Saturday, August 31, 2019

Injustice and Justice

Injustice anywhere is a threat to Justice everywhere In the name of ALLAH the most gracious the most merciful, the Omnipresent and Omnipotent. Mr. President sir, honourable chief guest, worthy opponents and future scholars. â€Å"O believers! Be firm in justice as witnesses for God, even in cases against yourselves, your parents or your kin† â€Å"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. † These powerful words were said by one of American best known advocate of equal rights – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. According to him, all humans are caught in a patent network of sympathy.Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Hence injustice with one individual of a society can affect the life of other individuals of the society. Dear audience lets first talk about what justice really is. Justice is the ideal, morally correct state of things and persons. Justice is action in accordance with the requirements of some law. Whether these rules are grou nded in human consensus or social norms, they are supposed to ensure that all members of society receive fair treatment. Justice is distinguished from other ethical standards as required.Justice is linked conceptually, to the idea of justification: having and giving decisive reasons for one's beliefs and actions. So, attempts to understand justice are typically attempts to discover the justification – the source or basis – of justice, and therefore to account for (or disprove) its vast importance. Justice is the foundation on which the edifice of the society stands. Justice,Pakistan. Justice is perhaps the most important of the supreme values of Islam. In fact, it can be said that the main purpose of disclosure and the tasks of Prophets (alayhum salam) has been to establish Justice.Justice is the building block of the society and it is directly proportional to the truth, in order to keep check and balance in the society it is essential to maintain justice. Justice so c alled as ADAL can be seen in the early Arabian era when Hazarat Umar (R. A) was the governor General of Islamic Society. The whole society was propagated due to justified principles and teaching of Islam. He was the only ruler ever to admit that even if a dog died of hunger on the banks of river Tigris during his rule, he would be held answerable to Almighty ALLAH.It was the true spirit of justice, what the leaders of the modern world lake. Justice is like the life blood of the society which can be thick or thin, periodically, but its viscosity have a great impact in the life of the people. Justice is the first principle of social life. It can be shown to govern all relations in life: between ruler and ruled, rich and poor, husband and wife, parents and children. In all our dealings, we are required to stand firmly for justice even if it is against our own benefits.Dear youngsters of 21st century, our country, Pakistan, is facing a severe problem of bloodshed, illegal killings, suic ide bomb blast, terrorism etc. only due to the unjustified policies. Economic injustice involves the state's failure to provide individuals with basic necessities of life, such as access to adequate food and housing, and its maintenance of huge discrepancies in wealth. In the most extreme cases of misdistribution, some individuals suffer from poverty while the elite of that society live in relative luxury.Such injustice can stem from unfair hiring procedures, lack of available jobs and education, and insufficient health care. All of these conditions may lead individuals to believe that they have not received a â€Å"fair share† of the benefits and resources available in that society. Political injustice involves the violation of individual liberties, including the denial of voting rights or due process, infringements on rights to freedom of speech or religion, and inadequate protection from cruel and unusual punishment.Such injustice often stems from unfair procedures, and in volves political systems in which some but not others are allowed to have voice and representation in the processes and decisions that affect them. This sort of procedural injustice can contribute to serious social problems as well as political ones. any procedures that are carried out in a biased manner are likely to contribute to problems of religious, ethnic, gender, or race discrimination. In Pakistan our law is like a cobweb it sticks to the weaker ones but the stronger ones break it off.When the procedure in question has to do with employment or wages, such issues can lead to serious economic and social problems. In the nutshell, by setting examples of injustice we are actually creating fear in the society to fight for their basic rights. This fear is one of the major causes of our poor economy and this is the vital reason, why we are left behind from other countries. We have to make firm believe on it that Allah. It is an old saying that â€Å"absence of war does not mean pe ace, its only due to presence of justice. † Thankyou†¦

Friday, August 30, 2019

A Look at what made Hitler such a Powerful Leader in Germany

Adolf Hitler can be said to have had perhaps more impact on the history of the modern world in the 20th century than nay other politician.   He rose from an arguably obscure background to become a most powerful leader of the German nation.A look into his early life reveals a man without a clear vision who only discovered his purpose out of a deep passion for nationalistic and anti socialistic politics.   It would seem that without the circumstances of his day, Hitler’s demagogic gifts would barely have been unveiled.Throughout his wandering from his hometown of Linz to Vienna and finally in Munich Hitler kicked the vision and self-confidence that later characterized him.His turning point was when he joined the army.   He shortly was listed by the Bavarian Army’s Intelligence/propaganda section.   This new assignment proved most suitable for him.   His rise to become the leader of the German people initially came as a surprise even t himself since he did not co nsider himself a leader especially due to his lack of formal credential.This paper examines Hitler’s rise to become one of the most influential leaders who exercised supreme authority over a people who had followed him with almost blind faith.   The paper looks into his background and his progress from a low social position to the helm of Germany’s leadership.   It places emphasis on the circumstances that allowed him a rise to the powerful leadership position.Early Years of Adolf HitlerA thorough examination of what made Hitler a powerful leader cannot be complete without looking at the various phases of his life.   Adolf Hitler was born in 1889 to Alois Schickelgniber and Klara Hitler in Braunau.   His father Alois was a custom official described as a strict man, while his mother was an adoring woman who loved his son and showered him with affection (Clemens 45).Hitler’s schooling was cut short at the age of sixteen not long after the death of his fath er.   He suffered from long infections and therefore failed to impress in school.   At this time his skills as an artist were budding and he aspired to join a prestigious art school in Vienna.   After these endeavors failed, Hitler wandered in Vienna eking a precarious existence selling hand script artwork and engaging himself in nationalistic politics (Bullock, 289).In Vienna Hitler developed his prejudicial attitude towards the Jews but was not openly hostile to them as yet.   Ironically some of the friends who helped him sell his paintings in Vienna were actually Jews.   He also honed his skills in debating and was tending very strongly towards anti-semitic convictions.In 1913 Hitler left Vienna for Munich after receiving the last of his father’s estate. Shortly afterwards, he volunteered in the Bavarian army where he soldiered in France and Belgium.   He twice received the Iron Cross for bravery.   However, he never rose beyond the rank of a corporal (Mommse n 38).

PRACTICAL REPORT ON THE ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF CODEINE AND PARACETAMOL Essay

