The background of DDA.
Why DDA fail?
What are the lessons learned from DDA failure?
Basketball Admissions Essay argumentative essay help
I don’t remember the first time I touched a basketball. For as long as I can remember, I was shooting hoops in the driveway and playing pickup games. As a kid, I remember squirming around in the backseat of the car because I simply couldn’t wait to get to the court for practice. And for years, my weekends have been dominated by games and tournaments. I remember hearing classmates talking about having “nothing to do” on a Saturday, and the concept always seemed completely foreign to me. Even if I didn’t have a game, I would use the time to practice free throws or try to find someone who would be willing to play one-on-one. Once I got to high school, I also started lifting weights at the gym in the mornings and studying game tapes at night, with the goal of doing everything I could to improve my game and shape myself into a college-ready athlete.
Last summer, I had the chance to truly put my skills to the test. Over the course of only a few months, I traveled over 2500 miles to basketball tournaments – from Las Vegas to Georgia to Tibet. Through these experiences, I not only had the opportunity to improve my basketball skills, but I also learned a lot about myself, and I had the chance to experience different cultures and meet people from all over the country and the world.
For me, the best thing about the summer was the fact that I had the chance to live and breathe my passion for basketball. Thinking back, my mind jumps to my proudest moments: hearing the roar of the crowd as beat another athlete to a rebound, sinking a game-winning three-pointer, and racing down the court on defense even when my lungs were burning and my legs felt ready to collapse. At the same time, with all that travel to tournaments, I also learned a lot about personal responsibility. Traveling with a big group of teammates and only a few adults, it was expected that I would be able to take care of myself. Unlike at home, where I could always make myself a sandwich or shake when I got hungry, travel made it more difficult to get meals. I quickly learned to make sure that I always had a protein bar or an apple in my bag in case of traffic or a flight delay, because proper fueling is essential to my athletic performance. In hotel rooms, there was no one to tell me to go to bed on time, so I learned to turn off the TV early and set my alarm clock so that I would be ready to play my best in the morning.
Playing in basketball tournaments all summer also helped me learn to perform well under pressure. At school games and tournaments in the past, I always wanted to play my best, but at the big tournaments I played this summer, I felt like the stakes were much higher. I knew that there were lots of recruiters in the stands, so I worried that even the slightest mistake could affect my entire future. Whenever these concerns crept into my mind during a game, I could tell that it negatively affected my performance, so I developed a strategy of pushing these thoughts away and concentrating on the game, because I knew that staying mentally focused was the only way I would be able to perform well enough to make a good impression on recruiters.
Ultimately, I am extremely grateful for my summer experience, as it gave me the opportunity to further pursue my love of basketball and helped shape me into the mature young man I am today. So far, basketball has opened so many doors in my life, and I look forward to continuing to let my love for the sport shape me into the best athlete – and person – I can be.
Researchable Problem- Hand Washing vs. Alcohol Rubs argumentative essay help
the Doha Development Round Or Doha Development Agenda (dda) Is The Latest English Essay Help
In any health care organization it is important to adopt procedures to help reduce the number of nosocomial infections. Nosocomial infections are infections which can be acquired through improper sterilization, such as a lack of proper hand sanitation. In my area of work at the Richmond Supported Living Center, there are protocols in place to reduce nosocomial infections. One of these protocols is that of hand washing with soap and water before each patient.
However constant hand washing, due to the repeated wetting and drying of hands, can lead to the development of extremely dry hands and a condition known as hand dermatitis (Program, 2001). However, despite the risk for development of skin conditions among the staff, this procedure is in place because of it has been proven to help reduce nosocomial infections in patients. Research has shown that one of the most effective ways of reducing nosocomial infections is through proper hand hygiene practices, including hand washing (Mathur, 2011). However, because of the time required for hand washing, along with the drying effect, it has been suggested that alcohol rubs may be an appropriate substitute for constant hand washing. This is because in a healthcare setting there can be less than 40% compliance with hand washing procedures (Widmer, 2000). Therefore, in a nursing practice it may be useful to have an alternative to constant hand washing that will decrease nosocomial infections and increase compliance.
When designing any project one of the first steps is to determine potential research questions. Five research questions which could be used are: 1) How does hand washing compared to alcohol rubs effect the development of hand dermatitis in staff? 2) Does hand washing or alcohol rubs increase staff usage of lotion? 3) Does using alcohol rubs instead of hand washing increase staff compliance to hand sanitation procedures? 4) Is hand washing better at preventing nosocomial infections than alcohol rubs over 2 weeks of hospitalization? 5) Is hand washing better at preventing nosocomial infections than alcohol rubs over 4 weeks of hospitalization?
For question one, while it would be feasible to determine the occurrence of hand dermatitis in staff over a particular period, this does not address if rubs effect the development of nosocomial infections. The same argument can be used for question two, while saving on lotion could lead to cost savings, it does not address the major issue. As for question three, while it is important to ensure staff compliance, this question is not feasible as it would rely on self reported data from staff, many of whom may not be willing to answer this question truthfully (Short et al., 2009). With respect to question four, this answers the major question of if alcohol rubs reduce nosocomial infections. As well because it is evaluated in patients who are hospitalized for 2 weeks, the duration is short enough to ensure adequate sample size. Therefore of all the questions, question four is the most feasible. In contrast to question four, question five, while it would address the question of if alcohol rubs reduce nosocomial infections, because of the longer duration it may be difficult to obtain an adequate sample size, therefore this is not feasible.
