Intellectual Property Law Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Intellectual Property Law - Research Paper Example With mounting pressures by judicial criticism, intellectual property was regulated under common law and the Statute of Monopolies enacted in 1623 rendered illegal all monopolies except those for a defined term of years; this forms the basis of modern patent law (World Intellectual Property Organization, p.1). The exact origin of intellectual property law is still unknown. However, it is a fact that, terms like intellectual property was used during the initial half of seventeenth century in Britain. The history of intellectual property rights in the modern era started in Germany in 1867. North German Confederation is believed to be the first country which formulated intellectual property laws in the modern era. â€Å"The North German Confederation first used the term â€Å"intellectual property† in 1867, providing for legislative protection in its constitution†(Furst). Since then, intellectual laws evolved in different forms at different parts of the world. Different cou ntries have different types of intellectual property laws. ... Copyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of â€Å"original works† and includes such things as literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual creations, both published and unpublished. Copyright does not protect ideas. It only protects the specific and original expression of the idea (Pipers) For example, Windows is the operating system developed by Microsoft. It should be noted that plenty of people, including Bill Gates, worked on the development of Windows operating system. This product is protected with the help of copyright laws. It is illegal to use pirated copies of Windows on computers. Even in China, Microsoft succeeded in winning some cases with respect to copyright violation of its products. â€Å"A local court in Shanghai ruled that Dazhong Insurance must pay Microsoft 2.17 million yuan ($317,900) as compensation for using pirated Microsoft software, NetEase.com reported†(Stan) â€Å"Patents are used to protect new pro duct, process, apparatus, and uses providing the invention is not obvious in light of what has been done before† (European Generic medicines Association). It should be noted that new products are developed only because of the huge efforts undertaken by somebody. Once a new product is developed, it is easy for others to copy it. In other words, leaders and followers are in the market. Leaders always generate new ideas and innovate new products whereas followers try to copy those ideas and innovations. In order to avoid such illegal copying, all new products and services developed by somebody can be protected with the help of patent laws. Patent rights are usually given only for a particular period of time. The owner of a patented product should disclose the innovation to the

Sweeney and subsequent death Essay Example for Free

Sweeney and subsequent death Essay This makes the surprise at the end, that she is actually Todd’s wife, less astounding. We have seen so little of her that it really isn’t that important where as in the musical this surprise can elicit gasps. This woman is so changed that Sweeney Todd has interacted with her and not recognized his own wife! The two characters whose stories are closely presented as the musical are Senior Pirelli and Tobias. Pirelli’s barber competition with Sweeney and subsequent death by Sweeney is told in both the musical and movie. He is an important character as his past and killing set up the crucial plot point. Sweeney has killed one of his enemies for the first time and how to get ride of the body? Mrs. Lovett’s pie shop success and yearning for more success, which influences her concealment of Lucy, push forward the story. Tobias is present in both the musical and movie as an assistant to Pirelli and then Mrs. Lovett. Though his importance is not until the very end of the show. It is he who kills Sweeney Todd and ultimately he is blamed for the deaths of Lucy, Mrs. Lovett and Sweeney Todd. While he is present in almost all of the same scenes in the musical and movie is love for Mrs. Lovett is not as developed in the movie as it is in the musical. The musical present Toby as caring deeply for Mrs. Lovett and having a distrust of Sweeney Todd. Toby is seen in the movie but his presence is of little importance. He is there to eventually kill Todd and the majority of his time spent in the bake house was cut completely. These are the characters in the musical and movie of Sweeney Todd. The movie main plot line of both the film and musical is on Sweeney Todd’s story, with Mrs. Lovett being a significant contributor to his story. The musical displays the secondary characters with more story, songs and background. This exposure results in characters that truly influence Sweeny Todd and we care that Anthony and Joanna are the only ones to survive. The audience is reviled at the Judge and his desire to wed Joanna. The audience is not shocked at the beggar woman’s death until we realize she is Todd’s wife because she very insane. The movie is a convenient and less expense way to experience Sweeny Todd but the musical present all of the characters and a wonderful round story that ties up all the loose ends and stresses the importance of each character. References: BBC- Press Office, December 8, 2005, Man or Myth, the Making of Sweeney Todd, BBC. co. uk, accessed April 18, 2008,

