Industrialization by Invitation Essay Example for Free

Industrialization by Invitation Essay Did Lewis theory of industrialization by invitation (IBI) lead to some of the social, economic and financial problems being experienced in the region? Discuss your response. Lewis’ theory of â€Å"industrialization by invitation† made a case for the possibility of the creation of a manufacturing sector in the islands in the region, contrary to the ideas proposed by the Moyne Commission. With the overpopulation of the islands, Lewis argued that non-agricultural employment opportunities were required and he saw the manufacturing industry as a means of achieving this goal. Using the theory of comparative cost, Lewis felt that industrialisation would be a viable option for the West Indian islands. He noted, however, that given the fact that that locals lacked adequate knowledge and were relatively inexperienced in this new endeavour, there would have to be a temporary reliance on foreign investors. To attract them, local governments would have to play a very active role by offering various incentives and setting up Industrial Development Corporations. Lewis based his model on Puerto Rico’s Operation Bootstrap. (Rose, 2002) states that by â€Å"early 1960’s the MDCs and some of the LDCs in the region had established the institutional and legal apparatus to accommodate the industrialization development strategy. † There was also an influx of â€Å"foreign capital and visible light manufacturing industries† (Rose, 2002). It would seem, therefore that Lewis’ theory was successful since some economic growth was seen by the MDCs. Be that as it may, closer examination would reveal that the smaller islands did not fare as well in their attempts at industrialization. In fact, even with the success of the MDCs, industrialization by invitation achieved negative results. This was because most of the industries developed as a result proved to be capital intensive rather than labour intensive, thus unemployment rates remained high. The increase in rural to urban migration and the social and political tensions experienced did nothing to improve the situation. The foreign investors did not, as Lewis envisioned, offer sufficient training and assistance to the locals. Instead, they maintained close ties with their own countries and the region was now swept up in yet another cycle of dependency. Consequently, the implementation of Lewis’ strategy can be seen as having some effect on some of the social, economic and financial problems experienced in the region. The fact remains that the countries in the region were forced to compete against each other for foreign investment thus undermining any previous attempts at integration, a situation which still exists today. Lewis’ strategy must not be thought of, though, as being wholly accountable for the region’s problems. In part, this can be seen to have arisen because the region’s governments, in implementing Lewis’ strategy, failed to take into account Puerto Rico’s close ties with the United States and their privileged access to the U. S. markets.

Bees Affected by Cell Phones Radiation Essay Example for Free

Bees Affected by Cell Phones Radiation Essay Bees are vanishing and cell phones are everywhere†¦there definitely could be a link. The Institute of Science in Society delivered a press release in April 2007 saying â€Å"one likely culprit of [CCD] is a new class of systemic pesticides, which are not only sprayed on crops, but also used universally to dress seeds in conventional agriculture, and can confuse and disorientate bees at very low concentrations† although â€Å"another candidate is a radiation from mobile phone base stations that has become nearly ubiquitous in Europe and North America where the bees are vanishing; this possibility is considerably strengthened by preliminary findings that bees fail to return to the hives if cordless phone base stations are placed in them. † The following experiment may prove that it is all about the wireless phones: Researchers at Landau University in Germany designed a simple experiment for students on the Environmental Science course. Eight mini-hives, each with approximately 8 000 bees were set up for the experiment. Four of them were equipped with a DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication)-station at the bottom of the hive, and the other four without the DECT-station served as controls. At the entrance of each hive, a transparent plastic tube enabled the experimenters to watch the marked bees entering and leaving the hive, so they can be counted and their time of return after release recorded for a period of 45 minutes. The experimenters also studied building behavior by measuring the area of the honeycomb and its weight. In the course of the experiment, three colonies exposed to mobile phone radiation and one non-exposed control colony broke down. The total weights of the honeycombs in all colonies, including those at the time of breakdown were compared. The controls weighed 1 326g, while those exposed to the DECT-stations weighed only 1 045g, a difference of 21 percent. The total area of the honeycomb in the controls was 2 500, compared to just 2050 in the exposed hives. But it was the number of returning bees and their returning times that were vastly different. For two control hives, 16 out of 25 bees returned in 45 minutes. For the two microwave-exposed hives, however, no bees at all returned to one hive, and only six returned to the other. The article continues, saying: Clearly the present findings need to be taken much further, but their significance should not be downplayed for a number of reasons. The findings are compatible with evidence accumulating from investigations on many other species including humans, showing that mobile phone radiation is associated with a range of health hazards including cancers. Furthermore, bees are known to be extremely sensitive to magnetic and electromagnetic fields, and there have been many suggestions that they could be used as an indicator species for electromagnetic pollution.

