Principels of Management ; Discssion Board 4 Term Paper

Principels of Management ; Discssion Board 4 - Term Paper Example By bringing operative employees into the decision making process, establishing a planning committee made up of three management members and three operative employees, starting a suggestion system, and installing a performance appraisal is a clear sign that Wallace embraces consultative leadership style. It happens with new management so as to understand some rules and organization culture. Leaders, though authoritative in the way they handle issues, tend to be paternalistic in nature. This is evident in the manner in which Rusty manages operations in the Plastic division. He believes work is work and if an employee does not improve, it is better they quit. In addition, he is firm and does not tolerate any form of nonsense but every employee likes him because he handles everything squarely. Wallace can use transactional leadership with Rusty because it will help help define systems and establish chain of command and make sure subordinates remain answerable to the management of be punished. Alternatively, Wallace can use participative leadership style in that he allows Rusty to make proposals about some decisions and decides whether they are good or not. Just as Rusty wants it done, being highly participative means that decision making is delegated to him as Wallace watches and advices where necessary. I agree with Rusty’s sentiments. People already like him and his style of leadership. In such a large organization, there is need for authoritative governance to ensure efficiency in production and system control. Having employees as participants in the decision-making process does not improve production quality if the leader is not strong enough to watch over activities and ensure every procedure is followed to the latter. What if employees decide to influence and demand for implementation of awkward policies that can lead to the downfall of the organization? What if employees do not have any competency skills in decision making? Producing items according to

Assess the view that the positions of men Essay Example for Free

Assess the view that the positions of men Essay Over the past few decades the roles of men and women have changed drastically. These changes occur throughout society, within a family or in a relationship. In the past, the most common relationship between the two genders would have been very different, with the men being viewed as more masculine and of higher authority, whereas the women of a society would have been viewed to have a stay at home role, where they would look after children and participate in household chores. During the 1900’s women were seen a minority, where the slightest amount of freedom would have been frowned upon. Nonetheless over the years, as we have developed, so have the different role for both genders, this now consists of sharing jobs equally in a household and around a workplace. The most obvious change within a family would be the amount of work the couple share, both in the household and outside of it. Since the 1960, where the civil rights act was released, it detailed that women were now able to work and should be offered equal opportunities as men, whereas in the past that would have been forbidden. Due to this seismic change, women are now able to provide for themselves, which in the past would have been extremely difficult as they would have essentially been dependent on their partner’s income. Gershuny, a famous sociologist, said that women who work full time would do less of the domestic labour jobs around the house. However statistics show this is incorrect. Women who work full time tend to still do 73% of the household chores, leavening only 27% to the men, who may or may not work full time. An equally significant aspect of this change would be the commercialisation of society today. Commercialisation of society is defined as the new technologies that have been introduced into today’s world in order to allow basic household chores, which would have takes several hours to do, to be completed within a few hours. The commercialisation of basic household necessities means that couples still have time to work and spend time with each other. For women, supermarket food products; means they don’t have to spend hours cooking and preparing food for the family. This would also mean, washing clothes now has become much easier due to the washing machine appliance. Due to this significant improvement, the hours of domestic labour on a woman has decreased a great deal. In spite of this, the commercialisation of products wouldn’t apply to everyone. Working class families or women would be able to afford such expensive items, however this doesn’t quite apply to poorer women; and hence they would suffer with longer hours of household chores. This also doesn’t take into account who uses these appliances; women still load and unload the dishwasher, or wash clothes. Despite having these appliances, it doesn’t necessarily mean these jobs are equally shared; the majority of women still complete them. Consequently, men and women are now becoming more equal when it comes to making decisions as a family. In the past men were off more authority and hence they were the ones that made the more important decisions. Stephen Edgell did a study in 1980 which showed that very important decisions were usually taken by men, important decisions were usually taken jointly however rarely by the wife alone, and lastly less important decisions were usually made by the wife alone. This has changed considerably over the years since the decisions are now shared equally. Pooling (where the couple have access to income and joint responsibility) has increased from 19% to 50%; on the other hand, allowance system (where men give their wives and allowance as a weekly budget) has decreased significantly from 36% to 12%. This shows a clear indication of how the roles have changed, although the increase for pooling was very little, we can judge that eventually role will get even. Moreover, we can see from the past that men and women were given gender scripts. Men were seen to be masculine and of higher standard thus they would work. This was often referred to as the instrumental role, where men were the providers. Women were viewed as having a role solely in the house where they would do household chores. This was often referred to as the expressive role, where women were the homemakers. Nonetheless this can be argued with the concept of homosexual couples. For example within a lesbian couple, they wouldn’t have suited gender scripts and hence would have to negotiate roles equally. Also the idea that now a day’s men aren’t the only providers within a family, women also work and hence can provide for themselves as well as their family. Having considered those points, there are many things to suggest things still need a lot of time in order to improve and become slightly equal. A concept that could argue the progress over the years would be the idea of dual burden which explains the roles women take upon themselves, or in other words are expected to take. Many feminists believe women are now doing two shifts, one at work which is paid work, and eventually returning home to do unpaid work. They believe men benefit from both works, as they receive a steady income as well as a clean house. Some also claim that women do three shifts, also called the triple shift. This is described as emotional work which is role which is usually related to women. Women have an extra unpaid shift where they return home to take care of the rest of the family, also called as the ‘labour of love’. Subsequently, it seems convincing to me that although roles have changed over the years, the change itself is very little because the roles within a family still aren’t as equal. Despite having the same job opportunities, the job of domestic labour in a household are far from equal. Nonetheless I believe roles will eventually change one day where they will be close to equal. However I think roles will never be fully equal.

Finding Hope in Failure Essay -- Personal Narrative, essay about mysel

It was a cold, dark morning when the phone rang. It was boisterously loud and the clock read six o'clock. The deafening noise jolted us again, and there was only one way to make it stop. Chris picked up the phone and in a tired, drowsy voice, answered, "Hello." "Wake up call," I could hear Coach on the other end of the line. "Wake everyone else up in the room and the bus will leave at seven." "Okay," and with that, Chris hung up the telephone. I could hear him bury his head back into his pillow to try and get just a few more minutes of sleep before the big day. "C'mon, Chris, you get in the shower first," Taylor ordered from the other bed. "You're already up." Chris conceded and worked his way to the shower. Everyone in the room knew it too, due to his grunting and whining under his breath. Soon enough he was out of the shower and so were Taylor, Anders, and I. We ate breakfast with the rest of the team downstairs in the hotel in silence. It was too early to talk or chat. Everyone knew that one thing was going to be on their minds: winning. It was not worth discussing, either. Everyone knew that our varsity eight was possibly the strongest that McCallie had ever had, and that we had a good chance of winning some gold medals that day, if not a great chance. We loaded on the bus like ants, noiselessly flowing into one little opening. The bus ride was silent all of the way over as well. Everyone's heads, looking intently forward, were slightly jostling along with the bumps in the road. Some tried to sleep, but the tension and excitement was to o much for most of them to be successful. Eventually, we arrived at the race course. Stepping off of the bus, the exhilaration was uplifting as we looked across the sunrise ... ...re are fifty boats in our race, and we got third, now that's not too bad for a busted fin." This did not seem to help, however, as there was no apparent response. "I don't know about you all, but after this, it just makes me want to bust by butt during the off-season to come back here in the Spring and kill them all!" Slowly, but surely, everyone's heads raised. I realized that this was not the end at all. We made a pact to work our hardest to come back in the Spring and win out as much as possible. As the commotion settled, Chris quieted us down, "Okay, come on guys." He put his hand in the middle of the circle. We all followed his lead. "We will not let an unfortunate accident get in our way! We will not settle for third place!" With that we all threw our hands up into the air. I looked around and smelled the breeze. Suddenly it was the best feeling in the world.

Free Animal Farm Essay :: Animal Farm Essays

Animal Farm Essay The name of the book is Animal Farm, which is written by George Orwell. This book is about a farm with animals who dislike the treatment, and overtake the farm and overthrow the humans of the farm. As the revolution took place, two leaders came about. Their names were Snowball and Napoleon, whose main goal was to have nothing to do with humans, and bring communism into their society. "Napoleon was a large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar, the only one of those on the farm. He was not much of a talker, but with a reputation for getting his own way" (Ch.2, P. 25). "Snowball was a more vivacious pig than Napoleon, quicker in speech and more inventive but did not have the character depth that Napoleon did" (Ch.2, Pgs. 24-25.) Snowball was the one with the ideas like the committees and the windmill. He was a better thinker than Napoleon. When all the animals helped kick Mr. Jones off the farm, Snowball led the animals to the store-shed and served out a double ration of corn to everybody with two biscuits going to each of the dogs. Napoleon on the other hand was very selfish. He stole milk that was meant for everybody and drank it all, and he stole apples. He doesn't care about the work the animals do, just what would benefit him. For example, Napoleon comes up with the building of the windmill that would supply electricity so they would not have to work as hard. Napoleon was against this because he didn't come up with the idea. When Napoleon sees that Snowball is gaining more power with the speech of the windmill, Napoleon sends his dogs to chase Snowball out of the farm. After Snowball was chased out of the farm, Napoleon gains more power by saying Snowball was a bad person. He told the animals that Snowball was with Mr. Jones from the starting. (Ch 6. P. 72) "We will teach this miserable traitor that he cannot undo our work so easily." He is now saying that Snowball was the one who ruined the windmill, even though it was his idea. He called him a traitor. And when Napoleon couldn't do the trash talking, he sent squealer. "For we know now, it is all written down in the secret documents that we have found-that in reality he was trying to lure us to our doom" (Ch. 7 P. 80). He was telling all the animals that Snowball was a traitor and was with Mr. Jones, because of the Battle of the Cowshed.

