Epistemology and Metaphysics Schools Paper Essay

The nature of skepticism in real-life today, on a daily basis goes mostly unnoticed. People react to environments of skepticism differently and could become biased upon the subject discussed. According to Encyclopedia Britannica (2011), â€Å"skepticism is defined as 1: an attitude of doubt or a disposition to incredulity either in general or toward a particular object 2 a: the doctrine that true knowledge or knowledge in a particular area is uncertain b: the method of suspended judgment, systematic doubt, or criticism characteristic of skeptics† (Dictionary, para.1). People are inclined to accept ideas in society today without questioning what is actually being presented. It is very important to question or think critically when confronted with authority because the issue at hand may not always be right. Imagine if Philosophers, such as Copernicus did not hypothesize that the earth is not the center of the universe. We would still be living with various points of views on the subject. People should not accept ideas of others without questioning the ideas first. Unfortunately, we do this everyday unconsciously. At work our supervisors make requests to perform certain tasks, which most of the time we do not question the outcome. We take for granted that our supervisor knows what he or she is doing because of the authoritative figure that he or she plays. Skepticism could have quite an impact on the way employees perform his or her job. In the work environment employees usually take for granted that the boss knows best, and depending on the situation might not question the reason for his or her position on the process. For instance, when a supervisor implements a new job and informs his or her employees on the due date without asking for input, it is with reasonable doubt that one would be skeptical. The employees could have questioned the boss’s process such as whether he or she maintained good judgment on the direction that he or she takes on-the-job. Questions could also be raised in regard to the types of consequences employees will have if the job is not performed well. Employees could be skeptical of the job and ask if it is in the best interest of the company, especially if the supervisor did not have input from the employees prior to the start of the job. Employees typically become skeptical and doubt the authority figures of most bosses. Skepticism also plays a role in our schooling. We usually take the teachers role and the information presented to us to be correct even though the information could be incorrect. Our society has come to trust what others have told us to believe in and our minds have been trained to believe the information to be correct. Everyone should be valued for his or her own opinion and healthy skepticism in real-life environments. References Encyclopedia Britannica. (2011). Encyclopedia-Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www. britannica. com. ezproxy. apollolibrary. com/bps/dictionary? query=skepticism&header_go=.

Photosynthesis Playbill

The CREW Stage Manager Jo King Assistant Stage ManagerUriel Smart Creator/Writer NH Graphic Designer Kenny Dewitt Costume Designer Uta Mann Set and Props Crew Starr E. Sky Lighting DesignerWanda Rinn Sound Crew Dinah Might Dance Crew Jim Class Makeup Vic Toree DresserNeil B. Formi Acknowledgements The script, Life of Ps was made possible by my AP Biology teacher’s assignment.If not for her, I would never have sat down and composed a four page script about Photosynthesis. I would also like to thank my supporting family for listening to my complaints and frustrations throughout this process. My gratitude goes out to the AP Bio Facebook group as well, for answering all the questions I had about Photosynthesis. Thank you all very much. The CAST In order of appearance *Narrator *Thylakoid Lila *Calvin Cycle Cal Water H-Two-Oh *Electrons *Oxygen Oxi *Photons Tony *Photosystems II and I (respectively) *Chlorophylls A (P680 and P700) *Hydrogen Ion The Hydrogen Twins *Ferredoxin *Cytoc hrome Complex *Plastoquinone *Carbon Dioxide *NADP+ and NADPH *NADP+ Reductase *ATP Synthase *ATP and ADP + P *Ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP) and RuBisCO *3-PGA *G3P *Glucose Biographies Main characters (Alphabetically)Calvin Cycle: Three phases occur here: carbon fixation, reduction, and regeneration Chlorophylls A (P680 and P700): reflects green light, and absorbs red and blue light to being the process of photosynthesis Electrons: transported through the Electron Transport Chain for the production of ATP and NADPH Glucose: ATP from the Light Reactions are used, with the addition of hydrogen ions to CO2 to make glucose. Narrator: Narrates the play Thylakoid: interconnected sacs and membranes within the chloroplast that contain enzymes involved in Light Reactions Water: is split to release electrons, hydrogen ions, and oxygen

