Thursday, October 31, 2019

Compare the differences and similarities in how stories are framed Assignment

Compare the differences and similarities in how stories are framed - Assignment Example There is a quote from the nuclear specialist who narrates his meeting after the disaster with his wife and children (MSNBC, 19 March 2011). By including this real life experience, the report gets more close to the human disaster rather than dwelling only on technical details. While reporting the radiation contamination of food items, Fox News has included crucial information that others have not- the tap water also has become contaminated with radiation (Fox News, 19 March 2011). This is important information and missing this does not go well with other news agencies. Fox News also has included the emotional account of the nuclear specialist about meeting his family (Fox News, 19 March 2011). Fox News has also given a brief history of the disaster by telling how it started and through which phases it developed (Fox News, 19 March 2011). It is a good practice to keep the viewers informed about the history of an event when it is a running story. CNBC has not made th food contamination a major headline and has given it as only a sub-heading to the main heading, ‘Japan Sees Some Stabilization in Nuclear Crisis’ (19 March 2011).

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 114

Essay Example A journalist, writer, researcher, or reporter who is guilty of either plagiarism or fabrication betrays that trust because the reading audience relies on the writer, implying that what was written was original, contributed to the discussion, distilled it with his thoughts and ideas, and gave a new insight for the benefit of readers (Seife, 2013, p. 5), and committing plagiarism or fabrication is mortal sins in terms of its professional ethics. However, it must be conceded that any code of ethics has shades of gray (ibid.) and more so in writing as there is no â€Å"canonical code† for journalists; this is because it can boil down to judgment although those who are in the profession know there is a dividing line and when they had crossed it. This is where the normative code of ethics comes in; a group of journalists and reporters know they have an explicit code of conduct to follow and abide by. This particular sector in society has their own peculiar language (lingo) which only members can understand, and this includes a standard when it comes to its professional ethics not to commit plagiarism or fabrication in their stories. It is indeed a tricky minefield on what constitutes plagiarism or not; in any case, people know when they have committed it or not. Ethics can be quite subjective in the sense it depends on the times and the context in which the ethical rules currently operate. Rules against plagiarism are quite strict when applied in the academic world. This is the assurance by which professors can objectively evaluate their students; otherwise, the students will not learn and the teaching environment will not be conducive to the whole learning process. In this regard, the cheating scandal at Harvard University can be considered from the viewpoint of the second definition of what constitutes normative; in this sense, it means value judgments. A lot of students who were

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Appropriateness of Standard Personality Tests

Appropriateness of Standard Personality Tests Critically evaluate the statement that it is inappropriate for psychologists to use standard personality tests to interpret and understand the Behaviour of Indigenous people such as Aboriginal Australians Standard personality testing is the name given to any form of test designed to determine different aspects of the subjects’ personality or emotional state (Merriam-webster.com, (2014). This is achieved through the designing of many smaller tasks such as questions within a questionnaire. The vast majority of these tests are designed by western psychologists, which creates an issue when they are administered to Indigenous peoples such as the Tsimane tribe and the Indigenous of the Philippines, as the values held by the differing societies are varied and therefore the tests do not measure all facets of their personality, notable problems arise from differences in culture and language. This paper will focus in particular on one standardized personality test, the Five Factor Model (FFM) that is commonly referred to as the OCEAN testing as it tests Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism(Goldberg, 1990,) , each with smaller sub-categories referred to as facets. Although it is said to be fairly robust cross culturally the test is still synthesized for western use. This paper will assess the appropriateness of using the FFM of testing on Indigenous peoples such as Aboriginal Australians and the Tsimane tribe. As the FFM was established by †¦ , a western psychologist, in †¦. And since then, debate has arisen in regards to the appropriateness of using this testing on Indigenous cultures. There are two main concerns when it comes to appropriateness, the difference in traits and behavior between cultures, and researchers basing their experiments of western qualities (Church, in press; Enriquez, 1979). To attempt to address these concerns, an experiment was conducted on the Tsimane people. To ensure this testing was reliable the test was translated to Spanish by translators. The test was conducted from Jan 2009 to December 2010 and was taken by 632 adults 48% female and 52% male. The administrative researchers faced many issues due to the alteration of words that had no equivalent in Spanish. Problems occurred with specific questions during the study due to interpretation of language, four items proved to be difficult to translate, whilst one was removed. The removal of question 30 ( â€Å"has an active imagination† ) encompass the main barrier affecting the experiment, this being the interpretation of Tsimane language and their specific phrases. There was no term that would be consistently understood by the tsiname people, highlighting the tester’s lack of cultural competence. Although attempting to properly convey the questions through the use of bilingual speakers of Spanish and English, the translators were not able to. (Ramà ­rez-Esparza, Gosling, Benet-Martà ­nez, Potter, Pennebaker, 2006).(3) Overall the success of the five-factor model was generally low in relation to the indigenous group Tismane. Internal reliability proved to be a problem. Out of the five factors 4 factors tested moderately reliable where as neuroticism tested low on Cronbachs scale at 0.31. . Overall the lack of understanding between researchers and respondents mainly language played a pivotal role in the result area. The modified FFM although producing moderate results did not reach appropriate standards of the Cronbachs scale. It is shown that a standardized model does not work efficiently with the Tsimane group, highlighting the inappropriateness of using standardized testing on indigenous populations. A test was conducted in the Phillippines to determine how imported personality test would fair when administered to indigenous societies, and if the NEO–PI–R (Costa McCrae, 1992) a western personality psychometric, would generate similar scores in the Philippines in comparison to the American scores. The test was administered to 511 university students. Four tests were used three of which were indigenous test being (along with sample sizes) â€Å"Panukat ng Pagkataong Pilipino(PPP;n= 387),Panukat ng Mga Katangian ng Personalidad(PKP;n= 413),Panukat ng Ugali at Pagkatao(PUP;n= 386), and one being westernized, Filipino NEO–PI–R (n= 398)† (Katigbak, Church, Guanzon-Lape~na, Carlota del Pilar, 2002) The NEO–PI–R (Costa McCrae, 1992) is comprised of 5 factors, coinciding with the BigFivedimensions, along with 6 facet per domain. McCrae et al. (1998). The sample obtained by (Katigbak, Church, Guanzon-Lape~na, Carlota del Pilar, 2002) provided medium to high internal reliability in relation to the 6 facets of the 5 factors, however the median alpha was low (.61) in comparison to the result of (.70) reported by McCrae et al. The Openness to Values and Openess to feelings facets scored results of (a=. 22) and (a=. 44) , highlighting the disparity between certain test items and its ability to measure the Philippines social dimensions. Problems arose due to translation equivalency in relation to 8 of the facet scales where correlation proved to be an issue with items. (Katigbak, Church, Guanzon-Lape~na, Carlota del Pilar, 2002) The PPP consists of 210 items along with 19 scales. The basis of the personality constructs were derived from verbal descriptions of traits and behaviours by Filipino respondents and literature specific to their heritage by Carlota (1985), it was then categorized by Carlota (1985) into three groups, (interpersonal, personal and intellect). Creators of PUP designed the test to gauge Filipino traits, and behaviours (Enriquez Guanzon, 1985). The PUP was created using Filipino specific proverbs, Filipino dictionaries and interviews with university students..(Katigbak, Church, Guanzon-Lape~na, Carlota del Pilar, 2002). It is to be noted however that the PUP scale has had no reliable data from previous experiments. Researches used 8 of the 19 original items, 5 of which were related to well being and religious behaviours, and 3 related to taboo acts of the the Philippines culture The PKP consists of 253 items. (Katigbak, Church, Guanzon-Lape~na, Carlota del Pilar, 2002) The test was created through the use of a lexical approach which allows the PKP to generate a sense of internal reliability.(Church,Katigbak, Reyes, 1996) The information is derived directly from the correspondents, these being Filipino university students and judges. The test provided a reliability range of (.85-.95) (Churchet al. (1998) The results of The PUP proved to be unreliable and therefore not included in the results table, the use of joint factor analysis showed several similarities and differences between the NEO PI-V, PKP and PPP. The PKP test showed several connections with three of the Big Five Dimensions, this being the factors agreeableness Conscientiousness Extraversion however the religiosity scale only showed medium reliability as the NEO-PI-V does not have religiosity as a component, highlighting the need for further augmentation of the Five Factor Model to asses religiosity. The PPP test showed a resemblance to four factors of the Five Factor Model, however no neuroticism dimension was found through analysis of the PPP scale alone. In most of the tests the indigenous instruments provided higher validity in comparison to the imported NEO-PI-R. (Katigbak, Church, Guanzon-Lape~na, Carlota del Pilar, 2002). The Big Five dimensions do show resemblance to indigenous constructs emphasizing its cross-cul tural capabilities however interpretation of language and culture proves to be a barrier. Problems occurring in the Philippines indigenous dimension could also include what is categorized as indigenous; there were direct correlations between several facets of the questionnaire between the American and Philippines sample. The questionaries however were administered to university students, which could possibly have reasonable understanding of western constructs aiding them in interpretation of the question, undermining their defined category of indigenous. This factor questions the validity of the experiment, as it can be debated whether the participants successfully represent indigenous personalities, if not results extracted from the experiment can be proven somewhat irrelevant as the universal quality of standardised personality tests are not being fully explored. (Katigbak, Church, Guanzon-Lape~na, Carlota del Pilar, 2002). The (Nscb.gov.ph, 2014) states that in 2005-2006 2,483,6 45 To determine whether the students’ college education impacted on the test results a second test should be conducted on people who do not possess such education. Bibiliography Merriam-webster.com, (2014). Personality test Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. [online] Available at: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/personality test [Accessed 26 Apr. 2014]. 2 Katigbak, M. S., Church, A., Guanzon-Lapeà ±a, M., Carlota, A. J., del Pilar, G. H. (2002). Are indigenous personality dimensions culture specific? Philippine inventories and the five-factor model. Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology, 82(1), 89-101. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.82.1.89 00 Ramà ­rez-Esparza, N., Gosling, S. D., Benet-Martà ­nez, V., Potter, J. P., Pennebaker, J. W. (2006). Do bilinguals have two personalities? A special case of cultural frame switching. Journal of Research in Personality, 40, 99–120. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2004.09.001 Gurven, M., von Rueden, C., Massenkoff, M., Kaplan, H., Lero Vie, M. (2013). How universal is the Big Five? Testing the five-factor model of personality variation among forager–farmers in the Bolivian Amazon. Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology, 104(2), 354-370. doi:10.1037/a0030841 0000 Ortiz, F. A., Church, A. T., Vargas-Flores, J. D. J., Ibà ¡Ãƒ ±ez-Reyes, J., Flores-Galaz, M., Iuit-Briceà ±o, J. I., Escamilla, J. M. (2007). Are indigenous personality dimensions culture-specific? Mexican inventories and the five-factor model. Journal of Research in Personality, 41, 618–649. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2006.07.002 00000 Guanzon-Lapeà ±a,M. A.,Church, A. T.,Carlota, A. J., Katigbak,M. S. ( 1998). Cross-Cultural Assessment and Measurement Issues Christopher J. Mushquash and Dana L. Bova The Ideas of Frantz Fanon and Culturally Safe Practices for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in Australia Issues in Mental Health Assessmentwith Indigenous Australians Neil Drew, Yolonda Adams and Roz Walker http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/personality%20test There has been debate between psychologist on whether standardized personality tests such as the Big Five inventory I are suitable and produce high internal reliability in relation to cross cultural examinations. The main facets of their arguement state, (a) traits and behaviour may be vastly different across cultures, (b) the researchers are basing their experiments of western qualities (Church, in press; Enriquez, 1979). Across varied cultures in developed worlds the MMF displays a consistency and reliability amongst the five measurements, however it has been observed that extraversion and agreeableness measurements can be distorted by specific cultural traits. (Ortiz et al., 2007; Rolland, 2002). 355 It is apparent that only two factors seem to possess an internal reliability evident in the husband spouse category cross-cultural generality of the â€Å"Big Seven† model: Imported and indigenous 5model was difficult hard to determine language Spanish personality constructs. Journal of Personality, 65, 567–need an adaptation 598. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1997.tb00327.x De Raad, B. (1994). An expedition in search of a fifth universal factor: Key lexical only gave what researchers chose, not from the issues in the lexical approach. European Journal of Personality, 8,communites understanding 229–250. doi:10.1002/per.2410080403 Journal of Personality, 12, 75–101. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099- 0984(199803/04)12:2_75::AID-PER288_3.0.CO;2-H An alternative taxonomic study of personality-descriptive adjectives in the Italian language. Europeanhow language helps Rolland, J. P. (2002). Cross-cultural generalizability of the five-factor model of personality. In R. R. McCrae J. Allik (Eds.), The five-factor model of personality across cultures (pp. 7–28). New York, NY: Kluwer Academic. Rolland, J. P. (2002). Cross-cultural generalizability of the five-factor model of personality. In R. R. McCrae J. Allik (Eds.), The five-factor model of personality across cultures (pp. 7–28). New York, NY: Kluwer Academic. McCrae, R. R. (2002). Cross-cultural research on the five-factor model of personality. In W. J. Lonner, D. L. Dinnel, S. A. Hayes, D. N. Sattler (Eds.), Online readings in psychology and culture (Unit 6, Chapter 1). Retrieved from http://www.wwu.edu/~culture 1 Wiggins, J. S., Trapnell, P. D. ( 1997). Personality structure: The return of the Big Five. In R.Hogan, J.Johnson, S.Briggs ( Eds.), Handbook of personality psychology (pp. 737– 765). San Diego, CA: Academic Press. To further determine the effectiveness of standardised personality test the Junior Eyesenck Personality Questionnaire (Jr EPQ; Eysenck and Eysenck 1975), Lie test and Florida key (FK; Purkey and Cage 1973) were administered to 113 students from two elementary schools and 42 ninth graders in high school. Data was categorised into variables consisting of sex, school and race results were examined variance. The data shows differences in the mean with several test score outside the suitable bracket, it is noted that under the variable race, aboriginal people scored 5.8 which is out of the .05 level, the data between the two groups proved to be quite different. Although results were provided and proved to be similar between the two groups, when analysing the mean score attention arises when understanding

