Book Review on Economic Sophisms, by Frdric Bastiat Essay

Book Review on Economic Sophisms, by Frdric Bastiat - Essay Example This argument is extended to high tariffs, because these tariffs do not benefit the consumer, only the manufacturer. Discussion Bastiat begins the argument by examining the theory of scarcity verses the theory of abundance. One of the arguments that protectionists put forth is that free trade causes a surplus of goods, and that this will drive down the price of goods sold. Bastiat refutes this argument by noting that, while the theory of scarcity does benefit the producers, the consumers are benefited when goods are abundant, and that, if man did not operate by the exchange of goods, abundance would be more beneficial to him in the long run (Bastiat, 1964, p. 10). Bastiat takes issue with the analysis of protectionists because it so heavily favors the side of the producers, while not looking at the perspective of the consumers. Protectionism produces scarcity and lessens the obstacles to production for the producers, but the consumer, who will have to pay higher prices because goods are scarcer, is not considered in the equation (Bastiat, 1964, p. 29). Further, Bastiat takes issue that the success of the foreign competitor will mean the failure of the domestic firm, even if the foreign competitor has better conditions to produce the commodity. ... However, Bastiat rejects this argument. Rather, Bastiat argues that each competitor can produce according to how strong he is, but it does not mean that one succeeds and one fails (Bastiat, 1964, p. 30). Furthermore, such an arrangement, where country A produces a commodity cheaper than country B, and is allowed to freely export the commodity into country B, benefits the consumers, and Bastiat sees this as an appropriate ends to the means (Bastiat, 1964, p. 42). A further error refuted by Bastiat, which is related to the previous error that countries do not have equal conditions of production, therefore protectionism is valid to protect the domestic firms from cheap imports, is that high taxes are needed on foreign imports to equalize the costs of goods. This is especially true when the targeted country has high domestic taxes. If the domestic taxes are high, then foreign tariffs must also be high. If this were not true, the domestic products would be substantially more expensive, du e to the high taxes, and would therefore be less desirable to consumers to buy then the foreign competitors. Bastiat refutes this by pointing out that the people get a return on their investment in these domestic taxes, through the building of roads, bridges and the like. However, the protectionist tariffs, argues Bastiat, are not for the good of the people, but for the producers. Yet the people pay to subsidize the firms. Further, free trade benefits the people, because exporting French goods means that other countries are paying the taxes that the French would be paying (Bastiat, 1964, pp. 48-49). Bastiat also makes the argument that protectionists are, essentially, making the

Public Policy and Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Public Policy and Law - Essay Example The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has discovered several major weaknesses in the anti-harassment policies and processes in many agencies. This essay discusses the definition of sexual harassment, as well as the relevant laws, case laws, and the current figures and scenarios. Introduction Cases of sexual harassment in the workplace is well documented and widely known. Catharine MacKinnon led the campaign for sexual harassment to be acknowledged as a rightful issue under the 1964 Civil Rights Act’s sex discrimination requirements (Mink 64). Before sexual harassment was acknowledged by the U.S. Supreme Court as a valid type of sex discrimination forbidden by federal law in its resolution in Meritor Savings Bank v Vinson in 1986, numerous lower courts had wrestled with the difficult problems posed by sexual harassment (Mink 64). Numerous lower courts had declined to acknowledge sexual harassment as a valid ‘cause of action’, claiming that courts shoul d not investigate or examine explanations of human conduct in the workplace. Human conduct or behavior, according to these courts, embodied a ‘slippery slope’ that would require a much larger number of federal judges, or that it would dramatically increase the number of court cases (Achampong ix). The invalidation of these decisions was an acknowledgment of the reality that sexual harassment is a criminal conduct that brings about a valid cause of action. Definitions, Relevant Laws, and Case Laws The 1990s have witnessed a sharpened awareness in society about sexual harassment, and a persistent, very important move toward total prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace (Bakirci 17). However, there is no direct and simple definition for sexual harassment. However, any definition in any policy should be clear and straightforward without leaving out the key legal principles (Orlov & Roumell 61): Sexual harassment is against the law. Any conduct of a sexual nature wi th or between coworkers or other managers could be considered sexual harassment. Anyone who breaks the law will be punished. All policies pertaining to sexual harassment must explicitly define that sexual harassment is a type of sexual discrimination prohibited by Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act or federal employment discrimination laws and nearly all other anti-discrimination laws. The policies of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) policies sexual harassment must be used. Most companies integrate them into their guidelines because they provide a quite precise and definite legal description of sexual harassment. The EEOC defines sexual harassment in this way (Achampong 201): Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment when (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment, (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individuals, or (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. Nevertheless, any definition of sexual harassment must not end with the EEOC policies. They are simply the basis for a definite and brief definition. The various forms of sexual harassm

