Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Memorizing Lines - Memorization Tips

Memorizing Lines - Memorization Tips From time to time you will be required to memorize lines for a play, a speech, or a skit of some kind. For some students this will come easily, but others may experience anxiety at the thought of memorizing lines. The first task is to separate out any anxiety about speaking in front of others and deal with that apart from the actual memorization process. Realize that memorizing is one source of concern, and speaking to a group is another. Focus on one issue at a time. Just knowing this will ease some of your worry and give you more of a sense of control. We worry about things when they feel out of our control. Memorizing Lines The best single advice for memorizing anything is to study in a way that appeals to as many senses as you can. By seeing, hearing, feeling, and even smelling your material, you reinforce it in your brain. There are several ways to reinforce information through your senses. Your best bet is to combine three of these techniques. Youll find that some techniques are appropriate for your specific assignment and others are not. Memorizing With Sight Visual prompts act as a great tool for reinforcing information and committing them to memory. Use flash cards. Put all your prompts on one side and your lines on the other.Draw a series of pictures that represent your speech or your lines. Remember picture stories from preschool? Be very creative and think of a picture story to go along with your lines. After youve created your picture story, go back and say your lines as you look at the pictures.Say your lines in front of a mirror and move your face or your arms a special way to emphasize specific words or passages.If your lines come in the form of a script, cover over other actors lines with strips of sticky note. This makes your own lines stand out on the page. Read them over several times.Visualize other actors faces saying your cues and follow with your own lines that follow the cues.Use your smart phone to video yourself saying your lines and watch it. Then repeat if necessary. Memorizing With Feeling Feelings can be internal (emotional) or external (tactile). Either type of experience will reinforce your information. Write out your lines. The act of writing the words provides very strong reinforcement.Carry your script or speech with you at all times and read the full text when you get a chance to get a strong emotional feel for it.Get to know your character. Understand why you say and do what you do.Act out your lines as you say them, even if this is an unemotional speech. You can so this in front of a mirror and  exaggerate your words with dramatic gestures. Of course, you dont want to do this during your actual speech, but you will be thinking about it.Try memorizing backward, from end to start. This separates the emotion from the words. Then read the text from start to finish, with feeling. This technique reinforces the emotional aspect.Learn to think like your character (get a feel for him or her). This can save you if you forget your lines on stage. Simply think like the character and say what he would say as close to the real lines as possible. Memorizing With Sound Sound is a very effective tool for memorization. There are a few different ways to incorporate sound into your memorization skills. Read the script and record the lines of the other performers and leave the microphone off as you read your own lines. This leaves blank air space for your lines. Go back and practice saying your own lines at the appropriate times.Record your lines with exaggerated vocal expressions. You may even want to yell your words. Exaggerations leave big imprints in your brain.Record the entire play or performance during a rehearsal.Carry your recorder with you and listen to it as often as you can.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

