s Use In Smoking Cessation

Pharmacodynamics of the Nicotine Patch and It’s Use in Smoking Cessations Quitting smoking is one of the hardest habits for people to quit. Thankfully today there are many helpful aids for those who are trying to quit smoking one of which is the Nicotine Patch. NRT’s or nicotine replacement therapy’s have become increasingly popular in the last decade, partly because of increased health promotion programs aimed at informing the public on the harmful effects of smoking and some possible ways to quit. Another large reason NRT’s have become increasingly popular is their availability as an OTC (Over the Counter) drug, instead of having to see a doctor for a prescription. Nevertheless before one attempts to quit smoking they should be aware of the pharmacodynamics of a nicotine addiction (the effects of the nicotine of the body), how the patch works to aid in smoking cessation, possible side effects of the patch and reasons why the patch should not be used by some individuals. Nicotine is one of the most highly addictive substances sold legally. Its Chemical composition is very close to that of heroin, and smoking is related to many serious health problems. Nicotine is so addicting because it increases the levels of certain chemicals such as dopamine ( ) and norepinepherine in the brain (BC Health Guide). Once smoke is inhaled into the lungs the nicotine almost immediately moves across the lung tissues into the bloodstream. Although nicotine is addictive, the harmful effects from smoking are caused by the tars, carbon monoxide and many other toxic chemicals in the tobacco. Quitting is so hard to do because the body becomes dependant on the nicotine. Once the individual refrains from smoking, the level of the dopamine and norepinepherine in the brain drop and the bodies react by having a nicotine withdrawal. (BC Health Guide). Although the withdrawals seem very intense at first, over time the levels of dopamine ... 's Use In Smoking Cessation Free Essays on Pharmacodynamics Of The Nicotine Patch And IT\'s Use In Smoking Cessation Pharmacodynamics of the Nicotine Patch and It’s Use in Smoking Cessations Quitting smoking is one of the hardest habits for people to quit. Thankfully today there are many helpful aids for those who are trying to quit smoking one of which is the Nicotine Patch. NRT’s or nicotine replacement therapy’s have become increasingly popular in the last decade, partly because of increased health promotion programs aimed at informing the public on the harmful effects of smoking and some possible ways to quit. Another large reason NRT’s have become increasingly popular is their availability as an OTC (Over the Counter) drug, instead of having to see a doctor for a prescription. Nevertheless before one attempts to quit smoking they should be aware of the pharmacodynamics of a nicotine addiction (the effects of the nicotine of the body), how the patch works to aid in smoking cessation, possible side effects of the patch and reasons why the patch should not be used by some individuals. Nicotine is one of the most highly addictive substances sold legally. Its Chemical composition is very close to that of heroin, and smoking is related to many serious health problems. Nicotine is so addicting because it increases the levels of certain chemicals such as dopamine ( ) and norepinepherine in the brain (BC Health Guide). Once smoke is inhaled into the lungs the nicotine almost immediately moves across the lung tissues into the bloodstream. Although nicotine is addictive, the harmful effects from smoking are caused by the tars, carbon monoxide and many other toxic chemicals in the tobacco. Quitting is so hard to do because the body becomes dependant on the nicotine. Once the individual refrains from smoking, the level of the dopamine and norepinepherine in the brain drop and the bodies react by having a nicotine withdrawal. (BC Health Guide). Although the withdrawals seem very intense at first, over time the levels of dopamine ...