T Cell Receptor and the B Cell Receptor: Comparison

T Cell Receptor and the B Cell Receptor: Comparison The entire world is full of pathogens which we need to fight off to leave a normal life. Due to this, we have an immune system that helps us fight off and prevent/manage subsequent infections. Our immune system can be classified into two, the innate and acquired immune responses. The innate immune response is broadly specific and provides the first defensive action against any infection. Their response to any subsequent infection stays the same as the initial infection. In contrast, the acquired immune response is highly specific such that it provides defence by generating antibodies specific to an antigen. They also have the capacity of keeping infection memory such that there will be a more powerful response to future infections. Innate immune response is mostly provided by macrophages, dendritic cells, polymorphonuclear leukocytes, mast cells, natural killer cells, erythrocytes and platelets. The acquired immune response is provided by lymphocytes, the T (T cells) and B lymphocyte s (B cells). The lymphocytes are derived from hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) in the bone marrow. That form MLPs (myeloid-lymphoid progenitors). If the HSC and MLP stay in the bone marrow they form B cells and if they migrate (via blood) to the thymus they form T cells (see figure below). Initiation of immune response by the lymphocytes first requires recognition of the antigens and this is achieved by cell surface receptors called BCRs (B cell receptor) and TCRs (T cell receptor). These two receptors have great similarities and differences in their structure complexes, antigen recognition, cell activation and genetic recombination. A) STRUCTURE OF BCRs AND TCRs Both the BCR and TCR have great similarities and differences in the structure. They both exist as multi-chain complexes as seen in the diagrams below: i) Antigen recognition components In the figure above, section A shows the structure of a BCR. The BCR antigen recognition medium is an immunoglobulin (Ig) molecule (a transmembrane antibody). The antibody is modified via alternative splicing that adds a hydrophobic transmembrane domain and a short cytoplasmic domain (~3 aminoacids) at the C terminus of the immunoglobulin heavy chain (Wall Kuehl 1983). All naà ¯ve B cells only express both IgM and IgD classes of immunoglobulin but do switch to other classes upon activation by antigens (Goding, 1978). The antibody (figure 2C) is a highly specific Ig that can adopt any one of the 5 immunoglobulin isotopes, IgG, IgA, IgM, IgD and IgE. The antibody has 3 regions of which 2 regions (FAB) vary from antibody to antibody and bind to antigens and 1 region (FC) that binds to effector molecules. The antibody is composed of 2 light and 2 heavy chains held together by inter and intra disulphide bonds. The heavy chains depending on the Ig isotypes can be any one of ÃŽÂ ³, Ã⠀šÃ‚ µ, ÃŽÂ ±, ÃŽÂ ´ or Ɇº chains. The variable domains (VH and VL) bind to antigen and also bring about variability and antigen recognition specificity. This specificity is mainly due to the presence of 3 hypervariable regions (Complementary Determining Regions), namely CDR1, CDR2 and CDR3 in the variable regions. Similar to BCR, the antigen recognition medium in TCR is an immunoglobulin heterodimer made from ÃŽÂ ± and ÃŽÂ ² Ig chains (in most T cells) or ÃŽÂ ³ and ÃŽÂ ´ Ig chains. Unlike in BCRs where the IG can be of 5 types, in TCRs the Ig heterodimers are only of 2 types. The two Ig chains in TCRs are (also like BCRs) held together by intra and inter disulphide bonds. As seen in section C, each Ig chain folds into 2 domains, the variable and the constant domain. This folding greatly resembles the FAB region of the antibody in BCRs. Likewise antibodies, the ÃŽÂ ±ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ² and ÃŽÂ ³ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ´ heterodimers also have hypervariable regions (CDR1, CDR2 and CDR3) in variable domains. The variable regions in both BCRs and TCRs bring about specificity and diversity The BCR antibodies have a hinge joint (connecting FAB and FC) that makes the Ig molecule very flexible. Unlike antibodies, the flexibility of the TCR Ig molecule is very limited at the elbow region (junction of constant and variable region) (Degano et al, 1996). ii) ACCESSORY PROTEINS Both the BCR and TCR have very short cytoplasmic domains that restrict the binding of any signal transduction factors to the receptors. Due to this the receptors are unable to transducer signals into cells upon antigen recognition. Signal transduction is achieved via the accessory proteins. BCRs (figure 2 section A) accessory proteins consists of one or more dimmers of one each of Ig-ÃŽÂ ± and Ig-ÃŽÂ ² chains held together in the cell membrane by a pair of disulphide bonds. The cytoplasmic domains of these chains have phosphorylation sites called ITAMS. Unlike BCR accessory protein, the TCR accessory proteins (figure 2, section C) is composed of a complex know as CD3. It consists of 3 types of invariant chains, namely ÃŽÂ ³, ÃŽÂ ´ and Ɇº. A ÃŽÂ ³ or ÃŽÂ ´ chain couples up with one Ɇº chain (by formation of disulphide bonds) each to form two dimmers (ÃŽÂ ³Ãƒâ€°Ã¢â‚¬ º and ÃŽÂ ´Ãƒâ€°Ã¢â‚¬ º). In addition to this, a dimmer of 2 zeta (ÃŽÂ ¶) chains is also present. Together, these 3 dimers make up the CD3 complex. The ÃŽÂ ¶ chains have a much longer cytoplasmic tail than the ÃŽÂ ³, ÃŽÂ ´ and Ɇº chains and have 3 ITAMs as compared to one in the ÃŽÂ ³, ÃŽÂ ´ and Ɇº chains. Therefore for both BCR and TCR accessory proteins are dimmers that all contain ITAMs. B) GENERATION OF RECEPTOR DIVERSITY There are millions antigens and we need to produce millions of antibodies against them. However, we do not have millions of Ig genes so how are we able to produce all these different antibodies? The answer is antibodies are produced in developing B cells via genetic recombination of genes encoding the immunoglobulins (Hozumi and Tonegawa, 1976). The figure below shows the gene segments coding immunoglobulins. Figure legend: The human heavy chain locus as shown in the last row, consists of about 38-46 functional VH genes, 27 DH and 6 JH genes. The light chain can be either made of ÃŽÂ » or ÃŽÂ º chains. The ÃŽÂ » locus consists of about 30 functional V ÃŽÂ » genes and 5 J ÃŽÂ » genes each separated by a J segments. The Kappa locus has about 34-40 functional VÃŽÂ º genes and 5 JÃŽÂ º genes. The variable heavy chain region of the antibody is made from the joining of the V (variable), D (diversity) and J (joint) gene segments and the variable light chain (which can be either ÃŽÂ º or ÃŽÂ ») is formed from the joining of V and J segments only. A process called V(D)J recombination involves joining different gene segments and as a result bringing about antibody diversity. At the heavy chain locus, any one of the 27 D and 6 J gene segments are first joined together and then any one of 46 V gene segment is joined to this DJ segment. This rearranged DNA is then transcribed to form a primary mRNA. This mRNA then undergoes splicing to bring the VDJ segment close to the constant gene segment. Additional diversity is achieved as any 1 of the two types of light chains can be formed. Random insertion of nucleotides either side of D segments also creates N-nucleotide diversity. In total about 106 possible immunoglobulin gene combinations can be formed. This recombination process is driven by recombination signal sequences that flank the coding gene segments. Certain enzymes (RAG-1 and RAG-2) help mediate this somatic recombination process. The antibodies produce undergo a processs of clonal selectin where only the antibody specific to the antigen preferentially proliferates to make many antibodies. Binding affinity of BCR is greatly increased after antigen recognition where the variable regions of both heavy and light chain undergo somatic hypermutations. This is where point mutations are put in the variable regions of rapidly proliferating B cells. These mutations produce antibodies that may have good, moderate or good affinity for the antigens. The antibody with good affinity will have a selective advantage during clonal selection. The gene segements encoding TCR ÃŽÂ ² chain follow the similar V,D,J and C arrangement of BCRs. The recombination process involves of of the two DÃŽÂ ² genes rearranges next to one of JÃŽÂ ² genes. Then one of the ~50 V genes arranges next to the preformed DÃŽÂ ²JÃŽÂ ² genes. As seen , this is also similar to the B cells where a DJ segement forms first and then joins up with a V segment. There is also random insertion, just like in B cells, of nucleotides either side of D segments to create N-nucleotide diversity. Unlike in B cells, there is no somatic hypermutation in T cells after antigen recognition. If this occurs, the TCR will loose its ability to recognise MHC and the peptide it presents. C) ANTIGEN BINDING/RECOGNITION BCR and TCR have similar immunoglobulin antigen recognition receptors but the types of antigens they recognise are very different. BCR can recognise naÃÆ' ¯ve (as a whole) antigens and TCR can only recognise a single antigen peptide sequence presented onto cell surfaces by MHC (Major histocompatibility complex) molecules. The antigens recognised by B cells are naÃÆ' ¯ve and therefore the antibody in BCR mostly recognise discontinuous epitopes on the antigen and antigens recognised by the TCR is in form of linear peptide sequences and therefore they mostly recognise continuous or linear epitopes. Antigen recognition by BCR is very simple where the antibody variable region simply recognises specific epitopes on antigen and bind to it. The BCR can recognise 3 types of antigens, Type 1 thymus independent antigens (where bacterial lipoproteins can bind to mitogenic bypass molecules on B cells surface and this allows non-specific antigen B cell activation), Type 2 thymus independent antigens (appiles to antigens that have well spaced and repetitive polysaccharides that bind to multiple antibodies in BCR and activate the B cell) and Thymus dependent antigens (require helper T cells). Thymus dependent antigens when bind to TCR, instead of causing activation normally cause anergy. Due to this, once the binding has occurred, the whole antigen+TCR comples is endocytosed, the antigen is hydrolysed by enzymes and processed to small linear peptides and then presented onto the B cell surface via MHC2 molecules. Helper T cells then recognise this peptide-MHC complex. B cells have loads of C D40 on their surface that binds to CD40L present on Th helper cells. In response to this Th cells secrete IL-4, 5, 6 that also help activate other costimulatory molecules in the BCR coreceptor complex. All these events provide costimulation of the B cells and it is activated. ÃŽÂ ±ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ² heterodimer TCRs in comparison can recognise any type of antigen that is processed and presented as a single peptide on MHC1 on target cells and MHC2 on B cells, macrophages and dendritic cells (all professional antigen presenting cells). The non-covalent forces that help TCR bind to the peptide-MHC complex are similar to the forces that enable the antibody bond to the antigen i.e. noncovalent. Unlike BCR that only have to recognise epitopes on antigens, the TCR has to both recognise the presence of both MHC molecule and antigen peptide. The TCR VÃŽÂ ± (variable alpha region) overlays ÃŽÂ ±2 helix of MHC1 or ÃŽÂ ²1 helix of MHC2 and the VÃŽÂ ² domain overlays ÃŽÂ ±1 helix in both MHC1/2. The CDR1 and CDR2 bind to ÃŽÂ ± helices of MHC and the CDR3 (which is more variable), binds to the antigen peptide on MHC. This concept is summarised in the picture below: Figure legend: The picture shows how the TCR variable complementarity determining regions (CDR) which are the binding sites interact with peptide-MHC complex. The CDR1 and CDR2 bind to the MHC alpha helices and CFR3 binds to the peptide. The ÃŽÂ ³ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ´ TCRs are more similar to BCR antibody as they can recognise naÃÆ' ¯ve antigens without the requirement of processed antigen presentation. Another similarity of BCR and ÃŽÂ ³ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ´ TCRs is that in the antibodies of BCRs, the CDR3 regions on heavy chain are shorter than the CDR3 in heavy chains and also the same in ÃŽÂ ³ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ´ TCRs is seen where the ÃŽÂ ³ are shorter than the ÃŽÂ ´ CD3. COSTIMULATIONS Both lymphocytes do not get activated (but undergo anergy) once they recognise and bind to an antigen. They require costimulatory signals that will eventually lead to the activation of the lymphocytes. The B cells have BCR co receptor complex consisting of CD19 and CD21 (complement receptor), CD81 and LEU13 (interferon induced transmembrane protein 1). All these molecules are stimulated in presence of interferons and complements that give a costimulatory signal to B cells and activate it when it has recognised an antigen. The precise details of how these costimulatory molecules stimulate B cell signalling are still under investigation. In contrast to the 4 main costimulatory molecules in B cells, the primary costimulatory molecule in T cells is CD28 (figure besides) The binding of peptide-MHC to TCR causes up-regulation of certain molecules (e.g. CD28). T cells, like B cells can be costimulated by either cytokines or costimulatory molecule interactions. APC have surface molecules such as the B7.1 and B7.2 (or the CD80 and CD86) that recognise and bind to a molecule on the surface of the T cells called CD28 found on CD. This interacting provides co stimulation. The CTLA4 molecule is highly expressed after proliferation of the T cells. Once it binds to B7, instead of co stimulating T cells, it turns the T cells off. This is helpful in preventing excessive immune responses. No such regulatory mechanism is seen in B cells. A unique feature of T cells is that they have co receptors (CD4 and CD8) that help recognise the MHC molecules. CD4 molecules act as co receptors for MHC2 and are found on helper T cells and CD8 molecules present on cytotoxic T cells help recognise MHC1 molecules. ACTIVATION OF B AND T CELLS The activation of B and T cells following antigen recognition is somehow similar as it involves the phosphorylation of the ITAMS of accessory proteins. In B cells, antigen binding and co stimulation recruits the BCR+antigen to lipid rafts that brings protein tyrosine kinase Lyn close to the ITAMs of the cytoplasmic tails of the BCR associated proteins. Lyn phosphorylates ITAMs and triggers a signal cascade that results in increase of cytoplasmic calcium levels that activate transcription factors that control the entry of B cells into cell cycle. Eventually activate the B cells which then form plasma cells (that make loads of clones of antibodies to the antigen) and memory cells that will help manage subsequent infections. The initial proliferation of the activated B cell is accompanied by somatic hypermutation of the rearranged antibody variable genes that lead to the production of antibodies that may have poor, moderate or good binding capacity to the antigen. The good binding antib odies will be preferentially selected during clonal selection and they will further undergo proliferation to produce plasma and memory cells. A similar situation also occurs in T cells where there is activation of lipid rafts that bring the zeta chain ITAMS close to Lck (a protein tyrosine kinase) that phosphorylates the ITAMs and therefore create opportunity for other factors to bind to it and eventually cause mobilization of calcium that causes proliferation of T cell into Helper T cells, Regulatory T cells and Cytotoxic T cells.

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The Regulators By: Anika Khanderia What was the Regulator Movement? The Regulator Movement (also known as the War of the Regulation, or the Regulator uprising) was an uprising that took place in the Carolinas from 1765 to 1771 when citizens of both colonies took up arms against corrupt colonial officials. Historians consider the Regulator Movement to be a catalyst to the American Revolution, even though it was unsuccessful. Causes of the Uprising Many factors influenced the uprising that took place in the Carolinas during the 1760s and 70s. Firstly, many people emigrated from the urban northeast to the rural southwest during the 1760s which created a huge population increase in the Carolinas (as noted by the Censuses). The once agricultural inland section that was populated by planters was upsetted as merchants and lawyers headed westward. At the same time, the local agricultural economy was experiencing a deep economic depression due to the severe droughs that had occured throughout the past decade. The loss of crops cut out the average farmers'/planters' main food source as well a...

