Importance of a Warm Up Essay Example for Free

Importance of a Warm Up Essay A warm up helps to prepare the body for the physical exertion to come. It gently raises your pulse rate and therefore, your cardiac output increases and also your rate of ventilation. Your vasomotor centre makes sure that more blood is being distributed to the working muscles. This combined affect is to increase the amount of oxygen that is delivered to the muscle cells. This helps to reduce the oxygen deficit when you start carrying out the actual activity. A Warm up is very important as it helps to reduce the possible chances of injury. It raises your body temperature in your muscles as there is an increase in the blood flow which raises your body temperature in your muscles, making them more responsive. The elasticity of muscle tissue is increased and more oxygen can be carried to the working muscles. This will help to prepare the body for the activity to come. Throughout a warm up routine, it consists of stretching exercises and this increases your flexibility and so directly reduces the risk of injury. The reason for this is that; a muscle or tendon group with a greater range of motion will be less likely to experience tears when used actively. Stretching also helps to improve recovery and may enhance the participants performance. Additionally, increased flexibility of the neck, shoulders and upper back may improve respiratory function. The nervous system becomes stimulated which makes sure you more alert and aware and therefore it gets you psychologically prepared. This will help to increase your levels of motivation and determination to carry out your dance sessions. The benefit of a warm up is that the muscles torn most frequently from the neglect of a warm up are the antagonists (such as the hamstrings- Semimembranosus, Semitendinosus, biceps femoris) to the strong contracting muscles (such as the Quadriceps- Vastus medialis, Vastus lateralis, Vastus intermedius, rectus femoris). Cold antagonistic muscles relax slowly when the agonists contract, therefore free movement and accurate co-ordination is retarded. At the same time, the force of the contraction of the agonists and the momentum of the moving part exert a great strain on the unyielding antagonists. Without a warm up, this may lead to the tearing of the muscle fibers or the tendons. Stretching exercises I will stretch, moving a joint to just beyond its point of resistance. Flexibility is limited by the joint itself, ligaments and tendons acting upon it. I cannot change the bony structures or the type of joint, but I can stretch the soft tissue surrounding the joint. Neck (Sternocleidomastoid and scalenes) * Turn head to the left, then to the right. * Look up and then down. * 5 Neck rolls to the right and then 5 neck rolls to the left. * Shoulders, back and arms * I will Circle arms 10 times forward, 10 times backward and then rotate arms alternating. This will mobilise my shoulder joint. * I will Stretch my Trapezius by pulling one arm that is kept straight across the chest with your other arm supporting it in its position. This is a horizontal flexion movement. * I will stretch my triceps brachii by flexing my elbow and placing my hand behind my head on by back and my other hand puts pressure on the flexed elbow joint. Wrists and fingers * I will rotate my wrist joints, clap my hands together rapidly and then bend and mobilise my fingers. Hips * I will mobilise my hip joint by placing my hands on my hips and doing 5 hip rotations to the left and then 5 to right. Rotate my hips by raising my leg (with a bent knee so it is at 90 degrees to my body) then I will turn my leg outwards to the side of my body. Spine * I will stretch my vertebral column by crouching down onto my knees and placing my hands on the floor reaching as far as I can. Legs * I will Stretch the Vastus Lateralis, Vastus Intermedials, Vastus Medialis and Rectus Femoris by pulling the ankle with your hand on the same side of the body keeping the knees together while maintaining the correct spine alignment. My hips should be square (I will make sure they do not twist.) If I find it difficult to keep my balance I will hold onto my ear with my other hand and focus. * I will stretch the Semitendinosus, Biceps Femoris and Semi Membranosus by placing one foot in front of the other; bend your back knee while keeping my front leg straight. Raise the hips and lean your body slightly over. After holding this stretch for 10-15 seconds, I will slowly raise the toes of my front foot so that they point towards the ceiling (I will keep my heel firmly on the ground.) Doing this will produce a full stretch down the back of the leg, i.e. Semitendinosus, Biceps Femoris, Semi Membranosus and Gastrocnemius. * I will move my legs apart (wide stance), I will then bend forwards with my hands flat to floor. * Right foot behind left at 90 degrees right leg flexed, left leg straight, bend forward to left foot. Left foot behind left at 90 degrees left leg flexed, right leg straight, bend forward to right foot. * To stretch the Adductors Longus, Brevis and Magnus both feet will be flat on the floor and facing forward. I will lean over to one side keeping the other leg straight, bend the knee at the side you are leaning over to increase the intensity of the stretch. * To stretch my Gastrocnemius I will put one foot in front of the other and bend youre your front knee. The back leg will be kept straight and the rear heel will be kept firmly on the floor throughout the stretch. This stretch is often carried out against a wall. The Gastrocnemius is stretched by flexing your elbows and moving your body weight forward. Stretch forward until you feel a gentle pull in the lower leg. * To stretch the Soleus, the front knee is bent and is pushed towards the ground, while staying over and just in front of the foot. A gentle pull should be felt in the lower one third of the leg. The knee can then be directed medially and laterally to stretch different areas. Ankles * To mobilise my ankle joint I will move the sole of the foot inwards (inversion) and then turn it outwards (eversion). * I will then move the foot downwards (away from the tibia) which is known as plantar flexion and then I will move it upwards (towards the tibia) and this is known as dorsi flexion. This mobilises the Tibialis Anterior, Gastrocnemius and Soleus.

