Long Term Conditions

The aim of this essay is to consider approaches to promoting the self-management of a long-term condition. The focus will be linked to module content and based on a patient that I have provided nursing care for during my clinical practice. There will be a brief introduction of the patient and the context in which I was involved in their nursing care. The pathophysiology of the chosen LTC along with the related physical, psychological and social needs of the patient will be considered. There will be a discussion of principles of self-management that will link to national LTC policies.This will also include initiatives and analysis of the evidence of the underlying principles for an approach to providing self-management support, for the chosen LTC, including benefits and challenges. To conclude I will use evidence-based recommendations of how the patient could be supported to self-manage their condition. A wide range of evidence will be used to support my discussion. The patient chosen to explore, is one who lives with the LTC of Parkinson’s. The patient had started to experience Motor Fluctuations, also referred to as â€Å"off â€Å" periods.Motor Fluctuations are associated with long-term use of levodopa and usually appear in people who have had Parkinson’s for some time, patients experience â€Å"end-of-dose deterioration† meaning that the dose does not last until the next dose is due (Parkinson’s. org 2008). This patient spent one week on a neurology rehabilitation unit. The context in which I worked with this patient was to assist with the teaching of an apomorphine syringe driver and to assess â€Å"on and off† periods before the use of the pump and then when the pump was in use and also to ensure that there were no side effects to its use.During this week I worked alongside a team of occupational therapists and physiotherapists, as it was essential that the patient regained confidence with daily activities, personal ca res, dressing and food preparation. The aim of the teaching was to enable the patient to become independent with the apomorphine pump from being able to perform a subcutaneous injection to its removal when medication had finished.It was vital that the patient became competent and confident in the process as they had been very active throughout their life and wanted to remain so for as long as possible. Parkinsons. org (2010) describe Parkinson’s as the disease with no obvious cause and is the most common form of Parkinsonism; the other forms of Parkinsonism are vascular, Drug-induced Parkinsonism, dementia with Lewy bodies, inherited and Juvenile. Vascular is an uncharacteristic form of Parkinsonism and usually presents with difficulties in speaking, swallowing and the ability in making facial expressions.Drug-induced Parkinsonism occurs in 7% of people and is attributed to neuroleptic medication which block dopamine these drugs normally treat schizophrenia and other psychoti c conditions and once the problem has been diagnosed then the person will recover in hours, days or months after ceasing taking the medication. Dementia with Lewy bodies has no cure and symptoms include difficulties with concentration, memory, language and the ability to carry out straightforward actions. Many people suffer from hallucinations, sluggishness of movement, rigidity and tremors.Dementia with Lewy bodies is similar to Alzheimer’s. Inherited Parkinson’s is rare and there is no evidence that is can be passed on in families, however it is estimated that 5% of people with Parkinson’s may have a genetic cause. Juvenile is a term used for persons diagnosed under the age of twenty years. As NICE clinical guidelines 35 (2006) states, Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative long-term condition and mainly affects those of middle to old age. Parkinson’s occurs when the cells containing dopamine die off.At present there is no consist ent test that can define if a patient has Parkinson’s due to the close clinical resemblances of other conditions. Parkinson’s is diagnosed mainly through history based information and examination. The main symptoms and signs of Parkinson’s are bradykinesia, rigidity and rest tremor. Parkinson’s is mainly seen as a movement disorder, but other areas of health problems are associated with it. These include depression and dementia along with autonomic disturbances and pain, although considered to be rare they can present at a later stage of the condition.These rarer symptoms, as they progress, can lead to substantial disability and handicap which harms quality of life for the person living with Parkinson’s, this also has an impact on families and carer’s. The physical symptoms of Parkinson’s can be debilitating for the patient and may include pain, falls/dizziness, dietary problems, bladder and bowels problems, swallowing and saliva cont rol, speech/ communication problems, eye problems, freezing, skin, scalp and sweating problems. It is not possible to discuss all of these physical elements in detail within this essay.I therefore intend to focus on one specific physical aspect of the disease and discuss how this affects the client’s needs, along with the psychological and social aspects. The area I will discuss is freezing. As identified by Parkinson’s. org (2010), freezing will be experienced by every Parkinson’s patient at some point, but becomes more apparent in patients who have had Parkinson’s for numerous years and also if levodopa has been used for long periods of time within their treatment, however it must be noted that freezing can occur in Parkinson patients whom do not take levodopa and should not be seen as a side effect of taking levodopa.When freezing occurs it is a frightening experience and also a cause of embarrassment for the individual. Freezing is not just linked wit h gait movement it also includes speech freezing or repetitive activities such as combing hair or the thought process for example when a patient is trying to remember something i. e. the name of a place. Along side this is also ‘start hesitation’ this is associated with drinking from a cup, getting out of bed or when a patient wants to step forward.Freezing is still not fully understood and may be attributed to interruptions to the sequence of movement, group situations or ineffective medication. Parkinson’s brings many social problems, becoming less confident can bring low self-esteem that can lead to withdrawal from social activities. The individual may worry about how they look, talk or even the way they move, this can inhibit the person from entering into normal activities and they may decide to stay at home to avoid potential awkwardness.Reduced socialisation may increase the likelihood of the individual suffering from depression; fatigue and mood swings can be potentially be harmful to personal or close relationships. The individual may become unsure of their social position within the family, workplace or any groups, as they feel lost or less important. Self-management of a LTC is strategically important to the long-term sustainability of the NHS, and it is therefore essential to be clear on the principles of self-management and to have a clear approach to achieving a successful outcome.In response to the increasing levels of LTC’s across England the Department of Health (2012) have established a dedicated LTC team who has built a compendium to explain why pro-active management of LTC’s is so important to the future of the NHS. This compendium provides compelling evidence and information to help support and drive a transformational change to the way in which LTC’s are managed, and the document states clearly that self-management is central to this transformation, the principles of self-management have been outlin ed by the Health Foundation (2011) and these will now be discussed.Self-management can have very positive effects on people who live with a long-term condition that affects their normal function of daily activities, as The Health Foundation (2011) suggests the use of self-management can have positive effects on behaviours and outlooks that an individual faces and how their quality of life can either be enhanced or depleted. In order to achieve a successful self-management outcome it is essential that time is invested early in the programme to explain to the individual involved the many benefits that self-management can bring.Ensuring that they fully understand these benefits will greatly increase the likelihood that they fully engage into the programme and truly take an increased responsibility for managing their LTC. Evidence suggests that self-management leads to a more positive health outcome and championing people to look after themselves can improve motivation, engagement and h ow they use and access the health service. It also describes to how habits change towards healthy eating and exercise, which results in better clinical outcomes.Failure to establish genuine engagement at an early stage will most likely result in limited transfer of responsibility and may lead to the patient failing to realise the benefits to themselves and also benefits to the NHS. They also stated that there is an extensive range of initiatives and one size does not fit all. As Brighton and Hove City PCT (2006) state, planning and having a certain level of power is crucial to making lifestyle changes when living with a LTC.It is also necessary to understand the connection of why changes to lifestyles need to be made, and why planning carefully for change is fundamental to change actually being accomplished. It is important to support the individual through the change process as this can often create a degree of anxiety for them. Promoting the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and edu cating individuals on their condition, will boost confidence and help the patient understand the benefits of self-management in the context of potentially slowing down the progression of their condition, improved quality of life and remaining independent for as long as possible.Education is another key principle of self-management. An individual needs help and support to understand their condition, how it affects them and what they can do to help to pro-actively manage it. There are a number of options available here to help educate an individual on their LTC such as reputable websites specifically set up for their condition. They are an excellent source of information, which is continuously updated, and enable the person to access easy to understand information in the privacy of their own home.Additionally, advice helplines add greater support for individual needs, without being confrontational. Support is also available for carer’s through courses run by the Expert Patients Programme Community Interest Company (EPP CIC). Leaflets are available to answer basic questions and give further information on where to find more support and advice that is available in their area. The Parkinson’s Specialist Nurse is also a good resource as the nurse can provide their expertise along with the expertise of multi-disciplinary teams (www. parkinson’s. rg 2012) It is important to ensure that the level of education and training provided is appropriate to the capability of the individual and also the state of their condition. Insufficient information could lead to poor decision making by the individual or a lack of confidence if they are uncertain about certain aspects of their condition. Similarly, providing training and education beyond the means of the individual may result in confusion or unrealistic expectations being established – this would not be beneficial for either the individual or the NHS.Good training and education should be targeted at increasing the individuals understanding of their condition such that they are able to successfully monitor their symptoms and take appropriate, pro-active action to ensure treatment is sought quickly and to avoid potentially unnecessary admissions to hospital. One of the principles of self-management is to ensure sufficient emphasis is placed on problem solving. If an individual is to become increasingly capable of self-managing their LTC then an ability to solve problems is fundamental to achieving this.Without this it will prove difficult to change the behaviours necessary to allow a health care professional to move into a more supportive and assisting role, as oppose to the current situation where they are managing the care of the individual (Health Foundation 2011). Another area for consideration is that a patient must know when to seek medical advice and intervention and feel comfortable with their decision-making techniques. It is also vital that the individual does not al low a situation becomes acute.The Health Foundation (2011) also states that, engagement and education are important to ensuring that the individual is ready and in a position to be empowered with the responsibility for the self-management of their LTC. The principles of self-management support the involvement of the individual in decision making related to their care and also working collaboratively with their health care professionals to build their care plans.This continuous high level of involvement is essential to making sure that there is a real transfer of responsibility from the health care professional to the individual – if there is, then there is a much greater chance that they will take ownership for the long-term self-management of their condition. Failure to truly involve the individual when making decisions about their care could result in a lack of commitment to a care plan and/or false commitment to behavioral changes, ultimately resulting in the continued hea vy reliance on their GP, A&E and other health services to manage their LTC in a reactive and cost inefficient manner.As Randall and Ford (2011) discuss, it is apparent that within the United Kingdom there is an increased transfer of power and choice for users of the health and social care system and policy drivers such as ‘Independence, choice and Risk’ (DH2007) recognise the importance of empowering service users i. e. persons with LTC’s, to ensure they have greater choice and control. When empowering someone, firstly there needs to an acknowledgment that the person has control over an aspect of their care and can make decisions that relate to it.Power can be seen in a variety of forms but is normally defined as having knowledge and being able to make informed decisions and choices. When considering the decision process it is evident that some decisions are taken alone, for example what clothes to wear, or with permission of others for instance using monies from a joint account to buy a new kitchen and there are also decisions that are made which require formal consultation, e. g. implementing a new law. For any individual who is involved in the self-management process it is important to ensure that the degree of decision-making is appropriate to their personal set of circumstances.When empowering a person there are fundamental considerations to be identified. For example, the mental state of the individual, the extent to which their condition has progressed, their physical ability, their socio-economic situation, the extent of their support network (friends and family), their willingness to pro-actively engage in the self-management of their condition – all of these factors may influence the rate and extent to which empowerment may be achieved.Furthermore, empowering an individual with a long-term condition needs to be managed carefully. They will typically be interfacing with many different healthcare professionals and other parts of the NHS and other organisations, and if the views, opinions and approaches of those multiple contacts are not aligned or consistent it is possible this could have a negative impact on the empowerment process for the individual. It is therefore essential that there is one aligned approach and cohesive message.There is strong evidence contained within the study by Luca Camerini et al (2012) that empowerment, combined with health knowledge have been shown to have a great impact on the self-management of chronic conditions, and that if managed well they can have a positive effect on health outcomes. For my chosen patient suffering with Parkinson’s disease, I would recommend supporting them to self-manage through an approach of empowerment, ensuring that this was strongly underpinned by strong support in the provision of health knowledge.As discussed earlier, some of the key needs of an individual suffering with Parkinson’s disease are related to their mobility, dietary requirements and pain relief and I want to explain how this recommended approach could help support the individual to more successfully self-manage these particular aspects of their condition. Firstly, in respect of mobility, freezing is often a situation, which affects PD’s sufferers. In the first instance it is important to help educate the individual on why freezing happens.Ensuring that the individual has a clear understanding of their condition will help them to be more accepting of the effects, less afraid when they experience motor fluctuations or â€Å"off† episodes and crucially help them to make more informed decisions about potential ways of helping them to self-manage this aspect of their condition. As mentioned previously, the extent of knowledge and education needs to be appropriate to the individual’s level of health literacy – this aspect should not be underestimated, as there is a strong link between an individual’s level of healt h literacy and their ability to successfully self-manage.As stated by the World Health Organisation (2009) health literacy is critical to empowerment, therefore this can present a barrier to achieving self-management through an empowerment based approach. An individual’s capacity to access and effectively use information is an area that may need to be considered initially to decide if empowerment is the most suitable approach to adopt. There are a number of options available to help an individual manage motor fluctuation episodes such as medication, mental techniques and physical techniques.Again, the individual will need to be educated on these such that they are able to be involved, or even lead, the decision making process on selecting the most appropriate treatments and solutions for them. Each root may have both advantages and disadvantages for the individual and these need to be made clear, if a patient is aware of the limitations and potential drawbacks of a specific t reatment from the beginning, then they are more mentally prepared to deal with the challenges as they arise, educing the likelihood of failure. There are several approaches to providing education and support to Parkinson patients; the LTC compendium recommends the Expert Education Programme, although not specifically for Parkinson’s it provides courses to help with managing LTC conditions, online courses are available also, it is also possible to add your area to the list, they are free. The Parkinson’s website has vast information both practical and informative and free help lines.In some areas there are Neuro-rehabilitation Units, available through referrals made by the Parkinson’s specialist nurse or consultant, which gives access to multi-disciplinary teams all located within one centre. The Parkinson’s Specialist Nurse holds clinics where discussions can take place for planning the future, medication changes and a point of contact if you need additio nal support before the next scheduled appointment.As part of the Health Foundation Co Creating Health programme (2012), a ‘Buddies to Support Self Management’ scheme has been developed for cancer patients in the Arran and Ayrshire region. The programme has been developed to enable patients who have completed self-management programmes to share their knowledge and skills with others in similar situations, along with helping patients who prefer not to be in a group situation. This could be a possible area to develop for Parkinson’s or all LTC patients.

