Why Is Tobacco Bad for You

Peter Yang Andrea Charanduk English 20 January 23, 2012 How tobacco addictionseffect you and people around you? A tobacco addiction is the worst addiction you can do to your body. According to the Health Canada website, â€Å"every 11 minutes, a Canadian dies from tobacco use. Every 10 minutes, two Canadian teenagers start smoking cigarettes; one of them will lose his/her life because of it yearly, more than a thousand Canadians who never even smoked die – from exposure to tobacco smoke. Smoking affects every part of your body even to your sexual organs, as stated in Health Canada website â€Å"Sexual functioning needs the coordination of the nervous system, hormones and the vascular system which pumps blood into the muscle tissue that keeps the erection Smoking hinders every area. The effect? Impotence. † Now days teens start smoking because, they think it’s cool to look like an adult, or they get peer pressured. I agree that smoking does kind of look cool, but what’s hiding behind that smoke can kill you, and everyone else around you. There is strong medical evidence that smoking tobacco is related to more than two dozen diseases and conditions† (â€Å"Smoking and Your body†). Smokingaffects every part of your body even to your toes! The effect of smoking is terrible for your health; it is proven countless times by medical professionals and scientists. Smoking affects your lungs, cardiovascular system, and respiratory system the most (â€Å"Smoking and Your Body†). When you smoke a cigarette you are inhaling toxic chemicals and the most addictive drug. Nicotine. Nicotine is the drug responsible for making cigarettes so addictive. It makes your body crave more cigarettes and that means inhaling all those gross chemicals† (â€Å"Nicotine†). I know a person who had a throat cancer. He had to get a surgery to get his voice box removed to stop the spreading of cancer disease. Now, he can’t talk. He needs this little device on his throat to help him talk, which I have sympathy towards it. He made a mistake a long time ago, and now he is paying the price for it. Look around you, do you smoke? Or a friend? Tell yourself to quit, help a friend out. You just got to try. Smoking is bad, but starting as a teenager is the worst mistake you can make. As stated on the website smoking-facts. net â€Å"At least 3 million adolescents are smokers and roughly 6 million teens in the US today smoke despite the knowledge that it is addictive and leads to disease†. This is very true and it is happening right here, right now. I know several teenagers that smoke a pack a day. This will lead them to pre-mature death, lung cancer and various other diseases. Of the 3,000 teens that started smoking today, nearly 1,000 will eventually die as a result from smoking† (â€Å"Teen Smoking Facts†). I don’t expect people to read this article and quit, I just want them to know that, smoking as a teenager can definitely harm the health of your body. Then maybe you would be smart enough to quit smoking. â€Å"Second-hand smoke is what smokers exhale and what rises from an idle burning cigar ette. You can see smoke in the air but what may not be so obvious is that there are 4,000 chemicals in the smoke† (â€Å"Second Hand Smoke†). I have been in position where I was the second hand smoker. It is not the best place you would want to be when people are smoking around you. The smell of the smoke makes me frown, cough, and you just know that this can’t be good for your body. Back in the day’s people could smoke anywhere! In the restaurants, airplane, bar, and any public places. Now this was allowed because they had less knowledge of second hand smoking than we do now. There is a story where a woman died from a lung cancer when she was only 50. The worst part about the story is that she never had a single cigarette in her life, she was a waitress at a restaurant and she would be second hand smoking from everybody who would come into restaurant and smoke. How horrible is that? An innocent person is suffering from someone else’s mistake. Do you think that’s right? I am not going to lie, I have tried smoking, and it’s theworst thing I ever did. You can feel all the chemicals going through your body and affecting you internally. My personal opinion about smoking is that, it is totally fine if you want to smoke and hurt yourself, as long as you don’t smoke around people who does not smoke. Maybe you didn’t know that smoking affects not only you but people around you. I hope who ever reads this article figures out how it is effecting you and people around you and at least try quitting. In this article I talked about all most everything about why smoking is bad for you and second hand smokers. I hope this article awakened your urge to quit smoking for yourself and people you love. Smoking is bad, we all know that. Making a mistake is †¦ humane. We all make mistakes, but repeating that mistake with knowing the consequences is plain stupidity. About Tobacco Control. Health Canada, 2009. Web. 29 September 2009. Nicotine. Health Canada, 2008. Web. 24 January 2008. Second-hand Smoke. Health Canada, 2009. Web. 17 April 2009. Smoking and Your Body. Health Canada, 2011. Web. 01 November 2011. Teen Smoking Facts. Smoking-Facts. net, nd. Web. 23 January 2012.

Case Vignettes in Acid-Base Balance Essay

Choose three of the four vignettes and BRIEFLY answer the questions that follow. Normal Levels of Substances in the Arterial Blood: pH 7.40 + 0.05 pCO2 (partial pressure of carbon dioxide) 40 mm Hg pO2 (partial pressure of oxygen) 90 – 100 mm Hg Hemoglobin – O2 saturation 94 – 100 % [HCO3-] 24 meq / liter Vignette #1: A 14-year-old girl with cystic fibrosis has complained of an increased cough productive of green sputum over the last week. She also complained of being increasingly short of breath, and she is noticeably wheezing on physical examination. Arterial blood was drawn and sampled, revealing the following values: pH 7.30 pCO2 50 mm Hg pO2 55 mm Hg Hemoglobin – O2 saturation 45 % [HCO3-] 24 meq / liter Questions: 1. How would you classify this girl’s acid-base status? 2. How does cystic fibrosis cause this acid-base imbalance? 3. How would the kidneys try to compensate for the girl’s acid-base imbalance? 4. List some other causes of this type of acid-base disturbance. Vignette #2:  A 76-year-old man complained to his wife of severe sub-sternal chest pains that radiated down the inside of his left arm. Shortly afterward, he collapsed on the living room floor. Paramedics arriving at his house just minutes later found him unresponsive, not breathing, and without a pulse. CPR and electroconvulsive shock were required to start his heart beating  again. Upon arrival at the Emergency Room, the man started to regain consciousness, complaining of severe shortness of breath (dyspnea) and continued chest pain. On physical examination, his vital signs were as follows: Systemic blood 85 mm Hg / 50 mm pressure Hg Heart rate 175 beats / minute Respiratory rate 32 breaths / minute Temperature 99.2o F His breathing was labored, his pulses were rapid and weak everywhere, and his skin was cold and clammy. An ECG was done, revealing significant â€Å"Q† waves in most of the leads. Blood testing revealed markedly elevated creatine phosphokinase (CPK) levels of cardiac muscle origin. Arterial blood was sampled and revealed the following: pH 7.22 pCO2 30 mm Hg pO2 70 mm Hg Hemoglobin – O2 saturation 88 % [HCO3-] 2 meq / liter Questions: 5. What is the diagnosis? What evidence supports your diagnosis? 6. How would you classify his acid-base status? What specifically caused this acidbase disturbance? 7. How has his body started to compensate for this acid-base disturbance? 8. List some other causes of this type of acid-base disturbance. Vignette #3: An elderly gentleman is in a coma after suffering a severe stroke. He is in the intensive care unit and has been placed on a ventilator. Arterial blood gas measurements from the patient reveal the following: pH 7.50 pCO2 30 mm Hg pO2 100 mm Hg Hemoglobin – O2 saturation 98% [HCO3-] 24 meq / liter Questions: 9. How would you classify this patient’s acid-base status? 10. How does this patient’s hyperventilation pattern raise the pH of the blood? 11. How might the kidneys respond to this acid-base disturbance? 12. List some other causes of this type of acid-base disturbance.

St. Augustine’s ‘The City of God’

