Thursday, October 31, 2019
Writing 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words
Writing 3 - Essay Example Of critical concern was the shed located behind the door at the back which provides a hiding place for strangers. It would be important to advise employees taking out trash to the dumpster of the looming hostage risk when dark falls. The door alarm could be set off by employees so frequently such that should a stranger sneak in through the back door, no one would be concerned. It would be sensible that employees undergo safety drills for their safety and security and that of the business. The alarm fitted at the back door should be redesigned to allow for coded access under the reserve of specific employees. The background information on the building, business operations and employees was not only discussed but also documented. The discussion also focuses on the security systems such as surveillance cameras, door alarms and windows. The store layout was examined in addition to the survey undertaken to evaluate office security, guard security and physical security of the restaurant building. In the security survey, the strengths and weaknesses of all forms of security infrastructure were assessed so as to promote the security and safety of the premises and the business operations therein, employees and customers. This would only be realized should the owners and managers implement the given recommendations on security enhancement. Conclusions are given in the survey report on security weaknesses as deduced from observation and interviews. Also included are the strengths of the physical security and recommendations on how to improve security. Discussions and interviews were carried out in person. These were done in three different occasions: on June 2, 2014, June 23, 2014 and July 3, 2014. Interviews were conducted at the time of serving dinner, which is about 5.00 pm. The initial visit was important as it involved the identification of the contact person, Raj Kumar who is the owner of the restaurant. This involved a brief interview
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Law for Non-Lawyers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2
Law for Non-Lawyers - Essay Example one hundred individuals are present on land for exclusively social purposes during the occurrence of which alcohol consumption is likely to be expected. In accordance with Section 1 (2) of the Act, the organizer of such a gathering must obtain permission from a local magistrate to host the event unless he/she is an exempt person for in this case the authorization of a local magistrate would not be required. Section 1 (3) states that an exempt person can be categorized as an individual who is the occupier of the land, a member of the occupierââ¬â¢s family and his/her agent or employee. The scenario which led to Tomââ¬â¢s arrest under the Prohibition of Unsolicited Parties (Fictitious) Act 2010 is described as follows: the defendant, Tom who is employed as a sales assistant at an electrical superstore was requested by Sally who is a manageress at the same store to keep an eye on her property, a 5-acre smallholding during the time frame that she was in Spain on a holiday. Accordingly, Tom arranged to invite some of his friends to celebrate his 21st birthday celebrations on Sallyââ¬â¢s property that housed a small barn. However, an error led to the email being sent to all contacts on Tomââ¬â¢s address book as a consequence of which more than 600 people attended the party. The presence of hundreds of guests on the land prompted the owner of the neighboring farm led to inform the police about excessive noise that subsequently led to Tomââ¬â¢s arrest under the Prohibition of Unsolicited Parties (Fictitious) Act 2010. Referring to the question of statutory interpretation that is conducted by judges to declare whether the defendant has committed an offence or not, Tomââ¬â¢s case poses certain questions that need to be addressed and analyzed in the light the principles and rules of statutory interpretation. These aspects of concern and their significance to the case is as follows: 1) How many people did Tom intend to invite to this particular social gathering? Section 1 (1) of the
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Strengths And Limitations Of CBT For Social Phobia Psychology Essay
Strengths And Limitations Of CBT For Social Phobia Psychology Essay Social phobia, also known as Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is considered as one of the most common psychological disorders on its own, and also as a comorbid disorder (Kessler, McGonagle, Zhao, et al., 1994). Current research literature suggest Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) as the first treatment choice for social phobia, unless in the case where the client opt for medication or if the client is suffering from comorbid depression or another psychological disorder that makes medication essential (Veale, 2003; Social Anxiety Disorder, 2006; NICE guideline, 2004c). The aim of this paper will be to discuss the application of CBT in the treatment of Social Phobia. However, it is important to emphasise that it will not attempt a detailed discussion on the historical development, or theoretical frameworks of CBT. These aspects of therapy will be emphasised, discussed and analysed where necessary, to comprehend its practicality in the treatment of social phobia. Furthermore, the scope of this paper will be limited to examining the use of CBT for treatment of adults with social phobia but, it will not focus on treatment of social phobia in children and adolescent groups. CBT was initially developed by Aaron T. Beck as a structured, short-term, present-oriented psychotherapy for depression, directed toward solving current problems and modifying dysfunctional thinking and behaviours (Beck, 1995). The basic assumptions of cognitive model suggest that distorted or dysfunctional thinking that influence the patient/clients mood and behaviour is common to all psychological disturbances (Beck, 1995). CBT is a collection of therapies that are designed to help clients suffering from phobias, depression, obsessions compulsions, stress disorders, drug addictions and/or personality disorders. CBT attempts to help people identify the situations that may produce their physiological or emotional symptoms and alter the manner in which they cope with these situations (Smith, Nolen-Hoeksema, Fredrickson, Loftus. 2003). The effectiveness of CBT has been widely tested since the first study on treatment success in 1977 (Beck, 1995). Westbrook, Kennerley and Kirk (2007) stated that CBT has many features common to other therapies. However, they acknowledged that CBT is different from the other psychotherapies with some distinguishing characteristics. This therapeutic approach is a combination of Behaviour Therapy (BT) and Cognitive Therapy (CT). However, these will not discuss in detail. However, as a result of having been evolved from a combination of both BT and CT, modern CBT consist important elements of them both. Westbrook, et al. (2007) presents the CBT model of viewing problem development. For instance, individuals develop cognitions (thoughts beliefs) through life experiences (mostly based on childhood experiences, but sometimes with later experiences). These can be functional (ones that allow making sense of the world around and deal with life issues), as well as dysfunctional beliefs. Most of the time, functional beliefs permit individuals to reasonably cope well with life situations. Whereas dysfunctional beliefs may not cause problems unless/until encountered with an event or a series of events (also known as critical incident) that violates the core beliefs or the assumptions, to the extent of being unable to handle ones positive/functional beliefs. This situation may activate the negative/dysfunctional thoughts over the positive thoughts resulting or provoking unpleasant emotional status such as anxiety or depression. Thus, Westbrook et al. (2007) highlighted the interactions between negative thoughts, emotions, somatic reactions, and behaviours as responses to different life events. These dysfunctional patterns lock the individual into vicious cycles or feedback loops resulting in the perpetuation of the problem. Focussing on the effectiveness of CBT as a therapy, the UK National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guideline recommends CBT for several major mental health problems including depression (NICE, 2004a), generalised anxiety and panic (NICE, 2004c), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (NICE, 2005). Furthermore, Westbrook et al. (2007) highlighted the findings of Roth and Fonagy (2005) in their book What works for whom? a landmark summary of psychotherapy efficacy. This book presents evidence on the success of CBT as a therapy for most psychological disorders. However, though there is evidence supporting the successfulness of CBT for numerous psychological disorders, CBT has some limitations as well. Firstly, it is not suitable for everyone. One should be committed and persistent in finding a solution to the problem and improving oneself with the guidance of the therapist (Grazebrook Garland, 2005). Secondly, it may not be helpful in certain conditions. Grazebrook Garland (2005) mentioned that there is increasing evidence of the successful therapeutic use of CBT in a wide variety of psychological conditions. However they pointed that there is a great need for further research to gather evidence on the therapeutic success of CBT in these different types of psychological disorders. Social Phobia Social Phobia is categorised as an Anxiety Disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV-TR (DSM-IV-TR) of the American Psychiatric Association (2000). This disorder is characterised by persistent excessive anxiety and fear of scrutiny by others, often accompanied by anxiety symptoms such as tremulousness, blushing, palpitations, and sweating (Social Anxiety Disorder, 2006). The DSM-IV-TR (2000) presents the following diagnostic criteria for social phobia (SAD). Marked and persistent fear of social or performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to perceived scrutiny by others. This includes the fear of embarrassment or humiliation Exposure to feared social or performance situations that almost invariably provoke anxiety. This may even take the form of a panic attack. In the case of children, the anxiety may be expressed by crying, tantrums, freezing, or shrinking from social situations with unfamiliar people. The person recognises that the fear is unreasonable and that it is excessive. However, this fear and knowledge may be absent in children. The feared social situation or the performance is avoided or else it is endured with intense anxiety or distress. The avoidance, anxious anticipation, or fear causes significant distress or impaired functioning. Fear or avoidance are not due to another psychological, or physiological condition (e.g., a personality disorder such as paranoid personality disorder, a specific phobia, or due to the influence of substance use/abuse) Specify generalised, if the fears include most social situations (e.g., these may range from initiating or maintaining conversations, participating in small groups, dating, speaking to authority figures, or attending parties hindering most parts of a personal social life) According to the criteria stated above, social phobia can be generalised or non-generalised, depending on the breadth of social and performance situations that are feared. While generalised social phobia hinders a vast range of social and performance situations, non-generalised social phobia may hider/restrict only performance of some social activities or engagements. According to health statistics from year 2002, social phobia affects 3% of the Canadian adult population (Social Anxiety Disorder, 2006). In USA 13.3% of the population suffer from