Wednesday, October 30, 2019

E-marketing and ICT in private hospitals in the United Kingdom Dissertation

E-marketing and ICT in private hospitals in the United Kingdom - Dissertation Example This research is an exploratory study on the capabilities of ICT by focusing on private hospitals of the UK. Large numbers of consumers are using the internet to extract health-related information. However, it is not known to what extent they effectively use the e-marketing platform of the private hospitals. Thus, with the aim to generate an in-depth view about the role of ICT in the private hospitals of UK, four objectives and two hypotheses were stated in Chapter I. After extensive literature review the theoretical framework was formed. This was a mix of qualitative and quantitative study with both primary and secondary data collection. Secondary data was collected through journals and websites and primary data was collected through survey questionnaires. Both the in-patients and the hospital staff were given the questionnaire. The study focused on one single hospital – The BMI Clementine Churchill Hospital. All the objectives of the study have been met. The first objective was to evaluate the current trends that accelerate the growth of using ICT in private hospitals. Proliferation of the internet technology and ICT, changes in consumer demand, the literacy levels of the consumers, and increase in consumer demand for health care, in addition to intense competition in the health care sector have led to acceleration in the growth of using ICT in private hospitals in the UK. ... Through the website the hospitals generate a large amount of consumer data which can be effectively used for enhancing their marketing efforts. No such evidence has been available through the study. Social media marketing too is not being used by private hospitals to understand consumer needs and wants. The third objective was to investigate the limitations of realising ICT in private hospitals. Their activities are limited to sending emails or offering online bookings. There is nothing to keep the visitors engaged once they visit the website. At the moment the consumer acceptance appears to be limited. Acceptance of technology is an attitudinal change that has to first come in the consumers. Thus, the onus for realising ICT in private hospitals rests with the hospitals as well as with the consumers. The fourth objective was to analyse critical issues surrounding the use of E-marketing in private hospitals. The first and foremost concern is the vast amount of medical information avai lable on the internet which can be misleading. Making online payments is another critical issue that impacts the acceptance of e-marketing. An e-platform can allow anyone to practice as a physician and this can be disastrous for the society. The privacy policies are yet to be addressed by the hospitals. Another critical issue is the concept of social media marketing. While it can help the hospitals to recognize consumer demands and needs it can also adversely impact hospital reputation. Since there is no control over the data posted and stored on the social media platforms, this could impact the reputation of the hospitals. The study concludes

Monday, October 28, 2019

Terrorism and Homeland Security Essay Example for Free

Terrorism and Homeland Security Essay Left-wing extremists are highly idealistic. Their primary objective is to reform or destroy an existing system and replace it with a new and just society. Left-wing extremists possess a belief system that is often interpreted as a fanatical devotion to Marxist ideology. As a result, they use the doctrines of class warfare or national liberation as a justification for political violence. For left-wing extremists, taking up arms is a form of struggle against a despotic system, class or government. In addition, they view themselves as the messianic saviors of the poor and the oppressed. Studies of Marxist movements in the 21st century has revealed that in order to bring about their desired social change, left-wing extremists adopt a â€Å"vanguard strategy† (p. 223). This approach operates on the premise that revolutionary conditions are the results of a generalized climate of change that was developed over time. Revolutionary conditions rarely occur spontaneously – only a committed and disciplined revolutionary movement has the capacity to come up with it. The revolutionary movement (usually composed of disaffected young educated elite) creates revolutionary conditions by raising the political consciousness of the exploited class or group. In the context of leftist extremism, â€Å"political consciousness† refers to the belief that revolution is the best alternative to the corrupt status quo. As soon as the desired revolutionary conditions are attained, the revolutionary movement sees to it that these are maintained. In the process, the revolutionary movement becomes the â€Å"vanguard† of the subjugated class or group. The former â€Å"saves† them from a repressive system, as well as â€Å"protects† them from it. An example that illustrates the â€Å"vanguard strategy† is the Russian Vanguard of the Proletariat. Lenin and the Bolsheviks required the members of the Russian Communist Party to be the â€Å"vanguard of the proletariat† (p. 234). They were the â€Å"elite† who were expected to transform Russia into a Communist society by bringing about the revolution. They were to free the proletariat from the tyranny of the nobles by educating them on Marxist doctrines. Right-wing extremists, on the other hand, are very nostalgic. They affirm their superiority usually by looking back on past glories. In the process, right-wing extremists use these previous achievements as justifications for violence. For them, carnage is acceptable as long as it is used to maintain the purity of a religion, ethno-national group or an ideology. Right-wing extremists believe that they have the moral obligation to protect an ideal order that was â€Å"violated† or â€Å"destroyed† by â€Å"inferior† religious values or ethno-national interests. For them, the restoration of this ideal order is the only way to lasting peace and prosperity in society. Anyone who opposes must be eliminated through all possible means – even violence. Consequently, right-wing extremism is very prevalent in organizations that represent groups that have a distinctive identity, such as regional minorities and religious fundamentalists. Below are the common characteristics of right-wing organizations: a. Nationalism – The belief that only people of a specific nationality have the right to reside within a given country. Furthermore, these nationals likewise have the right to live in their country’s borders. b. Racism – The misconception that race is the main basis for all human traits and capabilities. c. Xenophobia – In the context of right-wing extremism, xenophobia is the fear of belief systems that deviate from the status quo. d. Antidemocracy – An aversion to the concept of pluralism in society. In order to achieve their goal homogeneity, right-wing extremists shun political activities that foster equality and democratic rule, such as popular elections. e. Strong State – Right-wing extremists advocate militarism under the guise of â€Å"protecting law and order. † For them, militarism is an effective means of eliminating â€Å"dissidents† (groups whom they deem â€Å"inferior†). References Martin, G. (2006). Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives and Issues (2nd ed. ). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Free Macbeth Essays: Sleep and Sleeplessness -- Macbeth essays

The Sleep and Sleeplessness Motif in Macbeth We have consciences that function to tell us the difference between right and wrong. If we have clear consciences, we usually possess the ability to sleep. But when our consciences are full of guilt, we experience a state of sleeplessness. In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the sleep and sleeplessness motif to represent Macbeth's and Lady Macbeth's consciences and the effect Macbeth's conscience has on the country of Scotland. Lady Macbeth begins with an unrecognizable conscience. She explains to Macbeth that if she said she would kill her own child, she would rather do the deed than break her word to do so. As the play continues, however, Lady Macbeth begins to develop a conscience. After placing the daggers for Duncan's murder, she makes an excuse for not killing Duncan herself: "Had he not resembled / My father as he slept, I had done't" (2.2.12-13). These words introduce her conscience. Towards the end of the play, Lady Macbeth falls into a sleepless state, and this sleeplessness represents her guilt for her role in Duncan's death,...

Thursday, October 24, 2019

What Is Your Definition of Leadership?

