The Role Of An Independent Director

Russian Federation Armed Forces (RFAF) getting in control of Crimea

Factor Deduction Conclusion

Russian Federation Armed Forces (RFAF) getting in control of Crimea (March 2014).

• Continuing access to the naval base of Sevastopol

• Warships and support vessels formerly part of the Ukrainian navy could enter into the Russian Fleet

• Securing the military benefits and regaining influence over Ukraine’s future direction.   • Avoid further degradation of the crisis in Ukraine

• Continue to implement assurance measures

• The possible “integration” of Ukraine to the West (EU/NATO) is much less attractive by the Russian presence in Crimea.

• The presence of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol (Crimea)

• Modernisation of that fleet (advanced supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles, air defense systems and torpedoes; the coastal defence system armed with Yakhont anti-ship missiles. )

• Presence of Iskander mobile ballistic missile systems in Crimea The Black Sea Fleet (after its modernisation ), shall provide Russia with substantial operational capability in the region:

• to control the Black Sea basin

• to ensure the security of its southern borders

• to project power in and around the Black Sea

• to carry out Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) operations throughout the region. • Continue its intelligence collection efforts, its investments in and deployment of missile defence systems and submarine detection systems

• Undertake negotiations on non-proliferation

• Increase its presence in the Black Sea by ‘show the flag’ operations, also being deterrent at the same time

• Support Turkey’s surveillance of the Turkish Streets.

Crimea as an operating base for future military action against Ukraine :

• Naval means

• Advanced combat aircraft • Russia can threaten Ukraine on three fronts now (northeast, southeast and south)

• Potential naval blockade against Ukraine’s southern ports and potential amphibious operations at selected coastal targets

• Deep operations inside Ukraine to strike strategic targets or provide ground support for Russian forces and interdict Ukrainian troop movements • Avoid further degradation of the crisis in Ukraine.

• Start negotiations with the Russian Federation.

• In order to change the relationship of distrust to a normalised one, NATO should involve the Russian Federation instead of excluding them from their operations.

• Air defense capabilities upgraded

• Integrated air defense system (S-400 area defense platform installed) • Significantly enhancing Russia’s air defence capabilities on its southern flank.

• Deterrence • Increase its presence in the Black Sea by ‘show the flag’ operations

• Capabilities needed to counter deterrence

Relative geographic isolation of Crimea

Very difficult for enemy forces to retake it (easy to defend). Crimea: a lost “case” for Ukraine

=> The Alliance should start diplomatic negotiations with Russia (improve their relationship and solve the crisis).

Sevastopol serves as headquarters to the newly constituted Mediterranean Task Force (MTF). • Russia‘s reach extended and its prestige enhanced. (again a major power in the Black Sea)

• Sevastopol: potential SPOE (strategic projection) • NATO should show its presence in the region like they already do in the Baltic States

• Intelligence collection on the MTF

In Crimea, all the prerequisites to apply the new operational concept in an effective way were present. Russia’s strategy is to maintain a sphere of influence in former Soviet states and at the same time disrupt EU and NATO involvement in the area.

The Russian annexation of Crimea (March 2014) was the result of a combination of military tools and state tools to reach its policy goals:

• Covert use of Special Operations Forces with subterfuge (civilian self-defence forces)

• Combination of non-military, covert and subversive asymmetric means (hybrid warfare)

• Gradually transitioning from “little green men” and self-defence forces to clearly marked high readiness forces • Confronting Russian military power in the future will require an expanded toolkit for NATO Allies.  (confrontation with an asymmetrical approach – hybrid warfare)

• Intelligence collection to anticipate on Russian military actions

• Effective implementation of assurance measures

The EU and NATO are increasing their sphere of influence more towards the East and in this way they encounter Russia. Increased dominance of anti-Western sentiment in Russia and amongst ethnic Russian minorities in former Soviet States; the conviction that the West intends to bring about regime change in Russia • Strategic Communications to deny false accusations by Russia, inform the population in former Soviet States

• Enhance the relationship with Russia

• Involve Russia in their operations

Overall vast offshore oil and gas resources of Crimea in the Black Sea. Nationalisation of oil and gas companies by Gazprom.  (figure 1) • Increase its presence in the Black Sea by ‘show the flag’ operations

• Ensure freedom of movement in the Black Sea

The Black Sea is a huge economic thoroughfare from the Caucasus region and the Caspian Sea to central and Eastern Europe.  Traffic on the Black Sea accounts for 300 ships a day. Russia has started to re-shape its territorial sea and the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the northern Black Sea (figures 2 and 3), putting Ukraine in an even more vulnerable state economically, militarily and politically.

Ukraine is worried about losing very large shale gas fields as well as 45% of its national coal reserves in the eastern region due to the separatist conflict. Risk for Ukraine to lose more natural resources if there would be an expansion or degradation of the crisis in the eastern regions. • Increase its presence in the Black Sea by ‘show the flag’ operations and avoid further degradation of the crisis in Ukraine.

• Start negotiations with Russia

For its agricultural and industrial activities, Crimea remains dependent on water and electricity from Ukraine. • There are frequent blackouts and disruptions.

• The closure of the North Crimean Canal, the main irrigation source for Crimea’s interior dry steppe lands, has adversely affected agriculture, with numerous crops failing. • NATO should closely monitor the situation in both Ukraine and Crimea.

• Avoid further degradation of the crisis in Ukraine

• Comprehensive approach

• The total population of Crimea is 2.3 million with 58% ethnic Russians, 24% Ukrainians and 18% Tartars.

• Concerning the native language, this is the 2014 situation: 84% Russian, 7.9% Crimean-Tatar, 3.7% Tatar and 3.3% Ukrainian (figure 2). • The protection of ethnic Russians living in Crimea in a time of political changes in Ukraine should be seen as a symbolical act. President Putin sent troops to Crimea to protect the interests of the majority of ethnic Russians.

• Crimea can serve as a symbol to encourage pro-Russian factions in Ukraine to support Russia. • With strategic communications, NATO should counter the false accusations of wanting to destabilise the Russian Federation by the approach to former Soviet States.

• Effective intelligence collection should allow the Alliance to anticipate on military actions (annexation of Crimea, clandestine support to Ukrainian separatists in the East)

The ethnic Tatars (18% of Crimea’s population) always remained a reliable pro-Ukrainian and pro-Western bloc. They were seen as ‘the’ enemy to Russia. Since the annexation: persecution with their freedom and rights having been attacked repeatedly   Monitoring of the rights of the minorities in Crimea is needed, maybe by cooperation with the EU or the OSCE.

Crimean Tatars and other Muslims in Crimea have come under new jurisdiction; they also have a strong affinity with Chechens. • Islamic organisations with transnational connections designated or banned as terrorist organisations.

• Islamic literature closely monitored, publications banned as ‘extremist literature’ and ‘unregistered mosques’ closed.

By addressing the ethnic Russian-minority (through means like media), Russia emphasizes their Russian heritage based on language, history and unique Russian culture. These narratives enhance

• the minorities’ feelings of marginalization by their government

• a sense of self-worth belonging (honour) and pro-Russian popular sentiments

• a perception that ‘Mother Russia’ has more to offer than the native country (interest) • NATO needs to get in depth view (by intelligence collection) on the Russian minorities in possible target countries.

• NATO needs to tackle the causes that lead to the sentiment of reunification; by strategic communication it can try to influence the view of the ethnic minority.

• This should be part of a comprehensive approach as “military” means alone won’t be able to influence that view.

Emerging infectious diseases: essay help site:edu

Emerging infectious diseases are infectious diseases that have showed up within a population in recent years or those whose prevalence or geographic boundary is increasing exponentially or expected to rise within the next few years (1). Emerging infections can be divided into two main groups – newly emerging and re-emerging infections. Newly emerging infections can be defined as diseases that have never been identified in the human host before. Re-emerging diseases are diseases that have been known to infect humans, but persistently emerging in novel places or as drug-resistant strains, or re-emerging despite evident management or eradication (2). This essay aims to understand the dynamic relationships between microbes, human hosts, and the environment with respect to impact on emerging infections in humans. It is also important to remember that due to the complex nature of many emerging diseases, the differentiation between emerging and re-emerging diseases tend to be debatable, resulting in multiple professionals to group them into disparate categories.

