough and continues to get even more competitive, Ducati will continue to set itself apart from the rest with it’s ability to sell not only a sports bike but a product lifestyle as well. I think that if Ducati continues to successfully use its resources in the future, they will sustain their share in the market and have the opportunity to even expand it.

Standard Procedure For Male Circumcision Health And Social Care Essay

In a combined survey from the USA and Kenya, the safety of big male Circumcision in the latter state was reviewed, peculiarly with the purported association between this process and a lower incidence of HIV and other sexually-transmitted infections. It was found that safe and acceptable grownup male Circumcision services could be delivered in developing states should this be advocated as a public wellness step. Aim To develop a standard process for male Circumcision in a resource-poor medical scene and prospectively measure the result in a randomized, controlled test with the incidence of human immunodeficiency virus ( HIV ) as the chief result, as surveies suggest that Circumcision is associated with a lower incidence of HIV and other sexually familial infections in bad populations. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Healthy, uncircumcised, HIV-seronegative work forces aged 18-24 old ages from Kisumu District, Kenya, were offered engagement in a clinical test utilizing a standard Circumcision process based on ‘usual ‘ medical processs in Western Kenya. The followup included visits at 3, 8 and 30 yearss after Circumcision, with extra visits if necessary. Healing, satisfaction and recommencement of activities were assessed at these visits and 3 months from randomisation. Consequence Overall, 17 ( 3.5 % ) of the 479 Circumcisions were associated with inauspicious events judged decidedly, likely or perchance related to the process. The most common inauspicious events were wound infections ( 1.3 % ) , shed blooding ( 0.8 % ) , and delayed lesion healing or sutura line break ( 0.8 % ) . After 30 yearss, 99 % of participants reported being really satisfied with the process ; ?aˆS23 % reported holding had sex and 15 % reported that their spouses had expressed an sentiment, all of whom were really satisfied with the result. About 96 % of the work forces resumed normal general activities within the first hebdomad after the process. Decision Safe and acceptable grownup male Circumcision services can be delivered in developing states should male Circumcision finally be advocated as a public-health step. Abbreviations STI sexually transmitted infection KES Kenya shilling. Introduction Top of page Abstraction Introduction SUBJECTS AND METHODS Consequence Discussion Recognitions Conflict OF Interest Mentions Of African work forces, ?aˆS62 % are circumcised [ 1 ] ; more African work forces are seeking clinical Circumcision to better hygiene, to cut down the hazard of sexually transmitted infections ( STIs ) , to look more ‘urban ‘ , or to be more like others [ 2-6 ] . Epidemiologic surveies suggest that male Circumcision is associated with a ?aˆS50 % decrease in the hazard of HIV infection, and with a lower hazard of ulcerative STI [ 4,7-10 ] . Male Circumcision eliminates the venereal jobs of balanoposthitis, phimosis and paraphimosis, well reduces penial carcinoma rates and, in one survey, reduced the cervical malignant neoplastic disease hazard in female spouses [ 3 ] . Despite increased involvement among medical governments and greater credence among African work forces, there are significant concerns about urging male Circumcision as a public-health step. These reserves include the deficiency of informations from randomized, controlled clinical tests demoing that Circumcision decreases the hazard of STIs and HIV. Considerable anecdotal grounds, including studies based on medical record reappraisal, suggests that Circumcision in traditional scenes exposes immature work forces to an inordinate hazard of complications [ 11-15 ] . Very few informations on Circumcision results are available from African clinical scenes. One survey from Tanzania found that infant Circumcision utilizing the Plastibell technique resulted in a 2 % complication rate [ 16 ] , comparable to reported rates in developed states [ 17 ] . We are carry oning a prospective, randomized controlled clinical test of grownup male Circumcision to measure its impact on the incidence of HIV among 18-24-year-old work forces in Kisumu District, Kenya. One of import aim was to develop a standard Circumcision process that would be applicable to resource-poor medical scenes. A 2nd aim was to find the inauspicious event rates associated with this process. Thus the intents of this study are to: ( I ) describe the proficient facets of the standard process ; ( two ) outline the processs for monitoring and sorting inauspicious events ; and ( three ) to depict results and inauspicious events associated with the first 479 Circumcisions. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Top of page Abstraction Introduction SUBJECTS AND METHODS Consequence Discussion Recognitions Conflict OF Interest Mentions Uncircumcised, HIV-seronegative work forces aged 18-24 old ages shacking within Kisumu District, Kenya, were offered admittance to the test. After supplying written, informed consent, participants were randomized every bit to either Circumcision or delayed Circumcision after a 2-year followup ( the control group ) . Exclusion standards included: any medical indicant for Circumcision ( e.g. important phimosis, recurrent balanitis, paraphimosis, or extended venereal warts ) , history of a hemorrhage upset, keloid formation, or other status that might unduly increase the hazards of elected surgery. Work force in both weaponries of the test were given extended reding about the decrease in hazard of STI/HIV, including the proviso of limitless supplies of free rubbers. This survey was approved by institutional reappraisal boards at the Universities of Nairobi, Illinois at Chicago, Manitoba, Washington, and RTI International. A Data Safety and Monitoring Board reports to the USA National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. For Circumcision, a standard process was based on ‘usual ‘ medical Circumcision processs in Western Kenya [ 18 ] . One Medical Officer ( medical physician ) and two Clinical Military officers ( Kenyan paramedicals who conduct medical audiences and selected surgical processs ) were trained in techniques and inside informations of the process. All instruments and supplies were purchased from providers in Western Kenya. The genital organ were prepared with a povidone-iodine solution and draped in unfertile manner. A dorsal nervus block was applied utilizing 2 % Lidocaine, with extra anesthetic administered circumferentially about the penial base ( maximal 10 milliliter ) . The foreskin was grasped at the 3 and 9 o'clock places utilizing two mosquito clinchs, so pulled over the glans. The scratch was outlined with a taging pen analogue to and 1 centimeter proximal to the coronal sulcus. The mosquito clinchs were so used to draw the foreskin over the glans while a Kocher clinch was applied below the planned scratch, taking attention to avoid wounding the glans. The foreskin was excised by cutting above the Kocher clinch, which was so removed. Shed blooding vass were ligated utilizing 3/0 field intestine. The lesion was irrigated with physiological saline. The tegument and mucosal scratchs were aligned utilizing 3/0 chromic perpendicular mattress suturas at the 12, 3 and 9 o'clock places, and a horizontal mattress sutura at the 6 o'clock ( frenulum ) place. The four initial suturas were tagged with mosquito clinchs to supply grip during the balance of the closing. Four extra perpendicular mattress suturas were placed halfway between the initial suturas, with simple suturas so placed to jump between the mattress suturas. The lesion was covered utilizing a Vaseline gauze dressing. Each patient was given verbal and written instructions, including vesture and bathing patterns, and instructed to urinate often to minimise hard-ons. They were given Datrils, 1 g three times daily as needed for 5 yearss, and tramadol hydrochloride, 100 milligram at bedtime as needed for two darks. Participants were strongly counselled to abstain from sex for at least a month. Follow-up visits were scheduled for 3, 8 and 30 yearss after surgery. Patients were instructed to return to the clinic if there was shed blooding, infection or inordinate hurting. At each visit the lesion was checked, and standard inquiries assessed activities of day-to-day life, possible inauspicious events, and the participants ‘ satisfaction. Additional elaborate ratings were conducted at 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months from randomisation. Regular instance conferences reviewed all processs and results. Adverse events were categorized by badness and relatedness to the survey. Severity classs were mild, moderate and terrible. Relatedness to the process was classified as: ( 1 ) decidedly unrelated, clearly explained by another cause ; ( 2 ) perchance related, probably explained by other causes ; ( 3 ) likely related, most likely explained by the Circumcision ; and ( 4 ) decidedly related, a clear complication. Patient satisfaction was analysed at ?aˆS30 and 90 yearss after surgery as ( 1 ) really satisfied, ( 2 ) slightly satisfied, ( 3 ) slightly disgruntled, or ( 4 ) really disgruntled. We evaluated whether patients had resumed work and sexual activities and, if so, whether their sexual spouses had expressed an sentiment about their Circumcision position. The critical end points and definitions were determined before get downing the survey. Datas were collected prospectively and entered on site, and evaluated for quality and consistence continuously. Consequence Top of page Abstraction Introduction SUBJECTS AND METHODS Consequence Discussion Recognitions Conflict OF Interest Mentions Between 4 February 2002 and 11 March 2004, 2160 work forces were screened, including 47 % who agreed to take part. Of these, 505 were randomized to Circumcision, including 479 ( 95 % ) who had the process. The balance either declined after randomisation or deferred Circumcision until subsequently. The average age of circumcised participants was 21 old ages and 96 % were of Luo cultural beginning ; 89 % had completed primary school, 53 % had completed secondary school and & A ; gt ; 90 % were single. Almost half classified themselves as unskilled workers and about a one-fourth were pupils. Merely 37 % reported regular employment. The median ( scope ) continuance of Circumcision was 30 ( 18-63 ) min ; Fig. 1 shows the continuance for each consecutive group with clip ( Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel rank correlativity statistic, chi-square 149.4, 1 d.f. , P & A ; lt ; 0.001 ) . Figure 1. Box-and-whisker secret plan comparing process continuance with the figure of Circumcisions. For each group of Circumcisions, the line in the box indicates the median ( 50th percentile ) , and the upper and lower bounds of the box the interquartile scope ( 25-75th percentiles ) . The mistake bars indicate the 10th and 90th percentiles. Valuess above the 90th or below the tenth percentiles are plotted as points. For all 479 Circumcisions, the median ( scope ) continuance was 30 ( 18-63 ) min ; the average continuance was 38 min for the first 100, 30 min for the 2nd 100, 30 min for the 3rd, 28 min for the 4th and 26 min for processs 401-479 ( Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel rank correlativity P & A ; lt ; 0.001 ) . Of the 479 Circumcisions, 17 ( 3.5 % ) were associated with 18 inauspicious events considered decidedly, likely or perchance related, including six wound infections ( 1.3 % ) , four bleeds ( 0.8 % ) , four delayed healing or disrupted lesions ( 0.8 % ) , two with inordinate puffiness ( 0.4 % ) , one anesthetic reaction, and one participant who reported erectile disfunction. Of the 18 inauspicious events, none was classified as terrible, 11 were moderate ( necessitating extra intervention, e.g. drainage of an infection or revising a sutura to command indecent hemorrhage ) , and seven were mild ( necessitating minimum extra intervention ) . Fourteen inauspicious events were considered decidedly related ( including most infections and shed blooding jobs, plus the anesthetic reaction ) , one was considered likely related ( an infection off from the lesion that represented a reaction to the dressing tape ) , and three perchance related ( including diminished erectile map reported, folliculitis at the pubic base, and a pubic abscess in one participant each ) . Overall, nine of 18 inauspicious events were considered to be both moderate and definitely/probably procedure-related, happening after eight of 479 processs ( 1.7 % ) . The decorative consequences were first-class, with no demand for alterations or secondary processs. There were no instances of extra preputial tegument remotion, unequal preputial tegument remotion, penial tortuosity, cheloid, other hapless decorative or functional results. At this analysis, 411 of 479 participants were evaluated at ?aˆS30 yearss after surgery ; 99 % reported being really satisfied, 23 % reported holding had sex since the Circumcision, and 15 % of these work forces reported that their female spouse had expressed an sentiment about the process, all of whom were really satisfied with the result. In all, 321 work forces had appraisals at ?aˆS90 yearss from surgery, when 65 % reported holding resumed sexual intercourse, and 54 % of their sex spouses had expressed an sentiment about the process. Of these spouses, 95 % were really satisfied with the result, 4 % were slightly satisfied and 2 % were slightly disgruntled. None was really disgruntled. At 30 yearss after surgery, 98 % of work forces who were employed reported holding returned to work, 91 % within a hebdomad of the process and 97 % within 2 hebdomads. At this visit, all work forces reported holding resumed normal general activities, 96 % within the first hebdomad and another 3 % during the 2nd hebdomad after surgery. Discussion Top of page Abstraction Introduction SUBJECTS AND METHODS Consequence Discussion Recognitions Conflict OF Interest Mentions We developed a Circumcision process that was implemented efficaciously in an African medical scene. All instruments and supplies were purchased locally and local clinicians performed all processs. The standard method was based on medical processs used in eastern Africa [ 18 ] . To avoid trust on a engineering that is non widely available in developing states, we did non utilize electrocautery. Nevertheless, the overall inauspicious event rate was comparable to reported rates from the developed universe. Postoperative lesion infection ( 1.3 % ) and shed blooding ( 0.8 % ) were the most common inauspicious events, as would be predicted. The huge bulk of participants and their spouses who expressed sentiments were really satisfied at 30 and 90 yearss after surgery. This is one of the largest series of big male Circumcisions and it is alone in that results were monitored prospectively. Participants were followed utilizing a strict protocol. We used simple definitions that may turn out utile for other surgical tests, particularly surveies measuring Circumcision as a public-health step. The average clip to finish a Circumcision was 30 min ; runing continuance decreased from a median of 38 min for the first 100 processs to 26 min for processs 401-479 ( P & A ; lt ; 0.001 ) . This is of import, because if Circumcision were recommended as a public-health step for forestalling HIV, so it would be necessary to finish processs within an acceptable period in resource-poor states. The instruments and supplies were modest and all were obtained locally. In Kisumu the cost of supplies is 1500 Kenya shillings ( KES ) per process at our installation ( ? US $ 20 ) . In the Kisumu community, charges for Circumcision scope