Essay about The Seperation of Hinduism and Buddhism

The origins of Hinduism can be traced back to the Vedic traditions of the Indus Valley Civilization (Mittal and Thursby 23) where as Buddhism can be seen as originating from Hinduism, and yet they are seen as two completely different religions. Why? These religions do share some of the same practices, however there are also vast differences. The caste system is a major social institution of Hinduism, but Buddhism rejects the caste system. Buddhism opposes the idea of a soul, while Hinduism perceives the soul as being one with Brahman. Moksha and Nirvana are both the release from saá ¹Æ'sÄ ra, but the pathways to attaining release are dissimilar. One of the major Hindu beliefs that Buddhism rejects is the Caste System, or â€Å"jati† in†¦show more content†¦The interesting thing about Buddhisms repudiation of the caste system is that the Buddha was originally had very high status as a Hindu. In the 6th century BCE, a man named SiddhÄ rtha Gautama, was born in the Kshatriya caste, as a Hindu prince. (Mittal and Thursby 81) SiddhÄ rtha grew up shielded from the outside world, and had everything he could ever desire within his grasp. (Esposito, Fasching, and Lewis 398) He never knew much of the world until he ventured beyond the palace walls and saw what are now known as the Four Passing Sights. There were an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and a religious mendicant. (DKWR 62) This was SiddhÄ rtha’s first exposure to suffering and religious ascetics. He rejected his high status, and left everything behind to discover his way as a forest dweller. (Esposito, Fasching, and Lewis 398) Eventually SiddhÄ rtha would create a reform group, that would become known as Buddhism and he as the Buddha. Buddhism may not have a caste system, but the religion does have a large monastic order. These monks and nuns are the â€Å"sons and daughters of the Buddha† (Esposito, Fasching, and Lewis 406). Anyone, despite age or caste can be a Buddhist, worship freely, and join a monastic life style. (Mittal and Thursby 81) In Hinduism you have to be of the upper castes, and there are no specific monastic groups. There are many types of Hindu ascetics who live mostly inShow MoreRelatedAP Human Geography Religion Notes Essay1830 Words   |  8 Pagesï » ¿Religion Unit Essay Notes 1. Secularism began to arise with the seperation of church and state in Europe. A. Why is this so? (Deblij 207, 222-224) Secularism is the indifference to or rejection of formal religion. The most secular countries today are in Europe. Secularism has become more widespread during the past century due to the rise in democracy. Democratic governments disadvantage the traditional practices of a religion because they offer freedom, whereas other forms of government may

A Brief Note On Hipaa Privacy And The Privacy - 2239 Words

Ethel Carew HIPAA Privacy Assignment- 1/20/15 How would the HIPPA Privacy policy be structured? As the Compliance Officer, I would choose the single ‘all or nothing’ approach when structuring a policy for applying the Privacy Rules. Though most cases are complex and are not as ‘cut and dry’ in the application of the privacy rules, at the end of the day, the single approach ensures simplicity and uniformity. The institution’s privacy notice will inform patients that the hospital may talk to family members and other individuals involved in their care and that minimal information about them included in the hospital’s directory can be provided to individuals that ask for the patient by name. The patient will however be giving the option to opt out of this. If they opt out, no information will be disclosed, if they do not then the hospital will use its discretion and professional judgment in making a decision that in the best interest of the patient as to who to disclose to. Hospital staff will be train on how to obtain use judgment on how to informally obtain information based on circumstances about a patient preference for disclosure of their PHI. Case #1 From whom would you likely receive requests for information about these children and their condition? On a single approach privacy. I would prioritize as to who and what PHI will be disclose based on a need to know basis. In this case, I would expect the following individuals to reach out to the hospital for informationShow MoreRelatedA Policy That Governs All Business Associates Of Gfmc On All Forms Of Mobile Devices1521 Words   |  7 PagesBUSINESS ASSOCIATE A business associate is an individual or entity that is not a member of your practice’s workforce who uses or discloses PHI to carry out certain functions or activities on behalf of the medical practice or other covered entity. Note: Access to PHI should only be granted if these parties need access to perform services for or on behalf of your practice. LIST OF BUSINESS ASSOCIATES OF GFMC †¢ Accountant who needs access to PHI for purposes of auditing accounts †¢ Answering serviceRead More Electronic Health Record Essay1295 Words   |  6 Pagesdifferent healthcare settings by network-connected information systems. Such records may include key administrative and clinical data relevant to that persons care under a particular provider. Examples of such records may include: demographics, physician notes, problems or injuries, medications and allergies, vital signs, medical history, immunizations, laboratory data, radiology reports and billing information (www.cms.gov). The EHR’s purpose can be understood as a complete record of patient encountersRead MoreThe Relationship Between Privacy And Security1531 Words   |  7 Pages 1) What is the relationship between privacy and security? Explain your answer using an example. (15 points) It is best to define what privacy and security are first before we can discuss the relationship between the two. Privacy is a concept, which applies to an individual. It deals with the individual’s right to be protected from unauthorized access to his/her personal data. On the other hand, security deals with the procedures of information being protected from misuse. This includes computer-basedRead MoreAnalysis Of Michael J. Ackerman Et Al Privacy, Mhealth, And Social Media919 Words   |  4 PagesAssociation that he attends each year. One session titled â€Å"Privacy, mHealth, and Social Media,† brought up an important question; can you ethically look up a troubling patient on social media in order to get information that did not add up during your patient interview? (Ackerman, 2013). Resulting from HIPAA only covering providers and not patients, medical information given away on social media by an individual has waved their right to privacy, giving all users access to the information posted (AckermanRead MorePatient Rights And The Hipaa Privacy Rule1978 Words   |  8 PagesNancy J. Long 823 S. George St, Front York, PA 17403 ID# 22421209 Law and Ethics for Medical Careers HIT 105 Research project number: 40936500 Patient Rights and the HIPAA Privacy Rule According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services many consumers want to engage in a more active role concerning their health care, therefore, it is important to know what rights you have in obtaining and protecting (called the right to access) your personal health information (Department of SecretaryRead MoreHealthcare1606 Words   |  7 PagesConfidentiality †¦In the Medical Workplace A Written Case Brief by: SheTonya Sanders Dr. Cabrera AHPH 480 The Story Sara and Jan, who are both registered nurses at Memorial Hospital, have been friends ever since graduating nursing school 5 years ago. Memorial Hospital is a state of the art hospital with a recently adopted new technology system that allows instant retrieval of medical information and an access to a greater number ofRead MoreSecurity Risks Surrounding Electronic Medical Records1994 Words   |  8 Pagesthose risks. We begin with a brief overview of the legislative history driving the rapid adoption of EMR and other health information technology. Legislation Driving Rapid Adoption of EMR Perhaps the most important piece of legislation relevant to our understanding of security risks surrounding EMR and health information technology is The Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which was signed into law in 1996 by the Clinton administration. HIPAA impacts the healthcare industryRead MoreEssay Computerized Management in Healthcare3755 Words   |  16 PagesManagement in Healthcare In the past, physicians and healthcare organizations have been slow to embrace the advantages of using information technology but this is gradually changing. In the July 2012 National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) data brief, NCHS stated that by 2011, 55% of physicians had adopted an electronic health record (Jamoom et al., 2012). The Department of Health and Humans Services stated that the percentage of hospitals in the United States using some form of electronic healthRead MoreEthical Dilemmas Of The Nursing Field2773 Words   |  12 Pages as she had previously done, and was met with resistance due to the stricter implementation of the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations. HIPAA defines patients and covered entities (authorized individuals), treatments that are covered, and fines in cases of contravention of its stipulations (OCR Policy Brief 2003). In the previous instance, she was given access to her son’s results due to the fact that she was familiar with the nurse on duty at the time, andRead MoreUsing Medical Record Systems And How Electronically Stored Data Can Overcome Each Limitation1169 Words   |  5 Pagescare. Thus, providers make do without past data, basing their decisions instead on what the patient can tell them and on what their examination reveals. They then write a note for inclusion in the chart—when the chart is located. In a large institution with thousands of medical records, it is not surprising that such loose notes often fail to make it to the patient’s chart or are filed out of sequence so that the actual chronology of management is disrupted in the record. When patients who have chronic

Private Detectives and Investigators Free Essays

By the time I am grown and have a family, I want to be a Private Detective and Investigator. This is something that I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid. I know it will be hard, but it is my dream job. We will write a custom essay sample on Private Detectives and Investigators or any similar topic only for you Order Now Private detectives and investigators assist many people and businesses by finding and analyzing valuable information. They connect clues to revel facts about personal matters. The assistance of a private detective and investigator can include being a celebrity protector, or finding evidence including preemployment verification and individual background profiles.Some investigators compute crimes and provide assistance in criminal and civil liability cases. They are sometimes hired to investigate individuals. Most detectives and investigators are hired to perform physical surveillance. They may also search people’s homes, locations, and cars. Private detectives and investigators could earn up to $41,000 to $60,000 in a month. The amount made depends on the employer, their specialty, and the area that they work at. The lowest a private detective and investigator can make in a month is $23,000 and the highest that can be made is $76,000 depending on the area.There are no formal education requirements for most private detectives and investigators. Many companies require a postsecondary degree. College courses in criminal justice and police science are suggested and helpful. Although some companies require related experience, some people start working as soon as they graduate from college. An associate’s degree or bachelor degree in criminal justice, police science, and police investigations is required. Most of the work that private detectives and investigators do is learned on the job.New investigators will usually start by learning how to use databases to gather information. The training that is received depends on the agency. Because detectives and investigators work with changing technologies, some of them never stop training. They learn the latest methods of many tasks by attending conferences and courses offered by different professional associations. Most states require detectives and investigators to be licensed. In the states that do not require them to be licensed have strict requirements and regulations.Some detectives and investigators receive a certificate to show that they completed a certain field. To receive this award, employees must have five years of investigation experience. They must satisfy the educational requirements and continuing-training requirements. They must also pass written and oral exams. Most private detective agencies are small, so there is little room for advancement. Usually, there are no defined ranks or steps, so advancements include a raise in salary and assignment status.Many detectives and investigators start their own agencies after gaining experience and receiving many advancements. Some detectives and investigators may be raised to supervisor or manager of the security or investigations department. Private detectives and investigators held about 500 jobs in 2008 in Memphis, TN. About 21 percent were self employed, which means they used being a detective as a second job. In the Memphis area, around 41 percent of detective and investigator jobs were in investigation and security services, which included private detective agencies.The rest of the employees in Memphis, TN worked mostly in State and local government, legal services firms, department or general merchandise stores, employment services companies, insurance agencies, and banks. A lot of competition is expected for most jobs like this because private detectives and investigators careers attract many qualified people. Most of the qualified people include many young people who have retired from law enforcement and military careers. The best opportunities for new job seekers will be in entry-level jobs in detective agencies. There will be a lot of opportunities for certain types of detectives and investigators. How to cite Private Detectives and Investigators, Papers

