Evidence Based Practice Essay

Examine the ways that health professionals can use the five steps of evidence-based practice (EBP) as a practical framework to overcoming barriers to locating, appraising and applying best research evidence. Use an occupational health and safety practice as an example. Examples of occupational health and safety practices include:   Use of professional protective equipment (e.g. gloves)   Safety considerations when using equipment (e.g. sharps)   (or a topic you select yourself in negotiation with your LIC) Health professionals are very good at seeking information from their clients and their families and also from the settings in which they work but however they have not been as aware of the information that they can gain from research. Although they need information from many sources, evidence based practice shows how research can also play a role in informing clinical decisions, (Hoffmann ,2010). Health professionals use the five steps of evidence-based practice (EBP) as a structure to overcoming barriers and applying best research. Examples of this include use of professional protective equipment and safety considerations when using equipment. Liamputtong (2010) states that evidence based practice is a â€Å"process that requires the practitioner to find empirical evidence about the effectiveness or efficacy of different treatment options and then determine the relevance of the evidence to a particular clients situation† (pp. 252). Sackett (1996, pp.71) states that â€Å"conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individuals patients. The practice of evidence based medicine means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external evidence from systematic research, and the more thoughtful identification and compassionate use of individual patients’ predicaments, rights and preferences.† The purpose of evidence-based practice is to assist in clinical decision-making. To make informed clinical decisions, we need to integrate lots of pieces of information, (Hoffmann ,2010). EBP reduces inconsistency in practice and increa ses efficiency and effectiveness, and therefor has been accepted by the government and funding bodies as essential to better health care. (Liamputtong, 2010). Evidence based practice has 5 steps. The first step is to convert your information needs into an answerable clinical question. The process of EBP begins with the recognition that as a health professional, have clinical information need, these types of clinical information needs can be answered with assistance of research evidence. After converting your information into clinical questions, you then need to find the best evidence to answer your clinical question, and then upon finding the evidence, you will need to critically appraise it. This means you need to examine the evidence closely to determine whether its worthy of being used to inform your clinical practice. There are 3 main aspects of the evidence that need to be appraised; Internal validity – refers to whether the evidence is trustworthy, impact – health professionals need to determine the impact of the evidence and applicability – this means to evaluate whether you can apply the results of the study to your client. The fourth step is to integrate the evidence with clinical expertise, the clients values and circumstances, and information from the practice context. The final step consists of evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency with which steps 1-4 were carried out and think about ways to improve your performance of them next time. (Hoffmann ,2010, pp.4) Evidence based practice is important because it aims to provide the most effective care that is available, with the aim of improving client outcomes. It is also important because when an individual seeks health care from a health professional, you would expect that they would provide you with most effective care and the most accurate health care information. It is also important because it reduces inconsistency in practice and increases efficiency and effectiveness. (Liamputtong ,2010, pp.253). Evidence based practice promotes an attitude of inquiry in health professionals and gets people thinking about things like ‘Why am I doing this in this way? , Is there evidence that can guide me to do this more effective way?. The most important role-played is that in ensuring that health resources are used wisely and that relevant evidence is considered when decisions are made about funding health services. Evidence-based practice provides a critical strategy to ensure that care is up t o date and that it reflects the latest  research evidence. In summary, it is important because it results in better patient outcomes, it contributes to the science of nursing, it increases confidence in decision-making and policies and procedures are current and include the latest research. (Suzanne ,2006 pp. 8) Some safety considerations, prevention and control measures include hand hygiene; the health professionals checking that all their patients’ hands and fingernails are clean. Health professionals must always perform hand hygiene rules before and after each contact with client/patient or any contact with environmental surfaces near the client/patient. Another consideration is all personal protective equipment is to be removed/discarded before leaving the room of a patient who is suspected of having a infection. Health professionals know these health/safety measures are effective because of study and previous research. (Hoffman, 2010) They can firstly convert them into questions; for example – what equipment will best prev ent myself from coming into contact with any infection?, from there research is done. Health professionals then apply this knowledge in the workplace and see whether it’s an effective method or not. The barriers that prevent nurses from using research include; lack of value for research in practice, difficulty in changing practice, lack of administration support, lack of knowledgeable mentors, insufficient time to conduct research, lack of education about the research process, complexity of research reports and difficulty accessing research reports and articles. Another barrier is also the insufficient fund supply. (Suzanne , 2006 pp. 10) A facilitating factor is that the organisation should support staff to practice evidence based practice by allocating time for individuals to pursue it. Newhouse (2007). Limitations consist of low response rate, health professionals passionate either positively or negatively more likely to respond and also the self reporting to assess knowledge, skills and attitudes may resulted in inflated or underestimated scores. â€Å"Systematic reviews may be of varying kinds, but all are based on rigorous protocols† (Liamputtong, 2010) In conclusion health professionals seek information from patients/clients but  they also turn a blind eye to the information that they can gain form research unintentionally. They do this by using the 5-step mechanism of evidence-based practice to overcome barriers and to find the most valid and reliable information. Examples of this consist of use of professional protective equipment and safety considerations such as disposing sharps after use. Reference list Liamputtong (2010). Research methods in health (2nd ed.) Australia: Oxford University Hoffmann (2010). Evidence based practice. Australia: Sunalie Silva Suzanne (2006) Evidence based practice in nursing. Australia: Mary Jo Newhouse (2007) Evidence based practice. Monash University : Gulzar Malik Vernel, E. (2011, December 9). Developing evidence based practice among students. Retrieved from http://www.nursingtimes.net/developing-evidence-based-practice-among-students/5038920.article

Causes And Effects Of Childhood Obesity Essay

Childhood obesity is not just an issue in the United States its wide-ranging. The amount of overweight and obese children in the U.S has increased at a rapid speed over the pass years, and there is no chance of it slowing down unless matters are taken. A fast-food craze has swept the nation, consequentially leaving a trail of defective nutrition in its wake. Fast-food corporations seems to be uplifting children to consume regular amounts of unhealthy foods by giving away toys with a purchase of a kids meals. Television, computers, cell phones, and video games are which considered to be technological necessities, have begun to take of the importance of exercise. By these influences can lead up to childhood obesity, which comes along with an overwhelming abundance of negative effects obesity puts children at a every high risk of numerous illnesses not only do children with poor eating habitats have unhealthy weight, but yet they have a high risk of having weak lungs, poor blood quality , and variety of other sicknesses. Despite the obstacles, there are ways to slow the outbreak that’s called childhood obesity. Prevention can be accomplished by following a balanced diet and participating in physical activities. There are a great deal of causes and negative effects of obesity in children, but likely there are ways to hinder or even discontinue the spread of this turning point. In the United States today we have a plague of childhood obesity. When we think about the problem, we began to point fingers at fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s, saying their food and servings sizes are to blame. However, I would debate that our lifestyle are really to blame we are so overly engage that we go to fast food restaurant instead of eating healthy meal at home. Children are considered obese is they have a body mass measure greater than for their age when unhealthy, fatty or sugary foods are consumed along with lacking amounts of exercise, obesity usually the outcome, Eating high-calorie foods usually like fast foods, baked goods, and vending machines snacks raise weight. Research shows that almost about  one-third of U.S. Children between ages four and nineteen consume fast food everyday out coming in a weight gain of about six to nine extra pounds each year, per child (NACHRI). Fast food consumption has increased numerous among children since 1970. Because of the abundance and availability unhealthy foods, children are very prone of becoming over weight. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-461876/Treat-child-obesity-neglect-say-doctors.html In the United States, The average child spends about for hours each day watching television (eMedicineHealth). This is the amount of time that could be spent outdoors participating in activities such as bike, roller-skating, and playing basketball. Emotional matters are another cause of childhood obesity. Obesity can result from a form of low self-esteem, depression, or dramatic life events. Dramatic events in the lives of young children such as deaths in the family, divorce of the parents, or moving from o ne place to another can also lead to overeating. Some children overeat as a way of dealing with problems in their lives or living under emotional stress and boredom and the lack of financial resources can play another part in childhood obesity as well. Children raised in low-income backgrounds have a much greater risk of dealing with obesity. Poverty can also inhibit some parents from being able to provide their children with proper nutritional diets and activities due to the lack of time and money. Childhood obesity is thought to not only result in emotional matters, poor nutrition, or lack of financial resources, but yet also genetics. Genetics are a cause of obesity in children, because metabolic rate disorder can be inherited. If one of a child’s parents are obese, the child has about a 50 percent chance of becoming obese however, it’s more likely to become the lifestyle a child inherits. Children of obese or overweight parents are much more prone to be overweight or obese due to eating the same food and mimic the parents level of activity. Obesity cannot be inherited, but disorders that can be result in obesity can. Hormone imbalances, steroids, and psychological medication can cause childhood obesity, but these events are very rare. Illnesses that prevent children from involvement in physical activity can result in obesity on rare occasions. Two of these illnesses are Prader-Willi syndrome and Chrusing’s syndrome. Prader-Willi syndrome is a congenital (present from birth) disease. It affects many parts of the body. People with this condition are obese.

