Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Classroom Management Observation Essay

Did you see the rudimentary or optional video? * Elementary 1. Perception and Description A. Depict the watched study hall routines.The class begins with the kids expelling materials from their work area to get composed. Having the kids expel all materials from their work area to sort out them as indicated by size shows the youngsters to have regard for their property and others. Next, the kids go on a study hall visit. She likewise examines the methodology for marking books all through the study hall library. Next, she portrays the systems for if understudies need to acquire materials off the teacher’s work area. The understudies should consistently inquire. At that point, the youngsters go over the timetable, so they know, what's in store all through the school day. From that point forward, the kids get familiar with the significance of going to class regularly. Next, the instructor has the students’ line up. The first run through understudies are required to arrange; the instructor clarifies the system and the explanation. At that point the educator examines marking in and out methods for heading off to the workplace, the bathroom, and the medical attendant station. The understudies must sign out, print their name on the suitable line, and circle the spot they are going, at that point put the time, and take a pass. The understudies discover that they have more opportunity in the third grade than second, since they no longer need to request to get water at the drinking fountain and hone pencils, as long as there is nobody else at the drinking fountain, or the pencil sharpener. At last, the understudies gain proficiency with the systems for getting colored pencils and different materials. Similar guidelines apply as long as nobody is at the pastel or material station the understudies can feel free to get colored pencils. The understudies must snatch a container, get a bunch of colored pencils for the crate, and go discreetly back to their seats. This will diminish study hall interferences and will increa se a feeling of trust between the understudies and the instructor. B. Portray the usage techniques for schedules in the watched study hall. The instructor actualizes the strategies for schedules as she would some other subject. For instance, if the instructor were showing math, she would depict it, clarify it, and afterward have the kids practice it. In the video, the instructor depicted to the understudies how they would arrange, at that point she clarified why they would arrange that way, and afterward she let the kids practice. 2. Investigation, Exploration and Reasoning A. Foresee students’ level of commitment with the watched study hall routines.The understudies level of commitment is high the kids are eager about realizing what the educator expects of them. Later in the school year, I anticipate that the understudy will have a similar degree of commitment as from the principal day of school. The youngsters will comprehend what the instructor expect of them, with respect to schedules and techniques. The schedules and techniques will turn out to be to a greater degree a propensity. B. Break down a potential re ason for the watched study hall schedule. The reason for the youngsters expelling all things from their work area and sorting out them as per size is so the kids will know where all books and materials are consistently. This will diminish the measure of homeroom interruptions, on the grounds that the youngsters won't need to go to and fro to their book sacks and different regions of the study hall to get materials. The materials are in a sorted out region in the work area. 3. Associations with other showing rehearses A. Clarify the reason for the watched homeroom schedules as they identify with the learning environment.The motivation behind having the kids take a study hall visit is to acclimate themselves with focuses and materials so the youngsters will know precisely where to go when they need certain things, which will cause less study hall disturbances. The watched schedules identifies with an improved learning condition for the classroomThe reason for expelling materials from their work area to get composed is to instr uct understudies to have regard for their property, themselves, as well as other people. Having regard for their property and others improves the learning condition in light of the fact that every understudy will endeavor to act in a good way by having regard for themselves and their environmental factors, which thusly, will diminish the measure of study hall disturbances. Next, the youngsters go on a study hall visit. She additionally talks about the strategy for marking books all through the study hall library. Having the understudies sign books all through the study hall library shows understudies the significance of returning things back to their right position, which identifies with improving the learning condition since keeping things slick, composed in their right arrangement is basic for a learning domain to flourish. Next, she depicts the strategies for if understudies need to obtain materials off the teacher’s work area. The understudies should consistently inquire. This shows the understudy to take nothing without approaching and again to have regard fo r their property and others, which thus improves the learning condition, if everybody solicit before taking something from another person. Next, the educator has the students’ line up. The first run through understudies are required to arrange; the educator clarifies the technique and the explanation. The educator has the understudy to quie line up unobtrusively, by size to see and record for all understudies as the understudies stroll through the lobby. This improves the learning condition in light of the fact that the instructor is answerable for the whereabouts of all understudies so observing every youngster is critical to have a fruitful learning condition. The understudies must stay calm as they stroll through the corridor so they won't upset different understudies. At that point the instructor examines marking in and out techniques for setting off to the workplace, the bathroom, and the attendant station. Having the understudies sign in and out encourages that it is so critical to tell the instructor their whereabouts. This additionally instructs obligation. It is significant for the instructor to know the whereabouts of all understudies in their group consistently, having the understudies sign in and out monitors constantly, which improves the learning condition. The understudies discover that they have more opportunity in the third grade than second, since they no longer need to request to get water at the drinking fountain and hone pencils, as long as there is nobody else at the drinking fountain, or the pencil sharpener. This makes a feeling of trust between the understudies and the educator, which improves conduct in light of the fact that the understudies won't have any desire to mishandle the trust. Picking up trust improves practices, and great practices improve the learning condition and give understudies a bounty of chances to learn. At last, the understudies become familiar with the systems for getting colored pencils and different materials. Similar standards apply as long as nobody is at the pastel or material station the understudies can feel free to get colored pencils. The understudies must snatch a crate, get a bunch of pastels for the bin, and go unobtrusively back to their seats. This will diminish study hall interferences and will increase a feeling of trust between the understudies and the instructor, which improves the learning condition. Students’ changes commonly all through out the day, from entering school, to going to breakfast, to leaving the lounge, to entering class. Advances between exercises can be testing and unpleasant for understudies, however with association and key desires, educators will wipe out a great deal of confusion during these advances. Kâ€8 Situations 1. Start of the day: Class is beginning A. enter homeroom, the youngsters will discover seat B. void book pack, arrange work area C. hangs up book pack, sit unobtrusively trust that guidelines will start errands 2. Day's end: Going home A. get book sack off holder place books required for schoolwork in book pack B. tidy up work area and zone around work area C. Sit and remain discreetly until the instructor calls your method of transportation 3. Progress between exercises: Moving to focuses A. At the sign (darken the lights) the understudies to end movement; understudies start taking care of materials for the current task. B. Understudies tidy up and take out materials from next task C. at the point when the instructor walks out on the light, understudies must be in their seat discreetly prepared to start next movement. 4. Conveyance of materials: Getting colored pencils off rack A. ensures nobody is at colored pencil station B. Stroll over to the colored pencil station, get a container, and take a bunch of pastels C. return unobtrusively to your work area 5. Field trip: emptying the transport A. get off the transport on the field trip, ensure you are with your accomplice B. tunes in to ALL headings C. remain in assigned gatherings 6. Break: Going to the rec center A. Line up unobtrusively for break B. Walk unobtrusively down the lobby to exercise center or assigned territory for the afternoon C. Tune in for headings for exercises for the afternoon 7. Fire or fiasco drills: leaving the structure in case of fire A. At the point when the alert sounds, the understudies will rapidly arrange before the entryway B. Tune in for the instructor to call your line C. Walk rapidly and unobtrusively a line, tune in for headings from your educator What educators do toward the start of the school year to arrange their rooms and set up an administration framework impacts what occurs all through the remainder of the year. Schedules are the endurance of every day homeroom life. The schedules above are indispensable all together for your group to run easily. In the start of the day, when class is beginning it is significant for the kids to enter class discover their seat, void book sacks and sort out their work area unobtrusively with the goal that the instructor can gauge participation and document what number of kids went to the class that day. Toward the day's end, when the youngsters are returning home, it is significant for the understudies to get book sack off holder place books required for schoolwork in book pack, tidy up work area and territory around work area, sit, and remain discreetly until the instructor calls your method of transportation. This is significant with the goal that all understudies to return home sa

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Emotions and Posture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Feelings and Posture - Essay Example Be that as it may, one obviously unmistakable distinction to my stance from these different exercises existed when I chipped away at a PC in a situated position. Since my vision is declining, it is progressively hard to work with a good ways from the PC screen, which caused a slight sluggard in my stance while finishing PC errands. Be that as it may, I encountered no slumping stance during the way toward understanding books or completing other myopic errands. In the wake of finishing these underlying perceptions through the span of three days, I controlled the stance variable for the following three days. Some portion of this control was a marginally slumped position by around 15 degrees. I inferred that this level of progress would not be promptly unmistakable by other people who realized me well; in any case, I accepted the change would enroll at certain levels in both my own psyche states and those of others. So as to look after consistency, I kept this slumped position during all exercises and consistently for those three days during which the analysis was being led. When my body got familiar with the new position through some training and cognizant idea, the new stance appeared to be regular, which permitted me to overlook that variable as I connected with others and continued with my day by day life. During these communications, the distinctions I saw were not huge. Others appeared to be set in their view of my body with the end goal that they couldn't see the distinction in my stance. In any case, my cooperations with others changed in that I felt less certain (incompletely on account of my thought that terrible stance is an ugly characteristic) and less open to relational association. A lessening in certainty may have made a criticism circle in which my conduct influenced other’s communications with me during the hour of the test. Be that as it may, as I stated, there were no perceptible contrasts in the manner in which others saw or connected wi th me while the control of my stance was happening. After the trial time frame had finished up, I came back to my typical examples, including rearranging to my ordinary stance. From this, I found the relational certainty I had before the stance change and I felt less reluctant about my alluring (or ugly) position. Stance, all things considered, doesn't get a lot of cognizant idea from a great many people except if obviously their stance is discernibly terrible either to oneself or to other people. Generally speaking, my typical examples appear to have returned with no significant contrast. The subject of whether the stance control at last brought about an adjustment in my feelings relies upon the circumstance. In certain circumstances, the terrible stance variable made me more averse to take part in cooperations with others since I felt less appealing. On edge feelings could be appended to the awful stance in that manner. In different circumstances, the terrible stance variable had no impact on how others treated me, which left feelings like bliss from acknowledgment unaltered. My state of mind didn't endure as a result of an awful position, at any rate as indicated by my perceptions. A genuine confinement to this trial is, obviously, oneself giving an account of a variable I am constantly enticed to consider over the span of the trial. All things considered, in spite of this restriction, I accept that feelings can be influenced by pose, expecting that one has a thought of good stance as a truly appealing characteristic and that one either sees himself as having a positive or negative one. In the event that the individual or the general public has no

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Whats On Your Nightstand Topical Applications

Whats On Your Nightstand Topical Applications Ive been thankful, in the past week, for things that can be applied topically, bug spray in particular: Its High Mosquito Season here in the Mid-Atlantic (and many other regions). Who wants to be troubled by pesky flying insects when youre comfily esconced on a chaise in your backyard, in the middle of a great read? No one, thats who, but for me in particular, thinking about bug spray led to thinking about the phrase topical application which led to thinking how funny it is that topical can refer to a surface, but also to a subject area. (Yes, Im a wild woman.) That reminded me of the times in my reading life during which Ive followed one subject down a rabbit hole. Often, but not only, were these times centered around school. Sometimes I just get on a kick about a time period or a historical figure and want to read lots of stuff about it or her. A few years back, it was Marie Antoinette. Last year, it was the Mitford Sisters. This summer, its natural history and solitary individuals (Muir, Carson, Audobon). I know Im not alone in this. From time to time your TBR pile has resembled a library catalog number, hasnt it? This week, tell us about the topics that have you gathering up essays, histories, biographies, treatisesyou name it.  I cant wait to hear about your topical fascinationsand hope those skeeters stay far away from you.

