The Ebola Virus Essays (432 words) - Ebola, Animal Virology

The Ebola Virus By: Wesley Mark Whitworth Ebola is an extremely deadly virus in our society today. Some even claim that is the most deadly ever discovered. Ebola is a member of the filoviruses (a family of RNA-BASED viruses). Filoviruses get their name from their peculiar shape. They appear to be long threads or filaments (henceforth the name filoviruses) *See attached photo. This virus was discovered in 1976 in Zaire, Africa and in Western Sudan, Africa. During the first outbreak there were approximately 550 cases leading to 340 deaths. Three years after the first outbreak, a smaller outbreak took place in Sudan, Africa. This outbreak was much smaller though, with only 34 cases and 22 deaths. The cause of this virus is still unknown. All that they really know is that the whole simian genus is susceptible to this disease (that includes most all members of the ape, chimpanzee, and various other monkey families). It can be carried though, through rodents (mice, rats, etc.), insects (mosquitoes, ticks, lice, etc.), and parasit es (small bacteria). This disease is classified as a viral hemorrhagic fever. That means that the disease has very distinct qualities. Ebola starts out as muscle aches, light fever, and your basic flu symptoms. Ebola then progresses to respiratory problems, server bleeding of most all of the bodies orifices, kidney problems, and then death. Basic symptoms include: fever, headaches, muscle aches, sore throat, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and your other common flu symptoms. Ebola symptoms usually begin within three to sixteen days after initial contact. Although most cases result in death, it sometimes may appear as just a light flu. It is very contagious. Ebola can be spread by the aforementioned animals, or by personal contact. It also can be spread through sexual contact (even after recovery for a short period). Doctors can detect this virus in much the same manner as they detect tuberculosis. They check for antigens already present in the body or they can take a throat culture and detect it. Contracting the disease in the United States is highly unlikely though. The only people who are even put at risk are those that visit Zaire or come in contact with people who do. The United States as well as the Zaire government both have strict quarantine policies involving the disease. Anyone who wishes to find out more about precautions and measures that must be taken if visiting Zaire, you may contact the U.S. State Department at 202-647-5225. They have all the travel information and requirements you need to get into and out of the country.

