Questions 7 and 8 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Questions 7 and 8 - Coursework Example This is because he thought that the workers were lazy, or the supervisors were inefficient. Canadian Fabrication and Design has attained its marginal product. This is the output that the company generates from one additional factor of production which is a metal worker. The decision of cracking down employees will not yield to high production levels. This is because the firm has attained its optimal production level and beyond this point it will only yield the same production or less. The best measure that the Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Fabrication and Design should adopt is to expand production of the firm. This will increase the marginal production level of the business and thus sustain the newly employed sheet metal workers. The Chief Executive Officer of the organization should adopt this measure as an alternative to cracking down the number of employees. It will result in success of the organization since the company will make sufficient sales (Hirschey, 2008, p. 21). Priceless goods refers to the commodities which people hold as having non market value which makes them perfectly unsuitable for buying and selling. An example of a commodity that people view as allegedly free is prescription drugs. The various people who make drugs have the responsibility of setting reasonable prices for the medicines. This calls them to restrain the prices. People view these drugs as priceless since they are urgent that they leave companies without price which they acquire in the market (Hirschey, 2008, p. 28). The concept of accounting cost states that a company incurs expenses during production. These expenses show up in the financial statements of a company. Prescription drugs are not priceless since the company incurs expenses in the production process of their manufacture. This refers to a business cost that one can identify and account for in an easy manner. It is a direct expense which an

Bread Mold Imrad Essay Example for Free

Bread Mold Imrad Essay The materials needed to conduct this experiment are six small squares of bread, a container of milk, four small Ziploc bags, a thermometer, a phone to record data and a heat lamp. The container of milk will be used for residue on the inside of two of the plastic bags. The heat lamp will be used to generate heat onto the bread towards the possibility of mold. The thermometer is used to measure the heat that the heat lamp is producing; this is to make sure it does not get too hot. The thermometer, milk, and heat lamp are part of the independent variables. The dependent variable is the amount of mold that grows. The experimenter should begin this experiment by organizing their materials so that they are all in front of he/she. Start by opening one of the plastic bags. Over a sink, pour a small amount of milk into the bag, close it then make sure the inside is completely covered in milk residue. Then pour the milk out into the sink. Repeat this process with another bag. Carefully place a piece of bread in each of the milk-saturated bags and secure. Put these bags aside and grab the other two clean plastic bags. Put a piece of bread in each of them and close it. The two extra pieces of bread with be used without a bag, this is the control group. Next find a safe location to keep the bags of bread for the experiment, away from possible culprets such as mice. Once the location is decided, plug in the heat lamp and angle it towards the surface where the bread will sit. The head of the heat lamp should not be anymore than ten inches away from the bags of bread. After the heat lamp is situated, place a bag with milk-residue, a bag with only bread, and a single piece of bread under the heat lamp. Put the other two bags and the other single piece of bread away from the heat lamp, out of the light. Record the data of the bread at the same time everyday for as long until mold appears.

California Gold Rush :: essays research papers

California Gold Rush: by Lauren Burt James Wilson Marshall was a skilled carpenter trained by his wheelwright father in New Jersey. Marshall was building a sawmill for California land developer John Sutter in Coloma Valley near Sacramento when he observed something glittering in the new millrace that had been allowed to flow overnight. He described the nugget as "half the size and shape of a pea." "It made my heart thump," he later recalled, "for I was certain it was gold." Examining the nugget, he exclaimed to his fellow workmen, "Boys, by God, I believe I have found a gold mine." The impact of Marshall's find that afternoon at Sutter's Mill in the Sierra Nevada foothills was enormous, and became known worldwide. Although Marshall's discovery occurred in 1848, the electrifying news did not reach the East Coast and other parts of the world until a year later, triggering the Gold Rush of '49, the greatest stampede of gold seekers in history. The only hope was to keep the discovery quiet. Sutter and Marshall swore the mill workers to secrecy, but word got out. When Jacob Wittmer took two wagons up to the mill on February 9, the Wimmer children apparently told him of the gold. When he scoffed at the story, it was confirmed by Mrs. Wimmer and the other adults. Wittmer brought the news back to the fort, and even used some of the gold to buy a bottle of brandy at the fort store. The store operator sent word to his partner in San Francisco, the enterprising Sam Brannan. Henry Bigler shared the news with three of his fellow Mormons who were working on the new flour mill near Sutter's Fort. They visited Coloma and then on the way back to Sutter's Fort prospected at a spot that shortly became the rich diggings of Mormon Island. On February 10, Sutter himself wrote his impatient creditor, General Mariano Vallejo: "My sawmill is finished and I have made a discovery of a gold mine ... which is extraordinarily rich." As the word seeped out, Sutter was soon openly telling visitors to the fort about the discovery. The first printed notice of the discovery was in the March 15 issue of "The Californian" in San Francisco. Shortly after Marshall's discovery, General John Bidwell discovered gold in the Feather River and Major Pearson B. Reading found gold in the Trinity River.

Freedom of Choice (oedipus the King) :: essays research papers fc

People have visited physics’ and fortunetellers for centuries to find out what is going to happen in their future, or to help them make an important decision that they faced. This is what King Laius did in the play â€Å"Oedipus the King† by Sophocles. King Laius, Oedipus’s father went to the Oracle at Delphi. Upon receiving the prophecy that his son Oedipus will kill him and marry his mother and commit incest with her, King Laius of his own free will ordered that Oedipus feet be bound by riveting his ankles together and sent him to Mount Cithaeron to perish. â€Å"Laius, king of Thebes, was warned by an oracle that his son would slay him. Accordingly, when his wife, Jocasta bore a son, he exposed the baby on Mt. Cithaeron, first pinning his ankles together (hence the name Oedipus, meaning Swell-Foot)†(1). King Laius exercised his free will when he chose to believe that the prophecy would come true. Had he chosen to disregard the prophecy, then Oedipus would have known who his parents were and would not have murdered King Laius or married Jocasta. If mans future is predestined then it would not matter, but if mans fate lay in his own hands and is determined by the decisions he makes, he would be able to use the prophecies to make better decisions. â€Å"Individuals can respond to a proposition or any encountered fact by instantly thinking of its opposite. Every thesis can produce an antithesis; different logical meanings and patterns can then be discerned. This rational ability of the mind to take alternative perspectives means that an individual can then choose or create a new synthesis from different perspectives†(2). It’s not that he chose to take action to action to prevent such a dastardly act, but the way he chose to deal with the situation that set the stage for it to happen. It could be said that Sophocles was trying to demonstrate that if you choose to believe in predestination, you subconsciously deny yourself the ability of free will. â€Å"Finally, perhaps faith can be seen as a form of fixing our attention upon God and thereby freely committing ourselves. The theologian Nicholas Lash says that the first words of the Creed, "I believe in God," do not express one's considered opinion about God's existence but affirm that all of my life is "set henceforward steadfastly on God, and God alone.

Influence of tv on children Essay

Television has come a long way since its invention in the 1900’s. People around the world have got to witness many historical events such as, the first man to walk on the moon, to even the inauguration of our first African American president. Although there were many great moments in history viewed on television, not many of the programs offered on stations are valuable. There have been many arguments on whether or not television has been a good influence on our children. I feel there are many advantages and disadvantages to television. But sometimes, television may not always be a good source of information for children and their development. There is also no excuse to use television to babysit children. Children become affected from over exposure to television. I feel television is fine if viewed in moderation. There are many alternative activities we can do instead of sitting on our couch and watching pointless shows. The usefulness of television has been a very controversial argument over the years. I feel there are a lot of both positive and negative properties about television. The positive side of television, there are many educational programs that help inform us. The news channel is an excellent example of such. News broadcasts can tell us about disasters that may have occurred, weather forecasts, and current events. Children may also watch shows that help with learning basics. Another pro is the integration of culture into our society. However, with the pros come many negative effects. Spending too much time watching television, consumes the precious time that can be spent in productive and healthy activities like exercise or reading. It also uses up the time that you can spend interacting with your family and friend. Children today watch television for long periods. The dependence to television deprives them of their time to play. It would be better for children to involve themselves in physical activities during the evenings instead of sitting inactively. Physical activities can help them live a healthier life. In addition, watching television is damaging to vision. Researchers claim that attention deficit disorders in children result from watching television for long periods. Television leads to developmental disorders, damaging the capability of the brain which is in control of  language skills. Children who watch more television show difficulties in paying attention or concentrating. Television is one of the effective media used to promote all kinds of products. Unsupervised television watching in children can lead to early exposure to things they may not understand. Television advertisements may influence the children to use wrong methods. Eye catching advertisements and film stories deeply impact young minds. They associate their life to television shows and films. Studies in psychology have shown that watching intense emotions on television leaves a long-lasting impact on one’s mind. Horror scenes, ghosts, unpleasant scenes that are shown on television have a negative effect on the minds of people watching them. Violence, killing, massacre and physical abuse that is shown on television impacts the thoughts and emotions of the viewers. Research shows about 25% of parents use television to occupy their children; or in other words babysit them. Some 70% of the 1,000 mothers & fathers were polled as part of the national year of communication survey say they do not feel guilty about allowing their children to watch TV. And 42% think it is a great way for children to learn. On the bbc.com website, a survey was taken and many parents say bring conversations on about what they’ve learned from watching the shows on television. In actuality only 15% of families start conversations based on tv. There is certainly no excuse to have your child sit in front of the television screen. Children can do a whole list of activities that are better worth the time such as reading or going outside and getting active.