The Market for Online Education The WritePass Journal

The Market for Online Education Introduction The Market for Online Education ). In addition to this, most universities are run by non-profit trusts or governments, where there is little pressure to innovate and fully utilize the physical and intellectual resources of the institution. With this backdrop, online courses are offering low-cost learning alternatives, which are customized for needs of customers, and are available without regard to space and time for different groups of customers worldwide. Over time, attitudes of students and employers towards online education are also improving. Finally, new private companies are coming up to offer customized solutions often backed by cloud computing platforms, though they still lack the brand recognition of traditional universities. This paper will examine the limitations of traditional educational methods and explore sources of demand and supply of online education with a view towards how innovative business models such as crowdsourcing and technology infrastructures such as cloud computing are creating change in online education (Weld et al., 2012). Evolution of Online Education Traditional education delivery in thousands of universities globally is designed around transfer of knowledge from teachers to students via face-to-face, lecture based interaction in physical classrooms. At the outset, this imposes the limit of physical capacity of the classroom on the number of individuals who can enrol in the class. In comparison, recent advances in information and communication technologies have enabled alternative online education delivery mechanisms, which can optimize educational delivery in a cost-efficient manner for a large number of users. Online education can be defined as a new social process which utilizes digital technology to partially or fully substitute traditional classroom learning methods, optimized for learners without the barriers of a traditional educational setup (Hiltz Turoff, 2006). Allen and Seaman (2013) define online education to include courses where at least 80% of the course content is delivered online. These courses are delivered ove r the Internet and include significant use of digital media, data storage and communication technologies such as computer-assisted instruction, group communications, use of immersive simulations, gaming and asynchronous learning networks, collaborative knowledge systems and use of wireless and handheld devices. Online education offers different sets of opportunities to different organisations and individuals. For existing educational institutions, it offers a way to increase enrolment or reach a different type of audience such as corporate training. For start-ups looking to shake up the education ‘industry’, it offers the opportunity to compete with traditional universities on different bases of competition, such as price, program duration or class timing. For others, it offers the opportunity for lifelong learning or the opportunity to learn from professors of top universities. Surveys show that the number of students taking online learning courses is on the rise. Allen and Seaman (2013) report that the total number of students in the U.S. taking at least 1 online course during 2012 has increased to 6.7 million, representing 32% of the total student population of 21 million students. In an endorsement of the online learning platform, 77% of academic leaders believe that online learning leads to better learning outcomes than face-to-face instruction. On the major obstacles that are holding back the growth of online education, the authors believe that most faculty members still do not have a positive view about online learning. 40% believe employers have reservations about online degrees. Product Offerings Online education is influencing different tiers of the market in different ways. Firstly, in traditional universities, more and more fully online classes are being developed, and technology is finding its way into more traditional classes as well. Many universities now offer online only classes for their students. In addition, universities such as Georgia Tech are creating tailor made degrees for corporations such as ATT. This setup benefits the university which gets an extra revenue stream and also ATT which gets high-end skills training for its employees on the job (Kitroeff, 2014).   In addition, some new, non-traditional universities have also been set up. These online universities, such as the University of Phoenix, replicate the existing university model but without a physical campus, utilizing online content delivery. A different model has also been developed by some traditional universities such as MIT and Stanford. In partnership with private start-up companies such as Coursera and EdX, these institutions are putting together free classes open to global masses known as massive open online courses (MOOC). These courses are available to all the students in the world who have Internet access and some of these classes boast registrations in hundreds of thousands. Currently, nearly 3% of institutions of higher education in the US are offering MOOCs while another 10% are in the planning process of offering MOOCs (Allen Seaman, 2013). Coursera is also expanding into China with its more than 1 million online learners (Larson, 2014). However, it is not clear how MOOC offerings will be financed (Anderson, 2012). The author points out that giving away content for free usually never turns out to be good business model. Suggestions for revenue generation include subscription and charging employers who want to hire successful students. Another issue is how to ascertain the identity and actual completion of work by a given individual. Udacity, another start-up has devised a solution by offering physical testing facilities in different countries where students can take certification exams in a supervised environment. While they are becoming increasingly popular, MOOCs offer limited customization. In comparison, some start-up education companies are exploring the idea of customized learning enabled by ‘crowdsourcing’. Crowdsourcing is a term which defines the development of an online community whose physically dispersed members may be called upon to provide results online to a given problem. One limitation of MOOCs is that grading assignments of hundreds of thousands of students requires using automated software, which can only grade multiple choice problems. This solution does not work very well in the humanities and social sciences. A crowdsourcing-based solution is to use peer evaluation for this purpose. These learning environments also deploy other technology enabled learning techniques such as using software to analyse common mistakes made by large groups with the highest frequency. Significant insights can be gained into human learning from observing such errors and analyzing their causes. Other automated software agents can crawl the web for useful resources pertaining to the course and collect it on a new website. Additional functionalities that can be offered by machine learning systems include services that link students with particular needs with tutors with skills suitable for teaching those subjects. Role of technology in the online education ecosystem Central to this paradigm shift in education is the Internet and technology revolution. A key enabling innovation in this regard is the development of a low-cost services model known as cloud computing. Cloud computing is an umbrella terms which describes how computers, servers, and applications and processes on those servers can be networked together in a distributed computing platform to create scalable infrastructure which enables users to connect from anywhere and using any device. Cloud