social phobia at some point in their life (Kessler et al., 1994). Statistics indicate a life time prevalence of about 8% to 12% making social phobia one of the most common anxiety disorders (Social Anxiety Disorder, 2006; Kessler, et al., 1994). Apart from being a high prevalence disorder, social phobia is also known to have a high comorbidity, specially substance abuse and/or alcohol dependency (Schadà ©, A., Marquenie, L., Van Balkom, et al., 2008; Amies, Gelder, Shaw, 1983; Schneier, Johnson, Hornig, Liebowitz, Weissman, 1992). Kessler et al. (1994) stated that while the lifetime prevalence of social phobia is as high as 13.3%, the prevalence reported in a 30-day period is between 3% 4.5%. In addition, other similar conditions, such as shyness, behavioural inhibition, self-consciousness, selective attention and embarrassment are seen to be correlated with social phobia (Beidel Morris, 1995; Beidel Randall, 1994; Leary Kowalski, 1995; Rosenbaum, Biederman, Pollock, Hirshfeld, 1994; Stemberger, Turner, Beidel, Calhoun, 1995). According to Schneier, Johnson, Hornig, et al. (1992), comorbidity of two or more psychological disorders, is also fairly common with social phobia. Research has also indicated that social phobia is also characterised with a higher frequency of suicide attempts (Schneier et al., 1992). Focusing on the impact of the disorder on the quality of life, social phobia is described as an illness of missed opportunities, because its early onset hinders future social progression such as marital success and career growth (Social Anxiety Disorder, 2006). The authors of this article stated that these individuals were less likely to be well educated, belong to lower socioeconomic status, and are possibly unmarried. In addition, they also suffer greater functional, health, and physical impairments than individuals without social phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder, 2006). Thus the disorder has a significant impact on the quality of life, in particular, socially and emotionally. Emphasising on this point, the authors of this article highlighted that in a community health survey in Canada, people with social phobia were twice as likely to report at least one disability day in the past two weeks, compared to people without social phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder, 2006). Aetiology of social phobia can be traced to Bio-Psycho-Social factors (Smith, Hoeksema, Fredrickson, et al., 2003). Looking at the neuro-biologic factors, research data up to date, provides evidence of dopaminergic, serotonergic, and noradrenergic systems (Stein, Tancer, Uhde, 19992; Tancer, Stein, Uhde, 1993; Yeragani, Blalon, Pohl, 1990). However, Stein, Tancer, Uhde (1995) stated that the evidence for these neuro-biological factors in the predisposition, precipitation, and perpetuation is far from clear. The authors also present the same regarding the effect of antidepressants on social phobia stating that further work is warranted, although preliminary evidence indicates that antidepressants are not entirely effective on social phobia. From a cognitive-behavioural perspective, a person with social phobia develops a series of negative assumptions about themselves and their social world based on some negative experience (Kessler, et al., 1994). These assumptions of behaving inappropriately and being evaluated negatively and/or being humiliated will give rise to anticipatory anxiety that precedes the social situation adding an extra source of concern and perceived danger. Preoccupied with these fears, clients with social phobia have difficulty focussing their attention on the social cues or their own strengths that help them to effectively cope in the phobic situations. In addition, biased memory and focused attention towards negative signs will prevent the individual from perceiving the positive signs (e.g., acceptance, success, admiration) giving rise to performance deficiencies. These may contribute towards producing patterns of negative interactions that may further contribute to the perpetuation of the phobic con dition experienced at the time (Elting Hope, 1995). These explanations are similar to the generic CBT model, of problem development. Thus the research by Kessler et al (1994) has provided supporting evidence to the general CBT explanation and theoretical framework of problem understanding, assessment and treatment. Another dimension of the aetiology of social phobia is the lack of social skills and/or the lack of awareness of ones own social skills. According to Hill (1989), clients with social phobia vary widely in their knowledge of socially appropriate behaviour skills. Many of these individuals seem to have adequate social skills when assessed in a non-threatening environment such as the clinicians office, but they fail to use these skills when laden with anxiety in an unfamiliar social situation that is perceived as threatening. Hill (1989) further described that there is another group of individuals suffering with social phobia who may be unaware of socially appropriate behaviours in certain situations and therefore encounter repeated failures and disappointments. Thus, Hill (1989) suggest that apart from medication and/or conventional CBT, individuals in this group will benefit more from specific training in social skills either through role playing or modelling as appropriate. In addition to the above dimensions, there are developmental and psychodynamic issues associated with the aetiology of social phobia as well. In this view, children who are rejected, belittled, and censured by their parents, teachers or peers may develop feelings of low self-esteem and social alienation (Arrindell, kwee, Methorst, 1989). The authors of this article further stated that clients with social phobia tend to report, having had hypercritical parents. The article further examine the condition of social phobia from a psychodynamic perspective hypothesising that avoidant behaviour may be caused by an exaggerated desire for acceptance, an intolerance of criticism, or a willingness to constrict ones life to maintain a sense of control. Furthermore, they claim that traumatic embarrassing events may lead to loss of self-confidence, increased anxiety, and subsequent poor performance, resulting in a vicious circle that progress to social phobia. Concentrating on treatment seeking behaviours for social phobia, Hill (1989) highlighted that clients rarely see a physician for symptoms relating to social anxiety. More often seeking help will be for conditions such as substance abuse, depression or any other anxiety disorder (e.g. panic attack). Treatment for Social Phobia As mentioned above, social phobia is the result of biopsychosocial factors. Thus, the treatment choices may also vary which may include pharmacotherapy, and/or different types of psychotherapy. Veale (2003) stated that treatment choice for social phobia is up to the client to decide. Medication is indicated if it is the clients first choice, or if CBT has failed or if there is a long waiting list for CBT. Similarly, pharmacotherapy becomes the choice of treatment when social phobia is comorbid with depression (Veale, 2003). Considering the first treatment choice, UK National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) does not have a specific guideline specific for social phobia. However, in its guidelines for anxiety disorders (NICE, 2004), it recommends pharmacotherapy as treatment if the client opts for medication, or if the client opts for psychological treatment, CBT is given as the first choice of therapy. NICE guidelines (2004) too recommend CBT as the first choice of psychologic al therapy for generalised anxiety disorder and other anxiety disorders. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence provides evidence that CBT is more effective than no intervention and that CBT has been found to maintain its effectiveness when examined after long term follow up of eight to fourteen years. This can be used as a cost and time effective therapeutic intervention in group settings and most clients have maintained treatment gains at longer terms (NICE 2004). It further stated that CBT is more effective than psychodynamic therapy and non-specific treatments. Apart from CBT, clients who receive anxiety management training, relaxation and breathing therapy have been proven to be effective compared to having no intervention. Apart from CBT, Veale (2003) also discusses Graded self-exposure as a psychological therapy for social phobia. This therapeutic intervention which is based on the learning theory hypotheses has been the treatment of choice for social phobia for many years. However, as this method of therapy using exposure to previously avoided situations in a graded manner until habituation occurs was only successful with limited amount of clients, alternative approaches such as CBT have become a more frequent therapy choice. NICE guidelines (2006) on computerised cognitive behaviour therapy (CCBT) for depression and anxiety recommend CCBT for mild depressions and anxiety disorders, including social phobia. With reference to two Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) and two non-RCTs comparing CCBT (programme for panic/phobic disorders FearFighter) with therapist led CBT (TCBT) the NICE guidelines recommend the use of CCBT for mild phobic/panic disorders. When results of CCBT and TCBT were compared after a three month period of therapy for global phobia, both groups showed statistically significant improvement. Similar results were shown in two non-RCT studies too. When these scores were compared with a group who received relaxation techniques as therapy, this third group did not show statistically significant improvement while the other two groups (CCBT TCBT) did. However, it must be noted that the RCT and the non-RCT studies does not report clinically significant improvement. Nevertherless, the dropout r ate of FearFighter group was twice as many as the TCBT dropout rate. However, from a positive point of view on the practicality of CCBT on phobias, delivery of FearFighter programme at the clinical setting for one group, and the other group having access to the programme at home over a 12 week period showed that both groups showed statistically significant improvement in all measures (NICE guidelines, 2006). In terms of client satisfaction too there was no statistically significant difference between TCBT and CCBT (NICE guidelines, 2006). Thus, though further research is warranted to evaluate the clinical significance of CCBT for social phobia specifically, the NICE guidelines recommend CCBT as a choice of therapy for mild levels of depression and anxiety disorders. In addition to the observed effectiveness of CCBT, NICE guidelines also recommend it as a cost effective therapy alternative. Thus, CCBT for social phobia at mild levels could be useful at a practical level too. In a study by Rosser, Erskine Crino (2004), the researchers studied the treatment success of CBT with antidepressants and CBT on its own as treatment for social phobia. The results did not show a statistically significant difference in the treatment progress between the two groups allowing the researchers to conclude that pre-existing use of antidepressants did not enhance or detract from the positive treatment outcome of a structured, group-based CBT programme for social phobia. Application of medication and CBT is common practice in treatment for social phobia (Rosser et al., 2004). Yet, there are not many studies that have studied the combined effectiveness for social phobia. Citing Heimberg (2002) Rosser et al., (2004) describe that there are three possible outcomes from combining medication and CBT. Combined treatment may produce a better outcome than each treatment alone, by potentiating the gains achieved by CBT and also reducing relapse rates following the discontinuation of medication. Alternatively, there may be no difference