Speech on Bullying.

Speech†¦ Imagine getting beaten up every day at school for no reason, by your class mates or maybe by some senior boys you don’t even know, or maybe even an adult. You come home in bruises and cuts and dried up blood. Can you imagine that? Or if you are a girl imagine getting teases every day. People calling you horrible names, mocking you because of your appearance or your back ground, you come home all sad and hurt inside.Can you imagine that? Or can you even imagine getting punch at and getting picked at calling you names in class and threating texts every minute whether you are in class or at home and your friends wouldn’t help you out because they are too scared of the bully and the bully would follow you home†¦ wouldn’t you feel scared? Imagine that? There are people who experience this in their day to day life.When bullied someone especially for a long time wheater its physical, verbal social or cyber, it would make the person’s life very miserable and in some very bad cases it might lead to killing themselves because they just can’t hand the pressure or the humiliation that they face every day. I’m going to tell you about bulling and why I think it is bad to bully someone! There are for types of bullying physical, verbal, cyber and social.Physical bullying as you know is when the bully punches, kicks, hits or any types of physical attacks. Then there is verbal bullying, basically what verbal bullying is, when the bully uses words to hurt or humiliate you. Verbal bullying includes name calling racist comments and insulting. Social bullying is a strange type of bullying because it kind of links with verbal bullying. Finally there is cyber bullying. Cyber bullying is when you are threated humiliated, harassed by the bullying using the internet.There is no limitation of cyber bullying because there is so many things you could do on the internet to cyber bully. You could get cyber bullied on Facebook, MySpa ce or msn or in some cases, the bullies can cyber bully you by just making a website just for you. Also the thing with cyber bulling is that it is a new type of bullying because if you go back 50years, there wouldn’t be any internet or any mobile phones therefore no cyber bullying!Personally I think that physical bullying is the least dangerous type of bullying because when you get physically bullied there will be scars or marks and your parents will know that something is wrong. Where verbal, social is and cyber you wouldn’t know when it will go away, you won’t know when the bully will stop calling you names and humiliating you Some of you might still argue that some bulling at a young age can be good for you because it will make you have to overcome problems and you will develop some social skills and learn that life isn’t always fair.I disagree with this because most of the victims can’t and won’t stand up for themselves and how would you develop social skills if people are rejecting you. Everybody learns that life isn’t always fair not through bullying but from maybe getting blamed for things they didn’t do or having to do chores at home every day. So what do you think of bullying now?

Adulthod final

The distinction of the age range within each stage of development or within a single stage say childhood or adolescence varies from one community to another. These distinctions are not fixed and they vary greatly depending on the culture and the social orientation of the society doing the distinction.For instance, the age at which an individual is seen as a juvenile varies from state to another and therefore it is automatic that the age of at which one converts to an adult from adolescence will also vary. Therefore the distinction between childhood and adulthood will also vary between these states and generally vary from one cultural and social group to another all along history.It is important to note that the passage year into adulthood or passage years within adulthood itself as a stage of development is socially and culturally fixed. All cultures divide the entire life of human beings into more all the same but what differ are the transition ages from one stage to another or from one sub stage (within one development stage say adulthood) to another.Of great importance are the roles that come with the attainment of each development stage (Barber, 1957).These roles are assigned or expected in each society or culture differently and on the basis of the developmental changes observed at each stage. For instance, one will be expected to marry and raise a family at the entry into adulthood whereas other societies will prefer on to move on to the middle adulthood before he or she could marry.This paper seeks to address the stages of adulthood giving a detailed description of the changes observed at each stage of adulthood and at the same time addressing how public policy affects each period of development and examine the different cultural influences during each developmental period.2.0 Literature ReviewLife development stages are often marked by certain specific social, physical and psychological developments or changes. When these changes are observed the assign ment of rights, roles, privileges and responsibilities then takes place but this assignment is depended on the culturally defined or defined as a matter of official policy.For instance, in Western industrialized societies, the life development stages are defined as Prenatal stage (conception- birth), Infancy (birth-2 years), Early childhood (3-6 years), Middle childhood (6 years- puberty which of course varies), Adolescence (beginning of puberty to adulthood), Young adulthood (20-40 years), Middle adulthood (40-65 years) and Later adulthood old age (sixty-five and older).Of great concern especially for this paper are the stages of adulthood which as seen from above list is divided into 3 stages: Young adulthood (20-40 years), Middle adulthood (40-65 years) and Later adulthood/old age (65 years and older) (Pikunas& Eugene, 1991).A young adult is lies between the age of 20-40 and individuals in this sub stage of adulthood display energy and vigor. They are generally of perfect health and bereft of problems related to senescence. Physical performance reaches the peak at the age of 20-35an starts to wane after 35, Strength peaks at 25 and remains constant through 35-40 after which it starts to decline and Flexibility decrease as the age goes past 35 or 40.It is important to note physical differences in which a 40 year old may out beat a 20 year old on many of the aspects highlighted above. Women in this group reach their fertility peak which then decreases gradually as age progresses. For instance, there is 50%, 40% and 30% for women aged19-26, 27-34 and 35-39 respectively (Lesser & Pope, 2007).At this sub stage of adulthood, the members think in a more mature way as oppose to the preceding adolescence stage and focus more on the positive construction of a bright future ahead of them. Further, they learn to appreciate value in things and issues, tangible or intangible, and their relationships with adults improve markedly.Middle adulthood, according to the US offic ial policies , includes the ages 35-54 year olds but Erik Erikson deems otherwise and thinks that this stage end later and thus sets the stage to last from 40-65 years old. This stage succeeds young adulthood and it is defined by visible aging signs such as graying of hair and loss of skin elasticity, put up of body weigh usually due to reduced physical activity and decrease in strength and flexibility.Female fertility also decreases significantly during this stage of middle adulthood. However, the aging process observed in this stage varies from one individual to another mainly through the concept of individual differences (Shephard, 1998).Finally, late adulthood or old age starts from 65 years and above. However this boundary between the middle adulthood and old age may not be categorically placed because it doesn’t share the same connotations in all societies and therefore it varies from on society to another.For Instance, in most parts of the world, old age is assigned to people based on certain changes in their lives, activities and social roles i.e. people are said to be old   when they assume or become grandparents, or when they retire.European and North American societies identify old age with attainment of specific number of years. This apparently last stage of the human life cycle is distinct of limited regenerative ability with the members being highly prone to disease sickness and syndromes besides other aspects of senescence.3.0 Statement of the ProblemThe stages of adulthood development vary from one society or government to another. It is evident that the age definitions of these sub stages of adulthood differ from one official government policy to another and these governments fix these age .numbers based on the societal assignments of roles.The society on the other hand assigns roles, responsibilities, privileges etc basing on the public policy defined by the government. Therefore, it goes without saying that public policy affects eac h of the sub stages of adult development cultural orientation immensely influences each sub stage of developmental period.4.0 Research MethodsThe method of collecting data is designed in a way that one randomly observes various people in various sub stages of adulthood noting the common physical, social and even psychological features where possible. Further, at least ten individuals in each sub stages of the adulthood stage i.e.Early Adulthood, Middle Adulthood, Late Adulthood, Elderly are interviewed to state why they think they qualify to be in their respective sub stage of adulthood and what are some of the responsibilities, roles, rights etc that come with each sub stage of adulthood development. The research schedule was set a below:4.1 Early AdulthoodObservation: physical, psychological and social featuresInterview: to state why they think they qualify to be in their respective sub stage of adulthood and the responsibilities, roles and rights that come with this sub stageTime : 3 Hours4.2 Middle AdulthoodObservations: physical, psychological and social featuresInterview: to state why they think they qualify to be in their respective sub stage of adulthood and the responsibilities, roles and rights that come with this sub stageTime: 3 Hours4.3 Late AdulthoodObservation: physical, psychological and social featuresInterview: to state why they think they qualify to be in their respective sub stage of adulthood and the responsibilities, roles and rights that come with this sub stageTime: 3 Hours4.4 ElderlyObservation: physical, psychological and social featuresInterview: to state why they think they qualify to be in their respective sub stage of adulthood and the responsibilities, roles and rights that come with this sub stage