buy custom Leadership in Health Care essay

buy custom Leadership in Health Care essay In order to understand fully the concept of leadership in health care it is imperative to realize the meaning of a good leader. A good leader is the one who puts away the personal ambitions that he or she has for the better good of the community and the organization taken as a whole. Therefore, he or she is able to unite and lead the workers to teamwork as they aspire to come out with the best out of the business world. So as much as the success of business depends on the employees, it also depends on the type of leadership that is given. Consequently, true leadership means that the leader has to come out with new ways and means of ensuring that the outcomes of every decision are positive. This can be done through critical monitoring and analysis of the employees at the workplace. One other concept about leadership is that it requires constant fine tuning and this means that the employers should always be on their feet getting the best qualified leaders to do the job that they requir e. The concept is the same in healthcare (Oliver, 2006). Therefore, healthcare practitioners constantly need to revise the way they understand the concept of leadership and this means that they have to come out with newer and better ways of tackling the problem of conceptualizing the attributes that a true leader should posses. The meaning of a word is that the leader has evolved drastically from the normal meaning of someone whom is leading to someone who has the authority over his or her subjects but uses it appropriately. Therefore, an empowered leader is the one who is needed by an organization in order to prosper. In the modern world healthcare units, leadership is identified as a common but essential role that is needed to empower the organization and move the ideas that the practitioners have towards better side in terms of provision of services. Thus, leadership is no longer something that the health care practitioners can do without. There are numerous styles that are usual ly employed in the health care system in order to attain the kind of leadership that is not oppressive but at the same time is still not reluctant. There are usually a lot of similarities in the health care environment and also differences that are yet to be discovered. However, one factor that stands out is that the new healthcare environment does not employ the same kind of leadership that was employed in the past years but in contrast, the new leadership styles are not only diverse but also they are more effective. Nonetheless, the most common type of leadership is the open door type of one that is very common amongst the leaders of complex healthcare organizations. This type of leaders does not rely on one aspect but in contrast, the leaders are decentralized and this means that they are more participative in the issues of the organization. However, the type of leadership that is rarely seen is the autocratic leadership which has dictatorial tendencies. In the recent past, there was a new wave of revolution that has required that leaders change the way that they focus on ideologies and come out with newer ways and means of controlling their employees. So this means that the leaders have had to reconsider the way that they carry out their duties and in overall this means a reconsideration of roles (Goodwin, 2005). Employees in the new type of leadership are unwilling to work under authoritarian rule due to the fact that they have been enlightened of their rights and the ways and means that they can change the paternalistic leadership towards being an open door leadership style. The new type of employees have greater need than the ones of the past century and this means that they have to come out with newer ideas since they can no longer work in oppressive environments like the olden day workers. On the contrary, many contemporary organizations still operate on the same basic concepts as the ones that were used by our forefathers. Employees have started demanding the type of leaders that are not only intelligent but also thoughtful. This means that leadership has moved from a central figure to being distributive across the field. For that reason, the mismanagement of employees by their leaders in the healthcare organizations in order to achieve the goals that the organization has set forth is not possible longer. Roles and Responsibilities The roles of leaders in the organization has been considerably changing from being overseers to becoming the radical and complex people who champion the rights of their employees while they are knowledgeable and also not self centered (Barr Dowding, 2008). The new roles that they have taken include: Teaching Inspiring and giving the employees confidence Empowering the employees Improving the performance through clinical supervision Rewarding and recognizing individual efforts Recognizing the needs for service Leading and developing services through the implementation of change They act as a bridge between the senior managers and workers Supporting the organization with knowledge Ensuring the goals of the organization are in line with the needs of the society and the government As aforementioned, the roles of the leaders in the healthcare organization have become even more diverse than they used to be. The leaders first and foremost are viewed by the employees and the senior members who employed them as teachers. This means that they are the ones who are to supervise them and also guide the way that they carry out their duties and this should be through dialogue and not through dictatorship. It also means that they are the ones who ar supposed to come out with new ideas that would greatly help the healthcare organization to move forward in terms of growth. The other role that the leader plays is to give the employees overall confidence in the work that they are doing in order to work them harder. This is indirectly some form of incentive (Shanks, 2011). Inspiring the employees is a key role in ensuring that the organization meets its goals as an organization that does not have inspired employees usually failing to succeed. In the new healthcare leadership s ystem, the other new role is to empower the employees in order to give them an idea that they are better than other employees in other organizations. When the employees are empowered it will mean that they will want to be associated with the organization in order to ensure that they portray the image that they have been bestowed. The other role of the leader in a healthcare organization is to reward the employees who have worked diligently in order to boost their morale and also encourage other employees to join the initiative of working harder in order to become better and recognized. In order for a leader to be respected, the first and foremost duty that he or she has to carry ensuring that the services of the employee are recognized. This will later grow into appreciation and, therefore, the whole process will lead to better understanding between the employer and an employee. Styles The style of leadership that a leader uses usually depends on countless number of factors. However, one factor that stands out is that the leader is the one who has the key when it comes to the matter of running the show. However, this supposition does not mean that the leader is in any way tyrannical as the modern day health workers are aware of their rights. There are different types of leadership styles in the new era organization. However, the most common one as aforementioned is the open door leader. The types of leadership are discussed below. Open-door Leadership Style This type of leadership style involves an open minded leader who is collegial in terms of the way that he or she runs the team. The leadership style is the most common nowadays due to various reasons and the most common reason as to why it is liked due to the fact that it leads to common satisfaction to both the leader and the employees. The ideas that are important move freely in a team are greatly encouraged. Therefore, this leadership style is one that is liked and very important in ensuring that an organization is steady and grows positively. The leadership style also ensures that everyone in the organization is given a chance to air out the ideas that he or she has in order to better the overall idea that would come out. One of the positive aspects of this type of leadership is the fact that it provides