Academic Remediation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Academic Remediation - Essay Example One Act that addresses the problem of academic remedial is the College and Career Readiness Act that was passed in 2007 by the state of Illinois. This Act purports that the academic remediation problem can be significantly serious because of its impact on financial aid and time taken to complete a degree. High school curriculum is not highly aligned to college education. This misalignment creates problems for students who want to use academic remediation as an entry into college course work. Academic remediation is also not particularly well designed in a way that bridges the informational gap between high school and college. This poorly designed learning interface makes the students pursuing it to feel lost in seeking information. Academic remediation mainly aims at addressing the academic needs of students struggling with one or more educational areas. This, therefore, requires individualized teaching and the establishment of a good and adequate communication between the student an d their instructor and even among students. However, a significant number of students enrolled for academic remediation experience isolation caused by lack of adequate interaction, good relationship and interpersonal communication between or among students and the instructor. This situation is more prominent when it comes to online academic remediation. ... This poorly designed learning interface makes the students pursuing it to feel lost in seeking information. Academic remediation mainly aims at addressing the academic needs of students struggling with one or more educational areas. This, therefore, requires individualized teaching and the establishment of a good and adequate communication between the student and their instructor and even among students. However, a significant number of students enrolled for academic remediation experience isolation caused by lack of adequate interaction, good relationship and interpersonal communication between or among students and the instructor. This situation is more prominent when it comes to online academic remediation. Results from courses taken under academic remediation are not delivered to the students as promptly compared to regular learning programs. At times, there is delayed feedback from the instructor. This situation mainly applies to students undertaking academic remediation online. This makes the learning phase loose meaning of attaining for and informing the students about their academic improvement. Timely delivery of such results is important for applying courses. Unlike in the regular educational programs, students who are remotely participate in academic remediation are more likely to suffer from inadequate educational support from their teachers. Because of this, a significant number of students enrolled for online academic remediation fail to attain their desired educational skill level (Brants and Struyven, 2009). Some of the students who enroll for academic remediation already consider themselves as academic failures and, therefore, they

Microsoft Powerpoint Presentation Essay Example for Free

Microsoft Powerpoint Presentation Essay a) Answer online Week 7 Forum Question: (2%) i. Research a few of the proposed changes to SMTP and DNS that are designed to reduce or eliminate SPAM. Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is responsible solely for sending e-mail messages. In Linux/UNIX, the send mail program activates in response to a command and sends the requested message.DNS servers, also called name servers, contain the server application that supports name-to-address translation. I was introduced to DNS servers earlier in the.Typically, the system on which the name server resides is called the name server system. DNS is a decentralized system: It does not depend on one source for updates, and one server does not store all the data. Instead, DNS is a distributed database that exists on name servers across the Internet. Microsoft Outlook, a popular email application often used in conjunction with Microsoft Office, comes with many Windows operating systems as a standard feature. Like other email programs, Outlook is vulnerable to spam, or junk emails. Spam emails sometimes carry viruses and can fill your inbox with junk, obscenity and advertisements. But you can stop spam in Outlook by altering the level of spam protection on the program. One of the most dramatic changes of the next 10 years will be the emergence of everyday robots and computer intelligences in our economy and everyday lives. And since the real estate industry is, at its core, a knowledge industry, the emergence of computer intelligences is going to affect all the players in the industry in a variety of ways. Richard Worzel is not only a Chartered Financial Analyst and best-selling author, but is Canada’s leading futurist. In this presentation, he provides an overview of how these developments, plus other tech-related matters, will change the industry and the way things are done, including: Crowd sourcing – The rating of houses, real estate companies, and legal services will move even more quickly in the directions pioneered by tripadvisor in travel, and Amazon in customer-rated books. This will include comments on neigh bourhoods, brokers and agents, and home-builders, as well as alternative service providers and even times of the year when sellers can achieve the greatest success. Artificial intelligence – Computer intelligences will become power aids to those in the real estate industry, as well as potential threats to some. Such intelligences will be able to quickly assess industry, national, regional, and neighbour data to reveal trends not immediately apparent, gauge the strength of economic activity with special emphasis on shifts in sentiment and interest rates, and read body language to assess the seriousness or excitement of specific individuals about either buying or selling. Meanwhile, routine work, such as legal documentation, will increasingly be done by ever-more sophisticated computer software. Its clear that technology is advancing with unprecedented speed, but what is less clear is what effects these advances will have on business, government, consumers, and society. Yet the downstream effects the secondary, tertiary, quaternary effects and beyond of technological developments are almost always more significant than the immediate impact of the technology itself. For instance, refrigeration extended life expectancy; the invention of air travel revolutionized warfare, helped produce McLuhans Global Village, spread new diseases with unprecedented speed, and boosted global terrorism; computer games lead to childhood obesity and health problems and may be eroding the socialization skills the allow society to function; and the Internet is redefining the way business is conducted as well as revolutionizing politics. Respond to at least 2 students. b) Complete and submit the class Project Paper and Presentation – see details below (15%) Lessons: View the video for Lesson 7 Project Paper and Presentation: (Post them under Week 7 Assignment area as a Microsoft Word document (10%) and a Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation (5%). You must include at least ten references. Details of the Project: Research and select a current trend in the area of telecommunications. Prepare a 10-15 page paper in Microsoft Word (counts as 10% of the final grade) AMU approved APA format (see writing expectations in the Policies section) (350 words per page). At a minimum include the following: †¢ Detailed description of the area researched †¢ Technology involved in the area. We provide both point and end-to-end solutions that leverage industry best practices and technology to deliver world-class logistics and supply chain performance. Our approach helps companies create competitive advantages by reducing costs while increasing service, visibility, responsiveness and customer satisfaction through enhanced supply chain performance. Technology The technology utilizes robust, innovative technology to optimize transportation assets and shipments, reduce empty miles, and provide our clients with succinct, actionable management information. Our web-enabled transportation management system provides clients with real-time visibility into transportation status and information anywhere in the world. Complementing this technology is our team of dedicated front-line logistics managers and staff. With decades of experience improving the flow of goods through every step in the supply chain, the team is committed to supply chain excellence and to accelerating time to results. The comprehensive supply chain assessments and analyses enable clients to capitalize on opportunities to shorten order-to-cash cycles, and reduce transportation expenses, optimize production processes, and improve customer service, No matter what your logistics challenges, The company’ solutions pave the way to operational efficiency and competitive advantage. †¢ Future trends in the area. The top business trends event providing you with the visionary views and practical applications that make you more valuable as a person and more effective as a professional. Polling from the United States and major countries in Latin America, Asia and Europe, the survey reported that 60 percent of employees use a mobile device for work, with an anticipated increase in number of devices per employee. Whether it’s multiple laptops, smart phones or tablet computers, the number of devices will rise from 2.3 per employee in 2012 to 2.8 in 2014. This is the next in a series that Ive been writing called Future Trends. In this series Ive been steadily looking at various states across the country, analyzing where trends are going. The last installment that I wrote was about the FL Panhandle. In this post I focus on the Jacksonville Area. Before I continue, though, here are previous installments: Overall the trend in the area is clear growth. St. Johns seems to be growing the fastest, although Clay isnt that far behind. Duval seems to have added the largest amounts of people. Baker and Nassau, while growing, dont seem to have been as significant as those other counties. Although these numbers dont include 2008, which doesnt include the drop-off in FL growth that might have happened due to the housing crisis, Jacksonville continues to attract people. It is a growing part of the state. †¢ Example companies involved in the area. Food Technology Service| Medical Service Companies| Information Technology Services Stocks| Funds Holding Matrix Service Company| Information Technology Services Shares| Communications Services Companies| Food Service Companies| Transportation Services Companies| Financial Services Companies| Energy Service Companies| Services Companies| Marketing Services Companies| †¢ Regulatory issues surrounding the area. Regulatory issues are those issues that result due to error on behalf of the accused. For example, when you walk into a business where someone is mopping, you tend to see that there are signs visible that say things like caution:wet floor or slippery when wet during the snow seasons. This is due to the regulations a business must adhere to. If these signs were not posted and a persons slipped, fell, and broke their leg, they would be able to to sue the business. This would create a regulatory issue. | Application Performance Management Solutions * Application Performance Management * Server Performance Management * System Management Server Application Free Tools * Help Desk Management * Active Directory Solutions * Desktop Management Software * Log Management and IT Compliance * Integrated IT Management * Virtualization Enterprise Management Security Products * Active Directory Management * Active Directory Auditing * Application Monitoring * Asset Management * Bandwidth Monitoring Traffic Analysis * Customer Support Software * Desktop Management * Exchange Reporting Tool * Firewall Configuration Log Management * Help Desk Software * Integrated IT Management (IT360) * IP Address Management (IPAM) Software * Log Management SIEM * MSP Desktop Management * MSP Help Desk Software * MSP Network Management Platform * Network Configuration Management * Network Monitoring Software * Network Security Scanner with Patch Management * OS Deployment * Password Management * Self-Service Password Management * Storage Management Software * SQL Server Management * Website Monitoring Server Monitoring (On-Demand) Social IT ManageEngine Free Tools †¢ Global implications for the area: Five Global Problems and How Canada Can Solve Them Maybe its that were not looking at the big picture. Or maybe it would just be too overwhelming if we did, but some of the solutions currently being applied to national issues have greater, global application and relevance. Most global problems are dealt with on a country-by-country basis. Sure, we have the Hague and Kyoto and Maastricht, but when you begin counting the meaningful international treaties, you almost run out of names before you run out of fingers. Its too easy to view issues on a regional level and miss the fact that most problems have global implications. So too, we tend to view the solutions on a regional level without considering that a local solution may have global benefit. Canadians have come up with creative solutions to problems that are not unique to Canada, but rather stretch well beyond our borders, and have the potential for worldwide application. Lets look at the some of the global issues that Canadians have attempted to solve on a regional level: Fisheries Depletion For over twenty percent of the worlds people, fishing is more than a pastime – its a means of survival. The international trade in fish and fish products exceeds $50 billion a year. With demand high and resources finite, the resultant shortfall has global implication. According to the World Wildlife Federation, a full 50 percent of marine fisheries are fully exploited, twenty percent are over-exploited, and the rest are being harvested in an unsustainable manner. Among the major marine fish stocks, such as cod and tuna, three out of four are being fished beyond their biological limits. To counter the shortages, many governments, including Canada, have encouraged the rapid growth of aquaculture. As a result, farmed fish now account for one-third of the worlds fish production. While this has countered the sustainability concerns, other problems have developed as a result. In Canada, particularly the West Coast, fish farms generate considerable amounts of pollution and waste. The close proximity of the confined fish increases the propagation of sea lice, and escaped farmed fish spread lice and disease to wild stocks. Just last year, as the British Columbia government lifted a seven-year moratorium on new fish farms, one of Vancouver Islands most significant pink salmon runs had already collapsed, and more than three million salmon failed to return to spawning rivers. Making the international fishing industry sustainable would require some large-scale initiatives, including massive reductions in fishing fleets, concerted effort in controlling illegal fishing and fishing practices, and strictly enforcing limits on the number of fish harvested in a given area. The fish farm industry would also need careful review to ensure that in attempting to meet demand for fish, wild stocks are not completely wiped out in the process. The solution, some argue, is even simpler: if fishing is banned in a given area for several years, the rebound in stock is significant, the overall catch is increased, and the industry becomes sustainable. Last fall the Economist reported a study which discovered that in some 100 areas where such bans occurred, the number of fish increased 90 percent within a few years, their size increased 30 percent, and the number of species by 20 percent. These effects, the researchers contended, seemed to spill over into adjacent areas where fishing remains permitted. As the Canadian experience can attest, it is not as easy as all that. Quota regulation of the Atlantic cod stocks was introduced in 1973. Labeled as the Total Allowable Catch (TAC), the policy was ineffective, due to the restrictions being set too high too quickly, and partly because enforcement was not effective. In 1992, Canadas Department of Fisheries and Oceans took one step further, imposing a moratorium on cod fishing off the coast of Newfoundland, after scientists determined that mature cod stock had dropped by 99 percent from the numbers recorded in the 1980s. Despite these measures, cod stocks really have not seen much of a rebound. It is now time for us to take a different approach. Stopping the commercial cod fishery alone will not work, argues Fred Woodman, chairman of the Fisheries Resource Conservation Council, an arms length body that advises the Federal Fisheries Ministry. He recommends that the government make a long-term commitment to rebuilding the stocks, establishing community councils to make recommendations about the local fishery, and amending the moratorium to provide protection for the most vulnerable areas and allow fishing in those areas where there has been some growth. The lessons Canada has learned from the moratorium in Newfoundland, the fish farms in the Pacific, and the Atlantic cod industry quotas are ones that need to be shared with other nations facing similar problems. Water Depletion One of the less-publicized, yet globally significant, side effects of climate change is global water depletion. Many of the worlds inland seas, such as the Black Sea, Aral Sea, and Lake Chad, have shrunk to a fraction of their size forty years ago. It is estimated that 1.5 billion people do not have access to adequate supplies of safe drinking water, and by 2020, up to 3 billion people could face acute water shortages. Water scarcity is caused mainly by increased demand and pollution, and is aggravated by global warming. Water deficits also occur from the demands of irrigation and industry, which account for almost three-quarters of the worlds demand for water. More than half of the water entering irrigation systems never actually make it to the crops, due to faulty irrigation equipment, leaks, or wasteful practice. Excess irrigation, on the other hand, does irreparable damage to rivers and marshes, by changing local ecosystems patterns and by carrying chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides back into the water supply. Water deficits have the potential to become a major global challenge. Control of water could become a major cause of international conflict, particularly where one country has the ability to restrict or control the flow of crucial waterways. Desalination of sea water is the most logical alternative to freshwater irrigation and drinking water. The process, however, is still prohibitively expensive. Greater effort, however, should be put toward this initiative. Canada actively supports desalination research and has provided federal subsidies to a number of Canadian companies like Candesal, which develops affordable desalination techniques such as using the excess heat generated by power stations. Water, labeled the new gold by some, has not quite matched its counterpart in price, supply or distribution. What we dont value, we wont conserve, contends Ducks Unlimited, an organization committed to preserving Canadas wetlands. One of the major causes of water scarcity and damage to freshwater ecosystems, the organization contends, is the gross under-valuation of water. By failing to acknowledge its importance to survival, we may unwittingly deplete the earths water supply. $75 billion per year is invested in water infrastructure and management in developing countries, almost one third of this coming from Canada alone. As well, Canada has played a significant role in desalination efforts and is a key player in supporting the development of desalination units. These efforts, however, must be sustained over the long term to make any meaningful impact. Canada, a country which possesses the greatest amount of freshwater in the world, can to use this position to raise awareness of worldwide water deficits, and the need to actively deal with the shortage. †¢ References (minimum of 10) i. Prepare a 10-12 slide Microsoft PowerPoint highlighting the content from the paper. Use Camtasia’s world-class screen recording technology to record your PowerPoint slides, onscreen activity, voice, and webcam video. Easily turn your PowerPoint presentations into reusable, HD-quality videos that your viewers can access anytime, anywhere (Counts as 5% of the final grade) ii. Use Camtasia’s world-class screen recording technology to record your PowerPoint slides, onscreen activity, voice, and webcam video. Easily turn your PowerPoint presentations into reusable, HD-quality videos that your viewers can access anytime, anywhere. Open a new document in Microsoft PowerPoint. When you first open the program, the workspace is divided into parts. The main window is the Slide pane, where you add new content to individual slides. On the left side is the Slides tab, which has thumbnails of each slide. You can use this tab to add, delete or rearrange slides, and select which slide you want to work on. i. ii. ii. You are only required to submit a final paper and presentation. However, during the previous six weeks, you will be assembling the research paper and presentation. Feel free to post questions or portions of the paper for review at any time as an email to your professor. iii. You may use esources from the APUS Online Library, any library, government library, or any peer-reviewed reference (Wikipedia and any other publicly-reviewed source is not accepted). The paper must by at least 10 pages double-spaced, 1† margin all around, black12 point fonts (Times New Roman, Arial, or Courier) with correct citations of all utilized references/sources, (pictures, graphics, etc are extra allowed but extra for the minimum page count). The title page and references are also required but don’t count in the minimum page count. The PowerPoint of 10-12 slides is a summary of this paper. No new topics, ideas or concepts are introduced in the PowerPoint that is not included in the paper. A minimum of 10 references are needed. The paper will be subjected to checking against plagiarism. iv. The required number of pages do not include title or references pages – although these must be included.