Sunday, May 24, 2020

Smoking Should be Banned in Public Places Essays - 1464 Words

During the past few decades it has come to light that smoking kills. The federal government mandates that every pack of cigarettes carry a warning on it that smoking can lead to health problems including death. But the messages are rather clinical, for example: â€Å"Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, and May Complicate Pregnancy.† Smoking is a danger to one’s own health but there is now evidence that smoking can affect others as well. Second hand smoke has been shown to cause cancer. Second hand smoke has been shown to produce the same negative health effects that smoking first hand does. Cities across the nation are taking it upon themselves to address the issue of smoking in public place because of the evidence about†¦show more content†¦The hospitality industry has long argued that smoking bans cause great financial difficulty for bars and restaurants because of the link between smoking and drinking. But a new study by the University of Minnesota shows that smoking bans in eight Minnesota cities did not have any significant impact on employment in those businesses (Benson). One of the aspects that are argued is the freedom of choice. Freedom of choice mandates if a person wants to smoke they should be able to. While the freedom of choice issue is debated and measures are taken to assist people in breaking their addiction to smoking there are strong reasons for implementing a nationwide ban on smoking in bars and restaurants. Smokers want to be able to enjoy a cigarette following their meal or while they sip their drinks. They have lobbied to stop bans around the country and threatened to boycott any business that voluntarily places a ban on smoking in their establishment. For a long time, the hospitality industry maintained that if nonsmokers didnt like smoke, then they shouldnt go into places that allowed it. Few buy that argument any more. Nonsmokers want to go where they want and not have to suffer exposure to smoke as the price they pay. The Tobacco Industry fights smoke-free laws because smoke-free laws result in a decline in the consumption of tobacco products, an increase in the cessation rate among smokers, and an overallShow MoreRelatedShould Smoking Be Banned Public Places?941 Words   |  4 Pagesindividuals get older they try to cope with the stresses of everyday life by continuing to smoking. It makes them feel more relaxed and at ease. Whatever the reason is, it is a hard habit to break once one starts. For many smokers today it is getting hard to find a place to smoke. Comedians joke about going to another planet just to light up. Smoking should be banned in public places because smoking is just as bad for nonsmokers as it is fo r smokers. The effects of secondhand smoke orRead MoreShould Smoking Be Banned Public Places?864 Words   |  4 PagesSmoking is one of the practices which is considered highly dangerous to our health because it impacts the smoker and the people around them. There are approximately one billion smokers. Smoking is a big issue that the nonsmoker faces. For example, when the smokers smoke in public places like restaurants, universities and other public places it hurts the non-smoker. The non-smoker breathing the cigarette, marijuana or hookah smoke from the smoker do both of them are breathing toxic chemicals. In aRead MoreShould Smoking Be Banned Public Places?950 Words   |  4 Pagesday I walk in to public place with a friend right away we sat down to eat, we were having a conversation later we smell cigarette smoke in the air. I start coughing from the smell of smoke. I also notice a lot of customers who like eating dinner at a public place smoking cigarette. Smoking is a big health p roblem I feel it is not fair to take away cigarette for people who smoke in American who desire smoke cigarette. Even thought the same as the concession is able to be taking place on this topicRead MoreShould Smoking Be Banned Public Places?885 Words   |  4 Pagesday I walk into public place with a friend right away we sat down to eat, we were having a conversation later we smell cigarette smoke in the air. I start coughing from the smell of smoke. I also notice a lot of customers who like eating dinner at a public place smoking cigarette. Smoking is a big health problem I feel it is not fair to take away cigarette for people who smoke in American who desire smoke cigarette. Even thought the same as the concession is able to be taking place on this topicRead MoreSmoking in Public Places Should Be Banned Essay474 Words   |  2 PagesSmoking in Public Places Should Be Banned I feel very strongly that smoking in public places should be banned. I will list my reasons for my thinking below and explain why I think this. I cannot stand walking down a street behind someone who is smoking. Every time they exhale I then have to walk into a cloud of their smoke. My clothes smell, because they have been saturated with the smoke, it gets into my hair too. It also affects my health. It was found that sevenRead MoreEssay on Smoking In Public Places Should Be Banned463 Words   |  2 PagesSmoking In Public Places Should Be Banned There should be rules enforced for smoking in public places. Smokers just do not know the negative influence they are spreading. A puff of cigarette can harm a smokers health. When I go to a restaurant I do not like to leave smelling like smoke. It is the same going to a garbage dump, and smelling like garbage. I am not a smoker, and I cannot stand having the stench of smoke on my clothes. The smell of smoke is not harmful, but secondhand smoke isRead MoreEssay Smoking Should NOT Be Banned in Public Places730 Words   |  3 PagesSmoking Should Not Be Banned in Restaurants      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the perfect situation, smoking policy would be set by bar or restaurant owners, and customers would patronize the establishments with the policy they prefer. Customers would decide-without the governments help-if they want to avoid smoke-filled rooms or enter them. They might even choose to sit in an area sectioned off for smokers or non-smokers, but the ultimate issue is choice (Ruwart 1). When the government starts telling restaurantRead MoreEssay about Smoking In Public Places Should be Banned766 Words   |  4 Pages Do you mind people smoking around you in public places? According to the pro-smoking group Air Initiative 7 in 10 of you do. Do you think it is fair to discriminate against smokers, forcing them to stand outside and smoke? On the other hand is it fair that non-smokers should have to inhale second hand smoke which can dame their health? (Do you support this ban or do you oppose it?) Personally I oppose it as I believe that non-smokers shouldn†™t be subjected to a smoky environment on a night out.Read MoreNationwide Smoking Ban: Smoking Should be Banned in All Public Places899 Words   |  4 Pagesthe public about its dangers in 1972 (Schick Glantz, 2005). Do people knowingly have the right to put others’ health at risk? No, they do not. Exposure to cigarette smoke is a public health risk. Therefore, smoking should be banned in all public places, nationwide. There has been no attempt to impose a national smoking ban by the U.S. government. All current bans are in place because of state and local legislation. Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights lists the various state and local smoking lawsRead MoreEssay about Smoking Should be Banned in All Public Places1133 Words   |  5 PagesSmoking Should be Banned in All Public Places Every year thousands of people die because of having cancer or other tobacco related illnesses due to smoking. Smoking is seen everywhere from our own television screens to even the world wide web; the internet. Tobacco is the substance that is in these cigarettes. These tobacco products are promoted through tobacco ads that are found almost everywhere you turn. They are in magazines, television screens, on the internet

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Hawaii’s Renewable Energy Future Essay example - 1859 Words

â€Å"By 2020, Hawaii is aiming to generate 20 percent of its energy from non-fossil fuels† (Brown et al. 2008, 11). According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Arent et al. 2009, 1-2), petroleum accounts for 90% of Hawaii’s energy consumption and 75% of their electricity. Since Hawaii has no pipelines or oil fields, they are forced to import petroleum to accommodate their energy needs (Arent et al. 2009, 1). Hawaii is disconnected from the rest of the United States, which means that Hawaii has to take care of its own energy needs (Croucher 2010, 79).How can alternative energy sources reduce the need to import of petroleum? Hawaii’s geography is optimal to make use of biofuel, solar, and geothermal resources (Brown et al. 2008,†¦show more content†¦Hawaii has the bioavailability to support biofuels as a renewable resource. In addition to fuel crops, Hawaii also has abundant resources for biomass heating. During their research Turn et al. (2002, 4) found that the biomass resources for Hawaii include: swine, dairy, and poultry manure, sugarcane bagasse and trash, pineapple processing waste, macadamia nut shells, municipal solid wastes, food waste from commercial food preparation facilities, sewage sludge, and fat, oil and grease wastes from food preparation activities. One of the main advantages is that biomass energy can use municipal solid waste. Hawaii also produces about 10 pounds of trash per person coming to about 1.8 million tons of trash per year (Yap 2008). Hawaii has a power plant that can use over 2,000 tons of garbage a day to generate electricity (Covanta Energy 2011). Hawaii has decided to start exporting its garbage to give it enough time to expand the power plant’s capacity (Yap 2008). Smaller scale biomass fueled power generation can help get rid of agricultural and municipal refu se, while alleviating the strain on the electricity grid and providing a cheap locally based source of electricity (Turn, Keffer, and Staackmann 2002, 17). If Hawaii develops biomass as a renewable resource, it can reduce the need to import petroleum and export garbage. Biomass is not the only renewable alternative option for Hawaii, ethanol can also be produced in Hawaii. According Keffer et al.(2009, 253), usingShow MoreRelatedSustainability in Hawaii847 Words   |  4 Pagesclimate change, habitat destruction and exploitation of resources threaten the â€Å"pale blue dot,† the demand for sustainable development that meets our present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs grows every greater. However, sustainable practices promise a future where economic and environmental needs can coexist in harmony. Sustainability calls for protection of our natural world for generations to come – this has always been the challenge of environmentalRead MoreHawaiis High Cost Of Living1577 Words   |  7 Pageshave learned about Hawaii’s Economic Outlook. We look a look at the growths and decline of Hawaii’s economy through looking at the Hawaii’s GDP and comparing it the whole na tions GDP. The next week we learned about Hawaii’s expansion and contraction. During this week, we focused on different factors that caused Hawaii’s economic ups and downs thought Hawaii’s history. The third week we, learned about Hawaii’s economical structure, which focused on diversification in Hawaii’s economy. The fourthRead MoreA Report On Net Metering1575 Words   |  7 Pagesmoments for other local customers. Customers feeding electricity back to the grid can present unique challenges for grid operators trying to manage supply and demand efficiently. For example, in cases such as Hawaii’s, unwanted solar energy that utilities are forced to take may add too much energy to an already-taxed system, increasing the risk of voltage spikes. Aside from the challenges for grid operators in balancing the flow of electricity, utilities also face economic challenges as net meteringRead MoreGlobal Warming : Crisis Or Not?1849 Words   |  8 Pages Is how we live our daily lives having a massive negative impact on the Earth and greatly raising its temperature to dangerous levels? And are humans causing dangerous levels of greenhouse gases? Deforestation, and the burning of fossil fuels for energy, transportation, and use in factories could all be contributing to the huge increase in CO2 in the atmosphere. If so, then the fight against CO2 emissions, and it being the highest priority, needs justification. The opinion of some people is thatRead MoreDesalination of Water4116 Words   |  17 Pagesin this direction were the solar distillation methods employed (c.49 B.C.) by the legions of Julius Caesar for using water from the Mediterranean. Modern technological advances led to the development of more efficient distillation unit s using solar energy; however, since these units have small capacities, their utility is restricted. Distillation plants having high capacities and using combustible fuels employ various devices to conserve heat. In the most common system a vacuum is applied to reduceRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 PagesGerda Lerner, Fireweed: A Political Autobiography Allida M. Black, ed., Modern American Queer History Eric Sandweiss, St. Louis: The Evolution of an American Urban Landscape Sam Wineburg, Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past Sharon Hartman Strom, Political Woman: Florence Luscomb and the Legacy of Radical Reform Michael Adas, ed., Agricultural and Pastoral Societies in Ancient and Classical History Jack Metzgar, Striking Steel: Solidarity Remembered