creative groups. This means that there is the flow of ideas amongst the team members and this overly leads to positive growth. In addition to that, it creates new concepts and id ea. The other positive aspect is that this type of leadership involves consulting. This is a major component that makes this leadership globally acceptable. The possibilities are widely explored before the final decision is made that would encompass all the ideas that are important (McConnell, 2011). The other positive aspect of this type of leadership is that it is very applicable to much of the service industry. This means that there are new ideas that help in the creation of a flexible environment. This in addition means that it is easily applicable since the demands of the patients are always considered. The other good aspect about this type of leadership is that it requires knowledge and, therefore, it is imperative that the leader who uses it has some basic education. This is in line with the modern way of leadership that requires knowledgeable leaders. In addition to these positives, this type of leadership is also quite effective considering some facts about it. The first fa ctor is that this type of leadership enables open communication. This type of communication is one that is open for business and also helpful since it helps to avert situations like strikes amongst health workers due to miscommunication. The leadership style is based on the notion that everyone needs to be free and willing to contribute whenever a matter of concern is raised. From the factors being discussed, it is evident that the open door style is the kind of leadership style that is bound to be present for a long period of time. On the other hand, one factor that the leader should always keep in mind is the boundaries that it creates and this is made to ensure that the employee does not have the notion that the leader does not require respect. This is good for both the organization and the individual. Authoritarians Authoritarian type of rule is linked to miscommunication and the unwillingness by leaders to share ideas and support unity amongst the employees. This type of leadership was considerably witnessed during the golden era but nowadays it is unheard of it in the health care system as the employees would no agree to it. The failure of a leader means that the whole health care system fails. In the past, the employees of numerous organizations did not get support from their heads and this meant that they had to involve themselves in activities that were not productive. In the healthcare system where this type of leadership was practiced, the new employees did not feel welcome and secure even if they were offered job security packages. This is obviously transslated to low productivity in the job area which meant that there was an overall failure by the company visvis the health care organization (Pelote, 2007). When these types of leaders are told of the wrongs that they are doing, the best response that they give is being even more aggressive and that is why this type of leadership is not welcome in the healthcare profession. Authoritarian leadership is not widely practiced but if it were, there would be numerous oppositions across the nursing world since the workers have come to know of their rights more clearly and would not accept the oppressions that it brings forth. However, one factor that stands out is that the Theories of Leadership in Western Health Care There are four major theories of leadership in western health care. The first one is the participative theory. This theory presupposes that the ideal type of leadership is one that takes the ideas of other people into account. Therefore, this type of leadership is centered on the unity of ideas and the will by people to come together and share whatever they have for the overall benefit of the health care organization. It is widely practiced in the western healthcare institutions as the new generation of employees prefers this type of leadership to the authoritarian rule. On the other hand, it is the leader who allows the input of specific members. The other leadership hypothesis is the management theory. This type of leadership is also referred to as transactional theory and is mainly focused on supervision of the workers. The other main focus is group performance as the aforementioned theory. This theory bases the leadership on rewards or punishments. That is, if an employee works h ard, he or she is rewarded and if he or she fails, he or she is punished. This type of leadership is also greatly and vastly used in the healthcare system. The third theory is the relationship theory which is also referred to as transformational theory and focuses on good connection between the healthcare leaders and the employees. Therefore, the leaders motivate and inspire their subjects as discussed earlier in this paper to come out with an overall good type of leadership. Thus, the main focus is unity for help. The other focus of this type of leadership is focus on positive performance and therefore, it is an important one at the job market and also the society on the whole (O'Grady, 2010). The members are additionally encouraged to focus on ways and means that they can fulfill their goals of excellent performance. Ethics and morals are what guide a leader of this type. The final theory of leadership style in western healthcare is the trait theory. This theory presupposes that p eople inherit some traits that carry the way that they perform and relate in the job area. These types of leaders assume some social class and traits that are not common amongst any type of leader and that is why they are viewed as unique ones. In overall, these theories of leadership in western health care are excellent since all of them subject to performance and unity plus universal decision making in the job area. There is the distance between the 'heroic' concepts of leadership and the present day reality of health care Heroic Leaders A heroic leader is one who uses the power that he or she has in his or her position to make unilateral decisions. Consequently, this type of leadership assumes all the blame that befalls on the employees and is something that is quite obvious in history. However, the new types of leadership are defined as post heroism leaderships. With that noted, there is a great distance between the concepts of heroic leadership and the current reality. In the current reality, the type of leadership that is happening is one that encourages individual participation unlike the heroic leader who is deemed as superior and the one who makes all the decisions. The heroic leader is someone who is focused on one goal while the present day healthcare leaders even though they deal primarily with the health care system are the diverse in thoughts and actions (Benington Hartley, 2010). A good example would be to look at the governance that was in the olden day health care institutions and the one that has bee n assumed in the contemporary health care institutions to note the great difference in the way the leader was revered but not respected unlike the contemporary leaders. Therefore, the two type of leadership not only have differences but also diverse ones that are born with time and ideas that the employees have on leadership. In the past, the employees preferred a leader who was authoritarian and the legal system could not assist them come out strongly unlike the current times. Sometime the heroic leader was usually defined more of a state than a realistic version. This is because this type of leader is not easily found in the society due to the fact that he or she is the one who takes the blame of the team. It is highly unlikely that a leader like this would be effective in terms of decision making and that is why the new breed of leaders are the best as long as they do not encourage tyrannical rule. Heroism does not really help when it comes to matters of decision making due to th e reasons that have be listed above. The new world order is quite different and that is why the role of the health practitioners in addition to the ideologies are changing and that is why democracy which sometimes is referred to open minded leadership is the one that contemporary leaders really use. The discussion above clearly shows the pros of being a good leader which are known to cause the success or failure of a company visvis in this case scenario of the healthcare centers. Buy custom Leadership in Health Care essay

