Psychiatric Hospitals in Ireland Research Paper

Psychiatric Hospitals in Ireland - Research Paper Example The call for uniformity of care for psychiatric illnesses has been fostered by several legislations across countries, and the current trend is to foster care increasingly in the community in collaboration with the family [2]. Despite that, there are certain conditions where there is a need to detain the patient in the mental health hospitals with forceful and involuntary admission, where coercion plays an important role. Admission against the will of the patient is an ethically unsound area of practice; and therefore law directs the process. Within the legal framework, the mental health professionals thus exercise their power to detain or incarcerate the patients with an adequate indication permitted by law. The problems or debates arise when there is observed diversity in psychiatric practice, and the heterogeneity of sociocultural environment and differences in professional attitudes towards mentally ill people, all may influence a decision regarding involuntary admission [3]. This has been contributed to by lack of reliable markers of psychiatric diagnoses and management plan for them. The admission to a psychiatric healthcare facility in Ireland may be involuntary, although till now, the vast majority of such admissions are voluntary. Involuntary admission means the patient does not freely agree for the treatment or admission to an inpatient psychiatric unit. The other part of such admission may be that even though the patient agrees for a voluntary admission, there may be detention of these patients into the units in that they are not completely free to leave psychiatric care on their free will. Thus this leads to a detention beyond volition, and detailed rules, regulations, and laws guide such principles. The Irish mental health policies regarding involuntary admission or detention are governed by the Irish Mental Health Act of 2001 and have been in full implementation since November 2006 and all psychiatric facilities including public and private are under its regulations. According to this act, the psychiatric hospitals and units need to be registered as appr oved psychiatric centres, and those hospitals and inpatient units which were providing care to people with psychiatric illnesses at the time of implementation of this law will be considered approved by November 2009. The mental health act 2001 sets out the criteria for involuntary admission to these approved centres for persons suffering from mental disorders. This act also creates provision for independent review of the involuntary admissions of such persons [4]. In a short summary, this act recommends involuntary admissions and detention in an approved psychiatric centre due to psychiatric disorder. The main scenarios or conditions that may cause involuntary admission are personality disorder, social deviance, drug addiction, and intoxication. Although psychiatric patients have their own rights, this act implies that involuntary admission is for the patients' own interests in care and treatment through appropriate examination findings of the psychiatrists, where all information will be revealed to the patients, and in case of incoherence, the tribunal may review such decisions where sometimes the court of law may interfere if appeals are made. These principles are also

Change and Culture Case Study Essay Example for Free

Change and Culture Case Study Essay In tough economic times, companies are looking for ways to continue to provide services and products to the public without compromising quality and efficiency. When it comes to smaller businesses, or businesses that provide the same product or service, it is often wise to merge the companies together to form a stronger, more stable structure. This will take place when Frithsen Physical Therapy merges with Select Physical Therapy. Select Physical Therapy is a national corporation that provides physical therapy as well as aquatic therapy, occupational therapy, athletic training outreach and long-term care services. For the past decade Frithsen Physical Therapy has seen Select Physical Therapy as a fierce competitor that provides less than quality care to its patients. Frithsen Physical Therapy has been well known in the community for providing care in a professional and personal way. Many employees are afraid that merging with a large corporation will change the way they work, causing the quality of patient care to decrease. Middle managers will become essential before, during, and after the merge to ensure that every employee from each company understands the vision for the new corporation and is willing to compromise to make it a reality. The combining of two companies is no easy task and will change the shape and culture of both companies, until a new one is born. Processes such as communication, hiring, patient care and record keeping will change to accommodate the growing corporation, in hopes it will become more effective than either company was on its own. Merging two companies is a delicate procedure, requiring compromise and patience. Each company has built a certain culture over its existence, and each one believes that their culture is best. In reality, each company has certain services or tasks that they perform better than the other. In the instance of Select Physical Therapy merging with Frithsen Physical Therapy, the culture of the new, combined company will be similar to the cultures put in place by each company separately. However, it is important to create a new culture, differing from the previous ones, to promote a sense of teamwork and camaraderie. If this step does not occur, everyone will continue to work in his or her own culture, which becomes