Monday, September 30, 2019
Mississippi Department of corrections Fails Essay
Mississippi Department of corrections Fails to provide proper care and fulfill their constitutional obligations to prisoners in privately owned prison. MDOC considers themselves above the law, and fails to hold up their responsibilities under constitutional laws. They do what they want when they want without concern to anyone. They do not provide adequate and safe meals, nor do they provide proper health care, and in general do not abide by the Mississippi state laws they have committed to punishing others for. They give contracts to privately owned companies from other states, whom honestly could care less about the inmates or the people of Mississippi and are only taking the contracts for the purpose of money gain. MDOC hit with lawsuit over†Inhumane conditions†at prison!!! Chris Davis on May 30th, 2013 filed a lawsuit in Jackson, Ms. Thursday by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern poverty Law alleges the Mississippi Department of Corrections has forgotten it’s constitutional obligations to its prisoners at the East Mississippi Correctional facility, a privately run prison under state supervision in Lauderdale County. The suit seeks â€Å"injunctive relief†meaning Mississippi must improve conditions to the satisfaction of the plaintiffs to settle the suit â€Å" East Mississippi Correctional Facility is a destination for individuals who suffer from mental illness†, says Owens. Unfortunately, while they are supposed to get treatment, they get nothing of the like. The conduct that happens there is a shock to the conscience of a civilized society. The most vulnerable continue to be exploited, abused and in some cases tortured. There are also situations where inmates are not provided with proper care or living conditions. (Judy Owens Audio)†some of the conditions are inmates who ask for treatment have been responded to with fire extinguishers and/ or faced with pepper spray, just for asking for help. News Mississippi immediately reached out to the Ms. Dept. of Corrections for their reaction and their comment was; â€Å"we have not been served, we will respond in court,†sa id spokesperson Tara Booth. Owens said the SPLC tried to meet with MDOC but was turned down. Owens also says he knows about budget problems within the department but he believes that does not relieve them of their constitutional obligations to prisoners. â€Å"This is a case about decency and treating people with respect,†said ACLU Att. Gabe Eber. †When you take a group of seriously mentally ill people and house them in filthy conditions, deny them basic medical and mental health care, you beat them and let them suffer abuse†¦. that’s a predictable recipe for disaster, But it’s got a fix!!! www. newsms. m/corrections-hit-with-lawsuit-over-inhumane-conditions-at-prison- We need a plan to fix the prisons and a commitment to follow through with that plan. I personally believe one solution to fix this problem is that Mississippi should manage their own prisons and stop hiring the job out to private out of state management contractors, that could care less about the people in our state . This would also save our state a lot of money to go toward much better things like homeless shelters for our homeless people or to feed our hungry people. What do you think? Shouldn’t Mississippi take care of their own?
Sunday, September 29, 2019
International Trade and Trade Restrictions
International Trade and Trade Restrictions International Trade and Trade Restrictions International trade increases the number of goods that domestic consumers can choose from, decreases the cost of those goods through increased competition, and allows domestic industries to ship their products abroad. While all of these seem beneficial, free trade is not widely accepted as completely beneficial to all parties and trade restrictions are applied.Trade restrictions can be in the form of tariffs, which are taxes on imports; quotas, which are limits on the quantity of a particular good that can be imported or exported; or other trade restrictions. International trade efficiencies, trade restrictions, and the consequences of these restrictions will be discussed further.World trade offers many advantages to the trading countries: access to markets around the world, lower cost through economies of scale, the opportunity to utilize abundant resources, better access to information about marke ts and technology, improved quality honed by competitive pressure, and lower prices for consumers (McEachern, 2012, p. 733). Comparative advantage, specialization, and trade allow people to use their scarce resources most efficiently to satisfy their unlimited wants.Comparative Advantage is the ability to make something at a lower opportunity cost than other producers face (McEachern, 2012, p. 32). The ability to make a good at a lower opportunity cost gives that individual, firm, region, or country a comparative advantage. Even if a country has absolute advantage in all goods, they should specialize in producing the goods in which it has a comparative advantage. If each country specializes and trades according to the law of comparative advantage, everyone would benefit from greater consumption possibilities.McEachern provides three reasons for international specialization: countries having different resource endowments, greater economies of scale can be achieved when firms particip ate in international trade, and tastes differ from country to country (McEachern, 2013, p. 719-720). Every country has a comparative advantage in the production of some products. This means that the labor and capital resources available in the reason are more productive when focused towards a particular industry and thus are able to be produce that product better as a result.In the case of the textile industry, Pakistan enjoys a comparative advantage as it has many cotton fields, providing it direct access to the raw material for the industry. It further has been operating in that industry for a long time that has spawned a lot of trained workforce relating to that industry in the country. Therefore, law of comparative advantage dictates that it should produce textile materials. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations (WTO, 2012).Their goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business. The WTO and agreements such as NAFTA open up free trade, allowing goods to move freely and thereby aiding consumers in various countries in terms of prices and quality. It also spawns healthy competition in the local industries. Trade restrictions can lead to a breakdown in competition and can lead to adverse effects in the local and international market. Restrictions can benefit certain domestic producers that lobby their government for benefits.Congress tends to support the group that fights back, so trade restrictions often persist, despite the clear and widespread gains from freer trade. For example, U. S. growers of sugar cane have been protected from imports, which results in an increase in U. S. sugar prices. Higher prices hurt domestic consumers, but they are usually unaware. As McEachern states, â€Å"Consumers remain largely oblivious. †Who is responsible for trade ethics? Government might be the initial answer but all constitu ents involved should be aware and be transparent. An example is Nike, Inc.They provid a statement in understanding how to change the way an industry views its labor force. It does not happy by monitoring factories alone. Monitoring reveals the issues, issues that in turn are locked into a complex web of root causes. The ability to address these root causes should be shared by many, owned by no single constituent (Nike, Inc. , 2013, p. 1). One of their strategies is to transform working relationships with their contracted factories to incentivize change that will benefit workers. Are trade restrictions effective? Trade protection can foster inefficiencies.The immediate cost of such restrictions includes not only the welfare loss from higher domestic prices but also the cost of resources used by domestic producer groups to secure the favored protection (McEachern, 2012, p. 732). These costs may become permanent if the industry never realizes the economies of scale and never becomes co mpetitive. Protecting one stage of production usually requires protecting downstream stages of production as well. The biggest problem with imposing trade restrictions are that other countries usually retaliate which shrinks the gains from trade.Some experts believe the costs of protecting the jobs of workers in vulnerable industries, which are ultimately borne by taxpayers or consumers, far exceed the potential cost of retraining and finding new jobs for those workers (Globalization 101, 202, para. 1). In addition, that it may not promote firms and industries to make necessary changes to challenge foreign competition and find efficiencies to which then would make them become even more dependent on government protection. As international trade has increased, conflicts over trade have also increased.Trade restrictions may continue to be very political in nature. The more companies like Nike and consumers start being more aware of ethical behavior around international trade, the more everyone will benefit. The U. S. government does take responsibility for workers who lose their jobs by international trade and have programs established to assist in training and support to re-employ those workers. As countries specialize and trade according to the law of comparative advantage, consumers should also benefit from efficient production and cheaper prices.The increase of technology may have an impact that will increase the speed at which international trade and efficiencies happen. References McEachern, W. A. (2012). Economics, 9e (9th ed). Mason, OH: South-Western. Globalization 101 (2013). The Levin Insitute. Consequences of trade restrictions. thttp://www. globalization101. org/consequences-of-trade-restrictions/ Nike, Inc. (2013). Responsibility. Targets and performance. http://www. nikeresponsibility. com/report/content/chapter/targets-and-performance#Labor World Trade Organization (2013). http://www. wto. org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/whatis_e. htm
Saturday, September 28, 2019
Program Need Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Program Need - Essay Example Of those children who have asthma, a large proportion of them are considered overweight when compared with peer groups. Type II diabetes has become more prevalent in children, mostly due to the obesity epidemic in America. Prior to 1992, childhood obesity contributed to only two to four percent. In 1994, that number had risen to sixteen percent. Obese children have a 12.6 times greater risk of having a high fasting blood insulin level, which is a factor for type II diabetes. High blood pressure, called hypertension, is also on the rise in children. There is a nine times greater risk of elevated blood pressure occurring persistently in obese children than in non-obese children. In addition, obese children and adolescents are 2.4 times more likely to have a high diastolic blood pressure reading and 4.5 times more likely to have an elevated systolic blood pressure reading than non-obese children. Orthopedic complications are another negative aspect of childhood obesity. These complicati ons are due to the fact that the growing bones and cartilage of growing children are not yet strong enough to support excess weight (Obesity in Youth, 2005). The psychosocial effects are just as important as the physical consequences of obesity. White girls, who are more likely to develop a negative body image, are greatly impacted by childhood obesity. These girls are then at a greater risk for the development of eating disorders later in life. Adolescent females report stigmatizing consequences of being obese. These include weight-related teasing by peers, name calling, and harmful comments by family members, coworkers, peers, and friends. Children and adolescents also report that others make negative assumptions about them due to their weight. These assumptions include that they are lazy, inactive, tough, and unclean (Collins, 2005). After-school exercise programs are becoming more popular throughout America. These programs are an excellent way for children to become more active and learn lifetime fitness skills. At one school in Virginia, students not only exercise and eat healthy snacks, they learn lifetime fitness skills such as calculating heart rate and using a pedometer to track their daily steps. Staff members are also involved in the program. Since the implementation of the program, one hundred students have become involved and staff members have lost a total of five hundred pounds (Glod, 2005). These positive results, combined with the growing prevalence of childhood obesity, clearly indicate the need for an after-school program in this district. Proposed Program Description The proposed program will have several components related to exercise participation, healthy eating, health education, and family and staff participation. The exercise component of the program will focus on cardiovascular wellness and incorporate aerobic exercises as well as strength-training activities. These activities can include walking, jogging, working with an exercise ball, using a rock climbing wall, calisthenics, isometric exercises, and working with free weights. Healthy eating will also play an important role in the after-school exercise program. The snacks that are provided will be low in sugar, fat, cholesterol, and sodium and will be of good nutritional value for the participants. These snacks can include fresh fruits,
