Cell Transport Mechanisms and Permeability: Computer Simulation

Simple Diffusion 1. The following refer to Activity 1: Simulating Dialysis (Simple Diffusion). Which solute(s) were able to pass through the 20 MWCO membrane? According to your results, which solute had the highest molecular weight? ______________________________________ Which solute displayed the highest rate of diffusion through the 200 MWCO membrane? __________________________ Using the data from Chart 1, explain the relationship between the rate of diffusion and the size of the solute. Facilitated Diffusion 2. The following refer to Activity 2: Simulating Facilitated Diffusion. Did any of the substances travel against their concentration gradient? Explain why or why not. Using your results from Chart 2, what was the fastest rate of facilitated diffusion recorded? _______________. Describe the conditions that were used to achieve this rate. ___________________________________________________________ Name two ways to increase the rate of glucose transport. _____________________________________________________ Did NaCl affect glucose transport? ____________________________________________________________ __________ Did NaCl require a transport protein for diffusion? Why or why not? ___________________________________________ Cell Transport Mechanisms and Permeability: Computer Simulation E X E R C I S E NAME ____________________________________ LAB TIME/DATE ________________________ version 8 Osmotic Pressure 3. The following refer to Activity 3: Simulating Osmotic Pressure. For NaCl, which MWCO membrane(s) provided for the net movement of water without moveme nt of NaCl? Explain how you determined this. (Hint: Correlate your results to the data in Chart 3. ) ______________________________ For glucose, which MWCO membrane(s) provided for the net movement of glucose without net ovement of water? Explain how you determined this. ____________________________________________________________ ___________ Is osmotic pressure generated if solutes diffuse freely? _______________________________________________________ Explain how the solute concentration affects osmotic pressure. ________________________________________________ Filtration 4. The following refer to Activity 4: Simulating Filtration. Using your results in Chart 4, which MWCO membrane had the greatest filtration rate? ____________________________ Explain the relationship between pore size and filtration rate. ________________________________________________ Which solute did not appear in the filtrate using any of the membranes? _________________________________________ What is your p rediction of the molecular weight of glucose compared to the other solutes in the solution? _______________ What happened when you increased the driving pressure? ____________________________________________________ Explain why fluid flows from the capillaries of the kidneys into the kidney tubules. How do you think a decrease in blood pressure would affect filtration in the kidneys? _____________________________ PEx-18 Review Sheet 5B 5. The following refer to Activity 5: Simulating Active Transport. With 1 mMATP added to the cell interior (left beaker) and the extracellular space (right beaker), was all of the Na moved into the extracellular space? Why or why not? ____________________________________________________________ _ Describe the effect of decreasing the number of sodium-potassium pumps. _______________________________________ Describe how you were able to show that the movement of sodium was due to active transport. ______________________

Aristotle Life Story Essay

Aristotle was born in Greece approximately 384 B. C. , to parents Nicomachus and Phaestis. His father Nicomachus was physician to King Amyntas of Macedon, and his mother was of a wealthy family from the island of Euboea. When he was 17 he went to study at Plato’s Academy in Athens, where he stayed for around 20 years. Aristotle did very well at the Academy, but when Plato died he was not chosen to be among the leaders. Soon after Plato’s death he left to tutor Prince Alexander, later to be known as Alexander the Great. Aristotle later returned to Athens to open his own school which is known as the Lyceum. Aristotle was more interested in science than other philosophers in his time, maybe because his father was a doctor. He’s sometimes referred to the father of science. One of Aristotle’s most important contributions was sorting and classifying the various knowledge of science into branches. He thus laid the foundation of science today. Aristotle is also thought to be the father of the scientific method. In ancient times, gods were thought to be the cause of events in nature. Early Greek philosophers questioned the roles of gods as the cause of these events. If the gods weren’t the cause of these events, who was? Philosophers advanced explanations based on philosophical principles and mathematical forms. Aristotle found that unsatisfactory. He was the first to realize the importance of empirical measurement (measurement based on observation and experience), believing that knowledge could only be gained from building on what was already known. Aristotle’s contributions were measurement and observation, which is what science, is built upon. He was the first to propose the idea of induction as a tool to gaining knowledge, and understood that theoretical thought and reasoning had to be supported by real world findings. His method is summarized as follows; Study what others have written about the subject, look for the general consensus about the subject, and perform a systematic study of everything even partially related to the topic. This is the very first sign of a scientific method. Aristotle loved categorizing and organizing things. For instance, with the soul he thought it was composed of two components: a rational and irrational part. The rational half was subdivided into â€Å"scientific† and â€Å"calculative† sections, and the irrational half was made up of a â€Å"desiderative† (desire) part and a â€Å"vegetative† part. A person operates by combining all the workings of these parts. The vegetative part may be hungry. The desiderative part may want lots of candy instead of, say, vegetables, but the scientific part knows candy will be bad for teeth and weight. The calculative part will then try to work out a compromise. Problem solved! Aristotle assumed that there must be some basic commodities that combine to make all things. These basic four groups are, earth, water, air and fire, and each of these are a combination of two of four opposites, hot and cold, and wet and dry. For example, fire is hot and dry. He claimed that all materials were made from various combinations of these elements. His love of categories also led him to divide people into three groups. The big group, who loved pleasure, a smaller group -includes politicians- that love honor, and the smallest, but most elite group, who love contemplation. The latter were the philosophers. Aristotle’s next task was to find the key reason that separated humans from animals. His answer was our ability to reason. Aristotle’s really great contribution was that of biology. Having established the division between humans and animals he set out categorizing all he could of the biological world. He grouped animals with related characteristics into genera and then divided these genera into species. This same process is used today, though subsequent research has caused some of the individuals to be moved around. He wrote in detail about five hundred different animals in his works, including a hundred and twenty kinds of fish and sixty kinds of insect. He was the first to perform dissections on living things, so he could try to make sense of how they worked. He described how a chick develops within an egg and realized that dolphins and whales were different from fish. He noted that ruminant animals, like cows, had multi-chambered stomachs, something that separated them from simple-stomached animals. Not only did he study large animals, but small ones as well, such as bees. He also made lead way in botany. He attempted to classify over 500 plants into trees, shrubs, and herbs and, while he was not entirely successful in this, he certainly understood which features of plants were necessary for making distinctions. This time he has earned the title of father over botany. Aristotle made many other contributions to science, one of which was proving the Earth was a sphere, although he wrongly thought that Earth was the center of the universe. Plato disagreed with this theory; he sided with Copernicus who rightly thought the sun was the center of the universe. Aristotle also studied physics. He did not have many tools for experimentation so he could not measure time or speed. He did not allow for invisible forces, so he did not study gravity. Things fell to Earth and the moon circled the earth because that’s what they did. In spite of his limitations, Aristotle made some remarkable contributions to physics and laid the groundwork for Galileo, Newton, and Einstein. He reasoned that infinite velocities could not exist, that time and movement are continuous and inseparable, and that time was even flowing, infinite, and the same everywhere at once. These are all true, and are part of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. That’s amazing considering the limitations he had to work with. Anti-Macedonian feeling broke out in Athens around 323 BC. The Athenians accused Aristotle of irreverence. He chose to flee, so that the Athenians might not â€Å"twice sin against philosophy† (by killing him as they had Socrates). He fled to Chalcis on the island of Euboea. Aristotle died in 322 BC. After he died a lot of his work and research was lost. It is thought that today we only have about 1/3 of what he had originally written. Aristotle was an amazing scientist, but even he was not without mistakes. For example, he wrongly assumed that force is required to keep an object moving at constant speed. This error held progress back for years. He also, as I stated before, thought the Earth was the center of the universe. But, really isn’t that what science is about? Trial and error, make mistakes then learn from them, that’s how you make real progress in science. Aristotle is proof of this. Look at all the progress we have made today, from his mistakes. Bibliography Bibliography 1. http://www. ucmp. berkeley. edu/history/aristotle. html 2. http://www. enotes. com/topics/aristotle 3. http://www. philosophypages. com/ph/aris. htm 4. http://jcmooreonline. com/2010/12/28/aristotles-enduring-contribution-to-scien ce-education-and-physics/ 5. http://www. iep. utm. edu/aristotl/ 6. http://galileo. phys. virginia. edu/classes/109N/lectures/aristot2. html 7. http://www. valpo. edu/geomet/histphil/test/aristotl. html 8. http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/aristotle-biology/#LifWor 9. http://leavis. tripod. com/science. htm 10. http://www. experiment-resources. com/history-of-the-scientific-method. html 11. http://www. sciencekids. co. nz/sciencefacts/scientists/aristotle. html 12. http://www. historyforkids. org/learn/greeks/philosophy/aristotle. htm 13. http://www. mlahanas. de/Greeks/AristotleBiol. htm 14. http://www. thocp. net/biographies/aristoteles. html 15. Info from class 16. Physical Science Book.

