US. Energy Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

US. Energy Policy - Essay Example eaties and other incentives to investment, that aim at revamping the energy sector to make it responsive to modern day needs as well as making it sustainable for future generations (Moselle Jorge and Richard 117). The US Energy Policy is a collective responsibility of various organs at the federal, state and local authorities. These organizations have the responsibility of managing production or energy, its distribution and consumption. They also address issues such as gas mileage standards and building codes. Currently, about 85% of energy in the US comes from fossil fuels while the rest comes from Nuclear and Hydro stations. Most of the energy is used in industries, transport and domestic use. A big percentage of oil, gas and electricity imports in the US comes from Canada (Moselle, Jorge and Richard 106). The current energy policy in the US includes three Energy Policy Acts and various initiatives to promote renewable sources of energy, innovation and affordability of energy. President Obama’s administration has instituted various reforms in the energy sector that aim at reducing CO2 emissions in the atmosphere and promote sustainable energy development. The US government has over the years, proposed different initiatives as a response to different energy needs, but there still lacks an elaborate long-term energy policy. The fact that is no elaborate energy policy for the long term has elicited heated political debates with some people criticizing the government for being short cited and only responding to energy crises at the expense of preparing for the long-term challenges. There is also criticism that government energy policies in the US enacted after the oil crisis in 1973 ignore market forces and technology to provide quick fixes for emerging crises. Scholars in the US have also criticized Energy Policies for not focusing on research, innovation and entrepreneurship in the energy sector. They criticize the energy policy for focusing on short-term

Television Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Television - Essay Example ITV is an umbrella phrase that covers the convergence of digital media with television technologies. The phrases enhanced television (eTV) and interactive television (iTV) are employed interchangeably. This paper will use the phrase interactive television, or iTV. Notwithstanding the technological advancement witnessed in bandwidth capabilities and the growing accessibility of digital technologies, progress towards extensive acceptance of iTV programming in many countries remains slow (Bolter & Grusin, 2006). According to O’Driscoll, (2008), television is gradually shifting from a passive, broadcast, entertainment, linear viewing experience. It is growing towards becoming a demand driven, infotainment, non- linear, participatory, advertising focused, broadband, two-way communication platform. Television viewers are becoming familiarized with the active (lean forward) model of viewing as an alternative to the conventional passive (lean back) model. The viewers are also developing the practice of processing added information simultaneously through the use of mobile devices or computers while they watch television. Television viewers are beginning to achieve as well as demand increased control over television viewing experiences. Figure 1 presents an overview of the shifting models as television viewers’ move from conventional to interactive television. According to Swann, (2009), enthusiasm in the industry has expanded and diminished with each market test and scientific advancement in the last decade. The Census Bureau in the U.S noted in 2001, that 98.2% of all households in the U.S had at least one television set. The bureau also noted that the average number of television sets per household as 2.4. The A.C. Nielsen Company noted that average Americans watch approximately four hours of television per day. In 2004, the projections revealed that average adults would watch an approximate seventy days or 1,669 hours of television.

MGMT345 U4 IP Diversity Training Manual IV Research Paper

MGMT345 U4 IP Diversity Training Manual IV - Research Paper Example Department of Labor, n.d.). The act defines religious beliefs to include both theistic and non-theistic. Title VII requires organisations to accommodate employees whose sincere requirements of his religion conflict with the requirements of the work upon notice of request unless id doing so there will be undue hardship in the workplace. Title VII defines accommodation as an adjustment that will allow the employee to be able to practice his/her religion (U.S. Department of Labor, n.d.). The need for accommodation may stem from the beliefs of a person conflict with a particular task of the position or the application process. Accommodation requests in most cases relate to work time table, attire, or religious expression at work. Hardship is said to have occurred if the accommodation is costly, can compromise safety at work, reduces work efficiency, infringes on other employees’ rights, and requires fellow employees to do more than their fair share of work that is hazardous or burdensome. Hardship maybe apparent if the accommodation is in violation of the conditions of collective bargaining agreement or job rights through a ranking system. The cost hardship to the organisation must be more than a minimum impact on the organisation. The hardship on an organisation cannot be a speculation but must be genuine (U.S . Department of Labour, n.d.). Orthodox Jews also called Frum Jews consider themselves the guardians of the commandments (Orthodox Jews.com). They are divided into Hasidic and Yeshivish Jews. The word Frum stands for observant (Orhodox-Jews.com). The Hasisdic culture bans people from going to college. Part of Hasidic Jewish culture is remaining segregated which includes being isolated from non Frum Jews. It is part of isolation not to watch tv and in most homes, computers are banned from children. A belief that can be accommodated at work is their dressing which is rather conservative. Another belief that can be accommodated at work is

