Risk Factors for Colon Cancer Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Risk Factors for Colon Cancer - Research Paper Example In most cases a combination of inhibitors is necessary to maximize the efficacy of the drug treatment. The possible side-effects associated with these drugs is still under investigation. Thus at present the prognosis for colon cancer associated with obesity has been found to be poor, however the combinational use of inhibitors could change the current prognosis. Keywords: colon cancer, obesity, insulin, adipokines According to recent surveys colon cancer is the third most commonly occurring cancer in males and second in the case of females associated with a mortality rate of 608,700 (Chen, 2012). About 1.2 million people are diagnosed with this type of cancer every year (Whitlock, Gill, Birch, & Karmali, 2012). There are many causative factors involved in the pathogenesis of colon cancer which include environmental factors such as a high-fat/ low-fiber dietary intake, genetic factors such as inherited or cellular genetic mutations, life style changes such as smoking, physical inactiv ity and obesity (Chen, 2012; Ma, Yang, Wang, Zhang, Shi, Zou, & Qin, 2013). Studies have shown a strong link between obesity and the incidence of colon cancer. Obesity, which is measured as the body mass index, is on a rise over the past few decades all over the world. The World Health Organization estimates show that about 10% of the world population is clinically obese (Whitlock, Gill, Birch, & Karmali, 2012). Obesity is associated with an increased risk of type II diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and heart disease. These conditions increase the serum levels of cancer risk factors such as insulin, insulin-like growth-factor 1 (IGF-1), leptin, interleukin-6, 17 (IL-6, IL-17), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and decreases serum levels of adiponectin which is considered to indirectly protect against cancer (Chen, 2012; Van Kruijsdijk, van der Wall, & Visseren, 2009). The role of insulin and IGF-1 in the carcinogenic process has been supported by clinical studies. These factors in turn activate multiple signal pathways which can induce tumor growth. For example increased secretion of insulin and IGF-1 stimulate cancer growth by binding to their specific receptors and activate pathways that inhibit apoptosis and stimulate cell proliferation. IGF-1 stimulates the proliferation of cells by activating the signal pathways phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and Ras/Raf mitogen activated protein kinase systems and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 pathways (STAT 3). IGF-1 is also involved in cell migration and invasion which favors cancer progression and metastasis (Chen, 2012; Van Kruijsdijk, van der Wall, & Visseren, 2009; Frezza, Wachtel, & Chiriva-Internati, 2006). Adipose tissue dysfunction in obese individuals plays a major role in promoting carcinogenesis by affecting important biochemical mechanisms such as insulin resistance, and production of adipokines and cytokines involved in inflammation. An increased leptin level which is secret ed by the adipocytes in obese individuals is associated with the growth and proliferation of cancer cells. The leptin hormone is known to promote mitogenesis, angiogenesis, and inflammation and inhibit apoptosis (Van Kruijsdijk, van der Wall, & Visseren, 2009; Frezza, Wachtel, & Chiriva-Internati, 2006). Obesity is also associated with decreased levels of adipone

Are Automotive Manufacturers more Socially Responsible?

Are Automotive Manufacturers more Socially Responsible? To what extent are car manufacturing firms operating in a more socially responsible manner when designing environmentally friendly cars? Abstract Social responsibility is one of the key differentiators between modern corporations, and is seen by many analysts as an antidote to the past few years trend towards the demonisation of corporate institutions. The recent economic crisis, in particular, has led many observers to argue that corporations that fail to address issues of social responsibility will struggle to survive. However, other observers question whether this phenomenon is anything more than a superficial consumer trend, and whether the world economy in general can seriously contemplate a corporate system in which the profit motive is subservient to the need for corporate social responsibility. This dissertation examines social responsibility in terms of the car manufacturing industry, and looks in particular at the question of whether or not the move towards environmentally friendly cars is anything more than a passing phase in an industry that is extremely sensitive to public opinion. Ultimately, the aim of the disse rtation is to determine whether or not corporate social responsibility within the car manufacturing industry is a genuine change, or whether it is simply a superficial response to a passing public trend. Introduction The concept of corporate social responsibility has been one of the dominant themes of the past decade, with consumer recognition of a corporations social responsibility being increasingly seen as a lucrative phenomenon. In the west, in particular, increasing levels of affluence have led to a trend that has seen more customers show willingness to pay more for products that are designed according to theories of social responsibility., and this shift has been nowhere more apparent than in the automobile manufacturing industry. This trend has inter-cut with a recognition (in some quarters) of the need to ensure a more environmentally-friendly approach to industrial production and consumption, and a number of corporations have secured dramatically enhanced public images through a focus on affordable but socially responsible products. However, critics argue that since the primary aim of these corporations is to increase their profits, the appearance of social responsibility has been more o f a cosmetic change than a substantial alteration of core business practices; many critics believe that corporations have, in most cases, merely become better at packaging their products as a more socially responsible, environmentally friendly alternative. Despite the recent financial crisis, the automobile manufacturing industry remains a bellwether for the global economy, and any genuine global industrial changes regarding social responsibility will likely be evident in the automobile industry at an early stage. This dissertation will examine the behaviour of car manufacturing firms and will ask whether they have genuinely become more socially responsible when designing environmentally friendly cars, or whether this is merely a superficial smokescreen designed to generate improved public exposure without leading to genuine changes in design and production philosophies. In particular, the difference between the industrys approach before and after the onset of the recent economic crisis will be examined, and these differences will be used to determine whether or not the move towards social responsibility represented a genuine change to production systems or was merely an attempt to capture the early twenty-first century zeitgeist. Furthermore, the dissertation will examine the extent to which social responsibility and environmental awareness have affected not only above-the-line (i.e. visible to the public) areas of the industry, but also below-the-line (i.e. internal