between the combined approach and each approach individually, if both therapies (pharmacotherapy and CBT) are sufficiently powerful on their own. Also, depending on how individual clients attribute treatment success, effectiveness of CBT might be detracted by medication in a combined approach of treatment. Referring to literature on treatment success for social phobia Rosser et al., (2004) highlighted that combination treatment (CBT and pharmacotherapy) or pharmacotherapy alone has not been found to be of significant advantage. CBT has mostly been successful in overcoming symptoms, minimising relapses and also effective in terms of cost minimisation (Rosser et al., 2004). Focussing on the conclusions Rosser et al. (2004), there were no significant differences between the combination treatment (CBT antidepressants) and CBT alone could be interpreted in different ways. It is possible that since antidepressants and CBT are both re asonably powerful treatments individually, and thus a combination of the two did not contribute to a significantly to improve the outcome. Alternatively it may be that the group who were already taking antidepressants may have been prescribed with the medication because they were more severe in terms of social phobic or depressive symptoms prior to commencing treatment programme. Thus, it may be possible to argue that the combined therapy may not have contributed to a significant improvement compared to the group that that only received CBT, because there was a difference in symptom severity between the two groups. In addition there was no control in allocating (randomly) participants and or having a control over the medication dosage. Thus, the research findings of the study are subjected to the limitations of these variables that were out of the researchers control. However, it has to be noted that it does not devalue the comparative treatment success on the CBT (alone) group. The researchers of this study therefore emphasise the need for further research on combined therapy for social phobia as in real life clinical settings most clients are on medication while receiving CBT. Moreover, Rodebaugh Heimberg (2005) recommends CBT combined with medication as a widely used successful treatment method for social phobia. However, while recommending the above, they also emphasise the need for further research in this regard as the current data reveals mixed results. According to available evidence and theoretical considerations they suggested that some methods of combination could provide short-term benefits, but long-term decreases in efficacy compared to either treatment alone. In this paper Rodebaugh Heimberg (2005) emphasised that most research on the effects of CBT combined with medication had the common research gap of failing to control the medication dose and the allocation of participants in to random samples. However, the authors of this paper emphasised that in most studies combined therapy for social phobia had not shown significant evidence of treatment success compared to either pharmacotherapy or CBT. Rodebaugh Heimberg (2005) highlighted that there is supporting evidence to the treatment success of combining CBT with relaxation training. While mentioning this, they also noted that relaxation training alone has not proven to have any clinically significant benefit for the clients. Thus, it is when combined with CBT that clients have had a successful experience with relaxation training. Rodebaugh Heimberg (2005) stated that all forms of CBT aim to reduce the experience of fear through modification of avoidance and other maladaptive behaviours, thoughts, and beliefs (e.g. through exposure with cognitive restructuring). Thus, in the process of therapy most clients may experience an increase in stress and negative affect and distress in the short-term, but the modification of these earlier components of these earlier components of a behavioural-emotional chain leads to reduction of symptoms over time. In regard to combining treatment methods with CBT as treatment for social phobia, Rodebaugh Heimberg (2005) highlighted the fact that all treatment methods have its own limitations and strengths. Thus when combining two therapies (either pharmacological and CBT or CBT with another psychotherapy), the strengths as well as the weaknesses of the two approaches could be magnified, depending on the nature of the combination. Hence, Rodebaugh Heimberg (2005) stated that an empirically supported method of combining medication and CBT for social anxiety disorder is yet to be established, although under varied circumstances clinicians use different combinations of CBT along with other psychotherapies and medication to maximise effectiveness on a case by case level. Concluding Remarks As discussed in this paper, social phobia may literally be a common mental disorder and it is categorised as an anxiety disorder under the DSM-IV classification system (DSM-IV-TR, 2000). While being highly prevalent, it is also a disorder that may have a large impact on a persons quality of life, hindering opportunities for personal growth and/or social interaction/relationships. Therefore, it is an important area of study and clinical practice in mental health, which has the aim of improving the lives of people suffering from this disorder, and minimising its effect on the society. Research literature on social phobia recommends certain types of medication, and CBT as a psychotherapeutic intervention as the first choice of treatment for this debilitating condition. As it is out of our scope, this paper did not pay detailed attention to the types of pharmacotheraputic interventions that may successfully be used to control symptoms of this disorder and enable clients live a healthy life. From a psychological perspective, CBT is widely recommended through evidence based research as the first choice of psychotherapeutic treatment for social phobia. As discussed in this paper, evidence on the successful combinations of therapeutic methods at present denotes the need for further research in order to determine the best combinations for successful treatment. Another area that needs similar attention is combining different types of psychotherapies with CBT as treatment for social phobia. Focusing on CBT for social phobia, although there is supporting evidence for therapy success, and though it is widely considered as the first choice of psychotherapy for this disorder, it is not always successful with all individuals. Thus, form a practical point of view, it is important that clinicians are able to tailor and combine different therapeutic methods (pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy), not only to maximise treatment success, but also to make it useful with different types of clients/clients from different background and life-experiences. Furthermore, although CBT is recommended as the first therapy choice, there are practical issues regarding meeting the demand for services. This becomes an issue in terms of finance as well as in terms of the limited amount of professionals available to deliver treatment. Some successful methods of overcoming these difficulties would be Group CBT for social phobia and CCBT. However, it must be emphasised that these issues become a much grave problem in countries where psychotherapists trained in CBT are rare, and even methods such as CCBT could be unaffordable and inaccessible for certain groups. In addition, there are also limitations in being able to use programmes such as CCBT in countries where English is not used, or it not the first language. Thus, from a global perspective, the use of CBT as a therapy choice is practically challenged due to limitations of resources and trained personals, leavening pharmacotherapy as the most practical mode of therapy for a large numbers of people suffering from social phobia. To conclude, it must be stated that continued research on the successful use of CBT as a therapeutic tool for social phobia and other disorders should be continued as it proves to be a successful therapy for many psychological disorders (Westbrook et al., 2007). Thus, it can be stated that CBT is a useful and successful therapeutic intervention for social phobia. The practical use of it could be further improved through continued research, and through therapist training programmes to meet the demands for therapy, as it would further increase the effectiveness of CBT as a therapy for social phobia.
Friday, October 25, 2019
Free Narrative Essays - The Mountain Vacation :: Personal Narrative Essays
The Mountain Vacation à à à à à à My family and I have always loved are camping trips, especially the ones the take us deep into the depths of the Sierra Nevada mountians. There's a very unique andà beautiful camp ground near Mammoth Lakes called Devils Postpile.à My is it beautiful, two gigantic crystal clear lakes, wildlife sites that could easily be posted in any National Geographic magazine, and trout that have enough meat on their bones to suvive in the deepest of any ocean.à One little problem I always have had was that my father wasà a better and more experienced fisherman than I was resulting in that he would always catch the bigger and more beautiful fish and almost certainly come home with twice as many fish as I had caught. à à à à à This was it, are summer vacation, finally it was time to get out of the intense heat and bordom of Ridgecrest.à We packed are bags, grabbed are fishing poles, loaded the camper and were on are way.à à Our drive lasted for four very long hours before we got to the Postpile campground. We hitched are camp and made ourselves right at home knowing we would be there for a while.à We could'nt ask for better weather, the sun was blazin and the temperature was an awesome 85 degrees for fishing the San Juaqin river.à We found ourselves the trail that lead to the postpile,à twisting and turning along the green, damp trial until we came upon a sight that every human being should lay their eyes on, Devils Postpile.à Enormous rocks all rubbing against one another scalling the sky.à Jumping my way close to the river, as I drifted away from everyone else, knowing I was going to catch the mother of all fish in this sacred river.à Competing with my father and brother,à I definetly was'nt going to let them outdo this modern day Tom Sawyer.à I hicked along river for a while, wiping the sweat off my face every other minute, only to find nothing but sheer cliffs and there was no possible fishing hole in sight.à All I could see was a river about seventy to eighty feet below with one very big obsticle in the way jagged rocks were surrounding me from the river as I just kept on
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Smog as Air Pollution
