Research Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Research - Assignment Example bad credit history, the rate charged may be higher. It is however, mostly based upon how a company view and rate its customer and subsequently decide what rate to be offered to a customer. Even the interest rates charged on different cards issued by same company differ from each other depending upon the way a customer is rated by the company. Companies attract customers in different manner and according to their target market. Once the target market is identified, there are different means through which companies can attract their target market. One important method for attracting the customers is the rate of interest charged on the credit cards- i.e. if company’s target market is to secure prime customers, they will offer cards at lower rates to attract their desired customers. Further, balance transfer facilities at lower rates are also an important way through which companies attract their customers. When a person applies for any type of loan facility including credit cards and personal loans, financial institutions obtain a copy of credit report of the customer. A credit report is basically just a report which mentions all the obligations of a customer that he or she has to pay off to the financial and other institutions from where borrowing has been made. It not only provides the credit history of the borrower but also give a true picture of the total monthly debt obligations, total debts to be paid by the borrower and any defaults made in the past. (AIE, 2010) In a sense, credit report is the most essential document which determines whether a person can obtain the credit or not. This is so because companies, based on the credit report, not only determine how much loan to be given but also get a clear insight into the probability that whether the customer will pay off the debt or not. Most financial institutions do not extend loans to customers with poor

Virtue Ethical Theory Essay Example for Free

Virtue Ethical Theory Essay To be Happy, isnt that what life is all about? Some call it eudaimonia. Aristotle, one of the many great philosophers of our time, defined eudaimonia as â€Å"that at which all things aim†. Meaning, your life has come together as a whole, thus leading you to be happy. However, Aristotle also says that aiming for happiness is not what should I do, rather what sort of person should I become? For example, if we look at the people around us, we should only see people doing the things they feel they will be successful at, which will ultimately lead to great happiness, like going to school and getting a good job, which leads to things like a house, car, vacations and family. Flourishing is another common term, which means to grow or develop in a healthy way. It is not the kind of happiness you would get from winning the lottery or being lucky, but rather from doing, and accomplishing. So why do we still see people failing and unhappy around us? If we look at their choices and perhaps their ethical beliefs, we start to understand where ethics belongs in the journey of life, which leads me to what I am going to discuss, virtue theory. I will explain and offer an evaluation of this theorys strengths and weaknesses, as well as what it means to be virtuous. Aristotle believed that there are two types of virtue: intellectual virtues and moral virtues. Intellectual virtues are taught and moral virtues are developed through habit. (Richard Kraut, 2012). He believed that you are not just born a virtuous person, rather it is a skill acquired throughout ones lifetime. It is a committed way of living excellent. A common example used in todays description of virtue theory, is learning to play an instrument. To learn an instrument takes daily practice that sometimes takes years to master until it becomes second nature. To become virtuous takes the same dedication to become habit forming. Aristotle believed that all people have the possibility to learn moral education, i.e. the right way to act in different situations. However, Aristotle believed virtues cannot only be taught but that one must, most importantly connect with what it means to be virtuous. (SparkNotes Editors on Aristotle, 2005). Virtuous people are most commonly adults because they acquired these virtues though practice and by aspiring to be virtuous people at a young age. Virtue ethics avoid using a formula to determine ones actions, unlike most ethical theories, which involve rules and actions. It is based on character and focuses on the kind of person we ought to be, rather then what we ought to do. In Immanuel Kant’s deontology theory, a person makes a decision based on certain rules or principles. (Christopher Panza, 2010). Even though humans are naturally inclined to do what nature tells them to do, they often do not. Kant defines this as acting from motive of duty. For example, deontology is the belief that killing someone is wrong, even if it was self-defense. John Mills Utilitarian theory, sometimes referred to as consequentialism, is defined as â€Å"the greatest good for the greatest number of people. (Chrishopher Panza, 2010). For example, sacrificing one innocent person to save fifty innocent people or to choose the least bad of several bad options for the greatest amount of good. The theory of Aristotle’s golden mean, states that virtue is a point of moderation between two vices. (Karen Murdarasi, 2008). Which simply means too little of a good thing is undesirable, and too much of a bad thing is undesirable. A person who shares too much of their wealth is wasteful rather than a person who doesn’t share any is stingy. Generosity would be the virtue between the two means. Another famous example is the virtue of courage. Courage lies between the vices of rashness and cowardice. The coward has too much fear or fear when he shouldn’t have any. The rash person has little fear and too much confidence. The courageous person has the right amount. But how are we to know exactly how much of anything is right for anybody? Different degrees are needed for different situations for different people. Aristotle repeatedly reminds us that everyone is different and that virtues do not rely on religion, society, or culture. Instead it depends on the individuals themselves and the individual situation. We must understand that this doesn’t mean that cheating on your spouse occasionally is acceptable, nor is it tolerable to cheat frequently. We simply wouldn’t do it because virtuous people would take pride in being loyal and staying faithful to each other. There are many virtues that Aristotle lists, but most famously there are four cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. Prudence is the virtue that allows us to correctly know what is right and wrong in any given situation; to choose between virtuous and vicious actions. When we think back to the popular example of courage, an act of prudence would be being able to distinguish the difference between the two vices. When acts are courageous rather than rash or cowardly. Like the other three virtues, prudence is a virtue that can be adapted by anyone. Prudence is an intellectual virtue more than a moral virtue because we can learn it, but it is very connected to the moral virtues. We couldn’t learn prudence without moral virtues and it is not possible to be prudent and not morally good. An example of prudent behavior would be choosing an appropriate time and place of acting in a given situation. We wouldn’t go on Facebook while we were at work, nor would an individual decide to drive after having too many drinks at a party because prudence requires us to judge correctly for a specific situation. Justice is another cardinal virtue. It is ranked as the second of the cardinal virtues, behind prudence, but before fortitude and temperance. Justice means giving each person what he or she is rightfully due. For example if we lend money to a friend, it is right for us to get back what weve lent. We have the right to be given back what we are due and the friend has an obligation to pay back what he or she owes. We often say that â€Å"justice is blind† because it should not matter what we think of a particular person. If we owe him a debt, we must repay him back. Justice is also related to the idea of rights. We often use justice as a negative point; when we say things such as â€Å"he got what he deserves,† but used in its proper meaning it is positive. Injustice happens when individuals or the law deprives someone of something that he is owed. Fortitude is the third cardinal virtue. This virtue is commonly referred to as courage. Using courage to do the right thing is fortitude. Using courage to do the wrong thing is called obstinacy. Fortitude is about strength of the mind; Mental and emotional strength needed while facing adversity, pain, difficulty or danger in achieving one’s goals. We can use this virtue to overcome our fears and strengthen our character. When practicing fortitude, the person is willing to put him or herself in danger if necessary, but does not look for danger for fun. It is when a person endures pain or misfortune and doesnt complain about it. It is fighting the good fight and never giving up no matter what. Temperance is the ability to restrain yourself from good pleasure, such as eating or drinking, when doing so will benefit yourself or others. It is a form of self-discipline. Eating and drinking are all necessary for our survival, but if we over eat, we call that the vice of gluttony. Likewise, if we overindulge in alcoholic beverages we call that drunkenness. Temperance has nothing to specifically with how much we eat or drink; it’s about how much control you have over these things. Everyone wants to be in control of their own actions because that is one of the things we were designed for. In my research of ethics, I often thought of the TV show The Walking Dead, which deals with how a society is forced to handle a zombie apocalypse. What is different about this show than other zombie shows, is that The Walking Dead focuses more on the characters and the human response to the apocalypse rather than focusing just on the zombies. The Walking Dead is focused around Rick, a small-town Sheriff’s deputy, his family and a number of other survivors who have came together as a group in order to survive in the world after it has been taking over by zombies or as the characters call them, Walkers. If bitten by one of the Walkers, the victim dies a horrible death only to resurrect a short time later. How do the 4 cardinal virtues apply when you are in the midst of a zombie apocalypse? What does Eudaimonia mean to those that are fighting to stay alive at every moment? What would Aristotle do? Virtue ethics applies a great amount in The Walking Dead. Surviving amongst the zombies is without a doubt, the most challenging threat. As they learn more about the zombies, they find ways to avoid them and distract them, but most importantly they learn and master the most efficient and beneficial ways to kill them. It is surviving amongst the humans that, then becomes the most challenging threat. Prudence is most definitely practiced while living through the zombie apocalypse. It’s about doing the best thing based on the circumstances. Prudence is always about doing the right thing or doing the good thing most effectively. Rick responds with prudence to most situations, but again it is based on the circumstances. Some of the decisions he makes in this situation he wouldn’t need to make if there was not a zombie apocalypse happening. He makes the decision to give his 12-year-old son a gun and teaches him to use it for self-defense against the zombies and other humans that threaten him and his family. This proves to be very prudent because Carl saves many lives after knowing and learning how to use a gun. Another example of prudence in an extreme situation like this might have been when Rick and the gang run across a group of prisoners, some with better intentions than others. One of the prisoners, aggravated with Rick’s leadership, instantly tries to kill him during a zombie attack, not once but twice. Rick does not think twice and buries a machete into his skull. Maybe he was being prudent by eliminating the future threat to his family and group. Justice in the land of people-eating zombies will never be similar to justice in our normal world. If someone murders someone in our zombie-free world, we have laws that will bring justice to that situation. When someone murders in The Walking Dead, it is usually in self-defense, but there is still no government or laws that will bring justice to that situation. Many believe justice was brought when Shane, Rick’s best friend and partner on the police force, finally died. When Shane left Otis for dead after shooting him in the leg to distract the zombies, or blatantly verbalized his feelings that he wanted to call off the search for Sophie or when he attempted to kill Rick on three different occasions, one can only hope justice will be done. A few episodes later, Rick kills Shane in self-defense, therefore justice was done. Another example of justice in The Walking Dead is when Michonne stabs the governor in the eye, trying to kill him. He has done nothing but lie to everyone, kill innocent people, and he also sent men after her to kill her. So she tried to kill him but instead popped his eye out. Again, justice would be different if the zombie apocalypse was not in full swing. Mental strength or fortitude is shown in numerous situations in The Walking Dead. These characters put themselves in danger, almost always to try to better the situation for the group. In one scene, Rick and Glenn need to get to a vehicle and they figure out that covering themselves with zombie guts and blood allows them to walk among the ‘Walkers’ unnoticed. That would take extreme mental strength and courage. Another example is when Lori, Rick’s wife, sacrifices her life for her unborn baby. In the same scene, she asks her 12-year-old son to shoot her in the head immediately after the baby is born to prevent her from turning into a Walker. Again, they both show fortitude for the situation they were put in. Temperance or the restraint of a pleasurable act, might not be the same in a normal world than during a zombie apocalypse. Their world is in complete turmoil and there is a shortage of everything from food to bullets. When they find food in the prison they have to ration it to last a long time. If someone were to be gluttonous or to lose self-control during this situation it could be detrimental. If eudaimonia is happiness or human fulfillment then how does that apply in a zombie apocalypse? Maybe staying alive is maximum happiness? Just getting through everyday is fulfillment enough. Staying virtuous in a zombie land is a virtue in itself. Without law or fear of punishment, no one is trustworthy. The living, are as dangerous, if not more threatening than the undead. Living virtuously in a zombie-infected world is where one can find flaws in the virtue theory. Aristotle believed our obtainment of virtues could only take us so far. In order to become a virtuous person, one must demonstrate virtues in a certain type of world, not in a zombie infested post apocalyptic nightmare world. In our normal world, virtue theory also has its flaws. After all, if ethical theories didn’t have flaws philosophers would be out of a job. One of the problems with virtue ethics is that there is no general agreement on what the virtues are. What may seem virtuous to one person may not be to the next. Everyone has their own idea of virtue in any situation, and even if they act with good intentions; it may not bring out the best in the situation. How do we decide what virtues are the best for everyone? The idea of what is a virtue may change and may differ from time to time or from place to place. If there is no universal or generally accepted standard of what the virtues are, is this really a solid basis for an ethical life? Individual and cultural virtues are never going to be the same. Susan Wolf points out an additional disadvantage in the theory of virtue ethics. She claims that if everyone were virtuous there would be no incitement or diversity in the world. By this she meant that we need negative traits in the world to be able to recognize and distinguish the positive ones and learn how to develop our characters. (Mr. C Farrow, 2010) Virtue ethics is also accused of not giving enough guidance for particular moral dilemmas. So unlike deontology or utilitarianism, it doesn’t give us a formula for our actions. It doesn’t give us an easy way to tell what the right thing is to do. It would say the right thing to do is what a virtuous person would do. However, if we lack that particular virtue it is not that easy know what that means. To wrap things up, virtue ethics was originally developed as an opposing theory to deontology and utilitarianism. Though it is clear virtue ethics has its advantages and disadvantages, it seems to be the most logical and morally conscientious of the three ethics. The disadvantages listed above can be easily cleared up with Aristotle’s explanation that there are no permanent rules in ethics. Virtue ethics attempts to bring out the best in any individual and encourages us to be better people. By using the theory of virtue ethics, people are encouraged to develop their own character by aspiring to be virtuous like others. Repetition is the key to making actions a habit, and once these virtuous acts become second nature, then that person can become virtuous

The Study of the Relationship (Satire) Essay -- essays research papers

The Study of the Relationship Introduction A relationship? Something meaningful? Forever? HA! All ploys and devious schemes devised by horifically cruel creatures, in order to have their every wish granted for all of eternity. These terms were created to destroy our lives, they were created by the most evil and demented of all creatures, The Female. Ask any boyfriend, or should I say "slave", and they will tell you that the Female is a very mean creature that gets her every way without any questions. They turn us into their servants and force us into a permanent relationship, or a permanent "slavery", as I prefer to call it. Step One: Scouting Their Prey The First thing you need to remember about these...things, is that they always, without exeption, travel in packs. So remember that when aproaching one of them. Back to the point at hand. When in the proper habitat that these Females inhabit, stay cautious, as they seem to sometimes pounce upon their prey, and ask you to preform something that you are currently incapable of (example: asking you to dance). These manuvers are used to make you semi-embaressed, and thus would do anything to regain your higher status, no matter how long it takes you. Thus they have control before any plans are even made. Step Two: Pulling Out The Whip After the initial request made by the male generally, thye begin to start a "relationship", or so it is called. By this time you are already stuck with her, and all of your friends...

