Waste Materials In Construction Sites

Waste Materials In Construction Sites Malaysian construction industry still faces increasing in the generation of construction waste materials and for sure they face problems in the removal of this waste. In the last two decades, huge construction building and infrastructure development projects have led to raise the production of construction waste material. The construction waste has a significant impact on the environment, and its environmental effects are in direct relation to the quality and quantity of the waste it generates. (Begum RA, Siwar C, Pereira JJ, Jaafar AH) In Malaysia, The construction industry generates a lot of waste material that can be reused and recycled. Most of the waste materials go into landfill which is both direct cost to construction, and workers productivity and also has wider environmental implication. Moreover, Malaysia have little reliable statistic of construction and demolition that shows the rate of waste generation, type of waste, method of handling process of wastage, and the quantity of materials wastage minimized at source, reused or recycled on-site or off-site in a specific type of construction such as residential construction. (Haliza B.M 2010) According to (Hassan et al. 1998) which shows that on average, the generation of waste can be breakdown into 36.73% from household waste, 28.34% from industrial and construction waste while other sources (market and commercial waste, institutional waste, landscaping waste and street sweeping waste) account for the remaining 34.93% in the Central and Southern region of Malaysia as shown in Figure 1.1. This figure shows that the waste generated from construction plays a significant role in contributing to the disposed in the landfills. PROBLEM STATEMENT The construction fields produce huge amounts of waste by consuming natural resources (Poon, 2007). Waste in the construction industry includes such delays as time, cost, lack of safety, rework, unnecessary transportation journeys, long distances, improper choice or management of programme or equipments and poor constructability.(Lee. et al.,1999) Wastages affect not only on environment its also bring extra project costs to the contractors and developers. Many countries especially the developed countries have started to aggressively recycle the construction materials due to its many benefits. In Malaysia, there is a huge potential in recycling of construction waste and if implemented correctly; will only bring about a construction resurgence. (Wong X. W. 2010) It is then obvious that waste management should be implemented. Reducing, reusing and recycling appear to be profitable alternatives that will increase the lifetime of landfills and reduce exploration of natural resources. (Woolley, 2000) Most importantly, our environment will not face more deterioration. In addition to the environmental benefits in reducing the demand on land for disposing the waste, the recycling of construction wastes, can also help to conserve natural materials and to reduce the cost of waste treatment prior to disposal (Poon, 2002). Despite the efficiency and expertise of the builders in the use of the material there is an increase in the cost of disposal of demolition waste, which requires the need to develop an effective plan for waste management options using the reduction and recycling. Contractors, developers, architects and engineers should have knowledge about how to deal with construction waste materials by reducing, reusing and recycling. Also the governmental authority must play a role by introducing suitable legislation to implement the law and follow up on all offenders who do not follow the laws. With the expansion of urban areas, all relevant parties must make sure that waste materials are minimized and there is a full execution of recycling, waste materials to guide the construction industry in the right direction. (Mohd.N. 2010) OBJECTIVE OF RESEARCH To identify the types of waste materials in construction site To determine approach being use at construction site to reduce waste materials. To give recommendation on reduce, reuse, and recycle of construction waste materials. SCOPE OF STUDY The study covers area of Selangor at Malaysia. SIGNIFICANT OF STUDY Construction industry has an important impact on the environmental in term of unbalanced ecology, change of living environment, potential sewage, and depletion of natural resources, energy usage and production of waste. This study will generally talk about reduction materials wastage issues in construction field. Reduce the material wastage in construction is approved in applying reuse, recycling and reduce the building materials in construction activities. This thesis reviews the technology on construction waste recycling and their viability. CHAPTER II LITRATURE REVIEW INRODUCTION On this chapter, definition, classifications, advantages of reduce waste construction materials and reasons that lead to waste the materials. Investigate or study the related information about this case in from literature information will be definitely implemented in the Methodology. Literature reviews is very important in the research works and consider as foundation for any study which depend on the information of previous researches that has been carried out on the related subject. It provides further knowledge about the scope of research. DEFINITION Construction waste material can be defined as the difference between the value of materials delivered and accepted on site and those properly used as specified and accurately measured in the work, after deducting the cost saving of substituted materials transferred elsewhere, in which unnecessary cost and time may be incurred by materials wastage. Construction waste is any material where there holder has an intention to discard the material as no longer part of the normal commercial cycle or chain of utility. (Ferguson, 1995). According to The environmental protection Act 1990 (EPA 90) Section 75 defines waste as any materials which formalizes remains substances or streaming or other unnecessary surplus substance coming from the application of any process: and any material which involves to be disposed of as being damaged, run down, spoiled, or contaminated, but does not contain any material that is an explosive within the meaning of the explosives Act 1875; or Any substances that are unwanted and ignored or on other hand deal with as if the materials were waste shall be supposed to be waste unless the contrary is proved. (PING, OMRAN, PAKIR, 2009) The waste building materials, packaging, and rubble resulting from construction, remodelling, repair, and demolition operations on pavements, houses, commercial buildings, and other structures. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Waste is defined as the by-product generated and removed from construction, renovation and demolition workplaces or sites of building and civil engineering structure. (Cheung, 1993) Waste is defined as any material by-product of human and industry activity has no residual value. (Serpell and Alarcon, 1998) Construction materials wastage is unused materials (such as blocks, bricks, concrete, glass, plastics, steel, wood and soil generated by new building construction, renovation, or pulling down of existing construction. The World Book Dictionary defines waste as useless or worthless material; stuff to be thrown away. MAJOR TYPES OF WASTE MATERIALS According to the Environment Protection Department (EPD) (Chung, 2000) .The additional wastages require more time and extra resources for removal which might delay the building operations. The most important sources of construction material waste containing such as: 1. Concrete/cement. 