Euthanasia Essay Research Paper Euthanasia Right or free essay sample

Euthanasia Essay, Research Paper Euthanasia: Right or Incorrect Euthanasia comes from a Grecian term good decease. However, the word has gained a much more complicated significance in the recent times. Euthanasia is a rationally considered program to stop a life because of hurting and agony due to a terminal unwellness. The contention environing mercy killing and the statements back uping or protesting the pattern have raised serious concern and jobs in the medical field for old ages, every bit good as society, and the universe as a whole. Those in favour of mercy killing, think that it should be legal and voluntary. This suggests that the patient bespeaking the service is capable of doing this determination based on the badness of their unwellness. Most advocates believe that any signifier of active mercy killing should merely be restricted to those who are terminally sick and in utmost hurting, and merely carried out by a wellness professional. Advocates of mercy killing argue that # 8220 ; mercy killing # 8221 ; is necessary because patients, peculiarly those with terminal unwellness, experience unmanageable hurting. They argue that the lone manner to relieve the hurting is to extinguish the patient. But is at that place a better manner? Those who are opposed to euthanasia state yes. They believe that the hurting is manageable and can be treated and controlled. Harmonizing to a 1992 manual produced by the Washington Medical Association Pain Management and Care of the Terminal Patient, # 8220 ; equal intercessions exist to command hurting in 90 to 99 % of patients. # 8221 ; Some believe that patients are giving up excessively shortly, and aren t seeking to get by with the hurting or taking steps to ease the hurting, they are merely looking for an easy manner out, which in this instance is euthanasia. They fear that if mercy killing is legalized that a human life would intend less. Fear that physicians will hold more power in which they could kill their patient without their permission. Many fear that mentally and physically handicapped people will non have the same intervention as everyone else and that their lives would intend less than a healthy individual. They believe with euthanasia the United States will turn into a Nazi Germany with mercy killing cantonments spread out through the state. They believe the mentally ill, physically disabled, and old will be killed without their permission. That is where the argument over which signifier is acceptable. There are two types of mercy killing: inactive mercy killing and voluntary active mercy killing. Passive mercy killing is merely stoping unreal life support in order to protract life. By some it is considered good medical pattern, and is normally performed on terminally sick patients. Terminally sick patients are those who can non go on to populate without medical engineering helping them, and besides will neer be witting or coherent, due to encephalon harm or other causes, of all time once more. There are three ways that this process is performed. One is a life will. This is where a individual of sound head and organic structure prepares a legal papers, normally before they fall badly, stating that they do non desire any extordanary life salvaging techniques performed during cardiac failure. The second is where a individual hands over all their medical determinations to a individual to whom they have discussed all their wants about how far they wish the physician to travel before ha lting medical intervention. The concluding manner is normally the most hard. It is when a patient has lost concision and will neer recover it. Then it is up to the household if they want farther medical intervention or wish to allow nature take its class. Most feel the life will is the best class of action due to the fact it clearly states patient s wants in a lawfully binding papers. Active mercy killing involves knowing rushing the decease of a terminally sick patient who requests to avoid painful and drawn-out decease. Active mercy killing is merely the patien T petition to stop their life, either because of endless or tormenting hurting, or because they will neer retrieve from their unwellness or disease. There are documented instances of this signifier of mercy killing in Holland. Although non yet legalized it is normally practiced. They re rigorous guidelines regulating this type of decease. The patient must bespeak this action at least two times. They must be terminally sick and in utmost hurting and besides have a limited clip to populate. Before the physician can continue with the patient s petition he must acquire a 2nd physician sentiment that has no fond regard to the instance. Euthanasia has become an highly volatile issue in our society. The inquiry of ethical and legal positions cocks patients and their physicians. Within the subject of mercy killing another struggle arises over the most humanist manner to stop one s agony: inactive or active mercy killing. By society s present criterions, inactive mercy killing is considered more humanist than active mercy killing because it is letting nature take its class. However, voluntary active mercy killing can be more humane for the terminally sick if judicial admissions and precautions are made in the execution of its usage. In Washington a measure was laid before the electors on whether active mercy killing should be allowed within the province. Although rejected by little more than 20 % most argue it was obscure and guidelines were excessively indulgent Euthanasia is frequently confused with aided self-destruction, a similar event with a much different significance. Assisted suicide consists of a individual administrating a drug in order to assist another in perpetrating self-destruction. There are two sorts of mercy killing. Passive mercy killing occurs when a individual is in a relentless vegetive province. Life support would be removed, or all medical processs would be stopped. Active mercy killing, decease is caused through a direct action. In most instances a physician is giving analgesics to a patient in doses strong plenty to alleviate the hurting. This process will decelerate the respiration and rush the patient s decease. This is ever frowned upon by most of the medical profession, but is normally over looked. Most physicians feel it was the lone manner to halt the patient s chronic hurting and a opportunity they felt needed to be taken. The most good known individual to execute assisted-suicide would be Dr. Jack Kevorkian. There are well-documented state of affairss where Dr. Kevorkian has performed assisted self-destructions with a machine he had created in his trim clip. Due to his actions the argument over physician assisted mercy killing has increased. The argument is whether the physician has plenty medical information to decently find that the patient is genuinely suffering and is terminally ill. Dr. Kevorkian has faced a jury legion times but has neer been found guilty. Due to the obscure Torahs on assisted-suicide, many provinces have passed Torahs to prohibit such actions based on the actions of this adult male. He maintains that he will assist any terminally sick patient who wishes to set an terminal to their hurting and agony. Most people on both sides of the argument disagree with Dr. Kevorkian s actions. Most feel he acts in hastiness. None of his aided self-destruction victims were his patients. He did non cognize their medical or mental history. Most of his victims were aged and were known to fear turning old and no longer being able to care for themselves. The younger patients of his were known to endure from utmost instances of depression and hence could non rationally do their ain determination on whether or non go on populating There is no denying the contention associated with the subject of mercy killing. There are many sentiments allied with the right to stop one s life if they are enduring. Some groups feel that it should be illegal, others feel it should be legalized. Regardless, the inquiry remains, should a individual be given the option to bespeak aid in deceasing?

African Americans essays

African Americans essays In the period after Reconstruction the position of African Americans in southern American society steadily deteriorated. After 1877 the possibilities of advancements for African Americans disappeared almost completely. African Americans experienced a loss of voting rights and political power created by methods of terrorization such as lynching. The remaining political and economic gains that were made during reconstruction were eventually whittled away by Southern legislation. By the 1900s African Americans had almost no access to political, social, or economic power. Shortly after this Jim Crow laws began to emerge, segregating blacks and whites. This dramatic transition from African American power to powerlessness after reconstruction gave birth to two important leaders in the African American community, Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois. Although these two remarkable men were both in search of a common goal, their roads leading to this goal were significantly differen t. This is most evident in the two most important documents of the mens careers: Booker T. Washingtons, 1895 Atlanta Exposition Speech and W.E.B. DuBois response to this, The Souls of Black Folks. These two men were both dedicated to solving the difficult problems African Americans experienced in the post reconstruction south. Both DuBois and Washington wanted economic prosperity for African Americans but they differed on what would be done to achieve this. Both men focused on education as a key to the improvement of black life but they differed on the form education should take. The true difference in these mens extremely different routes to better the lives of African Americans after reconstruction was a product of their extremely different backgrounds. In this essay I will examine the documents, 1895 Atlanta Exposition Speech by Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls...

