Better Asphalt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Better Asphalt - Essay Example Several major research projects have taken place and are currently in progress. The National Cooperative Highway Research Program has a major study currently underway to evaluate skid resistance. The study is not yet complete, but it does show promise in offering improvements in skid resistance through the use of finer grade aggregates. However, due to the fine grade of the aggregate, water may be slow to run off and create a wet condition hazard. Friction is created where the rubber meets the road. The composition of the open coarse grade and its components are a first consideration. The microtexture, the fine aggregate in an asphalt mixture, is most influential force creating the necessary surface friction between the pavement surface and automobile tires (Williams). Over time, the surface wears away and exposes the coarse aggregate. Coarse aggregate size becomes a major consideration on the surface to improve skid resistance. Recent tests in the United Kingdom has indicated that 6 to 10 mm chips at a 1.4 mm depth offered improved skid resistance at high speeds (United States Department of Transportation).

Mix Racial and Cultural Groups Are Growing in the United States Essay Example for Free

Mix Racial and Cultural Groups Are Growing in the United States Essay Mixed Racial and Cultural Groups is increased by a marginal number in the United States. The growth of these multiracial groups started to surface through migration of different ethnics and raised most of their families in the United States even through marriage. These are some of the issues that have been raised by individual people of having an entity separation of mixed race and cultural or to considered them as Americans without a hyphen. Thinking about this issue myself, and thinking of my two children who married to a different ethnic rather than Samoans. These questions come to mind about this issue: How, Why, and what the three words that needs a big explanation about this matter. According to multiracial Americans, Americans whose identity as two or more races identifies with just one group culturally and socially. From statistics that I got from online, stated that about 2.9% of the population in the year 2010 are self-identified as multiracial. The identity or the classification of the people’s identification is generally according to the culture they were raised in. Social segregation in many areas of the country is forming interracial unions or cultural group. The diversity of social conditions through migrations brought new groups of people to the United States. Through these migrations, mixed races started to rise when interracial marriage were born and started to increase in the United States. The movement of multiracial identity by more than one ethnicity has taken place and strong. Statistics from the year 2010 census in the United States shows that the largest multiracial groups were white and black which is 1.8 million. The other 1.7 millions are white and some other race, white and Asian is 1.6, white and American Indian and Alaskan Native is 1.4 million. I have learned that the largest growing group in multiracial is white and black which is about 134%. That is more than 1 million people. MIX RACIAL AND CULTURAL GROUP According to Susan Saulny of the New York Times, title Race Remixed, said that â€Å"sea of change is how we think about race, ethnicity and its place in society†. I believe that a challenge to trend towards multiracial from a sociological perspective is a leap that we should take. The understanding of racial and ethnic categories of their boundaries can be a problem to other multiracial groups. I think that ancestry is the biggest influence in identities through a number of generations through migrations. I also believe that each multi mix or racial group should be treated the same regardless of their identity. If they are legally citizens of the United States, they have the right to be treated equally. I believe that they have contributed to the wellbeing and welfare of the United States through their services in employment within the government, military or private companies. Regardless of the race and ethnicity, they should be treated and considered Americans. President Obama is good example of what I mean about treating them the same no matter what color of their skin or where they are from. I know that some of these mix race entities are trying to separate themselves with-in the United States but when they travel to other countries of the world, they considered be call Americans. As a citizen of New Zealand, I am proud to call myself to be an American and I respect the land that my children were born. What can the United States or these multiracial groups gain from wanting to be separated from their identity. Through my search online, I came across Mrs. Karissa Sulliva’s draft and she said that ancestry influences identities. She said that socialization is the crucible of racial and ethnic identity formation. Farley in 2002, construct racial and ethnic classifications which was adopted by the government for each race or reconsidered themselves to either refuse to identify their own race and ethnic category. MIX RACIAL AND CULTURAL GROUP I believe that mix racial and cultural groups are increasing daily by the number throughout the United States. However, research shows that children with an original multiracial identity grow up to be happier than those of single-race identity. Some of the statistics shows that another addition to the growth of mix race is through adoption of children from countries outside of the United States. According to Fact’s for Families 2010, parents are coping with these pressures in having open communications with the families about their culture and race. Encouragement and support in every multicultural group for families to be familiar with their language, traditions and customs within their families. They have to support and try to establish a good relationship by creating a network for their children, parents, family member, relatives and the community. In conclusion, the separation and classifications between mix racial and multicultural groups is not an easy task or thing to do. Two of my children are married to different ethnic. My oldest daughter is married to an African American and my son is married to a girl who is beautiful and white but has about four or five mix blood in her. I believe in democracy and the United States is nowhere in having a separation of any mix race and cultural group who are living in the United States. God Bless America, God bless the people of the United States. References: Perez, Anthony Daniel, Hirschman, Charles. The Changing Racial and Ethnic. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2882688/ The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (March-2011). Facts for Families, no.71 Multiracial Children. http://www.aacap.org/galleries/FactsForFamilies/71_multiracial_children.pdf Dr. Nicole Martinez and Mrs. Karissa Sullivan. May 6, 2013 .docx.

Crime and Punishment :: essays research papers fc

The Websters Dictionary defines degradation as a fall from higher to lower rank or degree(Websters, 205). Fyodor Dostoyevsky illustrates degradation of morals for several characters in Crime and Punishment. He links the quality of money or lack thereof to the their moral degradation to design complex characters. Dostoyevsky draws a picture of society that is similar to the society depicted in Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables. The poor become greedy and the rich become greedier. And, good moral decision making can be greatly overpowered by the need or want of more money.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The degradation of society and lack of money cause Raskolnikov to kill the greedy pawnbroker, Alyona Ivanovna and her sister Lizaveta. Raskolnikov believes that killing them for their money will be a great conquest for himself and society. After fighting with himself about whether or not he should commit the crime, he overhears someone talking about the same plan.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hundreds, perhaps thousands of lives could be put on the right path, dozens of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  families rescued from poverty, from ruin, from collapse, from decay, from venereal   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  wards of the hospitals-- all this with her money! Kill her, take her money, dedicate   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  it to serving mankind, to the general welfare. Well --what do you think -- isn’t   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  this petty little crime effaced by thousands of good deeds? (63, part 1) Raskolnikov decides he must go against his good judgment and commit murder for the good of society and himself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dostoyevsky also takes the character of Raskolnikov to the opposite extreme. After his mother sends him money, he uses it to help out the Marmeladov family in an act of pure charity. He comes across Marmeladov injured by a carriage and without hesitation offers to help.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I know him!† and he pushed all the way forward. â€Å"It’s the clerk, the retired titular   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  councilor, Marmeladov! He lives near here, in Kozel’s house....Somebody get a   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  doctor! I’ll pay. Here!† he fished money out of his pocket and showed it to the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  policeman. (170, part 2) Dostoyevsky is showing how Raskolnikov’s decision making is effected by money or lack thereof.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Svidrigailov is a character who was poor and in jail. He was bought by Marfa Perovna and lived a good life off of her money. Unlike Raskolnikov, Svidrigailov’s moral degradation becomes worse with his increase of wealth. He cheats on his wife, causing her to eventually kill herself, and gets a fifteen year old pregnant. He then admits to Raskolnikov that he was in love with his sister, Dunya, but now just wants to sleep with her. â€Å"Secondly, I fancy you won’t refuse me a little help in a certain project of mine that