utNowadays pollution is becoming more and more serious problem, particularly air pollution. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, the chemical elements of the atmosphere have changed. Along with the development of industrialization, air pollution has spread and now it is a global issue. There are many kinds of air pollution, one of them is smog. Smog can come from many areas, particularly factories and transportation systems, but there are some differences between developed and developing countries. In developed countries, highly developed industry is the main reason that smog is serious, they mostly use fossil fuels.However, developing countries started to industrialize, so increasing number of factories is the most important cause of smog and they always use the coal or wood burning. More and more people using cars and motorcycles also is a reason about that. Those of us who live in large cities are familiar with smog air pollution; the familiar brown haze resting over the city on a still day. We need to know what smog contains and where it comes from, as well as the health and environmental impacts of this hallmark of industrialization.There are two categories of smog to be covered: classic smog and the more recently described photochemical smog. Classic Smog In its most primitive and basic form, smog air pollution is the result of the burning of fossil fuels. It has several major components: 1) Smoke, which is tiny particles of ash, is released from the smokestacks of coal fired power stations. Coal power plants are now on the whole designed to trap this ash, called fly ash, which can be used to great effect in the concrete industry.These tiny particles contain not only carbon residue, but also silicon dioxide, calcium oxide and traces of heavy metals. If inhaled these can pose significant health risks. The silicon dioxide in the fly ash alone can cause lesions, scarring and inflammation of the lungs. 2) Sulfur Dioxide. Sulfur is present in allà fossil fuelsà and is released as Sulfur Dioxide when the fuels are burned. Sulfur Dioxide reacts with oxygen gas to give Sulfur Trioxide. This then can react with water to give Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4).Another possibility is that the Sulfur Dioxide reacts immediately with water to give Sulfurous Acid (H2SO3). Either way, the acid produced is highly reactive and capable of causing significant damage to crops, soil, buildings and more. Several industrialized nations now employ technology that captures approximately a third of Sulfur Dioxide from the emission gases of power stations, greatly reducing the problems of acid rain. Photochemical Smog This is a far more noxious mixture of chemicals than classic smog air pollution. Significant inroads have been made to reduce the main contributors to classic smog.Such efforts in relation to photochemical smog are still in their early stages. Photochemical smog air pollution is a mixture of various chemicals that react with sunlight to produ ce new chemicals. This is where the name comes from;à photoà meansà lightà andà chemicalà means chemical, or product of a chemical reaction. The chemical reactions involved are complex and while they are important, we need to know theà sourceà of these pollutants and their effects. The chemicals involved need to be addressed separately. The three main ingredients are Nitrous Oxides, volatile organic compounds and Ozone.Carbon Monoxide is a toxic byproduct of fossil fuel combustion but is considered separate to photochemical smog. London smog disaster One of the famous smog with all bad effects is London Smog which was caused by heavy coal combustion during the winter of 1952, The weather in Greater London had been unusually cold for several weeks leading up to the event because of the cold weather, households were burning more coal than usual to keep warm. The smoke from approximately one million coal-fired stoves, in addition to the emissions from local industry, wa s released into the atmosphere.Increases in smoke and sulfur emissions from the combustion of coal had been occurring since the Industrial Revolution and the British were familiar with these types of smog events. At times, the smoke and emissions were so heavy that residents referred to the events as ââ¬Ëpea soupersââ¬â¢ because the fog was as dense as pea soup. However, while the area had experienced heavy smog in the past, no event had caused such problems as the weather event in December, 1952. Thousands of tons of black soot, tar particles, and sulfur dioxide had accumulated in the air from the heavy coal combustion.Estimates of PM10 concentrations during December, 1952, range between 3,000 and 14,000? g/m? with the high range being approximately 50 times higher than normal levels at the time. PM10 is particulate matter less than 10 micrometers in diameter. Conditions for Londoners today are much better with PM 10 concentrations around 30? g/m?. Estimates also suggest that sulfur dioxide levels during December of 1952 were 7 times greater than normal at 700 parts per billion (ppb). The weather preceding and during the smog meant that Londoners were burning more coal than usual to keep warm.Post-war domestic coal tended to be of a relatively low-grade, sulphurous variety (economic necessity meant that better-quality ââ¬Å"hardâ⬠coals tended to be exported), which increased the amount of sulphur dioxide in the smoke. There were also numerous coal-fired power stations in the Greater London area, including Battersea, Bankside, and Kingston upon Thames, all of which added to the pollution. Research suggests that additional pollution prevention systems fitted at Battersea may have actually worsened the air quality, reducing the output of soot at the cost of increased sulphur dioxide, though this is not certain.Additionally, there were pollution and smoke from vehicle exhaustââ¬âparticularly from diesel-fuelled buses which had replaced the recent ly abandoned electric tram systemââ¬âand from other industrial and commercial sources. Prevailing winds had also blown heavily polluted air across the English Channel from industrial areas of Continental Europe. There was no panic, as London was renowned for its fog. In the weeks that ensued, however, statistics compiled by medical services found that the fog had killed 4,000 people.Most of the victims were very young, elderly, or had pre-existing respiratory problems. In February 1953, Lieutenant-Colonel Lipton suggested in the House of Commons that the fog had caused 6,000 deaths and that 25,000 more people had claimed sickness benefits in London during that period. Most of the deaths were caused by respiratory tract infections from hypoxia and as a result of mechanical obstruction of the air passages by pus arising from lung infections caused by the smog. The lung infections were mainly bronchopneumonia or acute purulent bronchitis superimposed upon chronic bronchitis.More re cent research suggests that the number of fatalities was considerably greater, at about 12,000. The death toll formed an important impetus to modern environmentalism, and it caused a rethinking of air pollution, as the smog had demonstrated its lethal potential. New regulations were implemented, restricting the use of dirty fuels in industry and banning black smoke. Environmental legislation since 1952, such as the City of London (Various Powers) Act 1954 and the Clean Air Acts of 1956 and 1968, has led to a reduction in air pollution.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Journal Article Critique
Journal Article Critique I chose to read the article, ââ¬Å"Osteoporosis in multiple sclerosisâ⬠written by Andrew P Hearn and Eli Silber. It is an understanding about osteoporosis and the connection it might have with multiple sclerosis (MS) compared to patients that do not have multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis is a neurological disability that affects a great amount of young adults. The longer a person has multiple sclerosis, the more the person loses strength in there bones. Osteoporosis occurs when the body does not absorb the required amount of bone mineral density (BMD), which reduces bone strength. Both men and women have different factors that can increase the risks of getting osteoporosis. This article explains that MS is the second cause of disability (neurological), along with one sixth of white women in their lifetime will have a hip fracture. Diagnosing osteoporosis for men and women along with their risk factors are included in this reading. This article also contains past results from studies of multiple sclerosis patients with bone mass density. Some risk factor levels are unclear and large-scale studies are needed for clear results and connections. Along with this information, it includes management guidelines for the general population that has osteoporosis. This reading also includes insight of the process of chronic inflammatory with multiple sclerosis along with the role of vitamin D in both osteoporosis and multiple sclerosis. This article has a great impact for health care professionals with the information that it gives and in the areas where more research is needed. It is also important because it shows the connection that medication, vitamins, and minerals have and which ones have a greater impact on multiple sclerosis and osteoporosis in both men and women. It is also important because the results include congenital, acquired, lifestyle, and latrogenic factors. These factors are necessary for health care providers to compare these results to their own patients as well as being helpful for future studies. This reading is also important because it shows what bones have a greater risk associated with bone mass density (BMD). This current evidence is a useful guideline for management protocol until more evidence is acquired. Resources Hearn, A. P. , & Silber, E. (2010). Osteoporosis in multiple sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis,à 16(9), 1031. Turley, S. (2011). Medical language: Immerse yourself (2nd ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Medical Terminology Breakdown |Medical Word |Prefix |Combining form |Suffix |Definition | |1 |osteoporosis |None |oste/o- (bone), por/o- |-osis (condition; abnormal |abnormal rarefaction of bone | | | | |(small opining, pores) |conditions, process) | | |5 |chronic |None |Chron/o- (time) |-ic (pertaining to) |disease that persists over a long period| | | | | | | | |6 |inflammatory |None |Inflamat/o- (redness and |-ory (having the function |Having the function of redness and | | | | |warmth) |of) |warmth | |7 |demineralization |de- (reversal of;|mineral/o- (mineral; |-ization (pertaining to) |pertaining to lack of | | | |without) |electrolyte) | |mineral/electrolyte | |8 |anticoagulant |anti- (against) |coagul/o- (clotting) |-ant (pertaining to) |A substance that prevents the clotting | | | | | | |of blood. | |9 |lumbar |None |lumb/o- (lower back, area |-ar (pertaining to) |part of the back and sides between the | | | | |between the ribs and | |lowest ribs and the pelvis | | | | |pelvis) | | | |10 |femoral |None |femor/o- (thigh bone) |-al (pertaining to) |pertaining to the femur or the thigh |
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
A Wounded Nation essays
A Wounded Nation essays Everyday human rights are violated. These rights, established long ago by the English, are taken away by people who are either jealous, greedy, or racist against people. Human Rights are a person's basic right to life, liberty, and happiness without fear of vengeance. Several people realize that the violations of human rights presents a big problem in the United States. Despite the growing number of human rights violations, most cases occurred in the south. For years, southerners have felt superior to many groups including Indians, Women, and especially Blacks. When the Europeans arrived in the New World, they quickly drove the Indians off of their homelands. These people were pushed onto unfamiliar lands in addition to learning new methods of survival. Consequently, many people became frustrated and angry. Indians were beaten and forced to show the white men how to hunt and grow crops, while they wallowed in wealth and sovereignty. The story of Pocahontas and John Smith is a perfect example of how Indians and Europeans fought over land and authority. Many Indians were forced to leave the homelands they cherished to the White Men. As a result, the rights the Indians once had were gone forever. Women have also suffered human rights violations. For years, they were considered to be inferior to men. Most women in United States history were not given the right vote or work outside the home until the early 1900's. Unfortunately, they were not allowed to go to school. Instead, they were expected to stay home and learn how to cook, take care of children, and become housewives. Several women were forced to reside in their homes where they were considered property by their husbands. Yet some women were lucky enough to find jobs outside of their home. Despite new women's rights passed during the 1900's, women still suffered discrimination at every turn. They were paid smaller wage...
