Managing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Managing - Assignment Example Jacques Derrida similarly presents his lingual dilemma in an influential phrase. H says that although he uses a particular language, he does not own the very language. Jacques is interested in language as a mark of identity and view the two spheres as inseparable. These quotes provides a philosophical onset which an organization can use in fine-tuning their management. Wittgenstein’s view and Derrida’s views are irreconcilable because of notable reasons. Wittgenstein argues that individuals still confront the same philosophical problems because language does not change to reflect new realities. Although the philosopher’s arguments are abstract, he believes that language should adapt to transforming social contexts rather than inform the social contexts. Language arises to express the meaning already embedded in the social contexts. He explains that words have a role beyond representing objects (Wittgenstein 1973, p. 43). This higher role pertains to meaning, which is the most essential part of philosophical discussions. Wittgenstein aspires to give language a liberating from the traditional perceptions that binds its growth. In addition, he emphasizes on the role of contexts in bringing out different meanings of the same word. The philosopher, therefore, pays attention to the contexts from which language grow. In this sense, l anguage may not have any distinct formula as espoused by Western traditional standards. In the contemporary context, Wittgenstein explains the meaning of a word as referring to the sense in which individuals hold the meaning as true. This explains why the philosopher highlights logic as only concerned with the conforming meaning of a sign. The meaning that comes forth emanate from the given rules that guide the usage of the sign (Muhr, Sorensen & Vallentin 2010, p. 82). This refers to the common term of grammatical sense. By describing the use pf

Implementation of Supply Chain Management Essay Example for Free

Implementation of Supply Chain Management Essay Supply chain management is an oversight of processes when moving goods from the stage of customer order to the raw material stage and it includes the supply, production and distribution of products to the customer. Every organization has supply chain of different levels, depending upon their size and type of product they are manufacturing. Their aim is to provide the customer with enough information necessary to give the value that they demand and to gain the information regarding the customer too. The ultimate goal for any supply chain management is to reduce its inventory. For a successful supply chain, software systems are provided with web interfaces to provide the customer with enough information they demand. Hershey Foods Corporation and NIKE inc. are both very renowned organizations, one known for its food products and the other for athletic footwear, equipment and accessories for sports and fitness activities. Both of these organizations adopted supply chain management systems in order to lower down their inventories and to increase their profit. But both of them failed in achieving their objective which was to reduce the inventories. The main mistake made by Hershey Food Corporation was, that they hired a supply chain system costing $112 million from SAP AG, Manugistics, and Siebel systems. The supply chain system was supposed to put in data of everything from production to delivery. But getting software from three different providers created unpredicted delays and complex problems in implementation. Also, another mistake made by the organization was that they implemented the whole system at once instead of in stages. So therefore they faced problems in placing the orders and then executing them to warehouse for fulfillment. The problem faced by NIKE, inc. was a bit more complex, as said by 12 technologies marketing Chief Katrina Roche â€Å"NIKE problems were not tied to the software but to the way the software was installed. † (Sridharan, Caines, Patterson, 2005) Moreover he says that his company accepts the responsibility for â€Å"not being more aggressive in telling them that they needed to follow our implementation methodology. † (Sridharan, Caines, Patterson, 2005) 12 technologies wanted to track each and every little product of NIKE which made the job more complex and therefore it took their time more than they had expected. The NIKE people made the same mistake as Hershey foods, that they implemented the system before they were ready to execute it. (Sridharan, Caines, Patterson, 2005) So overall at initial stage supply chain systems were a bad experience for Hershey Foods and NIKE, Inc. There are certain things which if the company would have followed then hopefully the things must have been the other way round. First of all only one supply chain system provider must be hired for the software, as more than one supply chain systems for same job results in failure. Then provider’s implementation methodology is very important for client to follow in supply chain systems especially when they are modified to suit client’s requirement. More over supply chain systems are very complex as they have to track over numbers of product varieties so therefore it must be implemented in stages rather than executing it at once. And if the company is switching from one system to another then first the system should be tested in order to check whether it is fulfilling the company’s requirements or not. ?

The Validity Of Essiac As a Cure For Breast Cancer :: Biology Health Medicine Essays

The Validity Of Essiac As a Cure For Breast Cancer Doctors continue to study breast cancer, one of the leading causes of death in women, in attempt to find an all out cure. More and more women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. In 1995, an estimated 182,000 women in the United States were diagnosed, of which 10% to 15% were already locoregionally advanced (Ames et al, 1996). Breast cancer has been plaguing women since 1600 B.C. where it was treated with such methods as amputation or by burning the lesion (Eberlein, 1994). A variety of supposed panaceas have been proposed as cures, however, the most modern technology and research has identified three main modalities in the treatment of cancer: surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. These modalities are most advantageous in ridding the body of cancer and prolonging life as noted in key research studies. THE SEVEN MOST COMMONLY USED, MEDICALLY ADVANCED PROCEDURES FOR ERADICATING BREAST CANCER While doctors do not completely disregard homeopathic cures as cancer treatments, due to the cell's high rate of metastasis, time is most definitely of the essence. Numerous medical journal studies have alluded to seven specific procedures for combating a neoplasm of the breast. The Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center backs up this assertion and explains the procedures on their home page at (http://www.jhbmc.jhu.edu/opa/cancer.html). Of the seven treatments, a MODIFIED RADIAL MASTECTOMY is the most prevalent treatment of early identified breast cancer and the most favored by physicians. This procedure includes the full removal of the breast, underarm lymph nodes and the lining of the chest muscles. Seldom used today, but a common procedure of the past, a RADICAL MASTECTOMY was also an option recommended for women, entailing a removal of the entire breast, chest muscles, all underarm lymph nodes, and additional fat and skin. The TOTAL and SIMPLE MASTECTOMIES, yet another scientifical ly worthwhile option in the fight against breast cancer, involve the removal of only the breast, and sometimes a removal of a few underarm lymph nodes closest to the breast to check if the cancer has begun to spread to other parts of the woman's body. PARTIAL and SEGMENTAL MASTECTOMIES remove the malignant tumor as well as a wedge of normal tissue surrounding the tumor, including some skin and the lining of the chest muscle below the tumor, again checking for metastasis. Slightly newer, more advanced treatments involve directly targeting the cancerous tumor, including extra prophylactic measures.

Black Holes Essay -- Papers

Black Holes The term black hole was first used in 1969 by the American scientist John Wheeler to describe an object that had such a huge gravitational pull that not even light could escape it, thereby rendering it invisible or black. John Michell extended upon this idea in a paper called the "Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London" in which he pointed out that a star that was sufficiently massive and compact would have such a strong gravitational pull that not even light could escape it as any light emitted by the star would be pulled back in by gravity - this was the first theory of a black hole. It is known today that black holes are in fact the fate of huge stars. When these huge stars collapse they eventually collapse to a point where they are infinitely dense yet infinitely small - a black hole. Inside a star, hydrogen atoms are constantly being fused to make helium atoms. This process is known as nuclear fusion, nuclear fusion produces energy in the forms of light and heat, the outward pressure that is created by this outpouring of energy is normally enough to counteract the gravity that is constantly trying to squeeze the star ever smaller. Soon the star runs out of hydrogen to burn and so begins to burn heavier elements (such as oxygen and lithium), when this happens the star will grow up to 100 times its original size. But eventually the stars supply of fuel will run out and the star will no... ...s a black hole. First, as you neared the even horizon, time would appear to take longer and longer and as you entered the even horizon your image would remain there for an eternity. This is because at that very moment, the light that you are emitting would be caught in the event horizon. It would appear to an observer that you were frozen in time, staying in the same position forever. But in fact it is just the light, not you that is stuck. As you entered the black hole time would go faster and faster, and if you looked up you would be able to see the entire universe evolving in front of you. But this amazing sight comes at a great cost, as you begin to near the singularity you would feel your body begin to stretch. Eventually your body would be stretched so far by the colossal gravity that you would be ripped apart!

Death of a Salesman Essay AP English III

Death of a Salesman Essay Wily Loan is a symbolic icon of the failing America. He is representing a typical chaser of the American dream in the sass's. He experiences a tragedy in his life where he was trying to find his place in his own life with his sons leaving, growing old, and an escalating sense of stubbornness. Wily was Just one of many Americans that experienced a great tragedy during this time which was a reason that led up to the great depression in 1929. This makes a symbolic icon of the failing America during this time.Wily Loan had a life most people admired while his sons were still in high school. He had a Job and was very happy at that time. His son Biff was the high school quarterback and was very good at his position. This made Wily extremely proud and hoped he would see his son go off to play football at the college level. He was very content with his life at this point and this symbolizes the booming American economy before the Great Depression. Wily soon got too caught up in the idea of the American Dream, to be hard working and honest among other things.He soon began to get greedy in the idea of the American Dream along with other things that went wrong. His pride soon escalated and prevailed in the worst way. Biff reveals to Wily that he has failed his senior math class and will not have enough credits to graduate high school. This incident highlights and really reveals Willis stubbornness for he Just thinks Biff could just go to summer school and get the credits he needed to graduate. It was not that simple as Wily soon learned. Biff then tells his father he is going to go to an interview or an important high paying Job and Wily is very excited for him to get the Job.Biff ends up not going to the interview because he felt he was not able to get the Job. As he tries to tell his father what happened, Willis stubbornness again shows as he would not even let Biff explain what had happened. Wily keeps talking and interrupting his son saying t hings as if he got the Job. This causes very high tension between the two and leads to a huge argument at the end of the play that indirectly leads to Wily killing himself. Another incident that escalates to the tragedy that occurs in the play is when Biff catches Wily cheating on his wife.Biff is heartbroken, in shock, and angry all at once and leaves the scene leaving Wily questioning what has become of him and started to realize his life was not what it used to be, but his stubbornness still prevailed. At the end of the play the whole family meets together at their house. A significant argument breaks out mostly between Biff and Wily about how stubborn and blind he really is. Wily ends up telling Biff to get out of his house and Biff says he never wants to come back. The argument was the deciding factor hat led up to Wily getting in his car and killing himself.In the end, Willis stubbornness and pride led to things such as the arguments between him and Biff, him getting fired and refusing to take another Job out of pride, and lack of realization that he was slowly setting the stage for his own demise. Wily was Just another lower middle class American stuck in the idea of the American Dream. Along with many other Americans during the time, he symbolized the failing America of the Great Depression of the sass's and even the digressing American economy of today.

