Evaluation of Business Strategy Employed by Google China for Ascertaining Viability of Organisation Free Essay Example, 2250 words

Porter, has argued that a firm needs to have sustainable competitive advantages and there are two sources of competitive advantage; cost advantage and differentiation. In a differentiation strategy used by Google. cn, an organization seeks to be unique from other competitors in the industry where it offers services that are valued by the customers. Its position is entrenched by its ability to customize the search engine according to Chinese users language needs as well as launching a series of services to complement the search function. Through the development of a strategic partnership with China Mobile, China s largest telecom service operator, the organization s strategic position is strengthened and this gives the organization a competitive advantage over other rival competitors. 3.0 Analysis of the organization s strategic direction In order to critically analyze the organization s strategic direction paying particular attention to the identification of the methods by which th e organization s strategies have been pursued, it is imperative to conduct a SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis defines the relationship between the internal and external environmental factors in the appraisals in the strategic analysis (Robinson 1997). Basically, SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses which represent the internal environment of the firm while opportunities and threats are external environmental factors. We will write a custom essay sample on Evaluation of Business Strategy Employed by Google China for Ascertaining Viability of Organisation or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page Therefore, the objective of this analysis is to use the strategic pointers in order to use the existing business strengths to exploit the opportunities, create new opportunities, to counteract threats and repair the weaknesses (Robinson 1997). The major strength of Google is that it uses a complex set of highly developed processes in terms of innovative offerings and it also has a cutting-edge information technology infrastructure. In as far as strategic direction is concerned, this can go a long way in entrenching the position and strategy of the organization if properly implemented. This gives it a competitive edge which makes it possible to attain its strategic direction with the aim of positively influencing the behavior of internet users in China.

Essay on How to Fight Hate Groups - 566 Words

A Hate Group is an organized group that acts with violence and hate towards people because of their religion, race, gender, and/or sexual orientation. Hate groups act either verbal or physical towards certain people. There are many different hate groups. Some hate groups don’t like anyone who is black, some act against people who are homosexual, and some don’t like and will act cruel toward someone who is Jewish. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), there are 926 hate groups today in the United States: and twelve hate groups in New Jersey alone. Some names of hate groups that are operating in United States are Ku Klux Klan, Army of God, World Church of the Creator, Neo-Nazi, Black Separatist, and Racist†¦show more content†¦Simmons. William J. Simmons was the founder of the second Klan in 1915. The first Klan did not use the burning of the cross. There were three Klan. The first one was from 1865 to 1870s, the second one was from 1915 to 1944, and the third one is since 1946. Another hate group is Neo-Nazi; it is a group that was founded by George Lincoln Rockwell in 1959 in the United States. It is known to target Jews and African Americans, but it also attack people with different religion opinion. Neo-Nazi bothered and attacked Asians, Arabs, Latinos, homosexuals, Catholics, and Native Americans. Adolf Hitler, most evil man in history, killed around eleven million people. He killed people who were Jewish, Gypsies, Poles, and some Slavs. Hitler also killed people with health or mental disabilities. Victims also included homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and anyone who looked different. It is said that 6 million Jews were killed during the Holocaust, one-third of all Jewish people living at the time. The Holocaust started in 1933 and ended in 1945. Concentration camps are camps where most of the people died. They were killed in different ways. They were either killed by guns, starvation, or working to hard. Some victims were told they were going to take a shower but they were walking in a gas chamber and that’s how they were killed. There are many ways to fight hate. Sometimes they work and sometimes it doesn’t. One way I think it wouldShow MoreRelatedHate Crimes1581 Words   |  7 Pagesincrease in the number of hate crimes being committed within the United States. Hate groups also are mobilizing. This poses a problem for Americans. The Southern Poverty Law Center provides a solution for this by monitoring hate groups and gathering information about them. To continue doing this, they need donations to keep operating but multiple barriers exist for individuals to contribute funds. Increase in hate crimes, mobilization of hate groups Hate groups, and hate crimes associated with theirRead MoreThe Southern Poverty Law Center : Group Analysis741 Words   |  3 Pageswhat they do and how they represent themselves. They fight against hatred and prejudice while searching for a fairness system for those individuals in society who are more liable than others. SPLC uses education, prosecution and additional ways of justification to try and make opportunity and justice equal for everyone. This is a difficulty that will be worth it in the long run. There was a lot of essential information in the â€Å"Hate and Extremism† section. The SPLC regulates hate groups and other revolutionistRead MoreGay Rights1419 Words   |  6 Pagesmovement is a continuing procession that fights for their rights. The gay rights movement actually begins on November 11, 1950 when gay rights activist Harry Hay founds America’s first national gay rights organization by the name of Mattachine Society, according to the â€Å"Timeline: Milestones in the American Gay Rights Movement†. Their leaders or people who advanced their purpose are Harvey Milk, Harry Hay, LGBT, or lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual groups. This purpose is to stop intoleranceRead MoreThe Causes Of Racism And Racial Profiling In America1038 Words   |  5 Pagesand prejudice through hate crimes, the social media, and government officials. Opposed to common beliefs, almost all hate crimes aren’t committed by people who belong to a hate groups. But are generally done by individuals who are considered to be teenagers or young adults. The FBI in 2015 released a recent statistic on which group of minorities had the most crimes committed against them 164,000 for hate crimes + blacks, 134,000 hate crimes + Muslims, and 36,400 for hate crimes + Jews. (DiemRead MoreMedia s Influence On Society985 Words   |  4 Pagesprescription and description. They tell us how society sees us and tell us how to behave in society with the help of media hegemony which is â€Å"a condition that occurs when dominant groups in society control the mass media, largely through ownership† (John V. Pavlik). With media hegemony in our media conveys and reinforces negative stereotypes of a group of people. Users online is posting, uploading photos, videos, and commenting without considering how it vilifies other groups or persons. Since images are presentRead MoreThe Outsiders Essay808 Words   |  4 PagesMuch of our literature, poetry, and film is stained with the sad truth that contempt exists between people groups. Throughout the novel â€Å"The Outsiders† by S.E. Hinton, this idea is very prevalent as the two gangs battle it out only to realize that the only way to make things right is by really trying to understand each others viewpoints. When social classes are in place, they tend to fight against each other, but the only way to really solve the problem is by putting down the weapons and just acceptingRead MoreThe Importance Of Love In Cry The Beloved Country By Alan Paton900 Words   |  4 PagesMandela, a famous equality activist from South Africa, once said â€Å"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion †¦ if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love.† When you are born you know nothing but love, unless you are taught otherwise. Hate is a characteristic that can be changed to love through becoming understanding and empathetic to all people. Arthur Jarvis, a white civil rights activist who was shot and killed in his home andRead MoreHate Groups Essay1157 Words   |  5 PagesBAN THE HATE GROUPS!! br brRight now, there are many active hate groups in the United States such as the Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazi, Skinheads, Christian identity, Black Separatists, etc. These hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan, which is one of Americas oldest and more feared, use violence and move above the law to promote their different causes. Another example is a group called Christian Identity, who describes a religion that is fundamentally racist and anti-Semitic; and other are the Black SeparatistRead MoreGay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer History1379 Words   |  6 Pagespier dance. These two documents should be the centerpieces of the museum because the pride pier dance of 1996 was an important event in Maine gay history, and because of the major role Michael Rossetti played during that time period in addition to how perfectly he handled the situation that was caused by the event. Before mentioning the reasons as to why the two documents should be the centerpieces it is important to know more about the Southern Maine Pride organization that held the event. The organizationRead More Hate Groups in the United States Essay1142 Words   |  5 PagesHate Groups in the United States Right now, there are many active hate groups in the United States such as the Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazi, Skinheads, Christian identity, Black Separatists, etc. These hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan, which is one of America’s oldest and more feared, use violence and move above the law to promote their different causes. Another example is a group called Christian Identity, who describes a religion that is fundamentally racist and anti-Semitic; and other are the