In my opinion, leadership is the ability to inspire and motivate people enough for them to be willing to participate and get involved towards the achievement of a common goal. I see leadership as a process which can be improved over time and experience, but only by someone who has some innate leadership competences. In determining what leadership means to me, I decided to analyse two different leadership cases. I will firstly discuss and analyse Nelson Mandela’s leadership style, which appeared to be mainly transformational.I will try to demonstrate how Nelson Mandela proved that leadership was a two-way process between the leader and his followers, and how crucial it is for a leader to be respected and admired by his followers in order for him to be effective. In addition, a leader needs to be trustworthy, passionate and devoted to achieving a shared objective. More importantly, a good leader will abandon his subordinates once he achieved a personal goal. Throughout this essa y, I will try to support my opinion being that, efficient leadership lies somewhere in between the trait and the style approaches whilst taking into account the situational approach.In my opinion, not everyone can be a leader, but if someone is meant to be one, leadership skills need to be learned and improved over time and adapted according to different situations. If not born a leader, one can only become one to a certain and limited extent, as we will see in Barack Obama’s case. President Obama first started as an acknowledged inspirational and passionate leader, who people admired, respected and wanted to join. However, a few years after his election, it seems like his glory days are behind him, and that he isn’t the leader he used to be anymore.It might appear that once he was elected president, and his personal goal has been achieved, Obama didn’t fight as hard for his subordinates as he did for his personal satisfaction. His lack of communication and insp irational speeches seem to have considerably damaged his reputation as a leader. It appears that Obama gave Americans too high hopes that he wasn’t able to keep up with and fulfil, creating a wave of disappointment among his supporters. It seems to me that Barack Obama was a great leader throughout his campaign, but that once elected, he was lacking some crucial leadership skills required as a President.In fact, one could argue that he wasn’t born a leader. In contrast to Nelson Mandela, he was only able to be a leader to a certain extent, his apogee being during his presidential campaign. By fighting vigorously against apartheid, Nelson Mandela rapidly became an iconic figure of resistance in South Africa, and was thereafter acknowledged as the most significant black leader South Africa had ever known. He devoted his life to fighting against racism and apartheid in South Africa and for peace.However his life objectives were not personal satisfactions, but satisfaction s of his supporters. He fought for their freedom and well-being before fighting for his own. In fact, he never compromised his political position even to regain his freedom. He could have backed down after being released from the Robben Island prison in 1990 (after 27 years of cruel imprisonment), after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 or even after becoming president in 1994. Yet he didn’t, and continued to fight for his people’s freedom and rights.Nelson Mandela has always demonstrated some legendary listening skills which are essential to being an efficient democratic leader. Indeed, he learned at a very young age from his guardian how listening to others was a vital skill in effective leadership. In fact, his guardian used to listen to everyone’s opinions first while remaining silent, before guiding the group to reach a consensus (Stengel, 1994). Therefore, one could argue that Mandela’s effective democratic or participative leadership styl e was greatly inspired by his childhood experience.Throughout his life as a leader, Nelson Mandela always encouraged people to share their ideas and opinions, to which he carefully listened before making the final decision. This way, he managed to get people to be more engaged and devoted to a particular cause, leading to higher productivity towards their goals’ achievement (Lewin, K. , Liippit, R. and White, R. K. 1939). Moreover, by entering the debate and being the last one to speak, he also gains a considerable advantage, as he is the one to close the argument.He also cultivated other leadership skills through his personal experience of being a cattle herder: â€Å"When you want to get a herd to move in a certain direction, you stand at the back with a stick. Then a few of the more energetic cattle move to the front and the rest of the cattle follow. You are really guiding them from behind. That is how a leader should do his work† (Stengel, 1994, Nelson Mandela: Th e making of a leader, Time Magazine, May 9th 1994). Thus, even before being in any position of leadership, Nelson Mandela revealed himself as a born leader.We can consequently assume that the Traits approach is relevant to efficient leadership. Indeed, Mandela seems to have been â€Å"born† with some essential traits that characterize a leader. Known as the â€Å"main-man† in South Africa, he was charismatic, influential, sociable, intelligent, alert, persistent, responsible, self-confident, and ready to assume the consequences of his decisions, as he did by going to jail. Thus Mandela innate leadership style clearly corresponds to Stogdill’s characteristics of the Traits approach (Stogdill, 1948).Moreover, Nelson Mandela was also widely accepted as a transformational leader, as he was able to inspire and motivate his supporters to work towards a common goal through the power and persuasiveness of his vision and personality. He strongly engaged with his follower s, and made them aware of what achieving a particular goal meant (Barbuto, 2005; Barnett, McCormick & Conners, 2001; Gellis, 2001). As James MacGregor Burns (1978) firstly introduced it, transformational leadership is when â€Å"leaders and followers maker each other to advance to a higher level of moral and motivation. † In addition, according to Bernard M.Bass’s Transformational Leadership Theory (1985), transformational leaders are trusted, respected and admired by their followers. Thus, as Nelson Mandela clearly gathered trust, respect and admiration among his supporters, we can say that his leadership style also corresponded to the transformational one. In fact, Nelson Mandela didn’t sharpen his leadership skills from anywhere, he was a natural leader and his skills came intuitively. He was born a leader and refined his skills with the personal experiences he gained over the years, which enabled him to effectively adapt to various situations.He strongly bel ieved in consensus and knew how to empower his subordinates and motivate them to achieving a common objective. His legendary success as a leader was also mainly due to the fact that he was seen as approachable compassionate and honest. Yet, he was undeniably respected and admired for his courage, his wisdom and his determination. On the other hand, Barack Obama, whose presidential campaign aroused unrecorded enthusiasm, hope and inspiration, seems to have unexpectedly disappointed his followers once elected President of the United States of America.Indeed, during his campaign, Barack Obama astonished everyone with his unpredicted inspirational, passionate and enthusiastic speeches. Who doesn’t remember his â€Å"Yes we can† speech given in New Hampshire in 2008? At the time, it seemed like Obama had all it took to be a great leader, he had a strong charisma, was motivated, inspired and seeking to achieve a common goal, thus showing many aspects of a Transformational as well as Charismatic leader. However, soon after his election, his supporters found themselves disillusioned by their President’s leadership skills.They felt like his motivation and enthusiasm had faded away, and that he wasn’t the inspirational leader he used to be. Obama was effective as a leader during his campaign, at one place and time, but became unsuccessful as soon as the situation and the factors around him changed, due to his rigidity and inability to adapt to contextual changes. Thus, Obama can clearly be related to Fiedler’s Contingency theory, as he became ineffective as soon as the factors around him changed.Unlike Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama seems to be more of an educated leader, who cultivated most of his leadership skills from Columbia and Harvard universities, therefore embracing the style approach which suggests that his behaviour of leader is distinct from his personality. In fact, Obama never appeared as a â€Å"born† leader, with i nnate leadership skills, and had no particular leadership experience, when he became President. Critics of Barack Obama emphasize the fact that his lack of leadership has already been demonstrated in various scenarios.Most of his supporters criticize his lack of communication and his â€Å"invisibility†. They feel somehow deserted and let down by the man who not long ago, aroused their highest hopes. Even the Democrats now acknowledge his lack of presence â€Å"Dems say privately Obama is invisible, not a leader. † (Joe Scarborough, 2011). One would have thought that Barack Obama’s leadership skills would have had improved as he gained in experience as a President, yet it looks like his apogee as a leader what during his campaign and that since then the leadership part of him is disappearing.In fact, Barack Obama brought only a few, if any, leadership skills into his presidency, and has deceivingly developed none after almost 3 years of experience (Kelly OConnel l, 2011). As a President, Obama has espoused a delegating and passive leadership style, which wasn’t the best style to adopt in a period of deep crisis, when perseverance and prompt decision-making skills were required, thus clearly lacking some situational leadership skills (David Brooks, 2011). Barack Obama consequently appeared as the wrong man for the situation, and not the erson America needed, due to his lack of toughness, imagination and determination. The Presidential candidate who was known for his grand enthusiasm and his passion seems to have vanished to make room to a President who got overwhelmed by his job and ran out of ideas shortly after taking office (David Frum, 2011; David Brooks, 2011). It became vague in Obama’s supporters’ minds whether he was the â€Å"turnaround leader† America needed or not (Michael Watkins, Thursday January 22, 2009, â€Å"Can Obama lead the Great American Turnaround? Harvard business review). According to Mich ael Watkins, Obama demonstrated more Steward Attributes than Hero Attributes, which were vital considering the depth of the crisis. Undoubtedly, President Obama was more conservative, diplomatic and supportive than visionary, directive and charismatic. To conclude, we can say that the difference between Nelson Mandela’s and Barack Obama’s leadership style is striking.Nelson Mandela, can be acknowledged as a â€Å"born† leader who improved his leadership skills throughout his experience as a country’s leader, whereas Barack Obama tends to be more of an â€Å"educated† leader, who couldn’t keep up with his status’ expectations. One was able to adapt to situational changes and prove himself as a true leader fighting for his people when the other disappointed his followers by suddenly disappearing through a lack of communication and perseverance to achieve the set common goals, thus generating a common feeling of abandonment.In my opinion , these two cases reinforce my proposition of a leader’s definition, as we clearly saw that leadership skills should be innate and improved through time to make an effective leader. Moreover, by observing Mandela’s and Obama’s leadership cases, we saw how an efficient leader must constantly motivate and inspire his followers to achieving a common objective that should be kept in mind and should remain the main focus of the leader as well as the followers.Clearly, without the support of his followers, a leader cannot achieve anything. Thus, as I suggested it, leadership is a two-way process in which the nurture of relationships between the two parties is essential, as recognized by Peter Northouse (2010). References: Barbuto, 2005; Barnett, McCormick & Conners, 2001; Gellis, 2001 Bass,B. M,(1985). Leadership and Performance. N. Y,: Free Press Brooks, David (June 28, 2011), Convener in Chief, The New York Times, N. Y edition pA23. Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. N. Y: Harper and Raw.Fiedler, F. E. (1967) A Theory of Leadership Effectiveness, New York: McGraw-Hill Frum, David (June 28th 2011), Obama is his own worst Enemy, http://www. frumforum. com/obama-is-his-own-worst-enemy, accessed the 07/01/12 Lewin, K. , Liippit, R. and White, R. K. (1939). Patterns of aggressive behavior in experimentally created social climates. Journal of Social Psychology, 10, 271-301 Northouse, P. G. (2010), Leadership: theory and practice (5th edition) Thousand Oaks, Sage. OConnell, Kelly, Sunday, July 31, 2011 , www. canadafreepress. om â€Å"obama’s leadership style is classic liberalism: no vision+ utter incompetence = total failure† accessed the 05/01/12 Stengel, 1994, Nelson Mandela: The making of a leader, Time Magazine, May 9th 1994 Stogdill, R. M. , 1948. â€Å"Personal factors associated with leadership: A survey of the literature. † Journal of Psychology. 25: 35-71. Watkins, Michael (Thursday January 22nd, 2009), â€Å"Can Obama lead the Great American Turnaround? † Harvard business review, http://blogs. hbr. org/watkins/2009/01/the_great_american_turnaround. html, accessed the 07/02/12

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Moral Theology of Health Care

Bioethics is a recently coined word. It comes from â€Å"bio† which means life and from â€Å"ethics† which is morality. Bioethics is that branch of Ethics which deals directly with the problems of life and dying, of health and of healing. It focuses attention to the need for a healthier world in accordance with the dictates of reason.As a health care provider, they are face with many ethical issues left and right. These issues sometimes question our integrity as humans with compassion and concern for others. They say that health care providers are sometimes called an accomplice whenever they have done an unlawful thing which is not legal for their chosen profession. Respect for persons, justice, and beneficence, autonomy has been a major workhorse in bioethical analysis over the past several decades.First, let us discuss the respect for persons, justice, beneficence and autonomy. This entails the dignity that we have as human beings. That as human, we have every right to do things and that we should be respected for it. We should respect individuals as well as their lives. As a health care provider, it is our duty to preserve life and not to destroy it. Health care providers often deal with critical situations where human life us at stake, both in the community and in particular health settings. Thus, it is very important that they understand and respect the sanctity of human life. During such situations they may be forced to decide whether or not to perform clinical procedures to preserve health and save the lives of people in a community.Abortion, we all know that Life is precious. It is our main concern and duty. Health is our personal responsibility. This requires that we adopt a style of life that fosters health. We owe it to our family and society to be healthy. The cost of health care is becoming expensive everyday. It is a crime of gross injustice when, because of our reckless habits, we force our family to suffer financial losses and ind ebtedness.But do we really care about the life which God has bestowed in us? Yes, certainly we do but there are some women choose to abort the life that is in them for some irrefutable reasons. Many agree to abortion depends to the circumstances but how about the women who just do not want to have kids? Is it reasonable that they just abort the â€Å"life† because they want to avoid responsibilities? Absolutely, not! Human life is sacred because conception, from the beginning, already involves the creative action of God.As human beings, we remain forever in a special relationship with the Creator. Human life is endowed with majesty and dignity which call forth for an equally dignified response. We owe human life respect and reverence. Such reverence, respect, and concern for life is a way of saying â€Å"yes† to God’s concern for human life in all its forms. In this complex world that we live in today, abortion and contraception are two of the most hotly- debate d issues. They pose a serious moral challenge particularly to medical practitioners and health service providers who are supposed to preserve and protect human life.Thus a thorough understanding of these issues is necessary to arrive at logical and moral solutions. Still the fact remains that neither abortion nor contraception are desirable in human society. Their prevention should be a shared task that rises above the debates on the morality of abortion or contraception. The sanctity of human life demands that it must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of a conception. From the first moment of her existence, a human being already possesses the rights of a person and that as health care providers we should greatly respect, among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being.This alienable right must be recognized and respected by civil society, political authority and health care professionals. Abortion destroys life and violates the right to life. As such it is morally evil and it should not be in any way legalized and liberally permitted in the laws and constitution of the nation as well as in the ethics of the health care professionals.Euthanasia is one of the most debatable issues of our society today. Many disagree with this practice but others say that it is the only way of ending the agony of the patient. So if this issue is still argued, in what circumstance it becomes right? Euthanasia is the killing, for reasons of mercy, of a person who is suffering from an incurable illness or hopeless injury. Euthanasia is an ancient concept that has in the past been an acceptable practice in certain societies; for example, in ancient Greece. In modern times, however, euthanasia is generally considered murder by the law and also is most of the world’s organized religions.Passive, or negative, euthanasia does not involve the act of killing. It consists of the withdrawal of, or the deliberate failure to initiate, life-sustaining tre atment in hopeless initiate, life-sustaining treatment in hopeless cases. Instead of being kept alive for days or weeks through various kinds of machines and drugs, the patient is simply allowed to die.Moreover, â€Å"euthanasia† derives from the Greek words Eu which means good and Thanatos which means death. It etymologically signifies â€Å"good health,† a pleasant and gentle death without awful suffering. Euthanasia may be defined as an action or omission that by its very nature, or in the intention, causes death, for the purpose of eliminating whatever pain.Furthermore, the issue of death has become more complicated than it is used to be because of ethical conflict. The moral issue of euthanasia revolves around the preservation of human dignity in death even to the individual’s last breath. This issue has both its positive and negative sides.The positive argument states that euthanasia aims to preserve human dignity until death. Not only does one have a duty to preserve life but one also has the right to die with dignity. To die with dignity means that one should be better than to go on living with an incurable and distressing sickness.The negative argument, on the other hand, declares that euthanasia erodes human dignity because it means cowardliness in the face of pain and suffering. People who have faced the realities of life with courage die with dignity.Whereas the positive side insists that mercy killing preserves human dignity, the negative side claims the opposite since the act hastens the death of an individual. Furthermore, others consider euthanasia to be morally wrong because it is intentional killing which opposes the natural moral law or the natural inclination to preserve life. They even argue that euthanasia may be performed for self-interest or other consequences. Also, doctors and other health care professionals may be tempted not to do their best to save the patient. They may resort not to do their best to save the p atient. They may resort to euthanasia as an easy way out and simply disregard any other alternatives.Physician assisted suicide is the type of suicide assisted by a physician. The physician prescribes or administers a drug that could lead the patient to death. One way to distinguish between euthanasia and assisted suicide is to look at the last act, the act by which death occurred.Using this distinction, if a third party performed the last act that intentionally caused a patient’s death, euthanasia occurred. For example, giving a patient a lethal injection or pulling a plastic bag over her head to suffocate her would be considered euthanasia.On the other hand, if the person who died performed the last act, assisted suicide took place. Thus it is assisted suicide if a person swallowed an overdose of drugs provided by a doctor for the purpose of casing death. It is also assisted suicide if a patient pushed a switch to trigger a fatal injection after the doctor inserted an intra venous needle into the patient’s vein. A lot of people think that assisted suicide is needed so patients will not be forced to remain alive by being â€Å"hooked up† to machines. There are laws that permit patients or their surrogates to withhold or withdraw unwanted medical treatment even if that increases the likelihood that the patient will die. Thus, no one needs to be hooked up to machines against his or her will.Neither the law nor the medical ethics requires that â€Å"everything be done† to keep a person alive. Insistence, against the patient’s whishes, that death be postponed by every means available is contrary to law and practice. It is also cruel and inhuman.There comes a time when continued attempts to cure are no longer compassionate, wise or medically wound. On such situations, hospice, including in- home hospice care, can be of great help. That is the time when all efforts should be directed at making the patient’s remaining time co mfortable. Then, all interventions should be directed to the alleviation of pain and other symptoms as well as to the provision of emotional and spiritual support for both the patient and the patient’s loved ones.Medicine is at the service of life. Since the beginning medical practitioners have struggled to conserve health, alleviate suffering and as much as they can, prolong life. Nobody escapes death, as death as inevitable. It is a fearful reality. However, acceptance of death would â€Å"perhaps be easier and more meaningful if one lives life to the fullest and strive to give meaning to his/ her existence.’Today, the span of human life has considerably lengthened than during the past decades, thanks to significant achievements in the medical field. However, life will remain a journey and man will continue his pilgrimage towards his final destiny. Surely, man will reach a point when neither the physician nor modern medicine can do more for him. As one poet states: â€Å"It is sheer madness of a man to cling to his life when God wills that he die.† Nurses play a vital role in a patient’s struggle against illness. Are nurses allowed to cut the thread of life when the weight of pain, suffering and hopelessness has become too heavy for the patient to bear? Can we â€Å"plan† for our death, just as we plan for our future?While health providers strive to render the best care for patients, situations arise when the patients themselves demand for assistance to have their lives ended. During such situations, health care providers and medical practitioners are expected to act morally and justify their stand.Reference:Drane, James F. Clinical Bioethics. Kansas City: Sheed & Ward, 1994. Higgins, Gregory C. Where do you stand? New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1995. Hughes, Gerald J. Authority in Morals. London: Heythrop Monographs, 1978. Kippley, John & Sheila Kippley. The Art of Natural Family Planning. Cincinnati: The Couple of Couple Lea gue International, Inc. 1975..