Friday, October 25, 2019

Legal Advice and Funding :: Papers

Legal Advice and Funding Michelle wants to claim compensation for the injuries she has suffered in an accident. Identify and briefly describe where she could obtain advice about a possible claim. There are many places that offer advice regarding British law but few people know how to access these services. If Michelle looks in the right places she can obtain this legal advice for free. There are places that are funded by charities and there's also places like the Citizens Advice Bureau which is primarily funded by the government. If you were setting out to obtain legal advice, places like these is where you should start, they aim to provide access to justice to everyone who needs it. The CAB has over 2000 bureaux throughout the country. Volunteers that aren't actually legally qualified provide 'free, independent and confidential advice' on a variety of issues. They have arrangements with solicitors who will give a free initial interview. Five million people use this service every year. Another place for free advice is a law centre. There are only 51 law centres in the country (as of April 2003) and they are normally situated in socially deprived areas. Law centres provide free and independent, professional, legal advice as it is required in the area. They are staffed by solicitors, barristers, legal advisors and community workers who are paid and the funding for these salaries comes from local authorities and the Community Legal Service Fund. Some law centres will be better than others a factor that affects this is the demand for legal advice in the area. If Michelle went to a Law Centre she could expect to receive advice on issues like welfare rights, immigration, housing, employment, discrimination, mental health, juvenile crime, disability and children's rights. Another place which is probably overlooked quite a lot is organisations like the AA and R.A.C. However organisations like this will probably only help you with issues which relate to the organisations area of business. Also you must be a paying member to

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Li & Fung Core Strategies Essay

Li and Fung’s Core Strengths One of the core strengths of Li and Fung was acquisitions as they saw it as a means to sustain growth momentum. Most of the time they tried to â€Å"fill in the mosaic† by acquiring competitors in areas where they lacked positioning, expertise or talent. They just did not acquired companies they made them integrated with the old ones to make When they acquire companies Li & Fung’s strategy is to integrate incoming staff and streamline operations seamlessly within 100 days. Li & Fung works to a Three Year Plan that addresses strategies across the board and in recent years has set and met the goal of doubling its size with each plan. Li & Fung has achieved its milestones a lot faster, while keeping costs down by investing in new technology and software solutions. The company has set up the infrastructure for web conferencing between all of its offices. The company has improved IT software’s, particularly those relative to infrastructure that will offer improved collaboration, such as VOIP phones, WebEx, SharePoint for internal and customer collaboration, videoconferencing and EDI. This has allowed them to cut costs and increase productivity. Also Li & Fung centralized back-office systems contributed to improve the efficiency of acquisition. Li & Fung’s as a middleman provided a wide array of services that spanned the whole supply chain. In addition, they supplied both hard goods and soft goods from suppliers to different countries and territories. Acted as the middlemen, the company could reduce matching and credit risks. How do these core strengths make Li and Fung an attractive option for its customer? How do Li and Fung make the supply chain more responsive (i.e., fast and flexible? Do you think that other companies can replicate Li & Fung’s business model? Why or why not? Be brief.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Torsion Testing