Friday, September 27, 2019
M2 Disease Frequency Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
M2 Disease Frequency Paper - Assignment Example For example, the incidence of dental caries in the U.S. during the second half of the 20th century was significantly less than the incidence of dental caries in the first half of the 20th century. This can be attributed to the fact that public health authorities began fluoridating community drinking water in the middle of the 20th century (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2001). 2. Prevalence: It measures the occurrence of existing cases of a disease in a population for a specific period of time (Aschengrau & Seage, 2003). For example, researchers in India have found that the prevalence of oral cancer (especially squamous cell carcinoma) is extremely high among the poor (Yada, 2008). In fact, the prevalence of tobacco consumption increased up to the age of fifty years after which it leveled or declined (Yada, 2008). 3. Cause-specific mortality rate: It measures the number of deaths from a specific cause per 100,000 people per year (Aschengrau & Seage, 2003). Tobacco use can cause premature death from lung and other cancers, coronary heart disease, stroke and chronic respiratory diseases. In this context, smoking-attributable mortality rate (SAM) can be defined as the number of smoking related deaths per 100,000 people per year. For example, a recent study in Minnesota has revealed that the smoking attributable mortality rate in the state for adults aged 35 years and above is 215.1/100,000 people (CDC, 2011a). 4. Years of potential life lost: It refers to the estimated number of years that an individual would have lived if he or she had not died (Aschengrau & Seage, 2003). Cigarette smoking has been found to be responsible for one in every five deaths which is approximately 438,000 deaths each year (CDC, 2008). Therefore, cigarette smoking results in 5.5 million years of potential life list in the United States each year (CDC, 2008). 5. Case fatality rate: It is the number of deaths due to a specific disease as compared to the total number of
Thursday, September 26, 2019
The Simulator-Manual Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
The Simulator-Manual Paper - Essay Example :   This is a sample experimental run file   Seed: 0  Algorithm: FCFS Group Processes First Arrival Interarrival Duration CPU Burst I/O Burst 1 8 2.0 constant 4.00 uniform 8.00 14.00 constant 10.00 constant 6.00 Experimental Runs For 1 Experiment Experiment Commentary Run Modifications myexp This experiment contains 1 run myrun_1 algorithm FCFS key First Come First Served Starting run from experiment myexp Tue Feb 21 05:07:29 EST 2012 Starting run from myrun_1 Starting to run events using FCFS 40 events done in 18 milliseconds Event List at Time 86.58 Process Scheduling Simulator version 1.100L288 by S. Robbins supported by NSF grants DUE-9750953 and DUE-9752165. ... 1 05:07:32 EST 2012 Event list size is 0 at 86.58 Tue Feb 21 05:07:33 EST 2012 Number of new processes 0 at time 86.58 Tue Feb 21 05:07:34 EST 2012 Number of waiting processes 0 at time 86.58 Tue Feb 21 05:07:36 EST 2012 Number of processes 8 at time 86.58  ID   State   Started   Finished In CPU     Used    Total  Waiting   1   done       2.00      43.10      2    12.44    12.44      22.66   2   done       6.00      76.72      2    13.62    13.62      51.10   3   done      10.00      31.52      1     9.52     9.52      12.00   4   done      14.00      40.66      1     9.14     9.14      17.52   5   done      18.00      86.43      2    10.42    10.42      52.01   6   done      22.00      86.53      2    10.10    10.10      48.43   7   done      26.00      86.58      2    10.05    10.05      44.53   8   done      30.00      86.01      1     9.29     9.29      46.72 Tue Feb 21 05:07:37 EST 2012 Number of ready processes 0 at time 86.58 Tue Feb 21 05:07:38 EST 2012 Number of finished processes 8 at time 86.58  ID      Started   Finished  CPU Total    3       10.00      31.52       9.52    4       14.00      40.66       9.14    1        2.00      43.10      12.44    2        6.00      76.72      13.62    8       30.00      86.01       9.29
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Sonnet by Shakespeare to Explicate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Sonnet by Shakespeare to Explicate - Essay Example While the sonnet is largely straightforward, it does have a number of challenging images. In the third line, Shakespeare writes, â€Å"And trouble deaf heav'n with my bootless cries†(Shakespeare 3). Here, the narrator is indicating this in his loneliness he cries out to heaven with useless (‘bootless’) cries. Shakespeare advances this theme of despondency and loneliness, indicating that the narrator wishes that he had the life of others; Shakespeare writes, â€Å"Desiring this man’s art, and that man’s scope†(Shakespeare 7). The sonnet follows a Petrarchan structure, which is visible in the final six lines when the narrator indicates that despite his despondency, â€Å"Haply I think on thee, and then my state,/ Like to the lark at break of day arising†(Shakespeare 10-11). In these regards, the overriding theme and rhetorical strategy indicates that while the narrator experiences considerable despondency, the thought and image of his love make the trying times bearable. In conclusion, this essay has considered Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 29’. It has considered theme and rhetorical strategy, indicating that the poem is a love sonnet with a Petrarchan structure. Ultimately, the sonnet is a powerful and unique one within Shakespeare’s canon. References Shakespeare, William. Sonnet 29. Shakespeare Online.
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
The Impact of Logistics and Supply Chain Integration on Maritime Research Proposal
The Impact of Logistics and Supply Chain Integration on Maritime Transportation - Research Proposal Example The oceanic containers make sure liveliness of consignments and several ports are bestowed to this expertise and as a result, strengthen their position as a key hub center. There have been a number of convergences of â€Å"Maritime Transportation†with Maritime Logistics, and which can be attributed to the objective integration of the modes of transport obsessed by the packaging and the growing needs of the end-users, which demands the use of logistics concepts (Edgerton, 2013, p. 25). To study and evaluate the contemporary technologies of integrated cargo transportation by sea and land, in combination with the port, maritime and ground transportation technologies, new communication and information technologies, shipment forwarding as well as warehousing techniques. These will be done according to the flows of commodities and shipment itinerary abiding with the basic principles of logistics of timeliness, security and competence, and keeping harmony with national and international maritime law. Demand for uninterrupted freight and â€Å"transportation†methods for the upcoming concept of â€Å"supply chain†and logistics integration is increasingly rapidly (Edgerton, 2013, p. 25). The unending problems of congestion faced by road transport and the limitation of the rail transport networks have resulted in a development of more effective integrated transporting solution. Supply chain integration stands for an assuring but complicated tool, which is still growing as a weapon in the global industry place. To maintain this maturation procedure, more supply chain research is required to expose the critical barriers of the integration procedure. â€Å"Maritime transportation†industry is a vital industry whose significance is being increasingly recognised in the global trading practices (Edgerton, 2013, p. 25). Carbone and DeMartino
Monday, September 23, 2019
History of Judasim Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
History of Judasim - Essay Example However, after three months she was no longer able to hide him and was forced to throw him in the river. In a strange turn of events, pharaoh’s daughter picked up Moses and she decided to keep him as her son. The royal family adopted Moses and he was raised as a prince. However, Moses soon find out he was Hebrew. He one day killed an Egyptian for mistreating a Hebrew. He was forced to run away and was adopted by Hobab after he rescued his daughter from rude shepherds. One day as Moses was grazing his fathers in laws sheep on MT Horeb, he came across a burning bush (Neusner, 2010). Moses went and talked to the burning bush and this marked the start of his relationship with God. Moses was instructed to go return to Egypt and free the Hebrews. He would then lead them to the Promised Land. One key event that is associated with Moses is that he was sent by God to free the Hebrews for slavery. Moses went back to Egypt and met with the pharaoh telling him of God’s wishes. However, pharaoh was reluctant to free the Hebrews. He turned his rod into a snake as to show that he was sent by God. What transpired is that God sent ten plagues and Moses predicted each one of them. Moses turned river Nile into blood and this killed all the fish. This marked the first plague. In the second plague, Moses was able to bring all the frogs from river Nile to Egypt. Later, Moses infested Egypt with lice and flies. The pharaoh would still not allow freeing the Israelites. Moses inflicted a disease that killed all the Egyptians livestock. He then caused Egyptians to suffer from incurable boils and brought thunderstorms and hails. In the eighth plague, Egypt was covered by locusts which all the food they had planted. Moses initiated a total darkness in the ninth plague. After all this plagues, pharaoh was still standing strong on his resolve of not freeing the Hebrews. The 10th and final
Sunday, September 22, 2019
How to Meet Service Users Needs Essay Example for Free
How to Meet Service Users Needs Essay In this report the service users I am going to be focused on is disabled people and how Ealing promotes diversity. The legislation that relates to disabled people is the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. This act makes it unlawful to discriminate against disabled people. This legislation is designed to: * Make sure that people who have a disability get their medical needs * Makes sure that service providers access for disabled people by making reasonable adjustments * Ensure the rights of people with disabilities with regard to employment, access to education, transport, housing, facilities and services. This group of service users might be at risk of discrimination because of their disability. For example, an employer refuses to employ someone even though they are suitable for the job, because they are in a wheelchair. This is direct disability discrimination. Another example, they may be a policy applies to all individuals in a work place, puts those who share the same disability at a particular disadvantage when compared with those who dont share it. This is indirect discrimination. Carers must take responsibility and work with service users without discriminating against them. A health and social worker is very important in a disabled person’s life, and they play an important role because they make sure that they are in safety at all times. (They may be someone that is partially deaf, so she needs her hearing aid to communicate with people. So a health and social worker will probably show her how to put her hearing aid in effectively and keep them clean, or the health and social worker may do it for them) A health and social care worker needs to help them maintain their dignity so that they keep their self-respect. The Disability Discrimination Act (1995) and The Disability Discrimination Act (2005) organisations to protect individuals from being discriminated against in employment, education and management activities. They also protect people from discrimination in facilities and services. In 