The Top 5 Major Industry Jobs in the Southeast

The Top 5 Major Industry Jobs in the Southeast If you’re looking for a career change (or a change of scenery!), here are some of the fastest-growing jobs for 2016 in the southeastern part of the United States. This includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The southeast is poised for booming job growth in 2016, buoyed by industries like manufacturing, healthcare, and construction, as many Americans flee rough winters for warm southern charm and legendary food.1. Tech Job Outlook: Computer Systems AnalystMove over, Silicon Valley: the fastest-growing tech hubs are mid-sized cities which are capitalizing on nearby universities and large companies to attract talent. Cities like Nashville, TN, and Raleigh, NC, are leading the way here. Computer systems analysts will be a high-demand position as this industry grows.Systems analysts take current computer systems and processes and design solutions to make them run more effectively. This role, which typically requires a bachelor’s degree, has a median salary of $82,710 per year, and is expected to grow like gangbusters- 21% per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.2. Administrative Job Outlook: Market Research AnalystWith the population getting more diverse all the time, identifying trends and helping companies refine their outreach and branding is a key role. This is where market research analysts come in. They take consumer data and turn it into sales leads, marketing promotions, or market forecasts for companies. The field is expected to grown approximately 19%, and offers a median salary of $61,290.3. Logistics Job Outlook: MachinistsMany companies are relocating their manufacturing plants to the southeast. For example, Mercedes-Benz USA announced in 2015 that it would be moving its headquarters to Atlanta, GA, and bringing with it more than 1,000 jobs. Machinists are a large part of this industrial workforce, operating tools to produce and modify parts. The median salary for machinist s is $41,510, and the field is open to those with a high school diploma- or equivalent vocational training or experience.4. Healthcare Job Outlook: Home Health AideThe southeast has always been a popular retirement spot for Americans, and that trend is not slowing anytime soon. With an aging population comes very specific healthcare needs- many of which are addressed by home health aides. These aides provide in-home care for clients who have disabilities, chronic illnesses, or other impairments that interfere with the ability to carry out with daily tasks. In addition to helping with chores around the home, aides may also be responsible for monitoring vital signs and ensuring that clients take medication.There is no formal education requirement for home health aides, but some states may require additional certification. The median salary for this job is $21,380, and the field is expected to grow by 38%- much faster than average.5. Service Job Outlook: Medical Equipment RepairersGoin g hand in hand with the extreme growth in healthcare needs, professionals who maintain and repair medical equipment will also be in high demand. Medical equipment repairers install, maintain, and repair equipment used in diagnosis and patient care.The median salary for this job is $45,660, and employers generally prefer candidates with an Associate’s degree in engineering or biomedical technology.The southeast is on the upswing- and not just because you can sit  on a beach in December without freezing. People of all demographics are seeking opportunities in the region, and many industries are gearing up to accommodate that growth.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Emanuel Medical Center Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Emanuel Medical Center - Case Study Example While this was a public relations problem in the short term, the issue pointed out the larger systemic problems that exist at EMC. The ED has increasingly become a cost center, and staff morale and quality of care is reflected in this dilemma. The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) of 1986 mandated that emergency rooms must treat all patients, without regards to their ability to pay. This legislation took effect at the same time that the numbers of under and uninsured people in California began to escalate. Lacking primary care physicians, the uninsured have made the ED the primary clinic for their health care. This further exacerbated EMC's financial position from two aspects. First; uninsured people were using the most expensive delivery system available, which overloaded the capacity of the ED. Second; people were waiting until their condition was chronic or terminal before seeking treatment, which further drove up costs. The outdated ED was operating well in excess of capacity, which put an additional strain on nurse availability, response time, and specialty services. With half of the patients that were admitted through the ED either uninsured or underinsured through Medi-Cal, Moen's challenge was to find areas that could compensate for the large losses incurred by the ED. With all of health care experiencing declining reimbursements and increasing expenses, it has been a difficult task to find areas of profitability. EMC expenses have outpaced revenue growth in the period of 1997-2002. Wages and salaries, the largest single expense, grew by 28 percent during this period, while revenues increased by only 23 percent. The nursing shortage has contributed to the problem, as it has forced EMC to hire temporary nurses, and reduce the number of beds available, which have both negatively impacted the bottom line. During this same era, reimbursements from Medi-care, Medi-Cal, and HMOs were declining. An experiment with capitation in the late 1990s did not prove successful, and the hope of vertical integration became an insurmountable expense. Area competition has also put pressure on EMC. Specialties and high-tech procedures are largely not available at EMC, and this business goes to the competition. The financial reality of EMC operating at a loss for the past several years has made capital investment in new equipment and technology out of reach of financing. In addition, closures and consolidations have increased the hostility of the external operating environment. All of these factors; increasing expenses, reduced reimbursement, competition, and escalating salaries have all combined to form the perfect storm. The only bright spot on the balance sheet has been the investments that EMC made in the 1990s, which managed to keep them operating into the 21st century. In fact, without these investments the financial solvency of EMC would be in doubt. In addition, EMC enjoys a significant amount of community support, and has aggressively sought community involvement through a matching grant from the Mary Stuart Rogers Foundation. Moen's greatest operational challenge will be to reduce operating expenses, and increase patient revenue within the realities of their current financial situation. 2.) There are numerous strategic options available to Robert Moen, though they all have a large degree of uncertainty in regards to their financial

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Compare and contrast two, current commercial strategies from different Essay - 1

Compare and contrast two, current commercial strategies from different corporate organisations operating in different industries - Essay Example The commercial strategies are noted to be the strategic specifications that helps in developing the overall credibility of a company to perform and even helps it to develop operations specifically from the initial production to final needs. The maintenance of a commercial strategy enhances the ability of an organisation to manage the various operations and maintain its sustainable growth and development (Duquette, Kotler, McClelland, Ranjan & Zimmerman, 2014). In this context, it can be inferred that many organisations are incorporating commercial strategies to enhance the ability of the organisations to perform. Based on this context, the paper elaborates on the incorporation of the commercial strategies adopted by McDonalds Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation. The paper compares and contrasts the strategies used by the two companies to develop their sustainable domain. Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese based automobile company that has enhanced its hold across the globe and is entitled to be the first automobile company that has the ability to produce 10 billion cars a year. The company was instituted in the year 1937 and it deals with luxury cars and commercial vehicles. The company has developed its sustainable domain based on the effective management of strategies and efficient use of resources (Nkomo, n.d.). The strengths of the company are observed to be the strong holds on the market and brand recognition that the company has in the global market. The strong focus on the Research and Development (R&D) has been enhancing the market share and developing its brand image in the global market. Furthermore, with an extensive network all across the globe, the company has enhanced their level of consumer satisfactions and further developed their brand loyalty (Nkomo, n.d.). Irrespective of the massive global presence and enormous brand image, the company has been facing fall in sales. This could be

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Importance of Education Essay Example for Free

Importance of Education Essay Providing free and quality education to children reflects the fact that every child is entitled to fundamental human rights and is to be treated with dignity. Where children are exposed to poverty, violence, abuse, or exploitation, those rights demand our urgent protection. Primary education supports children at a critical time in their physical, emotional, social and intellectual growth. More broadly, education is a key tool for development, and an invaluable means of addressing structural inequality and disadvantage. Primary education provides children with life skills that will enable them to prosper later in life. It equips children with the skills to maintain a healthy and productive existence, to grow into resourceful and socially active adults, and to make cultural and political contributions to their communities. Education also transmits more abstract qualities such as critical thinking skills, healthy living, resilience, and self-confidence. An educated adult population is vital for strong economic development. It also lays the foundations for greater overall economic productivity, and the full use of new technologies for development. A system of compulsory schooling helps fight child labour. Educated and literate adults are more likely to be informed about sexual risks and better able to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. A lack of gender parity and equality in education is often a critical factor in underdevelopment. The education of women is a powerful means of sustaining improved health and education in the long term. Figures suggest that children of educated mothers are significantly more likely to be enrolled in school. The education of women also reduces fertility rates and improves the health of women, infants and children. In addition, the education of women may also address entrenched cultural views about traditional female roles as they are empowered and equipped with skills which enable them to make a full contribution to their communities. You can make a difference by entering a partnership, donating or volunteering.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Essay About Family: Cutting Strings :: Personal Narrative essay about my family

