Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) - Essay Example likely to experience health related societal stigma, hence, they tend to isolate themselves from the rest due to depression, embarrassment and poor individual image. â€Å"According to U. N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, 2008, ‘Stigma’ remains the single most important barrier to public action. It is a main reason why too many people are afraid to see a doctor to determine whether they are infected or not, or even to seek treatment if so. This becomes a silent killer especially to AIDS sufferers because people fear the social disgrace of speaking about it, or taking easily available precautions. Stigma is a chief reason why the AIDS epidemic continues to devastate societies around the world† (Tomaszewski 2012) . â€Å"STIs are said to be common among young people. Statistically, about 333 million new cases of curable sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) occur each year among young adults around the world. One in five people in the United States has an STD. One out of four new STD infections occurs in teenagers†(stopthinkbesafe.org 2003). The increase in the number of infected individuals with STIs every year becomes alarming. Therefore, the government and private health agencies and health institutions must join efforts to become vigilant and active in finding ways to curb the growing spread of STIs. Unattended spread of STIs can ruin societies around the world. Hence, the highly recommended strategies to undertake would include: intensive information dissemination and implement outreach community programs. Such information dissemination and health service programs must be brought to the people in every near or far-flung community and not the other way around. Activities like gathering relevant and meaningful data can be very useful in â€Å"assessing the community particularly on disease epidemics, monitoring the spread of STIs and the probable people’s risk exposures to occupational and environmental hazards. These efforts are essential in developing

Benefits and Risks of Using the Internet Essay Example for Free

Benefits and Risks of Using the Internet Essay What are the benefits and risks of using the Internet as a source of informationwhen writing assignments for Master’s programmes? Searching for information on the Internet is a methodology when writing essays for Master’s programmes. Obviously, both the advantages and disadvantages of this methodology can be found. The merits of using the Internet are obvious. It is very likely that MSc students are able to find more materials on the Internet quickly and conveniently. The huge amount of information is just a click away from the assignment writers. As for MSc students, they can search the e-library of their university and other data base from around the world. Furthermore, all of this work can be done at home within few minutes. Besides, the information on the Internet is always more vivid than that in books, because the forms of information are various. There are video materials, audio materials, image materials and so on. In these forms, it is more easily for students to understand the theoretical content of their programmes, because Master’s programmes are hard to understand. On the other hand, I would agree that there are drawbacks to using the Internet. Admittedly, because of convenience, the writers tend to rely on souce materials instead of creating by themselves. What’s worse, some writers even plagiarize other people achievements. In addition, some materials from the Internet may be inaccurate or even wrong, which might mislead MSc students. In sum, students are the beneficiaries of the Internet, although misusing the Internet as a source of information is harmful. Therefore, MSc students should use the Internet carefully in terms of finding source materials for assignment.

