Women Trafficking and Sexual Abuse in India Essay Example

Women Trafficking and Sexual Abuse in India Essay Around the world today, there is a human rights crisis of sexual abuse of millions of women, children, and thousands of men in prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation. There are regions of the world where prostitution has gone from being almost non-existent to a hundred million dollar moneymaking industry. I am going to talk about prostitution and sex trafficking. I don’t believe you can talk about one without the other. They are linked. Those who favor legalized prostitution have led a 15-year campaign to delink them Sex trafficking is the process that delivers victims into prostitution.It includes the recruitment, harboring, movement, and methods by which victims are compelled to stay in prostitution, whether by violence, threat, debt, or cultural manipulation. These women may be poor, uneducated, and naive, and therefore easy to control, or they may be educated, middle-class girls who have been sexually abused until their bodily integrity and identities are dest royed and they no longer know how to resist abuse and exploitation. Child sex abuseThe average age of girls supplied to the brothels in the last two years has decreased from 14 and 16 years to 10 and 14 years Trafficking is another problem which India faces- About 7,000 sex workers cross over from Nepal into India every year. 66% of the girls are from families where the annual income is about Rs. 5000. They may be sold by their parents, deceived with promises of marriage or a lucrative job or kidnapped and sold to brothel owners. Between 40 – 50% are believed to be under 18 years which is the age of consent in India, some are as young as 9 or 10 years old. As a solutionFormal education should be made available to those victims who are still within the school going age Awareness generation and legal literacy on economic  rights, particularly for  women  and adolescent girls should be taken up. # Adequate publicity, through print and electronic media including  child  lines and  women  help lines about the problem of those who have been forced into prostitution. There should be Rehabilitation and reintegration of rescued victims Our society has not only turned a blind eye to minor girls being enticed into prostitution but also is directly responsible for the continuance in growth of  childprostitution.First the demand for virgin prostitutes, and secondly it abets  child  prostitution by failing to provide adequate facilities for orphan and destitutechildren. Unless the so called  respectable  sections of the society rise in revolt against sexual exploitation of minors, the future of younger generation looksbleak. We have to take due cognizance of their past and rehabilitate them. The Government should severely punish the people connected with this inhuman practice for the good of the future citizens of our country. The law has many loopholes and inadequacies.It does not punish the client and it does not make any provision for the r ehabilitation of  women  and  children who are rescued from brothels The definition of prostitution is vague and tends to punish women  and minor girls, who are the victims, rather than those who live off their earnings. Besides, though all offences are cognizable under the Act, they rarely result in convictions. While the minor girls are sometimes rounded up during raids and detained in remand homes Prostitution is widespread in India, although it is currently a contentious issue. 11]  In 2007, the  Ministry of Women and Child Development  reported the presence of over 3 million female  sex workers  in India, with 35. 47 percent of them entering the trade before the age of 18 years. [12][13]  Human Rights Watch  puts the figure of sex workers in India at around 20 million, with  Mumbai  alone being home to 200,000 sex workers, the largest sex industry centre in Asia. [14]  The number of prostitutes rose by 50% between 1997 and 2004. [15] solution to the problem of prostitution and sex trafficking: Confronting the demand for prostitution.Instead of only warning women against recruiters, stop the recruiters. Instead of accommodating the demand, stop it. There are four components that make-up the demand: 1) the men who buy commercial sex acts, 2) the exploiters who make up the sex industry, 3) the states that are destination countries, and 4) the culture that tolerates or promotes sexual exploitation. Conclusion I believe that only by going to the root cause of prostitution and trafficking, which are the factors that make up the demand, will we end the sexual exploitation and abuse of women and children through prostitution and trafficking.We need to urge all governments, NGOs, and religious communities to focus on reducing the demand for victims of sex trafficking and prostitution. All the components of the demand need to be penalized – the men who purchase sex acts, the exploiters – the traffickers and pimps who profit from the sale of women and children for sex, the states that fund deceptive messages and act as pimp, and the culture that lies about the nature of prostitution. We could greatly reduce the number of victims, if the demand for them was penalized.If there were no men seeking to buy sex acts, no women and children would be bought and sold. If there were no brothels waiting for victims, no victims would be recruited. If there were no states that profited from the sex trade, there would be no regulations that facilitated the flow of women from poor towns to wealthier sex industry centers. If there were no false messages about prostitution, no women or girls would be deceived into thinking prostitution is a glamorous or legitimate job.