Table of Contents Abstract3 1. 0 Introduction3 2. 0 Experiment Design4 2. 1 Apparatus5 2. 2 Methods5 2. 3 Procedure6 3. 0 Results and Discussion7 4. 0 Error Analysis13 5. 0 Conclusion and Recommendation13 6. 0 References14 Abstract In this torsion testing experiment, the torsion test was evaluated as a system for calculating the torsional rigidity (GJ), modulus of rigidity (G) and the shear yield stress (? ) for aluminium, mild steel and brass. The both ends of the cylindrical specimen are tightened to hexagonal sockets, which one is fixed to a torque shaft and another is fixed to an input shaft.By turning the input handwheel, the twisting moment has applied to produce the torque until the specimen fails. In the end of the experiment, it shows that the comparison of the behaviour of ductile and brittle materials under torsion. 1. 0 Introduction The responses of metals were deal by mechanical testing to applied forces. This testing includes torsion, tension, hardness, fatigue, creep a nd stress rupture, and impact tests. Torsion occurs when any shaft is subjected to a torque. The torque causes the shaft to twist. This makes one of the ends to rotate relative to the other; shear stress is induced on any cross section.Besides that, torsion testing is made on materials to determine modulus of elasticity in shear, torsion yield strength and the modulus of ruptures. The shearing stress at any point on a transverse cross section varies directly proportional as the distance from the centre of the shaft, when a simple circular solid shaft is twisted. Therefore, during twisting, the cross section is initially planar remains a plane and rotates only about the axis of the shaft. 2. 0 Experiment Design Figure 7: 360 degree protractor scale Figure 6: Three specimen mild steel (top), brass (middle), and aluminium (bottom) after experiment.Figure 5: Three specimen mild steel (top), brass (middle), and aluminium (bottom) before experiment. Figure 2: Torque meter Figure 3: Deflec tion arm, dial gauge, levelling handwheel and linear potential meter Figure 4: Input handwheel with 6 degree protractor scale Figure 1: Torsion testing machine 2. 1 Apparatus There were only few apparatus and materials involved in this experiment, such as: 1) 3 pieces of specimens (Aluminium, brass and mild steel) 2) Vernier Caliper 3) Torsion Testing Equipment 2. 2 Methods Firstly the apparatus was set up as shown in Figure 1.The torque meter was switched on to allow the reading appear on the screen which connected to the torsion testing machine. Three specimens was carried out, mild steel, brass and aluminium. Each specimen was placed at the hexagonal sockets and it was tightened with the deflection arm. The handwheel was turn 90 degree each time to take the reading for angle of twist from the 360 protractor scale and torque from the torque meter of each specimen. Therefore, 12 readings were taken and evenly distributed. After taking the 12 readings, the handwheel was continuously turned until the specimen was fracture.By the time the specimen was fractured, this shows that the maximum torque and the maximum angle of twist of the specimen. All the readings were recorded in a table form and calculations were done using the equations shown at section Results and Discussion. 2. 3 Procedure 1. The specimen as shown in figure 2 below was used for testing. The mild steel specimen was mounted on the torsion testing machine at position no. 4. 2. It was made sure that on the specimen there was no preload. Before starting the experiment, the hand wheel at the input of the worm gear was turned when necessary until the read out of the amplifier is zero.There was still zero error on the amplifier. 3. Both the indicators at the input and output shaft of the worm gear was set to zero. 4. The dial gauge of the compensation unit was set to zero. 5. The revolution counter was reset. 6. The hand wheel was turned through 90 ° and the Scale Reading at Worm gear input was recor ded in revolution(degrees) and the torque value was recorded in digital torque meter(6). 3. 0 Results and Discussion T/J = ? /R = G? /L Torsion equation TJ= G? L G=TLJ? ?=? d^432 Where T = Torque applied, Nm G = shear modulus, N/mm2 J = Polar moment of inertia, mm2 ? = Angle of twist, radianL = Gauge Length, mm ? = shear stress, N/mm2 r = radius of the cylindrical bar, mm J=? d432=? (5)432=61. 36mm2 1) For mild steel, for example using point (7. 25, 17) G=TLJ? =7. 25(115)61. 36 0. 2974=45. 80N/mm2 ?=TRJ=7. 25(2. 5)61. 36=0. 295N/mm2 For brass, for example using point (5. 85, 17) G=TLJ? =5. 85(115)61. 36(0. 297)=36. 95N/mm2 ?=TRJ=5. 85(2. 5)61. 36=0. 238N/mm2 2) Torsional rigidity is ratio of torque applied about the centroidal axis of a bar at one end of the bar to the resulting torsional angle, when other end is held fixed means torsional rigidity =torqueangle For mild steel, Torsional rigidity = 7. 2517=0. 26 For brass, Torsional rigidity = 5. 8517=0. 344 Therefore, torsional rigi dity of mild steel is higher than brass. 3) Specimen: Mild Steel Scale Reading at Worm gear input in Revolution (degrees)| Angle of Twist of Specimen (col. 1/62)| Torque (N. m)| 90| 0| 0. 05| 180| 0| 0. 05| 270| 2| 0. 05| 360| 4| 0. 05| 450| 5| 0. 10| 540| 8| 0. 10| 630| 9| 0. 10| 720| 10| 0. 35| 810| 11| 1. 25| 900| 12| 2. 85| 990| 14| 5. 00| 1080| 17| 7. 25| Until fracture| 4092| 21. 05| Specimen: Brass Scale Reading at Worm gear input in Revolution (degrees)| Angle of Twist of Specimen (col. 1/62)| Torque (N. m)| 90| 1| 0. 05| 180| 4| 0. 5| 270| 5| 0. 15| 360| 6| 0. 55| 450| 7| 1. 00| 540| 8| 1. 80| 630| 9| 2. 80| 720| 11| 3. 95| 810| 14| 4. 95| 900| 15| 5. 55| 990| 16| 5. 80| 1080| 17| 5. 85| Until fracture| 1047| 14. 50| Specimen: Aluminium Scale Reading at Worm gear input in Revolution (degrees)| Angle of Twist of Specimen (col. 1/62)| Torque (N. m)| 90| 1| 0. 05| 180| 2| 0. 15| 270| 4| 0. 20| 360| 6| 0. 30| 450| 8| 0. 45| 540| 9| 0. 85| 630| 10| 1. 40| 720| 11| 2. 30| 810| 13 | 3. 20| 900| 15| 4. 20| 990| 17| 5. 25| 1080| 18| 6. 35| Until fracture| 311| 13. 50| Graph of torque against angle of twist of specimen (mild steel, brass and aluminium) ) Ductility is ability to deform under tensile stress when subject to stress; brittle materials absorb relatively little energy power to fracture. For ductile material, it will produce fracture surface along the plane of the maximum shear stress. For brittle material, the fracture plane is normal to the directions of tensile stress. Mild steel is the most ductile compared to brass and aluminium. Therefore, torque is the highest in mild steel. Aluminium is the most brittle compared to mild steel and brass. Therefore, torque is the lowest in aluminium. 5) Cast iron fractures more easily than mild steel.Mild steel need more revolution at the worm gear input to fracture the specimen. This is because cast iron is more brittle than mild steel, it is loss ductile. Cast iron has high carbon content causing it to be very b rittle and is weak in tension. 4. 0 Error Analysis From the results we obtained, there was a certain error happened. Firstly, the input handwheel with 6 degree protractor scale and the 360 degree protractor scale was not pointing at the zero reading. Thus, this causes zero error in the reading. Secondly, the deflection arm and levelling handwheel was tightened up with the specimen in between the shaft.However, the specimen was not really tight, which the specimen was not really sustained in the place, whereas it still turned while the handwheel was turning and the torque of the specimen was not accurate. Therefore, the readings obtained might deviate from the correct one. 5. 0 Conclusion and Recommendation To conclude, ductile materials have higher torsional rigidity, modulus of rigidity and shear yield stress and it fractures at higher value of angle of twist, whereas brittle materials have lower torsional rigidity, modulus of rigidity and shear yield stress and it fractures at low er value of angle of twist.In this experiment, it shows that mild steel is the most ductile material while aluminium is the most brittle material compared to mild steel and brass. To improve the results, it is important to keep the diameter constant and vary the length of the material to find the mean value so it is more accurate and the zero error is eliminated to find the actual value. The torsion testing machine should be changed, as it is old and less accurate. 6. 0 References 1) â€Å"Laboratory Handbook†, Taylor’s University, 2012/2013. ) J. L. Meriam and L. G. Kraige, 2006, Engineering Mechanics Statics. 6th Ed. 3) http://www. scribd. com/doc/136565/Mechanics-of-Materials-Torsion-Test 4) http://www. ce. siue. edu/330L/Lab%20Help%20Desk/Metal%20Torsion%20Test/Metal%20Torsion. pdf 5) http://www. scribd. com/doc/50848950/4/TORSION-TEST-ON-MILD-STEEL-ROD 6) http://eng. sut. ac. th/metal/images/stories/pdf/Lab_4Torsion_Eng. pdf 7) http://encyclopedia2. thefreediction ary. com/torsional+rigidity

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Book Editor How to Work with an Editor For the Best Result

