Medical law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Medical law - Essay Example Debates surrounding the law have been noted to have come from two major perspectives, the first of which is a legal and professional perspective, and the second being humanity and ethical perspective.1 It has been said that the controversies surrounding the laws have always arisen from a perspective where people have looked at the law from a human and ethical perspective rather than from a legal and professional perspective.2 The reason much controversy is said to arise when the law is viewed from humanity and ethical perspective is that it gives way for people to judge the law mainly from how wrong and dehumanising it is to take organs from a dead person, especially when the person did not leave any living proof of consent.3 Meanwhile, there is the legal and professional perspective which also looks at the impact of a refusal to engage in the supply of human organs for transplantation on the living. For example, the right to live has been argued to apply to the living rather than the dead and so it is important that as far as there is a professional medical intervention that can save a living person rather than a dead person, that intervention must be applied4. In this paper, the writer combines both sides of the argument and critically evaluates recent changes to the law, while giving alternative responses that can help increase the supply of human organs for transplantation. The Human Tissue Act 2004 is the current set of laws regulating the supply of human tissue for transplantation in the U.K. The Human Tissue Act 2004 is generally in place to regulate the activities bordering on the removal, storage, use and disposal of human tissue5. The laws were established by the Human Tissue Authority, which currently puts emphasis on consent. By consent, reference is being made to the need for a person, whiles alive to agree that once he or she dies, there can be a supply of part of his or her tissue for issues of medical purposes prescribed under the Act.

Market analysis of starbucks

Market analysis of starbucks Starbucks was founded in 1971, in Pike Place Market, nestled in Seattle with hopes of creating a third place between home and work. The company was originally named Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spices, but today change to Starbucks Coffee Company. Now stores are located all over the U.S. They sprung up in urban areas, suburbs, as well as rural areas. This expansion developed the brand as we know it today. It has become a well known name for quality coffee. The company has realized that people dont only come for coffee; they come for the atmosphere, (Kembell). Customers are able to socialize, read, study or enjoy music while drinking coffee. They changed the normal experience of going to a coffee shop. The music selection, furnishings, wide selection of coffee, and great customer service set them apart. Howard Schulz, CEO of Starbucks, once stated, You get more than the finest coffee when you visit a Starbucks-you get great people, first-rate music and a comfortable and upbeat meeting place. In their own words, Starbucks describes this as, champions business practices that help produce social, environmental and economics benefits of communities in which we operate. Starbucks wants to open new stores in both new and existing markets, expand their product development process, and cater to customers needs to eventually improve their financial position and dominate market share. Situational Analysis The limiting of impact on the environment comes in many forms, from materials they use to the way the coffee in produced. The Urban Coffee Opportunity is to help get Starbucks Coffee Company stores into ethnically diverse communities. The mission and principles are listed among many other aspects of the company on their web site, starbucks.com. Coffee being their staple product, they offer over 30 blends, which come from all over the world. They package these as well as produce a premium handcrafted beverage in their stores. Starbucks also offers its customers a wide assortment of home coffee machines. That means in the United States they had 11,168 stores, 7,087 company operated stores and 4,081 licensed stores make up this staggering number. They now have 4,588 stores in over 43 countries. Their brand is top notch in the coffee world, but this awareness is mainly in respect to their handcrafted beverages and other items located at their store. Market Summary Target Markets The primary target audience was found by evaluating information from focusing in on those that drink ground pre-packaged coffee in the home. another target audience is women 20 to 45. A secondary target audience is men aged 20 to 45. They understand that Starbucks is more than just a brand of coffee, but instead, its an experience that a person is savouring in the morning during their coffee time. the original target market has not disappeared, but has expanded into the demographic of the store location. Market Demographics Data from 2004 showed the company was far from reaching existing markets. That in the Pacific Northwest, there was one store for every 20,000 people whereas in the Southeast there was only one store for every 110,000 people. Some Researches showed Starbucks was operating in over 300 Company-owned stores in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Thailand. Customers that started visiting Starbucks in 2002 were 45% female,55% male. The most frequent customers average 21 visits per month, whereas the typical customer visits seven times per month. Average age for an established customer was 38, new customers was 42. Demographic factors are important to Starbucks so executives can make vital decisions regarding population, ethnic groups and expansion. According to the CIA World Factbook, people between