Project Management of Systems Approach To Planning †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Project Management of Systems Approach To Planning. Answer: What are five characteristics, which help, differentiate projects from other functions carried out in the daily operations of the organization? Answer: The following list explains the five characteristics, which would be used for the differentiation of the daily activities from the functions of a project: A fully defined time line of the project A well-defined process objective Involvement of peoples from different sectors of work The following of a life cycle of the project Following of a specific time, performance and cost for the project Why is the implementation of projects important to strategic planning and the project manager? Answer: The strategic planning of the implementation of the primary process of the project can be described as follows: A new product Implementation of a new information system. A new plant for the production of the new products. The project manager is the main person responsible for the completion and the management of the project: Timely completion of the project Keeping the project within the budget Keeping the project with the following of the specification The technical and sociocultural dimensions of project management are two sides to the same coin. Explain. Answer: The technical and the sociocultural specific dimension of the project management can be considered as two sides of a coin. This is because for the completion of the project the complete skill set is required. What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of the functional, matrix, and dedicated team approaches to managing projects? Answer: Advantages Disadvantages Functional Approach There are no radical alteration in the basic organizational structure Use of staff in accordance to maximum flexibility Maintenance of normal career path Lack of focus on the project Slow in completion Lack of ownership of the project Improper cross-functional integration with the project. Matrix Approach Flexible use of the resources within the project Focus on the project Proper balance with the technical requirements Conflict in the dysfunctional use of the process Slow is completion of the process Superiors are able to induce stress Dedicated Team Approach Is not able to disrupt the basic organizational structure. Project focus is kept concentrated on the main topic Strong use of cross functional integration Projects are completed within the timeline The decision of what to do when the project ends is a dilemma. The technical expertise of the project is limited to the team members Expensive in nature. How are projects linked to the strategic plan? Answer: As most of the projects are more important than the others, the best possible way for the maximization of the project and the resources. The use of priority scheme can be used for the maximization of the resources for the project. This can also be used for the balancing of the risk and the contribution to the strategic plan. What are the six elements of a typical scope statement? Answer: The following list are the six elements for the completion of the scope statement: Objective of the project Proper deliverable Completion of milestones Proper technical requirements needs to be met Limitation and exclusion Review of the customers The completion of a project should comprise of all the above six elements for he success of the project. What questions does a project objective answer? What would be an example of a good project objective? Answer: A project objective generally shares the basic information of what, when and how for the completion of a project. For the completion of the foot over bridge over the Thames River by the end of 2018 within a budget of $2 million. What does it mean if the priorities of a project include Timeconstrain, Scope- accept, and Costenhance? Answer: The project needs to be completion within a specific data with the following of the scope. The scope should be scaled down from the set out details to match the working budget and the timeframe. There should also be the chance for the reduction of the cost at any point of time during the project. For the completion of a project the three main requirements are4 scope, cost and time. These three factors would be responsible for the determination of the quality of the project. Timeconstrain: the project must be delivered on time. Scope- accept: reduction in the scope and the performance of the project is acceptable Costenhance: optimization of the cost needs to be done and reduction of the cost needs to be followed. List three kinds of information that are included in a work package. Answer: The three kinds of information that are shared in the work package are: What the work is to be done How long would the project take to complete How much of the resources are to be required When would it be appropriate to create a responsibility matrix rather than a full-blown WBS? Answer: Use of the responsibility matric is used in small projects for the proper organization and the assignment of the small process in the project along with the large process combined of many sub process. Project Background and Description Based on the case study the project is to organize a football competition for the Manchester United Soccer Club (MUSC). The revenue is to be collected and the newly appointed tournament director, Nicolette Larson, would organize the complete completion. Nicolette Larson discusses about the meeting along with her husband who would help her with the work. The use of the WBS and the Gantt chart would help Nicolette Larson to manage the competition and the work related to the project. Project Scope For the completion of the project the major scope to be followed are: To generate a revenue not more than $450. To complete the project within a deadline of 20 days. To manage the risk of the project when it is raised. High-Level Requirements The project would require the use of some of the basic products for the completion of a football match. There are use of any high level products for the project. The details are to be collected in written format. The details are the stored and managed in a proper database. Deliverables and Milestones The projects deliverables can be discussed as follows: Task Name Duration Start Finish Manchester United Soccer Club Case Study 19.75 days Mon 2/12/18 Fri 3/9/18 Registration of all the Teams: 4 days Mon 2/12/18 Thu 2/15/18 Screening process based on age limit 12 hrs Mon 2/12/18 Tue 2/13/18 Entry fees collection 12 hrs Tue 2/13/18 Wed 2/14/18 Sharing of rules and regulations 1 day Thu 2/15/18 Thu 2/15/18 Match time determination 6 hrs Thu 2/15/18 Thu 2/15/18 Walk out of the process 2 hrs Thu 2/15/18 Thu 2/15/18 Planning fields for play offs: 2.5 days Fri 2/16/18 Tue 2/20/18 Choosing ground for the games 1.25 days Fri 2/16/18 Mon 2/19/18 Penalty spot on the ground 5 hrs Fri 2/16/18 Fri 2/16/18 Centre spot on the ground 5 hrs Fri 2/16/18 Mon 2/19/18 Making alignment on the field 5 hrs Mon 2/19/18 Mon 2/19/18 Net hanging for goal posts 5 hrs Mon 2/19/18 Tue 2/20/18 Sponsorships: 5.5 days Tue 2/20/18 Tue 2/27/18 T-shirt Jersey 2 days Tue 2/20/18 Thu 2/22/18 Football 2 days Thu 2/22/18 Mon 2/26/18 Closing ceremony arrangement 1.5 days Mon 2/26/18 Tue 2/27/18 Media coverage 12 hrs Mon 2/26/18 Tue 2/27/18 Official Match People: 7.5 days Wed 2/28/18 Fri 3/9/18 Referee (qualified) 3 days Wed 2/28/18 Fri 3/2/18 Main Ground 12 hrs Wed 2/28/18 Thu 3/1/18 Sideline 12 hrs Thu 3/1/18 Fri 3/2/18 Ball pickers Boys 12 hrs Mon 3/5/18 Tue 3/6/18 Scorer 12 hrs Tue 3/6/18 Wed 3/7/18 Time checkers 12 hrs Thu 3/8/18 Fri 3/9/18 Award Distribution: 0.25 days Fri 3/9/18 Fri 3/9/18 Medals for every member of the winning team 2 hrs Fri 3/9/18 Fri 3/9/18 1st prize trophy 2 hrs Fri 3/9/18 Fri 3/9/18 Certificate for best performers 0.25 days Fri 3/9/18 Fri 3/9/18 Best goal keeper award 2 hrs Fri 3/9/18 Fri 3/9/18 Top scorer award 2 hrs Fri 3/9/18 Fri 3/9/18 Trophy for the player of the tournament 2 hrs Fri 3/9/18 Fri 3/9/18 Best ball picker of the tournament 2 hrs Fri 3/9/18 Fri 3/9/18 Stakeholders The major stakeholders of the project are: Accountable Responsible Consulted Informed Project manager yes yes Treasury yes yes Secretary yes yes Player coach yes yes High-Level Timeline/Schedule Figure 1: Gantt chart for the project (Source: Created By Author) Figure 2: Work Breakdown structure for the project (Source: Created By Author) References Alias, Z., Zawawi, E. M. A., Yusof, K., Aris, N. M. (2014). Determining critical success factors of project management practice: A conceptual framework.Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences,153, 61-69. Fleming, Q. W., Koppelman, J. M. (2016, December). Earned value project management. Project Management Institute. Fuller, M. A., Valacich, J. S., George, J. F., Schneider, C. (2017).Information Systems Project Management: A Process and Team Approach, Edition 1.1. Prospect Press. Heagney, J. (2016).Fundamentals of project management. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Kerzner, H., Kerzner, H. R. (2017).Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley Sons. Kerzner, H., Kerzner, H. R. (2017).Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley Sons. Pinto, J. K. (2015).Project management: achieving competitive advantage. Prentice Hall. Schwalbe, K. (2015).Information technology project management. Cengage Learning. Turner, R. (2016).Gower handbook of project management. Routledge. Zou, W., Kumaraswamy, M., Chung, J., Wong, J. (2014). Identifying the critical success factors for relationship management in PPP projects.International Journal of Project Management,32(2), 265-274.

Interpretation of the Downton Abbey Essays - Downton Abbey, Downton

British period drama Downton Abbey has become a global sensation since hitting our screens in 2010. An almost instant hit in the UK, series two cemented Downton as a worldwide "phenomenon" and one of the UK's biggest exports, with more than 100 countries owning the rights to broadcast the show. The series is set in the fictional Downton Abbey, a Yorkshire country house, the seat of the Earl and Countess of Grantham, and follows the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants during the reign of King George V. The first series spanned the two years before the Great War beginning with news of the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, which set the story in motion. The second series covered the years 1916 to 1919, and the 2011 Christmas Special covered the 1919 Christmas period, ending in early 1920. The third series picks up soon thereafter, covering 1920 through the autumn of 1921. I have watched the first two series and the beginning of the third series and I find some key words to interpret this drama. Locations Highclere Castle in Hampshire was used for exterior shots of Downton Abbey and most of the interior filming. The village of Bampton in Oxfordshire was used to film outdoor scenes, most notably St Mary's Church and the library, which served as the entrance to the cottage hospital. Many historical locations and aristocratic mansions were used to film various scenes. The fictional Haxby Park, the estate Sir Richard Carlisle intends to buy in Series 2, is part of Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire.Inveraray Castle doubled as "Duneagle Castle" in the 2012 Christmas special. In the third series, Bates' prison scenes were filmed at Lincoln Castle in Lincolnshire. The Downton Abbey of the title and setting, though fictional, is described as lying in the historical County of Yorkshire. The towns of Easingwold, Kirkby Malzeard, Kirkbymoorside, Malton, Middlesbrough, Ripon, Richmond, and Thirsk, each mentioned by characters in the series, lie in present-day North Yorkshire, as does the city of York, while Leeds?similarly mentioned?lies in West Yorkshire. Those locations are signs that this drama is completely different from other dramas which take place in modern times. In this special setting, the Downton Abbey must have other distinctive characteristics. Love British-style romantic love lies in almost every English literary works. In the Downton Abbey, the restraining sentiments between gentlemen and ladies that make us relaxed and fascinated are quite different from the free love. Matthew, a handsome and independent lawyer, fell in love with Mary, the eldest daughter of Lord. Among the three daughters, Mary is the most beautiful one; she had a number of pursuers after the death of her fianc?. After long-term engagement, Mary came to love Matthew for his is upright and aspirant. Costumes The stories of first two series took place between 1912 and 1919; accordingly, the fashion trend of costumes has undergone slight changes. Skirt became shorter, looser and more comfortable. In the first series, actress are required to wear corsets while in the second series, the requirement is not that strict. However, in this huge drama, all the actors and actress, from noblemen to servant, wear second-hand costumes borrowed from theatres except actress Maggie Smith. She played the Lord Grantham?s mother. All the finest elements of British drama can be traced in the Downton Abbey: calm language, huge story of aristocratic family, contradictory and restrained personality. I don?t know the ending of it, but I hope that it could have a happy ending just like the stories from the pen of Jane Austen.