The causes of disease emergence are dependent on a number of factors yet basically result from the microorganism itself interacting with a human. These exposures can be complicated and novel diseases are frequently developed from multiple determinants simultaneously or consecutively. One key example we would be focusing on would be the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014. The Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a lethal zoonotic disease caused by an infection with one of the five recognised ebolavirus species, with the Zaire ebolavirus species being responsible for this particular epidemic (3). As of 13 May 2016, a total of 28,616 cases 11,310 deaths was reported (4), making it the largest known outbreak of Ebola.

The collapse of public health campaigns and inadequacies in public health systems adds to the dissemination of emerging diseases. One of the main reasons for the emergence of Ebola in parts of Africa is the substandard active healthcare systems where the virus happened. The nations, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone are the hardest-hit and among the poorest in the world. After decades of dispute and civil conflict, their healthcare systems are essentially obliterated or significantly weakened and, in some regions, leaving behind a generation of uneducated young people. Restricted trained medical workforce, substandard facilities and equipment, incompetent administration and financing for the healthcare industry all leads to the accelerated spread (5). Healthcare professionals of Ebola patients are at utmost danger of contracting it as they are considerably more likely to be in near proximity with infected blood or body fluids. The elevated mortality rate of health practitioners in this outbreak has damaging repercussions that further delay infection control. It exhausts one of the most indispensable assets during any infection outbreak control. In the three worst-affected countries, WHO approximates that only one to two physicians are accessible to care for 100,000 people, and they tend to be heavily concentrated in bigger towns (6). Quarantine areas and hospital promptness for control measures are basically non-existent. Contact tracing of ill persons are being executed but not diligently quarantined for supervision. At the beginning of the Ebola epidemic, limited capacity to rapidly distinguish alleged cases, confirm diagnoses and implementing preventative measures led to pervasive spread (7). By the time outbreak control was attained, there were already extensive and devastating effects on Ebola patients and their families, as well as the countries’ health and financial systems (8) and population health (9).

Sociocultural actions that contradict disease outbreak regulations also play a role in emerging diseases. The predominant acceptance of particular long-established and spiritual rituals among West African populations had huge adverse impacts on the dissemination of Ebola. In Guinea, 60% of incidents have been associated with customary funerals. One of the most frequently carried out burial customs, which notably aided the dissemination of Ebola, is the rinsing and bathing of the corpse. Another stated funeral tradition is that of the family of the deceased touching the face of the corpse in what is understood as a ‘love touch’ that reinforces harmony between the living and their ancestors (10) and then proceeding to clean their hands in a shared washbasin. Given that the primary method of human-to-human transmission of the Ebola virus is through direct contact with infected body secretions as constantly described in the Ebola epidemic, the funeral and burial rituals mentioned before indirectly leads to dissemination of the disease (11). Fear causes individuals who have had contact with infected persons to evade supervision, families to conceal symptomatic relatives or bring them to indigenous doctors, and patients to escape from medical facilities. Fear and the aggression that can follow have jeopardised the safety of domestic and global medical emergency units. The fact that Ebola is often lethal and incurable further promotes alarm and continuation of these risky actions, highlighting the significance of needing medical anthropologists on the medical emergency units. This established that solely using scientific techniques without an all-inclusive regard for other circumstantial elements is not enough to regulate disease outbreak. Control measures must operate within the customs, not against it (12).

In an ever more integrated and connected world, the spreading of infectious diseases through global travel and trade is much simpler. West Africa is exemplified by a large scale of migration across extremely unregulated geographical boundaries (13), with new findings approximating that migration in these countries is seven times higher than other places globally. A huge proportion of the population in these nations do not have stable and waged jobs. Their pursuits to seek employment leads to ever-changing migration across these unchecked geographical boundaries. Migration produced two major obstacles. Firstly, cross-border contact tracing is challenging. People promptly migrate to other countries, but medical emergency units do not. Secondly, patients from bordering nations looking for vacant treatment beds are drawn to nations that are progressing in outbreak control, hence inciting transmission chains. The customary practice of returning, frequently over extensive distances, to a local village to lay to rest alongside ancestors is an alternative aspect of migration that involves an exceptionally huge dissemination threat. The epidemic in West Africa has caused fear and also infection miles away in the United States and Spain. Briefly, local threats now have global ramifications (14).

Climate change and global warming is progressively becoming a global issue as well as playing a part in the rise of infectious diseases. As Earth’s temperature rises and environments change, diseases can disseminate into novel geographical regions. A few research papers have stated the effect of global warming and climate change on the African Ebola epidemic (15) and the migratory patterns of fruit bats (16). Colonies of fruit bats migrate to regions where ecological settings are more advantageous for survival due to diminished rainfall, warmer climate and land degradation in their ecological niches in the tropical rainforest. During times of low fruit abundance in tropical rainforest, huge numbers of fruit bats travel extensive lengths to exploit fruit availability in other areas (17), with stop-overs offering a rare chance for natives to vastly hunt bats. Hunting these bats puts them at a bigger threat of zoonotic infections. Molecular examination has shown that the biological pathogen responsible for the West African epidemic diverged from the Central African ZEBOV strain about ten years ago (18). Likewise, antibodies against ZEBOV have been identified in migratory bats in faraway regions, such as Bangladesh (19) and Ghana (20), suggesting the possibility of Central African migratory fruit bats to spread the virus into other regions. Evidently, the impacts of global warming and climate change on fruit bats’ migratory patterns, from their ecological niches in the tropical rainforest of Central Africa to other faraway regions, may have potential international health outcomes. Certainly, it is a concerning world issue that vector-borne diseases, particularly mosquito-borne diseases, may produce an extensive span of emerging infectious diseases in time to come.

Numerous viruses demonstrated a high mutation rate and can quickly evolve to produce novel variants (21). Influenza viruses are useful examples of emerging and re-emerging infectious pathogens in their ability to quickly evolve following changes in host and environmental conditions via various genetic pathways. Influenza virus is recognised for its competency in altering its genetic material. There are two types of genetic mutations in Influenza A virus. Firstly, a genetic drift refers to a point mutation resulting in a slight alteration of surface antigens, producing a new variant of the same virus which leads to periodic influenza infections. Secondly, a genetic shift refers to genetic segments being translocated among Influenza A viruses from distinct species (e.g. human, birds and pigs), producing an entirely novel strain (22). Huge alterations of the influenza virus can lead to pandemics as the human immune system is not ready to identify and guard against the novel strain (23). Moreover, influenza viruses can evolve and persist for years via various genetic pathways in response to evading constant human immune pressures. Over the past decades, the 1918 influenza pandemic virus have constantly evolved via antigenic drift, reassortment between the same subtype and antigenic shift, with the latter yielding new strains in the 1957 Asian flu and 1968 Hongkong flu (24). Additionally, the 2009 flu pandemic involving the genetically complex H1N1 influenza virus is a descendant of the 1918 Spanish flu virus (24). By comparing Figure 1 and Figure 2, the emergence of multiple new variants of Influenza virus can be seen within a short time span of 4 years. The ever-changing genetic material of influenza viruses drives us to research and develop new influenza vaccines containing new antigens annually.

