Hepatitis B Essays - Medicine, Clinical Medicine, Health

Hepatitis B Hepatitis B can be prevented with a highly effective vaccine, but this year ten to thirty million people will become infected with the hepatitis B virus. I feel that because this disease is preventable, only knowledge can help reduce the number of people infected. Hepatitis B is a serious liver disease caused by the hepatitis B virus. This virus is a blood-borne pathogen. It is one hundred times more infectious than HIV. ?Hepatitis B is one of the most frequently reported vaccine preventable diseases in the United States,? according to the Centers for Disease Control. This disease is transmitted through oral, vaginal, and anal sex. You can also acquire the disease through sharing needles, toothbrushes, and razors, or if you come in contact with infected blood. For these reasons, the people at the highest risk of contracting the disease are: anyone who is sexually active; health, dental, and emergency workers; adoptive families with children form Asia, Africa, South America, Eastern and Mediterranean Europe (as these areas have a high number of people infected); drug users; and anyone in close contact with someone infected. This is not as scary as it seems, for you cannot contract the virus through sneezing, coughing, or holding hands. A surprising fact about hepatitis B, considering it is preventable, is that one in twenty people are or will be infected in their lifetime. There are one million people infected in the United States. More than 350 million people worldwide are chronic carriers of the virus. A chronic carrier is someone with the virus in their blood, and can who can pass the disease to others. Fifty percent of those infected with the virus (a.k.a. HBV) do not develop symptoms. HBV is often called the ?Silent Infection?. Another forty nine percent experience fevers, fatigue, nausea, and vomiting. Many people think that it is just the flu and ignore their symptoms. Some other symptoms include abdominal pain or swelling, jaundice, dark colored urine or light colored bowel movements. The other one percent develops acute fulminant hepatitis. Of those infected with it, sixty to ninety percent of all cases result in fatalities. It is characterized by fatigue- most often resulting in collapsing, and jaundice- yellowing of the skin due liver malfunctions. There is no medical treatment for hepatitis. Although, with bed rest ninety percent of those infected will develop antibodies and fight off the disease. If the body fails to fight it off, some (five to ten percent) will develop chronic hepatitis. These people have an increased risk of liver problems, like cirrhosis (hardening of the liver) and liver cancer. Some chronic cases will need liver transplants. There is no cure for hepatitis B, but there are some drugs to help. Interferon helps to quicken the rates of remission. There are also two drugs that are in the last phase of FDA approval- lamivudine and famciclovir. These are thought to be available toward the end of the year. If you have contracted HBV, you should immediately contact a doctor, and get regular checkups. If you are pregnant you should make sure to tell your doctor so they can protect your baby. Also, make sure close contacts are vaccinated. And most of all- no alcohol, because it will further damage your liver. There is only one sure way to protect yourself- get vaccinated. The vaccine is very safe and effective. It is in the form of three shots, given over a period of six months. The shots can be given at a doctor's office or at school clinics. One very informative source is The Hepatitis B Foundation. The address is: 700 East Butler Avenue Doylestown, PA18901 (215) 489-4900 For additional help contact your doctor. Hepatitis B is a very infectious disease, but the most important thing to remember is that it can be prevented with three simple shots. There is no excuse as to why anyone should not be vaccinated!