Lab Report of the Experiment of Conjugation of E. Coli Essay Example

Lab Report of the Experiment of Conjugation of E. Coli Paper Using alkaline lysine nipper, a DNA lassie was isolated from the donor and transcontinental strains and FIG electrophoresis was used to determine the size of the plasmid. The conjugation efficiency was found to be 16. 25% and the plasmid DNA was approximately 97 kilobytes long. The results show that the F plasmid was effectively transferred from the donor cells into the recipient cells via conjugation. Introduction:Bacterial conjugation is the unidirectional transfer of either genomic DNA or plasmid DNA from a donor bacterial cell to a recipient bacterial cell by cell-to-cell contact via a sex pills (Sonatas Simmons, 2006). Conjugation was first discovered by Elderberry and Datum in 1946. In their experiment, they grew two strains of bacteria in separate vessels with rich medium and then together in one vessel containing the same medium. Then, they spread the three vessel contents onto medium agar plates and incubated them overnight at ETC. The only plate that showed cell growth was the plate containing the mixture of the two bacterial strains. The other two plates showed no growth. This experiment proved that in order for recombination to occur, the two strains must come in contact with one another (Elderberry, Datum, 1946). In 1950, Bernard Davis discovered that cell-to-cell contact was required to obtain a transcontinental. Using a U tube containing a sintered filter between the two sides of the tube, he added two types of bacteria (donor and recipient) to each side of the tube. Because of the filter, Davis never observed conjugation. This further proved that in order for conjugation to occur, the cells must come into physical contact. In order for cells to undergo conjugation, one cell must contain a fertility factor (F). William Hayes discovered this F factor in 1952. The F factor, which is a small auricular molecule of DNA (plasmid), controls the synthesis of F pill that connect donor and recipient cells during conjugation. These F factors are approximately 105 bagpipers in size. In bacterial conjugation, a donor cell containing the F plasmid is referred to as an F+ cell while a recipient cell that lacks the plasmid is an F- cell. When an F+ cell mates with an F- cell (conjugation), the plasmid is transferred. Both the donor and recipient cells become F+ cells and contain the F plasmid. While transferring the F+ plasmid, sometimes the plasmid is integrated into the recipients chromosome. We will write a custom essay sample on Lab Report of the Experiment of Conjugation of E. Coli specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Lab Report of the Experiment of Conjugation of E. Coli specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Lab Report of the Experiment of Conjugation of E. Coli specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer These cells are referred to as Hoff cells. Sometimes chromosomal DNA is looped out of the F plasmid, and chromosomal genes are transferred into the recipient; the recipient cells are referred to as F strains. When donor F cells mate with recipient F- cells, genomic DNA is transferred from donor to recipient. This transfer is known as seduction and the cell that receives the F plasmid from the donor is referred to as a transcontinental (Sonatas Simmons, 2006). In the experiment performed, conjugation was studied in E. Coli bacterial cells. The donor bacterial cells contained the F plasmid that had the lack+ gene integrated into it, making the cells Flag+stars. The recipient bacterial cells were F- lack-stir. The donor and recipient cells were mixed and plated onto streptomycin indicator plates. Using AGE electrophoresis, plasmid DNA was isolated and its size was determined. The plasmid was present in the donor and transcontinental cells; however, in the recipient cells the plasmid was absent. Materials and Methods:One ml of each of donor (Flag+stars) and recipient (F- lack-stir) the E. Oil bacterial strains, from the American Type Culture Collection in Rockville, Md. , was pipettes with a pitman into a sterile culture tube and incubated, without shaking, at 370 C for 90 minutes. Before plating the strains on agar plates, dilutions of the three strains of cells were prepared with LB broth. 100 Pl of 10-5 and 10-6 dilutions of donor cells were each plated onto McCracken (MAC) agar plates without streptomycin. 100 Pl of 1 0-5 dilution of donor cells and 10-5 and 10-6 recipient were also plated onto MAC plates with streptomycin. 00 Pl of 10-4 and 10-5 dilutions of the conjugation mixture cells were plated onto MAC agar with streptomycin. All seven plates were inverted and placed in a ETC incubator for about 24 hours. The bacterial colonies on each plate were counted the next day (colony counts seen in Table l). Donor colonies were picked with a sterile loop and placed into a sterile test tube containing LB broth. Recipient and transcontinental colonies were also isolated and placed into sterile test tubes containing LB broth and streptomycin. The tubes were then placed in a 37 C shaking incubator at 250 RPM overnight. After the incubation, 1. 5 ml of each of the three cultures were added to offender tubes and centrifuged at 13,200 RPM for 1 minute. An alkaline lysine procedure like that of Bromine and Doll was then performed to extract the lassie DNA with 200 Pl of alkaline SD detergent solution (Bromine Daly, 1979). After the alkaline lysine procedure was complete, the pellets were washed with a 100% ethanol and stored in a -ICC freezer. A 1% agrees gel in 0. 5 X TUBE buffer was prepared for gel electrophoresis in a gel tray. The gel tray was placed into the BIO-RADAR FIG Mapped apparatus. Loading dye was added and each sample (apron. 25 VI) was then loaded into a well. DNA markers were loaded into the first and last wells. The gel was run under program 4 for 16 hours, 180 volts forward and 120 volts reverse. When the program was knishes, the gel was placed into an tedium bromide solution to stain. After staining, the gel was gently rocked in distilled water. Using a Kodak IDEAS 290 imaging system, a picture of the gel was taken (which can be seen in Figure 1. 0). Results:During the experiment, donor (F+lack+stars) and recipient (F-lack-stir) cells were mixed and plated onto streptomycin indicator plates. Plasmid DNA was extracted from the donor and transcontinental cells and FIG electrophoresis was used to determine the plasmids size. After plating and incubating the bacterial dilutions, the cell colonies were counted. It was observed that all of the donor ells were red, all of the recipient cells were white, and the conjugation culture cells were a mix of red and white. There were too many (>300) red colonies to count on the donor 10-5 MAC agar plate and 60 red colonies on the donor 10-6 MAC agar plate. No colonies were seen on the donor 10-5 MAC agar + strep plate. There were 126 white colonies on the recipient 10-5 MAC + strep plate and 32 white colonies seen on the recipient 10-6 MAC + strep agar plate. The transcontinental 10-4 MAC + strep agar plate had 206 red and too many white colonies to count, while the transcontinental 10-5 MAC + strep agar plate had 26 De colonies and 86 white colonies (seen in Table l). Using the cell counts and their dilutions, the culture concentration was calculated. The concentration of donor cells in the 10-6 dilution was xx cells/ ml_. The concentration of recipient cells in the 10-6 dilution was 3. Axis cells/ml. The concentration of transcontinental cells in the 10-5 dilution was 2. Xx cells/ ml (Table II). The conjugation efficiency was calculated to be 16. 25% (Table Ill). Upon completion of a FIG electrophoresis, marker standards were used to determine the plasmid size and the distance traveled. The size and mobility f the bands in Marker II (Figure 1. 0) were measured and a standard curve was generated ( Figure 2. 0). This curve was then used to determine the plasmid size present in the donor and transcontinental cells. The plasmid was not present in the recipient cells. ) The plasmid traveled 14. 5 mm and was approximately 101 kilobytes long. Discussion:After plating the donor cells onto MAC plates that did not contain the streptomycin antibiotic, red colonies grew. This result is plausible because the donor cells contained the lack Oberon, which codes for enzymes that can utilize lactose as food. Cells containing this Oberon can grow on MAC plates because the plates contain lactose sugar. These two plates were then compared to the donor plate that contained the streptomycin antibiotic. No colonies grew on the streptomycin plate. This is because the donor cells did not contain the gene for streptomycin resistance. After plating the recipient cells onto MAC+strep plates, white colonies grew. This result is seen because the recipient cells lack the lack Oberon. These cells cannot utilize lactose as a food source. Also, the recipient cells were able to grow in the presence of streptomycin because they contained gene for resistance to the antibiotic. On the plates containing MAC+strep and 10-5 transcontinental cells, there were 26 red cells present. Ideally, because the cells were too dilute for conjugation to be seen, there should have been no red cells present. On the plates containing MAC+strep and 10-4 transcontinental cells, both red and white colonies were observed. The white colonies were recipient cells and the red were transcontinental. It can be determined that the red cells were the transcontinental because previously, red cells (which indicate donor cells) were not able to grow on plates containing streptomycin. Because they ere present on streptomycin plate, the cells must have undergone conjugation. After isolating the plasmids and running them on a FIG electrophoresis, it was observed that the plasmid was only present in the donor and transcontinental cells. This occurred because only the donor cells contained the plasmid. Because donor cells were not present in the recipient cells, no conjugation could occur; therefore, no plasmid would be seen in the recipient lane on the gel. The size of the F plasmid was determined by measuring the distance the plasmid traveled in the gel, and comparing it to a known marker (Marker II). The size of the F plasmid as determined to be approximately 97 kilobytes long. This was compared to the literature value, of approximately 100 kilobytes (Sealing, Paulson, and Cooper, 1991 Because the plasmid size is very close to the literature value, it can be concluded that the DNA plasmid was successfully isolated from the donor to the transcontinental cells. Genomic DNA was not transferred and no Hoff strains were formed. The conjugation efficiency was calculated and found to be 16. 25% on the transcontinental plates, meaning for every 100 cells on the plate, 16. 5 were transcontinental. A 16. 25% conjugation efficiency is a reasonable value. The value seen could be due to the fact that even though a donor cell contains the F plasmid, the plasmid is not always transferred into every single recipient cell. If this were the case, a conjugation efficiency of 100% would be seen every time. Comparing this value to an efficiency value seen in the literature of 94%, the value is a bit low (Kiang et al. , 2000). To increase the conjugation efficiency, the mixed donor and recipient cells could be left to sit for a longer period of time.

