Psychological perspectives Essay

The brain is a super computer with a complicated network of neurones subserving many of the activities of our daily life. Many of us are unaware of the various interconnected processes that work in unison to let us lead a simple uncomplicated life. Only when someone is ill or not normal do we feel the messing up of a great system. Cognitive function is the intellectual process by which a person becomes aware of, perceives or comprehends ideas. Recognition, conception, sensing, thinking, reasoning, remembering and imagining all come under cognitive functions ( Parayannis, 2000) Behaviour, being emotional or angry are other features of cognitive functions of the brain. They are all related to specific centers or regions of the brain. Injury in the form of trauma or illnesses leads to various cognitive impairments. Summarizing I would deign to declare that each of us is what our brains would want us to be. The combinations and permutations of the neurones decide our personality, skills, talents, feelings, behavior and responses. However we are aware of the fact only in the case of damage to one or more areas of the brain. The theme I shall discuss in my paper is â€Å" Psychological perspectives†. I have selected four chapters from this course which I believe should carry the message of the enigma that is the brain and the emotions that are attached for a social set up. They are Memory System (Chapter 8), Cerebral Cortex and the Lobes of the brain( Chapter 2), Aggression and Prosocial Behaviour (Chapter 16 ) and Social Development (Chapter 3). Memory Memory is of three kinds: sensory, short-term and long-term. Sensory memory depends on auditory, visual and visuo spatial functions . Both cerebral hemispheres are involved in analyzing sensory data, performing memory functions, learning new information, forming thoughts and making decisions (Parayannis, 2000). The left takes care of the sequential analysis. New information is systematically and logically interpreted. Symbolic information like language, mathematics, abstraction and memory is also dealt with. Memory is stored in a language format. The right hemisphere deals with the interpretation of multiple sensory inputs and here memory is stored as auditory, visual and spatial functions. One’s environment is understood. The interpretation of dancing and gymnastics are possible through the right hemisphere functions. Short term memory holds small amounts of information. Selective attention is involved. Everything that we see or hear is not stored. Short term memory is sensitive to interruption or interference. combined with other mental processes, short term memory forms an area of working memory which we use to do our thinking with. This behaves like a scratchpad. When we tackle arithmetic, do a puzzle, prepare a meal or read something, we are using our working memory. Information that has to be stored for long is possible due to long term memory which is also a function of the brain. The area which holds infinite amounts of information can never run out of ‘space’. A person’s educational caliber is supported by this long term memory which is encoded in terms of meaning and importance. Our daily activities are enabled by dual memory comprising of short term and long term memory. When we have an information which we used (short-term) but is not required for the time being, we store it in our long term memory and retrieve it when necessary. Memory loss, a feature of cognitive impairment, is the delay or failure to recall recent or distant events. Amnesia is an extreme form of memory loss when caused by a more severe injury to the brain, probably in a road accident, bomb explosion or shooting incident. Involvement due to injury or aging can produce loss of memory of varying levels. Loss can be a mild dysfunction (MCI ) or severe and named as dementia. Old people of 55-80 years of age could have cognitive impairment without having any illness. Memory loss is seen in degenerative disorders or dementias like Alzheimer’s, traumatic brain injuries, following ECT or in Korsakoff’s psychosis. Damage to the limbic system causes a loss of recent memory. This is seen in Korsakoff’s Disease. Recent events are forgotten due to a direct effect of alcohol or due to the associated nutritional deficiencies. . The ability to store and retrieve from short term memory is affected in natural aging too. The foremost problem is the loss of recent memory in Alzheimer’s Disease. The care-taker needs to be extremely patient as all her time would be spent for looking after the patient ( Ballenger, 2006). Traumatic Amnesia usually occurs as a transient phenomenon following a head injury. ECT induced amnesia follows episodes of ECT in a psychiatric illness. The amnesia is transient and may last a year. Patients with implicit memory (not dependent on the part of the brain) remember to do some things (Dorf et al, 1994). Extensive damage to the left cerebral cortex can affect long term memory. Damage to the right cerebral cortex produces a disturbance in the visual and auditory perceptions and visuo-spatial deficit. Memories of seen articles or heard songs or even regularly visited places would not be remembered. The Cerebral Cortex and the Lobes of the Brain The brain is composed of the cerebrum, cerebellum and the brain stem. The cerebrum forms the greatest part and is divided into lobes named by the overlying bone (April, 1990). The left and right cerebral hemispheres consist of the cerebral cortex, white matter and basal ganglia. The cerebral cortex is the outermost layer of the brain composed of grey matter. It has 1015 individual neurons connected in specific patterns. The white matter holds the tracts which connect the neurons. The surface is folded into gyri separated by sulci or grooves. Each half of the cerebral hemispheres has the frontal lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, the limbic lobe and the central lobe. Motor and sensory cortex are found. Sensory cortex is again sub-divided into primary, secondary and association cortices. Primary is where the stimulus reaches first. Secondary is the area which is connected to the primary and helps in the processing. Association cortices have a 2 stimuli input. There are 3 identified associative cortices. They are the basis of thought and perception with practically no influence on behavior. They are the parieto-temporal-occipital cortex, pre-frontal area and the limbic association area. The first receives somatosensory, auditory and visual projections. These associative areas integrate the information from the sensory modalities for language. Injury affecting this area causes a faulty language. The prefrontal area if affected produces problems in several cognitive behaviours. Difficulty arises in control of motor planning. The ability to concentrate and attend, elaboration of thought, personality and emotional traits are determined here. The frontal lobe subserves cognition and memory. Broadman’s area in the left frontal lobe is involved with voluntary motor activities( April,1990). Damage to this area causes contralateral hemiplegia associated with a motor aphasia (involvement of the prefrontal cortex or Broca’s area). The parietal lobe processes sensory inputs and discrimination, body orientation and ability to write. Damage would produce an inability to recognize parts of the body, space and an inability to write. The occipital lobe is involved with primary visual function and visual interpretation. Damage would cause cortical blindness even when the eyes are perfectly normal. The temporal lobe which has the Wernicke’s area subserves the auditory function, expressed behaviour, receptive language and memory. Damage would result in hearing deficits, childish behaviour and receptive aphasia. Lateralisation is evident in the right and left handedness of people. However this is no indication of the dominance of any hemisphere. 95% of people have left hemisphere language function, 18. 8% have right hemisphere language function. 19. 8 % have bilateral language functions. Linear reasoning, speech and vocabulary are lateralised to the left hemisphere. Dyscalculia is caused by damage to the left temporo-parietal region. This leads to difficulty in doing mathematics. Some language functions like intonation and accentuation are with the right hemisphere. Musical and visual stimuli, spatial manipulation, facial perception and artistic ability are functions of the right too. Logical reasoning is with the left but intuitive reasoning is with the right. Cerebral asymmetry is the feature of the normal human brain. The left is the dominant hemisphere with language functions while the right is involved more with visuo-spatial functions. An acquired language deficit accompanying right-sided stroke (left hemisphere involvement) is the best indication that the left hemisphere is dominant for language. The right hemisphere stroke does not involve speech problems. The corpus callosum connects the 2 hemispheres and coordinates the functions of both. Any injury to this area causes ‘Split brain’ where the coordination between the 2 hemispheres is lost. A ‘split brain’ patient does not speak of emotions or feelings. The right hemisphere and the left behave independently. The patient appears to have 2 minds. It was revealed in studies by Robert Sperry, a psychobiologist, who conducted studies in patients in whom commissurectomy (severing the corpus callosum from each hemisphere ) was done as a treatment for intractable epilepsy. He found that the two halves of the brain had specific functions and each side acted independently, whereas in the normal brain, the two halves act in coordination. This is the theory of hemispheric independence (Zaire et al, 1990) After the operation, the right half showed predominance when it came to spatial tasks like arrangement of blocks. The limbic area is the area of the brain that affects the emotions, rage, fear and sex. Integration of recent memory and biological rhythms are decided here. If this area is affected, an angry but frightened personality without emotional control would be the result. Recent memory would be lost. Aggression and Prosocial Behavior Prosocial Behaviour is helpful behavior intended to help another. It is different from altruism in that it is not voluntary helping behaviour that is costly to the giver (Psychology:An International Perspective, 2004). Another definition states that this refers to the â€Å"voluntary actions intended to help another† ( Eisenberg and Mussen, 1989). Prosocial behaviour refers to the consequences of a doer’s actions rather than the motivations behind them. They include sharing, comforting, rescuing and helping, understanding the needs of the recipient (Knickerbocker, Learning to give). Traditional theories of helping include sociobiology, social learning , empathy and arousal. Physical aggression is a major health problem. Childhood aggression is a precursor to physical and mental health problems that occur in later life. Aggressive children are also liable to higher risk of substance abuse , alcoholism, accidents, violent crimes, depression, suicide attempts, spouse abuse, neglectful and abusive parenting (Tremblay et al, 2004) It is unusual for the aggressive students to really harm their targets. However in studies of physical aggression in infancy, it was shown that by 17 months, a large majority of children are already aggressive towards their siblings, parents and peers (Tremblay et al, 2004). A study by Tremblay et al attempted to identify the trajectories of physical aggressions during early childhood and also o identify antecedents of high levels of physical aggression early in life. 572 families with a 5- month old baby were selected and followed up till 42 months. 3 trajectories were identified. The first group of 28% had children who displayed little or no aggression. 58% showed a rising trajectory of modest aggression. 14 % showed a high level of physical aggression (Tremblay et al, 2004). Best predictors before the birth of the child were, having other siblings, confidence interveal, mothers with early( before end of high school ) and high antisocial behaviour , young mothers, families with low income and mothers who smoked. The conclusion indicated was that physical aggression started in early infancy. All the predictors before birth were reasons for the child not learning how to preventive interventions. In order to change or reduce the long term impacts preventive intervention programmes must be chalked out effectively (Tremblay et al, 2004) In a model identifying 5 factors that prompt voluntarism (Clary and Snyder, 1990), they found that a combination of factors ultimately motivates volunteers. One factor is altruism but all the other four are self serving: motivation by socially adjustable conditions, ego defensive considerations, the desire to acquire knowledge or skills for personal or professional education and helping understanding the needs. Aggression is caused in 3 ways in a child: instinct, rewards and observation. Obviously these 3 factors rule the manner in which the aggression is to be overcome or prevented. Catharsis may be tried to vent the child’s anger in other ways. Rewarding non aggressive behaviour works. Cognitive training is also effective. Promoting prosocial behaviour should be tried. Rewarding good behaviour may not be so effective. A better way is to try modelling. The parent should ‘model’ good behaviour as the child always has a tendency to imitate its parents. The parent appeals to the childs pride and desire to be agrown-up (Aggressive and Prosocial Behaviour, Psychology campus. com). Social development Like all humans , babies are also social creatures. It was found from studies that babies recognise themselves at the age of 15 months. Prior to that, they would treat their mirror image as another like them and would even coax them to come out to play. At about 15 months of age, the baby starts showing interest in others and developing a social awareness. It starts showing the emotions of shame, guilt, embarassment and pride. These babies glance at the facial expressions of others to decide how to react just like adults. In one study babies placed at the side of a high cliff kept watching their mothers’ faces. If they were encouraging, the babies would cross. When the mothers exhibited fear, the babies did not move. This is identified as social referencing. It. demonstrated the emotional bond or attachment of the babies with their mothers or caregivers. For most infants emotional bonding appears around 8 to 12 months of age. Psychologist Mary Ainsworth (1913 -1999) spoke about 3 kinds of attachments. The securely attached infants would be upset by the mother’s absence. An insecure avoidant child is anxious about the mother’s absence but turns away when she returns. An insecure ambivalent child also has an emotional bond but has mixed feelings . It wants to be with the mother but is angry at her and does not want contact. Attachments do play a role in the life of the child and its future behaviour. The securely attached ones would be the most confident. Attachment failures could be damaging. The mother has a strong role in promoting attachment in an infant, hoping to improve its mental status and bringing up a resilient child. Attachments to fathers provides one more reason to have a closely knit family with well behaved children. When a seond child arrives, attachment security drops. Commercial child care centers if of good quality does provide additional security. Children tend to have better relationships with their mothers and lesser problems.

