The Twenty Seven Amendments to the Constitution of America Assignment

The Twenty Seven Amendments to the Constitution of America - Assignment Example Amendment 2 This amendment grants the public permission to keep or bear arms with the permission of the relevant authorities concerned. This means that individuals are permitted to carry or bear weapons in cases of self defense. An example is that a civilian may be allowed to bear or use arms in cases of robberies to defend a person’s life or assets (Chalmers, 26). Amendment 3 The constitution states that soldiers should be privately contained to thwart them from being a peril to the public. This connotes that under no circumstance should civilians share the same residence or cohabit with soldiers as the impacts would be deadlier. Amendment 4 This amendment bars the government from carrying out searches and apprehensions of the public. It gives the public the right to ask for an arrest or investigative warrant from bureaucrats before consenting to arrest or searches. A breach of the amendment gives the public the right to sue the government or the officials who did the arrests or the search (Chalmers, 26). Amendment 5 This amendment states that the country’s citizen facing trials in a state institution should be given a criminal proceeding before a verdict is made on his plight. The constitution should treat such a person as suspect and should be protected from personal incriminating substantiations. This amendment implies that individuals are entitled to a right of audition in legal procedure to determine the contribution to the committed crime.

Expository research paper Essay Example for Free

Expository research paper Essay Minority students have been discriminated against for a very long time; many people think that minorities don’t have the same opportunities as others, but in reality they have many advantages. Minority students have opportunities to get into good colleges and getting more scholarships than other non-minority students. Colleges look for the obvious things like grades, and extracurricular activities and all those things but what most really want is to have diversity in the college and therefore colleges need minority students. Colleges read students’ applications thoroughly, so colleges’ look for stuff that sticks out, stuff that makes a student different than the rest one thing that might sticks out is race. In the article is says, â€Å"An applicants final determination of what to say about race is often made consultation with a college counselor. Many counselors may convey to families that a multiracial applicant has a better chance of being admitted to a highly selective college than those in any other racial or ethnic category. †(Saulny). This tells how a multiracial student may have a better chance of getting into a good college than those in other racial or ethnic categories. â€Å"Many private scholarships are geared toward minorities because they are looking for something in particular†(Borowski). The author talks about how private colleges seek at minorities, which tells that they consider race are when choosing students. Molina 2 Scholarships are used to help students get into college, but some scholarships are targeted to specific students, most likely minority students. This also could equal disadvantages to non-minority students. In this article the author says, â€Å"Some private scholarships are based on a students characteristics such as race, ethnicity, and religion, and some are based on professional affiliations or future career choices†(Borowski). Private scholarships look for very specific things in students which show how much of a disadvantage some students have in. The article talks about one student’s problem, â€Å"As Johnson found, private scholarships can extremely selective. â€Å"When I research all the grants and scholarships out there, they are all really specific, targeted towards everyone but me, he says, Are you a Pacific islander who plays tuba? There is a scholarship for you. Or a woman from an inner city who works with animals? There’s a grant for you. But a hard working boy from the suburbs? Nothing. †(Borowski). The author shows how very specific scholarships can be and how they affect other people who do not fit the description of what that scholarship wants. Another reason why minorities have an advantage is because of stereotypes even if it doesn’t apply to that student. In an article a student says, â€Å"I just realized that my race is something I have to think about,† she describes herself as having an Asian mother and a black father. â€Å"It pains me to say this, but putting down black might help admission. †(Saulny). This states how putting down a specific race might better or worsen someone’s chances depending on that particular race. A mother states, â€Å"My 17 year old son is a high B student and an excellent athlete, but we’ve been unable to find any scholarships for him because he’s white. † Elizabeth says, Johnson also says â€Å"We aren’t wealthy. We don’t take on fancy vacations and we do without a lot of things. Yet because I’m white, I don’t get a hand. There are all kinds or nationalities at Molina 3 my high school, whose families have a lot more money than we have, and yet they are getting scholarships. †(Saulny). This tells how stereotypes can give minority students an advantage by colleges stereotyping and giving help to those who don’t really need it instead of to the ones that do. Minority students also think that it is a disadvantage being a minority but in reality it can be an advantage against non-minority students. Minority students are what colleges look for. There are scholarships targeted towards minorities, and due to stereotypes there are advantages. These affect more than just minority students, it basically affects everyone because being a non-minority is at a disadvantage of getting a scholarship or getting into a good college. In today’s society someone’s race could affect their future. Saulny, Susan, and Jacques Steinberg. On College Forms, a Question of Race, or Races, Can Perplex. New York Times 13 June 2011: n. pag. The New York Times. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. http://www. nytimes. com/2011/06/14/us/ 14admissions. html? pagewanted=all_r=2. Borowski, Susan. Scholarships and the White Male: Disadvantaged or Not? Insight into Diversity. N. p. , n. d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. http://www. insightintodiversity. com/ scholarships-and-the-white-male-disadvantaged-or-not-by-susan-borowski.

Use of Literary Techniques to Characterize Rachel in Cisneros’ Eleven E

Use of Literary Techniques to Characterize Rachel in Cisneros’ Eleven In â€Å"Eleven†, written by Sandra Cisneros, Cisneros uses literary techniques such as diction and imagery to characterize Rachel’s character during her transition from age ten to age 11. These literary techniques help to describe how Rachel feels in certain situations while also explaining her qualities and traits. Through the use of these literary techniques Cisneros also collaborated on Rachel’s feelings when she was other ages and how she felt at that time during her life. The diction that Cisneros uses is descriptive. Her words help explain Rachel’s feelings more in depth. In the opening line of â€Å"Eleven† it states, â€Å"what they don’t understand about birthdays and what they never tell you is when you’re eleven, you’re also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two and one.† From this quote Cisneros paints a picture of how Rachel feels about turning eleven. She shows an idea of how Rachel will be acting throughout most of the story. Not only does Cisneros use that lin...

