Music Therapy and its Effects on Hospitalization and Medical Essay

Music Therapy and its Effects on Hospitalization and Medical Procedures - Essay Example In conclusion the research shows that the utilization of music therapy is far to beneficial to not use as an interventive therapy for patients in the hospital as it has the power of changing negative perceptions into more positive ones which results in far better patient outcomes. The idea of music therapy being an alternative means of therapy for hospitalized patients has definitely grown over the past five years. Much of this is due to the fact that the evidence that has been gathered and identified concerning its effect's on patients is seemingly irrefutable as a means to bring positivism in a patient's life. Its main goal is to bring comfort and relaxation to the patient that is worried and filled with apprehension and anxiety over a medical condition or medical procedure that they must combat. It has also been found to be a great therapy in the recovery period of patients within a hospital environment as well. ... The findings of this research are meant to show that there is a need for this form of alternative therapy in the post-operative phase of surgical procedures, in physical therapy, medical testing, treatment regimens such as with cancer patients, and also the overall recovery period of patients as well. Therefore the gathered data is meant to try and bring validity into the utilization of this therapy so that it will be able to provide persuasion for its usage regardless of any costs associated with it. 1.1 Problems Associated with Music Therapy The main area of limitation that might be associative with music therapy is trying to provide irrefutable evidence that it is indeed an alternative method that places patients in a more tranquil and healing type of environment. Some researchers try to state that it is not as pertinent to hospital patients as other researchers' state it is and therefore there is some controversy associated with this methodology in the health care system. Also the studies that have been carried out on this technique have been relatively small which leaves it facing indecisiveness in regards to being placed as a permanent therapeutic element in a hospital environment. What is being implied is although it is often utilized, there is not sufficient evidence to offer 100 % validity on how effective it is in placing a positive element in the recovery process of patients in a hospital. However, this researcher personally feels that the areas in a hospital environment where music therapy has been utilized (sp ecifically post surgical and rehabilitative) have given credence to this therapeutic alternative as a positive way of reinforcing the patients' perception of the quality of their care and their environment. 1.2

Berkshire Threaded Fasteners Case Essay Example for Free

Berkshire Threaded Fasteners Case Essay Berkshire Threaded FastenersBerkshire Threaded Fasteners Company has recently lost their president, John Magers. The resulting appointment of his inexperienced son Joe Magers has lead to the companys loss of confidence. Brandon Cook is the recently appointed general manger who was hired to turn the company around after a loss of $70,000 in a good business year. As a member of an outside consulting firm I have been called in to give advice on the problems the company is facing. The time period has been updated to the present times. Manufacturing ProcessSee Appendix A for the detailed manufacturing process. In short, fasteners begin as wires, rods and bars which are then cut to length, headed and finally threaded. What should be noted is that this particular manufacturing process called cold forming is high-speed, high-volume, economical and has low wastage. Such economies of scale will allow Berkshire to offset the very high costs of cold-forming equipment. Business StrategyA careful analysis is needed in order to determine Berkshires business strategy. At first one would think it was product differentiation because of the inelastic demand in the short run. But one thing that should also be noted is the fact that for most goods, demand is much more price elastic in the long run than in the short run. This combined with the fact that Berkshire is convinced that it could not individually raise prices without suffering substantial volume declines, and that all the products of the different manufacturers in the industry are very similar, prove that their business strategy is in fact cost leadership. Another piece of evidence that also supports this strategy is the fact that the major focus of their accounting system seems to be on cost reduction. Place in the EconomyThe industrial fastener industry has been experiencing modest growth since the 1990s with an average per annum revenue growth rate of 3.6% ; though the number of employees have remained relatively the same. The North American fastener industry is still expected to grow by around 4% annually despite the competition from foreign countries. However this number represents a decline from the 9% growth spurt which occurred in 1998. The North American fastener production is strongly tied to the production of automobiles, aircraft, appliances, agricultural