The Hotel Industry In Britain

The Hotel Industry In Britain According to the British laws a hotel is a place where a benefited traveler can receive food and shelter provided he is in a position to for it and is in a fit condition to receive. Hotels have a very long history, but not as we know today, way back in the 6th century BC when the first inn in and around the city of London began to develop. The first catered to travelers and provided them with a mere roof to stay under. This condition of the inns prevailed for a long time, until the industrial revolution in England, which brought about new ideas and progress in the business at inn keeping. The invention of the steam engine made traveling even more prominent. Which had to more and more people traveling not only for business but also for leisure reasons. This lead to the actual development of the hotel industry as we know it today. Hotel today not only cater to the basic needs of the guest like food and shelter provide much more than that, like personalized services etc. Hotels today are a Home away from home. Hotel can be classified into different categories or classes, based on their operational criteria. For example the type of accommodation they provide, location of the property, type of services provided, facilities given and the clientele they cater to can help categories hotels today. The market segmentation is economy hotel, mid market hotel, suite hotels, first class hotel, deluxe hotel, casino hotels, resort hotel and resident hotel. Source:http://www.scribd.com/doc/6170286/Introduction-to-the-Hotel-Industry Hospitality industry offers a variety of service including food service and accommodation and has different organizations. One of the most common sectors of hospitality industries is hotel and followed by restaurants. Hotel and restaurants have commonalities but differs in many ways they serve and the quality service that they offer. The organisational sturcture of a hotel Two main divisions in any hotel. The first is operational which contains the following departments : Food and Beverage division Accommodation House keeping Security Functional division contains the following hR Mgt Markeying Finance A/c Dicuss each departments roles Scale and scope of hospitality: Firstly, there are four basic types of the hotel ownership such as the franchise, privately owned and operated, leased and managed, on the other hand restaurant can be franchised and privately owned only. The franchise operation is privately owned but the owner pays for the franchise fee and followed by the royalty which is paid monthly and according to the contract same as the restaurants. The privately owned and operated hotel has company partnership which that may have investors or others with a financial interest in the hotel, however, in the restaurant industry it has one sole or partner ownership who run the business. Leased hotels are owned by individual or company but only lease the establishment. And lastly, the managed hotel is privately owned but has an agreement with another hotel brand to run the hotel operations. Source:http://www.ehow.com/about_5598328_types-hotel-ownership.html#ixzzOfDhyE1W Assessment of hospitality related orgs: ( judgement, evaluate) According to People 1st State of the Nation Report 2009, it is roughly 31% of high turnover in terms of labor in the industry and the employers are spending GBP 414 million on recruiting and improving new staff in 2008/09. Secondly, in diversity perspective in terms of products and services such as food, drinks, accommodation, conferences and banqueting, leisure facilities, levels of services and customer service varies on what kind of hotel and restaurant are. This means the target that they are targeting differs the quality that they are offering. For instance, in 5-star hotel you will see that the food and service are quite posh and branded, the facilities are expensive which exceeds on your expectations, thus, you are delighted of the food and service they offer compared to the 2-star hotel which is much cheaper. These are the things that we are considering regarding the factors that makes it diverse in service . Another thing is the culture of a certain country that they offer different meals and different kinds of meat according to the norms that they are believing in like the Halal food in Muslim country which the people do not eat pork. It is bizarre to give them this meat (pork) because it cre ates chaos and conflict to you when you set up a business in Muslim country. The organizational side of the hotel and restaurant can be divided into operational and functional. The operational is more on food preparation, food and services, accommodation service and front of house services while the functional is more on human resources, finance, marketing, research and development, security and maintenance. In operational point of view in the hotel are much sophisticate and posh and meticulous than the restaurant perspective. The hotel offers international food much more compared to restaurant which is much limited. Hotels caters all according to customers need. In terms of employees such as the waiter and receptionist, the hotel are hiring much more people and mostly who have a degree with personality and experience while the restaurant need few employees regardless of a degree , personality and experience to a certain degree. In functional, the hotel have human resources and high security and maintenance primarily because it is much bigger company and enor mous responsibility and caters different nationality with regard the employee and customers. The following are the organisations which are related to these industries: I want to do this! Whats This? People 1st is the sector skills council for hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism. They are working to transform skills in the sector, particularly in the areas of management and leadership, customer service and craft skills. They are committed to ensuring that public funds support the industry to develop only those qualifications and programmes that meet the needs of employers. The British Hospitality Association has been representing the hotel, restaurant and catering industry for 100 years. The Association exists to ensure that the views of the British hospitality industry are represented in a forceful, coherent and co-ordinated way to government and policy makers in the UK and internationally, in order that its members businesses can flourish. The Institute is delighted to release a new suite of five online learning modules which are freely available to all. The modules are tailored to meet the needs of hospitality and tourism students