‘The City of God’ is a book written by the 5th century Church Father, St. Augustine. Augustine wrote the treatise as a general defense of Christianity, that is, to admonish the assumption that Christianity was the cause of Rome’s downfall. Augustine also intended the treatise to be an exposition of Christian orthodox beliefs (against the Arians and Schismatics). The historical context in which the book was situated, Christianity was the official religion of the Roman Empire. Many Christians dominated the politics of Rome (the emperor himself was a Christian). The Roman state persecuted the adherents of pagan religions. A significant portion of the Roman budget went to the construction of elaborate basilicas and churches. Pagan philosophers saw these events as proofs of the evil intent of Christianity. The impending fall of Rome was the work of Christianity. Christianity weakened the Roman state by imposing its own will on Rome’s future. It destroyed traditional Roman virtues. It replaced militant nature of the Roman army by preaching the efficacy of peace and universal love. Christianity, in general, put Rome into a state of anarchy and loss of patriotism. Taking into account these facts, St. Augustine sought to establish a logical, transcendental approach in answering the criticisms of the pagan philosophers. He argued that the existence of the Roman state is first and foremost subject to Divine will. According to him, the destiny of nations and states is determined by God, the source of legitimate political authority. No nation, state, or even community could last for eternity. For Augustine, the existence of the state is temporary, for its elements are temporary, created by the minds of man – whose existence is also material. It was the destiny of Rome to fall under the hands of the barbarians – a fact which cannot be comprehended by the human mind. St. Augustine wrote, â€Å"Whether the same world remains intact throughout or whether it keeps setting into disintegration and rising into newness with each rotation of the wheel of time. Whereas, if one rejects the periodicity of identical patterns, one is left with an infinite diversity of events which no knowledge or pre-knowledge could possibly comprehend† (Curtis, 429). Thinkers such as Smith, Nietzsche, and Gibbons rejected the above-mentioned assumption of Augustine. These thinkers argued that it was clear that the fall of Rome was due to ‘the ineptness of the Christian religion, its impracticality as an imperial religion, and indecency as a political and religious movement’ (Toynbee, 219). One need not determine empirical data to prove Augustine’s thesis. Michael Schmaus argued that the fragile nature of the state is due primarily to its origin. The state is the expression of man – a being whose existence is temporary. Hence, if a state is to last for eternity, according to Schmaus, it must be immune to the weaknesses of man – from outright desire of the flesh, from political conflicts, from the intrigues of the human mind. Schmaus stated: â€Å"The term ‘eternity’, in essence, only refers to the Divine Being. The state, in particular, is not in any way an everlasting entity, for it is wholly man’s creation – a derivation of man’s innate qualities. These qualities, we may describe, as momentary, capricious, and overtly devoid of divine significance. Man, by himself, cannot affect a change in the state of nature, or his predilections capable of uniting the elements of political life† (Schmaus, 57). St. Augustine based his arguments on the notion that the state is a necessary evil. Augustine derived this statement from basic theological truths. The first ‘truth’ attested to the integrity of man before the fall. In traditional Christian theology, the first human beings possessed, besides righteousness and holiness a genuine partnership with God, the so-called preternatural gifts (justitia originalis), gifts of integrity, freedom from suffering and death, from inordinate appetites and ignorance. The sin of Adam greatly weakened these gifts. Man became vulnerable to weakness, to death. Hence, according to Augustine death belongs to the nature of man. But as a result of sin it has the added character of punishment; that is to say, what belongs to the nature of man, his transitories, is now bound up with anxiety, pain and glaring absurdity. Because the state is a necessary evil, then man itself is bound by such necessity. He must live in that necessity, and of course its consequences. A necessary evil man must endure, for it is his temporary refuge. It is a temporary refuge from the ineptness of savagery, from irrationality, and from the affects of nature. The state was created as a temporary refuge of man – an entity which inhibits man’s innate savagery and irrationality – things which were consequential of the fall. The state, according to Augustine, is lead by pride and flesh. The state is the embodiment of worldly desires and passions. Although it inhibits man’s lust for materiality, it is in itself the efficacy of such materiality. The state though is necessary because it enabled man to work in groups, to limit man’s obsession with himself, and to protect man from the dangers of the natural world. The state, however, is not necessarily good. Man must endure the world of politics, deception, and outright political chaos. Hence, the state is a temporary state of nature. Again, Augustine’s argument makes sense because of the assumption that the state is a temporary association. Philosophers like Aristotle, Hobbes, and Locke supported this argument. These philosophers agree that the state is a temporary refuge of man – that is, it was borne out of man’s own innate weakness. However, these philosophers disagreed on the nature of man’s weakness, whether either borne out of lack of faith on a Divine entity or just the condition of the state of nature. Augustine’s arguments were not immune to criticisms. One of the weakness of this argument is provided by Schoonenberg who argued that it is impossible to attach the social origin of the state with the theological origin of man. According to him, a distinction must be made between what is political and what is epistemological (Schoonenberg, 58). Schoonenberg argued that the origin of Christianity is separate from the origin of the state, as far as orthodoxy is concerned. Here, it is possible that Augustine may have committed this particular mistake. Now, Augustine examined the origin of man’s weakness in relation to Divine Providence. St. Augustine argued that the fall of man is caused by man’s desire to make himself an equal of God. The evil which befallen man is neither the work of God or nature; it is the work of man. Here, St. Augustine discussed the nature of evil and free will. According to him, evil comes into the world in a kind of privation. Privation is desire for things which are less real and not good. Evil is love of the world of shadows and allusion – a perversion of Divine will. According to Augustine, the origin of sin is free will, that is, individual freedom. Free will presupposes that man is independent of God, which man, by his own nature, can succeed apart from God (Schoonenberg, 329). For Augustine, the arrogance of man is in itself the rejection of God and the acceptance of the ‘temporary state of nature. Man loves this arrogance because it increases his fidelity to himself; that is, arrogance is the fruit of deception – that man can wander by himself, that he can, apart from God, measure the knowledge and the inertia of God. Augustine wrote: â€Å"The fundamental fallacy of these men, who prefer to walk in round about error rather than to keep to the straight path o f truth, is that they have nothing but their own tiny, changing human minds to measure the divine mind, infinitely capacious and utterly immutable, a mind that can count things without passing from one to the next†¦ Without having a notion of God, they mistake themselves for Him, and, instead of measuring God by God, they compared themselves to themselves† (Curtis, 415). St. Augustine argued that the end to man’s suffering is the establishment of the City of God, a place where Christ reigned. The City of God is synonymous with the Second Coming of Christ, whose authority has no equal. Augustine pointed that the founding of this city is unlike any other city on earth. It is everlasting. It is immune from the intricate weaknesses of man – from his passion, idolatry, and irrational manifestations. The City of God is the manifestation of God’s desire to free humanity from suffering and death. From an orthodox theological point of view, Augustine’s argument is consistent with the notion of a God-saving being, merciful, and full of inertia. Man’s choice is either to accept this promise or reject it. It may be impossible here to prove Augustine’s point, but from a Christian viewpoint, his argument seems to navigate on the ideas of Divine love and justice, which are evident in the doctrinal conjugation of today’s Christian sects. In the Confessions, Augustine proudly asserts, â€Å"What then is my God, what but the Lord God? For who is Lord but the Lord †¦ sustaining and fulfilling and protecting, creating and nourishing †¦ Thou owest nothing yet dost pay as if in debt to Thy creature† (Confessions, 24). Conclusion The ‘City of God’ is both a defense of orthodox Christianity from the attacks of pagan philosophers and a summary of primary Christian beliefs. Augustine dismissed the notion that Christianity was the cause of Rome’s downfall. In addition, Augustine stated that the state is a necessary object of man’s existence. Its origin lies entirely in the facet of individual social constructivism, not in the crucial malivolence of an evil entity.

Complexometric Titration of Calcium Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Complexometric Titration of Calcium - Lab Report Example In this experiment, the searchers are trying to perform a complex formation reaction for analytical purposes. The main aim of this titration reaction is to determine the presence of calcium ions in a titrant by a method referred to as titrimetric. The chemists use the common titrant referred to as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, (EDTA). This acid is commonly used in complex formation reactions because of its ability to form complexes with most metal ions because of its tetrabasic form. The EDTA acid molecule has a hexadentate ligand structure having four oxygen and two nitrogen molecules which donate atoms simultaneously. One major advantage of using EDTA as a chelating agent is because it forms a stable compound with most metals ions in a reacting ration of 1:1. Secondly, the reaction between EDTA and metal ions forms larger compound structures such that the reaction is product favored making it suitable for the reaction to proceed to full completion. These two major advantages mak e EDTA be the preferable titrant in most complex formation reactions. The purpose of this titration reaction is to determine the presence and concentration of calcium carbonate, (CaCO3) in an unknown solution sample. The known reagents in this reaction include the following: First, there is a known amount of Ammonia buffer solution. Secondly, there is Disodium EDTA dehydrate with an FW of 372.24. Thirdly, there is a calcium carbonate with an FW of 100.87 which is primary standard and dried for a period of about 2 hours at 100 0c.

Essay on the Movie Minority Report (2002) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

On the Movie Minority Report (2002) - Essay Example Under great protest, the husband is arrested and incarcerated, away from harm. When Cruise's character, John Anderton, begins to question the validity of the Pre-Crime system, he is soon himself targeted as an "enemy of the state", as it were. He notices that the female precog has an extra vision; one that is not registered on the official Pre-Crime system, and begins to investigate. This brings about the events that lead to the conclusion of the film; the founder of Pre-Crime is himself shown as no more than a murderer. After losing everything in the pursuit of this truth, including his eyes, Anderton regains the most important part of his life: his family. This is only possible after he has accepted that his kidnapped son would never return to him. After this devastating realization, Anderton is able to make a new beginning; his wife returns to him, and they have the promise of a new child. The precog siblings are also able to make a new beginning in a sort of paradise setting, secluded from the world that would exploit them. When the corruption of those in power is exposed in the film, those who suffer, namely John Anderton and the precogs, find peace. In this way, the sacrifice of the good results in corruption, while the exposure and punishment of the corrupt means peace and redemption. I. THE ROLE OF POWER AND POLITICS In terms of politics, power is a prominent theme in the film. This manifests itself in a variety of ways. Most obviously, the powers that be in terms of the Pre-Crime Department are corrupt. Secondly, there are underlying elements of social and personal morality that seek to overthrow and expose the corrupt power that rules, as well as often oppress society and also individuals. Thirdly, some authors have suggested an underlying religious theme of suffering and redemption. The most direct manifestation of political power in the film is the founder of Pre-Crime. Like many politicians, he hides the true corruption of his past under a veneer of creating the perfect, crime-free world. In this, he succeeds only for a while. The film appears to suggest, according to Tricia Snell (2007), an underlying social code of morality that continually attempts to restore the good where it has been corrupted. The main power in the film is the Pre-Crime Department. It has however itself been corrupted by means of a murder its founder committed. The representative of morality in the film is John Anderton, who has himself been so damaged by crime that he initially fails to recognize the corruption of the one thing that still provides meaning to his life. After losing his son and wife, Anderton is blind to the faults of his one remaining anchor in life. When this final connection betrays him, Anderton is forced to use his inner sense of morality as a new anchor in a world that has betrayed him on both a personal and professional level. Snell (2007) also mentions the issue of human rights in terms of how the precogs are practically imprisoned and drugged for life in order to serve the well-being of humankind. The rights of the precognitive siblings are sacrificed for the right of society to a crime-free life. In this, Anderton serves as the connection between restoring the rights of the precogs and exposing the corruption of the Pre-Crime

The Search for Success Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Search for Success - Essay Example There are diverse notions of how success is realized. To a family man, it is being able to provide well for his family and seeing his children accomplish their goals in life. To a hardworking man, it is reaching the top of the business ladder and being able to tell himself that he has been an integral part of the industry that he has devoted himself to. To an advocate, it is completing what he has set out to do and knowing that he has made a difference in the lives of people through his passion. To an artist, it is being able to produce a piece or body of work which immortalizes his name in the eyes of the world. To most people, to be able to affirm their success is to have the amalgamation of all these and more.â€Å"The height of my goals will not hold me in awe though I may stumble often before they are reached. If I stumble I will rise and my falls will not concern me for all men must stumble often to reach the hearth† (Mandino, p.93). More than anything, it is man’ s perseverance to achieve his success which determines a person’s character. His persistence to reach his goals even if there are hindrances along the way is the primary indication of who he truly is. There may be things that pull one away from getting closer to success and his perceived happiness but the determination to keep on going is what determines success from  failure.

