Case Study on Mutual Fund

Case study Mutual Fund Data Solution for a Bank Branch Network The Client Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with 74,000 employees in offices around the world, our client offers a full range of financial products and services to approximately 17 million customers worldwide, managing $435 billion in assets. The bank also ranks among the world’s leading on-line financial services firms, with more than 4. 5 million on-line customers. The bank approached VAULT when it needed a new mutual fund data solution in its vast network of branches across the country. The Challenge The bank’s customer service representatives, who promoted utual fund products to their customers, traditionally relied on research and reports from many different sources, but were frustrated with the inconsistency of information they were getting and with the length of time it took to produce reports for their customers. Of course, the bank’s customers weren’t that happy either. As a company w ith web-based technical expertise that provides service to the financial-services industry, VAULT was asked to draw upon its understanding of investors’ needs, as well as its deep base of technical experience, to produce a more efficient form of customer communications for the bank.Much of the project would involve developing and implementing a plan to utilize the bank’s existing Morningstar data feeds, in a centralized web application. This application would have to adhere to the strict technical guidelines of the bank’s branch intranet environment, a variety of different printers in each branch (which had to be tested to ensure document output was consistent and properly formatted for customers), as well as an outdated, yet custom version of the Netscape browser. The Solution VAULT recommended developing a custom solution that would provide the necessary screens and functionality for the bank’s retail branches.To ensure that system and performance requi rements were met, VAULT followed a strict approach to quality assurance that was incorporated into its project plan. It also recommended creating static images for graphing components and scheduling graphs for re-creation overnight; this ensured that the graphs were up to date each workday and minimized the processing time to load and print pages. In addition, VAULT recommended that an administrative site be developed to assist with the on-going operation of the bank’s mutual fund site. The administrative site provided managers ith the business intelligence tools to generate custom reports and highlight key aspects of web-site usage. The administrative site would also increase the bank’s self-sufficiency, help ensure reliability of the application, allow operators to regularly monitor scheduled data feeds and scheduled graphing production. Early in the development process, VAULT created a working prototype of the solution to test with end users and to gain a better und erstanding of the screen/data requirements. This was a valuable exercise since it highlighted areas of concern around usability, page size, load times, data and graphing requirements.The Benefits The bank’s financial advisors, planners and branch representatives were delighted with the quality of the mutual fund information now available through the bank’s intranet site, as well as the fast load and print times. This meant they could service their customers more effectively. Of course, VAULT also paid careful attention to the design of customer reports, balancing the need to provide clear mutual fund information to customers, with the regulatory disclaimers necessary with each printed report.When the project was completed, the bank’s customer service representatives realized immediate results. They were better able to access most of the mutual fund information online, rather than refer to a multitude of hard-copy and online reference materials. In short, the new tool developed by VAULT not only helped streamline the sales process, but also allowed for more professional delivery of information since the bank’s customer service representatives now had a single online source of mutual fund information.And that meant satisfied customers for the bank. Technologies Used Language: Microsoft Internet Information Service (ASP), ChartFX charting software Database: SQL Server 2000 Web server: Microsoft IIS 5 Operating System: Windows 2000 Launch your business forward. For more information, please contact Anthony Boright, President of VAULT Solutions Inc. at [email  protected] com or call 416-361-9944.

Assess the usefulness of different sociological approaches to suicide

Durkheim wrote in the 1890s and was one of the first sociologists right at the forefront of establishing and defining sociology as a scientific discipline. Durkheim argued that it was not only possible to apply scientific principles to social phenomena but that it was essential to do so in order to produce useful sociology. His 1897 book suicide: a study in sociology uses his scientific methods to explore suicide. Durkheim chooses suicide deliberately, because as the most individual, private and psychologically driven act it was considered by most not to be a social phenomenon.If sociology could identify social factors and causes of suicide, this would demonstrate the power and impact of society on individual behaviour. So in Durkheim’s view he believes our behaviour is caused by social facts and they are said to be external from the individual, constrain individuals and be greater than the individuals. After Durkheim’s analysis of official statistics on suicide it reve aled some social groups are more likely to commit suicide than others. For Durkheim, the social patterns of suicide he discovered is not a random individual act but as stated by Luke’s social factors play a key role.Durkheim’s work showed a correlation between suicide and social facts like suicide rates were higher in predominantly protestant countries than in catholic ones, Jews were the religious group with the lowest suicide rate, married people were less likely to commit suicide and those with higher education had a higher suicide rate. Durkheim said different forms of suicide related to how much integration and regulation there was in society and this would provide us with a fourfold typology. The term social integration means socialisation into the norms, values and lifestyles of social groups and society.Regulation meaning the control that society and social groups has over an individual’s behaviour. With these two factors Durkheim brings upon egoistic su icide not enough integration. The individual isn’t successfully integrated into groups or society, anomic not enough regulation society has insufficient control over individuals, altruistic too much integration an over integrated individual sacrifices their life for the group and fatalistic too much regulation the individual is too highly controlled by society. Durkheim’s work can also be applied into type of society.As Durkheim states modern societies and traditional society differ from one and other in their levels of integration and regulation. Durkheim discovers that modern industrial societies have lower levels of integration due to lack of freedom this weakens bonds and give rise to egoistic suicide. Whilst, traditional pre-industrial societies have higher levels of integration as the group is more important than the individual and this gives rise to altruistic suicide. Durkheim has been criticised by other positivist sociologist.Halbwachs largely supported Durkh eim’s conclusion but pointed out that the impact of rural versus urban lifestyles on suicide rates hadn’t been considered. Also, Gibbs and Martin argued that Durkheim hadn’t used vigorous enough scientific methods even though he’d stressed how important they were. The key concepts of integration and regulation weren’t defined closely enough to be measured statistically. Gibbs and Martin query how anyone can know how anyone can know what â€Å"normal† levels of integration and regulation are.Interpretivist sociologists have devised alternative theories of suicide they say social reality is not a series of social facts for sociologists to discover, but a series of different meanings and interpretations that each person brings to and takes from each situation. Durkheim’s work is fatally flawed from this perspective because he relies on the unquestioning use of official statistics. According to interpretivists, statistics are not fact the y are a social construction based on the definition of the people who compile them.Douglas takes an Interactionist approach to suicide and he is interested in the meaning that suicide has for the deceased, and the way that coroners label death as suicides. He criticises Durkheim’s study of suicide on two main grounds. One of them being the use of suicide statistics because the decision to classify death as a suicide is taken by a coroner and this may produce bias in verdicts reached. So Douglas feels these are the patterns Durkheim found and that well integrated have friends and relatives who may deny death and this explains their low level of suicide.So Durkheim indicates that suicide verdicts and statistics are based on interactions and negotiations between those involved like friends, doctors and police as they may affect death being labelled as a suicide, rather than it actually being one. That’s why people feel integration plays no dividends. Douglas second point criticises Durkheim for ignoring the meanings of the act for those who kill themselves and for assuming that suicide has a fixed or constant meaning.Douglas backs this up as he notes the cultural differences by Japanese samurai warrior who kill themselves because they have been dishonoured by western society. Douglas also states that we need to categorise suicides according to their social meanings because the triggers and response to suicide are different in different cultures. These social meanings consist of transformation of the soul, transformation of the self, achieving sympathy and achieving revenge.Douglas can be criticised, as he is inconsistent, sometimes suggesting that official statistics are merely the product of coroner’s opinions. At other times, he claims we really can discover the cause of suicide-yet how can we, if we can never know whether a death was a suicide and all we have is coroners opinions? Douglas also produces a classification of suicide based on the supposed meanings for the actors. However, there is no reason to believe that sociologists are any better than coroners at interpreting dead person’s meanings.

