Theory of Gravity Essay

Of all the current nuclear fusion reactor experiments JET and ITER are the largest. JET, Joint European Torus, based in Culham Science Centre in the UK, is the centre of Europe’s fusion research. JET is currently the world’s largest tokomak capable of delivering up to 30 MW of power, it is used by more than 20 European Countries and also used by international scientists. It is used to test the conditions that will be in use by commercial fusion power plants. JET began in 1978, in operation since 1983 and in November of 1991 became the first experiment to produce controlled nuclear fusion power. It has been a stepping stone for ITER, producing parameters that have been vital in its production. In 1997 a record of 16 MW of energy were produced by JET using the mixed deuterium-tritium fuel with an input of 24 MW; a 65% ratio. ITER, originally standing for International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor but dropped due to negative connotations of thermonuclear especially combined with the word experimental. ITER began in 1985, but it was only until 2005 that the south of France was decided on as a location for the reactor. ITER is supported by many countries worldwide including the USA, the EU, the Russian Federation, India, China, Korea and Japan. In November 2006, and agreement was signed which formed the international ITER organisation who owns the device and all aspects of the project. ITER was formulated because it was agreed that a larger and more powerful reactor was needed to emulate conditions in a commercial reactor and demonstrate its feasibility. ITER is built from the collective research made by all the many fusion experiments worldwide; a collaborative effort to provide cheap, clean fuel for many future generations. The first plasma is predicted to be produced by 2016. Nuclear Fusion is entirely feasible as a future energy source though it will be a long time before they will overtake traditional natural resources in terms of percentage of the Earth’s energy provided. Estimated put it around 2050 until fusion power plants are in full commercial use. It is proven that fusion is the most efficient energy source we have to date; 4 times more than that of nuclear fission. It is inherently safe, and there is no hazardous waste except some radioactive materials from free neutrons, though in future designs this could be eradicated. Research is currently going well; all that remains is for bigger more powerful models and with ITER on the horizon it will not be long before a self sustaining fusion reaction with a positive output is achieved. This means well into the future 100% waste free fusion plants could provide nearly all of the world’s electricity, resulting in a clean safe environment with a massively reduced threat of global warming. Bibliography C. R. Nave, 2006, HyperPhysics, viewed 13 September 2008 David Sang, 1995, Nuclear and Particle Physic, 2nd Ed. Thomas Nelson and Sons ltd.  https://www.euro-fusion.org/