RC design

This submission presents the method statement and corresponding temporary work design for the construction of low-rise building (LRB). Footing foundation will be chosen for the foundation of structure. Design calculation and drawing for the structure, Including beams, columns, foundations, walls, floor slabs will be shown in the following categories. Furthermore, formwork will be adopted for the construction of structure and timber formwork will be the first priority. . Summary of RC Structure Dimension Element Member Size (mm) Type of formwork Foundation Timber Slab 250 Beam 500 x 500 x 5000 ‘Ofs 150 Column 500 x 500 All concrete works shall conform to the General Specification as following: Elements Grade wall Blinding layer Reinforcement 35 260, 460 MPa 4. Competent Persons for Constructions of the Low-rise Building (LRB) Structure Construction Manager ; Engineer – He shall supervise all technical items of construction works of MPS 2 structure, but not limited to the following items: 1 .To handle the difficulties during the construction. 2. All required tests arrangement and Submission to the Engineer 3. Prepare the erticality monitoring records and submit to the Engineer 4. To prepare, manage and implement the documented system in compliance with statutory requirements. Construction Supervisor/ General Foremen – He shall be full time on site to supervise the following works. 1 . To supervise and arrange all the MPS 2 construction works. 2. To arrange and monitor all relevant tests to structural works. . To arrange all setting-out works for MPS 2 structure constructions. 4. To follow the approved method statement for construction Safety Officer – He/ She shall be full time on site. His/ Her major duties are carrying ut regular checking on the implementation of the safety measures adopted with reference to regulations. Safety Supervisor – He shall be full time on site. His major duties are assisting the Safety Officer to carr y out regular safety checking and supervise the construction works for the safety aspects.Environmental Officer – He shall be full time on site to oversee all the environmental and sanitary issue during the construction. Surveyor – He shall be full time on site. His major duties are carrying out the site setting-out and monitoring works including verticality checking, settlement of ground measurement until completion. Certified Workers – They must be at least 18 years old and be a holder of a certificate issued by a person whom the Treatment Plants. The contractor shall ensure the certified workers being physically and mentally suitable for construction works. 5.Plants Plants and equipments Lifting appliances Air Compressors Generator Water pumps Portable pneumatic breaker Welding Machine Hand tools Carpenter Rebar fixer Concretor General Labour According to the site condition and requirement of completion of each phase, the site operation will be arranged in st ages corresponding to different site logistic plans at ifferent time frame of construction. The overall sequence of construction is generally divided into following stages: Stage 1 (Excavation) 1. Carry out underground utilities detection 2. Excavate down to +4. 3mPD to 3. 1 mPD 3.Perform compaction Stage 2 (Foundation) A. Steel preparation 1 . According to the drawings, prepare the steels with appropriate length, bending angle and diameter. 2. According to the drawings, placing the steels in corresponding location and spacing. 3. Pack the steel together, extra steel bend inwards to prevent exposing outside the concrete. 4. Leaving some space for trimming bar B. Formwork 5. Ensure the working area is clean and clear, and with appropriate ligament. 6. According to the drawing, install the timber on the surrounding and fix tightly with nails and screw.Make sure there aren't any gaps. 7. Brush an oil layer on the inner face of timber. C. Concreting 8. Ensure the strength of concrete is with required slump 9. Placing blinding layer on the bottom of foundation. 10. Placing concrete evenly on the area. For separated injection, each layer should not exceed 450mm tall 11. Perform compaction with vibration tube. Note that ibration tube should not place next to the timber and not to control the flow of concrete. 12. Flatten the top of concrete when appropriate level of concrete is placed. 13.Timber can be removed after 16 hours and check whether there are cracks. 14. Perform curing by cover the concrete with plastic sheet and Floor Slab 1 . According to the drawings, prepare the steel with appropriate length, diameter, bending angle, shape. 2. According to the drawings, placing the steels in corresponding location, and spacing. 3. Pack the steel together, extra steel bend inwards to prevent exposing outside the concrete. . Leaving some space for trimming bar 9. Placing concrete evenly on the area. For separated injection, each layer should not exceed 450mm tall 10.Perfo rm compaction with vibration tube. Note that vibration tube should not place next to the timber and not to control the flow of concrete. 11 . Flatten the top of concrete when appropriate level of concrete is placed. 12. Timber can be removed after 16 hours and check whether there are cracks 13. Perform curing by cover the concrete with plastic sheet 8. Construction procedure 1 Excavation and Compaction 2 Construct foundation 2. 1 Reinforcement bar fixing . 2 Formwork elevation 2. 3 Concreting and curing 3 Construction of first floor 3. 1 Column 3. 1. Reinforcement bar fixing 3. 1. 2 Formwork elevation 3. 2 wall 3. 2. 1 Reinforcement bar fixing 3. 2. 2 Formwork elevation 3. 3 Bearn 3. 3. 1 Reinforcement bar fixing 3. 3. 2 Formwork elevation 3. 4 Floor Slab 3. 4. 1 Reinforcement bar fixing 3. 4. 2 Formwork elevation 3. 5 Concreting 4. Construction of second and third floor, same as construction of first floor temporarily. 10. Environmental Protection Measures Any spoil, debris or silt from construction works area shall be deposited at esignated area within the site as specified in the waste management plan.Such spoil, debris and silt shall be immediately removed and avoid falling into adjacent areas. Drip/ spill trays will be provided to all machines and the fuel storage tanks or drums. All power equipment shall have proper silencers. Construction plant will be kept in good condition and will be properly maintained. Construction activities will be limited to daytime hours as far as possible. All construction works will be carried out limited to the approved working hours subject to the approval of Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and Drainage Services department (DSD).Frequently cleaning and watering the site area to minimize dust emissions. Burning debris or any material shall be prohibited on site at all times. Air and noise pollution will be monitored on a regular basis in accordance with the Air Quality & Noise Management Plan. Noise permit shall be obtained from the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) prior to any construction work beyond normal working hours. Chemical waste discharge license shall be obtained before any chemical waste disposed offsite. Surface runoff water arising from the site shall be collected by temporary drainage system.Such temporary drainage system composed of sand bags and temporary channels along the site boundary. The collected surface runoff shall be de-silted at the sedimentation tanks before discharged to public drainage system. The temporary drainage management plan has been submitted separately. Wheel washing bays will be located at the entrances in order to keep a good housekeeping condition inside the site. 11 . Contingency Plan Lifting appliances such as mobile cranes can be deployed on site in order to speed p. Catch up the progress of works.In addition, some major heavily E&M equipment will be handled by the addition cranes on site. Material availability such as concrete, reinforcem ent and formwork can be delivered on site shortly. Normally, 1 – 2 days' advance ordering period is required for the processing from ordering to on site delivery. In view of the current market, no shortage of aforesaid material supply is found. Disposal of the material system has already been set-up. All disposal records and submissions are in order in compliance with statutory requirements.

Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Case Study Example After the first week of her admission in school, the teacher realized that she had socially clumsy and always offensive to most of teachers or other student’s comments. The client seemed not interested in making friendship with other kids and even learning was difficult. Parents and relatives also experienced difficulties in trying to cope up with the client; thus some of them became stressed up with the situation of the client. However, while in school, the teacher decided to implement an individualized education program for the client in order to help her reduce learning difficulties and also enable the client to cope up in the learning environment; thus helping the child to achieve future goals effectively. Strategies for Medication Adherence The client has received proper medication attention that has enabled her to improve the repetitive behaviors. The significant aspects of health care provided especially the methods of interventions that can be employed to improve medic ation adherence have been of great significant to the client. One of the significant intervention measures is the educational interventions and this may involve educating the client or family members or both as this can help in improving medication adherence. ... Patients who miss appointments are often those who need the most significant help to improve their ability to adhere to medication routine; thus improving communication will improve their ability to adhere to medication procedure. Researchers have attempted to focus on strategies for improving medication adherence and this is through employing effective techniques vital for helping patients with autism problems. One of the effective strategies is patient interview technique and this includes offering basic nursing education and increasing patient communication. Listening and employing open ended questions, as well as, discussions about sensitive topics is vital. The attitude of physicians towards patient can impact patient communication because many of them will not be open to discuss sensitive matters concerning their health. Although patients cannot answer open questions, inviting them to share their stories is vital. Secondly, employing motivational interviewing strategy and this strategy takes into considerations the perception of the problems affecting patients; thus encouraging the patient to find the solution. Motivational interviewing is a strategy or technique, which involves counseling the patient of family of patient and this method, is vital because it is client-centered. The most widespread healthcare intervention technique is the prescription of medicine but medication adherence is a multifaceted and fascinating behavioral issue. Health attitudes are perceived to be a helpful and significant indicator of medication adherence and a great predictor of medication adherence. The research study conducted about patient behavioral approaches has been employed to

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Political systems in India - Essay Example And, with perhaps the greatest market in the whole of Asia, India would be an obvious target of Nokia Mobile phones ltd. A robust economy, led by able and intelligent men, and a great variety of people with a variety of needs, Nokia would not only be hugely successful, but also would have the added advantage of successful experimentation. Nokia, a Finland based company, initially started out as a pulp industry before emerging as the Telecommunications giant. Named the world's most respected company for production of consumer durables, Nokia is the world's largest cellular phone company, with a global market of 34%, as on Q2 of 2006, and has a net worth of 4.639 billion Euros1. With headquarters in Espoo, Finland, Nokia's R&D facilities are spread out all over the world. The Indian market is best for launching Nokia phones due to a variety of reasons. Firstly, the market is not uniform. The market comprises of different sections of people, who have diverse tastes and needs. Fulfilling all those needs would be a challenge for a cell phone giant like Nokia. Secondly, the Indian market provides excellent grounds for experimentation. The people are always open to new and exciting ideas.

