Infectious Disease and Health Protection Agency Essay Example for Free

Infectious Disease and Health Protection Agency Essay The guidance is divided into sections as follows: Section 1Introduces infection control and explains notification; Section 2deals with general infection control procedures; Section 3gives guidance on the management of outbreaks; Section 4describes specific infectious diseases; Section 5contact numbers and sources of information; Section 6contains additional detailed information and a table of diseases; Section 7contains risk assessments relevant to infection control; Section 8 research sources, references and useful web sites Further information is available from the Food Safety Adviser at Leicestershire County Council and from the Health Protection Agency – East Midlands South. Contact numbers are listed in Section 5. The aim of this document is to provide simple advice on the actions needed in the majority of situations likely to be encountered in social care settings. It is written in everyday language and presented so that individual subject areas can be easily copied for use as a single sheet. 1. 1 HOW ARE INFECTIONS TRANSMITTED? 1. 2 INFECTION CONTROL GUIDANCE Infection control forms part of our everyday lives, usually in the form of common sense and basic hygiene procedures. Where large numbers of people come in contact with each other, the risk of spreading infection increases. This is particularly so where people are in close contact and share eating and living accommodation. It is important to have guidelines to protect service users, staff and visitors. Adopting these guidelines and standard infection control practices will minimise the spread of infectious diseases to everyone. External Factors If you or someone in your immediate family has a â€Å"Notifiable Disease† such as Measles (see 1. 3) or infection such as Impetigo, diarrhoea, vomiting or Scabies, please inform your line manager before coming to work. If you regularly visit people in hospital please be aware of the potential risk of cross infection to yourself and the person you are visiting. Above all when dealing with service users and their families we must all remember we are dealing with people. There will be personal issues of privacy and sensitivity, which we must handle with tact and discretion at all times. What are Infection Control Practices? Infection control practices are ways that everyone (staff, service users volunteers) can prevent the transmission of infection from one person to another. They are practices which should be routinely adopted, at all times with every individual, on every occasion, regardless of whether or not that person is known to have an infection. 1. 2 INFECTION CONTROL GUIDANCE – cont. include: 1. 3 NOTIFICATION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES A number of infectious diseases are statutorily notifiable under The Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 and The Public Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulations 1988. There are three main reasons for such notification. So that control measures can be taken To monitor preventative programmes For surveillance of infectious diseases in order to monitor levels of infectious diseases and to detect outbreaks so that effective control measures can be taken. All doctors diagnosing or suspecting a case of any of the infectious diseases listed overleaf have a legal duty to report it to the Proper Officer of the Local Authority, who is usually the Consultant in Communicable Disease Control based at the Health Protection Agency. Notification should be made at the time of clinical diagnosis and should not be delayed until laboratory confirmation is received. Infections marked (T) should be notified by telephone to the Consultant in Communicable Disease Control (see Section 5) and confirmed by completion of a written notification form. 1. 3 NOTIFICATION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES – cont. Notifiable Diseases Acute encephalitis Paratyphoid(T) Acute poliomyelitisPlague(T) AnthraxRabies(T) Cholera(T)Relapsing Fever(T) Diphtheria(T)Rubella Dysentry(T)Scarlet Fever Food poisoning orSmall Pox suspected food poisoning LeprosyTetanus LeptospirosisTuberculosis MalariaTyphoid fever(T) MeaslesTyphus fever(T) Meningitis * (T)Viral haemorrhagic fever(T) Meningococcal septicaemia(T)Viral hepatitis ** (without meningitis) MumpsWhooping cough Opthalmia neonatorumYellow fever * meningococcal, pneumococcal, haemophilus influenzae, viral, other specified, unspecified ** Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B Hepatitis C, other (T)Please notify the Consultant in Communicable Disease Control or person on call for the Health Protection Agency by telephone. Other specific diseases are designated by the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 as â€Å"Reportable Occupational Diseases† e. g. Legionellosis. Please contact the Health Safety Team for further information (see section 5 for details). 1. 3 NOTIFICATION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES – cont. Notification of suspected outbreaks An outbreak is defined as two or more cases of a condition related in time and location with suspicion of transmission. Prompt investigation of an outbreak and introduction of control measures depends upon early communication. Suspicion of any association between cases should prompt contact with the Health Protection Agency. 1. 4 IMMUNISATION COSHH requires that if a risk assessment shows there to be a risk of exposure to biological agents for which vaccines exist, then these should be offered if the employee is not already immune. In practice, with Social Care Services, this generally amounts to care staff within the Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Services being offered Hepatitis B vaccination. Care home managers, after assessing risks, may also offer ‘flu vaccination to staff and individual cases may indicate the need for immunisation in certain circumstances. The pros and cons of immunisation/non-immunisation should be explained when making the offer of immunisation. The Health Safety at Work Act 1974 requires that employees are not charged for protective measures such as immunisation. A few GPs will make vaccinations available free to Social Care workers but they are not obliged to do so and can charge at their discretion. Departmental funding for the provision of vaccine, through Occupational Health, is restricted and so it is vital that only those to whom it is essential to provide immunisation are offered this service. The majority of staff will have received immunisation from childhood and have received the appropriate booster doses e. g. Tetanus, Rubella, Measles and Polio. However, it is important for the immunisation state of staff to be checked e. g. women of childbearing age should be protected against Rubella. Good practice and common sense should indicate that the immunisation state of staff is checked and appropriate action taken. If there is a potential risk of infection, change of work rotas or areas of responsibility can sometimes avoid the risk of contamination. Vaccination is not always the only course of action and in some cases staff may not agree to be vaccinated. 