“Fighting Ruben Wolfe” by Markus Zusak Essay

Life is like one big race that we are set out to win, with many hurdles in our way that try to stop us and test our determination, but with every failure and defeat our determination grows stronger as we ourselves grow as a person. You will learn that life is full of ups and downs, but no matter how hard life gets you down you got to get back on your feet, smile stubbornly and fight back and then maybe we will understand like the Wolfe family what it means to conquer your fears against all lifes odds to make something of yourself, to prove your worth, to make it known that you yourself are a winner. Despite self doubts, Cameron, like all the Wolfe family, is a winner. Cameron and Ruben have always been close they did everything together. They had been the two juveniles of the family with no purpose, until they found boxing. Cameron Wolfe wasnt exactly what you would call the type of guy girls would fling themselves at to be noticed, and he lacked the boxing skills, strength and courage his brother Ruben possessed, but Cameron had heart and determination. No matter how beaten he was he would push himself back onto his feet, he would push until he could push no more. He wanted to prove to himself and to the people that, he Cameron Wolfe could be a fighter and maybe even a winner no matter what lies at stake, he was determined to be somebody, with Ruben at his side motivating him.; when Cameron was fighting Ruben would be in the corner cheering him on and vice versa. It was the encouragement and love from Ruben that made Cameron a winner and also Cameron self belief, he believed he could be a winner and he believed he was a winner. Ruben Wolfe looked like a winner on the outside, he was even a winner in the boxing ring, but yet inside his head his mind was racing with the world. Racing to be the first, racing to be respected, racing because he’s hungry for more, racing to become a fighter and not just winner. Ruben was a winner, he had the skills, he had the moves, he was tough and his combination of invincibility and good looks had the women streaming after him. But with every victory, he loses a part of himself, a part of his heart. The more he fights the more his hunger grows and devours him. He is  hungry for a purpose in life, hungry for fame and fortune; he is hungry because hes looking for something to fill his hunger in life, to fill in that emptiness because he was afraid of being a loser in life and not achieving anything. I say, Dont lost your heart, Rube. He says Im not tryin to lose it, Cam. Im tryin to find it. (pg 103)The head of the pack Mr. Wolfe was a confident man who took pride in everything he did. He was the man of the house the one that helped keep it all together, but after his fatal accident that left him in unemployment bin, his hope, confidence and pride slowly started to disintegrate drowning in a sea of darkness and despair; as being the dominant male of the family he felt like a failure as he couldnt even support his family financially and pay the bills. But he refused to give up and go on the dole even though there was only a spec of hope left. He went door knocking looking for work, as embarrassing as it was to him it was nothing compared to going on the dole, he couldnt give up this fight, because a Wolfe always fights back and has to Smile stubborn, smile with instinct, then lick your wounds in the darkest of corners (pg 17). The toughest and fearless of all the Wolfes is Mrs Wolfe. Mrs Wolfe is the sticky tape that fixes everything, that holds everything together despite how hard things get. Even in spite of the sudden plunge into poverty; the fights about the bills, the motherly worries about her children, she will fight for her familys pride, fight to give the name Wolfe a meaning and fight against the poverty and sorrows that try to bring you down in life. What does it mean to be a Wolfe, what does it mean to be a fighter, what does it mean to fight and become a winner. In life there is always some misfortune that is going to try and bring you down, but you learn that those experiences are the things that make you stronger. The Wolfe Pack, as Cameron describes his family, were determined to fight back, to hold their pride and in time they were able to overcome the demons, the stricken poverty and they were able to find their hearts.

The convention governing the International Whaling Commission (IWC)