Ben Franklin and Booker T. Washington

Benjamin Franklin and Booker T. Washington were both American personalities that assumed great importance in the history of the United States. Franklin was born in 1706, in Boston, to an English father and an American mother. Washington, on the other hand, having a family history of slaves, did not know his origins or anything about his ancestries. As the author himself says in his autobiography, â€Å"My life had its beginning in the midst of the most miserable, desolate, and discouraging surroundings. (Washington, p. 15). He only knew his mother, a brother and a sister and he did not even know the time or the place of his birth. In spite of some significant differences in their early lives and, after, along their trajectories, Benjamin Franklin and Booker T. Washington’s autobiographies reveal that similarities between them are prevalent. Even separated by a gap of a hundred and fifty years between their birth dates, they shared same thoughts, same principles and resembling aims. Since they have so much in common, it is valid to say that Washington’s â€Å"Up From Slavery† can be considered a black version of Franklin’s autobiography. Born in a family of slaves, Booker T. Washington was a typical African-American of the 19th century, used to be a working-man. After the Civil War, which had as its main consequence the emancipation of the slaves, Booker worked as a salt-miner and as a coal-miner, before he becomes a houseboy, working as a servant for the wife of the owner of the mines. After that, he applied to Hampton Agricultural Institute and had to split his time between working and studying. Benjamin Franklin was an important personality of American History, a versatile man who was an intellectual, a scientist, an inventor, a diplomat, a politician and best known for being among the political leaders who took part in the American Revolution, by signing the United States Declaration of Independence, as one of the â€Å"Founding Fathers†. Born to a middle-class family, Franklin went to a grammar school but, for financial reasons, he had to be transferred to another one to study writing and arithmetic. Yet, just like Booker, he was also a working-man during his boyhood. He left school to work as a chandler, making and selling candles with his father, who, later, noticed Franklin’s interest in books, so he was sent to work with his uncle as a printer. Perhaps because of the previous tough time they had in life, each one his particular ways and in specific situations, both of them put all of their efforts on an attempt of eaching better ways of living, and they succeeded. That is why they are considered examples of what is called the â€Å"self-made man†, the man who makes himself by what he does and command his own destiny; people who rise from poverty and bad living conditions and who are able to achieve success and recognition on their own merit. Since he was not enrolled at school, Benjamin Franklin pro vided himself a self-education, based on the Socratic method, which he ended up abandoning later on. He also was trying to improve his English. Also trying to fight for a chance of acquiring some knowledge, Booker had to cheat on his boss to be on time for school, face his classmates who were more well off than himself and invent a last name, considering it was a request of the school and, as an ex-slave, he did not have one. When he went to Hampton Institute, he was refused shelter for being black and he could not count on anybody, so he had to sleep on the streets and work for meals. He could not even afford his books and clothes, but he did not give in and he did not give up on his studies. Further on, he would say â€Å"Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work† (Washington, p. 135). Both Franklin and Washington believed that education and a good job would guide people to self-respect and an economic independence. Moreover, their entrepreneurial spirit was a common outstanding aspect of their personalities. Under his direction, Booker inaugurated the Tuskegee Institute, a school for black people which was focused on industrial training, praising the virtues of thrift and patience, mainly: â€Å"[†¦] by patience and hard work, we brought order out of chaos, just as will be true of any problem if we stick to it with patience and wisdom and earnest effort† (Washington, p. 60). Earlier, in 1729, Franklin had begun a newspaper called The Pennsylvania Gazette. â€Å"Lose no time; be always employ’d in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions† (Franklin, p. 4), this is what leads people to success; industry is the way to get there. Booker T. Washington was a humble man, but he knew how to balance his modesty with a touch of ambition. However, he attributes his success to his belief in many of the virtues that were also praised by Benjamin Franklin, as selflessness, industry, pragmatism and optimism. Franklin based the course of his entire life on a list of th irteen virtues he thought were a must in the process of arriving at moral perfection. There are some of them that can summarize everything he used to preach along his life, which would be: order – â€Å"Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time†; resolution – â€Å"Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve†; frugality – â€Å"Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i. e. , waste nothing†; sincerity – â€Å"Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly† (Franklin, p. 94); and, of course, industry. Franklin was raised by a Presbyterian family, but he turned out to become a Deist. Thus, he thought he would succeed in the pursuit of his moral improvement as an individual – by following some virtues and putting their concept into practice – not as a member of any church. Nevertheless, he believed in the existence of a deity, a God that has to do with the creation and maintenance of the world, but has nothing to do with one’s life. To this God, he thanks for the blessings that were given to him through his way to a successful life. â€Å"And now I speak of thanking God, I desired with all humility to acknowledge that I owe the mentioned happiness of my past life to His kind providence, which lead me to the means I used and gave them success† (Franklin, p. 7). Likewise, Booker also expresses his gratitude to God for the same kind of support, but, in opposition to Franklin, he was thankful to a Christian divinity and faithful to the doctrine of his church. Due to their ideal conduct, Benjamin Franklin and Booker T. Washington were considered examples of good citizens. Franklin wrote his life story as an intent of immortalize himself through his behavior, also immortalizing his actions by featuring all his great deeds. This way he could motivate and encourage people to do the same: â€Å"†¦and having gone so far through life with a considerable share of felicity, the conducing means I made use of, [†¦], my posterity may like to know, as they may find some of them suitable to their own situations, and therefore fit to be imitated. (Franklin, p. 6). And so did Washington in â€Å"Up From Slavery†, through which he intended to serve as a model for others to follow but, differently from Franklin, he didn’t have the self-promotion as one of his purposes. Booker expected his readers to feel instigated and stimulated to keep going on with his good manners and become followers of his moral principles. Besides the will of telling people their lives, the attempt of helping others to pursue their own self-making was among their objectives. In conclusion, both the autobiographies narrate two lives that, despite of the time, were founded on similar values that were regarded as tools to achieve a better future life. These two works aim to inspire people to do things that could lead them to social ascension. Besides, their authors used a literary style and a structure very much alike – enlightening some virtues and speaking with a sense of humor, employing direct prose and punctuating the narrative with lively illustrative anecdotes. The main difference between them is that Booker T. Washington was involved with black people issues, since he was born a slave and had been always dealing with the Negroes turbulent and troubled reality as a â€Å"tough-minded analyst of power who had to balance the demands of blacks with the constraints imposed on him by whites† (http://ukcatalogue. oup. com), whereas Benjamin Franklin acted in the white majority scene, with no need to be worried about any racial question as a priority.

How students use social media Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

How students use social media - Assignment Example According to the research carried out by Lenhart et al. (2010), people between 18 and 29 years of age account for 57 per cent of the total population of users of the social networks and maintain personal profiles on a range of social media websites. Pempek, Yermolayeva, and Calvert (2009) noted that although the amount of time spent by the users on social networking websites varied considerably, yet a vast majority of the users spend up to half an hour a day socializing on the social networking sites mostly from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m whereas students spend 47 minutes a day on the Facebook on average. More than half of the total population of students in colleges visits social networking sites numerously in a day (Sheldon, 2008). Types of social media commonly used by the students include but are not limited to blogs, chats on Twitter and Facebook, social networks, wikis, podcasts, videos, photo sharing on sites like Flickr, and gamification. A blog is a webpage or website that can easily be updated. Authors of blogs write regular entries in the format of a diary. The most interesting and effective blogs provide the students with an opportunity to engage in conversations with the bloggers as well as other readers who have commented on the blogs. Microblogging, as the name implies, is the process of writing very brief blog posts, that are sort of text messages. Presently, the most popular service of microblogging is provided by Twitter that provides the students with the opportunity to post the entries as long as 140 characters. Using Twitter, students can not only read their messages online but also can send their posts as text messages to one another’s mobiles. Social networking websites like Faceboo k serve as platforms using which the students can connect with one another and engage in different kinds of activities both academic and otherwise. Facebook and MySpace

Article synthesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Synthesis - Article Example The article suggests that one of the ways to solve the problems is what is referred to as communication strategies. This is because communication strategies have the ability to overcome the problems since it presents some logical organization of varied communication skills within certain theoretical framework. The article further discusses problems that are realized in communication skills, and identifies social barriers as some of the ways that affect communication skills. In conclusion, the article notes that there are still some problems that exist and there is a need to create further emphasis to enhance staff, patient’s satisfaction. This article has been able to analyze in details; the description of research question as well as hypothesis and description of their criticality on research process. Further, the article has emphasized on the criteria that is seen to be the best in identification of effective research questions. In details, the paper has sought to reveal the advantages as well as the disadvantages that may be experienced in the use of directional and non-directional hypothesis in research. Further, comparison has been made between research hypotheses and statistical hypothesis. The article has also identified the criteria used in critiquing a hypothesis as well as a research question and how this criterion may be used in evaluating research question and research hypothesis in a report. This article identifies professional skills that are needed as communication skills in a healthy work environment, and how this has a bearing on achievement of a positive outcome. The literature lays emphasis on the role of the manager in the facilitation of skilled communication. The article also focuses on the responsibility of individual nurse in becoming a communicator with skills. In providing detailed information so as to enable conceptualization of a Five-Factor Model of becoming a skilled

Business planning --Bakery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Business planning --Bakery - Essay Example Marketing strategies and financial plans are also a part of this report. Forecast of profit and loss account, cash flows and balance sheet for three years is also provided in this report. Johnson Bakers is planning to start new business in London. There are two partners named Michael Johnson and Peter Johnson. Michael Johnson is expert in marketing the products and Peter has expertise in operational activities. They both decided to start new business with equal investment and with a profit sharing ratio of 1:1. The aim of the business is to provide bakery products and services overall London. It is the priority of the company to provide fresh and high quality to its customers. New business needs to promote its product in market as it is planning to manufacture bakery products that are available to all. Initially, the company is planning to introduce some of its key products like cakes, biscuits, coffee and bread. As this is a private partnership of two individuals, it is difficult to control the operations of the business. Peter is allowed to control the accounts and other operational activities of business. Mr. Michael will start its work from the beginning and will continue to work till the achievements of the objectives. Following are the objectives of the company: UK market is effective for providing hot beverages to the customers. The weather of the country remains cold over the year so the products are widely used in the country. London is a metropolitan city and the lovers of coffee are mostly available there. There are many bakery products available in the market that attracts the public of London. Variety of products is available in the market but Brand recognition proves to be vital for this type of business. It is necessary o analyse the market of UK so that strategies could be made to survive in the competitive market where there are large number of suppliers of the products. Marketing and

Quality of Health Care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Quality of Health Care - Essay Example The paper outlines the obstacles to quality health care and ways of overcoming the obstacles. Quality health care refers to the services that ensure that healthy people continue to remain healthy, curing entirely acute diseases, and those suffering from chronic diseases live a long fruitful life. Quality care has to ensure that the three kinds of people receive adequate and prompt care. This process faces challenges that prevent it from achieving its maximum potential. One of the challenges is poor access to these services (McLaughlin, 2006). Access to quality care refers to the ability of individuals to access medical services when they need it. It entails two different but related components, that is, availability of facilities that provide health care around where people live and the aptitude of people paying up for the services. Inability to pay is a financial barrier to healthcare. Medical care is expensive to many individuals in the country. It is for this reason that the government came up with medical insurance to subsidizes this fee. It works in a manner that ensures that most of those under employment are insured. This insurance extends to their family members, as well. However, fractions of people in the country are under employment (Elizabeth & Maulik, 2008). The unemployed and self-employed do not have access to insurance. They pay the entire bill themselves, which is rather expensive. In addition to this, these people do not qualify to be under public programs including Medicaid and Medicare since they are unemployed. Medicaid and Medicare help in subsidizing the cost of health care services to be incurred by its members. An alternative is to purchase the individual private coverage, which goes for a rather high premium. The number of people without health insurance continues to rise steadily due to many factors. A major factor is the rise

