See instructions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

See instructions - Essay Example The policies cover impartation of knowledge and motivational activities with the focus of highlighting the cruciality of hand hygiene. (Richards and Chesley, 2002). Murray et al (2009) argue that the use of pre and post intervention test outcomes that show health workers knowledge level about prevention and control of infections caused by not washing or improper hand washing will go a long way in reducing the level of such related infections. Proper washing and scrubbing of hands by health workers has proven to be cost effective in preventing and controlling of nosocomical infections. This has been realised through drastic drop in the number of HAI transmitted by contaminated gloves and hands and thereby reduced morbidity and mortality rates. This would mean loss of human, social and economic capital (Whitby et al. 2006). The outstanding challenge to LTC has been and still remains to be placement and availability of alcohol based hand sanitizers to be utilised by the doctors, health workers and residence in an appropriate manner. It was found out that Personal Support Workers and nurses at Whitby Long term care were not washing hands before and after providing care on each patient. The practitioners fail to wash their hands despite having the knowledge that LTC facilities serves an exceptional group of people and experience unique environmental challenges thereby making them the highest transmitters of infections. Infection is the principal cause of mortality and morbidity and also gives rise to the highest number of transfers of patients from LTC to acute care hospitals. (Richards and Chesley,  2002). I have chosen this issue because the hand washing hygiene remains to be the most significant procedures in preventing and controlling hospital acquired infections (HAI). Upholding compliance and sustaining hand hygiene habit after knowledge impartation,

Criminal Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Criminal - Case Study Example This will ensure that there is an efficient trial which is aimed to bring across justice. Criminal law deals with crimes and the legal punishments of criminal offences under the body of statutory and common law. A peaceful social order and justice is achieved in the society by imposing sanction of the crime. Criminal justice is governed by four theories namely: punishment, incapacitation, deterrence and rehabilitation. 1 A crime is an act of default or conduct prejudicial to the community, the commission of which by law renders the person responsible liable to be prosecuted and eventually punishing the guilty person accordingly. The prosecutor has a duty of bring the charges against the accused person and prove establish his guilty beyond any reasonable doubts. The prosecution for crime is conduct in the name of the state and the case is styled as - State versus name of the accused. (Van de Haag, 1978) Whereas civil law deals with the relationship between an individual and their rights and obligations under the law, criminal law is a system of regulating the behaviours of persons in relation to societal norms. A criminal proceeding commences with an alleged crime whereby an accusation is made by the compliant and the police being the government agent investigates the matter. During the proceedings, the interest of the government is represented by the prosecuting attorney or prosecutor while those of the defendant are represented by his defence attorney or by himself. 2 An exact circumstance that comprises a crime is supposed to be spelt out by the criminal statute in what is known as the element of the offence. The defendant cannot be proved to be guilty of the offence unless the prosecuting authority proves the elements of the offence spelt out in the criminal statute. Three elements of the offence are: the act itself, the actus reus, guilty act; the requisite mental state, the mens rea, guilty mind; and the attendant circumstances. (Fletcher, 1998) For our case, Arnold who was a member of an anti-capitalist organisation committed to the violent overthrow of society is a criminal offence when he released a toxic gas into the underground rail system of a city. This is a public nuisance which is actionable at the suit of the prosecutor on behalf of the public. A public nuisance can be defined as an act which interferes with the enjoyment of a right whereby all member of the society are entitled to for example right to fresh air or travel on the highway or rail. (Langhan, 1999) Arnold endangered the life of passengers using the railway system with the toxic case hence he should be prosecuted for public nuisance. The remedies in nuisance are damages, injunction and abatement. Damages This is an ordinary common law remedy whereby the damages claimed are un-liquidated as the court has power to fix them. Injunction This is an equitable remedy which is granted at the discretion of the court circumstances

Role of Genes and Environment in the Aetiology of Schizophre