Prisoner Education

The education of prisoners is a topic that is riddled with complications. One of the major barriers in the way of prisoner education is public indifference and ignorance. It seems that people are almost happy to simply lock people away rather than actually confront problems such as recidivism and community reintegration. Our paper argues that prisoner education is not only a good thing, but is necessary to fix the underlying problems within the United States prison system.There is definitely a lack of education programs in our prison system today. Furthermore, even in those institutions that have education programs have many different problems such as; courses that are interrupted or terminated on the personal whims of prison administrators; the absence of libraries; waiting lists for programs; limited or no access to training in information technology; vocational courses that are dated paths to nowhere.By looking at effective existing programs, field studies at Massachusetts prisons , and actual prisoner interviews we will attempt to outline a model program and argue that educating prisoners is a means by which to help save out failing prison system. As we have talked about in class, the United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, but we also possess one of the highest crime rates. If the previous statement is true, there is an enormous problem with our system, and we believe that education is the key to solving it.In order to properly critique our prison system it is important to look at existing educational and vocational programs in our area. The Massachusetts Department of Correction’s has a mission statement which reads, â€Å"The Massachusetts Department of Correction’s mission is to promote public safety by managing offenders while providing care and appropriate programming in preparation for successful reentry into the community. † They do this by following their four step program â€Å"Manage – Ca re – Program – Prepare. We found that some of the programs offered may fit this mission, but others need tweaking. The first prison we decided to research was MCI Norfolk. MCI Norfolk utilizes a myriad of different programs, from adult basic education to Welding. However, the sheer number of programs offered does not always indicate a successful educational system. In our research we found that Norfolk, although possessing a wide verity of programs, is one of the worst educational programs in the Massachusetts Department of Corrections.However, MCI-Norfolk does offer a few programs that we thought were very unique and would be helpful in designing a model program. For example, MCI Norfolk offers a program called the â€Å"Responsible Fatherhood Program† which seeks to raise the awareness of male inmates’ parental responsibility. The program tries to emphasize the value and importance that a father’s presence can have on a child. The program lasts e ight weeks and requires a minimum of eight hours of structured curriculum driven activities.The RFP program works in three stages, with the ultimate goal of reunited father’s with their children, and strengthening their bond as father and child. The â€Å"Fatherhood Graduate Maintenance Program† is for graduates of the RFP program, which allows inmates to practice and discuss the skills they were taught in the previous stage. Once they have passed the FGMP stage, the inmate moves onto the Father/Child Visitation Component, which is a structured and staff facilitated visit for inmates who have completed the first two steps of the program.What we liked about this program is not only that it seeks an important goal (preparing inmates to become better fathers), but it is very extensive and requires a lot of dedication from the inmate. Another program that we liked was the â€Å"Employment Readiness Program† which is a 10-day workshop that is designed to assist inmat es in the development of the necessary skills that are needed for successful transition back into the community. The program runs 2. 5 hours per day for inmates who are within one year of their earliest possible release date.Throughout the course the participants are taught; resume building, cover letter writing, job application processes, mock interviews and how to maintain employment. Also includes social support, housing plans, financial awareness and budgeting, education referrals, criminal impact and attainable goals. All of these skills are important to learn in order to find and maintain a job, and some inmates may have never learned these skills. Our biggest critique of the program is that it is far too short.There are a lot of important skills listed in the program description, but 10-days at 2. 5 hours a day is not nearly enough time. Our suggestion is to run the same type of program, but offer it as a yearlong class. This class is offered at all of the Massachusetts Depar tment of Corrections prisons, and we feel with the proper revamping, it could be a very successful program. The third existing program that we looked at was the Boston University Program. The program is designed to meet the needs of the students who have accumulated a minimum of twelve transferable college credits.Students eligible to enter this program have an opportunity to achieve a Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Studies from BU’s Metropolitan College. Although this program requires inmates to have already accumulated college credits (which most have not) we thought it was important to mention because this program is donated in full by Boston University. Many times over the semester we have seen that finding funding for prisoner education is difficult. Most people are hesitant to want to pay any amount of money to fund the education of criminals, and that is why programs like the Boston University program are so important.If we can remove the stigma associated with prisoner education, finding funding will become easier, and more programs will be available. The final prison program we looked at was the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center. As with MCI Norfolk, Souza-Baranowski offered many different programs, including; barber school, computer technology, culinary arts, educational counseling, English as a second language, and many more. However, like Norfolk, we found that Souza-Baranowski had certain programs that were unique to their facility.The program that we thought was most unique and interesting was the â€Å"Relapse Program† which is a vendor facilitated eight week, twenty-four session program designed to assist inmates in identifying high risk situations that may lead to relapse, and teach them skills to address those situations without relapse. We thought this program was essential because using a prison as a detox center and never teaching addicts the skills they need to avoid relapse is ineffective. This program not only helps parti cipants identify high risk situations, but helps them develop the skills they need to avoid or combat those situations.Souza-Baranowski utilizes many different programs in order to educate their inmates, and that is part of the reason why we decided to do part of our field study at this location. Our fieldwork interview conducted by our Crime and Social Justice group focused on the Souza-Baranowski Corrections Center (SBCC) by speaking to their Education Principal. This facility, located in Shirley, MA, is considered a Maximum Security Level Prison. Sitting on top of 18 acres of land, the SBCC is one of Massachusetts’ newest correctional facilities holding close to 1300 inmates. The principal of the school, Mr. Brian Hogan, kindly volunteered his time and answered a few questions regarding the model education program available at the SBCC. Brian Hogan has held the position of principal of Souza-Baranowski Corrections Center since the prison’s founding in 1999. His expe rience as a public school teacher and as a case manager for the Department of Correction made him a qualified candidate for the position. The information he relayed to us about the SBCC education system as well as his opinions on the subject matter was very useful to our group in figuring out what works for prison education and what does not.According to Mr. Hogan, the school in SBCC houses around 200 inmates and offers a variety of different classes for all levels of education. The elementary school classrooms, which ranges in grade levels from 2nd to 6th is in one classroom, while the 6th to 8th grade level students are in the Middle School Classroom. At the high school level, two classrooms exist; one with a pre-GED teacher and another with grades 9-12th. In addition to these basic classrooms, specialty teachers exist for the prisoners who might have more difficulty in the learning process such as literacy, ESL and special education classes.Finally, the highest level of education available for the inmates is a limited amount of college courses available through a distance learning program and videoconferencing. In our interview, Brian Hogan thoroughly described the process necessary to be considered for the education program and the eligibility requirements for the prisoners. The MCI diagnostics department for basic educations tests all the offenders who wish to be considered for the educational program. Through this test, they determine his level based on their scores on language, math and reading exams.Subsequently, the inmate’s name is placed on a waiting list while the education level is sufficiently evaluated and based on whether spots are available or not, this determines if they are enrolled as student in the school. All of the prisoners are eligible for a spot in the program, but certain circumstances create a higher likelihood of actually being chosen. SBCC is more likely to enroll inmates with smaller sentences as well as the ones that are closest to their release date. According to Mr. Hogan, the reason for this is to effectively reach out to the prisoner right before they are released into the community when they need it most. SBCC contains a wide variety of inmates and many who are at different points in their sentences. From men who are about to be released to others who might be doing life in jail, all kinds of inmates do exist in the facility. Although these prisoners doing life do get a shot at attending the prison school, they are definitely the least prioritized in receiving an education.Even as least likely, these men are not completely excluded and one spot by SBCC is reserved in every classroom for a â€Å"lifer†. The education system is focused wholly on a voluntary basis for the inmates. No one officer or teacher exists that goes out and recruits the inmates or encourages them to join the school. The men are given the material: handbooks, outlines and all types of information about the school to a ttract their participation. Whether the inmates decide to apply for a vacancy or not is totally up to them.SBCC does offer an incentive to encourage the prisoners to enroll. The incentive takes two and half days off the inmates’ sentence for every month he attends school. It should also be noted that this is all contingent upon the good behavior of the offender. As soon as he acts up, however, he is taken out of the classroom and not allowed to attend the education program any longer. One of the questions our group was interested in knowing more about concerned the funding and technology available to the prison in order to successfully to teach these prisoner students. As Mr. Hogan remarked, some funds do come from the Massachusetts State budget however, the program also depends on private state grants for a big portion of the money necessary to support the education program. The prison’s technology resources are relatively well-off with two to three computers, with no internet connection, available in each classroom. Additionally, different software programs are also available for these students such as spelling and keyboard software as well as GED preparation software. The ESL learners also have the benefit of Rosetta Stone to aid them in learning English.In Hogan’s opinion, SBCC’s school can be considered as â€Å"cutting edge in education† for prisons. He believes that recent years has brought about a new focus and shift directed towards college classes, where 15 of the 200 men enrolled in education classes are currently capable of taking college-level courses and work towards an Associates’ degree. The school has helpful teachers who are experienced with public school teaching and school counselors who point the students in the right direction and encourage their schooling. The program, to Mr. Hogan, is moving in the right direction and the state and national statistics available suggests that education in prisons does work. Evidence shows that prisoners, who have some college or schooling after leaving prison, do not return. Not only are recidivism rates reduced, but these men usually find decent jobs and overall the public becomes safer because once released these guys do not commit crimes again. Mr. Hogan mentions that just by having these education classes, it goes a long way in changing the norms when it comes to education in prisons.He talked about how years ago such education programs would definitely have been frowned upon by the public. People were incapable of understanding why men, who have committed crimes and are in jail to pay for these offenses, would be rewarded with the opportunity to get an education in prison. People especially turned against such schooling whenever taxpayer’s dollars entered into the picture. As Brian Hogan put it, education systems in prison are not the most politically correct thing and that is why the public often gets in the way of the promotio n of these education programs in facilities. Speaking to Mr. Hogan increased our knowledge base about the specific programs available in Massachusetts for prisoners, and compared to some of our other experiences we counted ourselves lucky that this interview went so smoothly. This was not the case with some of the other contacts that our group tried to reach out to. After submitting multiple proposals to the Suffolk House of Corrections, in the end our request to visit the prison to speak to the inmates was denied. In another attempt to visit a prison, and if that failed, then to speak to the school principal, we contacted MCI Norfolk just as we had reached out to Souza-Baranowski.Unfortunately, Ms. Diane Wiffin was not the most obliging and went back and forth with our group as if trying to avoid the questions and unwilling to give her opinion. When we informed her that the principal of SBCC had given us the description of his education program, she asked to review his answers, and her response was as follows: Hi, Chelsea! Veronica M. Madden, Deputy Commissioner of the Classification, Programs and Reentry Division, and I have reviewed your proposal and the questions and responses from Brian Hogan, Principal at Souza Baranowski Correctional Center. Mr.   Hogan's responses can be applied to MCI Norfolk as there are consistencies in the administration of our education programs throughout our facilities.Deputy Commissioner Madden did want to comment on your question as to why people are refusing to give you information and how hard it is to obtain an interview. We don't know who else you have contacted, but as I indicated to you when we spoke, we get an overwhelming number of student projects and we have limited resources to be responsive to those requests. As much as we would like to be available, we just don't have the resources. In terms of Mr. Hogan's response to that question, Deputy Commissioner Madden wonders if Mr. Hogan was referring to potential publi c reaction to inmates who participate in the Boston University Prison Program, which is donated by BU at no cost to taxpayers. BU also makes several scholarships available to DOC staff. We think the public is supportive of inmates' receiving adult basic education, GED and vocational training. Attached is a copy of our Program Description Booklet. Education information is contained in that. Also as part of that booklet is a listing of programs and education/vocation training listed by facility.In addition, on www. mass. gov/DOC there is research material covering recidivism rates. This is should be exactly what you need for your project†¦ Diane Wiffin, Director of Public Affairs As her response shows, little time is available for the Deputy Commissioner to answer our questions and apparently the program of SBCC can be applied to MCI Norfolk. Our group was lucky that Mr. Hogan did not mind answering our questions but this reluctant behavior made us wonder why prisons were unwilli ng to talk to us about their facilities.Before contacting Ms. Wiffin, we had already experienced certain setbacks with the process and we decided to ask Brian Hogan what his opinion was about why so much disinclination existed to speak to a group of Boston college students. He believed the difficulties we experienced were due to their fear of the public’s reaction to education in prisons. Many times these prison education programs are not advertised for people and either they do not understand or choose to not understand just what affects it could have on the community. Mr.Hogan reflected, the taxpayer does not want to spend their money on something considered to be more of a reward, when they should be punished. In addition, he mentioned that this government funding for programs of college education receives much critique because parents have their own children that they are struggling to put through college. Consequently, seeing men in prisons able to take advantage of this makes them angry. Overall prisons are very skeptical of people’s intentions and fear that something, like education, that they believe to be good, could be misconstrued by the public.This is especially true because as he puts it, what newspapers and the media portray is often negative when it comes to crimes and inmates in prisons. From these negative images, people make their own negative assumptions and believe that all prisoners are bad and should not receive any education. As a result, many do not care that this, overall, would be something better for the community and many take no importance that such education reduces the rate of recidivism. Mr. Hogan also states, that the â€Å"reality does not make for good reading,† and so little things like watching a recently released film to prisoners becomes outrageous for some constituents. These interesting opinions from Mr. Hogan reminded our group of everything that our class had touched upon regarding the image of cr ime in the media. Sara Beale, in the article we read for class â€Å"The News Media’s Influence on Criminal Justice Policy: How Market-Driven News Promotes Punitiveness,† (Beale 2006) claims that the media is manipulated to show a negative image of crime in the public and as a result instills a moral panic.In framing, the media emphasizes a certain crime story, idea or feeling, often negative, resulting in the viewer’s fear in crime and offenders. The more fear they feel, the more the inclination to call for punitive policy and punish the offender. Also, television shows and news reports are used as entertainment for the public to improve ratings. This means that the entertainment sometimes does not accurately reflect the reality. (Beale 2006) This inaccurate reflection of reality encapsulates how people in the public view education for prisons and how it is portrayed to the masses.For this reason, the prisons are scared their education programs might lose fundi ng and resources, and therefore are reluctant to give away too much information to the public and media. In general, our group’s opinion of the SBCC’s is favorable and can be considered a good education model. Other information that we have gathered shows that the only programs some prisons actually have depend upon re-entry programs. These re-entry programs tend to lecture to the inmates on the limitations on their behavior, before they are released into the community.Oftentimes no real engagement occurs with the prisoners, and if no education exists than these former inmates are more likely to commit crimes again. We believe that the college classes available to the inmates of SBCC are a significant asset to their program, and other research we conducted suggests that these classes are the most effective in reducing recidivism. Opponents do arise amongst the public concerning education in prison, but it would be more beneficial if they took into consideration that mo re education equals less crime and less recurring offenders.Another conclusion we arrived at from our interview is the need for other prisons to implement these education programs and to make them more available to inmates. With only 200 prisoners out of 1300 allowed to participate in schooling, there are still many who never get the opportunity to learn. If these classes were available to more of the inmate population, then perhaps recidivism could be addressed more thoroughly through these efforts. We also believe that prisons such as MCI Norfolk should improve their programs if the reason for not giving us information is because the program they have is incompetent.If the reason for not talking to us is due to fear of misrepresentation, we think this has to be addressed in a different manner, perhaps through informational pamphlets or some other form of media to get the message out to the public that education in prisons is a good thing. After many trials and tribulations, trying to break through the barriers of prison security that refuses to share the prison education information, we got creative. Pondville Correctional Center is located in the town of Norfolk, Massachusetts. The facility houses 204 inmates total.The majority of the inmates are Level 3, which means that they are minimum-security inmates, while the others are Level 2, meaning that they are pre-release inmates. Our group decided to go to one of the work placements, which was at an auction house near the facility. About fifteen inmates were present at the auction house, and we had the opportunity to speak directly with all of them during the hour before the auction. This was an incredible and interesting experience, one that none of us had ever had before. It gave us much more insight into the prison system and the people inside of it.As mentioned on the Mass. gov website, â€Å"The primary mission of Pondville Correctional Center is to protect the public’s safety by incarcerating in mates and to provide inmates the opportunity for responsible reintegration and positive behavioral change† (Public Safety, 2011). We believe that in order to fully reintegrate someone into society, inmates need to be educated and also have vocational training so that they can be a meaningful and productive addition to society once they are out of prison. When looking at the programs offered at all of the prisons, the options seem pretty extensive.For example, Pondville requires all inmates to work unless they have a medical waiver and they also give prisoners vocational, educational, and self-help opportunities. The facility boasts that their education programs are â€Å"innovative†. They offer classes including Adult Basic Education, English as a Second language, GED tutoring, and a Life Skills Computer program that focuses on resume writing, job applications, job interviews, and personal finance. If we merely looked at the website, we would conclude that the opportuni ties for inmates are there, they just have to get involved.After speaking with the inmates, we realized that this was not the case at all. The inside perspective from the inmates, that other prisons had so desperately tried to keep from us, made it clear that, although they have some classes, it is almost impossible to get into the programs. The reality is that there is open door access to programs at prisons, but it goes by earliest release date and overall there are not nearly enough programs. One man said that there are only about eighteen men per class, but 400 people want to be in that class.Also, because it is by earliest release date, many people will be in prison for years until they get the chance to be in the program. How we can we, as a society, expect someone to become completely educated if we only let them into the programs 6 months before they are released? We, as a society, are appalled that people are let out of prison and then go back to their old habits, but this is because they do not know how else to act. They fall back into their own uneducated ways and wind back in prison, but if we do not give them an education, what else should we expect?Another issue with the education offered to prisoners is that most of the teachers do not have high expectations for the inmates. As one inmate stated, if we show up, we pass. We do not have to do anything if we do not want to, but if we merely show up, she will pass us. From experience, our group agreed that it is extremely hard to try hard and have a strong work ethic when your teacher expects nothing from you. A lot of the teachers at the prisons, as Brian Hogan, principal at Souza Baranowski told us, have been laid off and, therefore, are relocating to prisons.This means that they are real and qualified teachers, but then why are they not expecting the same from the inmates as they did from their previous students? The teachers need to take responsibility for the success of the inmates. They need t o have expectations for the prisoners and only pass them if they deserve to pass. Having education classes is a start, but they need to have education classes in which the prisoners actually learn things, and that is not going to happen if they are passed just for showing up.Denying prisoners feeds into a theory that we discussed this semester while reading The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison. (Reiman, & Leighton, 2010). The Pyrrhic defeat theory states â€Å"the American criminal justice system – the entire process from law-making to law-enforcing – has failed to eliminate the rates of crime that characterize our society and threaten our citizens† (Reiman, & Leighton, 2010). We discussed this theory as a group and concluded that the criminal justice system fails to liminate the rates of crime because we are sending inmates back into society the same way (or even worse) than they were when they entered the system. Instead of using the years that they are in the system to educate them and teach them better ways, we are letting them sit around watching Jerry Springer, joining gangs, or fighting each other. By denying prisoners a proper education and then just expecting them to change and not come back to prison is absurd. The ignorance of people believing that prisoners are not entitled to an education will just continue to perpetuate the crime cycle.For example, if an offender has served his time and has to face the world again with a lack of academic knowledge on top of an already perceived low morale as they will be judged for being in prison in the first place, it will be a lot easier for them to stray again and end up back in the system. However, with the prospect of being educated and having added knowledge, this will hopefully encourage and give inmates the confidence and ability to make something of their lives and also be provided with the idea that they can do other things in life than turn to crime.We need to be smart on c rime. We need to educate people so that they have the ability to change once they are released. Once a prisoner gets his GED, so many more doors open up for them and more opportunities arise. Because they already have a strike against them for being in prison, inmates need credentials to get their foot into the door, and an education will help them with this. While visiting the auction house, we talked directly with a man named Tom Lyons. Tom has spent the last twenty years in prison for killing a man. When he entered the system, he was illiterate.After spending some time with Tom, we learned that a mixture of religion and education changed his life. His release date was coming up on April 15th, and he could now read and write due to the education that he received in prison. He studied poetry while in the system and his favorite author is Emily Dickinson. Tom says that having an education made him realize that he wanted to help others, and he wants to go around speaking to groups ab out his experiences, etc. He also said that without an education, he never would have been able to have the confidence to want to make something of his life once he gets out.While Tom was lucky enough to get an education, he also has missed out on a lot. Over the past twenty years, so much has changed in our society. Cell phones, Internet, and other technological advances have transformed us. However, Tom has never experienced most of these things. He was getting out in 15 days and they were just teaching him how to use a computer. He said that there were always programs that were interesting to him, but he could not get into them until he was really close to getting out.As Tom said, â€Å"if you’re preparing someone to change their entire life, you need to start right as we get in. Not one year before we are getting out. I was lucky and got into an education program earlier, but millions of people are not. † Tom may have learned to read and write, but he is still so f ar behind in terms of understanding technology, something crucial to succeeding in today’s world. From speaking with Tom, we realized that there is so much that needs to be addressed within the education department within prisons.After speaking with Tom and the other prisoners, we realized that there is an open door access to programs, but this does not mean much because a lot of people cannot get into the programs because eligibility goes by earliest release date. The prisoners gave us some of their main wishes for the education system. These included for people to have higher expectations for them, for there to be more programs and more GED programs, and to have teachers who truly care about their success instead of just showing up to get a pay check.These wishes are all things that we think many would agree with. They are not asking for things that are absurd. They are just asking to be given the chance to get an education, and if we, as a society, want them to stop ending up back in prison, that is exactly what we need to give them; a good education and skills to use outside of prison. Although there are solid arguments why it is unfair for prisoners to be getting these perks while being in prison, one must remember the structural deficits that currently exist in our society.In an ideal world, education in the prison systems would not be a necessity or a topic of discussion. Within an idealistic system, there would be adequate educational programs that created motivation and encouragement in all youth to work hard and stay on the right path. This correct path would lead students to the ample jobs awaiting them. There would be no need to resort to criminal activity in order to support oneself or one’s family. Anyone who did stray from these available opportunities would have no excuse for their irresponsible behaviors, leaving prison as their option of punishment.However, and this is a big however, because the current structural system is not giving everyone equal opportunities to climb the rungs of the social ladder. Understandable then, many individuals feel trapped into a life of crime and violence as a means to escape the grueling effects of an unfair system. This is not an excuse, nor is it justification for the crimes that many people are arrested and imprisoned for. Regardless of the unfair system, acts of violence and criminality should neither be supported nor accepted. Because society does not mirror the ideal that many wish for, there will inevitable be acts that are deemed unlawful.With an unequal system and over two million inmates the question arises, whether as a nation our desire is to rehabilitate these prisoners or just punish them and house them in prison cells for the rest of their lives. There are many sides to every story, and in this case there are those who support educational programs within prisons and there are those who are opposed to it. Some argue against education for those on death row, wh ile others say that no one in prison should be given the opportunity of an education. Knowledge is power, but why should prisoners be given this power?The money that is being spent on prisons should be going to the education of people who are not criminals. Others argue that there is so much money being spent on housing and feeding prisoners already. Why do these prisoners deserve an education when so many children are suffering through poorly funded public school systems? The most popular reason is that people believe their tax dollars are being spent on educating prisoners while many Americans struggle to send their children to college or even good high schools. Also, educating prisoners is seen as a distant reward that benefits them individually rather than benefitting societyUnfortunately America’s individualistic nature creates a shortcoming for their nation. They do not see the benefits of educating prisoners. An educated nation is a better nation. The stance that will be taken is to rehabilitate prisoners and allow them to become working members of society upon their release. Under this perspective, the education system within a prison would not only be necessary but would serve as a vital program to helping prisoners have the slightest chance at emerging into society as skillful and productive members.If inmates receive an education before they are released from prison, if they have help through this system to gain a job and work to support themselves, one can only hope that it would reduce the level of crime and reduce the number of prisoners re-entering prisons. This hope is the reality. Although Studies have clearly shown that â€Å"participants in prison education, vocation and work programs have recidivism rates 20-60 percent lower than those of non-participants† (Granoff, J 2009) many Americans still disagree with the education of prisoners.Despite these negative arguments against educating prisoners, there exist an abundant number of advantages to these programs. After discussing with the Principal and director of the prisons and discussing with the inmates themselves, it is clear that the education system is under a lot of scrutiny by the public. The principle of the Souza-Baranowski maximum-security prison said, â€Å"People don’t understand it. People are struggling to send their kids to college. People are abiding by the laws and doing the right things don’t see the benefit of educating those who have broken law†.Without information on programs and how they work to benefit society, the general population will remain oblivious to the constructive aspects of these programs. The media affects the way we view society and the programs within it. Media programs stress certain points that highlight what people want to hear, what lobbyists want said and what society deems important at the time. In order for people to realize the extent of the positive impacts of the programs available, we nee d to hear more success stories like that of Joan.Joan said, â€Å"I did not realize at the time that I had taken the first step on a journey of lifelong learning. Nor that the process would allow me to accumulate â€Å"human capital† (qualifications skills and abilities), â€Å"identity capital† (self-worth) and â€Å"social capital† (a supportive network of friends and colleagues). † (Erwin, J) She is just one example of the many positively impacted individuals who were transformed from caterpillars to butterflies with a little encouragement and motivation.As said before, we believe that many of the existing programs in the prison systems aim at positively influencing the prisoners. We understand the complexity of the issues at hand and the controversy that surrounds this discussion. Although these troubles exist, we came up with what our model program would consist of, and the recommendations that we have concerning the programs that are currently being utilized. Our model program is based on a rehabilitative method. We would want to prisoners to accumulate â€Å"human capital† â€Å"identity capital† and â€Å"social capital† as Joan described.The programs would be mandatory to ensure that all prisoners were getting involved. There would also be incentives to take part in the programs. Of course the prisoners should want to take advantage of these programs without being pushed to do so, however, we recognize that getting the ball rolling will show these prisoners what they are capable of. For many inmates, no one has ever pushed them to capitalize on their true potentials, which leaves them yearning for self-fulfillment in all the wrong arenas.Our hope is that once they see their capabilities, this will push them to continue to work hard and motivate them to move past their criminal behaviors once they are released from prison. It is very important for there to be vocational classes that give the inmates spec ific skills and talents that will ensure them some job opportunities when they are released from prison. On a higher level, GED classes and college programs need to become common in all prisons instead of being the exception to only a few.We also believe that the number of programs being offered needs to be drastically increased. As the inmate said, there are 400 hundred people who want to be in certain programs but only 18 can be. This disparity is disheartening, as the desire to change exists; however the opportunity to do it is lacking. As prison populations grow into the millions, society must decide how â€Å"tough on crime† they are going to continue to be. The individual states have the power to decide the individual educational systems within their prisons.Education, as a result of negativity towards all prisons, has not only become less of a priority but is seen as prisoners being given a free ride. The problem however, is that the current system that offers harsh pu nishment and little rehabilitation is not working. Harsh punishment does not however mean deliberate cruelty. Prisons should not be a place that purposely creates horrible conditions for inmates. Just having your freedom taken away from you is probably one of the worst things that can happen to an individual. Certainly, no one has the right to injure another person or to take his or er life however, if society does not work at rehabilitating these individuals, then the length of sentences and punitive measures will not only need to be increased but turned up by many notches. The cutting of education budgets within prisons increases the likelihood that upon release these prisoners will only return to prison. People in the general population are already reluctant to hire someone with a criminal record so adding a lack of education will make it virtually impossible for released prisoners to do anything but go back to their old lifestyles of crime.This will only create a never-ending cy cle that will inevitably become hurtful to society as a whole. Of course the ideal education system outside of prison is what we dream of, but until then we support the efforts to protect society by educating those who once harmed it.Work CitedErwin, James. â€Å"In Prison, Education Is Your Best Route to a Better Life | Erwin James | Society | Guardian. co. uk. † Latest News, Comment and Reviews from the Guardian | Guardian. co. uk. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. .Granoff, Gillian. â€Å"Education Update – Prison College Programs Unlock the Keys to Human Potential. † EDUCATION UPDATE – APRIL 2011 – Education News. 2009. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. . Public safety and security, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. (2011). Pondville correctional facility Government Printing Office.