the ages of 15-64 make up the largest percentage of the population, and therefore have the greatest influence on Starbucks to maximize profit. Market NeedsMarket Growth Starbucks wants to create an experience for their customers that combine their on-the-go schedule, as well as a place to relax. they believe people come here for the coffee, but ambience is what makes them want to stay, Starbucks operates over 10,000 retail stores. Most of the 4,200franchised stores are located in shopping malls and airports. Starbucks menu contains brewed coffee, espresso traditions and favourites, cold beverages, coffee alternatives, frappuccinos, and the sale of whole beans. From the beginning when Howard Schultz took over Starbucks, he believed, Partner satisfaction leads to customer satisfaction, Starbucks employees are referred to as partners. As of 2002,Starbucks employed 60,000 partners worldwide, 50,000 of those in the United States. Specialty coffee was an estimated $5 billion business in the foodservice channel. Starbucks was estimated to have a 5% share. In-the-home consumption was an estimated $3.2 billion business. Starbucks was estimated to have a 4% share. The coffee market can be divided into consumers segment by where the coffee is drunk, In-Home vs. Out of Home; and type of product, Soluble (Instant) vs. Ground coffee. Three market trends worth noting are firstly the anticipated growth of the out of home segment based on a recent study by Nestle (As reported in Bernama Press 2009), where Malaysians currently spend 35 per cent of their total food and beverage expenses out-of-home. Secondly, instant coffee market caters quite specifically to local tastes. This can be witnessed by the behaviour of Nestle , the market leader, who in 2009 (Chan 2009) also introduced a range of instant hot drinks targeted at local tastes to compete directly with other domestic brands who have specialised in domestic flavours such as White Coffee or Kopi-O. PEST ANALYSIS The PEST analysis examines the broad environment in which the organisation is operating. (Johnson Scholes, 1999) There are the four key areas in which to consider how current and future change can affect the business of Starbucks. Political factors Political factors include government regulations and legal issues and define both formal and informal rules under which the company must operate. (Knowles et al, 2001) As Starbucks is expanding internationally, trade restrictions, tariffs, tax policies and employment laws of related to their business countries have influence upon Starbucks. Economic factors The Starbucks business depends on economic factors in developing countries, where it buys the coffee beans. Coffee is the principle commercial crop. Social factors The social and cultural influences on business vary from country to country. Social factors include the demographic and cultural aspects of the external environment. These factors affect customers needs and the size of the potential market. (Johnson Scholes, 1999) Technological factors Technologies allow Starbucks to offer the higher standard quality products; its computerised roasters allow the company to create unique computerised curves in roasting coffee beans.

Corporations and How They Govern Our Lives Essay -- Business, Marketin

The existence of large corporations has become a way of life for most of us. We have grown up around these companies as they have come to dominate our lives. These large corporations have taken over many facets of our lives. The purchasing power of large corporations has given them an unprecedented degree of power over many aspects of our lives. â€Å"They determine what we eat, what we watch, what we wear, where we work and what we do.†(Bakan,5). Corporations, who are not considered humans, are raising our children and dictating what is eaten, bought, worn and what is cared about. In times gone by, humans were shaped by their family and culture but now we are manipulated and shaped by zealous marketers whose definitive goal is to maximize profits with a total disregard to any social responsibility. There is, however, a growing trend of corporations who engage in community work and are enthusiastic on protecting the environment. â€Å"IKEA focuses heavily on sustaina ble forestry as you would expect from a furniture supplier that uses a lot of wood and is changing the lives of 80,000 children which is still a big accomplishment.† (Barner, 59-60). Ultimately, the employees of such corporations as well as the consumer of these companies want to actively participate in the social responsibility initiatives of the corporation they work and buy from. Corporations, through the use of their excessive marketing strategies and with relatively little risk placed upon them, corporations are able to project their power and influence on society as a whole as well as upon all aspects of governments. Since the early twentieth century, large corporations have become part of our economic makeup. A corporation is a separate legal entity that... ...emains, can a corporation work for both the betterment of society and at the same time make a profit? There are a handful of corporations that are coming around and understanding that if they want to be around for the long term, they need to make adjustments to the way they operate their businesses. With all the recalls in the media, Consumers are getting fed up with these establishments because these recalls were primarily caused by shortcuts on the company’s part and total disregard for our health and welfare. Today, mindfulness and genuine concern for the consumer’s health and safety needs to be a Corporation’s number one priority mission if they are to continue its profitability. Ultimately, at the end of the day, the thing that most of us really want is a decent place to live, a secure income, untainted food, proper education and good health care.