Microsoft Outlook® User Manual Critique

Microsoft Outlook ® User Manual Critique The objective of this paper will be to evaluate Microsoft manual for Outlook ®. According to Torkzadeh (1988), author of The Quality of User Documentation, â€Å"User documentation is an important tool for communications. It enhances the value of an application to the user and in turn, improves user satisfaction† (p. 99).When designing a manual Ganier (2007) suggests in his article, Comparative User-Focused Evaluation of User Guides, the strategy for a user manual should focus on 3 characteristics: format, structure, and its content. Ganier in his article also includes the criteria for measuring the quality and efficiency of the manual as, â€Å"attractiveness, practicality, simplicity, and efficiency†. The critique of the Outlook ® user manual will not evaluate the criteria using a weighted score for each criteria on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is very bad and 5 is very good (Ganier, 2007).Instead, it will provide a written critique of the Outlook ® user manual based upon Ganier’s identified characteristics and criteria. Assessment of the Design Strategy The first characteristic of the Outlook ® user e-manual is format. Since the Outlook ® user manual is in electronic format or e-manual, it can be launched from the application by pressing the F1 key on the keyboard. The cognitive workload required to utilize the function of the e-manual is minimal. Structure, the second characteristic, refers to the layout of the information and how users access the information based upon their knowledge.New users will typically access the information linearly; in a step-by-step fashion whereas, more experienced users will access the information by function. There is no â€Å"Getting Started† section on the main menu with directed instruction for new users. The Outlook ® manual is focused toward the experienced user, who would be searching for instructions to perform a particular function. The la st characteristic of the design of the Outlook ® user e-manual is content, which includes prominent headings, the use of vocabulary the user can comprehend, and the combined use of text and illustrations.The Outlook ® e-manual contained very good content. It has step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow with a mixture of applicable illustrations. The manual uses clear and concise language which is easily understood; however, the only drawback is a lack of illustrations in the manual’s headers. Assessment of Criteria The first criterion Ganier identified for measuring the quality and efficiency of a user manual is attractiveness. (Merriam-Webster’s, 2010) defines attractive as â€Å"arousing interest or engaging one's thought, consideration, etc†.Attractiveness is a subjective measurement which attempts to measure the ability of a manual to entice users to access it. The attractiveness of the Outlook ® user e-manual is minimal and the format is very simplistic. The headers are basic, but functional, and the lack of graphics or icons to help identify the topics makes the appearance less attractive and approachable. By using icons along with the headers, it would improve the overall look, making the document look more appealing and approachable.When clicking on a high level header for â€Å"creating messages†, the user is presented with a list of submenu topics from which to choose. The submenu topics have a third level of headings with instruction options for creating an e-mail message. The actual instruction is presented to the user after clicking on 3 levels of topics and sub-topics. It contains an explanation of creating an e-mail with step-by-step instruction and includes a good combination of illustration and white space.Practicality, the second criteria, as it applies to a user manual or an instruction, is whether or not the manual or instruction is designed and applicable to actual use. Overall, the manual is usef ul if the user is looking for instruction on performing a specific task. The user e-manual does a good job of explaining the various functions of the Outlook ® application. The tool bar menu items include navigation buttons which allow the user to easily move the focus of the manual back one page at a time or by clicking on the home button, to return to the first page. Simplicity is the lack of complexity, r intricacy, (Merriam-Webster’s, 2010). The Outlook ® user e-manual fulfills the definition of simplicity in its ability to reach a diverse target audience, with the ability to read and understand the content. Both basic and advanced users can utilize the search function of the manual to find instructions on the topic being searched. Basic tasks, such as creating an e-mail, or tasks for more advanced users, can easily be found in the manual. The user e-manual lacks overall efficiency as it does not give the user the ability to accomplish a task with ease and speed.The u ser e-manual should allow the user, no matter what their experience level with the application, to be able to access the information in the most efficient manner. The Outlook ® user e-manual headings are not in any particular order and the user must scan the headings to find a specific topic. If the headers were sorted alphabetically, finding the topics would be more efficient. Once the information is found the instruction are clear and concise, and include the appropriate amount of illustrations along with step-by-step instructions. ConclusionThe Outlook ® user e-manual is designed to be used in conjunction with the Outlook ® application. The manual has good content and is relatively easy to use, with the exception of the need to drill down to multiple sub-headings. The search function of the manual provides an easy way to find information on a particular topic if the reader knows what they are searching for. The lack of icons to illustrate the headings, and the headings not being sorted alphabetically detracts from the attractiveness and the overall usefulness of the document.Both beginning and advanced users of the Outlook ® application can benefit from reading the user e-manual. With the lack of a â€Å"Getting Started† section it makes utilizing the document for new users a little more tedious for progressive learning. The actual step-by-step instruction contains detailed and accurate information, which is attractively designed with the appropriate amount of whitespace and illustrations. Overall the user e-manual enhances the value of the Outlook ® application and helps the user improve their knowledge in using the application.References Torkzadeh, G. 1988, Fall). The Quality of User Documentation. Journal of Managment Information Systems, 5(2), 99-108. Ganier, F. (2007). Comparative User-Focused Evaluation of User Guides: A Case Study. J. Technical Writting and Communications, 37(3), 305-322. Attractive. 2010. In Merriam-Webster Online D ictionary. Retrieved Nov 23, 2010, from http://www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/attractive Simplicity. 2010. In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved Nov 23, 2010, from http://www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/ simplicity Outlook ® is a registered trademarks of the Microsoft © 2010