2. Steel/reinforcement. 3. Brick/block. 4. Plastic/PVC 5. Glass 5. Timber/formwork. 6. Screw/bolt/nail. 7. Tile, ceramic tile 8. Non-ferrous metal aluminium CONCRETE Generally, the usage of concrete is mostly for substructure and superstructure of buildings wastage is largely caused from the mismatch between the amount of concrete required and that ordered from suppliers in the case of ready mix concrete supply. The service provider might not be familiar with the exact quantity due to improper management planning, leading to over-ordering. Wastage is also happened because the delays and needless waste handling processes. STEEL REINFORCEMENT As known steel bars are considered one of the most materials being used in construction site. Wastage of steel mainly resulted from cutting. Also wastage might be happen due to damages during storage and rusting. Pre-bending in the manufacturing works can eliminate cutting waste. TIMBER While timber is one of the main materials using for formwork wastage usually happen because the continuous or bad usage and as well as the over cutting. Timber usually dumped after use to do form work. Timber cannot resist termites and can easily break. So it is not suitable for long-term usage. Old timber also usually ends up in the trash and cannot be recycled. BRICK AND BLOCK Because the common usage of bricks and blocks in construction as walling and for partition. Wastage usually caused due to the improper cutting and careless of handling material. Improper handling might raise wastage of brick and blocks damage because of the breakable nature of the materials. Bricks remained on site without usage will end up in the trash skip in the end. PLASTIC/PVC Plastic wastage normally resulted from the cutting during piping work. Also plastic wastes happen due the inappropriate storage which throws it on site without considering its bad weakness and durability. PVC or plastic will melt if it direct contact with heat. Plastic also cannot resist chemical reactions. SCREW/BOLT/NAIL/ TILE The usage of those items usually being as connection. For sure they are used with large quantity which easily damaged due to the carelessness of the workers. Throwing screws or nails by workers lead to increase the wastage of them. Also wastage of tiles commonly happens during cutting. BENEFITS OF CONSTRUCTION WASTE REDUCTION Minimizing the total costs of the project throughout avoided removal costs, averted buying new materials, and revenue profit from materials sale due to reusing of materials onsite. Helps societies, construction companies, and construction owners comply with state and local policies, such as disposal bans and recycling goals. Promote general image of construction companies which minimize waste disposal. (Zhang, 2008) Reduce the environmental impact of the waste. Cleaner and safer construction site. Conserves space in existing landfills. Additional costs are avoided by diverting waste from landfills. CAUSES OF WASTE MATERIALS GENERATION According to Ekanayake who has discuss the causes of construction waste material he said that there are many factors lead to construction waste at site and he specified that the most important are ordered the common sources of construction waste under six categories: (1) design; (2) procurement; (3) handling of materials; (4) operation; (5) residual related; and (6) others. Furthermore those sources of waste materials probably happen during main phases of the project life cycle, (1) design, (2) operational, (3) material handling and, (4) procurement. (Ekanayake) Design Carelessness to dimension skills of some materials Design changes during construction progress. Lack of experience of designers and project managers in scheduling works. Lack of attention paid to standard sizes available on the market Designers familiarity with alternative products Complication of reading drawings details Lack of information in the drawings Errors in contract documents No completed contract documents at the beginning of project low quality materials selection Procurement Suppliers and workers errors Accidents coming from carelessness of labors Damage to work done caused by subsequent trades Use of wrong materials, which need replacement Failure to reach the required quantity before work from quantity surveyors. Late passing of information to responsible person on types and sizes of materials to be used Equipment broken and rainy weather Handling materials Damage happens due to the transportation process Unsuitable storage for materials caused damages to them Materials supplied in loose form Bad construction site layout where materials close to working place Misunderstanding between teamwork and workers Theft Operations Ordering errors Lack of possibilities to order small quantities Buy materials which can not be comply with specification CONSTRUCTION WASTE REDUCTION Construction Waste Reduction has been defined by the UK Environment Agency (1997) as reducing construction waste by protective measures (prevent, reduce at source, and reuse of wasted materials) and waste management measures (quality improvement, and recycling). Similarly, Envirowise (1998) defined Construction Waste Reduction as the process of systematic waste reduction at source, by preventing and reducing waste before its physical generation, and encouraging reuse, recycling and recovery. Therefore, according to (Riemer and Kristoffersen 1999) reducing waste materials is a process of avoidance, eliminate or decrease the waste on sources or allow reuse and recycling process of waste materials for such purposes in construction field. Waste reduction hierarchy has been addressing (reduce) as one of the highest main concern for decreasing the amounts of waste. The crucial objective of the strategy of waste reduction is to avoid or eliminate it from the outset, at the beginning stage phase of the project. (Andy, Andrew and Simon) Waste reduction is achieved through the application of a Waste Reduction Hierarchy which is applied from design through to disposal, as detailed below:- 1. Reduce. Avoidance of unnecessary consumption of materials at the concept and design stage of procurement; 2. Reuse. Reuse requires the design and utilization of re-useable containers and materials without subjecting the item to a manufacturing process that changes its original configuration and composition (e.g. reusable packaging and pallets for storage); 3. Recycle. Product recycling requires the raw material to be recovered and used to manufacture another product; 4. Disposal. Disposal of waste to landfill is the least acceptable form of waste management, and is to be regarded as the option of last resort. REDUCE In the past, waste reduction strategies have taken many forms, but the main purpose has remained the cornerstone of most waste