A Critique of The Giver :: Giver Essays

A Critique of The Giver The purpose of this book was to show us a possible version of a "Utopia". It was a fantasy oriented book, that was suppose to make you think about the possibilities for the future. The setting is a supposedly perfect society where everyone is taken care of and no one is different. The author Lois Lowry does a fine job portraying this supposedly "ideal" society. This book began with a description of sameness and release the two general principles the society functions on. It then continues while Jonas (the main character) waits to receive his assignment in the community. Waiting to find out what his assignment is, and what it entails doing are rises in action. The climax is when the plan to escape the society is being conceived and the actual escape itself. The falling action is when he is escaping from the search planes and trying to keep himself and Gabriel alive. The ending is when he feels triumph at the top of the hill and then sleds down it to his new family, his first memory that belongs to him. There were many characters in this book the main one being Jonas. Jonas is a child in this supposed "Utopia" who ends up with the most important assignment of all the "Receiver of Memory". The Receiver holds all the memories of the whole community so the community does not have to be bothered with feelings and the emotional baggage that comes with them. Jonas's trainer the "Giver" is a old man who passes the memories on to Jonas and eventually thinks of the plan to escape. The Giver also adopts Jonas and Rosemary as his own kids in a way. He had a previous "Receiver" named Rosemary who applied for and received release. Release is the term for death in this community. So when Rosemary was released her memories went back to the community. Jonas and the Giver were talking about this when the Giver got the idea of how to get Jonas away from the community and get the community back its emotions and feelings. Gabriel was a another influential character he was a baby staying with Jonas's family till he was

Pfizer Industry Analysis

An Economy and Industry Analysis Focus Industry: Pharmaceutical Industry Focus Company: Pfizer, Inc. (PFE – NYSE) Pharmaceutical Industry Classification The pharmaceutical industry seems to be an intermingling of growth and expansion stage. This is mainly due to the fact that there are so much research and development (R&D) work being conducted in the industry, creating growth in the industry. At the same time, various players in this industry have started to acquire or merge with their respective competitors, in order to expand and diversify product line, market share, or new markets. The worldwide pharmaceutical sales has continued to grow faster than most segments of the world economy – driven by strong demographic trends of the world population: aging population in many countries, lengthening of average life expectancy, and rising incidence of chronic diseases. This industry is a non-cyclical industry, as the products, drugs and medication, are geared towards consumers and markets that are not prone to price changes, inflation, or economy fluctuations. Consumers in the market might lean towards product lines in the lower end of the affordability spectrum, rather than higher end – purchasing generic products in the market. Pharmaceutical Industry Application of Porter’s Five Forces Industry Competitors and Intensity of Rivalry In general, the main competitors for the pharmaceutical industry are Pfizer ($45. 2B in 2003 sales), GlaxoSmithKline ($35. 2B), Merck ($22. 5B), Bristol-Myers Squibb ($20. 7B), Abbott Laboratories ($19. 7B), and Johnson & Johnson ($19. B). However, with the recent spur in mergers and acquisition (M&A) activities in various industries, the pharmaceutical industry had a significant merger in August 2004 between two France competitors – Sanofi-Synthelabo and Aventis – creating Sanofi-Aventis, one of the top three pharmaceutical companies with Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline. The rivalry among the current competitors in this industry is intense due to the competitive nature of product develo pment and patent profitability. Each competitor is spending billions of dollars in their respective R&D efforts to discover new products and patents to continue the stream of prescribed and over-the-counter drugs produced and sold to consumers in the market. The rivalry is also intense due to the regulation set forth by Federal Drug Administration (FDA) in US and other governmental regulators in various countries of the world, where stringent requirements and scarce allocation of patents are given out to companies developing new drug products. However, due to such intense rivalry, numerous companies have started to merge (like Sanofi-Aventis), or form alliances or joint-ventures in creating new products, to compete with other competitors. Bargaining Power of Buyers In the world of pharmaceutical, the buyers are basically wholesale distributors such as Cardinal Health Inc. , McKesson, and AmeriSourceBergen. These wholesale distributors play the middle-man role in selling and distributing all pharmaceutical products to various buyers like pharmacies, hospitals, HMOs, clinics, and mail-order companies. The concentration of buyers are high due to the fact that there are only a select few key buyers that make huge purchases from all the players in the pharmaceutical industry. As such, buyers do have above average bargaining power that allows the wholesale distributors to dictate the price of the products. However, all the pharmaceutical companies have distributor agreements that help curb the bargaining from being overzealous. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Suppliers to the pharmaceutical industry players are in abundance. The industry does not suffer from scarce resources as the raw materials (both active and inactive ingredients) are always available from various drug ingredient makers and distributors. As such, the suppliers are low in concentration and without much bargaining power. Most of the suppliers are similar and as such, easily interchangeable, without much risk or hassle. With the globalization of economy, the market of available suppliers is even bigger than it used to be – resulting in even lower concentration of suppliers and giving the pharmaceutical industry more power in bargaining for the prices of drug ingredients. Threat from Substitute Products For the brand prescription drugs, the main substitute would be the generics or competitors’ similar prescription drugs. However, this internal threat between competing products does not change the dynamics of drugs that are produce in the safety of patent. The larger threat that the pharmaceutical industry faces is from alternative medicine such as herbal medicine, acupressure, acupuncture, massage therapy, homeopathic medicine, and other growing fads of self-remedy. The effect of alternative medicine is limited however to the critical and chronic degree of the diseases and illnesses that could be treated or prevented. Threat of Potential Entry The threat of potential entry for this industry at this stage (growth and expansion) is definitely low. This is mainly due to the enormously high barrier to entry in obtaining capital and resources for R&D efforts to produce patents. Due to the scarcity of patents and large amount of capital required for the numerous years of research and development, it is close to impossible for new smaller companies to enter this industry at this time. Each of the players in this industry is spending billions of dollars each year just to conduct researches and perform studies, which hopefully will result in the development of an effective and efficient drug that can be patent. Other than that, there are also legal and regulatory obstacles that prevent new competitors, from the FDA and other governmental structures. Other Influencing Forces Due to the nature of the drug products, there is intensive regulatory and legal implication that affects this industry. A good example of how the government and political environment influence and dictate the direction of the pharmaceutical industry is through various regulations by the FDA and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), involving patent protection, product approvals, pricing controls, and product liability. The demographic evolvement in the world is another factor that should be considered. As the baby boom generation ages and life expectancy rises, demand for pharmaceuticals are soaring. In the US, seniors aged 65 and older currently represent only 13% of the population but account for 34% of all prescriptions written and more than 40% of drug sales. Approximately 80% of seniors in the US use prescription drugs on a regular basis. According to a United Nations study, the number of people worldwide aged 60 or older will grow from 593 million in 1999 to close to 2 billion by 2050. Recent technological developments and breakthroughs have changed the way new drugs are discovered, how they are tested, the precision that it affects the diseases, and how the drugs are being delivered or distributed to patients. The recent development in stem cell research will definitely create more opportunity for growth in the pharmaceutical industry, especially in the European Union a

