Asia europe transport problems

Recent political and economic developments at the global and regional levels have resulted in a more conducive development environment in the Asian and Pacific region and the opening-up of opportunities for international trade and tourism development for the developing countries of the region, including those which are landlocked. Nevertheless, the lack of unhindered access to the sea adds transport costs and time to international trade transactions. In addition, landlocked countries face greater transport risks and hazards than countries which have direct access to nternational sea routes.The United Nations has addressed the specific concerns of landlocked countries in a number of documents. Among those which are directly related to transport are the following: General Assembly resolution 50/97 of 20 December 1995 on specific actions related to the particular needs and problems of landlocked developing countries; â€Å"Global framework for transit transport cooperation between land locked and transit developing countries and the donor community† (TD/B/LDC/AC. /6); â€Å"Problem of physical infrastructure development of the landlocked countries, ncluding economies in transition† (E/ESCAP/SREC(7)/3); and â€Å"Progress report on measures designed to improve the transit transport environment in Central Asia† (A/ 51/288). With Just-in-time delivery becoming almost a prerequisite for efficient international trade, particularly in an increasingly competitive market environment, adequate attention must be given to resolving problems in transport areas which are crucial for the efficient development of the international trade of landlocked countries.The inauguration in May 1996 of a new rail line linking the Islamic Republic of Iran nd Turkmenistan, thus completing a new â€Å"silk rail route† from China to Europe via the landlocked countries of Central Asia; the priority attention of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the development of the ne cessary physical infrastructure, as well as bilateral and multilateral agreements for international transport particularly to and from Central Asia; the establishment in May 1996 of a forum for the comprehensive development of regions along the second Europe-Asia continental bridge which is of importance to Mongolia and the landlocked countries of Central Asia; the initiative of he Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the development of a rail link from Singapore through Malaysia, Thailand, Viet Nam or the Lao People's Democratic Republic and on to Kunming, China; and the recently completed study of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) on transport and transit needs, including those of Nepal and Bhutan, are vivid illustrations of the commitment of the member countries of ESCAP to the development of a land transport network in Asia in The present note highlights some of the issues and problems of physical and soft nfrastructure in the main modes of transport (with emphasis on land transport, inland waterways and connections to seaports) which serve the landlocked countries in the region, namely Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. l.MAJOR ISSUES AND PROBLEMS IN THE TRANSPORT SECTOR To improve the efficiency and competitiveness of international trade and tourism in the landlocked countries of the region, the following issues relating to major modes of transport need to be addressed: (a) choice of alternative transit routes; b) reduction of transit costs and time along the transport routes; and (c) cooperation among the organizations concerned. A. Choice of alternative transit routes Although many of the landlocked countries in the region have several potential routes to seaports, most of them are heavily dependent on one main transit route because of limited resources and, in some cases, the limited opt ions open to them in the past as a result of the political situation at that time.This render these countries vulnerable to disruption of transit services owing to national disasters, technical and operational breakdowns, labour disputes and conflicts. Moreover, in view of regionalization and globalization of economic development, different access routes to different seaports may be required for efficient transport of goods to trade partners located in different parts of the globe. Therefore, it is important for any landlocked country to have a choice of transit land transport routes (and inland waterways if applicable) to the main seaports in Asia, as well as a choice of air transport routes and connections to major subregional, regional and global destinations. In addition, in view of the development of trade within Asia, as well as betweenAsia and Europe, there is an increasing demand for reliable and efficient intra-Asia and Asia-Europe land bridges with connections to landlocke d countries in the region. The landlocked countries need to be part of an integrated approach to the development of an intra-Asia and Asia-Europe land transport network of international importance. 1. Formalization of the international land transport network in Asia The Commission at its forty-eighth session, held in Beijing in April 1992, endorsed comprising the Asian Highway; the Trans-Asian Railway; and facilitation of land ransport, as a priority for phase II (1992-1996) of the Transport and Communications Decade for Asia and the Pacific.The objective of the project is to assist in creating a land transport network in Asia to facilitate international trade and tourism. The route selection criteria include capital-to-capital links and connections to main industrial and agricultural centres, and connections to major seaports and river ports, as well as to major container terminals and depots. The network should also provide interregional land transport linkages, particularly with the region of the Economic Commission for Europe. The project enjoys support from 25 ESCAP members, including all the landlocked countries except Armenia, Azerbaijan and Bhutan which have yet to Join the project. Armenia and Azerbaijan, however, are participating in activities that are related to ALTID.With the successful implementation of phase I (1994-1995) of the ALTID project, considerable progress has been achieved in the formulation of the international land transport network in Asia linking landlocked countries. The Asian Highway network (see figure l) has been revised in the southern corridor connecting the Islamic Republic of Iran – South Asia – South-East Asia (which includes he landlocked countries of Afghanistan, Nepal and the Lao People's Democratic Republic), and a new network formulated in the corridor South-East Asia – China – Mongolia. A study on the development of highway networks in the landlocked Asian republics (Armenia, Azerbaijan, K azakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) to identify the potential Asian Highway routes in those countries was completed in 1996.The Trans-Asian Railway network includes the following land bridges between Asia and Europe: Europe-Russian Federation and/or China-Korean peninsula; Europe-Islamic Republic of Iran-Central Asia-China (New Silk Railway); Europe-Islamic Republic of Iran-South Asia-South-East Asia. With the completion during phase I ofa feasibility study on connecting the rail networks of China, Kazakstan, Mongolia, the Russian Federation and the Korean peninsula, and a project on the Trans-Asian Railway in the Indo-China and ASEAN subregions, the network has been formulated in the northern corridor of the Asia-Europe routes (see fgure II) which includes the landlocked countries of Kazakstan and Mongolia, and in the Indo-China and ASEAN subregions (see figure Ill), the Lao People's Democratic Republic.A potential Trans- Asian Railway network in the sout hern corridor of the Asia-Europe routes (of importance to Afghanistan and Nepal) was also identified (see fgure ‘V) through a related preliminary study. The Commission at its fifty-second session reiterated its strong support for the ALTID project and emphasized the importance of its completion and of improving the operational efficiency of both the Asian Highway and Trans-Asian Railway networks, including the Asia-Europe links, at the earliest possible date. The Commission adopted resolution 52/9 of 24 April 1996 on Intra-Asia and Asia-Europe land bridges. rogramme of the New Delhi Action Plan on Infrastructure Development in Asia and the Pacific.It also approved the plan of action for the implementation of phase II (1996-1997) of the ALTID project, which includes a detailed study on the southern corridor of the Trans-Asian Railway, and it decided that a study on the development of the Railway in the corridor connecting South-East and North-East Asia (including the Lao People 's Democratic Republic and Mongolia) should be undertaken and that similar studies on the development of the Asian Highway and the Trans-Asian Railway in the corridor connecting northern Europe with the Russian Federation to the landlocked countries of Central Asia and the Islamic Republic of Iran should be included in the projected phase Ill (1998-1999) of the project. 13. When completed and fully operational for the whole of Asia, the land transport network could provide landlocked countries in the region with a choice of alternative land transport routes to major seaports in Asia, and land transport and land-cum-sea links to any other country in Asia and Europe.However, to realize such a potential, the landlocked countries must have unhindered access to the network. . Unhindered access to the international land transport network in Asia The construction of the regional land transport network and all related infrastructure is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for reliable and efficient international transport. A legal framework is also required to provide the basis for unhindered access to the routes for efficient international trade and tourism. A coordinated plan for the development of international land transport routes and services based on agreed performance parameters and standards is also essential.This has been vividly demonstrated by the experience of Europe, where the ollowing four major all-European transport agreements have been adopted: (a) The European Agreement on Main International Traffic Arteries (AGR Agreement) of 1975, which defines the major European roads and establishes uniform technical characteristics; (b) The European Agreement on Main International Railway Lines (AGC Agreement) of 1985, which determines the major lines and infrastructure parameters of the European railway network; (c) The European Agreement on Important International Combined Transport Lines and Related Installations (AGTC Agreement) of 1991, which is the first European ultilateral treaty governing international combined road/rail container and piggyback transport; (d)International infrastructure agreement covering European inland waterways Oanuary 1996). recommended that a legal framework should be developed for Asia in the form of ESCAP agreements on the Asian Highway and Trans-Asian Railway, taking into consideration the related experience of the European Union. With such ESCAP agreements in place, all the countries in Asia, including the landlocked countries, would enjoy free access to road and rail transport routes of international importance. 3. Inland waterways of international importance to some of the landlocked countries in Asia Inland water transport can play an important role for the regional or international trade of some landlocked countries.A number of rivers in these countries can potentially provide the cheapest means of communication with neighbouring countries, or even through them to other countries in the world. For instance, a number of tributaries of the Brahmaputra River flow out of Bhutan through India to Bangladesh; the Lao People's Democratic Republic is bordered or bisected by the Mekong River which flows through China, Myanmar, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam; Mongolia gives rise to the Yenisey, the Angara and the Amur-Heilongjiang rivers which link the country to China and the Russian Federation; and Nepal has three of the four largest tributaries of the Ganges River flowing from India to Bangladesh.The improvement and development of inland water transport infrastructure and services would benefit all of these countries in various ways, including cost savings, environmental protection and energy savings. In addition, transit by water is more easily accepted by operators of seaports located at river mouths and it is less prone o losses, pilferage and breakage than transit by road and rail. At the present time, however, the rivers are not fully u tilized for navigation in most landlocked countries. Most of the rivers are still in a natural state without appropriate improvement and marking. Water levels in the rivers are not always regular or sufficient and the gradient is often very steep. In some river sections, the waterways are full of rapids and shoals which endanger vessel navigation or even interrupt it entirely.Some rivers are blocked with siltation, cables, pipelines, bridges, dams and other structures along or crossing them. Few aids to navigation are nstalled to mark the navigable channels in the rivers. All these factors limit the free use of the rivers for transport. However, the potential of inland water transport for international trade should be evaluated. In order to promote the use of rivers for transport which would serve the needs of landlocked countries, ESCAP is implementing several projects under the regional action programme of the New Delhi Action Plan on Infrastructure Development, which was launched by the Ministerial Conference on Infrastructure in October 1996.One of the projects is on the harmonization of requirements relating to international mportance of common or well harmonized rules, and provide guidance with regard to navigation rules, aids to navigation, the carriage of dangerous goods, facilitation measures and waterway classifications for internationally navigable rivers. Another important project is on the development of inland water transport infrastructure and services. This project includes a regional strategic study for the development of inland water transport in the ESCAP region. An intensive investigation will be carried out to identify the problems faced by the inland water transport sector. The situation ill be compared with successful experiences in other parts of the world.This study should provide a clear picture of the advantages and disadvantages of inland water transport in specific situations, identify opportunities for development and suggest regi onal actions and national policy options to expand the use of rivers for navigation in the ESCAP region. Expert group and policy-level meetings will be held to discuss the findings and suggestions of the study. Necessary follow-up actions will be taken at both the regional and national levels. With regard to some landlocked Asian republics, the same opportunity may exist or transit transport through inland waterways. Specific studies need to be carried out to identify the potential for the expanded use of inland waterways. 