Cold Pastoral By Marina Keegan

Cold Pastoral By Marina Keegan Throughout J.R.R. Tolkiens world renowned blockbuster novel Lord of the Rings, the word ring is mentioned multiple times, however, in Marina Keegans story Cold Pastoral, neither cold nor pastoral appears. Not even once. Pastoral can be a term used to describe the livelihood of shepherds, but in literary terms, it is a lent word to describe the mode of literature which depicts a simple life from its complex content. Similarly, cold can be used to describe the weather or feeling of people, but it can also describe a persons personality as hardhearted, cheerless and cool. The more relevant interpretation of the title together with the story would be the latter of both explanations. The story is about Claire whose boyfriend, Brian, died suddenly and the series of events that followed Brians death. Keegan, the author, through describing Claires uncertainty towards the relationship and the revelation of the reality of the relationship, revealed the cold personality of Claire and her desi re to lead a life that feels pastoral, i.e. a simple life, to highlight the importance of revelations. Commitment to a relationship does not just depend on the passion; in fact, it relies heavily on the confidence of both parties in the relationship. Apparently, Claire is not madly in love with Brian. A lot of time was spent being consciously romanticà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ we might admit à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ I like you ,' are comments made by Claire on their relationship, which hint that Claire is uncertain about her relationship with Brian (1, 2). As we observe in the real world, couples at the early stages of their relationships are, more often than not, infatuated with each other. Due to the feeling of uncertainty, Claire lacks faith in her relationship with Brian, thus she is not fully committed. This accounts for, in part, why Claire does not seem extremely depressed after learning of Brians death. It is this sense of uncertainty that lingers in Claires mind, the reason for why not a lot of people know of their relationship. One of the reasons that Claire does not seem too depressed after Brian, her boyfriend, died is that she is uncertain about the relationship, which resulted in her lack of commitment, whilst her personality, cold, also contributes much to her absence of severe depression. Humans are never emotionless beings, which is why our emotions are affected greatly by the surroundings. The only stark difference between individuals is their ability to contain emotions. People who are less capable of containing their emotions are often regarded as moody or emotive, while those who are more capable are often regarded as cool and composed. Claire is definitely one of the latter ones. After Brians death, Claire surprised [herself] that night by crying alone (2). This revealed that Claire has a composed personality and that she does not express her emotions explicitly that often. As the saying goes, The onlooker sees the best. People involved in incidents are often lost in their thoughts, and it is only through revelations that they reassess and take a clearer view at the situation. Just after Brians death, Claire was preoccupied by a certain degree of sadness and sorrow. Not only once, but many times, did Claire mention her commitment to Brian, this is revealed from her comment à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Id underestimated how much I liked him (2). As it turns out, her emotions and view to her relationship drastically alters after reading Brians diary. Contrary to her sadness and sorrow, Claire comments that Im actually feeling great and Fuck Brian, I thought now, which reveals that she, rather than feeling upset, is on the one hand angry with Brian, and on the other hand, feeling relieved for realizing this fact sooner instead of later (8). Had Brian not died, she would not have discovered this painful reality and broke away from feeling blue. Brians death, though sorr owful and pitiful, has given Claire a chance to reveal the truth and free herself from the bondage of the relationship. Keegan successfully portrays Claires personality through her response to Brians death, which also reveals her desire for a simple relationship the direct reverse of the relationship she had with Brian. Actions such as being consciously romantic, waiting too long before responding to texts and [Brian and Claire] took a certain pride in our ambiguity are indications that the relationship involved complications (1, 1, 2). As the title Cold Pastoral suggests, Claire is eager to seek a relationship that is simply simple. Claires request is very simple she likes being liked (1). She wanted her partner to simply love her and take care of her. After the revelation through Brians death, she is crystal clear about the kind of relationship that she pursues more than anything Id ever wanted in my life, I wanted him to love me (11). Claire simply cannot resist the opportunity to begin a simple, committed love affair. Apart from the contents of the story, Keegans manipulation of prose and style conveys strong messages about the characters and the plot. When we read the story, the narration affects our judgment greatly. Since this story is a first person narration, we have to be critical about the emotions of the narrator. Throughout the story, the tale was narrated from the perspective of Claire, the main character, and I and We are mainly used as the pronoun for Claire as the narrator (1). In such narration, the contents of the tale are easily influenced by the emotions of the narrator. Claire, whose boyfriend has just died, is with grief and pain, which indicates that she is at times pathetic and hysterical. This suggests that the narration given by Claire may not be as reliable as regular stories due to her fluctuating moods. Keegan, by using first person narration, is trying to place readers in Claires position. By doing so, readers can easily imagine themselves as Claire, which arouses sympat hy for Claires experience. In many peoples view, literary works should be elegant and profound, but plain and raw descriptions can also be powerful in conveying messages. When one reads the story, one is bound to come across many controversial choices of words, such as fuck, shit and penis, which do not normally exist in conventional novels or essays (7, 6, 2). Furthermore, the story includes many lines of dialogue and often comes with short and incomplete sentences, such as I just need time to myself toà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and I know she waits before responding which isà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (6, 7). The expressions, straightforward and natural, which are intentionally deployed by Keegan, can fully reveal Claires feelings and the thoughts going through her troubled mind. Since this story is about the events that happened to Claire, this writing style allows readers to have a more in-depth understanding of Claires plight, thus arousing echoes of the idea of revelation. Keegan kept the story compact, which creates a fast pace for the story, to suit the short time-span of the occurrence of events. The events in the story happened within a very limited time-span, despite the complex nature of the story. If all the ideas were explained in details, the story would have a very slow pace, which does not match with the swift happening of events. To achieve fast pacing for the story, Keegan kept the paragraphs of the text relatively short, while ideas within these paragraphs are at times incomplete, such as I just need time to myself toà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and I know she waits before responding which isà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (6, 7). From the examples, Keegan is providing a very vague image of Claire and a brief lead in of her thoughts. Contrary from giving the whole story, these short fragments allow readers to conceive the situation of Claire slowly but gradually. This allows Keegan to both keep the story concise yet providing sufficient vital information for readers to interpret the setting of the story and make a great impact on the minds of readers through their imagination. In the story, Keegan deliberately arranged the events in a non-chronological order, which enables readers to think in the minds of Claire. Events of stories are often in chronological order, which enables the reader to easily understand the contents of the story. However, in Cold Pastoral, the events, rather than in chronological order, are following Claires free flow of thought. In the beginning of the story, Claire mentions her relationship with Brian and Brians sudden death (2). After the breaking line, the focus turns to her interaction with her friends (2). After the second breaking line, Claire expresses her views on Lauren, Brians ex-girlfriend (2). Furthermore, after the third breaking line, the narration mentions Claires visit to Brians family (3). If the story is to be in chronological order, Claires comments on Lauren should be excluded from the context. Keegan, intentionally inserts this scene in such a way to reveal the thoughts in Claires mind. The illogical ordering of events provides readers with an in-depth understanding of Claires thoughts, and also allows readers to comprehend the mindset of Claire fragmented thoughts and troubled with disarray. Revelation is ubiquitous, but we often underestimate its effects. People need revelation, and then they need resolution, Damian Lewis once said (Lewis). Just like in Cold Pastoral, Claire, who believed that her relationship with her boyfriend Brian was perfect, realizes that she is actually not as dedicated as she believed to the relationship as well as Brian. We need not evade revelations, for revelation does more good than harm. In fact, revelation not only provides us information about the facts, but also provides a chance for us to step back and reassess our stances. The omnipresence of revelation is bound to amaze those who neglect it. Revelation can be as significant as the death of a person, as shown from the example in the story Cold Pastoral, or it can be as minute as receiving a marked quiz script at school. Events, which one may or may not notice, can often be regarded as revelations, as long as they allow one to introspect. The story, Cold Pastoral, not only successfully portrays Claire, the heroine, but also provokes the minds of readers to face revelations squarely.