The Concept Of Public Health Health And Social Care Essay

The challenges outlined in this definition are the chief duty of wellness attention professionals, particularly public wellness specializers who receive developing from Schools of Public Health ( SOPH ) . SOPH is a term used to depict a section in an establishment of higher acquisition concerned chiefly with proviso of postgraduate Public Health tutoring, chiefly in the signifier of a Masters grade in Public Health ( MPH ) . ( 3 )1.1 Backgrounds:Globally, there have been important alterations in public wellness, with monolithic betterments in developed states, while stagnancy and even diminution has been observed in the wellness position of developing and under-developed states. In states like the United Kingdom, the class of wellness attention during the 19th and 20th centuries focused on proviso of drinkable H2O and bettering sanitation, and clean air. These purposes have mostly been achieved to a sensible criterion, but unhappily, the state of affairs is far from what is desired i n most underdeveloped states. ( 4 ) The current tendency is typified by the â€Å" reverse attention jurisprudence † , where comparatively few schools of public wellness exist in parts with the greatest public wellness challenges and an extra figure exist in the developed universe, where focal point has shifted to face new epidemics of sick wellness ensuing from, for case drug maltreatment, fleshiness and smoke. The key to turn toing these wellness issues, both in development and developed states, lies with the preparation of competent public wellness specializer ; this undertaking lies chiefly with SOPH. ( 3 ) With the apparent importance of public wellness, the preparation of public wellness professionals plays an indispensable function in undertaking these jobs, as it lays the foundation for the hereafter of this sector. Selection is an built-in portion of any preparation programme and its importance can non be overemphasized. It can be described as the first one of the most of import stairss in the bringing of effectual population based wellness attention in this context. The class constructions of most MPH programmes were traditionally centred on capable countries such as ; epidemiology, wellness policy, wellness publicity, wellness direction, environmental wellness, human biological science and wellness economic sciences. ( 5-7 ) Presently nevertheless, the range has been expanded to include topics affecting statistical analysis and the usage of computing machine programmes ; the ability to entree, manage and work with information ; the ability to show and circulate information in an effectual mode ; interview and communicating accomplishments ; sensitiveness to wellness inequalities and societal accomplishments. ( 7 ) Most SOPH in the United Kingdom are organized around the subjects of capacity edifice, multidisciplinary, balanced instruction and research. Information is dissipated in traditional category room scene, either as full-time 12 month programmes, or as portion clip 24-60 months programmes. ( 8 ) Certain SOPH have adopted more advanced agencies of instruction bringing, choosing for electronic agencies for proviso of distance acquisition.1.2 SCHOOLS OF PUBLIC HEALTH: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVESInstitutions of larning concerned with educating pupils in the rules of public wellness started emerging in the early portion of the 20th century. The first of its sort was formed in 1916, when the Rockefeller foundation funded the gift of John Hopkins University in the United States. This establishment differed in its proficient attack to public wellness contrasting with the more societal and environmental attack adopted by Charles Edward Winslow at Yale University. ( 3 ) In line with the Rockefeller foundation ‘s aims of developing the scientific discipline of public wellness, it went in front to fund the constitution of legion SOPH within the United States and internationally. Its first international legacy was in the UK, where in 1922, it sponsored the formation of the public wellness section in the London school of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine ( LSHTM ) . However, shortly after the Second World War, the Rockefeller foundation shifted its focal point to other precedences. Despite this, there was still an addition in the figure of SOPH, with the World Health Organization join forcesing with National authoritiess specifically to develop and educate public wellness professionals from 1948. These attempts have seen the constitution of about 357 SOPH in 54 states as at 2006. ( 3 )1.3 SCHOOLS OF PUBLIC HEALTH IN THE UNITED KINGDOM:An cyberspace based hunt of the universities in the UK offering different signifiers of public wellness at station alu mnus degree revealed about 70 eight of such establishments. However, there are differences in the quality and focal point of public wellness research offered by these establishments. These differences were highlighted after the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise ( RAE ) , which identified the figure of research active staff and conducted a peer appraisal of the quality of research within different universities. ( 9 ) Another important difference in UK SOPH is the appellation between programmes offering a Masters in public Health ( MPH ) and an MSc in public wellness as differentiated by establishments established before and after 1992. Evans ( 2009 ) identified ‘pre-1992 ‘ universities as establishments that offer intensive classs and are staffed by internationally recognized research workers and have programmes normally labelled as ‘Masters in Public wellness ‘ ( MPH ) . The ‘post-1992 ‘ universities are largely former engineering schools that run largely parttime classs and frequently have less internationally celebrated staff labelling their programme as ‘MSc in Public Health ‘ . MPH programme are by and large considered superior to most MSc Public wellness programmes for these grounds. However the full clip MSc public wellness programme the London School of Hygiene and Tropical medical specialty ( LSTHM ) is internationally celebrated and stands as an exclusion to the facts stated above. ( 3 ) Over the last two decennaries, there have been important additions in the figure of postgraduate public wellness classs, particularly in new universities. These classs normally have a wider focal point reflecting the more societal facets of public wellness coupled with an admittance of pupils with multidisciplinary backgrounds. It was n't until 1992 that the LSTHM opened its public wellness grade to pupils with first grades other than medical specialty. It took a twosome of more old ages until the Faculty of Public wellness admitted non-medical alumnuss into its preparation programme in the twelvemonth 2000. ( 10 ) One major challenge of SOPH in the UK has been the issue of equilibrating research with learning. Schools that have really low RAE ranking will more likely lose support. Besides, the focal point on research is driven by the desire for equal reviewed publications as a step of the grade of academic success. This tendency has resulted in the prioritization of research over learning for most establishments of public wellness. However, there has been a nexus between the National Health Service and some SOPH, where the MPH class forms the first twelvemonth of public wellness specializer preparation programme which runs for 5 old ages. This agreement it has been argued will likely assist equilibrate research and instruction. ( 3,6 )1.4 THE PROCESS OF SELECTION:The United Kingdom is home to some of the most reputable acquisition establishments in the universe and as such attracts a diverse group of persons every twelvemonth, who come in hunt of quality cognition. The standards used for pupil choice into a Masters Degree programme in Public Health in has important deduction on future quality of the public wellness sector in the UK, and so the universe sing the big inflow of foreign pupils seeking quality instruction in public wellness. ( 11 ) Student choice is normally based chiefly on academic background/achievements. However, in recent old ages, the standard has been widened to include other factors like single attitudes, involvements, and personal features desired ends and work experience. Selection policies based on the traditional academic ability are fast melting out for a figure of grounds. One ground is the deficiency of grounds demoing a correlativity between old academic public presentation and subsequent success in wellness professional courses/practice. ( 12 ) The purpose of any choice procedure is to choose persons who best tantrum certain defined standards. Therefore an indispensable portion of this procedure is the definition of one or more standard by which appliers can be judged. This measure is highly of import, as SOPH are expected to take and develop future public wellness practicians who will be equipped with the needed accomplishments expected to turn to the challenges of this demanding profession. ( 11 ) Until late in the United Kingdom, developing under the Faculty of Public wellness was unfastened to merely medical practician and as a consequence, handiness of infinites on medically oriented public wellness programmes for non-medical appliers were limited. However, in 2000, the module rank was opened to non-medical alumnuss. Despite this alteration, there has been a diminution in module rank. However, these happenings has prompted inquiries about the accomplishments required to be competent public wellness practicians and if it was necessary to hold a medical grade before analyzing public wellness. ( 13 )1.5 Rationale:The thought for this undertaking was conceived by Dr Tom Marshall ( 14 ) after it was observed that admittances into the University of Birmingham ‘s MPH classs had increased significantly following the debut of an on-line choice test, as a pre-requisite for entry in March 2009. ( 15 ) Additionally, inquiries generated following a meeting of 12 MPH/MSc programme managers in September 2009 to discourse affairs of common involvement, besides inspired this undertaking.2. LITERATURE REVIEW:This literature reappraisal seeks to place similar work done on the choice standards for pupils meaning to analyze for a Masters grade in Public Health. It will try to place what the current cognition on pupil choice in the UK is, place countries that have already been researched and highlight what aspects may necessitate farther research.2.1 SEARCH STRATEGY:The writer conducted a hunt for articles written in English linguistic communication on the pupil choice standards for postgraduate public wellness instruction. Databases included in the hunt included MEDLINE, ERIC and ISI WEB OF SCIENCE. The electronic footings used entirely or in combination for the hunt included â€Å" Masterss, † â€Å" PUBLIC HEALTH, † â€Å" MPH, † â€Å" MSc, † â€Å" POSTGRADUATE, † â€Å" SELECTION, † and â€Å" CRITERIA † . Search footings combinations were modified utilizing AND/OR and database specific wildcards ( e.g. $ or? ) . The initial hunt provided really limited relevant informations on the topic being researched. Therefore, the undermentioned hunt footings were included ; â€Å" Undergraduate, † and â€Å" MEDICAL SCHOOL. †2.2 MPH AND UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL Training:The Rockefeller Foundation ‘s 1916 one-year study noted that the first SOPH was established to supply a sound footing of scientific cognition for the systematic publicity of populace and personal hygiene and besides set up a well defined calling as an attractive force for trefoils interested in the field of public wellness instead than the clinical pattern of medical specialty. These original aims still play a important function in finding who gets selected to analyze for an MPH. The educational course of study of sections of preventative medical specialty of most medical schools is really similar to that of many SOPH ( 16,17 ) and as a consequence the MPH programme was antecedently unfastened merely to alumnuss of medical schools as it was deemed indispensable to posses a medical grade before analyzing postgraduate public wellness. The turning demand for more health care professionals has seen the incorporation of the MPH course of study into the undergraduate medical preparation strategy. In the United States, a few of such programmes exist including classs at Yale, Tulane and John Hopkins. These medical schools run coincident programmes with next schools of public wellness, such that on graduation, pupils possess both an MD and an MPH. Undoubtedly, there is a strong convergence in the choice of undergraduate medical pupils and postgraduate pupils of the MPH programme. Due to the deficiency of literature on the choice standards for graduate student MPH, the writer decided to reexamine the literature on undergraduate medical pupil choice standards in the United Kingdom.2.3 SELECTION CRITERIA FOR UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL STUDENTS IN THE UK:The standards used for choice of undergraduate medical pupils are mostly vague being more of an administrative exercising to fit the figure of appliers to the available infinites on the class utilizing a movable Markss threshold. The consequences are that the greater the figure of appliers that twelvemonth, the higher the threshold grade used for admittance. ( 18 ) However, most medical schools strive to guarantee that the few available places available for medical pupil admittance are unfastened to pupils who will do the best physicians. With the current consciousness that non-academic personal qualities are basically as of import in the pattern of medical specialty as academic ability, many medical schools require appliers to set about entry trials that step other qualities and features in add-on to academic ability. ( 12,19 ) One of such trial is the personal qualities assessment trial ( PQA ) , which is designed to measure verbal, numerical, and spacial logical thinking. It contains a personality stock list and besides has an ethical logical thinking