Whilst the world population grows and expands into new locations, the likelihood of people coming into close contact with animal species that are possible hosts of a transmittable pathogen increases. In combination with rises in population density and migration, it is evident that this presents a significant risk to population health. The 2009 Influenza A H1N1 strain was due to genetic reassortment from three distinct species: one genetic segment from human Influenza A H3N2, two segments from avian Influenza A H1N1 and five segments from swine H1N1 (25). The likelihoods of significant genetic mutations happening and then transmitted to humans are higher when humans live near to farmed animals such as chickens, ducks, and pigs. These animals are usual hosts of influenza virus, providing opportunities for the combination of different strains to produce new variants of influenza that have not emerged before. Avian H5N1 influenza, which appeared more than ten years ago, has been restricted to comparatively uncommon occurrences of the disease in humans who were in direct contact with infected birds. The H5N1 virus is extremely lethal with the majority of cases being fatal, although it has yet to develop transmissibility to humans. On the contrary, the 2009 H1N1 influenza, which was introduced into humans from pigs, was highly transmissible between humans. The H1N1 virus spread globally rapidly due to human mobility, especially air travel. Fortunately, the H1N1 virus was not as lethal as the H5N1 virus. The emergence of an influenza virus that is as lethal as the avian H5N1 virus and as contagious as the swine H1N1 virus would pose a substantial risk to global population health.

Even as eliminating particular infectious diseases and to considerably regulate many others become extremely achievable, it appears implausible that we will eradicate the majority of emerging infectious diseases in the near future. Disease-causing pathogens are capable of rapid genetic mutations, resulting in novel phenotypic characteristics that exploit the host and environment. Meanwhile, novel human diseases keep surfacing. Epidemics still draw international awareness and need considerable global cohesion to control and regulate, whether or not they become more prevalent. With uncompromising alertness, current focused investigation, and quick advancement and implementation of several measures to counteract the threat such as monitoring means, diagnostics, drugs, and vaccines, we can overcome pathogenic advantages. In this period of time, there are various significant emerging, re-emerging, and unchanging infectious diseases are becoming more in check. Nonetheless, the triumph of preventing the numerous novel emerging diseases that will definitely emerge is uncertain. Even though we have countless means to tackle diseases, including readiness strategies and hoards of medicines and vaccines, every novel disease brings a set of different challenges, pushing us to constantly change together with the ever-changing threats. The fight against emerging infectious diseases is always ongoing; success does not imply eradicating every single disease but instead being ready in advance of subsequent ones.

Key immune system boosters

As we head into shorter, colder, damper days, and the colds, coughs and flus start to do the rounds, it’s time to think about what we can do to help boost our immune systems. But what exactly is our immune system? It’s the system of the body responsible for protecting us from environmental and external threats, and relies on a system of cells, organs and tissues, many of which are part of other systems too.

For example, our first line of defence is actually our skin, which acts as a barrier, keeping foreign invaders out. We have membranes in our nose and mouth, and tonsils in our throats which are also a first line of defence against unwanted bugs! And our stomach contains acid which will kill some bacteria.  Whilst the skin, respiratory system and gut do a great job of protecting us, they unfortunately can’t stop everything getting through, so then our white blood cells kick into action, tracking down the invaders and trying to destroy them. In addition, they also remember them so that if you are infected again with the same pathogen, you have an army ready to pounce and destroy! Pretty clever huh?

However, our immune system can be weakened and compromised. A weak Immune System is an open invitation to sickness and disease. A strong Immune system can stop sickness and disease in its tracks

So how can we boost our immune system, to help it stay at the top of its game?

There are 5 key immune system boosters:

• Energy – we can boost our immune system by increasing our energy

• Exercise – we can boost our immune system by getting the right type and amount of exercise. I highlight these points because I see so many people doing too much of the wrong exercise, which actually weakens their immune system!

• Stress – or minimising it as much as possible (and this is physical stress as well as mental, so re-read my point above on exercise…)

• Anti-oxidants – ensuring we have enough anti-oxidants in our body to fight the free radicals we’re exposed to

• Alkalinity – ensuring an acid/alkaline balance which is critical to our health

• Nutrition – ensuring the right nutrition and the correct amount, for our bodies

Today I’m going to focus on foods, nutrients and antioxidants for their immune boosting properties, and how we can incorporate them into our diet.

ANTIOXIDANTS

A number of anti-oxidant nutrients play a really important role in immunity

Most invaders produce oxidising chemicals known as free radicals to fight off the troops of your immune system.  Antioxidant nutrients such as vitamins A, C and E, zinc and selenium disarm these free radicals, weakening the invader.

Vitamin A – Helps maintain integrity of digestive tract, lungs & cell membranes, meaning it helps prevent foreign agents entering

Vitamin E – Improves white cell function and increases production

Zinc – Is critical for immune cell production and functioning of B and T cells

Selenium – Inhibits viral replication – i.e. stops them multiplying

Best sources of these antioxidants?

Vitamin A – Carrots, dark leafy greens, sweet potato, liver, bell peppers

Vitamin E – foods that contain fat. E.g. avocado, seeds, nuts

Zinc – Seafood, beef/lamb, spinach, pumpkin seeds, nuts

Selenium – Brazil nuts, seafood, fish and seaweed

VITAMIN C

Vitamin C is known as the master immune boosting nutrient and more than a dozen roles have been identified for it in this capacity

• It helps immune cells to mature and increases production

• It improves the performance of antibodies and macrophage cells

• It is itself an anti-viral and anti-bacterial agent

• It can destroy toxins produced by bacteria

• In addition, it is a natural anti-histamine, calming down inflammation (e.g. hayfever)

• It stimulates another part of the immune-defence system to produce interferons (signalling proteins) that boost immunity by coating cell surfaces to prevent viruses entering them

• However, the dosage of vitamin C is crucial.  Only studies that used over 1 gram daily were effective, whilst the RDA is 60 mg / day. There is some controversy surrounding large doses of Vitamin C. Personally I take 1000mg a day and more when I’m coming down with something.

Best sources of Vitamin C?

Citrus, tart fruits (berries), green leafy veg e.g. spinach/kale, red peppers, sprouts, broccoli, pineapple, papaya and mango.

PROBIOTICS

Probiotics are known as nature’s antibiotics or beneficial bacteria. You no doubt have heard of their benefits to your gut, but you might not be aware of their importance in aiding the immune system.

• They consume the nutrients that would otherwise feed the bad guys

• They block receptor sites that harmful bacteria have to latch onto to cause an infection.

• They also produce substances such as lactic acid and hydrogen peroxide which stop harmful bacteria from growing.

• They are important in the treatment of cancer, allergies, and infections caused by viruses, parasites and yeasts.

• They have lots of other benefits – such as improved digestive system, increased energy production (Vitamin B12), and helping weight loss

Best sources of probiotics?

Bio Live yoghurt, kefir (fermented milk drink), sauerkraut (fermented cabbage), miso soup, pickles, Tempeh (soy product from Indonesia), raw cheese (unpasteurised).

There are also prebiotics to consider, which are the foods that feed our good bacteria and include things like raw onions, garlic, leeks, artichokes, asparagus, and bananas.

OTHER IMMUNE BOOSTING FOODS

There are many foods that can help to boost our immune systems. Turmeric, cayenne pepper, lemon oil and juice, fresh or ground ginger, garlic and cinnamon are all extremely helpful in supporting the immune system to do its vital job of protecting us.

I try to use most of these things in my daily routine, which looks something like this:

• A glass of water with a drop of lemon essential oil, or squeezed lemon, first thing in the morning before anything else – wonderful for cleansing the digestive system, boosting the immune system and supporting the liver

• A mug of turmeric latte mid-morning or before bed, with turmeric, ground ginger and cinnamon in.

• I always try to cook with garlic each day, whether it’s a curry, a stir fry or a soup.

There are so many things you can do to help to support your natural defence system; you don’t need to do everything I’ve suggested, but just incorporating a few of the suggestions above will help to boost your immune system and hopefully fight off the colds and flus this winter.

Scurvy and Asbestosis: essay help online

Scurvy- Nutritional

Cause

Scurvy is a Non-Infectious Nutritional Disease caused by severe and chronic vitamin C (ascorbic acid) deficiency. It is most prominent commonly in people with mental disorders, abnormal eating habits and Alcoholism

Signs, Symptoms and Effects

Scurvy causes widespread symptoms. Signs of Scurvy begin after at least four weeks of severe, continual vitamin C deficiency. It usually takes three or more months for symptoms to develop and become of notice to the patient.