The Utopian Worldview of Afrocentricity: Critical Comments on a Reactionary Philosophy

Cameron Gilmore Professor Stephen Ferguson Liberal Studies 202 14 September 2012 The Utopian Worldview of Afrocentricity: Critical Comments on a Reactionary Philosophy In this paper, I will analyze Stephen Ferguson’s article â€Å"The Utopian Worldview of Afrocentricity: Critical Comments on a Reactionary Philosophy†. Throughout Ferguson’s article he discusses the limitations of Afrocentrism and the negative effects it may cause because of the beliefs and ideas expressed from the philosophical view.Following the summary of the article’s main points and themes, I shall expound upon the article’s erudite theme, while illuminating the author’s generalization of this â€Å"worldview†. Ferguson introduces the reader to the article with a poem entitled Heritage by Countee Cullen. While Ferguson only includes the first stanza of that poem, the entirety of the poem somewhat relates to the view of Afrocentrism in how Cullen articulates the beau ty of Africa, but by the end of the poem the mood has changed to Cullen’s current life and how it has changed.Like the poem the main point of the article is that Afrocentrism may be something of a good thing, but it cannot be any good to history if it is only based of off of â€Å"fantasy or fairy tale† as Ferguson states. There are many examples on the claims that are made on Afrocentrism and how it clouds the rich African-American or African heritage.One line from the passage says, â€Å"†¦[the Afrocentric quest for an authentic past] ignores the fact that the Pharaohs in conjunction with the priests were an oppressive and exploitative aristocracy. Dreaming of what Kwame Nkrumah termed an idyllic African classless society is a wrong-headed approach for Black Studies† (Ferguson). I found that this strongly demonstrates how farfetched ideas may become, mostly, when Afrocentrism becomes just a ploy to console the African-American race from times of struggle or disparity.Along with the negative side of the Afrocentric view, Ferguson greatly details on how it is even more important to read, research, learn and teach all parts of history; in which, he includes a cited passage, The Mis-Education of the Negro, written by Carter G. Woodson which basically says that it is important to read about great historic heroes such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, but it is just as important to read about the slaves that provided all the labor that contributed and made this country what it is today.One final theme that I received from the article is that like today’s Eurocentric view, which is also full of fallacy, Afrocentrism would not be too far from it with all the misleading and misguided illustrations, as opposed to simply researching and collecting facts, like this quote from Carter G. Woodson used in the article, â€Å" ‘race prejudice was based on wide-spread ignorance’ and that ‘carefully gathered scientif ic proof’ would eliminate it† (Ferguson).Throughout this review of Ferguson’s â€Å"The Utopian Worldview of Afrocentricity: Critical Comments on a Reactionary Philosophy†, I have discussed the author’s main points which I believe are that Afrocentrism is frequently filled with ideal views and utopian ideas, that African-Americans used these ideas at times of hardship to uplift the race, that it is just as important to research and learn about European history as well as every other history and that just as Eurocentrism can be cloudy in terms of actuality, so can Afrocentrism.I would have to honestly agree with all of these points, especially after the given details and examples, however I do fear that the author has made a generalization of this Afrocentric view. I believe that many people nowadays know of the oppression faced during the era of Ancient Egypt and Africa, and those phrases and terms given by early generation African-Americans which f ed to the false ideas to Afrocentrism have been proven to be exaggeration.In conclusion, I have reasoned that while Ferguson has given great details and is right on his claims, this does not mean that they are widely believed as much as his says, which in turn gives of a since of generalization.

The Bass the River and Sheila Mant Essay Essays

The Bass the River and Sheila Mant Essay Essays The Bass the River and Sheila Mant Essay Paper The Bass the River and Sheila Mant Essay Paper All the stories had one common background they had one moral upbringing In all of them. Example in the cold equation his major choice that will affect the main character for the rest of his days was life and death a similar choice was made in the pit and the pendulum, Gold rush was need over greed the list can go on. Picked the bass the river and Sheila Manta witch taught the audience about choosing childhood over manhood. It shows a boy In his mid teen years conflicted with fishing and his crush and must choose. The author must have written this story off of personal experience. He shows in detail on what the main character knows on getting inside the mind of a teenage boy witch shown up in his writing to prove his powerful point on picking child or manhood. The story does not show direct physical description of the main character nor his name, we do know that he is a well-toned person since he is a swimming athlete and Likes to be outdoors. It plays an Important part In his role because being an athlete he sees shells as someone who might share the same qualities as hall witch he assumes they would be a perfect match together. The Main characters personality an be described as smitten and stalker like who stops and smells the daisies every now and then. This will play a major part In his role in the story because the climax of the story will tear him between the two things In his life. He believes strongly In the things he cares for point and case is when he puts the flashing pole in the boat. He believes things will go things his way; they dont that is his Achilles heel to the situation tearing him between both fantasy and reality. Obviously the things that motivate the main character are His obsession with Shells Manta and fishing. Those woo things drive him to do his everyday necessities and go the extra mile to go beyond him to achieve his goals and beyond. All the things in his attributes of his personality will all come to one challenge and that is choosing witch is more Important. The primary conflict is not really a problem until you put them together picking boyhood fishing over the manhood Sheila Manta. When it bolls down to It at the end of the day you have to pick one or the other that has how life works since the dawn of mankind. The conflict counts 2 people our unnamed main character and Sheila Manta the third one is a random bass fish. Like I said earlier they all combine and make something from good separate to a bad outcome combined. The conflict could of easily been resolved If he was direct with her In the 1st place about he Like fishing. He also could have double checked to make sure that the rod wasnt there then again he did not know things would end up like this. The end result seemed like a bad idea from the start he let go of the fish but he didnt win Sheilas love in the end and pretty much got used in the end. It implies that we should always look at life with the glass half full and look at any situation from all angles to get a positive outcome. In doing so the author shows the situation by bringing it into the light and showing it for what I en mall symbol In ten story must De ten Bass. I en Dads represents ten mall characters childhood and innocence of youth and or life. When the character obsesses over is fishing of Sheila that is why it is a symbol. A good metaphor in the story is anything the two do with aquatics. All the main subjects in the story revolved around the water, the main characters desire for swimming and fishing and Sheila Manta loves to suntan on the lake and swim as well. I saw foreshadowing at parts bout the main character his name for one and the other was his role in swim team also some more important parts of background on both characters. It doesnt affect the story dramatically but enough to wonder why and what is that more background to be specific thats why they have sequels for movies, books, and so on to deal with foreshadowing from the last. The mood of the story was a mix of boyhood crushes mixed with personal conflict on who he is and what he wants to become. The author applied this by getting inside the head of a teenage kid most likely himself to see from past experience witch transitions into the whole stories theme. Because of the way the conflict is resolved for the main character and because of the techniques the author used I know that the theme is the choice of manhood vs.. Childhood. The characters themselves support my interpretation the main character in his athletic shape toned for reeling in fish and Sheila Manta and her 17 year old figure. The conflict and the resolution proves my point on how it is childhood vs.. Manhood. By showing his final decision in picking Sheila Manta over the fish he made his choice in picking Manhood over his childhood. The techniques supported the theme by showing off the inner workings of the main characters head.