4. Air transport It goes without saying that reliable and efficient air transport is crucial for the economic and social progress of landlocked countries.While the emphasis in this paper is on related aspects of land transport, inland waterways and maritime linkages and transport, the following activities of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) have been included in the regional action programme 1997-2001) of the New Delhi Action Plan on Infrastruc ture Development in Asia and the Pacific and endorsed by the Ministerial Conference on Infrastructure: programme of transition to the new civil aviation communications, navigation and surveillance and air traffic management system; programme for economic reform in civil aviation in Asia and the Pacific; programme for the protection of the environment in the vicinity of airports; improvement and harmonization of flight safety standards; expansion of the UNDP-promoted ICAO TRAINAIR programme; and poverty alleviation through rural airfield development in least developed countries. These projects address major problem areas in air transport in the Asian and Pacific region, including in the landlocked countries. B.Reduction of transit time and costs along the transport routes of While the formulation of an international land transport network in Asia is in progress through the implementation of the ALTID project, there are already a provide the landlocked countries with access to seaport s. These are reflected in table 1. 1. Reduction of transit time and costs at border crossings and ports Even when all necessary infrastructure is in place, the delay of vehicles at border rossings can entail tremendous losses of resources and time. A similar problem occurs when the waiting time is long for ships to be loaded and unloaded in seaports which serve landlocked countries. When international inland waterways are available for use, delays of cargo at cross-border points have similar economic effects. a) Facilitation of land transport at border-crossings (i)Commission resolution 48/11 on road and rail transport modes in relation to facilitation measures Recognizing that harmonized transport facilitation measures are a prerequisite for efficient international trade and transport along road and rail routes of nternational importance, the Page 1 1 Commission at its forty-eighth session adopted resolution 48/11 of 23 April 1992 on road and rail transport modes in relation to fac ilitation measures. By that resolution, it recommended that the countries in the region, if they had not already done so, consider the possibility of acceding to seven international conventions. The status of the accession of the landlocked and neighbouring countries in Asia to the international conventions is shown in table 2.It is clear that in order to facilitate international and bilateral trade and tourism the constructive cooperation of the ountries is required to create a minimum legal basis for land transport cross-border traffic. In this respect ESCAP adopted a subregional approach to providing assistance to countries. A special seminar for the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) subregion (with the participation of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) on the implications and benefits of accession to the conventions was held in Tehran in November 1994. A similar seminar for the North-East Asian countries (including the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Mongolia) was conducted in May 1996 in Bangkok.Another seminar for countries of the Greater Mekong subregion (including the Lao People's Democratic Republic) was organized Jointly by ESCAP and the Asian Development Bank at It is very encouraging to note that Uzbekistan has acceded to six conventions, and Kazakstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have each acceded to four. However, Afghanistan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan are each party to only two; Azerbaijan, to one; and Bhutan, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mongolia and Nepal to none at all. A similar situation of accession to few or no convention occurs in the neighbouring ountries of Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, Thailand and Viet Nam. Such a situation calls for the urgent implementation of Commission resolution 48/11 by all landlocked countries and their neighbouring countries. Transit facilitation Transit transport plays a particularly important role in the develop ment of landlocked countries.Two international conventions, namely the Convention and Statute on Freedom of Transit, Barcelona, 20 April 1921 (popularly referred to as the â€Å"Barcelona Transit Convention†), and the Convention on Transit Trade of Landlocked States, New York, 8 July 1965 (â€Å"New York Transit Convention†) assist in facilitating the transit transport of landlocked countries. However, only a few of the Asian landlocked countries and their neighbouring countries are contracting parties of these conventions, as indicated in table 3. There is clearly great potential to improve transit transport in the region. It is recommended that the landlocked countries and the neighbouring countries should accede, if they have not already done so, to the Barcelona and New York transit conventions as soon as possible.The development of a subregional multilateral transit treaty/agreement also ppears to be a promising approach to transit facilitation. Preparation of suc h a draft transit treaty for the ECO region, for example, could be carried out as part of the project on international transport development in the ECO region, which is being proposed Jointly by ESCAP, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and ECO for possible funding by the Islamic Development Bank. (iii) Multilateral and bilateral agreements on land transport facilitation Multilateral and bilateral agreements which govern land transport at border crossings are of great importance to the landlocked countries in Asia.Given the role f the agreements in promoting international traffic, a database covering mainland Asia is being established at ESCAP as part of the ALTID project. As indicated above, there are several main rivers in Asia which may be used by landlocked countries for international transport. To facilitate navigation and river basin development activities, a draft agreement on commercial navigation on the Lancang Jiang – Mekong River (upper reaches of the Mekong River) between the Governments of China, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Thailand has been drawn up and it is expected that this agreement will be signed in the near uture.The Agreement on Cooperation for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin was signed on 5 April 1995 between the countries of the Lower Mekong River basin (Cambodia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Thailand and Viet Nam). The Mekong River Commission is the institutional framework through which the Agreement will be implemented. The bilateral agreement between Bangladesh and India, which is signed on a biennial basis, could also be of practical interest to landlocked countries. Similar arrangements which take into account the related experience in other regions could e of great practical value in facilitating international inland water transport in Asia, including in landlocked countries. c) Facilitation of maritime traffic In addition to facilitation for land tran sport and transport on inland waterways, facilitation of maritime traffic plays an important role in improving the efficiency of the international land-cum-sea transport systems which serve the landlocked In an era of large ships with efficient cargo operations resulting in very short stays in port, the delays caused by documentary â€Å"red tape† result in extra costs and time. To improve the situation, countries in the region having seaports (including those serving landlocked countries) are adopting the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic, 1965 (FAL Convention) as amended. The objective of the FAL Convention is to simplify the procedures for the inward clearance of ships, cargoes, passengers and crew on arrival in a port.This can be achieved by the utilization of six standard declaration forms and the adoption of common standards for processing documentation. However, among the ESCAP members and associate members, only Australia, China, the Democra tic People's Republic of Korea, Hong Kong, Fiji, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Marshall Islands, New Zealand, the Russian Federation, United States of America and Vanuatu are party (as of January 1997) to the FAL Convention. It is clear that there is potential to improve the efficiency of the land- cum-sea routes serving landlocked countries if all the coastal countries concerned accede to the FAL Convention.To assist the countries in the process of acceding to the Convention, ESCAP, in cooperation with the International Maritime Organization, ommenced in 1993 a four-year programme of country-level workshops and subregional seminars to promote the adoption of the FAL Convention and the implementation of its provisions. (d) Corridor studies To assist member countries in Asia, including landlocked countries, in the facilitation of cross-border traffic, ESCAP undertakes corridor studies to identify non- physical impediments to the flow of goods which cause delays and add unn ecessary costs to the transport process. One such study, for example, was completed in 1994 in the corridor Singapore – Malaysia – Thailand – the Lao People's Democratic Republic – Viet Nam. The study was extended in 1995 to cover Cambodia and in 1996 to include Myanmar.The study revealed the following impediments: restrictions on the movement of vehicles and drivers across borders; restrictions on the movement of cargo between the port and inland origin/destination without customs inspection in the port; restrictions on the movement of third country or transit cargo; limitations on the effective use of multimodal transport; and failure to make use of available technology and information to plan port and cargo-handling operations. The reports lso provided recommendations for dealing with these impediments. A study carried out by ADB on regional technical assistance to the Greater Mekong subregion for mitigation of non-physical barriers to cross-border mov ement of goods and people (completed in October 1996) should also be mentioned in this context.Similar studies are to be carried out as recommended by the Ministerial Conference on Infrastructure along the major intra-Asia and Asia-Europe land bridges, with the next ESCAP study planned for the corridor Port of Bandar Abbas (Islamic Republic of Iran) – landlocked countries of Central Asia – China. One other impediment frequently found in the landlocked countries in Asia is a lack of a proper coordinating mechanism at the national level among the ministries and agencies involved in cross-border procedures and formalities. 2. Improvement of transport logistics Multimodal transport, freight forwarding and electronic data interchange (ED') play an increasingly important role in the development of international trade. Just- in-time delivery, which is becoming a prerequisite for competitive international trade, increases the need for a highly efficient integrated system of de spatch, transport and

