Monday, September 30, 2019

Internal Conflicts in Paradise Lost Essay

John Milton summarizes the content of the entire poem in the first thirty-two lines. However, the reader is left with uncertainty when he declares: â€Å"That to the height of this great argument / I may assert Eternal Providence, / and justify the ways of God to men† (I. 24-26). Milton is unclear about which ways of God he wants to justify. The cause and effect text structure in lines 1-32 adds to the confusion as Milton contradicts himself when he says that he will try to â€Å"assert Eternal Providence† and â€Å"justify the ways of God to men. In Milton’s attempt to explain the ways of God to man with â€Å"this Eternal Providence,† he provides a contradictory tone to the reader as he focuses more on Satan, his evil, and the reasons why he would do something so ignorant. Rather than providing an explanation to men of the â€Å"Eternal Providence,† which is the basic knowledge man possesses of the difference of good and evil, he provides nothing more than a narrative and uncountable allusions to Genesis. Milton’s contradiction becomes more evident towards the end of Book One because there is no resolution or explanation to man as the poem embodies the â€Å"fall† of Adam, Eve, and Satan, not mankind. Milton not only reveals his own internal conflict, but also the internal conflicts of mankind through rhetorical devices, such as a series of questions that he answers. He asks a rhetorical question: â€Å"And mad’st it pregnant: what in me is dark† (I. 22). Through this question Milton identifies the lifelong conflicts of all of mankind: good versus evil and the reason why people do bad things. When Milton states, â€Å"I thence / Invoke thy aid to my advent’rous song, / that with no middle flight intends to soar,† he praises and explains God’s purpose through his adventurous song, yet he already knows the questions that he asks are the same as those asked by all men (I. 12-14). If Adam and Eve had it so great, why would they disobey God? He needs an explanation for himself, but understands that for his work to be great, he must be able to explain the unexplainable. The question of good versus evil has been a conflict man has had since Adam and Eve lived, however it has never really been resolved. The only explanation for the conflict between good and evil is justice; God’s justice. Without a doubt, Milton’s Paradise Lost is an epic poem that addresses the complexity of good versus evil. However, through the use of rhetorical devices, allusion, and many other literary elements, the reader begins to question ot only themselves but the rest of mankind and the good as well as the evil that lies in everyone. The effects that this poem has are clear. By questioning God, Milton allows us to question others and ourselves. Although an answer from God is not always necessary, the explanation of the â€Å"Eternal Providence† and the justice God provides is something man cannot explain. Perhaps that is why God does not answer Milton; he needed to find the answers in himself.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Land Use around the world

Land Use Around the World Created by Jennifer Papacy This assignment Involves you playing a game online, so you will have to open a separate browser or tab to access the website and have uninterrupted time and Internet access to complete. Make sure your read the assignment first to see what you need to focus on, as you will have to do a write up on what you observed. The website is www. Guessers. Com and you can play as many times as you want for freely Each game consists of 5 rounds of where you have to guess where in the world oh are, so play for a while to get used to the controls, and take your time to really explore the locations.Guessers uses the Google Road view imagery to drop you somewhere in the world where you can navigate and explore, and you have to guess where and then click on the world map on the right hand side(you can zoom in) and select exactly in the world where you think it is. It will then tell you how close you were, and then continue on to the next location, f or a total of five rounds per game. The point of this assignment is not to see how good you are at guessing, but to have oh examine land use differences In locations you are dropped Into.Make sure you have reviewed the chapter 12 concepts on land use so you can answer the following questions while demonstrating your knowledge and understanding of those concepts. Also make sure you write down exactly where you were for the assignment! Load the answers into the assignment by either cutting and pasting into the text box or uploading as a link. This is worth a maximum of 50 points, and you will be graded on completeness and demonstration of knowledge of concepts on land use and other lass concepts.After playing for a while, select and tell me the exact two locations you visited that have different land use patterns and compare and contrast in a mini paper/essay explaining if you think the areas have had good land use planning or not, and which area you would rather live and why. Answer at a minimum the following questions In the assignment and Incorporate concepts from the book and class on land use and other topics we have covered (water, energy, etc. ): Intensity of land use with descriptionDid they develop well with the landscape and resources (was it well planned or after the fact) Is area one of the following or something else, with reasons listed why: Suburb, Ribbon Sprawl, Leapfrog Development, Tract Development, urban, Rural, Slum, Farmland? Population Density? Economic factors- do you feel this area is affluent or not, why or why not? Aesthetic Issues? Transportation/infrastructure observed and overall condition Natural Resource condition- do you think the ecosystems are healthy there? What seems good, what seems degraded? Water resources adequate?Other resources? What do you think the ecological footprint of residents would be(low, mid high) and why? Would you live here, why or why not? What could be done to Improve land use planning In this area, or how would you have done It differently? For some of these questions you may have to make a judgment call but explain why you think what you did, I. E. Any evidence. Land Use around the world By Tweets This assignment involves you playing a game online, so you will have to open a internet access to complete. Make sure your read the assignment first to see what ere!Each game consists of 5 rounds of where you have to guess where in the world you examine land use differences in locations you are dropped into. Make sure you following questions in the assignment and incorporate concepts from the book and Suburb, Ribbon Sprawl, Leapfrog Development, Tract Development, Urban, Rural, here, why or why not? What could be done to improve land use planning in this area, or how would you have done it differently? For some of these questions you may have to make a Judgment call but explain why you think what you did, I. E. Any evidence.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Emergency service managment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Emergency service managment - Research Paper Example Thus, emergencies are evolutionary in that they change with time, such that, every emergency is unlike the other. Therefore, in order to keep up with these changes, emergency management has gone through changes on its own by improving plans and increasing responsibilities. Apart from the original role of coordinating in times of crises, disasters, and their use as resources, emergency managers have new responsibilities. These roles include being informants on potential emergencies to larger institutions such as the government and their affiliate bodies. In addition, emergency managers are accepting new roles involving liaising between various agencies and planning. Prior to the current changes, emergency managers were tasked with a number of duties that directly related to the emergency management. A manager’s role was that of preparing an organization to the capacity of handling any emergency (Sutkus et al 2). Moreover, they were to keep their staff informed on tactics required from them; moreover, they were to participate in frequent training and exercise; in order to keep them in shape in case of any emergency. In addition, emergency managers’ traditional roles do not involve collaboration with partners and engage directly with the community concerning information dissemination and collections of feedback. However, there is a need to have these relationships in place between the public and the management service as well as liaisons with other service providers. An emergency manager is required to have command and control of emergencies by communicating with field operators. Therefore, with this, a manger is allowed to assess the situation adequately and advise on appropriate measures. Thus, with the changes occurring globally in the provision of emergency services, emergency managers require new skills and knowledge. This is in order to cope with the dynamic changes happening everywhere. Emergency managers require the skills to be

Friday, September 27, 2019

Develop Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Develop - Assignment Example This includes those functioning in learning & memory, motivation & appreciation and inhibitory regulation over character. Because drug abuse and addiction comes in many ways and interfere with one’s personal life, treatment is difficult. Proper treatment programs involve many components. The components are specific to aspects of the illness and its effects. Treatment must help the victim stop using drugs, maintain a normal lifestyle and become a productive individual in the society, at work and with family. As addiction is a chronic illness, individuals cannot just seize using drugs shortly and be cured. Most victims need prolonged or continuous care to achieve the main goal of sustainable recovery from addiction. When a person is fighting with drug addiction, sobriety may be a difficult goal to achieve. However, recovery is a viable option. It never depends on the situation or failures. Everyone is susceptible to change given the correct treatment, care and appropriate examination of the root causes (John, 2011). Many individuals with a struggle in dealing with addiction, the first step mainly for the addicts remains to be the decision to seek for change. Conflict in the choices an individual makes the biggest and the most vital step towards recovery of drug and substance abuse. There are several things, which the individual requires to comprehend before embarking on recovery phase. Commitment remains the absolute solution for the recovery phase. The activities requiring change include: People with addiction problems may view themselves as not ready for the required change of quitting. Several factors require comprehension before the individual is ready to change. The process is usually a long-term thing and requires time. Commitment, motivation and support are the most vital key factors require consideration. Upon contemplation there are several points that an individual can rely on to achieve full recovery, these are: The change

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Prepare a case analysis of Case 1, Facebook vs. Twitter Essay

Prepare a case analysis of Case 1, Facebook vs. Twitter - Essay Example as an energy source and rallying point for the organization to the extent that it could make that particular company’s site more relevant than other social networking sites. Twitter’s mission reads: â€Å"We want to instantly connect people everywhere to what’s most important to them.† Whereas this mission statement is 80 characters long Huffstetler (2011) argues that it need not be more than 40 because the keywords are four: instantly, connect, everywhere and important. Twitter’s mission statement is brief, easy to remember and the organisation can relate to it. However as we analyse these four keywords we realise that the company needs to add more precision and clarity so that anyone who reads it may be able to identify its core competence and also be able to distinguish it from its competitors. The way it is it could easily be confused with any of the other numerous social networking sites. Of the four keywords, we believe that the organisation identifies well with â€Å"connect†, â€Å"everywhere† and â€Å"important† but it needs to re-consider the use of â€Å"instant†. Twitter’s real-time attribute is what makes it different from other platforms. This is Twitter’s competitive edge. Google and Facebook, the major rivals have tried to mimic this ability unsuccessfully. The problem though is that in modern technology’s lexicon the word instant could imply speed or ease. Twitter therefore needs to consider what to tradeoff between ease and speed and then use the selected choice to replace the word instant on its mission statement. On the other hand, Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected (Facebook, 2012). Using Huffstetler (2011) approach we delineate the key words here as being: power to share, open and connected. â€Å"Open† and â€Å"connected† are attributes that are provided by other social networking sites as well including Twitter. The key differentiator for Facebook lies in the