computing may be considered an extension of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), which is a software design which makes it easy for computers on a network to cooperate. An institution or group of institutions that gets together to develop a cloud computing based platform needs to develop content and services that can reside inside the cloud since not all applications are cloud enabled (Mircea Andreescu, 2011). Cloud computing is a way of designing a network in blocks, not all of which need to be owned or operated by one university. Instead some components of infrastructure, or the platform or the software or even the computing power itself may be owned and managed by service providers who allow the university to pay for them on an ongoing, pay-per-use basis (Matthew, 2012). Cloud enabled service delivery enables access to educational content by anyone, anywhere on a pay-per-use basis, thus enabling deployment of scalable educational services. If a substantial number of users exist, the cost per user and thus the fee charged to the user can be lowered substantially compared to traditional educational institutions (Moore, 2011). This can have several other advantages for institutions as well. For example, institutions can combine resources with others to share a cloud, and then focus on content creation to focus on their strength and outsourcing the IT services to a large degree. The new business models will begin with market need identification, and then deploying a solution to meet that need, offering a high return on investment (ROI). A major university offering a global MOOC would need a very different platform than a commercial service offering English as Second Language in China and cloud computing would allow each to have the right cost and infrastructure for the size of the opportunity. A lot of effort is going into the development of each of the elements of online education. These include digital books, grading software, intelligent software agents, cloud computing infrastructure and tablets. Amazon is also selling more digital books than paper books and it is now even possible for students taking online classes to rent their textbooks for limited time (Schuetze, 2011). Through its success, online education seems to be substituting traditional education (Mehaffy, 2012). This phenomenon has been labelled by Christensen Eyring (2011) as the process of ‘disruption’. ‘Disruptive technologies’ are championed by new companies which do not compete with the incumbents along the existing bases of competition, but offer new and often low-cost product to a previously underserved group of consumers. Once successful in their niches, they increase volume, improve product quality and unseat incumbents in the high end of the market. Alternatively, disruption forces incumbents to change their business models. One of the reasons the education market seems ripe for disruption is the high cost of university education which makes the high-end of the market out of reach for many students. Some of the new business models in online education offer lower cost alternatives for those average students. In response, several mainstream universities are already considering lowering the residency requirement of their degrees to lower the total cost of earning them, while considering how to improve their online courses. While it may be too early to predict how successful they will be, for now the online education market seems set to grow globally. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be said that online education is a powerful business model because it can service large underserved segments of the education market at low average cost (Gaytan, 2007). It is a solution for those who could previously not afford the high cost of education or may only need to develop certain job related skills or they may be lifelong learners. Deployment of digital content and software over a cloud enabled distributed computing network is the first step towards infrastructure development required for online learning platforms. More high-quality content is required together with ingenious business models to take online education to the next level of success. Recommendations While they do not face any immediate threats, existing educational institutions will need to adapt their business models in order to not become obsolete. At a minimum, they should consider ways of reducing their cost without diluting the experience. Traditional universities have a strong competitive advantage – they offer a period of residence in an academic community. This is difficult to replicate for online institutions. Online universities should consider partnerships for revenue and content sharing with traditional institutions in order to build their brands quicker. Without brand acceptance, they will never be able to compete with traditional universities. Start-ups should focus on helping develop those innovations that increase the return on investment in new business models for educational service providers to encourage innovation and investment in technology supporting online education. Bibliography Allen, I. E., Seaman, J. 2013.  Changing Course: Ten Years of Tracking Online Education in the United States. Sloan Consortium. PO Box 1238, Newburyport, MA 01950. Anderson, N. 2012. Elite education for the masses.  The Washington Post,  4. Christensen, C. M., Eyring, H. J. 2011.  The innovative university: Changing the DNA of higher education from the inside out. John Wiley Sons. Conn, S. S., Reichgelt, H. 2012. Cloud Computing in Support of Applied Learning: A Baseline Study of Infrastructure Design at Southern Polytechnic State University. In  Proceedings of the Information Systems Educators Conference ISSN  (Vol. 2167, p. 1435). Gaytan, J. 2007. Visions shaping the future of online education: Understanding its historical evolution, implications, and assumptions.  Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration,  10(2). Hiltz, S. R., Turoff, M. 2005. Education goes digital: The evolution of online learning and the revolution in higher education.  Communications of the ACM,48(10), 59-64. Larson, C. 2014. Coursera’s plan for online education: Expansion in China. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved on 28 October, 2014 from businessweek.com/articles/2014-10-27/coursera-ceo-richard-levin-plans-to-expand-the-company-in-china. Kitroeff, N. 2014. Why ATT is investing in virtual school. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved on 28 October, 2014 from businessweek.com/articles/2014-10-24/at-and-t-and-former-google-vp-back-georgia-tech-online-degree-program. Mathew, S. 2012. Implementation of Cloud Computing in Education A Revolution. International Journal of Computer Theory and Engineering, 4(3), 473 – 475. Mehaffy, G. L. 2012. Challenge and change.  Educause Review,  47(5), 25-42. Mircea, M., Andreescu, A. I. 2011. Using cloud computing in higher education: A strategy to improve agility in the current financial crisis. Communications of the IBIMA,  2011, 1-15. Moore, J. C. 2012. A Synthesis of Sloan-C Effective Practices, December 2011.  Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks,  16(1), 91-115. Schuetze, C. F. 2011. Textbooks finally take a big leap to digital.  The New York Times. Vella, M. (2012). Is higher education doomed? Fortune. Retrieved on October 28, 2014 from http://fortune.com/2012/07/18/is-higher-education-doomed/. Yuan, L., Powell, S., CETIS, J. 2013. MOOCs and open education: Implications for higher education.  Cetis White Paper. Weld, D. S., Adar, E., Chilton, L., Hoffmann, R., Horvitz, E., Koch, M., Mausam, M. 2012. Personalized online education- a crowdsourcing challenge. In  Workshops at the Twenty-Sixth AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence.

