Good vs Evil in King Lear Essay

Life will always bestow us with choices which we must wisely choose either a moral or immoral response to. Shakespeare exemplifies goodness and wickedness in King Lear. The play presents a powerful manifestation of loyalty, specifically through the characters Kent, Edgar, and Cordelia. Kent’s unrestricted loyalty to Lear remains stable throughout the play. He recognizes Lear’s tragic flaw and remains faithful, even after being banished. His reliability is further divulged when he attacks Oswald, Goneril’s loyal servant. Kent’s defensive actions result in him being placed in the stocks. This sacrifice adds to his loyal attitude of pursuing the King’s well-being and safety. Oswald is loyal to Goneril, and acts well as a contrasting character to Kent. They both share the attribute of loyalty; however Oswald’s loyalty is based on immoral decisions, while Kent’s is not. Following Lear’s death, Kent foreshadows that he too will pass on, reuniting himself with Lear. Furthermore, Edgar is betrayed by his evil, manipulative brother, and he is forced to disappear. Edgar’s goodness is displayed when he treats Gluocester with kindness, regardless of his father’s misjudgment. In addition, Edgar gives his father strength by saving his life making him believe a deity has saved him from jumping off a cliff. This renaissance causes Gluocester to think and act more wisely in future endeavors. Edgar and Kent’s morality and loyalty are not affected by their mistreatment provided by their superiors, which ultimately verifies them as accurate symbols of good. Cordelia is an exemplar for true virtue in her acts of forgiveness and loyalty towards her father. Lear, distressed by his beloved daughter’s response of â€Å"nothing† to his love test, banishes Cordelia and denies her any land and power. Lear turning his back on Cordelia foretells destruction, since she is one of the only people in Lear’s life that is loyal and express’s genuine feelings towards him. Furthermore, she foreshadows her death by returning to the kingdom to the aid of her father. She understands the dangers of returning, but despite these dangers she continues to emanate loyalty. Shakespeare delivers the existence of suffering through the presence of good and evil. Through Kent, Edgar, and Cordelia, Shakespeare has made it apparent that evil is unavoidable, yet virtue, loyalty, and forgiveness is rooted to everyone. It takes certain individuals to have the courage and power to be able to express these moral characteristics.

Mice and men dreams

Dreams are Dreams â€Å"Part of the American Dream Is to own your own property – something no one can take from you†(Henry Bonilla). Also a lot of luck is also needed. In Mice and Men no one achieved the American yet. It is a hard thing to attain in the 1930s. In this book, the American Dream was to won property pr be happy in what you do. Everybody has a dream to be happy and own their own land In the book. The workers wanted their own farm and pursue on living their own way. They all wanted a dream to work for.When guys in the book hear about owning land, they wanted to be a part of it and try o pitch in with money. American dream is to own property, and George, Lennie, and Crook all wanted that but the American Dream In 1930s was much different today but had a few slmllarartles too. George is the main character in Mice and Men. The American Dream was hard for George. He had a huge distraction while he finds his dreams. He had to take care of Lennie and also worry abo ut himself. When they were In the woods going to find a lob, George says to Lennie, â€Å"l got you!You can't keep a Job and you lose me ever' Job I get (Steinbeck 11). So Lennie was a distraction to George and lost opportunities because Lennie always gets in trouble. American Dream for George was to keep a Job, save money, and buy land to live in with Lennie. But without Lennie he achieved it faster or even easier because Lennie Is always In the way. American Dream is all about hard work, saving your earnings, and using it to buy land for yourself. George feels like a typical American in todays society because he is a normal guy just working and trying to find his own home.Like a typical person he had hard times and istractions. He had to kill Lennie to make his dreams come true and distractions from other works trying to be part of his Dream. It also feels Ilke back than, they were less opportunities for people like George. It was much easier in today's society but not for everyo ne. American Dream can be impossible to achieve for some people. Perfect example Is Lennie, Lennie was a slow guy. He had kid Inside of his huge body. George always had to take care of him and he needed George so he can talk for him.Lennie's disability slowed him and George's American Dream. Lennie knew what his American Dream was; he wanted a farm with lots of bunnies so he can pet them. But Lennie's journey was the toughest. First It starts with getting kicked out of town because he â€Å"assaults† a girl, â€Å"Jus wanted to feel that girl's dress-jus wanted to pet it like it was a mouse (11). He always gets in trouble even if it's not really his fault. He just didn't have a clue of what not to do, and that played a huge part in American Dream. He eventually gets shot by George because he kills Curly's wife accidently.

Native son Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Native son - Research Paper Example In a time where racial discrimination was rampant, and the whites were the rich and the blacks poor in the social classification, a time where interracial dating was looked upon as impossible, a time when violence was rampant, a time when there were many uneducated black people, the story hence narrates the story of Bigger, a boy who grew up in this situation and shaped to become whom he turned to later (Sharma 89). The American culture shapes Bigger to become a vicious thief and murderer, fighting the authority, opposing white rule, and hating the whites for whom he becomes. In this essay, we shall be analyzing the theme of racial discrimination, social stratification and violence in relation to the character of Bigger and how they influenced his life events. Bigger’ character is as a result of racial discrimination that has been in existent in the American culture. Bigger believes that he is where he is because of the oppressive force placed on his by the white people. He fears and yet hates the white people as they control, how blacks move, live, interact and work in the society. Full of hatred, Bigger does not want in the first place to work for Mr. Dalton because he is white. He prefers to work with his fellow black people to steal from other black citizens. Bigger is intimidated by seeing white people, though he had never stolen from them because of the fear he had. According to Bloom (23) he describes Richard to have used Bigger to bring out the issue of racism just like it exists in American culture. Racism is rampant to a point where the children born from the white and black race, know it exists, and do everything possible to avoid being caught in between. Bigger has never had a white girlfriend all his life, and is shock ed when he sees other black activists, Jan, dating Mary, Mr. Dalton’s daughter. Racial relationship is something which is not accepted by the society in America based on the hatred between

UNIQLO Company, Global Marketing Analysis Essay

UNIQLO Company, Global Marketing Analysis - Essay Example 2. The Uppsala Model 8 Section Three 11 Macro environmental analysis 11 Market specific analysis 14 Section Four 16 Market Entry Modes 16 List of references 19 Section One Introduction Uniqlo Company limited is a Japanese clothing company. The name Uniqlo was as a result of the combination of ‘Unique’ and ‘clothing’ (Frankel, 2011). This company specializes in the manufacturing and retailing of casual wear (Uniqlo, 2012). It was first established in 1984 by Tadashi Yanai and opened its first shop in Hiroshima in that same year. The company was originally a division of the Fast retailing Company limited, a retail holding company. Fast retailing company owns many other brands that include Aspesi, foot park, National Standard and Princess Tam-Tam among others (Fast Retailing, 2010). Uniqlo has continued to be in existence in the fashion industry for a long period of time making impact and changing the perceptions people hold of the fashion industry. In 2005 its management restructured it and separated it from Fast Trading Company to form a new wholly owned subsidiary called Uniqlo Company Limited. It was during the same period of time that it became listed on the Tokyo Stock exchange (Fast Retailing, 2010). Uniqlo is currently headed by Yadashi Yanai who was its founder and president but has other managers in the various outlets of the company. History Uniqlo first began its operations in Hiroshima where it opened its first shop in 1984. ... The parent company continued its operations under its original name Ogori Shoji until 1991 when it rebranded to Fast retailing company. Unique began a spirited effort to expand its market and by the end of 1994 the company had over 100 stores in Japan only (Fast Retailing, 2010). The company was fast growing and therefore had to think of strategies that would enable it to continue serving its markets. This necessitated it to come up with the SPA strategies adopted from The Gap- an American retailing giant, which aimed at producing and selling their clothing exclusively (Fast Retailing , 2011). The company then set out for overseas expansion after sales turnover and gross profit from their operations in Japan peaked in 2001, boasting of over 500 stores in Japan only. In 2002, the company established Fast Retailing Apparel Company in china and began operating the first Uniqlo outlet in Shanghai China. Uniqlo then made a huge move in 2002 from the Asian market to venture into the Europe an market and established four outlets in London (Fast Retailing, 2010). The England market proved difficult to work in with as sales were below the company’s expectations. This caused a sharp drop in profits in 2003 and the company began working jointly with other Japanese companies and celebrities in order to boost its dwindling sales. Since 2005, the company has engaged itself in an aggressive expansion plan and has opened stores all over the world including, The United States with stores in New York City, In China with stores in Hong Kong and formed a joint venture with Lotte in order to enter the South Korean Market. It has continued its operations in Europe opening more stores since the profits and sales began to

Business Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 4

Business Ethics - Essay Example This applies to all the aspects of an organization and deals with both the conduct of individuals and organizations. The field of ethics is made up of various theoretical principles that represent ideas upon which moral principles are based. These theories are systematic and coherent in terms of guiding people on what they ought to do and how they ought to live their lives. The ethical theories can also be used to judge the moral values of one’s actions and behavior as well as predicting how one ought to act in certain situations in order to act morally right (Singer, 2011). Some of the ethical theories include the utilitarian theory, Kantian theories, Virtue ethics theory, the ethics of care theories and human rights theories among others. In a business environment, these ethical theories are used to guide major decision makers in a business to make appropriate decisions that uphold the morality of the individuals within the organizations and the moral values of the organizat ion as a whole. ... Organizations encounter a lot of ethical challenges that require the leadership of the organization to make relevant moral decisions in order to help the organization to move forward. Organizations are expected to uphold high ethical standards and ethical business properties centered on honesty, full disclosure, confidentiality and respect for other individuals and businesses. Business ethics ensures that organizations engage in ethical business practices with their employees, partners, suppliers and customers among other stakeholders. This essay will therefore seek to apply ethical principles to a business environment and to make appropriate judgments and recommendations. The four theories that will be used to assess the business ethical environment include the utilitarian theory, the ethics of care, Kantian ethics and the social contract theory. These theories have been relied upon in the field of ethics for a very long time in judging, explain and predicting and recommending ethic al behavior. This essay will rely on the four theories to reflect on the ethical dilemma that faced a British bank, The Northern Rock bank, based in Newcastle, England, in 2008. The bank was rocked with a funding crisis that exposed the ethical problems of the bank and its managers in decision making processes affecting various stakeholders in the bank including employees and the shareholders (Shin, 2009). The ethical crisis of the bank led to the bank being nationalized, more people losing their jobs and most of the creditors of the bank incurring losses. This essay will examine the situation, assessing the various management decisions that were made in order to determine their ethical and moral values. The essay will attempt to answer the question as to whether the management decisions