Study Case (Misrepresentation) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Study Case (Misrepresentation) - Essay Example At that time, Najbar initially charged a claim for recompense with the Postal Service but her claim was initially denied by the Postal Service. Afterwards she brought this case against the federal government. Later on in this case, two exceptions were discussed i.e. The Postal-Matter Exception and The Misrepresentation Exception. The postal matter exception was rejected and court gets agreed on the second exception i.e. the misrepresentation exception. In the misrepresentation exception, the government argues straightforwardly that 28 U.S.C.  § 2680(h) neglects the claim of Najbar. But Najbar on these government argument alleged that she suffered psychological damages when she received letter with â€Å"deceased† stamp which by some manner tell her that,† Your son has died.† This type of wrong information that a person who is alive and saying that person was dead makes misrepresentation and according to Najbar the government fall under  § 2680(h). She raises 2 arguments; firstly she said her argument is grounded on "actionable negligence [that] occurred at an operational level before the envelope was stamped DECEASED.† Secondly she claims that if the argument raised by her comes under any type of misrepresentation then that misrepresentation doesn’t fall under  § 2680(h). However, both of her claims were rejected by the Court. Though her first claim was right related misrepresentation exception that it "does not bar negligence actions which focus not on the Governments failure to use due care in communicating information, but rather on the Governments breach of a different duty.† Despite that such principle doesn’t help the claim of Najbar as her activities based forthrightly on "the Governments failure to use due care in c ommunicating information." In addition to this Najbar raised further argument related to the misrepresentation