Media and censorship

The media is everywhere you turn. The media can be found in various forms such as newspapers, magazines, television, and radio. In the process of capturing ratings, whom is the media hurting more? Is it people who are accused of a crime, such as O.J. Simpson, or is it the American public's stupidity for believing everything they hear. The job of the media should be to find the truth and tell it to the people. The reporters' work ought to be like a pane of glass, flawlessly clear and unspotted, through which the reader might view the important events of the day. The media has the power to inform the public, but often the information it receives is distorted. The media has the power, although indirect, to influence people's opinions; it has shaped our view of society and the process by which we choose our leaders, make our rules, and construct our values. The media promotes what it believes is easiest for the public to accept, but in the process it fails to cover the issues appropriately. The media can make us wiser, fuller, and more aware. Unfortunately, the media's tendencies veer more towards clouding the public's judgments, and causing confusion and disillusionment. Therefore, limitations greatly need to be placed upon the United States Constitution in regard to freedom speech and of the press because presently the media is doing more harm than good. In general, censorship is the regulation and control of information and ideas that are circulated among people within a society. It refers to the examination of electronic and print media for the purposes of altering and/or suppressing parts of the media thought to be inappropriate and/or offensive (Microsoft Encarta) The implication of censorship is that it is necessary for the protection of the viewing public. Pornography, praise of crime, gangs, terrorism, subversive, violations of national security, morality, opposition to the political or religious establishment are materials that can be exchanged through the above mentioned media, and are subjected to censorship. Throughout history there have been attempts to censor what people can read, write, speak, create, listen to and view. The verb â€Å"to censor† is defined in Webster's Dictionary as â€Å"to alter, delete, or ban completely after examination.†Ã‚   One attempt to regulate the media came when the Fairness Doctrine was established in 1934. This doctrine was instituted to ensure that publicly owned television and radio stations would not be biased and would not promote their own views. The Federal Communications Council (FCC) was created to enforce this doctrine. In 1987, under the Reagan Administration, the Fairness Doctrine was revoked. (Hull) The role of the FCC changed, therefore evolving to monitor the decency of materials presented on the radio and television. With the abolishment of the Fairness Doctrine, the window for controversial journalists was opened. Thus, America saw the emergence of two strong willed personalities – Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern (Green). The Communication Decency Act (CDA) adopted in 1996, is the most important recent development in the United States, regarding censorship and the Internet. The CDA made it an illegal crime to send â€Å"indecent material by the Internet into others computers† (Wilkins, 5).   â€Å"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers†. (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19)   The Freedom of expression is a right that â€Å"shall not be subject to prior censorship.† (The American Convention on Human Rights states, Article 13). International laws allow governments to restrict the free flow of information as a way of protecting confidential data such as national security or public ethics. Materials should be subjected to a certain lever of examination inline with international standards before it is published, and prior to censorship, which normally includes inquiry whether there are various ways to protect those interests that are less restrictive of the right to free expression. Society has been affected and will continue to be affected not only by television but the media in general. Television is a constant form of entertainment and occasionally an average source of news. However, television has been blamed for much of societies flaws because it is easy to attribute it to violence in the media and a social of lack of initiative. Television is a small part of a much larger societal picture and should be weighed as such. Television is a multi billion-dollar industry. The primary concern of the television industry is to net a profit and then entertain the consumers. The network with the highest rating means more profit the network. Censorship is not only controversial but also quite difficult to implement. Who decides what is inappropriate or too violent, such vague terminology would be difficult to define. For many years the film industry has practiced a form of self-censorship. Increasing demands from the public forced the industry to develop a system classification in 1968. (Microsoft Encarta)   The major networks voluntarily adhere to a self-regulating system this is in conjunction with regulations established by the Federal Communications Commission. The V-chip is the most current weapon in the TV censorship battle. Parents are able to block certain channels so that children are not exposed to violent programming. (Aversa) Generally, knowledge is disseminated in the form of films, publications, computer games, and Internet content, and the Internet is considered the main media via which information can be shared and accessed easily.   The Internet is the embodiment of the Information era, and the explosive growth of the Internet brought all corners of the world to reach anyone with a computer, by surfing through a seemingly endless library of information. The rules governing the Internet are to some extent less strict than those controlling the media that are widely accessible to the masses like publications and broadcast.   Computer Bulletin Boards Systems (BBS) are operated by individuals, or organizations. The published material is usually topic oriented presenting information on interests and hobbies, while BBS systems may also contain adult oriented material, and attempts are exerted to limit minors from accessing the information enclosed in those systems. (Electronic Frontier Foundation) As digital technology is growing, liberties in cyberspace and in publications are threatened by government and corporate practices. According to some committees, foundations and movements, censorship is a dangerous weapon in the hands of governments. Some of these foundations are: The Free Software Foundation, The Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition (CIEC), Electronic frontier foundation (EFF), The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). (Microsoft Encarta) In conclusion, how should the media be regulated? Many people feel that the solution to the problem is to create a new media doctrine of self-restraint. Opponents of this feel that this would alter the information and this country would evolve into a dictatorship. But, if something is not done soon, who know what will happen? If the media does not establish an internal system of self-regulation, the government will surely intrude; this is a step that will begin with regulation and ultimately lead to total censorship. Freedom of the press is the cornerstone of America's image of itself. The question of free speech is arguably one of the most complex of all constitutional issues. To solve the problem, there must be a partnership between the media and the American public. If the public commits to not wanting the lies and gossip, the media is not going to try to feed it to them; but as America continues to be fascinated by lies and gossip, then the press will continue to print it. The likelihood of this occurring is very slim. The government, therefore, needs to step in. Special amendments to the Constitution regarding the right to freedom of press and speech need to be put in place in order to avoid such conflicts in the future. While it should not be the government's position to decide what kind of information the media may release, unfortunately no other medium currently exists through which this information can be sifted. Bibliography:  §Ã‚   The American Convention on Human Rights, 22 November 1969,   2004  §Ã‚   Universal Declaration of Human Rights. UN Website, 2004  §Ã‚   Green, Jonathan. The Encyclopedia of Censorship. New York: Facts on File, 1990.  §Ã‚   Hull, Mary E. Censorship in America: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1999  §Ã‚   Wilkins, J. â€Å"Protecting our children from Internet smut: moral duty or moral panic?† The Humanist, 57 (Oct/Nov), 1997  §Ã‚   Aversa, Jeannine. FCC Adopts V-Chip Rules They Associated Press. 12 March 1998  §Ã‚   â€Å"Censorship,† Microsoft ® Encarta ® Online Encyclopedia, 2004  §Ã‚   Electronic Frontier Foundation. Online Censorship & Free Expression, Internet Blocking & Censorware. 2004   

The Performance Evaluation and Bonus

Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of managing a company is to provide a performance evaluation technique that does not frighten employees. The fear in my organization, among those marginal performers, is that the evaluation may cause their being fired. â€Å"One of the most controversial tools for boosting performance is ranking employees and dismissing the laggards. Proponents argue that the practice stretches star employees†¦(Marchetti 2005 16). Those at the bottom of the performance scale tend not to be as motivated as they might be, simply because the fear of being poorly evaluated stifles their determination to improve. While there are many companies which automatically provide a cost of living raise to their employees (sometimes due to labor contracts), the idea of providing bonuses or merit awards also can cause some serious problems, and such â€Å"merit raises† often cause more conflict within a business than they solve in the way of increased productivity and/or efficiency. Here is one author's proof: â€Å"It's clear that employers' compensation systems aren't making the grade. Only 10 percent of organizations describe their merit pay programs as â€Å"very effective,† according to an employee attitude survey conducted in 2002 of 335 companies by Hay Insight (the research and survey arm of Philadelphia-based HR consulting firm The Hay Group), WorldatWork and Loyola University of Chicago† (Wells 2005 76). One problem with many businesses today is that management is too lenient, too worried about hurting someone's feelings. In today's competitive world, where every worker must pull his weight or make way for someone who can, such leniency may be costly. Wells (2005) suggests something called â€Å"tough love.†: â€Å"By contrast, adopting–and enforcing–the get-tough approach to merit pay has clear advantages: It doesn't waste increasingly precious salary-budget dollars, it sends the right message that improvement is imperative, and it doesn't fund under-performers at the expense of high-performing employees† (Wells 2005 78). In my particular organization, the idea of performance evaluation and some sort of bonus or merit award is now no longer strictly limited to the top performers. It is the middle level, what some tend to call â€Å"B performers† that have some stake in the company's bottom line. Again, here is some proof of that: â€Å"Midlevel performers thrive when they know they've got something to work toward–and you've got to give that to them. In fact, 52 percent of respondents who qualify for incentive programs at their companies–which typically reward the top 10 percent of workers–feel they have only somewhat or no chance of winning an award. This is far from motivating. ‘Your B-players have a significant effect on your bottom line,' says Rodger Stotz, vice president and managing consultant for Maritz Inc. ‘You'll always have a top five percent, but those rewards don't move the middle'† (Galea 2005 9). What is needed to ease the pain and strain of performance evaluation and resultant merit increases or bonuses is the fact that top management must now set specific targets and goals, by the month, by the quarter, by six months, annually, and even provides some projections for one, two and five years into the future. With such goals specifically outlined, employees- whether on a production line or white collar, now know exactly what is required of them. To make performance evaluation less painful; and more effective requires supervisors to keep track of performance of their section or departments, as well as individual employees. In this way, if someone falls short, there is an opportunity for a one-on-one discussion that may provide both a reason for such a shortfall and a means of improving performance. This personal oversight by supervisors can go a long way to eliminate the fear of being discharged as a marginal or low performer, and at the same time reward what Galea (2005) calls â€Å"B Performers.† Therefore, what will make performance evaluation and compensation tied to it far more effective in my company is to focus on these mid-=level performers as well as providing a means â€Å"up the ladder† for the marginal ones, knowing the top performers will always continue to shine. By also stressing teamwork, it becomes the responsibility of everyone within a section or department to make sure everyone contributes to reaching the goal.

11 Motivational Quotes For When You Are Job Seeking

11 Motivational Quotes For When You Are Job Seeking Looking for a job is often a long and challenging process. One of the most difficult things about it is staying motivated when it just seems like you have spent hours formatting one line on your resume or sending out another cover letter. But it is important to remember that it takes a lot of work to find a good job, let alone one that is right for you and your career direction. When you are down, say some of these to yourself: 1. Live life as if everything is rigged in your favor. – Rumi  2. There is no hierarchy expect quality. – Arianna Huffington  3. Schedule your creative time. – John Legend  4. Nothing kills creativity more than stress. – Arianna Huffington  5. There is only one way to avoid criticism: Do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing. – Aristotle  6. The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it. – Chinese Proverb  7. We become what we think about. – Earl Nightingale   8. If you’re going through hell, keep going. – Winston Churchill  9. Good things come to people who wait, but better things come to those who go out and get them. – Unknown  10. Self expression is the new form of entertainment   11. Okay, the trampoline was a bad idea. But you know what? At least I’m out there trying new things. – Homer Simpson

Free Essays on Israel Cotroversy

Since the United Nations partition of PALESTINE in 1947 and the establishment of the modern state of ISRAEL in 1948, there have been four major Arab-Israeli wars (1947-49, 1956, 1967, and 1973) and numerous intermittent battles. Although Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1979, hostility between Israel and the rest of its Arab neighbors, complicated by the demands of Palestinian Arabs, continued into the 1980s. THE FIRST PALESTINE WAR (1947-49) The first war began as a civil conflict between Palestinian Jews and Arabs following the United Nations recommendation of Nov. 29, 1947, to partition Palestine, then still under British mandate, into an Arab state and a Jewish state. Fighting quickly spread as Arab guerrillas attacked Jewish settlements and communication links to prevent implementation of the UN plan. Jewish forces prevented seizure of most settlements, but Arab guerrillas, supported by the Transjordanian Arab Legion under the command of British officers, besieged Jerusalem. By April, Haganah, the principal Jewish military group, seized the offensive, scoring victories against the Arab Liberation Army in northern Palestine, Jaffa, and Jerusalem. British military forces withdrew to Haifa; although officially neutral, some commanders assisted one side or the other. After the British had departed and the state of Israel had been established on May 15, 1948, under the premiership of David BEN-GURION, the Palestine Arab forces and foreign volunteers were joined by regular armies of Transjordan (now the kingdom of JORDAN), IRAQ, LEBANON, and SYRIA, with token support from SAUDI ARABIA. Efforts by the UN to halt the fighting were unsuccessful until June 11, when a 4-week truce was declared. When the Arab states refused to renew the truce, ten more days of fighting erupted. In that time Israel greatly extended the area under its control and broke the siege of Jerusalem. Fighting on a smaller scale continued during the se... Free Essays on Israel Cotroversy Free Essays on Israel Cotroversy Since the United Nations partition of PALESTINE in 1947 and the establishment of the modern state of ISRAEL in 1948, there have been four major Arab-Israeli wars (1947-49, 1956, 1967, and 1973) and numerous intermittent battles. Although Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1979, hostility between Israel and the rest of its Arab neighbors, complicated by the demands of Palestinian Arabs, continued into the 1980s. THE FIRST PALESTINE WAR (1947-49) The first war began as a civil conflict between Palestinian Jews and Arabs following the United Nations recommendation of Nov. 29, 1947, to partition Palestine, then still under British mandate, into an Arab state and a Jewish state. Fighting quickly spread as Arab guerrillas attacked Jewish settlements and communication links to prevent implementation of the UN plan. Jewish forces prevented seizure of most settlements, but Arab guerrillas, supported by the Transjordanian Arab Legion under the command of British officers, besieged Jerusalem. By April, Haganah, the principal Jewish military group, seized the offensive, scoring victories against the Arab Liberation Army in northern Palestine, Jaffa, and Jerusalem. British military forces withdrew to Haifa; although officially neutral, some commanders assisted one side or the other. After the British had departed and the state of Israel had been established on May 15, 1948, under the premiership of David BEN-GURION, the Palestine Arab forces and foreign volunteers were joined by regular armies of Transjordan (now the kingdom of JORDAN), IRAQ, LEBANON, and SYRIA, with token support from SAUDI ARABIA. Efforts by the UN to halt the fighting were unsuccessful until June 11, when a 4-week truce was declared. When the Arab states refused to renew the truce, ten more days of fighting erupted. In that time Israel greatly extended the area under its control and broke the siege of Jerusalem. Fighting on a smaller scale continued during the se...