divisive, causing the company to be pulled in different directions (Sherrill, 2001). In the first phases of combining the companies, the culture may be fragmented, with each company holding on to what they know. Many of the employees will be wary of the changes occurring around them on a daily basis and may resist certain adjustments (Stanwick, 2000). A new atmosphere of open-mindedness and compromise needs to emerge for the blended company to be successful. When two companies are combined, there are bound to be differences of opinions between practitioners and administrators regarding polices and procedures. It is important to understand that each company brings something valuable to the table, and all ideas and opinions should be considered and discussed Avoiding a competitive stance will help employees from both sides see the positives of blending ideals and values, and ultimately encourage the birth of a stronger, more successful new culture (Stanwick, 2000). To successfully combine two companies involves cooperation from all levels of management. As a middle manager in a merging corporation, there are different strategies and skills that will be necessary to ensure a smooth transition. The most important strategy will be communication. Before the merger occurs, it is important for middle managers to understand the new beliefs and values that upper management desires (Bolton Lewis, 1998). Once middle managers understand the vision for the new company, they must pass it down to their employees. It is not enough to simply communicate the new vision; middle managers must begin practicing these changes immediately. Leading by example is the most effective way to produce results. The middle managers in most companies are more approachable than top management; therefore it is imperative that middle managers are on board with the new vision of the company and display this in a positive way. While the merger is occurring it is essential to build a team atmosphere, full of open communication, honesty, and teamwork. Each employee from both companies should feel as though their positions is important, and their cooperation is essential to the success of the forming company. Once the merger is complete, it is all about the new culture, staying visible, approachable, and communicating information early and often (Bolton Lewis, 1998). Aside from ensuring employees are blending well, it is important to focus on patient care. There will be changes implemented at every phase of the merger, but it is important not let misunderstandings, or issues within the staff affect the quality of care given to the patients. Once the merger has been finalized and integration is complete, middle managers need to assess their staff to be sure that each employee is doing his or her part to make the merge as successful as possible. If there are employees who are resisting the changes being made within the company, or not buying into the new culture and vision, it is necessary to evaluate the situation and decide what is best for the team and the company as a whole. Middle managers must not forget to consider the employees feelings when situation such as this arise. Often times, employees resist mergers because their identities are closely tied to their jobs, and they like to experience continuity of their identities. Giessner (as cited by Sidle, 2006) noted that mergers would challenge this continuity, leading to distress and anxiety from employees. When middle management can understand the feelings of their employees, they can be better equipped to handle issues that may arise by allaying fears or implementing strategies to make employees comfortable with their new roles. Even if all employees from both companies are comfortable with the combining of their two organizations, upper management has the daunting task of reworking its current systems and procedures to include the best strategies from each company. In the case of Frithsen Physical Therapy and Select Physical Therapy, the former’s employees will see the most changes. Frithsen Physical Therapy is a small corporation, covering New England, while Select Physical Therapy is a national corporation, encompassing more services and a variety of clinicians. Along with physical therapy services Select Physical Therapy offers occupational therapy, aquatic therapy, long-term care facilities, and a large athletic training outreach program. This will require managers from Frithsen Physical Therapy to be in charge of more people, and perhaps different clinicians than they are accustomed to working with. The shape and systems currently used in the company will have to shift in order to fit a larger scale of business and a more complicated hierarchy. The regional managers from Frithsen Physical Therapy reported directly to the President of the company, whereas the regional managers of Select Physical Therapy report to one of ten executive managers, who then report to the CEO of the company. The clinic managers of Frithsen Physical Therapy were able to see all of the employees they supervise on a daily basis, working side by side. With the inclusion of the vast athletic training program, they will now be responsible for knowing which athletic trainers report to their clinics, and what schools they are assigned to. There will also be a manager of athletic training services that they will need to communicate with about referrals and business relating to the relationship between the schools covered and the clinics in the area. Due to this more intricate hierarchy, the employees of Frithsen Physical Therapy will see a dramatic change in how they communicate with upper management. Under their old organization, there was a relatively straight path to the top, with only a few levels of management until