Use of Cholinesterase Activity in Environmental Monitoring †Research Paper

Use of Cholinesterase Activity in Environmental Monitoring – Research Paper Free Online Research Papers Use of Cholinesterase Activity in Environmental Monitoring: Importance of Kinetic Parameters Determination In Estaurine Fish Research Paper Abstract The aim of the present work was to determine the kinetic parameters and cholinesterase (ChE) activity from two teleost fishes: the croacker Micropogonias furnieri (Scianidae) and sea catfish Cathorops spixii (Ariidae), to verify their suitability as sentinels of aquatic pollution by anticholinesterasic compounds. Fish were collected in a reference and in a polluted site in Southern Brazil and brain ChE was used as enzyme source. Inhibition kinetic parameters employing ChE from C. spixii showed that fish collected in the reference site presented more affinity (Ka) for eserine than those collected in the polluted site and the contrary was observed for the carbamylation constants (Kc), overall resulting in similar inhibition constants (Ki). Considering the extremely low sensitivity to in vitro inhibition by eserine, M. furnieri seems to be an unsuitable species to be employed as an environmental sentinel for pollution of anticholinesterasic compounds. Results obtained in the present study point to the importance of kinetic studies when cholinesterasic activity is employed as a biomarker in environmental quality monitoring programs. Keywords: biomarkers, cholinesterase, eserine, fish, kinetic parameters, estuarine environments 1. Introduction Some pesticides, including organophosphorus and carbamates, are known to selectively inhibit cholinesterase (ChE) activity (Valbonesi et al., 2003). When directly released into the environment, these molecules can reach rivers and sometimes the sea, leading to the contamination of various aquatic ecosystems (Mora et al., 1999). The relationship between the presence of these kind of compounds and ChE activity has been widely studied and employed as a biomarker in aquatic invertebrate and vertebrate species (Bocquenà © et al., 1997; Sturm et al., 1999; Rodriguez-Fuentes Gold-Bouchot, 2000; De la Torre et al., 2002). The use of biochemical measurements in organisms as an indicator of pollution can complement chemical analysis, giving information about the adaptive or deleterious responses in organisms exposed to a certain amount of chemicals. Moreover, among biological effects of pollutants, biochemical ones occur more quickly, thus providing earlier warning signal before other toxicological end points, including death, are evident. (Livingstone, 1998). Since organophosphorus and carbamates have a relatively short half-life, the assessment of cholinesterase (ChE) inhibition is a useful tool to evaluate their environmental impact on aquatic biota, even when they are not longer detectable in the environment (Valbonesi et al., 2003) and, as mentioned above, considerable efforts have been made in the last two decades to develop and validate measurements of biological parameters to complement the information given by the chemical analysis of contamination. The main advantage of using biomarkers at low levels of biological organization is the possibility to detect deleterious effect pollutants before being evidenced at higher levels of biological organization. Among biochemical markers, the measurement of fish cholinesterase activities has become a classical tool for biomonitoring pollution in marine (Bocquenà © et al., 1990) and continental waters (Sturm et al., 1999). However, before employment of ChE as a biomarker of anticholinestera sic compounds in monitoring programms, is important to analyze the sensitivity to this kind of molecules (Varà ² et al., 2003), also for the fact that potential effects of organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides are widely variable for different fish species (Ferrari et al., 2004; Silva Filho et al., 2004). The dynamics of the interaction of ChE with organophosphate and carbamate compounds has been shown to depend largely upon the affinity of a particular insecticide for the enzyme, commonly represented as the enzyme affinity for a particular insecticide, which is commonly represented as the affinity constant Ka (Wang Murphy, 1982). Silva Filho, et al. (2004) showed extremely great differences in the inhibition kinetic parameters between several fish species, an important point to be considered in the selection of a sentinel organism in biomonitoring programs. In this context, the concentration of eserine that inhibits 50% of cholinesterase activity (IC50) and inhibition kinetic parameters are important characteristics for the selection of sensitive ChEs to be employed as biomarkers. Considering the facts previously described, the objectives of the present study were to determine the kinetic parameters and eserine sensitivity of brain ChE from two estuarine fish species, Micropogonias furnieri (Teleostei: Scianidae) and Cathorops spixii (Teleostei: Ariidae) collected in polluted and non-polluted sites in Southern Brazil. The white mouth croaker Micropogonias furnieri (Desmarest, 1823), is a subtropical fish found in muddy and sandy bottoms in coastal waters. Its feeding habit varies along the ontogenic development and season: juveniles feed on benthic migratory crustaceans and sessile mollusks, while adults are benthic feeders, occasionally preying on fish (Isaac, 1998). Sea catfish Cathorops spixii (Spix and Agassiz, 1829) is a demersal tropical cat fish found in shallow coastal marine waters and brackish estuaries, lagoons and river mouths, as well as in hypersaline waters. In South America, its distribution includes Atlantic and Caribbean rivers and estuaries from Colombia to Brazil. Adults feed mainly on invertebrates and small fishes, while juveniles feed on amphipods, isopods and copepods (Cervigà ³n et al., 1992). This study is part of a research project developed along the Brazilian coast, the RECOS (â€Å"Uso e Apropriaà §o de Recursos Costeiros†) project in the scope of the Millenium Institute (Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology). One of the objectives of RECOS project is the standardization of sampling protocols, quantitative and qualitative evaluations of biochemical, physiological and histological biomarkers in different animal species collected from polluted and non-polluted sites. In the present study biochemical biomarker responses were analyzed in fish collected in different seasons (winter and summer), to evaluate the natural variability of ChE activity and its sensitivity to eserine inhibition. 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Chemicals Acetylthiocholine iodide, eserine (physostigmine), 5, 5’-dithiobis (2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) were obtained from Sigma (St. Louis, MO). The protein content was determined using a commercial kit from Doles Reagentes (Belo Horizonte, Brazil), based on Biuret method. 2.2. Organisms Micropogonias furnieri was collected in summer and winter seasons in reference (unpolluted) site, â€Å"Ilha dos Marinheiros† (32 °02’005† S and 52 °12’151† W) and in a polluted site, â€Å"Saco da Mangueira† (32 °04’369† S and 52 °06’473† W). Cathorops spixii was collected only in summer in a reference site, â€Å"Baà ­a das Laranjeiras† (25 °31’271† S, 48 °29’690† W) and in a polluted one, â€Å"Baà ­a de Parangua (25 °21’050† S, 48 °25’97† W) (Figure 1). In every case, ten fish were collected in each season and site. Immediately after collection, fish were anesthetized with benzocaine (200 ppm), measured (total length and weight) and head isolated and stored at -20 oC until arrival at the laboratory, where they were kept at -80 oC before biochemical determinations. It should be mention that up to date no chemical characterization was perfo rmed in the locals referred as polluted and unpolluted. However, the local â€Å"Ilha dos Marinheiros† is far from any obvious pollution source, whereas â€Å"Saco da Mangueira† is located near to fertilizer industries. ELTON/ADALTO/VANESSA: Uma frase equivalente para os locais de amostragem no Paranagu seria importante a meu ver. 2.3. Enzyme extraction Fish whole brain was dissected and then homogenized (1:20) in cold phosphate buffer (0.05 M) containing 20% glycerol at pH 7.40. The homogenate was then centrifuged at 850 xg (4 °C) for 15 min. The supernatant was again centrifuged at 12,800 xg (4 °C) during 15 min. The supernatant of this last centrifugation was used as enzyme source. 2.4. Enzyme assay Cholinesterase activity was determined using the method described by Ellman et al., (1961). Phosphate buffer (0.05 M, pH 7.40) was placed at least for 15 min in a water bath at 25 °C. Aliquots of homogenate, DTNB and substrate (acetylthiocholine iodide- ATch) were then added and the absorbance (412 nm) was immediately determined, during 90 s, in an ELISA reader (Victor 2, Perkin Elmer). To determine substrate affinity (Km) and maximum cholinesterase activity (Vmax), different ATch concentrations ranging from 0.025 to 9 mM were assayed, being the cholinesterase activity expressed as nmol/min/mg proteins. In each experiment, a first blank without substrate was assayed to evaluate the reaction of protein thiol groups with DTNB, and a second blank without sample was used to estimate the rate of spontaneous substrate hydrolysis. 2.5. In vitro enzyme inhibition by eserine The sensitivity of brain ChE to inhibition by eserine was investigated. ChE activity was measured on extracts after 5 min of incubation at 25 °C with several eserine concentrations, ranging from 110-4 to 1 mM. Enzyme activity was measured as described above. Inhibition was expressed as a percentage of ChE activity after eserine exposure respect control enzymatic activity. Kinetic parameters of enzyme inhibition were also estimated employing the carbamate eserine. The inhibition of an enzyme (E) with an inhibitor (I) can be summarized as follow (Main, 1964): where (EI)R represents a reversible enzyme-inhibitor complex and (EI)I an irreversible one. The affinity equilibrium constant is defined as Ka= K-1/K1 and Kc represents the carbamylation constant (Hastings et al., 1970). The bimolecular inhibition constant, Ki is defined as Ki= Kc/Ka. The constants Ka and Ki can be estimated according to the following equation: 1/i = ?t/(2.303*?log10 ?)*Ki – 1/Ka, where i represents the inhibitor concentration and ?t/(2.303*?log10 ?) is the reciprocal of the pseudo-first-order rate of enzyme inhibition at a fixed concentration (i) of the inhibitor (Monserrat et al., 2002). Six concentrations ranging from 0.3 to 10 mM were tested, at least in duplicate and after four or five different times of incubation (range: 30-360 s). 2.6. Data analysis Enzyme kinetic parameters (Vmax and Km) were estimated by fitting experimental data to Michaelis-Menten equation. IC50 values were obtained through probit analysis (Monserrat Bianchini, 1998). Linear regression and ANCOVA was employed to estimate and compare inhibition kinetic parameters (Ki and Ka). Statistical analysis of enzyme activity was performed using ANOVA followed by a posteriori comparisons using the Newman-Keuls test. A significance level of 5% was employed in all cases. 3. Results Fish from of both species were homogeneous (P>0.05) in length and weight at the different sampling sites and seasons analyzed, and for this reason only the general mean is reported. For M. furnieri, the mean weight and total length of fish collected were 25.78  ± 7.72 g and 14.41 ±1.83 cm, respectively (n= 40). For C. spixii, mean weight and total length of sampled fish were estimated in 35.77 ±11.45 g and 16.14g ±1.56 cm, respectively (n= 40). The Michaelis-Menten constants (Km and Vmax) for brain ChE of M. furnieri showed different patterns. Km values were statistically similar (P>0.05) in all seasons and sampling sites. On the other hand, Vmax showed a complex response, since fish collected in the reference site showed higher values (P0.05) in the Km values was observed in summer, the only season analyzed. However, higher (P

Organization design (dealing with resistance to change) Assignment

Organization design (dealing with resistance to change) - Assignment Example In this essay, we will focus on the lifecycle of resistance to change to establish the stage at which Bonneville is, at present, with its change strategies. In 2013, Bonneville was first reported to have involved in a discriminative hiring scandal of two veterans. After a conclusive investigation, the U.S Department of Energys Inspector General released its report confirming the scandal (Ted, BPA: Feeds Release Damning Investigation of Bonnevilles Hiring Practices and Management Culture 1). The investigative report stated that, the Portland-based power marketing agency was found to have consistently manipulated the rankings of applicants as well as failing to disclose the inappropriate behavior that led them to discrimination against veterans and other applicants. Going further, the company did not bother to initiate any corrective measures aimed at offering a remedy to the problems. With this report, the pressure to change was mounting and increasing through the courts and warnings of the Department of Energy. After the issuance of this report, the public realized about the scandal and the prohibited practice of this company. At this stage, most of the BPA officials tried as much as they can to distance themselves with the allegation and the DOE procedures (Ted, BPA: Feeds Release Damning Investigation of Bonnevilles Hiring Practices and Management Culture 2). They considered that such procedures and processes were an unnecessary administrative burden. This situation, as we remember, is what led to prohibited personnel practices and went ahead to prevent their disclosure. At the moment, the flaws of BPA had been identified and made public. After two whistleblowers had reported BPA for their flawed and discriminative recruitment practices, both the court and U.S Department of Energy issued strong punishment to the company with warnings to see that they comply with the employment regulations. The veterans have a preference to employment as