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Lamb The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 24 Free Essays

string(33) " his dogs down by the riverbank\." Chapter 24 I’ve finally finished reading these stories by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These guys make the whole thing seem like an accident, like five thousand people just showed up on a hill one morning. If that was the case, getting them all there was the miracle, let alone feeding them. We will write a custom essay sample on Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 24 or any similar topic only for you Order Now We busted our asses to organize sermons like that, and sometimes we even had to put Joshua in a boat and float him offshore while he preached, just to keep him from getting mobbed. That boy was a security nightmare. And that’s not all, there were two sides to Joshua, his preaching side and his private side. The guy who stood there railing at the Pharisees was not the same guy who would sit around poking Untouchables in the arm because it cracked him up. He planned the sermons, he calculated the parables, although he may have been the only one in our group that understood any of them. What I’m saying is that these guys, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, they got some of it right, the big stuff, but they missed a lot (like thirty years, for instance). I’ll try to fill it in, which is why, I guess, the angel brought me back from the dead. And speaking of the angel, I’m about convinced that he’s gone psycho. (No, psycho isn’t a word I had back in my time, but enough television and I’ll have a whole new vocabulary. It applies. I believe, for instance, that â€Å"psycho† was the perfect term for John the Baptist. More about him later.) Raziel took me to a place where you wash clothes today. A Laundromat. We were there all day. He wanted to make sure I knew how to wash clothes. I may not be the sharpest arrow in the quiver, but it’s laundry, for Christ’s sake. He quizzed me for an hour about sorting whites and colors. I may never get this story told if the angel keeps deciding to teach me life lessons. Tomorrow, miniature golf. I can only guess that Raziel is trying to prepare me to be an international spy. Bartholomew and his stench rode one camel while Joshua and I shared the other. We rode south to Jerusalem, then east over the Mount of Olives into Bethany, where we saw a yellow-haired man sitting under a fig tree. I had never seen a yellow-haired person in Israel, other than the angel. I pointed him out to Joshua and we watched the blond man long enough to convince ourselves that he wasn’t one of the heavenly host in disguise. Actually, we pretended to watch him. We were watching each other. Bartholomew said, â€Å"Is there something wrong? You two seem nervous.† â€Å"It’s just that blond kid,† I said, trying to look in the courtyards of the large houses as we passed. â€Å"Maggie lives here with her husband,† Joshua said, looking at me, relieving no tension whatsoever. â€Å"I knew that,† said Bart. â€Å"He’s a member of the Sanhedrin. High up, they say.† The Sanhedrin was a council of priests and Pharisees who made most of the decisions for the Jewish community, as far as the Romans would allow them, anyway. Aside from the Herods and Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, they were the most powerful men in Israel. â€Å"I was really hoping Jakan would die young.† â€Å"They have no children,† Joshua said. What Josh was saying was that it was strange that Jakan hadn’t divorced Maggie for being barren. â€Å"My brother told me,† I said. â€Å"We can’t go see her.† â€Å"I know,† I said, although I wasn’t sure why not. We finally found John in the desert north of Jericho, preaching on the bank of the Jordan River. His hair was as wild as ever and now he had a beard that was just as out of control. He wore a rough tunic that was belted with a sash of unscraped camel skin. There was a crowd of perhaps five hundred people there, standing in sun so hot that you had to check road signs to make sure you hadn’t accidentally taken the turnoff to hell. We couldn’t tell what John was talking about from a distance, but as we got closer we heard him say, â€Å"No, I’m not the one. I’m just getting things ready. There’s one that’s coming after me, and I’m not qualified to carry his jockstrap.† â€Å"What’s a jockstrap?† Joshua asked. â€Å"It’s an Essene thing,† Bartholomew answered. â€Å"They wear them on their manhood, very tightly, to control their sinful urges.† Then John spotted us over the crowd (we were on camelback). â€Å"There!† said John, pointing. â€Å"You remember me telling you that one would come. Well, there he is, right there. I’m not kidding, that’s him on the camel. On the left. Behold the Lamb of God!† The crowd looked back at Josh and me, then laughed politely as if to say, Oh right, he just happened along right when you were talking about him. What, we don’t know from a shill when we see one? Joshua glanced nervously at me, then at Bart, then at me, then he grinned sheepishly (as one might expect from a lamb) at the crowd. Between gritted teeth he asked, â€Å"So am I supposed to give John my jockstrap, or something?† â€Å"Just wave, and say, ‘Go with God,'† Bart said. â€Å"Waving here – waving there,† Josh mumbled through a grin. â€Å"Go with God. Thank you very much. Go with God. Nice to see you. Waving – waving.† â€Å"Louder, Josh. We’re the only ones who can hear you.† Josh turned to us so the crowd couldn’t see his face. â€Å"I didn’t know I was going to need a jockstrap! Nobody told me. Jeez, you guys.† Thus did begin the ministry of Joshua bar Joseph, ish Nazareth, the Lamb of God. â€Å"So, who’s the big guy?† John asked, as we sat around the fire that evening. Night crawled across the desert sky like a black cat with phosphorus dandruff. Bartholomew rolled with his dogs down by the riverbank. You read "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 24" in category "Essay examples" â€Å"That’s Bartholomew,† Joshua said. â€Å"He’s a Cynic.† â€Å"And the village idiot of Nazareth for over thirty years,† I added. â€Å"He gave up his position to follow Joshua.† â€Å"He’s a slut, and he’s the first one baptized in the morning. He stinks. More locusts, Biff?† â€Å"No thanks, I’m full.† I stared down at my bowl of roasted locusts and honey. You were supposed to dip the locusts in the honey for a sweet and nutritious treat. It was all John ate. â€Å"So this Divine Spark, all that time away, that’s what you found?† â€Å"It’s the key to the kingdom, John,† Josh said. â€Å"That’s what I learned in the East that I’m supposed to bring to our people, that God is in all of us. We are all brothers in the Divine Spark. I just don’t know how to spread the word.† â€Å"Well, first, you can’t call it the Divine Spark. The people won’t understand it. This thing, it’s in everyone, it’s permanent, it’s a part of God?† â€Å"Not God the creator, my father, the part of God that’s spirit.† â€Å"Holy Ghost,† John said with a shrug. â€Å"Call it the Holy Ghost. People understand that a ghost is in you, and they understand that it goes on after you, and you’ll just have to make them believe that it’s God.† â€Å"That’s perfect,† Joshua said, smiling. â€Å"So, this Holy Ghost,† John said, biting a locust in half, â€Å"it’s in every Jew, but gentiles don’t have it, right? I mean what’s the point, after the kingdom comes?† â€Å"I was getting to that,† said Josh. It took John the better part of the night to deal with the fact that Joshua was going to let gentiles into the kingdom, but finally the Baptist accepted it, although he kept looking for exceptions. â€Å"Even sluts?† â€Å"Even sluts,† Joshua said. â€Å"Especially sluts,† I said. â€Å"You’re the one who is cleansing people of their sins so they will be forgiven,† Joshua added. â€Å"I know, but gentile sluts, in the kingdom.† He shook his head, assured now by the Messiah himself that the world was going to hell in a handbasket. Which really shouldn’t have surprised him, since that had been his message for over ten years. That, and identifying sluts. â€Å"Let me show you where you’ll be staying.† Shortly after I had met him on the road to Jerusalem, John had joined the Essenes. You couldn’t be born an Essene, because they were all celibate, even in marriage. They also refrained from intoxicating drink, adhered strictly to Jewish dietary law, and were absolutely maniacal about cleansing themselves, physically, of sin, which had been the big selling point for John. They had a thriving community in the desert outside of Jericho called Qumran, a small city of stone and brick homes, a scriptorium for copying scrolls, and aqueducts that ran out of the mountains to fill their ritual baths. A few of them lived in the caves above the Dead Sea where they stored the jars that held their sacred scrolls, but the most zealous of the Essenes, which included John, didn’t even allow themselves the comfort of a cave. He showed us accommodations near his own. â€Å"It’s a pit!† I screamed. Three pits, to be exact. I suppose there’s something to be said for having a private pit. Bartholomew, with his many canine pals, was already settling into his new pit. â€Å"Oh, John,† Josh said, â€Å"remind me to tell you about karma.† So, for over a year, while Joshua was learning from John how to say the words that would make people follow him, I lived in a pit. It makes sense, if you think about it. For seventeen years Joshua had spent his time either studying or sitting around being quiet, so what did he know about communicating? The last message he’d gotten from his father was two words, so he wasn’t getting his speaking skills from that side of the family. On the other hand, John had been preaching for those same seventeen years, and that squirrelly bastard could preach. Standing waist deep in the Jordan, he would wave his arms and roll his eyes and stir the air with a sermon that would make you believe the clouds were going to open and the hand of God Hisownself was going to reach down, grab you by the balls, and shake you till the evil rattled out of you like loose baby teeth. An hour of John’s preaching and you were not only lining up to be baptized, you’d jump right in the river and try to breathe the bottom muck just to be relieved of your own wretchedness. Joshua watched, and listened, and learned. John was an absolute believer in who Joshua was and what he was going to do, as far as he understood, anyway, but the Baptist worried me. John was attracting the attention of Herod Antipas. Herod had married his brother Philip’s wife, Herodia, without her obtaining a divorce, which was forbidden by Jewish law, an absolute outrage by the more severe laws of the Essenes, and a subject that fit well into John’s pervasive â€Å"slut† theme. I was starting to notice soldiers from Herod’s personal guard hovering around the edge of John’s crowds when he preached. I confronted the Baptist one evening when he came out of the wilderness in one of his evangelical rages to ambush me, Joshua, Bartholomew, and a new guy as we sat around eating our locusts. â€Å"Slut!† John shouted with his â€Å"thunder of Elijah† voice, waving a finger under Bart’s nose. â€Å"Yeah, John, Bartholomew’s been getting laid a lot,† I said, evangelizing for sarcasm. â€Å"Almost,† said Bart. â€Å"I mean with another human being, Bart.† â€Å"Oh. Sorry. Never mind.† John wheeled on the new guy, who put his hands up. â€Å"I’m new,† he said. Thus rebuked, John spun to face Joshua. â€Å"Celibate,† Joshua said. â€Å"Always have been, always will be. Not happy about it.† Finally John turned to me. â€Å"Slut!† â€Å"John, I’m cleansed, you baptized me six times today.† Joshua elbowed me in the ribs. â€Å"What? It was hot. Point is, I counted fifty soldiers in the crowd today, so ease up a little on the slut talk. You’re backed up or something. You really need to rethink this no marriage, no sex, no fun, ascetic thing.