Ways to Reduce Your Exposure to BPA

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an industrial chemical widely used in common plastic products, such as baby bottles, children’s toys, and the linings of most food and beverage cans. Many scientific studies—including the largest study of BPA ever conducted on humans—have found links between BPA and serious health problems, from heart disease, diabetes, and liver abnormalities in adults to developmental problems in the brains and hormonal systems of children. Recent studies have documented negative health consequences, while others find no ill effects. Endocrine disruptors are notoriously difficult to study, as they may be more dangerous at very low doses than at higher doses. Depending on your tolerance for risk, you might want to minimize your exposure to BPA. Given the wide use of BPA in so many products we encounter every day, it is probably impossible to completely eliminate your exposure to this potentially harmful chemical. Still, you can lower your exposure—and your risk of possible health problems associated with BPA—by taking a few simple precautions. In 2007, the Environmental Working Group hired an independent laboratory to conduct an analysis of BPA in many different canned foods and beverages. The study found that the amount of BPA in canned food varies widely. Chicken soup, infant formula, and ravioli had the highest concentrations of BPA, for example, while condensed milk, soda, and canned fruit contained much less of the chemical. Here are a few tips to help you lower your exposure to BPA. Eat Fewer Canned Foods The easiest way to lower your intake of BPA is to stop eating so many foods that come into contact with the chemical. Eat fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, which usually have more nutrients and fewer preservatives than canned foods, and taste better, too. Choose Cardboard and Glass Containers Over Cans Highly acidic foods, such as tomato sauce and canned pasta, leach more BPA from the lining of cans, so it’s best to choose brands that come in glass containers. Soups, juices, and other foods packaged in cardboard cartons made of layers of aluminum and polyethylene plastic (labeled with a number 2 recycling code) are safer than cans with plastic linings containing BPA. Do Not Microwave Polycarbonate Plastic Food Containers Polycarbonate plastic, which is used in packaging for many microwaveable foods, may break down at high temperatures and release BPA. Although manufacturers are not required to say whether a product contains BPA, polycarbonate containers that do are usually marked with a number 7 recycling code on the bottom of the package. Choose Plastic or Glass Bottles for Beverages Canned juice and soda often contain some BPA, especially if they come in cans lined with BPA-laden plastic. Glass or plastic bottles are safer choices. For portable water bottles, glass and stainless steel are best, but most recyclable plastic water bottles do not contain BPA. Plastic bottles with BPA are usually marked with a number 7 recycling code. Turn Down the Heat To avoid BPA in your hot foods and liquids, switch to glass or porcelain containers, or stainless steel containers without plastic liners. Use Baby Bottles That Are BPA-Free As a general rule, hard, clear plastic contains BPA while soft or cloudy plastic does not. Most major manufacturers now offer baby bottles made without BPA. However, a recent study published in the journal Endocrinology evaluated an alternative plastic compound (BPS) used in products labeled as BPA-free, and unfortunately, it also was found to create significant hormonal disruptions in a fish species. Further studies are needed to determine how concerned we should be for the effects on human health. Use Powdered Infant Formula Instead of Pre-mixed Liquid A study by the Environmental Working Group found that liquid formulas contain more BPA than powdered versions. Practice Moderation The fewer canned foods and beverages you consume, the less your exposure to BPA, but you don’t have to cut out canned foods altogether to reduce your exposure and lower your potential health risks. In addition to eating less canned food overall, limit your intake of canned foods that are high in BPA.