Phenylthiocarbamide Taste Perception in Type 2 Diabetics

Phenylthiocarbamide Taste Perception in Type 2 Diabetics Phenylthiocarbamide taste perception in type 2 diabetics and healthy subjects: A case-control study Authors: Wajiha Hassan, Hina Hassan, Muhammad Usman Anwar, Muhammad Umar Kamal, Ehsan Ullah ABSTRACT Objectives: We conducted this study to find out any epistatic relationship between expression of PTC gene and the genes controlling T2D development through comparing the relative frequency of PTC taste perception among T2D patients and healthy subjects. Methods: It was a case-control study conducted in diabetes clinics / centers located at various teaching hospitals in Lahore city. A total of 270 (135 diabetics and 135 healthy) subjects were tested for PTC taste perception by pouring a drop of PTC solutions of 0.0125%, 0.125% and 0.25% concentrations to determine super-tasters, tasters and non-tasters. The proportion of tasters and non-tasters was compared in two study groups with the help of Chi Square test and a p value of 0.05 or less was considered significant and to reject the null hypothesis. Results: Mean age of T2D patients and healthy subjects was 34.21 ±5.74 and 32.90 ±7.44 years respectively. Male to female ratio among T2D patients and healthy subjects was 1:14 and 1:1 respectively. Only 22 (16.29%) of T2D patients and 40 (30.37%) of healthy subjects were super-tasters which was significant difference (p = 0.009) and Odds ratio (OR) was 0.4624. A total of 39 (28.89%) of T2D patients and 25 (18.51%) of healthy controls were non-tasters which was also significant difference (p = 0.04513) and OR was 1.788. Conclusions: Supertasters and tasters of PTC have odds ratios of 0.4624 and 1.788 to have type 2 diabetes mellitus. Key words: Phenylthiocarbamide, taste perception, type 2 diabetes mellitus Introduction: Phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) taste perception is a genetically controlled trail.(1) Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) is a widely occurring multifactorial disease with complex multigenic inheritance playing an important role in its pathogenesis.(2, 3) Interaction of genes conferring inheritance of T2D, pre-diabetes and obesity and those causing PTC taste perception has not been studied in detail though some investigators have highlighted that a possible link exists between the phenotypic expressions of these gene complexes.(4-6) We conducted this study to find out any epistatic relationship between expression of PTC gene and the genes controlling T2D development through comparing the relative frequency of PTC taste perception among T2D patients and healthy subjects. Methods: It was a case-control study conducted in three diabetes clinics located at various teaching hospitals in Lahore city i.e. Jinnah A Diabetes and Endocrinology at Jinnah Hospital Lahore, Diabetes Management Center, Services Hospital Lahore and a diabetes clinic at Sheikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore. A sample of 270 (135 diabetics and 135 healthy) subjects was taken by simple random sampling technique with the help of lucky-draw method among the patients attending these clinics and their attendant/relatives who were non-diabetic. The confirmation of non-diabetic status of the control group participants was obtained by their random serum glucose P value of 0.05 or less was considered significant and to reject the null hypothesis. Results: Mean age of T2D patients and healthy subjects was 34.21 ±5.74 and 32.90 ±7.44 years respectively and there was no significant difference of age distribution among two study groups as shown in Table 1. Table 1. Age distribution of the study population Seventy (51.8%) of the T2D were males and 65 (48.2%) were females. Thus male to female ratio among T2D patients was near to 1:1. About half (n=67, 49.6%) of healthy subjects were males and 68 (50.4%) were females. Thus male to female ratio among healthy subjects was 1:1 as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1. Gender ratio among study groups Only 22 (16.29%) of T2D patients and 40 (30.37%) of healthy subjects were super-tasters which was significant difference (p = 0.009) and Odds ratio (OR) was 0.4624. Seventy-one (52.6%) of T2D and 73 (54.1%) of healthy controls were tasters which was not significantly different (p=0.141) and calculated OR for tasters as compared to non-tasters was 1.556. A total of 39 (28.89%) of T2D patients and 25 (18.51%) of healthy controls were non-tasters which was also significant difference (p = 0.04513) and OR was 1.788 as shown in Figure 2. Figure 2. Frequency of super-tasters, tasters and non-tasters in T2D and controls Discussion: Perception of bitter taste is a variable trait both within the same population and between different human populations.