MGT499-Module 5 Case

MGT499-Module 5 Case STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT: STRATEGIC CHOICES AND IMPLEMENTATIONTrident UniversityMrs. Carmen M. PÂÆ'Â ©rez-De La MattaModule 5 - CaseMGT499 - Strategic ManagementProfessor: Dr. Alan PreizerOctober 1, 2014Case AssignmentStrategic Choices at Harley-Davidson Motor CompanyTo complete Module 5 Case Assignment, read the information in the background material, look for more information and review some of your previous readings for this class, and then write a 4- to 5-page report for your professor and the executives of H-D Corporation by answering the following questions:What strategy (or combination of strategies) did Harley-Davidson use to become such a successful organization?To what extent has Harley-Davidson's strategy (or combination of strategies) changed over the years, or been constant?How does Harley-Davidson's strategy (or combination of strategies) "fit" with the environment of the motorcycle industry?How does Harley-Davidson's strategy (or combination of strategies) "fit" with the internal resources and competencies of the firm?Based on your analysis and findings, what would you recommend to the executives of Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Corporation?Note: Reports/assignments will not be accepted without proper citations and references.The 1490cc HD engine. Rubber mounted.Use the sources from the background material together with the sources you find on your own.This paper should include: An introduction stating the thesis, position, or central theme of your paper, a main body focusing on the key assignment specifications, and a conclusion concisely stating the main points of your analysis and the conclusions you reached.IntroductionHarley-Davidson has been a major U.S. motorcycle manufacturer and the leading seller of heavyweight models not only in the American market but it also operates globally, with sales mostly in North America, Europe, Asia/Pacific and Latin America. For Harley-Davidson has been crucial to create business strategies in assuring the compa ny succeeds in a diverse competitive targeted consumer market place. This paper...

John F. Kennedy Essays - Kennedy Family, Bouvier Family, Free Essays

John F. Kennedy Essays - Kennedy Family, Bouvier Family, Free Essays John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was the second child of nine children. He lived in the suburbs of Boston but as his family grew his father's income increased and they moved back to Brookline. John had a seemingly happy childhood. He attended private selementary schools where he played sports and games. Though never making the varsity, his father encouraged him to take part in athletics. He was taught by Roman Catholic lawmen at Canturbery School and later spent four years at the Choate School in Wallingford, Connecticut. Though suffering from many illnesses, his classmates voted him "most likely to succeed." He graduated in 1935, he ranked 64th in a class of 112. In the summer of 1935 he studied at the London School of Economics. He then went to Princeton University to study. During Christmas break his freshman year he had an attack of jaundice and was forced to leave. Through much determination he enrolled at Harvard in 1936, where his fate r went to college. He played football and graduated in 1940. Soon after he graduated he wrote his first book, "Why England Slept." It received good reviews. In March of 1941, Kennedy volunteered for the army, he was rejected shortly after for a back injury he obtained playing football at Harvard. He took classes to strengthen his back and was accepted into the navy. In 1943, Kennedy was on a navy boat when it was detroyed by the Japnese. He was thrown from the boat, and forced to swim the seas for a rescue ship. He received a Purple Heart for his brave actions. He also recieved a Navy and Marine Corps. medal. But after having more problems with his back and operation he was discharged in 1945. Kennedy had many jobs after he was discharged from the Army. He was unsure of the career he wanted to pursue. He worked as a reporter for Hearst Newspapers, which he covered a conference that established the United Nations. He then returned to Boston to pursue his new career as a polititian. In early 1946, Kennedy announced his cadidacy. Some of his rivals called him a "carpetbagger", a person who traveled south for reconstruction. These comments did not bother Mr. Kennedy, he campaigned ceaselesslyand nearly doubled the vote of this nearest opponent. Moving forward again, Kennedy announced his cadidacy for the Senator of Massachusetts, in 1952. On September 12, 1953, Kennedy married Jacqueline Bouvier. Not too far into the marriage Kennedy suffered from a major illness due to his bad back injury. He underwent two spinal operations. While he was out of the senate office he wrote a book, "Profiles of Courage", which won a Pulitzer Prize in Biography. It is yet indeed President John F Kennedy led an exciting life. He did everything from attending great colleges to earning purple hearts for courageous behavior. He married a beautiful woman with whom he shared lovely children. Although he did live a great life, in the peak of his presidency his life was put to an end. As the nation joined and mourned his death, people from all over the world gathered at the funeral in Washington D.C. to pay their respects. Mayor Willy Brandt of West Berlin expressed the world's sense of loss when he said that "a flame went out for those who had hoped for a just peaceful and better life." President Kennedy was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. It is believed that President Kennedy was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald. It was never proven because Mr. Oswald was shot to death just days after the death of the president by Jack Ruby. In the commission's report (made public on September 24, 1964) Oswald was said to have fired the shots that killed John F. Kennedy. Furthermore, the committee stated that they "found no evidence" that either Ruby or Oswald "were part of any conspiracy, domestic or foreign, to assasinate President Kennedy". However, in 1979, the House assassinations committee concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald "probably" was part of a conspiracy that also may have included members of organized crime.

Free Essays on Sampls Gre Essay

â€Å"The function of science is to reassure; the purpose of art is to upset. There lies the value of each.† Though it is detrimental to attribute specific functions and purposes to knowledge, especially at higher level of understanding, since both science and art form the same sphere of knowledge, the issue at hand is certainly some worth contemplating. Indeed, the function of science is reassure and the purpose of art is, to some extent, upset. Hence each has its own worth albeit in a limited way. Science, in one sense, has the meaning of 'knowledge' accumulated from experience. In other sense, it is the pursuit of truth behind the phenomena through experimentation and study. The very genesis of science upholds these definitions. In the primordial stages of human civilizations, eastern or western, man was intrigued by the phenomena of nature such as lightening, earthquakes etc. These phenomena, as they were mysteries to the man of those times, remained dreadful to man. Man, the rational animal, honed his intellect to get emboldened and gain vigor. The rationalization for these phenomena resulted ultimately in philosophy and understanding of these resulted in science. Thus, the very purpose of science has been and is to remove the fears of man about the 'unexplained'. The concept of electricity has removed the fear of lightning, and the concept of human morphology and medicine and that of disease are a few examples. Quite surprisingly, the value of science gets tainted once it starts threatening. The unwanted by-products of science such as pollution, nuclear weapons, and destruction to environment countermand the very purpose for which science has been rightfully created. None can deny the fact that this perversion of science has diluted the value of it. It is quite evident that science is now a tool that creates fear instead of removing it. On the other hand, art has altogether a different reason to be cr... Free Essays on Sampls Gre Essay Free Essays on Sampls Gre Essay â€Å"The function of science is to reassure; the purpose of art is to upset. There lies the value of each.† Though it is detrimental to attribute specific functions and purposes to knowledge, especially at higher level of understanding, since both science and art form the same sphere of knowledge, the issue at hand is certainly some worth contemplating. Indeed, the function of science is reassure and the purpose of art is, to some extent, upset. Hence each has its own worth albeit in a limited way. Science, in one sense, has the meaning of 'knowledge' accumulated from experience. In other sense, it is the pursuit of truth behind the phenomena through experimentation and study. The very genesis of science upholds these definitions. In the primordial stages of human civilizations, eastern or western, man was intrigued by the phenomena of nature such as lightening, earthquakes etc. These phenomena, as they were mysteries to the man of those times, remained dreadful to man. Man, the rational animal, honed his intellect to get emboldened and gain vigor. The rationalization for these phenomena resulted ultimately in philosophy and understanding of these resulted in science. Thus, the very purpose of science has been and is to remove the fears of man about the 'unexplained'. The concept of electricity has removed the fear of lightning, and the concept of human morphology and medicine and that of disease are a few examples. Quite surprisingly, the value of science gets tainted once it starts threatening. The unwanted by-products of science such as pollution, nuclear weapons, and destruction to environment countermand the very purpose for which science has been rightfully created. None can deny the fact that this perversion of science has diluted the value of it. It is quite evident that science is now a tool that creates fear instead of removing it. On the other hand, art has altogether a different reason to be cr...

Analyze the debate over states' rights versus national supremacy from Research Paper

Analyze the debate over states' rights versus national supremacy from the founding of our nation up until today. how has this debate changed over time - Research Paper Example As noted, it is not all the states that regard the death penalty as legal. The federal government is permitted to enforce the death penalty for various crimes. Statistics indicate that between the years 1967 and 1997, only one execution was undertaken out of every 1,600 crimes involving murder. They also go on to indicate that, out of every 8,000 convictions, less than 120 are charged with the death sentence (Rogers, 2008). Federal crimes are used to enact the death penalty by the federal government. Federal crimes include; espionage, treason, drug trafficking, just to name but a few. Similarly to what happened in the states, the federal government did not enact the death penalty for ten years, 1967-1977. It was during a time when the Supreme Court was deliberating on the legality of the death penalty. In 1988, the death penalty was re-enacted and only 3 executions have been undertaken since then. Just like the governors have the authority to grant clemency in death penalty cases, so does the president. In spite of the uniformity in the federal death penalty, states differ in their enactment of the penalty. For example, the Supreme Court in Nebraska nullified the utilization of the electric chair as a means of execution in the year 2008. The New York Supreme Court also nullified the death penalty in the year 2004. Hence, these states in reality have no death penalty (Rogers,