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Causes of Car Accidents Essays

Causes of Car Accidents Essays Causes of Car Accidents Essay Causes of Car Accidents Essay (NHTSA, auto-accident-resource. com). Among the car accidents, the teenage group is the only age group who is number of deaths is increasing instead of decreasing. Also, all the people are exposed to risk and actually every one of them has got car accident at least once that could have been easily prevented. There are many reasons car accidents happen such as drunken drivers, using cellular phones while driving, and teenage drivers. First reason is drinking and driving which is the leading cause of car accidents. Over 1. 1 million drivers were arrested in 2010 for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics, (Federal Bureau of Investigation, â€Å"Crime in the United States: 2010†, madd. org). Also,† drunk driving costs the United States $132 billion a year , (NHTS FARS data, 2012, madd. org). Driving while intoxicated is dangerous, because drinking increases your inhibitions and self-confidence but lower s your driving performance. In other words, alcohol impairs the decision-making ability of the brain. For example, when people get drunk, they do not even think they are drunk. They may feel like they can do anything. But they cannot. Many accidents occur because of drinking. These accidents involve mostly one car, but other people can be killed by drunk drivers. People have to be educated about drinking and driving, so they do not kill themselves or innocent people on the road. Second reason, using cell phones while driving causes car accidents. According to the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, 2,600 people died in 2004 and 330,000 more were injured while using cell phones just before an accident. doityourself. com). When a cell phone is used while driving, it distracts the attention of the driver, leading to car accidents. While using a cell phone many people tend to miss traffic signals, because they are not really concentrating on driving. The process of dialing or answering the phone can make them lose control of the vehicle as well. Even though the driver is looking at the road, he or she can easily get distracted by the conversation. This can result in fatal accidents. Third reason of accidents on the road is teenage drivers. â€Å"2,739 teenagers died in car accidents in the United States during 2008 , (drivesteady. com). Some teenagers cause fatal accidents, because of immaturity and lack of experience. Teenagers are very impulsive. Although not intending to hurt anyone, they sometimes drive very aggressively. It is not difficult to find teenagers driving with one hand on the steering wheel, seat pushed back, and with loud music playing. In traffic they go wild, trying to seek attention. They underestimate the risk of what they are doing. All these acts result in serious consequences on the road. Many accidents of young drivers result from their own mistakes. In conclusion, many people do not realize that being intoxicated while driving, using cellular phones and teenage drivers may bring serious injuries to everybody. Some people may enjoy drinking without care until they get into car accident, which can even result in the deaths of many innocent people. The car accidents caused by these problems are really serious but preventable. If everybody tries to eliminate these problems by following the rules of the road, driving can be less dangerous, and we will not waste time on car accidents. REFERENCES: 1- ( auto-accident-resource. com/statistics. html). 2- ( madd. org/statistics/). 3- ( madd. org/drunk-driving/about/drunk-driving-statistics. html). 4- ( doityourself. com/stry/driving-safety-tips-statistics-on-deaths-by

Monday, October 21, 2019

buy custom Risk Factors of CKD essay

buy custom Risk Factors of CKD essay Diabetes The risk of suffering from kidney disease increases with the length of time one has had diabetes. High blood pressure (hypertension) - One of the kidneys functions is to regulate blood volume, which is an important factor in hypertension. Drug use, overuse of pain killers and allergic reactions to antibiotics may cause kidney inflammation that can lead to kidney failure. Macroalbuminaria A simple test can detect abnormal amounts of albumin in urine. These abnormal amounts increase vulnerability to chronic kidney disease. Low HDL cholesterol The good HDL cholesterol is more significant than total cholesterol, although high total cholesterol is also a risk factor. Trauma/accident, some surgeries and certain radio-contrast dyes that doctors use to monitor blood flow can damage the kidneys or reduce blood flow to the kidneys, causing acute kidney failure. Sometimes acute kidney failure will get better, but it may lead to CKD. Family history of kidney disease- individuals from families that have a medical history of any kidney disease are at a high risk of suffering. Premature Birth About one in five very premature infants (less han 32 weeks gestation) may have calcium deposits in the kidney nephrons. This condition is termed as nephrocalcinosis. Sometimes, individuals with this condition may go on to develop kidney problems later in life. Age-The highest risk factor is living to be more than 60 years old. This is because kidney functioning is greatly reduced in older people. Inflammation- C-Reactive protein is an important biomarker of inflammation. A test result of 12.8 mg/dl was identified as the highest risk, while a result of 0.21 was the lowest risk. Low income- just like any other health issue, low income earners are at higher risk because of poor access to health facilities. Race/ethnicity-According to study, Non-Hispanic whites have the highest risk, followed by non-Hispanic blacks. Mexican Americans have the lowest risk. Periodontal status Any stage of gum disease is a risk factor. Other diseases like systematic lupus erythematosus, sickle cell anemia, cancer, AIDS, hepatitis C, and congestive heart failure According to a certain study, a non-Hispanic white over the age of 60 with high blood pressure, high C-creative protein, and high albumin in the urine has a 72% probability of chronic kidney diisease. Someone with all the risk factors has a 98% probability. Symptoms of chronic kidney disease Changes in urination: color, contents, frequency of urination and the amount of urine. Swelling in the event of kidney failure, excretory substances including extra fluids accumulate in various body parts. This causes the body parts to swell. Other symptoms include: loss of appetite, fatigue, nausea and vomiting, skin rashes/itching, metallic taste in the mouth/ammonia breath, dizziness and lack of concentration, leg/flank pains, shortness of breath, a feeling of coldness, high blood pressure, chest and bone pains. Prevention and medication Chronic kidney disease can be managed with diet annual check-ups. It is mostly prevented by treating the risk factors and any other disease whose symptoms are observed. Proper lifestyle like avoiding smoking, eating low fat food, and regular exercises are also necessary. Therapy (ACEi or ARB) are used in the early stages of the disease. Its goal is to halt or slow down progression to stage 5. During advance stages of the disease, dialysis or a kidney transplant should be done so as to rescue the situation. Buy custom Risk Factors of CKD essay

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Push-Pull Factors that Determine Population Migration

Push-Pull Factors that Determine Population Migration In geographical terms, the push-pull factors are those that drive people away from a place and draw people to a new location. A combination of push-pull factors helps determine migration or immigration of particular populations from one land to another. Push factors are often forceful, demanding that a certain person or group of people leave one country for another, or at least giving that person or people strong reasons to want to move- either because of a threat of violence or loss of financial security. Pull factors, on the other hand, are often the positive aspects of a different country that encourage people to immigrate in order to seek a better life. While it may seem that push and pull factors are diametrically opposed, they both come into play when a population or person is considering migrating to a new location. Push Factors: Reasons to Leave Any number of detrimental factors can be considered push factors, which essentially force a population or person from one country to seek refuge in another, better country. These conditions which drive people to leave their homes can include bullying, a sub-standard level of living, food, land or job scarcity, famine or drought, political or religious persecution, pollution, or even natural disasters. When this happens, it may be difficult to pick and choose a destination: speed is more important than selecting the best option for relocation. Although all push factors dont require a person to leave a country, these conditions that contribute to a person leaving are often so dire that if they do not choose to leave, they will suffer financially, emotionally or physically.  The Great Potato Famine, for example, pushed thousands of Irish families to immigrate to the United States to avoid starvation. Populations with refugee statuses are the among the most affected by push factors in a country or region. Refugee populations are often faced with genocide-like conditions in their country of origin, usually because of authoritarian governments or populations opposed to religious or ethnic groups. For example, Jews leaving Germany during the Nazi era were threatened with violent death if they remained in their home country. Pull Factors: Reasons to Migrate Pull factors are those that help a person or population determine whether relocating to a new country would provide the most benefit. These factors attract populations to a new place largely because of what the country provides that was not available to them in their country of origin. A promise of freedom from religious or political persecution, availability of career opportunities or cheap land, or abundance of food could be considered pull factors for migrating to a new country. In each of these cases, a population will have more opportunity to pursue a better life compared to its home country. Students entering universities or seeking jobs in more developed countries, for example, are likely to receive larger salaries and greater opportunities than in their countries of origin. For some individuals and groups, push and pull factors work together. This is particularly the case when push factors are relatively benign. For example, a young adult who cannot find a lucrative job in her home country may consider immigrating only if the opportunities are significantly better elsewhere.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Anti Cancer Drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Anti Cancer Drugs - Essay Example Cell cycle phase specific anticancer drugs are given for a particular phase and inhibit the further progression of the tumor cell (Ajithkumar et al 2011). The G1 phase specific drugs inhibit the G1 phase of the tumor cells and have therapeutic consequences associated with them. Cyclin-dependant kinases play an important role in the progression of the G1 phase. During the G1 to S phase transition, the phosphorylation of retinoblastoma susceptibility gene, Rb, regulated by D-type cyclins and CDKs 4 and 6 is a major factor causing the cell cycle progression. By inhibiting the CDK activity, the G1 phase activity can be inhibited as well. First generation CDK inhibitors include flavopiridol, UCN-01 and L86 8276, a non-chlorinated chemical form of flavopiridol. Flavopiridol causes G1 inhibition by its inhibitory action on the CDK 2 and CDK4. UCN-01 and flavopiridol cell cycle repression is followed by apoptosis of the tumor cells and they cave a cytotoxic effect. However, tumor cell selectivity is a major issue in their therapeutic affectivity. Non-tumor cells can also be affected by these anticancer drugs leading to apoptosis and hence, non-tumor cells are also sensitive for the CDK inhibiting action (Shapiro & Harper 1999). The limited inhibition activity caused by first-generation lead to the formulation of purvalanol B a second generation CDK inhibitor. This drug targets the ATP-binding sites and has shown higher selectivity for the CDKs. The activity of CDK4 and CDK 2 is inhibited 100-folds more selectively causing inactivation of Rb gene and ultimately cell arrest at the G1 phase (Shapiro & Harper 1999). Corticosteroids and natural products like asparagine are also specific for cell arrest at G1 phase of the tumor cells. Corticosteroids are effective in lymphoid derived tumors while asparagines are effective in depriving the tumor cells