Matteo Ricci

The year 1982 was a ‘Ricci-year’: scholarly meetings in different places around the world, from Chicago (US), over Macerata (Italy) to Taibei (Taiwan), commemorated Matteo Ricci’s entry in China. It was exactly four hundred years since his arrival in the Portuguese settlement of Macao in 1582 and his entry into the mainland one year later. In 2001, there were new celebrations of Ricci, in Hong Kong and in Beijing, commemorating his definitive settling in Beijing in 1601. The year 2010 is again a ‘Ricci-year’, this time commemorating his death in Beijing in 1610.Is there anything new to be said about Matteo Ricci after this time-lapse of twenty-seven years, which corresponds to the period of Ricci’s own ascent to and settling in Beijing? Well, his writings have become more accessible to the academic and wider community: for instance, in Chinese there are now readily available editions of his Chinese writings and several translations of his Della entrata della Compagnia di Giesu e Christianita nella Cina (‘About the Christian expedition to China undertaken by the Society of Jesus’) – a strong contrast to the prudent two-page article in Renmin huabao(‘China Pictorial’) of July 1982.But publications not only flourished in Chinese. The Ruggieri-Ricci manuscript of the Portuguese-Chinese dictionary was published for the first time; Ricci’s letters and the Italian version of Della entratawere reprinted (2000-2001)[1]; others works have been translated: the catechism Tianzhu shiyi (‘The True Meaning of God’) into English, Japanese, Korean and Italian; the treatise on friendship Jiaoyoulun into Italian, German, and French; the treatise on mnemotechnics (the art of memory), Xiguo jifa into German.There were numerous secondary sources: at least 200 articles, many of them in Chinese, illuminate various aspects of his life and works. The most well-known work is possibly Jonathan Spe nce’s Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci (1984), also translated into Chinese (two translations), French, Spanish and Dutch. [2] All this is very impressive and underscores the fact that Ricci remains an attractive figure both on the academic and the more popular level.Yet a close look at these writings reveals in particular the excellence of research accomplished earlier: the quality of Pasquale d’Elia’s annotated edition of the primary sources (Fonti Ricciane, 3 vols. , 1942-1949)[3] and the analysis of the method of evangelisation by d’Elia’s student Johannes Bettray (Die Akkommodationsmethode des P. Matteo Ricci S. I. in China, 1955)[4] is rarely matched today. Since these writings are in Italian and German respectively, they have unfortunately often been neglected.Compared to these writings, recent publications rarely bring to light new elements about Ricci himself, they rather nuance Ricci’s ‘success story’ by putting his accom plishments and writings in a broader context. For instance, it appears that Ricci was less accommodative than often assumed,[5] and that fellow Jesuits such as Niccolo Longobardo (1565-1655) had a better knowledge of the Chinese Classics and the Neo-Confucian commentaries than Ricci himself. How then to tell Ricci's story in the year 2010?One major development in recent years is the historiography of the contacts between cultures, with a primary question of the perspective from which one needs to look at the missionary: from his own perspective or from the perspective of the receiving culture? Taking benefit from these developments, this article will reread Ricci's story and ask how Ricci was shaped by the other, especially by the Chinese. [6] Four characteristics of Jesuit missionary strategy in China As a starting point one can make a first – rather traditional – reading of Ricci’s life by focusing on the missionary himself.The ‘Jesuit missionary strateg y’ in China was conceived by Alessandro Valignano (1539-1606), who was the former novice master of Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) and who was Jesuit visitor for East Asia during the period 1574-1606. His strategy was creatively put into practice by Matteo Ricci. Later generations, well into the eighteenth century, associated this strategy with Ricci and called it the ‘Ricci-method’. It can be described by four major characteristics[7]: 1. A policy of accommodation or adaptation to Chinese culture. 8] Valignano, who had been disappointed by the limited degree of the Jesuits’ adaptation to Japanese culture, insisted in the first place on knowledge of the Chinese language. Therefore he called a few Jesuits to Macao in 1579 ordering them to focus their attention entirely on the study of language (fellow Jesuits criticised them for spending all their time studying Chinese). Two years later Michele Ruggieri (1543-1607) entered China through the south, and Matteo Ricci followed one year later. Probably inspired by the Japanese situation, they dressed like Buddhist monks. In 1595, after nearly fifteen ears of experience, they changed this policy and adapted themselves to the life-style and etiquette of the Confucian elite of literati and officials. Ricci was responsible for this change. This new policy remained unchanged throughout the whole seventeenth century and for most Jesuit missionaries Matteo Ricci became the reference point with regard to the accommodation policy. 2. Propagation and evangelisation ‘from the top down’. Jesuits addressed themselves to the literate elite. The underlying idea was that if this elite, preferably the Emperor and his court, were converted, the whole country would be won for Christianity.The elite consisted mainly of literati, who had spent many years of their life preparing for the examinations they needed to pass to become officials. For these examinations they had to learn the Confucian classics an d the commentaries. After having passed the Metropolitan examinations, which took place in Beijing every three years and at which about three hundred candidates were selected, they entered the official bureaucracy and received appointments as district magistrates or positions in the ministries.As in modern diplomatic service, the offices usually changed every three years. In order to enter into contact with this elite, Ricci studied the Confucian classics and, with his remarkable gift of memory, became a welcome guest at the philosophical discussion groups that were organised by this elite. 3. Indirect propagation of the faith by using European science and technology in order to attract the attention of the educated Chinese and convince them of the high level of European civilisation.Ricci offered a European clock to the Emperor, he introduced paintings which impressed the Chinese with their use of perspective, translated mathematical writings of Euclid with the commentaries of the famous Jesuit mathematician Christophorus Clavius (1538-1612), and printed an enormous global map which integrated the results of the latest world explorations. By these activities Ricci established friendly relationships which sometimes resulted in the conversion of members of the elite: Xu Guangqi (1562-1633; baptised as Paul in 1603) and Li Zhizao (1565-1630; baptised as Leo in 1610) are the most famous of Ricci's time. . Openness to and tolerance of Chinese values. In China, Matteo Ricci encountered a society with high moral values, for which he expressed his admiration. Educated in the best Jesuit humanistic tradition, he favourably compared Confucius (552-479 BC) with ‘an other Seneca’ and the Confucians with ‘a sect of Epicurians, not in name, but in their laws and opinions’. [9] Ricci was of the opinion that the excellent ethical and social doctrine of Confucianism should be complemented with the metaphysical ideas of Christianity.However, he reject ed Buddhism, Taoism, and Neo-Confucianism, which in his eyes was corrupted by Buddhism. Ricci pleaded for a return to original Confucianism, which he considered to be a philosophy based on natural law. In his opinion it contained the idea of God. Finally, he adopted a tolerant attitude towards certain Confucian rites, such as the ancestral worship and the veneration of Confucius, which soon were labelled ‘civil rites’. Methodological questions There are several reasons why these four characteristics can rightly be identified as typical for Ricci and his fellow-Jesuits in a broader sense.First of all, one can easily find a justification for them in the Jesuit official documents of Ignatian inspiration, especially the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus and Ignatius’s Spiritual Exercises, which often insist on accommodation. Secondly, one can contrast these policies with those adopted by the contemporary Franciscans and Dominicans. These orders appeared less acco mmodative, less elite-oriented, less involved with sciences, and, lastly, less tolerant towards local ritual traditions.Finally, in publications about Jesuits in China in modern times, both by Jesuits and non-Jesuits, these elements are in one way or another presented as ‘typically Ricci’ or as ‘typically Jesuit’. There are also several reasons why these characteristics of strategy can be questioned. First, it can be questioned whether it is a ‘Jesuit’ strategy. Here, the comparison with the mission in Japan is quite determining. The first thirty years of Jesuit mission in Japan show quite a different picture, since before Valignano's arrival the accommodation policy was very restricted.Thus the actual strategy was determined to a large extent by the inspiration of an individual such as Valignano rather than by a common ‘Jesuit’ formation or training. A second problem with ‘strategy’ is that it seems to refer to a pre- set and well-thought policy that was consistently executed over time. Yet, some scholars have convincingly argued that Ricci himself ‘had not formed a precise opinion on the problem of evangelisation in China and that his judgment concerning the means and methods to adopt in order to convert the Chinese varied in the course of the years he spent on this task. [10] Thus the systematic labelling of any action as issuing from a ‘Ricci-method’ is probably an overestimation. Thus, while these four characteristics of the Jesuit strategy in China are certainly not invalid, they possibly present only one side of the story. The major methodological objection that can be raised is that an identity is not only formed through the isolated effort of the Self, but is shaped through constant interaction with the Other. This is true for individuals, but also for groups.Therefore, what we call the Jesuit missionary strategy in China is not only the result of a conscious and well-d efined policy conceived by Valignano and the proactive and creative elaboration of it by missionaries like Matteo Ricci. To a large extent, it is also the result of their reaction to what China was and who the Chinese were. In other words, their identity was shaped by the Chinese Otheras well. If Ricci became who he became, it was also because the Other encouraged him actively or passively to become like that.Thus the story should not only be told from the perspective of the missionary (Ricci), but also from the perspective of the receiving community (the Chinese). I will therefore review the four different characteristics and try to demonstrate how the Chinese ‘Other’ helped shape the Jesuit mission. I will bring into the picture the results of recent research on Christianity in late Ming China. These results have often been obtained by focusing on the point of view of the Chinese, ‘the Other’, and by taking the Chinese texts as primary source for research . Shaped by the Other 1.Accommodation to Chinese culture. The most obvious example of the interference of the Other in the field of accommodation is the change from a policy of adaptation to Buddhism to a policy of adaptation to Confucianism (and subsequently the rejection of Buddhism). The Other was already present in the original decision to adopt the Buddhist dress, since it was the Governor of Guangdong who either insisted that this was the way the missionaries should dress, or who approved the proposal of Michele Ruggieri to do so. [11] The accommodation to the Buddhist life-style was not without advantages.It enabled the Jesuits to make contact with the majority of the Chinese population more easily and allowed them to focus conversation directly on religious matters. But there were also disadvantages. From a Confucian perspective, Buddhism and Christianity shared many religious elements and were very similar to each other. Both can be classified as an institutional religion w ith a system of theology, rituals and organisation of its own, independent of so-called secular institutions. Confucianism, on the other hand, resembles a diffused religion.Its theology, rituals, and organisation were intrinsically tied up with the concepts and structures of secular institutions and the secular social order. [12] Moreover, Christianity shared elements with Buddhism such as belief in afterlife, the idea of heaven and hell, the practice of celibacy, etc. which were very un-Confucian. From Ricci's Della entrata and later apologetic works one can observe that precisely this similarity to the Other (the Buddhists) forced the Jesuits to dissociate themselves from the Other and emphasise their differences.The first (unconscious) reason for this change was that within the Chinese religious context there was too much competition between Buddhism and Christianity. Jesuits were in fact subjected to the phenomenon of ‘inflated difference’: i. e. the phenomenon in w hich a minority group, pressed to consolidate its own identity, is prone to dis-identify with others and to play up otherwise negligible differences between those inside and those outside its boundaries. [13] The only way to dissociate themselves from the Buddhist monks (who were considered to be very low on the social ladder) was to turn to Confucianism.In fact, it was the Other represented by Confucian literati such as Qu Taisu (Qu Rukui) (b. 1549) who encouraged Ricci to institute this change. [14] Here a second important element in which the Other determines the Self needs to be mentioned. It was labelled ‘cultural imperative’ by Erik Zurcher, and belongs to the deep structure in Chinese religious life in late imperial China. [15] No marginal religion penetrating from the outside could expect to take root in China (at least at a high social level) unless it conformed to a pattern that in late imperial times was more clearly defined than ever.Confucianism represented what is zheng (‘orthodox’) in a religious, ritual, social and political sense. In order not to be branded as xie (‘heterodox’) and be treated as a subversive sect, a marginal religion had to prove that it was on the side of zheng. The authority of Confucianism, and its sheer mass and attractive power, were such that any religious system from outside was caught in its field, and was bound to gravitate towards that centre. These two elements, inflated difference and cultural imperative, show the heavy influence of the Other in Ricci's strategy of accommodation.The Chinese made Ricci adapt to the particular Chinese situation. One may also point out that the refinement and sophistication of the Other imposed some limits on the accommodation by the Jesuits. It is indeed remarkable that the Jesuits apparently were not able to accommodate themselves to certain aspects of Chinese culture because they were too difficult to master or were too different from the Euro pean background. Here one touches on aspects of Jesuit corporate culture in Europe and many parts of the world that were not put into practice in China.The clearest example is that of schools and education. Despite their hope to replace the subject-matter of the Chinese exams by Aristotelian philosophy, the Jesuits were never able to influence the well-established Chinese education system. There were also aspects that did not belong to their corporate culture, but that were also too sophisticated to learn or to adopt. In the field of arts, one usually cites the successful adaptation of Jesuit painters like Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766), but there is hardly any adoption of, or interest in, Chinese calligraphy.Yet, every member of the educated Chinese elite spent long hours when they were young learning calligraphy, and quite a few continued to practise it every day of their lives. Although the Jesuits’ effort was directed at this elite, in their copious writings there is ha rdly any indication that the Jesuits appreciated the aesthetic dimension of calligraphy and the pivotal role that it played in Chinese culture. [16] In the field of Chinese customs, Ricci and his fellow-Jesuits found it impossible to let their finger nails grow very long, as was the custom among the Chinese literati. 