paper. The PQA has added value alongside the A – degrees leting for an nonsubjective appraisal of non-cognitive features of draw a bead oning medical pupils. ( 19 ) Many surveies have been done to measure the qualities of medical pupil which will do them good physicians in the hereafter. ( 19-21 ) A 20 twelvemonth prospective cohort survey was carried out to find whether A- degree classs and intelligence abilities of medical pupils could be used to foretell physician ‘s callings. The survey was carried out on 511 medical pupils who entered West-minister medical school between 1975 and 1982 with follow up to 2002. The result steps assessed were the clip taken to make different calling classs, postgraduate makings obtained, figure of research publications, and steps of emphasis and burnout related to A- degree classs and intelligence at entry to clinical school. The consequences of the survey showed that an A-level class which has peculiar widespread application in UK pupil choice has long-run prognostic value for undergraduate and postgraduate callings. ( 21 ) Parry J et al carried out a reappraisal of the admittance procedure of five medical classs in UK universities. The aims of the survey were to depict the current methods used by medical schools to place prospective medical pupils for admittance to the five twelvemonth grade class. The reappraisal was carried out on a sum of 20 two universities utilizing documental analysis and interviews with admittance coachs. Their findings revealed that there was a common standard for medical pupil admittance, based on academic ability, coupled with a suited personality consisting motive for medical specialty, leading accomplishments, teamwork abilities and extracurricular involvement. The reappraisal concluded that despite the common implicit in standards for medical pupil admittances, universities differed in their application of their demands for pupil choice. ( 22 )Brown and Lilford in their paper titled â€Å" choosing medical pupils † noted that it cost about ?200,000 lbs to develop ea ch medical pupil in the United Kingdom. However, the deductions, fiscal and otherwise of taking the incorrect pupil to develop in the first case are far greater. Three wide attributes that a suited pupil should hold include ; appropriate cognitive ability, diligence and humanity. However, the current choice tools can merely test suitably for cognitive ability. Most medical schools have introduced aptitude trial based largely on cognitive undertakings. There is grounds to demo that the trial correlative well with presymptomatic scrutiny consequences, but have non been a dependable forecaster of clinical public presentation. They besides questioned the truth of psychological as a forecaster of diligence observing the trouble in finding the appropriate mixture of traits that is most prognostic of persevering service and personal patterned advance. They besides noted that although short medical pupil interviews were effectual enlisting tools, they had low prognostic value. ( 23 ) Anothe r survey noted that while most medical schools may wish to choose future physicians with both cognitive and non-cognitive trial, using the usage of interviews was noted to be labour intensive and clip consuming. ( 19 ) Trial of cognitive ability seemed to be the most valid method with the highest predictive.A recent article proposed a comprehensive theoretical account for the choice of medical pupils based on informed ego choice, academic accomplishment, general cognitive ability ( GCA ) and facets of personality and interpersonal accomplishments. They used informations ( n=1000 ) from existent choice processs to show how their proposed theoretical account can be applied to increase the opportunities of doing accurate and defendable pupil choice. ( 24 )2.4 SELECTION PROCESS FOR MPH ADMISSION IN OTHER COUNTRIESThe choice of pupils into the MPH programme in the United States follows a different format than what applies in the UK. In the US, all SOPH and public wellness plans are accre dited by the nationally recognized Council on Education for Public Health ( CEPH ) . Students meaning to use for a graduate student grade in public wellness direct their application through the Schools of Public Health Application Service ( SOPHAS ) . SOPHAS so completes the application to different schools, on behalf of single pupils. Before pupils can subject their application to SOPHAS, they must sit for an entryway scrutiny. Most schools accept the Graduate Record Exam ( GRE ) , although demands may change for some schools. ( 25 ) It is clear from a reappraisal of the literature that the implicit in rules of pupil choice procedure is geared towards placing persons who are most suited to the entry demands which are designed to choose campaigners that are most likely to win in the class. It besides aims to forestall the credence of campaigners that will most likely constitute a hazard to the profession.2.5 AIMS AND OBJECTIVESThis undertaking aims to measure how pupils are selected for admittance into a Master ‘s programme by assorted schools of public wellness the United Kingdom. Specific aims will include: To measure the differences in MPH pupil choice procedure used by different Universities. To find the coveted qualities of a suited MPH pupil. To determine if entry demands differ for first twelvemonth public wellness trainees when compared to other pupils To determine if entry demands differ for campaigners with or without medical preparation To analyze the differences in entry demand for place and international pupils To increase our apprehension of why pupils chose certain MPH courses/universities3. Methodology:3.1 STUDY DESIGN:This is an exploratory survey which will affect a qualitative appraisal of MPH class manager ‘s sentiments, followed by a cross-sectional survey of MPH pupil ‘s sentiments.3.1 STUDY Setting:The survey will be carried out in different universities in the United Kingdom which offer a postgraduate public wellness grade class.3.2 STUDY POPULATION:UK universities MPH class managers Miles per hour pupils3.3 STUDY TOOLS:A information extraction signifier used to study university web sitesA semi structured telephone recorded interview with MPH class managers.A structured questionnaire for MPH pupils3.4 Sampling:This will get down with an initial study of web sites of all UK universities offering public wellness at postgraduate degree. Universities offering full clip or portion clip MPH/MSc Public Health and/or wellness publicity and classs under alternate names like Global Health will be selected for inclusion in the survey. Exclusion from the survey will be made on Public wellness classs offered at PHD or MPhil degree and Public wellness classs with rubrics such as Public Health Nutrition, Public Health Practice and Public Health policy. Based on the information collated from the website study, universities will be stratified into groups based on the undermentioned features: SOPH affiliated with medical schools SOPH affiliated with schools of nursing/other allied schools of wellness. Sophomore with long distance preparation programmes SOPH with Health Promotion as a strong component SOPH Involved with Public wellness trainees Subsequently, a graded random trying technique will be used to choose participant universities from each group. If an establishment has more than one of the features used for stratification, it will be included in a group with the least figure of universities. The current mark is aimed at choosing 20 universities for the telephone interview stage of the undertaking.3.4.1 UNIVERSITY SELECTION PROCESS:After informations extraction is complete, each university will be assigned a alone designation ( ID ) figure in the Microsoft Access database. Based on the features outlined above, universities will be stratified into different groups. Each group will so be exported into a separate Microsoft Excel dispersed sheet, with the alone ID figure arranged in columns. Subsequently, each column will be indiscriminately sorted utilizing the random generator tool for Excel. ( 26 ) The university at the top of the list from each group will be chosen for the interview procedure. The selected universit y will be excluded from the list, and the procedure repeated ( choosing and excepting the university at the top of the randomly sorted list each clip ) , until the coveted figure of participants has been reached. If there if any trouble contacting or obtaining consent from a chosen university, the procedure will be repeated to choose a replacing.3.4.2 INTERVIEW OF COURSE DIRECTORS:After stratification and random choice of universities, class managers from chosen SOPH will be contacted via electronic mail, and their consent sought for engagement in a semi-structured telephone recorded interview. Questions asked during the interviews will be structured to run into the declared aims of the undertaking. All interviews will be audio recorded with the consent of the respondents. Each telephone interview is anticipated to last between 30 to 45 proceedingss. Notes will be taken during the interview to supplement the sound taped conversations.3.4.3 MPH STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRES:Structured quest ionnaires with be distributed to MPH pupils from two universities affiliated with medical schools, in add-on to the University of Birmingham SOPH, to measure the pupils sentiments on their pick of MPH programmes. The universities will be chosen from those already selected for interview of the class manager. Questionnaires will be distributed via electronic mail to pupils in selected universities.3.5 JUSTIFICATION OF APPROACHThe survey will be executed by blending method, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative attacks. Qualitative methods are suited to for this undertaking as it provides the model for understanding the contexts of societal experience and enhances our capacity for societal account and generalisation. ( 27 ) It besides allows for the incorporation of professional positions, in this survey, those of different MPH class managers. Furthermore, this research method centres strongly on inductive logical thinking when construing informations and normally consequences in findings that were wholly unexpected. ( 28 ) Telephone interviews have been mostly neglected as a qualitative tool by many research workers who prefer face to confront interview. They argue that the deficiency of ocular cues, loss of non verbal informations and trouble set uping rapport brand s telephone interviews less attractive as a information aggregation method. However, it is easier for sensitive information to be disclosed as respondents feel more relaxed. There is besides no grounds demoing that telephone interviews produce lower quality informations than face to confront interviews. ( 29 ) This method is besides rather utile for this undertaking as it is easier to schedule and cheaper, sing the geographical distribution of participant SOPH. Quantitative methods will be used to supplement qualitative methods in this survey, since it has been argued that the logic of qualitative thought can be extended with qualitative methods. ( 27 )3.6 Analytic Method:This will be done utilizing a combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques. Data analyses will get down instantly after informations extraction from surveyed university websites. This will be done utilizing basic descriptive statistics and comparative analyses where necessary. The semi-structured telephone interviews will be reviewed and reported in a structured format foregrounding repeating subjects which will be coded and analysed utilizing a thematic model. Structured pupil questionnaires will be analysed utilizing basic descriptive statistics, rank correlativity and thematic analysis. Statistical bundles which will help in informations managing and analysis include Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel and NVivo.3.7 Anticipated Problem:The most hard facet of this undertaking is the country of informations aggregation. The study of university web sites has been really disputing so far with tonss of trouble originating from screening out of import information from different university web sites. The writer anticipates that another major jobs associated with informations aggregation will be acquiring consent from MPH class managers for telephone interviews, sing their highly busy agenda. There is besides the issue of holding adequate clip to roll up, collate and adequately analyse informations generated for this undertaking. The job with the usage of pupil questionnaires is the issue of non-responders ( response rate possibly every bit low as 20 % ) . This could be addressed by utilizing on-line study tools e.g. study monkey and directing reminders to non-responders. Data analysis will necessitate some expertness in operating package bundles like Access, Excel an Nvivo. The writer has registered for and attended classs on these package bundles organized by the University of Birmingham IT-services section.3.8 ESTIMATED PROJECT TIMETABLE:The university web site study has reached an advanced phase and will be completed before the terminal of March 2010. Stratification of universities based on the standards outlined above has commenced and will be complete at about the same clip website informations extraction is completed. Subsequent choice of participant universities will be done in April 2010. It is expected that consent from take parting class managers will be received before the terminal of the April, and telephone interviews can be scheduled for May 2010. Data analysis will get down at the same time with the interviews and is expected to run through the month of June 2010. Design of pupil ‘s questionnaires is about complete. Its construction will be refined in April 2010 and distributed by the terminal of the month. Responses should be received during the moth of May 2010. Analysis of pupil questionnaires should get down in June 2010. Compilation of consequences and treatments will be done in July 2010 in readying for concluding entry in August 2010.