machinery and equipment, and the construction of commercial buildings and infrastructure. The more these industries prosper, the greater the demand and prospects for the fastener will there be. There has been as ever expanding market for fasteners in the 21st century in the aerospace industry. In fact a 9% annual growth in fasteners for this industry can be expected. Motor vehicle sales have also increased by 9.6% from 2005 to 2006. Unfortunately housing starts have only increased by 0.7% from 2005. In the future analysts expect metal fasteners to face competition from the adhesives industry as more products are being made with plastic, a product best joined together by adhesives. Also buyers have now been demanding innovative and diverse fasteners which are also more environmentally friendly- fasteners that maintain lubricity without the use of cadmium, a suspected carcinogen. So the industry is slowly shifting its focus to more highly engineered, technologically advanced fasteners. SWOTStrengths:1) Newly appointed Brandon Cook has wide executive experience in manufacturing products similar to that of Berkshire. 2) Berkshire operates in a capital intensive industry. But as a percentage of total sales, Berkshires labour costs are 24.69%. This suggests that they either still retain their employees even when they could have done without them or that they pay very high salaries to a few workers. This shows that Berkshire has either very loyal employees or very skilled employees- both being assets. Weaknesses:1) Joe Magers is not very experienced and the company is facing losses in the production of the 200 and 300 series. 2) As a percentage of total sales, Berkshires fixed costs are 47.37%. This is much higher than what a price competitive manufacturer like Berkshire should have had. 3) Berkshire pays 49% of all its wages and salaries to administrative and sales employee, when the industry average is 27% . This shows poor decision making processes of the firm. Opportunities:1) If product lines are discontinued, with the excess capacity and skilled labour force they can branch out into the production of more diverse fasteners. This ties in with the fact mentioned previously that buyers are now demanding more specialized products. Threats:1) Berkshire operates in an industry where a few of its competitors are much larger. 2) The industry is dominated by Bosworth who dictates the prices that are charged for fasteners. 3) Buyers are slowly demanding more specialized fasteners. ProblemWhat is very evident is that the company is losing money on its products. In the previous time period they had incurred a loss of $70,000. Berkshire is unsure if it is the result of the production of the 300 series or the pricing decisions of the 100 series. These alternatives need a careful analysis in order to make informed decisions that will help turn the company around. Alternative #1 Status QuoQuantitative Analysis:In order to determine if the company should do nothing, is to predict the future cash flows and net income (loss) for the second half of the year. See Appendix B for this calculation. The predicted net income is in fact a loss of 1134. Yet, net income may not be a faithful representation, so cash flows have also been calculated. The predicted cash flow is a negative amount of 388. These amounts while better than alternative #3 (drop the 300 series) is not as good as the cash flow and net income amounts for alternative #2 (reduce price levels of the 100 series). One very important thing that needs to be noted is the fact that variable costs are indeed relevant. Fixed costs remain constant even after the production is stopped, but variable costs increase and decrease with production. Therefore the total contribution margin for this alternative was calculated to be 1504 which does show this alternative in a better light  especially when in comparison to its net loss and cash flow figures. Qualitative Analysis:The reduced production of the 100 series as a result of the price level remaining the same will have a significant impact on Berkshire. The reduced production may lead to employees worrying about the fact that they may be laid off to such an extent that their productivity is significantly lowered. Berkshire could also develop a reputation of charging higher prices than the industry standard and they could end up loosing more and more buyers to competitors. Alternative #2 Change price level to $2.25 for the 100 seriesQuantitative Analysis:In order to determine if the price level needs to be dropped a few calculations are needed. First a prediction of its impact on the net income and cash flows for the second half of the year is needed. These calculations are shown in Appendix C. The predicted net income figure is a loss of 1035. The predicted cash flow is a negative amount of 289. While these figures do seem abysmal, what should be noted is that in comparison to the other alternatives, these figures are much better. Both the net loss and negative cash flow amounts in this alternative is 99 lower than the status quo alternative and 338.58 lower than the drop 300 series alternative. This hints to the fact that maybe the price should in fact be dropped. Another fact that backs this