Service line Development Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Service line Development - Term Paper Example Its dedicated medical staff guarantees quality healthcare to the community. However, the declining volume of patients has led to losses this year. An orthopedic service is important in a hospital; however, trinity community hospital lacks this service line. Lack of this service makes it prone to competition, especially from regional hospital, which has a 350-bed facility inclusive of strong orthopedic services. Trinity community hospital is a 150-bed facility, and therefore, to stand at a competitive advantage, the hospital needs to develop an orthopedic service line through building, buying, or leasing. According to the case study, 5000 square foot is required for the orthopedic service line; construction will cost $120 per square foot, while price for building is $700,000. The rate of lease is $20 per square foot. The hospital management is also expected to cater for repair costs and taxes as well. This essay will discuss whether the best option for the hospital is to build, buy, o r lease space for the new orthopedic service line. Service Line Development Advantages of Building space for the new orthopedic service line Currently, building adjacent to the hospital will cost $700,000; however, the campus is running out of space to expand. Needless to say, the constructed building will have depreciable life of 20years. Despite the high expenses of building a service line, the hospital will have the opportunity to suggest its plan, which is not the case when leasing an already built building. According to Neducin, Krkljes & Folic (2010, p.294), hospital facilities should comprise of a friendly environment, which is inviting and attractive. Such an environment is less stressful for recovering patients, and contains outdoor spaces. Building a facility enables the management to choose an appropriate location where construction takes place by taking environmental factors into consideration. Today, hospitals lack a positive healing environment, as they are located on limited space, especially in urban places, and therefore, blocking the access to the green environment or landscape views, which foster quick recovery. The proposed orthopedic service line will deal with the treatment of musculoskeletal system, which consists of joints, tendons, and muscles, and as a result, such patients require a friendly environment. Building is advantageous compared to leasing space; this is because the hospital may not manage to find an amicable rental space. However, it may consider renting the building if the price if affordable. The rise in costs and the increasing competition influences healthcare facilities to find ways of increasing their market share. Trinity community hospital has chosen to add an orthopedics service line, which is aimed at improving healthcare, as well as the financial performance. In addition, when building a facility, it can be designed in the desired manner, hence avoiding conflict of interest. Finally, once the hospital builds the orthopedic facility, it officially belongs to them, and can lease any extra space available. Advantages of buying space for the new orthopedic service line When buying space, the advantage is that fixed costs are included in the contact, and therefore, the management is aware of the amount to be spent. In addition, the management can rent out additional spaces, which increase their financial returns. Buying space can be attractive, as the building is readily

University's Tools for Achieving Lifelong Learning Essay

University's Tools for Achieving Lifelong Learning - Essay Example There is little question that I have had a fortunate upbringing. In my life, I have a number of positive influences from my family, the faculty at my International Baccalaureate diploma program but also my fellow students. The classroom environment in my IB Program has a lot of students from diverse backgrounds and we often collaborate on projects. Frequently this presents a number of challenges insofar as on many occasions different parties believe projects should go in different directions. However, I believe that it is through working together that we can achieve the best results. Moreover, by working with people from diverse backgrounds not only can I learn more about what it takes to succeed in the real world but I gain a better representation of the diverse society that we live in. When we achieve a good grade on an assignment that we completed together I feel as though I have learned a lot more than just the curriculum. I have always wanted to attend University because I belie ve that being in the academic environment would help push me to perform at my highest level. In addition to building my ability to work in groups, I believe that the programs offered at your University will provide me with the tools to achieve lifelong learning. I always thrived in environments in which the learning curve is steep and I recognize that University requires a great deal of work but I believe the experience will be the very cornerstone of my future. I believe I have what it takes to exceed your expectations and should you need anything else from me I will be more than happy to accommodate your needs.