Knowing Yourself so You May Begin Exploring Your Own True Potential Essays

Knowing Yourself so You May Begin Exploring Your Own True Potential Essays Knowing Yourself so You May Begin Exploring Your Own True Potential Essay Knowing Yourself so You May Begin Exploring Your Own True Potential Essay Trammel Anderson Chef Tiffany Henderson Leadership July 14, 2011 Topic: Personal Leadership Knowing yourself so you may begin exploring your own true potential. There are several questions that must be discussed first to gain access the knowledge of oneself. The first question is â€Å"what is a personal strength? †A personal strength is having self-confidence. It is the ability to communicate with yourself in a positive manner. It is having a vision of who you want to be, how you want to live, how you want to fulfill your vision and then by having the faith to do so, you can achieve success. Personal strength is also about having independence and not depending on anyone else to tell you how to think or feel. It is the ability to make moral decisions that are best for you and then act on them. Lastly, it is about having the ability to laugh at yourself because laughter transforms pain. â€Å"Making the best of ourselves is not an easy task. It is a pleasurable pursuit, it is the reason we were born, but it requires patience, persistence, and perseverance. For many of us it also requires prayer. That is because we find it far easier to learn to live by our own lights when we access a Higher Source of Power to illuminate our path. (Sarah Ban Breathnach) A key aspect of confident people is that they have high self-esteem they hold themselves in positive self-regard. This means that they know how to love themselves and that they acknowledge what theyre good at. These realizations boost their resilience and ability to take on greater challenges. Your ability to take appropri ate, effective action is affected by various things in your life that may seem to have little direct relation to the task at hand. Your values are a good example of this. Your self-confidence is likely to waver if you dont value what you excel at doing. Research shows that if you value what youre good at, youre likely to be highly confident in that area. If you value what youre not so good at, then you will not feel so confident, even though your friends may reassure you that this is not much of a problem at all. Building confidence begins with going with your strengths. If youre great at music, dont beat yourself up because youre not going to play international rugby. Pat yourself on the back, practice accepting compliments for everything you do well, and enjoy the positive reinforcement from others. Respect and honor yourself, and youll find that you get respect and honor from those around you. For confidence to thrive and grow, you must concentrate your attention on what youre good at, rather than trying to turn yourself into something that youre not. The next question is to ask oneself is â€Å"why are personal strengths important to recognize? † If you do not recognize your strengths you will not know your weaknesses. The key to unlock you’re ability to understand and recognize your personal strength’s lies in the understanding of â€Å"self†. Let us take Sigmund Freud and his ID, EGO and Superego theory into account. The Id, ego and super-ego are the three parts of the psychic scheme defined in Sigmund Freuds structural model of the psyche; they are the three theoretical constructs [a construct is a concept, model, or schematic idea] in terms of whose activity and interaction mental life is described. The meaning or explanation of these three psychic schemes starts with the id. The id and its functions lie in the irrational and emotional part of the mind. To give a further explanation of what this means take a baby from birth for instance. At birth a baby’s mind is all Id they possess the want, want, want, mentality. The Id is the primitive mind. It contains all the basic needs and feelings. It is the source for libido. And it has only one rule the pleasure principle: I want it and I want it all now. If I were to use a transference definition I would simple state that the Id best equates to mean child or selfishness. If you are more of an Id person or if your Id is too strong you will normally be bound to self-gratification and uncaring to others. The second part of this scheme starts with the ego. The ego and its functions lie in the rational part of the mind. The Ego develops out of the growing awareness that you cannot always get what you want. The Ego relates to the real world and it operates by means of the reality principle. The reality principle states that, â€Å"the ego controls the pleasure-seeking activity of the id in order to meet the demands of the external world. † The Ego realizes the need for compromise and negotiates between the Id and the Superego. The Egos job is to get the Ids pleasures but to be reasonable and bear the long-term consequences in mind. The Ego denies instant gratification or the child like urges that we as humans possess. It also aids in the delaying of gratification. A term was coined to refer to how well the ego copes with these conflicting forces. This term is ego-strength. To complete or maintain its work of planning,  thinking and controlling the Id, the Ego uses some of the Ids energy. If I were to use a Transference definition I would simple state that the Id best equates to mean adult. If you are more of an Ego centered person or if your Ego is too strong you will normally be bound to be extremely rational and efficient, but cold, boring and distant. The third part of the psychic scheme is the superego. The superego and its functions lie in the part of the mind that’s considered to be the moral part. The Superego is the last part of the mind to develop. The Superego becomes a semi tangible embodiment of the parental and societal values that were instilled in you. It stores and enforces rules. It constantly strives for perfection, even though this perfection ideal may be quite far from reality or possibility. Its power to enforce these rules comes from its ability to create anxiety. This feel anxiety is rooted in the subsystems of the superego. The two subsystems of the superego are the Ego Ideal and the Conscience. The Ego Ideal provides rules for good behavior, and standards of excellence towards which the Ego must strive. The Ego ideal is basically what the child’s parents approve of or value. The Conscience on the other hand the rules about what constitutes bad behavior. The Conscience is basically all those things that the child feels that their mother or father will show disapproval of or punish them for doing. If you are more of a Superego centered person or if your Superego is too strong you will normally be bound to feel guilty all the time or you may even have an insufferably saintly personality (self-righteous). The recognition of the id, ego and superego will allow you to gage your inner strengths and systems of control. This will allow you to recognize your strengths more accurately. I explained all of this to say that you must know yourself first on a deeper level to accurately recognize your strength’s. I believe that many people have chameleon strengths. What is chameleon-strength? Chameleon-strength is a strength that disguises itself as one thing but the true strength lies underneath. Parents or mentors are often the culprit when this happens. They push off their strength on the person or child through transference or synergy. This personal strength which they have effectively delivered to you may not fit your personality type and if it does not it will become a weakness. The next question is how can a person’s strengths be developed? A person’s strengths can be developed by understanding them as I previously mentioned. To understand how to develop them you must first know what development means. The definition of the word develop is to â€Å"expand by a process of growth. †(Merriam-Webster) So take any strength for instance to expand it by a process of growing it you have to look at the potential of what it can become. So in essence you must treat your strength as a weakness to grow in back into strength. For example in sports the majority of people are either right handed or left handed. This is a big deal especially in basketball because the right handed or left handed player are limited to that one hand if they do not develop the weaker hand to become their new strength. Michael Jordan is a prime example of this. When Jordan first arrived in the National Basketball Association he was average shooter and defensive player but these were his strengths. To develop these strengths he had to make his strength his weakness and his weakness his strength. He was a right handed player so