Managing Change by Managing Risk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Managing Change by Managing Risk - Essay Example Technological development means keeping the technology up to date for the company in order to remain competitive in the market. Competitive environment forces the companies to retain good quality of the products and services in order to improve customer satisfaction. 3.2 Internal Forces of Change Internal forces of organizational change include such forces, which force the change to occur inside the company. These changes are very significant in order to increase employee satisfaction and employee commitment towards their job responsibilities. The changes include change in the working atmosphere, change in employment rules and regulations, and change regarding employee retention strategies. 4. Risk Management Harrison (n.d.) states, â€Å"Change is inherently ambiguous, and those who deal creatively with change will have a high tolerance for uncertainty†. In case of organizational change, we can say that organizational change needs proper management of risks in order to be suc cessful. Francois (n.d.) states, â€Å"A change management process is a series of business practices used to control and manage change within a large system or organization†. Risk management is one of those business practices that are needed to implement organizational change. â€Å"Much of risk management work is focused on the management of risk in a 'business as usual' and relatively stable environment† (Anderson 2004). Risk management is a process, which is used to identify and measure the risks being faced by a company or a firm. Risk management refers to the concept of keeping the risks under control so that they do not create any kind of dangerous situation for the company. This process of... According to the research there are two types of organizational change, which include external and internal forces of change. External and internal forces of change not only result in altering organizational policies concerning various business activities but also influence major functions of management. The external forces of change include competitive business environment, technological development, and political and social environment of an organization. Technological development means keeping the technology up to date for the company in order to remain competitive in the market. Competitive environment forces the companies to retain good quality of the products and services in order to improve customer satisfaction. Internal forces of organizational change include such forces, which force the change to occur inside the company. These changes are very significant in order to increase employee satisfaction and employee commitment towards their job responsibilities. The changes incl ude change in the working atmosphere, change in employment rules and regulations, and change regarding employee retention strategies. Changes are inevitable in every company or organization whether it belongs top construction industry or some other industry. Managers need to consider several issues related to different business activities before planning to bring some change to the organizational policies. Risk management also plays a key role in change management. Some of the risks related to construction companies include design assumption risk, structural development procedures, fire risk, and environment uncertainty risks.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Medictest Laboratories Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Medictest Laboratories - Case Study Example This means eliminating some of their best supervisors they have worked with for many years. The decision is final and the only way to settle this issue is through having the right communication process. A formal general meeting with the supervisors together with their chosen staffs should be conducted. In line with this, the information regarding some external factors may be well explained. Furthermore, the reason why there is a need to cut off and absorbed employees will be clearly discussed in detail. This has to be done by the Human Resources department to be backed up with the head office. In order to remarkably consider employees’ morale, productivity and motivation, it is good that the company will start informing the employees with their performance and appreciating them of a job well done if necessary. Furthermore, the company should continue enhance technical and leadership skills of the chosen supervisors as a way of empowering them and as a way to cope with the new company system structure. Problem Statement The case talks about the need to streamline the operation of Medictest Laboratories, a group of testing centers with satellite branches in Sarnia, Ontario under the supervision of a regional manager Jean Kelly. ... Problems/Subproblems/Issues Jean wanted to create a plan that would consider employees’ morale, productivity and motivation. Thus, the heart of the said issue significantly concerns the following specific questions stated in the case: 1. How should the changes be conveyed to the supervisors leaving, to those who are staying, and to the staff? 2. Where should the discussion be held? 3. Who should communicate the decisions? 4. In what sequence? 5. What should be the physical set up? 6. How should head office be involved? Analysis The case of Medictest Laboratories in Sarnia, Ontario is a remarkable proof that the external environment has significant impact on an organization’s success. The budget cut that has to be implemented by the government is a significant external force that eventually would affect Medictest’s system structure. Although it is an integral part of its success, this is beyond the control of a business firm and it has nothing to do about it. What it can actually do with this is to consider its internal environment where it has substantial influence and this remarkably includes its human resource. The human resource is something that Medictest can influence in the midst of some impacts brought about by its external environment (Berger 2). The only way to influence the human resource is to create some changes within the firm and in the case of Medictest, its essential point would be to streamline its operation and move forward to empowerment of its personnel. This is the very core of the challenge that the said company must face. At this very point, the firm must choose the best among the best and it has specific

Monday, September 23, 2019

Corn production Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Corn production - Essay Example (ibid.)† The five criteria for case selection according to Smelser (1976: 4) is as follows: â€Å"(1) appropriate to the kind of theoretical posed by the investigator†¦ (2) relevant to the phenomenon being studied†¦ (3) empirically invariant with respect to their classificatory criterion†¦ (4) reflect the degree of availability of data referring to this unit†¦ and (5) decisions to select and classify units of analysis should be based on standardised and repeatable procedures. The social issue that I have chosen is the issue of bio-ethanol production and agro-fuels – a contentious issue debated upon in an age of energy vulnerability and land shortages. The proponents of agro-fuels laud initiatives by the US government to embark on massive corn ethanol production, chiefly to decrease reliance on fossil fuels. On the other hand, its opponents argue that there are risks to small-farmers in rural places of production and can deepen inequality. The researc h that I have chosen was written by Gillon (2010). In the said paper, Gillon (2010, p. 723) looked at corn ethanol production in the state of Iowa, United States and looked at the dynamics and relationships between big business – i.e., the ethanol corporations – and the small farmers. He also examined the policies and politics that surround ethanol production. He began by looking at the related literature from a more global perspective, arguing that â€Å"each agrofuels controversy implies a renegotiation of social and ecological relations, whether the issue is food crises, land use change, market relationships, or struggles over industry participation and ownership. (page 726).† His premise is that the ethanol frenzy is emblematic of the tendency of capitalism to rely on â€Å"environmental fixes† (ibid.) – whereby bioethanol is promoted to supposedly reduce greenhouse gases, but â€Å"consumption levels and accumulation based on extracting cheap corn from the Midwestern landscape. (page 727)†. One of the cental conclusions that Gillon derives from his research is that contrary to the assertions of the proponents of bio-ethanol, small farmers do not stand to gain from the bioethanol boom. This is because, in his words, â€Å"despite simplistic assertions that rural benefits will arrive on the heels of an ethanol industry, the risks, costs, and opportunities associated with biofuels industry development fall unevenly. (page 733)† Interviews with the Iowa farmers demonstrated that the rising input prices and land rents made any profits that came their way from corn production negligible. Another conclusion that the research makes is that the depressed rural economies from which the ethanol are sourced are the ones paying the price for the desires of consumers in urban communities. Whilst the urban consumers benefit from the reduced costs of fuel and the so-called environmental friendliness of renewable energy, th e rural areas are paying environmental costs that are invisible in the bio-ethanol discourse. The author gave the example of Cargill, a biodiesel plant in Iowa Falls, Iowa that disposed 135,000 gallons of liquid oil and grease into a stream, thus compromising water quality in the area. Another point is that the increase of corn production on the land to feed into the ethanol project puts tremendous pressures on the land and on the environment – more than any other crop, corn production emits the highest levels of green house gases (page 739.) It is also prejudicial to the Conservation Reserve

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Effect of Marriages on Crime Rates Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Effect of Marriages on Crime Rates - Article Example In this paper the authors through evidence are illustrating that marriage can reduce the crimes committed by an individual as it can involve the individual in social bonds. According to the authors the research done by them is however not accurate as all the figures in an individual's life cannot be kept constant and this restrains the authors to conclude authentically that marriage reduces the crime rates. However the evidence given by the authors supports the notion that rate of crime does get affected because of the bond of marriage. The authors hypothesize that getting involved in social bonds and activities may help one to avoid committing crime. According to the authors marriage is a social bond which inflicts social responsibility and compulsions on one individual which further diverts the individual from committing a crime. The change in routine is also marked as important by the authors as it helps to change the mood and passion of an individual. It makes one individual spend more time with his family rather than friends (Warr 1998: 183). Furthermore the monitoring activity done by the spouses is supposed to be helpful to divert one from criminal activities. The supervision done by spouses can help men to avoid committing any crime (Waite and Gallagher 2000: 24).

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Environmental Protection UK Essay Example for Free

Environmental Protection UK Essay Two lower primary boys died and their father and his girlfriend were equally hospitalized in coma after a terrible encounter with odorless, colorless and toxic fumes that leaked into their bungalow residence from a nearby hotel old and deteriorated boiler (Haines 2010). Carbon monoxide is a toxic and deadly gas that besides being odorless and invincible is quite light than air therefore rendering the gas more terrible in case of leakage. Mild exposure to the gas makes one get disoriented with dizziness and nauseating effect that render someone fatigued and sick. Continuous exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) leads to death within a short time for children while adults can pass out into a coma and if medical care is not guaranteed death is inevitable. Organically the gas contains oxygen molecule triple bonded with carbon and usually reacts with the body depriving the red blood cells ability from picking oxygen in presence of the lighter gas leading to cell suffocation due to lack of oxygen. Therefore the general public should be well familiar with the grave danger of CO that is usually liberated in partial combustion of petroleum products, gas, wood and coal that are used in boilers, engines, heaters and burners. Consequently it is important that the domestic home environment is sealed from dangers associated with CO gas leakages that are common due to presence of combustible materials in kitchen, garages and power generating equipment. Carbon monoxide in homes is as a result of partial combustion of fuels like gas, oil, coal or wood in various home appliances. This gas then leaks out into the atmosphere and inhaled by its victims unknowingly since it is odorless, colorless and very toxic to the thus calling for availability of first aid kits in all homes. Human efforts of preventing air leakage into the house especially during the cold season reduces the availability of fresh air into the house thus posing a threat of carbon monoxide congesting in the house especially when combustion activities are going on such as cooking or heating up the room. Use of unvented gas heaters and kerosene stoves can become a good source of carbon monoxide in homes since the fresh oxygen is inhibited from getting into the house or cooking room thus combustion is not fully achieved resulting into production of carbon monoxide. Worn out and poorly maintained devises that use combustion can lead to leakage of carbon monoxide saturation in homes due to untimely disconnections, blockage, wrong size of equipment that result from making use of unqualified personnel to install the house hold appliances or delay in replacing worn out ones . Such equipment includes boilers, heaters, generators and furnaces (EPA 2010). Blocked chimneys and poorly vented ventilations encourage accumulation of carbon monoxide in homes. Animal nests or thrown materials in chimneys always results into the carbon monoxide spilling back into the house thus leading to inhalation by any life animal and people found in the house or room. Further, blockages inhibit oxygen entry during combustion thus very little oxygen is made available for combustion which results into carbon monoxide production in the house thus posing a threat to lives. Storage of vehicles in attached garage leads to Carbon monoxide emission through the exhaust pipe especially during the warming up of the engine. Warming up of automobiles and other machines powered by gasoline like generators ,lawn mowers and grills in enclosed areas pose carbon monoxide poisoning hazard Use of charcoal burners, driers or ovens to heat up a poorly ventilated house leads to carbon monoxide build up and saturation in homes (NMGCO 1). Carbon monoxide is known to inhibit the capability of the blood carrying blood to major body most essential organs such as the heart, brain and liver. Upon inhalation, Carbon monoxide being a lighter gas than oxygen dissolves faster through the alveoli wall unto the red blood cells’ hemoglobin. The oxygen carrying protein has cooperatively ability such than it easily combines with large portions of available and lighter gas carbon monoxide thus forming a compound known as carboxyhemoglobin instead of oxyhemoglobin that is readily spent by the body cells (Robert 2010). Since carboxyhemoglobin is never used in the body, the blood is soon saturated with a foreign gas that cannot be easily removed thus depriving oxygen the hemoglobin transporting protein leading to oxygen deprivation that leads to headache, dizziness, fatigue, and chest pain to individuals with heart problems at lower concentration (NMGCO 2010). When the carbon monoxide concentration gets higher than the body immunity can handle it leads to poor vision and sensitization of the body cells in the victims leading to nausea, brain malfunction and mind confusion. At extreme concentration, carboxyhemoglobin is formed in the blood thus inhibiting the intake of oxygen in the body thus resulting into death of the victims (Bailey 2010). There are different measures that can be applied in order to reduce carbon monoxide poisoning accidents whose incidents are quite expensive to mitigate. Since the gas is tasteless, odorless and colorless, therefore carbon monoxide detectors can be installed in homes and domestic environments. Usually the accumulation of carbon monoxide can take place without notice in homes that use boiler, gas, kerosene and oil if the equipment is faulty. Regular checks should be organized by home-keepers by inviting qualified and focused technicians who can do professional repairs. Old burners, boilers, generators and CO producing equipment can be done away with in order to prevent unfortunate mistakes (CO 2000). According to US Environmental Protection Agency gas stoves can be done away with if the home environment is to be kept safe since though the equipment is cheap it pumps 5 to 15 parts per million (ppm) of carbon monoxide with the deteriorated ones scoring 30 ppm while the U. S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards advocates for outdoor air to contain 9 ppm and indoor a maximum of 35ppm of CO-thus the stove and coal appliances need to be used in open ground (Pollutte 2008). Meticulousness approach to usage of boilers and stoves can be achieved by usage of clear and dry fuel of the highest possible approved standards (Environment 2010). Other measures include having a Gas Safe Registered engineer to install gas appliances with annual checks. Bedroom heating material should avoid usage of gas and cabinet heaters. All homes that operate CO emitting appliances have to install chimneys and heat ventilations tat have to be checked frequently to clear blockage by cleaning (NHS 2009). In case of an emergence one should cut off the gas supply in the appropriate valve with immediate ventilation and urgent call to a medical facility and a qualified and certified technician to check on the leakage and report appropriately the cause with effective repairs to protect life and environment. Information dissemination to the community is quite vital if the health of the society is to be-held as a top priority. Carbon monoxide incidents can be compiled together to arouse the mind of the ignorant public about the ill effects of CO leakage and prove that all homes are at risk since gas and coal heaters are common cooking apparatus. Also the history brings in news about the colossal effects of accumulated amounts of carbon monoxide that affected legendaries as Allan Poe though during that time their generation attributed their deaths to sensitivity of the mind. Therefore if leaflets, magazines and other printed media forms of communication in conjunction with the internet, TV and other digital and analogue mass media the community can be reached and change can be effected bringing about both awareness and a social order that is organized to mitigating risks associated with carbon monoxide poisoning. Conclusively, carbon monoxide poisoning affects the body’s concentration of oxygen thus attacking the general health of the suffocated body parts. Since the gas is odorless, tasteless, and colorless makes it such a dreadful chemical gas that further enhances the fumes’ ability to sneak in and kill within a relative small span of time in high concentrations while causing detrimental body health deterioration that retards immunity leading to poor health and life. References: Haines, S 2010, Corfu â€Å"carbon monoxide death familys fight for justice†, BBC News Channel, accessed 5 May 2010 http://news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/bradford/8497271. stm NHS, 2009, â€Å"What preventative measures can I take against carbon monoxide exposure? Gas safety Carbon monoxide awareness†. Health and safety Executive, accessed 5 May 2010 http://www. hse. gov. uk/gas/domestic/co. htm Pollette, C 2008, â€Å"Why is carbon monoxide poisonous? † Science, accessed 5 May http://science. howstuffworks. com/question190. htm Environment, 2010, â€Å"Using wood and coal for Home heating. Environmental Protection UK , accessed 5 May http://www. environmental-protection. org. uk/air-quality-and- climate/air-quality/solidfuel/ Robert, R 2009, â€Å"Is This Common Poison Carbon Monoxide Causing Chronic Illness? † Articles Directory http://www. articlesbase. com/alternative-medicine-articles/is-this-common- poison-carbon-monoxide-causing-chronic-illness-1433959. html CO, 2009, â€Å"A Guide to Prevent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning†, Carbon Monoxide, accessed 5 May http://www. carbon-monoxide-poisoning. com/ EPA 2010,An Introduction to Indoor Air Quality, Carbon Monoxide (CO), US Environmental protection Agency, Accessed 05 May 2010 http://www. epa. gov/iaq/co. html NMGCO 2010, Sources of Carbon Monoxide, New Mexico gas company, Accessed 05 May 2010 http://www. nmgco. com/Sources_Carbon_Monoxide. aspx Bailey, R 2010 Carbon monoxide,About. com Accessed 05 May 2010 http://biology. about. com/od/molecularbiology/a/carbon_monoxide. htm