17] These are negative examples of influence that clearly show how Chinese culture imposed limits on accommodation. 2. The propagation ‘from the top’ is a second field in which the role of the Other can be amply shown. First it should be pointed out that the motive of Ricci’s ‘ascent to Beijing’[18] was not necessarily the conversion of the Emperor. The initial objective of Ricci, as expressed in his Della entrata, was not to reach Beijing, but just to have a residence on the mainland.It was because of the many difficulties Jesuits encountered in obtaining permission to enter China and in establishing a permanent residence there that the y gradually made a plan to go to Beijing in order to obtain the support of the ‘King of China’. [19] In this move to Beijing they largely depended on the elite. [20] There certainly were proactive or planned decisions by Ricci and his companions: they preferred the centre to the periphery and they chose to live in a city rather than in the countryside. ‘Centre’ meant the administrative centre, the place with a higher concentration of magistrates and literati.Thus they preferred Zhaoqing to Canton, because the Governor was residing in Zhaoqing, and Canton was only second choice. [21] The choice of the city was quite obviously connected with the choice of the centre. But these proactive or planned decisions by Ricci should be supplemented by two reactive or guided decisions, which were as important if not more important: many movements were arranged through personal relationships (guanxi) and a number of residences were established because the Jesuits were ex pelled from or not allowed to live in certain places.In both of these decisions the Other played a key role. The concept of guanxi or relationships is central to any understanding of Chinese social structures. It denotes an essential part of network-building within Chinese social life. The many difficulties encountered by Ricci and his companions in trying to establish a residence in various cities are often attributed to the fact that they were foreigners. While this is certainly true, the Jesuits also lacked the necessary guanxi to secure the social resources needed for their goals.They lacked common attributes: they could not refer to a common kinship, locality, religion or examination experience. Chinese society very quickly made the Jesuits aware of the importance of this network building and the originality of Ricci is to have understood it. It took the Jesuits a long time, but after more than ten years they succeeded in acquiring some ‘attributes’. The two most i mportant were their behaving like Chinese literati, and subsequently, the establishment of a network based on common Christian rituals.The role of the Other mediated by guanxi became very important in the move from the south to the north of the country and the establishment of new mission posts, and the Jesuits’ decisions were taken in response to the initiative or circumstances of these guanxi. The case of Michele Ruggieri travelling to Shaoxing (Zhejiang) is a fine example of this reactive or guided decision-making. [22] He was not travelling to Shaoxing because of a planned decision on his part, but rather because he had a guanxi who happened to be travelling to Shaoxing and who wanted to take Ruggieri with him.Another pattern was closely linked to this one. Chinese converts would settle in a new place (or return to their place of origin), expand the network of believers, and then invite a missionary. This pattern became more common as the community of believers increased and came to include some converts of higher social standing (especially after 1600). Here some structures of Chinese administrative life played an important role. Like other literati, Christian literati changed offices regularly (in principle every three years), or returned to their native towns. Their moves determined those of the missionaries.Another way of establishing a community in a given city was also a reaction to decisions made by others: Jesuits decided to settle in one place because they were not allowed to settle in the place of their original choice. In some cases this was even linked to direct expulsion. 3. The use of science in the service of the propagation of faith too was largely determined by the Other, as can be shown in the writings of the Jesuits and their converts. The first presentation of European science was made in the form of curiosities like a clock and prisms, with the result that at the beginning Jesuits were considered as alchemists.The first writings of the Jesuits, however, (i. e. what they wrote with only limited influence of the Other), were not scientific but entirely religious and catechetical in nature. It was due to the quest of Chinese scholars, who could not believe that educated scholars could come from far away, that Ricci engaged himself in composing a Chinese version of the world map he had in his room, in order to show where he came from. [23] A further step was the translation of works on mathematics and astronomy. Many scholars have pointed out that this translation took place in the particular context of Late Ming learning.If Chinese scholars were interested in the science brought by the Jesuits, it was because prior to their arrival Chinese literati had developed an interest in practical learning. The search for ‘solid learning’ or ‘concrete studies (shixue) was a reaction against some intuitionist movements originating from the Wang Yangming school in the late sixteenth century. According t o Wang Yangming (1472-1528), the principles for moral action were to be found entirely within the mind-and-heart (xin) and not outside.In the early seventeenth century, the influential intellectual and political movement of the Donglin thinkers re-established the importance of ‘things in the world’. Officials and scholars searched for concrete ways to save the country from decay. [24] It is this preceding quest that led to the unique interaction between the Chinese literati and the Jesuits. The Jesuits themselves were initially not much interested in translating mathematical works, but in response to the insistence of converts such as Xu Guangqi they again and again undertook this kind of time-consuming and long-lasting activity.Later, this insistence by the Chinese (converts) on practical learning was one of the reasons that prevented Jesuits from engaging in projects such as translating the Bible. Early missionaries such as Ricci had no particular advanced training in sciences (even if they were versed in them) and were not sent to spread scientific knowledge. Only later missionaries with a specific scientific training were sent to respond to the quest of the Other and to guarantee the protection of the Church by the Chinese Court.The acceptance of Western sciences by the Chinese thus confirms a generally agreed-upon interpretation of cultural exchange: when a foreign element is accepted relatively easily by a culture into which it has been introduced, that acceptance is owing to the presence of some internal disposition or movement to accept the new element. What is true in the field of the sciences is true also with respect to the moral teachings of the Jesuits, which were accepted because they fitted the quest of the Donglin thinkers for a heteronomous morality.Moreover, the large-scale translation and publication of Western writings was possible only because the Late Ming had a very developed system of (private) publishing and printing. Thus Jesuits did not have to introduce the printing press. Moreover, by contrast with Europe, there was no pre-printing censorship in China. As a result, the Chinese context enabled the Jesuits fully to put into practice their ‘Apostolate through Books’[25] and freely to express their ideas. 4. Tolerance towards Confucian rites. Here too the cultural imperative of the Other played a determining role (as it did not in Japan).Because of the power of Confucianism as a diffused religion, Christianity, just like Buddhism, Judaism and other marginal religions, had to accept the state orthodoxy and the ritual traditions of Confucianism. The repeated and public rejection of the rites approved by the State (and listed in the Official ‘Canon of Sacrifices’) would have caused the missionaries to be labelled ‘heterodox’ and to be rejected (as happened later to missionaries and papal delegations on several occasions during the Rites Controversy).Yet, during the initial years of the Ricci period there was a whole evolution in their attitude, which became more tolerant due to the presence of the Other. This can clearly be observed from the attitude of the missionaries towards funerals, which were and still are the most important ritual of passage in China. [26] In the beginning, the Jesuits were hardly aware that the importance of funeral rites in China would have consequences for themselves.For instance, when Antonio de Almeida (1557-1591), died in Shaozhou (Guangdong), the Chinese could not understand why Ricci and his companions did not wear a mourning garb. The Jesuits, Ricci says, explained that ‘we religious, when we enter into religion, are as though dead to the world, and therefore we do not make such a thing of this fate. ’ Thus the Jesuits did not accommodate to local customs, except for purchasing a first-class coffin, ‘in order to show to the Chinese the quality of the Fathers, because herein they demonstrate their way of honouring the dead. The major reason for buying a coffin, however, according to Ricci’s explanation, was that they could not bury de Almeida in a church, as would have been done in Europe and the Jesuits did not want to follow the Chinese practice of burying him ‘on a hill far away from the house. ’ Subsequently the coffin was kept in their residence for two years until he was buried in Macao. [27] As far as the specific funerary rituals are concerned, in these early years the Jesuits adopted an approach that can be qualified as purist concerning the Christian tradition and exclusivist with regard to the Chinese traditions.In general, Ricci and his fellow Jesuits were less tolerant in the early stages of their missionary activities than later, though in doing so they did not adhere to a specific regulation. If death occurred, the Jesuits’ priority was to bury the deceased – Chinese Christian or foreign missionary – according to C hristian rites. There was little intention towards accommodation to local – usually Confucian – customs. The abstention from local rites by Christians was seen by the Jesuits as a sign helping to strengthen and spread the Christian faith.Only gradually were some Chinese funerary customs accepted. This happened first through the initiative of the Chinese themselves and was largely due to the network in which the deceased Jesuit or Christian had been involved. As long as this network was very small, the funeral could be limited to an exclusively Christian ceremony. When this network was larger, however, the chances of interaction with Chinese funeral practices increased. It is typical for funerals to be such an ‘open’ ritual.For instance, when the Jesuit Joao Soerio died in Nanchang in 1607, his fellow Jesuits did ‘not give expression to their sentiments, as was usual in China,’ because ‘it did not correspond to our profession. ’ Ye t their friends, dressed in mourning, came to their house to condole with them. These Chinese friends installed a bier and covered it as if his body was there. ‘They made four genuflections, and touched each time with their head the ground. ’ Many are said to have mourned the death of this Jesuit in this traditional way. 28] As the Christian communities continued to grow, the interaction with local rituals increased as well. The death of Matteo Ricci in Beijing in 1610 was a turning point in some ways, because his funeral and burial were the cause of the Jesuits themselves becoming involved in more Chinese funerary customs. The first critical step was the decision about his burial place. At the initiative of a Christian convert, the Jesuits asked the Chinese emperor to offer an appropriate burial ground. This burial in the mainland was contrary to the practice of the burials of Jesuits in Macao until then.Meanwhile, Ricci’s corpse was kept in a traditional Chines e coffin. While some Chinese practices, such as the habit of condolence, were accepted, others, such as the funeral procession, were only applied in a limited way, because the Chinese procession was considered to resemble an act of ‘triumph’ and did not conform to Jesuit ideals of poverty and modesty. On the day of the burial itself, 1 November 1611, all the regular Christian ceremonies were celebrated: the recitation of the Office of the Dead, the funeral Mass, an ecclesiastical procession, and the prayers at the tomb in front of a painting of Christ.But in the end, there were also some Chinese rites: ‘Many days afterwards gentile friends came flocking in to perform their usual rites for the deceased. ’[29] Thus it was the presence of the Chinese that brought gradual change in the hesitant approach by the missionaries. As Johannes Bettray has shown, the Jesuits missionaries were, after thirty years of presence in China, apparently allowing the performance of these particular local customs. [30] Conclusion Looking at Ricci, one can discern several characteristics that can be labelled the ‘Ricci method’.However, this method has too often been presented as the result of the proactive Self, at the neglect of the influence of the Chinese Other. I have tried to show that the role of the Other in the formation of Ricci’s identity is certainly as important as the activity of Ricci’s Self. Though Ricci might have reacted in ways other than he did, in all cases the Other played a decisive role in the reactions he showed. One could even argue that the Other made it possible for Ricci to become who he became. Without the Other, this would not have been possible.