Design And Build Procurement

Design And Build Procurement In this chapter, the definitions of Design and Build procurement including its concept and characteristics will be revealed. The success factors of using Design and Build procurement and the major task of developing the projects scope of work will be covered in great detail in this chapter. The definitive performance criteria of a project specifically in major aspects of time, cost and quality will deeply explained. The chapter then moves forward to the affect of features of Design and Build on roles and responsibilities of the contractor within the process. The explanation on ways of the contractor proposes to achieve them. This chapter then also describes the implementation of Design and Build in Malaysia accordingly to its history performance and problems that have been occurred in Malaysia by using Design and Build procurement. 2.1 INTRODUCTION OF DESIGN AND BUILD PROCUREMENT It is clear that there are many different variables to take into account when selecting the procurement method for our project. It is quite difficult due to each procurement methods differ from each other in unique ways. The key on making decisions on choosing the right procurement method is that each differs from the other on its own basis. Thus, it takes a few key questions to help decide which one should be use. The flow chart below shows the key questions and decisions on which procurement method should be used. The process of building procurement involves a series of different specialists in contributing to the construction work at different times. Design and build procurement has been in use for a very long time for more than a decade in the twentieth century. It has become more widespread across United State as well as around the world and had found in many industries. From a survey of trends in methods of procurement that were carried out by RICS from Davis Langdon and Everest revealed that in 1984, 5.06% of construction projects were procured on a Design and Build basis. Added that by 1991, this had risen to 14.78% .Revealing proudly by the Contract Journal July 1994, that the Design and Build turnover of the United Kingdoms top 70 Design and Build contractors increased by 15% during the period 1992 to 1993. The growth in the use of Design and Build recently as a procurement route is seen as being such radical change that could allow the industry to develop cost radical change that allo w the industry to develop cost models that automatically can reflect the construction rather than design processes. It seems as the most logical way to procure a building and thus given a clean slate to start with. However, many design professionals and owners had feared that this would result in the minimization or even destruction of the designers responsibility. This procurement is said to be able to furnish a design that maximizes quality within the projects budgetary constraints. Numerous successfully completed Design and Build projects range from housing, through industrial and commercial projects, to major complexes. It proves that this procurement method has very wide applicability. Frequently, the Design and Build contractor would be asked to contract with the clients designers, so that there is some continuity of the design effort, but the remaining design work is the contractors responsibility. This involves formally transferring the designers contracts from the client to the builder which is called novation. 2.1.1 DEFINITIONS OF DESIGN AND BUILD PROCUREMENT Design and build procurement is a procurement where it combine the design and construction process under a single entity. Design and Build terms are taken from its strategy itself where it would entail the contractor to carry out the work; the design work as well as the construction and also the completion of the work. As according to Turner (1990) and Jansen (1991) has supported that design and build contractor is supplying the procurement option of buying a finished building. While according to Masterman (1992) the term Design and Build has almost been unanimously interpreted and defined as being an arrangement where one contracting organization takes sole responsibility, normally on a lump sum fixed price basis, for the bespoke design and construction of a clients project. he then elaborate that this contains three elements; the responsibility for design and construction, contractors reimbursement is generally by means of a fixed price lump sum and the project is designed and built specifically to meet the clients need. Furthermore, as according to David Cappell (1997), Design and Build place responsibility for both design and erection in the hands of the contractor one point of responsibility for everything. However, theres an existence of one common thread that all Design Build delivery systems share which would be a single point of responsibilities for both design and construction. In other definition, Design and Build can be said as arrangement where one organization design and construct to the firm orders of the client for a single financial transaction. In general, the definition of Design and Build can be summarized as providing a single point responsibility for the whole design and construction. Below is a chart to differentiate between Design and Build procurement with traditional procurement. (a) (b) Figure 2.2: (a) Single point responsibility Design and Build Procurement (b) Fragmented responsibility Traditional Procurement (Source: Bennett and Grice, 1992) 2.1.2 CONCEPT AND CHARACTERISTICS OF DESIGN AND BUILD A basic concept in Design and Build procurement is that it requires the project to be contracted to a single organization which is responsible for design, procurement, and engineering and commissioning. The first step before choosing a procurement method should be through analysis of the projects characteristics on a global basis, including those technical requirements for design and construction. The projects owner will ensure that the entire context in which the project be delivered is thorough understood and can be accounted for in plans for schedule, price and quality. Once the owner has determined all the external constraints that might impact on its project, a project procurement method can be selected. There are quite many good reasons why an owner would select Design and Build for a given project. Theres a list of reasons for which an owner might decide that a project is suitable for the use of Design and Build procurement method. It would be: Where a compressed delivery schedule is required; A single point responsibility is required, Constructability consideration drive the design concept or details, Unique factors require special knowledge or experience to produce the least-cost design, The owner/designer must rely on the builder to optimize technology wit cost, The project will site-adapt a previous design, The project is a common commercial facility, The project is beyond the owners technical capability, Lastly, where risk can be shared to reduce cost. This can be supported by Masteman (2002), who argued that the definitions of the Design and Build contains three elements that would fundamental characteristics of this system, which are; the responsibility for design and construction lies with one organization, reimbursement is generally by means of a fixed price lump sum, and project is designed and built specifically to meet the needs of the client. 