2002, the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 were introduced. This Act requires schools, colleges, universities, adult education providers and youth services to take the same steps as other service providers in ensuring that they do not discriminate against disabled people and make reasonable adjustments to their services and premises. The Codes of Practice provide a clear guide to the standards of practice and conduct that all those who work in UK social care should meet. Every social care worker should have a copy of the Codes. It is important that social care workers and their employers understand how the Codes link with other care standards. The types of health care workers that support this group are nurses, doctors, home care workers and support workers. These health care workers work in a hospital, or they come to your house and support you from your home. GSCC makes sure that service user’s rights are protected. In the GCSS Code of Conduct it says that Social Care workers must: * Protect the rights and promote the interests of service users and carers (treating each person as an individual and supporting service users’ rights to control their lives) * Strive and establish and maintain the trust and confidence of service users and carers (being honest and trustworthy, and communicating in a appropriate, accurate and straightforward way) * Promote the independence of service users white protecting them as far as possible from danger or harm (promoting the independence of service users and assisting them to understand and exercise their rights) * Respect the rights of service users whilst seeking to ensure that their behaviour does not harm themselves or other people (Taking necessary steps to minimise the risks of service users from doing actual or potential harm to themselves or other people) * Be accountable for the equality of their work and take responsibility for maintaining and improving their knowledge and skills. Ealing promotes diversity. For example, they have provided ramps at the back of all Ealing buses for people with wheelchairs so they are able to get on. This would make them feel like they are just as important as someone that can walk, as they are just important. Also, a Freedom Pass is provided by Ealing borough to give older and disabled people free travel on almost all public transport in London. Ealing is also giving three disabled people the chance to make their voices heard at this autumns political party conferences. They are willing to pay for a conference pass and travel costs for one disabled campaigner at each of the Liberal Democrat, Labour and Conservative conferences. A pass and travel for a carer can also be arranged if extra support would help them to attend the conference. I think this is very good because it shows that the community cares about what disabled people think as well, in result I feel that disabled people will feel very happy important. There is also The Willow Tree PlusBus service which offers dedicated journeys, mostly for shopping and leisure purposes, from the Islip Manor area. There’s The PlusBus service that is available for disabled people who cannot use public transport. Ealing also has a couple of day centres for disabled people. Like for example, Carlton Road Centre is a council-run day service for adults with learning disabilities. The service provides support to adult’s learning disabilities. The centre provides art, games, independent living skills, health promotion, a sensory room, community based projects, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and music therapy. The service is provided to promote and support people to become more independent and access their community through community-based projects. There is also The Michael Flanders Centre. This is a day care for residents over the age of 65 with physical disabilities or sensory impairment . The centre’s aim is to enable older people with physical disabilities to live as independently as possible in their community. These day centres promote diversity because they are providing centres for disabled people that have disabilities. I think the disabled people that attend these day centres feel equal accepted because it shows that Ealing cares about them if they didn’t they wouldn’t have day centres available. Also, it’s a great way for disabled people to make friends because there’s going to be people there that are just like them they can relate to what they go through in life. I think that if these services were not in place, there would be no diversity in Ealing whatsoever. I think that disabled people in Ealing will feel like their individual rights have not been met. If there were no ramps on buses, then disabled people will feel like they’re not being respected and that they’re not able to use preferred methods to travel. This will make them feel useless. They may be disabled but they have places to attend and people to see just like everyone else. I think that these services are all good. However, it’s hard for people that are in crutches or wheelchairs to walk up and down the stairs in a tube station. So if a person that was unable to walk, and they had no one there to support them I think they will feel like the individual rights have not been met (to be treated equally and not be discriminate and to be respected) So to improve the service I would suggest for them to install stair lifts. A stair lift is a motorized seat that runs up and down a staircase on a track / rail. Stair lifts are also known as stair elevators, inclinators stair chairs, staircase lifts. Or they could get Stair climbers. These are operated by an assistant or carer and are designed to climb up and down a flight of stairs. They are not attached to the staircase so they can be transported and used on different staircases.
Saturday, September 21, 2019
People in Organisations Essay Example for Free
People in Organisations Essay Introduction The purpose of this paper is to define the concept of Organisational Behaviour and identify the most important areas of the topic which considerably impact on organisational efficiency and effectiveness. Nowadays, due to the rapidly changing business environment, perceiving organisational behaviour is recognised as one of the most significant aspects of all business operations (Robbins and Judge, 2010). According to Financial Times Mastering Management (1997) â€Å"Organisational behaviour is one of the most complex and perhaps least understood academic elements of modern general management, but since it concerns the behaviour of people within organisations it is also the most central its concern with individual and group patterns of behaviour makes it an essential element in dealing with the complex behavioural issues thrown up in the modern business world. †This paper focuses on two areas of organisational behaviour that are considered crucial in achieving organisational effectiveness and efficiency, these are: organisational structure and management. Organisational structure and management play a crucial and direct role in organisational behaviour. The study of organisations, their structure and identification of key trends in management and organisational behaviour are crucial in achieving organisational goals and objectives (Mullins, 2010). Definition of Organisational Behaviour According to Robbins and Judge (2010), â€Å"Organisational behaviour is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups and structure have on behaviour within organisations, for the purposes of applying such knowledge towards improving organisation’s effectiveness.†Griffin (2011) defined Organisational Behaviour as â€Å"the study of organisational behaviour in organisational setting, the interface between human behaviour and the organisational context and the organisational itself†. In other words, Organisational Behaviour is â€Å"the study and application of knowledge about how people, as individuals and groups act within an organisation. It strives to identify ways in which people can act more effectively†(Ahmad et al, 2008). The concept of Organisational Behaviour has been defined by many authors in various literature, Mullins (2008) summarised that â€Å"common definitions of organisational behaviour are generally along the lines of the study and understanding of individual and group behaviour, and patterns of structure in order to help improve organisational performance and effectiveness†. Cole (1995) suggested that â€Å"The structures developed for work organisation, their nature, and the reasons why they are, or should be, adopted to increase their effectiveness have a considerable bearing on the subject of organisational behaviour†. The key elements of an organisational structure are work specialisation, departmentalisation, chain of command, span of control, centralisation and formalisation (Mullins, 2002). The significance of organisational structure is primarily critical for communication within an organisation and allows the distribution of authority. According to Robbins and Coulter (2007), â€Å"organisational structure is a formal framework by which job tasks are divided, grouped and coordinated†. The concept is contributed to organisational culture, management style, leadership approach and it is strongly influenced by environment, therefore provides a fundamental framework to organisational efficiency and effectiveness (Daft and Armstrong, 20 09). Mullins (2005) states that â€Å"Structure is the pattern of relationships among positions in the organisation and among members of the organisation. Structure makes possible the application of the process of management and creates the framework of order and command through which the activities of the organisation can be planned, organised, directed and controlled†. On the other hand, according to Drucker (1989), design of organisation structure is strongly contributed to organisational performance and poor organisation structure makes effective performance difficult to achieve. According to Rosenfeld and Wilson (1999), organisational effectiveness and efficiency will strongly depend on right identification of key elements of structure. This involves the process of delegation of authority in decision making which primarily refers to the centralisation or decentralisation (Cloke and Goldsmith, 2002). Mullins (2005) identified the chain of command concept which relates to the importance of a clear line of authority and responsibility within an organisation. The framework is contributed to identification of subordinate relationships in a line down from the top of the organisation, therefore is crucial for effective operation of organisation. The combination of span of control and chain of command establish whether the organisational structure is flat or tall. Graicunas (1937) argue that due to the need for improved efficiency and competitiveness, organisations move towards flat organisation structures. The author claims that flatter structures contribute to organisational cost savings on managerial level, improved communications and resulted in a fewer levels between top management and the bottom of hierarchy. Organisational behaviour is concerned with people in organisations, and management relates to achieve organisational objectives, and since the success of organisation relies on human input, organisational behaviour is a fundamental segment of management (Mullins, 2002). According to Koontz and Weihrich (1990) â€Å"Management is the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals, working together in groups, efficiently accomplish selected aims†. In general, ‘Management is the process of achieving organisational goals through people. The principal part of the study of organisation and management is development of management thinking and evaluate management theory (Ivancevich et al, 1994). Effectiveness and efficiency of organisation is strongly contributed to management, therefore understanding of fundamental concepts of management models and principles is necessary (Lawrence and Lorsch, 1967). Major trends in the development of organisational behaviour and management theory, based on four core approaches: classical (scientific management and bureaucracy), human relations, systems and contingency (Cole, 1995). According to Berrien (1968) â€Å"An organization is an integrated system of interdependent structures and functions†. Peter Senge (1990) introduced systems approach to management which was to challenge the scientific theory. Although the scientific theory based on the hypothesis that an organisation was a closed system, systems concept is viewed as an open system which emphasise the total environment of the organisation (Lutans, 2011). In contrast, contingency model suggests that none of the classical management theories is the most effective in all situations (Burns and Stalker,1961).
