Postcolonial Gothic texts? Essay

Before starting this essay, it is important to acknowledge the fact that the term ‘postcolonial gothic’ is quite difficult to define accurately. For the most part of this essay, I will be taking for granted the fact that these texts are essentially postcolonial in form, in so far as they are texts that have ’emerged in their present form out of the experience of colonization and asserted themselves by foregrounding the tension with imperial power. ‘1 It is with this certainty in mind that I will be looking more specifically at the gothic elements of the pieces, which separate the texts from other typically postcolonial works. Nevertheless, certain distinguishing postcolonial features will arise throughout the essay and this will be especially explicit when I look at the contextual aspects of the pieces. Turcotte identifies the fact that ‘it is certainly possible to argue that the generic qualities of the Gothic mode lend themselves to articulating the colonial experience in as much as each emerges out of a condition of deracination and uncertainty, of the familiar transposed into unfamiliar space. ‘2 As such, the idea of displacement presents itself clearly though the two texts. In Wide Sargasso Sea for instance, we feel a strong sense of Rochester’s alienation in Jamaica: †Is it true,’ she said, ‘that England is like a dream? Because one of my friends who married an Englishman wrote and told me so. She said this place like London is like a cold dark dream sometimes. I want to wake up. ‘ ‘Well,’ I answered annoyed, ‘that is precisely how your beautiful island seems to me, quite unreal and like a dream. ‘ ‘But how can rivers and mountains and the sea be unreal? ‘ And how can millions of people, their houses and their streets be unreal? ‘ (67) He finds it impossible to feel comfortable in Jamaica and it is Antoinette’s equivalent inability to understand England that forms a barrier between the couple. The gulf between their different backgrounds and upbringings is particularly evident through this conversation and it becomes increasingly clear that Rochester sees Antoinette as alien and inaccessible to him: ‘I felt very little tenderness for her, she was a stranger to me, a stranger who did not think or feel as I did. ‘ (78) Therefore, we see the postcolonial notion of the ‘other’ featuring in the novel. When we learn that Rochester views Antoinette in such a manner – as ‘that which is unfamiliar and extraneous to a dominant subjectivity’3 – a certain unease is created, which amplifies the gothic tone of the novel. The reader senses his discomfort with her ethnicity, as he talks derogatively about her: ‘I did not relish going back to England in the role of rejected suitor jilted by this Creole girl. ‘ (65) This prejudice seems to develop into a deep-seated fear of contamination from the Creole woman with ‘long, dark, sad alien eyes†¦ [who] looked very much like Amelie. ‘ (105) Further supporting his discomfort with her ethnic origin is the fact that he insists upon calling her Bertha, despite her objections: ‘Bertha is not my name. You are trying to make me into someone else, calling me by another name. ‘ (121) His renaming of Antoinette suggests that he wants to make her sound more English and, since she shares her name with her mother, he also appears to want to detach her from her family and her creole heritage. Antoinette is a white creole and throughout the novel, the reader senses that Rochester feels betrayed by his experience – he has gone to Jamaica in order to marry a wealthy heiress, whose skin is white like his own. As such, at first sight, things do appear to resemble normality for him and it is only when he gets to know her better that the differences in their make up show through. To pinpoint this sensation more precisely, we need to look at an idea stemming from displacement, that Freud identified as ‘the condition of the uncanny, where the home is unhomely – where the heimlich becomes unheimlich – and yet remains sufficiently familiar to disorient and disempower. ‘4 This is certainly the situation in which Rochester finds himself and this is epitomised when Rochester begins to see Antoinette as a doll: ‘She lifted her eyes. Blank lovely eyes. Mad eyes†¦ I scarcely recognised her voice. No warmth, no sweetness. The doll had a doll’s voice, a breathless but curiously different voice. ‘ (140) Freud claimed that a favourable condition for the uncanny is when there is uncertainty as to whether an object is alive or not and this is certainly the way in which Rochester views Antoinette. Therefore, although on the surface everything appears to be normal, all the things around Rochester have a peculiar unfamiliarity for him. The character of Antoinette also suffers such alienation when she arrives in England and is confined to her room: ‘Now they have taken everything away. What am I doing in this place and who am I? ‘ (147) The reader senses that without her country and the things around her that are familiar to her, she has lost her own identity. The notions of displacement and the uncanny are very disturbing in essence. They infuse the novel with a sense of unease and a sense of disturbance in the characters that the readers can relate to. Similarly, in Ovando many of these features of displacement and the uncanny are evident and the anxiety and dread that this imposes on the reader is what gives this story its gothic overtones. The character of Ovando symbolises the imperial power in the story and the narrator represents the native peoples, crushed by the colonisers. The impact of Ovando on the narrator’s land is profound and the imposition of his European culture appears to contribute to this effect: ‘He carries with him the following things: bibles, cathedrals, museums†¦ libraries’ (3) Although these things represent the treasures of culture in their European environment, the narrator appears to be recognising the fact that these things do not belong in their New World environment. Through enforcing these things on the new land, Ovando is conforming to what is described in â€Å"The Empire Writes Back† as ‘the political and cultural monocentrism of the colonial enterprise†¦ of the European world. ‘5 Furthermore, Ovando enforces his religious beliefs on the natives and this becomes clear when he tries to justify his actions by referring to ‘fate’ and the narrator states: ‘I could have brought a stop to what was an invasion to me, a discovery to him; after all, I too knew of divinities and eternities and unalterable events. ‘ (4) Ovando fails to see that the natives have their own belief systems in place and his ignorance is exemplified by the fact that the narrator appears to realise Ovando’s downfall, acknowledging his ignorance. Although he does not condone the colonisers’ actions in any way, there is a degree of understanding on the part of the narrator -who represents the natives – that does appear to be present in Ovando: ‘To the stranger’s eye (Ovando’s) everything in my world appears as if it were made anew each night as I sleep, by gods in their heavenly chambers’ (7) The narrator is acknowledging the fact that Ovando and the Imperial powers on the whole failed to realise that the New World – ironically named by the imperialists – was not in fact ‘new’. These countries had their own pasts and their own traditions that the narrow-minded colonisers, who had their eyes ‘half-shut’ (6), failed to recognise or appreciate. Although of course this narrative is written from the biased perspective of the natives (Kincaid’s background supports this fact) the historical accounts of colonisation do essentially support the notion of the blinkered imperialists. As a consequence of this and the lack of integration into native lifestyle by the colonisers, they fail to see that their European traditions are displaced in this new environment and, through imposing them, they create a rift between themselves and the natives. More obviously present in Ovando is the notion of the uncanny. Standing alongside this sense of displacement, the presence of the uncanny promotes a very daunting and disturbing feel in the piece. Turcotte directs the notion of the uncanny in postcolonial literature in particular to the notion of ‘physical perversion†¦ [where] nature, it seemed to many, was out of kilter. ‘6 Throughout this short story, everything is out of kilter in effect. For instance, when Ovando is looking at the map, Kincaid distorts reality and time: ‘Using the forefinger of his left hand, he traced on his map a line. Months later his finger came to a stop. It was a point not too far from where he had started. ‘ (6) This distortion of time is disorientating to the reader and the narrator describes other events, which are equally impossible. When for instance the narrator describes the protest put to Ovando about his unfair treatment of the natives, he undergoes a process of metamorphosis: ‘But Ovando could not hear me, for by this time his head had taken the shape of a groundworm, which has no ears. ‘ (10) Although the narrator is clearly illustrating his refusal to hear the pleas of the natives, it becomes clear that nothing is impossible in the story. Kincaid writes: ‘The moment in which the words could be said was the moment in which the words would be true. ‘ (8) – and the reader recognises that whatever is said in the story simply has to be accepted as the truth. The author gives words an enormous amount of command and authority and, as such, the power of words in this story exceeds the influence of the reader to interpret the events for themselves. Therefore, it could be deemed that Kincaid is confiscating the power of interpretation from the reader in order to highlight the way in which power was taken away from the natives – and the unease and discomfort that this creates adds to the gothic effect of the story. Morrow and McGraph acknowledge that after the 1830 and ’40s the gothic became ‘increasingly fascinated with the psyche of the gothic personality. ‘7 This is particularly obvious in Ovando, with Kincaid’s in-depth exploration of the mental workings of the coloniser. The supposed superiority of the European colonisers, over the natives is apparent through the character of Ovando, who insists upon ‘possess[ing]’ the natives. Similarly, we have insight into the workings of the colonised people. We see their bitter retrospection at their welcoming attitude towards the colonisers: ‘†Ovando,† I said, â€Å"Ovando,† and I smiled at him and threw my arms open to embrace this stinky relic of a person. Many people have said that this was my first big mistake, and I always say, How could it be a mistake to show sympathy to another human being, on first meeting? ‘ (3) Although this is not symbolic of the ‘gothic personality’ in the same way that Ovando’s thoughts are, the juxtaposition of this welcoming, warm attitude highlights the deviousness of Ovando’s thinking, as he deliberately takes advantage of people who were prepared to share their land with him. In Wide Sargasso Sea, there is no equally explicit demonic gothic personality as there is in Ovando. However, there are dark qualities lurking in both Antoinette and Rochester. With Antoinette, of course, her personality creates an amount of unease in the reader, particularly since we aware of the fate of the character she is rooted in from Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. Additionally, with Rochester’s unease about the fact that ‘her mother was mad’ (129), the reader is constantly haunted by the notion that she will turn out like her mother. Obviously, these anxieties turn out to be justified as we see her realisation of her supposed responsibility: ‘I was outside holding my candle. Now at last I know why I was brought here and what I have to do. ‘ (155-6). Antoinette burns down the house, believing in her misery that this is her destiny. This, in itself, is quite a morbid notion that amplifies her state of despair and gloom. McGraph and Morrow acknowledge that ‘the new gothicist would take as a starting place the concern with interior entropy – spiritual and emotional breakdown†¦ ‘8 Therefore the recognition of Antoinette’s despair means that, although this insight into her psyche does not mirror the horror and gruesomeness of the gothic personality in Ovando, the extent of her despair instils a deep sense of dismay in the reader and supports the gothic nature of the text. The respective writers also employ various literary techniques in the pieces, which indicate that the texts are postcolonial gothic in nature. For instance, the entire notion of gothic literature is suggestive of ‘horror, madness, monstrosity, death, disease, terror, evil and weird sexuality’9 and many of these qualities are prevalent in Ovando. The imagery used in Ovando conforms to these horrific characteristics customary in gothic literature and the physical appearance of Ovando corresponds to this in particular: ‘Not a shred of flesh was left on his bones; he was a complete skeleton except for his brain, which remained, and was growing smaller by the millennium. He stank’ (3) This gruesome image of Ovando can only provoke horror and disgust in the reader and the nightmarish qualities of such gothic literature present themselves clearly here. Similarly, the physical appearance of Ovando continues to worsen into the form of the devil: ‘He had also grown horns on either side of his head, and from these he hung various instruments of torture; his tongue he made forked. ‘ (9) This demonic image is possibly one of the darkest images that can be drawn upon and, as such, Kincaid is portraying the character of Ovando in the most evil way possible. The idea that he personally ‘made’ his tongue forked also draws to mind images of masochism that, again, are dark in nature. This use of graphic and disturbing imagery draws all the qualities of ‘horror, madness, monstrosity†¦ ‘ together to form a deeply disturbing text conforming to the conventions of gothic writing. The structure of Ovando also allows the piece to fit into the genre of gothic literature successfully. The piece is dreamlike in that it has no fixed structure and it moves through the action with no real sense of succession at all. Events do not lead into one another, but the reader gets the sense of dreamlike disorder with the physical world constantly changing. It is this constant flux in the story that creates a disturbing sense of disorder in the piece, which, no doubt, reflects the disorder created by the invasion of the colonisers. In Wide Sargasso Sea, Rhys uses some very graphic images that are disturbing in nature and as such conform to the gothic style. During the fire, we hear Antoinette’s retelling of events, as she realises that their pet parrot is stuck in the burning house: ‘I opened my eyes, everybody was looking up and pointing at Coco on the glacis railings with his feathers alight. He made an effort to fly down but his clipped wings failed him and he fell down screeching. He was all on fire. ‘ (36) This horrific image of the bird being burned alive equates to the burning images of the devil in Ovando and highlights the notion of suffering in the text. The colonial experience clearly caused suffering and anguish and this conveyance of pain is an effective means of expressing this. Rhys also refers frequently to the notion of obeah, which relates to black magic and spirit theft. Antoinette accuses Rochester of obeah, through trying to change her name, but she is also guilty of its practice when she puts a love potion in his wine. This exploration of the unknown and the ghosts that Christophine knows about, although ‘that is not what she calls them’ (113) creates an eerie and supernatural dimension in the piece. The use of such ideas by Rhys is concordant with the daunting elements that define the gothic genre. In Ovando in particular, the gothic literary technique of inversion is also employed throughout. McGraph and Marrow identify the use of inversion as a gothic effect, ‘where terror and unreason subverted consensus and rationality, where passion was transformed into disgust, love turned to hatred and good engendered evil. ’10 The narrator appears to acknowledge throughout that good can engender evil. When Ovando arrived on the island, of course, the narrator was eager to accept him: ‘For I loved him then, not the way I would love my mother, or my child, but with that more general and spontaneous kind of love that I feel when I see any human being. ‘ (3) The good in Ovando, however, is overtaken by greed and self-love, epitomised in the masturbation episode where ‘Ovando gently passes his hands down his own back, through the crevices of his private parts†¦ ‘ (11-12). Therefore, the reader senses that the imperial powers were all subjected to this inversion driven by greed in effect, and this literary technique is an effective way of mirroring this inversion of good to bad in human beings. Similarly in Wide Sargasso Sea, some of these features of inversion can also seen to be employed by Rhys. Rochester’s worsening feelings towards Antionette indicate this and such an overturn in emotions that epitomises the gothic tone and alteration from passion to disgust can be seen when Rochester sleeps with Amelie. No sooner has he slept with her, did he begin to feel discontented with her appearance: ‘†¦ her skin was darker, her lips thicker than I had thought†¦ I had no wish to touch her and she knew it, for she got up at once and began to dress. ‘ (115-6) His darkest fears appear to surface through her, with his acknowledgement of how native she looks and the hint that he worries further that she could be related to Antoinette. Having previously stated: ‘Perhaps they are related, I thought. It’s possible, it’s even probable in this damned place. ‘ (105) -the way in which he sees her this morning strongly rouses the deep-seated fear of incestuous relations in him. These issues in themselves are dark and gothic in that sense, although the fact that these issues are only hinted at makes them far more ominous in some respects. Looking at the works from a contextual perspective, it is interesting to see that Gelder concludes that ‘Postcolonial nations can re-animate the traumas of their colonial pasts to produce Gothic narratives. ’11 This can be seen explicitly in Ovando through the character of Frey Nicolas de Ovando. Although he appears to be a fictitious character, he was undoubtedly named after a sixteenth century governor in the Dominican Republic. Friar Nicolas de Ovando was governor from 1502 to 1509 and during this time, he was renowned for his cruel treatment of the native Taino tribe. It is reported that, in order to gain more power over the tribes, he arranged a feast for the tribe chiefs and then burnt down the house where it was held. Furthermore, any people who survived the fire were tortured and killed. There is no question that Kincaid’s character was created in direct reference to him and the cruelty of the character of Ovando in her novel supports this fact: ‘One morning, Ovando arose from his bed. Assisted by people he had forcibly placed in various stages of social and spiritual degradation†¦ ‘ (9) This demonstrates explicitly the blame that Kincaid attributes to Ovando for the pain and suffering caused. She dispels any notions of fate or necessity and lays the burden on the shoulder of the one character who, in addition to clearly being the general described above, broadly represents the imperial nations. It is clear that Kincaid is drawing upon real life horrors for her story and Turcotte identifies this technique: ‘From its inception the Gothic has dealt with fears and themes which are endemic in the colonial experience: isolation, entrapment, fear of pursuit and fear of the unknown. ’12 Therefore we see that the gothic genre is particularly apt for expressing the distresses caused by the process of colonisation. This process of the re-animation of traumas from people’s colonial pasts is repeated in a sense through Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea. She is retelling a Gothic story that already exists in Jane Eyre, giving depth and, indeed, a life to Rochester’s mad wife in the attic. Spivak recognises that Rhys takes Bronte’s Jane Eyre and ‘rewrites a canonical English text within the European novelistic tradition in the interest of the white Creole rather than the native. ’13 This would suggest that, just as the madwoman in the attic has no voice in Jane Eyre, neither does the colonised persons in colonial and postcolonial literature. Therefore, Rhys is giving them the voice they have been deprived of. Many things point to the fact that this was her deliberate intention and we can assume that her personal reward from doing such a thing is clear when we hear other accounts of prejudice in her works: ‘I had discovered that if I called myself English they would snub me haughtily: ‘You’re not English; you’re a horrid colonial. †14 Jean Rhys was a white Creole like this character and, as such, the closeness of the character to the novelist makes it difficult to detach the two. Therefore, it is clear that the gothic genre for Rhys is an effective means of conveying the personal trauma she has experienced as a result of prejudice, stemming from colonisation. In conclusion, it is clear to see that these texts can be defined as postcolonial gothic. As postcolonial texts, they also possess many of the distinguishing features of gothic texts. The aptness of the gothic genre as a means of reiterating colonial pasts is evident throughout, as the horror and disruption that it conveys so well is symbolic of the anxiety and heartache that the process of colonisation created for those people ensnared in its progression. Bibliography:   Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths, Helen Tiffin. The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Postcolonial Literatures. London: Routledge. 1989.   ed. Athill, Diana. â€Å"The Day They Burned the Books† in The Collected Short Stories of Jean Rhys. New York: W. W. Norton. 1968.   Boehmer, Elleke. Colonial and Postcolonial Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1995. Ed. Childs, Peter. Post-Colonial Theory and English Literature: A Reader. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. 1999.   Gelder, Ken. â€Å"Postcolonial Gothic† in The Handbook to Gothic Literature. ed. Mulvey-Roberts, Marie. Basingstoke: Macmillan. 1998.   Kincaid, Jamaica. â€Å"Ovando† in The Picador Book of the New Gothic. A Collection of Contemporary Gothic Fiction. ed. Mcgraph, Patrick; Morrow, Bradford. London: Picador. 1992.   ed. McGraph, Patrick, Bradford Morrow. The Picador Book of the New Gothic. A Collection of Contemporary Gothic Fiction.