he decided to shoot and defend with his left hand quite exclusively. He practiced and exercised this to the point that his dominant right hand was now his weakness. He shot and defended better with his left hand. This would not do. So he began to develop his right hand in the same fashion that he did his left hand. His right hand soon became dominant again. He continued this process until both hands were of equal strength. He had successfully developed his strength. A personal strength is not very different from sports if you speak well and that is your strength you should bolster your lexicon by becoming a word smith. Respect your craft and it will develop. The next question is what are your personal strengths? My personal strengths are having a strong sense of rationality and stability, Unselfishness, Individualism, responsibility, altruism, discipline and a high level of understanding. My ability to rationalize and maintain stability gives me the ability to appreciate the benefit for balance and harmony without losing the sight of the practical side of a situation. My ability to be unselfish gives me the opportunity to help someone meet their needs both internal and external before I focus on my own. The extreme individualistic nature that I possess gives me the strength to have high independence and to project self-confidence. My next strength was honed by the military. This strength is responsibility it gives me the ability to accept the credit or take the blame, with the buck stops here attitude. I also posses the strength to be altruistic I am very concerned for others without giving away everything that I have. I will not give you what I own but I will try if at possible to get you your own. The military also honed this next strength of discipline. With this as a personal strength I follow standard operating protocols and traditional ways to the letter. The final strength is the ability to understand aspects of a situation or subject at an extremely high level. All of these personal strengths combined allow me to stay at a balanced and harmonies state within myself. The next question or statement would be to discuss limitations. What are limitations? Limitations are defined as a shortcoming or defect. My limitations are anger, over confidence, fault finding and mistrust for people. My other limitation is that of the mind. The potential that I have within me is limitless but the removal of these limitations must first occur. The next question is why are they important to recognize? They are important to recognize because you will know where your boundaries lie. Once you know where your boundaries are you can break through them or maneuver around them. The next question would be how will you get around them? To get around my limitations I will have to overcome them mentally. To overcome anger I must first dismiss fault finding and mistrust of people. To delete the fault finding limitation I will have to become non judgmental of people. I have to accept people for who they are. When the realization that a person will make mistakes, it is easier to trust them to be just that a â€Å"person†. With the two of these limitations conquered in turn anger will be conquered because the resentment factor will no longer exist within me. The over-confidence limitation can be undone by knowing when to say enough is enough. The all encompassing over comer for all of my limitations are simply to love. Love will conquer a multitude of sins and shortcomings. When it comes to thinking of my strengths and limitations there are several ways to develop myself to become a better leader? The first step to do this is to know myself well enough to deploy these strengths and limitations to increase each other. The first start to doing this is to listen to myself about my shortcomings. Once these things are identified my strengths can be sent in as if they were antibodies attacking a virus or bacteria. If I generate enough love coupled with humility this will serve as a capsule or a command center to regulate all of my strengths to direct them towards my atural ability to lead. Compassion and fairness with meekness will make me a better leader because I will be able to meet the people at their level. Once they see me on the level and they know that I am not here to hurt them or mistreat them they will trust me enough to listen to what I have to say. The goal to becoming a better leader is to get the people to listen. Once I have their attention ou r task or objective will be easily achieved. I am a proven and accomplished leader I always complete my mission. The next question is what role does self confidence play in personal leadership? What is self-confidence? Self-confidence is defined as â€Å"confidence in oneself and in ones powers and abilities. † Self-confidence plays an important role in leadership. In our society the majority of the population will not follow a leader that is not self-confident. If a person does not believe in his or herself they will find that no one will either. Self-confidence is a trust issue. It is a mistrust of oneself. People that are not self-confident are typically this way because something happen in their life which caused them to be embarrassed or feel inferior. To become self-confident they must first overcome this to reassure and repair the mental picture of themselves. Once they repair this mental picture they then can broadcast this mental picture to the people that they are trying to lead. Once the people see this picture they can also cast a positive light on it and follow it as if it were a light house and they were a boat trapped in fog. So to answer the question self-confidence has everything to do with personal leadership. A more in depth explanation of how to overcome self-confidence issues would be to pin point the events that caused the issues and confront them. You can not fix a problem that you will not address. Once you get the problem or traumatic event out in the open talk about it. You should attack it from all angles to see why it’s affecting the person or yourself in this way. Once the cause has found build a confidence foundation. A confidence foundation will be those things that you do right and with enough practice certain parts of the event or issue can be transformed into a confidence brick to add to your foundation. Eventually you will overcome this issue or event and become more self confident. There are three aspects and or dimensions of self- confidence. The three are overly self-confident, self-confidence (normal) and a lack of self-confidence. The best way to approach these three would be established a definition for each. The definition for overly self-confidence is quite simple. This definition refers to people who have an overly high opinion of themselves. The definition for self-confidence relates to self-assuredness in ones personal judgment, ability, and power. The definition for a lack of self confidence would be the reverse of self confidence it states that a person has a lack of self-assuredness in ones personal judgment, ability, and power. The best and simplest explanation for this would be to describe a doubter. Personal Mission Statement I will live each day as if it were my last, building relationships that last a lifetime, focusing first on my marriage, second on my family and third on my friendships. I live to create, build, nourish and grow. I will live life within the constraints that are acceptable to me. I will never live life under the control of values that are not acceptable to anyone but myself. I will never fail in my mission to succeed. I will never quit in my desire to achieve. Opinion Page In my opinion this in depth at my personal strengths and weaknesses has helped me to redefine what I have to work towards to fulfill my duty to mankind. The personal mission statement that I have drafted represents my inner most drive towards self actualization. My biggest challenge will be to work towards a life filled with pure love, humility and meekness. I know that I possess many talents, but these talents have to be used for the greater good not for selfish gain. God gives me my great talents and I know I have to serve his people with these talents. If I cannot make a difference in people’s lives I am nothing. So what this personal strength paper has taught me is that every person has certain strengths and weaknesses that are directly proportional to what they are put on this world to do. The catch to this is that people are often to selfish and caught up with the daily rigor of life to apply their talents for the greater good. Merriam-Webster Online. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. 27 Nov. 1998 . Inspirational Quotes. 28 January 2009. 20 July 2011. Id Ego and Super-ego. Wikipedia. 09 July 2011. 20 July 2011 .