reduction strategies which is to find out the maximum practical benefits from waste materials and to produce the minimum amount of waste. The understanding of what construction materials need to buy is the most first and important part in waste reduction, then monitoring materials usage, and after that find ways to avoidance, reduce, reuse, then recycle the wasted materials. A good strategy is to target the major component in the waste material stream, and put into practice the easy waste reduction steps first. Below are some ideas to help you identify waste reduction opportunities:- Buy pre-cut materials like foam boards and floor trusses to minimize waste. Re-utilize wasted substances like siding, inside trim, door, and framework for wood, hardwood floors, and bath fitting. Planning for usage 4 x 8 panels and standard timber lengths; plan to create functional usage of standard lengths of heating tube material, metal pipes, wiring, siding, and gutters. Find out new developed methods that can decrease and make usage of materials more economically and efficiently. Consult trade publication, construction companies, and local organizations for information on resource efficient building designs and techniques. Choose design which allow and give opportunity to dismantling all parts of the structure as an alternative choice instead of the demolition, which might save building materials for recover them to be useful source of materials for volunteer organizations. Work with famous designers, contractors, and suppliers those who have good characters in usage of resource-efficient design and building. Select to expand long period of new or existing buildings. Choosing the best quality, more durable substances extend the life of the building structure and giving easier remodelling, protection, or renovation. Usage of elegant design characteristics from architect and designers might be useful for minimization of building wastage and enhance the productivity due to the genius designation like multi-purpose rooms, encouraging smaller footprints, and choosing construction materials which friendly to environment and energy efficient. Construction companies also might use cutting and advanced framing techniques to minimize building wastage, this method may produce few waste, and holding over surplus to the next construction site or donating by them to the volunteer organization. REUSE Separation of the materials is the most important thing in reuse wasted materials also separation should be separated in good condition to keep materials durability. A majority of these materials are durable and therefore, have a high potential of reuse. It would, however, be desirable to have quality standards for the recycled materials. There are many materials might recovered from construction sites waste and they can be sold, donated, stored for later use, or reused on the current project. Some materials are convenient for reuse such as doors, cabinets, windows, carpet, brick, light fixtures, ceiling and floor tiles, wood, HVAC equipment, and decorative items (including fireplaces and stonework). Construction waste can be used in the following manner: Reuse on site of blocks, stone slabs, timber, piping railings etc. Sale material that cant used again on site through design restraint or design changes. Recycle materials such as plastics, broken glass, scrap metal etc. Use materials like broken block or brick, plaster concrete pieces etc. in other application at the construction. For ex. levelling, cavity under coat of paths where the passage not required of heavy moving loads. Big pieces and unused parts can be sent to lower areas to fill them. Soft materials might be used as can be used as cover material over sanitary landfill, like sand, dust etc. RECYCLING There are some materials can be directly recycled onsite into new construction or offsite at a construction and demolition processor. Typical materials recycled from construction sites contain metal, timber, asphalt, pavement, and concrete pieces, roof materials, corrugated cardboard and wallboard. Most of the construction wastages throw out to landfill. There are many opportunities for the construction companies to reduce that in order to extend the life period of landfill sites, decrease transportation requirements and reduce the primary resource requirements. DISPOSAL Landfilling is the main method of disposal of all solid wastes including the construction waste materials in most of countries. Landfilling is not capital intensive and does not require skilled labour unlike compositing or incineration. MATERIALS CAN BE RECYCLING Recycling of construction materials has been recommended from many researchers in their studies and companies work in that field but the factual administering of construction and demolition waste recycling is limited to a few types of solid wastes. According to (Mindess et al., 2003): who thought that economy, compatibility with other materials and material properties should be taken into account when considering recycle materials. He justified that recycling can be only useful when the recycled product is economical compared to the natural resource in cost and quality. He added recycled materials will be preferable in areas where less raw materials and land filling sites exists. It investigates the technology on construction waste recycling and their viability. In addition, (Mindess, 2003) has been mentioned to materials recycling practice had been studies such as concrete, plastic, brick, ferrous and non-ferrous metal, masonry, glass and timber. CONCRETE In fact, concrete is the most materials being wasted during construction and demolition. According to (Emily, 2010), manufacturers produce more the 25 billion tonnes of concrete per year. Large quantities of concrete waste during tear down/building new construction therefore concrete need to recycle. It is an easy way to recycle concrete. The most important thing is to sort concrete and remove the steel rebar then after sorting concrete go through out crush machine to grind them forming very small pieces as sand or aggregates. Crushing can be made on site to reuse at the same time. BRICK Bricks wastage coming from construction site might be polluted with mortar, rendering and plaster, and usually they being blinded with another materials such as wood and concrete. But there are difficulties being faced in the separation of bricks which usually need to be separated and sorting by hand. There are small percentage around 10 to 15% of bricks from damaged buildings are facing bricks, therefore they need manpower and it might be expensive to sort and clean bricks. Therefore contaminated bricks are not economical to be used because that will be more costing than natural bricks. In 2004, Japanese building site had been burning the destroyed bricks into slime burnt ash. And, in recent year, bricks are commonly be crushed to form filling materials and hardcore in Hong Kong. STEEL Preferably, it is better to reuse steel wastage directly on site. If the direct usage is not possible, then it can be fuse to manufacture new steel. According to (Coventry, 1999) there is more than 80% of the steel wastage coming from construction fields being recycled into new materials in the Netherlands, despite