corporate) systems; the d issertation will argue that firms can only be said to have adopted a greater level of social responsibility if their attempts to tackle this issue extend to below-the-line activities. The dissertation will use a series of core examples in order to determine both the hyperbole (i.e. the claims made to the public) and the core below-the-line changes that may, or in some cases may not, reflect the car manufacturing industrys more socially responsible, environmentally friendly approach to business and production. Literature Review Corporate Social Responsibility Social responsibility has been one of the key growth areas in recent years. Crane et al. (2007) define social responsibility, in the corporate context, as a companys ability to put aside the profit motive in order to perform tasks that have a beneficial effect not on the company itself in terms of capital but in terms of an entirely separate social group (Crane et al., 2007, p. 6). In this context, social responsibility can be seen as something that companies are expected to do unbidden, in much the same way as many people choose to donate their time and volunteer to help charities. In some ways, therefore, social responsibility can be seen as an attempt to anthropomorphise corporations by rendering them indebted to a cultural belief that they should act in a more ethical and moral manner. This is in some ways a cultural corrective to the idea of corporations as solely capitalistic, profit-orientated organisations. May et al. (2007) suggest that corporate social responsibility is a popular construct that seeks to imbue corporations with humanistic traits regardless of whether those traits are present or not (May et al., 2007, p. 118). In order for public recognition of these traits to be tangible, there must be a relative relationship between different corporations, so some must be seen to be exercising a great deal of social responsibility, while other must be seen to be doing very little. This is, in effect, the classic polar relationship between good and bad, and it allows consumers to associate themselves with positive, socially responsible companies purely by making certain purchasing decisions. Both sides therefore have a vested interest in social responsibility: consumers feel good if they reward socially responsible companies with their custom, and can use such purchases as a form of status symbol; corporations, meanwhile, can try to generate a larger, more loyal customer base. While some critics argue that social responsibility is a trend that will wax and wane according to various social and economic factors (May et al., 2007, p. 119), others believe that the emergence of social responsibility as a major business factor in the past decade is in fact a permanent change. Crane et al. note that growing awareness of environmental issues has led many people to recognise the importance of social responsibility (Crane et al., 2007, p. 10), and although the recent economic crisis may have led many to hold back on the spending that they would otherwise have directed towards socially responsible corporations, there still appears to be a broad consensus that social responsibility is one of the most important factors in modern business. Consequently, many companies have sought to strengthen their social policy credentials. Environmental Policy One of the key elements of social responsibility is the environment. For more than twenty years, there have been warnings about the effects of global warming. Many corporations choose to exhibit their social responsibility through one of a number of environmentally friendly policies: Reducing the environmental cost of production distribution. Reducing the environmental cost of consumption. Reducing the environmental cost of disposal. Using more environmentally-friendly materials. Reducing packaging and other superfluous elements of a product. Instigating specific environmentally-friendly technological elements. Funding research and education programs. Carbon and pollution off-setting. All of these options and more are regularly employed by companies that want to emphasise their environmental credentials. Large companies tend to focus on methods that require little more effort than throwing money at the problem, e.g. by funding research or off-setting their carbon emissions. However, some other companies are far more inventive, and genuinely try to reduce their environmental impact. Social Responsibility Aside from the environmental factors noted above, companies have found a number of ways of demonstrating their corporate social responsibility: Funding education programs. Providing services, e.g. transportation for school and disabled groups. Promoting volunteerism among their own workers. Donating money to charities. Working to eliminate abuse in the chain of production. The globalised corporate environment makes it more difficult than ever for companies to hide practices that might be unpopular in their domestic markets. For example, if a company seeks to use cheap labour in third world countries, it can make a short-term impact but will usually be exposed eventually. In other words, companies find it increasingly difficult to hide any non-socially responsible behaviour. The Car Manufacturing Industry The vast majority of manufacturers are global in terms of production facilities. The leading US and Japanese manufacturers, for example, tend to have dozens of factories, with at the top five companies all having at least one factory in each of North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australasia. As such, the industry can be said to be truly global in terms of both customer reach and production. Furthermore, companies often experience great success in non-domestic markets, e.g. Japans Toyota also sells many cars in the US, and Germanys BMW is extremely popular in the UK; the only major exceptions to this rule are two of the three big US companies, General Motors (GM) and Chrysler, both of which have been criticised for their focus on the US market. The Impact of the Economic Crisis on the Car Manufacturing Industry All the worlds car manufacturers have in recent years suffered from the global economic downturn. In the US, the big three manufacturers Ford, Chrysler and General Motors (GM) have all come close to bankruptcy, and GM has been forced to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Around the world, companies have suffered similar problems, although in most cases not to the extent of the major US companies. In Japan, both Honda and Toyota have suffered heavy losses and have been forced to reconsolidate their core business areas. As a result, the automobile industry has been undergoing a period of immense uncertainty, and this has led many consumers to believe that they can no longer rely on the continued presence of the big names. Apart from the well-publicised problems for the big three US companies GM, Ford and Chrysler, almost every other major car manufacturer around the world has suffered a slump in profits in the past two years, and many have incurred legacy debts during this period that will impact upon their performance for decades to come. Toyota reported a massive $1.7bn loss (Fackler, 2008) and, like most other manufacturers, was forced to re-focus activities on core revenue streams. As one of the key figures in the green car revolution, Toyota had been investing heavily in environmentally-friendly cars, and had been happy