Choose a global business and critically analyse the organisational Assignment

Choose a global business and critically analyse the organisational structure adopted by the company since 2008. Investigate the - Assignment Example Be it television or radio or video recorder or walkman. Sony Corporation is headquartered in Tokyo. It is a global player and has extended in many countries serving millions of customers across the globe. It is the leading manufacturer and the marketer of audio, communications, video and information technology for the customers and for the professional market all over the world. They have also diversified in the financial sector by giving financial services like insurance and banking to their customers. It always gave emphasis on the strategy that they are implementing for the success of their business. The success of Sony was possible through an exceptional vision â€Å"To experience the joy of advancing and applying technology for the benefit of the public" (Hill, 2011). Sony saw its success globally due to the influence that it had on the Japanese habits and culture and penetrated the global market by operating in â€Å"the Japanese way†. 2. Sony Corporation In 1946, the J apanese electrical engineers Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita created their company Sony Corporation with only 20 employees in Tokyo. Now in 2013 the number of employees has gone up to 1,68,300. The figure makes it clear that even a small company can have its first product placed successfully in the Japanese market. The sale of electronic goods then heated up the market and thus Sony started to expand its business globally after their success in Japanese market (Hill C., 2010). The two founders in 1953 went for a three months long business tour to Europe and America where they signed agreement with the US companies and European companies and thus they penetrated into the American and European market. Later it has expanded its business to Africa and India. Sony has served both the market with their expanding business units and their products (Sony Corporation, 2013c). 3. Sony going Global Sony expanded globally with the following aim and strategies: a) Visionary Leadership: They expanded internationally with the aim to lead one vision and make a group which is flexible and efficient enough to capture the global market by learning their local customers. b) Organizational process: They wanted to spread the awareness of their products through the Global Information Systems and Communication. They even set the Research and Development Team for their long term survival so that they can develop their products as the market requires. c) Organizational Culture: Sony formed a multicultural organisation and thus it made it easy for the employees to work in such a friendly environment with no pressure for the following a particular culture. They standardized their products uniquely. d) Customized products: They even customized the products according to the customer need and this unique strategy gave them a bigger platform in the bigger market. Example: Sony laptop keyboards contain the currency signs which are different for the different countries. 3.1. Strategies undertaken by Sony Strategies that are taken in the global context are the plan of the company to position their products positively in the markets so that they stay ahead of their competitors. Sony Corporation thus made different strategies for the different markets so that they can position their products to the customers. Their corporate strategy is to lead as the global provider of electronics and entertainment. In 2008 the company came up with new strategies whose main aim was to refresh their

Summarise 2 Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summarise 2 Theories - Essay Example Social Control Theory circulates around certain principles (Siegel, 2008). These principles are peoples relationships, values, commitments, norms, and values. These principles encourage people not to break the laws of the land. Major contributors and their contributions to the Social Control theory follow assertions by a couple of ideologists. Albert J. Reiss defined personal control as the ability of a person to cease from meeting needs in ways which clash with the rules and norms of the society. Social control, he stated, refers to the skill of social groups to create rules or norms that bring full success. The second main contributor was Jackson Toby. He quarreled that the casual adolescent is an entrant for group socialization. He recognized group socialization as a piece of social control that connects, motivates, and that leads to wrongdoing. He put out the idea of stakes in conformity to make clear the candidacy for studying such experiences (Siegel, 2008). This theory does not reflect on motivational issues. It argues that individuals may decide to engage in a variety of activities, unless the varieties are restricted to the processes of social learning and socialization. This is taken from the Hobbesian analysis of human nature that is stated in the Leviathan; that all options are controlled by implicit agreements, social contracts and understanding among citizens. Thus, ethics will be set in the building of social orders, consequences and assigning costs to assured choices and terming some of the choices as immoral, evil or unlawful (Siegel, 2008). Labeling theory closely relates to symbolic interaction and social construction analysis theory. Labeling theory maintains that disobedience is not inherent in wrong doers, but instead looks at the possibilities of majorities to negatively tag minorities or those seen as weak from normal cultural norms. The theory circulates around certain principles.

Dunkin Donuts in England Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dunkin Donuts in England - Research Paper Example Finally, this proposal includes a thoroughly researched site selection process and final implementation strategy. The hallmark of Dunkin’s business model is customer loyalty. John Costello, Dunkin’ Donuts’ Chief Global Marketing and Innovation Officer, identified the opportunities for our team; guests of Dunkin Donuts have developed a connection with the brand that is truly unique. (Restaurant Magazine, 2012) The customer relationships we foster help sustain our profitability and success within the domestic and international markets. An increase in customer loyalty of only 5% can lift lifetime profits per customer by as much as 95%. For the sixth year in a row, Dunkin’ Donuts has been ranked #1 for coffee brand loyalty by Key Brands Consulting, (Brand Keys, 2012). This recognition is a testament to the quality of the products and services offered in each establishment across the nation. While Dunkin’ enjoys domestic brand loyalty from Americanâ€⠄¢s within the U.S., the competition is gaining strong competitive advantage in England. For example, Starbucks has opened over 700 stores in the U.K., (Barnett, 2011) which has allowed them to capture brand recognition and customer loyalty in this seemingly untapped market. Dunkin’ Donuts understands how to build, execute, and maintain a better and stronger customer loyalty from offering superior products and value. For this reason, the strategic team believes that expanding Dunkin’ Donuts to the U.K. will prove to be a tremendous success. England is ready to â€Å"Run on Dunkin’.† Strategic Analysis / Operational Plan Before considering global expansion, several factors should be considered including any currency and economic concerns, the current political environment, cultural complexities and potential trade barriers. The strategic analysis will review each of these with respect to expansion into England. The included SWOT analysis (appendix A) will summarize the issues and highlight Dunkin’ Donut’s strengths and weaknesses with respect to the global situation in England. Currency Concerns The United Kingdom is unlikely to give up monetary policy independence and adopt the Euro (Anonymous, 2012). While this decision has not influenced the high level of foreign investment continued in the U.K., it may be a factor when looking at interest rate risk. However, for the type of direct store structure Dunkin’ Donuts maintains, it should not be considered a barrier to global expansion. Inflation continues to be a concern as it has exceeded the 2% target throughout the past three years. Current inflation is reflective of the increases in commodity prices, higher import prices caused by the depreciation of the sterling, and the increase in the standard rate of Value Added Tax (VAT) (Monetary Policy Roundtable, 2011). The valuation of the sterling also influences England’s trade by lowering the price of exports relative to the price of imports. This results in a decline of real purchasing power, which could influence whether residents would have discretionary funds available to support new Dunkin’ Donut’s locations. However, the increase in available jobs that the new locations would bring should have positive

Recruitment At Richer Sounds Essay Example for Free

Recruitment At Richer Sounds Essay John Clayton is the training and recruitment director within the business. His two key areas are the colleague support or the recruitment/training office. He works closely with the manager of colleague support, Tracey Armstrong. Richer Sounds personal views on Recruitment Richer Sounds always tries to recruit people who have friendly personalities and like to enjoy their work. The company looks for these keys on candidates rather than much of their grades because normally these people normally start to work as a sales person or work in the support department. The promotion policy in Richer Sounds enables efficiently working colleagues to be promoted up in the company rather than recruiting new employees who have no understanding within the business. Richer Sounds only recruit employees if they need someone who has the skills to do particular work such as professional in I.T. How Richer Sounds advertise for new colleagues Within every edition of the in-store catalogue and website they advertise their vacancies, these vacancies are usually for needs of new sales person or need new employees to work in the departments. This generates ongoing application from many interested people. If there are no vacancies at that time then they keep all record of people who applied, for about six months. Colleagues are also able to advice his/hers friends o relatives to work in the company, however these applicants should also follow the same rule of application as all other people. These adverts causes the company to save major amount of money each time because if they would publish it on the newspaper everytime then they would have to pay certain amount to the newspaper company therefore this idea of having to publish on their catalogues and website is good idea. If the company doesnt receive any phone call from any people regarding the job then finally the company will have to publish it on the newspapers. For specialist employees to recruit the company notifies the vacancy to the employment agency. The recruitment process at richer sounds The recruitment process is shown on the following steps: Identify any vacancies within the business Advertise the vacancies The company the looks through all the CVs relevant to that store or department They schedule for interviews with appropriate store or department manager. In Richer Sound all managers have completed their Managers Development Course and while doing they also received training on interview, how to interview a candidate. The applicant which is been successful is been given a trial day to work at richer sounds If all the interview and trial day is completed and the candidates are successful then the candidates can either send an application form which states that he/she is agreeing to work with richer sounds. Next all these new candidates have to meet either Jez Avens, John Clayton or Lee Nelson for their final approval When the company receives the application form, the business then sends these forms for references and as the candidate gets one or more good reference he/she is offered the job. They then write a letter to the candidate, which also includes the statement of terms of employment. Final step for the company is to send off letters to all candidates given an interview regarding that they have given this job to someone. This is given so the candidates would know if he/she would get the job. The company policy and rules Richer sounds have several policies on recruitment so they do not operate within the law but also operate truthfully. These include The companys equal opportunities statement. The test shouldnt require high level of English Richer Sounds never ask a woman about their family