Overpopulation: Unemployment and Possible Solutions

To Thi Thu Huong Writing task 2 THE WOLD IS EXPERIENCING A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN POPULATION. THIS IS CAUSING PROBLEMS NOT ONLY FOR POOR, UNDERDEVELOPED COUNTRIES, BUT ALSO FOR INDUSTRIALIZED AND DEVELOPING NATIONS. DESCRIBE SOME OF THE PROBLEMS THAT OVERPOPULATION CAUSES AND SUGGEST AT LEAST ONE POSSIBLE SOLUTION. Due to recent improvement in healthcare system as well as the economic growth, the population is increasing faster and faster. This is laying a heavy burden on the economy, society and environment of both advanced and developing nations.In this essay, I’m going to explore the main problems caused by overcrowding and suggest some possible solutions. First, overpopulation tends to slowdown the economy because it creates a shortage of public goods such as electricity and water supply, etc. which depend on the government allocation. Hence, the authorities, especially in poor countries have to apply for high-interest loans from abroad to fill in the budget deficit. Consequ ently, those countries are struggling to repay the long-term foreign debts and unable to escape the vicious circle of poverty. Second, there is a great deal of troubles for the society with too many people.For example, the appreciation of unemployment rates will cause bad impacts on social welfare; and the education and healthcare system may not be able to meet the needs of the public. Also, the community will be suffered from severe hunger, formidable crime rates and unstable politic situation. Moreover, when the planet gets more crowded, the environment is also threatened. Along with the intensive farming and industrialization to fulfill the dearth of the extra residents, there will be more sewage, redundant fertilizer and pesticide, and exhaust fumes that pollute the water the land the air.In addition, the exploitation of natural resources will drain the earth’s stockpile to the point that it can no longer supply for our life. Eventually, what awaits humankind is a future of suicide. Fortunately, there are some possible solutions for those problems. The government can promote public-private provision to deal with the needs for public goods. An increase in taxation and industry investment will settle many social and economy troubles such as unemployment and budget inadequacy. We also need stricter regulations on resource usage and pollutant emission.At the same time, a focus on early education will help untie the knot of overpopulation from the root. The more developed nations and international institutions should help the underdeveloped countries by providing more ODAs and FDIs as well as establishing consultancy councils. To summarize, overpopulation is now a world wide phenomenon that is followed by many negative economic, social and environmental impacts. However, those difficulties can be overcome with the efforts of both the government and the individual.

Childhood Development in a Cultural Context †Childhood Development Research Paper

Childhood Development in a Cultural Context – Childhood Development Research Paper Free Online Research Papers Childhood Development in a Cultural Context Childhood Development Research Paper Childhood development and it’s implications to entire continents, nations, or more specifically, societies and cultures has gone through much research and development in the past decades. To illustrate, the research and development of childhood theories today involves theorists such as Jean Piaget (1920, e.g. child intellectual development) and Freud (1933, e.g. components of personality) to more recent theorists such as Lev Vygotsky (1934/1962, e.g. stages of cognitive development) and Urie Bronfenbrenner (1995, contextual development) (Sigelman Rider, 2003). Specifically, the following paragraphs will focus and illustrate on how children develop during infancy and early childhood according to the social relationships and cultural context(s) of the child as an individual or group member. According to (Sigelman Rider, 2003), development is defined as the changes and adjustments that individuals experience from the time of conception till death. They established that age grades, age norms and the social clock influence the development of individuals (children) socially. To illustrate, age grades are socially classified age groups which include pre-assigned statuses, roles, privileges, and responsibilities. Next, age norms refers to the society’s permitted and prohibited behaviours individuals’ should and should not do according to one’s age. Last, social clock refers to a sense of what and when things have to be done according to one’s age norms (Sigelman Rider, 2003). As society evolves parallel to as time progresses, the context in time becomes very important to understand the social environment. In addition, Valsiner (1988) denotes that social development functions hand-in-hand with the cultural environment. Thus, as we understand the d evelopmental process of the infancy and early childhood stage we must consider two factors such as the social environment and the cultural context of the child as an individual as we answer the developmental questions to attachment formation. According to Drewery and Bird (2004), attachment refers to an affectional bond between two people; and the field of attachment has inspired many theories and theorists in the research of attachment. Sigmund Freud for example, believed that a stable mother-child relationship (attachment) is very important to development (Sigelman Rider, 2003). Interestingly, many theorists (e.g. Freud, Erickson, and Bowlby) unanimously agree that the very first social relationship (attachment) of an individual is the most important relationship of all (Sigelman Rider, 2003). Infancy refers to children between the age range of 0 years to 2 years of life whereas early childhood refers to children between the age range of 2 to 6 years of life (Sigelman Rider, 2003). John Bowlby’s research on parent-child and other close relationships was the founding catalyst to â€Å"attachment† as commonly used in the field of psychology today. His research initially focused on children that were displ aced during and after wars from which he hypothesised based on the work of another psychologist, Renee Spitz, that children who were separated from their mothers developed significantly slower and inferior to their peers. This condition of separation between mother and child was defined as â€Å"Maternal deprivation† (Drewery Bird, 2004). Bowlby (1969) denoted that there are four principle theories that explain the nature of the â€Å"attachment theory† he noted. These theories are such as, to begin, the Theory of Secondary Drive states that every child has several physiological needs that drives the child to become attached to his/her mother due to the capability of the mother to care and supply to those needs. Second, he proposed the Theory of Primary Object Sucking where the infant inherently has a predisposition towards the human breast which soon after develops into an attached child-breast or child-mother relationship. Third, the Theory of Primary Object Clinging denotes that infants inherently have a predisposition to clutch or touch another human being (assumed as the source of need such as food and warmth). Fourth, the Theory of Primary Return-to-Womb Craving denotes that infants seek to return to the womb despising their environmental state. Based on the theories above, Bowlby developed the study of e thology, the study of â€Å"innate relationships between biology and behaviour† (Drewery Bird, 2004). To illustrate the theories above, Bowlby emphasised the biological aspects of attachment however, his conclusions were also parallel with social bases. Every theory stated above is seen as a basis where development and experience takes precedence over biological factors for example, an infant develops an attachment for his mother after seeing his/her mother as fulfilling his/her needs. The key point here is the process of learning (social) to depend (attachment behaviour) on the mother. In conclusion, according to Sigelman and Rider (2003) attachment theory according to Bowlby is encapsulated under two points relevant to this essay. First, the formation of attachment develops through the interaction between biological and environmental factors (social) during the infant and early childhood stages. Second, caregiver-child attachment relationships effect the later development and quality of relationships of the child. Thus, this signifies both a social influence (relationships) and a cultural influence (relationships practice). The following will explore the conclusions and findings from other theorists of attachment and how it relates to infant and early childhood development. First, Piaget (1932/1965) in Sigelman and Rider (2003) noted that there are two factors that contribute childhood development such as the caregiver-child relationship and the peer relationships the child has. He notes that even to the young age of infancy do attachments with peers influence the social development of the child. However, according to research findings by Mussen (1973), infants aged 2 years and below develop more when interacting with a single peer rather than a group of peers. To illustrate, Piaget’s conclusions suggest that the peer relationships or social environment of the child significantly influences the development of the child; development that cannot happen within a caregiver-child relationship. In addition, this peer relationship (equal status attachments) is considered to have a unique contribution to development as compared to caregiver-child relationships (parents are superior to child, unequal status attachments).Next, Lev Vygotsky was another theorist that explored the caregiver-child relationships of the child (Drewery Bird, 2004). His observations focused on the cultural environment of the child and believed that development occurs within the interaction between the people surrounding the child and the child individually. This concept of merging both social and cultural factors is called a â€Å"Sociocultural perspective† (Sigelman Rider, 2003). Vygotsky defines this as co-construction, a process where children learn with the aid of adults. How his theory relates to attachment and development is seen in the works of Van der Veer and Van Ijzendoorn (1988). They denoted that children in the infancy and early childhood stage participate in certain activities [e.g. play and learning activities (Sigelman Rider, 2003)] together with their caregivers or adults in genera l (teachers, relatives). Thus, within these activities the creation of Vygotsky’s concept of the â€Å"zone of proximal development† (Drewery Bird, 2004) functions to distinguish the role of the adult as the person of higher mental capability as compared to the child, creating a range or distance ( between adult and child) in which the child can learn. In addition, this concept is based on the assumption that higher mental functions (cognitive skills) are learnt through social interaction of supervision and assistance (Drewery Bird, 2004). Concurrently, these activities is characterised according to the culture of the child’s environment because activities differ according to culture. Van der Veer and Van Ijzendoorn (1988, p. 221) thus concluded that parent-child attachments are crucial for current and future cognitive development. Urie Bronfenbrenner on the other hand proposes a different view to adult-child learning relationship. According to Sigelman and Rider (2003), his bioecological approach (formally ecological approach) denotes that development occurs within a reciprocal system or in simple terms, a give-and-take relationship between the individual (child) and his/her environment. It is an approach which is dynamic and adaptive. Within the bioecological approach, Bronfenbrenner illustrates four environments system that influences or is influenced by the developing child. These systems are such as the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem. To illustrate, we can use the systems to conceptualise a child and his/her environment to how he/she develops. Firstly, the microsystem refers to the immediate environment of the child such as the child’s family however the mesosystem refers to interrelationships between two or more microsystems such as the interaction between the child’s f amily and the child’s day care centre. Thirdly, the exosystem refers to the social settings beyond the immediate environment that indirectly influences the child’s development (e.g. mass media) and lastly, the macrosystem referes to the larger cultural context of the child’s environment (e.g. political system) To illustrate, when a child interacts with his/her mother and father, the infant or child contributes actively to the reciprocal relationship (microsystem). However, when a family conflict arises between parents, it can cause the child to behave differently in school (mesosystem, interaction between family and school). Also, the exosystem is seen in through the media such as the television at the child’s home where the macrosystem of political and historical occurrences can be seen to influence the media, family and school. Through bronfenbrenner’s approach, one can understand child development through social and cultural means as its emphasi s is on reciprocal influences/relationships. When defining culture, one must understand the different context of which culture is defined. As culture refers to a specialised lifestyle of values, beliefs, behaviours, and communicating (Devito, 2003), different cultures within different context (e.g. countries or situations such as poverty) would apply these specialised behaviours differently. Thus, development based on culture would differ according to the context of development/culture. Stratton (1988) concluded that childhood development when understood according to culture must include the parents’ cultural beliefs, the child cultural environment and the child’s cultural beliefs (developed according to experience). In a study by McDermontt, Char, Robillard, Hsu, Tseng, and Ashton (1983, cited in Stratton, 1988) which studied the differences between families of Japanese and Caucasian origin families, they found that there was a significant difference in the cultural attitudes of the two types of families towards their children thus resulting in two different development outcomes for the children. The Japanese families, being of the collective orientation, resulted in children who were more developed cognitively in ways of deep thinking and feeling. However, for the Caucasian families, being of the individualistic orientation, resulted in children who were more expressive. These findings were duplicated across different cultures in two other studies of cross cultural effects on development. Barker, Kounin and Wright (1943) studied the development of children in the Indian pueblo culture as compared to the Hopi culture. They concluded that children who from both cultures differed in attitudes and overt behaviour. In addition, Aimin and Guiying (2004) in their comparative study of Chinese and American Children in how they rated their self concept showed a clear difference between cultures. The Chinese children viewed themselves much positively as compared to the American children. These studi es clearly present culture as a vital factor that influences childhood development. In conclusion, the two factors of the social environment and the cultural context of a child as an individual very much influences the development of the child psychologically and emotionally during infancy and early childhood. Attachment as defined as between two people is seen to be a crucial part of a child’s social and cultural environment and must be integrated into one’s socialcultural system whenever one desires to understand a child. References Aimin, W. Guiying, R. (2004). A Comparative Study of Self-Concept in Chinese and American Children. Chinese Mental Health Journal, 18(5), 294-299. Retrieved August 11, 2005 from PsycInfo database from World Wide Web: http://gateway.ut.ovid.com.ezproxy.otago.ac.nz/gw2/ovidweb.cgi Barker, R.G., Kounin, J. S. Wright, H. F. (1943). Child behavior and development: A course of representative studies (pp. 621-636). New York, NY, US: McGraw-Hill. viii, 652 pp. Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and Loss: Attachment (Vol. 1). London: The Hogarth Press. Devito, .J. A. (2003). Human communication: The basic course (9th ed.). New York: Allyn Bacon. Drewery, W. Bird, L. (2004). Human development in Aoteatoa: A journey through life (2nd ed.). Australia: McGraw-Hill. Mussen, P. H. (1973). The psychological development of the child (2nd ed.). USA: Prentice-Hall. Sigelman, C. K. Rider, E. A. (2003). Life-Span: Human Development (4th ed.). USA: Wadworth/Thomson Learning. Stratton, P. (1988). Parents’ Conceptualisation of Children as the Organizer of Culturally Structured Environments. In Valsiner, J. (Eds.), Child Development Within Cultural Structured Enviroments: Parental Cognition and Adult –Child Interaction (Vol. 1) (pp. 5-29). USA: Ablex Publishing Corporation. Valsiner, J. (1988). Child Development Within Cultural Structured Enviroments: Parental Cognition and Adult –Child Interaction (Vol. 1). USA: Ablex Publishing Corporation. Van der Veer, R., Van Ijzendoorn, M. H. (1988). Early Childhood attachment and later problem solving: A Vygotskian perspective. In Valsiner, J. (Eds.), Child Development Within Cultural Structured Enviroments: Parental Cognition and Adult –Child Interaction (Vol. 1) (pp. 215-246). USA: Ablex Publishing Corporation. Research Papers on Childhood Development in a Cultural Context - Childhood Development Research PaperInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementThree Concepts of PsychodynamicThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseResearch Process Part OneRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andPETSTEL analysis of IndiaPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of Self

