Tipping point Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Tipping point - Essay Example Connectors are perceived to be the trendsetters because of their rich network of acquaintances and friends. They know many people and keep in touch with them. Simply put, connectors strive to bring the world together not for their benefit, but for the benefit of humanity. On the other hand, Mavens are people who take delight in finding new information and share that information with connectors. Unlike connectors who simply wish to have a vast network of friends around them, mavens strive to have hottest esoteric scoops on specials and gadgets, and share that information with consumers. Hence, they fundamentally connect consumers to the marketplace due to their aptitude and capability to be informed on functionality of products, prices, and market trends. While the Mavens provide the message and connectors spread it, salesmen are skilled in persuading people to believe in what they hear. Their ability to easily build a rapport makes them good in expressing feelings and emotions, and o ften use their charisma to manipulate others. A striking difference between salesmen and connectors is the sheer fact that connectors think not as individuals, but in nodes and are more obliged to first help you then money later; however, salesmen are apparently money-oriented as they hugely motivated by money when packaging and pricing innovations (Gladwell, 82). Similarly, while connectors seem to rely on more general information to connect the world, Mavens dig deep into ideas and innovations and give detailed and unambiguous information regarding it. Apparently, I am more similar to the Connector personality type. Over the past few decades, with the dawn of technology I have been finding myself more engaged with the social media including Facebook and Twitter. I start each day on Facebook and Twitter by posting and twitting unpretentious questions such as â€Å"How can I help you?†, â€Å"Is anything the matter?† Through these platforms, people have been able to express

A Discharge Plan for an Elderly Patient Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

A Discharge Plan for an Elderly Patient - Essay Example Even though Mr. Trosack is hopeful of going back home and living a normal life where he goes to work in his bakery, there are concerns about his mobility, especially the stairs and pain control issues. He would have been helped by his son and daughter in law but they have very tight working schedules that force them to work long hours. His son and daughter in law doubt the diagnosis of Mr. Trosack’s diabetes. Their effectiveness of caring for him is therefore questionable in regard to giving him his new medication and medication regimen. It also raises concerns about moving Mr. Trosack from his long time home, church participation and routine lifestyle since this would cause a lot of anxiety for Mr. Trosack. A lot of safety factors also need to be taken into consideration. These include the fact that his house is cluttered, therefore making difficult for him to move around with a walker. It also increases the chance that he might fall again. Mr. Trosack’s bathroom does not have any safety features that will ensure his safety. He has a lot of expired medication and foods in the refrigerator. There needs to be an interdisciplinary team that will be responsible for designing the best discharge plan for Mr. Trosack. The team should have a manager, a physical therapist, a social worker, a nurse and a physician. The role of the physician would be to provide input on the physical capacity of Mr. Trosack and his expectations on of progress, safe medical equipment, outpatient physical therapy and order medication. The physical therapist would be responsible for providing input on the physical capabilities of Mr. Trosack such as his tolerance level to activities, his strength, mobility and endurance. The role of the primary nurse...This paper will report on the most appropriate discharge placement for an elderly patient by the name Mr. Trosack. Mr. Trosack is set to be discharged from hospital where he underwent a total hip replacement surgery. This case st udy revolves around Mr. Trosack, a 72-year old man who is recovering from a hip surgery that he recently underwent. This paper is a discharge plan for Mr. Trosack so as to ensure that his discharge is faced with the least issues possible. So far, Mr. Trosack’s recovery is going well and he is ambulating well using a walker. Because of this, Mr. Trosack can finally be discharged from hospital so that he can go and continue with his recovery at home. It is therefore the duty of the healthcare team to develop a workable discharge plan for the patient. Mr. Trosack is known to guard his independence strongly. This is evident in the fact that for two years now, since the passing of his wife of very many years, he has been living alone. He has spent most this time living in the same apartment. Mr. Trojack works in a bakery that he jointly owns with his brother Karl. He is a very religious person who is keen on attending church services and participating in church activities. He rare ly gets adequate time to socialize with his son and daughter in law because they do not participate in church activities and have very long working hours. In conclusion, the recovery plan of Mr. Trosack can ensure that he returns home and continues with his recovery process. There should be other support systems to ensure that Mr. Trosack recovers well from home.

