Response to the book Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Response to the book - Essay Example In this article, we are going to analyze the sixth extinction portrayed in the book by Richard Leakey and Roger Lewin. Leakey is one of the most famous living Paleo-anthropologist in the world and from his experience in anthropology makes; us devote more time in trying to note the things that will hasten the next evaluation. This article will provide the pros and cons of what the two authors think will result to the sixth extinction. The book has several interesting points, which seems crucial to note, these points are also the stronghold of the book. Leakey accepts that homo sapience or the modern man is the most dominant species on earth currently. The ability to reason and have a vertebrate brain of man is the main reason why man is able to dominate other species. These are also the reasons behind the book claims that human activities are the main agents of extinction of the other species. Leakey identifies that man’s insight has led to technological improvement that have helped him expand his population at an alarming rate. The population increase and the advanced technology have led to overexploitation of the natural resources thus tampering with the ecosystem (Leakey and Lewin, 21). The book states that the historical past of man has led to killing of other species in the form of hunting for food and collections. Leakey identifies that man is destroying tropical forests that are the main habitats for millions of species either to expand their agricultural land or to build roads and cities. This will result to the extinction of these species (Leakey and Lewin, 27). This information is true basing my argument on Cantilena Island, which was known to develop a unique flora before man has destroyed it by inhabiting making it for his agricultural benefits. The unique flora is now extinct. The book states that the more man is becoming knowledgeable in science the more harmful he is becoming to other species. This is due to the

A Western Wind Essay Example for Free

A Western Wind Essay â€Å"Western Wind† by an anonymous Middle English lyric relates to A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway. In A Farewell to Arms Fredrick Henry has a stream-of-consciousness. In a stream-of-consciousness the writer approximates the rapid, often chaotic thought patterns of the character. Thinking about Catherine, in the rain, Henry refers to the poem Western Wind†. The poet of â€Å"Western Wind† wishes that his heart would heal from the pain of not being with the person that he loves. That is the same with Fredrick Henry. In his dream, Henry says, â€Å"Blow, blow, ye western wind† (Hemingway A Farewell to Arms 197). Henry is commanding the winds to blow the small rain back and maybe â€Å"That my sweet love Catherine down might rain† (197). During the war time it is raining â€Å"the big rain† (197). Obviously, the poet in â€Å"Western Wind† is also having some big rain because he wants â€Å"The small rain† (Anonymous â€Å"Western Wind† 2). It is obvious that the poet wishes for his heartache to go away because he says, Christ, that my love were in my arms, (3). This blatantly shows that he wishes to be with his love so she could ease his pains. Fredrick Henry’s pain is that he is lonely and only when they are together is when he has no pain. â€Å"Western Wind† â€Å"Western Wind† by an anonymous Middle English lyric relates to A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway. In A Farewell to Arms Fredrick Henry has a stream-of-consciousness. In a stream-of-consciousness the writer approximates the rapid, often chaotic thought patterns of the character. Thinking about Catherine, in the rain, Henry refers to the poem Western Wind†. The poet of â€Å"Western Wind† wishes that his heart would heal from the pain of not being with the person that he loves. That is the same with Fredrick Henry. In his dream, Henry says, â€Å"Blow, blow, ye western wind† (Hemingway A Farewell to Arms 197). Henry is commanding the winds to blow the small rain back and maybe â€Å"That my sweet love Catherine down might rain† (197). During the war time it is raining â€Å"the big rain† (197). Obviously, the poet in â€Å"Western Wind† is also having some big rain because he wants â€Å"The small rain† (Anonymous â€Å"Western Wind† 2). It is obvious that the poet wishes for his heartache to go away because he says, Christ, that my love were in my arms, (3). This blatantly shows that he wishes to be with his love so she could ease his pains. Fredrick Henry’s pain is that he is lonely and only when they are together is when he has no pain.