Judaism - Reflection Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Judaism - Reflection Paper - Essay Example My community is frequently among the communities that are not driven by such forces. That is the Judaism Community. I therefore feel under no obligation to compare the gender assumption in my religion and community against any particular prejudiced social standard. Let Judaism rise or fall on its assumption regarding the roles played by men and women. It would be very painless pointing a finger to a Muslim and declare that women have little or no role in the religion and even words from their Holy Quran prohibits women from getting involved from achieving particular theological standards. But on the other side, women from the Muslim religion can also point to the Judaism religion and claim the same inferiority complex. As much as some religions may claim to be modernized, in Catholic faith the pope and his entire clergy has never agreed women to serve as priests. How then will women have any success when it comes to religious factors? Undeniably, Jewish custom and religion revolves around the synagogues, and this is then a fact that gender assumption is unequally played well. If the laws and rules are to be followed regarding the position of Men and women in the society then, Judaism women would ever remain voiceless. It would therefore be my suggestion that, a swift amendment be done on Judaism theological and religion literature, relative to all that is demanded in both old and New Testament bible. The synagogue where laws and rules concerning the way of living for the community signify just a tiny fraction of what Judaism pertains! There is a dire need to go beyond that and have vast knowledge concerning the lives of people and whether its theology, religion or the modern factors that should dictate their way of

Registered Nurse, Psychiatric Specialty Research Paper

Registered Nurse, Psychiatric Specialty - Research Paper Example These functions include: assistance during surgeries, administration of medications, monitoring vital signs, monitoring for side-effects of surgeries and/or medications, and also monitoring for complications. Aside from these assistive functions however, these nurses also carry out independent nursing functions, functions which do not need to be ordered by doctors or other health professionals (Temple, 2012). For psychiatric nursing, nursing care involves the administration of psychiatric drugs, observing patient symptoms, including extra-pyramidal symptoms, providing therapeutic care, carrying out suicide watch, and preventing self-harm (Temple, 2012). In order to be RNs, a state licensure exam is often needed. Each state has its own licensure examination and has its own requisite for practice. II. Education and Certification The basic requirement for a career as a registered nurse is to pass the licensure examination in the state where one desires to practice (Nazarko, 2004). Befor e the licensure examination is taken however, the applicant needs to finish first a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing. ... The National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) is also a requirement for entry into the registered nursing career. As was mentioned above, the examinations vary with each state, and depending on the entry requirements for each state, practice can include other licensed nurses from other states (Rosdahl and Kowalski, 2007). The cost of education for a career in registered nursing varies with each state and for each country. In the US however, Lee (2012) discusses that the average cost for 4 years tuition for a Bachelor’s degree in nursing is $26,340 in a public university, and for a private university, about $100,572 (Lee, 2012). This is the comparable tuition rate for nursing. The University of Washington for example, estimates $28,000 for state residents and $93,000 for non-state residents for their BS Nursing degrees. An ivy-league school like the University of Pennsylvania averages about $150,000 for its nursing program (Lee, 2012). Aside from the tuition, other academi c requirements like books, laboratory and administrative fees are also essential. Other costs also accrue in terms of living arrangements, including housing, parking, and other living expenses which would vary depending on the student’s circumstances and the country or state where the student is studying (Lee, 2012). Registered psychiatric nurses have to go additional training and certifications in psychiatric nursing (APNA, 2012). These nurses need a Master’s Degree in psychiatric mental health nursing. Doctorate degrees in psychiatric nursing are also options for interested RNs. Such degrees would allow them to participate in teaching, research, and in administration (APNA, 2012).

Current Events and US Diplomacy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Current Events and US Diplomacy - Research Paper Example The members started enjoying greater freedom as a result of change of policy of the Russian. Remarkably lessening of the two countries tension after cordial atmosphere of the informal discussions between them had been reached. The U.S in October and November 1956 did not support or help the Hungarian rioters, nor the British and French attack on Egypt, thus the relationship improved. By 1960, peaceful coexistence had improved between the countries. The demands for putting up military bases in Turkey, offering economic support, prompted U.S to declare the Truman Doctrine in 1947, and that is when the relationship of the two countries started. Americans provided security to Turkey and economic support plus a large scale of U.S military there. The mutual interest in containing Soviet expansion made the relationship grow, and this resulted into Turkey becoming a multi party democracy. The relationship has again made Turkey join NATO, provide military in Korean War, and cooperate with U.S allies in Middle East. Turkey provided military base and received funding from the U.S for military activities. U.S also supported Turkish economy by pushing for International Monetary Fund (IMF) program to help Turkey, and did not criticize Turkey human rights allegations and the Kurdish problem (Dumbrell, 2007). The U.S has maintained a relationship with Turkey for strategic interests; including the longstanding competition with the Soviet Union, economic interests; particularly accessing the Middle East oil, strong cultural ties that bind the Turkish Americans, American Jews, Arab Americans, and Iranian Americans. The U.S has used diplomatic, economic, and military power in support of these interests. The current relationship the U.S and Turkey did come to test over the United State’s instigation war actions against Iraq. Northern Iraq acts as the haven for Kurdish terrorist organization thus Turkey is against the, as by destabilizing Iraq, the Kurds can claim their indep endence from Turkey and other Middle East countries which have a sizable number of Kurdish populations. However, bilateral relationship between the two allies continued through diplomatic, humanitarian and indirect military support. The U.S also does share several international organizations with Turkey, and has been actively involved in pushing for Turkish membership to European Union. The two countries also started to cooperate on peaceful usage of nuclear energy for the exchange of skills, material, reactors and mechanism for nuclear research, and creation in Turkey for an initial period of fifteen years (Dumbrell, 2007). To avoid derailing diplomatic progress, the U.S president visited Turkey and met with their President, where they committed to the partnership between the two nations. Initially it was like just a military relationship for the partnership in security issues in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Balkans, Black Sea, Caucuses and Middle East besides the global financial cris is. The U.S has further offered Turkish troops to Afghanistan and Pakistan secure transport, and equipment from the port of Iskenderun during the pulling out of US troops from Iraq, and the pro –Kurdish terrorists working in south-eastern Turkey and northern Iraq. The U.S helped Turkish government to normalize

Evaluation of Cheryl Beck's Postpartum Depression Theory using 2 Essay

Evaluation of Cheryl Beck's Postpartum Depression Theory using 2 methods - Essay Example It is full of evolving and receding paradigms. The new millennium has brought us forward into a new era of Nursing – the Socialization of era of Nursing Science. Thus the 21st century saw monumental changes taking place in Nursing. In lieu of this, an extensive and comprehensive research on â€Å"The Postpartum Theory of Depression† was carried out by Cheryl Beck (1993) (Beck, Reynolds and Rutowski) and they built a background with strong analysis to support it. They soon had a theory on Postpartum Depression. They followed a specific theory approach which was used to formulate this theory. The sole aim and purpose of this theory was to provide enlightenment and insight into Postpartum Depression. The various stages or concepts of Beck’s theory (1993) was defined in different ways, such as – This theory was implemented in the nursing sector and was used to alert nurses on the incidence, recurring and impact of Postpartum Depression. Beck stressed the importance for the need to identify new mothers and render assistance to those suffering from Postpartum Depression through various support groups (Beck, et al., ) Though Beck’s theory is relatively new, still it has been implemented and used in a number of Nursing Studies. The concept of Postpartum Depression (Beck, 1995, 1998) was further examined by carrying out a meta- analysis to test and document its efficacy. The information gathered from the Meta analysis (Beck and Gable 2000) served as a basis which led to the development of the â€Å"Postpartum Screening Scale† to enhance detection of this particular disorder. This tool was then used by nurses in their studies. Clemmens, Driscol and Beck, 2004 took a survey after using this tool on 150 mothers and reported data which determined that the tool was effective in identifying and diagnosing those mothers with Postpartum Depression. Walker and Avant in their book on growth and evolution on the philosophy of nursing theory give us a

Essay 1 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

1 - Essay Example Some people fear altercation and disobeying authority would require confrontation. Very many people want to appear rational and people with high integrity, and compliance to the authority means they are upholding their dignity. These people want to paint unadulterated picture of them to the authority and by complying with what the authority requires they are able to achieve this. Giving a phony or unjustly account of what took place will make a person obey authority in order to reverse his or her previous sentiments. When ones conscious is not at peace is it even possible for the person to have a peaceful life, knowing that one’s own version will make a person lose his or her life. How can someone live with a false accusation? Unless this person is retarded, because knowing ones version of what happened would be a reason someone innocent is likely to lose his or her life is intolerable. People have so much trust in the authority and not complying with what the authority requires would be so disrespectful on their part. From the age of childhood, people grow to believe an older person should always be respected, so obedience to authority comes naturally. When one fails to respect, authority there is the possibility of the person feeling incompetent and unreliable and it is so palpable that no one wants to be associated with such attributes. Some people comply with the authority for the wrong reasons; they find it hard to say no to the authority because of bribery. Some of them are bribed to give false accounts of what really happened. Such offers are unfeasible for some selfish individuals to turn down. They take up the offers and change their previous versions. There is the issue of threat since it is not likely that authority will be soft and understanding. Sometimes the authority uses threat on witnesses for them to do what the authority requires of