President Clinton, when announcing his decision last October to delay the implementation of sanctions on Norway following that country's recommencement of commercial whaling, stated the United States' strong commitment to science- based international solutions to global conservation problems. The convention governing the International Whaling Commission (IWC) states similarly that its â€Å"regulations with respect to the conservation and utilization of whale resources †¦ shall be based on scientific findings†. But the practice differs greatly from the principle. The IWC took a decision in 1982 to impose a global moratorium on all commercial whaling at a time of growing scientific evidence that the Antarctic minke whale population, at least, could certainly sustain a limited harvest. Whaling countries, angered by this decision which they considered to be without scientific justification, hit back later in the 80's by making use of a provision in the IWC Convention which allowed them to issue permits to their nationals to catch some whales for the purpose of scientific research – research is conducted as a part of these â€Å"scientific† whaling operations, but is that their primary purpose? Most recently there is the proposal for a whale sanctuary throughout the Southern Ocean – a transparent attempt to prevent the resumption of whaling on the 3/4 million strong Antarctic minke population for reasons which have nothing to do with science. This has been accompanied by the unedifying spectacle of Western nations and â€Å"conservation† (or, more accurately, â€Å"preservationist†) groups desperately searching for some plausible surrogate scientific rationale with which to attempt to justify the proposal. These other reasons are discussed elsewhere in this volume. My brief is to address aspects of President Clinton's expressed concern at â€Å"the absence of a credible, agreed management and monitoring regime that would ensure that commercial whaling is kept within a science-based limit†. SUSTAINABLE UTILISATION Obviously such limits should be consistent with â€Å"sustainable utilisation† – but exactly what does that mean? The most ready analogy is that of a pensioner whose sole asset is a capital sum invested in a bank. Sustainable utilisation for him means living off the annual interest without dipping into the capital. In other words, harvesting only the natural annual growth of a population, without depleting it to a low level where this growth is greatly reduced. THE IWC'S NEW MANAGEMENT PROCEDURE In the 1970's, in response to mounting public criticism following the substantial depletion of many whale populations by whaling conducted under its aegis, the IWC introduced the so-called â€Å"New Management Procedure† (NMP). The underlying principles were fine – essentially to get whale populations to and keep them at reasonably high proportions of their size before exploitation started, by ensuring that catch limits set did not exceed sustainable levels. But the NMP proved unworkable in practice. Why? Not because there was anything wrong with the concept, but because the NMP didn't go far enough. It failed to specify how the â€Å"annual interest† (i.e. the sustainable catch level from a whale stock) was to be calculated, what data needed to be collected to do this, and how to take account of uncertainties. CALCULATING SUSTAINABLE YIELD LEVELS So how can sustainable yield levels be calculated? For the pensioner, the process is simple: to evaluate how much interest will become available annually, ask the bank teller how much capital is in his account and what the interest rate is, and then just multiply the two together. So why isn't fisheries management equally easy? – because the teller is unco- operative. All he will tell you, and only once a year, is how much you have in your account, which he can get wrong by typically 20%. And he certainly won't tell you directly what the interest rate is. How do we then get the information needed to be able to perform this key multiplication to calculate the sustainable yield for whale populations? For the capital component, sighting surveys are conducted from research vessels to determine the numbers of whales. By the standards normally attainable in fisheries research, the results obtained are good (error margins of typically 20%). The difficult component is the interest rate. Basically some (careful) exploitation is needed before this can be evaluated, because the calculation requires the information from a series of sighting surveys on how the size of the population changes in response to this harvesting. THE FUNDAMENTAL RISK-REWARD TRADE-OFF The bottom line then is that some trade-off is inevitable. If such initial harvests are kept too low, the potential productivity of the resource remains undiscovered. But if these catches are set too large, there is a high risk that unintended heavy depletion may occur before this is realised and corrective action can be taken. The goal of a risk-free harvesting strategy is unattainable, for exactly the same reason that no car or aircraft can ever be made completely â€Å"safe†. Risk can be reduced (though never eliminated), but only at the expense of higher costs – or correspondingly, lesser rewards in the form of smaller catches in resource utilisation terms. WHERE DOES THE COMPUTER COME IN? The role of the computer is to calculate the sizes of the anticipated trade-offs between risk and reward when harvesting whale populations. This is the basic function of the computer simulation trials used to test the IWC Scientific Committee's proposed â€Å"Revised Management Procedure† (RMP). Quantitative information about these trade-offs allows a sensible choice to be made between the extremes of rapid extinction of the resource under unsustainable catch levels, and complete protection which forbids any harvesting ever. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A â€Å"MANAGEMENT PROCEDURE† AND THE TRADITIONAL APPROACH TO FISHERIES MANAGEMENT? How does such a â€Å"Management Procedure† approach differ from the usual methods used to regulate fisheries? There catch limits are calculated according to the current â€Å"best perceptions† of the status and productivity of the resource. But it is then not entirely clear how the answer obtained should be adjusted to take the inevitable uncertainties in these perceptions into account – in other words, how to make proper allowance for risk. In contrast, the â€Å"Management Procedure† approach puts such uncertainties up front, by insisting that if these current â€Å"best perceptions† are in error, the trend in catches set over the longer term must be such that the Procedure self-corrects before there is any substantial risk that the resource could be damaged. For example, it has been suggested that global climatic change could result in a change in the environment which is deleterious for whale stocks. The RMP has already been tested to ensure that catch limits for whales would be adjusted downwards appropriately should this occur. Why are such Procedures needed for whales in particular? Whales are long-lived animals and their populations can at best grow at only a few percent per annum. Thus even relatively low levels of catch, if continued, can lead to problems unless there is adequate monitoring and an option for adjusting catch limits. In other words, the risk involved in harvesting whale populations can be evaluated sensibly only for a Procedure which is to be consistently applied for a number of decades. Thus, as in sport, a Management Procedure involves all the parties concerned agreeing the rules before the game is played (and sticking to them during it!). IS THIS APPROACH BEING USED SUCCESSFULLY ELSEWHERE? This approach is not entirely new in fisheries. Iceland has been applying it in the management of its capelin fishery. Arising out of the IWC's initiative for whales, South Africa has now come to base catch limit decisions for its major fisheries for hake, sardine and anchovy on the approach. WHAT SORT OF CATCH REGIME FOR WHALES WOULD RESULT UNDER THE RMP? As far as catch limits for whales under the IWC Scientific Committee's proposed RMP are concerned, these would initially be set at annual levels of about 0.5% of current population sizes. That would apply to stocks of species not greatly depleted by past whaling activities, such as many of the world's minke whale populations. For stocks still markedly depleted such as the blue and fin whales of the Antarctic, this percentage would be considerably less – indeed zero for those and many other stocks for a number of decades yet. In addition, there would be provisions to ensure that catches are widely spread, rather than concentrated in a few small regions. This is necessary to provide safeguards against uncertainties in knowledge about the positions of the boundaries between stocks. The annual percentage take could be increased over time, but this would be permitted only provided the results from the monitoring population trends over time by sightings surveys suggest that such larger levels of catch are sustainable. However, if the survey series stops, catches are phased out quite rapidly. TO WHAT LEVEL OF RISK DOES THE RMP CORRESPOND? What risks would be involved in the application of the RMP to whale stocks? Broadly speaking, there would be no more than a 5% chance, even under the worst set of circumstances or misconceptions likely, that catches (other than perhaps ones of a negligible size) would be taken from a population reduced to more than 10% below its most productive level. (This is the so-called 54% â€Å"protection level† – an abundance 54% of that before any harvesting took place.) And populations would need to be reduced to well below that level before any real concerns about possible extinction might arise. HOW DOES THIS LEVEL OF RISK COMPARE TO THAT ACCEPTED IN HARVESTING OTHER OF THE WORLD'S MARINE RESOURCES? If this criterion (no more than a 5% chance that the population is below 54% of its pre-exploitation size for harvesting to be allowed) were applied to the rest of the world's fisheries, nearly all would have to be closed immediately. Off the northeast coast of the US and off western Europe, for example, harvesting continues from cod stocks which are below not just 50% of their pristine levels, but arguably less than as little as 10%. Even when allowing for biological differences between whales and fish, the low levels of risk some nations demand be met for harvesting the former, are totally inconsistent with the much higher levels which they are prepared to accept for exploiting their own stocks of the latter. ABORIGINAL WHALING ON THE BOWHEAD WHALE OFF ALASKA President Clinton's statement made reference to the aboriginal whaling on bowheads in which native Alaskans engage. Some years ago, there was justifiable concern that these activities were putting this population at risk. However, the US has commendably invested considerable research effort towards addressing this problem, with results which show that there can now be no serious scientific reservations that current levels of catch place the population under any real threat. Yet, were the RMP to be applied in this case, it is so risk averse that an immediate cessation of these whaling activities would be required. THE NMFS REVIEW OF THE RMP Recently, the US National Marine Fisheries Service commissioned an independent review of the RMP by a panel of seven North American scientists. Their brief to assimilate and comment upon seven years of work by the IWC Scientific Committee (without having had any prior involvement therein) in the short space of five days was a daunting one. The panel concluded that the RMP as it stood could be used safely for a period of at most 20 years, but also recommended that some further computer simulation trials be carried out. However, it seems to me that all the specific extra trials which they recommend have effectively already been carried out and considered by the IWC's Scientific Committee. It is unclear from the panel's written report whether they were unaware of this, or did actually have some reservations about what had been done, which their report fails to elaborate. Obviously the panel should clarify this ambiguity expeditiously to the IWC's Scientific Committee. NORWAY'S RESUMPTION OF COMMERCIAL WHALING Norway has, of course, resumed commercial whaling on minke whales. This it is legally entitled to do, since it lodged an objection to the IWC's 1982 moratorium decision. I understand that the annual catch limit set by the Norwegians for their overall operation is within the limit which the RMP would specify, so that there are no scientific grounds to query that decision. However, I understand also that the areal distribution of the catches permitted by Norway is not in accord with the provisions of the RMP, and I believe that legitimate questions can be directed at Norway on this point. Of course, such a deviation from the RMP does not necessarily mean that any real danger to the resource will eventuate. But if Norway does wish to depart from the RMP's provisions, I believe that it has some scientific obligation to present the results of computer simulation trials to the IWC's Scientific Committee to demonstrate that such deviations as they might plan do indeed not involve undue long term risk. THE POTENTIAL EFFECT OF INCREASED CONSUMPTION BY GROWING MARINE MAMMAL POPULATIONS ON COMMERCIAL FISH RESOURCES What of the concerns often expressed that increasing marine mammal populations will consume more fish and thus put fishing industries at risk? The counter argument often made is that there is no scientific proof that this is so. But equally, there is no scientific proof that it isn't. The scientific methods which have been used in the past to address this question have been crude, and there has been a justifiable argument that basing management decisions (such as a marine mammal cull, for example) upon their results would be premature. Marine science can never, by its nature, prove something without some residual doubt. But methods are being improved, and cases may soon arise where the preponderance of indications that growing numbers of marine mammals will impact fisheries is so strong, that hard decisions will have to be faced to avoid the chance that important industries are put at risk. For example, growing fur seal herds off southern Africa are now more than 2 million strong. Their consumption of commercial species equates to the total catch by all the fishing industries in the area, and their continued growth may constitute a threat to the region's most valuable fishery for hake. IN CONCLUSION To conclude, let me return to President Clinton's concern for science-based limits, and credible management and monitoring for potential commercial whaling. From the scientific side, the RMP has been more thoroughly researched and tested than any comparable marine resource management system worldwide. Its own requirement for regular sighting surveys, as well as the regular review process associated with its implementation for any species and region, ensures adequate monitoring. It is so risk averse that the only real scientific basis for questioning its immediate implementation is that it is so conservative that it will waste much of a potential harvest. If the United States fails to endorse the RMP, is there any way that the US could then avoid the judgement of complete hypocrisy, unless it immediately suspended not only the aboriginal whaling by Alaskans, but indeed closed every one of the country's fisheries?