Response to 3 students posting with 2 references each Coursework

Response to 3 students posting with 2 references each - Coursework Example by Onwuegbuzie & Leech (2005) who supported the assertion that mixed method research is a matter of natural research process that calls for a more extensive utilization of both qualitative and quantitative methods, in unison. I therefore believe that mixed method research attests to the valid need to integrate the strengths in both methods to come up with more conclusive, reliable and valid research findings. It is highly commendable that you have supported your arguments with as many as four (4) references on expounding the discussion on Mixed Method Research. As you cited the research works of Onwuegbuzie & Collins (2007) have likewise noted from the works of Tashakkori and Teddlies (2003) book, SAGE Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social & Behavioral Research, that there are indeed more than 35 mixed methods research designs, which is just amazing and potentially complex. This just goes to show that there are vast research designs that could be utilized to the advantage of researchers, as long as they have the knowledge, awareness, and proper competencies to apply these tools to their advantage. The assertions from Pole’s (2007) discourse was noteworthy in terms of indicating that â€Å"qualitative researchers viewing the world as interconnected, while quantitative researchers rationalizes the world’s views are scientifically based† (p. 36). One thereby agrees that although there is a valid point in the distinctive differences between the interconnected view of the qualitative research method and the more structured, definitive and scientifically based quantitative method; these disparities form the respective strengths and competitive advantages of each method. However, when taken together and integrated in a particular study, merits from both methods are crucial to validate the findings and make the results more conclusive and reliable. The fact that mixed research method is actually not confined to a number of research designs, as argued by Tashakkori

Business Event Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Business Event Management - Assignment Example The legal obligations in organizing a career event mainly constitute of getting the permission from the Institute and officially inviting the companies to the event. Usually, a department from within a university, college or a school organizes such events. They need the permission from the school authorities. Second, the venue needs to be booked, which has its legal requirements. Similarly, the sponsors that the management readily seeks need to qualify the legal requirements for sponsoring such an event. The sponsors should not be promoting an illegal product or services. The Operations Team liaised closely with The Legal Department regarding licenses, insurances, and contracts required for the event. This department also worked closely with other departments to ensure they meet all regulations required by the LSBF. Also they provided information regarding minor legal issues encountered and ensured they provide the legal department with and correspondence and legal documentation that is crucial to this event. The operations department is the main body of the whole event. It is about making arrangements, the timing, resources, logistics, ambience, supervision, registration of attendees and on the spot coordination between the team members, so the whole event proceeds as planned and the participants gain as much from it as possible. This section of the business event is about promotion. The marketing is not only to attract the potential employees but also the companies and institutes that will communicate their market knowledge. Also, marketing ventures out into designing flyers, posters, websites and social media pages. Public relations is also a crucial element in marketing. People love to attend seminars and job fairs that have great public speakers sharing their knowledge. This part is the lifeline of the whole event. Funding the event requires

Investigate whether some vocabulary learning strategies are superior Literature review

Investigate whether some vocabulary learning strategies are superior to others - Literature review Example Environmental factors may involve the host culture and available output opportunities. While there are some methods that seem to work more effectively for second language vocabulary acquisition, Many researchers and professionals have recently taken great interest in the strategies for learning second language vocabulary. These include linguists, psychologists, sociologists, and language teachers (Meara 1997). By their studies they examined many different strategies for learning vocabulary: rote memorization with, or without, a language lab, translation exercises, drill and practice, live and digital computer aided conversation, listening to music or stories, with or without the text in hand or on screen, matching and other word games, watching movies and other videos, with or without subtitles, reading books or booklets, with or without looking up unknown words and writing sentences, conversations, scripts and stories, with or without using a dictionary (Cohen, 76, 2001). Crucial to vocabulary, or another, learning is assessment. Even students using self-study need assessment to guide them in what to study. Assessment methods that work without being intrusive or interferin g with learning processes are best (Stahl, Katherine A. DoughertyBravo,Marco A. 2010). Guessing, not mentioned earlier, as a strategy towards vocabulary acquisition in a second language is commonly encouraged (McCarthy, 102, 1990). The first language develops naturally, not as a result of direct instruction, but by trial and error (Ellis, 125, 1997). The child tries a sound and looks for a response. Then the child tries to repeat the sound and looks for the same response. Eventually the child discovers that certain sounds are connected to certain responses, many of which fulfill the needs of the child, some which do little or nothing and some which get undesirable responses. Therefore, second language development should work well following the

MAKE A SCHOOL POLICY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

MAKE A SCHOOL POLICY - Essay Example The school management carefully selected the uniform to contribute to the health and safety of students when involved in the school activities. 1.4 Among the standards based on by the management when making this decision included making sure that it meets the school’s expectations and standards of the entire school community. 1.5 The decision is consistent with both the work and health safety requirements by the government ministry. This includes anti-discrimination and equality opportunity legislation acts. Other government stipulated requirements are safety safe footwear and eye protection as well as hats. 1.6 The policy takes into account the diverse nature of the school’s student population bearing in mind the fact they come from various cultural setups. Other factors considered are personal, economic, social, and cultural factors influencing students and their families. It is important to remember that the school population carries students from different religious backgrounds and this was important when the school board reached the decision to implement the new school uniform policy unanimously. ... 2.2 The school reminds other stakeholders that each of them have roles in setting and implementing desired standards for the school in line with the institution’s vision and mission. Teachers and the subordinate staffs have a responsibility of modelling appropriate behaviour for students therefore; the management requires them to dress professionally. 2.3 Parents and students are required to desist from taking advantage of the government policy that stops the school management neither from expelling nor suspending students nor in uniform wrongly. This is because the school will take other punitive measures available both in the school rules and in government legislation to deal with both students and parents who fail or deliberately refuse to comply with the new school uniform policy. The school will take appropriate action against those who deliberately decide to do otherwise. 2.4 The school management also reiterates that it will not stop enrolling any student for lack of sc hool the required dress code. 2.5 The school policy puts into consideration that not all parents and guardians have equal or similar financial abilities. Therefore, the quality of the uniform is cost effective and economically affordable to all parents within the school. Furthermore, the school gives a window period of one term for parents, guardians and other sponsors to acquire the proper dress code for their children or beneficiaries. Arguments in support of the policy Introduction A school is primarily a learning environment. This means that anything that aids learning is acceptable and not anything that hinders is acceptable. Most of schools are advocating for school uniforms among their students. Education is a pillar of American society as well as the