Signs

Signs are identified when the person acknowledges the presence or occurrence of Scurvy.

These include:

• Aching legs

• Irritability- easily irritated or annoyed; readily excited to impatience or anger.

• Low-grade fever

• Reduced Appetite

• Unexplained Exhaustion

• Weakness- the state or quality of being weak; lack of strength, firmness, vigor, or the like; feebleness.

Symptoms

Symptoms are identified when the person acknowledges Scurvy through the phenomenon and/or circumstances accompanying and/or serving as evidence for it.

These include:

• Anaemia- when the blood lacks enough red blood cells or haemoglobin

• Areas of red/blue/black bruising, on the legs and feet

• Blurred vision

• Bruising raised bumps at hair follicles, on the shins, with central hairs that appear twisted and can break easily.

• Diarrhoea

• Eye dryness, irritation, and haemorrhaging in the whites of the eyes (conjunctiva) or optic nerve.

• Gastrointestinal bleeding¬- is all forms of bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract, from the mouth to the rectum.

• Gingivitis, or red, soft, and tender gums that bleed easily

• Headache

• Light sensitivity

• Irritability and depression

• Nausea- unpleasant, diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, often perceived as an urge to vomit

• Reduced wound healing and immune health

• Shortness of breath

• Small bleeding around hair follicles visible in the skin

• Tender, swollen joints

• Tooth decay

Effects

If these symptoms are left untreated for an extended amount of time complications can arise leading to:

• Coma

• Convulsions- where body muscles contract and relax rapidly and repeatedly, resulting in an uncontrolled shaking of the body

• Death

• Delirium- is an organically caused decline from a previously baseline level of mental function

• Hemolysis- a type of anaemia where red blood cells break down

• Internal haemorrhaging- is a loss of blood that occurs from the vascular system into a body cavity or space

• Neuropathy and/or numbness and pain usually in the lower limbs and hands

• Organ failure

• Severe jaundice- which is yellowing of the skin and eyes

• Tooth loss

Prevention Methods

After diagnosis through a physician, a physical exam is conducted which leads to lab tests to assess vitamin C levels within the blood. Scurvy can be prevented by simply consuming vitamin in the diet, and or supplement form.

The Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand by the Australian National Health and Medical

Research Council (NHMRC) and the New Zealand Ministry of Health (MoH) show the recommendations of Vitamin C intake by Life Stage and Gender on Pg. 5

Treatment and/or management

To treat and manage Scurvy, Vitamin C which can be administrated through supplements by mouth or injection. Vitamin C is widely available. Citrus fruits like oranges, limes, and lemons have traditionally been used to prevent and treat scurvy.

In severe, chronic, cases of scurvy, it is recommended high-doses of oral vitamin C supplements for several weeks to months. There’s no compromise on a specific dose for severe scurvy. For these cases it is recommended that high doses of oral vitamin C are used for several weeks or longer.

Patients usually see an improvement in some symptoms within a day or two of treatment such as decreased pain, exhaustion, confusion, headache and mood swings. More symptoms may take a few weeks to improve following treatment such as weakness, bleeding, bruising and jaundice. After 3 months, a complete recovery is possible except in the case of severe dental damage.

Epidemiological Study- Incidence, Prevalence and Mortality Rates

Incidence

NHANES 2004

Men Women Total Average

(Ethnicity)

Non-Hispanic White 11.8% 8.2% 10%

Non-Hispanic Black 8.9% 5% 6.95%

Mexican 7.7% 4.2% 5.95%

Total Average

(Sex) 9.5% 5.8%

This table represents the NHANES 2004 study on the American Incidence rate for Scurvy. In Sex and Ethnicity comparison we can see that Non-Hispanic White Men have a slightly increased risk of obtaining Scurvy in comparison to Non-Hispanic White Women (3.6% difference). Non-Hispanic Black Men have an increased risk over Non-Hispanic Black Women (3.9% difference). Mexican Men also have an increased risk of Scurvy (3.7%).

This study shows Scurvy to be prevalent in Men than Women with a 3.7 % difference. Mexican Males and Females were least at risk. The common assumption for these results is the Mexican Diet is rich in chilies, tomatoes, and squashes, which are high in vitamin C.

Prevalence

NHANES 1994

MALE FEMALE AVERAGE

14% 10% 12%

NHANES 2003-2004

MALE FEMALE AVERAGE

8.2% 6% 7.1%

NHANES 2005-2006

(among men and women older than 6 years)

AVERAGE

3.6%

This table represents the overall Scurvy prevalence rate within the American Population.

Overall between 1994-2004 we can see the Male sex at highest Prevalence for Scurvy. In the 1994, we see that the average is 12%, and over 9-10 years we see a drop of 4.9%. In 2005-2006, the average drastically drops to 3.6%.

Mortality

After continuous research through websites and reports such as the NHANES 2004, Scurvy seems to be a disease with no mortality rate recorded. Assuming that this is the case, death records could have not been published for privacy reasons. After establishing Signs, Symptoms and Effects, an inference under my common assumption would be that people would notice these Signs, Symptoms and Effects and take the necessary action to treat and/or prevent the effects of Scurvy.

Asbestosis- Environmental

Cause

Asbestosis is a chronic lung disease (form of pulmonary fibrosis) where scarring of the lungs occurs. It is caused and developed by being exposed to Asbestos fibres. Some of the airborne fibres can become wedged within the alveoli (the tiny sacs inside your lungs where oxygen is exchanged for carbon dioxide in your blood). The asbestos fibres scar lung tissue, causing the lungs to become rigid. This makes it difficult to breathe. As asbestosis progresses, more and more lung tissue becomes scarred. Then leading to the lung tissue becoming so rigid that it can’t contract and expand normally.

Signs, Symptoms and Effects

Signs and Symptoms

Signs are identified when the person acknowledges the presence or occurrence of Scurvy and Symptoms are identified when the person acknowledges Scurvy through the phenomenon and/or circumstances accompanying and serving as evidence for it.

These will be conjoined as they reflect each other.

Asbestosis is usually a progressive disease, so signs and symptoms don’t start to appear until approximately 10 to 40 years after exposure to asbestos.

These include:

• Appetite loss

• Chest pain and tightness in your chest

• Crackling sound when inhaling and exhaling

• Fatigue

• Finger and toe clubbing- enlarged fingertips

• Loss of weight

• Nail deformities

• Persistent dry cough

• Shortness of breath

Effects

If these symptoms are left untreated for an extended amount of time, complications can arise.

As noted before Asbestosis is usually a progressive disease. Patients who have and/or are suffering from Asbestosis have many increased risks of developing:

• Bronchitis- inflammation of the larger airways in your lungs, causing an ongoing cough

• Heart related issues- Enlargement of Heart, Abnormal heart rhythm and Heart failure

• Lung Cancer- is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells that start off in one or both lungs

• Pneumonia- lung inflammation in the air sacs which will fill with pus and may become solid.

Inhalation of asbestos fibres can also lead to four types of non-cancerous abnormalities in the lining of the chest cavity which include:

• Diffuse thickening and fibrosis of the pleura

• Fluid in the pleural space- pleural effusion

• Folded lung or rounded atelectasis- occurs when an area of pleural fibrosis rolls into the lung making an area of the lung airless

• Localized deposits of collagen- pleural plaques

Prevention Methods

Elimination of all exposure will eliminate any risk of developing asbestosis. Asbestos fibres are found dominantly in the work place, so the use of other materials and respiratory protection (i.e. Face mask) and overall body protective gear minimises exposure.

Effects can also be prevented by the cessation of smoking and Immunisation against pneumonia and influenza which will prevent future effects.

Treatment and/or management

Even though Asbestosis is irreversible, there is treatment to help patients live through their diagnosis. Treatment focuses on the patient’s ability to breathe without the discomfort that comes with asbestosis.