Xacc/280 Wk2 Assignment Journalizing, Posting, and Preparing a Trial Balance

Journalizing, Posting, and Preparing a Trial Balance XACC/280 November 27, 2011 Journalizing, Posting, and Preparing a Trial Balance The general goals of financial reporting are to keep an accurate and ethical record of all financial transactions of a company, while maintaining integrity and adhering to the generally accepted principles of accounting. The steps I took in the recording process for this assignment were to first make journal entries to accurately depict all financial transactions for the fictitious company. After making and double checking my journal entries, I entered them into the general ledger. This step might seem a bit redundant, but it is vital to have this information available in both forms—a day by day account, and an account by account analysis. Lastly I prepared the trial balance report for the same fictitious company. The steps I took support, and are in strict adherence to, the principles of accounting because: there are no fictitious entries, I made no attempts to understate income nor to overstate expenses, and I double checked my work to ensure accuracy. I made certain that I accurately recorded the information I was given, and ensured that it balanced out. The basic accounting equation (Assets = Liabilities + Owners’ Equity) is fully satisfied, and the financial information I was given is accurately reported. I once had a wonderfully wise employer who was a CPA. He told me that all we can do is report the numbers we are given by our clients. If it does not pass the â€Å"smell test† then we can bring it to the client’s attention, but we should never accuse them of attempting anything resembling fraud. Make copies of the information given to us by the client, and keep those copies in the client’s file. That way, we can prove that the numbers we reported were the same numbers we were given to report.