Surveillance Cameras And The Right To Privacy

Surveillance Cameras And The Right To Privacy With the rapid advancements in technology, video surveillance platforms have become a widely used method to enhance security in both the public and private settings. These systems act as a force multiplier and provide constant surveillance in areas that are difficult or impractical to do so by other means. Surveillance of public areas has become an area of concern for privacy advocates. While these systems have so far successfully navigated legal challenges, abuse or misuse of the systems can jeopardize the ability to continue their use. In the years following 9/11, a considerable investment has been made by federal, state, and local governments to increase security and protect the homeland. Areas that once were not given a second thought by law enforcement agencies are now considered high value targets. A key to maximizing law enforcements effectiveness to cope with the growing demand for service has been to increase their use of technology. Video surveillance systems are one way they have made investments that act as force multipliers and allow one operator to monitor multiple locations simultaneously, regardless of how remote or difficult to access the locations are. This increased need for surveillance has coincided with advancements in technology that have made the necessary equipment to operate a video surveillance system more available, functional, and at a lower cost. Government entities are not the only organizations tapping into this emerging technology, many private businesses are also installing surveilla nce cameras to protect their assets. It is difficult to argue with the benefits of employing these systems when you consider for a moment that it was a bank ATM camera that filmed Timothy McVeigh parking a Ryder truck outside Oklahoma Citys federal office building just before the April 1994 blast that killed 167 people. Had it not been for this critical evidence, the outcome of the investigation may have been very different. While there are certainly benefits to this enhanced level of safekeeping, some watchdog groups have cautioned that this security comes at a cost, but does the end result in fact justify the means. At one time in the not so distant past it was uncommon to see video surveillance being used at all with the exception of large shopping malls, banks, and other private businesses where large amounts of money or high valued property was found. It simply was not cost effective for smaller businesses to make the investment. However, with increased availability and decreased cost it is not uncommon to see these systems in place almost anywhere, to include small businesses, private homes, and even religious centers. The sophistication of modern surveillance platforms provides a higher quality, easier to use system. Video surveillance has always been a useful tool to document an event for use at a later time as evidence against the perpetrator of some act, but modern systems are intuitive and will not only record an event they can be programmed to activate certain real time triggers to sound alarms, alert the owner, and/or the police. Probably more than any other benefits, employing video surveillance security systems have filled an immense security void created by lacking human assets (Crean, 2002). Law enforcement agencies have never been able to be in all places at once so they employed staffing and patrol protocols that covered as much terrain as possible. The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, along with several other high profile incidents occurring here and abroad, have highlighted the fact that current public safety initiatives were unsatisfactory. Law enforcement agencies had to find ways to do more with their current levels of staffing. One solution was to employ an elaborate array of video surveillance systems as force multipliers. Examples of U.S. cities where this strategy has been employed are Chicago, New York, and Washington D.C. Chicagos public safety managers have access to a collection of approximately 15,000 publicly and privately owned cameras. It is estimated that from their operations center officials can monitor 232 square miles of Chicagos urban landscape. In New Yorks Times Square, an area no larger than about half a square mile, as many as 200 surveillance cameras are active at all times. Washington D.C. Metro Police may have them all beat. During a tour of their command center with CBS News reporter Erin Moriarty, D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey was asked about what officers were monitoring on several of the screens in the center. Ramsey explained they were observing a group of protestors at one of the local public buildings. When asked how many cameras they currently had observing the activities of the group, Chief Ramsey commented that they had twelve of their own, but had access to a practically unlimited number as a result of being able to tap into images being fed by an array of privately an d publically owned surveillance systems in the immediate vicinity (2010). These devices are accessible on demand via wireless routers and Internet connections. This on demand capability is not restricted to their command center. Field units, if equipped properly, also have the ability to remote access video surveillance images via a wireless connection. Technology has provided the ability to create this link to nearly any device capable of a Wi-Fi connection. Whether it be the laptop computer in an officers patrol car or the handheld PDA a precinct commander carries. The San Diego Police Department has taken this technology one step further and automated it (2010). Instead of merely providing on demand access to the assortment of public and private video surveillance systems in the city, they automatically make that real time information available to officers who are operating their laptop equipped police cruiser in the vicinity of the system. This video information is also available on demand at the police dispatch center. The benefits to this set up with respects to enhancing officer safety are incredible. Imagine the lone police officer responding to a commercial building alarm in the middle of the night. As soon as the dispatch center receives the call they would be alerted that a video surveillance system is available. Before the responding officer puts their vehicle in drive to go to the call, the dispatch center is already studying the location for signs of trouble. When the officer is within a few blocks of the business he receives a noti fication on his computer that the building has video uplink capabilities. Prior to arriving he pulls to the curb and in just a few seconds is able to view the real time surveillance video to familiarize himself with the buildings layout, potential hazards, signs of an actual crime in progress, or perhaps live video of the suspects fleeing the scene in their vehicle and heading directly at him (Crean, 2002). There is also a deterrent factor at play when overt video surveillance is in place. Cameras that are highly visible to the perpetrator can instill an enhanced fear of committing the crime because of the perceived likelihood of getting caught. If they do opt to commit the act, then having a properly monitored video system vastly increases the probability of being caught. Experts in this field of study have noted that even though the economy