(7) Bitter taste perception is encoded by a family of 25 TAS2R taste receptors.(8) Whereas, the two most studied genes are TAS2R38, the one associated with the ability to taste PTC (phenylthiocarbamide) and PROP (6-n-propylthiouracil).(9) Approximately 75% of the world’s population are considered ‘‘tasters’’, and perceive these substances as moderately to intensely bitter. These compounds are weak or tasteless for the remaining 25% of the population, who are considered ‘‘non tasters’’.(10) Another study revealed that tasters can be further divided into two sub-groups: â€Å" tasters†, who perceived moderate intensity from PTC/PROP, and â€Å"supertasters† who perceived these compounds as extremely bitter. Thus, the population distribution of non tasters, tasters and super tasters is nearly 25%, 50% and 25% respectively.(11) In current study, the distribution of PTC taste perception for non-tasters, tasters and super-tasters was 25 (18.5%), 71(52.6%), 39 (28.9%) among the healthy controls which is quite comparable to the findings of Bartoshuk et al.(11) A study from American population showed that 71.2% of their study population was taster and 28.8% was nontaster.(12) A study from a neighboring Asian country reported that taste perception to PTC compounds was present (tasters) in 67% and absent (non-tasters) in 33%.(13) Another study from same Asian country reported that 66.38% of the study population was taster and 33.62% was non-taster to PTC.(14) However, a study from a Pakistani population of young healthy adults revealed the distribution of PTC tasters and non-tasters as 73.75% and 26.25% respectively.(15) Similarly, another group of investigators from Pakistan reported that 81.33% of the healthy adults were tasters and 18.6% were non-tasters.(16) Our observations are comparable to both the studies especially prevalence of non-tasters in our study is approximately the same as reported by Iqbal et al.(16) The second point of discussion in current study is the phenotypic association between the genes encoding for PTC taste perception and diabetes which has been studied by the procedures and methods mentioned earlier. Why the authors did conduct this study? A simple answer is the compelling and enormous links between diabetes and taste perception proposed in the recent literature.(17-19) A study has revealed that increased serum glucose levels induce a concentration-dependent impairment of taste perception in T2D patients as the result of an adaptation of the sensory cell to elevated circulating concentrations of glucose.(5) A study from an Asian population revealed a significant difference in taste sensitivity to PTC between the diabetics and non-diabetics, the former being less sensitive than the latter (16.7 vs. 6.8%).(20) A decrease in palatability of the glucose solutions induced by the glucose load (negative alliaesthesia) has been reported between PTC tasters and non-tasters wher e tasters showed higher hedonic ratings (Mean 4-25), as compared to non-tasters (Mean 3-70) and this difference was more evident after the glucose load in non-tasters.(21) More recently, genetic analysis of bitter tasters and non-tasters have shown that a polymorphism in TAS2R38 is associated with differences in ingestive behavior of the two groups, which may in turn be linked to the development of pre-diabetes and T2D.(22) However, by far the most delectable observations have been reported by Wang et al., who observed significant differences in plasma levels of leptin, tumor necrosis factor-alpha and insulin-like growth factors-1 between tasters and non-tasters to PTC.