For this project the preliminary PICOT question is: Does proper hand washing before and after care of high functioning psychiatric patients decrease the risk nosocomial infections as compared to alcohol rubs during 2 weeks of hospitalization? For the developed PICOT question the Patient or Problem (P) variable is patients at Richmond Supported Living Center. The intervention (I) is that of using alcohol rubs before and after each patient. The Comparison (C) is to the current method of hand washing before and after each patient. The anticipated outcome (O) is that alcohol rubs will be as effective or more effective in preventing nosocomial infections in patients. Finally the timeframe (T) would be that of 2 weeks, as this period is short enough to not be overly costly, but long enough to generate enough data to be useful (Davies, 2011).
The 10 possible keywords that can be used for conducting a literature search for the developed PICOT question are: 1) nosocomial infections 2) hospital acquired infections 3) hand washing 4) alcohol rubs 5) staff compliance 6) 7) hand hygiene 8) alcohol-based hand disinfection 9) Urinary Tract Infections 10) MRSA. For the first two key words, these were chosen as these terms are often used interchangeably to describe infections acquired in the healthcare system. The third and fourth terms were chosen as these are the two main types of hand sanitization that will be tested to see the effect on occurrence of nosocomial infection. The fifth term was chosen to locate literature associated with compliance of staff with hand washing procedures, which will be useful for providing relevant background information. The seventh and eighth term is the term used to describe methods of cleaning hands, and were found by looking at keywords other researchers have used in their publications (Pittet, 2001). Finally the ninth and tenth keywords were chosen because they are two of the main types of nosocomial infections (Khan, Ahmad, & Mehboob, 2015).
Overall, with the developed PICOT question and the generated keywords, now research can be conducted in order to determine what has been previously done. Throughout the course of conducting a literature search, while the 10 keywords are a useful starting point, throughout the searching more keywords may need to be used. This is to ensure that the literature review provides an accurate overview of what is known about the effects of hand washing vs. alcohol rubs on rates of nosocomial infections.
The Effects of Alcohol Use argumentative essay help
Alcohol is a commonly used drug throughout the world. While in moderation it actually has many beneficial attributes, excess use or long-term use may harm the body in a number of ways. Acute alcohol intoxication has often led to death in many individuals. This can occur if they ingest too much alcohol at one time for their bodies. It has a number of effects on the brain and on the body. It is also a common source for addictive behavior.
Alcohol’s effects on the brain are well known. Tragically, many individuals do not recognize that they are inebriated and decide to drive. This often leads to serious injuries or death for the person or another individual. Alcohol can cross the blood-brain barrier, resulting in changes to cognition. These changes result from the active ingredient in alcohol, ethanol. Ethanol both relaxes an individual and results in feelings of euphoria. It is a psychoactive drug. While at first ethanol makes an individual relax and feel good, this does not last if an individual keeps drinking. Other signs and symptoms include a decreased social inhibition, flushing, respiratory depression, balance issues, poor decision-making skills and possibly aggression. It is also a depressant, so an individual eventually becomes depressed. It may also result in vomiting, a hangover or loss of consciousness. Loss of consciousness is very serious and results from significant amounts of alcohol (Oscar-Berman & Marinkovic, 2007, p. 239).
Alcohol abuse is a common problem in our society. It can occur in any individual; however, there is a genetic predisposition towards it. Its development is also associated with the age of the individual when the person began drinking. Many alcoholics begin drinking at a young age. When this occurs, the individual is more likely to develop heavy drinking habits or alcoholism. In addition, stressful life experiences often lead to alcoholism or binge drinking (Lee, Wolff, Kender & Prescott, 2012, p. 693). Many individuals may develop the early stages of alcoholism as adolescents. What they do not realize is that their emotional and psychological development stops at this point. If they later achieve sobriety, they will be at the same developmental stage as when they began drinking. If an individual becomes and alcoholic at age fourteen and achieves sobriety fourteen years later, the individual is still emotionally fourteen. This is another aspect of recovery for the person (Caplan, 2011). The signs and symptoms of alcoholism is much different than a social drinker’s signs and symptoms. Alcoholics feel a compulsion to drink and cannot limit themselves on their alcoholic intake. They often drink alone or hide their true alcohol intake. If an alcoholic stops drinking, he or she may experience physical withdrawal symptoms. These include shaking, seizures, vomiting and hallucinations. They often have “black out” periods where they cannot remember what happened. In addition, their use of alcohol often causes relationship difficulties, problems at work and even legal issues (Mayo Clinic, 2012).
The short term effects of alcohol intake quickly wear off. An individual may have a hangover or experience vomiting. Dizziness and confusion may often result. The more drinks consumed by an individual, the greater the effects will be. Long term alcohol abuse has serious consequences for the body. Individuals often develop hypertension and liver disease as a result. Liver disease often manifests as cirrhosis of the liver. Another common condition is chronic pancreatitis, a painful inflammation of the pancreas. Pancreatitis also results in digestive problems (Mayo Clinic, 2012).
It is important to recognize the signs of alcohol abuse in family and friends and in oneself. If a person believes that he or she has a drinking problem, the person should seek help as soon as possible. A health care provider or even a family member can help the person locate this assistance.