and professionals. They also support learning for our own Hospitality Management Qualifications. These organizations helps everyone what are the current trend and development in hospitality industry. It keeps us update and be aware about the opportunities in the market. Moreover, it enhances our knowledge and we have questions we can check it out anytime we want to. On top of that, it helps the hospitality industry what are the things they need to improve which quite fruitful to all. Task 2 The hotel and restaurants have commonalities in terms of functional and operational side of hospitality management but they have differences in other things. The hotel functional side are the human resources, finance, marketing, research and development, security and maintenance where the restaurant varies whether the restaurants are fast food chain, fine dining restaurants or vending machine. In fast food chain like McDonalds has human resources, finance, marketing ,research and development, security and maintenance however fine dining restaurants do have but others do not have. In operational points of view in the hotel and restaurants like food preparation , food and beverage services, accommodation services and front of house services have same legislative law regarding the health and safety ,environmental law and other laws. The way they do quality service differs in the way they deal the customers and their target market as the hotel restaurants are more meticulous and customer oriented than the restaurants in the market. Hotels have star rating according to their quality and status and much more posh compared to restaurants. The hotels now offers more careers than the restaurants from a wide variety of jobs to choose from. They can apply in management, event organisation, restaurant and bar work as well as operational roles which includes the finance, human resources and marketing. On the other hand, careers in restaurants include management and chef work which is the most difficult to look for purely because of lacking the required skills and experience but in the larger restaurants opportunities for business managers, finance managers and operational staff are existing. In conferences and meetings and events are massive business that mostly involves in the hotel which accounts of 60% according to the British Hospitality Association Centres trends and statistic 2008. Many occupations in the hospitality industries are offering full time, part time and casual and from agency. The full time has 40 hours a week normally but can exceed depending on the availability of the employee whilst in part time offers 20 hours only. The casual are just on call employees but have a limited benefits compared to full time and part time job. On the other hand, if they run out of members of staff they might call from agency to cover up for those who make an absent or those situations that needs more staff . Part-time job are mostly students and they are hired according to their availability especially in the hotel and fast food chain restaurant. The part-time job salary is roughly 5.82 and the full time is much higher depending on how much longer they are in the company. It varies from person to person and it depends on the size of the company and the amount of the responsibility involved and sometimes , packages can include profit-related. Restaurants employ more th an 526,000 full time and part time staff accounting 82% in the UK. In the hotel the full time are approximately 72% in terms of employability. In the UK there are over 46,000 hotels and guest houses and the hotel industry remains a vital role in the economy having an annual turnover of roughly 40,000 pounds according to trends and statistics in 2008 British Hospitality Association. In terms of salaries, the trainee hotel manager earns from 12,000 pounds to 19,000 and the more experience hotel manager gets 16,000 to 22,000 while the restaurant manager salary range from 16,000 to 20,000 pounds. As far as structure is concerned, hotels and restaurants are different in many ways such as the hierarchy ,teams, organisations structures number of employees , career progression , staff characteristic , flexibility and interpersonal skills. The hotels have general manager that look the company as a whole or have a big picture of it. It is break down into department where they are specific on their task like restaurant manager has a responsibility to manage the people working in the restaurant such as the waiter, receptionist and the back of the hotel like the chef. On the other hand, the restaurant is much simple to operate and few people are working here so the restaurant manager are much more relax and specific on what they are doing in the said establishment. The progression of career in the hotel is much better than the restaurant for the reason that if you are working in the hotel it is much easier for you to be hired in higher position in the restaurant since you have the bac kground working in the hotel. In addition, hotel staff can still have the options to apply in the other hotels and restaurants such as the supervisor after being a waiter before. This is what we call career advancement after having intensive training and qualification given by the hotel apart from the experienced gained in the hotel. Since working in the hotel has diverse nationality , the personal growth and confidence become an asset and as time goes it develops which makes you a flexible type of person, thus, having a good interpersonal skills which the employer is looking for. Having said that, the hotel is still has plenty of advantages than the restaurant, although restaurant has pros in many things. But of course, it depends on the person as well if how determined and persevered he is in achieving his goals and be promoted in the company. Qualifications in the hotel and restaurant industries can be apprenticeships, national vocational qualification(NVQ), vocationally related qualification(VRQ) and degree as well. The apprenticeships are nationally designed for young people in age bracket of 16-24 which has two levels like the apprenticeship and the advanced apprenticeships and consist of an NVQ and three key skills such as the application of number, communication and IT. The NVQ is developed by National Occupational Standards which focus on job responsibilities within the scope of the industry which is complied in a portfolio evidence. The vocationally related qualification (VRQ) sometimes called as technical course of study usually 1-5 days. These qualification have levels from level 1-3 , A Level 2 NVQ is equivalent to 5 GCSEs grade A to C, and A Level 3 NVQ is equivalent to 2 A Levels.