(4) They also found a positive correlation between plasma levels of glucose and body mass index (BMI) exclusively in non-tasters which indicate that besides the regulation of food consumption, taste perception also appears to be snugly linked to the circulating metabolic hormones. It is proposed by the previous investigators and supported by the authors of current study that people with different taste sensitivity may respond differently to the nutrient stimulation. More robust investigations probing into the link between taste perception and peripheral metabolic control could potentially lead to the development of novel therapies for obesity or Type 2 diabetes. Conclusions: Supertasters are less whereas tasters and non-tasters are more likely to have type 2 diabetes mellitus. Further work is encouraged to unveil the link between taste perception to PTC and T2D. Acknowledgements We acknowledge the participating institutions, their staff members, patients and healthy volunteers for their cooperation. We are thankful to Prof. Dr. Tehseen Iqbal, Professor of Physiology at Dera Ghazi Khan Medical College, DG Khan, Pakistan for his critical, analytic and logistic help without that this research would have never been completed. References: 1.Kim UK, Jorgenson E, Coon H, Leppert M, Risch N, Drayna D. Positional cloning of the human quantitative trait locus underlying taste sensitivity to phenylthiocarbamide. Science. 2003 Feb 21;299(5610):1221-5. 2.Schmidt B, Dragano N, Scherag A, Pechlivanis S, Hoffmann P, Nothen MM, et al. Exploring genetic variants predisposing to diabetes mellitus and their association with indicators of socioeconomic status. BMC Public Health. 2014;14:609. 3.Banerjee M, Saxena M. Genetic polymorphisms of cytokine genes in type 2 diabetes mellitus. World J Diabetes. 2014 Aug 15;5(4):493-504. 4.Wang R, van Keeken NM, Siddiqui S, Dijksman LM, Maudsley S, Derval D, et al. Higher TNF-alpha, IGF-1, and Leptin Levels are Found in Tasters than Non-Tasters. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2014;5:125. 5.Bustos-Saldana R, Alfaro-Rodriguez M, Solis-Ruiz Mde L, Trujillo-Hernandez B, Pacheco-Carrasco M, Vazquez-Jimenez C, et al. [Taste sensitivity diminution in hyperglycemic type 2 diabetics patients]. Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc. 2009 Sep-Oct;47(5):483-8. 6.Hajnal A, Covasa M, Bello NT. Altered taste sensitivity in obese, prediabetic OLETF rats lacking CCK-1 receptors. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2005 Dec;289(6):R1675-86. 7.Robino A, Mezzavilla M, Pirastu N, Dognini M, Tepper BJ, Gasparini P. A Population-Based Approach to Study the Impact of PROP Perception on Food Liking in Populations along the Silk Road. PLoS ONE. 2014;9(3):e91716. 8.Behrens M, Meyerhof W. Bitter taste receptors and human bitter taste perception. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2006 Jul;63(13):1501-9. 9.Behrens M, Bartelt J, Reichling C, Winnig M, Kuhn C, Meyerhof W. Members of RTP and REEP gene families influence functional bitter taste receptor expression. J Biol Chem. 2006 Jul 21;281(29):20650-9. 10.Guo SW, Reed DR. The genetics of phenylthiocarbamide perception. Ann Hum Biol. 2001 Mar-Apr;28(2):111-42. 11.Bartoshuk LM, Duffy VB, Miller IJ. PTC/PROP tasting: anatomy, psychophysics, and sex effects. Physiol Behav. 1994 Dec;56(6):1165-71. 12.Keller KL, Reid A, MacDougall MC, Cassano H, Song JL, Deng L, et al. Sex differences in the effects of inherited bitter thiourea sensitivity on body weight in 4-6-year-old children. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2010 Jun;18(6):1194-200. 13.Saraswathi YS, Najafi M, Vineeth VS, Kavitha P, Malini SS. Association of phenylthiocarbamide taste blindness trait with early onset of childhood obesity in Mysore. Journal of Paramedical Sciences. 2011;2(4):6-11. 14.Hussain R, Shah A, Afzal M. Distribution of sensory taste thresholds for phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) taste ability in North Indian Muslim populations. The Egyptian Journal of Medical Human Genetics. 2013;14:367-74. 15.Raziq MA, Farog A, Iqbal T, Ahmed A. Phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) Taste Sensitivity and Blood Groups in Students at Bahawalpur. Journal of Sheikh Zayed Medical College. 2011;2(1):152-4. 16.Iqbal T, Ali A, Atique S. Prevalence of Taste Blindness to Phenylthiocarbamide in Punjab. Pakistan Journal of Physiology. 2006;2(2):35-7. 17.Yu JH, Shin MS, Lee JR, Choi JH, Koh EH, Lee WJ, et al. Decreased sucrose preference in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2014 May;104(2):214-9. 18.Wasalathanthri S, Hettiarachchi P, Prathapan S. Sweet taste sensitivity in pre-diabetics, diabetics and normoglycemic controls: a comparative cross sectional study. BMC Endocr Disord. 2014;14:67. 19.Gascon C, Santaolalla F, Martinez A, Sanchez Del Rey A. Usefulness of the BAST-24 smell and taste test in the study of diabetic patients: a new approach to the determination of renal function. Acta Otolaryngol. 2013 Apr;133(4):400-4. 20.Ali SG, Azad Khan AK, Mahtab H, Khan AR, Muhibullah M. Association of phenylthiocarbamide taste sensitivity with diabetes mellitus in Bangladesh. Hum Hered. 1994 Jan-Feb;44(1):14-7. 21.Bhatia S, Sharma KN. Taste impairment for glucose in diabetic PTC tasters and non-tasters. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 1991 Jul;12(3):193-9. 22.Dotson CD, Shaw HL, Mitchell BD, Munger SD, Steinle NI. Variation in the gene TAS2R38 is associated with the eating behavior disinhibition in Old Order Amish women. Appetite. 2010 Feb;54(1):93-9.