Book Editor How to Work with an Editor For the Best Result Book Editor: How to Work with an Editor For the Best Result Choosing the right book editor means the difference between tons of book sales and 5-star reviewsand a book that flops.I dont care who you are even if youre an editor yourself you need to get your book edited. This is a non-negotiable when it comes to self-publishing.If this is your first time writing and self-publishing a book, then working with a book editor may be novel ground. (Pun intended. Hardy-har-har.)Let’s get one thing out of the way: we encourage all self-published authors to hire a book editor. Nothing will tank a book faster than a whole bunch of reviews complaining about typos.A good book editor can help turn your bookfrom a ho-hum draft into a polished manuscript. To give your book the best chance of success that you can, and get a pro to get your manuscript into tiptop shape before publication.A lot of first-time authors make the mistake of editing their book to death, never progressing far enough to finish their book and getting to the publishing phase.Othe rs think they can toss a messy draft at an editor and expect them to fix everything. There’s a happy medium between making your draft good enough for an editor- and trusting when it’s time for your editor to step in and take over.With that in mind, in this article, we help you navigate the process of getting your book edited- both by you and your editor- so you can get published faster.NOTE: We cover everything in this blog post and much more about the writing, marketing, and publishing process in our VIP Self-Publishing Program. Learn more about it hereBefore we get into our seven tips for getting your book through the editing phase, lets take a look at what an editor does and why its crucial you have one.What exactly does a book editor do?A book editor is someone who reads through your book several times, correcting for grammar, punctuation, structure, content, and more, depending on the type of editor you hire.Essentially, a book editor is there to help your book become the finalized version with the outcome being what you intended.Because lets face it, no matter how hard we try, we cant always get the book right by ourselves. We know all of the content, the message, the theme, and were far too close to the work to understand how an outsider will perceive it.An editor works as that outsider as well as someone who views it with a critical eye. They can help you alter the book so your intended purpose is fulfilled by its end.What type of edit does your book need?Not everyone will need the same type of edit because everyone has varying levels of skill.For example, someone who has a great mind for structure but lacks in the technical skills of writing will benefit more from a line edit versus a developmental edit.That being said, here at Self-Publishing School, we highly recommend all writers of all skill levels get a full edit, which often includes copy, line editing, and developmental edits.Heres a table detailing each type of edit and what th ey entail.Type of EditWhat it MeansCopy EditingIn this type of edit, the editor will correct sentence structure, inconsistencies, tense, spelling and grammar, as well as some content feedback.ProofreadingThis is what most people think of when they think "editor." This type is when your punctuation, word choice, dialogue structure, and more is corrected.Structural EditThis is where the editor organizes the structure, moves pieces around, and suggests changes based on how the information comes across in its order.Developmental EditThis type of edit is when the editor pays close attention to how each chapter builds on the previous, as well as comments and feedback on the content itself.#1 Edit Quickly If you make the mistake of editing extensively, especially while you’re still actively writing, you potentially set yourself up for a major headache, which can delay publishing your book.Look at the example of Scott Allan. Before he joined Self-Publishing School, he spent two year s working on a voluminous self-help tome.His first draft clocked in at an impressive 90,000 words. He spent months perfecting each word. In the blink of an eye, six more months had elapsed, and he had not only sucked himself into the drain of editing, he hadn’t written anything new since he became stuck in self-edit mode.For one year, he wrote (and rewrote!) the book three times. Why, you might wonder? In his words, â€Å"I suppose I didn’t know any better, first of all. That was before I learned the expression ‘Done is better than perfect.’I was under the impression that it wasn’t done until it was perfect.† Months later, he found an expensive editor to take on his book, but the author couldn’t stop tweaking the material.Tweaking lead to rewriting†¦and the book which had been so carefully drafted, then rewritten, then tweaked, never saw the light of day. The book was never actually published.Allan says, â€Å"Painful lesson lear ned: Unpublished books don’t make money!† Eventually, the author went on to write Pathways to Mastery and publish it on Amazon. Using the lessons learned during his first failed self-publishing attempt, the author spent just eight months writing and only two months editing this time.Since writing Pathways to Mastery, Allan has gone on to write and publish three more books, with a significant reduction in writing and editing time for each successive book.His latest book was in the editing phase for only three weeks.Key Takeaway: An unpublished draft won’t earn any money or build your author name. Keep it simple: Draft first, then edit quickly.#2 Accept Imperfections Letting go of perfectionism is one of the hardest things to do. It sounds doable in theory, but in practice? It’s a challenge.Many writers strive for perfection- the perfect grammar, spelling, and choice of words. Especiallywhen the story we’re putting out there is our first book, or abo ut an intensely personal topic, it ups the ante significantly. We’ve been there, and we get it.Here’s what you need to remember: Nothing in life is perfect. No person, book, nor writer.You can spend forever and your book still won’t be 100% â€Å"perfect.† The editing phase can be rough because of the personal investment and attachment we have to our books.Key Takeaway: Instead of striving for the mythical unicorn of book perfection, strive for a reality-based â€Å"as good as this book can be.†#3 Do a Quick First RevisionBefore you give your book to your editor, you want to do a read-through to catch any glaring errors.Say this with me: rip off the Band-Aid. Make your first revision fast. Here’s the best way to make that change of phase from writing to editing: when you’re done with your first draft, circle back and do a quick-and-dirty first revision.This involves a rapid read of the book, just to get a feel of what you’ve w ritten. Brace yourself. This phase might just be the most painful part of the editorial process. This is because it’s the first time you’re looking at your book with a critical eye and reviewing the results of your first draft.You need to make sure your book makes sense and that it doesn’t miss any words that would confuse a reader to the point that they don’t understand what you’re trying to say.This will reduce the back-and-forth hand-offs between you and your editor and will shorten to overall editing phase.If you notice any major problems, like plot holes or missing information, make a note of them but save these bigger edits for the next round of revisions.Your mental game needs to be strong here. You’re going to think, â€Å"I really suck. I hate writing, I hate my book, and I’d rather watch Netflix than ever look at this crap again.†The Buddha once said: â€Å"All things must pass.† Namaste, my friend. You’ ll get through this phase and eventually love yourself (and your writing!) again.Key Takeaway: Give your book the chance it deserves. Right now, it’s just you alone with your book. Make this first revision quick.#4 Read Your First Pass Out LoudDuring your first pass, it’s necessary to read your book out loud to yourself. Your ear processes words in a way that your eyes may not so this gives you sense of pacing, chapter structure, and tone.While you’re reading out loud, try to read through the eyes of a reader. Imagine what your ideal reader looks like and how they’d feel reading this. Visualize their experience with your book.During this read-through, don’t stop to make large corrections. Just use a red pen or highlighter to take notes of the obvious mistakes. Simply mark or circle these errors to come back to later.Put yourself on the clock when you do this. Time yourself for ten-twenty minutes per chapter and keep reading the whole draft through to completion.Key Takeaway: Reading out loud during your first pass can help with tone and pacing. Do this quickly, with a timer.#5 Delve Deeper With a Second PassYour next step is to go back to the beginning of the book and do a second pass. Your second revision should delve deeper. As you read, stay alert to passages that have â€Å"holes† or sections of the book which need to be filled out more.Think of the analogy of building a home: First the frame goes up, then you build the walls. Keep adding to your book until your story and message is clear. Some of us have a tendency to change our voice from one paragraph to the next.Tone shift is something that a strong editor will pick up on, but to the extent you can make things consistent, you should. As this point, your book should be more polished.This is also the stage in which you should focus on making your book stronger by getting rid of weak verbs and replacing them with stronger verbs, like in this video of a live-edit below: Your book still isn’t perfect (remember we cautioned against perfect!) but at this stage, you should have a working manuscript which should be close to publishable. Key Takeaway: Your second pass should fill in the gaps in your story or chapters, and keep tone consistent.#6 Hand Over the Reins to an EditorOne of the hardest parts of the editorial relationship is handing over your passion project to a complete stranger.You may be thinking, â€Å"What? I’m giving it to a complete stranger who doesn’t know me- and doesn’t understand the blood, sweat, and tears that went into this- just so they can mark it up and tell me about all the things I did wrong?!†There’s a reason the editor-writer relationship can feel fraught. It’s because while your book is deeply personal to you, whereas for the editor, it’s just another day at the office. Your editor’s job is to care about the flow of the book, the grammar, spelling, an d in some cases, content.They will take your draft and elevate it to a readable manuscript. Try not to take it personally or push back at their criticism. Your editor will shape your draft into a â€Å"good† book to publish. Notice the deliberate choice of words- we didn’t say perfect!A â€Å"good† book is enjoyable, useful, readable and publishable.Key Takeaway:Dont take your editors constructive criticism personally. You have the same end goal: a good book!#7 Impersonate a Certain Disney PrincessTime to just Let it Go. Send your draft off to your editor and celebrate. Put up your feet and queue up your Netflix binge.You’ve certainly earned it! By the time you’re done with your own revisions and have added and subtracted material, your editorial return time shouldn’t take more than a week- or two, max.Key Takeaway: Just get your draft into the hands of your editor! Let them worry now. You’ve done the heavy lifting. It’s easy to get bogged down in perfection, and its temptingto hold on tightly to your work.It can be a natural reaction to pouring your heart and soul into your dreams. But the quicker you can move your first draft through to the editing phase, the sooner you’ll achieve your dream of a published book.Your Next StepsWhether youre just getting ready to write or, even scarier, to edit, were here for you.Take a look at your FREE training that will give you an overview of just what you need to do to get started.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Architectural Design Final Exam Essays - Airport, Airport Check-in

Architectural Design Final Exam Essays - Airport, Airport Check-in Architectural Design Final Exam Billy Bishop Airport Expansion TDA 4M0 Mr. Ganhao Manroop Bhogal Table of Contents Proposal Space Relationship Bubbles 4 Concept Sketches Required Areas Case Studies Presentation Draw ing s Architectural Design Exam Proposal The Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport , commonly known as the Toronto Island Airport, is a small airport located on the Toronto Islands in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is named after the Air Marshal Billy Bishop, a Canadian World War I flying ace. The airport is used by civil aviation, air ambulances, and regional a irlines using turboprop planes. After the proposed expansion in 2013, another proposal is approaching in 2016. The inspiration for the new airport will be influenced by an archit ectural style known as M odern architecture . Common themes of modern archi tecture include: form follows function, meaning that the result of design should derive directly from its purpose, simplicity and clarity of forms and elimination of "unnecessary detail", materials at 90 degrees to each other, visual expression of structure (as opposed to the hiding of structural elements), the related concept of "truth to materials" meaning that the true natur e or natural appearance of a material ought to be seen rather than concealed or altered to represent something else, use of industrially produced materials' adoption of the machine aesthetic, and visual emphasis on horizontal and vertical lines. Following through with the influence of modern architecture, the airport shape, as well as its interior, will be reduced to the upmost important elements and principles of design; shape, line, with simplicity in order to display the architectural style we have chosen. The reduction of complicated and unnecessary details and/or walls allows the passengers and staff in the airport to easily maneuver through the airport and quickly arrive at their destination without any confusion. This also allows the stores and/or sections of the airport to be easily built next to each other as it is much easier to build two identical shapes next to each other, such as rectangles and squares, rather than a store with one angled wall against a store with multiple angled walls. This idea of using simple shapes to create a well-designed and efficient airport also allows the airport to waste as little space as possible, and that every space is used as there are no odd angled corners or spaces that cannot be filled with something. Keeping in mind the architectural influence, there are many considerations that had to be made during the design process; types of planes, typical clientele, efficiency of the airport, placement of staff areas and passenger areas. In order to accommodate as many planes as possible, we have placed the gates in such a way that even the biggest planes that arrive/depart the airport can easily gain access to and from the gates, having enough space to turn around onto the runway without any issues. We are not expecting to have any typical clientele, rather, we have accommodated for every type of clientele. We have a separate check in queue for first class, allowing faster movement for every queue, a separat e baggage claim for those who have travelled internationally, as well as another first class line at the pre board screening. We want the airport to be efficient as possible and in doing so, allowing any passenger to get to their destination even faster. Finally, we have also placed the staff and passenger areas in such a way that the passenger areas revolve around the staff. This allows the staff areas and offices to be centralized in the middle of the airport, and can easily access any section of the airport if any problems occur without having to run a long way. This is also great for passengers as they can gain access to help whenever they please as there are always staffs ready to assist the passengers, and passengers will no longer have to run to another side of the building for any assistance. This proposal will not only make an efficient airport for the passengers, but will also allow a better work experience for the staff. Main Entrance Case Study Eyes of the Passenger There are a total of 6 doors leading into