Branches of Social Sciece Essay Example for Free

Branches of Social Sciece Essay It is a branch of science that studies the customs of human society and the way in which that society functions. Of particular interest is the study of the relationships between the people hat make up that society as well as the behavior of these individuals within that society. Social Science involves any discipline or branch of science that explores the social and cultural aspects of human behavior. The disciplines of social sciences draw from a variety of fields of study and although these different areas of social sciences vary far and wide, they all aim to understand and explain human society and behavior. This study of how groups of people behave is usually done with the aim of being able to predict how they will behave in the future. The Social Science disciplines are branches of knowledge which are taught and researched at the college or university level. Social Science disciplines are defined and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, and the learned Social Science societies and academic departments or faculties to which their practitioners belong. Social Science fields of study usually have several sub-disciplines or branches, and the distinguishing lines between these are often both arbitrary and ambiguous. This branch of social science covers the study of the origin of human beings. Of particular interest is the study of the nature of the social relationships between people and how they have developed. Anthropology aims to give a whole and complete explanation of human nature. Anthropology is the holistic science of man, — a science of the totality of human existence. The discipline deals with the integration of different aspects of the Social Sciences, Humanities, and Human Biology. In the twentieth century, academic disciplines have often been institutionally divided into three broad domains. The natural sciences seek to derive general laws through reproducible and verifiable experiments. The humanities generally study local traditions, through their history, literature, music, and arts, with an emphasis on understanding particular individuals, events, or eras. The social sciences have generally attempted to develop scientific methods to understand social phenomena in a generalizable way, though usually with methods distinct from those of the natural sciences. The goal of anthropology is to provide a holistic account of humans and human nature. This means that, though anthropologists generally specialize in only one sub-field, they always keep in mind the biological, linguistic, historic and cultural aspects of any problem. Since anthropology arose as a science in Western societies that were complex and industrial, a major trend within anthropology has been a methodological drive to study peoples in societies with more simple social organization, sometimes called primitive in anthropological literature, but without any connotation of inferior. Today, anthropologists use terms such as less complex societies or refer to specific modes of subsistence or production, such as pastoralist or forager or horticulturalist to refer to humans living in non-industrial, non-Western cultures, such people or folk (ethnos) remaining of great interest within anthropology. The quest for holism leads most anthropologists to study a people in detail, using biogenetic, archaeological, and linguistic data alongside direct observation of contemporary customs. In the 1990s and 2000s, calls for clarification of what constitutes a culture, of how an observer knows where his or her own culture ends and another begins, and other crucial topics in writing anthropology were heard. It is possible to view all human cultures as part of one large, evolving global culture. These dynamic relationships, between what can be observed on the ground, as opposed to what can be observed by compiling many local observations remain fundamental in any kind of anthropology, whether cultural, biological, linguistic or archaeological. In this branch of social science, the study of the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services are covered. The main focus of economics lies in understanding and explaining how economies work and how factors contributing to economies interact with each other. Economics is a social science that seeks to analyze and describe the production, distribution, and consumption of wealth. The word economics is from the Greek ÃŽ ¿Ã¡ ¼ ¶ÃŽ ºÃŽ ¿Ãâ€š [oikos], family, household, estate, and ÃŽ ½ÃÅ'ÃŽ ¼ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€š [nomos], custom, law, and hence means household management or management of the state. An economist is a person using economic concepts and data in the course of employment, or someone who has earned a university degree in the subject. The classic brief definition of economics, set out by Lionel Robbins in 1932, is the science which studies human behavior as a relation between scarce means having alternative uses. Without scarcity and alternative uses, there is no economic problem. Briefer yet is the study of how people seek to satisfy needs and wants and the study of the financial aspects of human behavior. Economics has two broad branches: microeconomics, where the unit of analysis is the individual agent, such as a household or firm, and macroeconomics, where the unit of analysis is an economy as a whole. Another division of the subject distinguishes positive economics, which seeks to predict and explain economic phenomena, from normative economics, which orders choices and actions by some criterion; such orderings necessarily involve subjective value judgments. Since the early part of the 20th century, economics has focused largely on measurable quantities, employing both theoretical models and empirical analysis. Quantitative models, however, can be traced as far back as the physiocratic school. Economic reasoning has been increasingly applied in recent decades to other social situations such as politics, law, psychology, history, religion, marriage and family life, and other social interactions. This paradigm crucially assumes (1) that resources are scarce because they are not sufficient to satisfy all wants, and (2) that economic value is willingness to pay as revealed for instance by market (arms length) transactions. Rival heterodox schools of thought, such as institutional economics, green economics, Marxist economics, and economic sociology, make other grounding assumptions. For example, Marxist economics assumes that economics primarily deals with the exchange of value, and that labor (human effort) is the source of all value. The expanding domain of economics in the social sciences has been described as economic imperialism. This branch of social science studies the institution of teaching in human society. Covered in this field of study are the processes by which knowledge is passed on and how specific skills are taught and learned. This process of education is examined throughout an individuals lifetime, that is from childbirth and on to old age. Education encompasses teaching and learning specific skills, and also something less tangible but more profound: the imparting of knowledge, positive judgement and well-developed wisdom. Education has as one of its fundamental aspects the imparting of culture from generation to generation (see socialization). To educate means to draw out, from the Latin educare, or to facilitate the realization of an individuals potential and talents. It is an application of pedagogy, a body of theoretical and applied research relating to teaching and learning and draws on many disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, computer science, linguistics, neuroscience, sociology and anthropology. The education of an individual human begins at birth and continues throughout life. (Some believe that education begins even before birth, as evidenced by some parents playing music or reading to the baby in the womb in the hope it will influence the childs development.) For some, the struggles and triumphs of daily life provide far more instruction than does formal schooling (thus Mark Twains admonition to never let school interfere with your education). Family members may have a profound educational effect — often more profound than they realize — though family teaching may function very informally. This branch of social science can be subdivided into two main sub-disciplines namely; human geography and physical geography. Human geography is mainly concerned with the built environment and the influence humans have on the spaces they occupy. Physical geography on the other hand looks into the natural environment. Of particular interest in this field is the study of how climate, vegetation life, soil, water and landforms are produced and how they interact. Geography as a discipline can be split broadly into two main sub fields: human geography and physical geography. The former focuses largely on the built environment and how space is created, viewed and managed by humans as well as the influence humans have on the space they occupy. The latter examines the natural environment and how the climate, vegetation life, soil, water and landforms are produced and interact. As a result of the two subfields using different approaches a third field has emerged, which is environmental geography. Environmental geography combines physical and human geography and looks at the interactions between the environment and humans. Geographers attempt to understand the earth in terms of physical and spatial relationships. The first geographers focused on the science of mapmaking and finding ways to precisely project the surface of the earth. In this sense, geography bridges some gaps between the natural sciences and social sciences. Historical geography is often taught in a college in a unified Department of Geography. Modern geography is an all-encompassing discipline, closely related to GISc, that seeks to understand humanity and its natural environment. The fields of Urban Planning, Regional Science, and Planetology are closely related to geography. Practitioners of geography use many technologies and methods to collect data such as GIS, remote sensing, aerial photography, statistics, and global positioning systems (GPS). The field of geography is generally split into two distinct branches: physical and human. Physical geography examines phenomena related to climate, oceans, soils, and the measurement of earth. Human geography focuses on fields as diverse as Cultural geography, transportation, health, military operations, and cities. Other branches of geography include Social geography, regional geography, geomatics, and environmental geography. This branch of social science covers the study of the human past. It is a field of study that uses past accounts to examine and analyze sequences of events. It also sometimes attempts to investigate in an objective manner, the patterns of cause and effect that have led to particular events taking place. History is the continuous, systematic narrative and research into past human events as interpreted through historiographical paradigms or theories, such as the Turner Thesis about the American frontier. History has a base in both the social sciences and the humanities. In the United States the National Endowment for the Humanities includes history in its definition of a Humanities (as it does for applied Linguistics). However, the National Research Council classifies History as a Social science. The historical method comprises the techniques and guidelines by which historians use primary sources and other evidence to research and then to write history. The Social Science History Association, formed in 1976, brings together scholars from numerous disciplines interested in social history. This branch of social science studies the institution of the rule of law in human society and it sometimes crosses over into the humanities depending on the aspect from which it is studied. Of particular interest are its origin and the way in which a supreme power in a state commands what is â€Å"right† and prohibits what is considered â€Å"wrong.