1. 4. 1 IMMUNISATION SCHEDULE Vaccine Age Notes D/T/P and Hib Polio 1st dose at 2 months 2nd dose at 3 months 3rd dose at 4 months Primary Course Measles / Mumps / Rubella (MMR) 12 – 15 months Can be given at any age over 12 months Booster DT and Polio, MMR second dose 3 – 5 years Three years after completion of primary course BCG 10 – 14 years or infancy Only offered to certain high risk groups after an initial risk assessment Booster Tetanus, Diphtheria and Polio 13 – 18 years Children should therefore have received the following vaccines: By 6 months:3 doses of DTP, Hib and Polio By 15 months:Measles / Mumps / Rubella By school entry:4th DT and Polio; second dose of Measles / Mumps / Rubella Between 10 14 years:BCG (certain high risk groups only) Before leaving school:5th Polio and Tetanus Diphtheria (Td) Adults should receive the following vaccines: Women sero-negative Rubella For Rubella: Previously un-immunisedPolio, Tetanus, Diphtheria Individuals: Individuals in high Hepatitis B, Hepatitis A, Influenza risk groups:Pneumonococcal vaccine 1. 5 EXCLUSION FROM WORK The following table gives advice on the minimum period of exclusions from work for staff members suffering from infectious disease (cases) or in contact with a case of infection in their own homes (home contacts). Advice on work exclusions can be sought from CCDC (Consultant in Communicable Disease Control) / HPN (Health Protection Nurse) / CICN (Community Infection Control Nurse) / EHO (Environmental Health Officer) or GP (General Practitioner) Minimum exclusion period Disease Period of Infectivity Case Home contact Chickenpox Infectious for 1-2 days before the onset of symptoms and 6 days after rash appears or until lesions are crusted (if longer) 6 days from onset of rash None. Non-immune pregnant women should seek medical advice Conjunctivitis Until 48 hours after treatment Until discharge stops None Erythema infectiosum (slapped cheek syndrome) 4 days before and until 4 days after the onset of the rash Until clinically well None. Pregnant women should seek medical advice Gastroenteritis (including salmonellosis and shigellosis) As long as organism is present in stools, but mainly while diarrhoea lasts Until clinically well and 48 hours without diarrhoea or vomiting. CCDC or EHO may advise a longer period of exclusion CCDC or EHO will advise on local policy Glandular fever When symptomatic Until clinically well None Giardia lamblia While diarrhoea is present Until 48 hours after first normal stool None Hand, foot and mouth disease As long as active ulcers are present 1 week or until open lesions are healed None Hepatitis A The incubation period is 15-50 days, average 28-30 days. Maximum infectivity occurs during the latter half of the incubation period and continues until 7 days after jaundice appears 1 week after onset of jaundice None – immunisation may be advised (through GP) HIV/AIDS For life None None 1. 5 EXCLUSION FROM WORK – cont. Minimum exclusion period Disease Period of infectivity Case Home contact Measles Up to 4 days before and until 4 days after the rash appears 4 days from the onset of the rash None Meningitis Varies with organism Until clinical recovery None Mumps Greatest infectivity from 2 days before the onset of symptoms to 4 days after symptoms appear 4 days from the onset of the rash None Rubella (German measles) 1 week before and until 5 days after the onset of the rash 4 days from the onset of the rash None Streptococcal sore throat and Scarlet fever As long as the organism is present in the throat, usually up to 48 hours after antibiotic is started Until clinically improved (usually 48 hours after antibiotic is started) None Shingles Until after the last of the lesions are dry Until all lesions are dry – minimum 6 days from the onset of the rash None Tuberculosis Depends on part infected. Patients with open TB usually become non-infectious after 2 weeks of treatment In the case of open TB, until cleared by TB clinic. No exclusion necessary in other situations Will require medical follow-up Threadworm As long as eggs present on perianal skin None but requires treatment Treatment is necessary Typhoid fever As long as case harbours the organism Seek advice from CCDC Seek advice from CCDC Whooping cough 1 week before and until 3 weeks after onset of cough (or 5 days after the start of antibiotic treatment) Until clinically well, but check with CCDC None 1. 5 EXCLUSION FROM WORK – cont. SKIN CONDITIONS Minimum exclusion period Disease Period of infectivity Case Home contact Impetigo As long as purulent lesions are present Until skin has healed or 48 hours after treatment started None. Avoid sharing towels Head lice As long as lice or live eggs are present Exclude until treated Exclude until treated Ringworm 1. Tinea capitis (head) 2. Tinea corporis (body) 3. Tinea pedis (athlete’s foot) As long as active lesions are present As long as active lesions are present As long as active lesions are present Exclusion not always necessary until an epidemic is suspected None None None None None Scabies Until mites and eggs have been destroyed Until day after treatment is given None (GP should treat family) Verrucae (plantar warts) As long as wart is present None (warts should be covered with waterproof dressing for swimming and barefoot activities) None

Sonnets From The Portuguese And Great Gatsby English Literature Essay