underwent a major recession in past years, the crime rates have not increased dramatically. In fact, some categories have made substantial decreases. This is notable as history tells us that when the economy is bad people become desperate and crime typically increases. More than one advocate of increased use of video surveillance has pointed out that as these systems became more prevalent the crime rates decreased (Osborn, 2006). Whether there is an actual link between the two remains to be seen, but the speculative evidence is very interesting. Just as there are those who preach the benefits of employing video surveillance systems, there are certainly those who argue just as vehemently against its use. Probably the single greatest concern voiced is the invasion of privacy that goes along with this type of surveillance. Generally speaking, if the video monitoring is taking place anywhere that is open to the public then it does not constitute an invasion of privacy. As with most general rules, it is not always that simple. Watchdog organizations have argued that the use of covert cameras is an invasion of privacy since the cameras cannot be detected (The Constitution Project, 2007). In other words, if the public is not made aware they are being filmed than their privacy rights have been violated. Because of the proliferation of these systems, adequate notifications would be a nearly impossible goal to attain. Cities like Washington D.C. would probably need to put signs at the city limits on all major thoroughfares that securi ty cameras are in use in the city and you are subject to being captured by one of these systems at all times. Certainly not very practical. This begs the question, are these privacy concerns without basis? Consider for a moment the hypothetical situation presented by Angelo Pompano of the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute: On a typical day you wake up and walk out to your mailbox. A neighbors private security camera is trained on his driveway across the street and picks you up. Later, you drive to work and when you get to the light on the corner, a video camera is watching to see if you went through a red signal. You stop off at an ATM and you are taped. You go into the 7-Eleven-taped; pump gas- taped; get on the interstate and the traffic control cameras are focused on you. You get to work and the camera in the parking lot follows you into the building. Then you finally get you your desk and once more you are monitored (2010). As Mr. Pompano points out, on the average day by 8:15 AM you have already been captured on video surveillance a dozen times. This is only the video we know about. This report will not touch on the clandestine surveillance being undertaken by the government at all times. Im not saying I agree with Pompanos opinion that this is a bad thing, but it is a reality. A second concern that is frequently raised is the potential that video surveillance recording will be misused by the organization that captures them. Critics point out that it is difficult to control how the data from video surveillance because cameras are so easily attainable and the technology is so advanced that nearly anyone could manipulate it for unethical purposes. As with any technological advancement, there will be those that find ways to abuse it. Take for example a number of incidents highlighted by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in their article Whats Wrong With Public Video Surveillance? (2002). The general manager of a prominent Florida newspaper installed a hidden video camera in the employees bathroom under the guise of eliminating employee theft. The problem lies in the fact that when confronted with the cameras placement the manager could not document any thefts that had occurred. Or the management at Bostons Sheraton Hotel covertly recording its employee s changing clothes in a locker room on the pretext that it was investigating suspected drug use by its workers. Or the JC Penney security guard in Concord, California, that was caught showing off recordings during which he zoomed in on female customers breasts as they walked around the store. Needless to say, there is certainly room for abuse. However, the claim by those opposed to video surveillance that there is no way to control this type of abuse is unfounded. Each of the situations described here exposed the responsible person and/or their employing organization to both criminal and civil penalties. Laws to curb this type of infraction are already on the books and are capable of dealing with these infractions when discovered. Opponents might say that this type of illegal activity is difficult to detect so we should ban this type of surveillance. I would submit that this logic is akin to banning automobile use because driving under the influence is a difficult crime to detect an d prevent. The argument simply does not make practical sense. When holes are found in the current laws that new technologies take advantage of, our legislatures have been quick to respond with new laws and practices. Legislation has been presented at both state and federal levels that would restrict the use of public video surveillance, but many of these proposed changes have been stricken down. The courts and legislatures have made it clear that this type of surveillance in areas commonly open to the public and conducted for public safety purposes are neither illegal nor unconstitutional (USLegal, Inc., 2010). Where these systems do find trouble with the Constitution is when they find themselves pointed into a private dwelling or other place protected by the search and seizure doctrines of the Fourth Amendment. The United States Supreme Court has decided a number of privacy rights cases, but most critical to the concept of video surveillance is seen in Katz v. United States (1967). The court ruled there is no expectation of privacy in a public place. They confirmed the limits of Fourth Amendment protections against an illegal search did not apply in areas that a person lacked this expectation of privacy. In Katz the court ruled, What a person knowingly exposes to the public, is not a subject of Fourth Amendment protection, but what he seeks to preserve as private, even in an area accessible to the public, may be constitutionally protected. As such, a person in a public place does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy from video surveillance cameras. As for the general publics perception of the legitimacy of utilizing video surveillance technology to monitor their daily lives, most have recognized it as a necessary reduction in their privacy to combat todays threat of violent crime and terrorism. Most accept the loss of some personal freedom for a feeling of security. Video surveillance by law enforcement agencies in public places is accepted by most as a minimally invasive measure implemented for the well being of the public. As highlighted in the Pompano article, Although (citizens) may not be happy with the use of the video surveillance equipment to catch them as they go through a red light, few people will argue with the reasoning that video cameras promote safety (2010). Most law enforcement agencies will tell you there is no replacement for having cops on the beat when it comes to fighting crime, but the police cannot be everywhere at all times. With the technology advancements made in video surveillance systems and capabil ities now they dont have to be.