Choose a person, object, or event that you find interesting and that Essay

Choose a person, object, or event that you find interesting and that you can readily research - Essay Example Vietnamese people follow annual rules for the New Year. They are very careful about what they do the first day of the New Year because, according to them, it will later determine their luck for the rest of the year. Therefore, Vietnamese people prepare for the New Year beginning two weeks before the actual New Year’s Day. Vietnamese people then have more rituals at midnight and on the first morning of the New Year. For example, my family prepares many things for New Year’s Day. We spend a lot of money, and we make substantial plans in advance for New Year. We buy new clothes and new shoes, paint and clean the house, cook three days worth of food, and pay off all debts. We go to the marketplace and the shopping mall to buy food, firecrackers, and flowers. The Vietnamese marketplace is very crowded the week before the New Year. After four o’clock, the markets close down so people can go home. We cook many kinds of food that our grandparents liked to eat when they w ere young. We also burn incense and artificial money to honor our grandparents, as we always believe that our grandparents will return from the other world to visit our family. Even though they don’t appear incarnate, my family believes that our grandparents exist around us even though they are dead. Thus, we always understand that to worship our ancestors means showing respect to our ancestors. After these rituals, we always invite the relatives and neighbors to sit around the table. Most of us sit at the table to share food together in the party. There are many such rituals that might seem different to outsiders. When our family has a party, we have to provide enough chairs for all people who are invited. If we lack bowls, dishes, tables, and chairs, we can borrow them from the neighbors. The next time another family has a party, we do the same thing for them. Then, we prepare for New Year’s Eve. We have more rituals on New Year’s

Reflective report on business law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Reflective report on business law - Essay Example I was tasked with researching and preparing a presentation on the advantages and disadvantaged of Limited Liability Partnerships. Despite the initial hiccup, we were able to complete the assignment by week 3 and as such we had ample time to compile everything, rehearse, make corrections and managed to make a confident presentation in week 4. This reflective report briefly outlines the Limited Liability Partnership Act 2000, and the Partnership Act 1890, that we discussed in our presentation and reflects on our experience with regards to the preparation of the assignment in a group. It looks at the challenges we encountered in the group, the strengths we had as a group and our experience during the oral presentation. Finally, it outlines the lessons learned from both working in a group/team and carrying out oral presentation. A brief outline of the Limited Liability Partnership Act 2000 The Limited Liability Partnership Act, also known as the LLPA, is an act that provides for a framew ork under which limited liability partnerships are created. This act was developed in the United Kingdom as a result of corporate accounting firms’ pressure with regards to the need for the creation of a framework that combines both the benefits of limited liability and the flexibility of partnerships (Legislation.gov.uk n.d.). According to the Limited Liability Partnership Act 2000, Limited Liability Partnerships are characterized by certain features including limited liability for partners/members; LLP’s are taxed as partnerships; they are separate legal entities; have organizational flexibility such as that enjoyed by partnerships; the filing and accounting requirements of LLP’s are similar to those of limited liability companies; any agreements between members are deemed as private and confidential, and LLP’s have the ability to develop floating charges. A limited Liability Partnership is not a partnership, and as such, the laws, rules and regulations that apply to partnerships do not apply to it, except in situations or circumstances provided for in the LLPA (Statham 2002). As such, it is right to define an LLP as an alternative business framework that combines the benefits enjoyed of limited liability and the flexibility of partnerships. According to LLPA 2000, limited liability is possible in LLP’s because an LLP is a legal entity entirely separate from its members and as a result, is liable for its own debts and owns the business assets. Partners or members act as the LLP’s agents, thus, have limited liability, at least up to their contribution-monetary-to the LLP. The Limited Liability Partnership Act 2000 provides for mechanisms in which the provisions of insolvency law and company law can be applied to LLP’s, at least with appropriate modifications. These mechanisms are used to put in place important safeguards for those willing to deal, or dealing with Limited Liability Partnerships. Such safeguards are expected to include provisions for public disclosure of LLPs information such as finance; and provisions with regards to what happens in the event that an LLP becomes insolvent (Legislation.gov.uk n.d.). A brief outline of the Partnership Act 1890 The Partnership Act 1890 defines a partnership as relation that exists between persons that are in a business to make profits. According to this act, the relationship between members of any association or

Purchase Behavior Of Consumers Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Purchase Behavior Of Consumers - Assignment Example The current sample is predominantly female, composing 83% of the sample. On the other hand, the remainder 17% are males. On civil status, the sample consists of 32% married respondents, and 68% single respondents.   The profile of the sample in terms of age is as follows: 25-

Ethical considerations in the current business environement and the Essay

Ethical considerations in the current business environement and the impact it can have on human resource management - Essay Example The Impact of Ethical Considerations on Human Resource Management This section includes a discussion on the impact of new ethical considerations on human resource practices which include hiring employees, retaining employees, and responsibilities of current employees in regards with the use of new technology. Conclusion This section sums up the overall discussion and presents a short review of the importance of ethics in the success of a business. Introduction The importance of business ethics can never be denied because they are imperative for the success of individuals and businesses. According to Patil (2012), business ethics is a behavior that shapes individual behaviors, as well as consumers’ perception about a company. As Frederick (2002) states, â€Å"business ethics, like most areas of ethics, often tends to focus on principles of actions, on the action itself and its consequences† (p. 30). If employees of a company do not behave ethically regarding any particul ar business matter, various destructive effects occur as a result. Companies set practical business ethics codes that help them in making their business activities legal, as well as in maintaining their public image (Frenz, n.d.). Some examples of ethical considerations or ethical codes that companies promote at the workplace include truthfulness, respect towards others, equality, demonstration of corporate social responsibility, adherence to laws and social values. In this paper, we will discuss the impact of some ethical considerations on the human resource management activities of a company. For this purpose, an organization will be selected and its ethical considerations in the current business environment will be reviewed to know the effects of implemented ethical considerations on HR practices. Selected Organization The organization selected for review is University Hospitals Case Medical Center (UHCMC) located in Ohio. UHCMC is a private hospital which specializes in cancer a nd orthopedic treatments. The aim of the hospital’s management is to bring continuous improvement in patient care and other activities related to patients’ treatment processes. Let us discuss two major ethical considerations that the management of the hospital has implemented recently related to the use of hospital management information system. Ethical Considerations in the Current Business Environment The ethical considerations that the management of the hospital has added recently to the code of ethics include ensuring confidentiality of medical records and improving patient care using new technology. The hospital has started using Management Information System (MIS) to computerize all information. The MIS will help healthcare professionals in recording patients’ updates in the hospital’s database and retrieving it when required. The system will also generate accurate and relevant reports based on the information stored in the database. The information to be stored includes all details about a patient’s medical history, present medical condition, and ongoing treatment. As every employee of the hospital will be using the system for different information related purposes, so there exists a need to ensure improved confidentiality of patients’ private information stored in the system. Moreover, the management of the hospital has also made it necessary for the employees to make a fair use

What were Antoine Augustin Parmentier achievements and what did he Essay

What were Antoine Augustin Parmentier achievements and what did he contribute to French gastronomy - Essay Example In 1772 he scooped the prize of Besancon academy owing to his findings of potato nutrients. The study on the chemical and physical properties of milk earned him the prize of Royal Society Medicine in the year 1790. He also won the same prize in the year 1791 owing to his study on blood’s chemical information (Wisniak 2010, p. 144). Napoleon Bonaparte awarded him with the Legion of Honor in the year 1802. He significantly contributed in gastronomy in several ways including establishing the chemical and physical properties of milk and potato as a food crop. On request of Societe de Medicine, Antoine-Augustin together with Deyeux carried studies on the milk of cow, woman and goat to ascertain their chemical and physical properties. These studies enabled them to present agricultural economic aspects of milk (cheese and butter production and production of milk alcohol) and medical aspects of milk (milk’s impact on physical feelings, food and mood) (Wisniak 2010, p. 147). Assuming bread as the base of food for human being, he carried out studies on potatoes to determine if it was fit for consumption. He found that potato contained starch which was sweet and healthy for consumption (Wisniak 2010, p.

Engagement Letter Apollo Case Essay Example for Free

Engagement Letter Apollo Case Essay Anderson, Olds and Watershed (AOW) will audit the balance sheet of Apollo Shoes as of December 31, 2011 and the related statements of income, retained earnings and cash flows for the year then ended. Our audit will be conducted in accordance with the Standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). Our audit will include examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used ad significant judgments and estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. An audit includes obtaining an understanding of internal control sufficient to plan the audit, including making risk assessments, and to determine the nature and extent of audit procedures to be performed. An audit is not designed to provide assurance on internal control or to identify control deficiencies. However, we are responsible for communicating to the Board of Directors of Apollo Shoes significant deficiencies and material weakness in internal control that come to our attention during the course of our audit. AOW is required to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatements, whether caused by error or fraud. However the audit does not guarantee the accuracy of the financial statements. Even though the audit is properly planned and performed in accordance with the PCAOB standards, an unavoidable risk exists that some material misstatements may not be detected due to inherent limitations of an audit, together with the inherent limitations of internal control. Consequently, our audit is not designed to detect errors or fraud that is immaterial to the financial statements. At your request, but pending approval by your Board of Directors, we will prepare all required federal tax returns and the state franchise tax returns. We will also provide your staff with a list of schedules needed by our staff during the audit. The delivery dates have been discussed and mutually agreed upon. We understand that your staff will prepare all schedules in the package, all financial statements and notes thereto, and the Form 10-K for our review. The scope of our services however, does not include preparation of any of these statements. GA-1.2 Fees Our billing for services set forth in this Engagement Letter, which we have estimated will total $750,000 discussed with you on October 18, 2011. For the services rendered the due date of the audit report will be February 15, 2012. Matters that can cause work in excess of fee estimate We want you to receive the maximum value for our professional services and to perceive that our fees are reasonable and fair. The following matters explain what issues arise most frequently: Changing requirements Although we attempt to plan our work to anticipate the requirements that will affect our engagement, three types of situations make this difficult. Sometimes, these new requirements are not communicated in time for us to anticipate their effects in our preliminary planning. Secondly, in spite of our anticipation and planning, the work necessary to comply with new requirements may be underestimated. Finally, in some instances, you may decide that it is advantageous to you to have them applied immediately. Incorrect accounting applications or error in your records We generally form our fee estimates on the expectation that your accounting records are in good order so that our work can be completed based upon our normal testing and other procedures. Should we find numerous errors, incomplete records or disorganized bookkeeping methods, we will have to do additional work to determine the necessary corrections have been made and properly reflected in the financial statements. Lack of audit facilitation or timely preparation To minimize your costs, we plan the means by which your personnel can facilitate the audit (e.g., what schedule they will prepare, how to prepare them, the supporting documents that need to be provided). We also discuss matters such as availability of your key personnel, deadlines and working conditions. Therefore, if your personnel are unable, for whatever reason, to provide these materials on a timely basis, it may substantially increase the work we must do to complete the engagement within the established deadlines. Unforeseen events Even though we communicate frequently with clients and plan our engagement with management and their staff, unforeseen events can occur. Examples include the following: accounting problems, litigation, changes in your business or business environment, contractual or other difficulties with suppliers, third-party service providers, or customers, etc. when those circumstances occur, additional time is needed to provide you with assistance and complete our engagement in accordance with professional standards. GA-1.3 Authorization This Engagement Letter sets forth the entire understanding between Apollo Shoes and Anderson, Olds and Watershed regarding the services described therein. Please confirm your acceptance of this Engagement Letter by signing below and returning one copy to us in the enclosed self-addressed envelope. We appreciate the opportunity to continue to work with Apollo Shoes and ensure you that this engagement will be given our closest attention.