Hundred Years War - Joan of Arc and Siege of Orlans

Hundred Years' War - Joan of Arc and Siege of Orlans Siege of Orlà ©ans: Dates Conflicts: The Siege of Orlà ©ans began October 12, 1428 and ended May 8, 1429, and took place during the Hundred Years War (1337-1453). Armies Commanders English Earl of ShrewsburyEarl of SalisburyDuke of SuffolkSir John Fastolfapprox. 5,000 men French Joan of ArcJean de DunoisGilles de RaisJean de Brosseapprox. 6,400-10,400 men Siege of Orlà ©ans - Background: In 1428, the English sought to assert Henry VIs claim to the French throne through the Treaty of Troyes. Already holding much of northern France with their Burgundian allies, 6,000 English soldiers landed at Calais under the leadership of the Earl of Salisbury. These were soon met by another 4,000 men drawn from Normandy by the Duke of Bedford. Advancing south, they succeeded in capturing Chartres and several other towns by late August. Occupying Janville, they next drove on the Loire Valley and took Meung on September 8. After moving downstream to take Beaugency, Salisbury dispatched troops to capture Jargeau. Siege of Orleans - the Siege Begins: Having isolated Orlà ©ans, Salisbury consolidated his forces, now numbering around 4,000 after leaving garrisons at his conquests, south of the city on October 12. While the city was located on the north side of the river, the English were initially confronted by defensive works on the south bank. These consisted of a barbican (fortified compound) and twin-towered gatehouse known as Les Tourelles. Directing their initial efforts against these two positions, they succeeded in driving out the French on October 23. Falling back across the nineteen-arch bridge, which they damaged, the French withdrew into the city. Occupying Les Tourelles and the nearby fortified convent of Les Augustins, the English began to dig in. The next day, Salisbury was mortally wounded when surveying French positions from Les Tourelles. He was replaced by the less aggressive Earl of Suffolk. With the weather changing, Suffolk pulled back from the city, leaving Sir William Glasdale and a small force to garrison Les Tourelles, and entered winter quarters. Concerned by this inactivity, Bedford dispatched the Earl of Shrewsbury and reinforcements to Orlà ©ans. Arriving in early December, Shrewsbury took command and moved troops back to the city. Siege of Orleans - the Siege Tightens: Shifting the bulk of his forces to the north bank, Shrewsbury built a large fortress around the Church of St. Laurent west of the city. Additional forts were built on the Ile de Charlemagne in the river and around the Church of St. Prive to the south. The English commander next constructed a series of three forts extending northeast and connected by a defensive ditch. Lacking sufficient men to fully surround the city, he established two forts east of Orlà ©ans, St. Loup and St. Jean le Blanc, with the goal of blocking supplies from entering the city. As the English line was porous, this was never fully achieved. Siege of Orleans - Reinforcements for Orlà ©ans the Burgundian Withdrawal: When the siege began, Orlà ©ans possessed only a small garrison, but this was augmented by militia companies that were formed to man the citys thirty-four towers. As the English lines never fully cut off the city, reinforcements began to trickle in and Jean de Dunois assumed control of the defense. Though Shrewsburys army was augmented by the arrival of 1,500 Burgundians during the winter, the English were soon outnumbered as the garrison swelled to around 7,000. In January, the French king, Charles VII assembled a relief force downstream at Blois. Led by the Count of Clermont, this army elected to attack an English supply train on February 12, 1429 and was routed at the Battle of the Herrings. Though the English siege was not tight, the situation in the city was becoming desperate as supplies were low. French fortunes began to change in February when Orlà ©ans applied to be put under the protection of the Duke of Burgundy. This caused a rift in the Anglo-Burgundian alliance, as Bedford, who was ruling as Henrys regent, refused this arrangement. Angered by Bedfords decision, the Burgundians withdrew from the siege further weakening the thin English lines. Siege of Orleans - Joan Arrives: As the intrigues with the Burgundians came to a head, Charles first met with the young Joan of Arc (Jeanne dArc) at his court in Chinon. Believing that she was following divine guidance, she asked Charles to allow her to lead relief forces to Orlà ©ans. Meeting with Joan on March 8, he sent her to Poitiers to be examined by clerics and Parliament. With their approval, she returned to Chinon in April where Charles agreed to let her lead a supply force to Orlà ©ans. Riding with the Duke of Alencon, her force moved along the south bank and crossed over at Chà ©cy where she met with Dunois. While Dunois mounted a divisionary attack, the supplies were barged into the city. After spending the night in Chà ©cy, Joan entered the city on April 29. Over the next few days, Joan assessed the situation while Dunois departed to Blois to bring up the main French army. This force arrived on May 4 and French units moved against the fort at St. Loup. Though intended as a diversion, the attack became a larger engagement and Joan rode out to join the fighting. Shrewsbury sought to relieve his beleaguered troops, but was blocked by Dunois and St. Loup was overrun. Siege of Orleans - Orlà ©ans Relieved: The next day, Shrewsbury began consolidating his position south of the Loire around the Les Tourelles complex and St. Jean le Blanc. On May 6, Jean sortied with a large force and crossed to the Ile-Aux-Toiles. Spotting this, the garrison at St. Jean le Blanc withdrew to Les Augustins. Pursuing the English, the French launched several assaults against the convent through the afternoon before finally taking it late in the day. Dunois succeeded in preventing Shrewsbury from sending aid by conducting raids against St. Laurent. His situation weakening, the English commander withdrew all of his forces from the south bank except for the garrison at Les Tourelles. On the morning of May 7, Joan and the other French commanders, such as La Hire, Alencon, Dunois, and Ponton de Xaintrailles gathered east of Les Tourelles. Moving forward, they began assaulting the barbican around 8:00 AM. Fighting raged through the day with the French unable to penetrate the English defenses. In the course of the action, Joan was wounded in the shoulder and forced to leave the battle. With casualties mounting, Dunois debated calling off the attack, but was convinced by Joan to press on. After praying privately, Joan rejoined the fighting. The appearance of her banner advancing spurred on the French troops who finally broke into the barbican. This action coincided with a fire barge burning the drawbridge between the barbican and Les Tourelles. English resistance in the barbican began to collapse and French militia from the city crossed the bridge and assaulted Les Tourelles from the north. By nightfall, the entire complex had been taken and Joan crossed the bridge to re-enter the city. Defeated on the south bank, the English formed their men for battle the next morning and emerged from their works northwest of the city. Assuming a formation similar to Crà ©cy, they invited the French to attack. Though the French marched out, Joan counseled against an attack. Aftermath: When it became apparent that the French would not attack, Shrewsbury began an orderly withdrawal toward Meung ending the siege. A key turning point in the Hundred Years War, the Siege of Orlà ©ans brought Joan of Arc to prominence. Seeking to maintain their momentum, the French embarked on the successful Loire Campaign which saw Joans forces drive the English from the region in a series of battles which culminated at Patay.