American Fashion Industry in 21st Century

American Fashion in 21st Century ‘Fashion’ is the need to adapt to ever changing styles; to dress in distinctive and current trends and a means for one to express their individuality. Fashion refers to keeping every aspect of one’s body up-to-date for varying reasons. Some people prefer a simple life style with modest attire whereas most passionately follow the fashion industry and rapidly change accordingly. This increase in demand for individually tailored items including everything from clothing and footwear to makeup and body piercings is what gave birth to the fashion industry.The roots of this business can be traced to America in the nineteenth century where it grew rapidly and spread across the globe to become the highly integrated industry that exists today. The fashion industry has created thousands of jobs, increased national output and has made significant contributing to increases in GDP (Gross Domestic Product) but is also accompanied by exploitation of labor, eating disorder particularly in models and also the growth of counterfeit products.The international fashion industry portrays an ideal body type commonly known as the ‘size zero’ which women often attempt to attain. This leads them down the road of low self-esteem, starvation and even self-mutilation often resulting in eating disorders, health issues and even suicide. Models between the age of 18 and 24 practically give up eating and also resort to using drugs and alcohol to combat the ensuing depression and irritability which eventually leads to some of them dying young, all just to gain entry into the fashion industry.Natasha Duncan was one such prominent American model who committed suicide at the age of 21(Rose 1). The global fashion industry projects the image of thin and beautiful people that have been airbrushed to perfection thus creating an ideal image of how ‘fashionable’ people should look. Common women get conscious about their own lo oks and then try to attain this level of perfection, the road to which often go through eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia.In fact, it is estimated that 8 million Americans suffer from an eating disorder – seven million women and one million men( Fashion 1). Nevertheless it is argued that the American fashion industry has made vital contributions to its in terms of creating employment opportunities and boosting GDP. As a matter of fact, despite the severe recession, the fashion industry is one of the most stable and high-growth industries in the economy.This is because, irrespective of inflation and wages, people still need to buy clothes, footwear and makeup and the fashion industry is one that can rapidly adapt to provide them. In 2010 American households spent, on average, $1,700 on apparel, footwear, and related products and services which is why it generates over $20 billion in revenue is annually (Fashion 1). Moreover the fashion industry played an im portant part in giving jobs when other industries were firing people.Currently it employs over 4 million people under the following areas: design, manufacturing, distribution, marketing, retailing, advertising, communication, publishing and consulting (Fashion 1). Beside creating jobs and increasing GDP, the fashion industry has promoted the freedom of expression by allowing individuals to express themselves through their attire. Fashion designers rapidly come up with innovative and creative ideas thus essentially enriching the lives of people and making them more interesting.This is precisely why fashion shows are held: they give models a chance to flaunt their talents and also an opportunity for them to interact with models from other countries, communities and ethnicities which allows them to express themselves and their unique identities. When people are well dressed according to what is in fashion, this would reflect the culture and thinking of the society. Nevertheless, it mus t be noted that fashion leads to competition amongst people to look better than others which manifests itself through jealousy, resentment and even sabotage.What is more, this completion extends to designers as well since they strive to differentiate their products introduce innovative styles which can result in an inefficient use of resources and illegal business practices. This need for cost minimization is one of the reasons as to why the fashion industry exploits cheap foreign labor. The glamor, the runways and the exhibitions are just the front of a dark background. This industry works on the basis of subcontracting, where designers place orders with manufacturers who then hire sub-contractor to complete their orders.Since this industry is highly competitive subcontractor are given only take or leave option with often less payment compared to amount of work which forces them to resort to employing cheap labor in their own workshops which often end up resembling sweat shops. Eve n if this is not the case, designer brands have their own units to produce their goods. Recently many of the fashion retailers have been accused of underpaying their workers and violating international labor laws by running sweatshop. These involve extremely low wages, long working hours and poor working conditions.Earlier this month, factories in Cambodia were investigated for possible violation labor laws. These factories produced clothing for the fast fashion retailer H&M which was found to be paying their workers a measly wage of $61 a month by a Swedish TV program called ‘Kalla Fakta’(Keilla 1). Since America is powerful country, it negotiates trade agreements with developing countries on the basis of free trade agreements. Famous brands then shift their production units to such countries where exploitation is very common. According to a U. S. ommerce department report, the basic wage for garment workers in Honduras is $0. 473 per hour, or $3. 47 per day. After ded ucting costs for transportation to and from work, breakfast and lunch costs of $2. 59 that leaves $0. 80 a day for families and other basic needs ( the Ethics pg 345). This is considered to be completely unfair when workers are hardly making their ends meet but on the other hand fashion houses are making handsome profits. In addition to these the fashion industry has a negative social impact through the creation of counterfeit products.These are replicas of original products which are sold at substantially lower prices in black markets all over the world. It is argued that this practice is unfair since some consumers are paying more than other for the same good. In America such problems are even more complex because their legal system only protects functionality and not design or style. Since fashion houses have globalized their production and distribution process, it becomes easier to produce counterfeit goods. This is represented by the fact that the U. S. customs made 6500 seizur es in 2003 worth over $94 billion (the Ethics pg 346) .High demand for fashion goods gives other business the incentive to make fake copies of original goods and sell in the market. This not only causes a loss in the sale for fashion businesses but also increases the probability of customers mistakenly purchasing fake items. In its annual ‘’special 301† review, the office of the U. S. Trade Representative (USTR) identified more than 30 countries as centers for counterfeiting and piracy and estimated that American industries lose$200 Billion- $250 billion a year to counterfeiting (the Ethics pg 347).The international fashion industry has significantly transformed from what it started out in the nineteenth century to impact a number of aspects of one’s life as the arguments above have demonstrated. That being said, these changes are not constant and continue to grow and evolve due to a number of factors thus making it difficult for economists, industrialists and policy makers alike to objectively weigh the fashion industries benefits and disadvantages.What can be said for certain though is disadvantages such as exploitation of labor, eating disorder and coping of thought and ideas causes more harm to the society as compare to its advantages such as creating more jobs and increasing globalization. Work Cited Al-Azzawi, Ali Malik. â€Å"Fashion Industry and Media Today: The Negative Impact on Society. † (n. d. ): 109. Print. Fashion Industry Stats / Fashion Industry Statistics.  © Copyright SiteRapture, Inc. 2012, 26 Mar. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. . Is Fashion Harmful to Society? †Ã‚  Debate. org. Copyright  © 2012 Debate. org, 25 Mar. 2013. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. . Keilla. â€Å"Fashionably Informed: Exploitation of Labor & Popular Clothing Retailers – College Fashion. †Ã‚  College Fashion. Copyright  © 2007-2013 College Fashion LLC, 25 Mar. 2013. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. . Rose, Derek, and Alice Mcquillan. â€Å"W ILHELMINA MODEL KILLED SELF, COPS SAY.   NY Daily News. N. p. , 23 July 2001. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. . â€Å"Sweatshops. †Ã‚  Sweatshops. Fashion Crimes, 25 Mar. 2013. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. . The Ethics of Counterfeiting in the Fashion Industry: Quality, Credence and Profit Issues Brian Hilton, Chong Ju Choi and Stephen Chen, Journal of Business Ethics  , Vol. 55, No. 4 (Dec. , 2004), pp. 345-354

Always a Bridesmaid Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Always a Bridesmaid - Essay Example As she endeavours to make sense of her life, Davenport interviews elderly women who never married and her own mother who once was much sought after. Their stories provide the hilarious part as well as the drudgery in the film. The topic is all about marriage. The documentary is told from the filmmaker's point of view. Growing 30, she is terrified of ending up alone. Working as a wedding videographer, Nina confronts her fears, all the while asking why in the first place she has complicated her life with a noncommittal boyfriend who is five years younger. She cross-examines love interests that died down, interrogates fidgeting brides, including her increasingly nervous boyfriend and gathers advice from many quarters. Coming to terms with her deeply conflicted feeling towards weddings, she feels greatly that she is meant for spinsterhood, but has a burning lust for the opposite sex. Seeing weddings now and then as a videographer only reminds her of this internal battle. This film may be analyzed using the theory of Relational Dialectics. The theory of Relational Dialectics is that of intimate communication taking place in close relationships. Baxter and Montgomery developed this theory in the late 1980's and the early 1990's. The dialectical perspective is that the partners are constantly adjusting to the presence of oppositional, relational forces (Montgomery, 1993). There are many different aspects o

Mass Media and Its Influence on Public Opinion Essay

Mass Media and Its Influence on Public Opinion - Essay Example This project analyzes how mass media manages to both observe and influence public opinion as it relates to consumer-based and politically-based advertising. Mass Media Industry Social changes occurring across the world have radically changed how information sources are utilized for learning, entertainment, and knowledge-sharing. Social-based technologies, such as MySpace, YouTube and Facebook are now considered to be moving into the social mainstream, thus providing an excellent opportunity for opinion leaders to spread their personalized messages. â€Å"Wherever people are online, they are actively engaged in a wide variety of social media platforms, from blogs to social networking to video sharing† (Smith, 2009, p.559). Social media over the Internet is a significant revolution from traditional information sources such as newspaper and television as it relates to lifestyle and allows for evolution of thought from a variety of demographics. This is why this form of media is b ecoming more and more valuable to opinion leaders as it maintains the ability to reach a wide variety of consumers to present different advertising schemes and concepts. The content of messages now have changed with the use of mass media when considering social media outlets as it no longer has to be targeted to just one specific demographic, such as newspapers like the Wall Street Journal which is targeted to those who invest in stocks and bonds. It can be directed toward a global community, as a means to influence and persuade others to accept a particular advertising message. The electronic format of this type of media also allows for rapid changing of the message by the opinion leaders as a means to shift delivery in the event of changing social needs or beliefs across the world. In order to explore the issue more effectively, one should take into consideration the concepts of advertising in order to better understand the observational methods of those delivering the advertising content over mass media sources and how it manages to influence opinion of the community. Marketers have a strategy to ensure competitiveness of their products and also to maintain a competitive edge over other businesses that sell similar products or concepts and services. This strategy is referred to as positioning, which is â€Å"owning a place in the mind of a consumer. By understanding how a mind works, marketers can use it to their advantage and successfully drive demand for their products† (Trout, 2008, p.2). Marketers understand that there must be some element about their products or advertising strategy that is unique to all other competition and they rely on the ability to persuade consumers to accept and adopt their intended messaging. They do this by relating information to the individual’s lifestyle and then select a particular, very biased message that will be delivered to their specific target group. Now that the fundamentals of advertising messaging ha ve been understand as it relates to changing the mind-set of buyers, it can be explored how observation and influence occur as a product of this advertising strategy. In earlier years, marketers used traditional forms of mass media to deliver a singular, streamlined message that was not easily transformed or updated as it was generally in print. Today, with concentrated growth in the Internet, public opinion leaders can now create new,

The Message of the Torah Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Message of the Torah - Essay Example Therefore, it is kept and dressed in Synagogue. The significance of Torah can be substantiated by the message conveyed in it, which is about blessing i.e. God will always bless human beings1; which contains an abysmal severity of magnitude and importance for the mankind, particularly the followers. The literal meaning of the term Torah is to teach. The book teaches Jewish people how to pray, eat, and live2. The message of the Torah is that God provides all that mankind needs and give commands to choose the way of life. â€Å"The Torah conveys the message that God has blessed the humanity by providing them the required guidance in the form of this scripture† â€Å"male and female created He them, and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created â€Å"3 The Torah delivers the message that God has blessed us by keeping us alive and sustained in this earthly environment. The message it conveys is about self-satisfaction. Everything that human beings need in order to be happy has been provided by God. No matter how many difficulties we face in our lives, the recitation of Torah will fill ourselves with happiness and satisfaction. This shows that Torah is the source of solace and a means to achieve contentment in this highly materialistic world of today. In the present times, when materialism has heightened to extreme extents, individuals have forgotten to find happiness in nature and to be thankful with what one has. Torah acts as a reminder which aids to achieve contentment and inner peace. â€Å"and He said: If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in His eyes, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases upon thee, which I have put upon the Egyptians; for I am the LORD that healeth thee†4 The central message is predominantly preoccupied with human actions. It further teaches individuals to follow the commands of God