Basic HTML essays

Basic HTML essays There are six basic steps you must follow in order to create a web page in HTML. For those who don ¡Ã‚ ¯t know what it HTML is, it is the coding language that is used to create, develop, and maintain these WebPages such as Yahoo, MSN, Altavista, etc. Although there are other complex languages such as XML and DHTML, they are derived from the basics of HTML. First thing to do before we get started on HTML is to open up a text-editing program such as Notepad.exe or Wordpad.exe. HTML is just text so this can be accomplished by utilizing one of these simple programs. There are other HTML editing/WebPages building programs out there such as Microsoft FrontPage, Macromedia Dreamweaver, and Macromedia Fireworks, but they have to be purchased in the computer software vendors. Now, if you have the text editor open, let ¡Ã‚ ¯s get started. Your first command is to initiate the creation of the WebPages. Since all HTML is written in  ¡Ã‚ °flags ¡, where annotates the beginning, and annotates the end, start by typing on the top of the page, noting that this will be the start of a webpage. Now, go down to the next line in the document. Make sure to give enough space between tags, so every tag won ¡Ã‚ ¯t be jammed together. It will make editing the document easier in the future. You ¡Ã‚ ¯re second HTML flag will be the Title of this web document. Initiate the title with a flag, type in  ¡Ã‚ °This is my first HTML page ¡. Then type annotating that this is the end of the title. (What you ¡Ã‚ ¯ve typed within the flags will show on the top frame bar of the browsers). Now hit enter to start on a new line and this is where your Body of your webpage will show. Your third HTML flag will be . Type in  ¡Ã‚ ° I am creating my first webpage ¡ and end with a : Break, which it stands for, allows you to start on a new line on the webpage. Now type in  ¡Ã‚ ° This is very excit...

the laser beam essays

the laser beam essays Laser stands for Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Lasers work by producing an intense beam of bright light that travels in one direction. The laser has the unique ability to produce one specific color or wavelength of light, which can be varied in its intensity and pulse duration. The newest laser systems have become remarkably precise and selective, allowing treatment results and safety levels not previously available. All lasers contain an energized substance that can increase the intensity of light that passes through it. This substance is called the amplifying medium and it can be a solid, a liquid or a gas. Einstein can be considered as the father of the laser. 80 years ago he postulated photons and stimulated emission and won the Nobel Prize for related research on the photoelectric effect. This section discusses the historical evolution from microwave lasers to optical lasers and finally to x-ray lasers and lasers discovered in space. Some theorists were on the right track, especially Planck, who proposed that nature acted by using "quanta" of energy. But it was the young, unknown Albert Einstein who explained everything and started the field of quantum mechanics with his paper on the photoelectric effect. Einstein showed that light does not consist of continuous waves, nor of small, hard particles. Instead, it exists as bundles of wave energy called photons. Each photon has an energy that corresponds to the frequency of the waves in the bundle. The higher the frequency (the bluer the color), the greater the energy carried by that bundle. Einstein's Nobel Prize was not awarded for either one of his relativity theories - the Nobel Committee thought them too speculative at the time. Rather Einstein won the prize for explaining the photoelectric effect. Two of Einstein's 1905 papers were on the theory of atoms and molecules, yet there were still many scientists in 1905 who did not believe in atoms ...

Free Essays on Adam Smiths Free Market Society Versus Malinowskis Trobriand Island Kula Exchange System

Adam Smith believes that a human inclination toward free trade is natural. He argues that it is inevitable for man to act in his own self-interest. Malinowski’s Trobriand society operates on the principle of working for the benefit of the community rather than for one’s self-interest. Even though the good of the community then leads to the prosperity of individuals, the intention is for the former, not the latter, in the case of the Trobrianders. Smith’s view of a commercial-market society includes the principle of self-interest as the chief means of motivation for production, accumulation of wealth and innovation. When everyone in a society is economically competing and operating ins their own self-interests, work will be done more efficiently. The Trobrianders’ motivation to produce comes from tradition, ceremony, competition against other workers, and the belief in magic. The prospect of fame rather than fortune is the incentive for the Trobrianders. Smith would argue that this incentive is learned, rather than inherent, for these people. In Smith’s ideal society, workers are motivated by the idea of gain, using the least amount of effort necessary to adequately accomplish their tasks (not overexerting themselves), knowing that they will be recompensed for their work with payment. The Trobriand people, however, are not motivated by the idea of gain. They do not consider the idea of growing wealthy when they are working. They work for the sake of the work itself. It is their tradition to work in competition with the other workers, and the ways in which they work are like an established traditional ceremony. It is part of their tradition to exert as much effort as possible while working, even if this will not show in the outcome of the work. The workers are never paid for the time they take to produce necessary goods for the community. But the communities practice the principle of reciprocation, where food is ... Free Essays on Adam Smith's Free Market Society Versus Malinowski's Trobriand Island Kula Exchange System Free Essays on Adam Smith's Free Market Society Versus Malinowski's Trobriand Island Kula Exchange System Adam Smith believes that a human inclination toward free trade is natural. He argues that it is inevitable for man to act in his own self-interest. Malinowski’s Trobriand society operates on the principle of working for the benefit of the community rather than for one’s self-interest. Even though the good of the community then leads to the prosperity of individuals, the intention is for the former, not the latter, in the case of the Trobrianders. Smith’s view of a commercial-market society includes the principle of self-interest as the chief means of motivation for production, accumulation of wealth and innovation. When everyone in a society is economically competing and operating ins their own self-interests, work will be done more efficiently. The Trobrianders’ motivation to produce comes from tradition, ceremony, competition against other workers, and the belief in magic. The prospect of fame rather than fortune is the incentive for the Trobrianders. Smith would argue that this incentive is learned, rather than inherent, for these people. In Smith’s ideal society, workers are motivated by the idea of gain, using the least amount of effort necessary to adequately accomplish their tasks (not overexerting themselves), knowing that they will be recompensed for their work with payment. The Trobriand people, however, are not motivated by the idea of gain. They do not consider the idea of growing wealthy when they are working. They work for the sake of the work itself. It is their tradition to work in competition with the other workers, and the ways in which they work are like an established traditional ceremony. It is part of their tradition to exert as much effort as possible while working, even if this will not show in the outcome of the work. The workers are never paid for the time they take to produce necessary goods for the community. But the communities practice the principle of reciprocation, where food is ...

Effect of leadership development program on organizational performance Dissertation

Effect of leadership development program on organizational performance - Dissertation Example statistical null hypotheses 15 Testing the null hypothesis 15 P-values 16 Significance levels 17 One-tailed vs. two-tailed probabilities 17 Reporting your results 18 Confidence interval 20 p=0.891 represents the probability of occurring the event. ... nsistency refers to inter-item reliability, and assesses the degree of consistency among the items in a scale, or the different observations used to derive a score Want to be sure that all the items (or observations) are measuring the same construct Estimates of Internal Consistency Item-total score consistency Split-half reliability: randomly divide items into 2 subsets and examine the consistency in total scores across the 2 subsets (any drawbacks?) Cronbach’s Alpha: conceptually, it is the average consistency across all possible split-half reliabilities Cronbach’s Alpha can be directly computed from data Estimating the Validity of a Measure A good measure must not only be reliable, but also valid A valid measure measures what it is intended to measure Validity is not a property of a measure, but an indication of the extent to which an assessment measures a particular construct in a particular context—thus a measure may be valid for one purpose but not another A measure cannot be valid unless it is reliable, but a reliable measure may not be valid Estimating Validity Like reliability, validity is not absolute Validity is the degree to which variability (individual differences) in participant’s scores on a particular measure, reflect individual differences in the characteristic or construct we want to measure Three types of measurement validity: Face Validity Construct Validity Criterion Validity Face Validity Face validity refers to the extent to which a measure ‘appears’ to measure what it is supposed to measure Not statistical—involves the judgment of the researcher (and the participants) A measure has face validity—’if people think it does’ Just because a measure has face validity does not ensure that it is a valid measure (and measures lacking

Should conscientious objection be a defence to breach of equality law Essay

Should conscientious objection be a defence to breach of equality law - Essay Example Anti-Racism laws, which are a reflection of the equality law were designed to provide a remedy to the failure by the State to not do enough to protect disadvantaged member of the society.2 The United Kingdom’s Equality Act of 2010, which is part of the wider anti-discrimination laws of Great Britain, is based on the premise of the State impacting upon the UK society through legislation to educate and instruct individuals as well as institutions on how to act during public interactions.3 The Equality Law simply requires citizens to be blind on differences to do with sexuality, race, gender, and age. Secondly, it requires citizens to be deaf on differences arising from belief or religion. However, under the concept of conscientious objection, there are seemingly exceptions to the adherence of the equality law.4 Conscientious objection has been described as â€Å"a refusal on religious or moral grounds to engage in military conflict or even serve in the armed forces.†5 A conscientious objection is normally based on religious beliefs that are obtained from trainings and must be highly upheld. A conscientious objector must prove that the newly acquired ethical and moral convictions are what direct his or her life choices. Under the English law, there are only three instances where there are legal rights to objections based on conscientious objections. These instances comprise of abortion cases, application of technological process in achieving conception/ pregnancy, and in services of the armed forces.6 Other cases examples on the application of conscientious objections are when a pharmacists declines to administer emergency contraceptives owing to his religious beliefs or when an employee breaks health and safety rules or dress codes or displays religious symbols at the work place, wh ich is an infringement upon the rights of others. Based on the above review, conscientious objection should not be used as defence for breaching the equality law since it will provide

The Life of Oliver Cromwell Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Life of Oliver Cromwell - Research Paper Example Cromwell became Cambridge’s Member of Parliament, in 1628. However, he did not make any significant development, during his tenure as a member of parliament. This is because his tenure did not last long when Charles I dissolved parliament and ruled alone for 11 years before the Bishops of the Scott forced him to recall parliament due to lack of money (Carlyle & Sanderson 67). Cromwell returned to parliament and served only for three weeks as a member of parliament for Cambridge. This was called â€Å"the short parliament† because it existed for only three weeks. A long-term parliament was elected that same year and Cromwell returned as a member for Cambridge. He was forced to table ridiculous petitions before the house such as that of the release of John Liburne, who was arrested for importing religious tracts from Holland, because he owed his position to the elite, in parliament. Cromwell also linked himself to a religious group, which contained members from both the H ouse of Lords and House of Commons. On behalf of this religious group, he also tabled a motion for the abolition of episcopacy, which was called the â€Å"Root and Branch Bill† (Carlyle & Sanderson 76).The only experience Cromwell had in relation to military matters was the band training. However, he recruited his own cavalry troop and blocked a valuable silver shipment that was meant for the king. This was after his troop gained a lot of recognition and was formally incorporated into the formal army. to form part of the Eastern Association during the winter (Gardiner 8). Cromwell continued to gain a lot of experience by winning a few battles such as the battle of Gainsborough, which made him appointed as the governor of Ely and colonel of the Eastern Association. He entered the English civil war on the side of the parliamentarians who were nicknamed the â€Å"Old Ironsides† or â€Å"Roundheads† to become one of the principle commanders, in the New Model Army (B ritannica Concise Encyclopedia). Here, he played a significant role in the defeat of the royalist forces at the battle of Marston Moor. Cromwell’s military strategies though he had not undergone through any form of training were exemplary. His ability to train and lead his men and the invention of the close order military formation with his troops riding knee to knee made it more difficult for opponents to penetrate them (Carlyle & Sanderson 46).