Risk Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 5

Risk Management - Essay Example This data is often the first input to decision makers to gage whether risks should be avoided and the most suitable and cost-efficient risk management procedure. Risk analysis involves the identification, evaluation as well as management of various risks (John n.d.). The type of risk in an organization depends on the industry to which the organization operates (John n.d.). Financial risk assessment and management is of economic worth. This is especially to firms using financial tools in managing exposure to risks. Other financial risk may include inflation and volatility risk (Andersen 2012). Just like general risk management, the financial risk management necessitates identification of its sources, its measurements, as well as plans to avoid them in future. Financial risk analysis, assessment and management can both be quantitative and qualitative. Financial risk management emphasizes on the time and the means to evade the financial risks by using the specific financial instruments used in managing costly exposures to risk. In the finance sector, the Basel Accords is an instrument that has been adopted generally by internationally banks for tracking, recording and revealing the operational risks, credit risks and market risks (Andersen 2012, p. 7). Financial risk management usually assist in clearing profits through cost evasion, cost inhibition and time savings. An inclusive financial risk management platform can avert wastefulness and replication that decreases needless costs, increases productivity, and enables reliability and communication. An integrated system often permits several departments to accumulate information and cooperate amongst themselves. This can help in communication and understanding, thus reducing and containing risk while cutting costs and adding process consistency (Andersen 2012, p. 15). The first step in financial risk analysis is the inherent risk assessment, which involves assessing the financial statement

Mountain Dew Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Mountain Dew - Essay Example It has gained the position of No. 1 competitor of Coke, which stands for kinship and a brand that nation cares for. Come year 2000 and Pepsi Co, along with BBDO, its advertising agency for decades are facing a challenge to change it advertising strategy to suit the market needs. Close rivals in CSD and non CSD segment are increasing their advertising bumdgets, which Pepsi Co. is reluctant to. Extreme sports and alternative sports have been over used and left with less fizz to be continued as an advertising strategy. The decision becomes even more crucial in light of decreasing sales of Pepsi and Diet Pepsi, partly due to increase in prices of 5% across market segment and partly due to the increasing awareness of the consumer base of what marketing strategies are and why brands are popular. On the other side, functional drinks market is fast picking up with brands like Redbull creating a niche for itself. The board of senior members of Pepsi Co and BBDO are brooding over the decision of selecting and producing adverts which will convey that idea of Mountain Dew standing for an Exhilarating experience without overexposing extreme sports. SWOT Before analyzing the situation in deep it is important to keep in mind what Mountain dew as a brand and as a product stands for. Following is the SWOT for Mountain Dew which will be considered while making the final decisions Strengths ïÆ'Ëœ Mountain Dew is a product offered by Pepsi Co., a company with very strong market presence and very high brand value ïÆ'Ëœ Brand can be identified with terms like ‘advernturous’, ‘exciting’ ,‘cool’, ‘Daring’, ‘Courageous’ due to which it has a niche in the market segment of 18 – 29 year olds... s The teen KPIs are encouraging & an opportunity to create a better brand awareness exists It’s a product in flavored drink segment which is growing unlike the CSD cola market Threats Other companies have used the Extreme sports as a communication medium and increasing their budgets for advertising and communication Introduction of functional and non CSD drinks which today’s consumer is drifting to provide its health benefits and current ethos Other copy cat flavored drinks More stress on the managerial judgment for selecting the best communication strategy rather than relying on hard data. Though it has worked in part, this decision might or might not lead to desired results and is risky. Issues 1) Eight years of exploiting the theme of Extreme sports has left it with no juice. Other companies have started to exploit it, even those who are not in the beverages industry like GE, Mars and FedEX. Mountain due is also in need of broadening its consumer base from 18 - 29 ye ars olds to overlap with 20 – 39 year olds. It needs a more generic appeal and hence use of extreme sports is questionable 2) Pepsi Co. since ages have believed in keeping the content right rather than flooding the media with its ads. They believe in game of content rather than volume. This means Mountain Dew has a limited budget to spend on its media communications as compared to nearest competitors who are ramping up their spends on the same. 3) When Mountain Dew was bought in 1964 by Pepsi Co. it had its own niche of ‘flavored’ soft drink. Today not only has it lost its niche, but also is facing competition from non CSD drinks like Getorage and functional highly caffeinated and sugary drinks like Redbull. It is hence crucial to take this brand to a next level by broadening the target market

Causes and Consequences of Increased Intracranial Pressure

Causes and Consequences of Increased Intracranial Pressure CONSEQUENCES OF INCREASED INTRACRANIAL PRESSURE What is the Intracranial Pressure? Intracranial Pressure (ICP) is the hydrostatic pressure of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the subarachnoid space [4]. Cerebrospinal fluid is a watery fluid circulating in the subarachnoid space surrounding the brain and the spinal cord. This fluid is synthesized by the choroid plexus in cerebral ventricles and it is absorbed by the arachnoid granulations into the venous sinus system. So the CSF is the surrounding nature of the brain. Increased intracranial pressure Normal values for intracranial pressure are varying with age. Normal values for adults and older children are 10 to 15 mmHg, 3 to 7 mmHg for young children and 1.5 to 6 mmHg for term infants. ICP may be sub atmospheric in newborns [5]. Commonly 5 to 15 mmHg (7.5 to 20 cm H2O) is concerned to be normal adult ICP value [5]. 