Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Ebola Outbreak Of West Africa - 1655 Words

Introduction In the late 1970s, the international community was alarmed by the discovery of the Ebola virus. (Schwarz and Siegl, 1996) It was the ‘causative agent’ (Peters and Peters, 2015) of EHF (Ebola hemorrhagic fever). Ebola stems from a virus family know as Filoviridae. The virus targets various parts of the body causing a critical sickness of fever, diarrhoea, vomiting and in severe cases bleeding. However, infections do not always lead to death. ‘In previous outbreaks, 40-90% of known infections have resulted in death’ (Prevention, 2015) The very first cases were detected near a river found in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan. On 23 March 2014, the World Health Organisation (WHO) made the public aware of a new Ebola†¦show more content†¦The Ebola has a strong relevance to the securitisation theory as there were many laws and precautions introduce by governments globally in order to securitise and protect public health. I will analyse my topic by looking at the laws and precautions brought it by various governments internationally and weighing their strengths and weaknesses. Then evaluating my findings and draw conclusions on how effective and efficient the steps taken towards the attempt of securitising Ebola were. 2. Literature View As explained in my introduction Ebola is a virus which targets various parts of the body causing a critical sickness of fever, diarrhoea, vomiting and in severe cases bleeding. On 8 August 2014, the WHO declared Ebola a major public health concern. Soon after there were many cases reported in the US, Liberia, Australia and other varying countries. Once the outbreak occurred, there were international efforts to strengthen health security. However, this pathway quickly changed directions when it was met with very fragile health national systems. The Western governments attempted to build up global health security by introducing advanced medical countermeasures, unfortunately they could not come up with an effective treatment

Monday, December 23, 2019

Analysing the Environmental Impact Assessment Systems...

Pà ¶là ¶nen et al in 2011 conducted research on â€Å"The effectiveness of the Finnish EIA system†. He inspected main weaknesses and strengths of EIA as a participatory and preventive environmental management tool. According to him EIA has enhanced the legitimacy of the planning processes and tools used in environmental policy. The planning has been made more transparent through the participation of stakeholders. In the early phase of Planning, the participation has made it possible to strengthen the trust between stakeholders, and allows sound consensus in disagreement. It has also prevented appeals in the later phases of decision making. EIA also has influence on project design and also on the valuations. EIA may eliminate the most harmful†¦show more content†¦Panigrahi and Amirapu in 2012 conducted research on â€Å"An assessment of EIA system in India†. According to the authors there is well developed regulatory EIA system established in India but coordin ation is vital for an effective EIA system. Interviews with the officials and consultants showed that there is weak coordination among the decision makers, SPCBs, consultants, proponents and other agencies/line departments. Proponents and consultants do not consult concerned departments and agencies during preparation of EIA reports to identify issues. The authors carried out the assessment of the EIA process and identified the following weakness in the system. †¢ There are comprehensive guidelines, legal and legislative provisions but administrative setup is very weak. EIA is just a formality as most of the time EIA is conducted after start of construction. †¢ Coordination among the consultants and planners are very weak. †¢ Involvement of stakeholders into ToR process during scoping is inadequate which results in a thin coverage of socio-economic and environmental issues in the EIA reports. †¢ The quality of EIA reports are very poor and not up to the mark. The reason identified is the lack of experts and professionals. There are many weaknesses identified in the reports such as it hardly discusses the limitations and assumptions carried out by consultants. †¢Show MoreRelatedFdi Essay1242 Words   |  5 Pagesexistence of national laws and policies has significantly determined the extent to which a countrys success or failure to benefit from trade and investment agreements. Hernando De Soto (2000) claimed that formalities and inefficiencies in the legal systems of developing countries have made them fail to enjoy the benefits of capitalism. 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But regardless of the variation in definitions and the terms used for it, EIA has always been considered as an aid to decision making through which the potential environmental consequencesRead MoreResearch Report On The Glasgow City Council And The Scottish Government3404 Words   |  14 PagesCHAPTER FOUR RESULT AND DISCUSSION Chapter three has displayed the methodology that is going to be adopted with these research works which include the review of earlier research materials and analysing the effect of some projects that has been carried out in other areas that has gone through the related conditions. 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Saturday, December 14, 2019