Cat Connotations

Cat Connotations Cat Connotations Cat Connotations By Mark Nichol I recently discussed senses of words for various species from the dog family as they apply to human behavior and characteristics. Every dog has its day, but now it’s time for the cats to come out. 1. Cat This word for any feline or, specifically, the small domesticated species became a term of contempt for a woman and slang for a prostitute (brothels have been called cathouses), and vicious or sniping comments or behavior, probably from an association with the behavior of agitated cats, are still referred to as catty. Similarly, noisy protests from spectators at a performance or competition are referred to as catcalls, presumably from the unpleasant sound of cats howling out during fighting or courtship. However, cat also came, first in Black English and then in more widespread usage, to be synonymous with fellow or guy and became a label for a jazz aficionado. A fat cat is, by analogy with the physical aspect of an obese feline, a wealthy, self-satisfied person. Many idioms and expressions employ the word cat, including proverbial references to cats having nine lives and letting the cat out of the bag. 2. Cougar This relatively recent slang term, from an analogy with feline predation, refers to older women who seek younger males as sex partners. 3. Kitten The word for a young cat applies to a seductive or alluring woman; it’s sometimes expanded to â€Å"sex kitten.† 4. Lion Because of this animal’s regal nature, its name is used to celebrate noble bearing; the word also alludes to bravery (as in the epithet Lionhearted) but also to greed or tyranny. The verb lionize refers to adulation; leonine is an adjective that often describes a person’s feline appearance or comportment. 5. Tiger The ferocious nature of the tiger has inspired the use of its name to express admiration for a person’s tenacity or competitive spirit. By contrast, a paper tiger is just what the idiom suggests: an apparently powerful entity that is not a force or a threat. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:70 Idioms with Heart36 Poetry TermsWriting Styles (with Examples)

How to Earn Computer Certifications Online

How to Earn Computer Certifications Online Whether you’re looking to broaden the number of companies you can apply to, or simply would like to learn a new skill, there are many options for technology certification and training online. While most credible certification processes require you to take the exam at an authorized testing location, almost all of them do permit you to do all training and preparation work via the internet.When seeking certification, keep in mind that not all types of certification require applicants to complete online training programs. In many cases, certification can be awarded simply by passing an exam. Most certification providers provide training and test prep, but they often charge additional fees to access it. It’s generally best to check the provider’s website for information on the certification first to get a good feel for what preparation is required and what you’ll need help with. Once you decide that the certification is right for you, note the cost to take the exam, and whether the certification provider offers any online assistance free of charge. Fortunately, there are some excellent resources for preparing for certification online that are available free of charge.Some of the more common certification types include: CompTIA A, Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), Cisco Certification (CCNA CCNP), Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS), and the Certified Novell Engineer (CNE). CompTIA A Certification Employers often ask that those looking for IT type position carry some form of certification. For those looking to work with computer hardware, one of the most common certification sought is Comptia A. The A certification demonstrates that you possess the basic foundation of knowledge necessary to provide IT support and is often considered a good jumping off point for those looking to have a career working with computers. Information on the exam and links to online preparation options are available at Comptia.org. Free test prep can be obtained from ProfessorMesser.com. Microsoft Certified System Engineer The MCSE is a good certification to get if you’re looking for employment with a business that uses Microsoft networked systems. It’s good for those with a year or two of experience with networks and some familiarity with Windows systems. Information on the certification,  as well  as testing locations, is provided at the Microsoft website. Free preparation for the exam as well as training material can be found at mcmcse.com. Cisco Certification Cisco certification, particularly the CCNA, is highly valued by employers with large networks. Those looking for a career working with computer networks, network security, and internet service providers will be well served by Cisco certification. Information on certification can be found at Cisco.com. Free study guides and tools can be found at Semsim.com. Microsoft Office Specialist Certification Those looking to work with Microsoft office products such as Excel or PowerPoint will be well served with an MOS certification. While not often specifically requested by employers, an MOS certification is a strong way of demonstrating ones aptitude with a specific Microsoft application. They are also less intense to prepare for than some of the other common certifications. Information from Microsoft on this is available. Free test preparation can be difficult to find, but some practice tests are available for free at Techulator.com. Certified Novell Engineer The CNE is ideal for those looking to, or currently working with Novell software such as Netware. As Novell products seem less used today than they once were, this certification is probably ideal only if you already plan to work with Novell networks. Information on the certification can be found at Novell.com. A directory of free preparation materials can be found at Certification-Crazy.net.Whatever certification you choose to pursue, be sure to review the preparation requirements and costs. Some of the most difficult certification types can take many months to prepare for, so be sure that you’re able to invest the time and resources necessary to get certified. If your virtual certification efforts go well, you may also be interested in earning an online degree.

Eusociality in a mammal (naked mole-rats) Research Paper

Eusociality in a mammal (naked mole-rats) - Research Paper Example Considering the three features of eusociality described above, naked mole-rats are the only eusocial mammals that we have ever known. Known taxonomically as Heterocephalus glaber, and belonging to group Rodentia of family Bathyergidae, the naked mole-rats are generally found in the hot, semiarid regions of Africa. They usually live in large colonies present underground in subterranean tunnels (Ciszek) where on average 75 mole-rats live in each colony. Only one female mole-rat reproduces by breeding with a few males of the community, while the rest of the males and females form the labor force which perform tasks like maintenance of colonies, nest building, transportation of soil, and defense. The workers keep busy in construction and provision of food. Being sterile, they do not have a direct offspring but work cooperatively together to look after the offspring of the queen. However, as Ciszek states in his research, these workers are not â€Å"obligatory sterile†, meaning tha t they are capable of reproducing but when they have to live in colonies, they are not supposed to breed. But, if they are separated from their colonies, then they are able to actively reproduce. This is the concept of inclusive fitness (Hamilton 1; Axelrod and Hamilton 1390) according to which an individual is fit for reproduction even if he/she does not have a direct offspring. This is the sharing of genes and the overall fitness is measured by also including the fitness of those who just share the genes even if they have not bred. Thus, the trouble that how the worker mole-rats are able to transmit their genes to the next generation if they are sterile, is solved through the concept of inclusive fitness according to which if the worker mole-rats share genes with their mother queen, then they are able to assist her in raising future queens thus enabling the workers to transmit their genes. This assistance is a special feature of eusociality. Hence, we see close inbreeding in these mole-rats since there is high genetic similarity (Faulkes, Abbott and Mellor). This close inbreeding eliminates the chances of out-breeding in mole-rats which increases their relatedness to the queen’s offspring. This close genetic relatedness maximizes the workers’ potential to do more work. Jarvis (571) talks about frequent workers, infrequent workers, and non-workers. Frequent workers are those who are assigned the responsibilities of digging the soil, construction, maintenance, and food provision. They make trips inside the colonies with food without taking pauses to eat themselves. Infrequent workers assist the frequent workers in work and make half the amount of effort frequent workers make. It is interesting that Jarvis found that the largest proportion of mole-rats is that of non-workers and that their roles are not clearly identified (571). He claims that the male members of these non-workers mate with the breeding female. He studied that since most of these non-workers are most of the time sleeping, thus the overall energy requirement for the colony is reduced. Their main role, he guesses, is the assistance in the brought up of the offspring. Jarvin further affirms that female mole rats of all these categories are non-breeding and will never reproduce.