Cutting Strings I’m in bed, scanning the ceiling for a light that isn’t there. There wasn’t one last night, or the night before, so I shouldn’t have expected anything different than the textured surface that my retinas now scratch across in a long diagonal. The same grey, dried-paint-sharp ceiling that they don’t show in the brochures. Always without a light. Sure, one of those fake-Southwestern lamps with a plastic lamp shade sits beside me on the coffee table, but it’ll just fall with everything else once this island of a motel room shrinks down to a pinpoint and these two beds, those dresser drawers, that mirror, Jessie, Bekah, and my own elusive existence tumble into the empty gap. â€Å"Are they still out there?† I don’t see her, but I imagine my 16-year-old sister Jessie gaping at the blank TV screen, hoping somebody will answer her question. â€Å"Yep,† Bekah rattles off too quickly. That’s right, I realize. Still outside. Probably in the car, pinned under the hard rain. It was raining when we got here. Some firefly of a town at the crossing of two faded freeways in northern Pennsylvania where it snows a lot in the wintertime for the skiers, my dad told me in a watery voice while our minivan hummed down the off-ramp. Watercolor black, I thought while I looked out the window, except for the yellow, splotchy Super-8 sign and the white motel lobby. My two sisters and I brought the luggage down and we’re still waiting for mom and dad like dead puppets, and I’m still wishing for a light fixture. Like the bubble-shaped one that hung in my bedroom about two thousand miles away, before I turned 18 on this family road trip. Before this second act, when my parents stopped flinching their puppet master wrists from above the stage, and so I finally cut my own strings, just to fall flat on my plastic face and deflate like a balloon. The door clicks open. What can I hang on to? The ceiling is blank. â€Å"Mom?† I hear my sister’s drawl and think desperately about a light fixture, this one big, with crystal chains and gold bars. I can feel the mattress slipping below my back. Take your things. Swinging from chandeliers? No, too much. I’d just hold on. â€Å"Take your things and get out,† Mom says. â€Å"You’re sleeping with your dad tonight.† My two sisters and my older brother and I never heard much, but my mother would sometimes tell us about how her parents beat her and did other things too.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Movers and Shakers in Education Essay

Trailblazers in American Education There have been several individuals throughout America’s history who have helped develop, shape, advance, balance, and reform education to what it is today. America’s educational system has a rich background from its roots of one room school houses to our current system of education which offers an array of opportunities for students to obtain a public education. John Dewey John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. Dewey is known as the founder of the progressive education movement. He argued that it was the job of education to encourage individuals to develop their full potential as human beings. Dewey’s educational theories were presented in a variety of books he authored. Several continuous themes ring true in most of Dewey’s books. They include his frequent argument that education and learning are social and interactive processes, thus school should be considered a social institution where social reform can and ought to take place. In addition, he believed that students thrive in an environment where they are allowed to experience and interact with the curriculum so all students should have the opportunity to take part in their own learning. He was especially critical of forms of memorization learning where repetition of facts and information was exercised. He argued that children should learn by experience. Rather than just gaining knowledge, Dewey believed that students should develop skills, habits and attitudes necessary for them to solve a wide variety of problems. Dewey’s legacy of the importance of experiential learning remains to this day. There are a number of schools across the United States that follow his theories and methods of teaching. [pic] Alvarez vs. The Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove School District. The history of school desegregation legislation in the United States did not begin with the 1954 Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Brown vs. he Topeka school board, but rather in a rural community called Lemon Grove located in Southern California. It has recently been discovered that the earliest court cases concerning school desegregation occurred in the American Southwest in the 1930s. In these cases, Mexican immigrants and their communities were the targeted groups of segregation by school officials. A significant case during this era was the 1930 decision in Roberto Alvarez vs. the Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove School District. This was the first successful school desegregation court decision in the history of the United States. It represents an instance when community members took court action and won their case, despite negative sentiment towards them, to ensure the rights of their children to receive an equal education, making it an important event in both San Diego and U. S. history. The case stands as a credit to the activism of San Diego’s Mexican community who used the public system of justice to ensure that not only Mexican-American children in California, but the rest of the United States had access to a quality education (Alvarez, Jr. , 1984). [pic] Science and Math Education Movement With the launching of Sputnik in October 1957, Americans became extremely fearful that the United States was falling behind in the areas of technology, science, and mathematics. Citizens of the United States feared that their country could see a shortage of trained teachers, engineers, and highly educated students in the near future if something was not done. In response to public pressure, the federal government passed the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) in 1958. The act supported efforts of academic specialists to revise curriculum according to the latest theories and methods. Improvements were made in all subject areas and institutes were held to train teachers in the use of new materials and methods (Webb, Metha, ; Jordan, 2010). In addition to enhancing the curriculum, the NDEA also funded programs that provided guidance, counseling, and testing programs for students. According to authors Webb, Metha, ; Jordan, the NDEA set the stage for the federal government’s increased involvement in education (2010). [pic] Out of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) of 1975 came the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990. These pieces of legislation were a result of the earlier Civil Rights Movement in Education during the 1960s where marginalized groups were fighting for justice and equality within the education system. The federal law, IDEA, was established in 1990. It applies to all children with disabilities from birth to age twenty-one. The statue defines â€Å"disabled children† as those with mental retardation, hearing impairments, emotional disturbance, orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, multiple disabilities, or specific learning disabilities. To receive services under the IDEA, a student must not only have a disability, but the condition also must affect the student’s education. The major principles included in the IDEA are: the right to a free and appropriate education, identification and nondiscriminatory evaluation, an individualized education program (IEP), least restrictive environment, and procedural due process (Webb, et al. , 2010). While the law has transformed and grown over the years, it remains evident in the classroom to this day. It has promoted research and technology development, details on transition programs for post high school students, and programs that educate children in their neighborhood schools instead of separate schools.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

