Shisha and its side effects

Urdu: حقہ hukka) or shisha (Arabic: شيشة‎, Hebrew: נרגילה, Nargilah‎),(Persian: قلیان Ghelyan) or (Turkish: nargile) is a single or multi-stemmed (often glass-based) water pipe device for smoking. Originating in India, it has gained popularity, especially in the Arab World.^[1][2] It had gained popularity under the reign of the Ottoman Dynasty. A hookah operates by water filtration and indirect heat. It can be used for smoking herbal fruits.

Depending on locality and supply, hookahs may be referred to by many other names (often of Arab, Indian, Turkish, Uzbek, or Persian origin). Arghile or Nargila is the name most commonly used in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Albania, Kosovo, Greece, Turkey, Armenia, Palestine, Bulgaria and Romania, though the initial “n” is often dropped in Arabic. “Narghile” is from the Persian word “nārgil” or “coconut”, from Sanskrit nārikela (नारिकेल)–as the original hookahs were made out of coconut shells.^[3] Shisha (شيشة) is from the Persian word shishe (شیشه, literally translated as glass and not bottle), and is primarily used for water pipes in Egypt and the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf (such as Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia) as well as Morocco, Tunisia, Somalia and Yemen. In Iran it is called ghalyun (غلیون), ghālyun (قالیون), or ghalyān (قلیان) and in India and Pakistan it is referred to as huqqa (हुक्का /حقہ). The more colloquial terms “hubble-bubble” and “hubbly-bubbly” may be used in the region surrounding the red sea.

Health risks

Today’s media sometimes suggests that hookah sessions are more threatening to a person’s health than smoking cigarettes.

Research shows that each hookah session typically lasts from 20 – 80 minutes and consists of 50 – 200 puffs which range from 0.15 – 1 liter per puff . This exposes the hookah smoker to considerably more smoke over a longer time period compared with a cigarette which ranges from 0.5 – 0.6 liters per cigarette. While the water absorbs some of the nicotine in the tobacco smoke, the smoker can be exposed to enough nicotine to cause addiction . Furthermore, the water moisture induced by the hookah makes the smoke less irritating and may give a false sense of security and reduce concerns about true health effects .

Other research shows that a 45 minute session of hookah tobacco smoking (tobacco molasses) delivers slightly more tar and carbon monoxide (around 5-10%) than a pack of cigarettes. This study has, however, come under criticism for using unrealistically high temperatures for the tobacco (600-650 degrees C) and using arbitrary figures for tar filtration rates. This could possibly have skewed results, as the carcinogenic and toxin levels of smoke increases dramatically with temperature (Wynder 1958). Common practice is to keep temperatures to degrees which do not “char” the hookah; that is within a temperature range of 100-150 C. (Chaouachi K: Patologie associate all’uso del narghile). The effects of these lower temperatures on tar are inconclusive, though Chaouachi indicates the tar would be less harmful.

Some hookah tobaccos claim to contain 0.0% Tar, but this is misleading due to the fact that tar is created when tobacco burns. However, when smoking a hookah the tobacco is heated rather than burned. More research is needed to determine the exact amount of tar produced in a session before the burning of the tobacco.

The World Health Organization Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation (TobReg) presented an advisory note in 2005 on waterpipe (hookah) tobacco smoking  and concluded that “waterpipe smoking is associated with many of the same health risks as cigarette smoking, and may, in fact, involve some unique health risks” and recommends that “waterpipes and waterpipe tobacco should be subjected to the same regulation as cigarettes and other tobacco products.” However, Kamal Chaouachi, a French researcher who has been studying hookah usage and effects throughout the world since 1997, has criticized the WHO advisory note in a report and a book.

Some research has suggested that the use of the hookah may have less comparative cancer risks, though such studies are not conclusive (Hoffman, Rakower, Salem 1983 and 90, Gupta Dheeraj 2001, Tandon 1995, Lubin 1992, Hazelton 2001, Stirling 1979). The levels of carbon monoxide produced during a hookah session varies widely depending on the type of coal used. Japanese charcoals are thought to produce lower amounts of carbon monoxide. However there is a notable difference in areas of carbon monoxide absorption, in that while cigarettes have a notable effect on the small respiratory tracts rather, shisha smoking mostly affects the major airways (Bakir 1991, Kiter). This means a lessened FEV vs FEV1/FVC ratio compared to cigarettes, which is believed to be less harmful for the airways long-term though it may lead to general hoarseness.