Reflective journal Essay

My third week of clinical placement at Trillium Hospital assigned on the same unit and same patient. Arrive early in the lobby of 4J Rehab meet with our Clinical Instructor and group mates. Started with pre-conference had briefing for the day activities assigned as schedule to be with our Clinical Instructor in giving 10:00 am medications. After the briefing, I went to the station where, met my new preceptor , exchange of greetings little bit of introduction about me and her. We started by taking the endorsement from the outgoing night shift nurse. Review the plan of care of our assigned patient. She asked to get the manual Blood Pressure Apparatus and handed me her pager. I was thinking why the pager. She notice me in confusion of the pager, she just smiled and said â€Å" I want you to feel your the real nurse and I am just your assistant†, don’t worry I am at your side† just answered â€Å"ok†. We went to each patient room, greeted patient, took the vital signs, recorded it my notebook, does the head to toe assessment . After all of these activities we went back to the nurse’s station where I do the documentation with regards to patients vital signs. At around 9:00 in the morning we do the morning care for each patient, I had the chance to assist her male stroke patient change his catheter. We finished around 9:30 and had our break. After the break 10:00 Am time to give the medication for my assigned patient together with my preceptor as per schedule. My assigned patient is male 51 years old Spanish who has an Ileostomy case. The medication that I was going to give are pain medications and for his hypertension. My clinical instructor asked me also about the medication routes, and the classification of the drugs. So thankful to her my Clinical Instructor she is so kind and willing to give us all the information we need to learn. I also documented in the MAR sheet, signed the drugs that I gave. I also had the chance of changing the dressing of my assigned patient, Ileostomy case. Prepared the materials needed for the procedure. Feeling nervous at the beginning, my first time to do this kind of dressing, packing ribbon on an stoma. With my preceptor around who is so cooperative and teaching me the proper way to do it I feel confident and grateful to her too. Me and my group mates had also the chance to watch doing the bladder scanner knowing the amount of urine in the bladder. One of my group mates did the in and out catetherization, but unfortunately it did work out, something is blocking maybe pus. I also helped the transferring of patient from bed to wheel chair using the manual Hoyer Lift. Get tired that day but happy I learned a lot of challenges, having this positive attitude, experiences during my clinical duty I know I can handle and deal with the situations that I will be encoutering.