The Prevalence of Alcohol and Drugs in the United States argumentative essay help
The given paper takes a close look at the alcohol and drug epidemics in the United States today. The author explains that substance abuse is one of the most serious issues that lies before American society. Specifically, the number of individuals who abuse substances such as alcohol, drugs, or cigarettes has significantly increased over the past few decades. A decrease in alcohol and drug abuse in the 1970s did not last long; the rates are back up since the 1990s. The author of this paper clarifies the causes and consequences of unrestricted alcohol and drug abuse. Furthermore, the prevalence of alcohol and drug abuse among youth is closely regarded. Academic research is used to back the key reasons behind growing substance abuse among teenagers and children as young as ten years old. Lastly, the author presents a set of explanations and possible solutions for facing the drug/alcohol abuse crisis that United States has encountered today.
There is a number of social phenomena that affect people of all social, economic, and demographic backgrounds and statuses in the United States today. Just to mention a few: hunger and homelessness (Lee and Greif 2008:3), depression, alcohol and drug abuse, and numerous others. Most often, social issues come hand in hand; they closely intertwine and accompany each other. For instance, Lee and Greif (2008) emphasize in their paper that homeless individuals are not only more susceptible to hunger, but they often fall prey to infectious diseases, alcoholism, drug addiction, mental illness, injury, and other health-driven problems.
At the same time, when looking at the key issues that lie before American society today on a more general level, one would certainly point to alcohol and drug abuse. These problems penetrate all social circles without exception. Furthermore, these problems are widely discussed by politicians via different communication channels because of the threat they pose to American society today. Yet, for some reason, these efforts do not significantly alter the present state of things in terms of drug/alcohol addiction. The given research paper shows some of the reasons behind this lack of change. In fact, there are social forces which downplay the efforts directed at fighting substance abuse. First and foremost, we are talking about aggressive alcohol and tobacco marketing/advertising campaigns. For proof, one could look at the staggering statistics on substance abuse in the United States over the past fifty years. A study by Schulden, Thomas, and Compton (2009) points out that in terms of the substance abuse dynamic, “overall illicit drug use reached a peak in the late 1970s, declined during the 1980s, rose again in the 1990s, and has remained relatively stable during the past several years” (p. 354).
The given paper meticulously analyzes drug and alcohol use in the United States and the reasons behind it. Furthermore, the paper closely examines the culture of alcohol and drug abuse which is established through the gateway of heavy alcohol and tobacco advertising, as well as the pandemic of prescription drugs (e.g., opioids, heroin). Importantly, the paper sets out to explore the environmental, demographic, and educational factors which tend to impact one’s drug and alcohol use patterns.
The first part of the paper discusses statistical findings on alcohol and drug use in the United States today. Further, the different reasons of substance abuse are considered in detail. Finally, the paper examines the implications of drug/alcohol abuse and offers suggestions for addressing the social issue.
There is a plethora of information indicating the seriousness of alcohol and drugs abuse in the United States; this includes cigarette smoking. Many have heard of the War on Drugs, implemented by President Nixon in 1971 in order to keep America’s children safe. This political step was necessary due to the increased substance abuse among American youth. Here, it should be noted that there are drugs which classify in certain schedules based on their medical uses and their potential for abuse (Alcabes 2016:26). As a matter of fact, common sense accurately dictates that the consumption of these substances is harmful if consumed excessively. What is more, some of these substances are the leading causes of ascending mortality rates amongst their users.
When looking more closely at the culture of drugs, it appears that alcohol and cigarettes are among the most dangerous and addictive, especially when paired together. Jiang and Ling (2011) observed that nearly half a million people die prematurely every year in the United Stated because of cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption; each of the substances reinforces the other’s addictive nature and, ultimately, it becomes very difficult to quit either of them (p. 1942). In fact, according to Jiang, cigarettes are the leading cause of premature death and alcohol is the third (p. 1942). Furthermore, underage alcohol consumption is related to the three leading causes of death among individuals aged 12 to 20 years old (Boggs and Durgampundi 2017). Jiang and Ling explain that alcohol and cigarette companies focus their marketing strategies on the younger-aged group; corporations back their strategies with social data and statistics that point to youth as the target audience for harmful substances like alcohol and tobacco. What is more, young people tend to mix the two for a stronger buzz, relating the comorbidity of alcohol and cigarettes similar to peanut butter and chocolate (Jiang and Ling 2011:1942). Furthermore, the authors imply that alcohol and cigarette industries have a symbiotic relationship. Essentially, numerous events feature these products in order to incite further use. It is apparent that the combination and sponsorship of alcohol and cigarettes is no coincidence. As a matter of fact, in their research Boggs and Durgampundi (2017) state that each additional dollar spent on alcohol advertising produces a 2.8% increase in alcohol consumption within the period of one month.
Interestingly, Jiang and Ling provide a graph (Figure 1) describing the relationship between education, age, and alcohol/tobacco related products among people. Although there are outliers within all categories, this is primarily a linear graph with a high concentration amid younger adults and those with higher education. The consumer demand is lower among older adults regardless of the education level (quoted in Jiang, 2011:1946). With this in mind, “approximately 41 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds are enrolled in a postsecondary degree-granting institution” that provides an environment for heavy drinking (quoted in Merrill, 2016: 1). People commonly enroll in college between these ages, so the information implies that there is a lot of alcohol and substance abuse when provided with a post-secondary institutional environment. The U.S. Census, according to Lindsay M. Howden in Age and Sex Composition: 2010, states that there are 30.67 million Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 comprising roughly 10 percent of the American population (2). Furthermore, there was a 13 percent increase of people within this age group from 2000 to 2010, indicating that the amount of people in this age group is steadily increasing, and therefore it is safe to assume there are more students enrolled in universities, which offer environments that supports binge drinking and substance abuse (Howden, 2010: 2).