The level of impact on a smoker’s health is linked to the set-up and components of the hookah as well. A hookah only utilizing the basic components listed above is believe to have much harsher health consequences than one setup properly and with various safety devices installed: Since the tobacco in a hookah is roasted as opposed to burned, the density and temperature of the tobacco is paramount to ensure a safer quality of smoke (Wynder 1958). Distancing somewhat the coal from the tobacco and placing a perforated thermal cover (not to be confused with a wind cover) over the bowl will reduce tar output. Using a Heba diffuser around the downstem in the water basin may provide a slightly greater amount of filtration, however a properly conducted study is needed to validate these claims. The use of a nicotine filter at some stage of the smoke cycle, preferably in the hose, may reduce health risks, but once again a properly conducted study is needed to validate these claims.

Hookahs can also be smoked with tobacco-free herbal flavors. These contain Sugar Cane Bagasse with no tobacco, nicotine or tar. This new method of smoking is aimed at replacing tobacco and thus eliminating its negative health effects. There have been few studies to show the impact of smoking herbal flavors in Shisha pipes.

Many articles suggest that there is simply not enough research to provide answers to determine the effects of hookah smoking. Research is under way by Fogarty International Center-funded Syrian Center for Tobacco Studies, Egyptian Smoking Prevention Research Institute, Research for International Tobacco Control-funded Tobacco Prevention and Control Research Group at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon.

The archaic form of this latter Indian name hookah is most commonly used in English for historical reasons, as it was in India that large numbers of English-speakers first sampled the effects of the water pipe. William Hickey wrote in his Memoirs that shortly after his arrival in Kolkata, India in 1775:

“

The most highly-dressed and splendid hookah was prepared for me. I tried it, but did not like it. As after several trials I still found it disagreeable, I with much gravity requested to know whether it was indispensably necessary that I should become a smoker, which was answered with equal gravity, ‘Undoubtedly it is, for you might as well be out of the world as out of the fashion. Here everybody uses a hookah, and it is impossible to get on without’…..[I] have frequently heard men declare they would much rather be deprived of their dinner than their hookah.

source

Amazing Views ( Ginza – Tokyo )

The Big Apple of Asia, that is the most appropriate nickname for this place, starting from hotels, department stores, restaurants, comic-book stores, pachinko, underground-station, kabuki theater, naked theater, house of naked women, internet-cafe, toy-stores, and many things are all in this place.

Modern Ginza began in 1872 when, after a devastating fire, the district was rebuilt with two- and three-story Georgian brick buildings designed by the Irish born architect Thomas Waters along with a shopping promenade on the street from the Shinbashi bridge to the Kyōbashi bridge in the southwestern part of Chūō Ward. Most of these European-style buildings are gone, but some older buildings are still there, most famously the Wako building with its clock tower.

Amazing Views ( Burgemeester Oudlaan – Rotterdam )

Nothing special about this, I made this picture, for remembering me, that ” I WILL BECOME ONE OF THE FRESHMAN OF IBEB 2008 / 2009 !! “

Corporate History

Background

Two themes have dominated the evolution of SPSS Inc. as a company:

• SPSS technology has made difficult analytical tasks easier through advances in usability and data access, enabling more people to benefit from the use of quantitative techniques in making decisions; and
• The company’s domain expertise has centered on analyzing data about people their opinions, attitudes, and behavior.

The Company’s mission to “drive the widespread use of data in decision-making” derives directly from these two themes. The company’s success has been based upon its ability to demonstrate the very real benefits that the use of SPSS technology provides. Underlying this ability is the collective conviction that analyzing data, and incorporating the results into the decision-making process, leads to better decisions.