they reached the President. Communication could be done easily by telephone or in person, and most employees had met each other face to face at one time or another. In the new organization, there will be a need for a more formal kind of communication. In organizations communication tends to be directional, moving upward, downward, diagonal or lateral (Leibler McConnell, 2008). Frithsen Physical Therapy was used to mostly lateral communication, discussing issues with other managers or sharing notes about a particular patient’s care. With the merger, the managers and employees will mostly be communicating upward, providing detailed reports to their supervisors, who will then provide reports to a higher supervisor, and so on. This will require attention to detail and more paperwork for the managers at every level, which will change the way the managers handle issues that arise within their department. With the inclusion of new services and a goal for comprehensive care, comes the call for new positions and alterations to old ones. A need for more middle management will arise, and more staff will be added to accommodate the growth of services while still maintaining exceptional patient care. In conclusion, there are many factors to consider when combining two organizations. It may make sense financially and logically to combine two entities that provide similar services. However, it is important to understand that not only will it be difficult to combine two cultures; it will also take time for employees to adjust to a new chain of command and new policies and procedures. Middle managers will play an important role in the blending of two corporations. They need to remain positive, lead by example, and possibly sever ties with employees who do not fall into line with new visions and ideas. An increase in communication will help make the transition successful, and ultimately all employees will reap the benefits from such a merger. References Bolton, J.M., Lewis, B. (1998, Jan/Feb). The challenge of merging and consolidating organizations. Journal of Management in Engineering, 14(1), 9-10. Academic Search Complete. Leibler, J.G., McConnell, C.R. (2008). Management principles for health professionals (5th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. Sherrill, T. (2001, May). Creating a can-do culture. New Zealand Management, 48(4), 17-21. MasterFILE Premier. Sidle, S.D. (2006, August). Resisting the urge to merge. Academy of Management Perspectives, 20(3), 115-118. Business Source Complete. Stanwick, P.A. (2000, Jan/Feb). How to successfully merge two corporate cultures. Journal of Corporate Accounting Finance, 11(2), 7-11. Business Source Complete.

Wireless Body Area Network Technology

Wireless Body Area Network Technology INTRODUCTION A Body Area Network is defined by IEEE 802.15 as a standard for communication in or near the human body that can serve a variety of applications like medical testing, electronics and private entertainment optimized for low power devices and operation [1]. In more common terms, to cooperate for the benefit of the user Body Area Network is a device system in a close contact to a person’s body. A Wireless Body Area Network is capable of establishing a wireless communication link consists of intelligent and small devices implanted or attached in the body. These devices provide health monitoring for continuous and provides feedback to the medical personnel or user which is real time. The measurements can be recorded and used over a long period of time. There are two types of devices can be used for evaluation: sensors and actuators. The sensors, internal or external, are implanted on body to measure some parameters of the human body. For example body temperature, measuring the heartbeat or recording an ECG readings. The actuators can take some specific actions according to the data received from the sensors e.g., any sensor equipped with a built-in reservoir checks the correct dose of insulin to give, based on the glucose level measurements, to a diabetics patient. In body area network for medical purposes, a number of sensors are implanted on patient’s body. These sensors collect the data from body and send collected data to the main sensor. This main sensor analyzes the data and takes specific action. It sometimes consists of actuator which is used for taking required action. For eg. the sensors collect the data from body of a diabetic patient and sends it the main sensor. The main sensor analyzes the data and if it is dropped then it can inject insulin into the body of the patient and make it comfortable till the main medical aid it gets. IEEE 802.15.4 is a standard for low-rate (LR) WPANs. A LR-WPAN network allows wireless connectivity in applications with limited power, low cost and simple communication and relaxed throughput requirements.[4] Ease of installation, extremely low cost, reliable data transfer, short-range operation and a reasonable battery life are the main objective. There are different type of topologies are used in communication system for different purposes and according to our need. Topologies which are used widely are : Star ,Mesh and Cluster, Ring, Bus topology. On the basis of average jitter, throughput, end –to-end delay, traffic bits sent, traffic bits received, we can find out that which topology is good for our system. With different topologies come different routing protocols. The routing protocols to be used with zigbee protocol are AODV, DYMO, DSR etc. In wireless communication, there is no any fixed or dedicated route is assigned between two nodes for communication. Whenever , they want to communicate with each other or any other node they request for route to the system and these routing protocols , according to their properties