Pump Definition Essay Example for Free

Pump Definition Essay A pump is a mechanical device used to transport liquids or gases from one location of lower pressure to another location of higher pressure. Energy is added to the entire system in order to overcome the difference in pressure. Mechanical forces are present in the functioning of pumps as the liquid or gas being transported is either lifted physically or moved through compression forces. Gas pumps most often use compression forces and are usually called compressors except in cases wherein fans or blowers are utilized.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are many types of pumps and the very first pump dates back to the 7th century B.C. as described by Archimedes. This pump, the Archimedes screw, was utilized in the water systems of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Al-Jazari (1973) was one of the most popular people in the world of pumps as he illustrated and described many different types of pumps such as the reciprocating pump, the double-action pump with pipes for suctioning, the water pump, and the piston pump.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Today, pumps are usually categorized into two different divisions: positive displacement pumps and rotodynamic pumps. These categories are descriptive of how these pumps work. Positive displacement pumps trap the substance to be transporated in one location called the inlet pressur section and then force it to be displaced to the discharge pipe. Subcategories of positive displacement pumps include the rotary pumps, the metering pumps, and the reciprocating pumps. Rotodynamic pumps, on the other hand, utilize bladed impellers whose rotation within the fluid creates a tangential acceleration of the fluid which in turn creates an energy increase that supports the transport of the substance. Rotodynamic pumps are subcategorized as kinetic pumps and centrifugal pumps. Other special types of pumps include jet pumps, viscous drag pumps, double volute pumps, chopper pumps, rotating casing pumps, recessed impeller pumps, self-priming pumps, slurry pumps, and sludge pumps. (Chaurette, 2004)   Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From left to right: double volute pump design, typical jet pump, venture action of a jet pump (Source: Chaurette, 2004)             In the processing industry, pumps have many different applications. The pumps in processing industries are used to transport the raw materials from one location to another. This may involve the transport of ink, pigment, and paint in chemical processing. In the sugar processing industry, pumps are utilized in material transfer from the raw juice, to the cush-cush, to the lime slurry aspects of processing and even more. Pumps are also used in livestock processing as evidenced by its use in feed distribution.   In agricultural processing, pumps are most often the key machines involved in the transport of water. This is very similar to the use of the first noted pump for the water systems of Babylon. These not only include distribution of water in the system but also the elimination of wastewater from the system. This links with another application of pumps, sewage management as seen in the pumps application for grit removal, waste-activated sludge removal and the like. The ideal feature that pumps provide processing industries is the option of bulk transfer. This speeds up the processing time and allows for a more cost-efficient system. Over-all the simple physical mechanics of a pump have been utilized to create numerous types and designs that have been able to improve the operation of the processing industry. Pumps are now an essential part of processing. Soon, new innovations in pump design will surface as a result of the processing industries demand for higher efficiency. References Al-Jazari, I. (1973). The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices  : Kità ¡b fà ­ marifat al-hiyal al-handasiyya, translated by P. Hill. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company Chaurette, J. (2004). Specialty Pumps. Fluide Design Inc. Retrieved 25 March 2008 from www.fluidedesign.com

Traditional Professional Identity Of Nursing Might Be Lost

Traditional Professional Identity Of Nursing Might Be Lost Nurse, a multitask angel, is always caring for the sick, public, patients and their families , helping with the management stuff and assisting other health care providers in order to provide holistic quality care through teamwork and caring service. This eventually brings to confusion and conflicting opinions as the professional identity of nursing become unclear and the blurring of boundaries are existing inadvertently. Barber (2002) commended that the traditional professional identity of nursing might be lost in the context of the expanded role by the nurse. The nurse tends to pass the traditional nursing role to others junior staff or healthcare assistants whenever they extended their scope of practice which usually done by doctors. As many others hospital setting, the problem in my working area are lack of doctors and the nurses appear to be the largest group in the health setting. The article( Star on line) (2010) reported that in Malaysia, the doctor and patient ratio is 1:940 in year 2009 and the nurse patient ratio is 1:645 in year 2009 and 1:375 in year 2010 as reported in The Star on line (2008). Thus, In the context of lacking of doctors, the nurses tend to takeover the expended role voluntarily as they are willing to learn and developing themselves. The expanded role usually performed by the staff in my ward is cannulation, this happened whenever the doctors are busy covering a few wards during night duty. No doubt it actually greatly increased their burdens, but they do have their key role in coordinating patients care and look after them from the organizational turbulence. Rushforth Mc Donald (2004) had done a survey on the expanded role of nurses on procedure such as IV admistration, Cannulation, ECG recording, Defibrillation and Prescibing, they found that on cannulation alone are performed by over 50% of the nurses in the respective area. The female medical ward which has 35 beds is a busy ward and one of the highest admission rate in the hospital, the turnover rate is high as the number of admissions. The bed occupancy rate was xxx% and a total number of xx patients were admitted in 2009. The average length of stay was xx days, the ward has divided into five cubicles and 2 isolation rooms for the patient either receive chemotherapy and cases of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamases ( ESBL). The total number of nurses in my unit are 27 and eight out of them are senior staff nurses. Most of the patient admitted is due to hypertension, diabetes mellitus and anemia and they need the cannulation for the continuation of injection antibiotic, maintenance of fluid to prevent dehydration and blood transfusion purposes. In this paper, I will discuss the crossing boundary in the context of cannulation being done by nurses. Although the senior staffs are given the authority by doctors in performing the cannulation to the patients, sometime they are facing the situation of the role uncertainty and decision making in expending their role. In the United Kingdom, the neonatal nurse are given the title of Advanced Neonatal Nurse Practitioner after completed the course, they are able to perform the duty as the junior doctors competently and efficiently in handling the cases of the high risk infant as described by Dilon George ( 1997). The diabetes specialist nurse provide the need of the patient relating to diet control, self monitoring and treatment as illustrated by Loveman et al ( 2003). Similarly in Malaysia, the diabetes nurse who are educating the diabetes patients and neonatal nurse who are taking care of the newborn infant are not given the title such as nurse practitioner, advanced nurse practitioner and clinical specialist nurse. Those nurses are undergone specialized post basic training and most of them are quite senior but always been referred as neonatal nurse, diabetes nurse, stoma nurse, critical care nurse and so on. Nancarrow (2004) illustrated that increasing in the overlapping of the extended role is result from the growth of the interprofessional practice and training. It happened among nurses and others healthcare providers such as doctors, dietician, pharmacist and physiotherapist which has brings to the establishment of the new nursing roles. However, Cameron (2010) has found that the senior nurses felt empowered in expanding their role and appear to be more acceptable about flexible work and multi-skilling to improve continuity, efficiency and effectiveness of patient care compare to the junior staffs who felt more stressful in the expanded role. As a nurse, I think this is due to the complex situation because of time constrain, lacking resources available nor in the nursing curriculums or workplaces. I am working as a staff nurse in a medical ward and have 18 years of experience. From my experience, I noticed that the senior staff frequently making recommendations regarding patient care and they do influence decision making by providing related information about the patient. This is always happened spontaneously during the interaction in between the nurses and the doctors. In my practice setting, the ward are monopoly by doctors because of they are seen owing full professional status by having exclusive theoretical knowledge which enable them to control over nurses. However, the junior doctors are rotating every three month and they are relied on the senior nurses for guidance on the aspects of ward practice and the details of local protocols. For instance, in the treatment decision, they will seek for the nursing advice about drug dosages if they are unclear. Jones (2007) has described boundaries can be known as Interfaces, clear dividing margins between different ownerships areas or shared areas of contact . The blurring boundaries that commonly happened in my ward is cannulation which is supposed to be performed by doctor but it is done by the senior nurses in the ward. It frequently happened during night duty, usually there are only one specialist on call, one medical official and one junior doctor on call, one senior staff nurse with post basic and two junior staff nurses are on duty. The junior doctor is responsibilities to cover a few medical wards included acute medical ward which has a few ill and ventilated patients. The problem arise whenever the nurses facing difficulties in getting the junior doctors to come to the ward to set cannula resulting the burden has increase to ward staff. The nurse must undertake the cannulation themselves either in providing the continuity of circulatory antibiotic levels or to ensure the maintena nce of adequate fluid status for the patient. However, Tye and Ross (2000) has illustrate that an evaluation done by the key stakeholders within the organization indicates that the extended role of the nurses may culminate in uncertainty, individual variation and a perception of a blurring of role boundaries. Hoder and Schenthal (2007) described that professional boundaries are defined as limit-lines protection in between the nurse and the patient. The demand for professional boundaries has increasing drastically in nursing profession, resulting the limitation must be set to ensure a safe, therapeutic connection among the nurse-client relationship. An essential component of competent and ethical nursing care is required in providing better services and reducing underlying conflict. It is the responsibilities of the nurses to establish and sustain the professional relationship through the guidance of code of ethics and professional standards. Most of the nurses in my ward are facing with the challenges even though they are given the authority in setting the cannula, this is because they have to make difficult decisions and facing uncertainty whenever they are dealing with difficult situation. In minimizing the uncertainty, they are practicing a few routes to ensure the best services are delivered to the client. First, through the documentation of evidence based practice on client preference, the nurse must get the consent or agreement from the client before delivering the services to him/her. Besides that, the NNIA ( National Nursing International Audit) are implemented to ensure the current practice did not increase infection and insertion site phlebitis, the audit is carried out by the nursing team in my practice area every twice yearly. Secondly is the source through SOP( Standard Of Procedure) and protocol or guideline that is easily accessible for nurses as referral when need. The nurses are practicing the proper hand washing technique and performing the procedure under aseptic technique to avoid infection during performing the cannulation for client. From a professional perspective, the Code of Professional Conduct for nurses (1998) states that individual nurses have a responsibilities to keep up with advances in health practice and maintain their competence in nursing knowledge and skills. Aveyard and Sharp (2009) illustrate that by performing the latest evidence based practice is able to protect the healthcare provider from any legal proceedings. The third source is the intuitive knowledge that emerged from the past experience. Benner (1984) has described a nurse must passes through five stages that is from novice to expert. Although the contribution of knowledge has been acknowledge in clinical practice, most of the credibility is subjected to biasness. This is supported by Romyn et al (2003) said that credibility must base on knowledge that used to be critique and scrutinized. In order to perform the task of decision making, Dowding and Thompson (2003) stipulated the nurses must aware that the impact of decision making are influence on nursing outcome and patients experience. Simpson and Courtney (2002) emphasized that the nurses must be able to think critically to provide best care at the same time dealing with the expansion role especially in the current health care system as it appears to be more complex over the last few decades. As suggestion, Rushforth and McDonald (2004) recommended that a sense of balancing and safer policy is needed for the few senior nurses to expand their role without jeopardized to the nursing component. The nurses are fit to practice and accountable for the nursing care they provide. Oermann(2007) suggested that evidence based practice in nursing can be searched in the web sites. By using the available research evidence and clinical expertise, the nurses are able to focus on nursing knowledge in minimizing the role uncertainty and developing a culture of lifelong learning. A emergence training programme for cannulation and re-evaluation on regular interval is needed to ensure the standard is maintained accordingly. However, training alone is inadequate to bring a change in the behavior of the nurses to take on their expanded role in performing the advanced skills. The nurses perception and the support systems are some of the important factors to be address such as opportunity are provided on regular basis in maintaining ones competencies and support from supervisors to facilitate and guide the senior nurses in the overlapping role. Inevitably, there is far-reaching implication pending on how the nurses conduct themselves in their relationships. If the blurring boundaries always happened, the nurses will be confused as it bring into an ethical issue regarding their professional role. Barber (2002) suggested that all practitioners are responsible toward their action and have high awareness of legal implication of practice during performing their overlapping role. However, Molyneux (2001) described that contribution of care from multidiscipline for the same patient through collaboration, knowledge and skills. Caldwell and Atwal (2003) found that different ideologies, unequal power, overlapping role and communication are the difficulties exist within the interprofessional practice. Therefore, a clear flow and structured at several level is needed for the interprofessional team to facilitate and guide their practice effectively. As conclusion, no doubt the nursing blurring boundaries may against the professional rule, but it had bring benefit to patients especially during night time and the treatment are able to carry out on time. Nurses must understand the additional responsibility invariably probably may increase their burden. Therefore, by using evidence-based practice, critical thinking and updating knowledge in lifelong learning, the nurses are able to extend and cross the boundaries safely to meet clients needs.