Discussion Board 2-2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Discussion Board 2-2 - Essay Example The speed of data collection becomes easier when offering some forms of incentives to the respondents. It is also cheaper to select participants in online surveys. The researcher only needs to send emails to the prospective participants or post the questionnaires on the website. According to Bordens and Abbott (2014), online surveys have good validity and reliability. The difference between the results collected through online surveys, paper-and-pencil surveys, and mail surveys is usually negligible. It is due to the negligible difference that online survey enjoys good reliability and validity. The disadvantage of online survey as far as selecting of respondents is concerned attributes to the possibility of finding fraudsters. Some people may only respond with the aim of getting the incentive but not with genuine desire to support advancement of research. Online surveys also limit the ability of the researchers to reach population without knowledge and connection of the internet (Bordens & Abbott, 2014). Another disadvantage of online survey relates to the difficulty of ensuring informed consent of the participants. Since online survey is usually virtual and lacking direct contact between the researcher and the participants, it becomes hard to ensure informed consent from the participants. Online surveys on sensitive issues such as sexual assaults require great care, which may be practically difficult (Bordens & Abbott, 2014). This difficulty makes the online surveys inappropriate for ensuring good validity and reliability of data on sensitive

Influences on parenting within contemporary society Essay

Influences on parenting within contemporary society - Essay Example The nature of today’s parenting has seen the rise in sales of parenting books and increased television parenting programmes. There is also a notable increase in the rate of divorce, single parenthood and dropping out from parenting classes. In light of the above this paper will delve on influences on parenting within contemporary society while shedding light on various theories among them Bandura Social Learning Theory. Characteristics and Challenges of Parenting in the Contemporary World (Post 1970s) Post 1970s is a period that saw protectionist approaches to parenting take root. These were and are characterized by parents (and the societal norms) insisting on children to wear helmets when riding bicycles and use of car seats among others. Parenting has taken a structured shape with both mothers and fathers taking up long-hours jobs. It is also important to note that birth rate has dropped where some parents have only one child or two at most. The concern for modern parents i s for their children to attain a competitive edge (Hamner & Turner 2001). This trend has led to hyper-parenting where parents are attempting to make their children grasp all that life can offer e.g. sports, piano lessons, dancing, mentoring and home tuition among others. A society’s norms are attributed to the challenges faced by parents when some of these norms facilitate good parenting while others hinder it. One of the problems is poverty where parents are not able to provide sufficient basic needs like food, shelter, education and good health care among others. Due to disparities posed by social classes and economic wellbeing some parents find it difficult to offer the bare minimum. Parents and their children in this regard engage in social ills like crime and prostitution in order to bridge the gap. The current society comprises of people who profess different faiths and uphold different morals and cultures. People from different faiths and cultures are intermarrying bri nging the challenge of understanding and tolerance. Neighbourhoods are also comprised of people from different nationalities, social and religious backgrounds, race and ethnicity. In these scenarios parenting proves to be a challenge when trying to make children understand and appreciate other people. Single parenting is on the rise where either a mother or a father feeds for their children alone. This is a state of imbalance which is tricky to operate in without the other partner as one works towards being both the father and mother at the same time. Single parenting is highly attributed to the rising cases of divorce and unwanted and teenage pregnancies. The society more than ever before is liberal in respect to sexuality which is leading to many young people engaging in unsafe sexual practices (Ashworth & Sanders 2007). Divorce is now being taken as a normal occurrence in a marriage; something which was considered almost a taboo one and a half centuries ago. Mental Health and Par enting For a parent to be responsible enough to take care of their children, they need to take care of their mental health first. Poor parental mental health results in poor child upbringing. Mental health issues in parents render them unable to offer children the developmental needs required in relation to their social and emotional lives. Research has shown that parents exhibiting mental problems often bring up children with the same or other forms of mental

Media Framing - Looking at the Occupy Movement Literature review

Media Framing - Looking at the Occupy Movement - Literature review Example The study revealed that the depiction of the Occupy Movement by the various media sources differed in treatment of the phenomenon, and that the differences were largely attributed to the type of media sources broadcasting the related news. The mass media, for instance, was generally dismissive in its portrayal of the movement and described it as lacking an impact or purpose. The reviews were generally found to be in favour of the administration rather than the public. The alternative media on the other hand actively portrayed the movement as revolutionary and was more positive in its approach. In conclusion, the study revealed the manner in which different types of media sources influence the public opinion either against or in favour of the news being broadcasted and the impact and implications of the media framing in the information age. Sr. # Topic Pg. # I Introduction i.i. Aims, objectives and justification i.ii. Research questions i.iii. Methods and sources i.iv Structural overv iew 1 Media framing & Social Movements 1.1. Introduction 1.2. Defining and explaining media frames 1.3. Media framing and social movements 1.4. Conclusions 2 Occupy and the media 2.1. Mainstream media 2.2. Alternative media 3. Analysis Bibliography I. Introduction: â€Å"The media conglomerates are not the only industry whose owners have become monopolistic in the American economy. But media products are unique in one vital respect. They do not manufacture nuts and bolts: they manufacture a social and political world.† Ben Bagdikian, The New Media Monopoly The mass media plays a key role as a powerful platform for broadcasting significant events and relaying messages to the public. Such power and control commanded by the medium helps determine the course of actions and manipulates the manner in which a given incident is perceived by the audience (Nabi and Oliver, 2009: p.20). However in recent times due to the rapid advancement in technology various digital modes of communica tion have emerged, dramatically altering the realm of mass communication and redefining the way messages are communicated to the public. Regardless of the channel of communication the information transferred to the recipients are framed in order to achieve the desired objectives of the sources that relay such messages. This phenomenon referred to as ‘media framing’ was observed in the case of one of the most prominent social occurrences in recent times – The Occupy Movement. i. Aims, Objectives, and Justification: Aims: To explore the concept of media framing and its influence on social movements To understand the manner in which a certain event is framed by the media and discuss the common types of media frames used by them. To investigate the manner in which the Occupy movement was framed by the U.S. media Objectives: To examine the various types of frames used to by the media in depicting similar events To observe the shift in use of frames over time i.e. past to present as well as with regard to the timeline of the event in question To explore and analyse the variation in frames used among different media outlets within the mass media as well as those used by the alternative media (such as generic blogs vs. mainstream newspapers) Justification: The study of media framing is of extreme significance

Value of Real Estate Loans Issued By Commercial Banks Essay

Value of Real Estate Loans Issued By Commercial Banks - Essay Example The onset of the new millennium brought many developments for the banking sector globally. As such, the increased knowledge about mortgages and advanced exposure to access of finances meant that commercial banking business was as competitive as it was enjoying demand. In the year 2005, the United States economy was experiencing increased interests in housing and property development. Besides, the commercial banks increased their lending incentives in a bid to acquire the largest customer base of the growing credit demand.   In the first quarter of 2005, the real estate loans for residential, commercial and farmland were 1.43%, 1.12%, and 1.70% respectively (Federalreserve.gov, 2015). The low-interest rates in comparison to those of the fourth quarter of 2004 acted as incentives for consumers who wanted to capitalize on the credit availability opportunity provided for by the low-interest rates. As depicted in Figure 1 below, the rates of exposure to loans for both Commercial Real Es tate (CRE) and Construction and Land Development (CLD) was gradually increasing, thereby approaching the peak in 2005.The loan incentives put in place by commercial banks encouraged borrowing for risky mortgages, which threatened to go up, as is always the case of property appreciation for assets in high demand. The first quarter of 2006 indicated the beginning of the gradual discrepancies in the interest rates, as the real estate loans for residential, commercial and farmland settled at 1.60%, 1.02%, and 1.53%.