Spiromery As A Tool Health And Social Care Essay

Chronic clogging pneumonic disease ( COPD ) is a equivalent word that includes a mixture of diseased procedures, stand foring as a group of different diseases. ( emedicine. 2010 ) Clearly it can non be defined based on its symptoms as they are nonspecific. COPD can non be defined on pathologic alterations either, because this is non clinically executable. As a consequence to this deficiency of standardisation, COPD is normally diagnosed in advanced phases, largely in patients over 40 old ages, during which the disease have settled in topographic point. This is attributed to the limitation of activity associated with the status, which may even take to disablement and restriction of normal function at work and/or place. Consequently, the diagnosing of COPD can merely be confirmed through a standard method that is spirometry. Although spirometry stands as the corner rock for diagnosing of COPD and rating its badness, its usage is still underestimated in general pattern and merely a little sector of specializers rely on it. This is related to the contentions in sentiments refering the proper usage and cogency of spirometry as a showing took for thorax diseases, which has been raised and dropped in several literatures along the past decennaries ( Ferguson, 2000 ; McIvor, 2001 ) This research aims to derive a better apprehension of the result of using spirometry in testing for COPD and measure the betterment related to early diagnosing with spirometry in patients with COPD. In the 2nd subdivision writer will be explicating the current epidemiology, pathophysiology and direction modes available and their forecast based on multiple factors that can better their quality of life and societal engagement. And in conclusion qualitative and quantitative attacks of measuring will be discussed in the 3rd subdivision. This status presents with inordinate mucous secretion secernment with airway obstructor and noticeable hyperplasia of mucus-producing glands.iThe ensuing endothelial harm interferes with the mucociliary response that usually clears bacteriums and mucous secretion in the lungs. Inflammation of the walls and secernments in the lms provide the clogging constituent of chronic bronchitis.Emphysema can show at the same time to a variable grade but normally is limited to the centre of one lobe ( centrilobular ) . Consequently, airing perfusion mismatch occur as a consequence of reduced airing and increased cardiac end product. This in bend causes hypoxemia and polycythemia ( Deborah, 2009 ) . It is markedly characterized by devastation of the walls of air passages distal to the terminal bronchiole. The pathological procedure in emphysema comprises gradual devastation of alveolar septae and the pneumonic capillary bed, ensuing in lessened capacity to oxygenize blood. This pushes the organic structure to take down the cardiac end product and consequence in hyperventilation. Consequently a limited sum of blood flows through a comparatively good oxygenated lung with normal force per unit area and blood gases doing a airing perfusion mismatch, in contrast to what happens in chronic bronchitis. The remainder of the organic structure nevertheless suffers from hypoxia due to reduced cardiac end product ( Paul K, 2010 ) . This, in add-on to pneumonic cachexy, consequences in musculus cachexia and weight loss and marks the patients as â€Å" pink blowfishs. † COPD is considered top serious lung disease in the United States. Over the last few decennaries, increasing Numberss of Americans are enduring from COPD making about 10 and 14 million grownups ( CDC, 2010 ) . However, informations from the 3rd National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveysishowed that about 24 million U.S. grownups have impaired lung capacities, which proves that COPD is under diagnosed. About 8 million physician office and infirmary outpatient visits were related to COPD with 1.5 million exigency section visits and 726,000 hospitalizations taking to about 119,000 deceases ( NCH, 1994 ) . Harmonizing to Swadron & A ; Mandavia ( 2009 ) , Men were assumed to be more apt to hold COPD. About 5 % of all white American work forces have COPD, while merely 2 % of all adult females have the disease. However, with the increased rate of smoke among adult females over the last decennary, there is a significant addition in the decease rate ensuing from COPD in adult females, from 58.4/100,000 in 2000 to 65.2/100,000 in 2005 as stated by the American lung association ( ALA ) . The twelvemonth 2000 was recognized as the first clip the figure of adult females deceasing from COPD exceeds the figure of work forces. This tendency continues thenceforth ( Anthonisen, 2008 ; ALA, 2009 ) . The American Thoracic Society and the European Respiratory Society ( ATS, 2010 ) , ias good as the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease guidelines indicate that spirometry is the gilded criterion for diagnosing of COPD. These standardsiencourage executing spirometry in all individuals with a history of smoke and occupational exposure to pollution, subjects with positive household history of COPD, or in instances of chronic productive cough with dyspnoea. This is related to the fact that the aassessment of airway obstructor is the lone nonsubjective manner for the diagnosing and appraisal of chronic clogging pneumonic disease ( COPD ) . The clinical and pathological facets of COPD, in add-on to the demand for measuring and appraisal in these instances, were mentioned in the first subdivision. In the following subdivision, the writer will discourse the facets of the mini undertaking including methodological analysis, informations aggregation, analysis and consequences concluded. This undertaking was done at the School of Health, Community and Education Studies in Northumbria Universityis Coach Lane Campus in the Sports Gymnasium under the surveillance of Dr. John Stephens and Dr. Mike Parr who are the faculty leaders of the PL0733 i.e. , iMeasurement and Assessment in Physiotherapyi . 8 of the MSc Physiotherapy pupils participated in the research and carried out the spirometry proving successfully. The procedure started at 10 a.m. and finished at 12 midday. The purpose of this survey is to find the function of spirometry as a tool for measuring and appraisal of COPD instances. For this purpose quantitative attack was used as it suits the intent with its mensurating phenomena and positivism doctrine ( Creswell, 2003 ) . ICF will be used as a model to measure the values of the result adopted by the proposed research. During this research, the research worker relied on positive paradigm, as opposed to the phenomenological paradigm used in qualitative research which does non carry through the demands of the survey ( Glesne & A ; Peshkin 1992 ) . This explains the authoris pick of quantitative methodological analysis as the research did non take to develop theory but aimed to analyze the function of spirometry and compare research findings with the already established theory in the literature.

Global Politics - 10 short answer questions - 150words each Essay

Global Politics - 10 short answer questions - 150words each - Essay Example by deregulation requirements, opening its markets to transnational corporations and other regulations imposed upon it by the World Trade Organization. Thus, sovereignty, to such an extent is eroded; the state compromises some of its powers; actors other than the state take center stage; additional security issues have to be taken into consideration like transnational crimes, international terrorism, refugees and the like . Ans.: Classical liberalism is liberalism that is centered on the individual and the capacity of that individual to make the right choices for his own self that eventually reflects and redound to the good and benefit of society in general. Both classical liberalism and neo-liberalism are founded on the basic tenets of freedom but while classical liberalism is individual-centered, neo-liberalism depends on the state to impose laws that promote free trade and market liberalism. The state does not leave it up to the individuals but takes the initiative to promote free trade where the individuals have as much as possible unfettered economic freedom and the state as little as possible role. Neo-liberalism, which was popularized sometime in the 1980s, is an offshoot of classical liberalism which is an older concept. Ans.: Yes, because the actions of states or state strategies are supposed to be primarily geared for the protection and promotion of the national interest. In this sense, it is therefore important to understand exactly what the national interest or interests are for the deeper understanding of the motivations of the actions of a particular state. Although the exact nature of national interest will depend largely on the time and period and sometimes from a subjective point of view, the concept of national interest almost always includes the following: the state’s jurisdiction, patrimony; assets and resources; national and cultural values, and; national goals and alliances. Ans.: There are several theories. the psychological theory

Literary Analysis . book analysis the book named Ender's game Essay

Literary Analysis . book analysis the book named Ender's game - Essay Example Ender’s tactical genius comes into play, during his training. Card has since written additional novels that form the Eder’s Game series. In 1991, the novel was updated to reflect the current political climate. With the book’s military background, the book has since been recommended by many armed forces such as the US Marine Corps. The main protagonist of the book Ender’s Game Andrew â€Å"Ender† Wiggin is portrayed as weak as the plot builds up. He is even considered illegitimate â€Å"a Third† based on earth’s two child policies. Ender proves himself by fatally wounding a superior opponent Stilson. The International Fleet’s colonel Graff rewards Ender by offering him a place in the battle school. Ender eventually forms â€Å"Ender’s Jeesh† an elite squad made of former cadets who are loyal to him. Through hard work and sacrifice Ender’s action’s annihilates the Bugger’s fleet and he is proclai med hero in earth. Though his friends return to earth, Ender is posted Ero were he discovers a dormant egg. Ender and her sister Valentine transverse the universe in search of a safe place for un-hatched Hive Queen. Ender’s Game revolves around the life of Ender in different spheres. This literary analysis will do a character analysis of Ender the main character of the book. Ender’s violent nature is what eventually wins the war for earth. Though he hates this trait, it is what paves the way for his destiny and endears him to his peers and the entire earth populace. This trait shows up early in his life when he beats up Stilson to death a fact which he comes to learn of later. At only six, Ender’s violent nature is ubiquitous. Ender hates his brutality a character he shares with his brother Peter. In the events that lead to Ender fatally wounding the bully Stilson; we see Ender being cornered by group of boys teasing him â€Å"a Third†. Ender stops their bullying nature by viciously kicking Stilson in the chest though he is

How Antibotic Resistance occurs and Prevention of Resistance Essay

How Antibotic Resistance occurs and Prevention of Resistance - Essay Example The situation is so serious that some medical experts have suggested the fact that the medical field might again fall into the dark period where there were no antibiotics (Davies & Davies 2010). Antibiotic resistance is a serious medical issue that is led to by many reasons and many drug resistance strains have of bacteria have resulted for example the strains of Neisseria gonorrhea. Antibiotic resistance has evolved owing to many underlying causes. Human activities have been a major cause. These include the utilization of antibiotics regularly for agricultural purposes and the disposing of wastes containing a high quantity of the antibiotics. Treatment plans for wastewater are also seen to have high quantities of genes and resistant bacteria. The incorrect use of antibiotics is another reason for the formation of drug resistant strains of bacteria. Genetic changes are the most common reason for the creation of resistance strains. The most common mutations are noted in the genes that code for the ÃŽ ²-lactamase enzymes. Intrinsic resistance is another process which results in resistant bacterial strains. This results as the genetic code of certain bacteria already possesses the capability of forming new resistant strains. Certain bacteria already possess the ability of preventing the functioning of antibiotics and hence this is also a cause of antibiotic resista nce (Davies & Davies 2010). Neisseria gonorrhea is a common bacterial agent which has had many genetic changes that have resulted in making many antibiotics ineffective in its treatment. Sulfonamides were considered to be the best treatment for gonorrhea but after a short period of their usage resistant strains of this bacteria came forward. Gonococcus bacteria have the capability to adapt to changes in their surrounding and undergo changes which is the reason for the