PR 10 Krikorian & Danticat Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

PR 10 Krikorian & Danticat - Essay Example An enemy of the state is any individual or party that feels like the United States has not respected their doctrines or principles through the implementation of any of its policies and thus acts negatively upon the citizens, or government officials. Safety through immigration control debates the United States of America is a country that should find it necessary to strengthen its border control patrols and policies in order to counter and decrease future terrorist assaults. According to Krikorian, America is a robust power that could not be defeated by conventional techniques (Davies 489). He also reasons that the state’s novel that is from individuals who realize this situation and immigrate in the county. Afterwards, they are commonly recognized as the â€Å"fourth-generation† rivalry in opposition to us. Personally, I believe that Krikorian has spent an immoderate amount of time on military strategies, enemy concerns and border patrols to the issue. As a result, he has distorted the problems. Krikorian fails to clearly realize who the â€Å"enemy† is and does not mention the faults made by the United States government. Already, a number of critics of his journal have reasoned that his points have backed and remain supporting the issue (Davies 490). In high school, I was a great friend to a classmate of mine who was one of the members of a six-member group and movement. This movement believed that school uniform was a policy that suppressed our rights. As a result, they decided to take action by demonstrating in a way that could greatly catch the attention of the school administration. The group planned to wear blue armbands, neatly a quarter-inch in breadth with no inscription on it on Friday, September 17, 2009. After reports of the plan reached the media, school administrators proclaimed that pupils’ with the armbands would be suspended from school for six

How might the use of an approach such as Storyline promote learners' Essay

How might the use of an approach such as Storyline promote learners' creative potential - Essay Example According to Starko (2005: 39), even though a teacher gives a starting point, storylines motivate learners to improvise, create, or modify the original form. Children view and understand the world in a different way that adults do. Children’s emotional and imaginative potentials are much more enhanced than their logical or rational abilities (Kelner, 1993:52). While adults depend on knowledge and logic, children exercise creativity and play to discover and make sense of their world (Wagner, 1988:30). In this case, it is justifiable for teachers to take advantage of these two capabilities as a learning device. Storylines offer this opportunity, connecting the domain of imagination and play to the domain of knowledge and reason (Kelner, 1993: 61). Storylines encourage learners to become emotionally and physically engaged in learning and, as a result, to learn more productively (Edmiston, Encisco &King, 1987: 79). It allows learners to take part in a story, or to intermingle with an idea, character, or theme. In this fashion, storylines encourage a better grasp of material and improves learners’ creativity and understanding of texts (Thom, 2008: 33). ... Storylines endow learners a sense of control over their acquisition of knowledge as the educator exits the picture and enables learners to have the inner focus (Neelands, Baldwin & Fleming, 2003: 81). The creative character of storylines guarantees that children are the ones who make the decisions, taking a dynamic role in influencing and creating the learning episode (Taylor, 2000: 104). Hence, learners become determined and motivated. Ultimately, storylines can be a vital component of a general model of language arts. It fosters development in all domains of literacy and motivates children to apply language for important reasons. Element of Storylines, Storytelling, and Story Making There are several important elements of storylines: feedback, a secure setting, randomness, and structure (Beetlestone, 1998: 68). Learners want to receive both informal and formal feedback. Informal feedback is appropriate when a mentor reacts in a manner that is suitable to the role play; for instance , crying at sad events (Beetlestone, 1998: 68-69). Once a play is finished, the mentor can provide further formal feedback by understanding the experience with learners and identifying those aspects that were performed well. As learners become more acquainted with the practice of feedback, they are more capable of thinking about these experiences and to explain effective and less effective dramatic components (Skinner-Linnenberg, 1997: 50). Learners in time build up a critical skill and become expert in providing each other constructive feedback. Any form of creativity requires a particular extent of discovery and risk (Dickinson & Neelands, 2006: 19). Creativity is developed when the instructor

Cocaine Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Cocaine - Research Paper Example Cocaine use is higher in the adults aged between 18 and 25 years compared to other age groups, with cocaine use in the past month being reported by 1.5 percent young adults (NIDA, 2010). Also, cocaine use is more common in men as compared to women. The annual Monitoring and Future survey in 2009 surveyed drug use and teen attitudes, reporting a considerable reduction in the 30-day powder cocaine use prevalence among children in the 8th, 10th, and 12th grades than they were in the late 1990s (NIDA, 2010). Repeated use of cocaine leads to addiction as well as other health consequences. NSDUH reported in 2008 that as many as 1.4 million Americans complied with the criteria set by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders for abuse of cocaine or dependence on it within the previous year (NIDA, 2010). In addition to that, the 2008 Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) noted the involvement of cocaine in 482,188 of up to 2 million cases of drug abuse or misuse in the emergency departments (NIDA, 2010). This can be interpreted as one in four cases of drug abuse or misuse involving cocaine reported in the emergency department visits. Cocaine causes high addiction. It is almost impossible for an individual using cocaine to be able to control or predict the extent to which they will use it. The risk of relapse upon addiction is very high even if the individual experiences long periods of abstinence from the drug. Memory of exposure to or experience of cocaine during the periods of abstinence can trigger immense craving for the drug. Withdrawal symptoms of cocaine include but are not limited to restless behavior, agitation, fatigue, depression, generalized malaise, slowing of activity, increased appetite, unpleasant dreams and nausea (NIH, 2014). The individual can experience depression and craving for several months after cessation of heavy use of

Where Human Life First Begins Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Where Human Life First Begins - Coursework Example Mr. Will is the main root cause of the death of both Asha and her baby. The law must regard him to this manslaughter and convict him. It is important to note that murder is not necessarily executed using a weapon. It is also psychological caused death. Mr. Will is the father of the unborn baby never appreciated and loved the pregnancy. His hate began the moment Asha told him she was pregnant. This ended their happy five-year stay since Mr. Will was unhappy. The situation even moved from worse to worst when his attempts to persuade Asha to abort went in vain. This shows that Mr. Will had planned to kill the baby earlier through abortion. He had knowledge that abortion is illegal since it kills life and risky to the mother too. The intentions of Mr. Will to force abortion could also have killed Asha and Will knew that after the abortion the baby could die.Moreover, the gestation period of the fetus was cut short due to the violence. When Will hit Asha and she fell down stairs that are when Will actually killed the baby. According to the scientist, domestic violence is noted to be one of the modifiable risk factors that mainly result in adverse pregnancy outcomes (CDC 2013). In the world today, approximately 26.7% of pregnant women are physically abused during pregnancy (CDC 2013). The physical abuses include being beaten up, threatened with a weapon or verbally or even being thrown away. Out of the numbers, 10.9% of all those physical violence have ended up in premature births (CDC 2013).

Cocaine Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Cocaine - Research Paper Example Cocaine use is higher in the adults aged between 18 and 25 years compared to other age groups, with cocaine use in the past month being reported by 1.5 percent young adults (NIDA, 2010). Also, cocaine use is more common in men as compared to women. The annual Monitoring and Future survey in 2009 surveyed drug use and teen attitudes, reporting a considerable reduction in the 30-day powder cocaine use prevalence among children in the 8th, 10th, and 12th grades than they were in the late 1990s (NIDA, 2010). Repeated use of cocaine leads to addiction as well as other health consequences. NSDUH reported in 2008 that as many as 1.4 million Americans complied with the criteria set by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders for abuse of cocaine or dependence on it within the previous year (NIDA, 2010). In addition to that, the 2008 Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) noted the involvement of cocaine in 482,188 of up to 2 million cases of drug abuse or misuse in the emergency departments (NIDA, 2010). This can be interpreted as one in four cases of drug abuse or misuse involving cocaine reported in the emergency department visits. Cocaine causes high addiction. It is almost impossible for an individual using cocaine to be able to control or predict the extent to which they will use it. The risk of relapse upon addiction is very high even if the individual experiences long periods of abstinence from the drug. Memory of exposure to or experience of cocaine during the periods of abstinence can trigger immense craving for the drug. Withdrawal symptoms of cocaine include but are not limited to restless behavior, agitation, fatigue, depression, generalized malaise, slowing of activity, increased appetite, unpleasant dreams and nausea (NIH, 2014). The individual can experience depression and craving for several months after cessation of heavy use of

Economic, political and technological factors that have turned China Assignment

Economic, political and technological factors that have turned China into a fast emerging economy - Assignment Example The rapid economic development has been made possible by large foreign direct investments, rise in productivity, political reforms and technological advancements (Lampton, 2008). Owing to these transformations, there has been a sharp rise in China’s economic growth, where national poverty figures moved from being more than 65 % to below 10 % within three decades, wherein nearly 500 million people were removed from below poverty level and the country managed to meet a majority of their Millennium Development Goals (World Bank, 2012, p. 4). While rate of growth varied across the country, the growth was sharp in almost all parts and the 31 provinces that came under mainland China (if considered to be independent economies) were seen as a part of the world’s 32 most rapidly growing economies (World Bank, 2012, p.4). Owing to the sharp economic growth, currently â€Å"2 of the world’s top 10 banks are now Chinese; 261 Chinese companies are on the Global Fortune 500 l ist; and China is home to the world’s second-largest highway network, the world’s 3 longest sea bridges, and 6 of the world’s 10 largest container ports. The country has also made large strides in health, education, science, and technology† (World Bank, 2012, p.4). Various factors lie behind China’s strong socio-economic growth, which includes various economic, political and technological factors. ... Rapid economic growth is evinced by a country’s economic figures, such as trade volumes, foreign reserves, higher gross domestic product (GDP), and GDP per capita. Thus, a fast emerging economic growth translates into increasing financial gains for foreign investors that in turn brings in more foreign investment into a country, which supports rapid economic growth. In order to attract more foreign investors, countries aim at framing effective macroeconomic policies that are open to global trade. Emerging Market Economies tend to be more open to global trade with business models that are export oriented, and these models later serve to variegate the products and services exported by the country. Economic experts contend that diversification and integration of national economy into the global economy help in decreasing after-effects of sharp fluctuations within global prices or economic crises, thus bringing stability for the country that in turn attracts more foreign investors (Williams, 2011). In the context of framing sound macroeconomic policies that influence wider aspects of a country’s economy, it can be suggested that effective policies help in stabilizing cash flows, which keep foreign investments safe. Sound macroeconomic policies include liberalisation of national banks, privatisation of public enterprises, and opening up of stock markets in order to give easy accessed to foreign investors, decrease in external debt and framing sound monetary and fiscal policies. Since the start of economic reforms during late 1970s, China has slowly turned into one of the fastest-emerging economies of the world. A look at China’s economy reveals that starting from