Codeine or methyl morphine, an alkaloid, was first isolated in 1832 from raw opium. It concentration ranges from 0.2% to 0.8%. Mostly used for its analgesic, anti-tussive and anti-diarrheal capabilities (Tremlett, Anderson and Wolf, 2010). Paracetamol also known as acetaminophen (n-acetyl-p-aminophenol, APAP) on the other hand, is a useful non- steroidal anti- inflammatory drug (NSAID). It is commonly used in the management of pain and fever in a variety of patients (Kamberi, et al., 2004). Fig 1: Codeine[NCBI, 2009] Fig 2: Acetaminophen[NCBI, 2009] One of the technique involved in the extraction of codeine and paracetamol from its matrix, is the solvent extraction otherwise known as liquid – liquid extraction. This process entails the use of two immiscible liquids usually chloroform and water; in dissolving the sample for two distinctive layers to form after the mixture had been thoroughly shaken together (Rubinson and Rubinson, 1998). Separating the components of the extract, is done through the use of Thin Layer Chromatography. It is one of the standard procedures used in many forensic laboratory when analysizing unknown drugs or mixtures (Howlett and Steiner, 2011). Separation of the mixtures occur based on the pH, polarity of its components, solvent and the thin layer stationary phase (Howlett and Steiner, 2011). METHODS: The finely divided sample was dissolved in 20ml of distilled water. This was then basified with NaOH solution to pH 12 using litmus paper. The resulting solution was later filtered. 1.0ml of chloroform was pipetted into the filtrate. After shaken and combined, two distinctive layers was observed. The bottom layer was extracted thrice using a micro- pipette. On a thin chromatography plate, five spots were placed ( as shown in table 2) and the  plate was developed using chloroform/methanol. This was later visualized with dragendorff’s reagent under the UV light. All separated components were observed, identified and recorded. RESULTS: Table of observed pH SOLUTIONInitial pHFinal pH Basified sample1012 TABLE 1 Table of Retention factor (RF value) Rf = Distance travelled by the substance (cm) Distance travelled by the solvent (cm) SUBSTANCEDistance travelled by substance (cm)Distance travelled by Solvent (cm)Retention factor value (Rf) Chloroform extract3.04.00.75 Codeine positive control3.04.00.75 Paracetamol positive control4.04.01.00 Chloroform (negative control) 3.54.00.86 Diluted sample4.04.01.00 TABLE 2 DIAGRAM: Fig 3: The Developed Chromatographic Plate. DISCUSSION: Running the chloroform extracts and diluted sample together with two positive controls and a negative control on a single chromatographic plate simultaneously, the retention factor(Rf) of five different samples were determined. The RF value of the chloroform extract(0.75) tallied with that of the codeine positive control and that of diluted sample(1.00) with the paracetamol positive control. This tentatively shows that, codeine and paracetamol were present in the sample. The solvent front(i.e distance travelled by the mixed solvents) is 4cm, this is quite close to the distances covered by all separated components(between 3 – 3.5cm), which makes the retention factors, not a true representative of their actual values. It was later discovered that, this is due to not allowing the  chromatographic plate to develop for a longer period of time in the solvent tank. The solvent front also dried up quickly when the plate is taken out., making drawing a line at that point quite diffic ult. Fortunately, this was overcome by the use of visualizing spray and UV lamp. Solvent extraction(liquid-liquid), involved selective movement of components of a substance in microgram to gram quantities between two immiscible liquid phase; its separation and selectivity is based on solubility differences and pH control respectively (Fifield and Kealey, 1995). This was observed when chloroform was added to the basified filtrate. After vigorous shaking and settling down, chloroform being more dense, composed the bottom layer, with the aqueous phase up. Liquid-liquid extraction often involved high volume of organic solvents and poor resolution of mixtures of organic materials (Fifield and Kealey, 1995). Thin Layer Chromatography is usually employed in the qualitative analysis of mixtures of non-volatile compounds like pharmaceuticals (Skoog, et al., 2000). TLC can also be used to confirm the identity of an unknown sample ( Lewis and Evans, 2011). Dissolution of the codeine and paracetamol tablet in distilled water without weighing, shows that, TLC was never designed for semi- quantitative analysis. This is due to difficulties in reproducibly applying aliquots of the mixture to the plate and then recovering all of the separated components from the plate (Skoog, et al., 2000). CONCLUSION: Using the Rf values obtained in the table 2 above and t he visual indicator reaction with the substances under the UV light, codeine was extracted to a high degree during the solvent extraction, tentatively identified by TLC (due to its positive control having the same Rf values with the chloroform extract(0.75) and both were the only one that were seen under the UV light) while paracetamol was extracted to a low degree (due to its positive control having the same Rf with the diluted sample). Multiple compounds can share the same retention factor(Rf) or produce similar chromophores when sprayed with detection reagents (Howlett and Steiner, 2011). The study by Lewis and Evans( 2011) shows that if a spot from an unknown substance is developed on a TLC plate together with a spot from a substance that is suspected to be the unknown, and the two substance are found to have the same Rf value, they are probably the same substance. FUTURE SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Due to the limitation that is associated with using TLC to exactly identify a given sample, minimum standards for drug testing and reporting in the forensic community are recommended by the Scientific Working Group for the Analysis of seized drugs (SWGDRUG) (Howlett and Steiner, 2011). In order for a drug identification to be confirmed to SWGDRUG specification, additional tests must includes, Infrared spectroscopy and GC-MS (Howlett and Steiner, 2011). REFERENCES: Fifield, F. W. and Kealey, D. 1995. Principles and Practice of Analytical chemistry. (4th ed) Glasgow, Blackie Academic and professional. Howlett, S. E. and Steiner, R. R. 2011. Validation of Thin Layer Chromatography with AccuTOF-DARTâ„ ¢ Detection for Forensic Drug Analysis*. Forensic Sciences [e-journal] 56 (5), pp. 1261–1267. Available through: Anglia Ruskin University Library website http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk [Accessed on 11 March 2014]. Kamberi, M., Riley, C. M., Huang, C. C. and Xiaoyan, M, 2004. A validated, sensitive HPLC method for the determination of trace impurities in acetaminophen drug substance. Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis [e-journal] 34 (1), pp. 123–128. Available through: Anglia Ruskin University Library website http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk [Accessed on 18 March 2014]. Lewis, R. and Evans, W. 2011. Chemistry. 4th ed. Hampshire, Palgrave Macmillan. NCBI, 2009. National Library of Medicine. [online] Available at : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov /pccompound [Accessed 7 April, 2014]. Rubinson, J. F. and Rubinson, K. A. 1998. Contemporary chemical analysis. Upper Saddle River, NJ, Prentice Hall. Skoog, D., West, D., Holler, F. and Crouch, S. 2000. Analytical Chemistry- An introduction. (7th ed). Boca raton, Thomson Learning Inc. Tremlett, M., Anderson, B. J. and Wolf, A. 2010. Pro–con debate: is codeine a drug that still has a useful role in pediatric practice? Pediatric Anesthesia [e-journal] 20 (2), pp. 183–194. Available through: Anglia Ruskin University website http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk [Accessed on 29 March 2014].

Thursday, August 29, 2019

INCLUSION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

INCLUSION - Essay Example Inclusion is the complete recognition of all school children and clues to a sense of being in the right place within the school room community. Inclusion is an exertion to ensure students with debilities go to school alongside their friends and fellow citizens whereas also getting all that jazz, â€Å"particularly intended teaching and provision† they require to accomplish high principles and to prosper as students. Inclusion is not what we usually refer to as mainstreaming or integration. Mainstreaming challenges to move school children from special schooling classrooms to systematic education school rooms only in circumstances where they are capable to sustain their characteristically emergent peers minus specially planned lessons or support. Integration delivers only â€Å"part-time† inclusion, which stops the pupils from being full fellows of the schoolroom community. (Ainscow, 2000) Inclusive education takes along all students together in one schoolroom and communi ty, not withstanding their strong point or feebleness in any zone to strive to capitalize on the potential of all learners. Inclusion is an exertion to certify that assorted students – those with incapacities, unlike languages and ethos, dissimilar families and family lives, not the same happiness and customs of book learning are exposed to schooling strategies that touch them as separate apprentices. Inclusive schools ask instructors to make available apposite personalized provisions and facilities to all school children without the stigmatization that arises with separation. Instructors in inclusive teaching space show a discrepancy in their classes to add to learning for all schoolchildren. Inclusive Education all around the world follows several principles, like instructors should take more than a few changed methodologies to schooling the similar material so that material becomes more thought-provoking and perceptible to a bigger number of learners. Students who are full of pride of themselves and enthusiastic by the flora and fauna around them will be more empathetic and thoughtful people; the alike is factual for instructors. Educators should take a hands-on tactic to throw light on predetermined pigeon holes and avoid them from accelerating into predispositions and destructive preconceived notion. Students are upright judges of what is just, specifically when they are thrown with thought provoking questions. Teachers should talk to them about concerns of social justice and unfairness in terms of reasonable versus unreasonable, courteous versus discourteous. Inclusive schoolrooms use books and resources that mirror precise images of miscellaneous peoples and encounter typecasts. Instructors also create inquisitiveness and increase students’ vanishing point by lessons about others in an optimistic fashion. Students should have the prospect to learn from their nobles along with other ethos. Lastly, it is essential that the educationalists sh ould be flexible when using and acclimatizing lessons in the prospectuses, over and above in prearranged syllabuses on the whole. Numerous of the utmost teachable moments are unexpected and off-the-cuff. In an inclusive schoolroom, immobilized children get the chance to feel like the other kids who are not disable in any way. They are less

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Inclusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Inclusion - Essay Example Hence, it is becoming more and more undesirable to restrict the number of educators in a school who possess the capabilities to teach disabled learners to only a small number of special education teachers. Moreover, regular education teachers should be skilled in teaching disabled students of functional literacy abilities such as reading, writing, communicating, and of achieving high educational performance (McLeskey & Waldron 2000). As inclusion acquires greater reputation in education, we will surpass the requirement of alluding to inclusive classrooms as if they were separate and very different from regular classrooms. In the future, every classroom will be obliged to be inclusive, and we will then finally be able to discard the term. First-rate education is a form of education that is excellent for everybody. Children come from various racial, ethnic, and national backgrounds and different economic contexts. And a number of children have disabilities. If the educational system is to be first-rate, it should be founded on the principle that every student has the capability to learn, and it should motivate every student to aim for the best and have high expectations. We cannot let the potential of any student to go into waste if we aim to improve and prosper. Effective inclusion demands the assimilation of an important vision, a research base, and feasible strategies. A lack of important and integrated vision of the objective for educating every child means a loss in educational direction and hence turns out to be subject to political convenience. Without research support, inclusion stays defenceless to arguments that are determined merely by sponsorship and not by distinction (Ballard 1999). Without sensible strategies for execution, inclusion stays to be an ideal that will refuse to be applied in the real world. The inclusion of disabled or special education students in the regular classroom is an