Monday, October 21, 2019
buy custom New Health-Related Nonprofit Organization essay
buy custom New Health-Related Nonprofit Organization essay The consequences of aging are paramount as the elderly are usually prone to illness due to poor health. The clinical preventive services are critical to the elderly as they take advantage to in the practicing of their health behaviors. They prefer to engage with friends and family members so that they can remain healthy and reduce the costs, which are incurred in relation to health, in addition to living independently. The component that is essential in keeping the elderly healthy is the prevention of chronic diseases, and the reduction of complications that are associated with it. It has been estimated that more than 80% of older people usually have chronic conditions with about 50% having two conditions. The infectious diseases are common among older people coupled with injuries, which have taken disproportionate toll. The clinic aims at the identification of preventive measures and reduction strategies of diseases risks and injury with the application of intervention that are effective (Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2011). The population of the American elderly is predicted to double by the year 2030 for those aged 65 and above and increase to about 77 million. This increase has far-reaching implications for the national health care system. This is attributed to the unprecedented demand for the effective provision of quality health care and other elderly related services. Efforts by the public health in promotion of health and the functional independence are the critical strategies that are used in enhancing the health condition of the elderly. A large percentage of elderly people dying due to illness and injury related diseases, which are preventable. This occurs due lack of proper care, which accelerates the deaths emanating form preventable diseases. Elder people are more susceptible to chronic diseases, and this calls for proper care and monitoring of the daily measures. Heart disease has the highest percentage of death - 28.2%, followed by cancer with 22.2%. If proper care is provided, the number of these deaths could reduce dramatically, as this gets accelerated by poor eating habits. Causes of Deaths among the US Older People above 65 Years of Age Fig. 1 (Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2011) Unintentional deaths due to injury and influenza have percentages of 2.2 and 2.6 respectively, and these can be minimized through the application of measures that reduce the risks involved. Therefore, the probability of providing the elderly with a service to take care of their health problems is effective as this will be the best opportunity (Self Help, 2012). Mission, Vision and Objective of Home-Health Care Organization The mission of Home-Health Care organization is the provision of health care and the enhancement of communities in the identification and implementation of effective policies, strategies and programs that promote and protect the health of older adults and the community at large. The vision of Home-Health Care organization will be to offer home-based medical care to the older population, and promotion of their health behaviors in the improvement of their health status. This involves the approaches to environmental and policies to enhance their health choices, as this population needs to be cared for due to their susceptibility to chronic diseases. An appropriate health care system is not dependent of the presence of a hospital, which in essence does not provide an acute care in relation to the present environmental conditions. The concerns of Home-Health Care are the provision of quality care with the specialization of the services and emergency treatments to the elderly who prefer to stay at home. These are the factors, which have adversely impacted the health of elderly, and Home-Heath Care organization will be concerned with health issues of the older people as they feel isolated from the larger population. Home-Health Care will review the health issues and will make sure that needs are met within the shortest time to their satisfaction (Professional Business PlanWriters, 2012). The objectives of Home-Health Care organization are to promote healthy lifestyle behavior in an effort to improve the health of older people, as most of them are willing to stay home and continue with regular at home activities. Home-Health Care will provide approaches which will involve daily physical exercise at home. It will also promote healthy behavior, an example of which is to stop smoking for elderly smokers. Home-Health Care will oversee an increase in the use of health services to ensure that the elderly are up-to-date with their recommendations of immunizations and promotion of screening for diseases like cancer, and the adaptation of the preventive services to improve their health. The organization will be responsible for addressing the cognitive impairment of the elderly as it affects the health and care that presents key financial challenge. Issues related to the mental health of the elderly will be addressed. This ensures the development of policies that will be community based in the screaming and providing treatment for them. Additionally, the organization will provide education that is centered on planning of illness perceived to be serious, which will include the provision of key areas to planning for care of serious illness that requires advanced care. The organization will help in the provision of affordable health care for the elderly, while providing a comfortable environment, as the patients will be treated at the comfort of their houses and in the company of loved ones. Home-Health Care has aimed at obtaining initial funding for the organization facility project through private funding charities and government fund support, and to collect the additional financial support through fund raising at community level. Provide information in relation to nutritious food for the elderly persons, and educating on ways to adapt a healthy eating lifestyle that will enhance their healthy aging. Promote growth of Home-Health Care organization to become the leading facility in providing home based health care to the elderly in the region over a period of five years. Programs and Services Home-Health Care will be an organization responsible in the provision of home based health care services to older people. This is because the elderly are the most vulnerable to chronic diseases and injuries. The organization will also oversee the enhancement of effective strategies, policies and programs in an effort to promote the health of the elderly in the society through community health awareness and understanding of the determinants of healthy aging and intervention. The organization will create an environment and policy that will aim to promote healthy aging series. This online initiative will help communities in interactive issues, which will strengthen their ability in promotion of healthy aging. Provision of data of user friendly online for the public health and professional providing aging services, and the general public that will use tools for examining the different health issues of the older people. This will help the state in the region to focus on the core indicators associated with mental health of older people with evidence-based programs. These programs will be used in addressing the health issues of older people to the community. The organization will promote the preventive services to the community and other clinical partnerships in the identification of the core sets of recommendations to preventive services. This will in turn provide evidence and information that will be used in monitoring their application and descriptive measures to help in the delivery. Home-Health Care organization will improve the care for the older people through the provision and response to vulnerable adults in cases of emergences or disasters. This will result in resource guides for local and territorial geographic areas. This will enhance provision of information that will guide the identification and protection of people with chronic diseases that increase vulnerability at times of disasters. In an effort to promote its beginnings, the organization will integrate the health service providers to enhance the far-reaching promotion of quality health and disease prevention for the elderly. This will be done through research, health tracking and prevention to reach out the service in all networks. This will educate health professionals on issues related to an advanced care planning. The organization will monitor the promotion and preservation of the quality related health issues for the life of older people home based health care. This will have an impact in the implementation of illnesses, which are achieved through collaborations regionally. This will prove the effectiveness of preventive measures usage promoting the delivery of preventive services to older people in the society. The oranization will promote the assessment and monitoring of the cognitive impairment effects up to the regional level in support of the development of new survey queries of behavioral risks. This will be associated with cognitive impairment. Also it will help the policy makers in the important issues of addressing the impairment as a health issue. Home-Health Care will educate older people regarding the problems related to the lack of exercises. Some diseases become eminent due to the lack of proper exercises, so there is a potential solution to educate the elders on various ways to keep fit. The professionals nursing services of Home-Health Care will monitor the health progress of the elderly and the provision of recommendation and medication to the health needs in the management of health issues of the elderly. The recommendations will thus be communicated to the family members to keep track of the requirements in management of the elderly illness and prevention. The organization is determined to oversee the provision of reliable passages throughout the road network, which enhances walking of elderly people comfortably to avoid injuries caused by falls. The rate of accidents will be reduces as the passage is secure from vehicles. This is due to old age problems of arthritis, vision and the poor balance that make it difficult getting around. This pedestrian safety initiative will make the shopping of elderly and exercise expeditions safer and easier. The comprehensive approach to decrease incidents that are related to falls will be through assessing the hazards related to homes which are eminent, counseling of family members and patients on various ways to avoid injuries related to fall, and giving lessons that enhance muscle strength buildups and balancing for the elderly people. The Market Analysis According to statistics, it is estimated that the population of the older people that are above age of 65 years will increase two folds to 77 million. In addition, it is estimated that the deaths due to chronic diseases account for 6 people for every ten deaths, which totals to 17 million deaths per year. This can be reduced through proper health care services. The vulnerability to risks will see the need for health care due to problems related to illness, and medical services and counseling, in order to adopt a healthy aging (Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2011). These age groups are seen to be more susceptible to common and chronic diseases and thus Home-Health Care will provide health services in a cost-effective way. The needs of health care will increase as the elderly population increases, and the family members will try to provide an alternative to regular health services for the elderly, like nursing homes (Nolo, 2011). This is due to the increase in the exp enses associated with medical care and the economic situations. Competition The U.S. has about 3400 centers with an approximate of 0.5 million people, which are usually modeled as not-for-profit structures and 78% belong to this category. The majority of these facilities are controlled by the large organization as home care agencies with skilled nursing facilities, hospitals or senior association. The medical mode is the main competitor as it is based on the medical treatment for its members coupled with physical, occupational and therapy of speech, and sometimes the support of older people with chronic diseases like diabetes. The average cost of becoming a member is relatively reduced with about $ 20 for every session, privately owned facilities go for $19 per hour. Most of the members are aged above the age of 72 years, 35 percent of which live with the grown up children, 20 percent with the partner, 13 percent with relatives, and18 percent in the institution, while 11 percent live alone. Therefore, the home based health care will have an advantage in providing health care to patients at the comfort of their homes. In relation to the statistics of the population, it is projected that the number of these older people will double by the year 2030. It is quite clear that the current facilities will be operating in capacity. Thus, the need for a home based health care for older people will increase proportionally to population increase. SWOT Analysis Strengths There is the evidence that most of the facilities in the region do not offer home based medical care services to the elderly, and thus, Home-Health Care will have an advantage due to its unique service of offering medical care that is home based. Provision of home based medical care and information to community on ways of preventing and management of illness to elderly people will enhance the recognition of Home-Health Care. This will attract more people to home based health care services. This is due to the fact that not many elderly people like to be isolated from the society. Thus, most of the elderly will opt for the home based health services, which will be offered by Home-Health Care. The organization is concerned with both the operation of its services, and also it may partner with other health care service provider in advocating the plight of the elderly in the society through research, monitoring and evaluation of ways to reduce risks associated with old age. The provision of home based medical care will enable Home-Health Care projections, as some elderly will be spending the day with their peers, in parks which will be made available to whole neighborhoods. The elderly will be visited by Home-Health Care professionals for check ups often and to be educated on various ways of adopting a healthy aging lifestyle. Weaknesses Most of the health care service providers were established long time ago; thus they have gained recognition by the members. These services control a significantly large market share. Therefore, it will take some time for Home-Health Care to penetrate through the market during the initial five years plan of its operations. It will also enable them to gain substantial market share in the provision of medical care. The facilities of competitors are much bigger in comparison to Home-Health Care facility, and the perception of luxury lifestyle is attracting more members than the health care organization under analysis. The new Home-Health Care will employ extensive marketing approaches to enable it to penetrate the existing market easily, which will be enhanced by its home based medical services. Opportunities Reports have indicated the rapidly increasing number of the elderly above the age of 65 years in the national