Child Beauty Pageants Must Stop Essay

A child beauty pageant is a beauty contest featuring contestants younger than 13 years of age. Divisions include talent, interview, sportswear, casual wear, swim wear, western wear, out-fit of choice, decade wear, and evening wear, typically wearing makeup as well as elaborate hairstyles. The debate about child beauty pageants in Australia is getting particularly ugly. Ever since the US group ‘Universal Royalty Beauty Pageant’ announced plans to hold its first Australian competition in Melbourne, the cries of protest from parent groups, psychologists and children’s rights organisations have been loud and fierce. â€Å"Would you stand your two daughters side by side in the lounge room and tell one of them that she’s more beautiful than the other?† Pull The Pin organiser, Catherine Manning said. For most people that’s a resounding no, and the reason is obviously not just because of the impact you have on the girl that you tell isn’t the most beautiful, but you’re also sending a really strange message to the girl that you tell is the most beautiful. Adolescent and child psychotherapist, Collett Smart, states that â€Å"it’s cruel to judge little girls on their appearance. To say to a young girl, no, you’re not pretty enough.† It’s harmful to a young girl’s self-esteem to tell her that she simply isn’t pretty enough and that’s the only reason she didn’t win the pageant. It starts to lead to three of the most common mental health problems in girls and women; eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression. In 2002, Stacey Weiner conveyed a study for a column she was writing on seventh-grade girls who viewed idolised magazine images of women, reported a drop in body satisfaction and a rise in depression. In 2005, a study conducted by Anna Wonderlich, of the University of Minnesota, eleven women who took part in child beauty pageants were compared to eleven women who did not. The study found pageant contestants score higher on body dissatisfaction, interpersonal distrust and greater impulsiveness. Child psychologist, Dr. Robert Reiner, stated in 2006 that many parents whose children took part in pageants were attempting to live through their young daughters and were often ‘very pushy parents who, for a variety of reasons didn’t get what they wanted when they were children’. In all the studies shown, 1 in 3 professionals all conveyed that child beauty pageants have major impacts on the well-being of these children, from low self-esteem to depression to eating disorders from such a young age. Savanna Jackson made headlines in the Herald Sun on June 7th 2012, because a three-year-old girl should not be allowed to have a spray tan, on a monthly basis. Lauren Jackson, Savanna’s mother, spends roughly $4,670 a month entering Savanna into beauty pageants. Lauren thought that when she reached the age two, that she would start giving Savanna tanning sessions so the other girls wouldn’t have an unfair advantage. Mrs Jackson first entered her daughter into a ‘natural pageant’ at 10 months, which allows little or no make-up. After Savanna won, her mum began entering her into ‘more glamorous’ pageants. She said that Savanna loved the attention and being on stage made her happier than she had ever been before. What more could a parent want for their child than seeing them happy, however, it starts to become a little concerning when Lauren tells the Herald Sun that her three-year-old daughter wears more make up than her 26 year old mother. Karen Nussbaum, a member from Minor Consideration, a non-profit foundation to give guidance and to support young performers, says that most stage mothers claim their child wanted to enter the pageant on their own. Do children under the age of 10 really know what is best for them? For example, in 1996, 7 year old Jessica Duboff died when her parents let her fly a plane across the country just because she wanted to do it. The Universal Royalty Beauty Pageant, made famous in the reality TV show Toddlers & Tiaras, is travelling from Texas this month so Australian children can compete in formal wear, photogenic and congeniality contests. A controversial article published by the ABC on April 6, 2012 by Stephanie Corsetti, interviews Australia MP’s and gets their opinions. Federal Labour MP Anna Burke is supporting the private members bill and calling for a national ban on the event. Anna says â€Å"dressing them up, fake tans, fake teeth known as flippers, even fake books and bums on three-year-olds is a bit of a ridiculous situation.† It makes us start questioning; do we actually want to promote this in Australia? Promoting something that is not emotionally and mentally stable for young people especially children under the age of 10. In another perspective, for those who believe child beauty pageants should not be banned, owner of Universal Royalty Beauty Pageants, Annette Hill, stated â€Å"if you are looking at children in a sexual way, you should be ashamed of yourself and something is wrong with you. It’s all about a beautiful dress, a beautiful child with lots of personality performing on stage.’ Brendan O’Neill wrote an opinion piece published by the ABC on August 4, 2011 which stated â€Å"the pageant-bashers see SEX, a little whore, a walking, talking temptation for the predatory paedophiles who apparently lurk in every street and alleyway in Australia.† There needs to be a limit on these horrendous child beauty pageants. Change the age to at least 13/14 years old or limit the amount of make-up used etc. That is approach Sally Belinda Broad took. Direct of Australian Kids Pageants. â€Å"our events are ‘natural’ pageants where anything fake is disallowed and age appropriate appearance and performance is encouraged.†