Reader Response of Monkey’s Paw Essay

The short story which is going to be analyzed in this paper is Monkey’s Paw. It is a horror short story by William Wymark Jacobs. He is an English author of short stories and novels. The story itself is divided into three parts and will be determine the constituent and supplementary events of it. The constituent event is an event, what if it is removed, will make a gap in a plot of the story. It is also known as main event. Every story must have the constituent event, in order to create a chain of plot. Certainly, Monkey’s Paw has the constituent event in it. First, it is the most important event which is constituent – the title itself, Monkey’s Paw. The title of the story is really influential. The reader can get a gap when the object of monkey’s paw is changed with a mystical lamp, for example. It may feel more Arabian and there will be an event when the user of the mystical lamp rubbed down on it. It also changes the plot of the whole story, even the title itself, and it is not the Monkey’s Paw’s story anymore. Next, it is about the Herbert White’s death. The event when Herbert died is a constituent event which can not be removed or even be replaced. The reason of deciding it in to constituent event is that the Herbert’s death influences the three wishes to the monkey’s paw. If Herbert was not died, Mr. White would not make a second wish to get her son alive. It is shown that the event of Herbert White’s death is influential, and if it is removed, it can damage the plot of the story. Besides the constituent event is the main event in a story, the supplementary event is the removable one. It can be removed or deleted from the story, because it will not make a gap and change the structure of the plot. There are so many supplementary events in Monkey’s Paw. The first is playing chess done by Mr. White and his son, Herbert White. It can be removed, actually. The reasons are the existence of that event do not change the structure of the plot and the event is meaningless. Even if the event is not removed but is replaced its activity by another game, playing bowling for example, it does not mean anything to the structure of the plot. Another example of supplementary event is the last event of the first part of the story. It tells that Mr. White sat alone in the darkness, gazing at the dying fire, and seeing faces in it. This event is a removable and replaceable event. Without the existence of this event, the structure of the plot are not changed. Even, if the event is replaced by Mr. White is going to bed immediately, it is meaningless. In conclusion, the title of the story Monkey’s Paw, is the most important constituent event that are appeared and it is followed by another constituent event which can not be removed or be replaced. Finnaly, to supporting the constituent event, there are also some supplementary events.

Investigate a social or business issue using statistical techniques Research Paper

Investigate a social or business issue using statistical techniques (including Excel graphs), analysis and interpretation - Research Paper Example In recent years, research has concentrated on the relationship between sex differences and academic performance in various academic levels. For example, Kenney-Benson et al. (2006) conducted a research in European and North American countries on the impact of gender on academic performance. The results were that girls outperform boys even in math-related subjects, such as mathematics. These results are supported by several other researchers, such as Pomerantz, Altermatt and Saxon (2002). However, they contradict the National Science Foundation’ statement that boys outperform girls in math subjects. Further, they oppose previous findings, such as those made by Hyde, Fennema and Lamon (1990) that boys outdo girls in mathematics. There is, therefore, a conflict with respect to boys’ and girls’ performance. It could be that girls are gradually outdoing boys academically such that conclusions from research activities conducted several years ago are no longer true. There is a dire need to establish a fact regarding differences in boys and girls with respect to their academic performance. This paper seeks to clear the air by reviewing and analyzing research results to determine if girls are actually outdoing boys academically. The paper makes use of secondary data to do the analysis and concludes that boys outdo girls academically. Table 1 suggests that boys in general perform better than girls in mathematics related subjects, but girls outdo boys in arts subjects, such as languages. However, when the two variables are subject to overall performance, it is apparent that age plays a role in determining their performance. However, boys are seen to perform better than girls do at all academic levels with the difference in academic performance increasing as they advance in years. Results also indicate that academic performance stagnates or even declines as boys and girls get older. Table three shows interesting results- that boys repeat

Heritage Assessment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Heritage Assessment - Assignment Example The music called compas has been passed down to my children. They know many of the lyrics to the music I listen to. I have also maintained the Haitian language. It is French Creole. As a result I speak French, Spanish, Creole, and English. The religion practiced in Haiti and here for my family is Baptist. Religion is very important to me. Although I live in the United States, I have not forgotten where I have come from. My religion, food, family, and culture are deeply rooted in Haiti. Although my family came to the United States for greater opportunities, this never impacted my feelings about my culture. I am Haitian. My traditions and beliefs have remained strongly rooted in my birthplace. My large family is unique in American culture. Coming from a large family has helped me understand sacrifice, love, and tradition. I will admit that I have become Americanized to a degree, but I will always be Haitian. That is the good thing about America. I can live here, but still retain my own culture. My ethnic, cultural, and religious heritage will be useful to my healthcare related career in many ways. The first way my ethnic, cultural, and religious heritage will be useful is by knowing the Haitian people. For example, many Haitian children are not vaccinated. When I encounter a parent or child from Haiti that would be one of the first questions I ask. Another question would be if the patient from Haiti had a TB test. Haiti has a higher rate of TB than other countries. Other healthcare providers might not know these facts. Informing my colleges and fellow Haitians would help patients better understand each other. Sometimes Haitians that have newly arrived do not trust the government, medical staff, or others due to immigration status. If it is revealed that the child or adult does not have immunizations or a TB scan, the patient might feel that INES might be called. This can be very dangerous to the patient and everybody in contact with the patient. I would be

Alcohol and Tobacco Control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Alcohol and Tobacco Control - Essay Example Drinking alcohol and smoking are not good for health. Both expose an individual to numerous kinds of health risks. Health risks associated with drinking alcohol include but are not limited to cirrhosis, pancreatitis, hypertension, osteoporosis, and wernicke-korsakoff syndrome. Cirrhosis is a disease in which the liver is scarred and its healthy tissue is replaced with the scarred tissue. Malfunctioning of the liver caused by this causes the build-up of bile in the blood. Pancreatitis is another disease caused by drinking alcohol that causes the inflammation of pancreas. This affects insulin production, thus causing intense abdominal pain along with nausea and fever. Hypertension is a condition in which the passage of blood through the arteries can cause the arteries’ walls to rupture, thus causing stroke or heart attack. Alcohol consumption causes loss of the bone mass, a condition known as osteoporosis, thus increasing the risk of bone fracture. Wernicke-korsakoff syndrome is a brain disorder, which causes memory loss and blurred vision in the patient. Diseases caused by smoking include lungs’ cancer, oral cancer, cardiovascular diseases and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The tar contained in the tobacco deposits in the mouth, throat and lungs thus increasing the smoker’s tendency to acquire cancer. ... Drinking and smoking are addictive habits. An individual who starts drinking and smoking goes a long way to reach the stage where he/she becomes a drug addict. Particularly, smoking often happens to be the first stage in the way of becoming a drug addict for many teenagers. It leads to the consumption of cocaine, marijuana and heroine in the later stages. Smoking all these drugs has potential negative implications on both the individual’s health and social life. The risks to health include all of the diseases that have been discussed before. Risks to the social life of the individual include poor academic performance, declined efficiency in work, laziness, and social exclusion. Teenagers that become drug addicts lose interest in studies. Consequentially, there academic grades start to decline. The poor academic performance has negative repercussions on the professional career of the individual as the eligibility of a candidate for a good job is directly governed by his/her pas t academic performance. This increases the drug addict’s risk of unemployment. In addition to that drug addicts are stigmatized and are subject to humiliation and social exclusion in the long run. Since the society does not accept them, they tend to be alone and are gradually pushed into social exclusion, in which they become depressed and may end up committing suicide. Owing to the myriad of negative effects of addiction caused by drinking and smoking, they should be prohibited. Control of alcohol and tobacco is compulsory in order to keep them out of the reach of children. Children are immature and generally unaware of the negative effects of alcohol and tobacco on their health. Even if they do know the effects, they tend to underestimate them owing to their immaturity. If alcohol

Analyse the causes of the Credit Crunch Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Analyse the causes of the Credit Crunch - Essay Example What is also significant to understand that the current crises are not just the result of the subprime mortgage crises but encompass different other reasons which have necessarily increased the overall severity of the crises. Further, banks also started to repossess the homes taken as collateral against the subprime mortgage loans which resulted into the decline in the prices of real estate. Credit Crunch is defined as a sudden decrease in the available funds for the purpose of lending and as such the credit crunch that resulted into US and spread to other countries includes a drastic reduction in the credit extended to private sector as well as consumers. The apparent reason for this credit crunch is subprime mortgage crises however; there are three major reasons that are often cited as the key reasons behind the overall credit crunch experienced by the developed world. Banks are considered as the main actors behind the current credit crunch episode due to their imprudent lending policies. Over the period of time, banks started to lend to those borrowers who had relatively high credit risk however, due to their higher credit risk, they also offered an opportunity to earn higher returns. In order to increase their profitability, banks and other financial institutions therefore started to lend to subprime borrowers in mortgage markets. What is however, important to understand that the banks, in order to recoup their lost liquidity, started to bundle these subprime mortgage loans into mortgage backed securities and sold them in secondary markets. The problems aroused when subprime borrowers started to default on their payments and banks have to take other funds to payback their obligations against mortgage backed securities. The process of securitization therefore further aggravated the situation. This is because of the fact that the funds that were available for the lending were used

Why Companies Do not Label Genetically Modified Organisms Essay

Why Companies Do not Label Genetically Modified Organisms - Essay Example Consequently, technological advancement and modern lifestyle have continuously influenced the growth of genetically modified organisms in the global market. According to Editors (Para 2), fourteen states have gone through the toughest period in determining whether to pass legislation that compels genetically modified organisms (GMOs) foods to be labeled in order facilitate consumers with options in products that emanate from genetic engineering and those that are natural. Moreover, the state of California has become the latest in buying the concept of labeling GMOs. In fact, consumers in the United States have claimed that they are entitled to know what ingredients have been incorporated in products during purchase. Nevertheless, the school of thought affiliated to the argument of not labeling GMOs agree to the fact that the only products that might require labeling are those that are highly likely to cause harm to the consumers and as such the labeling serves as a warning piece of information. Bertheau (124) articulates that contrary to what majority of people across the world believe; genetically modified organisms have only one major difference from their counterparts; that if it is easier to determine how safe for consumption they have scientifically been proven to be as opposed to the natural counterparts. Additionally, the concept of genetic engineering has paved the way to the development of plants that have less tidies work such as the use of less amount of water for growth, growing in harsh environmental conditions, and those that are less carbon dioxide. As such, genetic engineering has enabled the production of cheaper food in greater quantities and in a more sustainable way. Of importance to note is that food security and related issues are associated with political issues of any given country across the world.  