assertion up is in the calculation of the Contribution Margin (CM) for both price levels, based on data from the first half of the year. Table 2 in Appendix A shows this calculation. While the CM of the new price level is lower than that of the original level (0.96 vs. 1.16), the fact that they will sell 250,000 units more (and hence a higher total CM for the new price) clearly makes up for this difference. The success of the new prices level will be contingent on the number of units sold. What is very dangerous about this alternative is that if in the future the demand in the market for this product line slumps, only a very small amount of money will be available to be used to pay off the fixed costs. Qualitative Analysis:The change in price level will not have much of an effect on the employees of Berkshire because they would still be producing  around the same amount of units (1000000 vs. 996859). They would not have to worry about being laid off. What will be affected is Berkshires reputation. If they had not changed they would have developed a reputation of charging high prices. The reduction of the price would put them at par with Bosworth. Alternative #3 Drop 300 seriesQuantitative Analysis:In order to determine if the 300 series needs to be dropped a few calculations are needed. First a prediction of the impact of its removal on the net income and cash flows for the second half of the year is needed. The predicted net income figure is a loss of 1373.58 and the predicted cash flow is calculated to be a negative amount of 627.70. The net loss figure calculated is the highest loss of all three alternatives and the negative cash flow amount is also much higher than the alternatives as well. This hints to the fact that maybe the 300 series line should not be dropped. Also, if the 300 series had been dropped at the beginning of the year it can be seen that there would have been a loss of -183. See the calculations for these numbers in Appendix D. Another aspect that backs up this assertion is the calculation of the Contribution Margins for all three product lines based on first half information. Even though Berkshire incurred a loss of .22/unit in the first half for series 300, when you calculate the CM it is a whole new story- the CM of 300 is a positive number- 1.15/unit, this means that Berkshire would in fact incur an even greater loss if they chose to halt production. The 1.15 per unit would no longer be available to cover some of the fixed costs. What is also surprising is the fact that the 300 series Contribution Margin is not far behind from that of the 100 series (the most profitable product line) and equal to that of the 200 series. A few other very important observations also need to be taken into account. First, since many products do cover all their variable costs, no product line would ever be dropped if only a contribution margin analysis were conducted. Second, even though the 300 series covers its variable costs and part of its fixed costs, it proves to be below par when considering full costs. Finally, in the long run all costs are variable, so the 300 series in this time frame is in fact a poor product line. Qualitative Analysis:If the 300 series was dropped it would have a significant qualitative impact on Berkshire and its employees. All the employees who were involved in the production of this line would either have to be laid off (which would have a negative impact on the reputation of the firm), or they could still be retained (which would lead to them obtaining a deep sense of respect and loyalty to the firm). Also the employees who would be shifted around would gain a greater skill set and hence become very valuable assets to the company. Evaluation of the alternativesComparison Table1) Profitability2) Timeliness3) Consistency with Strategy. Alternative #1-$11347 daysNot as muchAlternative #2-$10354-7 daysYesAlternative #3-$137410-14 daysNot as much1) Profitability:The primary objective of all businesses, no matter how big or small, is profit. That is why as a criterion, Profitability was given the number one rank. The three alternatives can easily be evaluated on this criterion by comparing the net income figures. Alternative #2 easily wins in this criterion. Despite the fact that it does have a net loss, the loss was not as great as that of Alternative #1 and #3. One important thing that should be noted is the fact that perhaps the second half of the season is always a slow period and that is why the net income figures are so low. 2) Timeliness:Berkshire operates in a business environment where if firms that lag behind in decision making, implementation of policies etc, they will be left behind with no profits. That is why Timeliness was given the rank of two. Surprisingly Status Quo would have an implementation time of around 7 days. Since keeping the price level of the 100 series the same at 2.45/unit would result in them producing 385332 less number of units (See Appendix E for the calculation), time would be need to shift employees around to new jobs in the firm, possibly close down a warehouse or even convert the machines used to produce the 100 series to now produce a different product line. Alternative #2, reduce price level would probably only