Friday, September 20, 2019

Ikea Hotel: Business Environment and Position

Ikea Hotel: Business Environment and Position Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP): Causes and Treatment Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP): Causes and Treatment Xeroderma Pigmentosum is a rare autosomal recessive disease affecting about 1 in 250,000 people in Europe which greatly reduces the quality of life of its sufferer. XP patients have a much greater chance of developing skin neoplasms, internal organs neoplasms or even neurological disorder due to a defective Nucleotide Excision Repair (NER) pathway. In this report, I found out that most experts in this field do believe that reactive oxygen species which can cause DNA lesions that can only be repaired by the NER pathway is the main cause of the neurological disorder in XP patients. However, modern technology can not yet prove this is the case. The treatments for XP are mainly preventive rather than interventionist. However, more new treatments have been proved to be effective in helping XP patients with the aid of modern technology. The bacterial enzyme T4 Endonuclease V has recently been put in use for treating XP and gene replacement therapy might be a possible treatment for the futu re. The aim of this article is to gain a general overview of Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP), to understand the possible causes of neurological disorder in XP patients as well as the current and possible treatments for XP. To achieve my aim, I have first researched using various textbooks to understand DNA repair and damage. After that, I set my focus on Xeroderma Pigmentosum and used two online databases Medline and PubMed to look for review articles on XP in order to have a basic understanding of XP. I used two keywords Xeroderma Pigmentosum and Neoplasm to achieve the goal (Table 1). After having some basic knowledge of XP, I found that the neurodegeneration and the current treatments for XP are quite interesting so I decided to set my aim of these two topics. By searching for Xeroderma Pigmentosum and Neurodegeneration on Medline, I was able to look for some useful articles on my first aim (Table 2). I also searched for Xeroderma Pigmentosum and Gene Therapy for my second aim (Table 3). Cancer which can be considered as an uncontrolled growth and spread of cells is one of the top three causes of mortality in the world.(1) With the WHO predicting that it is going to be the top killer by 2010(2), it is vital for the public and medical professions to understand its aeitiology and pathogenesis in order to fight against it. Generally, the incidence of cancer is increased with aging as the chances of DNA mutation increases with age for lots of different reasons and we now understand that our DNA needs at least 5-6 mutations in order for cancer to develop(3). However, there are some other risk factors which might increase the susceptibility such as smoking, alcohol, radiation and so on. One of the most interesting factors is probably the cancer-prone DNA repair deficiency syndrome, for example Xeroderma Pigmentosum, Cockaynes Syndrome, Werner Syndrome. Patients with these syndromes are characterised by not being able to repair the DNA damage precedes the mutation and thus enhance the chances of getting cancer(4). The aim of this article is to discuss the genetic disorder Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP). To understand this disorder, we have to first look into the types of DNA damages, their causes and their specific repair mechanism. DNA damage Mutation happens for lots of different reasons. It can occur spontaneously or naturally, for example DNA strand looped out during replication, hence causes a deletion of base. The other main types of spontaneous mutation are Depurination (Fig.1) i.e. detachment of Adenosine or Guanine from its deoxyribose sugar due to the hydrolysis of water and deamination (Fig.2) i.e. oxidation of bases by an oxidising agent e.g. nitrous acid. Spontaneous mutation occurs at a rate varies between and 4ÃÆ'- per gene per generation.(5-7) Another type of mutations could be elicited by the exposure of organisms to substantial mutagens, like chemicals or radiation.(7) The focus of this report is mainly on radiation. Radiation is probably the most well-known type of mutagen and there are three different types of radiation, each of which has its specific effects. The first type is ionising radiation which generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) e.g. H2O2, OHÂÂ · when passing through cells. These oxygen species oxidise DNA bases and thus causes base mispairing. The second type of radiation is the ultraviolet light. It has a wavelength ~ 260nm and is greatly absorbed by the bases. The absorbed energy causes the fusion of adjacent pyrimidine dimers on the same DNA strand and will mainly affect thymine (Fig.3). The results of this type of mutation are stoppage of DNA replication and transcription, which affects the normal function of cells significantly. Ionising radiation such as X-Rays can have a direct effect on DNA strand as well. It reacts directly with deoxyribose backbone and causes double-strand breaks in the DNA and may in turn completely stop DNA replication because of the significant d amage induced.(6-7) The Cell Cycle There are 4 main stages in the cell cycle, G1 (Gap 1), S (Synthesis), G2 (Gap 2) and M (Mitosis) and the duration for each cell cycle is around 24 hours. As from the diagram, each stage has its particular functions. There are two important checkpoints between G1 and S phase and G2 and M phase and they are called G1-to-S checkpoint and G2-to-M checkpoint respectively. These checkpoints are important as they detect the existing DNA damage and generate signals for DNA repair. If the DNA damage is too severe and beyond repair, tumour suppressor like p53 will come into action. This prevents the mutated cell from dividing and developing into cancer cells and the cell either goes into apoptosis or senescence.(5, 7) DNA Repair As previously mentioned, each type of mutation has its own specific repair mechanism and this paper is to focus on nucleotide excision repair (NER) (Fig.5), which is the only relevant mechanism to XP. NER helps repairing pyrimidine dimers and bulky DNA adduct to bases. This repair system works by detecting distortion to the double helix shape of the polynucleotide strand such as thymine-thymine dimers. This distortion triggers a series of events to restore the stability of the DNA. Firstly, XPC is the protein responsible for recognising the distortions. Then XPA and XPD generate a bubble (Fig.5) a ring-like structure formed by unwinds of DNA double-strand around the damaged site. The bubble creates two cleavage sites for ERCC1-XPF (5side) and XPG (3side) to act on. The cleavage sites are exactly 24 nucleotides away from the lesion on the 5side and 5 nucleotides from the 3end. Finally, DNA helicase releases the fragment that has been cut out, and once again DNA polymerases and ligase fill in the gap and repair the lesion. It is important to understand this repair mechanism as several genetic disorders like Xeroderma Pigmentosum, Cockaynes syndrome and trichothiodystrophy are connected with defects in the nucleotide excision repair.(6-7, 12) Brief introduction of XP XP was first described by two dermatologists in Vienna, Ferdinand Ritter von Hebra and Moritz Kapozi in the year 1870. The term xeroderma denotes parchment skin while pigmentosum was added later to indicate and emphasize the characterised pigmentation abnormalities(14-15). At that time, no one knows exactly what causes XP and the link between XP and defective NER was established by Cleaver in 1968(14, 16). Researchers have identified that there are 8 complementation groups of XP and they are XP-A-G and XP variant group. XPA-G are known as the classical forms of XP while the XP-V which is not associated with a defective NER, constituting 20% of the cases of XP. Instead of having a defective NER pathway, XP-V patients have gene coded for a defective form of DNA polymerase, causing a thymine-thymine dimers bypass during replication. Each complementation group represents a mutated form of a specific gene, i.e. complementation group A means the patient has a mutated version of the XP-A ge ne, etc.(14, 17) Patients with XP have a high photosensitivity to UV radiation as their cells have a defective nucleotide excision repair pathway. As a result, those cells exposed to UV radiation will have a high mutation rate and causes a high occurrence of skin cancer as well as affecting ocular tissues. XP can also cause neurodegeneration or neurological diseases and it would be discussed later.(14-15) Prevalence of XP XP is a rare autosomal recessive disease, which means that the disease will only be developed in patients with two mutated form of XP genes, XP will not develop in patients with a normal and a mutated gene as the mutated gene is recessive and wouldnt be expressed but he/she would be a carrier of XP. XP has a dispersed worldwide distribution, varying from 1 in 40,000 in Japan and 1 in 250,000 in Europe and USA. Symptoms of XP can start as early as first exposure to sunlight but the average age of onset of symptoms is around 2 years. There is also a greater than 1000-fold increased risk of skin cancers development connected with XP and the average age of onset of the foremost skin cancer or neoplasm is 8 years, around 50 years earlier comparing with the public. The life spans of XP patients are reduced by around 30 years as many of them die of neoplasia. As mentioned before, NER also removes bulky DNA adduct to bases, such lesions are induced chemically by chemicals like alkylating age nt rather than UV radiation. This explains why XP patients also have a 10 to 20- fold higher risk of forming internal neoplasms below the age of 20.(7, 12, 14, 17) Neurodegeneration of XP It is quite easy and straight forward to understand why XP patients are prone to skin cancers and even internal organs neoplasms. However, there is one interesting clinical feature that is still unexplained and remains puzzling and this is the neurodegeneration of XP patients, which is affecting approximately 20% of the XP patients. Since UV radiation cannot penetrate through our skull, thymine-thymine dimers would not be the type of mutation occurring in the neurological tissues e.g. brain tissues, neurons and so on. Thus, damages in the neurological tissues are more likely to be caused by chemicals like alkylating agents, ROS which damages DNA by oxidising DNA bases or adding bulky adducts to it and are also repaired by the NER pathway(14, 19). The following section will discuss some of the symptoms as well as possible causes of this interesting feature. The first symptom of the XP neurological disorder is reduced tendon reflexes, possibly as a result of peripheral nervous system and ataxia degeneration. With the progression of the disease, the patient will also develop hearing loss and other motor anomalies and become wheelchair bound eventually. Dementia and progressive cognitive decline are also the possible outcomes of the XP neurological disorder.