Julius Caesar 10th Grade Essay Essay Example for Free

Julius Caesar 10th Grade Essay Essay â€Å"Might makes right,† a vacillating quote signifying power, strength and ability, a vast amount of power which may surely lead to ones reign or contrary their own destruction. Is it possible that those with the most power always live a victorious life, and those who don’t have a grueling idea of what they are capable of live within a lie, residing under the casted shadows of those who were capable of exercising it to its full potential. The quote can be easily traced back to Plato, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s â€Å"The Social Contract† although hundreds of historians have found proof that leaders such as Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, and the Nazi Party had been greatly influenced by the idea of â€Å"Might makes right. † The simplistic three-word quote has a peculiar way of existing within everyone’s life without one actually understanding how or why. For example, a child asks his father â€Å"Dad how come the country with the biggest army always tells the other what to do? † The explanation his father gives is simply â€Å"Might makes right. Although the child is young he understands that the country with the larger army is fully capable of dominating the lives of the smaller one, therefore making it the superior force. Ideas behind â€Å"Might makes right† vary depending on ones logic, punitive debate whether â€Å"Might makes right† can still be found throughout the world to the present day. The underlying questions are, does might really make right, can exercising your rights be the only way of receiving what you desire, and does your might somehow create leadership. Therefore throughout this essay you will be the one who answers my questions. Within The Tragedy of Julius Caesar one can easily find a variation of examples pertaining to the ideology behind might makes right, Julius Caesar’s assassination, Antony’s promise to avenge Caesar’s death and Octavious’s decision to assert his responsibility as Caesar’s heir are only a few examples as to how might can be the driving force for ones actions. After Caesar arrives at the senate with hopes of being offered the crown the conspirators encircle Julius Caesar and one by one stab him with their daggers. Once Caesar realizes that his dear friend Brutus is within the crowd he accepts reality, gives up the struggle and soon dies. Marcus Antony decides to question Brutus as to why they decided to kill Caesar but his response is simply that they will find out during the funeral oration. Within the drama Caesar’s ambition is seen as his tragic flaw consequently leading to the idea that Rome was in grave danger and the conspirators verdict to assassinate him. Marcus Antony being a beloved friend of Caesar stays behind after the conspirators exit the room, and promises Caesar’s dead boy as well as himself that his death will be avenged. Marcus Antony questions both Cassius and Brutus’ speech as to how Caesar’s ambition would only lead to the downfall of Rome. He then speaks to the public about the confidentiality of Caesar’s will, shows him the body and after the crowd begins to plead he decides to reads the will. The masses become enraged at the idea of Caesar lying dead and decide to drive Brutus and Cassius out of the city. Granting that Marcus Antony did not use any form of violence he did have actions in order to persuade the masses to drive both traitors out of the city, his love for Caesar was greatly exemplified and gave rise to the fight between Marcus Antony, Octavius and Lepidus against Cassius and Brutus. Octavius demonstrates his might by adhering to his responsibility as heir and downgrading Marcus Antony’s responsibility within the battle. Octavius’ army triumphs after Cassius, Brutus and Titinius commit suicide, Antony speaks of Brutus calling him a Roman and Octavius orders for an honorable burial. Throughout the play one can effortlessly see that power is the driving force behind the conspirators’ decision to assassinate Julius Caesar although the tedious decision caused more imaginable deaths than would have occurred if Julius Caesar would have remained alive. Conceding that literature is of great prominence and influence to the individual ideas and thoughts thousands of philosophers, authors, politicians and even dictators have used the idea of â€Å"Might makes Right† to influence their actions. Genevan philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau is credited for his phrase â€Å"Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains† as history has confirmed his phrase is exact, mass murder, enslavement and totalitarianism are only a few of countless occurrences where the superior power has demonstrated its desire to achieve what wouldn’t be possible without its steadfast hold of supremacy. Are ones religious beliefs of great importance, or is it societies impotence to cast away those who don’t agree, during WWII Germany had the imprudent impression that they needed to make the perfect society, propaganda of anti-Semitism was the simplest way of attaining their goals. As WWII continued the Holocaust gave birth to the most senile, senseless and putrid form of hatred. Death camps and the murder of Jews is a simple way of demonstrating the immense power that Nazi’s held during the nineteenth century, nearly six million Jews were killed, but did the ends really justify the means, the Jewish population still exist to day, Hitler committed suicide and the Nazi party was defeated, having power is an accomplishment but it has to be well understood and whoever attains it must have the precise knowledge of what the outcome will be. Relating back to Rousseau’s quote, was man actually born free; history demonstrates that slavery was on of the harshest motives for demonstrating ones power, owning one, two or even ten slaves could easily signify ones power and wealth, but did having wealth and power create happiness for the owner or was it an approach at arrogance, boasting ones self-image. Blacks were frequently whipped, underfed and over worked but their owner’s malicious treatment taught them to pursue their happiness, therefore up to present days individuals of African heritage can be found performing incredible tasks such as the immense responsibility of holding the position of the President of the United States. Although slavery and mass murder hold an immense role as to how a dominant power must show his role totalitarian control is the superlative example, what better way of exhibiting your power than by controlling an entire country such as Stalin, Mussolini, and never forgotten Hitler did. All three leaders controlled a different entire frightened population under constant police terror, censorship and indoctrination therefore demonstrating their authority and dominance. Controlling their population may not have been the toughest job but their dominion and the fear their nations felt toward them was exactly what they sought, but did controlling every aspect of their lives change anything. Although the ideology behind might makes right is of great importance within human history it is constantly found within ones everyday life. Relating to the child asking his father why the bigger army always wins, one doesn’t always perceive how power can influence our lives. Although one does not always consider police, teachers and even parents as a superior power, they have a unique way of controlling what we do simply because they can. Imagine a child fussing over his parents setting a bedtime for him, he doesn’t agree because he thinks he is old enough to sleep whenever he desires but he has absolutely no control over the matter, merely because he must obey or on contrary be punished. His parents have the ability to set his bedtime simply because they are his elders and he must obey as society has taught us. Although the child may find the rule absurd the next morning he awakes well rested and calm due to his parent’s decision to set his bedtime, therefore the ends actually justified the means. Law enforcement is of immense importance to society due to its ability to regulate ones actions and provide a safe environment for everyone to appreciate. Police action is of tremendous assistance for anyone during a hostile situation for example during a violent fight the police can be easily contacted and they have enough power to arrest whoever caused the fight or was of danger to the other party. Although police do not have much power without the constant of witnesses they do have privileges such as giving tickets and assigning probation, in order to keep the community safe and secure. Although teachers are at times neglected and deprived of their significance they often assert their positions and demand their students. During school hours teachers typically assist one hundred and fifty or more students but in order for their class to behave they must have a sense of demand and control, typically teachers assign detention or even referrals, granting that the student was misbehaving some teachers may at times be kind enough to pay no attention to it simply because they do not wish to devastate the students future opportunities. Parents, law enforcement and teachers can be of great importance in ones life but one does not always have enough consideration as to how they can use their power to persuade or even demand an individual to perform a certain task. Generations passed, generations to come and the debate continues does â€Å"Might make right? † The United States is constantly patrolling countries like Iraq conceivably demanding them to follow in our perspective; surely the motive behind it is to achieve power and dominance. Although violence is a considerable symbol behind power the greatest power of all is having an entire population fear you, such as most totalitarian leaders did. Then is war only a perennial struggle for power, a game that we play to see who the victor will be or is it a form of leadership that one can attain by dominance and arrogance? â€Å"Might makes right† derives from the second a child has the appropriate knowledge as to his parents actions, children as young as ten months understand that the grownup is the one who typically does what he desires. Therefore does â€Å"Might make right† or perhaps there is not solid explanation and one must be the soul theorist.

