foreign aid

Transfer of capital, goods, or services from one country to another. Foreign aid may be given in the form of capital transfers or technical assistance and training for either civilian or military purposes. Its use in the modern era began in the 18th century, when Prussia subsidized some of its allies. After World War II, foreign aid developed into a more sophisticated instrument of foreign policy. International organizations, such as the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, were created to provide aid to war-ravaged countries and newly freed colonies. Foreign aid is often given with conditions attached, such as the requirement that all or part of it be used to buy goods from the donor country. Seealso International Monetary Fund; Marshall Plan; World Bank.

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Device that increases the loudness of sounds in the user's ear. Its principal components are a microphone, an amplifier, and an earphone. Hearing aids are increasingly smaller and less conspicuous, fitting behind the earlobe or within the ear canal. They have widely differing characteristics, amplifying different components of speech sounds for maximum comprehension by each wearer. Hearing aids with automatic volume control vary the amplification automatically with the input.

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Concept of government in which the state plays a key role in protecting and promoting the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those who lack the minimal provisions for a good life. The term may be applied to a variety of forms of economic and social organization. A basic feature of the welfare state is social insurance, intended to provide benefits during periods of greatest need (e.g., old age, illness, unemployment). The welfare state also usually includes public provision of education, health services, and housing. Such provisions are less extensive in the U.S. than in many European countries, where comprehensive health coverage and state-subsidized university-level education have been common. In countries with centrally planned economies, the welfare state also covers employment and administration of consumer prices. Most nations have instituted at least some of the measures associated with the welfare state; Britain adopted comprehensive social insurance in 1948, and in the U.S., social-legislation programs such as the New Deal and the Fair Deal were based on welfare-state principles. Scandinavian countries provide state aid for the individual in almost all phases of life.

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Branch of economics established in the 20th century that seeks to evaluate economic policies in terms of their effects on the community's well-being. Early theorists defined welfare as the sum of the satisfactions accruing to an individual through an economic system. Believing it was possible to compare the well-being of two or more individuals, they argued that a poor person would derive more satisfaction from an increase in income than would a rich person. Later writers argued that making such comparisons with any precision was impossible. A new and more limited criterion was later developed: one economic situation was deemed superior to another if at least one person had been made better off without anyone else being made worse off. Seealso consumer's surplus; Vilfredo Pareto.

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or social welfare

Any of a variety of governmental programs that provide assistance to those in need. Programs include pensions, disability and unemployment insurance, family allowances, survivor benefits, and national health insurance. The earliest modern welfare laws were enacted in Germany in the 1880s (see social insurance), and by the 1920s and '30s most Western countries had adopted similar programs. Most industrialized countries require firms to insure workers for disability (see workers' compensation) so that they have income if they are injured, whether temporarily or permanently. For disability from illness unrelated to occupational injury, most industrial states pay a short-term benefit followed by a long-term pension. Many countries pay a family allowance to reduce the poverty of large families or to increase the birth rate. Survivor benefits, provided for widows below pension age who are left with a dependent child, vary considerably among nations and generally cease if the woman remarries. Among the world's wealthy countries, only the U.S. fails to provide national health insurance other than for the aged and the poor (see Medicare and Medicaid).

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Band-Aid is the brand name for Johnson & Johnson's line of adhesive bandages and related products. However, much of the consuming public in the United States, India, Canada, Brazil and Australia uses the term band-aid generically, to refer to any such adhesive bandages (see genericized trademark). Such bandages are better known in many parts of the world as an 'adhesive plaster', 'sticking plaster' or simply 'plaster'.

The phrase "Band-aid" has also entered usage as a term for any temporary fix. (e.g. "Band-aid solutions were used to fix the leak.")

History

The Band-Aid was invented in 1920 by Earle Dickson, an employee of Johnson & Johnson, for his wife Josephine, who frequently cut and burned herself while cooking. The prototype product allowed his wife to dress her wounds without assistance. Dickson, a Highland Park, New Jersey, resident at the time, passed the idea on to his employer who then went on to produce and market the product as the Band-Aid. Dickson had a successful career at Johnson & Johnson eventually becoming a Vice President before his retirement in 1957.

The first bandages produced were hand-made and not very popular. By 1924, Johnson & Johnson introduced the first machine that produced sterilized Band-Aids. In World War II, millions of Band-Aid bandages were shipped overseas.

In 1951 the first decorative Band-Aids were introduced to the market. They continue to be a commercial success today with decorative themes such as Superman, Spiderman, SpongeBob SquarePants, Smiley Faces, and Batman.

Johnson & Johnson makes a variety of different products under the Band-Aid brand. These include Band-Aid liquid bandages and Scar Healing bandages. Their newest products include Active Flex bandages, which come in a variety of shapes, forming a fluid-filled barrier to help wounds heal faster. They also include waterproof Tough Strips, which have a strong adhesive, allowing for longer wear. In addition to wound treatment bandages, the company produces Burn-Aid, a burn gel which is applied as a prepackaged bandage. In order to protect the name as a registered trademark, the product is always referred to as "Band-Aid Brand" and not just Band-Aid.

References

External links

• Band-Aid Brand Official Website
• Band-Aid Brand History
• Johnson & Johnson First Aid Website
• Inventor of the Week - Earle Dickson from the Lemuelson-MIT Program
• Page containing a large collection of Band-Aids from all over