(19) There are several candidates for the causes of neurodegeneration in XP patients but there are yet to be a confirmation of the ultimate cause of those symptoms. ROS is a possible cause for neurodegeneration in XP patients. These species react with our DNA bases or deoxyribose sugar and generate some form of lesions which should be repaired by our NER pathway, for example, hydroxyl radical, a ROS which reacts with deoxyribose sugar and produces a lesion called cyclopurine-deoxynucleosides (Fig.7). This type of lesion can only be repaired by NER and will accumulate in our cells if not repaired.(19) Aldehydes and thymine glycol are some other possible reagents that might cause neurodegeneration in XP patients. Aldehydes react with DNA, forming a DNA lesion called Propano-deoxyguanosine lesion (PdG) which might block transcription by RNA polymerase. Thymine glycol causes oxidative damage to the DNA and produces Nonbulky oxidatively-induced lesion, which could be repaired by the NER pathway as well.(19-20) It is important to understand the fundamental cause of neurodegeneration in XP patients, by doing so; we can develop a possible treatment, not only for reducing the incidences of neurological disorder in XP patients, but for improving the patients quality of life as well. For example if H2O2 is the cause of the neurodegeneration, we can develop a pathway which reduces the level of H2O2 in patients body and reduces the level of H2O2 in their cells.(19) Diagnosis for XP XP can be diagnosed in different ways. Diagnosis can be made clinically by examining eye, skin and nervous system, a detailed family history could also aid in the diagnosis. As XP cells have a defective NER, a functional test for DNA repair on living cells may also be used for diagnosis. Nowadays, genetic testing of XPA and XPC genes is available clinically but the testing for the other genes is only available on a research basis.(21) Treatment for XP At the moment, there is no cure for XP. Primary care for XP is probably more important than secondary care in terms of prevention and regulation of the disease. Once the patient is diagnosed with XP, he/she should avoid exposure to sunlight and other mutagens like cigarette smoke or alcohol immediately. XP patients should also wear protective clothing like UV suits, sunglasses and gloves in order to get minimum exposure to UV radiation, reducing the chances of getting further DNA damage. UV radiation levels should also be measured routinely at in-door environment for safety reasons. XP patients should also consume sufficient vitamin D in their diet to compensate for the insufficient production of vitamin D by their body.(21) As the disease progresses, XP patients might develop small lesions in the skin which could be treated using liquid nitrogen or topical 5-fluorouracil. Skin cancers, neoplasms of the eyelids, conjunctiva and cornea developed could be removed surgically. In patients with multiple skin cancers, high-dose oral isotretinoin may be used to prevent the formation of new neoplasms. X-radiation therapy can also be used to treat cancer with close monitoring as most XP patients are not hypersensitive to therapeutic X-rays.(21) Gene replacement therapy, i.e. replacing the mutated gene by insertion of a normal set of gene might also be a possible treatment in the future but very few research groups are working on that(22). In 2001, a study showed that the insertion of the bacterial DNA repair enzyme T4 Endonuclease V (also known as denV T4 endonuclease, an enzyme which removes the glycosyl bond of the pyrimidine dimer(23)) in liposomes into XP patients can actually increases the rate of repair of UV induced lesion, lowering the chances of new skin neoplasms development and it is now one of the treatments of XP. (21, 24) A research on gene replacement therapy published in 2003 was supportive for the XP patients(25). The result was quite promising as the researchers successfully restore the DNA repair capacity of XP cells after the insertion of gene(25). Although the efficacy of the treatment is high, its reliability is relatively low and there are definitely some limitations in the study. Firstly, it was an in vitro experiment; results shown in test tube would not be necessarily the same as in mammals or humans. Secondly, the research only focused on the XP-C cells so it is still unsure whether gene replacement therapy would work on other XP genes. Thirdly, the research was only done on cells from 2 patients; a larger sample size, preferably samples from different ethnicity or a more comprehensive study is needed to confirm the effectiveness in clinical practice. The bacterial enzyme T4 Endonuclease V was proved to be a quite effective treatment for XP as mentioned previously. The study that I looked into was a randomised study and involves 30 patients, with 20 in the intervention group and 10 in the placebo group(24). Overall, the study is quite reliable as it was a randomised double-blind study which minimise the bias that might affect the final outcomes of the study. However, some issues do present in the trial and should be addressed for future research. Firstly, the sample size is relatively small; a larger sample size is needed to confirm the effectiveness of the bacterial enzyme. Secondly, the ratio of patients in the two study groups varies, which might affect the statistical outcome significantly, especially for a small-sized study. Conclusions, limitations and further study To conclude, with the progression of technology and more time and resources spent on XP, we have now got much more understanding of XP, comparing with the first discovery of the disease. However, we shouldnt be satisfied with it and stop here as there is still a long way to go to get a full understanding of this genetic disorder. From my research, I found out that majority of the researchers favour ROS as the underlying cause of the neurodegeneration in XP patients. Firstly, our nervous system has a high demand for oxygen and ROS produced during respiration could potentially accumulate in our nervous system, causing damages to our DNA. Secondly, ROS causes DNA lesion that might only be repaired by the NER pathway. Thirdly, ROS can generate lesions that could block the RNA transcription, contributing to the loss of proteins and eventually cell death(19). All of these evidences suggested that ROS are possible causes of the neurological disorder in XP. At the moment, the resources are not available to prove that it is the case and there might be some other DNA damages that cause neurodegeneration which have not been discovered yet. However, I am sure with all the hard-work, and the advancement of technology, this mystery would soon be solved. In my opinion, with the lack of treatment for XP at the moment, preventive measures would be the most important things. As a result, diagnosis of XP should be made as quickly as possible. Genetic screening for new born baby might be a method for early diagnosis of XP. However, XP is a rare genetic disorder which is not so cost-effective for genetic testing as it is still relatively costly to diagnose XP in a molecular level and we should probably look for a cheaper alternatives and an easier way for diagnosis of XP. As for the future treatment, as I have previously mentioned, understanding the underlying cause of neurodegeneration is important for reducing the incidences of neurological disorder in XP patients and would improve the patients quality of life. My opinion on gene replacement therapy is that it is viable as the technology is available but not practical yet. First of all, although our skins are quite easy to reach, we should bear in mind that the skin has got a large surface area and would be quite difficult to insert replacement genes into the majority of the skin cells. We have now developed a method of inserting genes by genetically modified retrovirus, which could deliver genes into our cells quite easily. However, the technology for this is still premature and it is quite hard to monitor the viruses and might generate side effects like escape of viruses to the nature, mutation of the viruses and so on. I think that the information on gene replacement therapy for XP patients is qu ite limited; a lot more need to be done to address this issue. Finally, I do believe that with the advance of technology and as our knowledge of gene therapy progresses, a cure for XP should soon be found.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Casablanca :: essays research papers

Casablanca was a very interesting film. The first time that I watched it, I really had no idea what was going on. I found it a little hard to follow. But, after the second time around, a good portion of the movie became very clear to me. The setting takes place in Casablanca, Morocco and in Paris, France. At first the movie takes place in December 1941 at Rick Blaine's saloon in Casablanca. Rick has to deal with some illegal visa papers that he was given, and he hides them in the piano. Rick's former lover Ilsa comes with her husband Victor Laslo to the saloon. She is friends with the piano player Sam, and tells him to play the song As Time Goes By; Rick and Ilsa's "song." Rick comes in and yells at Sam to stop, and then he sees Ilsa. Then next scenes Rick is having a flashback to all the good times he had with Ilsa when they were in Paris, France. Rick and Ilsa are in love and plan to leave on a train to get married. Ilsa is really married to Victor, but she believes that he's dead. She finds out that he's alive and in a concentration camp right before she plans to leave with Rick. She doesn't go with Rick on the train and leaves him heartbroken. Then back in Casablanca Rick discovers that he's still in love with Ilsa. Rick tells his friend Louie, the police chief, about the illegal papers and plans to have him set up Victor to go to jail for having the papers so Ilsa and Rick can go to America. Rick decides that he can't go to America with Ilsa, because she'll regret it. Victor and Ilsa end up going to America on an airplane together. The most memorable scene of the film for me was when Ilsa comes back into Rick's life. She begs Sam to play As Time Goes By. He won't so she keeps saying, "Play it Sam..." When Sam does play the song Rick storms in and says, "I thought I told you to never play that again!" Then he looks up and sees Ilsa. They make eye contact and they remember all of their old feelings for each other. This scene is very emotional and you can tell exactly what they're both feeling. I think a filmmaker wanted to make this film to show what war can do to two people.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Panama Canal :: essays research papers fc