Writing assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Writing - Assignment Example Daniel medical attention amazed me. He quickly requested me whether I needed any assistance immediately I checked in the clinic. He loved and sympathized with his patients. He would offer adequate medical counseling to patients. You never pursued but compassion for humanity and alleviation of patients’ suffering. When men of his generation were making history in the medical field, Daniel you courageous performed successfully the first-open heart surgery in the USA. Daniel also made history as the first person to employ interracial staff in his Provident hospitalHe was a man on a great mission, never backtracked on any challenges. He was best as everything that he dreamed of accomplishing. He was a man who commanded great respect in medical history. Everybody was proud of his brain and humane heart. I believed in his values and abilities. A man who I could only admire, respect and take great inspiration from. Daniel, you were very special to my heart, I am Grateful for the little time we spent together here on earth. You kept the faith and completed your race. Rest in eternal peace Daniel Hale Williams, (January 18, 1856- August 4,

The Custody of the Pumpkin Essay Essay Example for Free

The Custody of the Pumpkin Essay Essay The Custody of the Pumpkin is a humorous piece written by P.G. Wodehouse that mocks the aristocrats of England in that time. In the story, the main character is Lord Emsworth, who represents the upper class and their eccentric nature. The humorous behavior of Lord Emsworth makes him the most memorable character of the story. Emsworth is depicted as a â€Å"fluffy-minded† man who takes great interest in trivial toys and paraphrenelia. This is shown in the very beginning of the story where Lord Emsworth is looking through a new telescope and says, â€Å"I’ve been swindled. This dashed thing won’t work.† His faithful butler, Beach, responds, â€Å"Perhaps if I were to remove the cap from the extremity of the instrument, my lord, more satisfactory results might be obtained.† This dialogue shows us how Lord Emsworth bought the telescope, without even realizing its full purpose and fuction. This humorously portrays him as a fanatic, interested in the frivolities that have no real purpose to him. His child-like obsession is underlined when he says, â€Å"Beach, I see a cow!† This shows his unjustified passion for such strange toys. Compared to his respectable lineage, his achievements are depicted as very meaningless. The writer subtly puts this across when Lord Emsworth is anxious about winning a pumpkin contest, which he had missed out on till that day. Wodehouse writes that he had won awards before ones that had held very little value- â€Å"for roses, yes. For tulips, true. For spring onions, granted. But not for pumpkins; Lord Emsworth felt it deeply.† This line makes his achievements seem miniscule compared to his predeccesors who were warriors, statesmen and tailors. This makes him stands out to the reader as a peculiar sort of ‘overachiever’ in his field of interest, which is trivial in itself. Lord Emsworth is also humorously shown to be obsessive about his precious pumpkin- â€Å"Blandings Hope†. He also believes that his former head gardner Angus McAllister had an emotional connect with the pumpkin. He says, â€Å"Perhaps the pumpkin was pining for him too.† This makes him humorous to the  reader, by depicting him as a very concerned ‘parent’ to the pumpkin. This concern is later intensified when his son, Frederick, comes to visit him in London from his estate. Emsworth jumps to silly conclusions about the pumpkins- â€Å"What’s wrong? Have the cats got at it?!† The son seems confused and asks, â€Å"Cats? Why? What? Where? Which cats?† Then Emsowrth clarifies, â€Å"Frederick, speak! What happened to the pumpkin?!† This portrays Emsowrth humorously as an obsessed and anxious man. Even his son â€Å"ridiculed† him. Throughout the story, Emsworth’s character is constantly fretting over his beloved pumpkin, not even caring as much for his own son. These idiosyncracies of Lord Emsworth are what make him most memorable and enjoyable to read about. His eccentric, anxious and childish nature paints a character in the reader’s mind that is humorous and difficult to forget.

Personal Values And Prejudices In Social Work

Personal Values And Prejudices In Social Work For this assignment I will explain personal values, prejudices, ethical dilemmas and the impact they have had on social work practice by reflecting on one of my beliefs and how I had to challenge myself to overcome it. Using Marxists and Feminists views of oppression I aim to identify, recognise, respect and value diverse individuals for which I will give an example of which happened to me and how I had to challenge discrimination towards others. I will also discuss theoretical frameworks to tackling oppression and discrimination by using the PCS model and how people can become empowered through groups, advocacy or legislation. Personal values, Prejudices, Ethical Dilemmas, Conflict of Interest and their impact on Social Work Practice A value is something that concerns someone or a belief they hold, this determines how a person behaves, values do not determine if something is said whether it is right or wrong in todays society. However, a persons beliefs can affect how they behave towards others. Prejudice is a term which has rather negative connotations and is normally taken to mean a hostile attitude towards a person or group (Billingham et al. 2008. Pg. 196) One of my values and a prejudice of mine is that any job I am employed in will eventually go to people working in a foreign country, especially India. This all stems from when I worked for a third party credit card processor, after giving them nine years of service I was going to be made redundant and my job would be actioned from people in India. For the next two months I would have to train people from there all the applications I was currently or had worked on. This gave me a dilemma do tell them all the information I knew or just some of it? I had to be professional, so I gave them as much information on the applications for which I knew about, I even created user guides to aid with the training and they could use when I had left the company. When talking to the people I found that we had things in common with each other and they were saddened that a person would lose their job. It wasnt their fault I was being made redundant but the companies in which we worked for. I had successfully challenged the new belief that had risen from a sad situation. Values are only as good as the actions they prompt (Preston-Shoot, 1996. Pg 31) When working with people from other countries I will need to put my own values and prejudices aside, as everyone deserves help and advice in their lives no matter where they come from in the world. If I fail to put my values and prejudices aside whilst working with them it will affect the help they will receive from me, I need to be open minded to all cultures. Thompson (2005) explains that there is a need for genuineness (congruence) to be achieved in social work, that a positive working relationship between service user and social worker is needed based on trust and respect for each other to develop. Identify, Recognise, Respect and Value Diverse Individuals Thompson (2006) describes discrimination as to identify a difference and is not necessarily a negative term. But when used in terms of legal, moral or in a political sense it is referred to as being unfair e.g. being unfairly treated for your sexuality or ethnic origin. If this occurs it can lead to a person being oppressed. When looking at oppression from a Marxists view DAmato claims that people are oppressed because of the class in which they live in, that women, homosexuals or people of non-white skin are subordinate to the Bourgeoisie and Capitalism is needed in society as it shapes and depends on oppression for its survival. Marxists argue that if racism, sexism or homophobia was to be embraced it will mean that a capitalist government would need to be overthrown and that oppression is essential to the struggle of socialism. From a Radical Feminists view Zeiber (2008) argues that women are oppressed within the patriarchal system, that marriage and the family are a result of capitalism. Holmstrom (2003) speaks about Socialist Feminism, agreeing that women are oppressed by the dominance of men and of the economic inequality because of the positions of power males have within society. I work on a farm where we often have Polish as well as British people working there. One year a colleague was making cruel jokes towards the Polish people, as others were making fun at their culture, and their Catholic beliefs were wrong. I could see that something was wrong, so I spoke to them; they told me they felt they were being discriminated against and started to feel very oppressed because they were not British. Then I spoke to my manager about the situation which was happening and he left me to deal with. I had to think about how I was going to approach it so both parties would be happy with the outcome. So I asked the perpetrator to come outside and talk with me. I told him that the Polish people were unhappy the way in which he was treating them. He was shocked as he thought they were all having a laugh with each other. It was hard for me to confront the perpetrator as it was my father, a man I looked up to. Reflecting on what had happened I knew I had said the correct things to my father as they continued to work with each in harmony, not wanting to offend each other, enabling a good working environment for all. Discrimination can be found in institutions like the church, prison or by a person in a position of power. It can be covertly actioned by using disguises like the Klu Klux Klan in USA wear masks concealing their identity or overtly actioned like apartheid in South Africa or the BNP in Britain. Theoretical Frameworks for Understanding Discrimination and Oppression Thompson (1997) shows how oppression can be analysed using the PCS model and there are three levels: Personal (P) an individuals views e.g. prejudice against a group of people. Cultural (C) shared values between others, what is wrong or right, this in turn forms a consensus. Structural (S) how oppression of society is formed through institution who support cultural norms personal beliefs e.g. religion, media or government. Here is an example of the PCS model in action: P: Young man in the club you work at makes offensive and derogatory comments about a gay man who attends also. He says that gay people are not natural or normal. C: Gay people largely repulse the community around him, and many of the community members are involved with the local church, holding firm views about sexual morals. S: Popular tabloid media berates the abnormal activities of gay people. Religious leaders of all faiths support the instatement of laws to stop equal rights for gay people. Legislation is passed by parliament that compromises the rights of gay, lesbian and bisexual people. There is an overwhelming consensus of power used in all forms of structural life. (Wood, J. 2001) By using the PCS model it can help a person build an idea as to why others act the way they do e.g. the stereotype of a teenager wearing a hood, you believe they are trouble makers because of what the media have reported, but not every teenager is out for trouble. Another theoretical framework to tackling oppression and discrimination is through empowerment. By empowering someone means to enable a person to gain control over and taking responsibility for own their actions. The Humanistic approach by Carl Rogers (1959) encourages people to become empowered. As student social workers we are taught about empowering the service user, to focus on their strengths and to work together as equals, we also need to safeguard vulnerable people, to take into account a persons economic, political and cultural background at the same time. Groups also work to empower people as they offer support and if they act as one they can become powerful. An example of this is from the Times Online dated June 13th 2007 How football made us (see attachment 1), by forming a football team for mentally ill patients they each became empowered able to do things on their own without having help from others. Make use of Strategies to Challenge Discrimination, Inequality and Injustice There are strategies in place to help educate people about inequality, discrimination and injustice such as advocacy and legislation. As social workers we need to support and speak up for individuals that face being oppressed or discriminated against. By using advocacy to represent those who are unable to speak up for themselves. E.g. have learning or communication difficulties. Walker (2008) advises that advocacy has it strengths but also has its weaknesses. Strength from using advocacy are: People who have been socially excluded from mainstream society gain a voice, when a service user has a social worker who listens can be given confidence to speak for themselves, thus growing in self confidence and social workers can learn and understand more on how it feels to be disempowered when listening to a service user. But the weaknesses are: there is a danger that the social worker can put their own views forward and not those views of the service user, the advocate can take over, thus the service user can become disempowered and the social worker may find that by using advocacy it can put them in conflict with the organisation in which the work for, their loyalties can become split. The legislation in place is to help and protect people against inequality and discrimination, for example: Equal Pay Acts 1970 1983 prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sex relating to pay and terms of contract. Race Relations Act 1976 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, colour, nationality or ethnic origin. Later amended in 2000 to include a duty on public authorities in carrying out their duties to have due regard to eliminate unlawful discrimination and to promote equality. (Brayne et al, 2010. Pg. 89-90) The British Association of Social Work (BASW) has a code of ethics relating to how social workers must become more cultural aware. Paragraph 4.1.6 (pg. 49) states that as a social worker you will: Recognise diversity among cultures and then recognise what the impact of their own cultural ethnic identity can have on others. Gain working knowledge and understanding of service users ethnic and cultural affiliations and the values, beliefs and customs associated with them, even though the service users may be different. Communicate effectively in a language in which both parties will understand, if needs be then by using an independent interpreter. By using the tools I have learnt through the course I will be able to challenge discrimination, inequality and oppression, I will be more open minded to people that need help from social services and no matter what their cultural background is I will be able to use this knowledge successfully. Words used 1622