† Law in common parlance, means a rule which (unlike a rule of ethics) is capable of enforcement through institutions. However, many laws are based on norms accepted by a community and thus have an ethical foundation. The study of law crosses the boundaries between the social sciences and humanities, depending on ones view of research into its objectives and effects. Law is not always enforceable, especially in the international relations context. It has been defined as a system of rules,as an interpretive concept achieve justice, as an authorityto mediate peoples interests, and even as the command of a sovereign, backed by the threat of a sanction. However one likes to think of law, it is a completely central social institution. Legal policy incorporates the practical manifestation of thinking from almost every social sciences and humanity. Laws are politics, because politicians create them. Law is philosophy, because moral and ethical persuasions shape their ideas. Law tells many of historys stories, because statutes, case law and codifications build up over time. And law is economics, because any rule about contract, tort, property law, labour law, company law and many more can have long lasting effects on the distribution of wealth. The noun law derives from the late Old English lagu, meaning something laid down or fixed and the adjective legal comes from the Latin word lex. In this field of study, the theory and practice of politics is examined. Also covered is the description and analysis of political systems including political behavior. Political science is the branch of social science that deals with the study of politics and analysis of its system as well as political behavior. Political science is an academic and research discipline that deals with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. Fields and subfields of political science include political economy, political theory and philosophy, civics and comparative politics, theory of direct democracy, apolitical governance, participatory direct democracy, national systems, cross-national political analysis, political development, international relations, foreign policy, international law, politics, public administration, administrative behavior, public law, judicial behavior, and public policy. Political science also studies power in international relations and the theory of Great powers and Superpowers. Political science is methodologically diverse, although recent years have witnessed an upsurge in the use of the scientific method . That is the proliferation of formal-deductive model building and quantitative hypothesis testing. Approaches to the discipline include rational choice, classical political philosophy, interpretivism, structuralism, and behavioralism, realism, pluralism, and institutionalism. This branch of social science involves the study of behavior and mental processes. Of particular interest is the application of this knowledge to the treatment of mental illness. Psychology is an academic and applied field involving the study of behavior and mental processes. Psychology also refers to the application of such knowledge to various spheres of human activity, including problems of individuals daily lives and the treatment of mental illness. The word psychology comes from the ancient Greek ψυχÎ ®, psyche (soul, mind) and logy, study). Psychology differs from anthropology, economics, political science, and sociology in seeking to capture explanatory generalizations about the mental function and overt behavior of individuals, while the other disciplines focus on creating descriptive generalizations about the functioning of social groups or situation-specific human behavior. In practice, however, there is quite a lot of cross-fertilization that takes place among the various fields. Psychology differs from biology and neuroscience in that it is primarily concerned with the interaction of mental processes and behavior, and of the overall processes of a system, and not simply the biological or neural processes themselves, though the subfield of neuropsychology combines the study of the actual neural processes with the study of the mental effects they have subjectively produced. Many people associate Psychology with Clinical Psychology which focuses on assessment and treatment of problems in living and psychopathology. In reality, Psychology has myriad specialties including: Social Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Mathematical psychology, Neuropsychology, and Quantitative Analysis of Behavior to name only a few. Psychology is a very broad science that is rarely tackled as a whole, major block. Although some subfields encompass a natural science base and a social science application, others can be clea rly distinguished as having little to do with the social sciences or having a lot to do with the social sciences. For example, biological psychology is considered a natural science with a social scientific application (as is clinical medicine), social and occupational psychology are, generally speaking, purely social sciences, whereas neuropsychology is a natural science that lacks application out of the scientific tradition entirely. In British universities, emphasis on what tenet of psychology a student has studied and/or concentrated is communicated through the degree conferred: B.Psy. indicates a balance between natural and social sciences, B.Sc. indicates a strong (or entire) scientific concentration, whereas a B.A. underlines a majority of social science credits. This is not always necessarily the case however, and in many UK institutions students studying the B.Psy, B.Sc, and B.A. follow the same curriculum as outlined by The British Psychological Society and have the same options of specialism open to them regardless of whether they choose a balance, a heavy science basis, or heavy social science basis to their degree. If they applied to read the B.A. for example, but specialised in heavily science based modules, then they will still generally be awarded the B.A. Covered in this branch of social science is the study of human society and social action. Sociology is the systematic study of society and human social action. The meaning of the word comes from the suffix -ology which means study of, derived from Greek, and the stem soci- which is from the Latin word socius, meaning companion, or society in general. Sociology was originally established by Auguste Comte (1798–1857) in 1838. Comte endeavoured to unify history, psychology and economics through the descriptive understanding of the social realm. He proposed that social ills could be remedied through sociological positivism, an epistemological approach outlined in The Course in Positive Philosophy [1830–1842] and A General View of Positivism (1844). Though Comte is generally regarded as the Father of Sociology, the discipline was formally established by another French thinker, Émile Durkheim (1858–1917), who developed positivism as a foundation to practical social research. Durkheim set up the first European department of sociology at the University of Bordeaux in 1895, publishing his Rules of the Sociological Method. In 1896, he established the journal LAnnà ©e Sociologique. Durkheims seminal monograph, Suicide (1897), a case study of suicide rates amongst Catholic and Protestant populations, distinguished sociological analysis from psychology or philosophy. Karl Marx rejected Comtean positivism but nevertheless aimed to establish a science of society based on historical materialism, becoming recognised as a founding figure of sociology posthumously as the term gained broader meaning. Around the start of the 20th century, the first wave of German sociologists, including Max Weber and Georg Simmel, developed sociological antipositivism. The field may be broadly recognised as an amalgam of three modes of social thought in particular: Durkheimian positivism and structural functionalism; Marxist historical materialism and conflict theory; Weberian antipositivism and verstehen analysis. American sociology broadly arose on a separate trajectory, with little Marxist influence, an emphasis on rigorous experimental methodology, and a closer association with pragm atism and social psychology. In the 1920s, the Chicago school developed symbolic interactionism. Meanwhile in the 1930s, the Frankfurt School pioneered the idea of critical theory, an interdisciplinary form of Marxist sociology drawing upon thinkers as diverse as Sigmund Freud and Friedrich Nietzsche. Critical theory would take on something of a life of its own after World War II, influencing literary criticism and the Birmingham School establishment of cultural studies. Sociology evolved as an academic response to the challenges of modernity, such as industrialization, urbanization, secularization, and a perceived process of enveloping rationalization. Because sociology is such a broad discipline, it can be difficult to define, even for professional sociologists. The field generally concerns the social rules and processes that bind and separate people not only as individuals, but as members of associations, groups, communities and institutions, and includes the examination of the organization and development of human social life. The sociological field of interest ranges from the analysis of short contacts between anonymous individuals on the street to the study of global social processes. In the terms of sociologists Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann, social scientists seek an understanding of the Social Construction of Reality. Most sociologists work in one or more subfields. One useful way to describe the discipline is as a cluster of sub-fields that examine different dimensions of society. For example, social stratification studies inequality and class structure; demography studies changes in a population size or type; criminology examines criminal behavior and deviance; and political sociology studies the interaction between society and state. Deals with processes of human communication, commonly defined as the sharing of symbols to create meaning. The discipline encompasses a range of topics, from face-to-face conversation to mass media outlets such as television broadcasting. Communication studies also examines how messages are interpreted through the political, cultural, economic, and social dimensions of their contexts. Communication is institutionalized under many different names at different universities, including communication, communication studies, speech communication, rhetorical studies, communications science, media studies, communication arts, mass communication, media ecology, and communication and media science. Communication studies integrates aspects of both social sciences and the humanities. As a social science, the discipline often overlaps with sociology, psychology, anthropology, biology, political science, economics, and public policy, among others. From a humanities perspective, communication is concerned with rhetoric and persuasion (traditional graduate programs in communication studies trace their history to the rhetoricians of Ancient Greece). The field applies to outside disciplines as well, including engineering, architecture, mathematics, and information science. Additional Social Science disciplines and fields of study include: †¢Archaeology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, features, biofacts, and landscapes. †¢Area studies are interdisciplinary fields of research and scholarship pertaining to particular geographical, national/federal, or cultural regions. †¢Behavioral science is a term that encompasses all the disciplines that explore the activities of and interactions among organisms in the natural world. †¢Demography is the statistical study of all populations. †¢Development studies a multidisciplinary branch of social science which addresses issues of concern to developing countries. †¢Environmental social science is the broad, transdisciplinary study of interrelations between humans and the natural environment. †¢Environmental studies integrate social, humanistic, and natural science perspectives on the relation between humans and the natural environment. †¢Information science is an interdisciplinary science primarily concerned with the collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information. †¢International studies covers both International relations (the study of foreign affairs and global issues among states within the international system) and International education (the comprehensive approach that intentionally prepares people to be active and engaged participants in an interconnected world). †¢Journalism is the craft of conveying news, descriptive material and comment via a widening spectrum of media. †¢Legal management is a social sciences discipline that is designed for students interested in the study of State and Legal elements. †¢Library science is an interdisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and other areas to libraries; the collection, organization, preservation and dissemination of information resources; and the political economy of information. †¢Management in all business and human organization activity is simply the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives. †¢Marketing the identification of human needs and wants, defines and measures their magnitude for demand and understanding the process of consumer buying behavior to formulate products and services, pricing, promotion and distribution to satisfy these needs and wants through exchange processes and building long term relationships. †¢Political economy is the study of production, buying and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government.