the fact that almost 100% may be claimed to be recyclable. Steel organization reports that roughly 100% steel reinforcement is made from recycled scrap and 25% steel sections are made from recycled scrap. Scrap steel is almost completely recycled and allowed repeated recycling. Also in Japan, they recycles construction steel such as steel reinforcement and rebar due to fabricated steel or cut to resize off-site with the cutting waste, 100% of steel waste might be recycled to keep away from wastage at construction site. GLASS According to (Coventry, 1999), in UK, 425,000 tonnes of glass has been recycled. However, the recycling rate is fairly low in Hong Kong 1% comparing with countries such as USA, Japan and Germany which their rates are 20, 78 and 85%, respectively. Glass can be reused in the construction industry for a number of applications: (i) Window: (Coventry, 1999) thought that window glass might be reusing on construction that will be depend on how they deal with glass handling, storage, transportation from/to construction site, and the quality. (ii) Glass fibre: for material properties improvement, glass can be recycled in the manufacture of glass fibre using long easy process starting from collecting the waste to recycle pin then transported to treatment plant, the glass then should be sorted according to its colour and type and washed to clean it from any impurities after that glass crushed and melted then moulded into new product. Glass can be used in thermal and acoustic insulations, which can be mixed with strengthen cement, gypsum or resin products. (iii) Filling material: they had practiced recycling for glass in UK as a fine material for cement replacement called ConGlassCrete that support the strength of concrete. (iv) Tile: in US 100% replacement of recycled glass that gives good-looking reflective appearance on the exterior after burnishing. (v) Paving block: in United State they created aggregate from recycled glass by crushing. Also in Hong Kong, they are developing this recycling technology, which can produce advantages such as promote good-looking reflective appearance on the exterior after burnishing, minimize water absorption of concrete block and provide good compressive strength. However, the problems on instability, sharpness of aggregate and alkali-silica reaction expansion need to be resolved. By adopting pulverized fly ash for depressant in alkali-silica reaction and reduce the impurities are necessary in improving the quality of paving block adopting recycled glass aggregate. (vi) Asphalt in road: 15% of old glass had been recycled forming asphalt in Taiwan. Furthermore glass needed to grind to very soft materials replacing asphalt (vii) Aggregate in road: also in US material called glassphalt has been made from crushed glass and used as an aggregate in bituminous concrete pavement. (viii) Man-made soil: Japan practices adopted waste glass as ultra-fine particles at high temperature. MASONRY Masonry waste usually crushing as recycled to become masonry aggregate. So after grinding till become masonry aggregate will be such thermal insulating for concrete. it can also help concrete to be more strength with comfortable thermal insulation, masonry waste can be used after recycled for traditional clay bricks (i) Crushing recycle masonry aggregate till be as ash then will be replacement for clay in brick including sand sodium silicate brick. (ii) Using masonry aggregate in traditional clay brick in this case it prefers to avoid any contain of any element that will prevent effects on durability and strength of clay brick. (iii) In case of sing masonry in sodium silicate brick it might contains some of elements like lime but have to be under pressure of 15 bars to create sodium silicate bricks. NON-FERROUS METAL The major non-ferrous metal materials gathered from construction sites are aluminium, copper, lead and zinc (Coventry, 1999). Furthermore after separations and sorting of those materials, they can be sold directly to the scrap metal traders for recycling or directly to end-user by melting. In UK, the usage of aluminium is up to 95,000 tonnes with about 70% recycled in 1997,recycling of copper is up to 119,000 tonnes out of a national market of 262,000 tonnes used (100% recycling rate can be achieved). While paper and cardboard form approximately 37% of construction wastes by volume (EPD, 2002). Recycling companies usually reprocess them as paper product by purification. PLASTIC In fact, it is very hard to recycle plastics wastages if they are blended with other plastic or impure materials but according to (Hendriks and Pietersen, 2000) great possibility to reuse materials such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) and Polyvinylchloride (PVC) especially if they being gathered properly segregate and spotless. Because of the damages in some of the characteristic of the old plastic the possibilities of high level recycle will be definitely restricted. Virgin material should include in recycling. The recycled materials are utilized for the manufacturing of new plastic includes 70% recycled material; 30% virgin material is utilized for securing sufficient ultra violet (UV) resistance in the Netherlands. Furthermore it might be probable to develop this substitute ratio up to 80 or 90% in the coming years. According to (Coventry, 1999) there are many major chances to address when considering the recycling of plastic such as:- (i) Panel: in 1992 roofing panels have been started due to the recycling of diaphanous PVC. Because of the impurity and the consolidation, the recycling materials have less quality than new roofing component, so that should be applied for only the inferior face. This panel must be transformed to powder using cryogenic milling. Then powder should mingle with plasticizers and also mix up with other materials to produce new panel. (ii) Plastic might be street furniture, roof and floor, piling, PVC window, noise barrier, cable ducting and pipe, cladding and insulation foam through recycling and redesign for usage. (iii) there are new methods has been developed to allow construction materials to be with time infused with recycled plastic ingredient in order to increase strength, durability and impact resistance, and improve appearance. TIMBER The wastage of wood from building site operations is generated in huge amount all over the world. According to (Coventry, 1999) he mentioned to that the wastage of timber generated in UK is more than 2.5 tonnes per year. For sure, wastage of wood has possibilities to be recycled after collection for some purpose such as: (i) Timber wastage coming from building activity might be utilized directly for reusing in any applications in construction projects but before reusing need to clean the from nails and resize the them to the proper way. Furthermore unspoiled timber should be reused as board, beams, doors, floorboard, roof beam, balcony ramparts, partitions, and pile. In Japan they already developed wood waste into new technology turning them to furniture, shoring wooden pile for relocate pine trees, wood bench and timber stair. (ii) A special lightweight concrete might be formed from aggregate made from recycled small wooden pieces. (iii) According to (Hendriks and Pietersen, 2000) in Japan wood waste might be recycled as energy sources, for Ex. fuel, charcoal for power generation. Also there are more than 400,000 tonnes of wood from building activities are produced in Netherland. (iv) wood pieces wastage throwing from building activities might be recycled and reused as new building materials as partitions, board for roof, ceiling and floor, cladding in agricultural building, advertisement panels, a packaging substitute, wall and sound barrier. (v) Paper, In Japan, they recycled timber producing board and mulching. Besides that wastage of wood might be mixed with topsoil to improve soil texture and coated with plastic to produce material called plastic lumber. (vi) Clipped timber is recycled by spraying them onto sloped soil surface in Japan, which is called geofibre. (vii) Timber waste can be recycled to create insulation board, kitchen tool and furniture from the chipped timber under pressure at around 180 Ã ¢-Â ¦C for 40 min with