How The U.S. Electoral College System Works

How The U.S. Electoral College System Works The Electoral College is not a college in the sense that the word is generally used. Instead, it is the important and often controversial process by which the United States selects the President of the United States every four years. The Founding Fathers created the Electoral College system as a compromise between having the president elected by Congress and having the president elected by the popular vote of qualified citizens. Every fourth November, after almost two years of campaign hype and fundraising, more than 100 million Americans cast their votes for the presidential candidates. Then, in the middle of December, the president and vice president of the United States are actually elected. This is when the votes of only 538 citizens- the electors of the Electoral College System- are counted.   How It Works When you vote for a presidential candidate, you are in fact voting to instruct the electors from your state to cast their votes for the same candidate. For example, if you vote for the Republican candidate in the November election, you are really just picking an elector who will be pledged to vote for the Republican candidate when the Electoral College votes in December. The candidate who wins the popular vote in a state wins all the pledged votes of the states electors, in the 48 winner take all states and District of Columbia. Nebraska and Maine award electors proportionally. The National Archives explains: Maine has four Electoral votes and two Congressional districts. It awards one Electoral vote per Congressional district and two by the statewide, at-large vote. Nebraska has five Electoral College votes, three awarded to the district winners, and two awarded to the statewide popular vote-getter. Overseas territories of the United States, such as Puerto Rico, have no say in presidential elections, even though their residents are U.S. citizens. The Electoral College system was established in Article II of the Constitution and was amended by the 12th Amendment in 1804. How Electors Are Awarded Each state gets a number of electors equal to its number of members in the U.S. House of Representatives plus one for each of its two U.S. senators. The District of Columbia gets three electors. State laws determine how electors are chosen, but they are generally selected by the political party committees within the states. Each elector gets one vote. Thus, a state with eight electors would cast eight votes. There are currently 538 electors, and the votes of a majority of them- 270 votes- are required to be elected. Because Electoral College representation is based on congressional representation, states with larger populations get more Electoral College votes. Should none of the candidates win 270 electoral votes, the 12th Amendment mandates the election be decided by the House of Representatives. The combined representatives of each state get one vote and a simple majority of states is required to win. This has only happened twice: Presidents Thomas Jefferson in 1801 and John Quincy Adams in 1825 were elected by the House of Representatives. Faithless Electors While the state electors are pledged to vote for the candidate of the party that chose them, nothing in the Constitution requires them to do so. In rare instances, an elector will defect and not vote for their partys candidate. Such faithless votes rarely change the outcome of the election, and laws of some states prohibit electors from casting them. However, no state has ever prosecuted someone for not voting the way they were pledged. The 2016 election saw the most ever faithless electors, as seven were cast; the previous record was six electors who changed their votes, in 1808. When the College Meets The public casts their votes on the first Tuesday after Nov. 1, and before the sun sets in California at least one of the TV networks likely will have declared a winner. By midnight, one of the candidates will have probably claim victory and others will concede defeat. But not until the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, when the electors of the Electoral College meet in their state capitals to cast their votes, will there really be a new president- and vice president-elect. Why is there such a delay between the general election and the Electoral College meetings? In the 1800s, it took that long to count the popular votes and for all the electors to travel to the state capitals. Today, the time is more likely to be used for settling any protests due to election code violations and for vote recounts. Criticisms of the System Critics of the Electoral College system point out that the system allows the possibility of a candidate actually losing the nationwide popular vote but being elected president by the electoral vote. A look at the  electoral votes from each state  and a little math will show you how. In fact, it is possible for a candidate to not get a single persons vote in 39 states or the District of Columbia, yet be elected president by  winning  the popular vote in just 11 of these 12 states (The number of electoral votes is in parentheses): California (55)New York (29)Texas (38)Florida (29)Pennsylvania (20)Illinois (20)Ohio (18)Michigan (16)New Jersey (14)North Carolina (15)Georgia (16)Virginia (13) Because 11 of the 12 states listed above account for exactly 270 votes, a candidate could win these states, lose the other 39, and still be elected. Of course, a candidate popular enough to win California or  New York  will almost certainly win some smaller states. When It Happened Five times in Americas history presidential candidates have lost the nationwide popular vote, but been elected president  in  the Electoral College: In 1824, 261 electoral votes were available, with 131 needed to be elected president. In the election between John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson- both Democratic-Republicans- neither candidate won the necessary 131 electoral votes. While Jackson won more electoral and popular votes than Adams, the House of Representatives, acting under the 12th Amendment to the Constitution, selected John Quincy Adams as the sixth President of the United States. Bitter over the process, Jackson and his supporters proclaimed the election of Adams a â€Å"corrupt bargain.†In 1876,  369 electoral votes were available, with 185 needed to win.  Republican Rutherford B. Hayes, with 4,036,298 popular votes, won 185 electoral votes. His main opponent,  Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, won the popular vote with 4,300,590  votes but won only 184 electoral votes. Hayes was elected president.In 1888, 401 electoral votes were available, with 201 needed to win. Republican Benjamin Harrison, with 5,439,8 53 popular votes, won 233 electoral votes. His main opponent,  Democrat Grover Cleveland, won the popular vote with 5,540,309  votes but won only 168 electoral votes. Harrison was elected president. In 2000,  538 electoral votes were available, with 270 needed to win.  Republican George W. Bush, with 50,456,002 popular votes, won 271 electoral votes. His Democratic opponent,  Al Gore, won the popular vote with 50,999,897  votes but won only 266 electoral votes. Bush was elected president.In 2016, a total of 538 electoral votes were again available, with 270 needed to be elected. Republican candidate Donald Trump was elected president, winning 304 electoral votes, compared to 227 won by Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. However, Clinton received about 2.9 million more popular votes nationwide than Trump, a margin of 2.1 percent of the total vote. Trump’s Electoral College victory was sealed by popular vote wins in the perennial swing states of Florida, Iowa, and Ohio, as well as in the so-called â€Å"blue wall† states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, all Democratic strongholds in presidential elections since the 1990s. With most media sources p redicting an easy victory for Clinton, Trump’s election brought the Electoral College system under intense public scrutiny. Trump detractors tried to protest his election and petitioned electors to cast faithless elector votes. Only two listened. Why the Electoral College? Most voters would be unhappy to see their candidate win the most votes but lose the election. Why would the  Founding Fathers  create a constitutional process that would allow this to happen? The framers of the Constitution wanted to make sure the people were given direct input in choosing their leaders and saw two ways to accomplish this: The people of the entire nation would vote for and elect the president and vice president based on popular votes alone. A direct popular election.The people of each state would elect their members of the  U.S. Congress  by direct popular election. The members of Congress would then express the wishes of the people by electing the president and vice president themselves. An election by Congress. The Founding Fathers feared the direct popular election option. There were no organized  national political parties  yet, no structure from which to choose and limit the number of candidates. Also, travel and communication were slow and difficult at that time. A very  good candidate  could be popular regionally but remain unknown to the rest of the country. A large number of regionally popular candidates would thus divide the vote and not indicate the wishes of the nation as a whole. On the other hand, election by Congress would require the members to both accurately assess the desires of the people of their states and to actually vote accordingly. This could have led to elections that better reflected the opinions and political agendas of the members of Congress than the actual will of the people. As a compromise, the Electoral College system was developed. Considering that only five times in the nations history has a candidate lost the  popular national vote  but been elected by electoral vote, the system has worked well. Yet the Founding Fathers concerns with direct popular elections have mostly vanished. The national political parties have been around for years. Travel and communication are no longer problems. The public has access to every word spoken by every candidate every day. These changes have led to calls for reforms to the system, for example, so that more states have a proportional allocation of electoral votes to more accurately reflect the popular vote.

Definition and Meaning of Environment Assignment

Definition and Meaning of Environment - Assignment Example So the environment is the foundation for the human sustenance and growth and we need to protect it at all costs. According to ( Beggs,2012) â€Å"The regulation of practices that affect the environment has been a relatively recent development in the United States, but it is a good example of government intervention in the economy for a social purpose†. 2. Risk controls can be categorized into three types mainly; prevention, detection, and correction. In this type of risk control, there are controls to prevent the harm and loss from occurring. Like authorizing people in an organization with different tasks and having specific experts for hazard management can avoid problems. In detection, activities are monitored to identify risky behaviors and actions. In corrective type, the controls are made to restore the system or process to a normal position like as in state prior to the harmful event. Factors leading to hazard can be an unrefined authority, inappropriate hiring system, unhygienic atmosphere and unplanned management. For example, if the employee having less professional knowledge of hazard management, handling hazardous materials can bring forth a lot of mishaps, accidents, conflicts, and chaos. 3. The nine classes of hazardous material by D.O.T are 1) Explosives 2) Gases 3) Flammable and combustible liquid 4) Flammable solid, spontaneously combustible and dangerous when wet 5)Oxidizer and Organic Peroxide 6) Poison and Poison Inhalation Hazard 7)Radioactive 8)Corrosive 9) Miscellaneous. One of the news articles which research on acid has been detailed to understand its nature and hazardous effect. This article titled â€Å"Rise of Acid Ocean eats away the base of the food chain† explains the effect of acidic content in the ocean on its marine life. As per (Connor,2014 ) â€Å"Rising amounts of carbon dioxide dissolving in the ocean is causing the acid corrosion of tiny sea creatures that form the base of the marine food chain, scientists have discovered†.  Ã‚  