How to Get the Job You Want by Being the Perfect Fit

How to Get the Job You Want by Being the Perfect Fit Recruiters are careful about the applicants they choose to interview because the faster they do their job, the faster they can go on to the next task. One thing recruiters don’t like is wasting time, so job applicants who  are a great fit are more likely to be called in for an interview. You’ve searched the job classifieds for weeks and finally nailed an interview. Here are a few tips to  help you present yourself as the best person for the position so you get the job.Offer the best reasons why you should have the jobInterviews don’t tend to last long, so making the most of your time is important. Prepare a list in advance of your selling points. You may want to include your experience, technical and soft skills, education, training, and accomplishments that benefited your previous company.Ask a family member or friend to help you practiceA  successful interview can depend on practicing  your body language and what you are going to say. Appearing anxious during your interview may be a problem; however, by practicing your responses in advance, you will appear confident and sure of yourself. Ask a friend or family member to practice with you. If no one is available, practice in front of a mirror until you think you have it down pat.Combine your skillsYou may have good qualifications for your desired job, but others may have those same qualifications. See if you can combine several skills that appear on the job application to set yourself apart from other applicants. For example, if you have great computer skills and have also led project teams, point that out to the recruiter.Find out about the interview formatRecruiters use various formats while interviewing candidates for a job. Knowing whether the recruiter will use standard questions, or, for example offer problems you have to solve can help you prepare in advance. What the recruiter is looking for is a creative person who is up to any challenge. There is no problem with asking th e recruiter what type of questions will be presented during your interview, so go ahead and do it.Keep your answers shortDroning on and on is a good way to lose the recruiter’s interest. By practicing, you can hone down your answers to one or two minutes. However, be cautious because memorized responses can sound stiff and robotic during an interview. Work at maintaining your natural voice so your answers sound unrehearsed.Dress for the jobOf course you would like to go to your interview in your comfy jeans and sneakers, but that may not be appropriate. Look over the company to see how its employees dress, and copy that style for your interview. For example, if the employees wear suits, wear one. If they wear khakis and Hawaiian shirts, wear that. One important point is that whatever you wear, you should feel comfortable. While it might be tempting to go out and buy new clothing, if you aren’t comfortable, it will show during your interview.Being prepared for an interv iew is just as important as finding a great position. You can improve how you do both by using successful tactics. Instead of searching for work through classified job ads, you can upscale your search by letting TheJobNetwork do your search for you. All you do is fill out your qualifications and job interests, and TheJobNetwork will send you email alerts for jobs. When you sign up with TheJobNetwork, you won’t miss out on any opportunities.

Polygraphs Roles in Detection Physically and Mentally on Suspects Research Paper

Polygraphs Roles in Detection Physically and Mentally on Suspects - Research Paper Example Victims of sexual assault may not be able to justify the events that led to the assault thus calling for the use of the polygraph on the perpetrators in order, to tell the truth regarding such events. In criminal investigations, the perpetrators are bound to display various post-traumatic stress disorders such as anxiety and other emotional attributes that help the polygraph to detect the truth on a certain matter with ease (Rathus, 2010). The use of polygraphs has been employed by many prosecutors in the court of law to justify the truth on the case in the litigation, which helps to the criminal investigation. The polygraph is used in the military interrogations whereby the examiner of the polygraph detects the truth concerning the military information from a suspect. The polygraph may extend its purpose to the military personnel in order to assist them in to detect a post-traumatic stress disorder that may affect their emotions and behaviors especially after a combat in battles. A suspect holding military information is treated as a threat especially when such an individual is not in the discipline forces, which, therefore, requires the use of the polygraph in order to unravel the truth of such information. Military personnel is subjected to post-traumatic stress disorders after a series of combat, which, therefore, calls for the use of the polygraph in order to assist such a person in dealing with emotional and behavioral changes that follow major combats. The polygraphs enable an examiner to identify the emotional and behavioral changes that befall a military personnel thus helping the examiner to address the challenging issues, which subsequently enables the military personnel to cope with any post-traumatic stress disorders.