Conferencing Software or Social Media Research Paper - 1

Conferencing Software or Social Media - Research Paper Example The web conferencing enables training and webinars are also held during the web conferences. Audio accessories enhance the conferencing experience. The VoIP is used in the process of communication between the members attending the web conference. Two main technologies enable web conferencing. The technologies employed in the process include VoIP and HD. VoIP technology helps in the conversion of human voices from analog to digital mode. The converted voice data are transmitted over the internet. The web conferences also rely on the phone lines, which enhance communication among the participants in a web conference. The router used in the process of transmission of voice data helps in the relaying of the data to the internet service provider modem (Spielman and Winfeld, 2008). The voice data are also converted at the point of internet service provider. After the data is received by all the web conference members, the information is assembled by the computer and converted into usable form. The audio data flow smoothly through a cheaper way. Social media refers to the medium through which people chat on an online platform such as Facebook, Twitter, and Skype. These forms of social media help in the exchange of ideas. The forum helps in the meeting of many people on internet forums. Social media is more reliable than the web conferencing because it enhances many applications including online marketing. Social media is commonly used for business purposes. Different people advertise different commodities on the social media under different web links. According to Spielman and   Winfeld (2008), social media serves as a meeting point for potential buyers and sellers. The chatting engagement with social media is live and reliable because an individual is able to extract sufficient from his partner on the social media platform. Different forms of software are applied in social media. These include the IM software and

Discuss speed planes trains and automobiles in relation to spaces and Essay

Discuss speed planes trains and automobiles in relation to spaces and subjects of modernity - Essay Example While humans can sense speed when riding on a train, at the same time there is the danger of losing the sensual experience of nature. Riding on a train, it is possible only to catch a glimpse of the landscape and imagine its beauty; to benefit fully from it requires coming back on foot. According to a popular anecdote, the Emperor Franz Joseph I stopped the train to enjoy a particularly beautiful view during his first ride up to the Semmering. This indicates that the history of newly opened landscapes is also a history of sight. Typical train travelers could not stop the train like a royal; with the opportunity only for fleeting glances, they had to be attentive in order to perceive the passing landscape. The dynamics of sight is a concept that was first acknowledged as a special phenomenon during a train ride but later came to have an effect on modern-day perceptions as a whole. Speed moved pieces of scenery closer to one another, even though they had belonged to distant and distinctly different areas. Panoramic perception, in contrast to traditional perception, no longer belongs to the same space as the perceived objects: the traveler saw the objects, landscapes, etc., through the apparatus which moved him through the world. That machine and the motion it created became integrated into his visual perception.

Different Alternatives To Imprisonment Criminology Essay

Different Alternatives To Imprisonment Criminology Essay 1. INTRODUCTION Alternatives to imprisonment are a new approach globally in corrections. Following the World War II, penal authorities began to doubt the wisdom of keeping the prison alone as the primary correctional strategies. According to Todd, Clear Braga, (Todd, 1995, p. 80) provides that community-Based Correctional approaches grow in become common for second and third time criminals to receive sentences of probation with certain conditions established by the court and where the same felons is on the community service programs. The focus here is on alternatives to imprisonment by looking it through internationally accepted standards. The authors of this paper will focus on the following alternatives to imprisonment: community service, periodical imprisonment, correctional supervision, house arrest/ electronic monitoring and day-parole. 2. DIFFERENT ALTERNATIVES TO IMPRISONMENT 2.1 Community Service Community Service is an alternative the court may use when it has decided that a persons offence is serious and that he/she is suitable for making compensation by productive unpaid work in the community. Community Service should be physically and emotionally demanding of the offender in that it is a restriction of freedom, involves self-discipline and a respect for others and should engage the offender in tasks or situations that challenge his/her attitude, experience and ability. Community service can therefore be a positive way of making an offender compensate for offences and it can encourage personal growth and self-respect. It shows the offender that the community is affected by criminality and the community can see that offenders can make a constructive rather than destructive contribution to the community. (ZNCCS Service, 1997, p. 4) Legal framework for alternative non-custodial sanctions is highlighted in international guidelines and national legislation as provided by Bukurura (Bukurura, 2003, p. 82). On international level it is provided for in the United Nations Standards Minimum Rules for non-custodial measures (Nations, 1990). In the United States of America for instance, community-based sanctions are crucial of the United States criminal justice system. Professionals have constantly demonstrated their willingness to adopt evidence based practice. According to (Melvor, 2004) who described community service in Belgium, Netherlands, Scotland and Spain in co-operate perspective by stating that, current criminological research is particularly interested to know if they are not witnessing a punitive turn which seems to western democracies today than few decades ago. The new punitive literature and study on the culture of control have fuelled an ongoing debate and research on this question. Community service order was for the benefit of the community as it was introduced in Spanish legislation with the 1995 criminal code of that country. The Uganda Correctional Service also introduced the Uganda Community Service Bill, 1998, with its main objectives to provide community service for persons who commit minor offences, in order to reduce overcrowding in Prisons, to rehabilitate prisoners in the communities by doing productive work and to prevent minor offenders mixing with hard core criminals. The bill further seeks to empower a court which convicts a person of a minor offence, to direct the offender, with consent of the offender to perform community service as an alternative to imprisonment. (Service, 1998, p. 1) The first initiatives in the Community Service Orders started with National sensitization seminar that was held in 2002 and attended by Regional Governors, line Ministries, Home Affairs, and Justice, Prisons and Correctional Service and heads of Criminal Justice System. (Coordinator, Consultative Visit Report, 2002, p. 1) The proposed Bill on Community Service Orders in Namibia introduces various provisions that may facilitate the implementation of Community Service Orders in the country. It is important to note that from sentencing point of view, Community Service Orders is an option employed in appropriate cases to keep an offender out of prison. Accordingly a relationship exists between the imprisonment that might have been imposed and the Community Service Order that is to be served instead. (Coordinator, Namibia Community Service Orders, Manual, 2005, p. 5) 2.2 Periodical Imprisonment The court can direct an offender to stay in Prison on weekends or at night between 18h00 and 06h00. A sentence of periodic imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment during which the committed person may be released for periods of time during the day or night or for periods of days, or both, or if convicted of a felony, other than first degree murder, a Class X or Class 1 felony, committed to any county, municipal, or regional correctional or detention institution or facility in this State for such periods of time as the court may direct. Unless the court orders otherwise, the particular times and conditions of release shall be determined by the Department of Corrections, the sheriff, or the Superintendent of the house of corrections, who is administering the program. (b) A sentence of periodic imprisonment may be imposed to permit the defendant to: (1) Seek employment (2) Work (3) Conduct a business or other self-employed (4) Attend to family needs (5) Attend an educational institution With regards to periodical imprisonment, the Namibian Correctional System is line with abovementioned definition. 2.3 Correctional Supervision It is a sentence which is served within the community and not in the Prison. A person who is serving a sentence of Correctional supervision is known as a probationer. The aim of Correctional supervision is to provide a means of rehabilitation within the community, thus preserving the important links which the offender may have with his or her family or community. Correctional supervision allows, or encourages the offender to be employed. While imprisonment results in a loss of employment and the offenders failure to support his or her dependants and result in additional costs for the State. Since offenders are in the community, they are able to make decisions and take responsibility for their life. Offenders are also encouraged to take steps towards correcting their criminal behaviour through participation in rehabilitative programmes. A person sentenced to correctional supervision remains under the supervision and control of the Department of Correctional Services until the sentence expires. Supervision takes the form of direct monitoring of the offenders movements and compliance with the sentences conditions, as well as regular support sessions with social workers. Conditions of the sentence may include a period of house arrest; the requirement that the person be home between specified hours of the day; that he or she attends a treatment programme; self-restraint from alcohol or drugs; prohibition from leaving a magisterial district; or a certain number of hours of community service. Any or all of these conditions may be imposed. (Dissel, 1997, p. 4) Diversion is endorsed by Section 6 of the Criminal Procedure Act, and can be used where the offence committed is relatively minor. (Justice, 1977, p. 76). When the offender has admitted responsibility for the offence, the prosecutor can suspend the prosecution of the case upon fulfillment of certain conditions. This is usually on the condition that the offender attends a particular treatment programme. Charges are withdrawn after the conditions have been fulfilled. The Namibian legislation makes provision in the Prisons Act 17 of 1998 (Gazzette, 1998, p. 83) Section 96 and 97 that inmates be release on parole or probation on conditions as may be determined by the Zonal Release Board. 2.4 House arrest/electronic monitoring Home detention can be seen as an alternative to imprisonment and aims to reduce re-offending while also coping with increasing prison numbers and rising costs. It allows suitable offenders to retain or seek employment, maintain family relationships and responsibilities and attend rehabilitative programs that contribute towards addressing the causes of their offending. The terms of house arrest can differ, but offenders are rarely confined to their houses 24 hours a day. Most programs allow employed offenders to continue to work, and only confine them during non-working hours. They can leave their homes for specific, predetermined purposes; for example visits to the probation officer or police station, religious exceptions and medical appointments. (Spohn, 2008, p. 52). Many programmes also allow the offender to leave the home during regular, pre-approved times in order to carry out general household tasks such as shopping, church services, performing Community Services or attending authorised activities. (Stinchcomb, 2005, p. 99) House arrest in some countries such as Canada and New Zealand is often enforced through the use of technology products or services. An electronic sensor is sometimes locked to the offenders ankle known as an ankle monitor. A small portable monitoring unit that pick-up radio signals generated by offenders ankle or arm bracelet which is linked to a central computer system provides verification of an offenders whereabouts. (Champion, 2008) The electronic sensor transmits a GPS signal to a base handset. The base handset is connected to police or a monitoring service. If the offender with the sensor moves too far from home, the violation is recorded and the right authorities are summoned. Many ankle monitors can now detect attempted removal; this is to discourage tampering. The monitoring service is often contracted out to private companies, which assign employees to electronically monitor many convicts simultaneously. If the sensors detect a violation, the monitoring service calls the convicts probation officer. The electronic surveillance together with frequent contact with their probation officer and checks by the security guards provides for a secure environment. (Collins, 1974, p. 79) Another method to ensure house arrest are the use of automated calling services that require no human contact to check on the offender. Random calls are made to the residence and the respondents answer is recorded and compared to the offenders voice pattern. Authorities are notified only if the call is not answered or if the recorded answer does not match the offenders voice pattern. (Allen, 1986, p. 36). Currently, the Namibian Criminal Justice System is not making use of house arrest/ electronic monitoring. 2.5 Day Parole It is a management mechanism preceding the parole phase to gradually assist an offender to be released into the community at his own responsibility under controlled circumstances. Day parole implies the temporary release of an offender from Prison or a Correctional institution such as a halfway house to work or study, followed by re-confinement during non- work or non-school hours. During working hours offender work for an employer and are paid for the work. (Bruyns, An overview of the Criminal Justice System and Community-Based sentences, 2011). Currently, the Namibian Criminal Justice System is not making use of day parole. FINDINGS Based on the literature review and own understanding of the subject area, the authors of this paper found that there is a great need for alternatives to imprisonment. Community Service as a community-based sentence, a pilot projects in the Northern region of the country has proved that it is a success in Namibia. The Namibian Correctional Service (NCS) have a draft Community Service Order Bill which stipulates clearly the conditions under which an offender had to perform Community Service. Political or religious groups must not benefit from the work allocated to inmates. (Bruyns, The impact of prison reform on the inmate population of swaziland, 2007, p. 60). An offender who has not committed a serious crime or developed a criminal lifestyle, in the community will be able to access community support systems to assist him in rehabilitation, with the hope of preventing his re-offending. The findings also have it on good authority that the rationale for community-based sentences is to keep offenders out of the Prison, and rather send them to serve their sentences in the community. This simply means that offenders remain in their communities to perform productive work in order to support themselves and their families, in other words the alternatives to imprisonment were found to be promoting family cohesion. Through serving their sentences in the community the offenders also repay victims (retribution) for losses suffered. With regards to the effectiveness of community-based sentences, the advantages and disadvantages were also thoroughly scrutinised and it is found that its advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Alternatives to imprisonment were found to be the process of reducing prison population (overcrowding). Overcrowding is found to be a general situation in Prisons when the total number of inmates in prison is beyond the authorised holding capacity. In order t o address this ever increasing problem within our Correctional facilities the authors of this paper found that alternatives to imprisonment is a suitable answer to overcrowding. Alternatives to imprisonment is also found to be promoting community development through utilisation of skills possessed by the offenders other than locking them up in prisons. A good example is, when a professional such as a Medical doctor is sentence to an alternative to imprisonment the skills possessed by that particular Medical doctor can be utilised to the great benefit of the community, rather than locking him/her up in Prison, which will serve no purpose. Community based sentences in comparison with imprisonment was found to be much cheaper. This finding is evident from the fact that offenders incarcerated have to be provided with food, bedding, clothing, water and electricity and so forth through government expenditure. On the other hand the offenders serving community-based sentence remains in the community and is responsible for his needs. Community-based sentence is furthermore found to have positive impact on recidivism in a sense that offenders are given chance to remain and serve their sentence in the community. In other words their chances of reoffending are very slim contrary to those incarcerated, while offenders who are imprisoned are mixing with hard core criminals and the programme officers do not have enough time complete rehabilitation programmes, especially when they serving short term imprisonment. 4. CONCLUSION It is evident from the findings that alternative sentences outweigh imprisonment in terms of maintaining offenders dignity, reducing of prison population (overcrowding), promoting community development through utilisation of skills possessed by the offender other than locking them up in prisons, saving government expenditure and promoting family cohesion, and reduction of recidivism. Apart from serving all abovementioned good purposes, alternatives sentences also served as a way of avoiding mixing of the first offenders with hardcore criminals in the prisons. The offenders who are serving alternative sentences will perform positive unpaid work within their areas of home and do the kind of reparation to the community rather than ending up in Prisons. Imagine, locking up offender who committed minor offence such as shoplifting together with hard core murderer or rapist would result in that offenders become more criminal than rehabilitated. 5. RECOMMENDATIONS Against this backdrop, it is strongly recommended that alternative sentences to imprisonment such as community service, periodical imprisonment, correctional supervision, house arrest/ electronic monitoring and day-parole be considered by Correctional Services, particularly, Namibian Correctional Service. After studying the pros and cons of alternatives to imprisonment, this type of sentencing is just one of the positive ways of dealing with offenders. Against this background the authors of this paper strongly recommends these other alternatives as follows: The Court sentence offenders with minor offences to alternative as such community service, periodical imprisonment, correctional supervision, house arrest/ electronic monitoring and day-parole. This type of alternatives aims to achieve and involve the reintegration of the offender as law-abiding citizens back into the community by; enforcing unpaid work, ensuring reparation to the community, reduce a risk of recidivism or repeat offending, increased chance of rehabilitating the offender to acceptable social standards. Secondly, periodical imprisonment is recommended to be used as alternative to imprisonment as it promotes community development through utilisation of skills possessed by the offenders other than locking them up in prisons. Thirdly correctional supervision is recommend by the authors as alternative to imprisonment based on the reasoning that this type of alternative aims to provide a means of rehabilitation within the community, thus maintaining the important links which the offender may have with his or her family or community. Furthermore correctional supervision allows, or encourages the offender to be employed. Correctional supervision as an alternative to imprisonment ensure that the offender remain employed and thus able to support his or her dependents and do not result in additional costs for the State. Since offenders are in the community, they are able to make decisions and take responsibility for their life. Offenders are also encouraged to take steps towards correcting their criminal behaviour through participation in rehabilitative programmes. Fourthly, house arrest/ electronic monitoring is recommended not to be a viable alternative to imprisonment in Namibia as this may not be in concurrence with the Constitutional provisions such as respect of human dignity and freedom of movement provided for in articles 8 and 21 respectively of the Namibian Constitution. (Government N. , 2010) page number. Lastly day parole is strongly recommended by the authors as a viable alternative to imprisonment since it gradually assist an offender to be released into the community at his own responsibility under controlled circumstances. Day parole implies the temporary release of an offender from Prison or a Correctional institution such as a halfway house to work or study, followed by re-confinement during non- work or non-school hours. During working hours offender work for an employer and are paid.