Human Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Human Development - Essay Example Pavlov’s research indicated that behaviors could be learned via conditioned associations. The learning process was argued to have grounds on which environmental stimulus and naturally occurring stimulus could be associated (Watson 6). Therefore, this means that the focus of behaviorism is purely on the idea that human behavior is acquired as a result of interaction with the environment (Berger 2005). In regard to contribution of behaviorism to my development, it is apparent that behaviorism played a key part in dictating my current personality. Having been brought up in rural areas, most of the behaviors of the rural people were vested on me because I always interacted with them. The rural school setting is different from urban school setting. We used to travel for long distances to school and believed that schooling is a difficult task that one has to strive to achieve. Nevertheless, this was instrumental to me because I have always worked hard to achieve my desires. This is contrary to urban people who are brought up in urban settings. They have little struggles because the life in the urban is a bit comfortable than the life in the rural settings. This is equally the same case to children brought up in wealthy families and those that are brought up in rural settings. The personality of these two groups of people is wide owing to the lifestyle that they are exposed to. It is argued that people brought up in areas where crime is prevalent tend to adapt to criminal behaviors. Most people who engage in crime are either due to the influence of drugs or as a result of poverty. Since such people have little they can do to change their lives, they resort to crime and drugs as a way of either reducing stress or use crime as a way of earning a living. Hence, it is true to stipulate that the environment that such people find themselves in influences their character so that they can fit in it. Theory of cognitive development was pioneered by Jean Piaget who

The changing role of the human resource Research Paper

The changing role of the human resource - Research Paper Example The manner in which the human resource premise is bolstered time and again is something that brings the entire focus on the subject in entirety. The globalization trends are important to decipher here because human resource makes use of these aspects to make sure that the best possible recruitments are made and that these employees are fitted towards the different realms of an organization. The human resource premise is therefore significant from the globalization drives because these take into consideration the issues which bring the diversity regimes within the equation (Bates, 2004). The varied individuals join the organization through these human resource domains alone and then become an able part of the organization in essence. The human resource angle is always given the cover to derive the best possible value out of the related equations because it is something that means a great deal on to the shoulders of the senior management within the changing dynamics of the organization s in this day and age. Within the technological premise it is important to ascertain the true value of human resource through an understanding that its effects are all the more positive than anything else. It would make things easy and turn the tide its way whenever there is a problem that needs to be tackled. The human resource realms must remain complete with the technological manifestations which at any point in time must be complete and comprehensive from all angles (Boddy, 2005). This is important because it has to solve a number of issues which emanate from the technological aftereffects and the incorporation of the very same. Hence the need to remain one step ahead with the proper frameworks of technology is indeed a significant undertaking that brings a lot of success for one and all within the realms of an organization. Diversity plays a quintessential role at describing how well the human resource terms are being managed. The human resource is dependent on the people getti ng recruited through it within the realms of an organization and it is all the more necessary to make sure that diversity forms an important part of the human resource discussions (Cross, 2000). Diversity is being given preference by companies more and more because they have realized the positives associated with diversity and how it can inculcate a sense of optimism within the organization in this day and age. This is the reason why it is being propagated more and more with the advent of time. When diverse individuals are employed, it adds to the social acceptance premise within an organization and gives it the mileage that it requires. E-business is also a necessity when one concerns the related domains with those of human resource. This is the reason why many discussions result in success with such nuances. The human resource realms receive attention because e-business has been good and adequately planned (Brotherton, 2000). This is one of the most significant undertakings that h ave made the rounds of the human resource circles over the years and it will continue to be the case in the coming times as well (Amit, 2001). It shall pave the way for eventual success in the coming days and times and even years to follow. Ethical considerations make up a great amount of the human res

Reseach Paper proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reseach Paper proposal - Essay Example Machine helps machine to figure and work machine unfathomably speedier, lessening the handling speed, value and time. This development innovation changes all human lives. I have quite a while encounter in Plastic infusion Mold making and Machining part industry. For me as experience engineer, CNC is an enchantment. It made unthinkable dreams to true plausibility. CNC it helps me to transform and cut the metal speedier, precise and lively than some time recently. Useful of expounding on this theme is helping me to get progress data about CNC innovation. Whats more the gigantic sources from Cal State University Library are opening an alternate eye and world for me to get more learning and data about the business that I included as my first occupation. Clearly, this Human made engineering has some Advantage and Disadvantages. Points of interest of this machine are, for example, quick correspondence, less demanding arranging framework, sparing vitality and time, information stockpiling information regardless of size and numerous different things. Impediments of the Computer are, for example, unemployment, information security and wellbeing. In General profit or harm of this creation is upon to their client is utilizing it. It can spare some person time, expense and life, or it may case someone misfortune or harm. Anyway dependably workstation engineering improved human life and lead people to a propelled level of

MSc Practical UNIX Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

MSc Practical UNIX Security - Essay Example Furthermore, in the UNIX system's early periods, security feature was almost absent. Then, the UNIX system became the first operating system to undergo attacks raised over the promising Internet. With the passage of time, the security arrangement moved from centralized to distributed verification and permission systems (UNIX Systems Cooperative Promotion Group, 1997) and (The Open Group, 2010). This paper discusses various security aspects of UNIX operating system along with some types of attack that can be applied to UNIX operating system. The basic aim of this paper is to describe in a systematic manner the significance of systems configuration and management and how to undertake systems configuration and management for a UNIX system. Security Considerations With the advancements in the technology the chances of security attacks and their intensity is also increasing. In the past, a lot of security and privacy attacks have greatly influenced a large number of organizations and busi nesses. Some well known examples of these attacks include, security develops Nimda, Code Red, RPC buffer overflows, SQL Slammer Worm, SSH vulnerabilities. Thus, to deal with such new types of security attacks a good security management patch as well as effective security strategy is very important, which can help secure organization’s systems and networks. Seeing that the businesses having a high-quality patch security strategy (which implemented all the recognized patches to the target systems) were not influenced or were least influenced as compared to those businesses which neglected patch security strategies and faced harsh issues like business downtime of numerous days and failure of business effort (code as well as data). In this scenario, all the practical systems have their own techniques for implementing security patches. Additionally, HP-UX, Solaris and AIX program and patch installation techniques allow the elimination of an application or a patch by restoring some overwritten operating system files as the â€Å"save† alternative is employed (that is the default option). In addition, the capability to get rid of a (reminded) security patch makes simpler patch administration on these systems liberating the manager from planning routine techniques for patch management and permitting the administrator to focus on improving system security. For this purpose, HP, Sun and IBM offered standard security patch packages for download a number of times every year, in addition to individual patch downloads as well as patch announcement services which can be received via electronic mail (without paying registration fee). Moreover, specific patch downloads are always available at retailer’s websites and a few mirrors for Red Hat Linux. However, the accessibility of alternatives is significant, for the reason that standard patch packages make simpler the normal application of patches as well as get rid of the need for numerous reboots and/or sy stem configuration changes, as individual patch downloads permit the system application of a security patch at the instant as it is accessible (Tsitsivas et al., 2003), (Zheng & Zhang, 2009), (Curphey & Araujo, 2006) and (Ray, 2004). UNIX Security Overview Normally, all UNIX-based or other systems encompass particular log on procedures. However, these procedures depend on

Reseach Paper proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reseach Paper proposal - Essay Example Machine helps machine to figure and work machine unfathomably speedier, lessening the handling speed, value and time. This development innovation changes all human lives. I have quite a while encounter in Plastic infusion Mold making and Machining part industry. For me as experience engineer, CNC is an enchantment. It made unthinkable dreams to true plausibility. CNC it helps me to transform and cut the metal speedier, precise and lively than some time recently. Useful of expounding on this theme is helping me to get progress data about CNC innovation. Whats more the gigantic sources from Cal State University Library are opening an alternate eye and world for me to get more learning and data about the business that I included as my first occupation. Clearly, this Human made engineering has some Advantage and Disadvantages. Points of interest of this machine are, for example, quick correspondence, less demanding arranging framework, sparing vitality and time, information stockpiling information regardless of size and numerous different things. Impediments of the Computer are, for example, unemployment, information security and wellbeing. In General profit or harm of this creation is upon to their client is utilizing it. It can spare some person time, expense and life, or it may case someone misfortune or harm. Anyway dependably workstation engineering improved human life and lead people to a propelled level of

Personal & Career Development Programme Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal & Career Development Programme - Essay Example You will carry out a literature search on a business in a specific sector which forms a short report in the journal. The focus of the research should be on their business model, products or services, potential business developments, customer or client base. This is designed to help you prepare for questions in an interview which ask you to display knowledge of their business operations. In carrying out the research you should avoid relying solely on information published by the organization and look for independent views and analysis. Google Business Model Google has made enviable strides in a very short time. The company is only in its thirteenth year but it is bigger than many older companies (Google, 2011). The main mode of income generating at goggle is advertising (Betz, 2011). They place advertisements on various products, which they provide free (Murthy, 2007). They even allow users to share in the advertising fees through Google Adwords and Google Adsense (Hill, 2004). In sho rt, Google provides multiple platforms for advertisers to put their advertisements and provides services to end users without cost. Products and Services Google has a very wide range of products. The most popular ones are the Google search engine and Gmail (Hochman, 2010). The search engine helps internet users to find information from the internet based on keywords (Girard, 2009). Gmail on the other hand is a free email platform that allows users to send and receive emails among other services. Other service offered by Google is the YouTube service. This was an acquisition by Google to help in prop its web presence. In addition, there are services such as Blogger through which Google to give free blogs. Potential Business Developments Google has been in the process of improving its services (Gaist, 2009). One of the recent, changes are the upgrade of the appearance of its search engine and the impending system wide change of the appearance of the Gmail email platform. As a company, Google generally avoids making too many changes on its products, opting to build on existing ones by adding optional functionalities to them (Rothkopf, 2009). A case in point is the recent introduction of Google+, which is Google’s attempt at entering the social media scene. It is simply an extension of Gmail. This ideal also shows in Google’s concept of a single sign in. Once a user signs in to any of Google’s applications, they can access all other products provided they registered to use it. Another interesting development that Google is pushing through is Google Places. This application will make it possible for people to know in real time where others are, based on their cell phone signal (Bailyn & Bailyn, 2011). This product is yet to hit the market in a big way, but it will become significant when people get comfortable with others knowing where they are at any one time. Customer Base Google’s customers are the advertisers who put up their adverts on the platforms Google provides (Betz, 2011). End users of the services are not the customers of the company (Paliwal, 2006). They do not generate revenue for Google. They simply provide Google with potential consumer groups to whom the company’s customers can advertise. Reference List Bailyn, E. & Bailyn, B., 2011. Outsmarting Google: SEO Secrets to Winning New Business. Que Publishing. Betz, F., 2011.