Detective Fiction Essay

The famous horror writer ‘Edgar Allen Poe’ first introduced detective Fiction in 1841 with ‘murder in the rue morgue’. Although Mr Poe was the creator of detective Fiction, he was not the one to make it as popular as it is today. Readers were more intrigued by Poe’s creative genre ‘Horror’. Poe’s ‘murder in the rue morgue’ had also introduced the five traditional elements, the most important of all was ‘the superior detective’ known as ‘C. Auguste Dupin’, he had a method of deduction and was very eccentric. Now in every detective Fiction story or TV programme their contains the Five traditional elements ‘the perfect crime, the wrongly accused suspect, superior detective, dim witted police and the surprise ending, each one more essential than the other. Detective fiction was at its peak during the late nineteenth century for that was the time of ‘Jack the Ripper’, a cunning murderer who was never found. The mobs were intrigued by this whole situation, how it started and how it ends. To quench their appetite for mystery and suspense they would read detective fiction books. The most popular out of all the writers would have been ‘Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’. His stories had a different focus point. While other writers are focusing on the plot, Sir Doyle would have been showing of his detective’s intelligence. The superior detective would have solved impossible cases, have ridiculous and controversial theories, suspect clues with little or no evidence but at the end of the day he was the one to catch the criminal. The superior detective was known as ‘Sherlock Holmes’ with his right hand man Dr Watson. In any one of Sherlock’s stories Sir Doyle would have focused his attention on Holmes, the story would revolve around him on his thoughts and actions. One of Sir Doyle’s famous stories was the ‘Speckled Band’ that was about a young woman who died in a perfectly humane situation however there is little evidence to who or what did it. The ‘Speckled Band’ contains all the essential criteria, the perfect crime. Etc. The perfect crime committed was the death of Julia Stoner. Their was very little evidence of murder and how it could have been committed, For example her bedroom door was locked, her windows were barred and their was no sign of blood, bruises or any other form of violence. The Superior detective was clearly stated after making remarks to Dr Grimsby Roylett about the ticket leaning over his pocket and the state of his coat. This gives us an example of Sherlock’s excellent observational skills and his superiority.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"†¦I observe the second half of a return ticket in the palm of your left glove.† From observing this Sherlock realises that he arrived here on public transport. In my view the wrongly accused suspect were the Gypsies and the sister of Julia. The reason for the Gypsies is because they are complete strangers to the family, who knows what they were capable of doing. The reason for Julia’s sister is because when she was speaking to Sherlock, he found her to be tense and he had the feeling as if she was hiding something from him. â€Å"†¦Have you told me all†. Sherlock had found her tense by observing her body language. This also shows us the intelligence of Sherlock. The ending came to quite a surprise, however I wasn’t completely shocked to hear that the culprit was â€Å"†¦a swamp adder†. I knew that Dr Roylett kept exotic animals and I also thought Dr Roylett did it. My theory was correct about it being the Dr, but not completely. The snake killed the girl but the mastermind behind the death was the Dr.  Although the story did not contain any police, the story itself states police as dim witted for example Julia’s sister goes to Sherlock to solve the crime. Here she knows the police haven’t got the intelligence to solve the crime. Doyle’s rural setting of where the incident happened was colourful and natural. You would never think anything sinister could happen however when setting eyes on the location of the death, there was a huge contrast. Watson describes the setting â€Å"†¦there was a strange contrast between the sweet promise of the spring and this sinister quest upon which were engaged†. The surrounding was very colourful, no prisons, no insane asylums, there were no sinister vibes except for the ones coming from the house. I suppose the setting makes it to be a perfect crime but when Sherlock and Dr Watson set their eyes on â€Å"Stoke Moran† it would of narrowed down the suspects to those in the house. Although the outside atmosphere was pleasant Watson felt a huge contrast between both. † The building was of grey †¦two curving wings†¦in one of these wings the window was broken, and blocked with wooden boards†. Stoke Moran seemed to be mysterious but the only thing about unusual about it was the presence of that Dr Roylett who was a strong bitter man who kept wild animals in his premises. Another one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s books was the ‘the blue carbuncle’. In this Sir Doyle emphasizes a great deal on Sherlock, his predictions and theories. When reading ‘the blue carbuncle’ you get so much information from one piece of evidence that story loses the plot. When Sherlock is examining the evidence Sir Doyle is trying to tell the readers that Sherlock is so intellectual there is nothing he can’t solve. The piece of evidence Sherlock was examining was a hat, although to a normal intellectual being like Dr Watson you wouldn’t find any clues about that hat. Sherlock came up with a great deal of conclusions and suggestions from a plain black top hat. Some of the conclusions made towards the hat by Sherlock would now be very controversial â€Å"†¦it came right over the forehead and settled upon the bridge of his nose†. Here Sherlock suggests that he is an intellectual man just by the size of his head â€Å"†¦It is a question of cubic capacity†¦a man with so large a brain must have something in it†.  There were also suggestions about the hat that were more believable and more obvious to see â€Å"†¦ goes out a little, middle-aged, has grizzled hair which he has had cut within the last few days, and which he anoints with lime-cream† but even Dr Watson failed to see these clues when glancing at it, first time.