find out the best route for communication. That route will be shorter in length so that their won’t be any delay. Body area network is being used very widely in today’s high tech world. Mainly for body area sensors detection, health monitoring and for providing assistance to differently able persons. Below are some of the advantages of Body Area Network:- Quick transmission time Reliability Good quality of service Different data rates can be used Compatibility Low power required (as work on battery) Security (because of encryption) Portable As there are many kind of routing protocols and topologies are available for communication. There are routing protocols like AODV, DYMO, Bellman ford ,LANMAR etc but it depends on type of requirement and demand that which protocol is suitable for our purpose. So, in this project we will try to find out that which routing protocol is better for our system with suitable toplogy like star, mesh etc. In this project we have zigbee based wireless sensors for monitoring. It defines the upper layers like physical and MAC layer. It is suitable choice for monitoring medical purpose sensors. Every node will sense the data from body and collected data will be sent to main node. We will design and simulate these systems on Qualnet then we will make comparison between them on the basis of throughput, average jitter, average end-to-end delay etc. The performance of each topology will be compared with every routing protocol. TECHNOLOGY TO BE USED BODY AREA NETWORK Introduction With the invent of new and high tech environment there is need of small, low power, light weight, portable devices with sensors. These devices can be used at low data rates for improving speed and accuracy. A number of these devices can be implemented on body for the monitoring of body sensor networks for applications such as health monitoring. In a body area network , it consists of small, portable devices that can be easily implanted on one’s body and they can establish wireless network link. These devices take the data continuously for health monitoring and provide real time readings to the medical examiners. These readings can be recorded and can be used for long time. A body area network generally consists of actuators and sensors, which can be implanted on or inside the body. These sensors are used to collect data. Like for eg. taking heartbeats, taking readings of ECG or temperature of body etc. The actuators take required actions on the basis of data they receive from sensors or from users. Sometimes these actuators have in-built pumps or reservoirs that keep on checking the dose of insulin and it can inject it inside body if needed. It is helpful for diabetic patients. The communication with other person or user can be done by portable wireless devices such as smart phone or PDA. The body area network works on the principle in which data is received through implanted devices and transmitted to external devices. The sensors implanted in or outside the body interact with one another and to the actuators. The actuator is based on the process of taking action according to the surrounding conditions. All the sensors send their data to main sensor. The main sensor collects the data from each sensor, fuses it and sends it to the particular person via internet. Generally, body area network comprise of small sensors and devices therefore ad-hoc network is best suitable choice for this kind of network. The IMEC (Interuniversity Micro Electronics Center) working on the principle to get hospital to the nearest location with patient. It is gives the patient the freedom of not going to hospital on regular basis for checking and taking his readings. The patient is now out of worries of regular check-up. The devices itself will take the readings and pass it to the concerned doctor and according to the readings it can take required action too, without the need of any medical personnel, in case of emergency. Architecture A body area network has a network created in or around the human body. The architecture of the body area network is as shown below. Figure 2.1 Architecture of body area network Figure 2.2 Core of body area network The proposed architecture of body area network as shown in figure 2.1 consists of following elements : Sensors: These are used to collect data from the different parts of the body continuously and transmitted this data to main sensor. Main sensor: The main sensors collect the data from other sensors and fuse it together. Then it supplies this data to coordinator. Coordinator: The coordinator analyzes the data and takes suitable action, if required otherwise send this data to PDA being used by the user. PDA or smart phone : These are the devices which get data in the form required from the sensors and transmit over the network to the laptop or desktop, wherever it is being recorded for future purpose. The core of body area network as shown in figure 2.2 consists of several body sensor units (BSU) and one body control unit (BCU). Applications 1. Medical Applications With the invent of new technology and fast processing, there was need of speed, comfortablity and convenience in the field of health monitoring too. So, with the help of body area network, it became possible and easy to monitor the health of patient remotely. 2. Sports Applications In the field of medical, it can check the health of athletes and can give a accurate and clear picture about it to their coaches so that they can determine their weaknesses and strengths. It can be used in measuring many factors during competitions like race. This kind of observation can be done anywhere and there is no need of going to laboratory and running on trademills everytime for taking readings. 