Effect Customers Perception Brand Image Of Fmcg Companies Marketing Essay

Effect Customers Perception Brand Image Of Fmcg Companies Marketing Essay In the midst of rapid globalisation and increasing access to information, companies are acknowledging the importance of being socially responsible. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) broadly includes social, ethical and environmental responsibilities towards the society (Polonsky and Jevons, 2009). It refers to the triple bottom line, referring to expanding the traditional meaning of organisational success to accommodate ecological and social performance. Research shows pursuing a socially responsible mindset leads to numerous benefits (Butler, 2006; Burke Logsdon, 1996). CSR also increasingly plays an important role in consumer attitudes towards the company and brand as a whole. The brand of a company plays an essential role in building an identity, differentiating the value offering, and more importantly, drawing a larger customer base. The brand image of a company refers to a customers perception of its brand in totality. In the past couple of years, social responsibility has been incorporated with the entrepreneurial characteristics of an organisation, leading to the conceptualisation of a new term called Corporate Social Entrepreneurship (CSE). It is a relatively new phenomenon related to integrating social considerations into a companys business operations. CSE is a process aimed at enabling business to develop more advanced and powerful forms of CSR (Austin and Reficco, 2009). Multinational Companies (MNCs) producing Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) have been particularly active in displaying CSE in order to uplift the rural sections of the developing society. Being a relatively new concept, the specific impact of Corporate Social Entrepreneurship on the consumer outlook towards the corporate and product brand has yet to be researched in detail. This research attempts to explore this relationship and gain a better understanding of CSE. Adapting the theoretical framework used by Poolthong and Mandhachitara (2009), explained under the literature review, a quantitative study will be conducted to examine the effect of an MNCs CSE activities on its brand image. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES To gain insight into the impact of CSE on customers perception of the companys brand and their brand associations, taking Multinational Companies (MNCs) in the FMCG sector as an example. LITERATURE REVIEW Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has gained a lot of importance among stakeholders and in the corporate world in the past few years. Modern literature on the concept can be traced back to the 1950s (Bowen, 1953; Eells, 1956; Heald, 1957), while formal definitions came about from the 1970s (Johnson, 1971; Carroll, 1979; Epstein, 1987). The most popular and widely accepted definition of CSR was given by Archie Carroll in 1979: The social responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that society has of organizations at a given point in time (Carroll, 1979, p.500). From a business perspective, this definition forms the basis of CSR, termed as the Triple P Concept of People, Planet and Profit. In todays global nature of the corporate environment, firms are increasingly recognising CSR more as a core activity rather than a peripheral one. This growing importance of CSR can be attributed to changing societal expectations, growing affluence of consumers and rapid globalisation (Werther Chandler, 2005). BRAND IMAGE The term brand can be defined as a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or combination of them which is intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors (Kotler, 1991, p.442). Brand Image is considered to be an important aspect of marketing and was the first consumer brand perception recognised in marketing literature (Gardner Levy, 1955). It is defined as the perceptions about a brand as reflected by the brand associations held in consumer memory (Keller, 1993, p.3). These brand associations refer to perceptions of brand quality and attitudes. The brand image is considered independent of the functional product offering; it gives the product a human element. The Branding Law of CSR Recent literature identifies how a company can differentiate itself and can gain a competitive advantage by linking the brand to CSR (Brammer Millington, 2006; Du et al., 2007). The brand image of a company is greatly affected by the degree of social responsibility it shows. CSR helps a company establish social legitimacy in the eyes of the customer. In their paper, Werther and Chandler explored strategic CSR as a means of achieving global brand insurance. A CSR driven approach of a firm increases the brand-user bond and reduces the brands weakness to other organisational shortcomings (Werther Chandler, 2005). This relationship between the brand value of a firm and the importance on CSR to it can be represented as The Branding Law of Corporate Social Responsibility: The