Vodafone India Evaluation and Entry Strategy

Vodafone India Evaluation and Entry Strategy The Indian telecom industry is the worlds fastest growing telecommunications industry. The total number of subscribers was 225.21 Million with a teledensity of 19.86 %. It was expected that the mobile subscriber base will grow to 500 Million by 2010 i.e. more than one mobile phone per household and 1.159 Billion mobile subscribers exceeding total subscriber count in China by 2013. The average addition of new subscribers per month was 7.34 Million and it was increasing. The annual growth rate (2006-2007) of the new mobile subscribers was 46.82%.The average revenue per user (ARPU) for GSM was US$ 6.6 per month. There were more number of mobile users than fixed line subscribers.The Indian telecom industry witnessed a CAGR of approximately 22 per cent from 2002-03 to 2006-07. The CAGR from 2006-07 to 2009-10 is expected to stabilise at 21 per cent. In addition, the telecom equipment market had grown to US$ 17,100 Million and the handset market had gone up to US$ 4,750 Million. In 2006-2007, Indian telecom industry generated revenues of approximately US $ 20 Billion. The market witnessed a CAGR of 22% in the period 2002-2003 to 2006-2007 with last years growth rate of 33%. The high growth rate resulted in doubling the revenues of the Indian telecom industry in the past 3 years. The industrys revenue is expected to grow up to $ 43 Billion by 2009-2010. The Indian telecom industry can be divided broadly into Basic, Mobile and Internet services. Basic services cover Fixed Wire Line and Wireless in Local Loop (WLL-fixed) services. This segment is dominated by BSNL and MTNL. MTNL operates in Delhi and Mumbai, whereas BSNL dominates the rest of the country. A few private service providers like Bharati and Reliance have done well lately in this segment but government owned BSNL and MTNL continue to dominate in terms of number of subscribers. In 2006, the total number of basic service subscribers exceeded 50 million. Fixed wire line users made up a large share of this, with a contribution of 83 per cent. Mobile Services The prime reason of the spectacular growth in the Indian telecom industry is the rise of Mobile Services. The total number of mobile services subscribers has increased to 185.13 Million with an addition of more than 6 Million subscribers every month. India is one of the few countries where there are more number of subscribers than the number of fixed line users. GSM dominate this segment with a share of 73% whereas CDMA has a share on only 27%. Currently there are 12 active players in this segment. All the service providers provide services predominantly under two categories Voice Service and Value Added Services (VAS). Voice service comprise of only basic calling services whereas Value Added Services comprise of SMS, mobile internet services, email, chatting, conferencing, video conferencing, GPRS services etc. The revenues from Value Added Services are growing by 30-40% annually. This growth is laying foundations for the introduction of 3G services in India. All the service providers have constantly indulged in price wars which have led to a reduction in the ARPU constantly. However, the reduction in ARPU has been backed by the increasing number of subscribers. The ARPU of GSM service in India has been much higher as compared to CDMA. In spite of a constant decline in ARPU and with the help of constant tariff reduction, the mobile usage in India has been increasing constantly. Currently, India stands at 2nd position in the world after China in terms of Minutes of Usage (MoU). Another inference of reduced tariffs, reduced ARPU and increasing number of subscribers is that the service providers is successfully tapping the bottom of the pyramid by increasing affordability, which has a huge market potential. Internet Services In 2002, the government of India opened internet telephony and issued licences in this domain. In 2004, the government of India implemented the Broadband Policy which sent out signals of governments positive intent of increasing the penetration of internet in India. Currently, there are 2.25 Million internet connections in India. There are nearly 400 Internet Service providers which are operating in India currently. Though the penetration rate is low, but this segment holds a huge growth potential in India. Government owned BSNL is the largest player in this segment. The total number of Internet subscribers increased at a CAGR of approximately 60 per cent from 1997-98 to 2006-07. An emergence of private players and superior technologies, internet broadband segments have shown impressive potential for growth. With the significant undergoing improvement in telecom infrastructure, the quality and penetration of internet broadband services have undergone significant improvements. Though the private ISPs are catching up fast, the government owned ISPs BSNL and MTNL still hold nearly two third share of the total internet services market India. Telecom Subscriber Base and Tele-density Due to the phenomenal growth rate in the Indian telecom industry, India is likely to reach second position in the global telecommunications market by 2010. The total subscriber base in India is likely to reach 500 Million by 2010. The telecom subscriber base is expanding phenomenally and the soaring industry revenues are a clear proof of it. The additions in subscriber base in 2007 registered a growth of approximately 47 per cent over the previous year. The CAGR witnessed by the subscriber base for the period 2002-03 to 2006-07 stood at 40.4 per cent. The superbly increasingly subscriber base has also played its part in increasing the tele-density in the country. Currently, the tele-density is India is low as compared to other markets, which is an Indication of a huge untapped market and a huge business opportunity. In 2006-07, India had a tele-density of 18.31%, depicting a growth of 43%. From 2002-03 to 2006-07, the tele-density in India registered a CAGR at 40.4 per cent and 37.6%. Telecom Service Providers The Wireless Industry crossed 165.11 million-subscribers mark in 2007 comprising of 120.47 million GSM and 44.64 million CDMA subscribers registering an annual growth of 83.17%. Bharati leads the Indian telecom market with a total share of 22.49% followed by BSNL, Reliance and Hutch. Despite stiff competition, Bharti has been successful in retaining its position of leadership. 75% of the total GSM segment is occupied by the private players, Bharti and Hutch being the top two players. Reliance and Tata Teleservices dominate the CDMA segment with a combined market share of 91%. Vodafone Vodafone Group is the worlds leading mobile telecommunications company. It is a British multinational  mobile network operator  headquartered in  Newbury, England. It has a significant presence in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and the United States. It currently has operations in 31 countries and partner networks in a further 40 countries. The company has made its presence felt through the Companys global strategies of subsidiary undertakings, joint ventures, associated undertakings and investments. Based on subscribers, it is the  worlds second largest mobile phone operator  behind  China Mobile  and over  Telefà ³nica. The name Vodafone comes from  voice  data  fone, chosen by the company to reflect the provision of voice and data services over mobile phones Vodafone was formed in 1984 as a subsidiary of Racal Electronics Plc. Then known as Racal Telecom Limited, approximately 20% of the companys capital was offered to the public in October 1988. It was fully demerged from Racal Electronics Plc and became an independent company in September 1991, at which time it changed its name to Vodafone Group Plc. Following its merger with AirTouch Communications, Inc. (AirTouch), the company changed its name to Vodafone AirTouchPlc on 29 June 1999 and, following approval by the shareholders in General Meeting, reverted to  its former name, Vodafone Group Plc, on 28 July 2000. Country evaluation We evaluate India from the perspective of Vodafone during the period before its entry into India. We look at the various opportunities it could have foreseen in terms of sales revenue, ease of entry and operations and also look at some of the hurdles it could have predicted. Country opportunities We begin with an analysis of the opportunities it could have seen in a large country like India. Market size With the second largest population in the world (Fig 1), the Indian market looked very promising. But one hurdle it faced was low mobile penetration (Fig 2) and low tariff (Fig 3) which kept profit margins low. But the penetration was expected to increase over 40% in the next 5 years  [1]  (Fig 4). The population growth and the GDP growth both were in the positive indicating larger future potential( As shown below).  ­ Economic Environment Since 1991 when the Indian economy opened up, the gradual economic reforms have delivered major cumulative change. These have greatly been in favour of a foreign party entering and doing business in India. The ease of operations has greatly increased. As the bureaucracy has been reduced and the state influence over business decision also reduced, it is easier for companies to quickly formulate and implement business policies. The government has been promoting competition and de-licensing key sectors giving great boost to positive market dynamics. Foreign investment is also being encouraged into many sectors of the economy. Various capital market reforms have been undertaken and the foreign exchange rules have been relaxed. Overall the economy growth rate increased, the balance of payments is stabilized and the economy overall looked very promising. Regulatory status TRAI The regulatory institutions were very well developed among emerging market peers. The following is the mission of TRAI which is very encouraging for a foreign entrant: TRAIs mission is to create and nurture conditions for the growth of telecommunications including broadcasting and cable services in the country in a manner and at a pace which will enable India to play a leading role in the emerging global information society. The goals and objectives, as taken from its annual report 2006-07, clearly indicated the creation of a booming market for telecom operators. Following are some goals of TRIA particularly favourable to a foreign mobile operator entering India: Increasing tele-density and access to telecommunications in the country at affordable prices, Providing a fair and transparent policy environment which promotes a level playing field and facilitates fair competition Re-balancing tariffs so that the objectives of affordability and operator viability are met in a consistent manner Preparing the grounds for smooth transition to an era of convergence of services and technologies, Various recent dynamic consultations were done on 3G licensing, roaming and infrastructure sharing. The government had clear targets for teledensity such as: 500m telecoms connections by 2010 (implies significant rural coverage) 20m broadband subscribers by 2010 The high levels of fees and taxes had been reduced to promote affordability and increase teledensity further increasing scope for higher revenue. The sharing of passive infrastructure (sites, towers) was permitted and encouraged by the government of India. TRAI was evaluating active network infrastructure sharing to underpin teledensity targets. Other factors India has a very well developed and written legal system in place making the legal aspects easy to comprehend and therefore easier for a foreign company to enter. With the IT boom in place, there was a large educated workforce available for a foreign company to exploit. Although language barriers existed, they could be overcome in a phased manner. Major Competitors We can classify players in telecom industry in three major category: Government: MTNL, BSNL Indian Owned companies: Reliance Infocomm, Tata Teleservices Foreign Invested companies: Escotel, Idea Cellular, BPL Mobile, Spice Communication, Bharti Tele-Venture, Hutchinson-Essar Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) BSNL is a one of the biggest player in telecommunication industry throughout the globe. It was established in year 2000. It stands 7th in the world in term of its size. It provides diverse range of tele-services which encompasses wired phone, GSM Mobile, CDMA, Internet, VoIP, broadband, VPN etc. It is one of the largest Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) in India. It has a turnover of $ 8 billion. It covers 45 million lines covering 35 million connections across 5000 towns in India. It is a Government of India Undertaking. It plans to increase its customer base up to threefold to 125 million and invest Rs. 733 crores in coming three years. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) MTNL is a Government of India undertaking. It has about 13% market share and covers 5.92 million consumers. GoI holds 56.25% stake in the company. It has revenue about $ 2.47 Billion. Recently it has formed a JV with Telecom Consultants India Limited (TCIL) under name of United Telecom Ltd in Nepal. It has also setup its subsidiary in Mauritius. It has also formed two joint ventures with Software Technology Park of India and BSNL. With estimation of growth in telecom sector it is try to enter M-commerce. Bharti It was formed in 1985 and was incorporated with name of Bharti Tele-Venture Limited on July 7, 1995. It has mainly two groups: Mobility Group and Infotel Group which handles operation. It has turnover of $ 1.37 billion. It provides fixed and wireless telecommunication services across India, also offering broadband services across 94 cities. It has formed a joint venture with British Telecom for Internet services, in 1998. It is trying to found join venture for various sector like, submarine cable landing station in Chennai, infrastructure projects. It is ready to focus on semi-urban and rural areas and to do this is has aggressively to setup more than 3000 towers. Reliance Communication It was established in 1999 and is available in more than 340 towns across eight telecom circle. It has been offering first of its kind mobile data service in India. It is present in CDMA 1X network. It offers complete package of services ranging from fixed telephones to broadband, long distance call and also data services. It has revenue of $ 767 million. It has very strong infrastructure of about 150 thousand kilometres of optic fibre spanning India, Middle East, Asia Pacific as well as Europe. It is also a wholesale service provider for various tele-services across the world. It has a strategy to give more focus on mobile content provider rather than it voice services. It also plans to double its coverage area in next three years. Tata Teleservices It was established in 1996 and is a part of Tata Group. The range of tele-services it provides are mobile services, public booth, wireless desktop phones, wireline etc. It also has services spanning internet, Wi-Fi, USB modem, calling cards, and enterprise services. It has it presence in 19 telecom circles. It has also acquired Tele.com in Maharashtra in 2002. It has very aggressive and has paid DoT for 11 new licenses. Idea It was founded in 1995 as a part of Aditya Birla Group which is Indias first multinational corporation. Stakes of Idea are distributed among various sister companies of Aditya Birla Group. It has a sales turnover of Rs 24,005.50 million. It has a customer base of over 17 million which are present in 12 telecom circles. It has merged or acquired various players in the different circles to become a service provider. It plans to enter rural and less developed cities to gain subscriber form first mover advantage. It also plays a pro-active CSR role Mode of Entry There are basically five major different modes of entry for a company to enter a foreign market. They are: Exporting Licensing Franchising Strategic Alliance or Joint Venture Wholly owned subsidiary Choice of entry for a company depends and varies from company to company and also on county of investment. We can see from the figure risk associated with various modes of entries. We can also compare various pro and cons of different entry modes in the table. Level of Control High Low Low High Level of Risk Mode Description Advantages Disadvantages Exporting Transfer of goods or services across national boundaries Ability to realize location and experience-curve economies Avoids the cost of establishing manufacturing operations Low risk High transport costs Unpredictability of trade barriers Problems with local marketing agents Licensing Foreign licensee buys the rights to produce a companys product in the licensees country Low developmental cost Quick growth possible Difficult to have control over technology Franchising Selling of limited rights to its brand name and business model Low costs of development and risk Quick growth possible Difficult to engage in global strategic coordination Difficult to control quality Strategic alliance/ Joint Venture Sharing of ownership and control by parent companies Access to partners knowledge Shared development cost and risk Transfer of complementary skills Difficult to engage in global strategic Risk of knowledge sharing Wholly owned subsidiary Parent company owns 100% of the subsidiarys stock Protection of technology Ability to engage in global strategic coordination High costs and risks Mode of Entry Acquisition of Hutchison Essar In February 2007, Vodafone Group, one of the leading global telecommunication companies entered into Indian market by acquiring the 67% stakes in Hutchison Essar, one of the leading telecom operators in India, which provided its services under the brand name, Hutch. When Vodafone acquired Hutch the later had already earned a huge brand success in Indian mobile communication sector. Rational Behind the Acquisition Below sections will describe about the rational of why Vodafone chose acquisition as its mode of entry in India rather than going alone or other mode of entries. Leveraged up-on existing infrastructure built by Hutch One of the objectives of Vodafone was to bring the product and services at the lowest possible cost for the Indian consumers. Existing infrastructure such as, towers, power supply, distribution channels etc. could help Vodafone to reduce its operating costs and investment requirements. After five years of acquisition Vodafone was able to save more than one billion dollar by leveraging upon the ready-made and shared infrastructure. Quick entry to the new market- Acquisition also helped Vodafone to make a quick entry to the Indian market. Other mode of entry could have been time consuming or at least could take years to build the communications channels and network if Vodafone decided to enter by own. Also taking the approval/license from the government could have been the time consuming. Minimizing the risk due to cultural differences- Since Hutch was already operating in Indian market before the Vodafone came; it had a good understanding of consumers behavior towards selecting a product or services. Also Indian consumers are diversified in term of product choices, likes and dislikes, social and cultural influences, so managing the risk arises out of this divers consumers could have been difficult if Vodafone entered alone. Growth opportunity India is the worlds 2nd most populated country and the fastest growing mobile market in the world. So entering to India could help Vodafone to accelerate its business growth Building a Strong Brand Acquisition would result in forming a strong brand name Vodafone Essar in India, enabling them to make nationwide presence with strong financial position. Better competition to competitors One notable point regarding the Indian telecom market is that, this sector is highly competitive as there are many strong players, like Airtel, Reliance and BSNL operating in the market. So, it could have been difficult for Vodafone to counter the threat posed by those competitors. However, Vodafone along with Hutch could give them better competition. This further support the Vodafones strategy to acquire Hutch. Win- Win situation for both Vodafone and Hutch-Vodafone-Hutch acquisition was an strategic movement for both the companies. Although Hutch had done well in the Indian market, its penetration of total Indian population was only 40%. So, in order to expand its business to other parts of the country, Hutch needed money for investment. At the same time Vodafone was ready to make the investment in India market. So, Hutch decided to sell its 67% stake to Vodafone to meet its financial needs. Other motive toward acquisitions was that through the acquisition, Hutch would get the global platform for its business as Vodafone was an international player in telecommunication. According to Vodafone Essar director as saying that the objective is to leverage Vodafone Groups global scale in bringing millions of low-cost handsets from across-the-world into India. Sound economic environment After the economic reform Indian foreign policy has been very friendly to the foreign companies who want to come to Indian market. There is relaxation in taxation and foreign exchange rules. Also there is least intervention by the bureaucracy in the management of the foreign companies in India. Tax Purposes The corporate effective tax rate in India is 33.22% for a local company and 42.23 % for a foreign company. However joint venture companies are taxed same as domestic companies with some minor differences. According to Indian FDI policy, Foreign companies are free to open branch offices in India. However, a branch of a foreign company attracts a higher rate of tax than a subsidiary or a joint venture company. The liability of the parent company is also greater in case of a branch office. Implementation After the acquisition, Vodafone brought many improvements to the existing business model of Hutch. It also made a huge investment to expand its network and distribution channels. The story doesnt stop here; it also made a substantial spending in the branding and advertisement. Its zoo-zoo ad was one of the most successful ads ever made for Indian market. Due to its eye-catching design and features, the ad contributed a lot in branding the Vodafone products- especially value added products and services. Over all Vodafone adopted an aggressive strategy towards expanding its business in Indian market. Below is the elaborated view of the Implementation strategies adopted by Vodafone India Re-branding Before acquisition, Company was named as Hutchison Essar, which was the name of the previous owner, Hutchison. However brand was marketed as Hutch, just because its simple to remember After the government approval to Vodafone Group to acquire majority of stake, the company name was changed to Vodafone Essar. The marketing brand was again changed to Vodafone on September, 2007 Escalating the Distribution Channels Investment to increase the number of exclusive showrooms and retail outlets -Hutch management was such that it relied on no subsidy (Only SIM) and low cost strategy. Vodafone continued with the same strategy. However it made a huge investment to increase the current level of exclusive shops and retail outlets. Then there were around 1800 exclusive shops and more than 300,000 retail outlets across India. Accelerate distribution roll-out in-line the network roll-out plans Vodafone took a holistic approach for improving its supply-chain network. Vodafone had correctly realized the escalation of the channels for of product delivery is as important as developing its network channels. Escalating the Network Coverage MOU with BharatiAirtel on extensive level of sites s Adding up more mobile circles India is divided into 23 license territories, also called Circles for the purpose of mobile services. Out of 23 circles, Hutch was operating into only 16 circles, which covers only 40% of the Indian total population. After the acquisition Vodafone expanded it coverage and now captures all 23 circles in India. Sharing of active infrastructure- MOU with Airtel In order to achieve its long term strategy to become the cheapest mobile operator in India, Vodafone actively shared its infrastructures with other telecommunication operators in India Currently about 2/3 of Vodafone sites are shared with other mobile operators. haring including, sharing of towers, shelters, civil works and power supply Easily penetration to rural segments Achieved low cost services Significant capital expenditure and operating expenses savings for the Vodafone-more than one billion dollarsavings was achieved due to infrastructure sharing Developing consumer and business propositions More consumer focused strategy One of the most important drivers who contributed towards the success of Vodafone in India is that its more consumers centric. It offers a blend of product and services that suits to individuals needs. Consumers can choose the kind of products that they think best cater to their individual needs. Following are the major steps taken in order to make Vodafone the most preferred mobile service provider: Introduced low cost handsets Brought Vodafone live to India Payments through Mobile A range of product schemes targeted towards the customers with different needs First mover advantage to become the only operator in India integrated into an International mobile company International voice and data roaming Strong brand presence improved the credibility of the company and hence made the consumers to become more dependent on the Vodafone Strong Management team Vodafone took the control of management from Hutch. It formed a hierarchy of management team to ensure that the business objective is achieved at each and every level of the business Strong and efficient customer care services Emphasized on providing 247 customers care services Efficient customer feed-back mechanism- It also brought a customer feedback mechanism at place