Psychological Basis Of Behavior Essay Example for Free

Psychological Basis Of Behavior Essay Until recently the causes of psychological disorders were not so clearly defined. Then advanced imaging techniques made it possible to see various areas of the brain and pinpoint areas that control behavior. It has been long known that the brain uses chemical messengers called neurotransmitters for signaling during its various processes. Advances in neuromedicine revealed that a lot of neurological and psychological disorders have a basis in imbalances between various neurotransmitters in the brain. Diseases like Parkinson’s, Schizophrenia and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder are only a few where administering drugs that controlled levels of various neurotransmitters in the brain could control the disease symptoms and in some cases even provide a cure. Indeed, it was the discovery of these pharmacological agents that led to the discovery of newer agents that could control various neurological disorders by manipulating levels of neurotransmitters. Development of various drugs for schizophrenia was done on the basis of the fact that they had the ability to block dopamine receptors. In addition it was noticed that there was also an increased number of dopamine receptors present in these patients1. Similarly, in patients who suffered form Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) an abnormality in the neurotransmitter serotonin was implicated and it was shown that drug therapy that did not affect 5-HT receptors was ineffective in the treatment of OCD6. Parkinson’s disease like schizophrenia also is due to an abnormality in dopamine levels but in Parkinson’s dopamine levels become depleted4. Parkinson’s disease is a movement disorder caused by the depletion of dopamine produced in the substantia nigra, a part of the brain that is responsible for voluntary movements of the body11. Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease that affects 1% of the population. Its pathophysiology involves degeneration of substantia nigra. This portion is responsible for movements in the body. Various hypotheses have been proposed concerning the causes of the disease and include genetic factors, environmental factors and viruses. Amongst these genetic factors are considered the most important and mutations in various genes have been identified that are linked to Parkinson’s disease. Genes that have been implicated are PINK-1, DJ-1, and LRRK2 and it is thought that in addition to hereditary viruses and toxins are thought to cause theses mutations4. Parkinson’s disease is characterized by a fine pin-rolling tremor of the hands, rigidity, bradykinesia, an expressionless face called a mask like face and a parkinsonian gait characterized by small steps and reduced swing of the arms. Additional symptoms may be present and include difficulty in chewing and swallowing, depression, fatigue, dementia, speech problems, constipation, urinary problems and orthostatic hypotension7. Symptoms vary from patient to patient and can also have drastic emotional consequences for the patient. Diagnosis is often difficult as there are no tests available and is usually made on history and examination of the nervous system. Various treatment options are available and are mainly aimed at increasing the levels of dopamine in the brain. These include Levodopa, which is a precursor of dopamine and the nerve cells use synthesize dopamine. Other drugs like bromocriptine, apomorphine and pramipexole act by imitating the activity of dopamine4. There is no definitive cure for this disease and the treatment is only symptomatic. Adjuvant therapy may be given to relieve symptoms such as depression. Schizophrenia is another disorder that is caused by an imbalance between dopamine levels. The difference is that high levels of dopamine are found and the disease has mainly psychiatric manifestations. The cause of schizophrenia still remains unknown and this has been hampered largely by the different subtypes of the disease presenting a large variety of symptoms and involving different areas of the brain. It is also a feature of diseases like Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease9. Schizophrenia is characterized by auditory and visual hallucinations, delusions in which the patient thinks that his thoughts are being controlled externally and paranoid behavior believing someone is poisoning him, disorders of movement, cognitive dysfunction and emotional symptoms such as lack of interest in surroundings and social withdrawal2. Newer research has suggested that people with schizophrenia may experience an inability to smell certain items suggesting a disorder in the orbitofrontal region of the brain and surprisingly this sensory deficit has also been found in patients with Parkinson’s disease10. Other studies indicate that abnormalities in the amygdalia a region of the brain dealing with psychological processes may cause schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders8. Though the cause is still doubtful it has been seen that schizophrenia runs in families thus suggesting a genetic factor. Environmental factors and trauma during birth have also been suggested as causative factors. In the past agents used to treat schizophrenia like chlorpromazine and haloperidol blocked both D1 and D2 receptors and caused extra pyramidal side effects2. But the newer agents like clozapine have a high affinity for D1 receptors and thus do not cause unwanted extrapyramidal side effects. Other agents that have fewer side effects are risperidone and olanzepine and are very effective in controlling symptoms. All of these agents act by reducing levels of dopamine in the brain thus enabling the control of symptoms. The genetic predisposition to schizophrenia is now widely known. Family history of mental ailments such as schizoaffective disorders, bipolar disorders and depression, are a very strong indication and predisposition to developing schizophrenia. However, complex researches in the pattern of schizophrenic disorders among monozygotic twins have not been able to establish the full authenticity of the claim. The scientists claim that schizophrenia has been associated with the â€Å"shy gene† or 5-HTT gene. Currently, having a schizophrenic geneticity is only the first link; further development is dependant on other factors as well. (Schizophrenia. com, 2007)12 Many claim that there exists a link between schizophrenia and the environment. This is based on the fact that increased risk of schizophrenia within families cannot be singly attributed to the cause of it alone. The environmental factors that are thought to play an important role in causing schizophrenia include psychosocial, biological and physical factors, which are in effect from birth till maturity. It is now claimed that the interaction of the genetic and the social or environmental factors are very important in the development of disease in schizophrenic patients. (Tsuang, 2001) Many of the environmental effects that come into play do so in preterm and in early childhood. The highest contribution seems to be the state of labor, for example, hypoxia, CNS damage RH incompatibility of the mother and child etc. Also, other prenatal factors may include maternal depression, bereavement and flood and famine. Rubella infections and infections of the CNS are also thought to play a very important role in the development of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia. com, 2007)12 Obsessive-compulsive disorder is another psychiatric disorder that has at its cause an imbalance between neurotransmitters. In this case the neurotransmitter is serotonin. The areas of the brain thought to be involved in this disorder are the basal ganglia and the frontal lobe6. People with OCD have obsessional thoughts and t he compulsion to carry out those thoughts repeatedly3. Patients often have an awareness of their abnormal thought patterns and are distressed by them but are unable to control them. Common symptoms are patients exhibiting rituals and having unwanted thoughts and behavior patterns. Patients may have unwanted thoughts of a fear of germs or hurting someone called an obsession and compulsions are the acts of carrying out those obsessional thoughts like repeatedly washing and cleaning or repeatedly counting or checking things over and over again3. Sometimes it manifests in conjunction with other psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia and depression. It often resolves when these disorders are treated. It has also been seen with diseases like Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s chorea6. This disorder usually starts in adolescence and the patient is usually aware that he has some psychiatric ailment. The etiology is uncertain but Obsessive-compulsive disorder also has a genetic component. Though environmental factors are also a major cause, head trauma has also been implicated in certain cases6. Various treatment options are available including behavioral therapy. Drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors act by delaying the uptake of serotonin into the neuron and thus prolonging it’s action. This controls the deficiency of serotonin thought to be involved in causing obsessional symptoms. Drugs that are being used include fluoxetine, sertraline, fluvoxamine, paroxetine and clomipramine. Drug therapy used to treat other anxiety disorders is not effective in obsessive-compulsive disorder since it may not target the 5-HT receptors that are used by serotonin. Adams et al (2005)14 reported an up-regulation of serotonin receptors in caudate nuclei of OCD patients. Administration of SSRI drugs was tested in OCD patients. When untreated patients were compared with healthy normal individuals, it was found that cerebral 5-HT (2A) receptors binding were high in these patients. However, this difference was diminished when SSRI drug was administered to the patients. Different studies have reported that 5-HT reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) are most successful in treatment of OCD (Mansari Blier, 2006). This suggests serotonin depletion may be a vital cause of this disease. Normally, serotonin is actively involved in moderating flow of messages from orbital frontal cortex to thalamus via caudate nucleus. Various pharmacological studies have suggested 5-HT concentration in OFC is regulated by 5HT2 like receptors. SRI drugs modify 5-HT receptors regulation of serotonin and hence mostly used in treatment of OCD (Mansari Blier, 2006)15. Delgado and Moreno (1998)16 also reported that these drugs binding potency is related to hallucinogens. Pitterger et al (2006) reported that drugs that reduce elevated glutamate levels in brain might be effective in treatment of OCD. Pitterger et al (2006)17 suggested antiglutamatergic agent riluzole (Rilutek) play vital role in reducing glutamate hyperactivity in the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuitry. Conclusion Overall a link has been found among various mental illnesses. This is evident by the fact that obsessive-compulsive disorder may be present in people who already have Schizophrenia or Parkinson’s disease. This overlap suggests that similar areas of the brain are involved in the etiology of these diseases and also that similar neurotransmitters may also be involved. Also interesting is the similarity in the deficiency in the sense of smell in both Parkinson’s and schizophrenia. As research progresses and advanced neuroimaging techniques become available it will become possible to interlink these diseases to one another. Special areas of interest may be the basal ganglia and the amygdalia as they are seen involved in a variety of neurological disorders. Parkinsons disease is a neurological disease, having a progressive nature. There are certain peculiar signs and symptoms that a Parkinson patient presents with; these include tremor, rigidity, akinesia or bradykinesia. Etiologically, Parkinsons disease is found in 1% of the population above 60 years of age. The ratio increases in people above 70 years of age. Although, also found in women, predominantly affects male gender. The role of environment in causing Parkinsonism is worth mentioning. Carbon mono-oxide and manganese, apart from certain pesticides play the major role in causing the disease. Parkinsonism among old aged people is idiopathic, but familial inheritance can be possible. A lot is not known about the role of genetics and inheritance of this disease, but occurrence in younger ages carries a higher probability of familial inheritance. It has been found that schizophrenia and Parkinson disease may share similarity by showing dysfunction of the prefrontal cortical areas of the brain. Also, both these conditions are the result or excess of deficiency of the levels of dopamine, which in turn dictates the treatment plan for such conditions. Similarly, patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease may show the presence of obsessive compulsive disorders, and the severity depends upon the length of the disease progression. The relation between these three conditions presenting in close relation with each other raise many questions about the progress of each disease, and whether treatments of each condition contain treatments for others as well. (Maia, 2003)13