importance of CSR to any organization is directly related, and rises in proportion, to the value of the firms global brand (Werther Chandler, 2005, p.321). CORPORATE SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP (CSE) Until recently, an organisations involvement in CSR was limited to being certified by social and environmental standards, having a well-established community welfare programme and so on. However, increasing global awareness has led companies to take their social responsibility to the next level. Organisations will have to explore the imagination and initiative of individual employees; and this had led to the emergence of a revolutionary concept that would enable firms to accelerate and develop their CSR initiatives. This term is called Corporate Social Entrepreneurship (CSE). CSE draws from the key concepts of corporate entrepreneurship, and social entrepreneurship. Corporate entrepreneurship refers to identifying and utilizing new business opportunities through innovative use of resources and strategies. Simultaneously, social entrepreneurship was defined by J. Gregory Dees as an innovative activity with a social purpose in either the private or nonprofit sector, or across both (Dee s, 1998). However, unlike either of these terms, CSE involves mobilizing organizational resources as well as creating social and economic value. It can be defined as the process of extending the firms domain of competence and corresponding opportunity set through innovative leveraging of resources, both within and outside its direct control, aimed at the simultaneous creation of economic and social value (Austin et al., 2005). The Multinational Companies are today recognizing the bottom of developing markets, termed as the base of the pyramid as having a higher potential than the saturated developed markets through disruptive innovation (Hart Christensen, 2002). This forms the basis of CSE, aiming at targeting new sections of the market for economic benefit through social upliftment. Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Companies and CSE Multinational Companies (MNCs) in the FMCG Industry have been active in CSE initiatives in relation to the rest of the corporate world. Saroja Subrahmanyan and J. Tomas Gomez-Arias, in their paper in 2008, identify the efforts made by FMCG companies to target consumers at the bottom of the pyramid. Hindustan Unilever in India was one of the first companies to introduce products in smaller sizes to the rural section of the country. A network of women from rural backgrounds was formed and they were directed to sell Unilever products in sachets door-to-door. Also, Kissan, owned by Hindustan Unilever, buys farm produce as raw material for its products. Danone, the French company partnered with a number of Non Government Organisations (NGOs) to sell yogurt in Bangladesh and South Africa (Subrahmanyan Gomez-Arias, 2008). CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK In their paper in 2009, Yaowalak Poolthong and Rujirutana Mandhachitara studied the effect CSR activities had on perceived service quality and brand effect, and the role of trust in establishing a link between perceived service quality and brand effect in the Thai retail banking sector. Garcia de los Salmones et al. (2005) found a direct relationship between a companys CSR behavior and the customers perception of service quality. In turn, the study by Poolthong and Mandhachitara (2009) displayed a positive relationship between perceived service quality and trust in the company, thus leading to a positive brand effect. Simultaneously, a considerable number of studies have found a direct relation between CSR and customers attitudes towards the company (Bhattacharya and Sen, 2003; Brown and Dacin, 1997), thus representing a positive effect of CSR on brand effect. Based on this framework, the proposed research study will attempt to gain an understanding of the effect of Corporate Social Entrepreneurship (CSE) on the brand image of an FMCG company (Figure 1). Adapted from: Poolthong, Y., and Mandhachitara, R. (2009). Customer expectations of CSR, perceived service quality and brand effect in Thai retail banking. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 27 (6), 408-427. Evident from the corresponding literature, research exploring the concept of CSE is relatively new and has been gradually picking up pace. The specific effect of CSE on the company from the customers point of view is yet to be looked into in detail and this study makes an effort to understand the same, giving valuable insight into using strategic CSR and CSE as a marketing tool. Using the framework given above, this study will try to answer the following research questions: Do CSE activities of a company have a positive relationship with the customers perception of company brand image? How significant is CSE to develop a favourable brand image for an FMCG company from the customers point of view? METHODOLOGY Luck and Rubin (1987) state that a good rule in all research is parsimony; using only meaningful data. This