Education in the United States Essay Example for Free

Education in the United States Essay Education in the United States of America is governed by the Department of Education. There are three different levels of control and funding for public education: federal, state, and local. In the United States school is mandatory from Kindergarten through High School, consisting of thirteen different grade levels. Students can obtain an education by attending a public school, a private school, or a home school. In order to ensure that all students obtain the academic knowledge needed to progress through the grade levels, standardized tests are given regardless of where a student obtains an education (United States Department of Education, 2005). Education in the United States is governed and funded mainly by local jurisdictions, with the state and federal governments supervising educational activities and ensuring that all local jurisdictions are administering standardized tests and obtaining the funding needed to operate adequate educational facilities. The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution states that all powers that are not assigned to the federal government by the United States Constitution are reserved to the people or the individual states. As per the Tenth Amendment, the individual states control public education. Most states are divided into local jurisdictions that have elected school boards that oversee the individual school districts within its jurisdiction. The local school districts own and operate the public schools within its boundaries and are responsible for obtaining funding for each of the public schools they control (United States Constitution, Tenth Amendment, 1787). The majority of the funding for public education in the United States is obtained from local taxes and state governments. The federal government only provides 8. 5% of the funds for public education (National Center for Education Statistics, 2008). There has been some controversy over the No Child Left Behind Act passed in 2001 which allows the federal government to withhold funding if a state or local school district is not complying with the standards set forth in the No Child Left Behind Act. However, the funding withheld for non-compliance is not a significant amount (No Child Left Behind Act, 2001). There is a larger controversy over the local school districts obtaining funding primarily from local taxes. Local jurisdictions can impose many different types of taxes on its citizens. In the commonwealth of Massachusetts there has been controversy over the imposition of excise taxes and corporate taxes. Excise taxes are taxes that are not property taxes or taxes that are imposed based on statutory law. Corporate taxes are imposed on corporations within a certain jurisdiction that are paid to the local government. These taxes are in addition to any federal or state taxes that the corporation is responsible for. Businesses in the commonwealth of Massachusetts are required to pay quarterly excise taxes on an accelerated basis due 15 days prior to the end of each quarter. The first quarter payment is 40% of the required annual excise tax, the second and third payments are 25% each, and the fourth payment is 10% of the excise tax. The minimum amount of corporate excise tax required of all corporations operating within the commonwealth of Massachusetts is $456 per year regardless of whether or not the corporation made a profit that year (The National Federation of Independent Business, 2007). Chapter 70 Part 1, Title XII, Chapter 70 of the General Laws of Massachusetts regulates the financial disbursements awarded to each public school district throughout the commonwealth. The legislative intent of Chapter 70 is to assure fair and adequate minimum per student funding for public schools in the commonwealth by defining a foundation budget and a standard of local funding effort applicable to every city and town in the commonwealth (Chapter 70). Chapter 70 sets up rules on how to allocate the money. These rules set standards on how the money will be distributed if it is below a base amount or higher than a base amount. For example, in Section 13, Part B, the law states that â€Å"if the amount appropriated is more than the base amount, funds shall first be allocated to ensure that the state school aid for each municipality equals the base amount† (Chapter 70). This part tries to ensure that an equal distribution is set to each school. Although this is only occurs when more money is available, it still sets the standard that each school will at least get its base amount before other funds are distributed. In the event that there are not enough funds to cover the base, a formula has been established to attempt to make the distribution fair. The amount is reduced by a constant amount per student. The rate is found by the difference between the base amount and the actual amount divided by the total enrollment of the state (Chapter 70). Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge, Massachusetts is a city right outside Boston, Massachusetts. Cambridge is famous for its two prominent universities: Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The public school system in Cambridge is controlled by the Cambridge Public School District which consists of twelve elementary schools, of which eleven extend through eighth grade. There is only one high school in the Cambridge Public School District, Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. The Cambridge Public School District educates over 5,500 students every year with a project enrollment of 5,790 students for the 2008-2009 school year. The Cambridge Public School District has a proposed budget of $130,704,170. 00 for the 2008-2009 school year. This proposed budget has increased 2. 36% from the previous year. 75% of this proposed budget will be allocated to the individual schools within the district. The remaining 25% of this budget will be spent on administrative costs such as maintenance and security. The Cambridge Public School District is funded through a variety of sources in addition to local taxes. The Cambridge Public School District receives funds from thirteen federal grants awarded by the commonwealth of Massachusetts, eleven private grants, eleven revolving funds, ten state grants, two district federal grants, and one state-circuit breaker reimbursement. These grants account for $13,714,499 of the total funds needed to operate the schools within the Cambridge Public School District. The Cambridge Public School District also receives an average of $1,076 per student from Chapter 70 financial aid each year (Action Public Schools, 2006). Newton, Massachusetts Newton, Massachusetts is a suburb of Boston that consists of thirteen small villages. The Newton Public School District controls the fifteen elementary schools, four middle schools, and two high schools that are located in Newton, Massachusetts. The Newton Public School District educates an average of over 11,000 students each year throughout its twenty two public schools (Newton Public School District, 2008). The Newton Public School District has a proposed budget of $171,377,580 for the 2008-2009 school year. This proposed budget has increased 10. 5% from the previous year. According to this budget, the Newton Public School District spends $14,743 per student every year (Newton Public School District, 2008). The Newton Public School District is funded through a variety of sources in addition to local taxes. The Newton Public School District receives 55% of the revenue generated by the City of Newton. The Newton Public School District also receives over $8. 6 million dollars from federal, state, and private grants. Over $3 million dollars of the Newton Public School District budget is received from a program called Circuit Breaker which allocates special funds to school districts for additional special education courses. Federal, state, and private grants and the Circuit Breaker program account for almost $12 million dollars of the annual budget (Newton Public School District, 2006). The Newton Public School District also receives an average of $846 per student from Chapter 70 financial aid each year (Action Public Schools, 2006). Conclusions Allocating funds for public education in the United States is a complex process. Wealth and more funds do not necessarily lead to greater achievement by the students enrolled in the school district. Federal, state, and local jurisdictions must determine the most beneficial methods for allocating the educational funds available. These allocations are not equal and usually result in the more industrious neighborhoods receiving less funding from these sources, and incurring higher corporate taxes. The Newton Public School District receives less funding from external sources, and its businesses pay more corporate taxes. The allocated budget in the Newton Public School District is higher than the budget in Cambridge due to the fact that although the populations are similar, Newton operates twice as many educational facilities. . The Newton Public School District does not need the extra funds from external sources in order to reach its budget. Although the dollar amounts indicate an unfair advantage for the residents of Cambridge, both school districts are able to meet their budgets and educate their students adequately. Although the corporate tax system and excise tax system in Massachusetts may seem unfair to its businesses and residents, the public school districts within Massachusetts (including Newton and Cambridge) are able to meet the budget requirements due to the Chapter 70 allocations. The purpose of Chapter 70 is to create equality amongst the school districts and ensure that the cities that receive less corporate and excise tax are still able to operate successful public school districts so that every child within the commonwealth of Massachusetts has the opportunity to receive a quality education. REFERENCES The United States Census Bureau (2006). American FactFinder. Retrieved April 1, 2008 from http://factfinder. census. gov/ Action Public Schools (2006). Chapter 70 Aid Per Student High to Low. Retrieved April 1, 2008 from http://ab. mec. edu/about/Chapter70Aid/CH70PerStudentFY06. pdf Newton, Massachusetts (2008). 2008 Property Tax Rates. Retrieved April 1, 2008 from http://www. ci. newton. ma. us/Assessor/taxrate. htm Cambridge Massachusetts (2008). 2008 Property tax Rates. Retrieved April 1, 2008 from http://www. cambridgema. gov/CityOfCambridge_Content/documents/FY2008_Property_Tax_Update_Newsletter. pdf Newton Public School District (2008). General Information. Retrieved April 1, 2008 from http://www. newton. k12. ma. us Cambridge Public School District (2008). General Information. Retrieved April 1, 2008 from http://www. cpsd. us/index. cfm