Quality improvement in medication administration Research Paper

Quality improvement in medication administration - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that medication administration forms the key performance improvement area in Carlinville Area Hospital as a  strategy of alleviating liabilities and costs that may arise due to lapses in drug administration. Medication administration is one of the sensitive areas of public health that is highly controlled by a number of statutes both federal and state. It is important that healthcare practitioners observe stringent measures when administering drugs in order to avoid ligations associated with negligence and incompetence.   In fact, the law is very clear on the issues related to drug administration and in case Carlinville Area Hospital will fail to institute proper performance measures, it will be virtually impossible to avoid problems associated with poor drug administration. Instilling quality improvement in medication administration will ensure that Carlinville Area Hospital upholds all the stipulated guidelines, policies, and procedur es relating to nationwide drug administration. A number of methodologies are available to healthcare providers that can effectively be used to integrated quality improvement into performance measurements. The key methodologies include but not limited to Six Sigma, Lean Production System, and Root cause analysis. These methods are important to ensure that organization operations are streamlined enough to meet the performance measures instituted by the organizations.... ificant method of improving quality in a hospital setup, it involves formalized investigation, and problem solving approached aimed at uncovering what might have caused an event as well as the events that were intercepted. Root Cause Analysis plays a significant role in helping individuals pinpoint trends as well as assess risk to be applied in case of suspected human. RCA is often based on the assumption that systems rather than personal factors are probably the root cause of most problems (Hughes, 2008). Unlike other improvement methodologies, RCA is a reactive technique that starts to operate once an event has occurred, illustrating the sequence of events leading to the specified event and above all addressing the root causes for proper examination of the event. Notable advantages of Root Cause Analysis include highly significant in assessing reported errors. It can be used to suggest system changes whenever the need arises. Lean productions system has been utilized successful to integrate quality improvement and performance measures in number of organizations, healthcare not left behind. Lean production system has highly been used to remove inefficiencies in organization systems that may lead to wastes (Hughes, 2008). Customer needs are the focus of this method as it aims at removing activities considered non-value-added to improve processes. This methodology depends a lot on the root cause analysis in its effort to improve processes considering that RCA has the ability to investigate errors. Hughes (2008) asserts that Lean production method only comes in to improve quality and prevent future occurrence of identified errors through RCA. Lean production method is considered advantageous for producing results in an objective and concise manner. Additionally this

Emma Lazarus, The New Colossus (750 words) Essay

Emma Lazarus, The New Colossus (750 words) - Essay Example Therefore Emma’s difficult experiences lent depth and power to all her writings. Emma’s complicated identity was therefore a barrier that obscured her place in American culture. Her turbulent upbringing lent an appropriate backdrop for her bold, powerful and inspiring essays and poetry protesting against the rise of anti – Semitism in the country. Even before the title of â€Å"Zionist† had been coined, Emma passionately called upon the Jews to unite and build a homeland in Palestine. Emma Lazarus’ historical poem, â€Å"The Colossus† written in 1883, gave to the American’s a credo that was praised and cherished for so many years. The words "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..." (Emma Lazarus, The Colossus, 1883) are a part of the beautiful poem that was engraved on a huge bronze plaque that is hung in the Statue of Liberty Museum after about 20 years after she was laid to rest. She had written this poem for fundraising for the pedestal of the Liberty Statue. She lived a life of isolation and devoted all her time and energy to writing. She became ill with the terrible disease of cancer and passed away in 1887. Twenty years later, in 1903, this bronze plaque bearing Emma’s sonnet was presented by philanthropist Georgiana Schuyler and was placed on the interior wall of The Statue of Liberty’s pedestal. Then again it was removed and was mounted in the Liberty exhibit at the base of the monument. Many different themes are reflected in Emma’s sonnet, â€Å"The Colossus† some of which are Liberty, Patriotism and courage. Many of the conflicting ideals and identities that Emma dealt with in her own life are reflected or echoed through her sonnet.

Quality improvement in medication administration Research Paper

Quality improvement in medication administration - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that medication administration forms the key performance improvement area in Carlinville Area Hospital as a  strategy of alleviating liabilities and costs that may arise due to lapses in drug administration. Medication administration is one of the sensitive areas of public health that is highly controlled by a number of statutes both federal and state. It is important that healthcare practitioners observe stringent measures when administering drugs in order to avoid ligations associated with negligence and incompetence.   In fact, the law is very clear on the issues related to drug administration and in case Carlinville Area Hospital will fail to institute proper performance measures, it will be virtually impossible to avoid problems associated with poor drug administration. Instilling quality improvement in medication administration will ensure that Carlinville Area Hospital upholds all the stipulated guidelines, policies, and procedur es relating to nationwide drug administration. A number of methodologies are available to healthcare providers that can effectively be used to integrated quality improvement into performance measurements. The key methodologies include but not limited to Six Sigma, Lean Production System, and Root cause analysis. These methods are important to ensure that organization operations are streamlined enough to meet the performance measures instituted by the organizations.... ificant method of improving quality in a hospital setup, it involves formalized investigation, and problem solving approached aimed at uncovering what might have caused an event as well as the events that were intercepted. Root Cause Analysis plays a significant role in helping individuals pinpoint trends as well as assess risk to be applied in case of suspected human. RCA is often based on the assumption that systems rather than personal factors are probably the root cause of most problems (Hughes, 2008). Unlike other improvement methodologies, RCA is a reactive technique that starts to operate once an event has occurred, illustrating the sequence of events leading to the specified event and above all addressing the root causes for proper examination of the event. Notable advantages of Root Cause Analysis include highly significant in assessing reported errors. It can be used to suggest system changes whenever the need arises. Lean productions system has been utilized successful to integrate quality improvement and performance measures in number of organizations, healthcare not left behind. Lean production system has highly been used to remove inefficiencies in organization systems that may lead to wastes (Hughes, 2008). Customer needs are the focus of this method as it aims at removing activities considered non-value-added to improve processes. This methodology depends a lot on the root cause analysis in its effort to improve processes considering that RCA has the ability to investigate errors. Hughes (2008) asserts that Lean production method only comes in to improve quality and prevent future occurrence of identified errors through RCA. Lean production method is considered advantageous for producing results in an objective and concise manner. Additionally this

Finance and Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Finance and Strategy - Essay Example Working capital management is a keystone that determines the short term solvency position of the company. It shows the ability of the firm to meet its short term obligations with its short term resources. Usually it is required to pay off the suppliers, purchase raw materials, wages and other direct expenses related to the core business operations. It ensures the business perpetuity and sustainability (Matz, 2011). It is the difference between short term assets/ current assets and short term liabilities/ current liabilities. Working capital means net current assets i.e. when the current assets exceed current liabilities. A company is expected to have sufficient working capital to meet its current obligations; else it signifies a weak short term solvency position. Working capital includes the following items (Spurga, 2004): It is the time taken to convert the short term assets into cash to meet its short term liabilities. A longer cycle time means that a company takes long time to convert its current assets. For example, company X has a supplier payment period of 30 days and collection period of 60 days. Its working capital cycle is 30 days, resulting in a deficit of 30 days that needs to be financed through short term loans. Companies should aim to reduce its working capital cycle in order to reduce its cost of short term borrowing that impacts the income statement and balance sheet (Periasamy, 2009). The cash conversion cycle measures the cash to cash cycle. Business’ use cash to buy inventory, and produces goods which are sold in the market to earn cash. The measure of the time taken for employment of cash to earn cash is the cash conversion cycle. A longer cycle is significant of longer collection periods, which implies a slow cash conversion cycle. It is calculated by adding the days inventory outstanding to the days sales outstanding and subtracting the days payable outstanding. Each of the mentioned metrics has got