Unemployment Inflation in the U.S

Unemployment Inflation in the U.S Unemployment rate is known to be one of the most vital economic indicators to represent a particular countrys economic performance usually formulated by the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS). While looking at United States unemployment rate, it has been ranging from 4.7 till 10.1 percent. Economists realize that unemployment is a serious problem, as it not only withdraws consumption patterns but also occurs at an opportunity cost of the goods and services that could have been produced. In addition, persistent unemployment can result in a pool of psychological and social welfare costs such as; suicides, depression, divorces etc. In order to understand how unemployment has affected the U.S economy, it is essential to know how unemployment is measured initially and what causes it. Measuring Unemployment Firstly, a monthly Employment Report is generated by the U.S government which is constituted of two surveys. The first being the Establishment Report and the second being the Current Population Survey. The Establishment Report inquires how many workers are being paid regularly from a sample of employers while the CPS, inquires a pool of 60,000 households about any of them trying to seek work or are working currently. When the result is finalized, it helps the BLS to analyse how many Americans are employed and how many are not. It is categorized into six different measures namely; When a person is out of job for 15 weeks or more. When a worker has finished a temporary job or has been sacked. Formulating official unemployment rate by evaluating the proportion of the labour force from the total unemployed. Measuring the total unemployment rate by adding up (3) and the portion of workers who have given up looking for a job (discouraged). Summing up the answers to (4) and adding a portion of workers who are interested to work but have not started looking for it. Summation of all the above results from 3-5 onwards with those workers who are keen to work full-time but cannot. Reasons of Unemployment In general economics, unemployment can be reasoned to occur for a number of economic factors. However, while generalizing it only to the U.S economy, unemployment is caused by either frictional, structural or cyclical reasons. Frictional Unemployment: Such type of unemployment is generated from the transitions in the workforce that are often caused when workers try to shift in between jobs in order to get a higher salary or because they gave shifted to a particular location. It can also be caused when employers hold back themselves from appointing of sacking workers for in economic reasons. Structural Unemployment: When a mismatch is created due to geographical, demographical or industrial reasons; structural unemployment is caused. Usually, it can be caused in areas where there is a lot of technical advancement but the workers lack the technical expertise to carry out their jobs. Such progress in technology is usually a great cost to the economy. In the U.S, the newspaper industry has faced a loss of jobs for reporters, content editors and so on as the online world has taken over the industry in the form of web-based advertising. Cyclical Unemployment: Keynesian economics states that cyclical unemployment is the effect of booms in the business cycles. Moreover, recession trends lead to lesser workers being recruited thus, rising the unemployment rate. Cyclical unemployment occurs when there is not enough demand for goods and services in the economy at large to provide jobs for everyone who wants one. Basically, it is triggered when consumers have less money at hand to spend money on commodities. This in turn causes companies to lay off their workers due to less demand. Measures to curb the unemployment rate After a specific range, the federal U.S government steps into the scene and tries to create jobs in order to avoid the unemployment rate to persist over a long period of time. The government usually does this via the monetary policy of fiscal policy approach. Monetary Policy: The Federal Reserve Bank of U.S is responsible for controlling the monetary policy. The bank is an independent entity that has the key to manage the money supply within the country. Two tools are used accordingly to the economic situation. The first tool adopted is to lower the interest rates. In this way, it is less costly for banks and companies to borrow money as the cost of borrowing is lowered. Governments do this with an aim to stimulate investment spending and expansion of businesses. This results in increased employment and economic vitality. The second tool is to increase the money available to households and businesses. In this way, more money will increase employment and stimulate business expansion. Fiscal Policy: In case the expansionary monetary policy is not enough to curb the unemployment effect, various fiscal policies are adopted to fight the high rates of unemployment. Governments can adopt many techniques to do this. They can: Reduce taxes for encouraging households and businesses to spend. Increase government spending to increase employment rates. Provision of unemployment benefits in order to help them with their basic needs. Recruit workers who have the skills to build things like mass transit systems and who have the skills to cater services such as upgrading and repairing complex infrastructures. (Debt.org, n.d.) Inflation is generally termed as the persistent rise in the general price level of good and services. It can be caused due to three main reasons in the U.S: Demand Pull Inflation: This type of inflation is mainly caused when too much demand is chasing too few goods. A progressing economy just like the U.S; can result in inflation as people start consuming more and more. Growing economies like the U.S can face persistent inflation as people spend more and are optimistic about the future. This can trigger economic growth but after a certain time can be dangerous. Fiscal policies that are discretionary in nature can instigates demand-pull inflation. The government does this by increasing their federal spending and decreasing tax rates which in turn causes an up rise in the demand schedule. For instance, Apple Inc. charges high prices for its products. Cost-Push Inflation: Such type of inflation occurs mainly due to high costs chasing prices. It is caused when supply is low. Wage inflation can trigger cost-push inflation as it is instigated by a good formed labor union. Moreover, when natural calamities occur they can also cause such type of inflation as infrastructure is destroyed such as that what happened in Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. For instance, excessive fishing in the U.S causes a reduction in supply for seafood, thus increasing its price. Another reason can also be flexibility of U.S exchange rate that leads to import-push inflation. Money-Supply Inflation: Excess expansion of money supply can also lead to inflation. Money in general means both cash and credit. Whenever U.S households find loan cheap, there will be a lot of money and too few goods thus in return; increasing inflation. Monetary Fiscal Policies in U.S Monetary policy is referred to the deliberate manipulation of national currency which is set by the U.S Federal Reserve. Monetary policy is a tool which is used to control the value of currency; in this case the dollar, in the open market. In the U.S a contractionary monetary policy can be of great use to stabilize the price level and curb the inflation rate. The main aim of the policy is to decrease the level of inflation in the level. The U.S government does this by decreasing government spending or by increasing interest rates. This results in a stable economy. Furthermore; this affects the consumption schedule which equalizes the price level. However, the same policy has many negative side effects to it. Contractionary monetary policy causes production to slow down as it gets tightened over the years. Businesses might shut down their production which reduces the demand of commodities thus creating a recession. In addition to this, unemployment rises as firms hire less workers with less production. (Monetary Policy) On the other hand Fiscal Policy is referred to the adjustment of consuming spending patterns including that of tax. (Explain Fiscal Policy) The main benefits of this policy that it caters is that once implied it immediately takes it role in the economy. Secondly, in case the U.S economy is in recession, a fiscal policy can be implemented to trigger a rise in aggregate demand. Thirdly, it is specific in nature which means that it defines its role in advance. For instance, federal spending on either schools, infrastructure or medical facilities. However, it can have its own cons such as being inflexible. Social and political constraints can cause fiscal policies to lag behind in its implementation period. (Fiscal Policies Pros Cons) Economic Growth Reforms in the U.S Economic growth refers to the amount of prosperity a country enjoys over a period of time. It is an indicator of the growth in the economy. For instance, in the U.S, the economic growth rate is around 2 to 5 percent. As the U.S is a fast paced economy, such rates persist over long periods of time and are seen pretty well. (Economic Growth) Many policies and reforms have been formed to promote economic growth. One such reform is the President Obama Strategy for American Innovation. The main idea of this reform is the provision of a system that caters to ensure that the American economy prospers. Moreover, this reform also has the aim to generate quality jobs, better infrastructure for medical facilities and improved areas for living. (Innovation Strategy, n.d.) Another policy to promote growth is the Economic Development Administration which helps the economy by providing jobs and technical help to those areas where there is an immense need of aid. In such way, employment is created which ensures that there is a stable level of economic growth. (Eco1) Balance of Payments the Exchange Rate of United States The Balance of Payment (BoP) is referred to a numerical and statistical summary of the proceedings that take place within the economy. The proceedings can be either, goods that are tangible, services, income and foreign debt. (Mosbacher, Michael R. Darby, Allan H. Young,, Carol S. Carson) As the current and capital accounts accumulate to result in an aggregate account, both the deficits in the current and capital accounts are compensated with their respective surpluses. In the U.S, a current account deficit when the prices, GNP, interest rates and the exchange rates are high. For instance, in the U.S, if there is an increase in tariffs, there will be less import buying which will result in a current account deficit. However, such changes only occur when other factors contributing towards the Bop reduce the capital account surplus. If this is not the case, there will be a reduction in foreign currencys demand and there will be an appreciation in the dollar value. As a result, the tariff which was initially increased will be offset as exports increase and imports are reduced. In economics, exchange rates are known as the representation of one currency in terms of another. This means that $1 will be values as 8 pesos in Mexico. If there is an appreciation in the value of dollar, there will be an increase in the export prices and a decrease in import prices as foreign goods are now cheaper for the U.S. There is a current account deficit since, the net export function is negative in nature. However, if there is a depreciation in the value of dollar, a vice ver sa situation will occur where import prices rise. Exports become cheaper for foreign consumers which in turn causes the current account deficit to be lessened. (Balance of Payments) (Exchange Rates) Paying off the Foreign Debt – Unites States An economy experiences an equilibrium in its budgets when there federal revenues and spending equal each other. Whenever there is excess of revenues in comparison to spending, there is a surplus and vice versa. Which is why, it is essential for the government to borrow money in order to fill in this deficit in the latter case. Therefore, a federal debt is where money is being lent by foreign countries and that by the public of its own country to facilitate areas where financial assistance is needed. When the Treasury of the U.S government borrows money, the amounts are reported to the federal accounts. Thus, whenever there is a surplus in the trust fund accounts, the U.S Treasury utilizes this surplus to find for various kinds of government spending. Moreover, around a third quarter of the debt is constituted by the federal accounts, whereas, two-third quarters are owned by general masses. (Borrowing and the Federal Debt) Bibliography Balance of Payments. (n.d.). Retrieved from EcoLib.org: http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/BalanceofPayments.htm Borrowing and the Federal Debt. (n.d.). Retrieved from NationalPriorities.org: https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/borrowing-and-federal-debt/ Debt.org. (n.d.). Retrieved from Unemployment in the United States: http://www.debt.org/jobs/unemployment/united-states/ Economic Growth. (n.d.). Retrieved from Investopedia.com: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/economicgrowthrate.asp Exchange Rates. (n.d.). Retrieved from Colorado.edu: http://www.colorado.edu/economics/courses/econ2020/section12/section12.html Explain Fiscal Policy. (n.d.). Retrieved from Investopedia.com: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/04/051904.asp Fiscal Policies Pros Cons. (n.d.). Retrieved from Yahoo Answers.com: https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080202033549AAb3qM Innovation Strategy. (n.d.). Retrieved from Whitehouse.gov: https://www.whitehouse.gov/innovation/strategy Monetary Policy. (n.d.). Retrieved from SmallBusiness.com: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/pros-cons-contractionary-monetary-policy-3871.html Mosbacher, R. A., Michael R. Darby, Allan H. Young,, Carol S. Carson. (n.d.). USA Balance of Payments. Smallbussiness.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from Monetary Policy: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/explain-monetary-policy-1504.html