God’s Transition to a Feared, Cruel Deity in Modernist Literature and P

Previous literary schools, such as the Renaissance writers and Romanticism, depicted God as an extremely powerful, but benevolent deity that ensured that the conclusion to most events turned out in a positive fashion. After World War I’s catastrophic cost in lives, souls, and property, many authors and poets changed their views of God. Instead of a loving, all-powerful force for good, God turned into a cruel, supernatural being that chooses not to intervene when humans suffer. Many modernists felt that if God could not prevent a disaster such as World War I, he either looked passively at humans or even assisted in their abilities to destroy fellow men, women, and children. Authors such as T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and Ernest Hemingway described God in this manner, especially during their European expatriate periods. Since God gave humans, the power to be cruel, God must also possess a cruel side to his image. Among such finest literary artists, the name of T.S Eliot tops the list. His work illustrates a clear view of modernism. Being a spectator of the critical conditions of the twentieth century, his demonstrations in poetry and essays confirms a supreme blend of thoughts towards religion and belief (William). Eliot’s another distinction in poetry The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock was taken as an upper hand with appreciation. He mentioned the thesis of simplicity and silence in human nature. Turning towards the religious side even in his practical life as well, Eliot expressed a variety of such themes. In The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, he symbolized how men try to decipher the feelings of women as after the World War I they came out to be working on their new function of bread earner. The measures of women exhibit the def... ...so Rises. EPub Edition. New York: Harper Collins, 2012. 115. eBook. MacDonald, Harold, ed. "Ash Wednesday: Ash Wednesday by T.S. Eliot." Insight. Lenten Poems, 2012. Web. 10 Apr 2012. Moody, Anthony David. The Cambridge Companion to T.S. Eliot. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1994. 121. Print. Pound, Ezra. "Ballad for Gloom." Bartleby.com. Bartleby. Web. 6 Apr. 2012 Pound, Ezra. â€Å"The Cantos.† Baym, Nina, Wayne Franklin 1492-98. Read, Forrest. "The Pattern of the Pisan Cantos." Sewanee Review 65.3 (1957): 400-19. jam. 12 Apr. 2012. Rodgers, Audrey T. â€Å"T. S. Eliot's â€Å"Purgatorio†: The Structure of Ash Wednesday.† Comparative Literature Studies 7.1 (1970): 97-112. JSTOR. 8 Apr. 2012. Videnov, Valentin A. "Human voices in silent seas: a reading of Eliot's Love Song." The Explicator 67.2 (2009): 126+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 1 May 2012.

The Evolution of Jousting Essay -- Exploratory Essays Research Papers

The Evolution of Jousting Picture, if you will, a knight in shining armor charging on his noble steed down the open stretch toward his enemy. From his great helm, (Jousting Helmet) a detachable sleeve whips in the wind at approximately 30 miles per hour. Just before the two knights meet, they each brace themselves for the impact they know awaits them. The wood splinters fly, and one of the knights is knocked from his steed, spilling his life's blood on the ground. Jousting was a medieval war tactic that later evolved into a sport, testing skill in horsemanship as well as balance and accuracy. Jousting has changed in its use over the years. It was once used in battle, but is now mainly a competitive form of entertainment. Jousting was a mounted form of combat used by knights beginning in the 11th century. It was used mainly to knock the enemy from their horses so they were an easier target for the footmen and could be easily trampled by the horsemen. The point of aim during the most basic form of joust was either the four nails of the opponents shield, or the helm or throat of his armor. The church didn't like the savagery of it because the knight was a Christian warrior whose job was to protect their priests and the church; therefore, jousting was occasionally banished by some churches. It was common belief in this time period that a priest shouldn't die by the sword, so the knight was a sworn protector of them. The knights lived by a code of ethics known as chivalry. This code not only governed their daily life but also the way they fought Despite the banishments and the savagery of the joust, a form of it is still around today. The style jousting is the same today but the price is no longer blood i t is now money. It... .../www.scotfest.com/joustingterms.html JOUSTING: What was it? http://www.jousting.com/jousting.htm Knighthood, Chivalry & Tournament Glossary of Terms http://www.chronique.com/Library/Glossaries/glossary-KCT/gloss_j.htm#judicial%20duel Medieval History. About.com The Devil's Horsemen Jousting at Warwick Castle http://www.cv81pl.freeserve.co.uk/jousting.htm The Free Lancers. Styles of Jousting http://www.faire.net/freelancers/jousting.html The Free Lancers. Gath of Baal National Combat Jousting Tournament http://www.faire.net/freelancers/gath.html US Inernational Jousting Competition 2002 http://www.scotfest.com/jousting.html yahoo. search http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=armour Vale, Malcolm. War And Chivalry. Athens, Georgia: The University of Georgia Press, 1981. The Evolution of Jousting Essay -- Exploratory Essays Research Papers The Evolution of Jousting Picture, if you will, a knight in shining armor charging on his noble steed down the open stretch toward his enemy. From his great helm, (Jousting Helmet) a detachable sleeve whips in the wind at approximately 30 miles per hour. Just before the two knights meet, they each brace themselves for the impact they know awaits them. The wood splinters fly, and one of the knights is knocked from his steed, spilling his life's blood on the ground. Jousting was a medieval war tactic that later evolved into a sport, testing skill in horsemanship as well as balance and accuracy. Jousting has changed in its use over the years. It was once used in battle, but is now mainly a competitive form of entertainment. Jousting was a mounted form of combat used by knights beginning in the 11th century. It was used mainly to knock the enemy from their horses so they were an easier target for the footmen and could be easily trampled by the horsemen. The point of aim during the most basic form of joust was either the four nails of the opponents shield, or the helm or throat of his armor. The church didn't like the savagery of it because the knight was a Christian warrior whose job was to protect their priests and the church; therefore, jousting was occasionally banished by some churches. It was common belief in this time period that a priest shouldn't die by the sword, so the knight was a sworn protector of them. The knights lived by a code of ethics known as chivalry. This code not only governed their daily life but also the way they fought Despite the banishments and the savagery of the joust, a form of it is still around today. The style jousting is the same today but the price is no longer blood i t is now money. It... .../www.scotfest.com/joustingterms.html JOUSTING: What was it? http://www.jousting.com/jousting.htm Knighthood, Chivalry & Tournament Glossary of Terms http://www.chronique.com/Library/Glossaries/glossary-KCT/gloss_j.htm#judicial%20duel Medieval History. About.com The Devil's Horsemen Jousting at Warwick Castle http://www.cv81pl.freeserve.co.uk/jousting.htm The Free Lancers. Styles of Jousting http://www.faire.net/freelancers/jousting.html The Free Lancers. Gath of Baal National Combat Jousting Tournament http://www.faire.net/freelancers/gath.html US Inernational Jousting Competition 2002 http://www.scotfest.com/jousting.html yahoo. search http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=armour Vale, Malcolm. War And Chivalry. Athens, Georgia: The University of Georgia Press, 1981.