Adolescence Essay -- Adolescent Behavior

Adolescence According to the dictionary, the word â€Å"Adolescence† is the stage of youth; or maturity. And yet, if you really think about it, that definition merely touches the surface. Adolescence is that part of ones life that he or she will never forget because it plays a big role in the formation of who that person will become.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is quite normal for parents to think they know their children; REALLY know their children. In fact what they know, in most cases, is their child’s external behavior. Anything, which doesn’t fit into the parent’s idea of the child’s character, is liable to be classified as an unexpected reaction or absurd behavior.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To know a child however, one must not judge him by his defects, or his virtues. To do this could lead to the child being classified by the parents in such a way as to make it difficult for them ever to abandon this view. Knowledge of a person’s external behavior is a rather superficial kind of knowledge. It could lead parents to think of their child in terms of what he does, rather than what he is.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is not clear what criteria parents follow when the want to classify or describe their child. Often they expect the child to fit into a scheme of adult values without realizing that the world of the adult and that of the child are quite distinct. Children have to be educated to be adults; it is not a matter of trying to turn them into adults when they...

English Spelling Essay

1. Give an outline of the views on English spelling presented in text 1 and 2. Text 1 †Proper spelling? Its Tyme to Let Luce†, an article from the website of the American magazine WIRED, written by Anne Trubek, published January 31, 2012. Trubek claim that our language is forever evolving, and it’s only normal and a part of the evolution of languages. She believes that it would be great if we could loose our idea of correct spelling, and open our arms towards a more modern and different type of spelling. Trubek also explains how, when the typing machine and the first printed texts where created, words were written in many different ways. It didn’t matter how the word was spelled, but how it was read. She argues that there is no reason why it’s not possible to have that kind of open mind set nowadays. She also contradicts herself a bit, by saying it’s a good thing how our language is evolving and that it’s a part the technological evolution that the society us is undergoing, but at the same time she claims that the spelling is a huge mess, and still need to follow the basic spelling norms. Text 2 â€Å"Spelling: A rebuttal from wired’s copydesk† written by Lee Simmons, published January 31, 2012, on Wired magazines website, on the other disagree with Trubek. Simmons believe that the English language is totally rubbish, and there need to be some rules, for spelling formally. He doesn’t care how we spell when we are texting, and communicating with each other, but we really need to try to concentrate when writing formal and informing things. 2. Characterise the tone and style used in text 2. Illustrate your answers with examples from the text. Text 2 by Lee Simmons, argues against Trubek. Simmons uses the style of writing, ’quote and answer’. When Simmons, answer the quotes his tone is rather aggressively, †Instead, Trubek waves her hands and declares grandly that ‘with the new technologies, the way that we write and read†¦ is changing, and so must spelling.’ Really?† When Simmons uses the, quote and answer technique, it makes it easier to point out the weak spots in Trubeks article, and really dig deep in them. It’s not only pointing the week spots out, it’s also asking questions to the reader, which makes the reader think  about the mistakes Trubek. Simmons believes that he knows better that Trubeck, which is enforced by his job as a copy editor at the magazine Wired. Through the whole article, he argues against Trubek, and keep shooting down Trubeks arguments. But in the end of the text, you’re being left with a feeling of disappointment, the article lac ks a point. 3. Taking your stating point in text 3 discuss the relevance of spelling norms. The point in text 3, had never really occurred to me before. But it actually makes a lot of sense. Arguing that the fewer different unpredictable spellings there are, the easier the language. The fact that the Finish language has no different pronunciations of word, therefore it is easier to learn, which I believe is good for the country, because has a huge influence on for an example, financial workers, who set to learn the language. If it didn’t take so long for to learn the English language, it could mean that the English language could evolve into an even bigger and more powerful world language.