Sonnets From The Portuguese And Great Gatsby English Literature Essay As for the matter of time, almost a century separates F. Scott Fitzgerald (the Roaring Twenties of the XX century in the USA) and Elizabeth Browning (middle of the XIX century, England). But that does not really matter, because in both Fitzgeralds novel and Brownings sonnets the main theme is the theme of love. In the times of Fitzgerald the USAs society was like a boiling cauldron. The First World War had just ended and though America did not suffer of it as much, as Russia, there appeared a new special generation of people. These were the veterans of this war, affected by its horrors. They decided, that only living for today (Larson, Creason 492) is worthy of attention. They wanted to get as much pleasure from life as they could, often with disregard for their future. Although their number was not so large, many Americans were affected by their beliefs. Many women were also caught in the turbulence and turned to be flappers (492) women, who enjoyed shocking their parents with wearing short skirts, drinking and smoking in public. All this led to moral degradation and ridicule of Christianity. Although Fitzgerald pictured one of main characters of The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway, to be a thirty year-old bachelor of quite strict moral code (by his own words: I have been drunk just twice in my lifeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Fitzgerald)), the author by himself was a vivid representative of living for todays style of life, he ventured to uncover the sins of that-time society in his novel. Along with the moral decline and the hunt for pleasures came a lust for luxury and wealth of all sorts. This obsession led many young girls to marry men they did not love at all, just for the sake of personal profit. The vivid example of such a marriage is Daisy and Tom Buchanan. She an attractive, but shallow young woman (Im glad its a girl. And I hope shell be a fool thats the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little foolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ive been everywhere and seen everything and done everything. Her eyes flashed around her in a defiant way, rather like Toms, and she laughed with thrilling scorn. Sophisticated God, Im sophisticated! (Fitzgerald)), and he a hereditary millionaire, rude (by words of his wife: Thats what I get for marrying a brute of a man, a great big hulking physical specimen of aà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Fitzgerald)) and holding racist beliefs (Tom: Its up to us who are the dominant race to watch out or these other races will have control of things (Fit zgerald)). It is the gain for material profits of the young men of the lost generation (Larson, Creason 492) that brings these two together. And because of the growing prosperity in society Nick finds himself jammed between two millionaires Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby. But nothing can last forever, and more so prosperity. And sadly, even Love is not stronger than this obsession for money in some people. That is the ultimate truth, which Jay Gatsby had learned. He was fervently obsessed with Daisy Buchanan, ever since he was a young man. But at that time he was an officer in the army and had no money to afford to marry her, so it seems that it was the only reason why she married Tom. Jay Gatsby (the name James Gatz had invented for himself when he was a lad of 17 years old) was a son of a family of farmers, which he never regarded as his own parents. Some time after that he met a man, Dan Cody, an owner of silver mines, whose trusted companion he had become for five years. But after Codys sudden death he did not get a cent out of his vast legacy. So, he turned to bootlegging. But he was so mysterious a figure and nobody knew for sure what he was doing to earn himself such a magnificent living. In fact, nobody really cared as long as he had the money and continued to invite local nobility to his little parties. Thats why the truth was brought to light only in the end. Tom, envious for Gatsbys love for Daisy, reveals to her the truth about his past. And though Gatsby tries to defend himself, Daisy declined him, because she was brought up in a rich family and she could not imagine herself living without luxury. For it is said in the text; For Daisy was young and her artificial world was redolent of orchids and pleasant, cheerful snobbery and orchestras which set the rhythm of the year, summing up the sadness and suggestiveness of life in new tunes (Fitzgerald). But against that we can ask in Oscar Wildes words Who, being loved, is poor? On the contrary, the feelings which are shown in Brownings Sonnets from the Portuguese are natural and sincere, and by no means related with the gain of profit. These sonnets were written as a tribute to her love for her husband, Robert Browning and they are as much love-letters as they are poems. In her Sonnet XXVII she clearly states: That Love, as strong as Death, retrieves as well. (Browning) And in her Sonnet I, Elizabeth Browning mentions a mystic shape which drew her backwards by the hair, And a voice said in mastery, while I strove, Guess now who holds thee? Death, I said, But, there, The silver answer rang,Not Death, but Love. (Browning) Love, in her opinion, is a gift for mortals, a blessing from the almighty gods. This love, the True Love, Love Eternal, must be for nought, because any love that is attached to some sensibilia is a subject for alteration, that those very features can change or disappear in time. True Love is a heavenly feeling, which lies in no worldly matters. It is something that makes you want to fly. My dear Beloved, who hast lifted me From this drear flat of earth where I was thrown, And, in betwixt the languid ringlets, blown A life-breath, till the forehead hopefully Shines out again, as all the angels see, Before thy saving kiss! My own, my own, Who camest to me when the world was gone, And I who looked for only God, found thee! I find thee; I am safe, and strong, and glad. (Browning) It is a feeling which tolerates no regrets and reproach. To love somebody forever is a solemn oath, and must not be treated lightly. As one Frederick Saunders writes: My heart to you is given: Oh, do give yours to me; Well lock them up together, And throw away the key. As for myself, I can only add: And let it stay that way forever.