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Nietzsches Genealogy of Morals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Nietzsches Genealogy of Morals - Essay Example This essay discusses that Nietzsche’s criticisms of the traditional notions of good and evil spans an array of his work and takes on more developed form in the Genealogy of Morals. This essay examines Nietzsche’s overarching philosophical considerations within this text. Nietzsche deconstructs the notions of good and evil. He argues that what has emerged are different forms of these concepts and that in actuality the differing meanings behind these terms are diametrically opposed. One of the most significant considerations in understanding ‘good’ in the sense of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ is the notion of slave morality. For him this is a moral code that has emerged in a society wherein the weak-willed have convinced the strong that their mode of strength is actually evil. Nietzsche believes then that the fundamental impulse of society is the will to power and that morality and the social structures implemented by much of civilization have emerged as a means of manipulation. One of his most potent arguments is that the concept of evil is different for the higher class than for the lower class. This notion extends from Nietzsche’s general contention that civilization is structured on erroneous notions of morality that serve to contribute to the self-interest of the individual or institution embracing them. Nietzsche believes that society should free themselves from these social constraints and embrace instinctual urges to power, as it is this will to power that underlines society’s main drives. He states, â€Å"That every will must consider every other will its equal — would be a principle hostile to life, an agent of the dissolution and destruction of man, an attempt to assassinate the future of man, a sign of weariness, a secret path to nothingness† (Nietzsche, p. 73). This consideration directly contrasts Christian morality that seeks to view the social order in terms of equality and embrace forms of weakness.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Economic planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Economic planning - Essay Example In many of the developing nations, economic planning has become necessary tool for development strategy. It helps the government to initiate corrective measures about market failures and other decisions. In short economic planning is a governmental method to tackle the economic decision-making and economic outcomes. The aim of economic planning is also to rearrange the financial and manpower resources.The popular models of planning are:Input-Output models 2.Applied macroeconomic growth models3. Project appraisal in context with shadow prices and decision criteria.The development planning in practice does not prove fruitful in reality. This is because of the facts that the objectives are not well defined; the plans are over ambitious and the relevant data are insufficient or incorrect. The undesired circumstances may hamper the desired results of the plan. There are several factors, which affect the role of Government in the development. Some of them are: Requirement of education and employment issues, migration for employment between rural and urban areas, choice of techniques and creation of employment, structure of economy. In view of these issues, market liberalization has an upper edge over the administrative planning in the economic development. There has been an attempt to reduce the role of public sector and encourage the growth in private sector. (Michael P. Todaro)Development in a broad sense is an ambiguous concept and it is highly subjective, specific and widely debatable. ... Technology and Poverty: Technological up gradation has a direct impact on the employment and poverty of the country. In a developing economy goods are produced by the skilled and unskilled labour. The unskilled labours are the poor population of the country who are uneducated. Any technological progress increases the demand for skilled or educated labour and thus generates unemployment for the poor/uneducated people. Government has to take care of such advancements and efforts are required for the utilization of unskilled labours and the subsequent rise in their wages proportionate to those of skilled labours. (Maurizio Bussolo, John Whalley, OECD 2003) Public Health: The developing economies are facing the problem of widening the gap between rich and poor. The economic development has caused to rise the economic extremities. Out of the top ten poor countries of the developing economies, which are situated in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), most of them have average GNI per capita of US$ 251. An average life expectancy of these nations is 43.9. The further health problems due to epidemics of HIV/AIDS may lower down the average life expectancy. Insufficient education level, low quality and insufficient food, inability to afford better healthcare services can produce weaker human resource. The weaker human resource has negative effect on the productivity of the country. Though the governments of the developing economies are making efforts to provide better health services and implementing projects to improve the quality of life of all sections of society, the results are not encouraging. (Inderscience) Climate Change: The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) proposed the participation of Developed

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Human resources management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human resources management - Essay Example This field is one that will continue to last for a long period of time until some other discipline is introduced by the management gurus which is considered better and more up to date than the human resources management ideology which is ruling the roost as of now. Within the management concerns, the need is to understand how management and leadership play their dire roles within the making up of the human resources management function that individuals know of. This is the reason why management and leadership tenets are being appreciated by people because they bring in a sense of empathy with how things are carved out and how these will continue to be in the coming times. The management understanding is based on the premise that employees will be led by someone who knows how to take care of the people working under him and how they will relate with one another on an organizational level. How management turns out to be the savior for organizations today is a point that needs much atte ntion (Rees 2001). This is because organizations know that if the management concerns are paying heed to the likes and dislikes of its employees whilst at the same time concentrating on manifesting its own role, then perhaps it is doing something worthwhile. However, this needs patience on the part of the organization which is doing its best to bring about a change for the better of all and sundry. The ideology behind it is to bring a change which will instill a new direction and a sense of purpose which was felt missing from the related ranks. Similarly, leadership is of dire value because it asks of the employees to be commanded by a leader that has his own will, direction, and authority. It gives him the room to maneuver how he wants to see things through and basically to lead people through his meticulous ways. The leaders always find it hard in the beginning to bring drastic changes but with the passage of time and perseverance, they are able to bring the amendments that they h ad already planned for in the past, as far as organizational requirements and tasks were concerned. Leadership is also an interesting topic because it touches upon areas of significance, gives the employees something to think about and basically makes everyone within the organization something to derive learning from (Hopkins 1998). A good leader allows his team to grow and develop with the passage of time, and with this professional growth and development is just a part and parcel as there are many other dimensions that are readily paid heed within the thick of things. Hence leadership that knows how to instill a sense of pride within the employees’ realms is indeed the leadership that knows how to make do with things that are available at its disposal. When it comes to recruitment measures, human resources management’s role is well cut out. What this implies is the need to comprehend that human resources management considers recruitment as one of the most significant aspects of its institution (Boxall 2007). It suggests for the amendments that are required on its part. What is more important is the fact that the human resources management department knows beforehand that all recruitment and selection entities will be covered by the lengths and breadths of this unit. If this happens on a consistent basis, there will be room for improvement as and when required and minor changes will be the order of the day.

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Key issues to consider when designing for people with disabilities Essay

Key issues to consider when designing for people with disabilities - Essay Example ‘People with disabilities have historically been marginalised in education, employment and community living’ (Key, 2001). This sector must be recognized as having potential to success, hand in hand with the rest of the population and having the ability of contributing substantially to the overall development of the society and nation as a whole. The rapid advancement of technology has facilitated a wide ranging scope of enabling the people with disability, giving them a strong platform to prove that they are not disabled but differently abled persons, under different circumstances, whose potential when fully exploited, can make a visible impact on the socio-economic scenario of the nation. The various enabling factors, facilitated by the emerging technologies, especially in the field of computers and information technology, have proved a milestone in the lives of the people with disabilities. They have restored the faith in the vast potential that was hitherto hidden and provided them with a means to achieve socio-economic independence, giving them self respect and a future to look forward to. It is therefore, no wonder that computers have been considered as one of the most important inventions of the century. Sensitization is a very important tool in creating appropriate atmosphere that would promote and inculcate the concept of equality and an innate sense of expectation from this sector as is the normal practice. To achieve this objective, necessity of the hour is designing a computer system that would promote the cause of enabling the persons with disability so that they can gain self respect by becoming financially independent. Hence the key issues that must be taken into account while designing and developing the system constitute very important aspect of the system itself. The following issues may be considered as highly relevant to the design and development of computer system which would

Friday, August 23, 2019

The Difference between Statutory and Common Law Offences Essay

The Difference between Statutory and Common Law Offences - Essay Example The essay "The Difference between Statutory and Common Law Offences" discusses the aspects of the difference between statutory and common law offenses. It has elaborated on how the latter has been created and how they can change. It has given a layman’s meaning to precedent and other legal terms important in the context of criminal and civil laws.Common law is the principles of law applied by the royal court's common practices and customs in England. Statutory laws, on the other hand, are laws governed by statute or acts of the legislature. The former is developed over a long period of time which derives its authorities solely from the usage and custom in England. The latter follows a public process or brought into effect when an Act of Parliament gives authority or approval for it to be made. In addition, it has recognized offenses such as abduction, arson, assault, bigamy, contempt of court, obstructing the course of justice, extortion, forgery, fraud, high treason, murder a nd much more. Furthermore, it has attributed greatly to statutory law. Therefore, this law is important in any legal system because it is made by people who are representatives of the people. Some first English law examples are Statute of Pardons 1504, Statute of Proclamations 1539. Today, they are more known as acts example Military Lands Act 1892 UK. In reiterating the above, common law crimes were created from what English society considered as morally wrong to their practices and customs.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Self-introduction Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Self-introduction - Personal Statement Example Although I spent much more time than other people in studying, I could not achieve high scores. Fortunately two years ago I chose to continue my education in the U.S., and it was here where my ideas and thoughts about studying changed significantly. First, I realized that as a teenager, studying at school could not be taken for granted. There are many overage students who go back to school after they have already been working in society. Many reasons can be attributed to this phenomenon, but I would say that for most it would be due to financial problems in the family. The fact that some of these people sacrificed their careers in order to receive more education shows how important it is for teenagers to be studying at school. Hence, I must cherish my time studying because I dont want to have to go back and redo it later on. Second, in comparing teaching methods between my home country and the U.S., I would say that here the college professors explored my interest in learning more and made learning fun. Now, although I feel like I have achieved success in college, I believe I must keep stepping forward in my specific field because I understand that knowledge is the most precious property in my life. In view of values, knowledge creates wealth. Therefore, I must prepare well for my future now so that I can reap the benefits once I have finished my education and look to enter the workforce. In the era of the knowledge economy, it is becoming increasingly hard for people to progress without having knowledge. It must be said that no knowledge is worthless because you never know when it will become useful later on. Under the ethos, values, and rights in the United States, I believe that I am more adept to study here instead of my home country. This is because the United States provides many opportunities to students to pursue and fulfill their dreams, something which cannot be applied to every student in my home country. Therefore, I set my