Friday, September 20, 2019
Relationship between Student Diet and Academic Performance
Relationship between Student Diet and Academic Performance 1.0  Introduction For many young adults joining university, it is a time of substantial change in social, economic and environmental surroundings.1 Currently, there is increasing advocacy for an emphasis on healthy lifestyle behaviours for student populations.2 Researchers have established that academic attainment plays a key role in an individual’s future health, wealth and social outcomes.3, 4 Providing this, academic achievement must be considered by public health decision makers aiming to improve health across the lifespan.5 A balanced and nutritious diet means it is adapted to special individual needs to reach optimal health, that is it supplies optimal levels of nutrients to maintain healthy function.6 Diet quality is a composite measure of scoring food patterns, with a focus on whole food intake.7 The objective is to maintain a high diet quality, through consuming the correct amounts of the food groups from relevant dietary guidelines. Assessment of dietary patterns can allow unfavourable intakes to be identified.8 Poor diet quality introduces nutritional inadequacies and is a significant predictor of poorer health status.9 While the connections between health and education are widely accepted, the mechanisms that contribute to this relationship remain poorly understood. Scholars propose that health behaviours contribute towards cognitive function and maintaining a productive work day.10, 11 The main goal for university students is academic attainment, yet despite this, a high proportion of students report engaging in poor health behaviours during the study period.12 Australian university students are consuming less than the recommended intake of fruit and vegetables, and have a high intake of convenience foods.12, 13 To ensure students are provided best opportunity for success, it is important to understand the determinants of academic performance. It is suggested that the type and variety of foods an individual consumes has an important influence on academic outcomes.14 Diet quality has an association with academic performance, though the isolated effects are yet to be fully explored.15 The scores gen erated may be able to determine areas that can be improved to increase academic performance. There are several variables which affect diet quality and this review will focus on four major themes which emerge repeatedly throughout the literature. These themes are: overall diet quality, eating patterns and behaviours, fruit and vegetable intake and convenience food intake. In order to understand how diet quality is linked to academic performance, the literature was searched for relevant articles released in the last ten years. An analysis of terms identified the key words of: â€Å"student†, â€Å"university student†, â€Å"diet quality†, â€Å"health behaviour†, â€Å"eating pattern†, â€Å"academic performance†and â€Å"academic achievement†. These were used across the electronic data bases of Cochrane library, Web of science, Pubmed, CINAHL and Scopus. Although preference was given to recent articles involving university students, the final search was expanded to incorporate sources of all years, as well as children and adolescent population groups. The aim of this review is to critique current literature between diet quality and university student academic performance. Furthermore, it will assess current measures of diet quality, and the significance of other factors that contribute towards overall diet quality. 2.0  Diet quality Diet is a key behavioral risk factor that can be modified to have an impact on health.16 Free living people consume whole foods, which contain both nutrient and non-nutrient substances.17 Dietary patterns have synergistic effects, which provide insights beyond the role of nutrients and single foods.18 For researchers, it can be difficult to quantify the diet, and any established values should only be used as an approximation. Diet quality is a composite measure of diet in its entirety, and involves the relationships between food groups.7, 8 This qualitative perspective is an alternative approach to provide more detailed dietary information. It can give an indication to the types of food people consume, and therefore where the nutrients are derived from. Diet quality encompasses the central areas of dietary variety, balance, adequacy, and moderation.19 These have been found to contribute to a nutritious diet and can give a greater understanding of dietary habits. Variety and balance involve the consumption of a range of options from the food groups, according to proportionality. Adequacy is attaining the recommended energy intakes to meet nutrient requirements, whilst moderation is regulating the intake of certain foods to prevent harmful effects on health (including convenience foods that are high in sugar and fat).20 It is widely recognised that a high quality diet should be safe, able to promote optimal development and reduce the risk of nutritional inadequacies.6, 21 Diet quality describes how well an individual’s diet conforms to dietary recommendations, and this differs according to country. Australia employs the ‘Eat for Health’ guidelines,6 which were developed through extensive research to provide information on the types and amounts of foods needed to promote health and wellbeing as well as reduce the risk of diet-related conditions. The food groups in the ‘Eat for health’ guidelines consist of: Vegetables and legumesFruitLean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds, legumes/beansGrain (cereal) foods, mostly wholegrain and/or high cereal fibre varietiesLow fat milk, yoghurt, cheese and/or alternatives, mostly reduced fat. 2.1 Measuring diet quality The main tools used to measure diet quality are surveys and questionnaires.19 These are useful for time management, easily sorting data, are relatively simple to design and can be used on a large sample. The questions developed should be well thought out, and it is also necessary to define serving sizes and how often foods are consumed (such as once weekly). The chosen tool needs to consider recall bias, and the respondent’s level of literacy skills. A number of dietary indices have been developed, tested and validated to reflect various aspects of diet quality.7, 17 They are based on existing knowledge of optimal dietary patterns and provide a clear nutritional benchmark. The indices vary in design from simple tools measuring adherence to dietary recommendations, to intricate analyses of macronutrient and micronutrient intakes. The main diet quality indices have scored food patterns in terms of alignment with key dietary recommendations and diversity of healthy choices within core food groups.7 Food-based indices of diet quality are important, as they retain the complexity of foods and permit assessments of single, as well as grouped nutrient components. The dietary indices which are best translated to the Australian guidelines are the Diet Quality Index International (DGI-I), Healthy Eating Index (HEI) and the Dietary Guideline Index (DGI). These are all validated tools and are useful in various population groups.17 The indices have separate nutritional components which are combined into a single ‘overall diet quality’ score. This incorporates cut-off values or ranges for the food groups and selected dietary variables (considered to be representative of healthy eating). The DQI-I was derived from the original Diet Quality Index, and provides an effective means of cross-national comparative work for global understanding of diet quality.22 The DQI-I provides a ‘priori’ analysis (predetermined what is ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’), as it incorporates both nutrient and food perspectives of the diet. The index is validated in both China and the United States, and so reflects a cross-section of cultural attributes.22 It is an in-depth measure which investigates multiple variables and gives a broad picture of diet quality. The DQI uses ranges to find more associations which broadens the information gathered and strengthens the validity of the results.23 The four aspects of a healthy diet comprise the four main categories of the DQI-I. Firstly, there are two variety components, which include the servings across food groups and the diversity within them. The adequacy components use eight food types, and indicates areas in the diet which may need to be improved, and moderation highlights areas that should be decreased (total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, food types with empty calories). The balance component involves calculating the macronutrient ratio and fatty acid ratio. The scores for all four categories are summed, resulting in the total DQI-I score, ranging from 0 to 100 (the higher the score, the higher the diet quality).22 The HEI has been used in several studies that evaluate food consumption. It was originally based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, but has been adapted to other areas.24 It is similar to the DQI, with the addition of total fruit and whole fruit, plant proteins and seafood, and the moderation component includes refined grains.  Food group servings are evaluated on a per-thousand-calorie basis. The scores are calculated proportionally between 0 and 10, according to how well a food group recommendation is achieved.25 The main strength of the HEI is that it assesses diets on a given energy intake level, to characterise diet quality while controlling for diet quantity. The DGI was developed and predefined to the Australian Dietary Guidelines with an adherence to specific aspects of a healthful diet.26 However, it does not account for all aspects of diet quality, and could be beneficial if combined with other measures. The DGI consists of fifteen food components using standard adult portion sizes and the score calculation is based on regular consumption of food frequency questionnaire items. Each component contributed 0 to 10 points, where 10 indicated an optimal diet intake (meeting the recommended serves per week). The total DGI score is the sum of the thirteen items, indicating a maximum possible score of 130.27 Selecting a dietary index remains a complex matter with a large degree of subjectivity. It is important to consider whether the index is adaptable to the chosen dietary guidelines and that it fits within the constraints of the study. The specific context in which they are used should be noted when interpreting results and making comparisons. The main limitation of dietary indices is that there is no universal dietary guidelines representative of a healthful diet.7 The tools used need to consistently be revised if they are to truly reflect the latest nutrition science and policy. 3.0  University Students University academic performance is measured through grade point average, which incorporates the scores from all subjects during a study period.10 Identifying the factors that contribute towards academic performance has clear implications for university students. Diet quality is a health behaviour that may improve a student’s chances of furthering their academic career.15 The rate of enrolment for Australian universities is continuing to grow, with a large percentage being young adults (18 – 34 years old).28 A high proportion of students have an increase in independency, an altered support system and are perceived to be time poor.29 University can be a highly stressful environment, where health behaviours change (health may not be a high priority).1, 30 Amongst this group, there is an increased level of socio-economic disadvantage associated with the prevailing issues of food insecurity.28 This may be related to limited resources to source and prepare healthy foods, wher e individual diets decline in quality due to food insecurity.31 Food choice for university students can be influenced by their environment and can include the primary factors of: affordability, accessibility, peer influence and nutrition knowledge.32 Very few young Australians are following the dietary guidelines of consuming from the five food groups and are generally below recommended levels for fruit and vegetable serves.13 Approximately one-tenth are meeting the daily recommended serves of vegetables, and one-third are meeting recommended daily fruit serves.12 These health determinants mean that the diets of university students are quite poor and may be at risk of nutritional inadequacies. This is an issue, as it has been shown that being undernourished negatively effects academic outcomes.31 As the quality of food and drinks consumed have a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of individuals, better nutrition has a potential to improve public health outcomes. Performance management is always a concern for university administration bodies as they aim to provide the best environment for student growth and wellbeing. The food environment of a university campus should encourage students to adopt a 30healthful eating pattern.15 An institution is an effective setting for intervention, as it has the structure to bring together multiple strategies to a large group of people. A higher level of education can positively affect future health and employment opportunities.3 The development of healthy behaviors that can be continued during a student’s professional life should be strongly supported during tertiary education. 