Free Essays on To Spank Or Not To Spank

To Spank or Not to Spank â€Å"No, Valerie! You can’t play with me!† a bratty six-year-old screamed at his helpless three-year-old sister. â€Å"Give me the controller now,† he demanded as he ripped it from his sister’s tender hands and pushed her to the floor. Then the toddler started to cry in pain and called for her father. Today’s parents deal with the form of discipline in a much more liberal sense. Many parents nowadays would sit down and talk with their young child explaining to them that what they did was wrong, but not to worry because it’s not really their fault because they didn’t know any better. Then they send their child off on a 15-minute â€Å"timeout.† However, I feel that modern means of child discipline are far too liberal and ineffective and that sometimes children need to be disciplined. Cornell West and Sylvia Ann Hewlett’s A World Upside Down takes us deep inside the world of teen violence, murder, crime, and suicide. Mind boggling facts such as â€Å"Children are now responsible for a staggering 20 million crimes a year† fill the article. West and Hewlett also write, â€Å"The enormous surge in youth violence is perhaps the most crueland most costlymanifestation of our inability to nurture our young† (West 103). Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines â€Å"nurture† as: training, upbringing; to educate; to further the development of. In that sense of the word, â€Å"nurture† it is parents’ responsibility to â€Å"educate† their children. Educate them how? Educate your children not only in school aspects, but also in morality. To nurture is also to train. Parents must also train their children to act in appropriate ways. I support Barbara Lerner and her thinking when she says, â€Å"Consider spanking. Effective moral education teaches children to make critical moral distinctions† (Lerner 138). In my opinion the liberal approach to discipline that many of today’s pa... Free Essays on To Spank Or Not To Spank Free Essays on To Spank Or Not To Spank To Spank or Not to Spank â€Å"No, Valerie! You can’t play with me!† a bratty six-year-old screamed at his helpless three-year-old sister. â€Å"Give me the controller now,† he demanded as he ripped it from his sister’s tender hands and pushed her to the floor. Then the toddler started to cry in pain and called for her father. Today’s parents deal with the form of discipline in a much more liberal sense. Many parents nowadays would sit down and talk with their young child explaining to them that what they did was wrong, but not to worry because it’s not really their fault because they didn’t know any better. Then they send their child off on a 15-minute â€Å"timeout.† However, I feel that modern means of child discipline are far too liberal and ineffective and that sometimes children need to be disciplined. Cornell West and Sylvia Ann Hewlett’s A World Upside Down takes us deep inside the world of teen violence, murder, crime, and suicide. Mind boggling facts such as â€Å"Children are now responsible for a staggering 20 million crimes a year† fill the article. West and Hewlett also write, â€Å"The enormous surge in youth violence is perhaps the most crueland most costlymanifestation of our inability to nurture our young† (West 103). Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines â€Å"nurture† as: training, upbringing; to educate; to further the development of. In that sense of the word, â€Å"nurture† it is parents’ responsibility to â€Å"educate† their children. Educate them how? Educate your children not only in school aspects, but also in morality. To nurture is also to train. Parents must also train their children to act in appropriate ways. I support Barbara Lerner and her thinking when she says, â€Å"Consider spanking. Effective moral education teaches children to make critical moral distinctions† (Lerner 138). In my opinion the liberal approach to discipline that many of today’s pa...

Project about Computer Managed Instruction (CMI) Essay

Project about Computer Managed Instruction (CMI) - Essay Example Since the advent of sophisticated technological means, the educators have been trying to modify the instructional process with the help of technology. According to Baker (1978, p. 3), early 1960’s brought with it â€Å"new curricula, instructional models, and approaches to individualization† of instruction but the drawback with these instructional schemes was their poor management. An ideal classroom environment is so dynamic in which each student presents his own understanding and is comfortable with his own set of instructional materials. Thus, the teacher needs to organize instructional schemes in such a way that all students with their unique calibers are equally attended to. Before CMI, teachers would process instruction manually but that process was inefficient when it came to collecting and summarizing instructional data for management purposes. This was when the need was felt to construct a reliable, fast and user friendly system which would process and manage m odified instruction. Thus, a shift was made toward computer-based data processing or more specifically CMI, which a lot of educators considered â€Å"as a reasonable model for the support of the management functions associated with the individualization of instruction† (Baker). CMI is one of the two types of computer based instructions; Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) is the other. CMI is an instructional scheme that makes use of the computer for obtaining learning resources and objectives, and to assess student performance, thus enabling the instructor to manage instruction in a more efficient way without having to get involved in the teaching process directly. In other words, there is no human interference. To be more precise, it helps the instructor in making effective instructional decisions by providing him with â€Å"diagnostic and prescriptive

HST130SP4 The Fall of the Roman Republic 1000words Paper Essay

HST130SP4 The Fall of the Roman Republic 1000words Paper - Essay Example 269). Although these two statesmen were born in different eras and had different family backgrounds, both had marked similarities of thoughts and values aside from being novus homo or â€Å"new man†, along with Cicero. A novus homo is a Roman who got elected to the position of consul, the highest elected position in Rome then, even without having ascendants who were themselves consuls (Mellor 1999 p 40). One similar trait between Cato and Marius was their anti-Hellenistic attitudes. To Cato the Greeks personify material indulgence which was abhorrent to most Roman aristocrats. Cato who also held the position of a censura, the highest Roman magistrate, spoke against Romans who took to wearing Greek dresses, visited the gymnasium and imitated the hedonistic way of Greek lifestyle. Similarly, Marius looked down on Greeks as militarily inferior and refused to learn the Greek literature on the ground that it was ridiculous to learn from teachers who were subjugated by another people (Isaac 2006 pp 387-388). In addition, both men were ambitious although Marius was a little bit overambitious, as can be gleaned from the way they lived their lives, running for the consulship position after serving in wars, with Marius having been elected for seven times. Both are driven men: Cato in accumulating riches through accumulation of agricultural estates, and; Marius for glory in warfare and politic s (Humphrey 2006 pp 137-138; Boatwright, et al 2004 p172). In addition, the fact that both men were able to have themselves voted to the highest elected position, the first in their families, attest to their ambitious nature. Statesmen who rose to prominence on their own without the backing of ancestral nobility are examples of â€Å"the ideology of novitas,† a principle espoused by the likes of Cato, Marius and Cicero. The ideology put emphasis on personal valor rather than on the standard Roman aristocratic principle of ancestral right. Romans that

Literacy in America Essay Example for Free

Literacy in America Essay America, the most technologically advanced and affluent of all nations on the earth, seems to have an increasingly larger illiteracy rate every year. This has become and continues to be a critical problem throughout our society as we know it. According to the National Adult Literacy survey, 42 million adult Americans cant read; 50 million are limited to a 4th or 5th grade reading level; one in every four teenagers drops out of high school, and of the students who graduate, one in every four has around an 8th grade education. Why? You ask. This problem will never fix itself and will take quite a bit of time to overcome. We need to make sure that everyone is aware of the social problems, poverty and lack of family interaction that occurs everyday in many, if not all, communities throughout America. â€Å"Nearly a billion people, two-thirds of them women, will enter this world unable to read a book or write their names, warns UNICEF in a new report, The State of the Worlds Children 1999. UNICEF, the United Nations Childrens Fund, points out that the illiterate live in more desperate poverty and poorer health than those who can read and write. (Boaz). The most important factor that contributes to the outrageous statistics of illiteracy is that of poverty. Poverty is an issue that more and more of our nations children are coming face to face with and the price they must pay is unbelievably high. Poverty is considered a major at-risk factor (Leroy 2001). The term at-risk refers to children who are likely to fail whether it 2 be at school or life in general because of their lifes social circumstances. Some of the factors that may place these children at-risk are: dangerous neighborhoods; young, uneducated parents; unemployment; and inadequate educational experiences. Teachers need to be aware of the circumstances that their students face and be able and ready to help these children find a balance between the cultural values that they may have and values emphasized in school. By providing emotional support, modeling, and other forms of scaffolding, teachers can help students use their strengths, skills, and knowledge to develop and learn ( Marlowe and Page,9). The United States prides itself on being a free, democratic state. Jonathan Kozol’s essay â€Å"The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society† states that the United States is not the democracy it claims to be. For democracy to work at its best, a true representation of the common interests and how the majority feels about those interests must be in place. According to Kozol, about â€Å"60 million people in the United States are illiterate. † For the United States to be the self-functioning democratic state it proclaims to be, it has to be a literate society. The people of the United States are not part of a democracy without the full capacity to make informed choices, and furthermore cannot reap the benefits that a democratic society has to offer if the best interests of the majority are not represented. Direct quote #2 (Madison)with signal phrase. Hypo-thetical example James Madison wrote that a â€Å"people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both† (Surowiecki, page 4). Voting is by far the most important aspect of a democratic society, and the percentage of people who do vote is a topic of much discussion here in the United States. If the number of people not voting is such a significant concern then the reasons they are not voting is 3 as well. An uneducated vote is not any better than a vote not cast at all. Imagine going to a voting booth and voting for a person or a ballot measure based on the ads you see on the TV only. In this circumstance, decisions are often made based on the negative ideas offered by both major political parties. If 60 million people in the United States cannot read, then they cannot cast a vote truly representative of their opinions. As Kozol claims, the United States has in fact become a government â€Å"of those two thirds whose wealth, skin color, or parental privilege allows them opportunity to profit from the provocation and instruction of the written word† (Kozol). The percentage of the population that is illiterate cannot choose which candidates make it onto the ballots, they cannot sign petitions, and they cannot choose which measures will pass or those that will fail. Direct quote #3 (Kozal), with signal phrase e. Of equal importance to a democratic society are the benefits that literacy provides to the public. When one is illiterate they are not able to reap the benefits of a free society. The freedom to choose enhances one’s chances of experiencing the best of anything. Illiteracy makes for a life of settling. An illiterate person has to settle for another’s interpretations of the world. According to the article ‘Democracy 101,† the ability to read opens a world that many people do not consider. The choice of where to live, what to eat, and where to work may all seem commonplace to the average literate person. Kozol uses the warning on a can of Drano in the opening of this essay to educate. It may take a moment for it to sink in but the reader will soon realize how much power reading and writing holds. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are supposed to be guaranteed to all citizens of this country. Those that cannot read or write do not have the capability to choose who are the best people suited for ensuring those rights. Perhaps more importantly the 60 million illiterate people in this country cannot make the choices necessary to make use of those rights (Kozol). References Boaz, David. Illiteracy The Bad News and the Good. Cato Institute. 20 Jan. 1999. Kim, J. K. NRRF Illiteracy: An Incurable Disease or Education Malpractice? Kozol, Jonathan, Illiteracy: The Enduring Problem. . Leroy. The Effects of Poverty on Teaching and Learning. 2001 Surowiecki, James. The Dangers of Financial Illiteracy in America. The New Yorker.