Nielsen s 7th Heuristic Flexibility And Efficiency Of Use

Part 1 – Jakob Nielsen’s 7th Heuristic: â€Å"Flexibility and Efficiency of Use† The Human-computer interaction (HCI) has evolved through the years, which has set the stage for users to participate in the interaction design process. With the participation of end users, corporations have listened to their issues and concerns in developing a user friendly product to accommodate most, if not all of their preferences and suggestions. This paper will define and discuss the Human-computer interaction (HCI), Jakob Nielson’s 7th heuristic, and introduce three interactive items correlating between the two. Applying the HCI and Neilson’s first heuristic with the three interactive items from the user’s point of view and experience will produce an applicable feedback to focus on further development of future components of similar stature. The Jakob Nielsen’s 7th heuristic is â€Å"flexibility and efficiency of use†. Accelerators -- unseen by the novice user -- may often speed up the interaction for the expert user such that the system can cater to both inexperienced and experienced users. Allow users to tailor frequent actions (Nielsen, J. 1995). In retrospect novice and expert users use systems in a slightly differently, receive the same results. Therefore, the system should be easy and efficient to use by both novices and experts alike. Systems provide â€Å"accelerators† for expert users to proficiently navigate the applications to complete the most recurrent tasks. An example of accelerators canShow MoreRelatedManaging Information Technology (7th Edition)239873 Words   |  960 Pagespermission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permission(s) to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions Department, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458. Many of the designations by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products

Minority Group Status Free Essays

A minority group refers to a subordinate group whereby the members do not have enough control over their lives and do not have power to effectively fight for their rights. A minority group is inferior and is usually dominated by the rest, who are usually the majority group. The minority group experiences rather few opportunities to pursue their goals since education, success and wealth is limited to them. We will write a custom essay sample on Minority Group Status or any similar topic only for you Order Now Such opportunities are disproportionately very low when compared to their population within the society. (Feagin, 2000) Characteristics of Minority Group Status A minority group has a number of characteristics which distinguish them from the majority group. The characteristics make them stand out from the rest and become easily identifiable. One characteristic of the members of the minority group is that they have distinguishing cultural or physical traits, for example skin color (physical) and language (cultural). A good example is Blacks in countries which are largely dominated by Whites. Another characteristic is that they usually face unequal treatment and have less power and therefore are not in full control of what goes around them. Mostly, the members claim of receiving unfair treatment and are constantly discriminated against. (Peter Trauttman, 2006) In extreme cases, the members may be denied their rights to access certain resources, for, example, having recreational facilities strictly for majority group and restricting the minority group from accessing them. The third characteristic is that the members do not belong to the minority group by choice. The membership is therefore involuntary and no one can be compelled to remain a member or give up the membership since it is through race, power or even law that a person finds himself or herself belonging to the minority group. The fourth characteristic is that there is usually a high degree of awareness of subordination as well as a strong sense of solidarity among the members. The last characteristic is that, the majority group is high characterized by in-group marriages due to their close association and collaboration. (Jacob, 2005) Different Ways in Which Groups Become Minorities There are various ways in which groups become minorities numerically and socially. Numerically the minority group is judged by virtue of being few in numbers, for example, racial whereby the members are classified on some obvious characteristics, such as skin color. These characteristics are visible. For instance, Racial minority groups in US; American Indian, Blacks, Hawaiians and Asian Americans. Socially, the minority group is judged on the basis of inferior culture, faith, or belief as in gender, ethnic and religion. (Jacob, 2005) Ethnically, the groups are classified on cultural basis, such as food and language. Ethnic Minority Groups in US include Latinos and Hispanics such as Puerto Ricans, Chicanos and Cubans. The Jews are also part of the cultural minorities. In terms of gender, males are usually the social majority and women are the social minority. In religion, the minorities are the members who do not have the same faith as the majority group. For instance, Muslims, Mormons, Roman Catholics and Amish are religious minorities in US. (Peter Trauttman, 2006) Consequences of Minority Group Status Some of the consequences are pluralism, assimilation, fusion, segregation, secession, expulsion and extermination. In pluralism, this is whereby the minority and majority groups or individuals maintain their different identities, that is, Whites are represented by Whites and Blacks by Blacks. In assimilation, the minority group identifies with the majority group in terms of culture and consequently is absorbed by the dominant group. In fusion, the majority and minority group merge to create a new group. (Feagin, 2000) Their cultures and physical characteristics are synthesized without intermarrying. In segregation, these two groups are physically separated in terms of work place, residence and social functions. In secession, the minority group moves out to create a new nation or join an established nation, whereby it becomes dominant. In expulsion, the minority group may be forced to leave a certain region or even thrown out of the country by the dominant group. In, extermination, the minority group is wiped out through genocide or systematic, deliberate killing. (Feagin, 2000) Conclusion From the discussion above, the existence of minority group status is not healthy though it cannot be avoided. Many divisions result from such differences making it impossible for a certain group to pursue their common goals and encourage vices such as discrimination against tribe, gender and religion. (Peter Trauttman, 2006) References Feagin, J. (2000) Racial and Ethnic Relations, Palgrave Publishers, US. Jacob, C. (2005) What is a Minority Group, Palgrave Publishers, UK. Peter, Z. Trauttmann, C. (2006) Distinguishing between Minority and Majority Group,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Fireside Press, Washington DC.    