4.0  Diet quality and academic performance There is increasing evidence that nutrition behaviours have an influence on academic performance, which in turn influences future successes.33, 34 The aim of this review is to evaluate the association between dietary quality and academic performance in university students. However, there is a limited amount of literature related to the population group of university students, which is why much of the following research relates to children and adolescents (school-aged students). Current research has established a relationship between overall diet quality and student academic achievement.14, 35-39 Nutrition and health status have a complex and multifaceted effect on cognitive function.40 It has been identified that moderate associations exist between several aspects of diet quality and student performance.14, 34, 36, 38, 39, 41-43 There are a number of factors which have a direct effect on diet quality, and therefore have been included in this review. They include a person’s habitual eating patterns, fruit and vegetable intake, and convenience food (as well as take-away food) intake. The reviewed studies compared a variety of health behaviours to determine which are most significant to student outcomes. The majority reported statistically significant outcomes between diet and academic performance, which is likely a result of the relatively large numbers of participants. The results concerning dietary components strengthened the concept that diet quality has an influence on academic performance. All included research was adjusted for the modifiable and non-modifiable factors which affect student academic performance. The studies acknowledge that the health behaviours relating to academic work are multifactorial, and involve several influencing variables.  It should be noted there were some common limitations amongst the reviewed studies. The majority of the studies were cross-sectional in design, and were not able to determine an independent association between diet quality and academic achievement. This impedes any inferences that can be made about causality. It was important that authors controlled for significant confounding factors, including attendance, economic status, social support and family background. The nature of these studies left open the possibility that other intervening variables may have been related to the observed pattern of results. 4.1 Overall diet quality Overall diet quality was found to be associated with student academic performance. Across all studies, dietary habits that were in accordance with guidelines were related to better student outcomes.14, 33, 35, 37, 39, 44-46 Furthermore, an improvement in overall diet quality score increased likelihood of an improved academic performance. Students with a high intake of ‘high quality’ nutrient-dense foods, and a low intake of ‘low quality’ nutrient poor foods, had increased odds of a favorable school performance.44 The strongest outcome would be achieved through the combined effects of meeting multiple dietary recommendations. When controlling for the key health behaviors of physical activity and weight status, diet quality was a leading contributor to academic performance.45, 47, 48 Emerging evidence indicates that diet quality may have the strongest correlation to high academic achievement, though this warrants further research. The study by Florence et al.14 on school aged Canadian children found an independent association between diet quality attributes and academic achievement. Furthermore, dietary adequacy and variety were identified as specific components of diet quality which influence academic performance. These outcomes reflect the value of consuming a diverse range of foods from the core food groups. The studies with the best depth in information conducted a full assessment of diet quality, and used a validated tool. It is difficult to make sound comparisons when studies do not use similar diet quality parameters and scoring systems. Different cultures have a diverse range of cuisines which means they differ in how diet quality scores were measured. There were also vast variations in the reporting time period for the outcome measures for frequency of food consumption and academic achievement. Poor nutritional intakes do not meet macronutrient and micronutrient requirements, and this can impede on a person’s health status. Diet quality has been shown to be important for health and wellbeing, and may be beneficial to concentration and productivity levels.37 The consistency of this association across various indicators of diet quality gives emphasis to the importance of nutrition. An improvement in diet quality may be linked to enhanced learning and outcomes beneficial to students and institutions. 4.2 Eating patterns and behaviours Specific eating patterns have an influence on academic performance, as they contribute to the overall balance of a diet. It was found that adhering to a ‘healthy’ Mediterranean style diet pattern (high in fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fish and olive oil), as well as regularly consuming three meals per day, were positively associated with academic outcomes.37, 49-52 There is evidence that suggests habitual breakfast intake, compared to a period of fasting, is moderately related with an improved school performance.50, 53-59 Through a regular eating pattern, a person is more likely to consume the recommended serves from the core food groups, which contributes to an enhanced nutritional status. Eating behaviours influence the quality of a person’s diet, and generally account for whether a person is consciously controlling what they eat. In the studies regarding university students, eating patterns described uncontrolled eating (food consumption is attached to emotions) or cognitive restriction (highly controlling food intake). Overall, the results indicate that lower levels of uncontrolled or emotional eating is associated with a higher grade point average.34 Students reporting to be strict dieters, with a high amount of restrictive practices, were found to have a lower grade point average.15 On the other hand, the use of more ‘flexible’ cognitive restriction, which still involves self-regulation of food intake, but has allowances for all types of foods, may have the best indication to improving academic achievement.34 Additionally, frequency of alcohol consumption is found to be negatively associated with self-reported attendance, motivation and academic performance.15 If students were found to be in the alcohol dependent criteria, they had an excess risk of failing during the study period.60 High alcohol intakes are correlated with other adverse health behaviours, such as sleep deprivation and an increase in discretionary food consumption.11 4.3 Fruit and vegetable intake A higher fruit and vegetable intake is another aspect of diet quality which has a positive relationship with academic performance. When the self-reported daily intake of fruit and vegetables increased, there was a relatable increase in student grade point averages.10, 33, 36, 37, 39, 41, 52, 61-64 The main message is that an adequate fruit and vegetable intake is beneficial to health, and a vital component to good diet quality. Although, results in this area are inconsistent, with a small number of studies reporting no association between consumption of fruit and vegetables and academic performance.65-67 This may be attributed to their study design, as these may have lacked sufficient power to detect certain effects. It was difficult to detect differences between students when a large proportion did not meet the initial recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption. 4.4 Convenience foods An increased consumption of convenience or ‘take-away’ foods and beverages has a strong link to poorer academic performance. There were consistent results amongst all studies which measured these associations, as well as across all age groups. 33, 37, 39, 41, 47, 52, 65, 68-73  Convenience foods are highly refined, and generally rich in salt, simple sugars or saturated fats, and included: sugar sweetened beverages, confectionary items and fried foods37.Serve sizes and options for convenience and take-away foods differed between studies, and thus interpretations may be difficult to generalise. Students who frequently consumed convenience snacks were less likely to pass standardised tests, in comparison with those who consumed healthier options.69 Poor dietary habits are shown to be a significant predictor of health and weight status, which contribute towards school performance.52 Even a moderate reduction in convenience food intake may lessen the negative influence it has on academic performance.  Current recommendations advise that discretionary foods should only be included in a diet once the other food group recommendations are met, to ensure that a high proportion of a person’s energy intake is comprised of nutritious sources.6 They should only be considered in the diet in moderation, with the consumption of foods from the core food groups being the priority. 5.0  Conclusion The findings from this review indicate that there is a positive association between diet quality and student academic performance. Furthermore, some evidence suggests that this is a dose-response relationship, as the higher the diet quality score, the higher the effect on academic outcomes. Diet quality and variety involve food groups and how a dietary pattern aligns with national recommendations. Several variables which impact on diet quality were investigated and shown to also be associated with academic performance. A number of gaps in the literature have been identified throughout this review. Research in this area is still developing, and there are limitations of the published research investigating the relationship between diet and academic outcomes. It is yet to be determined what specific aspects of diet quality have the greatest effect on student performance. Further investigation is needed to establish if the components of overall diet quality, variety, adequacy, balance and moderation have an independent relationship with academic performance. Longitudinal research is necessary to compare these associations over time. Public health investigations should consider whether interventions aiming at promoting healthy dietary behaviours could have a positive impact on academic performance. To date, there have been no studies regarding diet quality and academic performance at Australian universities. It is unknown how dietary intake influences a university student population group, as their stage in life and lifestyle differs from other student populations. Implications from this research support the broader implementation of effective university nutrition programs that aim to improve student’s diet quality, academic performance, and, in the long term, their health. They highlight the importance of promoting good dietary patterns, especially increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, whilst decreasing convenience food intake. 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Determinants of eating behaviour in university students: A qualitative study using focus group discussions. BMC Public Health. 2014; 14. 69       Correa-Burrows P, Burrows R, Orellana Y, Ivanovic D. The relationship between unhealthy snacking at school and academic outcomes: a population study in Chilean schoolchildren. Public Health Nutr. 2015; 18: 2022-30. 70       Li J, Oconnell AA. Obesity, high-calorie food intake, and academic achievement trends among U.S. school children. J Educ Res. 2012; 105: 391-403. 71       Nyaradi A, Li J, Hickling S, et al. A western dietary pattern is associated with poor academic performance in Australian adolescents. Nutrients. 2015; 7: 2961-82. 72       Park S, Sherry B, Foti K, Blanck HM. Self-reported academic grades and other correlates of sugar-sweetened soda intake among US adolescents. J Acad Nutri Diet. 2012; 112: 125-31. 73       Tobin KJ. Fast-food consumption and educational test scores in the USA. Child Care Health Dev. 2013; 39: 118-24.