Ernest Hemingways Big Two-Hearted River and Sigmund Freud Essay

Ernest Hemingway's Big Two-Hearted River and Sigmund Freud Ernest Hemingway’s â€Å"iceberg theory† suggests that the writer include in the text only a small portion of what he knows, leaving about ninety percent of the content a mystery that grows beneath the surface of the writing. This type of writing lends itself naturally to a version of dream-interpretation, as this story structure mirrors the structure of the mind—the restrained, composed tip of the unconscious and the vast body of subconscious that is censored by the ego. Psychoanalyzing Hemingway’s fiction is double-sided—we must first analyze the manifest and latent contents that he probably intended, i.e., â€Å"This fishing trip will be a metaphor for a sexual act,† and then we must consider the manifest and latent content that he probably did not intend, but that arose from his own subconscious in the transference of writing, i.e., perhaps within thirty pages of intentionally masturbatory imagery, Hemingway was actually expressing his sexual repression rather than glorifying his manhood, as many literary critics in the past have claimed. Whether or not the manifest content is intentional, however, Hemingway’s precise and abundant revisions serve as a very effective tool for presenting strings of images and actions that are concrete and straightforward but not always fully developed, comparable to the strings of images in a dream. Through a sort of dream-interpretation, we uncover a new reading of Hemingway’s â€Å"Big Two-Hearted River† and we discover the techniques of dream-work, such as condensation and omission, enacted in art. From start to finish, â€Å"Big Two-Hearted River† proves to fall almost perfectly under Freud’s symbolism theories. In the first sentence a... ... readers who will not interpret his work psychoanalytically, and who will possibly find a new variation on their selves through reading the oedipal complex presented in the latent content of â€Å"Big Two-Hearted River.† For those reading psychoanalytically, however, the piece is brimming with latent meaning. Whether Hemingway understood his transference, or not, cannot be determined, and shouldn’t be determined, but one cannot help but wonder whether he resisted the analyst who questioned a title as phallic as â€Å"Big Two-Hearted River.† Biblography Freud, Sigmund. Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1966. Freud, Sigmund. â€Å"On Universal Tendency to Debasement in Sphere of Love.† Therapy and Technique. Collier Books, 1970. Hemingway, Ernest. â€Å"Big Two Hearted River.† In Our Time. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1970.