Ethical Self-Assessment

Healthcare professionals are faced with making multi-faceted decisions on a daily basis. These decisions are not just limited to clinical matters, but they include the total patient care experience. Because of emerging healthcare trends and complex health law and ethics, it is imperative that healthcare administrators have a professional organization that they can belong to. â€Å"The American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) is an international professional society of more than 35,000 healthcare executives who lead hospitals, healthcare systems and other healthcare organizations.ACHE is known for its prestigious FACHE ® credential, signifying board certification in healthcare management, and its educational programs including the annual Congress on Healthcare Leadership† (American College of Healthcare Executives, n. d. ). The Ethics Self–Assessment Tool and Individual Decision Making The American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) provides an ethics self -assessment which is made up of thought-provoking questions to serve as a moral compass using the ACHE Code of Ethics as its basis.No matter what your role in the healthcare system, the self-assessment provides a standard for various healthcare relationships including, â€Å"Community, Board, Colleagues, Staff, Clinicians, Buyers, Payors and Suppliers. † (American College of Healthcare Executives, n. d. ). Any questions that were not answered with â€Å"always,† identified an area of weakness in which ethics were being compromised. The first lesson learned is that there are numerous situations where healthcare professionals may believe they are being ethical, but the assessment provides examples that some decisions being made are unethical.This gap away from being completely ethical occurs because professional decisions are often influenced by individual ethics. Identifying these gaps allow healthcare administrators to make necessary steps to improve the method in whic h they make decisions. Another lesson learned is the importance of having a tool to compare your organization’s level of ethics to the code of ethics. Paying special attention to minimize outside influences, will allow you to make complex ethical decisions at all times which will promote consistency throughout all team members and the organization.The American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), has a strong impact on ethical decision making because they focus on the â€Å"entire being† of the healthcare professional. For example, in ACHE’s preamble of The Code of Ethics it states, â€Å"In fulfilling their commitments and obligations to patients or others served, healthcare executives function as moral advocates and models. † Imagine, when a healthcare administrator recites these few words, he cannot help but acknowledge the depth of his commitment and the high level of morality that is expected from him.Because of the vast number of complex ethical dilemmas that arise, ACHE further promotes the value and importance of strong ethical decision making in ACHE’s Ethics Toolkit. â€Å"When the ethical guidelines are not enough, when there is uncertainty about the proper ethical approach, and when there is a need to develop additional ethical guidelines. ACHE’s Ethics Toolkit provides tools for developing both parts of an ethical culture. † (American College of Healthcare Executives, n. d. ).Influence of Individual Ethics on Decision Making. When it comes to the modern decisions in today’s healthcare system, it is important to be able to identify problems and opportunities and choose the best course of action for the greater good. A strong ethical background helps individuals make the right decision although it may be unpopular. â€Å"Aristotle (Summers, 2009) also teaches about morality when explains how to apply ethics to daily living. Through the idea of practical wisdom and eudemonia, he makes us aw are of the need to apply ethics and behave in a moral way.We develop our moral character so that we use our knowledge of ethics to address challenging new situations. Ethical principles become the center of our lives and we apply them as virtue-centered administrators. † Strategies to Improve Decision Making in the Future The opportunities that being a member of The American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) has afforded healthcare professionals, is one that is here to stay. Healthcare administration is a profession that continually evolves with time. Because of the advances in medicine, people are living longer and have a better quality of life.The current self-assessment tools are quickly improving and making it easier for healthcare professionals to obtain the data needed to make prompt ethical decisions. It is important to remember that as a healthcare professional, one must present all of the facts to a patient and preserve his right of autonomy. It is within the co de of ethics that healthcare professionals are not to impose their will on someone else. Remember, to carry out â€Å"the four ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. †

Agency program for the elderly Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Agency program for the elderly - Essay Example The service that is going to be discussed here is National Long-Term-Care Ombudsman Program. This program is supported by US Administration of Aging and is executed from Ombudsman Resource Center at National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform at 1424 16th Street, NW, Suite 202, Washington, DC 20036. This is a joint funding program, where apart from the US Government, the local state governments and community agencies fund it additionally. Separate addresses are there for all state units, with the most common location being the State LTCOP in the State Unit of Aging. Information about them can be accessed at ttp://www.aoa.gov/pro/aoaprog/elder_rights/LTCombudsman/National_and_State_Data or http://www.ltcombudsman.org/ or http://www.ccal.org (LT-COP).As the word Ombudsman indicates, the state Ombudsman works in the area of the long-term care of the elders, where he serves as a trained advocate to protect the health, safety, welfare, and rights of the residents of nursing home, board and care facilities, and the assisted living facilities. The residents of all these facilities are aged, and many of them are frail and most often isolated from their communities. Very often while under care, these resident's rights have a chance to be violated, the quality of care may not match with the required standards, and therefore, their quality of life may not be attained that it is supposed to be attained. In fact literally, this program has been designed to investigate citizen's complaints against local or national government agencies that may be infringing on the citizen's rights. This term, ombudsman means friends who can provide information, advice, and guidance (Capezuti, EA., Siegler, EL., Mezey, MD, 2007). With an aim to review and improve the care processes, these officials facilitate change at local, state, and national levels. Numerous volunteers and paid staff employed in a long-term basis, regularly visit long-term care facilities to monitor care, observe the interactions between the staff and the residents, evaluate the physical environment of the care facility, and act as advocates for the residents who are more vulnerable due to lack of family, cannot speak, or are unable to speak for themselves. To be able to do this, each state designates a long-term care ombudsman who is responsible for developing a state-wide program in order to investigate, identify, and submit complaints on behalf of the residents. Typically, regionally they are located in area agencies on aging, but many of them are sponsored by private programs or legal agencies. The program, therefore, comprises of the work responsibilities of the ombudsman. As opposed to the conventional concepts, they are not surveyors or regulators. They are supposed to identify and solve the problems with care of the elderly in the care facilities. Hence, their role can be to identify and resolve the problems on behalf of the residents. Ideally, the OAA described roles include representation of the interests of the residents before government agencies. If the residents' interests are hampered in any way, they, through this program, are entitled to seek administrative, legal, or other means for redressal of the grievances and issues. The care home residents are consumers, and they have valid consumer rights. This program also facilitates consumer education, and thereby, they also serve as agents of facilitation of public comments on laws, policies, and, actions. This program, through the ombudsman, also seeks to provide technical supports for new or ongoing resident and f amily councils. Perhaps, the most important aspect of

Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Education - Essay Example ommon problem in any profession, especially any profession linked to the medical field is that sometimes students who are excellent in theoretical knowledge lack aptitude and practical knowledge required for the course. There are also frequent changes happening in the medical field in terms of technology used for equipment and testing, procedures etc.A good learner needs to be well equipped with the latest knowledge on the same. Teachers sometimes find it difficult to meet the needs of non traditional students. This could be in the form of language difficulties, knowledge gaps or international students who are from a different cultural background. As the article clearly points out, empowering the learner is always better than enabling him/her in the process. When the faculty acts as a tool for empowerment, it enhances its professional and social standing. When the faculty acts as a tool for empowerment of the learners, there is a raising of consciousness and increased self esteem among the learners. They also learn political skills required to negotiate and change healthcare system.[ Glass] The faculty should be the facilitator of learning rather than just instructor and evaluator in the learning process. The goal of empowering is to help them develop autonomy and a sense of accountability for professional practice. A faculty that would have tried to humanize the education process by reducing expectations and shouldering some of the responsibility for learning that should actually have been done by the students might actually undermine the confidence and autonomy (independence) of the students Enabling is defined as behavior of others that perpetuates dependent behavior.[Haber etal,1997].The term enabling might not be used in a positive sense. Many researchers feel that enabling is a component of codependency. Codependency is when a person allows another’s behavior(generally not conducive) to affect him/her.(Beatie,1987).80% of nurses had problems of

Artists Think Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Artists Think - Essay Example A question here arises as to why can’t the artists speak rather than sketching their feelings into a picture. An answer to this question is that some feelings cannot be expressed in words but rather can be expressed by sketching. These feelings can only be understood better by looking at the picture. Artists have a unique way of drawing these pictures to tell how they feel about these issues. They work on their drawing so that the audience can feel the theme of the drawing. Artists feel that a sketch can appeal more to an audience rather than simple words. It can be said that truly artists are able to express their feelings and emotions through a drawing. The pictures speak more than the words according to the artists as these pictures can present a whole picture of the event. The artists work on their drawings to give the audience a better picture of the whole event. It can be clearly said that these artists are able to express better in pictures than in speaking.