2.2 PERFORMANCE OF DESIGN AND BUILD An owner of a project would definitely want to obtain a building that satisfies his needs of good performance. The meaning of a good performance here require the project to form a high level of quality, of which including optimum economic price within the agreed time. Hashim (1996) concluded that the major factors tat affect the time and cost overruns would be; (1) the procurement systems adopted, (2) the variation works, (3) delay in subcontractors work, and lastly (4) shortage of building materials. She also provides her findings to prove the relation to the procurement systems used and their impact on time cost overruns. It is very crucial that the selection of the procurement method lies in the clients responsibility. Because of that, the selected procurement should; Meets the needs of the client, the type of project and the risks that might occur, can be handle by the client Related to the expertise available within the clients organization, resource and funding facility. Before the client decides which procurement method to be use, the relative importance of the three key criteria that need to be taken into account in procurement would be; time, cost and quality performance. TIME COST QUALITY The three criteria are inter-related. For instance, decisions affecting time will affect cost or both cost and performance. The key objective are exists to ensure that the clients objective are met effectively, efficiently and economically. 2.2.1 TIME Early completion of a project rather one of the most required by the client. Nevertheless, most construction project fails to achieve this requirement. Because of that the selection of procurement method to be use should be done wisely. This requirement of early completion can be achieved if construction starts before the design is completed. It can be said that the greater overlap between the construction and the design stage, the less time will be required to complete the project. However, the amount of variation is likely to increase because of this relation. Form the studies by University of Reading (United Kingdom) evaluate that the construction speed of design and build projects is 12% faster than traditional approaches and the overall project delivery speed (including design and construction) is 30% faster than traditional methods. Added that, the certainty of completion in time increases with the earlier the contractors involve in the design processes. 2.2.2 COST Lower cost of the construction project is another factor that is most important in ones employer requirement. The overlap between the design and construction means that construction starts before the cost is fixed, which will increase the uncertainty over the cost. This will drag the cost forecasting to become critical. Research had found out that time or cost have a real strong interactions between the design and build system. Also, from findings it stated that by combining the full overtime schedule, average ordering and also fast track construction with moderate crashing of design can made achieve towards improvements in both time and cost. By the researchers findings, it had stated that 75% of design and build project were completed within 5% of budget, compared with 63% of traditional projects. Design and build projects are at least 13% cheaper than traditionally procured projects. Greatest cost certainty is achieved for design and builds projects when the owners requirements are detailed. 2.2.3 QUALITY The issue of building quality is very important. From the facts, the quality performance characteristics determine the project time and cost. The performance of a project includes the function of the facility, its quality and appearance and durability, together with reliability and efficiency of the operation. The quality performance required from the completed facility is where it has the ability to control and make changes to the detailed specification after the contracts have been let. Design and build consistently better in meeting quality requirements for complex or innovative buildings rather than simple, standard, traditional buildings. 2.2.4 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CONTRACTOR The roles and responsibilities of each of the members of the project team should be considered carefully to avoid problems associated with assembling temporary teams of professionals. The contractors are responsible to; (1) undertake the design work outlined in contractors proposal which match with the employers requirements, (2) to fabricate the building, (3) to coordinate and integrate the entire process. The figure below shows the relationship of project team in design and build procurement. This contractual relationship in design and build is clearly shows that the contractor is responsible for everything. The design and build process increases the opportunities to use the contractors experience during the design stages of the project and their key strengths in management of the construction works. The extension of the contractors role design role is sometimes much less than the associated design responsibilities. The contractor then takes the responsibility for the design, without having any previous involvement with the design team. However, with the variability of types of construction projects and the experiences of clients in such projects, recent research had found that contractors may lack proper understanding of managing the varying types of design processes. The contractor must do whatever it takes to achieve the employers requirements. A single point responsibility means that the contractor is responsible for ensuring that the project is completed in time within the specified budget. Any delays beyond the control of the employer would be at the risk of the contractor. Other than that, the contractor also has to take into account the qualities that are agreed between the employers. Design and build contractors should understand the aesthetics or architecture value because the clients might not understand this kind of things. However, to ensure a contractor to produce what is specified by the client is not the same as ensuring the contractor producing a good and high quality building. 2.3 IMPLEMENTATION OF DESIGN AND BUILD PROCUREMENT IN MALAYSIA Construction activities occurred mostly on the more developed western side of peninsular Malaysia, which would be around KL. It began to gain importance in the economy in the 1990s through its roles in the areas of reconstruction and modernization. There are seven main elements of the processes of construction procurement considered to be specific to Malaysia. These seven elements are divided into two broad categories; (1) the processes during preconstruction stage, and (2) the processes during construction stage. The processes of construction procurement during preconstruction stage are: Initiation / promotion Funding Design schematic design, detailed design and specialist design. Statutory approval approval to initiate and to construct a facility and final approval to occupy the completed facility. Tendering The processes of construction procurement during construction stage are: Construction management and physical construction processes. Risk allocation The mostly used procurement are listed below in order of their importance that has been identified as the dominant procurement systems in Malaysia. Traditional lump sum system Design and build / turnkey system Management contracting 2.3.1 HISTORY AND BACKGROUND OF STUDY Design and build procurement was first launched in the Public Works Department by the Malaysian Prime Minister in 1983. The first unit that has applied the system would be by the Kuala Terengganu Hospital, which was completed in 1985. Research has shown that there is a continuous increase in the use of Design and Build over the last 24 years. The system use in Malaysia was pioneered by the JKR. In this system, there exist only two parties, i.e., the client and the contractor. In Malaysia, comprehensive data on the use of different types of procurement systems is not available. However, design and build is one of the procurement systems frequently used in Malaysia. 