Construction organisations have adapted themselves to address change Essay

Construction organisations have adapted themselves to address change and the growing complexity of the construction industry.Pre - Essay Example One of the key characteristics of the construction industry is its high complexity; the projects developed across this industry are depended on a series of factors, including technology, climate conditions, suppliers’ and employees’ efficiency and responsibility, local regulation and so on. Therefore, for the firms that operate in the particular industry the full achievement of their goals is a challenging task; in fact, the research on the industry’s characteristics and performance has led to the conclusion that operational and strategic failures are common phenomena in this industry. This issue is discussed in this paper; it is concluded that the above failures can justify the argument that in modern market no single ideal organization can exist. The aspects and the explanation of this argument are presented in this paper referring, as an example, to the challenges and the performance of firms operating in the construction industry. 2. Change and increase of co mplexity in the construction industry - characteristics, responses and consequences - discussion of the premise that there is no single ideal organization. ... The value of the construction industry for economies worldwide cannot be ignored. For example, in USA, one of the most competitive construction markets globally, the value of the construction industry for the domestic product has estimated to 9% - referring to 2005 (Atallah 2006). Despite its size, the construction industry in USA is not well structured – a high fragmentation has been identified; more specifically, most of the industry’s firms are small and operate within their local area – about 2.1 millions of the relevant businesses are self-employed (Atallah 2006). This fact limits the potentials of these firms to face the challenges set by the globalization. The above phenomenon is common in countries worldwide. Firms in the construction industry are usually established and operate in the context of the development of particular construction projects; in many cases, the end of a construction project can set the survival of a construction firm in risk. In oth er words, there is no expansion of the activities or tasks allocated to the employees. Rather, the operation of each construction firm is depended on the successful development of a particular construction project; it is for this reason, that most of firms in this industry are self-employed – the number of employees is low. This trend is reflected in the figures released in the study of Bennett (2003); in accordance with the above study, the construction firms in Italy have been estimated to 482,000 (for 2002), a number extremely high taking into consideration the potential number of construction projects developed across the country/ compared to the country’s size and relevant needs (Bennett 2003). Moreover, in accordance with a

Friday, October 18, 2019

Analysis of Growth Area Authoritys Aurora Precinct Structure Plan in Assignment

Analysis of Growth Area Authoritys Aurora Precinct Structure Plan in Light of Food Security, Climate Change and Population Growth Issues - Assignment Example The country is located in the Southern Hemisphere and is surrounded by Pacific and Indian Ocean. It has a temperate climate instead of a tropical one. As a result, it has less rainfall every year. The entire country is dry and its center is a desert where large cactus grows (About Australia, 2012). Due to extreme dry land conditions and infertility, the population density is only 2.8 inhabitants per square kilometer, which is the lowest figure in the world (Ibid, 2012). The phenomenon of global warming has significantly affected the world including Australia where the country’s frequency and quantity of rainfall has further declined. The dry parts of the country have little or no fertility that significantly affects food supply. Thus, the inhabitants are forced to settle down near the coastline to have continuous supply of food, water, rainfall and other benefits. Consequently, the cities are becoming heavily populated and overcrowded (Major Cities Unit, 2011). Likewise, the C ity of Whittlesea's north area was known as Epping North. Due to the non-availability of infrastructure, services and high development costs, Epping North remains undeveloped (About Australia, 2012). One possible way to mitigate these issues is to develop structure and strategic policies that focus on the development and construction in the country. For instance, in 2001 and 2002, Victorian Government plan, known as VicUrban, decided to develop this land and got control of a massive piece of land which is now known as Aurora (Aurora Precinct Structure Plan, 2001). The Victorian Government developed its strategic planning and policy framework that comprises of various policies that aim at focusing on the development of Aurora. It initiated a master structure plan titled Aurora Precinct Structure Plan, which intends to provide provisions for the effective development and growth of Aurora. The Victorian Civil and Administrative Council evaluates each development in the city based on th e well-established principles of planning for Transit-oriented development. Any structure development plan that is in contrast to the objectives set in the Aurora Precinct Structure Plan is rejected by the Council. Aim This paper aims to critically analyze the strategic plan titled Aurora Precinct Structure Plan in regard to its ability to approach the issue of climate change, food insecurity and population growth and to its adequacy to an analysis of future directions in planning. Objectives In order to achieve the aim of the analytical paper, the paper has following objectives: 1. To study the prevailing and threatening environmental issues that can affect the sustenance and growth of Aurora. 2. To study the Aurora Precinct Structure Plan. 3. To evaluate it in regard to the provisions and policies for the upliftment, improvement, stability and mitigation of the environmental issues that Aurora is expected to face in the next few decades. 4. To evaluate the adequacy of the strategi c policy titled Aurora Precinct Structure Plan in regard to the future directions in planning. 5. To enumerate the potential risks and shortcomings of Aurora Precinct Structure Plan from the environmental perspective. Climate Change, Food Security and Population Growth Issues in Aurora According to the Climate Change Department of Australia, the country has observed climate change affect in three aspects. Firstly, the temperature of Australia has increased

Business Marketing Communication Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Marketing Communication - Article Example Instead, both academics and practitioners are embracing models which acknowledge the autonomy and unpredictability of customers. Initially building communication was not identified and recognized as a task of strategic importance in an organisation, but now with cut throat competition and a deluge of marketing tools, building relations and spreading information has increasingly become more important. One reason for seeing marketing communications as tactical rather than strategic is that much of its development and execution has been outsourced to marketing services agencies offering a range of specialisms (such as design, creative consultancy or sales promotion). This casts some doubt on its position as a core competence. Furthermore, much advertising and promotion thinking risks being short to medium term because the people and organisations involved are constantly changing. Butterfield suggests that, because of the increased importance of company-wide brand values in providing competitive advantage, marketing is becoming a way of delivering a communications strategy, rather than the other way round. The traditional hierarchy of strategy has been challenged by the increasing importance of brands as

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Cyberstalking Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cyberstalking - Term Paper Example This particular research report intends to demonstrate a deep analysis and understanding about a particular theory along with practice relating to cyberlaw. In this regard, the perception of cyberstalking has been taken into concern. Cyberstalking can be termed as the execution of internet and its associated components for the purpose of harassing or stalking a person or certain groups. The components might embrace instant messaging (IM) and Internet Protocols (IPs) among others. The practice of cyberstalking can be regarded as one of the critical aspects as it imposes unfavorable impact upon the society by a greater level. For the completion of this project, the factors relating to the discrepancies along with the advantageous points relating to cyberstalking will be highlighted upon. The laws that have been formulated against cyberstalking are duly set to punish the offenders or to penalize those individuals associated with the practice of cyberstalking (Milhorn, 2007). B) Backgrou nd The topic of the study focuses on cyberstalking and its effects on various users of internet. Cyberstalking has been viewed to be one of the most widely practiced activities in the world of internet nowadays. It is frequently practiced by different types of hackers and cyber criminals. However, there are numerous laws that have been formulated as well as exploited by national along with international laws for penalizing the offenders. It is to be affirmed that the concept of cyberstalking is a much broader concept as the whole of the internet medium is related with it. It may provide with a great deal of challenge to study the overall theories related to cyberstalking. There are numerous issues that are needed to be dealt with while dealing with the significant concern of cyberstalking. Facing these issues will lead to a source of learning and knowledge gathering which is quite important. For the completion of this project successfully, a deep analysis about the concept of cybers talking is needed to be conducted along with proper identification of the problems associated with it. However, the concept of cyber stalking is bound to derive many advantages to the internet world. The laws concerning cyberlaw should be widely supported as with the proper lawful measures, the rising problem concerning the increase of cyber stalking can be lowered. This would prove to be a great aid for minimizing the rates of cyber crimes. As cyber stalking represents conduct of several malicious practices, the laws are specially formed to disrupt such practices by a greater level (Bocij, 2004). C) Inadequacies There are various types of challenges that may arise while analyzing the current traits and practices of cyberstalking. Hacking specialists along with cyber criminals often play their roles in a very skillful manner. Investigating teams are required to trace their internet activities in an effective manner. A lot of technical expertise is demanded to have a clear understand ing of the various activities of the offenders. Highly trained professionals are required for checking all kinds of activities related to cyber crimes (Janczewski & Colarik, 2008). The internet age is designed in such a way that people tends to share their personal information very quickly. It can be affirmed from a broader outlook that sharing personal information eventually paves the way for the happening of the activities associated with cyberstalking. As the use of internet is becoming drastically popular in this present day context, it is becoming quite difficult for the people to stop themselves from exchanging personal information over the internet with unknown people. This particular trend is ultimately leading the way towards causing the activities relating to cyberstalking by a greater level. In order to determine the inadequacies relating to the context of cyberstalking, certain crucial factors can be recognized that imposes significant impact upon controlling the ill eff ects of cyberstalking.

Response Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Response - Assignment Example However, Darrel uses it in the modern world to express emotions. For instance, the artist uses different textures and fabrics to express different emotions. According to the artist, the textures of a fabric affect people’s brains. By looking at the grains and length of stitches, one can imagine the texture of the fabrics. People are able to tell the texture of fabrics because of their usage of textile since the old times. In addition, Diana got his mixed media idea from the old art ideas of the 18th and 19th centuries. Girls in those times stitched words on pieces of fabrics. Diana borrowed this idea in combining paintings and graphic design. Currently, the concept of mixed media is used by many professional artists in various art forms such as collage and card making. The old mixed media ideas have also been applied in other forms of modern arts such as the multimedia art that combines audio and other non-visual elements