HIV Patients Should Have Equal Access to Kidney Transplantation Essay

HIV infection may be obtained by patients receiving renal replacement therapy (RRT) through blood transfusions, renal allograft, sexual contacts, or needle sharing of drug addicts. Viral infection or HIV-associated nephropathy can cause renal failure. In the early 1980’s, prognosis of patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was very low, and survival rate of HIV-infected individuals with ESRD was miserable. Accordingly, several people even doubted the worth of providing continuance dialysis to patients with AIDS. Due to progress in diagnostic techniques in serologic and viral markers of disease, and use of extremely efficient antiretroviral agents, the prognosis of HIV-positive individuals has radically improved. Today, skills and knowledge in hemodialysis are effective modes of therapy and many centers, though some are reluctant, are now starting to practice renal transplantation in HIV-infected patients. Human Immunodeficiency Virus HIV infects CD4+ T cells, making the immune system weak as these cells malfunctions. Abnormal activation ofCD8= T cells may contribute to the loss of both CD4+ AND CD8+ T cells through apoptosis, which may represent a major cause of infected and non-infected cell death in HIV infection. Many HIV-infected individuals proliferative responses to recall antigens, irradiated stimulator peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy, unrelated donors, or T cell mitogens (Roland & Stock, 2003). HIV infection can worsen existing renal disease and can trigger pathologically distinct disease named HIV-associated nephropathy (HIVAN), a focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) associated with severe cystic tubular lesions, leading to chronic renal failure. Renal syndromes include: fluid and electrolyte malfunction, proteinuria, nephrotic disease, progressive azotemia, inflamed kidneys, and fast succession to end stage renal disease (ESRD). HIV-infected patients who developed renal disease have short survival span. Transplantation process may increase the risk of HIV-infected patients in accelerating the depletion and dysfunction of their CD4+ T cells, which may further result in the development of more serious and complicated disease, such as AIDS, making HIV replication harder to control. On the other hand, immunosuppression might reverse the immuno-pathology associated with HIV disease (Roland & Stock, 2003). End Stage Renal Disease  When the kidney totally lost its ability to filter waste from the circulatory system, renal failure finally meet the end stage renal disease or ESRD, the final stage of nephropathy or the premeditated degeneration of the kidneys. In 1998, over eighty-six thousand patients received therapy for treating ESRD in the United States. Autonomously, Medicare expenditures rose to 12. 9 billion dollars from 12 billion in 1998. The total cost of ESRD program through medicare was 17. 9 billion and is now projected to be 28. 3 billion dollars by 2010 (Winsett et al, 2002). The most common causes of ESRD include diabetic nephropathy, systemic arteral hypertension, glomerulonephrities, and polycystic kidney disease. In the case of ESRD, GFR declines to less than 10mL/min/m2, once it declines to that level, the normal hemeostatic function of the kidneys can not be sustained anymore. Whatever the cause, if untreated, ESRD may cause severe infection and even death to the patient. When the kidney function decline to less than twelve percent to fifteen percent, the patient survival will depend on the kidney transplantation and the therapies associated to it (Winsett et al, 2002). Chronic Dialysis versus Kidney Transplantation According to the New England Journal of Medicine (1999), transplantation is superior in saving life than long-term dialysis. The mortality rates were analyzed among over 200, 000 patients who underwent dialyses for ESRD and only twenty-three thousand received a kidney. Based on the research, patients who undergo transplantation live twice more than the projected years of life of patients who remained on the waitlist having dialysis. A successful transplantation improves the quality of life and lessens the mortality rate for many patients. Moreover, it consumes less time and energy. However, this procedure may cause bleeding, damage, and infection to other organs inside the body, even death can occur. That is why after transplantation, patients must undergo immunosuppression process for a lifetime period to monitor signs of rejection (Berns, 2007). Despite the greater risks, when it comes to quality and length of life, a transplanted kidney is more preferred. It’s man over machine. Statistics Over ten thousand kidney transplantations are being performed each year on patients with ESRD. Records show that patients who undergo kidney transplantation live longer than those who are just taking dialysis; but eight to nine patients on the waitlist die every day due to scarcity of organs to be used in the transplantation. Cadaveric kidney supply has an average of more than two years to come, and only 15-20 % of patients in the list were granted to receive them. The condition of renal failure and what causes them have direct effects on the transplantation rates of patients. Individuals with cystic kidney disease (25. 5%), obstructive nephropathy (24. 9%), and glomerulonephrities (23. 2%) have the utmost successful transplantation rate while patients having diabetes (13. 3%) and hypertension (8. 5%) have the lowest rates (Wallace, 1998). Why transplantation should be considered in HIV-infected patients? Organ malfunction has been the principal grounds of morbidity and mortality of HIV-infected patients, AIDS-related complication is only secondary. Before, immunosuppression was thought to be an unconditional contraindication in the circumstance of HIV infection, now, it is gradually more valued that immune activation is a major aspect of HIV pathogenesis. Consequently, immunosuppression has advantageous effects in people with HIV infection through temperance of immune activation or reduction of HIV reservoirs. Some specific immunosuppressant agents also have antiviral properties or interact synergistically with certain antiretroviral agents (Roland & Stock, 2003). Reasons for reluctance of performing Kidney Transplantation for HIV-infected patients: In a survey conducted to 248 renal transplant centers in The U. S. in 1998, 148 requires HIV testing of prospective kidney recipients and that the vast majority denies patients with HIV to undergo transplantation. Most centers believe that transplantation is not suitable for HIV-infected patients (Spital A. , 1998). Before, chronic dialysis was the only option for treating ESRD of HIV-infected patients for fear of increased morbidity and mortality due to therapeutic immunosuppression. The allocation of cadaver kidneys to these patients was also considered improper due to expected inferior patient graft survival (Anil Kumar et al. , 2005). Also, according to the research led by Professor Andrew Grulich from the University of the New South Wales’ National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Search (NCHECR), immune deficiency is responsible for the increased risk of contracting several types of cancer than the general population. HIV patients are eleven times more expected to develop Hodgkin’s lymphoma while there is almost four times