to make such investments since it believe there would be massive financial benefits in the long run. However, the financial crisis crippled Toyotas ability to consider the long term implications of its current activities, and forced the company to focus on its core business. As Satoshi Hino notes, Toyota has long been one of the more adventurous companies when it comes to placing substantial industrial bets on future changes in the automobile market, but these have always been backed by strong performances in the companys core activities (Hino, 2005, p. 41). The companys move into electric and hybrid cars seen by many as a key element in the push towards greener automobiles has largely been financed by success in core diesel machines, with the pay-off for this front-end investment expected to arrive between 2010 and 2015. However, with the core business model threatened by double-digit year-on-year sales drops, Toyota was forced in 2009 to consolidate its activities and re-focus on the most profitable elements of its production line. This decision by the company served as dramatic proof that while there was clearly a high degree of confidence in terms of the potential for socially responsible cars to provide a significant pay-off in the medium to long term, this confidence was not strong enough to allow the company to rely on such vehicles during a time of economic crisis. Clearly, therefore, market forces are not yet dictating the need for social responsibility in sufficient numbers, or with sufficient support via purchasing decisions . Research Methodology Research Approach The research will take two key approaches: a questionnaire will be used to conduct primary research into consumer awareness of the question of social responsibility in the car manufacturing industry, and two case studies will be used to determine how two of the worlds biggest manufacturers GM and Toyota deal with this issue. In order to assess the impact of the social responsibility policies of both GM and Toyota, the questionnaires will be designed to measure the impact of such policies (or the lack of them) and the degree to which they change public opinion and have the effect for which they were designed. These questionnaires will be vital in terms of bridging the gap between the theory and reality, and will expose the limitations inherent in this approach. In order to increase the likely response rate, and to comply with ethical considerations regarding privacy, the questionnaires were left anonymous and respondents were told that they could ignore any individual questions that they would prefer not to answer. The secondary research will focus on two case studies, one looking at the leading US car manufacturer (General Motors) and the other looking at the worlds leading car manufacturer, by sales (Toyota). These companies have been chosen for specific reasons. General Motors (GM) has had a difficult economic history over the past two decades, almost filing for bankruptcy in the 1990s before going on to enjoy considerable success with a series of non-environmentally friendly cars (SUVs) while professing to hold social responsibility as a key philosophical point, and then suffering a massive collapse that resulted in the company filing for the fourth largest bankruptcy in US history (see chapter 4). Toyota, meanwhile, has made a name for itself with a series of advanced hybrid cars, but has also suffered during the recent financial crisis (see chapter 5). In other words, GM is seen by many as one of the worlds least socially responsible manufacturers, and Toyota is seen by many as one of the worlds most socially responsible manufacturers. By comparing and contrasting their approaches and fortunes, it should be possible to develop a clear understanding of the extent to which major car manufacturers have been socially responsible in pursuing an environmentally friendly agenda. Research Questions The research is based on the following key questions: To what extent do car manufacturing companies act with a high degree of social responsibility when designing environmentally friendly cars? How important is consumer behaviour to car manufacturers interest in social responsibility? Do consumers drive companies behaviour, or vice versa? What different approaches to the subject of environmentally friendly, socially responsible cars have been taken by different companies? How has the recent economic crisis affected manufacturers interest in social responsibility? Is social responsibility progressing according to narrative trends? Is this a major change to business, or merely a passing trend? Research Limitations Any research project contains inherent limitations. If these limitations are ignored, they do not go away; rather, they linger and negatively impact the reliability of the overall project. Consequently, the best approach is to recognise these limitations from the start and to work to ensure that they are factored out of the equation as much as possible. As Saunders et al. note, its only by recognising the limitations of any research program that the problems that always affect any research project can be brought into the open, addressed and contextualised and, in some cases, turned into positives (Saunders et al., 2009, p. 51). The research limits of this project are as follows: Social responsibility is an inherently subjective matter. Something that is socially responsible in the view of one person may be socially irresponsible in the view of another. Many of the relevant subjects, such as global warming, are not universally recognised. Its therefore important to reflect the fact that there is ongoing debate. There is insufficient time and space to analyse the entire market. Therefore, key examples must be selected for the case studies. As noted in 3.1, the subjects for these case studies were chosen for very specific reasons. Questionnaires must be brief and simple to understand, yet they must also focus on the key points. Persuading respondents to fill in questionnaires can be difficult. All these limitations can be overcome, to various extents. The subjectivity inherent in the research subject is in fact relevant to the continuing social, cultural and political debates regarding the extent to which car companies should, and can, adopt socially responsible roles; some critics argue that this can only be achieved if consumers adopt socially responsible approaches to their purchasing patterns, which will inevitably force corporations to adapt to face this trend. Similarly, the continuing debate over global warming although settled in many peoples view continues to cause debate in many parts of the world. Finally, the limitations of time and space mean that the case study subjects must be analysed extremely closely, and the choices of company must be made carefully. Results Analysis Response 200 questionnaires were sent out. The expected response rate was 40-50%, as per the suggestion by Saunders et al. that any questionnaire-based research project that prompts between a third and a half of targets to respond can be said to have performed averagely (Saunders et al., 2009, p. 102). In the event, 81 questionnaires were returned, representing 40.5%, which is just within the expected range. This gives a statistically relevant sample group. Demographic Information Demographic details are important in research concerning attitudes to consumer activity and the environment, since both of these factors can impact upon