Free College Essays - Hindu Influence in A Passage to India :: Passage to India Essays

A Passage to India - Hindu Influence Several different literary elements work in tandem to produce the magic seen in E. M. Forster's A Passage to India. Because this novel was presented to the world less than a decade after World War I, the fantastic and exotic stories of India seized the attention of the relatively provincial society of the day, and the novel's detailed presentation of Hinduism certainly excited the imaginations of thousands of readers. Benita Parry supports this assertion when saying, "Hinduism takes its place at the core of the novel just as it lies at the heart of India" (164). How powerful was Hinduism in India? Historians have pointed out that the Indian masses united with strength only when Gandhi appealed to them through Hinduism (Parry 164). With this in mind, it seems reasonable for Forster to devote much energy to portraying the Hindu religion. Furthermore, Forster himself expressed that he viewed himself as on "nearer nodding terms with Krishna (the Hindu god of literature, art, music, and dance) than with any other god" (McDowell 105). The clash between Hinduism and Christianity in A Passage to India parallels the conflict between the Indians and the English. Hinduism is best represented in the novel by Professor Godbole, and Christianity is epitomized in Mrs. Moore. Mrs. Moore comes to India with the kindness and understanding heart of a devout Christian but leaves morose and peevish. Perhaps she is haunted into this state by Professor Godbole's strange song: "At times there seemed rhythm, at times there was the illusion of a Western melody. But the ear, baffled repeatedly, soon lost any clue, and wandered in a maze of noises, none harsh or unpleasant, none intelligible.... The sounds continued and ceased after a few moments as casually as they had begun - apparently half through a bar, and upon the subdominant" (84-85). When Godbole explains that his song is about a milkmaid begging for the Krishna's assistance, and Krishna's failure to appear, Mrs. Moore asks, "But he comes in another song, I hope?" to which Godbole immediately replies, "Oh no, he refuses to come. I say to him , Come, come, come, come, come, come. He neglects to come" (85). It is this song that forces Mrs. Moore and Adela Quested into emotional cocoons from which they only escape to meet horrible circumstances: Mrs.

Comparing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X grew up in different environments. King was raised in a comfortable middle-class family where education was stressed. On the other hand, Malcolm X came from and underprivileged home. He was a self-taught man who received little schooling and rose to greatness on his own intelligence and determination. Martin Luther King was born into a family whose name in Atlanta was well established. Despite segregation, Martin Luther King's parents ensured that their child was secure and happy. Malcolm X was born on May 19, 1925 and was raised in a completely different atmosphere than King, an atmosphere of fear and anger where the seeds of bitterness were planted. The burning of his house by the Klu Klux Klan resulted in the murder of his father. His mother later suffered a nervous breakdown and his family was split up. He was haunted by this early nightmare for most of his life. From then on, he was driven by hatred and a desire for revenge. The early backgrounds of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King were largely responsible for the distinct different responses to American racism. Both men ultimately became towering icons of contemporary African-American culture and had a great influence on black Americans. However, King had a more positive attitude than Malcolm X, believing that through peaceful demonstrations and arguments, blacks will be able to someday achieve full equality with whites. Malcolm X's despair about life was reflected in his angry, pessimistic belief that e quality is impossible because whites have no moral conscience. King basically adopted on an integrationalist philosophy, whereby he felt that blacks and whites should be united and live together in peace. Malcolm X, however, promoted nationalist and separatist doctrines. For most of his life, he believed that only through revolution and force could blacks attain their rightful place in society. Both X and King spread their message through powerful, hard-hitting speeches. Nevertheless, their intentions were delivered in different styles and purposes. "King was basically a peaceful leader who urged non-violence to his followers. He travelled about the country giving speeches that inspired black and white listeners to work together for racial harmony." (pg. 135, Martin Luther King Jr. and the Freedom Movement) Malcolm X, for the most part, believed that non-violence and integration was a trick by the whites to keep blacks in their places. He was furious at white racism and encouraged h is followers through his speeches to rise up and protest against their white enemies.

Thatcher and Blair :: essays research papers

Introduction With the campaign ‘New Labour Because Britain Deserves Better’, it appeared that the new look of the Labour Party was so promising that most Britons have poured their votes for the Labour Party, and Tony Blair and his family moved to stay at the 10th Downing Street. It is said that the New Labour won the election, because they have tried to understand what British people wanted. Like it or not, the New Labour has simply followed Margaret Thatcher’s achievements. Moreover, Tony Blair and his aides have consistently used Thatcherite rhetoric to strengthen his ‘New’ credentials such as the use of ‘No turning back’ and ‘No, no, no.’ (The Guardian, April 20, 1999) Thus, based on the assumption that the Left Wing has adopted the Right Wing policies, this report attempts to find differences and similarities of Mrs. Margaret Thatcher’s and Mr. Tony Blair’s domestic and foreign affairs policies as well as the impacts on Britain. Background The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. Its constitution is partly unwritten and flexible. Also, politics in Britain is a two-party politics, and the system of British government is built around the existence of competing political parties, having distinctive policies and views, particularly The Conservative Party and the Labour Party, which are the dominant parties nowadays. To understand the management policies, it is worth looking into the political philosophy of both rival parties. The Conservative Party The Conservative Party or formally National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations is a right-of-centre political party. It is the heir and continuation of the old Tory Party, members of which began forming Conservation Association after Britain’s first Reform Act of 1832, extended electoral rights to the middle class. Formed by Sir Robert Peel in 1834, the first Conservative government announced the reform of abuse; the importance of law and order and of the police; orderly system of taxation, and the importance of both landed interests and of trade and industry. Among former Conservative Prime Ministers, there are two well-known persons, who shall be mentioned here. Firstly, during World War II, The Conservative Party dominated national office and Winston Churchill (later became Sir Winston) led Britain to victory in 1945. Secondly, Margaret Thatcher (b. 13 Oct 1925) and later being made as Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven was the first European and British Prime Minister (1979-1990). Not only did she win three consecutive terms in the 20th century, but she also was Britain’s