Abortion: Teenage Pregnancy

Alyssa Gonzalez Prof. Carter ENC 9020 11-3-09 Teenage Pregnancy Everyday we see or hear about a teenage girl pregnant. When were teenagers we don’t realize the long term effect on unprotected sex. Not only getting pregnant but picking up sexual transmitted diseases. There are many effects on teenage pregnancy emotional and physical. Teenage pregnancy is the number one problem in the United States on why kids drop out of school. Right now kids are having sex at a very young age and not using protection and getting pregnant causing young girls to drop out of school and not getting an education. In those cases the kids of the teenage moms usually end up being messed up because there parents were so young they don’t have that much of an education because they dropped out. Schools and parents encourage abstinence from all sexual activity but these days girls think the only way to prove to there boyfriend or just a hook up that they like them is by having sex. Resulting in pr egnancy if not using a condom or not on birth control or if those fail. Now girls and guys like having sex because its fun and it feels good not worrying so much about the consequences. Teenage pregnancy can be very stressful of course for the girl to having to decide whether or not to keep the baby, how to cope with motherhood or whether to make an adoption plan. The biggest effect a girl faces is the body changing during pregnancy and there lifestyle. Because most teenagers are drinking underage, smoking, lack of sleep, and unhealthy diet that can have a negative effect on the baby. Emotional teenage girls have a higher risk on health issues then an older women, such as anemia, pregnancy induced hypertension, toxemia, premature elivery, cervical trauma, and even death. Teenage girl is more likely to be undernourished and suffer premature and prolonged labor. Many of these risks is because a lack of parental guidance. When a teenager is pregnant it also has an effect on the society of being pregnant while your in school and unwed. People in our society seem to condemn the young girls that become pregnant and cast them aside. In peoples minds its that you have to be married out of school and have a house to be able to have a kid when that’s really not the case anymore.

Omnivores Delimma Essay

In America, we do not decide what is healthy and what is not by the authenticity of natural food, but rather nutrition facts. If we are in a store and see a label that says â€Å"only 100 calories† we are drawn to that item instead of an item labeled â€Å"organic† or â€Å"all-natural†. This is because as a society, we are always on a â€Å"fad diet† and believe that health has to do with calorie counting and sugar intake as opposed to the actual production of the food itself. In Michael Pollan’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma, argues that this is not the case. Pollan goes into an in-depth investigation to show that the organic food chain is the healthiest and most realistic of the â€Å"three principal food chains that sustain us today: the industrial, the organic, and the hunter-gatherer† (7), He describes the â€Å"omnivores dilemma† as the constant problem that people with vast amounts of food must face everyday. The question Pollan continuously raises is the idea that because we have the ability to eat almost everything, we struggle with being able to decide what the best choice is. Therefore we must always ask ourselves the question â€Å"what should we eat†? Throughout his extraordinary exploratory first hand research, Pollan shows that we would be healthier and happier if we truly knew where our food was coming from and how it was produced. Pollan promotes a food chain where the food can be directly traced back to its origins, as opposed to industrialized food. Therefore, it can be conceived that the best way to achieve this idea is to follow the organic food chain. The organic food chain is best for expressing Pollan’s idea that if we know where our food originates, we will be find greater satisfaction in our meals. The organic food chain is one that provides the most natural benefits to humans. A prime example of this can be seen on grass-farms because; grass is â€Å"the foundation of the intricate food chain† (126). Pollan points out that grass is typically overlooked as a material of consumption, however grass is one of the solid beginnings of the big organic food chain. There are two main human-grass phases. The first is mediated by animals because they are able to digest the grass and therefore produce meat for us to eat. In this process humans â€Å"deliberately promoted the welfare of the  grasses in order to attract and fatten the animals they depended on†. The second phase of the human-grass relationship, is known as the â€Å"invention of agriculture† (129). In this phase grass progressed to produce â€Å"dense seeds that could nourish humans directly†(129). Through this progression, this specific grass eliminated the necessity for animals to mediate the relationship between grass and people. This simple process is â€Å"beyond organic† and without the use of any kind of machinery. Therefore, allowing us to see where our food originated, which goes hand in hand with Pollan’s theory that if we see where our food comes from we are healthier and happier because we know exactly what we are putting into our bodi es. When it comes to big organic food, Pollan starts his investigation at Whole Foods. It is here that he brings up the idea that we like organic food because we believe that it is wholesome. Big organic food is food that is truly all natural and â€Å"beyond organic†, with no machinery or unnatural influences. The success of organic markets play into Pollan’s idea that we enjoy food more when we know where it comes from. The organic food chain is the most realistic option out of the three proposed food chains (industrialized, organic, and hunter-gatherers) that best promotes Pollen’s philosophy of the human relation to nature. Industrialized food chains are the furthest food chains from the lifestyle Pollan is trying to encourage. Both the conventional industrialized food supply and the industrial organic supply imply through labeling and advertising that their products are natural, when in fact that is not the case. When the word â€Å"organic† is labeled on anything we assume that it is all-natural which fulfils our â€Å"deepest, oldest longings†¦ for a connection to the earth† (137). We as a society tend to simply believe and assume the clever marketing â€Å"organic† companies use, however this is â€Å"an imperfect substitute for direct observation of how food is produced† (137). When Pollan investigated the industrialized food chain, he learned that corn is found in everything from food to batteries; essentially everything we eat is from a form of corn. Corn is a cheap crop, cheaper than grass, therefore ideal for an industrial production process. Because corn is so cheap there  is constantly an excess amount that needs to be disposed of, because of this problem surplus amounts of corn are used to feed cows. The problem with is that a â€Å"cow is by nature not a corn eater† (64); this is the first sign that this process is unnatural. Due to the unnatural meals the cows are forced to consume, there are many problems that come in return. One major problem is bloating due to the cow’s diet that â€Å"contains too much starch and too little roughage† (77), this small dietary substitute can often times lead to the animals suffocation. However, if the cow does not suffocate from their unsuitable diet, they still must be injected with antibiotics to ensure their health. This also fails to cohere to the idea of healthy food, additionally, the animal’s â€Å"drugs are plainly being used to treat sick animals, yet the animals probably wouldn’t be sick if not for the diet of the grain we feed them† (79). Once the animal is killed for the industrialized food supply, â€Å"what doesn’t pass through the gut of a food animal to become meat will pass through one of America’s twenty-five wet-mills† (86). These wet-mills are what makes processed food that are used for supplements, especially by big name brands such as McDonald’s. This food chain by far is the most unnatural of them all. However, it is we, the modern Americans, which keep this food chain successful. We are a perfect example for the phrase â€Å"ignorance is bliss†. We do not think that we are drinking corn when we have a soda, and we automatically assume the meat in our fast-food burgers is natural, healthy meat, when this could not be further from the truth. Pollan goes as far as to call this food â€Å"schematic† (119), he states that once we are finished with our industrialized meal we are not satisfied, but â€Å"simply, regrettably, full† (119). By leaving us unsatisfied, the industrialized food supply supports Pollan’s beliefs that knowing where our food comes from satisfies us and makes us happier eaters. In addition to the industrialized food chain, Pollan also finds wrong doings in the industrial organic food supply. The term â€Å"organic† is meant to refer to food that is made from nature, not machinery. The industrial organic process supply utilizes machinery, though in an environmentally sound way,  to produce their food. In an industrial organic process, a machine is used to transform â€Å"inputs of seed and fossil energy into outputs of carbohydrate and protein†(130). Industrial Organic is a paradox, because the word organic is meant to refer to food that is completely natural with no intercourse with machines, however in the Industrial Organic process, machines are employed. This process is still a process of manufacturing, and does not have the correct use of Pollan’s idea of human’s relation to nature because they take us farther from natural food, and the knowledge of where our food comes from. In The Omnivore’s Dilemma I found Pollan’s idea of how to engage with the natural world compelling, however I also it unrealistic. Though I do believe that it would be in all parts of the environment (including humans) best interest to establish a completely natural food chain, I also think that in this day and age, that would be impossible. Our modern day society is not necessarily focused on what is the best thing for us, but what is easiest. Even though processed foods from McDonland’s are unnatural and bad for our bodies, the food has a decent taste, is affordable, and is fast. Many modern American’s are not thinking about the future or where their food originated from because they have so many other things on their mind, and if they are knowledgeable about where their food came from, many of them simply do not care. As long as it is filling and tasty, it gets the job done. In the last page of the introduction to this book Pollan says â€Å"many people today seem perfectly content eating at the end of an industrial food chain, without a thought in the world; this book is probably not for them†(11). This sentence further proves my idea that people just do not care enough to change their way of living. Pollan is exactly right when he says â€Å"this book is not for them† because a decent amount of people do not want to know where their food comes, they do not want to spoil their appetite, and there lies the problem. In modern America, citizens are perfectly content with how things are now, and they have no reason to put in extra effort, time, and money, to fix something that they do not believe needs fixing.

COMPANY ASSIGNMENT 2015 Essays - Petroleum Politics, Free Essays

COMPANY ASSIGNMENT 2015 Essays - Petroleum Politics, Free Essays The plummeting price of oil is still the biggest energy story in the world. The oil price has fallen by more than 40% since June, the price of Brent crude as in Diagram 1.This comes after nearly five years of stability. At a meeting in Vienna on November 27th the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which controls nearly 40% of the world market, failed to reach agreement on production curbs, sending the price tumbling. Also hard hit are oil-exporting countries such as Russia (where the rouble has hit record lows), Nigeria, Iran and Venezuela. Why is the price of oil falling? The oil price is partly determined by actual supply and demand, and partly by expectation. Demand for energy is closely related to economic activity. It also spikes in the winter in the northern hemisphere, and during summers in countries which use air conditioning. Supply can be affected by weather (which prevents tankers loading) and by geopolitical upsets. If producers think the price is staying high, they invest, which after a lag boosts supply. Similarly, low prices lead to an investment drought. OPECs decisions shape expectations; if it curbs supply sharply, it can send prices spiking. Saudi Arabia produces nearly 10m barrels a daya third of the OPEC total. Four things are now affecting the picture. Demand is low because of weak economic activity, increased efficiency, and a growing switch away from oil to other fuels. Second, turmoil in Iraq and Libya, two big oil producers with nearly 4m barrels a day combined has not affected their output. The market is more sanguine about geopolitical risk. Thirdly, America has become the worlds largest oil producer. Though it does not export crude oil, it now imports much less, creating a lot of spare supply. Finally, the Saudis and their Gulf allies have decided not to sacrifice their own market share to restore the price. They could curb production sharply, but the main benefits would go to countries they detest such as Iran and Russia. Saudi Arabia can tolerate lower oil prices quite easily. It has $900 billion in reserves. Its own oil costs very little (around $5-6 per barrel) to get out of the ground. The main effect of this is on the riskiest and most vulnerable bits of the oil industry. These include American frackers who have borrowed heavily on the expectation of continuing high prices. They also include Western oil companies with high-cost projects involving drilling in deep water or in the Arctic, or dealing with maturing and increasingly expensive fields such as the North Sea. But the greatest pain is in countries where the regimes are dependent on a high oil price to pay for costly foreign adventures and expensive social programmes. These include Russia (which is already hit by Western sanctions following its meddling in Ukraine) and Iran (which is paying to keep the Assad regime afloat in Syria). Optimists think economic pain may make these countries more amenable to international pressure. Pessimists fear that when cornered, they may lash out in desperation World's largest oil exporter is forcing prices lower to win back market share but the high-risk strategy will test the house of Saudi like never before. Saudi Arabia has won the opening battle of its radical oil strategy by forcing prices lower. But the kingdom is about to enter into a dangerous new phase in its war to regain control of the worlds oil market. Saudi succeeded in bullying the other members of the (OPEC) into continuing to pump their current quota of 30m barrels per day as its first objective. The kingdoms veteran oil minister Ali Naimi clearly believes is necessary to shut down the cartels biggest rivals in Russia and the shale oil fields of Dakota. With 13pc of global oil reserves and the cheapest production costs, the kingdom believes that it can still buy back the market and secure higher prices over the long term. This is one of the most important policy initiatives by Saudi Arabia in the modern era. If victorious, Saudi Arabia will emerge stronger after re-asserting its global significance as the custodian of the worlds primary energy source. Besides, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi, the architect of OPECs strategy to