Out-Out by Robert Frost and Mid Term Break by Seamus Heaney Essay

Analyse the two poems Out-Out by Robert Frost and Mid Term Break by Seamus Heaney by paying particular attention to the similarities between the two poems 'Out-Out' was written by Robert Frost who was an American poet born in 1874. He moved to the New Englandfarm country, where most of his poems were inspired. 'Mid Term Break' was written by Seamus Heaney, who was born on a farm in county Londonderry in Northern Ireland. The two poems are very similar and are both about the deaths of a young child, one about a boy who loses his hand whilst using a buzz saw; unfortunately, he also loses his life. In Mid Term Break the boy loses his life in a car accident. He was only left with "A poppy bruise on his left temple" There are also lots of differences between the two poems. In Out-Out the young boy was from quite a poor working class background in my opinion, which meant that the young boy had to work for the day in order to help the family. However the boy in Mid-Term Break was from a higher class family and seemed to be in quite a posh school. "College sick bay" This could mean it is a boarding school because it has its own sick-bay. The similarities between the poems are that both of the deaths were accidents and were also quite brutal. Out-Out is a poem of 34 lines of just one stanza. The poem is written in the 3rd person by somebody that is narrating the story, and that has no connections with the happenings of the poem. The way the poem is written also makes it less tragic, as every line flows to the next without giving much time to think about what has happened. The rhyming also hides some of the sadness in the poem. One point to consider is the shape of the poem, as it vaguely resemble... ...fer to catholic beliefs as in the religion they light candles to remember peoples lives, and to send them to heaven. Unlike Out-Out the ending is far more dramatic and depressing rather then the fading away from the story as happened In Out-Out, as you didn't even know how old the boy was until the very last line. This makes it seem very sad. "wearing a poppy bruise on his left temple, he lay in the four foot box as in his cot. No gaudy scars, the bumper knocked him clear. A four foot box, a foot for every year." This is very effective because it explained everything that happened, as we didn't know the story until the end. I think that makes the poem much more emotional, not knowing what to think. I believe Mid Term Break is more effective because of the was the poet has described the death, and it seems much more emotional that Out-Out.

Environmental toxicology Essay

Environmental toxicology refers to specific organs as target organs. This is an organ that has the highest probability of being affected by exposure to a specific substance. Target organ toxicity refers to the negative effects a chemical has on that target organ after entry into the body (Hodgson, 2010). There are multiple organs such as the liver which are targeted simply because of ease of access. Any organ that can be accessed through less guarded cell walls or higher levels of lipids are more susceptible to entry by toxicants. High traffic organs like the kidneys and liver make it easy as they receive and filter all blood therefore taking the toxin in large doses to cleanse the body. The primary purpose of the kidneys and liver is to expel toxins and therefore this action is there specialty making them more susceptible. The human body has a specialized detoxification process that includes a specific target organ, the liver. The liver is a primary regulator of chemical levels in the blood and it also excretes bile that helps the breakdown of fat (Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, 2012). This breakdown helps to prepare the fats for the final stages of digestion and ultimately absorption. The liver has two sources of blood flowing threw it at all times, oxygenated blood from the hepatic artery and nutrient-rich blood from the hepatic portal vein. Approximately 13% of blood in the body is held in the liver at any moment (Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, 2012). The blood that leaves the stomach and intestines will be passed through the liver before it is allowed to travel anywhere else in the body. In the liver nutrients and toxins are broken down so they can be used easily the body. Waste is not only excreted through the bile but also in the blood which will travel to the kidneys and leave the body as urine (Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, 2012). The liver has many very important duties it carries out such as cleaning the blood of toxins and bacteria, and producing the bile that carries away waste and breaks down fat (Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, 2012). With all of this toxic intervention the liver an be overworked and disease can overcome, such as chronic liver disease (Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, 2012). The conditions that lead to chronic liver disease are vast but they fall into five groups (Chronic liver, 2011). The first group is the viral group classification which includes conditions such as hepatitis B and C (Chronic liver, 2011). The second group is the metabolic group which includes diseases such as Wilson’s disease (Chronic liver, 2011). The third group is the autoimmune response group which includes primary biliary cirrhosis sufferers (Chronic liver, 2011). The fourth group is the toxin-related group which includes alcoholism and the last is the miscellaneous group with ailments such as right heart failure (Chronic liver, 2011). Within these groups there is a silent killer though which raises the risk for that group. That is the toxin-related group because alcoholism leads to cirrhosis and then to hepatitis (Chronic liver, 2011). That group alone takes a person through three groups in one shot. While researching toxicants and reactions there have been some similarities found. Many toxicants affect the lungs, skin, and eyes. Take for instance Sulfur Dioxide, Asbestos, and gasoline. Sulfur Dioxide is a colorless gas with a choking odor and suffocating qualities (Air Gas, 2012). It is toxic to humans even at low concentrations. The target organs of Sulfur Dioxide are the lungs, upper respiratory tract, the skin, and eyes (Air Gas, 2012). At the low dose of 8ppm coughing will commence leading to severe respiratory tract issues as well as eye and skin burns (Air Gas, 2012). Another toxic substance is a naturally occurring fibrous mineral called asbestos (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). The most common types are Chrysotile and Amosite. It targets the respiratory system, eyes, and is known as a carcinogen because it causes lung cancer. With chronic exposure dyspnea will begin, interstitial fibrosis and restricted pulmonary functions will be observed as well as finger clubbing, and eye irritation (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). Gasoline is a volatile combination of flammable liquid hydrocarbons. Taken from crude petroleum it is highly used for internal-combustion engines. No matter the grade gasoline affects the eyes, skin, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, nose, throat, the respiratory tract, the central nervous system, the liver and kidneys (Amerada Hess Corporation, 2004). In the eyes the effects are moderate causing irritation. When it comes to the skin it depends on the exposure, if acute gasoline is mild but with prolonged contact toxic amounts can be absorbed and damage can be made. If the gasoline is ingested there are many major issues that will follow (Amerada Hess Corporation, 2004). First the breathing of liquid drops into the lungs when vomiting occurs, which can cause chemical pneumonia, lung damage, respiratory failure and ultimately death (Amerada Hess Corporation, 2004). This is not all ingestion can cause though as gastrointestinal issues can arise such as nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and even brain damage (Amerada Hess Corporation, 2004). If the ingestion is a chronic level of exposure convulsions could follow, even loss of consciousness, coma, and respiratory arrest. Another means of exposure is through inhalation. This can cause serious issues with the nose, throat, lungs and once again the respiratory tract (Amerada Hess Corporation, 2004). It can also cause headaches, dizziness and in vertigo, unconsciousness that leads to coma and even death. At the most chronic of levels gasoline that contains benzene can cause anemia or leukemia. If the liver or kidneys of the exposed person have already been compromised they can also become a target organ (Amerada Hess Corporation, 2004).