Ethical Challenges in Consent to Research Participation

Ethical Challenges in Consent to Research Participation Belmont Report (basic principles underlying the ethical challenges): Autonomy respect for persons beneficence justice [AS1]What should participants understand to understand they are participants in research? (Wendler et al. 2008). In order for a participant to give valid consent, the PIL at minimum should include 20 elements as detailed out in section 4.8.10 of ICH GCP guidelines so that comprehensive information is provided to them. The CIOMS guideline lists 26 essential elements to informed consent. Hence, this question encompasses one of the major ethical challenges faced during the consenting process. According to participants perspective, is all the information included in the PIL relevant to their decision-making? It is often noticed in practice that participants feel overwhelmed by the information provided to them, and as a consequence they skim over information which they feel is not applicable or relevant to them. But then the next question arises, what about the elements that are considered non-relevant by the patient? Does it contain important information which the patients would otherwise be missing out on? As result it is unclear as to what should be the adequate content of the PILs to satisfy the needs of the patient and delivering the minimum sufficient (encompassing all perspectives) information at the same time. Failure to find a balance in this respect might undermine the validity of potential participants consent is it as informed consent or not? Fortun et al. 2008 noted that participant recall and understanding of clinical trial information was poor despite a comprehensive 13 page PIL. A systematic review also highlighted that providing patients with more information results in lower participation rates (Edwards et al. 1998) To determine what information potential participants need to understand in order to give valid informed consent, it is useful to identify the purpose or justification for requiring consent in the first place. Once we answer this question, we can then determine what information individuals need to realize this purpose or goal (Wendler et al. 2008). Informed consent serves at least two purposes. First, the requirement for informed consent allows competent individuals to understand whether participation in research is consistent with their interests. Second, informed consent allows individuals to decide for themselves whether they will enrol in the study in question. For this purpose, potential participants should be provided with the information they want to decide whether to enrol in the study, which goes back to our earlier challenge of the content of consent. Not[AS2] just the content of PIL, but the quality of its content should also come under ethical scrutiny. Both the content and its quality together will help the patient to make a reasoned choice. In order to truly understand something, one must exercise two capacities (which together constitute the meaning of decisional capacity in healthcare) the capacity to understand the meaning of the information provided, and the capacity to appreciate the relevance of this information to ones own situation and come to a decision [Iltis, 2006, 181]. In terms of the actual words used in PIL, the complexity of the technical language in which consent forms are written remains a problem, though this can easily be remedied. (Macklin). But its not just that. Its even the simple terms like describing research using other terms, for example, explaining that the project involves a study or a clinical trial, seems unlikely to help those who do not already understand research. For example, a potential participant understands the studys risks, potential benefits, procedures, and alternatives. What else should the patient understand to understand that the project in which they are being invited to participate involves research? And what additional information should investigators disclose to help them understand this fact? Another facet to this linguistic challenge is when considering translation to local (or regional language). For example, some languages do not include a word for research. Does it follow, as some commentators speculate, that these individuals cannot understand that a study involves research, hence, may not be able to provide valid informed consent? At the other extreme, explaining every aspect of clinical research seems impractical, if not impossible. Understanding the history of clinical research and its abuses alone might require a lifetime of study. Between the insufficiently minimalist and impossibly maximalist extremes lie many questions, and the need for guidance. Must investigators disclose and must potential participants understand the scientific design of the study? Do they need to understand that the study is phase I, and how that differs from phase II and phase III studies? Too much information can be as bad as too little; both tend to interfere with the ability of research participants to grasp what is relevant Macklin et al. After the information has been provided, the next question is, has the information been received? As Nijhawan et al. states, it is very difficult to evaluate a participants viewpoint about trial since there is no established method to measure the level of understanding that a participant has about the information given. There are various factors involved in this. A participants level of understanding would be affected by a degree of misunderstanding that can occur because of incorrect