The programme you are discussing Essay Example for Free

The programme you are discussing Essay When it comes to props for individual characters, the most identifiable would be that of Pat Butchers huge earrings, which seem to get bigger and more wild as the years go on but strangely enough, you do see people turned out like this in the Eastend and though you wonder why, it is a code which should be included because its realistic and is a great example of key observation by the Eastenders research team. They also cleverly use simple items such as fruit machines, dartboards and the statue of Queen Victorias Head in the pub itself to bring together all aspects of the traditional East-end local. The set itself is based at Elstree studios in Hertfordshire and is filmed on a real street used as the set. A lot of research has obviously gone into creating the right location, as everything seems very realistic, even minor aspects such as the Arthur Fowler memorial bench in the middle of the street, the high steps leading up to the houses, the local pub with the market outside, the fish and chip shop and the underground train station; it all fits together nicely to connote a typical London area. There are also extra details with things like graffiti and fly-posters on the walls. Along with the stereotypes of the cast, it all works successfully and again has obviously come from very observant, detailed work. It would be practically impossible to put these codes and conventions into another medium with similar affect. Take the original medium form of Soap; radio, for example. The whole structure of Eastenders would have to be adapted to work with sound only and it couldnt possibly be considered as the same entertaining show. As I have just discussed; a good majority of Eastenders success comes from the great detail and accuracy used in the mise-en-scene, which is what can actually be seen in each shot, therefore this could not easily be transferred to a medium such as radio. Radio uses only sound and relies on the audiences imagination for image creation, therefore the minor aspects such as graffiti, fly-posters on the wall and Pat Butchers character-identifying earrings cant be constantly described without boring the audience. If Eastenders was originally created for radio only, the team would have a completely different approach and would rely only on street-like, rural sound effects to create the London scene, they would hope the audience imagines aspects like graffiti but in some cases they wont. As a radio show, they would have to emphasise and rely more on storylines rather than setting, props and costume, therefore with their current entertainment methods Eastenders would not be a successful radio show, however, if it was greatly adapted, it could work but would seem like a different show completely. As far as Im aware, soap has never been attempted at the medium level of a theatre, stage production. Again, I feel this would need great adaptation and this would most likely take it out of the Soap Opera category. A Soap Opera traditionally updates every week in different episodes with storylines being introduced, finished or continued. Though, Im not aware of a rule stating that this must be the case for it to be classed as a Soap Opera but then the current and original shows themselves set the rules and boundaries. I suppose a Soap Opera could be attempted to fit all in one solid show, this would traditionally be the case if it was to be done in a theatre production but it would be a very intense production and probably would be unsuccessful at what its trying to achieve. If the team intended for viewers to return every week to see the next part of the story it may make it just inside of the Soap Opera category but this still would not be successful as it would limit the amount of viewers to a minimal amount, which seems pointless and would not be successful for anyone. If cameras were to be used in the theatre itself allowing it to also be broadcast, that would make a little more sense, so people can decide if they want to try and watch it at the theatre itself or on their television at home. Though this would also limit the forms of codes and conventions that can be used and would have to be performed live and we all know we dont appreciate Soap Operas for their acting qualities. With little use of locations in a theatre, it wont have any appeal! If Eastenders was to be attempted in this medium, it would be interesting to see how it turns out. Though, again I feel it may as well be given a different title because it wouldnt be able to work with the successful methods it uses on our television screens today. Robert J Thompson of the Museum of Television and Radio suggests They are worlds without end stating the fact that Soap Opera cannot work in theatre because theatre productions all have to end at some point, simple as that. Eastenders is generally suited to television because Soap Operas of this calibre are designed to run alongside our lifestyles for us to relate to everyday. Its influential codes and conventions are for the pleasure and interest of the human eye. Therefore, it can only work on a television medium. It could be argued that Eastenders in a film medium would allow use of the same techniques but this would again be kept within a maximum time limit of about three to four hours, therefore in my view, cannot be considered a Soap Opera. In her 2003 book Soap Opera, Dorothy Hobson suggests that Eastenders cannot work to its full individual potential by any other existing medium than television from the fact that it shows a Cultural London. She states that other media forms would only show a Metropolitan view, as Cultural media productions are best suited for television. Eastenders embraces the modern version of the East End and has shown to be multicultural by consistently including a wide range of Asian and black, first and second generation Londoners. Eastenders has integrated good and bad characters, as representations of many cultures, creeds and colours. Another view is that of Ron Simon from the Museum of Television and Radio who claims that television makes Eastenders easier for people to relate to, as they can sometimes see parts of their own lifestyles around the characters on screen, viewing things they have experienced themselves. On the radio they are never sure exactly what the image is supposed to be, Eastenders is directed at that basis of human relation. I believe that the majority of the codes used in Eastenders cannot be transferred to the viewer by any other medium as successfully as television proves to do so today. When a new medium overcomes television in this field, a whole new Soap Opera era will begin. Bibliography Soap Opera by Dorothy Hobson (Polity Publishers) www. mtr. org (Museum of Television and Radio) Eastenders Real Soap by Karen Sinotok (Generation Publications) Eastenders Whos Who by Kate Lock (BBC Publications) (NOT USED) Brookside Real Soap by Kay Nicholls (Generation Publications) (NOT USED) Reading Television by John Fiske (Routledge) (NOT USED)

Geography Of The United Arab Emirates Environmental Sciences Essay

Geography Of The United Arab Emirates Environmental Sciences Essay The united arab emirates, which lies in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia , is a union of seven emirates : Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah. It is situated in Asia and is bordered by the Arabian Gulf from the north, Omman from the east, Sudi Arabia from both west and south sides. It also faces the Gulf of Omman from the northeast, Qatar from the northwest. The coastline, that runs along the Arabian gulf and the gulf of oman, is about 1,318 kilometers long. This makes Dubai, the pearl of the Gulf, a very important commercial centre. The total area of the United Arab Emirates is about 77.700 squares kilometers. The largest emirate is Abu Dhabi and the smallest one is Ajman. The country is mostly desert in the south and west areas with sand dunes, salt flats and some oases while the trucial coast has shallow seas, reefs, sandbars and islets. The only mountains in the emirates exist on the east coast in al Fujairah called Al Hajar mountains, the land there is suitable for agriculture and has been used for many years. The UNITED ARAB EMIRATES has no permanent rivers but it has two main important oases. http://www.United Arab Emiratesinteract.com/docs/An_oasis_in_the_heart_of_Al_Ain/18124.htm http://www.adach.ae/en/portal/heritage/alain.oasis.aspx Oases of the United Arab Emirates The UNITED ARAB EMIRATES has seven oases, two of them are very important and has underground water for permanent use. Al-Ain oasis, which is in Abu Dhabi emirate, is the largest one. This oasis has been developed and protected, people from around the world come to this place to see the date palms, fruit trees and beautiful sites. Since the land there is fertile and water is available, date and fruit production plays a part in the economy of Al Ain city which takes its name from the oasis. Liwa is another oasis in the emirate of Abu Dhabi and it also attracts tourists. Land Use of the UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Only 0.6% of land is considered arable, 2.3% is planted to permenant crops and about 720 square kilometers are irrigated. http://www.dubaidreams.net/562/about/animals-birds-plants-flowers-and-trees-dubai/ http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/615412/United-Arab-Emirates/257038/Plant-and-animal-life http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-187664317/deal-protect-birds-prey.html http://www.epa.ae/philately/Philately-Stamps/UNITED ARAB EMIRATES-Stamps-Information.asp?TextFile=Y0509T Animals and plans in the United Arab Emirates The desert of the United Arab Emirates contains plants like shrubs, trees and bushes that are found in different places.The Ghaf is the most found tree in the United Arab Emirates. Trees in the United Arab Emirates have been used traditionally in areas related to health and medicines. Types of desert plants are Leptadenia pyrotechnica, Lycium shawii, Calotropis procera, Prosopis cineraria and Zizyphus spina-christi. The desert that surrounds Dubai has plans like wild grasses and date palms. Dates is the UNITED ARAB EMIRATESà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s main crop. Some plans like acacia and ghaf trees grow near the Western Hajar Mountains. In adittion to the desert, thw plam trees also grows in the gardens and parks within Dubai. In general, the plants growing in the United Arab Emirates are largly affected by the climate and the landscape of the emirates. For example, date plams usually grows near oases . As for animals, there are many like domesticated goats, sheep, and camels, together with cattle and poultry. There are predators in the wildlife such as the caracal, and red foxes. Some large animals also lives in the United Arab Emirates like Arabian oryx and Arabian and Persian gazelles. As well as small animals like the cape hare, lesser jerboa, and many types of gerbil; and a variety of snakes and lizards. In the waters of the United Arab Emirates lives many types of valuable fish and other kinds of sea creatures, although those creatures are becoming less by time due to human activities. There have been an identifation of about 13 bird areas in the United Arab Emirates , the most famous one is Khor Kalba on the border of United Arab Emirates-oman. The UNITED ARAB EMIRATES has made efforts to protect birds and has signed a Memorandum of Understanding in abu dhabi in order to protect the important and rare kinds of birds. http://www.mapsofworld.com/united-arab-emirates/geography/climate.html Climate of the United Arab Emirates Climate generally covers the information regarding temperature, humidity, wind, rainfall and other meteorological elements in a specific area over long periods of time. While climate can be compared to weather, weather can be defined as the day to day temperature and the precipitation activity. In general climate is the state of the atmospheric condition of an area over long periods of time. The United Arab Emirates is famous for its extremely hot and humid summer seasons while the winter seasons are moderate and pleasant. The months from May till September are very hot and the temperature can reach 45 C and exceed it, the months from December till march are comfortable, the average temperature is 28 C in daytime and 14 C at night. At Al Hajar mountains, the temperature is much lower due to the elevation and nature of landscape there. Climate in the United Arab Emirates is usually sub tropical arid. It tends to be warm in winter while hot and humid in summer. Humidity is very high and can reach more than 85% during summer time. Due to this climate conditions, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES has very little rain, averagely between 100 and 200 millimeters but in some mountainous areas the rainfall reaches 350 millimeters , the rain falls in short large quantities in summer time and the wettest months are February and March. The UNITED ARAB EMIRATES is characterized with frequent sand and dust storms which reduce visibility and cause problems such as blocking ship movements near the shore area. Desalinization can make up for the lack of fresh water resources . UNITED ARAB EMIRATES faces environmental problems such as desertification and beach pollution caused by oil spills. Dry northerly wind blows on the UNITED ARAB EMIRATES and it usually cools the air unless it was loaded with dust. There is also the eastern wind which is known to be short-term and humid. The UNITED ARAB EMIRATES becomes foggy in coastal areas because the air is saturated with water Climate can affect a lot of aspects on the planet such as the human health, plants and animals: Climate effects on human health: Climate changes can affect the planetsà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ geological, biological and ecological systems, and one of the important effects is on the human health, climate changes has let to large scale environmental hazards that affects the human health, and one of the most important ones is the depletion of the ozone layer, pressure on the food producing systems and the spread of the infectious diseases. Climate effects on Plants: Climate change can affect plants not only humans, the increase in temperature causes the plants to grow less than they are supposed to and produce less crops, and as the temperature becomes higher and higher the plants produce less and less till they stop producing due to the extreme heat. Changes in climate can have a positive side to it too, as in the colder areas when the temperature increases more plants will be able to grow for longer periods and produce more crops. Due to the fast change in the climate nowadays plants will have to adapt faster and more rapidly than they had to do before. Another effect on plants is drought (reduces rainfall). The availability of water can affect the production of crops directly. Climate effects on Animals: climate change can effect animals in extremely negative ways. Any changes in the environment in which an animal lives can drastically affect their lives as they are adapted to certain conditions. Mostly, its going to be those animals that are not easily able to adapt, specifically those that are endemic to a certain part of the world and those that are not very mobile species. Also, plants are an important part of animals life cycles. There are many animals that have evolved in a way that follows the life cycle of plants. A perfect example of this is pollinators and the flowers that they pollinate. If the flowers bloom before their pollinators are physiologically prepared this could cause a massive upset to the ecological system. http://www.atmosphere.mpg.de/enid/266.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/UNITED ARAB EMIRATES.pdf http://www.United Arab Emirates.ii5ii.com/showthread.php?t=51632 tourism Due to the beautiful landscapes of the UNITED ARAB EMIRATES tourists come mostly during winter months from around the world. They come by car, plane or ship especially to visit Dubai which is known to be an excellent host with luxurious hotels including the worldà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s tallest hotel. There are many projects being planned to be built in the UNITED ARAB EMIRATES. Some changes have been made in the waters of the UNITED ARAB EMIRATES to make such projects possible as in Al Nakhla project in Jumera. This project was named Al-Nakhla, which means plam, because it was created to look like a palm. It goes from Jumera beach for about 300 meters inside the gulf. The work began in 2002 with land reclamation and purification of soil to prepare the ground for building, which was introduced in 2006 , when the reclamination phase was finished, phase two began with implementation of the infrastructure in the project, bridges where used to connect the islands with the land with the rest of the palm shape. This proves the natural and man-made changing happening to the land and water of the UNITED ARAB EMIRATES. http://mcgsc.usgs.gov/publications/United Arab Emirates_poster.pdf Changing of UNITED ARAB EMIRATES landscape The landscape of the UNITED ARAB EMIRATES is under significant change. Through the use of irrigation and agricultural programs over the last 20 years or so, the country has transformed large amounts of sand desert into areas of green land vegetation and forests. While providing vegetables and animal fodder for the country. This action of greening is also affecting the groundwater resources, like draw-down of the water table, contamination of the ground water by agri-chemicals and land surface subsidence. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES-DESERTIFICATION: Control policy proves successful Att.Editors: The following item is by the United Arab Emirates news agency(WAM) ABU DHABI, May 16 (WAM) The United Arab Emirates (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES) desertification control and land reclamation policies have proven to have yielded fruit with the plantation of thousands of hectares of palm trees, woodlands and green belts, according to a recent report by the Abu Dhabi Municipality. The UNITED ARAB EMIRATESs efforts in this regard are one of the most successful experiences in the Arab and Gulf region in particular and at the global level in general, the report, issued by Abu Dhabi Municipalitys Forestry Section said. The most important advantage of the desertification control policy, the report adds, is the transformation of the desert from a once repulsive barren land into an area that has much appeal for inhabitants to live in. The nomadic and unsettled lifestyle of people has changed into a settled one with the economic, health, social and educational patterns also changing accordingly, the report notes. It draws attention to the fact that the strategy of growing forests in vast areas of land in the heart of the desert has provided habitat for man, flora and fauna, especially the once endangered wild animals such as rabbits, foxes and gazelles, which have considerably proliferated. New species of gazelle, namely the white deer and the Arabian Oryx, and other wild birds, such as falcons, doves and sparrows have been introduced, the report maintains. Laws barring hunting and shooting of animals and birds have been enacted in a bid to save these species from extinction. The Forestry section, the report says, is currently engaged in several projects such as Abu Dhabi-Zayed City highway, Ghayathy-Bidaa Zayed road and afforestation of the 140 km-long Hamim-Abu Dhabi road. The Municipalitys Forestry section is busy fencing 200 kilometers of land to be used as sanctuaries in the Western region. This is over and above the 51 already existing natural reserves in the region, the report emphasizes. The Abu Dhabi Municipality, the report points out, has been successful in planting several forests in the Emirate such as the 1500-hectare forest in Liwa and another 90-hectare one in Shamkhah. The aim of planting these forests and green belts, the report stresses, is to hold back desertification, improve environment and preserve endangered flora and fauna. Researches are being conducted to introduce new species of trees following the successful introduction of the jojoba tree in the region, the report points. (WAM)