Postoperative pulmonary complications

Postoperative pulmonary complications INTRODUCTION: Abdominal surgery involves a high risk of the development of postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs). This is thought to be due to the disruption of normal respiratory muscle activity when a patient is anaesthetised, thereby impairing ventilation, expectoration and forced residual capacity (Auler et al 2002, Warner 2000). This may continue postoperatively leading to atelectasis, pneumonia and respiratory dysfunction (Richardson and Sabanathan 1997). Furthermore, abdominal pain resulting from the surgical incision may limit deep breathing (Dias 2008). Exercises which promote lung inflation may help to counteract the decreased lung volumes which patients tend to present with following surgery (Guimarà £es 2009). Incentive spirometry (IS) is commonly used as a prophylactic treatment to prevent pulmonary complications following surgery. An incentive spirometer is a device that uses visual feedback, such as raising a ball to a line, to encourage a maximal, sustained inspiration (Overend 2001). IS is often promoted as a useful tool for rehabilitation of the respiratory muscle function following surgery. It is hypothesised that inspiration to full capacity discourages the development of atelectasis by preventing the collapse of the alveoli, and encourages correct respiratory muscle control and coordination, thereby decreasing the incidence of PPCs (Overend 2001). Incentive spirometry is a low-cost intervention, and allows the patient to experience regular rehabilitation with minimal therapist hours (Hall 1991). However, recent arguments have claimed that this technique has little more effect than conventional physiotherapy, deep breathing methods or no intervention at all (Dias 2008). Several recent randomised controlled trials have attempted to determine the effect of incentive spirometry in comparison to other interventions such as deep breathing exercises, or no specific post-operative rehabilitation. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate recent literature to determine the prophylactic effect of incentive spirometry for the avoidance of pulmonary complications in patients recovering from abdominal surgery. METHOD: A wide-ranging search of the literature was carried out, utilizing a series of key words deemed optimal for recruitment of relevant articles (Table 1). Several databases were searched by this method (Appendix 1). These included PubMed, PEDro, CINAHL, Medline via OVID and Cochrane. Reference lists sourced from several of these articles were then hand-searched. Limits were set to locate randomised controlled trials on humans, published in English from 1985 onwards. Articles published prior to 1985 were deemed to be potentially unreliable and irrelevant due to the advances in technology and medical knowledge regarding respiratory physiotherapy since this time. Articles which fulfilled the inclusion criteria (Table 2) were then assessed for methodological quality using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) Scale. The PEDro Scale is an 11-item Scale devised to rate the methodological quality of randomised controlled trials relating to physiotherapy (Maher et al 2003). The components of the PEDro Scale are seen in Table 3. The PEDro Scale was selected to consider the value of the methodology used for each RCT because there is a high level of recent, independent evidence to indicate that the scores generated by this Scale are of sufficient reliability to support decision-making in physiotherapy (Maher et al 2003, Mosely et al 2002). The RCTs assessed by the author were all included within the PEDro database, thus had already been rated by persons with specific training in applying the PEDro Score to RCTs. The scores gained from this are therefore regarded to display a high level of accuracy. Prior to assessment, the exclusion criteria was set as a PEDro Score of less than five out of ten. A PEDro Score of five or greater is evidential of a study of moderate to high quality (Mosely et al 2002). A summary table (Appendix 2) was constructed to display the information retrieved from the four articles included in the review. This data included: PEDro Score, sample size and follow-up, outcome variables, intervention, limitations, results and clinical implications of the findings. This systematic review evaluated the benefit of the use of incentive spirometry in comparison to a control group or other intervention. This was achieved by considering the incidence of pulmonary complications (defined by a variety of outcome variables) between the groups involved in each trial. RESULTS: Search method and study selection: The initial search produced 85 non-duplicate articles of which 24 were screened. The criteria for inclusion into the review are documented in Table 2. After reading the abstract of the 24 articles selected, a further 16 records failed to meet one or more of the inclusion criteria. The remaining eight articles were then assessed for eligibility by applying the exclusion criteria (Table 2). One review article was excluded. Three RCTs were deemed to exhibit low methodological quality having produced a PEDro Score of less than five out of ten, and were excluded. The remaining four RCTs selected for the review are documented in Appendix 2. The complete search process is shown by Figure 1. Methodological quality: Table 4 shows the level of methodological quality for each article. All articles rated six or above on the PEDro Scale, and demonstrated competency in the aspects of random allocation, baseline comparison, assessor blinding, and adequate follow up. Those trials by Stock et al (1985) and Schwieger et al (1986) failed to include concealed allocation and intention to treat. Due to the nature of the intervention, none of the trials had subject or therapist blinding. Intervention and outcome variables: The four studies selected for the review include the use of IS as an intervention. Outcome variables were obtained from common methods used to diagnose pulmonary complications, including (but not limited to) blood gas analyses, body temperature, sputum analysis, chest radiography and spirometry. None of the studies documented in Appendix 2 found any significant difference between the intervention of IS and other intervention or control groups in the development of pulmonary complications. Pulmonary complications: Hall et al (1991) compared the intervention of IS to a control group of patients receiving conventional chest physiotherapy. Pulmonary complications developed in 15.8% (95% CI 14.0-17.6%) of those patients undergoing regular maximal inspirations with the use of an incentive spirometer, compared to 15.3% (95% CI 13.6 17.0%) of patients receiving conventional chest physiotherapy (Hall et al 1991). Similarly, Schwieger et al (1986) found no statistically significant benefit to promote the use of IS. 40% of those patients performing regular IS developed pulmonary complications. The control group, receiving no specialized post operative respiratory care, had a 30% incidence of the development of respiratory complications (Schwieger et al 1985). Two studies (Hall et al 1996, Stock et al 1985) compared IS against other interventions designed to have a prophylactic effect on the development of pulmonary complications following abdominal surgery. Hall et al (1996) found that IS has different levels of efficacy depending on a patients risk of developing a PPC. Post operative respiratory complications were found in 8% of low risk patients randomised to receive incentive spirometry, and in 11% of those who undertook deep breathing exercises. PPCs were detected in 19% of high risk patients receiving IS and 13% of patients who received a combination of IS and conventional chest physiotherapy (Hall et al 1996). Stock et al (1985) found no notable difference in the development of PPCs between patients randomised to IS, continuous passive airway pressure and coughing and deep breathing exercises. Post operative atelectasis All of the studies considered in this review included the presence of atelectasis detected by radiograph as a specific outcome variable to indicate a PPC. No studies showed a significant difference in the presence of post operative atelectasis between groups. Swieger et al (1986) found atelectasis to affect 30% of the IS group and 25% of the control group. Stock et al (1985) recorded a 24 hour postoperative incidence of atelectasis of 50%, 32% and 41% for patients receiving incentive spirometry, coughing and deep breathing exercises and continuous passive airway pressure, respectively (p FEV/FVC Two studies (Stock et al 1985, Swieger et al 1986) considered the change in forced expiratory volume and forced vital capacity following abdominal surgery. Stock et al (1985) noted an average decline of forced vital capacity to 49%, 62% and 69% of the preoperative value at 24, 48 and 72 postoperative hours respectively (p DISCUSSION: This systematic review provides a comparative analysis of the use of incentive spirometry for a prophylactic effect on the development of pulmonary complications following abdominal surgery. Four RCTs comprised the results analysed in this review. Two of these articles rated 6/10 on the PEDro Scale (Stock et al 1985, Swieger et al 1986) and two articles were awarded a score of 8/10 (Hall et al 1991, Hall et al 1996). While each study evaluated the use of IS for prevention of PPCs following abdominal surgery, the comparisons within each study varied. Only one trial (Schwieger et al 1986) compared the IS intervention group to a control group which received no specialised post operative respiratory care. Hall et al (1991) instead considered the IS intervention group to patients receiving conventional chest physiotherapy. Two trials, (Hall et al 1996, Stock et al 1985) compared the use of incentive spirometry to other specific respiratory physiotherapy modalities. Hall et al (1996) also investigated the effect of the patients putative risk factors on their incidence of development of PPCs. It is difficult to make comparisons between the selected studies, due to the high variance of intra-study comparison. Participants Two of the studies had high numbers of participants (Hall et al 1991, Hall et al 1996), allowing for the assumption to be made that the results gained from this are accurate and representative of the sample population. Two studies had comparatively low numbers of participants (Stock et al 1985; n=64. Swieger et al 1986; n= 40). The studies with low participation rate exhibited high levels of incidence of PPCs compared to the larger studies. This indicates that the low number of participants may have caused an exaggeration of the incidence of PPCs considered in these studies. The overall male: female ratio of the studies investigated was 679:758. The gender imbalance was particularly pronounced in the trials which had low levels of participation (Stock et al 1985, Swieger et al 1986), with females outnumbering males. This makes the results more generalizable to females and decreases external validity (Juni et al 2001). This is particularly important to the analysis of respiratory function due the gender-related differences regarding function, shape and size of the lungs and the chest cavities (Becklake and Kauffman 1999). This can alter the respiratory mechanics and thus create gender biased results (Auler 2002). Publication bias is also a possible limitation of this review. Studies which obtained undesirable results are less likely to be published, thus the available literature may be biased toward a favourable outcome (Egger 1998). Intervention and outcomes The intervention itself may create bias with respect to using the comparability between the studies evaluated in this review. The administration of incentive spirometry varied slightly between trials. For example, in the trial by Schwieger et al (1986), patients were instructed to breathe deeply (with use of IS) for five minutes hourly, twelve times daily for three postoperative days. The participants in the study by Hall et al (1996) required patients to maximally inspire and hold ten times per hour. This means that broad term of incentive spirometry may actually correlate to a slightly different intervention for each study, so the incentive spirometry results evaluated in this review may not be entirely comparable. The comparable intervention of conventional chest physiotherapy is also questionable as this could also involve incentive spirometry, thus give the same results as IS whilst appearing as a separate intervention. There was inconsistency in follow up time between the four trials (see Appendix 2), which makes it difficult to pool results. Variances of outcome measures across the four studies were also a source of limitation. Outcome variables for each study are summarised in Appendix 2. The definition for pulmonary complication is potentially limiting as this would affect the diagnosis and thus results gained. The professional ability of those assessing the outcome measures (e.g radiologists) needs to be taken into account. Trial methodology Due to the nature of incentive spirometry, neither patient nor therapist blinding was carried out. This introduces the possibility of performance bias and detection bias (Juni et al 2001). Concealed allocation was missing from two studies ( Stock et al 1985, Schwieger et al 1986). A lack of concealed allocation allows for the possibility that an investigator may change who gets the next assignment, thus making the intervention group less comparable to the control group (Shulz 2000). Intention to treat analysis is also devoid in two studies (Stock et al 1985, Schwieger et al 1986), therefore clinical effectiveness may be overestimated in these trials (Hollis and Campbell, 1999). CONCLUSIONS: This review found that there is currently no evidence to support the hypothesis that incentive spirometry has a prophylactic effect on the incidence of pulmonary complications in patients recovering from abdominal surgery, compared to other physiotherapy modalities such as deep breathing exercises and conventional physiotherapy. Another recent systematic review (Guimarà £es et al 2009) has obtained similar findings. One study (Schwieger 1986) found that there is no significant difference in the development of PPCs between post abdominal surgery patients receiving incentive spirometry and those who received no specialised post operative respiratory care. This was the only study to compare incentive spirometry against a control group receiving no other form of physiotherapy, so it is difficult to completely rule out the possibility that IS may have some prophylactic effect which has been masked by an equal prophylactic effect of the other therapies. The clinical implications of this i s that if incentive spirometry does in fact provide some prophylactic effect on postoperative abdominal surgery patients, this benefit is no greater than that provided by other forms of physiotherapy. IS is less cost effective than deep breathing exercises, but requires less therapist hours than conventional physiotherapy. Therefore, a higher level of adequate and conclusive research needs to be done before incentive spirometry can be promoted as having a prophylactic effect on the incidence of PPCs following abdominal surgery. Articles used as a template for the review format: Andersson G, Mekhail N and Block J.(2006). Treatment of Intractable Discogenic Low Back Pain. A Systematic Review of Spinal Fusion and Intradiscal Electrothermal Therapy (Idet). Pain Physician; 9: 237-248. Dodd K, Taylor N and Damiano D. (2002). A systematic review of the effectiveness of strength-training programs for people with cerebral palsy. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 83: 1157 1164. Viswanathan P and Kidd M. (2009). Effect of Continuous Passive Motion Following Total Knee Arthroplasty on Knee Range of Motion and Function: A Systematic Review. Unpublished article. University of Otago, School of Physiotherapy. Dunedin, New Zealand. Articles used in review: Hall J, Tarala R, Harris J, Tapper J and Christiansen K. (1991). Incentive Spirometry versus routine chest physiotherapy for prevention of respiratory complications after abdominal surgery. Lancet 337: 953-956. Hall J, Tarala R, Tapper J and Hall J. (1996). Prevention of respiratory complications after abdominal surgery: a randomised clinical trial. British Medical Journal 312: 148-152. Schwieger I, Gamulin Z, Forster A, Meyer P, Gemperle M and Suter P. (1986). Absence of benefit of incentive spirometry in low-risk patients undergoing elective cholecystectomy. A controlled randomized study. Chest 89: 652-656. Stock C, Downs J, Gauer P, Alster J and Imrey P. (1985). Prevention of postoperative pulmonary complications with CPAP, incentive spirometry and conservative therapy. Chest 87: 151-157. Other references: Auler J, Miyoshi E, Fernandes C, Bensenor F, Elias L and Bonassa J. (2002). The effects of abdominal opening on respiratory mechanics during general anaesthesia in normal and morbidly obese patients: A comparative study. Anesthesia and Analgesia 94: 741-8. Becklake M and Kauffmann F. (1999). Gender differences in airway behaviour over the human lifespan. Thorax 54: 1119 1138. Egger M and Smith G. (1998). Meta-analysis bias in selection and location of studies. British Medical Journal 316: 61-66. Guimarà £es M, El Dib R, Smith A and Matos D. (2009). Incentive spirometry for prevention of postoperative pulmonary complications in upper abdominal surgery.Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews2009, Issue 3. Art. No.: CD006058 Hollis F and Campbell S. (1999). What is meant by intention to treat analysis? Survey of published randomised controlled trials. British Medical Journal 319: 670-674. Juni P, Altman D and Egger M. (2001). Systematic reviews in health care: Assessing the quality of controlled clinical trials. British Medical Journal 323: 42-46. Maher C. (2000) A systematic review of workplace interventions to prevent low back pain. Australian Journal of Physiotherapy 46: 259-269. Maher M, Sherrington C, Herbert R, Mosely A and Elkins M. (2003). Reliability of the PEDro Scale for rating quality of randomised controlled trials. Physical Therapy; 83: 713-721. Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J and Altman DG. (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. British Medical Journal 339: 332-339. Mosely A, Herbert R, Sherrington C and Maher C. (2002). Evidence for physiotherapy practice: A survey of the physiotherapy evidence database (PEDro). Australian Journal of Physiotherapy 48: 43-49. Overend T, Anderson C, Lucy S, Bhatia C, Jonsson B and Timmermans C. (2001). The effect of incentive spirometry on postoperative pulmonary complications: A systematic review. Chest 120: 971-978. Richardson J and Sabanathan S. (1997). Prevention of respiratory complications after abdominal surgery. Thorax 52: 35-40. Schulz K. (2001). Assessing allocation concealment and blinding in randomised controlled trials: why bother? Evidence Based Nursing 4: 4-6. Warner D.(2000). Preventing postoperative pulmonary complications: The role of the anesthesiologist. Anesthesiology 192: 1467-72.