How to cite Minority Group Status, Essay examples

Global Environment for Internationalization†MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about theGlobal Business Environmentfor Internationalization. Answer: Introduction The global environment is getting affected with various changing factors in the contemporary world of the business. There are various factors behind the change; however, two factors have the highest effects on the changing nature of the world business. Globalization and the internationalization are the two important factors, which are affecting the business practices in major terms. The technological advancement and the desire to enhance the competitive advantages have collectively given birth to the two most important terms such as globalization and internationalization. However, both the terms are different in their meanings and the attracting power (Hill, Cronk and Wickramasekera 2013). The main purpose of this assignment would be to understand the terms globalization and internationalization. Globalization Internationalization Globalization Globalization can be referred to a process, which has narrowed down the gaps in between different cultures and the countries. In the hunt to reach to a global destinations just for the betterment of business problems and acquire the solutions have initiated the significance of going to global countries (Cox, Clegg and Ietto-Gillies 2013). The forms of business have now been changed, which initially was limited only to the exports and important majorly. The rates of merger and acquisition have now become enlarged than before, which is simply because of the growing thirst for the global success. One important factor has also attracted different organizations for the globalization process, which is to acquire success in some other countries. In some cases when companies get stacked with the revenues growth in their parent country, they at that time look for some other options where they could actually find some alternatives to the ongoing problem. For example, Walmart in America has don e the same thing, which has moved to some other potential market simply to find answers for its potentialities (Dunning 2014). Internationalization Internationalization can be understood as the real outcome of a globalization process, which facilitates the exchange of different trades at the international platforms. It can also be understood as the outcome, which renders the integration of different cultures at one place. The highly progressive nature of world business and the different prospects of the different international markets have collectively changed the world business environment. International includes but is not limited to such as opting higher education at some international centres, going to global countries for the expansion of existing business and reaching to the international countries for addressing the business related problems (Wild, Wild and Han 2014). Difference Between Globalization and Internationalization Globalization Globalization is the process, which facilitates the business in global countries It enhances interdependence It is inevitable with the highly incrementing communication modes Internationalization Internationalization is reaching to the international countries by maintaining the same identity It retains the identity of one country Internationalization is need based, which expands after sensing the needs Table 1: Globalization Vs Internationalization Source: (created by author) Global Business Environment Institution Based View An institution resource based view is the governance of sets of rules for the internationalization as it is very important to consider the different requisite works before the assimilation with the different cultures. The internationalization of a business to some other countries attracts and facilitates the integration of different cultures at the same place. At that point in time, it then become important to have an institutional back up for the understanding the institutional understanding of their cultures. The company when move to some other country for the business process it bears some institutional backups behind it. At the same time, it is also coming closer to the institutional beliefs of some different countries. Nevertheless, it is widely useful and hugely important to understand the institutional beliefs of the target business countries. The institution-based views are of two types such as formal and informal (Harrison 2013). Institutions are not one-dimensional; they ar e rather multi dimensional, which can be classified as follows: Formal The formal institution based view is also known as regulative, which deals with the rules and regulations of the different cultures. In an internationalization process, the companies going for some international locations they are bound to adhere to the different sets of rules and regulations of the targeted country. The company had some other kinds of legal proceedings back in his parent country; however, when it reaches to the international location, it has some different sets of rules and regulatory frameworks. Nevertheless, the business practices and every other activity are now affected by the international rules and regulations. This is indeed problematic in some instances as companies might not be