Comparing The Elements of Style and Grace and Style Toward Clarity and Grace :: Compare Contrast Comparison

Comparing The Elements of Style and Grace and Style Toward Clarity and Grace Webster’s dictionary defines style as a particular or distinctive fashion, form or manner. This leaves much unsaid in context to the world of writing. Everyone looks at style differently because everyone has their own interpretation of what it is. The Elements of Style and Grace and Style Toward Clarity and Grace are two different books. Though these books have many differences, a lot of the ideas are the same; they are just written in different styles. I do not believe either one to be overly better than the other. They were both written at different times with different objectives in mind, and you have to take that for what it is worth. Writing is hardly ever done with just one sentence. It is a combination of sentences that all have to coincide with one another to reach a goal of clarity. "A series of clear sentences can still be confusing if we fail to design them to fit their context, to reflect a constant point of view, to emphasize our most important ideas. These sentences could all refer to the same set of conditions, but each leads us to understand the conditions from a different point of view," (Williams, 45). It is always a good idea to start out small; take a sentence and make is clear. This then needs to be applied to groups of sentences together to make the whole sample of writing clear. Strunk and White had a lot of good advice about how to make writing clear and concise. One good point made in the book was about dialogue. When there is dialogue in writing, it is extremely annoying not to know who is speaking. "In long dialogue passages containing no attributes, the reader may become lost and be compelled to go back and reread in order to puzzle the thing out," (Strunk and White, 76). When a person is trying to read an extensive piece, it can become such a hassle to have to look back a lot to see which character is saying what. Not only does it deter the reader, but it greatly damages the credibility of the author and the work that he or she produces. In my writing experience I have had sentences criticized on the basis of length. Teachers always told me that they were too long.

Comparing The Chorus of Sophocles Antigone and Americas News Channels :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Comparing The Chorus of Sophocles' Antigone and America's News Channels The Greek Chorus is very similar to America's news channels because it brings the people the news in a way that they can understand it. The play Antigone by Sophocles is a tragic drama structured around the argument between a king and two sisters about the burial of their brother. Antigone can be compared to the conflict surrounding granting illegal immigrants amnesty. The Chorus is a group of people who provide background information, interpret the information, and relate it to human nature. The Chorus in Antigone tells the pros and cons of both sides of the story and adds important information needed to fully understand the conflict. The Greek Chorus serves the same functions as American news channels in the twenty-first century. Both a news channel and a Chorus provide background information during the telling of a story. After Antigone and Ismene converse about the burial of their brother, the chorus steps in setting the mood and providing background information. "Now the long blade of the sun, lying level east to west, touches with glory Thebes of Seven Gates. Open, Unlidded" (Sophocles 314). This shows that at that point in the play, it is morning and the sun has risen. It sets the tone and describes the setting for the next scene. On a news channel, background information is also provided. "Over eleven million illegal immigrants are already living in America" (Buchanan). This tells the viewer how serious the topic is by using such large numbers and giving facts. This statement will also-strike a nerve with many people because it is saying that 11 million people have committed the same crime their country. As you can see, there is a great similarity between the Greek and American way of providing b ackground information. American news channels and Greek Choruses both interpret information for viewers, so they can better understand different points of view. It is believed by the Greeks that Creon has a divine right to do whatever he wants. "If that is your will, Creon son of Menoikeus, You have the right to enforce it: we are yours" (Sophocles 316). Creon can do what he wants because the people will have to support his ideas because he is the great and powerful king with a divine right to rule.

The Effects Gatorade Has on the Body

When straining your body through physical activity, Gatorade keeps your body hydrated, keeps the electrolytes balanced, and replenishes carbohydrates. However, Gatorade has several negative effects as well, which can be extremely toxic to the body. This very popular drink has both positive and negative effects that the consumer should be aware of. Proper hydration is a key aspect of keeping the body functioning at maximum efficiency. As the human body is composed mainly of water, one can imagine how necessary it is to maintain a proper balance of fluids.According to Dr. Katie Johnson, MD, 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. This means that Americans are not consuming enough fluids and their bodies could suffer long term effects, such as kidney failure or worse, coma. When preforming strenuous activities, fluids are rapidly lost through sweat and other bodily processes which can lead to dehydration. Gatorade was designed to quickly rehydrate the human body during these situat ions. The proper amount of electrolytes in the body keep it chemically balanced.Many normal bodily functions are dependent on electrolytes. According to www. dictionary. com electrolytes are any of certain inorganic compounds, mainly sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, chloride, and bicarbonate, that dissociate in biological fluids into ions capable of conducting electrical currents and constituting a major force in controlling fluid balance within the body. Whenever a person perspires, electrolytes escape from the body. If too much is lost, the body can’t function optimally.Gatorade is formulated to carefully provide the same electrolytes to keep the body hydrated, balanced, and working properly. The positive effects of Gatorade are clear, but what most do not know is that Gatorade can have just as many negative effects. Gatorade was designed with the athlete’s body in mind, but as any company knows, when the target market expands, the profits expand. With its mult i-colored, variously flavored drink line, Gatorade appeals to more than just the athletic demographic.The sedentary lifestyle of many Americans is not compatible with the intended design of the drink, which can be harmful. The body is affected negatively when a person habitually ingests Gatorade without burning off the excess compounds. The result of this build-up can be fatal as the compounds may reach toxic levels. The amount of sugar in Gatorade has Public Health advocates pushing to ban it in school systems as there is as much as two-thirds the sugar of sodas, and more than three times the amount of sodium.In one 32oz bottle of Gatorade there are 56 grams of sugar and 440mg of sodium. There should be a clear separation between â€Å"healthy alternative† and â€Å"junk food†, but with Gatorade that line is more blurry than one would think. For the person with the active lifestyle Gatorade is an ideal drink. It replenishes the body and keeps the consumer healthy. If someone drinks Gatorade without working out it can be extremely dangerous and even potentially fatal. Gatorade was made with the athlete in mind, so remember this when consuming it.