Why liberal gun laws are bad and how they affect the community Research Paper

Why liberal gun laws are bad and how they affect the community - Research Paper Example The subject of gun control is contentious and the debate surrounding it often emotional usually centering on conflicting interpretations of the Constitution. Most people agree that the Second Amendment allows citizens to own guns for protection and hunting. Both common sense, as the title indicates, the law of the land and statistics demonstrate, stricter guns laws make us less not more safe. The idea of gun control in the State of Texas is absurd for all reasons already mentioned in addition to the independent nature of the culture in Texas. Much the same as in other states, guns are a tradition passed from father to son, a way of life. Even if some types of guns were outlawed, the logistical problem and practicality of collecting them would also be absurd. According to the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, â€Å"A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed† (â€Å"Th e Constitution†, 2006). This, as were the entire Bill of rights, was added by the founders of the country so as to provide a clearer definition of the specific rights granted to all Americans. Gun control supporters consider the Second Amendment to be â€Å"obsolete; or is intended solely to guard against suppression of state militias by the central government and therefore restricted in scope by that intent; or does not guarantee a right that is absolute, but one that can be limited by reasonable requirements† (Krouse, 2002). However, they only question the need for people to own firearms that are not primarily designed for sporting purposes such as hunting. Clearly, the right to own guns was of utmost importance to the Founding fathers given that it was listed second, after the freedom of speech and religion was acknowledged in the First Amendment. The Founders recognized that by ensuring the right to own arms, the public would have the ability to defend themselves fr om that which may jeopardize their life, liberty or pursuit of happiness. This could include physical protection from animals and persons and or from an tyrannical government that endangered the freedoms outlined in the Constitution. â€Å"The Second Amendment reflects the founders’ belief that an armed citizenry, called the ‘general militia’ was a necessary precaution against tyranny by our own government and its army. The idea that government has a constitutional right to disarm the general citizenry is totally foreign to the intent of the Constitution’s framers† (Reynolds & Caruth III, 1992). The State of Texas is known, somewhat deservedly, as having an open policy regarding firearms. Texans are permitted to carry concealed handguns after completing licensing requirements. George W. Bush, then Governor, signed a law which expressly permits guns to be carried in Church. Texans will, for the far foreseeable future, have their guns and be able to c arry them on their person. Statistics bear-out what Texans have seemingly always known. â€Å"States which have passed concealed-carry laws have seen their murder rate fall by 8.5 percent, rapes by 5 percent, aggravated assaults by 7 percent and robbery by 3 percent. In the early 1990s, Texas’s serious crime rate was 38 percent above the national average. Since then, serious crime in Texas has dropped 50 percent faster than for the nation as a whole. All this happened after passage of a concealed-carry law in 1994.† LaRosa (2002) It has been said that Americans no longer need firearms the way they did 250 years ago. No unfriendly Indians and maybe a slight threat from wild animals; the government is secure and elected by a democratic procedure. In addition the people of the country have the most dominant armed forces

The Providence Debate Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Providence Debate - Research Paper Example The author considers that a balanced mixture of these two views offers a better perspective. The author proposes that God’s truth as revealed in the Holy Scriptures is reflected in some parts by the Calvinists view and in some parts by the Armininans and God’s truth regarding salvation is not monopolized wholly by just one of these two views. God Announced Salvation after the fall On the sixth day of creation, after forming everything which included the light, the firmament, the plants and the animals, God created man in His own image and put him in the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it; later Adam was joined by his wife Eve, the woman whom God formed from one of Adam's ribs.1 Adam and Eve had everything they needed and lived very close to God and just like in a fairy tale, they could have lived happily ever after. But they disobeyed God’s commandment: â€Å"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die†.2 Thus the first man and woman fell to sin and the whole creation fell with them.3 The loving Almighty God, after the fall of man, even in the dawn of human history, had already announced the forthcoming salvation, as He said to the serpent: â€Å" And I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed: it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel.†4 The Holy Bible abounds with several verses which teach the way to salvation. In fact the whole Bible, with its old and new testaments, shows â€Å" God's way of having people come to know Him and His plan for mankind, His chosen and special people...who by faith will form the true family of God throughout eternity.†5 God's Thoughts Are Higher Than Our Thoughts Despite the so many verses pertaining to salvation (or maybe due to such great number), even the so-called 'faithfuls' have found themselves in opposite camps. This providence deb ate has been going on for centuries and perhaps, Christians will finally get the correct answer when they come face to face with our loving Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our God is a very great God. He is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent. He is the first and the last. We may come to know Him, but not yet as fully as we would have wanted. As it is written, â€Å"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.†6 The Arminians and Calvinists Views A careful and prayerful study of the Holy Bible will reveal chapters and verses which support both the Arminian and Calvinist views. The Arminians View. The Arminians believe that salvation is brought about by the combined efforts of God who initiated the process and man who must respond to God's call. God has provided salvation for everyone, but His provision becomes effecti ve only for those who, of their own free will, 'choose' to cooperate with Him and accept His gracious offer of salvation. Thus man's response becomes the determining factor for the attainment of salvation. At the crucial point, man's will plays a decisive role; in this perspective, man, not God, determines who will be recipients of the gift of salvation.7,8 Arminianism emphasizes conditional election based on God's foreknowledge, man's free will through prevenient grace to cooperate with God in salvation,

Masters of Science in Information Management at Syracuse University Essay

Masters of Science in Information Management at Syracuse University - Essay Example Some of the most interesting and useful courses that make part of the program are ’Web-Design and Management’ and ‘Application Programming for Information System’. Designing web and making java programs are some of the key skills contemporary organizations expect to find in the graduates of Information Management. ‘Intro/Info Based Organization’ is a very good course whose knowledge guides the professionals in maximizing benefits for the company through informed decision making. The courses ‘Info Reporting and Presentation’ and ‘Global Financial System Architecture’ helped improve my social skills as I had to frequently work in collaboration with my teammates and develop business plans. These courses and the exercises they comprise have interesting ways of inculcating the required skills in the students. Reflecting upon my past experience with this field of study, I am positive that studying it at Masters level would p ave the way for new opportunities for me both in academia and industry. After almost four years of study in the Syracuse University, I have become quite aware of this university and this city. The school faculty is very helpful and is always available to guide the students through matters related to studies, career, or life in general. Syracuse University organizes many educational and recreational events every semester. Syracuse University maintains a high profile in sports as well; as a royal basketball fan, I believe that Syracuse University is second to none in offering the students' growth opportunities in sports along with studies. Since Syracuse University can offer me both good quality study and rich leisure life, it is really a place where I can draw a balance between studies and life. My parents can finance my studies. They can pay for the tuition either by international wire transfer or by credit card.

Drama- Glengarry Glen Ross a play by David Mamet Essay

Drama- Glengarry Glen Ross a play by David Mamet - Essay Example The drama contains many idioms that also emphasize the moral teachings that the author talks about in the book. In the drama, the characters use pauses and stammers that make the language vibrant (Mamet 73). The personality of the characters in the drama often changes and it both repulses and amuses the audience. The characters in the drama also have a comic effect because of their exaggerated personalities. I believe that the drama is a piece that reminds people on the need of not losing their humanity and morality. This is especially those caused by the current hardship of the economic world. The drama clearly depicts the life of people struggling to become financially stable. The script of the author uses some styles that make it extremely difficult to execute in a play. These styles are like the use of idioms and stammers (Mamet 73). However, the actors that play the roles should be able to execute the script with all the idioms and the musical language

Masters of Science in Information Management at Syracuse University Essay

Masters of Science in Information Management at Syracuse University - Essay Example Some of the most interesting and useful courses that make part of the program are ’Web-Design and Management’ and ‘Application Programming for Information System’. Designing web and making java programs are some of the key skills contemporary organizations expect to find in the graduates of Information Management. ‘Intro/Info Based Organization’ is a very good course whose knowledge guides the professionals in maximizing benefits for the company through informed decision making. The courses ‘Info Reporting and Presentation’ and ‘Global Financial System Architecture’ helped improve my social skills as I had to frequently work in collaboration with my teammates and develop business plans. These courses and the exercises they comprise have interesting ways of inculcating the required skills in the students. Reflecting upon my past experience with this field of study, I am positive that studying it at Masters level would p ave the way for new opportunities for me both in academia and industry. After almost four years of study in the Syracuse University, I have become quite aware of this university and this city. The school faculty is very helpful and is always available to guide the students through matters related to studies, career, or life in general. Syracuse University organizes many educational and recreational events every semester. Syracuse University maintains a high profile in sports as well; as a royal basketball fan, I believe that Syracuse University is second to none in offering the students' growth opportunities in sports along with studies. Since Syracuse University can offer me both good quality study and rich leisure life, it is really a place where I can draw a balance between studies and life. My parents can finance my studies. They can pay for the tuition either by international wire transfer or by credit card.

