Thursday, November 28, 2019

Technology Plan for W.T. White High School

Executive summary The use of modern technology is increasing in all sectors of the economy. The technologies are in business organizations, government agencies, non-governmental organizations and the learning institutions to perform different operations. In a learning institution, the technologies can be used for communication purposes, storage of information in form of databases, retrieval of information from some online source, o performing other operations like accounting.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Technology Plan for W.T. White High School specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More There is thus a necessity that the institutions of higher learning adopt the modern technology not only in their operations but also in their curriculum. They need to produce students that are conversant with the applications of these modern technologies that are essential in other fields like engineering, business, medicine, statistic s, and other social sciences. The institutions need to be updated on the latest technological applications that meet the demands in the society. They should then upgrade the system to match these new standards. The institution needs to have a technology plan that defines how the technology will be used to realize the objectives of the organization. Introduction W.T White High School is a public school located in Dallas City that is open to students from all races. The institution attracts a large population of students from the locality. The large population becomes a burden to the teachers who have to handle the students owing to the poor technology that is in place at the institution. The institution still uses the manual system for registering students. This then requires that the teachers mark the registers daily to check the students’ attendance. This process is prone to mistakes by the teachers due to the large numbers. There are also naughty students who will record ab sent students as being present. As such, the teachers are not able to monitor the exact performance of the students and the causes of failures that may be recorded. The school boasts of excelling in sporting activities with a number of former students being reported to earn a living through sports. It has various outstanding records in sports within the Dallas Independent School District that has numerous other schools. Other than producing sport-oriented products, the school intends to adopt modern technology in its operations and in classrooms in order to produce students that are more knowledgeable. The effects that the modern technology has on how we work and communicate on daily basis have called for a need to learn and adopt these technologies (Garrison Anderson, 2003, p.1). The adoption of the new technology in learning and in the operations of the school will have positive impacts on the performance of the school. The teachers will be able to manage the records of the large number of students that they manage.Advertising Looking for essay on project management? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The teachers will then be able to assess every students, monitor, and evaluate their progress in the learning process. Knowledge of Information and communications Technology is now a necessity for every student (NCREL, 2005, para.13). The technology will ensure that students are conversant with modern applications that are essential in the current world. Goals and objectives (needs of technology) The school has a number of goals and objectives that could be easily realized through the adoption of modern technology. Improving the teaching and learning process to ensure high quality education is the main aim of the institution. This can be achieved using modern technology. Firstly, the school has a need ensure the teachers deliver their services to the students as required. This is achieved through ensuring t he regular attendance of the teachers and developing lesson schedules that do not inconvenience the educators in some way.  The school wishes to improve on ways of monitoring the attendance of students as a way of assessing their performance. There is need to have an electronic system of register where students cannot register on behalf of the other students who were absent. Using manual registers is very cumbersome and the teachers are likely to make mistakes. The teachers will also use these technologies in developing lesson plan and assessing the students’ progress.  The school also aims at producing students that are conversant with the applications of modern technology. The school needs to improve its technology and acquire the latest versions of the educational software programs to produce students that are more intelligent. It intends to provide courses in business studies and computer studies with integrated computer applications. Existing resources The institutio n currently uses olden software some of which have little application in the modern society. They also have old hardware that may not be compatible with some modern application software. These outdated resources will have to be replaced with the current products. On the other hand, there are certain infrastructural facilities that are already in the school that will be helpful in the implementation of the technology plan. The outdated software and machines are situated in various premises that would be convenient to be used in the new plan. The institution has three computer labs that will accommodate much of the newly installed computers. These shall be used for learning purposes. The present classrooms will also provide good locations for the computers for administrative tasks. Another building has just been completed that will be used as the media center. Other learning activities will be scheduled at this location.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Technolog y Plan for W.T. White High School specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Initiative New resources In order to realize the above objectives, the school needs to purchase new hardware and software products that are compatible with each other. There are those application products that will be used by the teachers, students, the other staff members, and even the public. The software in this category include Notepad, Microsoft Office package including Ms Word, Ms Excel, Ms Access, Ms Power Point, Ms Office Outlook and many others that are used often in an office setting. Ms Word is commonly used for developing various text documents that are necessary for the daily activities in the school like drafting letters, notices, internal memos, and exams. Ms Word and Ms Outlook are necessary when producing and passing information within the institutions and provide the students with good communication skills (NCREL, 2005, para.16). The spreadsheets and databases are important in the management of the students’ records by the teachers. All the above application packages will also be used during learning as areas