Sunday, October 20, 2019

French Exercise - Si Clause Threads, Second Conditional

French Exercise - Si Clause Threads, Second Conditional This practice exercise can be done as a class or in small groups. It requires familiarity with the second conditional (si clauses), including imperfect and conditional conjugations. What to Do Print out a table for each group (see below).Write the first part of a conditional sentence beginning with si (see suggestions below) in the first table cell. Since this is the second conditional, the si clause needs to be in the imperfect. Invent a result clause, using the conditional, for the second cell.For example: Next, transform the result clause into a si clause and write it in the first column of the second row. (Remember that the verb which was in the conditional now needs to be in the imperfect.) Then invent a corresponding result clause to continue the thread. If clause Result clause Si je gagnais au loto, jachterais une nouvelle voiture. Si je gagnais au loto, jachterais une nouvelle voiture. Si jachetais une nouvelle voiture, je la mnerais lcole. Transform the second result clause into a si clause, and so on, until you have completed the thread. Si je gagnais au loto, jachterais une nouvelle voiture. Si jachetais une nouvelle voiture, je la mnerais lcole. Si je la menais lcole, les autres tudiants madmireraient. Si les autres tudiants madmiraient, ils minviteraient djeuner. To make sure students understand the exercise, start by demonstrating on the board: write a si clause and call on students as you go through the entire thread collectively. Then divide the class into groups of 2 to 4 students and provide each group with an if clause, or have them come up with their own. After each group has completed their thread, either have students read them out loud, or - if there are likely to be a lot of mistakes, as in the case of weaker students - collect the papers and read the threads out loud yourself, either correcting them as you read, or writing the sentences on the board and going over them together. Variations To challenge students creativity, have each group start with the same si clause, and then compare how each one turned out at the end.Assign a different si clause to each group, and after they have each completed one row of the table, have them trade with another group. Each group will then complete the clause in the other groups tables, and then exchange once again with a third group.You can also use this exercise to practice the first conditional and the third conditional. Starter Clauses You and your students can of course invent your own if clauses,* but here are some ideas to get started: Si jallais la luneSi javais un souhaitSi je navais quune semaine vivreSi jà ©tais le prà ©sidentSi jà ©tais richeSi jà ©tais toiSi je faisais mes devoirs tous les joursSi je me cassais la jambeSi je me mariaisSi je pouvais faire la connaissance de nimporte qui dans le mondeSi je pouvais remonter dans le tempsSi je pouvais visiter nimporte quel paysSi je trouvais un portefeuille dans la rueSi je voyais un OVNI (objet volant non identifià ©)Sil y avait des formes de vie intelligente sur dautres planà ¨tesSi les chiens pouvaient parlerSi mon meilleur ami me mentaitSi notre professeur à ©tait en retardSi nous à ©tudiions ensembleSi nous savions le secret du bonheur *If you come up with a great starter clause, please share your ideas. Tables This exercise needs tables with two columns and four rows. Printable pages of tables are available in  Microsoft Word format; you can save and edit this if, for example, you want to type the starter if clause into the first cell of each table. Print enough copies so that you can cut them up and provide at least one table for each group of students. Si Clauses LessonFirst conditional practiceThird conditional practice

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Japan Civilization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Japan Civilization - Essay Example Secondly, the analysis will also discuss the way in which Confucianism was imported and ultimately adopted from the Chinese culture. The purpose of choosing to cultural/religious inclusions within Japanese history and culture is with regards to the fact that religion has a powerful means of altering the way in which a given culture approaches key concepts and topics. In short, religion in and of itself can transform a culture and differentiated in a way that other cultural inclusions may very well not. Whereas many religions spread around the world and into new areas due to the fact that a strong or resilient native religion is nonexistent, this is very much not the case with regards to how Buddhism spread within the Japanese culture. Ultimately, Japan had many forms of resilience and native religions that were extant far prior to the introduction of Buddhism from Korea. However, nonetheless, this interpretation of a new religious paradigm was not something that met with a great deal of strife or violence. Rather, Buddhism was oftentimes incorporated alongside the various native religions, such as Shintoism, that were already practiced within Japan. Moreover, Buddhism had yet another tangential effect due to the fact that the writing system of the â€Å"Kanji† was Incorporated alongside the religion within Japan. ... In such a way, these religious interpretations existed almost unquestioned up until the Meiji restoration. Regardless of their impact, the reader should come to the realization that the role that religion plays with regards to allowing a degree of transcultural development and integration in which many other forms of culture exchange could not hope to achieve in and of themselves. As a result of the widespread acceptance and integration of these religiously motivated norms and mores, Japanese society continues to indicate the influences that these religious interpretations have had upon the current times. Unlike many of the other nations or cultural patterns in history, conquest and violence did not define the means by which either of these religious interpretations spread in and around Japan; however, the cultural impact that they had upon the way in which society is currently evidenced and the means by which the religious history of these movements have developed the Japanese cultu re. Likewise, within the modern era, Japan has embraced a clear and distinct form of Western ideals, economics and culture. This can be seen since the time of the Meiji Restoration up until the current era. Although Japan is one of the most resilient and strongest embodiments of culture retention within the world, the nation has, nonetheless, been able to evolve and grow with the changing of the times and adopt and react to the prescient needs that the global influences that are acting upon them invoke. Specifically, the reader can realize that within the past several hundred years, Japan has opened itself to global commerce, shifted towards a industrialized nation, and adopted a capitalist model. None of these were normative factors of the indigenous culture of Japan;

Friday, October 18, 2019

Song's Copyright Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Song's Copyright - Assignment Example For musicians, copyrights are designed to protect their songs from unauthorized reproduction or copying of the work (Atkinson, 2011). Consumers can purchase songs for use in their homes only. When they want to use certain songs for public performance or advertising, they need to gain the rights to do so. To gain the rights, consumers can enter into rights-managed contracts, where they pay royalties based on the number of times they want to use a particular song or several songs. The payable royalty fee is also determined by the number of people who will hear it and the location in which will be played (Berne, 1975). Copyrights laws in Canada extend to both the nationals of Canada and foreign nationals. The foreign nationals are limited to the members of Berne conventional countries. Substantial amendments were made in Canada to the copyright Act in 2012. The amendments were aimed at modernization of the Canadian copyright law. The United states also have their copyrights laws which have several similarities and differences with the Canadian copyrights laws. Both countries confer protection to artistic work based on the concept of originality (Bogsch, 1986). The Canadian Act recognizes artistic works, musical, dramatic, and original literacy. The U.S Act protects and recognizes ‘works of authorship’ as a general name for artistic works. There are no requirements for registration of copyright in Canada. The registration confers particular presumptive benefits in the country. Lack of copyright registration in the U.S limits some available remedies. Canada prohibits the sale and use of technological designs to circumvent protection measures technological wise. In the U.S the law on technological designs is similar to the one in Canada (Buckingam, 1836). Internet service providers are protected by the Canadian copyrights Act. They are protected when they are

FIVE short seminar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

FIVE short seminar - Essay Example The texts were available before in the local orthodox language and beliefs of the Church which were given new expression in the print media and led to more openness of the expression. The target segment for receiving the benefits of print revolution already existed. The paper and block printing was first invented in China in the first century which spread to Europe in the twelfth century (Eisenstein, 2012, p.53). The spread of Martin Luther’s ideas and the lessons of the Church found channels of expression. In the nineteenth century, the print presses were power driven and faster dissemination of information happened among the masses. Development in investment scenario of the countries like Australia, etc is also a contribution of the print media. Radio days The emergence of radio as a mass medium happened long back from the days of Marconi. Marconi invented ways of decoding the communication codes used in a telegraph and transmitting useful information through a radio. In the early days, the use of radio was an amateurish activity by the audiences who used crystal radio sets. People also pursued hobbies of using radio as a communication medium. In 1920, the corporate radio broadcasting centres stared to operate for reaching out to the masses. With time the desire and the need for radios developed. This gave rise to subsequent developments of the radio communication through the introduction of vacuum tube radio and loudspeakers for better communication. During the time of depression in 19298, radio became the mass medium of communication. Thus for the stages of hobby, radio developed into a wired mass medium for distant communications. Messages and information starting from emergency to entertainment were spread through the radio. The sinking of Titanic and messaging for SOS happened through telegraphic system. However, the news of the world wars was more wide spread with the help of radio. In the field of entertainment, radio started to broadcast new on films, broadcasted musical events and commentaries on live sporting events like Olympics, Football world cup, etc. Image Technologies and Mass Society The image technologies came into vogue during the end of the nineteenth century. The image technologies marked the emergence of the mass society in the twentieth century. In the twentieth century, the communication in the world circulated through wired media like telegraph and telephone. The advent of the image technology brought about the spread of news and entertainment to a wider section of the society. Almost all the spheres of life that include urbanisation of the regions, transportation and public works, information on the time zones were all the more accessible with the help of image technologies. Consumerism developed rapidly with the formation of departmental stores, exhibitions and fairs, e.g. Paris Exposition of 1901. Numerous small theatres developed along with the stardom of the celebrities also grew. The spread of pictu res led to change in lifestyles of the population with more interest to the world of eminent personalities. The Paris Exposition of 1901 received overwhelming responses on sensual pleasures as compared to the knowledge part. The heritage properties like the Crystal Palace of 1950 were designed for the awareness of the masses. The manufacturers started to apply

Innovations in Human Resource Management Assignment

Innovations in Human Resource Management - Assignment Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that distrust of customers leads to decreased profits and market segments. This will lead to losing customers to competing companies who use this information to lure customers and win their trust. Data misuse by third parties has led many users of Facebook have encroached self-determination that limits them from having prosperous careers. Mary Jane has the experience and knowledge to take up the position of Field Sales Manager. However, her negligence and ignorance concerning the use of social networks have tarnished her name and image. Field Sales Manager interacts with so many people and her image should portray all the values of the company. Some of the clients she is going to reach out to use Facebook and will eventually leak out information to prospective clients concerning the pictures. This will give the company a poor image and therefore, the HR administration should reconsider their decision of hiring Mary. Her negligence and ignoran ce portray that she will do the same for the clients she mingles with when hired by the company to carry out the responsibilities of Field Sales Manager. This position is prestigious and needs to be given to an individual with an all-around personality encompassing outstanding social behaviors. Through social media, employers can check on their employees for harassing postings on Facebook, but cannot use data achieved to discriminate against their employees due to religion, race or sexual orientation. A candidate’s legal right to privacy is breached when employers hack into their protected accounts. Encrypted Facebook accounts, with passwords, should not be tampered with by employers.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