American Foreign Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

American Foreign Policy - Essay Example This form of power is often employed by a country having more economic and military power over its subject. This form of power is usually achieved by use of rewards such as economic inducements, promises of military support and alliances or through threats of punishment such as economic sanctions, coercive diplomacy and military interventions. The article ‘The Practice of Foreign Policy† clearly illustrates the concept of hard power adopted by the U.S. government over the past few years. The article brings to light the growing number of countries that have at one time or another experienced intrusion or use of hard power by the U.S. government. It highlights the growing discontent among countries such as Syria over president Obama’s wayward policies. In addition, the article analyses America’s stance towards war and use of diplomacy (â€Å"The Practice of Foreign Policy† 1). The U.S has been accused of spying Brazil and other countries, which basicall y is a form of hard power. The armed forces are described as â€Å"peerless†, illustrating hard power. In Syria, the U.S. government considered the possibility of a military assault following the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian president. However, this move was voted down by the Congress. This illustrates use of hard power. The U.S. ... government has specific interest in oil, Islamic terrorism, Israel and Iran. The U.S. government has placed a number of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear power program. This illustrates hard power (â€Å"The Practice of Foreign Policy† 2). Soft power as earlier described is a situation whereby a country uses persuasive tactics such as co-opting with other countries in order to influence their interests or behavior. Soft power is becoming more and more common in the world today. The article suggests that through developing good strategies and implementing them, the Obama administration can restore confidence and win back people. Soft power can also be enhanced by use of diplomacy. The number of diplomats ought to be increased as well as taking interest in their recommendations (â€Å"The Practice of Foreign Policy† 2). The article â€Å"Making up; Soft Power† illustrates use of hard power. The U.S. invasion of Iraq in the fight against al-Qaeda has been termed as use of hard power. The U.S. government used raw power in an effort to crush the outlawed group. The America’s interest was to fight terrorism. The U.S government has been criticized on many occasions for meddling with the Middle East, yet, it does so little to solve underlying problems. In Libya, the U.S. government exercised hard power by ousting the then president Muammar Qaddaffi from power. The U.S. has interest in humanitarian welfare following Muammar’s threats to kill innocent civilians. The article also raises concerns over the U.S. government’s widespread spying by the NSA. Spying illustrates use of hard power. In 2003, the U.S, invaded Iraq. Its interest was twofold; arresting proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and show of power or might (â€Å"Making up; Soft Power† 1). The

Arguments for and against the existence of god Essay

Arguments for and against the existence of god - Essay Example I would like to defend theistic point of view contrary to the line of reasoning presented through the argument from evil. Therefore, I am proving that God is omnipotent, God is all good and evil exists, all at the same time. God is omnipotent In this section, the definition of God’s omnipotent power based on theistic perspective is integrated and illustrated. God is all powerful that he is above everything, and above every name. This would also imply that God could control everything, so he could either allow things or interfere. For this reason, he created everything and because he is powerful, he could allow evil to exist to justify further his goodness and power. After all, he is powerful and there is no limit to what he can do. This would also imply that God could totally eliminate evil, but because he is omnipotent, and all knowing, we could not eliminate the possibility that he knows that it is only through the presence of evil that his goodness and power will prevail. W ithout evil, God will never exist among us, and the other way around works. For this reason, God chose not to eliminate evil. He chose to do this to justify his existence, and to be known as the one who is supreme, self-consistent, omnipotent, omniscient, righteous, benevolent being and who is distinct from and independent of, what he has created. God’s characteristics are very powerful that evil cannot subdue. These characteristics are what made God omnipotent. Outside of these characteristics are therefore implied evil. Let us illustrate further this point in order to demonstrate God is powerful over evil. Based on the definition, God is righteous and apart from this is evil. To kill is evil and so people entered into a social contract in order to protect their property and above all, life. Thus, when somebody murders, which is an evil act, the law could always be above of this malevolent act, subjecting the murderer to imprisonment and even to life sentence. So this proves that the law itself could represent the righteous act of God which is superior to murder as an act of evil. Since there is an existence of righteousness through the implementation of law for instance, then there exists God, as being righteous is his primary characteristic. However, since there could be murders or other related crimes which could be defined as unrighteousness, then evil exists, because from definition, outside God’s characteristics are evil. However, based on this illustration, God’s righteousness prevails over evil, as definitely the implementation of law is a primary manifestation that we want to ward off evil acts. We condemn murder, so in the same way we are living in the powerful principle of God. Now, at this point it is clear that we are seeing in the real world the very characteristic of God which is righteousness that could help us justify that he exists and together with evil. However, God’s supremacy over wickedness is clear as we too could not deny the fact are living under God’s principle or righteous acts, as we continue to condemn evil acts such as murder. We could therefore simply say that good should prevail over evil. By definition and understanding God’s characteristics, this would only imply God is omnipotent. God is all good Our definition of what is good or bad could become

Illegal Immigration Instigate More Crimes Research Paper

Illegal Immigration Instigate More Crimes - Research Paper Example Some immigrants come to the United States specifically with the intention to destabilize the peace of the society whereas some immigrants start doing criminal activities when they do not find jobs or any kind of work in the countries where they migrate. However, people should not think negative of all immigrants because the nature and activities of every person are not the same. It is only a small number of immigrants who are actually involved in criminal activities. Some reports say that 12 to 15 percent of immigrants become involved in illegal activities. Drug trafficking is also one of the most critical issues associated with large-scale immigration to the United States of America. Go states, â€Å"The US suffers an annual loss of about 70 billion dollars due to drug-related illnesses, death, and drug-related crimes†. Drug trafficking is a business which earns a lot of money not only to the drug dealers but also to all other people involved in this business. Researches show that approximately 13.2 million illegal immigrants living in the United States are Mexican-Americans and a large number of them are drug dealers. Illegal immigrants come to the United States to earn good money but due to lack of documents, they fail to get jobs and get involved in drug trafficking. â€Å"Many are simply coming to the United States to look for work but are accosted, and they become subjects of the drug cartels† (CNN Wire Staff). Here, we must say that it is just a small percentage of the illegal immigrants become victims to drug dealers. Most of the immigrants are hardworking and careful individuals who obey the social, political, and labor laws and regulations of the foreign countries. Reports confirm that U.S. GDP may increase by 0.75 percent annually due to large-scale immigration. â€Å"Immigrants bring innovative ideas and entrepreneurial spirit to the U.S. economy† (Griswold). Apart from the positive and negative aspects of illegal immigrants, the government of America needs to maintain a proper check on the activities of all immigrants. Moreover, the border control mechanisms should also be improved in order to stop people from entering the country illegally.

(Corporate) Product Selection & Strategy Formulation Essay

(Corporate) Product Selection & Strategy Formulation - Essay Example Apple Inc is even enjoying the overwhelming performance in the technology industry is associated with the continuous success and dominance (Abraham 2012). In corporate strategy there are two types of diversification which are: linked and constrained. Companies that use linked diversification enter new business when they are linked with other business they are already operating, if they use constrained diversification, they enter only in new business if it is based on core resources. Apple uses the constrained diversification, Apple is a personal computer company and its business utilizes its core resources in developing the hardware and software such as, iPod, iPad, iPhone, and Apple TV that allows the Apple to share its resources among the business. This even creates the economics of scope, and that create cost savings for Apple Inc., as their resources are shared across all the multiple businesses. Apple follows two strategies which are: Growth Strategy and Stability strategy (Abraham 2012). As the company has not reached to the optimum performance; therefore, there is a requirement for reaching at the optimum performance, this helps the company in expanding its profits, and market share, sales, and market coverage and product mix among the other accounting variables and market. Some of the other strategies utilized for enhancing eth growth include the market penetration enhancement in order to ensure the provision of efficient services. Another growth strategy of the Company is vertical integration, which is an efficient strategy for enhancing the growth, in that Apple Inc., takes activities which are performed by its suppliers or business in its distribution or channel. Diversification strategy is also used by the company in taking effective move for enhancing the growth; in this case the company must use the potential business ventures for enhancing its operations. The

Should the Government ban smoking Essay Example for Free

Should the Government ban smoking Essay The hazards of smoking have become very clear in the last few years and the public has started working towards changing societal norms associated with smoking. Awareness about second hand smoking has also risen considerably and efforts are being made to protect residents from it. However, communities alone cannot bring such a drastic change. The government needs to play a key role in protecting the health of its citizens by introducing various laws and legislation that will discourage smoking. Firstly, smoking needs to be discouraged because various researches and studies have proven that passive smoking has killed 35,000 to 40,000 people per year in the United States alone in the early 1980’s. These passive smokers also put up with an immeasurable cost of lower quality of life and a shorter life span. Tobacco can be blamed for more deaths of Americans each year as compared to deaths caused by alcohol, cocaine, crack, heroin, homicide, suicide, car accidents, fires and aids combined. The combined loss of lives each year due to smoking was approximately equal to the lives lost in the World War II. Non-smokers living with smokers also suffer from an increased risk of death from heart attacks, strokes or heart diseases. Children are highly vulnerable to diseases caused by second-hand smoking. Children under the age of two years can develop chest infections, asthma and other respiratory problems due to second hand smoking. Secondly, smoking also costs the government millions of dollars in terms of smoking related treatment at government hospitals. Small and large businesses suffer from lost productivity because of the countless breaks and absenteeism of chain smokers. Cigarette smoking cost the U. S almost $52 billion in health expenses or time lost from work, about $221 per person, each year. Another disturbing consequence of smoking areS accidental fires resulting from smoking on public or private property. According to an estimate, 25% of residential fires were caused by smokers. It is a government priority to protect the nation’s health and safety. This can only be accomplished by raising taxes on cigarettes and making smoking a more expensive habit. The government can spend a portion of its budget on anti smoking campaigns or public service announcement. Guidance and counseling must be provided free of cost which can help people quit this disgusting habit. Smokers should be required to contribute to the cost of smoking related treatment. Above all, government should pass a resolution which forces restaurants, bars and clubs need to restrict smoking to particular areas only. Advertisement and television shows that promote the habit of smoking or make it look cool to teenagers need to be banned so that vulnerable teenagers, women and various minorities belonging to low income groups do not fall prey to smoking. This is the only way the government can promote a just, supportive, and productive environment which adds to the social and economic well-being of all Americans.