Duties and Responsibilities of Stakeholders Free Essays

For managers, a scholarly theory that other stakeholders should have some duties— towards the firm, in particular—should be a pleasant relief. However, key lessons for managers are that responsibilities towards the firm require that managers first conduct themselves morally; and that other stakeholder responsibilities often involve moral and citizenship duties requiring collective action, for which business leadership may be crucial. Mutual and joint responsibilities of stakeholders separate into four general categories: with the firm; among stakeholders themselves; common pool resources (especially nature); and the commonwealth. We will write a custom essay sample on Duties and Responsibilities of Stakeholders or any similar topic only for you Order Now Stakeholder responsibilities are thus separable into those of interdependent actors, moral individuals and citizens. Interdependent responsibilities are arguably weaker than moral and citizenship responsibilities, and may amount only to benevolence in the stakeholder context absent those other responsibilities. 1.Stakeholdersuch of business ethics boils down to exhortation concerning proper managerial conduct, in various circumstances, or defences of managerial practices generally based on the economic development benefits of markets (see Wilson 1989). Thinking about ethics from a manager’s perspective is perhaps more difficult. 2.To perceive, or propose, imbalance in the prevailing conceptualisation of business responsibilities. The idea is to establish the responsibilities of stakeholders other than managers and owners, including duties to the firm. There is substantial merit in the proposed thesis. Constructs such as corporate social responsibility, corporate social responsiveness, corporate social performance and global corporate citizenship all emphasise—as they were intended to do—the duties of and constraints on the motives (or goals) and conduct (or actions) of firms: i.e. the managers and owners of joint-stock public corporations or privately held companies. 1 In an effort to rebalance conceptualisation of responsibilities, this special issue considers the duties of and constraints on the motives and conduct of stakeholders (other than managers and owners, themselves stakeholders) defined in relationship to both the focal firm and other stakeholders of that firm. Stakeholders also have a collective impact on nature, and either collectively or in national groups joint responsibility for one or more commonwealths. For managers, that other stakeholders should have some duties—towards the firm, in particular—should presumably be a pleasant relief from widespread assault, on various grounds, by business critics and calls for greater corporate responsibilities and global citizenship activities. This author suggests, however, that there are some key lessons for managers in the proposed reconsideration of stakeholders’ responsibilities. Responsibilities towards the firm will require that managers first conduct themselves morally, and existing notions of corporate responsibility and citizenship do not necessarily obtain that pattern of conduct. Other stakeholder responsibilities often involve moral and citizenship duties requiring collective action, such that managers will often need to lead the way—as in child labour and environmental protection issues. The stakeholder role cannot be readily separated from general considerations of moral reflection and citizenship. A difficulty is that the stakeholder role must be considered by case and circumstance. While responsibilities towards other stakeholders are arguably stronger than responsibilities to the firm (such that managers must demonstrate by moral conduct worthiness to be the object of such responsibilities by others), those responsibilities, while interdependent, often do not occur at first hand but rather often through a chain of distant repercussions. It is therefore an additional step, conceptually and practically, to add accountability for specific outcomes beyond simple notions duane windsor How to cite Duties and Responsibilities of Stakeholders, Essay examples