of study. Other special purpose application programs will also be required for different use. These include Audacity, AVI, Video converter, DVDFlick, Movie Maker, and Roxio Creator. These are software programs that are concerned with audio and video productions and are able to aid the learning process (NCREL, 2005, para.15). Audacity is a sound editing and recording software whereas DVD Flick, AVI, Video Converter, and Moviemaker are audiovisual application programs. ClassScape is assessment software that the teachers can use to monitor the students learning based on the Course standards established in North Carolina. iTalc is software that enables the teacher to have control over other computers in a class environment. The teacher is able to control the students in the process of learning various applications, e specially in the laboratory environment. The other software that will be required is Study Island. This is online software for assessing the standards and providing instructions to K-12 students based on the standards established in a given state. There are hardware products that will be needed that are compatible with the above programs. The above programs will need modern operating systems like UNIX and later versions of Windows. Other than the laptops and PCs that are necessary, other products like scanner, printers, copiers, internet modems, and network cables will be needed.Advertising Looking for essay on project management? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Teachers will be provided will laptops whereas the desktop computers will be installed in the computer labs and classrooms. Other products like televisions will be useful in classrooms and in the media center for learning purposes (NCREL, 2005, para.17). Timeline The plan is be implemented in the next academic year. This will be the first phase of a series of initiatives that will take three years. The changes in the fee structure caused by these initiatives had been communicated to the students. These changes will be effective as from the beginning of the next academic year. The other donor agencies that are to fund the programs have also been contacted. They have assured the institution of consideration in the next financial year. Training The adoption and use of these technologies in the learning process and other operations in the institution will require that the students, teachers, and other staffs be trained thoroughly. The department of Information Technology will provide th e students with the basic knowledge and skills that are to be used to access computerized services like the electronic register and searching for a book online. E-learning is very essential in the current learning environment and has to be greatly considered (Garrison Anderson, 2003, p.2). They will also be trained on Ms Office applications so that they can prepare and submit their assignments through soft copy. The teachers and other staff will be trained by the professionals from institutions of higher learning. Arrangements have been made and the management is assured of their availability once the facilities have been put in place. The professionals have attended various programs in technology but it is interesting to note that they can just do the same things (Lowenthal Wilson, 2010, p.3). The other directives will be provided by the technicians on a regular basis. Management and Maintenance The computer facilities to be reinstituted at the institution will be open to the stu dents at all the times. This will include vacations, lunch hours, in the study halls, morning hours before class, and during the evening classes. The continuous availability of the facilities will call for care and protection against careless use by students. In this regard, the institution has purposed to have two laboratory technicians for each of the computer labs. They will be in charge of the computers and will provide the necessary software and hardware maintenance. They will provide the necessary assistance to the students during the learning sessions in the labs. The class representatives and respective teachers will be in charge of the few computers installed in the classrooms for keeping student records. Representatives from the department of communication and media technology will be in charge of the media center. The overall management and maintenance of the facilities will be the responsibility of the head of the department of Information Technology. Costs and funding I n order to facilitate the learning process and taking into consideration the large number of students, the school has purposed to purchase 200 desktop computers and 50 laptops. There will be 10 photocopiers, 20 printers/scanners, and 30 digital cameras. Most of the software are available online and will be downloaded either freely or at subsidized costs. The other software will be bought and the overall budget is summarized as follows. Budget for the first Phase of Technology Plan Item description No of units Price per unit in US$ Total cost PCs 200 190 38000 Laptops 50 350 17500 Photocopiers 10 400 4000 Laser Printers/scanners 20 120 2400 Software – 10000 Digital cameras 30 150 4500 Training of staff – 14000 Others 20000 Total 110400 This is one of the development initiatives in the institution and a part of the cost will be incurred by the students. The remaining amount shall be provided by various donor agencies that have already been conta cted. Some challenges that are likely to be encountered There are obstacles that would impede the implementation of the technology plan at the institution. Fortunately, most of the obstacles had been identified and the corrective measures taken. The institution had some outdated software that could not provide the current applications. Such programs have been discarded and not included in the new plan. The other problem to be faced is the ability to adopt the modern technology and apply it for other advanced applications to come up with new creative ideas. This will not be possible in the initial phase. However, the training and continuous directives by the professionals will set the institution in a pace of using technology in more advanced applications. It is also important to acknowledge the fact that, in as much as the institution would want to computerize its services, not all the operations within the institution could be computerized. Assessment/Evaluation Having developed an d adopted the modern technology in the operations of the institutions, there is a need to consider ways of evaluating how effective the technologies are in helping the institutions meet the objectives. The quality of the outcomes will provide a good measure of the effectiveness of the technology (Bullen Janes, 2007, p.105). The teachers will be in the forefront in determining and reporting the effectiveness of the new programs. A comparison between the old method of maintaining class register and the modern electronic register will provide an insight on the objectives met. The teachers in the computer classes will provide reports on the progress of the students in learning the new concepts. The technology will also be used in the preparation of the examination materials and in scheduling of the exams in the institution. The outcomes of these activities will be compared with those that were registered before the adoption of the technology. Lack of delay or clashes during this period will show the effectiveness of the new technology. Besides, the overall performance of the students will also indicate the effectiveness of the technology. References Bullen, M. and Janes, D.P. (2007). Making the transition to E-learning: strategies and issues. Hershey: Idea Group Inc (IGI). Garrison, D. R. and Anderson, T. (2003). E-Learning in the 21st Century: A Framework for Research and Practice. New York: Routledge. Lowenthal, P. R. (2010). Labels do matter! A critique of AECT’s redefinition of the field.  