Athen vs Rome Essay Example for Free

Athen vs Rome Essay â€Å"Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge† (Plato). Such a great philosopher like Plato, he strives to educate the people of Athens on behalf of Socrates. With the passion of various ideas on philosophy and political science, Plato pushes through his learning to teach our people. The former philosopher Socrates, Plato had gained the knowledge of the various meanings and the strive after Socrates was sentenced to death which the Athenian Council had given him for what he believed in. Plato’s ideas of teaching weren’t so complicated for us to bestow our knowledge to further extent. Later the teaching will not stop at the cost of false individual in the democracy. Aristotle will continue to prevail in the teaching of philosophy and other subjects that will lead to be a better person with great judgment in the political system in Athens. The â€Å"Academy† was a gift from Plato to expand our knowledge of learning philosophy, mathematics, and theoretical astronomy. It will show that written dialogues are far easy to comprehend because they are in play style form instead of textbooks. The challenges in learning are tend to be hurdles yet they are not to be giving up on. Towards the Athenian council, I truly demand that politics should be controlled by well educated individuals. Our former Athenian, Socrates, had to pay the consequences on his belief because he believe that people should devote themselves to individual excellence and justice for achievements above any other concern meant that they should abandon commitment towards the moral code. Socrates had his own principle to stand by on what he believed and to speak to us Athenians to examine our unexamined assumption about individual virtue. With this in mind he was labeled as a traitor and a false philosopher to corrupt the young minds of Athenians. Is this the way we have to go with ourselves in believing that there are gods out there who help us in fights, fights in which we have fought with our own sweat, blood, and tear to acknowledge that we are getting assistant from the gods. I truly state within the teaching of the Academy it shows people to make understandable judgment before the execution on one of our own. The Athenian Council before you, even confessed they had made a terrible mistake in giving Socrates a death sentence. We as a great nation made a huge mistake and informed this tragic situation with creating this horrific democracy. Plato, a great philosopher that was once under Socrates first created this Academy for the teaching of philosophy, mathematics, and theoretical astronomy to us Athens. Creating this Academy Plato shows us that he wanted to make readers reflect thoughtfully on difficult philosophical questions. It was a challenge for us to inherit the aspect of learning and understanding the key elements towards metaphysics. As all teachers their views are critically changed over time where Plato presents a consistent set of doctrines. Plato maintained one essential idea â€Å"Moral virtues are universal and absolute, not relative. † Our people of Athens need to believe the proper goal for humans is to seek order and purity in our own souls by using reason to control their irrational desires. We have far yet to prove that we live for ourselves we don’t live under someone, not until the soul is taken away after death from our bodies. With the system of democracy justice wont prevail it will need hierarchy. Leading back to Socrates death the citizens of Athens are incapable of rising above ignorant self-interest. With the ideal society that Plato showed that high ranked men and women should live together and create healthy babies. This might not lead to become true, but the sought of teaching the people into thinking this way it leads to live justly. Within this Academy that was created by Plato it won’t stop for the future philosopher and more Academies to assemble. The prodigy of a young gifted soul that was under the famous Plato came to be recognized as Aristotle. His teaching was soon to be more advance and hence for us as Athenians. He showed much more morals to ourselves then we could imagine. Aristotle achievement towards the system showed that logic argument and scientific investigation of the natural world we stand by. Unlike Plato, Aristotle insisted on explanations based on common sense rather than metaphysics. Aristotle showed us that observing an object or a human being is best to acknowledge on how they tend to act. With patience we tend to realize slowly that we develop behaviors and not just good intentions. â€Å"Self-control did not mean denying human desires and appetites; rather, it meant striking a balance between suppressing and heedlessly indulging physical yearnings, of finding the mean† (Aristotle). The Council of Athens, we tend to realize some of our moral code is sacred, but do tend to open your horizons on us as individuals for achieving goals and valuing self-control. As we come to an end, I hope you have the same output as I have explained the teachings and most importantly the Academy that was first formed by our own, Plato. The aspect of growing is not to just have beliefs, but to believe in ourselves as Athenians that we can strive to pursue anything whether it is war, learning, teaching, or creating. The future of our children needs to be well educated to know the difference between right or wrong with some aspect towards our moral code. Our people deserves better, for which they are messengers to expand the knowledge, power, and desire for Athens. They will not have any of those values what so ever if they are not well educated through the Academy that Plato and further more Aristotle has provided. May we have hope for the future as you, the Athenian Council to accept and recognize the great Academy was a best gift that the gods have given to Athens.