Analysis of the Public Health User Fee Reforms in Malawi

Analysis of the Public Health User Fee Reforms in Malawi RESEARCH PROPOSAL Research title: The political economy analysis of the implementation of public health user fee reforms in Malawi. BACKGROUND AND BRIEF LITERATURE REVIEW The economic crises of the 1970s and 80s led many countries to undergo structural reforms that called for reduced public expenditure for basic services. The reforms resulted in the introduction of cost sharing on the part of beneficiaries (Lucas 1988). In several countries, user fees were imposed as a means to address recurrent costs problems and an extra source of revenue for previously â€Å"undervalued† services of professional providers. Countries responded differently to the introduction of user charges depending on domestic political risk and institutional capacity to efficiently administer the fees. With the reforms, public financing of health declined in many countries, and in some cases, private service providers seized the opportunity to fill the gap (Romer, 1986). Although the involvement of private service providers helped to meet demand for those able to pay, it limited access of the poor to the same services due to the prohibitive costs. Over the past ten years, research on economic growth has demonstrated that human capital is a powerful force in the development process (Becker 1990). In consequence, a sustained increase in this form of capital is crucial for poverty reduction in low-income countries and for an ever rising standard of living. Health is one of the commonly used proxies for human capital an unobservable magnitude or force that is part and parcel of human beings (Schultz 1960). Developing countries are struggling to improve the lives of people living in both rural and urban areas. The big challenge in these countries is lack of resources and problems in allocating the scarce resources. Various governments have prioritized different sectors depending on the needs and demands of the people. Some have prioritized primary education and agriculture while others have prioritized mining and health sector. Developing countries have come up with different interventions purposed to cushion people and be able to manage the risk. Some interventions have taken the form of subsidy while others have taken the form of user fee exemption to mention but two (Schultz 1961). These interventions sometimes are driven by politics, that is why for one to effectively intervene needs to understand the interplay of politics and economics in the developing countries. Depending on policy makers, some would prefer to implement subsidy programmes while others would have user fees exemption or both. User fees are charges one pays at the point of use. The stated interventions are good for the people but to the larger extent over burden the already struggling economy of the developing countries, (Litvack et al 1993). Consequently, government sectors suffer due to being underfunded which has resulted to poor service delivery defeating the whole purpose of subsidy or user fee exemption. Some countries, thus, they have resorted to meet the deficit through the introduction of user fees. For example, in respective of health for all, Malawi government offers free public health services to everyone in the country (ibid). Through observation, the public health services in Malawi particularly those in bordering districts such as Mchinji, Nsanje, Mwanza and Mulanje face very stiff competition on health resources because the hospitals in these districts serve even those from the neighboring countries such as Zambia and Mozambique. Currently with the growing population, government is failing to meet the demand of the free public health services which is manifested through the lack of medical resources in the hospitals. Lack of resources might be because the government has a limited tax base to finance the public health services. For instance, in Daily Times of 18th August, 2014 carried a story that Kamuzu central hospital had suspended all the booked surgeries because the hospital had no medical resources required to carry out operations in the theaters. Burns unit department also suffered the same. In such circumstances the introduction of user fee in public hospitals becomes not an option but a necessity. The user fees may therefore, help in three aspects within health service sector: improving efficiency by moderating demand, containing cost, and mobilize more funds for health care than existing sources provided PROBLEM STATEMENT The aim of free public health services in Malawi was to bring equality and equity in accessing health services. It has been argued that with user fees in accessing public health services, the poor people could be disadvantaged. Axiomatically, healthy people make healthy nation and participate actively in the development activities. Defeating the aim of free public health services, it is the same poor people who are now struggling while the better off and even politicians use the private hospitals. Every person has got the right to good quality health, but the poor people in Malawi are now voiceless and spend painfully on the services that were meant to be free. The situation begs a question that are the public services in Malawi really free at all when a person is told to buy aspirin tablets in private hospitals or pharmacies while the public hospitals have given the medicine to undeserving individuals such as those coming from other neighboring countries e.g. Mozambique just because public hospitals in Malawi are free. Poor people are also voiceless and lack responsibility on the hospital resources for it is given to them for free. Hospital workers have been frustrated because their working environment is not conducive since they are forced to work even when they do not have resources and are sometimes frustrated due late or nor payment at all for the extra hours rendered. Provision of quality health services is one of the social indicators of development. However, looking at the persistent resource shortages in the public health sector, Malawi as a country is far behind the expectation. Optionally, national policy makers in some countries such as Kenya and Mozambique thought to enlarge government revenue base through the introduction and implementation of user fee with an aim of improving services, for example, by improving drug availability and the general quality of health care and extending public health coverage. Therefore, the current study aims at undertaking the political economy analysis of the implementation of public health user fee reforms in Malawi. The study will be guided by the following sampled questions: What are the challenges towards the implementation of public health user fees in Malawi? What is the reaction of policy makers towards public health user fee implementation? Is user fee good option to finance public hospitals Can Malawi manage to embrace user fee policy (in terms of attitudes, willingness and capacity) How much is raised from the paying ward in the central hospitals, are the services different from the non-paying ward? If they are different, how do they differ? And how is money used. Has it brought any change? What are the problems that public hospitals meet? OBJECTIVES Main objective: to undertake the political economy analysis of the implementation of public health user fee reforms in Malawi. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES Exploring the historical discourse of public health user fee in Malawi. Determining the reasons of government failure to introduce and implement user fee in public hospitals. Analysing how people have been deprived of good health services through free public health services in Malawi. Comparing the challenges in managing the resources faced in the CHAM hospitals and public hospitals. Analysing stakeholders’ attitude, willingness and ability to embrace public health user fee implementation policy. HYPOTHESIS Poor quality of public health services can motivate public willingness to pay towards some improvement of the services Inadequate funding leads to poor public health services in Malawi Malawians are deprived of quality public health services through free public health services. User fee reform in public health services can lead to efficiency and equity in public health resources in public hospitals. Politicians wish to introduce public health user fee reform but are deterred by the fear of losing popularity METHODOLOGY STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS The study will mainly use qualitative descriptive and analytical cross sectional approach. Objective 1 and 2 on public health user fee trend and government failure to introduce and implement the same respectively will use qualitative descriptive approach. Whilst objectives 3-5 on analysis of people’s deprivation of good health, comparison of challenges in managing resources and analysis of stakeholder’s attitudes respectively will employ qualitative analytical approach. STUDY SETTTING The study will take place in Malawi, population n of people; the ministry of health headquarters in Lilongwe, Malawi’s four central hospitals, n number of district hospitals n community hospitals and n health centers. There are also CHAM facilities, private hospitals and NGOs (both local and international) that support health system. The study will focus in all central hospitals because they provide tertiary management care. The ministry of health, because it is the headquarters, some selected CHAM facilities in four regions and few selected NGOs in Malawi. TARGET POPULATION Objective 1-2 will target key informants at the headquarters and in the central hospitals and the reviews of available literature in Malawi. Objective 3 will target the discharged patients in the central hospitals and some community around the selected hospitals. Objective 4 will target the health workers in CHAM and central hospitals. Objective 5 will focus on key informants in NGOs which work with health sector. SAMPLING STRATEGY Since the study will employ qualitative design, hence, participants will be selected purposively. DATA COLLECTION PROCESS Before data collection, consent will be obtained from the ministry of health head-quarters and all in-charges of the facilities where the study is going to take place. The research will be explained to the participants to seek their informed consent. Data collection tools will be pre-tested, these will include interview guide for 1) discharged patients to find out any deprivation of their care, 2) health care workers to assess the challenges in resources 3) key informants to analyse their attitudes. And checklist to assess challenges faced by health care workers and patients deprivation of care. ETHICAL CONSIDERATION In carrying out the proposed research, the concept of research ethics will not be ignored. All people involved in this research will have to give consent. No one is going to participate against his or her will but the research would prefer to have full participation from the participants and not partial. Attention will be deployed to make sure that people’s rights are not violated through this research. Participants will be told the aim of the research and everything crucial so that they should be able to give informed consent. Participants’ identity will not be revealed in the data presentation and analysis. However, upon request, some participants predominantly NGOs will have the copy of the research findings. DATA MANAGEMENT Data will be transcribed from Chichewa to English then themes will be developed from which quantitative data will be analysed while quantitative part will be managed by SPSS. Data will be kept confidential unless strict measures are taken to access the same. PRESENTATION OF DATA The data will be presented through quotes and where necessary tables and graphs will be used for the part of quantitative. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK The nature of the research demands SIDA’s Power Analysis framework. The introduction and implementation of public health user fee involves power of various stakeholders who have different powers of influence. The research then aims to analyse and gauge how much power Do these stakeholders have towards the introduction and implementation of user fees in public health services, (Shaw RP et al, 1995). SIDA’s power analysis focuses on understanding structural factors impeding poverty reduction as well as incentives and disincentives for pro-poor development. Thus, health sector is a hub to development of which the poor have to be targeted. SIDA power analysis tool also serves to stimulate thinking about processes of change in terms of what can be done about formal and informal power relations, power structures and the actors contributing to it. The framework seeks to either deepen knowledge, facilitate dialogue, foster influence or feed into policy developing and programming of which in this case will be the introduction and implementation of user fee in public hospitals (Shaw RP et al, 1995). In the same vein, political economy analysis also looks at the interaction of formal and informal institutions. The collected data will also be subjected to the critical analysis under the interaction of informal and formal institutions (ibid). 