New Approaches to Advertising Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

New Approaches to Advertising - Essay Example To be sure, consumers and businesses are using other forms of communication to gain the information that was once formally provided by advertising. Furthermore, globalization in the marketplace has not only altered the way the world does business, but effectively altered the way in which business communicate with their more globally aware consumers. To understand these shifts in the paradigm for advertising, one must first understand how advertising works in the first place, and apply this understanding of the industry to the shift in the way that it is working today.Advertising is unlike the direct communication between two people which involves a give and take experience.It is a one way exchange that is impersonal in format. People can selectively notice or avoid, accept or reject, remember or forget the experience and therefore confuse and bewilder the best of advertising plans. Advertising has always been a seemingly inescapable part of western life. It is the ultimate tool that corporations use to communicate to consumers.Through television, radio, newspapers, billboards, and the internet, corporations have benefited from advertising through increased sales.The effects of advertising have appreciably increased the quality of life of consumers.Finally, the communication potential of advertising has made it essential to the function and well-being of today's market. Advertising is an effective function of the economy that is an asset to both corporations and consumers. Corporations have made every effort to submerge consumers in their advertising since the beginning of modern civilization. They money that corporations are willing to spend delivering ads has doubled since 1976, and continues to grow by over 50% every ten years (Olson & Reynolds, 2001). Corporations and businesses are willing to devote such an enormous investment of money simply due to the fact that if done properly, advertising will more than pay for itself. Although most market experts agree that advertising is an exercise in communication and not sales generation, it is without a doubt that the ultimate goal of producing the ad is to increases sales and profits, either directly or otherwise. Throughout the years, advertising has proven effective in attracting consumers and increasing sales directly. This is achieved is two main ways. First, advertising allows businesses a chance to communicate to the consumer in order to persuade and offer reasons as to why their product would be desirable. This raises consumer interest in the product and can eventually result in increased sales. Next, advertising can be used to raise consumer awareness about special events, promotions, or discounts available or to simply remind prospective customers that the business is open and ready to offer goods and services. Advertising effects businesses by helping to build consumer confidence in an advertiser's product. People have been known to buy brands that they know of and in which they have confidence. Advertising helps to achieve this by connecting corporations and their products to consumers. This process is called "branding". Ads can help the corporation make their product known, and to create an image or reputation for the product through the content of the ad. "At Volvic 10 per cent of the buyersof the buyers of this brand of mineral water are regular and loyal and represent 50 per cent of the sales. The reputation of the brand is a source of demand and lasting attractiveness, the image of superior quality and added value justifies a premium price," (Kapferer, 1997). Advertising of this sort

Research methods applied to the cyber crime like identity theft( use a Thesis

Research methods applied to the cyber crime like identity theft( use a proper name if you want) - Thesis Example Such developments has made communication a second’s task, where a large amount of data and information can be collected and used for a number of purposes easily. However, these developments can be seen as positive for human beings, but these can also be seen as a negative phenomenon. It is usually called as the â€Å"double edged sword†, where it has both bright and dark sides. Though computer and information technology has proved to be much useful for communication and business development, but it has also created new ways for doing illegal or criminal activities (Gordon, Hosmer, Siedsma, & Rebovich, 2003). A number of commercial websites are performing business activities online, or others using computers to gather and accumulate critical information in order to use it for business purposes. Such businesses have been nowadays facing the issues of misuse of information or other kinds of crimes with regard to the sensitive information. In order to combat these criminal and delinquent activities, they have to perform overwhelming, and expensive job of safeguarding their critical information, which can be used for delinquent actions. In these days, it is easier to do crime, as criminals are able to encode the data, which is showing some proofs against their delinquent actions, and also transfer such data regardless of having fear of being noticed from Police side or Law agencies. Such criminal activities has made it more complex to detect any corruption. As the internet has astonishing effects on this area, where it is being impossible to detect a person due to the fact that the crime can be held regardless of any geographical area. This situation has convoluted the enquiry of cybercrime to the greater extent (Gordon, Hosmer, Siedsma, & Rebovich, 2003). In this regard, there are a number of new studies and fields of a study are emerging, and among these a Cybercrime Science is such an evolving field of study targeting to thwart the