PANAMA CANAL The canal is joining the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It runs from Cristobal on lemon bay, a part of the Caribbean sea, to Balboa, on the Gulf of Panama. The canal is slightly more than 64 km long, not including the dredged approach channels at either end. The minimum depth is 12.5 m, and the minimum width is 91.5 m. The construction of the canal ranks as one of the greatest engineering works of all time. In history people had interest in a shorter route from the Atlantic to Pacific. This began with the explorers of Central America early in the 16th century. Hernan Cortez was a Spanish conquer of Mexico who suggested a canal across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Other explorers had favored routes through Nicaragua and Darien. The 1st for a canal through the Panama was started by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Who in 1523 ordered a survey of the isthmus. A working plan for the canal was drawn up as early as 1529, but was shown to the king. In 1534 a Spanish official suggested a canal rout e close to that of the present canal. Later more of the canal plans were suggested but no action was taken upon any of these plans suggested. Later on there is more in the canal. The Spanish government abandoned its interest in the canal but in the early 19th century the books of the German scientist Alexander von Humboldt brang back the interest in the project of the canal, and in 1819 the Spanish government formally authorized the construction of a canal and the creation of a company to build it. Nothing came of this effort, however, and the revolt of the Spanish colonies soon took control of possible canal sites out of Spanish hands . The republics of Central America tried to interest groups in the United States and Europe in building a canal, and it became a subject of perennial debate in the congress of the United States. The discovery of gold in California in 1848 and the rush of would-be miners started the United States interest in digging the canal. Various surveys made betw een 1850 and 1875 indicated that only two routes were practical, the one across Panama and that across Nicaragua. In 1876 an international company was organized. Two years later it obtained a concession from the Colombian government. Panama was then part of Colombia to dig a canal across the isthmus.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Formula One Racing :: essays research papers

Formula One Racing Formula One racing, or F1, is known to be the most prestigious type of auto racing in the world. Unfortunately, in the United States F1 racing is not nearly as popular as other motorsports such as Nascar. On a typical Sunday afternoon if one were to flip channels on the television, Nascar would most likely be airing on a major station. Furthermore, if one were to watch the race he or she would notice that the racetrack was packed with thousands upon thousands of people. A large part of the lack of popularity of F1 in America is that only one race is run in the United States. All of the other races take place in countries such as Spain, France, Italy, and Canada. With Nascar every single race is run in the United States, which is obviously a large contributing factor towards its immense popularity. Despite the fact that Nascar is the racing preference of most Americans, Formula One racing is the best and most exhilarating type of racing in the world. The action that takes place during an average 190- mile Formula One race is unsurpassed by any other motorsport. The typical racetrack consists of 2.5 miles and 12 turns. During the lapping of this track, the 900- horsepower 1400-pound cars can reach speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour. Even when cars capable of these speeds are put into the hands of world-class drivers such as Ferrari’s Michael Shumacher and McLaren’s Mika Hakkinen, mishaps are bound to occur. This is what makes this sport so exciting to watch. Crashes however, are not the only exciting events of the race. It is thrilling to watch a car out brake another in order to squeeze its way ahead, or to watch the cars bump tires in an effort to occupy the same piece of race track to be set up correctly for the turn ahead. Other points of interest are the pit stops and the strategies that the various teams use in order to make a fast pit stop. A world-class team such as Ferrari can refuel a car, change four wheels and tires, and wipe off the driver’s helmet in as little as 6.8 seconds. The technology used in the sport is another drawing point of its popularity. State- of-the-art computers are used to track the car’s every movement and to mechanically keep

Recruitment And Selection Strategies Recommendation Essay

Recruitment and Selection Strategies for Clapton Commercial Construction With the Michigan to Arizona expansion, Atwood and Allen Consulting recommends Clapton Commercial Construction (CCC) implement this proposed recruitment and selection strategies plan. The proposed strategies plan includes customized organizational recruitment goal, forecasted demographic changes, 5 year workforce analysis and workforce diversity objectives; and recommendations for organizational branding and methods for recruiting, screening and selecting candidates. CCC Current and Forecasted Status CCC, a commercial utility and earthmoving company has generated 10 million dollars in revenue annually and, with the expansion into Arizona, anticipates a 3% increase in revenue growth in the first year, after expansion (M. Luther Email, N.D.). To meet this projected increase in revenue CCC plans on expanding their current workforce from 650 to 780, a 20% increase, while maintaining their current turnover rate of 20%. CCC’s Organizational Recruitment Goal To recruit, place and retain top talented, skilled and well versed individuals that will positively impact CCC‘s vision of developing and promoting community advancement through commercial utility construction. Forecasted Demographic Changes In 2010 Arizona, like the rest of the United States experienced, experienced an increase in unemployment. In a study done in 2012 it was forecasted that from 2010 to 2010 the construction industry will have an increase in new jobs going from 111.5 thousand jobs to 166.2 thousand jobs, an increase by 49.1% (J.K. Brewer, September 2012). Further, the Bureau of Labor Statistics conducts annual employment status reports for those currently living in Arizona. In their 2011 study it was found that African Americans made up  15.2% of all unemployment and the second highest unemployment rate went to the Hispanic population at 12.7% (J.K. Brewer, September 2012). In having this dated information Atwood and Allen is able to project that the with the projected increase in new jobs by 49.1%, to include CCC’s 130 new jobs, CCC will have a large pool of talented African American and Hispanic individuals to recruit, evaluate, screen and place. 5 Year Workforce Analysis Based on the information presented above, it is projected that the African American population will steadily increase over the next 5 to 10 years CCC will be able to continue to recruit from that ethnic pool. It is also important for CCC to recognize that Arizona anticipates an increase in the Hispanic population by 40% over the next 5 to years, in the construction industry alone (Huffpost, 2012). While collecting this data Atwood and Allen found unemployment educational rankings. According to J.K. Brewer 2012 â€Å"the average unemployment rate is 4.9% for individuals with a Bachelor’s degree or higher; 8.3% for individuals with come college or an associate degree; 10.6% for high school graduates with no college; and 14.7% for adults who did not finish high school or earn a GED certificate.† This information was presented as it may serve as a training barrier or testing barrier further in the recruitment process and recommends CCC take this information into consideration when onboarding new hires as some individuals may require more time to learn and develop. Workforce Diversity Objectives As Arizona is a diverse state, CCC must place high importance on workforce diversity objectives and recommends CCC adapt the following: 1. To realize and maintain talented management leveled employees of various ethnic backgrounds, minorities, women and persons with disabilities who are capable of performing the required functions of the position. 2. To initiate a customized diversity assessment process that will analytically measure CCC’s positive and negative progress. 3. To decrease and eliminate the repetition of discriminatory employment practices for women, minorities and persons with disabilities. Recommendations Organizational Branding Positive organizational branding will position CCC as, not only the top place for employment, but also as the leading commercial utility construction company who places the value of service and product first to ensure a safe and positive community. Communicating this brand through local newspapers, community meetings, social networking and local education institutes will strengthen the brand as CCC will make themselves a part of the community. Recommendations for Methods for Recruiting, Screening and Selecting Candidates Recruiting To ensure the recruitment of top experienced talent Atwood and Allen recommend CCC review current internal candidates while advertising externally. By recruiting internal and external candidates CCC will be able to reach a larger candidate pool. Atwood and Allen also recommend CCC use the following internal recruiting methods: internal employee referral and temporary to permanent placement. For external advertising, Atwood and Allen recommend CCC post vacancies to job portals such as workforce connections, employment dashboards and CCC’s website; social media, job fairs, and newspaper ads; and for top management positions a staffing agency or send out internal recruiters to pouch competitor talent. Screening Screening candidates to ensure a best fit is an important process and Atwood and Allen recommends CCC use the interview process, testing for position specific position, pre-employment background checks and drug and alcohol testing. In adopting these methods CCC will be able to eliminate liability while increasing talent. Further, to remove the possibility of discrimination Atwood and Allen recommend CCC develop a set of stand and uniform interview questions to be asked. Selecting Candidates Selection of candidates is an importance task. Atwood and Allen recommend that CCC make all selection decisions based stickily on: 1. The ability for the candidate to successfully meet and exceed individual and organizational expectations. 2. The talent and educational level of the candidate as required by the positions’ demands. 3. The candidate’s ability to fit into the established organizational standard, culture and personality. By basing selection decisions on these three customized standards CCC will  ensure the selection and placement of top talented, driven and experienced individuals. Conclusion As CCC expands it is important to realize the impact of a bad hire in terms of cost and overall organizational impact. Therefore, to ensure CCC does not initiate a bad hire Atwood and Allen has presented this customized recruitment and selection strategic plan. This proposed plan included tailored standards and recommendations while capturing current and forecasted trends which CCC will be able to use to accept or modify Atwood and Allen’s recommendations recruitment and selection plan. References J.K. Brewer, September 2012. Arizona Integrated Workforce Plan July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2017. Retrieved on December 15, 2014, from http://azgovernor.gov/GOWD/documents/ArizonaIntegratedWorkforcePlan2012-2017.pdf Huffpost. (2012). Arizona Struggles to Fill Construction Labor Demands. Retrieved from http://huffpost.com University of Phoenix. (2014). Email from Traci: Recruitment and Selection Strategies Recommendations. Retrieved from http://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/Materials/IP/curriculum/sb/HRM531/assignments/week6