E-commerce in the life of Qatari Women Research Paper

E-commerce in the life of Qatari Women - Research Paper Example From the perspective of a business, IT allowed companies to operate online and reach global customers at the most cost efficient way. One of the dimensions of IT is e-commerce and it acts as a tool that facilitates online business. In addition, it has also helped customers to carry out online purchases irrespective of the time and geographic location. The negative factors on the other hand appeared in the form of security threats. Before getting further deeper into the study, a brief overview of e-commerce is presented below. The notion of e-commerce can be traced back during the epoch when the concept of the internet just came into light. During the earlier days, e-commerce was deemed as the process through which companies used to carry out their transaction over the electronic platforms (Majumdar, Cave, and Vogelsang, 2005). During this period, the concept of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) has also emerged and companies used these tools to tra nsact in an efficient manner. These technologies have allowed companies to complete transactions electronically and companies were hugely benefitted by it. However, the commercialization of e-commerce only became possible during the early 1990s and as soon as it became commercialized a number of business houses such as eBay and amazon.com have taken their business online (Reynolds, 2004). In the early stages, companies had shown more interest in using the internet as a tool for promoting the business, but for the last decade it companies became more active in selling their products and services over the online platforms (eCommerce-Lund, 2004). From the point of view of customers, e-commerce eased several kinds of activities. For example, it allowed customers to shop during their convenient time and also allowed them to carry out shopping sitting inside the home (Bhasker, 2006). The sales figures also experienced huge growth. According to reports, the growth was around 32% in 2012, i n comparison to 2011 (Provost, 2012). Apart from e-shopping, e-commerce also allowed customers to carry out banking transactions. Hence, it is evident that e-commerce now acts as part and parcel of the life of human beings. Executive Summary This study seeks to shed light on the impact of e-commerce in the life of Qatari Women. The primary objective was to identify the problems faced by Qatari women in using e-commerce in their daily life. In order to address the objectives, the study will carry out a survey of 10 people so as to know their perception about e-commerce. In order to analyze the findings, the study used qualitative approach. Both primary and secondary research was undertaken to identify the problems associated with e-commerce in the life of Qatari women. The key findings of the study were that Qatari women face problems related to the payment gateway, security issues, delivery issues and issues pertaining to terms and condition. In order to triumph over these issues, t he Qatari women should make themselves more familiar with such platforms and should only use authentic platforms. Similarly, the government must ensure that the websites are transparent enough and is offering secure payment gateways. The Problem The women of Qatar exercise full right so as to take a proactive role in the society and simultaneously act as a vital element in the development process of the country. With the modernization of the society, the Qatari women have also adopted themselves with the shifting market dynamics (qatarembassy,

The General Consensus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The General Consensus - Essay Example Of importance to note is the fact that expressions such as Barrack Obama are known as proper names. Hornsby and Longworth, (2005), hold the view that proper names such as the aforementioned expression are generally regarded to be paradigmatic expressions of reference. Hence, this paper shall seek to answer the question as to why proper names are directly referential. By so doing, this paper shall delve into the mechanism of referencing. In a nutshell, this shall be approached from the standpoint of what do words of referring attach to individuals or objects. Furthermore, the paper shall seek to exhaust the relationship between meaning/sense and reference. Against this backdrop, some theories of proper names reference shall be used to provide a deeper insight into this topic. On the other hand, this paper shall also consider views which have been put forward by opponents in relation to reference. As it has been stated above, there is the general consensus that proper names are paradigmatic expressions of reference. This can be attributed to the fact that they tend to have a distinct attachment to things in the World. Perhaps one might wonder what really constitutes proper names in the first place. For the purposes of this research paper, proper names shall be used in the context of all that is commonly known as names. Expressions such as Barrack Obama, New York or Mount Kilimanjaro fall within the category of proper names. Yet still, one might wonder what is common among all the three expressions. In essence, do they form a genuine group of linguistic expressions? A closer look at all the three expressions reveals that they are indeed syntactic expressions which are simple. In this regard, they refer or part of them refers to specific individuals and objects. Hence, ‘Barrack Obama’ refers to a specific man; ‘New York’ refers to a given city while Mo unt Kilimanjaro refers to a specific mountain.

Law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Law - Assignment Example It may seem as a case of bad faith coming from Michael, who has attempted to take advantage of the good will that has been associated with the trademark of â€Å"Facebook†. According to the Federal Trademark Dilution Act of 1995 this fact may conduct to dilution.1Moreover, the U.S. Trademark Act of 1946 stipulated as illegal the action of registering or using a domain name that is identical or very similar to a trademark previously registered. Also, Michael’s â€Å"casebook† may be qualified by ACPA as â€Å"typo squatting† – the registration of domain names similar to registered trademarks, but which differ by one or two letters. This is obvious as the words â€Å"facebook† and â€Å"casebook† are similar, the only difference being the first letter. This fact would give Facebook the right to make a claim according to the URDP rules. Another important factor in Michael’s case is the geographical location of the host of his website – which is Ukraine and the location of the end-user – which is Canada. It is obvious that the location of the end-user is of a bigger importance than the location of the host, since the Copyright Act is meant to protect the copyright in Canada. Nevertheless, the location of the host is determinative and its importance should not be minimized. The fact that Michael’s help – Carrie did not provide casebook.ca with an original appearance, but copied it from facebook.com is another illegal action. In U&R Tax, a set of requirements were made in order for a reproduction to be proved. These factors are: Analyzing the above criteria, it is obvious that the user interface design of â€Å"casebook.ca† was literally copied from the website â€Å"facebook.com† by Carrie. Through this action, the web site casebook.ca diminishes the value of Facebook’s copyright, and the material taken is used in an identical way as the facebook.com website – as a user interface design. Moreover, none of the Facebook codes were mentioned, the design

Making decisions in business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Making decisions in business - Essay Example In such context, the researcher has decided to go deep in the topic of business research in order to understand how data is being collected and how this data can be analyzed in order make valid business decision. The essay will also take example of case study regarding sales revenue in return of Facebook marketing in order to shed light how statistical calculation is used for analyzing data. But, in the first section, the essay will shed light on data collection procedure. 1.1 Collection of Primary and Secondary Data Saunders, Lewis and Thornhil (2009) pointed out that researchers should be careful while collecting data regarding given business problem because business research is significantly different from academic research. For example, business researchers should focus more on real time data such as sales revenue after integrating certain advertising measures while academic researcher focus more on historical data in the form of literature review. For a business problem, researc hers can use two types of data source such as primary and secondary. 1.1.1 Plan According to the instruction, I have been approached by marketing department of Blue Marketing in order to help them to analyze the success of the new social media (Facebook) marketing campaign which has been designed for their client cocktail cosmetics. Data sources for analyzing the success of marketing campaign can be following types; Data Sources Characteristics Validity Secondary Data Previous result of such kind of marketing that has been prepared by the company for other clients. Historical data from the company database regarding industry trend on social media marketing trend. Available business report on global social media marketing trend. Financial report of cocktail cosmetics which can serve as basal plan for understanding the resource capability of client for funding digital marketing campaign. No. of likes is Facebook page of the social media marketing campaign of cocktail cosmetics. Data s ources should not be old (not before 2011) while each data should be collected after cross checking the authenticity. Data should be collected from updated databases and previous social media advertising campaigns should be adjusted as per present condition and size of cocktail cosmetics. Number of likes in Facebook page can help the Blue Marketing to assess the popularity of the campaign. These data are being collected in real time manner hence there is no question on data validity. Primary Data Sources Daily sales revenue data, Facebook Posts (FP) and Fan interactions (FI) are three major primary data sources for Blue Marketing to analyze the performance of the designed social media campaign. Survey method can also be used in order to collect data from Facebook users regarding their opinion about the campaign. Reliability statistics should be used in order to test the autocorrelation between the sample data and data having low responses having low should be deleted in order to inc rease validity of the data. Secondary data should be collected by accessing internet sources and paid business databases while primary data can be collected by visiting the Facebook page of the campaign and customer interaction page in Facebook. Sales data can be colle

The Meaning of Suffering Essay Example for Free

The Meaning of Suffering Essay We must never forget that we may also find meaning in life even when confronted with a hopeless situation, when facing a fate that cannot be changed. For what then matters is to bear witness to the uniquely human potential at its best, which is to transform a personal tragedy into triumph, to turn ones predicament into a human achievement. When we are no longer able to change a situationjust think of an incurable disease such as inoperable cancerwe are challenged to change ourselves. Let me cite a clear cut example: Once, an elderly general practitioner consulted me because of severe depression. He could not overcome the loss of his wife who had died two years before and whom he had loved above all else. Now, how could I help him? What should I tell him? Well, I refrained from telling him anything but instead confronted him with the question, â€Å"What would have happened, Doctor, if you had died first, and your wife would have had to survive you? â€Å"Oh,† he said, â€Å"for her this would have been terrible; how she would have suffered! † Whereupon I replied, â€Å"You see, Doctor, such a suffering has been spared her, and it was you who have spared her this suffering – to be sure, at the price that now you have to mourn her. † He said no word but shook my hand and calmly left my office. In some way, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of sacrifice. Of course this was no therapy in the proper sense since, first, his despair was no disease; and second, I could not change his fate; I could not revive his wife. But in that moment I did succeed in changing his attitude toward his unalterable fate inasmuch as from that time on he could at least see a meaning in his suffering. It is one of the basic tenets of logotherepy that man’s main concern is not to gain pleasure or to avoid pain but rather to see a meaning in his life. That is why man is even ready to suffer, on the condition, to be sure, that his suffering has a meaning†¦ There are situations in which one is cut off from the opportunity to do ones work or enjoy ones life; but what can never be ruled out is the unavoidability of suffering. In accepting this challenge to suffer bravely, life has a meaning up to the last moment, and it retains this meaning literally to the end. In other words, lifes meaning is an unconditional one, for it even includes the potential meaning of unavoidable suffering Victor Frankl in Mans Search for Meaning (pg 112-115)