Analysing Fedex’s Historical Performance

Analysing Fedex’s Historical Performance FedEx stands for Federal Express Corporation, was founded by 28-year-old Memphis, Tennessee, native Frederick W. Smith in 1971. Smith, who was a former Marine pilot, developed his idea for an overnight delivery service through a term paper that he wrote for Yale University in an economics class. Smith felt that air freight would provide another form of employment opportunity in the aviation sector of the economy instead of making it an added service to the passengers. In his views, a company should specialize in air freight rather than making it an add-on to passenger service which would make it a more lucrative business niche. Speed was more important than cost, in Smiths view, and access to smaller cities was essential. His strategies included shipping all packages through a single hub and building a private fleet of aircraft. Company-owned planes would free the service from commercial-airline schedules and shipping regulations, while a single hub would permit the tight control tha t got packages to their destinations overnight. In making his dream a reality, Smith selected Memphis as his hub: it was centrally located and despite inclement weather its modern airport rarely closed. FedEx began its operation in 1973 with a $4 million inheritance that Smith got from his father and with a $91 million in venture capital. Service was provided in 25 cities with a fleet of 14 small Dassault Falcon aircraft and 389 employees. At this time, FedExs operations basically involved collection of packages from airports every night and taking them to Memphis, where they were immediately sorted. They were then flown to airports close to their destination and delivered by FedEx trucks the following morning. Like every normal start-up ventures, FedEx had a lot to contend with ranking from the high cost of operation and the expensive advertisement that Smith proposed. This led to a financial loss of $29 million in its first 26 months of operation thereby prompting Smiths investors to consider removing him from the helm of the fledgling company, which was rejected by the companys president Arthur Bass. Bass helped the company to improve its delivery schedules thereby made FedExs de livery volume to climb up to a point where it was profitable. Companys profit hit $8 million on sales of $110 million by 1977. This was due to the fact that FedEx had 31,000 regular customers, including giants such as IBM and the U.S. Air Force, which used it to ship spare parts. It also shipped blood, organs for transplant, drugs, and other items requiring swift transport. Expanding FedExs operation to 75 airports and 130 small cities was the major strategy effected by Smith and Bass that sparked up the companys growth. While the major airlines gave the company stiff competition on heavily traveled passenger routes, there was virtually no competition on routes between smaller cities. Its principal competitor, Emery Air Freight, used commercial airlines to ship packages, giving FedEx an important time advantage. Airline deregulation gave FedEx the much needed growth in its operations which resulted from the Smiths led legislative fight to end regulation, and a bill doing so was passed in 1977. Deregulation meant the company could fly anywhere in the United States anytime, and use larger aircraft like 727s, and using its Falcons to expand into small- and medium-sized markets. Prior to the enactment of this bill, FedEx had to fly up to eight small Falcon jets side-by-side to bigger markets when as the use of one larger jet would have saved money. Because payloads for airline operators were less than 7,500 pounds which was a major set-back for FedEx at that time but with the deregulation FedExs operational cost would reduce. The enactment of the bill prompted FedEx to go Public through the New York Stock Exchange. This move raised needed capital and gave FedEx the chance to gain back a portion of their initial investment. The raised capital was used to acquire its fleet 32 Falcons, 15 727s, and five 737s and operations was expanded. Profits for 1979 were $21.4 million on sales of $258.5 million. By late 1980 FedEx was well established and growing at about 40 percent a year. It had 6,700 employees and flew 65,000 packages a night to 89 cities across the United States. During 1980, FedEx gain more market share based on the fact that there was a decline in the reliability of the U.S. Postal Service that caused even more companies to switch to FedEx for important packages. This prompted FedEx to announce a new product that would bring it into direct competition with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) which was the introduction of the overnight letter. This document-size cardboard envelope, which could contain up to two ounces, would be delivered overnight for $9.50 at that time. This further resulted to FedEx having the largest sales of any U.S. air freight company, unseating competitors like Emery, Airborne Freight, and Purolator Courier, which had gone into business about two decades earlier. Most companies shipped packages of all sizes using regularly scheduled airlines, and their services was not speed oriented which was the bargain power for FedEx. FedEx offered speed-oriented service and thereby won over many of the markets customers. This self led action forced other operations in the industry to copy FedEx operational strategy. Emery copied FedExs strategy, buying its own planes, opening a small-package sorting center, and pushing overnight delivery. Airborne also entered the small-package air express business. United Parcel Service of America (UPS), the leading package-shipper by truck, moved into the air-express business in 1981. The USPS began heavily marketing its own overnight-mail service after FedExs Courier-Pak began eating into its revenues. FedEx, the market leader in the America overnight package-delivery industry would be strict competitor of DHL Worldwide Courier Express Network with its entry into overseas services. To this effect FedEx made its first acquisition, Gelco Express, a Minneapolis-based package courier that served 84 countries in 1984. Hoping to recreate its U.S. market dominance overseas, the company made further acquisitions in Britain, the Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirates. Also UPS also began building a competing overseas system. Price control was the major strategic interplay in the 1990s between key industrial players.UPS are key player in the U.S. market introduce volume discount, a strategy that its previously resisted. In response to this, FedEx began company-wide cost-containment policies to reduce waste and overhead, as well as gain increased efficiency in meeting the needs of its customers.. Even with its cost-cutting measures, employee-related expenses rose when FedEx became mired in over two years of contract negotiations with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). The huge salaries and benefit packages were not enough to keep the threat of unionization at bay, which ultimately resulted in the 1996 unionization of FedExs 3,100 pilots. National Labor Mediation Board resolves this because leading analysts doubted ALPAs continued influence over FedEx budgetary policy. Aggressive international expansion was deployed by FedEx through acquisition of some companies in the same line of business operations. This aggressive expansion was witnessed throughout 1999 till date. 2.2 FEDEXS PROFILE 2.2.1 FEDEXS ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE The above diagram shows the top management position within the FedEx Corporation. Each of this above list management position functions as a separate entity based on the fact that FedEx corporation has three different basic line of businesses and in that regard the presidents of FedEx freight, FedEx ground and FedEx express have additional personals in charge various operations. A more detail descriptions of these lines of businesses shall be covered in the following sections. 2.2.2 MAJOR LINES OF BUSINESS. FedEx Corporation has undergone different stage of development which involves change of name, acquisitions of different companies before finally being name as FedEx. It was through these developmental stages with strategic acquisition that actually helped FedEx to develop it lines of businesses. FedEx Corporation includes the following business segments which functions as a separate entity of its own; FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, FedEx Office, FedEx Custom Critical, FedEx Trade Networks and FedEx Services But all these business segments function as a whole under the FedEx Corporation. FedEx Express was the first and solely lines of business operation that FedEx Corporation ventured into when it started operations. FedEx Express was then over seeing all the operation of the corporation as whole. In order to function as a market leader in the globe market, FedEx Express acquired various companies. Some of FedEx Express acquired companies from 1999 are as follows  [2]  , 1999 FedEx Marketplace launches on fedex.com, providing easy access to online merchants that offer fast, reliable FedEx express shipping. Federal Express launches its EuroOne Network, opening a hub at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport. FedEx Corp. acquires Caribbean Transportation Services. 2001 FedEx Express and the U.S. Postal Service forge a public-private alliance. FedEx Express provides air transportation of some U.S. mail and places FedEx Drop Boxes at post offices nationwide. 2007 FedEx Express builds its service capabilities in Europe by acquiring UK domestic express company ANC (later re-branded FedEx UK) and Flying-Cargo Hungary Kft, now a wholly-owned operation in one of Eastern Europes most dynamic markets. FedEx Express expands its presence in India with the acquisition of Prakash Air Freight Pvt. Ltd. (PAFEX). FedEx Ground began operation in 1985 which was then registered with the name Roadway Package System (RPS). This later became Caliber System Incorporation in 1996. The company was the first in the ground shipping business to use bar coding and automated sorting system and tracking system to help customers get relevant information about their packages. FedEx ground was formed as a subsidiary company to handle the ground delivery operation of FedEx Corporation which became effective through launching of FedEx Home delivery and a business-to-consumer service which was designed to help catalog and online retailers meet their markets  [3]  . FedEx Freight is the leading U.S. provider of next- and second-day regional, less-than-truckload (LTL) freight services. FedEx Freight is known for exceptional service, reliability and on-time performance. In 1966, Viking Freight opened its doors in 1966 as a courier service within selected areas of California and rapidly grew to be the states leading intrastate trucking carrier. By 1986, Vikings service area covered 10 western states, including Alaska and Hawaii.   In 1988, Viking became a subsidiary of Caliber System Inc. During the next ten years, Viking solidified its position as the market leader in the West and periodically expanded its reach beyond its western regional territory. In January 1998, Federal Express Corp. acquired Caliber System and created FedEx Corporation, a global provider of transportation, e-commerce and supply chain management services. Meanwhile, American Freightways (AF) was founded in 1982 by Sheridan Garrison. Despite regulatory and economic obstacles, AF quickly became the fastest-growing, independently-owned regional LTL carrier in the nation. In 1989, AF became a publicly-held corporation and by 2001 had developed a wide network of customer centers providing 100 percent direct coverage to 40 contiguous U.S. states.   American Freightways was acquired by FedEx Corporation in 2001. By combining Viking and AF, FedEx Corp. created FedEx Freight to offer one-stop shopping for LTL customers who require top-quality, highly reliable regional freight service. In June 2002, FedEx re-branded AF and Viking as FedEx Freight to accelerate growth of regional LTL freight business through a common branding system. Through a comprehensive network of service centers and with timely, accurate information systems, FedEx Freight is committed to delivering reliable, responsive LTL service throughout the U.S. and beyond.   In 2003, Caribbean Transportation Services-acquired by FedEx Corp. in 1999 and aligned to FedEx Trade Networks in 2001-was realigned as a freight-forwarding subsidiary of FedEx Freight. Caribbean Transportation Services is the leading provider of airfreight forwarding services between the United States and Puerto Rico. It provides door-to-door and airport-to-airport shipping with services ranging from next-day delivery to four-to-five-day delivery. Today, these companies make FedEx Freight the less-than-truckload shipping industry leader in the U.S. In 2006, FedEx Corp. acquired Watkins Motor Lines, a leading provider of long-haul LTL services.   Watkins was rebranded FedEx National LTL and now operates as a seperate network within the FedEx Freight segment.