or inadequate language translations as well as their level of education. (Ferguson, 2002) The national and international guidelines state that the comprehension of PIL should be accessible to a 12 year old. However, only 50% of patients feel that the provided information is clear and concise, with many patients having to read the document numerous times to gain a grasp of the medical terms contained within the PIL. There is also considerable debate about patients perception of the goal of research, which is termed as Therapeutic Misconception in an article by Appelbaum et al. It states that a further difficulty arises from the failure to distinguish between experimental research and therapeutic medicine in the context of clinical research. Surveys have shown that many patients who are enrolled as subjects develop the misconception that the goal of the research is a therapeutic one, and they agree to be enrolled in the often unrealistic hope that they will benefit directly from participation in the study which yet again undermines the validity of informed consent. Another [AS3]related difficulty involves the widespread variation in subjects comprehension and appreciation of the nature of risk. The Belmont Report reminds investigators that they have responsibility for ensuring that the subject has comprehended the information provided to them, and that the obligation to ascertain that the subject has adequately understood the nature of the risk entailed by the research increases in proportion to the seriousness of the risk (Section C). Studies have shown that most adults have a limited ability to think in terms of probabilities and to appreciate risk, even when steps are taken to enhance their understanding [Iltis, 2006, 181, 185]. It is generally agreed that the amount of information provided should be based on the typical reasonable adults understanding of risk, although there is much disagreement about how to define this, given that interpretations of both linguistic and numerical ways of expressing the possibility of risk vary considerably, as does the amount of risk different people are willing to assume. Moreover, what might be risky for one person, it necessarily wont be the same for another. While the investigator can provide the prospective participant with scientific data relating to types and probability of risk in order to assist her in making a decision, it is the value they attach to risk which will ultimately determine whether or not they chooses to participate. Thus great care has to be taken to ens ure that research risks and potential adverse events are presented to prospective participants as unambiguously as possible. Then [AS4]again there are problems relating to research involving vulnerable populations, some of whom may have diminished or impaired mental capacity and may not be capable of providing consent at all. (Macklin) A balance needs to be established between the obligation to protect more vulnerable or less autonomous research participants, on one hand, and, on the other, the need to conduct research involving minors and persons with reduced mental capacity in order to provide these populations with access to results or interventions which may benefit them clinically. Persons with diminished mental capacity and children who have not yet reached decisional maturity should not be automatically denied the benefits of medical research, but neither should they be excluded without justification from decisions made about whether or not they become involved in research. What is crucial is that additional safeguards be put in place to ensure that these groups are protected from exploitation, in particular while explaining the nature of the research when obtaining their consent. Where this is not possible, and it is felt that the research has sufficient clinical value to proceed, stringent requirements f or obtaining proxy or surrogate consent should be put in place. Consent forms should reflect this need for additional protection. [task article] Given the current socio-legal research environment, it is difficult to know whether, in practice, researchers and research review bodies err in overestimating or underestimating the decisional capacities of persons with mental illness. Either type of systematic error can be costly. Allowing persons with mental illness to participate on the basis of defective consent would violate the most basic ethical tenets governing human research and can amount to exploitation. Yet, by erring too much in the other direction-that is, by overemphasizing the vulnerabilities of persons with mental illness-researchers and review bodies could unfairly exclude competent individuals with mental illness from opportunities to participate in research. The ethical costs of excluding willing individuals with mental illness from participating in research are not sufficiently emphasized. Unjustified exclusion from research, however well intended, is a form of discrimination. Moreover, in the abse nce of adequate research on the most severe forms of mental illness, individuals with these illnesses are relegated to receiving treatments for which there is only inferential evidence of efficacy. For these reasons, a major ethical challenge for psychiatrists and other professionals engaged in mental illness research is to develop ethical principles and practices for selecting research participants that ensure proper respect and protection without reinforcing incorrect assumptions about individuals with mental disorders. Another major ethical challenge faced during obtaining consent is