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Cyberstalking Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cyberstalking - Term Paper Example This particular research report intends to demonstrate a deep analysis and understanding about a particular theory along with practice relating to cyberlaw. In this regard, the perception of cyberstalking has been taken into concern. Cyberstalking can be termed as the execution of internet and its associated components for the purpose of harassing or stalking a person or certain groups. The components might embrace instant messaging (IM) and Internet Protocols (IPs) among others. The practice of cyberstalking can be regarded as one of the critical aspects as it imposes unfavorable impact upon the society by a greater level. For the completion of this project, the factors relating to the discrepancies along with the advantageous points relating to cyberstalking will be highlighted upon. The laws that have been formulated against cyberstalking are duly set to punish the offenders or to penalize those individuals associated with the practice of cyberstalking (Milhorn, 2007). B) Backgrou nd The topic of the study focuses on cyberstalking and its effects on various users of internet. Cyberstalking has been viewed to be one of the most widely practiced activities in the world of internet nowadays. It is frequently practiced by different types of hackers and cyber criminals. However, there are numerous laws that have been formulated as well as exploited by national along with international laws for penalizing the offenders. It is to be affirmed that the concept of cyberstalking is a much broader concept as the whole of the internet medium is related with it. It may provide with a great deal of challenge to study the overall theories related to cyberstalking. There are numerous issues that are needed to be dealt with while dealing with the significant concern of cyberstalking. Facing these issues will lead to a source of learning and knowledge gathering which is quite important. For the completion of this project successfully, a deep analysis about the concept of cybers talking is needed to be conducted along with proper identification of the problems associated with it. However, the concept of cyber stalking is bound to derive many advantages to the internet world. The laws concerning cyberlaw should be widely supported as with the proper lawful measures, the rising problem concerning the increase of cyber stalking can be lowered. This would prove to be a great aid for minimizing the rates of cyber crimes. As cyber stalking represents conduct of several malicious practices, the laws are specially formed to disrupt such practices by a greater level (Bocij, 2004). C) Inadequacies There are various types of challenges that may arise while analyzing the current traits and practices of cyberstalking. Hacking specialists along with cyber criminals often play their roles in a very skillful manner. Investigating teams are required to trace their internet activities in an effective manner. A lot of technical expertise is demanded to have a clear understand ing of the various activities of the offenders. Highly trained professionals are required for checking all kinds of activities related to cyber crimes (Janczewski & Colarik, 2008). The internet age is designed in such a way that people tends to share their personal information very quickly. It can be affirmed from a broader outlook that sharing personal information eventually paves the way for the happening of the activities associated with cyberstalking. As the use of internet is becoming drastically popular in this present day context, it is becoming quite difficult for the people to stop themselves from exchanging personal information over the internet with unknown people. This particular trend is ultimately leading the way towards causing the activities relating to cyberstalking by a greater level. In order to determine the inadequacies relating to the context of cyberstalking, certain crucial factors can be recognized that imposes significant impact upon controlling the ill eff ects of cyberstalking.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

The Negative Effects of Music Videos on our Children Essay

The Negative Effects of Music Videos on our Children - Essay Example The lyrics tend to have a significant corrupting influence on the youth. Particular genres such as hip-hop, gangsta rap and heavy metal are found to be more damaging to children than the rest. The racial attitudes and interpersonal relations of teenagers can be influenced by the music they watch. The later part of the 20th century had seen a disturbing development. The greatest threat to the health of American adolescents in recent decades is violence induced injuries and death. During the 1990’s, nearly 70% of all teenage deaths are a result of violence – accidents, manslaughter, homicides, etc. In 1994 in particular 357,000 teenagers were assaulted badly enough so as to require emergency medical treatment. A further 3569 of them eventually succumbed to their injuries. Adding to the alarm, the number of juvenile arrests for violent crimes during the year was recorded at 150,000 that included 6000 rapes and 85,300 aggravated assaults.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Save Trees Essay Example for Free

Save Trees Essay A coalition of environmental organizations working directly with Canadian companies to develop practical and economic ways to shift their wood and paper use away from ancient and endangered forest products to ecologically sound alternatives. Conservatree – www. conservatree. com: American non profit organization dedicated to converting paper markets to EP papers. Reach for Unbleached – www. rfu. org: Canadian registered charity working for a sustainable pulp and paper industry. ABPBC (Association of Book Publishers of BC) – www. books. bc. ca/ecokit. php: eco-kit for book publishers online. Magazine Paper Project – www. ecopaperaction. org: American non profit encouraging magazine publishers to switch to recycled paper. ReThink Paper – www. rethinkpaper. org: American non profit – more info, more resources. Almost half of the trees harvested in North America go to the production of paper Produced with the assistance of and the BC Gaming Commission For one source of EP office paper, see the Office Paper Buying Club at www. rfu. org Buying EP paper is the focus of the companion brochure – â€Å"Buying EP Paper. † Money saved using paper saving tips in this brochure can easily offset any initial cost differences of purchasing EP paper. Potential organizational benefits of an EP paper policy include favourable public image, employee pride and contentment, competitive differentiation, socially responsible investing advantages. Pulp paper is one of the most environmentally demanding and damaging industries in the world ? $50 ? $500 ? $100 ? $1,000 ? $250 ? Other $____ 1984 1994 2004 Global paper consumption has more than tripled over the past 30 years. How’s recycling working? Reach for Unbleached Box 39 Whaletown, BC Canada V0P 1Z0 Phone: (250) 935-6992 In Canada we recover only 44 % of all paper products used, including only 15 % of printing and writing papers and magazines. Over 90% of all office and printing paper is made with virgin fibre. | | Paper reduction techniques Machines n Purchase photocopiers that have double-sided copying capacity. Program double-sided copying as the default. n Purchase fax machines that use plain paper to eliminate the need to copy thermal sheets. Electronics n Create letterhead stationary using software templates and make it available to all. n Use e-mail instead of paper memos. n Don’t print all your e-mails. n Send out and keep reference documents electronically – don’t make hard paper copies. Software adjustments n Changing the print and other settings in software programs can save paper up to 50% by reducing the margins, font size and line spacing. Set the default to these settings, altering the parameters when necessary. (See www. rfu. org for more details on software adjustments. ) n A software program like www. ineprint. com will print more than one page to the sheet. Use the right paper for the job n Choose the most eco-friendly paper for a job – highest recycled content, unbleached, etc. Premium, extra white glossy paper is only occasionally necessary – for fine art reproduction, photographic prints, etc. n Use lighter paper (less weight) when feasible. This reduces the amount of fibre needed and also saves money in postage. n Use non-coated paper. Coated paper is in most cases less desirable for recycling mills because the clay coating is not recyclable. Work with your vendors Many of the following ideas could reduce vendor costs – enabling you to negotiate for advantages in other areas. n Ask suppliers to first send information electronically; then decide whether or not you need a hard copy. n The following shipment strategies from suppliers can save money for both you and your vendors. n Boxes, filler, etc. cost money. Ask vendors to colour code materials to help identify materials for recycling procedures. n Re-usable containers can be shipped back to suppliers. n Product packaging contributes significantly to purchasing costs. Ask vendors to reduce packaging. n Set up incentives for paper suppliers to sell you less product by helping keep track of your inventories and eliminating excess stockpiles, e. g. custom stationary that could become obsolete. n Provide inter-office envelopes to vendors for incoming invoices that need to go through more than one hand before payment. Many companies now consider their vendors as partners, not just product suppliers. In this spirit of partnership, they are working together to save money and improve environmental performance. Reward employees who come up with other paper-saving ideas. email yesterday More Paper reduction tips n Reduce a legal size sheet to letter size. n Make smaller notices, forms and letters – print two on each sheet of paper and cut it in half. n Use two-way envelopes to send out invoices customers can refold envelope for return payment. n Circulate office reports in a forwarding mailing envelope – saves making copies. n Use on-demand publishing or printing for books, manuals, catalogues, etc. – only print for immediate needs.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Measuring Skin Blood Flow and Vascular Permeability