Aids India

Matter of Life or Death India is the seventh largest Country in the world, home to one billion people and vast ethnic diversity. It has been making great leaps with education, industrialization and technology. Literacy rates are continuously going up along with life expectancy. India has been making continuous progress in many aspects for a country that has been relatively poor and extremely poverty-stricken. India is also one of the world’s largest democracies meaning that citizens have a great deal of political freedom.The average Indian citizen lives in a rural area and consumes 30 times less resources than an American citizen consumes. Although India is making many improvements, there are certain issues that continue to creep around and into the lives of Indian people and will continue to do so for a very long time. HIV/AIDS is one of these issues, an issue that has been taking millions of lives and affecting the lifestyles of many Indian people. HIV/AIDS is one of the mos t concerning problems for India; it continues to manifest regardless of the many efforts made by the Indian government.HIV/AIDS is not just a problem that India must deal with; it has affected nearly every region in the world but every country and population responds to epidemics with a different approach and one must consider all the different aspects. In India, many unique factors have been linked with the growth, prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. The causes for the emergence of HIV/AIDS in India are still unclear however; some believe that foreign visitors that had sexual contact with the sex workers in India are to blame. Many believe this because initial cases were found in sex worker and truck drivers.HIV/AIDS emerged into India later than most other countries and the first cases were reported in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Studies also indicate that heterosexual sex was the method in which most initial cases occurred through. It was first identified in the early 80’s in s ex workers from Tamil Nadu. The infection rates of the disease peaked in the early 90’s and it had made its way into low – risk individuals across the whole country in just ten years. (Avert, 2011) The most recent estimates state that there are currently 2. million individuals living with HIV in India and of that, 39% are females and 3. 5% are children. Considering age as a factor, the highest infection rates occur in people aged 30-34 in India. HIV rates for the nation have been decreasing according to recent studies (NACO, 2007) and the area of southern India which was impacted the most by this epidemic has shown a decrease in infection rates (Kumar R. , Jha P. et al. , 2006). Seventy percent of infections are reported in six states: Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Manipur, Nagaland and Karnataka.Currently the state of Andhra Pradesh holds the highest prevalence rate (1%) out of the 28 states and out of the high-risk groups in this Andhra Pradesh; the highes t rate is among MSM (17%) (Avert, 2011). In recent years the rate of injection drug users has been increasing in many states and has given HIV an opportunity to spread. One of these states are Punjab in the northeast of India where a third of the population is addicted to drugs and has become one of the world’s leading areas in drug trafficking and usage (Glut, 2011). In the Punjab’s capital city Amritsar, the prevalence rate among IDU’s is as high as 30%.In many states of India drug use has become another concerning phenomenon that is helping with the spread of HIV/AIDS. Although the nation’s prevalence rates of HIV have decreased, it does not mean that the situation is getting better. This disease will continue to claim millions of lives because India does not have the equipment or resources needed in most areas; along with that the taboos, and stigma in India will negatively affect the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS. The way that Indians think ab out HIV/AIDS plays a major role in treatment and prevention efforts.There are many parts of the world where one with HIV/AIDS is able to go to a doctor, friend or family member to get support. In India, this is not the case for the most part. It is a country with a strict social hierarchy and most Indian people still believe in arranged marriages. The people of India stigmatize HIV/AIDS, which often leads to discrimination, denial, humiliation and rejection from family/community and medical staff. HIV/AIDS is not just any disease in India, since it is linked to controversial behaviours HIV/AIDS comes with a lot more baggage than for instance cancer does.HIV/AIDS is extremely under reported due to the many psychological hardships one must face in order to get the help that they need. Currently 50% of people with HIV are aware of their status; people that seek treatment often face traumatizing experiences with the medical staff. The government of India supports voluntary testing howev er, a very high percentage of cases have been reported in which the patient had been tested against their will, which in return would dictate the quality of medical care they would receive.In many cases, individuals have been denied medical services because of their status and people that are HIV+ and belong to a high-risk group face double the discrimination and stigma because they are a part of a controversial group. There is a direct correlation with Indian culture and the identification of HIV/AIDS in India. In order to successfully educate and treat the Indian population we must take into account the very sensitive cultural values of Indian people and customize action plans accordingly. Sex in India is highly discouraged amongst non-married couples and the topic is hushed.Indians greatly value marriage and hold the lowest divorce rate in world (Divorce Mag, 2011). Woman are seen as disgraceful, worthless and disgusting if they engage in sex with a partner before marriage and in most cases are disowned or face harsh consequences for their actions from family members and other social groups. For Indian people it is ideal to have and maintain one sexual partner although woman in India face double standards while men are able to participate in sexual intercourse with multiple partners there for the HIV status of women is highly dependent on the behaviour of their partner(s)/spouse.The taboo of talking about sex publically and sex in general is the main reason for the hardships faced by educators, organizations and other public figures who try to make efforts with the awareness of HIV/AIDS. India is a place where a bar can possibly be shut down if any public display of affection is shown. There can be many explanations for the way Indian people think about sex that date back to the history of the first civilizations and