History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

History - Essay Example This paper will highlight the causes of the revolution and how the changes brought about by the revolution affected freed black Americans. In addition, the paper will discuss the rise of Massachusetts and Virginia. The French and Indian war had negative effects on Britain. Although Britain went home with victory, the victory came at a prize. It had exhausted most of its finances. Consequently, in 1763, America had enormous debts to settle. Britain sought to formulate strategies that would help it settle the debts. It is at this time that they exposed the colonies to extremes of oppression. The government began a search of all trade routes identifying the smugglers who avoided the heavy taxes levied on the route. This affected American traders mostly. The sugar act also came into place requiring Americans to pay tax at a time when economic times were hard. The colonists worsened the situation with the banning of production of the American currency. Moreover, the colonists expected the Americans to provide the British troops with accommodation in act called the quartering act. The Americans opposed all these acts but the colonists multiplied them. In 1765, introduction of the stamps act that required Americans to pay tax on all paper products sold made their opposition fierce. Their opposition involved a boycott on all American goods. The colonies reasoned that it was unfair for them to suffer from the oppressive acts of a government in which they did not have a representative. However, the imperial government fueled their opposition by introducing an additional import tax and more boycotts resulted. In addition, other restrictions after the some colonial leaders attacked a vessel and interfered with tea on the Boston port after a monopoly allowed a tea company to dominate America. The thinking of American people was changing with time. Most of the people were reading literature that highlighted the making of social contracts and were slowly adopting liberalism a nd other schools of thought highlighted in the enlightenment literature. In addition, some revolutionary clergy had committed to teaching the truth about equality and this prompted the people to oppose any form of oppression from the colonial government. In 1794, the people formed an association that would tie them together to fight for their liberty. All these factors mentioned led to the rise of the revolution in 1775 (Frank 43-49). Rise of Massachusetts and Virginia These two colonies proved to have different structures by 1700. Background information reveals that the two colonies emerged through the efforts of English colonists who had left their home country due to unrest. Puritans who ran away from the different forms of harassment they faced in their country set up Massachusetts with its capital at Salem. The colony was independent of any rule or joint ventures with other colonies. The puritans introduced a hierarchical system that determined religious and family leaders. The colonists in Massachusetts emphasized sharing between the rich and poor. The colonists intended to create a society that promoted equity. In this colony, slave systems did not exist. Instead, the colony depended on children and members of the family structure to provide the necessary labor. Native American in this colony preferred to sell land and adopt the puritan lifestyle. In this colony, fathers assumed the role of managing and supervising the

Judicial Corruption in the US Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Judicial Corruption in the US - Research Paper Example A censor of the previous judge of the Michigan Supreme Court, Justice Betty Weaver, which was termed as â€Å"a formal censure without any adjudicative proceeding† (Zernik, 2011), for her role in criticizing the judiciary and calling for its reform is a true revelation that corruption has taken strong roots in the US judiciary. Justice Weaver has for long been an advocate of judicial reform in the USA, arguing that corruption has exacerbated to levels that are completely threatening to erode the credibility and confidence in the USA justice system (Zernik, 2011). The USA judicial system is now characterized by discrimination and prejudice, where the richer are favored at the expense of the poor, while the whites are treated different in the interpretation of the law, from the Blacks (Konzy, 2013). Needless to say, the corruption in the USA judiciary started as early as 1803, when the judiciary was barely 15 years old, as can be traced in the ruling of the Marbury vs Madison, i n which the District of Columbia ruled that Marbury as the plaintiff was entitled to his claimed commission, but the ruling further denied him the commission, on the basis that the court did not have jurisdiction to such cases, yet it had previously issued rulings in similar cases and circumstances (Kozy, 2013). It is such precedents that have now become the norm of the current USA judicial system, as can be traced in the recent rejection of an application by the USA Supreme Court, filed by over two million subscribers, seeking to have Comcast Corporation be charged for overcharging the subscribers for far too long, through unfairly eliminating competition (Konzy, 2013). The Supreme Court surprisingly rejected the proposed legal action against the company, on the grounds of technicality, notwithstanding the case entailed an injustice perpetrated against 2 million people. The incidences of corruption in the judiciary have significantly increased, and the system seems to be forming a cartel of judges and lawyers, who collude with wrongdoers to perpetrate these injustices (Zernik, 2011). No wonder that major companies have managed to apply taxation gimmicks to avoid taxation, and have placed the burden on the already suppressed tax payers. Causes of corruption in the USA Judiciary The causes of corruption in the judiciary is the established culture of reshuffles within the judiciary, where the office holders of different official capacities in the judiciary have remained there for long, and the only thing that effectively happens as a change is a reshuffle from one office to the her, creating a fertile ground through which such individuals continue to perpetrate corruption (Cruz, 2013). Further, the ability of the different parties in the judicial system to operate as a cartel has made the culture of corruption in the judiciary continue to breed, considering that the lawyers and the judges who have worked together for many years are now able to establish their ow n system of injustice, through which they can collude to deny victims their justice, while favoring those they feel are responsive to their needs and demands (Cruz, 2013). Finally, corruption in the USA Judiciary has arisen and continued to thrive, courtesy of an increasingly backtracking of the American Nationalism that was

Business Ethics Essay Example for Free

Business Ethics Essay Fred, a 17-year employee with Sams Sauna, was fired for poor job performance and poor attendance, after accruing five disciplinary penalties within a 12-month period under the companys progressive disciplinary policy. A week later, Fred told his former supervisor that he had a substance abuse problem. Although there was no employee assistance program in place and the company had not been aware of Freds condition, their personnel director assisted Fred in obtaining treatment by allowing him to continue receiving insurance benefits and approved his unemployment insurance claim. Fred subsequently requested reinstatement, maintaining that he had been rehabilitated since his discharge and was fully capable of being a productive employee. He pointed to a letter written by his treatment counselor, which said that his prognosis for leading a clean, sober lifestyle was a big incentive for him. Fred pleaded for another chance, arguing that his past problems resulted from drug addiction and that Sams Saunas should have recognized and provided treatment for the problem. Sams Saunas countered that Fred should have notified his supervisor of his drug problem, and that everything possible had been done to help him receive treatment. Moreover, the company stressed that the employee had been fired for poor performance and absenteeism. Use of the progressive discipline policy had been necessary because the employee had committed a string of offenses over the course of a year, including careless workmanship, distracting others, wasting time, and disregarding safety rules. Questions: 1) Should Fred be reinstated? 2) Was the company fair to Fred in helping him receive treatment? 3) Did the personnel director behave ethically toward Fred? 4) Did he act ethically for his company? 5) Would it be fair to other employees to reinstate Fred?