Course Review (Intro to Operations Management) Essay

Course Review (Intro to Operations Management) - Essay Example The other eminence and ascendency this course has brought to us is how to bring a balance between technical problem solving approaches and managerial outlook in operations management. Operational management comes with both approaches and as we have learned in the past seven weeks it becomes difficult for the operations management personnel to equate both the approaches. Everything cannot be ensured with success by sticking only with one approach. In most of the cases we learnt that managerial approach needs more nurturing and it can make things a lot easier. In other cases where core implementations are involved, the operations management is handled by bringing on the technical skills. The key is dividing the tasks in teams and to manage smartly. The third benediction of this course is that it has shown us the broad scope and vision of operations management. Once we thought that operations management is a very limited term but after seven weeks of learning, we have come to know that it encompasses the core ideologies of running the organizations in the global

Historically Australian Indigenous Art Is Often Politically or Spiritually Motivated Essay Example for Free

Historically Australian Indigenous Art Is Often Politically or Spiritually Motivated Essay Historically Australian art is often politically or spiritually motivated. This statement is proved by a number of indigenous Australian artists including, Nellie Nakamarra Marks, who uses traditional techniques and motives to relay her spirituality, and Tony Albert, who recontextualises mainstream items, to create a postmodern collection, challenging the idea of stereotypical representations in mainstream culture. All spiritual beliefs in Aboriginal culture relate back to the idea of creation and dreaming. The dreaming is the ongoing cultural and spiritual progression that informs identity and knowledge, which is expressed through traditional indigenous art. This reflects a spiritual connection to the land, which is represented by signs and symbols as well as other various techniques, which are unique to traditional indigenous art. Signs and symbols can represent a particular location, object or landmark, or a particular story or totem that would be specific to a particular tribe, corroboree or dreamtime story. In traditional indigenous artworks, there is no perspective or fixed vanishing points for landscape artworks because indigenous Australians do not see their environment as a landscape, but their particular world and universe. They create a concept of place by using signs and symbols to create a map-like artwork, which represents their particular ‘world’ and universe. Essentially, traditional indigenous Australian artists are painting their spirituality, by expressing their connection to the land through signs, symbols and their world. Nellie Nakamarra Marks is a traditional indigenous artist, from the east of Kintore in the Northern Territory. In her work Kalipinypa, there is no set pattern and everything is connected which suggests her spiritualty and connection with the land. Her use of the traditional form of dot painting for her particular area of the Central Desert Region symbolises her world as she sees it, and how she heard about it through stories. In the middle of the right hand side there is lack of colour, which could symbolise a particular place that has particular spiritual significance. The dark shapes also look like leaves, which could represent the end of season and the coming of autumn, which is supported by the deep, vibrant colours in the painting. The colours also represent her region and place in Australia. The many different varieties of the same shapes could symbolise diversity within their own tribe, as well as the different shapes and movements of the land. The purpose of this artwork is to educate and pass on a particular story to younger generations. Postmodern art challenges mainstream ideas, which usually creates a political or social statement about modern society. Contemporary indigenous art in particular would be classified as postmodern because the artists are communicating their feelings and thoughts about certain aspects of society in modern Australia, which in turn, challenges some pre conceived notions about indigenous Australians in today’s society. These particular works by Tony Albert are postmodern, because he recontextualises items from recent history, that were used to create an unrealistic connection between White Australia and indigenous Australia in the 50’s and 60’s, to challenge history, both politically and socially. Tony Albert’s collection recycles kitsch black velvet paintings produced in Australia in the 1950’s and 1960’s. These velvet paintings were very popular in the last fifty years as home decorations, and like many objects from this period, they were characterized by their depictions of Aboriginal people as simple folk. These ornaments enabled white Australians of the time to have a distant and unrealistic connection to indigenous people. Albert recontextualises these paintings by introducing stenciled slogans to the paintings to create a complex and identifiable character. He uses the languages of politics and pop culture to reconnect the artworks with modern Australia and therefore reality. These slogans reclaim the faces of the aboriginals, transferring them from helpless and cute, to bold and complex, which asserts a modern identity and sense of self. This makes the characters more personal, which then creates a connection between the viewer and the subject that is mimicked throughout the collection. The slogans are derived from pop songs, nursery rhymes, advertising, political speeches and life stories, which has launched these velvet paintings into a new identity, which enables the viewer to connect with the characters beyond a stereotyped context. The generic and common velvet paintings have become empowered and personalized, asserting a new sense of self, which makes this collection truly compelling. This collection by Tony Albert, addresses the issue of stereotypical representations of indigenous Australians in mainstream culture. He challenges this present and historic issue of cultural alienation and displacement experienced by Indigenous Australians by appropriating slogans and recontextualising them to create a sense of lost identity and estrangement. Through the use of many different mediums, Aboriginal artists are motivated by their spirituality or political standpoint to produce art. This is shown by Nellie Nakamarra Marks, who is motivated by her connection to the land and her spirituality, and Tony Albert, who was trying to communicate the stereotypical views of indigenous Australians in mainstream culture. Kalipinypa – NELLIE NAKAMARRA MARKS Acrylic on linen, 90? 90cm Kalipinypa – NELLIE NAKAMARRA MARKS Acrylic on linen, 90? 90cm.