Huntington Disease: An overview

Huntington Disease: An overview Huntington Disease Huntington disease (HD) is an autosomal-dominant disorder, characterized as disease of progressive brain degeneration in late adulthood with subsequent brain atrophy. The affected areas of degeneration are the basal ganglia, which play an important role in the control of movement. This degeneration causes various motor problems such as behavioral abnormality, chorea, incoordination and dystonia (Folstein, 1989). George Huntington was the first man that described HD in the 19th century in detail especially its hereditary nature of chorea (Huntington, 1872). New findings have shown that HD involves the mutant protein huntigtin. This protein is translated from a CAG repeat forming a polyglutamine strand of variable length at the N-terminus. The molecular mechanism of HD is not fully understood but new findings using animal models have provided valuable information. The gene associated with HD is termed the HD gene and can be found on the short arm of chromosome four. As the disease is autosomal dominant, only one HD gene is sufficient to cause the disorder. The HD gene is composed of a trinucleotide CAG repeats.The alleles of the HD gene are grouped as normal, intermediate or HD-causing. Each group has a characteristic number of CAG repeats. The normal alleles have 26 or fewer CAG repeats whereas intermediate alleles have 27-35 CAG repeats (Potter et al., 2004). Carriers of normal alleles and intermediate alleles are not at risk of developing HD. However, individuals with intermediate alleles are at risk of giving birth to a child with an allele of HD-causing characteristic (Semaka et al., 2006). Thus, intermediate alleles are also termed mutable alleles as they may mutate to cause HD phenotype in the offspring. The reason for the mutation lies in the instability of the replication. The longer the number of trinucleotides, the greater the insta bility. In 73% of the cases, the instability leads to an expansion of the trinucleotide repeats and thus an increase in the risk of developing HD whereas only 23% show a contraction of the number of repeats associated with a low risk of developing HD (Chattapadhyay et al., 2005; Djousse et al.,2004, MacDonald et al., 1999). HD-causing alleles usually contain 36 or more CAG repeats and pose the carrier at an increased risk of developing HD. HD-causing alleles have been categorized into two groups: Reduced-penetrance HD-causing alleles and Full-penetrance HD-causing alleles. Reduced-penetrance or incomplete HD-causing alleles are composed of 36-39 trinucleotide CAG repeats (Rubinsztein, 2003; Rubinsztein et al., 1996; McNeil et al., 1997). Carriers of this allele may be asymptomatic and not show the symptoms. On the other hand, full-penetrance HD-causing alleles are characterized by 40 or more CAG repeats and carriers of this allele have a high probability of developing HD (Rubinsztein et al., 1996; McNeil et al., 1997; Langebehn et al., 2004). The instability of the trinucleotide repeats occurs more often in males (spermatogenesis) than in females (oogenesis). This phenomenon can also be observed in the offspring with paternal inheritance of the HD gene where the onset of HD is more potent and occurs in the early youth. In addition, families with no history of HD may develop HD via new mutations arising by the amplification of trinucleotide CAG repeats and most of these new mutations come from the paternal side (Anca et al., 2004; Squitieri et al., 2003). Somatic instability of CAG repeats can also arise and have been observed in human beings as well as animal models. Furthermore, identical twins demonstrate different clinical syndromes and have almost a similar age of onset. Twins that are carriers of homozygous alleles have no difference in the age of onset (Georgiou et al., 1999). Carriers of the HD allele are clinically healthy before the onset of the HD disease symptoms. However, in the so called presymptomatic phase, there are slight changes occurring in motor skills, cognition and personality (Walker, 2007). The onset of HD disease symptoms usually occurs in the mean age of onset which is 35 to 44 years (Bates et al., 2002). In 66%, initial symptoms are abnormalities in the neurological function or psychiatric changes. Other symptoms are minor involountary movements, difficulty in mental planning, depression and slight changes in the eye movement. In 25% of HD carriers, the appearance of initial symptoms such as chorea, dysphagia and gait disturbance is delayed until after 50 years with the disease symptoms taking a more prolonged and gentle course. At the same time, the lifestyle of the affected individuals does not change and they can still continue with their current employment. The initial onset of the symptoms is followed by an increased symptomatic chorea, difficulty in controlling voluntary movement as well as exacerbation of dysarthria and dysphagia. As a result of the worsening symptoms, the affected individuals must leave employment and may require additional help to cope with some activities in their daily life. The final stage of HD demonstrates severe motor disability. The symptoms have worsened so much that so that the carriers cannot deal with their impairment at all and require the assistance of other people. The carriers are mute and incontinent and show a median survival time of 15 to 18 years after the first onset of HD related symptoms. The life expectancy is suggested to be at 54 to 55 years (Harper, 2005). The diagnosis of HD is based on mutation analysis. For this purpose, PCR based methods can be utilized which spots alleles up to about 115 CAG repeats. Likewise, southern blot is employed for alleles with more than 115 CAG (Potter et al., 2004). Such large expansions are linked with juvenile-onset of HD triggered by homozygous HD genotypes. Moderate-to-severe Huntingtons disease illustrate larger frontal horns of the lateral ventricles and deficiency in striatal volume when routine MRI and CT scans are performed (Stober et al., 1984). However, scans are not helpful for the diagnosis of early disorder. Functional MRI studies and data from PET have displayed that affected brains started to alter before the onset of symptoms (Kunig et al., 2000, Paulsen et al., 2004). Using these techniques, it is possible to recognize caudate atrophy as easrly as 11 years before the expected onset of the disease, and it is possible to recognze putaminal atrophy 9 years before the expected onset (Aylwar d et al., 2004). Tensor-based magnetic resonance morphometry demonstrates increasing loss of striatal loss in individuals who are presymptomatic carrying the HD gene and do not show evidence of progresson by clinical or neuropsychological tests over 2 years (Kipps et al., 2005). Genetic testing for HD is only considered by 5% of HD risk carriers due to family planning and employment. Many HD risk carriers do not undergo testing as there is no efficient treatment for HD available (Laccone et al., 1999). Moreover, predictive testing can have psychological consequences for HD risk carriers leading to suicide due to mental depression (Almqvist et al., 2003). Therefore, it is crucial to identify suicidal patterns in young HD risk carriers and give pretest counseling. Epidemiological studies suggest that HD is most prevalent in the white Caucasian population with 5-7 people affected per 100000. There are also exceptions in areas where the entire population is derived from a few founders such as in Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela or Tasmania (Pridmore, 1990). Across most of Asia and Africa the incidences of HD are much lower. The reason for the various distribution of HD incidence lies in the CAG repeats. White Caucasians have a much higher frequency of HD alleles that are composed of 28-35 CAG repeats (Kremer, 2002; Harper Jones, 2002). The high frequency of this HD alleles in the white population is not fully understood. The HD gene may give a health benefit as in other genetic disorders such as sickle cell trait. It is thought that the HD gene is associated with a lower risk of developing cancer, possibly due to the upregulation of TP53 in HD disease (Bae et al., 2005; DiFiglia etal., 1995). The pathogenesis of HD involving the protein huntingtin is poorly understood. Even though orthologs of that protein have been detected in zebrafish, drosophilia and slime moulds, the role of the protein is still unknown (Jones, 2002). Huntingtin has a high dominance in all human cells. Most of it is expressed in the brain and testes whereas heart, lungs and liver show moderate amounts of it (DiFiglia et al.,1995). One hypothesis suggests that happloinsufficiency plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of HD. This would mean that insufficient amounts of huntingtin protein are generated for the cells to function properly (Ambrose et al.,1994). However, this hypothesis also have been refuted by other findings which suggest that a deficiency of HD gene in man does not cause HD in man (Rubinsztein, 2003; Ambrose et al., 1994). This is also supported by transgenic mouse models. One allele of the HD gene does not cause HD in transgenic mouse models and complete absence of the HD gene is linked to mortality in mouse embryos (Squitieri et al., 2003). Thus, new findings explain the pathogenesis of HD as a toxic gain of function derived from the mutant HD gene. Likewise, this phenomenon can also be observed in other genetic diseases such as muscular atrophy or dentatorubropallidoluysian (Ambrose et al., 1994; Andrew et al., 1993). There is not sufficient evidence to support the claim of happloinsufficiency in any of these genetic disease but an accumulation of polyglutamines with subsequent neurodegeneration. This is further supported by the relationship between length of polyglutamine repeat and age of onset. Longer polyglutamine repeat chains are associated with more aggressive progression of HD disease symptoms and the juvenile onset of HD (Mahant et al., 2003; Squitieri et al., 2002; Forproud et al., 1999). The biological structure of polyglutamine gives more insight into the toxic gain of function in HD. Experiments performed in vitro show that polyglutamine aggregates by forming dimmers, trimers and oligomers. For this aggregation to be efficient, a minimum number of 37 glutamine residues in sequence is required. The rate of aggregation increases as more glutamine repeats are added to the long chain of glutamine polypeptide. This in vitro observation may be an explaination why some individuals experience late onset of HD while others have a juvenile onset of HD. Some key points have been discovered in the mechanism explaining how aggregated polyglutamine leads to neuronal dysfunction. The mutant huntingtin protein is more prone to proteleolysis than its wild type counterpart. This higher risk of protein degradation creates truncated proteins, which lead to the formation of aggregates of truncated huntingtin. Additionally, shorter glutamine repeats are less likely to form steric clashes than longer ones. It is believed that these aggregates are toxic and locate in the cell nucleus. (Saudou et al., 1998; Peter et al., 1999; Wellington et al., 2000). Eventually, the rate of aggregation overcomes the rate at which proteosomes or autophagic vacuolization degrade the proteins in the cell. This further exacerbates the formation of aggregated protein in conjunction with the ability of aggregates to recruit normal body proteins to their matrix. Examples of normal body proteins are those proteins that interact with the wild type form of huntingtin dir ectly (Mills et al., 2005). Some papers also propose that the protein huntingtin may exert not only a toxic gain of function but also a dominant negative effect on the typical function of the wild type protein huntingtin. This way, mutant huntingtin could interfere with proteins that regulate transcription, apoptosis, tumor suppression or axonal transport (Bae et al., 2005; Busch et al., 2003; Charrin et al., 2005; Gauthier et al., 2004 , Hickey Chesselet, 2003). Lastly, one other hypothesis states that mutant huntingtin may interfere in neuron-neuron interaction. This has been illustrated in mice where the mutant protein huntingtin disrupts the axonal transport and vesicle release of neurotrophic factor in neurons leading to intrinsic dysfunction of striatal neurons (Pulst et al., 1996; Komure et al., 1995). References Almqvist EW, Brinkman RR, Wiggins S, Hayden MR. Psychological consequences and predictors of adverse events in the fi rst 5 years after predictive testing for Huntingtons disease. Clin Genet 2003; 64: 300-09. Ambrose CM, Duyao MP, Barnes G, et al. Structure and expression of the Huntingtons disease gene: evidence against simple inactivation due to expanded CAG repeat. Somat Cell Mol Genet 1994; 20: 27-38. Anca MH, Gazit E, Lowewenthal R, Ostrovsky O, Frydman M, Giladi N. Diff erent phenotypic expression in monozygotic twins with Huntington disease. Am J Med Genet 2004; 124: 89-91. Andrew SE, Goldberg YP, Kremer B, et al. The relationship between trinucleotide (CAG) repeat length and clinical features of Huntingtons disease. Nat Genet 1993; 4: 398-403. Aylward EH, Sparks BF, Field KM, et al. Onset and rate of striatal atrophy in preclinical Huntington disease. Neurology 2004; 63: 66-72. Bae BI, Xu H, Igarashi S, et al. P53 mediates cellular dysfunction and behavioral abnormalities in Huntingtons disease. Neuron 2005; 47:29-41. Bates G, Harper P, Jones L (2002) Huntingtons Disease. Oxford University Press, New York. Busch A, Engemann S, Lurz R, et al. Mutant huntingtin promotes the fibrillogenesis of wild-type huntingtin: a potential mechanism for loss of huntingtin function in Huntingtons disease. J Biol Chem 2003; 278: 41452-61. Charrin BC, Saudou F, Humbert S. Axonal transport failure in neurogenerative disorders: the case of Huntingtons disease. Pathol Biol 2005; 53: 189-92. Chattapadhyay B, Baksi K, Mukhopadhyay S, Bhattacharyya NP. Modulation of age at onset of Huntingtons disease patients by variations in TP53 and human caspase activated DNase (hCAD) genes. Neurosci Lett 2005; 374: 81-86. DiFiglia M, Sapp E, Chase K, et al. Huntingtin is a cytoplasmic protein association with vesicles in human and rat brain neurons. Neuron 1995; 14: 1075-81. Djousse L, Knowlton B, Hayden MR, et al. Evidence for a modifier of onset age in Huntington disease linked to the HD gene in 4p16. Neurogenetics 2004; 5: 109-14. Foroud T, Gray J, Ivashina J, Conneally PM. Differences in duration of Huntingtons disease based on age at onset. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1999; 66: 52-56. Folstein S. Huntingtons disease: a disorder of families. Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989. Gauthier LR, Charrin BC, Borrell-Pages M, et al. Huntingtin controls neurotrophic support and survival of neurons by enhancing BDNF vesicular transport along microtubules. Cell 2004; 118: 127-38. Georgiou N, Bradshaw JL, Chiu E, Tudor A, OGorman L, Phillips JG. Diff erential clinical and motor control function in a pair of monozygotic twins with Huntingtons disease. Mov Disord 1999; 14:320-25. Harper PS, Jones L. Huntingtons disease: genetic and molecular studies. In: Bates G, Harper P, Jones L, eds. Huntingtons disease. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002: 113-58. Harper B.Huntington disease.J R Soc Med.2005;98:550. Hickey MA, Chesselet MF. Apoptosis in Huntingtons disease. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2003; 27: 256-65. Huntington G. On chorea. Med Surg Rep 1872; 26: 317-21 Kipps CM, Duggins AJ, Mahant N, Gomes L, Ashburner J, McCusker EA. Progression of structural neuropathology in preclinical Huntingtons disease: a tensor based morphometry study. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2005; 76: 650-55. Kunig G, Leenders KL, Sanchez-Pernaute R, et al. Benzodiazepine receptor binding in Huntingtons disease: [11C]fl umazenil uptake measured using positron emission tomography. Ann Neurol 2000; 47: 644-48. Kremer B. Clinical neurology of Huntingtons disease. In: Bates G, Harper P, Jones L, eds. Huntingtons disease. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002: 3-27. Komure O, Sano A, Nishino N, et al. DNA analysis in hereditary dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy: correlation between CAG repeat length and phenotypic variation and the molecular basis of anticipation. Neurology 1995; 45: 143-49. Jones L. The cell biology of Huntingtons disease. In: Bates G, Harper P, Jones L, eds. Huntingtons disease. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002: 348-62. Laccone F, Engel U, Holinski-Feder E, et al. DNA analysis of Huntingtons disease: fi ve years experience in Germany, Australia, and Switzerland. Neurology 1999; 53: 801-06. Langbehn DR, Brinkman RR, Falush D, Paulsen JS, Hayden MR.A new model for prediction of the age of onset and penetrance for Huntingtons disease based on CAG length.Clin Genet.2004;65:267-77. MacDonald ME, Vonsattel JP, Shrinidhi J, et al. Evidence for the GluR6 gene associated with younger onset of Huntingtons disease. Neurology 1999; 53: 1330-32 Mahant N, McCusker EA, Byth K, Graham S. Huntingtons disease: clinical correlates of disability and progression. Neurology 2003; 61:1085-92. McNeil SM, Novelletto A, Srinidhi J, Barnes G, Kornbluth I, Altherr MR, Wasmuth JJ, Gusella JF, MacDonald ME, Myers RH.Reduced penetrance of the Huntingtons disease mutation.Hum Mol Genet.1997;6:775-9. Mills IG, Gaughan L, Robson C, et al. Huntingtin interacting protein 1 modulates the transcriptional activity of nuclear hormone receptors. J Cell Biol 2005; 170: 191-200. Paulsen JS, Zimbelman JL, Hinton SC, et al. fMRI biomarker of early neuronal dysfunction in presymptomatic Huntingtons disease. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 2004; 25: 1715-21. Peter MF, Nucifora FC Jr, Kushi J, et al. Nuclear targeting of mutant Huntingtin increases toxicity. Mol Cell Neurosci 1999; 14: 121-81. Potter NT, Spector EB, Prior TW.Technical standards and guidelines for Huntington disease testing.Genet Med.2004;6:61-5. Pridmore SA. The large Huntingtons disease family of Tasmania.Med J Aust 1990; 153: 593-95. Pulst SM, Nechiporuk A, Nechiporuk T, et al. Moderate expansion of a normally biallelic trinucelotide repeat in spinocerebellar ataxia type 2. Nat Genetics 1996; 14: 237-38. Rubinsztein DC. Molecular biology of Huntingtons disease (HD) and HD-like disorders. In: Pulst S, ed. Genetics of movement disorders. California: Academic Press, 2003: 365-77. Rubinsztein DC, Leggo J, Coles R, Almqvist E, Biancalana V, Cassiman JJ, Chotai K, Connarty M, Crauford D, Curtis A, Curtis D, Davidson MJ, Differ AM, Dode C, Dodge A, Frontali M, Ranen NG, Stine OC, Sherr M, Abbott MH, Franz ML, Graham CA, Harper PS, Hedreen JC, Hayden MR.et al.Phenotypic characterization of individuals with 30-40 CAG repeats in the Huntington disease (HD) gene reveals HD cases with 36 repeats and apparently normal elderly individuals with 36-39 repeats.Am J Hum Genet.1996;59:16-22. Rubinsztein DC. Molecular biology of Huntingtons disease (HD) and HD-like disorders. In: Pulst S, ed. Genetics of movement disorders. California: Academic Press, 2003: 365-77. Rubinsztein DC, Leggo J, Coles R, et al. Phenotypic characterization of individuals with 30-40 CAG repeats in the Huntington disease (HD) gene reveals HD cases with 36 repeats and apparently normal elderly individuals with 36-39 repeats. Am J Hum Genet 1996; 59:16-22. Saudou F, Finkbeiner S, Devys D, Greenberg ME. Huntingtin acts in the nucleus to induce apoptosis but death does not correlate with the formation of intranuclear inclusions. Cell 1998; 95: 55-56. Squitieri F, Cannella M, Simonelli M. CAG mutation eff ect on rate of progression in Huntingtons disease. Neurol Sci 2002;23 (suppl 2): S107-08. Squitieri F, Gellera C, Cannella M, et al. Homozygosity for CAG mutation in Huntingtons disease is associated with a more severe clinical course. Brain 2003; 126: 946-55. Stober T, Wussow W, Schimrigk K. Bicaudate diameter: the most specifi c and simple CT parameter in the diagnosis of Huntingtons disease. Neuroradiology 1984; 26: 25-28. OHearn E, Holmes SE, Calvert PC, et al. SCA-12: tremor with cerebellar and cortical atrophy is associated with a CAG repeat expansion. Neurology 2001; 56: 299-303. Walker FO.Huntingtons disease.Lancet.2007;369:218-28. Wellington CL, Leavitt BR, Hayden MR. Huntington disease: new insights on the role of huntingtin cleavage. J Neural Transm Suppl 2000; 58: 1-17.