Macroeconomic policies, government attitudes towards Inequality Essay

Macroeconomic policies, government attitudes towards Inequality - Essay Example So, this represents the economic insecurities and unemployment in the economy which reduce the growth level. Those countries which have inequality pattern in the recent years always face fewer opportunities in the future. The basic problem that arises due to inequality is the polarization of society that affects the growth level because in these middle skill jobs are not the part of the employment pool. So, the inequality can be harmful for the economic growth in the long run (Stiglitz, 2012). Polarization of the Labour Force Its mean the disappearance of the middle skill jobs, this is happening for last three decades that the share of middle skill jobs reduced from the employment pool that is the result of recession in the economy. The four important sectors of middle skill jobs like sales, office and administrative workers, operators and production workers have lost their most of the portion from the employment pool. So, the wages and earnings of this area labour force have fallen over the three decades. This term shows the inequality between the top level societies and middle skills societies because the disparity between the wages of the top and middle increased means the wage level of the middle skill jobs have gone down. So, the polarization of the labour force shows that top-level are going to be rich further and more people are moving towards the bottom (as poor as possible) (Needle, 2005). Theories Theories regarding the labour market polarization are; Spatial Polarization Theory and Social Polarization theory (Thornley, 1992). These theories are discussed below; Spatial Polarization Theory A main differentiation in labour market theory is that between the idea of continuity and discontinuity. In general, when this distinction is used for labour market change, it tends to raise the debate between â€Å"social polarization† views and â€Å"Inequality theory.† The previous perspective begins by mentioning the undisputable shifts in the labo ur demand. Such process of industrial transformation has occurred in Europe and United States, result to a decrease in the chances that offer for occupational mobility (Thornley, 1992). This process is the selective emigration of urban occupants, in which middle-class (particularly white) families leave, at the beginning to the suburbs and afterward to the villages to become a new rural middle class. This is process of involves two sides one is the supply side and the second is the demand side. However it creates â€Å"inequality† between the supply of suitable labour and the newly increasing demand for technical qualifications. This spatial polarization theory is useful in describing the impacts of post industrial change in an area. It is true at a great cost that national minorities are extremely vulnerable to such changes (Thornley, 1992). Social Polarization Theory The segregation process in a society which might arise because of the inequality of income, economic restruc turing and so on is called as social polarisation i.e., the distinction which might comprise of several social groups, from high-income to low-income. This social polarization theory deals with the growth of low-skilled services jobs as well as the expansion of elite of higher professionals (Thornley, 1992).

Evaluating, Narrating, and Describing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evaluating, Narrating, and Describing - Essay Example This story has been written in such a way that it is likely to cause mixed feelings among the targeted readers. The story vividly describes the perceptions held by different people about the role of the wife in their lives. Feminists are likely to view this story from a negative perspective since it stereotypes the role of wives as child minders as well as responsible for taking care of the family. the author states that she wants a so that she can go back to school to acquire knowledge which in turn can empower her economically when she gets a well paying job. In different patriarchal societies, men believe that only men should be gainfully employed and the wives should concentrate on performing different household chores. Wives should be dependent on their husbands for any financial needs and they should stay at home in order to take care for the kids. The author states that: â€Å"I want a wife to take care of my children. I want a wife to keep track of the children’s doct or and dentist appointments. And to keep track of mine, too. I want a wife to make sure my children eat properly and are kept clean,† (1). This shows that wives are often viewed as solely responsible for performing household tasks as mentioned above. The author also suggests that a wife should submit herself under her husband and she should do anything desired by him. This is reflected in the following statement: â€Å"I want a wife who will not bother me with rambling complaints about a wife’s duties,† (2). From this statement, it can be seen that a wife is supposed to obey the commands of the husband and she should not complain about her duties. In other words, the author is trying to portray wives as objects of their male counterparts. The author also states that a wife has a duty to satisfy the sexual desires of her husband whenever he feels like having sexual intercourse with her. This is shown in the following statement: â€Å"I want a wife who is sensitiv e to my sexual needs, a wife who makes love passionately and eagerly when I feel like it, a wife who makes sure that I am satisfied,† (2). A close analysis of this statement shows that wives are often treated as sexual objects and they should abide by the sexual demands of their husbands under whatever condition. The author further states that she wants a wife who will not demand sex from the husband even if she feels like doing it. In other words, the wife is portrayed as a person who does not have feelings but just a sexual object. The author also portrays the husband as someone who has the right to engage in extra marital affairs whenever he finds someone appealing than his wife. This shows the extent to which wives are treated in some sections of the society across the globe. This story is likely to strongly appeal to the emotions of women who are forced to view themselves as being relegated to lower levels in the society in a negative way. Feminists and rights activists a re likely to criticise this story in strong and harsh terms since they advocate for equality between men and women. Feminists in different parts of the world argue that there should be equality between men and women and they should also be given equal employment opportunities just like their male counterparts. This would emancipate them so that they would not solely depend on their husbands for survival. Rights activists argue that women should also be economically empowered so that they can also independently make their own

The Subjectivity of Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Subjectivity of Ethics - Essay Example How I view the world depends on my perspective, and there are as many perspectives as there are people. My perspective is a unique creature born of a combination of factors like where I was born (my cultural background), my personal experiences, my gender, my mental make-up and even my physical make-up. My perspective could definitely alter from time to time, and with it so could my ideas of what is right and what is wrong. However, since personal values do not change so fast, or are subject to change only if I experience a major transformation in my own life, we may say that personal ethics do not change - they evolve - over a period of time, in response to my maturing outlook on life. Since each person views the world differently, it is virtually impossible to have a uniform code of conduct for people. Since morality depends on beliefs, we would have to conclude that there are as many systems of morality as there are people upon this earth, as each person comes ensconced in his own cocoon of beliefs. However, even if ethicality and morality are subjective, there still are certain universal human values. There are some basic rules of conduct that are binding on all persons at all times. Let us try and identify some of these basic values, which are accepted across cultures, and over the centuries as necessary for the continuation of human life. They are respect for human life, respect for the person and basic dignity of a human being, and respecting certain mores of sexual conduct and behavior, to mention a few. There are circumstances where transgressing universal human values would not be wrong, and may even become necessary. Let us examine the afore-mentioned permanent human values. Respect for human life. In all cultures, in all ages, it has been agreed that human life should be treated with the utmost respect. Are there any circumstances where the taking of a human life is morally defensible Definitely, there are. If I am attacked, and the only way to protect myself is by counter attack, would not this counter attack be morally defensible Those who advocate pacifism of a Gandhian variety may not agree. But most others would. How about euthanasia - aiding someone to die Aiding someone who is terminally ill, suffering a lot, and is even perhaps old and has already lived a long and fulfilling life. I may speed that person on her way, out of love and compassion for her. Coming to another example - respect for human life is enshrined in the taboo against eating human flesh. Now suppose, jus t suppose someone is drifting on the ocean, or trapped somewhere with nothing to eat. Suppose he has a companion who dies, and he is left to battle for life against hunger and cold and the wilderness. Suppose that this person transgresses a fundamental human value, and actually eats the flesh of a dead companion to keep alive, would he be doing a wrong It is easy to discuss the rightness or the wrong of such actions, theoretically, and even denounce them. But going even for a day without food or drink is so difficult for most people, how can we judge what happens to a person when he is tested in extreme situations of hunger and deprivation, and pass judgment

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

Sports - Essay Example When fans attend a sports match, they want to feel satisfied that they have got their money’s worth. The three sports that are the most spectator-friendly are wresting, basketball, and soccer. The kind of sums paid to participants in these sports makes the price of admission go up considerably. True fans, though, do not want to miss out on any action and will thus support their sport no end. Wrestling is a sport that is not for the faint of heart. As there is no ball involved, the wrestlers must use their bare hands to overcome their opponent. For fans, this can be great because they can view two fighters slugging it out in the ring. This is a sport that relies a lot upon adrenaline. The thrill that viewers get exceeds the average sporting experience. A downside to participating in this sport is that a lot of physical damage can occur to the body. Later in life, ex-wrestlers commonly have permanent physical disabilities that result in them not being able to live a normal life. Many ex-wrestlers end up going off the deep end and doing something bad. Basketball is one of the fastest sports out there. It is played so fast that there is very little time for players to celebrate after they have made a basket, simply because the opposing team is already making their way down the court. The power and skill of some basketball players makes this sport an awesome viewing experience. For spectators, prices can be expensive because of the wealth of the sport. Similar to wrestling, although not quite as much, basketball is a relatively physical sport. The sheer physical size of some of the players means that it is inevitable that physical contact will be part and parcel of the sport. Finally, soccer is often called the beautiful game because of the nice way in which it is played. Just like basketball, soccer is known as a ball sport. Most people consider the sport to be somewhat physical,

Prescription for success in an associate degree nursing program Article

Prescription for success in an associate degree nursing program - Article Example Over the past several years, due to the growing burden of several diseases, there has been an exponential rise in the demand for health care professionals, including nurses, leading to a rapid influx of nursing students into nursing programs in order to overcome this existing nursing shortage. However, this rapid influx results in a trade-off between the quality of nursing education being provided vs. the quantity of students enrolled each year in order to increase the workforce. Initial reactions to the study After going through this article, my initial reaction to it was a mixed one. In my opinion, while this article addresses and underscores a very important issue, which compels the readers to read this article, the article itself does little justice to the topic that it is addressing and has several shortcomings. This is due to several reasons, the most important one being the lack of proper organization. As the readers go through this article, instead of getting a clear idea of what the author is trying to get across, they become confused. Although the author has attempted at organizing the article into different sections and subsections based on the themes identified from the research being carried out, the content discussed within these subsections is very ambiguous, particularly due to the use of pseudonyms which makes it confusing for the readers to identify whether the author is referring to the faculty members or the students. Moreover, the language used is also confusing at certain instances which makes it difficult for the readers to decipher what the author is trying to convey. ... 98),’ it is unclear whether the instructor Amanda believed that students who are adept in clinical might have difficulty in taking tests or all the participants in the study had this opinion or whether Amanda believed that this was the general opinion of all the participants of the study. Descriptive vividness of the article With regard to the descriptive vividness of the article, while there are certain sections of the article which have been described in adequate detail, such as the methodology, there are also certain areas which lack in clarity and detail and would have benefitted from further elaboration. For example, in the background section, the scope of the problem is not clearly defined, which should have been done, preferably with the use of statistical figures such as percentages. Doing this would have helped the readers gauge the magnitude of the burden that the problem of nursing shortage poses on the health care system and the nursing programs which leads them to increase admission rates to overcome this dire shortage of workforce. Similarly, the section mentioning the results of the study is followed directly by a section on recommendations and there is no discussion section preceding recommendations. As a norm for both qualitative and quantitative studies, the results are followed by a section on the discussion of the important findings from amongst those results and their comparison with existing studies. This was not done by the author. Moreover, although the objective of this study was to elucidate the factors underlying success of students enrolled in a nursing program and to throw light on the experiences of successful students, the main