Performance Management Essay Example for Free

Performance Management Essay 1.Executive summary In order to have a sustainable competitive advantage, organisations realized that to do well economically, it is important to have the appropriate human capital within the company. That is how the term talent management was brought up. Human resource management is one of the pillars leading to organizational success and TM has become an important issue that HR professionals are dealing with. As companies go global, the need to focus on TM is increasing. This report is a critique of the journal article ‘Strategic talent management: A review and research agenda’ written by David G. Collings and Kamel Mellahi (2009). The report includes a broad view of how IHRM can address TM issues stated in the article. In the report, the strengths and weaknesses of the article have been stated and some recommendations concerning TM have been formulated and all the main points were highlighted in the conclusion. 2.Introduction This report is a critique of the journal article, ‘Strategic talent management: A review and research agenda’ written by David G.Collings and Kamel Mellahi (2009) for Elsevier publishing company. The report aims at critically analysing the mentioned article to find Talent Management issues relevant to International Human Resource management. Firstly the credibility of the authors and the validity of the article will be briefly analysed. The main key term this report deals with, that is Talent management (TM) will be explained as well as International human resource management (IHRM), ensuring clear understanding of the discussion which will follow. Further to the definition of the key terms, the theoretical model of strategic talent management proposed by the authors will be analysed and compared to the talent management wheel proposed by MIT Sloan Management Review (2012). The main body of the report will focus on the TM issues reported in the article and their relevance to IHRM, in this regard, other studies’ assumptions will be taken into account and thus allow us to critically analyse the article. Limitations and merits of the journal article will also be stated and followed by some recommendations as to how the discussed TM issues could be dealt with where international human resource management is concerned. Eventually, a conclusion will be included to highlight the main points which this report will cover. 3.Credibility of research Elsevier is one of the world’s leading providers of science information by providing authors and researchers as well as readers with innovative tools and world-class information helping in making critical decisions and to increase productivity. Elsevier has been delivering its services worldwide over the past 130 years and hence, is a credible source of information. Kamel Mellahi is the actual Co-Editor-in Chief of the International Journal of Management reviews. He has been carrying out many researches in the management field amongst which are in international business strategy and non-market strategy. He has also published more than seventy scholarly articles. His research were very much sought by several journals and publishers. David G.Collings is a Human Resource Management Professor at DCU and King’s College London. He is the joint editor of a couple of HRM journals. He has been doing research in the field of talent management and global mobility issues and has been able to influence numerous debates on global mobility. He has been ranked 6th on the list of the most productive scholar of Ireland. Both authors can be said to be well qualified to publish an article on talent management as they both have carried out numerous researches in HRM field, thus, this article can be said to be credible. 4.Definition of IHRM and Talent management With the advent of globalization, organisations have ceased to exist on local level only, businesses have gone global and this, for the betterment of its purpose. As well as it can have many advantages, the biggest challenge however remains the competition which has gain in vigour as organisations strive to stay sustainably competitive. IHRM can be said to be the procurement, allocation, utilization and the motivating pulse of international businesses’ human resources. The definition of TM, even though being the basis of the article, is however the very first matter of contention and one of the aims of the article. It was noted that no clear definition of TM has so far been made. Collings and Mellahi (2009), Boussebaa and Morgan (2008) and Piansoongnern and Anurit (2010, 290) have come up with a moreover similar definition of TM. According to them TM can be defined by processes and activities involving the identification of fundamental positions which help an organization to stay competitive, developing a talent pool of high performers to fill in those positions and adjusting HR practices to ensure commitment of such employees to the firm. For MNCs TM is more related to talented managers who get international assignments.