Thursday, September 19, 2019
Acetominophen :: Health, Medicine
Acetaminophen is a popular an powerful analgesic worldwide but is not widely used everywhere in the world. (1) . Acetaminophen can also be used to reduce fever. It has analgesic and antipyretic effects that are very similar to that of aspirin but it lacks the anti-inflammatory effects. The following will explain the pharmacokinetics, pharmamcodynamics, and molecular toxicity of acetamenophen. Pharmacokinectics is the study of how a drug is processed in the body by examining absorption, distrbution, metabolism and excretion. Pharmacodynamics is the mechanism of the drug at physiological, biochemical and meolecular levels in the body. Recommended dosing For an adult the recommended oral dose is 325-1000mg, for a rectal dose it is 650mg, and the total daily dose should not exceed 4000mg.(1) For children, depending on their age and weight, the recommended dose is 40-480mg with no more than 5 doses being administered in one day. (2) Administration and absorption Acetaminophen can be administered orally, rectally, or intravenously. Orally acetaminophen is available in tablets/capsules (extended release and regular), chewable tablets, oral granules, and liquid suspensions. Rectally it is administered by suppositories and intravenously by IV. Absorption of acetaminophen is rapid and is almost completely absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract.(2) The 10-25% of the drug binds to the serum protein after a normal therapeutic dose. (2) The peak plasma concentration, which is the highest level of drug that can be obtained in the blood, is usually obtained within 30 minutes to 2 hours and may be slightly higher with suspensions. The half life in the plasma is 2 hours after a therapeutic dose. (2) The first pass effect (the loss of drug from metabolism by the liver) reduces the concentration by approximately 25% and about 85% of the dose is found in the urine with 24 hours of the oral administration. (2) Distribution Acetaminophen is uniformly distributed throughout most of the body’s fluids.(2) The drug should bind to plasma proteins, but it only does this at 20-50% during acute intoxication.(2) Metabolism At normal therapeutic doses approximately 85-90% of the compound is metabolized by the liver into sulfate and glucuronide metabolites, the remaining 10-15% undergoes oxidative metabolism which produces the heptotoxic metabolite. Clearance Adults and children will clear the drug differently. (1) In neonates and children ages three to nine primarily excrete acetaminophen as a sulfate conjugate, possibly because of a deficiency glucuronide formation in the children. (2) Formation of the acetaminophen glucuronide conjugate measured by high-performance liquid chromatography was quantified by the ratio of the area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC).
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Affirmative Action :: essays research papers
Affirmative Action has been frivolously debated throughout the past 135 years. Citizens of the United States question whether the government should grant certain advantages to races that have endured bigotry in the past. This plan goes by the name of Affirmative Action. Affirmative Action is a federally subsidized program that encourages universities and other educational institutions, to accept a greater number of minority students. Throughout the years, Affirmative Action and the different advocates have changed, but racial inequality remains stagnant. Affirmative action has various proponents and opponents, both of whom seek the eventual goal of an integrated, educated middle class society. The opponents of Affirmative Action argue that it is not the responsibility of the current majority to make up for prior actions; and imposing these types of programs would be a form of so-called, reverse discrimination. The proponents argue that it is everybody’s responsibility to create a society, which gives everybody an equal opportunity regardless of race, and the only way to ascertain this goal is through Affirmative-Action programs. How can this nation come together and disregard the color of a persons skin? Will we reach this goal by subsidizing programs that assist minorities, or shall we sit and wait for time to establish equal opportunity for all? The history of Affirmative Action dates back to the days when the nation attempted to rebuild its society after the civil war. Reconstruction attempted to establish virtuous relations between the white Europeans and black Africans that made up a large part of the American society. The nation was torn on how to establish these relations. Many call Reconstruction the low point of race relations in the United States. This era included the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, defining national citizenship so as to include blacks. This Amendment passed Congress in June 1866 and was ratified, despite rejection by most Southern states (July 28, 1868). In response to the newfound freedom of African Americans, whites incited numerous accounts of violence. White hatred of the black race created an era that experienced the most lynchings in the history of the United States. Whites also began using contemporary forms of labor exploitation to maintain control of their socio-economic advantage. Something needed to be done so that the nation would not split at its seams. One side argued that time was the only solution to racial problems. Creating government programs would make African’s dependent and give them an unfair advantage. â€Å"They were said to be fat state subsidies that unfairly penalized innocent whites and taught blacks self-destructive habits of indolence and independence.†This argument was sustained by the Democratic Party who
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
Original Writing : Do kids have ambitions or do they
Ambitions. An egger desire to achieve something in life. Now a days if you ask kids what are your ambitions forty two percent reply ‘I don't have any I just go with the flow and see what life has in store for me'. Is this the answer we really want to hear from our future leaders this doesn't sound very promising. Having ambitions to be or do something is encouraging to achieve your goals. If you have an ambition you have something to work towards however kids today just want to play computer games and set no targets in life for them self. Is this really what we want kids to be doing, our future. People work hard to achieve there ambitions and to make them a reality instead of just an ambition any more. Anna Cleaver from London had an ambition to be a leading plastic surgeon in the heart of New York. She was determined to fulfil her ambition to succeed and now if we look at Anna she is one of the top leading surgeons in the heart New York and recognised by people all over the world. She was once a normal person with a ambition working hard got her this far and now she is where she wanted to be in life at the top of her game. From ordinary people like Anna to famous people Britney Spears have ambitions her ambition was to become a singer from a young age she has been working hard to succeed in becoming a singer. She didn't just wake up one day and just become what she is today she worked hard for it. It was her ambition since she was a young girl and today look at her she has fulfilled her ambition. I also have ambitions. My ambition is to go to university when I finish College to fulfil this ambition I need to work hard in school studies and I am determined to succeed it will be a tough ride but you just have to believe in your self. One very ambitious man said, â€Å"Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today†, Malcolm X. This is something that has been proven right so people of today should use this to make a better life for themselves. Education is something that can help achieve a lot of peoples ambitions and should be taken very seriously. But not every one is a academic but this still applies because if your ambition is sport you still have to educate yourself with the knowledge to platy the game. Every one should have ambitions and believe they can succeed children and adults, people of all ages. One thing this world lacks is people believing in them selves' all you need is some belief and determination to fulfil your ambitions. Have a goal in life and you will achieve anything.
Monday, September 16, 2019
Hate emerging from ignorance
Our world today is filled with chaos and hate emerging from ignorance. I feel we have to take personal responsibility to foster peace and nurture harmony to make the world a more hospitable place. As Mahatma Gandhi’s saying goes â€Å"be the change you want to see in the world†, I wish to make a change that would impact our future.I believe that education is one of the most important tools required to accomplish this. An educated mind would certainly be better equipped to make the right decision when faced with a moral conflict. People have to understand that we are all the same, irrespective of how we appear on the outside.Education would help a person understand the world better and could eradicate intolerance.  Hence, I consider an opportunity to work in a diverse environment with people from different cultures and socio-economic backgrounds to be a life-changing experience.I hope being a corps member in ‘Teach for America’ would give me an opportunit y to share ideas and enlighten myself by interacting with people who share common values. I am a strong believer in human dignity and expect everyone to be treated with due respect. I feel that the world cannot become a fair place without everyone given equal access to education.I believe that contributing to something bigger than me would give my life more purpose. Hence, I want to help the underprivileged learn and come up in life. However, this goal cannot be realized overnight as it requires careful planning, structured implementation and continuous evaluation for further improvement.I have managed to maintain a good record throughout my academic career by exercising perseverance and dedication. I have a penchant for working in teams and believe that we can accomplish more if we share responsibilities. I also perceive myself as a person who will always stand up for what I believe is right and express my dissent when I feel something is wrong.I maintain a positive outlook towards life even during hardships, which helps me focus on things that need to be done in the present rather than worrying about the past. I have strived hard to integrate these wonderful values in all aspects of my life and hope to do the same in my professional career as well.I seek immense pleasure in helping other people, especially the ones that desperately need help. It makes my heart ache to see people in our wealthy nation suffer without food and proper care. I am willing to do whatever it takes to revive this situation. I strongly feel that our future generations have to be empowered by higher learning to accomplish this noble cause.I believe that taking baby steps towards change will eventually contribute to something bigger and meaningful. I hope all these qualities of mine will essentially add flavor to your corps community. I would consider it a grand honor if I am accepted to serve as a corps member and promise to put in all my heart in all my pursuits.