Comparison of Traditional and Contemporaryâ€the Music in China

Traditional Chinese music, generally speaking, is Chinese folk music. China is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural nation and music plays a significant role in the revolution of Chinese culture. The traditional music, passing through thousands of years of development, still maintains it's unique characters and brought about a series of massive effects on contemporary music as well. In this day and age, music in China, mixed various elements which including classical and modern, from western and traditional music that has enriched the contemporary music, making it more colourful and charming.Therefore, the comparison between traditional and contemporary music has always been a popular topic. This essay will demonstrate and compare the differences and similarities between them from a general point of view. Initially, both traditional and contemporary Chinese music share a common root which is originally form folk music. Apparently, the majority of contemporary Chinese style music is based on folk music which is the same as the tradition music and we can still find the shadow of the folk tunes in both of them.Music is cathartic and has been seen as a way in which to release human emotion, similarly whether from the past or present, the original idea of producing music all concentrates on expressing the emotions of individuals. Moreover, while playing a piece of music, both in contemporary or traditional ways, more than two different kinds of instruments are tended to be used , which often consists of orchestral instruments and percussion. Apart from these similarities mentioned above, there are a myriad of differences between traditional and contemporary music.One of the main ways in which they differ is in the expression of music. Traditional music uses traditional instruments, such as the erhu, the pipa, the Chinese zither and the sona. Conversely, contemporary Chinese music makes more use of the guitar, drums and keyboard, which belong to the typical western instru ments, and it has been stated play an essential role in conveying popular music. Furthermore, the gamut, in ancient China, of music is quite limited, which merely has Do, Re, Mi, So, La, these five different tunes without Fa and Ti.In contrast, this is not a weakness of contemporary music which has a wide range of musical notes and there will be an increasing amount of music created by using and mixing this infinitive musical range. The other way in which traditional music contrast with contemporary music is the difference in connotation. Admittedly, traditional music expresses abundant emotions of individuals which is similar to contemporary music. Traditional Chinese music, notwithstanding, frequently focuses on displaying a sensibility of endearing eudemonia, take happy lives and sweet love for instance.Unlike contemporary music, which not only considers happiness, but reflects dissatisfaction with politics as well as complaining about some defective social phenomenons. Additiona lly, it is not hard to identify that the style of traditional music is always soft and elegant, a tranquil atmosphere was often formed by the beautiful tunes. Nowadays, whereas, Rock music, R&B, Rap these kinds of stylish type of music has became the main trend in the music stage and been accepted and recognized by a growing number of people all over the nation.In summary, traditional and contemporary music both possess their own features, it's hard to say which of them provides better entertainment and different people may give different answers. From my stance, Chinese contemporary music should include more ethnic characteristics, while traditional music could be more stylish, and vice versa. They should develop themselves by overcoming their own shortcomings through learning form others' strong points. As a result, Chinese music, in that case, will ultimately bloom out a dazzling brilliance shining over the world stage.