Pixel and Edge Based Lluminant Color Estimation

Pixel and Edge Based Lluminant Color Estimation Pixel and Edge Based Lluminant Color Estimation for Image Forgery Detection Shahana N youseph  and Dr.Rajesh Cherian Roy ABSTRACT Digital images are one of the powerful tools for communication. So Image security is a key issue when use digital images. With the development of powerful photo-editing software, such as Adobe Photoshop Light room 4, Apple Aperture 3, Corel PaintShop Pro X5, GIMP 2.8, photo manipulation is becoming more common. In this paper mainly detecting forged peoples in images. The main idea for the detection is, different images are captured under different illuminant condition, when combining these image fragments from different images, it is difficult to match the illumination conditions. This inconsistency of illumination leads to forgery detection. The main contribution of this method of forgery detection is how illuminant color can be used as a clue for forgery detection. The proposed method will be able to detect forgery using Linear SVM classification, with 70%-75% of accuracy. Keywords Pixel based illuminant color estimation; Edge based illuminant color estimation, I. INTRODUCTION Every day, millions of digital documents are produced by a variety of devices. They are distributed by newspapers, magazines, websites and television etc. In all these information channels, images are a powerful way for communication. It is not difficult to use computer graphics and image processing techniques to manipulate or to forge images. Video footage, scanned images, as well as digital and analogue images can be the target for manipulations. From a forensics perspective, several changes in a photograph are widely acceptable for improve the quality of images, e. g. to enhance the contrast, denoise an image, or highlight important regions etc.Forensics Science is a department for criminal investigation in distinct areas such as digital forensics, analogue forensics, multimedia forensics, network forensics etc.Image Forgery is the process of creating doctored/fake images, with the development of advanced image processing software’s such as Adobe Photoshop Light room 4, App le Aperture 3, Corel PaintShop Pro X5, GIMP 2.8 etc forgeries in images is easy process. Image Forgery detection is Active and Passive. Digital watermarking is an example of active. The passive image forgery detection is a blind approach, which means it does not have any prior knowledge of input image. There are various methods used for the checking of authenticity of images. In this paper the method used is based on illumination. When light fall on an object color of the object is reflected, depends on illuminant color/light color. Objects having different color in different illumination condition. So when we forge an image or making composite of various images it is very difficult to maintain the consistency of illumination. Illumination is one of the criteria for forgery detection. Some other criteria’s are used for passive image forgery detection such as, JPEG compression properties, Projective geometry, Chromatic aberration, Color filter array (CFA) and inter pixel corre lation etc. Literature Survey Table1. Illuminant Color Based methods Proposed Method First step is cropping face of the input image. This proposed method is mainly detecting forged peoples in an image. The estimation of the illuminant color is error-prone and it is affected by the materials in the scene, the illuminant color estimates on objects of similar material exhibit a lower relative error.Thus,the illuminant color detection to skin, mainly to faces. Pigmentation is the most obvious difference in skin characteristics. Second step is illuminant colour estimation, explained in next section. Fourth step is generation of illuminant map. Image is segmented with graph cut segmentation. Illuminant color is estimated using static methods on each segmented output with same index number. Based on the estimated illuminant color, apply it for the segments with same index number. The resulting output will be RGB components. This coloured representation of image with R G B components is termed as Illuminant Map. Fifth step is shape and colour feature extraction. For shape fe ature HOG Edge feature is used. An edge of illuminant map is extracted using various edge detection methods. Histogram of Oriented Gradients of edge points. For colour feature extraction. Colour Moments feature is used. Moments with first and second moments are extracted. Last step is SVM classification. Classify the illumination for each pair of faces in an image as either consistent or inconsistent. Assuming all selected faces are illuminated by the same light source, Train the SVM with two class with one class is for forged image and other for original image.When testing operation performed based on the test feature value image is classify either forged or original. ILLUMINANT COLOR ESTIMATION Pixel Based Illuminant Color Estimation Pixel values of the entire are taken for illuminant color estimation. In this methods focussed on low level features. Such as Grey World, Max-RGB, Shades of grey. Simple and less complex calculation is used for the estimation, with the help of some static variables. So it is also known as static illuminant color estimation. Grey World Hypothesis: In Grey World, Illuminant color is estimated from Average Pixel values of images. Under a neutral light source or white light source, Average reflectance of the entire image is achromatic (Having no colors), if any deviation from this condition is due to color of illumination. This average reflected color will be the color of the light source. Max-RGB Hypothesis: In Max-RGB, illuminant color estimated from maximum response of Red Green Blue (RGB) channel. Maximum response is obtained from perfect reflectance. A surface having perfect reflectance property will respond (reflect) for the full range of light colors it captures, when light incident on it. Then this reflected color is actually the color of light source. Shades of Grey: Grey world and the max-RGB illuminant color estimation in terms of Minkowski norm, is called shades of gray. , If p=1 Grey World Estimation If p=∞ Max-RGB Estimation If p=6 Shades of Grey Estimation Edge Based Illuminant Color Estimation Edge based illuminant color estimation is use low or higher order derivatives. In this methods edges and colors towards illuminant direction. In order to accurately estimate color of light source is use the pixel and edge points that coincide the illuminant direction. Highlights produce such types of points. In edge based estimation contains Grey edge and Weighted Grey edge estimation are used. In Weighted grey edge methods, using some weighting fuction to the edges. For that classifying the edges based on the photometric properties, material edges (e.g. edges between objects and object-background edges), shadow/shading edges (e.g. edges caused by the shape or position of an object with respect to the light source) and specular edges (i.e. highlights).These edges perform better influence on illuminant estimation. In Weighted Grey edge methods computing weighted average of edge points. The iterative weighting scheme is proposed, and by assigning this weighting scheme in to the grey ed ge method, the color of the light source is estimated. Edge based illuminant color estimation mainly contain, †¢ First Order Grey Edge †¢ Second Order Grey Edge †¢ Weighted Grey Edge First Order Grey Edge: The pth Minkowski norm of the first derivative of the reflectance in a scene is estimated. Computed by, Second Order Grey Edge: The pth Minkowski norm of the second derivative of the reflectance in a scene is estimated. Weighted Grey-Edge: Weighted Grey-Edge algorithm is computed by assigning a weighting function to the illuminant estimate. This weighting function is estimated by classifying edges based on the photometric properties and an iterative edge weighting scheme is generated. †¢ Derivative order x: the assumption that the average of the illuminants is achromatic can be extended to the absolute value of the sum of the derivatives of the image. †¢ Minkowski norm p: instead of simply adding intensities or derivatives, respectively, greater robustness can be achieved by computing the p-th Minkowski norm of these values. †¢ Gaussian smoothing ÏÆ': to reduce image noise, one can smooth the image prior to processing with a Gaussian kernel of standard deviation. Specular Edge Weighting scheme: Specular weighting scheme is the ratio of the energy in the specular variant versus the total amount of derivative energy. This ratio translates to the specular edge weighting scheme given by: , where , Results To check the accuracy of forgery detection using SVM classifier with SVM is trained with 50 forged and 50 original images and SVM is tested using total of 50 images where 25 are original and 25 are composite images downloaded from different websites in the Internet.SVM is trained several times for several testing process. First set of forgery detection testing is done with various illuminant estimation methods such as Grey World, MAX-RGB, Shades Of Grey and Grey Edge First and Second Order and weighted grey edge with shape feature and color feature extraction separately. In shape feature called HOG Edge use various edge detection methods such as Canny, Roberts, Prewitt, and Sobel for the comparative study. And finally the combination of color moment and HOG Edge is tested for forgery detection. Confusion matrix is generated accuracy is calculated. Accuracy=TP+TN/(TP+TN+FP+FN) Where, True Positive (TP) input-Forged, Output-Forged True Negative (TN)- input-not forged ,output-not forged False Positive (FP) -input-forged, output-not forged False Negative (FN)-input-not forged, output-forged . Table 2. Estimated Accuracy Of fogery detection with Various Illuminant Color Estimation Methods From the above result, when using all static illuminant color estimation method for forgery detection Weighted grey edge peform well when compare with other methods. Feature extraction used is HOG Edge and Color moments features for shape and color feature extraction. If use one feature extraction method only get 50%-64% of accuracy. If use combined HOG Edge and Color Moments features accuracy is improved to 66%-74%. Conclusions Presented a new method for detecting forged images of people using the illuminant color Estimation. Estimate the illuminant color using Pixel and Edge based Illuminant estimation method, and generation of illuminant map. Canny edge detector are used to obtain edges of illuminant map for the extraction of shape features using HOG Edge descriptor, which is used to get Histogram of oriented Gradients of edge points. For color feature extraction use color moments features. These two features are tested separately with different illuminant estimation method for the comparative study. Combination of these two features is also used for forgery detection for the comparative study.From the result it is clear that combined HOG Edge and color features get more accuracy than method used shape and color features separately.Accuracy is Estimated using SVM Classifier.The Combined feature extraction with Weighted grey edge testing process get 74% of accuracy. The proposed method requires only a mini mum amount of human interaction and provides a crisp statement on the authenticity of the image. Additionally, it is a significant advancement in the exploitation of illuminant color as a forensic cue. Prior color-based work either assumes complex user interaction or imposes very limiting assumptions. FUTURE WORK The accuracy of the classification can be improved by using adding more content based features. Use of training based illuminant color estimation also improves accuracy. References [1] Hany Farid ,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬-Image Forgery Detection [A survey]à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬-, IEEE signal processing magazine March- 2009 [2] C. Riess and E. Angelopoulou, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Scene illumination as an indicator of image manipulation,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬- Inf. Hiding, vol. 6387, pp. 66–80, 2010. [3] Gajanan K. Birajdar ,Vijay H. Mankar ,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬-Digital image forgery detection using passiv techniques: A surveyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬-Elsevier 2013 . [4] J. van de Weijer, T. Gevers, and A. Gijsenij, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Edge-based color constancy,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬- IEEE Trans. Image Process., vol. 16, no. 9, pp. 2207–2214, Sep. 2007. [5] M. Johnson and H. Farid, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Exposing digital forgeries by detecting inconsistencies in lighting,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬- in Proc. ACM Workshop on Multimedia and Security, New York, NY, USA, 2005, pp. 1–10. [6] Yingda Lv Xuanjing Shen Haipeng Chen, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢An improved image blind identification based on inconsistency in light source directionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬- in Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010 [7] M. Johnson and H. Farid, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Exposing digital forgeries in complex lighting environments,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬- IEEE Trans. Inf. Forensics Security, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 450–461, Jun. 2007 [8] M. Johnson and H. Farid, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Exposing digital forgeries through specular highlights on the eye,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬- in Proc. Int. Workshop on Inform. Hiding, 2007, pp. 311–325. [9] E. Kee and H. Farid, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Exposing digital forgeries from 3-D lighting environments,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬- in Proc. IEEE Int. Workshop on Inform. Forensics and Security (WIFS), Dec. 2010, pp. 1–6. [10] W. Fan, K. Wang, F. Cayre, and Z. Xiong, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢3D lighting-based image forgery detection using shape-from-shading,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬- in Proc. Eur. Signal Processing Conf. (EUSIPCO), Aug. 2012, pp. 1777– 1781. [11] E. Kee and H. Farid, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Exposing digital forgeries from 3-D lighting environments,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬- in Proc. IEEE Int. Workshop on Inform. Forensics and Security (WIFS), Dec. 2010, pp. 1–6. [12] S. Gholap and P. K. Bora, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Illuminant colour based image forensics,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬- in Proc. IEEE Region 10 Conf., 2008, pp. 1–5. [13] X.Wu and Z. Fang, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Image splicing detection using illuminant color inconsistency,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬- in Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Multimedia Inform. Networking and Security, Nov. 2011, pp. 600– [14] P. Saboia, T. Carvalho, and A. Rocha, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Eye specular highlights telltales for digital forensics: A machine learning approach,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬- in Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Image Processing (ICIP), 2011, pp. 1937– 1940. [15] C. Riess and E. Angelopoulou, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Physics-based illuminant color estimation as an image semantics clue,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬- in Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Image Processing, Nov. 2009, pp. 689–692. [12] S. Gholap and P. K. Bora, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Illuminant colour based image forensics,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬- in Proc. IEEE Region 10 Conf., 2008, pp. 1–5. [16] K. Barnard, V. Cardei, and B. Funt, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢A comparison of computational color constancy algorithms–Part I: Methodology and Experiments With Synthesized Data,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬- IEEE Trans. Image Process., vol. 11, no. 9, pp. 972–983, Sep. 2002. [17] K. Barnard, L. Martin, A. Coath, and B. Funt, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢A comparison of computational color constancy algorithms – Part II: Experiments With Image Data,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬- IEEE Trans. Image Process., vol. 11, no. 9, pp. 985–996, Sep. 2002. [18] A. Gijsenij, T. Gevers, and J. van deWeijer, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Computational color constancy: Survey and experiments,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬- IEEE Trans. Image Process., vol. 20, no. 9, pp. 2475–2489, Sep [19] P. F. Felzenszwalb and D. P. Huttenlocher, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Efficient graph-based image segmentation,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬- Int. J. Comput. Vis., vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 167–181, 2004