Mark Twain’s work, Life on the Mississippi River

Literary critics admittedly point out that there are many themes which run along Mark Twain’s work, Life on the Mississippi River. However, there is always schism as some critics point out that Twain’s works were rife with thematic undertones which were mainly bereft of human ideals such as justice, equality, suffering and tragedy. These critics maintain that given Twain’s leanings towards atheism, he possesses more compunction to delve on moralist ideals. On the other hand, there are critics who point out that Mark Twain’s themes straddle both moralist and non moralist matters, irrespective of his leanings on religious matters. Nevertheless, it is lucid that humanitarian and moralist themes run along his work, Life on the Mississippi River. This paper therefore seeks to establish the veracity of this standpoint. Introduction The book entitled, Life on the Mississippi River is Mark Twain’s memoir that detailed the days he spent as a Mississippi River steamboat pilot in a period anteceding and succeeding the American Civil War. Mark Twain opens the book by giving a short description of the Mississippi River from its point of discovery by Hernando De Soto in 1542. The book continues with Mark Twain’s anecdotes relatable to Twain’s training as a steamboat pilot, according to his own words, the â€Å"cub† of an expert pilot. This book that greatly describes his affections and the science behind navigating the dynamic Mississippi River was initially published in 1876 under the title, the Old Times on the Mississippi. The fact that there are sundry and ominous themes that run deep in this book is portrayed in the fact that the second part, does not constrain itself to describing Twain’s return to travel from St. Louis to New Orleans on a steamboat after many years; but on the contrary, thematic and emotive topics akin to greed, tragedy, gullibility and bad architecture run deep in this work piece. This paper therefore takes to dwell on the themes of tragedy and greed as they run along dominantly in this book, Life in the Mississippi. First off, the theme of tragedy appears in the book’s sample of the authorâ€⠄¢s missive to his sister- in- law, Orion. The book, mentions that five days prior to the composition of this letter, an explosion occurred in a steamboat which had carried Mark Twain’s younger brother, Henry. This development that took place in Pennsylvania left Henry heavily injured. Mark Twain who would have been piloting with his brother, save for some circumstances, was in Memphis, reunited with his brother Henry two days after this explosion, and for six more days, nursed him when he succumbed, being one among the hundreds who perished in the exploitation. According to Fishkin (1998, 121), the theme of tragedy plays strongly, being depicted by the author as that which is inevitable, and as such, no effort can be concocted to avoid it. The inevitable nature of tragedy is clearly brought out by the fact that Mark Twain had a month earlier, already foreseen his brother’s death in a well detailed dream. In almost the same wavelength, the book through the author advises the readers on the way tragedy should be met. The above reality is clearly depicted by the fact that despite the pain of bereavement and guilt that bore heavily on Mark Twain’s mind, he put on a brave face, and continued to work in the river as the river pilot- a feat that was extirpated in 1861 when the American Civil War broke out. This is because the traffic within and along the Mississippi was severed. Similarly, the author depicts the normal nature by which the pain of tragedy is met. Herein, Mark Twain is left subject to intense feeling of guilt and pain, due to the feel that he did not do enough to nip his brother’s death in the bud. It is while in the midst of this emotional turmoil that Mark Twain ventures into the field of parapsychology, deviating from his former involvement in the Society for Physical Research. Kruse (1991, 75) maintains that as the author, Mark Twain does not make a dereliction of the concept and practice slavery. This book presents Missouri as a historical slave state for the South, being represented by in the Federal and Confederate governments at the time of civil war. In a sketchy depiction, Twain intimates of he and his comrades having been volunteers for the Confederacy up to closely two weeks. At the same time, it is this issue of slavery which acts as the hotbed from which the American Civil War springs. Likewise, relatable tragic concepts such as the suffering and the exploitation of the slaves who are mainly blacks comes to the attention of Union, though the South warms up to it as it remains very lucrative; as it is tantamount to free labor. Tragic it is that scarcely did many farmers and small scale industrialists see the need to accord slaves, the African Americans whom they regarded as their mere chattels, with decent domicile, sufficient victuals and proper vestments, leaving alone a pay for any work done. It is by this depiction of the contradictive lifestyle between the slave owners in Missouri and their slaves that Twain presents the tragedy of human avarice that would have human beings exploit their fellows without any remorse. In a cleverly calculated artifice to show his disdain for this exploitation through slavery and his depiction of it as a practice doomed for failure, Twain depicts this as the crux of the antithetical stance that the Unionists and Southerners had towards each other; with a war christened, The American Civil War being the culmination of this affair; the South greatly loosing and the door for the total proscription of slavery being opened (Twain, 2004, 99). Again, in a cleverly packaged stylistic approach, Twain revisits the theme of tragedy and suffering as being caused by war, even the American Civil War. It is no secret that Twain speaks of himself generatively so that in his sufferings, he has the ability to represent the painful experiences of many others. A case in point is Mark Twain’s self depiction of a youthful individual who had grown up along the precincts of the Mississippi River where he also earned his livelihood. Nevertheless, Twain’s life and means of livelihood is interfered with by the war as he is one of the many who are forced to abandon the steamboat pilot career with the advent of the war. It is only after two decades that Twain returns to the Mississippi River, only to be met with wide scale changes that have materialized in the area. At this juncture, apart from the socio- cultural changes that have taken place, the tributaries of the Mississippi River have undergone transformation too. Similarly, Mark Twain like many others returns to find remarkable persons who have all become an integral part of the nation’s forgotten history. The above situation means that forever; lives along the Mississippi River had undergone an irrevocable transformation as families remained severed from their members; while others had their professions and means of earning a living extirpated as the tributaries of the Mississippi totally changed. All these occurrences are attempts by Mark Twain to depict the tragedies that the American Civil War bequeathed the Americans- tragedies which were so pervasive, cutting across all the spheres of life: social, economic and cultural spectra (Pettit 2004, 161). In almost the same vein, the theme of avarice tampered with concepts of tragedy remains rampant in this piece of literature, with the former being seen to be the causative agent of the latter. Watkins (2004) maintains that in a picturesque manner, Twain mentions of the technological developments which were materializing in the US at the time, such as the development of the steamboat, which spurned the boat construction industry. Running concomitant with this development was the radical changes and efforts to ameliorate the railway system. Although all these developments sparked off industrial developments, the unfortunate development that came alongside this was the dingy, shoddy and substandard constrictions which Mark Twain recounts as having caused massive numbers of deaths. Twain depicts the poor and pronto constructions which were hurried through with the need to rake in quick lucre as being the prime reason behind the sad situation. Again, tragedy plays along here, as these poor constructions which were greedily hurried through, collapsed, claiming the lives of many innocent. Conclusion It is therefore clear that the theme of tragedy plays along in Twain’s book with matters akin to anthropocentricity taking the center stage. This is because, beyond the reporting of the practices which directly compromised human rights, the real need behind the writing of the novel was meant at mirroring the society so that ameliorative socio- cultural and economic practices could be welcome. At this juncture, it is therefore easy to see that core matters which are relatable to human ideals such as equality for all claim center stage in Twain’s writings.