† â€Å"And the honey-and-locust living-in-a pit thing,† said the new guy. â€Å"He’s no different than Melchior or Gaspar,† Joshua said. â€Å"They were both ascetics.† â€Å"Melchior and Gaspar weren’t running around calling the provincial governor a slut in front of hundreds of people. It’s a big difference, and it’s going to get him killed.† â€Å"I am cleansed of sin and unafraid,† said John, sitting down by the fire now, some of his verve gone. â€Å"Yeah, are you cleansed of guilt? Because you’re going to have the blood of thousands on your hands when the Romans come to get you. In case you haven’t noticed, they don’t just kill the leaders of a movement. There’s a thousand crosses on the road to Jerusalem where Zealots died, and they weren’t all leaders.† â€Å"I am unafraid.† John hung his head until the ends of his hair were dipping into the honey in his bowl. â€Å"Herodia and Herod are sluts. He’s as close as we have to a Jewish king, and he’s a slut.† Joshua pushed his cousin’s hair out of his eyes and squeezed the wild man’s shoulder. â€Å"If it be so, then so be it. As the angel foretold, you were born to preach the truth.† I stood up and tossed my locusts into the fire, showering sparks over John and Joshua. â€Å"I’ve only met two people whose births were announced by angels, and three-quarters of them are loony.† And I stormed off to my pit. â€Å"Amen,† said the new guy. That night, as I was falling asleep, I heard Joshua scrambling in the pit next to mine, as if a bug or an idea had roused him from his bedroll. â€Å"Hey!† he said. â€Å"What?† I replied. â€Å"I just did the math. Three quarters of two is – â€Å" â€Å"One and a half,† said the new guy, who had moved into the pit on the other side of Josh. â€Å"So John’s either all crazy and you’re half crazy, or you’re three-quarters crazy and John’s three-quarters crazy, or – well – actually it’s a constant ratio, I’d have to graph it out for you.† â€Å"So what are you saying?† â€Å"Nothing,† said the new guy. â€Å"I’m new.† The next morning Joshua leapt out of his pit, shook off the scorpions, and after a long morning whiz, kicked some dirt clods into my pit to thunk me from my slumber. â€Å"This is it,† Joshua said. â€Å"Come down to the river, I’m going to have John baptize me today.† â€Å"Which will make it different from yesterday in what way?† â€Å"You’ll see. I have a feeling.† And off he went. The new guy prairie-dogged up out of his pit. He was tall, the new guy, and the morning sun caught on his bald scalp as he looked around. He noticed some flowers growing where Joshua had just relieved himself. Lush blossoms of a half-dozen vibrant colors stood surrounded by the deadest landscape on the planet. â€Å"Hey, were those there yesterday?† â€Å"That always happens,† I said. â€Å"We don’t talk about it.† â€Å"Wow,† said the new guy. â€Å"Can I tag along with you guys?† â€Å"Sure,† I said. And thus did we become four. At the river, John preached to a small gathering as he lowered Joshua into the water. As soon as Joshua went under the water a rift opened across the desert sky, which was still pink with the dawn, and out of the rift came a bird that looked to be fashioned from pure light. And everyone on the riverbank said â€Å"ooh† and â€Å"ahh,† and a big voice boomed out of the heavens, saying, â€Å"This is my son, with whom I am well pleased.† And as quickly as it had come, the spirit was gone. But the gatherers at the riverbank stood with their mouths open in amazement, staring yet into the sky. And John came to his senses then, and remembered what he was doing, and lifted Joshua out of the water. And Joshua wiped the water out of his eyes, looked at the crowd who stood stunned with mouths hanging open, and he said unto them: â€Å"What?† â€Å"No, really, Josh, that’s what the voice said, ‘This is my son, with whom I am well pleased.'† Joshua shook his head and chewed a breakfast locust. â€Å"I can’t believe he couldn’t wait until I came up. You’re sure it was my father?† â€Å"Sounded like him.† The new guy looked at me and I shrugged. Actually it sounded like James Earl Jones, but I didn’t know that back then. â€Å"That’s it,† said Joshua. â€Å"I’m going into the desert like Moses did, forty days and forty nights.† Joshua got up and started walking into the desert. â€Å"From here on out, I’m fasting until I hear something from my father. That was my last locust.† â€Å"I wish I could say that,† said the new guy. As soon as Joshua was out of sight I ran to my pit and packed my satchel. I was a half day getting to Bethany, and another hour asking around before someone could direct me to the house of Jakan, prominent Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin. The house was made of the golden-tinged limestone that marked all of Jerusalem, and there was a high wall around the courtyard. Jakan had done very well for himself, the prick. You could house a dozen families from Nazareth in a house this size. I paid two blind guys a shekel each to stand by the wall so I could climb on their shoulders. â€Å"How much did he say this was?† â€Å"He said it was a shekel.† â€Å"Doesn’t feel like a shekel.† â€Å"Would you guys quit feeling your shekels and stand still, I’m going to fall.† I peeped over the top of the wall and there, sitting under the shade of an awning, working at a small loom, was Maggie. If she had changed, it was only that she’d become more radiant, more sensuous, more of a woman and less of a girl. I was stunned. I guess I expected some sort of disappointment, thinking that my time and my love might have shaped a memory that the woman could never live up to. Then I thought, perhaps the disappointment was yet to come. She was married to a rich man, a man who, when I knew him, had been a bully and a dolt. And what had always really made Maggie’s memory in my mind was her spirit, her courage, and her wit. I wondered if those things could have survived all these years with Jakan. I started to shake, bad balance or fear, I don’t know, but I put my hand on top of the wall to steady myself and cut myself on some broken pottery that had been set in mortar along the top. â€Å"Ouch, dammit.† â€Å"Biff?† Maggie said, as she looked me in the eye right before I tumbled off the shoulders of the blind guys. I had just climbed to my feet when Maggie came around the corner and hit me, full-frontal womanhood, full speed, leading with lips. She kissed me so hard that I could taste blood from my cut lips and it was glorious. She smelled the same – cinnamon and lemon and girl sweat – and felt better than memory could ever allow. When she finally relaxed her embrace and held me at arm’s length, there were tears in her eyes. And mine. â€Å"He dead?† said one of the blind men. â€Å"Don’t think so, I can hear him breathing.† â€Å"Sure smells better than he did.† â€Å"Biff, your face cleared up,† Maggie said. â€Å"You recognized me, with the beard and everything.† â€Å"I wasn’t sure at first,† she said, â€Å"so I was taking a risk jumping you like that, but in the midst of it all I recognized that.† She pointed to where my tunic had tented out in the front. And then she grabbed that betraying rascal, shirtfront and all, and led me down the wall toward the gate by it. â€Å"Come on in. You can’t stay long, but we can catch up. Are you okay?† she said, looking over her shoulder, giving me a squeeze. â€Å"Yeah, yeah, I’m just trying to think of a metaphor.† â€Å"He got a woman from up there,† I heard one of the old blind guys say. â€Å"Yeah, I heard her drop. Boost me up, I’ll feel around.† In the courtyard, with Maggie, over wine, I said, â€Å"So you really didn’t recognize me?† â€Å"Of course I recognized you. I’ve never done that before. I just hope no one saw me, they still stone women for that.† â€Å"I know. Oh, Maggie, I have so much to tell you.† She took my hand. â€Å"I know.† She looked into my eyes, past my eyes, her blue eyes looking for something beyond me. â€Å"He’s fine,† I said, finally. â€Å"He’s gone into the desert to fast and wait for a message from the Lord.† She smiled. There was a little of my blood in the corners of her mouth, or maybe that was wine. â€Å"He’s come home to take his place as the Messiah then?† â€Å"Yes. But I don’t think the way people think.† â€Å"People think that John might be the Messiah.† â€Å"John is†¦He’s†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"He’s really pissing Herod off,† Maggie offered. â€Å"I know.† â€Å"Are you and Josh going to stay with John?† â€Å"I hope not. I want Joshua to leave. I just have to get him away from John long enough to see what’s going on. Maybe this fast†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The iron lock on the gate to the courtyard rattled, then the whole gate shook. Maggie had locked it behind us after we’d entered. A man cursed. Evidently Jakan was having trouble with his key. Maggie stood and pulled me to my feet. â€Å"Look, I’m going to a wedding in Cana next month with my sister Martha, the week after Tabernacles. Jakan can’t go, he’s got some meeting of the Sanhedrin or something. Come to Cana. Bring Joshua.† â€Å"I’ll try.† She ran to the closest wall and held her hand in a stirrup. â€Å"Over.† â€Å"But, Maggie†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Don’t be a wuss. Step, hands – step, shoulders – and over. Be careful of the pottery on top.† And I ran – did exactly as she’d said: one foot in the stirrup, one on her shoulder, and over the wall before Jakan could get in the gate. â€Å"Got one!† said one of the old blind guys as I tumbled down on top of them. â€Å"Hold her still while I stick it in.† I was sitting on a boulder, waiting for Joshua when he came out of the desert. I held out my arms to hug him and he fell forward, letting me catch him. I lowered him to the rock where I had been sitting. He had been smart enough to coat all the exposed parts of his skin with mud, probably mixed from his own urine, to protect it from burning, but in a few spots on his forehead and hands the mud had crumbled away and the skin was gone, burned to raw flesh. His arms were as thin as a small girl’s, they swam in the wide sleeves of his tunic. â€Å"You okay?† He nodded. I handed him a water skin I had been keeping cool in the shade. He drank in little sips, pacing himself. â€Å"Locust?† I said, holding up one of the crispy torments between my thumb and forefinger. At the sight of it I thought Joshua would vomit the water he had just drunk. â€Å"Just kidding,† I said. I whipped open the mouth of my satchel, revealing dates, fresh figs, olives, cheese, a half-dozen flat loaves of bread, and a full wineskin. I’d sent the new guy into Jericho the day before to bring back the food. Josh looked at the food spilling out of the satchel and grinned, then covered his mouth with his hand. â€Å"Ow. Ouch. Ow.† â€Å"What’s wrong?† â€Å"Lips†¦chapped.† â€Å"Myrrh,† I said, pulling a small jar of the ointment from the satchel and handing it to him. An hour later the Son of God was refreshed and rejuvenated, and we sat sharing the last of the wine, the first that Joshua had had since we’d come home from India over a year ago. â€Å"So, what did you see in the desert?† â€Å"The Devil.† â€Å"The Devil?† â€Å"Yep. He tempted me. Power, wealth, sex, that sort of thing. I turned him down.† â€Å"What did he look like?† â€Å"He was tall.† â€Å"Tall? The prince of darkness, the serpent of temptation, the source of all corruption and evil, and all you can say about him is he was tall?† â€Å"Pretty tall.† â€Å"Oh, good, I’ll be on the lookout then.† Joshua said, pointing at the new guy. â€Å"He’s tall, too.† I realized then that the Messiah might be a little tipsy. â€Å"Not the Devil, Josh.† â€Å"Well, who is he then?† â€Å"I’m Philip,† said the new guy. â€Å"I’m going with you to Cana tomorrow.† Joshua wheeled around to me and almost fell off his rock. â€Å"We’re going to Cana tomorrow?† â€Å"Yes, Maggie’s there, Josh. She’s dying.† How to cite Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 24, Essay examples