Role of Genes and Environment in the Aetiology of Schizophre INTRODUCTION Schizophrenia (schiz = splitting; phrene = mind) is generally characterized as the fragmentation of psychic functions (Bleuler, 1950) of which the absolute causes are unknown. It is defined and diagnosed based on Schneider (1959)’s ‘first rank symptoms’ which can be further categorized into positive (e.g. hallucination, delusion, etc.) and negative (e.g. avolition, catatonia, etc.), depending on the described and observed experiences of patients (Andreasen Olsen, 1982). This essay aims to review a wide range of scientific literature and research which attempted to study the influence of various genetic and environmental factors in the aetiology of schizophrenia based on the general assumption that this mental illness is a multifactorial disease and can be viewed as an outcome of gene-environmental interaction (Van Os, Rutten, Poulton, 2008). A case study on the effect of Cannabis use on schizophrenia (Caspi et al., 2005) is analysed in order to justify the signi ficance of gene-environment interaction. GENETIC FACTORS The study of genes and how they contribute to the aetiology of schizophrenia have always been the topics of interest for neurobiologist. Multiple twins studies have shown that identical twins of 100% shared genes carry almost 40 times higher risk than completely unrelated people in developing such mental disorder if one of them was schizophrenic (Kallman, 1946; Cardno et al., 1999). In fact, schizophrenia is a polygenic illness as no single significant schizophrenia gene has been identified and numerous candidate genes such as Dystrobrevin-binding protein 1 (dysbindin), neuregulin 1 (NRG1), Catechol-O-methyltransferase protein (COMT), and Disrupted-in Schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) are the aetiological factors (Ross et al., 2006). This essay intends to discuss the role of COMT with respect to the ‘dopamine hypothesis’ and dysbindin corresponding to the ‘glutamate hypothesis’. Two neurochemical models have evolved to become important theories accounting for the aetiology of schizophrenia. The dominant one is the ‘dopamine hypothesis’ which pinpointed the association of hyperfunction of dopamine system, critically at D2 receptors, with schizophrenia (Carlsson, 1988) but it is being challenged (Egan et al., 2001) and will be discussed in next section. Another recent model will be the ‘glutamate hypofunction hypothesis’ which suggested that N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors dysfunction and deficiency in glutamate production can lead to negative symptoms of schizophrenia (Olney, 1999; Coyle, 2006). ‘Dopamine hypothesis’ challenged: Introduction of inverted â€Å"U† model for COMT as the regulator of dopaminergic transmission COMT gene, being located at chromosome 22q11.2, is involved in the synthesis of dopamine metabolic enzyme and it regulates the dopaminergic transmission across synapses in the prefrontal cortex (Craddock et al., 2006; Tunbridge et al., 2006). Microdeletion of this chromosomal region resulted in Velo-cardio-facial syndrome (VCFS) and approximately one third of the patients suffering from VCFS were diagnosed to be with schizophrenia (Murphy et al., 1999), depictingthe significance of COMT in aetiology of schizophrenia via regulation of the release of dopamine transmitters in PFC. Two alleles, valine (Val) and methione (Met), found on COMT are involved in the functional polymorphism which alters the activity of dopamine metabolic enzyme. The relatively lower stability of the Met allele resulted in the lower enzyme activity, which in turn reduced dopamine breakdown and increased the concentration of dopaminergic transmission in the synapses. Consequently, individuals with Met-Met genotype were expected to be more susceptible to schizophrenia (Ross et al., 2006). In contrast, research has challenged the ‘dopamine hypothesis’ by demonstrating that both the patients with schizophrenia and individuals that inherited two copies of Val alleles (with decreased prefrontal dopamine level) exhibited the lowest PFC efficiency (Egan et al., 2001). This leads to the introduction of an inverted â€Å"U† model (see Figure 1) which illustrates the relationship between COMT genotype, PFC dopamine levels and prefrontal activity (Cools DEsposito, 2011). Glutamate hypothesis: Dysbindin as the regulator of glutamatergic transmission Dysbindin gene, being located at chromosome 6p22.3, was identified to have strong association with schizophrenia (Straub et al., 2002). There is a wide colocalisation of this gene with dystrobreyin in both presynaptic and postsynaptic regions of brain such as hippocampus (Benson et al., 2001). The level of dysbindin expression in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC) of schizophrenia patients is consistently found to be significantly reduced (Talbot et al. 2004, Bray et al., 2005; Weickert et al, 2008). As a result of knockdown of endogenous dysbindin protein in culture by siRNA, a small interfering RNA, glutamatergic neurotransmission can be reduced. (Numakawa et al., 2004; Talbot et al., 2004). Besides, the reduced expression also significantly suppresses the synaptic transmission of glutamate in Drosophila’s brain (Shao et al., 2011) and reduces the excitation of NMDA as well as the expression of NR1 mRNA in the PFC of mice (Karlsgodt et al., 2011). These findings wel l supported the ‘glutamate hypothesis’ of schizophrenia, which proposed this mental disorder as an outcome of dysfunction of NMDA receptors and glutamatergic transmission. Limitations Although microdeletion of chromosome 22q11.2 increases vulnerability to schizophrenia, it is important to note that there might be other genes on the same location that can account for such illness as COMT is not the only gene in this location. Moreover, in contrast to the glutamate hypothesis’, reduced dysbindin expression in the hippocampus of mice increases NMDA-mediated current and long-term potentiation and increase glutamatergic transmission (Tang et al., 2009). This suggests that ‘glutamate hypothesis’ might not be applicable to the role of dysbindin in all brain areas. ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS Studies using the approach of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) have consistently discovered significant brain abnormalities in schizophrenics such as reduced frontal lobes and cerebral cortex (Andreasen et al., 1986) which affected cognitive abilities. Reduced frontal cortex was later shown to have no correlation with familial influence but with environmental factors (Owen et al., 2012). Although Touloupoulou et al. (2010)’s study has demonstrated that genetic factors can explain the correlation between cognition and schizophrenia, the research also suggested that environmental factors can account for the weak link between them. This essay will then discuss the influence of prenatal and postnatal risk factors as well as childhood trauma in the aetiology of schizophrenia. Prenatal and postnatal risk factors in aetiology of brain abnormalities A meta-analysis has demonstrated the strong correlation between schizophrenia and prenatal or obstetric complications such as below standard birth weight, premature birth and perinatal hypoxic brain damage (Cannon, Jones Murray, 2002). During prenatal stage, deficiency in micronutrients such as folate, iron and vitamin D can interrupt physical development of fetus and result in low birth weight (Brown Susser, 2008). Maternal exposure to infectious pathogens such as herpes simplex virus type-2, rubella, polio etc. can also impact neurodevelopment in fetus and raise the vulnerability of offspring towards schizophrenia. Furthermore, hynoxia (deficiency in oxygen level) during perinatal stage significantly influences the development of gray matter which in turn induces schizophrenia (Opler et al., 2013). Childhood trauma and experiences in aetiology of abnormal functional and structural brain development Positive symptoms of schizophrenia such as hallucination is of strong association with undesirable childhood experiences such as abuse and neglect. Childhood trauma acts as a stressor which adversely alters the dopamine production system in hippocampus. Accordingly, the accumulated effect of abuse can trigger dysregulation of dopaminergic transmission as well as the onset of schizophrenia (Read, Os, Morrison Ross, 2005). The abnormal dopamine level (either too high or too low) is linked with the aetiology of schizophrenia, corresponding to the inverted ‘U’ model (Cools DEsposito, 2011). In addition, childhood abuse can lead to traumatic brain injury (TBI) which results in neurodegeneration and significant volume loss in various brain regions and eventually leads to the onset of psychosis (Keightley, 2014). 1316 GENE-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION Case Study: COMT genotypes moderates the effect of adolescent cannabis-use on risk of schizophrenia in adulthood Strong evidences have signified the use of cannabis in adolescence as the modest risk factors for schizophrenia. Early use of cannabis is capable of increasing the risk of brain abnormalities and schizophrenia because the brains of adolescents are still under development and brain maturation is extremely susceptible to the deleterious effect cannabis use (Ehrenreich et al 1999; Pistis et al 2004; Pope et al 2003; Schneider and Koch 2003). Nonetheless, this environmental factor alone cannot be regarded as an aetiology of such mental disorder because a vast majority of the cannabis adolescent users do not exhibit schizophrenic disorders in adulthood (Caspi et al., 2005). Hence, the vulnerability of individuals towards adolescent-onset use of cannabis suggests a gene-environment interaction. In fact, COMT gene, as discussed above, is involved in regulating such trait. Individuals who have two copies of Val alleles carry the highest risk of schizophrenia at age 26 if cannabis abuse was f ound in their early stages, followed by Met-Val genotypes and adolescents who inherited Met-Met COMT genotype are least vulnerable to the abuse use of cannabis (Caspi et al., 2005). Thus, this clearly demonstrates the moderation effect of COMT on cannabis use and the gene-environment interaction. CONCLUSION In conclusion, understanding the role of various genes such as COMT and dysbindin in regulating the neurotransmission can help developing adequate medications which effectively tackle the mental illness. Identifying the influence of prenatal and obstetric complications as well as childhood experiences in aetiology of schizophrenia can also effectively prevent the onset of schizophrenia. Last but not least, studying the gene-environment interaction in the case of cannabis use reveals the multifactorial properties and intricate aetiology of schizophrenia. Hence, future research is encouraged to work on such interaction in order to pinpoint the main causes of such mental disorder. REFERENCES Andreasen, N. C., Olsen, S. (1982). Negative v positive schizophrenia: definition and validation.Archives of General Psychiatry,39(7), 789. Bleuler, E. (1950). Dementia praecox or the group of schizophrenias. Oxford/England: International Universities Press. 