Article critique Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Critique - Article Example This scenario is more rampant for parents with children below the age 8. At this age a child does not have the psychological strength to endure the psychological and physical stress associated with self medication. This fact has made parents very significant figures in ensuring children are in the proper psychological strength to undergo this medication. The significance of this research is also based on educational purposes. Analysts argue that parents are in need of proper handling skills to their diagnosed children. On many occasions parents undergo much stress in trying to understand and handle the responsibility that come sun aiding small children in administering insulin. In this article, effective sources have been cited and analyzed to show the outcome of the results done on the research problem. The used source for reference help in directing the research problem wave that is aimed at addressing and changing the modes in which parents are educated in handling their T1D patie nt children (NIH Public Access, 2011). The depth of the problem has been put into perspective by considering the number of causalities medical institution handle in terms of bad handling of diabetic children. Additionally, the depth of the problem was analyzed by the number of parents and children who enrolled in the coping skills training programs (NIH Public Access, 2011). ... The other objective of the research case was to show the impact of the recommended solutions. This is effectively done by a proper data analysis technique. The data provided in this particular research gives an insight of how significant CST programs are in improving handing techniques in parents with children diagnosed by T1D. Additionally, the article compares the results and significance of group educational intervention for parents and CST programs. The comparison is then projected in data form on the most influential strategy by ensuring parents have the most effective handing skills for their children. The general objective of the paper was to provide an insight on various methods of enhancing parents’ coping skills and the significance and effectiveness of each method implemented (NIH Public Access, 2011). The framework used in this particular research problem is effective and clear enough to provide a clear insight of the effectiveness of different coping skills. In ge nerating the working framework, the author came up with a strategic framework from creating a background on the problem, highlighting the objectives of the paper, the method of measurement of results and collecting date, analyzing the data collected and discussing the most suitable recommendation to be implemented (NIH Public Access, 2011). Additionally, the frame work is also based on proving that group based interventions for parents of children with T1D reduces the effects of treatment management improve the way they cope and they quality of life. The validity of the study design is supported by research instruments based on the reaction of both patients and parents. The first

Building Trust in Virtual Teams - Leadership Role Research Paper

Building Trust in Virtual Teams - Leadership Role - Research Paper Example   A leader should be someone who is willing to serve than to be served, has a strong will to be able to bring a group together despite probably different interests and opinions, and perhaps someone who has enough knowledge to instruct his fellow team members. However, when you come to think of it before all these are actually even possible, there is one thing that needs to be achieved which is no other than trust. Trust is indeed the foundation of real teamwork and is something that will enable a leader to be able to lead a group effectively to a specific goal (Hung, Yu-Ting Caisy, Alan R. Dennis, and Lionel Robert). We all know that every follower has their own set of interests that would not easily be influenced by a leader they do not trust. Thus, if you want to be a leader who does not influence one’s followers, one key to this is to not win their trust. Why? Well, this is because of the fact that the only thing that would make people listen to what you, as a leader would have to say, let alone you are a total stranger to them, is because of the fact that they see something good about you or clean in your intentions that would be beneficial for the whole group. That is why, to be able to start winning the trust of people or your team is to avoid focusing on putting words in their mouths or manipulating them over your highfaluting goals and start with what you, as a leader has to say about moral duty or commitment you are willing to give to the team (Hung, Yu-Ting Caisy, Alan R. Dennis, and Lionel Robert). Once this has been established, a leader now gains that voice to reflect the goal s and at the same time for that voice to actually be heard. However, it is important to know that it does not end in laying out the big picture of the do’s and don’ts to your team to be able to achieve a certain goal. In a way, understanding human nature, where self-interest can never be set apart, should be considered aside from the social considerations of any goal set for a team.  Ã‚  

THE EFFECTS OF MOTOR PROCESS ON REACTION TIME Essay

THE EFFECTS OF MOTOR PROCESS ON REACTION TIME - Essay Example Consequently, it has been postulated that the principal anatomic structures affected by these disorders, namely, the cerebellum and basal ganglia are important in the effective running of the timing apparatus for these functions. The involvement of the cerebellum and the basal ganglia in the motor and perceptual timing has been documented by imaging of brain while performing various timing tasks, such as, repetitive and tapping maneuvers. This involves other parameters such as duration discrimination, velocity discrimination, rhythm discrimination, temporal discrimination, and time production and reproduction. Voluntary movements are prepared before they are executed. If there is an instruction stimulus, before the go cue, there would be a delay. With this concept, the reaction time can be defined as the latent period or time interval from the go cue to time of onset of movement. Reactions times are shorter when the delays are longer, suggesting there is some time-consuming preparatory process that is given a head start by this delay. Delay-period activity is typically tuned for the instruction and is therefore predictive of reaction time, and it is suspected that delay period activity is the substrate of motor preparation occurring at that time. A neural activity, if at all it is designed to generate movement must rise above a threshold to trigger the motor activity (Akkal, D., Escola, L., Bioulac, B., Burbaud, P., 2004). If there is an instructed delay, that could allow activity to attain threshold leading to reduction in the subsequent reaction time. If the motor system takes some time to rise to threshold, as is expected, higher firing rates would lead to shorter reaction times. Alternatively, the produced movement is a function of the state of preparatory activity after the trigger. For each probable movement, it is necessary that there would be a firing rate in the subspace that is optimal, optimal in the sense that it would be appropriate and sufficient to generate a sufficiently accurate movement. The time given for motor preparation thus therefore essentially is optimization that brings firing rates from their initial state to the appropriate subspace. This allows for a wait time for execution of the movement, and this wait time may lead to subtle drifts in the activity, but as long as firing rates remain within the optimal subspace, the motor preparation would remain complete. It can be predicted consequently that the delay period firing occupy a smallish subspace that is different and unique for each instructed movement. The reaction time is the time between the onset of a stimulus and the motor response to it. As a result, there would be a perceptual latency that is denoted by the time from stimulus onset to time of stimulus detection as well as in the motor time, which is the time it takes to perform the motor task. The motor process can vary from one to another individual depending on type, intensity, and the background of the stimulus. Subjective variations in motor process have been observed between individuals based on subject age, sex, educational levels, socioeconomic status, affective state, and attentional and arousal states (Doherty, J.R., Rao, A.,

Deal of the day group buying website affect the young customers in Dissertation

Deal of the day group buying website affect the young customers in China - Dissertation Example Qualitative and quantitative research design was used. The research philosophy used was positivism or interpretive and the research approach used was deductive or inductive. The population of the study was based in Beijing China where a sample of 1,000 people was taken to represent the whole population.The SPSS statistical tool was used to analyze the data. Table of Contents Title page†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.1 Abstract†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...2 Table of content†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦......3 Chapter One:Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦...4-8 Chapter Two:Literature review†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.9-24 Chapter Three:Research Methodology†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦25-26 Chapter Four:Data Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦27-51 Chapter Five:Conclusion and Limitations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦..52-53 Appendix; Questionnaire†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦54-57 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...58-62 Chapter One Introduction Group-buying sites started in Chinese suppliers in the year 2010 March and instantly joined into competitive competitors for the business. At the optimizing of the trend, 5,058 such sites were in the marketplace, but there are only 943 left, generally due to a lack of financing, reviews news website Xkb.com.cn.Last year, a total of 1,514 groups-buying sites shut down or withdrew from the industry, a normal of four shutdowns per day, according to research from the Chinese suppliers Electronic Business Re search Center. It is agreed that in the present year, household internet leaders may also start to re-evaluate the value of their group-buying sites, and organizations may look to combine or negotiate considering the new customer pattern of buying on cell phone applications.In this summer, reviews appeared in China's Twitter and SinaWebat Juqi.com, one of the nation's top 10 group-buying sites, was near to bankruptcy, with several of its providers allegedly challenging to be compensated and starting to eliminate computer systems for the organization's head office after their demands were ignored. On August, 2, Juqi declined the rumors’ on its website, saying the organization is still in function. However, it is considered that the organization has already revoked its functions due to deficiency of financing;Juqistepped out for business in July 2010 and commenced websites in 15 places providing cafe, enjoyment and resort group-buying offers. It rated among the top 10 group-buy ing websites last season, the review said. Wang Qiheng, CEO of Lingtuan.com, linked the failing of Juqi to its problems in establishing the route of its growth and cost control, thus leading to a financing absence and problems from clients. According to numbers collected by Tuan800.com, in the first 50 percent of the season the top five group-buying websites, such as Dianping.com and Meituan.com, included 90.09% of the complete household industry. Meanwhile, there are now only 943 group-buying websites remaining in the marketplace — a rate of success of just 18.6%. Contrary to the reducing number of the sites, the