study aims to explore and evaluate the effect CSE activities has on customers perception of brand image, taking the FMCG sector as an example. This research will first use secondary sources of information to gain insight into role played by MNCs in the FMCG sector with respect to social responsibility. Secondary data plays an important role in establishing a background to primary research (Newson-Smith, 1988). Appropriate journals, articles and other publications will be used to understand previous studies conducted analysing the relationship between social responsibility and brand associations made by consumers. Through this source, a pre-existing questionnaire will be adapted in order to gather primary data. Being a quantitative study, a survey method will be used by means of a questionnaire. According to John Webb (2003), survey research is appropriate for gathering data on attitudes, opinions, respondent knowledge and awareness etc. After looking for an appropriate questionnaire linking CSR and brand image, it will be adapted to devise an appropriate questionnaire analysing customers attitude towards an FMCG companys CSE initiatives. The possible options available to use questionnaires are personal interviews, telephone interviews, mail questionnaires, and e-questionnaires. Given the time and cost constraints, using an e-questionnaire is the most effective and appropriate method of data collection. Emailing questionnaires to respondents has become an increasingly popular method of data collection. In this proposed research study, questionnaires will be emailed to the sample population. Alternatively, online survey software like www.kwiksurveys.com or www.freeonlinesurveys.com may be used to create convenient and hassle-free questionnaires. In this case, using an e-questionnaire is the most appropriate due to advantages of instantaneous delivery, quick responses and convenience for the respondent Kumar et al., 1999). Apart from this, increasing global access to the internet enables easy reach to the targeted respondents. However, using this method poses the limitation of respondents interpreting questions differently along with a high risk of not responding. With regard to the sample size of the study, a total of at least 100 filled questionnaires is aimed at, to minimize the sampling error. Using a judgement sampling technique, consumers of FMCG products on a global level will be identified to fill the questionnaire. Additional respondents will be reached through the snowball sampling, where one respondent may lead the researcher to other potential respondents (Marshall, 1996). The reason behind selecting FMCG consumers for this study is simply based on the high degree of activity of FMCG companies with regard to CSE and the fact that a large number of common people use some variety of an FMCG. This is ensures ease in reaching these consumers, leading to more reliable results. Based on the data collected, the data analysis software called Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) will be used to organise and interpret the information. Factor Analysis will be used to reduce the number of variables to a few constructs. Following this, cluster analysis will be used to identify clusters of relevant scales for the proposed research. Regression analysis will then be used to establish the nature and strength of the relationship between CSE and brand image. Ethical considerations will be made in the process of gathering data. A section describing the key aspects and primary motivation to carry out the research will be put in before the questionnaire. Additionally, complete anonymity of the respondents will be maintained throughout this study. Supported by the framework proposed by Poolthong and Mandhachitara (2009) and related literature about CSE and brand image of a company, this research proposes to find a positive effect of a CSE mindset of a company on the customers perception of the brand in totality. It will enable researchers further explore the nature of Corporate Social Entrepreneurship from the point of view of a customer. Also, FMCG marketers will be able to evaluate the significance of CSE in marketing communications. GANTT CHART The following chart outlines the schedule of activities in conducting this masters thesis. The dissertation period begins in the month of June with the submission of the final dissertation on September 6th 2010. TASK Background Reading Preparation of Literature Review Desk Research Collecting Data Analysing Data Writing Data Analysis Preparing Background Information Writing Research Methodology Writing Discussion Writing Conclusion Revision of Chapters Completing First Draft Final Changes and Improvements Binding   WEEKS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Jun Jul Aug

National Basketball Championship Essay examples -- Sports Basketball