able to meet with the requirements of the local government. Companies might have their tendencies to carry with their existing local countrys rules and regulations. This is where the find difficulties in adjusting with the foreign rules and regulations. A very good example of such ph enomena is of Vodafone when the British Prime minister came to India to sort out the issues imposed by TRAI on Vodafone (Attfield 2015). Informal The informal form of institution-based view refers to a behaviouristic approach, which governs the social behaviour of the company or the people working in it. It is about the culture, the social and the custom, which different organizations needs to posses in order to be integrated different culture at the international place. In the internationalization process, socialization is a vital factor, which might even test the feasibility of the highest standard organization. It plays a vital role in the business as it governs the selection of products according to the societal needs and requirements. Someone selling a product in India with high spiciness in it can never be successful amongst the Australian customers as they are highly diet oriented (Ferraro and Brody 2015). Resource Based View Resource based view advocates the importance of internal resources for being competitive in the market. Different experts have believed that looking on the external environment is not the solution the rising competitiveness in the market (Axelrod and VanDeveer 2014). The organizations should rather try to realize the internal resources and utilise them to attain the maximum competitiveness. An organization is never competitive if it has no idea about its own capabilities. External opportunities should be used by utilizing the existing resources, which is the most viable thing an organization can do. The existing capabilities are identified and enhancing the existing capabilities would certainly produce maximum results (Hill and Hernndez-Requejo 2012). Tangible Intangible Resources Tangible things are all those things, which have some physical existence such as machines whereas intangible are those things that do not exist in physicality. However, both the tangible and the intangible things have their own limitations, which can also affect the business performance of an organization. It is advisable to stick to the existing resources as guided by the resource based view; however, it is never inevitable to depend all the time on the available resources. The available resources might not be competitive enough, which makes this necessary to have some change. For example, an organization relying on the traditional form of business might succeed to some extent but to address a larger customer base, it requires some advanced and more technologically advanced system. Nevertheless, e-commerce has established its viability and the importance in the world of business. Companies can now reach to a larger customer base with the usage of e-commerce platform, which was never possible with the traditional format of business (Cavusgil et al. 2014). Capabilities (Skills) Capabilities are another important resource of an organization, which they could use to attain a maximum success. Identifying the hidden potential in employees by conducting some training and development program is a good way to attain the competitiveness in the market. However, the ageing population is a problem in this context, which is putting enormous pressures on the HRM to recruit substantiate amount of replacements (Peng 2016). Issues and Challenges Faced by Managers Based on the discussion in the resource based views and the institution-based views following issues and challenges can be concluded, which the managers of contemporary world are facing (Parhizgar 2013): Managing an ethical business practice Understanding the real requirement of the international customers Identifying the most viable international business location Identifying the most viable actions for the business success in the international locations Ageing workforces Insufficient graduate professionals Unparallel growth of technological advancements Stakeholder relations Business sustainability Dynamic capabilities Elevating graph of revenue generation Incrementing nature of competitiveness in the market Changing demands of consumers Strict rules and regulations of some international government such as China, which mostly favours the local companies High attrition of employees Less motivated employees Investment issues Strategic planning and its implementation Conclusion The global business environment is highly affected by the impact of globalization and the internationalization. The international and the global businesses are being highly influenced by the challenges and the issues, which each of the institution-based and the resource-based views are posing to the contemporary managers. Nevertheless, the global business environment is challenged by various external and internal forces, which are limiting the actual growth, which an organization can have. References Attfield, R., 2015.Ethics of the global environment. Edinburgh University Press. Axelrod, R.S. and VanDeveer, S.D. eds., 2014.The global environment: institutions, law, and policy. CQ Press. Cavusgil, S.T., Knight, G., Riesenberger, J.R., Rammal, H.G. and Rose, E.L., 2014.International business. Pearson Australia. Cox, H., Clegg, J.L. and Ietto-Gillies, G. eds., 2013.The Growth of Global Business (RLE International Business). Routledge. Dunning, J.H., 2014.The Globalization of Business (Routledge Revivals): The Challenge of the 1990s. Routledge. Ferraro, G. and Brody, E.K., 2015.Cultural Dimension of Global Business. Routledge. Harrison, A., 2013.Business environment in a global context. Oxford University Press. Hill, C.W. and Hernndez-Requejo, W., 2012.Global business today. Toronto, ON: McGraw-Hill Ryerson. Hill, C.W., Cronk, T. and Wickramasekera, R., 2013.Global business today. McGraw-Hill Education (Australia). Parhizgar, K.D., 2013.Multicultural behavior and global business environments. Routledge. Peng, M.W., 2016.Global business. Cengage learning. Wild, J., Wild, K.L. and Han, J.C., 2014.International business. Pearson Education Limited.