A workout for working memory

New research suggests that mental exercises might enhance one of the brain's central components for reasoning and problem-solving.People may be able to remember a nearly infinite number of facts, but only a handful of items–held in working memory–can be accessed and considered at any given moment. It's the reason why a person might forget to buy an item or two on a mental grocery list, or why most people have difficulty adding together large numbers.In fact, working memory could be the basis for general intelligence and reasoning: Those who can hold many items in their mind may be well equipped to consider different angles of a complex problem simultaneously.If psychologists could help people expand their working-memory capacity or make it function more efficiently, everyone could benefit, from chess masters to learning-disabled children, says Torkel Klingberg, MD, PhD, an assistant cognitive neuroscience professor at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. Children with at tention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), for example, might especially benefit from working-memory training, says Rosemary Tannock, PhD, a psychologist and psychiatry professor at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.â€Å"It could be that working-memory problems give rise to observable behavioral symptoms of ADHD: distractibility and also poor academic achievement,† she says. Working-memory deficits might also underpin some reading disabilities, as it controls the ability to recall words read earlier in a sentence, says Tannock.But how–or even if–working memory can be expanded through training remains a topic of hot contention among psychologists. Some argue that working memory has a set limit of about four items, and that individual differences in working memory arise from the ability to group small bits of information into larger chunks. However, new research suggests that working-memory capacity could expand with practice–a finding that cou ld shed new light on this central part of the mind's architecture, as well as potentially lead to treatments for ADHD or other learning disabilities.Functional limitationsOne such study–by researchers at Syracuse University–hit upon the potential trainability while attempting to resolve a debate in the literature on the limits of working memory.Since the 1950s, psychologists have found one aspect of working memory–sometimes referred to as the focus of attention–to have severe limitations. For example, George Miller, PhD–a founder of cognitive psychology and a psychology professor at Princeton University–established that people generally can't recall lists of numbers more than seven digits long.Those who exceeded that limit tended to make smaller groups of numbers into larger ones, using a process called â€Å"chunking.† For example, people familiar with U.S. intelligence agencies would see the letter group â€Å"FBICIA† as two chunks, rather the six letters, and that set of letters would only occupy two slots in a person's memory, rather than six.In recent years, however, evidence is mounting that the limitation of working memory is somewhere between one and four information chunks.The downward revision results from new techniques to keep people from chunking information, which can create the illusion of greater fundamental storage capacity, says Nelson Cowan, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of Missouri–Columbia. In one common chunking-prevention method, participants repeat meaningless phrases over and over while performing working memory tasks such as memorizing lists of numbers.A recent literature review by Cowan, published in Behavioral and Brain Sciences (Vol. 24, No. 1, pages 87–185), makes the case that a variety of working-memory measures all converge on a set limit of four items.Other researchers have suggested that working-memory capacity is limited even further œto just a single item. In a study by Brian McElree, PhD, a psychology professor at New York University, participants underwent a test of working memory called â€Å"n-back.†In the task, the participants read a series of numbers, presented one at a time on a computer screen. In the easiest version of the task, the computer presents a new digit, and then prompts participants to recall what number immediately preceded the current one. More difficult versions might ask participants to recall what number appeared two, three or four digits ago.McElree found that participants recalled the immediately preceding numbers in a fraction of the time it took them to recall numbers presented more than one number ago–a finding published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition (Vol. 27, No. 1, pages 817–835.)â€Å"There is clear and compelling evidence of one unit being maintained in focal attention and no direct evidence for more than one ite m of information extended over time,† says McElree.In an attempt to reconcile the two theories, psychology professor Paul Verhaeghen, PhD, and his colleagues at Syracuse University replicated McElree's experiment, but tracked participants' response times as they practiced at the task for 10 hours over five days. (See November Monitor, page 35.)â€Å"We found that by the end of day five†¦their working memory [capacity] had expanded from one to four items, but not to five,† says Verhaeghen. â€Å"It seems that both theories are correct.