The ball soaring towards the basket; flying all the way from half-court. Bang! The ball slams off the backboard and plunges onto the rim as 70,930 people fall into shock. Will the impossible happen? Unfortunately for the upstart Butler Bulldogs, Gordan Hayward's desperation heave at the buzzer of the 2010 NCAA National Championship game was 3 inches off the mark, allowing perennial power Duke to walk away with their fourht National Championship. However, Butler's magical run shows why the NCAA Tournament is such a great event and why it does its job as a fair way to decide the National Champion. Meanwhile, three months earlier, Boise State is stuck at home, wondering what could have been as they watch Alabama and Texas get the opportunity to play for the National Championship. Boise State was undefeated. The BCS system, which decides the two teams who get to play for the title in college football, is considered by many to be iniquitous and believe the sport should switch to a playoff format similarly to what is used in college basketball. The two championships are set up quite differently. The obvious difference is that the basketball format is a playoff, while in football only two teams get the chance to play. A committee of people come together and set up the basketball tournament by seeding the teams into four â€Å"brackets†, seeding the teams 1-17 in each bracket. The decision making process can be quite complicated. First of all, 30 teams automatically play their way into the tournament by winning their conference tournament. This means no matter how terrible a team played in the regular season, they still get the chance to play their way into the National Championship game. The only exception to this is the Ivy League. They do ... ... truth is the reason that the college football universe is being prevented from getting a playoff. Even though in many ways a playoff is a fairer, more efficient, and more entertaining way of deciding the National Champion, money and power end up smothering this idea. Until the people with the power decide to finally do the right thing, there will always be teams such as Boise State or TCU on the outside looking in, wondering what could have been. Works Cited Eisenburg, Jeff. â€Å"How college hoops would look if the BCS replaced the NCAA tourney.† rivals.yahoo.com. 11 November 2010. Web. 22 November 2010. Murphy, Austin. â€Å"BCS supporters don’t get it: current system isn’t better than playoff.† www.si.com. 12 November 2010. Web. 22 November 2010. Murphy, Austin and Dan Wetzel. â€Å"Does it Matter?† Sports Illustrated. 15 November 2010: 42-48. National Basketball Championship Essay examples -- Sports Basketball The ball soaring towards the basket; flying all the way from half-court. Bang! The ball slams off the backboard and plunges onto the rim as 70,930 people fall into shock. Will the impossible happen? Unfortunately for the upstart Butler Bulldogs, Gordan Hayward's desperation heave at the buzzer of the 2010 NCAA National Championship game was 3 inches off the mark, allowing perennial power Duke to walk away with their fourht National Championship. However, Butler's magical run shows why the NCAA Tournament is such a great event and why it does its job as a fair way to decide the National Champion. Meanwhile, three months earlier, Boise State is stuck at home, wondering what could have been as they watch Alabama and Texas get the opportunity to play for the National Championship. Boise State was undefeated. The BCS system, which decides the two teams who get to play for the title in college football, is considered by many to be iniquitous and believe the sport should switch to a playoff format similarly to what is used in college basketball. The two championships are set up quite differently. The obvious difference is that the basketball format is a playoff, while in football only two teams get the chance to play. A committee of people come together and set up the basketball tournament by seeding the teams into four â€Å"brackets†, seeding the teams 1-17 in each bracket. The decision making process can be quite complicated. First of all, 30 teams automatically play their way into the tournament by winning their conference tournament. This means no matter how terrible a team played in the regular season, they still get the chance to play their way into the National Championship game. The only exception to this is the Ivy League. They do ... ... truth is the reason that the college football universe is being prevented from getting a playoff. Even though in many ways a playoff is a fairer, more efficient, and more entertaining way of deciding the National Champion, money and power end up smothering this idea. Until the people with the power decide to finally do the right thing, there will always be teams such as Boise State or TCU on the outside looking in, wondering what could have been. Works Cited Eisenburg, Jeff. â€Å"How college hoops would look if the BCS replaced the NCAA tourney.† rivals.yahoo.com. 11 November 2010. Web. 22 November 2010. Murphy, Austin. â€Å"BCS supporters don’t get it: current system isn’t better than playoff.† www.si.com. 12 November 2010. Web. 22 November 2010. Murphy, Austin and Dan Wetzel. â€Å"Does it Matter?† Sports Illustrated. 15 November 2010: 42-48.