548. Carlsson, A. (1988). The current status of the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia. Neuropsychopharmacology. Cardno AG, Marshall EJ, Coid B, Macdonald AM, Ribchester TR, Davies NJ, et al. (1999). Heritability estimates for psychotic disorders.Arch Gen Psychiatry,56 (162), 8. Kallmann, F. J. (1946). The genetic theory of schizophrenia: an analysis of 691 schizophrenic twin index families.American Journal of Psychiatry,103(3), 309-322. Kety, S. S. R. D., Rosenthal, D., Wender, P. H., Schulsinger, F., Jacobsen, B. (1974). Mental illness in the biological and adoptive families of adopted individuals who have become schizophrenic: A preliminary report based upon interviews with the relatives.Journal of Psychiatric Research,10(2), 154. Ingraham, L. J., Wender, P. H., Kety, S. S. (1991). Characterization of genetically transmitted schizophrenia in Danish adoptees.Schizophrenia Research,4(3), 279-280. Ross, C. A., Margolis, R. L., Reading, S. A., Pletnikov, M., Coyle, J. T. (2006). Neurobiology of schizophrenia.Neuron,52(1), 139-153. Straub, R. E., Jiang, Y., MacLean, C. J., Ma, Y., Webb, B. T., Myakishev, M. V., Kendler, K. S. (2002). Genetic variation in the 6p22. 3 Gene DTNBP1 the human ortholog of the mouse dysbindin gene is associated with schizophrenia.The American Journal of Human Genetics, 71(2), 337-348. Shao, L., Shuai, Y., Wang, J., Feng, S., Lu, B., Li, Z., Zhong, Y. (2011). Schizophrenia susceptibility gene dysbindin regulates glutamatergic and dopaminergic functions via distinctive mechanisms in Drosophila.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,108(46), 18831-18836. Olney, J. W., Newcomer, J. W., Farber, N. B. (1999). NMDA receptor hypofunction model of schizophrenia.Journal of psychiatric research,33(6), 523-533. Coyle, J. T. (2006). Glutamate and schizophrenia: beyond the dopamine hypothesis.Cellular and molecular neurobiology,26(4-6), 363-382. Talbot, K., Eidem, W. L., Tinsley, C. L., Benson, M. A., Thompson, E. W., Smith, R. J., Arnold, S. E. (2004). Dysbindin-1 is reduced in intrinsic, glutamatergic terminals of the hippocampal formation in schizophrenia. The Journal of clinical investigation, 113(9), 1353-1363. Weickert, C. S., Rothmond, D. A., Hyde, T. M., Kleinman, J. E., Straub, R. E. (2008). Reduced DTNBP1 (dysbindin-1) mRNA in the hippocampal formation of schizophrenia patients. Schizophrenia research, 98(1), 105-110. Karlsgodt, K. H., Robleto, K., Trantham-Davidson, H., Jairl, C., Cannon, T. D., Lavin, A., Jentsch, J. D. (2011). Reduced dysbindin expression mediates N-Methyl-D-Aspartate receptor hypofunction and impaired working memory performance. Biological psychiatry, 69(1), 28-34. Tang, T. T. T., Yang, F., Chen, B. S., Lu, Y., Ji, Y., Roche, K. W., Lu, B. (2009). Dysbindin regulates hippocampal LTP by controlling NMDA receptor surface expression. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(50), 21395-21400. Egan, M. F., Goldberg, T. E., Kolachana, B. S., Callicott, J. H., Mazzanti, C. M., Straub, R. E., Weinberger, D. R. (2001). Effect of COMT Val108/158 Met genotype on frontal lobe function and risk for schizophrenia.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,98(12), 6917-6922. Cools, R., DEsposito, M. (2011). Inverted-U–Shaped Dopamine actions on human working memory and cognitive control.Biological psychiatry,69(12), e113-e125. Opler, M., Charap, J., Greig, A., Stein, V., Polito, S., Malaspina, D. (2013). Environmental risk factors and schizophrenia.International Journal of Mental Health,42(1), 23-32. Gottesman, I. I., Bertelsen, A. (1989). Confirming unexpressed genotypes for schizophrenia: risks in the offspring of Fischers Danish identical and fraternal discordant twins.Archives of General Psychiatry,46(10), 867-872. Toulopoulou, T., Goldberg, T. E., Mesa, I. R., Picchioni, M., Rijsdijk, F., Stahl, D., Murray, R. M. (2010). Impaired intellect and memory: a missing link between genetic risk and schizophrenia?.Archives of general psychiatry,67(9), 905-913. Manoach, D. S. (2003). Prefrontal cortex dysfunction during working memory performance in schizophrenia: reconciling discrepant findings.Schizophrenia research,60(2), 285-298. Owens, S. F., Picchioni, M. M., Ettinger, U., McDonald, C., Walshe, M., Schmechtig, A., Toulopoulou, T. (2012). Prefrontal deviations in function but not volume are putative endophenotypes for schizophrenia.Brain, 138. Cannon, M., Jones, P. B., Murray, R. M. (2002). Obstetric complications and schizophrenia: historical and meta-analytic review.American Journal of Psychiatry,159(7), 1080-1092. Brown, A.S., Susser, E.S. (2008). Prenatal nutritional deficiency and risk of adult schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 34, 1054–1063 Read, J., Os, J. V., Morrison, A. P., Ross, C. A. (2005). Childhood trauma, psychosis and schizophrenia: a literature review with theoretical and clinical implications.Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica,112(5), 330-350. Van Os, J., Rutten, B. P., Poulton, R. (2008). Gene-environment interactions in schizophrenia: review of epidemiological findings and future directions. Schizophrenia bulletin,34(6), 1066-1082. Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., Cannon, M., McClay, J., Murray, R., Harrington, H., Craig, I. W. (2005). Moderation of the effect of adolescent-onset cannabis use on adult psychosis by a functional polymorphism in the catechol-O-methyltransferase gene: longitudinal evidence of a gene X environment interaction.Biological psychiatry,57(10), 1117-1127. Keightley, M. L., Sinopoli, K. J., Davis, K. D., Mikulis, D. J., Wennberg, R., Tartaglia, M. C., Tator, C. H. (2014). Is there evidence for neurodegenerative change following traumatic brain injury in children and youth? A scoping review.Frontiers in human neuroscience,8. Schneider, K. (1959) Klinische Psychopathologie. New York/Stuttgart : Thieme Verlag.