Food Supplies: Purchasing, Receipts and Storage

Food Supplies: Purchasing, Receipts and Storage The purchase, receipt and storage of food Choosing a supplier It is essential to purchase food from approved suppliers who have demonstrated a commitment to high standards of food hygiene Controls to minimize hazards from supplies/suppliers Select the least hazardous materials/ingredients e.g. pasteurized egg and ready-prepared vegetables. Specify the standard and quality of product required including the delivery temperature. Branded products usually preferable. Delivery and unloading of food The main hazards associated with deliveries are contaminated food and the multiplication of bacteria as a result of prolonged delays after unloading and before refrigeration. Unsatisfactory delivery vehicles or drivers or drivers may indicate unsatisfactory deliveries. High-risk food should be delivered below 5?, frozen food at-18?. Controls All food should be inspected before placing in storage. Deliveries should be checked for freshness, temperature, colour, odour, contamination, infestations and satisfactory packaging and labeling. Contaminated food from unapproved sources, perishable food above 8?, frozen food above -15?, food with evidence of pest activity and food which is not covered or in damaged packaging or which is out of date is suspect and may need to be rejected. The supervisor and the supplier should usually be notified. As far as practicable, external packaging should not be brought into food preparation areas. A separate deboxing area is recommended. Unloading should be completed as quickly as possible. Staff should be trained to deal with deliveries effectively and to prevent contamination occurring. Records of deliveries should be retained to enable traceability in the event or food poisoning or a food complaint. Safe food storage Correct storage is fundamental to the hygienic operation of any food business. Failure to ensure satisfactory in the event of food poisoning or a food complaint. Safe food storage Correct storage is fundamental to the hygienic operation of any food business. Failure to enable satisfactory storage conditions will result in hazards (contamination and multiplication of bacteria), mould, spoilt food, discoloration, staleness and pest infestation. Dry food stores Rooms used for storage of cereals, dried and canned foods should be suitable for this purpose, vermin-proof and kept clean and tidy. Hazards encountered include soiled delivery trays, pest infestations, damaged and leaking cartons, out-of-date stock, soil from root vegetables and chemical contamination. Controls Keep stores dry, cool, well lit and well ventilated. Effective pest control measures, storage of food at least 15cm above the floor and stock rotation systems are essential. Care with deboxing/opening sacks will avoid foreign body contamination. Food should be stored away from the walls and pipes affected by condensation and on suitable shelves such as tubular stainless steel racks, or in mobile rodent-proof bins. Spillages should be cleared away promptly. If possible, fruit and vegetables should be stored separately from other food. Fruit should be examined regularly as mould spreads rapidly. Vegetables heavily contaminated with soil should be stored below, for example, fruit or lettuce on the vegetable rack. Potatoes should be stored in the dark to prevent sprouting or turning green. A separate store should be used for storing cleaning chemicals. Blown, badly dented, seam-damaged, holed or rusty cans should be rejected. Staff should be trained to store food correctly, to remove spi llages, how to rotate stock and to recognize signs of pests and unfit food. Chilled storage High-risk and perishable foods should be stored under refrigeration to prevent most pathogenic bacteria bacteria from multiplying and to slow down the rate of spoilage. Refrigerators and freezers should be sited in well-ventilated areas away from heat sources, such as oven and the rays of the sun. Operating temperatures and monitoring Refrigerators usually operate between 1? to 4?. The display temperature should be checked every time the fridge is used. It should be recorded at least twice a day. The actual food temperature should be recorded at least weekly and whenever the display temperature is unsatisfactory. temporary rises in display temperatures will occur if doors are left open or a large quantity of food at room temperature are loaded into the fridge, for example, bottles of soft drinks or lemonade. Temperatures should return to normal very quickly and food temperatures must not rise above 8?. Contamination and covering of food Raw food must always be kept apart from high-risk food to prevent contamination of high-risk food with food poisoning bacteria. Separate refrigerators are preferred, although, if in the same unit, the raw food must always be placed at the bottom to avoid contamination. Food should be covered to prevent drying out, cross-contamination and absorption of odour. Care should be take to protect foods such as lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers from dripping blood. Packing and stock rotation refrigerators must not be overloaded, and food should never be left between products for air circulation. Only perishable foods should be stored in the refrigerator. This includes vacuum packs and pasteurized cans of meat. Stock rotation is essential to avoid spoilage. New stock should be placed behind existing stock to facilitate stock rotation. Open cans of food Opened and part-used cans of food, especially acid food such as fruit, fruit juice or tomatoes, must not be left in the can as this may result in chemical contamination. The unused contents should be emptied into a suitable container, such as a plastic bowl, covered and placed in the refrigerator. Defrosting and cleaning Defrosting and cleaning should be carried out in accordance with the manufacturers instructions. Most units defrost automatically and should be cleaned and disinfected at least weekly. Bicarbonate of soda (one tablespoon to 4.5 litres of water) may be used, but perfumed cleaning agents must not. Food should be placed in another refrigerator whilst the cleaning is being carried out. Staff training All food handlers must receive instruction on the correct use of the refrigerator especially in relation to contamination and temperature control. They should be told not to keep the door open for longer than necessary. Corrective action If the fridge temperature remains too high this may be a result of overloading, e.g. completely blocking a shelf or because the thermostat is too high. Inform your supervisor immediately. If the problem cant be solved, an engineer should be brought in. Food should be placed in an alternative fridge, unless it has been above 8? for more than 4hours, when it should be destroyed. Freezers and frozen food Commercial freezers should operate at -18? or slightly below. At this temperature food will keep for a reasonable time with no bacterial growth. However, spores and dormant

The Prime Minister Of Great Britain :: essays research papers fc

The Prime Minister of Great Britain There are a lot of political issues in Great Britain today. United Kingdom is a large, industrialized democratic society and as such it has to have politics and therefore political issues. One of those issues how should executive branch work and whether the Prime Minister has too much power. Right now in Great Britain there is a great debate on this issue and I am going to examine it in detail. The facts I have used here are from different writings on British politics which are all listed in my bibliography, but the opinions are my own and so are the arguments that I used to support my views. First let me explain the process through which a person becomes a Prime Minister. The PM is selected by the sovereign. He (or she) chooses a man who can command the support of majority of the members of the House of Commons. Such a man is normally the leader of the largest party in the House. Where two are rivals in a three party contest such as those which occurred in the 1920s he is usually selected from the party which wins the greatest number of seats. The Prime Minister is assumed to be the choice of his party and nowadays, so far as he can be ascertained, participation of a monarch is a pure formality. Anyone suggested for this highest political office obviously has to be a very smart and willing individual, in fact it has been suggested that he be an "uncommon man of common opinions"(Douglas V. Verney). Not all Prime Ministers fitted this bill exactly, but every on of them had to pass one important test: day-to-day scrutiny of their motives and behavior by fellow members of Parliament before they were ultimately elected to the leadership of their party. Unlike Presidents of the United States all Prime Ministers have served a long apprenticeship in the legislature and have been ministers in previous Cabinets. Many Presidents of our country have been elected and on many occasions they have never even met some of their future co-workers, such as case of Kissinger and Nixon who have never even met prior to Nixon's appointment. Let's now examine the statutory duties and responsibilities of the Prime Minister. Unlike the United States where the President's duties are specifically written out in the Constitution, the powers of the Prime Minister are almost nowhere spelled out in a statute. Unlike his fellow ministers he does not receive the seals of office: he merely kisses the hands of the monarch like an ambassador.