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Artificial Intelligence and Its Threats in Humanity

Question: Discuss about theArtificial Intelligence and Its Threats in Humanity. Answer: Introduction: Artificial Intelligence and its Threats to Humanity Ever since its conceptualization, Artificial Intelligence research has explored a variety of problems and approaches and all problems such problems are direct impacts on the humanity. By far the greatest danger of Artificial Intelligence is that people conclude too early that they understand it. However, success in the quest for artificial intelligence has the potential to bring unprecedented benefits to humanity, and it is, therefore, worthwhile to investigate whether AI has the potentially to improve the conditions of humanity and ensure that it remains robust and beneficial, or it is a threat to humanity. Thesis Statement: The assignment deals with whether the artificial intelligence is responsible for the robust growth of the humanity or it makes the human redundant at work. Discussion: Claim 1: Positive Implications of Development in Artificial Intelligence There are several people finds that AI will kill the humanity if it becomes part of peoples daily lives but deeply presumed that it will become smarter than human minds and make them redundant at work. On the contrary, Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrom discusses several doomsdays scenarios in his book of Super intelligence. He said that the AI might felt its presence in the all of the earths surface with nuclear reactors, solar panels, supercomputing facilities with protruding cooling towers, launchers of space rocket, or other installations. This book, thus, claims that AI has the enough potentiality to maximize the long-term cumulative realization of its values. However, the philosopher warns that Before the prospects of intelligence explosion, we humans are like small children playing with a bomb. On the contrast, there are many counterparty arguments have been made that against the unexpected intelligence explosions, mainly taken care of the technical limitations and logics. For in stance, sci-fi writer Ramez Naam discussed in his essay for H+ magazine that there is need some time and resources for inventing human destroying technologies even if people have the super intelligent mind an thus, it needs to be contributed to the human economy to obtain what it needed. Developing faster chips, for example, requires not just new designs but its needed to build chip fabrication foundries. There is another counterargument to be made based on the ethical and philosophical manner. The benefits of humanity are completely depends on the humans interest and fight off human resistance. In other words, it is completely an independent action. In other sense, the argument said that AI lives with rewards and punishments including punishments from us for behaving badly. Thus, this can be observed by many intelligent agents that a promising Artificial Intelligence will have to develop a humanlike moral sense to stay in the world of dominated by humans and need to be judged whether the activities delivered with the help of AI is right or wrong. By the time it is in a position to imagine tiling the Earth with solar panels, it will know that the application of AI would be morally wrong to do so. Claim 2: Robots Could Wipe Out Humanity by Accident The article anticipates that the machines could deliberately wipe out the human race or do so by accidently because the application of Artificial Intelligence is completely instruction-driven and communication-friendly[1]. Therefore, there is a high chance of machine could accidently misinterpreting an instruction, because the language is understated. Speaking at a debate on artificial intelligence in Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University, that all the tasks done by AI are followed a specific set of instructions. The parameters of artificial intelligence are drawn with an objective for solving problems about optimization problem[2]. Moreover, the advent of artificial intelligence provided the framework for transferring the problems solving approach onto A.I who in turn are burdened with sol, regarding solving problems which are beyond the realm of existing research. Moreover, AI is not fed with a sense of moral principles and is developed in a manner that solves optimizat ion issues. Thereby, instances can come where solving a problem requires extinction of humans, thereby bereft of any morality or sense of right and wrong the AI can infect turn on human beings and other species and do harm to them in order to mitigate any problem solving issues. It is not irrational to expect robots to realize that the skills it possesses regarding analytical and quantitative competence are beyond the realm of average humans, thereby a dictatorial tendency may occur amongst the AIs. There are some arguments that extent of artificial intelligence threatening people will stop taking jobs or being used by people against other people rather than machine taking a life of their own and increasing to gain power [3]. Violence is not the singular threat posed by artificial intelligence[4]. There are several others threats have been identified which could negatively impact on humanity. There are different ways AI could violate the level of privacy of the humanity. For instance, the facial recognition system of Facebook is criticized for breaching the human privacy. This system can recognize an individual in photos, and that informs the tagging recommendation of Facebook with the help of Artificial Intelligence. Furthermore, the system also recognized peoples traits, such as how the clothes that they wear or how people stand and so on. However, there is a fear that if this kind of technology is implemented into things like a system of security, this could be treated as privacy minefield. Claim 3: Artificial Intelligence does not Stimulate the Human Behavior: There are several areas of specialization of Artificial Intelligence from programming computers which help to take decisions in real-life situations and play games against humans, natural human languages developed by computers, system that stimulates intelligence and robotics. However, the problem exists mainly in the area of the human behavior because computers are not capable of comprehensively stimulating the behavior of human[5]. In the recent development phase in the world of intelligent that the systems of computers are now extensively used in assembly plants. However, the world of robotics are hardly identified the objects depending on appearance or feet, and they are still moving and hold objects awkwardly. While the application of the AI at the time of using it in voice recognition software, allows the computer to convert spoken sounds to another, they even do not understand what they are doing. This has been anticipated that the Artificial Intelligence has the limited usage in the area of the Medicine and Engineering which are very expensive. However, the artificial intelligence has increasingly become more science and less fiction [6]. For instance, Google is one company who is investing in the technology of artificial intelligence to develop driverless cars. On the other hand, Toyota has partnered with Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the application of robotics and intelligent vehicles. The emerging applications of AI by the several companies, it is completely contradict the theme of this assignment. The glowing application of Artificial Intelligence is only inevitable that these systems are bound to become part of humans daily life. Conclusion: After evaluating all three claims, this can be concluded that AI has enough potential to increase the human facilities. Several companies are already acknowledged that the application of AI has the capabilities to contribute in the daily life of the people. However the applications often face many obligations due to expensive invention process. Furthermore, the human instructions are often misinterpreted by the robotics and thus, the theme of the assignment is still in controversies. References: Expert Claims Intelligent Robots Could Wipe Out Humanity(2015) Mail Online https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3143275/Artificial-intelligence-real-threat-robots-wipe-humanity-Accident-claims-expert.html Gurkaynak, Gonenc, Ilay Yilmaz and Gunes Haksever, "Stifling Artificial Intelligence: Human Perils" [2016]Computer Law Security Review Is Artificial Intelligence Really A Threat To Humanity?(2015) Tech Times https://www.techtimes.com/articles/80029/20150828/artificial-intelligence-really-threat-humanity.htm Parkes, D. C. and M. P. Wellman, "Economic Reasoning And Artificial Intelligence" (2015) 349Science The Philosophical Argument Against A.I. Killing Us All (2016) Slate Magazine https://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2016/04/the_philosophical_argument_against_artificial_intelligence_killing_us_all.html

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Hower House Essay Example

Hower House Essay Hower House is a Victorian Second Empire Italianate Mansion; it was built in 1871 by architect Jacob Snyder.The home belonged originally to John Henry Hower and his wife Susan.The house was occupied by the Howers and there descendants until 1793 when it was donated to the University of Akron by Grace Hower Crawford.The time that was represented by the Hower House was 1871 to around 1973.Some facts I learned were that the fireplaces in the Hower House are actually stone and just appear to be marble or wood.The fireplace that looked like it was wood was very interesting because its impossible to have actually wooden fireplace because it would catch fire.In the era of the Hower House a persons wealth was dependant on how many rooms there house had in it.The Hower House has 28 rooms.Most houses of the era didnt have a closet in the bedrooms because the government counted closets as rooms and taxed people if they had them.The Hower House has a closet in every bedroom because the family wa s rich enough to afford such amenities.I also learned what an actual Griffin is (and not just someone who goes to Buchtel).A Griffin was a gargoyle like creature that was half eagle and half lion.The house had statues of Griffins that were used as table legs and such.Another fact I learned was that most of the furniture and a decorative pieces in Hower House came from places outside the U.S.The Howers loved to travel and collect goods from all over the globe.My guide also showed me a steep set of stairs that led to the top of the towers.She claimed that on a clear day you could see Cleveland but also added that she never went to the top of the Tower because she wasnt allowed.I thought that was interesting because I knew the house was big but I didnt think it was that big. I learned that people who lived at during this time did basically the same things we do but it was