Essay --

Jodi Picoult’s My Sisiter’s Keeper is a well-known and also the best book of the year 2005.It was also nominated for an IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. A novel which touches the heart of thousands people, despite the tragic that the Fitzgeralds family faced in the novel,my sister’s keeper. It has became and caught the attention of many people. It alerts them of the fearsome happenings that may happen again and Picoult did not want it to repeat this such inhuman behavior again. The novel, Second Glance, has helped Picoult brought up the idea of this novel. In such an advanced technology world, she heard that a couple in America successfully conceived a sibling that is bone marrow match for his older sister who is still under hospitalized. It was , of course, outrageous and negative thoughts start popping and emerged on her mind, she was so concerned about how would both of the siblings’ perspectives change if the secret ,about why the brother is in this w orld, is revealed. She started to feel uneasy and look more profoundly at the family dynamics and how cloning and stem cell research might cause an impact on someone’s life. This novel has repeatedly mentioned about the bonds between family which also mainly consist of the theme love and disguise. But firstly it was the family’s bond which shows the Fitzgeralds Family has been staying ultimately strong and never disassociate into pieces throughout the whole process of the court case, hospitalization and arguments. From starting of the novel, Anna’s parents went for a test and examine to see if they could be part of Kate’s donor .They are willing to sacrifice themselves to donate either bone marrow or organs to her daughter, Kate to ensure that she will stay alive a... ..., she does not have any valid reason other than saying her rights for her own body to try to knock down the idea of her mother to hold her sister, Kate’s life. Anna puts herself up into a very selfish and abominable person that wants everything first for herself than anyone. She told everyone that she does not want any involvement with her own physical body with Kate which has created a tense conflict in the middle of the story. It shows that the character hide the real intentions to keep away from other people, which creates many misunderstanding issues that might further increase the tension between two parties. Hence, both parties might no longer have trust in each other and might also suspect each other’s behavior. One should learn to avoid hiding secrets from family as they shared the same genes and blood with us and they may help us in every great possibility.