Bilingualism and Biculturalism Essay Example for Free

Bilingualism and Biculturalism Essay Running Head: BILINGUALISM AND BICULTURALISM E. Biculturalism in society Biculturalism usually exists in a country where two different cultures or cultural identities are allowed to freely flourish within the society. It is characterized by widespread occupation of people belonging to two diverse cultures. However, true biculturalism cannot exist in a country where one culture is suppressed or discriminated. Bicultural countries have official policies to protect the interest of both cultures. It also facilitates equitable status and rights to people belonging to both cultures without any prejudice. These countries also celebrate festivals pertaining to both cultures to preserve integrity of both cultures and foster the spirit of togetherness. E. 1 Biculturalism in Canada Canada follows a policy of official bilingualism as its gives equal status to both English and French in its parliament and courts. This was done to preserve the cultural identity of French communities in Canada, as support for the French language in Canada had weakened and English had become the preferred language in business and politics, by the end of the nineteenth century. As the years passed by, Francophone communities outside of Quebec begun to realize the extinction of their culture was inevitable, unless French-based education was made a top priority. Certain political forces in Quebec had also wanted a separate state during the 1960s. Franco-Albertans living in Quebec called for bilingualism and biculturalism to ensure that Canada stayed united. This led to the proclamation of the Official Languages Act of 1969 announcing Canada as a bilingual nation (Alberta’s Francophone Heritage 3). Today, Franco-Albertans are entitled to exclusive French-only education according to rights guaranteed by Bilingualism and Biculturalism Commission, while French is also now used in government offices and hospitals in Alberta. All these developments with respect to biculturalism have kept Canada together as one nation and led to the revival of the French culture. E. 2 Biculturalism in Australia Australia was originally inhabited only by several indigenous tribes, until the Europeans settlers started to immigrate there. These relatively new settlers started to control the ethnicity of the immigrants settling down to ensure that Australia had a cultural identity of a British Colony. Until 1973, the governments empowered by the Immigration Restriction Act followed the White Australia policy to keep a check on non-European immigration. The racial injustice perpetrated by the White Australia policy official came to end by passing of the Racial Discrimination Act in 1975. Australia started to rigorously follow a bicultural policy similar to Canada, opening its doors to several thousands of immigrants from all over the world. The extent of Australia’s multicultural policy can be better understood from a 2005 Department of Immigration statistic which reports that forty percent of the contributing workforce in Australia had at least one parent born outside of Australia, while twenty-five percent of them were not originally born in Australia (Wikiepedia 9). Australian values of ‘mateship’ centered on equality, loyalty and friendship, have enshrined in its biculturalism policy and given equal rights to all Australian citizens irrespective of their ethnicity. Multiculturalism was initially perceived as the acceptance of people coming from different cultural backgrounds as members of Australian society. However, the significance of biculturalism has now deepened and empowered immigrants in Australia to express their cultural identity, thereby enabling them to experience both Australian culture as well as their native culture. E. 3 Biculturalism in the United States America, in spite of being one of most culturally diverse nations in the world and built on values of equality, does not officially have a federal multiculturalism policy. That being said, America does practices biculturalism on a social level as immigrants from various countries are freely allowed to practice their religion and exhibit their cultural identity. The Hart-Cellar Act of 1965 nullified quotas based on one’s national origin. Since then, more twenty twenty-eight million people immigrants have legally been accepted by the United States of America. Bilingualism is also prevalent is certain Southern states that are heavily populated with Spanish-speaking immigrants. F. The relationship of bilingualism to biculturalism Bilingualism and biculturalism are concepts that are very closely tied together. Bilingualism not only helps one to