Doctors recommend medications which include:

• Bronchodilators (inhalers)- help relax airways which provide relief

• Medications to thin secretions

• Supplemental oxygen- Oxygen is transferred from a tank through a plastic tube that has two prongs that fit into your nostrils. This helps with breathing

• Pain medications- reducing pain and inflammation

In more severe cases surgery may be recommended and rarely will call upon a lung transplant.

Epidemiological Study- Incidence, Prevalence and Mortality  Rates

Incidence

Quite like the outcome for mortality rates in Scurvy, Incidence studies for Abestosis were not available for use.

Prevalence

This graph is the compensated claims for asbestosis: number by sex, 2002 to 2011. It shows a form of prevalence for Abestosis within Australia. In this graph we see the male sex being dominant with Females number of claims stays neutral (under 50 claims). In 2002, the Male number of claims was 300+. We see a slight incline then a quite dramatic drop which stops in 2006 at 200 claims. A record low is record at 100 claims in 2011.

Mortality

Annual deaths where death certificates mentioned asbestosis but not mesothelioma, and excluding the IIDB cases 1978-2017

This graph shows an increasing rate over the years 1978-2013. In comparison between these dates we see a 28.6% increased from an estimated 100 death rate to 500 (2013 onward).

From this study, HSE mentions that in recent years, around 2-3% of these deaths were among women.

Average annual male death rates based on death certificates mentioning asbestosis but not mentioning mesothelioma by age and time period, 1978-2016.

There are many distinct inconsistencies between the rates between the different age groups which will touched on later.

The table shows us the link between age and death rates in males. Death rates from ages 60-69 years have been falling since 1980

Between ages 45-90+ we see a dramatic comparison. Common assumptions and statistical observations may suggest that males of older age dealt with higher levels asbestos fibres due to the time period.

Climate change demands drastic change to save humanity: college application essay help

Deforestation, coastal destruction, extreme weather events are just some of the costly irreversible effects of climate change. This terrifying crisis that we are currently facing demands drastic change to save humanity and the degradation of the environment.

Human activity has resulted in the increase of atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide by more than thirty percent since pre-industrial times. This has resulted in many countries being vulnerable to wild fires, flooding and high pollution levels. In recent years, Greenland and The Arctic have experienced rapid glacier melting which has caused rising sea levels and costly damage to coastal towns. Certain organisations behaviour – such as factories and their role in pollution – has caused costs to society to those who not directly involved. An example of this is low lying coastal countries such as the Maldives, whose vulnerability is increasing due to the rising sea levels. The highest point in the Maldives is 8 feet above sea level and with sea level rising on average of 0.09m to 0.37m combined with increased erosion and storms, the Maldivian citizens are increasingly under threat of displacement resulting in a global crisis as there is not enough space for environmental refugees. Unfortunately, those who pay the highest price from the results of climate change are those who have been least responsible.

One solution currently instated is the tax imposed by the government on a good which harms the interest of the community. Despite some evidence of this tax being effective, these minor changes are insufficient in preventing the impending disaster for all living things. As the government imposes the tax many issues can arise. The monetary value of cost to society is difficult if not impossible to measure. The government can fail to get the tax right as they lack the information needed to accurately set the tax. The government can also act in ways not in public interest, instead in ways to boost election votes. As a result, the needs of the government may be inconsistent with the needs of society. Overall the taxes in place currently fail to reduce the human contribution towards climate change therefore radical change is required.

Climate change is resulting in destruction of habitats in events such as wildfires in Canada. As our consumer habits continue to become more luxurious, due to individuals becoming richer, our wasteful culture will get increasingly more problematic. In 2017 there were 71,000 wildfires compared to 66,000 in 2016. As more wildfires burn through our forest habitats our resources are wasted causing inefficiency. This is a wasteful, ineffective use of scarce resources which is unsustainable for future generations, prompting the need for change.

An alternative to a tax is a more market-based approach with the idea of bargaining to internalise the issue into the market. A traditionalist would argue this approach is more successful however I believe this solution is not enough to help our global struggle. Capitalism drives social and environmental injustice creating further issues. For bargaining to be successful and enable both parties to be better off the market needs to be developed. This is an issue for developing countries where markets and institutions are often underdeveloped so they lack the resources and information to bargain successfully. Further failure is caused as negotiations are difficult as both parties need to agree on an end result.

Those who believe in free markets would argue scarcity and pollution will encourage innovation and growth therefore discovering substitutes and developing technology. However, with the present level of red tape in markets, new technologies and production methods are unable to be developed. Entrepreneurs are limited in their product development so the state of the climatic condition will remain. Global cooperation is also needed to effectively reduce emissions and whilst influential countries such as America and China fail to cooperate in agreements like The Paris agreement the future environmental state is under threat.

As a planet we have the means to stop and tools available to save our environment for future generations however we need more action as minor solutions are insufficient. Fossil fuels need to remain in the ground replaced by cleaner renewable energy sources. For example, China is leading the way in the clean energy boom with big dams and solar panel farms. China produces two-thirds of the world’s solar panels with the Huanghe farm being the biggest in the world with four million solar panels on site. If governments act now we believe we can have a hundred percent renewable energy access for all by 2050.

Rich industrialised countries need to change whilst developing countries need to clean up how they industrialise resulting in reduced carbon dioxide emissions. The window for change is small so action needs to be taken now. Overconsumption is a big issue for society today and the levels of waste are increasingly rising. As a result, we need to radically change our consumption habits. Overconsumption of scarce resources such as natural resources, energy and water is unsustainable resulting in irreversible effects on the environment. We now consume too much of the earth’s resources such that we are near to overstepping the earth’s capacity. With our scarce resources and level of growth some say resources will be depleted by 2100. Therefore, conservation of our resources is needed. Our levels of waste are at exceptionally high levels such that in 2016 they reached a staggering 2.01 billion tonnes of solid waste. This releases pollution through landfills leading to more greenhouse emissions and enhancing the climate change impacts. In order to prevent further environmental degradation companies and households need to dramatically reduce waste levels by recycling and consuming less.

Direct action is needed – the current solutions in place are not enough. Now is the time for fundamental change – we can stop this together.

External factors affecting Nike footwear and apparel sector in the UK

1.0 Executive Summary

The objective of this report is to identify the external factors affecting the Nike footwear and apparel sector in the United Kingdom. The analysis for the external factors affecting Nike Inc in UK will be obtained by using the Porters Five Force. The five forces method will be applied by focusing on the female market, athleisure, wearable technology and emerging markets.

1.1 Porter 5 Forces

Porter (1980) states that the competition in any industry is dependent on 5 factors which are:

1. Buyer Power

2. Supplier Power

3. New Entrants

4. Threats of Substitutes

5. Degree of Rivalry

The details of each of the five factors are mentioned in the appendix below.

2.0 The UK Footwear Industry

According to Market Line (2017) the UK footwear industry grew by 1.9% in 2017 to reach a value of 11,196.5 million$ and is expected to reach a value of 12,645 million$ by 2022 which is an increase of 12.9% since 2017. Nike remains the leading player in the footwear market in the UK at 13 % value share.