HSBC Outline Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

HSBC - Outline Example The aims and purpose of the paper in addition to the thesis statement will be presented within the introduction. The background of the company will be presented in this section. This includes the services it offers, corporate strategy, goals, objective, vision and mission of the company. In addition, an internal environment analysis of the company will be given in this section of the paper through a SWOT analysis approach. The role of globalization in the contemporary banking and financial services industry will be discussed in this section of the paper in relation to the internationalization processes of companies. The impact of globalization in the company’s corporate strategies such as human resource management and management of a global value chain through technology will also be discussed. The strategies used by the company in entering new markets in a foreign country will be discussed in this part of the paper. The entry strategies into the Chinese banking and finance market will be specifically discussed. Justifications for each of the foreign market entry strategies will also be given with an analysis and discussion of pitfalls of these strategies. The following strategies will be discussed The external business environment will be analyzed and discussed in this part of the paper. This will involve a critical analysis of the political, economic, legal, social cultural, ecological and technological environment within the Chinese banking and finance industry and how it affects the operations of HSBC. This analysis represents the application of the PESTLE analysis model for a specific market or industry. The business strategies used by HSBC in achieving competitive advantage within the Chinese banking and finance market will be given here. This includes a discussion of international business strategies of the company such as marketing, human

Sony Corp Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sony Corp - Research Paper Example orporation is a part of the parent company which is known as Sony group and Sony group has four different operating segments like motion pictures, electronics, financial services and music. Thus Sony has become one of the largest entertainment companies in the world. Sony Group was founded by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morito and they have derived the name Sony from a Latin word sonus which means sound and also from an English word sonny which means presentable and smart young men in Japanese. The original name of the company was Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo which means Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation. The company started using its initials TTK to market itself. But soon the owners realized the American public could not relate to that name TTK. Therefore, in the year 1958, the name was changed to Sony. The current share price of Sony Corporation is $17.63 per share at NYSE and on other stock exchanges it is 1761 Japanese yen per share. For the historical prices we have taken the share price of the previous two years starting from January 2012 to 14th march 2014. From the following table we can see that the monthly price per share from the month of January 2012 to 3rd march 2014. The daily price per share for the given period is shown in the appendix. From the above graph we can see that the share price of Sony was high during March 2012 but the share prices went down during the period of September to November 2012. It again started to increase from January 2013 and reach the highest level during September and October 2013. After that it has slightly went down but it is continuing in stable phase in these first three months of 2014. The nature of share of Sony Corporation can be measured by Earning per share and market price per share ratio. P/E ratio is the most common method to measure whether the stock is good or not. Generally, shares which have higher P/E ratio are considered as expensive and shares with lower P/E ratio are considered as cheap. But

Answer the question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Answer the question - Essay Example This might lead to a loss for the firm (Ederington, 1979). In the following table, the expected values are calculated if the dollar values weaken. As per the calculations shown above, it can be seen that when the value of dollars weaken, the expected returns are lower. As a result the firm ends up obtaining lower return in Sterling. Hence it can be seen that the returns available in each of month of March, June and September would be low considering the futures market prices in each of these months. In order to prevent such a situation it is essential that the company undertakes hedging strategy (Stulz, 1984). Under the hedging technique, it becomes possible to conduct the sales at the current spot price, even at the future date. As a result loss due to weakening of dollar values can be prevented. In the above table it can be seen that if the firm sells at the spot price, set as per hedging, the expected realisable values are higher than the expected realisable values as per future rates. Hence hedging can be stated to be a suitable strategy when the dollar values actually weaken (Nance, Smith and Smithson, 1993). Hedging is essentially not required. If the dollar values become stronger, that is when lower proportion of dollars are required to be paid against each dollars. In the above table it can be seen that when the firm future market prices are lower than the spot prices, the expected values are higher (Allayannis and Ofek, 2001). As a result the firm earns a profit without undertaking the hedging technique. Therefore the hedging technique must not be undertaken when the future values of contracts are expected to be lower than the spot exchange rates. Hence it is important to understand what the future contract prices would be in comparison with the sport prices and accordingly determine whether to undertaken hedging techniques or not. When the