Gene-ablation and other genetic technique

Gene-ablation and other genetic technique How has the use of gene-ablation and other genetic techniques in mice altered our approach to scientific problems in pharmacology and physiology? 280 pts (8-12 pages, 11pt Arial font, double spaced) A gene is a region of DNA that controls a discrete hereditary characteristic, usually corresponding to a single protein or RNA1. Most scientists are interested in determining how genes, and the proteins they encode, function in the intact organism. One of the most direct ways to find out what a gene does is to see what happens to the organism when that gene is missing. Because mutations can interrupt cellular processes, mutants often hold the key to understanding gene function. A well accepted strategy for evaluating gene function is to create and characterize a gene knockout mouse. Virtually any gene in the germ line can be mutated through gene targeting in totipotent embryonic stem (ES) cells or to use gene ablation technology to knock-out either a specific gene or a specific cell type in an intact animal2. Both of these methods offer almost unlimited possibilities for addressing questions concerning the molecular and cellular biology of development, the relationship between geneti cs and biological function, unraveling the causes of disease, and enhance pharmaceutical research. ES cells are a versatile source of cells for repair of damaged and defective tissues in the adult body2. Totipotent embryonic stem cells have been used in vitro to generated precursors for oligodendrocytes and astrocytes. Transplantation of these ES cells into a model mouse of human myelin disease allowed the precursors to interact with host neurons and efficiently myelinate axons in brain and spinal cord. Further investigation of this mechanism could lead to pharmacological, physiological and therapeutic treatments. ES cells also make possible the most precisely controlled forms of genetic modification, allowing animals to be created with virtually any desired alteration introduced into their genome2. One way to produce a transgenic (knockout) animal is through gene targeting in totipotent ES cells. By incorporating a null allele into one allele of murine ES cells, and injecting these cells into early mouse embryos, one can create chimeric mice (heterozygous for the knockout allele) containing tissues derived from both host cells and ES cells2. Mating the chimeric mice allows one to confirm that the null allele is incorporated into the germ line and can breed these heterozygous chimeric mice to homogeneity producing progeny that are homozygous knockout mice2. A knockout mouse generated to carry a mutating apolipoprotein E (apoE) gene through inactivation by gene targeting in embryonic stem cells can be used as a model for atherosclerosis. apoE is a constituent of very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) synthesized by the liver and of a subclass of high density lipoproteins (HDLs) involved in cholesterol transport among cells. In humans a variant form of apoE, has been found to be defective in binding to the LDL receptor that is associated with familial type III hyperlipoproteinemia, a disease characterized by elevated plasma cholesterol and premature coronary heart disease. apoE deficient mice develop severe hypercholesterolemia due to a delayed clearance of large atherogenic particles from the circulation. A study was done to analyze the genesis of atherosclerotic lesions, including the nature of the cells involved, the sequence of cellular events and the anatomic location of specific lesion types over time on mice fed a normal or a high fat diet. They found that the lesions were distributed thought the arterial tree and contained many features of the specialized, chronic, inflammatory-fibroproliferative response characteristic of atherosclerosis with age. This mouse model is used to better understand the physiological role of apoE in lipid metabolism, atherogenesis, and nerve injury. The model can also be used as a way to test new pharmacological drugs in pre-clinical trials to determine drug interaction, new therapeutics or to develop variations of current drugs to better meet the needs of the vast array of genetic variability seen in the human population today. Gene ablation involves the homologous genetic recombination of a gene in such a way that the gene has been made â€Å"null†. Genetic ablation is a genetic engineering technique used to suppress selectively the growth of a specified cell line or cell type in an animal rather than suppress the activity of an individual gene2. Analyzing the in vivo function of cells can be accomplished through specific cell ablation. Using genetic ablation to produce a knockout mouse involves the injection of one or more transgenes (usually a DNA segment bearing its own promoter) into the pronucleus of a fertilized mouse oocyte, which, after reimplantation into a foster mother, gives birth to a transgenic mouse bearing one of several hundred copies of the transgene3. These mice again can be bred to produce a homozygous colony. An overexpression Sod2 transgenic mouse was generated through the use of pronuclear injection of the Sod2 gene into fertilized eggs. These mice overexpressed superoxide dismutase which catalyzes the conversion of superoxide anion to hydrogen peroxide and oxygen. Superoxide anions are reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated in the respiratory chain as a byproduct of mitochondrial respiration. ROS cause oxidative damage to key mitochondrial components, such as protein, lipids and DNA. They are thought to lead to an overall decline in cellular function and ultimately determine the life span of an organism. Sod2 trangsenic mice have been used to test the effects of overexpressing MnSOD on mitochondrial function, levels of oxidative stress or damage and live span in mice. They found that a two fold increase of MnSOD throughout the life of the organism resulted in a slight decrease in oxidative damage and enhanced resistance against oxidative stress. Oxidative damage is also associated wit h arthritis, heart disease, gastrointestinal disorders, multiple sclerosis, cancer and neurological diseases. This model can be used to physiologically improve ones understanding of oxidative stress and to develop pharmaceutical agents that can enhance ones ability to decrease or protect against oxidative damage. Customized gene targeted animal models include constitutive knockouts or knock-ins, or conditional knockouts or knock-ins of known genes, a gene family, mutant genes or artificially created reporters and gene constructs. A constitutive knockout is a model that provides a broad overview of gene function, by the inactivation of the gene of interest at the genetic level, by random mutation or targeted insertion4. The advantage of using this model is that you get a total inactivation of the gene in any cell4. The disadvantage of this model is that the phenotypes can be complex since all organs are affected4. A conditional knockout is a model that provides a research model of high potential, by targeting tissue-specific inactivation of the gene of interest, through the use of recombinase4. Recombinase is an enzyme that deletes the DNA fragment located between the two recombinase-specific sites4. This tissue-specific expression of the recombinase allows the inactivation of the gene of inte rest only in the tissue were the recombinase is expressed4. There are two advantages to using this model, the first is the inactivation is restricted to specific tissues and the second is that several tissue-specific models can be made in parallel4. The disadvantages of using this model include the efficiency of the excision and the inability to validate the recombinase system4. There are a number of other strategies that can be used in place of, or to complement, conventional gene knockout technology. Two such examples are regulatable gene ablation and temporary gene ablation (gene knock downs). Ablation of a gene can be spatially or temporally regulated, that is only the organ of interest is affected or the mutation occurs only in one particular developmental state5. Through the use of a regulator, the promoter can be regulated to control gene expression in the organ or particular tissue of interest. A gene knockdown refers to the technique by which the expression of one or more of an organisms genes is reduced, either through genetic modification or by treatment with a reagent such as a short DNA or RNA oligonucleotide with a sequence complementary to either an mRNA transcript or a gene6. These approaches offer a rapid and economical method to examine the specific actions of a gene product at a particular time point. Genes can be transiently down-regulate d by targeted blockade of gene expression, either systemically or within a specific tissue. Two such approaches are antisense technology and the use of short interfering RNA (siRNA). Antisense technology is the use of short modified DNA sequences complementary to the mRNA of the gene of interest2. These sequences bind to the 5UTR and the beginning of the coding sequence therefore preventing translation initiation and blocking ribosomal interaction with the AUG start codon2. Antisense oligonucleotide genetic-code blocking drugs might control disease by inhibiting deleterious or malfunctioning genes. siRNA on the other hand, utilizes small lengths of double stranded RNA designed against the gene of interest and is introduced into the cell where they interact with intracellular machinery to form RNA-induced silencing complexes (RISCs)2. These complexes unwind the siRNA strands and allow specific binding to the complementary mRNA sequence2. This binding causes cleavage and destruction o f the now double stranded mRNA, and subsequently prevents translation2. siRNA can be used to study gene function, manipulating gene expression, as well as drug development. siRNA compounds can be created and delivered into human cells were they are able to silence genes and viruses responsible for human diseases. Two other genetic techniques that are used to approach gene investigation include suppressor analysis and reverse genetics. Suppressor analysis is used to identify genes that are functionally related to another gene of interest7. A suppressor mutation is a mutation that counteracts the effects of another mutation thereby reducing its phenotypic effect7. Suppressor mutations may be intragenic (in the same gene as the original mutation) or intergenic (in another gene)7. Intergenic suppressor mutations can be either information suppressors or function suppressors7. Of the two, function suppressors are most valuable for the genetic analysis of cellular processes7. Reverse genetics is a process in which specific mutations are introduced into a cloned gene for the purpose of identifying functional domains8. One way to conduct reverse genetics is to do RNA interference (RNAi)8. RNA interference is an in vivo gene knock-down, which is used to insert a random shRNA construct into the mouse ge nome4. Here, double-stranded RNAs inhibit corresponding gene expression by inducing degradation of its mRNA4. RNAi can be used as part of the immune response to viruses and other genetic material; it can also be used to look at downregulation and upregulation of genes4. RNAi has been used to evaluate whether insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP3) modulates gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) cell response. Here, transfection of siRNA to knockdown IGFBP3 gene into GIST cells resulted in a significant loss of cell viability and therefore found that IGFP3 gene is required for GIST cell survival. IGFBP3 gene expression is lost in many cancer cells and reintroduction of the protein often results in cell death. On the other hand IGFBP3 has been linked to renal cell carcinoma, breast cancer, and metastatic melanoma, which suggests that IGFBP3 may contribute to tumorigenesis or disease progression. By studying IGFBP3 and the IGF pathway one can explore IGF for prognostic an d therapeutic value in GISTs and other cancers. In order to develop new treatment and preventative strategies for a human disease, we must first understand the biology and pathogenesis of the human disease itself10. A way to study human gene function is by mouse gene humanization. Humanization is the replacement of the murine gene by its human counter part4. Animal models of human disease have been crucial in elucidating normal organ biology, pathogenic mechanisms of the disease and developing new therapeutic strategies10. Animal models are being used instead of human studies, because human studies are limited by a number of factors such as: the variability seen in genetic background and environmental influences, the inability to readily obtain human tissues for molecular analysis and the small numbers of patients who may have a particular genetic abnormality10. Transgenic animals have already made valuable research contributions to studies involving regulation of gene expression, the function of the immune system, genetic diseases, viral diseases, cardiovascular disease, and the genes responsible for the development of cancer. Transgenic animal models are most effective if they have both construct validity and face validity. Construct validity is the degree to which the model corresponds to the clinical state in humans. Face validity is the animal model responds in an appropriate manner to the effects of different therapeutic agents. An animal model that can recapitulate at least part of the neuropathology and the cognitive and behavioral impairment is the most effective representative of the disease. Several rodent models of Alzheimers disease (AD) have been created. The first example of such a model has been created to mimic the cholinergic deficits of AD patients and to investigate the role of the central cholinergic system in the cognit ive and behavioral deficits observed in AD9. The second example of such a model has been created with acute or chronic injections of amyloid beta within the brain parenchyma of rodents, to overexpress AD-related mutated protein (amyloid deposits) in the central nervous system of rodents9. A third model of AD has been to create a transgenic mouse to express wild-type or mutant forms of the human APP and/or PS genes. All three of these models provide many insights into AD pathogenesis and approached to new therapies. By exploring and understanding of the neuropathological processes underlying the cognitive deterioration leading to dementia and investigating of the effects of potential new treatments on both AD neuropathology and cognitive deficits we will be able to test drugs that could potentially alleviate symptoms of the disease. Transgenic animals have also been used to develop animal strains that secrete important proteins in milk2. These animals are used to synthesize recoverable quantities of therapeutically useful proteins. These proteins can be harvested from the animal by simply milking the animal and then using separation techniques for protein purification2. For example cows have been used to purify collagen which can then be used to indicate burns and bone fracture2. Pigs have been used to purify human hemoglobin as a blood replacement for transfusion2. Goats have been used to make monoclonal antibodies for colon cancer2. In addition sheep have been used to make factor VIII and factor IX for hemophilia2. Despite the large amount of knowledge that can be gained by knockout studies, there are some important considerations to be taken when investigating the role of a particular protein or gene of interest. These considerations include but are not limited to: redundancy, lethality, delineating systemic vs. local effects, subtle effects, and specific pathogen free conditions3. Gene redundancy is the existence of multiple copies of the same gene in the genome of an organism. This problem can be overcome to some extent by the use of multiple knockouts or in some situations where multiple ligands bind to the same receptor, a dominant negative receptor approach can knockout the effects of all ligands at once5. Lethality phenotypes severely compromise the ability of the organism to function. Some knockouts are developmentally lethal, which means that the genetically altered embryos cannot grow in adult mice. Knocking out a gene may also fail to produce an observable (phenotypic) change in a mo use or may even produce different characteristics from those observed in humans in which the same gene is inactivated. In some instances, a particular organ of interest can be transplanted into a healthy wild type host in order to conduct the analysis on that organ. Local effect refers to an adverse health effect that takes place at the point or area of contact, for example the respiratory tract11. Systemic effect refers to an adverse health effect that takes place at a location distant from the bodys initial point of contact and assumes absorption has taken place, i.e. absorption into the blood stream11. Subtle effects are those that are so slight as to be difficult to detect or describe. For example, small changes in nutrient delivery to the fetus can program post-natal and adult metabolic status and lead to increased susceptibility to a range of adult onset disease, including stroke, hypertension and non-insulin dependent diabetes5. Specific pathogen free conditions refers to the fact that laboratory mice in research institution are generally housed in a specific pathogen free environment, and are therefore not challenged with the array of pathogens most mice and humans are exposed to. When comparing transgenic models to humans a key difference could be in the initiation of the development or process in the mouse that may not have a similar mechanism as the human development or process it is thought to represent. The presence of a specific mutation in the mouse from the time of its conception may enable a distinction between phenotypic changes due to the mutation itself and changes caused by adaptation and compensation for the mutation12. A gene can also be expressed in different tissues where it may have different functions; its alteration may induce unexpected consequences. Also, the function of two genes may overlap or a mutation in a single gene might not reveal an abnormal phenotype. There is also a possibility of random incorporation into genome, which may inadvertently disrupt other genes, or have a variable degree of gene silencing success. The gene may also induce gross morphologic or physiologic abnormalities that affect the gene directly. Note also, thes e animal models also only play a minor role in drug development, as relatively few human diseases are monogenetic12. In most cases, gene ablation and other genetic techniques must address the basic question as to whether a particular gene, wild type, or mutant is involved in the pathogenesis of a particular disease. If not a particular disease, it may also address whether a gene product which plays a role in a specific signaling process contributes to disease in conjunction with other predisposing conditions. Animal models are crucial in providing a unified understanding of how drugs work, developing new therapeutic agents, and obtaining critical data needed to advance compounds into clinical trails12. Animal models are an important tool for scientist to investigate human diseases, especially in order to conduct time-course studies or when studying early disease. Transgenic and knockout animals are also used to determine the molecular mode of action of a gene product and the downstream consequences of its misexpression on normal processes. Assessing the role of a specific gene can know be accomplis hed through the use of transgenic animals whose genomes have been manipulated to under- or overexpress a target gene, or express it in a modified or defective, nonfunctional form12. Animal models represent an attempt to imitate the pathologies associated with human disease states in a preclinical setting12. References: Molecular Biology of the Cell. Alberts, et. al. 4th edition 2002 Garland Science New York, NY. Crommelin, D.J.A. and Sindelar, R.D. (1997). Pharmaceutical Biotechnology: Fundamentals and Applications, Third Ed. Taylor and Francis. Philadelphia, PA. Seidman, J.G. (2009) Manipulating the Mouse Genome. Current Protocols in Molecular Biology. January 01. Reliable and Innovative Solutions for Transgenesis. Accessed on 11/4/2009. Ingman, WV. And Jones, RL. (2008). Cytokine knockouts in reporduciton: the use of gene ablation to dissect roles of cytokines in reproductive biology. Human Reproductive Update 14(2): 179-192. Gene knockdown. (2009, June 8). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 13:53, November 8, 2009, from Fay, D. and Johnson, W. (2006). Genetic mapping and manipulation: Chapter 10-Suppressor mutations. Accessed on 11/5/2009. Bio-Medicine. Accessed on 11/4/2009. Dodart, J.C. and May P. (2005) Overview on Rodent models of Alzheimers Disease. Current Protocols in Neuroscience. November 01. Lind J. and Semsarian C. (2006) Overview of Model Systems for the Analysis of Human Disease. Current Protocols in Human Genetics. February 01. Local vs. Systemic Health Effects. Accessed on 11/3/2009. Moser, P. (2009) Animal Models of Disease. Current Protocols in Pharmacology. September 01. Katz, D.A. (2007) Overview of Pharmacogenetics. Current Protocols in Pharmacology. March 01. Barash, CI. (2001)Ethical Issues in Pharmacogenetics. Accessed on 11/4/2009. Frequently Asked Questions about Pharmacogenetics. Accessed on 11/4/2009. Bustle, O., Jones, K.N., Learish R. D., et.al.(1999) Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Glial Precursors: A source of Myelinating Transplants. Science 5428(285): 754-756 Piedrahita, J.A., Zhang, S.H, Hagaman, J.R, Oliver, P.M, and Maeda N. (1992) Generation of mice carrying a mutant apolipoprotein E gene inactivated by gene targeting in embryonic stem cells. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 89:4471-4475. Nakashima, Y, Plump AS, Raines E.W, Reslow J.L, and Ross R. (1994) ApoE-deficient mice develop lesions of all phases of atherosclerosis throughout the arterial tree. Arteriosclerosis and Thrombosis 14:133-140. Jang Y.C et.al (2009). Overexpression of Mn Superoxide Dismutase Does Not Increase Life Span in Mice. Journal of Gerontology:Biological Sciences. 64(11): 1114-1125. Dupart JJ. Et.al (2009). Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 has dual effects on gastrointestinal stromal tumor cell viability and sensitivity to the anti-tumor effects of imatinib mesylate in vitro. Mol Cancer Nov 10;8(1):99 (Epub ahead of print) PMID: 19903356 Genes associate with drug responses can be grouped into three broad categories: those involved in pharmacokinetics (i.e. drug metabolism, transport), those encoding pharmacological targets (i.e. drug-target pathways) and those with physiological associations (i.e. homeostasis pathways)13. Pharmacokinetic pathways mediate drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion13. Pharmacological pathways such as transcription factors and phosphorylation targets whose genes encode other proteins are also candidates for pharmacogenetic analysis13. Understanding the sensitivity of a particular drug and the genes that encode the drug metabolizing enzymes can help determine how the particular drug is transported and metabolized within the body. Understanding the gene variants and how they influence drug concentrations at the target site is a possible way to explain the differences in response to a particular drug dose among individuals. Pharmacogenetics is the study of how an individuals genetic differences influence drug action, usage and dosing2. The molecular compositions of enzymes are currently being identified through the use of the Human Genome Project. Scientists are able to study these enzymes and determine correlations between genotypic and phenotypic variability14. These current advances will allow scientists to use the molecular knowledge of enzymes to detect individuals who are likely to experience adverse reactions to medicines without having to use potentially dangerous methods of trial and error14. An offshoot of pharmacogenetics is pharmacogenomics, which attempts to understand not only the molecular composition of genetic variants associated with drug response but also the behavior of those variants14. Pharmacogenomic knowledge can be used to spot the disease before it occurs in a patient, increase drug efficacy upon pharmacotherapy, and reduce drug toxicity2. It could also facilitate the drug development process to improve clinical development outcomes, reducing overall cost of drug development and lead to development of new diagnostic tests that impact on therapeutic decisions2. Pharmacogenomics can be used by doctors to identify the optimal dose and medicine for each individual patient with greater efficacy and safety. As the dosage would be based on factors such as age, weight, diet, lifestyle, liver and kidney function. By using a pharmacogenetic test a doctor can determine the right dose for individual patients. There are phomacogenetic tests for cancer, HIV, depressio n, and cardiovascular disease15. These tests take in the factors which are most likely to affect the absorption and effectiveness of the drug. There are many benefits that can come from pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics. Pharmaceutical companies can use information obtained to create more powerful medicines based on proteins, enzymes, and RNA molecules associated with genes and diseases15. Again, doctors would be able to analyze a patients genetic profile and prescribe the best available drug therapy from the beginning instead of the standard trial and error method of matching patient with the right drugs. A more appropriate drug dosage could be determined by not only taking in a persons weight and age but also accounting for their individual body processes, such as the time it takes for their body to metabolize the drug. Pharmacogenetics could also provide advance screening for disease, better vaccines, improvements in the drug discovery and approval process and decrease the overall cost of health care15. Pharmacogenomics is still in the development stage in the research field. There are several factors that need to be overcome before many of the pharmacogenomic benefits can be realized. These include the complexity of finding gene variations that affect drug response, the limitation of current drug alternatives, disincentives for drug companies to make multiple pharmacogenomic products, and educating health care providers14. There are also ethical issues to consider, such as lack of data privacy, possibility that adverse reactions to drugs can occur during treatment, the cost of such designer drugs will be to expensive for everyone, and genetic testing can provide an array of diagnostic results (predisposal test) which may or may not be what the patient wants to know14.