The origins of SPSS

In 1968, Norman H. Nie, C. Hadlai (Tex) Hull and Dale H. Bent, three young men from disparate professional backgrounds, developed a software system based on the idea of using statistics to turn raw data into information essential to decision-making. These three innovators were pioneers in their field, visionaries who recognized early that data and how you analyze it is the driving force behind sound decision-making—the DNA of intelligence.

This revolutionary statistical software system was called SPSS, which stood for the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Nie, Hull and Bent developed SPSS out of the need to quickly analyze volumes of social science data gathered through various methods of research. The initial work on SPSS was done at Stanford University with the intention to make it available only for local consumption and not international distribution. Nie, a social scientist and Stanford doctoral candidate, represented the target audience and set the requirements; Bent, a Stanford University doctoral candidate in operations research, had the analysis expertise and designed the SPSS system file structure; and Hull, who had recently graduated from Stanford with a master of business administration degree, programmed.

As is typical of creations born of necessity, SPSS quickly caught on at universities throughout America and was soon in demand. It also became apparent to the developers of SPSS that they had more on their hands than an effective, efficient method of analyzing data; they had a viable product. In addition to their academic work, they now needed to consider pricing, shipping and other issues of commerce. They made sure that tapes of source code were sent to a small, but enthusiastic, user community, and continually maintained and enhanced SPSS.

After graduate school in 1969, Nie joined the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center. The University of Chicago considered SPSS an important intellectual property and encouraged Nie’s continuing development of the software system. Nie was successful in recruiting Hull to join him at the University of Chicago by encouraging him to take a position as the head of the university’s Computation Center. Bent, a Canadian, decided not to join Nie and Hull in Chicago, and returned to Canada where he had an academic appointment at the University of Alberta. With Nie and Hull juggling both their academic and SPSS responsibilities, they continued to work diligently spreading the word and market appeal of SPSS.

The early success of SPSS was directly related to the quality and availability of the documentation that accompanied the software. McGraw-Hill published the first SPSS user’s manual in 1970. Once the manual was available in college bookstores, demand for the program took off. Nie, Bent, and Hull received a royalty from sales of the manual but nothing from distribution of the program. In Nie’s words, “It was like Gillette selling razors at cost and getting its profits from the blades.”

With the sales of SPSS growing rapidly, the IRS determined in 1971 that SPSS was a small software company, which threatened the non-profit status of the University of Chicago within which SPSS had been housed. In 1975, SPSS incorporated and the two founders, Nie and Hull, neither of whom ever dreamed of running their own business, became the new company’s executives. In spite of having no venture capital or financial backing, these two entrepreneurs secured for SPSS universal control of the academic marketplace due to the fact that SPSS was, and is, a portable code that enabled academic institutions to port it to most of the large mainframe computer systems, which included Control Data 6000 series, Burroughs large systems, Univac 1108, GE (subsequently Honeywell) large systems, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) large systems. SPSS also quickly became useful to the government and commercial markets. NASA began using SPSS for mean time between part failure on the space shuttle in the mid-1970s, and the National Forest Service used the software for incidences of injuries and bear encounters throughout the national parks system. Consumer products companies like Procter & Gamble and Anheuser-Busch also realized the value of SPSS in analyzing marketing research data.

Another factor contributing to the growth of the Company in the 1970s was Nie’s, Hull’s and their employees’ effectiveness in understanding their customer base and staying ahead of the technology curve. In the mid-1980s they introduced the first mainframe statistical package to appear on a personal computer. The organization was first again in 1992 with the release of statistical products for the Microsoft Windows® personal computer operating system. SPSS Inc.’s reputation for thought leadership and innovators continued to grow with the onset of the Internet and the dawn of the Information Economy.

In 1992, Nie felt that it was time to turn over the day-to-day management of the Company to new leadership. Jack Noonan was appointed SPSS Inc.’s president and chief executive officer, and Nie continued as chairman of the board. Hull remained on the development side of the business where he is still currently involved in the development of SPSS and other key technologies. Many of the original employees of the company still remain employees of SPSS Inc.