fahrenheit 9/11 :: essays research papers

1. Although most journalists would state that their main objective in reporting on a story is to maintain impartial, this with the onset of cable news stations as well as the internet has become increasingly rare. Cable news stations such as CNN and FOX news are increasingly influenced by the politicians and corporations which control most of their funding. As Michael Moore states in his documentary â€Å" Fahrenheit 9/11†, which ironically is another good example of bias in the media, the man in charge of Fox News’ decision desk on election night was none other then George Bush’s first cousin. I would seem impartially may be compromised in this situation. To say that the media worked together with the media to promote the Iraq war may be an exaggeration, however the media in know way held the government responsible for the fraud that they committed in invading Iraq. The media, whether knowingly or not, promoted the Bush Administrations agenda in Iraq by arousin g overwhelming feelings of nationalism in the American people. It then became unpopular, or un-american to oppose the war. In the case of the Iraq war the media failed to properly fulfill its responsibility of maintaining accountability in government as well as most importantly reporting in an impartial style. Saddam Hussein was a dictator, who through intimidation and force maintained his grasp on power. These are tactics used by many governments throughout the world, ironically including the Amercian government. Saddam had a history of human rights violations and corruption, although compared to other international leaders his transgressions can be considered moderate. For example, in countries such as Rwanda and Sudan far more extreme measures have been taken by leaders, while the international community did little. The Iraq war is based far more upon oil and power then it is freedom. Seemingly, the Bush Administration and their corporate allies saw an opportunity to control the world’s second largest supply of oil and thus, like any savvy businessman would do, exploited it.

Deception Point Page 12

Rachel closed her eyes as the plane rocketed skyward. She wondered where she had gone wrong this morning. She was supposed to be at a desk writing gists. Now she was straddling a testosterone-fueled torpedo and breathing through an oxygen mask. By the time the Tomcat leveled out at forty-five thousand feet, Rachel was feeling queasy. She willed herself to focus her thoughts elsewhere. Gazing down at the ocean nine miles below, Rachel felt suddenly far from home. Up front, the pilot was talking to someone on the radio. When the conversation ended, the pilot hung up the radio, and immediately banked the Tomcat sharply left. The plane tipped almost to the vertical, and Rachel felt her stomach do a somersault. Finally, the plane leveled out again. Rachel groaned. â€Å"Thanks for the warning, hotshot.† â€Å"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I've just been given the classified coordinates of your meeting with the administrator.† â€Å"Let me guess,† Rachel said. â€Å"Due north?† The pilot seemed confused. â€Å"How did you know that!† Rachel sighed. You gotta love these computer-trained pilots. â€Å"It's nine A.M., sport, and the sun is on our right. We're flying north.† There was a moment of silence from the cockpit. â€Å"Yes, ma'am, we'll be traveling north this morning.† â€Å"And how far north are we going?† The pilot checked the coordinates. â€Å"Approximately three thousand miles.† Rachel sat bolt upright. â€Å"What!† She tried to picture a map, unable even to imagine what was that far north. â€Å"That's a four-hour flight!† â€Å"At our current speed, yes,† the pilot said. â€Å"Hold on, please.† Before Rachel could respond, the man retracted the F-14's wings into low-drag position. An instant later, Rachel felt herself slammed into her seat yet again as the plane shot forward as though it had been standing still. Within a minute they were cruising at almost 1,500 miles per hour. Rachel was feeling dizzy now. As the sky tore by with blinding speed, she felt an uncontrollable wave of nausea hit her. The President's voice echoed faintly. I assure you, Rachel, you will not regret assisting me in this matter. Groaning, Rachel reached for her hack sack. Never trust a politician. 13 Although he disliked the menial filth of public taxis, Senator Sedgewick Sexton had learned to endure the occasional demeaning moment along his road to glory. The grungy Mayflower cab that had just deposited him in the lower parking garage of the Purdue Hotel afforded Sexton something his stretch limousine could not-anonymity. He was pleased to find this lower level deserted, only a few dusty cars dotting a forest of cement pillars. As he made his way diagonally across the garage on foot, Sexton glanced at his watch. 11:15 A.M. Perfect. The man with whom Sexton was meeting was always touchy about punctuality. Then again, Sexton reminded himself, considering who the man represented, he could be touchy about any damned thing he wanted. Sexton saw the white Ford Windstar minivan parked in exactly the same spot as it had been for every one of their meetings – in the eastern corner of the garage, behind a row of trash bins. Sexton would have preferred to meet this man in a suite upstairs, but he certainly understood the precautions. This man's friends had not gotten to where they were by being careless. As Sexton moved toward the van, he felt the familiar edginess that he always experienced before these encounters. Forcing himself to relax his shoulders, he climbed into the passenger's seat with a cheery wave. The dark-haired gentleman in the driver's seat did not smile. The man was almost seventy years old, but his leathery complexion exuded a toughness appropriate to his post as figurehead of an army of brazen visionaries and ruthless entrepreneurs. â€Å"Close the door,† the man said, his voice callous. Sexton obeyed, tolerating the man's gruffness graciously. After all, this man represented men who controlled enormous sums of money, much of which had been pooled recently to poise Sedgewick Sexton on the threshold of the most powerful office in the world. These meetings, Sexton had come to understand, were less strategy sessions than they were monthly reminders of just how beholden the senator had become to his benefactors. These men were expecting a serious return on their investment. The â€Å"return,† Sexton had to admit, was a shockingly bold demand; and yet, almost more incredibly, it was something that would be within Sexton's sphere of influence once he took the Oval Office. â€Å"I assume,† Sexton said, having learned how this man liked to get down to business, â€Å"that another installment has been made?