However, many of these students go to school with an established history of substance use. In an anonymous article, The Scope of the Problem, 2005, people are drinking in middle and high school (111). Ten percent of nine and ten-year-olds, and one third of youth below the age of thirteen have begun drinking, and people under the age of twenty-six have a bad habit of drinking more heavily per occasion than adults. While adults may have two to three drinks per occasion, younger adults and people tend to have four drinks or more per occasion (Figure 2). The age of first time use has decreased to as low as nine years old: “people who reported drinking before the age of 15 were four times more likely to also report meeting the criteria for dependence at some point in their lives” (2005:112-113). It is important to note that The Center for Disease Control and Prevention classifies heavy drinking as five or more drinks per occasion for males, and four or more drinks for females, which really goes to show the gravity of the issue among substance abusers among American youth (Anon 2017).
At the same time, another research article by Quinn and Fromme (2011) shows slightly different data. It compares levels of alcohol use among college students and their noncollege peers: it turns out that college students consume less alcohol than noncollege youth. It is explained that this may be due to the fact that individuals who enroll in college have a better capacity for self-control.
The environment tends to significantly influence individuals’ behavior patterns. Greater independence may sometimes be the reason behind substance abuse among teenagers and college students. At the same time, the younger the age when one starts using alcohol, drugs, and/or cigarettes, the more likely it is that an addiction will flourish. As stated by Philip Alcabes (2016):
NIDA director Nora Volkow says that “drugs change the brain to foster compulsive drug use.” But statements like Volkow’s don’t make clear that it is really the environment—the physical situation in which drugs are used, the social setting, the stresses and expectations and other aspects of mind—that, taken as a whole, is, as Zinberg explained, the primary determinant of drug dependence. If it were just a matter of the drug and the brain, those heroin-using GIs in Robins’s study would all have been junkies after they came home from Vietnam (P29).
This aligns heavily with Jennifer Merrill (2016) on her analysis of the impact of the environment during college life. Merrill describes a break from the responsibilities of adulthood during college, experimenting in practices that would be unacceptable or frowned upon later in life (p. 2). Yet the entirety of the country proves to be an environment supportive of developing bad habits because “literature concerning the etiology of drug use among youth suggests that legal drugs (e.g., alcohol and tobacco) serve as gateway drugs for illicit drug use” (Maldonado, 2010:902). However, it does not seem like a coincidence that these two substances are legal in the United States. Many homes have alcohol and cigarettes, which leaves youth prone to experimenting at a young age, only to delve later into other substances. In Philip Alcabes’ article, Medication Nation 2017, it is clear that there is a normalization of drugs in the country and the situation is becoming harder to control. Since there is a normalization of alcohol and other substances at home and early-age environments, some children and teenagers are more inclined to drink or experiment when they are not being watched. When this is so, it is normal to find friends that also have the same desires. As for a college setting, one of the largest influences are friends, not parental figures (Merrill 2016:1).
An important societal factor that influences alcohol use, whether first time consumption or binge drinking, is advertising. A recent literature review (Boggs 2017) investigates the impact of alcohol advertising on alcohol consumption in adolescents and youth. The author found a number of studies that point to the link between increased alcohol consumption at a younger age (as well as a younger age of first time use) and the exposure to alcohol advertising via numerous communication channels. The studies focused on countries with relatively high consumption of alcohol in adolescents and young adults such as the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Indeed, this points to globalization processes taking place in terms of alcohol consumption and abuse among youth.
What is also important, many of the drug use effects stem from economic integration policies and social strains. Bryan Page (2010) provides a poignant example in order to demonstrate this phenomenon: the migration of female housemaids from the Middle East to Sri Lanka which disrupted the gendered household model (where the man is the breadwinner and the woman is the housewife/mother); this, in turn, led to increased alcohol consumption in the male population due to their perceived emasculation. (Page, 2010:87) Summing up, researchers have identified multiple variables that are at play when it comes to alcohol and drug abuse; some of these causes are linked to the globalization processes that are taking place in the world today.
Furthermore, the migration of drugs across borders (for instance, via the populations of immigrants) is another factor that allows for increased drug consumption on a worldwide level and in American specifically. In the same way immigration and emigration can affect drug use, teenage cannabis use has international roots. Namely, a study done in Norway found that adolescents who smoked cannabis shared musical preferences for American music like hip hop, and engaged in political rebellion (Pedersen, 2009:135). This brings up the question whether these individuals engaged in illegal practices purposefully or simply belonged to a marginalized community of youth. It should also be noted that sometimes cannabis and tobacco smoking is a way of rebelling against parental control. Michelle Miller-Day (2008) from the National Council on Family Relations has found that parental strategies like the “no tolerance rule” has the largest negative impact for adolescent drug use (2008:1) In essence, the causes of drug use among youth are relatively clear, yet more longitudinal studies are needed for tracking individual cases and social shifts over time.