the risk for those who had transplants (Staff Writers, 2007). Professor Grulich further proposed that people’s immune system must be maintained at a higher level through the use of anti-retroviral drugs. The main historical exclusion of HIV-infected patients with ESRD was rooted in the coherent basis that immunosuppression necessary for organ transplantation would aggravate an already immunocompromised state. Although there were numerous initial reports signifying worse outcomes after solid organ transplantation in HIV seropositive recipients, there have been reports as well suggesting there were no unpleasant effects of HIV infection on allograft survival (University of California, 2007). Indeed, there have been two reports of HIV-infected patients going through liver or renal transplantation who demonstrated normal graft function for at least eight years following the transplant. The HIV status of the two was unknown at the time of transplantation; therefore no endeavors were prepared to adjust immunosuppressive therapy. The distinction in these studies may recount to differences in the time of HIV acquisition, with those of longstanding HIV infection prior to transplantation having a faster end relative to those who acquired HIV infection at the time of transplantation. Regardless of standard cyclosporine-based immunosuppressive treatments, there was no proof of OI or progression to AIDS in the first eight years following transplantation (Roland & Stock, 2003). There are multiple other reports of patients with HIV who had gone through transplantation and demonstrated long-term graft survival in the presence of immunosuppression with variable rates of developing AIDS or death. Six of eleven renal allografts were functioning at a mean follow-up of thirty-one months (Roland & Stock, 2003). Effects of Immunosuppressant Agents In order to avoid rejection reaction of the body against transplanted organs, immunosuppressant drugs are being taken to block the immune system from attacking the transplanted organ and preserving its function. As side effect, these drugs can help in HIV progress to AIDS. However, recent studies show that these drugs can also contribute in the reduction of HIV. Inactive T lymphocytes serve as a vital reservoir for HIV regardless of HAART. Immunosuppression may affect the reservoir of HIV-infected cell that persist throughout HAART through reduction of cell-associated HIV by either direct inhibition of viral replication, potentiation of HAART effects, or exhaustion of infected cells and lessening in the accessibility of permissive target cells by preventing T-cell activation. Otherwise, improvement in viral reservoirs can be caused by reduced immune management of HIV-expressing cells (Roland & Stock, 2003). Ethical and Medical Issues Organ shortage is one of the ethical issues in organ transplantation. One distributive fairness criteria is equal access which include length of time waiting (first come, first saved basis), and age (youngest to oldest). The supporters of this criteria has a strong belief that since kidney transplantation can save live, it is an important remedial practice and worth offering to anyone who needs it (Center for Bioethics, 2004). The second type is the maximum benefit, aiming to maximize the quantity of successful transplants. The maximum benefit criteria include medical need (the sickest people are being prioritized for a transplantable organ), and probable success of a transplant (giving organs to the person who will be most likely to live the longest). People who support the maximum benefit philosophy aspire to avoid the wasting of organs, which are quite scarce, so that the greatest benefit is derived from every available organ (Center for Bioethics, 2004). During the Pre-HAART era, HIV-infected patients have a very poor prognosis, many people believes that it would be a waste to use the limited supply of organ to those group of patients that is why many transplant centers are reluctant to practice the transplantation. However, now that the HAART has been launched and the mortality and morbidity rate has been decreasing, it would be unethical to withhold this option in the absence of evidence that it is either unsafe or ineffective. Advancement in HIV Therapy: HAART era Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) has been the primary improvement in the treatment of HIV-infected patients in the previous decade. Numerous studies and observations had proven that advantageous outcomes of HAART also include improvement of HIV-related renal complications. Virologic and histologic evidences imply that HIVAN perhaps the result of HIV-1 reproduction in the kidney. The potential relation of HIVAN with HIV-1 replication in the kidney is associated with epidemiologic and medical records showing that HAART may improve HIVAN. On the other hand, from nephrologist’s perspective, one effect of this achievement has been the emergence of new kidney diseases related to (1) enhanced management of the HIV infection and (2) the prospective nephroxicity of antiretroviral treatments. According to the studies of MD Roland and Stock, medical tests have confirmed apparent survival benefits linked with the use of protease inhibitor (PI)-containing or non-nucleoside reverse-transcriptate inhibitor (NNRTI)-containing regimens (HAART). Epidemiologic statistics show reduced mortality, hospitalization rates, and opportunistic infection (OI) incidence associated with HAART. There have been vivid decline in new AIDS-related OIs, the majority of which are now occurring in people with low CD4+ T cell counts and those who are not receiving medical care (University of California, 2007). Epidemiologic and modeling information sustain the clinical trial efficacy data, signifying that HAART has a considerable effect on medical result (Roland & Stock, 2003). Survival Rate Using the United States Kidney Data System (USRDS) data, the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology analyzed and studied these inputs to find out whether recipient HIV serologic status remains the primary factor in graft and patient survival in modern clinical transplantation. Ninety-five percent of the HIV-infected patients survived after transplantation and only 4. 3% died. Although in the earlier USRDS studies of kidney recipients before the introduction of HAART, the results showed that HIV-infected recipients had a survival of eighty-three percent while the uninfected patients have eighty-eight percent survival rates. While endurance records of HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected patients is almost the same, selection bias may have occurred, prioritizing the healthier patients than HIV-infected individuals. Also, in the studies of MD Roland, data showed that graft survival and rejection rates of HIV-infected patients who had gone through transplantation were similar to those HIV-negative patients (Roland & Stock, 2003). Studies and Observations Methods. This study aims to observe safety and success of kidney transplantation, and learn the effects of immunosuppressant treatments on HIV infection, with the approval of the Institutional evaluation board of two universities: the Drexel University College of Medicine and Hahnemann University Hospital. Forty-five recipients with HIV infection from February 2001 to January 2004 were observed. Patient inclusion criteria were maintenance of HAART, plasma HIV-1 RNA of