2.3.2 CONTRACTORS IN MALAYSIA The total goals of a project to significant cost savings, time savings and better quality can be achieve in considering the contractors construction experience in earlier construction phases. Since the system of design and build become successfully growing in recent years, many contractors are successfully operate in this market and they bring appropriate skills to bare in regard to the management and co-ordination of the overall process. However, the studies from Nima, M.A. M.R. Abdul-Kadir et al. (2001) also Rosli M.Z. (2004) show a shortage of knowledge among Malaysian contractors. They added that, a contractor have a supreme position in developing the constructability issue in different stages of construction projects which decreases probability of stoppages, delays and contract modifications. Any contribution from construction players in early stages of project can supply a useful guidance to bring deconstruction rules to design phase (Herman et al., 2003). The issue in this country is where the construction contractors are not invited to participate in design activities, before the design reaches to end. This will reduce their ability to influence the project specification finally. Other researches had state that different sources of knowledge has emphasized on importance of design phase and decisions that can make tremendous changes in the project output (BCA, 2005; Construction Industry Review Committee, 2001; Galvinich, 1995; Gray Hughes, 2001; Nima et al., 2002; Unlik Lones, 1998). The more integration will result in greater amount of cost savings, labor savings and also less substance wastage. The design itself can lead the contractors to choose a better construction method which helps to an improved constructability. In addition, the contractors can use their construction experience to help the designers in better designs, then they can try to increase the flexibility of the project to avoid any later design modifications that requires more money injections to the projects (Lam et al., 2007). 2.3.3 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES IN DESIGN AND BUILD Ndekugri Turner (1994) suggests that by using design and build can provide better value for money and can give rise to fewer disputes than other procurement methods. One of the key advantage by using design and build is the opportunity to integrate the design and construction components. Argues by Saxon (2000) include that design and construction offers better performance in time and costs and results in lesser defects. The main advantages of design and build system that are obviously shown include: Single point responsibility for both design and construction processes Price is fixed in advance of construction Overlapping of design and construction process (in contrast to the traditional system) The design and build contractor could incorporate the concept of buildability into the design which in turn would facilitate speedier and economical construction production. However, implementing design and build procurement also have the cons that need to be aware of. Its disadvantages are: Unclear client brief (Ho et al., 1996; Chan, 1997; Ernzan Schexnayder,2000) Lack of standard forms of contract (Ho et al., 1996; Gunning McDermott, 1997) Inadequate and insufficient information and coordination among parties (Ndekugri Church, 1996; Ho et al., 1996) Late design changes (Gunning McDermott, 1997; Chan, 1997). The projects costs could be higher than the traditional system Projects often lacks of aesthetic values The system is not very accommodative to changes Other than that, Smith (1992) stated some of his research of design and build difficulties that may have to be faced: Contractor dominated by staff who are unfamiliar with the design process Inadequate fee quoted for design services by consultants Contractors operational staff too busy to consider design issues Contractors lacks expertise to manage the design interface between consultants and subcontract designers Contractor leaves subcontractors to co-ordinate work amongst themselves 2.4 CONCLUSION Alternative project system or delivery is gaining popularity towards Malaysia and outside countries. From this literature, we can see that the implementation of design and build in Malaysia proven to be one of the successfully delivering method in an expeditious manner without sacrificing quality or economy. As for the contractors in Malaysia, the lack of knowledge can become the main reason to the unsuccessful of design and build delivery. Other than that, design and build seems the most appropriate delivery method that can improve ones project performance. DRAFT OF CHAPTERS CHAPTER 1 ABSTRACT CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY CHAPTER 4 DATA ANALYSIS (CONTRACTORS VIEW ON DB) CHAPTER 5 DATA ANALYSIS (DB ACHIEVEMENT) CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION TABLE OF CONTENT CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 INTRODUCTION 2.1 INTRODUCTION OF DESIGN AND BUILD PROCUREMENT 2.1.1 Definitions of Design and Build Procurement 2.1.2 Concept and Characteristics of Design and Build Procurement 2.2 PERFORMANCE OF DESIGN AND BUILD 2.2.1 Time 2.2.2 Cost 2.2.3 Quality 2.2.4 Roles and Responsibilities of the Contractor 2.3 IMPLEMENTATION OF DESIGN AND BUILD PROCUREMENT IN MALAYSIA 2.3.1 History and Background of Study 2.3.2 Contractors in Malaysia 2.3.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Design and Build 2.4 CONCLUSION

European Trade Routes 1100-1500 Essay -- essays research papers

If there was ever an important period historians, and people could put a finger on, this would be it. This is the important period where the world’s countries, kingdoms, and dynasties established trade routes. This is the period where countries were made and countries were destroyed because of the importance of trade and the importance of building a fundamental, religious, and economical way of life. This paper will discuss the goals and functions of trades, and traders, and a historical analysis of world trade. This paper will also get into world trade patterns, of The Americas, Sub-Saharan Africa, The Indian Ocean, The Silk routes, China and The South China Sea, Europe and The Mediterranean, and The Atlantic Exploration.