Chinese Nationalism Essay Essay Example for Free

Chinese Nationalism Essay Essay A? er a long ? me of peace and success the Qing dynasty was the highest point of its power. However, as ? me passes they were harassed and humiliated by western powers, quickly the Qing dynasty collapsed. But the Qing collapsed due to the tremendous external pressures of moderniza? on that the west implemented. Extraterritoriality was a huge contribu? ng factor to the fall of the Qing dynasty. China set aside (ve coastal ports for the Bri? sh to use in the southern part of the country. From the start this was a bad idea, basically China was giving them a part of their land for them to save and make money o* of. This caused a limit on their taxes for imported goods. Essen? ally, the Bri? sh were saving and making so much money from this that their army prospered. The Bri? sh army grew because now that they had an outstanding amount of money they were able to cover the costs of war and spend the money on their own country. But it didn’t stop there; China also gave the Bri? sh the island of Hong Kong. This meant that they were able to obtain even more wealth by taking advantage of the land. The ac? On that China made which allowed the Bri? sh to use a part of their country was set up to fail, nothing good could have came out of this to help China which is why external pressures were such a big factor in the fall of the Qing dynasty. Similar to extraterritoriality, an interna? onal economy also caused a decline in the Qing dynasty. During the ? me European traders moved into China, China’s trade and industry were doing extremely in large ci? es. At this ? me, westerners forced China to join the interna? Onal economy; this was huge for China’s economy because it would reach its utmost height; but in the long run was not bene(cial for China at all. Imperialism started to become a problem in China. Many of the Chinese were being used, and it caused a state of dependence on China. Also due to imperialism China was in a period of underdevelopment. This meant that because of foreign countries taking advantage of China; instead of the pro(ts Chinas new economy was making going to its own country it went to foreign na? ons. Chinas industry and trade went through a ? Me of deteriora? ng, which caused the economy to go down and China as a whole to weakening. China was also being used for its land and resources, which is why Jack Petersohn History in-class essay other countries were â€Å"carving up the Chinese melon†. Many European and western countries wanted to have a piece of China; therefore they were â€Å"carving up the Chinese melon†. These foreign na? ons forced China to reform to new ways and change even though they wanted to keep tradi? on. For example westerners introduced China to new means of transporta? On and technology. China may have enjoyed and used these new advances but it took them away from their tradi? on; this caused an outbreak for rebellion and revolt. Therefore triggering a decline in the na? on due to external pressures. The foreign in6uences on China caused the Qing dynasty to struggle in maintaining power. Westerners use China for its individual economical bene(ts while China was in a ? me of stress and were barely keeping power. Eventually China declined and the Qing dynasty fell due to the external pressures.

Development of First Person Shooter (FPS) Games

Development of First Person Shooter (FPS) Games First-person shooter (FPS) is a video game that shows the game play around gun and projectile weapon-based combat in the perspective of main person. The player experiences the action via the protagonist eye view. In general, the first-person shooter shares common characters along with some other shooter games. From the genres inception, advanced 3D graphics elements have challenged the hardware development, also the multiplayer gaming has been integral. First-person shooters are a type of 3D shooter game, featuring a first person point of view with which the player sees the action through the eyes of the player character. Usually, a player goes through a series of levels. The best examples are Halo series, the Left 4 Dead and Half-Life series, and Golden Eye: 007. General: There are many different types of PC games in the market today. From the flight simulators to a real-time strategy, all the varieties have created niche markets amongst several computer gamers. First-Person Shooter is one of the swiftly growing game-types. Over-the-shoulder shooter games other game names which are based upon relatively premises comes under First-Person Shooter as a subcategory. We can see through the eyes of main character. The goal will be very simple for such games. However, reducing the genre to simplistic elements fails to appreciate the reasons that these games are so popular. First-person shooters implements latest technology and lead the industry. Later it provided support for multi-player gaming, also generated praise and condemnation. As we all know that the action games are fun-packed and thrilling thus become very popular. In this game, we need to use weapons, reflexes and special moves in order to beat the opponents and move ahead in the game. There are many types of shooter games. Content Analysis: In recent years, violent video games have become very popular. Every player creates their individual game content depending on the user s decisions and actions in a game. Individual game content concepts are essential for the evaluation of potential effects of media usage on cognitions, affects, and behavior. This study analyses the individually generated content with high temporal resolution. Continuous heart rate, skin conductance are associated with game content, which distinguishes the different game playing phases and transitions. In both intra-player and inter-player levels, Playing phases and transitions between playing phases are analyzed. History: The First-Person Shooters were evolved since 1970 s. Maze War and Spasim were started in 1973. However, the completion date is unknown. Later in 1974, University of Illinois was developed which was a rudimentary space flight simulator, and also first-person perspective. Detailed combat flight simulators and tank simulator development were influenced from Spasim. In 1980, Battlezone was released which is a tank game. First-person viewpoint and 3D graphics were successfully launched in 1983 for home computers In 1987, MIDI Maze was released which was an early first-person shooter. Through the MIDI interface it used to network multiplayer games before Ethernet and Internet was introduced. In 1991, Id Softwares Hovertank 3D developed ray casting knowledge to enable faster gameplay for vehicle simulators. Later advanced texture mapping was introduced though Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss. In 1992, role-playing game by Looking Glass Technologies introduced first person viewpoint and an advanced graphics engine. Due to violence associated with the First person shooters, they sometimes attract the negative attention of parents and censorship. They are liked by some and hated by others. However, now the First person shooters have evolved to be more than just mindless violence. The first FPS is Wolfenstein which was released in 1992 by id software. He Introduced super graphics, high quality sound, and unique playing styles and remained popular. In 1993, Doom was released by id software which was a big turning point in the First person shooters history. It was more powerful and advanced than Wildenstein, as it has a much larger weapons variety. One of its main selling points was its ability to stage multiplayer games. Due to Doom s success, id software has literally become the king of FPS game developers. In 1995, Star Wars were made into a FPS- Dark Forces by LucasArts. It is inspired by the movie, Star Wars. Later in 1996, RPG/FPS named Dagger fall was released by Bethesda Soft works. During this period, even the other genres are merged with FPS. One could fight enemies with swords, ride horses, join guilds, buy houses, burglarize shops, and even become a devil. In 1996, ID Software released Quake which was the first FPS to move from 2-dimensional pop-up enemies to fully 3-dimensional models. The gamers require 3D accelerator cards for high performance to play this game. In 1997, its sequel was released as Quake 2, which won much acclaim from both the gamers and critics. Golden Eye 007 which was one of the most popular console FPSs of all time was released in 1997 influenced from the movie of the same name. In 1998, the game Half-Life was released by Valve. It changed the gaming world by making its place as the greatest in the FP shooter. Amazing graphics, highly artificial environment, and a playing style influenced by movie. Thief: The Dark Project was released in the same year which emphasizes on stealth element. In 2000, Monolith Productions released No One Lives Forever. In 2001, Halo for Xbox was released by Bungie Studios. The story is futuristic and involves Master Chief fighting an alien cult and zombies in marine. In 2004, an incredibly cinematic Doom 3 was launched with the story based on mars. Later in 2004, Half-Life 2 was released which was considered as the greatest first person shooter ever. It features includes highly advanced graphics, amazing physics engine, and a super artificial intelligence. The complete history of First person shooters in brief above shows how the First person shooters have continued to push the sheath of graphics, sound, and game play. In the past decade, FPS achieved new heights. Making the gaming experience much more cinematic and realistic, First person shooters immerse the player into a completely new fascinating world. Difference between First Person Shooters and Third Person Shooters Due to crossover of features and other recent overlaps, differences between First person shooters and third person shooters continues to exist some confusion. One of the most basic differences is the character s perspective. In a FP shooters game, the player is the main character; and his viewpoint is through his own eyes. He will not be able to see himself, however, can view the surroundings. In FP shooters, you almost blow up everything you see. Hands and weapons can be seen at the bottom of the screen as the action is taking place through the eyes of the character. However, in third person shooter game, the main character can see himself on the screen. In Third-person shooters game, the surrounding environment was more clearly visible to the players. It helps the player to be more interactive with the surrounding environment. The main difference, between FP Shooters and Third Person Shooters, is the player perception in interacting with objects is more optimal. As the Third Person Shooter can see himself in the middle of the action, he can usually do some really kick-butt maneuvers like Jackie Chan style back flips and side rolls. That is the reason, the game designer is allowed to create more strongly characterized avatar, and directs the players attention as if watching a film. The boundaries between FP Shooters and Third-Person Shooters are not always clear. While the main character is driving a vehicle, many FPS games switch to a third-person viewpoint. In many other games like- Metroid Prime and Combat, the combination of first-person for aiming and third-person for driving has been used. Technology Advanced technology and Internet has led to the development of a number of multiplayer First person shooters. Multiplayer FP Shooter games online allows you to interact with players from all around the world and enjoy the FPS games online with them. You can even make teams online so as to kill the enemies easily. One of the most popular FP Shooter games online is Counter Strike is. In Counter Strike, you can interact with team partners so as to form the strategy on the selection of the weapons, decide the location and then fight enemies. Some FPS games focus on the storyline too, beside the action. Experiencing a different kind of world, you need to find clues and kill enemies silently so as to move ahead in the game. Half-Life is one such game. As a group, first-person shooters tend to be driving forces in accelerating the development of computer software and hardware. Other types of games are now trying to keep up, but FPSs have a clear lead in the technology race. The rise of the 3D graphics accelerator cannot be accredited to business applications; it is rooted firmly in computer games. It could be argued that 3Dfx, the company that created the Voodoo chipset used by several graphics cards, owes much of its success to GL Quake. A short list few FPS games: Zero Tolerance (Raycaster) Wolfenstein 3-D (Raycaster) Duke Nukem (Raycaster) Shadow Warrior (Raycaster) Doom (Raycaster) Rise of The Triad (Raycaster) Quake (3D) Quake 2 (3D) Quake III: Arena (3D) Hexen (Raycaster) Counter Strike 1.6 (3D) Counter Strike Source (3D) Shogo: Mobile Armor Division (3D) No One Lives Forever (3D) Half-Life (3D) Half-Life 2 (3D) Unreal (3D) Unreal Tournament (3D) Unreal Tournament 2004 (3D). Some popular first person shooter games description Maze war developer Steve colley, Platform; mlac PDS-1, Mac, NeXT Computer, PalmOS, Xerox Star. Release date on -INT 1974. Genre- First person shooter. Model-Single player, multiplayer Maze War (also known as The Maze Game, Maze Wars, Maze war, or simply Maze) is a historically significant video game. Maze War originated or disseminated a number of concepts used in thousands of games to follow, and is considered one of the earliest, if not the earliest, examples of a first person shooter. By later standards, gameplay has become simple. Characters in the game roam in a maze, and also capable of moving right or left, backward or forwards and entering through the doors. Other characters are represented as eyeballs. They are able to shoot each other, when a character sees another character. By shooting other players, the main player will get the points for, and if he is shot he will be lost in the game. Occasionally, a duck also appears in the passage in some versions. At that time, this is a great standard for network games. Maze war game. Wolfenstein 3D Wolfenstein 3D: Rise in popularity: 1992 1995 Generally, video game named Wolfenstein 3D is regarded as popular first-person shooter genre on the PC. Also, created the basic archetype which is subsequent games of same genre. It was published by Apogee Software and created by id Software. It was inspired by the 1980s Muse Software computer games Castle Wolfenstein and Beyond Castle Wolfenstein and released on May 5, 1992. The protagonist who is an American soldier, William B.J. in Wolfenstein 3D. While escaping from the Nazi stronghold of Castle Wolfenstein, Blazkowicz comes across many armed guards and attack dogs. The building consists of many hidden rooms with various food supplies, treasures, and medical kits, also three different guns and ammunition. GAME CHARACTER OF Blazkowicz in Wolfenstein 3D Details of the character Height: 6 ft, 4Weight: 210 lbs, Pros: Killed Hitler, Deployed at least 14 times Super Muscular When hes not busy killing Nazis he goes kill more Nazis, His grandson is Commander Keen, Can heal himself by eating a Hot Meal GAME PLAY of Wolfenstein 3D Each episode has ten missions (levels) which are supposed to be completed level wise. Entrance to the tenth which is a secret one can be found in the eighth level. However, we are supposed to complete only nine levels. The third episode which is a secret level can be identified in which one of the original Pac-Man levels, complete with ghosts, seen by the player from Pac-Mans perspective was recreated. ExMx map/level naming convention was first used in Wolfenstein 3D. In order to complete the episode, all the bosses need to be killed in each level. Boss enemies are drawn from one angle instead of eight unlike normal enemies. So the player cannot take them by surprise or sneak up on them. Also, they always face the player, in the first encounter. Until they see the player, bosses will not become active. A death cam (which is a replay of death) will be shown after the death of every boss. The early concept of the game included some innovative stealth concepts dragging dead bodies, swapping uniforms with fallen guards, silent attacks, etc., like in the earlier Wolfenstein games, which focused more on stealth than action. These ideas were dropped however, since they drastically slowed the game down and made the controls complicated. In game screen shot of wolfenstein 3d In game screen shot of wolfenstein 3d Halo: History of halo: Nothing says that you are a saint like having a bright halo over your head. The bright circle located at apex of the savior and the noodle of Catholic saints. Most of them lived nothing like is one of the most iconic symbols in Christendom. That is the reason; it could come as an astounding thing to learn many other icons related to Christendom. Halo was actually stolen from pagans and other religions. In ancient drawings in deities from Indian, Greek and Roman culture, a nebulous nimbus of luminosity was discovered on cave paintings. In ancient times, kings used to like to be portrayed with celestial crowns. The sole purpose is to establish special relationship with their particular gods who lives somewhere up in the sky. Halo is a video game franchise related to science fiction published by Microsoft Game Studios and created by Bungie. Main trilogy of the game centers experiences the Master Chief, an enhanced human super-soldier, and AI companion. The trilogy of video games was praised as being among the best first-person shooters on video game console. It is also considered as the Microsoft Xboxs killer app. It leads to the term Halo killer. As a developer Ensemble Studios last project, Halo games was launched into other video game genres, including Halo Wars which is a real-time strategy game. For the expansion of Halo 3: ODST and a prequel Halo: Reach, even the Bungie also contributed. Concept arts of Halo game. Screen shots of game halo HALFLIFE2 Half-Life 2 is a science fiction FP shooter game and sequel to the highly acclaimed Half-Life. It was developed by Valve Corporation and was released on Nov 16th 2004. The game uses the Source game engine, which includes a heavily modified version of the Havok physics engine. It is also known as the first video game to require online product activation. Later it was ported to Xbox and Mac OS X. It is a part of Orange Box compilation for PS 3 video game consoles and Xbox 360. Half-Life 2 takes place in a dystopian world in which the events of Half-Life have fully come to bear on human society, which has been enslaved by a multidimensional empire known as the Combine. Gameplay of Half life 2; Half-Life 2 is a FP shooter, following relative mechanics from its predecessor, Half-Life. At the bottom of the screen we can see the players health, energy, and ammunition status. Also, we can view the available weapons while toggling between screens. By picking up medical supplies and energy cells, the player can replenish his health and energy. Throughout the game we can see the puzzles and sequences involving vehicles. The player defeats his enemies with varied assortment of hand weapons. The modern-day projectile weapons like shotgun, pistol, submachine gun etc, are used. Also, more elaborate, fictional weapons like crossbow (shoots hot metal rods), a pulse rifle (disintegrate enemies on contact) are available. Some screen shots and game views of Half life 2 Conclusion: First person shooters are new phase in gaming world. With their advanced technology and sophisticated environment, FP Shooters gives a player thrilling experience. In every aspect it offers a great excitement with fast pace while playing. They give you the complete freedom to configure everything just the way you want it.