Friday, November 8, 2019

The Xinjiang Qanat System of the Turpan Oasis

The Xinjiang Qanat System of the Turpan Oasis The Xinjiang Qanat System is a remarkable feat of irrigation engineering skill, and it is considered one of the three great wonders of China, after the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) Great Wall and the Sui Dynasty (581–618 CE) Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. The qanat (also known as a karez) system is a rich water source for the Turpan Oasis, tapping groundwater stored in the deep subsurface gravel layers of the Gobi belt. What makes this all the more interesting is the fact that scholars are still not agreed upon when the qanat system was built... and that begs the question of who built it. Climate of the Turpan The Turfan (or Turpan) basin, located to the east of the more famous Tarim Basin, is one of the driest areas in China, with a total precipitation of 15-25 millimeters (under one inch) per year, and an elevation about 160 meters (524 feet) below sea level. The average temperature of the basin is 32.7 degrees Celsius (90.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in July, but the winters are rather chilly, and in January the average temperatures are about 9.5 degrees C (49.6 degrees F), and can fall as low as -28 degrees C (18 degrees F). The Turfan Basis, while a desert, is much more hospitable than its southern neighbor, the harsh Taklamakan Desert. Wedged between the Taklamakan and the Tianshan Mountains, the Turfan was a much preferred, not to say feasible, route for travelers on the Silk Road: its oasis was a critical stopover. Irrigating the Turfan Theres no doubt that the oasis had a natural beginning. A total of 4,000 sq km (1,500 sq mi) of the Turfan Basin lies below sea level; the Turpan Oasis lies in the lowest part, at an elevation of 154 m (505 ft) below average sea level. The oasis is nestled at the foot of the Tianshan (Flaming or Heavenly) mountains, and from autumn to spring, water from snowmelt off the Tienshan rushes into Turpan, revitalizing the oasis naturally. But at some time in its past- scholars argue that occurred anywhere from 200 to 2,000 years ago- the residents of Turpan built a massive qanat system that reached into the water table and tapped the aquifer, in some cases up to 200 m (650 ft) below the surface. That system included over 5,000 km (3,100 mi) of underground tunnels and thousands of wells. Whether it was built as a result of an environmental disaster or merely insurance against one, the Xinjiang qanat system is evidence that the Turpan was a highly prized stop on the Silk Road. Qanats in the Deserts A qanat is a system of underground tunnels and wells that tap deeply buried aquifers in arid and semi-arid places. In brief, a well is dug into the aquifer, a horizontal tunnel is excavated from the well to a surface collection place and ventilation shafts are placed at intervals along the tunnel to provide maintenance access. Invented by the Persians in the 7th century BCE, qanat technology was spread by imperialism: outside of Persia by the 6th century BCE Achaemenid king Darius the Great; into Syria and Jordan by the Romans in the first and second century CE; into North Africa and Spain by the Islamic civilization in the 12th and 13th centuries CE; and finally into North and South America during the 16th century Spanish conquest. The only place in China where qanats exist at all is in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, in the Turfan basin on the far western edge of Chinas realm. Deserts make up 43 percent of Xinjiang province, oases only about 4.3 percent and the rest is mountains. In the 2nd century BCE, the international trade network called the Silk Road was dependent on a line of strategically situated oases wedged between the Tianshan Mountains and the Taklamakan Desert in the Tarim and Turfan basins. Turpan was an important oasis in the eastern-most segment of the Silk Road, and, even today, more than 95 percent of the total population and almost all the agriculture, settlements and industries in Xinjiang are concentrated in the Turpan Oasis. The Size and Complexity of the Turpan Qanat System The Turpan qanat system includes at least 1,039 qanats (some sources suggest as many as 1,700), with underground channels stretching for a length of more than 5,000 kilometers, or about 3,100 miles. While there is no doubt that the origins of the Turpan Oasis were natural, there is also no doubt that the Xinjiang Qanat System was built to increase the available access to water. Whether the qanats were built as a result of climate change or to support a population increase or even provide year-round water is open to debate: probably a little of all those things. Estimates for the construction date of the qanats vary from the first century BCE to the 19th century CE. The system is so successful that grapes are grown in a region of what is essentially a continental desert- the