Spirit Bound Chapter Nineteen

â€Å"ARE YOU CRAZY?† I ASKED. He gave me the same wordless look he always did when I asked that question. I sighed and tried again. â€Å"A party? That's pushing it, even for you. People just died! Guardians. Priscilla Voda.† Not to mention, people had just come back from the dead. Probably best to leave that part out. â€Å"This isn't the time to get trashed and play beer pong.† I expected Adrian to say that it was always a good time for beer pong, but he remained serious. â€Å"Actually, it's because people died that there's going to be a party. It's not a kegger type. Maybe party's not even the right word. It's a†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He frowned, grasping at words. â€Å"A special event. An elite one.† â€Å"All royal parties are elite ones,† I pointed out. â€Å"Yeah, but not every royal is invited to this. It's the†¦ well, elite of the elite.† That really wasn't helping. â€Å"Adrian–â€Å" â€Å"No, listen.† He made that familiar gesture of his that indicated frustration, running his hand through his hair. â€Å"It's not so much a party as a ceremony. An old, old tradition from†¦ I don't know. Romania, I think. They call it the Death Watch. But it's a way to honor the dead, a secret that's been passed on through the oldest bloodlines.† Flashbacks of a destructive secret society at St. Vladimir's came back to me. â€Å"This isn't some Mana thing, is it?† â€Å"No, I swear. Please, Rose. I'm not all that into it either, but my mom's making me go, and I'd really like it if you were there with me.† Elite and bloodline were warning words to me. â€Å"Will there be other dhampirs there?† â€Å"No.† He then added quickly, â€Å"But I made arrangements for some people you'll approve of to be there. It'll make it better for both of us.† â€Å"Lissa?† I guessed. If ever there was an esteemed bloodline, hers was it. â€Å"Yeah. I just ran into her at the medical center. Her reaction was about like yours.† That made me smile. It also piqued my interest. I wanted to talk to her more about what had happened during her visit to Dimitri and knew she'd been avoiding me because of it. If going to some silly royal ritual or whatever it was could get me to her, then so much the better. â€Å"Who else?† â€Å"People you'll like.† â€Å"Fine. Be mysterious. I'll go to your cult meeting.† That earned me a return smile. â€Å"Hardly a cult, little dhampir. It really is a way to pay last respects to the people killed in that fight.† He reached out and ran a hand along my cheek. â€Å"And I'm glad†¦ God, I'm so glad you weren't one of them. You don't know†¦.† His voice caught, the flippant smile trembling for a moment before stabilizing again. â€Å"You don't know how worried I was. Every minute you were gone, every minute I didn't know what had happened to you†¦ it was agony. And even after I heard you were okay, I kept asking everyone at the medical center what they knew. Had they seen you fight, did you get hurt†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I felt a lump in my throat. I hadn't been able to see Adrian when I'd returned, but I should have sent a message, at least. I squeezed his hand and tried to make a joke of something that really wasn't funny. â€Å"What'd they say? That I was a badass?† â€Å"Yeah, actually. They couldn't stop talking about how amazing you were in battle. Word got back to Aunt Tatiana too about what you did, and even she was impressed.† Whoa. That was a surprise. I started to ask more, but his next words brought me up short. â€Å"I also heard you were yelling at anyone you could to find out about Belikov. And that you were beating down the guardians' doors this morning.† I looked away. â€Å"Oh. Yeah. I†¦ Look, I'm sorry, but I had to–â€Å" â€Å"Hey, hey.† His voice was heavy and earnest. â€Å"Don't apologize. I understand.† I looked up at him. â€Å"You do?† â€Å"Look, it's not like I didn't expect this if he came back.† I glanced back at him hesitantly, studying his serious expression. â€Å"I know. I remember what you said before†¦.† He nodded, then gave me another rueful smile. â€Å"Of course, I didn't actually expect any of this to work. Lissa tried to explain the magic she used†¦ but good God. I don't think I could ever do anything like she did.† â€Å"Do you believe?† I asked. â€Å"Do you believe he's no longer Strigoi?† â€Å"Yeah. Lissa said he's not, and I believe her. And I saw him from a distance out in the sun. But I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to try to see him.† â€Å"That's your jealousy talking.† I had absolutely no right to sound accusing, considering the way my heart was all tangled up over Dimitri. â€Å"Of course it's jealousy,† said Adrian nonchalantly. â€Å"What do you expect? The former love of your life comes back–from the dead, no less. That's not something I'm really excited about. But I don't blame you for feeling confused.† â€Å"I told you before–â€Å" â€Å"I know, I know.† Adrian didn't sound particularly upset. In fact, there was a surprisingly patient tone in his voice. â€Å"I know you said him coming back wouldn't affect things between us. But saying one thing before it happens and then actually having that thing happen are two different things.† â€Å"What are you getting at?† I asked, kind of confused. â€Å"I want you, Rose.† He squeezed my hand more tightly. â€Å"I've always wanted you. I want to be with you. I'd like to be like other guys and say I want to take care of you too, but†¦ well. When it comes down to it, you'd probably be the one taking care of me.† I laughed in spite of myself. â€Å"Some days I think you're in more danger from yourself than anyone else. You smell like cigarettes, you know.† â€Å"Hey, I have never, ever said I was perfect. And you're wrong. You're probably the most dangerous thing in my life.† â€Å"Adrian–â€Å" â€Å"Wait.† With his other hand, he pressed his fingers over my lips. â€Å"Just listen. It'd be stupid for me to think that your old boyfriend coming back isn't going to have any effect on you. So do I like you wanting to see him? No, of course not. That's instinct. But there's more, you know. I do believe that he's a dhampir again. Absolutely. But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"But what?† Adrian's words had me more curious than ever now. â€Å"But just because he isn't a Strigoi doesn't mean it's entirely gone from him. Hold on.† Adrian could see my mouth opening in outrage. â€Å"I'm not saying he's evil or means to be evil or anything like that. But what he went through†¦ It's huge. Epic. We really don't know much about the changing process. What effect did that kind of life have on him? Are there violent parts of him that might suddenly lash out? That's what I'm worried about Rose. I know you. I know you aren't going to be able to help yourself. You'll have to see him and talk to him. But is it safe? That's what no one knows. We don't know anything about this. We don't know if he's dangerous.† Christian had said the same thing to Lissa. I examined Adrian intently. It sounded like a convenient excuse to keep Dimitri and me apart. Yet, I saw truth in those deep green eyes. He meant it. He was nervous about what Dimitri might do. Adrian had also been honest about being jealous, which I had to admire. He hadn't ordered me not to see Dimitri or tried to dictate my behavior. I liked that too. I extended my hand and laced my fingers with Adrian's. â€Å"He's not dangerous. He's†¦ sad. Sad for what he's done. The guilt's killing him.† â€Å"I can imagine. I probably wouldn't forgive myself either if I suddenly realized I'd been brutally killing people for the last four months.† Adrian pulled me to him and kissed the top of my head. â€Å"And for everyone's sake–yes, even his–I really hope he is exactly the way he was. Just be careful, okay?† â€Å"I will,† I said, kissing his cheek. â€Å"Inasmuch as I ever am.† He grinned and released me. â€Å"That's the best I can hope for. For now, I've got to head back to my parents' for a little bit. I'll come back for you at four, okay?† â€Å"Okay. Is there anything I should wear to this secret party?† â€Å"Nice dress clothes are fine.† Something occurred to me. â€Å"If this is so elite and prestigious, how are you going to get a lowly dhampir like me in?† â€Å"With this.† Adrian reached for a bag he'd set down upon entering. He handed it to me. Curiously, I opened the bag and gaped at what I saw. It was a mask, one that just covered the top half of the face around the eyes. It was intricately worked with gold and green leaves and bejeweled flowers. â€Å"A mask?† I exclaimed. â€Å"We're wearing masks to this thing? What is this, Halloween?† He winked. â€Å"See you at four.† We didn't actually put on the masks until we arrived at the Death Watch. As part of the secret nature of it all, Adrian said we didn't want to call any attention to ourselves while going to it. So we walked across the Court's grounds dressed up–I wore the same dress I'd worn to dinner at his parents'–but not getting much more notice than the two of us usually did when we were together. Besides, it was late, and a lot of the Court was getting ready for bed. Our destination surprised me. It was one of the buildings that non-royal Court workers lived in, one that was very near Mia's. Well, I supposed the last place you'd look for a royal party would be at the home of a commoner. Except we didn't go to any of the apartments inside. Once we stepped into the building's lobby, Adrian indicated we should put our masks on. He then took me over to what appeared to be a janitor's closet. It wasn't. Instead, the door opened to a staircase leading down into darkness. I couldn't see the bottom, which put me on high alert. I instinctively wanted to know the details of every situation I entered. Adrian seemed calm and confident as he headed down, so I took it on faith he wasn't leading me to some sacrificial altar. I hated to admit it, but curiosity over this Death Watch thing was temporarily taking my mind off Dimitri. Adrian and I eventually reached another door, and this one had two guards. Both men were Moroi, both masked like Adrian and me. Their postures were stiff and defensive. They said nothing but simply looked at us expectantly. Adrian said a few words that sounded like Romanian, and a moment later, one of the men unlocked the door and gestured us inside. â€Å"Secret password?† I murmured to Adrian as we swept past. â€Å"Passwords, actually. One for you and one for me. Every guest has a unique one.† We stepped into a narrow tunnel lit only by torches embedded in the walls. Their dancing flames cast fanciful shadows as we passed by. From far ahead, the low murmur of conversation reached us. It sounded surprisingly normal, like any conversation you'd hear at a party. Based on Adrian's description, I'd half-expected to hear chanting or drums. I shook my head. â€Å"I knew it. They keep a medieval dungeon under the Court. I'm surprised there aren't chains on the walls.† â€Å"Scared?† Adrian teased, clasping hold of my hand. â€Å"Of this? Hardly. I mean, on the Rose Hathaway Scale of Scariness, this is barely a–â€Å" We emerged out of the hall before I could finish. An expansive room with vaulted ceilings spread out before us, something that boggled my spatially challenged brain as I tried to recall just how far underground we'd gone. Wrought-iron chandeliers holding lit candles hung from the ceiling, casting the same ghostly light the torches had. The walls were made of stone, but it was a very artful, pretty stone: gray with reddish flecks, polished into smooth round pieces. Someone had wanted to keep the Old World dungeon feel but still have the place look stylish. It was a typical line of royal thinking. Fifty or so people were milling around the room, some huddled in groups. Like Adrian and me, they wore formal clothing and half masks. All the masks were different. Some had a floral theme like mine, while others were decorated with animals. Some simply had swirls or geometric designs. Even though the masks only covered half the guests' faces, the sketchy lighting went a long way to obscure any other identifying features. I scrutinized them carefully, hoping I might pick out details that would give someone away. Adrian led me out of the entryway and over toward a corner. As my view of the area expanded, I could see a large fire pit in the middle of the room, embedded in the stone floor. No fire burned in it, but everyone kept well away. For a moment, I had a disorienting flash of deja vu, thinking back to my time in Siberia. I'd been to a type of memorial ceremony there too–though hardly one with masks or passwords–and everyone had sat around a bonfire outdoors. It had been in Dimitri's honor, as all those who had loved him sat and told stories about him. I tried to get a better look at the fire, but Adrian was intent on keeping us behind the bulk of the crowd. â€Å"Don't bring attention to yourself,† he warned. â€Å"I was just looking.† â€Å"Yeah, but anyone who looks too close is going to realize you're the shortest person here. It'd be pretty obvious you're a dhampir. This is elite old blood, remember?† I frowned at him as much as I could through the mask. â€Å"But I thought you said you'd made arrangements for me to be here?† I groaned when he didn't answer. â€Å"Does ‘making arrangements' mean just sneaking me in? If so, those guys were kind of crap security.† Adrian scoffed. â€Å"Hey, we had the right passwords. That's all it takes. I stole–er, borrowed them off my mom's list.† â€Å"Your mom's one of the people who helped organize this?† â€Å"Yup. Her branch of the Tarus family's been deep inside this group for centuries. They apparently had a really big ceremony here after the school attack.