religious texts that may have influenced and shaped the ideology of Indian people today.This is a way of thinking that has existed in India fo r thousands of year and will continue to do so for a very long time. Education and communication is extremely difficult in a place where the population is not willing to listen, Indian people tend to ignore and underestimate HIV/AIDS because they are unwilling to talk about it. Most Indian people are unaware of the facts that in return cause them to link it to unacceptable behaviours creating stigma, discrimination and denial due to lack of knowledge.People are hesitant to expose their HIV status and discuss issues with people. HIV/AIDS has claimed many lives in India, more so then many other parts of the world. The world fact book estimated 170 000 deaths in the year 2009 (ranked third highest in the world). Causality rates of HIV/AIDS related deaths have been decreasing in recent years. Many efforts have been made to prevent the spread of the disease by the government and other organizations yet India ranks as one of the top countries on HIV/AIDS hit list.The people of India have a hard time explaining and discussing the impact that HIV/AIDS has left on their country. People often are surprised and thrown off when they are presented with actual statistics, they see the disease as someone else’s problem with the attitude that it is a disease that infects the â€Å"scum of society† but once they are presented with the statistics they are immediately appalled. Indian youth is continuously encouraged to ignore such topics and refrain from talking about sex by their families.Another interesting issue is the misleading statistics that the government of India presents which understates the real statistics, Indian people lose trust in the government and don’t know which statistics to believe (Drynan, 2001). Indian people that live in poor areas with very low income believe that the spread of infection is mainly because a family member has to migrate to another location for a long period of time to find work and make an income to support his/her family. Since the majority of the population in India is poor, this is the leading explanation that most families will have.Indian people that are HIV + believe that the spread of the disease is linked to the decision of keeping HIV statuses a secret. Some sex workers admit that they do not expose their status to clients in fear of losing their job. Indian people are aware that health care systems need to improve in order to stop HIV/AIDS from spreading. There also a large portion of people who believe in fate and that if someone is infected with HIV/AIDS it is in their fate to die that way. â€Å"In the past I never thought that I would contract such a big disease, or neither would my husband.I had that much faith in him because we wouldn’t do such things. Now I don’t talk to my husband, I don’t know his whereabouts. God gave me this disease, what God metes out, Only God can judge. I have a daughter who is HIV + as well. I feel bad that my child has it but wha t can one do. I have a lot of problems at work, my co-workers tease me and shun me. They do not come near me† Anita who is HIV+ explained her thoughts about her status (Lets Break Through, 2006). Since the creation of antiretroviral therapy (ART/ARV) many lives have been extended and maybe even saved.In India these drugs are becoming more available and the price of these drugs is declining as time goes by how ever not everyone has access to these drugs. Many areas of India where these drugs are needed are poor areas where Doctors refuse to practise due to lack of income available. Many villages do not have access to someone who can administrate these drugs. The main factor is money, these drugs are expensive and many families simply cannot afford them. Recently the government has been focusing on distributing free antiretroviral drugs but it is impossible to reach everyone in need with the available funds.India is also actively manufacturing generic low-cost ARV’s. Out of all the people that need treatment only ? are receiving it (Avert, 2011) and many are not adhering due to high costs of drugs/testing, poor counselling, inadequate understanding and intolerance to drugs. Treatment centres are located in every state where HIV/AIDS is prevalent, screening is voluntary (ideally) and counselling is provided. The types of screening available are: Western blot test, ELISA, viral load test, CD4 count and blood biochemistry.Luckily India has a strong pharmaceutical industry and is taking advantage of it by reaching out to its patients. Another issue is drug resistant people; in Mumbai 18% of newly diagnosed people were resistant to at least one drug (World Bank, 2011) so second-line therapy is required. Another concerning problem is that therapy in India is unstructured. Although these drugs are becoming more available in India, those in need are often denied access by the health care providers. The poor are ignored and usually do not have the funds or t he resources to obtain the drugs. HIV/AIDS Treatment and Prevention in India, 2011) Some other popular alternative traditional therapy in India includes Chinese medicine, Homeopathy, acupuncture and siddha medicine (Life Positive, 2011).The impact that HIV/AIDS will have on India in the future may be devastating if the current trends do not change. Treatment needs to be made more available, Health care providers need to be trained adequately and the general population needs to be educated. Many organizations and government have helped with the control of this epidemic such as promoting condom use are making improvements. Condoms are now used among many sex workers who ecite the policy of â€Å"no condom, no sex† to their customers and this is important because as of today condoms are the single most convenient and effective way of preventing the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases. There is no doubt that India is putting resources towards organizations that will pro vide services for the Indian population but this alone is not enough, Indian people themselves will need to accept and face this issue in order to make progress. Since India has a large portion of High-risk groups, there is always going to be danger and opportunity for HIV/AIDS to spread.The rates vary from state to state but World Banks estimates that by 2033 mortality by infectious diseases will increase and of that, AIDS will represent 22% of total deaths. India has economic, cultural and other demographic factors that hamper prevention efforts. Discrimination, denial and stigma will continue to cause damaged relationships, torn families, physical isolation, desertion, economic implications, lower quality of life and death. This disease will continue to control the lives of people that are infected.