from 1000 KES ( US $ 13 ) at the authorities infirmary to 5800 KES ( US $ 77 ) at the taking private infirmary. Therefore, this survey suggests that our standard Circumcision method is consistent with bing pattern in Kenya and is likely to turn out practical within the underdeveloped universe. We besides showed that it is possible to obtain consequences that are tantamount to series of big male Circumcisions from the developed universe. The present survey has some advantages ; it represents a big series of big male Circumcisions and one of really few studies of surveies designed to supply an optimal prospective appraisal of results. We used strict definitions for events. The Circumcision process and resources were based on local medical pattern and resource handiness. All instruments and supplies were obtained locally, and clinicians trained and working in their ain community completed all processs. Therefore, our consequences should be straight applicable to similar clinical scenes in other countries. Two of the three clinicians were Clinical Military officers, the cell of professionals likely to execute most Circumcisions in sub-Saharan Africa. An of import lesson was that clear patient instructions are critical for lesion attention after surgery. Young work forces in many developing state scenes may miss easy entree to H2O and have trouble in keeping hygiene. Their timeserving employment forms frequently require high degrees of physical activity that can interrupt wound mending. Instruction manuals, both verbal and written in autochthonal linguistic communications, can help patients to restrict the possible effects of such lifestyle challenges. A determination that requires further attending is that 23 % of work forces reportedly resumed sexual activities before their 30-day follow-up visit, despite intensive reding to the contrary. Fortunately, merely one adult male reported holding had sexual intercourse at one of the early visits, and that was 19 yearss after the process. If work forces resume sexual contact before their scratchs are to the full healed, there is the danger of increased hazard of infection with HIV or other STIs. Once the test is complete, we will prove whether circumcised work forces have a higher incidence of HIV/STI than uncircumcised controls during this 1-month period after randomisation. Effective guidance of immature work forces is disputing, but developing effectual ways to advocate against sexual contact while the surgical lesion is mending will be important if male Circumcision is to be introduced as an intercession to forestall HIV. The present survey has of import restrictions ; the work forces were circumcised in a carefully designed, controlled research undertaking, with thorough preparation of clinicians, careful choice of healthy patients and uninterrupted monitoring of the result. It will be necessary to demo similar results in less strict scenes. The followup was short, but we will obtain more informations on sexual map. Most significantly, we need to find, through the test, whether grownup male Circumcision is effectual in cut downing the incidence of HIV. In decision, we developed a standard process for grownup male Circumcision that proved suited for resource-poor clinical scenes. The inauspicious event rate compares favorably with rates reported from developed states. Participants had first-class clinical results, acceptable morbidity and first-class patient satisfaction. They returned to work and to normal general activities really rapidly. These findings suggest that it should be possible to present grownup male Circumcision services with acceptable complication rates in developing states. Recognitions Top of page Abstraction Introduction SUBJECTS AND METHODS Consequence Discussion Recognitions Conflict OF Interest Mentions We particularly thank the immature work forces in Kisumu who have so enthusiastically participated in the survey. We acknowledge the aid and indefatigable support provided by Dr J. Otieno. We greatly appreciate the tireless attempts of the UNIM undertaking staff. This survey was funded by grants from the National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland USA, Grant No. AI150440, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research ( CIHR ) , Grant No. HCT 44180. S. Moses is the receiver of a CIHR research worker award. Conflict OF Interest Top of page Abstraction Introduction SUBJECTS AND METHODS Consequence Discussion Recognitions Conflict OF Interest Mentions None declared. Mentions Top of page Abstraction Introduction SUBJECTS AND METHODS Consequence Discussion Recognitions Conflict OF Interest Mentions 1 Drain PK, Smith JS, Hughes JP, Halpern DT, Holmes KK. Correlates of national HIV seroprevalence: an ecologic analysis of 122 developing states. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2004 ; 35: 407-20 CrossRef, PubMed, Web of Science ® Times Cited: 21 2 Caldwell JC, Caldwell P. The African AIDS epidemic. Sci Am 1996 ; 274: 66-8 CrossRef 3 Castellsague X, Bosch FX, Munoz N et Al. Male Circumcision, penial human papillomavirus infection, and cervical malignant neoplastic disease in female spouses. N Engl J Med 2002 ; 346: 1105-12 CrossRef, PubMed, Web of Science ® Times Cited: 188 4 Bailey RC, Muga R, Poulussen R, Abicht H. 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