Essay --

Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy is a good example of the general mindset during the Cold War. Kissinger explains the nuclear dilemma and how much the nuclear age differs from past war problems. He also goes into depths about the problems with American foreign policy and offers several opinions on how it can be changed. At certain times, the book begins to read more as a Kissinger manual on how to fix foreign policy and becomes less of an analysis of nuclear weapons and foreign policy. This is most likely attributed to his positions as National Security Advisor and Secretary of State. His central thesis was that the threat of nuclear annihilation was nearly useless as an instrument of foreign policy because it lacked credibility. Instead, he offers that the United States focuses on improving its ability to fight limited wars, and accept that total victory in said wars were not crucial. He spends a great deal of time arguing the benefits of limited warfare, the problems nuclear weap ons bring into military operations, and the politics surrounding both. All said points were analyzed by Kissinger very well; however he fails to address the problem of arms control and the arms race in general. The main argument Kissinger addresses is that limited war was the only avenue of escape from nuclear stalemate with the Soviet Union. He argues that the United States tradition of absolute victory in war had led them into a dead end of massive retaliation and the threat of all out nuclear war was used to block every move by the Soviets. According to Kissinger, nuclear weapons coincided with the concept of total war. This leads to situations where the will to fight is crippled. He advocates a return to limited warfare similar to that of the Nap... ...ome above the military’s quickness to respond. During war militaries do not have the ability to define the difference between tactical victories and political goals. In a limited nuclear war, it is the political element which decides the length and breath of the military effort. Such was the nature of the task Henry Kissinger undertook during the heyday of the Cold War. Overall Henry Kissinger offered explanation to the problems foreign policy faced because of nuclear weapons during the Cold War. He believed that deterrence and limited warfare was the best solution to these problems. Today it would not seem like as big of deal, but at the time this was a very controversial viewpoint. I argue that Kissinger could have touched more on the arms race and other threatening regions, such as China. All in all, I enjoyed his viewpoint on a very conflicted time in history.

When Teen Abortion is Unsafe for Teen and Baby :: essays research papers

What would be your reaction if you had a teenager come home pregnant? Many teenagers fear their parents if they have to bring home a bad report card. Others may have a fear if they get into trouble at school. Although these fears are substantial, young women experience a fear that young men do not. Becoming pregnant is a serious fear for young women that engage in sexual intercourse. Often times a teen mother’s answer to this situation is abortion or an illegal abortion. Teen abortion can be somewhat difficult to get in many states without having parental consent or notification. These laws make it unsafe for the teen mother and unborn child. Teen abortion should be allowed without having to have parental consent. The mortality rate of teen mothers and babies would decrease significantly if this were the case. Sadly, each year in the United States the age of young girls who are sexually active decreases. At this rate there are many unwanted and unplanned pregnancies. â₠¬Å"One in three abortions in the U.S. are performed on teens† (Torr 91). That is a very high statistic that young women have created due to their adult decisions.† Teens are sometimes reluctant to practice birth control because it is not romantic† (Emmens 13). Teens tend to believe that they should not use birth control, because they do not think that they will get pregnant. The lack of birth control may result in pregnancy. Once a teenager gets pregnant she may not know what to do next. Teenagers usually become nervous and unsure of whether to tell someone or just keep the pregnancy a secret. When they keep the pregnancy a secret it puts them in danger as well as the unborn child. Planned Parenthood Federation of America is the nation's leading sexual and reproductive health care advocate and provider. â€Å"We believe that everyone has the right to choose when or whether to have a child, and that every child should be wanted and loved† (Suarez 2). Planned Parenthood allows a teenager to make safe decisions without including the teen’s parents. In many states where they have Planned Parenthood facilities the teenagers have more options. Teenagers that want birth control and/or an abortion can receive services, as well as information from a doctor. The doctors at this clinic encourage young women to tell their parents of their choice of abortion.