Save Marine Wildlife :: essays research papers

Animals have been on the face of the Earth since the beginning. Different cultures praise them as Gods or consider them sacred. But as the years drag on, people disregard animals and put them to the curb. In America, research labs on college campuses and across the country are performing vivisection. Vivisection is when millions of "animals are dissected, infected, injected, gassed, burned, and blinded" (IDA). In Africa, poachers kill elephants only for the ivory from their tusks. Not only does cruelty happen to pets and land animals, but also to marine creatures. Around the world, people are inhumanely taking advantage of the rights of those swimming souls. Right now, this exact moment in time, over in Taiji, Japan thousands of dolphins and small whales are being brutally murdered. Twenty - six out of the five hundred fishermen on the island take part in this massacre. Through September 1st to March 30th, the annual killing takes place in a secluded cove. Even "the Japanese people don't know about this" (McNeill). Environmentalist, Ric O' Barry, calls this "secret genocide" the worst. The town hosts whale - watches in dolphin shaped boats "while the non - performing animals bump up against each other in a tiny concrete pool" (McNeill). The '07 - '08 season Taiji announced that they are "going to add Pacific white sided dolphins to the catch quota" (Fujiwara). Which means yet another species of souls are in danger in their own home. There are three steps to this savage killing: ?the chase, the capture, the kill" (Lonsdale). Step one - the chase. The fishermen go to where they know the dolphins migrate, they lower long, metal poles into the water "and bang them to frighten the animals and disrupt their sonar" (McNeill). The boats drop nets down into the water to confine them, and once the dolphins begin to panic that's when the fishermen pull out the weapons. Step two - the capture. They start to slash mercilessly at the peaceful creatures. Blood pours out of their blowholes and turns the bay, literally, red. The fishermen tie rope to their tails and pull them to the shore to purposely beach them so the dolphin trainers can have their pick. Now with any swimming cetaceans (whales, dolphins, etc) is that the water pressure supports their body weight. When the sea animals are beached, naturally they don't have the normal water in their body, their whole weight "rests on the narrow strip of skin which is touching the ground [and] any flesh or organs near the ground are bruised and crushed.

Media Influence on Eating Disorders Essay

Women are given the message at a very young age that in order for them to be happy and successful they have to be thin and beautiful. It is also not surprising that eating disorders are on the rise because of the value society places on being thin. Most women and girls feel like being thin is the ultimate achievement and quite possibly the most important aspect of themselves. Eating disorders used to just be a way for women and young girls to keep their weight off. However, the sad truth is this isn’t just a diet, but a silent killer. In recent years, girls with low self esteem are becoming increasingly younger. According to the National Association of Eating Disorders, 47% of girls in 5th-12th grade reported wanting to lose weight because of magazine pictures (12). When young girls compare themselves to images of women who appear â€Å"perfect† their self image lessens, and in turn creating a vulnerable platform for an eating disorder to take over. The medias unrealistic portrayals of women, societies obsession with being thin, and lastly the rise in weight loss advertising are problems discussed throughout this paper as reasons for the growing epidemic of eating disorders. Women constantly ask themselves â€Å"what is the perfect body type? †. As our adolescence ages into adulthood many women struggle with trying to answer this question. Societies idea of what the perfect body type is constantly changing. However, it is always influenced by the medias perception of what the perfect body image should look like. We all idolize these images we see on television and in magazines and some of us would do anything to look just like them. When they are constantly being compared to what they see in the media, its no wonder these young girls develop self esteem issues. One study showed that 69 percent of girls stated that magazine models influenced their idea of the perfect body shape (Does the media cause eating disorders? 3). I believe the media and how they portray women unrealistically is one of the reasons for the increase in eating disorders over the years. Instead of focusing on what college they are going to attend, these girls are worried about how many calories are in an apple. Between TV, magazines, and movies, girls are constantly comparing themselves to unrealistic images that are painted everywhere. It’s almost impossible to step outside without seeing these illusory images. By 17, the average woman has received over 250,000 commercial messages through the media (Mass-Marketing of Disordered Eating and Eating Disorders: The Social Psychology of Women, 212). These advertisements are damaging to both mental and physical states to the girls and women trying to live up to the medias perception of the perfect body type and are more likely to develop one of the many body image disorders (Media and Eating Disorders 1). Trying to live up to these expectations can be detrimental to the health and well-being of these girls, all to achieve the â€Å"perfect look† they see so often. Thin models and actresses in the eye of the media are often the ones these girls are looking up to, and strive to look like, which can also pose a problem as many times these women are unhealthily thin. It’s no secret that female celebrities appearances have shifted in recent years. Celebrities and models exude a sort of power over people, partly because they are so highly visible in our society. There is a meaning behind what celebrities and models look like; it is the message that these women are powerful, they are sexy, they are beautiful; they are wanted (Ahern et al. , 2008). The influence of the stereotypical vision of a woman is taking a toll. When a girl becomes obsessed with dieting and looking better, they can easily become anorexic or bulimic. 