List of 8th Grade Math Concepts

List of 8th Grade Math Concepts At the eighth grade level, there are certain math concepts that your students should  attain by the end of the school year. A lot of the math concepts from eighth grade are similar to seventh grade. At the middle school level, it is usual for students to have a comprehensive review of all math skills.  Mastery of the concepts from the previous grade levels  is  expected.   Numbers No real new numbers concepts are introduced, but students should be comfortable calculating factors, multiples, integer amounts, and square roots for numbers. At the end of eighth grade, a student should be able to apply these number concepts in problem-solving. Measurements Your students should be able to use measurement terms appropriately and should be able to measure a variety of items at home and at school. Students should be able to solve more complex problems with measurement estimations and problems using a variety of formulas. At this point, your students should be able to estimate and calculate areas for trapezoids, parallelograms, triangles, prisms, and circles using the correct formulas. Similarly, students should be able to estimate and calculate volumes for prisms  and should be able to sketch prisms based on volumes given. Geometry Students should be able to hypothesize, sketch, identify, sort, classify, construct, measure, and apply a variety of geometric shapes and figures and problems. Given dimensions, your students should be able to sketch and construct a variety of shapes. You students should be able to create and solve a variety of geometric problems. And, students should be able to analyze and identify shapes that have been rotated, reflected, translated, and describe those that are congruent. In addition, your students should be able to determine if shapes or figures will tile a plane (tessellate), and should be able to analyze tiling patterns. Algebra and Patterning In eighth grade, students will analyze and justify the explanations for patterns and their rules at a more complex level. Your students should be able to write algebraic equations and write statements to understand simple formulas. Students should be able to evaluate a variety of simple linear algebraic expressions at a beginning level by using one variable. Your students should confidently solve and simplify algebraic equations with four operations. And, they should feel comfortable substituting natural numbers for variables when solving algebraic equations. Probability Probability measures the likelihood that an event will occur. It used it in everyday decision making in science, medicine,  business, economics, sports,  and engineering. Your students should be able to design surveys, collect and organize more complex data, and identify and explain patterns and trends in data. Students should be able to construct a variety of graphs and label them appropriately and state the difference between selecting one graph over another. Students should be able to describe collected data in terms of mean, median,  and  the mode and be able to analyze any bias. The goal is for students to make more accurate predictions and understand the importance of statistics on decision making and in real-life scenarios. Students should be able to make inferences, predictions,  and evaluations based on interpretations of data collection results. Likewise, your students should be able to apply the rules of probability to games of chance and sports. Other Grade Levels Pre-K Kdg. Gr. 1 Gr. 2 Gr. 3 Gr. 4 Gr. 5 Gr. 6 Gr. 7 Gr. 8 Gr. 9 Gr. 10 Gr.11 Gr. 12

Kiva - Ancestral Pueblo Ceremonial Structures

Kiva - Ancestral Pueblo Ceremonial Structures A kiva is a special purpose building used by Ancestral Puebloan (previously known as Anasazi) people in the American southwest and Mexican northwest. The earliest, and simplest, examples of kivas are known from Chaco Canyon for the late Basketmaker III phase (500–700 CE). Kivas are still in use among contemporary Puebloan people, as a gathering place used when communities reunite to perform rituals and ceremonies.   Key Takeaways: Kiva A kiva is a ceremonial building used by Ancestral Puebloan people.The earliest are known from Chaco Canyon about 599 CE, and they are still used today by contemporary Puebloan people.  Archaeologists identify ancient kivas based on a series of architectural characteristics.They can be round or square, subterranean, semi-subterranean, or at ground level.  A sipapu in a kiva is a small hole thought to represent a door to the underworld. Kiva Functions Prehistorically, there was typically about one kiva for every 15 to 50 domestic structures. In modern pueblos, the number of kivas varies for each village. Kiva ceremonies today are mainly performed by male community members, although women and visitors can attend some of the performances. Among Eastern Pueblo groups kivas are usually round in shape, but among Western Puebloan groups (such as Hopi and Zuni) they are usually square. Although it is difficult to generalize across the entire American southwest over time, kivas likely function(ed) as meeting places, structures used by subsets of the community for a variety of socially integrative and domestic activities. Larger ones, called Great Kivas, are larger structures typically built by and for the whole community. They are typically greater than 30 m square in floor area. Kiva Architecture When archaeologists characterize a prehistoric structure as a kiva, they typically use the presence of one or more of several distinguishing traits, the most recognizable of which is being partly or completely underground: most kivas are entered through the roofs. The other common traits used to define kivas include deflectors, fire pits, benches, ventilators, floor vaults, wall niches, and sipapus. hearths or fire pits: hearths in the later kivas are lined with adobe brick and have rims or collars above the floor level and ash pits to the east or northeast of the hearthsdeflectors: a deflector is a method of keeping the ventilating wind from affecting the fire, and they range from stones set into the eastern lip of the adobe hearth to U-shaped walls partially surrounding the hearth complexventilator shafts oriented toward the east: all subterranean kivas need ventilation to be bearable, and roof ventilation shafts are typically oriented to the east although south-oriented shafts are common in the Western Anasazi region, and some kivas have second subsidiary openings to the west to provide increased airflow.benches or banquettes: some kivas have raised platforms or benches in place along the wallsfloor vaultsalso known as foot drums or spirit channels, floor vaults are subfloor channels radiating out from the central hearth or in parallel lines across the floorsipapus: a small h ole cut into the floor, a hole known in modern Puebloan cultures as shipap, the place of emergence or place of origin, where humans emerged from the underworld wall niches: recesses cut into the walls that may represent similar functions as sipapus and in some locations are part of painted murals These features arent always present in every kiva, and it has been suggested that in general, smaller communities used general use structures as occasional kivas, while larger communities had larger, ritually specialized facilities. Pithouse- Kiva Debate The main identifying characteristic of a prehistoric kiva is that it was built at least partly underground. This characteristic is linked by archaeologists to earlier subterranean but (mainly) residential pithouses, which were typical of ancestral Puebloan societies prior to the technological innovation of adobe brick. The changeover from subterranean houses as domestic residences to exclusively ritual functions is central to pithouse to pueblo transition models, associated as it is with the innovation of adobe brick technology. Adobe surface architecture spread across the Anasazi world between 900–1200 CE (depending on the region). The fact that a kiva is subterranean is not a coincidence: kivas are associated with origin myths  and the fact that theyre built subterranean may have to do with an  ancestral memory of when everyone lived underground. Archaeologists recognize when a pithouse functioned as a kiva by the characteristics listed above: but after about 1200, most structures were built above ground and subterranean structures stopped including features typical of a kiva. The debate centers on a handful of questions. Are those pithouses without kiva-like structures built after above-ground pueblos were common really kivas? Can it be that kivas built before above-ground structures are simply not being recognized? And eventually- is how archaeologists define a kiva truly representing kiva rituals? Mealing Rooms as Womens Kivas As has been noted in several ethnographic studies, kivas are primarily places where men congregate. Anthropologist Jeannette Mobley-Tanaka (1997) has suggested that womens rituals may have been associated with mealing houses. Mealing rooms or houses are subterranean structures where people (presumably women) ground maize. The rooms held artifacts and furniture associated with grain grinding, such as manos, metates, and hammerstones, and they also have corrugated pottery jars and bin storage facilities. Mobley-Tanaka noted that in her admittedly small test case, the ratio of mealing rooms to kivas is 1:1, and most mealing rooms were located geographically close to kivas. Great Kiva In Chaco Canyon, the better-known kivas were constructed between 1000 and 1100 CE, during the Classic Bonito phase. The largest of these structures are called Great Kivas, and large and small-sized kivas are associated with Great House sites, such as Pueblo Bonito, Peà ±asco Blanco, Chetro Ketl, and Pueblo Alto. In these sites, great kivas were built in central, open plazas. A different type is the isolated great kiva such as the site of Casa Rinconada, which probably functioned as a central place for adjacent, smaller communities. Archaeological excavations have shown that kiva roofs were supported by wooden beams. This wood, mainly from Ponderosa pines and spruces, had to come from a huge distance  since Chaco Canyon was a region poor of such forests. The use of timber, arriving at Chaco Canyon through such a long-distance network, must, therefore, have reflected an incredible symbolic power. In the Mimbres region, great kivas began to disappear by the mid-1100s or so, replaced by plazas, perhaps a result of contact with Mesoamerican groups on the Gulf Coast. Plazas provide public, visible space for shared communal activities in contrast to kivas, which are more private and hidden. Updated by K. Kris Hirst Selected Sources Crown, Patricia L., and W. H. Wills. Modifying Pottery and Kivas at Chaco: Pentimento, Restoration, or Renewal? American Antiquity 68.3 (2003): 511–32. Print.Gilman, Patricia, Marc Thompson, and Kristina Wyckoff. Ritual Change and the Distant: Mesoamerican Iconography, Scarlet Macaws, and Great Kivas in the Mimbres Region of Southwestern New Mexico. American Antiquity 79.1 (2014): 90–107. Print.Mills, Barbara J. What’s New in Chaco Research? Antiquity 92.364 (2018): 855–69. Print.Mobley-Tanaka, Jeannette L. Gender and Ritual Space During the Pithouse to Pueblo Transition: Subterranean Mealing Rooms in the North American Southwest. American Antiquity 62.3 (1997): 437–48. Print.Schaafsma, Polly. The Cave in the Kiva: The Kiva Niche and Painted Walls in the Rio Grande Valley. American Antiquity 74.4 (2009): 664–90. Print.

How to transform your teams communication skills

How to transform your teams communication skills A catalogue for transforming communication skills Writing is one of those work activities that we just assume we can do. So much so that its not even something we tend to give much thought to. Yet in the last decade or two, its silently taken over our working lives. Email alone accounts for a staggering four hours of an average workers day, according to a recent survey by Adobe of more than 4,000 workers across Europe and the US. And thats before theyve even begun to include bids, slide decks, reports, letters, procedures or policies. But how many of those communications engage their audience and get results? And how many damage relationships that then take months to repair (if they ever are)? It only takes a moments thought to realise that few skills are more important today than the ability to communicate well. We’re here to help You may know us from our regular business-writing tips and blog posts. You might have already been on an Emphasis business-writing course, either as an individual or with your company. Or maybe you’ve downloaded a copy of The Write Stuff: our free, comprehensive guide to business writing. However, you might not be aware of the full range of training services we offer that can bridge this critical skill gap. This includes our unique, pre-course writing analysis, which shines a spotlight on the documents you or your team produce, and reveals which areas are the priorities to improve. We have just the course for you To help you, we’ve created an interactive PDF guide to our services, which includes not just business writing but also communication skills courses. For example, we have created a new and innovative presentation skills course, The reluctant presenter. Its aimed at people who have a deep fear of presenting, and is delivered by trainers who have overcome their own fears and can share their secrets. We’ve also developed the worlds most comprehensive online business-writing course, called Emphasis 360. To learn more about any of our programmes, and how they can help transform your teams (or your own) communication skills, download a copy of our course catalogue now. You can also call us on +44 (0)1273 732 888 for a chat with one of our friendly team. Image credit: Rawpixel.com / Shutterstock

Green Sea Turtles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Green Sea Turtles - Essay Example Last section is regarding their predators and threats. The report is summarized in a concluding paragraph and APA referencing style has been used properly both for in-text citation and referencing. Introduction Green sea turtles, or honu (pronounced hoe'-new), are those reptiles whose ancestors, around 150 million years ago, were known to have evolved on land and then moved to sea. These turtles are one of the oldest species which has seen the evolution and extinction of dinosaurs. It is important to describe here the biological classification of green sea turtles. Kingdom Anamalia Phylum Chordata (vertebrates) Class Reptilia (reptiles) Order Chelonia (turtles and tortoises) Family Cheloniidae (true sea turtles) Genus Chelonia Species mydas sub-species aggazizi (Hawaiian population) Structural Traits Green sea turtles possess all the traits of reptiles and the other species of sea turtles. They are cold blooded animals, meaning that they change their body temperature according to the environment or, in other words, take body heat from the environment. They breathe air and have scales on their bodies like many other reptiles. They have got their name because of the color of their body fat which is green. This green color is because of the algae or limu that they eat. An adult green sea turtle weighs over 500 pounds. Like all other turtle species, green sea turtles possess a hard and bony outer structure called shell whose function is to provide protection to the turtle from predators. This hard shell covers both the dorsal and the ventral part of the turtle’s body and is known to be the hardest and an exceedingly developed weapon that any vertebrate can ever possess.