Assessing Strategic Planning In The Hospitality Industry Tourism Essay Essay Example

Assessing Strategic Planning In The Hospitality Industry Tourism Essay Essay Example Assessing Strategic Planning In The Hospitality Industry Tourism Essay Essay Assessing Strategic Planning In The Hospitality Industry Tourism Essay Essay The rapid development in the cordial reception industry which has lead to importance of strategic planning required in order the houses can hold a steady rise in the industry. The life criterions of people have been improved due to globalization which in title contribute to the development of the cordial reception industry. The variegation was a most of import precedence of the houses in order to use the high profiled client base which they possessed.It is easy to aim the clients who are in your door measure and this lead to assorted preparation of strategic programs to aim them. Strategic planning is an organisation frame work of specifying its scheme, or way, and doing determinations on apportioning its resources to prosecute this scheme, including its capital and people. Assorted concern analysis techniques can be used in strategic planning, including SWOT analysis ( Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats ) and PEST analysis ( Political, Economic, Social, and Technological analysis ) or STEER analysis ( Socio-cultural, Technological, Economic, Ecological, and Regulatory factors ) and EPISTEL ( Environment, Political, Informatics, Social, Technological, Economic and Legal ) . Strategic planning is the official consideration of an organisation s future class. All strategic planning trades with at least one of three cardinal inquiries: TheA cordial reception industryA consists of wide class of Fieldss within the service industry that includesA housing, A eating houses, A event planning, A subject Parkss, A transit, A sail line, and extra Fieldss within the touristry industry. The cordial reception industry is a several billion dollar industry that largely depends on the handiness of leisure clip and disposable income. A cordial reception unit such as a eating house, hotel, or even an amusement park consists of multiple groups such as installation care, direct operations ( waiters, A housekeepers, porters, kitchen workers, A barmans, etc. ) , direction, selling, and human resources. The cordial reception industry includes a broad scope of organisations offering nutrient service and adjustment. The cordial reception industry is divided into sectors harmonizing to the skill-sets required for the work involved. Sectors include adjustment, nutrient and drink, meeting and events, gambling, amusement and diversion, touristry services, and visitant information. ( wikepedia n.d. ) Strategic planning for the cordial reception industry ( 1 ) The increasing popularity of strategic planning in recent times is attributed to speed uping alterations in industries and economic systems and increasing planetary competition. ( 2 ) The rapid development of strategic-planning that executives find utile. Firms that engage in strategic be aftering tend to hold higher public presentation. ( 3 ) A recent survey of hotels in the United Kingdom found that concern public presentation was positively associated with the thoroughness, edification, engagement, and formality of strategic-planning procedures. ( 4 ) Strategic analysis the systematic probe of a house and its environment is the foundation of the strategic direction procedure. STRATEGIC PLANNING IN JACK IN THE BOX Jack in the Box late announced programs to open 100 to 150 eating houses combined with convenience shops over the following five old ages. The shops will have life-size eating houses and besides sell gasolene and other typical convenience shop points such as staff of life and milk. How did Jack in the Box arrive at this determination? Harmonizing to the company s CEO, Bob Nugent, an analysis of the convenience-store market indicated that there was plentifulness of chance, chiefly because no single company dominates. The largest participant in the convenience-store industry which dominated the market, 7-Eleven, Inc. , controls somewhat over 4 per centum of the market. Compare this to fast nutrients, where McDonald s controls 43 per centum of the market and Jack in the Box a mere 4.6 per centum. Nugent besides justifies his determination on the footing of research which indicates that a convenience-store client is twice every bit likely to eat fast nutrient as a non-convenience-store client. ( 5 ) Strategic analysis can supply first-class information on which to establish long-range determinations such as this one. Knowledge is one of the most of import competitory arms a house can possess. ( 6 ) As the Jack in the Box illustration illustrates, detailed cognition about a house and its environment can be used to bring forth new thoughts for businessA and to measure the feasibleness of thoughts before they are really implemented. Strategic analysis besides allows a house s directors to go more cognizant of the company s strengths and failings and to understand the grounds behind successes and failures. Knowledge about the competitory environment can assist to expect and be after for alterations and foretell how rivals or other stakeholders such as clients or providers will react to new schemes or other organisational activities. Strategic analysis can open up channels of communicating between high-level