Parkinsons Disease

PD normally affects people over the age of 50. It becomes more common with increasing age. ‘About 5 in 1,000 people in their 60s and about 40 in 1,000 people in their 80s have PD'1. It affects both men and women but is a little more common in men. PD is not usually inherited, and can affect anyone. However, genetic factors may be important in the small number of people who develop the disease before the age of 50. PD therefore affects a lot of people in the UK and I have chosen this topic so I have a greater understanding of what they go through and how we can help those affected. Background: Biology of Parkinson's disease? Parkinson's disease is a chronic disorder of part of the brain called the substantia nigra. It mainly affects the way the brain co-ordinates the movements of the muscles in various parts of the body. This area of the brain sends messages down nerves in the spinal cord to help control the muscles of the body. Messages are passed between brain cells, nerves and muscles by chemicals called neurotransmitters. Dopamine is the main neurotransmitter that is made by the brain cells in the substantia nigra1.Muscular System: Muscle Metabolism In PD, cells in the substantia nigra are damaged and die. The cause is unknown. Over time, more and more cells become damaged and die. The more cells that are damaged the less dopamine is produced. The reduction of cells and the low level of dopamine in the cells in this part of the brain causes nerve messages to the muscles to become slowed and abnormal1. In the long term PD will ultimately lead to death. Causes We are still unsure of the causes of PD but here are the most likely and most talked about suggestions: 1. The hereditary form of PD occurs in fifteen per cent of cases2. The genes affected help clear nerve cells of excess proteins. Scientists are not sure but it is thought that when the ‘production process for protein manufacture breaks down, little clumps of ill-formed proteins begin to accumulate in cell' 17, causing cell death. Tests carried out on rats using rotenone imply that pesticides and toxins may lead to PD. The rats experienced shaking and a loss of muscle control as well as developing Lewy bodies (spherical lumps found in dying brain cells), which are commonly associated with Parkinson's disease. However, researchers are yet to find evidence for any definitive link to a particular toxin or drug in humans. 2. There seems to be a link between variants of the mitochondrial genes and PD. The Parkinson's Disease Research Agenda states that â€Å"mitochondrial dysfunction has numerous consequences, including energetic failure, generation of reactive oxygen species, disregulation of calcium homeostasis and induction of apoptosis, each of which may be important in Parkinson's disease†3. 3. High concentrations of free-radicals in the body and a lack of antioxidants. Free radicals damage cells and if too many dopamine-producing cells were damaged then this could lead to PD. Antioxidants prevent the production of free radicals and repair damage done by them. Symptoms and effects There is no easy test to diagnose PD, so it is diagnosed by ruling out other diseases and looking for the classic symptoms: * Slowness of movement (bradykinesia)1. It will become more of an effort to walk or get out bed. People may just think they are getting old and it is not till other symptoms develop that you may think about PD. * Stiffness of muscles (rigidity) and muscles may feel tenser. Also, your arms do not tend to swing as much when you walk. * Shaking (tremor) is common, but does not always occur. It normally affects the fingers, thumbs, hands, and arms, but can affect other parts of the body. It is most noticeable when you are resting and may become worse when you are anxious or emotional. It's generally less obvious when you use your hand to do something such as picking up an object or writing. Symptoms will tend to get worse and worse and as the disease develops. Some other symptoms may develop due to problems with the way affected brain cells and nerves control the muscles. These include: * Fewer facial expressions such as smiling or frowning. Less blinking. * Difficulty with fine movements such as tying shoe laces or buttoning shirts. * Difficulty with writing (handwriting tends to become smaller), balance and posture and swallowing. * Speech may become slow and monotonous. * Tiredness aches and pains. As PD gets really bad, symptoms such as the following might develop, dependant on the individual: * Constipation- †PD prevents the proper transmission of the neurological messages that tell the rectal sphincter muscles to open†7 * Hallucinations (seeing, hearing or smelling things that are not real) * Sweating- PD can affect the autonomic nervous system8 that controls the autonomic functions (functions done automatically by the brain and body without conscious thought) such as sweating, breathing etc. * Difficulties with sleeping * Weight loss- there is a generally decreased appetite associated with PD. This may largely be due to swallowing difficulties and other gastrointestinal disturbances8 * Pain * Depression & Anxiety- anxiety disorders occur in up to 40% of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD)9. The article states †Current evidence suggests that anxiety may not be a psychological reaction to the illness but rather may be linked to specific neurobiological processes accompanying PD.† * Problems with controlling impulses (for example compulsive eating, shopping or gambling) Most people will only suffer form a few of these symptoms and which ones will get worse and the speed at which they get worse varies hugely from person to person. Some rare brain diseases can have very similar symptoms in which case a specialist brain scan can often be used to distinguish between them. The Treatments At the moment there is no cure for PD and most treatments simply have the job of relieving symptoms. 