Role of Prosody in Language Acquisition

Role of Prosody in Language Acquisition Discuss the role of prosody (i.e. rhythm and intonation) in language acquisition, from early sound perception to sematic and syntactic development. From muffled sounds heard within the womb to singing our favorite songs by memory, we humans have the astounding ability to acquire language. The remarkable thing is that we are born without full-blown language comprehension and production. How is it then that we steadily progress into competent speakers of our mother tongue? A big part lies in the prosody of our native language. Although babies may not be able to speak, they begin to learn about language prenatally. Given that our auditory system is well developed in the womb, a fetus can process sounds as early as 28 weeks of gestation, according to Fernald in 2001 and Saffran and colleagues in 2006 (as cited in Brooks Kempe, 2012, pg.25). While speech sounds are muffled because the fetus is enclosed within the womb, preventing proper individual phoneme identification, there is still perception of rhythm and intonation (Brooks Kempe, 2012, pg.25). Rhythm and intonation are components of prosody, along with other sound features such as stress, pitch, loudness, and duration (Erekson, 2010, pg.80). Newborns are then able to gain prenatal language experience with sounds made by their mothers and other people close by (Brooks Kempe, 2012, pg.25). Babies even have a preference for sounds that became familiar when they were in the womb. In a study by Mehler and colleagues in 1988 it was found that prenatal expe rience allowed babies to distinguish their native language from a foreign language (Brooks Kempe, 2012, g.28). In their study, which utilized sucking rate, French newborns could tell French sentences apart from Russian sentences, even when the sentences were passed through a low-pass filter to make them sound like they would be heard from within the womb (Brooks Kempe, 2012, pg.28). This study showed that newborn infants are sensitive to prosodic characteristics of language (Brooks Kempe, 2012, pg.28). Prosody has important implications in language acquisition even before an infant is born but also continues to be an essential tool throughout their early years when they begin to engage with more experience speakers. Although infants pay attention to their surroundings and are taking in all the different sounds they hear, they are not the only active participants. When people interact with babies, they do not treat them in the same manner they would treat older children or adults. Instead, they expose them to a very distinct aspect of language known as infant-directed speech (IDS) or â€Å"motherese† (Goswami, 2008, pg.148). This special register helps facilitate language learning because of its exaggerated prosodic nature; this emphasizes the boundaries between words and phrases, thus making segmentation of the speech stream easier for babies (Goswami, 2008, pg.148). According to Karmiloff and Karmiloff-Smith in 2001 baby humans learn the rhythm of their native languages from birth to 2 months of age (as cited in Falk, 2004, pg.495). During this time infants pay special attention to their language input and are particularly interested in IDS, which is characterized by simplified vocabular y, repetition, exaggerated vowels, higher tone, wider range of tone, and a slower tempo (Falk, 2004, pg. 495). These are important differences infants seem particularly sensitive to at young ages when prosody plays such a key in language acquisition. Aside from having characteristics based on the prosody of speech to help infants learn their native languages, IDS seems to be universal; it is seen in all languages in cultures, implying that this prosodic way of speaking serves a developmental purpose (Goswami, 2008, pg. 154). Adults break down the language for babies to understand better, and doing so almost instinctively, showing the intuitiveness prosody has in language comprehension and production. Prosody also helps babies learn a thing or two about syntax early on. According to Levitt in 1993, at 10 months infants start to babble in rhythms that are similar to the prosody of their language structure (as cited in Falk, 2004, pg.496). Karmiloff and Karmiloff-Smith say this may be due to the vocal turn-taking that mothers and their babies engage in, helping the babies learn the â€Å"rule† that conversationalists take turns speaking, as seen in their research in 2001 (as cited in Falk, 2004, pg.496). Snowdon (1990) states that this â€Å"social syntax† may help babies learn other rules that are preliminary to learning syntax, the proper arrangement of elements within sentences (as cited in Falk, 2004, pg.496). IDS therefore helps teach babies syntax through phonological bootstrapping, which is fulfilled by paying attention to the correlations between the prosodic cues of IDS and linguistic categories, according to the works of Burnham et al. in 2002, Gleitman Warn er in 1982, Morgan in 1986 and Morgan Demuth in 1996 (as cited in Falk, 2004, pg.496). An infant’s perception of prosodic cues in relation with linguistic categories is essential to learn about phonology, the boundaries between words or phrases in their native tongue, and syntax (Falk, 2004, pg.496). Prosody not only matters when it comes to learning the music of the first language learned but also seems to help teach other components of the language as well. As infants grow older and gain more experience with language, they continue a path towards language mastery and more complicated language use. While young babies use prosody to help tell words apart, it isn’t until they get older that prosody is fully used to tell syntactic relationships (Speer Ito, 2009, pg.94). However, there is mixed research as to when exactly children begin to use prosody to understand ambiguous sentences (Speer Ito, 2009, pg.94). A study in 2008 by Snedeker and Yuan found that children used prosodic phrasings of sentences to the syntax ‘correctly’ and perform an instrumental action (as cited in Speer Ito, 2009, pg.97-98). In their study they did a toy-moving scenario using sentences, such as ‘You can tap the frog with the flower’, with two disambiguating phrasings (Speer Ito, 2009, pg.97). Regardless of the prosodic phrasing, such as [You can tap the frog] [with the flower] versus [You can tap] [the frog with the flower], re sults showed that the children used the location of prosodic boundaries to interpret the correct syntax of the sentences (Speer Ito, 2009, pg.97). Additionally, prosody seems to help syntactic acquisition early on. In a study in 2014 by Hawthorne and Gerken, it was found that 19 month old infants treated prosodically-grouped words as more cohesive and constituent-like than words that straddled a prosodic boundary (pg.420). Because syntactic constituency, groups of words that serve as cohesive units in sentences, is an important part in the early levels of syntax acquisition, prosody is seen as essential concept in language acquisition as a result (Hawthorne Gerken, 2014, pg.420). Although it may be debatable when syntax development exactly begins, a big puzzle piece to figure it out lies in prosody. Prosody continues to help humans from infancy to childhood not only in the syntax of their language but also the semantics. In a study by Nygaard et al in 2008 it was investigated whether speakers were able to successfully make prosodic correlates to meaning across semantic domains and if they used these cues to interpret meaning of novel words (pg.127). The study showed that listeners were able to match new words with their proper meaning significantly more if the prosody used matched the word correctly (Nygaard et al., 2009, pg.127). With their findings, Nygaard and colleagues were able to support that speech has reliable prosodic markers to word meaning and that listeners use the prosodic cues of words to differentiate their meanings (Nygaard et al., 2009, pg.127). New research is also finding prosody to be an essential component for semantic comprehension and development in children. It was previously suggested that children did not utilize prosody to figure out the meanings of n ew words. This was due to studies like Sasso’s 2003 investigation using children age 4 years old and adults, where she found that the children did not readily use prosodic cues to determine the meaning of a new word like the adults did, even when instructed to do so (Sasso, 2003). However, recently in 2011, Herold and colleagues investigated whether children utilized prosodic correlates to word meaning when interpreting new words (Herold et al., 2011, pg.229). They sought to examine if children would interpret a word spoken in a deep, loud, slow voice as referring to something larger than a word said in a high, quiet, and fast voice (Herold et al., 2011, pg.229). It was found that by 5 years old children were successfully utilizing prosody to interpret meaning (Herold et al., 2011, pg. 236). In addition, there were differences in performances between 4 year old and 5 year old participants, suggesting a developmental change in children’s ability to use prosodic cues to infer meaning (Herold et al., 2011, pg.236). Herold and colleagues believed this may do to 4 year olds not yet able to understand that prosody can be used as a tool for novel word interpretation due to insufficient experience with prosodic information and meaning relations (Herold et al., 2011, pg. 236-237). While semantic development in children does not seem to be fully and effectively utilized before age 5, it seems to be on meet a critical transition at this point after children have a certain amount of exposure to their native language. Many studies in linguistics and psychology demonstrate the multiple roles that prosody plays in the acquisition of language from prenatal infants to adults with fluency of their native language. What begins as sound that catches the interest of prenatal humans steadily becomes sound that serve a purpose in language comprehension. While research continues to explore the implications of prosody, there is no denying that it plays a vital and fundamental part in human language. References Brooks, P., Kempe, V. (2012). Language Development (pp. xv-383). Chichester: BPS Blackwell. Erekson, J. (2010). Prosody and Interpretation. Reading Horizons, 50(2), 80-98. Retrieved April 23, 2015, from http://scholarworks.wmich.edu/reading_horizons/vol50/iss2/3 Falk, D. (2004). Prelinguistic Evolution in Early Hominins: Whence Motherese? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 27(4), 491-541. Retrieved April 23, 2015, from http://journals.cambridge.org.ezp.lib.rochester.edu/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=onlineaid=276842fileId=S0140525X04000111 Goswami, U. (2008). Cognitive Development: The Learning Brain (p. 457). Hove: Psychology Press. Hawthorne, K., Gerken, L. (2014). From pauses to clauses: Prosody facilitates learning of syntactic constituency. Cognition, 133(2), 420-428. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2014.07.013 Herold, D., Nygaard, L., Chicos, K., Namy, L. (2011). The developing role of prosody in novel word interpretation. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 108(2), 229-241. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2010.09.005 Nygaard, L., Herold, D., Namy, L. (2009). The Semantics of Prosody: Acoustic and Perceptual Evidence of Prosodic Correlates to Word Meaning. Cognitive Science, 33(1), 127-146. doi:10.1111/j.1551-6709.2008.01007.x Sasso, D. S. (2003). The developing role of prosody in novel word comprehension. (Order No. 1413020, Emory University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 46-46 p. Retrieved April 24, 2015, from http://search.proquest.com/docview/250019098?accountid=13567 Speer, S., Ito, K. (2009). Prosody in First Language Acquisition Acquiring Intonation as a Tool to Organize Information in Conversation. Language and Linguistics Compass, 3(1), 90-110. Retrieved April 24, 2015, from http://linguistics.osu.edu/files/Publication-Prosody in First Language Acquisition.pdf

Life In The 20th Century As Sh Essay -- essays research papers

Life in the twentieth century is different through each decade but also much different than life in a century before. The short story â€Å"Magic†, written by Katherine Anne Porter in 1930, shows how people think they have choices in life but their future is actually already planned out for them. Ernest Hemingway’s short story â€Å"A Clean, Well-Lighted Place† which was written in 1933 shows how people feel about the well being of others and others feelings. â€Å"The Storm†, written by Kate Chopin in 1898 is an example of how views of marriage have changed. Although this wasn’t written in the twentieth century it was written right before the beginning and still paints a picture of how life is now going into the twenty-first century.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the story â€Å"Magic† a young prostitute named Ninette is treated very badly in the house she lives in. This is proven by the quote â€Å"They quarreled, the madam cheated her on her checks: you know, the girl got a check, a brass one, every time, and at the week’s end she gave those back to the madam, yes, that was the way, and got her percentage, a very small little of her earnings: it is a business, you see, like any other- and the madam used to pretend the girl had given back only so many checks, you see, and really she had given many more, but after they were out of her hands, what could she do?† (Page 121) This quote shows how the woman of the house cheated Ninette out of her money. These next two quotes tell how Ninette was phy...