Payment Systems For E Commerce

Payment Systems For E Commerce The emergence of e-commerce has effectively created many new financial needs which in many cases cannot be fulfilled by traditional payment systems. By considering all of these aspects many organizations are exploring various types of electronic payment systems and digital currency and also various issues regarding these payment systems. Broadly electronic payment system is classified in to mainly into four categories: Online Credit card Payment system, Online Electronic Cash system, Electronic Cheque System and Smart Cards based Electronic payment system. Every system has its advantages and disadvantages for the customers and merchants. These systems have number of requirements: e.g. acceptability, convenience, security, cost, anonymity, control, and traceability. Hence, instead of focusing on the technological specifications of various e payment systems, the researchers have distinguished e payment system based on what is transmitting over the network; analyze the difference of eac h electronic payment systems based on their requirements, characteristics and assess the applicability of every system. I. INTRODUCTION Payment is the integral process in the mercantile process, electronic payment system is the integral part of the electronic commerce. Due to the emergence of electronic commerce has created new financial needs through which need for new payment systems has created while traditional payment system cannot be able to fulfill its needs. For example new payment systems are of the forms such as auctions between individual ¿Ã‚ ½s online results in searching for new payment systems that means peer to peer payment methods that allows individuals to make payments through their e-mails. By recognizing these needs all interested parties (i.e: government, business communities and financial service providers) are invading various types of electronic payment systems and issues regarding those payment systems and electronic currency. Some of the proposed systems are electronic type of the traditional payment system such as credit cards, cheques, while, others are based on the digital currency tech nology and have the potential for definitive impact on today ¿Ã‚ ½s financial and monetary system. While popular developers of electronic payment system predict fundamental changes in the financial sector because of the innovations in electronic payment system (Kalakota Ravi, 1996). Therefore in particular electronic commerce have many methods of payment systems, these methods of payment systems are developed to support the electronic commerce. A failure to take place these developments into the proper context is likely to result in undue focus on the various experimental initiatives to develop electronic forms of payment without a proper reflection on the broader implications for the existing payment system. The table below shows a steady increase in the annual growth of total U.S. e-commerce sales for the 2000-2009 periods. A. CONCEPT AND SIZE OF ELECTRONIC PAYMENT The payment systems that uses electronic distribution networks constitute a frequent system in the banking and business sector since 1960 ¿Ã‚ ½s, especially for the transfer of large amounts of money. In the four decades that have passed since their appearance, necessary technological developments have taken place, which on the one hand have expanded the possible technologies of electronic payment systems besides they have also created new social and business practice, which make the use of these systems necessary. These changes, naturally, have affected the definition of electronic payments, which is emerging depending on the needs of each period. In most general form, the word electronic payment comprised of any payment (transactions) to businesses, bank or public services from citizens or businesses, which are made through a telecommunications or electronic networks by using modern technology. It is obvious that based on this definition, the electronic payments that will be the objects of present result, is the payment that is executed by the payer by himself, whether the latter is a consumer or a business, without the intervention of the another natural person. Furthermore, these payments are made from distance, without the presence of the payer physically and naturally it does not include cash. By providing such definition for the electronic payment system, this make researches to include the information concerning the accounts of the parties involved in the transaction, and also technological means of transaction execution such as distribution channel etc. Size of Electronic Payments: Electronic payments can be made in different forms, based on these forms electronic commerce payments systems are categorized as Business-to-Business (B2B), Business-to-Consumer (B2C), Consumer-to-Business (C2B) and Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C). Each of which has special characteristics that depend on the value of order. Danial, (2002) classified electronic payment systems as follows:  ¿Ã‚ ½ Micro Payment (less than $ 10) that is mainly conducted in C2C and B2C e-commerce.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Consumer Payment that has a value between $ 10 and $ 500. It is conducted mainly in B2C transactions.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Business Payment that has the value more than $ 500. It is conducted mainly in B2B e-commerce. B. CONVENTIONAL VS. ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SYSTEM To dig the depth of the electronic payment process, it is better to first understand the processing of traditional payment system. A traditional process of payment and settlement involves a buyer-to-seller transfer of cash or payment information (i.e., cheque and credit cards). The general settlement of payment process takes place in the financial processing network. A cash payment requires a buyer ¿Ã‚ ½s withdrawals form his/her bank account, a transfer of cash to the seller, and the seller ¿Ã‚ ½s deposit of payment to his/her account. Non-cash payment systems are settled by adjusting i.e. crediting and debiting the appropriate accounts between banks based on payment information conveyed via cheque or credit cards. Figure 1: Conventional/Traditional Payment System Figure is simplified diagram for both cash and non-cash transactions. As cash Transferred from the buyer ¿Ã‚ ½s bank to seller ¿Ã‚ ½s bank through face-to-face exchange in the market. If a buyer uses a non-cash form of payment, payment information instead of cash flows from the buyer to the seller, and payments are settled between affected banks, who notationally adjust accounts based on payment information. C. PROCESS OF ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SYSTEM Electronic payment system have been operating since 1960s and also expanding very rapidly as well as growth and complexity. After the development of traditional payment system new features such as Electronic Funds Transfer based payments methods came in to existence. It was the first electronic based payment system, which does not depend on intermediary of central processing. An electronic fund transfer is a financial application of EDI (Electronic Data Interchange), which transfers credit card numbers or electronic cheques via secured private transfer lines between banks and major corporations. To use EFT to clear payments and settle accounts, online payment services needs all the capabilities to process the order, accounts and receipts. But a landmark came in to direction with the development of digital currency. Use of electronic money and digital currency looks alike the paper money as a means of payment. Digital based currency system is having same advantages as of paper based c urrency system those are namely anonymity and convenience. As in other electronic payments systems (i.e. EFT based and intermediary based) here is also concern about the security in the electronic payment systems during the transactions and storage is also a main concern, although from the different perspective, for digital currency systems double spending, counterfeiting, and storage become critical issues whereas eavesdropping and the issue of liability (when charges are made without authorizations) is important for the notational funds transfer. Figure 2 shows digital currency based payment system. In this figure, it is shown that intermediary acts as an electronic bank, which converts outside money (e.g. Rupees or US $), into inside money (e.g. tokens or e-cash), which is circulated within online markets. However, as a private monetary system, digital currency has wide ranging impact on money and monetary system with implications extending far beyond more transactional efficiency. II. TYPES OF ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SYSTEMS With the rapid growth in the electronic commerce need for the payment systems are increased as that of e commerce by which dozens of payments systems are came in to existence and also they are already in practice. Grouping of these payments systems are made based upon the information being transferred online. Murthy (2002) explained six types of electronic payment systems: (1) PC-Banking (2) Credit Cards (3) Electronic Cheques (i-cheques) (4) Micro payment (5) Smart Cards and (6) E-Cash. Kalakota and Whinston (1996) identified three types of electronic payment systems: (1) Digital Token based electronic payment systems, (2) Smart Card based electronic payment system and (3) Credit based electronic payment systems. Dennis (2001) classified electronic payment system into two categories: (1) Electronic Cash and (2) Electronic Debit-Credit Card Systems. Thus, electronic payment system can be broadly divided into four general types (Anderson, 1998):  ¿Ã‚ ½ Online Credit Card Payment System  ¿Ã‚ ½ Electronic Cheque System  ¿Ã‚ ½ Electronic Cash System and  ¿Ã‚ ½ Smart Card based Electronic Payment System Online Credit Card Payment System: It seeks to extend the functionality of existing credit cards for use as online shopping payment tools. This payment system has been widely accepted by consumers and merchants throughout the world, and by far the most popular methods of payments especially in the retail markets (Laudon and Traver, 2002). These forms of payment systems are having many advantages, which were never available through the traditional payments methods. Some of the advantages of the online credit card payment systems are: privacy, integrity, compatibility, good transaction efficiency, acceptability, convenience, mobility, low financial risk and anonymity. Added to all these, to avoid the complexity associated with the digital cash or electronic-cheques, consumers and vendors are also looking at credit card payments on the internet as one of possible time-tested alternative. But, this payment system has raised several problems before the consumers and merchants. Online cred it card payment systems are also having many disadvantages lack of authentication, repudiation of charges and credit card frauds. It also seeks to address consumer fears about using credit card such as having to reveal credit information at multiple sites and repeatedly having to communicate sensitive information over the Internet. Basic process of Online credit card payment system is very simple as that of traditional payment systems. If consumers want to purchase a product or service, they simply send their credit card details to the service provider involved and the credit card organization will handle this payment like any other. This can be understood very easily with the format (Figure 3) of Credit Card Payment Form. Electronic Cheque Payment System: Electronic cheque fulfills the needs of many business organizations, which are previously exchanging paper based cheque based on the