Measuring Skin Blood Flow and Vascular Permeability The aim of this experiment is to compare the dose-related inflammatory response demonstrated by the skin following injection of histamine and bradykinin two inflammatory mediators. Methods used will demonstrate a non-invasive, quantitative way to measure blood flow and vascular permeability in the skin. INTRODUCTION The acute inflammatory reaction occurs to protect the body in response to a pathogen or other noxious substance. There are two components: adaptive immunological response (which is described as a more specific immune response) and the innate response which occurs immediately upon infection and consists of both vascular and cellular effects (Rang and Dale, 2007). The innate response will be studied in this experiment, specifically in the skin. Bradykinin and histamine are inflammatory mediators involved in the innate response and will be studied at different doses. The results can be used to provide a potential target for therapeutic use: further experimentation would allow the addition of inflammatory mediator antagonists to potentially reduce the four cardinal signs of inflammation: pain, heat, redness and swelling. The local oedema and vasodilation give rise to the wheal and flare. The reddening represents vasodilation of small arterioles, and the increased permeability of the post capillary venules is represented by the wheal. The flare occurs due to stimulation of sensory nerves causing release of vasodilators. This is known as the triple response. It will be the wheal and flare that will be measured and used to describe the action of the two inflammatory mediators. METHODS The methods used were in-vivo; the doses of inflammatory mediators (and saline control) were injected into 10 volunteers. It was confirmed there were no known allergies to either bradykinin or histamine and all correct health and safety procedures were followed. Each of the 10 subjects were injected first with 25ÃŽ ¼L of saline solution, used as a control to show there was nothing in the saline (that the inflammatory mediators were diluted with) causing an inflammatory response. This was followed by doses of 10, 30, and 100ÃŽ ¼M histamine for 5 subjects and the same doses of bradykinin for the other 5 was added, all at 30 second intervals. These were administered using a sterilised syringe which contained the correct concentration. The doses were injected into forearm intradermally and care was taken to ensure the complete volume of 25ÃŽ ¼L was taken up by the skin. Each successive administration was slightly further up the arm giving space for each of the four doses and to try and prevent the flares from overlapping. At periods of 2, 5, 10 and 15mins a clear sheet of acetate was placed over the centre of injection and the wheal and flare were circled using a non-wipe pen and repeated for each respective dose. This provided the area of the wheal and flare at each of the given concentrations at each of the given periods of time following injection, for each respective inflammatory mediator. The flare was cut from the acetate and weighed accurately to 4 decimal places. Subsequently, the wheal was cut from the centre of the flare and was also weighed. This process was repeated for each of the doses of inflammatory mediator (bradykinin and histamine) and for the saline control also. A 2cm2 square was ruled onto the acetate which was also cut out and weighed. This provided a conversion between weight and area, allowing the area of the wheal and flares to be calculated (credit to Dr. Dean Willis).This data was tabulated and can be found in the appendix and illustrated in the results. The data was checked for any anomalous values that could be defined as incorrect based upon logical criteria. Group 1 for the histamine set had flare sizes of 0cm2 however, had wheal sizes greater than this. Therefore this data was removed to all analysis as it is clearly incorrect. The data was then averaged for each of the 5 subjects for both histamine and bradykinin. There were two independent variables: time and concentration; and two dependant variables: wheal and flare areas. The independent variables were illustrated on separate graphs and the wheal and flare sizes were imposed on the same. To produce graphs to illustrate the change in area with concentration, first the largest average value recorded for each concentration was selected and tabulated. This allows comparison not only between different concentrations of the same mediator, but also between bradykinin and histamine. This also means time was irrelevant because it did not matter at which time recording the values were selected The increase in wheal or flare size due to inflammatory mediator was calculated (i.e. the difference between the wheal or flare recorded and saline). This increase in wheal or flare was plotted against the respective concentration and the concentration was plotted in log scale to illustrate a dose-response curve. To illustrate the change in area with respect to time, firstly, the data was scanned to select a concentration at which the change in wheal and flare was best illustrated. This concentration was taken to be 100ÃŽ ¼M (for both mediators to ensure continuity and to allow comparison). The Average wheal and flare size was then plotted against time for both bradykinin and histamine. RESULTS Removed data: (see appendix) Group 1 of the histamine section has a flare size of 0.000 recorded with a wheel size of greater than this. This is likely to be a systematic error in not realising the flare is indeed underneath the wheel and not visible, in this case the flare is the same area of the wheel. However this is just speculation, and in order to ensure all data used is correct saline recordings for each time interval both wheel and flare areas for group 1(histamine) were removed from analysis. The wheal size only increased slowly with increased concentration of bradykinin to a maximum of 0.414 at 100ÃŽ ¼M. The value at 10ÃŽ ¼M was actually lower than that for saline. This is not a significant decrease however as it was taken as a decrease of 0.04cm2, which is a small area and the limitations of the experiment are likely to be the cause. The flare size, however, increased more with increasing concentration. The size of the flare is likely to represent a dose-response curve with a classic sigmoid shape if the concentration of bradykinin were to be increased further. However, due to the nature of the experiment this would not be practical as a much large concentration of inflammatory mediator could be dangerous for the subject. It is also shown that the maximum flare area at 100ÃŽ ¼M was recorded at 10mins. It can therefore be deduced that it was relatively slow acting; however it cannot be determined whether the maximum value was indeed at 10mins recorded as 7.808cm2. Equally the flare area could have rose to a maximum between 5-10mins and decreased, or rose to a maximum after 10mins and reduced to that recorded at 15mins. It can be shown that at the lowest concentration (10ÃŽ ¼M) of histamine that there is only a small difference of 1.194cm2 between the maximum flare-area recorded by bradykinin. It can therefore be deduced that histamine caused a larger flare than bradykinin at the same concentrations. Ahe general trend is similar to that of bradykinin: small increase in wheal area, large increase in flare area. The maximum wheal area was only 0.03m2 larger than that recorded by bradykinin. Again, the wheal area had very little variation with time: increase of 0.2cm2. The flare area was at a maximum recording of 18.625cm2 after just 2mins. Therefore, it is likely to have been at the maximum area before 2mins. This shows that histamine is faster acting than the bradykinin. There is a relatively linear decrease with time to a minimum value of 9.120cm2 recorded at 15mins. The flare area did of course continue to decrease after the 15minute period until there was no apparent inflammation, likewise for bradykinin. DISCUSSION As mentioned previously, the innate inflammatory response consists of both vascular and cellular effects. Vascular events begin by dilation of post capillary venules, causing an increased blood flow. Vasodilation is caused by the action of histamine (and other inflammatory mediators), leading to increased local blood flow and an increased vascular permeability causing a local oedema. The fluid contains the components a proteolytic enzyme cascades producing bradykinin. Bradykinin is also an inflammatory mediator causing further vasodilation and vascular permeability leading to local redness and oedema respectively. This gives rise to the cardinal signs of inflammation: redness, swelling, heat and pain (also loss of function). The sensation of heat and pain ascend through sensory neurones via the spinothalamic tract. Upon the presence of a pathogen, pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) are recognised on the surface of bacteria and causing the release of cytokines from macrophages. Cytokines are small polypeptides involved in cell-signalling and orchestrate inflammation. This allows expression of adhesion molecules in the endothelial cells. Phagocytes then adhere to the endothelium and migrate towards the bacteria where phagocytosis takes place. In addition, exudation of fluid occurs in response to an increased vascular permeability due to a combination of cytokine and inflammatory mediator action (as well as increased vasodilation in response to inflammatory mediators). The fluid allows four enzyme cascades to occur producing inflammatory further inflammatory mediators by proteolytic cleavage from their native (inactive) state. One of these cascades gives rise to bradykinin (Pocock and Richards, 2006). Histamine is released in response to products of other enzyme cascade pathways such as C3a and c5a which make up part of the complement system. C3a and C5a bind with receptors on the surface of mast cells, causing a rise in intracellular calcium leading to exocytosis of histamine. Simple injection of bradykinin or histamine mimics these pathways. Bradykinin is a vasodilator and also increases vascular permeability leading to a local swelling. This is consistent with the findings in this experiment. After Intradermal injection of bradykinin, the typical triple-response was apparent; there was a wheel and flare as described by Sir Thomas Lewis. Breakdown is by kininases and it is likely to have cleaved bradykinin at a relatively fast rate due to the short lasting effect at 100ÃŽ ¼M where the flare area began to decrease after just 10mins. Histamine has a similar action to bradykinin but found to act faster and also found to be more potent at each concentration tested. The flare area was at a maximum after just 2 minutes. Histamine acts on H1 receptors to dilate blood vessels, therefore it is likely there is a high expression of H1 receptors at the skin surface, or histamine has a great affinity for its receptor. It is likely to be a combination of both, however to confirm these ideas, experiments could be conducted on other tissue perhaps on organ tissue in-vitro using an animal model. This response is characteristic of the acute inflammatory pathway; however, more recent studies suggest that histamine has a role in chronic inflammation involved in the immune response (Jutel et al., 2009). There is regulation of T-cells (which make up part of the immune response) by H1 and H2 receptors. There is a 4th histamine receptor, H4 and further evidence for the role of histamine in chronic pathways comes from expression of H4 receptors on immune cells (Jutel et al., 2009). It is apparent from figures 1 and 3 that an increase in either inflammatory mediator resulted in an increase in wheel area. As previously described, this is due to release of vasodilators from sensory nerves in response to stimulation. So it can be deduced that a larger concentration of bradykinin or histamine indicates a larger infection and therefore the cascade process is accentuated. The wheal area stays relatively constant in both cases, this could be due to no addition action of inflammatory mediators on the vascular permeability, or indeed there is already a full effect i.e. the post capillary venules are a permeable as possible. However another hypothesis could be that additional permeability would only lead to a further decreased extracellular solute concentration which would simply be reabsorbed by osmosis. STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS Strengths of the experiment were in that humans were used and methods were in-vivo. Therefore there is no reliance on animal models to use as a comparison. All subjects were of a similar age and gender was at random, hence, generally similar responses were found between each group. Limitations were found to be in injecting the inflammatory mediator intradermally. There was a tendency for not all of the solution to actually enter the skin, thus decreasing the number of moles of inflammatory mediator. This however did not seem to effect the results too greatly as 5 repeat groups would allow for some small error. It is still clear from the experiment that the aims were met and the mediators compared. Furthermore, measurement of the area was not particularly accurate. Firstly it was hard to judge the size of the wheel and flare and there was a tendency for the flares to overlap and was often left down to judgment of where to define the boundary. There were a few further cases where the w heel size exceed that of the flare (in addition the case described in the results) however these were only small differences and could easily have been to variations in the measurement of the weight. If the wheal and flare were the same size, the acetate could have been weighed twice and hence the small difference. This would not have affected the outcome of the experiment however so the data was accepted. Better methods of measurement of wheel and flare area would be to use an imaging technique and record the change in areas digitally. This would allow for calculation of the change in rate of area with respect to time (via differential equations) which would give a good indication as to the potency and allow for a more in-depth comparison.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Free Macbeth Essays: Appearance and Reality :: GCSE Coursework Macbeth Essays

Appearance and Reality in Macbeth Appearance does not always agree with reality. A limited view on an event or a subject will likely lead to a limited or even false conclusion. For example, in Shakespeare’s tragic play Macbeth, the Scottish nobles viewed main character Macbeth as a "bloody tyrant"; for the readers, Macbeth is not total evil character, but nearly a hero with much physical strength and greatness. Only if he didn’t betray his king, he would’ve been a great thane. This essay is going to be dealt with this difference in appearance and reality of Macbeth Macbeth is a deranged, old man with flashes of former greatness. He came into the play as a man of honor respected by his fellow soldiers, and has shown great bravery and physical strength, fighting under King Duncan. As reported by the bloody general "Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel†¦smoked with bloody execution†¦carved out his passage†¦fixed his head upon our battlement." (I, ii, 15-25) From this quote we can image Macbeth’s heroic qualities: courage, bravery and unstoppable. King Duncan greatly praised Macbeth for the Bravery and Loyalty, but what he didn’t see from Macbeth’s face (Appearance) is the dark desire of Macbeth who is planning to murder the king (reality). From this point on, as the witches’ prophecies come in and Macbeth’s ambition aided by Lady Macbeth, this heroic character in both the reader’s mind and Scottish noble’s mind started its downfall. After the murdered King Duncan, quoted from Banquo "†¦and I fear thou play’dst most foully for ’t." (III, I, 3) all Scottish nobles are suspicious about Macbeth of murdering King Duncan. Ever after, Macbeth seems to believe in his philosophy "things bad begun make strong themselves by ill", (III, iii, 55) and try to cover up his murder by killing more and more. At last, his ambition drove him from a hero to a tyrant that "blisters†¦tongues" (VI, iii, 10-15) Flashbacks of Macbeth’s greatness once again reappear at the end of his tragic story in the speech "tomorrow, and tomorrow and tomorrow†¦." (V, v, 15-30) Through this speech we can feel his sadness and rage toward his meaningless life "life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hours upon stage, and then is heard no more." When Macbeth realized the prophecies of his crisis coming, he said "if this which he avouches does appear,/there is nor flying hence nor tarrying here. Free Macbeth Essays: Appearance and Reality :: GCSE Coursework Macbeth Essays Appearance and Reality in Macbeth Appearance does not always agree with reality. A limited view on an event or a subject will likely lead to a limited or even false conclusion. For example, in Shakespeare’s tragic play Macbeth, the Scottish nobles viewed main character Macbeth as a "bloody tyrant"; for the readers, Macbeth is not total evil character, but nearly a hero with much physical strength and greatness. Only if he didn’t betray his king, he would’ve been a great thane. This essay is going to be dealt with this difference in appearance and reality of Macbeth Macbeth is a deranged, old man with flashes of former greatness. He came into the play as a man of honor respected by his fellow soldiers, and has shown great bravery and physical strength, fighting under King Duncan. As reported by the bloody general "Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel†¦smoked with bloody execution†¦carved out his passage†¦fixed his head upon our battlement." (I, ii, 15-25) From this quote we can image Macbeth’s heroic qualities: courage, bravery and unstoppable. King Duncan greatly praised Macbeth for the Bravery and Loyalty, but what he didn’t see from Macbeth’s face (Appearance) is the dark desire of Macbeth who is planning to murder the king (reality). From this point on, as the witches’ prophecies come in and Macbeth’s ambition aided by Lady Macbeth, this heroic character in both the reader’s mind and Scottish noble’s mind started its downfall. After the murdered King Duncan, quoted from Banquo "†¦and I fear thou play’dst most foully for ’t." (III, I, 3) all Scottish nobles are suspicious about Macbeth of murdering King Duncan. Ever after, Macbeth seems to believe in his philosophy "things bad begun make strong themselves by ill", (III, iii, 55) and try to cover up his murder by killing more and more. At last, his ambition drove him from a hero to a tyrant that "blisters†¦tongues" (VI, iii, 10-15) Flashbacks of Macbeth’s greatness once again reappear at the end of his tragic story in the speech "tomorrow, and tomorrow and tomorrow†¦." (V, v, 15-30) Through this speech we can feel his sadness and rage toward his meaningless life "life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hours upon stage, and then is heard no more." When Macbeth realized the prophecies of his crisis coming, he said "if this which he avouches does appear,/there is nor flying hence nor tarrying here.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Frankenstein Essay

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, encompasses every definition of a tragic hero. A tragic hero is not the normal hero a reader always envisions, but rather a character that causes suffering to others. This is shown through Victor Frankenstein himself in this novel. Victor Frankenstein would be classified as a tragic hero in this novel because of his choice to â€Å"play God†. This is shown through him creating the Creature. He knew that this could be dangerous, but he continued to work as if nothing could go wrong for over two sleepless years. He assembled the Creature, hoping that it would be able to help humankind, and be his friend when no one else would. Victor was terrified of the Creature. â€Å"I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being that I had created, I rushed out of the room, and continued a long time traversing my bed-chamber, unable to compose my mind to sleep†(30). This quote shows how horrific he perceived the â€Å"monster† he had just created. Victor begins to wonder why he had spent so much time creating the Creature, and why he had thought that he would help mankind. Although Victor saw the Creature as a monster, the Creature wanted nothing more than to be loved and wanted by his creator. When the Creature was denied the love and affection he so longed, he did become a killing machine. â€Å" Character, English-language films, At that moment he sees a gigantic figure illuminated by a bolt of lightning†¦ and he instinctively realizes that that it was the Creature who killed his brother William† (Kelley). After the death of William and Justine, and the woman accused of killing William and was sentenced to death for it, the Frankenstein family went on a vacation to the mountains, where Victor runs into the Creature. The Creature describes himself as â€Å"miserable beyond all living things†, and that misery made him a friend. The monster makes a request of Victor to listen to his story and was hopeful that Victor will understand his position. The Creature requests that Victor make him a mate, and if he does, he will run away with her and never return. Victor agrees to construct a mate for Creature, but abandons this in the middle of the project. This c ould show how much of a tragic hero that Victor really is. Since he abandoned the female monster, the original creature kills his best friend, Henry, and his wife, Elizabeth. If Victor Frankenstein had only cared more about the Creature and mankind other than himrself, there might have been a happy ending to the novel. But since this was not true, the novel ended in tragedy, further explaining the role Victor Frankenstein had on the plot as a tragic hero.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Preschool Observation Essay