Photochemistry of Ruthenium Complexes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Photochemistry of Ruthenium Complexes - Essay Example In packed systems, this will lead to two events: the transfer of excitation energy or the transfer of the electron itself to a neighboring complex that has a lower energy level. Eventually, the series of reactions will result in the production of NADPH and ATP. The net photochemical reaction involves the splitting of water, which is the ultimate electron donor, to  ½ O2, 2H+ and 2 electrons (summarized in Mathews and Van Holde). The photochemical reaction in photosynthesis was the basis for developing inorganic systems that can make use of the high potential of solar energy. This is especially important now that supply of fossil fuels like gasoline and diesel is affected by political, climate and environmental events. The recent erratic changes in price and supply coupled with the high demand for fossil fuels increased the search for renewable and cheap sources of energy. Sunlight is free and harnessing solar energy is one of the main objectives for developing photochemical technologies. In this context, ruthenium complexes have very important roles to play. Ruthenium complexes have long been studied for their many uses in the energy, chemical and lately, in the medical industry. Ruthenium (Ru) is a rare transition metal which falls under the platinum group in the periodic table of elements. Its atomic number is 44, and has oxidation states ranging from -2 to +8 but the most common are +2, +3 and +4. In its elemental state, ruthenium is easily oxidized by air to form ruthenium oxide, RuO4. It does not react with acids but easily reacts with bases and halogens. Small amounts of Ru are added to platinum, palladium, gold and titanium to produce hard and tarnish-resistant alloys. Ruthenium, as part of an alloy or when complexed with other compounds, is also utilized in other applications like catalytic reactions, electrolytic protection, optic sensors, microelectronics, organic and polymer synthesis (Dragutan and Dragutan), anti-cancer agents

Creativity report Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Creativity report - Coursework Example Creativity and innovation have become valuable features of leading companies. Schirrmacher (1988) defines creativity as one’s ability to see things in novel ways; it is breaking boundaries and going beyond the known facts. It is also developing something new, different and original and combining things which do not seem to be related to each other but eventually makes sense when put together. This is closely related to innovation which is sparked by a new idea. The idea can be a new technology such as a gadget that can provide more convenience to consumers, a new service like an alternative form of relaxation, a new product, or even a new administrative procedure. Such ideas are driven by needs that are seen by the innovators. Innovation requires creativity. In organizations, innovation becomes the growth of a new idea from its initial state into its actualized form as a full-blown innovation (Roberts, 2006). Thus, creativity is at work when one innovates. The ongoing global recession has caused the shutdown of several companies, leading to massive unemployment. Epic Events Management Company is a small company that has likewise suffered the blow, with many of their clients opting to forgo their special events as a way of cutting down expenses. To keep the company afloat, they had to let go of a large part of their office space which occupied the whole floor of a prominent building downtown. The CEO decided to just keep his office for entertaining clients, the team room with a few office tables and the reception area. Because of this drastic move, they have significantly saved on rental expenses. The problem now lies on how they would rearrange the office so that all the staff can fit in and still be productive. On top of that, they need to think up of other alternative income-generating ideas that will augment the losses incurred from the lack of projects. For the problem of lack of office space for the

Professional Roles And Values Essay Example for Free

Professional Roles And Values Essay Nursing is governed by state boards of nursing, specific to the state that the nurse is practicing in. These boards seek to define the scopes of practice particular to a specific set of people, such registered nurses, practical nurses, home health aides, etc. The New Jersey State Board of Nursing dictates things like applications, accreditation, fees, and continuing education requirements. It is regulatory in nature. (NJ Board of Nursing, n.d.) As a labor and delivery nurse, the professional organization that enhances my practice is AWHONN (Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal nurses). As opposed to the board of nursing which provides direction to general nursing practices and procedures, AWHONN is specific to my field. It provides current research, education opportunities, and clinical resources. (Awhonn.org, n.d.) An important aspect in delivering nursing care is the nursing code of ethics. The American Nurses Association (ANA) oversees this code of ethics. There are many ethical implications in nursing care in every specialty. In obstetrics, one of my biggest ethical dilemmas is the subject of abortion. Should a healthcare provider have the right to refuse to take part in any medical procedure? The nursing code of ethics allows health care providers to apply conscientious objection to this situation. Conscientious objection is allowed in situations where the â€Å"action would violate some deploy held moral or ethical value about right and wrong (Odell, Abhyankar, Malcom, Rua, 2014). Another example of how the code of ethics influences my practice is the protection of the rights of privacy and confidentiality. I am sometimes given information from patients during the admission process that other family members, even the father of the baby, may not know. Things such as previous abortions, sexually transmitted diseases, and number of sexual partners are pertinent in my treatment of the patient, but are often not things that they would like shared with the rest of the family (Code of Ethics for Nurses, 2015). I believe one of the most important traits a nurse can possess is that of patient advocacy. People are usually at their most vulnerable when they are sick and may not be able to adequately advocate for themselves. Another important traits I would bring to an interdisciplinary team of healthcare providers is respect, respect for the patient and their choices, respect for my colleagues, but especially when I disagree with decisions made by either. Collaboration is also an important trait as a patient’s care is usually multi-disciplinary. Finally, responsibility and accountability are essential traits when part of a team. Team members need to be able to trust the people they are working with. Inevitably, mistakes are made and the true test of a professional is when they are able to own up and take responsibility for their wrongs. Code of Ethics for Nurses, 2015). There is an element in most nursing theories that influences my practice. Dorothea E. Orem’s self-care theory most resonates with my care of the maternity patient. It encompasses physical, interpersonal, psychological, and social aspects. Since most of the labor patients I take care of are considered â€Å"well† patients with insignificant medical issues, most of my time is spent teaching and observing – making sure my patient is able to care for her child once she leaves the hospital. This includes determining not only the physical needs, but also social and psychological well being of mother and father or extended family members involved in the care of the infant. Another influential figure in women’s health care was Margaret Sanger. She founded an organization called the American Birth Control League, presently known as Planned Parenthood. Sanger was a pioneer in the movement to improve women’s health through birth control and family planning. A controversial move at the time, she distributed pamphlets discussing birth control, menstruation, and sexuality. She was also instrumental in the founding of the first birth control clinic in the United States. Family planning and birth control continue to be extremely important women’s health initiatives (Wikipedia, 2015). On a daily basis, I strive to create a safe, respectful environment for all  of my patients. Beneficence is defined as â€Å"the doing of active goodness, kindness, or charity, including all actions intended to benefit others†(beneficence, n.d.) while nonmaleficence is defined as â€Å"the ethical principle of doing no harm†(nonmaleficence, n.d.). An example that exemplifies both of these traits is in a recent patient who presented to the hospital for induction of labor. After doing a thorough history of prior pregnancies, I determined the patient had a previous cesarean section. This information didn’t automatically exclude her from induction but it would dictate what induction method we would use. After further research and a request of records from another institution, it was determined that patient actually had a vertical uterine incision, which is not only a contraindication for induction but also a contraindication for vaginally delivery. At the very least, we avoided an emergency cesarean section, which had the potential to impact both the mother and infant’s life. As a maternity nurse, beneficence is a part of my daily routine, but following through on incomplete, undocumented information was an ethical decision I made to make sure the patient received proper care. References American Nurses Association, (2015). Association of Women’s Health, Obstetrics, and Neonatal Nurses. (n.d.) Retrieved February 2, 2015, from https://www.awhonn.org/awhonn/content.do?name=10_AboutUs/10_AboutUs_landing.htm Beneficence. (n.d.) Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. (2003). Retrieved February 17 2015 from http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/beneficence Code of Ethics for Nurses. (2015). Retrieved January 28, 2015, from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/EthicsStandards/CodeofEthicsforNurses/Code-of-Ethics-For-Nurses.html Margaret Sanger. (2015, February 2). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 05:22, February 17, 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Margaret_Sangeroldid=645358719 New Jersey Board of Nursing Laws. (n.d.). Retrieved February 1, 2015, from http://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/nursing/nur_rules.htm nonmaleficence. (n.d.) Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. (2003). Retrieved February 17 2015 from http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/nonmaleficence Odell, J., Abhyankar, R., Malcom, A., Rua, A. (2014). Conscientious objection in health professions: A reader’s guide to the ethical and social issues. Retrieved February 1, 2015, from https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/bitstream/handle/1805/3845/conscientious-objection-short- overview-20140201.pdf