an individuals view of these issues. Question 1 concerned the age of the respondents: How old are you? The majority of respondents were in their teens and twenties, with a total of three quarters being under 40. This makes the questionnaire more relevant in terms of analysing the attitudes of younger people. The second question concerned the occupation of the respondents. It was decided to provide broad categories rather than to request specific details. For one thing, this emphasised the confidentiality and privacy of the research, and for another it allowed for easy and effective categorisation of answers: What is your occupation? Around two thirds of the respondents were employed, self-employed or in part-time work, with the rest being students, retired or unemployed. Awareness of Social Responsibility among Car Manufacturers The next question asked respondents if they believed the car manufacturing industry, as a whole, to be socially responsible. A brief explanation was appended to this question, defining social responsibility as an awareness of their impact on society, including the environment, and their efforts to ensure that this impact has a positive rather than a negative effect: How responsible do you think car manufacturers are? An overwhelming majority (67.9%) considered car manufacturers to be either not very or not at all responsible. Breaking these results down according to age and occupation gave the following results: Appreciation of manufacturers social awareness, broken down by age range Clearly, levels of appreciation appear to be at least partly linked to age, with these levels peaking for individuals in their fifties. There are numerous possible reasons for this, including: Media exposure: different age groups are exposed to very different media forms and sources, each of which will likely carry very different stories concerning manufacturers levels of social awareness. Learned behaviour: older respondents will have spent longer living in a time when many of the relevant issues, particularly environmental impact, were not considered. Environmental awareness: some of the answers may be influenced by a lack of belief in the various arguments concerning the environment and, in particular, the car industrys contribution to global warming. Clearly, therefore, awareness of social responsibility is a dynamic factor that reflects a number of different viewpoints, and this factors is by no means viewed the same by different age groups. The clear correlation between age and awareness indicates that manufacturers must ensure that they operate multiple simultaneous social responsibility programs if they are to reach all these groups. However, the next question sought to determine whether or not it was strictly necessary for the manufacturers to try to appeal to everyone, and asked how important social responsibility is to purchasing decisions. First, in terms of the overall response, the result was as follows: How important is a manufacturers social responsibility for you when choosing what car to buy? Almost half (48.1%) claimed that social responsibility was either very or quite important, with just over half (51.9%) claiming that it was not very or not at all important. Given the relatively small sample group for this research project, the difference is small enough to be statistically irrelevant, and broadly indicates a 50-50 split in terms of opinion on this subject. However, looking at the results in terms of an age-related breakdown results in a very different set of results: Importance of social responsibility of manufacturers, by age The data shows a clear depreciation of the importance of social responsibility for older consumers, although there is evidence of an increase for consumers in their 50s and above. In order to determine a link between awareness of social responsibility in the industry and the importance of social responsibility in purchasing decisions, the results from figures 4 and 6 were then combined: Importance, and awareness, of social responsibility in the car manufacturing industry There is clearly an inverse relationship between awareness of social responsibility as a factor in the industry, and belief in the importance of social responsibility. For example, younger people are most likely to believe that social responsibility is an important factor when making purchasing decisions, but are the least appreciative of any efforts that have so far been made. To an extent, this can be seen to be a matter of perception, but theres also clearly a problem for the industry in terms of persuading parts of the consumer base that its intentions are genuine. In order to measure the degree to which various manufacturers have succeeded in their aim of seeming more socially responsible, respondents were next asked whether they thought the industry had become more socially responsible over the past decade: Do you think the car industry has become more socially responsible over the past decade, less socially responsible, or it has stayed mostly the same? The vast majority of respondents believe there has been no real change, strongly suggesting that either the message from the manufacturers has not got through to the public, or that there is a deep level of cynicism in terms of whether the public believe that the rhetoric has translated into genuine action. Finally, respondents were given a range of options and were asked to indicate which they believed were most important in terms of social responsibility. They were asked to tick two or three options, with the aim being to allow them to indicate the elements of corporate social responsibility that were deemed most important: Most important elements of social responsibility Clearly, the vast majority of consumers overwhelmingly equate social responsibility with environmental issues. The only other factor to come close to this in terms of relevance was making donations to charitable causes, which to an extent also involves the environment. Social responsibility is not purely about the environment, and encompasses a range of other activities that can improve society. However, for the consumers canvassed for this research project, environmental issues were by far the most important, and its therefore possible to argue that the environment has overtaken all other elements of social responsibility and has become the single most important issue. Although manufacturers could fight against this perception and attempt to focus attention on other factors, the best approach might be to accept that when it comes to social responsibility, most consumers overwhelmingly focus on the environment. Case Study 1: General Motors (US) Background General Motors (GM) is the largest US car manufacturer, and the second largest in the world (after Toyota) (Trott, 2009). The company relies heavily on four key brands: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. Each of these brands has a distinctive presence in the US market, but critics have argued that GM has lacked focus on the non-US markets, leaving it particularly vulnerable to domestic turmoil and economic volatility. In 1994, GM came close to bankruptcy following a $4.5bn loss, but cost-cutting measures and management changes ensured its survival. The company was one of the key instigators of the huge rise in sales for sports utility vehicles (SUVs) in the 1990s, a trend that was highly lucrative for GM but which resulted in criticism from environmental campaigners. Between 