Criminal Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Criminal Justice - Essay Example The agency also provides funding and certain oversight of community supervision (previously known as adult probation) and is responsible for the supervision of offenders released from prison on parole or mandatory supervision. During my visit to the Huntsville Office of the Inspector General, which is situated in Lake Rd. Suite 5, Texas, I have decided to talk to John Moriarty, Inspector General on his role and responsibilities. He is an important actor of TDCJ. A prior meeting was fixed with Mr. Moriarty. I reached in his Huntsville office at the scheduled time. Mr. Moriarty gave me a warm welcome. He heads the Investigation Department, which conducts investigation into the charges of grave bad behavior by employees and criminal breach on the organization property where interests are at risk by any violation. Smuggling of drugs and other goods not permitted in jail premises also comes under the investigation of the Office of Inspector General. Mr. Moriarty: My position of Inspector General is directly answerable to the Chairman, TBCJ, as you can see in the chart behind on the wall. (Mr. Moriarty turned his face towards the wall showing the chart, outlining the organization structure). Mr. Moriarty: Being independent of other departments, the mission of my office reflects its duties in working as a coordinating and communicating bridge between TBCJ, executive management, and investigating charges besides checking compliance with regulations and policies of the TDCJ. It is also our aim to see that the laws of the State of Texas are adhered to by the TBCJ. Other than that, we investigate waste, fraud and abuse of tax dollars in the agency. We are also a part of Joint Home & Defense initiatives of the Governor’s office and the FBI. Mr. Moriarty: It is wrong to say like that. Our Crime Stoppers â€Å"Behind the Wall† is a program that covers

West indians Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

West indians - Essay Example Following the arrival of the white man, numerous African black people were shipped over to work as slaves on sugar plantations on the islands and now make up a large proportion of the population. It is estimated that there are about 36 million people living in the West Indies today, most of African heritage. This is impacted by lower infant mortality rates with increased access to health care and other services. It is also estimated that millions of people have moved from the West Indies to the United States and other parts of the world. According to the article â€Å"West Indies† (2008), at least one million Cubans have moved into the United States with equally high numbers of Puerto Ricans and other West Indians also pursuing greater job opportunities and educations for their children. Most of these people speak Spanish, but this is not the only language spoken. Other languages spoken in high density include French and English, including a creole version of these languages. Dutch is spoken on some of the islands and Hindi and Urdu can still be heard on Trinidad and Tobago (West Indies, 2008). More than half of the West Indian peoples live in urban areas and live lives that are relatively comparable to the lives of people living in urbanized areas anywhere. However, the islands are not overly abundant in their own resources, so farming plays a large role in their economy. The climate is very warm for most of the year, so clothing is generally light and loose with hats, with wide shade-giving brims, playing a significant role in fashion. Perhaps because of the heavy slave-influenced past, their attitudes toward marriage, family structure and religion are somewhat different from what is found in the Protestant-influenced United States to the north. There are four types of family organization within West Indian families, each of which is centered around different religious ideals. The Christian family follows the

Country Risk Analysis Project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Country Risk Analysis Project - Assignment Example These statistics are favorable for foreign direct investment as the international community recognizes South Korea’s economic success. South Korea went from being one of the least developed states globally to the currently third biggest in Asia and 15th biggest globally (Foran 109). A high level of collaboration and coordination between South Korea and other states and private corporations should dictate the economy and provide a safe haven for businesses. South Korea’s global economic conditions favor globalization and global expansion more than its global political climate. Foreign direct investors should be able to take advantage of this facilitation by exploiting this characteristic of the country’s global economic condition. I think we should be one of those investors as the country’s political setting gained favor from the international community since the most recent elections. President Geun-Hye is keen on concentrating her economic policy on building an innovative economy facilitates worldwide technological innovation as the steppingstones for foreign direct investment. We should also certainly undertake investment in South Korea due to President Lee Myung-bak’s increasing activity in global political and economic establishments such as the UN, WTO, and OECD foreign development support and demonstrated aid. South Korean corporations are sure to globalize their operations and presence since the government is echoing globalization and global growth (Foran 82). Investing in South Korea is sure to continue to globalization efforts as economic conditions demand this sort of development. Even though investing in South Korea is commendable.

Book Report on The Immortal Life of Henretta Lacks Essay

Book Report on The Immortal Life of Henretta Lacks - Essay Example The cells that belong to Henrietta Lacks are known by the code name HeLa. When Henrietta died in 1951 because of the cervix cancer, cells from her cancerous tumor were cultured by George Otto Gey and create immortal cell line for medical research. HeLa were the first human cells vigorous enough to survive outside the human body, have been productive enough, increased and multiply in test tubes long after her death. Henrietta’s family had no idea that the said cells were used according to this purpose until during the year 1970’s where the medical companies merchandised the cells for profit purposes. Rebecca Skloot describes the HeLa cells as undergoing mitosis which defines in the normal cells as dividing into two. Currently, there are over 50 metric tons of the said cells that are still booming, and flourishing. This New York Times best sellers takes the readers to an extra ordinary journey from the John Hopkins Hospital in the 1950’s to winning several awards i ncluding 2010 Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for non fiction, 2010 Wellcome Trust Book Prize, 2011 Audie award, and has been featured on over 60 critics’ best of the year list. ... The Primary Characters of the Book Henrietta Lacks is the main characters of the book. The book tells her story from her being a tobacco farmer down to the bed of the hospital of John Hopkins, from her death to the immortality of her cancer cells. One of the main characters to be considered in the book is the family of Henrietta, they could hardly understand why despite the death of their loved ones, Henrietta’s cells still exists and live. However, the love for the family remains strong and the search for justice and to unravel the truth continues. Implications of the Ethical Leadership and Cultural Competence During the time wherein Henrietta Lacks hospitalized at John Hopkins hospital, there is no Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) to govern and approve their research protocols during that time. Even the people who are discriminated and belong to the black race are illiterate about the procedures in relations to the rights of the patient while in the premise of the hospital . Giving the comparison in the evolution of the biomedical evolution during the 1940’s-1970’s between the dilemmas that facing us today, during the time of the HeLa cell dissemination, informed consent was the main point of debate, whereas at the present, two core elements of ethics in biomedical research: privacy and managing conflicts of interest. Recently, the HIPAA privacy rule was enacted. It is a security standards and safeguards for the use of electronic health care information as well as the creation of the privacy standards for protected health information. However, the rules claim equality among all members of the community regardless of the race. How Various Aspect of the Seven Revolution Woven into the Book In the

Critically assess how packaging, branding and design provide Essay

Critically assess how packaging, branding and design provide competitive advantage for the Brewdog portfolio - Essay Example Whatever it is that the Marketing group plans shall determine the organization’s success in the industry. The ability of the said in-charged group in making amends for the organization’s ability to make it within the industrial competition in the business world shall make it possible for the business to make a considerable reputation that could attract the clients who are being targeted by the said organization. This is particularly the reason why business organizations both large-scale and small-scale make it a point that the marketing procedures that they carry on for the sake of business progression is given careful attention and as well as an ample amount of investment. Particularly, marketing is a business branch that sets the path for the organization as to how they are supposed to trod the journey of success in the industry that they are dealing with. The intensity of the procedures taken by marketing experts particularly pertains to the quality of the advertising procedures that the organization ought to take into consideration for actual operational purposes. It is in this particular sector of the organization that the fast release or distribution of the services or the products offered by the organization towards the clients could be determined. In this particular case, BrewDog Beers marketing approach shall be examined as to how well the company is able to fit within the competing arena of huge brewery organizations around the world as they introduce their branded product to the target market that they are aiming to serve. How does the internet applications help in this particular goal of creating a feasible environment of marketing to the target consumers that they are aiming their products to be distributed to. With huge and well-known breweries already operating in the market, BrewDog is certain to have the need to get in the market with the use of effective marketing tools to make it in the said field of

Book Report on The Immortal Life of Henretta Lacks Essay

Book Report on The Immortal Life of Henretta Lacks - Essay Example The cells that belong to Henrietta Lacks are known by the code name HeLa. When Henrietta died in 1951 because of the cervix cancer, cells from her cancerous tumor were cultured by George Otto Gey and create immortal cell line for medical research. HeLa were the first human cells vigorous enough to survive outside the human body, have been productive enough, increased and multiply in test tubes long after her death. Henrietta’s family had no idea that the said cells were used according to this purpose until during the year 1970’s where the medical companies merchandised the cells for profit purposes. Rebecca Skloot describes the HeLa cells as undergoing mitosis which defines in the normal cells as dividing into two. Currently, there are over 50 metric tons of the said cells that are still booming, and flourishing. This New York Times best sellers takes the readers to an extra ordinary journey from the John Hopkins Hospital in the 1950’s to winning several awards i ncluding 2010 Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for non fiction, 2010 Wellcome Trust Book Prize, 2011 Audie award, and has been featured on over 60 critics’ best of the year list. ... The Primary Characters of the Book Henrietta Lacks is the main characters of the book. The book tells her story from her being a tobacco farmer down to the bed of the hospital of John Hopkins, from her death to the immortality of her cancer cells. One of the main characters to be considered in the book is the family of Henrietta, they could hardly understand why despite the death of their loved ones, Henrietta’s cells still exists and live. However, the love for the family remains strong and the search for justice and to unravel the truth continues. Implications of the Ethical Leadership and Cultural Competence During the time wherein Henrietta Lacks hospitalized at John Hopkins hospital, there is no Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) to govern and approve their research protocols during that time. Even the people who are discriminated and belong to the black race are illiterate about the procedures in relations to the rights of the patient while in the premise of the hospital . Giving the comparison in the evolution of the biomedical evolution during the 1940’s-1970’s between the dilemmas that facing us today, during the time of the HeLa cell dissemination, informed consent was the main point of debate, whereas at the present, two core elements of ethics in biomedical research: privacy and managing conflicts of interest. Recently, the HIPAA privacy rule was enacted. It is a security standards and safeguards for the use of electronic health care information as well as the creation of the privacy standards for protected health information. However, the rules claim equality among all members of the community regardless of the race. How Various Aspect of the Seven Revolution Woven into the Book In the