Hindu wedding ceremony Essay Example for Free

Hindu wedding ceremony Essay With reference to a Hindu wedding ceremony, describe and explain the many points of symbolism. Ritual is very important within the Hindu religion. If ritual is performed correctly, good karma will follow and if not, the opposite will occur. There are whole books dedicated to ritual such as the Veda, the oldest scripture in the world. Key factors in making the right match include the partner being Hindu, also preferably from the same caste and compatible horoscopically. Also, the horoscopes show what the best date for the wedding to take place is. Although India is a large country and weddings vary, most key points are shared. In India the wedding itself would be at the brides home but in England a hall is booked. In preparation for the wedding, henna is used to decorate her hands and feet lasting many weeks symbolising her entry into her marriage. A red spot is painted called a tilaka showing she has been blessed by god. She is wearing a red sari, the colour of happiness, with gold jewellery, the best she can afford and black paint around her eyes called kajal. The groom gives her a ring that she wears on her toe. The groom will wear a kurta-pajana; a lose fitting top and trousers and a veil of beads. The bride and grooms parents will worship Ganesh and the family deities asking them to be present at the wedding and make sure everything goes to plan. Throughout the ceremony itself the priest keeps a fire burning by pouring ghee into the flames symbolising the presence of the Gods. He also throws rice and spices into the fire symbolising fertility. The bride offers puja to the deities and then goes into a separate room to offer private worship to Parvati and Shiva asking for a long marriage and children, preferably sons. When the groom arrives at the place of the wedding, the brides mother and the priest meet him at the entrance with a sacred light to ward off any evil spirits. The priest prays to Vishnu and Lakshmi and together, the priest and brides mother lead the groom into the place of the wedding. The brides dad then gives him honey symbolising a sweet welcome and the priest recites a mantra from the Yajur-Veda. The brides family give her away to the grooms family. This can be compared to the Christian Wedding in which the brides father gives her way to the groom, the difference being, Hindu weddings are not just about the people getting married, but also each of their families who are as much involved. The bride and groom stand facing each other while the priest ties cloth around grooms neck and attaches it to brides sari representing unity. Then blessings are sung and the guests shower rice over the couple. The father of the bride then places her right hand into the palm of the groom. The father then asks the groom to follow his dharma -religious duty, artha -earning money in an honest manner and karma -the enjoyment of pleasures, with moderation. The groom says to the bride I hold your hand in the spirit of the dharma we are both husband and wife. The wife then steps onto a stone. This symbolises her decision to try to get though all problems they may come across throughout their marriage. Then the couple takes seven steps around the sacred fire (saptapadi); this is essential according to the Law Code of Manu. Each step represents a different thing: food, power, prosperity, wisdom, children, health and friendship. While taking these steps the husband says to the wife With utmost love to each other may we walk togetherMay we make our minds united, of the same vows and of the same thoughts. I am the wind and you are the melody. I am the melody and you are the words and on the last step the couple say in unison Into my will I take thy heart. Thy heart shall follow mine. And the heart of mine be yours. The brides bothers pour barley into the couples hands that are then poured into the scared fire symbolising the fact that they will work together for the benefit of society. The husband then marks his wifes parting with red kum-kum powder. -This is the sign of a married woman. The groom places a black necklace called a mangalsutra around the brides neck representing the union between the two families. Also, black beads are used to ward off evil spirits. If the wedding is in daytime the couple will look at the sun to be blessed, if it is night-time they will look at the Polestar, asking that their love will shine as bright and last as long. Elders and the priest ending the ceremony then bless the couple and the guests then take part in a huge feast. When the wife enters her husbands house for the first time she must kick over a metal pot of grain into the house symbolising prosperity. Finally, the bride is given a new first name showing her new beginning. 1) ii) In a Hindu society what activities, arrangements, and advertisements might eventually lead to a marriage? According to Hindu scriptures, basically, you must not search for your own partner, and when you do want a partner it must be the one your family arranges for you to marry. Therefore strictly speaking courtship is not to be done. In the past, matches have been made between two people before they were even born. Child marriage would often take place, and still does although it has been made illegal. The legal age of marriage in India is 18 for girls and 21 for boys. Because of this law being passed, the people in question now have more choice in their partner. When looking for a suitable partner, usually, the person in questions parents will begin their search by telling their friends who will then circulate the news to other families, telling them details of looks, varna, age, caste, education, financial situation and if it is a more modern arrangement, personality and interests. In the past, the man would visit the girls house and she would come in with her eyes downcast for a few seconds and then leave again. In these more modern times, both families will meet and sit down to talk about it. If the two people seem compatible serious negotiations will take place. Both families will get their family priests to study the horoscopes of the two people and if they match, a suitable date for the wedding may be chosen. Then the two families may agree to let them court with restrictions. If a suitable partner cannot be found, the family may decide to turn to placing an advertisement in the newspaper, or turn to an agency. Advertisements in papers for brides or grooms are very common in India. Sometimes someone will meet somebody they would like to marry at college, work, or a similar environment. Because the majority of the time someone is attracted to another person with the same kind of background, their parents will approve of the marriage because the person chosen has come from the same caste etc. If a match is decided, a dowry must be agreed. -This is an illegal practice, but is still sometimes done. A dowry is a payment given to the grooms family by the brides family because the grooms family now has to look after and pay for the bride. Because of the weddings expense, the bride may find it quite difficult to get together enough money to pay what the groom has asked for and the marriage may therefore be called off. Some Hindu families now demand dowry free weddings. Finally, once all has been agreed, the wedding will take place. 2) a) Explain why, from a religious perspective, i) it is considered important for a Hindu to marry a Hindu, Within the Hindu religion it is considered very important for a Hindu to marry another Hindu. The main reason for this is because marriage in Hinduism is not seen as a lifestyle choice but a duty and religious stage of life, from student, the first ashrama, to householder, the second ashrama according to the Varna-ashrama-dharma. When married, a Hindu has the opportunity to achieve three goals: A release from all basic human desires through marriage and having children. A contribution to society though hard work. The duty of carrying out whatever demands his particular caste places upon him. The 13th saskara is reached when a Hindu marries. Marriage in Hinduism is quite obviously a religious action. Therefore in not marrying a Hindu, you cannot easily for-fill these tasks given to you. You can preserve the purity of your religion and caste by marrying in the traditional way. By marrying a Hindu, you will have your horoscopes compared, will have the same religious state of mind, and are therefore compatible. If two Hindus marry, the families will get along and there will be no feuds. You will keep your parents happy by marrying a fellow Hindu in the correct manner. If you do not, there may be a major disagreement in which your family may not ever fully forgive you. They may even believe that in abandoning the correct tradition of marriage, you are abandoning the Hindu religion. If you marry a Hindu you will gain respect from the Hindu society whereas if you dont there may be a lot of disrespect and gossip about you. Your children will be brought up to believe the Hindu faith and will not be confused of which parent religion he or she should follow. He or she will learn all the correct rituals. The eldest son will light his fathers funeral pyre as Hinduism states. The Hindu marriage, as shown in question one, is full of symbolism and if this ritual is formed correctly good karma will follow. In fact large parts of Hinduism itself are all about ritual and tradition. So if you do not marry a Hindu, all this will be lost, bad Karma will follow and you will never be released from samara, the series of births, deaths and re-births and atman will never be rejoined with Brahmin. -This is a Hindus main goal and therefore it is essential to marry a Hindu. ii) being married is important in Hindu society, Being married is important in the Hindu society. This is because marriage in Hinduism is not seen as a lifestyle choice but a duty and religious stage of life, from student, the first ashrama, to householder, the second ashrama according to the Varna-ashrama-dharma. When married, a Hindu has the opportunity to achieve three goals: A release from all basic human desires through marriage and having children. A contribution to society though hard work. The duty of carrying out whatever demands his particular caste places upon him. The 13th saskara is reached when a Hindu marries. Marriage in Hinduism is quite obviously a religious action. Therefore in not marrying, it is impossible to for-fill your dharma. By having a Hindu marriage correctly good karma will follow. Large parts of Hinduism itself are all about ritual and tradition. So if you do not marry, all this will be lost, bad Karma will follow and you will never be released from samara, the series of births, deaths and re-births and atman will never be rejoined with Brahmin. -This is a Hindus main goal and therefore it is essential to marry. iii) it is important to consult with all members of the family when the marriage is being arranged. It is important to consult all members of the family when a marriage is being arranged. The main reason for this is because when a marriage takes place is not just between the bride and groom but both families as well. Also by asking all members of the family you can ensure a good match in marriage. If anything goes wrong there will be shame upon the family and therefore all must be consulted. 2) b) Explain the response of Hinduism to the moral problems of courtship. According to Hindu scriptures, basically, you must not search for your own partner, and when you do want a partner it must be the one your family arranges for you to marry. Therefore strictly speaking courtship is not to be done. Romance, traditionally was only for the Gods. There are certain exceptions however, as Hinduism has had to change with the times and become more flexible and acceptant of modern practices. For instance, once an arranged marriage has been agreed to and the couple are engaged they can announce it and can therefore openly walk in the street holding hands and go to the cinema or such like unaccompanied without being gossiped about by Hindu society. They may not sleep together or mover in together before marriage though. This is because according to the Varna-ashrama-dharma sex is restricted to the householder stage of life and must not be performed in any of the other three stages of life. 3) In Hinduism, marriages are arranged. Do you agree or disagree with the system? Give reasons for your answer. Why would a Hindu agree or disagree with you? Although love marriages are becoming more common within Hinduism, the majority of the time, parents arrange their childrens marriages for them. Marriage is not seen as an optional lifestyle extra but a religious stage in life and therefore it is said that you should love the one you marry, not marry the one you love. Elders are said to be older and therefore wiser and more experienced whereas their children are said to be immature and do not know enough about the world to make a sound choice when it comes to life partners. On the other hand, if your parents make the wrong match and you and your husband have a complete personality clash once your married you have to spend the rest of your life trying to grow to love someone that you really dont get on with. A Hindu would argue then that your horoscopes are compatible with your partners and therefore why wouldnt you get along? If you let your family arrange your marriage for you, you will make them happy. If you do not, there may be a major disagreement in which your family may not ever fully forgive you. They may even believe that in abandoning the tradition of arranged marriages, you are abandoning the Hindu religion. If you have an arranged marriage you will gain respect from the Hindu society whereas if you dont there may be a lot of disrespect and gossip about you. I feel a very important aspect of a relationship is trust. A problem that may arise when marring someone that you do not know all that well is that the two of you will probably not immediately trust each other and the relationship will suffer because of it. Also, sexually, you do not know each other yet are expected to immediately have a healthy sex life as oppose to gently easing into these things. You may feel awkward in being physical with someone you do not have solid trust in. In support of arranged marriages, a person searching for the perfect partner: the one may never find this person. -This person may not even exist. If you have an arranged marriage you know you will have a wedding and not spend half of your life looking for a husband/wife. With the wedding itself, there are many traditional symbolic gestures that must be performed and little room left for individuality. On the other hand a Hindu marriage is full of symbolism and if this ritual is formed correctly good karma will follow. In fact large parts of Hinduism itself are all about ritual and tradition. So if you do not marry in the correct manner, all this will be lost, bad Karma will follow and you will never be released from samara, the series of births, deaths and re-births and atman will never be rejoined with Brahmin. -This is a Hindus main goal and therefore it is essential to have an arranged marriage. You do not really know this person you will spend the rest of your life with. Your husband/wife may have a problem such as gambling, a health condition or an alcohol addiction that you did not previously know about. In love marriages, you have usually been with and lived with your partner for several years before getting married and you therefore will almost certainly know every detail about him/her. After weighing up the points for and against marriage, although I can see from a Hindus point of view why arranged marriages are a good thing, I have one major disagreement. A Hindus main argument for arranged marriages is that it is a religious stage of life and not a lifestyle choice. As I am not Hindu, I do not believe this or other Hindu beliefs to be true. Therefore I personally disagree with arranged marriages. I feel that to marry, you must first be in a loving, longstanding relationship with a strong bond of trust and love. Marriage, to me, is something that shows commitment and love between two people and I find the concept of arranged marriages quite absurd. If to me, marriage is a gesture showing a couples love and therefore surely the couple must be in love before taking vows of their love to one another?