Effectiveness of Exogenous Melatonin in Insomnia

Effectiveness of Exogenous Melatonin in Insomnia WOO YUN KIN CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Research Background Sleep is not always a luxury. Insomnia is defined as a sleep disorder in which there is an inability to fall asleep or stay asleep as long as desired (Roth T. 2007). It is estimated that up to 34% of adults in the United States and 37% in Europe have some forms of insomnia (Leger D. 2005). Insomnia can be classified to mild, moderate and severe according to the International Classification of Sleep Disorder (ICSD). Melatonin (5-methoxy-N-acetyltryptamine) is a lipid soluble hormone secreted by the pineal gland during hours of darkness. Melatonin has several physiological functions including regulation of the circadian rhythms, modulation of seasonal change and a powerful antioxidant (Gitto et al. 2013). With age, it has been shown that the 24hour melatonin secretion is significantly reduced thus affecting the normal circadian cycle (Iguchi et al. 1982). At present, insomnia is typically treated symptomatically, often with benzodiazepine or antidepressants. However chronic insomnia requires long term treatment which may cause significant side effects and unwanted drug-drug interaction. Approximately 29-61% of older adults with insomnia complaints have preexisting sleep apnea (Krakow et al. 2001). With the combination of insomnia and sleep apnea, sedative-hypnotic treatments may worsen the sleep apnea (Mendelson et al. 1981). Exogenous melatonin is a chronobiotic drug with some hypnotic properties (Zhdanova et al. 1997), it has become of the most frequently non-prescribed sleep aid due to its role in regulating and promoting sleep (Wagner et al. 1998). some studies have shown that supplemental melatonin can increase sleep propensity, although it may not be as effective as prescribed sleep medication (Zhdanova I. 2005). Problem Statement Sleep adequacy includes, quality, timing and also duration. It has been estimated that the direct health cost of sleep disorder amounts to $1144 million Australian dollars in 2001 (NHS Aus. 2001), and 7.6% of the total motor vehicle accidents(MVA) in 2004 are indirectly caused by sleep disorders amounting to $808million net health costs. Studies have been done to show the benefits of exogenous melatonin for sleep disorders on individuals with intellectual disabilities and adolescence however very little has been done to show its effectiveness on the general population. Malaysia, has one of the highest rate of MVA in the world where according to Malaysian Institute of Road Safety (MIROS), from 1997 to 2007, there has been an increase of 59% of MVA and the main reason identified was driving fatigue due to awkward working hours/shift works (Kee et al. 2010). Availability of exogenous in Malaysia is scarce and it is not fully understood. Research Question How effective is exogenous melatonin in treating insomnia in general population? How safe is exogenous melatonin? Research Objective To review efficacy of exogenous melatonin in treating insomnia To access the safety of exogenous melatonin Significance of Research Data from available clinical trials and studies done on the efficacy of exogenous melatonin in insomnia will be compiled and compared to enable a more comprehensive and easily accessible result database. With the comprehensive database, clinicians will have a better understanding on the efficacy of MSCs and the best treatment option for the patient, thus improving patients quality of life. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 INSOMNIA Insomnia is often defined by the presence of an individual’s report of difficulty with sleep (Roth T 2007). The criteria often used in diagnosing insomnia includes i)difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or nonrestorative sleep, ii) this opportunity is present despite adequate opportunity and circumstance to sleep, iii) this impairment in sleep is associated with daytime impairment or distress and iv) this sleep difficulty occurs at least 3 times per week and has been a problem for the past 1 month (Roth T 2007). The pathophysiology of insomnia can be due to the disorder of the hyper-arousal state throughout the whole day which causes alertness during the day and difficulty in falling or maintaining sleep (Stepanski E, 1988). A cross sectional study done on 156 US air force personal found that 40% suffered from sleep disorder and 75% reported diminished sleep quality while deployed overseas (Peterson AL, 2008). A study done in 2013 (Lentino et al, 2013) showed that 25% of the 14148 army and national guard personal reported to be poor sleepers thus affecting the quality of sleep and the quality of service. 2.2 CURRENT TREATMENT FOR INSOMNIA Currently the medications used for treating insomnias and other sleep disorders includes benzodiazepine receptor agonist (eg. Zolpidem, zipoclone) which are only limited to short term use (4 weeks) (Sanofi Aventis, 2007). The medication large affects the brain through the GABA receptors and long term use has been associated with memory and balance impairment, rebound imsomnia, withdrawal symptoms and abuse potential (Rush CR, 1999). Recent short termed studies have shown that discontinuation of the benzodiazepines lead to disruption of the sleep architecture and also increases sleep latency which makes withdrawing from treatment difficult (Mann K, 1996). 2.3 MELATONIN Melatonin (5-methoxy-N-acetyltryptamine) is a lipid soluble hormone that is shown to be involved with the sleep physiology (Dijk D-J, 1997).it is also regulates the modulation of season change, in reproduction, antioxidant, oncostatic, anti inflammatory and anti-convulsant effect (Gitto E, 2013). Melatonin is mostly produced in the pineal gland in the brain during the hours of darkness and is involved in the regulation of the sleep-wake cycle (circadian cycle).the circadian process is maintained by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) which contains high number of melatonin receptors. During daytime, the SCN produces an arousal signal that maintains the wakefulness and prevents sleep drive however in darkness, there is a feedback loop which causes the release of melatonin which feeds back and inhibits the SCN (Geert et al, 2009) It has been documented that melatonin decreases with age especially in post menopausal women (Okatani Y, 2000). Other than to promote sleep, melatonin also show s sedative and anti-excitory effects (Hardeland R, 2008). 