War and Peace in the Middle East Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

War and Peace in the Middle East - Essay Example The Middle East political plethora is characterized by fighting raging from Syria and its spillover effect felt in Lebanon Bahrain and Iraq. There is no denying the sectarianism is commonplace in the Middle East politics with religious identity the most vital end in defining the political life of the people. Therefore, the war in these countries remains a familiar factor in the pursuit of national interest of the individual countries in the oil-rich region (CASHMAN, 2000:45). Various ideas, theories, and values shape policy and motivate the political behavior of citizens in certain countries. International relations theorists disagree over the inevitability of war. To classical realists and neo-liberalists, war is inevitable. They posit that each state is compelled to harm the other in pursuit of their interests and to avoid the worst possible outcome. This follows with states increasing their defense capabilities thereby increasing tension and chances of war. Realism has evolved int o the dominant paradigm in explaining state behavior and the eruption of war. Neo-realists hold that state behavior is driven by the need for survival in the international system. States try to survive by maximizing their power and shifting the balance of power in their favor. Mearsheimer’s ‘Offensive Realism Theory’ asserts the rationality of states in an anarchic world system. This leads to a security dilemma where a defensive action taken by one state on the verge of survival is a threat to another.... To classical realists and neo-liberalists, war is inevitable. They posit that each state is compelled to harm the other in pursuit of their interests and to avoid the worst possible outcome. This follows with states increasing their defense capabilities thereby increasing tension and chances of war. Realism has evolved into the dominant paradigm in explaining state behavior and the eruption of war. Neo-realists hold that state behavior is driven by the need for survival in the international system. States try to survive by maximizing their power and shifting the balance of power in their favor. Mearsheimer’s ‘Offensive Realism Theory’ asserts the rationality of states in an anarchic world system. This leads to a security dilemma where a defensive action taken by one state in the verge of survival is a threat to another. Realism fronts war as one of the best strategies for states to maximize their power and ensure their survival. In other cases, the threat of force may be used to maximize power. According to the theory also, other states may insight war between rival nations in a bid to reduce their power and eventually increase their own (DUNNE, KURKI, & SMITH, 2013:79). A good illustration is Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, at an individual level; Saddam Hussein may have calculated that his actions on Kuwait will not provoke military response from the international community due to his originally ruthless nature. However, at the state level Iraq is pursuing its own national interests and attempting to regain oil fields that were previously annexed by the British (CASHMAN, 2000:79). According to Mearsheimer’s theory also, the polarity between states or the possibility of war depends in the number of

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Formal specification of non-functional properties in component Research Paper

Formal specification of non-functional properties in component software engineering - Research Paper Example Component-based software engineering (CBSE) is observed as the best example of such technique (Chen, 2004). It assists in handling the intricacy through following a divide-and-conquer tactic, modularizing huge software schemes into smaller, reusable elements called (software) units. CBSE is believed to be chiefly effective in the background of what is referred to as unit markets, where units are established by autonomous third party establishers and purchased by application contractors to be organized into full applications. If the elements are to be bartered on component markets, they have to be escorted by a specific illustration of all of their pertinent properties (Lamanna, 2002). Element developers must articulate such an illustration without understanding the background in which their elements will be employed. Conversely, it has to be clear to the application contractors and has to be achievable for them to create specifications of distinct elements and rationalize about possessions of the ultimate system. For instance, application contractors need to acknowledge whether an application constructed from some set of elements (Bechhofer, 2005). These elements are organized on a system with reliable amount of present resources will accomplish the required execution goals, how much network bandwidths or memory will be devoured or whether data value will meet the needed benchmark. Thesis statement The ultimate aim of this report is to examine the concept of formal specification of non-functional properties in component software engineering. This entails reviewing the entire aspect of software development and looks at the specification languages that already exist as well as examining the component forms related to specification languages . The paper then examines the problems statement and the research plan then winds up with a conclusion. Literature Review General Concept of Software Development The following diagram (figure 1) provides an indication of the general software development procedure for non-functional characteristics. The main concept of approach is the division of measurement description usage meaning that precision of non-functional characteristics of applications using those gauges. A measurement refers to something that is practical to a system and produces quality value for the scheme being gauged (Chen, 2004). Examples of measurements are d elay, response time et cetera. Measurements are mostly described in relation to a contextual model which defines the concepts of an application system that has to be recognized in order to develop the measurement value. Therefore, dimension can be described autonomously as a real practical system. To employ measurements to a practical system, a mapping between the component model of the practical scheme and the context model of the measurement must be illustrated. The descriptions of measurements can be sophisticated, but on the other hand, it will be developed only a single time. Thus, the roles of dimension designer and practical designer must be put apart in the development process. According to Heiko  Ludwig 2004, their joint efforts directs to a precision of the system encompassing its non-functional characteristics (Bechhofer, 2005). The measurement modeler employs a graphical notation centered on the specification language CQML+ [2] and notions from [3] to identify measurem ents and their context designs (Zschaler, 2008). Ludwig adds on that designer can then described distinct

War and Peace in the Middle East Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

War and Peace in the Middle East - Essay Example The Middle East political plethora is characterized by fighting raging from Syria and its spillover effect felt in Lebanon Bahrain and Iraq. There is no denying the sectarianism is commonplace in the Middle East politics with religious identity the most vital end in defining the political life of the people. Therefore, the war in these countries remains a familiar factor in the pursuit of national interest of the individual countries in the oil-rich region (CASHMAN, 2000:45). Various ideas, theories, and values shape policy and motivate the political behavior of citizens in certain countries. International relations theorists disagree over the inevitability of war. To classical realists and neo-liberalists, war is inevitable. They posit that each state is compelled to harm the other in pursuit of their interests and to avoid the worst possible outcome. This follows with states increasing their defense capabilities thereby increasing tension and chances of war. Realism has evolved int o the dominant paradigm in explaining state behavior and the eruption of war. Neo-realists hold that state behavior is driven by the need for survival in the international system. States try to survive by maximizing their power and shifting the balance of power in their favor. Mearsheimer’s ‘Offensive Realism Theory’ asserts the rationality of states in an anarchic world system. This leads to a security dilemma where a defensive action taken by one state on the verge of survival is a threat to another.... To classical realists and neo-liberalists, war is inevitable. They posit that each state is compelled to harm the other in pursuit of their interests and to avoid the worst possible outcome. This follows with states increasing their defense capabilities thereby increasing tension and chances of war. Realism has evolved into the dominant paradigm in explaining state behavior and the eruption of war. Neo-realists hold that state behavior is driven by the need for survival in the international system. States try to survive by maximizing their power and shifting the balance of power in their favor. Mearsheimer’s ‘Offensive Realism Theory’ asserts the rationality of states in an anarchic world system. This leads to a security dilemma where a defensive action taken by one state in the verge of survival is a threat to another. Realism fronts war as one of the best strategies for states to maximize their power and ensure their survival. In other cases, the threat of force may be used to maximize power. According to the theory also, other states may insight war between rival nations in a bid to reduce their power and eventually increase their own (DUNNE, KURKI, & SMITH, 2013:79). A good illustration is Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, at an individual level; Saddam Hussein may have calculated that his actions on Kuwait will not provoke military response from the international community due to his originally ruthless nature. However, at the state level Iraq is pursuing its own national interests and attempting to regain oil fields that were previously annexed by the British (CASHMAN, 2000:79). According to Mearsheimer’s theory also, the polarity between states or the possibility of war depends in the number of