TechTrends, 54(1), 38-46. NCREL. (2005). Critical Issue: Using Technology to Improve Student Achievement. Web. This essay on Technology Plan for W.T. White High School was written and submitted by user Mathew E. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Minorities are often considered to be in need of special pro essays

Minorities are often considered to be in need of special pro essays Minorities are often considered to be in need of special protection. Discuss whether this special protection is beneficial to these groups, and the potential problems, which may arise from it. In this essay I will be looking at minority groups, specifically focusing on racial minorities, religious minorities and linguistic minorities, which I will look at in detail. I will also look at whether the special protection which they receive as a result of belonging to a minority group is beneficial, and addressing any issues and problems which may arise from this protection. The need for protecting the right of minorities is a relatively new phenomenon, as it had been considered until only recently, that such minority protection could be dealt with through the general regime of human rights. In recent years, minority issues have become a regular feature on the international agenda. The defining of the term minority has proved problematic. The simplest definition is: a group that makes up less than 50% of the population. However there has been debate over what constitutes a minority. Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights is limited to states in which racial, religious or linguistic minorities are found. It is stated in article 27 that; in those states in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy culture, to profess and practice their own religion, or to use their own language. A state counting minority groups among its population is obliged to adopt the legal and administrative measures necessary to enable the objectives of Article 27 to be achieved. A states obligations to its minorities in terms of Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights are threefold; enjoyment of culture; profession and practice of ...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Heros Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Heros - Essay Example Thompson approaches a sensitive subject, the 9/11 attacks, by surmising that not all of the victims of that horrible event can be considered as heroes. According to his words, a true hero is someone who performs an act of bravery or nobility, and the simple fact is that very few of the victims on September 11, 2001 demonstrated one of or both of these values. The gist of Thompson's article is that we now tend to bestow hero status on someone out of sympathy for their plight rather than anything they may have done to deserve such an accolade. Similarly, but in a different way, in "Returning from Iraq, the Damage Done" Verlyn Klinkenborg writing with the Mother Jones news organization makes the argument that many of us do not truly understand what it means to be a hero. Society, and to a large extent the media, is too quick to throw the word hero out there without first qualifying its appropriateness and/or meaning. Klinkenborg goes on to state that American soldiers who have lost limb s overseas are often portrayed as heroes, even though their misfortune may have been as a result of an accident and they have not yet accomplished anything meaningful. The link between the two articles is that while having heroes to aspire to can be a good thing, if it is used to often then it can losing some of its meaning and value. In the article "Hero Inflation," author Nicholas Thompson is quite firm in his argument, yet at no time is her overbearing or insensitive to the views of others. One such example is when he says the following: "The victims of the terrorist attacks deserve tremendous sympathy. They died tragically and often horrifically" (Thompson, 2002). Thompson goes on to state that America as a country does like to honor those who have fallen in tragic circumstances, but changing the definition of a hero does these people no good and in fact weakens our ideals of what a hero means to us. Further on Thompson lists some people that almost everyone would consider heroe s (Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Oskar Schindler, and Henry Johnson), but the common link between all these people is that they performed acts above and beyond what was expected of them or else did something very brave and endangered their own lives. Besides heroic acts and bravery, Thompson also lists success as the third factor in conjuring up a hero. By listing all of his criteria as to what a hero is in his eyes, Thompson is then able to successfully move onto to describing what a hero is not. This form of persuasion is quite compelling because it helps to get the reader onside. Beginning with a positive tone and then moving onto the negative helps to form a well-rounded argument. If Thompson had begun with what a hero was not, many readers may have lost interest because the opening stanzas of the article would be deemed too negative. Thompson comments that although heroes have primarily needed to fulfill those three requirements, there is now a fourth—being a no ble victim (Thompson, 2002). Thompson continues by stating that some heroes may also be victims, but being a victim does not instantly make someone a hero. Thompson ends his argument by suggesting that many of the victims of 9/11 were termed heroes because it was a time of desperate need where the American public needed to keep hope, something which almost all heroes provide. In "Returning from Iraq, the Damage Done," author Verlyn Klinkenborg has much of the same tone but comes from a different angle, such as "It's