10 Facts to Imbue the Culture Research Paper with Catchy Info

10 Facts to Imbue the Culture Research Paper with Catchy Info The civilization is a product of the human activity. It grants the birth to various products of culture and a wide spectrum of phenomena which depict the state of society in various periods of time. The purpose of a culture research paper is to present an analysis of some cultural element and expose it to the public. The student is capable of conducting a deeper insight into some particular cultural element and either describe it or provide an investigation to detect some peculiarities or attract some public attention to the studied case. Here you will find ten interesting facts about the culture based on which you will be capable of organizing the material for the research paper on the culture of any type including arts and pop culture essay topics. The Facts about Culture that Will Help to Add Some Catchy Information Culture is everywhere.  This is the most fundamental fact about the culture of humanity. It is described in the definition of the term. The products of culture are the results of mutual work between all people in the world. Basically, this fact makes it easy to select the most appropriate topic for writing as any piece of literature, architecture, art, society is the product of culture. The scientist can analyze either past or add a deeper insight into the modern phenomenon. Culture is social.  Culture is not created by a single person only. It is a product of the activity of numerous representatives of mankind within a particular period of time. Interassociation between numerous people would be a decent addition to the research paper. It is advisable to select several representatives within a single time lap so that it was possible to define characteristic peculiarities of the studied topic. Culture is shared.  Culture is the entity that is shared between the society. Some writers can concentrate upon some mutual events within a single area like some sort of traditions or beliefs. The comparison with other traditions from a different area would be also a fine idea for investigation writing. The detection of some mutual and opposing features will be quite interesting to read about. Culture is historically transmitted.  The history of culture is among the most studied aspects of the science. The history of humanity is comprised of numerous events, and they gave birth to a variety of cultural achievements. It is consistently passed from one generation to another while adding some totally new elements to known culture creations. Culture is an everlasting process.  The most interesting fact about the culture is that it is constantly developing at the changeable speed. That is why it would be advisable to study the culture in progress. The growth of culture should be studied together with all background data, and all of them should be presented in the text for a more fundamental research. Culture is life-implemented.  Culture does not exist aside from the humanity. That is why you should add a fact with its impact on the society. Besides this, the culture can be studied together by means of other sciences as together the result will be more productive and reliable. Culture is flexible.  Culture is not a rigid entity. It is constantly changing under the influence of some side catalyzers. Adding information about some crucial events to the text can improve the quality of the culture research paper. You can also compare the studied object before or after some turning points. Culture is the response to outer factors.  We can consider culture the soul of the society. It is the emotions that react to the things that are taking place among humans. While working on some topic, think what gave birth to the origin of the cultural phenomenon and what contributed to its being what it is now. Culture is in the language.  You can better understand a culture of other people when you start learning the language/-es they speak. Many interesting, sometimes, shocking cultural things are entwined in the language. Moreover, learning foreign languages helps get rid of cultural chinches imposed on us by TV and social media. Ancient culture – the mother of all the modern cultures.  Most traditions, rituals, tendencies in various spheres of the modern life have already existed. Scientists discovered dozens of ancient civilizations who used most of the modern trends and even inventions. We should think that all that we’ve invented is original. In most cases, it is the second life of things that were habitual thousands of years ago. Accept the fact that culture is our greatest richness, and all of us contribute to the creation of the culture the way it is. There are endless opportunities for studying the culture, and all of them have something fascinating to offer to the public. All the information that will be presented in the culture investigation will certainly be fascinating and attractive for every reader who is interested in social events. References: Schwartz, T. (1981). The acquisition of culture. Ethos, 9, 4-17.  https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1525/eth.1981.9.1.02a00020 Global Culture/Individual Identity: Searching for Home in the Cultural Supermarket. Gordon Mathews. New York: Routledge, 2000. 228 pp.  https://books.google.com.ua/books?id=ros1GR2ykH8Cprintsec=frontcoverhl=uksource=gbs_ViewAPIredir_esc=y#v=onepageqf=false Spencer-Oatey, H. (2012) What is culture? A compilation of quotations. GlobalPAD Core Concepts.  https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/al/globalpad/openhouse/interculturalskills/global_pad_-_what_is_culture.pdf Triandis, H. C. (1994) Culture and Social Behavior. New York: McGraw Hill  http://eyewitness.utep.edu/3331/LonnerMalpass1994%20Chap%2024.pdf Levin, Ilya. (2014). CULTURAL TRENDS IN A DIGITAL SOCIETY.  https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ilya_Levin/publication/262414154_CULTURAL_TRENDS_IN_A_DIGITAL_SOCIETY/links/00463537a50e2527ae000000/CULTURAL-TRENDS-IN-A-DIGITAL-SOCIETY.pdf?origin=publication_detail

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Smartphone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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Employee Engagement and Intrinsic Motivation Thesis

Employee Engagement and Intrinsic Motivation - Thesis Example In 2006, the Conference Board published ‘Employee Engagement, A Review of Current Research and Its Implications’. Going by this report we see that twelve extensive studies have been published over the course of four years mainly by research firms such as Gallup, Towers Perrin, Blessing White, and the Corporate Leadership Council among others (Soldati, 2007). The Conference Board as a result took and combined all the results in order to come up with a blended definition that incorporated all the themes in it. They define employee engagement as â€Å"a heightened emotional connection that an employee feels for his or her organization, that influences him or her to exert greater discretionary effort to his or her work†. According to at least four of the studies agree upon eight of the key drivers: 1. Trust and integrity – how efficiently do managers commune and do what they preach? 2. Nature of the job –Is it psychologically inspiring every day? 3. The line between company performance and employee performance – Does the employer have an idea of how their performance will affect the company as a whole? 4. Opportunities for career growth – Will there be opportunities to grow in the future? 5. Pride about the company – Does the employee feel proud to be associated by the organization? 6. Coworkers/team members – Teamwork will greatly improve the employee motivation 7. Development of the employees – Does the organization make an effort to improve the employee’s skills and abilities? 8. Relationship with the manager – Does the employee treasure his or her relations with the boss? The other vital findings of the study included the fact that in comparison to the smaller companies, the larger companies tend to involve the workers more in the workplace. Employee age also creates a big difference in the vitality of the various drivers. As an example we can quote that employees who fall over t he age of 44 will place more importance on ‘recognition and reward for their contribution’, in comparison to their younger counterparts who place a higher value on ‘challenging environment/career growth opportunities’. However, one things that came across as the most important factor among all studies was the factor of one’s relationship with one’s manager. It was seen that it highly influenced the motivation levels of the employees in almost every case. Also according to the report, employee engagement is plays a very important part in the workplace. There is obvious and rising proof that high levels of employee engagement eagerly associates to individual, group as well as corporate performance in a number of crucial areas such as loyalty, retention, productivity, customer service and turnover. It is also seen that this difference is not just by small margins but big ones. Even though the results varied from study to study, the employees who were highly engaged usually outperformed their counterparts by a whopping 20-28%. This is a clear image of how employee engagement influences their workplace decisions as well as paves a way towards further organizational success by effectively instilling into the workers a desire to work efficiently. Finally, there is some verification that companies are reacting to this concept of employee engagement challenge mostly by creating flatter chains of command and also providing training for first-line managers to improve the communication at all levels (Flemund &

Be Your Own Boss Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Be Your Own Boss - Essay Example In addition, there has been scarcity of clean water especially in the developing countries leading to an increase of water borne diseases and deaths. For example, in the developing countries young children at the age of less than five years experience an average of 10 attacks of water borne diseases. Ice Cool Water Company (ICWC) is focused at providing safe and clean Ice Cool water within Birmingham City where the firm will be located. In order to ensure Ice Cool remain competitive in the bottled water industry, it will in future emulate extensive marketing strategies and adequate research to ensure that it meets the high demand for clean water in regions like Bangladesh, Nepal, and developing countries within the Africa continent. Feasibility of the business idea Birmingham City has the population of more than 1.4 million people making it to be the second most populous city after London (Hodder, 2004). In this regard, Ice Cool Water has a high possibility of acquiring a large marke t segment. To expand its supply to match with the consumers demand, ICWC will need to employ large number of skilled manpower that will also ensure quality products are provided in the market. Birmingham City University, one of the biggest universities in United Kingdom is a key institution that will provide experts who will be hired by the company. The skills possessed by the graduates from Birmingham City University and other institutions of higher learning within Birmingham's metropolitan area, provides effective and productive employees. In its production process, ICWC will greatly emphasize environmental conservation. In this way, the company will enjoy the support of the Birmingham Friends of the Earth, a volunteer group that advocates for development of industries that cater for conservation of the environment (Gordon, 1994).With a GDP of more than $90bn, the purchasing power of the of Birmingham residents is high. In this way, the company will not take a long time to break e ven thus making it to be at par with its competitors who are already established in the UK market (Kurtz, 2010). Being a renowned engineering and manufacturing centre, the city has high number of personnel who will be highly demanded in the production facility systems. This implies that ICWC will not incur high costs of hiring foreign engineers thus resulting to low costs of establishing the company. This feasibility study therefore shows that the establishment of ICWC is a viable idea and the company has the opportunity of excelling in the UK and international market. Market research and competitor analysis As mentioned earlier the city of Birmingham and Birmingham's metropolitan area in general, have high population resulting to establishment of large number of bottled water companies as they seek to expand their sales by meeting the high demand for their products in the market. Key competitors that ICWC will face include A Fine Choise Ltd, Aqua Amore Ltd, Refresh Water Ltd, Rent a Water Cooler, and Aqua Victis Ltd among others. Based on their early market entry, the competitors have the strength of large market segment and increased revenue. However, ICWC will provide quality and cheap bottled water that will ensure it attracts new customers even those who are loyal towards our competitors. It is worthy to note that even though the competitors have wide market segment, they have not effectively penetrated foreign market including Peru and Bangladesh where

Employee Engagement and Intrinsic Motivation Thesis

Employee Engagement and Intrinsic Motivation - Thesis Example In 2006, the Conference Board published ‘Employee Engagement, A Review of Current Research and Its Implications’. Going by this report we see that twelve extensive studies have been published over the course of four years mainly by research firms such as Gallup, Towers Perrin, Blessing White, and the Corporate Leadership Council among others (Soldati, 2007). The Conference Board as a result took and combined all the results in order to come up with a blended definition that incorporated all the themes in it. They define employee engagement as â€Å"a heightened emotional connection that an employee feels for his or her organization, that influences him or her to exert greater discretionary effort to his or her work†. According to at least four of the studies agree upon eight of the key drivers: 1. Trust and integrity – how efficiently do managers commune and do what they preach? 2. Nature of the job –Is it psychologically inspiring every day? 3. The line between company performance and employee performance – Does the employer have an idea of how their performance will affect the company as a whole? 4. Opportunities for career growth – Will there be opportunities to grow in the future? 5. Pride about the company – Does the employee feel proud to be associated by the organization? 6. Coworkers/team members – Teamwork will greatly improve the employee motivation 7. Development of the employees – Does the organization make an effort to improve the employee’s skills and abilities? 8. Relationship with the manager – Does the employee treasure his or her relations with the boss? The other vital findings of the study included the fact that in comparison to the smaller companies, the larger companies tend to involve the workers more in the workplace. Employee age also creates a big difference in the vitality of the various drivers. As an example we can quote that employees who fall over t he age of 44 will place more importance on ‘recognition and reward for their contribution’, in comparison to their younger counterparts who place a higher value on ‘challenging environment/career growth opportunities’. However, one things that came across as the most important factor among all studies was the factor of one’s relationship with one’s manager. It was seen that it highly influenced the motivation levels of the employees in almost every case. Also according to the report, employee engagement is plays a very important part in the workplace. There is obvious and rising proof that high levels of employee engagement eagerly associates to individual, group as well as corporate performance in a number of crucial areas such as loyalty, retention, productivity, customer service and turnover. It is also seen that this difference is not just by small margins but big ones. Even though the results varied from study to study, the employees who were highly engaged usually outperformed their counterparts by a whopping 20-28%. This is a clear image of how employee engagement influences their workplace decisions as well as paves a way towards further organizational success by effectively instilling into the workers a desire to work efficiently. Finally, there is some verification that companies are reacting to this concept of employee engagement challenge mostly by creating flatter chains of command and also providing training for first-line managers to improve the communication at all levels (Flemund &