My preschool observation was completed at Chula Vista Presbyterian Preschool located at 940 Hilltop Drive, Chula Vista, Ca 91911. The classroom consisted of eight children between the ages of three and five. When I walked into the preschool classroom the children had just arrive at school. The student we’re hanging up their bags, saying goodbye to their parent and finding activity to play with before the day would officially begin. Some of the children we’re putting puzzles together, cutting fun shapes on the small table for Halloween and two cute little girls are playing bubbles in a tub near the cubbies with a rug underneath. The classroom environment seemed to stimulate learning due to the abundance of activities available to the children’s. During the morning playtime the children were given the opportunity to explore many different things, like the Dramatic play area – grocery set up, the Art area where children can paint, draw and colors, and putting puzzles together. The physical classroom environment had artwork done by the children on the walls as decoration. There were also fence with pumpkin and scarecrow decoration on the wall to brighten up the wall. The decoration did not appear to be too distracting, which promotes and enables a stimulating learning environment. The classroom is pretty much large that we’re arrange in sectional areas; next to the cubbies is the Reading corner, the area is carpeted where 6 small pillows, two small rocking chair and one regular chair are arranged facing a chair for teaching. There is a book stand where children can pick books. The Math area consist of pictures numbers and puzzle games and shapes. There is also the Letter corner where pictures and corresponding letter shows. Dramatic play which is set up as grocery where boxes of cereals’, eggs, canned good items were on display. There is also a cash register and shopping baskets available. The Children’s corner shows pictures and name of students, calendars, schedules and announcement and also the star student. All tables and chai rs have the size fit to small children, shelves was arranged to separate sectional areas from the other. There is a long table by the cubbies that served as dining table for the children. Half of the ceiling has some colorful little pumpkin decoration. The bathroom is located to the other classroom adjacent to the room I observed. there is a small paper towel dispenser and trash can near  the cubbies. The teacher kept to herself for the most part while the children busy playing at the beginning of the day. Because of the small class size she was able to see what everyone was doing without walking around the room. The assistant teacher is on the table helping two children glued the scare crow on the big paper for decoration. There were no disciplinary action needed because the children were well behaved except for occasional reminders of the use of classroom voice when the kids got too excited singing along with the music being played. After forty five minutes of children’s own playtime, the teacher rang the bill for circle time. But before that, she asks all the children to clean up and keep an eye for everybody if they do their task. I noticed that all children we’re doing their part, even if they don’t play on the grocery area they put away all the scattered items, which makes me believe that the teachers values the space she is given and wants her students to know that cleaning up toys and other activities when they are done playing is important. During the circle time, children we’re sitting crisscross on a carpeted section, the teacher start singing a happy song where the children sing too when the teacher mentioned the name of the child the child will stand and dance. It’s like doing the attendance in a fun way where all children participated. After the song, teacher and children’s prayed together. They say thanks for that day being together with friends and teachers, for their parents and ask for safety. After that, the children were ushered to the next room we’re bathrooms are located. The teachers help the children potty and wash their hands before they go the table for snacks. A long table for eight was on the middle of the classroom, the assistant teacher prepares gold fish, 3 carrot sticks and raisins for their snacks. She also put a juice in a small plastic container with a handle where the kids pour their juice by themselves. The teachers is watching closely and reminding the children to pour half only and save some for their friends, I think they are instilling the values of sharing. After the snacks, the children throw their napkins and push their chair back to the table and goes straight to the Math area. The children were sitting crisscrossed again facing a small blackboard; the teacher is sitting on the right side. They were learning the letter â€Å"F† and each student were asked what word starts with letter â€Å"F†. All the children, answered correctly although some of them was helped by their classmates,  which was reprimanded by the teacher and tell them to give other the chance to think and give their answers. When they were done sounding the words they were given a cut out frog paper with a numbers on it and was told that when they hear their number they will jump on the pond (middle) and leave the frog. The children start singing the speckles frog song and each child jumps in the pond when their number was called. It was so much fun watching them and I was thinking that they are committed to provide a play-based, developmentally appropriate program that guides each child through the process of learning self-regulation. When the song ended, children were lined up and ask to put their bumper up to get ready to play in the playground. They went out the same door to get in; playground is located on the opposite side of the building. The children walked on the lined pathway. Before they cross the street, the teacher points to both sides of the street and ask if it safe to cross. When children look at both side and saw no cars coming they unanimously answered â€Å"yes†. The playground is consist of big slides, a tire swing, small basketball area, a monkey bars, a small play house, the table bucket on the sand area where children can play water on it. There is a carpeted shaded area too where children can read books, or play some puzzles or board games. There is also table with some art crafts. Shelves full of toys were aligned with the shoe box. I saw a medicine cabinet too on the far right side of the shelves. I stayed on the chair by the medicine cabinet; this would not attract children attentions or block their way. Both the teacher and assistant teacher were outside to watch the kids, making sure they don ’t hurt themselves or hurt each other. They constantly reminding and approaching the children when they see inappropriate used of toys and equipment’s. The children who were playing too rough were ask to stop if not they will ask to find different games to play. The teacher also participates in playing pretend on the big slides as their pirate ship and some kids play the role of pirate and captain of the ship. The preschool provides a Christian atmosphere that promotes the spiritual, emotional, physical and intellectual growth of each child. This evidence by the colorful posters outside the building that says: â€Å"Faith is Journey† â€Å"God lead Us Forth† â€Å"God’s Presence is our Destination†. As you enter the classroom, there is a signing sheet not only for students but for everybody coming in and out the classroom. The staff and teachers are very  friendly; as I approached them they were smiling and say â€Å"Hi! Can I help you?† When I introduced myself and told them the reason why I was there, they ask me how they can be of help to make my observation easier and productive. They also sh ow me where I can sit and observed not too distant where I still hear children talks and not too close to attract their attention. I feel that there is a good relationship too between the parents and staff because they are happily talking the child’s progress and how they are doing even the silliest thing the child did at home. The school is not gated but I sensed some security because the classrooms are located behind the church. Most of the students are Hispanic, Asian, African-American and Caucasian children. Both the teacher and the assistant teacher is Hispanic and the Director is Caucasian. I would say this preschool is very diverse and children learn how to respect, help and play with each other regardless of race, color and gender. According to Mrs. Brown, they have 12 regular children on this age range, but 2 children were sick that day and 2 was on vacation. The teacher/child ratio is usually 6 children per teacher, but most of the time student teachers were available to help and watch the children. The teachers, Mrs. Rodriguez and Mrs. Baptista were very attentive to the needs of the children; whenever the child goes to them for help they patiently listen and talk to the child in low voice and loving way. The teachers were able to interpret words and actions of the child. You can feel their sincerity and caring. The staffs communicate with each other in providing activities and materials that children find engaging. By facilitating learning, supplying a developmentally appropriate environment, interesting materials and adequate time to explore, play and interact, children find learning easy and fun The Child The preschool child I observed was A J. Mrs. Brown ask me to used initials to ensure confidentiality of the child, since I don’t have permission from the parents. But she allows me to describe the child based on my observation and judgment. A J is taller than most of her classmates and has a â€Å"lean body† not overweight or skinny. She has a full cheeks, I can see a full sets of teeth when she smiles and fair Caucasian skin. A J is three years old and eleven months, the teacher graciously gave an estimate of her weight and  height. She weighs 35 pounds and 39.5 inches tall. According to the teacher, she started at the preschool when she is 2 years old and 4 months. A J has a short curly blonde hair, with blue eyes and thin blonde eye brows. She is wearing a big pink flower headband that matches her short summer dress under a white zipped sweatshirt. When A J first arrived, she greeted all the teachers. She said â€Å"Good morning Mrs. Rodriguez† â€Å"Good morning Mrs. Batista (should be Baptista) and peeked to the other room where Mrs. Brown is and said â€Å"Good morning Mrs. Brown†. When A J saw me, I smiled to her and she gave me a small smile and walked straight to Mrs. Rodriguez. I heard Mrs. Rodriguez telling her â€Å"she is our visitor†. A J asked â€Å"My new teacher†? â€Å"No, she is going to watch and do her job†. She said â€Å"ok†. And when her classmates saw her, three of them approached and ask her to play with them. Which she refused and said â€Å"I am going to do make my scare crow†. She is the only child that said good morning first to all the teachers. This caught my attention because I see a happy and sweet little girl, aside from being so pretty. I chose here to be the subject of this observation because aside from being fit to the age requirement, her smile is contagious and there is something on her that capture your attention, I can’t explain yet but I am going to find out what draws people’s attention into her. Biosocial Development A J weighs 35 pounds and three feet and 3 inches by the time she reaches 6 years old she will weigh around 44 pounds and three feet tall and nine inches. She is within the normal range for her age (Berger, 167). A J is physically fit; her body is well proportioned and leaned. Her growth will be expected to slow down by the age five and six, where her legs and arms lengthen, fat turns to muscles (Berger, 167). This enables her to balance her body and enjoy the fun of dancing, running and playing without falling or slipping. I noticed during snacks, A j finished first the carrot slice. I think this is the reason why she is lean because those who eat more vegetables and fewer fried foods usually gain bone mass but not fat (Berger, 168). When A J is working on her scare crow, she asks the teacher if she can cut the pant and shirt shape paper. I noticed that she was holding the paper on her left hand and scissor on the right hand and I can see that she is concentrating in what she is doin g. Both sides of the brain are normally  involved in almost every skill (Berger, 179). She was able to cut the paper pant and shirt perfectly by following the line. This shows A J’s eye-hand coordination is well balanced. She both used her hand in shaking the small plastic glue bottle and squeezed it to the edge of the pant and shirt following the shape without a mess. I noticed too that A J used both hands in pouring the juice in her cup, using her right hand to hold the handle of the plastic container and left hand on the bottom of the container to avoid spill and to control how much juice she will pour. A J demonstrates perseveration when she was approached by her classmates and asks to play with them but she replied â€Å"I am going to make my scare crow† and she did finished it. Many children ages between 3 and 5, are impulsive flitting to one activity to another (Berger, 178) A J’s demonstrated her well-developed fine motor skills by cutting the paper, draw flowers on the board; pick-up her snacks, unzipped her sweatshirt and ties her shoes (Berger, 170). When A J unzipped her sweatshirt she could not undo the zipper at the bottom to completely unzip so she pulled it from the hood over her head to take it off. She was dancing and jumping on the carpet during circle time. While outside on the playground A J was running nonstop on the entire playground, push the tire swing with her foot and climbed up the ladder, ride the bike, lift water bucket to transfer water to the sand box. I didn’t see her falling or slipping on any of these activities. She has a good balance and these means A J’s gross motor skills are well-developed (Berger, 170). Cognitive Development Piaget second period of Preoperational intelligence shows symbolic thoughts (Berger, 182). While doing the scare crow project, A J asks the teacher â€Å"Mrs. Rodriguez can I have a big scare crow? The teacher ask why she replied â€Å"to protect us from the witch† This symbolic thought explained animism. Many young children believed that natural objects are alive (Berger, 182). A J demonstrates egocentrism when the scarecrow project is done she said â€Å"perfect! I will show this to mommy, I’m sure she will love it!