The Biological Effects Of Ionizing Radiation Biology Essay

The Biological Effects Of Ionizing Radiation Biology Essay The biological effects of ionizing radiation are determined by both the radiation dose and the radiation quality ionization density. To understand the radiation protection concerns associated with different types of ionizing radiation, knowledge of both the extent of exposure and consequent macroscopic dose absorbed gray value, as well as the microscopic dose distribution of the radiation modality is required. The definitions of these variables are discussed below but in general to advance the knowledge of the biological effects of different radiation types one needs to know the dose absorbed, the radiation quality and effectiveness of a particular radiation type to induce biological damage. In this study the biological effect of high energy neutrons is compared to that of a reference radiation type 60Co ÃŽÂ ³-rays for a cohort of donors, mostly radiation workers. Comparisons are made at different dose levels in blood cells from each donor to ascertain the relative biological effectiveness of the test radiation modality against that of a recognized reference radiation (Hall, 2005). Such studies are essential to determine the radiation quality for high energy neutron sources applicable to practises in radiation protection. In some nuclear medicine applications radionuclides are used to treat malignant disease. For this the use of short lived alpha particle emitters or other radiation modalities that deliver high ionization densities in cells, are particularly attractive. This as the cellular response in relation to inherent radiosensitivity of the effected cells is thought to be more consistent compared to the use of radionuclides that emit radiation with a lower ionization density e.g. ÃŽÂ ²-particles. The relative biological effectiveness of the high energy neutrons used in this study is followed as a function of the inherent radiosensitivity of different individuals. This allows the identification of cell populations that are relatively sensitive or relatively resistant to radiation. As such research material is available to investigate cellular response too Auger electrons. The latter is known to induce biological damage akin to that of alpha particles. A short description of the physical and biological variables applicable to this study is summarised below. Ionizing Radiation The term ionizing radiation refers to both charged particles (e.g., electrons or protons) and uncharged particles (e.g., photons or neutrons) that can impart enough energy to atoms and molecules to cause ionizations in that medium, or to initiate nuclear or elementary-particle transformations that in turn result in ionization or the production of ionizing radiation. Ionization produced by particles is the process by which one or more electrons are liberated in collisions of the particles with atoms or molecules (The International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements [ICRU] Report 85, 2011). Interaction of Ionizing Radiation with Matter Ionizing radiation is not restricted to ionization events alone. Several physical and chemical effects in matter such as: heat generation, atomic displacements, excitation of atoms and molecules, destruction of chemical bonds and nuclear reactions may occur. The effects of ionizing radiation on matter depend on the type and energy of radiation, the target, and the irradiation conditions. Radiation can be categorized in terms of how it induces ionizations: Directly ionizing radiation, consist of charged particles such as electrons, protons and alpha particles. Indirectly ionizing radiation consists of neutral particles and/or electromagnetic radiation such as neutrons and photons (ÃŽÂ ³-rays and X-rays). Ionising radiation interacts with matter by: Interaction with the electron cloud of the atom, or by Interaction with the nucleus of the atom. Types of ionizing radiation linked to this study ÃŽÂ ³-rays Ionizing photons (ÃŽÂ ³- and X-rays) are indirectly ionising radiation. These wave like particles have zero rest mass and carry no electrical charge. Low energy (E>2m0c2) may be absorbed by atomic nuclei and initiate nuclear reactions (Cember, 1969). The charged electrons emitted from the atoms, produce the excitation and ionisation events in the absorbing medium. Neutrons Neutrons, similar to ionizing photons are indirectly ionizing radiations; however, these particles do have a rest mass. There is negligible interaction between neutrons and the electron cloud of atoms since neutrons do not have a net electrical charge (Henry, 1969). The principle interactions occur through direct collisions with atomic nuclei during elastic scattering events. In this process, ionisation is produced by charged particles such as recoil nuclei and nuclear reaction products. The production of secondary ionising photons will result in the release of energetic electrons. In turn these charged particles can deposit energy at a considerable distance from the interaction sites (Pizzarello, 1982). Auger electrons Auger electron emission is an atomic-, not a nuclear process. In this process an electron is ejected from an orbital shell of the atom. A preceding event, e.g. electron capture (EC) or internal conversion (IC) leaves the atom with a vacant state in its electron configuration. An electron from a higher energy shell will drop into the vacant state and the energy difference will be emitted as a characteristic x-ray (Cember, 1969). The energy of the x-ray (Ex-ray) being the difference in energy (E) between the two electron shells L and K. Ex-ray = EL -EK Alternatively, the energy may be transferred to an electron of an outer shell, causing it to be ejected from the atom (Fig. 1). The emitted electron is known as an Auger electron and similarly to the x-ray has an energy: EAuger = EΆ -EB where: EΆ = the energy of inner-shell vacancy energy of outer-shell vacancy EB = binding energy of emitted (Auger) electron Auger emission is favoured for, low-Z materials where electron binding energies are small. Auger electrons have low kinetic energies; hence travel only a very short range in the absorbing medium (Cember, 1969). File:Auger Process.svg Fig. 1: Schematic representation of the Auger electron emission process, where an orbital electron is ejected following an ionization event. Dosimetric Quantities Several dosimetric quantities have been defined to quantify energy deposition in a medium when ionizing radiation passes through it. Radiation fields are well described by physical quantities such as particle fluence or air kerma free in air are used. However these quantities do not relate to the effects of exposure on biological systems (International Commission on Radiological Protection [ICRP] Publication 103, 2007). The absorbed dose, D, is the basic physical quantity used in radiobiology, radiology and radiation protection that quantifies energy deposition by any type of radiation in any absorbing material. The International System of Units (SI) of absorbed dose is joule per kilogram (J.kg-1) and is termed the gray (Gy). Absorbed dose, D, is defined as the quotient of mean energy, dÃŽÂ µ, imparted by ionising radiation in a volume element and the mass, dm, of the matter in that volume (Cember, 1969). The absorbed dose quantifies the energy imparted per unit mass absorbing medium, but does not relate this value to radiation damage induced in cells or tissue. The radiation weighted dose (HT) is used as a measure of the biological effect for a specific radiation quality on cells or tissue. It is calculated from equation where DT,R is the mean absorbed dose in a tissue T due to radiation of type R and wR is the corresponding dimensionless radiation weighting factor. The unit of radiation weighted dose is J.kg-1 and is termed the sievert (Sv). Radiation weighting factors are recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (International Commission on Radiological Protection [ICRP] Publication 103, 2007) and are derived from studies on the effect of the micro-deposition of radiation energy in tissue and on its carcinogenic potential. Linear Energy Transfer (LET) Ionizing radiation deposits energy in the form of ionizations along the track of the ionizing particle. The spatial distribution of these ionization events is related to the radiation type. The term linear energy transfer (LET) relates to the rate at which secondary charged particles deposit energy in the absorbing medium per unit distance (keV/ µm). LET is a realistic measure of radiation quality (Duncan, 1977). The LET (L) of charged particles in a medium is defined as the quotient of dE/dl where dE is the average energy locally imparted to the medium by a charged particle of specified energy in traversing a distance dl (Pizzarello, 1982). For high energy photons (x- and ÃŽÂ ³-rays), fast electrons are ejected when energetic photons interact with the absorbing medium. The primary ionization events along the track of the ionizing particle are well separated. This type of sparsely ionizing radiation is termed low-LET radiation. The LET of a 60Cobalt teletherapy source (1.3325 and 1.1732 MeV) is in the range of 0.24 keV/ µm (Vral et al., 1994). Neutrons cause the emission of recoil protons, alpha particles and heavy nuclear fragments during scattering events. These emitted charged particles interact more readily with the absorbing medium and cause densely spaced ionizing events along its track. The p66(Be) neutron beam used in this study has an ionization density of 20 keV/ µm and hence regarded as high-LET radiation. Auger electrons travel very short distances in the absorbing medium due to their low kinetic energies. All the energy of these particles is liberated in small volumes over short track lengths. Ionization densities are therefore very high, up to 40 keV/ µm this is comparable to high-LET alpha particles (Godu et al., 1994). Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE) The degree of damage caused by ionizing radiation depends firstly on the absorbed dose and secondly on the ionization density or quality of radiation. Variances in the biological effects of different radiation qualities can be described in terms of the relative biological effectiveness (RBE). RBE defines the magnitude of biological response for a certain radiation quality compared to a distinct reference radiation. It is expressed in terms of the ratio (Quoc, 2009): Megavoltage X-rays or 60Co ÃŽÂ ³-rays are commonly employed as the reference radiation since these are standard therapeutic sources of radiation. Thus for an identical dose neutrons the biological effect observed would be greater, compared to 60Co ÃŽÂ ³-rays. The fundamental difference between these radiation modalities is in the spatial orientation or micro deposition of energy. Furthermore, RBE varies as a function of the dose applied increase in RBE is noted for a decrease in dose. By evaluating dose response curves (Fig 2), it is evident that the shoulder of the neutron curve is much shallower (smaller ÃŽÂ ²-value) compared to the reference radiation curve. Therefore changes in RBE are prominent over low dose ranges (Hall, 2005). Fig 2: Dose response curves based on the linear quadratic model demonstrate differences in RBE as a function of dose. Through evaluation of the biological effect curves it is apparent that the RBE for a specific radiation quality may vary. This is characterized by the type of tissue or cells being investigated, dose and dose rates applied oxygenation status of the tissue, energy of radiation and the phase of the cell cycle and inherent radiosensitivity of cells. The RBE increases with a decrease in dose, to reach a maximum RBE denoted RBEM this is calculated from the ratio of the initial slope of the dose response curves for both radiation modalities. RBE LET relationship For a given absorbed dose, differences in the biological response for several cell lines, exposed to different radiation qualities have been demonstrated (Slabbert et al., 1996). Cells exposed to a specified dose low LET radiation do not exhibit the same biological endpoint than those exposed to same dose high LET radiation. This since with low LET radiation a substantial amount of damage may be repaired because the energy density imparted to each ionization site is relatively low. The predominant mode of interaction for this radiation type is indirect through chemical attack from radiolysis of water. As the LET increases, for a specific dose, fewer sites are damaged but the sites that are located along the track of the ionizing particle are severely damaged because more energy is imparted. Thus the probability of direct interaction between the particle track and the target molecule increases with an increase in LET. The RBE of radiation can be correlated with the estimates of LET values. However, as the LET increases, exceeding 10keV/ µm it is no longer possible to assign a single value for the RBE. Beyond this LET, the shape of the cell survival curve changes markedly in the shoulder region compared to low-LET. Since RBE is a measure of the biological effect produced, comparison of the low-LET and high-LET curves will reveal that RBE increases with decreasing dose (Hall, 2005). The average separation in ionizing events at LET of about 100 keV/ÃŽÂ ¼m is equal to the width of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) double strand molecule (Fig. 3). Further increase in LET results in decreased RBE since ionization events occur at smaller intervals than DNA molecule strand separation (Fig. 3) and this energy imparted does not contribute to DNA damage. Fig 3: Average spatial distribution of ionizing events for different LET values in relation to the DNA double helix structure (Hall 2005). Cellular Radiosensitivity Tissue radiosensitivity models In 1906 the radiobiologists Bergonie and Tribondeau established a rule for tissue radiosensitivity. They studied the relative radiosensitivities of cells and from this could predict which type of cells would be more radiosensitive (Hall, 2005). Bergonie and Tribondeau realized that cells were most sensitive to radiation when they are: Rapidly dividing (high mitotic activity). Cells with a long dividing future. Cells of an unspecialised type. The law of Bergonie and Tribondeau was later adapted by Ancel and Vitemberger; they concluded that radiation damage is dependent on two factors: the biological stress on the cell. the conditions to which the cell is exposed pre and post irradiation. Cell division causes biological stress thus cells with a short doubling time express radiation damage at an earlier stage than slowly dividing cells. Undifferentiated rapidly dividing cells therefore are most radiosensitive (Hall, 2005). A comprehensive system of classification was proposed by Rubin and Casarett, cell populations were grouped into 4 categories based on the reproduction kinetics: Vegetative intermitotic cells were defined as rapidly dividing undifferentiated cells. These cells usually have a short life cycle. For example: erythroblasts and intestinal crypt cells and are very radiosensitive. Differentiating intermitotic cells are characterized as actively dividing cells with some level of differentiation. Examples include: meylocytes and midlevel cells in maturing cell lines these cells are radiosensitive. Reverting postmitotic cells are regarded as to not divide regularly and generally long lived. Liver cells is an example of this cell