connect and effectively communicate with the society around him/her, but also enables a person to maintain command over his/her native language. Since language is the key to stay in touch with one’s ethic or national culture, bilingualism helps foster biculturalism as well. F. 1. Origin of bilingualism in bicultural societies Canada was one of the pioneers of the New World to officially adopt the policy of bilingualism. In 1867, British North America Act was passed to legalize to conversing in English as well as French in Canadian Parliament as well as Courts of Law, thereby paving the way for a bicultural state. As the world’s political climate began to change during the beginning of the twentieth century, the idea of cultural pluralism started to gain momentum. Biculturalism began in western world and paved the way for biculturalism to be adopted as a political policy in many other parts of the world. F. 2. Bilingual education Bilingual education is a method of teaching all subjects to students through a country’s primary language as well as the student’s native language. There are several types of approaches and programs available to carry out bilingual education. Transitional programs teach all subjects in the students’ native language and English is taught as a separate subject until bilingual students can study along with other native students in normal classrooms. Dual Language programs consist of an equal combination of students who are native English speakers as well students who have another common native language. These methods enable all students in the class to be bilingual and understand subject matter in both languages. Late-exit program is yet another method that is quite similar to transitional programs, but it also teaches all the subjects in English again to reinforce the subject content and achieve effective bilingualism. It is hard to generalize and develop a common plan to educate bilingual students. For instance, in the US, young immigrants are either more educated or less educated native-born American students since immigrants from Asian countries are relatively well-educated compared to their South American counterparts, as a result of to social and economic differences. Language maintenance and Language shift Language maintenance is an effort to preserve the linguistic ability of child in his/her native language, while not compromising on learning the popular secondary language at school. It is can result from a passion for one’s culture or a necessity to communicate with elder members in the family. Career prospects due to international acclaim or the availability of media services such as television programs or books in one’s native could also cause language maintenance. The avoidance of one’s native language is known as language shift. For instance, bilingual children may stop using their mother tongue owing to a higher degree of English exposure in school. Other factors that influence language shift are fear of one’s native language negatively influencing their English language skills or learning abilities. Lack of parental encouragement to maintain one’s native language can also lead to language shift. G. Transference Transference occurs when a person’s native language negatively influences the way he/she uses another language or vice-versa. This influence can occur in the form of distinctive oral expressions i. e. accent or odd sentence compositions. It is classified into lexical, phonological, semantic, prosodic, tonemic, syntactic and pragmatic transferences. CONCLUSION The concepts of bilingualism and biculturalism are two critical aspects that have held together societies comprising of several cultures, languages, races and ethnic backgrounds. Since transference or the deviation from the norms of a language could lead to language shift, proper bilingual education has to be provided to ensure that one is comfortable using both languages. Bilingualism, the preservation of one’s native language accompanied by command over a country’s primary language, is necessary to achieve biculturalism in a society as well retaining one’s true cultural identity. References A Research Guide for Students. (1998-2006). Retrieved March 20, 2008. http://www. aresearchguide. com/1steps. html Bilingualism and Biculturalism. Retrieved March 20, 2008, from Alberta’s Francophone Heritage. http://www. edukits. ca/francophone/en/secondary/infomatics_text_bilingualism. html Chan, K. (1998). Bilingualism and Biculturalism. Retrieved March 20, 2008, from Academia. http://www. geocities. com/goktimus/bilingualism. html Multiculturalism. Retrieved March 20, 2008, from Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Multiculturalism.