Effects of donepezil in healthy young adults

Effects of donepezil in healthy young adults Rationale: The cholinergic system is involved in the modulation of both bottom-up and top-down attentional control. Top-down attention engages multiple executive control processes, but few studies have investigated whether all or selective elements of executive functions are modulated by the cholinergic system.. Objective: To investigate the acute effects of the pro-cholinergic donepezil in young, healthy volunteers on distinct components of executive functions. Methods: We conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled, independent groups design study including 42 young healthy male participants who were randomly assigned to one of three oral treatments: glucose (placebo), donepezil 5 mg or donepezil 7.5 mg. The test battery included measures of different executive components (shifting, updating, inhibition, dual-task performance, planning, access to long-term memory), tasks that evaluated arousal/vigilance/visuomotor performance, as well as functioning of working memory subsidiary sy stems. Results: Donepezil improved sustained attention, reaction times, dual-task performance and the executive component of digit span. The positive effects in these executive tasks did not correlate with other attentional arousal/visuomotor/vigilance measures. Conclusions: Among the various executive domains investigated donepezil selectively increased dual-task performance in a manner that could not be ascribed to improvement in arousal/vigilance/visuomotor performance nor working memory slave systems. Other executive tasks that rely heavily on visuospatial processing may also be modulated by the cholinergic system. Cholinergic manipulations consistently alter sensory-driven, bottom-up attention but their effects on top-down, controlled processing have been less explored (e.g. Furey et al. 2008b; Hasselmo and Stern 2006; Sarter et al. 2001; Thomas et al. 2008), specially as pertains executive functioning. Executive-type processing comprises a wide range of cognitive processes that have a role in the control of action and are considered a function of the central executive in the multiple component model of working memory (see Baddeley 2007, p. 11; Repovs and Baddeley 2006). In the latest version of this model the central executive is responsible for manipulating information contained in subsidiary slave components that store information of different modalities for short periods of time, as well as information activated from long-term memory (Baddeley 2007; Repovs and Baddeley 2006). Today, executive processing is considered a multiple construct, consisting of different cognitive domains or components that, despite being correlated, are dissociable (Collette et al. 2006; Fisk and Sharp 2004; Friedman et al. 2006; Mantyla et al. 2007; Rabbitt 1997; Smith and Jonides 1999). Miyake (2000), in their influential paper on the diversity of executive functions, showed the dissociability of four postulated executive functions: updating, or modification of the content of working memory by deleting no longer relevant information and incorporating more relevant data (Miyake et al. 2000; Shimamura 2000); inhibition, the ability to inhibit distracting information when selecting relevant information, or to attend selectively to one stream of information while discarding others (Baddeley 1996a; Kane and Engle 2000); shifting, the ability to suppress response strategies when shifting between different tasks (Miyake et al. 2000; Monsell 2003); and dual- task performance, the abili ty to perform in parallel two tasks that rely on different cognitive systems (see Baddeley et al. 1997; Logie and Della Sala 2001). Other types of executive processes that were not evaluated by Miyake (2000) have been suggested as separate cognitive entities. One of these is planning, the ability to organize behavior in relation to a specific goal (Owen 1997; Shallice 1982), and the other is the efficiency of access to long-term memory (Baddeley 1996b, 1998; Fisk and Sharp 2004). Acute administration of anticholinergic drugs has been shown to impair executive functions by many authors (Curran et al. 1991; Green et al. 2005; Rusted and Eaton-Williams 1991; Rusted 1988; Rusted et al. 1991; Rusted and Warburton 1988) but in these publications usually only one executive test was used, mostly with unknown loading on the different executive components discussed previously. These finding are therefore not comprehensive in examining the executive domains that are affected by cholinergic manipulations. Aside from studying anticholinergic effects in different executive components, in order to demonstrate that the cholinergic system is in fact directly responsible for executive effects it would be important to show that drugs which increase the availability of acetylcholine, or pro-cholinergics, have the opposite effects. To this end, we studied the modulatory role of the cholinergic system on the 6 different types of executive processes outlined above by investigating dose-dependent effects of acute oral doses (5 and 7.5 mg) of donepezil, a potent, specific, non-competitive inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase (Jann et al. 2002; Shigeta and Homma 2001) that increases the availability of acethylcholine. We administered acute doses to young healthy volunteers because neurologic/psychiatric disorders and aging (Gron et al. 2005), as well as chronic use (Poirier 2002; Tsukada et al. 2004), alter the status of the cholinergic system. To assess executive functioning we employed tests that have been shown to reflect each of these 6 separable processes. To evaluate updating, inhibition and switching we used tasks described by Miyake (2000) that showed high loading in the confirmatory factor analysis performed by these authors in each of these executive components. For dual-task performance we employed a standardized paradigm (Baddeley et al. 1997; Della Sala et al. 1995; Greene et al. 1995). For evaluating access to long-term memory we used word generation tasks (see Fisk et al. 2004), and for planning we selected the ecological Zoo Map Test (Wilson et al. 1996). We also evaluated arousal and sustained attention/vigilance changes that could interfere with executive measurements, in addition to performance on other working memory subsidiary components (see Baddeley 2007; Repovs and Baddeley 2006) that store visuospatial data (visuospatial sketchpad), phonological information (phonological loop), and integrated inform ation from different modalities, including activated long-term memory (episodic buffer). MATERIAL AND METHODS Participants: participants were 42 healthy native Portuguese speaking volunteers (aged 18 to 35) with body mass index between 20 and 25, with at least 12 years of schooling. They were non-smokers, in good physical and mental health as determined by medical history, scored within normal ranges in the Beck Depression Inventory and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Gorenstein and Andrade 1996), and were on no psychotropic medication at the time of the study. Procedure: this was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, independent group-design study in which participants were randomly allocated to three acute oral treatments formulated in identical capsules (14 subjects each): placebo (glucose), donepezil 5 mg and donepezil 7.5 mg. The Ethics Committee of the institution (Universidade Federal de Sà £o Paulo UNIFESP) approved the study protocol (project no. 0335/07) which was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. All subjects provided written informed consent and their IQ was estimated using the Ravens Progressive Matrices (Raven et al. 1988). On the day of the experiment participants were required to have a light breakfast after which they receive treatments. They were submitted to a test battery (see below) at 210 min. after treatments (close to peak-plasma concentration of donepezil: Jann et al. 2002) that lasted 1.5 h. with no prior training to insure that executive processing was involved (see Rabbitt 1997 ). Tests were presented in 4 randomly assigned orders, balanced between treatments. Test Battery Executive tasks Plus-minus task (Miyake et al. 2000): a measure of shifting that consisted of three lists of 30 two-digit numbers (the numbers 10-99 pre-randomized without replacement) on a single sheet of paper. On the first list, the participants were instructed to add 3 to each number and write down their answers. On the second list, they were instructed to subtract 3 from each number. Finally, on the third list, the participants were required to alternate between adding and subtracting 3 (i.e., add 3 to the first number, subtract 3 from the second number, and so on). List completion times, omission and comission errors were determined. The cost of shifting between the operations of addition and subtraction was then calculated as the difference between the time to complete the alternating list and the average times to complete the addition and subtraction lists. All the lists were performed under articulatory suppression (uttering the letter T) to prevent the use o phonological stratergies while the task was performed. Letter memory task (Miyake et al. 2000): a measure of updating in which several letters from a list were presented serially for 2000 ms per letter. The task was to recall the last 4 letters presented in the list. To ensure that the task involved continuous updating, the instructions required that participants rehearse out loud the last 4 letters by mentally adding the most recent letter and dropping the 5th letter back. For example, if the letters presented were T, H, G, B, S the participants should say, T . . . TH . . . THG . . . THGB . . . HGBS and answer HGBS at the end of the trial. The number of letters presented (5, 7, 9, or 11) varied randomly across trials to ensure that participants would continuously update their working memory representations until the end of each trial. After practicing on 2 trials with 5 and 7 letters, participants performed 12 trials for a total of 48 letters recalled, which took approximately 12 minutes. The dependent measure was the proportion of let ters recalled correctly in the right serial order. Stroop task (Stroop 1935): a test of inhibition that consists of a Word Colored Page, with common words printed in colors, and a Color-Word Page with names of colors printed in incongruent colors. The examinee must name the ink colors as quickly as possible. For each list the test yields two scores, the number of errors and the time necessary to complete the task. In addition, scores from the word colored page (which measures naming speed) are subtracted from those of the color-word page (naming with inhibition) to yield a score of the extra time needed for overriding the inconcruency of word name versus ink-color name. Dual-task paradigm (Baddeley 1997; Della Sala et al. 1995): evaluates dual-task performance. This is a paper and pencil test which involves a visuospatial tacking task (circle crossing) and a phonological/verbal one (digit span). The digit span task consists of the 90 sec. long repetition of digit sequences presented orally which the subject had to repeat in the proper order. Lists of increasing number of digits are read aloud at the rate of one digit per second and the participants are asked to repeat them in their order of presentation (forward digit span, which measures phonological loop functioning). Participants digit span was taken to be the maximum length at which subjects repeated correctly 5 of 6 sequences of digits. Spans or scores were the number of digits contained in the last sequence repeated correctly. The circle crossing task consists of traversing with an X a chain of 240 circles linked with arrows to form a path laid out on an A3-sized sheet of paper, which was pra cticed with a 240 circles path. Subjects are required to cross-out the circles as rapidly as possible for a period of 90 sec. The dual-task condition consists of the simultaneous execution of both tasks within a 90 sec period. To quantify participants performance we used the measure proposed by Baddeley et al. (1997), the mu index which expressed the overall percentage loss in the dual-tasks in relation to single tasks considering the contributions of both tasks to be of equal weight: mu = [1- (pm + pt)/2] x 100, where pm and pt were, respectively, the proportional phonological loss and visuospatial loss in the performance in the dual-task condition in relation to the single-task condition; pm equaled the number of correctly repeated digit sequences for the single-task (ps), and for the dual-task (pd), both divided by the total o sequences remembered (pm = ps pd); pt equalled the number of traversed circles for the single-task (ts) minus those traversed in the dual-task (td), divid ed by ts [pt = (ts td)/ts]. Zoo Map Test (Wilson et al. 1996): a task that measures planning abilities from the ecological Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome test battery (BADS). Participants are given a map of a zoo and a set of instructions relating to places they have to visit (e.g. elephant house, lion cage) and rules they must stick to (e.g. starting at the entrance and finishing at a designated picnic area, using designated paths in the zoo just once). There are two trials with identical aims that involve a visit to six out of the 12 possible locations. The first trial consists of a high demand version in which the planning abilities of the participants are rigorously tested. In the second, or low demand version, the participant is simply required to follow some instructions to reach specific locations. Scoring was based on the total number of errors in the high and low demand tasks, as well as the difference in time to conduct the high and low demand tasks [i.e. planning/thinking time a nd execution (drawing time) of the route in the high demand trials minus the drawing time in the low demand task (Allain et al. 2005)]. Word and letter fluency (Lezak 2004): to test access to long-term memory participants were told to orally generate as many words as possible that belonged to a given category and that began with a given letter in 2 minutes each. The participants were instructed not to use proper nouns or morphological variations of words and to void repetitions. Scores were the total number of words generated and errors. Executive digit span (modified from Della Sala et al. 1995): this task was the same as the digit span described above in the dual-task performance except that participants had to repeat the sequences backwards (backwards digit span). Spans or scores were the number of digits contained in the last sequence repeated correctly. A delta score (backward minus forward digit span) was also calculated because