Fe-AZT and Pd-AZT Synthesis and Effects

Fe-AZT and Pd-AZT Synthesis and Effects Synthesis and Effects of Fe-AZT and Pd-AZT on Viability of Human Hepatocytes and Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells Submitted by: Anna Harutyunyan Introduction Cancer is one of the major causes of mortality in the world. In 2015, according to the National Cancer Institute, over 1.6 million new cases of cancer were reported in the United States. The estimated cancer deaths for the year of 2015 were over 500,000. According to the National Cancer Institute projections, in 2016 an estimated 1.7 million new cases of cancer were diagnosed in the United States and 595,690 people will die from the disease (National Cancer Institute). Although new cancer treatments and therapies are designed and implemented every year, cancer is still the number two cause of mortality in the United States, therefore developing and testing new effective anticancer agents is crucial. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the deadliest forms of cancers (Venook et al., 2010). The overall 5-year survival rate of HCC is less than 17%, making HCC the fastest rising cause of cancer related death in the United States (American Cancer Society 2016; Mittal and El-Serag, 2013). The annual age-adjusted incidence rates of HCC increased from 1.4 per 100,000 individuals in 1975-77 to 4.8 per 100,000 in 2005-07. An estimated 39,230 new cases of liver cancer (including intrahepatic bile duct cancers) were expected to occur in the US during 2016, approximately three-fourths of which would be hepatocellular carcinoma. An estimated 27,170 liver cancer deaths were expected in 2016 (American Cancer Society 2016). In 80-90% cases HHC occurs with and after cirrhosis. HCCs major risk factors are Hepatitis B and C viruses, cirrhosis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), overconsumption of alcohol and exposure to other carcinogenic substances (Mittal and El-Serag, 2013). Liver ca ncer is the sixth most common neoplasm and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths, accounting for approximately 600,000 deaths annually (Venook et al., 2010). Because of early metastasis and progression, HCCs treatment is difficult, and traditional chemotherapy has shown limited success (Sabokrough et al, 2014). A research study published in 2015 suggested that an organometallic complex of platinum (II) azidothymidine (Pt (II)-AZT) has an antitumor effect on rat hepatocellular carcinoma cells. It was shown that this complex was significantly more effective in tumor suppression than the AZT without platinum (Sabokrough et al., 2014). Several organometallic complexes of AZT (with Zinc, Cobalt, Copper and Iron) were synthesized and characterized previously. The Iron complex of AZT (Fe-AZT) was shown to be the most stable (Shirvastav et al.) and have antimicrobial activity against 4 groups of bacteria. Electron rich ligands like AZT effectively bind and interact with metal ions producing metallodrugs which offer promising therapeutic application in terms of combating the drug-resistant strains of pathogens. It is also logical that a metal ion can influence the biological activity and therapeutic efficacy of the bio-molecule they bind (Shirvastav et al.) Thus it is useful to investigate the effect of a metal ion on the efficacy and mode of action of AZT in suppressing malignant cells and inducing apoptosis. To date, no research has been published regarding synthesis of Pd-AZT the inhibitory effect of both Fe-AZT and Pd-AZT on malignant cells. The aim of this research project is to synthesize Fe-AZT and Pd-AZT, confirm their structure and molecular mass and test their effects on viability of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells and normal human hepatocytes. Background Normal cell cycle In order to understand the biology of cancer it is crucial to understand the cell cycle of normal cells and cancerous cells. All cells in a given organism are under strict control of multiple regulatory agents, such as RB or p53 that control cell growth and keep the proliferative index stable. If there is a need for the cell to divide, the proliferative genes will turn on, or the suppressor genes that keep proliferation from occurring will be shut down, which will result in cell division (Hardin et al., 2014). The normal cell cycle consists of the following phases: G1, S, G2, M. During the G1 phase duplication of organelles, membrane systems and other important components happens. There is an important checkpoint at the end of this phase referred to as the restriction checkpoint, which verifies that DNA synthesis was successful and no errors have been detected. Next is the S phase during which the cell duplicates each chromosome. During the G2 the rest of the components that were not synthesized in the G1 phase are synthesized. A checkpoint after this phase makes sure the cell is ready to divide, and no errors in chromosome duplication were made. Mitosis is the next phase, when the cell physically divides (cytokinesis) making two identical daughter cells. A checkpoint during this phase checks if both of the daughter cells received the correct number of chromosomes. After division, the cell may remain in its silent G0 phase, when it does not divide, but continues to function. If any errors are detected on any of the checkpoints, the cell cycle is put on hold and the cell will undergo apoptosis. This process is governed my many enzymes and complexes, and theoretically, malfunction of any of these enzymes may result in uncontrolled cell division/proliferation. This can be the onset of carcinogenesis. Figure 1. The cell cycle phases with their checkpoints. Cancer cell cycle It is important to note that the normal cell cycle is under control of thousands of regulatory elements that are coded for by different genes. If mutations occur in the genes that code for the key elements keeping cell proliferation at bay, one level of control over the cell cycle is lost. There are cell signaling mechanisms through which immune cells detect faulty cells, send them death signals and the faulty cell undergoes apoptosis. It takes more than one mutation for a normal cell to start behaving like a cancer cell. Usually it is either the loss of the function of suppressor genes, or overexpression of proliferative genes that result in uncontrolled cell proliferation. When the cell becomes malignant, it loses the ability to respond to death signals, thus does not undergo apoptosis. The malignant cell cycle is slower than the normal cell cycle, however, since the cancer cells keep dividing and do not die, their number grows exponentially resulting in tumors (Weinberg, 2014). There is distinct cytological difference between normal and cancer cells (Figure 2). A normal cell has a smaller, regularly shaped nucleus, a low nucleus/cytoplasm ratio, is well differentiated and has well defined borders. Cancer cells have larger, irregularly shaped nucleus, high nucleus/cy toplasm ratio, are less differentiated and have irregular borders. In contract with normal cells that adhere to each other, cancer cells are less adhesive and break away from each other (Weinberg, 2014). Figure 2. The comparison of the cytology of normal cells and cancer cells. Azidothymidine (AZT), Fe(III)AZT, Pd(II)AZT Azidothymidine (AZT, Zidovudine) is a thymidine derivative in which the 3-hydroxy group is replaced by an azido group (Figure 3). It has been shown to have antitumor effects on different animal carcinoma cells both in vitro and in vivo through inhibition of telomerase activity and by causing cell cycle arrest (Gomez et al., 2012; Hadizadeh et al., 2014, Cooper and Lovett, 2011; Matteucci et al., 2015). Figure 3. Thymidine (left), Azidothymidine (right). Since cancer cells have higher proliferation rate than normal cells, their thymidine turnover rate is higher, which could contribute to their increased sensitivity to AZT. Several studies conducted by Fang et al., have shown that a hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2) is significantly more sensitive to AZT toxicity as compared to the normal hepatocyte (THLE2) sensitivity (Fang et al., 2014; Fang and Beland, 2009). The current hypothesis on how AZT affects the cell suggests that AZT is phosphorylated intracellularly yielding AZT-triphosphate and AZT-monophosphate. The AZT-monophosphate can be incorporated into the DNA structure instead of thymidine due to its similar molecular structure and shape. However, in contrast with thymidine, AZT lacks the 3 hydroxyl group which is the group that forms phosphodiester bonds between nucleotides in the DNA backbone structure. This means, wherever the AZT phosphate is incorporated in one of the DNA strands during DNA replication, the elongat ion of that strand halts (Figure 4). This is one of the mechanisms through which AZT causes damage to DNA (Fang et al, 2014). The commercial name of AZT is Zidovudine, and it is the basis of AIDS treatments. AZT blocks the replication of HIV-1 virus by competitively inhibiting the viral reverse transcriptase (RT). In other words, HIV RT prefers AZT to normal nucleotides. As described above, AZT is phosphorylated to AZT-triphosphate and is incorporated into viral DNA, halting nucleotide chain elongation. It is also known that AZT-triphosphate can be incorporated into eukaryotic DNA, although its affinity for DNA polymerases is lower than that for RT (Gomez et al, 2012). It was shown that Pt(II)-AZT is more effective in suppressing cancer cells than AZT, thus it has been suggested that having a transition metal bound to the central nitrogen atom of the azido group increases the complexs affinity for G-C and A-T base pairs and the P-backbone of DNA (Das and Pitre, 2007; Sabokrouh et al, 2015). Materials and Methods Fe-AZT and Pd-AZT synthesis To carry out the synthesis of Pd and Fe complexes, solid AZT and a standard ion solution of each metal (iron nitrate nonahydrate (Fe(NO3)3 ·9H2O and palladium chloride (PdCl2)) will be purchased from Sigma Aldrich (St. Louis, MO). Synthesis will be performed according to the protocol by Das and Pitre (2007). A 1:1 molar ratio of aqueous solution of AZT and metal ion will be refluxed for 3 hours. The volume of the reaction mixture will be reduced by 75% in order for the complex to precipitate. The solid product will be vacuum filtered, washed twice with ice-cold water, recrystallized and air-dried overnight. Infrared absorbance spectra will recorded for the AZT, Fe-AZT and Pd-AZT complexes. In the experiment conducted by Das and Pitre (2007) the comparison of IR spectra of pure AZT and its complex with Fe, the spectrum indicated a shift in bands from 2170 to 2150 cm-1 due to complexation through N atom of azido group. A similar band shift in the IR spectrum of Fe-AZT and Pd-AZT is