Sensing Project :: Papers

Sensing Project Project brief A new greenhouse is being developed for gardeners who are concerned about overheating plants in their current greenhouses. The new greenhouse has been built with opening windows but occasionally the windows of the greenhouse slips fully open and allow all of the trapped heat in the greenhouse to escape quickly. This is a major concern for serious gardeners. The test is to develop a sensing circuit that will sense whether the windows are fully open, so a gardener can be alerted of the problem. Introduction ============ To begin we must know what a sensor is. A sensor is an electrical component, which produces a signal in response to alteration in its surroundings, this maybe an alteration in a physical variable or by movement of objects. The sensor planned for the sensing circuit ensuring the windows are not fully open is a rotary potentiometer. A rotary potentiometer is a component, which has three terminals. When the angle of rotation is changed on the component's arm then the potential difference (often called voltage) is also changed. Once the voltage reaches a specific point a separate circuit could activate an alarm showing that the window has slipped and is fully opened. The potential difference is the difference between potential energy between two separate points. Alternatively a different sensing circuit could be used. A circuit with a thermistor (a component sensing change in temperature) could be used. In normal situations when the window would be fully closed the temperature in the greenhouse would be high so the output voltage from this circuit would be low. However if the windows were to slip open fully then the temperature inside the greenhouse would decrease so the output voltage would increase. The circuit could be linked to an alarm of some type so as when the voltage increases past a certain point when the window is fully open, the alarm rings alerting the gardener to shut the windows again. A circuit containing a LDR (light dependant resistor) could also be