1. Drugs Intro: there are two main types of drug used in PD treatment. Firstly, drugs that target the neurotransmitter systems (e.g. dopamine) or secondly drugs that are designed to interfere with steps in the neurodegenerative processes (they may aim to sustain nerve cells or tackle the issue of free radicals). Drugs are cheap and effective, especially in relieving symptoms but show little potential as a full cure to the disease. Most also need to be taken daily for the remainder of a patients lifetime. Many drugs may have minor side affects. Some side affects have social impacts such as mood swings or may not allow the user to fly or travel to certain places. Dopaminergic Agents- use to activate the production or use of Dopamine. Levodopa- is an amino acid that is converted in the brain into dopamine. According to the WE MOVE website10 ‘Levodopa was introduced as a PD therapy in the 1960s, and remains the most effective therapy for motor symptoms' although there are many drugs that do a similar job such as Rasagiline. It reduces the effect of and helps control the symptoms of PD. Like most amino acids levodopa is absorbed into the blood stream through the wall of the intestines. Amino acids require a ‘transporter' to transfer them across the membrane of the intestines and into the blood stream. These transporters can only work at a certain rate and so diet is important. To much dietary protein can slow the transport of levodopa into the blood stream meaning the dose may be ineffective. Alternatively to avoid the competition with other amino acids, doses should be taken between meals. Levodopa has to cross from the blood stream into the brain using the same transport system again, making diet and timing doubly important. MAO-B Inhibitors- slow the breakdown of dopamine in the brain and aim to prevent or slow the death of neurons. ‘MAO is responsible for the mitochondrial metabolism of monoamine neurotransmitters, including dopamine and serotonin.'11 Ethical implications Some of the many ethical issues revolve around the decision to move from testing on artificial tissue (often grown from stem cells, which may in the future replace animal testing altogether. Stem cells, however create there own ethical issues) to animals, and further on the line, of animal testing to trails on human patients. The graph below shows the stages involved in developing a new drug and is taken from the MSD website (21/3/10): (http://www.msd.com.hk/health_info/drug_education/e_ddp_introduction.html) Animal testing is very closely regulated in the UK however many, often false, accusations of animal abuse have lead to darkened perceptions of animal testing in the public eye. Animal abuse is definitely a reality but ‘improved transparency, accountability and regulations'12 should reduce it happening and make sure those responsible are prosecuted. Unlike humans, animals are unable to consent to testing. It is forced upon them and often involves a certain amount of pain, stress, suffering and discomfort. Researchers will try to reduce this, possibly using anaesthetics although this can often interfere with the drug being tested so the animal may have to suffer the full amount of pain. Unfortunately, in PD, a number of animals are tested on normally starting with mice or rats before moving on to monkeys and finally human trails. Some people believe that animals like monkeys and most primates shouldn't be experimented upon as they aren't in the same plentiful supply that rats and mice are in, nor are they considered pests. However, for potentially dangerous drugs it is essential animals with a similar genetic make up (primates) are tested on to greatly reduce the risks in human clinical trails. Economics of drugs in PD As shown in figure 1.2 drug development requires a huge amount of research and testing and can take more than 10 years before a useable drug is created. This obviously requires a huge amount of investment and general drug development costs vary between 500 and 2,000 million dollars. R;D is often done by independent companies or government organizations. Most companies or organizations will link with universities to share information and facilities and hopefully quicken to process of discovering a new drug. ‘After approval, pharmaceutical companies have a short period of exclusivity before patents expire and other companies can market the same drugs as generics. This time is used to recoup the massive investment required to develop and launch a new drug. However, the companies must also continue to test their drugs and monitor the feedback from healthcare professionals in order to identify undiscovered side effects, risk factors and interactions.'13 Drug companies are some of the most profitable industries in the world and although a large amount of money is needed in research and development (R;D) only 1 in 5 dollars made is then invested in further research. Many companies spent nearly twice as much money on advertising and marketing than R;D and demand is so much higher than it needs to be that companies can afford to boost prices to maximise profit. Luckily with PD this becomes less of a problem as people are unlikely take and therefore buy drugs that are meant for PD when they don't actually need it. This is because the symptoms tend to be quite clear and drugs like levodopa are not readily available unless prescribed. Benefits to humans Drugs can have a massive impact on people suffering from PD and they aim to do a number of things: 1) Improve standards of living- by reducing the affects of PD and slowing the process of neurodegeneration it should allow the person suffering to do basic things (such as tying shoelaces, writing etc) more easily and for longer before they require full time medical care. This allows them to be more independent. 2) The use of drugs such as levodopa, in the long term, will reduce the affects of symptoms such as tiredness, aches and pains. Painkillers like amantadine will also be used for more short term relieve along side drugs like levodopa. This will simply make life less painful for a PD patient. 3) Drugs are the most well know and reliable of PD treatments. This reduces the risks of any unknowns or mistakes and far fewer mistakes will be made than in using other treatments. Risks to humans 1) Unfortunately Nausea and vomiting are common side effects of using levodopa that are due to the building up of dopamine in the bloodstream. The most serious and severe effect of this treatment is dyskinesias. ‘Dyskinesias are uncontrolled movements, including writhing, twitching, and shaking. Dyskinesias result from the combination of long-term levodopa use and continued neurodegeneration. They typically begin to develop in milder forms after 3 to 5 years of treatment, but are more severe after 5 to 10 years of treatment.'10 2) There is always risk of allergies when using drugs and for some unfortunate people drugs may do more damage than good. 3) Side affects of drugs vary from person to person and it is impossible to know beforehand how a certain drug will affect an individual. For some, side affects may be far worse than for others. 4) Dosages need to be got right and it is a common problem that people take to little and don't get the full benefit of the drug or take to much and suffer more/worse side affects. A massive overdose will likely lead to death. Alternative Cures? 