population. This will call for the needs of the elderly to be cared for in terms of diet, medical care and physical exercise. The alternative in the fulfillment of these perceived needs will be health care facilities for the elderly, and thus Home-Health Care will not be an exception in providing medical care for the elderly. The dynamic trends of partners in marriage and work have increased the mobility of people, which will result in additional family members opting for home based medical care to cater for health related needs for the older people. The economic stain will thus lead to them choosing the most effective health care services at the lowest cost to balance their economic needs. The element of independence is an option for the older people being attracted to the home based medical care, as they need to continue with work at home, where they meet their peers for socialization. Many older people will opt for a home based care, as it offers the medical care services at a relatively low cost, and the aging place environment is conducive to aspect of communication with the society. The approach of indulging in community activities, which will be aimed at providing safer passages to the society, and extensive probing for the provision of resting benches along the passage and parks. This will create a positive reaction by the community towards the Home-Health Care services. Threats The government strict rule and other important stakeholders may have an adverse effect by increasing the cost of operation of Home-Health Care. This is due to the set levels of standardization of the organization. Centers, which were established long ago, and those operated by large companies have the advantage of accessing funds compared to the small organizations. This is a serious threat to Home-Health Care organization. The slow economic growth could lead people in seeking to other alternatives rather than the home based health care for the elderly. Unattractive economic status can lead to a family member of the elderly to employ an individual for the home based care. Funding The funding of Home-Health Care organization will be approximately $ 2,000,000 to set the business working. Funding from the government and private charities is about $1,500,000, and the other $500,000 will be sourced through fund raising. The departmentt of health and human services together with the department of housing and urban development are the main government agencies which provide funding for adult health care and the related respite care programs (Broemmel,). Another option for the provision of the fund is Medicaid, which covers fees through exceptional waivers, which allow the state to utilize Medicaid through such services. Home-Health Care organization will raise the $5,000 through community activities, which will range from events that include carnivals, volunteers signing up among other activities. Events of sporting will be sponsored to help in raising the funds, which includes fun running, marathon, and golf competition among others. There are other findings, which will be required after the initial investment to enhance the smooth running of Home-Health Care. Concerning the economic trends and the population increase of older people, the project expenses are expected to grow at an average rate of 3 percent due to environmental dynamics. The projected expenses of the first year of operation are $800, 000 that will be increasing at a rate of 3 percent in the following consecutive years for effectiveness and efficiency (US Environmental Protection Agency, 2011). The figure 2 below show how the expenses are projected to increase in the first five years of operations. Year I $800,000 Year II $824,000 Year III $848,720 Year IV $874,182 Year V $900,407 Fig. 2 The operating needs of the facility will get finances from the private charities grants, though not practical in relying on grants, fees charged to the members will be an avenue for expenses needs as there will be charity events, which will be held annually as this will be a reliable source of funding the program. There will be setting up of programs, which will be voluntary. This will be performed through coordination with the medical universities in allowing students to work in the centre for a fee. The university is entrusted with this task. This will ensure that the facility is sourcing some revenues, which will cater for its expenses. Governance and Staffing The setting of the facility is as a trust by which the member will have to elect a board of trustees, which will monitor the operations of the entity. The figure 3 below shows an organizational flow chart. Fig. 3 (Hurwit Associates, 2012) There will be six departments created to control that the different aspects of the business are covered. There will be an assistant director who will preside over the departments, and will be managing the personnel, though the number of employees may grow due to the increase of the members demands. The executive director of the facility will be appointed by the board of trustees in overusing the operations of Home-Health Care, and making necessary decisions, which strategize the direction of the entity. The departments will be working in collaboration with each other to enhance the smooth running toward the achievement of its objective (Nolo, 2011). The department of development working together with the department of marketing will oversee the generation of community activities, which will increase funds for the entity. Coordination to other facilities in other regions will be initiated for the purposes of future expansion of the facility in development of other branches affiliated to Home-Health Care. Marketing and Communication There is a separate marketing department, which will be created in the Home-Health Care centre, which will be responsible for overseeing all activities related to the marketing function. There will be an establishment of the communication plan, which have a through the line approach to be used in marketing. This through the line is a constituent of the mix of activities above and below the line mix of activities (Cohen). The primary targets of Home-Health Care are the older people above the age of 65 years who are willing to develop a social network and pursue healthy aging. The communication structure of the entity needs to be effective, and thus the need to use a proper means in messages conveyed. The actions of Home-Health Care are the communicators as the service offered is intangible, and thus, trust will be the ultimate indicator of an effective communication. Communication above the line is with magazines and newspapers for the elderly people and the activities of below the line include direct communication through in-store promotions. This is due to a high turnover of people in this area. The advertisement needs to convey a message, which depicts the quality environment provided by Home-Health Care for the elderly. Success Measure The department of development will have the responsibility of carrying out evaluations of the programs progress. The evaluation will be done on a quarterly basis to enhance the tracking of the progress path. Although there will be informal evaluations on the monthly basis, the main responsibility of the evaluation is the development of departments in relation to what they contribute to the entity. The department of finance will have to oversee that the financial goals are achieved comparing to their projection. This will be the guide toward the objective. The members of the center are also another form to use in determining the entity success. The members will be evaluated on how useful the services are provided toward the attainment of their needs. This survey will be conducted twice a year in a type of a formal interview with the members and the families of the elderly people. The administrative staff will also have to be surveyed concerning the effectiveness of the facility and comment on the areas that require improvements. The comments of the administrative staffs will used as a guide in monitoring the progress of Home-Health Care. The employees will be evaluated on the capability of their human resource needs satisfaction. There will be the evaluation of the employees turnover, and management of conflicts, as this analysis will be done by employing qualitative analysis survey. The management of the Home-Health is crucial in running and monitoring of the financial performance. The analysis of management is done to the extent by which the objectives of the financing are met. During the financial year the results are evaluated on a quarterly basis, and the growth of revenues in relation to the projected estimate and the actual revenue realized. The quality of management is an essential aspect in the running of Home-Health Care smoothly. The quality of services should conform to the standards set in comparison to its processes. The Success Factors The success of any business entity, either private or public, is the existence of factors that determine this success, which are most important to the service businesses. Home-Health Care organization will adapt and maintain the highest standards to the elderly through the provision of the best environment free of any prevalent hazards. The standards of the Home-Health services will be in conformity to the laid down standards by the government, thus, dealing to any eminent problem in order to avoid the occurrence of hazards. It will oversee that safe passage for the elderly that has been constructed to enable ease of movement of elderly people, and construction of houses comfortable for the elderly and safe for all from children to the ageing. The projections of financial, cash flows and the profit margins should not be exhausted midway of its operations as this will prove inefficiency leading to negative publicity and the loss of brand image. The facility management team will ensure that the actual financing is in conformity to the projection of running the operations of the facility. This will ensure absolutely no misuse of resources as all expenses will reflect the budget projected for the period of operation. There will be a need to continuously evaluate the programs using techniques that will add value to the maximum satisfaction of its customers. There will be also innovation of programs in relation to the perceived needs of customers. This ensures that the facility conforms to the dynamics of its environment. The marketing strategies, which are employed, must be strong and cohesive in communicating the message to the target market effectively. The trust of the community towards the facility will enhance the realization of its mission, visions and objective thus, increasing the brand image loyalty. Buy custom New Health-Related Nonprofit Organization essay
Sunday, October 20, 2019
War of 1812 Overview - Aftermath
War of 1812 Overview - Aftermath 1814: Advances in the North A Capital Burned | War of 1812: 101 Efforts for Peace As the war raged, President James Madison worked to bring it to a peaceful conclusion. Hesitant about going to war in the first place, Madison instructed his chargà © dââ¬â¢affaires in London, Jonathan Russell, to seek reconciliation with the British a week after war was declared in 1812. Russell was ordered to seek a peace that only required the British to repeal the Orders in Council and halt impressment. Presenting this to the British foreign minister, Lord Castlereagh, Russell was rebuffed as they were unwilling to move on the latter issue. There was little progress on the peace front until early 1813 when Czar Alexander I of Russia offered to mediate an end to hostilities. Having turned back Napoleon, he was eager benefit from trade with both Great Britain and the United States. Alexander also sought to befriend the United States as a check against British power. Upon learning of the czars offer, Madison accepted and dispatched a peace delegation consisting of John Quincy Adams, James Bayard, and Albert Gallatin. The Russian offer was declined by the British who claimed that the matters in question were internal to the belligerents and not of international concern. Progress was finally achieved later that year following the Allied victory at the Battle of Leipzig. With Napoleon defeated, Castlereagh offered to open direct negotiations with the United States. Madison accepted on January 5, 1814, and added Henry Clay and Jonathan Russell to the delegation. Traveling first to Goteborg, Sweden, they then headed south to Ghent, Belgium where the talks were to take place. Moving slowly, the British did not appoint a commission until May and their representatives did not depart for Ghent until August 2. Unrest on the Home Front As the fighting continued, those in New England and the South grew tired of the war. Never a great supporter of the conflict, New Englands coast was raided with impunity and its economy on the verge of collapse as the Royal Navy swept American shipping from the seas. South of the Chesapeake, commodity prices plummeted as farmers and plantation owners were unable to export cotton, wheat, and tobacco. Only in Pennsylvania, New York, and the West was there any degree of prosperity though this was largely related federal expenditures relating to the war effort. This spending led to resentment in New England and the South, as well as precipitated a financial crisis in Washington. Taking office in late 1814, Treasury Secretary Alexander Dallas forecasted a $12 million revenue shortfall for that year and predicted a $40 million shortfall for 1815. Efforts were made to cover the difference through loans and issuing treasury notes. For those who wished to continue the war, there was a genuine concern that there would not be funds to do so. During the course of the conflict, the national debt had ballooned from $45 million in 1812 to $127 million in 1815. While this angered Federalists who had opposed the war initially, it also worked to undermine Madisons support among his own Republicans. The Hartford Convention The unrest sweeping parts of the country came to a head in New England in late 1814. Angered over the federal governments inability to protect its coasts and its unwillingness to reimburse states for doing so themselves, the Massachusetts legislature called for a regional convention to discuss the issues and weigh whether the solution was something as radical as secession from the United States. This proposition was accepted by Connecticut which offered to host the meeting in Hartford. While Rhode Island agreed to send a delegation, New Hampshire and Vermont refused to officially sanction the meeting and sent representatives in an unofficial capacity. A largely moderate group, they convened in Hartford on December 15. Though their discussions were largely limited to a states right to nullify legislation that adversely affected its citizens and issues related to states preempting federal collection of taxes, the group badly erred by holding its meetings in secret. This led to wild speculation regarding its proceedings. When the group released its report on January 6, 1815, both Republicans and Federalists were relieved to see that it was largely a list of recommended constitutional amendments that were designed to prevent foreign conflicts in the future. This relief quickly evaporated as people came to consider the what ifs of the convention. As a result, those involved quickly became and associated with terms such as treason and disunion. As many were Federalists, the party became similarly tainted effectively ending it as a national force. Emissaries from the convention made it as far as Baltimore before learning of the wars end. The Treaty of Ghent While the American delegation contained several rising stars, the British group was less glamorous and consisted of admiralty lawyer William Adams, Admiral Lord Gambier, and Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies Henry Goulburn. Due to the proximity of Ghent to London, the three were kept on a short leash by Castlereagh and Goulburns superior, Lord Bathurst. As the negotiations moved forward, the Americans pressed for an elimination of impressment while the British desired a Native American buffer state between the Great Lakes and the Ohio River. While the British refused to even discuss impressment, the Americans flatly refused to consider ceding territory back to the Native Americans. 