Common Causes for Emergency Geriatric Treatment

Common Causes for Emergency Geriatric Treatment Introduction Chronological age of 65 years or above is accepted as the defining criteria for Geriatric patients in most developed countries 1 .This large heterogeneous group is further classified into three subpopulations commonly referred as ‘Young-Old’ [65-74 Years], ‘Old’ [75-84 Years] and ‘Old-Old’ [85 years and older]. Worldwide, the number of Elderly persons is expected to more than double from 841 million people in 2013 to more than 2 billion in 2050 2.In United States, patients over the age of 64 years account for 15-18% of ED visits 3 .Of these, about 35% requires admission as inpatient and a significant proportion of this gets admitted to Intensive care units 3.. The common geriatric syndromes in the Emergency Department include altered mental status, functional decline, fall, trauma, acute abdomen, infections, acute coronary syndromes, cerbrovascular accidents and exacerbations of chronic respiratory disorders. There are unique characteristics and special needs which have to be kept in mind while addressing elderly patients in the emergency department. The clinical presentation of geriatric patients is usually complex with more of atypical manifestations; confounding effects of co-morbid diseases, super added cognitive dysfunction, polypharmacy and associated adverse drug reactions, psychosocial issues and lack of adequate social support etc 4. Assessment of these issues usually demands a comprehensive approach with detailed clinical and liberal laboratory and imaging evaluations. This is justified in the context that a brief focused evaluation can overlook many life-threatening conditions in these patient group. More over the attending physician should also try to understand the baseline functional status of the patient prior to the presentation as it has got important prognostic implications. Thus it requires great skill, knowledge and patience from the part of the attending physician and the health care team as such to effectively and safely manage this vulnerable patient population. Approach to Unstable Elderly patient in Emergency Department In general, the principles of resuscitation in elderly patients are same as the standard guidelines followed for adult patients. But it is desirable for the emergency physician to speak to the immediate relatives or to the patient himself if possible to see whether there is any advance directive or patient’s wishes for end of life care decisions. If present, it has to be respected before taking treatment decisions. The special characteristics in elderly while assessing Airway, Breathing and Circulation are summarized in figure 1.Nasal airway or Nasogastric tube has to be inserted gently with care as the nasal mucosa is very friable and has a tendency to bleed in elderly patients. Always examine the oral cavity in unconscious patients for loose fitting dentures or partly chewed food as they can cause potential airway obstruction and if present, has to be removed. Edentulous airway can result in ineffective bag-mask ventilation. Hence well fitting dentures can be kept insitu while bag mask ventilation but always has to be removed before attempts of intubation. Difficulty in extending neck or in opening mouth has to be anticipated while attempting intubation due to degenerative diseases of spine and temperomandibular joints. Arterial Blood gases are an important adjunct to the clinician as the clinical response to hypoxia, hypercapnea and acidosis can be blunted in elderly. Arterial hypotension (systolic BP 5. Serial assessment of Blood pressures and Arterial Blood gas examination to see trends in lactate, base excess and acidosis can identify such potential high risk candidates early 6. Fluid resuscitation should follow in the standard fashion with fluids or blood in an elderly patient who is hemodynamically unstable in the Emergency department. But it should be careful with constant monitoring to avoid pulmonary edema. Early blood transfusion should be considered in elderly unstable trauma patient. Common Geriatric syndromes in Emergency department Altered Mental status At least 25% of elderly patients in the ED have altered mental status 7, 8. Delirium is an acute confusional state and dementia is a chronic confusional state. Etiology of delirium is often mutltifactorial but often represents an underlying medical emergency. Diagnosis of delirium is clinical and is based on assessment of the level of consciousness and cognition. The confusion assessment method (CAM) is a useful tool for diagnosing delirium at ED 9.The important management steps in the Emergency department are illustrated in Figure 2.The first priority is to address predisposing and precipitating factors like hypovolemia, hypotension, hypoxia, hypoglycemia, hyponatremia, Acidosis etc. Often inpatient admission is needed for the management of the underlying illness. Drugs like haloperidol or lorazepam may be used in cases of extreme agitation but with caution and at titrating doses. Decline in Functional status Functional status reflects how well a person is able to meet his or her own daily needs-like feeding oneself, dressing up, getting out of bed, bathing, toileting etc. The attending physician should not misinterpret a decline in functional status as a part of normal ageing process. Functional status of an elderly patient can be formally assessed with use of standard scales for basic activities of daily living. Activity of Daily living –ADL is one such tool and is shown in figure 4. New onset Functional decline is often precipitated by medical, psychological or social reasons. Patients with unexplained functional decline need admission for evaluation and management. Functional decline is an important predictor