take 4-7 days to implement. The only thing Berkshire would need to do would be to inform their current buyers of their new price level and perhaps also to advertise the lower price in a specialized fastener industry journal. Alternative #3, drop the 300 series would probably take around 10-14 days. Not only would Berkshire need to shift employees around, close down a warehouse etc, as a result of producing a lower number of 100 series units, but they would also have to announce the dropping of the 300 series line to its buyers, move even more employees around (or possibly lay them off), close even more warehouses down, move machinery around the manufacturing space etc. This would be a very time consuming process. Overall Alternative #2 would win in this criterion as it would have a less time consuming implementation time and process. 3) Consistency with Strategy:This criterion was given a rank of three because while necessary in the evaluation, Profitability and Timeliness do have a greater importance. In the short run Alternative #2 had the greatest consistency with strategy. Berkshire is a cost leader, and reducing the prices of the 100 series ties in very well with this strategy. Alternative #1 and #3 chose not to reduce the price and this decision conflicts with their cost leadership strategy. ConclusionOverall I would recommend that Berkshire implement Alternative #2- reduce the price level of the 100 series, as it did win in all three criteria. But one important thing needs a re-mention. The CM per unit of the reduced price level was lower than that of the higher price level. It was only because of the higher volume of sales did it manage to have a higher total contribution margin. In the future if sales volumes drop, despite the price change Berkshire would incur heavy losses. At this present time Alternative #1 and #3 are both very unprofitable and will still be in the future. At least Alternative #1 is not as unprofitable at this present time but what happens in the future will all depend on sales. Recommendations for Specific Action1) Chose a date when the price change will come in to effect and make sure all current buyers are aware of this well ahead of time. 2) Advertise in newspapers, journals etc to get the message across to new buyers that Berkshire has reduced its prices. 3) All forms, documentation, accounting systems etc should be changed to take into account the new price level. 4) Make sure that there are people at hand to research the market and evaluate whether demand is going to decline for the 100 series. 5) Make sure that there are researches available to study the market for new trends and new types of fasteners that could be produced in the future.

American Communist Containment Policy 1945-1953 Essay -- Politics Comm

Containment Policy 1945-1953 America used a variety of methods to contain Soviet influence between 1945-1953. Methods such as Propaganda and flexing of muscle became essential as America justified its policies and actions as part of the struggle to save Capitalist Ideology from the Communist oppressors. Ideology was the main source of conflict between the USA and USSR. This difference in ideology led inevitably to distrust between the two superpowers. The USSR believed in a state controlled economy which discouraged free enterprise, antithesis of America's economic system; the encouragement of free enterprise and the privatization of industry. Thus, the divergent economic structures of the superpowers painted different perspectives, which inevitably sowed the seeds for further conflict between the USA and USSR. The conferences between the USA and USSR up until 1945 showed the various disagreements between the USA and USSR. These conferences were held in Tehran in December 1945, Yalta in February 1945 and Potsdam in July 1945. The main source of conflict between USA and USSR was the future status of Europe. The USA wanted a democratic capitalist continent that it could influence. The USSR wanted to spread Communism and prevent the disasters of World War II recurring again. While Stalin was a brutal and ruthless dictator responsible for millions of deaths, feared and resented by many eastern Europeans, he actually did not intend to conquer the world. This was the basic misunderstanding which fueled the Cold War: the U.S. government, as well as many private citizens, believed that the Russians were engaged in a world-wide con... ...e of 1954, West Germany was permitted to join NATO. In 1955 it became a member of NATO and the following year East Germny joined the Warsaw Pact. USA armed West Germany with 400 000 soldiers as a barrier against the USSR. Thus, the wars and methods of containing Soviet influence always reverted back on the focus of Germany. America had used a variety of methods to contain Soviet influence. These methods did not prove successful as each attempt to umbrella nations from Communism backfired. The Marshall Plan and the defense of South Korea were counter-reacted with the Molotov Plan and the tightening of the Soviet 'Buffer Zone'. Thus, America's containment policies only hindered the implementation of the true ideas 'containment', which concluded with the strengthening of Soviet influence around Europe and the world.