expected. A Matrix Assisted Laser Ioniation/Distortion Time-of-Flight (MALDI TOF) mass spectrometry analysis will be performed for the Fe-AZT and Pd-AZT to determine the molar mass and the stoichiometry of the complexes. The matrix for analysis will be composed of 1:1 saturated Anthranilic Acid and Nicotinic Acid (Sigma Aldrich, St. Louis, MO). The samples and matrix will be dissolved in 45% acetonitrile: 55% water (van Kampen et al., 2004). Cell cultures HepG2, THLE2. Liver carcinoma cell line HepG2 and normal human liver cell line THLE2 will be obtained from American Type Culture Collection (Manassas, VA). The standard protocol recommended by ATCC will be used for establishing and maintaining hepatic cell lines. The cell lines will be plated at a density of 5 x 103 cells/cm2. HepG2 cells will be cultured in DMEM with 10% fetal bovine serum and antibiotics (penn/strep). THLE2 cells will be cultured in LHC-8 medium with 70ng/ml phosphoethanolamine, 5ng/ml epidermal growth factor, 10% fetal bovine serum and antibiotics (Fang et al., 2009). After ensuring sufficient cell growth and several passages of each cell line, the two cell lines will be divided into 4 groups each: control (no treatment) and treated with each drug: AZT, Fe-AZT and Pd-AZT (Table 1). Table 1. The experimental setup of the control and experimental groups of cells. Control 1 (C1) THLE2 cell line (no treatment) Control 2 (C2) HepG2 cell line (no treatment) Experimental 1 (E1) THLE2 cell line+AZT Experimental 2 (E2) HepG2 cell line+AZT Experimental 3 (E3) THLE2 cell line+Fe-AZT Experimental 4 (E4) HepG2 cell line+Fe-AZT Experimental 5 (E5) THLE2 cell line+Pd-AZT Experimental 6 (E6) HepG2 cell line+Pd-AZT The cells in the treated groups will be further categorized by the concentrations of the drug. HepG2 cells will be incubated with 2, 20 or 100  µM aqueous solution of AZT, Fe-AZT or Pd-AZT for 14 days. THLE2 cells will be incubated with 50, 500 or 2500  µM aqueous solution of AZT, Fe-AZT or Pd-AZT for 14 days. Each group of cells will be seeded at 5 x 103 cells/cm2 density in 6-well plates. The cells will be passaged weekly during the two-week treatment period. The dosage and incubation time were chosen based on a similar study (Fang et al., 2013; Matteucci et al., 2015; Sabokrouh et al., 2015). Cell viability assay After 14-day treatment period, 103 106 cells from each group will be seeded in a 96-well plate, incubated for 4 hours, and treated with MTT reagent, followed by a 8-12 hours incubation at 37 °C. After the incubation with MTT, when the cells have metabolized the yellow tetrazolium dye (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) to purple formazan, the cells will be treated by a detergent to release the formazan into the solution, and the absorbance will be measured at 570nm using an ELIZA reader. The number of metabolically active cells will be determined using a previously made calibration curve. The statistical differences will be calculated using a Two-Way ANOVA and Tukeys Post-Hoc Test. Anticipated outcomes. The expected mass-to-charge ratio from mass spectrometry analysis of Fe-AZT complex is 323.1, that of Pd-AZT is 373.6. Based on the published literature and the adopted hypothesis, all three drugs are expected to decrease cell viability. The concentration of either drug should have positive correlation with decrease in cell viability. Based on previous observations, it is expected that the HepG2 cells will be significantly more sensitive to both complexes, thus will be significantly less viable after the treatment compared to the THLE-2 cells. Study Participants and Timeline Anna Harutyunyan is the primary author of this study. She is currently a senior biology and chemistry major at Wilson College. This project will serve as Annas senior research project. She will conduct the research and present the results with the supervision of her advisors Dr. Deborah S. Austin (Sponsoring PAS member) and Dr. M. Dana Harriger (PAS Member). The research study began in September 2016 and will be completed by April 2017. Annas research findings will be analyzed and written as her senior thesis. Anna will also present her findings at the 2017 Pennsylvania Academy of Science meeting and at the Wilson College research colloquium. Budget Item Price MTT Assay Kit (ThermoFisher) $235.00 Zidovudine (Sigma) $124.00 LHC-8 medium (Gibco) $140.00 Total $499.00 Facilities and Equipment The MALDI TOF mass spectrophotometer will be provided by Pennsylvania State College of Medicine Mass Spectrometry Facility under supervision of Bruce Stanley, PhD. All materials, other instruments, and equipment not listed, including cell culture media and supplies, will be provided by the Department of Physical and Life Science of Wilson College. References       American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts Figures 2016. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2016. Bilsland AE, Stevenson K, Liu Y, Hoare S, Cairney CJ, Roffey J, et al. (2014) Mathematical Model of a Telomerase Transcriptional Regulatory Network Developed by Cell-Based Screening: Analysis of Inhibitor Effects and Telomerase Expression Mechanisms. PLoS Comput Biol 10(2): e1003448. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003448 BIOL2060 Cell Cycle [Photograph found in Department of Biology Memorial University of Newfoundland]. (2015). In Hardin Bertoni (Authors). Retrieved March 30, 2016, from http://www.mun.ca/biology/desmid/brian/BIOL2060/BIOL2060-19/CB19.html Chen, Yi-Bin. Liver Cancer Hepatocellular Carcinoma: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Aug. 2015. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. Cooper, D. L., Lovett, S. T. (2011). Toxicity and tolerance mechanisms for azidothymidine, a replication gap-promoting agent, in Escherichia coli. DNA Repair, 10(3), 260-270. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.dnarep.2010.11.007 Das, R., Pitre, K. S. (september 2007). Bioinorganic studies on Fe (II)- zidovudine (azt) complex. Indian Journal of Chemical Technology, 14, 526-528. Retrieved February 20, 2016. Fang, J.-L., Beland, F. A. (2009). Long-Term Exposure to Zidovudine Delays Cell Cycle Progression, Induces Apoptosis, and Decreases Telomerase Activity in Human Hepatocytes. Toxicological Sciences, 111(1), 120-130. http://doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/kfp136 Fang, J., Han, T., Wu, Q., Beland, F., Chang, C., Guo, L., Fuscoe, J. (2014). Differential gene expression in human hepatocyte cell lines exposed to the antiretroviral agent zidovudine. Archives Of Toxicology, 88(3), 609-623. doi:10.1007/s00204-013-1169-3 Gomez, D. E., Armando, R. G., Alonso, D. F. (2012). AZT as a telomerase inhibitor. Frontiers in Oncology, 2, 113th ser. Retrieved March 11, 2016, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3434370/ Hadizadeh, S., Najafzadeh, N., Mazani, M., Amani, M., Mansouri-Torshizi, H., Niapour, A. (2014). Cytotoxic Effects of Newly Synthesized Palladium(II) Complexes of Diethyldithiocarbamate on Gastrointestinal Cancer Cell Lines. Biochemistry Research International, 1-9.doi:10.1155/2014/813457 Hardin, J., Bertoni, G., Kleinsmith, L. J., Becker, W. M. (2014). Beckers world of the cell (8th ed.). Boston: Benjamin Cummings. Harrington, J. A., Reardon, J. E., Spector, T. (1993). 3-azido-3-deoxythymidine (AZT) monophosphate: an inhibitor of exonucleolytic repair of AZT-terminated DNA. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 37(4), 918-920. van Kampen Jeroen J.A., Fraaij Pieter L.A., Vishal Hira, van Rossum Annemarie M.C., Hartwig, Nico G., de Groot Ronald, Luider Theo M.. A new method for analysis of AZT- triphosphate and nucleotide-triphosphates. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, Volume 316, Issue 3, 9 April 2004, 151-159] Matteucci, C., Minutolo, A., Marino-Merlo, F., Grelli, S., Frezza, C., Mastino, A., Macchi, B. (2015). Characterization of the enhanced apoptotic response to azidothymidine by pharmacological inhibition of NF-kB. Life Sciences, 127, 90-97. doi:10.1016/j.lfs.2015.01.038 Mittal, S., El-Serag, H. B. (2013). Epidemiology of HCC: Consider the Population. Journal ofClinical Gastroenterology, 47(0), S2-S6.http://doi.org/10.1097/MCG.0b013e3182872f29 National Cancer Institute. (n.d.). Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program. Retrieved February 16, 2016, from http://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/all.html Neto, V. (2013, January). AZT action [Photograph found in Organic Chemistry]. Retrieved April 1, 2016, from http://wwwblogvine.blogspot.com/2013/01/azt-was-originally-intendedto- treat.html (Originally photographed 2013, January 20) Normal And Cancer Cells Structure [Photograph found in Cells or Tissue Abnormal Cells or Tissue Cells or Tissue Normal Cells or Tissue Historical Graphics, National Cancer Institute]. (2001, January 1). In P. Kenny (Illustrator). Retrieved April 1, 2016, from https://visualsonline.cancer.gov/details.cfm?imageid=2512 (Originally illustrated 1990, April) Pichard, L., Raulet, E., Fabre, G., Ferrini, J. B., Ourlin, J. C., Maurel, P. (2006, February). Human hepatocyte culture. Retrieved March 11, 2016, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7063976_Human_hepatocyte_culture Sabokrouh, A., Vaisi-Raygani, A., Goodarzi, M. T., Khatami, S., Taghizadeh-jahed, M., Shahabadi, N., à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Shakiba, Y. (2015). Comparison between Platinum-Azidothymidine and Azidothymidine Effects on Bcl-2 and Telomerase Gene Expression in Rats with Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Avicenna Journal of Medical Biotechnology, 7(2), 50-56. Sabokrouh, A., Goodarzi, M. T., Vaisi-Raygani, A., Khatami, S., Taghizadeh-Jahed, M. (2014). Effects of Treatment with Platinum Azidothymidine and Azidothymidine on Telomerase Activity and Bcl-2 Concentration in Hepatocellular Carcinoma-Induced Rats. Avicenna Journal Of Medical Biotechnology, 6(4), 200-209. Telomere Shortening Determines the Proliferative Lifespan of Human Diploid Fibroblasts. 2001. Nature Reviews. By Nicole F. Mathon and Alison C. Lloyd. Web. 21 Mar. 2016. ThermoFisher Scientific. (n.d.). MRNA Extraction. Retrieved March 11, 2016, from https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/life-science/dna-rna-purification-analysis/rna- extraction/rna-types/mrna-extraction.html Venook, A. P., Papandreou, C., Furuse, J., De Guevara, L. L. (2010). The Incidence and Epidemiology of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Global and Regional Persprective. The Oncologist, 4(15), 5-13. Retrieved March 11, 2016, from http://theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/content/15/suppl_4/5.long Weinberg, Robert A. The Biology of Cancer. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Garland Science, 2014. Print.