of further functional decline, repeat ED visits, hospitalization, need for home care or institutionalization and death10, 11. The general approach to a patient with decline in functional status is illustrated in figure 5. Falls Falls account for approximately 10% of emergency visits in Elderly 12, 13.Falls are the most common cause of fatal as well as non fatal injuries in geriatric population. A fall should be treated as a symptom and the physician should evaluate the causes and consequences of fall. The most common reasons for injurious fall-related ED visits among the elderly were fractures (41.0 percent), followed by superficial/contusion injuries (22.6 percent) and open wounds (21.4 percent) 13. Serious injuries associated with fall include hip fracture, rib fracture, subdural hematoma, other serious soft tissue injury or head trauma. It is important to remember that a fall can signal a sentinel event in an elder person’s life triggering a downwards spiral of complicating events, finally leading to death. Acute abdomen in elderly Acute abdominal pain in elderly usually poses a challenge to the clinician as the symptoms are often non-specific, abdominal findings are often subtle and the presence of co-morbid conditions which can complicate the definitive surgical procedures. Common causes of acute abdomen in elderly include acute cholecystitis, acute appendicitis, peptic –ulcer perforation, mesenteric ischemia, acute pancreatitis, ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm, bowel obstruction and diverticular diseases. Elderly usually presents with atypical symptoms, often significantly late in the course of the illness. It is essential to consider serious medical conditions like inferior myocardial infarction, pneumonia, pleurisy, diabetic ketoacidosis and pulmonary embolism in all cases of suspected acute abdomen. Abdominal tenderness may not be present or poorly localized. Guarding or rebound tenderness might be difficult to appreciate. Serial abdominal examination is important as new signs tend to appear with time. High risk features include acute onset of pain, severe pain, pain followed by vomiting, worsening or persistent pain, signs of peritonitis, hemoperitoneum and hemodynamic disturbances. Liberal imaging is the usual protocol with Plain x-ray abdomen, abdominal ultrasound and CT abdomen as necessary. Patients with continuing symptoms but with unremarkable laboratory and imaging studies should be observed and serially evaluated as necessary. An approach to elderly with abdominal pain is illustrated in figure 6. Infections in elderly Elderly are significantly more prone to infections and its life threatening complications. Presentation of infection can be atypical with lack of fever or localizing features. Sepsis can present with subtle clinical features like lethargy, decline in functional status or confusion. Usual site of infections include lung, urinary tract, skin and abdomen. High index of suspicion is necessary to early identify the patients with sepsis. Management of Severe Sepsis and Septic shock in elderly should follow the standard guidelines used for adults like international surviving sepsis guidelines 14. Early initiation of antibiotics and other sepsis resuscitation bundles is found to improve mortality and functional recovery 15, 16, 17 .The salient points in the clinical approach to an elderly with suspected sepsis are summarized in figure 7. Medication related problems Adverse events related to drugs are common in elderly population and is a common cause for ED visits. Elderly are more susceptible to serious and fatal adverse drug effects due to polypharmacy, lack of monitoring , non-adherence, use of multiple medications, use of over the counter medications, wrong dosage , altered drug metabolism and propensity for drug interactions. The risk factors for serious adverse drug reaction in elderly include ‘old-old’ patient, lean body mass, more than 6 chronic medical illnesses, 9 or more drugs, more than 12 doses per day and a previous history of adverse drug reaction 18. Most commonly encountered problematic drugs include diuretics, NSAIDs, Warfarin, Digoxin, antidiabetic agents, antiepileptic agents, chemotherapeutic agents, antibiotics and psychotropic drugs 19. Detailed drug history, reviewing prescriptions and direct verification of current medications may prove to be very helpful strategies while evaluating geriatric patients in th e ED. Elder Abuse and Neglect Elder abuse is defined a single or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes harm or distress to an older person 20. It can result either from an act of commission or of omission and may present as physical abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, care giver neglect, self neglect and financial exploitation. It should be suspected in patients who present with unexplained or multiple injuries in various stages of evolution. Key points: The characteristics and needs of elderly in the Emergency department are quite different than the younger patient. Clinical presentation of life threatening diseases can be atypical, subtle or misleading with absence of classic symptoms and signs. Presence of multiple co- morbid conditions and cognitive impairment usually complicates the picture. A comprehensive work up-including detailed history, physical examination and liberal investigations and imaging is recommended than a brief goal directed or symptom based work up. Altered mental status, falls, functional decline, acute coronary syndromes, stroke, infections with or without sepsis, acute abdomen and trauma are the common geriatric syndromes in the emergency department. Social and non medical issues are important and need multidisciplinary input to ensure safe and effective disposition of these population.