Primary Prevention Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Primary Prevention - Research Paper Example luenza and Swine Flu, the treatment for which is both complicated and costly, has strongly supported the notion of primary prevention (Molen and Siebrig, 2009). Apart from the healthcare industry, the governments are playing a potential role in implementing policies that ensure prevention at primary level. Governments and several health organizations all around the world have endeavored in their capacities to initiate programs aimed at averting diseases and epidemics. A famous quote that is almost a clichà © â€Å"Prevention is better than cure† still holds its significance in the era of science and technology when we have discovered cures for such diseases that previously were untreatable. Different aspects of prevention at primary level need attention, which include the methods, means and effectiveness of this type of prevention. Although governments are responsible for formulating policies and guaranteeing their implementation, the role of healthcare sector is still pivotal in executing the strategies. Strong emphasis by health organizations around the world is regarding the responsibility of an individual taking care of his own health (Molen and Siebrig, 2009). This is a one the most fundamental principles of primary prevention. It includes avoiding health risks and abstinence from smoking, alcohol and unsafe sex. Besides this, the healthcare providers themselves must be responsible for their own health and wellbeing. General preventive practices include precautionary measures taken by an individual in daily life to avoid accidents or any ill effects of a procedure that may endanger human health for example, wearing seatbelts or helmets for automobiles, avoiding exposure to harmful or poisonous chemicals, taking regular exercise, etc. Primary prevention for disease comprises measures that focus on the preclusion of disease for example, immunization, complete and timely medical checkups of individuals that are susceptible to a particular disease and to employ

Hormonal Influences on Breast Tissue during the Normal Menstrual Cycle Assignment