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Ethics In The Health Care Industry Social Work Essay

Ethics In The Health Care Industry Social Work Essay Ethics as it is being used in the health sector is a concept that has evolved over time. There is no doubt that every player in the sector seeks to continually improve their services delivery as well as attaining maximum patient satisfaction in the process. In the last few years, ethics in health has developed through a number of stages. Hippocratic culture dominated traditional ethics in the 1960s where health care providers established relationships with patients. The core values of this relationship were derived from culture. The technological advancements and intensive research has seen developments in biological sciences and biotechnology. With such changes, a new ethical dimension was introduced. Ethical principles of human dignity, compassion, non-malfeasance and social justice However, with time a dilemma arose from the liberalization of health care industry. There emerged a need to harmonize the differences in health needs and resources availed for filling the gap. The scope of health ethics was thus expanded to include quality control, economics, policy formulation and implementation as well as massive research and development. Such efforts and resource harmonization gave birth to an era of health policy and ethics. As time advances there are debates on human rights protection and respect of human dignity (Bryant, Hyder and Kauser, 2007). It is now a fundamental right for every individual to enjoy quality health care without discrimination of any kind. The most recent dimension of health ethics is the fusion of lauded human rights and the fundamental right to obtain quality health services. Contrary to direct definition of health, as the entire state of well being in terms of mental social and physical status of an individual, ethics and human dignity issues are more complicated to completely expound on them. Ethics is solidly founded on cultural convictions developed over time. It derives its relevance and strength from religious and philosophical advocacies deeply embedded on the present leadership systems. It is considered as the ability of a community to clearly and amicably draw a boundary separating what is perceived as wrong and what remains a right thing. Such a boundary touches on the aspects of life right from the way of doing things to the general perception of life. It becomes a big understatement to define ethics without mentioning the famous dimensions used to describe it. It is a cumulative approach of respect to humanity with specific focus on maintenance of autonomy of a person, delivery of justice, rights and upholding of human dignity. Ethics in health policy formulation and implementation focuses on the most cost effective means of delivering a quality health care to all. It is in this light therefore, that ethics attempts to strike a balance between the policies and values cherished by an entire community. Equity is another paramount aspect of importance which cannot be neglected. It is about all that appertains to fairness in the ultimate distribution of gains derived from a robust health advancement which is socially acceptable. It is a concept that goes beyond just accessing health care products but touches on the response aimed at meeting the needs of all persons. Equity aims at ensuring that no one individual is favored in the allocation of resources as well as availing of equal chances of accessing health care (Bankowski, Bryant and Gallagher, 2007). It is therefore a process justified by the outcome. It is important to examine the impact of decisions made on equity. The specific health decisions must go a long way in fostering equity in access to health care services. The health status of most vulnerable groups remains the action points of equity development. There are no specific parameters of determining a group to be classified as vulnerable. However, there are general features which help us in this. There are those who are vulnerable due to social construction while others are as a result of congenital disability. It is usually possible to get an overlap between the two possible causes of vulnerability. The United Nations charter identifies the promotion of human dignity to be one of its core principles. This is evident in the ratifications, conventions and declarations of numerous international agreements in respect of this. One thing that we cannot fail to talk about at the mention of health care is this core principle of promotion of human rights and upholding of human dignity. A good example is the right to information an individual is entitled to on everything that affects his or her health. It is this right that compelled cigarette manufacturing companies to put an information label on their packets. In the recent past, efforts have been put on the reduction of public health burden on the rights of individuals (Sen, Germain and Chen, 2004). Trampling on the rights of a few individuals through quarantine, mandatory testing and isolation in the name of benefiting the majority is no longer ethically acceptable. A good and most recent example is United Nations advocacy of elimination of discrimination against people living with HIV. Together with human rights, dignity is considered an inherent and universal concept. Wide scopes of research in the biomedical field have continued to become the center of discussion on the inherent issues on human dignity. Law enforcers must also expand their focus to other sources of human dignity violation originating from areas outside medical field. Such determinants as political influence, economic factors, technological innovations, environmental concerns and changes in demographics must be looked into. It is important to note that advances have been made so far in the maintenance of human dignity and respect of human rights. Majority of institutions dealing with human health care services have a deliberate way of issuing instructions aimed at improving ethics amongst their staff members. The extent at which ethics instructions are being given is a clear indication of a continuous increase in the expansion in respect of human dignity. The unprecedented attention given to research on health care ethics cannot be attributed to one particular factor. There are a number of reasons as to why every player is shifting focus to this study. To start with, the knowledge explosion on the biotechnology field has availed a number of avenues available for a medical professional in the fight against diseases. It is now possible to handle situations which were once thought to be untreatable. However, this milestone in medical field has not been a bed of roses. A series of mixed reaction continue to emanate from various sections of the society on how ethical are some of these methods. Secondly, the cost of accessing basic health care is sky rocketing across the world. Most governments of the day are spending a substantial portion of their Gross Domestic Product on health care expenses yet most citizens cannot get the care they need. This leaves us in total agreement with Howard Hiatt who say that we have a few resources to use in provision of health care and therefore as a society, we need to ask ourselves two important questions. That is how we spend and allocate them. It is as a result of financial constraints that have made us witness denial of adequate health care, limited access and unfair rationing (Hiatt, 2005). Situational analysis Issues of ethics in health care are numerous. They range from an individual responsibility to the entire corporate obligations. That is why such issues can be approached from two distinct sides. To start with, macro ethical situations entail what cannot be addressed by a specific practitioner. Such issues are those in which the entire body of health professionals and the community at large must deal with in a bid to ensure that health care ethics are defined and respected. As an illustration, issues such as termination of pregnancy, health care resources allocation and organ transplants are in the category of macro situations. On the other hand, micro situations lie squarely on the hands of a single individual health care professional. It must be realized that ripple effects of macro issues are flow into micro situations. Ideally, the topic of health ethics should commence from the generally accepted responsibility a medical officer have towards meeting the needs of patients. This brings to our thoughts the issues of competence and trustworthiness of the health care practitioners. Competency goes beyond possessing enough knowledge to deal with a situation. It includes the ability to articulate issues of health and deliver the services timely and accurately. It is also equally important for a patient to have confidence in the person he or she has entrusted his or her body to. Trustworthiness therefore forms a core factor in the satisfaction of patients which finally culminate to enhancement of health care ethics (Berger, 2003). Legal and ethical rights We are living in an era with serious awakening in discovery of personal rights. The medical professionals have always been assumed to be an all knowing class. A patient would accept to undergo a surgery, take drugs and have a laboratory test without any question or hesitation. This trend referred to as medical paternalism is gradually dying. Patients are becoming consumers with a right to choose what they perceive to best suit them. It is therefore a mandatory standard practice to seek a patients consent before carrying out any procedures aimed at restoring health. Doing anything different from this will not only be unprofessional but totally unethical. The overstepping of a practitioners mandate in administering health care can also attract serious legal action whose far reaching effects can be detrimental in the career of a defendant. Just like any other customer, a patient desires to attain a definite level of satisfaction. Health professionals who are unable to meet the needs of their patients may not be such attractive in future if they survive legal actions. The legal rights of individuals are what we cannot avoid to talk about at the mention of health care ethics. The rights are those privileges a person enjoys as provided and defended in the Constitution of a country. Several legislations avails a patient with a series of rights. A patient seeking the attention of health care providers expects that clinical officers will utilize their gained experience coupled with their knowledge in striving to meet their needs. The patients rights ensure that independent individuals can expect the health care providers to meet their wishes of getting well without fear of otherwise. From a broader view, health care systems are primarily based on the rights of individuals seeking treatment. Patients have a sole responsibility of selecting who or what best suits them in terms of health care facilities and doctors. It is required that the patient gives a go ahead of any process through a fairly attained informed consent. This scheme may look very attractive to a person whose has enough economic muscle to meet the cost of treatment. The patients right assumes that everyone patient can comfortably settle hospital bills. On contrary, this right is as good as not being there for the patient who does not have a medical cover or enough money to pay (Bankowski, 2006). Although United Nations Declaration of Human Rights says that that all persons have a right medical treatment you cannot walk to a health care facility and demand for treatment. It is not enough to receive medical treatment; safety and effectiveness of the services are two paramount features that a treatment seeker is entitled to put into consideration. Ethical rights impose a responsibility on health care practitioners. The Hippocratic Oath results in a duty by the health professionals to do all they can in benefiting the patients and avoidance of any foreseeable harm. It can be argued that the health care providers must act at the best interest of the patients with disregard to how others are affected by their actions. A legality dilemma created by this Hippocratic Oath is diffused by the controversial exposition by Rem Edwards who claims that the health care providers are obligated to alleviating the aching and suffering of health care seekers. The defects in this point of view are evident on the side of health professionals who operate under strict constraints of laws. The responsibilities of health professionals are thus in conflict with earlier mentioned rights of the patients in the light of ethical and legal correctness. Ordering a health care expert to pursue a personal approach and do what contradicts the law, yet ethical, process in the patient with total disregard of what may befall them legally is as good as telling them to suppress what is important to them in favor of the patient. Ethical analysis It is important for a health care provider to continually examine his action so as to ascertain whether he is doing the right thing or not. In 1989, Robert Veatch proposed a four step blueprint which can be used by the health practitioners. This method of analysis involves making sure that there is sufficient knowledge backed by facts for every situation. The second step is bringing in to play whatever is morally upright in relation to the situation at hand. Ethical principles are given a consideration it deserves at the third step. Once the three steps have been taken care of, a fourth and last step of looking in to ethical theories is done. This provides health practitioners with a reliable, powerful tool available for use when faced with a situation demanding an ethical decision making. This theory formulated by Veatch approaches situation in a chronological manner. He goes ahead to argue that an ethical dilemma can be sorted not necessarily through the four steps but by just laying down the actual facts about a condition. If the application of step number one cannot provide a way out, step two is considered. This focuses on the moral rules guided closely by confidentiality or patients consent. At the event that dilemma persists, ethical guidelines of step three are used. The ethical principle encompasses aspects such as maintenance of autonomy, fidelity, nonmaleficence and beneficence. At this point, the stalemate must have been broken. However, it is possible to have unclear solutions even with the application of ethical principles. It is because of such a situation that a health care professional is compelled to use an ultimate tool available in step four. Ethical theories are the final solution finder in a hard decision making procedure. A particle and most recent example is seeking of consent of an organ donor. There have been several conflicting issues surrounding organ transplants. The ever growing imbalance between the number of organs demanded and those available for sale has played a major role in heightening the differences between proponents and opponents of this process. It is the obligation of clinicians to make sure that the wishes of prospective organ donors are respected to the later (Beauchamp and Childress, 2009). Various regulations have been put in place to ensure the respect of free will and human dignity of a donor whether death or alive. Conclusion The challenges facing health care professionals continue to rise with technological advancements and sky rocketing costs of health care. It is therefore of paramount importance to equip them with sufficient knowledge of ethical tools for use in such situations today or in days to come. Totally relying upon ethical codes, principles and theories may not be enough in decision making but serves by providing a rough idea.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Biography of Primo Levi: Vanadium