The High Price of Urban Sprawl Essay -- Urbanization Urban Essays

Urban sprawl is a social pattern describing the way cities continue to grow outward uncontrollably. People who do not want to live in an urban atmosphere often seek refuge in suburban areas that have access to metropolitan areas. As more people follow this trend the suburban areas slowly become developed and new areas must be sought for people to inhabit. This leaves some city workers commuting in trains, cars, or even buses for hours. Urban sprawl is not the luxury that it seems to be but actually a social pattern with a great deal of costs. Although people who submit to urban sprawl believe they are getting the best of both worlds, working in the center of development while also living away from it, they also suffer great losses. Land is used improperly, the environment is damaged, and a long and expensive commute is created. While it seems that living away from the city is worthwhile to people in the present, the benefits come with some very high costs. Some people who deal with urban sprawl in the northeast United States make very long commutes from New Jersey to New York City. It is not uncommon for people to commute up to one hundred miles one way to get to work. No matter the form of transportation this proves to be a very long trip twice a day five days a week. Traffic is inevitable with many other people going across the George Washington Bridge, or taking major highways such as the New Jersey Turnpike into New York. According to the 2000 US Census Bureau Statistical Abstract, miles driven to work has been on a slow rise in the United states since 1969. Info from Census Bureau: 1969 1990 1995 MILES Home to Work- 4,183 ... ...me than others but still present for all. Urban sprawl is a phenomenon that undoubtedly comes with many costs, however benefits also exist. In terms of a cost benefit analysis, the answer to the question, â€Å"Is it really worth it?† lies in the individual. Works Cited Ciscel, David H. The Economics of Urban Sprawl: Inefficiency as a Core Feature of Metropolitan Growth. Journal of Economic Issue, Jun 2001, Vol. 35 Issue 2, p405, 9p Gordon, Peter and Richardson, Harry. Critiquing Sprawls Critiques: Policy Analysis, January 24, 2000 Mckee, David and Smith, Gerald. Environmental Diseconomies of Urban Expansion. American Journal of Economics and Sociology Sheehan, Molly O’ Merar. Cars Drive Up the Costs of URBAN SPRAWL. USA Today Magazine, 20020101, Vol. 130, Issue 2680 US Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States; 2000, p631, 632

Kurt Cobains Biography Essay -- Kurt Cobain Artist Nirvana Biographie

Kurt Cobain's Biography   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Kurt Donald Cobain was born to Wendy and Donald Cobain on February 20, 1967 in the small logging community of Aberdeen Washington and his life ended on April 5, 1994. Kurt fronted one of the greatest bands of our time called Nirvana. In this report I hope to inform you about the life and mysterious death of Kurt Cobain.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Kurt had a good childhood, but a troubled adolescence. Partly because of his parents splitting up in 1975 when Kurt was eight years old. Kurt chose to live with his mother. Kurt's father remarried three years later.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Kurt got his first guitar for his 14th birthday. He took one guitar lesson and never paid for it. Kurt says "I went and learned the power chords and never went back and never paid for the lesson I guess I still owe that guy the $6 or whatever it was. I didn't go back because once you know the power chords you can start writing your own songs."   Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Kurt's mother remarried in May of 1984 to Pat O'Connor and one year later in May of 1985 Kurt would drop out of high school at the age of 17. During this period of his life Kurt got caught up with the drug community of Aberdeen and started heroin, an addiction he would never defeat. Many blame his death on this horrendous drug. Kurt often lived under a bridge along the muddy banks of the Wishkah river during that period. Kurt had been just hanging out when he met Chad Channing and Krist Novaselic and they would go on to find out that they each played music. Chad played the drums and Krist played the bass. The three started getting together and jamming. They wrote some of their own songs and sent out some demo tapes. They released a single in November of 1988. They got signed to a small company and produced their first album titled Bleach. It featured Chad Channing on Drums, Kurt Cobain on guitar and vocals, and Krist Novaselic on bass. Bleach only ending up costing $600 to produce and did not sell big. After recording Bleach the band made a short west coast tour that started in February of 1989 in Seattle and moved down the coast. However the band was just preparing for the tour for Bleach which started on June 22, 1989 in San Francisco and ended in New Castle, England, the bands first European show.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nirvana started another short US tour in February of 1990 and one month later Chad left the band to be ... ...k the greenhouse. Dylan was Kurt's best friend and helped Tom Grant look for Kurt, This is where my survey comes in out of 47 people surveyed including fans, students, and teachers 20 said they believed that Kurt was murdered and 27 said they believed that Kurt committed suicide, almost an even split.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Kurt left a big hole in the music industry and this was expressed by many of his fellow musicians including Eddy Vedder of Pearl Jam and Michael Stipe of R.E.M. Eddy had to say "I feel bad that Kurt's not still writing songs because he was brilliant and that guy could emotionally twang my heart-strings. Every song he wrote spoke to me."   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dave Grohl and Pat Smear, who had been a late edition for In Utero an back-up guitar formed a band called the Foo Fighters with Dave on lead guitar and vocals, Pat on back-up guitar again, and two new people. Krist went on to join a band called Sweet 75. Krist has also become a "spokesperson" for the band being the only member that was with the band all the way until the end. I hope i have shown you what Kurt's life and death were like. There is much more information about this subject out there this is just some of it. Kurt Cobain's Biography Essay -- Kurt Cobain Artist Nirvana Biographie Kurt Cobain's Biography   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Kurt Donald Cobain was born to Wendy and Donald Cobain on February 20, 1967 in the small logging community of Aberdeen Washington and his life ended on April 5, 1994. Kurt fronted one of the greatest bands of our time called Nirvana. In this report I hope to inform you about the life and mysterious death of Kurt Cobain.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Kurt had a good childhood, but a troubled adolescence. Partly because of his parents splitting up in 1975 when Kurt was eight years old. Kurt chose to live with his mother. Kurt's father remarried three years later.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Kurt got his first guitar for his 14th birthday. He took one guitar lesson and never paid for it. Kurt says "I went and learned the power chords and never went back and never paid for the lesson I guess I still owe that guy the $6 or whatever it was. I didn't go back because once you know the power chords you can start writing your own songs."   Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Kurt's mother remarried in May of 1984 to Pat O'Connor and one year later in May of 1985 Kurt would drop out of high school at the age of 17. During this period of his life Kurt got caught up with the drug community of Aberdeen and started heroin, an addiction he would never defeat. Many blame his death on this horrendous drug. Kurt often lived under a bridge along the muddy banks of the Wishkah river during that period. Kurt had been just hanging out when he met Chad Channing and Krist Novaselic and they would go on to find out that they each played music. Chad played the drums and Krist played the bass. The three started getting together and jamming. They wrote some of their own songs and sent out some demo tapes. They released a single in November of 1988. They got signed to a small company and produced their first album titled Bleach. It featured Chad Channing on Drums, Kurt Cobain on guitar and vocals, and Krist Novaselic on bass. Bleach only ending up costing $600 to produce and did not sell big. After recording Bleach the band made a short west coast tour that started in February of 1989 in Seattle and moved down the coast. However the band was just preparing for the tour for Bleach which started on June 22, 1989 in San Francisco and ended in New Castle, England, the bands first European show.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nirvana started another short US tour in February of 1990 and one month later Chad left the band to be ... ...k the greenhouse. Dylan was Kurt's best friend and helped Tom Grant look for Kurt, This is where my survey comes in out of 47 people surveyed including fans, students, and teachers 20 said they believed that Kurt was murdered and 27 said they believed that Kurt committed suicide, almost an even split.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Kurt left a big hole in the music industry and this was expressed by many of his fellow musicians including Eddy Vedder of Pearl Jam and Michael Stipe of R.E.M. Eddy had to say "I feel bad that Kurt's not still writing songs because he was brilliant and that guy could emotionally twang my heart-strings. Every song he wrote spoke to me."   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dave Grohl and Pat Smear, who had been a late edition for In Utero an back-up guitar formed a band called the Foo Fighters with Dave on lead guitar and vocals, Pat on back-up guitar again, and two new people. Krist went on to join a band called Sweet 75. Krist has also become a "spokesperson" for the band being the only member that was with the band all the way until the end. I hope i have shown you what Kurt's life and death were like. There is much more information about this subject out there this is just some of it.

Described by Dickens Essay

The extended metaphor at the end of the first chapter depicts the children as â€Å"vessels† or jars, to be filled to the top with facts until they are full. The metaphor portrays the children as inanimate objects, which shows the reader the arrogance of Gradgrind:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Vessels then and there arranged in order ready to have imperial gallons of facts poured into them until they were full to the brim.†Ã‚  Dickens describes them as if they are empty and know nothing. Therefore they have to learn facts whether they like it or not. The short sentences and repetition in the sentences of the opening of the second chapter aids the description of Gradgrind as it shows the reader there is no manipulating this man and what you see is what you get. He will never change his mind.  The extended metaphor,† a kind of cannon†¦away† shows the reader Gradgrind’s idea of how children should be properly educated. He believes that imaginations are â€Å"to be stormed away† and children should mature through facts. He is described like a cannon â€Å"loaded to the muzzle with facts† this shows the harshness of his character and the machine-like qualities he holds. Sissy Jupe is described by Dickens as â€Å"dark-eyed and dark-haired† her skin is tanned as Sissy has grown up with the circus she has an interesting background and a creative imagination; she is not just â€Å"filled with facts†. The colour of her eyes and hair reflects her traveller background. Whereas, Bitzer is described by Dickens as â€Å"light-eyed and light-haired.† His skin seems to be white, in contrast to Sissy’s tanned complexion. This description shows the harshness of the Victorian education system, on his appearance. The audience has no sympathy for the coldness of his character even though he is seen as â€Å"a model pupil from a model school† by Gradgrind, who has forced out any imagination Bitzer had and filled him with facts. His description of a horse compared to Sissy’s attempt shows the reader the machine-like almost robotic manner in which he is able to reel off facts: â€Å"Quadruped. Graminivorous.†Ã‚  His character is the opposite of Sissy. Gradgrind refers to her as a number, yet to Bitzer by name, as Sissy has only been at the school for a short time, but is referred to as â€Å"Girl number twenty† as she is new to the school her education is not as Gradgrind would like it to be, this in turn alienates her.  During the fifth chapter, we meet the characters Sissy and Bitzer again as their chase come to a halt when they bump into Gradgrind. After explaining why she was running, Gradgrind comments, as he cannot understand why Sissy should be run after: â€Å"‘Run after?’ repeated Mr Gradgrind. ‘Who would run after you?'†Ã‚  Gradgrind does not know Sissy, and sees her as an outcast. He does not see why she should be run after, and cannot understand why someone would want her. His question is answered when Bitzer enters in the next paragraph. He is described as â€Å"the colourless boy†. This creates lack of empathy in the reader towards Bitzer and how he has been manipulated by Gradgrind and the school. As Bitzer is running after Sissy, although described as without fancy (colourless), he still is a child as he was pulling faces to scare Sissy. Once escorted by Sissy to her home, we see Sissy’s fears of Gradgrind through the way she talks to him. She also seems embarrassed by the state of her home:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"This is it, sir, and – if you wouldn’t mind, sir – this is the house.†Ã‚  Sissy’s politeness to Gradgrind, as well as showing a well-mannered child also show how nervous she is around him, and the fear she has of him. Sissy is frightened of Gradgrind as she sees that as she is from a poor lifestyle, because of the shabbiness of her home, she will not be allowed to continue her studies, as those with a proper education will do better in the future. The audience empathises with Sissy because of this. In conclusion, Gradgrind has a stern manner and is very controlling of his pupils and his children because he is a very hard character he is â€Å"a man of realities.† Bitzer is a machine-like character; his white face reflects the coldness of his life with only facts in it. This contrasts to Sissy’s character, which is imaginative, because she lacks the proper formal education Bitzer has received. â€Å"Hard Times† is based on, and shows, Dickens’s view of rejection, to the callous determination of Victorian greed. The audience empathises with Sissy the most as her character seems to be lost and the most fragile. The audience do not empathise with Gradgrind because of his stern and cold nature, which, as Bitzer becomes a model student, causes the audience to empathise with neither of the two characters.