† Egocentric children contemplate the world exclusively from their personal perspective. She expected that her mom will love what she did (Berger, 182) I noticed that A J focuses on appearance. When her boy classmate told her they have the same shoes, she replied â€Å"No, were not. Mine is pink, yours is blue†. Although, they are both have converse shoes the only difference is the color (Berger, 182). When A J entered the room she immediately approached all the teachers saying good morning. She even starts her day on the table working with her teacher, asking questions how to do it and her teacher in return is guiding and helping her how to do the work. A J is learning on what Vygotsky believed; social learning. This emphasized that thinking is shaped by other peoples’ wishes and goals. A J is learning from her teacher through guided participation within her zone of proximal development (ZPD) an intellectual arena where new ideas and skills can be mastered. Her learning depends on the teachers’ willingness and ability to provide scaffolding or temporary support to help within their developmental zone (Berger, 184). A J is very curious; she always asks her teacher questions like: â€Å"why do we need a lot of scare crow?† â€Å"Why do we need to hang it† â€Å"why Ayana is not here today† she even asks â€Å"Why Mrs. Brown is wearing a Charger shirt today?† And when she is not satisfied with the teachers answer, she would say â€Å" maybe because today is Fun Friday† According to theory-theory, the best explanation for cognition is that human seek reasons, causes and underlying principles to make sense of their experience. Curiosity and thought, connecting bits of knowledge and observation develop theories that help young children understand and remember (Berger, 186). A J doesn’t show any idea of what others thinking. Theory of mind is not fully developed at this young age. This ability is slow to develop but typically beginning in most children at about age 4 (Berger, 186.) Language Development A J’s brought a book to her lap where three of her girl classmate gathered. â€Å"I have story to share† she said. A J held the book up for the group to see and said â€Å"the title of the book is From Head To Toe† â€Å"a favorite of mine† and then set the book on her lap and opened it to the first page. Ana pointed to each illustration and told a story based on what she saw in each picture. She pointed to the next and turned the pages one by one. When she reached the end of the book, she closed it and said â€Å"the end†. Then returning to the children and ask: â€Å"Does anyone have a questions?† A J displays significant language development in this situation. â€Å"By four year old most children are able to say 5-20 sentence length and they have about  3,000-10,000 vocabulary words.† (Berger,189). Her verbal language skills are remarkable when she speaks in complete and grammatically correct sentences. At her age, she was able to use â€Å"the† â€Å"a† article in her sentence. She was able to say the correct words by looking at the picture identifying the different kinds of animals and describing what are they doing. This is the process called fast mapping wherein children develop an interconnected set of categories for words. When A J is done working on her scare crow, she said to herself â€Å"yes! I’m done!† Occasionally, while reading the book to her classmate she is mumbling words like â€Å"yeah, that’s right†. I saw her nodding her head while watching her classmate put the puzzle together conforming maybe that what her classmates doing is right. This shows that A J makes use of private speech, which is talking to herself either out lout or in one’s mind (Berger, 188). She communicates very well with her teacher and classmates. During snacks, A J was telling her classmates that her birthday is coming up and it’s going to be a costume party. She happily announces she’s going to be Queen Elsa. Isabella said â€Å"I want to be princess Ana† Sam said â€Å"It’s nice if we have snow!† And everyone agreed to have a snow idea. Psychosocial Development Erikson thought young children are naturally motivated to take initiative, with joy at new tasks, yet vulnerable to feeling guilty (Berger, 206) A J demonstrates a positive sense of self through her initiative and awareness of her own skills and accomplishment. A J was so happy when she finished her project by herself. She feels so proud when the teacher praises her with her work. She even wants to show it to her mom. But she felt shameful; when the teacher reprimands her from helping her classmates answer the questions during circle time. She looks down and stays quite. Controlling the expression of emotions, called emotional regulation is the preeminent psychosocial task between ages 2 and 6 (Berger, 206). A J displays pro-social behavior when she cooperates with her peers during clean up time, sharing space on the circle time when Samantha wants to sit by Reese by moving to the other side (Berger, 226). A J displays empathy in numerous occasions. Empathy is the understanding of other people’s feeling and concerns (Berger, 226) When Samantha was dropped off by her mom; she seemed to be sad and clingy. A J approached Samantha and said â€Å"Hi Samantha, Come!  I’m going to show you my scare crow†. After that, Samantha is smiling already and starts doing her scare crow. Another example is when the children were running at the same time splashing water on the playground and Reese fell on her knees; A J said â€Å"stop! Reese got hurt† and everybody stop and the teacher check Reese and asked to move out to the shaded area to get check so others can continue playing. Temperaments vary, which makes people within the same culture unlike one another (Berger, 208) A J is so expressive of her emotions. She giggles so loud when she is happy and got too excited. She even jumps and claps her hands when the teacher announces â€Å"today is fun Friday†. She felt sad and quiet when the teacher told her to wait for her turn to ride the bike. But she didn’t show any sign of aggression or develop antipathy to her classmates because after a few minutes she is already playing and active again. A J develops strong gender awareness when she, Isabella, Samantha and Reese gathered together having a tea party while playing outside. When Nathan sat on the vacant chair she said â€Å"only girls here† â€Å"go back to your pirate ship† pointing to the group of boys playing by the big slides (Berger, 206). Play â€Å"Young children play best with peers, that is, people of about the same age in which they develop positive social skills† (Berger, 212). Children need physical activity to develop muscle strength and control. Peers provide an audience, role models and competition. Rough-and-tumble play and socio-dramatic play both help children with socialization (Berger, 214). A J enjoys playing, inside and outside the classroom. I observed that she loves socio-dramatic play where they act out various roles and plots (Berger 214). She pretends to be the teacher when she read books to her classmates and play tea party. A J and the other girls joined the pirate game played by the boys when their tea party is over. In the playground, she climbed up the ladder and slides. Rode the tire swing and spin it so fast that makes me dizzy watching them. They play hide and seek; rode the bike, and even allowed to play in the water tub as long as they take out their shoes and wear the vest so they don’t get wet. I think this is where they stayed most during outside play. The children are splashing water with each other others and some are trying to make sand castle on the sand area collecting water  from the tub using a small bucket. I would say she is very strong and healthy because she can lift the bucket full of water without dropping the bucket or spill. A J plays most of the time with her classmate. She displays cooperative play: Children play together, creating dramas or taking turns (Berger, 212). The Whole Child and Over All Impression I enjoyed observing this preschool, especially A J. At the beginning, I can’t fully understand what captures my attention to her. Now I know, it’s the confidence she is showing as she enters the classroom. Her aura reflects a fun loving, happy, active and smart little girl. She doesn’t show any hesitation coming in the classroom. The way she talks amazed me. She can express herself, using more than 5 words in a sentence without difficulty in speaking. She can communicate using words that are understandable and grammatically correct to her classmates and teachers. Although, I hear her couple of times that she mispronounced Mrs. Baptista’s last name as â€Å"Mrs. Batista† which I know will master sooner as her brain matures. A J develop a secure attachment which according to our text feels comfortable and confident (Berger, 142) to the environment and to the teachers since she is already with them since she was 2 years old and 4 months. It’s a place like home to her and when she saw me (a stranger) stayed close to the teacher and ask about me seeking for assurance I believed and feels safe again (Berger, 142). A J’s physical development is observed to be normal and healthy. Her gross motor skills are well developed. She is very active and capable of doing what four years old supposed to do considering she is only 3 years old and 11 months such as walking, running, jumping, dancing, bending, climbed at the ladder without any physical unbalance. During play she giggles and laughs most of the time which the teachers always remind her to lower her voice, which sometimes she listens but sometimes not. A J displays an excellent level in social development. She demonstrated what Vygotsky believed that â€Å"thinking is shaped by other people’s wishes and goals† (Berger, 184). Since she started at the preschool by the age of 2 years and 4 months, you can see the bond between her and the teachers. I can see that she enjoys the company of her friends and teacher, she always play with her classmates all the time. She displayed cooperative and high self-esteem  valuing herself as a person and confident at her age. I was surprised that at her age, she can control her emotions. She didn’t show any sign of aggression even when she was pushed in the line or fell on her bottom or when she wants something what other children’s playing. She would ask her teacher if she can play with that toy and the teacher will ask her to wait for her turn or ask the child if A J can play with her/him together. She demonstrated perseveration when she was approached by her classmates and asks to play with her which I admired the most because many children ages between 3 and 5 are impulsive flitting to one activity to another (Berger, 178). Also, when were told to stop teaching her classmates words that start with letter â€Å"F† although she is upset, she quietly wait for her turn to be ask. I noticed that she finished every activity and play before jumping to another. I know it’s hard t o master this at the very young age but she did it. That makes her exemplary good on this level of development. A J’s curiosity makes her smart and learned new things. She constantly asks questions to her teachers and classmates about anything to understand and remember (Berger, 186). And I can see that she is learning very well through guided participation within her zone of proximity. A J’s cognitive development seemed to be average, at her age. Her preoperational thought is symbolic and magical (Berger, 182).She is not mature to have logical thinking. Maybe this is the reason why she enjoyed socio dramatic play most of the time. She believed that the big scare crow will protect her from the witch. She is fond of â€Å"Olaf† the snow man friend of Queen Elsa in the movie â€Å"Frozen†. She wished to have â€Å"Olaf† on her birthday. She is egocentric where she expected that other people would appreciate and love things she do (Berger, 182). She focusses on appearance and I think fully aware of gend er differences as she pointed out to her boy classmates that they are different because of shoe color and the boys is not allowed to play tea party. She makes me smiles most of the time (because I can’t laugh while observing them) with her actions and words, especially when they are talking about their snacks and she said I have a â€Å"goldfish sandwich† as she make goldfish put raisins on the middle to make it like a sandwich. That makes all her classmates laugh and think of something silly too to describe their snack. She can even pretend to be the teacher while reading the books to them. It’s so amazing how she can do the story-telling just like what her  teacher do from the beginning till the end. And I’m surprised how her classmates give their full attention as she pretend to read the book. Usually, little kids talks all the time without regards as to who is talking, but here, I noticed that children already learned to respect their classmates and teachers when they are talking. After viewing the environment of the preschool, I have come into conclusion that it contains all the element of quali ty preschool. They provide Christian atmosphere that promote the spiritual, social, emotional, physical and intellectual growth of each child. The goal is to enable each child grow and learn in a safe and stimulating environment at their own pace. I’ve learned also from the teachers that every Tuesday’s class they incorporated good Christian living in their lesson. I believed it’s a good way of teaching children’s values in life following the way of Jesus. I feel that the surroundings, specially the various stimulating areas help to individualize each child’s learning like Reading corner, Math area, Letters, Dramatic play, Children’s corner that shows schedule, calendars, and announcement and the star student of the month. It is important to have orderly and stimulating areas for the children to freely choose what to participate in. I believed that the teachers have a great understanding of child development and education. This shows in their daily schedule posted in the Children’s which listed the daily routine for the children. For example, circle time, Math & letter follow ed by mid-morning snacks and then followed by outside play. It is important that the children in the preschool participate in routines. Routines assist children in learning through both repetition and consistency. The preschool program is definitely based on encouraging learning and respecting children’s exploration. Teachers and staff respect each child for what they are and help them live fully and happy to the best of their ability. This preschool observation is very interesting. I’d learned the important role of teachers in nurturing all aspects of development: social, emotional, cognitive and physical. In every interaction, the teachers appropriately nurture their growth and development. The education and values that the teachers impart to their students has great impacts to them later in life. Through this experience, I am pleased to learn that preschool may look like all fun and games –music, story time, dancing, art but the children are learning through play and  creative activity. They learned to solve problem playing building blocks. At a very young age, the children develop good learning habits and positive self-esteem. Children are capable of learning at their own pace and make their own decision.