earliest grapes in Turpan are from the Subeixi culture Yanghai tombs, with an  AMS radiocarbon date of about 300 BCE. What we know for sure is that in the 1950s, an intense increase in well irrigation was established in Turpan, over-exploiting the aquifer: since then the majority of the qanats have dried and become abandoned. Only 238 were functioning in 2009. The Karez Wells in Turpan were inscribed into UNESCOs Tentative List of World Heritage Sites in 2012. Sources Beck U, Wagner M, Li X, Durkin-Meisterernst D, and Tarasov PE. 2014. The invention of trousers and its likely affiliation with horseback riding and mobility: A case study of late 2nd millennium BC finds from Turfan in eastern Central Asia. Quaternary International 348:224-235. Chen T, Yao S, Merlin M, Mai H, Qiu Z, Hu Y, Wang B, Wang C, and Jiang H. 2014. Identification of Cannabis Fiber from the Astana Cemeteries, Xinjiang, China, with Reference to Its Unique Decorative Utilization. Economic Botany 68(1):59-66. Jiang H-E, Zhang Y, Là ¼ E, and Wang C. 2015. Archaeobotanical evidence of plant utilization in the ancient Turpan of Xinjiang, China: a case study at the Shengjindian cemetery. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 24(1):165-177. Luo L, Wang X, Guo H, Liu C, Liu J, Li L, Du X, and Qian G. 2014. Automated extraction of the archaeological tops of qanat shafts from VHR imagery in Google Earth. Remote Sensing 6(12):11956-11976. Luo L, Wang X, Liu J, Guo H, Lasaponara R, Ji W, an d Liu C. 2017. Uncovering the ancient canal-based tuntian agricultural landscape at Chinas northwestern frontiers. Journal of Cultural Heritage 23(Supplement):79-88. Tang Y-N, Li X, Yao Y-F, Ferguson DK, and Li C-S. 2014. Environmental Reconstruction of Tuyoq in the Fifth Century and Its Bearing on Buddhism in Turpan, Xinjiang, China. PLoS ONE 9(1):e86363.Wang S, and Zhao X. 2013. Re-evaluating the Silk Roads Qinghai Route using dendrochronology. Dendrochronologia 31(1):34-40.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Law School Admission Essay

Law School Admission Essay Law School Admission Essay Prior to writing law school admission essay you must have the necessary information about the school you are going to submit your documents. For admission essay writing you may be asked to write something about the law school (advantages, impressions, etc). Responding to a similar essay question, keep in mind the factors that are crucial for writing success. This will help you avoid the insincerity and praise statements that are undesirable in law school admission essays. Writing an essay you should be honest and reinforce your thoughts by facts. It is not easy to express your thoughts freely and truthfully at the same time. Do not be too modest or vice verse. Show that you have a thorough knowledge about the law schools while writing an essay. Be honest and explain your views while writing an English essay:http://.com/blog/school-english-essay You may be asked to write about ideal leaders, about your interests and passions. E.g. 'Tell us about one of your hobbies. What would you like to do when you have free time, and why do you enjoy the specified activity?' Such essay questions are a good opportunity to provide more information about you. The comments about your hobbies will help to understand your individuality. Law schools prefer their students to be versatile personalities. Your occupational activity is only a small part of your personality. For law schools, it is important whether or not you are an active person outside of school. It is well known that many of the ideas embodied in successful later life appear when you are not at work. So your work outside business hours often affects your nature. In addition, the funny, unusual and interesting people have the ability to make a revival in everything they do either at work or while studying. Their keenness, enthusiasm and willingness to sacrifice are transferred to ot hers. You have a wonderful opportunity while writing an essay to demonstrate your leadership abilities and uniqueness. Admission Essay Help What would you feel if no one looked at your grades, experience or score on the tests? Imagine for a moment that a representative of the admission committee finds only your custom essay while opening a package of documents. Imagine that the representative of the admission committee will make a decision only on the basis of what is written in your essay, a decision that will affect your destiny. So, admission essay writersmust be very serious about writing law school essay. .com Law school admission essay writing help is a solution to students who want to be successful, however, have no time to devote to writing. Custom admission essay writing is your chance to advance your academic excellence without any efforts. is a network of professional writers who are available 24/7! Read also: Process Essay How to Write a Book Report Favorite Season Essays Online Essay Editing Editing English Paper