20 to 30 mmHg values are concerned as mild intracranial hypertensions but 20 to 25 mmHg values requires treatments and values more than 40 mmHg are severe life threatening situations [5]. Causes for increased intracranial  Pressure Increased intracranial pressure can be developed either by an increase in the pressure in CSF or by a space occupying lesion (such as brain tumors, bleeding in the brain, fluid surrounding the brain or swelling of the brain tissue. But in some situations those two types of reasons can be interrelated with each other. (e.g.: When the brain is swelling, its vasculature becomes compressed and this may lead to increase ICP. There is a concept called Monroe Kellie Doctrine. According to that hypothesis, skull is an enclosed rigid structure containing no compressive structures such as brain, blood and CSF. So an increase in one constituent or an expanding of one of them results in an increase in the intracranial pressure [6] Pg.76. Intracranial = Brain + CSF + Blood + Mass lesion Volume volumevolume volume volume But in infants, in the case of their skulls are not completely ossified, their skulls are some kind of incompatible with this hypothesis. According to that hypothesis an expanding mass, an increase in brain water content , an increase in cerebral blood volume (by vasodilation or venous outflow obstruction) or increase in CSF are the factors for an increase in intracranial pressure [6] Pg.76. However there are some compensatory mechanisms for regulating intracranial pressure increases [6] Pg.76. Immediate actions 1.Decrease of CSF volume (CSF outflow to the lumbar theca. 2. Decrease of cerebral blood volume. Delayed actions Decrease of extra cellular fluid. There are number of causes responsible for increased intracranial pressure. They may be either occurring individually or in combination with others. Primary causes for increased ICP[7,8,9] This is also called as Intracranial Causes. They occur within the cranium. Brain tumor – Tumors lead to increase in brain volume. So according to the Monroe Kellie doctrine ICP increased. Trauma – There are various types of head injuries. They can be close or open (penetrating) injuries. It can be lead to concussion (shaking of the brain as a result of trauma), scalp injuries, skull fractures. Those traumas may cause to bleeding within the brain tissue or bleeding in the layers that surrounds the brain. There are three types of bleedings occurring in the layers surround the brain. Subarachnoid hemorrhage – bleeding into the subarachnoid space. Subdural hematoma – bleeding into the subdural space Extradural hematoma – Bleeding into the epidural space. All those types of bleedings cause in increasing ICP. Non traumatic intra cerebral hemorrhage – These hemorrhages can occur by aneurysm of cerebral arteries in the brain. Aneurysms are localized excessive swellings of an arterial wall. So they have more potential to rupture and this leads to subarachnoid hemorrhage. Ischemic stroke – Stroke (or Brain Attack) is the death of brain cells due to an inadequate blood flow [4].So in strokes, as a response to the brain cell death, brain swelling occurs. Hydrocephalus – Hydrocephalus is an increase in CSF volume. Cerebrospinal fluid is secreted by the choroid plexus of the lateral, third and fourth ventricles and flows in a caudal direction and enters the sub arachnoid space through the foramina of Lushka and Magendie. At the end of the circulation absorb into the arachnoid granulations. Rate of formation CSF usually is about 500ml/day. Hydrocephalus occurs commonly due to impaired absorption and rarely by excessive secretion. There are two types of hydrocephalus, Obstructive hydrocephalus – Obstruction of the CSF flow within the ventricular system. Communicating hydrocephalus – Obstruction of the CSF flow outside the ventricular system. Increased intracranial pressure can be seen as a direct effect of hydrocephalus. Idiopathic (benign) intracranial hypertension [6] Pg. 363 – This term means an increase in intracranial pressure without any mass lesion or hydrocephalus. Some clearly identified causal links (e.g.: venous outflow obstruction to CSF absorption) or obscured causal links (e.g.: diet, endocrine, hematological, drugs) cause for that. Other causes – Pseudotumorcerebri, pneumocephalus, abscess, cyst. 2. Secondary causes for increased ICP These are also called as extra cranial causes. So it is caused by extra cranial factors. Examples include, Airway obstruction Hypertension or hypotension Hypoxia or hypercarbia Posture Seizures Hyperpyrexia Drugs Other (High altitude, cerebral edema, hepatic failure ) 3. Post-operative causes for increased ICP This type of intracranial hypertension may occur after a neurosurgical procedure. Mass lesion/hematoma/edema An increase of cerebral blood volume by vasodilation. Disturbances of CSF flow. Clinical symptoms appear with increased intracranial pressure [11, 12] Headache [11] Papilledema – This is the swelling of the optic nerve occur most of times as a result of increased intracranial pressure [10]. Projectile vomiting – This is a vomiting without nausea. Increased blood pressure Double vision Pupils do not respond to changes in light Visual field abnormality – Loss of peripheral and inferior nasal visions. Seizure or convulsions Neurological problems include balance issues, numbness and tingling, memory loss, paralysis, slurred or garbled speech or inability to talk. COMA Stiff neck – Neck becomes mostly stiff and painful. Some researchers says the reason for that is the stretching of the spinal nerve sheaths where they exit the spinal cord by the pressure passing down from the brain [10]. Pain in the arms Loss of consciousness Back pain Shallow breathing In addition to those symptoms, in infants can be seen following [12], Separated sutures on the skull Bulging fontanellae Not feeding or responding normally Consequences of increased intracranial pressure Intracranial hypertension is involved with the pressure in the skull or in another words, the pressure around the brain and the spinal cord. Therefore increased intracranial pressure becomes a life threatening situation. There are some possibilities or consequences of increased intracranial pressure involved. These complications can be categorized into different topics such as Displacement effects, Hydrocephalus, complications in cerebral perfusion, seizures. Displacement effects [5,3,6 pg. 76-80] The cranial cavity is divided into compartments, separated by dural folds called falx cerebri and tentorium cerebelli. These folds limit brain structures within those compartments, but due to a space occupying lesion, pressure gradients occur in between these compartments. As a result brain shifts and herniation occur. This herniation can be categorized into two subjects, Supratentorial herniation (uncal, central, cingulate, transclaviral) Infratentorial herniation (upward, tonsillar) Supratentorial herniation Subfalcine herniation – In this case the