Human Nature Essay -- essays research papers

Human nature is the egotistical behaviours that drive the human race to be creative and inquisitive. Although some philosophers may disagree with the validity of this statement, others such as Aristotle, John Stuart Mill and Thomas Hobbes would believe it to be true. After examining the beliefs of these philosophers and using real-life examples to rebut the beliefs of those who disagree, man’s true nature of curiousity, creativity and selfishness is clearly evident.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Once inspecting the philosophical beliefs of Thomas Hobbes, Aristotle and John Stuart Mill, human’s creative, inquiring and self-indulgent nature seems indisputable. Thomas Hobbes was correct in saying that self-interest is man’s true nature. He spoke the truth when he described man as an â€Å"aggressive, greedy, competitive, anti-social and vain† (Gini- Newman et al. 28) species. Everyday, man demonstrates this nature as he works steadfastly to make money so that he can indulge in the life of luxury and opportunity that he desires. He then donates to charitable organizations so that he does not have to suffer from feelings of guilt for not sharing his wealth with those less fortunate. Even human’s creativity and desire for knowledge illustrate our races egotistical nature. Aristotle once said that â€Å"all men by nature desire knowledge.† (Gini- Newman et al. 26) John Stuart Mill later said that â€Å"no intelligent human bei ng would consent to be a fool.† (Gini- Newman et al. 26) Both of these philosophers were correct in their observations. Man is an incredibly intelligent human being. He can think abstractly and develop unique ideas and theories. However, man’s creative ideas and broad range of knowledge all contribute to his self-interest. Man prides himself on knowledge. His intellectual endeavors build his self esteem and ego. He feels proud and worthy when he invents something. Although many human being use their innovative nature to improve the quality of life for others, their intentions are always inspired by their innate desires to feed their selfish nature.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The selfish desires of man and his needs for creativity and knowledge of self are difficult to dispute. Although philosophers such as Joseph Butler, Mengzi and Siddhartha Gautama have expressed different beliefs on this issue, there are many examples that challenge the soundness of... ...deavors, I notice the self interest that lies beneath them. I realize the self-assurance that I gain by being knowledgeable and I yearn for the praise I receive when I create a masterpiece. Even when I help others, by donating money to charitable organizations for example, I am being selfish because my actions are inspired by my personal desires to alleviate my feelings of guilt and sympathy. When I reflect on my life, I often feel ashamed of my self-centeredness. Unfortunately, this is my nature. I can try to control it, but I can not change it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The writer, Alfie Kohn, was correct when he noted the negative connotation on the expression, â€Å"I am only human.† (Gini- Newman et al. 43) Man’s creative and curious nature does make him distinct from all others; however, he truly is a selfish specimen. Everything man does, from working hard to earn a degree to finding a cure to save the lives of others, is aimed to fulfill his personal desires. Although philosophers may disagree on the true nature of man, it is difficult to dispute his selfishness as a species because there is so much evidence that prove him to be exactly this.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

America’s Mergence of Personal and Public Realms in Arendt’s The Human

America’s Mergence of Personal and Public Realms in Arendt’s The Human Condition America is a superpower, irrefutably the most dominant nation in the world. Underlining this supremacy, however, is the fact that America's society is facing several problems. Among these problems is what Hannah Arendt calls the emergence of society through the mergence of both the personal and public realms. This major problem has spawned numerous other problems, so has been chosen as the underlying cause for the tribulations of modern American society. Hannah Arendt, author of The Human Condition, has provided relevant analysis that applies to this major problem facing American society today. Modern American society intertwines the personal and public realms of its citizens into one, called the social realm. It follows then that, while in public, one's personal life has a serious effect on their position in society. The most prominent measure of one's status is wealth. Many of the influential voices today are of wealthy citizens. It appears that although everyone is entitled to their own opinion,...

What Governments Are Not Essay -- essays research papers

;What Governments Are "Not" In this essay I will be comparing the three economic systems: Communism, Capitalism and Socialism and will explain differences and similarities along with illustrations of each system. Communism is an economic system where the government owns and operates the means of production and distribution. It is also known as a command system because individuals cannot succeed others, the government controls all. Capitalism is an economic system where private individuals own and operate the means of production and distribution. People have the freedom to own, choose, compete and earn a living but with little or no government help. They have the freedom to own, choose, compete and earn a living. Socialism is a mixed market economic system. The basic means of production is managed and owned by the government, with the public owning and operating many businesses. Cooperation is stressed over competition, goals are high standard of living and economic security and high taxes provide free health care and education. In communism the government controls the market while in capitalism private individuals own and control the market. Socialism is a mix of the two because the government owns and controls production but with public owning and operating many businesses. In all three systems the lack of competition hurts the quality of goods and profits go down. So...

Psychology and Best Friends

What is you most prized possession? A prized possession is something that makes you happy the most above all else. Your most prized possession can be an item or a person. One of my most prized possessions would be my best friends, because they are what makes us believe in ourselves, make one of the biggest influences in life, and let us have the ability to stay strong. Without our best friends I would not be the same person I am today. Our mental and physical abilities are essential in life, it can build us strive and become driven into our success.People should not be dependent on computers because, this can damage a person’s mental and physical ability. It can affect someone physically by having the habit of bad postures, back/neck aches, and eye pain. These body parts are essential for us to live comfortably and be able to work efficiently. Also it can affect a person’s mental health, some of the different causes are, poor concentration, poor attention span, not bein g able to multi task, no use of own knowledge, as well as sleeping disorders.If This possession is more valuable to me than other possessions because, this is what brings us happiness for me and for everyone. Best friends support us and are what help us to move forward in life. This possession is something that anybody can receive but only in one condition, show different character traits so that he or she will give you the same respect. I need this possession because whenever we are feeling down, I can depend on my friends easily.