Aaron Copland :: essays research papers

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland was the embodiment of what a composer can hope to become. Copland was very much in touch not only with himself and his feelings, but with the audience he intended to reach. Very few composers have a concrete idea of what "types" of people they wish their music to reach. Copland was one of these few. The "Common Man" was the central part of much of his volumes of music strived to reach. Copland felt that, ". .everyone should have a chance to see things through this music. Limiting who can understand it only limits your usefulness" Throughout his 75+ years as a composer and conductor, he touched the lives and hearts of as many people as he could. Copland was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1900 to fairly affluent parents. Because of his family's financial status, he started formally training as a teen, and moved to Paris where he became the first American student of Nadia Boulanger. It was here that Copland developed much of his neo-classical style. Although he enjoyed the precise structure that Boulanger had taught him, Copland's heart was truly in creating music that people other than musicians could appreciate. It was upon his return to America in 1924 that he decided that he would write ". . .truly American music." He traveled throughout America, getting a taste of what the "common man" was listening to. During these travels he strayed into Mexico, and wrote the highly successful El Salon Mexico. A quote from the fall of 1932 sums up his intentions in writing this piece: "Any composer who goes outside his native land wants to return bearing musical souvenirs." This is exactly what he did. The piece is a lively adaptation of Frances Toor's Cancionero Mexicano, with a very loose tempo, and heavy use of the horn section. It was after the success of El Salon Mexico that Copland proceeded to produce what is now considered the epitome of "American" music. He combined his neo-classical schooling with jazz-like syncopation and a new, more "open" use of old chordal progressions. He created Billy The Kid in 1938, producing the first "Western" musical. The score achieved a remarkable balance between outright humor and pathos, and oftentimes bordered on tragic. It was this base understanding of humanity that made Copland's music what it is. Many texts also refer to a certain built in sympathy that Copland may have had for the main character, citing his homosexuality as a cause for his deep understanding of what it is to be looked down upon by society.