Intellectual Property Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Intellectual Property Law - Essay Example In a different perspective, intellectual property rights cover identification marks used by companies in order to protect malicious use of the same. Such protections are in place with an aim of encouraging new inventions, innovations, and technologies, which is vital for growth of both a nation or a society and the global economy. Examples of such intellectual rights include copyrights, patents, trade secrets, industrial designs, and trademarks. These rights depend on the form and type of invention or innovation that an individual attains. In the above scenario, Trevor discovered a drug that can cure common cold. In this case, Trevor’s discovery qualifies for a patent as one of the intellectual property rights. Millennium compound has been in existence for long yet no one used it to invent a drug for curing common cold. It is therefore wrong to assume that since Millennium compound has been in existence, someone was going to use in at some point to come up with a drug for curi ng common cold. ... Since they are not co-owners of the idea, Trevor has a right to obtain the patent right under his name. In a scenario where Trevor will allow the professor to have patent under his (professor) name, then Trevor should forget about such rights as provided for within intellectual rights. Therefore, it is important that Trevor fight for his name to be used for obtaining such patents rights since without that then he (Trevor) is unlikely to benefit from the same rights. After all, patent rights according to UK Patents Act 1977, Section 3 2the only person who enjoys patent rights of an invention is one whose name is used in success application and approval of the same rights. Patentability Requirements Under the United Kingdom’s Patent Rights law, there are specific requirements that an inventor must adhere to in order to apply successful for a patent right against his or her invention. Some of the conditions that should be in force include having an element of novelty, invention i nvolving an inventive step, invention having practical use, and the subject matter must be accepted as patentable within the United Kingdom’s laws. Novelty is the most vital prerequisite for any patent right to be successful completed under the UK law. Under the UK law, novelty requirement states that for an invention to acquire patent rights it must be new. According to the UK Patents Act 1997 Section 2(1)3, a new invention is one that does not take any part of the ‘state of the art’ within a reasonable time just before patent application date. In this regards, the ‘state of art’ refers to the entire information or matter made available to members of the public

Improving FCAT sScores of students Essay Example for Free

Improving FCAT sScores of students Essay Since the first task is to find students who are willing to ask questions and seek help, it is imperative to build a working and trusting relation with the students. Knowing students and understanding their learning style should help them and the proponents of the study in meeting the collective obligation towards acquiring knowledge and preparing both parties for any challenge which include school testing or the state required Standard Testing. Further, it is expected to find cooperative teachers who are willing and able to work together to meet all of the student goals and the curriculum requirements. As mentioned before, if no cooperative work will take form among students, teachers, administrators and parents, the chances for students to be successful may diminish. There is an easy way for every teacher to help their students in preparing for the FCAT. In essence, teachers can include FCAT-like questions into the regular class lectures, activities as well as assessments. Primarily, teachers can use questions that necessitate students to elucidate their responses to the questions. Teachers can also have the students to relate their Reading and Mathematics skills utilizing challenging content from the various subject areas. The test questions included in the FCAT employ the content areas prescribed by the SSS which include the Arts, Language Arts and Mathematics, Science, Health and Physical Education, Social Studies as well as School-to-Work areas. Hence, every student must be handed the chances to apply their reading and mathematics skills in the content fields other than the plain customary mathematics as well as language arts. The majority of the text students after Grade 6 are needed to read and understand on FCAT is informational text which does not necessarily imply it as literature. Another way is for teachers to employ questions in which their formats are open-ended which are similar to the ones identified in the FCAT. AT least three distinct types of open-ended questions are used on the FCAT. These include the extended-response format, short-response type, and the gridded-response type. The first two formats (ER and SR) are applied only on the students of Grades 4, 8 and 10 Reading and Grades 5, 8, and 10 Math. The tests from Grades 5 to 10 in the Mathematics part of the FCAT apply the gridded-response format in the questions. The real amount of questions for every type differs a bit annually. Nevertheless, the percentage of the questions will fall just within the range illustrated in the table below: Percent of Questions for the FCAT Question Formats Subject and Grade Question Format Percent of Questions Read. — 4, 8, 10 Multiple Choice (MC) 85-90% ER and SR 10-15% Reading — 3, 5, 6, 7, 9 MC 100% Math — 3 4 MC 100% Math — 5 MC 60-70% GR 20-25%. ER SR 10-15% Math — 6, 7, 9 MC 60-70% GR 30-40% Math — 8 10 MC 50-60% GR 25-30% ER SR 10-15% In the Reading section of the ER questions in the FCAT, students are provided an answer space which consists of 14 lines. On the other hand, students are provided with a blank workspace for Mathematics where the students are required to illustrate their work and a few lines provided for their explanation part. Every student is required to write answers or illustrate their work in the spaces yet it is not a requirement to completely fill the spaces. Next, in the SR questions, students in reading are provided with another answer space which consists of eight lines. Students are provided with a blank workspace in Mathematics for their explanation or illustration of their work. Filling up the spaces completely is, again, not a requirement. In the GR format, every student is provided with an answer grid to fill. Students are required to fill the grid with the right answer with the use of one of the few right formats. Numerical answers resulting from specific questions can be solved by the use of a response grid and not mere questions of mathematics. In essence, the constant use of these formats of questions in every regular activities and appraisals within the classroom and will aid students become familiar to answering in the same manner they will be asked to answer in the actual FCAT. Teachers can also opt to grade and rate the work of the students using the rubrics based on the FCAT as well as the rubric from Florida Writes. By employing this approach, students can become more accustomed to what is expected from them on the actual test in FCAT. Aiding students comprehend what is expected of them on FCAT is perhaps one of the most effective approaches in helping these students to prepare for the actual FCAT. Most of the time, students ask â€Å"will I have to perform this one on the actual FCAT? † If the teacher considers using the FCAT rubrics in scoring the responses to the classroom test questions, subject papers, reports, projects among many others, students will harness a clearer comprehension of the degrees of performance expected of them during the FCAT. Last but not the least, teachers can opt to utilize and develop questions for classroom discussions and tests that are of similar cognitive firmness as the ones presented in the FCAT test rubrics. The SSS contains standards for the content as well as benchmarks that are challenging for every learner as it also includes the expectation that these learners become more creative as their critical thinking capabilities are likewise developed further. Every class has the size of approximately 32 students with a various degree of academic levels. Most students come from a lower socio-economic class and many of their parents speak another language apart from English and cannot provide enough help the proponents with any of the homework. With the help from other teachers, a â€Å"Mock FCAT Test† will be conducted which is going to be based on the materials the students have covered for the year. The test will consist of a multiple choice section, a true or false part, and several essay type questions. One of the co-teachers in the science classes will have to modify the test for the ESE students just as it has been practiced during regular test or quizzes. Some of the ESE students have a modification clause in their Individual Education Plan or IEP and the test questions have to be read to them so that they will be able to understand better the test questions and answer them to the best of their knowledge. Further, it will provide the students with the guidance for studying and preparing for the real FCAT test. Two periods per week can be used for the test preparation which serves as a review time and after four weeks the test will be given. The teachers should make themselves available before and after school for students who feel they need some help. Also, letters must be sent to the parents of the students which will serve as letters asking for their help, if possible, with students’ practice work. In addition to the help that is to be obtained from both the teachers and the parents, the students themselves will also participate and cooperate in order to further advance the help they can receive. That is, students will be paired, carefully selecting their pairs according to their academic level. All of these activities will be conducted in the regular classroom during the third quarter of the school year. A journal will be maintained which will serve as the record for all of the observations obtained as well as the progress of the students throughout the course of the scheme. Dates will be analyzed in order to predict any changes in the students’ progress so that it will be easier to identify where help is most needed for the students. The journal will also include information gathered from parents on the progress of the time spent with their children who are studying at home. Moreover, the journal will contain a comparison column to see the results from all of the quizzes and serve as a guide for intervention when needed. The information that will be obtained will be thoroughly shared with the students so that they ca follow their progress and pinpoint any deficiencies in which they have to work on. Lastly, the journal will provide information on what and where the needs are to be reviewed, revisited, or reinforced. This is to keep a sustained check on the progress of the project. With the cooperation of the other teachers, information will be shared and concerns will be exchanged concerning the progress of the students. The members of the project will be involved in monitoring, discussing, and helping students to stay on track. There will be daily discussions with the students about the difficulties of the study material or to share the successes and ideas about the methods of studying. Student’s input is most important as their suggestions will be shared with every student in both class periods. Also, students who have already taken the FCAT and have successfully passes the test will be introduced into the group of students in order for the former to be able to relate to the students their previous experience with FCAT. The techniques used by these previous students who have already successfully passed the FCAT will be shared to the current students so that the latter will be able to obtain any important information or insights into the FCAT. The data will be interpreted in terms of an analysis of all the information obtained before, during, and after the project has culminated. Input from the teachers involved will be greatly considered inasmuch as the conference with the parents and the participating students will provide the data that will be analyzed. Students will be given a self-survey to assess their own progress from their personal viewpoint and provide guide for reviewing the material for the test. Also, with the cooperation of the other teachers, notes will be compared and pinpoint the relation of time, the involvement of the parents and the scores obtained from the test. All obtainable manpower will be used in completing the project. The findings of the study or project will be shared with the entire staff of the school, specifically the administrators and the teachers, as well as with the parents and the students. The success of the project will be shared with other schools as it will be important and useful information in preparing their students for testing via the regular curriculum. The goal presented is to make the students aware of the possibilities of learning through organized effort and the learning intelligence that most befits each student. Also, the information obtained from the project will be shared with other teachers in order to reinforce the methods and styles and teaching practices that will be used. The parents will realize that their involvement with their children in learning is of great significance as they keep in contact with the teachers and monitor the progress of their children. The next phase is to work on continuous cooperation with the parents and other teachers and to provide the maximum help to the students. An open relationship with students will also be developed through an action plan where everybody is involved in the educational process working together for a common goal. This will help and encourage students in their future study as they will be able to comprehend the positive outcome of their efforts and the cooperation they maintain with their fellow students and with their parents and teachers. The bulk of the critical colleagues in the entirety of the project will be comprised of fellow teachers as well as the assistant principal of the school who will provide the support and approval for the implementation of the project. Permission will be sought after the school principal as well as from the parents of the students as both parties will have to invest time and a few other resources for the initiation and completion of the project. The permission of the other teachers will also be obtained primarily because classes will be conducted in their respective classrooms and class sections that they handle. CONCLUSION By monitoring the test results obtained from the FCAT and comparing these results with the previous years, the knowledge of the students can be relatively increased specifically in the domain of science. By guiding the teachers find the specific areas where the students needs some room for improvement especially their weaknesses as well as their strengths that need reinforcement, teachers can correspondingly adjust their lesson plans. Further, since the work aims at expanding the skills and knowledge of students based on FCAT results, the work also shares a relevant contribution to the overall academic and holistic development of the student as relationships are established and strengthened between students, parents, teachers, and the school administrators. References FCAT Fact Sheet. (2005, August 24, 2005). Retrieved August 5, 2007, from http://fcat. fldoe. org/pdf/fcatfact. pdf. FCAT Myths vs. Facts. (2005, August 24, 2005). Retrieved August 6, 2007, from http://fcat. fldoe. org/pdf/myths-facts. pdf. What every teacher should know about FCAT. (2005, August 24, 2005). Retrieved August 6, 2007, from http://fcat. fldoe. org/pdf/fcatguid. pdf.