3. Entertainment Applications Body area network can be used for entertainment also. It can be used for gaming, multimedia applications, 3D video and video buffering etc. Issues involved 1. Sensors: What type of sensors should be used? The types of sensors to be used depend on the requirement and purpose. 2. Source of power: These devices are to be used for a long time and continuously therefore power source should be continuous and strong. 3. Communication Range: The range of the system should be such that it can give person nearest location help and should not get disconnected even if it is far. 4. Size and weight: The size of the sensor should be small enough to be get implanted on body easily and weight should be as minimum as possible. Because a number of sensors are to be implanted on body so it should not be difficult for the person to carry them over his body. 5. Mounting of sensor: The sensors should be implanted at the correct point of the body so that sensors can take the readings correctly. If they are mounted incorrectly then system may not get the required reading. If the sensors have to count heartbeats then sensors should be placed near heart for taking data. 6. Robustness: There is very less probability of taking wrong readings if the readings are taken incorrectly then it can cause big problems. 7. Synchronization: The sensors should be synchronized with each other and with main sensor. They should be working in real time. 8. Cost: The cost of the system should be low so that more number of persons can use it and could be used for mass production. ZIGBEE PROTOCOL Introduction SIMULATION AND RESULTS Simulation is the main process of finding out the performance of the proposed system. It tells us the ability and efficiency of the particular system when it is used under different system, surrounding and environmental conditions. It tells us that how really our system is going to work in a real environment and what factors should be taken care of while using and designing it .So, instead of designing any factory prototype of system before , it is simulated and ran on software by virtually designing it. In this project we are working for IEEE 802.15.4 zigbee protocol for body sensor network. We have used two topologies : star and mesh. We have used software QUALNET 5.0 for simulation of our scenarios that is star and mesh for different routing protocols such as AODV and DYMO. QUALNET 5.0 is a product of scalable technologies and is a good software for designing and simulating wired and wireless networks such as wi-fi, wi-max, GSM etc. There are a number of protocols available for simulation of different type of systems. It also has 802.15.4 protocol for zigbee which can be used for designing body area network prototypes. Qualnet is chosen because of its accuracy and its available graphical user interface. Using qualnet we designed star and mesh topologies containing PAN co-ordinator, routers and a number of sensor elements and then we developed them for different routing protocols such as AODV and DYMO. After developing them, we tested and compared them for throughput, end-to-end delay, average jitter etc. So that we can find out better performing routing protocol for respective topology used. The simulation results are shown as per respective factor for different topology showing performance on different routing protocol. THROUGHPUT: Any routing protocol in any network can send only a fixed amount of data over the route so if we are having a large bit message then we have to divide that data into a number of packets that can be transferred over the route to the destination. These packets have size which is applicable for the route. When these are sent over the network then some of the packets can get corrupted due to the noise or lost or discarded and not all of the sent packets will be received by the receiver. Then, throughput comes into picture which is the rate of the successful transfer of packets. It is measured in bps that is bits per second. Below are the simulation results for throughput of star and mesh topologies : The above result is shown for the throughput comparison of star topology for AODV and DYMO routing protocol at different nodes . It can be seen from the figure that the throughput is same for both. The above result shows the comparison of mesh topology for AODV and DYMO routing protocol. From the above result we can see that throughput for DYMO is very less than the AODV. So it can be concluded that AODV is better than DYMO for mesh topology. AVERAGE JITTER: When a number of packets are transmitted over a network then there can be some delay (latency) over the network due to which the receiver will receive packet after the expected time. The variability in time can be observed for various networks. This variability in latency is jitter. A network which has no latency or constant latency has no jitter. The above result is shown for comparison of average jitter of star topology for AODV and DYMO routing protocol. It can be seen from the above result that average jitter for AODV is larger than DYMO so it can be concluded that DYMO is better than AODV for star because it has less dealys for packet transmission. Also, it can be concluded that there will be less collision in DYMO because it is taking less time for transmission. The above result is shown for comparison of mesh topology for AODV and DYMO routing protocol for average jitter. It can been seen from the result that DYMO has less jitter than AODV. That means DYMO is better than AODV because it has less latency. Also, it can be concluded that there will be less collision in DYMO because it is taking less time for transmission. Same was the result for star topology so it can be concluded that DYMO is better when it comes to the performance based on the jitter.