The Euro :: essays research papers

The Euro has proven to have many advantages for the European Union, putting them on the path for political solidarity. With the Euro comes the elimination of exchange-rate fluctuations, making the fluctuations of currency values across Europe â€Å"a thing of the past†. Price transparency is another advantage of the Euro, which makes it easier to tell if the price of a product in one country is different than the price of the same product in another country. This encourages competition between countries, mobilizing economies to grow and compete with each other in different markets. Transaction costs become much less of a burden to tourists and business people alike when they do not have to constantly exchange their currency from another country when traveling within the European Union. This saves both time and money, which encourages more travel between countries for tourists and business men/women. All of the advantages mentioned so far contribute to the increased trade across borders also. Again, this boosts the economy of the countries within the European Union. With the European Union and it’s currency, the Euro, there is an increased cross-border employment. Businesses are more likely to employ and conduct business across different countries with the introduction of one currency. This means a person could work across the border in another country since the same currency is paid to employees across the European Union. There is an increase in the financial market stability with the introduction of the Euro across many countries as well. One currency means more stability across Europe and the members of the European Union. Inflation rates are decreased, as are the interest rates, to promote the growth of markets in these developing countries. Countries that wanted to become a part of the European Union had to shape up their economies, encouraging a growth in their marke ts, to keep up with the requirements of being a part of the European Union.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Euro’s position relative to the U.S. dollar and the potential political and economic consequences in relations between the U.S. and the European Union are very important topics when discussing trade between these nations. First, the Euro is worth 135% of one U.S. dollar. This should make it clear that we have to focus on exporting more of our goods to the European Union and its members rather than buying (importing) more of their goods during this time.

Personal Narrative: Why I Chose the Legal Studies Major :: essays research papers

Selecting a major has been the most difficult challenge I have faced as a student at UC Merced. While many students select their major based upon statistics and ideals, I base my decision primary on my strong commitment and my passion. Furthermore, while maturing the last two years, I have learned that a major should encompass your love, talents, and desire for success in that subject. As stated in my application, my first job was tending to young children in an after-camp day care environment held at my community camp during the summer time, which had led to my interest in psychology and human development. I have worked there on and off now for several years. It seemed that as each year progressed, I realized my love for working with kids and for adults had increased as well. I even pursued this into UC Merced where I joined the UCM Mentor Program supplied by the Police Department because I liked having the responsibility of helping the children with their studies and problems, giving advice and support to the parents and adults, and even interacting with students from my university. At first, I thought I was made for being a child psychologist but I realized my love was to improve the lives of the people, bring morality and peace to the environment around them. So I realized psychology wouldn't utilize all of my talents and complete my yearning for success, altho ugh it would fulfill a love in the subject of bettering others' lives. I wanted more and my next step was discovering a different occupation, or major besides human development. This awareness came to me while talking to my role model, my uncle. My uncle had spent all of his life as a detective in Russia and when he visited me several years ago he gave me good advice about my future plans. He encouraged me to look into a couple areas of the law enforcement field and I immediately fell in love with the idea. After doing some research, I set my goals on becoming a distinguished lawyer, one that could help people in need of legal advice, fight for them legal battles and maybe even save their futures. I believe this noble goal is worth any hardship and I am willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it.

Critique of Christmas Time in Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol Essay

Critique of Christmas Time in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol An audience member's gleeful first-hand account of Charles Dickens's public reading of "A Christmas Carol" unwittingly exposes an often overlooked contradiction in the story's climax: "Finally, there is Scrooge, no longer a miser, but a human being, screaming at the 'conversational' boy in Sunday clothes, to buy him the prize turkey 'that never could have stood upon his legs, that bird'" (96). Perhaps he is no longer a miser but, by this description, Scrooge still plays the role of a capitalist oppressor, commanding underlings to fetch him luxuries. While Dickens undoubtedly lauds Scrooge's epiphany and ensuing change, "A Christmas Carol" also hints at the author's resentment for an industrial society's corrupted notion of the "Christmas spirit." Through instances of goodwill which Christmas provokes, Dickens suggests that Christmas is only an interruptive exception from the otherwise capitalistic calendar. Even when Scrooge becomes altruistic, as in the above scene, his philanthropy still operates under the guise of capitalism, measured in economic terms and aimed ultimately at providing himself with pleasure. Dickens subtly turns his critique of ephemeral and selfish "holiday time" to the reader. The straightforward, Aristotelian structure of the narrative and the constant foreshadowing and repetition reduce any potential anxiety about the story's outcome. The main cause for anxiety over the conclusion of any sentimental tale is to identify with the protagonist in some way. Although Scrooge is a caricature with whom few would commiserate (or admit to so doing), Dickens's Three Spirits lure us into sympathy with the miser while simultaneously engenderi... ... it, since they, already presumably aware of their own Scrooge-ness, need the lesson less than the hypocritical Mrs. Cratchits do. Both sets of listeners will, however, seek out the story each Christmas; for the Mrs. Cratchits, an innocuous retelling reduces anxiety about identification with Scrooge, and the Scrooges receive a reminder of the changes that need to be effected on a social, rather than local, scale. In either case, a rereading is what Dickens solicits, and not only for his own canonization. When "A Christmas Carol" marks the memory of various Christmases for readers, they will, if not perceive all time in such a form, at least live in a literary Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Works Cited: Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol. USA: Bantam Books, 1997. Genette, GÃ ©rard. Narrative Discourse. Trans. Jane E. Lewin. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1980.

What Role do Unconscious Factors Play in the Experience of Organisational Life, and how can Workers’ Appreciation of these Factors Lead to better Outcomes for Users?