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The goals and functions of world trade today vary from when it started. Long distance trading today is a big part of everyday life for us. Most of our products, as you can see, come from China, Japan, Italy and other places across the ocean. Where would we be today if long distance trading wasn’t a part of everyday life? Asia and Europe play a huge part in our lives, and in what we eat, function with, and for children, play with. When long distance trading first started, it wasn’t as important as it is now. Traders mostly supplied goods for the rich who could afford these valuable goods, and afford the long distance accommodations. Supplies like gold, spices, silks, and others were sold to the rich and they were valued depending on weight and distance of the trade. A large part of the exchange economy was local, dealing with crops, and local manufactured products. The only problem with this was that it wasn’t pricey and it didn’t weigh much compared to long distance supplies, which made it difficult to make any profit whatsoever. Sometimes, to help out locals and the upper echelon, goods were traded for other goods instead of money. The most important part of trade was having a market to trade with. If there was no market, there was no business, and if there is no business there was no jobs, and money coming in for locals in that area. (The Worlds History, Spodek, 2001, Ch. 12)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Free market economy, which is still tremendously popular today, as it was when trade first started, is a big part of trade. Free market economy is when traders seek personal benefits by buying supplies an... ...acteriaceae. It is the infectious agent of bubonic plague, and can also cause pneumonic plague and septicemic plague.†(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasteurella_pestis) In 1331 the infection entered China and began to spread, killing enormous amounts of people. This plague wiped out half of China since the Mongols passed through, and because this plague was so horrific, Mongol power weakened as a result of this. Europeans had no immunity toward new diseases, thus wiping out 1/3 of the population that swept across the continent. (The Worlds History, Spodek, 2001, Ch. 12)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When you talk trade, and the foundations of powerful dynasties, you think China. When Marco Polo finally arrived in China in 1275, he described the ruler, Kublai Khan as the mightiest man. China was so advanced with riches, elements, and respect from underlings, that any of these could describe the comments Marco Polo had for Kublai Khan. Still, silk, porcelain, and tea, Chinas greatest products, attracted merchants from all around the world looking to trade.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Influenza and War :: Journalism Media Studies Health Medical Essays

Influenza and War This week, influenza and the war continue to affect Manchester, causing mayhem as well as celebration within the county. Manchester residents, from toddlers to elders, bravely face the influenza epidemic onslaught and stand triumphant with minimal fatality. Unfortunately, the influenza epidemic did impact Manchester's social, economic and military life but without detrimental results.... Influenza, the Illness After careful observation by medical specialists around the country, it is established that the present form of influenza is no different from any other form of influenza in English history. Influenza in the epidemic form has visited England previously in 1709, 1732 as well as in 1890.1 The cause of the influenza epidemic was discovered in the 1890 epidemic as the micro-organism named Bacillus influenzae and the culprit was first identified and cultivated during that epidemic. Although this organism is found in severe attacks of influenza, its presence may not be located in all cases of influenza, according to The Manchester Guardian Medical Correspondent.2 On Monday, July 1, some officials and citizens also suggest that the illness is caused by "abnormal atmospheric and climatic or meteorological conditions."3 However, with a few days of observation and with the benefit of hindsight, the theory is discarded. Influenza failed to abate even after this week's consistent good weather.4 Medical officials agree that one of the characteristic features of the influenza is its air-born infectivity. "One case to-day may mean a hundred to-morrow and thousands within a week," according to the chief medical officer of the Local Government Board. To protect oneself against the infectious illness that can spread without direct contact with the sick, it is recommended that people situate themselves in well-ventilated rooms. However, once you have contracted the disease, you are to quarantine yourself in an isolated home.5 Other symptoms of influenza include extreme exhaustion, aching limbs, headaches and sometimes, inflammation of nasal mucous membranes.6 The most common preventatives and curatives sold at the chemist's are quinine, cinnamon, and eucalyptus, with quinine being a favorite prescription by doctors.7 However, other medicines are also used against the influenza epidemic. The author of "Influenza: Its Cause and Treatment" is noted for stating that Formamint Tablets are the best source of infection prevention. Therefore, "every influenza patient should suck four or five of these tablets a day until convalescent."8 Thompson's Pure Phenol has also put out an advertisement claiming that its product can act as a cure and preventative of influenza.

The Employability Paradigm Essay -- Denis O’Sullivan’s Cultural Politi

The Employability Paradigm Denis O’Sullivan’s Cultural Politics and Irish Education since the 1950’s (2006) makes the argument that early school leaving has traditionally been understood as a failure of the individual to succeed within mainstream schooling. This essay plans to outline and support O’Sullivan’s argument and also to show how the political and educational system in Ireland has created a criterion for success which guarantees a certain amount of failure. O’Sullivan’s (2006) argues that the Employability Paradigm which emerged in the 1970’s served to distinguish a group of students who were not achieving the standard needed to guarantee employment. Employability is the assessment of those with the lowest chance of success in an economically motivated nation. It posits that intervention is necessary to prevent those individuals who have failed within the system from being dependent on social welfare and subsequently from being socially excluded (O’Sullivan 2006). In the early 1970’s, Ireland’s entry into the European economy and the changing employment market combined to connect education attainment to employability. As a result, educational credentials became the accepted way of assessing ability and this served to focus attention on those leaving school early with little or no qualifications. O’Sullivan argues that while the policy of the state, on the surface, seemed to support equal opportunity with the provision of free access to secondary education, the reality for most working class students was far from equitable. There were limited interventions available for those who needed help to develop the skills needed to benefit from access to secondary education and these students became disenfranchised. The disc... ...ing and Youth Labour Markets: A Cross-National Analysis IN: Blanchflower, D. and Freeman, R.Youth Employment and Joblessness in Advanced Countries. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Mac Einri, P. 1997. Some Recent Demographic Developments in Ireland. [Online] Available from: http://migration.ucc.ie/etudesirlandaises.htm [Accessed 7th May 2012] O’Dubhslainà ©, A. 2006. The White Paper On Education: A Failure To Invest. Student Economic Review. 20 p 115 O’Sullivan, D. 2006. Cultural Politics and Irish Education since the 1950’s. Ireland: Cork University Press. Ronayne, T. 2004. Regions Without Work: Unemployment and Labour Market Policy in Ireland. [Online] Available from: http://www.wrc.ie/publications/regionsw.pdf [Accessed 7th May 2012] Stokes, D. 2004. Submission to the Youth Justice Agency. [Online] Available from: www.youthreach.ie [Accessed 7th May 2012]

Discuss the Reasons for, and Consequences of Social and Economic Groupings of Nations.