Extremist Group Essay

Makenssey Brinkman Mr. Feudo English 1 Pre-AP – 6th 22 April 2010 The Dangers of The Extremes Extremist groups go above and beyond to get what they want. They go to extreme measures, even disregarding people’s safety and turning groups against each other to reach their goal. They are a great hazard to mankind. Despite the fact that people have the right of free speech and assembly, the banning of Extremist groups will better society because they promote hate and violence and turn people against each other. Topic Sentence 1) Extremist groups shower hate all over the groups of people who oppose them, and they become relentless in their attempt to do so. (Evidence 1) – â€Å"Anti-choicers harassed [George Tiller’s] patients, day in and day out. They bombed his clinic. They shot him once before. They filed lawsuit after lawsuit and even convinced local prosecutors to launch criminal investigations and trials. † (Analysis 1) – The Extremist pro-li fe group attacked the abortion doctor with hate.By harassing his patients and trying to convince prosecutors to go against him, they set a solid, horrid example for others that do not share the same views as Tiller. These hateful attacks ultimately led to Tiller’s murder by gun at The Reformation Lutheran Church. (Evidence 2) – â€Å"To recruit members and spread its beliefs, the American Front has collaborated with various neo-Nazi and skinhead groups to stage protests and rallies that demonize Jews, blacks, and other minorities. (Analysis 2) – Just to try and get members into the group, the Extremist group staged many protests and minorities put down many minor groups, They promoted hate into the people who listened to and watched them as they did so, and therefore spreading the hate all they could. (Example 3) – â€Å"Anti-Semites and racists have found video-sharing websites, such as YouTube and MySpace Video, an effective means to promote propagand a and hateful material that might not otherwise be seen by the public.Internet users who search video-sharing sites will often find anti-Semitic and racist videos when looking for information completely unrelated to the videos due to misleading tags and titles that extremists attach to the videos when uploading them to the sites. † (Analysis 3) – Extremist group are using the internet to spread hatred of other groups worldwide. By doing so, it makes it even easier for them to promote the hate and then hide the evidence if their website or video is caught. This must be stopped. Topic Sentence 2) Extremist groups use violence in reaching their goals and emphasizing the point they are trying to make. (Example 1) – â€Å"On June 10, 2009, a white supremist who believed it was â€Å"time to kill the Jews† took his gun to the Holocaust museum in Washington, D. C. , and stated shooting upon entering. † (Analysis 1) – In believing he was doing the ri ght thing, this Extremist tried to make his point by attacking the Holocaust victims museum. By attacking this museum, he made a big stand by basically showing with his violence that he supported what happened in the Holocaust. Example 2) – â€Å"[ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna)] has waged a relentless campaign of violence against the Spanish state, targeting politicians, policemen, judges, and soldiers. In 1980 alone, ETA was blamed for 118 deaths, and in 1995 it nearly succeeded in assassinating Jose Maria Aznar, then leader of the opposition, now Spain’s prime minister. † (Analysis 2) – The Extremist group ETA is taking their beliefs to an extreme extent. By killing and trying to assassinate a respected leader, they are using the violence to try and scare off and weaken their opposition. Example 3) – â€Å"Since 1977, there have been at least 17 attempted murders, 383 death threats, 153 incidents of assault or battery and three kidnappings committe d against abortion providers in North America. † (Analysis 3) – These are solid facts that exemplify all of the violence that have taken place from just one Extremist group. The groups cause pain and suffering in North America, and they feel as though using violence is one of the only ways to get their point across. (Topic Sentence 3) – Along with all the hate and violence that these groups reate, Extremist groups try tearing people further apart with their actions and words. (Example 1) – â€Å"The Kach movement was most famous for its platform calling for the removal of the entire Israeli-Arab population from Israel and transferring them â€Å"elsewhere. †Ã¢â‚¬  (Analysis 1) – The Jewish Defense League is another Extremist group that prizes themselves over all people. By trying to kick the Israeli-Arab population out of their homeland so they can take over, they cause horrible tensions between the people. These tensions would almost most certainly lead to more hate and more violence. Example 2) – â€Å"One man from Brockton, Massachusetts – who told police he had learned on white supremacist websites that a genocide was under way against whites – is charged with murdering two black people and planning to kill as many Jews as possible on the day after Obama's inauguration. † (Analysis 2) – By using the internet as a source to get to people, the Extremist groups have given false information and got what they wanted from it. They scared the man into believing that he was in danger, so he decided to take action and go against the other races. (Example 3) –

Fundamentals of Building a New Crime Analysis Unit Essay

Since the late 1980s and early 1990s, police departments across the country and throughout the world have begun adopting what is known as proactive policing. This term began as a simple theory which utilized concepts such as community policing and statistical formulas to engage and apprehend criminals before they commit a crime. Police chiefs, county sheriffs, and department heads began to realize that time moved on since the days of the â€Å"Wild Wild West† and so to have criminals. Half a century ago, criminals were not as intelligent or as technologically savvy as they are today, namely because of the computer and medical breakthroughs researchers have made. Nowadays, people live longer, have access to healthier foods and dietary supplements, and better education, thereby making it easier for potential criminals to live better lives and develop complex thought-out operations for their next heist. The law enforcement leaders then recognized the need to find a better way to combat this ever-evolving wave of criminal activities, which eventually lead them to entertain the idea of implementing crime analysis units (CAUs) to assist officers in figuring out where they needed to go to thwart crime before it happens. In order to properly begin a crime analysis unit, one must realize exactly what that unit is, does, will be responsible for, and who they will ultimately answer to. Furthermore, a CAU cannot simply be started by placing a select few in crime analyst positions and expecting them to fulfill the job requirements. Instead, people who have a high school education, college experience, and strong analytical or math skills should be chosen and given specialized training in the field of crime analysis. So, with that having been stated, what is crime analysis and what can it do for an agency? According to IACA, the International Association of Crime Analysts: Crime analysis is both a profession and a set of techniques. The professionals, who perform crime analysis, and the techniques they use, are dedicated to helping a police department become more effective through better information. The information that analysts provide can help†¦ olve crimes, develop effective strategies and tactics to prevent future crimes, find and apprehend offenders, prosecute and convict offenders, improve safety and quality of life, optimize internal operations, prioritize patrol and investigation, detect and solve community problems, plan for future resource needs, enact effective policies, and educate the public (What is Crime Analysis, 2011). Now that the basics of what crime analysis CAN do have been identified, the questions that must be asked, according to Intellysis (2013), include: * Is a crime analysis unit really needed? What’s the difference between crime analysis and intelligence analysis? * What kind of crime analysis is needed†¦ administrative, strategic, or tactical? * What should the mission or motto be for this unit? * Who will be assigned what tasks? How will work be divided? * How many analysts will be needed? * How do we go about hiring an analyst? What will the job entail and what will be the salary? * What should the workspace be like? * What technology, supplies, and equipment will be needed? * What products will the crime analysts produce? * Where should the crime analysis unit be placed within the organizational chart? Will a policy and procedure manual need to be created? * What type of training will be needed for crime analysts? All questions listed above are relevant and must be asked if an agency is to have any hopes of implementing a crime analysis unit. To answer the first question of necessity, it is up to the individual municipality and agency head to decide whether or not a crime analysis unit is truly needed. In many small cities and towns, the need for such a unit is slim to none; however, with the ever-increasing rate of criminal activity in small areas, that thought is rapidly becoming obsolete. The second question, regarding the difference between crime analysis and intelligence analysis, lies in the information that is analyzed. Crime analysis deals with ‘what’, ‘where’, and ‘when’, while intelligence analysis maintains the ‘who’, ‘why’, and ‘how’, meaning that crime analysts look at individual M. O. s, crime types, and locations, whereas intelligence analysts deal with why something happened, how it happened, who did it, and how can it be prevented. In addition to this, though, there is a third type known as the crime and intelligence analyst, which is essentially a combination of both. To figure out what type of crime analyst the agency requires, the history of criminal activity and the needs of the entire department must be reviewed. There are three types of crime analysis – tactical, strategic, and administrative. They are explained here: * Tactical Crime Analysis – primarily functions to promote rapid response to immediate criminal activity. This type of analysis should usually be the primary function performed by crime analysts at the local agency level, although it does somewhat depend upon the specific needs of the individual entity itself. Tactical crime analysis is the area where trends, patterns, and series are identified and modus operandi is linked with offenders. * Strategic Crime Analysis – deals with everyday operational strategies and formulates solutions for problems arising from those operations. This is sometimes known as the analysis that caters to the command staff and city/county government officials, because it can assist with resource allocation, scheduling, patrol area configuration, and analyzes crime versus staffing demands. * Administrative Crime Analysis – focuses on long-term activity in a certain area (i. . figuring out why crime is high in a certain area, and what needs to be changed to counteract this). Additionally, providing certain information, such as general crime stats for informational purposes to city hall, neighborhood watch groups, and citizens are a large part of administrative crime analysis (CCAA). Anytime a new group or institution is put into place, one of the first things that must be considered is where that group is going? What will be their primary focus or goal? Mission statements vary across the country, from agency to agency, but a few things remain the same. In any mission statement for a crime analysis unit, the very first words should read â€Å"The overall objective† or â€Å"The mission of the crime analysis unit,† or at least something along those lines. This lets readers know that what is coming next will be what your unit is going to be all about. This is the area where the proposal can be viewed either positively, or pushed aside because the goals do not seem achievable, or they are not seen as highly valuable. Therefore, this statement should be well-organized, attention-grabbing, concise, yet fully inclusive of all major objectives. Here’s an example: The mission of the Crime Analysis Unit (CAU) at Make Believe Police Department is to collect, collate, analyze, and prepare criminal / criminal intelligence data to be disseminated to patrol officers and investigators as reinforcement for the proactive policing initiative. The unit will identify emerging crime trends, patterns, and series and make recommendations to the appropriate personnel for prompt response, and potentially link offenders to criminal activity, assisting with bringing said offenders to justice. The citizens of the City of Make Believe will also benefit from the Crime Analysis Unit, as it will be available to assist the public in the retrieval of crime statistics and information on high-crime areas. When reviewing potential tasks a crime analyst will be responsible for, it is important to note that each agency has different needs; therefore, each agency will need analysts to do different things. In the same light, it is also up to the individual agency as to how many crime analysts will actually be needed; however, it is recommended by Intellysis that there be at least one analyst per every 100,000 citizens (Starting a Crime Analysis Unit, 2013). On the other hand, the University of South Alabama’s Center for Public Safety recommends that there should be about one crime analyst for every one-hundred sworn personnel (O’Shea and Nicholls, 2002, p. 13). At most agencies, hiring requirements for a crime analyst are elevated because it is considered a highly analytical and professional position. As such, the minimum education and experience usually required for consideration is a Bachelor’s Degree in either criminal justice, criminology, mathematics, or a related field and at least one year of experience as a crime analyst or two years in a related field. In some agencies, the hiring party may consider a candidate who does not have a Bachelor’s Degree, but does have extensive experience in law enforcement, vice versa, or an equivalent combination of both. As far as salary is concerned, this is also up to the individual municipality. This is something that will be based upon funding, actual necessity, complexity of the work to be performed, and the combined experience/education of the person(s) to be hired. Generally, though, the annual salary of a crime analyst is thought to be between $28,852 and $68,138 with a median income of $39,493 according to Payscale’s national crime analyst salary website (2013). In most units, crime analysts will be responsible for tactical, strategic, and administrative analysis, as well as completing public requests for assistance.