Language transfer

Language transfer Introduction The title of this research article has caught my attention because it talks about language transfer which is an area I am always interested in knowing more about it. Also, being an ESL teacher, it is definitely beneficial for me to study this article as it specifically investigates the cross-language and writing system transfer between Chinese and English. This paper consists of two main parts. Part one is a description of the article itself. The background and details of the research will be summarized and presented here. Part two is a critique of the article. Various parts of the research will be analyzed and, hopefully, modifications and suggestions can be made to better the research design and generate ideas for further investigation into this topic. Part One: The article itself Contextualization According to the introduction made by Wang, Perfetti, Liu (2005), various studies conducted in the 1990s have tried to investigate whether there is a relationship between learning to read and the orthography and phonology of a language. As cited in Wang et al. (2005), certain studies (Adams, 1990; Perfetti, 1992; Treiman, 1993) have said that learning to read is actually learning to match the phonological form with the orthographic form of the language. This has also been claimed as language-specific, i.e. subject to the nature and writing system of the language (Chen Tzeng, 1992; Feldman, 1987; Frith, Wimmer, Landerl, 1998; Goswami, Gombert, Barrera, 1998; Leong Tamaoka, 1998; Perfetti, 1999; as cited in Wang et al., 2005). However, recent studies (Cisero Royer, 1995; Durgunoglu, Nagy, Hancin-Bhatt, 1993; Durgunoglu, 2002; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) have found that cross-language transfer of phonological skills does take place when one is learning to read two alphabetic languages, like Spanish and English. These findings have aroused the researchers (Wang et al., 2005) interest in investigating whether there is cross-language and writing system transfer when one is learning to read Chinese and English, i.e. acquiring biliteracy. Background in the Literature To prepare for their in-depth research on the topic, Wang et al. (2005) have conducted a literature review focusing on the following three aspects: (i)The orthography and phonology of Chinese A number of studies (Perfetti, 1999; Perfetti, Zhang, Berent, 1992; Defrancis, 1989; Mattingly, 1992; Perfetti, Liu, Tan, 2005; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) have been reviewed by Wang et al. (2005) in order to produce the following general overview of the Chinese orthography. It has been found that Chinese is a nonalphabetic writing system, in which the basic unit is the character. Each character consists of basic strokes, which can be combined to form one or more component radicals. A character which is composed of two or more component radicals is called a compound character. The structure of the component radicals in these compound characters are usually left-right or top-bottom. Wang et al. (2005) have also reviewed certain studies (Hanely, Tzeng, Huang, 1999; Taylor Taylor, 1995; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) so as to offer a clear introduction of the Chinese phonology. It is now being summarized below. The basic speech unit of Mandarin Chinese is the syllable which is made up of the onset and the rime. Very often, the onset is a single consonant while the rime is composed of vowels. As a result, the number of syllables in Mandarin Chinese is pretty small (i.e. around 400) whereas the number of homophones is quite large. Fortunately, the use of the four tones in Mandarin Chinese (i.e. 1. high level; 2. high-rising; 3. falling-rising; 4. high-falling) have successfully reduced the large number of homophones. Yet, one should note that the tones are not shown in written Chinese, i.e. they are not part of the written characters. Thus, they will not help learners distinguish the characters. (ii)Different cognitive demands involved in learning to read the Chinese and English writing systems According to Wang et al. (2005), there are three main contrasts between the two target language and writing systems. Contrasts Chinese English Grapheme mapping principle syllabic morphemes phonemes Graphic form and special layout nonlinear linear Tonal feature tonal nontonal **This table is a simplified version of Table 1 (Wang et al., 2005, p. 69) As suggested by Wang et al. (2005), these contrastive differences are bound to cause differences in learning to read these two languages. First, studies (Byrne Fielding-Barnsley, 1995; Hulme et al., 2002; Lundburg, Frost, Peterson, 1988; Muter, Hulme, Snowling, Taylor, 1998; Huang Hanley, 1994; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) have discovered that childrens ability to read English can be predicted by their skills in processing the phonemes (i.e. the small phonological units) and phonological awareness. On the contrary, studies about Chinese reading (Perfetti et al., 2005; Taft, Zhu, Peng, 1999; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) have found that the phonological and meaning information can only be activated after the orthographic representation has been recognized. Then, Wang et al. (2005) have concluded that graphemic information and visual skills are essential for learning how to read Chinese. Despite these previous studies, Wang et al. (2005) have mentioned that recent studies (Ho Bryant, 1997; Hu Catts, 1998; McBride-Chang Ho, 2000; Shu, Anderson, Wu, 2000; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) have indicated that phonological information and early phonological skills such as rhyme processing do play a part in Chinese reading acquisition. (iii)Cross-language transfer in bilingual and biliteracy acquisition Wang et al. (2005) have obtained two key findings about cross-language transfer through reviewing numerous studies (Durgunoglu et al., 1993; Cisero Royer, 1995; Ganschow Sparks, 1995; Comeau, Cormier, Grandmaison, Lacroix, 1999; DAngiulli, Siegel, Serra, 2001; Geva Siegel, 2000; as cited in Wang et al., 2005). First, Wang et al. (2005) have found that a clear phonological relationship exists between two alphabetic languages such as Spanish-English, French-English, English-French, English-Italian, etc. This means the phonological skills of one language are highly related to those of the other language. Second, Wang et al. (2005) have discovered that phonological skills of one language can help with the word reading skills of the other language. Yet, Wang et al. (2005) have failed to figure out whether there is such cross-language transfer existing in Chinese and English as there is little research done in this area and the two language systems are contrastive in nature. Besides that, certain studies (Wydell Butterworth, 1999; Liow Poon, 1998; Liow, 1999; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) have tried to argue that there is dissociation or even a negative transfer from the nonalphabetic first language (L1, Chinese) to the alphabetic second language (L2, English). Nevertheless, Wang et al. (2005) have finally justified their research topic by saying that these previous studies have failed to test the cross-language and writing system transfer as they did not investigate the phonological and orthographic processing skills of the learners L1 and L2. Research Hypotheses Wang et al. (2005) have hypothesized that ‘bilingual reading acquisition is a joint function of shared phonological skills and writing system specific skills (p. 72). They have particularly predicted that ‘sensitivity in English and in Chinese to onset and rime, common linguistic units in both languages, will be correlated and ‘Pinyin reading skills will correlate with English word reading, since the two systems share the alphabetic principle (p. 72). However, Wang et al. (2005) have estimated that orthographic skills ‘are writing system and script specific skills (p. 72). Details of the Research (i)Research design The design of this research is mainly quantitative in nature. A number of experimental tasks were completed by the participants in order to obtain data in objective ways. (ii)Setting Participants As reported by Wang et al. (2005), the forty-six participants came from the Washington, DC area and they were Chinese immigrant children consisting of 24 boys and 22 girls with the mean age of 8 years and 2 months (SD = 9.1 months). All of them learned Chinese as their first language and had developed normal English proficiency. They attended English classes in public schools and weekend Chinese schools in which the Pinyin systems and a simplified version of Chinese characters were taught and used. It should be noted that forty-two of them spoke both Mandarin Chinese and English at home while the other four only spoke Mandarin Chinese at home. (iii)Methodology Referring to the description given by Wang et al. (2005), the participants were tested in two 30-minute sessions in which they had to complete a set of Chinese or English experimental tasks in each session in a language laboratory. The list below has summarized the various experimental tasks adopted by Wang et al. (2005). Chinese experimental tasks Focus Reference Phonological tasks onset, rime, and tone matching Participants ability to manipulate and distinguish between the phonological units in spoken Chinese characters. Wang et al., 2005, p. 72-74 Orthographic choice task Participants sensitivity to the legality of the radical position and form. Character naming Participants familiarity with the characters. Pinyin naming Participants ability to match letters with sounds in Pinyin. English experimental tasks Focus Reference Phonological tasks onset and rime matching Participants ability to manipulate and distinguish between the phonological units in spoken English words. Wang et al., 2005, p. 74-76 Phonological task -phoneme deletion Not given Orthographic choice task Participants sensitivity to various orthographic patterns in English. Real word naming Not given Pseudoword naming Not given According to Wang et al. (2005), there was also a nonverbal skill test which was used to test the participants nonverbal ability. (iv)Analytic procedures As mentioned by Wang et al. (2005) in the presentation of the research results, several measures were adopted to analyze the quantitative data collected from those experimental tasks. First, means and standard deviations were used to show the participants performance in the Chinese and English language and reading tasks. Second, the bivariate Pearson correlations were used to measure the correlations Chinese and English tasks. Third, the stepwise regression analyses were adopted to find out the best predictors for Chinese and English reading. Finally, the hierarchical regression analyses were used to explore (a) whether Chinese phonological and orthographic processing would affect English word reading; and (b) whether English phonological and orthographic processing would affect Chinese character reading. (v)Results With the help of the bivariate Pearson correlations, Wang et al. (2005) found that there was a significant correlation between the Chinese onset matching skill and English onset and rime matching skill. Moreover, another significant correlation was found between Chinese orthographic choice and Chinese character naming. Furthermore, Pinyin was found highly correlated with the pseudoword reading in English whereas the English phoneme deletion task was also found highly correlated with English real word and pseudoword naming. Last but not least, Chinese tone was found correlated with character reading as well. Through the stepwise regression analyses, Wang et al. (2005) found Chinese orthographic processing to be the best predictor for Chinese character reading while the phoneme deletion skill was the best predictor for English real word and pseudoword reading. Consequently, by using the hierarchical regression analyses, Wang et al. (2005) found that only Chinese tone processing skill, but not orthographic skill, could affect English pseudoword reading. They could not find any cross-language influence of the English tasks on Chinese character reading. (vi)Discussion Wang et al. (2005) have concluded that the findings of this research do support their hypothesis. Specifically, Wang et al. (2005) have discussed the three significant findings (i.e. the significant correlations between Chinese onset, English onset, and rime matching skills; the significant influence of Chinese tone processing skill on English pseudoword reading; and the significant correlation between Pinyin and English pseudoword reading) and derived the implication that phonological awareness and skills are not language-specific but shared between Chinese and English reading when bilingual reading acquisition is taking place. Besides that, based on Wang et al. (2005), the finding of orthographic skills being unable to affect English reading skills has also supported the hypothesis proposed by Wang et al. (2005). This has been explained by Wang et al. (2005) who has cited a study (Liu Perfetti, 2003; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) to show that the orthographic skills of Chinese and English are language-specific as Chinese reading requires the use of both the left and right occipital brain areas while English reading mainly involves the use of the left occipital brain area. Part Two: The Critique Assessment of the Researchs Internal Validity Based on my analysis, this research done by Wang et al. (2005) is considered to be a good research which has demonstrated a high level of internal validity. The following is a detailed critique of the various parts of the research. (i)High correspondence between the research hypotheses and the findings As reflected from the previous session, the findings generated from this research are highly related to the research hypotheses established beforehand. Actually, they have successfully confirmed the hypotheses, proving that there is a certain degree of cross-language transfer in Chinese-English biliteracy acquisition. (ii)In-depth literature review Wang et al. (2005) have done a detailed and in-depth literature review on Chinese phonology and orthography, and previous studies related to the cross-language transfer in bilingual and biliteracy acquisition. This certainly helps lay down a good foundation for the later data analysis and discussion. However, it may be better if Wang et al. (2005) can provide the audience with a more comprehensive literature review by describing the English phonology and orthography in greater detail. In this way, the audience can have a clearer picture of the phonology and orthography of these two language systems. This can then enhance the audiences understanding of the research findings. (iii)Well-constructed and clear research hypotheses The research hypotheses of this study are well-constructed with clear predictions made about the relationship among the variables mentioned. This can certainly help increase the internal validity as this has given clear directions for the development of research design, measurement tools and analytic procedures. (iv)A well-selected group of participants The participants are well-selected with little variation in their background and learning profile. It is very wise for Wang et al. (2005) to study bilingual children as this can minimize the dominance of L1 over L2, which might affect the findings of the research. Moreover, the sample size is big enough for making generalizations. And, the number of male participants is similar to that of the female participants. This can help reduce the gender influence on the findings. (v)Carefully-designed measurement tools Obviously, the large number of Chinese and English experimental tasks and methods for data analysis are carefully designed and chosen. As shown from the results, the Chinese and English tasks are highly correlated, indicating a high level of internal validity. Nevertheless, it is thought that the tasks are cognitively or mentally too demanding for the young participants. This is because they are required to process a number of tasks and a large amount of information and instructions within a short period of time. (vi)Variable overlooked gender difference According to Skaalvik Rankin (1994), girls have been found to be more motivated to study language than boys. One may then wonder if this gender difference would affect the level of cross-language transfer in bilingual reading acquisition. Since Wang et al. (2005) have recruited a similar amount of boys and girls as participants, they may also take a look at the influence of this variable. Assessment of the Researchs External Validity Although this research enjoys a high level of internal validity, its external validity is relatively low and limited. The reasons are as follows: (i)Findings are limited to learners with a similar background or learning profile As mentioned in the above, the background (e.g. age and family background) and learning profile of the selected participants are more or less the same due to the careful selection done by Wang et al. (2005) to avoid the research findings being affected by the individual differences among the participants. As a consequence, the research findings derived from this specific group of participants can only be applied to learners with a similar background and learning profile. (ii)Findings may not be able to make generalizations in the actual learning context In this research, Wang et al. (2005) have conducted all the Chinese and English experimental tasks in a language laboratory in a bid to minimize the influence of the numerous factors which may affect the participants cross-language transfer in the actual learning context. For instance, in the real learning context, learners cross-language transfer in the process of language acquisition can be affected by their learning environment, teachers teaching methodologies, peer influence, learning materials, etc. Hence, the research findings derived from tasks conducted in the language laboratory which keeps the other factors constant may not be able to contribute to making generalizations in the actual learning context. (iii)Few implications can be derived for language learning and teaching Few implications can be generated from this research for language learning and teaching as the findings can only be applied to a specific type of learners (i.e. bilingual Chinese-English learners with a particular background and learning profile). Besides that, the experimental tasks conducted are all at word level and this definitely does not resemble the actual reading acquisition in language learning, which is usually at sentence level or discourse level. Suggested Modifications for the Research With reference to my analysis shown in the above, certain modifications can be made in the different parts of the research mentioned below. (i)Literature Review It is suggested that Wang et al. (2005) may also give the audience an introduction on the English phonology and orthography instead of simply describing English as an alphabetic, nontonal language with phonemes as the smallest basic speech units in the language. This is because this introduction can help to make this research more complete as the audience are then allowed to make a clearer comparison between the two target language systems and better understand the findings obtained from this research. (ii)Measurement tools As mentioned previously, the Chinese and English experimental tasks can be cognitively or mentally too demanding for the young participants as they need to process a lot of information and instructions within a short time. Therefore, it is suggested that Wang et al. (2005) may either simplify the content and instructions of the tasks or lengthen the period of time given to participants for completing the tasks. In this way, the influence of frustration and fatigue on participants performance in the tasks can be avoided. (iii)Discussion For the discussion part, it is recommended that Wang et al. (2005) can also analyze the data collected and see if there is any influence of gender difference on the cross-language transfer between Chinese and English reading acquisition. By doing so, significant implications may be derived and this will in turn provide useful implications for language learning and teaching in the real learning context. Suggestions for an Extension Study After having studied this research and its findings, it is believed that further research can be done in the following areas in order to derive more implications for language learning. (i)Chinese and English reading at sentence level or discourse level Referring to what mentioned beforehand, this research done by Wang et al. (2005) focuses on Chinese and English reading acquisition at word level only as all the experimental tasks are designed at word level. However, it is a well-known fact that learning to read may proceed to sentence level or discourse level. Thus, it is definitely worth investigating whether cross-language transfer still occurs when Chinese and English reading acquisition is done at sentence level or discourse level. (ii)Bilingual children whose first language is English Since bilingual reading acquisition is the main focus of this research, it is believed that similar research can also be done to study bilingual Chinese-English children whose first language is English and see if similar findings about the cross-language transfer can be generated. In this way, the findings generated may help confirm the findings produced by Wang et al. (2005) and enhance the external validity of the study done by Wang et al. (2005). (iii)Children with dyslexia or other language learning problems Likewise, will there be any changes to the present findings of the research conducted by Wang et al. (2005) if the bilingual participants suffer from dyslexia or other language learning problems? It is thought to be a good idea to further research on this group of participants. Hopefully, useful implications can be derived to help enhance the learning effectiveness for this group of learners. (iv)Reading fluency and comprehension As mentioned in the above, research on bilingual reading acquisition should not be limited to word-level as reading occurs more often at sentence level or discourse level. In addition, reading acquisition should not be limited to phonological and orthographic skills of individual words only. Actually, reading fluency and comprehension are two important aspects in reading acquisition. So, it is worth researching on these two aspects and figure out if there is any cross-language transfer in these areas of Chinese and English language learning. Conclusion Critiquing a research article is indeed a challenging but thought-provoking task to me. Through working on this assignment, I have learned about how a quantitative research can be conducted in the area of language acquisition, and gradually developed a better set of critical analysis skills when writing the critique. I would surely bear in mind the research and analytical skills that I have learned from the study of Wang et al. (2005) and put them into use when I am given a chance to conduct a research on my own.