1998 and 2001, GM and Ford vied for the top spot in the US market, primarily through massively increasing sales in the SUV market. However, the downturn which followed the September 11th 2001 attacks saw GM suff er particularly hard, even compared to Ford, with the latter at least having a strong European heartland on which to rely during difficult trading conditions in the US. Nevertheless, GM bounced back and by 2005 was recording strong sales figures and was eyeing major expansion into overseas markets. However, the recent economic crisis virtually crippled GM, as well as its two key domestic rivals, Ford and Chrysler. GM lost $38.7bn in the 2007 fiscal year (Wearden, 2009), and an almost 50% drop in sales. The following year, GM predicted that it would run out of money in mid-2009 without a substantial re-financing program, and called for government help. In November 2008, the company joined with Ford and Chrysler in formally requesting help from the US government in order to stave off bankruptcy. Even in the context of the financial crisis, this move was massive, since it represented the genuine possibility of the USs three major car companies going bust almost simultaneously. Although the US government, under outgoing president George W. Bush, was initially reluctant to provide money at a time when many other businesses also had legitimate claims for government help, in December 2008 a bridging loan was finally offered. Despite numerous attempts to cut costs and reorganise the co mpany over the next six months, in June 2009 GM filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. After Lehman Brothers, Worldcom and Washington Mutual, this was the fourth largest bankruptcy filing in US history. Eventually, on July 10th 2009, the US government helped to finance a new company, NGMCO Inc., that took on the majority of the old GM assets. The old GM changed its name to Motors Liquidation Company, and the new Vehicle Acquisition Holdings company changed its name to General Motors Company, thereby bringing GM back to life. The new version of GM is mostly owned by the US government, while the old GM Motors Liquidation Company continues to go through the process of the bankruptcy filing. Social Responsibility Both the old and the new GM have been involved in programs to emphasise their social responsibility. Since 1996, GM has financed the Safe Kids USA Buckle Up program, designed to encourage children to use seatbelts. The company has also contributed to a consortium that has donated over $1.2bn to fund education for engineering graduates, a scheme that has recently been extended worldwide. GM has also donated more than $200m in the past decade to charitable causes, and has supported both Democratic and Republican presidential candidates often simultaneously. The companys more recent philanthropic activities include a new global aid program (GM, 2009) and a number of smaller, local community projects designed to improve provisions mostly for children in areas surrounding the companys main factories. These projects have, for the most part, been maintained despite the continued financial uncertainty and the chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings that took place in mid-2009. GM has also launched a major program called I Am GM, designed to showcase the companys strong workplace diversity policies. The program involves placing adverts in newspapers and magazines, and on television, in which GM employees from different ethnic backgrounds talk about their pride in the company. As well as reinforcing the idea of GM as an equal opportunities, ethnically diverse employer, the campaign is designed to show how GM works towards engineering a higher degree of diversity in society. Linked to this program is the companys renewed focus on safety, which has seen not only improvements designed to help children in the event of an accident, but also high-profile campaigns to reinforce the companys vehicles in order to make them withstand bigger crashes. The Buckle Up program has been maintained, and GM has expanded this campaign since 2008 by taking the message to schools around the US. The company claims that corporate responsibility is about more than just words its an acknowledgement that our actions shape our reputation (GM, 2009). Environmentally-Friendly Technology During the 1990s, a number of scandals saw the company accused of poor environmental management, including an accusation that sediments have been stored in unsafe conditions. In 2006, GM was one of a number of manufacturers from around the world named in a suit brought by the State of California over the issue of pollution. The case was dismissed a year later, but the damage to GMs reputation had already been done. In 2008, the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) ranked GM 18th on its list of the USs worst polluters, giving the company a toxic score of 73,248, set against the no. 1 polluter, E.I. du Pont de Nemours, which scored 285,661 (PERI, 2008). Meanwhile, in the same year, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) ranked GM 7th out of the worlds largest car manufacturers

Essay About Family: Waiting for Papaw :: Personal Narrative Family Grandfathers Essays

Waiting for Papaw I am under the belief that the concept of time as we know it, does not exist in hospitals. Upon entering, one loses all sense of what time it is, what day of the week it is, and how long they’ve been there. Hospitals are places of healing, of caring, of great medical advancements and live saving procedures. They are a place of second chances, of last chances, and sometimes very little chance at all. They are also a place for dying. I learned all of this and then some during the eighteen days in December that I spent at my grandfather’s bedside in Holy Spirit Hospital. My grandfather went into the hospital with the symptoms of a stroke on Saturday, December 13, 2003. He spent the first 4 days of his stay in a coma, induced by the doctors’ misdiagnosis of his condition. My grandfather had not had a stroke, in fact he had a condition in which his liver was overloaded with toxins and was shutting down. It was a problem he’d been suffering from for quite some time; however, none of his doctors had diagnosed his symptoms correctly. The sedative they gave him upon arrival in the emergency room only worsened his condition. Upon waking up, he had to be restrained to prevent him from removing his IVs and attempting to get out of bed. He improved steadily over the next few days, and we were expecting to have him home soon. Unfortunately, he was left unrestrained one evening and was able to remove his IV, catheter, and then climb out of bed. The nurses found him on the floor of his bathroom. How long he was there, we’ll never know, becaus e the time the nurses told us he was found, we know is not correct. He was given another dose of a sedative which caused him to be extremely disoriented the following morning, yet his old self was still shining through. â€Å"Papaw,† I asked upon arriving in his room that morning, â€Å"Why are you so tired today?† â€Å"Because I made 300 faustnauhts last night.† He replied without hesitation. Now, I can imagine that anyone would be tired from that, but where my grandfather came up with the word â€Å"faustnauht† instead of â€Å"donut†, I’ll never know. On Christmas Eve, after spending eleven days in the same hospital bed, he lost circulation in his left leg and had to undergo surgery.