SAT High School Codes and Test Center Codes

SAT High School Codes and Test Center Codes SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips When you register for your SAT, you have to submit codes for your high school and test center, the location where you are going to take your SAT. The codes make it easier for the College Board to keep track of the high school and test center of everyone who takes the SAT. You want to make sure you submit the right codes, since making a mistake can result in your having to take the SAT at a random high school that's far away from where you live or sending your scores to the wrong college. In this article, I will let you know how to look up SAT high school and test center codes and advise you how to use them properly. How To Enter Codes During Online Registration High School Codes It's very easy to submit your high school code during the online registration process. All you have to do is begin typing the name of your high school and your high school should appear in a dropdown menu. Just click on the name of your school and your high school code will be automatically entered. If the name of your school doesn't appear, you can search for your school by its zip code. Then, the name of your school will be automatically entered. If you click "change your school," you can search for your high school by its code, name, city, state, or zip code. Just select your school from the search results and your high school code will be entered. Test Center Codes Near the end of the online registration process, you can select your test center location. You can search for test centers in your area, and then you'll be given a list of options. Just select where you want to take the test, and the test center code will be entered. How To Look Up SAT Codes You can alsosearch for high school and test center codesbefore, during, or after the online registration process. High School Codes To find your high school code, you can search by country, city, state, and zip code. After you enter the search criteria and click search, on the left, you'll be given the school name, and on the right, you'll be given the corresponding high school code. Test Centers To find your test center code, you can search by your test date, country, state, and city. When you search for test center codes, you'll be given the test center name, address, and code. Special Situations Homeschooled If you're homeschooled, your high school code is 970000. If Your High School Code Is Not Listed If you go to high school in the US or in a US territory and your school code is not listed, enter 000003. If You Go to High School Outside of the US If you go to high school in a country outside of the US, enter 000004. Advice for Ensuring Your Codes Are Correct If you select your high school and test center while registering,make sure the codes on your admission ticket are correct. You can double-check the codes by looking them up on the SAT website. If you do manually enter your codes during registration, make sure you've entered the right codes and that the codes you've entered correspond with your high school and test center. What's Next? For anyone studying for the SAT, I highly recommend that you check out the ultimate SAT study guide. You'll learn extremely important information like how to beat procrastination in your SAT prep and how to get a perfect score. If you want more information about SAT logistics, read our articles about SAT admission tickets and SAT fees and registration. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Spelling Tips The Y to I Rule

Spelling Tips The Y to I Rule Spelling Tips: The Y to I Rule When a word ends in a vowel plus â€Å"-y,† it’s usually straightforward to modify it by adding a letter (or letters); adding â€Å"-ous,† for example, means â€Å"joy† becomes â€Å"joyous.† However, when a word ends in a consonant plus â€Å"y† things get more complicated, which can make spelling challenging. To ensure your written work is error-free, it helps to keep the y to i rule in mind. The Y to I Rule The basic rule is, for any word that ends in a consonant plus â€Å"-y,† change the â€Å"y† to â€Å"i† if adding a suffix or forming a plural. Plurals For plurals, simply change the â€Å"y† to an â€Å"-ies†: Singular Plural Story Stories Candy Candies Hippy Hippies First-Person Singular Past Tense Verbs Forming the first-person singular of a verb ending in a consonant plus â€Å"y† requires changing the â€Å"y† to â€Å"-ies,† while the past tense involves switching â€Å"y† for â€Å"-ied†: Verb First-Person Singular Past Tense Fry Fries Fried Apply Applies Applied Beautify Beautifies Beautified Comparatives Superlatives When an adjective ends in a consonant plus â€Å"-y,† forming a comparative or superlative involves changing the â€Å"y† to â€Å"-ier† and â€Å"-iest† respectively: Adjective Comparative Superlative Tiny Tinier Tiniest Jumpy Jumpier Jumpiest Thirsty Thirstier Thirstiest Forming Adverbs Modifying an adjective to make an adverb involves substituting the â€Å"y† for â€Å"-ily†: Adjective Adverb Happy Happily Lazy Lazily Flimsy Flimsily Exceptions The â€Å"y†-to-â€Å"i† rule doesn’t always work; some variations of â€Å"sly,† for example, can be spelled with either a â€Å"y† or an â€Å"i† (e.g., â€Å"slyest/sliest† and â€Å"slyer/slier†). Moreover, while changing â€Å"y† to â€Å"i† isn’t typically necessary when a word ends with a vowel plus â€Å"-y,† there are exceptions here too (such as modifying â€Å"day† to become â€Å"daily†). As such, although the y to i rule is a good guideline, it’s still important to double-check words if you’re not sure they’re spelled correctly.

HND Common Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

HND Common Law - Essay Example 1. Joe, a sales manager of Building Security Systems Ltd wrote a letter to Viacom Ltd on 13 June offering to install computerized security equipment at the canal side warehouse Viacomm Ltd was renovating for Wiggin Council for a total price of  £200,000 payable upon completion of the work. The offer was to remain open until 20 July. Sam, a purchasing director of Viacom Ltd, phoned Joe on 19 June to ask if the offer included the VAT. He then posted a letter of acceptance to Joe on 27 June in which he accepted the offer on behalf of Viacom Ltd. Building Security Systems received this letter on 29 June. In the meantime, Joe has started negotiating with Info provider Ltd and sold the same equipment to them on 28 June for  £250,000. He immediately wrote a letter to Sam to say that has not yet received confirmation that Viacom wants to purchase the equipment that the offer was now withdrawn. Viacom Ltd received this letter on 1 July. 2. Joiners-R-Us Ltd entered into a contract with Viacom Ltd, who hold the main building contract with Wiggin Council to renovate a canal-side warehouse. Joiners-R-Us are contracted to carry out carpentry work in a block of 47 flats for an agreed price of  £200,000. The main contract with Wiggin Council contains a time penalty clause which states that the building must be completed by 15 November 2008. Viacom Ltd is worried that if Joiners-R-Us Ltd did not complete the carpentry work on time he will have to recompense Wiggin Council under that clause.   On the basis of this letter, Joiners-R-Us Ltd managed to persuade their staff to continue working which re-commenced on 18 October.  

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

Dance - Essay Example Indeed, the term â€Å"confiscation† as used in Lesson 1 sought to integrate African dance traditions into the American culture. The terms â€Å"fusion† and â€Å"confiscation† are very significant in the American culture especially with reference to the American dance and society since they play a huge role in creating a new American dance form. The term fusion refers to the aspect of creating a singular and original, high quality show, which blends dance, fashion, and music to establish a high-end performance (â€Å"York Media† 1). Fusion brings a diverse collection of best dancers, models, musicians, artists, fashion designers, hairdressers, and make-up artists to create an original and unique music and dance performance in America (â€Å"York University† 1). In terms of dance and society, confiscation refers to the adoption of techniques and effects from native cultures into the American dance and society (Rogers 10). With reference to cultures and dance, confiscation integrates the conflicting association between the African dance traditions and the American culture. The Ghost dance is a dance practice that exemplifies "confiscation" of dance forms to "create" a new American dance form. From the Ghost Dance, we can indeed derive the fact that there was a confiscation of techniques and effects from native cultures into the American dance and society. The immigration of Indians and the integration of Wodziwobs teachings with the American traditions led to the confiscation (â€Å"United States History† 1). Notably, the American belief systems adopted the religious attributes of Ghost Dance movement. This is clear where the dancers performed the dance with a belief of getting cure for their illness. This related to the ritual intentions as depicted by Wodziwob who started the dance. They disregarded the ritual beliefs and adopted

Whole Foods Financial Recommendation Research Paper

Whole Foods Financial Recommendation - Research Paper Example However, since then whole foods have been on the rise by achieving a margin of 4.9% by the end of 2010. Net profit margins have shown a similar trend as well as operating profits. In 2006, the industry performed well and recorded 3.63% of net profit margin. However, since then it dropped significantly and reached a low point in 2008 where it recorded a net profit margin of only 1.43%. Whole foods has since then performed well to reach up to 2.7% in 2010. All profitability ratios show a similar trend with a downward moving slope till 2008 and a positive flow from there on. Return on equity is a measure of profitability for contributors of equity capital. ROE helps in determining the firm’s rate of growth of earnings (Besley and Brigham, 2000).  Basically, ROE can be computed by dividing the net income by the shareholders equity.  ROE dropped from 13.5% in 2006 to 7.6% in 2008. From there on, Whole foods issues preferred stock to invest in the business to recover from the du ll patch. ROE for 2009 was 9.77% and it further grew to 10.12% in 2010. Like other profitability indicators, earning per share has been consistent throughout. The year 2006, being a highly profitable for the investors, showed EPS of $1.46. It dipped all the way to $0.82 in 2008 and then it steadily grew to record $1.45 EPS in 2010. When liquidity is taken into consideration, Whole foods has been parabolic in nature. In 2006, the company had $1.46 to pay off each dollar of current obligations. Current ratio dropped to 0.85 in 2007 but since then it has shown an upward trend. In 2009, it recorded 0.85 and in the last year it stated $1.45 of current asset to pay off current liabilities. Debt to asset ratio measures the amount of debt financing done to get a dollar of asset (Levinson 2006). It has shown a consistent rise since 2006 till 2008. In 2006, debt to asset ratio was 31.27% which climbed to 55.54% in 2008. In 2009, when equity was issued, the ratio dropped to 46% and further dow n to 40% in 2010. Similar trend was witnessed in Debt to equity. Company initially preferred leverage over equity till 2008 where a huge shift to equity took place. Company paid back $748 million of long-term debt in 2009 which could be seen in its improving ratios in 2009-2010. Asset management has been steady for Whole foods. Inventory turnover rate measures the rate at which your inventory circles in a year (Ehrhardt& Brigham 2004). It is an indicator of whether the company holds large amount of inventory or not. The turnover rate has oscillated between 22 times in a year to 27.5 times since 2006. In 2007 the inventory turned over 22.88 times in a year. The rate dropped to 24.89 in 2008 but since then it has increased to 25.86 times in 2009 and 27.84 times in 2010 which shows controlled sales and less excess inventory. TREND For whole foods, the past 5 years have shown a parabolic trend. Since sales fluctuate greatly with consumer buying habits and state of the economy, Whole foo ds has struggled in this regard. Recession and certain acquisitions have taken whole foods to bite the dust till 2008. But since then it has started to prosper all over again. Sales grew by 17.5% from 2006 to 2007; however, the increase did not show up as profitable as expected in the earnings. High interest payments nullified all penny earned in 2007. In the year 2008, the sales grew but eventually yielding lower profit margins due to high discounted sales caused by recession. Food industry works on low margins and it was struck immensely by recession. In the year 2009, when Whole foods paid back majority of their long term debt, it was time to show better results at year end. The earnings grew parallel to the sales. Year 2010, was marked highly lucrative for the company with growth