Julia Serano, Whipping Girl Book Review

I found this book as disturbing but yet inspiring as well. This book is about a transsexual male to female. Transsexual is a person who has undergone a sex change operation whose sexual identification is entirely with the opposite sex. I could say that the book is disturbing because as I go through words and sentences, images keep showing up in my head. He was discriminated because of his change of sex and his behavior (girly boy). Being discriminated didn't let him to keep being all sad and sorrow. He stopped himself for being let down by people around him. He really is a brave man for writing the book. In this book, he writes about his experience and his feelings. I could not imagine if I was he. I could not imagine what does it feels like to be in his shoe. After reading the book, I was inspired by him. I think that people need to stop judging and stop discriminating. Everyone either transsexual or normal, we need to be treated the same way. Transsexuals are human too. They have feelings and thoughts. They could be hurt just like the normal people. Normal people don't have the rights to bully just because they think that they are more superior to people like them and try to make them feel like they are the outsiders and make them feel inferior. I did some research and found this video on YouTube. The video is about a transsexual woman, Samantha Lauzon. I think he is the first transsexual ever who has to courage to finally speak out about he life. On the video Samantha Lauzon said that he didn't understand his body and thoughts and Samantha Lauzon didn't know what he was doing. As a child he got bullied and attempted suicide. But finally he realized that he was wrong and he finally realizes the need to change in order for him to be happy. And it is true that as time goes by, it gets better. All the things that happened are really sick and sad. People need to know about them and how they feel. Its people’s job to try to understand transsexuals either from male to female or female to male. It is their job to educate themselves. Ending your life is never the answer. Suicide is the permanent answer or solution to a temporary problem. No matter who we are and no matter what we have accumulated and accomplished and what the position are we in our lives, one thing that we need to know and is certain; you will die and only God knows when. In other words, suicide is really a bad way to solve a problem. One thing that people need to know is; we need to be realistic and true to ourselves. There will always be people who judge us for one thing or another. We are rich or poor or tall or short or fat or thin. What matters is our own self-image. How we see ourselves is what matters no matter what gender you are. To keep a healthy outlook and know that no matter what anyone says you were in fact meant to be here on this earth right now right here just the way you are. Trans, Gay,? Bi or anything. What makes you different makes you special believe that and pass it on the other people.