Saturday, March 7, 2020

Total Quality Management †William Edwards Deming

Total Quality Management – William Edwards Deming Free Online Research Papers In this paper I will talk about the management and leadership roles and tasks in relation to Total Quality Management. Total quality management represents, within the past two decades, one of the most reflective changes in the mode companies are now being managed. According to Biech (1994), â€Å"Quality improvement (TQM) are a customer-focused, quality-centered, fact-based, team driven, senior management-led process to achieve an organizations strategic imperative through continuous process improvement† (pp. 1-2). The benefits associated with TQM include higher quality, lower cost products and services that align with customer demands (Zbaracki, 1998). The capability of a company to answer to the needs of its customers measures the overall success of that company. Many organizations may ask the question, what is quality? As Hick (1998) explains, â€Å"quality is meeting or exceeding the needs and expectations of the customer† (p.1). What exactly are the expectations of the customers? It is now the responsibility of the organization to define those needs. Perhaps Biech (1994) provides a simpler picture, â€Å"Quality is the measure of satisfaction that occurs between a customer and supplier that only they can defi ne. In other words, quality is what the customer says it is† (p.25). Yet according to Perigord (1987), â€Å"Total quality means that all participants in a company are involved regardless of their position in the hierarchy† (p.7). Basically making it seem impossible for quality to be successful if all members are not sharing in the same vision and/or goals. Edwards Deming is well known for the introduction of the concept involving quality management. After World War II, Deming gained exclusive recognition throughout Japan, which later flourished to his homeland. During the early 50’s, Deming was invited to Japan to helper in he recovery of Japan’s economy. Going through a period of economic hardship and declines, the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) called on Deming’s expertise. In 1980, Deming introduced 14 key factors behind this idea of quality management. Gitlow (1994) notes the following as 14 points discussed in Deming’s work, â€Å"Out of the Crisis†. After Deming’s success with his Japanese counter partners, many North American manufacturers began to focus in on the Japanese strategies. The Japanese not only adopted Deming’s ideas for manufacturing, but also expanded them to include administrative and service industries. The implementation of quality concepts began to increase along with the techniques that focused in on employee motivation, measurement, and rewards (Hick, 1998). During the eighties, quality improvement had yet again changed names and was referred to as Total Quality Management (TQM). Hick (1998) also explains that the continuous improvement process should â€Å"be driven from the top, but implemented from the bottom† (p.2). Next customer focus, which involves the identification of who the customers are. When companies consider process improvements, they must know the people who will be using their products or services. Hick (1998) explains, â€Å"the starting point for quality improvement is to determine the customer needs† (p.3). As Allen (2001) also notes, â€Å"customer satisfaction is the hallmark of an effective TQM program† (p.5). It is wise for managers to encourage employee-customer exposure to effectively gain understanding of customer needs (Allen, 2001). Walter Shewhart developed the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle, which provides a methodology for process improvements. Many organizations may use this cycle upon the realization of the need for process improvements. The PDCA cycle is also known as Deming’s cycle because Deming used this methodology to explain the concepts of continuous process improvements. This cycle consists of four important steps The first one is to plan, which is used to determine the processes needing improvement, setting a target, and making all the key players in the effort; the second one is to do what involves the implementation; the third one is to check, which included comparing the pre and post improvement data. This step is also used to determine if the post improvement efforts have corrected the original problem; and the last one is to act, which involves continuous monitoring of that particular process and moving on in areas that need further improvements (Biech, 1994). Including flow charts, or ganizations can also use cause and effect diagrams, run charts, and control charts as basic measuring tools. The main concept behind Deming’s quality theory was the creation of techniques and procedures for process control (Hick, 1998). The theory was expressed as the responsibility of the organization as a whole. In implementing such a major change, leaders must acknowledge their employees fear of the unknown. As Biech (1994) notes, â€Å"Everyone will need to be coached, encouraged, prodded, and protected as they try on new skills and behaviors† (p.138). Biech (1994) also notes several points important for leaders to acknowledge: customer-designed approach for the organization, strong, visible, leadership and commitment from all levels of management, clear vision consistently being communicated at all levels, active participation of the best people regardless of position and experience, willingness to grow as the need arises, and discipline to give the TQM implementation effort time to succeed. There are common reasons why some companies fail at implementing TQM. There are also common ways companies can prepare for the TQM tackle. Companies can start by focusing in on the previous listed points. Throughout many notes from TQM researchers, TQM can be successful if given direct and undivided attention. As Perigord (1994) notes, â€Å"Doing it right the first time means meeting the commitment that has been made†(p.107). It’s the overall desire of the company that drives TQM home. If TQM is enviable, it’s potential, it’s achievable, it becomes everybody’s job, and it becomes victorious. References Allen, R. (2001, May). Aligning Reward Practices in Support of Total Quality Management. Business Horizons. Retrieved Aug 13, 2007 from the World Wide Web: findarticles.com/cf_0/m1038/3_44/75645904/print.jhtml Biech, E. (1994). TQM For Training. New York: McGraw-Hill. Gitlow, H. S., Gitlow, S. J. (1994). Total Quality Management In Action. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. Hick, M. (1998). Quality Management. Mike Hicks Eagle. Retrieved Aug 13, 2007 from the World Wide Web: eagle.ca/~mikehick/quality.html Perigord, M. (1987). Achieving Total Quality Management: A Program For Action. Maryland: Productivity Press. Zbarack, M. J. (1998). The Rhetoric and Reality of Total Quality Management. Administrative Science Quarterly. Retrieved Sep 13, 2007 from the World Wide Web: findarticles.com/cf_0/m4035/3_43/53392848/print.jhtml Research Papers on Total Quality Management - William Edwards DemingThe Project Managment Office SystemBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaDefinition of Export QuotasMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductOpen Architechture a white paperPETSTEL analysis of IndiaInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalResearch Process Part One

Thursday, February 20, 2020

An Examination of the Varieties of Capitalism and its Application in Essay

An Examination of the Varieties of Capitalism and its Application in USA, Sweden and Germany - Essay Example â€Å"Where social democracy is strong, the public firm was unstable and weak, and unable to dominate without difficulty; where social democracy is weak, ownership diffusion of the large firms could reign if other economic and institutional conditions prevailed...† (Roe, [Political] 21) In this definition, Roe seem to identify that nations that have strong traditions of social democracy like Germany have inefficiencies in their public institutions and structures. This include bureaucracy and some elements of inefficiency which plagues nations with strong public sector issues. However, in traditional capitalist states, dominant economic institutions and powerful corporate entities emerge to fill the gap and determine the distribution of wealth in the economy. Roe goes on to illustrate this point by examining the American model of capitalism into detail (Capital para1). He begins by recognizing that America differs from all socialist states because there is less intervention by the government. This leaves a strong vacuum for some kind of a 'moderator' to determine the distribution of income in the economy. Roe (Capital para 3) identifies that the American economy is strongly influenced by corporate entities. He goes on to state that America's laws put more power in the hands of the managers and directors of these corporate entities. This means that shareholders do not have a strong reason to push for capital oriented decisions that will solely be in the interest of their stocks and investments. This means that the people charged with governance are the actual controllers of power in America. The state's intervention is weak whilst the shareholders, who have the true capitalist interest are also kept in check by corporate governance laws which favor the managers and directors. Employees do not have much rights because these managers can hire and fire. Elsewhere in Northern Europe and Central Europe, the strength of the state is boosted because many state in stitutions act as moderators in the corporate world (Soskice 51). This means that the state has some kind of power to intervene in the distribution of wealth. Secondly, the states in these European nations have established strong negotiation systems that ensure that stakeholders like workers and shareholders negotiate to come to a consensus. This is very pronounced in Sweden. It is also quite dominant in Germany. However, what is common to all these capitalist systems is that there is debate and consensus building in all these jurisdictions. The parties involved in these debates determine the differences. On a further analysis of the American system, Roe (Capital 75) states that â€Å"for capital markets to function, political institutions must support capitalism in general and capitalism of financial markets in particular†. This means that the state must moderate in the various debates and interests of the capital markets and some elements of the society. He states that poli tical economy shapes the capital markets by economic, political and legal institutions. This creates a mechanism where the corporate entities shape policy and policy shapes the corporate entities. In a practical analysis of what happens in America, Roe (Political 104) states that capitalism in America is made up of interest groups that converge in the form of corporate entities. Thus, the Republicans and Democrats make promises based on what

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Modern Theatre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Modern Theatre - Essay Example By the same token, evolutionist historians have also privileged those plays which most nearly conform to this overarching narrative about the demise f melodrama and the all-conquering triumph f realism. Tom Robertson's cup-and-saucer dramas and the cordial 'goodheartedness' (Jenkins 1991) f Arthur Wing Pinero's farcical protagonists, for example, represent two important staging posts on this Whiggish journey. In passing, it's interesting to note an unacknowledged separation f theatrical spheres in these arguments. Although it is women who are usually portrayed as the heroes f managerial reform, slowly transforming dirty, communal playhouses into elegant, comfortable, quasidomestic arenas, the credit for dramatic reform has invariably been attributed to male playwrights. Several consequences arise from this evolutionist history. First, the 'rise f realism' thesis portrays the theatre f the late 1880s and 1890s as a beacon f dramatic light, at the end f the dark tunnel f institutional decadence and theatrical unrespectability. Not only does this entail a strategic and rather narrow selection f the theatrical record, but, at least as importantly, fin-de-siecle drama and theatrical institutions have acquired the status f self-fulfilling prophecies. In other words, the theatre f the 1890s tends to be valued in direct proportion to its difference from -- and satirical critiques of-Victorian drama rather than in terms f its intricate and complex relationships to earlier conventions and dramatic traditions. Michael Baker's The Rise f the Victorian Actor (1978) and Anthony Jenkins' history, The Making f Victorian Drama (1991) are two influential and distinguished examples f this evolutionist approach. Baker's work traces the gradual emergence f acting as a profession in the nineteenth century. In general, he writes, 'the actor f 1830 was a social and artistic outcast and the theatre an outlawed sector f private enterprise'; (Baker 1978) by the 1880s, however, the actor had finally 'arrived' in Victorian society. The rise f journalism and the new status f the man f letters contributed to the creation f new middlebrow audiences, whilst the emergence f a mass market leisure industry helped to provide a solid framework for the gentrification f the acting profession. For Anthony Jenkins, Victorian theatre can be construed in terms f the eventual liberation f drama from the tyranny f a popular, unthinking public. 'The attempt to rescue British Drama from the theatre's rowdy spectacle', he declares at the opening f his first chapter (pointedly entitled, 'Breaking through the darkness'), 'began a few months before Princess Victoria became Queen'. In Victoria's reign, Jenkins locates the gradual emergence f a 'serious' drama whose genealogy can be traced in the plays f Edward Bulwer Lytton, Tom Robertson, William Gilbert, and Henry Arthur Jones; its apex is represented by George Bernard Shaw's final conversion f the Victorian theatre's 'sideshow' into a momentous 'sacred