assessing the patients voluntariness. Macklin et al. paper questions, can the complete voluntariness of patients decisions to participate in research always be guaranteed, especially when the person conducting the research is the patients own physician? Objective of a researcher is to perform systematic investigations involving human beings to develop generalizable knowledge whereas as a practitioner their focus is on diagnosing and treating the illness in individual or group to meet their health needs. So an interesting, albeit ethical, dilemma arises. Should the physician fulfil their sole obligation of focusing on the well-being of the patient, yet in the context of trial conduct, the physician (now an investigator) has competing obligation to generate high quality data. The trial distracts from good personal care. Declaration of Helsinki 2000 Article 28 says: The physician may combine medical research with medical care, only to the extent that the research is justified by its potential prophylactic, diagnostic or therapeutic value. When medical research is combined with medical care, additional standards apply to protect the patients who are research subjects. [macklin] There are problems concerning the way research is presented to patients who are potential subjects when the investigator is faced with such a dual role. When researchers are also clinicians caring for their patients, they face a conflict of interest that is non-financial. The need to accrue a sufficient number of patients in a study could affect the way a researcher conducts the informed consent process. Patients tend to trust their doctors, even when the intervention is research rather than a treatment proven to be effective. Practically in such a situation, patients often rely on the responsible doctor for decisions about whether to take part in a research study, the treatment available and its associated risks, despite the information available in the PIL [Bjorn et. Al, 1999] Hence, a sense of patience and training as a researcher is required from the investigators end. Investigators should receive education in research ethics that addresses rules and norms governing research; sensitivity to ethical implications of decisions and actions; and skills in ethical problem solving, including ascertainment and disclosure of conflicts of interest. [task article] Conclusion: Informed Consent is not enough. There are multi-factorial challenges to this single concept. With subject populations that are mostly medically naive and for whom the whole concept of clinical research and the umpteen terms and concepts associated with it are alien; the true essence of an informed and autonomous decision is fundamentally lost. The consent process thus gets reduced to mainly a narration-followed-by-signature process. Over the last few years, this gap in principles and practices of ethics and consent has been acknowledged and innovative concepts and attempts are being fostered, to make the informed consent process more ethical. Pranati et al. [AS1]Information Overload [AS2]Language Barrier [AS3]Comprehension and perception [AS4]Vulnerable patients

A Walt Disney World Advertisement :: Travel Advertisements

The family vacation is an American tradition. Thinking and planning for this adventure captures the imaginations of thousands of families each year. While parents and children may disagree over what constitutes the ideal vacation, there is no question about there being a family vacation. Savvy entrepreneurs are aware of this fact and spend millions of dollars in advertisements to capitalize on the money families spend for family vacations. Most advertisers craftily market to children, believing that children, through coercion (whining), can get their parents to buy what they want (see advertised on television). The Walt Disney World advertisement, however, takes a different approach by marketing to the entire family. The Disney advertisement is extremely effective, appealing to both the parents’ and children’s sense of wonder and excitement, while also making an emotional appeal to the parents’ sense of value. The caption of the Walt Disney World advertisement in Family Circle magazine reads: â€Å"Pretend your family is on the most magical vacation ever.† The first picture in the advertisement shows a larger- than-life Mickey Mouse happily greeting a young girl with pig tails in her hair. The girl’s eyes are wide with excitement and disbelief. The imagery in this picture brings on wonder and fantasy: the background is softly blurred with splashes of bright colors and light. In fact, there seems to be a rim of bright sunshine just above the girl’s head. The next picture shows a girl and boy enjoying one of the many rides at Walt Disney World. The feeling that both pictures convey is summarized in the words of the advertisement: â€Å"Indeed they had to pinch themselves to make sure it wasn’t a dream.† The next picture shows a mother being pampered by her husband in a make believe Hollywood scene. This is very effective advertisement because the mother who usually does the pampering and caring is instead being pampered and adored by her family. The caption above this scene reads â€Å"Mama got ‘discovered’ in Hollywood, the way she always imagined it would happen. This advertisement appeals to the parents who are swelled with pride to be able to fulfill their children’s dreams. One caption reads â€Å"They dreamt of fairytale characters that came to life and embraced with a hug†. This shows parents that Disney wants to do the same as the parents, when it comes to their children.