8.0 JUSTIFICATION OF THE RESEARCH The current research is of paramount importance to the people of Malawi. The study will facilitate the improvement of public health services throughout Malawi. The big problem in the health sector is inadequate resources, consequently, the research is purported to carry out analysis of how public health user fee can be an alternative to financing public hospitals. The improvement in public health services entails healthy people who can actively participate in development activities. The success in the implementation public health user fee will help not to over burden the government because public health hospitals will be able to meet some needs through user fee, hence, the government will be able use the part of budget allocated to the health sector in other sectors of priority. The study will provide an insight of development health sector and bring satisfaction to people especially those who use public health services. The study assumes that if the public health user fee reform is implemented, people will access the services of higher quality compared to the current situation in which patients are told to buy the prescribed medication in the private pharmacy because hospitals have no medicine. In this then, the implementation of user fee reduces the cost of accessing public health services in Malawi. No country can develop if the health services are poor. The vitality of the current study cannot be over emphasized, if it will be well done, Malawi as a country will register good health and social development. REFERENCES Becker, Gary (1991). A Treatise on the Family. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press. Lucas, Robert, E. (1988). On the Mechanics of Economic Development. Journal of Monetary Economics 22(1): 3-42. Pritchett, Lant and Lawrence H. Summers (1996). Wealthier is Healthier. The Journal of Human Resources XXX(4): 841-68. Schultz, Theodore W (1960). Human Capital Formation by Education, Journal of Political Economy 68(6): 571-83. Schultz, Theodore W (1963). The Economic Value of Education. New York: Columbia University Press. Schultz, Theodore W (1961). Investing in Human Capital. The American Economic Review 51(1): 1-17. Romer, Paul (1986). Increasing Returns and Long Run Growth. Journal of Political Economy 94. Shaw RP, Griffin C. (1995), SIDA power analysis Washington DC: World Bank Sophie Witter (2010) Mapping user fees for health care in high-mortality countries: evidence from a recent survey ; HLSP institute Audibert M, Mathonnat J. 2000. Cost recovery in Mauritania: initial lessons. Health Policy Plan: Chawla M, Ellis RP. 2000. The impact of financing and quality changes on healthcare demand in Niger. Health Policy Plan: 76-84. Lucy Gilson ()The Lessons of User Fee Experience in Africa Center for Health Policy, Department of Community Health, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, and Health Economics and Financing Programme, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. Litvack J, Bodart C. ( 1993) User fees plus quality equals improved access to health care: results of a field experiment in Cameroon. Social Science and Medicine. Mbugua JK, Bloom GH, Segall MM (1995). Impact of user charges on vulnerable groups: the case of Kibwezi in rural Kenya. Social Science and Medicine. Moses S, Manji F, Bradley JE, Nagelkerke NJ, Malisa MA, Plummer FA (1992). Impact of user fees on attendance at a referral centre for sexually transmitted diseases in Kenya. Lancet

Uplifting Black Souls: the African American Jeremiad :: Free Essays Online

Uplifting Black Souls: the African American Jeremiad Mission Statement A black jeremiad is a writing or a speech that constantly emphasizes the need for and methods to achieve social change. David Howard Pitney in his book The Afro-American Jeremiad, rightly suggests what the components of a jeremiad are: "1) citing the promise, 2) criticism of present declension or retrogression from the promise, 3) resolving prophecy that society will shortly complete it's mission and redeem the promise"(Howard-Pitney 8). The authors we have chosen have written prominent jeremiads, and we will show why they can be considered jeremiads; why they were important when they were written; and why they are still important today. History David Walker (act.1828-1829), Frederick Douglass (act. 1852-1880), Booker T. Washington (act. 1895-1915); and W.E.B. DuBois (act. 1895-1968) are some of the most important African-American jeremiads in our history. Black jeremiads stem from the Jeffersonian idea of "natural and divine law." This law emphasizes the right to freedom as well as liberty. The American jeremiad originated amongst 17th century Puritans who believed that their destiny was to form a utopian society in the Americas. By the 19th century, black jeremiads had adopted these Puritan ideals and used them to incite the need for the abolition of slavery and to serve as a warning of the punishment that would await those who continued with the sins of slavery. The writings and speeches of these jeremiads was used to uplift and unify their race and to promote blacks to take action in order to achieve equality but not self-separation from the rest of American society. This idea of unification without self-separation, illustrates the idea of black nationalism with established the rhetoric for jeremiads. On David Walker One of the most persuasive African American writers of antebellum America, was able to shake the American society with his pamphlet: Appeal to The Colored People of the United States. Walker, A free Negro born in Wilmington, North Carolina in 1796, although enjoyed a little more "freedom" than the rest of his colored brethren in bondage took on the role of a Jeremiadic speaker and writer to his people. In Walker's Appeal, Walker followed a method used by a Free black man in 1788 using the pseudonym of "Othello" in a two-part essay responding to Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia , called Essay on Negro Slavery. Following "Othello's" Jeremiadic essay, Walker had a warning for white Christian America about the wrathful vengeance of God that would befall upon them because of the institution of slavery.