Genetically And Genetically Modified Foods - 822 Words

Genetically Modified Foods What is it that we are eating? GMO’s are unnatural. Is it healthy to eat something that doesn’t belong in our digestive system? GMO’s are genetically modified food. Genetically modified foods are created by taking genes from plants and animals and inserting into our food to alter the genetic engineering. In 1984, GMO’s were first introduced when a plant was modified from antibiotic resistant tobacco. In 1994, genetically modifying food was approved by the FDA and the first GMO food, Flavr-Savr tomatoes, was released into marketing. (A history of GM) They became an issue since the beginning, creating many health problems. Genetically modifying foods should not be allowed in America because it’s unhealthy, it decreases in nutritional value, antibiotic resistance, and has shown increases in food allergy and toxicity. Genetically modifying foods have shown a decrease in nutritional value compared to natural foods by creating so that there are lack of nutrients such as vitamins and minerals. â€Å"For example, phytate is a compound common in seeds and grains that binds with minerals and makes them unavailable to humans. An inserted gene could cause a plant to produce higher levels of phytate decreasing the mineral nutritional value of the plant (GEO-PIE).† (Discovery Eye) â€Å"Another example comes from a study showing that a strain of genetically modified soybean produced lower levels of phytoestrogen compounds, believed to protect against heart diseaseShow MoreRelatedGenetically And Genetically Modified Food947 Words   |  4 PagesAs genetically modified food appeared into people’s consciousness, it had been at the center of vehement controversy. Because people lack information about genetically modified food’s potential influence, they wonder whether genetically modifie d food is a miracle or not. Genetically modified food can solve several problems. The potential effects of genetically modified food also should be measured. However, people should not assume that genetically modified food only has disadvantages, but understandRead MoreGenetically Foods : Genetically Modified Foods1239 Words   |  5 PagesGenetically Modified Foods â€Å"70 percent of our corn farmland and 93 percent of soy farmland are planted with crops genetically engineered to resist pests and herbicides and increase crop yields. 60% of all the processed foods in the United States are genetically modified; a shocking statistic has the concern of many Americans. However, most people are uninformed about the beneficial impact that genetically modified food has on their diet. GM is the use of molecular biology technology to modify theRead MoreGenetically And Genetically Modified Foods1979 Words   |  8 Pages Genetically modified organisms are plants and animals that have been biologically engineered with the DNA of other plants, animals, bacteria, etc. Such modifications and combinations cannot occur in nature through crossbreeding or by other organic means. While commonplace in the vast majority of our marketplace, the information and nature of genetically modified foods is not as common. Information is, in fact, available on these genetically modified products, but they have to be sought out. TheRead MoreGenetically And Genetically Modified Foods1858 Words   |  8 Pagesyour food comes can come with a big health hazard, yes even with fruits and vegetables. The reasoning for this is the upcoming biotechnology of Genetically Modified Foods. These modified foods are supposed to help with the up and coming population that should rise by 10 billion in 2050.Plus with all the technology coming in, it makes it easier for farmers to do their harvest a lot quicker, which means they have more time for family. Although many people believe the Genetically Modified Foods willRead MoreGenetically And Genetically Modified Foods1457 Words   |  6 Pageslike a healthy food to feed your family, but think again. That can of corn most likely contains traces of genetically modified proteins or DNA. These genetically modified foods were made to improve food, but some wonder if they are solving more problems than they cause. Genetically modified foods, or seeds, should not be produced because they cause vulnerability and disadvantage to populations, cause allergenic problems, and contaminate organic crops. Genetically modified foods are foods with differentRead MoreGenetically And Genetically Modified Foods1739 Words   |  7 Pagesabomination for mankind. I strongly agree. Genetically modified foods are defined as foods that are derived from organizations whose genetic material (DNA) has been modified in a way that does not occur naturally. For instance, this occurs through the introduction of a gene from a different organism into the desired organism. Since 1995, approximately 85 genetically modified foods have been approved in Canada. These include genetically modified foods that have been grown in Canada and imported fromRead MoreGenetically And Genetically Modified Food1095 Words   |  5 Pages Genetically modified organisms have been a contentious topic for the last several years. Decried as being chemically dangerous to the human body, potentially ruinous of worldwide agriculture, and harmful to the environment, GMOs have a rather contemptible reputation. Despite these denunciations, it is undeniable that both willful ignorance and outright misinformation have played a part in the public’s conception of genetically modified food. GMOs have undoubtedly been the victim of character assassinationRead MoreGenetically : Genetically Modified Food2356 Words   |  10 PagesSamuel Lubin Dr. Lambert 1102 May 7 2015 Genetically Modified Food What are genetically modified foods? They are plants and animals whose DNA has been altered or change to suit the needs of humans. There are three types of genetically modified food (GM) first generation, second generation, and third generation crops. Each type is focused in different types of yields and crops so they can have a system that allows to keep production and value up. To pick up, the first generation is a type of GMRead MoreGenetically And Genetically Modified Foods1510 Words   |  7 PagesGenetically modifying of crops is simply the alteration of an organism’s gene trait, primarily used to create a significantly more dominant plant, by instilling traits of one plant to another plant to help solve farmers ever growing challenges. These seeds are then referred to as GMO seeds or GM seeds. The value of producing seeds with genetically modified traits can be seen in today’s agricultural markets. Today, ninety percent of soybeans, sixty percent of corn and sixty percent of cotton grownRead MoreGenetically Modified Food : Genetically Food2134 Words   |  9 PagesGenetically Modified Food Imagine going to the grocery store and seeing a seedless watermelon, but it is not the typical oval, it is square. Down the produce aisle, there are sweet, juicy strawberries; however, there is a warning label that says, â€Å"Do not consume if you have a nut allergy.† The world today is moving forward in the way that society produces our wholefoods. Genetic engineering, bioengineering, or biotechnology is the process of inserting the genetics of different plants and organisms