Monday, September 16, 2019

On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense

1. IntroductionIn the following I will consider Nietzsche’s essay ‘On truth and Lies in a nonmoral sense’.   First I will look at a small section of this to work out his views on language, then I will examine the whole of the essay in order to consider his use of metaphor, metonymy and anthropomorphisms in detail. This examination will lead, by way of a consideration of the ways in which he uses metaphor and other devices, into a consideration of his arguments regarding the nature of language. I will put forward the view that his interpretation of the nature of language undermines itself as it seeks to put itself forward as a truth while denying that truth exists as such.2. Truth and LanguageFirst, I consider the passage which starts â€Å"What then is truth†.   In this passage, Nietzsche wants to convey the flexible and changing quality of language.   The statements which we take as truth, straightforward and easy to understand, were in fact original ly more akin to poetry in their relationship with how things really are. Language which was originally used in a metaphoric, metonymic or anthropomorphic way has lost the vital force of the original statements, the original power of the symbolic use of language has become lost and only a shell remains.Over time the non-literal original sense has become literal so we take the words as a straightforwardly true or false statement.  Ã‚   In the original use of language, people could understand that the terms were not meant literally but a rich and evocative picture of how things are. This richness has become lost and we are left only with the empty structural force of the language, which we interpret as simple truth.This is my overall understanding of this paragraph. However it is difficult to paraphrase accurately, due to the richness of the language Nietzsche uses. We could in fact say that his contention that â€Å"truths are illusions which we have forgotten are illusions† is couched in terms which are in themselves heavily metaphorical, rather than the propositions which would be easy to paraphrase.Truth, in the paragraph in question, is ‘a movable host’, an ‘illusion’, something which is ‘drained of sensuous force’ and a ‘coin’.   The associations of these are rich, but not necessarily reconcilable. A coin, for instance, is not an illusion as it is an everyday part of economic exchange.   Therefore, the most important facet of Nietzsche’s argument would seem to be that it is not a conventional argument; rather he uses poetry and metaphor to demonstrate the nature or language, rather than explain it in a step by step way.I now turn to the larger essay of which this quotation is a part.   There are a host of metaphors, metonymies and anthropomorphisms in it[1], and as pointed out in the question it is easy to overlook these.  Ã‚   I will pick out a few of these to discuss why it is eas y to overlook them.   Part of the reason would seem to be that the text is simply so dense with them. In some sentences,   several of these devices being crammed into it. Take, for example, the first few sentences (1).   â€Å"World history† is described as â€Å"arrogant and mendacious†; an anthropomorphic device ascribing human characteristics to an abstract notion.Nature, likewise, is said to â€Å"draw a few breaths† which combines anthropomorphism with the metaphor of taking a while to pause.   Later in the same paragraph, nature is said to â€Å"swell up like a balloon† which again combines metaphor and anthropomorphism.   As well as the denseness with which these devices are packed, it is also the case that a more obvious device masks one in the same sentence which is less flamboyant.   For example, in the sentence quoted immediately above, nature is also described as â€Å"reprehensibleâ€Å": a quality which properly speaking should really be ascribed to humans only. This less noticeable anthropomorphism somehow comes across as a literal statement. I suspect this is part of Nietzsche’s intention, as it shows the way in which language can slip from being thoroughly poetic to less obviously so.The structure of his essay works to underline this. Passages of a less metaphorical or metonymic nature occur in between passages where the use of these devices, together with anthropomorphism, is dense.  Ã‚   For example, Nietzsche discusses (4) how metaphor is involved in every step of verbalization and conceptualization from sense perception to abstract terms. This discussion is couched in reasonably straightforward language without obvious use of metaphor and the like.Passages such as these are, however, set against ones in which the language is dense with poetic devices, where, as Nietzsche says there is â€Å"a moveable host of metaphors, metonymies, and anthropomorphisms† (5).  Ã‚   Such poetic pas sages require a different type of reading, one in which we are forced to recognize language as the dense and image-packed structure Nietzsche would have us believe it is in its entirety. In other words, I would contend that the mixing of metaphorical passages with more ’straightforward’ ones is a device intended to remind us of the inherently metaphorical nature of all words.Another way in which Nietzsche uses the devices reinforces the above. The metaphorical, metonymical and anthropomorphic passages provide a vivid and strong illustration of his points in the more straightforward sections. For example, he talks about man’s need for deception (2) â€Å"a continuous fluttering around the solitary flame of vanity†. The visual image thus constructed powerfully reiterates the later points he makes about the nature of truth and the value it plays for mankind.  Ã‚   He appeals, as it were, to both our intellect and our senses.Section two of the essay is rich    in unusual use of metaphor and other devices.   Perhaps the most dense passage occurs at the end, where Nietzsche talks about intuitive (as opposed to rational) man.   He piles device upon device to reiterate the way he portays intuitive man. He is said to â€Å"reap† â€Å"a harvest† from his intuition, but Nietzsche takes the unusual step of elaborating this metaphor in another direction, for what man reaps is â€Å"continually inflowing illumination†, a metaphor one would associate with a river, not a harvest.I believe Nietzsche compounds metaphors in this way in order to demonstrate that the sense of what he is saying is not straightforward but has depths and resonates in different directions. It is also unusual that these two metaphors hide another, at the beginning of the sentence, where man is said to be â€Å"standing in the midst of a culture†.   Here one could almost overlook the metaphoric nature of the expression, as it is close to a common-sense expression. I’d suggest that here Nietzsche is using the more unusual figures of speech as a way of alerting   us to the metaphorical nature of all expression, including cases like this where the metaphor has almost passed into ordinary use.Another remarkable passage starts section two. Here the scientist is described as building his â€Å"hut†, which is equated with his understanding of the world. The imagery here is particularly rich and evocative, drawing up a visual image of a towering structure.   It would seem that Nietzsche uses such particularly visual imagery to introduce his discussion of dreams, for the words evoke images akin to dreaming consciousness.A final point I would make about the use of metaphorical devices centers on his use of different metaphors (in this case with an animal theme) to reinforce his points.   For example, when talking about the development of conceptualization, he compares it to both building upon a spider†™s web and to a bee’s building with wax (7).   Earlier in the same passage he talks of this conceptualization in the context of the Roman gods.  Ã‚   Because he repeats metaphors taken from levels ‘above’ and ‘below’ that of man, it is as if he is creating an over-metaphor which draws attention to man’s nature and its distinctness from the animal kingdom and that of the gods, which in turn serves to reinforce his notion of the subjectivity of language and perception.I now turn to the general points made about language in the essay as a whole. Firstly, I will give an overview of the essay itself before turning to a critique of Nietzsche’s points.   The essay divides into two parts, and the tone of each is slightly different. The first contains more argument of a philosophical nature, although in the context of rhetorical passages, whereas the second is more lyrical in tone throughout.   In part one, Nietzche discusses manâ€⠄¢s intellect. We think we are the centre of the universe, and that our knowledge is a special thing, but so do the most lowly members of the animal kingdom.Our nature is inherantly deceptive, not aimed towards truth, however due to social constraints we feel it necessary to embrace truth in order to become part of a social world.   He then turns to the nature of truth, which for Neitzsche is inherantly illusionary and based on metaphor. Looking at the way in which we come to understand the world, this is based not on an actual coherence to things in themselves but an illusion,   even at the most basic perceptual stage.   Likewise concepts and abstractions have no inherant connection to the ‘real’ state of the world.The moral impulse towards truth is nothing more than a Darwinian survival of the fittest.   Man cannot escape the trap of his inherantly metaphorical viewpoint, which is also specific to the human species alone. However, to give ourselves a sense of security, we have to forget the metaphorical nature of understanding and take our experience as an experience of how things really are. Nietzsche concludes part one with a summary of the subjectivity of man’s experience.Part two has a different tone, being more poetical overall.   He starts by dismissing the claims of science to impart general truths which hold for all time. He reiterates that the drive to metaphor is the most important. Dreams are a way in which we can begin to understand the richness of the creative and metaphorical drive for what it is, a drive which is distinct from the scientific, rational one. In this section, Nietzsche seems to be hinting, against the first section, that through dreams and art man can perhaps come to an understanding of the role metaphor plays in language and truth.Nietzsche makes several general assertions about the nature of language in his essay. His foremost point is that language is inherently metaphorical.   As pointed out, h e reiterates this by use of the type of device he believes is a model of language.  Ã‚   This, I think, is the central theme of his essay, and one which, by his use of language, he puts across most subtlety.   However, there seems to be a problem with his view point.   He seems to be taking the viewpoint of someone who can say what is true and what is not.He wants to say that truth as we perceive it is an illusion, but does not explain why we should believe his illusion rather than any other.   He does not merely want to suggest by poetic devices that truth is an illusion, but to argue that this is the case.  Ã‚   He wants to do philosophy, not poetry, and philosophy is concerned with using rational argument to put forward ones own case, and dismiss opposing views.   The problem is that any argument he uses to support his own view also works against this view.I believe Nietzsche’s other points are flawed also.   Man’s nature, he contends, is to deceive hi mself, and this, he postulates, is for a Darwinian end, the survival of the individual (2).  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first instinct of the individual is self-preservation, and hence to deceive. However, social forces come into play; if man wants to exist happily with others he cannot be seen to tell lies, that is, to disagree with the herd.   Therefore the desire for truth comes into play.Truth is useful to society. Man does not desire truth for his own sake, as the philosophers say, rather he â€Å"desires the pleasant, life-preserving consequences of truth† (3).  Ã‚   Nietzsche thus postulates a socially driven theory of truth, where the quest for knowledge is an illusion, and social reality the only reality.   My argument with this would be it fails to explain cases where individuals act in a way which they know will make their position in their social group uncomfortable and unpleasant, and do so because they want to find the truth.Nietzsche talks about the way in which huma ns develop language to argue that metaphor is always present from original sense perceptions (3-4).   He says â€Å"a nerve stimulus is transferred into an image: first metaphorâ€Å" (4).   After this, he says, each subsequent stage is also built upon metaphor. However, I would argue that in order to distinguish a metaphor as such, we need to have a concept of how things really are, in order that we can know when descriptions are metaphorical (that is, not literal).   If, as Nietzsche argues, metaphor exists from the very first act of perception, then how can we make sense of a distinction between metaphor and non-metaphor?There is also, I believe, a confusion in the essay about the status of what Nietzsche proposes. He suggests that man had to erase the understanding of the metaphorical nature of language from his consciousness in order to live with any sense of security, and also that if man could escape from the confines of this prison-like viewpoint, â€Å"his â€Å"s elf-consciousness† would be immediately destroyed† (8).   This suggests that man is permanently trapped in the view of language as a truth bearing vehicle, unable to see things as they really are.This is problematic in two ways. First, that Nietzsche obviously thinks he can stand outside this language trap in order to explain how others are bound by it. Secondly, he seems to suggest at the same time that man can come to the realization that the nature of language and indeed life is other than he believes it to be, which assumes that the prison of language is one that can, and should be overcome.   This confusion seems at least partly to derive from the two sections of the essay, which are different in tone. In the second section he seems to be saying that art is one way in which man can free himself from the confines of language and â€Å"confuse the conceptual categories and cells by bringing forward new transferences, metaphors, and metonymies† (10).3. Concl usionIn the above, I have attempted a brief analysis of Nietzsche’s essay. I have attempted to bring out his central point, that language is essentially metaphorical, and also to look his other discussions of the nature language and truth plays for man.   I have looked at the ways in which he uses metaphor, metonymy and anthropomorphism in different ways, each of which underline his central ideas about language.   I have tried to show that, for me, his arguments although subtle and dense are ultimately not coherent, as he tries to step outside the framework of metaphor to explain how things ‘really are’.I also suggest that although Nietzsche is attempting philosophy, to convince the reader that he has a valid thesis and to present the argument for this, it is difficult to answer his case fully as he uses the resources of a poet as well as a philosopher.   It is not within the brief to use poetry and metaphor to answer Nietzsche, so there’s a sense in which I am unable to answer him on his own terms.[1]   briefly, a metaphor is when one thing is compared to another by saying â€Å"a is b† or similar, for example â€Å"my heart is a fountain†, where b is something which a is not normally literally said to be.   Metonymy is where a feature of something is used as a shorthand for the thing itself. For example, a school child might refer to a particular teacher as ’big nose’.   Finally anthropomorphism is when human characteristics are ascribed to animals: Nietzsche’s use seems also to include the ascription of specifically human traits to an impersonal non-human world.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen Essay