cingulate gyrus is pushed laterally away from the expanding mass (like hematoma) beneath the falx cerebri. This may interfere with blood vessels in the frontal lobes which are placed at the site of injury. This may cause intracranial bleeding and severe rise in intracranial pressure and more dangerous types of herniation. Symptoms are not clear related to this herniation but usually present with abnormal posturing and coma. This type of herniation can be a precursor to other types of herniation. Uncal (transtentorial, uncinate, mesial temporal) herniation – This is the herniation of the Uncas in medial temporal lobe from the middle cranial pressure into the posterior cranial fossa into the posterior cranial fossa across the tentorial opening. So the Uncas of the temporal lobe is forced into the gap between the midbrain and the edge of the tentorium. There are main possible complications of this herniation, Compression of cranial nerve (III) – In the case of herniation, ipsilateral occulomotor nerve may compress as it passes between the posterior and superior cerebellar arteries. In initial states ipsilateral dilation of pupil (do not respond to light) can be seen as the first clinical sign because the parasympathetic fibers are placed outside the nerve, which are getting paralyzed first during the compression. After that as the herniation improving moreover the contralateral pupil may also dilated and further compression of the nerve may lead to interfere with the somatic supply of extra ocular muscles (except lateral rectus which is supplied by abducent nerve and the superior oblique which is supplied by trochlear nerve) causing the deviation of the eye to downwards and outwards. Compression of the midbrain cerebral peduncles – Commonly the ipsilateral cerebral peduncle gets compressed showing contralateral hemiparesis or hemiplegia. Since the herniation displaces the midbrain laterally, the contralateral cerebral peduncle gets compressed against the edge of the tentorium cerebelli resulting ipsilateral hemiparesis or hemiplegia (when it happens alone) or quadriplegia (when both cerebral peduncles are compressed. Compression of the posterior cerebral artery – Posterior cerebral artery or its branches may be compressed against the free edge of the tentorium cerebelli causes hemorrhagic infraction on the medial and inferior sites of the ipsilateral occipital lobe. The lesion may often confine to the posterior cerebral artery, leading to homonymous heminospia. If the occipital lobe lesions are bilateral, cortical blindness is a clinical sign (patient may not understand visual images, but pupillary reflexes are intact) Compression of the brain stem – Compression of the brainstem may low in the midbrain and may gradually increase caudally. As a result patient will become comatose and develop cardiac and respiratory changes. There are two types of events mainly occurring during the brainstem compression. Secondary brainstem hemorrhages (Duret hemorrhages) – Due to the compression and stretching of vessels (especially veins) these hemorrhages occur. Death may ensure due to the direct destruction of the pons and midbrain. Changes in respiratory, postural and occulomotor actions – These changes occur due to the compression transmitting downwards from the midbrain. Finally as a result of damage to the medulla leads to slow irregular respiratory movements, irregular pulse and falling of blood pressure, as well as death is due to the respiratory arrest. Central herniation – This is due to a supratententorial space occupying lesion and downward displacement of brainstem and diencephalon. Progressive decline in neurological status so called Rostrocaudal Detoriation (or Rostrocaudal Decompensation) can be seen in this situation. Lesions located medially or within the frontal pole will not compress the midbrain and diencephalon laterally and they straight to Rostrocaudaly dysfunction of the brainstem leading bilateral progression of impairment. Herniation may stretch the branches of the basilar (pontine) arteries and tear them generating Duret hemorrhage, usually causes to death because of the infraction of the midbrain and the pons. Clinical signs initiating with changes in consciousness start with reducing alertness leads to drowsiness, stupor and finally coma. There are list of incidents occur with central herniation and their related causes. Respiratory changes due to various sites of lesions Site of lesion Respiratory pattern Diencephalon Chyne-Stokes respiration Midbrain Central neurogenic hyperventilation Pons Apneustic respiration Medulla Ataxic respiration Changes in postural reflexes Decorticate Rigidity – Sign of leg extension and arm flexion caused by widespread lesions in the cerebral cortex. Decerebrate rigidity –sign of extension of both arms and legs due to the lesions disconnecting cerebral hemispheres from the brainstem(e.g. Upper midbrain lesions) Pupillary changes – Studying those pupillary changes in comatose patients may helpful in revealing the general location of lesions. Small reactive pupils – Compression of the diencephalon impairs sympathetic nerve fibers originate there and these impairment affects the sympathetic dilation of pupil straight to constricted small pupils. Dilated fixed – Compression of one cranial nerve (iii) by the uncus compressing parasympathetic fibers travelling outside the nerve and this impairment of parasympathetic supply causes to dilate the pupil of the same side and loss of reaction to the light changes in that pupil. Midposition fixed – Bilateral compression of both occulomotor nerves or compression of the midbrain results in impairment of both parasympathetic and sympathetic fibers in both sides travelling to the pupil and as a result pupils come in to a midposition and are non-responsive to light fluctuations. Ocular movements – Pathways for ocular reflexes are localized in the brain stem, so that they are useful in testing pathways in comatose patients. Abducent and contralateral occulomotor nuclei are connected by the Medial Longitudinal Fasciculus (MLF) to produce conjugate deviation of the eyes. Caloric stimulation or oculovestibular reflex is, when water put into ear, a passive head turning occurs. Usually the occulomotor responses to that stimulation also in a similar way producing oculocephalic reflex or Doll’s eye movements. This eye movement does not occur in conscious patients because their pupil will stay looking straight ahead in front of the face when the head is turned, so this can be only seen in comatose patients. When a comatose patient shows the oculocephalic reflex, his brainstem is intact (Both eyes are deviated into the same sides opposite to the head movement, when the patient’s head is turning side to side. The eyelids must open and hold to observe the