Analyzing Psychological Disorders Essay

A psychiatric or psychological disorder is a disorder of psychological function severe enough to warrant treatment by a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist. Schizophrenia, emotional disorders, Anxiety and Tourette’s syndrome are all classified as psychiatric disorders. The distinguishing line between neuropsychological disorders and psychiatric disorders is quite thin. Though the two types of disorders are a result of a dysfunctional brain, the malfunctions which create psychiatric disorders remain undefined. Psychiatric disorders are often linked to environmental factors as well as dysfunction of the brain. As psychological research advances, treatments and a better understanding of psychiatric disorders comes to bear. The term schizophrenia means a psychic break or â€Å"splitting of psychic function†. (Pinel, 2007). The NIH & National Library of Medicine web site defines schizophrenia as having five different categories: catatonic, disorganized, paranoid, residual, and undifferentiated. (NIH & National Library of Medicine, 2008). Each category of the disorder has a specific set of symptoms that is mostly unique to that category of the disorder, but schizophrenia in general creates a delusional picture of reality which disrupts the person’s behavior, logic and emotions. A good example of schizophrenia and the related dissociative disorders are the movie Sybil or the more recent film A Beautiful Mind, and another fine example is the television show United States of Tara. Both movies and the Showtime network’s series depict the lives of a person suffering with schizophrenia or dissociative disorders. Neuroleptics and antipsychotic drugs are known to alleviate symptoms associated with schizophrenia. Clozapine is a type of neuroleptic that does not produce side effects like those associated with Parkinson’s disease. The medication is known to cause blood disorders. Neuroleptic medication is used to block the dopamine receptors though it takes time for the drug to lessen schizophrenic symptoms. Though neuroleptics help schizophrenics, only certain patients do benefit from the relief these drugs can offer. Schizophrenic patients suffering from hallucinations and incoherence react to the medication; however; schizophrenics suffering from cognitive defects are not affected. The NIH & National Library of Medicine web site mentioned atypical antipsychotics have proven to treat symptoms for schizophrenia  with few side effects and is the best option for those suffering with schizophrenia. (NIH & National Library of Medicine, 2008). A surgeon in the 1950’s and early 1960’s used a drug called chlorpromazine on patients to alleviate swelling prior to surgery. The doctor noticed that the medicine acted as a calming agent and recommended chlorpromazine to relax hard to control psychotic patients. Chlorpromazine did not assuage the symptoms of psychosis, but the medicine showed potential for easing some symptoms in schizophrenic patients. During the research process the side effects of chlorpromazine which are symptoms of Parkinson’s disease were evident. Researchers concluded that people suffering from Parkinson’s disease die from a minute level of dopamine. Schizophrenics display a high-level of dopamine. Therefore Parkinson’s and Schizophrenia seem to be on the opposite end of the spectrum. A breakthrough emerged in the dopamine theory with Carlsson and Lindqvist. The duo studied the Chlorpromazine in relation to schizophrenia and revised the dopamine theory of schizophrenia. Chlorpromazine was found to block dopamine receptors instead of the original theory of reducing dopamine levels. Therefore, the duo concluded through research that schizophrenia was  not due to high-levels of dopamine, but with over activity at the dopamine receptors. (Pinel, 2007). Emotional disorders are another form of a psychiatric disorder. Emotional disorders include: bipolar disorder, depression, and mania. Depression is classified as a state of unbearable sadness. At some point in a person’s life one will encounter a period of depression due to a tragedy such as loss of a loved one, poor health, or a series of bad luck. However, most people will break through the grip of depression and return to a normal life. Those with depression have a hard time seeing anything in a positive light. Depression ruins relationships at work and in the home; the disease also takes over the person making it difficult to engage in a normal day-to-day routine. Mania is the opposite of depression and is linked to high energy and impulse. A person suffering from mania appears to be full of energy or â€Å"hopped up† on energy drinks like Red-Bull and caffeine; they are filled with such enthusiasm, have boundless energy and talk fast. Though it sounds like an exceptional  thing to be constantly in a good spirits there is a negative side to the disorder. Impulsiveness is a part of mania and many suffers act on impulse not thinking before they do anything. The end result is unfinished projects, bills that cannot be paid, and relationships ruined. A person who suffers from manic episodes and depression episodes is diagnosed with bipolar disorder. There are two theories created to explain the causes of emotional disorders. According to Pinel (2007), â€Å"The monoamine theory of depression holds that depression is associated with under-activity at serotonergic and noradrenergic synapses. It is based on the fact that monoamine oxidase inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors, and selective norepinephrinereuptake inhibitors are all agonists  of serotonin, norepinephrine, or both.† The second theory is Diathesis-Stress model. The second theory focuses on genetic predispositions of a person as well as environmental factors that influence the disorder. This means that people who have stress early on will overreact to stressful situations later in life in turn causing depression. (Pinel, 2007). There are four types of medicine used to treat emotional disorders. Iproniazid is a Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitor (MAOI) initially used to treat tuberculosis but failed. On the contrary the patients did not have as many depressive thoughts about the illness. Iproniazid has severe effects when combined with tyramine rich foods. Imipamine is a tricyclic antidepressant which has proven to be more effective than MAOI’s. The next medication is Lithium which was shown to alleviate symptoms of mania. The discovery was made when a researcher tested guinea pigs and the results proved to calm them. Lithium is used as a mood stabilizer in bi-polar patients since it blocks the patient from transitioning between extreme highs and lows. The fourth medicine used more commonly in recent years is selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The most common of the SSRI’s are Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil. The SSRI’s are reported to have few side effects and are able to treat multiple disorders. (Pinel, 2007). â€Å"Anxiety is chronic fear that persists in the absence of any direct threat.† (Pinel, 2007). Anxiety is accompanied by rapid heartbeat, heavy or difficulty breathing and high blood pressure. There are five  types of anxiety disorders including: general anxiety, phobias, obsessive compulsiveness, panic, and post traumatic stress disorder. Theories involving anxiety disorders presume the amygdala has a role in anxiety disorders. The brain’s involvement in anxiety is cloudy at best since each patient tested shows different results. (Pinel, 2007). Benzodiazepines and serotonin agonists are the most effective medications used to combat anxiety. Valium and Librium are two of the most commonly prescribed medications, though they tend to make the patient drowsy. The medicine is  also known to be highly addictive and is recommended only for short-term usage. Buspirone is a serotonin agonist which relaxes the body and causes sleepiness. (Pinel, 2007). Tourette’s syndrome is known for involuntary movements or sounds known as tics. The Cedars-Sinai web site notes that the tics can vary from body movements and vocal tics. The tics can be a little as involuntary eye blinking or more noticeable yelling of obscene words or phrases. Little is known as to the cause of Tourette’s, however there is speculation that the limbic cortex, association cortex and thalamus are connected to the disorder. (Pinel, 2007). With the cause still a mystery there is no cure for Tourette’s, but though counseling, relaxation therapy and hypnosis healthcare professionals can help treat the disorder. (Cedars-Sinai. 2008). Psychiatric disorders vary in many ways. Schizophrenia affects the brain and causes hallucinations, emotional disorders affect a person’s mood in extreme ways, and anxiety causes fear and health issues, while Tourette’s causes tics ranging from subtle to severe. Over time psychological advances in research and treatment have been made allowing professionals in the field to effectively treat each disorder. References CEDARS-SINAI. (2008). Tourette’s syndrome. Retrieved June 10, 2009, from http://www.csmc.edu/5540.html NIH & National Library of Medicine. (2008). Medical Encyclopedia: Schizophrenia. Retrieved June 9, 2009, from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000928.htm Pinel, J. P. J. (2007). Basics of Biopsychology. Boston, MA. Allyn and Bacon.

Stress-Related Illness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Stress-Related Illness - Essay Example As the discussion stresses the school owners and directress have entrusted Kelly with the role of training new teachers with the quality of teaching she is known for. She is likewise head of the Parent Involvement Program of the school. Her many duties at work, on top of preparing for her own preschool class and her homemaker role at home has been taking its toll on Kelly. For the past month, she has complained of recurrent migraines, stomach pains and general body malaise. Generally, stress is what one feels when the demands on his life exceed his ability to meet those demands. The stressor may be external, such as the death of someone close to the individual or a sudden change in activity level. Or, it may be an internal stressor such as an illness. This paper outlines that in Kelly’s case, her stressors are: overload of work duties, work-life imbalance, her own personality traits and the personalities of the people she works with. The interplay of stressors and the consistent experience of high amounts in one’s life can often lead to burnout. The term â€Å"burnout† is a relatively new term, first coined in 1974 by Herbert Freudenberger, in his book, â€Å"Burnout: The High Cost of High Achievement†. He originally defined ‘burnout’ as, â€Å"the extinction of motivation or incentive, especially where ones devotion to a cause or relationship fails to produce the desired results.† While burnout is not a recognized clinical psychiatric or psychological disorder, there are some similar features between burnout and diagnosable conditions such as depression, anxiety disorders or mood disorders. Depleted Physical Energy: Prolonged stress can be physically draining, causing one to feel tired much of the time, or no longer have the energy she once did. Getting out of bed to face another day of the same gets more difficult.

Solids Conveying Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Solids Conveying - Essay Example In our everyday life, items need to move from one point to another, for efficiency, for different reasons such as construction, packaging in industries, assembly houses and manufacturing industries. Nevertheless, some of these items are too heavy or bulk for an ordinary person to move them, thus, the need for solid conveying systems. According to (Colijn 1985) conveyor systems are mechanically constructed equipments that help in moving bulk materials from one point to another. Thus, systems make work easier and enhance efficiency in production. A pneumatic Conveying system is a type of system that uses gases as a medium of transportation of materials of any size or magnitude from one point to another. Air is the most appropriate medium of transportation of material in many systems with the exemption of systems that are most likely to have reactors or systems that faces potential threat of explosion of dust particles, which when mixed with air, reduces the productivity of the air as a medium (Klinzing 2010). The productivity of a pneumatic conveying system depends entirely on how it is set up. For instance if a the system is set up with the required standards and protocols, it become efficient and economical to any organization that uses it as it is simple, affordable and easy to maintain during installation and operation. In addition, the system is sealed fully and there is no contact between other moving parts and the system, thus enhances the cleanliness of the system and makes the system environmental friendly. Subseque ntly the pneumatic Conveying system is very flexible especially when the organization decides to have an expansion of the system. These systems are convenient for fine powders or pellets that have densities from about 16 to 3200 kg /m3, thus these systems work efficiently and conveniently with particles of up to 2 inches density in diameter, as this is its general rule for its convenience (Colijn 1985). Pneumatic

Terrorism Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Terrorism - Term Paper Example Similarities and differences with insurgency Insurgency is not a conventional war or terrorism. It shares with terrorism the use of force to obtain a political end. Difference that arises between the two is the degree of violence. Terrorism does not lead to political change on its own but insurgency tries to bring forth change use of force of arms. Insurgents use ways like hit and run attacks and laying ambushes on the security forces. Insurgency unlike terrorism gets significant support from a large portion of the population. Insurgency is a movement or a political effort that has an aim. The major difference between terrorism and the insurgency is the intent of their activities. Insurgency contains nothing inherent that will need the use of terror. However, there exist other successful insurgencies that used terrorism and the terror acts, other formed into conflicts where the tactics of terror and terrorism became predominant. Other insurgencies renounced the use of terrorism total ly in their movement. The choice of using terrorism is to inspire increased resistance, destroying the government efficiency, and to mobilize support (Sageman 20). The goal of an insurgency is, to adequately challenge the present government for the control of the entire or a portion of its territory. Insurgents can also force different political concessions in sharing of political power. Insurgencies, however, need the tactic or active support of a portion of the involved population. The insurgents could also require support from foreign countries. This, however, does not bother them at all. A terrorist group does not need and minimally has empathy or support of a big fraction of the population. While the insurgents describe themselves frequently as guerillas or insurgents, the terrorists will never refer to themselves or their organization as terrorists. They describe or portray themselves using political or military terminology such as activists and freedom fighters. Terrorism dep ends on public impact, and relatively conscious of the benefits of avoiding the negative impacts of the term terrorists’ when identifying themselves (Simic 15). Terrorism acts do not try to fight the government forces directly, but will tend to change the perceptions as to the legitimacy or the effectiveness of the government in question. They achieve this by ensuring the greatest knowledge of terrorist acts of violence. The terrorists do not attempt to control any region, as this identifies them to a location which reduces their security and mobility. The terrorist avoid direct confrontations with the forces of government. Insurgents can have something to achieve from clashing with the government forces, like proving that they can efficiently challenge the government military and test their effectiveness. Terrorist organizations have nothing to gain from clashing with the governments. The terrorists groups will not engage in anything that resembles a fair fight or a war itse lf. They use ways that will neutralize the powers of the conventional forces. Terrorists tactics include; bombings of civilian targets where the military spend off duty time, ambushes of conveys that are not defended and the assassinations of poorly guarded individuals (Sageman 24). Insurgencies do not need the targeting of civilians, despite the fact that they expand the required legal definition of combatants to include the police and other security personnel