vendors, consumers and government. Working process of e-cheque is as same as that of the traditional cheque payment system. An account holder will issue the electronic cheque document which contains the information such as name of the account holder payee name, name of the financial institution, payer ¿Ã‚ ½s account number and the amount of payment on the cheque. Most of the information is in un coded form. Like a paper cheques e-cheques also bear the digital equivalent of signature: a computed number that authenticates the cheque from the owner of the account. Digital checking payment system seeks to extend the functionality of existing checking accounts for use as online shopping payment tools. Electronic cheque system has many advantages: (1) they do not require consumers to reveal account information to other indi viduals when setting an auction (2) they do not require consumers to continually send sensitive financial information over the web (3) they are less expensive than credit cards and (4) they are much faster than paper based traditional cheque. But, this system of payment also has several disadvantages. The disadvantage of electronic cheque system includes their relatively high fixed costs, their limited use only in virtual world and the fact that they can protect the users? anonymity. Therefore, it is not very suitable for the retail transactions by consumers, although useful for the government and B2B operations because the latter transactions do not require anonymity, and the amount of transactions is generally large enough to cover fixed processing cost. The process of electronic checking system can be described using (figure 4) the following steps. Step 1: a purchaser fills a purchase order form, attaches a payment advice (electronic cheque), signs it with his private key (using his signature hardware), attaches his public key certificate, encrypts it using his private key and sends it to the vendor. Step 2: the vendor decrypts the information using his private key, checks the purchaser ¿Ã‚ ½s certificates, signature and cheque, attaches his deposit slip, and endorses the deposit attaching his public key certificates. This is encrypted and sent to his bank. Step 3: the vendor ¿Ã‚ ½s bank checks the signatures and certificates and sends the cheque for clearance. The banks and clearing houses normally have a private secure data network. Step 4: when the cheque is cleared, the amount is credited to the vendor ¿Ã‚ ½s account and a credit advice is sent to him. Step 5: the purchaser gets a consolidated debit advice periodically. E-cheque provide a security rich Internet payment option for businesses and offer an easy entry into electronic commerce without a significant investment in new technologies or legal systems. Electronic Cash Payment System: Electronic payment system is new technology in the online payment systems which improve the features such as security and privacy because it combines computerized convenience. Its versatility opens up a host of new markets and applications. E-cash is an electronic or digital form of value storage and value exchange that have limited convertibility into other forms of value and require intermediaries to convert. E-cash presents some characteristics like storability, monetary value, interoperability, irretrievability, and security. // By using all these characteristics it makes electronic cash more attractive payment system on the internet (Online). Added to these, this payment system offers numerous advantages like privacy, good acceptability, authority, convenience, low transactions cost and good anonymity. But, this system of payment also has many disadvantages such as poor transaction efficiency, poor mobility, and high financial risk, as people are solely responsible for the lost or stolen. Gary and Perry (2002), just like real world currency counterpart, electronic cash is susceptible to forgery. It is possible, though increasingly difficult, to create and spend forged e-cash. E-Cash Structure: e-cash structure could be identified as a string of bits that represents certain values such as reference number and digital signature, which could be used for the security purpose to prevent forgery and criminal use (Wright, 2002). But, the structure proposed by Wright (2002) needs some extension to make e-cash more secure. Therefore, the present model (Figure 3.5) adds a digital watermark to e-cash structure to protect it from the illegal copy and forgery activities further, the model modified the structure of the reference number to support tractability as shown in the figure 5. The proposed e-cash structure is comparatively better than suggested by Wright (2002), because security issue is given importance of top most priority in the present model. But, still there are certain concerns to be addressed for an electronic cash system. For example, who has the right to issue electronic cash? Can every bank issue its own money? If so how do you prevent fraud? And who will monitor the banking operations to protect consumers? Many of these concepts relate to the legal and banking regulatory aspects. However all these issues are beyond the scope of the study and therefore, cannot be included here. But, these issues must be addressed before establishing a complete e-cash based payment system. Smart Cards based Electronic Payment System: Smart cards are receiving renewed attention as a mode of online payment. They are essentially credit card sized plastic cards with the memory chips and in some cases, with microprocessors embedded in them so as to serve as storage devices for much greater information than credit cards with inbuilt transaction processing capability. This card also contains some kinds of an encrypted key that is compared to a secret key contained on the user ¿Ã‚ ½s processor. Some smart cards have provision to allow users to enter a personal identification number (PIN) code. Smart cards have been in use for well over the two decades now and have been widespread mostly in Europe and Asian Countries. Owing to their considerable flexibility, they have been used for a wide range of functions like highway toll payment, as prepaid telephone cards and as stored value debit cards. However, with the recent emergence of e-commerce, these devices are increasingly being viewed as a particularly appropriate method to execute online payment system with considerably greater level of security than credit cards. Compared with traditional electronic cash system, smart cards based electronic payment systems do not need to maintain a large real time database. They also have advantages, such as anonymity, transfer payment between individual parties , and low transactional handling cost of files. Smart cards are also better protected from misuse than, say conventional credit cards, because the smart card information is encrypted. Currently, the two smart cards based electronic payment system- Mondex and Visa Cash are incompatible in the smart cards and card reader specification. Not knowing which smart card system will become market leader; banks around the world are unwilling to adopt either system, let alone other smart card system. Therefore, establishing a standard smart card system, or making different system interoperable with one another is critical success factors for smart card based payment system. Kalakota and Whinston (1996), classified smart cards based electronic payment system as (1) relationship based smart cards and electronic purses. Electronic purses, which may replace money, are also known as debit card. Further Diwan and Singh (2000) and Sharma and Diwan (2000), classified smart cards into four categories. These are: (1) memory cards: this card can be used to store password or pin number. Many telephone cards use these memory cards (2) shared key cards: it can store a private key such as those used in the public key cryptosystems. In this way, the user can plug in the card to a workstation and workstation can read the private key for encryption or decryption (3) signature carrying card: this card contains a set of pre generated random numbers. These numbers can be used to generate electronic cash (4) signature carrying cards: these cards carry a co-processor that can be used to generate large random numbers. These random numbers can then be used for the assignment as serial numbers for the electronic cash. III. CONCLUSION Technology created lives easier for human beings. It has decreases the work up to many extends such as distance space and even time. One of the technological innovation in the banking and financial sectors is the electronic payments. // By using electronic payments we can perform financial operations electronically, thus avoiding long lines and other hassles. Electronic Payments provides greater freedom to individuals in paying their licenses, taxes, fees, fines and purchases at unconventional locations and at whichever time of the day, 365 days of the year. On the basis of present study, first remark is that despite the existence of variety of e-commerce payment systems, credit cards are the most dominant payment system. This is consequences of advantageous characteristics, most importantly the long established networks and very wide user ¿Ã‚ ½s base. Second, alternative e-commerce payment systems are some countries are debit cards. In fact, like many other studies, present study also reveals that the smart card based e-commerce payment system is best and it is expected that in the future smart cards will eventually replace the other electronic payment systems. Third, given the limited users bases, e-cash is not a feasible payment option. Thus, there are number of factors which affect the usage of e-commerce payment systems. Among all these user base is most important. Added to this, success of e-commerce payment systems also depends on consumer preferences, ease of use, cost, industry agreement, authorization, security, authentication, non-refutability, accessibility and reliability and anonymity and public policy. IV. REFERENCES 1. Abrazhevich, D. (2002) ,Diary on Internet Payment Systems ¿Ã‚ ½, Proceedings of the British Conference on Human Computer Interaction, London, England. 2. Anderson, M.M. (1998),  ¿Ã‚ ½Electronic Cheque Architecture, Version 1.0.2 ¿Ã‚ ½, Financial Services Technology Consortium, September 3. Baddeley, M. (2004)  ¿Ã‚ ½Using E-Cash in the New Economy: An Electronic Analysis of Micropayment Systems ¿Ã‚ ½, Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, Vol. 5, No. 4, pp 239-253. 4. Bhatia, Varinder (2000), E-Commerce (Includes E-Business), New Delhi: Khanna Book Publishing Co. 5. Boly, J. P. et al., (1994),  ¿Ã‚ ½ The ESPRIT Project CAF ¿Ã‚ ½-High Security Digital Payment System ¿Ã‚ ½, ESORICS 94, Third European Symposium on Research in Computer Security, Brighton, LNCS 875, Spring- Verlage, Berlin, pp 217-230. accessed on http://www.zurich.ibm.ch/technology/Security/Sirene/Publ/ BBCM1_94cafeEsorics.ps.gz. 6. Cavarretta, F. and de Silva, J. (1995),  ¿Ã‚ ½Market Overview of the Payments Mechanisms for the Internet Commerce ¿Ã‚ ½, accessed on http://www.mba96.hbs.edu/fcavarretta/money.html. 7. Chakrabarti, Rajesh and Kardile, Vikas (2002), E-Commerce: The Asian Manager ¿Ã‚ ½s Handbook, New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. 8. Charkrabarthi, Rajesh et al (2002), The Asian Manager ¿Ã‚ ½s Handbook of E-Commerce, New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill.) 9. Chaum, D. (1992),  ¿Ã‚ ½Achieving Electronic Privacy ¿Ã‚ ½, Scientific American, August,pp 96-101 accessed on http://www.digicash.support.nl/publish/sciam.html. 10. Danial, Amor (2002), E-Business (R) evolution, New York: Prentice Hall. 11. Dennis, Abrazhevich (2001),  ¿Ã‚ ½Classifications and Characteristics of Electronic Payment Systems ¿Ã‚ ½, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Vol. 21, No. 5, pp. 81-90.