ART5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

ART5 - Essay Example â€Å"In the nineteenth century â€Å"Oriental Studies" was an area of academic study. But the West had to create the East in order for this study to take place.†(Orientalism, para.24) According to Occidentals, Orientalism is an indicative of the power that West has over Orient, as its colony. In a way, Occidentals were creating the image of Orient as it was suitable to them. Edward Said disagrees with this opinion, and this fact is the basis of discussion between Said and other scholars. As an example of Eastern culture I have considered the country of Turkey. There are countless tours to this country, since it is still one of the most attractive places to visit by westerners. Turkey is rich in historical places and places of interest. Searching through the sites offering tours to this country I have chosen a few most popular sights to see there. St. Nicholas church in Myra is one of the first places tourists are offered to visit. According to the legend, St. Nicolas was a bishop there in the 4th century; he was famous for his miracles and known for his kindness. One of the main attractions of Myra is the amphitheatre and the plethora of rock-cut tombs carved in the cliff above the theatre. One of the places that every tourist should visit in traditional Turkish bath called Hamam. Going to Hamam is traditional among Turkish men and women; if one would like to feel a real spirit of this country visiting Hamam is essential. Instanbul is the city full of places of interest and historical monuments. Among them is Hagia Sofia, the Church of the Holy Wisdom. Nothing remains of the original Hagia Sofia built in the 4th century by Constantine the Great, it was destroyed twice and was rebuilt in its present form between 532 and 537. Hagia Sofia is one of the greatest examples of Byzantine architecture, rich with mosaic and marble

Chapter Reaction Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Chapter Reaction Paper - Essay Example In addition, due to the inclusion of principles developed by known authors like William Howell, David Kale, Martin Buber, etc., the chapter is able to demonstrate profound knowledge on areas that warrant scholarly support. Although it is relatively a long reading, the choice of words does not make it a turn off, and is direct to the point. 2. Lessons Learned Ethics define what actions are acceptable, appropriate, and worthy of approbation (340). I learned that owing to the different ways by which different people were raised, along with the environment that shaped their values, there is no standard form of ethics; or rather it is not possible to have one set of ethics that is universally applicable. Ethics influences the manner by which a person reacts to a stimulus. To consider an act as right or wrong is not merely contingent on its consequences. Of course, when an act evidently inflicts harm upon another human being, it can be readily deduced as malevolent. In a modern society, sp ecifically that of white Americans, due process of law is thereby practiced to evaluate intent and affirm guilt. The means does not justify the end, and there is no questioning to the liability of an act. Nevertheless, when it comes to behaviour, the chapter emphasizes that there can be justifications; and these are on account of inherent standards and cultural orientation. The ‘common good’ is also illustrated in its broadest sense. I realized that the way to determine whether I made the right decision or not is by asking myself if it was to the benefit of the many, approved by my conscience, and adherent to my values. We make a multitude of decisions everyday ranging from the trivial to the most critical. What is noted largely is not the craftiness but rather the effect it brings upon all concerned; and that is made even more complicated when one ought to choose between people and principle. Establishing relationship especially with people of different roots and forei gn customary ways can be difficult. Apprehension is not easy to set aside, and the feeling of indifference is rather disconcerting. One of the best ways in creating rapport with a stranger is through compliments. Starting a conversation with simple positive statements that declare appreciation of a certain deed can go far. Furthermore, the chapter asserts that finding things that one has in common with another bridges the gap, thus making the interaction more sincere and personal. 3. A Reflection Some points in the chapter, lead me to a more profound understanding of how I regard a person of unfamiliar background, and the feelings I have toward the principles that disagree with my own. I set my own rules of what is right and wrong, and in that respect, I may not have given the others due consideration. A conclusion is easily made without any attempt to discover the reasons behind a decision or behaviour. Although I do not consider myself a racist, it seems that I tend to consider my culture as superior to that of the others. There is no intention whatsoever to show disrespect; only that I can’t help myself from passing judgment on certain practices in which the purpose is not openly implied. For instance, I do not understand how women from the Islamic nations do not have the same rights as men do. I look ill at

ART5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

ART5 - Essay Example â€Å"In the nineteenth century â€Å"Oriental Studies" was an area of academic study. But the West had to create the East in order for this study to take place.†(Orientalism, para.24) According to Occidentals, Orientalism is an indicative of the power that West has over Orient, as its colony. In a way, Occidentals were creating the image of Orient as it was suitable to them. Edward Said disagrees with this opinion, and this fact is the basis of discussion between Said and other scholars. As an example of Eastern culture I have considered the country of Turkey. There are countless tours to this country, since it is still one of the most attractive places to visit by westerners. Turkey is rich in historical places and places of interest. Searching through the sites offering tours to this country I have chosen a few most popular sights to see there. St. Nicholas church in Myra is one of the first places tourists are offered to visit. According to the legend, St. Nicolas was a bishop there in the 4th century; he was famous for his miracles and known for his kindness. One of the main attractions of Myra is the amphitheatre and the plethora of rock-cut tombs carved in the cliff above the theatre. One of the places that every tourist should visit in traditional Turkish bath called Hamam. Going to Hamam is traditional among Turkish men and women; if one would like to feel a real spirit of this country visiting Hamam is essential. Instanbul is the city full of places of interest and historical monuments. Among them is Hagia Sofia, the Church of the Holy Wisdom. Nothing remains of the original Hagia Sofia built in the 4th century by Constantine the Great, it was destroyed twice and was rebuilt in its present form between 532 and 537. Hagia Sofia is one of the greatest examples of Byzantine architecture, rich with mosaic and marble

Discuss the potential role of omega-3 fatty acids in the treatment of Essay

Discuss the potential role of omega-3 fatty acids in the treatment of inflammatory diseases - Essay Example Interestingly, the human body cannot produce these acids, however, once in the body, they are transformed into more complex structures. These structures have been noted to perform numerous important biological functions. ALA is, in fact, a predecessor to EPA and DHA (Gura et al. 2008). This is because when ALA is taken by humans, it is transformed to EPA and DHA. This is due to the fact that EPA and DHA are easily transformed to complex polyunsaturated fatty acids. The greatest supplies of ALA originate from fish such as salmonherring, halibut, sardines and Chinook (Racco 2009). As a result, many people consume fish oil in order to acquire the omega-3 fatty acid, rather than taking itself, for a number of reasons. ALA, furthermore, can be obtained from foods such as seeds, oils, green leafy vegetables, nuts, and beans among many others. As said by Gura et al. (2008), dietary fish oil supplementation exists documented to enhance inflammatory illnesses, for example, irritable bowel, asthma as well as rheumatoid arthritis. Various impacts of omega-3 PUFA are as a result of modulation of the quantity depending on the types of eicosanoids that are produced. This is because other impacts are expressed by eicosanoid-independent means, which include the behaviour following transcription factor activity, intracellular indicating routes as well as gene expression (Cheung et al. 2009). It is worth noting that animal experiments coupled with clinical intervention studies highlight the anti-inflammatory characteristics that omega-3 fatty acids poses. Therefore, these strengthen its worth in the running of inflammatory and autoimmune illnesses. Numerous clinical studies on the impact on different inflammatory diseases following the use of food supplements enriched with fish oils are coming up on a day-to-day basis. This is because of the increased knowledge in the causative agents of the diseases, which include rheumatoid arthritis, irritable

The preface reading of Seven Kinds of Smart Essay Example for Free

The preface reading of Seven Kinds of Smart Essay The preface of Seven Kinds of Smart begins with the question, â€Å"How intelligent are you?† (1) I immediately thought that the book is probably a step-by-step guide to improve my grades. I flipped to the next page, where the book quickly runs down what it isn’t. Among them: â€Å"This book won’t help you raise your IQ score† (2). What it claims to be is a â€Å"personal cognitive self-renewal kit† (2). What does that mean? Judging from the simple overview, this book intends to make the reader understand that being smart does not have to do with grades alone. Its premise is: â€Å"(Y)ou already have enough active brain cells inside you to accomplish many great things in life† (2). The next step then is to educate readers that the brain has different intelligence ‘departments,’ which they can develop and exercise simultaneously. The book does not promise to produce geniuses, but offers ways to help readers achieve their cognitive potential. It is a â€Å"self-renewal kit† in that it contains insights, exercises, assessment activities and practical tips for self-improvement, all at the reader’s disposal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I am a fresh graduate currently seeking a job. This book, I believe, would help me know myself better—the things I am good at, the things I am capable of doing, and the things I could work on.   The book discusses multiple intelligences based on well-established research—added knowledge that I will definitely learn from. Assessing myself by filling out checklist and performing the exercises would hopefully prepare me for any kind of job interview. This book of self-assessment would hopefully boost my confidence and self-assurance. These attitudes are especially important since I am an infant crawling on all fours in the world of work. Having just enough confidence prepares the brain’s alertness and the volatile ego should circumstances in the course of my job search do not work in my favor. For the long-term, I am certain this is a good resource that I can pick up time and again to guide me in developing a modest career.