Monday, January 27, 2020

Ethical, Legal and Professional Duties of Nurses

Ethical, Legal and Professional Duties of Nurses Introduction: Nurses are subject to a large number of ethical, legal and professional duties which are so many to be discussed in this essay so that is why only main important ethical and legal duties will be discussed in this essay. According to the scenario, these main ethical and legal duties will be respect of patients autonomy and the duty of care which is given to all the patients. These duties are professional and legal in New Zealand and even all over the world which when breached can lead to legal implications. These duties are ethical duties as well because ethical considerations arise when these duties are breached, considerations such as when can these duties be contemplated, so there for these duties are ethical duties as well. In this essay, the whole critical discussion will be about the professional, ethical and legal issues that arise according to the given scenario. According to nursing council of New Zealand, nursing profession is bounded by its own code of ethics. Ethics is defined as the branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality, that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, justice, virtue, etc. In this critical discussion, Autonomy will be the main aspect, autonomy of patient and judgement of health professional in betterment of the patient. The competencies and codes related to the above scenario according to nurse perspective are that the nurses should act ethically maintaining the standards of practice and nurses should respect the rights of the clients. These codes used in this scenario actually mean that a nurse should acknowledge and allows the individuality of a person, should act in a culturally safe manner, should use knowledge and skills for the benefit of the patients, nurse is responsible for maintain standards in her professional practice and should practice in her own scope of practice. A registered nurse is actually defined as the person who uses nursing knowledge and critical nursing judgement to assess health needs of a patient so that the best health care can be provided and advises people to self manage their health. In this scenario, the patient states the pain score as 8/10 after three hours of having morphine and the doctor thinks the patient has become dependent on morphine. Being a nurse one should ask the patent to wait for another hour so that he can have another dose of morphine and then nurse should assess if the patient is actually dependent on morphine or he is actually in pain. As a nurse, she needs to have courage, honesty and should maintain the advocacy role. In this scenario, it is very critical to decide that if the patient has become dependent on morphine or is it the doctor who thinks the patient has become dependent, being a registered nurse; one should maintain the autonomy of the patient keeping the standards of health care provided to the patient. Autonomy refers to the human capacity for self-determination and independence (Journal of clinical oncology:2001). Autonomy has two aspects, one from the nurses view and another one from patients perspective, so n this essay we will discuss autonomy issues from perspectives of nurse and the patient. In this case Mr. S is making constant requests for having 40mgs of morphine which is prescribed to him every 4hours PRN. He also states that the morphine is not actually relieving his pain and after three hours of having morphine he asks for another dose. Doctors think that the patient has become dependent on morphine so the doctors prescribe him for a placebo of normal saline instead. There is a case study which is concerning about issues in autonomy of patients which is mainly focused on nurses perception of patients autonomy and category of regaining autonomy in patients. The autonomy of patients is usually affected by circumstances such as family, health care provider, community etc. It is believed that the autonomy issue can only be resolved by a team effort, which can include processes of health education, self management etc (Proot et al: 2002). The main point of concern in this scenario is that the patient is given a placebo instead of the morphine, so that the patient would not ask for morphine again and again. The justification for giving placebos is that in the judgement of the giver, the act is beneficial to the patient (Rumbold. G, 1999). This point has both positive and negative impacts on the patient and on the health practitioners and the nurses. This is also according to Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 that the patient should be safe.The Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 provides a framework for the regulation of health practitioners in order to protect the public where there is a risk of harm from the practice of the profession (Ministry of health: 2010). The positive point is that if the patient has become dependent on the morphine, which is not good according to the patients health, which is why prescribing a placebo would be a better alternative for patients health. This is t he good point of this scenario according to the nurses perspective as the nurse would always work for the better health of the patient which can only become positive results for them instead of them being dependent on any medication. There is another positive point according to the nurse perspective which could be a main concern that the patient is demanding morphine repeatedly to make him feel satisfied and relieved from pain, but according to the nurses assessment, the patient feels satisfied and relieved mentally but that is not true, actually the patient has become mentally stuck that morphine s the only medication which can heal his pain. So, giving him placebo is a better option. There are some negative points as well. According to the New Zealand legislation, this action of nurses comes against The Human Rights Act 1993, which states that every individual has a right to know the truth. In this scenario, the patient is unknown of the fact that he has been administered for a saline instead of morphine. According to a nurse, the biggest ethical, legal and the professional issue here is autonomy of the patient. Autonomy is a very powerful aspect of ethical framework of almost all over the world. Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political, and bioethical philosophy (Autonomy: 2010, July). In these contexts, it refers to the capacity of a patient to make an informed decision. In moral and political philosophy, autonomy is often used as the basis for determining moral responsibility for ones actions (Autonomy: 2010, July). Autonomy means to respect rights of others to determine a course of action. So in this scenario, according to the right of autonomy based on standards of ethics, nurses should respect the patients decision and should respect of what they want. Health professionals have no right to deny patients decision. Nurses should respect patients decisions and their autonomy to develop a trustworthy and professional relationship. According to this scenario, the patients auto nomy should be respected as the patient states the pain score of 8/10 after three hours of having morphine. Mr. S has a right to decide if the morphine is relieving his pain or not and the health professionals are meant to respect his decision as patient is the person who is suffering from a very severe pain. Nurses should provide proper education to the patient and should inform about the consequences of having morphine repeatedly so that the patient can chose the best possible intervention for him. The patient also has the right to have the informed consent about any medication which is prescribed to him. If he is given an unknown medication without his consent, it comes against legal issues and can cause legal implications. In Mr. S case, if placebo of saline instead of morphine is administered to the patient without his consent, then he has the right of action to say that the medication was given to him without the consent and it can make legal implications. So, before prescribing or administering any medication to the patient, doctors or nurses should have full consent of the patient. Therefore informed consent is an ethical, legal and a professional duty of nurses and even every health professional. Consent is very effective in abiding ethical and legal duties. Sometimes, according to a nurse, it can be effective for a patient not being informed about the medication, to get positive outcomes for patients health. It is effective according to the nurse, but it is actually enabling patients decision and his condition. In some cases if a patient is unable to express what he wants, only then a nurse can decide what is best for the patient but a person like Mr. S, who can state his condition must be informed of the placebo of saline. The nurse has a duty to prevent the patient from anything worse happening to the patient but if the patient is not mentally ill, he/ she should have full right to take any decision for them. If the patient says that morphine is not relieving his pain it means that it is not really working for him. It is not good to say that the patient has become dependent on morphine. For example, if nurse administer Mr. S a placebo of saline instead of morphine, his pain can go worst which is not good for the patient and it is not the best practice of a nurse. The New Zealand legislation says that a person has a right to be informed and a right to have freedom. It is under Human Right Act of 1993 which when applied ensures that a person has a right to decide what they want without any interference of any other person. In this act there is a point of having informed medical treatment and a person has right to chose if they want the treatment or not. Ethical issues and changes in society are responsible for nurse-client relationship. The role of the nurse is to maintain clients autonomy, maintain and improve health and promote a professional relationship of trust. The key ethical principles of respect for persons, autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, and veracity should be inclusive in the models of the provider-patient relationship (Margret. M, 1998, para. 1 ). There are some contracts in nurse-client relationship which are boundaries, confidentiality and therapeutic nurse behaviours. Therapeutic nurse behaviours are self awareness, being genuine, respectful, culturally safe, responsible and ethical practice. These are the things which are expected from a nurse by a client and the society. All these contracts are applicable internationally. Nurses being culturally safe with clients have become the nursing practice more powerful. This concept of cultural safety was first introduced from New Zealand and is now used all over the world. Cultural safety is to keep own culture in mind and respecting others culture and practicing in the same manner. Conclusion In this essay, we looked at the case of Mr. S who is in severe pain and is in need of another dose of morphine. He states pain score of 8/10 and doctors think that the patient is dependent on morphine which he would never realise that is healing his pain or not. Mr. S condition successfully states the ethical, legal and professional issues that surrounds nurses and patients autonomy as patients need of morphine would be conveyed by the nurse to the doctor. Here patients condition has been critically discussed and the main influence is on patients autonomy and informed consent of the patient. Nurses roles and the code of ethics have also been discussed in the essay.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

The dam human race

The Damned Human Race Mark Twain stated that he has been studying the traits and dispositions of animals and contrasting them with that of man. Be he ashamed to report that his findings are humiliating and that the Darwinian theory of the Ascent of Man from the lower animals should be called the Descent of Man from the higher animal. Twain did many â€Å"experiments† and spent much time observing his subjects. Twain first talks about how man is ravenous. An English Earl organized a buffalo slaughter.He and his party killed 72 buffalo and only ate the meat off of part of one. He tried the same hype of experiment with an anaconda where he put seven calves into a cage with an anaconda. The anaconda only ate one and then left the rest alone. Twain thinks that this shows that the Earl is descended from the anaconda rather than the other way around and that the Earl had lost something in the transition. He also points out that people will keep accumulating money, even if they have m ore than they can spend in a lifetime.Squirrels, birds, and bees also collect things, but even when given an opportunity by twain to collect more than their winter's supply, they would not do it. This led Twain to the conclusion that people are also materialistic and miserly. His other experiments also recognized many bad human traits such as revenge, offensiveness, vulgarity, obscenity, war, slavery, Patriotism, and religion. Twain believes that the defect In humans Is the moral sense which both distinguishes and creates evil at the same time.Twain essay can be Interpreted In many ways because of its symbolism and Irony. Personally I feel that Twain's essay Is entirely truthful. Even If Twain was meaning to be Ironic I think that he made a lot of good points on the negative aspect of human emotion and life. He provides many situations that are both possible and likely to happen I think this essay Is very affective at portraying Twain's view of the world because It Includes both rea listic and relevant experiments, and historical evidence. This realism adds a certain truth to the piece that Is hard to Ignore.Because of this I feel that this piece Is a very strong eye opener to any people living In the dark. It provides useful knowledge about what Is going on Inside many human heads to some degree. It may even tell you about yourself, but then again If you are suffering from these traits then you will most likely not know because you are already so used to doing these things that they are ingrained Into your mind. By reading this I got a very good Interpretation of humans, which I have never thought about before. He dam human race By staff believes that the defect in humans is the moral sense which both distinguishes and creates evil at the same time. Twain essay can be interpreted in many ways because of its symbolism and irony. Personally I feel that Twain's essay is entirely truthful. Even if Twain was meaning to be ironic I think that he made a lot of good p oints on both possible and likely to happen I think this essay is very affective at portraying Twain's view of the world because it includes both realistic and relevant experiments, and historical evidence.This realism adds a certain truth to the piece that is hard to ignore. Because of this I feel that this piece is a very strong eye opener to any people living in the dark. It provides useful knowledge about what is going on inside many human heads to some degree. It may even tell you about yourself, but then again if already so used to doing these things that they are ingrained into your mind. By reading this I got a very good interpretation of humans, which I have never thought

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Mental and Behavioral Health Services Essay