79% of teenage girls who suffer from eating disorders are readers of women’s magazines (â€Å"Media and Eating disorders† 2). This just shows how influential images in the magazines can be, and its upsetting that these are the images young girls and women chose to compare themselves to. I’m not quite sure when the idea of beauty went from the curvy size 14 figure of Marilyn Monroe to a sickly looking size 0 model. It’s understandable that the fashion industry wants models to wear their clothes efficiently, but what’s the harm in having women look like women to model their clothing? Fashion editors and models believe they are just responding to a supply and demand, or in other words, trying to market their product efficiently despite the underlying issues it presents. If these marketers don’t realize that what they chose to display is harmful, the issue at large will continue to rise. So what can we do to change this problem? Some media influences started to realize that the media was to blame for this self-hatred amongst girls and began to do something about it. DOVE, for example, released a campaign called â€Å"The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty† in which they began airing commercials displaying women who looked like real women, not sticks. Dove has realized the medias negative effect on adolescent girls and has taken matters into their own hands by publishing a new ad with healthier looking models. This ad is one step in the right direction to building back up young girls self esteem and making them comfortable with their bodies. They also launched a self-esteem movement where they travel and do workshops with young girls who have self esteem and image issues. DOVE also released a video titled â€Å"Real Beauty Sketches† in which a trained FBI sketch artist drew the women based on their own self- perception, then based on that of a stranger. The strangers depictions of the women were more attractive and actually similar to what they looked like, while their own perception was extremely harsh and a less beautified image. This short, but powerful video enlightened these women how critical they are towards themselves and how women usually do not realize how they appear in everyone else’s eyes, just how they view oneself. If prominent brands in the media created these kind of campaigns, there would be more girls inclined to look up to an realistic image, versus something that is not attainable. Women will never stop wanting to improve themselves, but by advertisers embracing all the different beautiful attributes women have they will refrain from practicing unhealthy methods and will work towards realistic goals that will make them happy. There have been many studies about the effects media has on women and how it could eventually lead to eating disorders. One study was done examined how the viewing of fashion magazines affected middle school and high-school-aged girls. In one particular survey, this study found among middle school-aged girls that viewing fashion magazines influenced them to consider a thin body type as the â€Å"ideal† body type. This seems to be the initial effect of viewing media that continuously and predominantly displays abnormally thin women. (Field, 2000). As for the high-school-aged girls, a connection was made between idealizing and desiring the body types that were seen repeatedly in the fashion magazines to the point of development of symptoms of eating disorders (Field, 2000). The influence of these images in relation to these girls made a large impact. When they are comparing themselves to these images, in their minds they have to take measures to alter their physical appearance, and in turn leading to symptoms of eating disorders. However, fashion icons and magazines are not the only culprit for the rise of eating disorders and body image issues. Weight loss promotion is everywhere we look, and seen every time we turn on the television. Between ads like â€Å"Jenny Craig† and â€Å"Atkins†, these campaigns are telling women everywhere â€Å"you can be happy too, if you follow this plan and become thin like me! †. Women are constantly confronted with the message that they need to lose weight, and since the weight industry is booming, they are buying into the hype. Health and well-being are often mixed up with weight-loss. However, there is a difference between being healthy and being unhealthily thin. There is nothing wrong with working out and keeping active to be healthy, but when exercising begins to replace meals and self image starts to deteriorate, that’s when it becomes a problem. Being thin is portrayed to equal being strong, healthy, and powerful. The exploitation of images that display women’s bodies benefits both weight-loss companies and companies selling beauty and fashion products. Yes, it is good for the business, but can be damaging to women. If women continue to convince themselves they need to look a certain way or be a certain size, the easier it will be for consumers to sell them into â€Å"looking better† (Hesse-Biber et al, 2006). As unfortunate as it is, these marketers are benefiting in the end from the presence of eating disorders in our society. Weight loss advertising goes hand-in-hand with fashion and beauty advertising. Both display unrealistic expectations and convincing them that to be happy, they must be thin. Saying that weight-loss advertisers should cease is a stretch, but what is possible to promote change is to begin to reiterate the idea of being healthy and active, versus taking diet pills and being on diets, because often enough diets turn into serious eating disorders. I can attest this to my personal life because I understand what they going through, myself having suffered with an eating disorder for 6 years. The first time I had the idea of not eating to lose weight was when I saw Mary-Kate Olsen on the cover of a magazine for her problem with anorexia. My 12 year old brain saw the cover and thought â€Å"if that’s how she lost weight, that’s how I will†. even though I was a slender 115 pounds, I still thought I was overweight. It started by not eating lunch sometimes, or telling my mom I was full at the dinner table. The weight fell off easily, and I liked all the compliments I was receiving, It made me feel important and special in the moment, but when I would look in the mirror I didn’t see what everyone did. I felt as though everyone was lying to me to make me feel better. Little white lies about my weight started turning into bigger lies and as my disorder got worse, so did I. There was a time I didn’t eat anything but an apple for 3 days straight. It begun to affect my grades, my social life, and worse of all my health. My family all knew something was wrong with me but I never listened to anyone or wanted help. My mom noticed me weight-loss and forced me to see a therapist and a doctor. I gained the weight back almost instantly and fast. Once again I was drowning in the same negative thoughts about myself as I had for so many years, but this time I looked how I felt, and it made it even worse. I felt huge and disgusting and became severely depressed. It took all that I had in me just to get out of bed and get dressed. So many times I just wanted to slip back into the cycle of not eating, but I knew everyone had a close eye on me. Then one day I was at a friends house with a bunch of girls and one of them starting talking about bingeing and purging. It sounded like the best idea ever to me; I was able to eat, but not consume the calories. I began the cycle of bingeing and purging every day. At first it felt like an adrenaline rush and the weight was falling off fast, and that invincible feeling started up once again. But this began to take a toll on my body even worse than not eating. My mom was suspicious and confronted me one day to let me know she was worried and she knew I had a problem, but of course I was in denial and insisted I was fine. The day I threw up blood and fainted I knew this was much more serious then I had thought. My body was finally shutting down on me after all these years. I told my mom everything that had happened and she brought me to the doctor and had many tests done. The doctor said my esophageal passage was damaged and if I didn’t stop purging soon