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Ethics in research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics in research - Essay Example Two: Do voluntary participation, informed consent, risk of harm, confidentiality, and anonymity (Trochim) pretty much cover the bases for ethical research on human subjects? Whether quantitative or qualitative research approaches are employed to study human phenomena, the knowledge quest rests on the thing of the quest--the object of study. Whether researchers, ethics committees, the public, or others like it or not, human subjects become objects in the service of discovering, confirming, or advancing knowledge. Objectification comes with all that is the research enterprise. If, however, in a clinical or confidential study, a subject, or we can now say object, is not treated per proper procedure and respect, there may be cause for complaint. Any ethics violation may then have to be determined by those closest to what was actually proposed and done. Davidsons question seems more philosophical than practical. It may not be nice or politically correct to objectify people in some ideal world or in some contexts, but in the end for research we do it, just as we do it elsewhere in our lives (e.g., picture the finals in a body building competition). Voluntary participation, informed consent, risk of harm, confidentiality, and anonymity are not the only matters for care in planning and conducting research involving human subjects. No doubt any ethics committee or listing of standards, rules, or procedures would specify these and others, and in some detail. However, there is at least one additional base to cover regardless of the group to be satisfied or the expectations to be met. The expectation or standard should be articulated that ethics should be addressed whenever researching human subjects. This may seem redundant, but if not stated in whatever fashion the governing or advisory body wishes to, not having some self-referential language about the

Monday, November 18, 2019

Discuss paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discuss paper - Essay Example It should be noted that there were a couple of preliminary injections that were injected in the crayfish before using 5HT antagonist for stress exposure within the body. In order to make sure that the research data was not flawed, the researchers made all the hemolymph samples at the same time. Notably the timings were marked to be 10am to 1pm. In addition, the process involved the usage of 25  µl with the string was noted in order to insert in the soft cuticle (Fossat et al. 2014). The analysis of the data gathered during the research work was critically analyzed using non-parametric tests. This is a statistical test which ensures reliable results for research works associated with animal stress. As mentioned in the research paper, the result of the research work marked that there is an avid difference between a stressed and non-stressed animal by â€Å"glucose titers at t=0 (0, 05 ±0, 01  µg/ µl, n=8), t=30 151 (0, 06 ±0, 01  µg/ µl, n=7) and t=60 min (0,076 ±0,007  µg/ µl, n=3) (Fossat et al. 2014)†. The results of the research have surely made researchers give a new thinking schema when it comes to stress in

Friday, November 15, 2019

Lifestyle Changes For Diabetes Health And Social Care Essay

Lifestyle Changes For Diabetes Health And Social Care Essay Diabetes mellitus is a heterogeneous group of disorders, all characterized by increased plasma glucose. In the majority of patients with diabetes, the etiology of the disease is not understood. Expert panels have recommended one set of criteria for diagnosis and another set for classification . The criteria serve two purposes. One is to secure optimal treatment of the patient. The other is to support research aimed at understanding the aetiology and pathogenesis of diabetes syndromes Diabetes mellitus type 2 or type 2 diabetes (formerly called non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), or adult-onset diabetes) is a disorder characterized by high blood glucose in the context of insulin resistance and relative insulin deficiency.(Robbins et al ,2004) More than 220 million people worldwide have diabetes. In 2005, an estimated 1.1 million people died from diabetes.Almost 80% of diabetes deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Almost half of diabetes deaths occur in people under the age of 70 years; 55% of diabetes deaths are in women. WHO projects that diabetes death will double between 2005 and 2030.Healthy diet, regular physical activity, maintaining a normal body weight and avoiding tobacco use can prevent or delay the onset of diabetes.(WHO,2009) Many types of diabetes are recognized (Tierney.L.M et al,2002) the principal three are: Type  1: Failure to produce insulin by body mechanism resulting in diabetes. It is estimated that 5-10% of Americans who are diagnosed with diabetes have type  1 diabetes. Currently patients with type  1 diabetes take insulin injections. Type  2: Results from insulin resistance, a condition in which cells fail to use insulin properly, may be combined with absolute insulin deficiency. Majority of patients world over who are diagnosed with diabetes have type  2 diabetes. Gestational diabetes: Pregnant women who previously never had diabetes before but who have sudden increase in blood sugar (glucose) levels during pregnancy mainly due to change in their diet are said to have gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes affects about 4% of all pregnant women. It may precede development of type  2 (or rarely type 1) Diabetes mellitus . Type 1 Diabetes Diabetes is a long-term (chronic) condition caused by the increase in level of glucose (sugar) in the blood. It is also known as diabetes mellitus. In the UK, diabetes is seen in around 2.3 million people, and its estimated that there are more than half a million more people who have the condition but are not aware of it. Normally a hormone called insulin regulates the blood sugar level, which is produced by the pancreas (a gland behind the stomach). When food is digested and enters the bloodstream, insulin moves any glucose out of the blood and into cells, where it is broken down to produce energy. However, in those with diabetes, the body has higher level of glucose as it is stored and is unable to break down glucose into energy because there is either not enough insulin to breakdown glucose and store it as energy or because the insulin produced is not enough or does not work as required. Gestational diabetes is caused by excess weight, obesity and Insulin Resistance are a condition that develops in the third trimester of pregnancy and affects 4-5 % of all pregnant women in the U.S. That is around 135,000 cases each year. With Gestational Diabetes, the insulin production by pancreas is normal but it doesnt lower the mothers blood sugar levels. The symptoms are only detectable by laboratory testing. Pregnant women can test their blood glucose level by urine dip stick test with each pre-natal visit. This test may show glucose in the urine, which is sign and will require health care provider to carry out further examinations for the presence of Gestational Diabetes, also known as Gestational Diabetes Mellitus http://weight.insulitelabs.com/Gestational-Diabetes.php There are two types of diabetes type 1 and type 2. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body produces no insulin. It is often referred to as insulin-dependent diabetes. It is also sometimes known as juvenile diabetes, or early-onset diabetes, because it usually develops before the age of 40, often in the teenage years. Type 1 diabetes is far less common than type 2 diabetes, which occurs when there is too little insulin produced by the body to work, or when the cells in the body do not react properly to insulin. People with type 1 diabetes make up only 5-15% of all people with diabetes. type 1 diabetes, will need insulin injections for life as well as blood glucose levels stay balanced by eating a healthy diet and carrying out regular blood tests http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/diabetes/Pages/Introduction.aspx The  main symptoms of diabetes  are: feeling very thirsty(polyphagia) producing excessive amounts of urine(polyurea) tiredness and lethargy weight loss muscle wasting (loss of muscle bulk). Symptoms of type 1 diabetes can develop quickly, over weeks or even days. Other symptoms  are:   itchiness around the vagina or penis or getting thrush regularly, blurred vision (caused by the lens of your eye becoming very dry),   muscle cramps, constipation skin infections. Hypoglycaemia (low blood glucose) If a patient has diabetes, their blood glucose levels can become very low. This is known as hypoglycaemia (or a hypo), and happens because insulin produced by the body is more and has reduced the level of in the bloodstream. In most cases, hypoglycaemia occurs if there is overdose of insulin, although it can also happen if you skip a meal, exercise very vigorously or drink alcohol on an empty stomach. Symptoms of a hypo include: feeling shaky and irritable, sweating tingling lips feeling weak hunger nausea A hypoglycaemia can be brought under control simply by eating or drinking something with sugar in it . If a hypoglycaemia is not brought under control it can lead to confusion, slurred speech and unconsciousness. If this occurs there will be a need to have an emergency injection of a hormone called glucagon. This hormone will raise the level of glucose in your blood as it suppress the effect of insulin. Hyperglycaemia (high blood glucose) As diabetes occurs as a result of your body being unable to produce any, or enough, insulin to regulate your blood glucose level, your blood glucose levels may become very high. This happens because there is no insulin to breakdown glucose from the bloodstream and into the cells to produce energy. Blood glucose levels become too high, it lead to   hyperglycaemia. The symptoms are similar to the main symptoms of diabetes, but they may come on suddenly and severely. They include: extreme thirst a dry mouth blurred vision drowsiness a frequent need to pass urine. If left untreated, hyperglycaemia can lead to complications such as diabetic ketoacidosis, which can eventually cause unconsciousness and even death. Diabetic ketoacidosis occurs when your body begins to break down fats for energy instead of glucose, leading to a build-up of acids in your blood urgent medical attention if diabetes develop in the body and this are the general signs and symptoms seen in case of diabetes a loss of appetite, nausea or vomiting (feeling or being sick), a high temperature, stomach pain or severe abdominal pain a fruity smell on your breath, which may smell like pear drops or nail varnish. http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Diabetes/Pages/Symptoms.aspx The McKeown thesis and its Impact: The McKeown thesis attempted to reason the phenomenal growth in population of the from late 18th century to the present day .McKeowns thesis can be summarized as a steep growth in population was primarily due to decline in mortality form infectious diseases and the change in economic conditions due to industrial revolution ,which lead to improvement in rising of living standards and brought a gradual change in nutritional status that improved the human bodys resistance towards various diseases. The development in medical fields achieved by modern science did not make a significant contribution towards the population growth and was largely due to economic forces and changes in living and social conditions. This lead to McKeown reclassifying various fatal diseases recorded by General record office (GRO).McKeown classification was generally of three types (1)Infectious diseases spread through air -Respiratory tuberculosis, Pneumonia, Bronchitis (2) Infectious diseases spread through water or food Cholera, Diarrhoea, Typhoid (3) All other diseases contagious and degenerative When a population develops it is important that the individuals are in a position to fight diseases and problems that can arise from them, this depends on the resources that they have. These resources could be knowledge, social setup, power, money. Those people who have access to resources have advantage and can gain health benefits from the public health system from those who are not in position to direct access to public health system. Resources are important in two different ways first , they can develop the individuals behaviour towards health by helping them access and make choices and whether they could afford them all helping towards health enhancing behaviours and Second, resources are shaped across a broad range of contexts such as communities, neighbourhoods, social network , occupation and the risk as well as protecting factors .Housing for poor people would always be associated with pollution, noise, indifferent social conditions . Access to broad range of problems lie wi th socio economic condition of the individual like knowledge of best doctors and ideal treatment of medical problems and the freedom in making choices .The reason for social condition always being important is resources shape the access to health relevant circumstances . The social condition has been responsible for determining the quality of life and plays an important role as health determinant. (Link.B.G and Phelan.J.C 2003) Mckeown was the former chairman of World health organizations advisory group on health research strategy concludes that the average life expectancy had improved by 23 years in first half of century and medical therapy was responsible for only for few years of it. Meckeown believed that most this decrease was due to identification of bacilli which causes respiratory tuberculosis was not done till year 1882 and effective pharmacotherapy was not available till year 1947. Between 1700 and 1915, the mortality rate in England declined from 27.9 deaths per thousand living to 14.4 and average life expectancy at birth Increased from 37.1 (in 1701) to 53.5 (in 1910-12). These figures reflect a major Improvement in the life-chances of the British population over the course of the Period, and therefore it is hardly surprising that the McKeown thesis, which attempts to account for the decline of mortality and the modern rise of population, has played a big role in economic, social and medical history as well as history of epidemiology and population studies In the years following the publication