Under Noonan’s leadership SPSS Inc. continued to flourish by keeping in touch with its customers’ needs and staying abreast of technological advances. The Company strengthened its leadership in the analytical marketplace through acquisitions that expanded the depth and breadth of its analytical offerings. Acquisitions included the addition of technologies such as data mining, a business intelligence suite for the IBM® eServer iSeries, Web analytics, sophisticated analytical components, a Web interface for online analytical processing (OLAP) technology and text mining. These technologies were introduced by SPSS Inc. to better capitalize on the expanding need for understanding ever-increasing volumes of data, and to support the company’s mission to drive the widespread use of data in decision-making.

Over its thirty-seven year history, SPSS Inc. has evolved into an international corporation that delivers analytical tools and solutions to organizations around the globe. While customers and their industries vary, they share a common need to gather insight from the analysis of data. The Company’s analytical technology from its early beginnings has enabled organizations to learn from the past, understand what is happening today and anticipate the future in order to manage it effectively.

Company Timeline

There have been five stages of growth in the institutional history of SPSS:

1968-1975: “SPSS becomes a product,” when the technology was first developed and grew on its own as an academic enterprise. SPSS founders, Norman H. Nie, C. Hadlai (Tex) Hull and Dale H. Bent, distribute tapes of source code to a small, but enthusiastic, user community, while maintenance and enhancement was done by the original authors.

1975-1984: “SPSS becomes a corporation.” The Company is separately incorporated when its revenues threatened the non-profit status of its original hosting institution, the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. During this start-up phase, the business was organized and a number of development initiatives were undertaken.

1984-1992: “The age of the PC, ” with the Company growing from $18m to $38m on the strength of the market-leading statistical analysis system for PC DOS. SPSS was the first to market with a statistical software product on PC DOS.

1992-1996: “The age of Windows,” with the Company shipping the first Windows version of a statistical software package in 1992. This version drove revenues to $84m by 1996. The business was focused on statistical products, and the acquisition strategy complemented this direction by bringing in other statistical products companies, such as SYSTAT (1994) and Jandel (1996).

1997-2002: “The transition to the enterprise.” This period has been the age of growth by acquisition and the rise of analytic applications as a complement to the core statistical products business. The Company grew from $110m in 1997 to a projected $209m in 2002 through the acquisitions of Quantime (market research application software), ISL (data mining software), ShowCase (business intelligence software for the middle market), NetGenesis (analytical application for Web data), LexiQuest (text mining software), and netExs (a Web interface for OLAP technology).

2003: Predictive analytics is successfully established as a market segment. SPSS played a thought-leadership role in the emergence during 2003 of predictive analytics as an important, distinct segment within the broader business intelligence software sector. Predictive analytics complements and enhances other information technologies. Organizations that employ predictive analytics not only know what has happened, they also know what is likely to happen next. Most importantly, they know what to do about it by using this knowledge to increase revenue, reduce costs, and improve outcomes. SPSS saw a growing awareness of these benefits among the commercial, public sector, and academic organizations its serves. To enhance it focus on predictive analytics, SPSS acquired Dutch-based DataDistilleries, a provider of predictive analytic applications in November of 2003.

2004: Predictive analytic applications come of age. In 2004, SPSS a ccelerated the introduction of predictive analytics applications, leveraging skills and integrating technologies from recent acquisitions, including DataDistilleries. A new version of PredictiveMarketing was introduced, as well as a new application, PredictiveCallCenter. Additional development work set the stage for additional applications to be introduced in 2005.

Today: SPSS is recognized as a leader in the predictive analytics market space. Predictive analytics, which combines advanced analytics and decision optimization, will continue to be a focus for the organization as it seeks to increase marketplace understanding of the business benefits that predictive analytics provides.

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Amazing Views ( Kyomizu Temple – Kyoto )

This is a buddhist temple located in Eastern Kyoto, now I realized why Kyomizu Temple replaced Borobudur as the new Amazing man-made building. Gosh !! if Borobudur were made from rocks and eggs, Kyomizu Temple were made from woods !

When I arrived there, the local authority was promoting Kyomizu Temple as the new World’s Heritage. So at that time, there were so many local people tried to help to promote Kyomizu Temple.