Health Supplements: An analysis

Health Supplements: An analysis CHAPTER 1 The prevalence used of health supplements especially multivitamins and minerals in many developed counteries are widened eventhough their effectiveness is unclearly determined (Rock , 2007). Based on the data collected by National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2000, 52 percent of US adults reported taking a dietary supplement in the past month and 35 percent is reported on regular use of a multivitamin-multimineral product. Marketing data from Nutrition Business Journal of year 1997 till 2001 show a dramatic increase in supplement sales and estimated total approximately $ 18.8 billion in 2003. In Malaysia, according to the data published by Icon Health Publication from R D Committee at INSTEAD, the latent demand for vitamin and dietary supplement has growing increasing from year to year. Since the use of health supplements continues to expand in future, thus investigating of preliminary reason behind this trend is important. Supplement consumption usually occurs in the context of achieving or maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Several studies have been suggested that individuals might tend to use health supplements in order to compensate for unhealthy behaviours (Hilliam, 1996; Kirk et al., 1999; Radimer et al., 2000). One of the important reason that contribute to the increased use of health supplement is widely availability of these agents, in part because of the minimal regulatory requirements for safety and efficacy compared with regulatory requirements for drugs. Despite the fact that health supplements are not classified as drugs by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act allows manufacturers to make claims intended to attract public opinion regarding the benefits on the use of these supplement products. Under DSHEA, product labels cannot claim to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease but it only claims to support the structure and function of the body.  [1]  Basically, consumption of health supplements can also be categorized as one of the type of c omplementary or alternative medicine (CAM). 1.2 Significance of the study Anecdotally, there is an increasing use of health supplements among Malaysian. However, relatively little is known about the patterns of use of health supplements among them. Therefore, there is a need for continued research in order to provide more knowledge related to the benefit of supplement use. To our knowledge, only one study conducted by International Medical University, has focused specifically on the usage and opinion among health sciences students on the dietary supplements. Eventhough usage of health supplement is prevalent but there are only a few published reports (Mazlan, 1990; Safiah, 2002). In parallel with the implementation of National Plan of Action for Nutrition II of Malaysia (NPANM), there is a need for continued research in order to investigate the use, attitudes and knowledge of health supplements among urban adults in Klang Valley which still represents the area with the highest prevalence of health supplements user in Malaysia. 1.3 Objectives The purpose of this study was to assess the use of health supplements among Malaysians urban adults . This study not only focused on herbal supplements but it also include functional foods, nutrient and botanical products available in the market. Besides, we like to determine whether attitudes are better predictor of adults intentions to use health supplements than are subjective norms. Last but not least is to assess knowledge concerning the safety of health supplements among urban adults. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Health supplement 2.1.1 Definition of health supplement Health supplement is a term that also commonly known as dietary supplement, nutraceutical supplement or nutritional supplement. Eventhough this term has been used interchangeably, but the meaning of them is still same. In early 1990s, a nutraceutical term was coined by Dr. Stephen DeFelice and it was defined concisely as any substance either food or a part of food. It has a wider range from specific diet, isolated nutrients, processed foods, dietary supplements to genetically modified foods and also include herbal products. It was intended to be use to provides health benefits to the end user (Barnett et al., 1996). Before year 1994, the health supplement was subjected to the same regulatory requirement as other food. However, in October 1994, the President Clinton was assigned a new act under FDA regulations that known as Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act. According to the DSHEA, dietary supplement is defined as a product that intended to be taken orally in order to supple ment the diet in which it contains a dietary ingredient. The dietary ingredients in these products may include vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, and substances such as enzymes, organ tissues, glandulars and metabolites. It can also be extracts or concentrates, and may be found in many forms such as tablets, capsules, softgels, gelcaps, liquids or powders (U.S Food and Drug Administration, 1995). Whatever dosage form it is, this dietary ingredient is not considered as a drug. In case of a drug, it was subjected to undergo some procedures in order to be clinically proven safe to be used. However, dietary supplement was treated reverse to this way since that it was considered safe until proven unsafe. In addition, dietary ingredient could be used in dietary supplement without a need to get approval from FDA as food additive and generally recognised as safe (GRAS) ingredients (Susan Onel, 2005). Due to the minimal regulatory requirements of safety and its efficacy, therefore the health supplement become more widely available and this contributed to increase of its used (Bardia et al., 2007). However, in case of a new dietary ingredient present in the product then the manufacturers of dietary supplement must have to provide FDA with evidence by submission of the products safety data of at least 75 days prior to its release to the public. This dietary ingredient was considered as a new ones if it was not marketed in U.S before October 15, 1994 (Cohen, 2000). 2.1.2 Definition of health supplement user Generally, health supplement users are those healthy people who are seeking for supplements as a one of several alternatives for improving health (Sheldon Pelletier, 2003). In U.S, it has been estimated that approximately half of their adult population considered as users of health supplements (Robson et al., 2008 ; Radimer et al., 2004). A study done by Knudsen et al. in year 1997 to 1998 at two Danish cities was defined a health supplement user as a person who consumed at least one type of supplements within a period of time of the survey. Basically, Knudsen and his colleagues determined those supplement users based on their frequency intake. Result indicated that from 2758 of supplement users about 27 percent of them took more than one health supplement per day and twelve percent took three or more per day (Knudsen et al., 2002). In the present study persons who consumed any health supplement at least once in a year has been considered as dietary or health supplement users. In this study, they defined health supplement users into three groups which are daily user, weekly user and seldom user. The daily users are those who reported use of any health supplement once a day or more for the past 12 months whereas weekly users are those who reported use once a week or more but must be less than once a day for the past 12 months and seldom users are those people who reported use once a year or more but less than once a week for the past 12 months (Imai et al., 2006). 2.1.3 Types of health supplements With the increased in health awareness regarding the use of health supplements, the public is flooded by numerous health supplement products which are frequently advertised through the various media. Thus, there are many types of health supplements that have been practically used by the supplement user. 2.1.3.1 Vitamin Vitamin is a group of complex organic compounds that present in small amounts in natural foodstuffs which are play an essential role for the body to regulate normal metabolism and lack of which in the diet causes deficiency diseases (McDowell, 2000). Since vitamin can be found in daily food consumption thus for a normal healthy people intake of vitamin supplement is unnecessary. This is because overconsumption of certain vitamin such as vitamin A may lead to reversible Acute hypervitaminosis that occur after ingestion of more than or equal to 500,000 IU (over 100 times the RDA) by adults (Bendich Langseth, 1989). According to the survey done among 129 doctors working at hospitals in Kota Bharu, the results showed that the health supplements commonly used were multivitamins and minerals (92.3 percent) whereas prevalence used of vitamin C is 26.9 percent (Rohana Zulkifli, 2007). The types and usage patterns of health supplements used as shown in Table 2.1 Table 2.1 : Types and used patterns of health supplements among doctors Rank Supplement/s Regular users Sporadic users Total (%) 1 MVT plus minerals 14 1 15 (17.9) 2 Vitamin Bco 12 3 15 (17.9) 3 Vitamin C 10 1 11 (13.1) 4 Garlic 7 0 7 (8.3) 5 MVT only 5 1 6 (7.1) 6 Traditional 4 1 5 (6.0) 7 Lecithin 4 0 4 (4.8) 8 Prenatal vitamins 3 0 3 (3.6) 9 Vitamin E 3 0 3 (3.6) 10 Fish oil 2 1 3 (3.6) 11 Ginseng 2 1 3 (3.6) 12 Iron/Folic acid 2 0 2 (2.4) 13 Bee Pollen 1 1 2 (2.4) 14 Others 5 0 5 (6.0) TOTAL 74 10 84 (100.0) Source : Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine 2007, Vol. 7(1):60-63 2.1.3.2 Mineral Minerals are nonorganic substances found in all body tissues and fluids such as bones, teeth, brain, liver, muscle, blood and nerve cells. They are required in modest amounts for the maintenance of structural integrity of essential molecules and development of optimal physiological function (Lukaski, 1995). Since minerals cannot be synthesized by the body therefore they must be consumed through a healthy diet. Based on the data from the NILS-LSA done in Japan, about 55 percent of males and 61 percent of females were consumed some type of health supplements and revealed that calcium was the most popular mineral consumed by both sexes ( Imai et al., 2006). In addition the study done by Chandra and his colleagues were investigated the respondents regarding to their reasons for consuming mineral supplements and their knowledge on mineral supplements. Thus, the finding of this study revealed that the most prevelent reason for consuming mineral supplements is to feel better and their lev el of knowledge on types and benefits of mineral supplements is moderate (Chandra, Miller and Willis, 2005). 2.1.3.4 Herb and other botanicals There are many different herbal and botanical supplements available on the market. Thus, approximately one third of U.S adults reported using botanical supplements (Harris Polls, 1998). In addition, in year 1999 the Chemical Market Reporter revealed that the botanical and herbal market generated approximately $3.9 billion in sales (Anonymous, 1999). A survey shown that about 57.3 percent of adults favourably used herbs in order to treat a specific illnesses (Bardia et al., 2007). According to the survey done by Newberry et al. in 2001 found that 71 of 132 respondents reported they took NVNM health supplements in order to promote good health, prevent disease and to enhance immune system. Most commonly reported used of these NVNM are includes Echinacea, ginseng, St Johns Wort, gingko biloba, ephedra, saw palmetto, chamomile and garlic. From 71 respondents who reported taken NVNM to promote good health about 77.5 percent claimed them to be effective. In addition, 50 respondents reported taken NVNM such as chamomile, gingko biloba, kava kava and St Johns wort in order to relieve depression and anxiety. Fortunately, survey indicated that 43 of 50 respondents perceived them to be effective (Newberry et al., 2001). 2.1.3.5 Amino acid Our cell is made up from different kind of the building blocks of proteins. This body protein that is called amino acid. Some of the amino acid is been synthesized within the body is called an non-essential amino acid whereas other half cannot be synthesized and must be absorbed and preformed from the gastro-intestinal tracts. This is called essential amino acid which is can be obtained from the food and amino acid supplements. A survey done among college student revealed that 17 out of 272 college students took the putative ergogenic which is commonly considered as amino acid sub-category. The prevalent reason claimed by college students regarding the used of these supplements is to enhance their athletic performance (Newberry et al., 2001). 2.3 Pattern of health supplements used From NHANES surveys discovered that the most common pattern of supplement use among US population appeared to be the use of single product which is 55 percent. Whereas 66 percent of supplement users took more than one product and only 13 percent took five or more (Sandler et al., 2001). A survey of 21 923 adults residing in the metropolitan boroughs of Bolton and Wigan, UK revealed 35.4 percent took at least one dietary supplement, 72.2 percent were taking one product whereas 27.8 percent taking two or more products. About 12.6 percent reported eating at least five portions of fruits and vegetables per day and 43.5 percent eating at least one portion of oil-rich fish per week. The use of health supplements was positively correlated with the pattern of eating at least five portions of fruits and vegetables per day (adjusted OR 1.41). Correspondingly, consumption of fish-oil supplements was higher among those eating one portion or more of oil-rich fish per week (adjusted OR 1.50) (Harr ison et al., 2004). Besides, a result of the survey also indicated that among women who were reported as regular supplement user, the most usually reported health supplements used were calcium with 60.3 percent user and 20.3 percent for glucosamine. In contrast, most commonly reported health supplements used by men were vitamin C (37.4 percent) and garlic (18.9 percent) (Robson et al., 2008). 2.4 Prevalence use of health supplements Comparison studies between NHANES 1999-2000 and previous NHANES survey which used same methodology suggested that supplement use has increased (Radimer et al., 2004). A previous study has indicated that most of the supplements have been used in order to promote general health, treat or prevent symptomatic conditions and chronic ailments (Bardia et al., 2007). In 2003 Satia-Abouta et al. study had found that supplements tend to be taken by the people that have been diagnosed with certain medical conditions than others and commented that, although some people take supplements based on efficacy but many do not. A survey result was indicated that supplement use was common among Whites, women, persons with age of 50 years and older and college educated with degree or more (Sheldon Pelletier, 2003 ; Shi et al., 2005). 2.4.1 Sociodemographic In research article by Block and Subar (1990) based on 1987 National Health Interview Survey, they investigate about the used of vitamin and mineral supplements in relation to demographics and amounts of nutrients consumed. This NHIS is a national probability survey among US population. It is the first national studies to address specifically supplement use among Hispanic population. The sample consisted of 22,080 adults of all races aged 18-99 years. A result of the survey revealed that user of vitamin and mineral supplements were slightly more women than were men of the same age and race. Survey shows that among white women within the age ranges 55-64 years, their daily usage are 39.9 percent and 38.4 percent among age ranges 65-74 years. However, among age 75 years and more it is slightly declined (34.9 percent). This indicated that usage pattern tended to increase with age which happened similarly within other sex-age categories. Based on sex-race categories, non-Hispanic whites women show the highest rates of use compared with all other races and Hispanic women show rate intermediate between those of whites and blacks (Blocks Subar, 1990 ; Jasti, Siega-Riz Bentley, 2003). Demographic data regarding income, education, and occupation show that strong socioeconomic influences upon whether individuals take supplements. From the study done by Jong et.al in 2002 revealed that the consumption behaviour towards variety of foods and supplements were associated with demographic and lifestyle characteristics. Result showed that participants in the middle and high education groups were more likely to use supplements containing Echinacea or multivitamin and minerals than individuals with lower education groups. Shi et.al in year 2005 also indicated that the intake of vitamin either in the form of tablets or capsules was significantly common among women and highly educated subjects. 2.4.4 Cultural Factors A study done by Williams et al. in 1996 indicated that cultural factor also influence in supplement use behavior. Based on ethnographic study of iron and folic acid supplementation among women of reproductive age in developing counteries, they found that cultural factors is plays role in supplement use behaviors (Williams et al., 1996). In addition to demographic determinants of supplement use, understanding of cultural factors also considered as crucial for the success of efforts to encourage supplement use in vulnerable population groups (Jasti, Siega-Riz Bentley, 2003). 2.5 Attitude and Behaviour Toward Supplementation Supplement users have been characterized as tend to be healthy people by having a positive attitude towards their health (Dickinson, 2002). In a study done on two-group design of 113 adults in the U.S, the researchers found that participants who have been diagnosed with health problems and experienced on negative effects of their illness showed likeliness to change their attitude towards supplements (McDonald Nicholson, 2006). However, in a study done by Junko Ishihara and his colleagues revealed something interesting about users attitude toward supplementation. Female supplement users who have been influenced by urban lifestyle showed negative lifestyle factors such as frequent eating out and stressful life which later contributed to moderate drinking among them. Those users might be aware of their unhealthy behaviour, hence they intentionally seek to compensate for it with health supplements (Ishihara et al., 2003). Generally, consumers considered health supplements as a safe product to be taken. However, they might not be aware about a few adverse event that have been reported regarding the unsafe use of these natural products (Ashar Rowland-Seymour, 2008 ; Palmer et al., 2003). Researchers have indicated that overdoses of Vitamin E consumption may result a prolonged bleeding time due to its effect on intrinsic coagulation pathway (McDonald Nicholson, 2006 ; Marsh Coombes, 2006). 2.5.1 Consumer dietary knowledge Knowledge regarding health supplements also influence the usage of supplements among the consumer. Based on health care professional surveyed revealed that supplement use are varied by profession with the highest frequency among nurses (88 percent), physician assistants and nurse practitioners (84 percent) and lowest among trainees (72 percent) and pharmacists (66 percent) (Jasti et al., 2003). This result indicated that health care professionals personal habit may affected whether they will recommend a use of health supplement or not (Frank et al., 2000). Futher indication of the supplement use is strongly associated with increased knowledge about nutrition and health (Dickinson, 2002). From the survey done on 4501 female physicians who participating in the Women Physicians Health Study revealed that half of them took a multivitamin-mineral supplement and most of them are those at high risk of getting disease. For example, those who susceptible in getting heart disease tend to consume antioxidant and those with a history of osteoporosis were nearly three times more likely to consume calcium supplement then those with no history of osteoporosis (Dickinson, 2002 ; Frank, Bendich Denniston, 2000). A study done by Gardiner and her colleagues between September, 2004 and May, 2005 found that nurses were more preferably to use a multivitamin than other professionals whereas students were more likely to use calcium (Gardiner et al., 2006). Basically, the types of health supplements used by HCP in such no differences compare to those used by the general public (Millen et al., 1987 ; Patterson et al., 1999).This result is consistent with previous surveys of HCPs which indicate a positive correlation between higher use, greater knowledge and increased communications with patients about benefit regarding the use of health supplement (Corbin Shapiro, 2002 ; Lindquist, Tracy Savik, 2003 ; Tracy et al., 2005). In case of ordinary users, their knowledge about health supplement also influence the usage of the product. A study done by Peters and his colleagues found that supplements user are those people who seek for self-educated approach by consulting a medical doctor and gathering infor mation from credible media sources such as the Internet (Peters et al., 2003). 2.5.2 Lifestyle As one of the developed countries, Malaysians were experienced a nutritional and lifestyle transition due to urbanization, industrialization and globalization. Thus, these rapid alarming trends have lead to the prevalence case of obesity among Malaysians. A study done by National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS III) in 2006 was revealed that 14 percents of the adults were obese with the BMI is more than 30 kg/m2. Therefore, this will increased the consumption intake of certain health supplement product that common use in weight loss management program such as Bitter orange (Ashar Rowland-Seymour, 2008). In the NHANES 1999-2000, data indicated that those with higher body mass index and current smokers shown as a less likelihood of reporting use of health supplements (Dwyer, Garceau Evans, 2001 ; Rock et al., 1997). Nonsmokers were more likely to take supplements than were current smokers (Lyle et al., 1998 ; Patterson et al., 1998 ; Subar Block, 1990). Supplement use also associated with healthy lifestyle, which was similar to the earlier-reported tendency for smoking. For BMI, there was a significant linear decrease of dietary supplement users for higher BMI groups in both sexes (Lyle et al., 1998 ; Newman et al., 1998 ; Subar Block, 1990). Regarding exercise, there was a significant linear increase in those groups who exercise more frequently. Prior studies had reported alcohol consumption in health supplement users as either having no association or as showing more users among moderate drinkers. Women who drank moderately (once a month to 6 times a week) were most likely to be users (Ishihara et al., 2003). Study done on a population-based sample of urban Japanese revealed that subjects who experienced more daily stressors (95% CI) are at more higher level of the consumption of vitamin supplements and vitamin enriched drinks compare to those with fewer daily stressors. OR from this study indicated that intake of vitamin supplements by healthy lifestyles subjects was related with acts to solve problems whereas in subjects with unhealthy lifestyle, reason of intake was associated with daily stressors (Shi et al., 2005). CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 3.1 Study design This was a descriptive and cross sectional study Sample size was determined by using a statistical method 3.2 Participants By using a multistage random strategy,400 subjects aged between 20 to 69 years were selected from large population of adults in Klang Valley. Klang Valley is urban areas that consists of Gombak, Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam and Klang areas. The ethnicity of the participants were unlimited to specific ethnic group only. Participants were identified at area clinics, shopping complex and park. 3.3 Questionnaires A questionnaires was designed to collect information among urban adults regarding their use of health supplements and their attitudes and knowledge toward supplementation of these popular substances. This validated questionnaire was developed from other previous survey and some based on literature review, but we take into account health supplements commonly used in the local setting. This survey questions consisted of four sections. The first section consisted of general demographics information such as gender, race and education. In addition, the participants also will be assessed on their current health status. The second section assessed on the usage of health supplement among those subjects. This part going to find out who took supplements and which ones they took, thus participants will be asked Do you usually take any of these supplements? then subsequent to previous question can be asked. Some products were listed in the questionnaire were the most popular health supplement p roducts in the Malaysia. For completeness, they could add any other health supplement to the list. In the analysis, health supplements were classified into few separate categories such as vitamins, minerals, herbal and other supplements. Question on how they find out about their supplement and how much their are taking each day also possible to be asked. The third session focused on attitudes of participants toward health supplements and the fourth section examined their perception of knowledge concerning the safety of these products. In this questionnaire, the participants will read the questions and statements that have been asked, most of which provided with a true/ false/ dont know or yes/ no/ dont know answer. This questionnaire are provided in the Appendix. 3.4 Statistical Analysis All statistical analyses were conducted by using SPSS version 17 for Window XP. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, means, standard deviations (SD), percentage were used to describe all the variables. One-way ANOVA was used to determine differences in continuous variables such as gender, age, education and income. Adjusted odd ratios (OR) of each preditors were calculated using multiple logistic regression in order to examine the effects of demographic and lifestyle on use or non-use of health supplements. Multiple logistic regression analysis also been used to identify the independent contribution of attitudes and knowledge toward the probability of use of health supplements. Futhermore, chi-square test also was used in order to find the correlation between qualitative variables at the 5% significance level. A p-value which less than 0.05 represents a significant difference. 3.5 Ethical approval Ethical approval for this survey was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee of Research Management Institute, Universiti Teknologi MARA.