While the future of Mental and Behavioral Health Services continue to strive through many striving goals to develop continuous practices, treatments, evaluations, policies, and research, advancements are taking place to better the future of this program and its outreach to the people. Mental disorders are common in the United States and internationally. An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.1 When applied to the 2004 U.S. Census residential population estimate for ages 18 and older, this figure translated to 57.7 million people.2 Even though mental disorders are common in the population, the main load of illness is concentrated in a much smaller proportion — about 6 percent, or 1 in 17 — who are suffering from a serious mental illness.1 In addition, mental disorders are the leading cause of disability in the U.S. and Canada.3 Many people suffer from mo re than one mental disorder at a given time. Roughly, 45 percent of those with any mental disorder meet the criteria for being strongly related to having 2 or more disorders.1 Awareness of having a disorder is very uncommon in the U.S. DEFINED & FUTURE PROBLEMS Behavioral health is a state of mental/emotional being and/or choices and actions that affect wellness. Substance abuse and misuse are one set of behavioral health problems. Others include, but are not limited to, serious psychological distress, suicide, and mental illness (4. SAMHSA, 2011). Many of these problems are far-reaching and take a toll on individuals, their families and communities, and the broader society. Research allows us to get a better picture of what the future looks like and what people need to be continuing to do and improve on. By looking over research, statistics predict that by 2020, mental and substance use disorders will exceed all physical diseases as a major cause of disability worldwide. The annual total estimated societal cost of substance abuse in the United States is $510.8 billion, with an estimated 23.5 million Americans aged 12 and older needing treatment for substance use. Along with that, every year almost 5,000 people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking and more than 34,000 Americans die every year as a result of suicide, almost one every 15 minutes. Also, Half of all lifetime cases of mental and substance use disorders begin by age 14 and three-fourths by age 24—in 2008, an estimated 9.8 million adults in the U.S. had a serious mental illness. The health and wellness of individuals in America are jeopardized and the unnecessary costs to society flow across America’s communities, schools, businesses, prisons & jails, and healthcare delivery systems. Many programs and services are working together to minimize the impact of substance abuse and mental illnesses on America’s communities. Many practitioners have a very deep understanding approach to behavioral health and perceive prevention as part of an overall continuum of care. The Behavioral Health Continuum of Care Model helps us recognize that there are multiple opportunities for addressing behavioral health problems and disorders based on the Mental Health Intervention Spectrum, first introduced in a 1994 Institute of Medicine report, the model includes these components: ( It is important to keep in mind that interventions do not always fit neatly into one category or another) * Promotion: These strategies are designed to create environments and conditions that support behavioral health and the ability of individuals to withstand challenges. Promotion strategies also reinforce the entire continuum of behavioral health services. * Prevention: Delivered prior to the onset of a disorder, these interventions are intended to prevent or reduce the risk of developing a behavioral health problem, such as underage alcohol use, prescription drug misuse and abuse, and illicit drug use. * Treatment: These services are for people diagnosed with a substance use or other behavioral health disorder. * Maintenance: These services support individuals’ compliance with long-term treatment and aftercare. Two strategies for promoting the more important and most effective openings in having access to mental and behavioral health services include providing education to reach the public, and the prevention and early intervention matters intertwining with the Continuum model components of treatment and maintenance. 7 The New Freedom Commission Report and Surgeon General’s Report both emphasized the importance of changing public attitudes to eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness. Advocates for the mentally ill identify stigma and discrimination as major impediments to treatment. Stigma prevents individuals from acknowledging these conditions and erodes public confidence that mental disorders are treatable. A plurality of Americans believe that mental illnesses are just like any other illness; however, 25 percent of survey respondents would not welcome into their neighborhoods facilities that treat or house people with mental illnesses, suggesting that some level of lingering stigma persists.8 Sixty-one percent of Americans think that people with schizophrenia are likely to be dangerous to others9 despite research suggesting that these individuals are rarely violent.10 With that being said, the media plays a large role in shaping how the youth think and behave from many of the messages kids receive from television, music, magazines, billboards, and the Internet use. However, the media can be used to encourage positive behaviors as well. Four evidence based communication and education prevention approaches are through public education, social marketing, media advocacy, and media literacy that can be used to â€Å"influence community norms, increase public awareness, and attract community support for a variety of prevention issues† (SAMHSA). Public education is usually the most common strategy and is an effective way to show support to the development and success of programs and increase awareness about new or existing laws, publicizing a community based program, and reinforce instruction taught in schools or community based organizations. Through social marketing, practitioners use advertising philosophies to change social norms and promote healthy behaviors. Social marketing campaigns do more than just provide information and tries to convince people to adopt a new behavior by showing them a benefit they will receive in return.11 Social marketing campaigns are being used in a variety of social services and public health settings. Media advocacy involves shaping the way social issues are discussed in the media to build support for changes in public policy. By working directly with local newspapers, television, and radio to change both the amount of coverage the media provide and the content of that coverage, media advocates hope to influence the way people talk and think about a social or public policy12. Media literacy is a newer communications strategy aimed at teaching young people critical-viewing skills. Media literacy programs teach kids how to analyze and understand the media messages they encounter so they can better understand what they’re really being asked to do and think. Inferences about a program effectiveness relies on three things: (1) measures of key constructs, such as risk and protective factors or processes, symptoms, disorders, or other outcomes, and program implementation, fidelity, or participation; (2) a study design that determines which participants are being examined, how and when they will be assessed, and what interventions they will receive; and (3) statistical analyses that model how those given an intervention differ on outcomes compared with those in a comparison condition 19 In the past, practitioners and researchers saw substance abuse prevention different from the prevention of other behavioral health problems. But evidence indicates that the populations are significantly affected by these overlapping problems as well as factors that contribute to these problems. Therefore, improvements in one area usually have direct impacts on the other. According to the Substance Abuse and National Health Services Administration, not all people or populations are at the same risk of developing behavioral health problems. Many young people have more than one behavioral disorder. These disorders can interact and contribute to the presence of other disorders. Besides extensive research documenting strong relations between multiple problems, it’s not always clear what leads to what. Mental and physical health is also connected. Good mental health often contributes to good physical health. In the same way, the presence of mental health disorders, including substance abuse and dependence, is often associated with physical health disorders as well (O’Connell, 2009). One major advancement that has been recently made is from The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, adding a new search feature to its National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP) Web site. The feature allows users to identify NREPP interventions that have been evaluated in comparative effectiveness research studies. Both the Obama Administration and the U.S. Congress have championed additional investments in comparative effectiveness research to enhance public understanding about which healthcare interventions are most effective in different circumstances and with different patients. The new NREPP feature can provide added information for States and communities seeking to determine which mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment interventions may best address their needs. The Surgeon General’s notes that â€Å"effective interventions help people to understand that mental disorders are not character flaws but are legitimate illnesses that respond to specific treatments, just as other health conditions respond to medical interventions.† (7) The two major influences that are targeted upon are risk and protective factors. According to SAMHSAs levels of risk and interventions, some risk factors are causal; others act as â€Å"proxies†, or markers of an underlying problem. Some risk and protective factors, such as gender and ethnicity, are fixed, meaning they don’t change over time. Other risk and protective factors are considered variable: these can change over time. Variable risk factors include income level, peer group, and employment status. Many factors influence a person’s likeliness to develop a substance abuse or related behavioral health problem. Effective prevention focuses on reducing those risk factors, and str engthening those protective factors, that are most closely related to the problem being addressed. Taken into consideration that preventive interventions are most effective when they are appropriately matched to their target population’s level of risk, The Institute of Medicine defines three broad types of prevention interventions, universal, selective, and indicated. Universal preventive interventions take the broadest approach, targeting â€Å"the general public or a whole population that has not been identified on the basis of individual risk† (O’Connell, 2009). Universal prevention interventions might target schools, whole communities, or workplaces. Selective preventive interventions target â€Å"individuals or a population sub-group whose risk of developing mental disorders [or substance abuse disorders] is significantly higher than average†, prior to the diagnosis of a disorder (5. O’Connell, 2009). Selective interventions target biological, psychological, or social risk factors that are more prominent among high-risk groups than among the wider population. Indicated preventive interventions target â€Å"high-risk individuals who are identified as having minimal but detectable signs or symptoms foreshadowing mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder† prior to the diagnosis of a disorder (6. IOM, 2009). Interventions focus on the immediate risk and protective factors present in the environments surrounding individuals. A more harsher or serious way of approaching prevention is through policy adoption and enforcement. Policy can be broadly defined as â€Å"standards for behavior that are formalized to some degree (that is, written) and embodied in rules, regulations, and procedures.†13 In order to work, these standards must reflect the accepted norms and intentions of a particular community. There are six major types of policy SAMHSA uses to prevent alcohol and other drug use through economic policies, restrictions on access and availability, restrictions on location and density, deterrence, restricting use, and limiting the marketing of alcohol products. Policy can be an effective prevention strategy—as long as the laws and regulations you put in place are consistent with community norms and beliefs about the â€Å"rightness† or â€Å"wrongness† of the behavior you want to legislate14. â€Å"The key to effective enforcement is visibility: People need to see that substance use prevention is a community priority and that violations of related laws and regulations will not be tolerated.† 6 Strategies that we use today for Enforcement are through surveillance, community policing, having incentives, and penalties, fines, and detentions. There have been many areas of progress in preventive intervention research since the 1994 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report Reducing Risks for Mental Disorders: Frontiers for Preventive Intervention Research. Experimental research has greatly improved mainly due to the advances in the methodological approaches applied to intervention research. For a range of outcomes, while the different types of intervention research has increased, so has the number of studies providing economic analyses in the costs and benefits of these interventions. As the 2001 U.S. Surgeon General’s report on children’s mental health indicated, there is a current need for improved and expanded mental health services for children and adolescents (15). There is a greater need for greater access to a variety of mental health services for children including both medication for emotional or behavioral difficulties and treatments other than medication. Recent research studies have documented the increased use of psychotropic medications (16). Less is known, though, about the use of nonmedication treatments for the emotional and behavioral difficulties of U.S. children. These treatments may include community-based services such as behavioral and family therapy provided by mental health professionals in clinic and office settings and school-based services such as assessments of mental health problems, individual counseling, and crisis intervention services for students (17,18). With the information collected by the mental health service questions in the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), it will be possible to monitor future trends in the use of both medication and other treatments for the emotional and behavioral difficulties of children. Recommended changes by the Surgeon General include: †¢ improve geographic access; †¢ integrate mental health and primary care; †¢ ensure language access; †¢ coordinate and integrate mental health services for high-need populations. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001) 1. Kessler RC, Chiu WT, Demler O, Walters EE. Prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of twelve-month DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R). Archives of General Psychiatry, 2005 Jun;62(6):617-27. 2. U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates by Demographic Characteristics. Table 2: Annual Estimates of the Population by Selected Age Groups and Sex for the United States: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2004 (NC-EST2004-02) Source: Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau Release Date: June 9, 2005. http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/ 3. The World Health Organization. The global burden of disease: 2004 update, Table A2: Burden of disease in DALYs by cause, sex and income group in WHO regions, estimates for 2004. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO, 2008. http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/GBD_report_2004update_AnnexA.pdf. 4. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2011). Leading change: A plan for SAMHSA’s roles and actions 2011-2014. Rockville, MD: SAMHSA. 5. O’Connell, M. E., Boat, T., & Warner, K. E. (Eds.). (2009). Preventing mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders among young people: Progress and possibilities. National Research Council and Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press. 6. Compton, M. T. (2009). Clinical Manual of Prevention in Mental Health (1st ed.). American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. 7.. U.S. DHHS. 1999. Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. 8. Pescosolido, B. et al. 2000.Americans’ Views of Mental Health and Illness at the Century’s End: Continuity and Change. Public Report on the MacArthur Mental Health Module, 1996 General Social Survey. Bloomington, Indiana. 9. Steadman, H.J. et al. 1998.Violence by People Discharged from Acute Psychiatric Inpatient Facilities and by Others in the Same Neighborhoods. Archives of General Psychiatry 55 (5): 393–401. 10. Borinstein,A.B. 1992. Public Attitudes Toward Persons with Mental Illness. Health Affairs 11 (3): 186–96. 11. Kotler, P. and Roberto, E. (1989). Social marketing: Strategies for changing pubic behavior. New York: Free Press. 12. Wallack, L., Dorfman, L., Jernigan, D., and Themba, M. (1993). Media advocacy and public health: Power for prevention. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. 13. Bruner, C. and Chavez, M. (1996). Getting to the grassroots: Neighborhood organizing and mobilization. Des Moines, IA: NCSI Clearinghouse. CSAP Community Partnerships (unpublished document). 14. Bruner, C. (1991). Thinking collaboratively: Ten questions and answers to help policy makers improve children’s services. Washington, DC: Education and Human Services Consortium 15. U.S. Public Health Service. Report of the Surgeon General’s Conference on Children’s Mental Health: A National Action Agenda. Washington, DC: Department of Health and Human Services. 2000. 16. Martin A, Leslie D. Trends in psychotropic medication costs for children and adolescents, 1997–2000. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 157:997–1004. 2003. 17. Steele RG, Roberts MC (Eds.). Handbook of mental health services for children, adolescents, and families. New York: Springer, 2005. 18. Foster S, Rollefson M, Doksum T, Noonan D, Robinson G, Teich J. School Mental Health Services in the United States, 2002–2003. DHHS Pub. No. (SMA) 05–4068. Rockville, MD: Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. 2005 19. Committee on the Prevention of Mental Disorders and Substance Abuse Among Children, Youth and Young Adults: Research Advances and Promising Interventions, Institute of Medicine, National Research Council. â€Å"10 Advances in Prevention Methodology.† Preventing Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People: Progress and Possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2009.