1. Introduction The following essay considers the role that unconscious factors play in organisational life, and looks at the extent to which awareness of these factors amongst workers can improve outcomes for users. The idea is considered both in relation to appropriate literature and also in relation to my own experience of a social work organisation, the placement I experienced in a children’s home. The ways in which social work practice can be oppressive and anti-oppressive, and the impact of both of these for the user, are also explored. My interest in this area has been informed by my experience in a care home for children (Adeza) as a student social worker. I worked with a wide range of client groups including children (and their families) under stress, children (and their families with mental health problems, children at risk and children with physical and mental disabilities. I had a wide range of duties including administrative functions, advising clients and supporting children in a variety of ways. I became aware of the ways in which unconscious attitudes can impact upon the way clients and other staff are treated through a phenomenon I later learned was called projection, that is, the psychological mechanism whereby worries and fears about oneself are seen as present in other people, and demonised. For example, some clients had internalised a set of notions about being inadequate parents, which were then projected onto staff at the home, in a variety of ways. 2. The Notion of the Unconscious Understanding human needs, wants and motivations is a central part not only of organizational theory but also of human psychology generally. Various theories have been proposed to explain the variety of behaviours which characterise human beings, for example behaviourism, which reduces the role of the ‘mental’ and looks at human actions in terms of stimulus and response (Baran and Davis 2011), and Weber’s idea of work as salvation (Nelson and Quick 2010). However, the notion of the unconscious has been widely influential, and derives from work by Freud in the late 19th and early 20th Century.The idea is situated in the wider set of notions developed by Freud called psychoanalysis.Central to Freud’s idea is the notion that â€Å"powerful unconscious drives, mostly sexual and aggressive†¦ motivate human behaviour and put people in conflict with social reality† (Saiyadain 2003, p. 32).For Freud, the unconscious is that of which we are unaware, but which can manifest itself through thoughts and behaviours. He separated out three levels of consciousness: The conscious (everything one is aware of) The preconscious (things one is not aware of, but which could be brought to consciousness through effort of will) The unconscious (that of which one is unaware, and which one is normally powerless to bring to conscious awareness) The unconscious includes desires, buried memories, desires and needs. Individuals can be motivated by unconscious forces, which make themselves manifest through behaviour, thoughts, feelings and words. Freud believed therapeutic work could be done by uncovering these unconscious forces and making the individual aware of their deeper motivations through a process of psychoanalysis (McKenna 2000). Freud suggested a number of ways in which the contents of the unconscious work to influence human behaviour. These include regression, repression, sublimation and projection. Regression is the phenomenon whereby people return to earlier behaviour patterns (for example a stutter), repression means the ways in which unpleasant emotions are blocked from conscious awareness, sublimation denotes the way in which impulses (perhaps aggressive) which are unacceptable to the conscious mind are channelled into another activity, for example devotion to work or sport, while projection means the mechanism whereby thoughts or feelings which are not acceptable to the conscious mind are attributed to someone else (finding them lazy, for example) (Saiyadain 2003). Intuitively, and based on my experience in my placement, I feel that there is evidence for the existence of the unconscious. For example, I have seen adolescent children regress to an earlier stage, displaying bed wetting and thumb sucking for example, particularly at times of great stress. However, Freud’s ideas have been subject to an intense critique, particularly that there is a lack of empirical evidence for them (Hersen and Thomas 2006). Additionally, it has been pointed out that the idea of the unconscious lacks predictive power: although it can function as a good explanation of behaviour, it cannot indicate how people will behave in the future (Abbott 2001). I can see that these are valid criticisms: however, as the next sections show, I feel the concept of the unconscious and its mechanisms invaluable in understanding people better, which I feel is a necessary part of delivering the person-centred care that is a key part of social care in the 21st Century (Joseph Row ntree Foundation 2011). 3. The Unconscious and Organisational Life As well as being widely influential (though much debated) in psychology generally, the concept of the unconscious and its mechanisms has been incorporated into theories of organisational life. The key element to the idea of the unconscious is the notion that â€Å"much of the rational and taken-for-granted reality of everyday life expresses preoccupations and concerns that lie beneath the reality of conscious awareness† (Morgan 1998, p. 186). It follows that organisational theories need to take account of the hidden dynamics which influence the workplace. In addition, it has been suggested that theorists of organisational behaviour have been influenced by unconscious forces such as repression. Morgan 1998, for example, suggests that Taylor’s model of ‘scientific’ and rational management might have been rooted in his puritan background with strong routines and work ethic. Morgan also suggests that the predominant bureaucracy of modern work places might be a function of repression. Worker’s reactions to these types of workplace will depend upon their own mechanisms of regression. In other workplaces, organisational culture can often by dominated by self-centred attempts at wrestling control from others, or the playing out of â€Å"a phallic-narcissistic ethos† (Morgan 1998, p. 192) within the workplace. Often, the workplace might reproduce the traditional patriarchal family, with a dominant style associated with ‘male’ qualities of aggression, ambition and rigid rules. One unconscious mechanism which I was particularly aware of in my placement was projection.In this, workers deal with internal turmoil by attributing the key elements of what is bothering them to someone else rather than themselves. For example, in an organisation, poor results might be blamed by one group (managers) on ground-level staff, and vice-versa (Rashid 1983). Projection has been succinctly defined as the â€Å"attribution of one’s own attitudes and beliefs onto others† (Borkowski 2009, p. 56). In order to avoid feelings of guilt or excess anxiety, workers might see their co-workers as possessing the qualities they most dislike in themselves (Borkowski 2009). While it allows the person doing the projecting to protect their self-esteem, the mechanism whereby co-workers, for example, are blamed for putting a person in a bad mood, are damaging to organisational efficiency (Borkowski 2009). It can lead to stereotyping and, through this, to oppressive working metho ds. stereotyping is a way of organising experience by applying common traits to certain groups of people (the elderly, ethnic minorities, children). While it allows abstract thought to take place more easily, it can lead to the association of negative traits with particular groups. Projection seems to be at work in stereotyping, whereby a group is seen to possess negative characteristics not held by the person ascribing the characteristics. It has been shown that these mechanisms can lead to worse health and social care for certain groups seen as ‘the other’ (Borkowski 2009). One example is that people working with abused children can be marginalised and rendered invisible, as society as a whole does not want to admit that such abuse exists. Nurses are also often forced to bear the brunt of negative projections from service users and other professionals. In addition, social work in general often suffers, as its existence underlines the presence of vulnerable and needy p eople, mortality and other key issues. These all evoke deep and complex feelings in others, and workers in these professions often bear the weight of others negative expectations, â€Å"issues of dependency, aggression and sexuality† Yelloly and Henkel 1995, p. 195). Within social work, it has been acknowledged that certain forms of practice can be oppressive, particularly to service users but also to other workers. Anti-oppressive practice works to overturn ways of working which marginalise, scapegoat and downplay the people who they work for, both on a personal and micro- level, and at a wider social level. While anti-oppressive practice covers a wide range of activities, becoming aware of the extent to which people are marginalised through unconscious mechanisms such as projection is one key part (Balloch and Hill 2007). Becoming aware of the extent to which negative characteristics are projected onto others, either individuals or groups, is a central step in moving away from oppression. Today, immigrant groups can find themselves scapegoated for the wider problems of society, for example, both by individuals and by political groups (Shulman 2008). Anti oppressive practice offers a way for projection, stereotyping and discrimination to be co mbated in the workplace, through an attitude of criticality and reflection upon situations in the workplace. The process of uncovering oppression can be likened to that of becoming aware of unconscious processes, as well as uncovering motivations which derive from unexamined unconscious attitudes and mechanisms (Heenan 2011). 4. Understanding the Unconscious and Improved User Outcomes The ways in which the unconscious operates in the organisational context, the negative impact it can have, and the opportunities it presents for ultimately improving user outcomes is illustrated by my experience working in a children’s home.I have concentrated above on the phenomenon of projection, because this was the unconscious mechanism which most appeared to be in existence during my placement. One child with whom I worked, supporting to live independently after care, would frequently express the opinion that the women staff with whom she came into contact were ‘useless’, were over-emotional, and were not as effective as male staff. I used to find this frustrating, particularly as she was female herself, until I put her case into the context of her background. One of a family of girls, with whom her mother was unable to cope, she had internalised negative feelings about women, developed a androgenous, tomboy-ish appearance herself, and projected doubts and fe ars about herself onto female staff. There are also discusses two related unconscious mechanisms (first identified by Melanie Klein), splitting and projective identification, both of which I experienced during my placement.Splitting often occurs in groups, and refers to the process whereby a situation is polarised and seen as ‘black’ and ‘white’, that is, with ‘good’ and ‘bad’ elements. It happens when people are unable to tolerate ambiguity (Zachar 2000). I saw this in group discussions between staff, when one manager who took a fairly strict line to discipline and adherence to regulations was demonised by staff informally after meetings. I felt (perhaps because I was an outsider) that although she might have expressed her ideas better, there was a great deal of sound advice in what she said. However, others seemed unable to see this, preferring to make her a ‘scapegoat’ for everything they disliked about the experience of working in the care home. I also saw this situation improve when a higher manager called a meeting in which we discussed communication styles used within the home.I also saw projective identification, where people unconsciously identify with another person or group, with one staff member, who seemed to project feelings of her own vulnerability (she had just gone through a difficult divorce) onto the female white children in our care. Her attitude towards this gender / ethnic group was markedly different, she would spend extra time with them, and buy small presents. I was present when this was noted by another staff member, who carefully suggested her experience might be leading to her favouritism. She took this suggestion very well, and her behaviour, I noticed, became fairer afterwards. 5. Conclusion There are some problems with the notion of the unconscious, particularly its lack of predictive power and lack of empirical evidence. However, in terms of my placement in a children’s care home, I have found it a useful way of understanding why people – both staff and clients – behave in the way they do. It also seems to offer a useful tool for moving towards an anti-oppressive practice. In my experience, if people are made aware of the ways in which unconscious mechanisms operate, they are better able to see their oppressive actions, better able to understand why they are acting as they do, and as a consequence able to change the way they behave in a way which is beneficial to clients. 6. References Abbott, T (2001) Social and personality development Routledge, UK Balloch, S and Hill, M J (2007) Care, community and citizenship: research and practice in a changing policy context, The Policy Press, Bristol. Baran, S J and Davis, D K (2011) Mass Communication Theory: Foundations, Ferment, and Future (6th edn.), Cengage Learning, Belmont, CA Borkowski, N (2009) Organizational behavior, theory, and design in health care, Jones & Bartlett Learning, USA Foster, A and Roberts, V Z (1998) Managing mental health in the community: chaos and containment, Routledge, UK Heenan, D (2011) Social Work in Northern Ireland: Conflict and Change, The Policy Press, Bristol. Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2011) ‘Transforming social care: sustaining person-centred support’, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, UK McKenna, E F (2000) Business psychology and organisational behaviour (3rd edn.), Psychology Press, UK Morgan, G (1998) Images of organization, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, California CA. Nelson, D L and Campbell, J (2010) Organizational Behavior: Science, the Real World, and You (7th edn.), Cengage Learning, Belmont, CA. Rashid, S A (1983) Organizational Behaviour, Taylor & Francis, UK Saiyadain, M S (2003) Organisational Behaviour,m Tata McGraw-Hill Education, India. Shulman, L (2008) The Skills of Helping Individuals, Families, Groups, and Communities (6th edn.), Cengage Learning, Belmont, CA. Thomas, J C (2006) Personality and everyday functioning, John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken, NJ. Yelloly, M and Henkel, M (1995) Learning and teaching in social work: towards reflective practice (2nd edn.), Jessica Kingsley Publishers, UK Zachar, P (2000) Psychological Concepts and Biological Psychiatry: A Philosophical Analysis, John Benjamins Publishing Company, USA

Deaf Culture Paper

To better appreciate what Deaf culture is, let's go to an opposing view and take a look at what Deaf culture is not. There are those who insist there is no such thing as Deaf culture. Some people will argue that deafness is nothing more than a disability, a disability that must be fixed. Getting this disability â€Å"fixed† may involve repeated visits to an audiologist, getting fitted for hearing aids, attending numerous speech therapy sessions, or even undergoing surgery to get a cochlear implant.This is what's called the pathological approach to deafness. It focuses on what's wrong–the inability to hear–and utilizes numerous technological and therapeutic strategies to solve the problem. The success of this approach varies from individual to individual. For many hard of hearing or late-deafened people, technology may be a welcomed addition that allows them to continue functioning in the world of their choice. â€Å"Deafness is a disability that is so unique, it s very nature causes a culture to emerge from it.Participation in this culture is voluntary. † There have been numerous Deaf publications over the years, such as Silent News, DeafNation, SIGNews, Deaf Life, and more. There are also catalogs chock full of books written by Deaf authors covering a wide range of topics. Some of these books include fascinating accounts of Deaf history and folklore. We've been blessed with numerous Deaf performing artists such as Clayton Valli, Patrick Graybill, Bernard Bragg, Mary Beth Miller, Freda Norman, Gil Eastman, Peter Cook, C.J. Jones, Nathie Marbury, Evelyn Zola, The Wild Zappers, Rathskellar, and many more. In hearing culture, it is rude to stare. However, in Deaf culture, staring is necessary. If you break eye contact while a person is signing to you, you are incredibly rude. That's like plugging your ears when someone is speaking to you. In hearing culture, facial expression is very limited. If you move your face or body a lot while you are talking, you can be seen as â€Å"weird† (and nobody wants to be weird).However, in Deaf culture, facial expression and body movement is required for ASL. It's part of ASL grammar. It's OK to be â€Å"weird† in Deaf culture†¦ it's normal! And absolutely necessary. In hearing culture, you normally introduce yourself by your first name only. Deaf people, however, introduce themselves by their full names, and sometimes even what city they're from or what school they went to. By city, I mean the city you grew up in, not what city you are currently residing in. And by school I usually mean a residential school you attended.The Deaf community is very small, and Deaf people like to find those specific commonalities with each other. Men are more likely to develop hearing loss or complete deafness than women. About 20% of Americans have reported some degree of hearing loss. 2-3 children out of 1,000 are born deaf every year. 9/10 children with a degree of hearing loss are born from hearing parents. 1 out of 5 people who’d benefit from hearing aids; actually wear them. About 4,000 cases of sudden deafness occur each year. 10-15 percent of sudden deafness patients know how they lost their hearing.

Contribute to the Child and Young Person Development Essay

An explanation of how to give adult support to the children for each of these transitions. If the child has had a death in the family. For instance, a child that they miss their parents or families and they want to be with parents and don’t like to stay at the nursery, firstly they need to be reassured, hugged and soothed, so they can feel that you are there to help them to listen to them, I can talk to them and encourage him or her to do some activities that can help the child to forget the parents for a certain hile, I can encourage him or her to play with other children, tell them a story, or bring them in a home corner to have a quiet time or 1 to 1 talking so they can express their feelings and afterwards they’ll might feel like getting involved with other children when they feel more comfortable and they can make friends and make their bereavement fade with time. They will also need therapy so they can talk through this difficulty or psychologists to help the chil d. Going to nursery. Going to nursery for the first time is not easy, the child might be worried because they don’t have friend there, they don’t know anyone and they don’t know what do, most of the children, will be shy, and so on. As a nursery practitioner I need to know how to deal with children at the first time in the nursery and I need to think of what best I can do to help them settle in, to make the children development progress. It would be good to meet the parents and child before starting nursery, to see the child daily environment by a home visit. Some children find it difficult to separate from mummy when starting the nursery and might cry, I can seat him or she on my lap reassuring the child, talk to him or her 1 to 1 let the child know that mummy will come back later after lunch, at this time children need to be hug and soothe so they know I am there to help them, take care of them, give them love, I can introduce the other children to him or her, the child might get interested in what other children are doing so I can encourage and help the child to join in. Some might take a while to settle in and might cry they might have a special toy that they use for comfort and bring it with them. All the staff of the nursery will need to work hard to encourage the child to take part in activities, to make him or her feel welcome. I could talk to parents to know more the child’s like and dislikes and use the knowledge to make an interesting activity for the child. Also allow them visits beforehand to the nursery and so they became familiar with the staff. Moving home/ country. Families who moved from one place to another, it’s quite hard for the child to adjust to a new environment, education and people. But I can do a various activities to help assist the child to deal with their emotional feelings while transition takes place. If a child is new, I can encourage the child to talk about where they used to be, I could look at a map with other children and show where he is from and how far he come from, maybe we could encourage the child to draw a picture of the new nursery to send it to ask his parents to send it to their friend in that country or even family e. . grandmother. Allow the child time to settle in. I can spend time with the child doing 1:1 activities so that they can get to know me. Admitted to hospital. When a child has a long term medical condition and needs to be admitted to hospital very often, it gets hard on the child when coming back to school as they have missed much, I can keep in contact with the parents to know the child progr ess, I could arrange to bring the child homework so he or she can keep up with the rest of the children, I could arrange to visit him or her with some student at a time to encourage him or her. If it was a child from a nursery I could prepare some activities to take to the hospital for the child to make him or her fell included, encourage the children in the nursery to do a get well card, once the child was back at the nursery I could arrange a game of dressing up of doctors.