A Feminist Perspective of John Updikes A&P :: A&P Essays

A Feminist Perspective of Updike’s A&P Two Works Cited John Updike’s story, "A&P," starts off: "In walks three girls in nothing but bathing suits," and that pretty much sums it all up (Updike 1026). In the story, not only are the girls in bathing suits looked upon as sex objects, but other women are negatively viewed as witches, farm animals, or slaves. This story is about how a young man in the early 1960’s viewed women as a whole, including his own mother. At the beginning of the story Sammy complains about an older woman, a fifty-year-old "witch" with rouge on her cheekbones and no eyebrows, who is waiting to check out her groceries. She gets annoyed with Sammy because he is too busy drooling over the young flesh which has just walked in the door (Updike 1026). The first half-naked girl who walks into the A&P and catches Sammy’s eye is a chunky girl with a two-piece plaid bathing suit on that showed off her "sweet broad soft-looking can" (Updike l026). As if staring at this girl’s backside wasn’t enough, Sammy also noticed "those two crescents of white just under it, where the sun never seems to hit" (Updike 1026). How would this girl feel if she knew just how intensely this guy was scoping her out? Or better yet, how would you feel if someone’s eyes were glued to your backside when you were grocery shopping? That behavior, no matter what she was wearing, is totally unacceptable especially in a grocery store. Is Sammy at fault for not having any self control? It might be acceptable for this nineteen-year-old guy to check out a girl in her bathing suit; however, that would not have excused old McMahon, the deli guy, who patted his mouth and "sized up their joints" as the girls walked away from the counter (Updike 1027). "Goony-Goony," the next victim of Sammy’s intentional harassment, was presented in the story as a rather tall girl with "black hair that hadn’t quite frizzed right" for Sammy’s taste (Updike 1026). He found some reason not to be interested in this girl, probably because he was intimidated by her height. Obviously, perfection was not something he saw in anyone, except maybe the girl he referred to as "Queenie," who Sammy says, "has the nicest two scoops of vanilla breasts" he has ever seen (Updike 1028).