For decades now, American has been in the middle of “The War on Drugs” in an effort to prevent drug use, especially among the younger population. However, Alcabes notes that this metaphor serves to unjustly divide society in terms of skin color, economic status, and demographic/cultural factors (2016:31). For instance, African Americans are incarcerated at a rate that is six times higher than that of the white population (Alcabes 2016:31). What is more, a number of these individuals are inflicted with punitive measures when, in reality, medical treatment is required. While some of this is due to a lack of education and awareness, Ivan Goldman (2013) from the University of Nebraska Press claims that this is largely the result of judicial apathy. Mainly, he relies on empirical evidence from ex-convicts; this is what one of the ex-convicts had to say about the judicial system: “they just want more bodies to throw in prison…meanwhile the hardcore dealers ‘know how the system works’” (Goldman 2013:38). The author expands on this, stating that many raids end in “cash-register justice” or dealers providing sales revenue in lieu of jail time. Therefore, this demonstrates how the War on Drugs has been racially and occupationally discriminatory, with the inequality issues having numerous overlaps (p. 38).
Similarly, the drug trafficking into the United States heavily intersects with the policies of other nations. For example, Mexican drug war history indicates a distinction between sellers and users. According to Isaac Campos from the University of North Carolina Press, Mexican laws were originally established to punish those who sold drugs, not those who consumed them (Campos 2012:195). Campos’ article demonstrates how international drug policies can become more integrated in the control and pursuit of narcotic traffickers.
When it comes to prosecution, the impact of presidential rhetoric has some important implications for the future of the drug war. In a scholarly article presented by Andrew Whitford and Jeff Yates (2003) from The University of Chicago Press, the President’s comments are shown to have influential effects on the rate of drug case prosecution by U.S. attorneys (p. 8). The authors find that presidential statements which address the national drug policy significantly mobilize attorneys and increase the number of cases dealing with drug activities. Nevertheless, the presidential rhetoric is sometimes outweighed by regional politics and political divide issues. Whitford and Yates (2003) found that “Republican U.S. Attorneys had a greater composition of drug prosecutions” and the coefficients for political party were negative for both cases handled and cases concluded (p. 9). This indicates that political platforms help to prop up the presidential rhetoric, but their increasing effects can end up harming the procedural justice sought by U.S. Attorneys.
Philip Alcabes (2015) describes the United States as reliant on prescription drugs. Numerous Americans would suffer if they were deprived of these drugs. The solutions, he suggests, is not a change on the drugs and reform, but a change in mentality. Alcabes looks at addiction and abuse being a public health issue, not a crime. In fact, some individuals will always take slightly or much more medicine than they should, or, perhaps, being prescribed more than they need. At the same time, there are drugs that do genuinely help people get through their daily lives and this should not be underestimated (2015:33). A shift in perspective will help to lower expenses for people in prison, leading to more funds for research and development of new techniques for dealing with addiction issues.
Now, when it comes to substance abuse among youth, it is absolutely necessary that stricter laws are enforced in order to keep the alcohol and tobacco industry from putting young people on the needle. Research shows that alcohol/tobacco ads expose youth to certain cues that trigger certain behaviors, such as increased alcohol, drug, and tobacco use (Courtney et al. 2017). In the end, more educational initiatives (such as D.A.R.E.) should be enacted to counter the negative effects of corporate advertising. It is absolutely essential that something is done on the federal and local levels to prevent young adults from falling into the trap of corporate giants. Perhaps, Nixon’s initiative is a worthy example when it comes to diminishing substance abuse among youth. If slightly altered to fit the contemporary setting, it could serve as solid ground for the enactment of effective public policies.
In conclusion, the given research paper closely analyzes the enormous challenges that lie before contemporary America. First and foremost, the author stresses that substance abuse is one of the biggest risk factors for American society. The reasons behind the alcohol and drug abuse crisis are closely considered. Among them, the author points to the sad fact that the alcohol industry is targeting the younger population in an attempt to make more money; advertising and marketing campaigns that are launched by corporate giants cause college students and younger teenagers to consider drinking and smoking as a highly rewarding activity (Courtney et al. 2017). Furthermore, prescription drug use is leading to grave substance abuse among Americans today; what is more, “the abuse of prescription drugs has reached an epidemic level” (McHugh, Nielsen, and Weiss 2015:1).
The solution lies in educating the younger public about the irreversible damage inflicted by drug and alcohol abuse. Furthermore, public policies are essential for advocating these programs and making them widespread.
Teens And Alcohol argumentative essay help
Teenage children abuse of alcohol is not only a social issue in the United States, but all over the world. A research carried out by the Medical Practitioners Association in 2012 showed that more than a half of the high school students in America drink on a regular basis, not being aware of the its dangerous effects on the heart, liver and kidney. However, the reality is that, the abuse of alcohol, among teenager, often lead to numerous health conditions. Precisely, engaging in alcohol has negatively affected many lives, and, it is among the serious problems that young people all over the world face.
The first major effect of alcohol on teens is heart attack. It normally occurs when blood flowing from a body part to one part of the heart is blocked by a blood clot. If this clot persists until blood flow to the heart is completely cut off, the heart muscles that are supplies by this part begins to die due to lack of nutrients and oxygen that was previously supplied by blood. People who begin smoking at a tender age have high chances of suffering from heart attack. In addition to that, people who are subjects of passive smoking have greater chances of suffering heart attack. Smoking causes heart attack through numerous ways. It damages the endothelium, a lining in blood vessels. Moreover, smoking affects the lipoprotein cholesterol and promotes coronary artery spasm leading to high blood pressure in the blood vessels (Sheila, 2015).