Social Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social Relations - Essay Example Many people tend to be aggressive for one reason or another. The result of one's character is highly characterized by roles one plays, and mutual interactions of motivation and the motion which lies at the heart of autonomy adaptation and social interaction in both biological and artificial agents (Kenny D, 1994). They also have a powerful and wide range in influence on many aspects of cognition and action even though one's role is often considered complimentary. This is concerned by external and internal factors involved in the establishment of one's behaviour where emotion is the core determiner of behaviour among the critical factors (Kenny D, 1994). Within societies, an individual learns not only on his own but also through interaction with other people surrounding him/her. This brings about the issue of social intelligence an essential tool in communication through conservations (Brown J, 1991). Social aggregation has a strong genetic basis where it is mainly as a result of environmental influences (Brown J, 1991). Specifically, teachers and peers indicate an extent to which a participating child exhibits social aggressive behaviors, such as trying to make others hate one another or the degree of influence to make others like one another, or saying bad things and spreading nasty rumours (Brown J, 1991). Empirical evidence for an effect of workplace psychological control on an individual is sometimes not visible but studies have shown that negative parenting behaviours such as lack of responsiveness and coercion are linked to one's ego (Perloff R, 2003). People who have socially aggressive friends tend to be aggressive themselves (Perloff R, 2003). This contributes to much social stratification where people tend to group themselves in terms of character and behaviour. This makes them share a habit in common. For workers today, the stress associated with trying to blend the responsibilities of paid work with responsibilities of family and personal life has become an increasingly visible issue (Perloff R, 2003). This is because more and more workers continue reporting on how their lives have become frenzy as they struggle with the unrelenting demands of work and personality (Perloff R, 2003). The significance of being free of bias brings about independence freedom of thought and democracy, where one is not intimidated (Kenny D, 1994). It creates integrative minds, where a person acts without being told, and thinks that he is right (Kenny D, 1994). There is an increasing demand for those who practice initiative because the reward is two fold, one it helps one improve his financial status and also develops strength in his/her personal attributes. In conclusion, social psychology principles plays a critical component in enabling individuals interact, as well as personal relationship. It creates the spirit of mutual interrelationship between people whereby, the participants share information, therefore enhancing clear understanding of our surroundings. Reference Brown, J. David. (1991). "Preprofessional Socialization and Identity Transformation: The Case of the Professional Experience". Journal of Contemporary Ethnography Perloff, R. M. (2003).

Physician Assisted Suicide Essay Example for Free

Physician Assisted Suicide Essay The controversy surrounding physician assisted suicide has dominated the public court for long drawing and evoking varying emotions whenever it arises. Not to be confused with euthanasia, physician assisted suicide refers to the act by doctors to provide a lethal injection to a patient at his or her request with an intention of terminating the patients life. It is closely related to euthanasia only that euthanasia can be carried out by doctors with or without the request of the patient. The debate on legalization of physician assisted suicide and its ethical appropriateness has at one time cropped up in most countries. It is always a sensitive topic to the policy makers and politicians thanks to the arguments and the counterarguments it attracts, pitting religious groups and the liberalists. Religious groups like the Catholic Church feel it is unethical and against God’s teachings and will. Liberalists believe it should be a personal choice and not to be left to the dictates of the politicians and religious fundamentalists. There are those too in the medical profession who see it as a grave violation of the professional requirements as vowed in the Hippocratic Oath. The Hippocratic oath refers to the oath made by medical practitioners vowing not to carry out any prescription that would jeopardize the life of a patient whether or not it is at the patients requestor not. Doctors are supposed to abide by this oath. This is an oath that owes its history to the pre-medieval period and may not have foreseen the sort of challenges facing patients, doctors and other stakeholders in the health provision sector. This is a debate that has reigned much in the 20th century and it is the high time it is put to rest. The position of this paper is that physician assisted death is an exercise of ones fundamental freedoms and allows a patient to die with dignity (Colesanto, 62). The activism towards legalizing physician assisted deaths dates back to the start of the 20th century. It is this period that would witness the rise and the formation of societies and organization whose intention was to agitate either for its legalization or for its complete legal prohibition. In spite of this decades’ long activism, in the United States for example, only the state of Oregon has legalized it. Other countries in the world with a clear law on its legalization are Netherlands and Belgium, which passed the law in 2002. In Switzerland, physician assisted deaths are legal but there is a strict demand for certification and a clear establishment of such a need. These countries have provided inspiration to the rest of the world and soon there is likely to be increased activism towards the enactment of such laws. This will give patients faced with extreme choices to make one last important choice regarding their life, choosing to terminate their sufferings or to continue wallowing in a miasma of immense pain in the face of a sure death. The much hullabaloo about the ethical acceptability of physician assisted suicide misses a very important point; it is neither moral nor immoral. It is a personal choice that should be given to every patient who certifies the minimum required conditions. What should be noted is that death under normal circumstances is never pleasurable, a decision to end life is made after hard considerations and in the knowledge that it is the only easy way out. Patients who make such hard choices are driven by the immense pain they are facing and with no respite in sight. That is the key reason why it is the patient that makes the call rather than the doctor. Wear notes that in assisted suicide, â€Å"the patient acts the part. † He further says that the choice to either take death or life in physically assisted suicide â€Å"rests fully with the patient in the sense that neither will take place without the patient’s desire† (87) This brings in an important point into the debate; choice. This is the key argument behind physician assisted deaths. They should be permitted in the respect of one fundamental freedom of making own choices regarding the direction of our lives especially faced with such insurmountable odds. It is the final freedom of choice to be exercised. A look at terminally ill patients leaves one with pity and grief at the pain some of them go through. Although there has been tremendous efforts brought forth by technology seeking to improving the conditions and the lifespan of these patients, it is apparent that they go through a lot of suffering. There is no known medication that can ease such pain. One noted complication id the feeling of breathlessness and suffocation experienced by a lot of terminally ill patients in their death bed. This is a complication that can not be alleviated through drugs and always leaves a patient with a feeling of helplessness. The bouts of pain that attacks such patients cannot be eased effectively through the use of medication. Patients have to brave through such suffering in the daunting knowledge that death is on the way. To such patients, it is without any doubt that death would be a welcome respite, and to know that they can have control of the hour that such a death would take place would be a great solace thanks to physician assisted death. Most hospices offering palliative care are filled with people living their last moments on earth. They are people who have failed to receive any improvements from the normal process of medication and some of them are meant to receive comfort in their last days on earth. It is important to note that many are in a vegetative state and no amount of medication, care and therapy can bring them back to their active life. They hence become a burden to their loved ones and to the society in general. Most of these, especially the aged are more than willing to die, they do not expect to hang on to life forever as John Hardwig notes, â€Å"to have reached the age of, say, seventy-five or eighty years without being ready to die is itself a moral failing, the sign of a life out of touch with lifes basic realities† (14) It goes without saying that anyone has reached such a point in time and is in a vegetative state requires a lot of attention from the spouse, family members and friends. He has to receive constant visitations and comfort to re assure him or her during the last moments. This inability to fend for oneself and the feeling that one is a burden to family members is degrading in itself and given a choice, majority would prefer death to such loss of dignity. This is where the concept of dying with dignity comes in. Though those who take an economic approach to this debate are accused of being mundane and hedonistic, it is an important issue that has to be tackled. Palliative care for terminally ill patients for example can be both financially and emotionally draining both to the patients and to the families’ savings. It is only a matter of time before the spouse or the family begins complaining of the huge bills and time that they commit to medication and care. Economics aside, this is usually an emotionally draining period, as Ackerman notes, â€Å"when this kind of care giving goes on for years, it leaves the care- giver exhausted, with no time for herself or life of her own†. 5) The amount of money spent during this period can eat up into the family’s savings and jeopardize the lives of those that are healthy. It has to be understood that the rest of the members have other obligations and plans such as bills and college fees. It is not prudent hence to continue paying for the care of a person who is willing to die rather than commit such funds to a more fulfilling venture with long term implications. In such a case, phy sician assisted suicide is the only way out. There is however lots of people who are opposed to physician assisted deaths. They cite various reasons such as ethics and the importance of human life over money and that it is against their religious teachings. One major argument is that legalization of physician assisted death will result into a devaluation of life (Low 37). It is true that there has to be effective laws in place to regulate the useless taking of people’s lives, to ensure that people do not end other people’s lives just because they feel like. However, when it comes to terminally ill and suffering patients beyond any medical salvage, the issue of devaluation of life does not come into play. They are suffering and death is fast coming, why not let them make that one important decision that will put a stop to their suffering? It is apparent that this debate has ranged on for long. Each time it is mentioned though, its benefits are more glaring than its disadvantages. It is an important way of easing the suffering of terminally ill patients by given them a chance to exercise their one final choice regarding their lives. This is a practice that eases both the patients’ and the family members’ economic and emotional strain.