† I turned all of this over in my mind, trying to decide how I felt. I hated when people were obsessed with status and appearances, yet it was hard to fault them wanting to honor those who had been killed–particularly when a majority of them had been dhampirs. The Strigoi attack on St. Vladimir's was a memory that would forever haunt me. Before I could ponder much further, a familiar sensation swept me. â€Å"Lissa's here,† I said, looking around. I could feel her nearby but didn't spot her immediately in the sea of masks and shadows. â€Å"There.† She stood apart from some of the others, wearing a rosehued dress and a white and gold mask with swans on it. Through our link, I felt her searching for anyone she knew. I impulsively started to go to her, but Adrian held me back, telling me to wait while he retrieved her. â€Å"What is all this?† she asked when she reached me. â€Å"I figured you'd know,† I told her. â€Å"It's all top secret royal stuff.† â€Å"Too top secret for me,† she said. â€Å"I got my invite from the queen. She told me it was part of my heritage and to keep it to myself, and then Adrian came and said I had to come for your sake.† â€Å"Tatiana invited you directly?† I exclaimed. Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised. Lissa would have hardly needed sneaking in like I did. I figured someone would have made sure she got an invitation, but I'd assumed it had all been Adrian's doing. I glanced around uneasily. â€Å"Is Tatiana here?† â€Å"Likely,† said Adrian, voice annoyingly casual. As usual, his aunt's presence didn't have the same impact on him that it did the rest of us. â€Å"Oh, hey. There's Christian. With the fire mask.† I didn't know how Adrian spotted Christian, aside from the not-so-subtle mask metaphor. With his height and dark hair, Christian easily blended in with the other Moroi around him and had even been chatting with a girl standing nearby, which seemed out of character. â€Å"No way did he get a legit invite,† I said. If any Ozeras had been deemed special enough to come to this, Christian wouldn't have been one of them. â€Å"He didn't,† agreed Adrian, making a small gesture for Christian to join us. â€Å"I gave him one of the passwords I stole from Mom.† I gave Adrian a startled look. â€Å"How many did you steal?† â€Å"Enough to–â€Å" â€Å"Let us come to attention.† A man's booming voice rang out through the room, halting both Adrian's words and Christian's steps. With a grimace, Christian returned to where he'd been standing, cut off from us now on the other side of the room. It looked like I wouldn't have the chance to ask Lissa about Dimitri after all. Without any direction, the others in the room began forming a circle around the fire pit. The room wasn't big enough for us to make a single-layered circle, so I was still able to stay behind other Moroi as I watched the spectacle. Lissa stood by me, but her attention was fixated across from us, on Christian. She was disappointed that he hadn't been able to join us. â€Å"Tonight we come to honor the spirits of those who died fighting the great evil that has plagued us for so long.† This was the same man who had called us to attention. The black mask he wore glittered with silver swirls. He wasn't anyone special that I recognized. It was probably safe to assume that he was someone from an important bloodline who happened to have a good voice for bringing people together. Adrian confirmed it. â€Å"That's Anthony Badica. They always recruit him as an emcee.† Anthony seemed more like a religious leader than an emcee right now, but I didn't want to answer back and attract anyone's notice. â€Å"Tonight we honor them,† continued Anthony. I flinched as almost everyone around us repeated those words. Lissa and I exchanged startled looks. Apparently, there was a script we hadn't been told about. â€Å"Their lives were taken from us too soon,† continued Anthony. â€Å"Tonight we honor them.† Okay, this script might not be so hard to follow after all. Anthony kept talking about how terrible the tragedy was, and we repeated the same response. The whole idea of this Death Watch still weirded me out, but Lissa's sadness permeated the bond and began to affect me too. Priscilla had always been good to her–and polite to me. Grant might have only been Lissa's guardian a short time, but he had protected her and helped her. In fact, if not for Grant's work with Lissa, Dimitri might still be a Strigoi. So, slowly, the gravity of it all began to hit me, and even if I thought there were better ways to mourn, I appreciated the acknowledgment the dead were getting. After a few more refrains, Anthony gestured someone forward. A woman in a glittering emerald mask came forward with a torch. Adrian shifted beside me. â€Å"My darling mother,† he murmured. Sure enough. Now that he'd pointed it out, I could clearly make out Daniella's features. She tossed her torch into the fire pit, and it lit up like the Fourth of July. Someone must have doused that wood with either gasoline or Russian vodka. Maybe both. No wonder the other guests had kept their distance. Daniella melted into the crowd, and another woman came forward holding a tray with golden goblets. Walking around the circle, she handed a cup to each person. When she ran out, another woman appeared with a tray. As the goblets were distributed, Anthony explained, â€Å"Now we will toast and drink to the dead, so that their spirits will move on and find peace.† I shifted uncomfortably. People talked about restless spirits and the dead finding peace without really knowing what that meant. Being shadow-kissed came with the ability to see the restless dead, and it had taken me a long time to gain control so that I didn't see them. They were always around me; I had to work to keep them blocked out. I wondered what I'd see now if I let down my walls. Would the ghosts of those killed the night of Dimitri's attack be hovering around us? Adrian sniffed his cup as soon as he got it and scowled. For a moment, I felt panic until I sniffed mine too. â€Å"Wine. Thank God,† I whispered to him. â€Å"From your face, I thought it was blood.† I recalled how much he hated blood that wasn't straight from the source. â€Å"Nah,† he murmured back. â€Å"Just a bad vintage.† When everyone had their wine, Anthony raised his cup over his head with both hands. With the fire behind him, it gave him an almost sinister, otherworldly look. â€Å"We drink to Priscilla Voda,† he said. â€Å"We drink to Priscilla Voda,† everyone repeated. He brought the goblet down and took a sip. So did everyone else–well, except for Adrian. He gulped half his down, bad vintage or not. Anthony raised his cup over his head again. â€Å"We drink to James Wilket.† As I repeated the words, I realized James Wilket was one of Priscilla's guardians. This crazy group of royals really was showing respect to dhampirs. We went through the other guardians one by one, but I kept my sips small, wanting to keep a level head tonight. I was pretty sure that by the end of the name list, Adrian was faking his sips because he'd run out. When Anthony finished naming all who had died, he held his cup up again and approached the blazing fire, which had begun to make the small room uncomfortably hot. The back of my dress was growing damp with sweat. â€Å"To all those lost by the great evil, we honor your spirits and hope they will move on in peace to the next world.† He then dumped the remainder of his wine into the flames. All this talk of spirits lingering in the world certainly didn't go along with the usual Christian afterlife beliefs that dominated Moroi religion. It made me wonder just how old this ceremony really was. Once more, I had an urge to drop my barriers and see if any of this had really drawn ghosts to us, but I feared what I'd find. Besides, I promptly got distracted when everyone else in the circle began dumping their wine into the fire as well. One by one, going clockwise, each person approached. All was silent as this happened, save for the crackling in the fire pit and shifting of logs. Everyone watched respectfully. When my turn came, I fought hard not to tremble. I hadn't forgotten that Adrian had sneaked me in here. Lowly Moroi weren't allowed, let alone dhampirs. What would they do? Declare the space violated? Mob me? Cast me into the fire? My fears proved unfounded. No one said or did anything unusual as I poured out my wine, and a moment later, Adrian stepped forward for his turn. I melted back beside Lissa. When the entire circle had gone up, we were led into a moment of silence for the departed. Having witnessed Lissa's kidnapping and subsequent rescue, I had a lot of dead to ponder. No amount of silence would ever do them justice. Another unspoken signal seemed to pass through the room. The circle dispersed, and the tension lifted. People again fell into small chatty groups, just like at any other party, though I did see tears on the faces of some. â€Å"A lot of people must have liked Priscilla,† I observed. Adrian turned toward a table that had mysteriously been arranged during the ceremony. It sat against the back wall and was filled with fruit, cheese, and more wine. Naturally, he poured a glass. â€Å"They aren't all crying for her,† he said. â€Å"I find it hard to believe they're crying for the dhampirs,† I pointed out. â€Å"No one here even knew them.† â€Å"Not true,† he said. Lissa quickly caught his meaning. â€Å"Most of the people who went on the rescue would have been guardians assigned to Moroi. They couldn't all be Court guardians.† She was right, I realized. We'd had too many people with us at the warehouse. Many of these Moroi had undoubtedly lost guardians that they'd become close to. Despite the disdain I often had for these types of royals, I knew some had probably formed legitimate friendships with and attachments to their bodyguards. â€Å"This is a lame party,† a voice suddenly said. We turned and saw that Christian had finally made his way over to us. â€Å"I couldn't tell if we were supposed to be having a funeral or summoning the devil. It was kind of a half-assed attempt at both.† â€Å"Stop it,† I said, surprising myself. â€Å"Those people died for you last night. Whatever this is, it's still out of respect for them.† Christian's face grew sober. â€Å"You're right.† Beside me, I'd felt Lissa light up inside when she saw him. The horrors of their ordeal had brought them closer together, and I recalled the tenderness they'd shared on the ride back. She offered him a warm look and got a tentative smile in return. Maybe some good would come of all that had happened. Maybe they'd be able to fix their problems. Or maybe not. Adrian broke into a grin. â€Å"Hey. Glad you could make it.† For a moment, I thought he was speaking to Christian. Then I looked and saw a girl in a peacock mask had joined us. With the mingling people and masks, I hadn't noticed that she was purposely standing near us. I peered at her, seeing only blue eyes and golden curls before I finally recognized her. Mia. â€Å"What are you doing here?† I asked. She grinned. â€Å"Adrian got me a password.† â€Å"Adrian apparently got passwords for half the party.† He seemed very pleased with himself. â€Å"See?† he said, smiling at me. â€Å"I told you I'd make this worth your while. The whole gang's here. Nearly.† â€Å"This is one of the weirdest things I've ever seen,† said Mia, glancing around. â€Å"I don't see why it has to be a secret that the people who got killed were heroes. Why can't they wait for the group funeral?† Adrian shrugged. â€Å"I told you, this is an ancient ceremony. It's a holdover from the Old Country, and these people think it's important. From what I know, it used to be a lot more elaborate. This is the modernized version.† It occurred to me then that Lissa hadn't said a single word since we'd noticed Christian had come with Mia. I opened myself to the bond, feeling a flood of jealousy and resentment. I still maintained Mia was one of the last people Christian would be involved with. (Okay, it was hard for me to imagine him involved with anyone. His getting together with Lissa had been monumental.) Lissa couldn't see that, though. All she saw was him continually hanging out with other girls. As our conversation continued, Lissa's attitude grew frostier, and the friendly looks he'd been giving her began to fade. â€Å"So is it true?† Mia asked, oblivious to the drama unfolding around her. â€Å"Is Dimitri really†¦ back?† Lissa and I exchanged glances. â€Å"Yes,† I said firmly. â€Å"He's a dhampir, but no one believes it yet. Because they're idiots.† â€Å"It just happened, little dhampir.† Adrian's tone was gentle, though the topic clearly made him uncomfortable too. â€Å"You can't expect everyone to get on board with it right away.† â€Å"But they are idiots,† said Lissa fiercely. â€Å"Anyone who talks to him can tell he's not a Strigoi. I'm pushing for them to let him out of his cell so that people can actually see for themselves.† I wished she would push a little harder for me to get to see him, but now wasn't the time to talk about that. Eyeing the room, I wondered if some people would have trouble accepting Dimitri because of his role in the deaths of their loved ones. He hadn't been in control of himself, but that wasn't enough to bring back the dead. Still uncomfortable around Christian, Lissa was growing restless. She also wanted to leave and check on Dimitri. â€Å"How long do we have to stay here? Is there more to–â€Å" â€Å"Who the hell are you?† Our little cluster turned as one and found Anthony standing by us. Considering most of us were here illicitly, he could have been speaking to anyone. But, based on where his gaze was fixed, there was no question who he meant. He was talking to me.