sound and fury essays

sound and fury essays William Faulkner's fourth novel, The Sound and the Fury, which chronicled the decline of a once-esteemed Louisiana family, the Compsons, might have been a commercial failure after its 1928 release, but was always affectionately referred to by the author as his "most splendid failure" (Cape and Smith 1929). The Compsons illustrate the way in which a highly respected clan of the Southern aristocracy can, through a chain of unfortunate events, orchestrate their own fall from grace. Faulkner also uses the characteristics of the individual family members to illustrate the varying ways in which our search for self-worth in society at large can go awry. The title of the novel is a reference to Shakespeare's Macbeth: "And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury Signifying nothing" (Shakespeare, Macbeth, V.v.23-29). This is symbolic of the Compsons displacement in the Southern society of the 1930s. Prior to the Civil War, they meant something. However, after the war, their aristocratic world was never the same, and as the South moved into the twentieth century, their airs and graces and heritage signified nothing. In fact, the Compsons life in the 1930s made a mockery of their history a century past. Southern families of the antebellum period were, like European nobility, obsessively concerned with breeding and lineages and marrying well. In the twentieth century, however, the Compsons breed a retarded child; two of the siblings have an incestuous affair; one conceives a child out of wedlock; and, in the words of John K. Roth, the Compson family ceases finally to be a place where love is sustained (Roth, 214). None of these things, in and of themselves, are clear indications that a famil...

Comedy and Plautus Essays

Comedy and Plautus Essays Comedy and Plautus Paper Comedy and Plautus Paper Aulularia is a comedic play written by Titus Maccius Plautus during a time when Athens was one of, if not the most powerful city-states in all of Europe. For this great society, historians use literary works to research and understand what the period was like. Aulularia is great play that can help historians investigate how slaves were, through Plautus’ humor you can catch how marriage and pro-creation is done and viewed in Ancient Athens. Titus Maccius Plautus, born sometime around 254 B. C. E. , (died in 185 B. C. E. in the village of Umbria was not always known as the famous comedic play-writer, but instead as the wandering miller. However, in his early age he is thought to have fled his hometown and made it as a carpenter/mechanic on the Roman stages (Plautus, Titus M, Aulularia). Plautus was in the great Roman army; there he was exposed to the Greek New Comedy and the plays of Menander (Plautus, Wikipedia). It wasn’t until around the age of 45 where he began writing plays while working his hand-mill, grinding corn for the households (Plautus, Wikipedia). Plautus’ work was simply Latin adaptations of this genre of comedy. The people of Rome found everyday life very entertaining (Titus Maccius Plautus, Theatre Database). While writing these plays he had to keep in mind that most of the audience was very un-educated. However, one thing that all Romans had in common was home and family life. Jokes were made about family life and stereotyped personalities. While politics didn’t make there way into these plays, the gods did. It was somewhat controversial in the way his characters portrayed the gods. Characters in stories can almost always be compared to a god, which left him accused of teaching the public indifference and mockery towards the gods. It was interesting how upper class citizens belittled the gods and soldiers ridiculed them. All the while pimps, courtesans, and parasites praised the gods. Plays were never the only entertainment occurring at a given time, which forced Plautus to compete for people’s attention against chariot races, horse races, and boxing matches (Plautus, Wikipedia). He would go to great measures to entertain his audiences and demand their attention. New Greek Comedy had plenty of slaves in their works usually being quite clever while playing the antagonist. However, Plautus used the slaves in his work a little differently in which they had much larger and active roles. Slaves were moved much further into the front of the action as a main character. This was Plautus’ best tactic in creating humor because people found it funny that slaves tricked their masters or compared themselves to gods. The inversion of roles by a devious and witty slave was comical and it wasn’t difficult to create a plot from there (Plautus, Titus Maccius, Theatre Database). Aulularia is a comedic play that takes place in present Athens (in relation to Plautus. ) Euclio (main character) is a very poor, older gentleman that lives in Athens. Euclio’s Household God blessed him by causing Euclio to discover the treasure in his home. However, soon you realize this is hardly a blessing because he obsesses over it, keeping it safe and pretty much ostracizes himself from the rest of the community (Konstan). Megadorus a very wealthy, older gentleman decides that he would like to marry Phaedria, Euclio’s daughter. At first Euclio is very skeptical of Megadorus because there is no reason an older rich man of Athens like himself, would want to marry a very poor mans daughter. The paranoid Euclio strongly believes that Megadorus knows of his gold. In a way he forgets about this when Megadorus tells him there is no need for a dowry to go along with the wedding that would happen that same day. Excited by this Euclio accepts the offer but no longer trusts that his home will be safe for his gold. He moves the gold to the temple of Fides. Strobilus (Lyconides’ slave) overhears Euclio talking and begins looking for the gold. When Euclio returns he beats the slave and threatens him. Euclio has no trust in Fides and decides to move it completely out of the city to a grove of Silvanus. Strobilus is all the while out of sight but keeps an eye on Euclio and when the time was right he went and stole the gold. Euclio returns and nothing is there and is absolutely crushed. Shortly after this Lyconides approaches him and informs him that the engagement of Megadorus and Phaedria. From here Lyconides explains that he has wronged his daughter at Ceres’ festival and asks her hand in marriage. Lyconides then comes across Strobilus who comes out and tells his master that he has found gold. The rest of the script has been lost but it is said that Lyconides returns the stolen gold to Euclio, who then gives Lyconides permission to marry his daughter. As a wedding present Euclio gives the gold to Phaedria and Lyconides (Plautus). The sole reason why Plautus created this play was for entertainment and he failed in his businesses. He became a play writer at 45 and brought a new wave of entertainment to Rome. â€Å"At all costs, he kept the pot of action boiling, the stream of gags and puns and cheap slapstick flowing. Anything to make the audience laugh and keep them from peeking in on the boxing match next-door† (Titus Maccius Plautus, Imagi-nation. com). In Aulularia you can see that he doesn’t particularly think highly of the upper class. Megadorus is a much older man but wants to ask Euclio’s young daughter Phaedria’s hand in marriage. This is out of lust with no regard to the social conflict. Megadorus seems so desperate for the young â€Å"flesh† that he is breaking the old tradition of a dowry. Also in Aulularia, he exhibits slaves to be much smarter than any Roman man in this play. Euclio is the poor victim who only wants his gold to be safe but cannot find a proper hiding place without having a peaceful mind. Despite the viewers finding this very comical, this has something to do with the fact that Plautus was not always wealthy and it took him a long time before he was living comfortably (Plautus). Aulularia says a great deal about the time period in Athens. Euclio was a metic in Athens, he a has permanent residency in the States but is not considered a citizen (Kempf). Euclio was very poor and really had nothing of value except for his gold. He lived a very un-easy way of life because he was paranoid that his gold would be taken from him. He lived in constant struggle and great poverty. Pythodicus says from the play, â€Å"Why, I tell you he begins bawling to heaven and earth to witness that hes bankrupt, gone to everlasting smash, the moment a puff of smoke from his beggarly fire manages to get out of his house. Why, when he goes to bed he strings a bag over his jaws. † Pythodicus is being a bit dramatic, but nonetheless, Euclio has to just hope that he lives to see another day because it is a constant struggle to put food on the table. Aulularia was a piece of literature that can really say something about slavery during these times. Athenians felt that they were superior to slaves in every aspect of life, but it showed that they could be devious and witty. Every slave featured in this play (Staphyla, Pythoidcus, Strobilus) seems to have some a decent amount of intelligence. Euclio’s old slave Staphyla, responded to him when told to watch the house by saying, â€Å"You aren’t afraid anyone will walk away with the house are you? I vow we’ve got nothing else there for the thieves to take- a full of emptiness as it is, and cobwebs. This was very surprising coming from someone who was threatened just moments before (Plautus). Megadorus slave Pythodicus. As noted before he is explaining how poor Euclio is and jokes about it with the cooks for the wedding. He is also the person who is overlooking the cooks and making sure everything goes as planned. This could job can only be given to someone truste d and responsible enough to carry out the task at hand (Plautus). Strobilus outsmarts Euclio and knows that he has a pot of gold that he is hiding. When he sees Euclio leaves the temple of Fides he sees him leave the city walls and climbs a tree well out of sight. He waits until after Euclio has left and digs up the pot of gold for himself. Strobilus even abandons his lookout for his master Lyconides to fetch this gold with the high hopes of buying his freedom (Plautus). The way marriage is done in Athens during this time was much different than the way that Megadorus goes about it. The Athenian marriage was an agreement between the bride’s father and the groom and sometimes the father’s brother (Kempf). This was the case in Aulularia. However the bride is supposed to give up all of her toys, and her hair is to be cut. On the night before the wedding the bride and groom take ritual baths and sang hymns to Hymen. The father was to make sacrifices to Hera, Zeus, Artemis, Aphrodite, and Peitho (The Women of Athens). None of these rituals were even mentioned in the play by Plautus. In the play the marriage was taking place within only a few hours of agreement between Euclio and Megadorus. This part of the play was not a good way to study the way marriage was handled in Athens during this time period. However the ending (or what remains of the ending) gives a much better idea of how the process is done. Lyconides another poor man, asks Euclio if he can marry his daughter. It was much more realistic for people to get married within their same social classes (Hunt, etc. all 98). In addition to this more realistic marriage proposal, Euclio’s dowry is the gold. In Athens during this time it was necessary for the father of the daughter to provide a dowry to the future husband (Kempf). Plautus instilled a lusty old man in almost all of his work for entertainment and this was no different in Aulularia. The old Athenian Megadorus wanted to marry Phaedria out of pure lust, and the thought of having â€Å"young flesh. † Eunomia says to Megadorus in Aulularia â€Å"Something that will make for you everlasting welfare. You should have children- God grand you may- and I want you to marry. † â€Å"Oh-h-h, murder! † Megadorus responds. In no way did Megadorus want children or have anything to do with the matter. In Athens it was the job of every man and woman to pro-create (Kempf). This does not give you the indication that this is the case at all and again is a poor piece of literature to use as a source for Athenian life back during this time period. However, if they take into consideration that this play is a comedy and this was one of the ways Plautus provided entertainment they would realize it is a mockery. This shows that Athenians looked down upon this behavior and it was not the â€Å"status quo† in Athenian society. Aulularia is a great piece of work to analyze when it comes to slavery, marriage, and pro-creation. Plautus’ work will go down as one of the great Athenian comedies and serve as a fantastic piece of documentation on Athenian society during this time period.