Biography of Primo Levi: Vanadium ‘Vanadium’ – The Periodic Table (Primo Levi) Annerita Ng Primo Levi was a Jewish chemist and author born in Italy. The majority of his writings revolved around his experience surviving the Holocaust of World War II, some with a heavy subtext of chemistry. One of his books entitled ‘The Periodic Table’ is a memoir of his life collated in 21 chapters, each of which is given the title of an element that is somehow woven intrinsically into the story. In chapter 20, called ‘Vanadium’, Levi does a seamless job of tying in the chemistry he learns with past personal experiences that plague his mind. In 1941, after Italy had entered World War II as an ally of Germany, Levi accepted a job at a mine in which he was to extract nickel to aid the production of weaponry for the Germans2. He then worked in Milan with a former acquaintance from university, before returning to Turin in 1943. He became involved with an Italian partisan group when he returned to Turin after Italy became occupied by the Germans. Levi was captured and sent to a transit camp before being deported to a Monowitz-Auschwitz camp. The Buna Werke plant nearby the camp, run by German chemical industry corporation I.G. Farben, focused on the production of synthetic rubber and made use of slave labour from the concentration camp. Thanks to his professional abilities, Levi secured a position in the Buna Werke laboratory, which ultimately led to his survival in the camp. He was freed in 1945, eleven months after he was deported to the concentration camp. He began working different chemistry related jobs not long after his liberation and eventually obtained a job in a paint business as a chemist and technical director2. It was in this job that Levi based his short story ‘Vanadium’ from his book ‘The Periodic Table’. While working for the company a shipment of resin for varnishes is received, which Levi then learns does not dry properly when mixed with the required chemical agent. He then discovered that the supplier is a descendant of I.G. Farben, who operated the Buna Werke plant during his stay at the concentration camp. After a series of letters sent to their representative, Levi realizes that the representative, Doctor Muller, was an acquaintance of his from the Buna Werke laboratory. This connection was set off after a misspelling of the name of a chemical, the same word which Muller often mispronounced while working at the Burna Werke laboratory. Memories of his experience working in the laboratory were triggered. Levi explains that Muller, along with other men, would often visit the laboratory he worked at to give himself and two other prisoners strict instructions. Muller only spoke to him a few times, but during one of those times he had continuously mispronounced ‘naphthenate’ as ‘naptenate’. Levi also remembered Muller giving him permission to shave twice a week (as opposed to the rule of prisoners shaving once a week), and also provided him with a pair of leather shoes. He also noted that Muller was rather ignorant to the events occurring at the concentration camp nearby the laboratory, as he asked Levi why he looked so anxious working at the factory. As Levi sent letters to Muller regarding the flawed shipment, he had also sent him a private letter in order to confirm if he was the same Muller he met at the Buna Werke Laboratory. While he waited for Muller’s confirmation he begun testing the instructions given to him in order to cure the shipment of resin. Levi had been directed by Muller to add 0.1% of vanadium naphthenate to the resin in order for it to dry properly. Vanadium naphthenate acts to accelerate the drying process of the resin3,4. It is able to protect the inner material and keep it undamaged from oxidation by forming oxide layers. This occurs as the hydrocarbon ring of the vanadium compound reacts with the oxygen in air3. He discovered that the Italian version of the vanadium naphthenate was not as effective as the German kind, and accordingly he requested for a shipment of German naphthenate. Muller had replied to his private letter a while later, confirming that he was the ‘Muller of Buna’ and requested to meet with Levi in order to rise above the past between them. Levi, however, was not so keen for this meeting, stating that he had no past that needed resolving. He avoided this topic altogether and, instead, Muller spoke of their ‘friendship’ as they worked together in the laboratory of the camp. Levi recalled no friendship between the two men, but realised that the other had saved his life by selecting him in to work at the laboratory. He assumed that Muller had perchance fabricated a convenient past for himself. In a sense, the variable effectiveness of the Italian and German versions of the vanadium naphthenate can be associated with the different versions of Levi and Muller’s memories of the camp. A few days later, Levi had received a letter from the supplier apologising for the inconvenience he, and the company he worked for, had suffered. However from this disruption they had realised it would be more appropriate and convenient if they themselves integrated the vanadium naphthenate into the resin before delivering them. Here, we see the success that prevails from the deductive processes of chemists and the elements of small-scale industrial chemistry. After the problem was encountered with the shipment of resin, Levi’s immediate action was to contact the source/supplier. The buyer-supplier connection is necessary for the industrial chemistry department, especially in when issues arise. These connections can be somewhat difficult when the buyer and supplier are located for apart, such as in Levi’s case. He was then given instructions in which he would test the effect of a required chemical and observe and confirm if it was the solution to the problem. In other words, trials were to be conducted to narrow down the cause of the issue. In this instance, materials monitoring is helpful for quality control and to review the materials and the processes they endure. In Levi’s case, a positive outcome was reached as the supplying company recognised a more convenient route to take with th eir resin product in order to avoid future issues. At first, Levi refused to forgive Muller despite his high respect for the man. He could not fathom the idea of meeting Muller with open arms after all he had to suffer through. He did not hate Muller, rather he harboured an abhorrence toward the Germans in general, and assumed Muller a substitute for those who harmed the Jews. But after further contemplation he became sympathetic to Muller’s plight as he tried to clear his conscience of any wrong doing. Levi then began drafting a letter to thank Muller for selecting him and even mentioned a readiness for forgiveness. On the same evening he received a phone call from Muller asking to meet with him in the near future. The language barrier helps prevent him from making his feelings of distaste known. He carelessly agreed to the meeting as he was caught off guard. However, the meeting would not occur as only a week later Levi discovered that Muller has passed away unexpectedly. This chapter provided an insight of the relationship between his chemical career and other aspects of his life, such as his writing career. Chemistry seems to be quintessential to his life. Levi finds a brilliant way of linking his chemical profession to his personal and social experiences, showing that he was deeply invested in his profession. Even in the Auschwitz concentration camp, he couldn’t escape it, and it most probably saved his life. He continued working as a chemical professional after he was freed from Auschwitz despite the obvious psychological trauma he suffered. From this chapter of his book, it is seen that Levi correlates the characteristics of vanadium naphthenate to the important features of his story. And although this unique chapter is mainly about his personal experience and his reflection on the injustices handed to him, it does contain factual information on the chemical it is named after. Levi also provides an understanding of the logical manner in which chemists must think within the industry and the elements involved in the processes of industrial chemistry – proving how communication is key within the world of industrial chemistry. Without a doubt Levi has a very powerful way with words, intertwining his personal tale with scientific principles. References Levi, P., (1986). Vanadium. In: The Periodic Table, 1st ed. Abacus: Sphere Books Ltd, pp.211 223. Patruno, N. (n.d.). Primo Levi: Surviving the Haulocast. [online] Bryn Mawr College. Available at: http://www.brynmawr.edu/italian/holoc/essays/surv_hol.htm [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014]. Chemical Land 21, (n.d.). Vanadyl Naphthenate. [online] Available at: http://www.chemicalland21.com/industrialchem/organic/VANADYL NAPHTHENATE.htm [Accessed 15 Dec. 2014]. Kemi Swedish Chemicals Agency, (n.d.). Metal Naphthenates. [online] Available at: http://apps.kemi.se/flodessok/floden/kemamne_eng/metallnaftenater_eng.htm [Accessed 15 Dec. 2014]. Sumatran Orangutan: Threats and Rehabilitation Strategies Sumatran Orangutan: Threats and Rehabilitation Strategies The Sumatran orangutan is widely considered as the most threatened species of great ape Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust 2006. It is estimated that there are approximately 6,500 individuals remaining in Sumatra (Wich et al, 2008), and the species is listed as Critically Endangered under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List (Singleton et al, 2008). This is due not only to the small remaining population, but to the fact that the population has declined by over 80% in the last 75 years (3 generations) (Wich et al, 2008). The Sumatran orangutan is endemic to Sumatra (considered a separate species from the Bornean orangutan (Mittermeier et al, 2009)), with its range restricted to a small area of fragmented habitat in the North of the island. Historically, the species had a much larger range across Sumatra, but the majority of the population is now constrained to the province of Aceh (Singleton et al, 2008). This condensed population means that we can expec t the population to show more intense competition within the species for food and resources, causing an increase in mortality over time (Marshall et al, 