type, these cell types exhibit a degree radioresistance. Fixed postmitotic cells do not divide. Cells beloning to this classification are regarded to be highly differentiated and highly specialized in both morphology and function. These cells are replaced by differentiating cells in the cell maturation lines and are regarded as the most radioresistant cell types. Nerve and muscle cells are prime examples (Hall, 2005). Michalowski proposed a type of classification which divides tissues into hierarchical (H-type) and flexible (F-type) populations. Within this classification cells are grouped in 3 distinct categories: Stem cells, that continuously divide and reproduce to give rise to both new stem cells and cells that eventually give rise to mature functional cells. Maturing cells arising from stem cells and through progressive division eventually differentiate into an end-stage mature functional cell. Mature adult functional cells that do not divide Examples of H-type populations include the bone marrow, intestinal epithelium and epidermis; these cells are capable of unlimited proliferation. In F-type populations the adult cells can under certain circumstance be induced to undergo division and reproduce another adult cell. Examples include; liver parenchymal cells and thyroid cells. The two types represent the extremes in cell populations. It should be noted that most tissue populations exist between the extremes, these exhibit characteristics of both types where mature cells are able to divide a limited number of times. The sensitivity to radiation can be attributed to the length of the life cycle and the reproductive potential of the critical cell line within that tissue (Hall, 2005). Cell cycle dependent radiosensitivity As cells progress through the cell cycle various physical and biochemical changes occur (Fig. 4). These changes influence the response of cells to ionizing radiation. Variations in radiosensitivity for several cell types at different stages of the cell cycle has been documented (Hall, 2005). Following the law of Bergonie and Tribondeau that cells with high mitotic activity are most radiosensitive, it was found that cells in the mitotic phase (M-phase) of the cell cycle are most sensitive. Late stage gap 2 (G2) phase cells are also very sensitive with gap 1 (G1) phase being more radioresistant and synthesis (S phase) cells the most resistant (Domon, 1980). Fig. 4: Cell cycle of proliferating cells representing the different phases leading up to cell division. The G0 resting phase for cells that do not actively proliferate has been included since T-lymphocytes naturally occur in this phase (Hall, 2005). Nonproliferating cells, generally cells that are fully differentiated, may enter the rest phase G0 from G1 and remain inactive for long periods of time. Peripheral T-lymphocytes seldom replicate naturally and remain in G0 indefinately. Lymphocyte Radiosensitivity The hematopoietic system is very sensitive to radiation. Differential blood analyses are routinely employed as a measure of radiation exposure. This measurement is based on the sensitivity of stem cells and the changes observed in the constituents of peripheral blood due to variations in transit time from stem cell to functioning cell (Hall, 2005). It has been shown that lymphocytes, although they are resting cells (G0 phase) which do not actively proliferate nor do have a long dividing future hence do not meet the criteria of a radiosensitive cell type as described above are of the most radio sensitive cells. The reasons for their acute sensitivity cannot be explained (Hall, 2005). Furthermore two distinct subpopulations T-lymphocytes with respect to radiosensitivity were found in peripheral blood. The small T-lymphocyte which is extremely radiosensitive and disappears almost completely from the peripheral blood at doses of 500 mGy (Kataoka, 1974, Knox, 1982 and Hall, 2005). Cytogenetic expression of ionizing radiation induced damage The primary target in radiotherapy is the double helix deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecule (Rothkam et al. 2009). This macro molecule contains the genetic code critical to the development and functioning of most living organisms. The DNA molecule consists of two strands held together by hydrogen bonds between the bases. Each strand is made up of four types of nucleotides. A nucleotide consists of a five-carbon sugar (deoxyribose), a phosphate group and a nitrogen containing base. The nitrogen containing bases are adenine, guanine, thymine or cytosine. Base pairing between two nucleotide strands is universally constant with adenine pairing with thymine and guanine with cytosine (Fig. 5). This attribute permits effective single strand break repair since the opposite strand is used as a template during the repair process. The base sequence within a nucleotide strand differs; the arrangement of bases defines the genetic code. The double helix DNA molecule is wound up on histones and bou nd together by proteins to form nucleosomes. This structure is folded and coiled repeatedly to become a chromosome. Fig. 5: The double helix structure of a DNA molecule consists of two neucleotide strands held together by hydrogen bonds between the bases. Figure modified from http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/history_22 by P Beukes. Ionizing radiation can either interact directly or indirectly with the DNA strand. When an ionization event occurs in close proximity to the DNA molecule direct ionization can denature the strand. Ionization events that occur within the medium surrounding the DNA produce free radicals such as hydrogen peroxide through radiolysis of water. Damage induced by ionizing radiation to the DNA include base damage (BD), single strand breaks (SSB), abasic sites (AS), DNA-protein cross-links (DPC), and double strand breaks (DSB) (Fig. 6). Fig. 6: Examples of several radiation induced DNA lesions. Figure modified from Best B (9) by P Beukes. Low-LET radiation primarily causes numerous single strand breaks, through direct and indirect interaction (Hall, 2005). Single strand breaks are of lesser biological importance since these are readily repaired by using the opposite strand as a template. High-LET radiation damage is dominated by direct interactions with the DNA molecule. Densely ionizing radiation has a greater probability to induce irreparable or lethal double strand breaks since energy deposition occurs in discrete tracks (Hall, 2005). The number of tracks will be fewer but more densely packed compared to low-LET radiation of equivalent doses. Several techniques to quantify chromosomal damage and chromatid breaks have been established. These range from isolating DNA and passing it through a porous substrate or gel (Hall, 2005) by applying an external potential difference too advanced techniques of visually observing and numerating chromosomal aberrations of interphase cells. Cytogenetic chromosome aberration assays of peripheral blood T-lymphocytes to assess radiation damage include but are not limited to: premature chromosome condensation (PCC) assay, metaphase spread dicentric and ring chromosome aberration assay (DCA), metaphase spread fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) translocation assay and cytokinesis blocked micronuclei (CBMN) assay (Fig. 7). Fig. 7: Different cytogenetic assays on peripheral T-lymphocytes for use in biological dosimetry. Figure modified from Cytogenetic Dosimetry IAEA, 2011. PCC occurs when an interphase cell is fused with a mitotic cell. The fusion causes the interphase cell to produce condensed chromosomes prematurely. Chromosomal aberrations can thus be analysed immediately following irradiation without the need for mitogen stimulation or cell culturing. Numeration of dicentrics in metaphase spreads has been used with great success to assess radiation damage in cells since the 1960s (Vral et al, 2010). The incidence of these aberrations follows a linear quadratic function with respect to the dose. Unstable aberrations like dicentrics or centric rings are lethal to the cell hence not passed on to daughter cells (Hall, 2005). In contrast translocations are stable aberrations; these are not lethal to the cell and passed on to daughter cells. Examination of translocations thus provides a long term history of exposure. Although the abovementioned techniques are very accurate and well described, the complexity and time consuming nature of the assays has stimulated the development of automated methods of measuring chromosomal damage. Micronuclei (MN) formation in peripheral blood T-lymphocytes lends itself to automation, since the outcome of radiation insult is visually not too complex with limited variables. DNA damage incurred from ionizing radiation or chemical clastogens induce the formation of acentric chromosome fragments and to a small extent malsegregation of whole chromosomes. Acentric chromosome fragments and whole chromosomes that are unable to engage with the mitotic spindle lag behind at anaphase (Cytogenetic Dosimetry IAEA, 2011). Micronuclei originate from these acentric chromosome fragments or whole chromosomes which are excluded from the main nuclei during the metaphase/anaphase transition of mitosis. The lagging chromosome fragment or whole chromosome forms a small separate nucleus visible in the cytoplasm of the cell. Image recognition software can thus be employed to quantify radiation damage by applying classifiers that describe cell size, staining intensity, cell separation, aspect ratio and cell characteristics when numerating MN frequency in BN cells. The classifiers are fully customizable depending on cell size, staining technique or cell type that will be used. Rationale for this study The principal objective of this study is to define RBE variations for high-LET radiation with respect to radiosensitivity. Specifically this is done for very high energy neutrons and Auger electrons. In general the response of different cell types vary much more to treatment with low-LET radiation compared to high-LET radiation (Broerse et al. 1978). Radiosensitivity differences have been demonstrated for different cancer cell lines (Slabbert et al. 1996) as well as various clonogenic mammalian cells (Hall, 2005) exposed to both high and low-LET radiation. In general there is an expectation and in certain cases some experimental evidence to support less variations in radiosensitivities of cells to high-LET radiation. Furthermore the ranking in the relative radiosensitivity of cell types changed for neutron treatments compared to exposure to X-rays (Broerse et al. 1978). To quantify the radiation risk of individuals exposed to cosmic rays or mixed radiation fields of neutrons and ÃŽÂ ³-rays, several experiments were conducted to ascertain biological damage induced by neutron beams of various energies (Nolte et al., 2007). Clonogenic survival data (Hall, 2005), dicentric chromosome aberrations (Heimers 1994) and micronuclei formation (Slabbert et. al 2010) have been followed. Chromosome aberration frequencies have been quantified and this represent radiation risk to neutron energies ranging from 36 keV up to 14.6 MeV (Schmid et al. 2003). To complement these studies additional measurements have been made for blood cells exposed to 60 MeV and 192 MeV quasi monoenergetic neutron beams (Nolte et al. 2007). Comparisons of RBE values obtained in these studies are shown in figure 1. Significant changes in the maximum relative biological effectiveness (RBEM) of these neutron sources are demonstrated as a function of neutron energy, with a maximum value of 90 at 0.4 MeV. RBEM drop to  ±15 for neutron energies higher than 10 MeV and it appears that the RBEM remain constant up to 200 MeV. The RBEM value of 47 -113 reported by Heimers et al. (1999) is not consistent with these observations. Fig. 1: RBEM values for neutrons of different energies after Nolte et al. (2007) The data shown in Fig. 1 was obtained by using the blood of a single donor. This to ensure consistency in the biological response for different neutron energies used in different radiation facilities in different parts of the world. Keeping the donor constant has the advantage that only a single data set for the reference radiation was needed. These measurements were done over several years. In all these studies, dicentric chromosome aberrations were followed. As informative as these investigations may be, it is doubtful if RBE values obtained from blood samples from a single donor are indeed representative for the wider population to state radiation weighting factors. It is unclear if RBE values for high energy neutrons will vary when measured with cells with different inherent radiosensitivities. Warenius et al. (1994) demonstrated that the RBE of a 62.5 MeV neutron beam increases with increase in radioresistance to 6 MV X-rays. Similarly Slabbert et al (1996) using a 29 MeV p(66)/Be neutron with an average energy of 29 MeV, noted a statistically significant increase in the RBE values for cell types with increased radioresistance to 60Co ÃŽÂ ³-rays. Although these investigators used 11 different cell types, few of these were indeed radioresistant to 60Co ÃŽÂ ³-rays. Close inspection of the data shows that the relationship between neutron RBE and radioresistance to photons disappear when the cell type with the highest resistance to ÃŽÂ ³-rays (Gurney melanoma) is removed from the data set Slabbert et al. 1996). In a follow up study the authors failed to demonstrate the relationship for a p(66)/Be neutron beam but such a relationship was demonstrated for a d14/Be neutron beam (Slabbert et al. 2000). It therefore appears that the relationship for RBE and radioresistance is dependent on the selection of cells used in the study as well as the neutron energy. Using lymphocytes Vral et al. (1994) demonstrated a clear reduction RBEM values for 5,5 MeV neutrons with an increase in the ÃŽÂ ±-values of dose effect curves obtained for 60Co ÃŽÂ ³-rays. This for lymphocytes obtained from six healthy donors. Using only four donors Slabbert et al. (2010) also demonstrated a relationship between RBEM neutrons and radiosensitivity to 60Co y rays. In the latter case the RBEM values are lower as can be expected since these investigators used a higher energy neutron source. Although a significant relationship between these parameters has been demonstrated by the investigators, the cohort of 4 donors in the study is very small. In fact 2 out of the 4 donors have different RBEM values but appear to have the same radiosensitivity. A study using larger number of donors with blood cells exposed to high energy neutrons is clearly needed. This in particular too verify the findings above indicating a different wR for donors of different sensitivity. The studies of RBE variations with neutron energy by Schmid et al., (2003), Nolte et al. (2005) and were conducted dicentric formations observed in metaphase spreads. It is known that more than six months were used to analyse the data for different doses for blood cells obtained from a single donor exposed to a single neutron energy. It follows that some method of automation to assist the radiobiological evaluation of cellular radiation damage is needed to quantify wR values as a function of radiosensitivity. Recently a semi-automated image analysis system, Metafer 4, this holds promise to test numerous donors for micronuclei formations Study to include more participants hence Metaferà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.