2.4 EXOGENOUS MELATONIN Exogenous melatonin has become one of the most frequently prescribed over the counter drug for those looking for non-prescription sleep medication (Wagner J, 1998). The exogenous melatonin is marketed to help promote quality sleep, helps in jet lag, or to regulate the circadian cycle due to jet lag or shift work due to its regulator role in the internal timing of biological rhythm. Some studies have shown that exogenous melatonin can help increase the sleep propensity although it may not be as effective as prescribed sleep medications (Zhdanova I, 2005). Studies have also been done regarding the use of exogenous melatonin in the treatment of sleep problems in individuals with sleep disability (Turk 2003) however there are still doubts on the efficacy of exogenous melatonin usage for the general public. CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research Design This research was based on the PICOS guidelines : Population (P): All types of insomnia patients Intervention (I): Exogenous melatonin Comparitor (C): Insomnia patients on treatment with exogenous melatonin compared with other treatment by questionnaires Outcome (O): Efficacy and safety of treatment Study design (S): Randomized Controlled trials (RCT), Surveys 3.2 Database Literature search was done on electronic articles/ journals in Central, PubMed and Google Scholar. 3.3 Keywords Key words used to search articles with MESH terms were: Insomnia Exogenous melatonin 3.4 Quality Assessment Quality assessment of the paper was done using Jadad scoring for randomized controlled trials (RCT) and Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) for case-control and cohort studies. 1.Jaded score assesses the quality of published clinical trials based on methods relevant to random assignment, double blinding and the flow of patients. There are 7 criteria evaluated, whereby 1 point is given if the criteria is met and the last 2 crietria carries a negative mark. Range of score is from 0 (bad) to 5 (good) (Jadad et al. 1996). i. Was the study described as randomized (this include words such as randomly, random, and randomization)? [+1 point] ii. Was the method used to generate the sequence of randomization described and appropriate (table of random numbers, computer generated etc)? [+1 point] iii. Was the study described as double blind? [+1 point] iv. Was the method of double blinding described and appropriate (identical placebo, active placebo, dummy, etc)? [+1 point] v. Was there a description of withdrawals and dropouts? [+1point] vi. Deduct one point if the method used to generate the sequence of randomization was described and it was inappropriate (patients were allocated alternately, or according to date of birth, hospital number, etc)? vii. Deduct one point if the study was described as double blind but the method of blinding was inappropriate (eg. comparison of table vs. injection with no double dummy) 2. Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) is developed to assess the quality of the non-randomized studies with its design, content and ease of use directed to the purpose of incorporating the quality assessments in the interpretation of the results. A ‘star system’ is developed to judge on 3 broad perspectives (Wells et al. 2014): i. The selection of the study groups ii. The comparability of the groups The ascertainment of either the exposure or outcome of interest for case-control or cohort studies respectively 3.5 Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria Inclusion criteria Studies included in this review were chosen according to the flowing criteria : i. Papers published in English language (2010-2015) ii. All study designs were included to maximize the data collection Study subjects includes all types of insomnia patients Exclusion criteria Studies that were done in foreign language and animal studies were excluded in this review 3.6 Ethical Clearance The ethical committee of UCSI was notified regarding this thesis write-up 3.7 GAANT Chart 3.8 Milestone Proposal presentation: 27.02.2015 Submission: 31.03.2015 Data analysis complete: 30.05.2015 Thesis submission: 15.07.2015 REFERENCES 1. CATHERINE CORNU, L. R., FLORENCE NOEL-BARON, ALAIN NICOLAS, NATHALIE FEUGIER-FAVIER, PASCAL ROY, BRUNO CLAUSTRAT, M. S.-E. A. B. K. 2010. A dietary supplement to improve the quality of sleep: a randomized placebo controlled trial. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 10. 2. SZESEEN KEE, S. B. M. T., YONGMENG GOH 2010. Driving Fatigue and Performance among Occupational Drivers in Simulated Prolonged Driving. Global Journal of Health Science, 2. 3. REBECCA B COSTELLO, C. V. L., COURTNEY C BOYD, MEGHAN L O’CONNELL, CINDY C CRAWFORD, DEUSTER, M. L. S. A. P. A. 2014. The effectiveness of melatonin for promoting healthy sleep: a rapid evidence assessment of the literature. Nutrition Journal, 13. 4. DAVID R HILLMAN, M., FRCPE, FANZCA; ANITA SCOTT MURPHY, BEC; RAL ANTIC, MB, FRACP; LYNNE PEZZULLO, BEC 2006. The Economic Cost of Sleep Disorders. Sleep, 29. 5. GEERT MAYER, M. S. W.-W., MD, PHD; BARBARA ROTH-SCHECHTER, PHD; REINER LEHMANN, MD; CORINNE STANER, MD; MARKKU PARTINEN, MD, PHD 2009. Efficacy and Safety of 6-Month Nightly Ramelteon Administration in Adults with Chronic Primary Insomnia. Sleep, 32. 6. FRANK A.J.L. SCHEER, P. C. J. M., PHD; JOANNA I. GARCIA, BA; CAROLINA SMALES, BSC; ERIN E. KELLY, MSC; JENNY MARKS, MPH; ATUL MALHOTRA, M. S. A. S., PHD 2012. Repeated Melatonin Supplementation Improves Sleep in Hypertensive Patients Treated with Beta-Blockers: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Sleep, 35. 7. JONATHAN J. BASKETT, J. B. B., PHILIP C. WOOD, JOHN R. DUNCAN,MEGAN J. PLEDGER, JUDIE ENGLISH, JOSEPHINE ARENDT 2003. Does melatonin improve sleep in older people? A randomised crossover trial. Age and Aging, 32, 164-170. 8. P GRINGRAS, C. G., A P JONES , L WIGGS , P R WILLIAMSON , A SUTCLIFFE , P MONTGOMERY, W P WHITEHOUSE , I CHOONARA, A EDMOND, R APPLETON 2012. Melatonin for sleep problems in children with neurodevelopmental disorders: randomised doubl emasked placebo controlled trial. BMJ, 354. 9. LIIRA J, V. J., COSTA G, DRISCOLL TR, SALLINEN M, ISOTALO LK, RUOTSALAINEN JH 2014. Pharmacological interventions for sleepiness and sleep disturbances caused by shift work (Review). The Cochrane Collaboration. 10. VENKATARAMANUJAM SRINIVASAN, D. D. B., TIMO PARTONEN,RAHIMAH ZAKARIA,ZAHIRUDDIN OTHMAN 2014. The use of melatonin for treating sleep disorders in patients with Parkinson’s disease. ChronoPhysiology and Therapy, 51-57. 11. THOMAS ROTH 2007. Insomnia: Definition, Prevalence, Etiology, and Consequences. Supplement, 3 12. LUCIA MARSEGLIA, G. D. A., SARA MANTI, SALVATORE AVERSA , TERESA ARRIGO, RUSSEL J. REITER, ELOISA GITTO 2015. Analgesic, Anxiolytic and Anaesthetic Effects of Melatonin: New Potential Uses in Pediatrics. Int. J. Mol. Sci., 1209-1220. 13. SCHWAB, N. S. G. P. G. I. G. E. A.-S. E. M. R. 2010. Effectiveness of Ramelteon for Insomnia Symptoms in Older Adults with Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Randomized Placebo- Controlled Pilot Study. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 6 14. ROSEANNE DEFRONZO DOBKIN, M. M., KARINA L. BIENFAIT, LESLEY A. ALLEN, HUMBERTO MARIN, AND MICHAEL A. GARA 2009. Ramelteon for the treatment of insomnia in menopausal women. Menopause Int., 15, 13-18. 15. JAMIE M. ZEITZER, B. K., DOUG OTA, B. JENNY KIRATLI 2014. Randomized controlled trial of pharmacological replacement of melatonin for sleep disruption in individuals with tetraplegia. The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, 37. 16. GIULIANA GALLI-CARMINATIA, N. D., GILLES BERTSCHY 2009. Melatonin in the treatment of chronic sleep disorders in adults with autism: a retrospective study. S W i S S M e d W k ly, 139, 293-296.