“Non-Compete Agreements in Action – Microsoft V. Google”

â€Å"Non-Compete Agreements in Action – Microsoft v. Google† Facts: †¢Controversial documents †¢Dr. Kai-Fu Lee joined Microsoft in 1998 to run company operations in China †¢Knowledge of company trade secrets †¢Quit Microsoft because he was moving to Google †¢When Lee was hired Microsoft made him sign a non-compete agreement †¢Microsoft sued Google and Lee over the non-compete agreement Issue: Does Microsoft have the right to have a non-compete agreement with Dr. Kai-Fu Lee? Discussion: In 2000, Microsoft moved to protect itself by requiring Dr. Kai-Fu Lee to sign a non-compete agreement. Notwithstanding this agreement, Lee quit in July, 2005 by notifying Microsoft that he was moving to Google, which resulted in a recent lawsuit that was filled by Microsoft against Google. Dr. Lee joined Microsoft in 1998 and was in charge of creating and running Microsoft branch operations in China. While at Microsoft Lee worked on Microsoft’s speech recognition system and was responsible for the overall development of the MSN Internet search program. In short, he has personal knowledge of company trade secrets including technology developments as well as business and marketing planning. The agreement that Microsoft required Lee to sign in 2000 was to forgo employment with any direct competitor of Microsoft. Conclusion: Non-Compete Agreements are controversial documents that restrict a person’s right to work with competitors of a former employer. The usefulness of one such non-compete agreement is on exhibit in a recent lawsuit filed by Microsoft against Google. In August of 2008 Microsoft and Google came to agreement after a Washington Court ruled that Microsoft has no right to require employees to sign non-Compete agreements because California has a Law called the Right to Work.