Physics Lab/ Radiation

Blackbody Radiation Lab 11 Go to http://phet. colorado. edu/simulations/sims. php? sim=Blackbody_Spectrum and click on Run Now. 1) In this lab, you will use the Blackbody Spectrum Simulation to investigate how the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation emitted by objects is affected by the object's temperature. In this simulation, you can input the temperature and observe the spectrum of the radiation emitted. a) The temperature of stars in the universe varies with the type of star and the age of the star among other things.By looking at the shape of the spectrum of light emitted by a star, we can tell something about its average surface temperature. i) If we observe a star's spectrum and find that the peak power occurs at the border between red and infrared light, what is the approximate surface temperature of the star? (in degrees C) The temperature will be ~4000K which would be about 3276 degrees Celcius. ii) If we observe a stars spectrum and find that the peak power occurs at the border between blue and ultraviolet light, what is the surface temperature of the star? in degrees C) The temperature would be about 7050 degrees Celcius. b) Light bulbs operate at 2500 degrees C. What is the wavelength at which the most power is emitted for a light bulb operating at 2500 C? The wavelength would be equal to 1000nm ii) Explain why regular incandescent bulbs waste a lot of energy. Be sure to include your reasoning. The majority of the light emitted is at wavelengths that are longer than that, that are visible. So the power going into the light bulb that is producing non-visible light is wasted. It is wasting energy that way, so regular incandescent bulbs are inefficient. ) In this problem we will explore the greenhouse effect by using the Greenhouse Effect Simulation available from http://phet. colorado. edu/simulations/sims. php? sim=The_Greenhouse_Effect a) Explore the simulation. True or False The only effect of increasing the number of clouds is to reduce the amo unt of sunlight absorbed by the surface of the earth. Clouds reduce the amount of sunlight absorbed by reflecting sunlight back away from earth. Clouds also can absorb infrared radiation emitted by the surface and then send it back to spae. True or FalseIncreasing the concentration of greenhouse gases, increases the amount of radiation that Earth emits to space. Earth used to emit the same amount of radiation it absorbed, but not now. So now the radiation that used to be absorbed by the earth is remitted down and absorbed by the ground. So the earth is taking in this radiation and is warming up. Without the damage and pollution humans have caused then this would not be the case and it would be in equilibrium. True or False When sunlight encounters a cloud, the cloud reflects about 10% of the sunlight back to space. The cloud reflects about 50% of the sunlight back to space. True or FalseWhen there is a very large concentration of greenhouse gases, most of the IR radiation reaching s pace has interacted with greenhouse gas molecules on its way from the surface to space. Yes, the greenhouse gases absorb IR radiation. True or False The total amount of radiation absorbed by the Earth’s surface is not affected by the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Sunlight and greenhouse gases are absorbed by earth. When earths atmosphere has greenhouse gases the IR radiation is emitted by the surface and absorbed and also redirected back down to the surface. So the total amount of radiation absorbed is increasing.True or False At higher temperatures, the Earth’s surface emits more IR radiation. Yes because if the temperature increases then the power radiated increases as well. True or False During the ice age, the amount of sunlight absorbed by the Earth’s surface decreased. During the ice age the ice on the earth would also reflect sunlight back, making less sunlight absorbed by the earths surface. True or False All greenhouse gases are f rom anthropogenic sources (that is due to man’s activities). Not true, most are naturally occurring but man has increased greenhouse gasses especially the high amounts of carbon dioxide present now†¦from man’s doing.

Child Obesity Essay

Child obesity has reached epidemic proportions in countries such as the United States, and is a growing issue that has profound consequences of physical and emotional development in children. Obesity is largely the result of lack of exercise and dietary lifestyle choices that promote weight gain, and when these habits begin early in childhood they have a strong potential to persist for the rest of an individual’s life. The detrimental effects of obesity have led to a rise in skyrocketing diseases, with diabetes being at the top of the list. Unfortunately, diabetic children are at greater risk of developing high cholesterol and hypertension, also increasing the chances of suffering from heart complications. Medical bills and office visits seem to be growing alongside their weight, due to the major health problems many face from being overweight. Many factors contributing to child obesity are associated with dietary habits, physical inactivity, and socio-economic status. In the article â€Å"Prevalence of Obesity, Diabetes, and Obesity-Related Health Risk Factors† researchers conclude that obesity in childhood leads to both immediate and long-term health consequences, including an increased risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, joint problems, and an overall poor health status. The researchers point out that a third of high blood pressure cases and 88 to 97% of cases of type II diabetes are a result of obesity. Furthermore, their research draws attention to the correlation between obesity and congestive heart failure, heart attack, sudden cardiac death, abnormal heart rhythms, and how high cholesterol and hypertension in overweight individuals place them at even a greater risk of stroke. The authors add, in a population based sample 70% of obese youths had at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Although the research points out a strong link between obesity and many chronic diseases, it is a health issue that can be prevented by encouraging children to practice regular exercise and to focus on choosing healthier foods for their body. The opportunity for children to consume an abundance of fast food than earlier generations has created vast opportunities for adolescents to become obese. The high consumption of sugary foods and drinks with minimal nutritional value, particularly in school cafeterias has become a primary culprit. It is highly evident that the majority of food options in schools contain high caloric starched carbohydrates loaded with tons of grease, oil, cream, cheese, and butter. Tragically the junk foods offered in schools are increasing the likelihood of diabetes and other major health problems, so it is of utmost importance to increase education and government interventions due to childhood obesity increasing worldwide. Educated families of healthy dietary options, and transforming unhealthy cafeteria school meals, will greatly increase awareness and improve the overall health of children lives’. To help address the childhood obesity problem, the First Lady, Michelle Obama has initiated the campaign â€Å"Let’s Move† which aimed to influence healthy eating habits in children by providing healthier lunch options in schools, and to do this she helped pass a bill to increase funding for school cafeterias to replace their unhealthy foods with salad bars. The First Lady also worked with the American Beverage Association to develop clearer calorie labels for soda. There is a severe challenge in low-income neighborhoods, being bombarded with fast food joints and very few healthy supermarkets. Many families are not able purchase nutritious meals, nor wholesome organic fruits, vegetables, and meat.