Health Risks of Energy Drink Essay

Introduction People want immediate results in the middle of the busy day, after exercise, or any other activity which requires them to recharge themselves. So, instead of focusing on key natural ways such as sleep habits, improving diets we used to go for certain energy drinks available in the market without knowing the pros and cons of these drinks related to our health. Recent researches on the consumption of energy drinks have proved that the excessive use of these types of drinks can cause severe health risk including increase in systolic pressure, insomnia, and various other discussed later in the paper. It is the common phenomena that energy drink used to rebuild the energy lost during the exercise, which is not right. Similarly, it does not help burn calories, neither it speed ups the metabolism nor it provides long lasting energy to our body. Energy drinks are the fastest growing beverages market (Bornstein, 2011). Youth is reportedly consumers more energy drinks than other demographic variable. There are various energy drinks available in the market targeting the same type of crowd with different slogan and appeals. Some have focused on athletes, some on teenagers and students etc. Excessive caffeine can cause various health problems such as insomnia, jitters, nervousness, gastrointestinal problems, and heart palpitations. Background Statement We see various TV ads focusing on red bull, 5-hour ENERGY, monster etc so are these drinks shelved at the supermarkets. However, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and UK drug inspecting agencies has reported severe health related issues on the consumption of energy drinks. The sales of energy drinks in UK and other parts of the world is increasing so are the concerns after the researches made on this particular subject. Hence, the need is to review the myth surrounding energy drinks consumption. What are energy drinks? According to UK soft drink report (2012), soft drinks are â€Å"traditional glucose based energy drinks; functional or stimulation energy drinks which claim a particular energy boost from caffeine, Guarani, turbine and ginseng or other herbs or some combination of these ingredients†. The ingredients used in these energy drinks act as a stimulant to the central nervous system of our brain. These include caffeine or Guarani and vitamins etc. Health Risk There are various serious health risks associated with the consumption of energy drinks. Some of these health risks are discussed in this section. Drinking energy drinks in moderation is not necessarily harmful. Excessive consumption of energy drinks containing caffeine, however, can result in the same health effects related to consuming too much caffeine, such as insomnia, jitters, nervousness, gastrointestinal problems, and heart palpitations. Like sodas, the amount of sugar and empty calories (calories that do not contain nutrients) in energy drinks contribute to poor dietary health when consumed regularly. Hence, the affects of these drinks are short term as well long term. These affects are categorized below: Short term affects †¢ Hurts performance †¢ Increased heart rate †¢ Abnormal heart rhythm and other problems †¢ Crabby †¢ Trouble Concentrating †¢ Negative interactions with medications †¢ Increased Blood Pressure Long term affects †¢ Caffeine Addiction †¢ Liver Failure †¢ Sleep Apnea †¢ Kidney Failure †¢ Cardiovascular Disease So, it is better to be aware of these health issues and do not use more than 100mg/day of the caffeine as per health official recommendation. Conclusion After reviewing the ingredients, myths, and other factors surrounding the energy drinks it can be concluded that excessive use of caffeine i.e. by consuming more energy drink will certainly lead us to the several health risks which might be short term as well as long term. So, the need for the people is to get educate themselves, so is the responsibility of the energy drink manufacturers to warn the customers of the potential health hazards associated with the particular drink. References Roy-Bornstein, C. (2011). Just Say No to Energy Drinks. Pediatrics For Parents, 27(7/8), 11. UK soft drink report (2012) Available at: http://www. britishsoftdrinks. com/PDF/UK%20soft%20drinks%20report%202012. pdf.