Acne Dressing project Essay

Introduction In early 2005 T.C. Chung, the departmental head of 3M Taiwan healthcare division was facing a decision whether to launch a product called Acne Dressing in Taiwan. The Taiwanese subsidiary had been transformed from a petty sales office in 1969 to one of 3M’s most extensive and successful subsidiaries in the 2000’s. The development project has a couple of major problems that need to be solved before Acne Dressing can be kicked off in Taiwan. Chung had the product go through 3M’s evaluation system and now he’s facing a big question – what to do with the product and how to make rational decisions about the future. In this case answer we analyze the problems that need to be solved if the launch is to be done. We address these problems and offer concrete recommendations for Chung and his team on how to continue with the project. Although Chung seems to be quite inexperienced and in need of support, the powerful 3M resources for product development and the knowledgeable project team consisting of different departments in 3M will provide him with all the resources he needs. Analysis As the development of Acne Dressing is a strongly technology-based project, the company HQ was heavily involved in the NPIS review that the product ultimately passed. Some aspects of the final form on the product however, still remain not clear enough. During the review process the local financial and technical divisions took part in finding ways to transform Hydrocolloid Dressing into a marketable product which costs were reasonable. The extent of this analysis seems not to have been adequate, as in the final stage of the review the HQ raised the issue of the potentially very costly product development. As this was the main concern raised by 3M HQ, it should be  carefully looked into and further analysis done. There were two additional concerns, these raised by the local project team. Firstly, according to the teams review, the potential customer group for acne treatment products in Taiwan seemed to be used to traditional methods for acne treatment. However, 3M had already noted that especially teenagers were using other kinds of products to help with acne – e.g. 3M’s Micropore Surgical Tape. Another thing to note relates to the fact that at this point nurses were the primary consumers of 3M hydrocolloid dressings. The case states that nurses had a tendency to cut the product into small pieces and use those pieces for superficial skin blemishes. This shows 3M that well-educated users of the product had already started using it for their planned purpose and in an innovative way – even without 3M asking them to do so. Secondly the team concluded that there are no similar products as Acne Dressing in the taiwanese market. As this was the case, the information on customer behaviour and potential sales was limited. This strongly suggested that customers would need to be educated to realize the potential of the new product. During the time there was an ongoing hype for do-it-yourself health care in TW during the time, and people were actively looking for new ways to look healthy. This fact suggests that the target groups of Acne Dressing could well be very receptive for the marketing of never-seen-before products. Conclusions Chung has multiple options concerning the product. With help from HQ, he should analyze the process costs of transforming the high-end hydrocolloid materials into customer-size Acne Dressing. The team should calculate if the material could be reworked into a usable size with the designs made by technical service department, and specifically focus on the costs of manufacturing. If the process is costly, the retail price of the product might be too high for the average 15-35 years old customer. A layman’s idea would be to cut down the size of the package and redesign it so it would be used like a plaster, of which one can cut suitable sized pieces for use. Also, the project team should have the HQ laboratories conduct a proper research on the dressing’s effectiveness against acne. This would be crucial in marketing efforts especially as the customer group is used to ‘traditional’ scientifically proven acne-treatment methods. A thorough  research for all hea lth effects is not needed with this position innovation because the material has already proved its value in hospitals around the world. This would follow the position innovation strategy through product upgrading (John Wiley & Sons, 2009). As 3M’s marketing department sees an opportunity in the new product, this would be a great possibility for a nation wide marketing campaign around the new product. With the risk that the price might be too high for some consumers, it should be sold in three different varieties of packages. Small, medium and large. The small package would be aimed at a segment that could not afford to constantly use the product. It could be used for the absolute worst kinds of acne induced blisters. Also the small package would work as an low risk purchase for the customers. After the product proved its excellency, the consumer would gradually move on to the medium and large packages. As the product would be quite new and require consumers to change the way they purchase health-care, it is important to emphasize two aspects: sampling and user experiences. This would be achieved by letting consumers test the product and see its effectiveness. Then it would be important for the user experiences to be distributed in nation-wide campaigns in the largest media platforms. Recommendations The Acne Dressing is a great product for the current market situation. It has gone through 3M’s organization-wide evaluation system, NPIS, without too many challenges. The product should be launched if the financial and technical service approve of the costs of manufacturing and deem the product positive. Chung must trust his local team and their advice, and abandon HQ’s advice in this matter. Should Acne Dressing prove to be a tremendous success in Taiwan, the possibilities for expanding are huge. As 3M Taiwan already has expanded to China, bringing in a new product to the market of a billion people could be business transforming. The whole acne market in the world is estimated to reach revenues of over $3 billion by 2016 (Wood, 2010). Chung must remain firmly behind the decision and trust the local team in Taiwan. The pessimism of the headquarters are not to be taken into wider consideration as long as necessary additional analysis is done. References Bibliography: Wood, L. 2010. Research and Markets: The Global Acne Market Is Estimated To Reach Revenues of $3.02 Billion by 2016 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) Of 0.7%. [online] Available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/05/07/idUS223712+07-May-2010+BW20100507 [Accessed: 30 Sep 2013]. John Wiley & Sons Ltd., 2009, Managing Innovation (Lecture slides)