deviation of eyes). But if the MLF is affected the eyes will not move towards the same side. But to show these results CN III should intact. Extracranial/Transcalvarial herniation – This is the herniation of the brain through an opening in the cranial cavity formed by trauma or at a surgical site. Infratentorial herniation Tonsillar herniation [6] pg.: 79 – This is the downward herniation of the cerebellar tonsils through the foramen magnum. Usually caused by posterior cranial fossa mass lesion. But also can be due to a midline Supratentorial mass or as a result of edema. In that case the compression of the medulla leads to a depression of the vital centers for respiration and cardiac rhythm control. Sudden cardiorespiratory arrest or a slow progression over a day or two may be manifested as clinical symptoms. Upward/Cerebellar herniation [5] – Increased pressure in the posterior cranial fossa leads to upward movement of the cerebellum through tentorial opening. Midline shift of the brain Midline shift is the shifting of the brain from its center line [1]. This is a direct result of increased intracranial pressure and can be occurred by traumatic brain injury, stroke, hematoma, or birth deformities. So midline shift can be used as an indicator of ICP and a midline shift of over 5mm indicates an immediate surgery [1]. There are 3 structures mainly investigating in a midline shift. They are septum pellucidum (between right and left ventricles), third ventricle and the pineal gland [2]. The degrees of displacement of these structures are aided in determining the severity of the shift. Interaction with cerebral blood flow There is a connection between cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP), mean systemic arterial pressure (MAP) and Intracranial pressure (ICP) as follows [5]. CPP = MAP – ICP As the CPP is the driver of the cerebral perfusion, cerebral blood flow is determined by both MAP and ICP. Therefore CPP can be reduced by an increase of ICP or a decrease of MAP. However the brain can auto regulate the cerebral blood flow through an auto regulatory process in 50 to 150 mmHg CPP range. But below 50 mmHg CPP values the brain can’t compensate and cerebral blood flow and cerebral perfusion pressure decreased. Seizures This is a sudden electrical activity of brain [7]. Most of the time acute increased intracranial pressure may cause for trigger a seizure [3]. References [1] Gruen P (May 2002) â€Å"Surgical management of head trauma†. Neuroimaging Clinics of North America 12 Pg.339-43 [2]Xiao,Furen,Chiang,Wong,Tosai,Hung,Liao(2011) â€Å"Automatic measurement of midline shift on deformed brains using multire solution binate level set method and Hough transform†. Computers in biology and medicine journal 41 Pg.756-762 [3]Principles of neurology Raymond D Adams Maurice victor.2nd edition. [4] www.medical –dictionarythefreedictionary.com [5]Neuroclin. May 2008:26(2):521-541. â€Å"Management of intracranial hypertension† Lonero Rangel Castillo (MD), Shankar Gopinath (MD) and Claudias Robertson (MD) via www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc 2452989 #R4 [6] â€Å"Neurology and neurosurgery illustrated† by Kenneth W Lindsay [7]www.bja.oxfordjournals.org/conten/90/1/39.long [8] Friedman DI Medication-Induced Intracranial hypertension in dermatology A M J clin Dermatology 2005 29-37 via PubMed [9]Jacob S Rajabally Y A. intracranial Hypertension induced by rofecoxib. Headache 2005 75-76 via PubMed [10]Digre K warner J â€Å"Is vitamin A implicated in the pathophysiology of increased intracranial pressure? Neurology 2005 64, 1827 via PubMed [11]www.healthline.com [12]PubMed health â€Å"Increased intracranial pressure† www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/pmh0001797/

“What is ‘Superblood” Analysis

The article â€Å"What is ‘Superblood' and Why Do I Want It?†, written by Kyree Leary, explains a great potential medical advancement. A biotech startup company, Rubius Therapeutics, wants to use red blood cells to replace missing enzymes in patients with rare diseases or conditions along with patients with autoimmune disorders in order to treat them. These diseases include Type 1 diabetes and even cancer. The technique Rubius Therapeutics plans on using is equipping red blood cells with a protein that can be tailored to treat the condition of the patient it is being infused into. Then, the company plans on putting these blood cells into the body, but overall, it will account for less than 1 percent of the patient's total blood volume. This idea is similar to the idea of using modified T-cells to fight cancer; however, red blood cell therapies do not need to be personalized. For T-cell therapy, the cells must be taken from the patient and put back into the same patient to avoid rejection by the immune system, whereas for the red blood cell treatment, only the use of any person's O negative blood can be effective, for it is a universal donor. In fact, one donor could generate enough therapeutic doses to treat hundreds of thousands of different patients. The company has not released any products yet, but they have raised $220 million in funding which is going to go towards the development of products along with clinical trials necessary for ensuring their safety. This article certainly grabbed my attention when I saw it while scrolling through articles. I have done a lot of work with blood and enzymes in PBS and Biology, so I was intrigued to see what this new â€Å"Superblood† was. Having learned about blood and the topic of the article already, I understood the methods the company plans on using, which made the article and story even more interesting. I found it fascinating that something as simple as placing missing enzymes back into someone's body can possibly have the ability to treat a condition as serious as cancer. In addition, it astonishes me how individuals and companies can think of innovative things like this that could have such an impact on people and the field of medicine. The health of millions is compromised by cancer and autoimmune disease, which this procedure targets. If Rubius Therapeutics can successfully use this red blood cell therapy as a treatment for cancer or even Type 1 diabetes, our world will be a better place, and the healthcare field would be drastically altered. This could diminish the need for insulin injections or pumps if done properly along with other standard treatments. Although this idea may not be able to actually cure cancer, it definitely could and probably will lead to other scientists and/or physicians getting inspired and developing innovations that could bring humanity closer to a cure for the deadly disease. Overall, this â€Å"Superblood† can certainly lead to advancements in the medical field which would make our population a healthier group of people.