EU Economic And Monetary Policy Case Of Spain

EU Economic And Monetary Policy Case Of Spain This research paper aims to discuss how the EU has influenced economic and monetary policies of Spain and vice versa. This dual relationship is of utmost importance as we look at the costs and benefits the EMU has brought to Spain and the possibility of the long-standing inflation problem in Spain affecting EUs monetary policies. EU membership has undoubtedly largely influenced the economic policies and conditions of Spain. For example, Spains accession in 1986 forced the government and economic elites to adopt the necessary policies to embark on economic modernization. In addition, the European Monetary Union (EMU) Maastricht Treaty criteria resulted in Spain having to implement micro and macroeconomic policies like fiscal consolidation, central bank independence and wage moderation (Royo, 2006). Also, the current Greek debt crisis has also thrown the spotlight on Spain which is also undergoing a crisis of itself: competitiveness crisis. With this crisis in mind, it is highly unlike ly but still possible that EU might either choose to expel Spain from the euro area or undergo a series of policy reforms to deal with this crisis. This research paper will begin with an introduction of Spains accession into the EU, followed by the costs and benefits Spain experienced from complying with the EMU Maastricht Treaty. This will be followed by an investigation on the competitiveness crisis in Spain and its influence on the EU. Lastly, this paper will have a discussion on the possible economic and structural reforms that both Spain and EU should undertake to smoothen EU integration for both parties. Spains accession into the EU Before accession into the EU, Spains economy was of a protectionist nature. It remained largely outside the international economic trading area. However in the 1980s, Spain decided to integrate with Western Europe, and was enthusiastic in accommodating to the EC trade customs and rules in order to secure accession. Spain joined the EMU because it was economically beneficial then as the majority of Spains trading partners are in the EU. On January 1986, Spain joined the European community as a full member. Spain was a firm supporter of the European and Monetary Union from the very beginning and rushed to be a part of the European Monetary System (EMS) in 1989 (Sebastian Royo, 2003). The European Monetary Union was established with the purpose of creating and improves trade among European countries. Based on the accession agreement, the taxation policy of Spain was transformed dramatically. Firstly, Spain had to gradually remove custom duties as well as industrial tariffs on EC goods (US Library of Congress). Spains tax rebate on exports had to be removed too. In addition, Spain had to impose a value-added tax (VAT) which had affected Spain negatively in the 1980s. For instance, the introduction of VAT makes Spain a more expensive destination for inbound visitors/tourists and this will affect the Spanish tourism industry. 2.1 Implications of European financial integration on Spain More importantly, membership in the Economic Monetary Union has many implications on Spains domestic economic policies. This is because Spain now loses control of monetary and exchange rate polices to fix problems in its economy and have to rely on the EMUs monetary policy instead. The EMU is tasked with the objective to conduct policies to ensure and achieve stability and growth in the Euro zone (Trichet, 2005). European financial integration kick-started a series of reforms aimed at liberalizing and modernizing the Spanish economy. Accession to ERM and then EMU membership resulted in the reform of the tax system. This reform of the Spanish tax system includes the introduction of VAT as well as a reduction of import duties. This was accompanied by a fiscal consolidation process (reducing government budget and debt deficits). Membership in the EU which resulted in European financial integration has both positive effects and negative effects on the economy. The general consensus is that the economic outcome for Spains membership is still largely positive. For example, gross domestic product per capital (GDP) increased significantly from 1985 and 2005 (Elcano Royal Institute European Parliament Office in Spain, 2006). The Spanish economy has also enjoyed growth since accession. Furthermore Spain has received a large amount of funds since accession and has made use of these funds to finance regional cohesion projects and develop infrastructures to modernise the economy. In addition, with greater exchange rate stability, imports of goods and services in Spain rose significantly and thus there was a greater degree of openness in the Spanish economy. However there remain major differences in economic development between Spain and the leading economies in the EU. Financial integration due to EMU was not totally smooth-sailing for Spain. The financial integration, which resulted in industrial restricting, has adverse effects on the economy in the early 1980: it resulted in high unemployment. In addition, the 1992 EMS crisis was traumatic for Spain. The 1992 crisis originated from an increase in government spending in Germany. This coupled with contractionary monetary policy led to increase in interest rates which affected the rest of the members of the EMU. The result was a sharp decline in the growth rate of real GDP and Spain having to devalue thrice. Many jobs in Spain were lost in the crisis. Fortunately these effects were cushioned somewhat by an economic boom in Spain, the continuing fall in oil prices and large inflow of foreign direct investment into Spain as many foreign companies seek to grab a slice of Spains expanding consumer market (US Library of Congress). Therefore for Spain to seize the benefits of EU membership and enjoy economic growth as well as low inflation, it has to push forward its structural reforms as well undertake sound fiscal policies. Spain till now has succeeded in conducting sound fiscal policies. However its inherent problem of high inflation continues to threaten its competitiveness and hence its trade balance. This has not been resolved quickly partially because of complacency due to its early economic success in the EU (Royo, 2006). European financial integration of the EU which entails efficient free movement of capital, commitment to exchange rate stability as well as harmonization of capital taxes have many positive implications on the Spanish macroeconomic policies. One benefit is that free movement of capital results in a decrease in financial costs for companies and thus allowing companies to raise more resources. However European financial integration has its drawbacks too for Spain. For instance, such commitments come into conflict with the aim of the Spanish government to reduce inflation as such commitments tend to result in lower interest rates thus raising inflation rates. Nevertheless, EU membership has contributed to some extent in lowering inflation in Spain. The introduction of the Euro and the European Central Bank (ECB), have considerable success in limiting price increases. The ECBs main aim of its monetary policy is to keep inflation of those in the euro zone under control and achieves this b y raising interest rates. The ECB therefore sets long-term interest rates for all the EMU countries. Since entering the EMU and participating in the single currency, Euro, the Spanish economy has transformed in a starkly different manner as compared to its counterparts in the EU. Spains economic growth in terms of GDP and inflation rate has been significantly higher than the other member states in the EU (Andres, Hurtado, Ortega, Thomas, 2009). These differentials particularly the inflation differential is most probably caused by the convergence and the integration of foreign markets. In fact, the surrendering of a nations right to pursue autonomous monetary policy as a result of complying with EMU and ECB is one reason why Spain has problems reducing her traditionally high inflation rate. Therefore this is perhaps the reason why Spain is powerless to use initiatives like setting interest rates to control inflation. As mentioned previously, one of the most significant implications of EMU membership for Spain was the convergence of interest rates which resulted in extremely low interest rates in Spain. (Royo, 2006). The drastic decline of interest rates in Spain was necessary in order to secure entry into the EMU. In fact, this convergence of interest rates as a result of EMU membership has an indirect effect on Spains current account trade deficit. Low interest rates led to an explosion of credit and mortgages. This raises houses prices. Low interest rates cause savings to decrease and thus the saving rate is insufficient to finance investment projects, resulting in the private sector having a large trade deficit. Low interest rates also result in excess demand and leading to high goods and wage inflation. Therefore, although membership in the EU served as a primary trigger for the Spain to embark on liberalizing the economy and has largely improved trade, it also contributes to problems regarding Spains trade balance. This is because most of Spains trade partners (countries which Spain exports her products to) are in the EU. (Royo, 2006)This coupled with rising GDP, which increased at a faster rate than exports, resulted in a growing current account deficit. It is important to note that the high inflation problems and the rising current account deficit took place in a setting of fiscal stability (Ubide, 2007). Once again, membership in the EU has resulted in Spain having a lack of monetary and cyclical tools to achieve fiscal surplus and control rising inflation. Having the national currency in a fixed exchange rate due to the EMS thus caused Spain being unable to resolve these economic problems. In other words, if Spain is not a member of the EU and do not participate in the single currency, Euro, she could have devalue her currency with respect to other currencies and improve its competiveness of its exports, and thus improve her trade balance. 3.1 The Competiveness Crisis in Spain The Greek debt crisis has put the spotlight on the peripheral member states of the EU especially Spain. However Spain is undergoing another crisis which of a different nature as compared to Greece. Spains crisis is not due to a lack of budgetary discipline, but caused by the boom in domestic credit (due to convergence in interest rates in the EU). The membership in the EMU can be attributed to the boom in domestic credit leading to the construction boom in Spain. EMU reduced the cost of borrowing for households as real interest rates for households fall substantially. This is due to the reduction in the risk premium as a result of EMU membership. Therefore, reduced cost of borrowing for households led to an increased in number of houses built and thus a boom in the construction industry. The construction boom in the private sector was accompanied by poor economic performance in the other sectors; this resulted in instability as well as trade imbalance. From the late 1990s to 2007, Spain has displayed poor international cost competitiveness (as compared to the rest of the EU members) as a result a significant increase in cost of production especially in the tradable goods sector (Marzinotto, 2010).This significant increase in cost of production is caused by Spains real estate investment boom. Other factors that contributed to poor international cost competitiveness include wage indexation to past high inflation and extension of wages which are agreed at industry level (Marzinotto, 2010). In the 19809s, Spanish firms were facing intense competition from Latin America and the Far East on products like clothing, textile which are Spains main exports. These countries from the Far East and Latin America have leverage on Spain because they are able to produce these goods far cheaper than Spain due to their low wages (Royo, 2006). As a result, Spain is often overlooked by foreign investors who chose to set their operations in these countries instead. This situation worsened when the enlargement of the European Union to the central and eastern European countries materialized. This is because Spain has to deal with new competition from new members on industries which are labor-intensive which form the bulk of Spanish trade. This further affect the trade balance of Spain because these new members also are able to exploit their low wages thus are able to produce cheaper exports as compared to EU. It is a tough obstacle for Spain to resolve the resulting current account deficit because such trade imbalance exists independent of any utilization of sound fiscal policies. This is not only an important issue for Spain but also has an important influence on the EU. This is because the poor international competitiveness of Spain will affect the stability of the Euro too. 3.2 Spains crisis and its implications on the EMU Based on the current competiveness crisis of Spain, one of the unlikely options for Spain is to exit from the euro area. However such an option begs another central question: is a euro exit possible and how will the credibility of the euro being affected? Firstly, the credibility of the euro is unlikely to be threatened if countries like Spain and Greece exit from the euro zone. However in an event of a Spanish exit from the euro zone, it will lead to other troubled nations pondering over similar departures and such spill over effects will create an uncertain environment which is not conducive for further European financial integration. Nevertheless, such concerns may be redundant because the chances of Spain exiting the euro zone or any other member state doing likewise is extremely unlikely because of the difficulty in doing so. One important barrier to exit is the financial integration between the members of the EU has reached a significant degree thus cross-border assets are very high. Therefore an exit will result in massive upheaval (Willams, 2009). Of course there will be benefits for Spain to leave the euro as it implies regaining autonomy in pursuing independent monetary policy as well as exchange rate flexibility. However, the costs of withdrawal are high too. For instance, there will be a cut in access to finance as well as a sharp increase in funding costs due to a removal of funding by the EMU as a result of withdrawal. This thus suggest a likely situation where Spain will remain in the euro zone and attempt to deflate its housing boom without the use of independent monetary policy or currency devaluation. This crisis has wide implications on the EU. The EU cannot and will not hang these struggling economies out to dry. Therefore to fix the competiveness crisis in Spain, there is a need for the EU to make some changes or introduce some frameworks. One possible way in which the EU can manage this crisis is to introduce a system to monitor wage and price developments (Marzinotto, 2010). This is not exactly a novel avenue which the EU has not implemented before. One of the requirements of the Exchange Rate Mechanisms ERM (before the introduction of the euro) was that no member country could change its nominal exchange rate without the consent of the others due to its effects on competitiveness. This is not the case now. Member states can now change its real exchange rates via VAT increases and cuts in social security contributions (Marzinotto, 2010). Therefore in this avenue, the EU should regularly monitor the real exchange rates in the euro zone and should introduce initiatives whenever economic developments pose a threat to the stability and the operation of the EMU. In addition this European competiveness monitoring framework (Marzinotto, 2010) should have a euro-wide perspective and focus as Spains current account deficit means a surplus for another country. Therefore in the event of necessary adjustments, the EMU must take into consideration both the interests of the deficit and surplus member states. In addition to a monitoring framework, there should also be an alert procedure (Marzinotto, 2010)that will have an assessment whenever fluctuations in a countrys current account deficit exceed the predefined limits. In the alert procedure, the country that has flouted the predetermined limits will be assessed based on its efforts to correct this problem. If the assessment is negative, the commission will then propose initiatives to solve the problem based on a euro-wide focus. Nevertheless, despite these recommendations to help Spain and other similar countries to solve such competiveness crisis, the onus is for these countries to make a concerted effort to resolve it via national efforts. The Spanish government should implement a national competiveness monitoring framework (Marzinotto, 2010). This framework includes utilizing a range of policies for remedial action. However this will not be any easy task due to obligations to the EU. Policies that Spain is hindered from using due to euro membership include encouraging inward investment by offering tax incentives and cheap loans to investors as well as devaluation. Therefore there seems to be only supply-side policies which Spain can use to remedy the crisis. Supply-side policies are favourable because an improvement in supply-side performance tends to lead to sustained economic growth without a rise in inflation rate, ceteris paribus. However, a good supply-side performance alone is not sufficient and mus t be accompanied by a sufficiently high level of aggregate demand so the productive capacity of the economy can be utilized. The Spanish government can encourage an entrepreneurial culture by providing regional policy assistance for entrepreneurs and also helping these firms with regards to access to knowledge and advice. In addition, although Spain has managed to maintain a sound fiscal policy, it has not fully utilized the fiscal policy to deflate the housing boom. Spain can modify the tax treatments of interest payments on house loans to cool the domestic housing market. With higher cost of capital, the disposable income of a household will be affected thus leading to a reduction in excess housing demand. In fact Ireland has demonstrated that raising the cost of capital of households can be achieved by removing interest relief on mortgage interest payments, (Gerald, 2004) is possible within the EMU. This goes to show that the loss of independent monetary policy (as a result of EMU membership) to correct the crisis cannot be an excuse for failure. This is because a well targeted fiscal policy can be used effectively to reduce excess demand in the housing market. However such measures undertaken by the Spanish government may not be popular with the Spanish public. 3.3 Efforts by the Spanish government Spanish government launched the National Reform Program (OECD, 2007) in 2005 to identify challenges to the economy (as a result of indirect implications of EMU membership) and propose initiatives to solve these problems. Despite the intentions of the program, it has not been very successful in meeting the challenges. In addition, the tightening by the European Central Bank has not managed to cool the domestic demand in Spain by a small degree. Furthermore, although the housing market in Spain has showed some signs in slowing down, residential investment continue to form a significant part of Spains GDP and house prices are still steadily increasing (OECD, 2007). Industry productivity has not improved significantly thus inflation differential still persist between Spain and the rest of the euro zone members. As compared to other members of the euro zone, Spain has embarked on a fiscal consolidation policy with a more concerted effort. This is because of a need to counterbalance the effects of the current loose monetary policy conditions. Although ECB raised the interest rates in 2007, it had limited success in cooling the domestic demand in Spain. This is partially due to tax reductions on households which increase the households disposable income. Therefore Spain should continue or even enhance its restrictive fiscal stance to reduce pressure on the domestic demand. The Spanish government has also attempted to develop the rental housing market. However it has met with limited success. Therefore, it will be better to gradually phase away any forms of assistance which home owners can receive in order to balance the incentives between renting and purchasing and moderate demand pressures. (OECD, 2007). Another measure is to improve the legal security of relations between owners and tenants so as to improve the use of the housing stock (OECD, 2007). With the gradual decrease in EU transfers to Spain as a result of enlargement, there is an increasing need to have and manage the government budget effectively. The Spanish government has recognized this need and have adopted reforms to improve the management of the government expenditure and resources. The Spanish government limited the growth of government expenditure to below the projected rise in nominal GDP and also used tax revenue to reduce indebtedness (OECD, 2007). The government has also increased the accountability and responsibility of regions regarding their expenditure. This is achieved via increasing the control the regions have over the taxes imposed on their specific regions. This will have the effect of reducing the reliance by these regions on the central government for transfers. Therefore this delegation of responsibility will also enhance the regions revenue raising powers. However there are problems associated with such decentralization, there may be loss of in formation thus affecting efficiency. Therefore there have to be an independent agency to monitor and evaluate the polices of the various government agencies of the respective regions (OECD, 2007). In addition such assessments have to be transparent to the Spanish public. The Spainish government has also reformed the 2003 Fiscal Stability Law (OECD, 2007)in order to maintain fiscal stability and prudence in a decentralised system. According to the 2003 Fiscal Stability Law, each level of the government has to ensure that its accounts are permanenty in balance. In addition, the law assessed the cyclical position of the Spanish economy by monitoring its expected growth rate against it potential. Although this law seems has a great influence on maintaining fiscal stability, the government must execute this law with caution to prevent a situation of a pro-cyclical budgetary outcome where a loose fiscal stance is adopted when times are good and a restrictive fiscal stance when times are bad. Conclusion Since accession into the EU in 1986, Spain has enjoyed a positive economic growth. In addition, EU transfers had also allowed Spain to modernise and develop its economy as well as infrastructure. Although the financial integration process was difficult for Spain with the introduction of VAT and other measures, Spain accommodated its national policies to secure entry into the EMU. Despite Spain maintaining an environment of fiscal stability, the high inflation differerntial between Spain and the rest of the euro zone members threatens to harm Spains international competitiveness. This competition crisis can be partially attributed to the low interest rates set by the EMU thus leading to domestic credit boom and hence excess demand in the housing market. This is a central issue for both the EU and Spain as it has wide implications for both parties. Therefore it is likely that EUs economic policies and framework will be modified to include initiatives like a monitoring framework to mana ge the Spains crisis or other similar crisis by other member states in the future. In addition, although Spain is tied by its obligations to the EMU (which include not being able to devalue its exchange rate or pursuing an independent monetary policy to deflate its booming housing market), there are some supply-side policies and national reforms that Spain can pursue to reduce inflation. Lastly, remedial action by both the EU and Spain will invariably have implications on each other as well on the rest of Europe.