Educacional Video Games :: Education, Classrooms

In recent years the video game market has been rising. With the new advancements with technology the limitations are slowly disappearing, what was once unimaginable is now possible. Today’s youth is playing video games for enjoyment more than ever before. The market has even started making its way into classrooms, in the form of instructional mediums. These games are specifically made to increase knowledge and skills, some are even meant for enjoyment but double as educational. The marketers of video games have picked up on this fact and have been working on making more suitable games. There are many different aspects of this new technique of teaching that still needs to be discovered. There are many different reasons as to why educators are supplementing games into their classrooms. Simpson & Clem (2008) stated that the reason as to why this generation learns differently is because they have grown up in a digital world. This has influenced students to learn and think differently than the previous generations. Simpson (2006) stated that 92% of children between 2 and 17 play video games. Also stated is that video games are used on a daily basis in children’s lives. Gordon (2010) wrote that students are lacking motivation to learn, causing them to fail state tests. Also stated by Gordon students were more engaged in class, practiced more skills, and completed their homework. As stated before students use video games in their daily lives, which is related to the way they learn. Simpson (2008) stated that students lean more if they are actively engaged. This in fact has been proven through an increase of test scores. According to Din & Calao (2001) wrote that students who had low focus were less focused when a teacher was teaching, and more focus when computers were used. Rice (2007) wrote that educational video games increase team building, experiential learning, and understanding of abstract concepts. As society, education, and technology change video games for educational purposes will be more prevalent in classrooms. The key to using video games in the classroom is proper implementation. Gordon (2010) gave tips as of how to properly implement games into a school environment. Also stated was that the right game must enforce what students need to learn and should be parallel to the state standards. According to Gordon (2010) there are many questions that need to be answered for proper implementation; these questions are who, what, when, and where. Educacional Video Games :: Education, Classrooms In recent years the video game market has been rising. With the new advancements with technology the limitations are slowly disappearing, what was once unimaginable is now possible. Today’s youth is playing video games for enjoyment more than ever before. The market has even started making its way into classrooms, in the form of instructional mediums. These games are specifically made to increase knowledge and skills, some are even meant for enjoyment but double as educational. The marketers of video games have picked up on this fact and have been working on making more suitable games. There are many different aspects of this new technique of teaching that still needs to be discovered. There are many different reasons as to why educators are supplementing games into their classrooms. Simpson & Clem (2008) stated that the reason as to why this generation learns differently is because they have grown up in a digital world. This has influenced students to learn and think differently than the previous generations. Simpson (2006) stated that 92% of children between 2 and 17 play video games. Also stated is that video games are used on a daily basis in children’s lives. Gordon (2010) wrote that students are lacking motivation to learn, causing them to fail state tests. Also stated by Gordon students were more engaged in class, practiced more skills, and completed their homework. As stated before students use video games in their daily lives, which is related to the way they learn. Simpson (2008) stated that students lean more if they are actively engaged. This in fact has been proven through an increase of test scores. According to Din & Calao (2001) wrote that students who had low focus were less focused when a teacher was teaching, and more focus when computers were used. Rice (2007) wrote that educational video games increase team building, experiential learning, and understanding of abstract concepts. As society, education, and technology change video games for educational purposes will be more prevalent in classrooms. The key to using video games in the classroom is proper implementation. Gordon (2010) gave tips as of how to properly implement games into a school environment. Also stated was that the right game must enforce what students need to learn and should be parallel to the state standards. According to Gordon (2010) there are many questions that need to be answered for proper implementation; these questions are who, what, when, and where.

The Tragic Merchant of Venice :: Free Merchant of Venice Essays

The Tragic Merchant of Venice      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In my opinion the play The Merchant of Venice is a tragic one which is discised as being comic.   Many factors of this play are derived from the current voice of situation.   The Merchant of Venice could be looked at as more tragic because of the negative intents from some of the characters in the play.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Greed and deception are just a couple of the main features from where many of the decisions are derived.   For example, revenge was an intent that Sylock had against for Antonio, only to say the least for, greed...   Antonio is being a set victim for revenge because of his deception against Shylock, and also for prior intent to do.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If The Merchant of Venice was to be looked at as more comic, the scenarios wouldn't be taken as seriously as they should be.   Infact I believe that The Merchant of Venice written by William Shakespeare was officially intended to be so in both comic and tragic.   In depth looking and observing The Merchant of Venice I have seen a small equivalency in the amount of comicness and tragedy in the play.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I have come up with the conclusion that William Shakespeare was a great playwright and must have been an absolute genius to compose the great and wonderful things that he did.   The Merchant of Venice is excellent in it's way of describing the characters.   The emotion is spread out thoroughly like warm butter on hot toast.   The tragedy in The Merchant of Venice is believable and almost true in a sense of my opinion in relating to greed, human desire, and most important let not forget, anguish.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughout The Merchant of Venice there are many strong feelings displayed through powerful lines of contemporary nature, to be truthful. William Shakespeare most likely wrote this play The Merchant of Venice to display how human greed could be so consuming to the soul of a person, which he did very well if I may say so.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The spunk and enthusiasm of this play makes it engrossing to the reader or viewer and also keeps the audience engaged in what is going to happen next.