About Type 2 Diabetes Essay

Around 2.6 million people in the UK have been diagnosed with diabetes. About nine in 10 of these people have type 2 diabetes. It usually affects people over the age of 40, but can develop at any age. People of African-Caribbean or South Asian origin are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. It usually affects them earlier in life, from about the age of 25. Type 2 diabetes is becoming more common, particularly in children. Type 2 diabetes develops when your body can’t produce enough insulin or if your body doesn’t respond to insulin as it should. Insulin regulates the level of glucose in your blood. Glucose is a simple form of sugar found in foods and sugary drinks. It’s absorbed by your body as a natural part of digestion and is carried around your body in your blood. When glucose reaches your body tissues, such as muscle cells, it’s absorbed and converted into energy. Insulin is secreted into your blood by your pancreas, which is a gland located behind your stomach. If your cells don’t respond properly to insulin, it can cause glucose to build up in your blood. This is called insulin resistance. If this happens, your pancreas needs to produce more and more insulin to overcome the resistance and control your blood glucose levels. Types of diabetes There are two main types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2. There are about two million people in the UK who have diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the common form, affecting nine out of every 10 people with diabetes. Symptoms of type 2 diabetes Many people with type 2 diabetes have no obvious symptoms. It’s often discovered during a routine medical check-up with your GP.If you do have symptoms of type 2 diabetes, you may: †¢pass more urine than usual See more: My Writing Process Essay †¢be constantly thirsty †¢have unexplained weight loss †¢be extremely tired †¢have blurred vision †¢have itchy skin around your genitals or get regular infections, such as thrush †¢notice that wounds such as cuts heal slowly If you have any of these symptoms, see your GP. nitially, some people find they don’t have any symptoms. So if you think you may be at risk of type 2 diabetes, speak to your GP about having a screening blood test.  Complications of type 2 diabetes If type 2 diabetes isn’t diagnosed or controlled properly, you can develop blood glucose levels that are either too high (hyperglycaemia) or too low (hypoglycaemia). Hyperglycaemia If type 2 diabetes is poorly controlled or you get an infection, glucose can build up in your blood and rise to high levels. This can cause you to: †¢be thirsty †¢pass urine excessively †¢have blurred vision †¢feel tired Very rarely, if you become dehydrated and your blood glucose rises to very high levels, you can develop a condition called hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state. This can cause you to become drowsy and potentially unconscious. Hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state is a medical emergency and needs to be treated in hospital. In the long-term, uncontrolled high blood glucose levels can increase your risk of: †¢kidney failure †¢blindness †¢nerve damage †¢heart disease †¢stroke Hypoglycaemia Sometimes, if your medication is too strong or you miss a meal, your blood glucose levels can become too low (hypoglycaemia). This only happens if you’re taking certain medicines such as gliclazide (or others of the same type), repaglinide or insulin (of any type). If your blood glucose is low, you may go pale, feel sweaty and become confused. If you develop hypoglycaemia, it’s important to eat or drink something containing glucose, for example fruit juice or some sweets. Causes of type 2 diabetes There are several risk factors that make you more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, including if you: †¢are overweight or obese – in particular, if you’re an ‘apple shape’ with lots of fat around your abdomen (tummy) †¢have a close family member with the condition †¢are of African-Caribbean or South-Asian origin †¢are over 40 – your risk increases with age †¢have high blood pressure or have had a heart attack or stroke †¢don’t exercise regularly †¢have severe mental health problems †¢are a woman and have polycystic ovary syndrome and are overweight †¢are a woman and have had diabetes