Ujian Matematik Tambahan

Sekolah Menengah Sains Muzaffar Syah Melaka 75450 Air Keroh Melaka Ujian 2 2007 Additional Mathematics Form 4 Time : 75 Minuets INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES 1 This question booklet consists of three parts, Section A and Section B. and Section C Answer All Question in Section A and B and two Question of section C 2 Give only one answer/ solution to each question. 3 Show your working . It may help you to get marks. 4 The figures/diagrams given in a problem in this question booklet would provide useful information to solve the problem. However, it might not be drawn to scale. 5 Write the answer in the answer sheets provided. All solution methods must be clearly shown. You may loose marks if important working steps are not properly shown. 7 The marks for each question or part-question are shown in brackets. 8 You may use a non- programmable scientific calculator. The following formulae may be helpful in answering the questions. The symbols given are the ones commonly used . 1 x = ?x N 6 Ar c length, s = r ? 7. Area of sector , A= 1 2 r ? 2 2 x = ? = ? fx ? f ? (x ? x ) N 2 8. = y=uv, 3 ?x N 2 dy dv du =u +v dx dx dx ?x 2 9 2 4 ?= ? f ( x ? x) ? f = ? fx ? f 2 ?x 2 du dv v ? u u y = , dx = dx 2 dx , v dy v dy dy du = ? dx du dx 10 5 ?1 ? ?2N? F? M = L+? C ? fm ? ? ? ? ? Section A 1 Answer all questions The mean of x+ 3, 2x – 5, x + 7, x and 3x + 7, is 12 . Find (a) the value of x (b) median [ 4 marks ] Answer : (a) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (b) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 2. A set of examination marks a1 , a2, a 3, a 4, a5, a6, has a mean of 5 and standard deviation of 1. 5 Find (i) the sum of the marks, ? a , (ii) the sum of the squares of the marks, ?a 2 [ 3 marks ] Answer †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3. The mean of a set of four positive integers is 6. When a number y is taken out from the set, the mean becomes 5. Find the value of y. [ 3 marks ] Answe r †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4. The mean of the set of numbers 2. 5, 3. 6, 4. 3, 5. 8, x is 4. . Find the standard deviation of the set of data. Give your answer correct to three decimal places [3 marks] Answer†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ________________________________________________________________________ 5 Marks Number of student 1 -20 2 21 – 40 1 41- 60 5 61 – 80 14 81 – 100 8 Table above shows the marks obtained by a group of students I a monthly test. Find the standard deviation of the marks. Give your answer correct to two decimal places. [ 4 marks ] Answer :†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ __________________________________________________________________________ _ 6 (a) Convert 231 o 11 ‘ to radian (b) Convert 1. 455 to degree and minutes [ 2 marks ]Answer †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 7 Diagram 1 shows a sector AOB with centre O . A 5c m O 0. 5 rad 5c m B DIAGRAM 1 Find the area of the shaded segment [ 4 marks] Answer :†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 r A O 63 o B Diagram 2 shows a circle with centre O. Given that the length of the major arc AB is 62. 21 cm, find the length of the radius, r , in cm. [3 marks ] DIAGRAM 2 Answer :†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 9 Diagram 3 shows two arcs, AD and BC, for two circle with centre O and radius OA and OB respectively. 12 cm ? 10 cm 10 cm DIAGRAM 3 Given that the length of arc BC is 12 cm , OD is 10 cm and OD : DC = 5 : 2 Find , a) ? , in radian b) the are of the shaded region ABCD. 4 marks] Answer †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ __________________________________________________________________________ _ Section B Answer two question only [ 20 marks ] 1 Table 1 shows the marks of 80 students in an examination. Marks No of Students 50 – 59 8 60 – 69 25 TABLE 1 (a) Calculate the mean marks of the student. [ 3 marks ] 70 – 79 22 80 – 89 18 90 – 99 7 (b) Draw a histogram and estimate its mode [ 4 marks ] (c) Without drawing an ogive, calculate the median marks of the students [ 3 marks ] 2 Diagram 4 shows sector AOB and sector OED with centre O and E respectively . OCE is a right angle triangle. A cm C BO D ? RAJAH 6 E Given that ? AOB is 500 , OA = 10 cm , OE = 8 cm and OB : BC = 2 : 1. Calculate (a) (b) (c) ? and radian, [2 marks] perimeter of the shaded region in cm, [4 marks] area of the shaded region in cm2. [4 marks] 3 a) Find the value of 4 3 i) limit x ? 3x + 2 x x>4 x 2 ? 64 ii) limit n >8 x ? 8 [3 marks] b) Find dy of y = 3Ãâ€"2 by using first principle dx [2 marks] c) Differentiate the following with respect to x 1 i) y = x + ? 5 ii) y = 2Ãâ€"3 ( 3x -5)4 x 128 d) Given that f(x) = 2x – 3 find f ? (2 ) x [ 3 marks ] [ 2 marks ] END OF QUESTION PAPER Prepared By †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Pn Saripah Ahmad Approved by,

Criminal Evidence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Criminal Evidence - Essay Example That is why the search scenario that was depicted in our class reading should be considered illegal. Although the police officer had overhead something that seemed like the person he stopped was involved in drug dealing, he did not hear the other end of the conversation so he can be considered to have performed an illegal search. As such, any evidence that he gathered at the scene cannot be admitted into court as evidence (â€Å"Fourth Amendment Law†, n.d.). Since the police officer was undertaking the search merely on the basis of Stop and Frisk, the implied consent of the accused did not include permission to open the brown paper bag (â€Å"Terry v. Ohio†, n.d.). The police officer over stepped the bounds this time and violated the Fourth Amendment. He conducted an unreasonable search that violated the persons right to privacy since he opened the personal effects of the person which resulted in his acquiring evidence that he should not have had access to in the first

Assighment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Assighment - Essay Example All this will indeed be a challenge for me but utilizing the gained knowledge will help me overcome the challenges and make the store a profit center. Discussion What are the most significant challenges facing you as manager of this store? For me as the manager, the most significant challenges can be enumerated as follows: Low volume of Sales: As the manager of the store, the most important thing for me to keep the store afloat would be the finances. The store cannot operate at a loss and to ensure that it is not at a loss, sales are the most important criteria. The store will have certain fixed overheads and certain variables. Fixed overheads include salaries, electricity, rent, telephone expenses etc. These are the costs the store has to bear even if there is no sale. These components are discounted by the profit which is generated out of sales. In the event of no or low sale, the fixed expenses stand as it is and proves heavy for the store. Variable expenses also are a part of exp enses which are incurred in case of sale. Suppose freight charges for delivery of products etc. So this cost is only incurred if there are sales and is directly proportionate to sales. So in case, there is low sale, my store will have to bear the fixed overheads at least. There needs to be a minimum amount of sale to cover the fixed costs and be at zero profit at least(Berman, 2007). Manpower issue: Since the store is not doing well, the manpower cannot be more due to their costs. The plus point here is that the store has a good blend of experienced and fresh manpower. So to utilize maximum potential from them, the experienced ones should provide some training to the fresh ones and always back them up during sales. The attrition rate also has to come down to save on training time and cost. Branding and Advertising: Since the store once enjoyed loyalty of customers in neighborhood, the goodwill re-building would not be so difficult. I should focus on how I can harness the goodwill al ready built among certain groups of people to attract them to be our customers at the shopping mall and to promise them that the quality of products and services are same irrespective of change of hands of the store. What steps would you take during the first 90 days as manager to address these challenges? In the first 90 days, the steps I would take have been described below: Since the employees include high school and college students, I would harness their contacts to boost my sales. I would plan an incentive for each employee if they give me a minimum amount of business. Example: An employee will be offered x% of the sales value if they give a minimum of x amount of business. Since they are college students, offering only a small amount will be enough to motivate them to bring in business. This will be done keeping in mind the profitability of business. Once we have customers, they can be converted to repeated customers later on through schemes and good service. Specifically aim ed promotion: The store needs to be promoted in such a way that the people who were already loyal customers can connect to the promotion activities and believe that the store is still the same as they liked it even after change of hands. The erstwhile loyal customers will be the first ones whom I would like to be my customers as they will be easy to convince. Once they are back, word-of-mouth will play

The Body Shop Marketing Plan In Hull Assignment

The Body Shop Marketing Plan In Hull - Assignment Example Since it is a socially committed company, Body shop gives more priority to environmental protection and human right protection. Hull is one of the most heavily populated cities in England. It has a large tradition and heritage. Moreover, Hull is one of the heavily industrialized cities in England. The per capita income of people of Hull city is more than that of other people in England. Body shop has better business potentials in Hull city, especially in the coming spring season. This report discusses the marketing strategies suitable for body shop to exploit the market potentials of Hull city in the coming spring season. Background Corporate social responsibility and sustainable development are some of the popular business terms in the modern world. These terms got popularity because of the increasing awareness of the people about the protection of environment and the consequences of injudicious exploitation of natural resources. Corporates in the past heavily exploited the natural resources and hence the environment is facing huge problems now. Modern generation believe that it is the duty of the corporate companies to give something back to the communities in which they operate and to the environmental protection. ... d.). The Body Shop is the leader in cosmetic industry at present. Founded at Brighton, UK, in 1976, Body shop has expanded its wings to continents such as America, Asia and Europe. Hull is an important British market for the body shop. Hull is a city with immense heritage and people in this city give more importance to the protection of their beauty. The demand for cosmetic products is high in Hull compared to other cities in England. As in the case of many other businesses, cosmetic business depends heavily on seasonal changes. March, April and May (spring) are months with pleasant climate in Hull. During spring, people got out quite frequently and engage in so many activities including beauty care activities. With the help of suitable marketing activities, Body Shop can increase its sales in Hull city during the coming season. This paper analyses the marketing strategies required to position The Body Shop and its products during the spring in Hull. Environment analysis External and internal environments are equally important for a company like body shop to formulate effective marketing strategies. External environment has to be analysed at the macro and micro levels to get more insights into the effectiveness of the marketing strategies of Body shop. External Environment Robens (2007) pointed out that â€Å"Mergers and acquisitions are two common and prevailing means for company growth in today’s business world. They represent options that aim at a very high degree of integration, as opposed to cooperative agreements and joint ventures† (p.12). â€Å"On March 17, 2006, Body Shop announced that it had agreed to be taken over by L’Oreal in a ?652 million (US$ 1.14 billion) deal. L’Oreal offered 300 pence a

Grande Dixence Dam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Grande Dixence Dam - Essay Example To complete the construction of the dam’s wall about 6,000,000m3 of concrete was required (Berlow 67). The construction of Grand Dixence dam involved four major construction stages. The first stage involved the erecting of 182 meters high wall, which is about 0.64 of the dam’s full height. In the first stage about 1.85 million meters cubed of concrete was used, which is about 0.3 of dam’s total concrete volume. During the construction process, to ensure sound forces transfer and interlinkage between concrete â€Å"†¦ previous stage to the following, downstream face of the dam in the first, the second and third stages were completed step by step for which the surfaces of the of the vertical planes of the steps were provided with projections† (Landau & Mgalobelov 102). In all the four stages the construction process of the dam had to take into account any possibility of tensile stress occurrence due to â€Å"†¦ partial filling of the reservoir on the stress strain state of the dam† (Landau and Mgalobelov 102). As such, the construction of the dam h ad to be executed