Moreover, numerous studies indicate that smoking is the main cause of stroke among children. Smoking cigarette produces numerous effects that adversely affect the cerebrovascular system. On top of that, it creates a higher risk for acquiring peripheral arterial diseases. Teens who are addicted to smoking cigar have high chances of dying earlier from coronary heart diseases, and possibly death, but this risk is not as higher as that of cigarette smoking. This is because they have lower chances of inhaling the smoke as compared to the cigarette smokers. In addition to this, there is a major known link between diseases. Cigarette smoking can also lead to cardiovascular-related disabilities. A research conducted by the Minnesota State University in 2005 showed that about 22700 to 69600 premature deaths were caused by premature heart diseases (Roxanne, 2015).
Another cardiovascular condition majorly caused by cigarette smoking is heart failure. This is a condition whereby the heart muscles weaken and fail to pump adequate blood to the lungs and other body parts as it is supposed to. Also, heart failure can be defined as a condition whereby the heart is not able to keep up its workload. It normally occurs when blood flowing from a body part to one part of the heart is blocked by a blood clot. If this clot persists until blood flow to the heart is completely cut off, the heart muscles that are supplies by this part begins to die due to lack of nutrients and oxygen that was previously supplied by blood. This in turn leads to the retention of salt and water thus leading to difficulty in breathing. In the United States, it is estimated that about half a million teenagers are affected by heart failure annually (Elizabeth, 2015).
Smoking among teenagers also leads to hypertension. It can be defined as the force exerted on a person’s arteries when his or her heart beats. Even though this condition has no symptoms, it can be deadly if not treated at its early stages. The heart cells normally rely on two coronary arteries and their branches for the supply of nutrients and oxygen. This condition normally occurs when blood vessels are blocked by blood clot which is as a result of fatty deposits within the blood vessel. This makes the blood vessel narrower thus increasing the pressure of blood flowing through it. As a result, the tissues that make up the walls of these blood vessels are overstretched beyond their limits leading to damage (Bruce, 2014).
In my opinion, smoking among teenagers is a bad habit. It lacks any advantage and its disadvantages are too many. It not only affects a person’s health but also the society at large. It leads to hypertension, heart failure and stroke among children. Therefore, the federal government should form laws that prohibit tobacco and cigarette smoking among teenagers. Every individual should be conscious about the detrimental effects of smoking and the federal government should up its game in increasing awareness. Lastly, if the United States society wants to bring up a healthy generation in future, it should completely ban tobacco and cigarette smoking, especially among teenagers.
The Evolving Concepts of Crew Resource Management in Aviation argumentative essay help
This paper will work to describe what crew resource management is, followed by a brief explanation of some of the evolving concepts of crew resource management in aviation. In so doing, it will indicate knowledge of the concepts and conceptions that have been reviewed throughout the course itself.
Crew Resource Management, also referred to as CRM, is the process by which knowledge of human factors, the skills necessary to conduct all flight operations efficiently, and the ability to utilize all resources in the most effective manner are combined for the sole purpose of working to ensure safe flight operation is achieved (Beaubien & Baker, 2002). CRM is particularly concerned with the combination of individual skills and the utilization of knowledge associated with human factors in order to ensure that all crew members have the ability to communicate effectively in order to ensure the overall health and safety of all parties involved (Beaubien & Baker, 2002). As technologies grow and change, however, so do the policies, practices, procedures, and training received by individuals in those fields.
CRM was first conceptualized in the late 1970s as a result of research completed by NASA into the different causes of air transport and air traffic accidents (Helmreich, Merritt, & Wilhelm, 1999). As changes within the industry occurred, as air traffic grew as a form of transportation, and as the methods by which crews worked to deal with the accommodating changes shifted, the term “evolution” started being utilized to describe the different changes that were being implemented within the field to meet those increasing pressures, shifting concerns, and practical applications (Helmreich, Merritt, & Wihelm, 1999, p. 19). Since the late 1970s, CRM has gone through four primary iterations, allowing the field to become what it is today (Helmreich, Merritt, & Wihelm, 1999).
The first iteration of CRM took place in the early 1980s, when the information determined by NASA during the course of their research was taken and applied to the field of aviation, focusing on the matter of cockpit resource management. CRM was, at this point, concerned with the application of knowledge by cockpit members and how they worked to affect the overall flight process (Helmreich, Merritt, & Wihelm, 1999). In addition to the application of policies and practices, generalized concepts and strategies for implementation by members of the cockpit, it was determined that CRM should occur as standard practice throughout the duration of the crew’s career in the cockpit, as opposed to simply a one time occurrence prior to their acceptance and performance of a job within that realm (Helmreich, Merritt, & Wihelm, 1999).
The second iteration of CRM took place in the mid-1980s when additional investigation by NASA into this area of concern led to the overall perception of crew resource management, as opposed to simply that of the cockpit (Helmreich, Merritt, & Wihelm, 1999). It was determined that it was not enough for individuals within the cockpit to be aware of the appropriate practices and dynamics of aviation travel, but for the entire crew to be aware of the appropriate policies and practices, and that just as many issues arose from a lack of understanding or practical application of concepts on the part of the crew as it did on the part of those within the cockpit (Helmreich, Merritt, & Wihelm, 1999).