Anthropology: Cultural Norms Essay -- Anthropology Essays

Anthropology: Cultural Norms Before taking this class, I often thought that our advanced society was the standard in which to measure all other societies from, but after reviewing the material in this course, it is impossible to make such a comparison. Many of the people in a culture similar to the U.S. would probably find most of the cultures we have studied to be â€Å"slow†, strange, or undesirable. In fact, it seems that many of the societies actually prefer to live the way they do and accept it as normal. â€Å"Normal† is a relative term, and it is difficult to establish evidence to label a culture or its characteristics abnormal. What may seem to work here often would be disastrous to other cultures. Our society stresses individuality and competition, to be the best you can be for yourself first. This works well for the structure of life that has developed in this country. I value my independence and privacy, something that has stemmed from living in this society. Trying to be the best often has rewards, whether prestigious or monetary, and is a good survival technique for...

Grizzly Man Essay

Grizzly Man In Grizzly Manï ¼Å'among the controversy stirred by the behavior of Treadwell, the central idea expressed in the film is that the nature is indeed indifferent and man should not cross the borderline between man and nature. Wild animals are not friends of human. Treadwell put all his heart to the cause of protecting the bears. He repeated in his films for many times that he loved them and he was willing to die for them. He tended to anthropomorphize them like many people do to the dogs and cats, but he forgot they were not those tame pets. He touched bears in a way that seemed to irritate them. He maybe had a belief and confidence that the bears also saw him as their friend and treated him differently. But in fact they didn’t. In the narrator’s opinion, â€Å"the common denominator of the universe is not harmony, hostility and murder.† Treadwell spent 13 years with the bears and he thought it was a wonderful and simpler world, he even wanted to become a bear, but in reality it is a hash world. In those big and ferocious bears’ eyes, they see only food and they never regard him as a friend. The narrator tells this observation at the end:†from all the faces, all the bears that Treadwell ever filmed, I discovered no kinship, no understanding, no mercy. I see only the overwhelming indifference of nature.† There is an ultimate invisible line between bear and human. The line has been respected by native people and the majority of the public. They know it is a very different world from the one where human lives. â€Å"when you cross the line, you pay the price.† the curator of the Kodiaks Alutiiq Museum mentioned this principle that has been strictly observed for 7000 years. He doesn’t agree with Treadwell’s behavior of staying too intimately with bears. He believes that â€Å"he has crossed the invisible boundary†, that is, the line which has been mentioned above. So even if Treadwell was repeatedly declaring that his main purpose was to protect bears from poachers, he didn’t realize that his behavior was another kind of invasion of their habitat and he was doing a lot of damage to them. He got close to those bears crazily and in un undue way. He violated the reasonable rule of the park that one should maintain at least 100 yards of distance from the bears. He lived with them and tried to make the bears get used to the existence of human, which was very dangerous for bears, and so on. As the narrator says in the movie, the best protection for the animals is that of their habitat. Any action of protecting animals by invading their habitat is not persuasive and of course can’t do any good to them. Like Treadwell, during his 13 years, he didn’t give bears any practical protection except serving them a delicious dinner with his and his girlfriend’s bodies. Life of Pi The view presented in this movie is that human and ferocious animals can co-exist peacefully if human can meet the survival needs of the animals and nature can give human hope and direction to survive. Darwin’s theory—the survival of the fittest, emphasizes the fierce and somewhat ruthless struggle of survival among the species and the individuals. It is indeed true in most cases. But in Life of Pi, it describes a picture of human and animal’s co-existence in a more harmonious way and proves that their struggle and contradiction are not so irreconcilable. In this movie, Pi was taught at his childhood by his father, that the animals, esp, the tiger, etc are not his friends. So at the first of the drift, Pi didn’t intend to co-exist with the tiger. He had had the chance to kill it. But his virtuous nature didn’t allow himself to do so. So he made the final decision to co-exist with this ferocious animal. He supplied the tiger with food and fresh water to survive so that he himself would not become the dinner of it. The threat to each other and the certain kind of peaceful co-existence helped them persevere to be saved at last. Even Pi himself admitt ed that â€Å"the fear of Richard Parker kept me alert. I wouldn’t survive without Richard Parker.† Human actually should be grateful to nature. Nature provides them with the animals living in it and therefore sustains human’s life. In the movie, nature is indifferent by the storm which caused the disaster of the ship’s sink and took away so many people’s lives. But on the other side, during the hopeless drift on the sea, nature also gave them food in the sea. It led him to the island when Pi had already lost his hope for survival, which made him regain the hope for life. Nature gave these seemingly coincidences to make for Pi’s survival from this disaster. Which kind of view do you agree with? Comparing two different views presented in these two movies, the former is more persuasive and reasonable. Handling the relations between human and nature, people should always remember that nature is indeed indifferent and keep a proper distance away from nature, especially the animals. Any human action which interferes with their natural life in an undue way will surely provoke the revenge of nature and pay a price for what they do. Guess of teacher’s view Teacher may agree that nature is indifferent but to some extent human and can get along well with each other unless both of them don’t cross the borderline and do harm to the other. Because America is a country which pays much attention to environment protection. They don’t encourage too much intimacy with nature for they know the ruthless and indifferent nature, so they do a good job in establishing the wildlife reserves. But on the other hand, they love to be close to nature.

Lord of the Flies themes essays

Lord of the Flies themes essays Lord of the Flies is a novel alive with subtle themes and concepts that are relevant and representative of human nature whether it is a group of schoolboys or society as a whole. The author William Golding has illustrated his main themes by using symbols that represent aspects of order and civilization and later in the novel the same symbols represent aspects of chaos and anarchy. The characters in this novel are a group of English schoolboys who are stranded on a tropical utopia. Ralph, who is chosen as the chief, attempts to create a sense of order on the island by establishing rules and regulations. Piggy aids Ralph by being the voice of reason and knowledge. However a split between the boys leads to Jack taking control and creating an immoral and reckless tribe. Towards the end of the book the boys break from the safety of their orderly existence that is based on the hope that they will be rescued. The boys regress from a civilized society to savagery, which is symbolized in the novel by Piggys glasses, the fire and the importance of the conch shell. First, the glasses, worn by Piggy represent intelligence and technology. The boys use his specs-...as burning glasses (Golding 41). They use their intuitiveness and teamwork to make the fire that would later aid in their rescue and are very concerned with starting the fire and keeping it going. However as time moves on the state of Piggys glasses begin to deteriorate due to a clash between Jack and Piggy where Jack smacked Piggys head...and Piggys glasses fly off and tinkled on the rocks (Golding 75). One side of Piggys glasses is broken. The boys are beginning to become more selfish and self interested and as a result piggy is losing the power and status that he had at the beginning of the novel. Furthermore, when Jack and his tribe take control one night and steal Piggys glasses leaving piggy blind it is apparen ...

Historical notes on The Handmaids Tale Essays

Historical notes on The Handmaids Tale Essays Historical notes on The Handmaids Tale Paper Historical notes on The Handmaids Tale Paper Essay Topic: Notes From Underground The Handmaids Tale Why do you think that Margaret Atwood included the historical notes in The Handmaids Tale? I believe that Margaret Atwood included the historical notes in The Handmaids Tale for a number of reasons. In my opinion, the central reason for the inclusion of the historical notes is to demonstrate to the reader where ideas for the novel originated. The first hint at where Atwoods ideas came from is during Maryann Crescent Moons speech, as she says, Iran and Gilead: Two Late Twentieth Century Monotheocracies. This shows that Atwood largely based her novel on the Islamic revolution that took place in Iran in 1979. The revolution fiercely restricted womens rights and their freedom, which is parallel to the events that occurred in The Handmaids Tale. Furthermore, in Pieixotos speech the reader is told, Romania, for instance, had anticipated Gilead in the eighties by banning all forms of birth control. This actually took place so we understand that the aspect of Atwoods novel, which concerns fertility, and pregnancy is strongly related with this event. I think it is very important that Atwood chose to base her novel on actual events that took place in the world because it emphasises that The Handmaids Tale is not solely a story, but is based on horrors that have occurred. This, therefore, illustrates the injustices that human beings are capable of. This leads on to the next possibility of why Margaret Atwood could have chosen to include the historical notes. As the novel is based on real-life events, Atwood is warning the human race to recognise injustice and then fight against it before it is too late, and we have a recreation of the Islamic Revolution and the situation in Romania. The incorporation of the historical notes is a vast contrast in tone and style to the novel itself. In my opinion, Atwood included them to show that while the reader may be extremely interested in Offreds testimony, her character and her emotions, Pieixoto is not at all. He is solely concerned with the history of Gilead and this is shown through his lighthearted tone of voice. He calls his speech a little chat, which could show that he is not willing to spend a lot of his time pondering over Offreds story because he does not consider it as important. In addition to this, Atwood included the historical notes to portray the fact that women will perpetually be considered as inferior to men, and will be belittled and looked down upon. This is predominantly shown through Pieixotos attitude towards Offred as he says I am sure all puns were intentional the archaic vulgar significance of the word tail. This quotation implies that Pieixoto solely sees Offred as a sex object. The reader is told that the audience applaud this comment (Laughter, applause). Therefore, the reader could be concerned about the morals of the audience if they find such a comment amusing. Furthermore, Pieixoto makes a number of sexist jokes such as referring to women as The Underground Frailroad which suggests that he views women as weak. Atwood may have included these sexist jokes to point out that this treatment of women is undoubtedly wrong, yet for some reason they are accepted in our society.