Organic Food

Jessica Perez Professor A. Madsen English VO1 A 6 November, 2012 Is Organic Food Worth the Extra Cost? With technology reigning, it’s no wonder that in today’s world, food is being processed more quickly and efficiently to feed millions of mouths a day; however, there are also a handful of people who decide not to eat processed foods which is why in recent years, organic foods have begun to rise in popularity. Most people purchase organic foods because they believe it is healthier for them and that it pledges to be 100% pesticide and chemical free.Unlike non-organic foods, organic foods are also better for the environment. Despite these advantages, only a few people are able to afford the purchase of organic foods since the cost is twice that of non-organic foods. While organic foods have a reputation for being better than non-organic foods, consumers have many misconceptions about the term organic. As a result, many consumers have no clue that the underlying facts behi nd organic foods which may not be worth the extra cost.What consumers need to understand first is the meaning of the term organic and how foods qualify as organic. Jennifer Rose, staff writer and new media manager of the Organic Trade Association (OTA), explains that organic foods are simply processed and distributed using natural agricultural methods. These natural methods include without the use of pesticides, antibiotics, synthetic nitrogen fertilizers and any type of form to genetically modify the foods (Chen 13). In order for organic foods to qualify as organic, they have to pass through US standards.The USDA, which stands for the United States Department of Agriculture, is an accredited agency that assures the products are organic so they fulfill the qualifications of the National Organic Program (Chen16). The qualifications include that the ingredients that are added to organic foods music be at least 95% organically produced. If they are 70% organically produced then they ha ve to say â€Å"made with organic ingredients. † Anything below 70% cannot be sealed by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture 21); however there are many problems whether or not these products are really organic. One of the common isconceptions is that most consumers believe that by purchasing organic foods, they are supporting small farm owners but that is not the case. Michael J. Potter, founder of Eden Foods, is one of the last remaining men left in the organic industry, meaning that his company is one of the last remaining independent industries along with a few others that are not affiliated with the big businesses (Strom). Some of the biggest organic industries for example, Bear Naked, Wholesome & Hearty, and Kashi are owned by the big corporations which include Coca-Cola, General Mills, Kraft, and many others (Strom).What is worse is that these corporations have complete control of these organic industries and many consumers are unaware of the ultimate powe r these corporations obtain. For example, Potter attended a meeting in Albuquerque to decide along with the big corporations of both organic and non-organic to decide upon which ingredients from the farm, should be allowed to be included in organic foods since some ingredients did not look fresh. Carrageen, a seaweed-derived thickener with a somewhat controversial health (Strom), was one of the main ingredients to be decided whether it should be on organic foods or not.Potter voted it down, but since most of the people in the meeting were from big corporations, they decided that Carrageen should be added to organic foods thus winning (Strom). Not only does this prove that the organic industry is corrupted but as well as demonstrating that they have no interest in keeping the integrity and value of organic foods since these companies decide to associate with the big corporations. In addition, the increase in the number of corporate board members has caused for more non organic ingred ients to be added to organic foods which will then be processed and sealed by the certified USDA (Strom).Corruption indeed lies within the organic industry; therefore, the best thing to do if consumers want to continue to purchase organic foods is to buy either from farmers markets or from Eden, Cliff Bar & Company, Amy’s Kitchen, Lundberg, Family Farms and other independent organic companies whom still remain true to organic (Strom). Another common misconception of organic foods is that most consumers believe that organic foods are better and healthier to consume. Even if they have to pay double the price for it, they will continue to purchase it as long as the foods are labeled as certified organic.But is it really worth the price? According to a recent study of this year by a research team in Stanford University, they have concluded that there is no strong evidence that proves organic foods are healthier or carry fewer health risks than non-organic foods (Brandt). This stu dy immediately brought the attention of many consumers who purchase organic foods and many refused to believe that this study is true although other studies even before Stanford have also concluded that there is no difference; however, Smith-Spangler, another member of Stanford’s research team, noted some differences between organic and non-organics.He noted that, â€Å" We did not find strong evidence that organic foods are consistently more nutritious than conventional foods, [but]the exception was for levels of phosphorus, which were higher in organically grown produce organically grown food† but â€Å"those differences are not likely to be of any health significance†(Mestel).Other minor differences were that organic eggs and chicken contained higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids but Smith explains as well that, â€Å"the data are scant and quite variable† (Mestel) There is only a little amount present of nutrients in organic foods than conventional fo ods so why do consumers continue to purchase organic foods despite all the studies that have been shown? Most conventional foods like eggs have a higher of being contaminated with bacteria like the most common one salmonella.Salmonella can be contaminated when animals are being confined into very tight places and therefore the bacteria can be spread faster (Kluger). This is the reason why consumers want to avoid conventional foods; however, that does not mean that organic foods can’t be contaminated. According to studies in Holland, Denmark, and Austria a bacterium called Campylobacter was found in all organic chickens and a third of conventional flocks despite being vaccinated against it while 72 percent of organic chickens were infected with parasites.With all these infections occurring, both organic and non-organic chickens can come in contact and spread the infection if processed in the same production line (Johnston 26). Consumers should not be assuming that the risk of organic foods getting contaminated is low. Both conventional and organic foods have the same risks of getting infected with some type of infection. Organic foods causing less damage to the environment is another misconception that consumers buy into. For example, Starbucks decided that the milk they usually use to make their famous drinks with will no longer be sing milk that contains RbGH, which is a hormone given to cows so they produce more milk. Instead they will be purchasing milk that contains no RbGH which comes from milked cows. Subsequently, milking cows’ causes 80% of more land to be cultivated with fossil fuel burning factors, 20% capacity of global warming risks, and a 70% contribution to acid rain; in addition, cows that are milked tend to burp a great amount of methane which is a more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide (Avner, Johnston 24).So farmers will be milking thousands of cows for the thousands of consumers who purchase Starbucks. Not to mention thousands of more that buy organic milk in stores. For the most part, milking cows is not only inefficient to feed thousands of organic consumers, but can lead to drastic repercussions that add up to more damage for Mother Earth; however, Earthbound, which is a similar to the Whole Foods business, comments that, â€Å"its farming techniques annually obviate the use of more than quarter of a million pounds of toxic chemical pesticides and almost 8. million pounds of synthetic fertilizers† (Shapin). Still, the farming techniques used by most organic farmers and industries is less efficient since they do not utilize the latest technology and they have to rely on man-made resources such as fuel and land to get the job done(Avner). Plus, Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma: Natural History of Four Meals, quotes a scientist at Cornell University that, â€Å"growing, processing, and shipping one calorie’s worth of arugula[plant] to the East Coast costs fi fty-seven calories of fossil fuel†(Shapin).Recalling that more land means more burning fossil fuel tractors so in the end, organic farming will redo the damage rather than taking the steps to reduce environmental damage by using organic methods. In regards to whether organic foods contain pesticides, many consumers easily believe that they are pesticide free. Organic trading groups such as The Soil Association claim and spread this misconception so unfortunately, consumers do not know that some infections can actually occur.According to Stanley Feldman, a medical professor and the author of several textbooks including Scientific Foundations of Anesthesia, mentions that most infections are caused by natural bacteria which can come from organic fertilizers (37). In order to kill the bacteria, organic farmer apply a pesticide of copper to kill the fungal diseases; however the pesticide copper remains in the soil for a long time filled with toxins (Johnston 25). Feldman then adds to this that â€Å"If a fungicide is not used and the ergot fungus infects cereal crops, then the unsuspecting organic consumer may end up with gangrene of fingers and toes (37).This clearly shows that organic foods can harm consumers because of the use of organic fertilizers. Furthermore, advocates of organic believe as well that natural occurring substances such as sulphur and copper based compounds are less harmful than the use of chemical based pesticides (Feldman 39). On the contrary, these natural compounds can be just as poisonous as chemical based pesticides. Paracelsus, a German-Swiss doctor and chemist that lived from 1483-1551, reasons that, â€Å"nothing is without poison; it is the dose alone that makes it so† (Feldman 39).Even though pesticides in conventional foods has caused more birth defects and illnesses, this only applies when consumed in high a dose which is exactly what Paracelsus pointed out. Studies have shown that the small traces of pesticides lefto ver in conventional food have not shown to multiply with the body thus failing to demonstrate as a cause of a medical condition. Besides, pesticide levels are kept in level that will assure no harm for consumers and the small accumulations of pesticides that build in the body have not shown to cause any severe poison for consumers (Feldman 39).On the contrary, the use of pesticides has played a role in the past 50 years, increasing the life span of a human for up to 7 years (Ellison 71). Pesticides may not be added to organic foods as much as conventional foods, but it and can still cause some harm to consumers. Despite all studies done for organic foods, consumers will continue to believe that organic foods are healthy, grown locally, environmentally friendly, and free of pesticides.Although these studies are not meant for consumers to stop purchasing organic foods, it is necessary for them to become more aware of the underlying facts instead of having mere misconceptions of the tr uth. The battle to determine whether organic foods are better than convention foods will continue until more evidence is presented. Until then, consumers that support organic will continue to purchase that. So next time consumers, who have obtained knowledge of organic foods, come in contact with an organic produce vs. a non-organic, the choice will be all up to them to decide if it really is worth the extra expense.Work Cited Avner, Jackie. â€Å"Organic Food for Thought Reasons You Should Buy Regular Goods: [Final Edition]. † Http://search. proquest. com. vlibdb. vcccd. edu/. ProQuest LLC, 29 July 2007. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. Brandt, Michelle. â€Å"Little Evidence of Health Benefits from Organic Foods, Stanford Study Finds. † Http://med. stanford. edu. N. p. , 3 Sept. 2012. Web. 1 Nov. 2012. Chen, Katherine J. â€Å"Organic Food: An Overview. † Is Organic Food Better? By Ronald D. Lankford. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2011. 13-18. Print. Ellison, Andrew. â€Å"Organic Food Is Not Worth The Extra Expense. † Is Organic Food Better? By Ronald D.Lankford. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2011. 69-72. Print. Feldman, Stanley. â€Å"Organic Fertilizers Pose More Health Risks than Pesticides. † Is Organic Food Better? By Ronald D. Lankford. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2011. 35-43. Print. Johnston, Rob. â€Å"Consumers Should Not Support Organic Foods. † Is Organic Food Better? By Ronald D. Lankford. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2011. 23-28. Print. Kluger, Jeffrey. â€Å"Health Checkup: Who Needs Organic Food? † Time. Time, 18 Aug. 2010. Web. 01 Nov. 2012. Mestel, Rosie. â€Å"Organic Food — Better for You or Not? A Study Takes a Look. † Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 03 Sept. 2012.Web. 01 Nov. 2012. Shapin, Steven. â€Å"Organic Food and Farming Has Drawbacks. † The Local Food Movement. Amy Francis. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. At Issue. Rpt. from â€Å"Paradise Sold: What Are You Buying When You Buy Organic? † The New Yorker 82 (15 May 2006). Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 7 Nov. 2012. Strom, Stephanie. â€Å"Has ‘Organic' Been Oversized? † The New York Times. The New York Times, 08 July 2012. Web. 01 Nov. 2012. United States Department of Agriculture. â€Å"National Standards for Organic Food. † Is Organic Food Better? By Ronald D. Lankford. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2011. 19-22. Print.