Essay --

Leadership, as shown in the video, is very broad. Leadership is grouping people and influencing them to work together as one in order to achieve a common goal or vision. It can either be the promoter of world peace, a powerful innovation, or even the initiator of war. Leadership, in both ways, requires someone to do what one loves to do because leaders excel in their own ways and in their own fields of interest. Every day we meet leaders, some from religious organizations, some are from political parties, school organizations, professional organizations, and others are from rebellious organizations. In the video, being a leader is shown mainly in how one reacts to the society and environment as a whole. A leader must have clear mission and sense of purpose so that he can foster guidance when chaotic opinions and situations arise. Members’ roles must be clearly defined and the relevance of each must be disseminated. A leader emphasizes the vision so that the team can imagine and follow what they wanted to fulfil in the long run. Also, a leader must set short term goals and track progress of each member or of the team. Adherence to the strategic and tactical plans requires perseverance to attain the desired outcome. Constantly achieving the weekly goals will enable the leader to track the performance of the team, effectiveness of his leadership, and how far they are from the objective. Further, competence is an important factor of successful leadership by showing that a leader must be experienced or specialized in the field of interest they have chosen in order to quickly grasp the needed information and react responsively to solve concerns and constraints. But not all are born competent leaders; some gain their expertise along ... ...at all times or perhaps right from the start, it is his perseverance and passion to stand and try again that defines how good he is and where his endeavours will bring him. No matter the odds, it is, after all, the courage that matters. Therefore, the video reminds us of the different facets of leadership – some are born leader, some are not, some are capable to lead but does wrongly, some are aspirant leaders, and some are warriors. Hence, leadership, in its broad form, has no age limits, no time frames, no rich or poor, no racial and gender discriminations, and nothing at all. The challenges, previously mentioned, are all manageable, it just actually depends how one perceives and faces the obstacles because every problem has solutions. Leadership can actually start anywhere and anytime by anyone - you just have to find your passion and courage to stand and lead.

Black Swan Essay -- Film Analysis, Nina Sayers

The main character in the film Black Swan, twenty-eight year old female Nina Sayers, displays signs of numerous disorders through her abnormal behavior. Nina’s life is consumed by her occupation: professional ballerina/dancer. Nina resides with her mother and rarely socializes with others. She has difficulty concentrating, is restless, irritable, suffers from muscle tension, and sleep disturbances from nightmares. Nina also feels very uncomfortable in social and intimate situations. She appears to be unable to successfully interact with those around her. The interaction that Nina has with her fellow dancers appears to be strained and superficial. Nina exhibits behavior that indicates she views all other dancers as competition instead of potential comrades’ or friends. Being very introverted and unable to share any part of herself with those around her, even her mother, who appears to be the only person that has been remotely close to Nina, causes her to seek companio nship with parts of herself instead of healthy relationships with others. Nina exhibits signs of generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and paranoid personality disorder through these abnormal behaviors. Nina has also blacked out on several occasions and shows signs of mutilation to her body without her knowledge: bruises, cuts, and scratches. According to her mother, Nina used to self-mutilate when she was a child, but it has recently started happening again. Nina sees images of herself, but a different and â€Å"evil† version of herself. This could be the awakening of an alter personality or sub-personality. Nina’s stress level with the new performance in her ballet comapny may have played a part in this change. Dissociative identity disorder is said... ...ed with extensive amounts of individual psychotherapy. Free association must be applied in these therapy sessions; free association is when the therapist has the patient describe any thought, feeling, or image that comes to mind (Comer, 2011). Nina will hopefully relive past repressed feelings from her childhood, this is called catharsis, and it is extremely important for the progression of treatment. Catharsis is paramount for Nina to settle her internal conflicts and overcome her problems. Hypnotherapy should be applied during regular therapy sessions to combat Nina’s dissociative identity disorder. Her sub-personality must be integrated and merged into a single personality, before other sub-personalities appear. If these therapies and medications are continued consistently and Nina cooperates in treatment, the likelihood of a successful recovery is high.