† â€Å"It has. And as usual, you are to use these funds solely for your campaign. We have been pleased to see the polls shifting consistently in your favor, and it appears your campaign managers have been spending our money effectively.† â€Å"We're gaining fast.† â€Å"As I mentioned to you on the phone,† the old man said, â€Å"I have persuaded six more to meet with you tonight.† â€Å"Excellent.† Sexton had blocked off the time already. The old man handed Sexton a folder. â€Å"Here is their information. Study it. They want to know you understand their concerns specifically. They want to know you are sympathetic. I suggest you meet them at your residence.† â€Å"My home? But I usually meet-â€Å" â€Å"Senator, these six men run companies that possess resources well in excess of the others you have met. These men are the big fish, and they are wary. They have more to gain and therefore more to lose. I've worked hard to persuade them to meet with you. They will require special handling. A personal touch.† Sexton gave a quick nod. â€Å"Absolutely. I can arrange a meeting at my home.† â€Å"Of course, they will want total privacy.† â€Å"As will I.† â€Å"Good luck,† the old man said. â€Å"If tonight goes well, it could be your last meeting. These men alone can provide what is needed to push the Sexton campaign over the top.† Sexton liked the sound of that. He gave the old man a confident smile. â€Å"With luck, my friend, come election time, we will all claim victory.† â€Å"Victory?† The old man scowled, leaning toward Sexton with ominous eyes. â€Å"Putting you in the White House is only the first step toward victory, senator. I assume you have not forgotten that.† 14 The White House is one of the smallest presidential mansions in the world, measuring only 170 feet in length, 85 feet in depth, and sitting on a mere 18 acres of landscaped grounds. Architect James Hoban's plan for a box-like stone structure with a hipped roof, balustrade, and columnar entrance, though clearly unoriginal, was selected from the open design contest by judges who praised it as â€Å"attractive, dignified, and flexible.† President Zach Herney, even after three and a half years in the White House, seldom felt at home here among the maze of chandeliers, antiques, and armed Marines. At the moment, however, as he strode toward the West Wing, he felt invigorated and oddly at ease, his feet almost weightless on the plush carpeting. Several members of the White House staff looked up as the President approached. Herney waved and greeted each by name. Their responses, though polite, were subdued and accompanied by forced smiles. â€Å"Good morning, Mr. President.† â€Å"Nice to see you, Mr. President.† â€Å"Good day, sir.† As the President made his way toward his office, he sensed whisperings in his wake. There was an insurrection afoot inside the White House. For the past couple of weeks, the disillusionment at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue had been growing to a point where Herney was starting to feel like Captain Bligh-commanding a struggling ship whose crew was preparing for mutiny.

River And Water Management Flood Control Environmental Sciences Essay

Floods are a major concern in many parts of the universe due to the many losingss experienced in clip of inundations. Therefore, flood direction techniques are really of import in countries that are prone to frequent implosion therapy. Flood direction techniques are constructions designed with the purpose of incorporating floodwater in order to command flood plains. The designing of inundation control techniques entails gauging the degrees of H2O that causes inundations and so mensurating the needed tallness that will make a on the job inundation defence. Flood defences are strong barriers that prevent H2O from deluging flood plains ( Woods & A ; Woods 2007, p.5 ) . Floods by and large occur when fluxing surface H2O spills over the keeping Bankss into dry land. Floods are a natural happening in about all river systems. Areas that are prone to deluging include those that are located downstream of dikes and low lying countries. Deluging causes huge losingss which include human and carnal life, dirt eroding, amendss of belongingss, devastation of flora and other environmental amendss. Besides, countries that are affected by inundations could besides be prone to drouths. This can even do farther loss of human and carnal lives. Flood Waterss are normally polluted with harmful bacteriums ensuing from sewerage. This means that people affected by the inundations are at greater hazards of acquiring morbific diseases ( Proverbs, et al. , 2011, p. 221 ) . However, inundations besides have positive impacts on ecosystems. One benefit from deluging includes more fresh H2O for domestic and irrigation use. Other benefits include big sedimentations of minerals and foods into affected countries. Apart from these, inundations besides help to better the status of H2O ecosystems. However, they can be considered to be the most detrimental compared to volcanic eruptions and temblors due to their frequences. Therefore, rigorous steps must be in topographic point to forestall the monolithic losingss occurred during inundations ( Gruntfest & A ; Handmer, 2001, p.12 ) . Methods used to command inundations Techniques that are applied in commanding inundations involve the version of the river environment and countries which are close to the river. Flood control techniques can be applied on the river channel, floodway or on the flood plain ( Ghosh, 1997, p.55 ) . Techniques applied in flood plains Floodplains are countries that prevarication below the inundation lift and wholly on the floodway and river channel. The bulk of techniques applied on flood plains lie far from the river but they are designed to cut down inundation harm. Levee/Floodwall around constructions This technique involves the building of a levee/floodwall about structures that are located in flood plains. Levees can either be lasting or impermanent. Construction of the levee normally requires the usage of strong, unreal