Comparing Love and Marriage in Canterbury Tales, Lanval, Faerie Queene,

Love and Marriage in Canterbury Tales, Lanval, Faerie Queene, and Monsieur's Departure Medieval and Renaissance literature develops the concepts of love and marriage and records the evolution of the relation between them. In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Christian love clashes with courtly love, as men and women grapple with such issues as which partner should rule in marriage, the proper, acceptable role of sex in marriage, and the importance of love as a basis for a successful marriage. Works by earlier writers portray the medieval literary notion of courtly love, the sexual attraction between a chivalric knight and his lady, often the knight's lord's wife. The woman, who generally held mastery in these relationships based on physical desire and consummation, dictated the terms of the knight's duties and obligations, much like a feudal lord over a vassal. This microcosm of romance between man and woman was anchored by the macrocosm of the bonds among men and their fealty to their lord. The dominance of women and fealty to the leader in courtly love contrasts with the d ominance ...

Abigail Williams Character Analysis Essay

One of the main characters of the play The Crucible, Abigail Williams, is the villain of the play, even more than Parris or Danforth. In Act One her skills at manipulation are very noticeable. John Proctor, who has dumped her after his wife found out about this sinful affair, â€Å"Abby, you’ll put it out of mind. I’ll not be comin’ for you no more.† Since she was also dismissed from her job at their house, Abigail becomes increasingly envious of Elizabeth. Abigail always has a different story from what actually happens and convinces people that her story is the truth. One event that happens that displays this would be when Abigail was in the woods with the girls dancing and took it to the next level by drinking blood and taking off her clothing. Before the questioning of what happen in the woods Abigail states â€Å"Shut up! All of you. We danced. That is all, and mark this, if anyone breathe a word or the edge of a word about the other things, I will come to you in the black of some terrible night, and I will bring with me a pointy reckoning that will shudder you!† When she’s on the brink of getting busted for messing with witchcraft, she skillfully manages to pin the whole thing on Tituba and several of Salem’s other woman. The horrible thing is that Abigail is the one who persuaded Tituba to go out and cast the spells. Ever since Abigail’s affair with John Proctor, she’s been out to get his wife, Elizabeth. Abigail convinced Tituba to put a curse on Elizabeth, hoping to get rid of her and take her place at John’s side. It’s ironic that Abigail, who encouraged the witchcraft in the first place, is the one who goes around accusing everybody else. Abigail’s main skill seems to be finding people’s flaws, their weaknesses, and mercilessly manipulating them to her advantage. Act 2 In Act 2, Abigail Williams has thought over her encounter with Proctor for seven months. The more she thinks about the affair, the more Abigail convinces herself that Proctor loves her but cannot express his love because of Elizabeth. Abigail continues to think about her memories until they accurately portray her as the center of Proctor’s existence. Rather than seeing herself as a seventeen year-old who took advantage of a man’s loneliness and insecurity during his wife’s illness, Abigail sees herself as Proctor’s true love and his only choice for a wife. She believes she has only to eliminate Elizabeth so that she and Proctor can marry and fulfill her fantasy. Throughout the play Abigail will tell things to people to make them think and make them believe what she says or make them do what she wants them to do. Most people look down at this quality but this is the way Abigail gets her way. Abigail has manipulated just about everyone in the town with the stories she tells. In the words of Abigail she states to the town â€Å"I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him, I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil† When Abigail said this she was just trying to get out of punishment, she knew if she confessed of doing the devils work and state she wanted God she wouldn’t be charged as a witch.