Sunday, September 15, 2019
Adavantages and Disadavantages of Being the Only Child
Being an only child can be either good or bad, depending on how you perceive it and how you are brought up by your parents. The advantages could be that you get the undivided love and attention of your parents. They would dote on you more and provide for you more – in terms of getting you stuff, toys, etc. Obviously, being an only child means that your parents have only you to spend the money on and not have to share it among other siblings. So, you'd get more toys than normal, more money to spend than normal, more inheritance than normal, and of course more love from your parents than normal. So, in that sense, being the only child can be termed as a good thing. As far as disadvantages go, the â€Å"Little Emperor Syndrome†sums it up perfectly. For those unfamiliar with the term, â€Å"Little Emperor Syndrome†refers to the Chinese situation involving parents and their single child. Of course, all of you would be aware of China's one-child policy. Little Emperor Syndrome is an unintended consequence of that policy. This is a situation in which the parents lavish their love, attention, resources on this one child of theirs, and as a result, the child becomes spoilt and, well, behaves like a â€Å"Little Emperor. This sort of excessive attention and care can prove detrimental in the long term for the child. The child gets used to having everything done, managed, taken care of – by their parents. When they have to live in the real world and face real problems, they might not be able to cope with it. They may lack self-confidence to go out in the world and get things done for themselves. They might feel lost outside of the cocoon that their parents created for them. Being an only child can also be very lonely. They would miss the fun of growing up with a brother or sister. An only child can also grow up to be a selfish adult, i. e. one who thinks primarily of his/her needs over the needs of others. They may also lack in the ability to empathize with others as much as children with siblings. Another potential disadvantage of being an only child could be the excess burden on your shoulders as regards taking care of your parents, for example. It can take an emotional toll on you, being the only child with all the responsibilities. My Experience of not Being the Only Child in my Family So, there are advantages and disadvantages to being an only child. However, how each child turns out – really depends on how the child has been brought up, among other factors. Personally, I always wished I was the only child in my family. Perhaps, its not a nice thing to say, but that's how I feel! You know, the grass always seems greener on the other side. In my specific situation, the age gap between me and my brother was just 3 years, and therefore, there was a lot of rivalry and acrimony between us all through childhood – it affected me quite a bit, not the usual childhood fights, which you grow out of. Being the eldest in my family, I always felt that I was not treated fairly when it came to certain situations, especially conflict situations. I was always expected to be magnanimous and large-hearted and forgive and forget – whereas my younger brother was doted on and shielded. I still feel that to be the case to this day. We do get along much better now, but it isn't your usual loving relationship – more formal than familial. My mom still dotes on my little brother to no end, which is good, but she doesn't see me the same way, which is what I regret and bemoan. I've never quite understood this difference. At times, I think to myself that this is all my imagination – that I am just seeing things that aren't there! That there is really no discrimination so to speak. But, then again, there is a difference, you know what I mean? Perhaps, a lot of you would have no clue about what I am talking about. Then again, there may be a lot of you who know exactly what I am talking about, so there you have it!! I am sure, there would be lots of single, lonely people out there, who were the only child in their families, who would have wished they had a brother or sister growing up. So, there are pros and cons to both!
Saturday, September 14, 2019
A Critique of the Crito and an Argument for Philosophical Anarchism
A Critique of the Crito and an Argument for Philosophical Anarchism by Forrest Cameranesi In this essay I will present a summary and critique of Plato’s dialogue Crito, focusing especially on Socrates’ arguments in favor of his obligatory obedience to the Athenian state’s death sentence.In response I will argue the position that no one naturally holds any obligation to obey the arbitrary commands of another (or any body of others such as a state), and further that no one can come to hold such obligations even by contract; although people may still be obligated to obey commands issued to them, when what is commanded is obligatory independent of it being commanded by anyone.Thus I will argue that that if, as both Socrates and Crito presume, the command that Socrates be executed is contrary to true justice (that is, contrary to any natural moral obligations, independent of its legality), then Socrates has no obligation to obey it; and in fact those tasked to carry o ut the order are morally obligated to disobey it, and by their obedience become conspirators to a moral crime. The dialogue begins with Socrates in prison, awakening to Crito’s presence in his cell, Crito having bribed the guards to gain entry.After brief pleasantries and some talk of when the day of Socrates’ execution will fall, Crito admits to Socrates that his purpose there is to free him from prison and take him abroad to Thessaly, which he assures him can be successfully done thanks to the aid of a number of foreign benefactors. But Socrates is hesitant to leave, believing himself obliged to remain and allow his punishment to be completed, even though his sentence, they both concede, is unjust.Still, Socrates is eager to be convinced otherwise, if Crito can do so by means of reason, and so Crito plies Socrates with many arguments in favor of his escape, arguing not only that it is possible and desirable to escape, and that Socrates could live well outside of Athe ns, but that it is the just thing to do: for the sake of the welfare of his children, who will suffer without his care; for the sake of standing fast against his enemies in the state of Athens, who are attempting to wrong him by this sentence; and for the sake of his friends’ reputations, which will be besmirched by those who know either Socrates nor his friends, and will think that Socrates died only because his friends could not or would not buy his freedom. But Socrates dismisses these arguments, especially the last, arguing at length that the opinions of the many are not a relevant consideration in any such decision; a very important argument, to which I will return later in this essay. For now the relevant point is that Socrates' only concern, in the question of whether or not to escape, is whether or not escaping is just; not what people at large may think of their decision or what other consequences may follow from it.On the topic of justice, and counter to Critoâ€⠄¢s argument that Socrates is obliged to fight back against wrongs committed against him, Socrates suggests (and Crito accepts) the principle that to return harm for harm is harmful, to return evil for evil is evil, to return injustice for injustice is unjust, etc. ; and thus that such vengeance ought not be perpetrated, for it is just as harmful, evil and unjust as the act being avenged, and one must never do such wrongs.Socrates considers it harmful and unjust to the state to disobey its laws, and feels thus obligated to obey them instead, for to do otherwise would be harmful, unjust, and wrong; and here I disagree with Socrates. Though I accept his principle of justice, that one must not return wrongs in kind for to do so is merely to do more wrong, I do not believe that merely resisting attempted harm to oneself necessarily harms the attacker; and even if the attacker does suffer harm from the resistance it is as a result of his own wrongdoing, not any wrongdoing on the part of the defendant.If someone attempts to strike at me, I step out of his way, and he falls on his face as a consequence, I have not harmed him, although he has come to harm. If he attempts to strike at me, I hold up a shield, and he injures his fist upon it, I have not harmed him, although he has come to harm. Somewhat more analogously to the case at hand, â€Å"harm†may come to a street gang initiate whose initiation task is to mug me, inasmuch as he loses his status within the gang (and perhaps the gang itself loses status in the community), should I evade him and escape; but certainly I did not do that harm, though it was a consequence of my actions.Likewise, â€Å"harm†may come to the state as a consequence of successful disobedience against it, inasmuch as its power and thus its authority will be less respected, but this is not the same as the disobedient one directly harming the state, say in the way a foreign conqueror would. None of these situations involve doing anything directly to harm the aggressor, but rather only the consequences of the aggressor’s own actions failing. Thus, such resistance is not prohibited by the principle that one ought never do harm, for one is not doing harm merely by evading harm, even if harm indirectly results as a consequence of such evasion.Certainly we would not say that it is obligatory to allow oneself to be assaulted or robbed, even if we say that to retaliate in kind is forbidden. In all these circumstances, the aggressors are being harmed as a consequence of their own actions; and in the latter two cases, of the mugger and the unjust state, they suffer only in their reputation, losing the respect or fear and subsequent power they might have otherwise enjoyed, yet which, for their failure, they do not deserve.In my third example, as in the case before Socrates and Crito, the only loss suffered is a loss of reputation and the power that reputation often entails. This connection between reputation and power is an important facet of my argument, for it is self-evident to me that the only significant power the state itself has is its reputation, the respect and obedience that people give to it; with no obedient subjects to enforce its laws over those who are not so obedient, or with insufficient portions of the populace willing to tolerate such enforcement, the state would have no power.In fact I argue that in such a case the state would not exist; and really, that no states ever truly exist, in any strict sense. There are merely masses of people, with an assortment of opinions on what is good, bad, morally neutral, permissible, impermissible, and obligatory; all of whom exert whatever influence they can manage, by whatever means they find best, to see that their opinions on such matters are enforced  that justice, as they understand it, prevails. And when some person or block of people manages to secure sufficiently unchallenged influence ver the behavior of the other people in an area (that is, when sufficient people act to enforce one code of behavior and a sufficient portion of the remainder tolerate them), we falsely attribute the existence of some sort of social entity above and beyond the collection of individual people, and call that entity the â€Å"state†. But