The early 1990s saw the third iteration of CRM, a broadening of the scope of policies and practices within the aviation industry, arising as a result of the increased specialization and technical requirements that were present due to the advances in aviation technologies (Helmreich, Merritt, & Wihelm, 1999). As more and more specialization was required to complete the different jobs associated with the different technologies, CRM broke off into more specialized areas, each working in conjunction in order to ensure the overall safety of the aviation industry while working at the same time to ensure that all crew members with all specializations were not only able to work in conjunction with each other, but were able to function in tandem, as a well-oiled machine, if not quite as smooth in operation as the aircraft themselves, at least more smoothly than they had in the past, reducing overall error percentages (Helmreich, Merritt, & Wihelm, 1999).
The fourth, and currently final, iteration in the aviation industry likewise took place in the 1990s, working to more fully integrate the policies and practices of CRM within the aviation industry (Helmreich, Meritt, & Wihelm, 1999). These changes to the field of CRM worked to not only make CRM training and practices mandatory for application within the aviation industry, but required a full compliance with new FAA regulations (Helmreich, Meritt, & Wihelm, 1999). These practices and perceptions worked to ensure that all crew members no longer perceived these policies and practices as something separate from their job duties and descriptions, but perceived them as a necessary and integral part of their job duties and descriptions (Beaubien & Baker, 2002).
Individuals within the aviation industry have shown, on the whole, an immense positivity toward the application and integration of CRM policies and practices and have indicated a definite understanding for the requirement, while indicating that they themselves believe that such training is justifiably required, especially in light of the advances in aviation technology in today’s day and age (Beaubien & Baker, 2002). As the aviation industry continues to grow and change, and as technologies become more specialized, aircraft becomes more automated and streamlined, and the duties of crew become more specialized, the necessity for CRM continues to grow; it will be unsurprising to see the next iteration in the evolution within the field of CRM within the next few years.
Review: The Descent of Man argumentative essay help
Charles Darwin scarcely mentioned the evolution of humanity in his most famed treatise On the Origin of Species. Darwin had hoped that some other competent evolutionist would trespass that taboo whenever the time was right. The naturalist realized in his increasingly fragile age that he would have to be the one to justify the claim that humanity had evolved from non-human animals. While vindicating this claim, Darwin unpacked a load of evidence in his volume The Descent of Man. In light of this treatise, the following summarizes some of the evidence Darwin purported that gave credence to the view that humanity had evolved from other animals.
In chapter one of The Descent of Man, Darwin makes note of the similarities between the human skeleton and the skeleton of other mammals. For example, the bones of the bat’s flying wing and the human wrist are homologous. Darwin speculated that the two species had branched from a common ancestor. The same relationship held true for monkeys and the zeal. In order to drive his point further, Darwin flushed out even more similarities between man and monkeys. Monkeys, for example, are susceptible to the same diseases that plague humanity, including apoplexy and inflammation of the bowels. He even recounts social customs shared between monkeys and humans As Darwin highlights, “Many kinds of monkeys have a strong taste for tea, coffee, and spirituous liquors: they will also, as I myself have seen, smoke tobacco with pleasure (Darwin, The Descent p.6).” Here, Darwin is illustrating that there is not a strict dividing line between the monkeys and humans. In addition, Darwin highlighted superfluous animal features humanity shares, including excessive hair, eye brows and wisdom teeth.
In the second chapter, Darwin proposes that the processes that dictate natural selection are manifest in the human population. Darwin makes reference to the diversity of the human race as illustrated in the following:
‘No two individuals of the same race are quite alike. We may compare millions of faces, and each will be distinct. There is an equally great amount of diversity in the proportions and dimensions of the various parts of the body; the length of the legs being one of the most variable points (Darwin, The Descent, p. 20).’
He acknowledges that human variation is due to environmental pressures; however, Darwin suggests that there are internal factors at play as well. In addition, Darwin makes note of the mental differences between men of other races. Intelligence comes in different degrees. In continuation of mental powers, Darwin sites that baboons are remarkably intelligent creatures. Therefore, there are no dividing lines between animals that are intelligent versus those that are not intelligent. Rather, intelligence is a continuum marked by varying degrees. Due to the transparency of certain biological and mental capacities, Darwin argues that the kinship between the human race and monkeys is quite real.
Chapter three focuses on how mental powers could have evolved from lesser mental powers. Darwin emphasizes that there is no dividing line between man’s mental powers and the mental powers of other animals. Darwin begins by noting that human and non-human animals share many of the same instincts. These include self-preservation, sexual love and filial love. Furthermore, animals enjoy excitement and have a natural curiosity about the world. Even our sense of beauty is not unique to us, Darwin argues, since some male birds appear to exhibit an appreciation for beauty when singing. So why should it not be the case with respect to man’s intelligence?
Darwin then proceeds to focus on how language and intelligence could have evolved from primitive instincts. As Darwin conjectures:
‘The fewness and the comparative simplicity of the instincts in the higher animals are remarkable in contrast with those of the lower animals. Cuvier maintained that instinct and intelligence stand in an inverse ratio to each other; and some have thought that the intellectual faculties of the higher animals have been gradually developed from their instincts (Darwin, The Descent, p. 52).
For example, although dogs cannot speak language, they are capable of comprehending certain aspects of human language. Furthermore, Darwin illustrates that monkeys are capable of using a lesser form of language by communicating and responding to various howls and cries. Darwin highlights the primitive instincts of animals in order to illustrate how complex intelligence could evolve from simple precursors.
The Descent of Man is a magnificent bound collection of vignettes that makes it increasingly difficult to deny the human race’s kinship with the rest of the biological kingdom. Contrary to Darwin’s hesitations, many people had already figured out from The Origins that the principles of natural selection must transpire to humans as well. Nevertheless, the book served a lamppost to, as Darwin felicitously remarked, “throw light on man’s origins.”