Discuss the reasons for, and consequences of social and economic groupings of nations. In this current generation exists a range of major trade blocks, for example: ASEAN – consisting of countries such as Laos, Malaysia and Singapore. However one of the most well known Trade blocs in the world today is the EU, which currently links together 27 countries.The reason as to which countries want to form these alliances with other countries is as they want to stimulate their economic growth via various methods, such as: making trade between the countries easier, thus increasing profits, allowing the free movement of labour and capital, and sharing knowledge thus allowing all members of the group to develop. There are different types of alliances that countries can form, the first of which is free trade areas. These are when countries remove all tariffs and quotas on trade between themselves, but keep the taxes for when countries outside of the trade bloc want to import into the grou p (e. g.NAFTA). The next type of alliance is common markets, which are like custom unions but also, allow the free movement of labour and capital – the EU once existed in this form. The final type are Economic unions in which members do all of the above but they also adopt common policies for the likes of agriculture, transport and pollution. The EU has currently adopted this format. Economic groupings do have a variety of advantages and disadvantages linked to them. Many humanitarians are in favour of social and economic groupings, as they believe due to an increased amount of international understanding, there is a greater chance of peace.Also, as trade barriers are removed, the economy of a country is allowed to develop which ultimately will cause a spiral of growth therefore resulting in better living conditions. In my personal opinion, trade blocs are ideal for people who find it difficult to seek employment in their own country, as they have the legal right to travel in to another member of the group and work there. This may cause conflict however as people in the country which is receiving migrants for work may believe that jobs they’re entitled to are being taken up, and for this reason, people may be against trade blocs.These benefits were apparent after the formation of NAFTA (The North American Trade Agreement) between the USA, Canada and Mexico. The gradual eradication of trade tariffs allowed the amount of trade to triple between 1993 and 2007 ($306 billion to $930 billion), with an increase in employment in the USA’s manufacturing industry due its expansion. As a result of Mexico’s participation in NAFTA, it received an increased amount of foreign investment, and so higher wages were paid to workers and there were increased sales from the agricultural industry.Similar benefits also applied to the European Union (EU). Trade has increased significantly between the European countries, which are part of grouping. In 1970 ju st over 12% of the UK’s GDP came from trade with European countries. After the UK joined the EU in 1973, this percentage rapidly increased: in 2002, around 23% of the UK’s GDP came from trade with EU countries. The EU also supports come industries; for example, it has the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which subsidises for EU farmers and adds import tariffs and quotas on agricultural policies outside the EU.This gives farmers a reasonable standard of living, secures food supplies and ensures a god price for consumers. There are other problems that social and economic groupings cause, and it is these problems that right-wing political parties such as the UK Independence Party (UKIP) will promote. These parties highly criticise groupings, as they believe they create a pressure on countries to adopt central legislation even though the country itself may not want to.Also, they believe that the elite countries of the group will hold a disproportionate amount of power thr ough voting systems and therefore there is a lack of equality. Finally, it is believed that these groupings tend to cause a loss of sovereignty and for this reason; decisions are centralized by what some perceive to be as an undemocratic bureaucracy. Critics of NAFTA pointed out that some Canadian companies had to close down as a result of competition from lower-cost USA firms.Furthermore, jobs were also lost in the USA as firms moved to Mexico – in my opinion, the main reason as to why companies moved to Mexico is because I believe they had the intention of exploiting the country due to its less stringent pollution laws. The EU, just like NAFTA has also had critics as it has had various negative impacts. For example, increased immigration within the EU has resulted in a lack of skilled workers in some eastern European countries because so many have moved to Western Europe to seek better wages.Furthermore, countries that are part of the EU have to share resources with each ot her – for example, countries joining the EU come under the Common Fisheries Policy, which means their fishing grounds become open to fishing by other member states. Overall it is clear to me that social and economic groupings are established in order to promote trade between its members thus allowing the development of the participating countries’ economies, and even though they do have their advantages, the groupings also has skeptics due to the drawbacks they create.