or natural stuff that can digest force per unit area from the inundations ( Hyndman & A ; Hyndman, 2010, p.356 ) . The rule of utilizing levees and other barriers is to raise the tallness of constructions located in flood plains which floodwater must so mount in order cause implosion therapy. These constructions are at that place to offer protection to constructions. However, they put other constructions at a high hazard of deluging due to the so increased H2O keeping in the flood plains. Furthermore, serious harm to protected constructions can so happen when the levees are unable to keep back floodwater. This is because the force per unit area that the inundations hit the construction is highly high compared to when there is no barrier ( Green, 2004, p.36 ) . The usage of levees, butchs and floodwalls has a negative impact on the natural river procedures ( Harmancioglu, 1994, p.42 ) . Ideally, developed H2O spills should organize a natural channel which provides a manner for the inundations to flux. Therefore, levees would cut down the ability of the flood plains to treat floodwaters. The inability of the floodwaters to flux freely within the flood plains would interfere with fish in their aquatic home ground. The river would react by making other channels in order to let extra H2O to flux. The developed channels clear the backwater every bit good as cut down habitat complications ( Harmancioglu, 1994, p.43 ) . Off-stream detainment pool The chief purpose of making detainment pools in flood plains is to roll up the floodwaters once the river has reached its maximal capacity. Detention pools are constructed off from the floodway but must be within the flood plain catchment. When directing H2O into the detainment ponds it will hold an impact on cut downing the sum of H2O a river carries. This will hold a negative impact on natural river procedures due to the decrease of H2O fluxing downstream. Reduced sum of downstream flow could so do a decrease in sediment conveyance, which may take to the rise of the land degree of the channel and deposition of all right deposits. In add-on, leting H2O to flux into a detainment pool may do more H2O to flux into the pool than expected. This may take to an increased development of river channels ( Ali, 2002, p8.3 ) . Detention pools besides create new milieus for the genteelness and maturing of fish. However, the building of detainment channels must be done in a manner that creates a connexion between the pool and the mainstream so that the rivers natural environment can be maintained. Severe harm to the environment can happen when the detainment ponds break down taking to deluging in the flood plains. Techniques applied on floodway The floodway is made of river Bankss and the active channel. In general, the floodway forms the portion of land that is instantly following to the river. This piece of land allows flood Waterss to go through without raising the inundations depth upriver. One feature of floodways is the presence of little Bankss, either due to cuts made by old inundations or natural levees due to sedimentations from old floodwater ( Mambretti, 2011, p.66 ) . Reducing the bank incline This technique consists of cutting the riverside backwards to bring forth a gentler incline ( Masoudian, 2009, p.14 ) . It may affect replanting or resurfacing the bare bank utilizing stuffs afterwards. Reducing the bank incline will hold an impact on the increasing inundation transit at the channel degree due to the increased bank breadth. This normally happens because cut downing the bank incline increases the surface country of the bank channel, which so increases the volume of bank flow. However, if slope decrease is done through seting flora, it is likely that the bank stableness will be increased. This has an consequence of making a natural containment, which reduces the speed of H2O. A decrease in the speed of H2O so decreases the rates of dirt and bank eroding. Vegetation along river Bankss may besides pin down deposits within flows, which may so take to a buildup of Bankss, increasing the effectivity of Bankss in commanding inundations ( Masoudian, 2009, p.16 ) . The fact that cut downing the bank inclines so besides reduces eroding along the river Bankss has a negative impact on natural river processes. Without eroding on the river Bankss there will be a decreased sum of deposits, a decreased degree of wood dust and a decreased sum of channel migration. Therefore, the eroding happening of course along river Bankss is critical in keeping an active balance within river systems. Aquatic home grounds will besides be affected ; cut downing bank inclines has a negative impact of uncluttering countries where fish may hole up during the twenty-four hours in order to be safe from marauders. Juvenile fish normally hide in undercut river Bankss doing it an indispensable constituent of an aquatic home ground ( Masoudian, 2009, p.17 ) . Reinforcing riversides This technique involves adding supportive stuff to riverbanks in order to increase their stableness and in defying inundation flows. The most normally used support method involves seting natural flora as it acts as a stabilizer and increases the ability of riversides to command inundations. Planting flora on riversides can be done through hydro seeding, which involves assorted methods to add a mixture of H2O, fertiliser and seeds into riversides. The deep-rooted seeds will so turn and organize a huge web of root systems. The root system helps in keeping the dirt together, which so strengthens the riversides. The other method used to present works stuff on riversides is manus seting. In this technique, mature workss are inserted into riversides to go on with their growing ( Stokes, et al. , 2007, p.50 ) . Planting mature workss has the advantage of supplying immediate protection against inundations through flow decrease. The other method involves the usage of works mats, which are either natural or man-made stuffs implanted with works seeds and fertilisers. The mats are so spread on the riversides, and so the lacrimation procedure follows to let the seeds to shoot and back up the undermentioned growing. Apart from watering the works mats, continued instabilities in the river degree can assist in sprouting and back uping growing ( Beek, et al. , 2008, p.33 ) . The chief impact of presenting workss along river Bankss is the formation of strong