that developed during pregnancy (gestational diabetes) If you have a condition such as impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glycaemia, this means the level of glucose in your blood is naturally higher than normal and you’re more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. Diagnosis of type 2 diabetes Your GP will ask about your symptoms and examine you. He or she may also ask about your medical history. You may need to have some of the following tests. †¢Urine test. You will need to give a sample to be tested for glucose. †¢Fasting blood glucose test. You will have a sample of blood taken from your arm to test for glucose. You will need to fast overnight before having this test. You may have this with a glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1C) test. HbA1C is a protein that is produced when you have high blood glucose levels over a long period of time. †¢Glucose tolerance test. This may be needed if your fasting blood glucose test is borderline. It measures how your blood glucose level changes over time after you have a sugary drink. You will need to fast overnight before having this test. Treatment of type 2 diabetes There isn’t a cure for type 2 diabetes but it can be controlled. Some people can control their condition with lifestyle changes alone. Others need to take medicines or use insulin injections. Self-help By making the following lifestyle changes, you can help control your blood glucose levels. †¢Eat a healthy balanced diet with regular meals, three times a day. Include carbohydrates, such as pasta or potatoes in each meal. †¢Aim to do 150 minutes of moderate exercise over a week in bouts of 10 minutes or more. This will help you to stay a healthy weight and control your blood glucose levels. †¢Only drink alcohol in moderation and stick within the recommended limits. †¢If you smoke, give up. Smoking is unhealthy for everyone, but it’s especially important to stop if you have diabetes because you already have an increased risk of developing circulatory problems and cardiovascular  disease. Oral medicines If lifestyle changes alone don’t keep your blood glucose levels under control, you may be prescribed medicines. Some examples are listed below. †¢Metformin works by reducing the amount of glucose that gets released into your bloodstream from your liver. It also improves the way glucose is used by your muscles. †¢Gliclazide, glipizide, glimepiride and tolbutamide help your pancreas to produce more insulin. †¢Repaglinide and nateglinide also help your pancreas to produce more insulin, but work more quickly and last for a shorter time. †¢Acarbose lowers your blood glucose by slowing down the rate at which some carbohydrates are absorbed by your body. †¢Pioglitazone reduces your body’s resistance to insulin. †¢Sitagliptin, saxagliptin and vildagliptin help your body to produce more insulin at mealtimes. These medicines are usually taken between one and three times a day. Injections You may be prescribed other medicines such as exenatide or liraglutide. These medicines are given by injection and work by helping your body to make more insulin when it’s needed. They can also reduce your appetite and help you lose weight. If lifestyle changes and medicines can’t keep your blood glucose levels under control, you may need to have insulin injections as well as, or instead of, tablets. You will usually inject yourself with insulin once or twice a day, using either a small needle or a pen-type syringe with replaceable cartridges. There are several different types of insulin that work at different rates and for different lengths of time. Ask your GP for advice on which type is best for you. If you have insulin injections, you will need to monitor your blood glucose levels with a home test kit. This involves taking a pinprick of blood from your finger and putting a drop on a testing strip. A meter will read the result automatically. Your GP or diabetes specialist nurse will show you how to monitor your blood glucose levels and tell you how often you need to check it. Monitoring your blood glucose level You may also need to have your levels of HbA1C tested at least twice a year. The test is done by taking blood from a vein in your arm or sometimes a drop of blood from a fingerprick. It’s used to see how well you’re controlling your blood sugar  levels.