directors and subsidiaries, leting them to portion thoughts and positions. The participative procedure will assist subsidiaries to accept alterations more readily after determinations are made. ( Harrison April, 2003 ) STRATEGIC PLANS AT FelCor LODGING TRUST For FelCor Lodging Trust, one of the largest hotel existent estate investing trusts ( REITs ) in the United States, a strategic planning exercising led the company to rethink its scheme. Naming itself the New FelCor, the house has made dramatic stairss toward shifting itself. The house concern scheme is to dispose of nonstrategic hotels, including all of its Holiday Inn Hotels located in secondary and third markets. After the sale, it will hold lower exposure to markets with low barriers to entry. Other elements of the new concern scheme are ( 1 ) To get hotels in high barrier to entry markets ( 2 ) To better the competitory placement of nucleus hotels through aggressive plus direction and the wise application of capital in the industry ( 3 ) To pay down debt through a combination of operational hard currency flow and the sale of nonstrategic hotels. The company will go a lower leveraged company with a stronger and to the full renovated portfolio of hotels. STRATEGIC Thinking AT STARWOOD When Starwood idea of spread outing their concern to a field which is relevant and easy to pull clients.They in hotel industry and had a close association with the luxury section clients so they thought Expansion through Diversification scheme in order use their same luxury client base to sell their freshly introduced Heavenly Bed . Westin Hotels A ; Resorts, with 169 hotels and resorts in more than 31 states and districts, is owned by Starwood Hotels A ; Resorts Worldwide, Inc The Heavenly Bed, foremost launched by the Westin trade name of Starwood Hotels A ; Resorts, has transformed the bed, a basic characteristic of any hotel room, into a epicurean object of desire, heightening the grosss of the concatenation and go forthing many hotel operators to follow suit with imitator linens and usage bedclothes of their ain. The strategic procedure at Starwood began with consumer analysis and merchandise testing. First, Westin conducted a survey affecting 600 concern executives who travel often. The consequences showed that 84 per centum said a epicurean bed would do a hotel room more attractive to them to bask the comfort. What is more, 63 per centum said a good dark slumber is the most of import service a hotel can supply. Half of those surveyed said they sleep worse in hotels than at place. After proving 50 beds from 35 housing ironss, Westin developed its paradigm all white Heavenly Bed with a usage designed pillow top mattress, goose down sympathizers, five pillows, and three chip sheets runing in yarn count from 180 to 250. Once the merchandise was designed and tested, the house introduced the bed with a carefully planned selling scheme are USA Today ran a narrative on the front page of its concern subdivision. The same twenty-four hours, 20 pristine white Heavenly Beds lined Wall Street up to the New York Stock Exchange in New York City. Inside the Stock Exchange, Barry Sternlicht, the so Chairman and CEO of Starwood Hotels A ; Resorts rang the gap bell and threw out chapeaus proclaiming, Work like the devil Sleep like an angel. Meanwhile, at New York Grand Central Station, 20 more beds graced one of the rotundas at that place, and commuters debarking the trains were invited to seek them out. Similar events were staged the same twenty-four hours at 38 locations across the United States, tailored to each metropolis. Savannah s event featured a bed drifting on a flatboat down the river with a landing skydiver. Seattle s event took topographic point atop the Space Needle. To reenforce the message, a coincident advertisement run asked, Who s the best in bed? AN EMERGING RETAIL STRATEGY FOR THE HEAVENLY BED In the early phases of presenting the heavenly bed.In the first hebdomad of establishing the Westin Heavenly Bed, 32 invitees were interested to purchase the bed. A light bulb went on. Westin executives put order cards with a toll free figure in every room. They started puting catalogs by bedsides and desks and put up a web site. By June of 2004, Westin had sold 20,000 pillows $ 75 for the male monarch sized version and 3,500 bed/bedding jazz band, at $ 2,965 each, plenty to distribute the thought throughout Starwood, with the Sheraton, St. Regis, and W lines all turning into retail merchants. The unforeseen success of the Heavenly Bed has spawned a new concern companies that help hotels run their retail weaponries. Boxport, a spin off of San Francisco based hotel pimp Higgins Purchasing Group, operates web sites and catalogs for several ironss that now sell bedclothes. In order to find where it is traveling, the organisation needs to cognize precisely where it stands, so find where it wants to travel and how it will acquire at that place. The resulting papers is called the strategic program. It is besides true that strategic planning may be a tool for efficaciously plotting the way of a company ; nevertheless, strategic be aftering itself can non announce precisely how the market will germinate and what issues will come up in the approaching yearss in order to be after your organisational scheme. Therefore, strategic invention and puttering with the strategic program have to be a basis scheme for an organisation to last the turbulent concern clime.