riversides that can defy force per unit area from fluxing H2O. The other impact is the bar of enhanced channel migration. Floods that may happen along Bankss with sufficient works stuff may be less terrible compared to those happening in countries without works stabilizers. The usage of works stabilizers provides a durable solution to command of inundations. This technique besides offers an environmental friendly method of inundation control, which is easy to keep. Continued additions of flora along riversides additions channel raggedness and reduces the H2O speed. The usage of workss besides comes with the advantage of supplying nutrient for the aquatic life in the protected rivers. Fish may besides happen a natural home ground in the huge root system generated by workss ( Beek, et al. , 2008, p.34 ) . Gabions Gabions are constructed utilizing wire mesh baskets that are filled with rocks of two-six inches. Like workss, gabions are meant to beef up river Bankss, which boost ‘s the river Bankss ability to defy force per unit area from fluxing H2O. However, for gabions to be effectual workss should be added to them. Gabions besides deteriorate in clip, which means that replacings are required when they stop working decently. The usage of gabions reduces the natural eroding that occurs along riversides. This so reduces the sum of deposits delivered to downstream home grounds. In add-on, flows that are deflected by the gabions may make new river channels ( Mascarenhas, 2011, p.82 ) . Gabions besides lead to an addition in H2O speed, which has the disadvantage of cut downing the sum of backwater that is indispensable for the endurance of fish and other aquatic life. Well-designed gabions may function as a dependable beginning for engendering crushed rock every bit good as home grounds for aquatic life. Techniques applied along the river channel Sediment trap/mining This technique involves unearthing or dredging a depression on the river bottom. Construction of deposit traps requires the proper appraisal of deposit burden within a river in times of implosion therapy. Care of sediment traps require continued excavation of deposits after every serious inundation event. Sediment excavation reduces the sum of deposit sedimentations in the river channel, which in bend increases the channel volume every bit good as the inundation transit. Removing deposits could merely hold a short term impact of improved inundation transit because of the continued deposition of deposits downstream. Therefore, continued remotion of deposits is necessary to forestall incidences of implosion therapy ( Mascarenhas, 2011, p.105 ) . Removal of deposits within the river channel affects natural river processes. One consequence of deposit excavation is the alteration of the channel morphology. Any alterations in the channel morphology affect the manner the H2O flow and the river bed interact with each other. Removing deposits from the river channel changes the channel gradient. These alterations so have farther impacts on the gradient both upstream and downstream. An addition in the gradient in one location of the river may take to the formation of a â€Å" 5 point † or otherwise known as a â€Å" nick point † . This leads to increased eroding in the channel, which extends to a point where the gradient is stable or where there is bedrock resistant to eroding ( Raudkivi, 1993, p.35 ) . The remotion of deposits affects aquatic home grounds in several ways. When all right deposits are removed, there is a creative activity of a spawning home ground for a assortment of fish species. On the other manus, remotion of engendering crushed rock reduces the degree of engendering home grounds ( Raudkivi, 1993, p.41 ) . Flow realignment This technique of inundation control involves the excavation of new and deeper channels on the river bed but with a different place compared to the bing channels. When flow realignment is done to increase inundation transit, there is a decrease in frequence and badness of inundations. Flow realignment creates different constructions for the river flow. This interferes with natural river processes both upstream and downstream. The most important impact of flow realignment is evidently on aquatic home grounds. The usage of heavy equipment to do flow realignments creates perturbations on the river bed ; this alters bing aquatic home grounds. Therefore, use of flow realignment techniques needs thorough appraisal of possible impacts on the aquatic ecosystem ( Fleming, 2002, p.47 ) . Word Count: 2,108

Napster vs. RIAA essays

Napster vs. RIAA essays Napster is: Not Violating Copyrights Going to be a Useful Tool for Musicians in the Future Copyright infringement has quickly become one of the most talked about issues of the internet. The most difficult aspect is defining its boundaries and pinpointing its limits. The distribution of music via Napster is a perfect example of a controversial issue that has sprouted due to copyright questions. Technically, Napster is not violating any copyright laws. Although it may appear as if Napster is distributing and illegally copying music, in actuality Napster is merely a server/database in which users have access to categorized MP3 files. Napster is also free. Copyright infringement is present only when the users illegally copy and distribute music files not merely the presence of a server. This paper takes the standpoint that Napster is going to be an extremely useful tool to the music industry in the future. Although it currently appears that these two groups are at entirely opposite ends, the solution to the problem is defining guidelines that will benefit both sides. The music industry has become extremely volatile with the emergence of company's like Napster, and Mp3.com. These, as well as others, are programs that allow the sharing and trading of music. Napster is software program that lets users create a virtual network in which they can see other users' MP3s and decide if they would like to download them or not. The Napster software also gives the ability to chat with other users and create a set of preferences based on your own musical tastes. And while some of the files being traded through Napster are legal, the majority of the files are not. The users of Napster are able to trade music that has not been authorized by record labels or individual artists. The problem remains that music is being...