of McKeown thesis it is argued that its unlikely the dietary standards would have improved during the second half of 18th century as the value of wages was falling as there were apparent contradictions between real wages and mortality. (Wrigley and Schofield, 1981). McKeown argued that there was no means to fight air borne diseases in 18th century and the reduction in deaths was more likely due to improved human body resistance towards these diseases. Illich was not content in criticizing modern medicines for to improve life expectancy , he proposed that medical interventions were in fact responsible for increasing the mortality rate by using ineffective and hazardous medical therapies which at times not tested or researched properly .Illich stated that chronic usages of drugs lead to numerous side-effects , infections acquired from hospitals , poorly performed surgeries as well as false positives and false negative tests from medical tests. McKeown was aware that higher rate in fertility was responsible for increase in population rather than reduced mortality rate but dismissed it on grounds that higher birth rate means higher infant mortality as well due to the high risk parity of mothers so would not account for such a high rate of population growth. McKeown pointed out that mortality rates for most of the infectious diseases reduced considerably before any effective medical measure was in place. McKeown concluded that public health measure such as sewage disposal system, public waste disposal, and supply of clean and potable water and pasteurization of milk was important only from year1870, so the reason behind the decline mortality rate before this was according to McKeown due to improvement in living standards .Improvement in nutrition due to increase in agriculture productivity was also responsible for the increase in resistance to airborne infectious diseases such as Tuberculosis.(Grundy,2005). Prestons article c oncluded that the increase in life expectancy all over the world between 1930s and 160s could not be totally attributed to increase in living standards and suggested that advances in medical care and public health did make significant contribution towards decline in mortality. Prestons did make an effort to prove McKeown thesis wrong but had little influence on conventional belief and the theory of improved standard of living became conventional wisdom for that present time. (Mackenbach J P,2006) It has recently been shown that McKeowns interpretations of his very own epidemiological data is flawed in many respects, firstly smallpox and diphtheria are two diseases that have been eradicated totally all over the world by vaccinations which is a preventive health measure .Positively the only three diseases to be eradicated before great world war was- cholera , typhoid and smallpox all these are attributed to public health measures and not nutrition .When all this data is analysed it goes to show that public health measures taken played the most decisive role in reduction of mortality . Furthermore since McKeowns work was published two significant forms of new evidence has appeared which slams the nutrition/living standard theory by McKeown. The first half of the century, the period which is under review suggests that as when the wages across sectors started improving, the reduction in mortality rate showed a slight decline from previous years and if wage increase meant better nu trition these was not seen in children .The growing cities and towns where the wage improvement were seen showed a trend of areas which had highest mortality rate and children were poorly developed (R.Woods and J.Woodward.1984).Although the points raised here are relevant they skew the main issue here which is that growth in income is not necessarily same all over the world and can vary considerably from developed countries to developing and underdeveloped countries .There are no patterns in cross-sectional associations between the income of a nation and progress in developing health standards as well as life expectancy of their population. Prestons analysis underestimated the effects of economic development and its relation with reduction in mortality rate, that the relationship between the economic development and the developments in medical field are crude conceptualization between the two. McKeowns study can be explained by relevance of the question that underlines them. This concerns the importance of medical interventions, social, economic, political measures which affects the health status and health inequalities. Study suggest that measures need to be taken to improve health inequality and medical interventions and social changes has to be taken as complimenting rather than opposing each other . Interventions Type 1 diabetes is approached by primary, secondary, and tertiary intervention Primary intervention includes treatment of all individuals with diabetes. The possibility of using autoantigens new medium to combat diabetes as a vaccination is currently being explored not only in animal experiments but also in human tests. The selection of children on the basis of HLA type is being used to treat newborns with either oral or nasal insulin. Animal experiments have shown that treatment of spontaneously diabetic nonobese diabetic mice with GAD as a peptide, protein, or expressed in potatoes reduced diabetes. Vaccinations studies done both children and adults remain a future possibility to test determine whether type 1 diabetes can be prevented. (Lernmark.A.1999) Secondary intervention involves screening for genetic, autoantibody, and other possible markers at birth, in school children, or in adults . Individuals classified with type 2 diabetes but positive for islet autoantibodies (representing slow-onset type 1 diabetes, latent autoimmune diabetes in the adult, or type 1.5 diabetes) are also being tested to determine whether they are suitable for immune intervention to preserve their ß-cell function. Recent studies in Japan suggested that early insulin treatment preserves ß-cell function. Several intervention trials are pending, including the use of subcutaneous or oral insulin in the Diabetes Prevention Trial for Type 1 Diabetes, milk formula or nasal insulin in Finland, aerosol insulin in Melbourne, or nicotinamide in the European Nicotinamide Diabetes Intervention Trial. In the next few years studies would find out the extent of such intervention trials preserve ß-cell function in subjects at risk for type 1 diabetes.(Lernmark.A .1999) Tertiary intervention involves the treatment of patients diagnosed with type 1 diabetes very recently. Previous studies have demonstrated that treatment plans with satisfactory results are not present such as immunosuppression with cyclosporin and other agents has not been able to stop the pathogenetic process in new-onset patients. A future innovative treatment is planned so that it represents an antigen-specific immune intervention. Animal experiments have demonstrated that in case of early diagnosis or in patients with early onset the timely administration of antigen or insulin, at the time of clinical onset may slow the disease process.