Streak Plate And Viable Cell Count

Streak Plate And Viable Cell Count Aim and introduction should display insight into what the streak plate and viable cell count method are employed to achieve. They should also introduce MacConkey agar and how its selective and differential properties allow the characteristics of the test organism to be determined. Escherichia coli (E.coli) The aim of this experiment is to allow a certain bacterium to divide and multiply enabling us to view the bacteria in a single cell structure. E.coli is one bacterium that is good for such an experiment. E.coli can be said to be both bad and harmless, some E.coli bacteria have are highly toxic and can harm humans and animals. However, the majority of E.coli strains are relatively harmless with low toxicity. These harmless strains of E.coli are found naturally occurring in the human body, especially in areas such as the human intestines. Some E.coli can even benefit their hosts; they do this by producing specific vitamins. It is for reasons like the ones mentioned why E.coli is an appropriate bacteria to use for this experiment. Another reason is that E.coli bacterial cells have an average bacterial size of 2um; this can be seen under a light microscope. Other bacteria however may be even smaller and may require a larger microscope for viewing or even an electron microscope. Also the incubation period for E.coli to multiply and grow rapidly isnt very long and temperatures arent too high or too low. E.coli can be incubated overnight at 37oC and then stored at 4oC until its requirement. The technique use to manipulate and isolate the E. coli bacteria is known as the streak plate procedure. The technique was developed to allow bacteria to multiply and produce many colonies, during the incubation period, depending on the amount of bacteria present. Each colony will contain millions of bacteria cells derived from a single parent cell. (Talk in more detail about this procedure). We will be using this technique to allow the E. coli to multiply and divide splitting itself into colonies. The viable cell count, also known as viability count, is a method used to determine the number of living cells within a suspension, in this case E. coli. To obtain an understanding of how much E. coli cells are present in a sample this method must be put into action. (Expand) The MacConkey agar is specifically designed to allow gram negative bacteria to grow; its a recipe of many substances such as bile salts, sodium chloride proteose and many more. One of the properties of the MacConkey agar is its selective isolation and identification of bacteria; it is a medium that allows us to distinguish gram-negative bacteria. E. coli is a rod shaped gram negative bacteria, so using the MacConkey agar plate to multiply it would be appropriate, the agar will also cause the E. coli to change colour from pink to red, and this is an indication of gram negative bacteria present. A Nutrient agar is a growth medium used for the cultivation of bacteria, this specific agar remains solid even at high temperatures. The gram-stain technique was developed for viewing cells clearly under a microscope and to enable us to establish their structures. It is a very simple procedure of just adding 4 different substances accordingly, however one of these substances is toxic to humans therefore the procedure must be carried out in a fume hood. The gram stain method was introduced by It is important for scientists and medics to know the structure and function and identity of bacteria and viruses, it is for reasons like this why such experiments are carried out. Without such procedures so many bacteria and viruses wouldnt be known and could spread and become out of control. Methods: Explain why each procedure was done highlight key points state any deviation from protocol document any errors or difficulties you had with the technique Discuss the importance of aseptic technique and what steps could be taken to prevent contamination during manipulation of bacteria All methods were doing under aseptic conditions; the reason for this is to prevent contamination of the bacteria during its manipulation. Many errors could arise if aseptic conditions arent used, eventually resulting is wrote results. Streaking bacteria on MacConkey agar method: Prior to the experiment, an E. coli sample was made and given to during the practical. Risk assessment: Materials used: 10ml liquid culture of E. coli the bacteria sample to be use in this practical Sterile plastic loops used for transferring E.coli bacteria from one place to another uncontaminated. MacConkey agar plate used to allow E.coli bacteria to grow as it provides energy recourses and support Sharps bin for loops etc. these are used to keep the laboratory area as uncontaminated as possible and to make sure bacteria doesnt spread Marker pens and labels to label the plate Step 1: using a sterile plastic loop I touched a given sample of E. coli and streaked an inoculum onto a MacConkey agar plate in a specific pattern (see..). This plastic loop is then disposed of into the sharps bin. Step 2: using another sterile plastic loop, I created a run of parallel lines from the edge of the initial streaks Step 3: step 2 was repeated 2 more times with a new sterile loop used. Step 4: a final streak was made, creating a simple streak from the previous streaks into the centre of the plate. The picture below illustrates this. The MacConkey plate was then given to the technicians to incubate. It was important to dispose- on the plastic looks by placing them into the sharps bin because they are contaminated and if they touch any other surface it can lead to the spread of bacteria resulting in major contamination. Throughout this procedure plastic gloves and a lab-coat were worn, also to prevent contamination. Viable cell counts: Risk assessment Materials used: P1000 and P100 pipettes and tips used to transfer certain amounts of PBS etc. Three Nutrient agar plates 10ml sterile PBS buffer, used to maintain the pH Sterile plastic spreaders to spread the E.coli on the Nutrient agar plates Eight sterile bijoux bottles for dilutions To start the dilution, using a pipette I transferred 900 ul of diluents (PBS) in eight different sterile bijoux bottles. The PBS (phosphate buffered solution) solution is a commonly used buffer to maintain a pH; it is used in this practical because of its ability to aid biological research. After the PBS was placed into the labelled bottles, using a new sterile tip for the pipette I transferred 0.1ml of E.coli liquid culture sample (neat) into the first bottle (10-1). For the dilution to continue a new pipette tip was placed and 0.1ml of the 10-1 diluted E.coli was transferred to the 10-2 bottle, this process continued up till bottle 10-8. By doing so the E.coli will become more and more dilute within the different solutions, because less E.coli is being added each time. 10-5, 10-6 and 10-7 samples were then spread onto three different Nutrient agar plates using different sterile plastic spreaders so contamination wouldnt occur. This was done by placing 0.1ml of each dilution onto th e centre of the agar plate and then spreading it over with a sterile spreader. The agar plates were labelled and given to the technician for incubation. Gram Stain of bacteria from an isolated colony Risk assessment In order to stain the bacteria I selected an appropriate colony to stain, the colony must appear to be uncontaminated and its appearance must obviously look grown.. After this procedure is complete, the bacterial cells will be visible under a microscope. Materials needed: Bunsen burner used to heat-fix bacteria onto microscope slide Saline (PBS) emulsifier Light microscope to view bacterial cells Lens tissue to clean the lens Immersion oil for light microscope lens to allow better view at 100x magnification Stains for Gram stain method Before the bacteria can be modified to be viewed under the microscope clearly, the microscope glass slide must be cleaned to prevent contamination. After doing so a drop of sterile saline was placed onto the centre of the slide, the saline drop was placed because it can emulsify any bacterial colony that will be placed on top. To move some of the bacteria off the agar plate onto the slide, a sterile loop was used I touched the bacterial colony on the agar plate with the top of the loop and then spread the bacteria into the saline drop making it thin. Due to the moisture of the liquid I let the slide dry then used a Bunsen-burner to heat-fix the bacteria onto the slide by passing it through a few times then allowing it to cool. Heat-fixing was done so that during the staining the bacteria or wouldnt move or fall off. Once that was complete the slide was moved to a laboratory fume hood where the staining can take place, the follow 4 stage method was used: at first the bacteria sample on the slide was soaked in crystal violet for 30 seconds, after so it was rinsed with distilled water and drained. The second part is to soak the bacteria with gram iodine (mordant) for another 30 seconds then rinse with distilled water and drain it. Gram iodine is a toxic substance; it is for this particular reason why this part of the practical was carried out in a laboratory fume hood. Acetone decolouriser was then added for 10 second and the bacteria was again rinsed with distilled water and drained. The final part is to add Safranin, a counter stain, to the bacteria. It was placed on the bacteria for 30seconds and then the bacteria was further rinsed with distilled water, drained, blotted and allowed to dry. Substance Duration Further action Crystal violet (primary stain) 30 seconds Rinse with water drain Gram Iodine (Mordant) 30 seconds Rinse with water drain Acetone/alcohol (Decolouriser) 5-10 seconds Rinse with water drain Safranin (Counter stain) 30 seconds Rinse with water, drain, blot dry Stain was carried out in a laboratory fume hood due to the toxic gram iodine substance used. The transparent plastic shield of the fume hood was lowered so that only my hands were inside dealing with the chemical and biological substances. Gloves were worn during this procedure so that no stain would come into contact with the skin. When the slide was rinsed with water, it was rinsed gently with distilled water so that the bacteria are not shifted. After the staining was completed the sample can now be viewed under a light microscope and compared to other bacterial samples. The slide is placed on the stage with a drop of oil for immersion, the microscope is focused on 100x and the bacteria is viewed. Results: Should describe your findings in : prose/text, diagrams, tables and graphs which includes a description of growth characteristics and how successful your aseptic technique was MacConkey agar plate results: During the experiment there were no results to be noted as it was too early for anything to occur. After the agar plate containing the E.coli was incubated at 37oC and then stored at 4oC, its appearance was as expected. Colonies were separated, and as the streaks moved on less E.coli was present. The colonies were well distinctive and were round in their shape. The sample initially given was simply liquid, the result showed significant growth of this E.coli liquid into 3D structures. This indicates the growth of the bacteria in a fine way; the 3D structures appeared in a yellowing solid colour. Because the practical was conducted in aseptic techniques no contamination occurred. Aseptic techniques were successful in allowing me to produce accurate results. Viable cell counts My results: The colonies that appeared on the nutrient plate had a badge colour; visually they all appeared relatively same sized and volume. 10-5 10-6 10-7 10-8 TMTC 46 1 For the 10-7 the calculation for the number of bacteria in 1ml of the original culture is: (1107/0.1) x (X/1) [cross multiply] 0.1X = 1 x(1107) [divide by 0.1] Therefore X = 1.0108 For the 10-6 the calculation for the number of bacteria in 1ml of the original culture is: (46106/0.1) x (X/1) [cross multiply] 0.1X = 1 x(46106) [divide by 0.1] Therefore X = 4.6108 The number of bacteria present in 1ml of the 10-5 culture cannot be calculated as there was no value noted (TMTC). X= number of bacteria. The number of bacteria present in 1ml of 10-6 dilution is 4.6108 and in the 10-7 dilution culture is 1.0108. Class results: Pair number 10-5 10-6 10-7 10-8 1 TMTC 46 1 2 95 9 0 3 TMTC 52 9 4 TMTC 23 1 5 34 2 6 84 11 4 7 TMTC 24 18 8 2 2 26 9 102 6 0 10 19 3 3 11 TMTC 140 15 12 TMTC 57 9 13 61 12 0 14 8 6 1 15 195 51 4 16 55 27 3 17 TMTC 94 11 18 TMTC TMTC TMTC 19 TMTC TMTC TMTC 20 TMTC 113 18 Total 266 985 177 28 Average 66.5 57.9 9.8 7 Should describe your findings in : prose/text, diagrams, tables and graphs which includes a description of growth characteristics and how successful your aseptic technique was To determine the amount of bacteria within a culture a simple calculation must be done using my personal results for this experiment. There was no value for the 10-5 so this cannot be done. The result for 10-6 was 46, 46 x 10 = 460ml. To estimate the amount of E.coli present this is further multiplied by 106, therefore 460 x 106 = For the 10-7 result Æ’Â   7 x 10 = 10 Æ’Â   10 x 107 = However, I have selected some reasonable results from the table to calculate an average. Gram-stain of bacteria from an isolated colony: (view method number 3) Gram stains help us distinguish between microbial organisms, for example gram negative bacteria and gram positive bacteria. This method was developed to know the identity of bacteria present. (See procedure for The Gram Stain in the methods section). During step 5 of the Gram Strain Method above the following results were made when applying the four different substances: Substance Colour after stain Crystal violet (primary stain) Purple Gram Iodine (Mordant) Purple Acetone/alcohol (Decolouriser) Transparent (dye was washed off) Safranin (Counter stain) Reddish-pink The appearance of the E.coli bacteria under a microscope with 100x magnification was quite clear; it had a rod-like structure with a reddish-pink colour. The rods were all more or less the same size, however some were packed together and others were on their own. Discussion: Were the results the expected? Did the methods adopted achieve their aim? How the experiments could be improved. Include background information, critical evaluation of results Throughout all the experiments and procedures a lab-coat and gloves were worn to avoid skin contact with bacteria and harmful substances. Overall the aims were accomplished and the results were as predicted. MacConkey agar The colonies were expected to be in such a form, indicating that it was E.coli present and that it has rapidly multiplied into individual colonies. This further suggests that when E.coli is present under conditions where it could multiply, it multiplies by forming a round colony and expanding from there. However, some of the colonies were stuck together making it difficult to count the number of them present. What this means is that the growth of the bacteria was a success and the method adopted was accurate. The reason why some colonies were packed together may be the result of pressing too hard on the agar while streaking, with more streaking practice more accurate results can be obtained with colonies being on their own. The methods adopted for this practical achieved what was aimed for. After the incubation of the MacConkey agar plate the plate was stored for a week at a temperature of 4oC, this may have changed the appearance in colour and in shape of the formed colonies. Contam ination of the agar plate may have even occurred. An improvement to the experiment is to note down results straight after incubation is finished. Gram Stain results After analysing the microscope slide which contains the Gram Stained E.coli under the microscope its features were obvious. There were many average sized rods with a reddish-pink colour, some of these rods were packed together whist others were separated. Comparing this with another prepared sample of B.subtilis, the B.subtilis was a purple colour and has a longer and curved shape, like fine threads. However some again were packed together and others separated. The purple colour of the B.subtilis indicates that it is gram positive, and the pink colour of E.coli indicates its gram negative. When the Gram Stain method was applied to the B.subtilis it obviously stayed purple though out, with E.coli it will decolourise once the decolouriser is added. The gram stain method is highly effective and efficient when dealing with different bacteria; it helps identify them to a great extent. B.subtilis remains purple throughout the Gram Stain procedure, this itself can be an indication that it is a Gram positive bacteria. Bacterial cells have different types of cell walls, the gram negative and gram positive terms describe the nature of their structural differences. One of the important differences is that Gram positive bacteria have no outer membrane whereas Gram negative bacteria do, the purpose of this outer layer is to cover the peptidoglycan layer. When staining occurs the outer membrane of a gram positive bacterial cell wall becomes permanently stained as the strain can easily penetrate the thick peptidoglycan layer, so that if a decolouriser or distilled water is added the colour will remain purple. In the case of the gram negative bacterial cell wall the stain gets attached to the far outer membrane layer (lipopolysaccharide and protein), this layer decreases the penetration depth of the strain on the peptidoglycan, so the stain can be decolourised or removed. The diagrams below illustrate this. Gram positive: Æ’Â   Æ’Â   Æ’Â   Primary stain Mordant Decolourisation Counter-stain Note: colour remains the same throughout addition. Gram negative: Primary stain Mordant Decolourisation Counter-stain Note: colour changes Æ’Â   Æ’Â   Æ’Â   The aim of the Gram Stain method was confirm that the bacteria that was initially being dealt with was E.coli, after tests and results it confirmed that it was so the results were as expected and predicted. The methods used for this procedure were successful at achieving good results, however some can be altered. For example, the E.coli used for this experiment was used from experiment number one, not that that is a problem but when the E.coli was incubated over night and it had successfully multiplied it was stored at 4oC for quite a while (this experiment was carried out 1 week after the first one). This possible may have altered the activity of the E.coli and also its appearance. Many resources state that gram negative bacteria should have a pink colour after the counter-stain has been added and rinsed off. In this case the E.coli bacteria in this experiment had quite a dark pink colour which was really close to the colour red, this appearance of colour was visual both with the naked eye and under the microscope as individual bacterial cells. Viable cell counts As I predicted, the more dilute (10-8) solution will have less E.coli bacteria growing on its surface. As there were 20 different pairs doing the practical, and the dilutions were all done 20 times by different people, there is plenty room for error from contamination of inaccurate measurements. The 10-5 agar plates had many E.coli bacterial colonies growing on it, according to the results there was far too many bacteria that it was too many to count (TMTC). Gradually as the dilution increased the bacteria became less, 10-6 dilution had numbers ranging from 6-140. Obviously with such great difference within what is meant to be the same dilution there was some error/contamination present. The most obvious ones which had error are pair numbers 18 and 19 there was TMTC throughout (10-6, 10-7 and 10-8). What would be expected is that fewer bacteria should be present in the 10-8.