Organic chemical compounds contain a vast number of isomers, molecules with the same molecular formula but different atomic arrangement, of which there are three types: structural, geometric and optical. The most closely-linked of isomers are optical isomers, which differ only by the three-dimensional placement of the molecule’s attachments, which renders its mirror images to be non-superimposable. The presence of optical isomerism within a molecule is determined by the existence of a chiral centre—a carbon atom with four different groups (see Appendix, figure 1). Pure optical isomers have identical physical properties such as melting point, boiling point and density, as well as identical chemical properties; thus there are only two ways that they can be distinguished: their interaction with other chiral substances and their interaction with plane polarized light. An enantiomer (one out of a pair of optical isomers) rotates plane polarized light in the opposite direction of which the other enantiomer rotates the plane polarized light, of equal magnitude (see Appendix A, figure 2). An enantiomer that shifts plane polarized light to the left is given the prefix â€Å"L† (levorotatory) or â€Å"S†, while an enantiomer that shifts plane polarized light to the right is given the prefix â€Å"D† (dextrorotatory) or â€Å"R†. Despite their physical and chemical similarities, optical isomers are known to have substantially different behaviours within the human body. This is due to the fact that enzymes and receptors in the body are stereospecific, meaning that they can interact with one enantiomer of certain molecules and not the other. For instance, the human body can only break down D-glucose (dextrose) for energy but not L-glucose, and can only utilize L-amino acids rather than D-amino acids. While one form of a stereoisomer may be beneficial, the other may be ineffective or even harmful, in some cases. Thus, it is crucial that optical isomerism is taken into account during medicinal drug development and usage. For example, the sedative thalidomide was available in Europe in the 1960s for purposes of alleviating morning sickness in pregnant women. However, the drug was sold as a racemic mixture, which contains equal portions of both enantiomers (this would not shift plane polarized light as the two enantiomers shift in different directions),  and while R-thalidomide (see Appendix A, figure 3) works effectively as a sedative; S-thalidomide can cause genetic damage leading to mutation of the fetus. Consequently, 12 000 infants were born worldwide with malformation of the limbs. To further illustrate the importance of optical isomers in drug action, the drug ibuprofen can be explored. Ibuprofen is a drug used for anti-inflammatory purposes such as pain relief, fever and swelling reduction, and is classified as a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). Derived from propanoic acid in the 1960s by a pharmacy chain called Boot’s UK Limited, ibuprofen was initially launched as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, and was awarded the Queen’s Award for Technical Achievement in 1987. It is currently available under a variety of trademarks such as Advil, Motrin, Nurofen, and Brufen, among others. Ibuprofen works by inhibiting the enzymatic action of cyclooxygenase (COX1 and COX2) within the body, which catalyzes the conversion of a compound called arachidonic acid into prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are locally-acting hormones that cause swelling, heat, loss of function, fever and pain, collectively known as inflammation, at a site of injury through the accumulation of white blood cells. Through inhibiting this reaction, painful symptoms can be reduced or eliminated. The IUPAC name for ibuprofen is 2-(4-(2-methylpropyl) phenyl) propanoic acid. It is a carboxylic acid which also contains a phenyl group (see Appendix A, figure 5). Due to its chirality, ibuprofen has two enantiomers (see Appendix A, figure 6): S-ibuprofen, which rotates plane polarized light to the left and is pharmacologically active, and R-ibuprofen, which rotates plane polarized light to the right and has no anti-inflammatory effect (and is thus inactive as a drug, since . However, ibuprofen is sold on the market as a racemic mixture. Thus, a dose of ibuprofen contains only 50% of the active enantiomer, S-ibuprofen. Nevertheless, R-ibuprofen undergoes species-specific chiral inversion within the body, in which approximately 60% of R-ibuprofen is converted into S-ibuprofen. The mechanism of the inversion is through an enzyme, alpha-methylacyl-CoA racemase (AMACR) that is present in the liver, the kidney and gastrointestinal tract. A  substitution nucleophilic bimolecular (SN2) r eaction must take place (see Appendix B, figure 1), which results in the complete conversion of every molecule of one enantiomer to the other. In this case, only R-ibuprofen is converted into S-ibuprofen (see Appendix B, figure 2). The benefits associated with ibuprofen use include its efficiency as a NSAID in decreasing inflammation, in addition to be non-addictive and affordable. However, ibuprofen often causes stomach irritation, and can impede concentration and cause drowsiness. It may also result in a variety of adverse side effects (see Appendix C, figure 1). An alternative to ibuprofen is the drug acetaminophen, also known as paracetamol. Acetaminophen, (see Appendix A, figure 7), is commercially available under brand names such as Tylenol and Anacin (see Appendix A, figure 8). It works by inhibiting the synthesis of prostaglandins. It does not, however, have any anti-inflammatory action and thus only targets tissue of the nervous system—easing pain without being directed towards the root of the problem. Acetaminophen is known to cause fewer side effects than ibuprofen; however for a list of side effects, see Appendix C, figure 2. Acetaminophen does not have a chiral centre, and therefore does not have any optical isomers. Both drugs are used to relieve headache pains and fever; however their varying properties impact their function and effectiveness in treating specific symptoms. The solubility of ibuprofen in water is 0.0002M. Although its carboxyl functional group is highly polar, the large non-polar component greatly decreases its overall polarity. As â€Å"like dissolves like†, ibuprofen does not dissolve well in water, which is polar. To solve this problem, ibuprofen is reacted with the amino acid lysine (see Appendix A, figure 9), which together forms the salt ibuprofen lysinate. Ibuprofen is then released into the bloodstream in which the reaction can reverse. On the other hand, acetaminophen is highly soluble in water; with a solubility of 0.091M. Because it contains an amide and an alcohol, there is a substantial degree of hydrogen bonding resulting in high polarity (see Appendix A, figure 10). This allows the drug to be absorbed into the bloodstream effectively. Ibuprofen has a pKa (acid dissociation constant) of approximately 4.43, while the pKa of acetaminophen is 9.51 and 25 °C, making ibuprofen more acidic. Because neutral substances pass through bodily membranes more easily, acetaminophen is more easily absorbed. Acetaminophen also has more acid stability. Administered orally, an ibuprofen capsule has an enteric coating, which prevents stomach acid from breaking down the drug before it reaches the small intestine, where it is absorbed. A film coating is used on a tablet of acetaminophen, which protects the tongue from the contents, as well as protecting the contents from moisture and light. Within the body, the film can be broken down by saliva or stomach acid, and the way in which the drug is absorbed is not affected. Appendix A: Images Figure 1: Molecule with a chiral centreFigure 2: Plane polarized light beamed through a filter. The two enantiomers shift light in opposite directions. Figure 1: Type of isomer vs. molecule melting and boiling point Type of Isomers Molecules Melting Point and Boiling Point Structural Isomers butane 2-methylpropane MP: -140 °C BP: -1 ° C MP: -159.6 °C BP: -11.7  °C Geometric Isomers cis-butene trans-butene MP: -138.9  °C BP: 3.7  ºC MP: -105.5  °C BP: 0.9  °C Optical Isomers L-2-butanol D-2-butanol MP: -115  °C BP: 98-100  °C MP: -115  °C BP: 98-100  °C Figure 3: The two optical isomers of thalidomide. R-thalidomide works effectively as a sedative, while S-thalidomide can damage the fetus. Figure 5: Skeletal diagram of ibuprofen, with the functional group labeled Appendix A (cont’d): Images Figure 6: Optical isomers of ibuprofen; S-ibuprofen is on the left and R-ibuprofen is on the right Figure 7: Skeletal diagram of acetaminophen, with the functional groups labeled Figure 9: Skeletal diagram of the amino acid lysine, which is reacted with ibuprofen in order to allow it to ultimately dissolve into the bloodstream Figure 10: Polarity of ibuprofen vs. acetaminophen Appendix B: Reactions Figure 1: The process of a substitution nucleophilic bimolecular (SN2) reaction Figure 2: â€Å"The mechanism of the enzymatic [chiral] inversion of R-ibuprofen (42) into S-ibuprofen. At first, the carboxylic acid is converted into an intermediate thioester (43a) by acyl-CoA ligase†¦ [This] is then converted to the opposite configuration by an epimerase, and the resultant thioester (43b) is hydrolyzed by a hydrolase, releasing S-ibuprofen.† Appendix C: Tables Figure 1: Side effects of ibuprofen Mild side effects include: upset stomach, mild heartburn, diarrhea, constipation; bloating, gas; dizziness, headache, nervousness; skin itching or rash; blurred vision Serious side effects include: chest pain, weakness, shortness of breath, slurred speech, problems with vision or balance; black, bloody, or tarry stools, coughing up blood or vomit that looks like coffee grounds; swelling or rapid weight gain; urinating less than usual or not at all; nausea, upper stomach pain, itching, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes); fever, sore throat, and headache with a severe blistering, peeling, and red skin rash; bruising, severe tingling, numbness, pain, muscle weakness; or severe headache, neck stiffness, chills, increased sensitivity to light, and/or seizure (convulsions). Figure 2: Side effects of acetaminophen Mild side effects include: drowsiness Serious side effects include: low fever with nausea, stomach pain, and loss of appetite; dark urine, clay-colored stools; or jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes) liver failure (with overdose) Bibliography CHAPTER 5: RULES FOR SPECIFICATION OF CHIRALITY. (n.d.). University of Illinois at Chicago-Chemistry. Retrieved October 8, 2013, from tigger.uic.edu/~kbruzik/text/chapter5.htm This source is credible because it is a university website. Chemistry in your cupboard | Nurofen . (n.d.). Royal Society of Chemistry | Advancing excellence in the chemical sciences. Retrieved October 10, 2013, from http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/resources/chemistry-in-your-cupboard/nurofen/3 This source is credible because it is a reputable educational society in Britain. Clancy, C., Farrow, K., Finkle, T., & Francis, L. (2002). McGraw-Hill Ryerson chemistry 12. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson. This is credible because it is a textbook used in class. Cohen, J. S. (2007, December 4). The Little-Known Dangers of Acetaminophen.Life Extension. Retrieved October 10, 2013, from http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2007/dec2007_report_acetaminophen_02.htm This is credible because it is health journal from a reputable organization. Ibuprofen. (2013, July 18). Livertox: Clinical and Research Information. Retrieved October 10, 2013, from http://livertox.nih.gov/Ibuprofen.htm This is credible because it is from the United States government. Open Notebook Science. (2013, October 10). Solubility of ibuprofen in organic solvents. Retrieved October 8, 2013, from http://lxsrv7.oru.edu/~alang/onsc/solubility/allsolvents.php?solute=ibuprofen This is credible because it is an educational institution. 1C – http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/02/briefing/3882b2_06_international%20ibuprofen%20foundation.htm 2C – http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2007/dec2007_report_acetaminophen_02.htm http://books.google.ca/books?id=9xYuQKZSDkIC&pg=PA205&lpg=PA205&dq=how+is+r-ibuprofen+converted+into+s-ibuprofen&source=bl&ots=D4iuQfKoyT&sig=WS9y5uMJa0Hr68Og5FhkJr73OfQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=WcZVUoqJDpCi4APKyoDoBg&ved=0CFcQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=how%20is%20r-ibuprofen%20converted%20into%20s-ibuprofen&f=false 2B – http://books.google.ca/books?id=Zgx13oMZaYUC&pg=PA363&lpg=PA363&dq=how+is+r-ibuprofen+converted+into+s-ibuprofen&source=bl&ots=sWD8D0j8HI&sig=L_5r42H68KotX

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Model for free and open university courseware