Change †Analysis of ‘Growing Old’ by Matthew Arnold Essay

Growing OldWhat is it to grow old?Is it to lose the glory of the form,The lustre of the eye?Is it for beauty to forego her wreath?Yes, but not for this alone. Is it to feel our strength -Not our bloom only, but our strength -decay?Is it to feel each limbGrow stiffer, every function less exact,Each nerve more weakly strung?Yes, this, and more! but not,Ah, ’tis not what in youth we dreamed ‘twould be!’Tis not to have our lifeMellowed and softened as with sunset-glow,A golden day’s decline!’Tis not to see the worldAs from a height, with rapt prophetic eyes,And heart profoundly stirred;And weep, and feel the fulness of the past,The years that are no more!It is to spend long daysAnd not once feel that we were ever young. It is to add, immuredIn the hot prison of the present, monthTo month with weary pain. It is to suffer this,And feel but half, and feebly, what we feel:Deep in our hidden heartFesters the dull remembrance of a change,But no emotion -none. It is -last stage of all -When we are frozen up within, and quiteThe phantom of ourselves,To hear the world applaud the hollow ghostWhich blamed the living man. Matthew ArnoldGrowing oldTitle: Growing oldText type: PoemComposer: Arnold, Matthew’Growing old’ is a poem which shows the changes everyone will eventually go through when ageing. It explores a person’s feelings towards old age, and how they change as a feeling of being old takes over. The composer sees growing old as much more than most people, he sees it as a loss of spirit and soul, and the last stage of humanity whereas many people associate growing old with a loss of attraction and energy. This can be seen when he addresses the old person as a ‘hollow ghost’ in the last verse. There are two aspects of change shown in this poem. A person can change physically such as appearance and can also change mentally such as thoughts  and feelings. Through age, our physical change is easily observed and is beyond our control. As we step into old age, we realise that we are less remarkable. What is it to grow old?Is it to lose the glory of the form,The lustre of the eye?Is it for beauty to forego her wreath?Yes, but not for this alone. The composer writes about the physical change which occurs through old age, but suggests that that is not all that changes. The composer also pinpoints on the desolation and tiresomeness suffered through the process of old age and creates a feeling that it is almost the end of the road for a person’s life, â€Å"A golden day’s decline!†Even though an old person is still living, their spirit no longer remains. How the old person now looks at life is very different to how he/she looked at life when he/she was young, looking backwards at life as opposed to looking forward. ‘Tis not to see the worldAs from a height, with rapt prophetic eyes,And heart profoundly stirred;And weep, and feel the fullness of the past,The years that are no more!The composer suggests that living in old age is tedious and tiresome, quietly waiting day after day for the same thing. Our spirit which was once shining brightly is now like a dimmed candle, waiting, slowly, to be blown out. At old age, all we have left to live off of are the memories of a time when things changed for us, a life which was more hopeful than the one we are now living, where we are always awaiting a change in our life. It is to suffer this,And feel but half, and feebly, what we feel:Deep in our hidden heartFesters the dull remembrance of a change,But no emotion -none. In this poem, old age feels as though a trap is placed on us, keeping us away from opportunity and joy. This is felt when we begin to feel old. We are only released from this trap when we let go of this world, being at the â€Å"last stage† of humanity. â€Å"The phantom of ourselves†, suggests that we are what we want to be, if we set out to be lonely in our old age, we will only expect to be lonely. It is -last stage of all -When we are frozen up within, and quiteThe phantom of ourselves,To hear the world applause the hollow ghostWhich blamed the living man. From this text, I have learnt that old age is not what affects us. It is our mentality that affects us the most. Even when it is close to the end of the journey for us, we can still choose the type of life we want to live. We can choose to have a joyous end from this world, so it doesn’t have to be long days of â€Å"weary pain†.

Subcultural theories Essay Example

Subcultural theories Essay Example Subcultural theories Essay Subcultural theories Essay Essay Topic: Sociology Subcultural theories examine the behaviour and actions of various groups within society groups with either reject or depart from the traditional norms and views of the majority. These groups are referred to as subcultures, and subcultural theories attempt to explain why these groups most are concerned with youth gangs and gang delinquency engage in deviant acts. Subcultural theories originated in America and in particular the Univeristy of Chicago Sociology Department. Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay at the University studied juvenile crime rates in Chicago and they divided the city up into a series of concentric rings. They then calculated the delinquency rates of in each ring finding that areas with the highest crime rates were those in the centre of the city, with the rates diminishing outwards from the centre. They noted that delinquency was lower in areas of high economic status while it was seen to be high in areas of low economic status. Their studies also found that these findings remained constant over time, notwithstanding successive changes in the nativity and nationality composition of the population1. They therefore came to the conclusion that delinquency-producing factors are inherent in the community2 and are culturally transmitted. They said that what is transmitted is social disorganisation This term referred to an inconsistency of values, attitudes and standards of behaviour. In areas of high economic status, ie. the middle class, there is consistency and uniformity of attitudes and morals, whereas in low economic status areas there is an absence of common values with competing attitudes and standards prevalent instead. Shaw and Mckay state that in the latter situation delinquency has developed as a powerful competing way of life3. There are, therefore, rival values, conventional and non-conventional, and gang and juvenile delinquency is a symptom of this conflict. Another theory to emerge from Chicago is Edwin Sutherland and Donald Cressey s differential association theory. Although not strictly a subcultural theory in the strict definition of the term this theory is so closely related so as to be worthy of consideration. Differential association says that criminal and deviant behaviour is learnt behaviour in the same sense as other behaviour is learnt. It tells us that a person is likely to become a criminal if they are exposed to an excess of definitions favourable to violation of the law over definitions unfavourable to violation of the law4. The effect which these associations have may vary in frequency, duration, priority and intensity. In this process of differential association, Sutherland and Cressey stress that the strongest part of the learning occurs within intimate personal groups and we can see that they are stressing the importance of the peer group, family and friends in the learning process. They also make the point that all the associations which one has in life could be quantified and a mathematical formula reached which would enable us to find out how a person will turn out. Sutherland and Cressey acknowledge however that such a weighing up of associations would be extremely difficult5. Albert Cohens main interest lay in explaining juvenile delinquency, and his major work Delinquent Boys, published in 1955, claimed that a delinquent subculture exists which could explain crime amongst juveniles. He said that when we look at the delinquent subculture we see that it is non-utilitarian, malicious and negativistic6. This, he explains, is because the subculture takes its norms from the wider culture and turns them upside down. Therefore, what the delinquent does is right according to the standards of the subculture because it is wrong according to the standards of wider society. But why do juveniles form or join these subcultures in the first place? Cohen argued that certain sections of youth feel rejected by society and the reason for this is to be found in the great tension and strain in handling the paradoxical many-are-called-but-few-are-chosen nature of schooling7. Those who cannot handle the strain suffer status deprivation and some will seek the collective delinquent subculture as the solution. Mertons8 anomie (strain) theory aims to integrate explanations of a variety of behaviours into a coherent pattern, by seeing them as related ways of coping with the problems by living in modern societies. This theory asserts that where there is a gap between what people want and what they can legitimately achieve, they experience strain. They can adapt to this strain in any of five ways. Conformists do not experience such a gap and are thus not under strain. Innovators adapt to the strain by finding alternative, usually illegitimate, methods of obtaining the goods they want. Ritualists turn adherence of social norms into a goal itself and often join movements that place moral rules above more individual goals, e. g. religious groups. Retreatists see neither the goals nor the means as valid and minimise their participation in normal society. Drug users, dropouts, hippies and priests would all be examples. Rebels are those who declare the social structure illegitimate, and seek to destroy it. A theory of much the same model9 as Cohens is put forward by Cloward and Ohlin. They accepted a similar model of delinquency causation as him but believed that he placed too much emphasis on the school. Cloward and Ohlin draw their theory in part from both Mertons anomie theory and from differential association. They say that crime occurs because of blocked and limited legitimate opportunities and that what type of criminal behaviour results depends on the individuals peer group or gang. They concluded that three types of subculture can result: criminal, conflict or retreatist. Again the importance of the group is emphasised as Cloward and Ohlin use differential association to argue that criminal behaviour is learnt from group relationships. When Lemet (1951) and Becker (1963) first promoted labelling theory, they both argued that no acts are intrinsically deviant; deviance is a moral judgement which is used to label particular acts and those who commit them. Thus social groups can create deviance by making rules whose infraction constitutes deviance, and by applying those rules to particular people and labelling them as outsiders10. The principal strength of these various theories appears to be their superior explanation of juvenile delinquency and crime, such as vandalism, joy-riding and pointless theft, which mainly occurs within juvenile gangs or subcultures. Much of the other criminological explanations of crime largely ignore this group reaction and concentrate solely on the individual. Mertons anomie theory is especially guilty of this and indeed Cohen criticised it for being inapplicable to both juvenile and group crime11. Similarly the biological positivists such as Eysenck look at the cause of crime as purely an individual matter without much concern for group crime. Shaw and McKays theory placed a great emphasis on juvenile crime and delinquency being a group activity delinquency is essentially group behaviour12 and they attempt to explain why people become delinquent and join gangs. They say that in areas of low economic status delinquency is a powerful rival way of life which derives its impelling force in the boys life from the fact that it provides a means of securing economic gain, prestige, and other human satisfactions and is embodied in delinquent groups and criminal organizations, many of which have great influence, power and prestige13. Children are exposed to these values as they are transmitted and passed down from generation to generation as are the techniques for committing offences. In discussing this, Shaw and Mckay give examples of the types of offences whose techniques are passed down, such as jack-rolling and shoplifting crimes which lack a purpose. They strongly emphasise the role of the peer group and they say that in the context of this group crime is regarded as normal, as from the viewpoint of the delinquents immediate social world (the subculture) and the norms associated with that world, he is not necessarily disorganised, maladjusted or antisocial but may be highly organized and well-adjusted14. Cohens explanation of juveniles turning to crime centred upon their frustration at being unable to achieve middle class success and, more specifically, success at school. He says that in the resulting delinquent subculture, delinquents respond as a group and that this response has been worked out by their group over many years. This response is to invert the norms of wider society with the result that the subcultures activities are, as mentioned earlier, non-utilitarian, malicious and negativistic. Indeed, these descriptions of the groups activities explain crimes such as shoplifting (which is non-utilitarian) and vandalism (which is malicious) rather well. Cohen himself says that much gang stealing has no motivation and is in fact stealing for the hell of it and is a valued activity to which attaches glory, prowess and profound satisfaction15 rather than as an activity for gain and profit. Crime is committed because delinquent groups are out for fun and short-term hedonism plays an important part in Cohens account of juvenile group crime. Again, like Shaw and McKay, Cohens theory emphasises the point that from the perspective of the gang themselves, their conduct could be regarded as meaningful. Although subcultural theories give a good explanation of juvenile delinquency and juvenile group crime, the fundamental weakness of these theories stems from precisely this: an overemphasis on the importance of a gang response to crimes. It places far too much emphasis on a group response rather than on individual responses. Notwithstanding the fact that most juvenile crime such as joy-riding is conducted by gangs, these theories fail to explain why crimes such as rape and murder, which are very individualistic, occur. Most of the subcultural theorists, including Shaw and McKay, Cloward and Ohlin, and especially Sutherland and Cressey, stress the significance of the peer group and the associations which one has in life. Sutherland and Cressey say that the values which encourage people to commit crime are learnt along with the techniques to commit crime. But how can this theory explain the crime of passion in which the husband murders his wife when finding her in bed with another man? He may have had no criminal associations in the past, but merely snaps. Compulsive crimes such as this are better explained by biological impulses rather by differential association or subcultural theories. It was mentioned earlier that Sutherland and Cressey stated that all the associations which one has in life can be quantified in order to find out whether a person will become deviant or not. However, as with the example above, this does not account for the honest, hard working businessman who, when his business starts doing badly is forced to commit fraud and other crimes to try and save it. It could certainly be said that he has learnt the techniques through differential association, but where and how does he learn the deviant values and motives? Stemming from this overemphasis on gang/group crime is the very closely related flaw that these theories are overly deterministic. Everyone is seen as being very heavily influenced by their peer group and little consideration is given to individual choice or free will. If, taking Shaw and McKays example, you fall within the centre circle of Chicago you are seen by them as having very little choice as to whether or not you end up in a delinquent gang. The theory of David Matza addresses in part this weakness of subcultural theories. He pointed out that these theories predicted far too much crime and delinquency16. His main theme concerned drift as he considered that delinquents drift in and out of delinquency without committing to either. He also emphasised freedom of choice and free will as important, and by doing so he answers many of the criticisms of the overly deterministic theories of Cohen, Shaw and McKay et al. The role of the subculture or gang is still important as they make such activity more likely by actively promoting it but this does not make deviant behaviour mandatory. The individual still has freedom to choose whether to commit a crime or not and to do so for personal reasons rather that as a group requirement17. The major criticisms of anomie theory are that while it outlines different possibilities for adaption, it does not explain why individuals adopt one or other forms of adaption- retreatism, ritualism etc. It also says nothing about the causes of social inequality and conflict, which is strange given the theorys recognition that inequality and conflict exists is precisely the point at which it has an advantage over functionalism. Labelling theory does not provide an account for why some social groups have the power to label and others do not, nor of why certain acts are declared illegal and others are not. In Beckers view, the theory does not, and need not, explain why some groups or individuals have the power to label, he was only concerned to show that labelling occurs and the consequences of it. There is no consensus about how far how-far a group has to go in having specialised values and norms, or stable membership, or regular activities, to qualify as a sub-culture; nor about the precise meaning of descriptions such as deviant subculture. It is also interesting to note that some studies of subcultures refer back to anomie theory and its concept of adaptation; they thus have the same weaknesses as anomie theory. It can be said that from the principal strength of subcultural theories stems its main weakness. The main theories examined provide us with a through examination of crimes largely ignored by anomie and biological theories namely juvenile crime. In their consideration of the consideration of the main causes of juvenile crime, the role and influence of the gang or group response render the application of these theories to explaining individual crimes, such as murder, irrelevant. Related to this is the fact that these theories also suffer from the flaw of being excessively deterministic. Nevertheless, as an account of why subcultures exist and why juveniles within these subcultures engage in deviant acts, the theories examined succeed this objective. Regardless of whichever theory one tends to adopt for a particular given, each has its own strengths and subsequent weaknesses. In this regard, and despite these problems, the concept of sub-culture amongst young men and women remains seductive.