The Cold War :: American History, Soviet Union, War

In the immediate aftermath of WWII, the world was split into two opposing camps that, though they did not fight directly, were actively engaged in the Cold War. This war did not end until the USSR broke apart in 1991. The Cold War was both created and prolonged by the interconnected economic and ideological tensions of the East and West Blocs. The ideological systems of the two powers were viewed as being complete opposites in their goals and experienced increasing animosity toward each other. This in turn influenced the economic policies that drove the main powers of the Cold War even further apart. By far, the biggest contributor to the formation of the Cold War was the fact that both sides believed the communist Soviet Union and the capitalist west ideologies were incompatible with each other. The essence of the Cold War was seen as the opposition of communism and capitalism (Kishlansky, Geary, and O’Brien 874). This belief was present as soon as 1946, when Winston Churchill gave a speech characterizing the Soviet Union as a government that was capable of trying to â€Å"enforce totalitarian systems upon the free democratic world† (Churchill 303). He also contrasted the Soviet Union as a state where control was â€Å"enforced upon the common people by†¦ police governments,† while the U.S. and Great Britain embodied â€Å"the great principles of freedom and the rights of man† (Churchill 303). This belief did not abate as the Cold War dragged on, and caused even more animosity between the two blocs. Even as late as 1961, Khrushchev’ s address to the Communist Party Congress still proclaimed the main driving force of the Soviet Union to be the â€Å"competition of the two world social systems, the socialist and the capitalist† (Khrushchev 307). This perceived ideological incompatibility also contributed to the formation of alliances in the East and West blocs. These alliances in turn prolonged the Cold War. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was first formed in 1949 as protection of capitalist countries from the USSR, and it was still bringing countries into it’s membership all the way up untill Spain’s entrance in 1982. The Soviets responded to this with yet another alliance group in Eastern Europe, the Warsaw Pact (Kishlansky, Geary, and O’Brien 876). Former colonies were also forced to choose an allegiance with either the capitalist or communist camps (Kishlansky, Geary, and O’Brien 877).

Essay --

Ernest Hemingway is a world renowned writer who is known for his short and to-the-point yet unique style. While being greatly praised for his style he is also greatly criticized for it as well. His body of work includes numerous poems, short stories, and various novels as well. He even won the Nobel Prize in Literature for his story â€Å"The Old Man and the Sea.† The panelists awarded him for his overall mastery of the English language and for his modern unique way of narrating. Hemingway was one of the most famous people who represented the â€Å"lost generation†. This so-called group was a congregation of young writers who were some of the large contributors to the great collection of modern literature today. Some of these people were others who, like Hemingway, were somehow involved in World War I. Along with World War I, Hemingway was also a part of World War II. His history with women was not very good likely due to his lack of a mother-son bond throughout his childhood. He was also an alcoholic which greatly affected some of his writing. Some of his hobbies included fishing, boxing, and hunting. Early on he was hired as a reporter and a journalist. His style was to observe everything he saw and then to report on it in the most brief way possible, not overdoing it with too many unwanted details. Hemingway was known to be a very adventurous man & craftsmen who looked to get the most of out life that he could. He spent most of his time meticulously revising his work over and over. He wanted to make sure that his work was as short, brief, and lacking of detail as possible. He lived his life to the fullest and was known to be a very kind person to his acquaintances and family. But on the other hand he was very quick to get angry and al... ...d his ‘fiction’ life gave his work a sort of irresistible attractiveness as he lead a life of fame and adventure. Hemingway most definitely followed a new and unheard of path in his style of writing. He was an innovator and was one of the most important writers of his time. There is no doubt that he didn’t face many struggles throughout his life, but these experiences also shaped his style and created a new way of writing which is praised and looked up to today. His main message was that man is a small helpless person placed in a big scary world that can push him and bring him down. He believed life is unreasonably evil and unfair and that if there is love for anything, life will take that anything away from you. Hemingway was a genius of his time and is still one of the most influential authors in the world today because of the original and unique style he created.