Heart Failure Case Study Essay

Your client, Mr. Black, is a 72-year-old man who called his TeleNurse Line from home and, based on the symptoms he described, was advised to go directly to the Emergency Department at his local hospital. His admitting diagnosis is exacerbation of heart failure (HF). His Ht is: 5’9†, Wt. 235 lbs. He states that his usual weight is about 220. Upon admission, his symptoms are: extreme shortness of breath; unable to tolerate lying flat; heavy, aching feeling in his chest; respirations labored @ 32/min.; radial pulse 108 and regular; BP 150/78; color dusky and O2 Sat is 82% on room air; slight diaphoresis; peripheral edema is 3+ pitting, ankle to knee bilaterally and sacral edema is also present. Bilateral BS present with coarse crackles in both lower lobes. He appears frightened and anxious; he states, â€Å"This is the worst it has ever been – please don’t leave me alone.† Past Medical/Social History: Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), hypertension, cor pulmonale, emphysema-moderate stage. He smoked 2 packs per day for 35 years, and quit 5 years ago. Hospitalized 3 times previously for HF; the most recent hospitalization was 6 months ago. He is a retired insurance salesperson; married and lives with his wife in a condominium. Sedentary life-style; plays golf occasionally. He skipped his diuretics over the weekend because he was golfing. 1. Which stage of the NYHA classification system and the ACC/AHA staging system would Mr. B’s symptoms best fit within? Why? I think his NYHA classification would be Class II. He has Coronary Artery disease and ordinary activity causes fatigue for him Mr. B’s ACC/AHA stage is Stage D. He has been hospitalized 3 times previously for HF. 2.Discuss the differences between right and left heart failure, consider the   pathophysiology, physiological progression, and signs and symptoms. Left Sided: -The most common -Results from left ventricular dysfunction. This prevents normal forward blood flow causing blood to back up into the left atrium and pulmonary veins. Increased pulmonary pressure causes fluid leakage from pulmonary capillary bed into the interstitial and then the alveoli -Manifests as pulmonary congestion and edema Right Sided: -occurs when right ventricle fails to contract effectively. -Causes a backup of blood into the right atrium and venous circulation. -Venous congestion in the systemic circulation results in jugular venous distention, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, vascular congestion of the GI tract, and peripheral edema -May also result from an acute condition such as right ventricular infarction or pulmonary embolism -Core Pulmonale can also cause right sided HF -Its primary cause is Left sided HF. Left sided HF results in pulmonary congestion and increased pressure in the blood vessels of the lungs. Eventually chronic pulmonary hypertension results in right sided hypertrophy and HF 3. Mr. Black’s orders include: a bedside chest x-ray, ECG, echocardiogram, and the following labs: Troponin I, CK-MB, CBC with differential, BNP, Digoxin level, Electrolytes, Mg++, ABG’s, BUN and creatinine. What is the rationale for performing each of these diagnostics tests? How will the findings/information obtained from the tests be useful in managing Mr. Black’s care? Bedside chest x-ray: ECG Troponin I: present in MIs CK-MB: CBC: BNP: High in patients with HF Digoxin: Electrolytes Mg ABG BUN Creatinine: Mr. Black is stabilized and transferred to the Cardiac Telemetry unit with the following orders: Oxygen at 2-4 liters per nasal cannula to keep O2 Sat > 90% Complete bed rest with HOB elevated 60-90 degrees, legs dependent Saline Lock IVFurosemide (Lasix) 80 mg I.V. push Stat I&OFurosemide (Lasix) 80 mg I.V. push every 8 hr. Daily weight Albuterol Inhaler 2 puffs twice per day Pulse oximetry – continuousK-Dur 10 mg. p.o. daily Foley catheterASA 81 mg p.o. daily TelemetryMetoprolol 100 mg p.o. twice daily Diet: 2 Gm Na Lisinopril 10 mg p.o. daily Fluid restriction of 1000 mL/dayHCTZ 50 mg p.o. daily Code status: Full codeDigoxin 0.25 mg p.o. daily; Hold for HR < 60 bpm Lovenox 60mg SQ every 12 hrsDucosate sodium 100 mg p.o. daily 4. Discuss the rationale for each of the orders above Patients with HF typically have oxygenation problems Furosemide is a loop diuretic Daily Weight- water retention Pulse ox- monitor O2 Foley Catheter: monitor output and on bed rest K Dur: ASA Metoprolol: beta blocker that treats high BP Lisinopril: ACE inhibitor for HTN Lovenox: Prevents and treats clots Fluid Restriction: Excess fluid strains the heart Digoxin: Treats rhythmic problems Ducosate: Stool Softener 5. Identify 3 priority nursing diagnoses to include in the nursing care plan for Mr. Black. Excess fluid volume Decreased cardiac output Impaired gas exchange 6. What changes/assessment findings would alert the nurse that Mr. Black’s condition is worsening? Fatigue and dyspnea continue to worsen, weight continues to increase, edema and chest pain worsens, pleural effusion and dysrhythmias begin to develop, hepatomegaly, and renal failure begins to occur Mr. Black responds well to the treatment plan and his acute symptoms resolve within 3 days. His weight returns to 220 lbs. and he is able to perform his ADL’s with minimal SOB and able to sleep comfortably with 2 pillows. Discharge plans are finalized. 7. Which state of the NYHA Classification system and the ACC/AHA staging system Would Mr. Black’s symptoms now fit? NYHA- Class II ACCF/AHA- Stage C 8. Select 2 discharge topics (your choice) to focus on. Discuss what should be included in the discharge teaching plan for Mr. B. (and his wife) for each topic. Activity and rest: exercise training can improve symptoms of HF, however Mr. B needs to understand that he will need lots of rest during and after exercise and that he shouldn’t overexert himself. Teach Mr. B’s wife to monitor his exercise and encourage him to take breaks when needed Drug therapy: Teach Mr. B and his wife the expected action of all his medication and how to recognize drug toxicity. Also teach him and his wife how to take a pulse rate and what range the pulse rate should be in. Teach them the symptoms of hypokalemia and hyperkalemia if diuretics are order. Self BP monitoring may also be appropriate in Mr. B’s situation. Heart Failure New York Heart Association Classification American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Guidelines Treatment Recommendations Stage A. People at high risk of developing heart failure (HF) but without structural heart disease or symptoms of HF -Treat hypertension, lipid disorders, diabetes. -Encourage patient to stop smoking and to exercise regularly. -Discourage use of alcohol, illicit drugs. -ACE inhibitor if indicated Class I. Patients with cardiac disease without limitations of physical activity. Ordinary physical activity doesn’t cause undue fatigue, palpitations, dyspnea, or anginal pain. Stage B. People who have structural heart disease but no symptoms of HF. -All stage A therapies -ACE inhibitor unless contraindicated -Beta-blocker unless contraindicated Class II. Patients with cardiac disease who have slight limitations of physical activity. They’re comfortable at rest. Ordinary physical activity results in fatigue, palpitations, dyspnea, or anginal pain. Class III. Patients with cardiac disease who have marked limitation of physical activity. They’re comfortable at rest. Less than ordinary physical activity causes fatigue, palpitations, dyspnea, or anginal pain. Stage C. People who have structural heart disease with current or prior  symptoms of heart failure. -All stage A & B therapies -Sodium-restricted diet -Diuretics -Digoxin -Avoid or withdraw antiarrhythmic agents, most calcium channel blockers, and nonsteroidal anti- inflammatory drugs. -Consider aldosterone antagonists, angiotensin receptor blockers, hydralazine, and nitrates. Class IV. Patients with cardiac disease who can’t carry out any physical activity without discomfort. Symptoms of cardiac insufficiency or of the anginal syndrome may be present even at rest. Any physical activity increases discomfort. Stage D. People with refractory heart failure that requires specialized interventions. -All therapies for A, B, and C -Mechanical assist device, such as biventricular pacemaker or left ventricular assist device -Continuous inotropic therapy -Hospice care Caboral, M. & Mitchell J. (2003). New guidelines for heart failure focus on prevention. The Nurse   Practitioner, 28, 22. Evaluation of Edema Four-point scale 1+ to 4+: 1+ – pitting barely detectable 4+ – pitting persistent and deep (1† or 2.54 cm.)