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

John Calvin and the Protestant Reformation Essay Example for Free

John Calvin and the Protestant Reformation Essay This paper is devoted to the period of Protestant Reformation in France and the key figure of this process- John Calvin. John Calvin was a Protestant theologian and the developer of the famous Calvinism theology as a system of Christian church. He is well known for his written works and his teachings, but not many know about his role played in Michael Servetus’s execution. These and some other issues will be discussed in this research. John Calvin was born under the name of Jean Chauvin in Picardie, in France. His father sent him to Paris in 1523 to get ready for the priesthood. There Calvin studied in College de la Marche and then in College de Montaigu till 1528. As he was doing quite well in ecclesiastics, he gained the chaplaincy and the curacy of Saint Martin de Martheville from his native city (Tracy, 1999). In 1529 Calvin resigned chaplaincy for the benefit of his younger brother, but however two years later he resumed and was holding it till 1534 (Gordon, 2002). Calvin proved to be a good student, but his father, who by the year 1528 had problems in relations with the ecclesiastic authorities in Noyon, took a decision, that his son should study law instead. John didn’t argue and went to Orleans, to study law at the university there. In a year he moved to another university and took classes of Andrea Alciati. During his studies at both universities Calvin was very much under the impact of Melchior Wolmar, who was a leader of humanist ranks and was a supporter of Reformation ideas. When in 1531 the father of Calvin died, he had to come back to Paris and take up study of Hebrew. In 1532 John spent another year in Orleans as a student of law again. In spring of the same year he paid his own money for publishing the text of Seneca’s De Clementia, adding his commentary. This was a confirmation of his humanistic views in connection with the Roman Church. At the same time the ideas of Reformation were rapidly spread in France, Calvin however was moving step by step to his position, he wrote in his commentary to Psalms that he â€Å"was too obstinately devoted to the superstitions of popery to be easily extricated from so profound an abyss of mire. (Barth, 1995). One of his friends, who also shared the ideas of Reformation, was Nicolas Cop. When he became the rector of Paris University, they decided to use the chance to present their comments concerning the Reformation in front of cultured and intelligent audience. In November 1533 Cop held a speech in the Church of the Mathurins, which they gave the title â€Å"Christian Philosophy†, meaning the Gospel. The relation, he built between Law and Gospel, was closely connected to the ideas of Luther. The final part of the speech was however independent and more concentrated on the one of the features of Calvinism, namely – salvation. The speech had all chances to produce a vivid impression on the audience and to attract supporters, but Cop spoke negatively about the hierologists of Sorbonne and called them â€Å"sophists†. This certainly caused their indignation, they sought for support from the government, and Cop had to escape. Calvin followed him due to their known close relation, but risked to return very soon. He couldn’t get rid of his fears, that his support of Reformation ideas could be followed by imprisonment, like it was the case with some other reformers. He decided to become a wanderer in 1534, all the time changing his name. Two and a half years he was going from place to place, was imprisoned in Noyon, visited Paris, where he met Servetus for the first time. In Orleans he published his Psychopannychia, confutation of the theory about sleeping soul between death and the Last Judgment (Gordon, 2002). In 1535 Calvin visited Strasburg under the name of Basel. There he finished his Institutes of the Christian Religion, about the book he wrote: My objects were, first, to vindicate my brethren whose death was precious in the sight of the Lord; and next that, as the same cruelties might very soon after be exercised against many unhappy individuals, foreign nations might be touched with at least some compassion toward them and solicitude about them. † (Barth, 1995). After he had published this work, he worked in Ferrara in the court of Duchess Renee. A year later he met his younger brother Antoine and his half-sister Marie in Paris. He traveled with them to Strasburg, but because of the war, had to go to Geneva, planning to remain only one night there. But Farel Guillaume, one of the like-minded persons, convinced him to stay there. Two years he spent at the side of Farel, but still the city could not stand the significant reforms offered by the Reformers and on Easter Monday in 1538 they both were ordered to leave the city. Calvin traveled to Strasburg, where he became minister to the French refugees in the Church of St. Nicolas (Brady, 1994). Two years later he married Idelette de Bure, widow of Jean Stordeur of Liege, an Anabaptist, whom Calvin managed to turn into pedobabtist. They had a son, who lived only several days. Idelette de Bure died in 1549 and Calvin never married for the second time. Calvin didn’t have the plans to return to Geneva as his financial situation was rather poor at that moment, but very soon he got the opportunity to improve his position. In Strasburg he managed to practice the reform, which he could not launch in Geneva, and his fame started to grow very quickly. He received an offer to come out with a course of cathedral lectures. In 1539 Cardinal Jacopo Sadoleto sent a letter to Geneva, asking for it to be returned to Roman obedience and Bern government gave the right to answer to Calvin. There were serious changes in the government of Geneva, and as a result the friends if Calvin won the power in the city. For the second time Calvin followed the arguments of Farel and went to Geneva. He knew perfectly, that there were a lot of his enemies, and that not everybody was ready to support him, but his faith in God was his major support. The government prepared a house for him and a corresponding salary. His work in Geneva started, the city turned into his main, but not the only one, center of activity. Geneva was a place, that gathered a lot of refugees from Holland, Italy, England, Spain, who were ready to listen and to support the ideas of Calvin. Also a number of students visited his lectures. His fame was growing, and more and more people were standing by him. At the age of fifty-five he died because of a disease. For Geneva he left one hundred and seventy dollar, faith, education and reconstructed government. Calvin chose Apostle’s Creed as the basis for his ideas, at the same time closely relating theology and ethics. Calvin’s reformation was practical, with the strongest emphasis on the doctrine of predestination; he tried to teach people of the city to refer to it as a cornerstone of the Christian faith. Opposed to lenient views concerning grace and sin, propagated by the Roman Church, the Augustinian doctrine recovered in his words. Calvin did his best to change the face of Protestantism, as he managed to address openly and directly the matters, which other reformers didn’t know or didn’t want to discuss (Brady, 1994). His main target was the proper organization of the church governance and social organization of the church in the city. He was said to be the first politic leader, who was able to build the social organization based on biblical principles. He brought very significant innovation, namely by incorporating church into the government of the city (Cameron, 1991). In the middle of 1550s the structure of Geneva was changed completely in accordance to Calvin’s ideas. As a result Geneva became the most important center of Protestantism in Europe and attracted the persecuted refugees from other countries. The branch of Calvin’s reforms became the prevalent branch of Protestantism from the seventeenth century. Calvin had the same problems as Luther with Anabaptists. On the 16-17 of March in 1537 he had a public meeting with them, and using his strong argumentation disposed of their ideas, as confirmed by Council of Two Hundred. Along with a great number of supporters Calvin had his opponents as well. Calvin played a very important role in the execution of Michael Servetus – â€Å"the Spanish physician, radical reformer (Anabaptist), and unitarian. † (Gordon, 2002). In 1531 Servetus published his ideas denouncing the Trinity, which was the key doctrine Catholics and Protestants could agree about. Three years later Calvin agreed to meet Servetus in person in Paris, Servetus however didn’t appear. From 1546 till 1548 they exchanged letters, trying to convince each other, but finally Calvin had to stop the correspondence, as it was growing more and more rancorous. In 1553 Servetus was sentenced to death in absentia by Inquisition in Spain for spreading heresy. Calvin provided very important evidences to support the conviction. Servetus escaped from the prison, but was again arrested in Geneva on the initiative of Calvin. This time he was sentenced to burning on a stake, which took place in 1553. Then Servetus was buried together with the copy of his last work De Trinitatis Erroribus. Servetus was the only one, who was sentenced to death for his religious beliefs during the lifetime of Calvin, and there is finally no agreement about the correctness of Calvin’s actions concerning this issue. Hundreds of years later modern Calvinists do not support the actions of Calvin towards Servetus. Nowadays persecution, and what is more death sentence for religious beliefs and positions, seems to be barbarous. Calvin was certainly not the only reformer. The ideas of Calvin and Farel were really close, but Farel was a missionary, a preacher and not theologian or even less a statesman. Calvin, being French would probably not be able to spread his influence so successfully either in Zurich or in Wittenberg, as Zwingli and Luther did it. Calvin was much younger than Luther and Zwingli and had an advantage of having a good foundation for spreading his ideas. He managed to build a system based on their new ideas. He proved to be better organizer and better thinker, at the same time lacking their genius and activity. His life was not as dramatic as those of Luther or Zwingli; he didn’t possess that genial humor or was able to raise popular enthusiasm. And still he remained the most influential Reformer of the Protestant Church. References: Barth, K. (1995). The Theology of John Calvin, tr. by G. W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans. Brady, T. (1994). Handbook of European History, 1400–1600: Late Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Reformation. Leiden and New York. Breen, Q. (1968). John Calvin: A Study in French Humanism. Cameron, E. (1991). The European Reformation. Oxford and New York. Gordon, B. (2002). The Swiss Reformation. Manchester, U. K. , and New York. Tracy, J. (1999). Europes Reformations, 1450–1650. Lanham, Md.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Health promotion within the midwifery profession