Antitrypsin Deficiency: The Genetic Disorder

Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (AAD) was first described in 1963, and of the five patients identified, three were found to have severe emphysema at an early age. Subsequent studies that the deficiency was inherited, and in most of the early studies, emphysema and chronic bronchitis were common features.The deficiency was shown to be associated with a marked reduction in the ability of the plasma to inhibit the serine proteinase trypsin, and later studies showed that this also reflected an inability of the serum to inhibit the enzyme neutrophil elastase (Pauwels, Postma, and Weiss, 2004 p.446). Human neutrophil elastase was shown to produce both emphysema and chronic bronchial disease in animal models. Emphysema can be directly inherited via a single gene defect. The genetic disorder, known as alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, results from a defective gene transmitted by each parent equally to the affected offspring. This gene codes for the enzyme antitrypsin, which, when deficient, res ults in the loss of normal lung elasticity and in progressive overinflation and destruction of lung tissue.Antitrypsin deficiency is also the most common genetic cause of childhood liver disease (cirrhosis) and the most common reason for liver transplantation in children. A family history of early onset emphysema or childhood liver disease points toward this diagnosis, which can be confirmed by DNA analysis. DNA testing can be used to detect carriers of alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency as well as to facilitate prenatal diagnosis for a couple found to be carriers, who face a 25 percent risk of having an affected child (Millunsky, 2001 p. 128-129). Scope and LimitationsAAD is one of the rarest diagnosed conditions in our current time; hence, focused study of such condition is essential. The case study involves the subject of pathological conditions linked with the condition of progression of defective genetic manifestations. Utilizing physiological and genetical approach, we shall cente r into the discussion of the disease causation, processes and manifestations involved. It is indeed essential to employ the principles of wellness and its components. The following shall be utilized in the overall study. A.To be able to determine and elaborate the actual disease processes involved, as well as the disease conditions manifested B. To be able to relate genetic causalities and factors in the aspects of disease progression utilizing the domains, components, and principles of wellness C. To be able to provide necessary health interventions, suggest enhancing lifestyle modifications and preventive behaviors related to the condition imposed Purpose of the Study The value significance of this study provides awareness to the public especially in terms of what can these contributing factors impregnate to the condition occurrence.Most likely, the degenerative character of AAD is very much rehabilitated if this awareness is enhanced through education. The study mainly expands he alth awareness on both AAD patients and non-patients who are greatly may or otherwise exposed in factors that contribute to its genetic occurrence. Moreover, the knowledge on this topic may further aid the patients and those involved in the reduction of anxiety and ignorance of the condition imposed. Discussion The Functions of ? 1-Antitrypsin and Involved MediatorsBlood and other body fluids contain a serum protein classified as an alpha-a globulin that is capable of neutralizing trypsin and many other proteolytic (protein digesting) enzymes such as fibrinolysis and thrombin (Bross and Gregersen, 2003 p. 39; Crowley, 2004 p. 399). This specialized protein is called alpha-1 antitrypsin, and its concentration in the blood is generally determined. Most individuals produce normal amounts of antitrypsin, others are severely deficient, and a third group have subnormal levels of this protein (Crowley, 2004 p. 399).?1-Antitrypsin (AA) is an inhibitor of serine protease in general but its m ost important targets are neutrophil elastase, cathepsin G, and proteinase 3, proteases released by activated neutrophils. Several line of evidence suggest that inhibition of these neutrophil proteases is the major physiologic function of AA (Bross and Gregersen, 2003 p. 39). †¢ First, individuals with AAD are susceptible to premature development of emphysema, a lesion that can be induced in experimental animals by instillation of excessive