Greeks and Romans argumentative essay help
The social design of a community speaks to its fundamental beliefs and the truths that it holds. Accordingly, when asking what kind of community we wish to create, we must consider the basic philosophical concepts that inform human existence: how will we interpret justice? How will we structure our social relations to each other? How will we define what is true and what is false?
These are clearly imposing questions, without any definitive answer. The diversity of human approaches to society underscores this point. At the same time, these are questions which every civilization addresses in either a conscious or an unconscious manner, in so far as these civilizations are formed by norms concerning what is right and wrong, what is sacred and what is profane, and what kind of lives we wish to lead.
When thinking about these questions, we can refer to Plato’s great work The Republic. For in The Republic, the fundamental question is how do we create an ideal city, a social system in which all its citizens are fulfilled? It is significant that this inquiry into what makes the ideal society or city-state in the precise wording of The Republic is inseparable from a question of justice. For the interlocutors of The Republic, in other words, to ask the question of how to design the ideal city is essentially to understand what is justice.
Why is this the case? On an intuitive level, Socrates and his interlocutors understand justice to be something universal. To consider something to be just means that it is valid for all. The concept of justice must be explored: for when we are discussing a society in its entirety, we are not merely speaking about individuals within this society. We are not speaking about the desires of individuals separated from each other. This, arguably, following the logic of The Republic, is the very antithesis of what a society or city means: societies and cities are constructed around a concept of community. Therefore it needs a universal law, a just law that is for all the people in the community and not merely for some in the community. If we do not accept this fact, then we are not creating a society, a community or a city, but instead creating rules for particular individuals.
In this sense, following the logic of Plato, there is no question about individual vs. group when we our project is to construct an ideal city. The city is by definition a collection of individuals, not in the sense that they are separated, but rather it is there relations to each other that define them. When we wish to create the ideal city, we must therefore ask what kind of social relations we want to initiate, to uphold, to believe in and to take as fundamental truths.
This is why the question of justice cannot be separated from the question of what is the ideal city. Who would say that a city lacking justice is an ideal city? Perhaps for the corrupt rulers and the individuals who control the city. They, having been granted hegemony and power, would be satisfied with such an arrangement of social relations, to the extent that these social relations feed their desires, and furthermore, to the extent that this hegemonic class is only concerned with preserving its survival. But for those who live under the tyrannical hegemonic class would not consider this to be an ideal city: they would consider it, instead, to be a type of hellish nightmare, one of exploitation and corruption, and not an ideal city. In other words, this is a city, from the perspective of all those in the city, that is lacking justice. The city cannot be considered in terms of individuals since the concept of the individual does not address the city as a whole. This is not a city made for the group, but a city made for individuals: and in this sense it is difficult to even consider this a city, since a city is a community.
Certainly, it can be argued that the individual’s happiness may be made the measure of the community. However, different individuals have different definitions of happiness. Consider, in The Republic, how Socrates structures the city in terms of roles and castes. Some belong to the class of workers, some to the class of the philosopher-kings. The city is made up of individuals in a certain sense, but they are also groups, with shared desires and abilities. If we place the individual over the group, in other words, we risk creating a fragmented society, one where exploitation may easily be practiced. This is adequately explained in Plato’s myth of the cave, where the elite minority controls the populace through shadow and manipulation: they are unaware of the truth. The society is fragmented and the lives of some are not of the same quality as the lives of others.
A concept of exceptionless justice therefore transforms group into a community with equal rights before the law. But again, what is just? Consider, for example, Sophocles’ Antigone. Antigone rejects, for example, her uncle Creon’s declaration that her brother Polyneices cannot be buried in an honorable fashion, since Creon believes him to be a traitor. Antigone decies this decision is unjust and does not bow to the law of what we could call the city and instead commits to a higher form of law, a concept of justice. This is the great difference, in other words, between law and justice: law is merely a set of proclamations, there can be good laws as well as bad laws. But justice here is universal and cannot be corrupted: this is what Antigone’s rebellion means. In other words, some times the city fails to meet its ethical obligations to justice. It is based on self-interest and individual desire. When these situations arise, it is necessary to rebel against such a system, and instead follow an intuitive and deep-seeded concept of what is true, what is just, and what is right, even in the face of authority figures that declare the opposite to be true.
Certainly, this provides a problem for creating the ideal city: how can we know what is just and what is true? Are we not back to where we started in our argument? How does Antigone know that her acts are just in light of what Creon states? Once again, we return to the question of the individual and the group. There is some type of fundamental essence to the human being, something that is universal. Antigone can identify tyranny and self-interest with Creon’s acts. And this arguably is facile to do when we see that one acts as an individual and not as a group. This becomes a distinction, a distinction which is also relevant for the ideal society as opposed to the corrupt society: this universalism, the best interest of the group as a whole must be stressed above all.
Therefore, when we create our ideal society we must ask what is in the best interest of all. This is the same essence which the Socratic question in the Republic asks in terms of “what is justice?” We are attempting to define some type of system where the decisions of the society are clearly in the benefit of all, that is to say, in the benefit of the city in which we all live. Certainly, the realization of this justice is a struggle: however, when we consider this group perspective above selfish self-interest as the foundation of our inquiry and our desires, then we can move forward knowing that we are acting in the name of truth and justice, in the same manner of Socrates and in the same manner of Antigone.