2. Gene therapy- is still in early research stages and it is likely to be a while before this technique is actually used on humans. Like stem cells it has exciting potential to provide a future cure and avoid the ethical issues associated with stem cells. How it works? Gene therapy aims to introduce new and functioning genetic material into cells that have abnormal genes that are causing proteins (in the case of PD, dopamine) not to be created or created faulty. The genetic material can normally be inserted into the cells using viruses. ‘Some types of virus, such as retroviruses, integrate their genetic material (including the new gene) into a chromosome in the human cell. Other viruses, such as adenoviruses, introduce their DNA into the nucleus of the cell, but the DNA is not integrated into a chromosome.'13There is still much development needed as scientists are still unable to target specific cells and there is the potential threat of virus mutation which may cause even further problems. There is also major worry about the potential for gene therapy to be used to improve basic human traits such as height, intelligence etc. People could simply choice characteristics and this in many people's eyes could be used for the wrong reason. For example, this may be used to give some athletes a major advantage over others or possibly creating super humans. 3. Stem Cells I think stem cells have shown exciting potential and will hopefully provide a full time future cure for the disease. How they work? Stem cells are unspecialised cells that have the ability to develop into highly specialised cells like nerve cells. They can also self-renew, which means they are capable of replenishing themselves for long periods of time by dividing4. For Parkinson's disease it is hoped that large numbers of the brain cells that produce dopamine can be produced and inserted, through transplantation, into a patient's brain. Therefore, nerve messages to all parts of the body will be normal again. However, stem cells not been successfully used to cure PD yet and there are many problems facing researchers. Therefore stem cells are relatively useless for PD at the moment but may be able to provide an easy and affective cure in the future. Problems with the types of Stem cells There are three main types of stem cells: 1. Adult stem cells can come from Skin, Bone marrow, Brain, Blood vessels, Liver and Skeletal muscle. However, adult stem cells are found in such small quantities it is difficult to identify and isolate them in viable numbers. Because adult stem cells aren't as ‘young' as embryonic stem cells, they contain more DNA abnormalities acquired with age4. These can be caused by the environment, toxins or errors in DNA replication. Adult stem cells have limited potential because unlike embryonic stem cells they can not differentiate into any specialised cell in the body. 2. Cord blood cells are normally found in the umbilical cord and placenta after the cord is cut. One problem is the lack of cells obtained and these may not be enough relative to a patient's size. Cord blood cells generally take longer to grow, therefore completion of therapy will take longer. It obviously requires a pregnant woman to donate the cells. 3. Embryonic stem cells are found in human embryos and have a seemingly unlimited potential to develop into any cell in the human body. However they are surrounded by a number of ethical issues. Many people and especially religious group condemn the use of embryonic stem cells as they believe it is destroying a life. They believe it is immoral to save a life at the expense of another. However new developments in stem cells research means that Totipotent* stem cells can now be collected without the loss of embryo life: Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) – nucleus is removed from a somatic cell and is then implanted into a donor egg that has had its nucleus removed6. It divides just as normal before forming an embryo. Cells from the inner cell mass are extracted and cultured to provide embryonic stem cells but the technique destroys the embryo. Although the embryo is destroyed it is a created clone and so may not be considered the loss of new, individual life. Altered nuclear transfer (ANT), however, prevents an embryo from actually being created. The nucleus of the somatic cell is altered, or genetically reprogrammed, before being transferred into the egg. The alteration consequence is that the somatic cell DNA still produces stem cells but does not generate an embryo. Blastomere Extraction is performed on a two-day old embryo, following the division of the fertilized egg into eight blastomeres (cells). One blastomere is removed and can be triggered to divide and the resulting stem cells could still be used for research and disease treatment. The embryo, ‘now with only seven blastomeres can still be implanted into the mother and assuming no defect has been found these embryos will still grow into healthy babies'4. 1. Name of article: Parkinson's Disease Url: http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Parkinson's-Disease.htm Date accessed: 15/2/10 Evaluation: The article is certified as a reliable source of health and social care information. It certificate states- ‘The authors and editors of this article are employed to create accurate and up to date content reflecting reliable research evidence, guidance and best clinical practice. They are free from any commercial conflicts of interest.' The article states that Parkinson's disease affects the part of the brain know as the substantia nigra. WE MOVE (Worldwide Education and Awareness for Movement Disorders- http://www.wemove.org/par/par_subn.html) states: ‘In PD, cells of the SN (substantia nigra) degenerate, and therefore can no longer produce adequate dopamine.' This information is further backed up on the Parkinson's Disease Research Agenda that states ‘cells that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine die in a small brain area called the substantia nigra.' As the information provided is backed by what I consider to be reliable resources I think that the i nformation on the website is also therefore reliable, but should be checked with other sources before being used. 2. Name of article: Possible Causes of Parkinson's Disease (PD) Url: http://www.healthtree.com/articles/parkinsons-disease/causes.php Date accessed: 20/2/10 3. Name: Parkinson's Disease Research Agenda URL: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/about_ninds/plans/nihparkinsons_agenda.htm#Parkinson Date accessed: 20/2/10 Evaluation: Parkinson's disease Research Agenda is written by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). It primary aim is to †reduce the burden of neurological disease – a burden borne by every age group, by every segment of society, by people all over the world.† It is funded by the government so should provide no bias and the site aims to educate people about various neurological disorders including Parkinson's disease. It states â€Å"mitochondrial dysfunction has numerous consequences†¦ each of which may be important in Parkinson's disease.† This is also backed by an article: http://www.nature.com/nrneurol/journal/v6/n2/full/nrneurol.2009.221.html that states † dysfunctional energy metabolism might be a central element of the pathological process underlying the development of PD.† The site was last updated on the 25th of July 2008. As the site is run and updated by the government with no other purpose but to inform I think it can be used a very reliable source of information.