(Lernmark.A.1999) Being active is referred to as physical activity (exercise) and is defined as the act of expending energy. It is generally categorized into two different types aerobic (requiring oxygen to maintain muscular effort) or anaerobic (not requiring oxygen to maintain muscular effort). The term exercise is used as a general label for being active and physical activity as well as exercise. Major challenges to decision making about exercise include how to develop and implement an efficient and effective exercise regimen, how to modify it to an individual patients motivation level knowing his mindset and barriers so that exercise will be initiated and maintained, and how to select, measure, and achieve specific, desired outcomes. Given these decision-making challenges Exercise interventions aimed at achieving these outcomes usually vary by type, intensity, duration and frequency. As with any type of self-care behaviors, barriers to exercise vary and are individual to particular patients depend ing on their health status as well as mindset. Among potential considerations for barriers has to be devised for individual patients type of exercise and duration, intensity, and frequency may need to be tailored to severity of progression of diabetes since complications such as neuropathy and retinopathy may affect the exercise capabilities of a diabetes patient. In addition, patients may consider availability of time, among many other factors such as age, job profile, social status and other medical complications, as posing a substantial barrier to integrating regular exercise or physical activity into normal daily lifestyle. Each of these poses challenges to the initiation and maintenance which is the more difficult part of exercise for patients and therefore to the measurement, monitoring, and management of exercise intervention outcomes for providers. Exercise is one of the most important features to both type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients. For type 2 diabetes patients, engagi ng in regular exercise may improve glycemic control and reduce the risk of vascular complications, increase insulin sensitivity, reduce stress and stave off depression and contribute to control of lipids and blood pressure, thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in diabetes patients. Type  2 diabetes is determined primarily by lifestyle related factors and hereditary factors. Lifestyle A number of lifestyle factors are known to be important to the development of type  2 diabtetes. In one study, those who had high levels of physical activity, a healthy diet, did not smoke, and consumed alcohol in moderation had an 82% lower rate of diabetes. When a normal weight was included the rate was 89% lower. In this study a healthy diet was defined as one high in fiber, with a high polyunsaturated to saturated fat ratio, and a lower mean glycemic index. (Mozaffarian.D.et al 2009) Obesity has been found to contribute to approximately 55% type  2 diabetes, and decreasing consumption of saturated fats and trans fatty acids while replacing them with unsaturated fats may decrease the risk.(Saad.F.2009) increased rate of childhood obesity in between the 1960s and 2000s is beleived to have lead to the increase in type  2 diabetes in children and adolescents. (Rosenbloom.A. et al.2003) Environmental toxins may contribute to recent increases in the rate of type  2 diabetes. A positive correlation has been found between the concentration in the urine of bisphenol A, a constituent of some plastics, and the incidence of type  2 diabetes. (Lang.A.2008) Medical conditions Subclinical Cushings syndrome (cortisol excess) may be associated with DM type 28The percentage of subclinical Cushings syndrome in the diabetic population is about 9%.Diabetic patients with a pituitary microadenoma can improve insulin sensitivity by removal of these microadenomas. (Taniguchi T.2008) Hypogonadism is often associated with cortisol excess, and testosterone deficiency is also associated with diabetes mellitus type 2, even if the exact mechanism by which testosterone improve insulin resistance is still not known. (Farrell JB,2008) Genetics Both type  1 and type  2 diabetes are partly inherited. Type  1 diabetes may be triggered by certain infections, with some evidence pointing at Coxsackie B4 virus. There is a genetic element in individual susceptibility to some of these triggers which has been traced to particular HLA genotypes (i.e., the genetic self identifiers relied upon by the immune system). However, even in those who have inherited the susceptibility, type  1 diabetes mellitus seems to require an environmental trigger. There is a stronger inheritance pattern for type  2 diabetes. Those with first-degree relatives with type  2 have a much higher risk of developing type  2, increasing with the number of those relatives. Gene expression promoted by a diet of fat and glucose as well as high levels of inflammation related cytokines found in the obese results in cells that produce fewer and smaller mitochondria than is normal, and are thus prone to insulin resistance. COMPLICATIONS of Diabetes Early complications- Diabetic ketoacidosis is a medical emergency, because it can cause coma and death. Hospitalization, usually in an intensive care unit, is necessary. Large amounts of fluids are given intravenously along with electrolytes, such as sodium, potassium, chloride, and phosphate, to replace those fluids and electrolytes lost through excessive urination. Insulin is generally given intravenously so that it works quickly and the dose can be adjusted frequently. Blood levels of sugar, ketones, and electrolytes are measured every few hours. Doctors also measure the bloods acid level. Sometimes, additional treatments are needed to correct a high acid level. However, controlling the levels of sugar in the blood and replacing electrolytes usually allow the body to restore the normal acid-base balance.