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Putin and Russia's Security Services - Essay Example His mission is to regain the lost security strength that had been lost during the Yeltsin regime. This is on condition that the world military organization is developing a reality that any country must observe. It is true that the Russian security system has been circulating around the KGB. In addition, the United States of America have been the greatest threat to Russian security. Therefore, Russia has invested heavily on agents whose work is to spy the activities of the U.S.A2. For example, two former Soviet agents were arrested in U.S.A by the FBI on 13th October, 1998 and were charged of selling military secrets to the capital of Russia, Moscow. On 13th June, 2000, a retired Russian Army Colonel was arrested on the basis of transiting information from USA to Russia in the period of cold war. Another Russian intelligent Stanislav Gusev was arrested by the FBI for recording transmissions from a bug implanted in a state conference

Convergence-towards-ifrs-in-malaysia-issues-challenges-and-opportunities Essay Example for Free

Convergence-towards-ifrs-in-malaysia-issues-challenges-and-opportunities Essay In the year 2008 the then Malaysian Accounting Standard Board’s (MASB) chairman, Dato Zainal Abidin Putih, announced that Malaysia will be converging with International Accounting Standard Board (IASB)’s International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS). From that point onwards many initiatives were lined up by MASB and the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) in order to educate, train and inform all the relevant stakeholders in tandem with fast approaching deadline to converge, which is for the earliest year-end financial reporting date, 31 December 2012. On 19 November 2011, MASB issued the third accounting framework to be applied in Malaysia and this new accounting framework that is IFRS-compliant is dubbed as Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards framework (MFRS). The issuance of MRFS is vital to show and prove the Malaysian commitment and also it becomes a solid guideline for all entities that are administered by Securities Commission of Malaysia and the convergence begin on or after 1 January 2012. Historically, Malaysian accounting standards have always closely followed the former International Accounting Standards (IAS) and the current IFRS. This is due to the colonisation effect on Malaysia, where Malaysia was a British colony up to the year 1957 and many of the accounting standards applied in the United Kingdom has always made its way to be adopted by the Malaysian standard setters authorities and regulators. As Mohammad Faiz Azmi stated in forums that the Malaysian story of convergence has been a ‘slow and steady’ approach and this phased-in approach even though slower is expected to put Malaysian entities in a better position as the problems and challenges faced by Malaysian companies are far much reduced compared to other countries that adopted the ‘big bang’ approach, for example the South Koreans, where the accounting standard setters and regulators in South Korea agreed on full adoption of IFRS (Nazatul Izma, 2009; Suh, 2011) ACCOUNTING FRAMEWORKS IN MALAYSIA Currently Malaysian entities are subject to three sets of accounting frameworks, the first accounting framework is the old Financial Reporting Standards framework (FRS), next is the Private Entity Reporting Standards framework (PERS) and finally the Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards framework (MFRS). All these three frameworks are legally approved frameworks by MASB and can be applied by entities in Malaysia but subject to the type of entity. The three types of frameworks are outlined and discussed below. MFRS framework is to be applied by all entities other than private entities for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2012. Private entities are private companies which are incorporated under the Companies Act 1965, that are not itself required to prepare or lodge any financial statements under any law administered by the Securities Commission Malaysia or Bank Negara Malaysia. Private entities are also not subsidiaries or associates of or jointly controlled by an entity which is required to prepare or lodge any financial statements under any law administered by the securities Commission Malaysia or Bank Negara Malaysia. However ‘Transitioning Entities’ are excluded from applying MFRS and these ‘Transitioning Entities’ are entities that are in the scope of MFRS 141 for ‘Agriculture’ (equivalent to IAS 41) and IC Interpretation 15 for ‘Agreement for Construction of Real Estate’, (equivalent to International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) 15) including its parent, significant investor and venture. These ‘Transitioning Entities’ have an option to either apply the MFRS framework or the old FRS framework, but this leeway is only allowed for one year, as these ‘Transitioning Entities’ need to apply the MFRS framework by  Page 43 International Journal of Business, Economics and Law, Vol. 1 ISSN 2289-1552 2012 annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013 at the latest (Nazatul Izma, 2009; KPMG, 2011; Accountants Today 2012; Ganespathy, 2012; Jebaratnam, 2012). PERS framework is to be applied only by private entities but these private entities have an option to apply MFRS framework for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2012. If the private entities choose to apply MFRS framework and these entities are in the scope of MFRS 141 for ‘Agriculture’ (equivalent to IAS 41) and IC Interpretation 15 for ‘Agreement for Construction of Real Estate’, (equivalent to IFRIC 15), therefore known as ‘Transitioning Entities’, they have the choice to either apply MFRS framework or FRS framework, but these freedom is applicable up to 31 December 2012, as these entities need to revert to MFRS framework for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013 (Accountants Today, 2012; Jebaratnam, 2012). FRS framework which is the Malaysian version of IAS, which has been the main accounting standards framework for nonprivate entities before the introduction of MFRS framework can be applied only by ‘Transitioning Entities’, but as stated earlier, such entities need to revert to MFRS framework for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013 (Accountants Today, 2012; Jebaratnam, 2012) ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN FULL ADOPTION OF IFRS IN MALAYSIA MFRS 1 covers issues pertaining to ‘First-Time Adoption of Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards’ and the transition date stated in MFRS 1 is the beginning of the earliest period for which an entity presents a full comparative information under MFRSs in its first MFRS based statements. Following the requirement of MFRS 1, MFRS 101 on ‘Presentation of Financial Statements’ requires reporting entities to present three ‘Statements of Financial Position’ and two ‘Statement of Comprehensive Income’, ‘Statements of Changes in Equity’ and ‘Statement of Cash Flows’ each. MFRS also dictates that entities need to present statement of financial position as at the beginning of the comparative financial year, therefore reporting entities requires their financial statements to be prepared based on the requirement of MFRS from the financial year beginning on and after 1 January 2010, or otherwise be very cautious to make retrospective restatements and/or reclassify items in all the financial statements and notes to accounts and the transition date would be on or after 1 January 2011. The expectation is that the entities are able to present MFRS compliant financial statements come the year-end financial reporting on 31 December 2012, which may become an issue, if these entities are not MFRS ‘ready’ (Accountants Today, 2012). Another challenge for full adoption of IFRS in Malaysia is that under MFRS 1, whenever the cost of complying with MFRS exceeds the benefits to the users of financial statements and also if retrospective application would mean that judgement by management of a known transaction is required, IASB would grant exemptions and therefore this would create unlevel playing field amongst non-private entities in Malaysia that are supposed to apply MFRS framework as the criterion for full-adoption. To ensure that the reporting entities in Malaysia are MFRS compliant, these entities should perform a comprehensive, thorough and detailed examination of the readiness of their entity in becoming MFRS compliance to avoid any investigation by the authority due to non-compliance after the grace period for full adoption is over. If Malaysia ends up trimming its MFRS as a convergence framework that can be adapted to fit the local conditions and not a one size fits all set of standards, because a full adoption forces countries to surrender their sovereignty, then Malaysia will have serious issues and will face difficulties to be endorsed as a country that compliances to full IFRS adoption (Nazatul Izma, 2009). But as it is evident, MFRS 141 and IC 15 for ‘Transitioning Entities’ is an exception given to such entities to comply to full IFRS adoption by reverting to MFRS framework for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013. Even though the IAS 41 assumption that fair value can be measured for biological assets was an issue, but this sort of issues should be communicated clearly to the practitioners and this is where the education and training of the practitioners is key for a successful full adoption of IFRS. For example MFRS 141 (IAS 41) disagreement with IASB need to be entirely made clear to the Malaysian practitioners, as IASB currently have agreed to recognise palm oil tree as a non current asset and not as an inventory (Nazatul Izma, 2009). One of the most common perceived advantages of convergence to IFRS is the possibility of increased foreign direct investment (FDI) (Gardiner, 2000; Christiansen, 2002), but as of 2010, report on the most attractive FDI destinations, the world’s highest FDI receivers are China, United States of America and India, of which none have converged to IFRS. Therefore, the notion that IFRS convergence will attract FDI is not valid, and this so called advantage cannot be applied to entice countries to adopt IFRS for financial reporting of their entities. IFRSs for SME is another reason to ponder on the real plausibility of full adoption of IFRS. If MASB chooses to adopt IFRS for SMEs to replace PERS, than we will have another version of ‘diluted’ IFRS as a framework within the Malaysia accounting scenario. Dr Paul Pacter, the board member and chairman of the SME implementation group, mentioned that some topics in the IFRS were omitted from the IFRS for SMEs, due to its irrelevance and also due to the fact that the ‘diluted’ version will be a simpler option for the SMEs to apply (Nazatul Izma, 2010). The IFRS for SMEs were simplified on the recognition and measurement and the disclosures were also reduced. Brian Blood, the Chief Executive of Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA) mentioned that the IFRS for SMEs were developed to assist SMEs to prepare and present high quality and timely financial statements and information. Other benefits of SMEs applying the IFRS for SMEs are that the financial reporting is done in a consistent manner and not too expensive to prepare (Nazatul Izma, 2010). Having said all that, the fact is that there is a different set of IFRS for SMEs, therefore, it does not allow for full adoption, but maybe just a mere convergence. James Sylph, the executive director, Professional Standards and External Relations of International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) in a forum in 2012, strongly advocated that national accounting standard setters’ authorities and regulators should move away from the mere concept of convergence to a more profound notion of full-adoption. Page 44 International Journal of Business, Economics and Law, Vol. 1 ISSN 2289-1552 2012 Mohammad Faiz Azmi, MASB chairman, indicated that Malaysia will not require the IFRS for SMEs to avoid an ‘underconverged’ version used by SMEs due to the lack of human resources to implement new IFRS based regulations; therefore MASB is still uncertain about how exactly they should deal with the issue related to SME and IFRS (Nazatul Izma, 2010) MASB together with MIA will have to look into the issue of the readiness of the Malaysian education system to deliver enough trained accountants that are IFRS savvy, as a full IFRS adoption can be burdensome and the human capital need to be created to fulfill this need. Mohammad Faiz Azmi mentioned that MASB is working with enforcers to amend the Financial Reporting Act (1997) to allow making amendments to accounting standards in Malaysia if there are any substantial issues that MASB disagrees with IASB (Nazatul Izma, 2009). This again will give some space for MASB for not to adopt the full adoption of IFRS as there will be some possible avenue to make changes in the IFRS provided by IASB. Companies Act 1965 and Financial reporting Act 1997 are the two most important acts pertaining financial statements reporting in Malaysia. The directors are supposed to be responsible for the preparation and presentation of a true and fair set of financial statements of reporting entities and these directors should be aware and be sure that their entities are IFRS ready.

The Transformation of Ishmael in Snow Falling on Cedars :: Snow Falling Cedars Essays

The Transformation of Ishmael in Snow Falling on Cedars What can be said about a novel of such luminance as Snow Falling on Cedars that has not already been said? Certainly it is a work of much vision and insight and speaks volumes about prejudice and race. The wordplay of Guterson creates a world of vivid reality-it surrounds the reader with sights, smells and a clearly defined sense of touch. Perhaps lost amidst the smells of the strawberry fields, the cold of the winter storm, and the deep social statements about the nature and quirkiness of prejudice is the fact that this beautifully crafted story of immense complexity is in reality a very simple story about the identity of one man. Guterson himself says, "Post-modernism is dead because it didn't address human needs. The conventional story endures because it does. I'm interested in themes that endure from generation to generation" (qtd. in Kanner). This book is a conventional story, a simple story about the internal battle of Ishmael Chambers as he struggles with himself. This is made evident in the subtle and not too subtle comparisons made between Ishmael and other characters. Taking all of this into account reveals that the true theme of the book centers on the transformation of Ishmael from weak to strong. First, who is Ishmael Chambers? He is the son of a very well-respected and prominent citizen of San Piedro, Arthur Chambers. When Arthur dies, Ishmael takes over the job as the local news reporter. He is introduced into the story as a journalist in the trial of Kabuo Miyamoto and appears to remain aloof, a passive third person eye that would analyze the information impartially. In addition to being a reporter, Ishmael is also a war veteran with a missing limb as a souvenir to boot. The reader gets the feeling that Ishmael plays a small and minor role in the upcoming plot. This, however, is false. As the book gathers momentum, it becomes increasingly clear that Ishmael ties into the fabric of the outcome of the story-from the childhood and young adult romance between Hatsue and him, to the emotional scene where his arm is amputated, to the final climax where he discovers the evidence that can clear Kabuo's name, Ishmael is the crux on which the storyline hinges.