2009). The orangutan is an arboreal species, it is highly adapted to spend all of its time above the ground, and primarily inhabits lowland tropical forest and peat-swamp forest ecosystems (DWCT, 2006). These traits have left them extremely vulnerable to habitat destruction, the major threat to orangutans in Sumatra. Heavy logging of the orangutans natural habitat means that only less suitable habitat remains for them (Wich et al 2008). In addition, the majority of the orangutan population in Sumatra were found outside of protected areas, and many within potential logging areas (Singleton et al, 2008). It is clear that the Sumatran orangutan is under severe pressure, and many threats need to be addressed in order to attempt to restore the population. Threats Deforestation and fragmentation Both legal and illegal logging are a major threat to the Sumatran orangutan. The species main habitat, primary lowland forest, has been devastated in the last 30 years due to large scale forest conversion to agricultural land and oil palm plantations (Singleton et al, 2008). One study between 1990 and 2000 recorded a 13% loss of orangutan habitat forest (Gaveau et al, 2007). Another study by van Schaik et al (2001) found that during the late 1990s habitat supporting 100 orangutans was lost each year in the Leuser Ecosystem in Sumatra. This habitat loss was largely due to legal logging concessions from the Indonesian government for oil palm conversion (van Schaik et al, 2001). The orangutans habitat of lowland forest has been targeted due to the fact that it is easily and cheaply accessible for logging (Campbell-Smith et al, 2011). The forest is being destroyed in order to provide hardwood to developed nations, providing income to boost Indonesias economy, as well as to clear land for agricultural conversion and expanding human populations (DWCT, 2006). Within the last decade the scale of logging in Sumatra has continued to expand. This was partly due to the surge in demand for timber since the 2004 tsunami (Singleton et al, 2008), as well as a peace agreement in the Aceh province. A moratorium on logging during the conflict meant a lower rate of forest loss, however a peace accord in 2005 led to a lift of the moratorium and re-issuing of logging permits in Aceh (Singleton et al, 2008). In addition, the history of political unrest in the province has greatly impacted past conservation efforts (Marshall et al, 2009). This recorded habitat loss is the main contributor to the species declining population. orangutans are particularly vulnerable due to the fact that they are an arboreal species. They spend the majority of their lives in the canopy to avoid the threat of tigers, meaning the species is restricted to areas untouched by deforestation. However, the spread of human settlements and development of new road systems has caused severe fragmentation of their remaining habitat. In addition, a proposal for the Ladia Galaska road network in Aceh has been put forward, and if allowed will quickly fragment the last remnants of habitat (Singleton et al, 2008). The remaining forest within the orangutans range cannot support its prior ecosystems, and further deforestation and fragmentation could lead to multiple extinctions. Indonesia has converted over 3 million hectares of land to oil palm plantations, with plans to convert a further 4 million (Brown and Jacobson, 2005). However areas of oil palm monoculture only supports 20% of its previous diversity (Marchal and Hill, 2009). Even small scale selective logging can reduce local orangutan densities by as much as 60% (Rao and van Schaik, 1997), which shows how sensitive the species are to the destruction of habitat. The threats to orangutans from deforestation are made greater by the fact that the Indonesian government supports development (orangutan National Action Plan, 2007), and are therefore willing to issue large numbers of logging permits. Furthermore, the decentralisation of forest management in 2001 has aided the rise in forest destruction, as it means that regional land use plans are made without any though for conservation (The Ministry of Forestry, 2009). The increase in human population also increases pressure, as greater resource degradation occurs to meet an ever increasing demand for timber and agricultural land. A paper by Robertson and van Schaik (2001) suggests that ultimate causal factor of deforestation is corruption, as well as feeble compliance with legislation and poor law enforcement. Corrupti on is the most difficult threat to overcome, but law enforcement and compliance need to be improved in order to have a chance of protecting the remaining orangutan population. Other threats As well as being severely threatened by habitat destruction, orangutans are also in high demand for the pet trade across Indonesia. The central demand is for infant orangutans, considered as good pets as they do not reach full size until the age of 7, and are known for their trait of human imitation. Currently around 200-500 infants are taken from the wild for the pet trade each year in Kalimantan (Nijman, 2005). No data is available for the Sumatran orangutan, but demand for pets is high in both Borneo and Sumatra, and the number of infants being removed from the wild is unsustainable. Wild orangutans are also threatened by their conflict with humans, and they are at times killed as pests. They are forced to encroach upon agricultural land as a result of habitat destruction, but are considered pests by farmers and often killed when found raiding crops at forest edges. In a study interviewing farmers in northern Sumatra, 28% of those interviewed feared orangutans. They also on averag e believed orangutans to be the third most frequent, and the fourth most destructive pest (Campbell-Smith et al, 2010). This shows that a high proportion of orangutans are being forced to raid crops due to destruction of habitat and food sources, but also that the human-orangutan conflict may not easily be reconciled as it is largely driven by fear. Finally, the current small nature of the remaining orangutan population means it is highly vulnerable to stochastic events such as natural disasters, random genetic fluctuations and disease outbreak (Caughley, 1994). The species relatively slow reproductive rate (25 years per generation) and the ongoing vulnerability to habitat reduction means it is at constant risk of extinction. Past and current recovery strategies Rehabilitation centres During the 1970s the Indonesian government began to establish reserves for orangutans, which are now seen across Sumatra. The reserves act as rehabilitation centres where orphans are taught how to live in the wild and then returned, but also as sanctuaries for individuals unable to be reintroduced. Individuals found in logging areas, as well as orphans and orangutans confiscated by the forestry department, are moved to these sanctuaries (DWCT, 2006). It is estimates that around 63-97% of intakes by orangutan centres are under 7 years old (Russon, 2009). The orangutans are treated medically until their health is regained, as they are often in bad condition. For example many have gunshot and machete wounds, scars from tight chains, and internal damage, as well as behavioural and psychological damage as a result of prolonged isolation, abuse, and abnormal associations with humans (Russon, 2009). In addition many orangutans arrive carrying human diseases such as Tuberculosis, as well as significantly high parasite loads (Russon, 2009) after living in close proximity with humans. Once treated, the orangutans are taught ecological and social skills, and gradually weaned from human contact in order for them to be able to live independently in the wild once released (Beck et al, 2007). When the rehabilitation centres were initially established, uncertainty over orangutan numbers meant that rehabilitation programmes concentrated on releasing individuals into areas with existing wild populations to supplement those that were too small (Russon, 2009). Between 1973 and 2000, 218 orangutans were released at Bohorok in Gunung Leuser National Park, Sumatra, to supplement the rapidly declining population. The Sumatran orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP) is one of the orangutan rehabilitation centres in Sumatra, but it also concentrates on other aspects of orangutan conservation. The SOCP rehabilitation centre and quarantine site is in the Medan region, and individuals are released in Bukit Tigapuluh National Park. Over ten years, 190 orangutans have been through quarantine, with 125 individuals released into Bukit Tigapuluh, and 3 wild births by reintroduced females (DWCT, 2006). In addition the programme is helping to improve law enforcement through providing facilities for confiscated or unwanted orangutans. The availability of sanctuaries means that illegally kept individuals are more readily reported (DWCT, 2006). A mobile education unit from SOCP is used as an educational tool to teach conservation and the importance of orangutan tolerance, particularly in human-orangutan conflict areas. This provides a vital part of the orangutan conservation effort, as building understanding within local communities will help to reduce threats. Additionally, the programmes links with the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust means they also have access to the latest research in orangutan medicine, husbandry and captive care (DWCT, 2006). Protected Areas There are many protected areas across Sumatra, however illegal logging still occurs within the majority of them. The Leuser Ecosystem Conservation area, established in 1998, is considered a conservation stronghold for orangutan populations (Singleton et al, 2008). It is a 2.6 million hectare area consisting of two National parks and containing around 5,800 (over 85%) of the remaining Sumatran orangutan population (Mittermeier et al 2009). It is the only conservation area within Sumatra with viable populations of the Sumatran orangutan, Sumatran tiger, Sumatran Rhinoceros and the Sumatran elephant. This shows that the Leuser Ecosystem Conservation area is highly important in the conservation and protection of the Sumatran orangutan. However, the national park is predominantly a mountainous region, which is highly unsuitable for the lowland orangutan species. This means that most of the orangutan population is