How-To Essay Topics for a Process Essay

How-To Essay Topics for a Process Essay Your first challenge in writing a how-to essay is deciding on a topic. If youre like many students, you might feel as though you dont know anything well enough to teach others. But thats not true! All people have something that they can do so well that they dont even think about how to do it anymore- they just do it. Choosing the Right Topic When you read over the list below you will realize that you do know many things in depth, well enough to teach. Typically, your inspiration will be based on lateral thinking. For example, from the list below, you may decide to write an essay on how to cook a Scottish egg after you see Crack an egg in the list. Or you may decide to write about how to make an Excel spreadsheet with all of your homework listed, after seeing Organize your homework on the list.   Narrow your choices to a few topics, and then brainstorm for a few minutes about each topic. Determine which one has the most potential because it can be divided into five to 10 clear paragraphs that you can explain well. Writing Tips Some topics are easier than others to explain. Straightforward processes versus ones with lots of contingencies will be much less complicated to write out, for instance. If you find that youve chosen a topic thats just too broad, pick one portion of it to explain. Remember, you want your reader to be able to follow your instructions to successfully complete the process. In your drafting, err on the side of too much detail and description rather than too little. (Its easier to cut material that you dont need than to add in it later.) If youre not allowed to use images with your instructions, choosing a topic that is aided by visuals makes writing the instructional process much more challenging, so take your assignment parameters into consideration as you choose what to write about. If you know your topic so well that it comes naturally to you, it may be tough to write instructions for a beginner who has no knowledge of the topic, because you forget how much you didnt know when you first started. Have a partner try out your instructions during the drafting or revision phase (or both) to see what youve left out or what isnt explained clearly enough. How-To Topics for a Process Essay   Raccoon-proof your campsiteMake an obstacle course for squirrelsSet a tableMake a pet costumeEarn $100Start a bandMake a pià ±ataMake an omeletMilk a cowStart beekeepingRead palmsMake a quiltWash a carDecorate a bedroomMake a podcastBurn a CDStart a recycling programCollect stampsClean a bedroomMake a pizzaMake a volcanoOrganize your homeworkPlay the guitarMake a sock puppetMake a doll dressWrite a letter to the editorWrite a complaintPlan a partyPlant a treeCreate a cartoon characterImprove your spellingBake a layer cakeChange a tireDrive a stick shiftMake a Christmas stockingLearn to dancePlay chessDo a magic trickGo bird watchingMake a music videoMake a candleMake soapPaint a pictureCreate art with crayonsCreate a web pageStay safe on the InternetWrite a songWrite a poemMake a handbagTie a scarfMow the lawnMake a hamburgerMake pancakesMake a pillowPlay footballMake a sculptureMake a lampMake shadow puppetsMake a boxCare for petsBuild a tree housePlay tagPlay hide and seekPaint fi ngernails Make homemade slippersTie macramà © knotsMake a sandwichMake chocolate milkMake hot chocolateMake a pot of coffeeMake a milkshakeBraid hairSell old toysSkateboardEat crab legsBecome a vegetarianMake a saladDesign a jack-o-lanternRide a horseRace turtlesCatch lightning bugsMake a wildflower bouquetCut paper dollsEat an ice cream coneChange a diaperMake fruit punchMake a campaign posterFrame artMake a fake tattooInterview a celebrityCatch a fishMake a snowmanMake an iglooMake a fanWrite a newsletterCrack an eggMake a necklaceTie a necktieRide the subwayWalk like a modelRide a motorcyclePitch a tentFind something youve lostCurl your hairSaddle a horseMake a sandcastleBob for applesGo hikingApply for a jobDraw stick figuresOpen a bank accountLearn a new languageAsk for a later curfewBehave at a fancy dinnerAsk somebody outPose for a pictureWake up in a good moodSend Morse code messagesMake a kiteHem your jeansPitch a fastballBe a ghost hunterMake string artFly aloneShaveMop a floorPeel an apple String popcornRemix a songWalk a tightropeStand on your headFind the Big DipperWrap a giftRoast a marshmallowClean a windowMake a campfireHave a yard saleCreate a carnival in your yardMake balloon animalsPlan a surprise partyWear eye makeupInvent a secret codeRecognize animal tracksTrain a dog to shake handsMake a paper airplaneSwat fliesPull a toothCreate playlistsPlay rock, paper, scissorsHula danceFloss your teeth

American Political Climate Leading Up To Affirmative Action In The 1990s

American Political Climate Leading Up To Affirmative Action In The 1990s Affirmative ActionAmerica was founded on the principle that every man was created equal and each had their own right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. However, the social construct of race created a nation that saw only one kind of people as the man referred to in our Constitution; whites. Since the dawn of slavery in this nation over 350 years ago there has been an unspoken understanding about the social hierarchy by which this nation's people would abide, and the limitations of access to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that some groups could not exceed. In 1863 Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation that dismembered slavery in the United States, however, centuries later, the ghost of slavery still remains in the form of racism. Though racism within our institutions is much more transparent now than it has been historically, it is still very prevalent and very much a deterrent to non-whites in America.English: Photo of the front of Plessy v. Ferguson .. .Thus, systems like Affirmative Action that encourage ethnic and gender diversity have been embraced by schools and employers alike in order to "even the playing field" and rectify centuries of social disadvantage by working harder to accept or hire those who have been historically disadvantaged. This paper is an examination of the history and evolution of Affirmative Action in the United States of America.In light of the Civil War, with south as a recovering portion that was occupied by union troops until 1877 (because of reconstruction), United States legislation reflected a northern sympathy for the plight of the newly freed slaves in the south. The controversial Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 that freed all slaves in the border and secession states (which lead to the Northern victory in the civil war due to their overwhelming manpower) was an obvious about face in...

Case summary and examination of Obstetrics Posting

Case summary and examination of Obstetrics Posting Madam NTR is a 34 years old Malay lady with gravida 4 and parity 3, currently at 37 weeks of gestations. She was admitted on 21st Nov 2010 at gestational age of 30 weeks and 1 day, due to referral from Health Clinic Sendayan in view of placenta previa based on ultrasound findings during a routine antenatal visit. Her estimated date of delivery was on 20th Jan 2011. She was asymptomatic with no complaints of per vaginal bleeding, contraction pain, leaking liquor or show. Fetal movements were felt and were not reduced. She has no history of placenta previa in her previous pregnancies. The first day of her last normal menstrual period was on 15th Apr 2010. This was an unexpected pregnancy but both her and her husband wanted it. She suspected she was pregnant when she missed her menses for 4 weeks. She confirmed her pregnancy after urine pregnancy test done in a private clinic yielded positive result. Booking was done in Maternal and Child Health Clinic Gadong at 16 weeks of gestation a nd the dating scan at 16 weeks revealed parameters corresponding to date. However, placenta was noted to be low lying during that scan. Throughout her routine antenatal visits, she was normotensive, not anaemic and did not have diabetes mellitus. HIV and VDRL test were negative. Her blood group type is O Rh DÂ  positive. This is her fourth pregnancy. Her third pregnancy was in the year of 2007. She delivered a full term baby boy with birth weight of 2.6 kg via caesarean delivery due to breech presentation in Hospital Tuanku Jaafar Seremban. She delivered her first two children who are both males in the year of 2004 and 2005 via spontaneous vaginal delivery, with birth weight of 4.26kg and 2.6kg respectively. There was no history of shoulder dystocia. All her children were born alive and well. Antenatal, natal and postnatal for all previous pregnancies were uneventful. She attained menarche at the age of 12. It is regular at 28 to 30 days cycle with duration of 5 to 7 days. There wa s neither dysmenorrhea nor menorrhagia. She practised coitus interuptus as contraceptive measure. She never had any PAP smear done previously. Past surgical, medical and drug history were unremarkable. Family history was unremarkable. She and her husband are married for 7 years. They are staying together with their three children in Gadong Jaya Village. She is a housewife. She neither smokes nor drinks alcohol. On the other hand, her husband works as a construction worker. He is a smoker but not alcoholic. Family income is approximately RM2000 per month which is barely adequate for their living. Physical examination: Madam NTR was alert, conscious and communicative. She was not in pain or respiratory distress. Her height and weight are 165cm and 76kg respectively. Her blood pressure was 110/80 mmHg; pulse rate was 86 beats per minute of regular rhythm and strong volume; temperature was 37Â ° C; respiratory rate was 19 breaths per minute. All vital signs were within normal range. Up on general examination, there was no conjunctival pallor, sclera jaundice, palmar erythema or peripheral cyanosis. Thyroid glands were not palpable and breast examination was unremarkable. There was bilateral pedal edema up to mid-shin. Cardiopulmonary examination was unremarkable.