Louis Vuitton Malletier V Dooney & Bourke Inc

Louis Vuitton Malletier v Dooney & Bourke Inc. In this famous case known as the â€Å"Battle of the Handbags† Louis Vuitton (LV) sues Dooney & Burke (D&B) for trademark infringement of its multicolore line. The Plaintiff, Louis Vuitton Malletier ,is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The famous label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most of its products. Louis Vuitton is considered as one of the world’s most valuable and prestigious brands. The LV monogram was created in 1896 by Louis’ son Georges Vuitton who invented the symbol and the letters represent his father’s initials.The logo is a Japanese-inspired flower motif which initially was created as a way to prevent counterfeiting. This memorable logo is now synonymous with luxury, brilliance and indulgence. It is the world's 29th most valuable brand and is estimated to be worth over $19 billion USD. Unfortunately, Louis Vuitton is one of the most counterfeited brands in the fashion world due to its image as a status symbol. The company takes counterfeiting seriously, and uses all its possible resources to fight counterfeiting. The Defendant, Dooney & Bourke, is an American company founded in 1975 by Peter Dooney and Frederic Bourke.The company specializes in fashion accessories and is best known for its high quality handbags, accessories, and travel luggage. Their Signature and Mini Signature handbags consist of the â€Å"DB† initials interlocking in a repeating pattern. The founders of the company started off with two introductory products: surcingle belts and suspenders for men. Their products became very popular due to their unique design and color. Now Dooney & Bourke is a well-known brand in America and has a good reputation for making quality products. The defining look of Dooney & Bourke is elegant and sophisticated, but above all, it is timeless.Its classic designs make these handbags the perfect accessory for any outfit d ue to the superior quality and unique form. In 2002, the designer Marc Jacobs invited the Japanese artist Takashi Murakami to come up with a fresh take on the Louis Vuitton †toile monogram† famous entwined LV logo intermixed with flower shapes for a new line of bags. This led to the creation of the Monogram Multicolore design, in 33 colors, displayed on handbags in a repeating pattern against a white or black background. The bags made their debut on Paris runways in October 2002 and were then presented in prestige retail outlets in March 003, where they sold for up to $3,950. Previously LV registered its famous LV monogram design pattern and the individual unique shapes as trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In July 2003 D in collaboration with Teen Vogue developed a new line of handbags for teenagers. It was launched as the â€Å"It Bag† collection. The pattern on the purses consisted of the entwined â€Å"DB† initials printed in contracting colors on variety of colored backgrounds and white and black background. D released handbag line looked similar to Louis Vuitton's trendy model, but the price was significantly lower.Considering the fact that Louis Vuitton fights counterfeiting very aggressively, not surprisingly, the matter ended up in the courts. LV immediately viewed the â€Å"It Bag† as a copy of their design. When Louis Vuitton gathered with legal counsel on their options to file suit against Dooney and Bourke, they became aware of the alternatives that were available to them in order to move forward. For designers and manufacturers in the American Fashion industry, there are four possible avenues to explore: 1) Copyright protection, 2) Patent protection, 3) Trade Dress protection and 4) Trademark protection.Copyright protection covers a range of categories including literacy, musical, dramatic, choreographic, pictorial and architectural works. Within this range, the only one that is applica ble to fashion designs is pictorial, as it shields two- and three- dimensional works. Patent protection shields any â€Å"new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof†. Since the design in the fashion industry rarely creates a new process, machine or manufactures, they have a separate statute specifically for them for new, original and ornamental design for an article of manufacture.Trade dress protection is addressed under the Lanham Act to defend the design and appearance of the product as well as that of the container and all elements making up the total visual image by which the product is presented to customers. Colors have also been addressed under the Trade dress protection in which the United States Supreme Court has stated that the color and designs of a product are only protected under the Lanham Act if a secondary meaning has been demonstrated.Color and design must be associated by the customer fo r that particular product over time. In 2004, the legal team decided to advance with option 4: Trademark protection. They claimed trademark infringement, trademark dilution, as well as unfair competition and false designation. Trademark infringement harbors a manufacturer or seller’s product to include a word, slogan or symbol. For instance, Apple is an example of a word that cannot be used in relationship with software or computers as it will cause confusion from a consumer’s perspective.Nike holds the trademark of the slogan â€Å"Just Do It† that is associated with its product and McDonald’s hold trademark of the golden arches symbol. In some instances this protection can extend to other properties such as its color or even its packaging. For trademark dilution claims, the distinctive quality of a mark must be diluted by blurring or tarnishment. However, the likelihood of confusion is not necessary. Unfair competition and false designation is character ized as likely to cause confusion, mistake or deceive the consumer.Section 43(a) states â€Å"any person who on or in connection with any goods or services, or any container goods, used in commerce any word, term, name or symbol, or device, or any combination therefore, or any false designation of origin, false or misleading description of fact, or false or misleading representation of fact which a) is likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive as to the affiliation, connection, or association of such person with another person, or as to the origin, sponsorship, or approval or her goods, services, or commercial activities by another person, or (b) in commercial advertising or promotion, misrepresents the nature, characteristics, qualities or geographic origin of his or her or another person's goods, services or commercial activities, shall be liable in a civil action by any person who believes that he or she is or is likely to be damaged by such act. † In a ddition under sections 32 and 43(a) of the Lanham Act, trademark protection extends above the registered trademarks to the unregistered trademarks from misuse or reproduction in commerce. Once a trademark is established as fundamentally distinctive or to have developed secondary meaning, as well as protection under the Lanham Act, one can then address the likelihood of confusion under trademark infringement.Statutes require a sense of clear case situation as well as a specific element of which the claim can be proven as a violation of the law. This means that sequential evidence is needed, as this poses the validity of the claim and further makes the justification of the case. Without this evidence, the case could be deemed as void, as there is no possible evidence that can prove the claim. Statutes also require the clarity of the case, which means the details of the case or the violation should be given in chronological order so that the justifications set for the claim as well as the laws that could be used to make it