The Stereotypical Old-West Hero :: American Culture Essays

The Stereotypical Old-West Hero Gunsmoke is a 1950's western series played on CBS radio station during the Vietnam war. It is about a U.S. Marshall named Matt Dillon who is in charge of keeping the law and respect in a town called Dodge City. Each episode has Matt Dillon dealing with problems such as murders, brawls, and gunfights that occur in the Wild West. Matt Dillon is personified as being inquisitive, independent, and not very emotional as a U.S. Marshall. He gives a view of the stereotypical old-west hero. In the series Gunsmoke, Matt Dillon had a very inquisitive nature. Everything that was talked about or anyone that he talked with always was confronted with questions to find out exactly what was going on. He questioned a lot concerning people he did not like. It seemed like when ever a problem or situation came to his attention, or if someone seemed suspicious he would start inquiring more. For example, in the first episode, Matt Dillon is confronted with a person he does not like called Web. He asks his sidekick, Chester, to gather more information about him concerning his past history. As the episode progresses listeners find out that another man wanted to kill Web. On the next story Dillon has to look for an ex-killer in another town. Before he goes on the mission he asks a lot of question such as, "What does this man look like", "When is the last time he was seen", etc. Questioning seems very typical of lawmen back than, and even today. Weather the questions were to start a figh t, or solve a dilemma questioning was a lawmen's best friend. Another point that was noticeable in Gunsmoke was the independence of Dillon. As the listeners hear the stories they cannot help but notice how Mat Dillon only has one partner named Chester. It also seems like Chester is more like Dillon's conscience, bringing up points or making suggestion depending on the circumstances. Near the end of the first story Matt Dillon suggest that Web leave town for a few days. As Chester and Dillon enter the saloon called Long Horn, Dillon turns and tells Chester to wait at the door as he goes after Web. Near the end of the second story Dillon leaves Chester to go tell a woman about her dead husband. In the third story Dillon leaves Chester, and goes after a man called, Pat, to arrest him.

What Is Software Defined Radio?