Risk management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Risk management - Essay Example There is a growing recognition that flood risk can be mitigated making space for water through sustainable management. Management of Flood has started considering dilemmas, challenges, and problems† (Begum, et al., 2007). Vulnerability and Flood risk is increasing due to changes in land use and development in flood prone districts as a result of socio-economic demand, changes in climate and rainfall pattern, increasing frequency of extreme events (Begum, et al., 2007). Jeddah is the most cosmopolitan and second-largest city in Saudi Arabia and the gateway to millions of Muslims who want to go to the holy city of Makkah. Jeddah city, which is the main porter of the country’s wealth, the largest seller of oil in the world at all times, and which has paved the way for single currency in the Gulf with its emergence as the second largest bloc in the monetary world, was affected by heavy rains. The rains which lasted for no more than two days caused massive flooding. This flood caused the deaths of more than 120 citizens (al-Ahmed, 2009). To lessen the embarrassment caused by these deaths, spokesperson and media reports reduced the number of flood deaths in the first four days to less than 80 citizens. (Abumansour, 2009) This massive flood was the strongest natural calamity that Saudi Arabia has seen in its history which is less than 100 years old. However the actual reason for destruction and death that occurred in November 2009 is the corruption in some of the sectors of the municipalities in Jeddah. More than four million citizens live in this city and the city still lacks treatment facility and a sewage system. Hundreds of bodies were found during flood rescue operations and some were registered as missing. The main street going to the Holy City was blocked with hundreds of cars floating in the water. The cars were dragged by the water that could not

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in Tourism-Related Hospitality Dissertation

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in Tourism-Related Hospitality Establishments in Beijing, China - Dissertation Example ignificance of the Study 9 1.4 Purpose and Research Questions 9 Chapter 2 – Review of Relevant Literature and Research 12 2.1 Reasons Why Customer Relationship Management is Important for Tourism-Related Hospitality Establishments 13 2.2 Information and Computer Technologies and Customer Relationship Management Systems 15 2.3 Forces that Influence Customer Relationship Management Implementation Efforts in Organisations 17 2.4 Customer Relationship Management in Restaurants 18 2.5 Customer Relationship Management in Airlines 20 Chapter 3 – Methodology / Methods Used 23 3.1 Research Approach for the Dissertation Project 24 3.2 Preparation of a Literature Review 25 3.3 Design and Administration of the Survey Questionnaire 26 3.4 Analysis of the Survey Data 27 Chapter 4 – Data Analysis and Discussion 31 Chapter 5 –Conclusions, Recommendations and Suggestion for Further Work 122 Appendix A – Survey Questionnaire 125 Appendix B – Raw Data for the S urvey 135 Bibliography/ References 146 List of Figures Figure 4.1: Histogram depicting location of Tourism-Related Hospitality Establishments from Beijing Included in the Survey 34 Figure 4.2: Histogram depicting Annual Turnover of Hospitality Establishments in Beijing 36 Figure 4.3: Pie Chart depicting Number of Employees at Hospitality Establishments in Beijing Included in the Survey 37 Figure 4.4: Histogram depicting Designation of those responding to Survey Questionnaire from Hospitality Establishments in Beijing 38 Figure 4.5: Pie Chart depicting Departmental Affiliation of those responding to Survey Questionnaire from Hospitality Establishments in Beijing 39 Figure 4.6: Pie Chart depicting Satisfaction with Efforts made for Implementation of CRM Initiatives at Hospitality Establishments in Beijing 40 Figure 4.7:... From the research it can be comprehended that it is now important for hospitality establishments from around the world to understand how best to effectively manage relationships with customers. Times are difficult, and the rapidly changing business environment is highly competitive. Thus, it makes sense to try to retain customers and to make the right impression on all those who have had a first experience with a hospitality establishment, especially for establishments serving clients combining business with pleasure who may return. It is far more expensive to try to attract new customers than to try to retain the existing and during tough and competitive times, it is best for hotels to try to ensure that its clientele remain loyal. Thus, although academic literature and practical implementations of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) do not present a clear indication about what CRM is, it is clear that to know the customers and to serve them better it is important for a hospitali ty establishment to present superior interactions and knowledge about the customer. The use of information and communications technologies with data mining for knowledge gathering is now apparent in many hospitality establishments for supporting Customer Relationship Management and formulation of management strategy. Because CRM is about getting to know customers and their needs better, it is about implementing specific Information and Communication technology projects within an organisation to process organisational data to deliver knowledge about customers and their needs.

Go tell it on the mountain by James Baldwin Essay - 1

Go tell it on the mountain by James Baldwin - Essay Example In the story, a lot of trouble mars marriage because what connects the couple is not the connection of love but the pretence of commitment dominated by the love of money, wealth, and status. The Father wants to be associated with the fame and the respect of the future wife’s family. This greed drives this man which later turns to be sore when they finally reach the marriage life. The narrator says, â€Å"My father is only mindful of the wealth and the fame that he stands to benefit ultimately if he marries my mother.† The narrator also says that the father is concerned on the money-generating mission above any other things. The narrator says â€Å"my father only brags to my mother of the depth of his pocket and how he has money. He has to love to share with my mother.† The father is material driven. He seems not to care about anything and he has confidence in his money. He loves the taste of power and â€Å"he delights when he condemns people. He seeks to claim sovereignty over people: this is the arrogance of life that seems to content him.† The pain and confusion comes when it is evidently notable that the mother also has a different concept and weird perspective of a happy marriage. She is totally misled of what really makes a happy family relationship. The mother is dominated with ego and pride. She sees herself as the most intelligent creature on earth. This makes her to be coined in her own cocoon without being open with her fiancà ©. In any relationship where people have a lot to hide than share, trouble always shoots in. suspicion is always evident and mistrust always sets in between the couples. This creates constant disharmony and insecurity which results to quarrels and, fights and ultimately divorce. The mother is also driven by the illusions, which are farfetched from the reality. She lives with the illusions in the movie on how love affairs should be done. She has wrong concepts

Halifax & Bank of Scotland Essay Example for Free

Halifax Bank of Scotland Essay The UK has one of the most diverse and dynamic banking sectors in the world. Banking is now a highly competitive industry. Financial consumers are now more sophisticated as they are now more aware of available banking options. The assets of the UK banking system were i 3,441bn (August 2001), which were dominated by a dozen or so retail banks, with national networks, mostly serving domestic, personal and corporate customers. Currently, the big four banks HSBC, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB and Barclays, dominate retail and business banking, jointly accounting for 68% of all UK current accounts. Both Halifax, founded in 1853, and 306-year-old Bank of Scotland are seen as business icons in their regions. Halifax is based in England, while the Bank of Scotland has very few branches south of the border. A merger between these firms would increase the geographic scope for potential customers. Halifax started as a building society and is now more widely known as a big mortgage lender. In the wider community, the Halifax Bank has a very active community-banking sector catering for charity and non-profit organizations including housing associations, credit unions and community development operations. In comparison, the Bank of Scotlands strength lies in the corporate market. It would seem very likely that both firms would like to achieve higher profitability and growth opportunity through cross-selling products to each others customers. For example, the products developed by Halifax could be marketed effectively to Bank of Scotlands customers and vice versa. Because both banks operate complementary activities, it is possible the combining of both firms will result in synergies, which may also result in increased efficiency. There may also be opportunities to achieve savings through cutting some unnecessary costs. For example, the amount of staff needed for the combined firm is likely to be reduced. By merging together, the size of the combined firm will certainly increase, thus leveraging the combined spend to negotiate better deals. The market position of the combined firm will be strengthened. Its market share within the industry will increase, maybe even enough to compete with the big-four banks, thus increasing the competition within the banking industry. In reality, there are wide ranges of techniques that can help analyse a firms performance some firms may base their performance on sales, whereas others through the quality of products. Economists usually analyse a firms performance based on the amount of profit it is making. For a thorough analysis, this paper will be looking at the firms: market value, profitability, stability, value for shareholders, efficiency, and capital adequacy. It must be noted that firms within the banking sector are subject to many economic uncertainties, which can influence how well a firm is doing from year to year. In this case, these uncertainties include: interest rates, employment rates, as well as the condition of the equity markets. For example, the base rate in January 2000 was 5.75%, however, at January 2002, the base rate was at 4. 00%5. To analyse the performance of the banks before and after the merger, the firms financial accounts will be examined and ratios will also be calculated. 6 The main performance indicators that will be analysed include: Profit before tax; Total assets; Dividends and Earnings per share. In addition, the return on equity, cost:income ratio and the firms capital strength will be examined. These ratios will give a clear assessment of the firms performance compared with that of other firms. Before the merger, in 2000, Halifax and Bank of Scotland had market values of $22,105million and $11,762million respectively. Post-merger, in 2002, HBOS then had a market value in excess of $31billion7. This immediately signifies the success of the merger, as the combined company is worth now worth a lot more in the market. Figure 1 Profit before tax From an economic point of view, it is important that a firm makes a profit otherwise there would be no point of the existence of the firm. The Profit Loss account of a firm shows the results of trading over the previous 12 months. It shows the net effect of income less expenses. The reason that profit before tax is analysed rather than profit after tax is due to the fact that interest rates and inflation changes could affect the amount of tax that is paid each year. In 2000, Halifax made i 1,715million profit (before tax), compared with Bank of Scotland, which made i 911million. It would be expected that when both companies have merged together, the pre-tax profit should increase. Figure 1 shows that in 2002, HBOS made a pre-tax profit of i 2,909million, which is more than the separate firms pre-tax profit added together. This shows that HBOS are actually performing better than the previously separate firms.