Nursing Interventions For Critically Ill Brain Injury Patients

Nursing Interventions For Critically Ill Brain Injury Patients A key priority when caring for a patient with an altered level of consciousness is giving the patient a chance, in which interventions are focused on learning about the patient, protecting and monitoring patient status, talking to the patient and working with the family (Villanueva, 1999). Neuroscience intensive care unit nurses carry numerous interventions when caring for a critically ill traumatic brain injured patient. In this study, their specific interventions, that they routinely perform, are identified. Quantitatively and qualitatively, nurses regularly monitor hemodynamic considerations such as O2 saturation, BP and temperature and other physiological parameters, monitor intracranial pressure and cerebral perfusion, and providing emotional support. While qualitative analyses solely showed that the other nursing interventions that they do could be classified as neurophysiological interventions, psychosocial interventions, injury prevention interventions, and interventions that maintains therapeutic environment. This study would present proofs of the comprehensive role of the neuroscience intensive care unit nurses caring for Traumatic Brain Injured patients and can be used in future researchers that would like to investigate the contribution of neuroscience inte nsive care unit nurses interventions to the progression of the patients condition. After gaining an approval from the institutional review boards and nursing administration, a survey was done to 67 nurses who work in 3 different ICUs from two level-I trauma centers who regularly care for critically ill TBI patients. Those two trauma centers were chosen because they were both comparable in terms of delivery and organization of nursing care, employment ratios, and nurse characteristics so as to not have bias on the study. The respondents were registered nurses that worked for at least 3 months as a full-time or part-time clinical bedside nurse in an ICU that handles critically ill Traumatic Brain Injured patients. They were approached during their unit staff meetings and change-of-shift report times and invited to take part in the study. They were then given a questionnaire which was comprised of 3 parts: Part A was comprised of series of questions about their previously handled TBI patient, part B contained case scenarios wherein they used nursing judgments, and par t C gathered demographic information about the nurse respondents. For the quantitative data, all neuroscience intensive care unit nurses indicated that they were responsible for the monitoring of the patients blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and temperature. And approximately 50% of the nurses indicated that they were also responsible for the monitoring of the ICP and CPP. For the qualitative data, there were 4 categories where in the nurses interventions were grouped. The first one is the Neurophysiological Interventions. It is comprised of monitoring and maintaining the physiological parameters to guarantee neurological stability in TBI patients. In addition to that parameter, they also monitored pulmonary artery and central venous pressure reading, cerebral spinal fluid drainage, serial laboratory values, and carbon dioxide parameters. Keeping these values within the normal range, nurses help TBI patient to prevent secondary brain injury and to uphold neurological stability. The second one is the Psychosocial Interventions. In this category, n urses make meetings between the family member and various members of the healthcare team. Meetings between the family members are held to provide education and background of the plan of care being rendered to the patients and also to give information about the possible patient outcomes and rationales for the therapies. The third one is the Injury Prevention Interventions. This category aims to prevent additional complications to the patient and to ensure patients safety. The primary interventions for this category are maintenance of spine precautions and frequent reorientation of the patient. Other interventions like prevention of skin breakdown and ventilator-associated pneumonia, prevention of falls and evaluation for the need of restraints to prevent disruption of medical devices are considered usual care for any vitally ill patient. The fourth and the last category is Maintaining Therapeutic Milieu. In this category, nurses give suitable environment for the patient and provide t heir special needs. Limiting visitors, decreasing lighting, minimizing noise, avoiding disruption of the patients sleep-wake cycle are the interventions done in this group. All of which are carried out to provide optimal care and rest periods to the patient thus limits further increase in ICP. Neuroscience nurses indeed have an essential part in the care of the critically ill traumatic brain injured patients. Their interventions address the prevention of secondary brain injury and complications and provide significant support and guidance for the family members. Therefore, they have a big contribution to the patients positive outcomes, but there is still no research documenting their multifaceted role on the patients progression. These data are needed to recognize the exceptional contribution of neuroscience ICU nurses as part of the interdisciplinary team caring for TBI patients and as a foundation for future research investigating how ICU nurses impact patient and family recovery from TBI during the acute stage of injury.