Hormonal Influences on Breast Tissue during the Normal Menstrual Cycle - Assignment Example This paper illustrates that according to Suri, the hormonal imbalance in female patient affects MRI accuracy. Menstrual occurs during cycles of between twenty-three and thirty-five days. In the book, Suri, explains that after the first half of the menstrual cycle is the best time to perform a breast MRI in women who experience a normal menstrual cycle. It is very difficult to figure out the best time to perform an MRI on women with an irregular menstrual cycle. Studies have shown that it is essential for doctors to measure progesterone levels before performing a breast MRI in women with irregular menstrual cycles. This helps in improving accuracy hence reducing the possibility of repeat tests. An MRI uses magnetic and radio waves to create a three-dimension image of the breast. A gadolinium which is a contrast resolution is injected into the body during an MRI. It collects in areas which have cancer growth thus helping doctors to see cancer. When progesterone levels are high more blo od flows in the breast. When this is the case, the contrast solution collects through ought the entire breast. This makes distinguishing regular tissues and irregular tissues hard, hence a possibility of repetition. According to Michell, today measuring of progesterone level should be done before a breast MRI is done routinely especially for women who have irregular menstrual cycles. However menstrual cycle whether regular or irregular should be put into consideration before an MRI is done. Disappointingly, most radiologists do not assess progesterone level or even put the women’s menstrual cycle into consideration. This turns out to be very expensive due to the repeat test which cost a tone of money. If a woman is about to have a breast MRI scan, she should talk to her radiologist about timing the MRI with respect to their menstrual cycle. If possible, Michell suggests that women should avoid going for a breast MRI during the second half of their menstrual cycle. This is bec ause progesterone levels are high during this period hence affecting the accuracy of the MRI resulting to repeat tests which are very expensive.

Impact of First World War on Russia and Germany Essay

Impact of First World War on Russia and Germany - Essay Example This was also the result of Russia being isolating itself and sending belligerent messages to the rest of the astounded world that was aghast with the termination of Tsars that led to their cold-blooded killing. The direct impact of world war started with the vast mobilisation of military and Russian population even in the farthest corners of Russia started dreading the outbreak of war with most of the able bodied men disappearing into the defence forces. Social impact of the military disasters between 1914 and 1915 was terrible for Russian population, who, till then, lived a rather deprived, but peaceful existence and most of the Russians were peasants in the far-flung areas of Russia1.There were war refugees accompanied by vast displacement of population as a result of Russian retreats in the first two years of war. It is said that more than one fifth of Russia's railway wagons were involved only in the work of evacuating people and other equipments in the summer of 1915. This had become very important to save the population from perishing in the hands of advancing Germany. More than half a million peasant households were displaced with disastrous effects. It was not easy to provide eithe r employment or basic necessities to these displaced people and rehabilitation when the country was losing the war was extremely difficult. Military reverses as in any other country, had direct impact on ordinary people of Russia. Farmers had to leave their land and livelihood and farm machinery and this means they had no ways of continuing farming. They were unsuitable for any other life and living without a roof over their heads in Russian winter was another major problem. There was widespread chaos and confusion combined with acute shortage of food and shelter almost leading to starvation. Naturally the government was unable to meet the expenses of refugees and running a full-blooded military campaign against Germany who had prepared for this war for years. Different sections of Russian society reacted in different ways, no doubt. But all of them showed understandable desperation of not knowing when the war would end. Refugees had no idea when they would be able to return home. Educated sections of the society and the intellectuals were getting more and more alienated from the government. From hindsight it is difficul t not to sympathise with the government which was under enormous stress and strain of protecting the land from the enemy attack, facing the weather conditions, clothing and keeping the soldiers armed and happy and facing the internal upheaval of a ruined economy, though the Russian elite remained committed to somehow achieving victory in the ongoing war. There are also indications that other than the military, civil administration was uncooperative in the war efforts and this slowly created rift in the ranks and lines of educated society. Government had been unable to mobilise public opinion in favour of the war it had been fighting. People were more concerned about losing their homes and hearths and were worried about their livelihoods than about the real war. Their minds were full of the hardships and difficulties they were facing with their families and ideologies did not worry them much, faced with enormous problems which did not seem to end.