The Case for Mercy-Killing Essay -- Euthanasia, Mercy-killing, Assiste

Two patients share a hospital room. By miraculous circumstance, they are both suffering identical cases of late stage terminal cancer, and both have expressed firmly that they don’t want their lives to be artificially extended. Patient A has contracted a hospital-borne infection, and will die quickly if this infection is not treated. This being the case, the doctors decide to take no action, allowing Patient A to die from the infection. This raises the question: what does this choice imply for Patient B? Should he be allowed to choose active euthanasia to combat his suffering? I will argue that there is no moral distinction between letting Patient A die and â€Å"killing† Patient B. I will do so by looking at each patient’s circumstances individually, then applying arguments about euthanasia to their cases, and ultimately bringing them back together to consider a verdict. While some may argue that there is a difference between killing Patient B and lettin g Patient A die, I assert that any such claims are based in irrelevant reasoning. First, let’s consider the reasoning behind the patients choosing to forego extraordinary treatment for their cancer. They have decided, as Beauchamp would put it, that refusing to prolong their lives in the face of pain and suffering â€Å"neither harms nor wrongs [them] and may provide a benefit† (Beauchamp, 76). They â€Å"intend to quit life because of its bleak possibilities† (Beauchamp, 77). The doctor readily complies with their wishes out of moral, legal, and professional obligation. A choice has been made to let both patients die, as a response to their â€Å"competent and authoritative refusal of treatment† (Beauchamp 74). In Patient A’s case, he was lucky enough (in the most morbid way possible) to... ...es out of mercy. Beauchamp puts it eloquently when he says â€Å"From a moral point of view, causing a person’s death is wrong when it is wrong not because the death is intended or because it is caused, but because an unjustified harm or loss to the person occurs† (Beauchamp, 76). The objection that killing Patient B is worse than allowing Patient A to die does not survive, because such a claim is based on the assumption that a killing would be unjust. The doctor and the patients have decided that death is preferable to life, and there is no injustice involved in any possible outcome from there on out. Squeamishness about the doctor being responsible for killing Patient B, directly, has no place in the discussion, because by the time the discussion is taking place, that would be like being squeamish over the doctor prescribing morphine to reduce a patient’s suffering.

The Cooper Union College

Morphosis is an architectural firm in California which was founded in 1972 by Thom Mayne. Morphosis has to its credit worldwide projects which include educational, residential, commercial and huge urban projects. Morphosis is the result of a combined effort of more than 40 professionals, with each of them working simultaneously to give state of the art designs, which are not only unique but also innovative. They are not only specialists in designing buildings but also experts in designing unique furniture and various accessories and other functional objects. The firm has more than 50 awards to its credit and received many other honors. The founder of this firm Thom Mayne did his Bachelors in Architecture from the University of South California and a Masters from the Harvard University, the Southern California Institute of Architecture was founded by him. Thom Mayne also won the Pritzker Architecture Prize for the year 2005, which is the topmost award in the field of architecture. Some of the other well known projects that the firm has worked on are the International Elementary School in Long Beach, California, the Diamond Ranch High School in Pomona, California, the Hypo Alpe-Adria Center in Klagenfurt, Austria and the Graduate House at the University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada. The latest project that the firm is currently working on is the new academic building for the Cooper Union Colleges, in New York, which is going to house the Albert Nerken School of Engineering, and which is expected to be completed by 2008. All eyes are on this project, as the transparent faà §ade of the building is already attracting a lot of people, and this is also supposed to be the first green academic building in New York. The whole project will be coming up in a site area of 18,000 sq ft., and the project size was estimated to be around 180,000 sq ft. The building would include various facilities which include approximately 15,000 sq.ft of classrooms, 40,000 sq.ft of laboratories, 15,000 sq.ft of administrative and faculty offices, 4,000 sq.ft of centralized computer center other than a 200-seater auditorium, an exhibition gallery, lounge and multi purpose space, Art Teaching Studios and workspaces and student activity spaces. The new building is visualized as a vertical element which has a semi-transparent faà §ade that speaks clearly of the classrooms, laboratory and art studio spaces. The whole building is planned around a centrally located atrium, which goes all the way up to the height of the building. The whole building is connected with sky bridges and has many corridors with a clear view of the Foundation Building to the left. The whole building is designed for energy efficiency, sustainability and environment friendly. The technology used to build the building will not only conserve energy but also increase its effectiveness. The semi-transparent screen used on the outside of the building, helps keep the interiors cool in summer and warm in winter. The whole building is equipped with carbon dioxide detectors which can detect if the room is occupied or not, and will automatically dim the lights in those rooms which are not occupied, thus saving energy and electricity costs. The roof is also filled with greenery which does not require much maintenance, therefore keeping the building cool. The entire building is filled with lots of natural ventilation, which keeps the building airy and pleasant. This building is a perfect example of modern contemporary architecture with all modern amenities including the label of the first green building in New York. This project is a good example of the excellent design methodology and creative thinking of the whole design team of Morphosis. All the above features of the Cooper Union building is evidence enough of the aesthetic and creative sense of Morphosis. The fact that the firm has received so many awards shows the respect people have towards good design and architecture. Works Cited New Academic Building, Cooper Union,   Architecture-Page, 12 December 2007. Green Features, The Cooper Union Builds, 12 December 2007, < http://www.cooper.edu/cubuilds/green.html>. American Institute of Architects Announces Two Firm of the Year Recipients;   RATCLIFF and Morphosis Architectural Firms Take Top Honors, Find Articles, 12 December 2007, .                                 