Societys Rejects and Barry Hines Kestrel for a Knave Essay -- Barry

Society's Rejects and Barry Hines' "Kestrel for a Knave" A kestrel for a knave is about a poor troubled Yorkshire lad by the name of Billy Casper. What he imagines to be out of reach and unbelievable are things we take for granted. He imagines love from his parents and just normal, every day things like fish and chips for supper and someone being nice to him. For Billy, that is a dream that will never become reality. Treated as a failure at school and unhappy at home, Billy discovers a new passion in life when he finds Kes, a kestrel hawk. Billy identifies with her silent strength and she inspires in him the trust and love that nothing else can. I don’t think that Kes gives Billy the power to revolutionize and turn around his social life, because she doesn’t. But Kes is extremely close to Billy’s heart. Kes gives Billy a sense of satisfaction and achievement. Kes gives Billy the will to live another day while other is Billy’s position would have given up on life long ago. Kes is effectively Billy’s best friend and whom he spends most of his spare time with and would have continues to do so after he left school if event wouldn’t have gone the way they had done. Billy is portrayed as someone who has given up on everything as he knows he wont get a second chance, and that he’s future is going down the same road as his older brother Jud. Billy has been made to look after himself for most of his life as he’s dad has left him and his mum is too busy worrying about herself. He’s had to learn to find ways to find food and that is stealing from anyone, anywhere. For example he takes a bottle of milk from the milkman, he steals sweets from the little store where he has a job to deliver newspapers. The shop ... ...assroom. This is also a good example for his punctuation as he uses short sentences, â€Å"the scuffle of a turning page† etc. the problem with using so much description is that it leaves the readers having no imagination on the scene or character. Most of the book is written as Billy’s thoughts on things and he doesn’t use speech that much to describe things. This book reflects on many issues that still carry on today but have got even more serious. It shows how lucky we are to have a family who care and love us and how important it is not to take it for granted, as there are many children who don’t know the feeling of being loved. I think Barry Hines used a very good story to bring the message across on how people can be made to feel. And that everyone deserves a second chance and should not be judged on wealth but on the persons morals and personality.

Ethics and Accounting :: Finance Business Accountant Accountancy

Ethics and Accounting What's ethics got to do with accounting? Everything! Believe me, everything. When the word ethics is mentioned, what readily comes to mind is the question of deciding between doing what is right and doing what is wrong. But doing what is right versus doing what is wrong within what context? The idealist will say that decisions of ethics should not be conditional. But it is not as simple as it sounds, for what constitutes "right" to one person, may be "wrong" to another person. What bridges the gap, guides, and clearly distinguishes the line between right and wrong in political, economic and social systems are traditions, culture, laws and regulations. Even then, what is unethical may not necessarily be illegal, even though there exists a close relationship between the two. These dynamics apply to almost every legal profession, accounting not exempted. This paper examines the issues of ethics in accounting. It also looks at the differences and similarities between financial accounting to managerial accounting. Introduction According to Marshall et al, (What the numbers mean, 2003) accounting involves "identifying, measuring, and communicating economic information about an organization for the purpose of making decisions and informed judgments." This definition clearly shows that there are stakeholders in the information generated by accountants. These include managers, shareholders, oversight and law enforcement agencies, and the general public. Since these entities rely on the reports generated by accountants for critical decision making, it is important that the information be reliable, objective, and presented in an easy to understand format. Ignoring or circumventing these values renders the information generated unreliable. It can lead to devastating consequences as evidenced by events which led to recent legislation such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act which seeks to make top management of organizations accountable for the financial statement produced by their organizations through the internal controls they develop and enhance, and to oversee auditors who hitherto could have business interests other than auditing in the organizations they were responsible for auditing. Financial versus Managerial accounting Managerial accounting refers to the management of company resources while applying management accounting principles in decision making. One important characteristic of management accounting is that, it is internal to the organization even though external information such as financial accounting reports will have some amount of influence. Financial accounting refers to the identification, recording, computation, and reporting of financial information to users who may have a stake in the information reported. An important characteristic of this information is that it is geared towards users external to the company. A financial accountant generates information for external consumption. These products include the income statement, the balance sheet, the statement

Pros and Cons of Nuclear Power in Usa

NUCLEAR POWER GEOGRAPHY HOMEWORK 10/27/2012 DAISY SOWAH FORM 5W PROS AND CONS OF NUCLEAR POWER IN THE USA Worldwide, there are 441 nuclear power plants that supply about 16 percent of the world's electricity. There are currently 104 operating U. S. nuclear power plants that produce over 20 percent of U. S. electricity. ADVANTAGES a) Nuclear power generation does emit relatively low amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2). The emissions of green house gases and therefore the contribution of nuclear power plants to global warming is therefore relatively little. USA is currently responsible for a quarter of all carbon dioxide emissions – an average of 40,000 pounds of carbon dioxide is released by each US citizen every year – the highest of any country in the world, and more than China, India and Japan combined, the increased used of nuclear power will do well to curb these emissions. b) High Load Factor – Nuclear Power Plants have very high load factors in excess of 80%.Th ey can generate power almost 24/7 and only require shutdown for periodic maintenance c) Huge   Potential –Nuclear Energy Potential is almost infinite compared to the limited and peak features of other forms of   energy like Wind,Geothermal,Oil,Gas and others. Only Solar Energy can be said to have more potential. d) Low Electricity Cost – The Electricity produced from Nuclear Power is quite low at around 3-5c/Kwh making it very attractive to construct hydro plants e) Low Fuel Cost – Large amounts of Nuclear Energy can be produced from the fission on radioactive elements like uranium.The costs of nuclear fuel is relatively   very low compared to other energy sources like coal and gas. Also uranium prices currently are quite low making the nuclear electricity price even lower. About $100 a poundof uranium but a barrel of Brent crude oil is $114 a barrel but lasts for a much shorter period of time CHALLENGES 1. Nuclear and Radiation Accidents – This is the biggest con for Nuclear Energy and has been repeated 3 times in the last 30 years in Japan, Russia and USA.The fear of a repeat is so great that despite all the safety arrangements touted by the nuclear equipment operators and suppliers, Nuclear Energy faces an uncertain future The worst nuclear accident in U. S. history took place on March 28, 1979 at the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania. A cooling system failed, causing a partial meltdown, but a full meltdown was averted and there were no fatalities. However, despite the positive outcome and despite the passage of more than 30 years, the incident remains fresh in the minds of those who are old enough to remember it. 2.Nuclear Waste Disposal – Again a massive problem as the spent Nuclear Rods of Nuclear Reactors are prohibitively costly and difficult to dispose of. Spent nuclear fuel is initially very highly radioactive and so must be handled with great care and forethought. (10'000 years according to United State s Environmental Protection Agency standards). There is no foolproof way to dispose nuclear waste fuel after it is used in the Nuclear Reactors. The area around Nuclear Waste Sites can be dangerous to humans for hundreds of year as complex nuclear elements have half lives running into many years.The United States had accumulated more than 50,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel from nuclear reactors. Permanent storage underground in U. S. had been proposed at the Yucca but that project has now been effectively cancelled. There is presently no adequate safe long-term storage for radioactive and chemical waste produced from early reactors, such as those in Hanford, Washington, some of which will need to be safely sealed and stored for thousands of years. 3. Regulations – The Regulations for Nuclear Energy Power Plants are many and cumbersome due to the massive risks of a failure of a nuclear reactor.This greatly increases the costs of generating nuclear power. It also leads to a long time in the actual start to the completion of a Nuclear Plant . 4. Fuel Danger – Uranium which is the main fuel used in Nuclear Fission Power Plants is limited to a few countries and suppliers. Its use and transport is regulated by international treaties and groups. 5. Nuclear power is reliable, but a lot of money has to be spent on safety – if it does go wrong, a nuclear accident can be a major disaster. Despite a generally high security standard, accidents can still happen.It is technically impossible to build a plant with 100% security. A small probability of failure will always last. The consequences of an accident would be absolutely devastating both for human being as for the nature. The more nuclear power plants (and nuclear waste storage shelters) are built, the higher is the probability of a disastrous failure somewhere in the world. People are increasingly concerned about this – in the 1990's nuclear power was the fastest-growing source of power in much of the world. In 2005 it was the second slowest-growing. 6. The energy source for nuclear energy is Uranium.Uranium is a scarce resource, its supply is estimated to last only for the next 30 to 60 years depending on the actual demand. March 11, 2010 nightmare scenario: Terrorism at a nuke power plant. Nuclear meltdown. Level 7 core damage blows through the 6 foot thick reinforced containment structure releasing highly radioactive elements into the atmosphere and surrounding environment. 7. Nuclear power plants as well as nuclear waste could be preferred targets for terrorist attacks. No atomic energy plant in the world could withstand an attack similar to 9/11 in New York. Such a terrorist act would have catastrophic effects for the whole world.