Executive ethics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Executive ethics - Research Paper Example His executive roles in terms of ethical interpretation seem to have a rare following with a mixture of reactions that have apparently been masked by the success that the corporation has made. In tracing Zuckerberg’s track record as an ethical CEO, this discourse displays the two sides of the youthful Facebook icon. This section deals with a description of his ethical beliefs and practices at the helm of the leading social network. At Facebook, the corporation picture of professionalism is boosted by the founder’s belief that amassing the best professionally capable human resource will salvage the chances of operations. According to the executive approach that the CEO has adopted over the years, a very stable team of managers can only enable the corporation to rise from strength to strength. This is evidenced by the choice of his vice president and other top managers who have a rich history in dealing with corporate affairs. In view of the implication that the choices of the management team that Zuckerberg chose, we can draw an inference that he prefers professionalism in handling of corporate management at Facebook. The fortunes of the company on a backdrop of controversies illustrate an internal strength that professionalism accords Facebook. Under Zuckerberg’s tenure, Facebook’s corporate responsibility has evolved to keep in touch with the changing business environment. By facilitating one of the most time-progressive policies which acknowledges keeping up with the pace of environmental issues, Zuckerberg paints an image of a CEO who is conscious of ethical principle of corporate social responsibility. Facebook does not only lead in the pack for the campaign to promote climate change responsive agenda, it actually implements on of the most progressive green energy projects at its server facilities. Such community minded leadership is only made fruitful by the contributions of a youthful CEO under the guidance of some ethical principles. In a

International and Comparative HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

International and Comparative HRM - Essay Example HRM is a discipline that deals with the recruitment, management, training and promotion functions of people in an organisation. The expansion of operations for a business into the global sphere presents a number of issues that have to be adequately addressed by a business for it to succeed. Multinational organizations continue to handle challenging situations on their human resource management approaches as it varies significantly from the domestic market (Friedman, 2007). Globalisation and Human Resource Management Today, most organizations that are operating in the international and global markets have more employees on their foreign subsidiaries than at home (Poor, 2004). This calls for a change in approach used in the management of the people for the organization to grow and develop its people. This paper gives a detailed analysis of the implications that globalization and the advancement in the international has had on human resource management. The new trends and emerging manag ement practices that have been adopted because of globalisations will also be critically analysed and their potency evaluated. A number of factors have been attributed to the growing globalisation and the need for a larger scale of operation. With raging unemployment and financial crisis, the developed world has been faced with an acute shortage of qualified personnel. This has been attributed to the large number of retirees with fewer graduates into the job market. The emerging economies also provide a better source of low cost labour. This makes it cheaper for international organisations to recruit employees from developing economies (Ibrahim, 2004). The international market is currently characterised by an expanding pool of talented individuals who are more mobile and willing to take up jobs in various parts of the globe. The diverse trainings and educational curriculums of the diverse countries make the nature of training and exposure diverse. As a result, management graduates f rom the United States and those from the United Kingdom may have different approaches to the same management problem. Such scenarios present a number of challenges to international human resource managers who operate in different parts of the globe (Poor, 2004). Organisations, which decide to adopt polycentric approach in international human resource management practise, also have a number of changes that they must make to their policies. Polycentric approach involves the use of the locals from where the subsidiary is located in the management and operation of the unit as highlighted in the works of Howard Perrlmutter, a scholar in internationalization of multinationals corporations (Schuler et al, 2002). Such individuals are thus well trained and made to understand and integrate the organisational culture of the business into their business practises. Polycentric approach in international human resource management has been applauded as the best practise as it is far much cheaper to maintain and operate as compared to the use of expatriates (Kayode, 2012). However, polycentric approach also significantly affects the practises of the human resource managers. This is because the organisation has to come up with terms of engagement and remuneration according to an organisation’

Mahatma Gandhi Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Mahatma Gandhi - Essay Example It is true that Imam Hussein adhered to his righteous denial to submit to the unjust authority of Yazeed Ibn Muyawia and sacrificed his own and his people’s lives for what he thought to be right, he never excluded the option of using arms against Yazeed’s army. Here, Gandhi’s leadership significantly differs from that of Imam Hussein. There are other differences too. Gandhi had been able to establish the model of his goal and successfully shared his vision with the Indians. This success further enabled him to challenge his own model in numerous sociopolitical movements, and subsequently to bring some minor changes in his way. Thus, taking lessons from those challenges, he had been able to encourage others to act effectively against the sociopolitical evils. But the question is whether Hussein himself used this tactics and traits of effective leadership successfully. In fact, a critical analysis of Hussein’s and Gandhi’s leaderships will necessarily reveal that Gandhi took the only lesson of adhering to one’s righteous claim nonviolently from the example of Imam Hussein’s martyrdom. In other cases, Hussein was not a successful leader at all. If he were a successful leader, he would possess all of the characteristics of effective leadership. Necessarily, he could convince more people and take them with him to the Battle Field of Karbala. In that case, he might not have faced such a tragic end. Mohandas K. Gandhi was one of the most influential sociopolitical leaders of modern history. He is famous for his contribution to the fate of Modern India, a country which is, to a great extent, indebted to him for her freedom in 1947. In fact, this association of Gandhi with the emergence of India made him a political figure. He passed a considerable part of his life as a political campaigner in the Congress, a political party of India under the British rule. Even if Gandhi was an active political activist, his activities in volved innumerous social and political reformations in his country. It successfully brought him the landslide popularity among common Indians. Indeed the question whether he was primarily a political figure or a social will continue to engender debate till one fails to pursue the true Gandhian nationalist zeal. The son of a senior British Government clerk, Gandhi adamantly believed in the soul of democracy and the formal democratic politics.1 Once he was a devout British patriot who motivated the Indians’ to support the British Army against Zulu Kingdom in 1906. Anticipating the Indians’ weakness to confront the British Empire militarily, he chose to play the game of dissenting against the British tyranny within the British-induced political system in order to avoid the path of bloodshed and wanted to provoke his nation to be aware politically and then to oppose it from within.2 In this regard, his early experience of successful civil-disobedience or non-violent protes t against the segregation Act of the Transvaal Government in 1906 helped him a lot to developed and adopt the ‘Satyagraha’ as an effective nonviolent demonstration against the British while causing mass sociopolitical awarneness among the Indians.3 Indeed Gandhi’s political insight and experience urged him to assume the role of a social reformer. His stance as a social reformer helped him greatly to attain his political goal of uniting the Indians to turn into a strong political force. Indeed Gandhi was a

PROJECT ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

PROJECT ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS - Essay Example This is must to have a clear mission and strategic plan, as well as annual objectives. These are the blueprints that validate and guide the ideas emerging from the process of change. Detailed and outward-looking research into the organisation and role in it, as well as larger economic, demographic, political and social trends, are also important. To bring about change via project management must be as thorough as a new business start up. Learning serves as a basis for a competitive project management. It is to make company capable of utilising and encouraging the development of knowledge and skills of all employees across all functional levels. The company must integrate the knowledge into each member of project management team, and "encourage and reinforce all modes of learning, and align all of this learning with the companys strategic business directions." (Smith, 2005) The changes in the contemporary knowledge are in the background of many of the emerging challenges in project management, human resource and employee relationship in organisations. The practices of project management in global firms have their own value and status to gain knowledge for their success. The speed and quality in addressing the needs of learning is deciding the winners of tomorrow. Hence, success of a project is now depending on the ways its project management team practices, gain and responds towards available knowledge. However to be effective player in this new environment organisations have to be more flexible dynamic and to create an efficient project environment. They need to master a wide variety of skills, and the strategy of success should move around the interdependent layers of organisational capabilities which will reinforce each other across all the businesses, functions and markets. The secrecy behind such success of a project implies in developing the people who can act from

Extinction of a Conditioned Stimulus Essay Example for Free

Extinction of a Conditioned Stimulus Essay Method: In this experiment, an untrained rat was utilized in order to display the Movement Ratio. 1 stage was selected with ten (10) trials. Each trial had a five (5) minute interval between trials to allow the rat to recover from the medium intensity shock. A medium intensity tone was selected as the Conditioned Stimulus (CS) selected to precede the Unconditioned Stimulus (US), a medium intensity shock. Stage 2 was selected with thirty (30) trials. Each had a five (5) minute interval between trials to allow the rat to recover from the medium intensity shock. A medium intensity tone was selected as the Conditioned Stimulus (CS) to precede the new Unconditioned Stimulus (US), no stimulus. Hypothesis: In the first set of trials, Sniffy will learn to associate the tone with shock; illustrating fear-related behavior or freezing behavior at the tone. In the second set of trials, stage 2, elimination of a conditioned response (CR) (freezing or fear-related behavior) learned in the first set of trials will occur by repeatedly presenting the CS without the US. Results: In the first set of trials; the increase from 0 to 0.7 in the Movement Ratio illustrates that the tone CS, is acquiring the capacity to induce freezing behavior and other fear-related behaviors. As the movement ratio increases, the CS response strength mind window show that the tone’s capacity to elicit fear as a psychological process is increasing. In the second set of trials; the movement ratio window illustrates that repeatedly presenting the CS without the US causes the CS to gradually stop eliciting the freezing and other fear-related behavior. The CS Response Strength mind window shows that this behaviors change is the result of the CS’s losing its capacity to elicit the fear response. Independent Variable (IV) – first trial = shock; second trail = none Dependent variable (DV) – first and second; fear-related behavior, freezing behavior The movement ratio is the proportion of time during each CS presentation that Sniffy is frozen or manifesting other fear-related behaviors.