Global Poverty and Cultural Issues Essay

Poverty has been a pervasive phenomenon in the world. Hunger, high level of illiteracy, high rates of child morality to mention but a few, all have characterized poverty. In response to fight against poverty, several strategies have been developed globally to help improve the quality of human living which have had different impacts on social, economic and political spheres. The purpose of this presentation is it to discuss the global poverty in the context of globalization, the role played by international monetary agencies in addressing this issue and the resulting effects on culture. Global poverty It has been found that almost half of the people in the world are living on less than $2. 50 in a day and more than eighty percent of the world’s population live in the countries which have a widening income difference. This is reflected by the fact that forty percent of the poorest of the world’s population account for only five percent of the global income while twenty percent of the richest people account for three quarters of the whole world income (Wilson, pp 172). In level of literacy, it has been found that close to one billion people have stepped in twenty first century unable to read a book or even be able to sign in their names (Birdsall, Kelley and Sinding pp 153). Approximately forty million people are living with HIV/AIDS and about five hundred million cases of malaria are witnessed every year. Africa has the highest percentages of these cases and deaths. In the developing countries majority of people do lack adequate access to clean and safe water and still a greater portion lack basic sanitation. Children who are born, one billion live in poverty while about six hundred and forty millon children live without adequate shelter while about four hundred million children lack access to safe water. In rural areas three out of four people are found to earn less than $ 1 and the same proportion of the world population is malnourished. The growth of slums is at alarming rate where out of half of world’s population living in cities and towns, one out of three urban dwellers lives in slum conditions (Otlin, pp67-69). Globalization and Poverty Reduction The term globalization refers to a process of interaction and integration that involves different groups such people, government of different nations and companies. It is driven by international trade and investment and is aided by information technology. It has caused significant effects on culture, environment, political systems, economic development and human physical well being of many societies around world (Lawig, pp15). The ideology of globalization has been made effective by policies that have paved way to economies both locally and internationally. The world has become a global village. Commodities which had been earlier confined in one part of the world are now available across the globe. Both goods and people can reach destinations in a relative short time due to improved infrastructure. Also, work can be outsourced from any part of the world provided there is internet connectivity. Apart from policies, technology has been the great driver of globalization. Information technology has also become an important tool for identifying and perusing economic opportunities in the fastest rate possible in addition to more informed economic trends analysis. In the context of global poverty, globalization is considered to be an approach to boost the poor countries and their citizens to develop economically and improve their living standards. Free trade creates new opportunities for new investments, jobs and enhances more efficient way in resources use that in turn increases productivity. Liberalization of capital flows enables greater access to external resources needed to finance investments. Besides this, foreign direct investment do encourage the transfer of technology , easy accessibility to a wider range of better quality of goods at competitive prices in addition to managerial expertise and skills (Niggle, pp 22-24). World Bank and IMF The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are main international financial institutions in the world. In Africa for example, they are the major sources that provide financial support. Over the past the poorest countries in Africa have often turned to World Bank and IMF to request for financial support due to their impoverished situation. To be able to implement this, these agencies have Structural Adjustment Programs/Policies (SAPs). These are economic policies that must be followed by any country that is in need of their loans. These policies in many countries, they have common principles such as export led growth, privatization, liberalization and efficiency of the free market (Winter, pp36). Structural Adjustment Programs demands the countries to devalue their currencies against the dollar. This helps to make goods cheaper for foreigners to buy. Also there is need for the government to balance their budgets and not to overspend, remove price controls and state subsides. Balancing national budgets usually should be through cutting government spending and usually not by raising taxes. The implication of this is deep cuts in government programs such as education, health, social care as well as removal of subsides that are aimed to control prices of basic necessities such as food. These SAPs often emphasis on production and exportation of primary commodities like tea and coffee for earning foreign exchange. However, in practice the Structural adjustment Programs have only result to escalating state of poverty in countries where they are implemented due to various reasons. First, privatization requires governments to sell off the enterprises to private owners and in many cases they are foreign investors. This result to lay-off and pay cuts for employee in these privatized organizations. Secondly, reduction in government spending results to reducing services to the poor especially the critical ones such as health and education. Thirdly, the promotion of exports by countries as required in SAPs is done at the expense of production for domestic needs. This is because the export orientation is often involved with displacement of people who grow food for their domestic own consumption because land is occupied by plantations for growing crops for foreign markets. The fourth factor is that increased interest rates that are recessionary are bound to affect national economies in that small businesses where women are the main actors find it hard to access to affordable credit which make it hard to survive. This leads to unemployment. Lastly, trade liberalization requires elimination of tariff protections for industries. When this happens in developing countries, it causes mass layoff of employees. For instance in Mozambique World Bank and IMF ordered for removal of export tax on cashew nut that caused about ten thousand workers to loose their jobs (Udayagiri & Walton, pp101-102). Effects of World Bank and IMF Aids on Zimbabwe: A Cultural Perspective Culture can be defined as the perspectives, practices and products of a social group. It is shared patterns of behaviors and interactions, cognitive constructs and affective understanding that are acquired through socialization process. It is through these shared patterns that identify the members of a particular culture group and also it distinguishes those of another group. The following is a cultural perspective discussion on the effects of international monetary funds and globalization in Zimbabwe. Since Zimbabwe sought aid from IMF and World Bank and adopted their Structural Adjustment Programs, the situation has been deteriorating. The negative effects of Structural Adjustment Programs have not been felt on economy levels alone but also in the Zimbabwean culture. Zimbabwe was a choice in this presentation because of its current worrying socio-economic trends which have been catalyzed by high inflation rates than any other African country and has also witnessed tight IMF/World Bank screws (Mumbengegwi, pp 22-26) When IMF demanded adoption of SAPs by Zimbabwean government they were not tailored to address the local needs of common man. Rather they were in favor of foreign investors through trade liberalization. One of SAPs required Zimbabwe government to privatize state owned enterprises. This is culturally because most of Zimbabweans have been known, for instance, to be small-holder dairy farmers as their livelihood. As result of privatization, for instance of dairy cooperatives through floatation of share, majority of the farmer experienced a cultural crisis. This is because they were unable to continue with their selling of milk. They could no longer enjoy relatively cheap and affordable credit facilities as before making it impossible to continue with dairy farming. Also the issue of privatization provoked alterations in land tenure system. It has been a tradition to own land on communal basis as opposed to private land ownership. However, this tradition has been broken through issuing of freehold title to male landholders which never used to exist before. This anticipated productivity crisis particularly in farming system in many small scale commercial farming. SAPs had effect on the Zimbabwean culture of maize farming. Before implementation of SAPs in Zimbabwe, the country was used to grow maize in large scale which made it to have enough to feed its population and have stock piles. But due to the demands of World Bank and IMF for the country to be export oriented to increase if foreign exchange, it forced the country to sell all of its stockpiles in obedience. Due to unfavorable climatic conditions, now Zimbabwe does not have any maize reserves to feed it population as it was its culture. It now relies on importation which is scarcely enough to meet food needs of it starving citizens. Before, introduction of export-oriented concept in Zimbabwe, it practiced traditional farming that focused on growing of indigenous crops for local consumption. This has gradually phased out because of SAPs demand for growing crops that are export oriented. Instead of improving on indigenous crops that will enhance attainment of food sufficiency , community has ended up suffering from extreme hunger because growing the local foods have been abandon for cash crop growing. To facilitate cash crop growing, most of land was commercialized. This privatization and commercialization of land have suppressed women rights in regard to land control. In the past when communal land system was practiced, women had access and control over the land. But commercialization and privatization of the land in the country have adversely affected land rights of most of the women because they now have limited access and control of the land despite the fact that they are the main contributors in agricultural production (Wod, pp 122). World and IMF policies further demanded the Zimbabwean government to reduce its national budget by retrenching certain number of employees and strict wages control. In addition to this, it was expected to cut down social spending on health, health and public services and charge them some fee. To make matter worse apart from privatization of state owned enterprises, Value Added Tax was to be introduced. This resulted to high cost of living which altogether affected the normal way of living of Zimbabwean citizens. This led to high rate of unemployment. In response to this family ties started loosening as many men migrated in search for jobs causing increased rate of female headed household in the country which is contrary to existing culture. Thorough keen scrutiny, one would clearly see that globalization ideology is Structural Adjustment Policies in disguise. This is because it also lobbies for trade liberalization. Because the majority of Zimbabwe citizens are small scale entrepreneurs, trade liberalization has severely affected them. Women being the major actors in agriculture production, trade liberalization have failed them to acquire credit and other farming inputs because of their high cost. This has resulted to increased rural urban migration, great number of squatters in urban areas and high crime rate which has now become a new cultural phenomenon. There has been increased moral decay. Significant numbers of women have resorted to cross border trade whereby there have been several reported cases of extramarital affairs while the husbands who have been left at home indulge in the same (Schweiker, pp11). Children are no longer seen by fires side listening to counsel that instill values and norms that hold society together because every one is struggling for survival as living standard has skyrocketed in the country Conclusion World Bank and IMF policies have caused more evil than good in the countries which they have been implemented. SAPs have not been tailored to address the poverty situation in developing countries but are only to cater the interest of those formulated them. They do not attempt to address poverty using local context perspective but are generalized to favor the international corporations from developed countries. But because aid can not be given without compliance to these polices, the needy countries end up falling being their preys. Both SAPs and globalization is one and the same thing and their effects are not only felt in spheres of political or economies alone but also deeply felt at cultural sphere. Their effects alter practices and perspectives of community by imposing a change in tradition way of doing things and because of the essence for survival some practices are dropped while others are adopted to cope with the present challenges that are threat to human living such as hunger. References Birdsall, N. Kelley, A. 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