Parental Involvement Essay

The goal of positive and productive family and community involvement is on every school improvement list, but few schools have implemented comprehensive programs of partnership. Research suggests that this goal is an important one to reach because families and communities contribute to children’s learning, development, and school success at every grade level. Studies are accumulating that show that well-designed programs of partnership are important for helping all families support their children’s education in elementary, middle, and high schools. That is, if schools plan and implement comprehensive programs of partnership, then many more families respond, including those who would not become involved on their own. Three questions need to be addressed to help educators move from believing in the importance of family and community involvement to conducting effective programs of partnership: What is a comprehensive program of school, family, and community partnerships? How do family and community partnerships link to other aspects of successful schools? How can all schools develop and sustain productive programs of partnerships? Components of a Comprehensive Program of Partnerships A framework of six types of involvement guides schools in establishing full and productive programs of school-family-community partnerships. This section summarizes the six types of involvement and discusses a few sample practices that are being implemented in schools across the country that are working to improve and increase family and community connections. Also noted are some of the challenges that all schools must overcome to create successful partnerships, along with examples of results that can be expected from each type of involvement for students, families, and educators. Comprehensive programs of partnerships include activities for all six types of involvement. Because there are many activities to choose from, elementary, middle, and high schools can tailor their programs of partnerships by selecting activities that match specific school goals and the interests and needs of students and families. Type 1–Parenting. Type 1 activities are conducted to help families strengthen parenting skills, understand child and adolescent development, and set home conditions to support learning at each school level. Type 1 activities also enable families to provide information to schools so that educators understand families’ backgrounds, cultures, and goals for their children. Sample practices. Among Type 1 activities, elementary, middle, and high schools may conduct workshops for parents; provide short, clear summaries of important information on parenting; and organize opportunities for parents to exchange ideas with other parents, educators, and community experts on topics of child and adolescent development. Topics may include health, nutrition, discipline, guidance, peer pressure, preventing drug abuse, and planning for the future. Type 1 activities also provide families with information on what to expect and how to prepare for students’ transitions from pre-school to elementary school, elementary to middle school, and middle to high school. Additional topics for successful parenting may concern family roles and responsibilities in student attendance, college planning, and other topics that are important for student success in school. Schools also may offer parents General Educational Development (GED) programs, family support sessions, family computer classes, and other learning and social opportunities for parents and for students. To ensure that families provide valuable information to the schools, teachers may ask parents at the start of each school year or periodically to share insights about their children’s strengths, talents, interests, needs, and goals. Challenges. One challenge for successful Type 1 activities is to get information from workshops to parents who cannot come to meetings and workshops at the school building. This may be done with videos, tape recordings, summaries, newsletters, cable broadcasts, phone calls, and other print and nonprint communications. Another Type 1 challenge is to design procedures that enable all families to share information easily and as needed about their children with teachers, counselors, and others. Results expected. If useful information flows to and from families about child and adolescent development, parents will increase their confidence about parenting, students will be more aware of parents’ continuing guidance, and teachers will better understand their students’ families. For example, if practices are targeted to help families send their children to school every day and on time, then student attendance will improve and lateness will decrease. If families are part of their children’s transitions to elementary, middle, and high school, then more students will adjust well to their new schools, and more parents will remain involved across the grades. Type 2–Communicating. Type 2 activities increase school-to-home and home-to-school communications about school programs and student progress through notices, memos, conferences, report cards, newsletters, telephone calls, e-mail and computerized messages, the Internet, open houses, and other traditional and innovative communications. Sample practices. Among many Type 2 activities, elementary, middle, and high schools may provide parents with clear information on each teacher’s criteria for report card grades; how to interpret interim progress reports; and, as necessary, how to work with students to improve grades or behavior. Type 2 activities include parent-teacher conferences; parent-teacher-student conferences; or student-led conferences with parents and teachers. Student involvement in conferences helps youngsters take personal responsibility for learning. Activities may be designed to improve school and student newsletters by including student work, a feature column for parents’ questions, calendars of important events, and parent response forms. Many schools are beginning to use e-mail, voice mail, and websites to encourage two-way communication between families and teachers, counselors, and administrators. Challenges. One challenge for successful Type 2 activities is to make communications clear and understandable for all families, including parents who have less formal education or who do not read English well, so that all families can understand and respond to the information they receive. Other Type 2 challenges are to know which families are and are not receiving and understanding the communications in order to design ways to reach all families; develop effective two-way channels of communication so that families can easily contact and respond to educators; and make sure that students understand their roles as couriers and interpreters in facilitating school and family connections. Results expected. If communications are clear and useful, and if two-way channels are easily accessed, then school-to-home and home-to-school interactions will increase; more families will understand school programs, follow their children’s progress, guide students to maintain or improve their grades, and attend parent-teacher conferences. Specifically, if computerized phone lines are used to communicate information about homework, more families will know more about their children’s daily assignments. If newsletters include respond-andreply forms, more families will send ideas, questions, and comments to teachers and administrators about school programs and activities. Type 3–Volunteering. Type 3 activities are designed to improve recruitment, training, and schedules to involve parents and others as volunteers and as audiences at the school or in other locations to support students and school programs. Sample practices. Among many Type 3 activities, schools may collect information on family members’ talents, occupations, interests, and availability to serve as volunteers. These important human resources may help enrich students’ subject classes; improve career explorations; serve as language translators; monitor attendance and call parents of absent students; conduct â€Å"parent patrols† and â€Å"morning greeters† to increase school safety; and organize and improve activities such as clothing and uniform exchanges, school stores, and fairs. Schools may organize volunteers to serve as home-room parents, neighborhood representatives, and sports and club contacts and may establish telephone trees to help parents communicate with each other about school programs and events. Schools may establish a corps of volunteers to offer a â€Å"wel-come wagon† of information about the school to students and families who enroll during the school year. Schools also may create opportunities for mentors, coaches, tutors, and leaders of after-school programs to ensure that students have experiences that build and expand their skills and talents and that keep them safe and supervised after school. Some Type 3 activities may be conducted in a parent room or family center at the school where parents obtain information, conduct volunteer work, and meet with other parents. Challenges. Challenges for successful Type 3 activities are to recruit volunteers widely so that parents and other family members feel welcome; make hours flexible for parents and other volunteers who work during the school day; provide needed training; and enable volunteers to contribute productively to the school, classroom, and after-school programs. Volunteers will be better integrated in school programs if there is a coordinator who is responsible for matching volunteers’ available times and skills with the needs of teachers, administrators, and students. Another Type 3 challenge is to change the definition of â€Å"volunteer† to mean anyone who supports school goals or students’ learning at any time and in any place. This includes parents and family members who voluntarily come to school as audiences for students’ sports events, assemblies, and musical or drama presentations, and for other events that support students’ work. It also includes volunteers who work for the school at home, through their businesses, or in the community. A related challenge is to help students understand how volunteers help their school and to encourage students to interact with volunteers who can assist them with their work and activities. Results expected. If tasks are well designed, and if schedules and locations for volunteers are varied, more parents, family members, and others in the community will assist elementary, middle, and high schools and support students as members of audiences. More families will feel comfortable with the school and staff; more students will talk and interact with varied adults; and more teachers will be aware of and use the time, talents, and resources of parents and others in the community to improve school programs and activities. Specifically, if volunteers serve as attendance monitors, more families will assist students to improve attendance. If volunteers conduct a â€Å"hall patrol† or are active in other locations, school safety will increase and student behavior problems will decrease because of a better student–adult ratio. If volunteers are well-trained as tutors in particular subjects, student tutees will improve their skills in those subjects; and if volunteers discuss careers, students will be more aware of their options for the future. Type 4–Learning at home. Type 4 activities involve families with their children in academic learning activities at home that are coordinated with students’ classwork and that contribute to student success in school. These include interactive homework, goal-setting for academic subjects, and other curricular-linked activities and decisions about courses and programs. Sample practices. Among many Type 4 activities, elementary, middle, and high schools may provide information to students and to parents about the skills needed to pass each class, course, or grade level and about each teacher’s homework policies. Schools also may implement activities that can help families encourage, praise, guide, and monitor their children’s work by using interactive homework strategies; student-teacher-family contracts for long-term projects; summer home-learning packets; student-led at-home conferences with parents on portfolios or folders of writing samples or work in other subjects; goal-setting activities for improving or maintaining good report card grades in all subjects; and other approaches that keep students and families talking about schoolwork at home. Family fun and learning nights are often used as a starting point to help parents and students focus on curricular-related topics and family interactions. These meetings require parents to come to the school building. A systematic approach to increasing academic conversations at home is found in the Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork (TIPS) interactive homework for the elementary and middle grades. Challenges. One challenge for successful Type 4 activities is to implement a regular schedule of interactive homework that requires students to take responsibility for discussing important things they are learning, interviewing family members, recording reactions, and sharing their work and ideas at home. Another Type 4 challenge is to create a schedule of activities that involve families regularly and systematically with students on short-term and long-term goal-setting for attendance, achievement, behavior, talent development, and plans for college or careers. Results expected. If Type 4 activities are well designed and implemented, student homework completion, report card grades, and test scores in specific subjects will improve; and more families will know what their children are learning in class and how to monitor, support, and discuss homework. More students should complete required course credits, select advanced courses, and take college entrance tests. Students and teachers will be more aware of families’ interest in students’ work. Type 5–Decision-making. Type 5 activities include families in developing schools’ mission statements and in designing, reviewing, and improving school policies that affect children and families. Family members become active participants on school improvement teams, committees, PTA/PTO or other parent organizations, Title I and other councils, and advocacy groups. Sample practices. Among Type 5 activities, elementary, middle, and high schools may organize and maintain an active parent association and include family representatives on all committees for school improvement (e.g., curriculum, safety, supplies and equipment, partnerships, fund-raising, postsecondary college planning, career development). In particular, along with teachers, administrators, students, and others from the community, parents must be members of the â€Å"Action Team for Partnerships,† which plans and conducts family and community involvement activities linked to school improvement goals. Schools may offer parents and teachers training in leadership, decision-making, policy advocacy, and collaboration. Type 5 activities help to identify and provide information desired by families about school policies, course offerings, student placements and groups, special services, tests and assessments, annual test results for students, and annual evaluations of school program s. Challenges. One challenge for successful Type 5 activities in all schools is to ensure that leadership roles are filled by parent representatives from all of the major race and ethnic groups, socioeconomic groups, and neighborhoods that are present in the school. A related challenge is to help parent leaders serve as effective representatives by obtaining information from and providing information to all parents about school issues and decisions. At the high school level, a particular challenge is to include student representatives along with parents in decisionmaking groups and in leadership positions. An ongoing challenge is to help parents, teachers, and students who serve on an Action Team for Partnerships or other committees learn to trust, respect, and listen to each other as they collaborate to reach common goals for school improvement. Results expected. If Type 5 activities are well implemented in elementary, middle, and high schools, more families will have input into decisions that affect the quality of their children’s education; students will increase their awareness that families and students have a say in school policies; and teachers will increase their understanding of family perspectives on policies and programs for improving the school. Type 6–Collaborating with the community. Type 6 activities draw upon and coordinate the work and resources of community businesses; cultural, civic, and religious organizations; senior citizen groups; colleges and universities; governmental agencies; and other associations in order to strengthen school programs, family practices, and student learning and development. Other Type 6 activities enable students, staff, and families to contribute their services to the community. Sample practices. Among many Type 6 activities, elementary, middle, and high schools may inform students and families about the availability of community programs and resources, such as after-school recreation, tutorial programs, health services, cultural events, service opportunities, and summer programs. This includes the need to assist students and families to gain access to community resources and programs. Some schools work with local businesses to organize â€Å"gold card† discounts as incentives for students to improve attendance and report card grades. Collaborations with community businesses, groups, and agencies also strengthen the other five types of involvement. Examples include enhancing Type 1 activities by conducting parent education workshops for families at community or business locations; increasing Type 2 activities by communicating about school events on the local radio or television stations, and at churches, clinics, and supermarkets; soliciting volunteers from businesses and the community to strengthen Type 3 activities; enriching Type 4 activities by offering students learning opportunities with artists, scientists, writers, mathematicians, and others whose careers link to the school curriculum; and including community members on Type 5 decision-making councils and committees. Challenges. One challenge for successful Type 6 activities is to solve problems associated with community-school collaborations, such as â€Å"turf† problems of who is responsible for funding, leading, and supervising cooperative activities. The initial enthusiasm and decisions for school-community partnerships must be followed by actions that sustain productive collaborations over the long term. Another Type 6 challenge is to recognize and link students’ valuable learning experiences in the community to the school curricula, including lessons that build on students’ nonschool skills and talents, their club and volunteer work, and, in high school, their part-time jobs. A major challenge is to inform and involve families in community-related activities that students conduct. Related challenges are to help students understand how community partners help their school and to engage students, themselves, as volunteers and in service-learning in their own schools, in other schools, and in the community. Results expected. Well-implemented Type 6 activities will increase the knowledge that families, students, and schools have about the resources and programs in their community that could help them reach important goals. Well-designed community connections will increase student access to and participation in community programs. Coordinated community services could help many students and their families prevent health, social, and educational problems or solve problems before they become too serious. Type 6 activities also should support and enrich school curricular and extracurricular programs. Summary. The six types of involvement create a comprehensive program of partnerships in elementary, middle, and high schools, but the implementation challenges for each type of involvement must be met in order for programs to be effective. The quality of the design and content of the involvement activities directly affect the expected results. Not every practice that involves families will result in higher student achievement test scores. Rather, practices for each type of involvement can be selected to help students, families, and teachers reach specific goals and results. The examples above include only a few of hundreds of suggestions that can help elementary, middle, and high schools develop strong programs of partnerships. How Partnerships Link to Other Aspects of Successful Schools Good schools have qualified and talented teachers and administrators, high expectations that all students will succeed, rigorous curricula, engaging instruction, responsive and useful tests and assessments, strong guidance for every student, and effective school, family, and community partnerships. In good schools, these elements combine to promote students’ learning and to create a school climate that is welcoming, safe, caring, stimulating, and joyful for all students, educators, and families.