Weak public transportation in Oklahoma county and its affect on health Term Paper - 1

Weak public transportation in Oklahoma county and its affect on health care(problem and solution) - Term Paper Example While the rest have no means of transportation of their own. Moreover, high blood pressure was reported to be about 47% while dental problem was next with about 40%, arthritis was about 36% and finally depression and tobacco which had about 30% and 32% respectively.Teen pregnancy was also another issue such that it ranged between 51% and 60% in a year, not forgetting drug abuse with about 60% among the youth who had also had serious health issues but could not access the public health facilities. According to a survey that was conducted in Oklahoma individuals also claimed that there were fewer health services in the community too. Over 60% individuals have no insurance due to the fact that hours available and transport was the barrier to getting those insurance services.It is alleged that among those who fail to get insurance services, they are poor as they have the lowest incomes. Most of the uninsured personnel’s are between the ages of 62% and 65.They get less income of ab out 18000 dollars. This makes it hard for the persons to access public health coverage or basically impossible.The Oklahoma anti-county Drug network also pointed out that underage drinking, tobacco use, bang and abuse of prescribed medication was among the top issues to the youths in the country (World Bank Washington, DC. 2001). The Oklahoma group of Youth and Risky behavior alleged that 23% of the children in high school smoke cigarette while about 835 reported to have access to alcoholic brew. About 96% of them frequently use alcohol and at the time of use the brew was kind of not harmful. Suicide also health case of concern it is among the top causes of death in Oklahoma. Young adults who die are between age’s 26-35.In Oklahoma, it is also alleged that men are the ones who account for higher percentage of death issues that women due to lack of better transport system. Most of those who

Selecting a macroeconomic variable for a country and explaining its Essay

Selecting a macroeconomic variable for a country and explaining its determination using macroeconomics analysis - Essay Example The inflation rates of the country shall be studied over a period of 25 years ending in 2011 inclusive. The selection of the inflation rate of Canada comes in at a very ripe time and with so much significance and importance as global economic experts continue to blame inflation as a major dictate of the world economic climate (Botric and Cota, 2006.). It is therefore anticipated that this study would eventually end up as a guide for economic policy makers within the country to ascertain various ways in which inflation has affected Canada’s economy in times past and how it affects it today so that based on these, they can make prudent economic decisions for Canada in the future, using inflation rates. Dependent variable Inflation is a determining component for the relationship that exists between value and price (Grigorian et al, 2008). Generally, an economy that is growing so fast would see a situation whereby prices of goods are pushed to a protracted time ahead of the prevai ling utility value of goods and services. The rate of which such pushes take place may be defined as inflation (Fischer et al, 1998). Because inflation is likely to distort prices and undermine the market exchange by it creates an unclear relationship between value and price, economists have usually tagged raw inflation as a bad phenomenon. Countries with relatively lower inflations are thus said to be doing economically well than those with higher inflation rates. It is in light of this that most countries have worked towards achieving low inflation rates as against higher inflation rates. The case of Canada’s inflation from 1987 to 2011 is presented in the graphs and charts below. Source: Trading Economics (2013) The scattered graph above gives the trends of inflation rates for Canada in a 25 year period from 1986 to 2011. A tabulated analysis presenting the specific inflation rates on a monthly basis from 1990 to 2006 is also presented below for vivid depiction of the spec ific numbers. Year jan feb mar apr may jun jul aug sep oct nov dec ann 2011 2.3% 2.2% 3.3% 3.3% 3.7% 3.1% 2.7% 3.1% 3.2% 2.9% 2.9% 2.3% 2.9% 2010 1.9% 1.6% 1.4% 1.8% 1.4% 1% 1.8% 1.7% 1.9% 2.4% 2% 2.4% 1.8% 2009 1.1% 1.4% 1.2% 0.4% 0.1% -0.3% -0.9% -0.8% -0.9% 0.1% 1% 1.3% 0.3% 2008 2.2% 1.8% 1.4% 1.7% 2.2% 3.1% 3.4% 3.5% 3.4% 2.6% 2% 1.2% 2.4% 2007 1.1% 2% 2.3% 2.2% 2.2% 2.2% 2.2% 1.7% 2.5% 2.4% 2.5% 2.4% 2.1% 2006 2.8% 2.2% 2.2% 2.4% 2.8% 2.4% 2.3% 2.1% 0.7% 1% 1.4% 1.7% 2% 2005 1.9% 2.1% 2.3% 2.4% 1.6% 1.7% 2% 2.6% 3.2% 2.6% 2% 2.1% 2.2% 2004 1.3% 0.7% 0.8% 1.7% 2.4% 2.5% 2.3% 1.8% 1.8% 2.3% 2.4% 2.1% 1.9% 2003 4.5% 4.7% 4.2% 2.9% 2.8% 2.6% 2.1% 2% 2.2% 1.6% 1.6% 2.1% 2.8% 2002 1.3% 1.4% 1.9% 1.7% 1.1% 1.2% 2.1% 2.5% 2.3% 3.2% 4.4% 3.8% 2.3% 2001 3% 2.9% 2.4% 3.5% 3.9% 3.4% 2.7% 2.8% 2.6% 1.9% 0.6% 0.7% 2.5% 2000 2.2% 2.7% 3% 2.2% 2.4% 2.8% 2.9% 2.6% 2.7% 2.8% 3.2% 3.2% 2.7% 1999 0.7% 0.7% 1% 1.6% 1.5% 1.6% 1.9% 2.1% 2.6% 2.3% 2.2% 2.6% 1.7% 1998 1.1% 1% 1% 0.9% 1.1% 1% 1% 0.9% 0 .7% 1.1% 1.2% 1% 1% 1997 2.2% 2.3% 1.9% 1.7% 1.5% 1.7% 1.7% 1.8% 1.7% 1.5% 0.9% 0.8% 1.6% 1996 1.6% 1.3% 1.5% 1.4% 1.5% 1.5% 1.3% 1.5% 1.5% 1.8% 1.9% 2.2% 1.6% 1995 0.6% 1.9% 2.1% 2.5% 2.9% 2.7% 2.6% 2.2% 2.2% 2.3% 2.1% 1.7% 2.1% 1994 1.3% 0.1% 0.2% 0.2% -0.2% 0% 0.1% 0.1% 0.2% -0.2% -0.1% 0.2% 0.2% 1993 2% 2.4% 1.9% 1.8% 1.9% 1.7% 1.7% 1.8% 1.8% 1.9% 1.9% 1.7% 1.9% 1992 1.6% 1.6% 1.6% 1.7% 1.3% 1.1% 1.2% 1.1% 1.3% 1.6%

Case study and analysis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

And analysis - Case Study Example Frozen food is also brought in from the kitchen and taken upstairs to the loft where the customers are seated (http://www.rom.on.ca/en/visit-us/shopping-dining/food-studio-caf%C3%A9). On the other hand, c5’s seating arrangement is in a lounge and there are no open spaces to view the kitchen. The lounge is however free from the kitchen noises as it uses a conventional system where the kitchen is far away from the lounge itself. c5 opens from Monday to Sunday between 11am and 3 pm but also has evening services where they have no minimum fee for food and beverages and the charges usually are $1000. According to the Royal Ontario Museum website, both food cafà © and c5 restaurant lounge offer great services including provision of 10% discount to the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) members (Royal Ontario Museum, n.d., Shopping and Dining). The c5 restaurant lounge website (http://www.c5restaurant.ca/) portrays the restaurant seems as being more elegant and hence will attract highly rated and elegant clients and especially so because of their scenic location (at the pinnacle of the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal with its amazing architecture). It is designed in a lounge manner hence offering privacy, comfort, superb atmosphere most rich and highly classed people normally require and their menu is also on the elegance side (Medicoff, 2007). On the other hand, food cafà © seems to be a food court that is attended by â€Å"the common man† who is mainly in a hurry and does not mind the location, seating arrangement or comfort as long it is convenient enough to grab a quick bite and leave. This is the exact reflection of this cafà © with its open loft space seating around 350 people hence no privacy or comfort, there is noise from the open kitchen and a lot of diners and hence their equipment does not fully serve the pur pose and they may require to expand on their space especially during the peak season where there are many people and less production equipment to serve

Life and work of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Essay

Life and work of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Essay Example It was amazing that Tchaikovsky was not even a professional musician. The Great Russian composer had education in a particular career as a civil servant. Pyotr was born from a family that had a long military experience. His father who was mostly of Russian ethnicity worked as an engineer in the Department of Mine. All the parents were trained in arts including music, which was very important especially considering that they lived in a very remote region. At the age of six, Tchaikovsky was already fluent in French and Germany through the help of the teacher who was hired to teach Tchaikovsky elder brother Nikolai and a niece of the family (Burt 2001, p. 410 -411). At age of four, Pyotr took piano lessons where he proved to be an intelligent pupil who could clearly read music proficiently within three years. His parents were very helpful and engaged a tutor and buying him musical instruments such orchestrion. However, the parents changed their mind in around 1850 and sent him to Imperi al School of Jurisprudence in Saint Petersburg maybe because they grew insensitive towards musical gift for their son and perhaps lack of better musical career in Russia at that time. Pyotr’s father also became broke and may have wanted Pyotr to remain independent as soon as possible. Music career was considered to be a very low career in Russia (Kavanaugh 1996, p.50-51). The fact that both Tchaikovsky’s parents schooled in Saint Petersburg, they felt it important to take their son to The School of Jurisprudence which they felt would prepare their son for a career as a civil servant at the age of 10 and this made him board for two years. It forced him to stay almost 1,300 km away from his family and later begun a seven year course of studies after his two years in preparatory school. Separation of Tchaikovsky from his mother made him have an emotional suffering that affected him for the rest of his life and was further increased by his mother’s death in 1854. Tc hikovsky mourned his mother for the rest of his life as he termed it the â€Å"crucial event† and claimed that it was vivid to him. His mother’s loss also made him to make his initial stern composition called a waltz in her memory. The father thought it wise to take his son back to school so that his mind can be occupied with academic work which later made Tchaikovsky made lifelong friendship with fellow students Aleksey Apukhtin and Vladimir Gerard. Music greatly unified them and they maintained an extracurricular activity where they habitually attended the opera. Tchaikovsky further went ahead with his piano lessons by the help of an instrument maker Franz Becker who made several trips to the school. In 1855, Tchaikovsky father employed Mr. Rudolph Kundinger as a private teacher who suggested to his father that Pyotr did not have any future as a musician but later confirmed that his decision was based on his negative experience as a musician. Tchaikovsky’s fat her remained receptive about music career and did not know what to do about it making him to advice his son to finish school and try for a post in the Ministry of Justice.