Invisible Elements Of Spatial Ambience Design Cultural Studies Essay

Invisible Elements Of Spatial Ambience Design Cultural Studies Essay The visible and the invisible, the physical and the mental, these are the two main groups of elements which affect our perceptions toward a certain designated space ambience. The designers play a major part in it, and these days, it seems that some designers focus more on the aesthetic side of the creations, which fulfills the visible and physical parts for humans pleasures and desires, so what about the invisible and the mental parts? Arent they as important as the visible and physical parts for the design innovations? Design thinking, it is a design methodology by Tim Brown, who takes a human-centered approach, along with business and technology considerations of human behavior, needs and preferences, which demonstrates the practice of the important values bring out by the invisible and mental design innovation throughout the whole process of creating a new design with three main stages, inspiration, ideation and implementation. So what does it take to influence peoples perceptions, behaviors emotions? We see the things themselves; the world is what we see (Ponty, 1969). If we ask ourselves what is this WE, what SEEING is, and what the THING or WORLD is, we enter into a series of difficulties and contradictions. It is natural for human beings to be attuned to their surroundings. A physical environment affects various aspects of an individual: physically, emotionally, psychologically and socially. It defines individuality, coming to terms to the human side of our preferences and the choices we make. In design the designers choices, preferences and ideas are as important as the clients choices, preferences and ideas. In most cases if not all, the designer needs to come to the terms of the clients needs and wants. The distinction between the terms, needs and wants, is a way of describing the difference between what is that truly necessary for a persons activities against what a person asks for. When this happens the designer is actually creating that solution which answers the various requirements of a human-centered design. A term commonly used to describe human-centered design is called ambiance. What is ambiance? The general definition of ambiance is, a feeling, tone, character and atmosphere of the environment or surrounding influence; or the mood associated with a particular place, person, or thing. The look and feel of a space is highly relevant to the choices an individual makes in spatial design. This is where the visible and invisible concept in design comes in. Visible is what can be seen and noticed, invisible is what can be felt. These are two basic factors present in human-centered design. Interior Design is a world where creativity breeds innovation and tomorrows trends become todays styles. It is a career where art mingles with science to transform an architectural shell into a total environment (Haddad). These days, a lot of people practice on the visible side, concentrating more towards the physical aesthetics and form representation. Society lacks the attention to the invisible side, the emotional and psychological design elements. Architects and interior designers focus on designing dwellings, the form, structure and order of the space. We build these dwellings to satisfy most of our physical needs, pleasures and desires, but it seems that the more subtle, emotional and mental aspects of the space remain untouched. Perhaps a space is not just about the form and architecture. The elements of invisible design also need to be taken into consideration, which are the emotional and psychological design elements. As our basic needs increase with our standard of living, we expect experiences that are emotionally satisfying and meaningful. This will not be as simple as a single product; it will be complex combination of products, services, spaces and information. The process of spatial information visualization is shaped by various factors including interactive, perceptual, navigational as well as organizational and metaphorical aspects and as such requires an interdisciplinary approach (Buagajska, 2003). Thomas Edison created the light bulb and introduced it to the world. People perceived it as his main invention from the visible and physical aspects, but what was behind Edisons motive was that he understood the creation of the light bulb was a little more than just the surface result. His invention would be useless without the system of electric power and transmission to make it truly useful. His genius was his ability to perceive, not only the created device itself, but how people will use and innovate what he invented. And he worked with that approach, and gave a great contribution and consideration to users needs and preferences. Edisons approach was an early example of a methodology that influences the full range of innovation activities with a human-centered design philosophy. By this, it means that innovation is power driven by a detailed understanding, through direct observation, of what people want and need in their lives and what they like or dislike about the way particular products are made, packaged, marketed, sold, and supported (Brown, 2006). In the past, design has been treated as a downstream step in the development process the position where designers, who did not participate earlier role in the substantive work of innovation, had came along and put a beautiful wrapper around the idea. Undeniably, this move toward has inspired market growth in many areas by making new products and technologies aesthetically as well as attractive, and therefore more desirable to consumers or by enhancing brand perception through smart, evocative advertising and communication strategies. During the second half of the twentieth century, design had become more and more important competitive asset in, for example, the consumer electronics, automotive, and consumer packaged goods industries. But unlike the most others, it remained a late-stage add-on. Nowadays, rather than asking designers to create an already existed idea that is more attractive to consumers, the companies are asking them to create ideas that better and suitable to meet consumers needs and desires. The former role is well planned, and results in limited value creation; the final result is strategic, and it leads to dramatic new forms of value. Complexity is increased by the growing potential for personal customization. Do your own brand thinking can be seen especially in the communication cultures of youth groups. In the near future, the customer will be even more tightly linked to design processes (Koskinen, 2008). Let us take a few examples from the present. The personal ring tone, wallpaper and theme of a mobile phone is a classic example of personal customization. Some people go even further with engraved towels, pens and stationeries. In a nutshell, this paper will talk about how ambiance is not just seen through physical means and by just by having the space itself. Ambiance is more literally, through human perceptions, behaviors and emotions that the space will be filled up with life. Ambiance refers to the design of an environment via visual communications, lighting, colours, music to stimulate peoples perceptual and emotional responses and ultimately to affect their behavior and/or reaction. Many businesses have discovered the subtle benefits of developing atmospherics that complement other aspects of design and merchandise. The visible and the invisible, the physical and the mental, these are the two main groups of elements which affect our perceptions toward a certain designated space ambiance. The designers play a major part in it, and these days, it seems that designers focus more on the aesthetic side of the creations, which fulfills the visible and physical parts for a humans satisfaction and desires. So what about the invisible emotional and the mental aspects? Arent they as important as the visible and physical elements for design innovations? In this paper, it looks into the design thinking methodology, which is a design methodology lead by Tim Brown. Brown takes a human-centered approach, along with business and technological considerations for human behavior, needs and preferences, which demonstrates the practice of the important values brought out by the invisible and mental design innovation throughout the whole process of creating a new design, which comprises of three main stages: inspirat ion, ideation and implementation. In spatial design, ambiance of the space is generally created through the rooms function, the aesthetic of the space itself with object elements, including the primal elements within a space: staircase, floor, roof, wall, door, window, lighting, colour, tables, bed, chair, and furniture. If we are looking at it only through physical perception, the design would work just fine, because human emotion and the physical elements of design are connected. Things such as a designated space, structure, product or an image, forms and aesthetics are what we perceive in the first place of the physical phenomenon. A well-designed visual representation is needed. This representation can be seen as the expression of the physical ambiance design. All these design elements and methods do fulfill the needs for visible pleasure and desire, yet it seems that other important design elements are missing, not taken into consideration, or emphasized on much. These aspects are the invisible side, the mental and psychological perception from the users toward the ambiance within the space, and how they will perceive and express their behaviors and emotions. But ambiance doesnt exist just by having the space itself. Only through perceptions, behaviors and emotions can the space be filled up life. Architects and interior designers are not only designing to provide people with physical shelter, facilitate purpose and inspire sensory pleasure. Man-made structures tame the world for human habitation and understanding (Pallasmaa, 2008). The function of buildings and spaces should cater to the physical and mental well being of people. However, people have started to ask designers to create new ideas which suite and meet the clients needs. Their objectives have shifted away from just physical satisfaction and need. A rough idea would be the county jail. Its a place with the same environment and space layout for each individual bar space, but different kinds of criminals live in it. Each individual perceives the ambiance, behaviors and emotions of the space differently. Perhaps due to the individuals background, memories and experiences, it turns into different place in the end. For the criminals who have hope, they might take it as a turning point that gives them the chance to turn over a new leaf, so they might perceive the space as a confession box. For the criminals who have no hope, they might just take it as a daily routine, day after day, because they have no beliefs and confidence in themselves anymore, and dont see that there is a turning point or chance for them, sucking them deeper into the darkness. So in this paper, an exploration for the possibility of an ambiance design method that will create the positive benefits for both visible and invisible; physically and mentally designated space, which helps the well being of the people, is conducted. Another example would be how a restaurants design can affect peoples choice and preferences. A cosy and comfortably designed restaurant can give people the sense of serenity and tranquility while dining in. An upbeat and modern restaurant on the other hand may give people a certain lively and vibrant feel. It actually depends on peoples moods and preferences that whether they decide to dine in any of these restaurants. After looking at the outside of the restaurant and deciding to go in, and checking out the place before being seated, people look forward to how they are greeted. They will often go to an establishment before inviting business associates to dine, because not only does the restaurant need to make a good impression but so does them, so if the restaurant makes a unfavorable impression that would most likely reflect on myself as having bad taste. The next thing worth observing before ordering is the dà ©cor of the restaurant, does the theme stay consistent? After sitting down people check for cleanliness of the eating area, are the tables sticky or spotless? Is the server well groomed? And are the seats comfortable? Ambience has become a pivotal concern for tourism and hospitality managers worldwide. In an effort to improve the ambience, different groups of professionals are involved, in particular hospitality managers and outside experts, e.g. designers and architects. So how do we achieve a successful ambiance within a space, which is perceived by someones mental aspect, the invisible side? Ambiance design is not created by the designers only through the personal aspect, sense, experience and style, but molded together based on the understanding and knowledge that atmosphere has a multi-sensory effect on people. There is a new area of design, such as service design, user-centered design, interactive design, information design, and systems design which have become a new topic within the design field. Principles and disciplines such as sociology, psychology and medicine are entering the arena of design management process. With the supportive ideas and embrace how they bring philosophical considerations and anticipatory approach into design, which help to make up for the shortage of the invisible and mental design elements of a designated space or product. In order to achieve such a result, collaborative relationships are the main factor in the appro ach. To achieve the finest result, the process involves a wide range of fields, such as industrial design, interior design, graphic design, service design, information design, systems design, interactive design, user-centered design, light design, soundscape and scentscape design. Thinking like a designer can transform the way you develop products, services, processes-and even strategy (Brown, 2006). Tim Brown is the CEO and president of IDEO, a company associated with clients such as Daimler Chrysler, Microsoft, Motorola, Pepsi, Procter Gamble and Steelcase. Recently he joined the Advisory Council of Acumen fund, a global organization provides a not-for-profit service for improving the lives of the poor. He has won numerous design awards and has held exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Axis Gallery in Tokyo and the Design Museum in London. All that should not be part of the essay, but the reference. IDEO is an innovation and design firm from the USA, where designers exercise on design thinking methodology through three main stages: Inspiration, Ideation and Implementation. This discipline uses the designers sensibility and methods to meet peoples needs with what is technology phenomenon and what a practical business strategy can convert into customer value. A good design thinker doesnt work alone, so IDEO is a company that employs engineers, marketers, anthropologists, industrial designers, architects and psychologists. By thinking of people first in their approach, design thinkers can see potential problems, imagine the solutions for all intents and purposes, meet the needs, and observe the things that others dont. Designers then use their insight to apply and inspire innovation. This supports the idea I have for designing a space ambiance by emphasizing on the mental perception. One of their projects which benefits a company was the large health care provider, Kaiser Permanente, which was seeking a possibility to improve the overall quality of both patients and medical practitioners experiences. So in order to inspire the practitioners, the new concepts, techniques, and ideas of the design thinking method are taught to the nurses, doctors and administrators. Both Kaiser and IDEO teams participated in the workshops, which led to the innovations. During the first stage of the project, they acknowledged a number of issues and problems of the nurse shift routine, and one of their main objectives became redesigning the shift changes at the four Kaiser hospitals. They spent the first 45 minutes of each shift for a debriefing about the status of patients in their nurses station. Their original methods of communicating information, such as data exchanges, were different within their four hospitals. Exchanges varied wildly from recorded dictation to face-to-face conv ersations. From there, health professionals tried to compile the information which they needed, and quickly noted them down on any available piece of paper. Doing so made the information inaccessible, which lead to the nurses often failing to learn some of the things which are important to the patients. Administrators had learned that there were many patients that felt a lack in their care after each shift changed. This is a negative act that shouldnt happened in the healthcare industry, because it might lead the patients to the kind of perception towards the hospital that, the sight of the environment they are staying at is attractive, but the memory of their use is negative. Therefore, that is why we should be focusing on the importunateness for being cautious and attentive towards the process of both invisible, mental design elements within a space. By observing these important issues, the teams explored possible solutions through brainstorming and prototyping. Prototypes work efficiently only with investments in time, effort and funding. A positive idea could be generated through useful feedback, and prototyping allows it to be done on a small scale so that they could learn about the strengths and weaknesses of the idea, and to adjust and modify for a better direction. Their solution was to merge shift changes with nurses passing on the information in front of the patient rather than at the nurses station, which saves time and errors. With this new system implemented together with some simple software, the nurses were able to call up the data information from the previous shift notes and edit patients information throughout a shift rather than rushing at the end to pass it on, which minimized the possibility of errors. The results were positive, and showed that the new method saves time on preparation, provides better knowledge through information transfers and a better informed healthcare staff taking care of patients. Kaiser saw the potential impact of this whole new idea and system and applied human-centered design methodology, which created a small process innovation that produced a massive impact. They found that time management had improved in efficiency, which added a huge amount of nursing time across the four hospitals, as well as affect t he quality of the nurses work experience, adding invisible value to both nurses and patients, satisfying both groups. Kaiser and IDEO accomplishments didnt happen instantly overnight. They put in a lot of time and hard work into the project by using a creative human-centered discovery process followed by numerous cycles of prototyping, testing and adjustment. The process is best described as a symbolic system of spaces rather than a series of fixed steps. Then whole space was designed for different activities which together form the innovation. The result might not be perceived in a short term, and this method might take a longer time to see the intended results, and it is very true that, in order to have a long lasting emotional feelings, it takes time to develop; as they come from sustained interaction. So the main key is patience, determination and observation. Edisons approach was an example of what now we called the design thinking, a method which improves the innovation activities with human-centered design approach, which is driven by fully understanding, through observation, of what people r eally need in their lives, their likes and dislikes toward certain things, along with business and technological considerations. When the process includes research based on direct observation, it leads to unexpected insights and inspirations to process the best solutions for the consumers. Throughout the whole process, it actually achieves the invisible and mental designs areas significantly through the design thinking innovation methodology, making it so that not only the patients receive the benefits, but also the nurses working in the hospitals. For the patients, they get full attention from the nurses and satisfaction for both physical and mental pleasure while staying in the hospital. The nurses will gain positive experiences, and the positive feedback will lead to better attitudes toward their job, creating an optimistic positive working environment at the same time In 2004, IDEO was invited to collaborate on another new project with Shimano, a Japanese manufacturer of bicycle components, which was facing a flattened growth in its sales in USA. Shimanos intention was to introduce their high-end casual bike to a new area of consumers who are potentially worth exploring. During the initial inspiration stage, teams were formed from both Shimano and IDEO, comprised of designers, behavioral scientists, marketers and engineers, who worked to explore appropriate potential solutions and constraints. They decided to focus on other areas as well rather than just sticking on the high-end market. They started with searching on the statistics and facts, and found that 90% of American adults dont ride bikes, so they continue the research and try to find out why. They put in a lot of effort into surveying different kinds of consumers, and found that most of them had ridden a bike during their childhood, and had positive memories. One surprising thing they foun d out was that many Americans are intimidated by cycling today for a few reasons: the retail experience, the high cost of the bikes, accessories, hidden dangers of cycling on the road, and the maintenance fees. After gathering all the information they received, which were collected and summarized using the human-centered exploration method, it led to the realization that their new created category of bicycling might be able to solve the problems of reconnecting the consumers with their childhood and at the same time to dealing with the intimidation of cycling on the road. By using the design thinking methodology and cooperates with human-centered design method, the design team looked into every aspect to foresee the possibilities, and came up with the concept of Coasting, a way to enjoy life. This is designated more for the pleasure than for sports. It is featured with comfort padded seats, easy operation and minimal maintenance. Trek, Raleigh and Giant are three major brand bike manufacturers that benefitted from the research. They cooperated and invented new bikes together with Shimano by applying the same methods they used. But the design team didnt stop exploring and searching for opportunities from other areas. In order to complete this whole concept, which they are trying to publicize, they designed a public relations campaign which cooperated with local governments and cycling organizations, providing the bikers with identified safe places to ride. Design thinking was the key to come to this complete solution, and of course, for the visible, ae sthetic part of the bikes was created later on in the development process, a reference design to inspire the bike companies own design teams. After the successful launch in 2007, seven more bicycle manufacturers signed up to produce Coasting bikes in 2008. They were successful due to that; they created breakthrough ideas that were inspired through the understanding of peoples lives and what they really need and implemented the principles of design in order to create and adding more values not only for the visible, physical part, as well as the invisible, mental part for needs, desires and pleasures. By doing so, it is very possible that one of the main reasons is that, the innovation of creating the bike actually brings them back to the childhood, reliving fond and happy memories. Here are some examples of current architects who have been working on the relevant practices. Peter Eisenman is famous of his impenetrable paper architecture and writing. His works have been distinguishable buildings have been identified as anti-architecture, He spent quite a period of time exploring how to create a building that would be unencumbered by the expectations by doing away with the order of the contextual baggage or a program. Eisenman has been at the front of the Deconstructivist movement in architecture, linguistic, psychoanalysis and literary theory to analyse the apparent objectivity and unity of Modernism and reveal the subjective human desires beneath. Fig 1 The overall view of Holocaust Memorial. Fig 2 The pathway inside the Holocaust Memorial. One of his inspiring works would be the Holocaust Memorial, Berlin 2005, which is also known as Memorial to the Murdered Jews of European, it is a memorial of the Jewish victims and other victims of the Holocaust. 19,000 square meter throughout the whole site, a total of 2,711 concrete slabs, seems randomly, has the entire site covered. Some of the concrete slabs lay low to the ground, others stood upright. There is an gallery located at underground, where it displays the names of all the Jewish Holocaust victims because, there are no names or marks on the above ground. However, it relies on the emotional response from each of the visitors, in order to get the message. Its just like other good public places, this memorial is designed with multi functions. It provides its visitors with places to sit around. It is a place of amazement, as children and adults, climb around from column to column, but at the same time, it is also a place of reflection and remembrance. But in the end, it is a place where each of the visitor is confronted with their own emotions and look within themselves to perceive their surroundings. Human-centered design can work well for the workplaces, as the cultural has changed, the focus to the workers well-being has been noticed. Theres a rise to interesting experiments in architecture. As mentioned before, by having the psychologists, sociologists, architects and engineers aiming to optimize productivity in human resources. Buildings should no longer design as huge boxes, but in order to begin at assuring workers psycho-physical comfort. For example, interior space is organised in an open, flexible fashion which may be modified to suit users needs. Steven Holls Het Oosten office, Amsterdam, 2000 is one of the best to describe it. Fig 3 The cafeteria. Fig 4 Het Oosten office during night time. Fig 5 Exterior view of Het Oosten office, A 50,000 square meter brick warehouse, it has been entirely renovated and expanded in order to create this new building. By using the local resources, it fits comfortably into its natural context. The interior has strong emotions with its vibrant hues, designing with the light: the regular square cut windows light up with colour lights reflected in the water of the canal during the night. Emotion-laden physical space brings the improvement on quality of life by combining work, entertainment and environment for human well being. His design characterizes an architecture attention to emotional needs and the invisible elements within a space, by dedicating his designs through understanding their surroundings. Steven Holls work wants to open up our human experience to the possibility of questioning the University of Technological Space and its inhumanity, questioning the state of technology as an absolute truth. He offers the alternative of a poetic vision of life which does not propose an arbitrary but the demystification of the very forces which have been demystifying our sense of humanity through positivist reason for the last two centuries. Another view that exists out there which talks about human-centered designn is called, ambience design. Ambience design represents a new kind of design culture; it could even be said that it represents a change of paradigm. Ambience designs working culture is transdisciplinary. The one major innovation of ambience design is that designers from different working areas communicate with researchers. As such, ambience design is not built on the personal touch and style of the designer, but is based on the knowledge of the effect which a multi-sensory environment or atmosphere has on people. In effect, know-how in an ambience design project is developed through interaction with professionals and researchers from various science and business branches. Then the research results are accurately documented using various types of media. This school of thought develops and moves our visually emphasized design culture towards becoming a more multi-sensory design environment. It does this by using the language of shapes, sound landscapes, odour worlds, textured contact surface, light and colour worlds and even the world of taste (this is by no means an all-inclusive list). Ambience design also means new forms of distinguishing and recognizing: fresh methods utilizing our multi-sensory abilities. This involves scent signs, sound logos and designed lights and colours as symbols of organization identity. Ambience design combines spatial design and the means of of multi-sensory communication. It also talks about atmosphere design, i.e. by affecting people through the creation of a psychophysical entirety. In practice this means laying stress on experiences and phenomenology. Ambience design utilizes smart environments and materials at the same time. The use of these is aimed at increasing interaction in mediated and social environments. Fig 6 the Baron House by John Pawson, Sweden, 2005. When people see photos of my work, they sometimes say they are misleading theres nothing in them, no furniture, etc but they are meant to stimulate you to think, use your imagination, and project your own ideas. (Pawson, 2005). The central themes of ambience design are adjustability and adjustment. These themes are connected with the changing and transformable communicational identity of different rooms and brands. For example, rooms become more usable when individual people or groups are given a chance to adjust them according to their changing needs. Spaces are designed with simple, clean aesthetic, so that they can be personalized, and for the users to inject in with their perceptions, emotions and behaviors freely. Ambience design utilizes narration, dramaturgy and the competence of drama experts. The challenge is the changing narratives related to spaces, with dramaturgical and multi-sensory applicability, and a link to, say, GIS systems. Ambience design can be connected to brand building. At its best, ambience design management will become part of the brand management process. Multi-sensory marketing, which uses things such as distinctive sounds and odours, can be employed in brand development more than ever before. The advantage of ambience design is that it connects multi-sensory interior design to multisensory marketing and communications. This idea by Koskinen is ethically and environmentally aware. All activities are guided by an ethic code. A key objective of the ambience design team is to increase the well-being of people through transdisciplinary design and research. The future of design is human-centred, ecologically aware and ethically-oriented (Koskinen, 2008). Ambience design, was first developed in Finland long before Martin Lindstrom touched the theme in his Sense Branding (2004). Internationally, however, the concept was not introduced until the summer of 2005 in a paper presented in the HAAHAMA conference, Ambience Design: Creating