amounts of neutrophil elastase.These observations have led to the concept that destructive lung disease may result from the perturbation of the net balance of elastase and AA within the local environment of the lung. †¢ Second, the kinetics of association for AA and neutrophil elastase are more favorable, by several orders of magnitude, than those for AA and any other serine protease. †¢ Third, AA constitutes more than 90% of the neutrophil elastase inhibitory activity in one body fluid that has been examined, pulmonary alveolar la vage fluid (Suchy, Sokol, and Balistreri, p. 549).AA is the archetype of serine protease inhibitor (SERPIN) supergene family. Its primary function is inhibition during the host response to inflammation/tissue injury, for which it has been termed a hepatic acute-phase reactant (Suchy, Sokol, and Balistreri, p. 549; Bross and Gregersen, 2003 p. 39). AA acts competitively by allowing its target enzymes to bind directly to a subrate-like region within its reactive center loop. The reaction between enzyme and inhibitor is essentially second order, and the resulting complex contains one molecule of each of the reactants (Bross and Gregersen, 2003 p.39; Fessler, reiley and Sugarbaker, 2004 p. 155). A reactive-site peptide bond within the inhibitor is hydrolyzed during the formation of the enzyme-inhibitor complex. Hydrolysis of this bond; however, does not proceed to completion (Suchy, Sokol, and Balistreri, p. 549). The predominant site of synthesis of plasma AA is in located biologically in the liver wherein in most clearly shown by conversion of plasma AA to the donor phenotype after orthoptopic liver transplantation (Bross and Gregersen, 2003 p.39; Suchy, Sokol, and Balistreri, 2007 p. 551). It is synthesized in human hepatoma cells as a 52-kDa precursor; undergoes post translational, dolichol phosphate-linked glycosylation at three asparagines residues, and undergoes tyrosine sulfation. It is secreted as a 55-kDa native single-chain glycoprotein with a half time for secretion of 35 to 40 minutes (Suchy, Sokol, and Balistreri, 2007 p. 551). The absence or insufficiency of AA initiates genetic anomaly in terms of failure to suppress immunity response (Porth, 2007 p. 501).

Motorcycle Safety

About 3,000 people die everyday on roads around the world with another 30,000 more surviving but are severely disabled.   At this rate, road traffic accidents may become the third leading cause of death worldwide by the year 2010 (Wells, Mullin, Norton, Langley, Connor, Lay-Yee, R. & Jackson, 2004).   Because of the severity of this issue, the authors have conducted a study to determine the causes of road traffic accidents among motorcycle drivers.   The study was focused to determine if the ability of motorcyclists to be seen on the road to be a vital cause for motorcycle accidents on the road (Wells, et al., 2004). The study was conducted over a period of three years in Auckland, New Zealand where the authors selected 150 survey sites on major motorways.   The study was conducted on random times between six in the morning and midnight on different days of the week and different directions of travel. The participants of the survey were randomly selected on the road and were interviewed as to whether they use their headlights during the daytime, if the driver uses reflective or fluorescent clothing materials while on the road, the color of the motorcycle vehicle, the color of the clothing of the driver and the helmet color used by the driver.   Based on their findings, they were able to conclude that the use of headlights during the daytime, reflective or fluorescent clothing and light color helmets greatly reduced the chances of the driver from being involved in a motorcycle accident that may result to severe injuries or death (Wells, et al., 2004). Although the article was informative as to what precautions a motorcycle driver can take in order to avoid getting involved into a major road accident that could kill the driver or leave the driver permanently disabled, the study is very limited in that they only concentrated on how the visibility of the motorcycle driver is on the road.   It did not take into consideration other factors such as alcohol consumption on the part of the motorcycle driver or other motor vehicles, speeding and drowsiness. References Wells, S., Mullin, B., Norton, R., Langley, J., Connor, J., Lay-Yee, R. & Jackson, R.   (2004, February 2).   Motorcycle rider conspicuity and crash related injury: case-control study. BMJ. Retrieved on February 1, 2008.