A Literature Review About Mecication Errors Essay

Introduction An error rate of 5% is acceptable in most industries, however, in the health care industry; one single error can result in death. (Berntsen, 2004, p5) This paper discusses medication errors in relation to pharmacology and drug treatment. It will summarize three academic peer reviewed journal articles, followed by general information in relation to medication errors, the impact of medication errors on client care, strategies to prevent medication errors  and conclude with the relationship to nursing. Summary of Articles Related to Medication Errors. The first article is by Karin Berntsen, 2004, and is entitled â€Å"How Far Has Health Care Come Since ‘To Err is Human’? Exploring Use of Medical Error Data†. This is a review of what changes have been made since a medication error report written by the Institute of Medicine was published in 1999. This article depicts how the health care system has changed since this 1999 report was written, and how the information was utilized for our benefit. They concluded that in the USA, medical errors were one of the top 8 leading causes of death. They reported the cost for these errors was between $17 Billion to $29 billion dollars. Until a new report is completed, health care providers will be unaware whether their goals in increasing patient safety were accomplished. The article finalizes that there has been progress in regards to prevention of medication errors and health care leaders feel passionate about increasing patient safety. (Berntsen 2004) The second article is by William N. Kelly, 2004, and is titled â€Å"Medication Errors: Lessons Learned and Actions Needed† and highlights the death of a one year old child who was diagnosed with cancer. She subsequently died, not from the cancer, but from receiving an incorrect dosage of a drug that she was being treated with. This report indicates that medications are systematically checked and balanced and errors are usually caught before a drug is administered to a patient. The article states that problems are not being solved in a timely manner since the industry has been â€Å"putting ‘band aids’ on problems that need ‘major surgery’.(Kelly 2004). In conclusion, the article questions whether or not they are taking the right approach in preventing errors. Many people are trying to fix this problem however; errors are still made too frequently. (Kelly 2004) The final article is by Rosemary M. Preston, 2004, and is titled â€Å"Drug Errors and Patient Safety: A Need for Change in Practice†. This article presents that errors continue to happen for many reasons. It concentrates upon calculations errors, lack of knowledge of drugs, over/under dosing drugs,  interactions with drugs and food, and legalities regarding drug administration. It also presents recommendations to minimize the risk of drug errors with good communication and honesty. The article closes by stating that â€Å"nurses should never estimate the skills needed for safe administration of medicines.† (Preston 2004) Key aspects: medication errors and their causes. To understand the impact that medication errors have on a patient, we have to understand what a medication error is. According to Health Canada online, a medication error is defined as: Any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the health care professional, patient, or consumer. Such events may be related to professional practice, health care products, procedures, and systems, including prescribing; order communication; product labelling, packaging, and nomenclature; compounding; dispensing; distribution; administration; education; monitoring; and use.† [Developed for use by the National Coordinating Council on Medication Error Reporting and Prevention]( http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/index.html) Medication errors occur for a variety of reasons. An error can affect all areas of a health care facility from health care management, staff, physicians, pharmacy and especially patients. Studies have indicated that errors will usually occur when the staff demonstrates signs of fatigue, stress, are over-worked or encounter frequent interruptions and distractions. When physicians display bad handwriting, ineffective communication with patients, and do not educate staff and patients effectively, a medication error is more likely to happen. Poor management can result in more medication errors when there is an emphasis on volume, over service quality. This results in inadequate staffing and disorganization. Medication errors affect all components of the health care environment. (http://www.napra.org/docs/0/95/157-/166.asp) Impact on client care. As disturbing as it sounds, one miniscule error can result in a patient’s injury or can even lead to their death. According to the American Journal of Medicine, statistics reveal that â€Å"more than two million American hospitalized patients suffered a serious adverse drug reaction in relation to injury within the 12-month period and, of these, over 100,000 died as a result.† http://www4.nationalacademies.org/news) Death and injury is a sad reality to any single error. The government established six rights of drug administration to prevent medication errors and ensure accuracy. These six rights include: Right drug, right dose, Right client, right route, right time and right documentation. (Kozier & Erb 2004) Injuries that result from a medication error are called adverse drug events. Usually, these unpleasant effects can be eliminated and injury can be avoided. However, every drug produces harmful side effects, but the severities of these effects vary from individual to individual. These side effects also depend on the drug and the dose given. (Kozier & Erb 2004) Health care professionals must report all errors and are accountable for their actions. No matter how insignificant, nurses are taught to document and report all mistakes. When statistics show what types of errors are made, an analysis can be done. This analysis can be used to plan ways to prevent them medication errors. (Berntsen, 2004)When a nurse does not report a mistake, the probability that it will happen again will increase. Medication errors have a huge impact on client care. They can result in death, injury, and result in unwanted effects of drugs. It is our responsibility as nurses to comply with the clients’ six rights of drug administration, to prevent errors from taking place. Strategies to prevent medication errors. There are many efficient ways to prevent nurses from making an error. To ensure patient safety in all aspects of client care, nurses are taught to think critically, and to problem solve. Nurses use critical thinking to ensure safe, knowledgeable, nursing performance and they must be able to keep up with updated health facts by constantly educating themselves with new information. (Kozier & Erb 2004) Critical thinking assists in the prevention of medication errors. The six rights in drug administration help prevent medication errors from occurring. It is important to maintain the highest standards of practice of these rights for a drug to be prepared properly. Failure to adhere to any one of these rights will definitely result in a medication error. (Clayton & Stock, 2004) Take your time when preparing medications and research any unknown drugs. Rushing should be avoided when preparing, administering and reading medication labels. Proper research must be done before an unfamiliar drug is administered it to a client. Even when in a rushed emergency situation, drugs should be looked at carefully to know the correct concentration and name of the drug, to prevent injury. (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/index.html) Labels should be read carefully and accurately. Before a drug is given to a patient, three checks should be done to ensure you are giving the proper drug and dose. In a situation where you are unsure of a drug order, you are expected to refuse the order and clarify it by law. If an individual is unfamiliar with a particular drug, the drug should not be given. (http://www.napra.org/docs/0/95/157-/166.asp) When a label is unclear, do not try not to examine the drug order yourself. Do not ask an associate, or ask for anyone else’s interpretation of the drug. To get the correct information, contact the individual who ordered the drug to clarify the label. In order to decrease the chances of error, verify all unclear hand writing, abbreviations, decimal points, decimal places and dosages. (http://www.napra.org/docs/0/95/157-/166.asp) Use of dosage abbreviations should not be used to avoid drug miscalculations. Dosage abbreviations are misinterpreted more often, than any other type of abbreviation. Using standardized abbreviations, would assist in preventing misinterpretation of abbreviations. (Preston 2004) A drug check should be done three times prior to the administration of a drug. The drug label should correspond with the physician’s orders. The three checks should be done; â€Å"Before removing the drug from the shelf or dosage cart, before preparing or measuring the actual prescribed dose, and before replacing the drug on the shelf or before opening a unit dose container, just before administering a dose to a patient.† (Clayton & Stock, 2004) Do not make assumptions regarding drugs. Physicians, pharmacists, make mistakes and other parts of the health system may be flawed. For example, when documentation shows the patient has no drug allergy, it is wrongful to assume the patient will have no adverse reaction to a new drug. This could result in detrimental results to a client’s health. Therefore no assumptions should ever me made. (http://www.ismp.org-/ToolsAllina-Orientation.html) A quiet environment for preparing medications will prevent prescription errors from occurring. Sometimes, nurses are repeatedly interrupted when preparing a medication. Distractions interfere with processing information and decision making. Errors will least likely occur when preparations are done when there are no distractions. (http://www.ismp.org-/ToolsAllina-Orientation.html) When preventing errors, staff must be certain all dosage calculations are correct and clarified. It may be beneficial to ask a colleague to assist you in checking doses, to minimize the chance of miscalculations. Other suggestions to minimize error include; â€Å"making pre-calculated conversion cards, always use a leading zero before a decimal, never use a zero after the decimal and include indications whenever possible. Miscalculations are preventable if proper methods of inspecting calculations are used.† (Preston  2004, p.72) Assess for the effects of drugs to avoid harming a client. A client must be assessed before and after a drug is given. For instance, before giving an oral medication, assess whether the client can swallow or feels nauseated. An appropriate follow up should be done after a medication is administered. It is important to check if the client experienced the desired effect of the drug. Significant abnormal responses to drug should be reported to the physician. (Kozier & Erb 2004) Conclusion. To finalize this assignment, medication errors are mistakes that can cause harm to patients and can even result in death. The articles that have been summarized illustrate situations where medication errors have occurred and review what the health care industry is doing to prevent errors. A medication error is preventable and errors can be caused by a variety of reasons. This paper has discussed the impact medication errors have on client care and strategies of how to prevent errors from occurring. As a nurse, this knowledge will assist me in keeping beneficence a priority for client care. References Clayton, Bruce D., BS, RPh, PharmD, and Yvonne N. Stock, MS, BSN, RN. Basic Pharmacology for Nurses. 13th ed. United States of America: Mosby, 2004. Government of Canada Online. (2004, Summer). Retrieved July 18, 2004, from Health Canada Web site: (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/index.html) Kelly, William N. â€Å"Medication Errors.† Professional Safety 49: 35. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Assiniboine Community College. 22 July 2004 . Government of Canada Online. (2004, Summer). Retrieved July 18, 2004, from Health Canada Web site: (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/index.html) Kozier & Erb, Barbara, et al. Fundamentals of Nursing. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. Minimizing Medication Errors. (n.d.). In NAPRA: National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities. Retrieved July 17, 2004, from NAPRA: National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities Web site: http://www.napra.org/docs/0/95/157/166.asp Preston, Rosemary M. â€Å"Drug errors and patients safety: the need for a change in practice.† British Journal of Nursing (BJN) 13: 72. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Assiniboine Community College. 22 July 2004 .