Deviant Behavior/Tattoos Essay

Beginning from a child we begin to experience different situations and interactions with others. We start getting taught the difference between right and wrong, what may be considered good and what is considered bad, and also taught the things we should and should not do. As we grow older we try to refrain from behavior of which society may disapprove of. Society see’s certain types of behavior as being deviant. First let’s begin by explaining what is a deviant behavior? Deviant behavior can be any behavior that does not conform to what people may consider normal, a behavior that does not meet with many expectations in society. Societies are both social structure and culture. Robert K Merton developed structural strain theory which is a perspective on what is deviance (Crossman, (n. d. )). There are many variations or meanings of what can be considered a deviant behavior. Merton has five categories in which he classified as conformists, ritualists, innovators, retreatists and rebels. Everyone at some time in their life has done a deviant act, some may have continued on with that behavior. Rebels stands up to their own opinions and disregard what is norm or others opinions. Rebels can be considered deviant because of their choices in life. Tattooed people are considered rebels because they decided to mark the skin with art. For instance are tattoos considered a deviant behavior? There was a study done at the Texas Tech University which its findings stated that the number of tattoos that a person has then the more â€Å"deviance† they are involved in (Beck, (n. . )). Their findings were based off of people who may have one tattoo versus those with four or more tattoos. Some would say that people with tattoos are rebels and deviant. Tattooed people considered risk-takers and non-conforming (Arndt, A. , Glassman, M. , 2012). Today tattoos have started to become more accepted from work environments to everyday life. Some view tattoos as a form of art. Tattoos h ave become increasingly common among the current generations. Tattoos have become somewhat of a fashion statement. Tattoos are stigmatized as aggressive and deviant because it was once commonly known among â€Å"out group†, outlaws, criminals, bikers, prisoners, and etc. , (Heywood,Patrick, Smith, Pitts, Richters, Shelley, (n. d)). People who obtain tattoos are more perceived negatively towards tattooed figures than that of non-tattooed adults. Women with tattoos are more negatively looked upon than men. There is a type of control over people with tattoos and employment. Many employers try not to hire people with tattoos especially as sales representatives. Studies have showed that people with tattoos that are interested in what is sold would gravitate more towards a sales representative with tattoos. As a female with tattoos, I can say that I have personally seen the difference in the way that people may treat me because of my body modifications. Even with body modifications studies may show that the more tattoos and piercings the more deviant the person. I cannot truly agree with this. Tattoos in the tattoo wearer’s eyes are more of a creative freedom or an art form.

Beginners Guide to Essay Writing

As many of my fellow batch mates are facing the writer’s block in completing Essay I decided to write this guide to help them, so that they can put to best use the last few days they have with their family members (current and would-be). DISCLAIMER – First and the most important thing. This is not for those unearthly souls who want to touch that legendary upper word limit. Try to be humble and be content with 80%. It’s not that bad a number you see. This is also not for those who think it’s their god-assigned duty to find if what you are answering is what was asked. So if you are one of these, the best action you can take now with respect to this document is click the small â€Å"X† button in the top right corner of this document. This is for those poor unfortunate souls like me who want to take the bare minimum effort to achieve what is necessary, a skill that I learnt in my engineering days and improved upon in my time spent in IT industry. So here are my tips for nailing the Essay. Some tips are very ordinary which will add a word or two per use. They are to be used to give finishing touches to your answer when you need those 20-30 words to reach the world limit. Others are more generic. Use them to build the core of your answer. 1. Acronyms are evil and making use of them is a cardinal sin and you definitely do not want to start your journey in the world of management by committing one. So avoid them. Ex. Instead of IIM Indore write Indian Institute of Management, Indore. For some acronyms you can expand and then put the acronyms in the brackets to give yourself an extra word. 2. Use the qualities of the language to your advantage. The reason why they made English have a plethora of words which mean exactly the same damn thing was because they had a premonition about Essay. Make generous, copious, lavish and abundant use of adjectives. In place of any adjective use two of three adjectives which are similar in meaning. Make use of the synonyms functionality that Word provides. For example instead of just writing crucial project write complex and crucial project. 3. Always use a group of words in place of one word. For example instead of various use a number of 4. If possible quote a large part of the question in your answer. This is a trick which has always worked right from class I. I still remember question like â€Å"What was the name of the first PM of India† and the answer used to be â€Å"The name of the first PM of India is blah blah blah† This is very easy for questions like 8 and 9. 5. Whenever possible make generous use of quotes. Those great people did not utter such knowledgeable words for no reason. Follow it with your amazing explanation of the quote to make the reader understand the quote properly, which even otherwise he would have understood, making it as long as possible. 6. Quote dictionary definition of words where possible. All you need is a Google search and it makes you sound a very inquisitive person in no time. This is particularly applicable for questions 4 and 11. Follow it with your agreement or disagreement of the definition and your reasoning behind it. 7. Make generous use of subheading. Not only will it portray us as an organized person but also give you those extra 10 to 20 words without straining your brain. You can make use of this in questions which is divided into sub questions like questions 1, 2 and 3. 8. Do not use etc. unless you have quoted at least five examples. If you think for a few moments you will get examples which sound different but are essentially the same like bus conductor cheating his passengers, doctor cheating his patients, shop keeper cheating his customers etc. Change the subject and the object, keep the verb same and you will have numerous example in no time. 9. If the question asks to quote 2 incidents more often than not you will be able to think of only 1 good or good enough incident. No question asks you to give equal importance to both the incidents. So write about that one ncident as much as possible. The more you write on it, the less you will have to think for the other one. 10. Stretch the meaning of the word describe to its limits. When they say describe, you DESCRIBE. No detail is unnecessary and no information trivial unless you have crossed the word limit. 11. Anyone from IT industry will know the importance of reuse of work already done by you or someone else does, even if that reuse meant copy paste and portray ing it as new effort and billing the client for the same. Use that approach in your answers. For example answer question 9 properly and you do not need to answer question 15 again. All you will need is a trimming of 50 words. 12. I have skipped question 13 as I had no intention of creating an imaginary situation in my pretty normal and straight forward life of 24 years which would have asked me to act in a non-traditional way. In case you feel you can do it, then you are most welcome. 13. When the whole world is for gender equality we as future managers should not lag behind. Bring gender equality in your answers. When you are referring to a third person use him or her, he or she instead of just him and he. 14. If you were not a part of any social or cultural organization then you cannot skip question 14. Some senior has already posted as to how you can write about the clubs you were part of in the college. And there is no shortage of clubs and committees in any college. Cultural club, movie club, Cricket club, Soccer club. You name it and you will have it. Take one club and write about it as much as possible. If you have not reached the WL take one more. Continue till you reach the WL. 15. Try to think how you can lengthen your sentences without significantly altering the meaning. For example a normal guy or girl will write â€Å"Prefer passive voice in your answer†. You should not fall prey to such highly damaging practices. They are for normal people. You should write â€Å"In writing a response to any question the consistent usage of passive voice is to be preferred over that of active voice†. Doing this consistently over a long paragraph will almost double your word count. 16. All the thoughts that have crossed your mind while answering NPAD should go into the initial answer of question 5. If you can manage sarcasm well then they should go into the latter part. 17. If in the highly improbable scenario that you have already written the answer and cannot touch the word limit, revise the answer by considering each tip from this point by point. It’s a tried and tested approach and one which definitely works. PS. Whether you find the tone of the tips comical or serious will depend on how many questions are yet to be answered by you and how desperate you feel to answer them.

Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

Research has shown that nursing home abuse is prevalent all across the United States. Nursing home abuse and neglect is an issue that continues to haunt the elderly population. One third of the 1,600 nursing homes in the United States have been cited for abuse (Whitaker, 2001). According to Hooyman & Kiyak (2005) neglect is defined as caregiver not providing goods and services necessary to avoid physical harm or mental anguish. According to Pillemer (1988) elderly abuse is synonymous to maltreatment, which is defined as deviance from socially accepted standards (legal or regulatory) for management of the interpersonal process, carried out with the intent to harm the patient. This being said I still feel that it is something in which the general public is unaware. Moreover, what makes this issue even more tragic is that it is something that can be prevented. I feel that stopping the abuse from spreading lies in the hands of the family and friends of the elderly individual. The prevention begins at the first moment a nursing home is researched and visited. I think too often people do not ask the right questions and do not have enough knowledge to identify the signs related to abuse. It may be difficult to spot signs of abuse, however, because people tend to define abuse as different things. Signs are defined as the physical evidence able to be seen by others and symptoms are what the victim reports to others (not observable measures). Unfortunately, staff that are the abusers usually use excuses such as the victim is clumsy or accident prone when accused of being negligent. These same staff members have been found to be angry and rough with the residents on a regular basis (NHARC, 2006). According to Nursing Home Abuse Resource Center (2006) frequent visits to the emergency room coupled with unusual bruises in locations such as chest, abdomen, neck and thighs are hard to find yet still are important signs that the elder is being abused. I believe the best solution to this problem is for communities to make information about all nursing homes known for public consumption. Instead of people having to research many different nursing homes on the internet, or looking up phone numbers and calling each one individually, I believe it would be beneficial for the community to make some sort of brochure with information about all of the nursing homes in the area. This would obviously not give statistics on how many cases of neglect or abuse a said nursing home has had, but I do believe it would be a helping starting point. The brochure should have information such as the statistics of staff to patients, services offered, reviews and comments from past and present residents and families’, and general information about each institution. It would also be beneficial to offer the website information leading to websites which grade nursing homes, giving tips on how to read and understand the information given. The obvious drawback of my plan is that it may be unlikely nursing homes would agree to have this information printed side by side with other nursing homes for comparison. They may also not want their bad news aired for the public to know, so they may not want information pertaining to informational websites posted for people to find out about. I think the benefits of this would be that friends and families’ of people moving into nursing homes would be given ample information to get them started in the right direction. They would be given the opportunity to compare many nursing homes, and also given information showing them how to further research each place to find out more statistics. Some unanticipated consequences of this may simply be the reactions of the community and residents in said nursing homes. The community may think it is a good idea and warm up to it easily, or the community may appalled by the information they find out and cause problems for everyone. I think it is important for everyone to be aware of the problem of nursing home abuse and neglect, but giving people the power to find out such things may cause problems that never would have surfaced if they remained ignorant. Sometimes, knowledge is power; sometimes, it is fuel to the fire