1814: Advances in the North A Capital Burned | War of 1812: 101 1814: Advances in the North A Capital Burned | War of 1812: 101 As the two sides sparred, the American position was weakened by the burning of Washington. With the deteriorating financial situation, war weariness at home, and concerns over future British military successes, the Americans became more willing to deal. Similarly, with fighting and negotiations at a stalemate, Castlereagh consulted the Duke of Wellington, who had turned down command in Canada, for advice. As the British held no meaningful American territory, he recommended a return to status quo ante bellum and an immediate end to the war. With talks at the Congress of Vienna breaking down as a rift opened between Britain and Russia, Castlereagh became eager to end the conflict in North America to focus on European matters. Renewing the talks, both sides ultimately agreed to a return to status quo ante bellum. Several minor territorial and border issues were set aside for future resolution and the two sides signed the Treaty of Ghent on December 24, 1814. The treaty included no mention of impressment or a Native American state. Copies of the treaty were prepared and sent to London and Washington for ratification. The Battle of New Orleans The British plan for 1814 called for three major offensives with one coming from Canada, another striking at Washington, and the third hitting New Orleans. While the thrust from Canada was defeated at the Battle of Plattsburgh, the offensive in the Chesapeake region saw some success before being halted at Fort McHenry. A veteran of the latter campaign, Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane moved south that fall for the attack on New Orleans. Having embarked 8,000-9,000 men, under the command of Major General Edward Pakenham, Cochranes fleet arrived off Lake Borgne on December 12. In New Orleans, the defense of city was tasked to Major General Andrew Jackson, commanding the Seventh Military District, and Commodore Daniel Patterson who oversaw the US Navys forces in the region. Working frantically, Jackson assembled around 4,000 men which included the 7th US Infantry, a variety of militia, Jean Lafittes Baratarian pirates, as well as free black and Native American troops. Assuming a strong defensive position along the river, Jackson prepared to receive Pakenhams assault. With both sides unaware that peace had been concluded, the British general moved against the Americans on January 8, 1815. In a series of attacks, the British were repulsed and Pakenham killed. The signature American land victory of the war, the Battle of New Orleans forced the British to withdraw and re-embark. Moving east, they contemplated an attack on Mobile, but learned of the wars end before it could move forward. The Second War of Independence While the British government had speedily ratified the Treaty of Ghent on December 28, 1814, it took much longer for word to reach across the Atlantic. News of the treaty arrived in New York on February 11, a week after the city learned of Jacksons triumph. Adding to the spirit of celebration, the news that the war had ended quickly spread throughout the country. Receiving a copy of the treaty, the US Senate ratified it by a 35-0 vote on February 16 to officially bring the war to a close. Once the relief of peace had worn off, the war was viewed in the United States as a victory. This belief was propelled by victories such as New Orleans, Plattsburgh, and Lake Erie as well as by the fact that the nation had successfully resisted the power of the British Empire. Success in this second war of independence helped forge a new national consciousness and ushered in the Era of Good Feelings in American politics. Having gone to war for its national rights, the United States never again was refused proper treatment as an independent nation. Conversely, the war was also viewed as victory in Canada where the residents took pride in having successfully defended their land from American invasion attempts. In Britain, little thought was given to the conflict especially as the spectre of Napoleon rose again in March 1815. While the war is noew generally viewed as stalemate between the principal combatants, the Native Americans exited the conflict as losers. Effectively forced out of the Northwest Territory and large tracts of the Southeast, their hope for a state of their own vanished with the end of the war. 1814: Advances in the North A Capital Burned | War of 1812: 101
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Formal Letter to the legislative representative Essay
Formal Letter to the legislative representative - Essay Example An earlier proposed bill in California also supported this bill and had a similar agenda to this bill. Following the rising reports published by the American Psychological Association, which determined that minors were accessing conversion therapies in the State of California, Senator Ted W. Lieu drafted a bill that sought to ban the therapies owing to their severe side effects on minors. Several facilities in the country offer such to adults who willingly seek the services. The service providers thus explain the potential ramifications of changing oneââ¬â¢s sexuality. Studies proved that the sexual orientation efforts often had negative effects on children. Such effects included confusion, depression and substance abuse at some levels. Therefore owing to the adverse effects that are associated with the sexual conversion therapies that are currently targeting the minors, we proposed the bill that seeks to have proper guidance in the policies ascribed to in the practices. As indica ted in our proposed bill, the main aims of the bill is to have sanity restored in the medical and legal system concerning protection of the rights of the minors while upholding ethical practices within the society. Children have always been the major target of sexual abuses over ages with children being assaulted owing to their vulnerability. Despite the great psychological as well as physical suffering that children suffer, undergo through due to sexual exploitation, the orientation therapies have increased to this suffering in targeting the minors more. The practices are not only exploitative but also unethical and hence needs to be opposed with all seriousness possible. It was in the position that the bill was drafted in order to have a voice against such vices in the society. Among other recommendations of the bill were the serious disciplinary and corrective measures to be enforced towards such perpetrators who are guilty of breaking the law when the bill is enacted.
Friday, October 18, 2019
Obesity and hormonal imbalance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Obesity and hormonal imbalance - Essay Example Heredity and age-related changes are among them, but, perhaps, hormonal violations are at the top of this list (Bray &York, 1997). Hormonal failure is the manifestation of the hormonal violations, which are available in an organism and can be caused by various reasons. Thus, hormonal failure influences not only the state of reproductive system of a woman, but also can cause deterioration of her physical and emotional health. Hormonal failure can be expressed as violation of a menstrual cycle or manifestation of a climacteric syndrome. Violation of hormonal balance can affect the course of pregnancy and childbirth causing serious problems in certain cases ââ¬Å"Obesity is associated with multiple alterations in the endocrine system, including abnormal circulating blood hormone concentrations, which can be due to changes in the pattern of their secretion and/or metabolism, altered hormone transport and/or action at the level of target tissues. In recent years a great stimulus in both basic and clinical research has, on one hand, produced a great deal of knowledge on the pathophysiology of obesity, and, on the ot her, led to the discovery of new hormonesâ⬠(Pasquali and Vicennati, 2001, p. 225). Physicians have studied this question for long and came to the conclusion that fluctuations of level of some hormones in an organism directly influence weight. Hormones are biologically active agents, which participate in many vital processes, including development, growth and metabolism. ââ¬Å"No matter how an imbalance manifests on the outside, the internal reality remains the sameââ¬âany and all hormonal imbalance leads to difficulty losing weight and increased risk of obesity. Unfortunately, the most common imbalances cannot be solved by dieting alone. In fact, they can prevent successful fat loss, even when great diet and exercise plans are in placeâ⬠(Turner, 2015). The thyroid gland, liver, adrenal glands and other bodies are responsible for their development and
Use of Technology In Your Chosen Profession Assignment
Use of Technology In Your Chosen Profession - Assignment Example After the design is done, manufacturing is done with computer simulations on how the plane will perform under different flying conditions. The aircraft is improved and molded before the final testing to be licensed as safe to fly. Technology is used to develop sophisticated security systems to enable pilots to detect abnormalities during flight and avert disaster. Even when a plane crash has occurs; data recorders kept in the planeââ¬â¢s black box are consulted to trace the origin of the crash (ICAO, 2010). Such information is vital as it can be used to design new safety features or to avoid crashes due to similar reasons. Pilots use technology for communication while flying. Flying is a high-risk activity and pilots need to be in constant communication with flight control teams to report flight progress and show if there is any problem. Flight control teams use radar and satellite technology to track aircraft. Whenever a plane is lost midair, the ground control teams are able to detect it immediately and take appropriate and timely action to try and find the plane to rescue survivors. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to find survivors due to the impact of plane crashes that usually occur in the sea where passengers drown before any help can get to them. Pilots also use technology to entertain their passengers and make announcements to them regarding the flight. Technology is also used to enhance safety in the airline industry generally. Through the use of computer technology, airport personnel is able to ensure that planes do not collide midair or at the airport.
Environmental Health and Safety Scholarship Essay
Environmental Health and Safety - Scholarship Essay Example The purpose of this research is to investigate the reasons why companies perform environmental audits in their business operations. One of which was the increasing regulatory pressures. Of course, in order to stay in the competitive market, the company must ensure that they comply with all the applicable environmental regulations promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) and other national, local and federal agencies. Another notable reason was to make sure that they meet all the necessary requirements of safety standards designed to promote their continuous development. The auditing requires systematic and comprehensive review of all the aspects within the business which include the properties, facilities, processes and operations. The investigation results will then serve as the guideline and baseline information in order to evaluate and assess the performance of the company. Because of the available updates on EH&S, the problems and deficiencies can be easily identified and can be corrected immediately before it becomes severe and can create more damages. To simplify, environmental auditing is about reducing or mitigating possible risk that may arise in the workplace. This makes sure that the businesses activities have no negative impact instead safeguard the environment as well as promote human health and safety for a total satisfaction. It can also identify possible cost saving, such as waste minimization, avoid fines and penalties and also avoid hospitalization costs due to accidents in the worksite. The growing public awareness can also be attributed for the sudden need of companies to conduct environmental audits. Since, several reports highlighted workplace hazards and accidents more and more became conscious and demand higher standard of EH&S.Ã Aside from these reasons, environmental auditing was also conducted by many companies in order enhance their image and reputation. Usua lly, this was used to promote their own companies by just stating that they adhere to the highest standards in work site safety. Question 4:Ã List, and briefly explain, the elements which should be planned in a successful audit program. In order to have a successful environmental audit, several elements should be properly and well planned which include the following: 1.Ã Ã Ã Ã Ã Goals and Objectives Basically, before any undertakings, the company should state and establish their clear outline of goals and objectives they wanted to achieve after the audit program. This will help and guide them to easily formulate
Thursday, October 17, 2019
The Transformational Power of Music Research Paper
The Transformational Power of Music - Research Paper Example Music has the power to move a person through more than just the sounds within the ear. Music is emotional, editorial, and connected to memory. The way music sounds gives cues to the meaning of imagery. Music is a culturally defined experience, the language of music designed by learned understandings of associations. How the memory creates emotional responses to music is defined by the associations that have been made. This is one of the reasons why writing about music can be difficult as it is better to describe the feeling it evokes than to try and write about the sound. How it feels can be described from one point of view, but how it sounds is defined through the interpretation of each individual. Music is a complex experience that stimulates the emotional memories within the mind. According to Meyer, the meaning of music is based upon cultural learning, societies determining how to take the cues that are placed through the sounds that are made in their music (2). Sounds are not un iversally understood, the semiotic language developed through the associations that are made to the music. According to Cohen ââ¬Å"when we emphasize musicââ¬â¢s universality, we might mislead ourselves into thinking that musical elements can be borrowed from here or there, without paying sufficient attention to distinct cultural meanings, such as the sacred dimensions of performanceâ⬠(27). However, she goes on to say that the aptitude and capacity for music is universal even though how those capacities are shaped is defined by cultural learning (Cohen 28).