What Is Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Health Essay

What Is Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Health Essay Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome is a term used to define a group of problems a newborn will exhibit due to exposure for drugs like opiates, narcotics or anti-depressant during pregnancy. As almost every drug that passes through the mothers bloodstream is passed on to the placenta. Therefore any illicit drug abuse will lead the foetus to utero exposure of these substances which will make it physically dependent, same effect that will do the mother herself. Therefore, after the baby is born, this dependence still continues, but since he is no longer maintained through the placenta which passes on anything his mother has in her bloodstream, after some time, depending on the drugs active ingredient half-life, this supply of substance will be no longer available. This lack will lead the neonates central nervous system to become overstimulated causing withdrawal symptoms. Why is NAS a concern? The abuse of illicit drugs from a mother, not only puts the newborn at risk for NAS but even many other syndromes. These risks are mainly increased due to high chance that being a drug user, the pregnant mother may be reluctant to seek prenatal care, and therefore any conditions or complications the mother may be going through during the prenatal stage are not being screened by any medical specialist. A fact to consider is that most drug users, usually dont abuse of only one substance, which usually would lead to several complications during treatment of the newborn for withdrawals. Moreover, if the mother is an intravenous drug user, there is high probability of passing on to the child any infections acquired following use of infected needles, namely; HIV/AIDS. Apart from the NAS symptoms the neonate may have other problems related to this drug use which include; poor intrauterine growth, premature birth and birth defects. More problems were observed from the abuse of recreational drugs before and during pregnancy and findings through studies found that some drugs frequently cause specific problems in babies, for example; the use of heroin and opiates, like methadone, is likely to cause substantial withdrawal in the baby, with certain symptoms lasting between four to six months. Methadone users babies have a higher probability of seizure episodes than others. The use of marijuana reduces birth weight and size of the newborn, likewise with use of amphetamines, which in turn even increases the chance of premature birth and may be the cause of intracranial bleeding in the neonate. Cocaine abuse is mostly associated with poor foetal growth and may be even related to a higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). These similar problems at birth are not only seen with illicit drug use, but even use of alcohol and cigarette smoking does damage the foetus. Complications with regards to alcohol abuse called foetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs), include slow growth both during and after pregnancy, specific deformities of head and face, heart defects and mental retardation. Smaller babies, premature births and stillbirths are at a higher chance of encounter to smoking women. Symptoms Nearly all substances lead to some sort of effect on the newborn, but NAS symptoms may differ with the type of drugs, doses taken, how long the mother abused from these drugs and whether the baby was born premature or full-term. Incidence of NAS varies with strength of drugs; Heroin and Methadone are more likely to cause NAS, although drugs like Cocaine, Amphetamines, Barbiturates (Anti-Convulsive) and Narcotics may also lead to withdrawal symptoms. Alcohol use during pregnancy can also cause withdrawals in a baby. Neonate can start to appear symptomatic as early as 24 hours to 48 hours after birth, when strong drugs with short half-life were used, or as late as 5 to 10 days with weaker and longer half-life drugs. Withdrawal symptoms as a consequence of alcohol abuse during pregnancy may begin within a few hours after birth. Common symptoms may include; excessive/high pitched crying, diarrhoea / vomiting, irritability to light/sound, trembling (jittering), seizures, sweating, fever, hyperactive reflexes, excessive sucking, poor feeding and slow weight gain, rapid breathing, insomnia, increased muscle tone and skin irritation. A neonatal is diagnosed with NAS when he/she exhibits a combination of these signs, since several signs may also be experienced by newborn having other problems, the baby will have to be closely checked to confirm NAS. A history of the mothers drug use during pregnancy, as accurate as possible, will be required to proceed with the necessary tests. This is argued about its reliability especially when mother, or worse, both parents are illicit drug abusers, but for the sake of the newborn, a background of what substance the child maybe withdrawing from is of extreme importance to start the right treatment to manage withdrawals as soon as possible. Diagnosing withdrawals in a newborn may require tests like; urinalysis, toxicology screen of first bowel movements (meconium) and typically an NAS scoring system is used. By means of assigning points to certain signs and symptoms and their severity, this NAS scoring system apart from helping to diagnose, it also aids in grading the severity of the withdrawal and may even help in treatment planning. Therefore once born and transferred to the postnatal ward, the baby is assessed for signs of withdrawals by the midwives using the NAS scoring chart. If the repeatedly four hourly assessments will get a score of 8 or higher, a doctor will be notified and it may be necessary for the baby to be transferred to the Neonatal and Paediatrics Intensive Care Unit (NPICU) to start any necessary treatment for the withdrawal symptoms observed. Treatment Treatment for NAS will be determined by a paediatric physician and will be specifically based on the neonates gestational age and overall health, the extent of disease, the babys tolerance for specific medications and therapies and expectations for the course of the disease. Neonates suffering from withdrawal are irritable and frequently hard to calm and to get comfortable. Snugly wrapping the baby in a blanket, gently rocking the baby and reducing lights and sounds usually helps a bit to manage this irritability exhibited. A higher-calorie formula may be recommended for the extra calories necessary due to their increased activity. Intravenous (IV) fluids are sometimes necessary to avoid the newborn becoming dehydrated due to severe vomiting or diarrhoea. Depending on the severity of the withdrawal symptoms, babies may need medications to help relieve the discomfort and other complications of withdrawal, seizures in particularly. The drug of choice is usually a drug similar to the one the mother used during pregnancy, which therefore is the substance the baby is withdrawing from, then dosage is slowly reduced when withdrawal symptoms are managed. Benzodiazepines are usually used for alcohol withdrawals and methadone for heroin and other opiate withdrawal. Prevention An attempt to break the cycle of reproductive morbidity or mortality starts from identifying substance abuse. Most of the birth defects mentioned to be cause of illicit drug use, could be possibly less if the mother stops using drugs as soon as she finds out she is pregnant or if possible before. Preferably both men and women should stop abusing of any drugs before conception itself to further reduce the chance of birth defects which can occur not only through the gestation stage, but even at gametogenesis. Whilst with most birth defects the termination of drug abuse from mother does only lower their probability, in the case of NAS this could be completely prevented, therefore is encourage to stop any abuse and seeking prenatal care. Drug screening at this stage prevents fully the transmission of any substances through the placenta to the foetus avoiding any future dependence. Health education is currently focusing on these problems as to prevent this growing social problem phenomenon to become oversized. Prognosis Children of drug dependents, do not only go through a rough period in the first days of their life due to the utero exposure of illicit substances, but also various longer lasting, or worse, lifelong medical disabilities will be incurred due to the exposure to different types of drugs. Adding up is the fact of the social challenges as son/daughter of a drug addict, for example, being socially left out from school friends or other groups. Moreover, looking at the economic aspect, which may be due to the persisting drug dependence of either or both parents, could easily be critical and lead to a low standard of living. Definitely the prognosis widely varies with all these variables, but surely if this drug addiction of any of the parents wont cease, it will be of no help for the baby, hopefully in good health, to have an amusing future ahead. Long-term problems in children, who were exposed to illicit substances during gestation, may symptoms related to adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes leading to low IQ scores from births to methadone and cocaine users. The perception, speech and intellectual functions were found to suffer some disturbances to youngsters who were exposed to opiate drugs. Major part of the children born to a illicit substance abusing mother have been reported to suffer from behavioural problem, such as; low levels of learning and adapting to new situations and high sensitivity to their environment causing irritability, agitation, aggression, poor social skills. Marijuana use during pregnancy was associated with increased impulsivity, delinquency and hyperactivity exhibited in the exposed kids. None of the treatments used to treat NAS was proved to affect any final outcome of this prenatal exposure. Epidemiology Internationally, from the UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs it is suggested that 6,000 babies, i.e. 1% of UK births, are born to drug abusing mothers each year. Due to their availability and recreational use cocaine, methadone and other illicit substance are now being preferred to the past higher ratio of heroin abusers. A broader image shows us that as much as European women use opioids during pregnancy as analgesic treatment, the number of pregnant women abusing of other drugs is somewhat similar. In Malta, although on low scale its still increasing in incidence from year to year. This is most likely due to the more common day to day recreational drug use around teenager and slightly older generations. Along with the availability, dependencies on certain substances have increased, leading to abuse from mothers even during pregnancies and the newborn suffering from NAS as an end result. From a conversation with a nurse from NPICU revealed me that the number of NAS in Malta is around 0.4% of all births in our country, but a number which is disturbingly on an incline. Conclusion Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome and any other birth defects are usually topics that no one would like to converse about, as usually talking about these fragile human beings, born with some sort of problem, either being congenital or lifestyle-induced during gestation, does make both parties feel uneasy. Nonetheless avoiding to talk about these wont lower their incidence, it is actually the opposite, proper health education is one way where one can teach what someones habits can lead to. It is a known fact that there is little we can do with congenital conditions, but we can reason out that a least we should not help the number of premature births or still births increase. NAS is one of many conditions, which I personally think that recent changes in our lifestyles can easily lead us to newborns having similar problems. Main reason being, the increment of habitual/recreational drug use and availability amongst 14-30 age bracket, is probably one of the highest ever seen. Not considering the exaggerate number of alcohol abusers, which also can lead to similar conditions. In addition to the other problems linked to promiscuous sexual relationships leading to higher risks of infection which can easily be transmitted and later inherited by a newborn. Anti-drug abuse campaigns do already show some of the consequence these substances will do to your body. But maybe sometimes things look amplified and interest is lost whilst listening or even looking at a leaflet. More evident data should be used to incept the thought in the minds that these conditions are not out of this world, and clearly outline any possible remedies to prevent themselves and their babies from going through unnecessary pain. I would like to conclude saying that nowadays life presents us with enough and may be too many challenges. If we can minimize these with some thought and assertiveness, we can make at least our nuclear sized life a better place. Temptations during hard times do arise, but it is not fair on anyone to suffer from our bad decisions, especially those that should be a symbol of our love to life.