there would be permanent damaged. He also said I had anemia and my bones and organs were weak. The dentist said my enamel was destroyed. This disorder had not only permanently damaged my body, but my soul felt broken. I felt like I had no life left in me and it took a long time and a few therapists to learn how to love myself and my body the way it is. I just hope one day I can tell my story to young girls so they know that they aren’t alone and they won’t have to grow up thinking they need to destroy their bodies to feel beautiful. Eating disorders are something that will continue be a problem in this country until the media along with society decides to make an impact. We find unrealistic images of extremely thin women plastered everywhere in television, magazines, television, weight-loss promotions, and are glamorized by celebrities. These media advertisements are all contributing factors to the self-hatred these girls feel. Women who see these images firsthand try to live up to the â€Å"perfect† image of what a woman is supposed to look like, when in fact this perfect image doesn’t exist. There is the underlying idea that to be happy, powerful, and satisfied in your life, being thin will get you there. The advertisers, even though are trying to keep their business successful, should make it so the images they chose to display are representations of women who look like women. If there were images of real women, with real curves, girls might be able to not only relate, but be inspired instead of bashing and hating themselves for not achieving their own idea of what their supposed to look like. Having too have suffered from an eating disorder I understand what these girls are going through and how serious this disease is. When the media finally realizes that displaying unrealistic images of women are doing more harm then good, the cycle of these women and young girls feeling like they have to starve themselves to be beautiful will hopefully come to an end. Having women who represent women will not only provide inspiration for girls, but also give them positive influences to look up to. Hopefully one day society will learn that there isn’t just one vision of beauty or weight, and the horrible cycle of eating disorders will cease to exist forever.

Advergames

Synopsis Advergames – Advertising into your subconsciousness Disposition This paper investigates how advergames and anti- advergames have made a ground in our culture. I will explore how the anti- advergame movement utilizes the procedural rhetoric in order to create awareness. Furthermore I will come to a conclusion about why or if we need the anti – advergame movement. What exactly is advergames? Advergames is a great way to reach out to the consumers in a subconscious manner. Advergames are video games which contains advertisement for a product, service, or company. – Advergames are created to fill out a purpose – often to promote the company or one of the products. These games are often distributed freely as the game is a marketing tool. – Advergames can also be less obvious in their advertisement with product placement in the game. The video games is an alternative form of advertising with some advantages: they are cheap, fast, and have an extr aordinary peer-to-peer marketing ability. Advertising within a video game allows for more exposures to the product than traditional ads because, according to Ellen Ratchye– Foster, a trend analyst for Fallon, â€Å"anyone who buys these games devotes weeks and weeks to getting through their levels. † This means that the consumer will see the advertisements over and over while they play, thus it may resonate with them. †1 Product placement – â€Å"Product placement in-game-advertising is most commonly found in sports titles and simulation games. For advertisers an add may be displayed multiple times and a game may provide an opportunity to ally a product's brand image with the image of the game. – Such examples include the use Sobe drink in Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent – While product placement in film and television is fairly common, this type of in-game advertising has only recently become common in games. â€Å"2 1 http ://advergamingtoday. blogspot. com/2006/02/just-product-placement. html 2 http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Advergaming What is anti – advergames? Anti- advergames are games that challenge players to rethink their relationship with consumption and encourage corporate critique. â€Å"Advertisers, governments and organizations mount huge campaigns to show us what they want us to see, and we want to expose what they're hiding,† 3 In order to create awareness for the consumer (or more precisely the player) molleindustria. org and others create anti – advergames. The video games satirize big companies and question corporate polices ranging from how cattle are raised (The McDonald’s Videogame) to low pay for workers (Disaffected! . â€Å"I've always had a complicated relationship with advertising,† Bogost said. â€Å"It's everywhere, and it's becoming more and more parasitic. Yet, because it's everywhere it has the power to influence people positively as well as negatively. † 4 When attempting to sell games as a persuasive medium, those in the business early on found it useful to refer to this class of games as serious games. Ian Bogost wrote the book †Persuasive games† where he analysed the rhetoric these games used in their attempt to share information. Persuasive games – Ian Bogost †A book about how videogames make arguments: rhetoric, computing, politics, advertising, learning. In Persuasive Games, Ian Bogost explains how companies with the video game as a medium can make arguments and influence players. The games represent how the real and artificial/imagined systems work, and the players are invited to an interaction with the system to form an opinion about them. Bogost analyses the unique functions of rhetoric in software and especially in videogames. He argues that videogames because of their representation of procedurality open a whole new domain for persuasion, a new form for rhetoric. 5 3 http://www. molleindustria. org/node/149 4 http://www. molleindustria. org/node/149 5 http://www. bogost. com/books/persuasive_games. shtml This new form is called â€Å"procedural rhetoric† and is a form of rhetoric that is tied to the core affordances of computers which is running processes an executing a rule-based symbolic manipulation. 