Independant Study, Delayed Cord Clamping vs Immediate Cord Clamping Essay

Throughout the students practical placements they have witnessed midwives having conflicting views on the practice of delayed cord clamping which then allowed the student to research the topic in depth. After reviewing all the evidence the student will make recommendations for practice. They should discuss the implications of both delayed cord clamping and immediate cord clamping to improve patient safety and reduce harm to both the neonate and the mother. For the student to show their ability to be an independent learner they must undertake a study on a subject of their choice. The student has chosen to discuss whether delayed cord clamping or immediate cord clamping is more beneficial for a positive outcome for neonates and mothers. The student will relate this subject to The World Health Organisations (WHO) documentation relating to patient safety and also how delaying cord clamping could reduce harm to the neonate and mother. Previous to this study the student will have presented their plan and learning outcomes to a small audience and has also provided a rationale, stating the aim, learning outcomes and also outlining their reasoning on choosing this particular topic for their Independent study (appendix 1). Literature Review The most historically practiced protocol has been delayed cord clamping, with work dating back to 1773, when Charles While published his famous work, A Treatise on the Management of Pregnant and Lying in Women, which taught delayed cord clamping as common practice except in the case of a nuchal cord (Cook, 2007). Erasmus Darwin in 1801 suggested that it was injurious to an infant if the umbilical cord was cut too soon. He advised it should always be left until the child has repeatedly breathed and the cord had stopped pulsating, otherwise the baby would be left much weaker than it should be as the blood which should have been transfer to the baby would have been left in the placenta (Bluff, 2006). Immediate cord clamping started becoming more common practice in the 1960s due to two reasons. Firstly, mismanaged jaundice provoked a great deal of lawsuits against paediatricians who then urged obstetricians to minimise placental transfusion. Secondly, due to the increase use of analgesia and active management of the third stage of labour Eastman (1950) stated that by the widespread use of analgesic drugs in labour, it has resulted in a number of infants who had sluggish respiratory effects at birth causing the need for immediate cord clamping to take place. In 1997 the World Health Organisation suggested the primary reason for early clamping being practiced is to protect the neonate from the large infusion of blood that occurs from the Syntocinon induced contraction immediately after delivery. More recent studies have shown the opposite from this and that delayed cord clamping is more beneficial to the mother and baby. The NICE Clinical Guidelines (2007) on intra-partum care carried out a review to ascertain whether interfering with placental transfusion had any benefits to the mother or the baby. Their findings was that there was insufficient evidence to support delayed cord clamping in high income countries but it did support that delayed cord clamping reduced anaemia in low to middle income countries. They suggest this is due to anaemia being more prevalent in those countries over all and that more research needs to be done to suggest delayed cord clamping is beneficial to mother and baby. The student has chosen three studies to consider and review. The first is a study by Anderson et al, (2011). Their aim was to determine the effects of delayed cord clamping versus early cord clamping on neonatal outcomes and iron status at four month. Their reasoning behind this was that previous studies have found that as much as 26% of children suffer from anaemia and in India 70% of children between six-eleven months were found to be anaemic (Jaleel, Deeba, Khan, 2009). It has been suggested that iron deficiency has been associated with impaired neurological development; therefore Anderson et al (2011) decided to carry out a randomised control trial to try and decided what would be the best practice. They state their main focus is haemoglobin and iron status at four months of age and they have a secondary focus of neonatal anaemia, early respiratory symptoms and polycythaemia. Their aim was clear from the outset that they would show delayed cord clamping reduces iron deficiency in neonates. The second study is an article by Bluff (2006) discussing early versus delayed cord clamping. Bluffs objective is to prove that by delaying cord clamping it can reduce the incidences of Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Intravatricular Haemorrhage, Necrotizing Enterocolostic and brain damage. Bluff (2006) provides sufficient evidence to back up their claim agreeing with Anderson et al (2011) that delayed cord clamping is more beneficial to the mother and baby than early cord clamping. The third study the student has chosen to discuss is one of midwives views on delayed cord clamping. Airey et al (2008) states that although there is evidence to associate delayed cord clamping with benefits to mother and baby midwives still practice early clamping. The author claims there is an uncertainty of alternative strategies with cord clamping. Falcao (2012) agrees suggesting this may be due to the lack of knowledge and clear guidelines of what delayed cord clamping is. Therefore Airey et al (2008) conducted a survey, their aim was to interview a number of delivery suite midwives and record the results, stating there is conflicting knowledge of the timing of delayed cord clamping. Anderson et al (2011) states that young children are at risk of iron deficiency due to low iron intake and the need for iron for rapid growth. Iron is essential for cognitive development (Mitra, 2009) therefore it is important that we understand the best practice possible to reduce these risk associated with iron deficiency and achieve optimal brain development. Bluff (2006) states that iron stores are crucial for optimal neurological development. Anderson et al (2011) obtained their results from 400 full term infants in low risk pregnancy which makes it one of the largest randomised controlled studies comparing delayed and early clamping. By using a larger group it gives more accurate and widespread results (NIH,2012). Their results showed, that at four months of age infants had no significant differences in haemoglobin concentration, but 45% of infants that had delayed cord clamping had higher ferritin levels and lower prevalence of iron deficiency. Mitra et al (2009) also carried out a similar study, although only using 130 participants the same results were found that delayed cord clamping reduces the risk of iron deficiency. Many studies have shown that by clamping the umbilical cord immediately after birth it reduces the blood the neonate receives therefore it may increase the risk of that infant becoming iron deficient or anaemic. The blood circulating the placenta and umbilical vessels is 25-40% of the babies total blood volume (Yao & Lind,1974). A healthy neonate’s blood volume is around 80-115ml/kg of birth weight therefore a neonate weighing 3. 6kg has a blood volume of 209- 290mls of blood, which 75-125mls may have been transfused. By delaying cord clamping and allowing the extra blood to be transfused this could provide the neonate with an additional 50 mg of additional iron which may prevent or delay low iron levels as an infant ( Bluff, 2006). Bluff (2006) also discusses the other benefits to delayed cord clamping, such as reducing the risks of Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS) which is the major cause of neonatal morbidity, mortality, Necrotising Enterocolitis (NEC) and Intraventricular Haemorrhages (IVH). This is due to immediate clamping of the cord preventing additional blood being transfused to the neonate which is the equivalent to the amount transferred to a baby with profound shock Morley (1998). This describes immediate cord clamping as the equivalent of subjecting an infant to a massive haemorrhage. Mercer and Skovgaard (2002) state that if we lost this much blood at any other point in our lives it would cause serves morbidity or death. . By clamping the cord immediate after delivery this would result in blood being sacrificed from other organs in order to establish pulmonary perfusion, which may increase the risk of the neonate suffering from RDS, NEC or IVH. The use of Delayed Cord Clamping should also be used with preterm neonates. Strauss et al (2008) also carried out a randomised controlled trial comparing delayed versus immediate cord clamping but specifically relating to preterm neonates. The outcomes are the same as the previous trials that delayed cord clamping is more beneficial to the neonate than immediate cord clamping. The author states that the neonates whole blood volume was increased after delayed cord clamping. Bluff (2006) also agrees that delayed cord clamping should be used with preterm infants if possible as it increases red blood cells and stabilises blood pressure therefore decreasing the need for transfusions and also decreases the risk of bleeding in the brain. Although there is a great deal of evidence showing benefits to the neonate from delayed cord clamping, there is also benefits to the mother. Bluff (2006) suggests that by delaying the clamping of the cord it reduces the risk of the mothers experiencing a post-partum haemorrhage or a retained placenta. By immediately clamping the cord it increases the placentas blood supply by as much as 100mls therefore increasing the bulk of the placenta and decreasing the efficiency of uterine contractions which are necessary for the expulsion (Bluff, 2006). In 1968 Walsh found that Delayed Cord clamping reduces post-partum haemorrhages and retained placentas. She states that with the placenta being less bulky when it has been drained blood by the neonate, the uterus can contract easier and ore effectively on a less engorged placenta therefore reducing maternal blood loss. This is helping to improve patient safety to the mothers by preventing PPHs and retained placentas. It was thought that early cord clamping should be performed if the mother is anaemic, so in 2004 a study conducted by the Liverpool school of tropical medicine assessed mothers with a mean haemoglobin level of 10g/dl. The results showed it was still beneficial to the neonatal to delay the cord clamping and caused no adverse effects to the mother. The adverse effects of delayed cord clamping which are outlined in the studies are that it may cause polycythaemia and hyperbilirubinemia. There have been studies to show that polycythaemia and jaundice is an increased risk of delayed cord clamping. Polycythaemia means that more red cells are transfused delivering more oxygen to the tissues which Bluff (2006) suggests could be beneficial. Some, use the reasoning that there is a risk that by having more red blood cells may cause the blood to become too thick as an argument against delayed cord clamping, which seems to be negligible in healthy babies. Morley 1998). A study carried out by Hutton and Hussian (2007) showed that the infants who had delayed cord clamping had a slight increase in polycythaemia but where not symptomatic and did not need any treatment. Morley(1998) suggest that if a baby receives their full quota of blood, then the baby is almost certain to suffer from slight jaundice as its caused by the normal breakdown of the normal excess blood to produce bilirubin, but there is no evidence of adverse effects from this. Mercer et al (2003) also carried out randomised and nonrandomised studies on delayed cord clamping. From the five hundred and thirty one term infants and nine trials she conducted, there were no significant symptoms of either polycythaemia or hyperbilirubinemia noted. Hutton and Hussians study also showed a slight increase in bilirubin levels within the first 24 hours of live but no infants had to be treated. There were insignificant differences in bilirubin levels from three to fourteen days. The trial Anderson et al (2011) carried out also found no differences in these outcomes. The Cochrane review (2008) was one which reported significant differences in bilirubin levels between immediate cord clamping and delayed cord clamping and suggested a number of infants needed phototherapy for jaundice, although it was conducted using unpublished data. Therefore given no reason to ensure the cord is clamped immediately to prevent any harm to the infant. One of the problems the student observed while working in a clinical area was the midwives different views and practices on cord clamping. Airey et al (2008) carried out a study to gather the general senses of midwives views on the subject. They interviewed 63 delivery suit midwives of which 42 described delayed cord clamping as when the pulsation stops, but 48 of the midwives admitted to clamping the cord within one minute of the baby being delivered. The author states that within the UK 87% of units give Sytocinon and clamps the cord early applying controlled cord traction. Falcao (2012) agrees in which a higher percentage of midwives will practice early cord clamping rather than delayed. She suggests this may be due to the lack of knowledge and clear guidelines of what delayed cord clamping is. Falcao (2012) states all midwives should have a clear understanding of the timing and benefits of delayed cord clamping to have the safest up to date practice. Discussion Patient safety is a worldwide public health problem, but the issues around patient safety differ. In 2002, The World Health Organisation recognises patient safety as ‘the need to reduce harm and suffering of patients and their families’. They state that any producers carried out should be evidence based to help prevent harm. Anderson et al (2011) randomised controlled trial refers to reducing harm to the neonate. They suggest that by delaying the cord clamping it is improving iron stores. As previously discussed by increasing iron stores it is likely to reduce the risk of impaired cognitive function, Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Intraventricular Haemorrhage and Necrotising Enterocolitis (Bluff, 2006). This is giving us evidence that delayed cord clamping is beneficial to the neonate. The Royal College of Midwives have produced a document ‘Evidence Based Guidelines for midwifery-led care in labour; third stage of labour’ which outlines the ‘pros and cons’ for delaying cord clamping, stating communication is important. They suggest by informing the women of her choices and explaining to her the benefits she should be able to make a decision which midwifes will support. According to the joint commission on Accreditations of HealthCare Organization, communication was the worst category in 2005. They state the reason for ineffective communication is varied from stressful environments causing staff to forget information, to the culture of autonomy and hierarchy of staff. Poor communications between health care professionals, patients and their carers has shown to be the most common reason for lawsuits against health care providers (WHO,2011). It is important that information about delayed cord clamping is shared with the women herself so she is able to make an informed choice about the care of her and her baby. Another problem highlighted in communication is the ability to handover correct information to staff taken over their care. The SBAR communication tool has been implement for staff to be able to communicate effectively with one another (NHS, 2006). Communication is essential to good team work, and team work is essential to patient safety (NHS, 2007). Staff should use the tool in the clinical area where it enables the communication to be clear and allows the midwife looking after the women to write down their care plan for the staff to take over without the worry of missing essential information. Communication is also very important in delayed cord clamping as Airey et al (2008) highlighted the midwives have different views on cord clamping and the timing that defines delayed clamping. Their results showed a variance in understanding of delayed clamping times whether it should be after one minute, five minutes or after pulsation has stopped. Each unit should be able to communicate with their staff to make sure that all midwives have the same understanding of cord clamping to promote the best possible practice to reduce harm. NHS Scotland (2007) state that clinical descions about treatments should be made on the basis of the best possible evidence to ensure care is safe and effective. Midwives should have the ability to be able to assess information which would help them make decisions about the best possible care for that women. They should be able to understand where delayed cord clamping is not appropriate by identifying a problem such as an obstetric emergencies, and use appropriate interventions to care for that women and her baby to reduce the risk of any harm (WHO 2011). WHO (2007) state that evidence does not always need to be the most up to date to be the most accurate. Bluff (2006) discusses article written as far back as 1773 which are relevant to practice today and still adhere to patient safety guidelines discussing how delayed cord clamping reduces harm to the neonate by increasing blood supply. As Bluff (2006) discusses, there is some evidence that shows immediate cord clamping contributes to post-partum haemorrhage (PPH). The rate of PPH continues to rise although most other causes of severe maternal morbidity declines. International data suggest that post-partum haemorrhage is increasing worldwide with 385 women in Scotland experienced PPH in 2011, one in every 170 births. PPH accounted for 73% of all the reported incidents of severe maternal morbidity. (Healthcare Improvement Scotland, 2013). As Bluff (2006) states by simply practicing delayed cord clamping causing the placenta to be drained of blood by the neonate it will help reduce the number of women experiencing Post-partum haemorrhages improving Patient safety. By gathering all the information and research studies carried out it is clear that by delaying cord clamping at deliveries it can reduce harm to neonates and prevent unnecessary illnesses and diseases. WHO state that’s when solutions have been shown to work effectively in controlled research settings, it is important that we can assess and evaluate the impact, accessibility and affordability of these solutions and implement then accordingly. It has been proven that by practicing delayed cord clamping cost is reduced as it is less likely for the neonate to need a blood transfusion. (Kinmond, 1993) . It is very accessible as we would not be changing practice just delaying it therefore we should implement delayed cord clamping to reduce harm and improve on patient safety for both mothers and neonates.