Blod Bank Essay

It will explain the purpose and features of the system, the interfaces of the system, what the system will do, the constraints under which it must operate, specific requirements and other supporting information. This document is intended for both the stakeholders and the developers of the system. This document is intended for developers, project coordinator, project guide, users and testers. The developer can use the document to view the analysis and design part, to understand requirements specification. The project coordinator can use this document to review the idea of project whether it is innovative and usable or not. The project guide can use this document to analyze and manage the flow of project development. The tester can use this document to get clear idea about system, to understand the exact input domain of system and to generate respective test cases for the testing purpose. 1. 1 Purpose This Software Requirements Specification provides a complete description of all the functions and specifications of the Blood bank Management System software. The purpose of this document is to present a detailed description of the Blood Bank System. This document is useful for Blood Bank employees who use this system on the daily basis. This document will also serve as a reference to incorporate any changes made in the system to the future. It will also prove to be useful to the managerial staff which is responsible for the smooth functioning of the counter transactions that are performed on daily basis. This document is primarily intended to provide a detailed specification of the functional requirements for developers of the product. It also provides an overview of the product for the users. It will explain the purpose and features of the system, what the systems do and the constraints under which it will operate. This SRS document contains the complete software requirement for Post Office Transaction System and describes the design decisions, architectural design and the detail design needed to implement the system. It provides the visibility in the design and provides information needed for software support. 1. 2 Scope This software is used by System Administrator, Supervisor, Assistant and Lab technicians. The system is designed to provide user authentication by maintaining the user database which contains all the details of user along with login details such as username and password. Each user has a different level of operation for the authentication purpose. The solution will provide a well-organized and coordinated system where the blood and donor records are managed more efficiently with better security. The major goal of the system is to provide synchronized and centralized donor and blood stock database to the blood bank. It also improves the efficiency of blood stock management by alerting the blood bank administrator. System will provides traceability of donor in case of emergency. It also provides performance evaluation using report generation. 1. 3 Definitions, Acronyms, and Abbreviations This subsection should provide the definitions of all terms, acronyms, and abbreviations required to properly interpret the SRS. This information may be provided by reference to one or more appendixes in the SRS or by reference to other documents. 1. 4 References 1. www. bharatbloodbank. com 2. www. bloodbankindia. com 1. 5 Overview This document contains a brief history and insight into the problem as well as what the system is designed to do, the scope of the solution. It gives a brief summary of whom the system is targeted at, its capabilities, and its positioning in the device development process. It also explains requirements of the system and also where exactly the user and stakeholders are placed in the scheme of things. It elaborates on security issues, hardware and software requirement and also the priorities of various functionalities. The document helps the user to understand the Blood Bank System. The first part of the document provides the purpose, objectives and scope of the proposed system. It includes important definition, the problem statement specify the needed details to avoid any kind of ambiguity from user’s perspective. The document also states the feature set and capabilities of the system. The document also highlights the feature of proposed system and the advantages over the existing system. The document also highlights the various issues, error handling and the modification to be done in the system. The document is helpful to the user as it gives them opportunities to state what they expect from the system. In addition, the hardware specification required for the system is also mentioned. The user can read the document and make sure that his machine is equipped to run the system to avoid any inconvenience The user should make use of the document to understand the system better. The rest of this document provides a full description of the project for the blood bank. It lists all the functions performed by the system. It gives the details of each of the system functions and actions in full for the software developer’s assistance. It also gives the overview of the problems currently faced by the system and provides solutions for the same. 2. General Description The project deals with the problem of automated management system that is keeping track of the actual amount of blood stock in the blood bank and to minimize human errors. The solution will provide a well-organized and coordinated system for blood bank where the blood and donor records are managed more efficiently with better security and added automation functions in alerting the administrator when the blood quantity is below par level and about the expired samples. In addition, the administrator can also trace back the donor responsible in case of reactive sample in blood transfusion and blood screening result. This system also creates a convenient and paperless environment for the blood bank in managing donors and processing blood stocks. The registration time for old donor is shortened as the records are retrievable from the system. Also the performance evaluation is possible using report generation facility. 2. 1 Product Perspective This system keep the track of all the actual amount of the blood stock in the blood bank to minimize the human errors. 2. 2 Product Functions 1. System will also maintain Blood Stock records and Discard register. 2. System will provide levels of operators for authentication purpose. 3. System will provide an authentication form where the users will fill the details. 4. System will process the request of login. 5. System will check for the entered details in the login database. 6. If the entered username and password are valid then the system will grant access to the user else will display an error message. 7. System will provide five interfaces such as Testing Interface, Blood Stock Interface, Issue Interface, Donor Registration Interface and Statistics Interface. 8. Donor Registration Interface will take all the personal and medical details of donor and generate a unique id for each donor. 9. If the donor already has an id then will retrieve its details. 10. In Testing Interface, if the results are positive then discard register is updated with sample details. 11. If the results are negative Blood Stock Repository is updated with sample details. 12. In Blood Stock Interface, system will generate unique bag numbers for each product. 13. It will generate alerts when the blood quantity is below par level and about the expired samples. 14. The System will move expired sample details to discard register and update blood stock repository. 15. In Issue Repository, system will check blood stock repository for availability. 16. If stocks are available then system will place an issue order. 7. It will generate a label which includes bag number and details of sample. 18. In Statistics analysis, system will generate various reports. 19. The whole transaction of the blood will be recorded in a system 20. The software will perform the stock management & bill generation. 21. All the transaction of the blood will be updated within a small period of time. 22. The software will generate all the annual record of the blood bank.. 23. It will also maintain the record of the blood donor. 24. It will also maintain the record of the rejected blood and the rejection for the blood rejection. 