Madness in College Athletics Isnt Confined to March :: Sports Basketball Essays

The basketball arena is packed with a sellout crowd of over 13,000 cheering fans. The television cameras capture the game for the entire nation. A horn blares, and the game, which was supposed to be a blowout, is now in overtime. The pressure is huge, because if the underdog wins, it would make history. Both teams are anxious, but focused, knowing that one misstep, misjudgment, or misfire could make or break the season, and everything they have worked for all year. Such was the scene during the recent ‘March Madness† game, between #4 seeded Syracuse, and #13 seeded Vermont, a.k.a. the ‘Cinderella Story,’ of this year’s NCAA tourney. The Catamounts, who were not expected to make much noise during the tournament, opened it with a bang, after securing a win over powerhouse Syracuse in the final seconds of overtime. Now imagine, a player on Vermont’s super squad. He has spent the past few years working nonstop to get to this point in his basketball career, and it has finally arrived. However, after the cheering, congratulations, and celebrations, he must go back to school, and finish studying for midterms, which happens to coincide with the post-season schedule. When fans watch March Madness, or any other college sporting event, it is safe to say that most don’t look at their TVs, and think about how the athletes will spend the bus ride home trying to catch up on the schoolwork they missed so they could compete in the away game. However, this is the reality of a college student-athlete. There are constant obligations to fulfill, and expectations to be met, on every level, and most of the time, the reality is stressful. â€Å"Athletes have additional time constraints, and pressure to perform not only academically, but athletically†¦.and then there’s the stress that their body undergoes,† said Lauren Haas, director of student-athlete support services at Northeastern University. Haas also pointed out that student-athletes face a strain to try and lead the life of a normal college student, even though they have additional requirements. Student-athletes often have similar obligations to the average student, in the classroom, and in the workforce. Academically, athletes must complete the same amount of schoolwork as their peers, although they have less time to complete it, and they miss classes to participate in scheduled competitions. Most professors do not offer an extension on the workload. Financially, many athletes have jobs to offset tuition costs, which they must juggle into a busy schedule.