even a monarch only has his power because enough people believe in and support the monarchy, and enough of the remainder tolerate it; as has been demonstrated wherever a monarchy was overthrown from within by a democratic revolution.It is important to note, however, that this does not mean that democracy entails legitimacy; it only means that all states are on some deep level democratic, differing only in the degree that the people delegate their power to other people, in effect casting their vote as â€Å"whatever he says. †The prevailing opinions may still be entirely wrong; I merely claim that it will nearly always be the majority opinion which prevails. I say â⠂¬Å"nearly†because this phenomenon is dependent upon the relatively small differences in true personal power between most individuals, which are quickly diluted in larger groups, but still present in sufficiently small groups. A knight may be stronger and more skilled than any peasant, but it does not take many fed-up peasants working together to counter the power of that knight, so as the size of the group the knight is a part of grows, his relative power over the whole group decreases rapidly, unless it is bolstered by the support or at least tolerance of other members of the group.Thus for groups of any significant size, the differences in personal power between individuals can be safely ignored, and so the determining factor is not who supports a position but how many support it). The opinions of the people who encompass the legislature of this â€Å"state† be it one person as in an absolute monarchy, some minority in an oligarchy, or the majority in a dir ect democracy  then become â€Å"the law†.Those things judged by such people as obligatory become required by law; those things judged as forbidden become prohibited by law; and those things judged as permissible are allowed by the law. But in any form of government, especially in a direct democracy such as ancient Athens, the laws of men are nothing but the opinions of men backed by power, that power resting ultimately in the will of the majority; the only differences between government thus being the degree and structure of power delegation, and what the opinions of those delegates are.With it thus established that states are no more than masses of people and their laws no more than the opinions of said people backed by power, not only do I object to Socrates’ insistence that he must be obedient to the state’s death sentence, but it is plainly obvious to me that Socrates himself ought to conclude this, if he was to be consistent with his own earlier po sition that the opinions of men, as such, are irrelevant, no matter what power they may be backed by. But why, my dear Crito, should we care about the opinion of the many? †says Socrates. â€Å"Good men †¦ are the only persons who are worth considering†. Crito eventually concedes this point, agreeing that the opinions of the many are irrelevant; only the opinions of good men matter. But what is it that makes a man good? Is that not part of what is at question here: which sorts of acts are right and which are wrong, which are just or unjust? (A good man, I take it, being one who acts rightly or justly).Certainly being good cannot be merely being seen as good in the eyes of the many, or supporting the commands of the many, for then the opinions of the many and the opinions of good men could never conflict, as good men by definition would always be of the opinion that the majority is right; and Socrates' statements differentiating their opinions would make no sense. So Socrates must agree that goodness is something objective, independent of the opinions of the many.Yet in the dialogue, after Socrates and Crito discuss at some length their agreement to disregard the opinions of the many in considering what ought or ought not be done, and to consider only what is or is not just, Socrates proclaims â€Å"From these premises I proceed to argue the question whether I ought or ought not to try to escape without the consent of the Athenians†. But from where does this concern for the consent of the Athenians come, when we have just disregarded the opinions of the many (in this case the many of Athens); for what is consent if not simply the opinion that something ought to be permitted?Socrates answers, in the voice of the Laws of Athens (speaking to him): â€Å"You, Socrates, are breaking the covenants and agreements which you made with us at your leisure, not in any haste or under any compulsion or deception, but having had seventy years to thi nk of them, during which time you were at liberty to leave the city, if we were not to your mind, or if our covenants appeared to you to be unfair. In short, Socrates is concerned with his obedience to the people of Athens (or at least the government collectively representing them) because he feels he has implicitly agreed to be bound by the decisions of the Athenian government by remaining in the city. But in response I argue that no one can, by any contract implicit or explicit, alter the natural moral obligations which are binding on all men at all times.The most exemplary and broadly agreeable instantiation of this principle is that one cannot sell oneself into slavery, for all men have natural rights (which is to say, obligations naturally owed to them by others) which they cannot give up even if they so choose.For instance, if we grant that all are naturally obliged to refrain from striking me except in such instances as I consent to them doing so, then while I may vary whethe r or not I consent to be struck, and thus vary whether or not it is morally permissible to strike me at that moment, I cannot vary whether or not it is morally permissible to strike me contrary to my consent, for it is naturally obligatory that none do so. That is, I cannot, in a morally binding way, agree that â€Å"henceforth so-and-so may strike me as he pleases regardless of my consent at that moment†.Any such contract offering terms contrary to natural obligations is invalid; and thus contracts of slavery, whereby one waives all of ones natural rights (which is to say, all obligations naturally owed to oneself by others), are the epitome of invalid contracts. This relates to the situation at hand with Socrates and Crito in that a contract to obey the arbitrary commands of some entity (e. g. the state of Athens), provided only that they are issued forth in prescribed proper manner (e. . by the formal proceedings of the Athenian court) and otherwise irrespective of the con tents of those commands, seems to me no different than a contract to slavery, with the entity in question (the state) as the slave master; for what is slavery but complete subjugation to the arbitrary will of another? Socrates himself admits this similarity, saying (once again in the voice of the Laws, speaking to himself) â€Å"can you deny in the first place that you are our child and slave? Yet Socrates has a reply here as well, already quoted above: he has had many years in which he was free to leave the city if he did not wish to be bound by its laws, and by remaining he has implicitly agreed to be bound by them. Certainly a man cannot be a slave if he is free to leave his bonds at any time. But I respond that even such â€Å"voluntary†bonds are contractually invalid, for remaining on the lands of another still does not make one subject to the arbitrary will of the landowner. The only obligation owed to the owner of some property, as such, is to refrain from acting upo n his property contrary to his consent.Likewise the only punishment the property owner may apply simply for disobeying his commands (but not violating any natural obligations, e. g. harming someone or their property, which may warrant further punishment) is to refuse him the use of his property; in the case of land, ejecting him from the premises. By voluntarily entering and remaining in my home, my guests do not become subject to my arbitrary authority, to be enforced as I see fit; at most I have the authority to eject them from my home, if I grow tired of their presence there.Nor by voluntarily entering a corporate office do I become subject to the authority of the corporation, beyond the revocability of my permission to remain therein. Likewise, even if we grant that the city of Athens is the property of the state of Athens (i. e. of its people collectively, rather than parcelled out into individually owned plots), the greatest punishment morally justified simply for behaving in ways the state dislikes (but not in any way which is truly unjust) is banishment from the city.Thus, while the state may have the moral authority to forbid and punish legitimate injustices (which I agree it does, though no more so than any individual), it does not have the moral authority to enforce its arbitrary will upon those who reside within its borders; it merely has the authority to eject them from its lands if it chooses to do so, for which it needs no cause at all, if it is indeed the legitimate owner of those lands.Thus if Socrates truly believes that he has done nothing unjust, then he should not (if accepts my principle regarding contracts and natural obligations) feel subject to the punishment decreed for him, though he may concede the state’s authority to banish him, if he holds the state to be the legitimate owner of the city.I would further question whether it is right to presume that a state is the legitimate owner of its territory (rather than each citizen o wning their own portion in private, as well as some public portions in common), and thus whether it even has the authority to banish the disobedient; but that is another lengthy topic, for which I do not have room in this essay. In conclusion, I see no reason for Socrates to consider the will of the people of Athens (as channeled via their government) binding pon him; and I believe he should seek an answer to the question at hand, whether or not to escape from his punishment, solely by asking whether he has done anything to warrant that punishment  and it appears that he believes he has not. There is no guarantee that his opinion on this matter is correct; the state of Athens may in fact be correct, and thus Socrtes’ punishment just. But to defer to the public opinion over one’s best judgment is never epistemologically sound.Men of reason do not turn to authority, even democratic authority, to answer questions of biology or chemistry or physics, but instead we appeal to evidence and sound logical arguments to determine the answers; and I see no reason why questions of ethics should be subject to any less rigorous and independent methodologies. By denying that any person, text, or institution has any special epistemic or alethic authority (the ability to magically divine or reveal the truth, or to create it by fiat), we do not deny the existence of objective truth.Nor by denying that any king, law book, or legislature has any special deontic authority (the ability to magically divine or reveal our obligations, or to create them by fiat) do we deny that there are objective standards of justice. In both cases we merely concede that we are all in the same standing regarding truth or justice, respectively; and we leave it to each individual to seek it for themselves, to sway others with arguments where they can, and to act upon it as they deem necessary or appropriate, regardless of decrees or prior agreements to the contrary.
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