Relapse Prevention Plan Essay

Jed, a 38 – year old welder, enrolled in the treatment center after his arrest resulting from drunken driving (DUI/DWI) (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, n.d.). His lawyer has advised him to stop drinking and get treatment until his trial date, which is in approximate two months. Jed does not believe that he will serve any jail time, but feels that treatment could help strengthen his court case (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, n.d.). In this paper, I will create a relapse prevention plan that will aid Jed as he enters into his treatment program. This paper will also show ways to identify the warning signs of relapse. A relapse begins long before the person actually picks up a drink or drug (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)-Department of Health and Human Services, 2007). Most proficient gradual warning signs that revive denial and result into intense pain calls for self-medication with alcohol or other drugs or both which is basically a noble idea. It is not a conscious task. The warning signs in this case are known to develop spontaneously and instinctively. Owing to that fact that not many recovering people are always taught on the best ways to recognize and mange relapse warning signs, they are not able to identify them up to the point when they start feeling unbearable pain. Step 1: Stabilization Relapse prevention planning will most probably not work if the relapser is not sober and in control of himself (Addiction in women, 2010). Detoxification and sobriety are very vital for the relapse prevention plan to work successfully. Having in mind that most people who relapse are toxic, even if they are sober, it will still be very difficult for them to think clearly remember things and manage their emotions. The symptoms would worsen in any case the person gets isolated from the society or when he undergoes stress. It is advisable to move slowly and focus on the basics and in this case, the question here should be â€Å"What is it that you need to do to avoid drinking today?† Step 2: Assessment This step aims at identifying the progressive pattern of problems that did result into the past relapses and then find solutions to the pain resulting from such problems. This would be accompanied by the reconstruction of the current problems, the alcohol and substance use history, life history and retrieval relapse history. Through the reconstruction and presentation of problems, the now and here issues that stand to cause immediate threat to sobriety can be pinpointed and crisis plans developed to resolve such issues. Step 3: Relapse Education Relapsers have to be familiar with the relapse process and the best ways to manage it. Involving the family and other sponsors is a great idea. The education should strive to emphasize four main messages: First, relapse is an ordinary and a natural process in the recovery out of the chemical dependence. One should not be ashamed of it like in the case of Jed who â€Å"gets jumpy† when he tries to stay away from drinking, feeling â€Å"closed in or like he is suffocating†. He also cannot imagine how to explain to his buddies why he is not joining them in the bars. Secondly, people are not all of a sudden taken drunk. There are gradual warning sign patterns that indicate they are slowly cropping in again. Such signs can only be recognized when one is sober. Thirdly, after they are identified, the recovering individuals can get to learn how to manage such relapse warning signs when sober. And the last one is that hope is real. Jed once attended a few AA meetings, but did not feel that AA was helpful: â€Å"It was listening to a lot of guys whining†¦.† This should and will most likely change if he attends a lecture that describes the typical warning signs that precede relapse to chemical use. Step 4: Warning Sign Identification Relapsers should be able to determine the problems that resulted into relapse. The main objective here is to list personal warning signs that made them move from a state of stable recovery all the way back to chemical  use. There is hardly ever just a single warning sign. Ordinarily a series of warning signs develop one after the other to create relapse. The cumulative effect is what wears them down. The ultimate warning sign is basically last blow. Regrettably most relapsers think it is the last warning sign that caused it all. For this reason, they tend to assume the early and more delicate warning signs that leads to the final disaster. Step 5: Follow-up The warning signs are unbound to change with progress in recovery (Field, Caetano, Harris, Frankowski & Roudsari, 2009). Each of the stages involved in the recovery process has distinctive