Why the South Could Not Win the Civil War :: American America History

Why the South Could Not Win the Civil War Ever since the day the South surrendered to the North in May of 1865, Americans have argued on why the South lost. Others argued that the South never had chance to win the war, yet more than half a million people were killed, homes were lost and destroyed and families were torn apart. There are many theories to explain this, many arguing that the South never had a chance to win the Civil War to begin with, for the North out numbered and had better resources than the South at almost every point, militarily. Industrially the South couldn't keep up in output of weapons, ammunition and other supplies. That is one of the main reasons the South looked overseas for help. Jefferson Davis knew that the South was at a disadvantage so he looked to England and France. By the end of the war, the South had, more or less, plenty of weaponry still, but it just didn't have enough men to use the guns. By getting either England or France on the Confederate side, supplies would have been more plentiful and also it would have inevitably ended up doing great damage economically to England's maritime trade. However, the fact remained that foreign recognition was denied to the Confederacy in all its attempts. Another reason the South well fell short of a victory was the obvious difference in population between the South and the North. The North at the time had twenty-two million men while the South had a meager nine-and-a-half million, of whom three-and-a-half million were slaves. While the slaves could be used to support the war effort through work on the plantations, in industries and as teamsters and pioneers with the army, they were not used as a combat arm in the war to any extent. This cuts the South's manpower by a third, leaving a fifteen-and-a-half million difference in the population of the two areas. Give the South fifteen-and-a-half million more possible soldiers, and the outcome would have been different. The right military strategy is the key to a war. In order for the South to win the war, they would have needed to apply what is now called a blitzkrieg strategy. This would have been a quick decisive attack on the North to follow up its early victories of Manassas in the East and at Wilson's Creek and Lexington in the West.