participants capacity to recall items backwards depends on their forward span. Other working memory test Corsi block test [computerized version based on Miyake et al. (2001)]: participants were shown a set of blocks (drawn as white boxes) and asked to remember the order in which they were tapped (shown as changing color). One box at a time turns black for 650 ms each, a duration short enough to discourage the use of idiosyncratic coding strategies. Five similar but different configurations of blocks were used in each trial to discourage participants from using numerical coding of box locations. Immediately after a sequence of taps, participants repeated the order (Corsi Block task direct, a measure of the visuospatial sketchpad) by clicking on the boxes with the mouse. Once the sequence of flashing boxes was completed, they had unlimited time to respond. There was a practice trial with two taps each, after which the sequences progresses in length from three to 10 taps or until the participants made two mistakes with a sequence of the same number of taps. Scores were the largest number of blocks recalled in the right sequence. The same procedure was conducted at the end of this task, except that subjects were asked to remember the taps in the inverse order (Backwards Corsi Block task, a general measure of executive functioning). Delta scores as calculated for digit span were also computed. Counting span [Conway et al. (2005) in the version designed for adults by Engle et al. (1999)]: a task of working memory capacity that evaluates storage in the episodic buffer component of working memory (see Baddeley 2007). Participants were presented with displays on screen which consisted of a random arrangement of three to nine dark blue circles, one to nine dark blue squares, and one to five light blue circles. The participants task was to count and remember, in the right serial order, the total number of dark blue circles presented in consecutive displays which varied randomly in number from 2 to 6 (3 sequences each). Scores were the number of correct sequences retrieved. Arousal/vigilance/visuomotor performance measures Psychomotor Vigilance Test (Dinges and Powell 1985): a portable device (Model PVT-192, CWE, Inc, Ardmore, PA) was used. The task consists of responding by button press to a small, bright red-light stimulus (light-emitting diode digital counter) as soon as it appears. Consecutive stimuli appear randomly in the range of 2 to 10 s for 5 minutes, resulting in 30-45 reaction time (RT) measures, depending on RT latency (Roach et al. 2006). Participants are instructed to press the button as soon as they see the stimulus, but not to press the button too soon (which yields false-start warnings on the display). Each subject was allowed a single 1-minute acclimation practice before the task commenced. Scores were mean total reaction time (RT), mean 10% fastest and slowest reaction times (Mean F RT and Mean S RT), all of which indicate arousal/psychomotor performance (Lim and Dinges 2008) and measures that indicate better sustained attention/vigilance (Lim and Dinges 2008), the percent change i n RT throughout the test (% change) and slope reaction time (negative numbers indicate slowing from the beginning to the end of the test). Statistical analysis To compare treatment groups we employed one-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) with treatment as factor (3 levels: placebo, donepezil 5 mg and donepezil 7.5 mg) followed by post hoc Tukey HSD tests when appropriate. The level of significance adopted was pà ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤0.05. Only measures that elicited significant drug effects are reported below. Magnitude of effects on the executive measures was determined through effect size calculations (Cohen d, Cohen 1988) as proposed by Snyder et al. (2005) and Fredrickson et al. (2008). In addition we calculated the Pearson Product Moment correlation between changes in arousal/vigilance measured by the PVT and the variables that showed significant effects. RESULTS Comparability of treatment groups The ANOVAs showed the comparability of participants in the three treatment groups in terms of age, body mass index and estimated intelligence measured by Ravens Progressive Matrices (ps>0.27), so performance differences between treatments could not be accounted for by these characteristics. Treatment effects (Table 1) Data on PVT task of one subject in the placebo group and data on fluency test of one subject in the placebo group and of two subjects in donepezil 7.5 mg group were lost due to technical problems with the equipments. The ANOVAs showed PVT treatment effects for the minimum reaction time (F2,38=4.42, p [Table 1 and Figure 1 near here] Magnitude of effects Effect sizes (see Table 1) comparing placebo and 7.5 mg of donepezil were large (pà ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥0.8, see Cohen 1988; Sloan et al. 2005) for most of the PVT measures, as well as the delta score of the digit span. The remaining comparisons between these groups yielded medium effect sizes (between 0.5 and 0.8), that together with large effect sizes are considered meaningful differences (Cohen 1988; Sloan et al. 2005), and included the dual-task measure. Correlations between executive and other general attentional measures In order to determine whether arousal/vigilance/visuomotor changes were responsible for the observed executive effects, we calculated Pearson Product Moment correlations between the PVT measures and the executive measures that showed significant effects of donepezil (mu dual-task index and delta scores of the digit span). Correlation values were small and non-significant (all ps>0.05 and rs between -0.22 and 0.17). 5. Sample sizes In order to show that the sample size was adequate for this set of data we calculated the number of individuals necessary to show significant differences between placebo and the donepezil dose that showed significant differences in relation to placebo (7.5 mg). To do so we used the calculations proposed by Rosner (1999) [with an ÃŽÂ ± of 0.05 and 80% power]. This takes into account the mean values of the groups under comparison and their common standard deviation. We carried out these calculations considering one-sided differences since our hypothesis was that donepezil would increase performance (see table 1). DISCUSSION In the present study we completed a comprehensive examination of the potential capacity of a pro-cholinergic drug to improve executive functions in healthy young adults exploring diverse processes associated with executive tasks. Our findings extend previous reports on the acute nootropic potential of this drug in young, healthy volunteers (Hutchison et al. 2001; Thompson et al. 2000; Zaninotto et al. 2009). More specifically, an acute 7.5 mg dose of donepezil improved arousal/vigilance/visuomotor measures in addition to increasing performance especifically in the executive dual-task domain. An increment in delta digit span was also observed, a task that has unknown loading on the 6 executive components studies here. A role for acetylcholine in modulating executive function is consistent with earlier work reporting impairment after acute doses of the antimuscarinic scopolamine (Ellis et al. 2006; Green et al. 2005; Rusted et al. 1991a; Rusted 1988; Rusted and Warburton 1988; Thomas et al. 2008). However, in the present study we found this effect to be highly selective within the broad battery of executive domains. Only the dual-task domain measure was sensitive to the effects of donepezil while this drug left the remaining 5 tested executive domains unchanged. These evidences suggests cholinergic enhancement in the coordination of two tasks that rely on different cognitive systems, possibly due to activation of cortical cholinergic inputs which facilitate cognitive processes by increasing filtering of noise and distractors, which are necessary under taxing attentional conditions (Sarter et al. 2001). The magnitude of these positive changes reflected medium effect sizes which are treated as clinically meaningful (e.g. see Sloan et al. 2005) and that should be considered in light of the fact that the participants had optimum baseline performance having been young, highly educated, physically and mentally healthy, not deprived of sleep, food or otherwise compromised. The present result was not mediated by increases in speed of information processing, improvement in performance that relies in subsidiary working memory systems, nor task demands, as discussed below. This (see Logie and Della Sala 2001) lends support to the idea that the cholinergic system is involved in the executive process that coordinates different specialized functions when considered together with previous reports of scopolamine induced impairment of dual-task performance (Rusted and Warburton 1988). It is also noteworthy that patients with Alzheimer ´s disease, which is in part characterized by cholinergic deficiency (Everitt and Robbins 1997), display particular problems in dual-task in comparison with single-task performance using the same (Baddeley et al. 1991; Greene et al. 1995; Kaschel et al. 2009) and different (MacPherson et al. 2007, see also Logie and Della Sala 2001) dual-task paradigms. Hence, we here obtained a pharmacological dissociation that confirms behaviou ral data suggesting the separability of dual-task coordination from other executive domains (e.g., Baddeley 1996b; Baddeley and Della Sala 1996; Bourke et al. 1996; Bourke 1997; Miyake et al. 2000; see also de Ribaupierre and Ludwig 2003). It could be argued that this was solely due to the lack of power of the study. Sample size calculations taking into account data from the placebo and donepezil 7.5 mg groups showed that the number of participants necessary for the obtention of statistical effects in the measures that were statistically significant here were close to that used in this study. However, the number of individuals in each group had to be larger than 66 to show significant effects in the remaining executive domains (Table 1). To our knowledge no study in this field of research has ever used such a large sample size. Hence, we believe that dual-task performance, among the executive domains investigated here, is particularly sensitive to improvement by increases in acetylcholine levels. On measures of general attention, donepezil improved (significantly with large effect sizes) sustained attention, arousal and visuomotor performance in the PVT, cognitive functioning measures that have been previously shown to be affected by cholinergic manipulations (Furey et al. 2000, 2008a; Meinke et al. 2006). These changes could in themselves have led to better executive performance, but this seems unlikely in the present case because better overall attention would not have benefited only this single executive component. In addition, no significant correlation was found between these general attentional scores and those of the executive tasks that were enhanced by donepezil, and r values were small. The changes in executive functioning found here could also not be ascribed to improvement in the subsidiary working memory systems which were unchanged by donepezil, in accordance with previous lack of effects with other acute cholinergic manipulations of the articulatory loop and visuospatial sketchpad (see Mintzer and Griffiths 2007; Rusted 1988; Zaninotto et al. 2009), as well as the episodic buffer (see Zaninotto et al. 2009). These changes could also not be attributed to task difficulty, as the letter memory task was at least as demanding as the dual-task. This latter task involved continuous updating of information of letter sequences, some of which extended way beyond subjects spans, for approximately 12 minutes, and showed no treatment effect. Performance in this task was unchanged by donepezil administration, but a similar n-back updating task has been shown to be impaired by acute doses of scopolamine (Green et al. 2005). In the latter case, though, the n-back task relied h eavily on visuospatial perception and processing, which seem particularly sensitive to cholinergic manipulations (Ellis and Nathan 2001; Thomas et al. 2008; Zaninotto et al. 2009). In retrospect we noted that none of the executive tasks used here made specific demands on this type of processing, neither did the executive inhibition task employed by Mintzer and Griffiths (2007), which was unaltered by acute scopolamine administration. In effect, Thomas (2008) suggested that visuomotor and working memory processes that subserve visuospatial executive function are specifically dependent on cholinergic neurotransmission. Hence, enhancement of cholinergic activity could cause specific top-down optimization of visuospatial input processing which could lead to improved executive visuospatial performance, especially if the extensive involvement of executive functions with visuospatial short-term memory is taken into account (see Miyake et al. 2001). Based on this suggestion it may be hypothesized that the improvement in the delta digit span measure obtained here (high effect size) and in a recent donepezil study (Zaninotto et al. 2009), as well as impairment after anticholinegic drugs (Guthrie et al. 2000) reflect effects of cholinergic manipulations because backward digit span seems to involves activation of occipital visual cortical areas (more so than the forward version of this test) in addition to prefrontal ones (see Sun et al. 2005). Therefore, a conjunction of executive attention and facilitated visual processing by donepezil may have led to the increase in performance in this task. Although we found cholinergic effects it is not possible to determine whether the present finding are due to the activation of nicotinic or muscarinic receptors because donepezil increases the amount of acetylcholine that can activate all acetylcholine receptors. Both types of receptors have been found to interact functionally, having synergistic effects particularly on visuospatial attention (Greenwood et al. 2009), working memory, and vigilance tasks (see Ellis et al. 2006; Erskine et al. 2004) so our data may reflect the effects of their combined activation. In sum, acute oral administration of 7.5 mg of donepezil to young, healthy volunteers had a selective positive effect in executive dual-task performance that was seemingly independent of the donepezil-induced improvement on broad attentional processes (arousal/visuomotor/vigilance) and working memory slave systems, corroborating the proposal that this type of executive processing constitutes a separable cognitive construct. In addition, improvement in the digit span delta scores points to the role of cholinergic modulation on other central executive measures, possibly those that rely more heavily in visuospatial processing.