Written discussions and online discussions Personal Statement

Written discussions and online discussions - Personal Statement Example In the second written discussion, my involvement was in reading the comment on constructivist views of learning and weighing the contents of the post. Although I did not comment to it, my participation was intra-personal wherein I was weighing myself where I stood in the whole of things about skill and challenge and whether I was also getting bored; and if I was, how would I think in terms of rewards or promotions. I was also debating within myself about "enjoying if I reduced my skill" and when do I do that. I guess this means going down to the level of students, but not necessarily reducing my skill. The second point that came to my mind is how "the level of challenges would be increased for teachers." How is that going to happen By administration The post has greatly challenged my thinking. I have been a thinker rather than a talker in most discussions. I don't like speaking in front of many people. I learn the content I learn in class while listening to others verbalizes their ideas. Sometime, it's not clear whether I understand certain content, but after listening to others' personalized examples, it becomes clear. Explain: If there was a 4.5, my degree of enjoyment would be it. First, I cannot afford the face-to-face presence because of some concerns. Second, I don't very much like face-to-face set ups in conversing with other internationals where the language is not mine. c. the degree to which you felt the oral discussions contributed to your learning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Contributed Contributed Contributed not at all somewhat greatly Explain: The contribution to my learning of oral discussions is only on the level of 4, considering what I had presented earlier. I don't have the luxury of time, and I am not given to mixing in set-ups with oral concerns. Section 2: For the next questions, consider the WRITTEN (bulletin board) discussions: 3. I am interested first in having you describe how you read and understand the written comments. In particular, describe what you typically do in terms of reading comments in a Blackboard discussion. With written discussions, I open to them and read all,

Critical appraisal and evaluation evidence Research Paper

Critical appraisal and evaluation evidence - Research Paper Example This balances the energy consumption in the body thereby reducing significantly the amount of energy that the body requires for normal functioning. The body's energy requirement further influences the pressure of blood flow within the vessels. It regulates the heart beat thereby regulating the amount of blood flowing within the tissues. The reduced amount of blood in the vessels keeps the arteries open to accommodate the blood thus containing the condition. This is therefore the first step towards managing hypertension. Relaxation performs similarly actions to meditation only that the former includes other secondary body activities. Relaxation is a process in which the body calms down, this is a time in which the body minimizes its activities leaving the basic life sustenance activities such as breathing and little selective secondary activities (Wright &Musini, 2009). Relaxation is relative and different people relax differently, this therefore implies that different people use diff erent amount of energy during relaxation. While others take short walks in cool weather for relaxation, others derive such privileges from small talks with friends. Besides the energy that the body consumes to sustain breathing, the body consumes substantial amount of energy to sustain the talks or the walks that different people refer to as relaxation. ... Hypertension occurs in stages but is more prevalent in the elderly and the overweight whose arteries are thus constricted. Poor lifestyles results in an uncontrolled weight gain which is caused by increased underlying fat that the body reserves below the skin. As the fat piles, it narrows the blood vessels specifically the arteries. Narrowed arteries constrict the flow of blood thus causing higher pressure of the bold eventually bursting the blood vessels leading to internal bleedings. Hypertension is linked to shortened life expectancy and causes a number of other associated chronic conditions such as chronic kidney disease, heart failures and stroke among other opportunistic infections. Uncontrolled hypertension is a heightened level of the increased blood pressure that mainly occurs in adults. Being a lifestyle condition, hypertension requires a strict lifestyle regimen to control and manage. With effective management, it is possible to contain the condition or even treat it compl etely. The poor management results from heckles lifestyle which includes excessive consumption of alcohol and unregulated diet. Hypertension contributes to more than a thousand deaths annually in the United States of America alone. These deaths do not arise directly from the actual hypertension but from other related chronic conditions such as kidney infections and heart failures. Pharmacotherapy for mild hypertension Controlling the condition therefore requires one to engage in activities that lower blood pressure. One such activity is meditation. Therapeutic mediation begins with an effective understanding of oneself. This implies that one understands himself or herself and aware of the conditions he or she is suffering from. This

Information processing Essay Example for Free

Information processing Essay Discuss how information processing varies between individual, team and racquet athletics.  Sport contains mainly perceptual motor skills so it is important to select the correct skill for the situation. The process used to select the correct skill is called the information processing system or the DCR process, because we Detect information, Compare it with previous experiences and then react.  Welford said that all information is taken in as stimuli through our senses. It is then stored in the short term memory before being sorted, if the stimulus is relevant to the current skill then it is stored in the short term memory where it is compared to previous experiences in the long term memory. Then a decision is made as to what action to take based on this comparison. The action that was performed and the outcome from this action are then stored in the long term memory for future reference. Welfords model is shown below:  This model makes a performer react in the way that they do to a situation but there are many factors that can influence what action the performer decides to take. These include; time available, number and intensity of stimuli, experience, anticipation, fitness and motivation of the performer. The effect these factors have on a performer will vary from individual, racquet and team sports.  The time that you have available to process the incoming stimuli differs in each sport. For example in rugby, which is externally paced, you have a small amount of time to process the stimuli and make a decision because there are usually many defenders around you. Tennis players also have very little time to react because the ball is usually travelling at a high speed and if they dont make a decision and return the ball they will lose the point. However in golf, an internally paced sport, the player can take as long as they need to make a decision because there ar e no opponents directly around them. There are three main types of stimuli that enter the sensory input these are;  Vision: is where a player will react to a visual stimulus such as the position of the ball or an opponent. These stimuli are easier to detect and react to if the stimulus is brighter. For example in tennis the ball is bright yellow which makes it easier to see. But there are also unwanted stimuli such as ball boys moving or crowd movements these stimuli are obviously irrelevant but they are still initially taken in which slows down the whole process. In an individual sport there are fewer visual stimuli for example in a 100m race the only real visual stimulus is where the finish line is in relation to you. Audition: this is all stimuli that are heard, for example when a team mate calls for the ball in rugby. Auditable stimuli are hard and processed easier and faster if they are loud and clear. There are also irrelevant auditable stimuli such as crowd noise these will slow down the information processing model.  Proprioception: this is made up of three components;  Equilibrium: this is an awareness of your body position and balance. We can tell if we are about to fall over and where we are in relation to objects. Team sports are more likely to have an uneven playing surface which means that your balance will have to be constantly adjusted as you are running. But in individual and racquet sports the playing surface is fairly constant with the exception of golf, where a stance may have to be altered to adjust to the surface. Kinaesthesis: this is where the body senses the muscle movement and contraction it is sometimes known as muscle memory. It is if the movement feels right to the performer. It is developed through practice and experience one example would be a conversion kick in rugby the player may take there step away from the ball in the same way they usually do but they may just feel that they are not in the right place. It doesnt apply as much in team games as in individual and racquet sports apart from set plays.  Tactile sense: this is the feeling of pressure this is important for all sports. It can be affected be the weather conditions because cold weather affects our ability to feel effectively. The short term sensory store is where all information is stored for a split second before it is processed. All relevant and irrelevant information is stored in here before it is replaced and lost. This does not differ between sports only what enters it does.  The perception stage is where all the information that has come from the short term sensory store is processed. This is when irrelevant information is thrown away and useful stimuli such as where the ball is, is kept to make a decision and stored in the STM. This will vary between individual, racquet and team sports because of the amount of stimuli. In team sports there are more stimuli so it takes longer to sort through whereas there are relatively small amounts of stimuli in individual sports so it wont take as long to sort them out. It also differs depending upon whether the performer is experienced or not as it will be easier for a expert to sort through the stimuli because they have more experience. We sort through the st imuli with selective attention and take only the important pieces of information because only around 7-10 pieces of information can be stored in the STM. The information passed on from the perception stage is then stored in the STM. Because only 7-10 pieces of information can be stored an experienced player may chunk information together so that the position of all players is one piece, but a beginner may not be able to do this so each player may be a separate piece. Team sports would be much more affected because of the amount of information so not all stimuli can be stored so a poor decision may be made but less poor decisions will be made in an individual or racquet sport because there is less information. The LTM holds information on movement patterns and the results of using them in certain situations and can hold them for a lifetime. Team sports have many memories but individual sports may have less.  The decision making process is where whats happening now (in the short term memory) with what has happened previously (in the long term memory). In the LTM the performer will be looking for similar situations and actions and their outcomes. This makes team games decision making process a lot longer because of the vast amount of information and possible actions to take. Whereas in an individual sport there is much less information and less possible actions. The motor output is the performance of the chosen skill. One example may be for a badminton player to put in a drop shot because the opponent is at the back of the court. The action is referred to the muscle movement in the LTM. The action and its consequences are then stored in the long term memory for future reference.  Individual sports, because they are individually paced, make them the simplest in the IP model. Also because there are fewer stimuli there is a shorter reaction time which gives the performer more time to carry out the IP model which should result in a better decision. Racquet sports are externally paced due to the fact that there is an opponent; this means that there is less time for the performer to react. There are some irrelevant stimuli which will slow down the IP model which means it takes longer to decide than in an individual sport but not as long as in a team sport because there are fewer possibilities for what action to take.  Team sports are externally paced which reduces the time available to react. Also there are much more irrelevant stimuli in team sports, this will lengthen the IP. The IP will also be lengthened due to the complexity of most team games because there are more situations and possible responses to choose from. Bibliography Advanced PE for Edexcel Heinemann by F. Galligan et al.