Implications of Pure Food Act in Bangladesh

University of Dhaka Faculty of Business Studies Department of Marketing IMPLICATIONS OF PURE FOOD ACT IN BANGLADESH Submitted to Shehely Parvin Assistant Professor Submitted by NADEEM NAFIS – 4119044 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 2 Adulteration runs rampant in the country. Dangers lurk in every food items. From vegetables, fish, milk, fruit, sweetmeats, ice cream, to spices, nothing is safe. Packaged and bottled drinks, both locally produced and imported, with harmful ingredients and chemicals are being sold in the market. Many of the dry food items available in the market are being produced in bewildering unhygienic locations.Oblivious of the dangers lurking in the everyday food items, parents now ask their children to eat foods that contain vitamins, iron and calcium. Though there is a law but still no effect or it is ineffective. However in doing this report I feel luck to aware myself and eventually it will give me knowledge to make aware others people around me. I would like to g ive a big thanks to Shehely Parvin, Assistant professor of Department of Marketing, University of Dhaka and course teacher of MKT-510- Business Environment. This course made me to undertake the responsibility of preparing a project on â€Å"Implications of pure food act in Bangladesh†.This report is required as a part of fulfilling the objectives of a project course (MKT-510) Nadeem Nafis 41119044 MKT-510 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Food adulteration in the country has assumed alarming proportions. Experts in medical biology point out that consumption of adulterated food affects people with kidney dysfunction, diabetes and cardiac problems. They further point out that one of the important reasons for infertility is the presence of residues of pesticides, growth hormones, heavy metals and mycotoxins in our food. The main reason for this is that our farmers are not properly trained in the use of chemical fertilisers.Absence of effluent treatment plants on one hand (ETP) and lack of train ing of the farmers, the factory wastes, fertiliser and pesticide residues are drained out at will into the farmlands, ultimately contaminating the farm at large. A study by the Institute of Public health revealed that more than 50% food samples including water which they had tested were adulterated. According to D. G. , BSTI the production of contaminated drinking water has been increasing in the country. BSTI revealed that about 1,000 drinking water factories exist in the country, only 400 of which have licenses from the BSTI.Bottlers of drinking water factories have mushroomed with little regard to compliance of standard or BSTI license. Despite BSTI cancelling the licenses of 139 bottling factories in the last 18 months, there has been no news in setting up new factories in new locations. The result: Children and aged people are facing constant threat of diseases even with the bottled water produced by these factories. Textile dyes are being randomly used to colour sweetmeats lik e kalojam, chamcam, pantua cakes and pastries. Urea fertiliser is used for whitening puffed rice.A section of factory owners, through use of other low quality oil and mustard colour, continue to market mustard oil. Sadly, in most cases they are using allyl isothiocyanate to give off a mustard oil extra bite. 3 MKT-510 When the import of soyabean oil becomes uncertain or the price shoots up globally, the local market manipulators resort to dishonest means. Unscrupulous millers resort to mixing soyabean oil with poor quality palm oil or super oil. In the domain of fruits and vegetables there prevails a total anarchy. Gullible consumers are buying fruits, locally produced or imported, from malls not realising what they are bargaining for.Many people in the country have stopped buying fruits, especially mangoes from the city markets after watching the destruction of formalin and ethofen-laced mangoes and grapes by the mobile courts on TV. Papya and bananas are artificially ripened by ch emicals like ethylene oxide and formalin. Experts in medical biology point out that ethylene oxide is carcinogenic and when used over food might invite a disaster. The key findings of the EPA study group suggest that many children may develop cancer sometime during their lifetime as a result of the pesticide or toxic-laden products they consume.The test conducted by BSTI-run mobile courts on fruit samples like mango, banana, lichis and jackfruit collected from Badamtali, Amin bazaar and Karwan bazar show the presence of formalin and ethofen, which in the short term will cause diarrhea, food poisoning and gastrointestinal disorder but in the long-term will accumulate to serious health implications. Fish is considered an essential protein for people of all categories and ages. Many fish sellers spray fish with formalin (formaldehyde gas mixed with methyl alcohol), an organic chemical, usually used for preserving tissues.It makes the fish appear stiff and fresh for a longer period of t ime. Regular intake of such adulterated fish and vegetables might cause cancer. The month of Ramadan will bring more such woes for Muslims because of the excessive fried items sold for a month. A section of restaurant owners use refined engine oil to fry chickens, kabab, peaju and potato crisps. Engine oil used as cooking ingredient makes food tasty, claim a section of the restaurant 4 MKT-510 owners. Defying health department regulations, many restaurant owners and street vendors use leftover cooking oil.This increases the peroxide limit of the oil, turning it toxic. The NRDC report goes on to charge that the governments of the countries surveyed are failing to adequately protect the youngsters from such dangers. Given the fact that children are consuming toxic food, they are likely to be more vulnerable than adults. Their organs may not be as efficient in removing toxic chemicals. In Bangladesh, we have allowed both pollution and food contamination to run riot. No agency other tha n BSTI has conducted any examination of the pesticide-residue levels or toxic chemicals in the food market.With a totally inefficient monitoring system, just having tough laws is not enough to keep unscrupulous traders from tampering with food items. BSTI sources revealed that it conducted 1,039 mobile courts across the country in seven months from July last year to February this year and detected rampant malpractice and adulteration in the food production centres. Some Tk. 23. 8 million were realised as fine during the drives while 1,086 cases were filed and 66 people were sent to jail. According to DG, BSTI, adulteration problem could be controlled easily if the DCC performed its job properly.The DCC is supposed to do so instead of BSTI.. DCC have their own magistrates while BSTI has to hire magistrates from the district administration. Despite the Pure Food Ordinance 2005, there was hardly any effort to enforce it. Even when the country's apex court issued orders again in 2009 fo r setting up food court and one food testing centre in every district, no effort was taken to implement it. With 50million people in the country known to be afflicted with complicated diseases by taking adulterated food, the administration has got to be scary.Given the political will, it is not very difficult to control this nefarious business by a handful of traders out to kill people slowly through poison; simply for minting money. 5 MKT-510 God forbid! What will happen if one of their near relations get affected with some deadly diseases by taking such adulterated food? 6 MKT-510 CONTENTS Description Page 9 9 10 11 12 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 23 27 29 30 30 30 7 1 1. 1 1. 2 Introduction Background of the report Scope of the report 2 2. 1 2. 1. 1 2. 1. 2 2. 1. 3 2. 1. 4 2. 1. 5 2. 2 Food safety: A public health priorityMajor issues in food safety Microbiological hazards Chemical hazards Surveillance of food borne dieses New technologies Capacity building Importance of food safet y 3 3. 1 3. 1. 1 3. 1. 2 3. 1. 3 3. 1. 4 Food safety & quality control framework in Bangladesh Laws , regulations & standards Laws & regulations Bangladesh pure food ordinance, 2005 in detail Analysis of food Bangladesh food standards 4 4. 1 4. 1. 1 Implications of pure food act in Bangladesh Using chemicals & industrial dyes to look food fresh & tasty Arsenic phosphorous & the carbide produces acetylene gasMKT-510 4. 1. 2 4. 1. 3 4. 1. 4 4. 1. 5 4. 1. 6 4. 2 4. 3 4. 4 Fish in kitchen market are stored in formaldehyde Condense milk Sulphuric acid & industrial dyes Formaldehyde Do you have formaldehyde related symptoms? Adulterated food The drive against adulterate food Laboratory analysis of food 31 32 34 35 36 38 40 42 44 44 46 47 48 50 8 5 5. 1 5. 2 5. 3 Implementation of food ordinance Administration & inspection Efforts by NGO’s WHO/FAO supported food safety program in Bangladesh 6 7 Conclusion & Recommendations References MKT-510 1. INTRODUCTION 1. Background of the Repo rt 9 Food safety legislation should be developed and updated taking into consideration specific needs of consumers and food producers, development in technology, emerging hazards, changing consumer demands and new requirements for trade, harmonization with international and regional standards, obligations under the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements, as well as social, religious and cultural habits. The implementation of food safety legislation throughout the food chain is essential in establishing an effective food safety system.Effective national food control systems are essential to protect the health and safety of domestic consumers. They are also critical in enabling countries to assure the safety and quality of their foods entering international trade and to ensure that imported foods conform to national requirements. The new global environment for food trade places considerable obligations on both importing and exporting countries to strengthen their food control syste ms and to implement and enforce risk-based food control strategiesThe pure Food Act 2005 is the Bangladeshi food legislations that form the backbone of the food safety programme. The objective of the pure Food Act 2005 is to ensure that the public is protected from health hazards and fraud in the preparation, sale and use of foods and for matters connected therewith. MKT-510 1. 2 Scope of the report There are numerous types of implications are now occurring against pure food act of Bangladesh but we are unable to depict all of these fields of events. However in this report the major concerns are delicately depicted.Again due to time, information & synchronization stricture all details are not fully exposed. But in general if one goes through this report then he/she will find very interesting & can learn the impact not only on our society but also on the rest of the world. 10 1. 3 Objective of the Study This report has an objective to study, measure and analyze the implication, imple mentation & performance of Bangladesh Pure Food Ordinance, 2005. This report has divided into five major chapters, mainly focuses on 1. To know about Pure food act of Bangladesh 2. Implications of pure act in Bangladesh 3.Recommendations for proper implementation of pure food act MKT-510 2. FOOD SAFETY: A PUBLIC HEALTH PRIORITY Safe food contributes to health and productivity and provides an effective platform for development and poverty alleviation. People are becoming increasingly concerned about the health risks posed by microbial pathogens and potentially hazardous chemicals in food. Up to one-third of the populations of developed countries are affected by food borne illness each year, and the problem is likely to be even more widespread in developing countries.The poor are the most susceptible to ill-health. Food and waterborne diarrhoeal diseases, for example, are leading causes of illness and death in less developed countries, killing an estimated 2. 2 million people annually , most of whom are children. 11 Diarrhoea is the most common symptom of food borne illness, but other serious consequences include kidney and liver failure, brain and neural disorders, and death. Food safety refers to the potential hazards associated with food that can cause ill-health in humans.Certain of these hazards are naturally-occurring (for example aflatoxins in groundnuts), whilst others occur through contamination (for example pesticide residues in fruit). The potential hazards associated with food include the following (Unnevehr and Hirschhorn, 2000; WHO, 2002a): Food safety is of particular concern in a developing country context not only because of the high prevalence of food-borne illness and other hazards associated with food, but also because of the considerable economic and social costs that, in turn, reflect prevailing levels of economic development. MKT-510 2. MAJOR ISSUES IN FOOD SAFETY Food borne illness can be caused by microbiological, chemical or physical haz ards. The nature and extent of these risks are being elucidated by an increasing body of scientific data, although several areas of information gathering, such as the surveillance of food borne illness, need to be strengthened. There is also mounting concern about new technologies and especially the introduction of genetically modified organisms into the food supply. 12 2. 1. 1 Microbiological hazards Food borne illness caused by microorganisms is a large and growing public health problem.Most countries with systems for reporting cases of food borne illness have documented significant increases over the past few decades in the incidence of diseases caused by microorganisms in food, including pathogens such as Salmonella, Campylobacter jejuni and enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli, and parasites such as cryptosporidium, cryptospora, trematodes. Approximately 1. 8 million children in developing countries (excluding China) died from diarrhoeal disease in 1998, caused by microbiologica l agents, mostly originating from food and water.One person in three in industrialized countries may be affected by food borne illness each year. In the USA, some 76 million cases of food borne illness, resulting in 3,25,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths, are estimated to occur each year. There are only limited data on the economic consequences of food contamination and food borne disease. In studies in the USA in 1995, it was estimated that the annual cost of the 3. 3–12 million cases of food borne illness caused by seven pathogens was US $6. 5–35 billion.The medical costs and the value of the lives lost during just five food borne outbreaks in England and Wales in 1996 were estimated at UK? 300–700 million. The cost of the estimated 11 500 daily cases of food poisoning in Australia was calculated at AU$ 2. 6 billion annually. The increased incidence of food borne disease due to microbiological hazards is the result of a multiplicity of factors, all associa ted with our fast-changing world. Demographic profiles are MKT-510 being altered, with increasing proportions of people who are more susceptible to microorganisms in food.Changes in farm practices, more extensive food distribution systems and the increasing preference for meat and poultry in developing countries all have the potential to increase the incidence of food borne illness. Extensive food distribution systems raise the potential for rapid, widespread distribution of contaminated food products. Changes in food production result in new types of food that may harbor less common pathogens. Intensive animal husbandry technologies, introduced to minimize production costs, have led to the emergence of new zoonotic diseases, which affect humans.Safe disposal of manure from large-scale animal and poultry production facilities is a growing food safety problem in much of the world, as manure frequently contains pathogens. Changes in eating patterns, such as a preference for fresh and minimally processed foods, the increasingly longer interval between processing and consumption of foods and the increasing prevalence of eating food prepared outside the home all contribute to the increased incidences of food borne illness ascribed to microbiological organisms. The emergence of new pathogens and Pathogens not previously associated with food are a major public health concern.E. coli O157:H7 was identified for the first time in 1979 and has subsequently caused illness and deaths (especially among children) owing to its presence in ground beef, unpasteurized apple cider, milk, lettuce, alfalfa and other sprouts, and drinking-water in several countries. Salmonella typhimurium DT104 has developed resistance to five commonly prescribed antibiotics and is a major concern in many countries because of its rapid spread during the 1990s. These changes in microbiological hazards in foods have been recognized by the World Health Assembly and by Codex.The 22nd session of the Code x Alimentarius Commission and the 45th Codex Executive Committee requested FAO and WHO to convene an international expert advisory body similar to the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and the Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR) on the microbiological aspects of food safety to address in particular microbiological risk assessment. The results of these risk assessments will provide the scientific basis for measures to reduce illness from microbiological hazards in foods. 13 MKT-510Effective management of microbiological hazards is enhanced through the use of tools such as Microbiological Risk Assessment (MRA) and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems. Sound microbiological risk assessment provides an understanding of the nature of the hazard, and is a tool to set priorities for interventions. HACCP is a tool for process control through the identification of critical control points. The ultimate goal is improvement of public health, and both MRA and HACCP are means to that end. 14 2. 1. 2 Chemical hazardsChemicals are a significant source of foodborne illness, although effects are often difficult to link with a particular food. Chemical contaminants in food include natural toxicants such as mycotoxins and marine toxins, environmental contaminants such as mercury, lead, radionuclides and dioxins, and naturally occurring chemicals in plants, such as glycoalkaloids in potatoes. Food additives and nutrients such as vitamins and essential minerals, pesticide and veterinary drug residues are deliberately used to increase or improve the food supply, but assurance must first be obtained that all such uses are safe.Chemical contamination of food can affect health after a single exposure or, more often, after longterm exposure; however, the health consequences of exposure to chemicals in food are often inadequately understood. While assessments of the risks associated with exposure to pesticides, veterinary drugs and food additiv es are usually supported by extensive information, fewer data are available on the toxicology of contaminants in food. New understanding of the potential for chemicals to affect the immune, endocrine and developing nervous systems should continue to be incorporated into hazard characterizations of chemicals in food.Risk assessments must take into account the potential risks of sensitive population groups such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. They must also address concern about cumulative, lowlevel exposure to multiple chemicals. Testing procedures and other methods of assessment for adequate evaluation of these potential risks are being developed and validated. Estimates of the exposure of specific subpopulations are often hampered by inadequate data on dietary intake and on levels of contamination of food.This lack of information is exacerbated in developing countries, where MKT-510 little reliable information is available on the exposure of their populations to chemic als in food. Public awareness about chemicals in food is relatively high, and consumers continue to express concern about the risks to health due to the deliberate addition of chemicals to food. Increasing concern is also being expressed about the introduction of contaminants into the food chain from industrial pollution of the environment.Recognition that some pesticide residues and other chemicals may affect the hormonal system has further heightened public concern about persistant organic pollutants (POPs). The challenges for risk assessment of chemicals include consideration of susceptible populations such as children, pregnant women and the elderly, cumulative low-level exposure to multiple chemicals and effects on fetal neural development. Work is needed to develop and validate methods to evaluate these potential risks adequately.The Global Environment Monitoring System – Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment Programme (GEMS/Food) database should be expanded to i nclude more countries and more comprehensive data on the food intake of subpopulations and on the concentrations of contaminants in food commodities. Improved risk assessments with minimized uncertainty will provide a better, more acceptable basis for international and national standard setting and reduce concern about the safety of food. 15 2. 