Urban Land Use Models :: Papers

Urban Land Use Models Often in geography models are used to try to explain something that we can see in the physical environment. During the 20th century a number of models were developed to try to explain how urban areas grew. Although models show a very general idea of the shape of the city, all of the ones described here have aspects that can be seen in most cities in the developed and developing world. The Burgess Model In 1925, E.W. Burgess presented an urban land use model, which divided cities in a set of concentric circles expanding from the downtown to the suburbs. This representation was built from Burgess's observations of a number of American cities, notably Chicago. According to this model, a large city is divided in concentric zones with a tendency of each inner zone to expand in the other zone. Urban growth is thus a process of expansion and recon version of land uses. For instance on this figure zone II (Factory zone) is expanding towards zone IV (Working class zone), creating a transition zone with recon version of land use. Although the Burgess model is simple and elegant, it has drawn numerous criticisms: * The model is too simple and limited in historical and cultural applications up to the 1950s. It is a product of its time. * The model was developed when American cities were growing very fast in demographic terms and when individual transportation was still uncommon. Expansion thus involved recon version of land uses. This concept cannot be applied in a contemporary (second half to the 20th century) context where highways have enabled urban development to escape the recon version process and settle in the suburbs. * The model was developed for American cities and has limited applicability elsewhere. It has been demonstrated that

The Life And Hard Times Of Grantly Marshall :: essays research papers

The Life and Hard Times of Grantly Marshall Could anyone imagine having no money, few friends, and no chance to succeed in life? Well, for one individual this situation is all too real. Grantly Reed Marshall, a 18-year-old high school student from Franklin Square, Ohio, had big dreams but little money. Grantly had reached a crucial time in his life. He desperately wanted to attend college. Grantly's siblings were much smarter than he was, as were his parents. None of his classmates expected Grantly to amount to anything, but this made him more determined. Grantly's family was very different. They had one light bulb in their entire house. Grantly got his name when his mother read the book Childbirth Without Pain, by Dr. Grantly Reed. His father ran for president in 1928 under the Communist Party. During this period in his life when they usually excluded him from the other kids, and was the poorest he would ever be, Grantly wanted most of all to go to college. The best things Grantly knew how to do was act and recite poetry. He would memorize poetry with more than twenty stanzas in a week and recite them to anyone who would listen to him speak. Finally, with scholarships, student aid and multiple jobs Grantly fulfilled his dream of attending college. Majoring in theater Grantly graduated Kent State University in 1972 with honors. After he graduated, Grantly did act in local theaters for a few weeks and then decided to do to the Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Just weeks before he was to leave Grantly's father fell ill and died shortly there after. Grantly knew his father would want him to go to the Olympics anyway so off he went to Germany. Because he was such a passionate speaker Grantly could speak many languages and had no problems in Europe. A few people Grantly did know and was friends with began to wonder about him after the Summer Games ended and he did not return. Then, one day Gary Johnson, one of Grantly's only friend's received a phone call. It was none other than Grantly. It ended up that Grantly loved Germany and he got a job as a German Postal Worker. Gary had many more long talks with Grantly. These talks did not cost either of them a cent because Grantly always called from the post office. This did make Gary cautious but, they were never caught. Grantly, once again started acting and reciting poetry. People began to notice how good he was and Grantly began to make friends with more important people in Munich.