Concept Comparison and Analysis Across Theory Essay

Nursing has evolved into a science. Like other scientific disciplines, the practice of nursing is guided by nursing theories. According to Julia George, â€Å"practice is based on the theories of the discipline that are validated through research† (George, 2011, p. 7). The major shift in theoretical thinking in nursing is said to occur in the 1960s when the focus in nursing shifted from simple problem/need and functional role, to the relationship between nurse and patient (George, 2011, p. 10). The aim of this paper is two-fold: First, I will compare and analyze the concept definition of care (caring) across Dorothea Orem’s self-care theory and Madeleine Leininger’s theory of culture care theory. Second, I will present the concept statement, metaparadigms, philosophies, and conceptual model of Dorothy Orem’s self-care theory and discuss where and how Orem’s self-care theory can be applied to nursing. I will explore the major concepts and assumptions of Dorothea Orem’s self-care theory and Madeleine Leininger’s culture care theory, and compare and analyze the two theories in terms of the similarities and differences. The concept of care (caring) is a core concept common to many nursing theories. Boykin and Schoenhofer in presenting their theory of Nursing as Caring maintain that caring is the moral imperative for nursing (see George, 2011, p. 11). Dorothea Orem’s self-care theory and Madeleine Leininger’s culture care theory both focus on patient care. I can easily identify with both theories. As a practicing nurse, my personal philosophy is that nursing is about caring; this apart, Orem’s and Leininger’s theories are not as abstract as some of the theories. Both theories can therefore be still be used by the nurses who are not in academia to guide and improve their practice. Orem’s theory focuses on the key concept of self-care. According to Orem’s theory, every individual adult has the capacity for self-care. â€Å"Self-care implies that when they are able, individuals care for themselves. When the person is unable to care for himself, the nurse provides the assistance needed. For children nursing care is needed when the parents or guardians are unable to provide the amount and quality of care needed† (George, 2011, p. 114). I find Orem’s theory to be logical. There are certain situations when one is ill and does not require a nurse. For example, most people do not immediately go to the hospital with the common cold. In this case they take care of themselves. When a health problem arises for which â€Å"self-care† is insufficient to take care of the situation, one has to seek the attention of the â€Å"nurse† who compensates for this deficit. According to Orem, a nurse is needed when someone needs nursing care because of inability to care for oneself. The environment is to foster and maintain nurse therapeutic relationship between nurses and patients, to determine when someone needs help or assistance, attention to patient response, giving direct aid to individuals and families and collaboration with other health professionals. The â€Å"nurse† according to Orem can be a parent or another human, family or community, not necessarily a health care nurse. As outlined in her theory, there are three interrelated actions or measures used to provide self-care. The first is the Universal self-care requisites; this is self-care that is holistic and includes the need oxygen, water, food, elimination, activity, and rest, to prevent trauma and other necessities of life. The second type is the developmental self-care requisites; this is self-care that should be undertaken in accordance with human growth and development. The third type is the health deviation self-care requisites; this self-care carried out because of health problem or disease prevention and health promotion (George, 2011, p. 116). Orem’s concept of â€Å"self-care† theory seems to have a universal appeal. In a sense one can say that Orem is not just referring to individuals who are sick. For example, new-born babies need nursing care not necessarily because they are sick but because they are unable to â€Å"self-care† for themselves and the parents typically might not be able to provide the quality of specialized care needed at birth; nursing care is therefore needed for the first couple of days and then the parents can take over the care until the child becomes a self-caring individual. Orem defines nursing as â€Å"the provision of self-care which is therapeutic in sustaining life and health, in recovering from disease or injury, or coping with their effects† http://www.faculty.ucc.edu/nursing-gervase/orem. Madeleine Leininger, like Orem, sees the importance of the element of caring in the profession of nursing. As Leininger puts it, â€Å"care (caring) is essential to curing and healing, for there can be no curing without caring† http://www.Madeleine-leininger.com. The term †transcultural nursing† is used to refer to humanistic and scientific knowledge and practices that focus on assisting individuals, families and communities to maintain or regain health and to deal with disability, dying or other human conditions in a culturally respectful and beneficial manner http://www.Madeleine-leininger.com. Leininger’s theory of transcultural care theory is derived from the disciplines of (cultural) anthropology. Key concepts in this theory include cultural diversity (the differences between and among the various cultures) and cultural universality (the common elements or similarities found in various cultures). While she was working as a nurse, in a child guidance home Leininger observed recurrent behavioral differences and eventually concluded that the differences had a cultural base (George, 2011, p. 405). Leininger’s cultural care theory aims to provide culturally congruent nursing care through â€Å"cognitively based assistive, supportive, facilitative, or enabling acts or decisions that are mostly tailor-made to fit with individual’s, group’s, or institution’s cultural values, beliefs, and lifeways† (Leininger, M. (1995). Transcultural nursing: Concepts, theories, research and Practices. New York: McGraw Hill, Inc., p. 75). Leininger uses the four nursing metaparadigm differently in her theory. For example, she uses the concept to refer to families and groups or communities; health is not limited to nursing. Leininger’s Culture Care Theory views nursing as a transcultural, humanistic and scientific care discipline and profession with the central purpose to serve human beings worldwide. â€Å"Whereas it is important to look at a patient as a whole person from a physiological, psychological, spiritual, and social perspective, it is also important to take a patient’s culture and cultural background into consideration when deciding how to care for that patient. For example there should be no when attending to people from other minority cultures such as gay, lesbians, and trans-gender individuals. Nurses, when using this theory, can recognize and understand cultural similarities and differences to influence the person’s health status. In essence the theory assumes that nurses who understand, value, and practice culturally competent nursing care are more effective and capable of achieving positive outcomes in the healthcare of their patients. The theory assumes that culturally nursing care will occur when the patient’s beliefs and value systems are carefully incorporated the patient’s nursing care plan. From the above outline of Madeleine Leininger’s culture care theory and Dorothea Orem’s self-care theory one can see that both theories see (patient) care as the central focus of nursing. Both theories are very practical; one can even describe them as â€Å"empirical.† The two theories do differ in one very important focus: Leininger focuses on culture to influence health, whereas Orem focuses on the self (self-care) to keep the body healthy and functioning. It is evident that both theories have undergone some significant revisions over time. In this section, I will shift the focus of the discussion of where and how Leininger’s cultural care theory may be best applied to nursing practice. The Transcultural theory considers the component of culture as an important factor that needs to be included when planning the care of the patient. For family assessment, the theory can serve as basis and guide in evaluating the different factors that need to be assessed in the family. In application of transcultural theory in family assessment there are three points that need to be considered. First, the nursing care should incorporate the cultural backgrounds of the family by appropriately doing culture and background interview to the family Second, the family nurse should incorporate the inquiry on health beliefs, heath patterns, and practiced superstitions and beliefs that propose significance to the health condition of the family. Finally, the nurse needs to incorporate the most suited interventions that called for by the clients for care modalities and health care interventions (e.g. hospital, clinician, family, herbalist, etc. The use of transcultural theory in family assessment further enhances the nursing care being administered to the patient http://www.Madeleine-leininger.com. In terms of application, one can see certainly where exercising cultural sensitivity as advocated by the culture care theory would lead to better rendering of healthcare and faster recovery. The theory raises a number of serious questions. For example, how does one handle emergency situations? Giving the current nurse-patient ratios in hospitals and the vast array of cultures that nurses are likely to encounter, especially in a county hospital like the one in which I work? This apart, communication and language is a hallmark of any culture; does Leininger culture care theory implies that nurses should begin to attempt to render service to patients in the patient’s native language? These are questions that we might not have answers for at this point. Here is where philanthropic organizations like Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) and the Joanna Briggs Institute can continue to support further research into nursing theory and health education that would help bridge the gap between nursing research and clinical practice. REFERENCES: Leininger M. (1991). Culture care diversity and universality: A theory of nursing. New York: National League for Nursing Press. George, Julia B. (2011). Nursing theories: The base of professional nursing practice 6th edition. Pearson Education, Inc. Leninger M, McFarland M. Transcultural Nursing: Concepts, Theory, Research, and Practice; 3rd ed., McGraw-Hill Professional; New York, 2002. Websites: http://www.Madeleine-leininger.com. http://www.faculty.ucc.edu/nursing-gervase/orem. http://www.joannabriggs.org http://www.nursingsociety.org http://www.faculty.ucc.edu/nursing-gervase/orem