Friday, December 6, 2019

Auditory and Non-auditory Effects of Noise on Health

Questions: 1) Identify and describe the six main factors that determine the duration and severity of noise-induced hearing loss. 2) Identify and describe three physiologic non-auditory effects of noise. 3) Identify and define three eye disorders and discuss how each is related to the occupational environment. Answers: 1. The six factors that determine the duration and severity of noise-induced hearing loss are identified to be, Firstly, Intensity of sound which is directly proportional to the ear damage. The lowest sound that is audible to the human ear is 0 dB and the highest is 180 Db. Exposure to a high intensity of sound says 85 dB or above for prolonged period may significantly damage hearing (Seidman Standring, 2010). Secondly, Frequency of sound, the measure of a pitch. It is measured in Hertz. The pitch is directly proportional to the frequency of sound. A pitch of about 2000- 4000 Hertz is recognized to cause hearing loss. During the noise induced hearing loss, people cannot hear sound with higher frequencies (Smith et al., 2014). Thirdly, Duration, the length of exposure to noise. Longer the duration of the exposure to noise, the more is the hearing loss. For the unprotected ear, the highest level of the permissible noise per day is 115 dB for 15 minutes. Fourthly, Occupational noise, the sound related to the workplace, say noise exposure in construction sites, Iron and Steel industries (machinery, etc.). Regular exposure to 85 dB or noise level above it is known to cause significant hearing loss gradually (Le Prell et al., 2012). Fifthly, Non-occupational noise, the sound related to community, environmental or residential areas such as noise due to lawn mowers, musical instrument, firecrackers, etc. When exposed on the regular basis, it can directly affect hearing. Lastly, Genetic factors may be responsible for hearing loss, which is gradually manifested with aging. Older people commonly have hearing loss problem; however, it may or may not be due to genetic effect (Smith et al., 2014). 2. Prolonged exposure to noise may cause non-auditory effects in addition to hearing loss such as hypertension, mental health problem, respiration problem, sleeping problem, and muscle stress. The physiologic non-auditory effects of the noise are discussed in subsequent sections. Occupational noises are mainly higher than residential or community noise and mostly cause the non-auditory effects. For example, traffic noise, construction areas, airports. According to Pirrera et al., (2010), exposure to environmental noise, can increase annoyance, results in sleep loss and a causative factor of cardiovascular disease. It is accompanied by hypertension, changes in the pattern of the heartbeat, changes in the diameter of blood vessels especially those in skin, change in blood pressure and changes in heart rate. Patients with cardiovascular diseases are highly susceptible to stroke and hence are recommended to stay indoors or in the environment with little noise. Experimental studies conducted by Basner et al., (2014) in laboratory conditions showed that continuous exposure to noise disturbs the Mental health. It decreases the ability to sustain attention. It is associated with the increase in annoyance and stress, with constant exposure to high level of noise. Researchers thus believe noise as "non-specific stressor" that disrupts mental health. Literature research provides evidence of the sleeping disorder that is Insomnia resulting due to noise exposure for prolonged period. Loss of sleep may be caused by disturbed nerve cells, increased muscle tension and changes in respiratory reflexes. Muscle tension occurs due to loud noise. Muscles burst into activities by more contraction for protecting the body from exposure to loud noise. Similarly, loud noise tends to alter the respiratory rhythms (Le Prell et al., 2012). 3. Several eye disorders have been identified that arise due to a workplace environment. For example, IT professionals spend more time in front of the computers developing myopia or hypermetropia. Workers with the high level of eye injuries include those working in construction sites, chemical industries, and other manufacturing services. The primary eye disorders related to the occupational environment are: Firstly, Low vision, people may not be able to see objects that are near to eye or at long distance. The former is called shortsightedness, and the later is called long sightedness. The increase in eye pressure changes the size of eye-lenses. People who are mainly vulnerable to low vision problem include IT professionals, teachers, drivers, tailors, carpenters, etc. This kind of work requires high focus thus gradually affecting the eyes over time. In several cases, low vision gradually leads to blindness (Liu et al., 2013). Secondly, Chemical eye burn, employees in Chemical industries is exposed to harmful substances that may be toxic in nature. The severity of the eye injury depends on the pH of the chemical. Early signs of chemical burn include pain, irritation, tearing, and redness, swelling of the eyelids and blurred vision. Delay of treatment in case of the acid or alkali burn may cause permanent vision impairment, glaucoma, and cataract (Berger et al., 2013). Surgeries may not always be successful in the delay of treatment causing permanent damage to vision. Thirdly, Conjunctivitis, characterized by the redness of eyes and severe inflammation. The causative factors are the virus, pollutants, pollens, smoke, etc. It occurs mainly in workers dealing with pesticides, fertilizers, gardeners, factories having machines, which produce the significant amount of smoke. As the employees work bare eyes, they are highly vulnerable to such infections (Smedley et al., 2013). References Basner, M., Babisch, W., Davis, A., Brink, M., Clark, C., Janssen, S., Stansfeld, S. (2014). Auditory and non-auditory effects of noise on health.The Lancet,383(9925), 1325-1332. Berger, S., McAteer, J., Schreier, K., Kaldenberg, J. (2013). Occupational therapy interventions to improve leisure and social participation for older adults with low vision: A systematic review.American Journal of Occupational Therapy,67(3), 303-311. Le Prell, C. G., Henderson, D., Fay, R. R., Popper, A. N. (2012).Noise-Induced Hearing Loss. Springer. Liu, C. J., Brost, M. A., Horton, V. E., Kenyon, S. B., Mears, K. E. (2013). Occupational therapy interventions to improve performance of daily activities at home for older adults with low vision: A systematic review.American Journal of Occupational Therapy,67(3), 279-287. Pirrera, S., De Valck, E., Cluydts, R. (2010). Nocturnal road traffic noise: A review on its assessment and consequences on sleep and health.Environment international,36(5), 492-498. Seidman, M. D., Standring, R. T. (2010). Noise and quality of life.International journal of environmental research and public health,7(10), 3730-3738. Smedley, J., Dick, F., Sadhra, S. (Eds.). (2013).Oxford handbook of occupational health. OUP Oxford. Smith, R. J., Shearer, A. E., Hildebrand, M. S., Van Camp, G. (2014). Deafness and hereditary hearing loss overview.