Give Students a Break :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Give Students a Break Students at Tech, and indeed at most colleges, eagerly anticipate holidays because they provide a welcome break from classes. Although some may say that breaks only take away valuable class time from students, they fail to see the educational benefits that breaks afford. Tech's sparse holiday offerings take little advantage of these benefits. Tech is harming students, who could greatly benefit from the time breaks offer for relaxation, family interaction, and studying. Despite criticism, breaks do not necessarily have to adversely affect students' education by taking away important class time. There are many ways Tech could integrate breaks into its semester schedules without loosing any class time at all. For instance, classes could begin a few days early or end a few days late, allowing breaks to be added into the semesters. Alternatively, Tech could shorten its overly-long twenty-eight day Christmas break and use those days for breaks during the semesters. Careful planning of the breaks already offered would even help. During the fall semester, Tech currently offers one of its five breaks less than a week after classes begin and three more of its breaks less than three weeks before Christmas break begins. This poor scheduling leaves large gaps during the semester with no breaks at all. Why, though, are breaks important from an educational standpoint? One reason is that they lightens students' stress loads. College is stressful enough with breaks; without them, students have no way to recuperate from the stress of classes. During Montana Tech's fall semester, there are over two months of straight classes that contain no breaks at all. During the spring semester, there are two more large gaps between breaks, one of which is also over two months long. Although weekends do help, these are often used for studying and homework and do little to ease the students' stress. Many students begin to dislike their classes because of the stress they cause, and as a result, some put less effort into their studying. Breaks allow students some time off from their classes to relax so that they can come back refreshed. Another reason breaks are important is that they give students time to spend with their families. It is very important to develop social skills during college and, it is also important to become more independent. Both of these will aid the student when starting a new life after graduation. But family relationships are still very important for students.

Ap Us Dbq Progressive Essay

The years between 1900 and 1920 were known as the Progressive Era. During this time period, the United States experienced reforms by the people and reforms brought about by the federal government at a national level. There were many issues during this time period like child labor, the formation of trusts and monopolies, bad working conditions, and mistreatment of the working class. The efforts to reform these issues were either completely unsuccessful or successful with limitations. One of the issues that occurred during this time was the horrible working and unsanitary conditions in factories. A factory that particularly stood out was the meat packing industry. The dirty and disgusting conditions caused people to get sick and die of various diseases. Things like this caused the emergence of Muckrakers, reporters that worked to expose the true story. An example of this was Upton Sinclair and his novel â€Å"The Jungle†, that warned Americans about the horrors of the meat packing industry. This kind of exposure led to reforms, like the formations of the FDA that would check factories for sanitary conditions (Document B). Another thing that people felt needed to be reformed was child labor. Most children barely got a school education, and went straight to work in factories in order to help support their families. Because this kind of lifestyle was inevitable for many children, reformers passed laws to set a minimal age for when children can begin to work(Document C). However, laws like this were minimally successful because children would go to school until the new minimum age that they could, and then continue to drop out in order to work in factories. Another reform that was greatly focused on during this time period was the women’s rights movement. Women fought for the right and ability to get more involved in outside life and government (Document H). One of the largest successes during this time was the ratification of the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote. It is now very clear that the people worked to help bring about reform; however, the federal government also brought about reform at a national level during this time period. In his speech, Theodore Roosevelt brought about the reform of direct election of senators. This meant that the people would now be able to directly elect their senators in the same way that they elect their president. This was a successful reform because it stuck with the American people from 1912, when this speech was given, until now. There were some laws that were passed by the federal government that weren’t very successful when it came to reform. For example, the Clayton Antitrust Act that was against the creation of trusts and monopolies. It wanted to kill competition by declaring that things shouldn’t be different prices because that leads to competition, which ultimately leads to the destruction of small businesses and the creation of monopolies. The law made sense when it came to getting rid of monopolies, but it was unsuccessful because of its idea to kill competition (Document E). On top of that, with these new laws, the federal government couldn’t differentiate between good trusts and bad trusts, so they ended up destroying all of them (Document A). The Hammer v. Dagenhart case particularly stood out during this time period. It argued about whether the government should be able to control interstate commerce and transportation of products made by the labor of overworked children under the age of sixteen. The final ruling transcended the authority delegated to Congress over commerce by the Constitution (Document G). All in all, the period from 1900- 1920 was an era of reform and that’s why it is known as the Progressive Era. The people brought about reforms when it came to child labor, exposing the truth about factories, and women’s rights. The federal government also brought about reforms about monopolies, labor, education, and much more. However these reforms were successful with certain limitations. For example, when it came to trusts, the government killed all of them whether they were good or bad. As Herbert Croly believed, President Wilson was a smart man but he was not thinking realistically. The national government can’t just pass a few laws of reform and expect all of society’s ills to be healed. Society needs more laws with stricter enforcement in order to provide a truly successful period of reform (Document F).