Lesbians as Represented in Mainstream Television Essay Example for Free

Lesbians as Represented in Mainstream Television Essay Lesbian images have been entering into mainstream media more and more. Some argue that this is a sign of a wider acceptance of lesbianism in Western culture. In this paper, two mainstream television programs, Grey’s Anatomy and Law and Order: SVU, will be looked at to assess the nature of lesbian images. It will be argued that if and when lesbians are portrayed in mainstream television they are highly feminized, desexualized, and their lives are almost always framed in ways that appeal to heterocentric norms. Thus, mass media almost always fails to provide the viewer with an accurate and unbiased perception of lesbianism or homosexuality in a broader sense. Grey’s Anatomy has emerged onto the lesbian scene in the last couple of years by developing Callie Torres, a beautiful, vivacious, Latino woman, into a lesbian in the fifth season. A friendship develops between her and Erica Hahn, a successful, ‘sassy’, and appealing newcomer, and it gradually progresses into something more until finally the two share a kiss. Before the romance can flourish, Torres wrestles with her sexuality, her fears, and her lack of understanding of lesbianism. Soon after the relationship establishes itself, Hahn unexpectedly breaks up with Torres and leaves the show. Typical or is it? A season later, Arizona Robbins, a semi-regular of the show, comes into focus when she blatantly hits on Torres. Shortly after, the two start to date and later find themselves in a committed relationship. The question is how good a job does the show do of accurately portraying lesbians? To start, all three of the women mentioned above are attractive and feminine. All three have long flowing hair always nicely styled and maintained and pretty faces carefully done up with light make-up. This is what Ann Ciasullo refers to as â€Å"sanitizing of the lesbian through her feminizing† (599). In other words, Grey’s Anatomy offers up an image of lesbians that is not too homosexual for the heterosexual audience. While it could be argued that such representations help to combat the rigid stereotypes of lesbians as ugly, butch feminists, the very widespread nature of the ‘femme’ image in media indicates something more is going on (Tamsin). The book Out of Focus, suggests that such feminine representations act to lower the threat of lesbianism by reassuring viewers that such (beautiful and feminine) women can or must actually be heterosexual (Kath Davies). In fact, in Grey’s Anatomy, as in many television programs, the ‘butch’ lesbian is completely absent. All of this suggests that the lesbian chic of the ‘90s is far from dead (Tamsin). Grey’s is well known for its scandalous call room sex scenes. Characters, heterosexual characters that is, escape to hidden corners of the hospital where they argue, make up, and make love on a regular basis. This is interesting because such scenes are practically nonexistent between Torres and Hahn or later Torres and Robbins. In fact, physical contact of any kind is somewhat limited between Torres and Robbins. An example of this can be seen in Season five episode 13 when Robbins` patient dies during surgery. When she gets home to see Torres has planned a surprise birthday party for her she bursts into tears overcome by her grief. The pair leaves the room and at this point you would expect a comforting hug, a loving embrace, or a reassuring kiss on the cheek from any reasonably intimate couple or from any other couple on the show for that matter, but not in this case. Torres tells Robbins that she will explain the situation to their friends and at that Robbins leaves. Additionally, sex scenes between Torres and Robbins are few and far between; those that exist are cut short by interruption or not shown at all. The latter is evidenced in Season five episode 11 when the viewer is shown only the aftermath them lying in bed together, presumably after making love, eating pizza. It is a cute scene but not a sexual scene. This is a familiar pattern found in most television programs or movies featuring lesbian couples and just one way lesbians are desexualized (Ciasullo). A notable exception to this pattern is The L Word, but it will not be the focus of this paper. Since the beginning of their relationship Callie and Arizona have slept together three times. Three times in an entire season and for a relationship in its beginning stages is incredibly low by Grey’s standards (or anyone’s standards really). One of these scenes is the ‘pizza scene’ previously mentioned. In another â€Å"sex† scene, Lexi Grey walks in on the two in the shower and quickly walks out; the viewer sees what Lexi sees and nothing more. The final scene implies the two may have sex, but it is not pursued any further. Considering the show develops long, sensual sex scenes between its heterosexual characters, following them from start to finish, the unwillingness to do the same for its lesbian characters is problematic. This is not an isolated phenomenon. The pattern of desexualization is evident not just in television but also in movies as noted by Ciasullo and Yvonne Tasker in her book Working Girls (Ciasullo; Tasker). Another problem with the depiction of Torres and Robbins’ relationship is that it is often framed by the heterosexual constructs of marriage and reproduction. Tasker discusses this issue noting that by explaining lesbianism within a heterosexual context the (heterosexual) audience is assured that lesbians are normal (by heterosexual standards) (Tasker). Such a practice adheres to conventional social norms while ignoring the differing reality of lesbian’s lives. After Torres’ father finally accepts her lesbianism his first question to her addresses the issue of marriage and children. She assures him that she will put on a â€Å"big white dress and dance down the aisle† if Arizona wants to spend the rest of her life with her. Another example takes place in season six episode three, when Torres talks about being married and having a house, kids and a pet dog with Robbins. This description perpetuates heterocentric beliefs that heterosexual activities and institutions are better than homosexual ones simply because it gives no thought to the possibility that things could be different within homosexual relationships. Furthermore, this effort to depict lesbian couples as ‘normal’ by tying them to conventional social norms suggests that homosexual practices are not normal and as such fails to challenge heterocentrism. Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU) is another show with some problematic representations. In over 11 seasons, it has aired a total of five gay-centred storylines and one lesbian specific episode. This discrepancy seems to reflect the idea touched on in Out of Focus that â€Å"coverage of ‘homosexuality’ actually refers to gay men† (Kath Davies 91). A recent episode entitled PC features Kathy Griffin as Babs Duffy, a rude, abrasive, man-hating lesbian activist. First of all, the stereotyping evident in Griffin’s character is troublesome because it feeds into the negative view of lesbians. Visibility is important, but the cost of portraying lesbians in such a light is possibly greater than or as great as not showing them at all. Furthermore, this particular episode is strewn with negative or inaccurate images of lesbians. The episode begins with the discovery of a woman who has been left for dead in an abandoned building. She has been raped and beaten and later dies in the hospital. It is not too long before the viewer finds out from Babs Duffy that the victim was a lesbian. Duffy makes a dramatic entrance into the detectives’ office ordering for the capture of the murderer whom she alleges is targeting lesbians. The investigation commences with a visit to the victim, now known as Alyssa’s, girlfriend. As the episode progresses, you notice something striking – all the main lesbian characters are conventionally attractive, feminine women. More than that though, any lesbian character who is questioned and thus comes into the focus of the camera, is also feminine and pretty. The few butch lesbians in the episode are in the background and barely noticeable. The absence of the butch lesbian is telling. Ciasullo notes that â€Å"without the signifier of the butch, the femme’s lesbianism disappears † (Ciasullo 599). Thus, by eliminating the butch lesbian from the forefront, Law and Order: SVU effectively downplays the lesbianism of the episode. There is, however, one exception – the victim’s girlfriend Sharon, but even here there are issues with her representation as a butch lesbian. The fact that the show chose to make her ‘butch’ is interesting because they also make her a working class, aggressive, even violent, woman. This in effect vilifies the butch lesbian. Sharon even becomes the main suspect at one point because of her temper, and while it is important to shed light on the issue of domestic violence in lesbian relationships the choice to make Sharon, who is butch, into the abuser is not by accident. Ann Ciasullo talks about how presenting butch lesbians in this negative way makes butches into the â€Å"’oppressor,’ the ‘bad’ lesbian† (Ciasullo 600). Further still, her status as a bouncer (and thus as a member of the working class) adds to her mainstream undesirability (Ciasullo). Moreover, even though Sharon is presented as a butch or as Law and Order puts it an â€Å"aggressive,† she is simultaneously portrayed as somewhat feminine. In the first scene that we are introduced to Sharon, her long hair is pulled back into a loose ponytail and she wraps herself up in her long feminine sweater. She is not wearing any noticeable makeup but she is conventionally pretty. After this initial introduction she is likely not yet labelled as a butch by the viewer. It is not until later when she appears in a plaid shirt and leather jacket that it becomes evident that she is butch. It seems butch images are permitted as long as they’re not too butch and as long as the butch character is not framed in a positive way that could be make her desirable. Perhaps the best example of how lesbians are desexualized in Law and Order is in a scene between Babs and Olivia Benson, the female nvestigator. In the initial taping of this scene Babs kisses Olivia, but the kiss doesn’t make it past the cutting room floor. Even worse, the editing is atrocious. It cuts awkwardly from Babs leaning in to Olivia proclaiming that she is straight and something is noticeably missing. The kiss may not be necessary to the plot, but to sacrifice quality in order to remove it demonstrates how fearful t he media are of lesbian sexuality. Further evidence lies in the fact that a kiss between Babs and Elliot Stabler (the male investigator) that happens at the end of the episode remains untouched. However, this revelation, that Babs isn’t actually a lesbian, has a lot of problems on its own. The discovering that Bab’s has a boyfriend, plays on the â€Å"I know she’s a lesbian but † scenario so often found in mainstream media. This idea presents the viewer with the possibility that the lesbian can always become straight or as Ciasullo puts it â€Å"’unbecome’ lesbian† (Ciasullo 592). This places the heterosexual audience in a more comfortable position where they can entertain the idea that the attractive lesbians in the show may actually be straight. This issue comes up once again when the suspected murderer/rapist is in interrogation. Olivia pretends she is a lesbian in order to get a confession out of him: Olivia: â€Å"You know how to correct us you’ve got everything you need to make me a real woman right between your legs –† Suspect: â€Å"and you’d love it just like those other two [victims] did – every moment of it† While this scene may be laid out this way specifically to show the demented thinking of the rapist/murderer, the notion that a lesbian can be â€Å"corrected† or made straight as well the idea that rape victims enjoy being raped are never addressed and corrected. The audience is never informed about how inaccurate these views are. With all this said, the homosexual viewer tends to be somewhat accepting of the images in Grey’s and Law and Order, because as Clare Whatling puts it â€Å"we’re [the lesbian population] so starved, we go see anything because something is better than nothing† (86). Thus, because of the lack of representation, lesbians are more willing to accept inaccurate portrayals. This is troublesome because such images can potentially be detrimental to lesbian’s self perceptions and they’re all the more vulnerable because of the relative disparity of lesbianism in mainstream culture. In conclusion, lesbianism in mainstream television is poorly and inaccurately represented. While shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Law and Order: SVU, have taken steps towards representing lesbians in mainstream media, we have to be careful to assess how big these steps really are. There are several issues with the representations of lesbians in these shows, some of which are addressed in this paper, others which have been left untouched. Thus, there is still a long way to go and many hurdles to surmount before lesbians can be done justice in mainstream media.