Discovering the Occupations of Your Ancestors

Discovering the Occupations of Your Ancestors Do you know what your ancestors did for a living? Researching ancestral jobs and occupations can teach you a great deal about the people who make up your family tree, and what life was like for them. An individuals occupation may give insight into their social status or to their place of origin. Occupations can also be used to distinguish between two individuals of the same name, often an essential requirement in genealogy research. Certain skilled occupations or trades may have been passed down from father to son, providing indirect evidence of a family relationship. Its even possible that your surname derives from the occupation of a distant ancestor. Finding An Ancestors Occupation When researching your family tree, it is usually fairly easy to discover what your ancestors did for a living, as work has often been something used to define the individual. As such, occupation is an often listed entry in birth, marriage and death records, as well as census records, voter lists, tax records, obituaries and many other types of records. Sources for information on your ancestors occupations include: Census Records - A good first stop for information on your ancestors job history, census records in many countries- including the U.S. census, British census, Canadian census, and even French census- list the primary occupation of at least the head of household. Since censuses are usually taken every 5-10 years, depending upon the location, they may also reveal changes in working status over time. If youre U.S. ancestor was a farmer, the U.S. agricultural census schedules will tell you what crops he grew, what livestock and tools he owned, and what his farm  produced.   City Directories - If your ancestors lived in an urban location or larger community, city directories are a possible source for occupational information. Copies of many older  city directories can be found online on subscription-based  websites such as Ancestry.com and  Fold3.com. Some free sources of digitized historical books such as  Internet Archive also may have copies online. Those that cant be found online may be  available on microfilm or through libraries in the area of interest. Tombstone, Obituary and other Death Records  - Since many people define themselves by what they do for a living, obituaries generally mention the individuals former occupation and, sometimes, where they worked. Obituaries may also indicate membership in occupational or fraternal organizations. Tombstone inscriptions, while more brief, may also include clues to occupation or fraternal memberships.   Social Security Administration - SS-5 Application RecordsIn the United States, the Social Security Administration keeps track of employers and employment status, and this information can generally be found in the SS-5 application form that your ancestor filled out when applying for a Social Security Number. This is a good source for the employers name and address of a deceased ancestor. U.S. Military Draft RecordsAll males in the United States  between the ages of 18  and 45  were required by law to register for the World War One draft throughout 1917 and 1918, making WWI draft records a rich source of  information on millions of American males born between about 1872 and 1900, including occupation and employment information. Occupation and employer can also be found in World War II draft registration records, completed by millions of men living in America between 1940 and 1943. Wills and  probate records, military pension records, such as Civil War union pension records, and death certificates are other good sources for occupational information.   What is an Aurifaber? Occupation Terminology Once you find a record of your ancestors occupation, you may be puzzled by the terminology used to describe it. Headswoman and hewer, for instance, are not occupations you commonly come across today. When you run across an unfamiliar term, look it up in the Glossary of Old Occupations Trades. Keep in mind, that some terms may be associated with more than one occupation, depending upon the country. Oh, and in case you are wondering, an aurifaber is an old term for goldsmith.   What Made My Ancestor Choose This Occupation? Now that youve determined what your ancestor did for a living, learning more about that occupation may provide you with additional insight into your ancestors life. Begin by trying to determine what might have influenced your ancestors choice of occupation. Historical events and immigration often shaped the occupational choices of our ancestors. My great-grandfather, along with many other unskilled European immigrants looking to leave behind a life of poverty with no promise of upward mobility, immigrated to western Pennsylvania from Poland in the early 20th century, and found employment in the steel mills and, later, the coal mines.   What Was Work Like for My Ancestors? Finally, to learn more about your ancestors day-to-day work life, you have a variety of resources available to you: Search the Web by occupation name and location. You may find other genealogists or historians who have created engaging Web pages full of facts, pictures, stories and other information on that particular occupation. Old newspapers may include stories, ads, and other information of interest. If your ancestor was a teacher you may find descriptions of the school or reports from the school board. If your ancestor was a coal miner, you may find descriptions of the mining town, pictures of the mines and miners, etc. Thousands of different historical newspapers  from around the world can be accessed online. Fairs, festivals, and museums often afford the opportunity to watch history in action through historical reenactments. Watch a lady churn butter, a blacksmith shoe a horse, or a soldier recreate a military skirmish. Take a tour of a coal mine or a ride a historic railroad and experience the life of your ancestor first hand. How to Learn Your Ancestors Occupation Visit your ancestors hometown. Especially in cases where a lot of residents of a town held the same job (a coal mining town, for example), a visit to the town can offer the chance to interview older residents and learn some great stories about day-to-day life. Follow up with the local historical or genealogical society for even more information, and look for local museums and displays. I learned much about what life was probably like for my great-grandfather through a visit to the Frank Sylvia Pasquerilla Heritage Discover Center in Johnstown, PA, which re-creates what life was like for the Eastern European immigrants who settled the area between 1880 and 1914. Look for professional membership societies, unions, or other trade organizations related to your ancestors occupation. Current members can be a great source of historical information, and they may also maintain records on the occupation, and even past members.