Prevalence of Self-Medication Essay

Antibiotic self-medication among university medical undergraduates in Northern Nigeria Joseph O. Fadare 1* and Igbiks Tamuno 2 1Department of Medicine, Kogi State Specialist Hospital, Lokoja, Nigeria 2Department of Pharmacology, Bayero University, Kano, Kano State, Nigeria. Accepted 20 April, 2011 Self-medication is becoming a common type of self-care behavior among the population of many countries. Many international studies have investigated the prevalence and nature of self-medication practices at the population level. In Nigeria, some workers have also looked at the population prevalence of self-medication in general; however the prevalence of antibiotic self-medication among medical undergraduates has not yet been studied. The interest in studying this practice among this select group is due to the fact that they are the future prescribers and health educators of the population of Nigeria. The study was a cross-sectional pre-tested questionnaire-based study carried out among medical students of the Bayero University, Kano, North-West Nigeria during a two-week period in August 2008. The information from the returned questionnaire were coded, entered and analyzed using SPSS Version 12 statistical software. A total of 183 students filled and returned the questionnaire giving a response rate of 83.2%. Out of these respondents, 120 (65.6%) were males and the mean age of respondents was 23.2  ± 2.5 years (Range 17 to 31). 71 (38.8%) of the medical students admitted to the practice and there was no statistically significant difference among the different levels of medical education (p >0.05). Antibiotics from the penicillin group (ampicillin/cloxacillin, amoxicillin and ampicillin) were the most frequently used. Self-medication with antibiotics is prevalent among medical undergraduates in Northern Nigeria. There is a need for an intervention to address this practice. Key words: Antibiotics, self-medication, medical undergraduates, Nigeria. INTRODUCTION Antibiotics are one of the most prescribed drugs worldwide (Tà ¼nger et al., 2000). Self-medication with antibiotics is a common practice in many countries in the world although the trend seems to be more in developing or resource-poor nations (Awad et al., 2005). Some of the reasons that have been found responsible for this trend include lack of access to health care,  availability of antibiotics as over the counter (OTC) drugs and in open markets and poor regulatory practices (Vaananen et al., 2006). Self-medication with antibiotics has been identified as one form of irrational use of medicine contributing to *Corresponding author. E-mail: jofadare@gmail.com. Tel: +234- 8138048127. increased healthcare costs, antimicrobial drug resistance and sometimes increased morbidity among the popu- lation (Aswapokee et al., 1990; Okeke et al., 1999). The practice of self-medication in general has been widely studied among populations of many countries in Africa, Asia and Europe (Martins et al., 2002; Yousef et al., 2008; Awad et al., 2007a). One of the factors that have been found to influence this practice is the level of education of the research participants (Afolabi, 2008). Many studies have also previously looked at the pre- valence, nature and reasons for self-medication among university undergraduates (non-medical) in different countries of the world (Zafar et al., 2008; Sawalha, 2008; Lucas et al., 2007). There are also studies on general self-medication practices among medical undergraduates in some other countries (Buke et al., 2005; Chowdhury 218 J. Public Health Epidemiol. et al., 2009). In Nigeria, previous studies have concen- trated on general self-medication practices among the population (Afolabi, 2008) and health care workers (Bamgboye et al., 2006). This study of antibiotic self- medication practice among university medical undergraduates in Nigeria is very important as they are a segment of the population that is highly educated and with access to information regarding their health. Looking at this practice among medical undergraduates is also very vital as they represent the future generation of drug prescribers and health educationists. The understanding of the level of antibiotic self-medication practice and the reasons for it will enable for different interventional strategies. It will also help policy makers to develop approaches for a more rational use of antibiotics in the community in general. The main objective of this study was to determine the frequency and nature of antibiotic self-medication practice among university medical undergraduates in the Northern part of Nigeria. This study also sought if there is any relationship between the level of medical education and the self-medication  practice. METHODS The study was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study carried out among medical students of the Bayero University, Kano, North- West Nigeria during a two-week period in August 2008. Sampling A total of two hundred and twenty self-administered questionnaires were distributed to students from different level of medical education (200 to 500 Level) using a convenient sampling system. Questionnaire The questionnaire which had been pre-tested among students of another faculty in the university consisted of both open and close ended questions. The questionnaires were administered to the students through their class representatives who also returned the filled ones. The act of filling and returning of the forms was taken as consent of the students to participate and the study was approved by the Hospital Ethics Committee. The lead question was â€Å"Have you practiced self-medication with antibiotics in the last two months?’The duration of two months was chosen because of the belief that recall of medication use is still very reliable within that time frame. Other questions include: The reasons for indulging in self-medication, conditions for which the drugs were taken and the antibiotics that were being used. Statistical analyses The information from the returned questionnaire were coded and entered using SPSS version 12 statistical software. Results were expressed as counts and percentages while Chi-square test was used for to investigate possible associations between sex, level of medical education and antibiotic self-medication practice. A p-value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant for the purpose of this study. RESULTS A total of one 183 students filled and returned the questionnaire giving a response rate of 83.2%. Out of these respondents, one hundred and twenty (65.6%) were males and the mean age of all respondents was 23.2  ± 2.5 years (Range 17 to 31 years). The distribution of the respondents according to level of medical education is shown in Table 1. In response to the question  whether respondents had practiced self- medication in the preceding two months, 71 (38.8%) of the medical students admitted to the practice and there was no statistically significant difference among the different levels of medical education (p >0.05). Though self-medication with antibiotics was more common among the male students, this difference was not statistically significant (p >0.05). The common conditions for which the antibiotics were taken include diarrhea, sore throat, fever, cough and catarrh among others (Table 2). Antibiotics from the penicillin group (ampicillin/cloxacillin, amoxicillin and ampici llin) were the most frequently used for self-medication among the respondents (Table 3). 29 (42.6%) of the medical undergraduates who indulged in the practice did it because they considered their ailment as being mild while 24 (35.3%) were involved in it because of their past experience with the particular antibiotic. Regarding the source of the antibiotics used for self-medication, majority of the respondents (57.4%) patronized patent medicine stores while hospital and community pharmacies were the suppliers for 13 (19.1%) and 11 (16.2%) of the respondents, respectively. Only 1 respondent (1.5%) used the leftover from a previous prescription in this study. Majority of the medical undergraduates (89.6%) knew that the normal duration of treatment was supposed to be at least a minimum of 5 days; however only 34 (49.3%) of the respondents actually completed the course of treatment. This study also found out that gender of the respondents did not influence significantly the practice of antibiotic self-medication (p = 0.07). DISCUSSION Sample population and self-medication The frequency of antibiotic self- medication observed in our study is slightly lower than that reported in similar studies in Africa (Awad and Eltayeb, 2007b) and closer to that found in population-based studies in Jordan and Lithuania (Al-Azzam et al., 2007; Berzanskyte et al., 2006). This goes to show that there might not be a signi- ficant difference in self-care or health-seeking behavior between our segment of the population and the general population. This conclusion is also supported by findings from a study on self-medication in general among Fadare and Tamuno 219 Table 1. Distribution of respondents by level of medical education and practice of self-medication. University level Self-medication (Y) Self-medication (N) Total number of respondent 200 10 31 41 300 20 26 46 400 27 43 70 500 12 9 21 Missing value 2 3 5 Total 71 112 183 Table 2. Conditions for which self-medication was practiced. Condition No. of respondents (Percentage) Diarrhoea 17 (24.6) Sore throat 14 (20.3) Fever 12 (17.4) Cough 6 (8.7) Catarrh 4 (5.8) Toothache 4 (5.8) Body aches 2 (2.9) Others 10 (14.5) Table 3. Commonly used antibiotics by respondents. Antibiotics Frequency (Percentage) Ampicillin/cloxacillin 15 (22.1) Amoxicillin 12 (17.6) Metronidazole 12 (17.6) Co-trimoxazole 8 (11.8) Ciprofloxacin 6 (8.8) Tetracycline 6 (8.8) Amoxicillin/Clavulanic acid 3 (4.4) Penicillin G 1 (1.5) health care workers of a tertiary healthcare facility in South-West Nigeria where over 70% of them were engaged in the practice (Bamgboye et al., 2006). Another possible explanation is that the earlier quoted population- based studies were carried out in societies where the literacy levels are relatively high. It is also important to note that such levels of antibiotic self-medication even exists in some countries with more stringent access to drugs, this being made possible by use of left-overs from previous prescriptions. Clinical features and self-medication There are similarities in the conditions for which self- medication was practiced in our study with several other university and community-based studies (Zafar et al., 2008; Shankar et al., 2002; James et al., 2006). These findings emphasize the fact that self-medication is usually resorted to by individuals for perceived mild clinical conditions. The problem with this practice is that fever and other similar symptoms which could be due to viral conditions are usually wrongly treated with antibiotics creating a foundation for possible development of resistance to antibiotics in addition to financial loss and possible adverse drug reactions. Antibiotic and self-medication The choice of the antibiotics from the penicillin group (especially ampicillin/cloxacillin and amoxicillin) by majority of respondents in our study is in keeping with findings from other studies (Awad et al., 2005; Awad and Eltayeb, 2007b; Raz et al., 2005). The choice of the antibiotics from the penicillin group could be due to the following reasons: 1. They are cheap, easily accessible, have a good safety profile and somehow broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity. The relatively low patronage of antibiotics like amoxicillin/clavulanic acid could be due to its cost (about 1500 Naira /10 US Dollars) per course of treatment, this in a country where over 60% of the population survive on less than 2 US Dollars daily. 2. It is also pertinent to note that at the moment, there are no restrictions to how and where antibiotics can be sold in Nigeria hence the easy accessibility. Most of our respondents got their supply from patent medicine stores, hospital and community pharmacies reinforcing the earlier mentioned problem of lack of regulation. This is at variance with findings from other studies where left-over from old prescriptions were the main source of supply reflecting a more regulated access to antibiotics in these societies (Awad and Eltayeb, 2007b; James et al., 2006). This study revealed no strong associations between gender, level of medical education and the practice of antibiotic self-medication, a finding that is somehow different from the result of similar research in the Arabian Gulf (James et al., 2008) where the prevalence of self- medication was higher in the more senior medical students. Presently in many medical schools in Nigeria, 220 J. Public Health Epidemiol. pharmacology is taught either before the clinical training or at its initial stage and there is no significant reinforce- ment during the latter stages. Also too much attention is being placed on the basic aspect of pharmacology to the detriment of its clinical section and paying attention to this problem might be one level of intervention to address it. Conclusion This study has shown that self-medication with antibiotics is common among medical undergraduates in Northern Nigeria. There is a need for a review of educational programs especially the teaching of clinical pharmaco- logy to include modules on self- medication and rational use of medicines. At the  policy-making level, there is an urgent need to legislate and enforce laws restricting access to antibiotics in Nigeria. Most importantly, there is a need for a robust public enlightenment campaign to educate the populace of the disadvantages and possible complications of antibiotic self-medication. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors’ gratitude goes to the medical undergraduates of Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria who participated in this study. He is also grateful to the organizers of the International Training Course on the Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community, Jaipur, India where the idea for the work was conceptualized. The author was a participant in the 2008 training course and the contribution of the faculty and fellow participants is really appreciated. REFERENCES Afolabi AO (2008). Factors influencing the pattern of self-medication in an adult Nigerian population. Ann. Afr. Med., 7(3): 120-127. Al-Azzam SI, Al-Husein BA, Alzoubi F, Masadeh MM, Al-Horani MS (2007). Self-Medication with antibiotics in Jordanian population. Int. J. Occup. Med. Environ. Health, 20 (4): 373-380. Aswapokee N, Vaithayapichet S, Heller RF (1990). Pattern of antibiotic use in medical wards of a university hospital, Bangkok, Thailand. Rev. Infect. Dis., 12 (1): 136-141. Awad A, Eltayeb I, Matowe L Thalib L (2005). Self-medication with antibiotics and antimalarials in the community of Khartoum State, Sudan. J. Pharm. Pharm. Sci., 8: 326–331. Awad AI, Ball DE, Eltayeb IB (2007). Improving rational drug use in Africa: the example of Sudan. East Mediterr. Health J., 13 (5): 1202- 1211. Awad AI, Eltayeb IB (2007). Self-medication practices with antibiotics and antimalarials among Sudanese undergraduate university students. Ann. Pharmacother., 41(7): 1249-1255. Bamgboye EA, Amoran OE, Yusuf OB (2006). Self medication practices among workers in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. Afr. J. Med. Sci., 35(4): 411-415. Berzanskyte A, Valinteliene R, Haaijer-Ruskamp FM, Gurevicius R, Grigoryan L (2006). Self-medication with antibiotics in Lithuania. Int. J. Occup. Med. Environ. Health, 19 (4): 246-253. Buke C, Hosgor-Limoncu M, Ermertcan S, Ciceklioglu M, Tuncel M,Kà ¶se T, Eren S (2005) Irrational use of antibiotics among university students. J. Infect., 51(2): 135-139. Chowdhury N, Matin F,  Chowdhury SF (2009). Medication taking behavior of students attending a private university in Bangladesh. Int. J. Adolesc. Med. Health. 21 (3): 361-370. James H, Handu SS, Al Khaja KA, Otoom S, Sequeira RP (2006). Evaluation of the knowledge, attitude and practice of self-medication among first-year medical students. Med. Princ. Pract., 15 (4): 270- 275. James H, Handu SS, Khaja KA, Sequeira RP (2008). Influence of medica l training on self-medication by students. Int. J. Pharmacol. Ther., 46 (1):23-29. Lucas R, Lunet N, Carvalho R, Langa J, Muanantatha M, Nkunda LP, Barros H (2007). Patterns in the use of medicines by university students in Maputo, Mozambique. Cad. Saude. Publica, 3(12): 2845- 2852. Martins AP, Miranda Ada C, Mendes Z, Soares MA, Ferreira P, Nogueira A (2002). Self-medication in a Portuguese urban population: a prevalence study. Pharmacoepidemiol. Drug Saf., 11(5): 409-414. Okeke NI, Lamikanra A, Edelman R (1999). Socioeconomic and Behavioral Factors Leading to Acquired Bacterial Resistance to Antibiotics in Developing Countries. Emerg. Infect. Dis., 5: 18-27. Raz R, Edelstein H, Grigoryan L, Haaijer-Ruskamp FM (2005). Self- medication with antibiotics by a population in northern Israel. Isr. Med. Assoc. J., 7(11): 722-725. Sawalha AF (2008). A descriptive study of self-medication practices among Palestinian medical and nonmedical university students. Res. Social. Adm. Pharm., 4 (2):164-172. Shankar PR, Partha P, Shenoy N (2002). Self-medication and non- doctor prescription practices in Pokhara valley, Western Nepal: a questionnaire-based study. BMC Fam. Pract., 3: 17. Tà ¼nger O, Dinà § G, Ozbakkaloglu B, Atman UC, Algà ¼n U (2000). Evaluation of rational antibiotic use. Int. J. Antimicrob. Agents, 15 (2): 131-135. Vaananen MH, Pietila K, Airaksinen M (2006). Self-medication with antibiotic — does it really happen in Europe, Health Policy, 77: 166- 171. Yousef AM, Al-Bakri AG, Busta nji Y, Wazaify M (2008). Self-medication patterns in Amman, Jordan. Pharm World Sci., 30(1): 24-30. Zafar SN, Syed R, Waqar S, Zubairi AJ, Vaqar T, Shaikh M, Yousaf W, Shahid S, Saleem S (2008). Self-medication amongst university students of Karachi: prevalence, knowledge and attitudes. J. Pak.