Drugs and Alcohol in the Workplace

Use of Drugs and Alcohol in the Workplace {draw:frame} {draw:frame} Figure 2 79% of binge drinkers are members of the workforce (Drug-Free Workplace) {draw:frame} {draw:frame} Drug and/or Alcohol Use Seriously Threatens Organizations {draw:frame} Excessive absenteeism, which holds a significantly percentage of occurrences of drug users as cited above, costs an organization lower productivity, damaged moral and consequently lower product quality. The US Dept of Labor reports that annually, 500 million work days are lost solely due to alcoholism. In addition to absenteeism lowering moral, workplace theft is an experienced and related problem. Approximately 18% of cocaine users steal at work, from either the employer or their co-workers (Facts for Employers). Programs Focus on Testing to Reduce or Eliminate These Problems Reasons For and Methods of Drug Testing in the Workplace Typical drug screens detect the presence of several drugs in the body. Although tests can be specifically designed, the most typical tests are designed to detect alcohol, amphetamines, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, methamphetamines, morphine, opiates and PCP (Gottlieb). In addition to the above list of common drugs, tests can be designed to detect the use of prescription medications often usedfor recreational use. In many cases, such as the MUST Program, the consequences of positive test results often result in immediate suspension or permanent discharge (Policy; XXXX, Interview). Opposition to Drug Testing Conclusion Although not a position embraced by the American Civil Liberties Union and other various opponents, the use of drugs and alcohol in the work place has been reported to be rampant and dangerous. It is a multi-billion dollar problem to all organizations, of all sized and within all industries. The concerns associated with workplace drug use are financial, physical and safety issues. Summary Since the 1970’s, drug use in the workplace has become not only common, but rampant. The annual financial impact to the business world associated with this problematic use has beencalculated to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars. The fiscal consequences of this behavior dramatically reduce the bottom line profit of any affected organization. Higher than average insurance rates are commonplace to organizations encountering this issue, which reduces the profits for all shareholders. Certain industries are more susceptible to drug use than others. They are also the industries that realize higher safety issues and encounter more dangerous workplace conditions. Construction and manufacturing are two industries affected more than most. The Department of Labor, citing examples of dramatic results, reported that due to the implementation of comprehensive prevention programs, many companies had a turn-around in incidents and related costs. They used examples of companies ranging in size of a small local plumbing company in Washington DC to the large international group, CSX Transportation Corporation. The companies were reported to have all benefited in many ways, from drastically reduced positive test results to reduced insurance costs or ancillary problems that are inevitable with these problems. It is further suggested that drug use in the workplace can be prevented (elaws). Preventing these costly behaviors would only increase overall safety in the workplace and result in overall higher profits for the shareholders. Although deemed by opponents to be an expensive course of action, especially to smaller organizations with limited resources, employee drug testing is commonly believed to be quite effective at combating workplace drug use, thereby promoting a potentially safer worksite and a higher profit for the organization. The cost of the prevention is well worth the effort. Recommendations Appendix A Primary Research – Interview XXXX, Vice President of XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX _Do you feel the use of drugs and/or alcohol are common in your industry? Absolutely. We have a high ratio of young workers, from their mid-twenties to mid-forties, who typically are drawn to this field. These are guys who you might find at the end of a bar any given night, or might be a once occasional drug user who went bad. What is the financial impact to this industry-wide problem? Most of all, we are saddled with high insurance rates, specifically liability and Workers Compensation rates. There is a formula for determi ning rates, and those rates are based on experience modifiers, among other things. Guys who use at work in our industry are an accident waiting to happen. You can’t be safe on a construction site while you are intoxicated or high. Is the problem rampant in your company? We are pretty lucky. We haven’t had much of a problem in our company. Most of the men we have with us are family men, more concerned with going home after work and spending time with their families. They may enjoy a beer or two from time to time, but are not the kind of group who gets their paycheck and disappears for a few days. Being in this vulnerable industry, how do you combat the potential employee use of drugs and/or alcohol in your workplace? _ Like I said, we have a good group of guys working for us. But we hire smart. We screen our guys through a drug test and extensive referrals. A lot of our workforce recommends their family or friends to us as well. Are you contractually obligated to drug test? In some cases, yes. Several of the big General Contractors in the area, such as Turner, O’Neal, they all have a section in their standard contract requiring a written safety and drug-free program. Also, being union, we are all required to tet once a year, even management. What are your procedures for drug testing? We prescreen test, and random test throughout the year. Annual physicals and accident testing isn’t uncommon. We send the guys to Kroll, through the MUST program. What do you test for? The typical, marijuana, cocaine, meth, etc. We don’t typically test for alcohol unless there is a problem and we need to protect ourselves. How do your employees feel about this policy? What are the consequences of positive test results? We have the right to terminate immediately. Unfortunately, we have exercised that right in the past. Usually, though, if we send a guy to the clinic for an unannounced test, and he knows he is dirty, we usually don’t see him again. But once again, the majority of our guys have been with us for a while, and we know them well, so it hasn’t been too much of a problem. Appendix B Primary Research – Interview _Do you feel the use of drugs and/or alcohol are common in your industry? _ Unfortunately yes. Construction has always had this problem. What are the specific concerns associated with this problem? _ Most importantly are the safety concerns. Someone using drugs could potentially cause the loss of life of him or other guys around him. We deal with a lot of equipment that can be hazardous under the best of conditions, and we need to have our faculties around us. Are there other costs or consequences that are a concern? There sure are. High Workers Comp rates, high liability rates, high cost of equipment that could be damaged due to miss-use, these are just some of the costs. That is why we have such a comprehensive drug policy. Does having a drug-free workforce help you in the industry? Sure. We are known as a safety conscience company, and our EMR rating proves it. Plus, some of the places where we do work won’t let us onsite without one. Motor City Casino, General Motors, Henry Ford Healthcare Systems, they all require written drug-free policies in our safety manual. Are the costs incurred due to your drug testing policy fiscally efficient? Yes, very much so. To send a guy in for a test is a heck of a lot cheaper than dealing with injuries or lawsuits. How do your employees feel about this policy? The ones who don’t like it are the ones who don’t last too long. What are the consequences of a positive test result? We have been pretty lucky in that regard. We haven’t had too much of a problem. But I will say, if a guy shows up on a jobsite high or drunk, the foreman or the other laborers will toss him out. One guy we sent to the clinic for a random test seemed nervous about it. He left the jobsite but never went to the clinic. He just quit and never came back. He was only with us for a few months by that time, and we were glad he never returned. Appendix C Primary Research – Interview Ms. Wendy Richardson, MUST Program Administrator How long has the MUST Program been around? Since 1988. We were the first in the XXXX Area. What is your most important focus? Primarily workplace safety, with drug-free workplace policies. _What is your _circle of industries? We have several unions and trade associations in our membership. We also have a lot of Owners such as Ford, GM, Chrysler, DTE, Servistall, all the hospitals in the area, DPS and the Airport (NW Terminal) Would you say the drug testing portion of the programs works? Yes, certainly. We had about 6% of the drug tests come back positive 6 years ago, and now we are seeing less than 2. 5% Are certain drugs more common than others? Although I am not privy to the test results, the typical positive tests are mostly positive across the board. Sometimes it is higher for one drug than another. Cocaine and marijuana are pretty popular, unfortunately. Appendix D The United States Constitution The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Appendix E Executive Order 12564 of September 15, 1986 Drug-Free Workplace Attached Works Cited XXXX, XXXX Personal Interview 4/1/09 â€Å"Drug Testing – A Bad Investment†. American Civil Liberties Union. 4/8/09 http://www. aclu. org/drugpolicy/testing/10842res20021021. html. Drug Testing in the Workplace†. ACLU. 3/17/09 < http://www. lectlaw. com/files/emp02. htm>. â€Å"elaws – Drug-Free Workplace Advisor†. US Department of Labor. 4/11/09 http://www. dol. gov/elaws/asp/drugfree/benefits. htm. Gottlieb, Mark. â€Å"Drug Testing – An Industry Standard†. MSG Accountants, Consultants & Business Valuators. 3/17/0 9 http://www. msgcpa. com/general. php? category=Industry+Library&headline=Drug+Testing. â€Å"How Drug Testing Works†. Prevention Not Punishment. 3/16/09 http://www. preventionnotpunishment. org/howsdt. html. Menzo, XXXX PersonalInterview 4/13/09 Richardson, Wendy Telephone Interview, 4/14/09

Mayan Civilization with citations!

The Mayans were an extremely advanced Micronesian civilization. They were located near modern day Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico,l on the Yucatan Peninsula. They were skilled in art and architecture. This is evident by the many pyramids they constructed. 3 This civilization also utilized a great deal of technology. They built magnificent cities with huge stone temples and pyramids. They also developed an advanced system of writing, mathematics and astronomy, which they used to calculate an curate calendar. Another example of how the Mayans were advanced is their agricultural technology. For example, they used the slash and burn method on their crops in order to clear plots of land and fertilize the soil. 2 Mayans used certain building techniques which is a part of what makes their civilization unique as well as successful. Because there were such large supplies of limestone and flint available, plaster and cement was easily produced. This allowed the Mayans to bu ild impressive temples and stepped pyramids.Flat roofs made of cedar beams overlaid with mortar were also common in this area, along with murals often displaying religious figures in vibrant colors. L Certain cities were particularly famous for this typical Amman architecture. One of these cities is Diktat. It was the largest city in the empire, home to over 100,000 people. There were eight pyramids built in the city. 2 This civilization also had its own interesting religious beliefs. The Mayans were polytheistic and worshipped hundreds of gods, each of whom played a different role n the creation of the earth.The religion seems to have been made up of thirteen heavens and nine underworlds ruled by the nine lords of the nights, whose names are not known. Of all of the gods worshipped in this civilization, the sky god was the most important to the Mayans. The god of the sky was also the most frequent to appear in their ancient art, which included sculptures, ceramics, murals and archi tectural structures. It is evident that many of the structures built by the ancient Mayans were built in honor of the gods.Certain compounds were built with large open areas, from which all the citizens could view religious ceremonies, such as sacrifices that were held on elevated platforms. L The Mayans had an advanced language that they used to communicate with each other. Their alphabet was composed of glyphs rather than letters. 2 Not all inscriptions of this text can be deciphered yet. However, analyzing the written language became easier in the 1950 when a Russian ethnologist named Yuri Valedictorian Morrison proposed that the Amman script was at least partly phonetic.His theory was later proved correct, which was a breakthrough for all those studying this ancient civilization. 4 Another impressive feature of the Mayans was their strategic military. The empire was once thought to be peaceful, and held military forces solely for defensive purposes. Eventually, population growth increased competition with others, resulting in heightened levels of violence. Military action became involved in order to gain political control of people, land and resources. Some scholars have suggested that the capture of sacrificial victims was another driving force behind warfare.Mayans also had a decentralized government which made it more difficult to defeat, in turn protecting the nation from becoming over-ruled. 6 Overall, the Mayans were an extremely successful civilization. They made many significant discoveries in math and science. They also flourished artistically. After experienced a golden age lasting five centuries (300 to 800 AD), the Mayans suddenly and mysteriously abandoned their cities. The cause could have been from disease, natural disaster, deforestation, or even revolt but it is unknown to this day.

American History Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 17

American History - Assignment Example After the General Order 147 was implemented litters were used in a more effective and accurate manner. Surgeon General Hammond attracted Secretary’s attention to the deteriorating situation with the ambulances and deaths of wounded soldiers on the battle fields. General Hammond suggested that medical department should be in charge of the whole medical organization. He backed up his argument by bringing various examples of wounded dying from starvation and insufficient system of rescue. General suggested several ways how to improve the medical organizational structure by guiding the work of ambulances, surgeons and nurses. Medical measures undertaken during the battle of Antietam and many others proved their effectiveness. Medical personnel were able to rescue people from the battle fields faster than before thanks to the effective use of ambulances. The number of casualties was minimized: ambulance corps worked effectively both on the battle field and work of surgeons was

Advocacy letter about sexual orientation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Advocacy letter about sexual orientation - Essay Example Amongst this number included 17.5% of the students who were personal victims of the situation. We realize that part of what causes this problem is the fact that there is no adequate research or funding that can aid research on the sexual orientation area. There is, however, lots of talking and discussions about sexual orientation that goes on around the country. Though it might not be open to us to fully know the medical or scientific foundations that results to the sexual orientation of an individual, our system is already handling the discussion in such a way that its impact is quite vivid. Some of the students reactions I school can be seen as many of them do not feel safe due to their sexual orientation. This can be explained by the results of the survey on school safety that was carried out by an organization known as GLSEN in 2013. In this survey, it was proved that sexual orientation as a factor contributed to 55.5% of the LGBT students feeling unsafe at school. The same surve y found out that, 37.8% of the students were felt unsafe at school due to their gender expression. It is vividly clear that sexual orientation as an important concern to students is not being addressed in schools even as people continue to increase their awareness and education with regards to sex. This is a notion that needs to change. It is understood that until now, this issue has not been addressed satisfactorily. There have been many misunderstandings about the issue that has made the topic extremely sensitive. The major source of misunderstandings is the national religious variations we have in the country. Quoting from the U.S Constitution, we have two fundamental principles that apply to all the public schools. The first amendment is about the separating church and the state and protection of the freedom of speech. The fourteenth