Ban Smoking On College Campuses Essay

For every eight smoker’s tobacco kills, one non-smoker is also killed by second hand smoke. ´(American Lung Association) With a fact like that, it makes one really think about where they have been and how much smoke they have been subjected to. For me, attending college every day and walking through clouds of smoke to get from class to class really begins to put my health into perspective. Should a public place such as a college campus receive more rights than a facility such as a restaurant, department or grocery store? With an individuals health rights, the cleanliness around campus, and overall irritation of some of the students at risk, I believe college campus’ should become America’s new target against smoking and become smoke free. When something starts to validate an individuals health rights, issues will be brought up. Smoking is something that America has discovered more and more about over the years and has found increasing numbers of facts about diseases and problems associated with it and the pollution it emits. Anyone who passes by a smoker can inhale the excess smoke and potentially be affected. Slowly, second hand smoke is something we are starting to become more aware of and businesses around America are starting to crack down on banning smoking in their facilities. College campus’ have not been hit by this new ban, though, and continue to let students crowd around their doors to get a smoke in between classes. Because the students tend to crowd around the doors, students entering or exiting the building inhale the smoke. Personally I am an individual that does not smoke so I really do not have any desire to incur any of the dangers that are associated with it. Also because college campuses are where students spend the majority of their day, avoiding contact with it is almost impossible. According to the US Dept. of Health, second-hand smoke has much higher levels of tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide than the direct smoke a smoker inhales. â€Å"The Federal Environmental Protection Agency has classified second-hand smoke as a Group A carcinogen. This category includes only the most dangerous cancer-causing substance, such as asbestos and radon.† (American Lung Association) The potential effects of second hand smoke are a lot more dangerous than people expect, and the build up from inhalation can lead to serious problems for individuals in the future. Just by simply passing by a smoker and taking a  breath in and out, over time can cause damage. If this becomes an everyday routine, as one walks to and from his/her class each day they are at risk for potential problems from second hand smoke. Everyone has the right to smoke once they’ve reached the legal age, and I have no desire to discriminate against them, but if they choose to jeopardize their health it should have nothing to do with a stranger just passing by as they enjoy. A possible drive or smoke before or after they attend school might be a solution just as long as the individual isn’t on campus. Also, with smoking, cleanliness of the campus becomes an issue. For smokers, big cement ashtrays are set up outside to collect the excess cigarette when the individual is done smoking it. These ashtrays often are not given a second glance and the cigarette butts are thrown on the ground around the campus doors. The sight of cigarette butts strewn along the sidewalks around campus is disgusting and does not do much for the lawn attempting to grow along it. When the ashtrays are used, the smell of smoke emanates from them. Pollution from the cigarettes is also an issue, whether it is coming from the cigarette and the individual smoking it outside, or from the ashtrays. Smoke from anything causes damage to our environment and pollutes the air around it, but with cigarette smoke especially, chemicals are being emitted into the atmosphere as well. Persecution against smokers has never been my goal but when the place where I spend the majority of my day becomes a slight dumping ground for smoking, I believe some alternative needs to be made. Possibly, areas set up away from the campus specifically for smokers could be created so as not to punish college smokers but to keep the cigarette pollution in a confined area. From some of the problems that are surrounding smoking on campus, some students have begun to get irritated. Author, Lydia Sax states, â€Å"Smoking is on the rise, physical and emotional self confidence is down, and feelings of stress are up,† for college students. We all understand that smoking relieves stress for some but with the number of smokers on college campuses, non-smokers are starting to become affected. After walking in from outside, clothes tend to smell of smoke and those allergic to the particles become affected. Issues may be minor and tolerable to a point but when instances of  individuals who do not have any desire to be affected by smoke become more and more frequent, students want a change. Second hand smoke is dangerous and the affects of smoke have only disadvantages. I think everyone is aware of the effects of smoking and those who chose to ignore them, choose to ignore them. But for those people that choose not to be affected, second hand smoke can be very irritating. With the awareness of the dangers smoking causes, companies around the world are working to no longer allow it in their buildings. The dangers of second hand smoke and the irritants of it have finally become truly noticed. College campuses are still allowing it, and it is affecting the students. With issues concerning an individuals health rights, the cleanliness of the campus, and irritation of students, I feel that smoking should be banned from campuses. Everyone has a right to choose what or what not to subject themselves to, because second hand smoke has been proven to be just as harmful as first hand, for some people that right has been revoked.