Immigration law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Immigration law - Essay Example Nevertheless, even though Article 8 provides the guidelines for human rights, it also emphasizes the best interest of the children. However, reviews of juvenile legislations of many countries around the world reveal that several nations fail to secure the best interests of their children. The position of the UK courts in relation to case law and legislation In ZH (Tanzania) v Secretary of State for the Home Department1, the court held that whenever parents are faced with deportation, the authorities have to consider the best interests of the children especially where the children have UK citizenship. By taking into account the plight of children in this case, Lord Baroness made judgment that was in line with Article 8 of ECHR. In this case, a mother of two appealed in a court of law after facing deportation charges which could also affect her two children who were British citizens by birth. Even though the mother had attained asylum in the UK illegally, the court held that removing h er would be disproportionate as it would violate the rights bestowed to the children in Article 8. Many governments are presently considering amending their immigration rules in order to have a clear legal framework in respect of a child’s best interest in any removal case. Notably, the interests of a child according to Moreham are taken care of where a child is allowed to remain with the parents in case of leaving the country.2 However, where a child is born in a country in which the parents are not domiciled and the state wishes to remove the parents, then the child can be granted temporary stay based on circumstances that best serve interest such as education or health. In Britain, for a child to be granted permanent residence after extradition of the parents, Thym observes that such a child must have been a resident for not less than six years.3 The position of the UK and the criteria used in discharging its duties and proportionality in protection of minors Under the UK immigration laws, the interests of children must be taken care of and therefore any British court should establish the reasonableness of moving a child to another country. The UK immigration Act 1971 prohibits removal of British citizens. However, in a situation where a non-citizen parent is forcefully removed and decides to move with the children, then the children will have no option but to move with the parent. Nevertheless, these children remain British citizen not only by virtue of birth, but also because they have been resident of UK in the course of their lives. Disappointingly, such children will not enjoy the privileges of growing in their own culture and therefore in carrying out proportionality assessment, the British legal system emphasizes that the best interest of a child must remain a key consideration. Where interest of a child is outweighed by other considerations and in a situation that demands strict adherence to immigration controls, Lord Hope argued that moving children to another country would be tantamount to making them lose the benefits of UK citizenship for the rest of their lives. Undeniably, there is an ensuing tension between provisions of ECHR and how the European Court of Human

Individual assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Individual assignment - Essay Example In the next section, these two articles will be discussed briefly and after that, implication of the content of these two articles will be analyzed. Question 1 Article 1: Failure on gas could hit GDP by $14bn Tasker (2013) reported that Australian government is developing new gas supplies in New South Wales (NSW) but failure of this development would not only affect the wholesale price index of market in the country but also cause reduction in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by more than $14 billion in next 22 years. Although, Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) states that the country has significant amount of scope to develop its gas and petroleum reserve in the east coast but there is argument that development of coal-seam gas would negatively affect the economic growth of the country. Tasker (2013) reported that at present, NSW imports gas from other states and developing gas would definitely reduce gas price in the state. There are three pertinent is sues in this case such as 1- developing CSG assets in NSW would increase resource capability of Australian government and that would decrease wholesale price index and volatility of economy in the country (Tasker, 2013). Developing gas reserves in NSW would help the Australian government to create jobs in the area between Newcastle, Sydney and Wollongong. 2- Developing CSG assets in NSW would be matter of great interest for local oil companies in Australia. As of now, 95% of gas resources are being imported by NSW and local companies need to pay heavy amount of tax to use the imports but development of gas resources in NSW would probably increase resource availability of local Australian oil companies and due to availability of gas, gas export driven revenue for local oil companies would shot up (Tasker, 2013). 3- Developing gas sector would probably increase national competitiveness of Australia and provide opportunity to multinational oil companies to enter the gas market in NSW. However, developing gas and oil sector in NSW could decrease command of international companies over Australian companies regarding the supply of gas and crude oil. It’s expected that Australian companies would go for low cost local gas supply rather than importing it from International players and such change in supply-demand equation would decrease bargaining power of international oil companies (Tasker, 2013). Article 2: Australian businesses must grab Indonesian opportunity Durie (2013) reported that Australian government is trying to increase business transactions with Indonesia and it is quite evident from the visit of Australian Prime Minister to Indonesia in order to strengthen the business, economic and political tie-ups. At present, Indonesia is the fourth largest country in terms of population in the world and the country can be the potential doorstep for Australian companies to enter business environment ASEAN countries. Australian government is also taking help o f the leading companies such as Leighton, ANZ and Coca Cola to decide the business and trade policies that could increase ease of doing business in Indonesia. Three implications of this article can be briefed in the following manner. 1- Australian government is trying to boost up its economy and GDP growth by increasing trade transactions with Indonesia (having GDP growth over 6%) and also trying to achieve the first mover advantage for