Tourism management in a coastal tourism destination

Tourism management in a coastal tourism destination This essay considers tourism management in a coastal tourism destination Indians smallest state Goa. Study critically assesses coastal tourism definitions, tourism background, review of current trends, policies, management issues with recommendations and future concerns. According to many coastal tourism definitions, it might be concluded that sun, sand and sea are one of the most significant types of holiday in the world, provides an important commercial sector of the tourism industry, but with some possibility of negative environmental and socio-cultural impacts. As Page and Connel (2006) stated, the meeting of land and sea creates biologically and geologically diverse environments and unique landscapes which may form the basic for tourism. Works of Nowak (2007) and Gormsen (1997), similarly defined coastal tourism and agreed that the coastal zones and its natural environment play a major role in attracting tourists, offering the best opportunities for leisure, physical activities and pleasure for all age and social groups which applies to the beaches of all continents. Coastal tourism definitions also analysed impacts of tourism at the coast from different perspectives including change of socio-economic and settlement patterns, cultural impacts on the local population and its environmental impacts. J. Page (2005), who defined coastal tourism as site for pleasure, and place for spiritual fulfilment also pointed out that inappropriate tourism development in coastal areas can cause erosion, salination of fresh ground water sources, sewage outfall into shallow waters, environmental degradation, pollution, destruction of habitats and ecosystems, loss of coastal and marine resources and impacts on ground water. On other hand, Marsden (1999) considered seaside tourism as tourism of significant economic and social value and the potential for resorts to contribute to rejuvenating neighbouring areas through employment, leisure and business opportunities which should be exploited. All definitions mentioned positive and negative effects on the regional and national economies, local culture, physical infrastructure and environment. It is therefore essential that local governments issue the relevant laws and set up the methods for efficient control of all the activities made by investors, tour operators and other private and official actors at all stages of tourism. If all the participants collaborate efficiently in general understanding of sustainable development, then tourism at coastal resorts may provide most of positive contributions to the future of coastal areas with less negative effects. Goa has been formed in 3rd century BC and after its rich history it was released to India in 1961. Since 1987 it became a proper state with its own official state language, Konkani. Catholicism and certain Mediterranean customs have been brought by Portuguese colonialism in sixteenth century. Because of its background and history it is multi-lingual and multi religion country with most Goans identify much more with Goa than with Indian subcontinent (Saldanha, 2002). Contemporary change in Goa is very much connected to tourism. Goa first came to the attention of the international tourist ‘community during the 1960s and 1970s when the states palm-fringed beaches became a haven for Western hippie travellers. Odzer (1995) observed that few other types of foreign tourists visited the state in large numbers during this period. Indian government began to consider more seriously the possible economic benefits of promoting international tourism and by 1986 had decided to exploit Goa for the purposes of charter tourism. National Tourism Action Plan of 1992 as part of the Indian economys liberalization placed increasing emphasis on the demand-centred model of international tourism, particularly luxury tourism. The Indian Government designated the 1990s as the ‘Decade of Tourism, and tourism currently dominates the discourse of development within the state of Goa (Routledge, 2001). From 24 charter flights during the 1985-86 season, number increa sed to 758 flights in 2007-2008 season to Daboli, Goas international airport (Department of Tourism, 2009). Tourism in Goa today is one of the major economic activities with multiplier effect which percolates to the local community. Because of its natural scenic beauty, 105km long coast, straight beaches, very hot weather, picturesque villages, its culture, temples, monuments, Goa has a positive tourism profile. The most comprehensive beach resort in India, Goas coastline provides endless sun drenched crescents of sand. Vagator, Anjuna, Baga, Calangute and Candolim beaches stretch out in an unbroken palm fringed line offering facilities for parasailing, yachting, windsurfing, and deep sea diving. There are 29 beaches in Goa, many churches from 16th centuries, temples more than 500 year old, religious centres, science spots, wild lives and other attractions for tourists (Know India, 2009). Goa mostly attracts domestic tourists but also some foreign markets, mainly Britain. In 2008 according to Department of Tourism (2009), Goa was visited by 80% of domestic tourists, by a total number of 2,371,539 tourists; over 388.000 were foreigners from which 41% were British, 8% Russians, 6% Germany followed by tourists from Finland, France, Switzerland, Sweden, USA, Australia and others. International charter tourists accounted for almost 50% of whole international arrivals. And where does Goas tourism rank within whole India? Tourism Statistics (Ministry of Tourism, 2008) shows that Goa is one of the most popular coastal destinations in the country. From total international tourist arrivals in India 5.37 million in 2008, was more than 7% to Goas beaches, even when Goas state population accounts for only less then 0.14% of population of whole country. Average duration of stay for foreigners is 9 days and for domestic tourists 5 days. The growth of charter and luxury tourism in Goa has progressively more concerned investments from transnational corporations. As Menezes and Lobo (1991) noted, most of Goas major hotels have some financial or marketing connections with foreign capital. For example Lufthansa (Germany), Club Mediteranee ´ (France), Intasun (UK), and Hyatt Regency and Ramada (both USA) are all involved in international charter flights holiday tie-ups with Goan hotels. Goa shows significant tourism accommodation availability, however, from the tourist statistics (Department of Tourism, 2009) almost 70% of all rooms do not qualify for even a 1 star rating and are in very poor quality. There are more than 2500 guest houses with number of beds over 4200 to serve tourists, while there are only 83 starred hotels but with almost 12000 beds from which 47% bed capacity are 4 or 5 starred hotels. With new investments in 4 and 5 star hotels the tourism industry in Goa has evolved into a curious mix of low-budget tourism and up-market development, a mix that is according to Wilson (1997) marked with tensions and potential conflicts over the appropriation of resources. More than 90% of domestic tourists and 99% of the international Goas tourists stay at the coastal resorts. Thus, beach tourism is the only type that is keenly encouraged by policymakers. There are different markets which have different motivations to visit the state. The first is the domestic tourists market, who comes in search of the culture that is different from the rest of India. The second is the international tourists market, who visits Goa purely for the natural environment, sun and beaches. Within the category of international tourists, there are two sub-categories, which both visit Goa for its beaches but stay away from each other. Backpackers prefer to mix and live with the local communities, whereas the charter tourists tend to stay in the luxury starred hotels. Domestic and international tourists also differ in terms of the areas they frequent. For the domestic tourist, the beaches hold limited appeal, so they remain away from the places frequented by the international t ourists (Sawkar et al, 1998). As a growing activity at global, national and local levels, tourism needs to be managed in a sustainable and balanced manner. J. Page (2005) examined some basic principles for managing such a destination. He believes that planning, organising, leading and controlling are the most important elements. The management of coastal tourism is complex because the tourism industry is not a homogenous sector or segment of the economy. It is made up of various organisations that are directly or indirectly involved in tourism. The public sector should intervene to ensure that business objectives are balanced with local needs and stakeholder interests are in relation with the tourism utilities, such as beaches, attractions, infrastructure and overall environment. The public sector is though responsible for trying to liaise, plan and manage the diverse group of interests that are associated with tourism. According to WTTC (2003) it is within governments power to unlock the industrys potential to c reate jobs and generate prosperity. Within a structure of co-operation federalism, India has three tiers of government. Central government is the first tier, the second is State government and the third is the village level within the state, known as the ‘panchayat system. Administratively the Goa is organised into two districts,North Goa and South Goa, all together Goa has 189 panchayats. The nodal agency for the formulation of national and state government agencies and the private sector development of tourism is the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. It is responsible for coordination and supplementation of activities of various Central government Agencies and State governments, catalysing private investments and for the development and promotion of tourism in India.It is also in charge of public sector undertaking, the India Tourism Development Corporation, Ltd, and autonomous institutions like Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technol ogy, National Institute of Water Sports etc. Functions of the Ministry consist of the development policies, incentives, external assistance, manpower development, investment facilitation, planning, regulation, infrastructure development, human resource development, marketing strategies and many others (Government of India, 2009). Development activities are co-ordinated by the respective Ministries. Two main nodal bodies for decision making in terms of potential or actual impacts of activities in coastal areas and the seas or oceans are the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Department of Ocean Development. At the local level, responsible for coastal tourism are State governments, District Administration, Local Bodies and Councils. At the Goa itself, it is Department of Tourism which is responsible for tourism policy and its role is to ensure planned and controlled development of tourism in Goa. The government endeavours to provide appropriate package through progressive fiscal and taxation policies, develop tourism as a non-invasive instrument of revitalization, conservation and growth, entrust regulatory measures to ensure social, cultural and environmental sustainability and involvement of local community. The Coastal Zone Regulation notification in 1991 invited the governments of Indias coastal states and union territories to prepare Coastal Zone Management Plans for their respective areas (Noronha, 2004). These zones regulate development and construction in the coastal regions. The main objectives of Coastal Zone Management are to encourage sustainable use of environment, identify and resolve conflicts, balance economic and environmental objectives and adopt strategic planning. An important provision under these laws limits the nature and development of land that is located close to the sea. Goa as a coastal state has the responsibility to identify the zones and prepare management plans within which all future coastal development is to take place. Government of India, Ministry of Tourism (2005) published Best Practises adopted by the State governments with good examples of how can supervision manage tourism industry. An example from Goa can be the reduction or abolition of luxury tax helps lowering rates. That means more tourists would be attracted to the destination and this could give competitive advantage to the state, as benefits will go to the customers. In order to help cinema theatres to make them financially viable, the Goa government has reduced the entertainment tax from 60 to 40 percent. A complementary reduction on taxes by the Goa Government on water tariff by 22% is noble scheme to attract tourists as well. Goa set up Tourist Police exclusively for providing safety and security to the tourists in frequent areas. Despite these few examples of good practise there is still large scale to provide more benefits for local people in Goa by tourism industry and government should prepare adequate policies for coastal tour ism to help locals to get involved with tourism. Locals should be at the first place in considering about development of tourism and they should intervene in decision process making of tourism policies. The impacts of coastal tourism in Goa have been the subject of discussion amongst academics, researchers and activist groups. Goas tourism has so far concentrated mainly on the coast. Work of Wilson (1997) considered some impacts of tourism in Goa. The growth of coastal tourism has been fast and uncontrolled. The principles of sustainability and the norms related to the conservation of the environment and ecology were generally ignored. There has been unclear firm policy relating to tourism and the policy initiatives have not been introduced attentive to local concerns. This could lead to major changes in land use, shortages of resources, such as land and water, and damage to coastal aquifers, the sand dune system, and mangrove vegetation. It is clear that there is much to be learned about the impacts of tourism in Goa, and that further planning and development requires information gaps to be filled. According to Noronha (2004) almost all difficulties fall into three major domains of coastal policy problems. Those that relate to resource use conflicts, those that relate to resource depletion and those that relate to pollution or resource degradation. It is evident that Goa is facing all these types of policy complications. William (1998) demonstrated that coastal tourism in Goa has resulted in a spatial concentration of buildings in some coastal areas leading to a heavy demand for resources in these places. Another issue observed by Wilson (1997) is the amount of solid waste which is generated and the need for land to cope with the disposal of this waste. With these matters, policy-making should take sufficient note, to make it a case for systematic addressing. There is no clear and specific coastal focus for its development policies in India. Sawkar et al (1998) observed that the current policies and relaxed enforcement have led to the haphazard and uncontrolled growth of townships. Places like Calangute and Candolim in Bardez and Colva in Salcete have become over commercialized and disorganized in their development pattern. Developments along the coasts of Goa and the future plans for it reveals that these follow the ideas submitted in the Coastal Zone Management plan of Goa rather than its Regional Development plan. These areas have a number of unauthorized constructions, which have paid little heed to local planning rules, infrastructural supports or aesthetics. There are also signs of over investment which is spreading a price war. ‘Lots of international people come and because it is small and beautiful they try to invest money and buy huge tracts of land. Locals feel that our land is being sold, said the chief minister of the Go an (Pirie, 2008). Nowadays there are steps from government to reinterpret existing property legislation to deter foreigners from buying property. There has been little effort made in Goa to adhere to the regional plans of creating other types of tourism than beach tourism. That means tourists are almost exclusively accommodated along 105km stretch of the coastline which can impact coastal environment far more quickly than if tourists are spread upcountry. Governments in India prepare Five Year Plans which play an important role in states model of economic development. These plans provide the overall direction and framework for policies, programmes and schemes for the Ministries and Departments. Eleventh Five Year Plan for years 2007-2012, prepared by Directorate of Planning, Statistics and Evaluation (2007), contains some interesting ideas. Goa is being treasure of heritage and has immense potential for growth of heritage tourism activities. The government has introduced ‘Heritage house scheme towards promoting heritage tourism. For this purpose, financial assistance in the form of loans and grants is proposed to be given to the owners of the heritage houses for their maintenance and restoration. Another example is that the Goa has beautiful forests and eco-tourism plans which are being implemented through the budget of Forest Department. This project envisages development of an eco-tourism circuit consisting of Bondla, Cotigao wild life sanctuaries and Mollem national park. This is illustration of cooperation between different governmental departments on the state level which can bring more effective results in terms of sustainable and planned development. Another example could be promoting of discovery and adventure tourism which can attract different market of tourists whether domestic or international. Currently 80% of all tourists visiting Goa are domestic tourists yet most of promotional budget is spent on trying to attract foreign tourists. Since Goa is well established tourism destination, it should try to redirect budget allocation. If one years advertising budget is used to clean up Goas beaches and provide needed infrastructure in those areas it would earn more goodwill for Goa and attract more tourists than any advertising budget would be able to deliver. There is also need to shift away from charter tourism. It is important to increase tourism revenues by moving Goa up-market. Nowadays, charter tourists pay a very low price for the whole tour in their home countries. So they spend very little in Goa itself. The current focus on beach tourism should be diversified to include other areas, like adventure and eco-tourism, medical tourism, hosting conventions, conferences and so forth. The analysis of the development of tourism destination is one of the main topics of tourism research. Over a long period of time, tourism products go through an evolutionary process. Butler (1980) put forward the concept of the tourism area life cycle TALC. The model depicted resorts moving from the initial stage of being found, through the involvement and development stages to a stagnation stage, beyond which there are number of options possible from decline to rejuvenation. This can be seen in appendix A. Goas visitor numbers were continuously increasing, however last season in 2008 there was a decrease of tourists because of global economic recession, there is estimated increase in tourist number in 2009 season (Navhind Times, 2009). In appendix B is illustrated how Goa can be linked to TALC model with further explanation. It is still developing tourism destination with some future developments announced by government in last Five Years Plan (Directorate of Planning, Statistics a nd Evaluation 2007). Goa could still attract a bigger number and different segments of tourists. For example two marinas have been located one in North and another one in South Goa to be build in near future with facilities for pleasure yachts. There is a plan to build two international-size golf courses, also one in each district of Goa. The government has decided to locate new international airport for transporting cargo and passengers at Mopa, which would be particularly attractive for tourists who will be easily linked to coastal resorts. These developments should give Goa competitive advantage as a coastal tourist destination, but there is need for monitoring and management system which would ensure the effectiveness of coastal and environmental regulations. Goa also needs a systematic study of the environmental impacts of tourism, which could be done through a life cycle analysis, and the valuation of the environment to enable its integration into decision-making. Goa still r equires policies for coastal tourism which recognise the type of interconnections among tourism, local communities and the environment, to ensure that tourism contributes to a sustainable development agenda.