2. User Characteristics The user must have the basic knowledge of the computer system. It is not necessary that the user must have the knowledge of the computer hardware. System administrator, supervisor, assistant and lab technicians. 2. 4 General Constraints * Blood bank employees ,donors 2. 5 Assumptions and Dependencies * The System will not allow any user with invalid username and invalid password. * The system should not provide administrative privilege to any customer. 3. Specific Requirements The systems should satisfy the below given requirements. 1. Operating System: Windows XP Professional 2. Database Management System (DBMS): MySQL 5. 0 3. Peer to peer connection. This can be done by connecting both the systems using a cross cable and giving different IP addresses to them. 3. 1 External Interface Requirements System Interfaces The systems should satisfy the below given requirements. 4. Operating System: Windows XP Professional 5. Database Management System (DBMS): MySQL 5. 0 6. Peer to peer connection. This can be done by connecting both the systems using a cross cable and giving different IP addresses to them. User Interfaces User Type| Intended Interaction| 1. DONOR REGISTRATION a. New donor b. Regular donor| * The system will take all the personal and medical details of donor and generate an unique id for the donor. * The system will take donors id as input, validate it and retrieve all its details including last donations. | 2. Administrator Login | * This login page will take input as username and password from the administrator * The system will validate the inputs and provide access to the system with more privileges to system and administrator| Testing | * This will take the input as blood group, donor id, date of collection; test carried out and its result. If the test results are positive then sample details are moved to discard register otherwise to blood stock repository. | Blood stock| * It will take all the details of the samples including blood group, its product details, date of collection, date of preparation, date of expiry, result of testing and generate a bag number. * It will generate alerts when the blood quantity is below par level and about the expired samples. * The expired sample details are moved to discard register and removed from blood stock repository. | Issue| * It will take input as product name, quantity, blood group and validate it with blood stock repository. If the stock is available then issue order will be placed. * It will generate a label which includes bag number, details of sample etc. | Statistics Display Page| * The administrator has access to this page. It displays all statistical data regarding the various issue orders placed, blood stock repository and testing screening. * Report generation. | 3. 5 Non-Functional Requirements Goal – To provide authentication to donors. Objective 1 – Create unique id for donor’s. a. Accept donor personal and medical information for new donors. b. Generate unique id for each donor. Objective 2 – Process authentication request. a. Accept donor id in case of regular donor. b. Retrieve donor’s profile. Goal – To manage Blood Stocks. Objective 1 – Process blood stock details. a. Accept product details like collection date, expiry date, blood group etc. b. Generates a unique bag number. Objective 2 – Establish connection with Issue interface and testing interface. a. Validate stock details for issue. b. Update blood stock repository after testing is negative. Goal – To generate reports and label. Objective 1 – To generate report. a. Generate product statistics b. Generate yearly, monthly reports and provide it to the administrator. Objective 1 – To generate labels for issue. a. Generate labels for the issue order placed. b. Provide it to the customer along with the date of delivery 3. 5 Non-Functional Requirements 7. 1. 1 Availability * For the customers, the services available are: Registration as a donor, placement of issue order. * For the administrator, the services available are: Manipulation of databases, change the functionalities provided by the system and monthly and yearly reports generation. . 1. 2 Security * This system maintains consistency and security as the blood stock details can’t be modified by the administrator or the other user. The system analyses the issue order placed by the customer and accordingly fulfills it. The system will also provide authentication by using username and password. * The donor’s database will have its own security to prevent unauthorized write/de lete access. The donor’s details will not be disclosed while issuing. 3. 8 Logical Database Requirements The databases used by the system are * Donor database Blood stock database * Discard database * Account database User database: The purpose of this database is to store the required information of the donors and their id’s. This database will be used for traceability of donor. The donors will fill their information while registration. Their credentials will be saved in this particular database. Blood Stock database: This database is used to maintain blood stock information. It maintains the details of valid samples. Discard database: This database is used to store details of blood samples which have to be discarded. This will contain information of expired samples and those samples which reacted positively in testing screening. Accounts database: The purpose of this database is to store the account details regarding issue of blood sample and to maintain the history of all the previous transactions. This database will be used by the administrator so that he can calculate the total cost of the issue orders placed. Accessing capabilities: 1. Only administrator can set the role of users and their access capabilities 2. No user can access anything outside its accessing capability .

Earthquakes result

Earthquakes result from disturbance in the outer layer of the Earth. This causes the vibration of the Earth’s surface. Another reason for the occurrence of earthquakes is the sudden release of energy that had been dormant in the core of the Earth. This energy creates strain in the rocks, subsequently; it is transferred in the form of waves to the Earth’s surface (Bolt, 2005 ). The force or magnitude and the period of time that had elapsed determine the destructive effect of an earthquake. The seismic waves and their intensity determine the destructive power of an earthquake.Structural damages caused by an earthquake depend on the design of the structure and the materials used in its construction. Earthquakes differ in magnitude. They may be small or unnoticeable or they may be so large that their intensity can be detected from distant places. The aftermath of an earthquake may cause the distortion of the ground or damage to buildings. Some earthquakes occur under the se a and cause tsunamis. Whatever the form of the earthquake, many of them endanger the lives of humans through their destructive force (Bolt, 2005 ).The surface of the Earth consists of lithospheric plates. These plates are always in motion and this causes compressional stresses at their edges. The sudden release of such stress can be attributed to earthquakes. Most earthquakes are caused due to the moving of these lithospheric plates. During the course of their movement, these plates collide with each other and enormous tensional stress is released through the faults present in the earth’s crust. The vibrations of the earthquake spread throughout the earth in the form of waves.Shallow earthquakes occur due to volcanic eruptions, the falling of huge rocks, landslides and bomb explosions. Such earthquakes are limited to the area surrounding the place of such occurrences (Earthquake, 2004). The impact of an earthquake spreads through a large area surrounding the epicenter of the earthquake. The surface of earth cracks due to the transmission of faults to the surface from within the earth. This results in horizontal and vertical deformation of the surface for over several meters. There is no such transfer of faults to earth’s surface during major earthquakes.Shallow earthquakes can be felt through the cyclical movements of the earth’s surface, which is termed as fault creep. The characteristics of the ground determine the magnitude of an earthquake’s vibrations and its destructive power. For instance, river