What is Software Defined Radio? With the exponential growth in the ways and means by which people need to communicate – data communications, voice communications, video communications, broadcast messaging, command and control communications, emergency response communications, etc. – modifying radio devices easily and cost-effectively has become business critical. Software defined radio (SDR) technology brings the flexibility, cost efficiency and power to drive communications forward, with wide-reaching benefits realized by service providers and product developers through to end users.Defination of SDR Simply put Software Defined Radio is defined as : â€Å"Radio in which some or all of the physical layer functions are software defined† A radio is any kind of device that wirelessly transmits or receives signals in the radio frequency (RF) part of the electromagnetic spectrum to facilitate the transfer of information. In today's world, radios exist in a multitude o f items such as cell phones, computers, car door openers, vehicles, and televisions.SDR defines a collection of hardware and software technologies where some or all of the radio’s operating functions (also referred to as physical layer processing) are implemented through modifiable software or firmware operating on programmable processing technologies. Benefits of SDR For Radio Equipment Manufacturers and System Integrators, SDR Enables: 1. A family of radio â€Å"products† to be implemented using a common platform architecture, allowing new products to be more quickly introduced into the market. 2. Software to be reused across radio â€Å"products†, reducing development costs dramatically. . Over-the-air or other remote reprogramming, allowing â€Å"bug fixes† to occur while a radio is in service, thus reducing the time and costs associated with operation and maintenance. For End Users – from business travelers to soldiers on the battlefield, SDR technology aims to: 1. Reduce costs in providing end-users with access to ubiquitous wireless communications – enabling them to communicate with whomever they need, whenever they need to and in whatever manner is appropriate. National Defence University Of Malaysia SOFTWARE DEFINED RADIO Name : Hasseler anak Tumas Matriks no : 2120339

Chinese Qing official vs. Japanese Meiji

Much have been told about the historical background of China and Japan, particularly on the part of their history that the Western powers intruded their land.Also, versions have been aired countless times on who really had the best policy or the best response towards the invasion of the Western powers. China claimed they are. Japan claimed they are.The debate below is hypothetically set after the Opium War when China was again subjected to Western subjugation while claiming that they had the best response towards Western invasion. Japan, on the other hand, claims the same thing.Opium WarDuring about 1830s, the Chinese government exerted much effort in halting the illegal smuggling of opium products by the Western, particularly the British. Apart from the unhealthy effects of opium smoking among the Chinese, there was a considerably economic damage that happened mainly caused by the â€Å"drainage of cash silver† from China to be paid for the illegal imports[1].The trades striv ed for a long time as millions and millions among the Chinese (simultaneous with the corruption among custom officials) got addicted to the illegal imported product. In 1838, the Chinese emperor finally did something for the illegal trade to stop—or to try to stop, at least.Given the situation, the emperor had no choice but to resort in to some sort of repression and suppression among the people of China. The emperor ordered summary executions of Chinese drug traffickers.But then, the British government still allowed the importation of the â€Å"addictive† and illegal products. The situation made the ire the Chinese government and resorted to the evil atâ€Å"CHINESE QING OFFICIAL VS. JAPANESE MEIJI† PAGE#2its roots. It was during the time of Lin Tse-hsu, the special Imperial Commissionerwhen the rage heated up.   The Opium War was just an introduction into more complicated events that came.Below are the hypothetical claims of both China and Japan of which of them employed or implemented the best response or policy towards the Western invasion after the Opium War while their country faced the threat of further invasion.Letter to Japanese Meiji (from a Chinese Qing Official)ATTENTION: MEIJI EMPEROR OF JAPANThis letter is intended to be read by any Japanese Meiji official. This is to manifest that it was China, particularly us, the Qing dynasty who did the best response towards the Western invasion after the Opium War.I am writing this letter not just to boast but to put everything in place.China has been described by some historical accounts as a country which has been found to have a string of â€Å"humiliating defeats.† This speaks very well on the part of the history timeline when Japan and the Western powers claimed victory over the domination of some parts of China.And I think it is about time to correct what has been said against China although some people do not consider history as an important matter.In terms of internation al strategy and ideal response, I can proudly claim that the Qing emperor’s response or policy was the best way against the Western invasion.The Qing emperor was determined to maintain the autonomy of China and to protect China from further invasions especially of the Western powers. Also in the nineteenth century, China experiences setbacks in it economy. In the same time period, China tradingâ€Å"CHINESE QING OFFICIAL VS. JAPANESE MEIJI† PAGE#3system was monopolized by the Portuguese and then Spanish, French, and British traders followed the trend. [2]China stood firm against further invasion, so in the trading system, the West was pushed to follow certain trading guidelines which were centuries-old guidelines imposed by the Chinese.[1] Ha, Zhang. â€Å"Understand and Treat with Historical Issues Correctly†.   2005. April 14 2007. .[2] Chinese Repository. Vol. 8, February 1840.   