My opinion about Four Generations By Joyce Maynard Essay

Joyce Maynard in The Four Generations has skillfully described her grandmother as a frail individual who used to be so dynamic once. Her style of writing makes her script colorful and does not let the reader get bored. She uses simple words yet implies deep meanings. In addition, not only does she bring examples to show the characters but she also uses the exact quotations to express the very same idea of them. Joyce Maynard’s strong ability to portray moments is another admirable skill of her in writing. Her use of words in simple sentences clearly shows the characteristics of her grandmother. We can realize that her grandmother was a naughty energetic woman who â€Å"cracks† nuts and was able to lift a car off the ground. She was also emotional, since she used to â€Å"weep† every time she had to say goodbye to her children, and nurse her relatives of her generation and even though she was old enough to forget everything, she wrote down notes to remind herself of her granddaughter and her child whom she had not seen yet. Instead of imposing an idea, Joyce Maynard brings examples to let the reader know her grandmother better. We can get from the text that she was determined. Though she never had much money she did not hesitate to let her daughter take piano lessons and elocution lessons; moreover, she sent her to college. We can see how caring she was, by paying attention to even a one-year-old child to see whether anybody takes care of her. And her physical power is stated when Joyce refers to a car accident where her grandmother lifted the car. The use of quotations is a good element to make her script more colorful. Many times Joyce brings exact words of her grandmother. To let the readers know her grandmother by her own tone of speaking. To show that she believed to be different -and in fact she was- Joyce repeats her own words at the illness bed when she was suffering from pancreatic cancer:† Now I am different. I’m yellow. † And to show her firm character she states † I’m not always like this. † Even though her grandmother had said she was ready to die, what she said in her last words to Joyce was † I wish I had your hair†Ã‚  and † I wish I was well. â€Å" When Joyce wants to depict her grandmother’s powerlessness in her last days, she mentions her body movements in a way that the reader can imagine it in all ways. Just like a puny baby, her grandmother waved to Joyce’s child in a kind of slow, finger-flexing movement and got the same reply from the little kid. Her way of speaking also shows that she wished to be better and enjoy the little child’s presence. Finally Joyce illustrates the loss of her grandmother in a way that her own mother has lost a source of kindness and love. Her use of language and simple words and vivid examples and quotations made her essay more effective and powerful. She leaves the readers concentrating on the idea that once a mother passes away her beloved child is not a daughter anymore but just a mother who unquestioningly loves her own daughter.

Pico Paper

Are kidney patients who received a radical nephrectomy at a higher risk of impaired renal function and cardiac related death compared to those who received a partial nephrectomy? Kiara Wilson Nursing 3163 Dr. Linda Upchurch November 12, 2012 Background Are kidney patients who received a partial nephrectomy at a lower risk of impaired renal function and cardiac related death compared to those who received a radical nephrectomy? When a patient is diagnosed with kidney damage, a surgical nephrectomy is often performed. Kidney damage may be caused by blocked blood vessels, kidney stones, masses, infection, and/or kidney cancer.With this procedure the kidney damage may be treated and also prevent further damage. A partial nephrectomy is a surgical procedure to remove a portion of the kidney. Partial nephrectomies are normally done laparoscopically with hand assistance or with robot assistance. A radical nephrectomy involves removing the kidney and the adrenal glands. A radical nephrectomy may be done laparoscopically or by open abdominal surgery. My patient was diagnosed with damage of the left kidney. Blood tests were performed and the patient was found to have a toxic WBC granulation. This toxic granulation led infection, inflammation and sepsis.An abdominal and pelvic CT scan found a 7. 8 x 5. 6 x 6. 2 cm, solid, enhancing left lower pole renal mass and parasitic vessels in the infected area. A hand assisted partial laparoscopic nephrectomy was performed. They removed the lower portion of her left kidney. The kidney was to be tested for malignancy. The concern with my patient is that she has a past medical history of hypertension, anemia, and deep vein thrombosis. She is at an increased risk of further cardiac and renal complications. I believe these factors influenced the doctors’ decision to perform a partial nephrectomy instead of taking the radical approach.To find research on this kidney condition, I accessed the Galileo database. I searched for infor mation on ways to treat renal masses and kidney cancer. I found multiple articles about laparoscopic and radical (open) nephrectomies. I found many articles that discussed the differences between the two and the affects they have on patients who receive them. I found an interesting study called â€Å"Partial Nephrectomy Is Associated with Improved Overall Survival Compared to Radical Nephrectomy in Patients with Unanticipated Benign Renal Tumours. I found it interesting because it was relevant to the health issues that were being addressed with my patient. There millions kidney patients who undergo these procedures each year. I wanted to discover which procedure provided the best outcome for my patient and others with similar kidney problems. Purpose According to this study, â€Å"a partial nephrectomy has been associated with improved overall survival in patients with localized renal masses compared to those who received a radical nephrectomy† (Weight, 2010).The purpose of this study is to test the overall survival rate of patients who had unanticipated renal masses. Another objective of this study is to also study the effect of these procedures on cardiac specific survival rates and other causes of death related to decreased kidney function. Hypothesis The hypothesis for this study are that the use of partial nephrectomies would be first line of treatment compared to radical nephrectomies in that partial nephrectomies provide better protection of renal function. Decreased renal function will lead to a low survival rate.Patients who undergo radical nephrectomies will have higher rate of cardiac related deaths Design A seven year, nonrandomized study was conducted using 499 participants. Of these 499 particiapants, 111 patients had received a radical nephrectomy while 388 patients received a partial nephrectomy. The choice of which surgery to do was left of the surgeon and the patient’s preferences. They took into consideration the mass size, th e appearance, the patient’s current health, life expectancy and the comfort of the surgeon in making their decisions.The patient’s comorbidities were assessed using the Charlson-Romano Comorbidity Index. Each patient’s vital signs were acquired using the Social Security Death Index. Anyone without a Social Security Number was excluded. The cause of death information from the patients’ medical records was reviewed. From there the participants were further categorized by the condition that caused the death. Cardiac deaths ranged from death related to ischemic heart disease, CHF, ischemic stroke, myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and peripheral vascular disease.Renal deaths were broken down into death related to renal failure, renal insufficiency, or nephritic syndrome. All other possible causes of death were group together. Perioperative, postoperative data and renal function tests were collected before and after the procedures. Preoperative data was used to create the propensity model that was utilized in a multivariate model of survival. They measured the overall survival rate of the participants and cardiac specific survival rates. Findings Radical nephrectomies are greatly associated with an increased risk of death from any cause.Patients with unanticipated benign tumors that were treated with RN were more likely to die from any related health problem than those treated with PN. Participants who received a radical nephrectomy were more likely to be older, with high comorbidity scores, and larger tumors. Those with smaller masses and tumors were more likely to have a partial nephrectomy. Radical nephrectomies are associated with an increased risk of death by 2 folds from any cause. The risk of cardiovascular death was substantially higher in those with decreasing post-operative renal function.Decreased kidney function was related to an increase in cardiovascular death and death from any other cause in overall majority patient s. Sixteen participants died of cardiac related deaths. Renal preservation was increased in the group that had the partial nephrectomy with majority of the patients having an eGFR above 60 %. Radical nephrectomy participants only had an eGFR of 30 % or lower. The higher eGFR is associated with an increase chance of survival in PN patients. Discussion Previous studies indicate that postoperative impaired renal function plays a role in the overall survival of patients with renal masses.The data concluded that no matter which surgery was performed there would be a decrease in kidney function. However, those patients who received a PN had a remarkable lower decrease in renal function. It can be stated that patients have decreased function are at an increased risk of cardiac related death and death by other causes. For many of those who don’t die from cardiac related death it can be concluded that other conditions that cause death are worsened by renal insufficiency. This study wa s relevant to the PICO question I asked.This study answered my question and provided the information necessary to make it a valid question. I believe the limitations to this study are that the researchers did not randomize their study. They picked which participants they thought would influence their study. The strengths of this article are that is discusses the importance of preserving renal function when performing a nephrectomy. It also provides evidence that patients should be educated on the risks of death and further complications associated with their procedures. It could allow for better planning and managing of the care for these patients.Implications As a nurse it would be my responsibility to knowledgeable about procedures such as these and how they will affect my patient. It would be my job to educate the patients on what to expect from this surgery and what it means for their health. I could also use this information to better assess patients before and after these proc edures. This research provides material that could be used to better treat and prevent life threatening conditions that could arise after surgery. References Landman, D. (2006). Open Partial Nephrectomy.Retrieved November 9, 2012, from Kidney Cancer Institute: www. kidneycancerinstitute. com/open-partial-nephrec. html Landman, D. (2006). Open Radical Nephrectomy. Retrieved November 9, 2012, from Kidney Cancer Institute: www. kidneycancerinstitute. com/open-radical-nephrec. html Weight, C. J. , & Leiser, G. (2010, April 29). Partial Nephrectomy Is Associated with Improved Overall Survival. EUROPEAN UROLOGY, 58, 293-298. Evaluation (to be completed by instructor)| Possible Points| Actual Points| Introduction of clinical problemComments:| 20| | Purpose/Aim of the study/articleComments:| 10| |Theoretical framework of the study/articleComments:| n/a| | Hypotheses/QuestionsComments:| 5| | DesignComments:| 5| | FindingsComments:| 10| | DiscussionComments:| 25| | ImplicationsComments:| 20| | ReferencesComments:| 5| | Grade| 100/100| /100| PICO Paper Grading Rubric (submit, along with PICO OAT form, with your paper) Student Name: _Kiara Wilson______________Date: November 12, 2012_____________ Are kidney patients who received a radical nephrectomy at a higher risk of impaired renal function and cardiac related death compared to those who received a partial nephrectomy?