warning signs. The ability to deal with the warning signs of one stage of recovery does not warranty that one will know how to manage the warning signs of the next stage. The relapse prevention plan therefore has to be updated more often which should be; monthly for the first three months, quarterly for the first two years, and annually thereafter. Call now for immediate relapse prevention help. References Addiction in women., (2010). Harvard Mental Health Letter, 26(7), 1–3. Field, C. A., Caetano, R., Harris, T. R., Frankowski, R., and Roudsari, B., (2009). Ethnic differences in drinking outcomes following a brief alcohol intervention in the trauma care setting. Society for the Study of Addiction, 105, 62–73. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (n.d.). Case examples. Retrieved March 28, 2010, from http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/Social/Teaching%20Case%20Examples/Case%20Examples.html Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)-Department of Health and Human Services, (2007). Retrieved October 31, 2010 from http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/nsduh/2k7nsduh/2k7results.cfm#2.7 Category: Essay Alcoholic Anonymous. (2014). About AA meetings [Newsgroup comment]. Retrieved from http://www.aa.org.au/new-to-aa/about-aa-meetings.php Capuzzi, D., & Stauffer, M. D. (2012). Foundations of addiction counseling (2nd ed.). http://dx.doi.org/1009-0001-1763-00001764 National Institute on Alcohol

PH Lab Report Essays

PH Lab Report Essays PH Lab Report Paper PH Lab Report Paper Soapy water Material Required To facilitate this laboratory exercise, the experimenter needs the following: pH strips Sample reservoirs of solutions with varying pH Laboratory Notebook pH paper Background H stands for potential hydrogen. This is a measure of the acidity or basilica of a solution. Acidic and basic are two extremes that describe a chemical property chemicals. Mixing acids and bases can cancel out or neutralize their extreme effects. The pH scale is a set of standard solutions whose pH is established by international agreement. A substance that is neither acidic nor basic is neutral. Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline. Pure water has a pH very close to 7. The pH scale is logarithmic and as a result, each whole pH value below 7 is ten mimes more acidic than the next higher value. For example, pH 4 is ten times more acidic than pH 5 and 100 times (10 times 10) more acidic than pH 6. The same holds true for pH values above 7, each of which is ten times more alkaline than the next lower whole value. For example, pH 10 is ten times more alkaline than pH 9 and 100 times (10 times 10) more alkaline than pH 8. Primary pH standard values are determined using a concentration cell with transference. This measures the potential difference between a hydrogen electrode and a standard electrode. Measurement of pH for solutions can be done with a glass electrode and a pH meter, or using indicators. PH measurements are important in medicine, biology, chemistry, environmental science, oceanography, etc. Procedure For each of the samples you selected, execute the following steps to acquire the PH. . Cut a strip of pH testing paper utilizing the serrated edge of the dispenser (1-2 in. Length minimum). 2. Submerge the pH testing strip and immerse in solution for approximately 10 seconds. 3. Remove the strip and promptly compare the results to the specimen colors indicated on the dispenser. 4. Record data for the tested solution. 5. Repeat the steps until you have tested all solutions. Data Solut ion Name Personal pH Recordings Group 2 pH Recordings Group 3 Recordings average H Recordings . Soda Orange Juice 3. Iced Tea 6 4. Lime Juice 3 4 5. Water 7 6. Milk 7. Soapy Water 8 Conclusion In concluding this lab I found that, in general most groups had similar recordings in their lab. Although, when testing the pH of soda the recording of pH between groups ranged from 1 to 3. A 3 on the pH scale is 100 times more acidic than a 1. The recording did not change much from my earlier predictions. In the beginning of the lab I anticipated that the order of the solutions tested old be in the following on a pH scale: lime juice, orange juice, soda, iced tea, milk, water, soapy water. This was correct aside from the fact that soda is before orange juice on the pH scale. This is less surprising when reviewing the amount of acid in soda. Acid is listed on average in three forms on a nutrition label for soda. If I were to conduct another lab on pH would test if the level of pH differs from soda brand to soda brand. Overall, the lab familiarized me with the concept and meaning of pH and gave me experience in measuring it, therefore accomplishing the purpose.