1. 3 Surveillance of food borne disease Outbreaks of foodborne disease attract media attention and raise consumer concern.However, cases of foodborne illness occur daily in all countries, from the most to the least developed. As most of these cases are not reported, the true dimension of the problem is unknown, and efforts to secure the resources and support necessary for the identification and implementation of effective solutions often fail. Effective control of foodborne disease must be based on evaluated information about foodborne hazards and the incidence of foodborne disease. Development of a strategy to reduce foodrelated risks requir es knowledge about the current levels of foodborne disease in Member States.It must also be based on an appreciation of the targets and time-frame for improving food safety. This should be an on-going process, in which new targets are set when old ones are achieved, and progress should be monitored continuously in targeted surveys. MKT-510 The absence of reliable data on the burden of foodborne disease impedes understanding about its public health importance and prevents the development of risk-based solutions to its management. Innovative strategies and methods are needed for surveying foodborne disease and food contamination.A laboratory-based surveillance system should be based on sentinel sites and regional and/or international laboratory networks. A necessary prerequisite for risk-based strategies based on optimized surveys is an interdisciplinary approach involving strong collaboration among all sectors dealing with foodborne disease surveillance and food safety in the health sector. 16 2. 1. 4 New Technologies New technologies, such as genetic engineering, irradiation of food, ohmic heating and modified atmosphere packaging, can be used to increase agricultural production, extend shelf life or make food safer.Their potential benefit for public health is great: for example, genetic engineering of plants has the potential to increase the nutrient content of foods, decrease their allergenicity and improve the efficiency of food production. However, the potential public health effects of these technologies have raised concern globally during the past decade. Some new technologies benefit the health and economy of communities and contribute to sustainable development. However, countries should be provided with the results of objective, rigorous assessments of the potential risks associated with these technologies before being asked to accept them.Moreover, countries should be assisted in developing capacities to evaluate such results. The basis for the safet y assessments should be easy to understand and well communicated, so that the public can be involved at the early stages of this process. The evaluation should be based on internationally agreed principles that include factors other than considerations of safety and risk, such as (health) benefits, socioeconomic factors, ethical issues and environmental assessments.These considerations should be developed with other WHO partners such as FAO, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank. MKT-510 2. 1. 5 Capacity building Most developed countries continue to expand the capacity to protect their populations from exposure to unacceptable levels of microorganisms and chemicals in food. Public awareness of the risks involved is relatively high in these countries, and many governments have made clear commitments to improve food safety.Developing countries have many competing priorities in their health agendas, and food safety has not, in the past, been recognized as a vital public health issue. However, it is becoming clear that foodborne disease has a significant impact on health. The globalization of the food trade and the development of international food standards have also raised awareness of food safety in developing countries. Placing food safety on the political agenda is the first vital step in reducing foodborne illness. The consumption of locally produced food is more common in developing countries.Fewer processed and packaged foods are available, large volumes of fresh food are traded in traditional markets, and food eaten outside the home is typically prepared by street vendors. Most of the concern for food safety is related to inappropriate use of agricultural chemicals, poor storage of food, an absence of food inspection, lack of infrastructure such as potable water and adequate refrigeration and lack of awareness about food safety and hygiene. Many developing coun tries are poorly equipped to respond to existing and emerging food safety problems.They lack technical and financial resources, an effective institutional framework, trained manpower and sufficient information about the hazards and risks involved. The risks are especially great in countries where low national income coincides with rapid industrial and agricultural development. 17 MKT-510 2. 2 Importance of Food Safety †¢ Food safety and sanitation are considered to be a key issue to ensure overall food security in Bangladesh. †¢ Food is the major source of human exposure to pathogenic agents, both chemical and biological (viruses, parasites, bacteria), from which no individual is spared.The importance of food safety stems from: (1) food being the primary mode of transmission of infectious disease; (2) the intricate linkage with development- governs individual and community health, national productivity, and promotes export potential & thus earn foreign exchange; (3) emerge d as prominent sources of conflict in international agricultural trade. 18 †¢ Biotechnology has raised some food safety concerns as new scientific methods to assess the safety of food derived from biotechnology have yet to be developed and agreed upon internationally. †¢ †¢In Bangladesh ;90 % tube wells of 61 districts (out of 64) are contaminated with arsenic. Urban population are gradually shifting from cereal-based diets and would likely generate a demand for fish, livestock, horticultural, forest produce as well as processed items, in turn necessitating safety load of associated transport, storage and marketing infrastructure. MKT-510 3. Food Safety and Quality Control Framework in Bangladesh 19 Bangladesh has achieved a significant progress in health & nutrition of the people. In spite of this progress, still the infant mortality rate is 51/1000 and maternal mortality ratio is 3/1000 livebirths.Some one third of the children born with low birth weight and only 11 . 5 % of preschool age children are nutritionally normal. ‘Diarrhoeal diseases' is one of the major public health problems in the country. Some two third of these diarrhoeal diseases are food and water borne. At present, more than 30 million people are facing arsenic problem in drinking water and some 70-80 million people are threatened with the problem. Bangladesh is yet to develop a unified Food Safety Administration System and to formulate a Food Safety Policy.But it has a National Food and Nutrition Policy where attention has been given on food safety. There are significant activities in food safety and quality control are going on in the country. A number of Ministries, Departments and Agencies are involved in these activities with a major responsibility of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) which has a unique infrastructure to deliver its services throughout the country. Under this Ministry, Management Information System on food safety and food borne illne sses is some extent integrated with the Primary Health Care Programme.It may be mentioned here Bangladesh has signed the WTO Agreement. In Bangladesh, the food safety and quality control framework consists of Laws, Regulations & Standards, Administration & Inspection and Laboratory analytical services. MKT-510 3. 1 LAWS, REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS 3. 1. 1 LAWS AND REGULATIONS 20 (a) The Bangladesh Pure Food Ordinance, 1959: This is an ordinance to provide better control of the manufacture and sale of food for human consumption. Now, this Ordinance is under revision as ‘The Bangladesh Pure Food (Amendment) Act, 2004. Under this Act, it has been proposed to constitute aNational Food Safety Council ‘headed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare as well as to establish Food Courts. (b) The Bangladesh Pure Food Rules, 1967:. In this Rule, there are generic standards for 107 food products. Now, this ‘Rules' is under revision. (c) The Special Power Act, 1974 (Act No XIV of 1974-as modified up to the 31st July, 1978): An Act to provide special measures for the prevention of certain prejudicial activities, for more speedy trial and effective punishment of certain grave offences. (d) The Food Grain Supply (Prevention of Prejudicial activity) Ordinance, 1956 (Ord. xvi of 1979): This ordinance provides special measures for prevention of prejudicial activity relating to the storage, movement, transshipment, supply and distribution of food grains. It provides basis for the protection of false statement or information. (e) The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution Ordinance, 1985: This ordinance is to establish an Institution for standardization, testing, metrology, quality control, grading and marking of goods. Within the framework of this ordinance, Government has established the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI).One import task is to certify the quality of commodities, materials, whether for local consumption, export and imp ort. The Ordinance has been amended as The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (Amendment) Act, 2003. Currently, BSTI is developing a ‘Policy on Labelling'. BSTI is the Codex Focal Point for Bangladesh. MKT-510 (f) The Radiation Protection Act, 1987: Under this Act, the Institute of Food and Radiation Biology (IFRB) of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission is primarily involved in food irradiation research and development in the country. g) The Iodine Deficiency Disorders Prevention Act, 1989: The Government has enacted â€Å"The Iodine Deficiency Disorders Prevention Act, 1989 for universal salt iodisation & banned noniodised salt from market, aimed at virtual elimination of IDD from the country. (h) The Essential Commodity Act, 1990: The purpose of administering this act is to stable, maintain or increase supply of essential commodities including foodstuffs. The mandate of Essential Commodity Act also includes broad spectrum of broad spectrum of activities like stora ge, transport, distribution, disposal, acquisition, use or consumption of any essential commodity. i) Fish and Fish product (Inspection and Quality Control) Rules, 1997: This section of the Fish and Fish products (Inspection and Control) Ordinance 1983 (Ord xx of 1983) and in conjunction with fish and fish products Inspection and Quality Rules 1989, and other related provisions made there under, the Government has made the Rules: Fish and Fish product (Inspection and Quality Control) Rules, 1997. These Rules are basically meant to develop quality improvement to promote export of trade. The quality control of fish and fish products in the country has earned reputation of the importing countries. j) Laws and Regulations: In addition, a number of other Laws and Regulations are existed in the country to ensure the safe and quality food viz. The Animal Slaughter (Restriction) and Meat Control (Amendment) Ordinance,1983 (it is under revision);The Pesticide Ordinance,1971 & the Pesticides Rules,1985;Destructive Insects and Pests Rules (Plant Quarantine),1966,amended up to 1989;Agricultural Products Market Act,1950 (revised in 1985);Fish Protection and Conservation Act,1950 (amended in 1995);Marine Fisheries Ordinance 1983 and 21 Rules,1983;Procuremnet Specifications, Ministry of Food, Rice Mill Control Order etc.To protect the consumers rights and privileges a new Act i. e. Consumers' Protection Act, 2004 is to be passed soon. There are also a number of policies i. e. Bangladesh Food and Nutrition Policy, MKT-510 1997 and National Plan of Action on Nutrition, National Agricultural Policy, 1999; Integrated Pest Management Policy, 2002 etc are linked with the country's food safety and quality control. (h) Pure Food Act, 2005: Finding huge irregularities and unhygienic situation in the food sectors, the government has formulated a new law, the Pure Food Act, 2005. 2 MKT-510 3. 1. 2 Bangladesh Pure Food Ordinance, 2005 in Details Manufacture and Sale of food Provisions r egarding manufacture and sale of Food 23 1. Prohibition of manufacture or sale of food not of proper nature, substance or quality (1) No person shall directly or indirectly (a) Manufacture or sell any article of food which is adulterated, or (b) Sell to the prejudice of the purchaser any article of food which is not of the nature, substance or quality demanded by the purchaser. 2) An offence shall not be deemed to have been committed if the article of food contains the normal constituents and if any innocuous substance or ingredient has been added thereto, if such substance or ingredient (i) is required for the production or preparation of such article as an article of commerce in a condition fit for carriage or consumption, and (ii) is not so added fraudulently to increase the bulk weight or measure, or to conceal the inferior quality, of such article: Provided that the admixture of such substance or ingredient does not render such article to be injurious to health; . Prohibition o f sale or use of poisonous or dangerous chemicals, intoxicated food colour, etc No person shall directly or indirectly sale any food in which poisonous or dangerous chemicals or ingredients or additives or substances like calcium carbide, formalin, pesticides [DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane ), PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyl oil) etc. or intoxicated food colour or flavouring matter has been used in any food which may cause injury to human body. . Prohibition of manufacture or sale of food not of proper standard of purity No person shall, directly or indirectly manufacture or sell any milk, butter, ghee, wheat flour (that is to say, maida, atta or suji) or mustard or any other rape seed oil, or any other article of food which are not of proper standard of purity. MKT-510 Standard of purity of milk or skimmed milk or condensed milk or sterilized ilk or desiccated milk (1) In the case of milk other than skimmed, condensed, sterilized or desiccated milk,(a) the species of animal from which the milk is derived shall be specified by the seller in such manner as the local authority may direct by general or special order in this behalf;(b) the article sold shall be the normal, clean and fresh secretion obtained by the complete milking of the udder of a healthy animal of the species specified, not earlier than seven days after the calving and freeing of the colostrums of such animal; and (c) the article sold shall, whether such secretion has been processed or not, be an article from which no ingredient has been extracted and to which no water or other substance (including any preservative) has been added and which contains the normal constituents prescribed under clause (a) or sub-section (1) of section 5. 24 2) In the case of skimmed milk,(a) The container shall be labelled and marked in such manner as may be prescribed; (b) The article sold shall contain such proportion of the constituents of milk as maybe prescribed; and (c) The place at which such article is sold shall be specified by the seller in such manner as the local authority may direct by general or special order in this behalf. (3) In the case of condensed, sterilized or desiccated milk,(a) The container shall be hermetically closed, labelled and marked in such manner as may be prescribed; and (b) The article manufactured or sold, as the case may be, shall contain such proportion of the constituents of milk as may be prescribed. Standard of purity of butter In the case of butter, the article manufactured or sold, as the case may be, shall be exclusively derived from the milk or cream (other than skimmed, condensed, sterilized or desiccated milk or cream) of a cow MKT-510 or buffalo or both, and may be with or without salt and with or without the ddition of any innocuous colouring matter, and shall not contain a greater proportion of water than may be prescribed. Standard of purity of ghee In the case of ghee (that is to say, clarified milk fat), the article manufactured or sol d, as the case may be, shall contain only substances (other than curds) which are prepared exclusively from the milk of cows or buffaloes or both, and shall fulfil such other conditions as may be prescribed. 25 Standard of purity of wheat flour In the case of wheat flour (that is to say, maida, atta or suji), the article manufactured or sold, as the case may be, shall contain only substances which are derived exclusively from wheat, and shall fulfill such other conditions as may be prescribed.Standard of purity of mustard or any other rape seed oil In the case of mustard or any other rape seed oil, the article manufactured or sold, as the case may be, shall be derived exclusively from mustard or any other rapeseed, as the case may be, and shall fulfill such other conditions as may be prescribed. 5. Prohibition of manufacture or sale of anything similar to or resembling an article of food No person shall, directly or indirectly and whether by himself or by any other person acting on his behalf, manufacture or sell anything similar to or resembling an article of food notified or under any name which so resembles the ordinary name of such article of food as to be likely to deceive the public or which is in any way calculated to mislead the public as to the nature, substance or quality of that thing. 6.Prohibition of keeping adulterants in places where food is manufactured or sold A person cannot keep or sell adulterants near the premises of manufacturing process of food. If any kind of adulterants is found near a food premise or shop then the owner will be accused for breaking the law if the contrary cannot be proven. No person shall keep Guzi (niger seed) in any manufactory or shop. No person shall keep any quantity of white oil except under a license granted by a local authority. MKT-510 7. Prohibition of sale of diseased animals and unwholesome food intended for human consumption No person shall sell for human consumption any living thing which is diseased or unsound or sell or manufacture any other article of food intended for human consumption which is unwholesome or unfit for human consumption. 26 8.Prohibition of use of false labels No person shall, directly or indirectly use labels which falsely describes that the article is to mislead as to its nature, substance or quality. 9. Registration of certain premises The premises used for manufacturing, storing or selling food must be registered from authorized body. 10. Special provisions for seller of Ice cream and some other food The manufacturer and seller of certain dry food such as ice cream, ice, pickles, sweets, cake, biscuits, bread, flour, pulses etc must clearly write their address on the signboard and the transport the use to delivery. Prohibition of the keeping of bread-stuffs, etc, otherwise than in covered receptacles.No milk, bread-stuffs, cake, pastry, sweetmeats, confectionery or other article of food intended or commonly used for human consumption without further prepara tion by cooking shall be sold, exposed or kept or hawked about or stored for sale unless they be kept properly covered or otherwise guarded to the satisfaction of the local authority, so that they shall be protected from dust, dirt and flies 11. Certain diseased person not to manufacture, sell or touch food No person, who is suffering from leprosy, tuberculosis or any other disease which may be notified by the Government in this behalf, shall manufacture or sell any article of food, or will fully touch any such article which is for sale by any other person. MKT-510 3. 1. 