more justified could be legally provided.There is actually a varied definition on how violations of laws happen. There are times when a crime committed may not be a violation of the law, or the violation of the law is not a crime. This happens when the crime being claimed is not part of the scope of the statute, or there is no existing law for such crime. Therefore this results in deliberating on whether the action indeed is a crime or a violation of the law. Situations such as this often arise from actions where the defendant is ignorant of the law which he has violated. In addition, the claimant can be the one who is ignorant of the law when he laid evidence on the ‘crime’ allegedly committed by the defendant.Now that we have a thorough understanding of the applicable laws, the rules that govern those laws and what are required by the statutes to prove a violation of law we can examine how the case unfolded. As previously stated, Vuitton filed suit against D&B in April of 2004 in the United States District court for the Southern District of New York, claiming trademark infringement, unfair competition and false designation, and trademark dilution. Vuitton moved for a preliminary injunction against D&B which would have stopped sales of the â€Å"it bag† until the case was resolved. The District court ruled in favor of D&B and Vuitton was not granted the injunction. In determining trademark infringement the court applied the two prong test required of Section 43 of the Lanham Act.First the test looks to whether or not the mark merits protection by determining if the unregistered trademark is distinctive or has achieved secondary meaning. In this case the district court did find that Vuitton’s design was distinctive and had garnered secondary meaning in the market place. The second part of the test involves deciding whether the defendant’s use of the mark is likely to cause consumers confu sion as to the origin or sponsorship of the defendant’s goods. Accordingly the court then examined the eight factors weighed in determining likelihood of confusion: 1) the strength of the mark, 2) the similarity between the marks, 3) the proximity of the roducts, 4) the likelihood that the plaintiff will bridge the gap between the markets of the two marks, 5) actual confusion, 6) the defendants good faith in using his or her mark, 7) the quality of the defendant’s product, and 8) the sophistication of the customers. The district court ruled that there was no likelihood of confusion based on its evaluation of the 8 factors and thus denied the injunction. In addition, the district court found that Vuitton was unable to prove trademark dilution. LV appealed the injunction denial to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals hoping to force the court into making a more broad judgment with regard â€Å"design piracy†. Unfortunately for Vuitton the court was not in the mood to make a statement in favor of protecting designers.Rather than make its’ own ruling on the case, based on the facts laid out before the court, the Second Circuit instead focused on a mistake by the district court in its application of the standard of likelihood of confusion. The Second Circuit had previously held in Louis Vuitton Malletier v. Burlington Coat Factory that courts must use a sequential market place comparison rather than a side by side comparison when applying the standard of likelihood of confusion. The district court had used a side by side comparison that the Second Circuit deemed improper. In addition, the Second Circuit agreed with the district court that LV was not able to prove trademark dilution at the federal level.In order to prove trademark dilution the plaintiff must demonstrate the following; â€Å"its mark is famous, the defendant is making commercial use of the mark in commerce, the defendants use began after the mark became famous, the defenda nts use of the mark dilutes the quality of the mark by diminishing the capacity of the mark to identify and distinguish goods and services†. Vuitton was able to prove the first three requirements but was unable to prove actual dilution. While the court did agree that LV could not prove actual dilution (the federal requirement) they vacated the injunction at the state level due to the fact that it only requires LV to show likelihood of dilution.The Second Circuit decided to remand the similarity of the marks factor back to the district court for reconsideration. This meant that the district court would use the sequential market place comparison when examining the similarity of the marks and hold onto all other previous analysis of the likelihood of confusion factors. Even if the market place comparison had an effect on that one factor it was very unlikely to affect the outcome of the district court’s ruling because the similarity of the marks was just one of eight weight ed factors. The Second Circuit was essentially making a statement with its handling of this case that it was not prepared to make a precedent setting ruling on the lack of protection for â€Å"design piracy† in the fashion industry.Even if they desired to address the topic, strictly following the established law would have prevented them from coming up with a different result. The court may have felt that any perceived or real injustice plaguing the fashion industry should be handled through the adoption of written law rather than legislated from the bench. Ultimately in May of 2008 the district court granted summary judgment to D&B on all claims. The court found that Louis Vuitton did not have adequate evidence to present with regards to the trademark infringement or dilution claims. While the outcome of the case disappointed many people because D&B did copy the design, the court based its decision on the interpretation of the law.Another example of a trademark infringement case that could have implications is European Trademark v Google. Originally LV sued Google in France claiming trademark infringement from Google’s AdWords program and the French court ruled in LV’s favor. The court held that Google was committing trademark infringement and diluting the trademark when it decided to sell the LV name to other companies in order for their site to pops up upon a search. Unfortunately for LV the European Court of Justice later ruled that Google in fact was not guilty of trademark infringement. There is a silver lining for LV. The court stated that advertisers using a trademark as a keyword can be held liable for infringement.The court specifically stated that â€Å"such use of a trademark by the advertiser adversely affects the source-indicating function of the trademark if the advertisement does not enable normally informed and reasonably attentive internet users to ascertain whether goods or services referred to by the ad originate from the proprietor of the trademark or, on the contrary, originate from a third party†. Thus, a company like Louis Vuitton does have legal recourse if it finds misleading advertisements from searches of its brand. In addition, Google can be held accountable if it was aware of the improper use of the trademark and did not take the ad or content down.The ruling could have impacted a case like Louis Vuitton Malletier v Dooney & Bourke Inc. , but instead has gone farther towards protecting companies in the fairly unregulated internet market place. In closing, companies like LV will have to continue to be extremely aggressive through the use of lawsuits in order to protect their brand. Once more laws are applied to specific industry, such as the fashion industry, it will become easier to convey. The courts can only interpret the law, not create laws to safeguard these specific industries. The courts, as well as the citizens, have to trust that the legislative branch will step up and ad dress these complex issues.