2.1 Athleisure

According to a report carried out on Passport (Mar 2018) athleisure remains a part of consumer lifestyle. This is mainly due to the consumers interest in their appearance while exercising while their general fitness continues. This trend has a positive impact on sportswear in particular with sports inspired apparel and footwear. Athleisure is expected to continue to evolve over the next 5 years as consumers embrace sportswear as daily clothing and match it with fashionable items. Collaboration between sportswear and fashion brands is only going to boost this trend and keep growing in the future. Sportswear brands that focus on performance have the opportunity to make their products functional and also make a fashion statement which helps them diversify their product portfolio. (Euromonitor International 2018)

The red-hot athleisure trend has led many retailers and brands to unveil their own collection in recent years, and the term has been added to the dictionary. The “sport leisure” style has become the largest category in the US sneaker space beating “performance”- oriented footwear. (Forbes 2018)

While athletic wear was created for a specific use i.e. for sports or athletics athleisure clothing could theoretically be for any use and this versatility of athleisure clothing has attracted so many consumers to this category. It’s also generally more durable, with properties like wrinkle and odour resistance incorporated into its techy fibres. (Business Insider 2017)

2.2 Technology

According to Euromonitor International (2018) there is growing trend of wearable technology in today’s global market due to which sportswear and wearable tech is beginning to merge and is expected to continue over the years. In today market wearable technology is limited to heart rate tracking and movement. This is predominately due to less affordability. But as consumers become more tech savvy products will become more sophisticated. Personalisation is said to be the key to wearable technology. For example, Samsung showcased a belt at CES 2017 which record similar statistics of any fitness watch but also provides personalise weight management and healthcare plan. (Euromonitor International 2018)

Nike used to have their own branded Nike fuel band designed to compete with Fitbit and others. Nikes efforts ultimately failed, and the company shut down the entire project. Nike was a $32 billion a year revenue company in 2016 while Fitbit was on $2 billion. This shows the size of the company has very little to do with the success of wearables and some of the biggest players have difficulties. (Forbes 2016)

Nike’s plan in the wearable tech space was to focus on making apps instead of the higher-priced but lower-margin FuelBand hardware after growing a sizeable online community. The company’s decision is complicated by the longstanding partnership and board relation between Apple and Nike. (Financial Times 2014)

2.3 Female Market

Sneaker culture has long been the province of men. For years, the typical line-up of sneaker heads waiting for the latest drop was almost completely composed of teenage boys. However, to change this and as a part of its stated ambition to grow its $6.6 billion women’s business to $11 billion by 2020, the American sportswear giant unveiled Unlaced: a new retail concept during the Paris Fashion week that the company is calling “a fantasy sneaker destination for women” (Business of Fashion 2018)

For years, athletic products for women were simply designs for men in smaller sizers and more feminine colours. However, the ‘shrink it and pint it’ strategy no longer works. In 2016 apparel sales grew by 3 percent, reaching $218.7 billion according to data compiled by the NPD Group. Athleisure continued to be a top growing segment that year, with an 11 percent increase that made it a $45.9 billion market. Including women in the sportswear comes at a time when the account for a significant share of all buying decisions. A 2013 Nielsen report reveals that American women alone wield $5 trillion to the $15 trillion purchasing power annually. (Business of Fashion 2017)

2.4 Emerging Markets

The health and fitness industry in China are expanding a t a rapid pace and is expected to generate more than $5 billion in 2015, after an average yearly growth of 14% over the past five years. Nike is capturing this trend and the company registered a 27% growth in revenues from Greater China in the 6 months period ended in November 2015, compared to the same period in the previous year. Greater China was the fastest growing region for the company in this period, with growth figures for North America being 9%. Nike with more than 10 % share of the market is well poised to consolidate its position in the region which can be a key revenue driver for the company in the future. (Forbes 2016)

3.0 BIBLOGRAPHY

Business Insider UK. (2017, April 4). How athleisure overtook fashion to become the dominant way that Americans dress. Retrieved November 18, 2018, from Business Insider UK: http://uk.businessinsider.com/athleisure-is-more-than-a-trend-2017-3

Business of Fashion. (2018, February 28). Nike Showcases Big Bet on Women’s Sneaker Market. Retrieved November 18, 2018, from Business of Fashion: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/nike-showcases-big-bet-on-womens-sneaker-market-paris

Business of Fashion. (2017, September 20). Global Sportswear Brands Making a Play for Women. Retrieved Nov (Placeholder1)ember 18, 2018, from Business of Fashion: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/intelligence/how-sportswear-brands-are-making-a-play-for-women

Financial Times. (2014, April 21) Nike’s FuelBand runs into trouble. Retrieved November 18,2018, from Financial Times: https://www.ft.com/content/b4813032-c972-11e3-89f8-00144feabdc0

Forbes. (2016, January 13). How China Could Be the Key Driver of Nike’s Future Revenues. Retrieved November 18, 2018, from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2016/01/13/how-china-could-be-the-key-driver-of-nikes-future-revenues/#736aa78013c1

Forbes. (2016, August 18). It’s a Jungle Out There in Wearable Technology. Retrieved November 18, 2018, from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/moorinsights/2016/08/18/its-a-jungle-out-there-in-wearable-technology/#1e4951f0109b

Forbes. (2018, February 9). The Athleisure Trend Isn’t Taking A Rest. Retrieved November 18, 2018, from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/andriacheng/2018/02/09/here-are-some-more-signs-athleisure-trend-still-has-legs/#497d943433cb

MarketLine. (2017). United Kingdom – Footwear. London: MarketLine.

MarketLine. (2018). United Kingdom – Footwear. London: MarketLine.

Passport. (March 2018). Sportswear in United Kingdom. London: Euromonitor International

4.0 Appendix – Five Force Analysis

4.1 Buyer Power

According to Market Line (2018) buyers in this market footwear purchases are a necessity so overall sale volumes are high as there are plenty of buyers. This reduces the power of individual consumers. However, UK consumers are becoming more environmentally conscious when purchasing footwear, recognising the benefits of better quality of shoes with a longer lifecycle. Footwear can be expensive so in times of weak economic growth purchases are less frequent. The current demand is also becoming increasingly depended

or repair the footwear they currently own; but this is not a significant factor in the UK. The only real substitute is sports oriented footwear like football boots and indoor gym shoes but as these are on fashion trends which drives up the power of market players as a consumer cannot switch to a different product without losing some attractive features of the products, they currently own. (Market Line 2018)

4.2 Supplier Power

According to Market Line (2018) most of the footwear sold in the global market are sourced from low cost manufacturing location mainly from South-East Asia. So many western manufacturers are unable to compete with the mainstream footwear market. The high number of manufacturers in low cost manufacturing regions provided potential for switching and this coupled with the economic advantage held by western retailers and wholesalers, the power of suppliers is weakened. Due to this it is difficult for manufacturers to establish themselves in retail so there is hardly any forward integration except for the popular brand names. The rising price of raw materials also causes trouble in the footwear market which in turn affects footwear sales and product mix. (Market Line 2018)

4.3 New Entrants

As per Market Line (2018) the cost for retail operations are relatively low new entrants are fairly common. However, as this market has a large number of well-established retail groups that can leverage significant economies of scale through bulk purchasing and pooling of back office operations it is often difficult for new entrants to substantially expand their operations. (Market Line 2018)

4.4 Threats of Substitutes

According to Market Line (2018) footwear is a necessity the threat of substitutes in the footwear market is very limited. In less developed economies it is common for consumers to wear second-hand shoes only used for specific activities they don’t pose a real threat. Online footwear sales channel is a fast-growing threat, but majority of traditional footwear retailers are recognising this and are moving into multi-channel sales to stay competitive. Another potential threat for domestic suppliers is the value and volume of directly purchased footwear from overseas. (Market Line 2018)

4.5 Degree of Rivalry

According to Market Line (2018) even though footwear retailing is highly fragmented the market is dominated by large retail groups between whom there is a high degree of rivalry. Competition is also increasing as foreign retailers and footwear specialists are entering the domestic market introducing more styles and brands. Traditional footwear delivery which is based on two seasons is changing towards the fast fashion environment. Due to this more and more consumers are buying shoes on impulse. Hence the market expects to see a more rapid change of assortment with diversity. As this generates more sales, manufacturers are responding to this trend further intensifying the competition. (Market Line 2018)

Review of ‘New Evidence on the Tool-Assisted Hunting Exhibited by Chimpanzees’: college essay help

“New Evidence on the Tool-Assisted Hunting Exhibited by Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in a Savannah Habitat at Fongoli, Sénégal”: Critical Review

Introduction

The chimpanzee population of Fongoli, Sénégal are the only known non-human primate population to systematically (rather than opportunistically) use tool-assisted hunting techniques to capture vertebrate prey. This study examines the tool-assisted hunting patterns of these chimpanzees by both age and sex classes to test the hypothesis that the hunting patterns of Fongoli chimpanzees differ from other chimpanzee populations. Tool-assisted hunting allows for chimpanzees to obtain prey, who would otherwise be unlikely to do so. This study suggests that the frequency of females engaging in tool-assisted hunting at Fongoli can be explained by the social tolerance among the Fongoli chimpanzees, with prey theft being far less frequent than it is in other chimpanzee populations. The tool-assisted hunting patterns of the Fongoli chimpanzees give insight into the importance of the tool-assisted hunting of early hominins, suggesting that they would have had to enhance the tools that they used to hunt in order to overcome environmental pressures. This study is especially relevant to gaining insight into the hunting patterns of early hominins, as the savannah environment of Fongoli is ecologically similar to the environment they would have lived in.