found outside of park boundaries, leaving them even more vulnerable to habit at destruction. It is estimated that only around 30% of the orangutan population in Sumatra are found within park boundaries (Mittermeier et al, 2009), causing more problems and difficulties for their conservation. Legislation The Sumatran orangutan was listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora (CITES) in 1975 (DWCT, 2006). This means that no trade is allowed in live orangutans or orangutan products. The ban was put in place due to the expanding pet trade in Indonesia, and by 1980 over 30,000 orangutans had been killed as result of this trade across Sumatra and Borneo (DWCT, 2006). In addition the species has been protected under Indonesian domestic law (Singleton et al, 2008). Act no.5, which was made law in 1990, legally protects the orangutan from hunting throughout its range. The Act also aims to protect environmental support structures and preserve biodiversity in Indonesia. However, a ban on hunting is extremely difficult to enforce, and current law enforcement of legislation appears to be very weak. Foreign support Many foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have invested an interest in the future survival of the Sumatran orangutan. For example, the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust based in Jersey joined the effort to conserve Sumatran orangutans in 1968. Durrell has contributed greatly to the survival of the species, breeding 7 babies in Jersey for the international Sumatran orangutan breeding programme (DWCT, 2006). The trust also helps by sharing information with orangutan rehabilitation centres, as well as sending experts to the field in Sumatra to help in the rehabilitation process. Some governmental support for the protection of the Sumatran orangutan has also been shown. Through the United Nations Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD), the Norwegian government pledged US$1 billion to Indonesia to reduce deforestation rates (Butler et al, 2009). Success of species recovery to date The Sumatran orangutan has been listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN since 2000 when it was first categorised (Singleton et al, 2008). The species data was re-examined in both 2007 and 2008, and in both cases it was found to still be Critically Endangered (Singleton et al, 2008). The population in Sumatra has been decreasing since the 1900s, with the most recent decline from 7,300 individuals in 2004 (Singleton et al, 2004), to around 6,500 in 2008 (Wich et al, 2008). It appears that, despite efforts to restore orangutan populations over the last 40 years, the species recovery has been unsuccessful to date. The predominant reason behind the continued decline of orangutan populations is the sustained level of deforestation, allowed by legal logging permits, illegal logging, poor law enforcement and ultimately corruption. Legislation is ineffective and reserves are not sufficiently policed, allowing commercial forestry to continue to occur even within protected areas. The rate o f illegal logging to legal logging is 4:1 (DWCT, 2006), meaning that without drastic improvements in law enforcement orangutans will remain at constant threat of extinction. Furthermore, despite the illegalisation of trade in orangutans, the pet trade for the species is still booming throughout Indonesia. Although the forestry department are responsible for confiscating many illegally owned orangutans for reintroduction, a huge proportion of individuals remain in human possession. The current level of protection for orangutans is not enough to combat the threats to the species. The most successful recovery attempt has been through the rehabilitation centres, but even they have a limited capacity. The rehabilitation process is only able to reintroduce a relatively small number of individuals, with one centre returning 125 orangutans to the wild over a ten years period. Over the same 10 year period only 3 wild births from ex-captive mothers occurred, and a high infant mortality was found at many release sites (Russon, 2009). Several observations of released orangutans at Bohorok release site showed individuals returning ill, underweight or wounded by wild counterparts (Dellatore, 2009). It is clear that there are still some problems with the rehabilitation and reintroduction process, and room to expand projects to a larger scale. However, it is also evident that these projects are the most successful aspect of the species recovery to date. The centres carry out highly important medical and genetic screening of individuals. orangutans are susceptible to human diseases, and the risk of spreading disease is great, so medical screenings help prevent disease from entering wild populations. Genetic screening is also highly valuable, as it helps monitor genetic diversity and maintain a healthy population. Rehabilitation centres also play an important role in orangutan welfare, allowing the confiscation of poorly kept individuals and providing safe places to go (Russon, 2009). In this aspect, they are an important part of the limited law enforcement available. Finally, the centres provide vital infrastructure and logistical support in the translocation of wild orangutans away from deforested areas (Beck et al, 2007). Recommendations for future management practices It is estimated that if the current rate of orangutan decline is sustained, we could see a further 50% loss of the population within ten years (Mittermeier et al, 2009). In order to ensure the Sumatran orangutans future, drastic action needs to be taken. Conservation of the species relies on immediate improvement of forest and wildlife laws, an increase in consideration for biodiversity in land use planning, and greater law enforcement effectiveness. The implementation of patrols to prevent illegal activity is vital as the first step to stopping illegal logging (Mittermeier et al 2009). In order to do this regular funding is required to put operations in place, and a forum for monitoring the enforcement of current legislation needs to be established. It is also important to implement anti-hunting patrols, as even very low hunting levels have strong deleterious effects (1% annual hunting rate sustainable) (Marshall et al, 2009). Patrols will also stem some of the supply to the pet trade, and attempt to reduce levels of illegal logging. In addition it is advised to temporarily halt legal logging and forest conversion, as well as road development plans (Mittermeier et al, 2009) in order to establish a more viable orangutan population. However, it is unlikely that the Indonesian government would halt development plans as it is essential for the countrys economic growth. A final step in the improvement of law enforcement would be the establishment of more patrols to confiscate illegally owned and poorly kept individuals to be taken to rehabilitation centres. This means that it is also vital to ensure the future expansion of rehabilitation centres across Sumatra. It is important to build capacity within current centres, as well as establishing new release sites across the island to restore populations in areas outside the Aceh province. Funding and volunteers would be required to expand the reintroduction projects across Sumatra. The future of orangutans also relies on the provision of protected areas and reserves with strict controls to prevent illegal activity from still occurring. Again, this would involve the supply of regular reserve patrols and stringent regulation. National park perimeters should also be increased to enhance the conservation areas. It is important to include large areas of forest below 1000 metres above sea level within the protected areas (Singleton et al, 2008), as this is the orangutans primary habitat. Habitat restoration is also needed within the protected areas in order to make it suitable for orangutan reintroduction. In addition, the re-establishment of habitat corridors is greatly needed (Robertson and van Schaik, 2001) to improve genetic flow between fragmented populations. Improving habitat connectivity will increase genetic diversity and therefore make the species more adaptable to its constantly changing environment. The conversion of any remaining orangutan habitat to oth er uses should be strictly prohibited immediately, as only a very small fraction remains. In order to do this, alternative livelihoods will need to be provided to many local communities which may have relied on the land. This should be done by employing locals in orangutan conservation projects, helping with rehabilitation, habitat restoration and law enforcement. Not only will this provide an income for communities, it will provide an economic incentive to protect orangutans, and may potentially start to change local opinion of the species. Building tolerance of the species and changing attitudes towards them is an important part of their conservation. It is important to address the human-orangutan conflict, especially as in the future more orangutans are likely to be living in close proximity to humans. In Batang Serangan in Northern Sumatra, a small group of orangutans were found to live in peaceful co-existence with farmers. The landscape is made up of degraded natural forest, s mallholder farms and oil palm monoculture plantations (Campbell-Smith et al, 2011). Although not an ideal habitat for orangutans, the mixed landscape was still suitable for the small group to live. Once tolerance of the species has grown, it would be possible to begin establishing small populations in these mixed agro-forest systems which occur across Sumatra. The ultimate aim is to create a landscape of primary lowland forest within protected areas, joined by corridors through major agricultural land. With the addition of further release sites, a connected habitat and better law enforcement, it is possible to establish viable populations across the island of Sumatra. Conclusion In order to reduce the current threats to the Sumatran orangutan immediate action needs to be taken. The species critically endangered status and its vulnerability to habitat destruction mean it is at great risk of extinction if further protection measures are not put in place. By following some of the recommendations laid out above, and increasing the level of support for orangutan projects, the species may yet have a future.