†The focus of attention might expand as other working-memory processes become automated, Verhaeghen says. Perhaps practice improves the process of attaching a position to a number, freeing up the mind to recall up to four numbers, he notes.Some researchers believe the practice effect uncovered by Verhaeghen reflects more efficient information encoding rather than expanded working-memory capacity. According to McElree, the respon se time measures used by Verhaeghen do not provide pure measures of memory-retrieval speed, and the changes in response time with practice could indicate that participants in his study simply became more practiced at encoding numbers vividly, he says.If Verhaeghen's findings can be replicated using other tasks, it could change how scientists conceptualize working-memory limitations. Rather than there being a set limitation, working-memory capacity could improve through practice–suggesting that those with working-memory problems could improve their capacities through repetition. However, practice would need to occur on a task-by-task basis, says Verhaeghen, and, as he points out, â€Å"It is doubtful that practice on n-back generalizes to anything in real life.†Stretching the limitsNew research on children with ADHD, however, might show tasks such as n-back can improve working memory in general, and could help children with the condition.People with ADHD tend to have di fficulty with working-memory capacity, and that deficit could be responsible for their tendency to be distracted and resulting problems at school, says Tannock.Seeking to alleviate such difficulties with his research, Klingberg ran a randomized controlled trial of 53 children with ADHD in which half of the participants practiced working-memory tasks that gradually increased in difficulty.The other half completed tasks that did not get harder as the children became better at them. Both groups of children–who were 7 to 12 years old–practiced tasks such as recalling lists of numbers for 40 minutes a day over five weeks.The children who practiced with increasingly difficult memory tasks performed better on two working memory tests–which were different than the practice tasks–than the control group, reported Klingberg in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (Vol. 44, No. 2, pages 177–186.)In addition, the parents of child ren with memory training reported a reduction in their children's hyperactivity and inattention three months after the intervention, while the parents of the control group participants did not.Subsequent, yet-unpublished experiments build on those results, Klingberg says.â€Å"We have looked at other groups too: adults with stroke, young adults without ADHD, children with†¦traumatic brain injuries,† he says. â€Å"A general pattern [we've found] is as long as you have working-memory problems and you have the ability to train, you can improve your abilities.†Some researchers suggest that memory training may have more of an effect on motivation than working memory.â€Å"It seems to me that children in the training group may have learned to have a better attitude toward the testing situation, whereas children in the control group–who repeated easy problems–may have learned that the testing situation was boring and uninteresting,† says Cowan. â₠¬Å"The differences that emerged on a variety of tasks could be the result of better motivation and attitude rather than a basic improvement in working memory.†Or, says Klaus Oberauer, PhD, a psychology professor and memory researcher at the University of Bristol in England, the practice effect in both Klingberg's studies might result from people learning to use their limited working-memory capacity more efficiently–perhaps by grouping information into larger chunks or by enlisting long-term memory.â€Å"I think the practice effect [they found] basically is just an ordinary practice effect, in that everything gets faster,† he says.So, even if working memory can't be expanded, adults with grocery lists and children with ADHD may be able to make better use of what little space is available by practicing the task itself or repeating tests of general working memory. And, in the end, the milk gets bought and the reading assignment finished.Reference:Cowan, N. (2005). W orking-memory capacity limits in a theoretical context. In C. Izawa & N. Ohta (Eds.), Human learning and memory: Advances in theory and application: The 4th Tsukuba International Conference on Memory. (pp. 155–175). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Klingberg, T., Fernell, E., Olesen, P.J., Johnson, M., Gustafsson, P., Dahlstrom, K., et al. (2005). Computerized training of working memory in children with ADHD–A randomized, controlled trial. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 44(2), 177–186.  Martinussen, R., Hayden J., Hogg-Johnson, S., & Tannock, R. (2005). A meta-analysis of working memory components in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 44(4), 377–384.  McElree, B. (2001). Working memory and focal attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 27(3), 817–835.  Pernille, J.O., Westerberg, H., & Klingberg, T. (2004). Increased prefrontal and parietal activity after training in working memory. Nature Neuroscience, 7(1), 75–79.  Verhaeghen, P., Cerella, J., & Basak, C. (2004). A working memory workout: How to expand the focus of serial attention from one to four items in 10 hours or less. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 30(6), 1322–1337.