DISCUSSION

Methodology, Research, and Discussion

The number of Chimpanzees in the Fongoli population ranged from 29-36 over the course of the study, averaging at about 31.7 chimpanzees annually. Some females were only semi-habituated when systematic behavioural observation commenced. Adult males were the focal subjects of the study and adult female hunting behaviour was only analysed in mixed-sex hunting groups. The age-classes studied were defined as: infants (less than 4 years), juveniles (4-7 years), adolescents (7-15 years males or females before giving birth) and adults (males 15+ years or females after giving birth). Hunting was classified as: capture (when a hunt was observed), capture out of sight (when a hunt was not observed but possession occurred after an observed chase or when tool-assisted hunting was heard), and possession (when no hunt was observed, but chimpanzee had a prey’s carcass in its possession). The tool-assisted hunting methods that chimpanzees use in order to capture vertebrate prey, such as Galago prey, is considered hunting, as the prey is mobile, hostile, and chimpanzees show an aversion to being attacked by them. In most analyses, infant and juvenile data was combined, as no successful hunt was ever recorded for this age group, and their skill level was deemed insufficient for hunting.

Over the course of the study, a total of 99 hunting cases were observed, including both tool-assisted and non-tool assisted hunting. There were 41 hunts classified as capture, 50 as possession, and 8 as captured immediately out of sight. Female chimpanzees accounted for 30% of the hunts and made up 40% of all successful hunters. Galago prey accounted for over half of all vertebrate species the chimpanzees hunted, and tool-assisted Galago capture made up 21% of all hunts. Adult males captured 52% of all Galago prey obtained, however Galago made up a larger proportion of the prey profile of female chimpanzees than males (75% compared to 47%). 308 tool-assisted captures were recorded, making an annual average of 30.8 hunts per year over the course of 10 years. About 95% of tool-assisted hunts occurred during the wet or transitional season. Although males accounted for 61% of the group composition on days when tool-assisted hunting was observed, only 39% of tool-assisted hunts were executed by males. Out of the 44 potential chimpanzee hunters, 35 were observed to hunt with tools over the course of the study. The median number of tool-assisted hunts per individual was 11, with females averaging at 10.6 hunts each, and males at 6.8. The overall tool-assisted hunting success rate at Fongoli was 7.5%, with the overall probability of successful tool-assisted hunting increasing with age. Adult male chimpanzees were the second least-likely of the age-sex class groups to partake in tool-assisted hunting, yet had higher rates of success in this area. This pattern is surprising, as males tend to be the primary hunters among other chimpanzee populations. Galago prey make up most of the prey caught by females, but less than half of the prey caught by males. The low tool-assisted hunting rates of Galago prey in male chimpanzees can be explained by the low effort return it yields, as Galago are relatively small in comparison to the other prey that can be caught by Fongoli chimpanzees. Male hunting of Galago prey can be seen as opportunistic rather than targeted, as they tend to prey on Galago that have already been drawn out of sleeping cavities through the use of tools by other chimpanzees. Fongoli chimpanzees exploit prey typically ignored by chimpanzees at other sites, as the preferred prey of chimpanzees, the red colobus monkey, is not found in the savannah environment. The social tolerance among the Fongoli chimpanzees is surprising, with prey theft occurring less than 5% of the time, compared to 25% of the time at other sites. Therefore, it is more advantageous for females at Fongoli to hunt than at other sites, as the probability of their prey being stolen by a more dominant individual is relatively low. Tool-assisted hunting at Fongoli enables chimpanzees who would otherwise be far less likely to obtain prey to hunt. The information obtained through this study supports the hypothesis that early hominins enhanced the tools they used to hunt in an effort to overcome environmental pressures. It is likely that early hominins engaged in tool-assisted hunting behaviour, as shown through the data obtained at Fongoli.

Discussion of Positive Aspects

I found this article to be extremely interesting. The research they presented was unique, and they showed this by stating that the chimpanzees at Fongoli are the only known non-human primate population to systematically engage in tool-assisted hunting to capture vertebrate prey. I thought that the specification of systematic tool use was especially important, as there are other chimpanzee populations that have been observed to hunt using tools, such as at the Mahale site, where two instances of tool-assisted hunting occurred (Nakamura and Itoh 2008, 3). The authors went beyond simply making this specification, and actually acknowledged the study at Mahale, where tool-assisted hunting was observed. They explained that the rarity of tool-assisted hunting at this site makes this behaviour opportunistic rather than systematic. I thought that the specification of vertebrate prey was also important, given that chimpanzees have been observed to deliberately fashion sophisticated brush-tipped termite fishing probes using herb stems in the Goualougo Triangle, in Congo (Sanz, Call, and Morgan 2009, 294-295). Termite fishing is incredibly similar to the tool-assisted hunting of Galago prey, as both require drawing out prey from cavities, using tools (Hunt 2015). However, the authors prove that the tool-assisted hunting of Galago prey is indeed hunting, by stating that the prey is mobile, can be aggressive, and chimpanzees express aversion to being bitten. Although a lot of the methodology was beyond my level of understanding, aside from the highly complex statistical methods used, I found it relatively easy to understand. I found it extremely helpful that they defined terms such as what is a “successful hunt”. This made it much easier to understand how they obtained their data. They clearly defined the age-sex classes they used to categorize chimpanzees, and the categories of observed hunting. In general, I found this article relatively easy to understand.

Discussion of Negative Aspects

The authors of this paper stated that the environment that the earliest hominins would have lived in is ecologically similar to that of the Fongoli chimpanzees. I thought this was incredibly interesting, however, they did not elaborate on this point whatsoever, making it a rather vague statement. The source they provided does not mention any similarities between the two environments at all, making it confusing where they drew these similarities from (White et al. 2009, 75-86). They provided no comparison of the two environments and did not list the ways that the environments are similar, making these ecological similarities they spoke of very difficult for the reader to see if they are not familiar with both the environments of early hominins, and the Fongoli chimpanzees. The authors described Fongoli as a savannah environment with a “mosaic of woodland, grassland, bamboo and gallery forest habitats” (pg 2). I found this description rather vague, and had a hard time comparing it with the environment described in the source they provided. The authors of this study noted that when systematic behaviour observation began, many female chimpanzees were not fully habituated, expressing distress and agitation around observers when male chimpanzees were not present. The hunting behaviour of adult female chimpanzees was only analyzed when they were in mixed-sex hunting groups, in an effort to prevent the poaching for their infants in the pet trade. Habituation is essential for accurate observations to be made. The behaviour of unhabituated primates differs greatly from habituated primates, as shown in a seven-month study from 2014-2015 of the behavioural changes in moor macaques (Macaca maura) during the habituation process. The macaques in this study went from ignoring the observers less than 20% of the time at the beginning of the habituation process, to ignoring the observers more than 80% of the time towards the end (Hanson and Riley 2017, 10). Given this drastic change in behaviour exhibited by the macaques, I find it highly unlikely that the female chimpanzees would not show any signs of nervousness around the observers when in mixed-sex groups. This would evidently influence their hunting data. Furthermore, it is possible that the hunting behaviour of female chimpanzees would differ in all-female hunting groups. The concerns of habituating the female chimpanzees are valid, however the researchers could have explored other alternatives to physically observing them, such as camera traps, which have been used for behavioural observation in other studies (Pebsworth and LaFleur 2014, 828-829). I felt that some of the conclusions drawn about early hominin behaviour were very unclear and did not have enough information to support them. The authors mentioned that their data supports the hypothesis that environmental pressures caused early hominins to enhance their tool-assisted hunting technology. Although they cited sources they used, I would have liked them to have been more direct, describing which environmental pressures early hominins would have experienced, and how that related to the tool-assisted hunting patterns at Fongoli. Overall, the lack of elaboration of vague points and the failure to completely habituate female chimpanzees makes it rather difficult for me to completely trust the results of this study. The authors must include more evidence on the environment of early hominins and the environmental pressures that they would have experienced and specifically state it in their article, making direct comparisons to the data that they collected in their research, rather than tacking a citation onto the end of a vague statement. In addition, further research on female hunting patterns in all-female groups at Fongoli is required, using either fully habituated chimpanzees, or alternative observation methods.