6 Procedural rhetoric is the practice of authoring arguments through processes. Computer games are interesting in this regard because they are some of the most complex processes that exist. †Covering both commercial and non-commercial games from the earliest arcade games through contemporaty titles, I look at three areas in which videogame persuasion has already taken form and shows considerable potential: politics, advertising, and education. The book reflects both theoretical and game-design goals. †7 The McDonald’s Videogame example McDonald’s video game is a good example of procedural rhetoric. The game was designed to persuade you that McDonald’s business model is corrupt. The McDonald’s Videogame mounts a procedural rhetoric about the necessity of corruption in the global fast food business, and the overwhelming temptation of greed, which leads to more corruption. In order to succeed in the longterm, the player must use growth hormones, he must coerce banana republics, and he must mount PR and lobbying campaigns. â⠂¬ 8 The game makes a procedural argument about the inherent problems in the fast food industry, particularly the necessity of overstepping environmental and health-related boundaries. Critical Play – Mary Flanagan While Ian Bogost's procedural rhetoric explore the expressive processes in video games, Mary Flanagan examines the theories of critical play which considers how designing a play space in a 6 7 8 9 http://www. bogost. com/books/persuasive_games. shtml http://www. bogost. com/books/persuasive_games. shtml The Rhetoric of video games, Ian Bogost p. 127 The Rhetoric of video games, Ian Bogost p. 127 video game can be a kind of social activism. Definition of critical Play To Flanagan, critical play â€Å"means to create or occupy play environments and activities that represent one or more questions about aspects of human life,†10 and â€Å"is characterized by a careful examination of social, cultural, political, or even personal themes that function as alternates to popular play spaces. [†¦] Thus the goal in theorizing a critical game-design paradigm is as much about the creative person’s interest in critiquing the status quo as it is about using play for such a phase change†11. The connection that this process has with social activism is that the games that people play and how they play those games change in response to culture. The doll example A simple example of critical play in a natural setting is playing with dolls. They are often used to enforce gender roles and stereotypes, many young girls today and in the early days of the doll industry would use dolls to break down social roles. Violent fantasies, macabre funerals, and other forms of changing the way play worked with dolls provides a striking example of critical play in its natural form. 2 10 Critical Play: Radical game design, Mary Flanagan, p 6 11 Critical Play: Radical game design, Mary Flanagan, p 6 12 http://www. popmatters. com/pm/post/128966-mary-flanagans-critical-play Anti – advergames Ian Bogost is one of the founding fathers of anti- advergames and in his book Persuasive Games he describes how procedural rhetoric can be used to understand the problems in our culture. â€Å"Disa ffected! Does not purport to proceduralize a solution to Kinko's customer service or labour issues. But its procedural rhetoric of incompetence does underscore the problem of disaffection in contemporary culture, on both sides of the counter. We're dissatisfied or unwilling to support structures of authority, but we do scarcely little about it. We go to work at lousy jobs with poor benefits and ill treatment. We shrug off poor customer service and bad products, assuming that nothing can be done and ignoring the reasons why workers might feel disenfranchised in the first place. We take for granted that we can't reach people in authority. These problems extend far beyond copy stores. Disaffected has, like the McDonald’s video game, no solution to how we change the problem. The game attempts instead to inform and educate the users by using the procedural rhetoric, showing how the organisation/world through processes affect everyone. The question is, does anti – advergames really have the effekt that Bogost and other gamedesigners think it does? Its a question with more than one side. On one hand people do get a better understanding of the structure and the core of the message but how is that different form any other campaign? On the other hand we already know that Billion dollar companies may be a little rough around the edges and that morally the best thing (in a perfect world) would be to avoid the products and companies altogether. So why do we need anti – advergames to inform us about the dangers? The point is to create awareness. There arent any (easy) solution to the problems so the next best thing is to make people aware of how the system works so that we dont stand idly by. This does not mean that the anti- advergames are created in a belief that the user, by playing the video game, is fully enlightened on completion of the game. Often the player already has insight in how the system works as the people who aren't interested in the critique wont be interested in the game either. None the less designers like Ian Bogost and Paolo Pedercini (molleindustria. org) feel their work will have some effect. At the very least, they contend, players might start thinking about corporations in new ways. The games, Pedercini said, â€Å"can make people ask some questions, and for instance read a book or consider that there are a lot of motivations to change their lifestyles. â€Å"13 Brad Scott, director of digital branding at Landor Associates has an other opinion: â€Å"I don't know that they would have that negative effect on the brand,† Scott said. â€Å"You can almost use it as, ‘Boy, we've become such an icon as a brand that we're being mimicked by video games. † 14 I cant say which statement I think is correct but I think that advergames are a great way of advertising. There is an enormous amount of people who play video games, â€Å"according to the Interactive Digital Software Association, as many as 60% of Americans over age 6 play them. Putting that statistic together with the number of people using the internet, you have a phenomenal amount of people you ca n market to. â€Å"15 This great area of potential would of course be a great place for marketing, both commercial and non-commercial. It would be a waste not to utilize it especially if the people aren't as offended or as immune as to other of the more traditional methods of advertising. 13 http://www. molleindustria. org/node/149 14 http://www. molleindustria. org/node/149 15 http://advergamingtoday. blogspot. com/2006/02/just-product-placement. html 7 Digital Kultur Conclusion Advergames are becoming more and more popular as the availability to the internet increases. The video game is like any other media being used to the benefit of the marketing industry and why not? The anti – advergame movement with Ian Bogost criticise the marketing industry for being omnipresent and overpowering in its behaviour but is itself a game that has an agenda. Despite all, the anti – advergames are needed. The goal is not to come up with a solution, but to create awareness, and that is exactly what they do. We have an anti advertising forum in any other media, why not in the video games? 8 http://advergamingtoday. blogspot. com/2006/02/just-product-placement. html http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Advergaming http://www. molleindustria. rg/node/149 http://www. bogost. com/books/persuasive_games. shtml http://www. popmatters. com/pm/post/128966-mary-flanagans-critical-play http://www. molleindustria. org/node/149 Texts Ian Bogost, ‘The Rhetoric of video games, in The Ecology of Games: Connecting Youth, Games, and Learning, Cambridge, MIT Press, 2008 Ian Bogost, ‘Procedural Rhetoric' [extract], in Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videoga mes, Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, 2007 Mary Flanagan, ‘Introduction to Critical Play', in Critical Play: Radical Game Design, Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press 2009 9