Knowledge & Understanding questions Essay

1.1 Describe a range of causes of dementia syndrome ANSWER Neurodegenerative diseases is a common cause of dementia which mean that the brain cells known at the neurons either are degenerating therefore the neuron die off quicker which will lead to a more decline in the person mental health such as memory, language and sometimes their physical abilities all depending on which area of the brain is infected. Dementia affects the brain and the loss of function of the brain in such a way that the things we normally take for granted, for example our ability to remember things (time, date, events, to use language all of these things begin to disappear. Also there are more causes of dementia caused by depression, brain tumours, thyroid hormone, and head injuries. Some of these causes of dementia can also be dementia –like conditions which may be treatable or non-progressive. These neurodegenerative diseases are known to us as Alzheimer’s fronto temporal dementia, and Lewy bodies are where over time a build up of abnormal protein deposits in the brain cause the gradual change and damage to the neurons which will cause the shrinkage of the brain. 1.2 Describe the types of memory impairment commonly experienced by individuals with dementia ANSWER Dementia is a collection of symptoms including memory loss, personality change, and impaired intellectual functions resulting from disease or trauma to the brain. These changes are not part of normal ageing and are severe enough to impact daily living skills, independence, and relationships, while Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia, there are also many other forms, including vascular and mixed dementia. Common signs and symptoms of dementia may include: Memory loss Impaired judgement Difficulties with abstract thinking Faulty reasoning Inappropriate behaviour Loss or communication skills Disorientation to time and place Gait, motor and balance problems Neglect of personal care and safety Hallucinations, paranoia, agitation. The most common forms of mental decline associated with ageing are: Slower thinking and problem solving Decreased attention and concentration Slower recall As the dementia progresses the individual ability to look after themselves from day to day may also become affected. 1.3 Explain the way that individuals process information with reference to the abilities and limitations of individuals with dementia ANSWER The working of the brain are very complex, the human brain is made up of around 100 billion cells, main these cells are called neurons. If the neurons is switched off is resting when it is switched on it fires electrical impulses along its body known as the axon. Some people with dementia often confuse things, this may be very distressing for their family or carers, but can be called as a natural aspect of their memory loss. An individual with dementia may be trying to interpret a world that no longer makes sense to them that because them brain is processing the information incorrectly. An individual with dementia may receive care from a provider who does not maintain a good standard of continuity with their staff, for a person with dementia it is very important as they must become familiar with  the people who care for them to gain trust and familiarity with their daily routine. Communication could not be structured correctly for the person who causes confusion and lack of understanding as they are unable to comprehend what is expected of them. Infections, change of medication, change of environment, pain and stress, social skills, understanding and interaction levels may decrease or fluctuate. However an individual process the information in different ways therefore depending on their abilities will depend on their limitations as suffering with Dementia. 1.4 Explain how other factors can cause changes in an individual’s condition that may not be attributable to dementia ANSWER Change of diet, environment, and medication can cause changes in an individual condition; in spite of the fact experiencing a loss of reduction in memory does not mean always indicate a form of dementia. There are many other conditions which could affect an individual health which can be a difference between dementia, depression and confusional state. Sensory changes due to age related degeneration example macular degeneration and cataracts affecting vision, loss of hearing and increase of tinnitus affecting balance, reduced metabolism causing poor appetite. The part of the brain which was affected will determine how the person will be affected. Some condition that may affect the memory are listed below: Brain injury- which can be caused by an external trauma such as a blow to the head or internal factors such as a result of a stroke or aneurism. Brain tumour – a tumour of the brain can be benign (slow growing, non cancerous) or malignant Medication – some prescription medication can have side effects which can affect somebody’s memory. Diet – some foods can have an effect on a person’s memory. Stress –is the emotional and physical strain caused by individual’s response to pressure from the outside world. Stress can affect an individual’s health in many ways, including memory difficulties. 1.5 Explain why the abilities and needs of an individual with dementia may fluctuate ANSWER Each individual may experience dementia in different ways. There is no definitive direction or path that the condition will follow and there are no exact timescales in which the condition may progress. Somebody with dementia can have â€Å"good days† and â€Å"bad days†. Believed all depends on how we are feeling, how much sleep we have had, and what activity we are doing and how much we want to do that activity. On the other hand changes that may occur in their day to day life, changes of people (changes of carers on a regular basis), therefore not being consistent in a routine programme. 2.1 Describe the impact of early diagnosis and follow up to diagnosis ANSWER Generally speaking for most people receiving the diagnosis of dementia is very distressing, also can be very upsetting for their loves one. Many people in nowadays still, think of dementia as being a condition which causes people to go â€Å"crazy†. When supporting somebody who is exhibiting any signs or symptoms of forgetfulness, confusion or the inability to find the right words when communicating, it is important that they see their GP. In the early stages diagnosis can be difficult to make as the symptoms of dementia can develop slowly, also the symptoms can be similar to symptoms of other health condition. The early diagnosis of dementia is essential in order to: Rule out other conditions that may be treatable Access advice, information and support Allow the person with dementia and their family to plan and make arrangements for the future. Although there is not cure at the present, there are various medications available which can help improve symptoms and possibly to slow down the progression of disease. Following diagnosis, an individual may want to live as independently as they can. In order to aid a person to self look after themselves, the individual could place a list of important telephone numbers by their phone, labels also could be placed on cupboards doors to  remind them of the contents. However the quality of life, fear, feeling lack of control, loss of dignity, loss of identity, invasion of privacy, fear or losing own home, inability to communicate needs and preferences, loss of friends , increased risk of falls, nutrition, personal hygiene all of these factors are playing a huge impact in an individual life diagnosed with dementia. 2.2 Explain the importance of recording possible signs or symptoms of dementia in an individual in line with agreed ways of working ANSWER The recording signs or symptoms of dementia in an individual day by day life can be made, depends of the policies and procedures of the company such as verbal, written, electronic, accurate, timely, and confidential reporting. When monitoring somebody’s condition, it is important to record any findings in line with the organisation’s policies and procedures. The following areas area those which it is very important to monitor and record in the person, as these will show what changes have occurred and over what period: Memory Behaviour Personality Ability to cope with daily living skills Care- giving strategies Activities that person enjoys Any medication that they have taken that day Below are shown some key points in importance of recording: To obtain specific facts about health, personal matters To measure accurately the individual needs To ensure health and safety of all involved To accurately record the action agreed To ensure nutrition needs are accurately met To make sure hygiene needs are met Follow the Smart model( specific, measurable, realistic and time based) to be  sure the individuals family and carers have their needs met. 2.3 Explain the process of reporting possible signs of dementia within agreed ways of working ANSWER The diagnosis of dementia does not always occur from the first visit to GP. Generally there is a process in which the person goes through in order to receive a definitive diagnosis. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has advised guidelines in supporting people with dementia, where the early diagnosis of dementia it is included. The person history A cognitive and mental state examination A physical examination A review of all medication including over the counter remedies To report a concern, the organisation’s guidelines and procedures have to be followed, usually most reports are given to a designated member of staff, this may be line manager, supervisor or manager, always try to avoid by giving the personal opinion. Also agreed ways of working may be: Medical diagnosis Referral pathway Diagnosis tests Profiling Observation Care planning Review Follow up Continuation of care 2.4 Describe the possible impact of receiving a diagnosis of dementia on: A) The individual B) Their family and friends ANSWER The impact on the person and their family receiving a diagnosis of dementia can vary, some may see it as a relief that the cause if their difficulties has been diagnosed while others may be in disbelief, preferring not to acknowledge what they have been told. Impact on the individual: Confusion Shock Frightened Denial of failings Disorientation Trying to construct sense of meaning into the situation Destruction of hope Loss of future goals May have to retire early Financial implications May need to stop driving Loss of socialisation Whatever feeling the diagnosis creates in the person, you should encourage and support them to talk about their feelings. Impact on family and friends: Loss of socialisation Increased stress levels Feeling of guilt Need to balance commitments Anger Loss of financial support/ increased financial needs Fear Feeling embarrassed The individual’s family and friends should respect the wishes of their loved one. 3.1 Compare a person-centred and a non-person-centred approach to dementia care ANSWER When an individual been diagnosed with dementia it is important to bear in mind that people with dementia are individuals first, with their condition of dementia coming second. They may also be mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons or daughters. Person-centred care is a way of providing care with the person at the centre of everything you do, or another way of describing it is individualised care- care that is given to the person according their needs, wishes, beliefs and preferences. Studies have shown that a person-centred approach can help reduce agitation in the person with dementia where the agitation is often causes by the person’s frustration in not being able to express themselves . Recognising individuality Enabling choices Enabling social relationships Valuing the individual Providing the opportunity for stimulation Inclusion Looking at the person a s unified whole Once a person needs have been identified, plans should be made to draw up a support plan which will describe how those needs will be met. Nothing should be planned for the individuals for them without them. A non person-centred approach can be identify such as: Dictating form of care to be used Not recognising the individual’s uniqueness and needs Exclusion Lack of choice Not allowing participation in decision making Not allowing the individual to exercise their rights Responding to behaviour rather than looking at the unified whole Not empowering the individual 3.2 Describe a range of different techniques that can be used to meet the fluctuating abilities and needs of the individual with dementia ANSWER Many people with dementia are able to live in their own homes for most their lives with care being given to them by their families. As a carer or support for those suffering with dementia, must focus on the skills and abilities that the person has, rather those that they have lost. Ensure that they are fully aware of and respect the person’s background, their history, likes and dislikes. Be prepared for changes and adapt flexible approach. Not every day may be the same in supporting people with dementia. By learning about each individual ‘history and background, can be designed the care and the type of support provided around their specific needs. Ensure that individual’s support plan is kept as up to date as possible and shows alternative methods to use for various fluctuations in their support needs, share the information with the rest of the carers., provide a stable environment and suitable surroundings as one of the main triggers resulting in somebody with dementia becoming agitated and confused is a change in their routine. To ensure stability it is important to : Have consistent, regular staff, unfamiliar faces can cause the person great upset Maintain a familiar environment, if there some new decorations needs to be undertaken try to make the new decor similar if not the same as it was previously. Ensure that the individual is in a non stressful, constant and familiar environment Establish a regular routine regular physical activity and adequate exposure to light and improve any sleep disturbances.