Hotel and Motel Beginner English Language Practice

Hotel and Motel Beginner English Language Practice Make sure to understand the use of the verb like when checking-in to a hotel, as well as how to ask polite questions with the modal verbs can and may. Understanding vocabulary related to travel will help you communicate when you are in a motel or a hotel. Getting a Room for the Night Desk clerk: Good evening. Can I help you?Guest: Yes, please. Id like a room for the night.Desk clerk:  Would you like a single room, or a double room?Guest:  A single room, please. How much is the room?Desk clerk:  Its $55 per night.Guest:  Can I pay by credit card?Desk clerk:  Certainly. We take Visa, Master Card and American Express. Could you fill in this form, please?Guest:  Do you need my passport number?Desk clerk:  No, just an address and your signature.Guest:  Ã‚  (fills out the form) Here you are.Desk clerk:  Heres your key. Your room number is 212.Guest:  Thank you.Desk clerk:  Thank you. If you need anything, dial 0 for the reception area. Have a good stay! Key Vocabulary Can I help you?Id like a roomSingle, double roomCan I pay by credit card?Fill in this formPassport numberRoom numberReceptionWhere is the...ElevatorLobbyIs breakfast included?Do you offer room service?

60-Second Game of Fairy Tale Improv

60-Second Game of Fairy Tale Improv For a good exercise in impromptu storytelling, try performing a well-known fairy tale in one minute flat. Drama classes and acting troupes alike can use the â€Å"60 Second Fairy Tale† to sharpen improvisational skills. Its also a great game for families and kids. How to Play Your cast size should be at least three people. (Four or five would be ideal.) One person serves as the Moderator, a person who interacts with the audience and plays the narrator, if necessary. The rest of the cast are the fairy tale performers. The Moderator asks the audience for fairy tale suggestions. Hopefully, the audience will shout out some great choices: Snow WhiteRapunzelThe Little MermaidHansel and GretelSleeping BeautyLittle Red Riding Hood Then, the Moderator selects a story everyone in the cast knows quite well. Remember, narratives such as â€Å"Cinderella† and â€Å"The Ugly Duckling† are more preferable- and more performable- than obscure fairy tales from ancient Babylonia. The Performance Begins Once the story has been chosen, the 60 second show can start. To keep the storyline fresh in the mind of the performers, the Moderator should quickly recap the key events of the story. Here’s an example: MODERATOR: â€Å"Okay, great, I heard someone suggest â€Å"The Three Little Pigs.† This is the one where three brother pigs each go about building their new homes, one with straw, the other with sticks, and the third with brick. A big bad wolf proceeds to demolish the first two houses, but can’t destroy the third. Now, let’s see this famous fairy tale performed for us in 60 seconds! Action!† Then the performers begin to act out the story. Even though they are trying to complete the entire tale in a very short amount of time, they should still create funny, interesting characters. They should also establish setting and conflict. Whenever the cast members slow things down, the Moderator can prompt them by narrating a new event, or simply by reading from a stopwatch. Nothing moves a scene along like calling out, â€Å"Twenty seconds left!† Variations Although the fast-paced nature of this game is very entertaining, there’s no harm in trying a â€Å"slower† five minute version. That way, actors can take their time and develop more character interactions and hilarious moments. Also, if the well of popular fairy tales runs dry, feel free to try out some of these Aesop fables: Tortoise and the HareThe Mouse and the LionThe Fox and the CrowThe Boy who Cried Wolf Or, if the talented acting troupe has a taste for pop-culture, try performing a movie in a minute. See what you can do with films such as: CasablancaStar WarsThe Wizard of OzGreaseGone with the Wind As with any improvisation activity, the goals are simple: have fun, develop characters, and think fast!

Business Intelligence (SLP) Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Intelligence (SLP) - Coursework Example Business Intelligence systems use tools to gather, store, analyze and present data which is then used to create business strategies. Business intelligence systems use enterprise wide data which minimizes the need for technical and clerical staff. One of the top players in the field of business intelligence is SAP which has developed tools primarily in three categories to aid decision making; the categories include performance optimization applications, business intelligence platform packages and packages for small and medium sized businesses. The data gathered through business intelligence is spread across a variety of locations in a business context such as the marketing department, finance department, operations etc. In order to take informed, strategic decisions there is a need for this data to be structured in a user friendly manner. Traditionally, the IT department in any organization would allow the use of structured reports from various departments which although would present the information but the integration of the information would be a cumbersome process. This is where the SAP Crystal Interactive Analysis Desktop Edition (formerly known as SAP Business Objectsâ„ ¢ Interactive Analysis, Desktop edition) comes in. The Desktop edition provides self-service data access, multiple source data analysis and trusted insight. This tool allows business managers to develop ad-hoc, interactive reports which can help answer the ever evolving business questions. SAP Crystal Interactive Analysis does not only allow the b usiness managers to view information based on the needs of the specific problem at hand but allows them to conduct an analysis of the information presented. The Interactive Analysis tool gives its users the ability to conduct contingency based analysis of business critical information. It allows the decision makers to combine many types of data from different sources. For example, a production manager can access