Homeless Children Essay -- Child Homelessness, 2014

Introduction In the United States, 1.5 million children are homeless. 1.5 million children are without adequate shelter, nourishment, healthcare, or education. When a child is homeless, it is not just a house that they are without. They are more likely than other children to experience hunger, constant illness, mental disorders, and developmental delays.1 Being homeless negatively affects a child’s overall welfare and ability to thrive within their community throughout their childhood and into their adulthood. It impedes their ability to live a healthy life and gain an adequate education, as children who are homeless face far more obstacles, such as increased health risks and lack of educational opportunities, than children who aren’t homeless. They are less likely to be able to contribute to society, as less than a quarter of homeless children graduate or receive well-paying jobs, making them trapped in a life of poverty. Child homelessness is the perfect portrait of poverty. Chil dren are deprived of their basic needs – shelter, food, safety, and other resources – which are required for any individual to rise out a lifetime of poverty. In the United States, it is every individual’s human right to have their basic needs fulfilled; the government and the U.S. community need to ensure that those rights are being applied to all people in order to create a more flourishing and prosperous society. In an effort to solve the problem of child homelessness, the U.S. government has implemented legislature to provide funding and support for services to the homeless, including provisions under the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001. However, it is not enough. To help homeless children overcome the obstacles of homelessness, such as poor healthcare and education, and put an end to child homelessness the United States government must actively ensure that the problem of child homelessness is being answered. By implementing and following through with the provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which increase the services and funding as included in the McKinney-Vento Act, the U.S. will be making greater strides towards ending homelessness all together. The legislature must also pass the HEARTH Act of 2009 as the reauthorization of the amendment of the McKinney-Vento Act and consider the Homeless Children and Youth Act of 2009 and other legislation... ...ition for the Homeless. June 2008. 5 Apr. 2009 . "Education Pays..." Bureau of Labor Statistics. 6 Mar. 2009. United States Department of Labor. 29 Apr. 2009 . Hart-Shegos, Ellen. Homelessness and its Effect on Children. Ed. Anne Ray. Dec. 1999. Family Housing Fund. 5 Apr. 2009 . p. 4. Homeless Youth. June 2008. National Coalition for the Homeless. 29 Apr. 2009.   . McKinney-Vento Act. National Coalition for the Homeless. June 2008. 6 Apr. 2009.   . McKinney-Vento Reauthorization. Apr. 2009. National Alliance to End  Homelessness. 29 Apr. 2009 http://www.endhomelessness.org/section/policy/legislature/mckinney_vento>. "Summary of the HEARTH Act, as Passed." Homeless Assistance Reauthorization: National Policy Update September 2008. 21 Oct. 2008. National Alliance to  End Homelessness. 23 Feb. 2009 . Path: PDF File. Homeless Children Essay -- Child Homelessness, 2014 Introduction In the United States, 1.5 million children are homeless. 1.5 million children are without adequate shelter, nourishment, healthcare, or education. When a child is homeless, it is not just a house that they are without. They are more likely than other children to experience hunger, constant illness, mental disorders, and developmental delays.1 Being homeless negatively affects a child’s overall welfare and ability to thrive within their community throughout their childhood and into their adulthood. It impedes their ability to live a healthy life and gain an adequate education, as children who are homeless face far more obstacles, such as increased health risks and lack of educational opportunities, than children who aren’t homeless. They are less likely to be able to contribute to society, as less than a quarter of homeless children graduate or receive well-paying jobs, making them trapped in a life of poverty. Child homelessness is the perfect portrait of poverty. Chil dren are deprived of their basic needs – shelter, food, safety, and other resources – which are required for any individual to rise out a lifetime of poverty. In the United States, it is every individual’s human right to have their basic needs fulfilled; the government and the U.S. community need to ensure that those rights are being applied to all people in order to create a more flourishing and prosperous society. In an effort to solve the problem of child homelessness, the U.S. government has implemented legislature to provide funding and support for services to the homeless, including provisions under the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001. However, it is not enough. To help homeless children overcome the obstacles of homelessness, such as poor healthcare and education, and put an end to child homelessness the United States government must actively ensure that the problem of child homelessness is being answered. By implementing and following through with the provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which increase the services and funding as included in the McKinney-Vento Act, the U.S. will be making greater strides towards ending homelessness all together. The legislature must also pass the HEARTH Act of 2009 as the reauthorization of the amendment of the McKinney-Vento Act and consider the Homeless Children and Youth Act of 2009 and other legislation... ...ition for the Homeless. June 2008. 5 Apr. 2009 . "Education Pays..." Bureau of Labor Statistics. 6 Mar. 2009. United States Department of Labor. 29 Apr. 2009 . Hart-Shegos, Ellen. Homelessness and its Effect on Children. Ed. Anne Ray. Dec. 1999. Family Housing Fund. 5 Apr. 2009 . p. 4. Homeless Youth. June 2008. National Coalition for the Homeless. 29 Apr. 2009.   . McKinney-Vento Act. National Coalition for the Homeless. June 2008. 6 Apr. 2009.   . McKinney-Vento Reauthorization. Apr. 2009. National Alliance to End  Homelessness. 29 Apr. 2009 http://www.endhomelessness.org/section/policy/legislature/mckinney_vento>. "Summary of the HEARTH Act, as Passed." Homeless Assistance Reauthorization: National Policy Update September 2008. 21 Oct. 2008. National Alliance to  End Homelessness. 23 Feb. 2009 . Path: PDF File.

The Therapeutic Theater :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Ways of Knowing, Modes of Acting": The Therapeutic Theater world ratLife, as it is represented through various media, has a brainwashing effect on the spectator: he consumes a fabricated her than producing one of his own. The unconscious is constantly repressed, while the conscious is force fed images which basely appeal to the controlled linear processes of the brain. Psychiatrist C.G. Jung writes: "The source of numerous psychic disturbances and difficulties occasioned by man's progressive alienation from his instinctual foundation, i.e., by his uprootedness and identification with his conscious knowledge of himself, by his concern with consciousness at the expense of the unconscious. The result is that modern man can know himself only in so far as he can become conscious of himself--his consciousness therefor orients itself chiefly by observing and investigating the world around him, and it is to its peculiarities that he must adapt his psychic and technical resources. This task is so exacting, and its fulfillment so advantageous, that he forgets himself in the process, losing sight of his instinctual nature and putting his own conception of himself in place of his real being. In this way he slips imperceptibly into a purely conceptual world where the products of his conscious activity progressively replace reality. Separation from his instinctual nature inevitably plunges ci vilized man into the conflict between conscious and unconscious, spirit and nature, knowledge and faith, a split that becomes pathological the moment his consciousness is no longer able to neglect or suppress his instinctual side." (1) The prozac world we inhabit is a direct result of doctors eager to "fix" or "cure" disorders through administering prescription drugs. These drugs don't cure diseases, but rather numb their symptoms; the patient acts their daily ritual of dealing with life in a zombie like trance instead of confronting the horror, terror, and chaos essential to the Nature of the world so as to better understand the self and the self's place in it. It's easier to turn off the receptors that trigger emotions, ideas, or urges we don't like facing than to explore their origin. This method of treatment is not only dangerous, but frightening, because it threatens the very existence of humanity by crippling the self's internal communication necessary to forming individual identity. This calls for a radical change in the medical health care system (2)); where responsibility is placed on doctors to approach a patient's psychosis on

A Beautiful Mind: The Case of John Nash Essay

John Nash was a Princeton University graduate student that begins to loose touch with reality. The movie begins with John’s days in college as a bright mathematical student focusing on creating a thesis. Upon this journey he is he develops schizophrenia and it begins to worsen. He is able to acquire a job at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is here where he meets his future wife Alicia. Alicia is not aware of John’s condition at the time but soon learns. John is admitted into treatment for help and is eventually released. He then continues his life, partially recovering from the disease and is honored the Nobel Memorial Prize. John Nash is a young college student in his adult years. He is in his mid to late twenties he begins to develop schizophrenia. Information about immediate was not given, though he later marries his student, a MIT graduate student, Alicia Larde and has a son. As John ages his symptoms begin to worsen. He starts off by hearing voices and then eventually progresses to hallucinations and delusions. He often created friends and event scene by actions in his head that he believed was happening. According to the DSM, Schizophrenia is a mental illness of the mind. Its sub-types include paranoid, catatonic, hebephrenic and simple. Symptoms of schizophrenia include hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech and bizarre behavior. Patients also commonly hear voices. Though the voices may vary there are many categories. They can comment on present actions and well as previous thoughts. Another feature is a â€Å"command hallucination† which can tell the patient what to do. In these scenarios the patient must obey the voice. While in college John Nash began to hear voices. He then begins creates friends of them. Those included Charles, whom he believed was his roommate and William Parcher an agent for the United States Department of Defense. Charles would be an example of a voice (or person) that comments of present actions, and Parcher is a command voice because he displays authority and directs John on what to do. While teaching at MIT, John believes he is on a mission to solve Soviet codes to assist the United States in stopping Soviet plots. While giving a lecture he believes Soviet spies captured him. He also endured in incident where he left this young son in the bathtub while running water. He claims he has a friend that was going to turn the water off. He almost drowns his son. These occurrences clearly identify John as a schizophrenic. He displays the symptoms needed to be considered a schizophrenic. There are no specific causes of schizophrenia. However schizophrenia can be affected by genetics and environmental causes. Medically a cause of schizophrenia is higher levels of dopamine receptors in the brain. There are also abnormal behaviors that occur in the frontal cortex, amygdala, and thalamus. Younger patients with this disease tend to lose me brain tissue compared to those that do not have the disease. Another factor that could potentially lead to the development of schizophrenia is the contraction of any viral infection of the mother while the fetus is still inside of her. Improper nutrition and a lack of oxygen to the brain while in the fetus state can play a part in leading to this disease. Other factors may include the birth month (winter v. summer), the birth place- rural areas compared to urban areas, maternal depression, as well as family history. Though the movie did not give information about John’s childhood nor family history, his schizophrenia could have possible developed from many of the factors previously mentioned. Schizophrenia is a disease that cannot be fully cured but can be treated. When a patient is treated for schizophrenia it is not removed from their brain but the symptoms associated with the disease are treated. For example a patient may still have schizophrenia but the common everyday signs such as hallucinations or delusions may be cured for an amount of time. In the film, John was admitted to a mental facility in which he was treated. He left on medication that treated his delusions. However once he decided to discontinue his medications the symptoms reappeared. He was then treated with insulin shock therapy. During this therapy patients are treated with insulin for about eight days to two weeks. Observations have recorded that it speeds up the reduction of the intensity of the disease. Most patients have recorded no relapses after this treatment. Other treatments are psychotherapy and regular medicine are offered. Psychotherapy is a great choice to get individuals assimilated back into â€Å"normal society†. However I would not recommend this for John because he did not isolate himself of loose social skills, he simply had to deal with the balancing of what was actually happening versus what was occurring in his mind. I also would not offer regular medicine because as seen in the movie, patients can simply stop taking it for what ever person reason they have, which defeats the purpose. As done in the movie, I would prefer the insulin treatment for John. Because he is such an intelligent man I believe it would be possible for him to almost return to a normal lifestyle if this medicine is going to decrease his symptoms. He will eventually learn to ignore and small and non-significant reoccurrences of his symptoms. Works Cited A Beautiful Mind. Dir. Ron Howard. Perf. Russel Crowe. Dreamworks , 2001. DVD. Donahue, Time. Psychological Disorders [PDF document]. Retrieved from Lecture Notes Online Web site: https://blackboard.vcu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_group=courses&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fcontent%2FcontentWrapper.jsp%3Fattachment%3Dtrue%26navItem%3Dcontent%26content_id%3D_3130818_1%26course_id%3D_88979_1%26displayName%3DDisorders%2BVCU%2BSpring%2B2011%2Bstudent%2Bcopy.pdf%26href%3D%2F%2540%2540%2FA351CAB57C41453726BD6BBA28AA5DBA%2Fcourses%2F1%2FPSYC-101-901-2011Fall%2Fcontent%2F_3130818_1%2FDisorders%252520VCU%252520Spring%2525202011%252520student%252520copy.pdf Grohol, John M., and Psy.D.. â€Å"Psych Central: Schizophrenia Treatment.† Psych Central – Trusted mental health, depression, bipolar, ADHD and psychology information .. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2011. . â€Å"Insulin shock therapy – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.† Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2011..