Health promotion within the midwifery profession This essay will focus on smoking and diet in relation to health promotion within the midwifery profession. Smoking and diet are two main areas of health promotion, which are addressed within the role of the midwife. Smoking and types of diet are both choices which women choose to make, both of which can affect their own health and the health of their child. Smoking is known to have negative effects on pregnancy. There have been many recent public health campaigns which encourage smoking cessation; the reasons for this will be discussed in relation to maternal and fetal heatlh. Diet is an extensive topic and an unhealthy diet can affect pregnancy in various ways. The subtopics of vitamin deficiencies and obesity will be discussed as they are both relevant to todays population of women within the UK. It is a midwives role to promote a healthy diet and lifestyle; as set out by The Royal College of Midwives, and the Nursing and Midwifery council, whom provide rules, regulations and standards which midwives must adhere to when practicing. Evidence based guidelines are also set out by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, Centre for Maternal and Child Enquiries and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to improve the way in which midwives practice. Both rules and guidelines aim to provide training which enable midwives to promote a healthy diet and lifestyle to optimise the health of the woman and her developing fetus prior to and during pregnancy. Being healthy means different things to different people. There are many different definitions of health. The medical model, now common in the 20th century, defines health as being the absence of illness and presence of a good bodily function. However, this definition does not take into account social or mental factors and focuses on treatment rather than prevention which may be considered as reductionist and negative (Scriven 2010). Whereas a holistic definition, by The World Health Organisation (1948), states that health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Even though the holistic model may be praised for acknowledging that mental and social factors effect health, WHOs definition has been heavily criticised for being too idealistic and would consider many people unhealthy (Scriven 2010). In relation to midwifery it is important to promote health, as a healthy diet and lifestyle prior to and during pregnan cy improves the chances of a successful pregnancy. It is a midwives role to promote health and wellbeing of women and their babies (NMC, 2008). Health promotion, as described by Scriven (2010), is said to be improving, advancing, supporting, encouraging and placing health higher on personal and public agendas. Midwives use health promotion models and approaches to enable a common value to be made clear; allowing all team members to work towards the same goal. As a result, effective communication between midwives is more likely, and therefore the quality of health promotion given to women is improved (Bowden 2006). Commonly, Tannahills model of health promotion, developed by Downie et al (1996), lends itself well to midwifery practice. The model mainly focuses on health education, health protection and preventing ill-health. These three main topics overlap; in which health promoting activities may fall. Child vaccination programmes implemented by the NHS is an example of health protection overlapping with ill-health prevention that oc curs in practice (Bowden 2006).This example emphasises the positive feature of the model; being able to carry out both objectives of improving health and preventing disease (Sykes 2007). The educational approach is often used within this model whereby the midwife gives facts and information to the women who may then choose to act on the information given, or not (Bowden 2006). Similarly, the behaviour change approach is commonly used in midwifery when encouraging women to change her attitudes or beliefs to adopt a healthier lifestyle (Bowden 2006). There are many health promotions approaches and models. However, no specific model is relevant to every woman. Each woman will have individual needs and therefore requires an individual assessment in relation to health promotion. Recently smoking has been the centre of health promotion. It is generally accepted that smoking in pregnancy has detrimental effects on fetal growth. Conter et al (1995) found that women who smoked cigarettes during pregnancy were more likely to have a baby with a lower birth weight than babies born to women who did not smoke during pregnancy. Carbon monoxide, inhaled in cigarette smoke, combines more readily with haemoglobin than oxygen (Sherwood, 2006). As a result, the maternal blood supplies less oxygen to the fetus for growth and development; often resulting in low-birth-weight babies. Lumley et al (2009) undertook a systematic review and concluded that methods which encourage women to quit smoking while pregnant reduce the amount of women who continue to smoke in late pregnancy, as well as reducing low birth weights and pre-term birth. However, some women may argue that it is desirable to have a smaller baby as they assume labour will be shorter and less painful, and therefore will not stop smoking. The midwife must explain that this is untrue and there are serious health implications to herself and her child. It is well-known that babies born with a low-birth weight are more likely to die in their first year of life, or require special educational needs during childhood (RCM 2003). Maternal smoking is thought to increase the risk of miscarriage. Abnormal placentation is a cause of spontaneous abortion of which is linked to increased blood pressure; an adverse effect of smoking (Stables and Rankin, 2010). However, research findings are inconclusive. Similarly, maternal smoking is known to increase the likelihood of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Blair et al (1996) found that the risk of sudden infant death rose with maternal smoking. Postnatal infant exposure to tobacco smoke was also seen to increase the likelihood of SIDS. It can therefore be concluded that antenatal care that encourages smoking cessation during pregnancy and reduces exposure to tobacco smoke in the postnatal environment may help to reduce stillbirths and infant deaths. However, the link between smoking and SIDS is not directional as the causes of SIDS are not yet known. Considering the possible consequences of smoking in pregnancy, it is important that midwives offer help and support to women and their families to encourage smoking cessation. NICE (2010) has recommended that midwives should breath test pregnant women for carbon monoxide levels at booking and antenatal appointments. However, this method may be unreliable as carbon monoxide levels fall quickly in expired breath, and therefore is likely to fail to observe carbon monoxide levels associated with low-levels of smoking. Furthermore, such a test may be considered invasive as some women may not want to disclose their smoking status or. Many women may also feel discouraged to attend antenatal appointments in fear of being judged by the midwife if they have not, or do not want to quit smoking. This may prevent midwives from promoting health if they do not get to speak to, support and educate the women during their antenatal visits. Alternatively, all smoking pregnant women should be given guidance and referred to NHS Stop Smoking Services (NICE 2010). Such services are designed to provide evidence-based non-judgemental support to people who want to stop smoking. It is the responsibility of the midwife to refer women to another practitioner if their health or wellbeing would benefit from doing so (NMC 2008). This may include referral to an especially trained midwife to support pregnant women in stopping smoking. This may enable women to see the same midwife regularly, enabling a midwife-woman relationship to be formed. Therefore women may feel a greater level of support provided by the midwife; increasing the likelihood of smoking cessation. Yet a shortage of midwives may prevent this and instead become a barrier to the further improvement of effective health promotion and smoking cessation services. Successful smoking cessation not only involves educating pregnant women, but their families too. Ashford et al (2009) suggested that it is significantly important that a womans partner and family are well educated by health professionals about the effects of second hand smoke to maintain a smoke-free home to prevent postpartum relapse rates. It is the responsibility of the midwife to ensure that the pregnant woman and her family are aware of the psychological and physical effects of passive smoking. In response to this, a midwife may offer information to women and her family regarding nicotine replacement therapy to encourage cessation. Smoking cessation advice given with the provision of nicotine replacement therapy is a typical intervention in relation to the prevention health education domain of the Tannahill model (Sykes 2007). For most smokers motivation to stop smoking is key. Yet for many women and their partners the presence or planning of a pregnancy is sufficient motivation (Heggie 2006). However, in practice, the midwife may not only provide information about the health benefits of smoking cessation, but the social and financial too. Financial savings can be large and seen quickly, a possible appealing factor to stopping smoking. Socially, women may be able re-build relationships with non-smoking friends; a good source of support to prevent smoking relapse (Heggie 2006). Considering time constraints which often cause a barrier to effective health promotion by the midwife, discussions related to smoking may be brief or an information overload. The midwife may use visual aids such as leaflets, pictures and tables may improve the likelihood that the information is understood, hopefully improving the likelihood that the woman would choose to quit smoking. When encouraging women to quit smoking, the midwi fe commonly uses educational and behaviour-change models, to inform and encourage women to improve their lifestyle for the benefit of her own and the health of her baby. It is equally important that midwives provide pregnant women with information on diet and nutrition as well as smoking in relation to promoting health. It is essential that a pregnant woman has a good nutritional intake, prior to conception and during pregnancy as the developing fetus requires basic nutritional substances for the development of vital structures and systems (Stables and Rankin, 2010). It is generally advised that pregnant women should consume a balanced diet, rich in fruit, vegetables, dairy and starchy carbohydrates. A poor nutritional intake can lead to deficiencies which can cause fetal deformities. An example of this is folic acid; a vitamin essential for the development of DNA and the nervous system. A deficiency of folic acid in early pregnancy can lead to neural tube defects such as spina bifida. During the first 4 weeks of pregnancy, the neural tube is developing, which is often before a woman realises she is pregnant. It would then be recommended to take folic acid as soon as possible, up until 12 weeks of pregnancy, as well as eating a range of foods rich in folic acid such as leafy green vegetables, citrus fruits and fortified cereals (Hunter et al, 2003). Similarly, vitamin D is also important during pregnancy. Women who are not regularly exposed to sunlight or do not eat fish nor dairy, may have a deficiency in vitamin D. Vitamin D assists with the absorption of calcium, essential for the formation of the developing bones and teeth of the fetus (Hunter et al, 2003). However, a randomised control trial conducted by Abdel-Aleem et al (2009) concluded that there are no noticeable effects on fetal or infant growth born to women who received calcium supplementation during pregnancy. Yet, it is difficult to generalise these findings to western cultures as participants were from eastern cultures such as India, South Africa and Vietnam. In contrast, women who over-eat are also at risk during pregnancy. Obesity is becoming an increasing problem for women within the UK. The NHS UK obesity statistics (2010) state that in 2008 25% of women aged 16 and aver were classed as obese. Pregnant women with a Body Mass Index of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤30 kg/m2 at the first antenatal consultation are considered obese (CMACE RCOG, 2010). In obesity, fatty deposits to build up within the arteries, causing blockages. This can cause hypertension, of which can increase the chances of preeclampsia; a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy. OBrien et al (2003) found that the risk of preeclampsia doubled in women with a greater pre-pregnancy body mass index. In response to many findings suggesting that obesity has adverse effects on pregnancy, it may be concluded that pre-pregnancy healthy eating advice and weight loss programmes may be beneficial. Due to the extensive effects that diet can have on pregnancy, it is important that the midwife addresses the importance of a healthy diet to women in her care. It is essential that midwives consider a womans lifestyle in relation to her diet. Many women may have a busy lifestyle where they are unable to regularly exercise and prepare meals with fresh ingredients; possibly a contributing factor of obesity. The Centre for Maternal and Child Enquiries and The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (2010) released guidelines in relation to the management of women with obesity in pregnancy. This allows specific guidelines for midwives to follow to provide extra support for women with obesity. Even though the guidelines focus on pregnant women with a body mass index greater than 30 kg/m2, the recommendations can be adapted for women whose body mass index is just below this obesity threshold if considered beneficial. The midwife should spend time during the booking interview to explaining the importance of specific nutrients in relation to her own and her babys health. NICE (2008) suggests that all pregnant women should be advised of the importance of folic acid supplementation prior to and during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. All women should also be informed about where to get folic acid, which foods contain folic acid, and the recommended daily dose of 400 micrograms per day to prevent less-educated women from not accessing the supplement. Supplementation of pre-pregnancy folic acid is an example of the prevention of ill-health and disease domain of the Tannahils model that occurs in practice (Bowden 2006). Also, it is important a midwife explains which foods should be avoided and why. However, women may choose not to eat nutrient-rich foods because they do not like them. In response, a midwife should provide information on practice alternatives and changes to encourage a healthier diet. Again, this is an example of the behaviour-change and educational models in practice. However, some suggestions may be costly, for example, increasing fruit and vegetable intake or extra nutritional supplements. Hence the midwife should have an up-to-date knowledge of financial benefits that pregnant women can claim, to prevent less economically advantaged women in from being disadvantaged. Again, time restraints may be a barrier to providing health related information to enable women to make informed choices about their diet. Therefore the midwives communication must be effective to ensure that women understand the information. It is part of a midwives role to communicate effectively (NMC 2008). More than one form of communication is more effective in increasing understanding, than only using one (Kerr et al, 2005). In practice, the midwife may therefore discuss a nutritional need then provide leaflets and web addresses with references so women can access further information to enable their informed choice. In addition, during booking, the midwife provides a free copy of the pregnancy book to every woman. The book aims to provide extra information and support for expectant mums and partners, Different aspects of pregnancy are explained to optimise the health and wellbeing of the mother and baby. NICE (2008) states that all pregnant women should receive information regarding the importance of their own and their babys health during the booking interview and antenatal appointments. Often this includes discussing the womans smoking status, diet and the environment which effects this. This includes assessing a women and her baby, providing up to date and accurate information in relation to their health, and if necessary referral to other health related services. The midwife is responsible for updating her own knowledge and skills to ensure that women receive the most up to date care and information. When delivering effective care, the midwife must ensure that she treats each woman as an individual, with respect, dignity, and kindness to enable women to trust her midwife with her health and wellbeing (NMC 2008). In conclusion, the midwife has a vital role in promoting health in relation to smoking and diet. Smoking and a poor diet during pregnancy can have serious adverse effects on the mother and baby. Often the main point of contact during pregnancy, the midwife provides essential information and support to women and her family with the health of the mother and baby at heart. By adhering to rules, standards and guidelines the midwife can ensure that the care provided is of the highest standard. Midwives understand that each woman is an individual and her needs are assessed on an individual basis, with a non-judgemental, caring nature. It is essential that a midwife fulfils her role in promoting a balanced, healthy diet and lifestyle prior to and during pregnancy to improve the chances of a successful pregnancy outcome. Word count: 2839