3 ANALYSIS OF FOODProvisions regarding analysis of food 1. Right of purchaser to have article of food analyzed or otherwise examined A person who has purchased any article of food shall, on payment of such fee as may be prescribed, be entitled to have a sample of such article analyzed or otherwise examined by the public analyst appointed for the area in which the purchase was made, and to receive from such public an alyst a certificate in the form provided in the Schedule, specifying the result of the analysis or examination. 27 2. Providing samples for examination is obligatory Any Gov’t nominated person can order the buyer to sell certain products to him for the purpose of examination.He can also ask for the sample of the products to be kept for sale or transport or store. 3. Procedure for obtaining analysis or examination A person who intends to have analyzed or otherwise examined a sample shall-(1) forthwith notify in writing his intention to the person who sold or surrendered the sample;(2) divide the sample into three parts, and mark, seal or fasten each part †¢ One part to the person who sold the sample, or †¢ One part to the consignor, whose name and address appear on the container of the article, †¢ One part for purposes of future comparison; and(3) thereafter submit within seven days one part to the public analyst appointed for the area in which the sample was so ld or surrendered. 4.Duty of public analyst to supply certificate of analysis Every public analyst to whom a sample has been submitted for analysis or bacteriological or other examination shall(a) Analyze or examine such sample or cause such sample to be analyzed or examined; (b) not later than 14 days[ seven days in normal case and two days in case of emergency after the date on which he receives the sample, deliver to the person submitting it a certificate specifying the result of the analysis or examination, (c) Send a copy of the certificate to the local authority concerned. MKT-510 Provisions regarding inspection and seizure of food 1. Appointment of Inspector A person can be appointed as an inspector by the Gov’t or Gov’t monitor local authority. 28 2.Right to enter premises A person authorized, or an Inspector appointed, have the right to enter any premises at any hour of the day or night excluding the hours between midnight and day break. 3. Production of books , vouchers and accounts A person authorized, or an Inspector appointed, may by written notice require any person carrying on the trade or business in, or manufacturing or selling, any article of food, to produce before him for inspection all books, vouchers, accounts and other documents relating to such trade, business, manufacture or sale and every person on whom such notice is served shall comply with such requisition. 4. Power to seize food believed to be adulterated. The nominated person can inspect and examine the food any time (except midnight to dawn) and seize food believed to be adulterated 5.Destruction of seized living things and food The nominated person in front of two witnesses and with the written acknowledgement of the owner will destruct the seized food products MKT-510 3. 1. 4 Bangladesh Food Standards a. Under the Bangladesh Pure Food Ordinance, 1959 and the Bangladesh Pure Food Rules, 1967, there are 107 different generic, mandatory food standards. b. BSTI is the Standardisation body in the country. There are 50 mandatory generic food standards of BSTI. In addition, there are some 250 optional standards for different foodstuff. BSTI is also adopting Codex standards. 29 MKT-510 4. IMPLICATIONS OF PURE FOOD ACT IN BANGLADESH 4. 1 Using chemicals and industrial dyes to look food fresh and tasty The bananas arrive at Sadarghat before first light.One by one the trucks roar into the crammed Ahsanullah Road that charts the banks of the Buriganga river on Dhaka’s southern edge. The bananas, piled high in the hold, are offloaded into the numerous warehouses that line the streets. As the sky lightens up, the cargo is more visible. They are a deep green in colour and bitter to the taste. But by that same afternoon, miraculously, these same bananas will be bright yellow and sweet. As the trucks pull away an army of workers, spray-cans on their shoulders enter the warehouses and start spraying the fruits stacked on the floor. ‘It is a medic ine that helps the banana ripen better and get a nice yellow colour,’ says one local wholesaler. 30 4. 1. Arsenic phosphorous and the carbide produces acetylene gas The chemical, it turns out, is Calcium Carbide, and is extremely hazardous to the human body because it contains traces of arsenic and phosphorous. Once dissolved in water, the carbide produces acetylene gas. Acetylene gas is an analogue of the natural ripening agents produced by fruits known as ethylene. Acetylene imitates the ethylene and quickens the ripening process. In some cases it is only the skin that changes colour, while the fruit itself remains green and raw. When the carbide is used on very raw fruit, the amount of the chemical needed to ripen the fruit has to be increased. This results in the fruit becoming even more tasteless, and possibly toxic. We don’t know what the name of the chemical is but it works like magic,’ he says. Just go to one of the pharmacies in the Dhaka Medical Colleg e area and ask for medicine to ripe bananas,’ he adds. Visits to the neighbouring warehouses reveal that scores of banana wholesalers are MKT-510 using this same technique to transform cheaply bought unripe banana into a golden cargo, going on to supply it to Dhaka’s ever-growing appetite for sweeter, riper and bigger. Later in the morning, we visit one of the pharmacies in the DMCH area. They won’t say what the chemical is but sure enough, it is cheap and widely available. The chemical, it turns out, is Calcium Carbide, and is extremely hazardous to the human body because it contains traces of arsenic and phosphorous. 31 4. 1. Fish in kitchen markets are stored in formaldehyde (used to preserve dead-bodies) The chemical fertiliser urea is used in our rice to make it whiter, fish in kitchen markets are stored in formaldehyde (used to preserve dead-bodies) to keep them fresh-looking, colours and sweeteners are injected into fruits, and Recent studies by the Food and Nutrition Institute, University of Dhaka, have also found Escherichia coli (E-coli), Salmonella, and Shigella bacteria in restaurant food and street food in the city. Eating contaminated food may cause diarrhoea, dysentery and other diseases. ‘Finding bacteria is very common in the restaurant foods. But the more alarming thing is that the restaurant owners do not throw out the leftover oil from everyday cooking, using the same oil the next day. As a result the peroxide value of the oil increases and it becomes toxic ultimately (CAB) — Bangladesh’s only consumer rights group — confirms that wholesalers do indeed use urea fertiliser in rice to make it whiter.Comsumers who eat husk paddle processed rice (red rice) will also find themselves cheated, as artificially colored rice is also available in the market, say members of the watchdog. This is common knowledge, they say. ‘While the rice is being processed, they use urea fertilizer in the rice to m ake it look more attractive, thus increasing its sale value,’ said Miftaur Rahman, a local rice dealer in Kawran Bazar, who claims his products are clean. Most of the red chilli powder used in the market is adulterated – in most cases the spices are mixed with brick dust. Fine sawdust is also often mixed with cumin and other ground spices, say MKT-510 CAB members.Honey is also frequently adulterated, as lab tests have found sugar syrup is often mixed with honey to enhance the sweetness. Nowadays, pure butter oil and ghee are also very rare in the market. Dishonest traders use a host of ingredients such as animal fat, palm oil, potato mash, and vegetable oil to produce fake butter oil. They even mix soap ingredients like steirian oil with ghee, to increase the proportions. 32 Rasogolla, kalojaam, and chamcham are the essential delicacies for all festivals in Bengali culture. But food and sanitation officers from the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) say most of these mouthwa tering sweetmeats, despite looking attractive in the shop displays, are made with adulterated ingredients and produced in a filthy environment.In a survey conducted by DCC officials found that 100 percent of examined samples of Rasogolla, kalojaam, curds, and sandesh were adulterated. Bangladesh’s Pure Food Ordinance (1959) states that at least 10 per cent milk fat is mandatory in sweetmeat. But in most cases, the percentage of milk fat is not more than five per cent. 4. 1. 3 Condensed milk Three years after it first emerged that condensed milk produced by Bangladeshi manufacturers contained little or no milk and was in fact condensed vegetable fat, the companies are continuing to supply their spurious product to the market on the strength of a High Court stay order on legal action against them. Brands like Starship, Danish, Goalini and Kwality are mostly producing condensed milk, which do not satisfy the ‘BDS 896: 1979’ code of the Bangladesh Standard and Testin g Institute (BSTI),’ said Shamsuzzoha, Information officer of Consumers’ Association of Bangladesh Bangladesh’s only consumer rights group. From the test conducted by the Public Health Institute, it was found that these two brands have a bacterial count level of 76,000 and 25,000, respectively,’ he said. The maximum count of bacteria in a gram of condensed milk is 10,000. ‘Despite the numerous test results, these brands continue to sell their adulterated products taking advantage of the fact that authorities tend to avoid their responsibilities at investigating such products and taking measures in ensuring MKT-510 consumer rights,’ he says.He explains that the ‘BDS 896:1979’ quality insists the need of actual cattle milk be condensed, mixed with sugar, then packaged and sold as condensed milk. According to the criteria, condensed milk should have a composition of 28 per cent solid milk, 8 per cent fat, 40 per cent sugar, 0. 3 per cent lactic acid and count level below 10,000 bacteria in every gram of the milk. 33 The Milk and Dairy Product section committee of BSTI finalised the BDS standard for condensed milk on May 22, 1979. The quality was designed in accordance with the condensed milk manufacturing procedure discovered first by scientist Gail Borden in 1896. The committee had also kept in mind the necessity of the International Standards Organization (ISO) standards while formulating this particular standard.This standard was later approved by the Agriculture and Food Products Divisional Council of BSTI. ‘These condensed milk lack the basic nourishing factors that natural milk has,’ said Zoha. He explained that natural milk consists of 80 to 90 per cent water. The rest includes protein, saturated fat, vitamin and calcium. ‘The most important element is lactose, a special type of galactose that aids digestion in the human system,’ he explained. The other elements in milk are alb umin, globulin, potassium, sodium, iodine and sulphur. ‘All these elements make the consumption of a litre of milk equivalent to the consumption of 21 eggs, 12 kilograms of beef and 2. 2 kilograms of bread by a human,’ he said. As most of these brands are using vegetable fat and powdered milk to produce condensed milk, consumers are missing out from the consumption of ‘real’ condensed milk,’ he said. In a report published by CAB in December, 1995 it was found that Danish Condensed milk (Bangladesh) imports 125 metric tonne of powdered milk. When tested by the Bangladesh Atomic Energy commission it was found that the radioactivity levels in their milk is much higher than the stipulated limit. The high court verdict was against the sale and production of this powdered milk. ‘We still cannot tell whether the company abided by the high court verdict,’ says one CAB official. Along MKT-510 with powdered milk, the brands are using Hoye powder, water, sugar, artificial colour, flavour and vegetable fat to produce condensed milk.Currently, 7,68,000 cans of condensed milk are sold daily. ‘The daily demand shows the massive consumption of condensed milk and thus the immense health hazard being faced by the nation,’ says one CAB official 34 4. 1. 4 Sulphuric acid and industrial dyes Some sweetmeat makers from rural areas are unaware of the existence of food colouring and use only industrial dyes in their products. The dough makers in different parts of the country put sulphuric acid in hot milk to make it thicken quickly. ‘They first put a paste of ground rice into the milk, followed by sulphuric acid to turn the milk into a thick dough within minutes,’ say DCC officials.In Dhaka City, famous sweetmeats brought from various parts of the country have been selling fast due to well-financed advertisement campaigns. Among these are Porabarir Chamcham, curds from Bogra, Rasogolla from Jessore, monda from M uktagachha, and Rosomalai from Comilla. ‘In most cases, these sweetmeat are not what they seem,’ says Abdullah, a worker at a city sweetmeat outlet. Sources at the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute (BSTI) — the government agency responsible for enforcing standards and issuing permits for the manufacture of processed foods — admit that a wide variety of products such as soybean oil, butter oil and mustard oil are being sold in the market with fake BSTI seals.In recent weeks, laboratory reports have revealed that fruits are ripened artificially using calcium carbide while traces of organo-phosphorus — an insecticide — has been discovered in vegetables in kitchen markets. ‘The nutritional elements that should be in fruits and vegetables, if adulterated with dyes and synthetic colours, are destroyed. Eventually the digestion of those poisonous fruits or vegetables may cause diarrhoea, dysentery and even death,’ says Professo r MKT-510 Sagormoy Barma, a nutritionist at Dhaka University. ‘The long-term impact of eating those foods is cancer,’ Barma warns. Meanwhile children are fast becoming the greatest casualty of the widespread adulteration. If children don’t get the vitamins and minerals from fruits and vegetables to rebuild tissues, the result could be severe malnutrition says Professor MQK Talukder, a paediatrician at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH). ‘The most terrifying thing that can happen for not enriching a child’s body with the right nutritional elements are lack of growth and damage to central nervous system,’ Talukder says. 35 4. 1. 5 Formaldehyde Ranked as one of the most hazardous compounds (worst 10%) to ecosystems and human health. Formaldehyde is a colorless, flammable, strong-smelling gas. It is an important industrial chemical used to manufacture building materials and to produce many household products.It is used in pressed wood products s uch as particleboard, plywood, and fiberboard, glues and adhesives, permanent press fabrics, paper product coatings, and certain insulation materials. In addition, formaldehyde is commonly used as an industrial fungicide, germicide, and disinfectant, and as a preservative in mortuaries and medical laboratories. In 1987, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classified formaldehyde as a probable human carcinogen under conditions of unusually high or prolonged exposure (1). Since that time, some studies of industrial workers have suggested that formaldehyde exposure is associated with nasal cancer and nasopharyngeal cancer, and possibly with leukemia. In 1995, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that formaldehyde is a probable human arcinogen. Several NCI(National Cancer Institute, USA) studies have found that anatomists and embalmers, professions with potential exposure to formaldehyde, are at an increased risk for leukemia and brain cancer comp ared with the general population MKT-510 Mutagenic activity of formaldehyde has been demonstrated in viruses, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Salmonella typhimurium and certain strains of yeast, fungi, Drosophila, grasshopper and mammalian cells (Ulsamer et al. , 1984). Formaldehyde has been shown to cause gene mutations, single strand breaks in DNA, DNA-protein crosslinks, sister chromatid exchanges and chromosomal aberrations.Formaldehyde produces in vitro transformation in BALB/c 3T3 mouse cells, BHK21 hamster cells and C3H-10Tl/2 mouse cells, enhances the transformation of Syrian hamster embryo cells by SA7 adenovirus, and inhibits DNA repair (Consensus Workshop on Formaldehyde, 1984). 36 When inhaled, acetaldehyde, the closest aldehyde to formaldehyde in structure, causes cancers in the nose and trachea of hamsters, and nasal cancers in rats (EPA,USA, Carcinogenicity Assessment for Lifetime Exposure. Substance Name — Formaldehyde,CASRN — 50-00-0, Last R evised — 05/01/1991. 4. 1. 6 Do You Have Formaldehyde-Related Symptoms? There are several formaldehyde-related symptoms, such as watery eyes, runny nose, burning sensation in the eyes, nose, and throat, headaches and fatigue.These symptoms may also occur because of the common cold, the flu or other pollutants that may be present in the indoor air. If these symptoms lessen when you are away from home or office but reappear upon your return, they may be caused by indoor pollutants, including formaldehyde. Examine your environment. Have you recently moved into a new or different home or office? Have you recently remodeled or installed new cabinets or furniture? Symptoms may be due to formaldehyde exposure. You should contact your physician and/or state or local health department for help. Your physician can help to determine if the cause of your symptoms is formaldehyde or other pollutants. MKT-510 Stage ChemicalHealth Risks Diarrhoea, nausea Respiratory disorders, bronchitis, s kin diseases, headache Burning eyes, nose, throat high blood pressure, bronchitis Wounds leading to Cancer Wounds leading to Cancer stomach problems, Soaking NaC1 37 Unhairing/liming KOH, Na 2 S03/bi Sulphide Deliming/bating Na 2 S03, NH 4 C1, Na2So4 Picling Chrome Tanning Sammying, splitting H 2 SO 4, H-COOH, NaC1 Dyes, fixing, agent, Condensation of urea Respiratory complications Buffing Liquid pigment, polymer, fixative, preservatives and aromatic ingredients. Cancer Shaving, dyeing Table: Health risk by unwanted chemicals MKT-510 4. 2 ADULTERATED FOOD ? Asthma Caused by toxic dyes used in most Chinese resturants ? Bananas: Chemicals calcium carbide and ethrel are used to artificially ripen Bananas. The other popular method is to ripen them through heating in a closed environment. Coconut Oil: Acid value beyond permissible limit found in major brands. ? Condensed Milk: Along with Star Ship, Fresh and Goalini, reportedly use vegetable fat instead of milk ? Dyes: Eating foods conta ining industrial dyes and colours causes violent allergic reactions, respiratory problems, asthma, liver disorders and kidney dysfunction and bone marrow disorders. Nowadays, coal tar dyes are being used in sweetmeats. ? Erythrosine: Red food colouring that can lead to tumour in thyroid gland, asthma, bronchitis and hyperactivity. ? Formaldehyde: Formaldehyde – normally used to preserve dead-bodies – is used to preserve fish bound for city markets. Greens: Fresh greens, so abundantly available, are the best way to go as far as vegetables are concerned. Shashya Prabartana offers the finest, pesticide-free organic variety. ? Iodine: Found in high quantities in most condensed milk brands. Indicate use of vegetable fat. ? Keya Coconut Oil: Accused of containing twice the acid value permitted by BSTI in its regulations. ? Lentils: Lentils are mixed with toxic colours to improve their colour and marketability. ? Mustard Oil: Most mustard oil brands contain iron beyond permis sible limits. ? Pesticides: When pesticides enter the body on a regular basis, they affect the liver until it is damaged permanently.Quality Seal Many products use forged and/or expired BSTI seals 38 MKT-510 ? Rice: A host of rice varieties available in the market are artificially whitened using the toxic fertiliser Urea Soyabean Oil Poorly produced Soyabean oil contains high levels of toxins which can lead to cancer ? Tartrazine: Yellowish orange food colour that can lead to cancer, headaches, allergies such as asthma, inflammation, eye irritation and runny nose. (Mubin S Khan and Adnan Khandker , Slate, October 2006) OTTAWA, March 17, 2005 – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Afrocan Direct Imports Inc. are warning the public not to consume the Heritage brand Palm Oil described below.These products may contain a non-permitted colour, Sudan IV, which is considered to be carcinogenic. Sudan I and IV, red dyes, are not permitted as food colours in Canada. Sudan I, has been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals and these findings could also be significant for human health. There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these prod