Liver Function Tests Literature Review and Practice

Liver Function Tests Literature Review and Practice Introduction The liver is the largest internal organ in the body. In adult the liver weighs approximately 1-2.5 kilograms. It is â€Å"wedge-shaped†, soft and reddish-brown in colour. It is situated underneath the diaphragm. The liver is divided into right and left lobes by the middle hepatic vein. The right lobe is bigger and consists of caudate and quadrate lobes. The blood is supplied to the liver constitute 25% of the resting cardiac output and through two major blood vessels: hepatic artery and portal vein. Blood leaves the liver via the hepatic vein, which drains directly into the inferior vena cava. Bile is formed in the liver and it is collected in the bile capillaries which drain into the right and left hepatic ducts. The liver is organised in lobules within which blood flows past hepatic cells via sinusoids from branches of the portal vein (bringing absorbed materials from gastrointestinal tract) to the central vein of each lobule. Hepatic artery blood (providing oxygen needed for many of the metabolic processes carried out by the liver) also enters the sinusoids. The central veins coalesce to form the hepatic veins which drain into the inferior vena cava. Each liver cell is also apposed to several bile canaliculi. The canaliculi coalesce to form the right and left hepatic ducts, which join outside the liver to form the common hepatic duct. The cystic duct drains the gallbladder. The hepatic duct unites with the cystic duct to form the common bile duct. The common bile duct enters the duodenum at the papilla. Ganong, (1995) Hepatocytes or parenchymal (liver cells) which further classified on the basis of their site in the lobule comprise about 60% kupffer cells lining the hepatic sinusoids comprise 30% of the liver cells and the remaining 10% of cells consist of vascular and supporting tissue and bile ducts. The significant important of the liver came from the ability of this organ to perform a wide variety of functions which contribute in the body homeostasis, in particular regulation of blood sugar. When there is an excess sugar, the pancreatic cells secret the hormone insulin that converts excess sugar into glycogen (storage form of glucose). Glycogen provide rapid accessible source of energy for the body when blood glucose decrease. Also gluconeogenesis (formation of new glucose) from amino acids such as alanine and ascorbic acid take place in liver. The coagulation factors which are required for blood clotting, albumin and various lipoproteins which are required for transport of lipid in blood stream are synthesized in the liver. The only exception of protein synthesis is the synthesis of immunoglobulin. Cholesterol which serves as precursor of steroid hormones is mostly synthesized in by the liver. Also liver has the ability to excrete and detoxify e.g. ammonia formed from the brea kdown of amino acids or microbial action in the gastrointestinal tract converted to urea. Steroid hormones which are inactivated by conjugation with glucuronate and sulphate excreted into urine as water soluble forms. A wide range of medications (drugs) inactivated by endoplasmic reticulum enzymes and some are excreted in the bile. Kupffer cells in the hepatic sinusoid extract toxins absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. Other important excretory function is the excretion of bile acid formed from cholesterol in the liver to gall bladder where it stored until required for lipid digestion in the small intestine. The ability of liver to carry out its excretory function of the metabolism end products depends on, healthy functioning hepatocytes, adequate blood flow through the liver and patent biliary duct. The other important function of liver is Storage of vitamins such as vitamin A, D and vitamin B12. In addition, metabolism and excretion of bilirubin is one of the major functions of the liver. Bilirubin is an ecteric waste product pigment formed from the breakdown of haemoglobin (Hb) in the red blood cells in the lymph reticular system at the end of their life span which is approximately 120 days. Normally an adult produces about 450 umol/L daily. Gaw et al, (1999). Hb contains four haem group, an iron atom and prophyrin ring attached to each haem group. When Hb molecules metabolize, the iron atoms are removed and reused again in the processing of a new Hb molecule. The prophyrin ring breaks to form a open tetrapyrole derivative biliverdin chain which is further reduced to form unconjugated bilirubin (lipid soluble).Whitby, (1988). The lipid-soluble bilirubin can cross cell membrane include brain barrier and cause brain cell damage. Therefore it has to be transported by a special carrier called albumin in the plasma in order to be converted to water-soluble so that can be excreted into bile. The binding of albumin accomplished by being not enter cells readily and also not filtered through glumerulus unless there is glomerular proteinuria. When the albumin-bilirubin complex reach the liver, it dissociates by the receptors on the plasma at the same time. Inside hepatocytes, bilirubin molecules join to relatively non-specific anion binding proteins called ligandin (Y protein), is soluble transport protein in the smooth endoplasmic reticulum. Calbreath, (1992). The glucuronic acid molecules attach to unconjugated bilirubin molecules to form bilirubin glucuronides in a reaction mediated by uridine diphosphate (UDP). Bilirubin glucuronides complex is water-soluble conjugated bilirubin which then excreted into small i ntestine. The conjugation process depends on the active secretion of bile acids and therefore serum bile acids concentration are more sensitive index of hepatic transport function than the total bilirubin. Small amount undergoes reabsorption in the small intestine and the rest is degraded by bacterial action mainly in the colon where it is de-conjugated to form urobilinogen. Portions of urobilinogen re-enter the hepatic circulation and excreted by the liver into bile. Small fraction filtered by kidney into urine, but the majority is excreted in faeces providing its orange-yellow characteristic. If the bilirary tract becomes blocked, serum bilirubin concentration will rise as uncojugated bilirubin not excreted and the patient becomes jaundice. Jaundice is a yellow discoloration of the skin or the sclera of the eye. The yellowish coloration is caused by an excess amount of bilirubin in the plasma which is not detectable until the concentration is greater than 40 umol/L. gaw, et al (1999). The normal concentration is up to 20 umol/L. causes of jaundice classified into three categories including haemolytic (prehepatic) jaundice characterized by an increased breakdown of haemoglobin, hepatic jaundice due to failure of the conjugation mechanism and post hepatic or obstructive jaundice because of obstruction of biliary system. Most newborn babies are characterized with physiological or neonatal jaundice due to natural process of breaking down RBCs. As their livers are immature, they can not process bilirubin as quickly as when they are old. This increase in bilirubin concentration and has no significance to do with liver. Marshal, (2000). In clinical practice usually all the tests related to liver diseases are called liver function tests (LFT). Biochemical tests include measurement of bilirubin, the aminotransferases (ALT and AST), albumin total protein and alkaline pkosphatase in serum specimen. Albumin and total protein reflect the synthetic liver function. ALT and AST used to measure the severity of liver cells damage although they are not specific index of acute damage to hepatocytes, but they are sensitve indicators to cytoplasmic and mitochondrial membrane. Gaw, et al (1999). Increased conjugation bilirubin concentration and increased ALP activity at sinusoidal surface indicate cholestasis, a blockage in the bile flow. Prolonged cholestasis can result in severe jaundice with very high bilirubin concentration result in deposition of bile salts, characterized by itching, bleeding due to vitamin K malabsorption, cholesterol retention and dark urine with pale stool. The prothrombin time (PT) which is used to asses t he synthetic function of liver is prolonged due to cholestasis. Measurement of ÃŽ ³ glutamyl transferase can give an indication of hepatocellular enzyme induction due to drugs or alcohol. Materials and method Please refer to medical biochemistry practical book (BMS2). Result Calculation Determination of ALP The equation obtained from the graph is used to calculate the amount of phenol liberated by the action of ALP. The equation is: Y = 0.1753 The enzyme activity is measured in international unit per 1 minute (IU/1) therefore to obtain the activity, the result has to be converted first to umol/1 and then divided by the incubation time (15 minutes) as follow: (Value of phenol concentration in mmol/1 X 1000) / 15 = IU/L Patient 1: Result: 0.207 / 0.1753 = 1.18083 x 1000   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  = 1180.8 umol/L To get the enzyme activity in 1 minute:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  = 1180.8 / 15 = 78.7 IU/L ALP enzyme activity of patient 1= 78.7 IU/L Patient 2: Result: 0.215 / 0.1753 = 1.2264 x 1000   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  = 1226.4 umol/L To get the enzyme activity in 1 minute:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  = 1226.4 / 15 = 81.7 IU/L ALP enzyme activity of patient 2 = 81.7 IU/L Determination of bilirubin The concentration of bilirubin is calculated by using the following equation Absorbance of the test x STD concentration Absorbance of STD Result: Patient 1 = (0.413/0.431) x 350 = 335.3 umol/L Patient 2 = (0.037/0.431) x 350 = 30 umol/L The results of Aspartate transaminase (AST), albumin and total protein were provided by the tutor. Conclusion The biochemical finding shows that patient 1 may have haemolytic disease where as the other patient (patient 2) suffer from acute hepatitis. Discussion Liver function test are done to asses the integrity of the liver to carry out its normal synthetic and metabolic functions. This is achieved through series of numerical tests that reflect the healthiness of the liver when comparing the result obtained with normal reference ranges. The measurements of enzyme activities are very useful in following the progress of the liver disease once the diagnosis has been made. From the result it is obvious that patient 1 has got normal TP, ALB, AST and ALP results, which means that there is liver damage. Total protein is combined of immunoglobulin proteins and other proteins. A persons total protein level gives information about the liver damage, kidney damage and nutritional health. Albumin is small protein made in the liver. If a person suffers from liver damage, the albumin concentration will drop because the liver can not maintain the normal production of albumin. Aspartate transminase (AST) is the enzyme found in the liver, heart and muscle. Levels of this enzyme are usually assessed in conjugation with reading for other liver enzyme to determine or monitor the liver involvement. On other hand the bilirubin is very high above the normal range (hyperbilirubiaemia) and normally the bilirubin which is present in plasma is unconjugated bilirubin. Since the unconjugated bilirubin is high it indicates that is excessive red blood cells (RBCs) destruction (haemolysis) which occurs in haemolytic anaemia. Normally the red blood cells survival is 120 days, but in haemolytic anaemia is less. Because of that the RBCs are destroyed in large quantities in the RE system (particularly the spleen). When the RBCs are destroyed, the haemoglobin is released and bilirubin is produced. It is mainly produced from the haem moiety of the haemoglobin (it is also produced from myoglobin, cytochroms and peroxidase, which are widely distributed in the body). The liver can not conjugate and remove this large amount of unconjugated bilirubin and since it is protein bound the renal glomeruli can not filter it. That leads to overflow of unconjugated bilirubin in blood circulation. These mean that this patient may have haemolytic jaundice (prehepatic jaundice), because the protein synthesis is normal and ALP, AST are normal which means that there is no liver involvement. Haemolytic jaundice also occurs in haemolytic Disease of Newborn, transfusion of incompatible blood, hereditary spherocytosis and autoimmune red cell destruction. Marshall,(2000). The results of patient 2 show normal total protein, albumin and ALP. There is a slight increase in bilirubin level (hyperbilirubinaemia) and AST is above the very high. AST is an intracellular enzyme and is mostly found in the cytoplasmic and mitochondrial membrane of hepatocytes. So it is a sensitive marker for the severity of damage hepatocytes. ALP concentration usually rises in cholestasis (this is by extra-hepatic obstruction of the bile duct) but in this patient was normal, which means that the kupffer cells and sinusoidal surface is not yet damaged. Total protein and albumin were also normal and that indicates that the metabolism and synthesis in the liver is not yet affected. Bilirubin was slightly high which support that there is liver disease and due to this, there is defect of bile salt and bile pigment excretion. In addition to that, conjugation and detoxification functions are well defected because of hepatic cells damaged. These happen due to a condition called Hepatiti s (liver inflammation). Hepatitis is the common cause of acute liver injury. Acute hepatitis usually occurs due to viral infection particularly with hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D and E, but also Epstein-bar virus and cytomegalovirus or toxin (e.g. alcohol and paracetamol). Marshall, (2000) In the early stages of hepatitis, increased plasma ALT and AST activities may be the only abnormal chemical finding. There will be also an increased level of urobilinogen and bilirubin in urine (the urine will be darkened). The stool may be very pale due to impaired biliary excretion of bilirubin and urobilinogen then disappears more or less completely from the urine. Marshall, (2000) The above results reveal that liver is functioning well but partly defected because of the early stage of the disease. This patient may have acute liver disease (Acute hepatitis). To confirm these results hepatitis virus profiles should be done. Question Jaundice in the newborn is common. Why? Jaundice in the newborn is called Neonatal Jaundice. It is common because before birth, an infant get rid of bilirubin through the mothers blood and liver system. After birth, the babys liver has to take over processing on its own. The activity of the hepatic conjugation enzyme is usually low at birth but increases rapidly thereafter. Almost all newborns have higher than normal level of bilirubin; because the immaturity of their livers. In most cases, the babys system continues to develop and can soon process bilirubin. However, some infants may need medical treatment to prevent serious complications which can occur due to the accumulation of bilirubin. There are at least two significant processes that predispose normal infants to jaundice: The rate of bilirubin production is higher in infants than adults because their red blood cells have half-life and turn over more rapidly. Infants have a relatively limited ability to conjugate bilirubin and conjugation in the liver is necessary for efficient elimination. Write short notes on Gilberts disease. Gilberts disease is a harmless inherited condition in which the unconjugated bilirubin level in the blood is increased. Bilirubin is an end product of haemoglobin breakdown and it is conjugated in the liver with glucuronate. This process is catalysed by specific enzyme called uidine diophosphate glucuronyl transferase which is found in endoplasmic reticulum, which helps the body to conjugate bilirubin and get rid of it. Thus Gilberts syndrome is a genetic disorder which means that there is slight deficiency of this enzyme. Patient with Gilberts disease can have intermittent bilirubin level but the values are often increased when blood is drown after a period of fasting or during a time of concurrent viral illness or when the person is stressed, either physically or mentally. People with Gilberts syndrome are not ill but they may complain of vague abdominal discomfort and general fatigue for which no cause found. The condition is not usually apparent until adolescence or early adult life. It is sometimes discovered incidentally, in the course of investigations done for related reasons. All liver function tests (LFTs) are normal, except for serum bilirubin which is raised. X-ray and liver biopsy show that there is no liver disease. Gilberts syndrome should not be regarded as a disease and people with the syndrome are not ill.