Conclusion

The purpose of the research presented in this article is to examine the systematic tool-assisted hunting patterns of the Fongoli chimpanzees that are used to catch vertebrate prey. It seeks to highlight environmental and social factors unique to the Fongoli population of chimpanzees that help to explain their systematic tool-assisted hunting patterns and the frequency at which females engage in tool-assisted hunting behaviours. This article links the data obtained at Fongoli with the importance of tools in early hominin hunting behaviour, suggesting that hominins enhanced the development of their hunting tools in response to environmental pressures.

Females accounted for approximately 30% of all hunts observed and made up 40% of all successful hunters. There was an average of 30.8 tool-assisted hunts annually, with 95% of them occurring in either the wet or transitional season. Males were responsible for only 39% of tool-assisted hunts, despite making up 61% of the group composition on days when tool-assisted hunting was observed. The median number of tool-assisted hunts was higher in females than males, with females averaging at 10.6 hunts and males at 6.8 hunts. The overall tool-assisted hunting success rate at Fongoli was 7.5%, and the probability of a successful tool-assisted hunt tended to increase with age. Adult male chimpanzees were less likely compared to other age-sex classes to engage in tool-assisted hunting, however had higher rates of success. Galago prey are hunted far more frequently by females than males, likely due to the low energy return that they yield compared to other prey. Males often capture Galago prey after they have already been drawn out of their sleeping cavities by others, making their hunting of this particular type of prey opportunistic rather than targeted. The hunting patterns unique to Fongoli can be explained by the absence of their preferred vertebrate prey, the red colobus monkey, leading them to take advantage of prey that other chimpanzee populations ignore. Prey theft at Fongoli occurs less than 5% of the time, compared to 25% of the time at other sites, making it more advantageous for less dominant chimpanzees (such as females) to hunt, as there is a low probability that their prey would be stolen by a more dominant chimpanzee. This data shows that early hominins likely enhanced the tools they used to hunt in an effort to overcome environmental pressures, and that tool-assisted hunting was very important to them.

The data obtained through this study shows that chimpanzee hunting is less male-biased than previously thought, and that females play a significant role in hunting, accounting for the majority of the tool-assisted hunting exhibited by the Fongoli chimpanzees. The research here supports the hypothesis that hominins may have used tool-assisted hunting to overcome environmental pressures, such as did the Fongoli chimpanzees, with the red colobus monkey being absent in their environment. It also suggests that females may have had a greater role in hunting than previously believed. The ability of the Fongoli chimpanzees to systematically use tools to hunt shows that even the earliest hominins were likely sophisticated enough to craft tools to aid their hunting. With further development of these ideas and more research, this article could give us a much deeper understanding of how our ancestors hunted.

Nigeria corruption and conflict

Nigeria is a democratic African country located on the Gulf of Guinea. Nigeria’s federal government is comprised of three distinct branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The Nigerian President, Buhari, is currently the head of the Executive branch–he is up for reelection in February 2019. Nigerian citizens vote on their president every four years. In 2015 Nigeria had a rather peaceful election despite the uproar happening within the country, and the threat of attacks from Boko Haram. Political tensions will still be high for this upcoming election due to to the unrest coming from both the North and South ends of the country. Despite this the current president is urging all candidates “to go about their campaigns peacefully and decently”. The international community has chimed into this issue and have called for, “free, fair, transparent and peaceful elections” they further “ urge all involved – political and non-political actors – to refrain from using hate speech and take a firm stance against violence”. Nigeria currently has two major political parties; The All Progress Congress, this is the party of the current president; and the Peoples Democratic Party, this is the party Atiku Abubakar is a member of, Abubakar is running against Buhari in February 2019. The ideology behind the All Progress Congress is increase in security and a policies for anti corruption. The Peoples Democratic Party is currently focusing on transformation of Nigeria.

The president’s responsibilities include the duties of commander in chief, chief of state, and head of the government. The president holds the right to sign bills or veto them. The Legislative branch includes the house of representatives as well as the senate. The house of representatives is comprised of 360 members. These members are elected every four years based off simple majority. The senate has 109 members, for every 3 districts they have one senate member represent them. The Judiciary branch has 13 associate judges led by the Chief Justice. These judges are appointed by the president and approved by the senate.

The corruption in Nigeria is a threat to its democracy; some politicians are in office for the sole purpose of stealing from the government. The officials running Nigeria are selfish and care only about their personal agenda. In regards to the upcoming election the international community is particularly concerned with vote-buying and stress this is a huge threat to having a free and fair election. Due to the corruption within the country Nigerians fear being able to canvass for the candidate of their choice. Expressing this concern could cause them to be framed and jailed for a crime they didn’t commit. This could be viewed as a violation of freedom of speech as the intolerance increases for those that hold contradictory views. Nigerian citizens also are in fear of having peaceful protest, and often lack the right to publically dissent. The corruption within Nigeria is tearing its democracy apart and demolishing everything the country has worked hard to achieve.

Boko Haram, a terrorist group, is affecting the entire lake chad basin, Nigeria included. More than 2.3 million people within the Basin are displaced. Food insecurity and malnutrition have reached critical levels. Over 100 children have had explosives fastened to their bodies.This is in clear violation of the international war law and the international humanitarian law. The international community has stepped in. The United Nations Security Council resolution 2349 of 2017 states “the need for a holistic, comprehensive approach to degrade and defeat Boko Haram and ISIL that includes coordinated security operations, conducted in accordance with applicable international law” this resolution was unanimously passed. The international community recognizes the uproar Boko Haram is causing and agrees that this must be dealt with immediately. Boko Haram is an incredibly dangerous terrorist group with a record of attacking and kidnapping foreign victims including United Nation staff, French citizens, Britain’s, Germans, Lebanese, Italians, Chinese, Greeks, and Koreans. This is a regional issue that requires and international solution. The United Nations also recognizes that it can not infringe on the national sovereignty of this country, in resolution 2349 they write: “Affirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria”. Nigeria has been in communication with Boko Haram for quite some time. They have had many discussion regarding a ceasefire; however, critics of the government say this a sham and the government can not adequately handle the terrorists groups.

The Nigerian government also has to deal with the guerilla movement coming from the southern end of Nigeria. This movement is in regards to the conflict between Nigerians and the multinational oil industries. The Nigerians claim that the oil companies have neglected the Nigerian populations and caused irreversible environmental damage over the past decade. The Nigerians are maddened by this and have formed many gangs to get revenge on the oil companies. Non governmental organizations such as Amnesty International have chimed in on this issue and have stated that the Nigerian government says they have a handle on the situation; however, Amnesty International noticed no government intervention and does not think the “government has a grip on the situation”.

Nigeria has a very evenly split Muslim and Christian community. The Muslims are comprised of groups including the women’s organization, student organizations, emirate traditions, Boko Haram extremist,  as well as just ordinary Nigerians. The Christian population includes: Catholics, Protestants, Evangelicals, and Pentecostals. There is conflict between these two religious communities.