Labor Practices Paper Essay

Many companies are using sweat shops to manufacture their products at a much cheaper cost. However, there is a much deeper cost of using sweat shops then what can be placed in monetary value. I think it is time people begin to consider what sweat shops are doing to the people in this world and how dangerous they can be. Sweat shops may save companies money, but you do not want your company exposed on the news because your sweat shop in Bangladesh caught fire and killed 1,000 employees because fire safety regulations were not met. Sweat shops are used to describe a subcontracting system where the middle man earns profits from the margin between what they were paid and what they paid out to their workers. That margin is referred to be sweated from the employees due to them receiving minimal pay, working long excessive hours, and in unsafe, hazardous working conditions. Companies will find smaller, poorer countries that have little to no regulations as far as safety and pay go to establish these sweat shops in. They pay their employees as much in a month as what many of us would make in a day. They are also forced to work extensively long hours in conditions that are extremely hazardous to their health. There are a high number of easily preventable deaths every year due to these sweat shops not meeting safety and health regulations. The contractors and managers of these establishments are also notorious for  being highly abusive to their employees both mentally and physically. They would also target women and children for employment in sweat shops as they were manipulated much more easily than men. Also, they were much less likely to retaliate against the managers. Sweat shops often force people into working in these conditions. The people have no choice but to do so as they have families to take care of and without these sweat shops work would be placed elsewhere leaving them without any work at all. Many companies, especially in the clothing industry, are using these sweat shops to increase profits, lower cost to customer, and compete with other companies. Consumers still buy into the product regardless that it is made in such a dangerous environment where people lose their lives. There was an approximate total of 1,500 sweat shop garment worker deaths in 2012. However, companies are still using sweat shops because it does not affect the consumer’s choice to buy their product, their prices are decreased, and they are selling more product. Larger corporations and companies in other countries have paved the way for sweat shops. Other companies are beginning to play a hand in this as they are looking for ways to compete with the companies already doing so. Companies in other countries can easily influence other companies into placing sweat shops in their locations due to minimum safety and labor law requirements. Consumers should seriously consider researching the products you use and determining where they come from, how they were made, and what type of environment were they made in. Consumers should then stop purchasing items made from those companies using sweat shops to produce their product. Do you really think the shirt your wearing was worth 1,500 people dying in 2012? Laws should also be implemented that hold these companies responsible for these workers wages and working conditions. It is the contractor’s responsibility to do this so companies can easily hide behind these contractors. By enforcing these laws we would significantly reduce this problem. Companies still may chose to manufacture their product in another country but those workers would now be receiving adequate pay along with a  safe work environment without the long, extensive hours. In 1999, California passed Assembly Bill 633, which is a law that holds garment manufacturers and retailers responsible for employee wages and safety. I think it is understandable why companies chose to do this as they are trying to save money, however this can still be done without the use of sweat shops. Products can still be manufactured at a lower cost in other countries without forcing employees to work for inadequate pay and in unsafe conditions working long exhausting hours. Major retailers could really get the ball rolling for reducing the amount of sweat shops used. Smaller companies and the competition would no longer have to resort to sweat shops if they were able to compete with these major corporations that do use them. So, we should keep in mind next time we are clothes shopping at the mall. We should consider what products may have resulted in someone losing their life to manufacture. It’s true, sweat shops reduce costs. However, like I said at the beginning of this paper, it is a cost that cuts much deeper than anything that can be placed into monetary value. References: http://www.laborrights.org/industries/apparel https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~nshah/fashioncrimes/Sweatshops.html