beds, or nonintegrated ground surface could carry the effect of an earthquake to large area. Whereas, areas made up of bedrock transmit an earthquake that is significantly weaker. Loss of human lives would be more in places where buildings are not constructed to withstand immense shocks and vibrations.In those areas L waves of an earthquake could cause the pipe lines that supply gas to burst thereby causing destructive fires (Earthqua ke, 2004). Injuries and deaths could result from the collapse of buildings and sharp objects transported by the wind. Structural characteristics could also result in damages. For instance, flexible structures constructed on bedrock suffer less damage where as rigid structures built on loose soil suffer greater damage. In hilly regions, earthquakes cause landslides and mudslides, which could submerge the inhabitants.Earthquakes that occur under the seas could cause tsunamis, which give rise to destructive waves of water from the epicenter of the earthquake and flood the cities on the coast (Earthquake, 2004) The sudden movement of rocks along a fault causes vibrations and the transmission of energy through the Earth. Such waves are termed as body waves and their propagation is subterranean. These waves are classified as P waves or primary waves and S waves or secondary waves. The latter tend to displace the ground forwards and backwards and are consequently known as shearing waves (B olt, 2006).The world experienced a number of earthquakes in the year 1990. The Iranian earthquake in the month of June of that year claimed nearly fifty thousand human lives and its intensity was measured at 7. 7 on the Richter scale. Earthquakes are caused by plate tectonics and most of the earthquakes occur in regions that are in close proximity to the margins of the Earth’s plates. Fault activity is the main reason for earthquakes in these regions. Iran is located on the boundary between the Arabian and the Asian plates.Areas where there was no fault activity also suffered from earthquakes such as Missouri in the US where an earthquake occurred on the 26th of September 1990, Welsh borders and Sheffield in the UK sustained an earthquake on the 2nd of April and the 8th of February 1990 (Seismology: Earthquake Prediction, 2005). Stanford University developed measures to predict the occurrence of earthquakes by detecting the fluctuations in very low frequency radio waves that were transmitted through rocks a few hours before the occurrence of an earthquake.This phenomenon is a result of electrical currents produced by pressure in the rocks and is also attributed to the opening of microscopic cracks in the rocks. Japanese scientists discovered that electromagnetic radiation was emitted before an earthquake. (Seismology: Earthquake Prediction, 2005). A number of earthquakes occur in the seas, which do not cause damage, but major earthquakes occurring in densely populated areas could result in immense destruction to property and life.In order to limit the dangers of an earthquake, it is necessary to develop a system of earthquake prediction. At present the seismic gap theory has met with some success in locating earthquake prone regions. Most earthquakes occur in the region of the San Andreas Fault in California since the North American plate and Pacific plate move past each other. The North Pole is being shifted towards Japan at a slow pace of six centimet ers in every hundred years by earthquakes. This drift of pole is as result of major earthquakes that occur along shore the Pacific Rim (Earthquake, 2005).Despite the fact that earthquakes cannot be prevented the severity of the destruction caused by them can be mitigated appreciably by adopting suitable communication strategies, appropriate structural design of buildings, implementing a well planned course of action during an earthquake, appropriately educating the public and ensuring that safer building standards are in place. Several countries have instituted earthquake safety and regulatory agencies in response to the severe damage caused to life and property by earthquakes.In respect of Tsunamis, a proper early warning system can significantly reduce the damage caused, due to the fact that tsunami waves are propagated at low speeds. These waves are slower than seismic P and S waves and travel at a tenth of the speed of seismic waves in the rocks below. Thus, seismologists have a mple time at their disposal to warn the areas that could be affected by the killer waves (Bolt, 2006). The occurrence of intraplate earthquakes is much less in comparison to plate boundary earthquakes. They occur due to the internal fracturing of rock masses.Examples of such earthquakes were 1811 New Madrid earthquake and the 1812 Missouri earthquake, which were very severe. From the reports of the damage recorded, scientists have opined that their intensity should have been of the order of 8. 0 on the Richter scale (Bolt, 2006). Around eighty percent of the energy released by earthquakes can be attributed to the earthquakes that take place in the area surrounding the Pacific Ocean. More than a thousand tremors of intensity in excess of 3. 5 in magnitude occur in Japan annually.Another region that is notorious for earthquakes is the western coast of North and South America (Pendick). One of the techniques employed by seismologists in order to measure earthquakes is the Richter magni tude scale, which was developed by Charles Richter. The Richter magnitude is determined on the basis of the maximum vibration strength and the distance from earthquake’s epicenter. This scale is logarithmic and accordingly, a 6 magnitude earthquake is ten times stronger than a 5 magnitude earthquake. However, the Richter magnitude is inaccurate if the earthquake being measured is more than 310 miles from the seismograph.Accordingly, seismologists developed other earthquake magnitude scales; however these scales cannot be applied to all type of earthquakes due to the resulting inaccuracies (Pendick). As the distance increases the seismic waves exhibit a loss of strength. In general, the greatest effect of an earthquake will be at its epicenter. Some earthquakes are so powerful that the ground shaking can be greater than the acceleration due to gravity and this could result in rocks and boulders being propelled into the air with great force. This actually transpired in 1897 whe n a major earthquake occurred in Assam, India (Pendick).In the USA, earthquakes are a major cause of loss to property and endanger about seventy – five million US citizens. The loss caused by earthquakes can be significantly mitigated by efficient disaster planning, adoption of preventive measures like implementing better safeguards while constructing buildings and providing information about earthquakes that could occur immediately to the populace. The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) is the team leader of the effort to warn people in a timely manner regarding earthquakes about to take place in the US (USGS Science Helps Build Safer Communities Earthquake Hazards—A National Threat ).Earthquakes claimed millions of human lives in the past five hundred years. In the year 1976, the infamous T’ang – Shan earthquake that hit China claimed nearly two hundred and forty thousand lives. Earthquakes also cause immense damage to property and structures. Precautionary measures to counter the effects of an earthquake such as education, planning in emergency, and flexible, structural designs could contain the severity of the damage caused by an earthquake . (Bolt, 2005 ). References 1. Bolt, B. (2005 ). â€Å"Earthquake. â€Å". Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006 [DVD] . Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation.2. Earthquake. (2004). Retrieved June 21, 2007, from 2004: http://www. xreferplus. com/entry. jsp? xrefid=4270901&secid=. 1. – 3. Earthquake. (2004). Retrieved June 21, 2007, from http://www. xreferplus. com/entry. jsp? xrefid=4270901&secid=. 3 4. Earthquake. (2005). Retrieved June 21, 2007, from In The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia including Atlas: http://www. xreferplus. com/entry/6422915 5. Seismology: Earthquake Prediction. (2005). Retrieved June 21, 2007, from In The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia including Atlas: http://www. xreferplus. com/entry. jsp? xrefid=6481861&secid=. 1