An Assignment on the Linguistic Acquisition Device Essay

In linguistics, language acquisition is the process through which human beings obtain the capability to comprehend and perceive language as well as produce sentences and words and utilize them to communicate. According to Chomsky, his Linguistic Acquisition Device (LAD) encompassed a device that children were born that could be defined as the inborn ability to comprehend the language principles. This LAD fits his innateness Hypothesis of language acquisition because he believed that once a child was exposed to language, the LAD would enable him or her to learn language in an outstanding pace as also elucidated under his critical period hypothesis Question Two According to Noam Chomsky’s critical period hypothesis, human speech encompassed a genetically programmed ability that had a critical age threshold. This is because like a variety of other human behaviors, an individual’s ability to acquire language is based on critical periods that are defined as the limited time span during which the individual is sensitive to the language acquisition external stimuli that enables him or her to acquire language. Once this time is surpassed the individual has minimum chances of acquiring language. This critical period in language acquisition was adolescence to Chomsky. Question Three Genie was discovered in Los Angeles on November 4, 1970. She was discovered by a social worker in Temple City, California when she accompanied her mother as she sought for disability benefits due to near blindness. The social worker had initially sensed that something was wrong with Genie and she got so shocked when she greeted them and discovered that Genie was actually 13 years old though the social worker had estimated that she was autistic and half that age. The social worker contacted her supervisor, who after questioning Genie’s mother contacted the police. Genie’s parents were later arrested and she was made the ward of the court and later transferred to the Children’s Hospital Lost Angeles. She was unable to acquire a language within a critical period due to the severe child abuse she went through under the hands of her father. Question Four The symptoms she displayed of this failure after she was discovered were here severe undersize regardless of her advanced age of 13 years. She had no understanding of grammar she could only comprehend 15-20 words. Two short phrases were what consisted of her active vocabulary and hence she had complete lack of speech, not because she was selectively mute but because she lacked any type of language. Though she had considerable memories of her past she lacked a way to communicate them. Question Five The forbidden experiment was the language deprivation experiment under which infants were isolated from any normal utilization of signed or spoken language as an attempt to discover the origin or language or human nature’s fundamental characteristics. Viktor became a model of this experiment because before his discovery he had lived in a forest like a wild animal and had been unable to understand or speak any language. After being placed under the care of Dr Jean Marc Gaspard Itard, he acquired the language rudiments and became socialized. Question Six She began to use the two-word phrases when she started to understand about 200 vocabulary words. Her speech began to improve after settling in her ne surrounding though it continued to exhibit latency. With time she started using negative forms with not rather than the prefix un. By October 1973 she could easily comprehend complex negation forms. By October 1971 she could listen to people talking and even contribute to the conversations. By November f the same year her speech and grammar could be equated to that of an 18 or 20 month old baby. By 1972 she could use complex noun phrases and regular plurals as well as understand interrogative words. By 1973 she was using determiners, definite articles, possessives and imperative sentences. She however did not acquire automatic speech. Question Seven The ethical implications of the language deprivation experiment are that it encompassed an inhuman experiment that would deprive the infants of their language acquisition abilities. Regardless of this Viktor benefited from this experiment because he was later able to acquire language rudiments and be socialized. The ethical implications of the experiments on Genie were linked to the fact that they subjected her to additional child abuse rather than help her because the researchers were more focused on the results of their results rather than hoe the research could benefit Jeanie. To some extent Jeanie benefited from the experiments because her language abilities improved but the researchers used her to acquire fame.

Pittsburgh – the Most Livable City!

Towns and cities have a long history. In the ancient world cities were developed in a number of regions and for a variety of reasons and motivation from religious to political views. The first true cities are sometimes considered to be large settlements where the inhabitants were no longer simply farmers of the surrounding area, but began to take on specialized occupations, and where trade, food storage and power was centralized (Gracias, par. 1). An ancient Greek philosopher, Plato, has once said, â€Å"This City is what it is because our citizens are what they are†. A city is a home for hundreds of people and is shaped by decisions, views and knowledge of those people. These days when we look up in the dictionary for the word city it is defined as a center of population, commerce, culture, and a town of significant size and importance. However, with each day cities worldwide grow, improve, and change simultaneously. Based on the technological globalization cities are moving toward becoming the centers of knowledge and learning. In fifty years from now, we will no longer view cities simply as an inhabited place of greater size, because 21st century is taking the meaning of a city to a whole new level. We will face new intelligent cities, which use technology and communication to create more efficient ways in terms of competitiveness, innovation, environment, energy, utilities, governance, and delivery of services to the citizens. Each city within our country is competing to attract more population, build a remarkable reputation and become number one. This year Forbes Magazine, the online magazine for the latest business and financial news and analysis, recognized the city of Pittsburgh as America’s Most Livable Cities for the second time (Levy, 1/2). However, as always there are many controversies about what it means to be the most livable city. Well, majority would think that livability would have to do with finding a good job. However, the word livable by itself means suitable for living. So the question is, what criteria does Forbes magazine establishes to define livable. According to the magazine it examined America’s 200 largest cities and used the following five points of data to determine the top cities: growth in income, unemployment rate, crime, cost of living, art and leisure (Levy 1/2). If you have never been to Pittsburgh, you may wonder about why in the world it was named the most livable city? Maybe twenty years ago there was nothing significant about Pittsburgh, but now there are many thriving high-tech firms that continue to form and make their mark (Florida 13/14). There are signs of life in the social and cultural environment as well. The region’s immigrant population has begun to tick upward, fed by students and professors at the universities and employees in the medical and technology sectors (13/14). There’s no doubt that Pittsburgh is one of the most livable and industrially advance cities in America. Each city possesses a unique historical and geographical background, which is what makes it significant and gives the city its sense of identity. Pittsburgh is a city known for its culture, history and accessibility. Named after William Penn the elder, the 18th century British Prime Minister, Pittsburgh was once the heart of America’s steel industry, its notorious smog earning it the nickname â€Å"hell with the lid off† (Owen, par. 1). In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the city was home to many of America’s most successful â€Å"robber baron† industrialists, including Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Mellon brothers, as well as Henry John Heinz, the founder of the Heinz food company. In the 1970s and 80s, the city transformed its economy following the collapse of the steel industry with the healthcare and several respected universities now key employers (par. 1). In the 19th and 20th centuries, wealthy businessmen and nonprofit organizations donated millions of dollars to create educational and cultural institutions (â€Å"Pittsburgh,† pars. -5). As a result in this rich legacy of community investment and involvement, the city has built the foundation of the rich cultural and artistic environment. The 14-block Cultural District is unique and is home to the world-renowned Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Pittsburgh Opera, Pittsburgh Dance Council, PNC Broadway Series, Pittsburgh Public Theater and the new August Wilson Center for African American Culture (pars. 4-5). Few cities can compare to this vibrant Cultural District alive with live theater, art and numerous restaurants. Its famous son is probably Andy Warhol, who is celebrated in an impressive museum on the city’s North Shore. The museum has achieved worldwide recognition for devoting large-scale installation art. Therefore, throughout the city and the region, galleries and museums offer everything from the cutting-edge to the classics (pars. 4-5). The entertainment is endless and the quality and variety are outstanding and fantastic. Pittsburgh has launched a multitude of programs to diversify the region’s economy away from heavy industry into high technology (Florida, 3/14). It has rebuilt its downtown virtually from scratch, invested in a new airport, and developed a massive new sport complex for its professional sport teams because of its long sport history and dedication. Pittsburgh’s football team, the Steelers, who play to a packed stadium on the Ohio River, are another example of success, and were the winners of the 2009 Super Bowl, while the ice hockey team, the Penguins, won the 2009 Stanley Cup (3/14). Indeed, Pittsburgh’s art scene, job presence, safety, and affordability make it the most livable city in the country, according to measures studied. Compared with many large cities, home prices in Pittsburgh are more affordable (Powell, par. 1). Recent surveys indicate an average home price in Pittsburgh of ranging from about $110,000 to $162,000 for a single family home, which is about 40% below the national average price (par. 1). The housing market is relatively stable despite a national subprime mortgage crisis, and Pittsburgh added jobs in 2008 even as the national economy entered a significant jobs recession. This story of regeneration was the inspiration for President Barack Obama to personally select Pittsburgh as the host city for the 2009 G20 Summit (Owen, par. 1). Pittsburgh’s strong university presence with over a dozen colleges or campuses helps encourage its livability. Because Pittsburgh is one of the largest college cities it in general has a younger, more educated and consumer-oriented population. One of its famous universities is Carnegie Mellon, one of the world’s leading centers for research in information technology (Florida, 2/14). Right down the street from Carnegie Mellon campus, is located the University of Pittsburgh, which has a world-class medical center. Pittsburgh attracts hundreds of millions of dollars per year in university research funding and is the sixth-largest center for college and university students on a per capita basis in the country (2/14). Another factor enhancing Pittsburgh’s livability is that area residents face very little risk of encountering a natural disaster, such as an earthquake, hurricane, wildfire, or tornado compared to other cities (â€Å"Improving,† 1/1). Pittsburgh is also a great place to raise a family, based on income growth over the past five years and the current unemployment rate (â€Å"Pittsburgh,† par. 6). Therefore, the city is more livable if a family’s income goes further. Pittsburgh is as well ranked among the top 10 metropolitan areas in the nation for climates favorable to business expansion (â€Å"Pittsburgh Law,† pars. 4-5). The city is one of the most industrially advanced based on technology, retail, finance, and medicine (pars. 4-5). What I mean by industrially advance is that the city is home and headquarters to major global financial institutions, including PNC Financial Services, PPG Industries, U. S. Steel, H. J. Heinz Company, CONSOL Energy, Google Corporation, and others (pars 4-5). â€Å"Our City has come a long way and I’m thrilled that Forbes. com has once again recognized Pittsburgh’s unique position as a City that truly has it all – entertainment and affordability, but most important, safety and jobs,† Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said (â€Å"Pittsburgh Ranked†, 1/1). It’s important that we look to these ratings as an opportunity to not only tell our good story and attract more people and businesses to Pittsburgh, but to roll up our sleeves and work on getting even safer, creating more jobs, and being more livable (1/1). † The word â€Å"livable† carries the connotation of a place being suitable for a living. The Forbes magazine defines livable by establishing certain criteria that the city must satisfy to be recognized as America’s most livable city. Pittsburgh has outranked all 200 cities nationwide and was honored to stand out as a powerful example of what is a livable city and how to create new jobs and industries while transforming to 21st century economy. No one is claiming that Pittsburgh is a perfect city. It’s simply livable and beautiful. There’s no doubt that Pittsburgh is on the map when it comes to arts and culture , income growth, stable unemployment rate, low crime rates and average costs of living . However, there’s more about Pittsburgh than just statistics and rankings. Some people may perhaps enjoy Pittsburgh simply for its marvelous fall season. Where the nights get shorter, the wind blows brisker, and the trees shed their green, making way for coral, mustard, and flame. As you walk through dozens of neighborhoods of every stripe and character you discover that Pittsburgh feels like home. Rolling hills, wooded glens, dog walks, and unbelievable views of the sky can make you forget about all that reading you have to do for school or work. All the lists and web articles in the world can’t convince you that Pittsburgh is the most livable and perfect place, but a visit here just might.