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Film review Movie Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Film - Movie Review Example The success of communication and portrayal of the community in a film relies on the directors employment of such elements as light, characterization, visual contents and camera movements among others as the below review of the Punishment park reveals. As stated earlier, pseudo-documentaries are dramatized realities. The director recruits the actors to play specific roles in the film, the plot of such dramatization are always actual events that the producers would wish to communicate to their audience but cannot use the actual victims. While the directors may manipulate the plot to enhance the films relevance among the audience group, they maintain the essence of the film to the actual events they wish to portray. The same is the case in the Punishment Park as the director portrays actual events that transpired during the Vietnam War. The films capture the most traumatizing and inhumane of treatment of people within America, the leading democracy. Additionally, the film portrays abjec t neglect of human rights during the time as President Nixon orders the detainment of people perceived to be enemies of the state. Such a blanket definition of the enemy leave the population vulnerable as anybody without effective identification documents qualifies as an enemy. To enhance the communication of the graphic nature of the film, the director employs visual content strategically thus achieving relevance and effectiveness of communication. Among the elements that the director employ include characterization, the film stars Patrick Boland acting alongside other established actors at the time. The selection of the talents contributes to the success of the film, which relies on the effectiveness of each cast. The cast in the movie fit their roles perfectly thus portrays the essential features the director hoped for in the idea. The relevant cast influences the cast as they depict the inhumane nature of the government’s policy during the Vietnam War. Through the cast, t he film depict both intriguing and disturbing features in President Nixon’s secret operation in Cambodia in a bid to counter the growing antiwar movements. Among the most intriguing features of the film is its portrayal of the desert. The director employs numerous features of film production to ensure that he develops realistic scenery representing the desert. The expansive sand and the enduring setting thus come naturally. Setting is an important aspect of a film that the director achieves by shooting the film in El Mirage Dry Lake in California. An effective setting is important in film that is a pseudo-documentary. In such films, the audience demands an actual or near actual representation of the historical events. The setting thus becomes important since the audience would demand some similarity of the setting to the exact location of the historical occurrences. The most disturbing feature of the film is the maltreatment of the minority group by the government officers. T he setting is harsh as the heat becomes unbearable, they lack basic needs such as food and water but must run for their lives in the expansive sand and soaring heat of the desert. It becomes ironical that the government of the United States a country considered the most civilized and with vibrant civil right groups would permit such inhumane treatments of people without

Friday, November 1, 2019

GROUPS PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY, FUNCTION, AND ETHICS Research Paper

GROUPS PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY, FUNCTION, AND ETHICS - Research Paper Example Most importantly, the identity, function, and ethical requirements in group work as a professional and Christian counselor will be given emphasis including Biblical value reviews in ministering small groups which explores God’s truth and how client needs can be met by participating in an intimate group setting. Keywords: group counseling, counseling, group therapy, Christian counselor Introduction Professional group counseling covers multi-faceted perspectives in the psyche life of different types of people. This is considered part of psychology â€Å"in action†. Although group counseling has the guidelines and parameters to follow as provided by a number of books on Group Counseling authored by experts on the fields like G. Corey , S. Venkates, Jacobs, et.al, Corey and Callahan, the code of ethics from the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC), among others, that can guide group counselors or facilitators in t heir conduct of their group counseling, this field of group counseling, is still faced with a number of challenges and issues like multicultural diversity, ethical issues covering confidentiality and dual practice (group and individual counseling) , ACA vs AACC code of ethics, Christian vs secular counseling, etc. These challenges and issues must be addressed accordingly for the practice to proceed and develop in the way it should be. Perhaps, this overview of professional group counseling would provide some enlightenment on gray areas understudy. Thesis Statement This paper seeks to bring herein some evidence or facts regarding selected issues about group counseling like the misinformation and interchanging use of such concepts as guidance, counseling and therapy; the issue on having a secular and a Christian group counselor, â€Å"dual relationship† counseling practice, and how to select a group leader or counselor. These are some areas that this paper will present in the h ope that further enlightenment can be achieved or better conclusions can be derived for future academic research undertakings. An Overview of Group Professional Counseling Early Beginnings Joseph Pratt (1905, applied first formal therapeutic group experience), Alfred Adler (1922, pro-runner of group counseling), and Jacob Moreno (1922, pioneer for group and psycho therapy), Trigant Burrow (1935, psychoanalytic group analysis) and Kurt Lewin (1940, founder of theory based on Gestalt principle) were noted to be the first to use group counseling† (Berg, et.al, 2002). During this stage of counseling field development, clients were seeking social interaction which was often found within groups. Several early counseling groups that you even see today developed through time. Jacobs et.al described these groups based on their own group categories by functionality, as follows: â€Å"a)Education group – provides clients with various information; b) Discussion group– focus es on issues or topics and not on the members personal concern; c)Task group- that which needs to accomplish a task or task-oriented activity ; d) Growth and Experiential group is a group wherein a member wants to be in a group and is motivated to learn more about themselves in a group like T-groups; e) Counseling and Therapy group differs from the growth groups because members come to the group for certain problems; f) Support group- enables members to learn other people’