( Robbins and Cotran,2007) Late Complication of Diabetes Mellitus: Macro-vascular complications as: Atherosclerosis with MI, CVA, peripheral vascular disease Micro-vascular complications as: Diabetic Retinopathy Diabetic retinopathy refers to progressive pathologic alterations in the retinal microvasculature. In type 2 diabetes, though the incidence of blindness is lower, higher disease prevalence results in an even larger number of patients affected with severe visual loss. Diabetic Neuropathy Diabetic neuropathy (DN) is a common and troublesome complication of diabetes mellitus, leading to great morbidity and mortality and resulting in a huge economic burden for care of the patient with diabetes mellitus. It is the most common form of neuropathy in the developed countries of the world, accounts for more hospitalizations than all the other diabetic complications combined, and is responsible for 50% to 75% of nontraumatic amputations and patients have serious co-morbid conditions, especially heart, eye, and peripheral vascular diseases. Diabetic neuropathy is a heterogeneous disorder that encompasses a wide range of abnormalities affecting proximal and distal peripheral sensory and motor nerves as well as the autonomic nervous system. The major morbidity associated with somatic neuropathy is foot ulceration, the precursor of gangrene and limb loss. (Robbins and Cotran,2007) Research on diabetes The features of Type 1 diabetes in humans as well as mice in labororatory environment is significantly dependent on an relation between the environmental factors and genetic feature of humans as well as the study animal. Studies by Giulietti.A.et al(2004) al point towards vitamin D as being one of the environmental factors that can modulate the incidence of diabetes. This study further shows that in mice that developing Type 1 diabetes are generally at higher risk due to its genetics as well as vitamin D deficiency which leads to features seen in early part of life leading to a more aggressive form of the disease causing earlier onset, and a higher final incidence of the disease. This model of subtle vitamin D deficiency in early life, with only a marginal vitamin D deficiency in blood, but no effect on calcium concentration in serum or bone calcium content. This is most probably the reflection of the vitamin D status in many infants and small children as this model has temporary and limited vitamin D deficiency, even in areas with high exposure to sunlight, since infants always are shielded from UV B exposure or direct exposure of sunlight. The application of vitamin D supplement is advised in many countries it is far from strictly controlled and many times, these supplements are omitted or administered irregularly or not paid enough importance to keep tab on their supply and demand. The higher incidence of Type 1 diabetes in the past two decades may be seen due the nutritional rickets which has never been completely eradicated in many countries and may be reappearing in may industrialize countries (Giulietti.A.et al, 2004). It was found that the risks for diabetes in African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans are approximately 2, 2.5, and 5 times greater, respectively, than in Caucasians being the least. Various national and ethnic populations within the U.S. to the total U.S. population were analyzed to find possible risk factors for the development of type 2 diabetes this was done by number of cross-sectional studies and prospective studies . Studies of the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic whites in San Antonio showed that there is an inverse relationship between prevalence of diabetes generally and their current socioeconomic status. The cultural effects lead to an increased incidence of obesity in these populations which may also be related to their diet and physical activities, which may lead to insulin resistance. Genetic factors may also be a contributing factor. (Haffener.S.M 1998) There are no high quality data on the research about the long lasting effectiveness of the dietary treatment of type 2 diabetes, however the data available indicate that the adoption of exercise which is a change in lifestyle appears to improve glycated haemoglobin at six and twelve months in people with type 2 diabetes. There is an urgent need for more well-designed studies which will analyse the wide range of interventions, at various points during follow-up (Moore.H. et al 2004) Weight loss improves glycemic control with magnitude of improvement related to both magnitude of weight and characteristics of patient , the amount of weight loss required to reduce blood glucose is large, even modest weight loss produces glycemic control .The most important issue is how to improve weight loss especially long term weight loss, in type 2 diabetic patient .Dietary modification is most important direction in weight loss program (Hertzel.C.et al) Implications for developing world Type I diabetes is the only major organ-specific autoimmune disorder not to show a strong female bias. The overall sex ratio is roughly equal in children diagnosed under the age of 15 but while populations with the highest incidence all show male excess, the lowest risk populations studied, mostly of non-European origin, characteristically show a female bias. In contrast, male excess is a consistent finding in populations of European origin aged 15-40 years, with an approximate 3:2 male:female ratio. This ratio has remained constant in young adults over two or three generations in some populations. Further, fathers with Type I diabetes are more likely than affected mothers to transmit the condition to their offspring. Women of childbearing age are therefore less likely to develop Type I diabetes, and should this occur are less likely to transmit it to their offspring. Type II diabetes showed a pronounced female excess in the first half of the last century but is now equally prevale nt among men and women in most populations, with some evidence of male preponderance in early middle age. Men seem more susceptible than women to the consequences of indolence and obesity, possibly due to differences in insulin sensitivity and regional fat deposition. Women are, however, more likely to transmit Type II diabetes to their offspring. Understanding these experiments of nature might suggest ways of influencing the early course of both forms of the disease.(Gale.E.A.M. et al 2001) It is recognized that there will be substantially increased costs of widely applying the recommendations of study in the U.S on the Diabetes control and complications trial (DCCT). There will also need to be additional efforts to ensure professional education, so that health practitioners are implement this recommendations through the trial are able to effectively and safely implement the therapy employed in the DCCT. It is hoped that the benefits of trial are long term healthier; more productive lives with fewer complications will offset the costs of tight control. The cost-benefit ratio for intensive therapy in diabetes in this trial is in a range similar to other accepted treatments in the U.S that are

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

To Kill a Mocking Bird Newspaper Project -- To Kill a Mockingbird Essay

Today in Maycomb County, there was a trail against a local African American man named â€Å"Tom Robinson.† He was accused for raping and beating up a white girl named â€Å"Mayella.† His lawyer is â€Å"Atticus Finch† is facing off against â€Å"Mr. Gilmer† the district attorney. Judge Taylor, appears to be sleeping through out the trial, yet pays attention and tends to chew his cigar. The supposed crime occurred in Mayella’s home, when Tom Robinson went to fix something and then he raped her. Atticus calls up his first witness, â€Å"Bob Ewell.† He asked questions like â€Å"Would you ever beat your daughter?† and â€Å"Where you on the night of the crime?† Bob Ewell answered that he never has beaten his daughter and was somewhere else at the time of the crime. After that, he asked Bob to write his name, and Atticus not...