Legislative & Executive Branches Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Legislative & Executive Branches - Essay Example PTA includes a couple of negotiating objectives that such trade agreements must work towards. According to the article, to uphold Congressional oversight, the Act mandates that in the course of the process of negotiating trade agreement, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) should meet with and give access to important or classified documents up on request by Members of Congress. This article explains the theme covered in this weeks content on the Congress in the sense that the Congress, as part of the three branches of the U.S. government, is accorded significant role by the Constitution. Legislative powers is devolved to the Congress, meaning that the Congress is the only arm of the government which can change existing laws or make new laws. Executive branch only issue regulations, but these are merely under the power of laws passed by the Congress. If the President reject the bill, the Congress may override that rejection by a simple two-thirds vote. If the President`s rejection of the bill is overruled, the he should act by strengthening his tie with the senators and house representatives. That response is the best way to have his will
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
The Transformational Power of Music Research Paper
The Transformational Power of Music - Research Paper Example Music has the power to move a person through more than just the sounds within the ear. Music is emotional, editorial, and connected to memory. The way music sounds gives cues to the meaning of imagery. Music is a culturally defined experience, the language of music designed by learned understandings of associations. How the memory creates emotional responses to music is defined by the associations that have been made. This is one of the reasons why writing about music can be difficult as it is better to describe the feeling it evokes than to try and write about the sound. How it feels can be described from one point of view, but how it sounds is defined through the interpretation of each individual. Music is a complex experience that stimulates the emotional memories within the mind. According to Meyer, the meaning of music is based upon cultural learning, societies determining how to take the cues that are placed through the sounds that are made in their music (2). Sounds are not un iversally understood, the semiotic language developed through the associations that are made to the music. According to Cohen ââ¬Å"when we emphasize musicââ¬â¢s universality, we might mislead ourselves into thinking that musical elements can be borrowed from here or there, without paying sufficient attention to distinct cultural meanings, such as the sacred dimensions of performanceâ⬠(27). However, she goes on to say that the aptitude and capacity for music is universal even though how those capacities are shaped is defined by cultural learning (Cohen 28).
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
The Diversity Board Assignment Essay Example for Free
The Diversity Board Assignment Essay 1. 2-3 pages typed, double-spaced, using 12 pt. Times New Roman font. 2. 2-3 sources required using APA formatââ¬âMagazines, Books, Newspaper Articles, Internet Articles, etc. a. Resources for using APA format and for evaluating internet sources: i. Pg. 237 of Guidebook: Sample Bibliographic Citations in APA format ii. Purdue OWL: APA formatting guide: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ iii. Pg. 239 of Guidebook: ââ¬Å"Checklist for Evaluating Information Found on the Internetâ⬠3. Title page required. 4. Use at least 3 of the class topics listed on pg. 50 of your guidebook (under ââ¬Å"7 Written Responsesâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ ) b. Please BOLD these terms within your paper so they are easy for me to find. 5. Answer the 7 written responsesââ¬â1 paragraph per question. c. The first question is more of an introduction to your diversity role and should contain a thesis statement previewing your paper as its last sentence. d. Include an 8th conclusion paragraph at the endââ¬âreiterate your main points/thesis and give a solid conclusion. 6. Write in 1st personââ¬âi.e., ââ¬Å"My morning is much like everyone elseââ¬â¢sâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ e. Feel free to be creative and create a completely new character with a unique name, job, lifestyle, etc. 7. Edit your final draft for grammar and punctuation errors. At LEAST hit ââ¬Å"spell checkâ⬠!! 8. Please only print on one side of the paper. 9. Rip out pg. 53 of your Guidebook (the grading rubric) and staple it to the back of your final paper. This is what I will use to grade your essay. Guidebook Page Numbers: * pp. 49-50: Full Description of Assignment * p. 53: Grading Rubric that you must turn in to me BLANK * p. 55-60 pp. 61-65: Sample diversity board papers (your papers should look and sound like these!) I am A Muslim In America David Poku My name is Ahil, my name is from Arabic decent and means Prince. I was born very dark skinned. I am now 21 years old man living in America and I am Muslim, it is for this reason that I have been both blessed and cursed. As a Muslim, we are just like most any people aside from the fact that we are not entitled to drink alcohol, have any type of pork, and no sex outside of marriage. I live in Austin, TX. The people here are very different yet in many instances can seem to be the exact same. The word Muslim is an Arabic word that means ââ¬Å"One who submits to Allah and Allah as the one and only one God with no partner, no son, no companion, no associate, and no equivalence.â⬠(). I came to America for an opportunity that I could not be granted in the place of my birth. Since I could remember I have aspired to be a great car salesman. When I was young and living in Jordan, everyone always spoke of doing whatever they could to try and get an opportunity to come and find success in t his so called wonderful place called America, but I am here to tell my fellow people that why there is a great set of opportunities beset upon those who travel here, there is also two sides to this story. My religion is a s just a part of me as the air that I breathe, or the food that I eat, or the very water that I drink, but for the life of me, I have tried to in almost every way possible to conceal this. All of the stories and the things that I heard from the place of my birth were crammed with positive affirmations of achieving a dream that can be attained with hard work and time, but like I said before there is two sides to every story. When I came here, I was told that people were more accepting to various cultures, but after a terrorist incident that the people in America call 9/11, the public eye has since seemed to scrutinize people who follow the Islamic foundations. Apparently the people tied to the terrorist attack were of Middle Eastern decent and because of that fact the masses of America seemed to have all adopted the inconsistent notion that these people followed this religion. This is the first curse and a blessing that I have been brought acknowledge. The ignorance of people permeates me, I have tried to educate the few that I was unfortunate enough to engage in a conversation that dealt with this, thinking that maybe if I educate a few the word would somehow get out and spread to those who belief this faulty notion that everyone who is Muslim is a part of some secret terrorist regime and cannot be trusted. Five years passed as I spread the word to many and many more. I started my own church and preached the true word of Islam to everyone, it didnââ¬â¢t matter what religion they were, what the color of their skin was, or what the once thought before, as long as I could burden them with the truth. Do not be confused, I was not pressing my religions beliefs to change or convert the religion ideologies of others, I just wanted to let everyone know the true meaning of y religious foundation. I was now 26 years old, with a wife, Sara, and 2 kids, and I had spread around 3 different church facilities in Austin. My boy who was 6 years olds name was Aaban, and my daughter, who was 8, was named Manha. One day I was taking my family to the airport to go visit the place of my birth. I realized something very peculiar, as we were boarding, the people in the airport stared at my family, as if we were doing something wrong. You see some people can easily identify Muslim people sometimes; my wife and daughter were wearing Shawls that day. In the Muslim religion, women are supposed to cover their hair as means of being modest. Many people in American may not know or understand this. As a people we tend to fear or express caution to things we do not understand. It was then and only then did I realize that no matter how many ears I reached with my initiative to spread the true meaning of Islam that it would not change a thing. These people seem to hold the people who identify with Muslim as a whole responsible for the terrorist attack that took place on 9/11. It was because of the realization of this fact that I handed off the ownership/pastoring of my churches to another individual who I had met that was willing to take it over. I sought to become the car salesman that I had always aspired to be. I sent out more than a thousand applications in one month, driving from place to place. I met with over 100 managers for different car salesman jobs, and on my own free time took all the spare time I had to learn about cars. Every single meeting I went to, I was met with a sort of indifferent look, that always followed wit where are you from? By the time I was 30, I knew everything there was to know about cars, I even at times impressed interviewees that were questioning me because I had known things that their staff did not, but one small fact remained, I still had not found a job. I was beginning to lose hope, but my nature was to strive for success at any cost, I could not let my family down. One day when I was at a Starbucks parking lot, I saw a very young man with the hood of what looked like his car up and there were clouds of smoke engulfing the engine. I went over for assistance, and saw that this man was a well versed with car mechanics, yet he was flawed with one aspect of what he was doing. I asked the young man if I could fix his car for him. I saw a very arrogant smile on his face, and he said you can give it a try. Ten minutes later I had his car running. When I waked to go shut the hood of his car, I was met with a very firm handshake of another man, an older man, the man looked familiar. He shook my hand, and said, I thank you for fixing my car. He looked at my kind of funny and said: ââ¬Å"arenââ¬â¢t you the man who started that set of churches a couple years back?â⬠I replied yes, but I am no longer running those churches. The man replied: ââ¬Å" I have always was admired your way with people and wanted to tell you about an opportunity. You see.. I run a car dealership wanted to see if you would be interested in working with me? I smiled and told the man, that the foundation of Islamic faith is peace and at this very moment I have found it, through all of the prejudice, the ignorance that has beset itself upon my family and I, I am now in a place where I can surrender myself to my god and derive peace and it is for that, that I thank you. So this message is for everyone that plans to come to America, this is the other side of the story, you will be faced with prejudice, with people who fear you because they do not understand you, you will hesitate and may start to resent your decent or question your religion, but I am here to tell you when you find peace you will finally see that the curse is a blessing in disguise. References Associated Press, (10/24/12). Spying on the Muslim Community. Muslim In America, pp. 1-2. Rauf, Feisal. A. (April 1, 2011). Five Myths About Muslims. American Muslims, N/A pp. 1-2.
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