One of the determinants of creation of FOCI contents is the capacity building which generally refers to developing required competences for creation of FOCI online contents. Dealing with copyright issues may be a serious roadblock even if the intention of the author was meant to provide the resource for free access and use. In the process of preparing contents, instructors research contents from various sources of which some may have various uprights and other restrictions. Instructors may also raise issues of their intellectual property rights.Another determinant is the motivation of instructors; there is no clear incentive of engagement for the faculty to participate in open courseware. The greatest concern is the time that is required by instructors to prepare a course that will be available, monitored, maintained, updated and perhaps re-formulated for new settings and different uses. The open courseware materials provided by the instructor will be Judged by the peers; therefore e ffort in producing quality desired is of essence. Validation Quality assurance mechanism will guarantee that materials are validated for publication.Quality in this sense refers to the relevance of material to the public, compliance to education standards and integrity, organization of contents and compliance to intellectual property rights. The FOCI materials should be intellectual property-cleared, meaning that the university has the rights to make the materials available under open terms and that nothing in the materials infringes the copyrights of others. Secondly, conceptualization and localization of contents trials from course instructors have been designed for their students at the university.If the same contents are to be available for public view, it is important to consider relevance of the contents to other people outside the university in diverse thematic areas of research and training. Quality assurance will involve checking the contents for consistency, pedagogical as pects, compliance to education standards and organization of contents. By publishing materials in the web for open access through FOCI, university is allowing the public to Judge what is offered by the institution.If materials are of poor quality, it may be threat to the reputation of not only the author but also the university. The university should strive to provide best quality material to avoid negative criticism by the public. Reliance should be made on standards and specifications to the extent possible. Lastly, there is need for accreditation which is the official approval of contents for publication in FOCI sites. Dissemination A key component of open courseware is the dissemination of contents whose cornerstone is technology. The technology is based on the CIT infrastructure for publishing the contents.Open courseware technology infrastructure consists of several components, internet connectivity, desktop tools for building course web sites and file conversion, web authorin g tools, workflow, metadata capture and publication tools, content staging infrastructure, content publication infrastructure, content repositories (file storage) Implementation. The technology should be designed to allow the use of a variety of appropriate tools, with a minimum of integration problems. The choice of technology should consider setup and maintenance cost.In our framework we endeavor to recommend use of cheap but efficient technology eatable for Kenya situation. One of the key determinants of dissemination of FOCI contents is the internet Connectivity. The university should be well served with internet and the bandwidth should be sufficient to allow access of not only textual information but also transmission of multimedia contents. Sufficient campus network connectivity is crucial to facilitate easy creation and updating of contents by course authors at the comfort of their offices.Secondly, Contents delivered through open courseware should be easily searchable and w ell organized for open access. Care would be made for usability considerations, which means contents, should be easy to edit or modify (formats, specifications) and should accommodate different kinds of access considerations. There is need for content management systems which provides a means of managing large amounts of contents and at the same time providing room for incorporating other pedagogical aspects.From literature review we found out that a number of content management systems are available and which are suitable for open courseware. Lastly, preparing contents for web access also require inserting metadata information. In most cases, local access of online contents does not pose a big problem to users as the remote access. Some of remote users may access courseware contents using very slow connections given the situation of internet in our country. For example it can be extremely difficult to watch or download video contents using slow connection.Before university implemen ts open courseware it is important to consider the connections of the expected users especially for remote access. In addition, a whole range of delivery modes should be made available for cases where connectivity at sufficient bandwidth would cause a robber. Lastly, criteria for the assessment of outcomes on the user of open courseware should be defined. Feedback mechanisms should be designed and implemented. It should allow users to express their views on their experiences with the courseware. In addition the site should include access counter to tell the number of people who visit the site.Utilization Utilization refers to usage of open courseware materials in the context of our proposed framework . This may entail learners using the materials for additional learning and research, instructors from other institution using the materials in their raining and other people using the materials for personal study. Awareness is thought as one of determinant of utilization in which case t argeted citizenry needs to be sensitizes of the availability of open courseware. The public should have information about what is available on open courseware and benefits of using the materials .The impact of the contents on the learner will greatly determine the utilization of the contents. Care should be taken in that the design of contents. The material should not only be useful to the university students but also majority of the public. Lastly, given that FOCI will be delivered through ‘CT. It is important to consider literacy levels of FOCI users. Basic cit requisite skills are needed for one to be able to search open courseware materials on internet, interact with the site in different ways, save contents and provide feedbacks.Methodology The research adopted a field survey research design whose objective was to establish factors that discourage or/and encourage free and open courseware in public universities of Kenya. The target population of the research was the publi c universities in Kenya. Questionnaire was the primary data collection instrument and as divided into five parts based on the five elements the free and open courseware framework elements; organization, creation, validation, dissemination and utilization. The study involved both qualitative and quantitative approaches. A sample size of 450 students and 150 lecturers was targeted.Data collection took place in August 2010. It was collected from 3 public universities that is university of Nairobi, Kenya and Com Kenya University KODAK). Useful and complete responses were obtained from 392 students representing a response rate of 87% and 1 11 lecturers representing a response rate of 74%. RESULTS On the basis of the analyzed responses the following inferences were drawn Table 4. 1. Elements Components Processes Observations Governance & Management -Planning -Setting up testators -Free and open courseware has not so far been implemented in Kenya. No comprehensive plan. Partnership and col laboration Building alliances and consulting Foci partners -Public universities have established some local and international links on open contents provision. Institutional policies Creating policies that support open courseware -Universities policies do not cater for free and open content. Some of universities are errantly reviewing policies. Sustainability Establish ways of meeting the setup and maintenance cost -Difficult to direct university limited funds to free and open courseware project. Low support from Government and Nags Developing knowledge & sharing culture Faculty assassination and advocacy A number of workshops and conferences have been held Capacity building -Improve CIT literacy among lecturers -Training of faculty in E-content development -Creating textual and video contents -Majority of faculties are CIT literate. -Majority of lecturers have not attended training in E-content development -Most of structures contents is not in electronic format -Faculties have not developed video contents of most of lectures. Lecturers have no access to video capturing and editing facilities. -Dealing with copyright issues -Adhere to PR -Set up open sharing licenses -Majority of lecturers obtain materials from copyrighted sources -No clear Intellectual property rights policies in Kenya and particularly in the universities that cater for open sharing. Attitudes -Developing positive attitudes towards open sharing materials Majority of lecturers have negative attitude towards open sharing. However, majority are willing to share heir materials for free under open Terms.Motivation -Establish ways of motivating lecturers Low motivation of faculty. Majority of lecturers indicated that they cannot dedicate their time to embark on contents creation for free publishing without clear terms of engagements. Validation Copyright clearance -Perform copyright clearance Majority of lecturers obtain contents from copyrighted sources. Conceptualizing of contents Perform releva nce check Some of the materials are not relevant to the public Quality Assurance Perform quality assurance Some of the instructor's materials do not meet quality standards for OCW.Accreditation of materials -Get official approval and seek authorization for publishing from faculty No policies available to support accreditation of open materials. Utilization -Awareness -Public assassination -Low awareness level Majority of university students, instructors and administrators are not aware of open courseware. -CIT Literacy Improve cit literacy Majority of learners at public university are CIT literate -Access Improve internet access Internet usage level is generally high by university students.However, majority of students utilize free contents available on the web for research as opposed to buying kooks. -Relevance Maintain high standards and quality in production of open courseware materials Some of the materials are not useful to public 5. 0 Conclusion Results from the study shows th at the concept of FOCI has not been embraced in Kenya. However, it is not an absolutely new phenomenon since some of the universities are sensitivity their faculties on content sharing and aligning their policies to accommodate open contents.Nevertheless, the study reports low awareness of FOCI in Kenya universities among students and faculty members. The study identified a number of issues that pose significant challenges in implementation of FOCI in Kenya based on regression test performed . Amongst, Intellectual property rights and attitudes of faculty towards open courseware have shown significant effect on creation of FOCI contents while quality and relevance of materials shown significant effects on utilization of open courseware. In addition sustainability of FOCI project is another issue that poses a significant challenge to the implementation.The fact that the original design of FOCI is not to generate income for the university or contents providers begs the question of how such project can be sustained. It is encouraging to note that the number of lecturers participating in development of content for online learning is on increase. Universities have also set up repositories for storage of contents e. G University of Nairobi and Kenya University has each two servers for storage of contents and backups and the universities are gradually embracing online learning in their curriculum.Lastly, over last five years internet connectivity has greatly improved in Kenya and currently, the majority of public universities in Kenya are connected through a fiber-based local and external access infrastructure. 5. 1 Recommendations There will be need for rigorous campaign and assassination to raise the awareness level if a university wants to embark on implementation of FOCI. The public needs to get information about the availability of materials, various techniques of accessing the materials online and build confidence about the quality of materials.Study has reveal ed that majority of lecturers utilizes copyrighted contents in preparation of their lecture materials and this poses a significant challenge of sharing the contents to the public. The study identified IP clearance as one the solutions of coping with issue of non adherence to copyright laws. IP clearance is the process that ensures the open courseware publisher has the rights to make the materials available under open terms and that nothing in the materials infringes the copyright of other . Let may involve getting approvals from authors whose contents have been copied and/or removing such contents.It may also involve making sure fair use of other author's contents which involves ensuring that the original authors are properly acknowledged and may involve granting licenses to open courseware end-users to use, reuse, adapt, and redistribute materials for non-commercial educational reposes, in accordance with the open courseware concept. The greatest concern is the time that is require d by faculty from academics to prepare elements of a course that will be available, monitored, maintained, updated and perhaps re-formulated for new settings and different use.Therefore motivation and attitudes of instructors is critical. The study recommends that stakeholders in academia should first demystify the whole issue of free and open sharing of contents through assassination of the faculty. It important for management of open courseware to consider financial rewards of the developers for their time and other forms intrinsic motivation such as recognitions of leading authors by the universities or/and other agencies. Course materials published on FOCI are subjected to public scrutiny.End users will constantly evaluate the quality of content offered by the university. Therefore, quality of content can positively or negatively impact on the reputation of the institution. It is difficult to achieve 100% acceptance of FOCI content in the face of the diverse thematic areas of re search and training, and the different approaches and modes of delivering contents. However universities should strive to make the contents relevant to majority of the public. One of the unresolved issues is delivery methods for remote access which includes off campus accesses.The scope of our study did not carry out assessment on the network infrastructure outside the university. But, results from other studies indicate that, it may be difficult to maintain high speed connection in most of places in Kenya especially the remote areas. Nevertheless, the current Kenya devolution promises to improve the internet connectivity of major towns and increase the internet reach for majority of citizens. It is also important to set up distributed contents servers or mirror servers in various parts of the country especially in major towns to improve speed of access all over the country.Sustainability of the project has shown significant effect on the implementation of FOCI, given the high setup and maintenance cost of implementing. It might be difficult to maintain budget line for open courseware. However, universities which already have an existing and well established online learning infrastructure can easily and cheaply migrate to FOCI. If the university offers online learning for a umber of years, over time published materials will be continually refined and since online learning is income generating Return-on-Investment will have been achieved.